the best fried rice you've ever tasted.

sometimes, i get an inkling for chinese.

probably because it's delicious.

and also because it's super sexy when john speaks in mandarin to the owner.

{i am dually motivated, you see}

they have the most delicious fried rice at our favorite place:

and pot stickers that are to-die-for.

after chinese, john introduced me to toejam&earl.

now i just can't wait until next weekend,

when i will undoubtedly beg john to play it with me again.

although i don't think it will take too much begging:

eyes glued to the screen.

weekends are so happy.

milestones.

the last few days, i have written several blog posts....
and have posted none of them.
perhaps it is because life got {crazy/busy/happy/hectic/emotional/tiring/frustrating/draining/scary.....}
perhaps it is because i just wanted to spend what little time there was with my best friend,
who also happens to be my husband.

i am breathing easier now, {kinda}
and looking forward to the future.
the milestones, really.  all the little, seemingly unimportant milestones....
that can make life meaningful in a time of stress and disappointment.
{and help you see the big picture instead of focusing on just one little thing!}

so, here i am, blogging about the little milestones in my life.
{and some big ones too!}
that help me push through the tough times in school.

-  finishing my third semester of nursing school
-  starting work in the summer
-  going to college with my husband
-  lake powell! {and other summer fun}
-  celebrating our {1} year anniversary {and all, thereafter}
-  accomplishing my goal of a humanitarian project somewhere
-  graduating from the nursing program
-  my first real job

the nursing program is likely to give me ulcers, however, it won't be forever.
and when it's over, i will feel like i can really work as a nurse.
i definitely will not know everything, but still....
i will at least know some things.

pretty sure i'm over it and ready for spring, but you have to admit - it is quite lovely.

the best laugh i've had in a long while.

apparently, my husband is a hot item.  

{i already knew this of course, but it seems that the other twitterpated single girls of the byu population have discovered it too.  too late for them though, muahahaha.}

what i mean by this is, your husband has to be pretty freakin attractive to have two girls, on separate occasions, jump out of the passenger seat of a car, 

and dance like a hoochy-mamma in front of your husband's car at a red light.

{i'm talking booty-shakin, lip-lickin, drop-it-pop-it-lock-it dancing.  suggestive stuff for byu.}
as john relayed the story to me, i couldn't help but laugh.  and laugh hard.
that sounds like something i may or may not have done my freshman year.  

and although he doesn't like the attention, i managed to sneak a picture.

i totally don't blame those freshman girls.  who wouldn't want a piece of that?  

food.

last night, i had a thorough conversation about being healthy with john.

wilst making a pumpkin cake.  i know.  how ironic.

here's how it started:

he:  "well now that you're taking that daily vitamin, i wonder if i should be taking one, since i don't get very much nutrition in my diet"

{sometimes, i wonder about him.  i mean honestly, i think eating healthily is the most common topic that i force him into- and also the one that he shows the least amount of interest in.  [right after fashion of course].  he never wants to talk about nutrition.  if anything, he definitely hates it.  i think my attempts at being health-conscious are a nuisance to him, if they can even be called that.  i should properly say that i think my attempts at attempting to think about eating healthily are more or less a great nuisance to him.}

she:  [making excuses] "well i try to feed you fruits and vegetables..... blah blah blah blah blah"

{as i am making cake}

the truth is, cake is much more delicious than celery or carrot sticks.

and, although i like fiber in my diet,

and know that i should eat more healthily....

a little cake every once and awhile is a needed treat.

next step:  let's count the pounds of chocolate goodness stored in my backpack.

{for quick-energy, of course- and so that i don't crash into oblivion whilst studying}

so {we} are turning a new leaf.  i mean, at least for tonight.

i am going to make a low-carb, high in veggies, low-fat, fiber and nutrient-packed meal.

john and i will definitely hate it.

{just} another nursing post

i have many mixed feelings.

clinical.

slow day.

felt silly because i didn't know what i was doing and no one was directing me.  

{how hard can it be to say, "follow this nurse around," eh?}

once we started prepping my patient for surgery, I felt like I knew a little bit more.

but then i asked to do an IV.

"they are operating on his other arm to i've only got one shot - so i should probably do it"

and i was fine with that.  until.....

later on that day a fellow student told me that he grumbled about me asking to the IV.

embarrassment.  despite the fact that - 

why should i have to apologize for asking to gain a little experience?

therefore, i have made a resolution. 

when i am an experienced nurse, i am going to do my best to remember what it was like to be a student and feel inexperienced and stupid. i am going to give the student the ability to be taught and learn as much as they can and gain as much experience as possible.  i am going to be kind and patient, and really try and stretch the student’s abilities and comfort zone.

as a student, i sometimes feel like i am a burden on those teaching.

but if there wasn't anyone willing to teach.....

then how would we learn?

boo mr. IV man for making me feel stupid. 

{although your reasoning for doing the IV yourself were, in fact, very valid.  next time you feel annoyed at a student, try and put yourself in their shoes and think how scared they might be to enter the real nursing world only having done a handful of successful IVs.  if you still think then that you should be annoyed, then you are weird.}

thank you, Jake from OR, for teaching me.

{so i didn't need to run home crying.}

today.

this evening i am feeling rather nostalgic.
nostalgic about the moments i got to spend with my little monkey earlier today.

isn't he cute?

and nostalgic about the moments i got to spend trying to coerce my mom into getting the iPhone for verizon.
because really, what isn't there to like?

now:  i am contemplating ending this blog post early....
because john is watching some rather entertaining television in the next room.
and it has been oh-so-long since i have seen him last!  {aka about ten minutes}
maybe someday, dear blog, you will become more interesting to me than husband and friends and family....
but for right now you are boring in comparison.  {so sorry}
i simply wish to record my innermost thoughts
about life, and love, and everything inbetween.
in other words, you are the means of my cherishing moments with them.
a noble purpose, i do believe.

i have no words.

i have no words for how fun this is,

playing games with friends,

and spending time with family,

{and doing adventurous things too!}

i hope your weekend {is/has been/will be} just as lovely.

happy saturday!

we are four feet deep in snow. {and loving it}.

island park, idaho.

to do:

listen to great music.

play games with friends.

go snowmobiling and hookey-bobbeying.

make {and eat} exorbitant amounts of delicious food.

don't touch, think about, or look at any homework.

snuggle with john.

perfect.

passing out 101.

passing out 101:

if you feel like your head is spinning,

your body is very warm,

you can't stand straight up on your feet,

and your vision starts to turn all black and fuzzy,

don't be stupid and try to walk out of the room.

you will no doubt hit the ground within two seconds.  flat.

instead, sit your behind down on the ground.  immediately.

otherwise, you have just fainted in a patients room.

for no apparent reason other than the fact that it is 7:30am and you've been up since 5.

and you've made a complete and utter fool of yourself.

you'll probably cry a little bit too.

you'll wake up, facing the ceiling, feeling like an idiot.

do you really want that kind of embarrassment?

i didn't think so.

mmmmm..... pho......

pho, is actually pronounced "phuh".

like "phun" or "phu-philling".

well, dinner last night was "pho-nomenal".

i just can't stop thinking about that pho.

after dinner, we watched many modern family episodes.

{they're kind of addicting you know}

thanks george and leslie, for spending valentines-day eve with john and i.

{i can't think of two people not of my own flesh and blood that i love more than you two!}

information implants.

i'd like to think that one day, 

we will have the capability to stick information straight into our brains.  

like a microchip for my computer, stored with all the drug information i will need as a nurse.

or an implant.  similar to a breast implant, but without being so ostentatious.

that would be nice.  just sign me up for that fast-track nursing school. 

one surgery, 5 implants, 

no studying necessary.

wouldn't information implants be so nice?

until that day, however, 

i still have to study.  study hard i must.

all the intricacies of nursing care must be carefully arranged in the cobweb-filled shelves that are my brain.

i must think critically when a patient in my care suddenly develops compartment syndrome.

i must know:

the signs and symptoms {pain, paralysis, pallor, paresthesias, and.... oh what are the other two??}

the causes {increased bloodflow or crushing injuries, not pleasant}

and the treatments {which is a fasciotomy, if you must know}.

maybe one day, after i have worked several years as a nurse, 

i will be able to dedicate my life to developing said information implants.

nobel prize - here i come!

to be perfectly brunt: valentines-day style

bajio, burritos, babes, and barbeque.

{john had his class up in salt lake again.}

so my sisters and i go to the hospital to see our new baby cousin, naturally.

and then we get hungry, so we have to stop at bajio for burritos.....

and then i go to support my brother at his lacrosse game,

and when john gets home.....

pat's barbeque with the parentals.  

date night.

dearest john,

thank you so much for taking me out last night.

i had such a wonderful time eating at our favorite pizza place,

making fresh blueberry muffins together....

and then watching a silly movie into the wee hours of the night.

i love you.  

more than you will ever know.

tiny stethoscopes.

imagine little tiny stethoscopes.... IVs.... band aids.... needles.... 

and don't you dare tell me that isn't cute.

needless to say, i got to work on the pediatric unit in clinical today....

and i fell in love.  

drop-dead, head-over-heels in love with all the little infants.

i think i've found my calling.  

ok.... maybe i'm not called to work on a peds unit....

but i need to hold babies.  lots and lots of babies. 

{NICU maybe?}

and little tikes that i can play with.  that would be good too.

{it's okay if i have to stick them and do the mean nurse-stuff too.... i can deal with it}

on a completely random note, 

do you see anything wrong with eating cookie dough for lunch?

i sure don't.

i love wednesday.

wednesday.  i love wednesdays.
wednesday means the middle of weak.
wednesday means i only have to get through two more days of school.
come friday, i get my husband all to myself again.
and that's all i want, because i'm just so darn selfish!
{cheesy much? yes, i would say so.}

i am talking with him on the phone right now, actually.
he is telling me how excited he is for dinner tonight,
and how he thought about it a lot today.
{i am making fake cafe rio, and it's the bomb!}
well, i am doing my best to make his life happy.
he is my single source of happiness, after all.
i totally owe him.

last night:

drove through a raging snowstorm, {thank you, utah.}
got cheesesteaks with john and the in-laws.
ice cream for me and john on the way home.
have you noticed that my life pretty much revolves around food?

superbowl.

some people {like me} don't usually care who wins the superbowl.

{let's be honest, sometimes i don't even recognize one of the teams playing.}

but, yesterday was a special occasion, seeing as my favorite team since i was a little tike was playing.

that's right, i am a green bay fan.

so imagine my excitement when my favorite team since the beginning of time won the superbowl.

happy happy happy!

we had a bunch of friends over to watch the game - and they brought delectables.

homemade salsa, barbecue chicken wings, burritos, and yummy treats.

thanks friends, for joining us for the game.  

it was truly a blast!

little date.

sometimes, john and i go on little dates.

a lot of the time, actually.

and they usually include food, ice cream, and a movie.

they actually all the time do.

so last night, we used this:

and had the most delicious {and fattening} dinner ever.

then we rented despicable me,

and watched it while snuggling on the couch.

thanks for the little date, my darling husband.

saturday adventures.

on saturdays john has an early-morning GMAT class.
so we drag ourselves out of bed....
{5.3 hours of sleep will never suffice}
drive an hour to salt lake....
{and listen to eminem all the way}
and drop him off at his class.

the bright side:  i get to spend time with my family!

1.  my silly brother andy jack, whom i tickled for an hour nonstop {and he loved it}.

2.  my funny brother ben, who saved up $33.75 to buy a cool star wars lego toy.

3.  john and i sitting on the floor, gross and sweaty after an intermural soccer game later that day.

hope your weekend is {will be} equally as wonderful.  

friday date.

 on friday night, john surprised me by coming home early,

so that we could make a quick trip to the temple before it closed.

he's a great husband like that.

 afterwards, we got shakes and snuck them into the movie theatre.

{the king's speech was the movie of choice and it was so good!}

i love little dates with my husband.  

IV insertion for champs.

IV insertion pass-off.

a little nerve-wracking.  

and since it's all about what you do, step-by-step, 

{each finger movement can make you or break you}

i needed some practice.

so i rolled up a towel and made an arm.

and stuck a needle in it. 

many, many times.

john laughed at me,

and also reluctantly offered for me to practice on him.

i regretfully declined, because it's against the rules,

but i wish i could have.  he has very nice veins.

it's one of the things that originally attracted me to him, really.

the steps:

1. wash hands
2. assess pts prior exp., explain procedure
3. ID patient
4. identify vein
5. position chux
6. prepare supplies
7. prime saline lock
8. prep site with chloraprep
9. apply tourniquet
10. don clean gloves
11. perform venipuncture with bevel up
12. advance catheter
13. remove tourniquet
14. apply pressure to vein above insertion site, remove needle and turgor safety device
15. kinect tubing to IV catheter
16. flush saline lock
17. apply transparent dressing
18. secure IV with tape
19. label dressing
20. maintain sterile technique

and in my pass-off today, i didn't miss a single step- not one.

100%

thank you little towel arm.

you just made my day.

chilly.

what's better than eating chicken noodle soup when it's three degrees outside?

nothing, of course.

unless you pair it with an episode of grey's anatomy.

now we're talkin!

this is me, freezing because it's frigid outside.

this is me, attempting to take a picture of my freezing breath.  

absolute failure.

on the bright side, 

i have clinical tomorrow.  

i am hoping to see something incredible.

start an IV perhaps?

only time will tell.

it's time.

it's time.
i've learned what to wear,
i've learned what to eat,
i've learned what to do,
i've even learned how to build a training program.
it's time to turn this thing around.
i miss running, eating healthy, feeling great.
and i've been taking a jogging class the past few weeks.
so i'm going to start running again, because i miss it too much.
i want to feel full of energy again!  {like i did back in high school.... heh. heh.}
thanks to hungryrunnergirl and my dear friend madison for the motivation.
now i just need a gym membership or for spring to come....