Crazy Faces!

Poor Grandma, look at all these Looney Tunes she's related to!

Grandpa Chalmer's Memorial

My Grandpa Chalmer's Funeral and Memorial were on Saturday. It was really nice to be with my family. I only wish that everyone who was missing could've been there too, including Grandpa. Here are some pictures from the day of some cousin love.

These pics are missing two boy cousins- Marcus and Tyler of the San Diego Ponds, and then Brookie Cookie and my two sisters.

It's been a crazy few days...

• Grandpa Chalmer died on Saturday.
• Barack Obama was sworn in as President on Tuesday and I totally slept in and missed it.
• I interviewed for Med/Surg Oncology, canceled an interview for the ICU, and accepted the Med/Surg Oncology position.
• and today I fly to Portland for the weekend for Grandpa Chalmer's funeral and memorial.
  

I'm hoping the next few weeks will be less eventful.

Graham Cracker Cake

Sometimes you just want to feel like a kid again, like when your Grandpa wasn't dying. So, you make something to eat that you loved as a kid. Here is a picture of my Graham Cracker Cake...

If you'd like to feel like a kid again...

-In a bowl, mix one box of raspberry jello with a jar of applesauce
-Line a 9x13 dish with a layer of graham crackers
-Layer half of the raspberry/applesauce on the crackers
-Add a second layer of graham crackers
-Layer the second half of the applesauce on the crackers
-Top with a third and final layer of graham crackers
-Finish with a small tub of Cool Whip
-Refrigerate over night, covered with saran wrap

It's a silly, poor man's dessert, but I love it and it makes me feel like a kid again. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Today is Libby's Birthday

...and I sent her this. It's a necklace I made with two antique sterling silver charms. She's currently in these states on a mission. I hope she likes it!

Movie Review: STARDUST

Now that I'm done with school I'm trying to catch up on the Netflix queue (yeah, I should be studying for the NCLEX but I have priorities here people). I didn't let Ben watch any movies with out me this last year, and we never had time to go to the theater so the queue is loooong. This last week we got Stardust in the mail. I don't even remember adding it to the queue, or hearing that much about it. But it was a great movie! It's a fantasy/love story and had a few notable actors in it like Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro. It's reminiscent of the Princess Bride, not as tame but definately a similar feel. It had some pretty hilarious moments and some unique elements, like the pirate ship. Both Ben and I really enjoyed it.

5 Things Tag

Janae tagged me which is awesome because I love writing lists!

5 Things I was doing 5 years ago:

• Unpacking at my brand new house in Seattle
• Starting a new job at Azteca
• Hanging out with Ben
• Fighting with Becky
• Starting school at Shoreline

5 Things on my to do list for today:

• Go to the post office
• Go to physical therapy
• Stop at the staffing office at the hospital
• Laundry
• Dishes

5 Things I would do with a million dollars:

• Invest it and turn it into more than a million
• Pay off debt
• Travel around the world
• Buy a piano
• Get a makeover

5 Places I have lived:

• Portland, OR
• Vancouver, WA
• Provo, UT
• Seattle, WA
• Tucson, AZ

5 Jobs I have held:

• Burgerville girl too
• Barista at Starbucks
• Gap Person/clothes folder
• Waitress at like a bazillion restaurants
• Patient Care Technician, aka Nurse's slave

5 Things I want to be doing in 5 Years:

• Traveling
• Working as an ER nurse
• Living in my own house
• Being a wife and mom
• Driving a fuel cell car

5 People I tag:

• Laura
• Brooke
• Kristi
• Aunt Lisa
• Rachelle

My New Year's Resolutions

I figure if I put these goals out there, that maybe I'll actually be able to achieve them, or at the very least get harassed by Ben until I do.

1. Get a job. This shouldn't be that hard since I've already got a contract, but we'll see.
2. Lose at least 15 pounds. I know that sounds like a lot but I have gained twice that in the last three years. I should be able to do this by getting off my butt for work, and with my physical therapy. My bras might not fit, but my pants will and that will be awesome.
3. Pay off my student loans, and the couple other debts I have. Sure I have a nice small minimum payment that would last me the next ten years, but I don't like bills, so I want to take care of that as soon as I can.
4. Catch up on my scrapbooks and photo albums. I've been putting them off through school and I can't wait to get them done.
5. Go Skydiving.
6. Go on a real vacation to Hawaii or Alaska, someplace relaxing without a ton of sightseeing to do, oh and camping.
7. Plan my next big trip either to South America, Australia and New Zealand or back to Europe.
8. Read books that have nothing to do with Nursing.
9. Give up ABC daytime. This will be hard because they are bringing back one of my favorite all time characters to GH...oh and Jason and Sam are getting back together. AHHH, this one is going to be almost impossible.
10. Stick to my budget. This will also be very difficult, with all the paying off debt, traveling, new clothes, and ebaying for antique sterling silver charms I will be doing!
11. Take my lunch to work everyday. The food at the hospital sucks so bad, and I really never want to eat it ever again.
12. Floss or use my new water pik every day.

Holy Crap, I am going to be busy this year, I mean the flossing alone is going to take a ton of time. If only I could pipe General Hospital into the bathroom!

Winter Wonderland

The day after my Pinning ceremony Ben and I flew into Seattle for the holidays. And there was snow, tons of snow. It totally messed up our plans to drive all over the state of Washington to spend an equal time with each family (each of Ben's parents families and his brother's family, and my parents and grandparents). But we managed to see everyone at least for a night, and got to see quite a few friends from high school and college...and got to get Burgerville THREE times. Mmm, Burgerville. I think I'd fly back just for that place. Some highlights of the vacation were: getting to hang out with my mom and play with our charm bracelets, seeing Grandpa and Grandma, catching up with Uncle Scott, walking through the snow with Ben, watching Ben shovel the snow (yeah, he's totally a babe), hanging out with Kevin, dinners with Katie and Steve, and spending a couple nights at the lake with Dave and Marifran (Ben's dad and stepmom). These are some great shots of Lake Cushman that they took during the snow storm. Isn't that an amazing shot that Marifran took of the eagle!?

The lowlights of the trip were: getting cabin fever in Seattle, not getting to go to the symphony, not having enough time to spend with everyone, feeling depressed because it was frrrreezing and dark, Ben and I both getting colds, oh and breaking my cellphone when I dropped it in a puddle, and having my laptop smashed by the airline on my way home. Happy New Year to me! Thank goodness I have Ben who got me a new phone and will be able to fix my laptop! I hope you all had a good Christmas break!

Merry Christmas!

The one tradition my family has always had at Christmas time is spending Christmas Eve at my grandparents house. Last year I opted out to go on a three week trip to Europe, but this year my Grandpa Chalmer had a couple strokes and I felt like I had to be there. Unfortunately the weather in Washington was going absolutely crazy...like snowing NON-STOP. Ben and I were stuck in Seattle and I was freaking out. Luckily after 5 days of hanging out at his brother's house, Ben decided we could brave the horrible driving conditions to head down to Vancouver. It turned out that the freeway was completely clear and the worst part was driving around town once we got into the Couve. So, we made it down to Grandma Caroline and Grandpa Chalmer's house for Christmas Eve.

Nursing Graduation

I finally graduated from college on December 17th. Yay! I'm so glad to be done. My friend Leah and her husband Ryan (who is Ben's stepbrother) and their two girls Rylee (on the left) and Gentry (on the right) drove down from Phoenix to come support me and take me and Ben out to dinner. It was really great that they came. The ceremony itself wasn't anything that special, the key note speaker was a snooze, and I shook the Dean's hand, when I totally hate her. But it was nice to celebrate being done with Ben and Leah and Ryan and their cutie pie girls.

P.S. I ordered a totally dorky white Nursing dress to wear and felt totally ridiculous...it'll make a great Halloween costume later!

Music That Matters Monday

This last week Ben and I went to two concerts here at the Tucson Convention Center. The first concert was Alanis Morrisette and Sarah McLachlan (which made my 18 yr. old self very happy). The second concert was to see a Seattle band 'Death Cab for Cutie.' Both concerts were pretty awesome, but since it's almost Christmas I thought I would post this music video. She sang this song at the concert and it was really pretty. I hope you like this new Music That Matters Christmas Video Edition.

You're all INVITED!!!

Next week I'll be getting pinned. I don't exactly know what that means, but you're all invited! Yay! Who wants to come to Tucson? Yeah, me neither. Well, Ben is going to come and so is his step-brother Ryan and his family from Phoenix, so hopefully it won't be completely lame.

It's cold in Tucson.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

On Monday night I decided to make one of my favorite recipes for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don't know about you, but I love Chocolate and Pumpkin, and these cookies are a perfect combination of both. So, if you're looking for a good fall time treat, try these babies out. I love them!

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups MILK chocolate chips (not semisweet)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

~I actually don't spray or line my cookie sheets and they do just fine. I also use a whole bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips and I bake them for about 17 minutes. They are fantastic fresh out of the oven with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream or glass of milk. I hope you try them out, and then invite me over!

Threadless

One of my favorite places to shop is threadless.com. It's this great little website where members can upload their own tee-shirt designs, vote and rate other designs, and post blogs and photos of them wearing the shirts. I love it. The designs are always unique and I have always gotten tons of compliments on my cool tee-shirts. Here is my public profile on Threadless. I haven't ever uploaded designs or had time to score many, but I have uploaded a few pics. You can earn points towards more shirts if you post pictures. I have a ton of their shirts, so eventually I hope to score a few free ones. I just haven't had time to take many pictures of myself. Right now they have this awesome holiday sale, so if you're looking for some unique presents you should check it out! Here's one of the great pics my personal photographer (Ben) took for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. Mine wasn't bad. I worked and made double time (which is awesome) and then I came home to find a Friends Thanksgiving episode marathon (double awesome). I love Friends and especially the Thanksgiving episodes. They were always the most hilarious. So, not only did I get to make great money and catch some of my favorite holiday comedy, I also got to avoid crappy family time. Since that wasn't very thanksgiving-y of me, I'll make up for it by sharing with you some things I'm grateful for.

Right now I am most Thankful for.....

1. those of you reading this right now! I've only invited about 20 people to read this blog, so if you're reading this, you better know that I like you!!!
2. RAIN! It rained unexpectedly the last couple of days. It was awesome.
3. school being over soon! Seriously, it's been a long, horrible road, and I am so happy to be almost done.
4. my health. Everyday I go to the hospital and see very sick people, and realize how lucky I am to have my health.
5. President Elect Barack Obama. I am really looking forward to our new President and am hoping he will be able to get some things happening around here.

I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day!

A fabulous picture...

that makes me think of London, and makes me want to go there RIGHT NOW. Isn't it pretty?

PUPPIES!!

So last week when I was having such a rough time, I stumbled across a live video stream of puppies and I posted the link on my post "It's been a long week..." and then today I saw them featured on msn.com. Apparently they were even on the Today Show this morning! This cracks me up, because I have been watching these little puppies all week. They just hang out and pile on each other and sleep, and they're super cute. These puppies are like 5 weeks old and their owners set up this video feed so they could keep an eye on them. So you have to go look at them before they all go to their new homes. Anyways, I think I need a pet. Or maybe now that I don't have to spend a ton of time around all the drama of my nursing school class, I'll just feel better on my own. And won't have to watch internet puppies to laugh. Or maybe I'll still get a pet.

I am a freakin' genius.

Just in case you guys were wondering. I took my final yesterday and I needed a 82% to pass. I got an 85%. AHHHH! I'm going to be a Nurse! Dude, and graduate. It's total craziness.