Straight out of COMPTON

Monday Night Football

2008-09-06T16:19:00.002-07:00

This one's for you, Graham! It's true, I'm going to San Diego with Jason to go to the Chargers game Monday, September 22, 2008. Maybe you'll be able to see us on t.v.!

Time To Celebrate!!

2008-07-30T22:43:00.002-07:00

Jason took me to get gelato to celebrate the release of my "new" ear! It's a great night! I had, of course, banana/pineapple/chocolate oreo gelato and Jason had a combo of peanut butter/banana/chocolate cake. Yummy!

I Can Hear!!!

2008-07-30T22:03:00.003-07:00

This morning I had my ear appointment with Dr. Fucci. He took out the stitches in my arm (the first photo) and cleared out my ear of gauze and junk (second and third photos) so I can hear perfectly!

I didn't want to look at my arm while he removed the stitches, but there were 5 stitches. You can see a close-up of my arm in the last picture. Yummy! Just kidding...it's just a little bit pink and swollen. I am using A & D ointment to help it heal better, hopefully.

As Dr. Fucci was pulling stuff out of my ear, it was somewhat painful. My ear still feels tender since the appointment. He placed a tuning fork on my head and asked me where I heard the sound coming from. It was clearly coming from the front part of my ear...it was so loud it hurt. I remember that before I had the surgery, it was louder in the back. Yeah, I'm hearing normally now!

The doctor asked me what I remembered of the surgery, and I told him about how I heard people talking, and then the shaving of my head, and finally more talking again. At that point in surgery, I thought I was about to have a hearing test, but before I knew it, I was in recovery. Dr. Fucci told me I did a great job with my hearing test during the surgery. He also told me that I acted like a "quiet drunk" because I was silent throughout the surgery and only spoke when I was asked to. He said he gets a lot of patients who are very chatty and ask about everything that's going on during the surgery. They would ask what he was doing now, over and over again. It's nice to know that I'm not an obnoxious patient.

I asked him if I could get my ear wet and travel by plane, and he told me I could do whatever I want! I can dunk my head in water and be fine! I also asked him if he took photos or a video of the surgery, and he didn't. He said Pathology has my bone, so I have nothing to show for this surgery, other than the scar that will be on my arm. He did show me what my bone would look like and said that the ligament that is usually around it is comparable to a trampoline, but my ligament was more like concrete (immovable). So, it's actually the ligament that is calcified, not the bone.

After the appointment, I called Cara and used my "new" ear. My ear felt a little sensitive, or the phone was too loud, so I didn't keep using that ear. But, it clearly works well! Jason whispered in my ear, and I heard it! Yeah! It's a big day today...I finally can hear normally!

When I got to work, I realized I had to have a picture with my working ear and my bummed-up arm together...so that explains the "tough girl" pose.

Photo Break

2008-07-28T18:31:00.003-07:00

During the time I was "forced" to write the post about my American Idol concert surprise, Jason sat next to me patiently awaiting the finished product. He did create a few distractions in the meantime, and this was one of them...a great photo of us!

Ear Update

2008-07-23T09:04:00.012-07:00

I just want you all to know that I'm starting to hear out of my left ear!!!

Monday I went back to work. I was pretty dizzy all day and kept things at a slow pace. I started to hear high-pitch echoes in my ear from when I heard voices. It was kind of annoying, but it helped me start to believe that I would really hear one day! I was exhausted after working a full day, so I went to bed early to prepare for the next work day. (By the way, Jason's been awesome helping me get to and from work this week!)

Yesterday was a much better day. I started acting more "normal." I noticed I felt more comfortable walking faster and doing things at a quicker pace. It was great! I even felt like cleaning and getting things done after work! I know I'm not quite where I need to be to function like a healthy person, but I'm getting the motivation to keep busy and do things like I used to. My ear is really starting to work like an ear! I could start hearing a broader range of voices/sounds, and I even could hear my hair brush up against the cotton ball that is purposefully shoved in my ear. It actually got annoying, so from that point on, I decided to wear my hair up...even though it shows off my cotton ball.

I still didn't drive today, to be on the safe side...but I'm definitely feeling better. My appointment to see the doctor is on the 30th. That is when I am to get my ear cleaned out from all the gauze and junk stuck in there. I'm told that at that appointment I will love my doctor because I'll really be able to hear! Next Wednesday! Big Day!!

As of Day 12 post surgery, dizziness has been my largest obstacle with recovery. I definitely still get dizzy, but not as often and for not as long now. I haven't been nauseated or experienced vertigo at all...which I am grateful for. I have had a numb tongue, especially on my left side this whole time. I have also experienced off-and-on ringing and popping in my ear on a daily basis. A little off the subject, but you can see my shaved head a little in this picture! It's really not that bad.

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-14T16:26:00.003-07:00

I was so happy to finally be home.

I was able to be awake when we were driving home so I could give mom directions back to my apartment. I didn't lose my appetite. On the way home, we stopped over at Wendy's for dinner. I got my kid's meal, of course. The next day, Jason brought us Oregano's for lunch. It was wonderful.

I actually didn't feel that bad on Friday. I wasn't too dizzy at that time, and my ear wasn't in pain. We got some pictures of my bandages. I have a cotton sticking out of my ear, and bandage wrapped around my left arm where they got the vein out, and a bandage around my right hand, where my IV was. I also had my ID tag on.

We took out the cotton in my ear, and it had some blood on it. It feels like every time I get out of bed my ear drains fluid. It's normal to bleed for a few days.

I have a nice bruise where my IV was placed in my hand. It is swollen, too. No wonder it hurt so bad.

I haven't taken off the bandage on my left arm yet, but I can after today. I had to keep in on so the steri-strips won't come off while I'm asleep.

I'm allowed to take a shower today! I'm pretty nasty and greasy. I hope I'll be able to handle it today. I've been feeling extra dizzy these last 2 days.

Friday night, I was feeling really good. (By the way, when I got home Friday, Jason had flowers delivered to my apartment. They were so beautiful. My mom put them in my room, and the room smelt so good!) That night, I called all my family and friends to let them know how I was doing post-surgery, but Saturday, I think I did too much. Curtis came over on Saturday morning to see how I was doing, and I'd say I was feeling good then. (He was so great and brought me red gerber flowers and a card.) I stayed up most of Saturday and watched a movie and then played canasta with Jason and mom. Sunday, I felt really dizzy most of the day and didn't want to do much. I was having a hard time even with talking to friends on the phone. Jamie stopped by to see me, and that was nice. But by 6 pm, I was asleep for the night. I didn't get up until 1:30 pm today (Monday). Again, I am not feeling well. I am really dizzy. I am not in the mood to do much of anything. I'm seriously writing in this blog so my sister won't yell at me again...but I'm feeling pretty yucky. I hope it all makes sense in the end. I'm nervous I won't be able to drive tomorrow to take my mom to the airport. At this rate, I won't be doing much this week. I am getting tired of sleeping and not being able to hear. When I sleep, I'm blocking my good ear, so I really can't hear now. I wish I could do more, but even watching tv today has made me dizzy. Mom has left me alone at this moment to go on a gelato run. I'm going to try to get her just as addicted as I am! I'm excited for her to bring home banana/pineapple/chocolate oreo gelato!

Last Minute Pics After Surgery

2008-07-14T16:15:00.002-07:00

Mom took some great pictures for Cara...hopefully she won't pass out before she gets a chance to see I updated the blog!

There are some pictures of my IV, my hair dangling down off the bed, a drop of fluid about to drip, and my final photo in the hospital recovery room.

Oh, I forgot to tell you all...the doctor came in to tell my mom the surgery went perfectly. I had 100% hearing in the operating room.

I currently am unable to hear because my middle ear is filled with guaze. It will dissolved within a couple of weeks. My doctor's appointment will be July 30th. At that time, I'm going to be hearing and so happy I had this surgery!

In the Meantime...

2008-07-14T16:10:00.001-07:00

While I was being operated on, mom was exploring the hospital. She found some cute places to visit. Too bad Tanner and Mia weren't here to see them with Nana!

My Head's Getting Shaved!

2008-07-14T15:36:00.002-07:00

Here are some close-ups of my shaved head and tattooed ear!

I felt them shaving my head in the operating room, but I didn't really think twice about it at that time. The next thing I knew, I was asleep, and then a few minutes later I heard talking again. I thought I'd be taking the hearing test pretty soon, but before I knew it, I was in the recovery room.

In the last two pictures, you can see the bandage on my left arm from the vein extraction. Lightly touching that area is a bit tender. My ear really didn't hurt that bad. I ranked it about a 3-4 on the pain scale. What bothered me most was the fact that I couldn't move. I had to lay on my right side for 4 hours. It was so confining and claustrophobic! I was getting really antsy. My couldn't stop moving my feet. I was also uncomfortable the whole time because I continuously needed to go to the bathroom. I had fluids being pumped up in me all morning. By the time I left the hospital, let's just say, I became a bedpan pro!

Cori's Stapedectomy Day!

2008-07-14T15:05:00.004-07:00

On July 11, 2008, I had my second surgery...a stapedectomy! I was diagnosed earlier this year with Otosclerosis and was told this is the procedure to have.

I lost my hearing in my left ear due to calcium build-up on my stapes bone. A stapedectomy is a surgery where they go in through the tympanic membrane and use a laser to take out the stapes bone (the smallest bone in the body) and place a prosthetic device in its place. On one side of the device, they use a piece of my forearm vein to bind it to the footplate of the bone still attached to the cochlea. The other side of the device is twisted around the incus bone tightly. The calcium will continue to build up, but it isn't able to bind to the material the prostheses is made out of...titanium. Don't worry, I found out I still can go through metal detectors and be scanned by MRIs.

My mom was able to fly down to Arizona on Wednesday to come be with me during my surgery. She did a great job of documenting the day.

My surgery day started out with me not hearing my alarm go off to get ready to be at the hospital by 5:45 am. What woke me up was my mom getting up....thank goodness for her! At 5 am I woke up to quickly take a shower and get dressed for the procedure at Banner Desert. We left my place at 5:45 am...oops! It was fine...they usually give you plenty of time to get there late/on time!

We got all checked in, and mom got her usual great compliment that she couldn't be my mother...she's way too young! Then we went up to the waiting room. I was told to go change into my gown, socks, and head cover. Then I was to wait for my doctors and nurses to get me all set up for the surgery. I got my first IV in my hand. It had to be the most painful part of the whole procedure. It didn't feel too comfortable. Then I met my anesthesiologist. She talked to us a short while before Dr. Fucci came in to visit with us. I have to admit I was getting more nervous around this time. I teared up a little bit with my mom. Dr. Fucci is my surgeon. He asked me which ear I was getting worked and marked it with a permanent marker "YES." He reviewed the procedure with me and then took off.

Mom took these pictures before I rolled away to the operating room.

Within the next few minutes, I was in the operating room. The room appeared to be a large cluttered room. I didn't even know if there was room enough for my bed to be in there. I heard some talking for a little while, and then the next thing I know...

Short Clip of "Billy Jean"

2008-07-01T22:08:00.001-07:00

The American Idol 2008 Tour Set List

2008-07-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Chikezie: "I Believe to My Soul" (Ray Charles/Donny Hathaway)/ "Hey Mama" (Kanye West)/ "Caught Up" (Usher) / "So High" (John Legend)

Ramielle Malubay: "I Want You Back" (Jackson 5)/ "Love Will lead You Back" (Taylor Dane)/ "If I Never See Your Face Again" (Maroon 5)

Michael Johns: "We Will Rock You"/"We are the Champions" (Queen) / "It's All Wrong But It's All Right" (Dolly Parton)/ "Dream On" (Aerosmith)

Kristy Lee Cook: "Tryin' to Squeeze the Love Outta You" (Carolyn Dawn Johnson) / God Bless the USA" (Lee Greenwood)/ "Cowgirls"

Carly Smithson: "Wake Me Up Inside" (Evanescence)/ "Crazy" (Heart)/ "Drove All Night" (Cyndi Lauper/Celine Dion)

Brooke White: "Let it Be" (Beatles)/ "1,2,3,4" (Feist) / "Yellow" (Coldplay)

Group: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (U2)

Jason Castro: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Iz version with ukelele) / "Crazy" (Gnarls Barkley) / "Daydream" (Lovin' Spoonful)

Syesha Mercado: "Umbrella" (Rihanna) / "If I Ain't Got You" (Alicia Keys) / "Listen" (Beyonce)

David Archuleta: "Angels" (Robbie Williams) / "Apologize" (Timbaland) / "Stand By Me">"Beautiful Girls (Suicidal)" (Ben E. King/Sean Kingston) / "When You Say You Love Me" (Josh Groban)

David Cook: "Hello" (Lionel Richie) / "Time of My Life" (Cook) / "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith) / "My Hero" (Foo Fighters) / "Billie Jean" (Michael Jackson)

Group: "Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna)

Our 2008 American Idol

2008-07-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

#1 David Cook

The Little David

2008-07-01T21:47:00.001-07:00

#2 David Archuleta

Syesha Mercado

2008-07-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

#3 Syesha

Jason Castro

2008-07-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

#4 Jason Castro

Intermission with Cori and Jason

2008-07-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Check out our Row 8 Seats at the American Idol Concert! So much fun!!!

AI Top of the Bottom 5 and Bottom of the Top 5

2008-07-01T21:29:00.001-07:00

#6 Carly
#5 Brooke White (AZ represents)

Your Bottom 4 American Idols

2008-07-01T21:04:00.003-07:00

#10 Chikezie
#9 Ramiele
#8 Michael Johns (2 photos)
#7 Kristy Lee Cook

American Idol Tour: Glendale, AZ

2008-07-01T20:22:00.003-07:00

Are you ready to hear about the biggest surprise I've ever had in my life? Here goes!

Back in May, I went on this date with a guy named Jason. I met him at speed-dating back in September 2007. He finally asked me out for our first date May 10, 2008. Anyway, on this date, I told him a little about my interests. One of them, at the time, was American Idol. We went to the Pita Jungle and enjoyed some yummy gelato. Then he took me back to my place after lunch. I had him listen to some of my favorite David Cook (a contestant on AI) songs. Jason wanted him to win AI, and I wanted him to win too, but I wasn't quite certain if he would. Anyway, that date was great. I really didn't want it to end. I had so much fun with him. Then he asked me to go with him to the Cure concert (by the way, I will post the pics sometime soon). As time passed by, America voted and we all found out that David Cook won the AI competition! A great surprise...but not the surprise that I was still yet to have!

My co-workers and I always talk about American Idol. We all discussed that we should go see the tour this year together, since they were going to stop in Phoenix. It would be so fun! It just so happened that I had a friend who was going to purchase tickets, so I told her to get some for us. Yeah, we were going to the American Idol Tour!

Sad news. My friend didn't get the tickets. I was so sad. I told my co-workers, and they said we should still check them out to see if there were any good tickets left. We looked, and everything was so far away from the stage or too expensive. We talked ourselves out of going.

A month or so goes by, and then Jason invites me to go with him to a work party the evening of July 1, 2008...which just so happened to be the night AI would be in town. I agreed to go with him, since I wasn't going to go to the concert anyway. He told me I would get to meet his co-worker who looks like Homer Simpson. I was excited to take a picture with him and show my co-workers.

A few more weeks go by, and my friend who originally was going to buy tickets to the concert told me she could get tickets to it, but it would only be available in pairs of seats. I told her I would be really interested in going, but I made prior commitments, so I'd have to think about it. I talked to Jason about it, and he told me to do whatever I'd like to do. I could tell he didn't really want me to go with her, so I told him I would continue to go to his work party. I told my friend I couldn't go.

As the days got closer to the work party, I started to ask more questions about it. Jason told me it would be a BBQ for the holiday. They chose to have it that day because a lot of them would be out of town or have other plans, so that's why it was on a Tuesday night. I also found out that it was going to be at some park in Phoenix, near his work. I was kind of nervous as the time was drawing closer because the weather was getting hotter, and I didn't know how much I would enjoy this party. I was worried I was going to be a sweaty pulp. Anyway...July 1st came.

I was pretty tired after work, but I got off early and hurried home to get ready. I had to look cute, right? I even did my toenails. Jason came to pick me up, and was totally prepared to get me relaxed so I would sleep on the drive to the party. He asked me to get my pillow, and his truck was playing relaxing music. But, I chose not to bring my pillow, and I stayed awake the whole drive. As we were getting closer to Phoenix, and then passing Phoenix, I was beginning to wonder where this park was that he was taking me. I was so hungry, and my stomach was excited to eat soon. Then Jason told me we were going to a park near his "Corporate Building." In my head, I was questioning it because he never told me about this "Corporate Building." But, I didn't question him out loud. Then we were starting to drive into the Glendale city limits. I told him I was right, we were going to Glendale. Then he started driving near the Jobing.com arena and, man, there was something going on there...tons of people! We passed this one spot where I saw a limo, and I said that there must be a prom going on because there are lots of kids and limos. Jason just agreed with me. I told him that there were all kinds of shops around this area. Jason acted like he didn't know about the stores, so he decided to take a detour and check them out. I was wondering why he was doing that because we were already late for the work party by like 30 minutes, and I was getting really hungry. Then I noticed that he passed by the stores and parked in a parking spot. What was he doing? I was so confused. Jason said something like, "You're going to have to wait to meet my co-workers because we're not going to the work party." What? What are you talking about? I'm so confused. Then he told me it was true, for real...we weren't going to the picnic BBQ. Then he asked, "What's going on tonight?" He had to ask me twice before I started to say, "American Idol Concert."

He said, "You're right, we're going to the Amercian Idol Concert!!"

Now that's the biggest surprise of my life!!!

My response: What!!!???? No!!! What??!! I don't believe it! Are you being for real? I don't believe it!!

I think I was pretty much in shock for the whole night. But that wasn't all...

Jason had ear plugs ready for me, and warned me that our seats wouldn't be as good as they were at the Cure concert. I was totally fine with that. Just being at the concert was unreal to me.

I asked Jason what we were going to do about dinner, since I was really hungry. He said we'd just grab something inside. I ended up getting the best tasting turkey sandwich...it was so good! Jason had a hot dog. I guess it wasn't so good. Then we headed to our seats. I was prepared to sit in some pretty bad seats, and I was okay with it. We walked toward a far away section in the arena, and I assumed we were going to sit somewhere around there. But, then before I knew it, he was going down the steps and down some more...WHAT!!! What was he doing? Where was he going? No...what!? He kept going down the steps....to the floor!!! What!!! What!!! What is going on?!! Then he kept walking closer and closer to the stage. I couldn't believe it!!! What is he doing?!! Then he finally paused when we got to the 8th row!!!! All I could think and say was, "I don't believe it....I don't believe it." You're right! He surprised me with not only tickets to the concert, but tickets I couldn't even imagine getting!!! We were totally sitting in the 8th row on the floor of the 2008 American Idol Concert!!!!!

I was in total shock and disbelief. I couldn't believe he totally surprised me like this, and I never even caught on at all this whole time!!! He completely surprised me! I'd have to say this was the greatest surprise I've ever had my entire life. I couldn't believe it! Pretty much the whole night I was in disbelief...but believe me...I enjoyed every moment of it! I didn't want it to end. It was definitely a night to remember...always! I'm so grateful I had my camera on me, and I'm even more grateful Jason is now forcing me to write this on my blog.

By the way, Jason had been plotting this big surprise forever. He totally created many white lies to cover up this great surprise. For example, there was not a work party, there was not a "Corporate Building," there was not a picnic, no park in Phoenix, and plus he agreed with me when I mentioned there must have been a prom or something that night. I found out too, that he wanted me to sleep on the way so he wouldn't have to explain where we were going. Can you believe all that? I don't know about him!

"Hard Core Henry" at U.S. Air Guitar Championships

2008-06-28T22:23:00.001-07:00

Dianne and I were at work trying to figure out what would be fun to do for the weekend. I checked out the website azcentral.com, and the air guitar championships was one of the highlighted options. I couldn't believe it, so I clicked on the icon to check it out...and it really was real. I felt prompted to tell Jason about it, and before you know it...we were there! It was out of this world crazy fun! I've never seen anything like it! It was at a small venue. There weren't too many people there, but there were a handful of contestants and 3 judges. I felt like we were at American Idol because the judges were giving helpful and interesting advice. The contestants were mainly judged by their "airness" and "technicality." I still am not sure what "airness" means, but that is something quite important in this field. The video above is of our AZ representative (he won the contest here). He was awesome! He seriously made me want to do air guitar right with him! So fun! (Some advice for those of you who want to attend these competitions in the future, I wouldn't recommend bringing children or anyone who gets offended easily...the language wasn't very clean.)

Paul's Wedding Dinner

2008-05-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, May 28, 2008, Paul and Lindsey had a dinner for all their close friends and family the day before their wedding. It was at the Blue Iguana. This is where the two of them had their first date.

Paul and I got our last picture taken together as single people.

This second photo is of all of Paul's "Best Men."
In the back row are Paul, Lindsey, and Ben Matz.
From left to right in front are Lauren (Logan's wife), Logan Clark, me, and Marcello Surjopolos.

Do you recognize all of Paul's family? You can find his dad, Amy, Rachel, Katie, and Mattias (sp?) around one table and Heather and her husband, Chris, and few others...along with Corey and his wife.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend, I decided to visit Meema and Grandpa in St. George, Utah.

I flew to Las Vegas and took the shuttle to St. George. I couldn't have made it if it wasn't for Nica and her brother. (I was totally lost at the airport trying to find the shuttle.) The shuttle was almost completely full, and I was entertained the whole way just by the passengers within the van. I sat snuggly next to some cute ladies who had kids my age, and chatted with the man in the front passenger seat. This man was a stylist from Austin who visits St. George a few weeks out of the year to make his income, and then he performs in Austin with his guitar. He also had kids my age, and really believed he looked like he was in his twenties. (He clearly wasn't, but his personality was youthful I suppose!) Meema and Grandpa picked me up at a hotel late Saturday night.

The next day I got to spend the whole day with them listening to stories about their past. It was fun to get to know them better and find out more information than even what my mom or aunt knew about them. Next time I'll record it all!

While I was visiting, Aunt Carol happened to be vacationing with mom. They chose to come down the same weekend, so I was able to see practically the whole family! I met Fritzy for the first time. She has the most perfect hair and is the most perfect poodle. She's gorgeous! She was hesitant at first to get to know me, but then she finally warmed up to me. It was so fun to be around a little dog again!

On Monday, Mom chose to take me down to Las Vegas to catch the airplane back to Phoenix. We actually all went together as a big happy family...even Fritzy came! The only embarrassing thing that happened during the roadtrip was what Meema did to me. She forced me to eat a ton of broccoli before leaving St. George. I couldn't stop burping the whole trip. I felt so bad because it wasn't a good smell. Grandpa said he didn't mind, though, because he likes broccoli! It was so funny because mom seriously thought it was Fritzy.

After mom dropped me off at the airport hours before my plane was to leave, the rest of the family went gambling all night. I swear by the time I got home, they barely got home. They were distracted by all the shiny lights and inticing sounds of the casinos. Actually, they really didn't lose much, but sure did have some crazy fun together!

I had an interesting time at the airport. An extremely drunk girl sat next to me and told me I was boring because I was doing crossword puzzles while waiting for my flight. Then she wanted to talk for awhile and get me to go the bar with her. She had missed her earlier flight because she was out drinking. I told her I'm staying put, and she left and found some other friends to talk with. One thing's for sure, a flight out of LV is not quite like one out of SLC!

Friday Lunch

2008-05-23T10:15:00.001-07:00

It's our new tradition...thanks to Patrick! Fridays we go OUT to lunch. We've decided to start trying new places to eat, other than the hospital cafeteria. It's been lots of fun! On this occasion, we went to a Mexican restaurant. I can't remember the name right now, but it's in Phoenix attached to a market. It has the coolest setting! Perfect picture moment! It was pouring rain, though, when we actually decided to take a picture!

PCH Clinical Research Coordinators

2008-04-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

On April 30, 2008, the research team took Stacey out for a farewell lunch. We went to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. (Unfortunately, I was still sick...so I just ate mashed potatoes. They were really good, though.) She was leaving PCH and moving on to Good Sam's. We took this picture and framed it to give Stacey as a gift.

From left to right: Wendy (Research Nurse), Patrick (Hemophilia CRC), Terri (CRC Supervisor), Stacey (Former ED CRC), Nica (Phase I CRC), Dianne (Oncology CRC), and me (Oncology CRC).

Fiesta 2008

2008-04-26T09:39:00.002-07:00

Saturday, April 26, 2008, was the Stake's Fiesta Night. It was a guy ask girl date, so I invited Brady to come with me! Actually, Brady was planning to come up to Phoenix that day, so I just made him stay later and be my date.

We had a Mexican meal (This was actually my first real meal after being sick for a couple of weeks. I went though an awful time of having a sinus infection, ear infection, and gut infection. I was unable to keep anything inside me. Gatorade and crackers were my only diet.) that I actually was able to eat and keep in me throughout the evening! There was also a mariachi band for our entertainment.

Brady and I seriously had a great time together. He's so fun to be around. We were laughing all night! We shared our great evening with my friends: Cassie, Dan, Jeanette, and Brian.

My Cute Family

2008-04-13T22:19:00.001-07:00

I just love these happy sweet faces!

Cute Kids Floating Around at Aunt Sori's Pool

2008-04-13T22:04:00.005-07:00

I must say...I have the cutest little niece and nephew.

They definitely kept me active for a few days!
It was fun to see that I could wear them out. After a long, hard day of fun, Mia would come home to go directly to bed and shut the door behind her. Tanner took naps either in the car or stroller. Now I'm wishing I could have taken a nap when they did b/c I'm still beat! It's worth it though! They're cuties! I love them soooooooo much!

Mia and Tanner at the Pool

2008-04-13T21:59:00.002-07:00

Both Mia and Tanner had so much fun at Aunt Sori's pool. We all went swimming on Friday, and Mia and I went Saturday.

The Phoenix Zoo

2008-04-13T21:47:00.002-07:00

On Friday morning, thanks to Ashley, we explored the Phoenix Zoo.

My favorite animals there were the orangutans. There was a baby who was so fun to watch. The baby is located behind the ladder in the second photo.

Then Mia surprised us both by wanting to ride a camel! She climbed all the way to the top of the stairs to be next to ride. Her bravery didn't end when the camel actually came. She was all for getting on it...and I have proof! Check out Mia and Cara on a camel!!

One Special Egg

2008-04-13T21:43:00.002-07:00

We found this huge egg in one of the bird cages at the zoo in Tucson. Inside we found 6 cute kids being hatched! I'd say this is one special egg!

An Anteater

2008-04-13T21:37:00.002-07:00

I was so fascinated by the anteater, so I had to take a picture. They walk on the backside of their clawed forehands...very interesting. I think I overheard that they eat up to 10,000 ants a day. ..wow!

Peacock Feathers...Yummy!

2008-04-13T21:30:00.002-07:00

We all witnessed a giraffe trying to eat the feathers of a peacock! Don't worry, the peacock didn't lose any of its beautiful feathers!

The Frog Fountain

2008-04-13T21:23:00.002-07:00

At the zoo, the kids discovered the Frog Fountain. They had so much fun pressing the button for the water to spray out. I've never seen Mia get so excited like she did at this moment! She was jumping around and shaking with excitement!!

Siamese Tortoise?

2008-04-13T21:11:00.002-07:00

I'd say this is the cutest siamese tortoise I've ever seen!! Mia and Sophie had so much fun climbing around this tortoise shell at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson.

Tucson Zoo and the Giraffes

2008-04-11T17:08:00.002-07:00

Tanner played it cool all day while we visited the Tucson, AZ Zoo. We met up with Cindy and her kids Shayla and Josh, and Brooke with her children, Will and Sophie. We all had so much fun together. Everyone got a chance to feed the giraffes. The giraffes have long dark tongues that reach out and wrap around their food. We fed them lettuce and biscuits. This was all of our favorite activities at the zoo!

Mia and Tanner's 1st Airplane Ride

2008-04-11T16:57:00.003-07:00

Mia and Tanner both did so well on their first airplane ride. They flew from Salt Lake City, Utah to Phoenix, Arizona on April 7, 2008. They flew down to see their favorite aunt Cori! Cara stressed out quite a bit about the trip, but the kids did great! It was only tough on Mia when she had to get back in the seatbelt after playing on the floor. In the meantime, she took Tanner's book and made him sad. But 99.8% of the trip was perfection! The hardest part traveling with 2 kids is carrying all the loot. We were responsible for 14 items, including ourselves! It was a busy day, but it was well worth it! Aunt Cori loves them being here in AZ!

FHE following Easter

2008-04-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

For FHE, we had an egg dying contest...and guess who won? That's right! My traditional plaid egg was best in show! The next pic is of all my table supporters!

Easter 2008

2008-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

The week of Easter, I invited Dianne and her husband Daniel, to see the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple. This is an annual event, and we all enjoyed the performance.

Dianne then invited me to join her family for Easter down in Tucson. I, of course, accepted. Sunday morning, I went to church with Brady, then we both attended Dianne's family's church. It was my first experience going to a Baptist church.

After church, Dianne and Daniel showed us where they got married. What a beautiful place! Then we all enjoyed an amazing Easter dinner at Dianne's parents' house. It was so good that I seriously wished I could eat forever! Their house was a picture-perfect Arizona home. I loved all the windows...it made you feel like you were one with nature. It was also fun to see all the dogs! One big happy family!

Mountain Biking

2008-03-15T17:36:00.003-07:00

Reid and I went mountain biking at a beautiful scenic park northeast of Fountain Hills. (I've already forgotten the name of the park...sorry!)

Reid is definitely the pro between the two of us! He supplied me with all the gear to hook me up with a great experience. It was a lot of fun, and lots of work. I had to learn to be patient with the pedals!

We had a nice picnic lunch at a playground on some swings. Thanks for the great adventure...and sunburn!

The Yarn Game

2008-03-15T17:31:00.003-07:00

For FHE, a couple of weeks ago, we played the yarn game. It's a game my dad would whip out when we had parties back in the day. It's so much fun, and it continues to be still fun! I'm not going to tell you about it because maybe one day I'll do it with you!

Cassie's 26th Birthday!

2008-03-02T11:04:00.002-07:00

Cassie's birthday is February 21st. Unfortunately, she had class all day on her birthday, but we had a chance to celebrate the next day!

She had her birthday party at The Cheesecake Factory. Wow! I have never seen such large dishes before! Yummy!

Austin was amazing and took care of the tab for all of us. Thanks so much!

Then Cassie, Austin, Dan, and I went to the movies and saw Jumper. Dan stepped up and bought us the tickets. What great guys! I felt spoiled, and it wasn't even my birthday!

I'd say Cassie had a successful birthday! Thanks for inviting me to be a part of it! Have a great year!

Broom Hockey

2008-03-02T10:52:00.002-07:00

February 18, 2008 landed on a Monday this year. Happy Birthday, Cara! I celebrated by going to FHE. We had a great lesson and then played some serious broom hockey.

Unfortunately, I was unable to play because I was a bit under the weather. I found out a few days later that I had the flu. I was so weak and had no energy for a week. It was no fun.

But, it appeared to me that everyone was enjoying themselves playing or watching the game. Monique also sported a great big smile!

So I was confused to see all the spots in my photos, but I was told because of the waxed floor the spots appeared from the reflection from the lights. They just add a funky effect to the pictures!

Girlfriends

2008-03-02T10:44:00.002-07:00

Monique and Cassie are a couple of my favorite friends here in Chandler. They are so sweet, kind, wise, and friendly. I'm so grateful we have met and have shared so many great times together. This particular night Monique and I were over at Cassie's to visit teach.

Like It's My Birthday!!

2008-02-16T17:56:00.002-07:00

Aly is such an amazing friend! She hosted my birthday party! Not only were we able to chill at her place after the concert, but she made some yummy brownies! Lots of ice cream, too!

We're Gonna Party...

2008-02-16T15:20:00.004-07:00

A few more pictures of OneRepublic on stage.

We were at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona.

It's My Birthday...

2008-02-16T14:50:00.002-07:00

I wanted to do something memorable for my big birthday this year, so a group of us went to the OneRepublic concert.

From left to right, we have Grant, Emily, Andrea, Aly, and then me! The second picture feature's Aly's fiance, Thomas! Sorry, Aly, I had to post it...you're just going to have to work on trying to get him to pose more appropriately. :)

The concert opened with the Daylights and Josh Kelley. I found out I did know a song Josh Kelley sang..."Amazing." You can barely see him there with his guitar in the third picture. He was definitely entertaining with his genre of music...not necessarily my type, but fun nonetheless!

Then OneRepublic took the stage. At first, I questioned whether or not I'd like them, but then the music seemed to get better and better! He did a couple of cover songs. (One reminded me of Christi...He sang Rianna's "Umbrella," which was appropriate for the weather. Even a few audience members had props for the show!) Two of their songs are popular on the radio, "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare."

Thanks everyone for coming...it was such a fun night...even though it was tough to stand all evening!

Sorry about the pics, I still haven't been able to figure out how to work the camera in this type of lighting.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-16T14:31:00.002-07:00

Today was such a fun day! I woke up and got to work, and my co-workers celebrated my birthday by decorating my cubicle and getting me an ice cream cake! It was so nice of them!

Then, after work, I met up with Aunt Margaret and Ariel for a Valentine's Day concert with the Dutton Family! It was a pleasant surprise to hear that Janet, my mom's cousin, was coming along!

Neither Janet nor I have never heard of the Dutton's, but they are well known in Branson, MO where they perform every summer. During the winter, they're back in Arizona entertaining everyone throughout the valley.
It was one high-energy, fun show! I would recommend it to anyone. The Dutton's are a big family with lots of talent. They even made it to the top 10 on America's Got Talent...a television show. They all play many instruments...with mainly a lot of fiddlin' going on! Since it was Valentine's day, all the ladies in the audience were given carnations to take home. That was sweet!

After the show, we went back to the Ricks' home for some ice cream and cookies. I found out Janet's trying to move back here from Idaho. Hopefully, she'll be able to get a job out here soon so she can be here with her family!

Girls Night Out

2008-02-16T14:21:00.002-07:00

Last friday night, it was "Girls Night Out"!! Actually...one boy snuck in (Cassie and Jeanette's friend, Austin). We all went out to eat at a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant next to the movie theater...where we saw the movie, 27 Dresses. A highlight of my evening was gettting a student-priced ticket!! That's right! I'm back in school. I just started up a computer programming class called php. I know, I'm crazy! But, I only had to pay $7 at the movies!

Anyway, we all had a fun time being together and enjoying each other's company and watching a cute movie!

Super Tuesday

2008-02-16T13:31:00.003-07:00

Since I am registered as a Republican, I had the chance to vote on Super Tuesday in Arizona! Check out the official sticker of completion!

I, personally, didn't have a candidate in mind who I really wanted to vote for in the 2008 Presidential Primaries. None of them sounded much better than the other. But, I wanted my vote to go down in history. I voted for a Mormon.

I had 3 main choices: 1. McCain, our Episcopalian AZ Senator, 2. Romney, a Mormon businessman, and 3. Huckabee, a Baptist pastor. Both Romney and Huckabee are former governors.

I had a strong gut feeling McCain would win Arizona's vote since he represents our state. I was right, later that evening, McCain won AZ.

Sadly, Romney dropped out of the race. At this rate it appears McCain will be the Republican candidate for the 2008 Presidential elections.

FYI: The democratic candidates have made this election more interesting. Clinton (a woman)and Obama (an African American man) are the choices.

Family Home Evening

2008-02-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had such a fun FHE. We went to an assisted living place in Chandler to go play BINGO with the residents! I was able to be blessed to play along-side of Geneva Thornton (to my right in the pink) and Eunice (Euni) Pozycki (to my left).

This was the first time Euni had ever played BINGO. Can you believe that? Not only that, but she won the first BINGO round of the night! I felt the luck and told Geneva she would be next. Guess what?! She was! She won the second round! We were on fire!

They were a couple of funny women! I had so much fun getting to know them. They were feisty! Euni was so silly talking about all the young men...they've never seen so many good looking young men! She later told me that I should stick with this church group to find a man because they are better than those off the streets! I found out that Geneva was from St. Louis and Euni was born in Chicago but lived in Kansas City, Missouri. Yeah, we were all Missouri girls! I knew I felt a connection with them! Later on Geneva showed me her apartment and all her paintings. She is an amazing artist! I was so impressed! Both of them were so sweet and really appreciated our group coming out to visit.

Mia's First Gingerbread House

2008-02-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, mom had gotten me this great gingerbread house kit. Of course the only person in the whole world I would want to have help me build it would be Mia! So the two of us worked hard to put it together before I had to take off back to Arizona. Mia did such a great job! After it was built, nana made sure she knew she could eat it up piece by piece!

Just for history's sake...February 3, 2008 was Superbowl Sunday. It was hosted in Glendale, Arizona. (I chose to get away for the weekend, but flew back when the Superbowl just started up.) My friend, Cassie, picked me up from the airport. The highway was so empty because of the game!! (It was so great!) Later on, we went to a Superbowl party comprising of a handful of fun girls! Never have I gone to watch football with all girls before. A first for everything! After the game, we got our groove on and learned a few dance moves! Lots of fun!

Cara's and My Birthday!

2008-02-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Since I was in Utah for Tanner's birthday (Thursday), we thought it would be appropriate to also celebrate our birthdays on Groundhog day (Saturday). By the way, I didn't hear if the groundhog saw his shadow or not. For the first year ever, I hope he did! (Since I'm living in Arizona!) On February 15, I will be turning 29 and February 18, Cara will be 28! Wow, we're definitely getting up there!

We went for the double doozie chocolate chip cookie cake from Sam's club. This was my first, and man was it sweet! I've never seen so much frosting! It was good, but next time I think a regular cookie cake would suffice.

Thanks for the wonderful birthday! I love my family so much! I'm so glad we were all together to celebrate birthdays and enjoy each other's company. Until next year!

Mia and Her Polar Bears

2008-02-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

Meema and Grandpa not only spoiled Tanner for his 1st birthday, but Mia, too! She couldn't stop giggling the moment she heard the noises made by the momma polar bear to the baby polar bear. It sounds like they're kissing! So silly! Mia held on to her bears practically the whole time I was there visiting. What more could anyone ask for? Mia is one good hugger!

Tanner's 1st Birthday!

2008-02-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Tanner has officially turned 1! January 31st is his birthday. I was able to fly to Utah to celebrate! I'm so glad I was there for his big day!

Funny story: Cara and Mia had picked a Diego cake for Tanner's birthday. The cake was placed on the island in the kitchen until the party was to start. Graham stayed home from work and was down in the basement hanging doors. (We're finishing the basement.) He came up once while Cara and I were busy playing the Nintendo Wii and asked us where Mia was. Cara just assumed she was in her room playing. After a few minutes, Graham yelled for us to come and see what she was up to. Mia had pulled up her chair to the sink and had foamy soap all over the counter, sink, and her arms. I've never seen a little girl have so many bubbles all over the place! We thought that wasn't too bad of her to get into, but then Cara thought we should check the cake...Mia had stuck her fingers throughout the frosting of the cake! We looked back at her and saw that she had green/blue all around the perimeter of her mouth! That little squirt was trying to hide her evidence! How smart is she! I couldn't believe her...she was washing herself up after making a mess. If you want to check out the damage to the cake, Cara has it on her blog "Degns of our Lives." From that point on, the cake was placed on top of the refrigerator.

When it was time for the birthday party, Mia was a big help and blew out the candle. Tanner was a little hesitant at first getting into his cake. He started off just eating the frosting, particularly the orange trim (Again, you can view his personal smash cake on Cara's blog.). Once he had a bite of the chocolate cake, the rest was history! He had so much fun making a huge mess! Let's just say I was glad I wasn't the mommy that had to take care of this disaster!

My Diagnosis

2008-01-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

For the past month and a half I have been awaiting my audiology and ENT appointments to see what is going on with my left ear. I finally recognized in October that I have been experiencing some hearing loss. Yesterday, January 16, 2008, I received my diagnosis. There is a 99.9% chance I have Otosclerosis.

I will try to explain this clearly. The ear is divided up into 3 parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. Generally, the outer ear consists of the external canal and tympanic membrane, the middle ear contains all the tiny bones, and the inner ear involves all the nerves.

Otosclerosis affects the middle ear where all your little bones are. The stapes bone (or a tiny bone that looks like a stirrup) in my ear is getting built up with calcium deposits. Because of this build-up, my bone has become stationary and can no longer vibrate against the other small bones in my ear to help in the processes of hearing.

There are 3 options for me at this point. I can 1. do nothing, and allow the calcium to continue to build on my bone and cause more hearing loss in my left ear, 2. get a hearing aid, which I was told works well with this condition, or 3. have surgery to remove the stapes bone and replace it with a prosthesis.

Well, don't they all just sound good? I am one lucky girl. Just kidding! No, but I am blessed that this has only effected the hearing in my left ear. It is very common for it to effect both ears. Otosclerosis is most common in white females in their 20s, so I fit the profile perfectly.

I have a feeling I have been dealing with this hearing loss much longer than I thought. I had a hearing test when I first started my job at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and I had mild-moderate hearing loss back then (October 2007). They never told me this information. Then it made me think back, and I remember always being disappointed with my left speaker in my Jeep...which I've had for at least 5 years. My left speaker on my computer never worked either...humm. What triggered it was one day my co-worker used my phone and I saw her put the volume all the way down. I thought she was crazy b/c I haven't been able to hear from that phone very well, even with the volume all the way up. Then I started testing my ears with my alarm clock. It was true, the left ear heard things at a muted level.

Then I started to panic. I began to believe I had a brain tumor because I started getting headaches. Finally the headaches went away after about a month or so. Then, I began to think I had an ear problem similar to my sister and mother. My sister just had surgery for it right before Christmas this past month. She took a scope up through the nose! My mom is planning to have the same surgery. I thought for sure I'd have the same problem, but no...I think mine could be a little worse...scary.

Today is Jan. 25, 2008, and as of now, my consultation for the surgery and hearing aids is April 9, 2008. I'm on the cancellation list, so hopefully I'll get seen sooner. It looks like I won't be making decisions anytime soon, but I'll be sure to post info as soon as I get it.

Playing in Puddles

2008-01-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

Dianne and I were walking back to our cars after work on January 7, 2008 and, and we found her car chillin' in the middle of the biggest puddle I've ever seen! It was hilarious! Her car was the only one in it, and of course, it was in the center of this deep puddle. Dianne had to hike up her pants a little to get to her car door. It was so funny because my car was in a dry spot, so I had no problem getting to my car. Thanks for the laughs, Dianne!

But, man, I drove through a couple of puddles to get out of the parking lot, and they were deep! I had water spraying up by my windows going at a slow speed! Crazy!

Yeah...It's Nica!

2008-01-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Nica and I had a Girls Night Out on January 4, 2008. We decided to meet up for a super cheap movie at a super cheesy movie theater. Check out this hallway! I seriously felt like I was in a spaceship or something from the 80s.

Moving Day...and Happy New Year!

2008-01-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

So, the last day of the year Grant decided to move...actually he was getting kicked out because his roommate, Justin, was getting married! I offered to help him get moved out...and he took me up on it! Darn it! J/K! Here's a final picture of Grant in his empty room. I know, it's not the best view of the room, but believe me...we cleared it out!

Since it was New Year's Eve, I thought I'd share with you what I ended up doing this year! I helped Grant move until about 11:30 pm, and then I decided to call it a night and just go home. I got a text invite on my way home to a relaxing small party at Reid's house. I decided to stop in since it was on my way home, and I had a feeling I'd miss the ball drop if I just drove straight home. When I got to Reid's, I found out he didn't have a TV. But, the silly thing was was that I happened to have my Jeep portable TV in my car! I brought it in just to barely miss the ball drop! Oh, well. Around that time, my phone started ringing. I got a call from Grant wishing me a happy new year. He told me he couldn't find the ice skating rink where the big Stake activity was, so he was driving back home. He was in his car at the time of the new year...so sad. But, I had fun at the little party and enjoyed talking to my friends who called me to wish me a happy new year!

Princess Aurora

2008-01-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Mia was spoiled again with another princess outfit! For Christmas she was Princess Aurora. Looks like she's ready to find her Prince and twirl around at the ball.

Tanner's First Christmas (2007)

2008-01-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

What a fun Christmas! At 7 am Christmas day, Mia was up and ready to see if Santa came! She and Tanner were wearing some snuggly Christmas pajamas, thanks to their favorite Aunt Cori.

Mia's most exciting gift was her new doll house! Tanner got a fun rocking horse that's the perfect size for him. He loved it...and Mia does too! It looks like there is going to be some sharing between the kid's gifts this year. I have the impression that Mia thinks all the gifts are for her, and Tanner feels the same way about them being his!

Tanner sure looked cute gripping his little fingers tightly around the handle bars on his new talking rocking horse!

Cori And Mia Are STUCK!

2007-12-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

As I was getting ready to go out into the terrible blizzard with just my scarf on, Mia and I got STUCK!

It was cute to see her wrapping the end of my scarf around her neck. But then, she started pulling me around the house, choking me...which wasn't so cute!

We were officially stuck at this point, so I asked nana to take our picture.

I snapped a picture of Ben as he was entertaining us all with a youtube clip about a squirrel...or it may have been when he showed us this fighting scene that wasn't too funny.

Yep, sometimes I wonder about him!

No, but we had a great time driving in the snow 1.5 hours to American Fork for his work Christmas Party. I couldn't believe it, but he completely opened up to me, like I was girl-Ben, or was it boy-Cori?

I'd say Ben's co-workers are a handful of jokesters...and Ben just might be the biggest!

After the emotionally draining white elephant gift exchange, Ben ended up with a Fung-Sui fountain, and I got a few things for a wonderful massage and some chocolates.

A Day In The Kitchen

2007-12-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Mia was a big help last Thursday in the kitchen with mommy. She was busy making Christmas cookies for the neighbors. Cara wanted to be sure to get them done and handed out before her surgery Friday morning. Good thing she did...because she hasn't been feeling so hot since. Hopefully she'll back at it on Christmas!

Tanner and Mia know how to work those popsicles! (Tanner had his hands on sweet potatoes, too...in case you were wondering.)

Up For A Pedi?

2007-12-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today, the research team was pleasantly surprised when Jessica, our research principal investigator, came down and offered to take us all to get pedicures!

Check out our colorful toes! Can you guess which team member belongs to which set of toes?

Here are your choices: First, we have Terri, Nica, and Cori. They've been caught in the act of getting pampered! Then, we have the lovely Dianne. Oh, and there's Wendy pulling up her pants, so we can see some skin! Hey, where's Jessica?

Well, at least her feet didn't shy away from the camera!

This final picture should help reveal which researcher belongs with which set of painted toes. Hint...notice the clothes. That's right, take another look at all those pretty toes!

By the way, this was the 2nd time I have ever gotten a pedicure. It was so much fun! Thanks, Jessica! I can't stop staring at my fancy nails!

The Mesa, Arizona Temple Christmas Lights

2007-12-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

For FHE tonight, we went to the Mesa Temple to listen to a choir and enjoy the Christmas lights.

The choir had a few people from our single's ward participate. They sang peaceful Christmas songs. It really was nice to sit back and watch the rain drops fall into the reflection pond.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't completely cooperate throughout the evening. The rain started out as a nice sprinkle, and by the end of the night, we were racing to get inside our cars.

Here's a nice profile shot of Grant protecting his perfect hair with my winter coat and snuggling up in my "stinky" blanket. Sorry about that...it's going in the wash before I use it again! It was so good to see Grant; I've missed being around him. I don't think I stopped smiling once while I was by him! I really have missed our fun times together! Plus, I think he has a thing for wanting his pictures to be in my blog. :)

This final shot, if you can see it, was where the night concluded. We were in the church parking lot, across from the temple, serving up hot chocolate and muffins/cookies. It was raining pretty good the whole time. People were getting drenched and cold. Yet, many still stayed around to socialize. Yep, maybe we're all just a tad bit crazy, but it was kind of fun to get wet! I went home with my jeans completely soaked from my calves down. Even my socks couldn't hide from the rain.

All that, and I didn't even get a picture of the Arizona Temple Christmas lights! Maybe next time!

Zoo Lights

2007-12-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last night, a group of us went to go see the Zoo Lights.

From left to right, we have Brookelynn, Annette, Julie, Cori, Ammon, Jennica, and Trevor. All of us are in the University 6th Ward.

This was my first time attending this popular event. I captured the best scenes, in my opinion. I must admit, it would have been a lot more fun if I would have brought some kids! Next time I'm going to have to snatch up Taryn's kids so they can drag me around!

These first couple of pictures represent our Arizona Christmas. It's so different to see cacti decorated with Christmas lights!

Throughout the zoo, there were designs of desert creatures lit up, like rattlesnakes and scorpions, etc. It's kind of creepy...not very warm and fuzzy!

The picture with all the colorful trees was an area called the "dancing trees." As Christmas music played, the tree lights would go from bright to dim along with the beat.

I thought that blue tree looked really cool, so I took a picture of it!

The last photo is a special request made by Julie! She wanted to show her family AZ traditional Christmas cacti. So, Julie, just click on the picture to make it bigger. Unfortunately, these pictures aren't very big. But, hopefully, it will work for you!

Christmas Wish with JohnJay and Rich

2007-12-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

On December 6, 2007, JohnJay and Rich from Arizona's 104.7 FM radio station spent the day at Arizona Mills Mall for Christmas Wish.

This is a segment of their program where they help families in need during the Christmas season. JohnJay and Rich have created a CD people can buy, and all the money is donated to this Christmas Wish fund.

People write letters to the station about someone they know who needs major help financially during this Christmas season. That person then reads the letter to the person on air. It really can be heart-breaking to hear their story and struggles. Then their Christmas Wish comes true! JohnJay and Rich provide them with everything, and more, that the family may need during this time. They usually get a Christmas tree with all the decorations, a gift card for groceries, clothes and toys for everyone in the family, and any bills/debts paid off. It really is a great service.

On this day, I happened to be in the area, so I thought I'd drop by. I bought one of their CD's and watched them close up the show. I could have easily met them and got their autographs, but I chose not to. JohnJay is in the 2nd picture, while Rich is in the last photo.

Our Wedding Night

2007-12-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

After our busy "wedding day", Paul and I did go to a hotel in Los Angeles for the evening, but we had a couple of tag-a-longs!

The four of us (Christi, Paul, Shannon (Christi's roommate), and I) went to the 35 floor (the top of the building) of the Bonaventure Hotel to experience the rotating restaurant!

The center of the restaurant was stationary while the perimeter moved.

We could see all views of the city while sitting in our booth. Pretty cool! Because we chose this great season to get married, we saw Christmas lights all over the city.

Christi and I got a little goofy while we were enjoying our specialty drinks! Don't worry...they were virgin! I got a lava flow and Christi had a pina colada. Yummy!

Wedding Photos?

2007-12-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

December 1, 2007

Paul and I captured some special moments at the Los Angeles, California Temple. Here are a few of our favorite "Wedding photos."

It's true, we went to the temple!

These photos are dedicated to all of our family and friends who have relentlessly tried to convince us to get married!

Sorry, family and friends, we couldn't do it! We didn't get married.

Paul is definitely my best friend, but I have to admit, it was really hard for me to get through this photo session. I couldn't stop laughing! I had a nervous laugh all night. It was so uncomfortable for me to pose as close as we were. Sorry, Paul, for making it difficult!

Paul did a great job being the perfect groom during our long evening of gathering photos. I think he would have been fine doing it all night long!

Christi is an amazing photographer! She did all the work...directing us in our picture perfect postions and snapping the shots.

The Big Day

2007-12-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

December 1, 2007

Christi, Paul, and I spent the afternoon at Venice beach. It was such a windy day that we were practically the only people on the beach! Check out the romatic photo of Christi and Paul holding hands on the beach...uh huh!

So, Christi was on the look-out for the perfect engagement stone...looks like she found it.

To continue this romatic theme, Paul and I took some engagement photos. The picture below is my favorite! I know you all have been waiting patiently for this. The time has finally arrived....Paul and Cori's "Engagement Photo."

Paul's 30th Birthday

2007-12-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

Paul and I decided months ago that we'd spend his "golden year" or 30th birthday on November 30, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.

This all started with a pact that he instigated that included myself.

This is my version of the story, which is correct.

Paul brought up the idea that we should get married when we turn 30, that is, if we were still single. I told him we should do it when I turn 30. He was not pleased with that...it had to be when he turned 30. I gave in after many years.

So, this last year when I moved to Arizona, he reminded me to hurry and date someone before November 30, otherwise we were to be married. I started to panic! How was I to find my dream guy, date him, fall in love, and marry him within a year? Well, I almost did! (Well, at least I found someone I loved to date.) But, then we broke up a few weeks before Paul's big day. Darn it!

About 6 months ago or so, Paul and I were on the phone talking about relationships and whatever. Paul asked me where I'd like to get married, if I had the choice. I told him the L.A. temple. I fell in love with it when I was visiting California last. It's so massive on top of a beautiful hill. I love the nighttime view. Anyway, Paul was completely surprised because that's where he'd like to be married, too! Awkward...just kidding! Actually, I think it's the first thing we both have ever agreed upon without a fight! Not only did we agree upon a location, we also agreed on a date...December 1, 2007. Wow, we were on a roll! (Maybe it's meant to be?)

Before I knew it, Paul had made arrangements with my friend, Christi, in Los Angeles to have us over that weekend. It was official, we were going to L.A. for Paul's Golden Birthday and our "Wedding Day."

After a long day of traveling, Paul made it to LA to greet me at the bottom of the escalator just before Christi arrived to pick us up. He was all dressed up in his suit, just for me!

Christi's friend Charlie happened to need a ride from the airport around the same time, so the 4 of us went out to eat at a nice Thai restaurant. Paul's food arrived smothered in his favorite element, fire! The food was wonderful...the flavor was delicious! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling so well, but I was still able to finish my meal. I just realized we didn't have cake and ice cream! Sorry, Paul! Christi had a card for him, and not just any typical birthday card...a wedding card! Hilarious, Christi!

I wanted to help Paul out with his new image for his birthday. His roommates and him have discovered the best way to attract women...be in a band! So, I gave him a few things that will allow women to recognize his talent. I gave him a few pics because every guitarist has a pic on hand. If one happens to slip out of his wallet while a lady is in his presence, he'll have the opportunity to explain! Also, I got him a lyric book. If anything comes to mind, he can write a few lines. This can be a time for him to be romantic without really even trying! (I got these great ideas from my friend who is in a band. Man am I lucky to know him!) The funny thing the whole day was that I forgot to buy him a pen for the notebook. Everywhere I went, I was tempted to take a pen...thanks to Christi, but I couldn't do it. (Of course, all the pens with the name Paul were gone at the airport terminal store.) Eventually Christi let me have one of hers for him. Thanks, again, Christi! Happy Birthday, Paul! I think, officially, you're an old man!

Tanner Stole the Spotlight

2007-11-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Tanner came crawling down the hallway sporting Snow White's headband. He looked so cute, we had to snap a picture! This second picture is for you, Graham! Tanner is definitely one cute boy!

Mia and Her Princess Storage Bin

2007-11-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Nana gave Mia this princess bin to hold all of her princess clothes and accessories. Looks like Mia didn't quite have the same idea!

A Card from Mia's Great Grandparents!

2007-11-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Mia was so excited to see a card from her great grandparents! She opened up the card and saw the money inside. She pulled it out, and immediately handed it to momma and said, "Here you go." She's so funny!

It's Mia's 3rd Birthday Today!!

2007-11-23T20:49:00.001-07:00

Mia turned 3 today! She helped momma pick out her birthday cake for the party. Mia was so happy to see her Princess cake! She is a big girl and knew exactly what to do when the candles were lit on her cake. She blow them out with no problem! I'd have to say that birthdays are fun when kids turn 3 years old. She was so excited about all her presents. We all had such a good time celebrating Mia's Birthday!

More Clowning Around

2007-11-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought I'd be a clown twice within a month! It's not even Halloween! These are the before and after pictures from an evening of being entertained by the Ricks family.

Shayla and Josh sang and told jokes as they were accompanied by their dad, Brent. They had props and everything. Toward the end of the program, Cindy sang a few beautiful songs along with the piano. What a talented family! Brady and I were hoping they would rub off on us, but we didn't necessarily mean this much!

Silly Pictures

2007-11-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some silly pictures we were able to capture.

We caught Sophie sticking her tongue out.
We caught Brady teasing Baby.
We caught Brady's hair on fire while he was playing with the dogs.
We caught Shayla's hair on fire, too!

(Those last 2 photos just may make it to my hairfire blogsite.)

I May Have Found My Next Dog

2007-11-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

Check out these two cute little dogs! They seriously reminded me so much of Penny and Nichi. So cute and full of personality! Sophie is the momma, and she's bigger with more black. Baby (Valentine) is the baby. She's more grey/white.

Can you guess their breed? They're Yorkie-poos! (Yorkshire Terriors mixed with Toy Poodles) This is the shaggy look. When they are groomed, their whole bodies are cut short and are left with a lion's mane. Cute, cute! I love their pointy ears! When I go down to see them again, they should be all done up, and I'll be sure to get some snap-shots!

A Weekend in Tucson

2007-11-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I went down to Tucson to go hiking with Brady.

I typically spend the night at Brooke's house, but this weekend she was having family over from out-of-town, so I couldn't see her.

But, I just happened to meet some relatives of mine the week prior. Let me introduce you to the Ricks!

From left to right, in the picture of all of us at the bottom of the post, we have Brent, Shayla, Cindy, Cori, and Josh. Brent is one of great aunt Margaret and Ariel's sons, or in other words, my mom's cousin and my second cousin.

When I got to Tucson, I met up with Brady, and we went on a nice 8 mile hike to see the 7 Falls up in Bear Canyon. We weren't the most prepared hikers...we forgot to buy water for Brady (we survived on 4 bottles of water between the 2 of us), I left my cell phone in the car, and neither of us had a watch. I was bummed out when I later found out my battery was dead in my camera. I couldn't take any pictures! So sad! Now I definitely have to go back so I see this place again. One cool thing about the hike, though, was I saw A, a Hem/Onc nurse from PCH, up on the hike along with one of her fellow nurse friends. What's the odds of me seeing someone in Tucson that I know!? They were there in Tucson because of the Tour de Tucson, which was going on blocking most of the city. (Another thing I wasn't prepared for!)

It was a long hike, but when we finally made it, I was completely amazed by the view. Unbelievable....literally 7 waterfalls--one above the other! Each fall had a pool of water and we dabbled our feet in one. Nice cold water after a long hot hike. One of the pools seriously looked like it could belong in someone's backyard. The rock was cut in a way humans would design a pool. In the background, there was a small cove where the water was falling. It had the appearance of a fancy shower. It's amazing how water can smooth the edges of the roughest rock.

Not only were the rocks and water amazing, but the small creatures we saw. There were little frogs all over the place. The frogs' skin blended in so well with the rocks that many times as we were walking we didn't know a frog was there until they leaped away in front of us. We were also fascinated by some water bugs. They appeared to be swimming upside-down and backwards. So weird! But, in reality they weren't. Pretty cool.

Toward the end of the hike, I was feeling pretty sore and tired. Brady was going to play some guitar with a friend later on that Saturday evening. I ended up not going and spent time with my long lost relatives!

I dropped off Brady, and headed toward the north part of town. (Of course they couldn't live anywhere near each other! :) )

At dinner, I was instantly able to see how fun Shayla and Josh were! Stories galore! "Oh my gosh..."Josh is so animated! I learned a lot from the few minutes I sat down with them. Shayla wants to be a vet. She loves all animals, especially horses! They are both so smart! I found out later that the two of them are home-schooled. Shayla is nine and Josh is five.

Wow, Cindy, I don't know how you do it all. You have such an organized house, you teach, you cook healthy, you sing, and you're the RS Society President in your church ward. Amazing!

Brent is an incredible piano player. They have a grand and a mini grand piano in their living room. Sunday night all 4 of them entertained Brady and me with all their talents.

It was so fun getting to know the Ricks. They welcomed me in their home the moment I arrived. It was so nice to stay with their family. I have future plans to go down and see them again so we can the visit the wildlife museum and the zoo!

Not only was I able to get to know all of them so well, I also got to get some dog play time in. They have the cutest dogs! I will post some pics of them next!

Dianne's Birthday!

2007-11-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

November 12 is such a special day...it's Dianne's birthday!

We all had fun decorating her cubicle and eating yummy cake. We had Olive Garden for lunch because a generous family provided it for everyone in our department. That was so nice of them.

By the way, we were all surprised on Thursday, Nov. 8, because Terri, our supervisor, brought in some gorgeous roses for Dianne's birthday. She also brought us all breakfast. Thanks, Dianne, for having a birthday...so we all can get spoiled!

The four of us from left to right are Cori (me), Wendy (Research Nurse), Dianne and Nica (Clinical Research Coordinators). I'd say we're one cute bunch!

Dianne looked forward to having lots of coconut cake for her birthday party that night at home. (She has a thing for coconuts!) She showed me a picture of it the next day, and it had a pretty elaborate design of a dog that her husband created. I was impressed!

Just for your information, November 12 is also Meema's (my grandma's) birthday! I was able to sing to her...and she actually liked it! We chatted for a little while. She seemed to be having a very nice day.

Carly and Kent

2007-11-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

Carly and Kent were married on Saturday, November 10, 2007. I was able to go to their reception. I know the two of them from the University 6th ward. It was a very formal wedding. I showed up with they were all eating a nice meal, and then came the toasts. My friend Jeanette gave a sweet little toast, and as you can see Mike gave a toast. I just met him this past week. Cassie and Jeanette were bridemaids for Carly. They were all roommates. So now the two of them are on the lookout for another cool roommate...maybe it will be me!

The last two photos are of Carly and Kent dancing. After the toasts, the dancing started up. Check out her dress...it's beautiful! She looked like Belle (but in a white dress) from Beauty and the Beast. Then last but not least, the cake was cut. Just a dab of frosting was found on the tip of the bride's nose. Very tasteful. Oh, by the way, I wasn't able to catch the bouquet of flowers...I guess I'm not ready for marriage myself yet!

A Couple of Rodeo Clowns

2007-11-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Grant and I were Rodeo Clowns for Halloween this year. We showed off our fun costumes at the Stake Halloween Dance on the Monday before Halloween.

Then, I was able to wear my outfit at work all day on Halloween. The Hem/Onc Department at Phoenix Children's Hospital all dressed up as farm animals or farm-related characters. It was so cute to see all the kids dressed up at the clinic and hospital! My two favorites were a little Elvis (he wore a white jumpsuit had a toy guitar in hand) and a little Belle (from Beauty and the Beast). She had a fluffy yellow gown and her hair pulled up with a tiara. So cute!

After work, I went over to Grant's to help pass out candy for the kids. They had a great turnout! It was much better than last year...no one came to my apartment. Sad, huh? Then, Grant and I watched a scary movie...1408. Yeah, let's just say, I'm still not ready to watch scary movies while living on my own!

It's Gary Cruz!

2007-11-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Gary Cruz is a Weekend Sports Anchor on CBS, Channel 5.

He began his anchoring career in 1974 at KUSA-Denver and was a sports anchor in LA for 9 years. He's also known for his radio work as sports talk host at XTRA in LA and hosts his own show, the Positive Side of Sports, on ESPN Radio 860, KMVP.

Gary was also a color commentator for the Denver Broncos pre-season football as well as the Denver Gold of the USFL. While in Denver, Gary hosted the John Elway Show on KMGH-TV, and in LA was the host of the Lakers pre-game show on KCAL-TV.

Gary was invited to speak at the Desert Cancer Foundation of Arizona because he personally is a cancer survivor. He shared some touching words about his family and their trials with cancer. His mother died of cancer a week before he was diagnosed. His brother died a week later, and just recently he lost a sister to cancer. He now has 2 surviving brothers. Just within this year he has lost half of his family to this horrible disease. By the way he portrayed himself at the luncheon, he appeared to be doing a great job keeping his spirits up. I commend him for his strength.

Linda Rainford Award

2007-11-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

On October 25, 2007, Nica was asked to accept the Linda Rainford Award in behalf of our Cancer Research Principal Investigator, Jessica Boklan, MD.

Nica invited me to be her guest to attend the tenth annual "Learning, Loving and Living with Cancer" Luncheon held in Chandler, AZ. It was hosted by the Desert Cancer Foundation of Arizona.

The program started off with a welcome from the Mayor of Chandler, Boyd Dunn. The bulk of the event included the words of a few breast cancer physicians, a couple musical numbers, and the awards ceremony. The final speaker was Gary Cruz, a cancer survivor. (Photos of him are posted in the next blog.)

The Foundation provides an awards ceremony to recognize Linda Rainford each year by presenting a beautiful rose award to a dedicated cancer physician. Linda Rainford fought a very courageous battle against cancer for 6 years with stage 4 ovarian cancer. This award was dedicated to her because of her courage to confront an ominous disease and her tenacious belief in living life to the fullest.

This award is given to the recipient whom has contributed to the betterment of cancer education, prevention, and treatment.

Nica did a great job accepting the award Jessica's behalf. The actual award was a gold-plated real red rose. It was a very nice award. Congratulations, Jessica, for being recognized for your great work! (On a side note...Nica couldn't have done any better with her outfit choice...it matched the rose perfectly!)

First Snow of the Year in Denver 2007

2007-10-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

While I was up in Colorado for a Children's Oncology Group (COG) Meeting, I was able to spend a couple of days with aunt Carol. Cara gave me the weather forecast a few days before I flew up and told me the weather would start out in the 50s and warm up to the mid-70s by Sunday, October 21. Yeah...not exactly 75 degrees!

I actually enjoyed my time in Denver because I didn't realize how much I missed the seasons. Leaves were changing colors and falling, and then the snow came blowing in. Within a few hours, the sun melted most of the snow away. It ended up being a nice weekend to sleep in and relax.

Unfortunately, aunt Carol was experiencing pain in her stomach and aching throughout her body all week. She wasn't feeling so great, so we had another excuse to stay in and take it easy! Hopefully, she is feeling almost normal now. Even though she may have not felt the best, I couldn't have asked for a better host! Thanks again for everything! Oh...I almost forgot to mention...Scully came around on the first day. She's warming up to me!

This One's For You, Cara

2007-10-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

When I saw this car, I couldn't help but remember past conversations I've had with Cara and their car. Cara and Graham have a Toyota Camry...currently sporting a bike rack on top. It doesn't quite mix, but when I saw that they weren't the only ones with this look, I had to take a photo. Sorry the picture didn't turn out so well...it's really dark. But, it's a Lexus with a ski rack on top. Just to let you know, Cara, it could be worse!

Grant's 10 Year Reunion

2007-10-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Here are Grant's 10 Year Reunion Photos. (October 13, 2007)

Saturday night, as we were cleaning/washing our cars, Grant was called by a former high school friend asking where he was. He wanted to know if he was coming to his High School Reunion...which was going on at that moment. Grant hadn't received any information about this evening prior to the phone call. We both hurried to clean up and get ready for his big night!

The reunion was held at a restaurant called the Rustlin' Rooster. The restaurant overlooks the city. I was so excited to be there because I pass by these lights everyday on my way home from work, and I was always curious what was there. The view was beautiful from up there. The restaurant reminds me a little of Trail Dust. There is a slide and live music. It's a country-themed steakhouse. We didn't have dinner there, but I'm sure it would be really good.

The reunion was outside in a barn. It was casual with picnic tables and a buffet dinner. There was a slide show presentation and lots of socializing. It was a really good turnout. I was definitely impressed. Grant visited with lots of his high school buddies and acquaintances. Even though it's awkward being at high school reunions, I think Grant was glad to be there.

I don't know if you can tell or not, but the last picture of Grant has a bull in the background. (I'm having a hard time figuring out how to take pictures at night. Hopefully I'll learn soon...so you all can see what I'm trying to capture.)

Exhaust Day at PCH

2007-10-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

Last Friday at Phoenix Children's Hospital, our garden level was rudely awakened when exhaust was coming through our vents. There is construction going on next to the Outpatient building, and our air conditioning return sucked up exhaust from trucks parked nearby. Our smoke alarm went off moments after I smelt a horrible smell and felt as though I couldn't breathe much longer in it. We all left the building and were told to come back in an hour or so while they cleared our space.

We went to the Biltmore Mall. Dianne, Nica, Patrick, and I enjoyed some leisurely time visiting stores and eating lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. Yeah, I'm not sure what Nica is doing there...but it looks like Dianne doesn't want anything to do with it! As for me, I'm not sure what's going on with my hair...let's just hope it's normally not like that! Patrick, I'd say Nica captured a darn good picture of you. You win with being the most photogenic this day!

We got the okay to go back to work, and actually it was really bad still. We were all worried about being poisoned with carbon monoxide. So, within an hour or so we left for the day. Most of us weren't feeling well. We had headaches, nausea, and our faces didn't look too good. But, as you can see...I at least made it! We all are feeling much better now, and hopefully this will not happen again while we're at work...scary!!

AZ Diamondbacks vs CO Rockies

2007-10-17T22:34:00.000-07:00

Grant and I went to the first 2007 AZ vs CO playoff game. They played at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. Grant picked me up early from work and we grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby pizza place. I got myself a D-backs baseball cap and wore red to support Grant in cheering for AZ. Unfortunately for him, they lost to Colorado. Since I am now posting this a week later, I now know that Colorado beat Arizona all 4 games. I think this is actually quite exciting for CO. I just remember when I used to live in CO, they weren't a very strong team. So, it's nice to see that they're stepping it up now.

But, back to the game...I was so happy the roof was open so it was like we were at a real baseball game. Last time we were here, it was all indoors, and that felt strange to me. There was no reason to wear a baseball cap. Now I had a reason! We had really good seats chillin' in the back row of the bleechers.

Being at the game, we were able to witness some bad fan behavior. People were throwing beer bottles and drinks onto the field because of a bad call. I've never seen anything like it. Another interesting thing to witness was this CO fan holding up his sign. The sign had the dates his buddy was alive on it. I thought that was a bit much, especially since the date he died was a year to the date of this game. Well, maybe that game was for him...since CO ended up winning!

This Is Going Down In The History Books

2007-10-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

For the first time in Grant's life, he drove on the ramp from the 51 southbound to the 10 westbound. I thought I should document it. (Just to give you prospective, the highway ramp behind Grant in the first picture is the 202 eastbound from the 51.) I'm glad I was there to witness such an event. By the way, don't you think he looks pretty styling in his new X-Terra?

Double Rainbow

2007-10-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe what I saw on my commute home from work the other day! I saw a double rainbow. One rainbow was on top of another rainbow. They were both comeplete rainbows, too! Unfortunately, by the time I grabbed my camera and was stopped on the highway, I only could capture one. Not only that, but I was too close to the rainbow to get the full rainbow in one snap. So, this is all I have. But, believe me...it was a sight to see!

Speed Dating

2007-10-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

On September 28, 2007, the Porter's hosted a speed-dating activity. Monique invited me, and I invited Bryan. (Monique's the blonde in the picture next to Bryan. Brother Porter is on the far right.) I decided to take a picture of this event to show Paul that I still go to these amazing date-nights. I'm sure he would appreciate this. :) Also, now you know who Monique is...this one's for you, Ben. :) Bryan is a guy who I knew from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He just moved here around the beginning of September. He's now trying to get me buff by forcing me to go to the gym with him. I'm actually willing to do it, as long as I'm not working out for 2+ hours.

Anyway, these pictures descibe briefly what speed-dating is all about. Every 3 minutes or so a new guy comes over to talk to you. You both decide if you'd like to go out with them again. If you both agree, emails/phone numbers are exchanged. If either one or the other does not seem interested, then nothing gets exchanged. It's a night of many rejections, and perhaps many future dates!

I have to admit, this was another one of those nights I would rather not have been there. Grant and I just broke up recently at this time, and I wasn't excited to meet any of these guys. I wasn't anticipating to meet anyone like I had when I met Grant at a speed-dating event earlier this last summer. Later on, Grant told me he had a hard time with me being there that night. I felt bad being out without him. All I wanted to do was call him. So, to make a sad story better...we are now back together!

By the way, Jon Parkinson was my only date who was willing to get his picture taken...or at least noticed I had a camera on me. I'll give him an extra star for that!

My First AZ Luau

2007-10-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Drew and I went to the Stake Luau in October of 2006. It was so much fun. This was the first activity I was able to go to as a new resident of Arizona. I was impressed with how many people showed up to this event. The food was amazing and the dancers were entertaining...who could ask for a better time? I have to admit I was a little chilly...I didn't realize we'd be outside the entire night. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see heaters throughout the giant backyard. It was kind of funny to see so many people huddled around them. I tried to be tough and not use the heaters because I knew if I went to them, it would be hard to leave them. So, I was sporting goosebumps most of the evening.

The time has come once again, and this year's luau is October 20, 2007. I, unfortunately, will be in Denver, Colorado, so I will miss it this year. It should be lots of fun. I wish I could go. I would have asked Grant to come with me.

Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple

2007-10-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

This was my first visit to the Mesa Temple.

My new friend, Drew, came along with me. Drew and I met through my former roommate at BYU, Taryn Smith. While I was staying at Taryn's house during my visit to Arizona, she mentioned that Drew might be interested in doing something with me. He moved down to AZ for an internship at Intel for the semester the same weekend I came down to interview and visit the area. I called him up and we became friends instantly! We spent the weekend checking out Arizona together. He was a great friend to have around being new to the area. We both wanted to see the temple...so we did!

When I think of the Mesa temple, the first thing that comes to my mind is my mom. This temple is very special to her. When my mom chose to go through the temple the first time, this temple was her choice. She was able to come here and have her family members present, which was very important to her.

My mom always had a magnet on our refrigerator of the Mesa Temple. It was a nighttime photo. The temple looked massive. It appeared to have so much water around it. But, when I saw it in person, it didn't look as large as I had imagined. The pools of water seemed to be smaller, also. It's interesting how our minds perceive places before we actually go and see them. The temple is definitely a beautiful place. I especially was in awe when I saw the temple grounds lit up with Christmas lights.

A White Penske Truck?

2007-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking...we thought the same thing too. We didn't know if we had a dud or not getting this white Penske truck. What happened to the common yellow truck? I questioned the person who handed it over to us, and he didn't know what to say. Some of the trucks are yellow, and some of them are white. Wow, but really, what are the odds of getting a white one? Maybe it is greater than I ever thought!

My mom offered to drive the moving truck along our adventurous route to Arizona. I am so grateful to have a mom who loves to drive trucks! She was such a good sport. My mom ended up driving this Penske truck clear from Salt Lake City, Utah to Chandler, Arizona. I followed behind her a good chunk of the way, and boy these trucks can move! I had a hard time keeping up with her!

We had a long 2 day trip and all was well. We didn't experience any problems, other than a few misleading signs/directions. We were able to pass through Zion's National Park. My mom was actually not too happy to drive along the narrow switchbacks and tunnels the park had to offer. I don't know about my mom, but one thing I gained from this trip was is that I'm never going to drive it again. It's way too long/far. I'm flying from now on!

I would like to re-thank all those who helped load and unload this monster of a truck! You all are awesome! Thanks again mom, Graham, Michael, Ryan, Drew, Logan, and Logan's friends (sorry I forgot their names). I seriously couldn't have done it without you. I'll let you know when I need to use your services again. :)

Home Sweet Home

2007-10-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Arizona, back in October of 2006, this became my new home. (This still is my home.) I live in Stonebridge Ranch Apartments. It really has been a nice little place to live. I have warmed up the place with a welcome mat at my front door, and some personality inside (thanks to Christi's decorating skills).

My patio overlooks the southern side of Arizona...including the 202 (a great and spacious highway). Actually I don't mind having the highway behind me because I have a great view, and I don't have to worry about snoopy neighbors.

The final picture is of the apartment complex's front pool. Can you believe it...I moved to Arizona and I've only gone swimming once in a year?! It was quite a memorable day at that! I had a short day at work, so I got home sometime in the early afternoon. I noticed people were out at the pool. I couldn't believe people were actually swimming in February...but I guess that's just Arizona for you. So, I thought I'd go for it. I got changed up and headed for the pool. Only a couple of people were in the pool when I got there; most of them were laying out. But, I chose to get in...and boy did I get surprise! The water was pretty chilly! I tried to get adjusted to the water...but I couldn't. It was just too cold. So, now I know that only crazy people go swimming in Arizona in February. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to go swimming since.

An Excuse To Take A Break From A Long Trip

2007-10-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

My mom and I saw this dam along the way to Arizona from Utah. I cannot remember what the name of this dam is, but here it is! It was quite an amazing scene. It was also really nice to get out of our trucks and take a short walk. I have to admit that after taking the tour at the Hoover Dam in 2005, I caught myself comparing this one to it....yep, doesn't compare! Just kidding...I'm impressed! Check it out!

I'm moving to Arizona (October 2006)

2007-10-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

I found some pictures from a year ago when I made my decision to move to Arizona.

Time for a party! Traditionally, I choose to have all my parties at Red Robin, but this time I thought I'd try something different. Just kidding, I couldn't go against tradition! (I used to work there back in the ol' days of college as a server.) All my good friends were able to come celebrate my big change...I was moving to Arizona!! It was really nice to be there one last time together.

Paul was threatening to kiss me the whole time...I was nervous again around him. Instead he gave me a gift bag with Hershey Chocolate Kisses and a couple of Kissing books. I was relieved! Sorry, Paul, no kisses for you.

My friends who were able to come (from left to right) were Paul (of course), Trevor (from Springville), Josh (Paul's roommate from AZ--told me to move to the University 6th ward), Eric (Paul's roommate), Latisha (friend from freshman year at BYU-she still has my lamp, I believe), Jon (Paul's cousin), Richardo's girlfriend, and Richardo (from Springeville). I am so grateful to have met and gained friendships with these amazing people during my time in Utah. I could write novels about these wonderful friends, but for now, you'll just have to trust me about how great they truly are.

Final Cute Poses of My Favorite People

2007-09-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Nana is having fun playing and squeezing the cutiest kids in the family! They love their nana...even if she's a little older now!

Thanks for all the wonderful memories everyone. I love and miss you all. I'll see you for Thanksgiving and Mia's 3rd Birthday!

Mia and Her Balloon

2007-09-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Mia was so happy to get a balloon. She also got to pick the color she wanted.