graduation

picking up my cap and gown today! i'm excited even though i'm wearing an "apricot" colored tassel (who comes up with these?) i want to thank everyone that has helped me on the way to earning my degree. i appreciate all your love, support and advice.

i'm attending an honors banquet tonight where each participant is supposed to take a few minutes to talk about what their education means to them. i'm nervous but glad to have this opportunity. weber state is the greatest school i could have ever attended. sure it gets a bad rap for being a commuter school and fairly small compared to other utah universities. but i'm proud to be an alumna of the wildcats! the nursing program has made the transition from school to work very seamless. i feel prepared to meet the demands of my career because of the hands-on education i received. where graduates are having hard times securing positions after school, i feel very lucky to have been trained by such an awesome faculty and to have a job. so i guess that's what my education means to me.

it will be much more polished tonight i hope. haha. have a wonderful wednesday!

a bit obsessed

so i started using pinterest one week ago. at first i was thinking "cool, but i have no idea what the point is." now i'm thinking "gaaaahhh, why have i been sucked into this pop culture phenomenon?!" i think i have spent 1/4 of my day looking at random pictures and crafts that i have no intention of completing anytime soon. but it's still cute. i did find one halloween decoration that i can complete in one day. here it is folks:

i've printed these lovelies off on semi-gloss paper and am going to make a trip to the DI for some frames that could use a little tlc. yay for semi-crafty me!

the last undergrad rant (hopefully)

i'm a little stressed right now so here is my blogging outlet. i have four major projects due by thanksgiving and i'm feeling the crunch... if i make it through this alive, the hubs may have promised to take me to disneyland (in a roundabout way, so we'll see). graduation in t minus 43 days!

on a bright note, i'm so excited this is on tonight. here's a snippet for your viewing pleasure:

day of doctors

having two "doctors" appointments today is interesting. for the record, i just want to say how much i love seeing two awesome nurse practitioners rather than doctors. hopefully someday when i have those two letters behind my name, my patients will share that same enthusiasm. thanks for all the great care you give, leanne and karen!

very merry unbirthday

so we celebrated scott's 26th birthday this weekend. i asked him what he wanted to do for his special day thinking i would hear about a party with some cake and friends and family. instead i heard "how about a work party?" at first i thought he meant to invite people he works with (which would be interesting...) but i soon found out that he wanted to have everyone come over to work on our sprinklers and landscaping and be rewarded with pizza, breadsticks and gatorade. lovely. so our family, being the awesome and selfless people they are, came over bright and early saturday morning to help us dig trenches, lay pipe, and make our yard look immaculate. we did have some birthday-ish things like cake and ice cream. nephews kept asking where the pinata was... apparently i missed the memo. all in all, it was a very successful day with lots of hard work. thank you all for your help and kindness! we hope to have laid sod by this saturday and we promise to have a yard party when it's complete to reward you better. scott told me last night that this was the best birthday ever. what an easy to please stud. love him and wish him an even better year than the last!

red velvet cake for the birthday boy

fire hazard ;)

i'm horrible about taking pictures, so you guys just get fun cartoons/pictures from google. i'll probably be better once some kiddos arrive in our house.

random

some random thoughts for this monday.

1. i need a vacation. anywhere.

2. scott's birthday is this weekend and i need to find an awesome red velvet cake recipe stat.

3. this school business is getting a little old and i dunno if i can make it through a graduate program. there is a small part of me that hopes i don't get accepted so i can have a break.

4. the baby hungry monster has returned. looks like we need another dog.

5. as of october 9, we will have been married for two years. what am i doing on my anniversary, you ask? attending a chemotherapy conference in salt lake the whole weekend. boo.

6. i have yet to get dressed today. yippee pajamas!

7. it is so BEA-utiful outside and it makes me want pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

8. if i have time for a craft, i'm constructing one of these beauties:

happy monday!

pigfest

4 words. never-ending pasta bowl. i think that's 4, maybe 3. me and the hubs had a total pigfest at the olive garden tonight. we pretty much rolled each other out the door. i better stop this madness before people get the wrong idea :) let's just say i ate enough tonight to take me through tomorrow. good thing it's fast sunday!

top 3

today i:

1. discovered a new radio station that plays 80s all the time.

2. cleaned the whole house and dolled it up with good smells.

3. settled in with pizza and a movie with the hubs and the pups by my side.

i absolutely love days like today.

happy friday!

greek fever

so from my few exposures to the greek culture, if i'm born again can i be one? haha. today at work i took care of a greek gentleman that kept me on my toes. he was lovingly pushy but who can't love anything he says when it's accompanied by that awesome accent! their lives revolve around family and food. what's not to love? oh and this got me pumped to visit the greek food festival this september. if you haven't experienced it, you best be going...

have a great night and "put some windex on it!"

back in the saddle again.

back from our trip at the beach. for the record, if ever given a chance to move to seaside, oregon, i would snatch it up! this vacation was much needed for the great r&r opportunity. now we're home and trying to get back into a routine of some sort. i'm glad to have my little (well big really) cleo back. i swear every dog i saw on the trip tried to comfort me because i missed her so much. haha. scott went back to work today and i have a gigantic mound of laundry to do at some point. school starts next week so i guess if no routine starts this week, i'll for sure have one by then! oh and i have to check off my last summer to-do: lagoon!

favorites

today is a day of favorites. hair cut and color. cousin and good friend are getting married. leaving for a week long vacation. purely awesome. more updates on the trip later. i'll be relaxing in a beach house just a ways from seattle in the puget sound district. fresh seafood, cool temps, ferry rides, biking with the hubs, and having brunch at the space needle. so excited!

see you all in a week...

first quilt ever

i figured that since this is my blog, i can brag about whatever i want. here's the first quilt i've ever made and  i did it in 4 days! i'm officially addicted...

photo: angelika dannenbaum

change of plans

it's funny how in life you make decisions and feel so firm in them. then the rug gets pulled up from underneath you! after talking with some coworkers that have gone through similar experiences I have, I've decided that maybe pa school may not be the only option for me. i had been planning on continuing my education since the beginning of this year. i just didn't know what avenue to take. nurse practitioners are now required to achieve a doctorate level degree which i thought was a little much for me. however, after talking with these amazing women i work with, i'm convinced that np school might be better suited for me. i will apply for both programs but secretly hope that the np program wants me more :) for those of you still with me, thanks for listening to my ramblings. sometimes putting things into words provides more clarity and understanding. i also appreciate those people who have encouraged me to go for my dreams. your words of advice and confidence have helped in so many ways. to my wonderful hubs, scott for his love, patience, and support. couldn't do any of this without you.

news tidbits

i'm now on the float pool at ogden regional. after much deliberation from the higher ups, i finally made it. i'll now be hopping from unit to unit and being exposed to all kinds of crazy things. hopefully i'll be able to keep up with the fast pace of learning and just have a dang good time!

other good news. got a second job at the university hospital. it's a ways of a commute, but the compensation just can't be beat. i'll be floating there too from the patient floors to the clinics and the huntsman cancer institute. soooo excited!

lastly, i've been throwing around several big decisions lately about where me and scott's lives are going. after a lot of thinking, i've decided to apply to pa school at the university of utah. it's a full-time, year-round program for two and a half years. sounds pretty rigorous, but i know that if i don't continue my education i'll be kicking myself later. i'll find out this winter if i made it in. i could use lots of good vibes my way if you please...

now that the bombshell news tidbits have been dropped, enjoy the rest of your tuesday!

update

oh man, my blogging skills have seriously been lacking lately. so without further ado, the infamous update!

1. we celebrated my 22nd birthday on june 21. yes my birthday is the coolest and longest day of the year. summer solstice! unfortunately i spent it at the doctor's office after a work injury the day before. scott made up for it by making me cheesecake (from scratch, people) and taking me and the fam to taggarts. yum :)

2. we took the boat for the first time this year. the lake of choice is in glendale, just north of preston. we managed to fit the whole gang on the boat at the same time! that's 6 adults, 5 kids and a dog just so you can visualize. cleo even got in the water... for 3 seconds.

3. we finished our master bedroom. i would post a picture but it's pretty messy right now. maybe later the cleaning fairy will come. it's so nice to have at least one room completely finished so there is a sanctuary from shag carpet and 70s wallpaper.

4. my garden is in full bloom and i'm loving it! so many butterflies and purty colors... can't wait until all the shrubs are mature.

5. the fourth of july was pretty relaxing (due to the fact that i had worked the last three days straight). we had a blast at my aunt's house swimming in sojo. thanks bakers! later that night we headed to the usu extension garden to watch the hot rockin' 4th fireworks. this was the coolest fourth of july ever because utah legalized aerial fireworks! so awesome to drive at night and see them all going off.

tip-toe through the...

new carpet! so soft and yummy feeling...

update

i've lost 5 pounds since starting my healthy kick.

go me!

indian fry bread

1 cup milk
1 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
enough flour for a soft dough

mix dry ingredients, then add milk and oil. mix well. let dough sit at room temperature for an hour to tenderize the bread. flour hands and bread board. make dough balls with your hands and roll out with a rolling pin until flat. fry in hot oil until golden brown on each side.

we just had navajo tacos for dinner. we topped ours with chili, cheese, lettuce and ranch but anything is good on a hunk of fried dough. best part, you already have scones for dessert!

workout shenanigans!

don't know if i'm spelling that right, but...

this

+

this

=

much pain after a memorial day weekend!

wishing you all a smooth transition back into real life.

the end is near...

no, not the end of the world. it was pronounced by none other than the hubs himself that today would be the day that the bedroom would be finished. we shall see how that goes... i'm on painting duty today. "i gotta get me some better duties" (can't resist a nacho quote when i get the chance. heh heh.) and i guess if today really is the end of the world, at least i spent it with the person i love most.

tunes are back!

today i got my music back from over two years ago! they were stuck on my dead computer's hard-drive and listening to it all is bringing back so many awesome memories. happy transferring to i-tunes to me!

greatest wish...

is to go to disneyland before i have kids. putzin' around with scott on the rides and enjoying a tantrum-free vacation to the happiest place on earth sounds awesome. i however cannot convince scott to go. oh pooh.

jazzercise!

just kidding, i didn't jazzercise. but i am turning a new leaf over when it comes to diet and exercise. i've never really watched what i ate or even exercised much for that matter. nowadays, the old metabolism is slowing down and i'm noticing a little bit. so i am officially keeping track of what i eat and trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies in my diet. i'm also attending fitness classes at weber state at least three times a week. i've been to a strength and tone class yesterday (which kicked my butt by the way) and pilates this morning. man do i feel rejuvenated and sore! love it. since i have a goal in sight i think i'll do much better this time around. maybe i'll reward myself every 5 lbs or so. it's up to you blog readers to keep me accountable!

did anyone else wake up as a child and be upset this was on instead of cartoons? i did.

queen cleo

look how big she is now. seven months old... the couch is her throne and she loves wreaking havoc! love you cleo bug.

f is for friday

so i think that lowe's should erect a statue in me and scott's honor. we made our third trip there this week today and i think the workers think we just can't make up our minds. which is true. so there should be our sculptor commissioned statue in the front and the workers should salute us as we travel down the aisles. there should also be a "scott & meg special" where we alone could rack up a bunch of frequent flyer miles-ish stuff. yep that's how it should go. happy friday everyone!

uncommon goods

actual typewriter key

for my ipod :)

cover is plantable and turns into wildflowers!

okay so there would be a guy and a girl on mine... it's personalized.

scratch map for the travels

next DIY project

phone cord!

precious.

stumbled across this awesome website today. love, love, love it. thought i'd share some of my favorites. enjoy...

post-finals syndrome

without fail, the week after finals i get sick. funny enough this year, the week after finals came and went without any ailments leading me to think that i was home free! i was even mentioning this to scott last week about how i had broken the cycle. i think mother nature heard me bragging... i have officially succumbed to the post post-finals sickness as of today. wonder if this will be a recurring thing even after the days of school are long gone... as for now, the couch, my blanket, netflix and powerade are my best friends :)

bedroom remodeling

we have been hard at work since last saturday trying to fix up our bedroom.  so far we've pulled up old baseboards, fixed cracks, made new shelving for the closet, hung new trim, and primed the woodwork. there's still so much left to do but hopefully it will be done fast! here are some pictures for updates. wish i had a before picture...

nasty linoleum we found

new shoe shelves. yay!

more shelving in closet

pretty new color

getting closer...

today i'm registering for my last semester of classes! whoopee! summer is within reach.

i survived...

so i made it through this weekend. three 12 hour shifts in a row with an 11-page paper and a written exam right after the work marathon. the hubs was prepared with mountain dew and plenty of encouragement. what a great guy. and i'm pretty proud of myself too. today maybe i'll clean my house...