some bridal pictures

Do you ever?

Do you ever....

Walk/run in the leaves to hear them crunch?

Laugh because there is nothing to cry about?

Watch your favorite part of a movie over and over again?

Light a candle just to see the flame dance?

Wonder what bugs think about?

Go to bed early so the next day will come faster (or so it seems)?

Marvel space and how far it extends?

Love people because they smile at you?

Wear red because it makes you feel BOLD?

Get excited to walk barefoot?

....I do.

Let me share my run with you.

So today I went running and I enjoyed it so so so so much! I decided that I was just going to go slow and enjoy myself and my surroundings...and I did!!! The weather was beautiful for running. It was overcast and actually quite cold. I loved being able to bundle up in a couple layers of clothes and take on the streets. The smell of fall filled the air and made me smile while I ran. Although I loved the temperature, bundling and smells, I REALLY loved where I ran. Let me show you:

How I felt!

Heh, these made me laugh. I especially like this last one here. I think I'll use it the next time around. I love the mans espresso IV in the first picture. Not a bad idea???

Stress and no sleep? Not a good combo.

This week, I'm sorry to say, has kind of been a disaster. Let me tell you, I am SO SO SO SO glad that it is Friday which means I can finally RELAX! On Monday, today seemed like a century away. Let me walk you through my week.

MONDAY

The day started out when I got up at 7 to get ready for my class that was at 8:30 ( I tell you I hate these morning classes). I went to class and took a quiz--this is where the bad week started. I had studied for hours for this stupid 15 point quiz and I bombed it. Yep. So, there was the first wrong step. After class, it was pouring and I wanted to get to the other side of campus because I was going to drop a class (my history class that has been pure hell). I didn't want to get SOAKED in the rain, so I decided I would get the car and drive closer. Second wrong move. I drove around for 30 minutes looking for a parking spot and finally gave up and went home wishing I had taken the rainy route. I then came home and showered and got ready for the day, and then went back to school, found a parking spot and dropped my class. The whole process made me an hour late for work. I worked until 5. Afterwards, I had to run across the street to the hospital where I'm doing my clinical rotation to start on my clinical preps. Let me tell you how NOT excited I was for this. They usually take 10-12 hours to complete and I had to start at 5:30--they were due the next morning at 7. Why did I not start sooner you ask? Our patients get posted the day before our clinicals at 1 pm, but I was at work until 5 so I didn't have an option. SO...I was at the hospital until 10 that night JUST GATHERING THE INFORMATION I NEEDED. This means I still had to come home and put everything TOGETHER. I finally finished everything at 3:30 in the morning. What time did I have to get up on Tuesday? 5:30 am.

Tuesday and Wednesday

So I started Tuesday with two hours of sleep. I'm sure you can imagine what a happy/chipper person I was to deal with--poor Garrett. I got to the hospital by 6:45 am and started my day there. It was actually VERY interesting. I learned and saw a lot that day. I love when I see nasty stuff that totally grabs my attention (and by nasty I mean bloody or what other people would call "gross"). I saw some of that and.... I gave my first shot! It totally freaked me out. It went over OKAY I guess. I pulled a dumb move though when I stuck the poor man and realized that I had pulled the needle out before administering the medicine. Poor guy had to let me stick him again. He was really good about it though. I gave two more shots on Wednesday and those ones were PERFECT!! Anyways, clinicals were fine--besides the fact that my eyes were popping out of my head. I got home that day and had to finish my prep form and start studying for a mid-term on Thursday. I studied until about 1:30 that morning and went to bed to get up again at 5:30 am on Wednesday for clinicals again--4 hours of sleep. Clinicals were slow on Wednesday (and that is the absolute worst!!!), but like I said I got to give a couple of shots. That was about the most exciting thing of the day. I was supposed to go into work after that, but I called in sick because I was STRESSING about this mid-term that I had to take the next day... Tell me if you can explain this: We have 3 mid-terms in that class??? I don't understand. 3 mid-terms and a final??? BUT, that's not the point. The point is I had to study for mid-term #uno. So I went ahead and called in sick to work and came home to study. I got home and by this point I was so tired all I wanted to do was cry, but I wasn't even prepared at all for this test, and I was extremely worried that I would fail it. Garrett came over and gave me a blessing and I was really grateful for it. It helped me to calm down and actually focus. I studied until about 12:30 and then went to bed.

Thursday

By this point, I'm practically a zombie. I woke up at 6:00 am Thursday to get some extra studying in before the test--that gave me a whopping FIVE AND A HALF hours of sleep--the most I had gotten all week! I studied hard (although I admit I looked at a makeup site online for like 20 minutes) before I went to class. Before I went in to take my test I said a prayer asking that the questions would be simple in my mind--that I would not make them harder than they really were. I tell you--this works!!! Prayer works!!! I got in there to take my test with my pencil and my highlighter (to highlight all of the important info in the question) and I whizzed through that test. I left feeling pretty good--thinking that I got a B--and I was TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT!!! A couple hours later I found out that I got a 90% and that made all this stress worthwhile. But, like I said, I contribute most of it to Heavenly Father for helping me. Thursday is my long day so it's not over yet. I had gerontology after that until 12, and then at 1 I had my theory class until 4. FINALLY, at four I went home and C-R-A-S-H-E-D!!!! Well, sort of. Garrett woke me up at 7 and we watched a movie and just relaxed, but then I really crashed.

Friday

Today has been so so nice! I have been able to finally relax and I'm planning on being TOTALLY LAZY TONIGHT!!!

*Passion for Sweat*

It is time that I write about something that I absolutely LOVE...teaching indoor cycling classes. I've been an instructor for 18 months and it has been one of the greatest experiences. To me, there are few things better than sharing my love of working out with other people. I have been thinking a lot about what I do as a cycling instructor lately. We are training new cycling instructors at the moment, so I have a piggy-backer in my classes watching every move and trying hard to take everything in so that he will be ready to teach in a month. It's been really interesting for me to watch him and realize that I was that person not too long ago. I remember being so scared to get up in front of a group of people and put them through a work out. What songs would I use that day? What techniques? Is the music too loud? Uh oh...I don't know the answer to that question... Now, it is a breeze. Well, a breeze to teach, maybe not so much to go through the work out. That's another thing I love about it--I STILL GET A MAJOR WORK OUT. I think I sweat more than anyone. I'm usually the one with the puddle of sweat under my bike. It has just been interesting for me to see how much I have progressed and how much better of an instructor the experiences have made me. I love getting to know people. I love it when new participants come, and I can see the nervousness in their face because they have never done it before--and then I love seeing them leave with a changed face--a proud and determined one. They are proud because they came and made it through, and they are determined to come back and try it out again. That is probably one of the most rewarding things...to see how you have influenced someone--that they enjoyed your class and your workout that they want to come back again. So great!

BUT...probably one of the highlights for me is the music. I love turning the music up--it makes the class work harder. It makes us push and sweat and it gives energy. Music is one of the key motivators of the class. Here is my most recent cycling profile:

1) Indigo Girls: Hammer and Nail -- This is our warm up song.

2) KT Tunstall: Suddenly I See -- We work on coming in and out of the saddle and picking up cadence.

3) Coldplay: Don't Panic -- First small hill.

4) Vengaboys: Boom Boom Boom Boom -- Accelerations

5) Billy Joel: In the Middle of the Night -- Short steep hill climbs.

6) Skillet: The Older I Get -- Steep climb

7) Rodney Atkins: If You're Going Through Hell -- Downhill sprint

8) Death Cab For Cutie: Crooked Teeth -- Climb out of the saddle

9) Pussycat Dolls: Wait a Minute -- Jumps

10) UB40: Baby I Love Your Way -- Another climb

11) Del Amitri: Roll to Me --Another downhill sprint

12) Better Than Ezra: Juicy -- Last climb--HARD

13) Jimmy Eat World: Sweetness -- Paceline

14) Nickelback: Far Away -- Start cool down

15) Norah Jones: Sunrise -- Stretching

16) Lifehouse: Somewhere in Between -- Stretching

it's been a while

I know it has been a while since I last blogged. Life has been pretty crazy for me lately, and more so now that school has started up again. The biggest news in my life is that I am engaged. Garrett and I got engaged on August 13th while we were in Bear Lake with my family. It was a surprise to me--I had expected it to come after we got home. I was grateful he asked though--I was starting to get really impatient with him :). So...That is the biggest piece of news for me. We are thinking about getting married on December 14th at the moment. We will be getting married in the Salt Lake temple. I am really excited, but I'm also very nervous. I'm trying to figure out how to transition smoothly from just dating to being engaged to being married. It is kind of overwhelming. AND...the idea of marriage kind of freaks me out, but I know it is the right thing to do, so I know I have to go with it. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited and it is what I want completely, it is just overwhelming and kind of scary at times because it IS such a huge change. I'm really looking forward to it though. There couldn't be anyone better for me than Garrett. We have been best friends for 6 years and together for 5. I've been so grateful for him in my life--he has been there every step of the journey for quite some time.

Well, school has started up again. I'm so grateful to get back into school, but oh my goodness it is already SO stressful! I had a break down this week because I just felt like I couldn't handle the stress anymore. It had been a long day at school, and I didn't do as well on a test as I had expected. Also, in my history class I feel completely lost because I'm not a history buff--AT ALL. The professor talks to us as if we should already know everything he is talking about and I am TOTALLY lost. I was so frustrated. I got into the car to go home and called Garrett to see where he was. He said he was home but would come over in a few minutes. I started driving home and started crying. When I pulled up to the house, Garrett was there waiting for me. He had been there all along and wanted to surprise me. When I got out of the car, I hugged him and tried to keep my emotions in for a few minutes, but then I just started crying all over again. He was good about it and talked me through it. I guess I wonder sometimes about becoming a nurse. Am I really cut out for being a nurse? I know that everyone probably takes a second thought when it comes to their major--it's just that sometimes I don't feel like I have brains enough to actually go through with it. Of course I will continue--I really think that there isn't any thing else for me but nursing, but sometimes it is just so overwhelming. These last two weeks that school has been in, I feel like I haven't had time to BREATHE because I have so much reading/studying pressing on me. I just hope that as I get into the school routine, that things will (not get easier--I'm not expecting that at all) improve a little as I realize that all of these things we have to do are stretched out over 3 months. I hope so :).

My family went to Bear Lake this summer and it was really fun! The last family vacation we took was quite some time ago, and so it was nice to be able to spend some time with them. We don't get enough time together. SO... Here are some pictures of some of the events talked about in this blog:

Team Aprons

Why can't more men be like this?

When it comes to being a gentleman, Garrett seems almost annoyingly flawless. Here are some examples of how he is this way--from the obvious to the not so obvious...
1. He will ALWAYS get my door--WITHOUT FAIL! Even if I happen to get to the door before he does and start to open it, he will come up behind me and shut it only to re-open it for me.
2. He will always pull the chair out for me when I go to sit down before he himself sits down.
3. I make Garrett go running with me as frequently as possible. I love the company. I also love to run on the street--Garrett has made it clear that he is the one who should run on the outside and me on the inside because according to him, "If someone happens to get hit by a car, it better be him!" He does not let me run on the side closer to the cars.
4. He won't let me pay for ANYTHING. It drives me CRAZY! I just have to surprise him with things to say thank you--or get really mad. Either one works.
5. He is willing to get in a full on fist fight for anyone that says something negative about me.
6. I'm first with everything--out the doors, first bite of a meal we will share, first one in the car etc.
7. HE ACTUALLY MEANS WHAT HE SAYS!
8. He is quick to say sorry--sometimes to things that aren't even his fault (which really ticks me off--it usually ends in me getting upset that he is taking blame for things that are my fault).
9. We were at my work the other night before going to a concert in the tabernacle on Temple Square. We both needed to use the restroom and as we were walking to them, we passed one of my supervisors (who I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!!--he is a Hispanic man probably in his mid to late 30's) who was eating. After I came out, I was talking with him and H told me that when we walked by Garrett told him, "Wow, doesn't she look beautiful tonight!" I didn't believe him, and then asked Garrett later. It took a little fishing, but finally he admitted to telling H that. Cute.
10. He usually doesn't use his phone with me unless he has to.

**So here is the question? Why do I get so bugged that he seems so perfect? Is it because I feel that I can't match it? These past few days I have realized that I need to appreciate it more. As I have been thinking this, I have realized more and more how special he is. He is more respectful of me than anyone I know. But still...sometimes I get annoyed when I should just be grateful to have someone who cares for me enough to respect me the way he does. I swear...dating can be wonderful, but it can also be the pits!

Such a cute girl...

I have been able to watch one of my four beautiful nieces a couple of times this week. I have LOVED it. Since I have moved away, and my sisters have moved away from me, I look forward to any opportunity to play with my nieces and nephews. While school was in, I didn't see much of any of them because I was too busy to do anything but school. Now that it is out, I will be seeing much more of them I hope. June is delightful. She is saying words now like baby, ducky, doggy, dadda, hot, ball, hi etc. She has made me laugh so much. I thoroughly enjoy being with her. I have taken some pictures for you. Today I got her and found out that she had taken a fall yesterday, thus the scrapes on her face...

Favorite Pictures