predictable

Is it predictable that I should make a "what we did during Christmas" post?

Yes.
but here it goes
because I am predictable



Christmas Eve
We partied like the crazy people we are...kinda

Then we snuggled up in our new Christmas PJ's!








Christmas Day
We had a simple Christmas, but it was Simply perfect!











the way I have always curled my hair is by pinning up each piece so that it cools all tight and curled...
so that is why I look a little strange


Nick got a helicopter from David and my parents! He has been flying it around constantly...it's loud...


















We visited Nick's Nana and Papa out at their home in Chandler. They have all kinds of animals! It was so fun. The cute little piggies were my favorite!

that dog is as tall as Nick! I'm too scared to go near it.
yes i'm afraid of big dogs. so what?



Don't we look so cute on Christmas day? with my hair all curled and everything?
we ended the beautiful day with my favorite Christmas movie ever: it's a wonderful life. love it much

Day AFTER Christmas

we slept in ridiculously late
played some hard core racquetball
(I got served)
then went to see the movie
"Sherlock Holmes"
It was over all pretty good. A little bit on the dark side at times, but I liked it! I was funny and clever and the cinematography is amazing!

that about wraps up our Christmas adventure for this year.
What did you do?

loves, K

procrastination.

I could {should} be studying for my final today...

I SHOULD be writing my paper that's due today...

but I decided to take a break, even though I haven't started yet.
*sigh* it's going to be a long week. Four more finals. Not to mention the fact that Nick and I are the narrators in the ward Christmas Program on Sunday. Oh, and not to mention that we are in charge of sharing time too.

I've never done sharing time. Our assignment is "Remembering Jesus Christ Helps me be Righteous". 0_0
So I think I came up with good way of tying it into the Christmas season. I'm going to bring in a Christmas Tree {a tiny one}, and I'm going to have presents under the tree. Each present will have a picture of something the Savior has done. EX: healing the sick, blessing the children, being baptized, loving others, atoning for our sins, on the cross, and rising from the tomb. I thought that we could explain how by remembering these things that Christ has done helps us to be righteous because we want to be like him and show him our love for him. I also thought that maybe there could be a "puzzle piece" inside the present with the picture and they would have to put the puzzle together and it will be a big CTR. What do you think? good? no good? tell me!


So the funniest thing happened the other day. I don't know if you know, but all Nick wanted for Christmas was a motor to put on his bike. Ya I know. So about 3 months ago we got it. Somehow, even though they say it's their Christmas present, and they get it early, they still end up getting Christmas presents come Christmas day...
anyway, I was outside watching Nick ride his motorized beach cruiser when these two little girls on their bikes pass by our house. Nick looked at me with this evil smile on his face and took off pedaling in their direction. When he was about two feet behind them he turned on the motor. It was so loud the little girls screamed and he rode his bike past them as fast as he could. He looped around and came back to where I was standing, laughing like a maniac and shouting, "DID YOU SEE THAT?! HAHA! I WON! NO ONE IS AS FAST AS ME!"
haha it was the funniest thing. I wish I could have recorded the looks on those little girls faces as a grown man on a motor bike zoomed past them, laughing like a crazy person. it was awesome.

**ATTENTION**
In my last post I mentioned something about a "Christmas Surprise", well I'm not telling you yet, you'll find out later this week, but its is NOT, I repeat, NOT AN " I AM PREGNANT" SURPRISE". Apparently some "Imaginative" friends of mine thought that that is what I was referring to. Well, sorry to disappoint, but it's nothing quite that exciting {CRAZY}.


so that's all I wanted to say. I think I've procrastinated enough for this morning. thanks for bearing with me while I shirk my duties

Loves,
K

trees, mugs, and scandalous ornaments

Well, it's STILL finals time for me so I guess that gives me a good excuse for being MIA...
BUT, I still have two projects and five finals left, so whatev.
oh ya, and three people have been thrown out of the dental hygiene program so far due to not getting a 77% or higher on an exam...stressful? YES

Our camera broke recently, so I don't have very many good pictures of all the "crazy fun" things that have been going down.

FIRST OF ALL:
I just LOVE the Christmas season! I love the cold weather and the lights and the gallons upon gallons of hot chocolate that I consume on a weekly basis.

So I was a little bit sad because this year we weren't going to be able to afford a Christmas tree (real or fake). So grandma gave us a cute tiny one that we could put in our room. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was still a tree right? So I was happy

WELL, I came home from school late one night and I saw a glowing coming from our room. I thought "oh how nice. Nick put lights on our little tree for me."
but when I opened the door I saw this baby:


My very own tree! Nick picked it up for 15 bones at good will. Fake, pre-lit and everything. It's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen! Why? Cause it's mine, and my husband knew I wanted one and he was so sweet in surprising me with it! I love Nick :)


SO, it's a tradition in our family that every year we get a new Christmas ornament. The idea behind it is, when you get married you have a bunch of ornaments already to take with you! So my mom handed me my boxful of ornaments that I have accumulated throughout life and I CAN'T WAIT to start decorating my tree with them! I thought she wasn't going to, but my mom also got us our first ornament together!


(sorry the picture is crappy)
HAHA
I think the one that's supposed to be me is a little scandalous. Definitely not temple appropriate, but I LOVE the cute painted toe nails! My mom was so thoughtful to think about us!


Nick has been really busy putting together our Christmas presents for our parents and grandparents. You all know Nick is very skilled with ceramics because you saw what he made me HERE. So he has been making some of these:


This is the one Nick made me last year for Christmas. My uncle Ron has been kind enough to let Nick use his wheel and kiln so he can make these cute Christmas mugs. Nick is so good! it's so fun to watch him create beautiful things out of nothing.

ALSO, I have a CHRISTMAS SURPRISE! I will post about it soon, but I don't want to give too much away just yet! Nick made me promise I wouldn't tell ANYONE, but once it's done, I will tell you all :) I can't wait! It's been burning inside me to spill the beans!


Anyway, life is good. life is hard. life is worth it
loves,
K

Giveaway by my favey fave photographer!

Hey everyone! My favey fave photographer KRISTI ELLINGSON is hosting a Christmas giveaway! Click HERE to go to her blog! Don't forget to mention that Kristin sent you! You just might win! :)

loves,
K

PS. Also notice that our "hand-holding" picture is totally in her cute banner! :)

Dude, it's HallNoween

Yesterday we went to buy pumpkins...
but apparently nobody sells pumpkins on HallNoween
it was a bummer at first, but we decided to make the most of the situation and have a little fun.
meet our squash-o-lanterns!
can you tell which one is mine and which is Nick's?

PS. don't mind our crazy hair in these pictures
we were half ready for our costumes...

TA DA!
Don't we look fab-u-lous?!

see my shirt? I'm a "zombie" haha

everyone agreed that I looked scarier when I smiled then when I did my zombie death glare

the s. fam

our squash-o-lanterns looked great next to my family's Jack's

It was my favorite HallNoween ever!

yes there is an N.

No I did not spell it wrong.

That is how it's spelled.

the end.

-loves,

K

what, were you playing checkers or something?

So yesterday was a normal Monday. I studied, cleaned, and went to school for 8 hours.
On my way home from school around 9 PM, I started feeling some pain in my lower back on the right side. I just thought it must be muscle fatigue since I had just been sitting upright in my chair practicing how to scale for the last 4 hours...no big thang...right?

By the time I got home it just felt worse. For some reason I let Nick talk me into going to Wal-Mart even though I felt like poop. He made fun of me for holding my back and walking slow like I was an old fart. I don't know why, but having my hand on my back made it feel better...I'm sure it's all mental...

So we got home and Nick had some homework to do. I tried to relax and pretend like the pain wasn't getting worse, but IT WAS. around 12AM I I was crying with pain and feeling like I was going to throw up.

Nick got me into the car and we drove to urgent care. Funny thing about urgent care is that they apparently don't give a crap that people might need URGENT CARE after 8PM at night. Who closes at 8PM?!

Anyway, we drove to the emergency room where I could hardly even walk by this point because the pain was so bad.
We were excited to see that they were not very busy and we were even more excited that five minutes after signing in I was already called back to see the nurse.


So after seeing the nurse, apparently they need you to wait another 45 minutes. Then, after they finally call your name and show you to your little room they absolutely NEED you to wait another 30 minutes. Then they need to tell you what you already know and promise to give you pain killers. Then they apparently FORGET that you are in the worst pain in your life and decide not to give you pain killers till around 3 IN THE MORNING! While this is all happening, it doesn't really matter what could possibly be wrong with your body because you're going to freeze to death anyway. Then of course they have to give you a CAT scan because they want you be radiated just a little bit more and waste more of your money for no reason. They said it was because they thought I had "kidney stones" and wanted to make sure. I have never had a kidney stone, but I was pretty sure that WAS NOT what I was feeling. Then it took another two hours to tell me that I DON'T have kidney stones and for them to tell me what I already knew: "You have a kidney infection". Nah, really? Then they prescribe you the medicine you already knew you needed 5 hours ago and send you on your not-so-merry way.

what, were you playing checkers or something? What in the WORLD was so necessary that not a SINGLE one of your doctors could have seen me and let me go before 5:30 in the morning?

One good thing came out of this: NO SCHOOL.
believe me, I was planning on calling in sick even if they let me out at 1PM. Even Nick took off work to take care of me...and to sleep since he was so exhausted from staying up all night.

In the end, I'm doing ok. I have learned this: appreciate your kidney every day that it is working right, because holy crap, it is one of the most painfully painful infections you will ever have. You never realize how important your kidney is until it's not working right.

wow, that was a little "ode to the kidney" there, but seriously. Another thing I learned, which is probablly more important, never think that a urinary tract infection will just "go away" if you drink lots of water, or you might just spend a whole night in the hospital...

loves,
k

PS. another thing I learned, hospitals are crap.

what has kristin been up to?

(i am alive)

absolutely nothing.

I guess that's not entirely true, because i do quite a bit, but nothing that seems interesting enough to blog about.

my days are filled with anything and everything to do with teeth. So if anyone one really wants to know about the stages of tooth development, the oral landmarks you can see in a radiograph, or about all the bumps, lobes, ridges and fossa's on every single tooth then let me know.

while we are on the subject of dental hygiene, let me get up on my soap box for a moment...
i cannot even stress the huge importance of flossing your teeth everyday. It will seriously add 6 years to your life.
Do you realize that when food breaks down in your mouth it creates acid which eats away at your teeth? Why would you NOT want to brush after every meal?
Also, if you have a cavity and it's not deep enough to be half way through the dentin, then it is completely reversible! Floss and brush. Rinse your mouth with a non-alcoholic (no listerine!) rinse to reduce bacteria growth.
anyway...*steps down* that's enough for now. I could continue on about amelogenisis (the process of producing enamel) for about an hour, but that's boring.

So, midterms were last week. I pretty much was a huge freaking stress ball. Not to mention that my blessed "time" decided to give me a visit during the week, making my emotions even more rocky.
on tuesday i passed my DXTTR exam...barely...and cried all the way home. I couldn't believe it. Last week on the practice exam I got a 94! But Nick is wonderful and he held me and kissed me and got me a big bowl of ice cream. At least I passed right?
All the rest of my exams went well. I'm just happy that this week is way less stress since we don't have a quiz everyday! yay!

I have been up to a couple of fun things...

I made these adorable hair "things". nick won't let me call them flowers because he says they look nothing like flowers...but, what else am I supposed to call them?
























So for a while now I have known about this crazy white/blonde/gray streak of hair in the back of my head. I can never see it though. Well Nick said that the streak was optimal for viewing the other day and took a picture. It's still kinda hard to see, but i got to see it for the first time!
my sister kim thinks it may be a birth mark...what do you think it is?
anyway, life is good. we're taking it one day at a time and loving it.
-loves,
K

some favorites

Ok. I have realized something about myself.

(Mrs. Holexa would love this "self-discovery")
ok, here it is...
I tend to over react
lol
*Anglea is laughing and thinking, "definitely so true"*
*Noel is shaking her head...and now she is laughing, remembering the countless times I sat in her car all upset about a certain someone*
I guess I didn't have to write a post to tell you what you already know
but since my last post gave the air that I was going though a very bad storm I just want to say something
sometimes the storm is not as bad as you're making it
like mine. ya it may be raining a little, but storm? not really
i was just stressed out over school and not being able to take perfect x-rays. the usual
it just had an overwhelming effect on me the other day.
but let's talk about something happy ok?
First of all, happy FRIDAY!

I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite things right now :)

That 70's Show

seriously, this show is brilliant. could watch it all day. red is hilarious!


Fall

not here YET, but every day it gets cooler and cooler! Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season! I love the start of wearing fall clothes, the smells, the cold air....



Paradise Bakery

ok, they seriously have the BEST everything. I'm craving their fire roasted tomato soup...and their cookies are so moist -*lol that reminded me of that Cinderella movie with Hillary Duff*



UP

This is probably one of my favorite disney movies OF ALL TIME!
Have you seen it? So good! I cry every time i see it. it's sooooo good. Did I already say that? I can't wait to buy it!!!



Harry Potter

I can't stop loving these books. all time favorite. they never get old...EVER. every moment I have of free time when I'm not spending it with my husband is spent reading HP. J.K Rowling is a genius. This happens to be the book that I'm on right now... so those are just some of the things that have been on my mind lately...
besides teeth, x-rays, teeth, and sharp instruments
and Nick :)

have a happy weekend! what are your favorite things? Do you hate mine?

loves,
K

bring on the rain

Why is it that when life throws challenges at you, they are thrown all at once?


























Life is going great and then you get a little bit of rain and you think, "I can handle a little bit of rain" *pulls out handy umbrella*
but then MORE rain comes and you start to get nervous, your umbrella shakes and your grip gets tighter, but you still know you can handle it.
Then the storm hits. Hard and furious. Your umbrella is gone; lost in the wind. Kinda like in Dumbo...minus the circus freaks singing that creepy song. seriously though, did that song NOT scar you for life when you were young?

Anyway, I guess I just feel like things have been building and yesterday I hit a breaking point. I broke down at school. ya that's right. i cried in front of my teacher. It's not the first time she has seen a student cry, nor will it be the last, but it was still embarrassing all the same. It's not really school that has me upset, even though it is playing a HUGE part, it's everything.
And yet, there is always hope. If it wasn't for my faith in my Father in Heaven that everything will turn out right, I would be lost.

also, if it wasn't for my loving husband who has been such a good listener and has been so understanding I would feel hopeless.
It makes me wonder how people who don't realize they have a loving Heavenly Father that they can pray to for help, get through the storms of life. I couldn't do it without him.

Having the gospel, faith, and Heavenly Father is like having an iron umbrella. It cannot blow away and it helps you to get through the storm, but it can't protect you from everything. There are things we need to learn the HARD way. That's the whole point of challenges. I just have to remind myself that everything hard I go through is a learning experience and is for my good.
SO even though life is hard, and when it rains it POURS...it is good to remember that the storm won't last forever, even though it will seem that way. But when the storm is over, the clouds will clear and the sun will shine, and you will be so grateful that you have endured it well and you will be grateful for the blessings God has given you. Until then, I will be learning to

Sing in the Rain

All of this just made me think of a song by Jo Dee Messina. Here's the 2nd verse-

It's almost like the hard times circle 'round
A couple drops and they all start coming down
Yeah, I might feel defeated,
I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing - but I'm not dead

Tomorrow's another day
And I'm thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWYRfsjBNQk

loves,
K

Ode to my beautiful weekend

weekend. my friend.
it seems like forever since I have enjoyed your company.

I have been thinking about you all week
counting down the days till the moment when I would see you

I'm glad you're finally here
i could NOT take one more day of tests, quizes, papers, and projects

my brain is fried
my body is tired
and I have stress induced tense muscles

but now that you are here, everything is better

I will NOT read any school related books
I will NOT review my notes
I will NOT work on any papers

I WILL sleep in
I WILL be as lazy and unproductive as I want
I WILL get a stress relieving back massage from my husband
I WILL forget about EVERYTHING to do with school for the next 2 days

and then on Monday morning you will be gone

and the process of needing you
will start over

BUT for now I will enjoy every minute of you
thank you for coming
I needed a break

Now I get to spend more time with my wonderful husband :)

-loves
K

love who you love

"Love who you love

and say that you do

hold on as tight as they'll let you

give all you got like it's your last day

your heart and soul before it's too late

and breathe it in

so close enough that they can feel it

love who you love

with all that you have

and don't waste the time that flies so fast

love who you love" (lyrics by Rascal Flatts)

-loves,
K