Before the world ends...

I have:
-Worked at a fast food joint, in a cave, as a waitress, as a preschool co-teacher, for a retail store, in a gym, at a school, with cancer patients, and finally in the newborn ICU.
-Studied for a total of 17 years. 13 for K-12, and 4 in college so far.
-Owned an Isuzu Rodeo, Chevy Cobalt, Jeep Wrangler, and now a Honda Accord.
-Been engaged.
-Traveled to San Diego, Las Vegas, St. George, Spokane, and various parts of UT, ID, and WY.
-Moved a total of 11 times.
-Learned to be grateful for what I have, always.
-Had hundreds of pets during childhood (literally), but only 2 on my own.

I still need to:
-Become a nurse.
-Graduate college.
-Get married.
-Travel to Mexico, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand... many, many more.
-Buy a home.
-Have children, eventually.


Hmmmm... according to my list, the world cannot end on the 21st, because I cannot complete my goals in less than 48 hours.  ;) Hahahaa. 

End of Fall Semester!

Woooo Hoooo!
We are so relieved to be done with this semester!
Look, even Ike was over it.

Christmas decorations are up and we are ready to celebrate the holidays!  It will be sooo so nice to spend some quality time together and just (hopefully) relax. We plan on rock climbing more on our break as well, yay!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Jeff's birthday was on the 7th.  I made him these Cake Batter Truffles and they were delicious!

On Friday, we had a family party and had great food and even better company!

On Saturday, we had a few friends over and have Buca di Beppo to go and played the game "5 Second Rule".  It was so much fun!

Coming in to finals week, it was nice to celebrate and have some fun together!

My Better Half

I am so thankful for this guy.

He reads me like a book. 
Even when I am hiding my emotions and stress, he gets it.
But instead of drawing attention to it, he just does things to make it better.
Like, waking up before me to make my breakfast, lunch, and cook me a wonderful pasta dinner for my night shift.
Doing all of the dishes and laundry while I'm gone, when he could be studying.
Making sure I have a relaxing day off and making me homemade icecream shakes.
I notice every time I start thinking I'm going to lose it, he somehow makes everything manageable and cheers me right up (when I didn't think he knew I wasn't okay).

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful support by my side and am so grateful for everything he does for me.

Latest and Greatest!

Sorry this photo is not the highest quality... I have an ancient phone.

We are dogsitting this week for Brad and Leah's little puppy, Zeus! He and Ike are great friends! (Look at them holding back paws.)  Zeus is so cute and energetic.  I'm sure Ike is loving having someone to rough-house with! 

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I will be making 4 pies today!! Apple, pumpkin, Oreo cream, and peanut butter. Yummmmmy!

I have been doing a lot of wedding planning lately, because all of a sudden, we had less than 4 months to go!  In the last week, I've hired the photographer, videographer, photobooth, and DJ!  AND came out $1500 under budget in those areas.  LOVE that!  Because we are getting married in the middle of a semester, we are going to spend one or two nights somewhere and then finish the semester.  We will go on our honeymoon at the beginning of May.  Any ideas on where we should stay for our wedding night?

[ONE]

ONE year, ONE month, ONE week, and ONE day until I graduate. I can do this!
I am burnt out.  Just a few more weeks of this semester and then a small break! Yes!
I am so ready to be done.  I also don't know what I'll do with myself when I'm not this busy. 

Also, ONEhundredtwentythree days until we're married! Woo hooo!

Ramblings.

Here I sit... 5:22 AM.
I've been up since 4:30 AM when Jeff left for work.
I should go run, but it is snowy.
(Since I'm not a runner, conditions must be prime)
So I'll workout inside instead.

I'm trying to get fit for the wedding.
And really just life, too.
But you know what sucks?
Back fat.
You can not suck in back fat.
Does that mean that back fat actually doesn't suck?

So many people tell me that they fought more with their spouse during their engagement and wedding planning time than any other time in their relationship.
Jeff and I have never been happier.
Cheesy, I know.
But seriously, it's always been great and now it's just greater!

My dog is almost 4. That's 28 in dog years.
He's the best.
I'd have so many blog posts dedication to him, but I don't want people to think I'm a crazy dog lady.
Like all the posts people have for their children.
How cute they are. (He's damn cute.)
Their accomplishments. (He has mastered "bang" where I point my finger like a gun and shoot and then he plays dead.)
Potty-training. (He's poops on the grass EVERY time!)
See? I told you - the best!

How Can I Miss You If You Never Leave?

Life is busy, to say the least.  I like it that way.

Jeff and I don't see each other as often as I'd like, BUT we definitely see each other more than like a military family or long-distance relationships.  So I'm thankful.

Here is what a usual week looks like for us:

Sunday:
Jeff: OFF!
Traci: Work 5:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Monday:
Jeff: Work 5:00 AM - 5:00PM, Class 9:00 - 9:50 AM and 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Traci: Clinical 6:00AM - 3:00 PM, Work 5:00 PM - 5:30 AM

Tuesday:
Jeff: Work 5:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Class 6:00 PM - 7:50 PM
Traci: Clinical 6:45 AM - 4:00 PM, Work 5:00 PM - 5:30 AM

Wednesday:
Jeff: Work 5:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Class 9:00-9:50 AM and 5:30 PM - 8:20 PM
Traci: Class 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
(Oh yayyy! We get to see each other tonight.)

Thursday:
Jeff: Work 5:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Class 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Traci: Class 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, Test 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
(And again!!)

Friday:
Jeff: Work 5:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Class 9:00-9:50 AM
Traci: Music class whenever.
(Helloooo weekend!!)

Saturday:
Jeff: Works most for 8 hours.
Traci: OFF!

The beginning of the week is hectic and then it slows down.  It is a bummer to not have dinner together every night like last semester but we'll survive.  I am so glad we are able to spend time together.  In our free time we have been rock climbing and wedding planning.  I have the best supporter by my side and am so happy to have him!

P.S... Wonder why Jeff is working SO MUCH? It might have something to do with... ANOTHER PROMOTION!  Woo hoooo! Jeff has such a strong dedication to his work and I'm so proud of him.

I bought a...

A WEDDING DRESS!
I am so excited! I love it! If I could customize a dress myself, this one would be it.
I went dress shopping with my mom, sisters, and Leah and after I tried this one on, no other dresses compared. 
Here it is....

Hahaha totally kidding, I am not posting pictures of the real deal because Jeff cannot see it!
It feels so good to check that part off of the to-do list! Not much left to do really.  5 months to go!

Engagements!

We had so much fun doing our engagement photo shoot! Our good friend Amber took the photos for us.  She did an amazing job! A few we kept secret so we don't spoil the surprise when you get an invite in the mail, but there are tons of photos on Facebook. :)

One Step Closer!

I am so happy to announce my new job! I am the new HUC (Health Unit Coordinator) of the Newborn ICU at the University of Utah.  This is the unit I have always wanted to work in and could not be any more thrilled to start!  This is my last week at Huntsman in Surgery, and as much as I will miss the staff and fun times, I am so excited for something new.

Jeffery also has exciting news! He has received 2 raises in his 4 months of employment at his new job! He is such a hard worker.

This brings us both one step closer to where we want to be in our careers and we are SO thankful. :)

Summer Happenings!

Summer has been so much fun! It is my favorite season and it has been so great!
We have season passes to the water park and have been 4 or 5 times already! We've had many late Summer nights with friends. :) And we even saw The Dark Knight Rises in theater! (Jeff's fave!) It was so good, by the way.  School is still keeping us busy.  So is work.  But in our free time we have been able to start planning the wedding! :) So exciting! Our big day is less than a year away... that is just crazy to me! Everyone I talk to says, "Wow you've got quite a while!" or "Why so long?"  To me, it's just around the corner.  Our FIVE year anniversary... Now that's even crazier! :) in a good way, of course!

We're Engaged!

It's official! Jeff and I are getting married! We're so excited!! I was so shocked when he proposed! It was absolutely perfect.  We hiked Mount Olympus (something we've always wanted to do together and never did) on May 28th and he dropped to one knee at the summit! We were taking pictures and he suggested we take one looking at the view.  I stood for a moment to for the picture to be taken and he says, "We can climb any mountain together." and I said, "Yes we can!" and I turned around and BAM! "Will you marry me?" I was so so surprised! I had no idea it was coming at all! I said, "Yes!" of course. :)  We are getting married 3.10.13.  Our 5 year anniversary!!

Initial reaction!

So happy!

In other news:

School is never ending for both of us! My first semester of nursing school went very well.  We're both in school this summer, but we're managing to find some time to play!

Jeff is now working at Idaho Technologies as a Nanoplotter Technician.  (yea, don't ask me).  He is a smarty pants and I am so proud of him for getting in to his field of study! He is liking it so far!

We've moved to Taylorsville with one of the nurses I work with.  It has been great! Ike has a doggy door and 2 little buddies, Jack and Zoey. 

According to the amount of news I have to share, I need to post MUCH more often.  I hate uploading pictures because I'm impatient, however... loading the 2 today was bearable.

Shenanigans.

First true snow of the season! 1/7/2012

Jazz Game! 1/2/2012

Ice Skating at the Gallivan with Brad and Leah! 1/16/2012

Zeus (Brad and Leah's puppy) and Ike.  Pizza and movie with friends! 1/13/2012

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2011 was great! Highlights of the year are...

-We moved out of the apartment and into a house.

-I got a job at the hospital.

-I got accepted into nursing school.

-Jeff got a promotion at work.

-Jeff went back to school.

-We went to Las Vegas.

-We got a new nephew.

-Ike turned 3.

2012 is going to be a very busy year. (it is already) What I'm hoping for...

-The world NOT ending.

-Success

-Winning the lottery (although, I think you have to enter first...no?)

-Good health and happiness

-Peace on Earth ;)