Andreason Bunch

Splish-Splash

2012-01-12T13:37:00.000-05:00

Zoe loves to bathe. She could be having one of her fussy episodes but as soon as she gets in the warm water she calms down right away. She has recently figured out that when she kicks the water, she can make the water splash.

However, she does not enjoy the whole bathing process, she doesn't like it when she gets out. I don't know what it is because we have tried holding her until she is dry before we dress her, we have tried warming up her towel and blanket in the dryer so that when she gets out she is toasty warm but none of it works; she just screams and screams until she is all dressed in her jammies and in our arms. At least she enjoys the bath, we will figure out the other part soon, I hope.

Let's Go Grab Some Coffee

2012-01-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

My favorite date night by far would have to be coffee night. Instead of going out to dinner and spending way too much, not to mention eating way too much, we prefer to go out for a cup of Joe. This time we went to a French cafe called Amelie's. They have a sea salt caramel brownie to die for; obviously not a French pastry but still mighty tasty. Tino and Vickie accompanied us this night for endless coffee and delicious pastries and, as always, great conversation.

Me and Zoe are twins! Totally not planned.

Greek in the New Year

2012-01-04T01:13:00.000-05:00

We went to the Greek Isles, a restaurant in Charlotte, with Vickie and Tino and some of their family and friends. We had only planned to stay for some appetizers and maybe coffee since we didn’t get a babysitter but time flew by and before we knew it 2012 was going to be here in 5 minutes. Zoe was doing so good so we figured we may as well stay and ring in the new year Greek style. Opa!

I am very goal oriented and so, naturally, I love making new year resolutions. This year I am going to focus on my top 3:

Read a church book to Zoe every day
Don’t stress it with school. With that I need to keep my priorities straight: family first, then school.
Reach my goal weight by June 30.

To further expound on goal #3, this means losing my pregnancy weight AND pharmacy school weight. If I do, I get to go on a shopping spree! Now if that doesn’t keep me motivated then ...

Here are my current stats:

Ht: 5'6"
SW: 167 lbs
CW: 159 lbs
GW: 135 lbs
(S=start, C=current, G=goal)
*I have shared with you all the very personal information of my weight with the intent of holding me accountable to my goal, otherwise I wouldn't dream of sharing it. So, be nice.*

I am so close to losing all of my pregnancy pounds with just being 4 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, however, that is far from my goal. Thank you pharmacy school. I have been doing great since Christmas break but it is when school resumes that worries me. When exams come around and I am studying for the majority of the day it is extremely difficult to remain on my regimen. I must do it though. I am tired of carrying around these extra pharmacy school L – B’s.

Zoe's Birth Announcement

2012-01-04T00:45:00.001-05:00

Misty Pink Birth Announcement

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Christmas With The Andreason’s

2012-01-04T00:41:00.000-05:00

The festivities began for us on Christmas Eve with a classic Carolina BBQ dinner at one of our friend's house. I did not take any pictures; apparently I was too busy enjoying my BBQ sandwich and sampling a table full of desserts. But I did get a few pictures after dinner:

We didn’t stay there for long because we had to go home to get dressed up and ready for the Nativity of Christ Divine Liturgy, which began at midnight. I was really looking forward to this service because every year something comes up so that we are unable to make it. Last year we got snowed in and the entire state pretty much went in to coma, meaning even the churches were closed.

All dressed up and ready to go to church:

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Zoe did amazing, we didn’t get home until 3 am and she slept the entire time. Success!

We were planning on coming home from church and diving right into the present opening but we were pretty exhausted so we opted for sleep instead. We opened gifts at around 11 Christmas morning.

Don't mind my half-drunken appearance here, focus on Zoe's freaking adorable smile.

The first babies of the house. They adore Zoe ... mostly.

All I can say is we are so dang spoiled. One particular gift I cannot keep my hands off of is my Kindle Fire. I was skeptical of these things at first but the more I played with them the more I realized how awesome they were and how bad I wanted one. My kindle makes it so much easier to read a book or surf the net while I am feeding Zoe or she is napping in my arms.

I got Cole what he wanted, the entire month-to-month volume collection of the lives of the Orthodox Saints. We read about the lives of the saints in the Orthodox church because they show us how to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. They are examples to us and we learn from their stories. Cole reads them every day.

Duke and Chopper have their stockings which I always fill with a toy and some of their favorite treats. This year I unpackaged the treats so we could watch them take on the task of getting them out of their stocking. It was pretty comical.

Thank you in-laws for the awesome gifts and money. I already spent my money, of course, on some new running shoes. I got some Brooks and it feels like running on clouds compared to my old New Balances.

Thanks mom and dad for the new knife set, we have put them to good use already too.

That afternoon we spent with our friends Vasiliki (Vickie) and Augustine (Tino), who we have chosen to be Zoe’s Godparents. They prepared us the traditional Greek Christmas lamb dinner. It was amazing. Vickie and Tino can cook up a storm. After dinner I pretty much fell asleep with Zoe on the couch. I felt pretty bad. Needless to say, we went home soon after that.

When we got home we played with all of our new toys while we watched Christmas movies and that pretty much wraps up our Christmas holiday! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Sweet And Scrappy Christmas Card

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Amazing Moms

2011-12-31T01:04:00.000-05:00

I would like to flash back to the time when Zoe was born to thank these amazing moms:

Zoe was born in the middle of my fall semester and there is nooooo freaking way I could have finished my classes if not for these wonderful women in my life. They each came out for weeks at a time to watch Zoe while I finished my classes. They sure helped the mother transition settle in much easier then I'm sure most new mothers experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you sooo much!! I don't think I could say it enough. It was a sad day when each of them left, it was hard fighting back the tears, and when they left I actually got to know what being a full time mom is like. Whewwwyy, it ain't easy but I LOVE being home with my babes all day. Speaking of babes, Zoe is growing chunkier by the minute. She eats more milk than I can produce, her cheeks are proof. Oh I just want to pinch and kiss those cheeks all day long. It's going to be hard leaving her with her nanny in a week when I go back to school for the spring semester, but hey, it's my last semester of books, lectures and exams - EVER! After that, it's a year of rotations and then grad -u- freakin - ation! I. Can't. Wait. May 2013 could not come soon enough.

Here's a recent pic of Lil Miss. She is the happiest baby, and I don't just mean content, this girl smiles all the time. We love it! She is here daddy's girl through 'n through.

I have so much that I would like to post, more for the purposes of keeping a journal than anything else since I really am not a fan of actually handwriting my journal - I would much rather type. Anywho, when I get the time I will post more. Hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas and have a safe and fun New Years! Here's to 2012!

Who Do I Look Like

2011-11-29T23:31:00.002-05:00

To be quite honest, when I saw Zoe for the first time and saw all that dark hair I was like, 'what?! She doesn't have red hair? Not even blonde?' However, I didn't think about where it came from like most people think when they see her dark hair next to her pale parents. If you haven't said it, I know you are thinking it so let me put your is-it-from-the-mailman questions to rest. She gets her dark hair from both of her Grandaddy's and her Great-Grandmammy's (from her mommy's side) and her olive skin comes from Grandpa Desslie. So as you can see, although both of her parents are as fair as vampires, she also has a long line of dark hair and olive skin. There I said it.

So now that your concerns are put to rest about whether or not our child came from Cole or not, who do you think she looks like? There has been a general theme to that question but I want to hear what you think? Like daddy? Or like mommy?

Daddy

Mommy

Daddy (we have a horrible scanner, sorry)

Zoe

Newborn Heaven

2011-11-14T00:10:00.000-05:00

We have been a little busy in newborn heaven and can't stop doting on this little bundle of perfection:

Ahhhh, we are in love. Speaking of love, we love her newborn photos that my good friend Courtney (who is also from Utah) took for us. She is so good at what she does, thanks Courtney! Check out her website, here. Here are a few of our favorites:

All I can say is, life is pretty dang good.

She's Here!

2011-10-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

Zoe Maria Andreason

Born at 10:49 a.m. on 10-20-2011

8 lbs. 3 oz.

20.5 inches

TM

2011-10-15T22:52:00.001-04:00

Finally, I got to see Timmy! I have wanted to go to one of his shows for a long time but it has never worked out. One of our friend’s dads is friends with Tim McGraw and gets extra tickets from him when he comes in town, so our friends gave us two of their extra tickets this time. Thanks Jenn and Clint!
We were excited just to go to the concert and got even more excited when we found out how close we were to the stage. The show was getting ready to start when the crowd exploded. I realized that Tim must have entered the crowd somewhere and when I realized where that was, he was about 10 feet away from us. “Get the camera out, Ash!!” So I’m rushing to get out the camera in time to take a photo but also reach out to shake his hand. I pretty much had one shot at both of these so I couldn’t screw it up. Luckily, I didn’t. I got one good pic AND he shook both mine and Cole’s hands. It was pretty exhilarating! All night I got so excited at the fact that I got to shake Tim Mcgraw’s hand. I was pretty surprised at how skinny he is though. He is tiny! Not what I was expecting at all.

Cole has seen Tim McGraw’s concert before and has said to me how he wasn’t that entertaining when he saw him so I wasn’t expecting much. He put on a good show though and Cole agreed that his concert was much more entertaining this time around.

Concerts are a lot of fun but I just haven’t been to a lot. I have only seen Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith before Tim McGraw. The concerts that are on my absolutely must see list are:

1. Coldplay - Hands down favorite band of all time.
2. Brad Paisley - Favorite country singer next to Tim.
3. Linkin Park – Awesome music all around.
4. Norah Jones – Love this girl’s style. Great chill music.

There are others but these are always the first that come to my mind and are on quite opposite ends of the spectrum too. That’s my music taste in a nutshell, I like all kinds of music. I should make a better list, that way we will actually go to the concerts.

Here’s proof of the closeness in proximity we were to Timmy Boy, no zoom or anything. Wish we got a picture of the actual handshake but I didn’t want to screw that one up and miss my opportunity. Next time I told Cole I want tickets next to the stage, that would be sweet!

Baby update! No baby. 39 weeks, feet - well no feet just kankles now, contractions but irregular. Any minute now would be great. I got a pedicure yesterday thinking that could maybe dress up my kankles a little bit. At least my toenails are all cute and dolled up now.

Watching the Bank of America 500, cheering for Jr. but in 21st place and 36 laps to go I don't think he's gonna make it.

The last 5 years...

2011-08-17T13:07:00.000-04:00

have been the best years of my life, I have my wonderful hubby to thank for that.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BABE! I LOVE YOU!

AUGUST 17, 2006

The best day of my life.

Utah

2011-08-15T17:52:00.001-04:00

We visited home over the 4th of July for my family's reunion. I came out a week early to catch up and visit with friends and family. When I flew into the valley before landing in SLC, I couldn’t believe how much snow was still on the mountains. Apparently, I was told, a couple of ski resorts were still open at the time. That is just weird. If I wasn’t pregnant I so would have gone up there. It was pretty to see UT so green though. I never realized how much of a desert UT is until living in NC where everything is covered in some layer of dew and moisture nearly every day of the year.

Showers. During my stay I got showered with baby love at two baby showers. Thanks Mom, sisters, Vickie, and Charity for throwing me the awesome parties! I got so much stuff that I ended up having to buy an extra duffle bag in addition to my giant suitcase to fit it all in and I still had overweight luggage. It was so worth it though. Baby Z is so loved and she’s not even here yet!

T-Ville Dayzzz. I was able to make it to Taylorsville Dayzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz parade and fireworks show which were just as epic as I remember.

Café Rio. I had Café Rio way too much, also, just as epic as I remember, inspiring yet another campaign effort to bring Café Rio to Charlotte. It is open in Maryland and will be opening soon in Virginia. NC has got to be on the list soon, right? I wouldn’t complain if Sconecutter and/or Leatherby’s decided to head to the QC (Queen City aka Charlotte) either. Now if the situation were in reverse, there isn’t really anything that I like so much that I would want it to migrate to UT. Maybe, maybe, Panera. Panera is pretty awesome but still, Café Rio wins me. I don’t just love the food in the South like many people do. And I don’t want to lose my gall bladder because of food like the majority of people in the South do. I like my gall bladder right where it is, thanks.

Golf. You ever see a pregnant lady golf? I have but only once and that was my sister. I’m just glad that my belly wasn’t too big to swing or else I would have missed out on all the golfing fun. Obsessed much? Yes, my family is obsessed with golf. My mom was nice enough to let me have her golf lesson while I was there. I have never had a pro give me pointers, it was really helpful. The main thing he fixed in the lesson was my grip. He told me I had a great swing but horrible grip, gee thanks. My grip was all wrong and boy does that make a big difference. I had no idea. My games definitely improved after that, except for the last one. Cole and I coupled up with my brother, James and his wife, Ginny. It all started out good but the course was so deceiving. We lost more balls than we could count and we couldn’t even finish the game because we ran out of balls. I still laugh at that, it was pretty hysterical.

Boating. Is there anything more fun than boating? I was bummed that I couldn’t wakeboard but I had fun taking lots of action pics of my babe and my brothers and hanging out on the boat and beach. Wave runners are a blast too and I may have even gotten a little out of control on the wave runner but I couldn’t help it, it was so much fun!

It was a fun trip visiting friends and family and we can’t wait to do it again! Next time with Baby Z!

Coca-Cola 600

2011-08-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

When was this, in like May? I can’t say that I’ve always been a fan of NASCAR I mean really, how entertaining can it be to watch cars go around and around the same track for hundreds of laps. Until the Coca-Cola 600, it was zero entertainment for me. Living in NC, however, where NASCAR is a big deal, I have since been intrigued to see what all the fuss is about. Well we got to see what all the fuss was about thanks to a friend whose husband works for the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Charlotte Motor Speedway is a ginormous stadium that seats 140,000 and holds events year-round, the Coca-Cola 600 being one of the big events. I was told, by a very good resource, that the stadium was sold out and, I now concur, for good reason. You heard me right, I like NASCAR. I’m not trying to convince anyone to become a NASCAR fan but if you do get the chance to go to a race, do it, even if it’s not NASCAR. It is well worth it and it is something different to do. At the very least, you will be thoroughly entertained with people-watching; it truly is a red-neck sport (chuckles). I could go on and on but it is just something one has to experience, in my opinion.

Side story: Of all days to not forget a camera, this was one of them. Guess who forgot the camera? Oh yeah, me. But all was not lost, the day was not ruined because, drum roll please, we have cameras on our phones! But wait… Guess who also forgot their phone? Oh yeah, me. Good thing Cole didn’t forget his phone. We took like a zillion pictures and mini-clip videos so I tried to pick out the best ones. Oh, and don’t judge how I look, I’m pregnant and feel like a hippo and it was EXTREMELY hot and humid that day. Felt like a hippo then and two months later I feel even more hippo-y.

I was going to post my favorite video clips of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and the sound of the cars’ engines as they roared by (so awesome!) but I am having a hard time getting them to upload to blogger so no clips, sorry.

Milk Junkie

2011-06-08T22:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen those cute onesies that say "milk junkie, member of milkaholics anonymous"? I think it is adorable. I want to get one for Baby Z. I also think it would be quite fitting for me and if there is an adult version I am getting it. I love milk, I have always loved milk. Before being preggers I would go through 2 gallons a week all by myself. Since being preggers that is the one thing that I crave all of the time. I love it even more now, which I didn't think was possible but it is; I upped the ante to 3 gallons a week. I figured why not? I haven't gotten kidney stones yet... So... Yeah, not the smartest way of thinking.

Anywho - you should have seen the look on my midwife's face when I told her how much milk I drink. It was priceless. She congratulated me on my strong bones and likely Baby Z's strong bones but really felt concerned for my kidneys and was shocked that I haven't had any kidney stones in my life yet. So she cut me down to 2 glasses of milk a day. {What?!} It suddenly wasn't so funny anymore. I felt like she was ripping the bottle right from my mouth. I mean, those of you who have been or who are pregnant know how it feels to have your diet all wacked out and to have the one thing that still tastes normal, better than normal, downsized.

I know it sounds like I am blaming my midwife but that is not the case at all, I love my midwife and know that she only cares for what is best for us and I will do anything she asks; in this case I did it kicking and screaming.

Other than milk I haven't had too many cravings, plenty of aversions though. Nothing too specific in the aversion department it kind of hits me at that moment. Other than milk, the cravings department has been just a one time craving. One morning I woke up craving oreos. I think I dreamed about them and then woke up wanting some. Another recent random craving I have had is for Honey Nut Cheerios. Mmmm so scrumptious! Of course all of my food cravings come with a side of milk. Who would have guessed.

Pink Is My New Favorite Color

2011-05-14T18:25:00.001-04:00

Baby Andreason is a GIRL!!! Pinks and purples, dresses and bows, I am so excited to shop for baby girl!

It was actually a surprise to see that we are having a baby girl because all of our friends and both of our families thought for sure baby is a boy, it got to the point that we started believing it too. At this point I joined in on the fun, and because so many people kept saying "boy, boy, boy!" I started saying "girl, girl, girl!" When we were getting the ultrasound and they kept showing us the views showing that baby is clearly a girl, Cole kept asking, "are you sure? Are you sure?" Not that he isn't ecstatic to have a girl but because we were both so set on this baby being a boy, despite my vocalizations for a girl, we couldn't believe the baby is actually a girl. Of course we would be happy with a boy or a girl but the gender betting game is always a fun one. Me and my mother-in-law, Vickie, were the only ones betting on a girl. I told Vickie we should have waited for my brother to finish gathering the big money pot cause we would have won a lot of money.

We already have a name picked out but we are keeping it a secret until she arrives. I will give you a clue though, her name starts with a "Z". So for now we call her Baby Z!

Meet Baby Z!

I love that she is sucking her thumb, so cute!

Here is a 3D image of her little face

Birfday Boy

2011-05-13T19:47:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we celebrated Cole’s birthday by playing a round of golf. Then we planned to go watch Toy Story 3 at "Movie at the Park Night" in our town but we were so tired after golfing we couldn’t get our arsses off the couch when we got home. On Sunday we continued the birthday fun, I made two of our favorite recipes of my mother-in-law’s, BBQ’d pulled pork sandwiches and German chocolate cake. And of course, we engorged ourselves with another favorite, watermelon!! ‘Tis the season! Happy 27th babe!!

Cole is pretty proud of his long hair

He's got wings!

And here are some belly pics:

At about 11-12 weeks

And 16 weeks

Preggers

2011-05-07T15:08:00.001-04:00

Ohhh about a few months ago this lovely image came as quite the surprise, a good surprise though. We couldn't be more excited about our news!!! (I guess this solves my baby cravings doesn't it.)

Baby #1 will be here around Halloween!!

Christmas Cheer and the New Year

2011-01-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Christmas and New Years was pretty low-key for Cole and I this year.

After church services were over on Christmas Eve we just hung around the house eating delicious food and watching Christmas movies while playing Scrabble in front of the fire. It was so nice just to chill in front of the fire all night. I love having a wood-burning fire place except the only bad thing is we smell like a campfire after, but it is so worth it. On Christmas, NC and much of the south landed with freak snow storms, totally absurd I'm told but it has snowed for the two winters we have lived here, so... whatever. We got about 4-5 inches of snow that actually stuck to the ground and that was enough to close every church in the state.

With all the snow we got, it was a great opportunity to go outside and practice my creativity on the new NIKON Cole got me for Christmas. I flipped when I opened my present, I totally wasn't expecting it at all. Cole knows how much I love photography but I have never had a camera to really practice and play with. I am stoked to go out on photography ventures and explore the capabilities of my creativity and my new camera. What better to practice with than the my model of a husband and my babies, and the random snowstorm that landed us 4 inches of snow in the yard. Here are some of the first shots I took:

Well, I still need lots of practice but I am loving it.

This year I got Cole a mircrobrewery. His present was so big and had so many pieces that I couldn't wrap them up because as soon as he would open up one present, he would know what the rest of them would be. Instead, I sent him on a scavenger hunt to find his gift. I do have to say though, Cole's face looked priceless when he saw just one present under the tree for him, it was kind of sad. I felt pretty bad, I had to tell myself 'it's okay' he has a huge present waiting for him in the other room. When he finished his scavenger hunt he was so dang excited, it was awesome. He has been wanting to brew his own beer for a long time and so he was pretty thrilled. I can't wait to taste it!

New Years was spent at our friends' house. They made us a delicious meal and we played games all night. Thanks to the intense games of Scrabble and Pictionary, the New Year had passed and we didn't even know it, except for the neighbors fireworks going off.

As for resolutions... didn't really think about them, well except for these few:

1. Learn Krav Maga (kind of have to since I signed up for a Krav Maga gym)
2. Keep up on running during the semester
3. Take pictures, and more pictures, and even more pictures!!

Here's to 2011, may you go by as fast as 2010!

The Late and Latest of TwentyTen

2010-12-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

Late Summer-ish

Fall-ish

I'm Alive

2010-10-22T10:58:00.003-04:00

Wonder what happened to me and my blog? Well, this picture pretty much sums it up.

I have so much to write about and I can't wait to get to it but that's just not going to happen right now. School is harder than I could have imagined and takes up the majority of my time and sleep. I do enjoy learning things that will be applicable to practice, however. The rest of my time I make available for my family and don't really feel like doing much else. My poor hubby! He does all the laundry, cleaning, feeds himself and the dogs, and he will even do the grocery shopping. Mr. Mom in the making! (Just kidding babe haha--love you :-)

I guess I will start paying attention in my class now before I get called on! (This pharmacy law class is insane! If you don't know your cases and reading material, pages and pages of material-half of which is in legal jargon I don't understand, when you get called on you pretty much get criticized in front of everybody, plus it pisses our professor off --who happens to be the lawyer on the NC board of pharmacy who will be signing my license when I graduate and pass my exams. Intense. And scary.)

Duke and Chopper Are Famous

2010-08-10T11:25:00.001-04:00

Aren't these ads so cute?!

I wish that we could take the credit for the idea to have our puppies in our ads but the awesomeness is all due to our contact at Creative Loafing, a local Charlotte newspaper. Everyone who looks at the ads loves them. Duke and Chopper are famous (in Charlotte, anyway)!

Orthodoxy

2010-08-08T17:42:00.002-04:00

The Orthodox Church, or the "Bridegroom" of Christ, makes it possible for a sinner like myself to feel and experience a piece of heaven on this earth.

This video lets one look inside the life of a Monastic. Last year Sophia, "aka Ashlee", and I were able to visit a Monastic community in Boston and I can honestly say that it was the first time in my life I had experienced the "Kingdom" on this earth.

I'm on a boat...I've got my swim trunks and my flippy floppies!

2010-08-05T00:24:00.007-04:00

My dear Wilmington, I could never get tired of you. Which is good thing because we are taking Cole’s parents and his Brother, Christopher, and his wife, Mallory not this weekend but next. W can't wait to see you guys!!

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Wilmington with our friends, Courteney and Justin, aka Roady. They went to UNC Wilmington for their undergrads and so they showed us the ropes. They took us to all the cool local shops, restaurants, bars, the live band that plays every Friday, and of course, the beach. Our highlighted favorites of the trip were the live band and dinner on the river. (Wilmington sits nestled in between the ocean and the Cape Fear River).

For the 4th we went where all the locals go every holiday and that is, Masonboro Island. We had fun but this place was Off.The.Hook. There were thousands of people and hundreds of boats, it was one of the craziest things I have seen. We had a lot of fun on the island but to be honest, we liked the other side of the island best, the ocean-side, which was virtually empty. An empty and abandoned island, or beach for that matter, is my absolute paradise. I can’t wait to own a boat so we can drive out to islands off the coast whenever we want to. I can’t say enough how much I love our little beach trips! Thanks for showing us the “real Wilmington” Roady and Courteney!

2010-07-21T11:11:00.003-04:00

So yesterday Ashlee and I were out running at night (for those who know Chopper, a light jog ;)) with the dogs and it all happened so fast, “AHHHH, Duke juggling his feat, and Ashlee jumping!” I looked back, “thinking that Ashlee was being over dramatic about the flies flying in her face” however when I looked down at the road I realized that she had stepped on the head of a snake and killed it! It was precious! So after I did a little research to find out what kind of a snake it was and I found it. The snake is called an Eastern Ribbon Snake.” The one that she “stepped on” was about 18 inches long.

.......

2010-07-14T18:49:00.003-04:00

Man getting up at 4:30 in the morning is KILLING me. I have been doing my hospital rotation for school for the last week and a half and it DRAINS me to get up at 4:30 and get home at 4:30. Needless to say, I haven't much been in the mood for blogging. But I DO have some fun stuff to post but not until my rotation is done. Just two more days of this hell and I can get back to my life and my job where I actually get paid for my work. (It's not really hell, I am actually loving it, it's the whole getting up at 4:30 and not getting paid that's the hellish part hehe)

HP7

2010-07-01T18:00:00.002-04:00

The rumor was out that the HP7 trailer would be showing with the latest twilight saga film release, I however, did not receive that pleasure. So of course I had to look it up to see if the rumor that it was out was true, and so it is:

2010-06-26T09:04:00.002-04:00

I can't wait to go here!!!!! And to have some butterbeer!! Christmas maybe...Cole?? *hint*hint*

Lake Tilley

2010-06-25T15:44:00.005-04:00

We thought we would be missing out on boating trips when we moved out here, little did we know we would meet a friend with a boat and that the lakes out here are gorgeous! Going boating has got to be one of the funnest summer outings ever!! Of course we miss the boating company that we had before but we also enjoy the new boating company too. Justin and Courteney remind me a lot of Cole's brother, Christopher, and his wife, Mallory. And it has nothing to do with the fact that they have red hair, this is just affirmation to the whole redheads stick together thing that Cole always talks about.

The water wasn't very choppy so I thought I would try skis again, I think the last time I was on skis was when I was maybe 12. Let me just say that skis are so awkward I don't remember them being that awkward, I am a much bigger fan of the wakeboard. The kneeboard is really fun too and so is tubing but for some reason tubing always freaks me out so I am usually done after a couple runs. I have yet to try slalom, maybe this is the summer for slalom...

Cole ripped it up on the tube and carved it up on slalom. When I asked him what his favorite is he couldn't really answer, he loves them all: tubing, wakeboarding, skiing, slalom, and kneeboarding. But I made him choose one, he picked: tubing. He's crazy he will try just about any trick and loves going super fast. He also had some pretty sweet crashes. When I was back in UT recently Cole went boating while I was gone and he told me that he blacked out on one of his tubing crashes. Being the little nurturer I am, or worrier as Cole thinks, that freaked me out a little bit, thank goodness no blackouts this time.

We can't wait to go out again!

I didn't know Cole was so flexible!

My Water Baby!

Oooh burn!!

Slicin 'n Dicin

Wedding Bells

2010-06-23T14:44:00.006-04:00

Congratulations to the newlyweds, James and Virginia Wright!! The Mr. and Mrs. tied the knot a couple weekends ago and I must say, they looked absolutely stunning on their Special Day. (Isn't Ginny's dress gorgeous!?! I love it.)

Their wedding was absolutely beautiful at St. Ann's and their reception at The Old Meeting House, which was fun to reminisce because that's where mine and Cole's reception was also.

Kids these days aren't shy for the camera. My nephew little Ethan in the front above saw me with my camera out and tracked me down. He brought some followers.

These two were inseparable. They used to not get along very well until recently. I noticed that they loved talking about pee and poop a lot, I really think that is why they get along so well now. Spencer was the cutest ring bearer ever, in his tux he told everyone that he was a "Spy" and that he had "A Mission" which, of course was to perform the duties of a ring bearer. Needless to say, Mission Accomplished.

I love weddings. I love the whole bringing two people together through the bonds of marriage, all of the wedding festivities and food, and seeing people that you haven't seen in a long time. Our friends above, the Butterfields, being some of the friends and family that I got to catch up with that I haven't seen in a while. They have two of the cutest kids ever!

This baby girl is just full of giggles and smiles. Lilly is baby girl's name and she is as cute as a button, she is one of my many nieces.

The handsome groom, my bro, James.

My nieces were flower girls....

more nieces....

And even more nieces! But these two beautiful ladies were bridesmaids.

The Wright sisters with Mom....

...and a silly one for fun. I don't think my Mom thought it was very funny though...

Mom: Oh! Heather what are you doing?!
Me: Mom, it's a silly.
Mom: But she was picking her nose!
Me: I know, she was doing a silly!
Heather: I was picking my nose because Ash said to do something silly!
Mom: But...oh, okay.

We should do more of those, maybe next time my Mom will join in on the silliness haha. I love photos like these. Priceless.

USA v ALG

2010-06-23T12:03:00.003-04:00

With all that has been taken from the USA in the World Cup so far, 2 goals being disallowed by calls that were no less than controversial, they still pull it off by beating Algeria 1-0 in the added time given after the full 90 minutes. What a fierce game!! USA baby!!!!!!!!

Can't touch this! duh-nuh-nuh-nuh----nuh----nuh, can't touch this!

USAs Third Goal Robbery

2010-06-18T12:05:00.006-04:00

What an intense game!! The USA came back in the second half, down 2-0, against Slovenia and tied things up at 2-2. With a few minutes left in the game the USA scored a third goal which was disallowed by one of the worst officiated calls I have ever seen. See for yourself, here. There was no foul from the USA nor was there offsides, in fact, there should have been a penalty kick for the fouls Slovenia was drawing in the penalty box!! So Unreal. I am so happy that the match ended in a draw instead of a loss but come on, we came back and earned a win with that honest and fair third goal. Today's draw doesn't put the USA in a horrible position but it doesn't exactly help us out either. We have to win the next match against Algeria (Wed) and hope for the best outcomes in the matches to come for our group in order for us to move on in the tournament.

We may be down but we are not out, let's take back what was stolen from us!!

GO USA!!!

Beach Bums

2010-06-02T21:57:00.003-04:00

Being just 3 hours from the beach is amazing but - Oh, how I wish I was more like 5 minutes from the beach. My favorite so far would have to be Wrightsville Beach, which is where we spent Memorial Day weekend. It is just so much fun and I absolutely love the atmosphere that surrounds the life near the beach. We can't wait to make it to the Outer Banks, which I hear is to-dye-for. Our goal some day is to travel down the coast to visit all the beaches and lighthouses starting from the Outer Banks and ending, well anywhere - Charleston, SC would be nice. Here is the only half-decent photo from the trip.

2010-05-30T11:05:00.002-04:00

BEACH BOUND! In, T-Minus 4 hours...

Myrtle Beach

2010-05-27T17:31:00.008-04:00

Before the move into our new place, we met our Goddaughter, Jasmin, and her parents, Heather and Will, down at Myrtle Beach, SC. We had so much fun! Here is what we did:

-Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium
-Played "putt-putt" (that's what they call miniature golfing here in the south)
-Played MagiQuest
-Walked on the pier and checked out the shops
-Fed some ginormous fish

And to top it off, I made Cole drive down to the beach on our way out (there is no way that we are going to drive 3 hours to the coast and not dig my toes in the sand for at least 10 minutes!)

We are so glad that we were able to make it out to the beach and to spend some time with our dear friends and will miss them very much when they move to Texas this month.

Here is everyone on Jasmin's special and blessed day and our inception into Godparenthood!

Cole petting the stingrays.

Daddy and daughter in front of the crazy and scary looking stingray.

Heather, Will, Baby Jasmin.

Can you tell I am baby-hungry in this picture? Just a lil bit.

"I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends not food."

Apparently this was the world's biggest shark at some point in time. I don't care how big a shark is or has been, they scare the bejeebies out of me, dang Shark Week fascinates me but I am scared to death of sharks now.

Jasmin all decked out.

The boardwalk, next to a sign for a huge candy store.

The beach, I know you can't see anything but we had to take pictures. If you are at all curious, the lights in the background are resorts on the beach.

(We took more video than photo and got some hilarious clips, I will post those as soon as I can. We are finally getting all settled in to our new place so it should be very soon.)

There's no way around it, moving sucks!

2010-05-13T15:30:00.003-04:00

Boxes. Boxes. Boxes. And more boxes.

At least we aren't the only ones moving, there are four of us all together that are moving within the next couple of weeks which means my diet is going to be heavily bombarded with pizza and beer, a very healthy combination. And thanks to "moving tip #28," all moves should go rather smoothly, hopefully...... All I can say is THANK YOU to all our friends who will be helping us move this weekend!!! I am so excited for us all to live so close!

25% Pharmacist

2010-05-04T17:41:00.004-04:00

Ahhhhh, it feels soooo good to have finished all of my finals, all 7 of them. I am now a P2, 1/3 of the way done with books, and 25% pharmacist. Summer has officially begun and now I can catch up on my list of projects, especially the newest project that Cole and I have added to our list, and that is:

Our House!! Yes, we bought a house and will be homeowners (officially) on May 12th. Here is our soon to be home sweet home:

We are very excited and can't wait!!

2010-03-02T17:35:00.002-05:00

Scratch that last post, the part that said we have had 2 snowstorms, it has now snowed 3 times. It is snowing right now. Maybe this time my school will cancel classes tomorrow?? I'm crossing my fingers (especially because I have an exam at 8 and lab until 5)!!

Winter in this so-called "Sunshine State"

2010-02-25T22:24:00.008-05:00

Today I learned that it has been the coldest winter in NC in the past 30 years and the wettest in NC in the past 40 years. Apparently we brought the cold with us??? We even got two snowstorms which is just unheard of here.

When we first moved here we heard that when it snows or there is even talk of snow (I'm talking like a 5 minutes snow shower) you better run to the store and buy a supply of bread and milk. When I first heard this I was like, 'you're joking, right??' Nope. No joke. People go crazy when it snows here and before the snowstorms we got I was like, honestly, driving in snow isn't that bad and really?, 2 inches can't do that much harm. But, being recently humbled and enlightened I can totally see why people rush to the grocery store and stay cooped up until all is clear. Just imagine this:

-There are no snow plows.

-There are no salt trucks.

-Temperatures that freeze at night but warm up during the day.

-Snow that turns into ice overnight.

-I'm talking about inches of ice, inches!!

-Being surrounded by an ice rink.

-Imagine scraping that ice off of your car.

-Driving around people who aren't used to driving on ice.

-Driving on narrow one-lane two-way roads with ditches on both sides of the road.

-Roads that curve like the snake river.

So basically you just have to wait for enough warm days to melt enough ice so that there is no more ice to melt. It is pretty devastating to have a snowstorm here but the plus side is school gets cancelled-no questions asked!! O-wait, except for my school. I think my school was the only school in the ENTIRE state that held classes after these storms. That was a joke. But there is no doubt, I wouldn't trade the worst winter in 40 years in NC for a winter in UT. Talk about DREARY!!! At least in all of this coldness and ice I still see the sun nearly every day and that makes such a HUGE difference. I Love the sun, absolutely love it!

Video Archives 2010: Chopper

2010-02-18T22:05:00.007-05:00

This video demonstrates classic Chopper. We first discovered Chopper's lip thing with fire but then we realized that he does his lip thing with incense, hairspray, lotion, beverages, spray bottles, pretty much anything that sprays or has a smell to it. I know it's kind of mean but we provoke him all of the time because it is so darn cute. He is the bizzarest dog ever.

XOXO

2010-02-18T21:42:00.005-05:00

It felt like home making Vickie's epic Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies:

...but they didn't taste the same without the pink frosting and the cinnamon lips and heart candies. I thought I bought food coloring but instead bought colored frosting tubes, at least we got to decorate them still.

One Reason I Don't Eat Meat

2010-01-20T15:36:00.003-05:00

Cole initially thought sausages would be an appetizing meal, until this...

Really? Does this sausage actually look like a dead man's finger?! ugh, disgusting.

Though I found the sausages to be quite comical, I wanted to vomit. Cole ended up giving the rest of the dead man's finger and fingernail to Chopper who, consequently and not surprisingly, must have found it revolting too because he threw up.

Jennifer Booze, this one's for you...

2010-01-15T21:05:00.001-05:00

I Dislike Being Overdue

2010-01-11T17:10:00.004-05:00

Has it really been a month since I’ve posted?! It was totally unintentional, really, I guess when I took a break from school I subconsciously decided to take a break from the blog, don’t know why--I enjoy blogging. We have accomplished a lot in the last month including driving 4,500 miles (with the dogs), spent a couple weeks back in UT with the fams, caught up with family and friends, had a great holiday, came back home and for the rest of my break did absolutely N-O-T-H-I-N-G. And I mean nothing. Well, now that I think of it, we came home and cooked up a storm too. It was fabulous! Cole went back to the trench and I went back to purgatory, otherwise known as work and school, respectively or not respectively. I’m only playing at the joke on life, really, Cole loves his job and I enjoy school. How could we not, we are doing what we enjoy and not only that, today it is a blessing to be where we are at in life and we are grateful. We just like to get a laugh out when we can, which is all the time if you know Cole. We hung out with some friends this weekend and they all kept talking about how much they love Cole’s laugh and how it is so contagious. I love that I get to hear that laugh every day. It reminds me of you too, Vickie ;). I really feel neglectful for not posting about our trip to UT and especially neglectful for not taking many pictures or video. All in all it was:

• Great seeing everybody
• Not so great to be around the snow again (especially because I didn’t go snowboarding!)
• Awesome to meet and hold our new niece, Lilly
• Fun playing with Emery. I can’t believe how much he has grown!
• A blast playing dodgeball and basketball with Cole’s side of the fam on Christmas Eve
• Beautiful to listen to Cole’s grandpa play on his guitar and sing with his wife
• Sing Christmas carols
• Pretty awesome winning a silver coin (a Wright family tradition-in short, every year we have pudding on Christmas Eve and there is 1 gold coin and 1 silver coin hidden in 2 out of the like 30 puddings. So the lucky people who picked the right pudding goes home with either a silver or a gold coin)
• Yummy to make stops at my fav restaurants Café Rio & Leatherby’s
• Cool to learn how to knit and…
• listen to about 6 books on tape
• Long but fun to drive across the country and back with the love of my life, where I concluded to be vegetarian. There I said it! I am a vegetarian.

I have been deciding whether to declare it or not but Cole persuaded me to, after all it is a lifestyle change and by not letting people know makes it all the more difficult, especially when we go out with friends and family.

Sorry this is getting way too long-I could go on but I need to get better at writing shorter posts, more frequent and shorter. I just sit down and start typing and could carry on for hours, probably. So without further adieu, here is the pathetic collection of pictures I took while in UT (the number is pathetic, not the pictures, though I do look it in some).

The Grill Maestro

Here they are, my parental unit

Lilly looks like she is sticking her tongue out at Cole

Twinners! I had to laugh when Craig walked in with practically the same shirt I was wearing (he used to live in NC)

"And it was all yellow"

Recipe for Finals

2009-12-07T22:55:00.003-05:00

study now...sleep later...study now...sleep later...study now...sleep later...

I try, really, I try to work on my time management but I always find myself cramming. All-nighter tonight-ugh!

I need coffee-STAT

study now...sleep later...study now...sleep later...study now...sleep later...

It's Time

2009-11-30T14:04:00.003-05:00

I'm kinda bummed about it but it is time for me to disconnect...until finals are over anyway. I know I don't update my blog that often so no big deal, right?! Yeah, not really. But I like to keep up on what y'all are doing too, so this is more for me.

I'm not usually one to do this but I really need to focus, it kind of stresses me out thinking that if I don't pass my classes I would be a Pharm.D. dropout! Eeeek. And the government doesn't exactly dish out refunds. I'm in good standing with my grades at this point but with just two weeks of finals left in the semester I can't get distracted. Gotta stay strong! It is far too easy to lose focus with the internet (FB, google, online shopping, etc.). It is especially hard because all my work and lectures are posted online-making it a HUGE temptation to just look at my blog or FB "for just a second."

So, to make it official (for my sake...):

I AM DISCONNECTED, as of.....NOW!

TDAY Hoopla

2009-11-27T17:36:00.011-05:00

The TDAY Hoopla started with the Belk’s Carolinas Thanksgiving Day Parade. I love parades. This parade is the 4th biggest parade, I never would have thought that, I mean it was big but it wasn’t amazing like a 4th biggest parade should be. The only thing with the Belk parade was there were a lot of gaps between floats; they definitely could improve the parade in that department. My goal is to make it to the Macy’s Day Parade someday, that would be pretty dang sweet. We went to the parade with our friends Jen and her fiancée Clint (me and Jen sit next to each other at school).

Mr. Turkey.

Mr. Turkey's Tailfeathers.

Good ol' Ronald McDonald.

Jen and Me with the BIMBO Bear (they gave us free powdered donettes, they hit the spot).

Check out the size of these tires!

"Brrr, it is freezing outside. When is this fog going to lift?! Thank you Bruegger's for being open on Thanksgiving, your Chai Tea warmed me right up (and kicked Starbucks butt!)."

Our butts were frozen from sitting on the concrete, not the brightest.

For thanksgiving dinner Jen and Clint had me, Cole, Cassie and her husband Pat over for a “pot-luck.” The food was so dang good. We ate so much we were sick to our stomachs. For our first Thanksgiving away from home we had a lot of fun and a dinner worthy of the holiday. I love Thanksgiving!

Cole and Clint feeling good and stuffed after an excellent meal.

Awww, my study buddy, Jen. She and Clint are getting married next August! She is from South Dakota and met Clint while going to school in Michigan.

Silly Geese!

Jen (left) and Cassie (right)

Now for the next Holiday Hoopla…we’ll be coming home for Christmas. So, see y’all soon!

Movie Night

2009-11-14T18:33:00.002-05:00

We are going to see "Paranormal Activity" tonight and apparently, according to what I've heard, I should be worried about getting sleep tonight. Perhaps not though, whenever I watch scary movies I end up watching only 1/2 of it because I crawl up in a ball and cover my eyes. I wish my friend Nicole was coming because she's the same way, but she "likes her sleep" so she isn't coming. Don't blame her. The movie looks pretty cool though so I will "tough" it out and try my hardest not to embarrass Cole and scream in the theater.

We got so excited...

2009-11-11T17:32:00.007-05:00

when Christopher called Cole and told him that he and Mallory were coming down on their break to visit us. We had so much fun, even though I still had to go to school--boohoo.

We ate lots of food...

...at Texas Roadhouse, Bojangles (lol), and Wild Wings...

we saw...

... the crazy sci-fi movie, "Pandorum"...

I missed out on...

...Wilmington beach, Lake Norman, and Lake Wylie...

we forgot to take pictures...

...nearly everywhere...

except....

...at Wild Wings!...

and...

...the living room, of all places.

Thanks for coming down, we had a blast! It reminded me of the "old" days hangin out in UT. Can't wait to see "y'all" again soon!

Baby Lilly

2009-11-11T17:22:00.002-05:00

As of 8:35 this morning (MST) I became an aunt for the 19th time!!! My brother Chris (closest in age to me) and his wife Patty had their first child today, a baby girl. She weighs 5 lb. 11 oz., measures 20 in. long, has a dimple in her chin (like the majority of the "Wright" clan), and black hair. They decided to name her Lilly, after my mom's sister. I am Sooooooooooooooooooo excited for them! I wish I could hold her right now! Congratulations to Lilly, the newest member of the Wright clan! And to the new and very proud parents, Chris & Patty!!!!!!

2009-10-12T22:10:00.005-04:00

I'm having troubles with uploading a slideshow, it's showing up on my computer but not Cole's, so could you just comment if you are getting the slideshow on the post below or not...it would be SO helpful.

Thanks!

Fall in NC

2009-10-12T21:08:00.006-04:00

I love fall. The weather is definitely warmer here at this time of year and the leaves are still pretty green. I'm still waiting for all these trees to change color, that will be amazing because NC is practically a forest. We've had fun raking the leaves that have fallen, baking fall recipes (including my first pie, ever!), putting up fall decorations and just enjoying this time of year.

Chopper was so darn cute when we were raking the leaves. After checking out all the piles of leaves he picked the biggest one and decided to make a nest out of it. I guess he felt like being a bird. It was really cute. He came at just the right time too, we were about ready to call it quits, we were laughing so hard as he played in the leaves. Dogs are the best!

Symphony

2009-10-02T18:39:00.004-04:00

Yeah for the weekends! Being in school everyday I REALLY look forward to the weekends again. Last weekend we were able to go to the symphony with our church. The program was primarily Russian composers and so that was the theme for the night and the reason why our church was asked to put a display on. We got to see other displays about Russian culture, some folk dancing, paintings, and we got to sample some Russian beer and wine. And the symphony was awesome, Cole doesn't enjoy going to the symphony as much as me but he still came, right?! I especially love watching the performances where there is a soloist vioinist, amazing! I also love watching the different groups of instruments (mostly the violins and violas, it's amazing to me that so many bows go up and down in exact synchronization), and the maestro, as always, is very entertaining.

After the symphony we took a stroll around the fog stricken city. Check out this amazing picture, doesn't that look cool?!

OPA!

2009-09-12T21:06:00.002-04:00

As in Salt Lake, Charlotte held their Greek Festival this weekend. I'm sure there is a reason as to why it is held at this time of year but I don't know what that reason is, maybe it is a coincidence. Anywho the festival was a lot of fun and as usual, I left feeling stuffed to the brim with food. I loved watching the little kids dance. My favorite dance was when the boys knelt down on one knee with their cute little hats and the girls danced around them twirling their handkercheifs (or whatever they were). Too cute!

We haven't had the opportunity to visit the cathedral yet (where the festival took place) and so we were particularly excited to visit, it was beautiful.

The icon of Christ in the center dome

The icon painting and detail inside was beautiful

What you are looking at is the iconostasis, the icon wall in front of the altar

Us in front of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. I wish this picture showed more of the cathedral than us to show the architecture.

All in all we weren't disappointed, the Greeks here put on as good of a show as the Greeks in SLC.

Visitor

2009-09-12T20:52:00.003-04:00

A dear friend from Sts. Peter and Paul (our parish in SLC) stayed with us last night, Subdeacon Christopher. It was so great to see a familiar face from home (of course we still call Utah home!) and to catch up. We had lots of fun exchanging stories and laughter. He was on his way to his daughter's home who lives in SC and so we sent him off this morning after breakfast at WAFFLE HOUSE, (to be honest I didn't love the place like everyone else does and I had grits for the first time which I am no fan of either).

Another Dog Blurb

2009-08-30T21:42:00.004-04:00

We used to keep the dogs in our kitchen when we left the house, and I say "used" to because the other day I came home to find this on the floor...

Mind you, the bananas were pushed far back on the counter and they, I should say "he" because I know who the suspect is - namely, DUKE, still managed to get them off the counter. After picking up the bananas and observing the damage shown above, it didn't disturb me as much as this did...

I am quite impressed that he managed to peal the banana and eat it, no peal spared. I couldn't help but laugh at this, I even saved the ravaged bananas until Cole got home because pictures don't do it justice.

You think we would've learned from this instance but it took a broken coffee pot, broken coffee mug, and mangled paper towels until we made them stay outside while we are gone. After all, they are dogs, however sissy and "indoor" they may be, and they have a 5 star kennel and dog house outside. I don't know why they hate it out there, maybe it's the 50 gazillion bugs outside.

Mr. Cuddly Wuddly

2009-08-30T20:52:00.003-04:00

Chopper is the biggest cuddle bug, ever! I love it when he does this...

Look at all that skin!

2009-08-24T16:34:00.008-04:00

I am going to get on my geekbox for a moment, I hope ya'll don't mind.

My biological sciences professor showed my class a clip, produced by Harvard University, on the first day and I absolutely loved it. I love it so much that I want to share the clip with you all, and because I think it is so cool. Even if you don't like biology, it's still a cool clip. Besides, the cell is the smallest unit of life in the body and this is how we survive.

The clip is only a few minutes long, here it is:

Isn't that so cool!! I have probably watched this at least 10 times now.

If you are curious and want to know more about the processes you just saw, click here for a link to an 8 minute version of the same clip with a detailed description of what's going on.

White Coat & Wrightsville

2009-08-16T22:48:00.008-04:00

To end the week long orientation week of festivities and to kick off the new year, my school put on a white coat ceremony for the class of 2013, yay! Basically, I have officially been inducted into the profession as a student of pharmacy. And tomorrow I get to start classes on our 3 year anniversary, Congrats To Us!

Today we took Vickie to Wrightsville Beach, it is pretty much AmaZinG. I am in heaven knowing that for the next 4 years I am just a 2 1/2 hour drive from this beautiful beach. It is just like the ones you see from the movies that show any Carolina beach (ie "Nights in Rodanthe"). We had so much fun just laying out on the beach. I can't wait to go again!

Finally, the pictures I promised.

2009-08-14T23:46:00.004-04:00

7·21·09

I have done my best to coordinate the pictures with the explanation of the ceremony. As for why it was necessary for us to be married in the Orthodox church, well that is for another post on another day. Or if you wish I am more than happy to talk about it with anyone via email/phone, just let me know.

The Orthodox Wedding Ceremony

The Eastern Orthodox wedding ceremony is an ancient rite full of profound symbolism and meaning. The couple is led through the ceremony by their priest and their koumbaros, a best man who remains an important figure in the couple's life. Most rituals are performed three times to represent the Holy Trinity.

Betrothal Ceremony

Eastern Orthodox weddings begin with a betrothal ceremony in which the rings are blessed. After reciting blessings and Bible passages, the priest makes the sign of the cross while holding the rings and declaring the betrothal. The priest may hold the rings in his hands while pressing the bride and groom's forehead three times each. Then, either the priest or the koumbaros exchanges the rings between the couple's fingers three times, signifying that the weakness of one will be compensated by the other. Because the right hand has a rich and symbolic history in the church, the rings are usually placed on the third finger of the right hand.

Candles and Hand-Holding

After the rings are exchanged the priest gives the couple lit candles to hold in their left hands for the remainder of the service. The burning flames symbolize the couple's spiritual willingness to receive God's blessings. The priest also joins the couples right hands together while praying for their marriage . The bride and groom continue to hold hands during the ceremony as a symbol of their oneness.

Crowning

The Crowning is the centerpiece of the Eastern Orthodox marriage ceremony. Garland wreaths are often fashioned into ornate crowns as a symbol of glory and honor. Crowns can also be made of orange blossom, myrtle leaves, semiprecious stones and metals, or threads of gold and crimson, which represent the royalty of marriage. The priest places the crowns on the couple's heads while they face the altar, then he swaps the crowns on the couple's heads three times. According to ancient custom, the crowns are to stay with the couple for life (some couples are even buried in them!).

The Common Cup

After the priest reads additional Bible passages, the bride and groom take three sips of wine from a shared cup. The ritual of the common cup is based on the wedding of Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine. The cup represents life and symbolizes the couple's mutual sharing of joy and sorrow. As they drink wine from the common cup, they are reminded that from that moment they will share everything, doubling their joys and dividing their sorrows.

Circling the Table

Following the common cup ritual , the priest (and sometimes the koumbaros too) leads the couple three times around the altar on which a Bible and cross rest. This ritual dance predates Christianity, representing the dance around the Ark of the Covenant. The choir sings three hymns as the couple circles the table. In this act, the couple takes their first steps as a married couple, with the Church (through the priest) leading them.

After circling the table the service is officially over and non-traditionally, the groom kisses his bride. OOMPA! (That's more Greek than Antiochian for sure, but I love saying it). The service was absolutely beautiful (of course that is biased because it was our ceremony), but really, it was so beautiful. I highly recommend any and all Orthodox services and especially a wedding service but that is my opinion. We had a great turnout for last-minute planning and having the ceremony in the middle of the day, on a weekday. Thank you all so much for coming out and those who couldn't come for supporting us. Here are some more pics of the eventful event:

Us with our Priest who performed the service, Father Justin (also Cole's Godfather)

Cole with Father Michael, the Priest of the Russian Orthodox Church in SLC, Fr. Michael is our koumbaros aka "best man."

Yes, Cole and I just got married (again!) and Yes, we are looking at each other like, "What! Do I know you?!"

This is what we were originally going for.
BTW the little boy in the front, Fr. Michael and Matoushka Catherine's (far left) son, Toshe (can't spell it) is extremely EXTREMELY smart. He is so cute, he can spout off the Declaration of Independence, US history, the map of Disneyland, everything you would ever need to know about trains and more, planets of the solar system, bones of the human skeletal system, and more. He AMAZES me how smart he is and he just recites everything he learns and he's only 6 years old, incredible.

Everyone who could make it out to our ceremony, minus Fr. Michael and Matoushka (they left early to prepare for the post ceremony festivities)

Fr. Michael and M. Catherine opened up their home to us and our guests to celebrate our event. Unfortunately, I have no pictures. We were so caught up in everything that I forgot to take pictures! Thank you so much Fr. Michael and M. Catherine!

Also, thank you Julie for providing me with the excellent explanations above and for Peter, Charity, and Anatole for taking pictures.

Andreason Family Pictures

2009-08-05T21:38:00.018-04:00

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Andreason! Christopher and Mallory Tied-the-Knot today in Las Vegas and we are so excited for them and for Mallory to be part of the family. Here is a picture of the cute couple...

...and here is more of the Andreason clan:

Andreason Family 2009

The proud Grandparent, Desslie and Vickie

Charity and the girls, Destrie and Deja

Chris and Mal

Chase, Holly, and Emery

Shabby Blogs

2009-08-05T20:24:00.003-04:00

Just discovered this ridiculously cute site for blog design, click on "Shabby Blogs" above or click on the link in the upper left hand corner to check it out.

We Are Here!

2009-08-04T20:52:00.003-04:00

We made it here safely last Friday and unpacked our last box yesterday. Everything has gone smoothly, except for one thing...

...the car carrier came off the ball of the PENSKE truck on our way to returning it to Charlotte yesterday.

We had just pulled out of our neighborhood when this man in his yard, talking on his cell phone, flagged us down (my mom was following us but couldn't get our attention). Sure enough we look in the mirrors and see the trailer bobbin back and forth (CRAP!). I believe our situation was rather serendipitous actually because this man (I can't believe we didn't get his name!) who flagged us down had the exact same experience, only his trailer rolled up along side of his truck, ours got jammed underneath the back, "you are so lucky," he kept telling us, "believe me it could've been worse, I know." He knew exactly what to do and he was SO SO nice, he didn't act like we were inconveniencing him at all, he was MORE than happy to help us. I still can't believe this guy, thank God for him...and for the insurance we decided to buy last second.

I have been too worn out to even FEEL like pulling out my camera, to my regret, so I have no pictures to post of our trek; I didn't even take pictures of our momentous unfortunate event, how unlike me! It wouldn't even matter though because I am still short one camera chord.

..* We Are Off ..*

2009-07-28T13:13:00.002-04:00

Who were we kidding thinking that we could fit everything in a 16 footer, I am SO glad that we upgraded to the 26. Wow, we have a lot of CRAP. We take off this afternoon and HOPEFULLY we make it to Charlotte on Friday. I will post as SOON as we get the internet in about a week. WISH us LUCK!

THANK YOU all for your help with moving us and getting us prepared to move, we LOVE YOU all and will MISS you!

PEACE OUT UTAH!

HELLO NC!

Wedding!

2009-07-21T22:44:00.003-04:00

Today we had our Orthodox wedding ceremony, all I can say is it was amazing. It takes my breath away. Thank you friends and family who could make it and thank you for those who couldn't make it but kept us in your prayers, you were in ours as well. Thank you Fr. Michael and Matushka Catherine for opening up your house to a reception/BBQ party afterwards, it was a blast. I will post pictures soon.

2009-07-19T23:45:00.006-04:00

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THINKING OF US AND INVITING US OVER FOR DINNER THIS WEEK. WE LOVE YOU ALL AND WILL MISS YOU.
LAST NIGHT WAS COLE'S AUNT TERRY'S HOUSE. SHE AND HER FAMILY GOT
TOGETHER A BASKET
OF GOODIES FOR US FOR THE ROAD TRIP.
I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO SWEET, THEY MUST BE TRYING TO FATTEN US UP WITH ALL THE GOODIES THEY GOT US. I GUARANTEE I GAIN AT LEAST 5 LBS ON THIS ROAD TRIP, 3 DAYS EATING ON THE ROAD..YUP, I CAN COUNT ON THAT HAPPENING.

Our Weekend in the Mountains

2009-07-06T16:03:00.011-04:00

Last weekend we went to the mountains every day, it was awesome!

On Friday Cole, Christopher (Cole's bro), his fiance Mallory, and I hiked up to dog lake (Millcreek). The overcast made it a perfect day for hiking. I love that hike it is so beautiful. Duke was hilarious, he loved meeting new friends and trying to snatch sandwiches from little kids hands. And after all the hiking he only dared to go in the water knee-deep, maybe he got his belly a little wet. He was the only dry dog on that hike, oh well.

Dog Lake

It has been awesome getting to know Christopher's fiance, she cracks me up. I finally met her in person when she got here two weeks ago and I am excited for her to be part of the fam. Here is the happily engaged couple, soon to be married(!), with the old married farts:

The evening of the 4th the aforementioned, in addition to my brother (James) and his fiancee (Virginia), celebrated ours and our country's independence at the mouth of Ferguson Canyon where there is a view of the entire valley. We brought a grill and lounged up there most of the night, we laughed so hard that my voice was hoarse the next day. Whenever Cole and his brother get together they are hilarious and we usually end up with cheek and belly aches from laughing so hard.

Ferguson Canyon

James, Virginia, and Basil

Happy 4th of July!

The morning of the 4th my family gets together somewhere for breakfast, this year was Millcreek canyon. I love that Millcreek is dog friendly, Duke had a lot of fun last weekend. Too bad Chopper couldn't join us, he just had knee surgery. But I will say that Duke is so much easier to handle around strangers and other dogs than Chopper is, even though he looks so precious below.

His butt and leg would get cold from being shaved so we draped this blanket over him, he stayed like this for over an hour.

The stitches, ouch!

Poor Chopper!

Sunday was the annual "Lunt Cousin's Cabin Party" at Cole's uncle's cabin (Big Cottonwood). Uncle Ron's cabin is down the road from the donut falls trailhead and so Cole's family all decided to hike donut falls this year. Thank God we all made it out alive without any major injuries. I don't remember climbing to the falls was that dangerous or scary but it was. Despite all of the slippery and loose rocks, we all made it, even Charity's girls, Destrie and Deja. I still can't believe how brave Destrie was, she climbed up and down those rocks with no fear.

My Man

Donut Falls, here we are at the top.

Charity and the gurlies, Deja's face as she looks at what she just climbed pretty much sums up how we all felt.

Me and Vickie after the climb down, with sighs of relief...ahhh.

A moose by Ron's cabin, they were rather brave to get out of the car in my opinion but they have the better picture.

Taste of the Bittersweet

2009-06-29T18:14:00.007-04:00

Where does the time go?! I am starting to freak out a little bit. We have everything but our room boxed up and I am realizing the reality that we are here for only one more month. I am so excited but sad at the same time. There are so many things and people here that I am going to miss so much, here are some of those things:

Andreason and Wright families
Nieces and nephews
Longtime friends
New friends
Godparents, Pres. Seraphima and Fr. Justin Havens
and their three little munchkins of course, Sasha, Nektaria and Panteleimon
Our parish, Saints Peter and Paul
Movie and golf dates with my mom
Hiking, biking, snowboarding, rock climbing, boating and camping at the beautiful Utah mountains.
Taylorsville Dayzz

Here are some things that I am excited for and looking forward to:

Moving across the country with my hubby
Living in NC with our little family
Being close to the coast
Living outside of Utah
Two gardening seasons in one planting year
No snow to shovel off the driveway and car
Great weather!
Meeting new friends
Starting school
The Unknown

North Carolina is going to be a HUGE change for us but we are so So SO excited to make the move and to be out there with just us. Who knows, we might like it so much that we decide to stay there. After all, that's what the internet and planes are for, right?! We are open to all possibilities, as far as where we will end up when I am done with school. We shall see where God sends us after this adventure :).

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-11T17:17:00.007-04:00

We have some exciting news, not really that exciting for anybody else, but we found a place to live in Indian Trails, NC. It's official, we have the keys and everything. Here it is:

We are very excited that we found a place that fits all of our needs and that we found landlords that were willing to hold the place for us. It is going to be amazing to have our own place again, we are so grateful to have Cole's and my parents willing to open up their homes to us and to put up with us and our dogs, but we are excited to have our own place again. YEAH!!

BEANTOWN

2009-06-07T15:11:00.005-04:00

Finally after two week of searching for my camera chord I finally figured out how to upload my pictures without it (I accept it, I've lost the damn thing).

Boston is one of the coolest cities we have ever visited. It's a small city compared to Chicago and Manhattan but it's still really big. Like other big cities on the East coast, Boston has toll roads. Not realizing that Boston has toll roads, right out of the airport we ran right into one. Of course, we had zero dinero on us. Surprisingly, I didn't even have enough change floating around in my purse to pay the $3 fee. The lady at the booth was the BIGGEST raunch ever, she wouldn't let us by with a warning or anything, instead she slapped us with a $50 fine. We were so mad and so petrified that we were going to run into another booth because we didn't know how to avoid them. It almost ruined our day but we went and got some cash, talked to some locals about avoiding the tolls, and did some touring and turned things around.

First we sought out an Antiochian Orthodox Parish, luckily and with the help of a GPS, we found one. We were so sleepy from our red-eye flight that as soon as we sat down for the homily we were both out. Due to our sleepiness and out of respect we decided we should leave after the homily. We knew that we had to keep on moving or else we were going to fall asleep again so we went to the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship aka "Old Ironsides." It was interesting learning about the flags and what they mean. Basically, there is a flag for everything that could possibly go on with the ship and so everyone on and off the ship can tell what the status is. Next, we visited a navy ship from WWII, very different looking compared to the USS Constitution (all metal vs. all wood). Day two we climbed the 294 steps to the top of Bunker Hill Monument and visited the Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Monastery. The monks were so nice there, after vespers they invited us to stay for dinner and gave us a tour of the monastery. It was interesting to see how they make their own incense, which smell amazing, and icons. I was feeling sick so we left or else we would've stayed another 5 hours in addition to the 5 we already spent there. Here are some pictures of our first couple days:

The 3rd day we visited the Salem Witch Museum, Chinatown, the original Cheers, followed the Freedom Trail, and picked up my brother, Chris, at the airport. Here is the rundown of the day's events:

Salem Witch Museum: We knew in advance that it was a small wax museum type of thing and so we enjoyed it. We felt that it was worth the 30 min. drive even though there wasn't a lot to see, it was interesting.

Chinatown: Totally lame, biggest waste of time on the entire trip.

Original Cheers: Doesn't actually look like the Cheers we all know on TV but it was fun to see and was really refreshing, especially after touring the city all day.

Freedom Trail: There is a trail, marked by a red painted line, that goes throughout the city bringing you to the different historical sites. Some sites found on the trail are the Boston Commons, Paul Revere's house, Boston Massacre Site, Faneuil Hall, Bunker Hill, Old South Meeting House, and more. It was interesting to see all of the historical sites in Boston and to follow that little red line.

Picking up my brother Chris went smoothly, meaning we didn't run into any toll roads. You might be asking yourself why my brother flew out to Boston to meet us, well that brings us to the real reason why we went to Boston in the first place. We all went to Boston to attend the Heart Rythem Society (HRS) Conference for the family business. Cole and I wanted to take just a few days extra to visit the sites.

The HRS conference also brought out a couple other people we know, Cole's cousin Deja and her husband, Danny. It was totally random that they were in Boston the exact same time, going to the exact same conference as us, but it was so much fun to meet up with them in Boston. We all chilled at Faneuil Hall (outdoor shopping restaurant area), ate Italian and fresh lobster off the wharf, watched Angels & Demons, and they visited our booth at the conference. They also introduced us to Mike's Pastry Shop. Supposedly, it is well known in Boston for their pastries but we weren't too impressed with the items we picked out, except one. Their cannoli pastry was a taste of heaven! If you haven't had a cannoli, I highly suggest you do. The cannoli is a Sicilian pastry, it has a tube-like shell of pastry dough filled with a mix of ricotta cheese and vanilla (could also be a number of other mixtures with ricotta), and the ends are commonly dipped in chocolate or chocolate chips. The one I had was a ricotta/vanilla mix with the ends dipped in chocolate....mmmm...I have been craving one since we have been back. Here are some tail-end pictures of our trip and a cannoli:

Notice in this set of pictures my brother wearing a bright yellow Brazilian jersey. Well, as the 5 of us were walking around the city my brother would randomly disappear, the remainder of us looked at each other and asked, 'where's Chris?' When we saw him talking to all these random different people we were like, 'how does he know these people?' Turns out that Boston has quite a large Brazilian community and people would just start talking and yelling to Chris in Portuguese. My brother is married to a Brazilian and is learning Portuguese and so of course he is going to go talk to these strangers. Cole also speaks Portuguese and so they had a lot of fun talking to these people and the Brazilians loved it. So my brother was famous the day he wore that Brazilian jersey and occasionally our party of 5 became a party of 4, until we found him again.

2009-05-26T13:27:00.000-04:00

So I am really annoyed that I can't find the chord to our camera to upload our photos from Boston. As soon as I find it or buy another one I will post about our trip.

Graduation!

2009-05-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

Here he is, the college grad! Cole graduated with his BS in International Studies with a Middle Eastern emphasis with a 3.7 gpa. I'm so proud of you babe!

Uncle Cole with his two AdoRaBLe nieces, Destrie and Deja. Cole has so much fun playing with his nieces, he is so good with kids. We can't wait to have our own someday soon...:)

Us and my parents.

Cole with Mom and Dad.

I think this picture is funny because it looks like I'm wearing a cap and my dress kind of looks like a gown too.

Afterward, we all went to the Bombay House and ate SO much food but it was so delicious. And then, my parents wanted to go see Star Trek and so we joined them and the following night we were off to Boston, post coming soon!

Happy Birthday Cole!!

2009-05-17T21:40:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Cole's birthday was over a week ago but we went to Boston just a couple days after so that's why I am posting now. He is now 25 years old and can officially rent a car without paying a ridiculous under age fee, which came in handy when we went to Boston. At work we celebrated his birthday with some shrimp, sandwiches, and some delicious chocolate cake. And yes, I made him blow out ALL of his 25 candles.

After work we went to go see Star Trek, which was SO awesome, we LOVED it! We loved it so much that on the following day we accompanied my parents when they saw it.

The night before Cole's birthday my friend, Jessica, invited us to the REAL soccer game. Jess and I are soccer buddies, we have played soccer with each other for as long as I can remember. Someone she knows gave her some tickets on the third row and on the half-line, so she called us to go too. It was a lot of fun, the game was so intense and our seats were amazing. Just in the last minute there were 2 fouls in the penalty box and 3 goals scored. Unfortunately, two of the goals the other team, LA Galaxy, scored. REAL didn't lose but they tied. Too bad Beckham isn't playing for the galaxy right now but for the AC Milan team in Italy. That would've been sweet to see him play, I'm not going to lie, he's not sore on the eyes. It is my dream to go to a world cup game or any season game in a country that actually appreciates soccer, or football as it is known in the world. It is crazy how big soccer is outside of the US. Here are some pics of the game:

Me and my sweetie in front of the stadium

bow-chicka bow-wow!

Real getting ready to shoot their PK, one-on-one shot at the goal against the keeper

Me and Jessers

Awwww...

In front of the REAL stadium

This crowd was yelling and chanting the whole game, it was awesome!

Busy Bees

2009-05-11T00:08:00.000-04:00

We have been so busy! It has been crazy with finals week, Cole's birthday, graduation, and now Boston. I have Lots to post about and will update you all when we get back :). Take care and God bless!

Here are a few pictures of our first day in Boston.

Just a little side note...

2009-05-05T22:49:00.000-04:00

...on a post correction. My walking dictionary/encyclopedia of a father called me in to his study the other night. He told me how he had been checking out my blog and noticed my blog about my "fetish." Regarding the "fetish" post he expressed the following:

Dad: Are you sure you want to use the word fetish here?
Ash: Yeah, I always call my sticky obsession "my little fetish," why not?
Dad: Well, it's not the best descriptive word in this case.
Ash: What do you mean, the dictionary said it was an obsession?
Dad: Well yeah but it can also be construed as an object whose presence brings sexual gratification. It can also be construed as an object believed to have magical powers.
Ash: Hmmm.

(I remembered reading about that in the dictionary before I posted and thought nothing of it because I always just called it my fetish and thought the word fit okay for the post, damn it all.)

Dad: You might want to change it to a nervous tick or something to that effect.
Ash: Yeah I definitely need to change it but nervous tick doesn't quite fit. (brainstorming)
Dad: It's a nervous behavior whatever it is.
Ash: Maybe I have obsessive compulsive disorder but just with sticky things...I don't think that's it either.

The conversation then trickled on about work, school and life. I have to admit though, I was a little embarassed there initially but now it just makes me laugh thinking that I have led you all on to believe that my stickies must be present to bring sexual gratification and that my stickies have magical powers, LOL!!! Obviously this is not the case, I simply misused a word and I want to correct it. Count this as correction of my post because I really don't want to go back and edit it, maybe that would be best but for now I am going to leave it be. My "fetish's" new name, for now, is "my sticky obsession." Yeah, it's not that creative but whateva.

Thanks Dad for leading me in the right direction and PLEASE tell me again when I screw up, it was a good laugh :)! Just another reminder why I didn't continue to pursue my english major, hehehe!

Officially Summer

2009-05-05T22:33:00.000-04:00

I just took my last final and Summer has officially started, YES!!!!!!!! No more summer school for me, EVER EVER EVER again!! It was so exciting walking out of the last SLCC classroom I will ever be in, I literally jumped up and down and screamed with excitement. I very much love SLCC but I am so ready to be moving on in my education. School starts for me again August 10 and the education venture begins once again, at least now I can put an end date on it. In exactly four years from now I will graduate with my PHARM D and THEN I will celebrate NEVER having to go back to school for the rest of my life! In the meantime though, I am just thrilled as peaches to have no more summer school.

Wright Family Pictures

2009-04-25T21:10:00.000-04:00

Back left: Chris (sibling 7), Patty, Schuyler, Jake, Brian, Heather (sibling 5), Ryan holding Nathan, Kristianna, Craig III, Valerie, Craig II (sibling 2), James (sibling 6), Tim, Me (#8), Cole
Front right: Spencer, Heidi (sibling 3), Rebecca, Joseph, Benjamin, Craig (Dad), Josh, Tommie-Sue (Mom) holding Sarah, Marissa, Mallory, Moriah, D.D. (sibling 4) holding Ethan, Abigail, Auriel
Missing: Yvette (sibling 1), Ken, baby boy/girl

Well here we are all 32 of us, minus 2 who couldn't make it and minus 1 on the way. And no I'm not pregnant, someone else in the fam is. We jut found out and we are so excited, congratulations to you guys (you know who you are)! Yeah, my family is huge but they are bundles of fun!

Thanks Charity for taking the pictures they turned out SO good!

Touring Boston

2009-04-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

Cole and I have an awesome opportunity to go to a conference in Boston for work in a few weeks. We were thinking since we will already be there for work, why not spend a few days extra and do some touring. There are a lot of things to do and see in Boston and we are having a hard time narrowing down our list of sites; I wanted to ask if any of you have been to Boston what are the sites (food, museums, history, etc.) that are an abolute MUST-see?? Also, any other tips and advice you would like to offer from your Boston experience would be very helpful.

Flexing Contest

2009-04-11T15:59:00.000-04:00

GYNORMICUS

vs.

MAN-EATER

and the winner is...MAN-EATER, just kidding, GYNORMICUS! DING DING DING!

How could someone with guns as big as these...

...lose a flexing contest, even to someone with a name like "MAN-EATER"??

Don't ask why these pictures were taken because it was just one of those moments where the camera was right there and we started shooting. And it is no coincidence that these photos are set to sepia, we wanted to add some color to our pasty white skin so sepia was the perfect solution, ha ha! People look so much buffer when they have some color.
This is what I mean:

Sepia is so much better.

Fetish Anyone?

2009-03-30T19:41:00.001-04:00

fet.ish: excessive or irrational devotion to some activity

I have this fetish. It is really annoying to everyone but me. I am obsessed with it. I can't stop it. I am doing it right now as I am blogging.

Let me tell you a little about my fetish. It is always something sticky. It usually comes from sticky labels (i.e. price stickers, tape, mailing labels, etc...) but jolly ranchers work too. It calms me for some odd reason. It leaves my fingers sticky. It is noisy. It leaves little messes everywhere.

Can anyone guess what my fetish is yet? Probably not so let me tell you.

I love finding anything sticky and playing with the sticky side in between two of my fingers, usually my index and thumb on my left hand. This can be quite annoying as it can be noisy and even though I try and find the trash can when I am done with my "sticky", truly I do, I somehow leave a trail of crumpled up "stickies" behind me. I have no idea where it came from but it has been a fetish for me for as long as I can remember. I like to call it, "my sticky fetish." I even go to the lengths of storing "good" stickies when I come across them. I confess this is a problem but I also confess there is nothing I want to do about it, I love it, like I said before it soothes me. Wierd, I know.

Do any of you have fetishes? Let's hear about them (wierd and non-wierd), it would be nice to know that I'm not the only one with a totally crazy obsession.

2009-03-29T18:23:00.000-04:00

It is hard to imagine that I was doing this just a few days ago. So goes the fickle weather of Utah! Even though it is rather gloomy out, the weather just gets me more and more anxious for spring and all of the fun outdoorsy activities that are soon to come. One of which for us, as you can see, is golf.

My family became obsessed with golf about 12 years ago so, naturally, I golfed for the first time at the age of 13. My first golf outing wasn’t so typical, it involved stitches, blood, more blood, and a visit to the doctor; which, needless to say, kept me away from the sport for years.

To put it bluntly, I hit my mom in the head with a golf club. Not on purpose of course, Heavens No! What happened was she was showing me how to hold the club and how to swing it but when it came time to actually hit the ball she didn’t step back far enough. I can still picture that moment my club came in contact with the top of her forehead and I can still remember the shock. I will never forget the shock from firstly, hitting my mom, secondly, splitting her head open and giving her a goose egg the size of, no pun intended, a golf ball and thirdly, making her bleed profusely. I didn’t know what to do as my sweet mom, with blood dripping everywhere, walked over to me to give me a hug and to tell me, “I’m okay” and, “everything is going to be all right, it’s not your fault.” I still can’t believe she actually had a smile on her face when she came to hug me.

We were all getting quite nervous as she was bleeding so much, we knew we needed to get her stitched up ASAP. Fortunately, we had a golf cart and even more fortunately, my sister’s husband, a surgeon, was with us. We floored it in all vehicles and went straight to his office where he was able to stitch her up right away with, I think it was, 7 stitches.

6 years later after all scars healed I started golfing again. I try to keep up with my family but fail horribly, it’s okay though we still have fun! Out of my fear of reliving that memory I always check around me before I tee off to make sure no one is in close proximity to me and haven't hit anyone since. What a memory! Thankfully my family has a sense of humor and we joke about it to this day. We’ll even joke about it this summer when I play golf on a league with my mom and sister, I am so excited!

PIC.TOR.I.OS

2009-03-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

It was our friends birthday yesterday (Katina) and her fiance (Andrew) threw a party for her at The Westerner, a fun country dancing club in West Valley. I didn't get any pictures of us rippin' up the dance floor but I did get a few of us with our friends. We had lots of fun Andrew and Katina, Thank you!!

From the right: Katina, Masha, Eric, Andrew, Cole, Me

Me 'n my babe.

From the right again: Masha, Eric, Andrew, Cole

My Bro. and his -stache (aka Uncle Rico).
He showed up at my parents house with this awesome handlebar mustache and I couldn't resist taking his photo, it was hilarious. Loved it!!!

The Hole in my favorite sweater. See post below.

You know you're having an off day when.....

2009-02-27T23:55:00.000-05:00

You don't remember anything from your ochem lecture.
You accidentally squirt hydrochloric acid on your ochem lab partners face and arm.
You and your ochem lab partner screw up your experiment and get yelled at by your instructor for not listening to your instructions. How absurd is that, like students ever listen to their instructors....oooops....
ochem gets the better of you.
You spend 4 hours on the above mentioned experiment before realizing that you screwed it up.
You spend 2 hours the previous night preparing for the above mentioned ochem lab by succumbing to your lab instructors PIXAR fascination and watch Finding Nemo to be able to answer a bonus question on the weekly quiz worth 2 extra points.
You actually took notes while watching Finding Nemo and still couldn't answer the bonus question.
You are working on your ochem homework and feel a sudden and very irritating itch on your elbow and when you go to scratch it you feel a surprisingly new and large hole in your sweater. Remembering how you squirted hydrochloric acid on your lab partner you realize that you must've leaned in a pile of spilled acid yourself and it has been festering at your sweater for the past 3 hours and is now eating your skin.
You realize that your favorite sweater is ruined and you must now go and give your arm a bath in the sink of the bathroom. **Have I mentioned ochem sucks sometimes**
You are somehow able to complete all of your ochem homework in 5 hours instead of the usual 10!

IN-N-OUT is Expanding, Not a Rumor!

2009-02-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately for Cole and me, we will not be living in the SL valley when the proposed IN-N-OUT joints will be open for business in fall 2009.

I had heard the rumors but didn't believe them until I heard it on the news the other night. IN-N-OUT is planning on opening a joint by the Valley Fair Mall, which is close to my job at Cascade Refining and also at Jordan Landing, which is also close to my other job at Smith's Food & Drug. This would've been great for my lunch breaks, if we weren't moving. Anyway, I think it's great news! IN-N-OUT makes their delicious burgers out of fresh meat, they are a non-franchise family business, native to California, and only available in 4 states. The history of IN-N-OUT is pretty interesting and can be found here, if you're interested. Also, here is a link to the SL Tribune briefly stating IN-N-OUT's plans for Utah....Maybe they will expand to North Carolina sometime in the next four years...probably not. I will just have to make a run when we come and visit, kind of like we do when we go to California.

Even though this expansion is pretty sweet, for some reason there's something about IN-N-OUT in California, maybe it's the palm trees and the beach, I don't know.

Okay, Here We Go Again...

2009-02-03T16:06:00.000-05:00

I know that I just posted about Downeast but we have had our eyes on these couches for a long time. We decided that we would think more seriously about buying them if I got into pharmacy school. Well, since I got in we thought very seriously about if we should buy them or not. We decided that we will be needing to rent a truck to move all our stuff across the country anyway and since we need couches we decided to make the big purchase. We ended up buying 3 pieces for a quarter of their original price, thank you Downeast Outlet!! I forgot to take pictures of our couches before we wrapped them up in plastic and tarps so you can check them out here.

Class of 2013

2009-01-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got a piece of mail that I never thought I'd receive. I had an interview in North Carolina just 4 days prior to its arrival and wasn't expecting it so soon; it was quite the shocker. All I knew was this is either going to be an extremely exciting day or very disappointing. I couldn't wait for Cole to get home so I called him right away and told him I got the letter and of course he couldn't wait either so I opened it. All the anticipation turned to exhilaration as I read the first word,

"Congratulations!"

and even more excitement with the next sentence:

"I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Wingate University School of Pharmacy Doctoral Program."

I couldn't get past the first sentence because I was screaming and jumping up and down but even more so because I kept reading that first part over and over again in disbelief; I'm pretty sure I made Cole deaf in one ear. So folks, that means Cole and I and the dogs are packing it up and moving to the Dirrrrty South this summer for 4 years, to the home of Panther football and Duke basketball, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Okay, so Duke University might be a good 5 hours away from Charlotte but we are still going to some games.

Welcome to the...

We are excited to make the move and are looking forward to starting this next chapter of our lives. Cole is graduating with has bachelors in International Studies with an emphasis on the middle east this spring at the U and will be sending out his application to nursing schools in Charlotte as well.

Duke and Chopper are pretty excited to be Carolina dogs, they told us so but they also told us they would miss the snow, they love the snow...As for Cole and I, we are not going to miss the snow....at all. We will come visit in the winter and go snowboarding and will have had our fill of the snow. As for weather in North Carolina it snows about an inch every year and stays in the 40s most of the winter and in the 70s-80s in the summer. We will be about an hour away from the beach and 20 minutes from the big city. We are dang excited about the weather even though it comes with humidity.

Here are some pictures I took during my stay in Charlotte:

A special thanks goes out to my husband for always being so supportive of my goals and helping me meet them, especially when I felt like giving up. Thank you for putting up with me and all of my imperfections and for being the best husband a girl could ever hope for.

Stealin Deal

2009-01-07T00:35:00.001-05:00

So there is this store by my work and it's called Downeast Outfitters - The Outlet. I know you have heard of Downeast Outfitters before, ya the store that sells really awesome long shirts and cute furniture. Occasionally, when I am out on an errand for work, I go and look for some stealin deals at this outlet and the other day I found one of the best deals ever, I found these:

Now that you have seen my wonderful find, please make a guess at how much they cost....Cole and I had been planning on going to IKEA to pick up some more bookshelves but when I found these for $20 each I called Cole and he gave the approval without even seeing them. For so cheap I couldn't help thinking that something must be wrong with them, but I found nothing wrong. I was so excited when I saw these two bookshelves, it was meant to be.

If anyone is curious and loves bargain shopping this store is on 3300 South and about 3500 West next to Albertsons and Golds Gym in West Valley. A word of caution however, this store gets a lot of embroidered and broken stuff so be careful. They have clothes, hardware, kitchen, bedding, and all kinds of stuff. I particularly like their furniture. They get a lot of cool modern, vintage, and casual stuff that is usually in pretty good condition. If we had an apartment right now there is no doubt we would go get our furniture there.

Free Popcorn Tuesday

2008-12-30T17:55:00.000-05:00

Tricia, Cole's aunt, let us in on the best secret ever---free popcorn on Tuesdays at Carmike 12, the theater on 90th South and Redwood road. You just bring a bowl of any size and they give you free popcorn! So today Vickie, Charity, Deja, destrie, and me went and saw The Tale of Despereaux. It was a cute cartoon inspired by the childrens book.

As we walked out of our theater we ran into a lady holding a theater bag of popcorn who was looking rather curiously at our popcorn bowls brought from home. So we told her how you can get free popcorn on Tuesdays. Needless to say, she was very upset at the person who sold her popcorn for $7.50 without mentioning it was Free Popcorn Tuesday. I would've been pretty mad too if that happened to me. Albeit she didn't get free popcorn today, she will next time and so will I because I love popcorn. This Free Popcorn Tuesday thing is going to kill me, it is so not healthy.

Christmas Wrap-Up

2008-12-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

So many places to go and so many people to see, well not usually but that's how we felt this Christmas. Starting with Christmas Eve my family had a little get together at 4:00, we had church at 5:00, and Cole's family was getting together for games later that evening. We missed my family party because of their notorious tardiness but we made up that lost time on Christmas day. Church was so beautiful, it was hard to get there with all that was going on but once we were there I couldn't imagine that I would want to be anywhere else but somewhere to worship the Lord on Christmas Eve and give thanks for the only gift that truly matters, the gift of sending his son, Jesus Christ, to this world. It was a beautiful service. Afterwards, we went to Cole's parents house where we played MAD GAB and this dice game that we played with money. I was one of the lucky winners of the money pot this year and so was Cade, Cole's cousin, we each got $20.

Christmas day we woke up early and drove to the Andreason's to watch Cole's nieces, Destrie and Deja open up their presents. It was so much fun watching the little girls get all excited and open their gifts. After we opened up our presents, we ran back to my parents house and had some breakfast and opened up gifts there. We had lots of fun!! After that, we got to our own tree and opened up our presents we got each other. In the years past we always went shopping with each other and so we knew what we were getting. This year we made a little rule that we weren't going to shop with each other and that we were going to make it a surprise. It was lots of fun, it made Christmas morning really exciting, it was so fun! It reminded me of the old dating days. Cole got me this awesome henna tattoo kit, huge dog encyclopedia, pressure point massage kit, itunes gift card, and two sets of earphones (we always manage to break all of our earphones). I got Cole a watch by toxic, leather wristband, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and Inside the Stalin Archives by Jonathan Brent.

Later we had lunch at my parents casa and then we had a late lunch at Cole's grandparents casa where we sang christmas carols and caught up with his cousins. We ate way to much these two days!!

I love Christmas and I am so grateful for the gifts I receive but what makes Christmas the greatest is the time we take to become closer to our family and friends and become reminded of what christmas is truly about, the gift of our savior.

a very happy birthday to me.

2008-11-22T20:06:00.001-05:00

This birthday has been full of surprises, balloons, cheesecake, ice cream, movies and much much more...definately goes down in the books as one to remember. So I went in to work thinking, 'oh dang, I get to work 12 hours on my bday-that sucks,' but a special someone, Cole of course, made a surprise visit to the pharmacy. He loves surprising me. He brought me a bouquet of balloons and cheesecake from the cheesecake factory, YUM-O! He always knows how to put a smile on my face. The timing of it all was quite ironic actually, because just before I saw him with the balloons I was remembering how he surprised me for my birthday last year. We were sitting in our chemistry class having a little party with cookies, brownies, cake and such when he brought out the brownies we made for the class. But the brownies had candles in them, it was then I knew what was coming. He lit the candles and got everyone to sing me happy birthday and I got to make a wish and blow out the candles. There were no candles this year but he still sang me the birthday song. He is so sneaky, isnt he? As if that wasnt enough to make me happy, Cole surprised me again when I got home from work. He took me shopping at the gateway the weekend before and I found these awesome black boots at Aldo and we had already spent way too much money on me so we decided not to get them. But mischevious Cole was at work again, he went back and bought them for me anyway! Not only that, and I am quite impressed with this one, he went to the music store and bought me some new music. I was absolutely shocked! He picked out Celine Dion, Bach, Josh Groban, Corpse Bride, and Nightmare Before Christmas. I love all of them! I am so spoiled it is ridiculous, I dont deserve it. Cole always treats me like a princess, I am so lucky to have him in my life. He is such a sweetheart always putting me first in his life, [sigh] I love my babe! Finally, to put the cherry on top, my wonderful husby took me to Twilight, which came out on my bday. :) I loved the books and was sooo excited to see the movie. I wasnt disappointed to say the least, I giggled like a little school girl, I loved it! I loved Edward, he was so hot.t.t, Bella was perfect and I thought they did a good job matching up the other characters too. As for the content, as long as i go into a movie (where Ive read the book) realizing that they just cant squeeze the entire book into a film, I really enjoy the movie too. So, I made sure I didnt go into Twilight with the critic attitude and I came out totally satisfied. Surprisingly, Cole really liked it too. He thought Stephenie Meyers take on the whole vampire thing was pretty cool. I would peek over at him every now and then and I could tell he was totally into it, especially during the fighting scenes, hehehe. I cant wait to see it again and it has nothing to do with seeing edward on the big screen, at all...so anyway, this week has been action packed and pretty much just awesome!

OctobeRfest-iVities.

2008-11-06T00:21:00.000-05:00

grandma lunts BIRTHDAY was last week and so vickie decided to throw a birthday/halloween party for her. my favorite thing about HaLlOwEeN parties is seeing what everyone comes dressed up as. this year i would have to say takes the cake as far as the costumes go. Here is a SHORT list of who showed up; president obama, jack sparrow, indiana jones, batman, and last but definitely not least the RussiaN mail order bride…er…i mean, dorothy gale from the wizard of oz.

seeing ron (coles uncle) come up as dorothy had to be one of the funniest things i have ever SEEN. words cant describe it. it was perfect timing too, everyone just happened to be at the door when he walked up. here is a little clip of the BIG entrance and other parts of the night. i havent been able to figure out how to combine our MuLtIpLe video clips so here are a couple, well i guess i decided to throw all of them in there. SoRRy. and if anyone know how to do that, please, any tips would be welcome. also sorry about the sideways clip, aPparENtlY you cant turn your videocamera sideways WHILE filming.

**WARNING. this may contain TMI for some people**

CoLe would like me to apologize for all of his laughter IN the camera, but i think that just MAKES it even more funny. i love his laugh, it is so contagious!!

on a more serious note, the food was delish, as always. charity made AppLE dip out of brown sugar and cream cheese, it was my favorite, and deann made some dang good chili. it was good times catching UP with everyone and of course dorothy was the main EVENT of the night; everyone just couldn’t get enough of her, (obviously we couldnt get enough). i knOw you are all "you tubed" out but i have to throw in this last clip of grandpa & grandma lunt singing, iT is so pretty.

i think its FunNy how Cole likes to make sure i get on the camera, even though he knows Im camera shy. i dont understand why he likes to do that. silly cole. we didnt buy a camera to FILM our family, just everyone else, duh. i GuEss we will have to work on that.

last weekend we also went to the tavernacle, a piano bar, with coles cousins dEjA & (danny), landon & (ashley), and jesse & (stephanie). it was amazing!! i cant believe PIANO players like these at the tavernacle existed. so how it works is you write down your ReQuEsTs and bring up some money with them and depending on how much you lay down depends on when and if they play your sONGs. if someone in the audience doesnt like the song and wants them to stop playing it, they have to bring up some money; if someone else wants them to keep playing it, they have to bring up even more money, etc…they get everyone singing AND dancing, mostly because everyone is UndEr the influence, it is hilarious! my fAvOrItE number was, “the devil went down to georgia,” it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! i highly recommend a night at the tavernacle, even if you don’t drink, because you WILL have a riot.

COLE and i also carved our pumpkins, finally. i think coles is hilarious, cant say ive ever seen a throwing up pumpkin before. and mine, nOt so original, is jack skellington, if you cant tell. we decided that we wanted to carve pumpkins with our dogs, and since they cAnT come inside we did it outside in their kennel. duke and chopper LOVED eating the pumpkin guts, it was so funny. coles pumpkin got rAVe reviews from the trick-or-treaters, despite our crude carving equipment. next year i am DefinatelY buying the pumpkin carving kit, so much better than uSing kitchen knives.

i know this is a CrAzY long post but here are some pictures from the halloween party to wrap THinGS up.

PCAT Jitters Are Over!

2008-10-22T01:28:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was the big day that I have been dreading for a good six months. I took the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test) last Saturday and let me tell you something, I have never been so relieved to get something over with in my entire life. The emotions that I experienced the night before and up to the actual start of the test were something I never want to experience again if i dont have to.

I started getting the PCAT jitters about 2 months before the test. I had these dreams about forgetting my ID or my pencils and them not allowing me to take the test. One night, I had this dream that my ID was still in my maiden name and so they wouldnt let me take the test because it didnt match my married name on my admission ticket. Even though these dreams were awful, they actually made me make sure that I was extra prepared for test day. Dont laugh, but I even brought our marriage licence just in case ha ha; more than enough pencils-with extra lead and plenty of IDs :) All thanks to my dreams I was the best prepared for the test, as far as these things were concerned.

The night before the exam came some more jitters, I couldnt sleep, I know big surprise. Well actually that is a big surprise, those of you who know me know how much sleeping means to me. For those of you who dont know me so well, I can sleep anywhere, anytime and for any length of time. I dont function well on anything less than 7-8 hours of sleep. Not only did I not sleep well that night, but I also had more PCAT nightmares. This just made the morning more nerve-racking, but it was nothing compared to what I was about to face. Waiting in line to check-in and waiting in my seat to start the test was the absolute worst!! I was shaking so bad and I actually felt like throwing up. I have done a lot of things in my life to shake up my nerves (piano competitions/performanes, soccer games, public speaking), but I have never been so nervous that I wanted to vomit. Finally, after the proctor finished giving the instructions the test started and the nervousness slowly dissipated.

I was a happy puppy when it all ended. People misinterpreted that happiness into thinking that I was confident and happy that I did well on the test. Let me clear that up now, I dont think I did that well on the test. Yah, it would be great to get in the 80th or 90th percentile, but honestly right now I dont care how well or how bad I did on the test I am just sooooo happy it is over. I can finally move on with my life without the PCAT constantly picking at my brain. And I dont mean to scare anyone away from standardized tests im just telling about my experiences with the PCAT. The thing thats great about it is its an accomplished stepping stone to your ultimate goal. Speaking of which, I need to get rolling on the rest of my applications..EEK!!

3 Times the Charm

2008-09-23T12:31:00.000-04:00

My First Tag! I was tagged by my friend Natalie, aka "Newt", forever ago and thought that it was about time I responded. This one is all about 3's, so here it goes.

3 Joys

1- Hanging out and being dorky with my husband
2- Walking and playing with our dogs, Duke and Chopper
3- Curling up next to the fire or on the couch and indulging myself in a good book

3 Fears

1- Snakes, SnaKeS, SNAKES!!! need I say more??
2- Getting a bad PCAT score
3- Not getting into pharmacy school

3 Current Obsessions

1- Swimming. I sprained my ankle about a month ago and still can’t run on it so I took up swimming and I love it. I was so bummed out that I couldnt run and it made going to the gym so useless because I can only work out my upper body, so swimming has been a great compromise. Even better than a compromise, I never thought Id love swimming as much as I do right now.
2- Chai Lattes, especially on a cold day.
3- Shopping. I love it, even when I dont buy anything. A few of my favorite stores to shop at are Pib’s Exchange, Target, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Lola Bella Boutique, there are just too many stores to list.

3 Surprising Facts

1- I graduated highschool with something like a 2.3 GPA or so…and had to go to summer school every year to have an eligible GPA to play on the soccer team. Pretty pathetic, I know.
2- However, my college GPA is a 3.6 and my science GPA is a 3.8. (Well, my science GPA was a 4.0 until my calculus teacher thought it was fair to give a student with a 94% a B grade. This math teacher doesnt give + or – grades and his cutoff for an A is 95%, but for most classes a 94% is the A cutoff. His explanation to me was, “well, theres always 1-2 students just a point or two away from the line, no matter where I set that percentage, sorry thats just how it goes.” I will never forget that stupid B that dropped my science GPA that I so needed for pharmacy school, totally not fair!!). Regardless, I have come a long way since highschool.
3- I learned how to ski when I was 5 years old. Which is crazy to me because every time I see a little one on the mountain it just freaks me out that I was that little when I first learned how. Crazy!

Tag 5 People

Holly
Ashley
Toni Marie
Gina
Alysia

{For Mommies With Teething Babies}

2008-09-15T18:07:00.000-04:00

My brilliant sister, Heather, has invented the CuTeSt product for teething babies. Its called, the Banana Baby Brush. Here's a video that tells all about it...and no these babies aren't professional actors, yet. But this very well may be the start of their acting careers!! :) Heather's the narrator, and you can see her baby boy, Nathan, and my niece Sarah in the video too. Sarah is the first baby you see and then Nathan is on at about the 40 second mark.

All the babies that have used this brush have loved it. If you would like to try one out for your baby they are coming out soon, or let me know and I can see what I can do about getting you one.

For my sis, I am so proud of you for never giving up on something you knew you could do, even when people doubted you. You are such an inspiration, WAY TO GO Heath!!!

Summer Recap

2008-09-11T01:29:00.000-04:00

I apologize ahead of time for such a lengthy post, but since I havent posted for about 2 months I am condensing our entire summer into one post. And Im going to go anti-chronologically since thats how it would look if I kept up on my posts. We'll see how this turns out…Also, sorry for so many slideshows. 

• This summer we got invited by Vickie’s sister, Chris, to go to San Carlos, Mexico with their family. For all of you who don’t know where that is, and don’t feel bad I had to look it up too, it’s on the east side of the Sea of Cortez about 5 hours from the border. We spent most of the days reading and chit-chatting on the beach, and then going to dinner at night. One of the days we got to go deep sea fishing, snorkeling and spear fishing. Snorkeling was awesome, but it was even cooler to watch the guys spear fish. And with the fish they caught, the captain fillet’d them and made fresh fish tacos. They were so DeLisH!!

The landscape there was so beautiful; it reminded me of the Pirates of Caribbean with all the jagged rocks sticking out of the sea. Also, because not a lot of people know about this beach town it wasn’t “Americanized” at all. It was awesome to actually go to a beautiful town and beach that wasn’t overcrowded with people. We had almost the entire beach to ourselves, it was so much fun!!!

• Since the 4th of July firework shows never seem to be able to touch the Taylorsville Dayzz fireworks, we usually prefer hiking to a lookout to watch all the shows going on in the valley. This year we spent the 4th of July with my brother James and his girlfriend Virginia. They took us up to this way cool hike (I dont remember the name of it) that had a view of the entire valley. We didnt have time to make it up to the top, but we still had an awesome view.

• There are always a few things on my summer “TO DO” list that I either dont do entirely, or dont do enough. Boating made it on the list this year. Although we didnt get to go as much as I wouldve liked, we still made it out a few times. Here are some pics of the “crew” catchin some air.

• Though I am loving the warm summer weather that comes around May-ish, summer doesnt seem to officially start for me until Taylorsville Dayzz. Theres something about the parade and the best fireworks show ever that just seem to kick it off. Also, Cole’s niece, Deja, had her b-day party that afternoon before the fireworks. It's always so fun to get together with family and friends!

Tribute to Jessica

2008-06-25T01:24:00.000-04:00

All I have to say is Jessica is amazing. A week before the race (Ragnar) we had a girl drop out because of health issues. The team was frantically searching for someone to fill the spot, that someone turned out to be Jessica. She found out 5 days before the race and willingly accepted, even though she had no training. She ran a total of 17 miles and she saved the race for us all! Can you believe that she ran 17 miles with no training?! Jess, you are my hero.

The Ragnar!

2008-06-24T20:32:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race which begins in Logan and ends in Park City covering 180 miles. Each team consists of 12 members and each member runs 3 legs throughout the race. The team splits up into 2 vehicles and the 6 runners in the 1st vehicle each run 1 leg and then the 2nd vehicle meets the 1st at a "major exchange" and the 6 runners in the 2nd vehicle run their legs, and so on... Well, everything was going well for the Diva Dozen team until the 2nd vehicle (my vehicle) missed the 2nd major exchange. Whoooops!! It's really self explanatory...6 girls, several maps, no GPS, 3 am, no race track to follow...we were an hour and a half late. Fortunately there were no more blunders after that and we made it to the finish line. GO DIVA DOZEN!!!

I was the lucky one who got to run the "Ragnar," 4 miles of tough terrain beginning at 7,200 ft and ending at 8,800 ft. I was quite nervous to run this from the beginning and it only added to it when every team we talked to asked, "Who's running the 'Ragnar?' Oh, I'm sorry. Good luck with that!" Well, I'm still alive and I would run it again in a heartbeat. I got to see the most beautiful views up there-I wish I had pictures of them.

Thank you to all who came to see me cross the finish line. You have no idea how thrilled I was to see you all there waiting for me. I am so lucky to have such supportive families!!

Just a Minor Update

2008-06-24T00:38:00.000-04:00

I have already had a bad start with this blog thing, but I'm not giving up!

Here's a little update on the Andreason's.

Cole is working very hard as a full time student to finish his Bachelor's degree in International Studies at the University of Utah. After he gets his degree he wants to apply to the different government agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA), and during the application process he wants to finish his nursing degree. Also, he works part-time for Cascade Refining calling hospitals worldwide and purchasing precious metals over the counter.

Cole is very active, he doesn't go a day out of the week without making it to the gym and he has even taken up running! He doesn't know this yet but he's planning on running a race with me someday...maybe a marathon...well, I'll settle for a 5k. It throws off his whole day if he doesn't make it to the gym, he even wakes up at 4:45 to make it there. I do not function that early. Absolutely not. I don't think he does either, but it doesn't matter he has to make it to the gym.

I am studying at Salt Lake Community College preparing to take the pcat this fall and apply to pharmacy schools this winter. I also work at Cascade Refining part-time as a bookkeeper and purchaser of precious metals over the counter. Yes, we work together and until this semester we were taking the same classes at school together for almost two years! I miss hangin out with my buddy 24/7. I also just got a job at Smith's as a pharmacy tech, I love the pharmacy!

I just finished my first big race and can't wait to run another one! Taylorsville 5k here I come!

Coming Soon...The Ragnar!

It's Official

2008-06-02T15:19:00.000-04:00

I never thought that I would start a blog and here I am typing my first post. I finally decided to make the move because I love looking at my friends blogs and think it's a great way to keep up with friends and family, and even keep a journal. I will try to keep up on posts but I won't lie I'm a busy girl at the moment, so no promises!