cbleeflang

Sites of the island

2012-02-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

Volcano National Park

Waipi'o Valley lookout

Waipi'o black sand beach

Green Sand beach

Akaka Falls

La Kea-the southern most point of the USA

"Turtle magnet"- I used to call Bart a chick magnet but now I call him a turtle magnet. Every time we went walking, snorkeling or swimming...even boogie boarding, the turtles found Bart.

Thurston Lava Tube

Tomorrow is our last day. We'll see what it brings :)

Hawai'i, the Big Island

2012-01-30T01:28:00.001-07:00

We said good bye to Maui and boarded our 9 passenger plane. Have you ever been on a commercial flight with 9 passengers and the pilot? The girl at the front desk, check us in, took our bags, weighed us with our personal item, then she and the pilot loaded the luggage and she walked us out to the plane and assigned up our seats according to weight and then she closed the airplane door. On a side note it is rather depressing to get weighed on a scale at the airport...in front or your family, PREGNANT, with clothes and shoes on...and holding your large personal item/purse...after you've eaten breakfast. That was not a fun number and I'm not looking forward to getting "fluffier".

Flying over Maui

The main crop is still sugar cane

The 45 minute flight to the Big Island was great. We flew over Maui, saw the Molokini Crater, saw the other islands around Maui...Lanai and some other name, saw whales off the shore of the Big Island, and flew over the lava fields. It was great and I didn't even get motion sick. Speaking of motion sickness that is one of two down sides that I have found with being prego and travelling. I am much more prone to motion sickness. I vomited at the top of the Haleakala crater-I got out of the van and started to feel better but then walked passed the foul smelling outhouses and that put me over the edge-literally and figuratively. I also felt queezzy on our flight from SLC to Phoenix. The other downer of vacationing is NO hot tubing and I love sitting in the hot tub.

Molokini Crater-has great snorkeling and scuba diving with one of the smaller islands in the background.

We made it! Only a couple minutes of bumps and turbulence but a much noisier flight than a jet.

We read, napped, walked on the beach and....ATE, after landing in Kona. Bart found us an "all you can eat crab and prime rib" buffet. Can you guess how many crab legs Bart ate? Just Bart? 20, twenty, two zero. Yep that's my boy-I told him he can gain all the sympathy weight he wants to with this pregnancy.

Bart's crab

Aloha and mahalo to all those that left such nice comments about our "announcement"/Bart's goal making :)

The Art of Goal Making

2012-01-26T13:00:00.001-07:00

As I'm sitting here on this geologic equivalent of a ticking time bomb - and enjoying the false sense of "I've made it in life" - I would be remiss if I did not do a blog post. The topic I have been assigned to blog on today is goals. The blogopric asked that I keep my thoughts short and to the point, and since the youth blogger has already taken care of our blogging needs in the last couple of days, I feel inclined to shorten this even more.

Goals are something many of us make each year, and even more of us fail to fulfill each year. However, this new year, I learned a very valuable lesson from my wife. It is a new method of accomplishing goals. I have coined the term "canecessarily accomplishing your goals".

A couple of weeks ago, i was out of town for work. In the evening, as is our custom, I called to chat. Our conversation went well...... Well, that was until I learned of one of her new goals. Her goal was for me to update our finances. In case you could not tell, this necessarily requires me to do something in order for her to accomplish her goal. I must admit, the hardest part of the goal was convincing me to do it, so I must give her some credit.

Anyway, she thinks she had the upper hand by cleaverly manipulating me into accomplishing her goals (this was just one example), but in truth I am the one to have pioneered this method in our relationship several months prior.

It may not be common knowledge, but I have had a longstanding goal of procuring offspring and an heir/heiress. Little does she know, but my wife is "canecessarily accomplishing MY goal" this year.

So I Guess this ought to be considered our official announcement to those that may not know...... We are expecting our first baby around the end of June/beginning of July. We will find out if we are having a girl/ boy on February 15th. We are very excited.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Middle of the Mid-Pacific.....

Haleakala National Park

2012-01-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

We heard from numerous people that while on Maui we should go see the sunrise over the Haleakala crater and then bike down the mountain-so that's exactly what we did. We got picked up from our hotel at 2:50 AM from Bike It Maui and shuttled to the 10,000 foot elevation of the crater which is 7 miles across and 22 miles around. The stars were beautiful when we first arrived and we left with a lovely sunrise.

If you are wondering why I am wearing a beanie, 2 coats, 2 pears of pants and gloves it's because it was COLD. 30 degrees with a wind chill.

After the sunrise we shuttled out of the national park and started our bike trip. Big sturdy bikes, comfy seats, full helmets, and a 7000 foot decent over 28 miles. Lots of fun. I loved the wind in my face and the different smells-we went through a eucalyptus grove and then a street with lots of plumeria flowers.

This last photo is of a pineapple plantation that we stopped at. It was a fun day but I was pooped by 2:00PM. I'm lounging around the hotel tomorrow for sure :)

Maui

2012-01-24T23:19:00.003-07:00

We are staying in Kaanapali, in Maui. The resort is lovely, the beaches are nice but the water is too cold for my liking. I got in anyway and I'm glad I did because Bart and I ran into 2 sea turtles munching on moss. It was fun to float over them and see the other marine life.

Other than snorkeling, we have sat, read, ate, napped, swam, did some site seeing and watched whales out in front of our hotel. We are waking up at 2AM today so we can drive over to the volcano, watch the sun rise and then ride a bike back down the volcano. I'll let you know how it goes but I plan on napping on a beach chair tomorrow afternoon.

O'ahu

2012-01-23T23:04:00.001-07:00

Since Bart has never been to Pearl Harbor, I thought it was worthwhile to spend a little extra time and money to go over and see the USS Arizona Memorial.

Bart likes to read and watch movies about World War II and he truly appreciates the men and women who fought that war and those who are in the Armed Forces today. Bart's Leeflang grandparents were in the thick of the war over in Holland and Germany and my both my grandfathers were involved in WWII-one on a boat in Korea and the other doing engineering.

The movie that the Memorial plays is touching and shows actual footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

We also decided to go tour the USS Missouri-were the peace treaty with Japan was signed. It was fabulous. I've never been on a battleship and I loved it. I would highly recommend that you spend the extra $22 and 2-3 hours over at the USS Missouri.

It was a quick 24 hours but I'm glad we went. Next up Maui.
Aloha

Oops, kinda forgot to blog

2012-01-23T00:48:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas everyone...and hope you had a happy New Year. Oh yea, and belated happy birthday to me.

Since I got so far behind with blogging this last month, I decided I would just pick up with what's happening now.

Hooray for Hawaii.

Back to the kitchen

2011-12-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

It took Bart and I weeks to decided on a tile for the backsplash. Originally we were going to use the same tile from the floor but I just didn't like it. After we went through 50 different tile samples, we finally chose this little 3x6 subway tile from Daltile...but we ended up ordering it in from Home Depot for a better price.

I've always liked white subway tile but white just didn't compliment the granite and walnut cabinets, so I am glad that we found this tan/light brown/cream color. As always Bart is amazing. He started placing the back splash last night and he was able to get more than half way done.

Bart likes to work and he is driven by his own insanity! I tell him to stop working and sit with me...because laziness likes company but he never listens.

What do you think? Also should we tile up around the window above the sink?

Movie Review: Sarah's Key

2011-12-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

I thought that you may be sick of our house projects, so I decided to would recommend a movie we rented from Redbox over the weekend.

Sarah's Key is about a Jewish Family living in France during the Holocaust. Please, do not rent this movie if you are looking for a chick flick, a comedy, or something lighthearted....again this about the Holocaust. Bart and I both love history and Bart especially likes learning about WWII, This movie portrayed a part of the war that I was not familiar with.

The actors did a wonderful job and the movie was filmed on site in France. This a brief synopsis of the movie. "Julia Jarmond (KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS), an American journalist married to a Frenchman, is commissioned to write an article about the notorious Vel d’Hiv round up, which took place in Paris, in 1942. She stumbles upon a family secret which will link her forever to the destiny of a young Jewish girl, Sarah."

The stocking were hung...

2011-12-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

Well, the stocking aren't really hung yet because we have no place to hang them, but Bart is working on that. Bart is determined to have Christmas decorations, a tree and stockings for Christmas. Last year we didn't decorate at all because we were in the process of showing our house and getting it sold. We signed on Dec 22nd, right before Christmas, thus all our decorations have sat in boxes for 24 months.

In order to get a mantel to hang our stocking on we needed to first, demolish a yucky 2 foot cement bench that stuck out of the fireplace wall (2 feet off the ground).

Then we had to frame the wall in and get all the electrical in place.

Next we had to sand and stain the hardwood floors (which was as terrible and time consuming and as awful the first time we did it), paint the ceiling and get crown and base in.

What do you think of the dark walnut floors and revere pewter wall color?

Bart then had to build the mantel itself, and that required many trips to Home Depot and lots of spackle, primer and paint. (Don't mind the washers taped to the mantel...I thought I wanted to do nuts and bolts but decided against it)

The fun part was picking out a marble to go around the fireplace. We lucked out by loving the Grecian Marble that Home Depot carries.

One of the last things, was to spray paint and reuse the fireplace surround from the downstairs basement fireplace. Some day we would like to get a gas insert but right now it's not on the priority list.

After all that time and work we are officially one step closer to getting our stockings hung by the chimney with care...

Goodbye 1960's

2011-11-30T20:25:00.001-07:00

Do you remember this picture?

I want to draw your attention to the awful, geometric, 3 dimensional, 1960's, red and white trimmed window...found at the front of our house, right next to the front door. Bart and I have hated that thing since we moved in.

We decided to pull the window out, brick around the old window and install a new window-since we liked the light that it let into the entryway.

Since Bart wasn't feeling adventurous, we decided to hire a mason-his name was Gary and I would recommend him if you ever have any masonry work that needs to be done.

This was actually a fairly easy project, meaning that it didn't have any snags or set backs and came in under budget. Here again is a picture of the "before",

and now the AFTER!

One room is finished.

2011-11-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

From the ceilings to the floors, the casing, base moulding, trim work, and the new electrical plugs as well as the closet and blinds for the window. We have completely remodeled this room. The icing on the cake though, has to be the Antonina Vella Rimini wallpaper that my mom and I hung this last weekend. I love it! I think it completes that room and has added an extra bit of visual interest.

My mom brought down all of her wallpapering supplies...brushes, paste, glue, rollers-all sorts of things I didn't even know existed.

We measured and cut, pasted and pieced pieces together to try to get the best fit. We did such a good job and didn't mess anything up, that I still have plenty of wallpaper left.

I had a great time learning how to wallpaper and I like it so much I might try my luck at more wallpapering...if Bart will let me. :) This was well worth the $156.

Visitors

2011-11-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

We had visitors come see our house! By visitors, I mean that my parents, an aunt, uncle, cousin and Matt and Joanna were willing to drive 45 minutes from SLC to see our house.

My uncle Reid, aunt Cathy and cousin Christy were down in SLC for a couple day (they are from Kennewick, WA) and were willing to come see the house progress with my parents. The kitchen is coming along. Bart tiled the kitchen floor, put up the walnut veneer on the sides of the cabinets and got the laundry closet painted-which hopefully means that we won' need to move the washer and dryer again!!!! My uncle Reid is a plumber, so he a Bart looked over the plumbing and the new tub in the downstairs bathroom and then I went to the BYU bookstore and got a free dinner with my parents :) Thanks again M &D.

18x18 ceramic tile from Contempo called White Sail

Walnut veneer from Macbeard in SLC, sprayed with 4 coats of semigloss lacquer

The Laundry closet painted in Revere Pewter

We decided to hire out the drywall and mudding for the downstairs apartment. Bart truly hates mudding and neither of our back's can handle drywalling the ceiling, so this really has been the best money we have spent. It's great to see the basement being transformed.

The day after my family came down, Matt and Joanna (Bart's sister) stopped by. They were nice enough to let me show them the entire house-room by room. Matt and Joanna are in the process of remodeling their house in Sandy, so they know how we feel-the pain and the admiration. When Joanna was looking at the kitchen she turned and said, "Wow your kitchen looks even better than the pictures on your blog and the kitchen before looked even worse than the pictures showed". That was the nicest thing that she could have said!

Cutting granite

2011-10-29T10:08:00.000-06:00

Just call us garage fabricators!

Ever since we bought our kitchen, the granite cutting and installation has left us wondering what to do and IF we could do this. We got all of the granite from the kitchen but it came out in pieces and the granite for the cook top broke when they disassembled the kitchen.

We didn't really pay any extra for the granite-which made us feel better. But if Bart couldn't get the granite to work with the new layout and cutting it himself, then we would have to pay for new counter tops (and they wouldn't have been granite).

So, last Saturday Bart decided to tackle the granite cutting once and for all.

Incase you are wondering how to fabricate your own granite (the cheaper, non profesional way)
1. Get 3-4 strong men to move the granite pieces onto a platform of 2x4's and plywood.
2. Make a guide for cutting-we used a straight 2x4 and clamps.
3. Buy a DRY DIAMOND blade from Home Depot and get your circular saw ready.
4. Wear eye protection, gloves, a face mask and make sure you have good ventilation-aka a fan to blow out the dust.
5. Cut the granite slowly and with a steady hand. Note: there will be lots of sparking.
6. When you have made your cut, transfer the granite slab to your kitchen, and then cut the other granite pieces to fit.
7. Use liquid nails to attach the granite to the cabinets. Use fiberglass bondo to seam the granite together and make sure you level and then clamp everything in place.
8. Use clear knife grade epoxy to fill your seams.
9. Try to get your professional finished edges on the front where people will see them. Use clear finernail polish over the rough unfinished edges-I promise it works and looks better than I thought (see picture #5 above).

TADA!!!!!! We are one step closer to getting running water and having a kitchen again.

Top 2

2011-10-26T21:06:00.002-06:00

I am so glad that you guys like Revere Pewter because it is my favorite. It is warm and light, with the right amount of gray and brown. Our floors are going to be the dark walnut, with a white ceiling and bright white trim.

I also like Ozark Shadows because I wanted to try something bold and daring, totally out of my comfort zone. We have 12 feet of windows which let in plenty of light, so that's why I'm even debating the top two colors.

As you can see in the photos there is definitely a difference between the 2 paint options. I am planning on painting the entryway, office, living room and possible even the kitchen all in one of these colors.

More choices

2011-10-25T14:47:00.001-06:00

We have a few too many projects going on right now, but Bart is insistent that I choose a paint color for the upstairs so that he/we can start painting next week. Bart decided to use 5 days of his vacation time to stay home and work on the house. Even though I know he is superman, I still wonder how much he can really accomplish...

These are my top 6 colors. I painted samples all over the rooms, so I could see the paint in different light.

1. Wood Smoke-Glidden

2. Ozark shadow - Benjamin Moore

3. Harbor Gray- Benjamin Moore

4. Revere Pewter-Benjamin Moore

5. Dolphin Fin- Behr

6. Collingwood- Benjamin Moore

1. Wood Smoke-Glidden 4. Revere Pewter- Benjamin Moore
2. Ozark shadow - Benjamin Moore 5. Dolphin Fin- Behr

3. Harbor Gray- Benjamin Moore 6. Collingwood- Benjamin Moore

What do you think? Do you have a favorite gray that I should know about?

Fall drive

2011-10-24T09:21:00.000-06:00

We took a drive up the canyon to enjoy the fall scenery and it was a really lovely time.

Too bad autumn has to mean that it's going to get cold. I'm not opposed to snow-it's just the freezing temperatures that come with it.

Happy Haunting

2011-10-20T19:16:00.000-06:00

I must admit that since Bart and I have been married we have not been "into" Halloween. I only buy one bag of candy and as soon as it's gone, we turn the lights out and go to a movie. I assume that all of this will change once we have our own trick-or-treater but until then we like it status quo.
That doesn't mean we don't like a good Halloween party with costumes, games, and great food though.

Many thanks to the hostess Lizzabeth (only I can call her that) who made cute invitations, decorated her house and INVITED us.

My mom and I spent hours making our matching Mr. and Mrs. costumes. The only reason I had costumes was because of her and her expertise. Thanks MOM.

I think we are the best Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head that was ever made.

All of the party animals came in costume and we had lots of fun visiting, laughing, eating and taking pictures. I am embarrassed that I already forgot some names but I did...

Carlene and hubby as crayon and paper

Michael and Jennifer Fong

Meg and Abe Ford

Cassidy and Nate Hansen

Tim and wife

Britta and Christian Weiss

Thanks again to Liz for all the planning and coordinating that she did. If we get our house done by Christmas EVERYONE is invited to an ugly sweater contest/party.

Happy Halloween to us.

Sneak Peek

2011-10-17T08:36:00.002-06:00

I got my wallpaper and I really really like it. Now some of you maybe saying "Hey, that wasn't one of the wallpaper options" and you are correct. I had to veto all of my first choices. The imperial trellis was too expensive, the 3 trellis patterns only came in 20 inch wide rolls and my wall was 27 inches and the 2 Antonina Vella options would have needed to be trimmed and since I'm a novice that sounded too hard.

I am excited for my mom to come down and help me put up my wallpaper!

We need a facelift

2011-10-14T22:16:00.000-06:00

If you remember, I worked for plastic surgeon for a year. Thus, I should be considered an expert in the cosmetic/aesthetic department. With all my experience, I decided that our house needed a facelift. Sorry that I don't have anything else to post about besides the house- I forgot my camera for our trip to Hilton Head, and all we do is house projects...I guess I could blog about the fast food we've been eating this last year.

Bart pullout out all the overgrown phitzers when we first moved in and then we mulched and planted hostas and a Japanese maple.

Last week we decided to tackle the front door and nasty geometric window that terribly dates the house.

The window isn't complete yet but the new front door is great.

We will see what the rest of the weekend brings since it's only Friday night...I used to think the weekend was for dating and fun but Bart disagrees.

Kitchen's don't go in the garage

2011-10-12T21:53:00.001-06:00

When we moved into our house, we also moved in a new kitchen that I bought off KSL.com into the garage and there it has sat for over 6 months. We finally decided to put the kitchen on the top of the "To Do" list and here is a photo journal of the progress.

As you can see, we did some major gutting, wall moving and upgrading. We still have a lot more to do-get water, power, counters, flooring and paint, etc. but I think we have made progress.

Warning: This is a vanity post

2011-10-05T21:08:00.000-06:00

October 4, 2007

Happy four years to us. Four years isn't anything compared to my grandparent who just celebrated 66 years or my parent at 34 or my in-laws at 39, but hey I'll take what I've got.

I have a lot to learn from these two, I am so grateful that they are in my life.

Thank heavens for my mom who followed us around to all our photo shoots.

I loved planning my wedding, I loved how everything turned out and I have learned more about love in the last four years than I thought was possible. XOXOXOXO

Saturday is a special day...

2011-10-03T19:43:00.002-06:00

It's the day that Bart gets lots of work done day!

Welcome to my living room. This is a long narrow room with floor to ceiling windows that are drafty and not very energy efficient.

When my dad first saw the house, he suggested that we build a pony wall and install standard windows-so that's just what we did.

Bart bought three 4x4 windows from Home Depot and then started in on removing the old glass...and he didn't break one of them!

The windows were smaller than the opening, so Bart had to build out those red beams (pictured above) and build the wall under the new windows.

One window down...only 2 more to go.

Don't worry, someday we will replace that nasty, old, green, roof-not sure if it should even be called a roof.

Bart was even able to insulate and sheetrock the wall AND put up blinds. I love the blinds because now we can have the window open (to let airflow in, the room was soooo stagnate before) and not have the neighbors look in.

Bart is a busy boy and I am grateful that he will tackle these projects. Thanks for all the comments on the wallpaper. I think I have narrowed it down and I've learned a lot about wallpaper. I'll let you know how it turns out-when I actually get around to it.

Part of our vacation

2011-09-29T16:22:00.001-06:00

Since I have been busy making Halloween costumes, I haven't had a chance to blog about our vacation yet. But, my mom did a post on Charleston, SC- it has some great pictures and historical facts. Please check it out at www.neesnews.blogspot.com

To wallpaper, or not to wallpaper, that is the question.

2011-09-21T13:29:00.000-06:00

I need to first start off by asking my mother for forgiveness for all the mean comments I made to her about how out of style her ice cream cone pants (aka- skinny jeans), bug eye sunglasses and wallpaper were. I have eaten my words because I have decided to try my hand/luck at wallpaper. I must admit I am nervous though, thus I am only doing wallpaper in one room and only above the wainscot.
Right now the room is the "2nd bedroom" and it is being used as the computer room, Bart's closet and my elliptical room. Someday when we have a child it will be the nursery, so I need this wallpaper to be gender neutral in theme and color and hopefully not too trendy-I would hate to have the wallpaper go out of style before we even have kids.

This is what the room looks like, I gave you a picture before the wainscot was painted so you can see what level it is. I want the wallpaper above the wainscoting up to the ceiling. Remember that the floors are dark brown and the walls are white-a very neutral color palate.

Choices, choices, choices.

First up we have Imperial Trellis in charcoal, I left it running vertical like it is marketed.

2. Imperial Trellis in silver. I turned it horizontal because that way I would only need 2 rolls and I wouldn't have to piece any seams together...and these first 2 are pricey (don't tell Bart).

Next up, three different colors from Seabrook wallpaper in the same design.

3. Silver Lattice

4. Champagne Lattice

5. Tan Lattice. I again turned this wallpaper horizontal. I think it looks just fine-what about you? I should save a lot of time if I hang the wallpaper horizontal...and again it would be less expensive.

6. Antonina Vella in brown, turned horizontal.

This is the view from the hallway. I would like for the wallpaper to be noticeable and say, "Hey come look at me",-in a good way though.

7. Lastly Antonina Vella in tan, shown vertical, the way it's meant to be.

So what do you think? Please, please help me. If you have never commented, now is your time! Any comments or suggestions are wanted and needed.
THANKS.

Score!

2011-09-18T20:56:00.001-06:00

We scored a great deal on hardware the other week. Bart and I were headed to the lighting department at Lowe's and I noticed a large cart sitting in the aisle. Of course I stopped and looked...Bart kept walking (he is normally one track minded and doesn't like my detours). It turned out that Lowe's had just discounted their stock of last years knobs and pulls...I hit the hardware jackpot.

In total we bought 51 pieces of hardware for our 2 bathrooms, downstairs kitchen, upstairs bedrooms and I even got a knob for the hallway.

Our total for the hardware was $31 dollars!!! I figured that we saved over 220 dollars just by being in the right place at the right time. HOORAY.

This next week I hope to post about our fun trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina, as well as all the electrical work that Bart has been doing. Thanks for reading my little blog :)

ksl.com

2011-08-31T10:12:00.000-06:00

I love finding a bargain on ksl.com. Sometime I will tell you all about my kitchen that I bought on ksl.com, but probably not until we actually put the kitchen in.

Yep, I bought this entire kitchen off ksl. Love it

Yesterday Bart and I drove to Lindon to look at new french doors that I found on ksl. Bart has wanted to put a french door in the "piano room" since we first bought the house. Now the "piano room" doesn't have a piano in it...supposedly the previous owners use it for a piano-even though I thought it was a formal dining room.

The room is very small and comes off of the living room, but it has a nice window, so we decided that it will be our office/computer room...someday. Have I mentioned to you that the ENTIRE house is a construction zone? Bart just keeps telling me that one project leads to another-so we have lots of unfinished projects.

This is a close up view, compared to the picture above.

Since we found a great deal on these french doors, Bart decided to build the walls and put the door up last night (this way he can run the electrical in the new walls). I really like the look of french doors-my parent and in-laws have french doors-I think they are a classic.

The new wall went right between the window and door.

Hopefully this next month we will see more improvement in the house, instead of being stuck on plumbing like we were last week :)

Power tools

2011-08-21T12:42:00.000-06:00

Bart likes to use power tools. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks of new projects to do, just so he can go rent some tool from Home Depot.

This project had something do do with a drain, the water heater, the air conditioner and the sewer lateral. When I heard the word "sewer" I decided to stay upstairs and peruse pinterest. I had visions of the pipe bursting and spewing poop everywhere. Of course that didn't happen because Bart is an engineer but pinterest and blogs and facebook were still more fun. Thanks to Bart for working on the infrastructure of our house...definitely not as fun as decorating but much more necessary.

GRADUATION

2011-08-16T18:24:00.001-06:00

After 27 months and countless tests, clinical hours, assignments, books, history and physicals, and memories, I graduated from BYU's Family Nurse Practitioner program.

Thank you to Bartus for supporting me and helping me through out the entire process. Thanks to my parents, grandparents and little sister Cambria for coming down to the convocation ceremony.

I was asked to speak at graduation-which was an honor and slightly nerve racking. Lucky the talk was only 5 minutes. I decided that I would post it on the blog for those of you that may be interested in reading.

Graduation Speech

What a great and somewhat overwhelming opportunity to stand up here and try to represent all of you, and summarize the experiences we have had during our studies. I remember back to when I first started nursing school, after finishing my two years of prerequisites for the program, and having even being put on the waiting list to be accepted. I was so grateful to finally be in school, working toward that tangible goal of getting my bachelors degree in nursing. It was very fulfilling to be at a point when I was learning the things I had looked forward to for a long time. Although that was at a different time, place, and even school – I have similar feelings with the family nurse practitioner program here at BYU. It is, however, always daunting to begin any new program, any new topic, or any new phase of life. I regularly felt bogged down in the quagmire of seemingly endless information.

Thankfully, we are blessed with outstanding faculty and staff that know how to best navigate us to this significant destination – Graduation.

I believe whole-heartedly in the graduation theme “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

It is on this quote from Aristotle I would like to direct our attention. Not only have my own experiences taught this truth to me, but also the friends I have made through the course of graduate school. Provided our graduating group is only 13, I have come to know and appreciate each person for their particular strength. Our group is full of examples of excellence coming from repeated actions. These repeated actions have their root in years of training as nurses.

Few people I know have mastered their knowledge of, or are as dedicated to the study and treatment of diabetes as Callene. Similarly, Joan has become an expert on care and treatment of cancer patients. And Bob literally knows the ins and outs of Gastro-Interology better than any of us. Steven, who was able to teach even me ACLS, has shown his true expertise in emergency medicine and teaching.

My husband told me about a book he recently read (because I was too busy to reading Patho) called “Outliers”. Written by Malcom Gladwell, the book concludes the extent of an individual’s success may be correlated to the 10,000 hour rule. To paraphrase the rule, it states something to the effect that success in any field is, in part, a function of the individual practicing a specific task for at least 10,000 hours. While few of us have achieved 10,000 hours working at a single task, I know several that have. Ryan has worked over 19,000 hours in acute emergency care, and has achieved mastery of the repeated tasks that relatively few do. Similarly Virginia, has worked in the ER for over 15 years, and has reached the 10,000 hour threshold of mastery…she has also mastered driving up and down Provo canyon. Also, I’m certain Todd has biked 10,000 hours – seeing as he rode to school every day rain or shine, and in any free time-he also managed to bring the class orange rolls in his backpack.

According to Gladwell’s theory, all of us graduating today, assuming we continue practicing as health care professionals, will likely achieve success in our new professions through repetition, and creation of positive habits. And positive habits, according to Aristotle, leads to excellence – our ultimate goal.

I would be remiss to discuss excellence and success through devotion of our time and resources, without

It is challenging, to say the least, for an individual to fulfill their potential without support and sacrifice on the part of loved ones. 10,000 hours is a lot of time – time away from spouses, children, and other family members and friends – to reach excellence.

After years of study, we have become sensitive to the knowledge that there is still so much we do not know. It is crucial that we continue to strive for increased learning and understanding.

Thus being said, we look to the future. We have a lot of hours ahead of us to reach our full potential. There will be even more personal and family sacrifice. The learning cannot stop. Good habits will have to continue, evolve and change. We have only just begun to learn the Healer’s Art.paying special tribute to the sacrifice and love of our families and friends. I’m aware of many sacrifices made by those in my group. In particular, Scott left his wife, at 8 months pregnant and young son to go to Ecuador to teach the nursing undergraduates. Likewise Nate, left his house, job and extended family in Cedar City to move his young family to Salt Lake. Carol, is on the other end of family life-her grown children, spouses and grandchildren didn’t get to see her as much as they would have had she not gone to the FNP

I also wanted to post pictures of my friends from the FNP program. I didn't get pictures of many people from my undergraduate program and now I can only remember 10 people so I made it a priority to get as many pictures as possible.

Joan Collet and Nate Littlefield

Callene Bobo, Craig Nuttal, Scott Summers

Bob Ralston, Nate, Joan and Ryan Rasmussen

Virginia Giles

Liz Daniels Gardner

Carol Loucks

I have also decided to take a full-time job, down in Provo at a pediatric office. Wish me luck.

The Help

2011-08-11T19:36:00.000-06:00

Nope, I'm not blogging about the book or movie "The Help", I am talking about the the 2 guys that came down and helped us with the basement. My dad and Kaile (Cambria's husband) came down and worked with Bart all day!

My dad worked on installing the new, nice, fancy carpet squares in the bedrooms.

From yucky, smelly, carmel colored carpet

To new, nice smelling, light colored carpet tiles

Kaile worked on demolition of the bathroom and the mammoth, blue steel bathtub

From old, blue 1950's tile and tub

Down to the bare studs. We are gutting this bathroom.

Bart worked on framing the new bedroom, kitchen and laundry room. Hopefully any future renters will appreciate having 3 bedrooms and their own laundry.

The kitchen had CARPET-gross.

Not only does Bart have to frame new walls but he also has to frame the foundation wall since it was never framed in.

Thank you both so much for coming down and helping us and many thanks to Bart who works hard day in and day out.

Random

2011-08-05T10:43:00.001-06:00

1. I am up in SLC for the weekend. Cambria, Kaile and baby Brecken are here visiting. We are going to have fun going to the parade of homes, eating, and celebrating Bria and Brecken's birthdays.

2. Bart has managed to demolish the basement.

3. Lastly, I saw this quote on facebook and it made me laugh, so I thought I would leave you with it.

"Women are angels. And when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly...........on a broomstick. We're flexible like that."

The Pole

2011-07-30T22:14:00.001-06:00

When we bought our house, we also got an old HAM radio pole (all of the other equipment had been sold before we moved in).

It was a very tall, very old, very gray pole that stuck out from the roof...and I thought it was ugly. Luckily we were able to have it removed fairly easily... with the help of a CRANE.

Wa La

No more pole.

Barn Doors part 2

2011-07-26T19:33:00.000-06:00

I spent the weekend painting and after all that painting, my right hand had a permanent CRAMP-it hurt for 2 days. But look at my lovely barn doors for my closet.

I ended up painting them white because I was afraid. Afraid to paint them red or black or stain them brown because I didn't want the room to look smaller or feel like a dark hole -just call me fraidy cat.

Since Monday was the 24th of July, I didn't have to go to clinicals. I couldn't make myself paint ANYMORE so I read a book.

It was wonderful, easy to read and it made me laugh! I would recommend this if you are looking for a real life romance novel.

The Hall

2011-07-20T18:51:00.000-06:00

Can a Hallway be pretty and calming...I think so! I wish I had a before picture of the hall but I don't, so just know that it was dark and dingy and blah.

The stain is the dark walnut like the rest of the floor, the wainscoting is a satin paint in white and the upper wall is classic gray by Benjamin Moore (same as the master).

I chose this track light from Ikea because someday I am going to have a picture collage running down the entire hallway.

The wainscot only took Bart an hour to put up...but then it took me 2 hours to prime and paint. Next time I will prime and paint before it goes on the wall.

Barn Doors

2011-07-16T20:29:00.001-06:00

Over the last couple weeks Bart and I have been trying to finish up the master bedroom. We've finished painting the ceiling and walls, put up case and base and refinished the floors. Bart put up a new ceiling fan and moved the bed in, so the last projects to that need completing are the crown moulding, closets and then all then all the spackling and touch up paint on the trim. Have I told you that I HATE touch up?

The closets before were basic, old sliding doors with cabinets that were too high for me to reach.

So we tore out the old doors and then the cabinets and then we were at a loss for what to do. Since we took out the cabinets that left us with an 8 foot opening...not a standard closet height or width.

Then came my inspiration (Bart was very skeptical). I wanted to create barn closet doors with some old shelving that Bart had pulled out of the furnace room and was going to take to the dump.

With a little of Bart's magic, those nasty old shelves turned into beautiful barn doors for my closets. The hardware we bought from Home Depot for $5.97 a hinge and we did have to buy a couple extra pieces of wood.

Now my only dilemma is should I paint them white or leave them rustic. What do you think?

Painting the bedrooms

2011-07-11T20:27:00.001-06:00

Bart feels like he has two full time jobs-being an engineer from 6-2:30 and home renovator from 3-9:30. So when I can, I jump in and help...but that usually means PAINTING. Now I don't paint like Bart does or like they do on HGTV. I was taught to paint by my parents (who still use oil) and that means prepping your walls and ceilings takes 90% of the time. I like my walls to be soft and smooth which requires feeling your walls and then sanding and spackling and sanding some more and then damp wiping and then sanding and spackling some more...because you've missed spots. I don't understand how people can paint in regular clothes!

There are a few tools that I LOVE to use when prepping and painting a room. The first is a mouse sander. It does the sanding for you...all you have to do is move it around your walls. It even can get into the hard to reach area.

The next is THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER. Introducing the shur line tool. Only $4 from Home Depot. This has revolutionize the "cutting in process. This tool is quick, easy, and it gave me a great line in between my ceiling and wall...much, much, much better than cutting in by hand.

I always worry about choosing a paint color-I am hoping that you too have been indecisive about paint before. Once I finally decide on a general color, I "HO" and "HA" over what shade and if it will be too dark or too light and how on earth I am supposed to choose from such a little paint sample. Well I finally decided on a Benjamin Moore color called Classic Gray for the master and boring white for the 2nd bedroom (I want to try wallpaper in there). By the way, have I told you that my favorite color is gray? I think I am going to paint the entire house shades of gray.

After many hours of painting 2 coats on the ceiling and 2 coats of paint in each room, our rooms went from this

and this

TO this

Master

AND

2nd room

Bart also put up the baseboard in both bedrooms, so they look much better. We still have all the spackling and touch up painting to do from putting up case, base and crown but it is coming along nicely.

THIRTY, 30, three-zero

2011-07-05T21:55:00.000-06:00

"Bart had a birthday shout HOORAY, we want to sing to him today, one year older and wiser too, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you".

I bet you can't guess what Bart wanted to do for his birthday...

I decided a couple weeks ago I wanted to highlight Bart on his 30th birthday (I didn't tell him because he wouldn't want me too...plus it will take him a couple days to even realize that I posted this) with 30 things we like about him. I want to thank all the family and friends that helped me compile this list.

We like Bart because

Of his love for the outdoors and adventure

He is a loyal friend

Of his focus to projects, regardless of scope or type

He is diligent

Hard working

Sensitive to others

I love to work with him side by side – we think alike and work alike

He's lots of fun to "dream" with (he has great ideas)

Tons of self-discipline

He has energy and gets things done

He's athletic

Good looking

Bart is optimistic

A builder

Fun

A great water-skier
He makes me laugh
Is tender heart

He is hardworking/dedicated

A "jack of all trades"

He has awesome gun shooting skills

Is always nice

Bart is the only person I know who could eat 12 hot dogs in one sitting and win the gallon of milk challenge
An NPR follower
Helpful
He is a great friend... a lifelong friend
He sews
He loves tools

Bart's mix of imagination and realism
He gets so much done
I like that he's a good swimmer, it helps motivate me when I swim
He will talk to me even when he's busy

Thanks for being an all around great guy! Loves

Brecken

2011-06-30T17:06:00.000-06:00

I have the cutest nephew! He came down to visit me (and grammy) this last week. For those of you that don't know, Brecken is my little sister Cambria's baby. I think he is a darling little boy...he will turn one in August.

Utah Valley Parade of Homes

2011-06-27T21:44:00.002-06:00

I love going to the Parade of Homes. The tradition started many years ago with my grandpa- he is one of the few people that opens every single door, talks to all the builders and loves going into the furnace room. Usually I do the Salt Lake and St. George parade of homes but since we moved down to Provo, I thought it was fitting. This is what I (the commoner, non-designer) learned.

Number 1-Rugs are a necessity...even if you have carpet

Number 2-Wallpaper is again in vogue

Number 3- Have fun with your ceilings

Number 4- Be creative

This is made out of penny tiles and is in a SHOWER!

Clouds made out of batting and glass rain drops

This is a functioning kitchen

Number 5- An indoor/outdoor pool is the best way to go for our Utah climate

Number 6- Wainscoting is classic and timeless

Number 7- Your lights can be decorations

Number 8- The more seating the merrier

My fellow parade critique-thanks mom!

Number 9- Gray is awesome in the bedroom

Number 10- Bunk beds can look stylish

Operation case and base

2011-06-20T18:16:00.000-06:00

Yep, we did surgery this weekend on our doors, casing, baseboard and crown moulding. If you will take note of the lovely garbage bag on my head I learned the hard way that long hair and paint spray don't mix well-Bart called me a grandma after our first coat.

This is our "door factory" that we set up downstairs in our basement. I thought is was ingenious of Bart to stand the doors up so we could spray both sides at once. On a side note, I think I'm in love with the spray gun. Setting up the spray gun we easy enough and spraying the doors and moulding was SO FAST-we had to sit around and wait for the paint to dry. The clean up was the worst part but that wasn't even THAT bad.

We decided to go with white doors and moulding to help the house look lighter and brighter. 18 doors down, now we need the hardware to hang them and then we can get the new doorknobs on...and then we can have a door back on the bathroom :)

We went to our favorite store Home Depot and loaded up as much case, base and crown as we could and then drove slowly home. By this time we were finished with our door factory so we took them down and laid out our case, base and crown moulding. Then POOF the trim was painted.

I learned this weekend that a paint gun is the way to go. I also learned that your prep (sanding, wiping, sanding, and mopping) work makes your trim and doors look even better and that you need to open the windows and doors or you will get a headache from the fumes.

Dark Walnut was the winner

2011-06-17T09:26:00.000-06:00

As the title implies, 55% of you liked the dark walnut stain-beating out the special walnut which received 44%. I love the dark walnut so that is the color I decided to stain our floors. Now, I have never tried to refinish hardwood floors before and let me tell you it took a lot of time, left my knee's skinned and was a mess. When I have enough money I will hire someone else to do my floors :)

How to: First you need to rent a sander and get all the supplies for the sander, then ask your dad to do it for you :)---$150

Second: After you are finished sanding you need to vacuum the floors, then damp mop the floors and then use tack cloth to get ANY dust, debris or dirt off the newly sanded floors---$10

Third: You are ready for stain. Buy your stain (Home Depot didn't have a gallon of dark walnut-only quarts BUT Lowe's had gallons.) Mine was oil-based so then I needed to buy lacquer thinner. You also need to buy the lambs wool applicator pads and a pole. PLEASE NOTE- if you ever do this WEAR GLOVES! You then need to apply the stain, let it sit for 5-15 minutes and then wipe the excess stain off the floors. Buy lots of rags or cut up lots of old shirts-I learned the hard way.---$84

Next: Let the floors dry...and you can't walk on them or you will get toe prints! Reapply the stain if the floors aren't dark enough. Note-It literally took 3 days for our 2nd coat to dry.

Fifth: After your floors are dry and not sticky anywhere, you need to apply your polyurethane. Remember to use an oil-based top coat if you are using oil-based stain and water based for water based. Applying the polyurethane was faster and easier than staining. But, yet again you must do at least 2 coats of polyurethane to protect your floors.---$105

Last: Enjoy your new floors for one day...until you cover them with builders paper to start the painting process.

As far as the cost goes, I bought enough supplies for roughly 600 sq. feet of flooring ( 2 bedrooms, the hallway and the front entryway) with 2 or 3 coats of everything and I have some leftover for the office and the family room.

Come PIN with me.

2011-06-12T00:06:00.001-06:00

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's wonderful, amazing, terrific, exciting and yet another great way to spend time on the internet. Did you notice how I didn't say WASTE time on the internet? Pinterest is an online catalog that will allow you to organize and keep all your inspirational pictures for the home, ideas, recipes, fashion or DIY's in one nice place....not cluttered all around your desk, or table, or floor. Gone are the days of ripping pages out of magazines! For the last year I have had a hard time remembering what blog or site I wanted to remember certain things from-but not anymore.

I would highly recommend that you get a Pinterest account. It is free and I can send you and invite ASAP so that we can start pinning together. HOORAY. Or you could also request an account from pinterest.com-just note that it will take around 7 days for them to email you with an activated account. SO just leave me a comment and make sure I have your email address.

I found a great pinterest tutorial from Beth over at Home Stories A2Z. The tutorial takes less than 5 minutes and it will help you navigate around the site- instead of muddle through everything like I have for the last month. Click Here

Come on what are you waiting for.?. Christmas has come early :)

We already needed a break.

2011-06-07T21:09:00.000-06:00

Just as the title implies, Bart and I already needed a break from the house, so we went down to southern Utah for 3 days. My best-est cousin Liz invited us to their cabin with some friend from their neighborhood. Now don't get me wrong I love all my cousins and have a great time at family functions but Liz and I are only 3 months apart. Growing up, I thought that going down to her house in St. George and swimming and playing dress-ups was the greatest vacation in the world! Liz and I have shared many memories together including our semester in Nauvoo in 2003. FYI- Liz has actually know Bartus for almost as long as I have-12 years.

Back to the cabin.

We had a wonderful time riding 4 wheelers, paint-balling, picnicking in the meadow, shooting guns, playing games and sleeping in.

Once Bart taught me how to actually AIM the gun I was a pretty good shot. I was even privileged enough to shoot Bart's Sig Sauer-all 6 bullets hit the target (mine are the bottom 6)-I took the picture for proof :)

We ate way too much food and had a run in with 20 horses grazing on the property. The horses must have seen us out on our picnic and decided that humans = food, so they trotted over...but they really scared some of the kiddos.

I am so glad that Liz planned such a fun weekend (even though she was diagnosed with pneumonia 3 days earlier) and that we were able to enjoy lovely weather, great company and beautiful Grass Valley.

Get out of jail

2011-06-01T22:08:00.000-06:00

When we bought the house the front entryway looked like this.

It reminds me of jail bars. I have now referred to the entry way as a jail and the basement a dungeon-HMMM. Over the long Memorial Day weekend, one of our many projects was to remove the jail bars and the planter that held it up. Really, the bottom was a built in planter box for plants-fake plants I assume.

I think the entryway already feels better and looks bigger. We have begun working on other projects- like creating a sound barrier in the ceiling and sanding the floors. More posts to come. Thank you for your comments and taking time to do the stain poll :) I'm glad that no one likes jacobean.

Help me choose

2011-05-28T21:43:00.000-06:00

I added a poll because I would like your opinion on which color you like best for the hardwood floors upstairs. You have three options-any help would be greatly appreciated.

Left is Jacobean, middle Special Walnut and right is Dark Walnut.

Jacobean: dark with a black tone

Special Walnut: the lightest

Dark Walnut; darker with a warm chocolate tone

Out with the old

2011-05-27T22:09:00.000-06:00

The first area of the house Bart and I are focusing on is the basement. Why the basement you ask? Because there is an apartment that we want to make into a LEGAL basement apartment that we can rent. Now that we have the permit, Bart has jumped in with both feet and is ready to go. We don't want the basement to feel like a neglacted old dungeon- which is exactly what it feels and smells like currently.

Can you believe the taped windows? and yes we knowingly bought it this way...

The basement has 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and an office.

The first thing we are doing is adding some natural light by cutting out the small windows and replacing them with much much larger windows. Natural light is wonderful! We hired Omar from ksl.com to cut out the windows because he was the least expensive and would do it on a Saturday, but before we could have the windows cut Bart had to DIG DIG DIG.

Bart also had this delivered because he needed to fill the window wells with something...

he only had 11 tons of gravel delivered. Geeze, I'm not sure if we will have enough :)

After cutting out the windows, Bart has demolished the old bedrooms. We plan to redo the ceiling (to make it soundproof), frame the bedrooms (currently it's just foundation wall), add insulation, change the duct work, run new electrical wires and boxes, drywall and of course new pain and carpet. I finally will come in on the paint and carpet part.

LET THERE BE LIGHT!!!

This is the house that Bart will rebuild

2011-05-19T22:00:00.002-06:00

Do any of you remember the children's book/nursery rhyme, This is the House that Jack Built? Well I have decided that the theme for our new house will be "this is the house that Bart rebuilt". I think it's kind of catchy :)

This picture is of the house before Bart (BB). We think the house has "good bones" and a lot of potential. We love that it is a brick rambler with a 2 car garage on the main floor. Hopefully you will enjoy our house projects with us these next years.

By the way, the house is in Provo, we decided to stay here so Bart won't have to commute again. We would love for you to come visit and help us plan our renovations but we don't have any seating yet.

Guess What...

2011-05-13T16:11:00.002-06:00

We BOUGHT a house! That is why I haven't be able to blog...we don't have the internet set up, or television and for a couple days we didn't have water or heat. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

I am now in my last semester of school. I am doing my rotations in a variety of places like a family practice office, women's health, gastroenterology, dermatology and pediatrics. I am very busy so it's a good thing Bart has hundreds of new house projects.

Roller Coaster

2011-04-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

This last week has been one of ups and downs and then some more ups and ....more downs. I will be glad when these next couple days are over.

I need a book to read

2011-04-07T14:30:00.000-06:00

I am once again asking for suggestions on good books to read. I know that I could go to the library or look on goodreads.com but you gave great suggestions the last time!!!

Rent this movie!

2011-03-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

I would recommend that you go to your local Redbox or use Netflix and get Temple Grandin. It is a fabulous movie about an autistic girl who grew up in the 1960's. Claire Danes stars as Temple and Julia Ormond as her mother. I enjoyed this movie because it helped me understand a little better how people with autism think and function. It was worth watching.

If any of you have already watched this movie, what did you think?

A new blog

2011-02-24T16:46:00.001-07:00

My mom, Renee, just started her own blog. She has been perusing blogs since cousin Kelli started her blog a couple years ago. She enjoys looking at pictures and reading about what everyone is doing. If you are interested in looking at her blog go to http://www.neesnews.blogspot.com/ or if you are one of the private bloggers (ie-Liz, Miranda, Joanna, Shannon, Marie, etc) she would love to be invited-that wasn't very subtle, was it.?. I'm not sure what email she is using but you could leave her a comment.

"Well, yes we could read you blog...or you could just TELL us about your school day"

By the way, thank you for your comments on the bathroom. Even though 7 comments is dismal compared to "real" bloggers, I appreciate it and it makes me happy.

A new throne room

2011-02-20T22:30:00.002-07:00

Bart can't keep his hands off of his tools, and that means demolition and remodeling projects. He undertook our bathroom in our studio apartment in Provo and I love what he can do in a week. We kept the layout of everything the same but we tiled, painted, added a new ceiling with can lights, carved out some much needed storage and added bead board.

Old Bathroom

Remodelled bathroom with new vanity, paint and tile.

Exposed beams, old red paint

New can light, so I can see while shaving, tile to make the shower look pretty.

Old floor, with a few problems :)

New floor and a new toilet seat that isn't saggy and plastic.

This real carrara marble vanity top and back splash was my best and favorite find on KSL.com

WalSmart

2011-02-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

The other day Canessa left a shopping list for me. My instructruction were to go to the store and buy the things on the list - very concise and to the point. Naturally I drove to WalMart to purchase the necessary items. Since I'm a snobby non-WalMart, WalMart shopper, I began my shopping excursion feeling somewhat aloof of those around me. I sometimes like to watch the intersting people that are there, though I don't feel as though I am one of them.

Much to my chagrine, I soon found that instead of me watching everyone else, people began watching me. Due to my lack of a plan (and a pen) I found myself walking from one end of the store to the other, over, and over again. Apparently like things are not always located in "like" places. I also learned that:

-There is fat free cheese, but it only occupies about 4 square inches of surface area.
-Just because something looks like it is gone, it doesn't hurt to bend over and look in the very back.
-WalMart employees don't know what Capers are.
-WalMart employees don't know what pancetta is.
-WalMart employees should not be asked for help.
-There are items placed on the top shelf and may not have a Great Value brand duplicate on a shelf below it.
-Men are not built for shopping.

-The latin lady with her daughters barking like dogs and chasing each other through the isles is better off than I am because she came and went in less than an eighth of the time that I was there looking for everything on my list.

After three hours walking up and down every isle at least four times I was finally on my way, horray! Sadly - and I know nobody else has ever done this - just as I was pulling into the driveway, I realized I had forgotten apples and RAT food.

I may have used choice verbage at that moment - to go along with some choice verbage used in the store.

I am not WalSmart

Books

2011-01-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a lot lately. My teachers are throwing so much information at my class that I am swimming in books, journals, research articles and of course the "reputable" internet sites. I am overwhelmed by all the reading and studying I am doing...EKG's, asthma, chest x-rays, heart and lung anatomy, medications, lung cancer, ALCS/PALS, COPD, ILD and a whole bunch of other acronyms that I won't bore you with. What I really wanted to blog about was that fact when my brain is overloaded with school/technical things it still has room for fictional novels.

Lately when I need a brake, I'll read an easy children's novels that requires no brain power and can be read in a matter of hours (it usually takes me a couple days of on and off). I love being transported into another world. I am grateful that I can read and I am grateful for authors who can write and are creative (because all my creative juices are dried up). The two books I've read in January are both by Shannon Hales, the first was Princess Academy and the last was Book of 1000 Days. I would recommend either of them for easy reading and a fun fairytale.

I like reading because you don't have to worry about commercials interrupting :)

4 letters

2010-12-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, we sold our house! After multiple offers and 1 failed contract, we were lucky (blessed) to sell our house in the "wrong" time of year and in a "bad" market. We are very appreciative of all our family members letting us use their furniture, duvet covers and artwork to stage the house. We are grateful for the MLS and the family that bought the house.

Our first house has now come and gone. We learned alot about eachother and being "grown-ups" in that house, as well as house projects. Bart touched every single wall, floor, ceiling and inch of dirt in the yard, not to mention the roof and driveway. I'll never forget the image of Bart pulling rock boulders across the grass on a "sled" with Shaun. Poor Shaun, he got drug into many house projects because he's young, single, and can't say no, it's suprising he is still our friend :)

We are currently living at Bart's parents, my parents and getting our apartment in Provo ready. We hope to be in Provo for the next 2 semesters while I finish my FNP program and then we will see where life takes us. Hooray!

AMAZING RACE

2010-12-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know me, I LOVE, love, LOVE, Love, LOOOOVE the Amazing Race. I think it is the greatest show ever to be seen on television. The show is captivating-it makes me happy, sad, angry, nervous (nervous enough to bite my nails) and excited. Thus far I have never cried over the Amazing Race though. The Amazing Race is a reality show, where you watch 11 teams of 2, race around the world, doing different challenges. Each week the last team is eliminated until only 3 teams are left to race against each other at the finale for the grand prize of 1,000,000 dollars.

Last night, after 17 "seasons" an all girl team won the million dollars-Nat & Kat, both anesthesiologists. I personally wanted the second place team Brooke and Claire to win because they had more spunk and personality but I am glad the doctors won anyways.

There is a new Amazing Race starting February 20, 2011 titled "Unfinished Business" meaning they are having previous contestants (who didn't win) come back and race again. My favorites to win are the cowboys. They are funny and kind, plus they say stuff like a "deetur" instead of detour and "oh my gravy".

I started watching Amazing Race in 2004, when season 5 was airing and since then I have been obsessed. Every Sunday night I watch Amazing Race with my family...or sometimes without them, either way I am eagerly sitting on the couch waiting for the next episode. I would love to be a contestant/team on Amazing Race because I think that Bart can do anything and I like to travel. BUT the jet lag would definitely catch up with me and I might turn into one of the mean contestants that no one likes...lack of sleep and food does that to me. Wouldn't it be terrible to be the first team to be eliminated? After you've made it through the application process just to get eliminated the next day...

My all time Amazing Race favorites are the Beauty Queens. Miss California and Miss New York, who met at Miss America. They Came in 4th place for Season 10 and then 2nd place the All Star season 11. I love them because they are strong team, all girl, talented and worked well together.

Am I crazy to like a TV show so much.?. Does anyone else love the Amazing Race and if not what shows do you like?

Terrible idea

2010-12-05T21:55:00.001-07:00

I wanted to be festive and cute but it backfired and now I am grumpy. Most people have a cute holiday background for their blog, so I tried to do the same thing. I found a background (not the one that is on the blog now) and I copied and pasted and read the directions. Everything was fine until I wanted to change my font color to match...(shouldn't be hard I've done it before). My layout tab that is supposed to be somewhere on this blog is GONE. It's not by the design tab or the setting tab. I even clicked on the "help" button and read all the instructions. So now I can't change my font colors from red, black and blue which means that I have to find a background with those colors. BLAH. I want new colors, what's the point of changing the background if you can't change colors? If anyone knows how to fix my problem, please, please, please let me know. How bothersome.

GANDOLFO'S

2010-11-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite place to eat! I hope that each of you have a Gandolfo's near by because the sandwiches are delicious, huge-which means you can share and save money, and much better than ordinary sandwiches. They even have potato salad (which Bart loves ) and a broccoli salad, if you want something different than chips.

Bart and I usually go to the Gandolfo's on 2100 S. 700 E. for a few reasons. 1st-I have found coupons that come in the mailers for this specific Gandolfo's, which are a buy one sandwich get one free. 2nd-It's close to the dollar theater in Sugarhouse and lastly, Nick works there. Who is Nick, you ask? He makes the best, biggest sandwiches and even creates his own that aren't on the menu. He now recognizes Bart and I and will just tell us what he is making for us. Plus he usually give us something for free-like cookies or a drink.

If you are interested in going to Gandolfo's make sure you go to citydeals.com. Citydeals is like a groupon or ksl deals. They have a 50% off at most Gandolfo's in Utah. It is a 25 dollar certificate that you buy for only 12.50! I love getting a deal. On this particular deal you have a year to use it and they will give you credit for unused portions. Make sure you read the fine print so you know what the details are. My certificate came in about 3 days in the mail and I had no problem using it.

We would love to go with you to Gandolfo's-just let us know!

October is a great month...

2010-10-29T14:37:00.000-06:00

Because of this

and this

I'm so happy that I married my sweetheart. Thanks to all our family and friends who have supported us.

Have you read this?

2010-10-17T20:26:00.001-06:00

The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving....

Irena Sendler

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most though had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Recently, Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected. However, Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming and Barack Obama won for a speech on peace.

My grandma sent me an email with that story attached. I am touched by all of the unknown bravery and unselfishness that the world has to offer, as well as, good people. I think Irena is one of my new hero's and I appreciate her example.

Medical Advice

2010-10-05T12:04:00.000-06:00

Three years ago I worked for a plastic surgeon. During my time there I learned that if you have any size or shape of pigmented lesion (aka a mole) around the periphery of your hands or feet, or on your soles or palms they needed to be removed. The reason you ask? Because they have a greater likelihood of being preCANCEROUS and no one likes cancer.

10 days ago I finally made an appointment to go and have my moles removed from Dr. Fairbanks. Bart had been bugging me to get the mole taken off my left big toe. The mole didn't bother me and I figured not many people even noticed it but Bart kept telling me to get it taken off. Well, 3 hours later, 4 moles removed, 4 shots to my big toe and lots of sutures later I hobbled out of the office. Dr. Fairbanks had to do a skin flap in order to close the incision which is why I have so many sutures. Yes, the shots to my toe hurt and I wanted to jump off the table.

Seven days later my pathology report came back from the lab and guess what? Both of the moles on my hand and foot showed ATYPICAL cells which means that those mole were precancerous and could have eventually caused melanoma. But since I had them taken off I am fine and don't have to worry.

Moral of the story, each of you need to look at your own hands and feet and then tell/look at all your family and friends hands and feet. Even if the mole is small and looks like a freckle it is better to be safe than sorry.

The worse part of the entire experience is NOT hobbling around or needing to wear socks and athletic shoes, or cleaning my sutures twice a day rather it's the fact that I can't get a pedicure for 6 WEEKS. AHHHHH

Some favorites

2010-09-18T16:28:00.000-06:00

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;

Brown paper packages tied up with strings;

These are a few of my favorite things."

As I sit here thinking about life, love and the pursuit of happiness, I am grateful for some of the little things in life that just make me happy. I would consider these as some of my favorite things in day to day life-nothing serious mind you.

In no particular order:

Smart Ones Santa Fe Rice & Beans-yummy and quick.

Papermate Profile 1.4b pens-go and buy these from Wal-Mart they will revolutionize how you feel about writing.

Lash Blast mascara-amazing, amazing, amazing. If you need a second opinion go to the blog courtney kate, found on my family blog list.

Mentholatum- My mom uses it, my grandma uses it, it's old fashioned but works for those cracked lips!

Sarah Richardson/Sarah's House-On HGTV Saturday night 8:30/7:30 central.

Body Pump at Studio Cove- I obviously don't workout every day but I really like this gym class. If anyone is interested I would be happy to have you come to a class with me.

Camelbak water bottle- I love the straw because I don't dump water on myself and I love the color-I got pink. This is a family favorite from REI.

Do any of you have favorites that I should be aware of?

Auntie Ness

2010-08-24T21:41:00.001-06:00

This cute little thing made us an aunt and uncle. Bart has lots of nieces and nephews but Brecken is the first baby on the Craigo side. Of course, I think he is the cutest baby ever and I love, love, love him.

Brecken Wade Myrick

August 7, 2010

7 lbs 13 oz. 20 inches

Cute mom Cambria

Happy dad Kaile

Congrats you two! I promise sometime I'll have kids so Brecken can have a cousin. xoxoxo

For Sale

2010-08-14T00:08:00.000-06:00

We are selling our house! I am hoping that if you know anyone, who knows anyone, who knows anyone (got that?) who is looking to buy a house in our neighborhood that you might send them our way. We love our house and we love our house projects but it is time to move on. I attached some pictures because I don't think I have ever posted about the house. Hope you enjoy.

California, Oregon and Washington

2010-07-27T22:06:00.001-06:00

We went on a trip of a lifetime! Granted it was a road trip and we spent way too much time in the car but it was fun and definitely worth it. Bart and I have been saving for this adventure for 2 years and Bart did 90% of the planning-which is the hard part. We invited Adam and Julia along for the ride and surprisingly they said "yes", so the 4 of us started our adventure by driving through western Utah, Nevada and finally into California where we camped.

Other than getting terribly lost finding the campsite and the 108 degree temperature in Redding California, the first day was uneventful.

The next day we drove up through the Redwood forest. Utah really is a dry desert compared to the trees, forests and moss in the Northwest. Redwood trees are really quite pretty and I think they are my new favorite tree.

We then drove up through Portland and back over to the coast, where we staid in Long Beach, WA for 3 days.

While there, we saw some of the many lighthouses, walked on the beaches, visited Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark wintered, shopped in Seaside and watched kites fly at Cannon Beach.

Just before the vacation, Bart finished reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose which is a terrific book that follows Lewis and Clark on their journey. Bart thought it was great to be able to see so many places that he had just read about-it made Lewis and Clark much more real.

The remainder of our trip was up at Discovery Bay in Northern WA on the sound. We took a ferry across the sound to Victoria BC to sight see and eat fish and chips.

This is the Parliament building.

Bart's favorite part of the trip was the ferry ride back to Port Angeles. The water was really rough with white caps, so Bart decided to embrace the cold and wet by purposely standing where waves could get him... I huddled with the other passengers up top.

A scuba diver named Bruce did a sea life exhibit on the dock at Discovery Bay. He had all sort of creatures-starfish and sunflower starfish and an octopus and crabs and clams. At the end of his presentation he asked if anyone wanted lunch...I raised my hand so he gave me 2.5 crabs and he even pulled off some blue mussels for our appetizer...they were right off the dock.

Yum, yum, yummy but the crab legs were still twitching when we cleaned them!

We were also able to meet up with Matt and Joanna (Bart's sister) and their 2 kids. They took us up into the Olympic National Park and we did a little hike up on Hurricane Ridge. Beautiful scenery and we even saw a black bear.

I'm a shrimp in the Leeflang family. Everyone towers over my 5'6"- I'm on my tippy toes for this picture.

Along with the sightseeing, eating, driving and sleeping, I also read 3 books. I would call this a successful vacation.

Birthday Boy

2010-07-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

Notice the date on the board-07/03/10. I asked Bart what he wanted for his birthday and he replied, "I don't want to have to plan anything or have you ask me what I want." Thus I planned the entire weekend full of fun...or so I thought.

Happy birthday to Bartus, only 1 more year left in the 20's. In an attempt to help Bart not feel SO old I planned an adventure up at Snowbird (perfect temperature for Bart and in the mountains) where we road the alpine slide, the zip line, did a ropes course, jumped on the bungee trampoline (Bart did double back flips and front flips), rode a mechanical bull and slid down some ice fields-also known as GLISSADING. We ended up waiting in lines with lots of kids aged 5-14 which didn't help us feel any younger. Such is life.

If any of you are interested in going to snowbird there is a $10 off coupon for the unlimited pass that I found in the SL Tribune and I just saw more in a mailer that came to our house this week.

I loved riding the Peruvian ski lift-the wind and sound of water and the greenery was beautiful. Bart said that he felt like riding the ski lift up the mountain was cheating-since he grew up hiking to the tops of mountains but ultimately he was glad he didn't have to walk.

This picture is reminiscent of one that we took 7 years ago while dating. Wow, can't believe that I have known Bart for 12 years...we met when I was 15. Bart is fabulous and no one can say that he isn't kind or a hard worker. I love him dearly and I'm glad I get to spend lots more birthdays with him.

Wedding Festivities

2010-06-29T12:29:00.003-06:00

Colin and Katie got married 2 Fridays ago, June 18th, 2010. The weather was marvelous and everything went according to plan...at least that's what I think. They got married in the SLC temple, had a luncheon at Rodizio, then a lovely garden reception, and finally they were off on their honeymoon on a Mexican Riviera cruise.

This is a picture of a picture..sorry about the poor quality.

The Craigo's. Aunt Kathy, Uncle Reid, Christie and my mom. We waited to take pictures on the stairs at the temple for 45 minutes!

This is the sign that was on the window, which you can't see in the photo below.

Trade imaging make the signs and vinyl lettering. This was behind the head table.

I love wedding! I love everything about weddings and I've decided that in my next life I will be a wedding planner. My parents allowed me to plan the wedding luncheon at Rodizio and I had a fabulous time making cake pops, dipping strawberries and creating a dessert buffet, buying black, white and red candy, as well as designing and creating vinyl window coverings, signs, pictures and place cards (which were my most favorite thing!) and gathering and hanging family wedding pictures-some dating back to the 1890's.

I found lots of inspiration from various blogs, magazines and pictures. I am very happy with how the luncheon turned out, the dessert buffet and I'm glad that Colin and Katie Bug liked it.

These are the place card/ guest gift. I had them made out of clear 1/2 inch acrylic which was laser cut and then fired with a torch to smooth the edges. Pretty awesome!!!!

Busy

2010-06-22T21:39:00.005-06:00

Last week was very busy. Bart and I had something going on every evening, in addition to the day to day things. Being busy isn't bad, especially since we were partying, eating and visiting with family but it left us TIRED.

Monday: Tried to go to clinicals but locked my keys in the car because I got flustered when I saw water spraying out of a pipe by the house. Did wedding stuff the rest of the day.

Tuesday: Carters 19th Birthday! I planned a party at Boondocks with the family.

Wednesday: Flowers from Costco. Lunch with the Leeflang girls. Temple in the evening with Katie Bug.

Thursday: WEDDING stuff all day. Making cake pops, dipping strawberry's, arranging flowers, setting up Rodizio Grill for 3.5 hours.

Friday: Wedding, wedding and more wedding.

Saturday: Finally had to go to work, then went and saw Toy Story 3.

Sunday: Fathers Day-Dinner and presents.

I plan on posting more pictures and details from the wedding but right now I want to show Boondocks pictures.

Laser tag! It was great to see my parents running around and shooting people. Neither of them had ever played laser tag before.

Only 3 days until Colin's wedding when this picture was taken. Katie couldn't come to the birthday party because she was partying with her friends.

I love the go carts and slick track, that is why I planned the party at Boondocks. I also found out that on your birthday you get a free unlimited pass, so I signed Carter up.

Bart and I came in last and second to last at mini golfing. I don't know how everybody else got so good...

Maybe it was the kissing :)

The weather was warm, so the bumper boats were fun. Carter is drenched, I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo. I think Carter is a great kid and we will miss him when he leaves on his mission in 2 months. I'm sure that 19 will treat him well. xoxo

Recommendations.?.

2010-06-06T13:39:00.002-06:00

I am asking you fellow bloggers (the 5 that may read my blog) to give me recommendations on some good books to read. I have finished with my spring semester and instead of reading text books and research articles and would like expand my repertoire. :)

Please give me your suggestions!

How to spend 10 days in St. Thomas.

2010-05-17T19:31:00.012-06:00

Day 1: First you need to get there. St. Thomas is apart of the U.S. Virgin islands in the Caribbean. St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John were purchased from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million-in an effort to improve military positioning during WWI. We took a red-eye on Delta from SLC to Atlanta and then on to Charlotte Amalia- 8 hours in the air not including the layover.

Day 2: Explore where you are staying. Frenchman's cove is a Marriott vacation club with big rooms, great amenities and fabulous beaches. BUT beware the iguana's are protected/endangered and they love the beach too and if you don't put on enough sunscreen you will get very bad tan lines.

Day 3: Explore the island. St. Thomas is only 36 square miles. We did a driving tour with a CD our concierge Michael loaned us. Bart did a great job driving on the LEFT side of the road-no crashes or yelling and we only used 1 tank of gas for the entire time we were there.

This picture was from the botanical garden that we went to.

Day 4: Go to Megan's beach, Drakes seat and Udder delight. Megan's beach is one of the top 10 beaches in the Caribbean. It is a very long beach that is shaped like a heart. The water is bath tub warm and calm. Drake seat is an overlook above Megan's bay where Sir Francis Drake watched the Spanish armada sail by while his ships hid in Megan's bay. Udder delight is a super yummy dairy farm and milk shake shop. We tried JaCoco, JaMocha, plain coco and butter pecan-all so delicious that we drove back a second time.

This is an overlook of Megan's bay from Drakes seat.

Day 5: Take a ferry over to St. John. After a 20 minute ferry ride with our car we got to the tropical paradise of St. John-over 75% of the island is national park. We hit up all of the beaches that we could. Starting with Hawks Nest, then Trunk bay and Cinnamon bay, and on to Maho beach and Francis Bay. We swam and snorkeled and looked for sea shells at all of the beaches. St John is smaller and less inhabited than St. Thomas and there is nothing to do but sit on the beach or hike.

Day 6:Lounge around and eat. We swam and read by the ocean everyday and this night we decided to splurge and go to the ALL YOU CAN EAT SURF AND TURF BUFFET. We had crab, and lobster and prime rib and shrimp and tilapia and salads and pasta and dessert. Bart and I definitely got our money's worth.

Day 7: Go snorkel at Secret Harbor and eat lunch at the cafe. We loved Secret Harbor. It is a hidden bay that has the best snorkeling! We swam with the fishes and looked for lobster, we played with a sea turtle and hid from jelly fish. This was some of the best snorkeling I have ever had especially in one area. This was also the place we were when Carter called telling us about his mission call. We went to secret harbor 3 times and each time was great. If you ever go to St. Thomas make sure you go to Secret Harbor.

Day 8: More snorkeling at Coki point. Coki point and Megan's bay are the 2 most popular places to go on St. Thomas. Coki beach has lots of vendors and people that "hassle" you. There is also an aquarium that you can go snuba-ing and swim with the seals. We went to Coki at 8 AM before everyone else got there. The fish aren't afraid of people and they actually come up to your face and bite your fingers if they think you have food. You will see fish UP CLOSE here.

Can you see us snorkeling out past the rocks?

Enjoying dinner with homemade smoothies.

Day 9: Go to Mermaids Chair and the Atlantic overlook. Mermaids Chair was awesome. We drove over to the west of the island and then through a security gate (there is a huge development sitting unfinished because the guy from Dubai is in a legal dispute). There are only 3 houses finished in the property...each 3 million. Mermaids Chair is a little strip of land that has the Caribbean on one side and the Atlantic on the other, and there is a noticeable difference in water temperature. Guess which is warmer???? The ATLANTIC-I totally thought the Caribbean would be warmer. There are tons and tons and tons of washed up shells and coral. Bart nicknamed this place the "coral junk yard", he even brought a huge piece of coral home-if you don't believe us come over and see it. The water is much more rough where the 2 oceans meet-lots of waves and spray and crashing waves.

Bart is playing with the waves.

Day 10: Swim, Pack up and go home. Our flight didn't leave until 4 PM so we had all morning to relax by the pool, go snorkeling again and walk on the beach. This vacation was wonderful and very needed, a perfect way to spend my break between semesters.

Mothers

2010-05-09T20:44:00.004-06:00

Happy Mothers Day!

I am very grateful to have a mother and have her as my best friend.

I love my mom because she loves me,

because she is pretty and smells nice.

I love my mom because she taught me how to cook and clean and do laundry and iron and do all of the basic everyday things.

I love my mom because she takes me to lunch every week and goes to Wal-Mart with me.

I love my mom because she went to the cannery and canned onions with me and because she had as much fun with the Days of 47' as I did.

I love my mom because she has great red curly hair and because she taught me the importance of suncreen.

I love my mom because I can talk to her about anything and also cry to her over anything.

I love my mom and I hope to be like her.

I am also grateful for Bart's mom. She raised a wonderful son who is hardworking and loyal. I appreciate her efforts in raising him in the gospel and teaching him how to treat women.

Thank you Kathy!

And the WINNER is...

2010-04-21T19:34:00.010-06:00

HONDURAS San Pedro SulaLeaving August 18th

I think that Leslie was the closest guess with El Salvador. I bet you will never guess where Leslie served her mission :) I think I may still get a little something for her.

I am glad that Carter is going to have this "right of passage". It will be a great experience for all of us and hopefully the 2 years will go by quickly. Bart is excited that he and Carter will be able to speak Spanish together at Sunday dinners. I wanted Carter to go to an island but Honduras is pretty close-it's in the Caribbean and surrounded by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. I hope we can do a Book of Mormon tour and go pick him up-selfish I know. Below is a little info on Honduras. Please don't tell my mom any scary stories about central America.

Honduras is a republic inCentral America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras (now Belize). The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Its size is just over 112,000 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million.
Its capital is Tegucigalpa.

Vacation

2010-04-17T17:36:00.004-06:00

This is where we are going to vacation!

I am very excited.

Guess Where?

2010-04-04T13:28:00.011-06:00

My youngest brother Carter (whom I have blogged about before) has turned in his LDS mission papers. We are all hoping that he will receive his call in about 10 days!

I am asking, and begging each of you to leave a comment on where you think Carter will go on his mission.

Please, please, please, leave a comment. I love comments! Most of you don't know Carter but that doesn't matter-you can leave a comment anyway. Please, please, pretty please. My mom is going to scrapbook all of the results.

The person that guesses where Carter is going will get a treat/prize...even if you live faraway I will figure out something to send you.

As far as Bart and I go. We are busy but happy and relatively healthy. Only 2 more week until my semester is over-3 down, 4 to go!

COLD FEET

2010-03-15T21:40:00.003-06:00

The day Canessa and I got married, she told me she had cold feet. That worried me a little, and I made sure to keep my manly logger hands handy just in case her cold feet got too cold.

Well, in the years since, I have found that she always has cold feet ---- in the car, her feet are cubes of ice and mine are a sort of charcoal (yes - very hot). As I am about to comfortably fall asleep, I am often torn from my pre-dream pleasantries by those same cubes of ice (I mean her feet).

Today, she took matters into her own hands - or should I say sink!

Yes - Canessa decided the shower - the time-tested warmer of feet and hands - was too much work, and figured the sink would work just as well.

She doesn't get to claim "lack of creativity" anymore!

Guess Who Part 2

2010-03-01T07:56:00.004-07:00

Guess who is pregnant? If you guess me you are WRONG.

My cute little sister Cambria Craigo Myrick will be a mom August 14, 2010. Bria is 16 and 2/7 weeks along. This will be the first Craigo niece/nephew and we are all very excited. I'm sure the baby will be the cutest thing ever because it will have good genes. :) Cambria has always liked children and babysitting and I'm sure she will be a great mom-it's too bad that they are far away in Rexburg. We love you Bria and Kaile!

Guess Who...

2010-02-21T15:24:00.010-07:00

Many of you may already know BUT you can pretend and just keep reading.

Thursday February 18, 2010.

This was dinner.

This was THE place.

This is the RING. Custom made just for her.

These are the flowers with cute love notes attached.

And this is the happy, newly ENGAGED couple.

Colin Lloyd Craigo and Katie Ann Leeflang

To be MARRIED

June 18, 2010

For those of you that don't know, Colin is obviously my little brother but Katie is Bart's little sister. So we will have double cousins and grandparents and FUN. Colin and Katie have been dating since June 2009 and they met and fell in love all by themselves...no pushing or prodding from me.

Someday...

2010-02-05T21:12:00.003-07:00

This is going to be my inspiration.

My inspiration to keep going to the gym and to continue to try to not eat everything in sight. I have learned that I am an emotional eater. Thus when I am happy I eat, sad I eat, tired I eat, stressed I eat and guess what I do when I'm bored...yep-EAT.

Do any of you have any recommendations?

DECADE IN REVIEW

2010-01-18T21:29:00.031-07:00

The highly tedious task of reviewing the past decade has fallen to me (Bartus). As part of this task, it is my opportunity to determine what events are most prominent. I promise none of my bias will trickle through – as I am born of the new era of reporters and journalists – no agenda; strictly fact.

The following lists contain, but are not limited to, the highs of highs, and the lows of lows, experienced from 2000 to 2010.

Bart(18-28 years old)
1. Served a mission in Bolivia
2.Dated Canessa
3. Broke-up with Canessa

4. Graduated from U of U with Bachelors in Civil Engineering
5. Dated Canessa
6. Broke-up with Canessa
7. Bought the house
8. Dated Canessa
9. Got Married (to Canessa)
10. Regretted buying the house
11. Worked on the house
12. Graduated from U of U with Masters in Geotechnical Engineering
13. Passed Professional Engineering Licensure exam
14. Worked
15. Worked

This has been a most eventful decade me! Several of the landmark experiences of life have taken place. Experiences I will draw from, and be affected by, every day of my life. Although this list may appear to be lots of work, and no fun, it should be noted that amidst the work there was play. I had the opportunity to go to Europe twice with my Mom, and there was a spattering of water ski trips and such.

Canessa (16-26 years old)

1. Graduated from Skyline High School
2. Dated Doug
3. Graduated from Dixie High College
4. Dated Louis
5. Study abroad in Nauvoo

6. Days of 47 Royalty
7. Dated Bart8. Dated Jake
9. Dated Gavin
10. Dated Josh
11. Dated………
12. Graduated from U of U with Bachelors in Nursing

13. Volunteered in orphanages in Ecuador
14. Got Married (Surprise Surprise – to BART)

15. Started the Family Nurse Practitioner program at BYU

Canessa’s list implies a little more fun than mine; however, I must admit (aside from a little too much dating – she should have stopped with me the first time) she made a conscious decision to make the most of short, tender, young adult years. This was one thing that really attracted me to her – adventurous and driven. She also went to Europe numerous times, Hawaii a couple of times, cruises, New York ….. the list can go on (and on). The many things she has accomplished over this decade are impressive; not to mention the quality and precision with which she does everything. I am very proud of her, and lucky to have her as my partner throughout life and beyond.

It’s amazing how a single decade can alter the course of your life so dramatically.

This blog is dedicated to a life-changing past decade, and high hopes for the decade facing us.

My cute sister-in-laws!

2010-01-13T11:45:00.002-07:00

I am not crafty and I don't have the time to be crafty-even if I wanted too but my 5 cute sister-in-laws have started an "Etsy" shop and I want to support them in their new venture. They were nice enough to try to convince me to make little headbands and be apart of the Dutch Sisters but I have hundreds of pages of reading to do (so that someday I can be a good nurse practitioner!!!). Just in case anyone actually reads this blog and isn't already a Dutch Sister I want to let you know about it the great stuff the girls offer.

Hello Family & Friends,
Over the Christmas break my sisters and I decided to start up our own "Etsy" Shop. This is a website where people from all over the world share their talents and sell their handmade items. Each of us is selling something different, something that we love, and something that ties us together as sisters. We love making things and are excited to share our new adventure with each of you. There are scarfs, headbands, beanies, bags, kids aprons, and hand painted boards. We're slowly getting our shop up and running. If you'd like to take a peek here are our web addresses:

The Etsy site web address is: www.thedutchsisters.etsy.comOur blog address is: www.thedutchsisters.blogspot.com

Here's a little bio about all of us "Dutch Sisters":
Our grandparents immigrated from Holland in 1949. Our Grandmother was a wonderful woman. She was very talented and creative. She had a great love for making handmade items and instilled that same love in her grandchildren.
Like our Grandmother, we hope to share our talents and a little of what we love with you as well.

"The Five Dutch Sisters" Sjaanie * Rebekka * Mary Ann * Joanna * Katie

It has been 5 years since...

2010-01-05T15:49:00.010-07:00

I'm skiing! I ski! I'm a skier! (I stole that line from What about Bob...and changed it a little).

From left to right-Bart, Ness, Joanna and Matt.

Christmas has already come and gone!

2010-01-03T13:24:00.010-07:00

I have had a great Christmas break. I have been lazy...I've slept in, gone to the gym, went shopping and out to lunch, stayed up late and worked as little as possible. BUT not all of us like to waste our time away. Take for instance my husband Bartus.

This is Bartus (or Bart-what ever you like to call him), he has been very busy over the holidays. Not only does he grow a beard, which then he shaves into a foomanchoo with super long side chops for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, he also does many house projects.

We have yucky plastered popcorn ceilings in 2 basement rooms. Bart decided that was unacceptable so he got a belt sander and sanded the ceiling (I think this took 5-6 hours-his shoulders were very tired) and then textured the ceiling, sanded and resanded, then he sanded and spackled the walls and finally finished by painting the ceiling and the walls and all the trim in the room.

This is the BEFORE picture.

This is the AFTER picture.

I think the ceiling and the room in general look fabulous and I am grateful for such a hardworking, handyman husband. A few days later Bart started his next project...to replace 5 windows in the upstairs of our house. He is very good at installing windows because now he has replaced ALL the windows in the entire house by himself (with the big windows he occasionally needed help).

The new windows look great and they aren't cold or drafty. Bart is a happy worker and he certainly accomplished more than I did over this break. Did I also mention that he still worked 40 hours a week while doing all these projects? Yea, I think he is amazing. :)