happy halloween 2010

when your husband served a mission in taiwan, and you need a last-minute costume for the ward party, black hairspray and two authentic taiwanese shirts should do the trick.

i don't know why i look so angry in these photos

and, just for good measure, john went as buddy holly to work

sometimes, it's okay to be a bad study-er.

today, i have been a terrible study-er.  let's break it down:
8am-8:50am took marginal notes in gero, while simultaneously surfing the web for christmas gift ideas.
8:50am-9am took a trip to the ladies room.
9am-10:15am took marginal notes in gero, while simultaneously sitting on facebook and reading my emails.
10:15am-10:25am walked to the wilk.
10:25am-10:40am attempted to study for my nursing fundamentals exam.
10:40am-11:49am inadvertently fell asleep.
11:50am-12:00pm talked to my sister on the teli.
12:00pm- 12:10pm walked to the tnrb for af change of scenery.
12:10pm-12:30pm half-studied, half ate my lunch of roasted almond fudge ice cream.
12:30pm-12:45pm responded to dear, darling elizabeth anne's email.
12:45pm-1:03pm updated this blog.
i'll do better tomorrow.  i promise.

true, true love.

grocery shopping.

our first experience shopping for groceries.
me:  "do we need that babe?"
him:  "you bet we do."
me:  "well, this will last us at least a couple of months."
him:  "yep.  get it."
me:  "i thought for sure we could get out of here for fifty dollars."
him:  "are you kidding?  at costco?"
there were only seven items in our cart!
wholesale shopping.
oh, the beauty of being a housewife.
budgeting and cooking and cleaning.
good thing i love all those things.

punkin's.

pumpkin carving is a sacred tradition in my family.

john might have been a little amused by my enthusiasm.

so much, in fact, that by the time we got to emily's for carving, he had said:

"you take this pretty seriously, don't you?"

"i hear you're an awesome carver"

"you are being so organized about this..."

"i'll just sit back and watch the master"

i felt like i was being mocked.

i love this one.  notice the concentration on his face.

 carmely popcorn.

punkin guts!

precious!

so what if i take pumpkin carving seriously?  john takes DOTA and the consistency of cookies seriously.

i guess that's what makes us so perfect for each other.  our life has a healthy amount of balance.

and don't tell me that my pumpkin didn't turn out freakin awesome.

hey! honeymooners!

finally i brought my camera-plug-into-my-computer thingy home.  all the time i was more concerned about having cups to drink out of and food to eat than uploading fun pictures from playa.  not to mention my stuff isn't as organized as it has usually been, and i may or may not be secretly obsessed with having a clean organized room and kitchen.  everything has a place.  if it's not in that place, then i go crazy until i have a spare five seconds to put it in it's rightful place, once i find one for it.  but, i digress.



the beach.

the beautiful thing about playa del carmen is that you can eat lots of food, drink pina coladas, and sit and stare at the waves on the beach for an eternity.  the water is beautiful.



fifth street.

the top five most common things vacationers do on a night in cancun:
- drink
- party
- drink some more
- eat fancy-shmancy food
- shop
since john and i neither drink nor party, we ventured out on fifth street each night for a little taste of mexican culture, food, and of course.... finding those little flutes for andy jack, ben, and jenna.  my mom loves that we brought home musical souvenirs to the attention-deficit little children.  i am not entirely sure, but some of them may have already magically disappeared....

additionally, imagine mexicans calling out to you every 5 seconds, "hey! honeymooners!"  have john do an impression for you sometime.  awesome.



tulum.

let me just tell you:  the mayans kicked butt.  they built some freakin awesome ruins.  and see that middle-left picture?  yeah, i took that.



cool pictures that we took just because.

see the iguana?  and the invisible fork?  probably in my top ten highlights of the trip.


that's it for now!  hubby and i are going to get steaks.

nursing 293: i may not be learning much, but i am definitely learning to count my blessings.

we are so blessed to be able to walk down the street. we are so blessed to be capable of feeding ourselves.  we are so blessed to be able to communicate with others.  we are so blessed to be able to even comprehend what is going on around us.

because most of my patients can't do any of those things.

each week, i get frustrated and overwhelmed with tests and assignments. i get stressed over what to make for dinner, and if i will ever have time to watch an episode of HOUSE again. and then i go to clinical on Thursday and think, i am such a spoiled brat.

at least i have the mental capacity to go to school, study and learn. at least i have the motor skills, stamina, and can stand up long enough to make dinner. at least i have the opportunity to socialize with my husband, family, and friends and spend time with them each day. most of the patients i work with can't do any of that.

the next time i feel like i am drowning in schoolwork, i am just going to think, well, Mr. W has cancer throughout practically his whole body. so what the crap am i complaining about? 

life is great. i need to stop complaining and go help improve the quality of life for those who need it most. and here's the ironic thing: as i help my patients, life seems a little bit happier to me, too.

more bridals! for your viewing pleasure.

married.

let's talk about the best day of my life.

truly, october 1st, 2010 was absolutely amazing.

i really can't explain what it feels like to get married to the person you love most in the world.  there are simply no words to describe it.

the night before i had a total meltdown.  i submitted myself to a rather embarrassing tantrum, as if andy jack had hijacked my body and somebody wasn't getting him his chocolate milk.

but seriously.

faced with the finalization of such an important decision.  my body simply couldn't function.  and i took deep breaths all the way to the temple.    

thank goodness for the temple.  as soon as i was sitting with my eternal companion in the celestial room as we waited for the ceremony, all my fears melted away. i knew i had chosen wisely in the most important decision of my entire life, and that this important decision would make me happy for the rest of eternity. 

i love weddings.  but i never loved a wedding so much as i loved my wedding!  everyone there, was there to support john and i.  i know and love everyone that came to the temple.  it is among the best feelings to be surrounded by your family, your new family, and your best friends in the whole wide world.

no one has a better family than me.  i am completely convinced.  everyone was so helpful and wonderful, but especially my mom&dad.  my mom gave countless hours to the planning, preparing, and cleaning-up effort of the wedding.  in retrospect, i will owe her for the rest of my life.  maybe half a dozen grandchildren will make up for it.  not to mention, when i was having a meltdown, she was there for me.  every. single. time.

and then there's my vati, papa, babbo, otosan, pee, pai, or more simply, my father.  did you know that he coaxed down the stars from the very sky for his little girl?  it's true. and i definitely don't deserve my fabulous loving affectionate parents.

life is wonderful.  actually, wonderful is an understatement.  life is magnificent, stupendous, thrilling, sensational, and tremendous.  and now i have officially used up my most exciting adjectives.