yes, i'm au.d.

only an audiology student would wish she had brought her ear plugs to help her focus better during her test, only to do a quick backpack search and actually find an extra pair. i mean, really... who does that?!

20-11

here's to a new year and a new me!

i am actually excited that 2010 is over and 2011 is here.

we have some big changes ahead of us this year and i'm getting excited for them.

hopefully this year will bring us

a new town

a new home

a new job (my residency)

possibly a new job for josh (depending on where we move to)

more money to save for a house 

time to figure out what i want to do

and where i want to do it

and josh time to figure out what he wants to do with school

we also have 2 weddings in the next 3 months

which means a new sister and brother

and another brother coming home from his mission in june

i have a couple of trips planned for international travel (wahoo)

to provide audiological services

i'm thinking we should even plan a vacation for me and josh

since it seems like i'm always off traveling and leaving him at home

i have made a few simple 'new years resolutions' for 2011

they are:

learn photoshop

take photography lessons

take more photos- my daily photo challenge

watch less tv

read more

take a trip- just me and josh

lately i have found myself wishing that we had more pictures documenting the little things going on in our lives.  i'll bust out the camera for holidays (sometimes) and snap a few pictures, but i really want to et better at capturing the little things.  my goal is to take at least one picture a day- even if it's an iphone photo (hopefully they won't all be iphone photos- that would be lame) because i'm sure everyone is sick of all the rambling i do on this blog and would much rather look at pictures. 

so, here are the pictures i have taken so far in 2011 in no particular order.

josh taking a much needed nap while i was studying for my comprehensive exams

the fabulous pumpkin pie cupcake i treated myself to after spending countless hours studying for comps

josh was in charge of dinner one night.  so we went to arbys and got me a sandwich, mcdonalds to get fries and mcflurries, and chic-fil-a to get josh some chicken strips.  fast food junkies?  that night, i'd say we were.

a new year meant a major closet purge for both of us.  this is one of 2 piles that were donated to the di.  somehow many of my old favorites made it to this pile, but josh's ugly green military style shirt that he literally found on the side of the road didn't.  hmmm....

due to my crazy studying schedule on top of working lots,

christmas was not officially taken down until 2 days ago.  this shows our cute 2010 ornament- a guitar that plays rocking around the christmas tree

we ran into some of my favorite people in the whole wide world at the jazz game.  i sure love those sponbecks.

this is what my purse looked like after sacrament meeting.  between the little boy sitting in front of us and little rachel sitting next to me, my purse didn't stand a chance against the cheerios and goldfish

today officially documents my last "first day of a new semester".  i would have been way more excited had this not also marked the first day of our comprehensive exams.  our comps include written essays, practical examinations, and oral examinations and can be on anything we have learned thus far in our academic or clinical experiences (hence the major study sessions i have been having for the last month or so).  today was a written exam day and i spent the whole morning typing away.  tomorrow is also a written exam day and this picture shows the stack of information i have to go through to prepare for tomorrow's test.  in addition to my school comps, i also decided to schedule my state boards on saturday morning while all the information is still fresh in my mind.  smart move?  i'll let you know saturday afternoon.  let's just say between studying, work, applications, and interviews, this has been quite the stressful 2 weeks or so.  luckily i've only had one major melt down and only about 2 minor melt-downs.   thank goodness for a supportive husband and an endless supply of diet coke. 

christmas time means laughter

christmas was lovely this year.

we spent a lot of time working but were able to head to slc to play a little bit.

josh's family was in town from california the weekend before christmas

and we were able to come down and spend some time with them.

those boys are dang cute (again, no pictures...sad)

we had our hankins christmas dinner and traditional 'christmas eve' program 

complete with skits, christmas stories, poems, and a game that involved

placing a gingersnap on your forehead and using only your face muscles

to move it to your mouth.  talk about tricky.

we also got tickets to see the mormon tabernacle choir concert with david archuletta on sunday morning. they did such an amazing job and i loved the cheesy dancers and the awesome music.

we were also able to celebrate with our high school friends.  we got together

at kim's clubhouse and ate a delicious italian dinner.

we caught up on life and played 'the name game' which is one of my personal favorites.

i sure love this group of crazies.

christmas eve was spent with my family doing our traditional christmas eve things...

lots of delicious appetizers, a delicious swiss steak dinner, dancing the "virginia reel" 

(my darling gma is from the south and doesn't want any of us to forget how to shake it like they do in west virginia), the children performing the nativity, and our dice/present game.  

our family has gotten so big that we have now moved the party to my aunt's church...

it's a good thing, too, because how else would we all have room to dosey-do?

christmas day was great and it was so nice having the day to spend hanging out with our families. we were given so many generous presents from both of our families that we are truly so grateful for.  

my favorite part of the day was the excitement on my dad's face when he opened up the vintage glass citrus juicer that i got him.  who knew such a small thing would make a grown man so happy!

we were also fortunate enough to talk with nate dogg on christmas night.

he sounds soooo good and while we are thrilled that he is such a good little missionary,

we can't wait for him to get his little tushy home so we can play!

6 months and counting!

new years eve was very low key this year.

we went to cheesecake factory for dinner with our cute alaska girls and caught up on each others' lives.  then josh and i kicked it with my parents till about 11 and then rang in the new year with dick clark and josh's parents.  

new years day was spent at the jazz game with some great seats josh's parents got us.  

and josh just had to get a new jersey and hat for the occasion.

we had a fabulous holiday season and hope yours was just as lovely!

awesome vs. not awesome

i felt like i should do one last post before 2010 comes to an end.

one of my favorite bloggers, sydney, from daybook

does a little awkward vs. awesome post every thursday or so

if you haven't stumbled across sydney's blog, you must check it out.

she's the perfect amount of girlie-girl and sass.  and her photography is awesome.  

her relationship with her hubby is adorable.

and she's mormon and a great little missionary.

i decided to do a little awesome vs. not awesome (instead of awkward) post

so, here is my little list

not awesome:

the icy, snowy mess outside

the car that almost hit me because he was speeding in the icy, snowy mess outside

my dog who decides that she now likes to chew on things while we're at work

working mostly nights when josh works days

not getting the job in chandler :(

trying to scramble to find other places to apply to

studying for comps on my christmas break

josh and i being sick over christmas

finding out just about everyone is pregnant... but me

haven't been grocery shopping since november.  yikes.

awesome:

christmas- my christmas post will come soon, but we sure had a lovely time

family, friends, and loved ones that we've been able to see over the break

this lipgloss.  and my mother who snuck into my purse knowing i was out to find out what my favorite color was and surprising me with a new one

new years resolutions and new ways to become resolved

the jazz and their comebacks
a fridge completely covered in christmas cards from our fabulous friends showing off their beautiful children

a 4 wheel drive car that i feel safe driving in
josh's biopsies coming back clean

an interview next week to a place in boise and in vegas

sleeping in till 10:30 today (i have no shame)

catching up on the early years of the 90210 crew

talking to nate dogg on christmas day.  and realizing he comes home in 6 short months

having all weekend off of work and heading to slc

getting my butt kicked at the gym in the morning

only one semester left of school

online shopping and free shipping

jalapeno ranch salad dressing, tapioca pudding, and caramel popcorn (not together!)

looking forward to a new year and getting excited for some changes!

here's to a great 2010 and hopefully an even better 2011!

some holiday love

a little of this... a lot of that...

it has been a while since i've done an update with pictures 

so here it is

i apologize for the randomness of this post

and the quality of some of the pictures

my iphone doesn't take as good of pictures as josh's

so it all starts at the beginning of the school year

we attended some beautiful wedding ceremonies for my twin cousins

clearly no pictures of said twin cousins who got hitched.  hmm...

moving on

josh celebrated his big 26th birthday on october 10th

that's right, he was one of the lucky little boogers that got a birthday on 10-10-10

to celebrate his birthday we went out for a big steak dinner at hamiltons

and by big, i mean a 20 oz prime rib for josh

it was disgusting to look at and almost more revolting to think about after he finished the entire thing

josh's mom was creative and got him $10 gift certificates to 10 different restaurants

it was so long ago that i can't even remember what i got him.  yikes.

one thing i do remember, however, is that i didn't even spend his birthday with him.

i went with my family to disneyland and it just so happened to be over his birthday.  

he didn't care too much, though, because he spent the weekend at wendover with his boys

so it was a win-win situation for everyone.

i spent his official birthday at church and then at the beach in newport with my family.

i thought of josh and sent him a little b-day message... kind of...

my little sister is no good at taking pictures that include the entire message

speaking of our cali/disneyland trip... i have to say it was quite the trip.

we left saturday morning and got home tuesday night

so it was short, but we packed in a whole lot of fun

including the engagement of laura and zac (previous post)

we are big disneyland fans at my house and when we realized that none of us had ever been during the halloween season, we immediately called up the travel agent and booked a trip.

since it was all grown ups that went and we didn't have young children or strollers to hold us up, we now fondly refer to this trip as the disneyland marathon.

up at the crack of dawn, at the park all day, and leave as it was closing

we literally ran through the park to all of our favorite rides

mapped out the best way to utilize our fast passes

and munched on the snacks my dad carried in his massive backpack while we stood in line

we rode every ride we wanted to ride at least 5 times

despite the park being wayyy crowded for the weekend/columbus day/uea holiday.

that, my friends, is good disneyland time management

we also spent sunday in newport going to church, seeing the newport temple, hanging out at newport beach, and getting some grub on balboa island.  it was a fantastic trip.

for halloween this year, we attended a fun party at josh and emily's house.  josh dressed up as the famous antoine dodson

("hide yer kids, hide yer wife, and hide yer huzband cuz they're rapin errbody out there")

and i was pocahontas.  but have no pictures to prove it.

but for work i dressed up as flo from the progressive commercials

josh got us tickets to see thriller down at kingsbury hall.  i loved it- except for the stupid bear/shopping cart bit.  what on earth was that?  we went with laura and zac, but again, i have no proof they were there.

in november, i made a quick trip to phoenix to do an on-site interview with the az hearing and balance center in chander.  as i mentioned before, it is my top choice for places to do my residency and i was thrilled that my phone interview went well enough for them to want to bring me out to meet them in person.  i felt like the interview went well- everyone was so nice and the clinic far exceeded my expectations.  now it's the waiting game as they decide who they want to pick. 

when i was leaving utah to head to phoenix, i had the pleasure of spotting this gem.

i snuck a couple of secret iphone photos, but then decided i needed to get a pix with him

he was awesome and disturbing, all at the same time.

i headed to chandler on thursday night and spend the morning hanging out before my 2:30 appointment. i checked out the fabulous mall, drove around the suburbs, and got myself a tid bit lost.  after the interview, i decided to head north and see the mesa temple.

interestingly enough, just as i was about to take a pix of the temple, all of the christmas lights turned on.  it caught me by surprise but was fun to see.

after a pit stop in mesa, i headed north again to scottsdale where i met up with cute lyra (see here) and her family.  we have a fabulous way of running into each other at random places throughout the country and it was only fitting for her family to be in scottsdale for her husbands business. it was great to see her before i headed back to the airport.

chana and zach also came up to logan one weekend to hang out.  chana had always wanted to show zach our old stomping grounds so we made a date night out of it.  we did dinner at the yummy callaways and then went to the jon schmidt concert that night on campus.  it was fun hanging out with them!

over thanksgiving weekend, i called up my sweet gma beckie and asked her if she'd teach me how to make her famous pies.  my gma is known for her amazing cooking/baking skills and i want to take advantage of her as my teacher as much as i can in the next few years.  we baked and baked and baked all day wednesday.  we made 2 raspberry/blackberry/black raspberry pies with double crusts, one sour cream lemon cake from scratch, and one to-die-for banana cream cake.  we also had plans to make a coconut cream pie and brownie pie.

my 2 favorite lines of the day?

gma: "liz add a little sugar to the top of the berry pies to give it a nice glaze and crust"

(so i add about 2 tablespoons to the top of the pie)

gma: "no, no, no... not like that... like this"

and she adds about a cups worth of sugar to my 2 tablespoons

also,

gma: "and this is about how much sour cream you add to the lemon mixture"

liz: "would light or fat free sour cream work just the same?"

gma: "i have no idea what light or fat free sour cream is.  i would never purchase such a thing"

oh grandma, you're such a lovely southern belle

i took about a million pictures of my pies because i was so gosh darn proud of them.  they actually tasted better than they looked!

thanksgiving was fabulous, as always, but of course i have no pictures to document the day

we spent the morning sleeping in and not running the cold turkey run we had registered for up city creek canyon because i we could not justify running a 6k at -5 degree weather

we ate a delicious turkey dinner with josh's family and spent some time with gma laurie who was in town from cali

and then we headed my aunt diena's house for pie.... and it was all soooo good

and then back to josh's house for games with his family

friday was spent hanging out with my girlfriends because stacy was in town from texas

we did dinner at cheesecake factory and indulged in peppermint cheesecake, pumpkin cheesecake, and godiva chocolate cheesecake.  we laughed lots and reminisced and caught up on each others' lives.

then, it was off to see the radio city rockettes with my mom and sisters

i have always wanted to see them, and even have a friend from my high school who actually is a rockette

the show was amazing (as expected) and i was so sad when it ended!

i think my favorite dances were the 12 days of christmas dance and the soldier dance

after the rockette show, i was picked up by stacy and we headed straight to the jazz/lakers game with katie and rj (sadly, josh had to work friday and had to miss out on the game)

oh my goodness... best game i have ever been to

there were so many lakers fans there and it was a constant screaming battle between the fans.

i should have worn some ear plugs because my ears were ringing after about 10 minutes of being there

but the game ended up in the best way possible and we beat the lakers after being down by 19 points. 

my throat hurt so bad after cheering so loudly, and i could barely talk the next day

day after thanksgiving 2010 = best day ever

we have also made a little bit of time to take our little pup out to play in the snow.  she loves it and i think she looks pretty dang cute in the pink coat josh bought her :)

and lastly, this past week i defended my research project to my committee

it was about 2 years in the making and it feels great to finally have it done

now i just have to do some final touches on my paper

and make a poster which will be presented at the upcoming ehdi conference in atlanta in february.

kind of exciting to be a student and have presented one research project last year and have another one accepted for this year.  nerdy, but exciting.

and that wraps up the longest, post i've done in a very long time.

dear santa...

...or josh...

this is what happens when i have

a little too much time on my hands

and my husband is on the couch taking a nap

here is my christmas wish-list

i sure hope i've been good this year

i definitely don't need everything on here,

but at least it gives josh (and santa)

some ideas so i don't get a fishing license and 

tools this year... again...

is there anything you're writing santa for this year?