Disneyland Documentation

Every year we take a girl's trip to Disneyland to run the half marathon! We went in September but I never got around to posting much about it. Yesterday I had some spare time though and made a (very amateur) video.

Disneyland is such a magical place, and you can't know me without knowing that I love going there! I'm not much of a thrill seeker and so the 'total experience' centered Disneyland is perfect for me. I'd rather be people watching on a bench in Frontierland than be riding the world's tallest roller coaster, but that's just me. Who doesn't love the smell of baking croissants wafting out of the shops as you walk down Main Street. The gentle chime of music playing in the background, and the sight of Sleeping Beauty's Castle up ahead? I'm a real sucker for that kind of cheesy stuff.

3rd Anniversary

Happy 3rd (what the heck) Anniversary to my main squeeze, Nathan Hartshorn.

I'll start out by cliche-ly saying I have no clue how the time has flown so fast because frankly it has been going by at lightning speed.

I remember when I first saw you at the BYU-Idaho country dance and thought you were so handsome and wished that you would ask me to dance.

Then you did, and the rest is history as they say.

You are tall, handsome (and getting more handsome every day in my humble opinion), and amazingly smart. You are hardworking, thoughtful and you always let me do whatever I want, and I'm very grateful for that.

I'm proud of you for becoming a diesel mechanic, and I am so happy to see your own dreams coming true.

Thanks for reading Harry Potter finally so that we can discuss it and laugh and Fred and George together.

Thanks for scraping the ice off the car every morning, and for fixing the washer. Those little things mean a lot to me.

And finally, thank you for putting up with me and my quirks because heaven knows I have a lot of them.

You are my best bud forever.

23 and Christmas Trees

 People, today marks my first school-free, stress-free, test-free, assignment-free day and it is absolutely beautiful. Hallelujah, thank you Christmas!

Somehow I managed to complete my very first year of nursing school, and assuming I pass my state boards in a couple weeks I will officially a NURSE! Which I find absolutely awesome but also terrifying. For those of you who don't know how the hierarchy of nursing works, after one year you can choose to take your NCLEX - PN, which will license you to work as a practical nurse, and then after another year you can become an registered nurse or RN. So my nursing school journey is not yet over, but I feel pretty good about completing my practical nursing program to begin with.

Nathan and I went with my family to see the MoTab Christmas Concert on Saturday, which was an absolute delight.

AND guess what I turned 23. AH! 23. That is such an old number, I am practically ancient. We had a gingerbread house making party yesterday to celebrate, per tradition, however I did not snap any photos. But it did happen, I promise.

This month has been jam packed full of awesomeness and I love it. December is the best, hands down. I love the smell of oranges and peppermint and the sight of a glowing Christmas tree and the feel of wrapping paper and the sound Bing Crosby's White Christmas playing in the background.

I take issue with those who do not enjoy Christmas, so if you have anything bad to say about it then let's fight!

Kidding.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Christmas Cheer

Currently my Christmas spirit far exceeds my nursing school spirit which is a major issue considering next week I am going into finals and following that taking my state practical nursing licensure exam (the dreaded NCLEX, ah).

For example last night I put on Home Alone with the good intentions of 'just having it on in the background' while studying. Uh yeah, no. There was no background anything going on. That movie was front and center, and studying got the boot.

My cat loves tinsel and seriously sat in this tinsel nest she made for like 3+ hours without moving. Awesome.

Annnddd.... here's Nathan and I's fantastic Wal-Mart Christmas tree that we absolutely love. Best $25 dollars I ever spent. I decided to go with brown paper wrapping and fancy ribbons this year again. Something about 'brown paper packages tied up with strings' that I just cannot get away from. Maybe next year I'll go back to traditional Christmas wrapping.

We went to Temple Square with some friends this last weekend and it was quite enjoyable. A traditional Christmas activity that must be done at least once a season by all Utahns.

OK my grandma is the most hilarious human. My grandpa asked her if she would come 'help' rake leaves and this is what she did. Stood on the tarp while reading her kindle. Classic.

Here she is again, insisting on dressing her reindeer in their Christmas outfits. I love my grandma.

I've posted about my grandma's Christmas "shelves" on here before but felt the need to document this year's set up. Instead of a traditional Christmas tree, with you know....green branches and other tree like qualities, she has Christmas 'shelves'. This IS her tree, guys, and I get the privilege of setting it up each year. I say privilege in the sense that yes I do enjoy setting up her Christmas decorations each year but these shelves are truly a pain in the butt. I have to thumbtack each piece of tinsel and lights on every square inch of this bad boy and by the time I'm all done I'm shocked I even have a thumb anymore. But listening to the Carpenter's Christmas album while I set it all up seems to make it a pleasant enough experience that I keep coming back every year.

The finished form. Nativities and all.

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season and the best of luck to all of you with finals!

Holiday Controversy

The two most controversial holiday topics are:

1. Whether or not teenagers should be allowed to trick-or-treat.

2. Should you listen to music before thanksgiving?

Seriously, people feel very passionately about their stances on either of these topics, and it's really quite funny because both 'issues' are incredibly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However they definitely  cause a lot heat and emotion to come out of people, do they not?

I for one believe that teenagers should be allowed to trick-or-treat because... well, you're only young once and who really cares if a fourteen year old wants to trick-or-treat? I'm certainly not offended. Let them be young and have fun before they have to grow up and enter the real world where nobody gets to trick-or-treat and all you have to do is pay bills. People act as though some injustice has been served them if a fifteen year old comes to the door for some candy. I mean maybe if a 35 year old trick-or-treated I would be upset. Actually probably just more creeped out by the 35 year old.

Secondly I believe you should be able to listen to Christmas music whenever the heck you please. Do I think Hobby Lobby maybe jumps the gun a little bit when they put their Christmas decor out in August? Yeah, maybe a little bit. But if you want to listen to your Christmas tunes on November 1st then by all means. It's not going to destroy my Thanksgiving if someone wants to jam out to 'Blue Christmas' two days before, and I highly doubt Thanksgiving feels as though it's getting the shaft by those early-xmas-music-listening fiends either. How dare they.

Proof that I am one of those blasphemers that listen to holiday music before the kick off date. No shame. The above actually happens to be my favorite Christmas tune. Nothing quite like a good old fashioned pop 80's Christmas tune to lift your spirits.

AND, do you know what the BEST Christmas album of all time is (no, not Michael Buble)? It's the Carpenters Christmas Album, peeps. Respecting the classics. Look it up if you haven't heard of the Carpenters because they'll change your life.

SO, two questions for y'all.

1. What's you're favorite Thanksgiving food? (mine is stuffing)

and

2. What's your favorite Christmas song/album?

As of Late

So nursing school is pretty much kicking my trash, so I never post anymore, but I've decided to be a rebel and put off my homework for like 15 minutes while I try to squeeze in a little update here. 

Since nursing school is my life right now let's talk about that. Pictured above is what results when you are on your last straw of sanity after sitting in the same seat in class for the 2939847th hour that day. I have some pretty suuweeeet friends though which helps me get through the day to day struggle. Someday I am going to write a lengthy post about how nursing school is like selling your soul but today is not that day.

Back in September I was very lucky and had the privilege to visit my most favoritest place on the planet - Disneyland! My mom, aunt and myself ran the half marathon and it was the bomb-diggity.

OK so this picture is hysterical so I must share the story. My dad went to the BYU vs. Nebraska game back in September and guess what... he got on TV! His friend back at home took this lovely picture. This totally cracks me up because there's my dad, like the only BYU fan standing up in a sea of red. Too funny.

Although I sold my soul to nursing school, like I mentioned earlier, occasionally I have had time to hang out with friends. This is my lovely friend Ashley and she is an absolute peach. She and her husband live in Salem and they are so close to the mountain that you could hear elk bugling from their house a few weeks ago! We went over there and sat by the fire and listened to the elk all night. If you have ever heard an elk bugle you will understand that there's nothing else quite as majestic.

And of course I have to make mention to the fact that it is now fall, my favoritest season. I don't do the whole pumpkin spice thing but I do love bundling up in sweaters and going on drives to look at the leaves.

On another note, I am a total nerd. I like to consider myself a cool nerd, but I'm a nerd - right. So I just got my husband to start reading Harry Potter and I am so excited about it! He has never read them before and now he's on the second book and FINALLY I can make my nerdy Harry Potter jokes and he gets it now. It's the small things in life, people.

Alright peace out, folks.

Roses and Comfort Zones

// I was the florist for another friend's wedding this week! I love being surrounded by hundreds of flowers and just being able to sit and work with them for hours on end. Who could be sad when you get to play with flowers all day? Plus those roses smelt divine.

// I start school again in 2 weeks (eek!) this will be my last semester for my nursing program and I will graduate in January! I am really excited and also horribly nervous. The thought of being the 'nurse' both thrills and terrifies me. Am I ready for that responsibility yet? I don't know. Hopefully I will feel better at the end of this semester, haha.

// I hate the 'comfort zone'. It's like you know you have to push yourself out of it, and you always turn out better for it, but it's like the worst thing ever. I understand that I won't progress at all however if I don't stretch for heights I'm not used to, so here's to being really uncomfortable for the sake of someday being more comfortable. Does that even make sense?