Mmmm

my favorite celebratory breakfast.

too much?

a new 'do with a red bow and red nails for valentines day
what's wrong with a girl being girlie?? 

score!

this girl looooves her special k with red berries. i had to stock up while they were on sale!

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!