Prayers needed for TARA

A friend of mine named Tara found out almost two weeks ago that she has a tumor in her brain the size of an orange.

She is only 20 years old! She goes into surgery to have it removed this week.
She is such a fun loving girl who is engaged to the nicest guy (who used to be my seminary buddy in high school). She is so positive about the experience and knows that the Lord will bless her and her family!

If you would like to read about her story go HERE
It will amaze you how happy and confident she is right now. She is such an inspiration of having a positive attitude in the face of trials.
I'm sure she would appreciate kind words to lift her up and to know that you are praying for her.

loves,
Kristin

this week and BTBYC

Here are some pictures of what I have been up to the last week:

these are our "happy faces"
at a family party for the graduates

this is my adorable sister Kim. She just graduated from cosmetology school and is about to graduate from Mt. View this week! love ya Kimmy :)

my sweet little brother is just too adorable for his own good

And this is the reason why I didn't stay away from sugar this week...
the most delicious ginger snaps ever!
so that was my week in the smallest most entertaining nut shell...

so on to BTBYC
How did you guys do this week?

well, let me tell you I didn't do as well as I could have...should have
I was super strong at the beginning with the no sweets thing, but then I had to make cookies and lemon bars and I tasted a few things... so that was no good
Also, I didn't write in my journal everyday or exercise everyday
BUT
I everything else went pretty well!

I have more motivation this week to do better at the things I was crappy at last week. How did you guys do?

good luck this week!

loves, Kristin

DAY ONE: BTBYC

hey hey hey! It's almost the end of day one of the
Be the Best You Challenge!
I love that I have friends doing this with me!
How did you guys do today?
let me tell you, I love this already!

So I will usually post on Mondays and we can talk about how that week of the challenge went.

Some notes about the challenge:

I need help coming up with the prize. Maybe we all go out to lunch and we pick up the tab for whoever wins, or it could be something tangible that we hand to the winner like organic bean sprouts, I'm not sure...THINK!

Also, make sure you have two personal goals. These goals can stay the same throughout the whole three months, or they can change on a weekly basis or change whenever you want. You just have to make sure that your goals stay the same for at least a week. (I get bored easily and will be changing my two PERSONAL goals frequently)

The max amount of points obtained in one day is 13. If you work out for an hour and half or read scripture for 30 minutes, you don't get double the points. 1 point for each :)

I would love if you also posted how your weeks went in the comments section for each week, or if you have a blog you can post it there!

SO how did I do today?
Well, I finally did my hair cute since January (practically)
this is part of my goal to not be a grungy wife this summer
I didn't even know it was getting so long up in my pony tail!

dear hair,
I missed you
Nick missed you more
please stay long time
Kristin

1 year

Guess what? It's been ONE WHOLE YEAR since this day...

the day I was sealed to my best friend for eternity

Nick is the love of my life.
I don't know what I would do without him


I have loved spending this last year of our life together and I can't wait for all of the many years to come


happy anniversary Nick! I love you!
-Kristin

Be the Best You Challenge

well guess what I'm doing?
I'm participating in the
"Be the Best You" Challenge!
I have heard about it from some friends and I decided that I want to do it all summer. This is how it goes:

starting May 17th - August 17th.

Everyday for 3 months we have 13 goals to accomplish:

• Drink 48 ounces of water
• Floss EVERYDAY (I added this one :)
  
• 45 min of exercise
• 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of veggies
• No soda
• No sweets or fast food
• No eating after 8:00 pm
• Pray twice a day
  
• Read scriptures 15 minutes
• Write in journal
• Express specific appreciation, love, or praise.
• And then one personal goal of your choice. I have two. Put myself together everyday (no grungy wife this summer!) and make sure the house is always cleaned and organized.

Also, you get points on whether or not you completed the goals. So if you finished all the goals for the day following this list you would get 13 points (counting my second personal goal).

Anyone want to do it with me?!
I already have Nollie doing the NO SUGAR thing with me. Maybe she'll do the rest with me too?
we can update each other on our progress and we can even have a prize for the winner at the end! Don't worry I'm going to win :)

LET ME KNOW if you're in! I'm starting this Monday!

This is going to be so fun!
Kristin

tribute

NO more finals. No more school. NO more stress. No more long nights in class. No more early morning studying. NO more projects. No more teachers... until August
GOODBYE FIRST YEAR!

I feel so relieved. Finals went really well, and tomorrow I get to go and meet the new first year class! There is going to be a panel of three of the 2nd year students (I'm a second year! holy cow!) and we get to tell the first years all about the program and answer any questions they might have

I remember last year when I was a new first year that same orientation was the day before my wedding...
I remember being so nervous by the second years telling us:

"this program is the hardest thing you'll ever do" which is true, so far
"you will cry. don't worry, it WILL happen." and it did
"forget about the grades, they don't mean anything. You will get a B and you will be happy with it. Just worry about passing." I thought this was a load of crap. Of course grades matter! And they do, but in a program where you are just trying to stay in long enough to get to the Board exam, you have to let the grade go and realize it's ok just to pass.

What advice will I give?
I want to give the same advice that was given, but in a not-so-threatening way. I came away from that orientation scared out of my mind.
I also want to let them know how serious of a commitment they are making when they start the program. Their life will revolve around school for the next two years.
I'm going to tell them that they need to make sure that they have their life in order, because chaos will ensue if their life isn't orderly
i want them to know that THEY CAN DO IT! That's the one thing I wish I had heard at my orientation. Ya it's tough, ya it's going to kick your butt, but we did it!


I have learned so much this year about myself.
I learned that I can work quick under pressure,
but that I let the pressure overwhelm me and get me down
school is not about the grade but about doing your best!
I also learned that yucky stuff (school) is more bearable when you have fun along the way!
I have made life long friends
I have discovered that I am good at dental hygiene :)

GOSH! I still can't believe it's over! Longest school year of my life!

so anyway, are you tired of listening to my tribute to my first year?

Kristin

la la la la life!

wow, it's hard to believe that it has almost been one month since my last post! where have I been?
oh ya, School school and more SCHOOL
School is sucking away my life! I can't wait to have a whole summer to do nothing! By the end of the summer you'll be so bored with my random nothingness posts you'll be wishing I had something else to do.


so what has been going on? I'm glad you asked :)


this week I have 4 incredibly annoying finals.
I already took one of them today and I now I want to kick something. literally.
my teacher tested us on material from other classes in other semesters. I totally studied the material from this class this semester (obviously) and it was completely worthless. Let's just pray that I pass it so that I can stay in the program
OK, done being frustrated about that for now...


Oh ya, I turned 21! I guess that should have been something to blog about, but i've been busy ok! I can't believe I'm so old. Before I know it I'll be 31. I had a great birthday. Nick took me out for dinner and then took me shopping for some new clothes
just cause I turned 21 I got myself a margarita
JK people! it's a mango lemonade...relax

earlier that day my hygiene school along with the dental students at AT Still attended Give Kids A Smile
It was such a great event! We gave free hygiene services to 300 kids who needed it. It was five hours of fun! Applying sealants, giving prophys and taking pictures with MOLAR MAN!
my friends from hygiene took me out to get ice cream afterward. It was so fun!



Also, I was able to spend some quality time with my Sister Freaks! one weekend when Nick went camping.
Can I just tell you that I LOVE my sisters?! They think I am the funniest, most awesome thing that ever walked the earth {HA! But it is a nice confidence boost eh?} and I think they are pretty groovy themselves. They love to play Settlers of Catan with me, even though I POWN them everytime {it's ok girls, you know it's true}. Come to think of it, when do I NOT pown at that game? Right Nollie? haha
So anyway I love my sisters. They are some of the few people I feel I can truely be myself around. They saw a lot of the "crazy" Kristin that night...SO FUN! We must do that again sometime soon girls!



can I just tell you that my mind is literally BURSTING with dental hygiene info? I'm planning on doing a series of "did you know?" posts all about your teeth and mouth! It will be a nice brain information overload release for me :)
Maybe you will enjoy knowing so much about your teeth, OR maybe you will avoid any post labeled "did you know"
but I guess if you choose the latter option then you will NEVER know! have fun being ignorant!
but seriously, I have some great stuff in this brain I can't WAIT to tell you all about

AND, we are looking for a house. ya I know pretty big. I'll keep you updated :)

That's about it! Anything I left out? Oh ya lots and lots of hours of studying. at least 4-5 a day. Fun huh?

I'll see ya'll soon!
K