Before/After

BEFORE:

AFTER:

3 hours later...
I learned quite a bit about hair today and have a new found respect for cosmetologists. Seriously, so much chemistry. First she put this yellow stuff on my hair (I don't know what it was called) but basically it was putting pigment back in my hair because with as blonde as it was, there was virtually no pigment left in it. So I had yellow hair today. Color #1. Then she put on the all over color. It was a little bit darker that my natural hair color, but I figured it would be better to go darker than lighter. It will fade eventually. Then the yellow started looking green...slightly concerned, but she had said that this could happen. Color stayed on for what seemed like eternity (I haven't had my hair professionally done in years. I'm impatient!) and there did not seem to be any signs of the green. Washed out the color. Started to blow dry my hair. Green...definitely green. Color #2. Definitely started to panic internally at this point, but she put a toner on it and it turned out SO MUCH better. The color actually matches. I'm all one color. Color #3, and the winner! Thank goodness. And I have bangs. I'm pretty excited about them. Honestly, I've been wanting to have bangs for a while now, and I finally got brave enough to go do it. I'm so glad I did. It's been a great change in the whole 3.5 hours that I've had them. Hopefully it stays that way.

So, what do you think?? I need some honest opinions! Please and thanks :]

T- Minus 2 hours

I may have an anxiety attack. I have an appointment at 1 to get my hair cut and colored. I called my hair salon, fully expecting to have to wait a week or so before I could get an appointment. Nope...they can fit me in today. So I'm going. I'm excited, and nervous...mostly excited. I will do a before and after, after the appointment.

Now 1.5 hours to go.

The {almost} successful IV start

Today was IV insertion day. To say I've been a nervous wreck is the understatement of the year. Seriously, it's a little ridiculous. But I was determined to stick someone, and let someone else stick me. It's really the only way to learn...and develop sympathy for your patients.

I let Lauren stick me, and due to the semester of phlebotomy I took, and being stuck in my antecubital area on both arms...I'm a little traumatized. I gave blood a few months ago and really thought I was going to pass out from the anxiety of getting stuck with the large bore needle. It's bad. So I just asked Lauren to stick me in my hands. For me, those don't hurt at all. She {gratefully} obliged! Don't judge me for this anxiety I'm about to relay to you. I don't know how else to explain it other than a traumatized anxiety.

I can't watch myself getting stuck. I tense up, and that makes everything hurt THAT much worse, and make your vein THAT much harder to find. I turned my head and started focusing on my breathing--slow, controlled, and trying to stay relaxed. I felt super bad because after it was over, Lauren and I both realized we were stressed for each other, and not ourselves! Anyway, she stuck me and my stupid vein rolled right out of the way! I felt so bad for her, but it didn't hurt me, and she was fine. 

Then I got ready to stick Mariah. She had some AWESOME antecubital veins. Right on the surface, and big! Seriously, they were beautiful! I had everything all ready, inserted the needle, saw the flash, and was starting to push the catheter completely into the vein when all of the sudden the needle is retracting! I was so completely in shock because I didn't remember pushing the safety to retract the needle, but apparently I did. Sucks because everything was going so well!! So since she has this catheter in her arm, she starts bleeding and it was a huge blur. I just remember thinking I have to stop this bleeding! Luckily we were in school so my instructor is right there and she's helping me the whole time. We stopped the bleeding, and in retrospect, what seemed like an eternity to get the catheter out actually happened super fast. Thank goodness Mariah is such a champ and was not freaking out at all! 

So that's my story for today. It was quite exciting and even thought I didn't get to set up the entire IV system, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting into her vein!! Nursing school...it twists your sense of humor and excitement. 

Cheers to the freaking weekend

Three day weekend was just what the doctor ordered!! Let's just go with a brief overview.

FRIDAY: Clinical, buddy day. Enough said. It was so freaking legit and made me so excited that I'm going to be a nurse soon!! However, not the point of the post. I suppose that will wait for another day. Friday night we FINALLY had our clinical group date that we'd been planning since last semester!! Robin was in town for a few days, and it's early enough in the semester that we all had a free evening. It also happened to be Clark's birthday! So we ordered pizza, made some cupcakes, sang happy birthday, and just hung out for the night. Cami and Matt, Robin, Jordan, Kaci, and Ashley and Clark were all over and we had a blast. It was a much needed comedic relief from the stress that we're all already feeling with this semester.

So each of the married couples told the story of how they met/proposal. It was pretty funny to say the least and all of us were practically rolling on the floor with laughter. The highlight for me of Cami and Matt's story was that in high school, Matt was a wrestler. And the way Cami puts it, he had black hair (dyed for wrestling) and was anorexic (to stay in his weight class). Haha. The highlight for me of Ashley and Clark's story was that Clark used SO MANY ONE LINERS on Ashley! Haha major cheese ball but hilarious at the same time! It was great and so nice to feel like we have friends that all of us actually get along with each other. After everyone had left, Cami and Matt were stayed for a bit talking to us, and between Cami and I we have quite a bit of "funds" starting. First we have the "pedicure fund" and then there's the "sushi fund" and I'm sure there are a few more we came up with!

Truth: making married friends is HARD!! Fact: all of us that night got along so well! All the girls of course, but the guys totally did too and that made me so happy! I love having couple friends!

SATURDAY: We had the Bunker's over! We were quite the party animals this last weekend. A rare occasion for us! We talked for quite a bit and played some Monopoly. I thought it would be pretty boring, but it actually ended up being super fun with only 4 people playing. Dan ended up completely bankrupt because he landed on Ed's "Boardwalk" property. $1400 in rent...can't really see why he went broke, haha. It was pretty funny, and the game ended after that. It was nice to have them over though because I feel like they were some of our first real friends that we made since being married. I love that we can go a few months without hanging out and things are still the same when we do get together again! Like I said, I love having couple friends! I just wish I had more time to hang out with them!

SUNDAY: Church. The sacrament. Spending the day with Dan. I just love Sundays. We made kalua and rice for dinner...I could go to heaven just thinking about it! Caitlin and Tyler came over for dinner too, and that was nice to see them again! I haven't seen Caitlin since she left for Christmas break. And she lives in the same state! It's just a testament to how busy I really am. Dan also made sweet bread after Caitlin and Tyler left. It's so so yummy! I didn't take any pictures of these loaves though...next time!! Next time!!

MONDAY: I decided it was time to lose my bread making virginity. I was so inspired by Dan's bread making skills the night before, and about a week ago, I came across my mom's bread recipe. So, I decided What the heck! I'll make bread today, and put this KitchenAid to good use! It was quite an experience to say the least! First of all, I really did not think all the required flour was going to fit into the mixing bowl. It barely did. Second, the dough was practically pouring over the sides by the time it was finished mixing. Third, it was so MESSY! Flour was in every which direction from the KitchenAid out and I had so much dough all over my fingers, I probably could have made another loaf. Okay, slight over exaggeration, but I really did have a ton of dough on my fingers.

Another reason it got so messy...well we're like kids some days, and we started putting flour all over each other. And since Dan has such a cute butt...I couldn't resist!

Then I let it rise for an hour, and it got HUGE!

I separated it into the bread pans, and after it baked, I had to have a slice, fresh and hot out of the oven. It did not disappoint. Our bread making ventures this weekend were quite the success. I, for one, was extremely proud of my bread!

Monday afternoon, Dan wanted to go fishing. I was pretty excited about it and excited to maybe get to use my fly fishing pole that Dan had bought me for Christmas. We went up Spanish Fork Canyon to Diamond Fork River. We drove into a campsite and found a spot pretty close to the river. We went to pull off the road a little ways (there were other track marks from multiple tires), and we had just barely pulled off when the front left tire sank straight down into the snow. Suck. It was pretty interesting, and we were seriously stuck, and stuck good. Like we rocked the car, shoved brush under the tires to get better traction, and the car would not move! The tires just kept spinning. Even more frustrating though, the tires would start to go forward, roll just enough, and then slip back into the hole. Luckily for us, there were other people stuck right around the corner. We walked over to ask for help, and helped them push their car out, and they came over to help us.

I was really afraid at this point that we would have to get pulled out. We didn't have a tow rope. Neither did they. Crap. I got back into the car, and we tried to push it out. It worked!!!! First time too. It was such a blessing! We made it out just fine, and even found Pitch Perfect at Redbox to watch!! The evening ended with eating chili with Caitlin and Tyler, and watching the movie.

It has been a great weekend. Now back to the grind. LOTS of homework to catch up on.

"Real" family

I was texting my sister in law yesterday, just a quick note to let her know I was thinking about her. What she sent back to me really made an impact. So Jami, I hope you don't mind but I'm going to write exactly what she wrote to me.

Thanks for loving us and loving Brad even though he isn't "real" family...:)

This didn't hit me right away (it was 4 am when I got it...time difference SUCKS!!), but when I read it again in my fully conscious state, it really hit me. I went around the rest of the day thinking about it, and because life is the way it is, it's taken me 4 days to blog about it. Better late than never, right?

I kept thinking about what "real" family means. After a good majority of the day being distracted in thought on this simple word, I finally decided what real family means to me.

Real family: the ones you surround yourself with, the people you love, and the ones who love you back. In my book, those are the only requirements.

Oblige me for a minute--I want to be honest.
I've never once had a second thought about Brad being family. Some of you may think No big deal. Why worry about that? Well, I've thought about it. It was a hard pill to swallow when we found out Jami was getting married. It was even harder when we found out she'd be moving to Germany. And I was really wrestling with it for quite a while. Here is this little family that I had grown to love so much, and a little boy (who's not so little anymore) that I had been watching once a week. It was rough because on the one hand my heart was breaking knowing that they wouldn't be just up the road anymore, but I was so so so happy for Jami to finally have someone in her life again, someone to take care of both of them. Someone to make them a family again.

When we were in the temple waiting for their sealing, I felt so much peace. I never knew Kam (Dan's brother, and Kason's dad), but I know he was there that day, and he was happy. Maybe that was just for Dan and I to feel, but nonetheless, it made that day that much more perfect. Jami was so happy, the happiest I'd ever seen her, and I knew that was because of Brad. I practically burst into tears seeing her after the sealing, but it was the happy tears. I'm so so grateful she let us be there and share that day with them.

I love Jami and Kason more than any words will ever be adequate or able to express. I love Brad as a part of my family because he's a part of their family. I don't know him that well, and honestly haven't really had a chance to talk to him, but I know he has a good heart and he is a good man. He is taking care of Kason and loving him and raising him. How awesome is that?! Major points in my book just for that. Not only does he love Jami, but he also loves Kason. I can't quite put it into words exactly what I'm thinking. It's more just a feeling. If there is anything I have ever learned in life it's that family is the most important thing. THE MOST IMPORTANT. The way I see things, Brad is and always has been family, and he always will.

Family: the greatest blessing I have ever received.

Playin' my song

Do you have a song that just puts you in a good mood? Like there's nothing wrong in the world and everything is going your way? Like it doesn't matter if it's raining outside and you just bombed a test or forgot a homework assignment because everything is gonna be alright?

I do.

It changes from time to time, but lately it's been Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. Now, before you go making a face about it, because believe me I'm not her biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination, there's just something about this song. It's catchy. It's upbeat. It's happy. It feels like me lately, and every time I hear/play it, I want to start dancing around the room till I pass out and sing at the top of my lungs till my throat is sore.

It's the song lately that reminds me, or convinces me some days, that I'm on top of the world and the goal is in reach, it's almost there, and I can keep going. It reminds me to put a smile on my face and enjoy life where I'm at right now. That's a lot of thought going into Miley, but music is, and has always been, the best way to describe and express emotions.

So for your listening pleasure...and please go dance around your kitchen or living room and crank the volume up for 3 minutes. Just let loose and let everything else going on around you go. You'll feel better. I always do.

The Temperature Lately

It's been less than ideal. Like single digits and the NEGATIVES (Farenheit...not Celsius. So it's COLD!!!). I was noticing on FB that a bunch of friends that live in Idaho were saying how it's negative 17 degrees outside, so for kicks, I checked the weather. Here in good ole Springville...its 9 degrees. Feels like 0 degrees. Hahah. And the only reason I laugh is because I really didn't think it was THAT cold today. Especially if you saw the dress I wore to Church.

Gotta love Utah. Or hate it. Whatever. Praying for some sunshine soon! I want to go run outside and not be afraid of getting pleurisy.