newlyweds.

today during church i was very, very, hungry.
and as we walked into the house and pulled out the guacamole in the fridge:
john: "it must be the costco guacamole"
me: "what?"
john: "the costco guacamole that turns brown"
me: "it's not the costco guacamole! all guacamole turns brown!!!!"
john: silence.  then:  "i think you need to eat something."

you got me there.
i don't do well with low blood sugar.
and sometimes i get angry.  i think he's figured it out.
i'm just so grateful that john can still love me with all my faults.
{and call me on my crap}

in addition,
john benchpressed me last night.
i didn't think such a thing was possible.
AND.... i sliced open my finger tonight as we were making dinner.
john put a big huge bandage on it for me and kissed it better.
oh, how i love being newlyweds.

friday, saturday.

as previously noted,
john and i see less of each other these days.
which is a blessing in disguise, as it helps us appreciate the time we have together so much more.
on friday,
we went out to eat at Pho Noodle House {i highly recommend}
and vegged on the couch for three hours.
the movie was boring {i think}
but the company was awesome.

and then tonight we had such a wonderful time at josh and susan's house,
susan made yummy enchiladas..... {with pumpkin - who knew?}
and ryan and janessa brought pazookies!
my in-laws are so great and i love them! {how did i luck out so much?  i definitely don't deserve it.}
we had a great time at the guest's playing killer-bunnies.
even when it got a little tense because john killed my bunny.
i still forgave him.
it was only a game, right?
{don't worry, i'll get him back next time!}

preparing.

lately, my husband has been studying very, very hard.

his class for the gmat is in full swing.

that means late nights, every night.  with class or homework.

plus, he is working 10 hour days.

even saturdays!

on the bright side, i have the opportunity to make him delicious treats when he comes home.

{please excuse the picture of me.  i hate it when people do that because it sometimes comes off as conceited.... 

but i really wanted to show you how messy and flour-y my face was.  i don't cook like i know what i'm doing.}

in addition to the cookies, i also made lemon squares.

i'm hyperactive, i know.

and john is doing something wonderful, invaluable even.

and i am so proud of him.

now:

we are savoring every minute we spend together,

since those minutes seem to be getting less and less each day.

but despite all this, we couldn't be happier.

all in a day's work.

clinicals.

you never know what is going to happen.

it could be a very long, boring day -

or it could feel like you're running around with your head cut off by 10:00am.

today, it was the latter.

and by that i mean, i must have been running around with my head cut off,

considering all the mistakes i made.

{source}

my patient was on dialysis, which means the blood is running continually out of their body - through a machine that cleans the blood, and then back into the body.

a fake kidney, if you will.

{see above? the two red tubes right next to her?  one is dirty blood going out, and one is clean blood coming in.  isn't that cool?!}

well, i had never seen hemodialysis before....

and was entranced.

and flabberghasted when my nurse said i could push his medication into the machine for him.

i was so excited!

so we did the five rights.

{right patient, right drug, right route, right dose, right time.}

drew up the syringes with 50cc,

scanned the bar codes,

and kept everything sterile.

now it was time to put the medication.

i was ready.

i started to uncap the tube on the machine -

at which point a substantial amount of blood starting coming out of the end of it.

ah!  stop it you idiot!

{i thought to myself}

i couldn't reach the clamp without contaminating the end -

i had to re-cap the tube.

and i did after a couple of seconds of fumbling.

{and not until after i had promptly gotten blood on the machine, the floor, and my RN.}

whoops!

talk about feeling incompetent.

{i should remember this stuff! i thought to myself.  i shouldn't be making so many darn mistakes!}

it is all i could do to not go buy the patient, my nurse, and my instructor flowers and cake to show how sorry i am for the {minor} mistake.

i find comfort in knowing the three things that all nursing students come to realize about making mistakes:

{i won't make that particular mistake again - i will ALWAYS check the clamp}

{i'll make 1,000 more before i even take the NCLEX}

{and mistakes - if they are small and no one gets hurt - are all apart of learning and growing}

so even though i made a mistake,

you should know that i love nursing with all my heart.

it gives me a rush doing something good for other people.

so although i know i will make more mistakes in my lifetime as a nurse -

i am okay with that.

as long as i am learning.

oh, and also not killing anyone.

my girls.

i had such a fun {short} outing with my favorite girls on saturday.

they treated me to kneader's french toast for my birthday.

and no matter how long we are together, 

i never feel like i have enough time with them.

and i miss them five minutes after they are gone.

complainers.

they drain on you.
don't get me wrong - i have had my whiney moments,
{many, MANY of them, some of which have been shamefully recorded on this blog}
but i have my optimistic ones too.
sometimes, i just get tired of negative comments.  i like happy ones.
the bottom line:  life isn't as unbearable as you are making it seem.
sure, sometimes it's hard....
but i think life is wonderful.
as long as there is popcorn to be eaten....
a funny flick to watch....
and a family to love.

happy happy weekend.

weekends are the best.
i wish it were the weekend all the time.  
no homework, no classes, no tests, no stress.
on the weekend, you get to do thrilling things, like:
1)  catch up on sleep
2)  eat delicioius food
3)  spend quality time with your husband
4)  go to see the green hornet
{i'm not kidding when i tell you it was entertaining.  i LOVED it.}
5)  eat at "milagros" {miracle in español}


i am also not kidding when i say the weekends are the best.
i actually may or may not be depressed that i have school tomorrow....

happy birthday to me

best birthday ever.

seriously!

i woke at 5:00am.

clinicals.

my dear friend madison picked me up,

and we were on our way.

we went to the hospital,

and got busy helping patients.

i got to give injections, do assessments, chart, and even insert a rectal suppository.

happy birthday to me!

at post-conference, 

we ate brownies!

{cute madison made them for me}

and everybody sang happy birthday....

which is always a little embarrassing.

i came home, showered, and then we did homework.

and watched a few too many episodes of grey's anatomy.

{hey - give me a break, it was my birthday!}

after that, john came home.

bearing lovely gifts such as flowers, new blowfish boots, and a night out.

i love the flowers so much i took pictures.

and i may or may not be carrying them around my house with me wherever i go.  they are lovely.

i opened presents from my in-laws....

{thank you so much george and leslie for the pancake mix and cool pancake maker!}

{let's just say i am surprising john with some delicious breakfast tomorrow}.

and then john and i hit the town.

and by that i mean we ate delicious food at tucanos until i popped.

i thought we were past this.

i keep thinking that my twitterpation will soon subside,

that i will go back to occasional boredom,

that i have the potential to be miserable, 

{like some other people in the world seem to be},

and just when i think i'm about to snap back into reality....

i realize that i can't and won't.

twitterpation is my reality.

boredom is for boring people:  as my husband always says.

and misery is impossible.

no way can you be unhappy when you're married to your best friend.

no way.  

we've been married over three months.

a very small amount of time, i realize.

that means that i have only known john for about 4% of my life.

{i figured that out by myself, you know}

the point is,

i have never been so happy.

and if this 4% is indicative of how life will be

when my married years constitute 60 percent of my life...

and then 75.....

and then 90....

i can't imagine how happy i will be then.

oh, how i love him.

saturday is a special day....

saturday.
we are lazy on saturday.
we never make it to the grocery store before 1pm.
and we almost always go to the grocery store.
this week: costco.
we needed toilet paper and also something that can be considered a fruit or vegetable.
so out we went.
the parking lot was a circus.
the inside was a circus.
checking out and getting pizza for lunch was a circus.
it was so crowded and i started getting claustrophobic.
luckily, john kept a cool head for me.
and also kept me from screaming out of sheer frustration.
moral of the story:
don't go to costco on saturdays.
unless you're really, really desperate.

then last night,
phil, briana, josh, jenna, and ryan came over.
(poor janessa!  we missed you!)
we ate delicious food:  corn dip, humus, popcorn.
and played fun games.
{most of which caused me to become really intense},
{and also caused me to have random outbursts when someone beats me to the pile}.
then we finished off with a couple episodes of 30 rock.
moral of the story:
friends are fun,
and we should do things with them more often.
{it's better than being anti-social, believe me}

overall, a very fun weekend.
thanks john, for being so great.
i sure do love him.

obsession.

i am obsessed with a number of things:
1.  chocolate
2.  giving IV's
3.  grey's anatomy
4.  waiting incessantly for my husband to come home
5.  making dinner
6.  biting my nails
7.  cleaning
8.  "to do" lists
9.  diet coke
10.  ignoring the need to study and/or do homework

sometimes, i think we need obsessions.
sometimes, obsessions can help you stay sane.

where have i been?

the last few days, i have been lost in the world of grey's anatomy.
actually, lost is an understatement.
lost implies that something can be found.
the last few days, i have been obliterated by the world of grey's anatomy.
the surgeries, the medical drama.
and a little bit of real-people drama, too.
and then, my first day of clinical was today!
and i rocked it.
it was buddy day, so all i did was follow my nurse around....
but i still rocked it.
i followed her around like a champ!
next week i am on my own.
my own medical diagnoses to help treat,
my own nursing interventions to implement,
my own medications to give,
my own charting to do,
my own patient to help.

i love my profession.
i hate the exams, assignments, teachers that act like they know everything,
and textbooks with over 5,000 pages.
but i love being in a patients room....
thinking about what's going on with their body -
and why do they need these medications....
and what kind of things i can explain to them to help them feel better....
and what things can i change to improve their quality of life.

it isn't quite as dramatic as the tv shows.....
but it's pretty dang cool.

willy wonka.

our saturday started like most other saturdays.
{we}
sleep in late
roll out of bed
throw on whatever grungy clothes are on the top of the shelf
stumble drunkedly to the store
buy milk {because we've been rationing the last 1/2 of the half-gallon for five days now}
stumble back home
make french toast
eat it
clean, clean, clean
go to the store to get the other things we need
eat in and out burgers
finish off with wendy's fries on the way home
{we're willing to go to two different stores and get the very best}
play halo reach for awhile
finally shower and get ready for the day....
at about 5pm.

this saturday included a new adventure, however.
we went to Friday's Kids.
it's a facility where college students go and play with children with special needs.
ie. autism, cerebral disorders, etc.
it was so fun!
john and i got to know some wonderful kids.
and their parents got to have a night out- free from the 24 hours a day 7 days a week care they must provide for their children.
it made me admire the parents and the children.
their courage in such difficult trials.
i don't know if i would be able to have such strength!
i loved the experience, and i'm sure we will be going back soon!


"what lies behind us & what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." 
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

tree gone, cooking failures, and other recent adventures.

the tree in our house is gone.

i walked passed it and thought - definite fire-hazard.

so down it came.

i guess i had become so accustomed to it being there, 

that i didn't even think about it being post-christmas and all.

and i discovered that our vacuum doesn't do well with pine needles.

it took me an hour to vacuum one tiny corner of our house. 

i nearly cried.

and i would put a picture up, 

but it doesn't look nearly as atrocious as it actually was.

and i want your sympathy!

on a related note, i am still dealing with the post-holidays craziness at our house.

decorations everywhere,

suitcases still unpacked,

laundry at a stand-still in the dryer,

i haven't even made the bed in two whole days!  scandalous.

in addition, 

i had a huge baking failure last night.

i really don't want to talk about it.

john and i went out for pizza last night, 

and there was a poor homeless man laying on the street.

we went over with a few other random students who had seen him,

and helped him up.

he had fallen on his way to find a movie theater that he could curl up in to be warm.

it made me think about how blessed i am to live in a nice warm house,

with warm delicious food,

and a wonderful husband.

i am so grateful!

now instead of blogging....

i should really go get a book at the bookstore....

so that i can finish my homework....

but it's just so darn cold outside!  

i think i'll stay in and watch old glee episodes instead.

here is a video we filmed on christmas eve of andy jack.  i think it is the cutest thing ever.

and john totally shreds the guitar.  just sayin.  

late night.

i don't often bust out laughing while watching late night shows.
{ie. jimmy kimmel, jimmy fallon, conan, david letterman....}
this clip, is hilarious though.
i was laughing, all by myself, and i bet the whole neighborhood could her me.
enjoy!  it's hilarious.
i'm going to go get pizza with john any moment now....

why i love winter.

winter, most people believe, is the worse season imaginable.

especially in utah.

after the holiday joy has dissolved and we must return to school,

school is made a monotonous, poignant, and dull drudgery.

every day last fall as i walked home from school-

all i could think about was the beauty surrounding me.

the leaves, the warm air, the colors, the mountains, the rain.

as i walked home today, 

i spent much of my time contemplating:

the mud, the slush, the bitter cold, the snowy obstacles, the sleet.

however, i consider myself an optimist;

and i could not rest until i had found something of beauty in winter.

i found that winter really is beautiful, in its own way.  

just pause to notice:

snow and ice crackling under your marching feet.

wisps of clouds dancing around the snow-capped mountain peaks.

brisk winds carrying up the flakes on the ground and painting the air with them.

your rosy cheeks when you come in from being outside.

the sky's light, blue-ish gray haze.

i think winter is a beautiful season,

and i am going to make certain that my winter semester turns out beautiful, too.

quiet.

it is quiet in the brunt household.
too quiet.
i miss my family already.
we drove down to provo tonight,
since i start school in the morning.
but i've become accustomed to the noise that inevitably comes with a large family.
oh, how i love my family.
i am happy that george is here in the provo house,
because otherwise it would probably be too silent for me to stand.
but.....
a very exciting activity occurred this evening.
we made a lego x-wing fighter!!!

you may not know this,
but john is a major star-wars nerd.
he can practically quote the whole movie.
needless to say,
this was a great present.  {from his wise parents, of course}.
and i was able to enjoy it too.  bonus.
happy monday!

back to school.

back to school. probably the three most depressing words in the english language.
because let's face it- last semester was a beast.
and i hear that this semester is even beastlier.
my only comfort is in knowing that i spent a wonderful break, full of:
sleeping in late.
movie nights with family.
lunches with friends.
food. lots and lots of delicious food.
a husband that loves {and spoils} me.
the tcu game.
my new jeans.
kinect with the crespos, nat, ryan and janessa.
wacky six.
helping my mom with the crazies.
playing with the crazies.
snow.
lizzy home. {come play with me!}
a new outlook on school.
rest and rejuvenation.

even though i am terrified for the upcoming semester-
and john is not looking forward to returning to his hour-long commute,
we are grateful for the current blessings God gives us.
for the happiness we feel.
for the love we share.
and for the exciting {and sometimes grating} opportunities in our life.
bring it on, med-surge.  bring it on.