Status: Pending

We are in the throes of secondary applications (aka send us more money) with various schools. We have heard from all but 2; Rush and Midwestern AZ. We have completed 6, will finish 1 tonight and have stalled on 3 as we don't particularly want to go there but we will decide as the process gets a bit further along, much to my chagrin. I want to get everything out there so we have (hopefully) many options.

Best news so far: we just received a secondary application from U of A! This is big for us since they are our #1 pick and they screen their applicants, only "select" applications get interviews, at least that's what they say. This makes us feel like we are one step closer. How we would love to get accepted! We would choose the Phoenix campus. This would mean keeping our house, not moving, in-state tuition to the tune of $20k cheaper per year, staying close to family and friends, and did I mention not moving?

Phil has an interview with Nevada next month, we will drive to Henderson the night before and then he will dazzle them with his almighty interviewing skills and we will drive right on home once he concludes. Road trip!

Fun at the Lake

Lovely and fun friends invited us to go play on the water Friday afternoon. I agreed but secretly was dreading the exposure in the required dress code. A swimsuit! (Scream in horror!)

I bucked up, put on some board shorts, Phil assured me I looked fine and off we went.

It was. so. FUN!

Phil & I met water skiing and have only gone once since we were married, about 5 years ago. We have not graced the waters since and I was a bit nervous to try something new. But thanks to peer pressure and assurances from our friends I tried wake boarding and got up on the first try! And then I got down just as quickly. With patient coaching from the well seasoned crew in the boat I got better and managed to hold my own.

We even tried surfing which took me a few tries but once I switched life jackets for the smaller one, as the present one was smothering me in it's life saving attempts, I popped right up. Again, so FUN!

No pictures of me since my dearest didn't have the foresight, in all actuality it probably never occurred to him. So you will have to settle for Phil and use your wild imagination envisioning my newly acquired skills. All I have to show for it is a crazy sore (in a good way) left booty and a few bruises, all mending nicely now, thanks for asking.

Phil surfing and loving it.

Trying to ride the wave with our friend looking on (who, by the way, has mad skills!) Put us all to shame.

Thanks Amber and Nate for taking us out!

Domestication & Preservation

30 pounds of fresh peaches from Sprouts: $9.76

Canning & Jelly Jars from Wal-mart: $18.69

A morning with Andrea, Caleb & Kyson: a wonderful 4.5 hours

Storing for the future and a sense of accomplishment: Priceless!

Sinful

AKA: Why I can't lose those last 10 pounds

Sunday evening rolls around. We are gripped in the throes of boredom. For Phil that means a movie, a guy movie, a Jason Bourne movie. For me it means ainlessly surfing the web or baking. I love to bake. He makes an innocent request: brownies. I tell him there is a box in the cupboard; hop to it. He delays claiming I always make them better.

"It's a box, everyone makes them the same" I reason. He walks over to the couch and settles into his movie. A few moments pass and I ask him if he wants brownies, really just reminding him of his need. "Okay!" he says.

Which means I make them. And I don't make box brownies. If you are going to have a brownie, have a real brownie. One with loads of chocolate flavor, moist, chewy and perfect. So I make this.

And then I eat one, at night, before bed(!), still warm and gooey...

And then this morning...

I ate another.

Oh the shame! I have no willpower. No control. No food morals!

But I do have...

10 extra pounds taking residence on my lower half which strangely mimics some known dairy product. What the?!!

These brownies must go! I sent 4 with Phil to work. I will take the whole dang batch with me to work to share the love, misery loves company right?

You want some? It's kinda lonely here...

On the Home Front

Sorry, I have been neglectful. I worked Monday through Wednesday and am just now having a chance to sit down and compile some thoughts. Plus nothing to write home about happened so I was just waiting for material. Enough excuses.

Phil has received 6 secondary applications out of the 13 schools we applied to. We labored extensively writing essay after essay. Refining and editing until we were satisfied with the final result. I say we, because it really was a joint effort; I wrote some, he wrote some, and then I conceded that he needs to be the main voice since it really is his gig. We returned 5 applications and decided to withdraw from Florida. They are a state school and were quite nosey with their questions, not to mention ridiculous in detail. "What schools have you applied to, give the date you applied, the application status and your intent..." or this "Name the doctor's you know, where they went to school, when they graduated, what they are practicing...". Silly. We decided not to waste our time, who wants to go to Florida anyway? (No offense)

Now, I am finally off to enjoy the rest of the week. I don't know how I hammered out 5 days/week in hygiene, my shoulders are protesting and I am mentally not engaged by the 3rd day. Yay for part-time! I try not to rub it it to Phil. He had his time...

That is all, I told you nothing exciting happens in our life. We are living to work and waiting anxiously for more applications to come through. And we are lying in bed stressing about the changes that come with medical school. Changes we can't foresee until we know where we are going. All in good time.

Work

Blogging is a lot of work. Do you know that? I feel this pressure to produce and be clever and witty and entertaining. I am sitting here with my friend the computer, wasting so much time reading other's blogs (I love it but really, it is a time waster) and here you are wasting time reading mine. Why do we do it?

I need to post several recipes on my other site and feel the pressure there too. I snap pictures of every meal, prompting Phil to ask when can we just eat and not capture every morsel I prepare. Good question. I feel the pressure to come up with meals for my family and yours too! Good meals that satisfy and are healthy and wholesome, easy to execute.

So why am I here complaining? I have work to do! A house to clean, laundry to wash, dinners to plan, blogs to post and recipes to write, pictures to take. It never ends. What will happen when I have more responsibility? More mouths to feed, more clothes to wash? Nothing. Nothing will change. There will always be a deadline, always be pressure. And I will still do it.

And I will like it. No. LOVE it. Especially if littles are involved. My littles.

There is pleasure in the grimy mundane details of life. If you find it.

And mine is waiting in droves, heaped up like dirty pieces of clothing scattered about the bedroom, overflowing from the basket that should contain it. Not a metaphor but reality.

Excuse me. I have work to do.

Since I am a List-y Person...

20 years ago I:

1. Was 5 years old
2. Growing up small town in St. David, AZ

3. Was climbing trees, making mud pies and playing probably everyday with my super fun cousins

10 years ago I was:

1. 15, still in SD and crushing on various local boys
2. probably thought I was really cool, but wasn't
3. Still hung out with my cousins and BFF's Marsha and Kara
4. JV'd on volleyball and softball

5 years ago I was:

1. Married to Phil for 1 1/2 years
2. Domesticating our first little home (after the apartment)-2 beds/2 baths/1090 sq. feet of coziness

3. Working for a spineless Dr. who shall not be named, since he fired me when I got accepted to hygiene school
4. Went on my first European vacation to Germany

3 years ago I was:

1. 22 years old.
2. Freshly graduated from hygiene school and working full-time at University Dental as the lead (only) hygienist)
3. trying to get preggo with our first-succeeded 2 months later
4. Had moved into our second home, just 2 miles down the road from our first

5. Was a primary teacher and loving it

1 year ago I was:

1. 24 & still healing from the loss of my boy (still am-it doesn't end)

2. Blogging!
3. Just getting comfy with my calling as YW Pres, returning from Girls' Camp
4. Still working full-time for 2 docs supporting our family while Phil just graduated from ASU

So far this year I:

1. Have cheered my hubby on as he working his butt off studying for the MCAT
2. Am still YW Pres-I think I got it down now.
3. Developed a stronger faith in God & my religion, still trying to understand His plan for me.
4. Applied to 13 medical schools across the country on behalf of my dearly beloved
5. Tried, tried, tried to get pregnant. Haven't.

Yesterday I:

1. Attended 5 hours of church meetings
2. Fasted and prayed really hard
3. Made whole wheat pancakes with fresh fruit for dinner
4. Vegged on the couch with Phil, reading and watching the telly
5. Worried about the YW in my ward
6. visited the neighbors

Today I:

1. Slept in until 6:30!
2. Cleaned up the dishes from yesterday
3. Went to a doctor appt.
4. Spent way too much time on this post!
5. Will be late for work
6. Will make Chicken Fajita Tostadas for dinner and take pictures so you can make them too!

Tomorrow I:

1. Am temping in Queen Creek
2. Will make drafts of future recipe posts
3. Will tackle the laundry and read another book
4. Have a fun activity with the youth
5. Not make dinner since Phil volunteers at the hospital and I don't get home until after 7 and will be late for mutual

In the next year I:

1. Will have paid off all of our extraneous debt-student loans, saved for a newish vehicle, saved for a rainy day
2. Want to be in medical school and will incur more debt than we know what to do with
3. Want children!
4. Am excited to see where we will be-physically and family-wise.
5. Will probably be adjusting to our new life-poor students, lonely wife/hopefully mother
6. Living frugally

In 3 years I:

1. Will be well adjusted to medical school life-hopefully
2. Will have happy children, a happy husband and a happy me
3. Be proud of my husband for tackling 2 yesars of med school and will be seeing patients
4. Be proud of myself for tackling 2 years of med school for the wife and managing our home and family with ease, grace, faith and happiness

In 5 years I:

1. Will be 30!!
2. Will be starting Phil's residency (not me personally but when you are married-everything is together!), only 6 more years to go!
3. Probably will be in another state, another adventure
4. Will still be poor students with children and more debt
5. Will be a master at frugal living-and hopefully loving it!
6. Will be looking forward to the end of school and the beginning of our new life with the Doctor and the process of paying off the crazy, insane, monstrous debt school will require.

Utah: A Pictoral Review

I was perusing through the Utah pics we took and most of them are from Steph & Dave's wedding, which I will leave for their viewing pleasure, of Bryce Canyon crap-just lovely nature pics with minimal human interest or subject, of the elk farm behind my mom's house or of the many animals she owns-the horse, her two Yorkie poos and the cats. What is wrong with us that we neglect to take pictures with US in them??

So for your viewing pleasure and proof that we only take pictures of everything but ourselves (at least no one can call us narcissistic) I present the following:

This scene reminds me of the vultures in "The Jungle Book".

"Eh, what you wanna do?" " I don' know, what you wanna do?"

The obvious: One of the above birds in flight.

The Natural Bridge, literally a natural phenomenon, hence the title Natural

Oh, wait! A human subject! Albeit not a very chipper human but still. I think she was still ticked that they paid $25 to enter the park when they were only going to drive around for an hour or so. Don't worry, she got over it. After her husband teased and threatened her to cheer up.

Self-explanatory.

Beautiful Darlin', my sister's horse. But should really be my mom & Link's since they take care of her. (♥ you Ness!)

My mom's remaining children, romping in the yard. I love how Phil captured the little bum nip.

I discovered my dream house was really located in Ephraim. But I don't think I can handle living in small town Utah, so we captured this for future plans. It is grander than it looks, not that I am into that or anything. I want a single level home with a basement, the brick is lovely with lots of land around and I love the steep pitched roof.

Ha! I guess I lied. One picture of humans! Forgive me.