Our Weekend Escape

Last week was National Parks Week, so you could go to any National Park for FREE! Jeff and I are outdoor enthusiasts, so we were not going to pass this up! If nothing else, it was a good excuse to HAVE to go!

I worked Thursday night until 5:00 AM on Friday and then came home! We were packed and ready to go by 6:00 AM - we were off to Moab!  Jeff drove while I snoozed for 3.5 hours.  We went to Arches National Park! We hiked 10 miles by 3:00 PM.  It was so amazing!  We had such a great time just escaping! It's so nice to have that freedom.  We can just pack up and go for the weekend and have adventures.  I'm also just so glad we share our love for the outdoors.

Moab was a very busy place last weekend so there was NO affordable lodging left.  So we drove to Price to stay for the night! Our plan was to go rock climbing in American Fork Canyon on Saturday, but we were pretty pooped.  So instead we went hiking in IKEA.  So fun.  We just walked around and bought hot dogs for Jeff and a cinnamon bun for me.

Such a wonderful weekend... it doesn't get much better than that!

A Change of Pace

Next week is Finals Week for me!
And then a week or 2 after that, it's Finals Week for Jeff!

HALLELUJAH!!
I am so ready to be busy with other things than school.  I am so ready to spend time with my husband!

I got a second job!  It's at Summit Health as an LPN.  Summit Health is a company that contracts out for clinics (like flu clinics, wellness clinics, etc.)  I love this, because I can pick up or turn down any clinic.  I am not obligated to a specific schedule!  Easy job + Flexible schedule= No problem!

We also have big news coming up... But I can't say yet!! I don't want to jinx anything. :)

We went climbing in Joe's Valley over the weekend! It was windy but pretty warm and it was perfect rock!! Sandstone is great to climb on! It was a nice sneak peek of what's to come this summer with our time off from school.

Also, my best friend is having a baby!! She is due at the end of summer and I am so excited to be an Aunt again to a cute little girl!!

Our honeymoon is a little less than 4 weeks away!! So excited to sit on the beach in Mexico with my love.

Moral of the story: this summer is going to rock.

The Best Day of Our Life!

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect! The ceremony was beautiful. I didn't think I would cry but I was a boob! I was so overwhelmed with emotions.  I am so happy to call Mr. Andreason my husband and am thankful for him everyday! We had such a fun time at the reception.  I loved every last minute of our day.

Burning Out

About a month before the end of every semester, I find myself burning out.  My motivation begins to lack.  My attention span is completely gone.  I get "stupid" where I feel like I can only understand nursing concepts - all common sense and normal world things become more difficult.
I'm waiting for my second wind, although it doesn't really matter if it comes or not, because I have to keep moving forward regardless! So... here's to getting though these last several weeks while the weather is warming up and I'm cooped up for hours at a time for lecture. Bleh.
I am so ready for Summer!  Jeff and I are going to do some traveling.  In May we are going to Mexico for our honeymoon, June we're heading south to St. George area, July we're going to Bear Lake and somewhere undecided, August we're going to Joe's Valley/ City of Rocks.  We have our "Pass of all Passes" again this year so we will be spending much of our free time at the water park.  We will also spend a lot of our time in the canyons rock climbing, hiking, and biking and at the lakes. Yay! I'm so excited I can't even stand it! (no wonder my focus on school has gone out the window...)  And the BEST part?? Jeff and I will have the summer off together!! The first one in a looonnnng time.

My Valentine!

After our delicious meal!

Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue! It was best with the granny smith apples!

Turtle Dream Chocolate Fondue! We got extra strawberries, it was sooo good!

Last weekend, we went on a big date! We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and then the Megaplex at the Gateway Mall for a movie! It was to celebrate the fact that we are getting married in LESS THAN A MONTH and Valentine's Day early because Jeff left for St. George for a camping/climbing trip.  We had such a great time! We laughed all night long!

For actual Valentine's Day on the 14th, we agreed on not doing any gifts.  I snuck out and shopped for a cookie cake and something from VS for him and put them in his truck while he was working for a surprise! Much to my surprise, he'd had his own plan in mind! He got me an icecream cake from Baskin Robbins with my favorite flavors! Later that night he also surprised me with Ghiradelli chocolates and a couple cutesy little Valentine balloons.  He is the sweetest.  How did I get so lucky?? Good thing I snagged a winner!

What I've learned from planning a wedding:

1. It's not NEARLY as stressful as other people have portrayed. Perhaps that's because we had a 10 month engagement and Jeff is very laid-back and accommodating.
2. Whoever said keep your hopes high and your expectations low is wrong.  Both should be low, because then if it happens it is a nice surprise.  If it doesn't... well then you were right.
3. Having a plan for a plan to plan the wedding is nice. Lists are nice too!
4. Our families are awesome.  Oh wait... I already knew that!!
5. Making your own invitations is about 1000x times cheaper.  Literally.
6. So far, draining your savings account to pay for a wedding is worth it.  We'll see what we think when we are ready to buy a house.
7. Eloping sounds reeeallly nice.  You don't have to worry about anyone but yourselves (hypothetically speaking).  No let-downs, no hurt feelings, no drama and at the end of the day you're still MARRIED. (I truly am excited for our wedding, just FYI :D)
8. The closer the wedding gets, the faster time flies.
9. I'm not in control of how someone else feels.  And, trying to fix it and make them happy often proves to be defeating, disappointing, and only makes me frustrated.  No matter what you try, they feel the way they want and that's what you get to deal with.  How you deal with it is what can change the situation.
10. Knowing Jeff as well as I do has been so helpful with decision making.  Throughout the process I was thinking of the couples who got married quickly, and I would not have been able to do as much as quickly as I do if we'd done that.  Like, I knew what he would want for pretty much every aspect of the wedding and so I could just research and make up my mind and tell him and every time he was happy with it.
11. Jeff is the best friend I have ever had. He will drop everything for me and knows me better than I know myself.  He's the best support system, rock climbing partner, dog-daddy, mechanic, plumber, engineer, metal sculptor, roommate, comedian, and fiance... Oh wait... I knew that too! :)
12. We are going to have a really fun wedding.  I mean REALLY fun.

The Busy Life

"Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do." 
--Kathleen Winsor

We are seeing less and less of each other lately.  So busy with school and work and feeling like there is little to no time for leisure together.  If I were to die tomorrow, would I be okay with that?  Sometimes we get so busy, it clouds our motivation to keep going.  There is an end in sight and, of course, we will keep reaching for it.  But for now, we just miss each other and admire the lives of those who are graduated and just working.  Now, I know that doesn't always make you less busy, but I feel like it would be nice to run on our own agenda - together. (That would be a bonus!)

I cannot wait for December to arrive.  I will have a degree, and if I don't want to I don't HAVE to continue in education.  I can start my career and ideally spend my days/nights with Jeff.  Buuuut, I have another plan.  1 more year after December for my BSN.  And then I will assess where life is at that point, and perhaps get a doctorate to become a Nurse Practitioner.  FIVE more years. . . 

"No thoroughly occupied person was ever found really miserable."
--Walter Savage Landor