Cranky

I have sent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out why I have been so cranky. This time I can't blame it on the steroids. I let go of my eating habits for the past week during the Christmas session and I don't think that helped at all, but I know that is not the root of my problem. I am not sure how many other people have this problem, but I always get a little cranky and start to feel really unsettled when I know that it is time for a change. At work there has been a notice up saying that there was a day position open at work and that I needed to let them know before the 26th of this months if I was interested. Unfortunately, I stewed over it a little too long, but I am beginning to wonder if I should have taken it. Maybe it is about time for me to see about working day shifts, so I sent them an email to let them know I am interested even though it is late. I guess the next time an opportunity comes along I will attempt to jump on the bandwagon a little quicker.
A couple of weeks ago I had the most fun I have had in years when I went sledding. I went to some doctors I work withs homes...yes that is plural even though they are married. We sledded down their driveway which took over 1 minute to sled down the entire driveway and then got rides back up the hill on a hay ride pulled by a tractor. I had so much fun and got so many bruises. I just have to report that I am a huge fan of the "flexible flyer," especially made around 1960.
I also conned some of my family member to cross country ski with me. It was not the best experience ever. It was a lot harder than I remeber. We went to Snow Basin and they had a lot of trails, but I was completely out of shape for the foot problems that I have had (and am still having, but have chosen to ignore over the last couple of weeks). I am sure that we will be able to remember it as an adventure. There are some photos, but some of the postitions that bodies were entangled in after the falls should never have to be published.
Family gatherings over the holidays are always stressful for me. Perhaps it is because I have gotten used to the quiet life, especially living all by my lonesome for two years. I just because a little crowded with everyone at home. Although I did enjoy seeing everyone in smaller groups. I also loved playing games...perhaps because they were all providided by me as gifts to others.

A letter to the family

I have been sitting here thinking that overall life is going well. I don't have much to complain about, but I am feeling a little bit complacent. That is never a good sign...for me it typically means that big changes are to come.
I have been enjoying working at Mckay-Dee Hospital in the Emergency Room. Sometimes I become pretty cynical, but I think that there is rarely a person that can work in the ER and not feel that way about the clientele that comes in. The people that I work with are great and I have found it to be my favorite job since I graduated, although I miss my little kids very much.
School is currently going well and I believe when I take this last test on Monday that I will have managed another 4.0 semester. That makes me very happy! The only down side is that I have to find another preceptor and I am finding that to be a very difficult task. For some reason no one wants a student in their office and it makes it hard to find somewhere to finish all of my school hours.
For everyone who was very concerned, the disposable computer is working very well and I have no complaints. My car is in good working order as well. Yeah! The car and the computer are two things that I can't live without.
My feet are still giving me issues, but I am planning to attempt exercise again this week. In fact, that is the plan in the next half an hour. Wish me luck! It has been so sad to not be able to exercise. The steroids helped me to gain 15 pounds which I desperately need to lose. My friend from high school Jennifer Olsen and I are on a mission to make weight loss happen again in my life.
Thanksgiving was great! Sorry Ann, Allie, Sara, Drew, Brent, Amber, Ellie, Olivia, Sammi, Lee...and all of those that I can't remember that missed out. It was actually nice to have a smaller number at our house. There is not a whole lot of room. We look forward to seeing you all at Christmas.
Wellings, I keep thinking about you. It is getting colder here and I hate going outside. I keep thinking about what great weather you are having in Arizona and that I could actually hand outside. It is currently really gray and depressing outside so I am praying for some snow so that there could at least be a purpose for all of this hum-drum weather.
Miss you all.

On the Roids

I have had pain in my left foot since a few weeks after I arrived home to Utah. I think that it was the 12 hour shifts in the Emergency Room standing on my feet that gave me a condition called plantar fasciitis. It is pretty painful and I have been taking anti-inflammatory medication, wearing insoles in my shoes and going to physical therapy, but so far that has not helped. Yesterday, I went back to the doctor and prescribed me steriods. I started to take them and shortly afterwards I started to feel like I had ants in my pants and they started sweating profusely. I am having the same problem today. I am so excited that I get to experience this for a whole 12 days. I really hope that this helps. I need to start doing some serious exercise again before I start gaining all of the weight that I have lost.
This great disposable computer is allowing me to post pictures for everyone delight. I was definitely excited about that feature. I love taking picture. Hopefully everyone else enjoys looking at them.

When I got home to Kaysville one of the first things that Maren and I did was go down to the ponds by our house where they have to botanical gardens and took some pictures. It looks so different that it did when I was growing up.

I still love the cattails though! I used to draw cattails on my papers in school when I was doodling.

This great disposable computer is allowing me to post pictures for everyone delight. I was definitely excited about that feature. I love taking picture. Hopefully everyone else enjoys looking at them.

Here are a few of the Wellings. When I went and visited Arizona we went on a walk and I took my camera with me. Unfortunately not all of them turned out because kids can be pretty cheezy, or if it was me I just would have wanted that picture posted on the internet of me, so I justified not posting them.

On the Left is Christian looking pretty sweaty from rollerblading. On the right if Abby trying to convince me that she is innocent and has not done anything mischevious, but I know better. On the bottom in the middle is Rebekah, showing all of us her great gap!

After visiting Arizona I went to Alabama, but to get there and to go home I went to Pensacola, Florida. Before I went home I went down by the ocean and ate dinner. Then I walked around the historic district and took some pictures.

I walked past this part area while going to the restaurant that I was going to eat at.

I loved the windows and doors of some of the old builings so I just had to take some pictures of them.

I also walked past this old white church. Who could turn down a picture of this beautiful building? Obviously, not me.

Computers Do Fry

In case anyone had any concerns about whether or not you can fry your computer, perhaps with a little broccoli and water chestnuts, you can. Recently my mother thought that she was plugging my computer into a surge protected power strip, but low and behold it was not. So, I am not a proud owner of a computer that my mother states is a disposable computer. It works well, but we did not spend a whole lot of money on it and it will hopefully have Internet on it in a week. That way I will be able to post pictures on here once again. I think that I will post more often once I am able to put some pictures on here.

Since my last posting I have spent most of my time and work and working on school, but there are a few highlights that I would like to share:

1. This week I spent a day at the Medical Examiners office. I watched them perform autopsies and perform an organ donation. I found it all very fascinating. I did this for my master degree in case anyone is wondering why I had this little excursion. You will have to discuss this with me in person if you are really interested.

2. I flew to Alabama for school. I made a pit stop in Phoenix to visit the Welling clan. Unfortunately, I had a lot of school work to do while I was there and I was exhausted as usual so I did my fair share of sleeping. I am certain for them it was like the good ol' days when I used to crash at their home. I did see two soccer games, visit the zoo, watch women conference, and hand cabinetry. I would say that it was a successful vacation.

3. I was finally able to hang out with an high school friend, Jennifer Olson. I have only done one things with a friend my age since moving back to Utah. I really don't get out much.

I am certain that other things have occurred in my life, but my brain is working really slowly so I am letting in shutdown.

Excitement

I was thinking today, which some might say is unusual for me, but I was doing it anyway, and I realized that there are have not been many exciting opportunities in my life since I arrived back at my parents' house. I pretty much spend all of my time sleeping and working. My schedule is so spread out and odd that I never get enough days of in a row to make myself useful. This week I am just working my scheduled 3 shifts and not picking up an extras and it has been wonderful. I feel rested and that I have had a few waking hours to complete some of my required tasks.
Since arriving home I felt as though I had started to put back on some of the weight I had worked so hard to take off, but I joined Weight Watchers again this past week. I am really just two pounds over the weight I was when I left Phoenix so I really can't complain. I just need to stay motivated with my eyes on the goal. Megan, if your reading this it means lots of veggies when I come to visit.
School started last Monday and I have already started to turn in assignments. I am going to be starting clinicals this semester, but I am still in the process of getting everything all set up. My paperwork/contracts are currently floating in a pediatricians office in Layton and I need to find out if I can get them back. I am excited to get started and get one more step closer to achieving my final goal!
My parents are in the process of redoing the kitchen right now. We have no ceiling in part of the dinning room and the kitchen. The plan is that some guy is coming to do the electrical work tomorrow and I believe the counter tops as well. Then the sheet-rockers will be here on Thursday or Friday. The cupboard are all currently stripped and out in the garage...it reminds me of the good ol' days at the Wellings...only we have a sink.
Someday I plan to take pictures again, but today you are all just going to have to deal with a boring blog.

Car Drama

My car has now been disabled since the 8th of July. The first time that I got it back I noticed that it was leaking fluid all over....so some parts were replaced in the A/C. Yesterday I got it back again and today I took it for a little drive. As I was driving home I noticed that the check engine light was on. Then the temperature gauge went to hot...never a good thing. I know that it needed to go back to the shop. I was almost there when it stopped and I started to see a little smoke. Aaahhh! I put the hazard light on got out and ran down the street to the auto body shop that has been fixing my car. I diagnosis it received was that the radiator that was put in had a hole in it and now it gets to be replaced. My poor vehicle should be back in my possession tomorrow.
Life back in Utah has not been very exciting. I have worked 4-5 days a week and my days off have been spent doing homework, until the last two weeks. Last week I just slept and this week I have spent trying to find somewhere to do my school clinicals. So far I have been unable to find a pediatricians office that will allow me to come and work with them. I am waiting to here back from an office that I called today.n Work is going well, I feel like I fit in already, which is unusual, because it usually takes me about half a year to feel comfortable.
Maren and I have been reading the 5th Harry Potter book. She has read some of it and I read read the rest out loud to her in preparation for watching the movie. We have big plans to go and see it tomorrow in the morning. We are very excited.
Ann is dating a guy named Nate, whom she had dated and rejected previously. She decided to give him another chance. He has come over to my parents house twice in the last week. Ann wanted him to meet the whole family. She appears to be pretty serious about this one, but since she never really tells me much I just get to speculate and post it on the Internet for everyone else to get the same idea. He is going to school in engineering. We is double majoring, one major is mining engineering, and I can't remember what the other type of engineering is. The gist of the story is that if they get together Ann is going to get to live in Nowhereville, USA. I think that it is great.

Gap

There are been a large gap in my postings, mainly because there are been difficulty in finding time. I was able to move to Utah without much of a problem. The biggest jolt was when I felt tears welling up when i saw the cows and haystacks. Who would have though? I don't even think I realized that I didn't see cows in Arizona.
My new job is off to a great start. It is busy from the moment I get there to the moment I leave. The best part is that they are always needing more people to work, so as soon as I was finished with my orientation, I started to work extra shifts. It is very interesting doing many things that I have never had the opportunity to do before...like pump peoples' stomachs, numb and prep wounds for stitches, and watch all the drunks in action. The emergency room that I work in is the busiest in all of Utah, so there is never a lack of patients. Other places that I have witnessed the emergency room in action had periods if time when people quite coming in, but the residents of Ogden have not caught on to this phenomenon and they just keep coming. I am learning a whole lot and the people that I work with are great! That is good news. Previous jobs it has taken a while to fit in, but in this job I already feel like part of the crew.
I finished this last semester on the 24th of July. My goal was to get two "A's" for the semester, but try as I might I believe that I got and "A" and a "B" once again. I am destined to be a 3.75 student. I am going to try and overcome.
There is a very distinct possibility that I may not have enough financial support to go to school this next semester, but I am working like crazy to come up with enough money. Luckily, there are enough hours for me to pick up at work so that I can try and get the money.
Right after moving back home with the parents, to save money, I hit a deer on the way home from work. That is not exactly the best way to save money. I have been without a car since the 8th of July. I am hoping that I get it back on Monday. In honor of Grandpa Acheson, who named it car the Deerslayer, after hitting a deer or two, my vehicle has been named Deerslayer 2. My car is not exactly smaller than his so I feel that it could not rightfully be called Deerslayer Jr. Personally I feel that it would make a great video game, although I think that it would be to graphic for most. It was fascinating to watch the police officer drag the deer carcass across the road though. Ever time I drive past the area I have a moment of silence.
I have only managed one hike since I arrived in the Salt Lake Area and it was terrible. It appears that my allergies are awake and alive in these mountains. I once again cried while hiking and eventually gave in and turned around after an hour. I was not woman enough. Next time I have determined that I will need to take some sort of allergy medications prior to hiking and see how that works.

Packing

I have been attempting to pack up the ol' apartment. Whenever I pack I always think that I am going to be able to just quickly throw things into boxes. I always forget about the reminiscing that occurs while going through the collections that have occured over the years. I have a whole lot of collections too. Each little trincket is allowed a few seconds of contemplation and them is gets thrown into a box or the discard pile. I prefer not to think of myself as a packrat, but there are little items tucked everywhere...even way back under the sink where I discovered some noodle bowls I had managed to bring home from Japan. I love so many of my things and I have great plans for them someday...I just wish that someday was today. I would love to have a table and put all of my little tea light things on it and have a fancy dinner. For now I am just going to have to dine amongst the boxes (I don't own a table) and enjoy the scenery.
The plan for me is to head back up to Utah on Saturday morning. I am not certain if I am going to be able to make that date, but that is the goal. I hope to be seeing many of your soon!

Life in 4WD

This past Friday morning I got up bright and early to attempt the last hike left within the Phoenix area. This hike was the Four Peaks Trail. Imagine this...actually the picture to the above could help you picture it more clearly...the mountain had four peaks. What a fabulous name! I headed out early in the morning in order to avoid another sunburn and to get back for a previous engagement with a neighbor. I have to announce proudly that I was able to use my 4WD. It was the best thing for a 20 mile dirt road which was very bumpy and quite an uphill battle to reach the trailhead. One of my favorite parts of the drive to the trailhead was the very large boulders everywhere. I wanted to jump out of the vehicle, lie down on the ground next to a boulder, and dream of large women...although I suppose it would be large men in my case. Anyway, I had a good laugh while drive. I had a great time singing at the top of my lungs to Don Henley with no one to hear me.

When I reached the trailhead there were no other cars there. Imagine that! A trailhead in a remote area with no other hikers. I was certain that if I died out there it would take quite a while for someone to find my body. Not to despair though, I left several clues for people to find me. I had told my neighbor I was going on a long hike and I also left the map of directions to the hike up on the computer. I figured that when someone came to search my apartment they would bring Nancy Drew with them and see the map and put the clues together. Although there would only be a rough area to locate my body I am sure that my car at the trailhead my be a big clue.

After starting the hike I discovered that there was a body of water in the distance. It was a very beautiful sight to me. I felt as though I were looking at Bear Lake in Idaho. The site is always breathtaking as you start the descent to the lake. The morning fog in the valley did not make the picture as amazing as the real sight, but you can just use your imagination.

The actual feeling of the hike was as if I was hiking back in Utah. The mountain terrain and pine cones. Reading about the territory I found out that this area has the largest black bear population so I was on the lookout. This was until I ended up experiencing some serious allergic tearing. I like to think that it was allergies and not an emotional upheaval, but with me one never knows. I took a picture of the plant which when I took it I thought was great, but alas it leave little to be desired. I don't even think it helps to identify it. I guess that it what you get when you are crying profusely and trying to capture something on film. I had to complete this hike so I forged ahead, mostly because it was just one eye continually watering. I was a miserable experience though, I kept thinking that if I was going to do the is Utah I was going to have to invest in Singular.

I made it as far up the mountain as possible until I reached a place where the trail kept disappearing and I was hurdling plants growing over the path, over fallen

trees, and nearly plummeting to my a painful death. I know that I was a little shy of my destination, but felt that perhaps it would be in my best interest to maintain a state of life. I then proceeded back down the trail to me car.

I reached the car and noticed that the driver side tire was looking a little on the flat side. I was really not wanting to get under the car and put on the spare tire. I also didn't like the idea of on the bumpy road having my spare tire just flying off my car. So, my big plan was to monitor it every mile or two. It was a good plan because by the time I got out to the main road it appeared to be very slightly deflated. I went to the local gas station paid 75 cents and deflated it a little more. The air compressor would not connect to my tire. This mean that eventually I am going to have to find somewhere to inflate this tire.

Well, as pretty much everyone knows who is following this blog I am moving back to Utah. After months of searching for a job I finally got one. It was not the one that I have longing for, but it is a job none-the-less. I thought that I would feel relief and closure, but no. I feel anxious and unsure. I will be moving back around the 16th and am praying that everything goes well. I look forward to seeing my family again. I also look forward to additional summer weather. We have already reached the Salt Lake Valley's maximum summer temperature here in Phoenix so I know that it is going to be pleasant. I am worried about the pool though. I can barely tolerate a pool that is not heated anymore, I think that I might die. I certainly hope that I can manage because I love a good dip in the pool.

School started again and I have once again plunged into the world of paperwork. I am very happy that there is not a large amount of exams throughout this semester. Past experience tells me that even though I am not the world's greatest writer I do better in writing classes than classes with exams. Both classes have a writing emphasis so I have started plugging away at the assignments because it is only eight weeks of classes. The move in the middle of the chaos has also helped to motivate me to complete the most work I possibly can in the next week. I hope that I can continue with this motivation.

Break from Work

There is both a fortunate side and an unfortunate side to a low patient census. Let's start out with the positive thought. My overtime shifts I signed up for were cancelled, so I spent more time at my cousin, Megan's house. This time I was helping her paint the soon to be girl's room. We painted a sunset on the walls and some dark purplish mountains across the bottom of the room. It was a big project but she wanted to get the girls moved into that room before her big family reunion when all of her siblings were going to be coming from out-of-state and several would be staying at her home. So, I assisted in getting partway there.
During one day when she had some other things she had to do I went out an completed one of the two hikes on my list. I went and hiked in the Superstition Mountains on a trail called Black Mesa Trail. It was very scenic and took approximately four hours. I have typically hiked in the early morning or the late afternoon, but this hike happened to be in mid-day. I happened to pay the consequences with a beautiful sunburn. I am currently moulting a few layers. I hiked the south side of this mountain range with Ann and if you look at her blog you can see a picture of this rock called Wheeler's Needle. I happened to hike the north side and never got quite as close this time, but it was still beautiful anyway.

These are just scenic view of some cacti part way through my adventure.

The bad part of the patient census being low is that I had a regular shift cancelled last night and in two weeks I am going to feel the pain of the cancelled shifts when the check comes in. I only have one more hike left to complete in the big list of hikes. I am very excited about it although I am trying to figure out what shoes I am going to wear because this last hike I used my hiking boots because my other shoes I was using have lost too much traction and I have some beautiful blisters. Aaahhhh, such is life!

Sunday Neighborhood Walks

I am not sure that not everyone does this, but in my family I remember talking frequent Sundays walks. These occasions are filled with seeing new houses being built in the neighborhood, checking out the interesting things happening in yards (for example the alligator fountain which is still famous in my household), and just talking about what was going on in our lives. I still get to enjoy these walks when I go to my cousins house as we venture out into the great unknown of the subdivision, but today I decided to go on my own adventure. I was originally picking up an extra shift at work, but the patient census has been low so I was once again called off. This left the perfect opportunity for meandering about the local area.

I had decided to take my camera with me because I decided that there had to be some interesting objects to take pictures of. In taking pictures I was reintroduced to the fact that I have a bond with plants. I found myself wanting to take all kinds of pictures of the plants. I think that this quality actually came from my grandfather. My mind wanders to a memory of my sister's when she was hiking with my grandfather and he got a hold of her camera. When the film was developed there were many pictures of the same plant. I never thought that I would find a day when I decided that he and I had something like this in common, but I do find it amusing. The rest of this is a posting of my Sunday evening walk so that I can feel like I took it with my family.

Initially, my walk started by going down through the apartment complex. I walked by one of my favorite features in the complex - the fountain. Who doesn't love a good fountain? Sometimes I wish that I could just pull up a chair and sit right in front of it for hours. Today when I was coming back from church I saw a hummingbird above it, I think that he had the right idea.

Next I walked through the parking lot and noticed all of the beautiful white flowers growing on the bushes above all of the cars. These flowers go into bloom when it starts to get really hot and I would want to run away and hide. I think that these bushes are seen all around Arizona to remind us that even though it is hideously hot here there are beautiful things to make life enjoyable.

Palm trees I have find are not very beautiful trees unless they are well maintained. There are also several different kind of palm tress which have different leaves on them. These are the leaves of a palm tree that is only slightly taller than I am. I loved the way that the light went through them. They also reminded me of those delicate oriental fans. I though that were very beautiful.

In contrast there was a very tall palm tree on the neighboring campus of Phoenix College. was very tall. I estimated that I would have to take four different pictures to get the entire trunk in trunk in. You can't see it in this picture but there was a black bird up in the leaves of this tree.

There was no real reason to take a picture of this red flower, but I just liked it, so now you get to look at it.

Last, but not least I ran into an interesting statue. I am not sure of the meaning, but that is the interesting part about modern art. It allows me to interpret it any way that I want to. Personally, the fact that it is made of a lot of different faces can be either frightening or inspirational. I am assuming that they going for something along the lines of inspirational. The little boat looking thing was pretty confusing though, the lack of water here in Phoenix leads to question what it happening up there at the top.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed your Sunday walk with me. There are no self portraits this time. If I take a picture of myself it looks the same as the last one. One of these days I am going to have to find someone to take my picture for me, but I have a hard time handing my camera over to someone else and just trusting that they won't drop it or run away with it. Until then you will just have to enjoy the scenic views, plants, and other things that I find interesting in my surroundings.

Another One Bites the Dust

It appears that I have a lot of goals, but another thing that I thought I would do is try to hike all of the day hike is the book 100 Classic Hikes in Arizona that are around the Phoenix area. I can't hike anything longer because my backpack is on sabbatical in Baltimore and it is a little scary as a female to be hiking alone over night. Anyway, I spent my birthday money and bought leather gloves, gas, and paid an entrance fee and hiked another strenuous hike. This hike was midway between Phoenix and Tuscon, called Picacho Peak. I hiked the Hunter trail. This hike was rather fun as you hike up a step mountain and then immediately drop about 900 feet down the other side using cables to hold onto. Then you hike back up the back side of the mountain on a very primitive trail with more cable hand holds to get up the the summit. I actually had a great time, but from reading the notes in the book decided that it was not the safest hike to bring my expensive camera, and since I don't have another camera there are no pictures. I was very proud of myself when I finished. The allotted time the book gave for this hike was 4 hours and I finished in 3 hours and 5 minutes. Yeah, for me!!! I only have two more hikes in the central desert area left.
Other than the hike there has not been much in my life. This week I worked four, 12-hour shifts and last week I worked five, 12-hour shifts. All this work leaves little play and not much interesting to occur. I have done a lot of sleeping.

Changes

Just as I feel like I can handle life, I get thrown another curve ball. After months of struggling to find a nursing job back in Utah I came to the decision that I might just have to stay here in Phoenix. The best part of the realization was that I was able to come to terms with it. I decided that in order to make life better I was going to have to participate in activities that I enjoy and make life more interesting. I was also going to have to set goals to accomplish (Please refer to the previous posting). I was also finding that I was actually enjoying work more that just tolerating it. Life is so much better when you have a good time doing what you like to do.
I applied for many jobs back in Utah, in fact I believe that I applied for any job with the slightest appeal, and heard back from only a couple. In fact the two jobs that I actually got interviews with I never heard back from. I am not sure what happened to the nursing shortage? Many it doesn't exist in Utah....hhhhmmmm, that is not what they told me when I was in nursing school. Anyway, I got a call about three weeks ago for an interview for McKay-Dee Hospital's Emergency Department and there was whole lot of confusion with the human resources department in setting up a telephone interview so I made the assumption after an extended period of time that there was no longer going to be an interview. I got a call yesterday about setting up an interview over the phone again yesterday. This morning I called the Emergency Department to set up an interview and they just interviewed me on the spot. I was not offered the job directly on the spot because human resources will take there time checking references, but I think it is a good sign when they say, "I think that you will be a great fit here in our department and we would love to work with you." For now I am going to keep a positive attitude, but past experience has taught me not to get too excited. This does turn my world upside-down again as I try to sort out the possibilities and what I will need to do in order to manage my finances and schedule.
Change never stops. I suppose in the end I hope that it never does, because this world would be pretty boring.

Goal Acheived

Ever since I started hiking here in Phoenix I have thought about hiking Squaw Peak. I heard of a lot of people hiking this trail, but all of the book that I have about hiking trails stated that this was a strenuous. Two hours of stenuous hiking I found daunting, but the fact that 500,000 people hike this trail every year only made me more afraid to hike Squaw Peak. I did not want a whole lot of people watch me as I struggled the entire way up the mountain. This morning I woke up and decided that today was the day. It is kind of a strange thing for me to decide, but having a break in school leaving me with a bit of time and no funding...the perfect combination for a hike close to home. I set out early this morning with a pack carrying plenty of water, my camera, and plenty of tunes. The hike was actually better than I was expecting. I was a bit slow toward the top but determined to make it to my goal. I am proud to say that I made it under the alloted two hour time and was back home before 11 a.m. I have only a few weeks of hiking here in the Phoenix valley before I have to start hiking in the higher country. Aaahhh!!! This will require more gas as I drive closer to Tuscon or Sedona for some cooler weather.

It is currently 92 degrees and I am going to head out to the pool for a little dip. As you can tell I have a very crammed schedule. I am going to fit in some much needed cleaning and a little laundry and then read a good book. I still have three days left of work this week and then I am scheduled to go and paint at Megan's house.

I am planning for the next semester in school as I bought my textbooks today. I hope that it was not bad karma to buy them already, but I believe that I figured out financially that I can continue with the next semester of school so the fates have been tempted.

Well, with another goal met I am going to have to make a new hiking goal. There are several hikes that take a couple of days, but for those I would have to have my backpacking pack and it is currently have a vacation of it's own in Baltimore. I am going to have to look through my handy books for a strenuous hike which take a longer amount of time to complete. I love coming up with new goals!

Auspicious Days

I have been contemplating the effect of auspicious days in my life. I have never really thought about whether or not they really exist, but my birthday led to some serious reflection. I had such good luck on my birthday. I have been trying to get a good patient assignment at work for over a year. I have found work to be less challenging than I wanted and I keep looking for learning possibilities. On my birthday I was very happy to get this opportunity twice. Working the night shift it seems like you get to celebrate your birthday twice. It starts at midnight, you go to be and wake up again and it is still your birthday...what a life. I also found out that I owe $600 less than I had expected to pay in state taxes. I received the only gift that I had really wanted from my parents, a family story album. Everything was going my way and then the clock struck midnight and my birthday was over. This is when my luck ran out. Nothing really went terribly, but it just seems like perfection ended. Talking with my cousin, Megan, we discussed auspicious days that are on the Chinese calendar and they sounded like a good idea to me. Although, I am not sure that I believe in living my life around the auspicious days assigned to me I think that there is a power in believing that you have a lucky day. Perhaps, whenever it is that I decide to move I might look up my auspicious moving day in hope of some extra luck.

Phoenix

Here I am! It is difficult to get a good picture of yourself when there is no one else to take the picture. I attempted a self portrait while out on a hike....I figure that I could have done worse.

Hiking through the desert can be very beautiful. Meandering through the light colored dirt and looking at all of the beauty gives me a lot of perspective in my life and I find that it to be a refuge from the chaos.

Ocotillo is one of my favorite desert plants. It reminds me of green witches finger with long fingernails. It look at it and think of the book "Miss Nelson is Missing." This stuff is found everywhere and it always makes me happy to see it blowing in the wind.

This is a scenic view of the Phoenix valley from South Mountain. I took this picture while hiking Hidden Valley.

I am finding that I am enjoying Phoenix more and more as I spent more time enjoying it's natural beauty. It seems as though I might be spending a lot more time here than I had originally bargained for because the job searching is not panning out as I had hoped. I am determined to make the best of my time. Dad just so that you know, even if I don't move home I am going to definitely try to come home in August to hike Mount Timpanogos.

Birthday

This past week has been pretty darn good. I was really sad when I realized a few weeks ago that I was going to have to work the entire weekend of my birthday. In the past I have always gone home to celebrate, even when I lived in Salt Lake City. Being the poor student that I am I realized that I was not going to be able to go home and it was even more sad that I was going to spend it working. This thought led me to call up my cousin, Megan, and let her know that I was coming over for an entire weekend of birthday celebration. I did not even give her the option of saying "No." I let her know that I needed some ice cream and cake and that I would be set.
I went to her house on Friday and I babysat her three youngest kids for the first half of the day while she ran errands. We had a great time at the park. I had worked the entire night before so when she arrived home I took a nap with Hazel, the youngest. When I woke up we had dinner and a great birthday celebration...cake and all. Then we went to the dollar theatre and watched "Night and the Museum." It was a perfect day.
Saturday was just as great. I spent the majority of the day cleaning out the old master bathroom. Megan and Kenneth have been completely remodeling their home and moved into the new master bedroom. The old room is going to be the girls' bedroom and the bathroom was filled with all kind of stuff that needed to go into the new bathroom. Everything was removed, scrubbed down and organized so that girls could now occupy the bathroom. When I was done it was sparkling clean. The next plan was to go swimming, it was extremely hot, but then it started to rain. The large group of us moved on the the next plan and went to Chuck E. Cheese. Who wouldn't have fun there? All seven children and three adults ate pizza and ran around playing games. Everyone had a good time. Unfortunately by the end of the day there were two children who were sick and throwing up, but overall it was a good day.
The next day was Sunday and we went to church. After church we had quiet time for 20 minutes, no one survived. Everyone slept for 2 hours until the phone rang. Then we had some great Chinese soup. We played Hullabaloo and ran around like crazy people in the front room and headed back to bed. I was really worn out. That was when sickness took child number three. Luckily the illness was one that only seemed to last about 12 hours so the other two were feeling good by then.
Monday I watched the youngest three as child number four become ill. We read stories and played in the house. Megan and I moved a very large bookcase from the master bedroom to the front room. There were a whole lot of books that required moving. I attempted another nap in preparation for work that night. I didn't get any sleep because my brain would not turn off, so I spent the afternoon talking with Megan and Nate, the second to youngest. I helped to prepare dinner and then headed to work. It was a great weekend and it was really nice to hang out with people. Sometimes I get lonely here by myself in my apartment.
I am still sad that I have to work on my birthday, but I think that it will be manageable. Sometimes I really hate being an adult. I will be celebrating in style though as there will be a potluck for Cinco de Mayo.
I finished my classes for the semester and I am happy to announce that I have passed all of them. Yeah! I have completed two semester and only have four to go. They go by quickly so it won't we too long until I am finished. During this short break I am going to attempt to pick up as many shifts at work as possible. I have signed up for a lot of extra shifts and have a feeling that I am going to be cancelled for most of them, but this way I will have the greatest chance of making more money. If I don't get cancelled though I will be working a whole lot. It is a good investment to improve my financial situation.

Black and White

Black and white are two colors that are polar opposites. I have always loved the color black, perhaps it is because of my inner desire to be rebellious. This desire is always contradicted with the fact that I do not make a good rebel. I always feel extremely plagued with guilt whenever I attempt to do something rebellious. Whenever I think about this aspect of my life I think about my aunt, Sara, and I in my grandparent’s car prior to our sixteenth birthday. My heart a pounding and the adrenaline rushing as I found myself easily persuaded to take the car out. Then, as I nearly watching my life passing before my eyes as there were near accidents (not anything major) and near spotting by people of great importance. Perhaps there is something wise to be said to future joyriders, if you are going to take the car out don’t do it in the neighborhood in which you are known. The next day when I arrived safely and unscathed at my home I found myself expectorating the entire story of the prior evening to my mother. The thing that stuck in my mind was what my grandmother said to my aunt which was something like this— “If you are going to do something like that you shouldn’t do it with Claire, she is just going to turn you in.”

The topic of “Black and White” has been popping up in my mind frequently throughout the week. I have known for a long time that I live in a black and white world. I tend to see things as either right or wrong. Good or bad. Sad or happy. There are not a whole lot of in-betweens. This week as I have struggled to search for a new job so that I can move back to the homeland I have been just that: happy or sad. It seems that life is either good or bad and I just cannot find an in-between. I really want to be the kind of person who might be able to live in gray, or someother colors, as well.

I junior high school I had the blessing of having my own room. In a family of eight children your own room is a pretty big privilege. I chose to decorate the entire room in black and white. Perhaps that experience is still lingering, from now on I think that I am going to decorate is lots of colors and maybe that will help me to see the world in a different light. For now, I am just going to have to try and see the light side of things and hope that more often than not I see white.

The 100 List

Many other bloggers have made the traditional list of 100 things about themselves. I really enjoyed reading some others and was curious if I could come up with that many things about myself. I felt that I was up to the challenge and my sister, Ann, thought that I could do it so here goes nothing, enjoy these tantalizing treasures:

1. I am the oldest of 8 kids.
2. I am currently working on my master’s degree to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. I am attending the University of South Alabama (online), although I live in Arizona, and I get funny looks from everyone when I tell them what school I attend.
3. I love making wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery and wish that my master’s degree was really in ceramics. There is not much of a guaranteed income so I will just continue to have pottery as a hobby.
4. I have a secret desire to live in R.E.I.
5. I love to sit in the big chairs at Barnes and Noble and read books.
6. I love to dance and still own a pair of toes shoes that I try on every once in a while, when no one is looking.
7. I love a big box of Crayola Crayons that is unused. I love to open the box and just look at them, all sharp and pointy. I have received many of them for Christmas presents and have been disappointed when a sibling and used them. The thrill is gone when the points are no longer beautiful, shinny, and uniform.
8. My mother made me take all of my pictures and scrapbook them. I was a disgruntled participant in the activity, but then found that I really enjoyed it. I do not admit that I like scapbooking because I hate to be thought of as “crafty.” I like to believe I am an “artist.”
9. I love to sit out on the porch at my parent’s house in the rain.
10. I have no problem doing laundry and folding it, but it just never seems to make it into the drawer and the closet.
11. The blood vessels in my left eye spell “Hi.”
12. My left hand/fingers are significantly smaller than the right ones.
13. I think Red Vines are much better than Twizzlers.
14. When I went to Las Vegas I was more excited to go to the M&M Store than to see the rest of The Strip.
15. If I have a digital watch I always set the time in military time
16. I have a green thumb.
17. As a kid I only had one pet and it was a fat hamster. We named him Furball. He was always escaping from his cage and once my Dad stayed home from church, which he never does, to find him hiding under the stereo system.
18. I love to watch old Doris Day and Cary Grant movies.
19. My favorite color is black.
20. My favorite flower is a Gerbera Daisy.
21. I have worn the same necklace since I was in high school. The necklace was originally my sister’s, but I stole it from her. It has a picture of the earth and some kids holding hands. I am not sure it the kids are supposed to be a representative of peace on earth, but it looks more like some kids who forgot their helmets and might die at any minute, but I wear it and love it anyway.
22. I love to use big words. I typically use them in the wrong context. I manage to use them almost correctly which makes it very entertaining. This habit escalates into full gear when I am upset making friends and family laugh.
23. I can read a 12-Lead EKG with the best of them.
24. I always have music playing.
25. I have a desire to play the guitar and can play a couple of songs. I had a roommate who bought me the most beautiful guitar which I named “Sunshine,” but it is a shame that it is not put into use more.
26. I love to cuddle up in a good blanket.
27. I have always wanted to join the Peace Corp.
28. I went to Russia for a month and stayed with a roommate’s family.
29. I love a good tie-dyed shirt, but it has to be bright and not faded.
30. I enjoy dancing and singing in the kitchen while doing the dishes.
31. I lack a filter. I am always speaking without thinking. No tact at all.
32. I still enjoy running through the sprinklers on a hot day.
33. One of the best vacations I ever had was in Japan as I toured around in Kyoto after I broke up with my boyfriend (who lived in Japan) because his mother didn’t like me.
34. I swam in the Black Sea.
35. I have an aunt who is 3 weeks younger.
36. I believe that if my arms are amputated I would be able to write and do things with my toes and feet. They are very flexible and easy to move.
37. I formed a Winter Outdoor Adventure Club with my sister after watching and IMAX movie on Mount Everest. We only had one activity which was cross-country skiing at Sundance Ski Resort, but it was really fun.
38. I have had bloody noses that have bleed out my tear ducts. I had to have my nose cauterized (burned) to prevent this from happening.
39. I am left footed and right handed.
40. I love to drive with my sun roof open.
41. My favorite season is fall. I love all of the leaves. Next, I love spring, then summer, and lastly winter. Although in Arizona the seasons are all messed up and here I love spring and winter.
42. I love my car, a Toyota 4-Runner.
43. My favorite camping place is Havasu Falls, in the Grand Canyon.
44. I love white-water rafting and used to go to the Snake River and the Colorado River as often as possible to pursue this love.
45. I grew up in Utah, but did not learn to ski until I was in high school.
46. I used to hate cookies, but now I have learned to love them. I wish I still hated them.
47. I love to play board and card games. I own quite a few, but I don’t have anyone to play them with.
48. I love sushi.
49. I like to have a good cup of hot chocolate, especially after a hard night at work. The feeling just warms me right up and puts me to sleep.
50. I think that jelly beans were a great addition to this world. I really like the jelly belly assortments, but watch out for the popcorn and caramel popcorn, they will kill you. Yuck!
51. Whenever it snows I want to curl up in front of the fire and read a book. The concept is appealing, but I can never stay awake long enough to enjoy the book or the fire.
52. When I was younger I could do a fabulous cart-wheel. I attempted again a month ago, just to see if it was still possible and the “dreaded” inevitable occurred. I fell right on my head. I suppose that substantial weight gain can make it difficult to hold one’s self up. Although the individuals surrounding me thought it was the best thing they had seen in a long time. I received a 5/10.
53. I still enjoy drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.
54. Actually, I enjoy drawing in general. I am a little bit shy about it though, that 7th grade “C” really made me a little reluctant to dabble in the art form.
55. I enjoy a good pedicure.
56. I used to hate feminine and frilly things, but I now really love bows. I put ponytails in my hair and a little flair.
57. Walking through the neighborhood, especially a Sunday walk is always a great pastime.
58. I have a really long list of classes that I want to take: Physics, Organic Chemistry, Photography, Scuba Diving, White Water Kayaking, Spanish, …….it never ends.
59. I think that a good karaoke night is needed every once in a while. I sing a mean rendition of “I Will Survive” and “Superstition.”
60. Fresh garden peas are the best. I used to love standing in the garden and eating them right off the plant.
61. Cookie dough is far better then the actual cookies and I don’t even care about the risk of Salmonella.
62. I have a very large need for water. I can outdrink anyone. Here is Phoenix because it is so warm I think that I drink even more. I calculate that on an average day I drink about 5 liters.
63. I love little tid-bits of information. For example, the peanut is really not a nut, it is a legume.
64. I love mail. I love to get receive it and even mail it. It is always great to get a surprise.
65. Exercising with a heart rate monitor is great! I love it. It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something.
66. I have a goal to hike as many trails here in Phoenix as possible before I move.
67. Ziploc bags are a great invention. I use them go carry at least 5 fruits or vegetables to work with my everyday I work. Everyone is always asking me if there was produce left when I left.
68. I find the thesaurus and dictionary to be very helpful tools. As often as possible I break out the dictionary and look up words I don’t know. Dictionary.com….a great tool.
69. I took autoshop in high school.
70. Someday I want to grab my backpack and take a trip abroad.
71. I really enjoy a good massage. If I could get one everyday I would.
72. When I am sad I like to read a good children’s book. I mean, who didn’t learn a great lesson from Miss Nelson or Mrs. Piggle Wiggle? Life could be worse I could possibly be a witch or be surrounded by a bunch of children who’s parents keep calling me about their strange behaviors.
73. Mowing the lawn is one of life’s greatest events. The smell of fresh lawn and the feeling of the sun on your skin is pure euphoria.
74. I believe that fresh cut flowers put in a vase bring light to any room.
75. I love taking philosophy classes and learning about what they thought. I especially like listening to the discussions, but I never seem to come up with anything though provoking to add. Then sadly, I look back and cannot remember what was really said in the discussions, or half the time what the philosophers said either. Why can’t I remember these important things, but I remember things like International Speak Like a Pirate Day is on September 19th.
76. I like to watch people play soccer. I always want to like playing it, but even when I ran long distance often, I could not get myself to like running around after a little ball that no one wanted me to have.
77. My first car must have had a sign that attracted other cars to it on scheduled days. Every three months I was hit by someone and even once that someone was my father. I think I might have been the curse because when I sold it to my sister she had no problems.
78. I have had an obsession with the Beatles. I once wallpapered my bedroom with Xeroxed copies of pictures from book and old calendar pictures. I saved them all as keepsakes.
79. I think that many times I come across to others as being very laid back, although I find that internally I am always all wound up. I get really cranky at work and whenever I tell somebody that they always tell me that I don’t seem cranky. All I have to say is it is good thing they don’t have to live with me.
80. I sucked my thumb until I was 5th grade.
81. I also had two blankets as a kid which I used while I sucked my thumb, which are very worn out.
82. I have attempted to suck my thumb since I quit. It just does not taste the same anymore.
83. I have always been more motivated to accomplish the goal than achieving the trinkets and rewards at the end. What do you do with a ribbon or a trophy? Hey Dad, how is that Young Women’s medallion in your drawer….you know the one you said I would someday be happy I had? I suppose that day has not come yet. I am still waiting.
84. I learned to play the piano, but I could never get to the point that someone could sing while I played. I would just get all flustered.
85. I also learned to play the cello. My two year stint as a cellist didn’t pan out into anything extraordinary.
86. I love to find a great Indian restaurant.
87. I once jumped of a really high cliff at Lake Powell in my pajamas as a dare. I really did receive the $20.00 in the mail. They said it was the best thing they had ever seen.
88. I broke my tailbone during the jump and suffered the consequences of sitting uncomfortably the entire long ride home and then the next day’s very long drive to a family reunion, but the $20 was worth it.
89. I hope to someday participate in an Operation Smile trip or some other international health trip.
90. I used to think that I was a good student and then came college. I am not sure what happened, but I feel like I am losing an uphill battle.
91. I was once hit by a big van while riding my bike. I am sure it was entirely my fault. I just got right back on the bike, which was now all twisted and mangled, and rode it to my dance class. You could see the bone in my elbow, but I had to get to class. I have a big scar on my right elbow to this day. Somewhere out there is an old man who is still terrorized because he hit a young girl on her bike and then she just left.
92. I love soft fussy clothing. I don’t love wearing it because it makes me too hot and sweaty, but I can’t help but want to feel the material when other people are wearing it. It takes a lot of restraint and sometimes even other people to hold me back from giving strangers the rub down.
93. Hot and spicy food is great.
94. I have never learned to utilize a desk. I still do homework and projects on the floor.
95. I have an amazing ability to cry at the drop of a hat. I have come to the conclusion that I have broken tear ducts. I cry when I laugh, tell a story, watch a movie, drive, and talk on the phone.
96. I have always wanted to have stitches. Once I had a procedure done and they stitched a line into my neck, but when they took it out a half hour later, they took the stitch out. I don’t think that counts.
97. No matter how many times I try to be good at balancing my checkbook I am not. I never remember to write things down and then I always mess up subtracting the numbers. Aaaahhhhh!!! It is way too frustrating!
98. Sandals and flip-flops are the best. My feet feel claustrophobic if I wear shoes and socks too often.
99. I have always wanted to own a dog. My parents had one once and I would go home to visit her, not to visit my family. They had to sell her because she was a little to crazy for a busy household.
100. I love buckets. I have them all around my apartment holding things like candles, makeup, and little treasures.

History of a Renaissance Woman

I have always been interested in learning new skills and participating in activities. In my high school days, I had so many projects and activities I was participating in that my life was like a continual whirlwind. One day I overheard my mother describing what I was doing and she stated I was a "Renaissance Woman." She probably doesn't remember saying this, but I like the saying. The Renaissance period was a period of rebirth and I believe that changes and new beginnings are positive experiences. I really want to embody what it means to be a woman and the personal growth that rebirth/change bring. I plan to spend the rest of my life changing, finding new experiences, and becoming a better individual.