I are edjumicated

It's official: I took my last final and handed in my last term paper this morning. I. are. done. [sic]

Sweet!

And now for the hard part... what to do with all this time I'm going to have on my hands! I'm actually going to have to grow up (just a little, not too much) and go out there and find a real job. I have 2 part-time jobs right now, but they are both an "on-call" type arrangement, but neither are particularly satisfying as far as careers go.

So no more tests, no more homework, no more lab groups (a special hallelujah on that regard), and no more ASU! I don't know if I can express in words how frustrating ASU can be is. It's a wonder their Alumni Association has such a hard time getting people to donate!

We're having a graduation party on Friday night after the commencement ceremonies. Anyone who is up to driving to the far Northwest valley is welcome to come!

One More Week

One more week(which is full of three tests, a quiz, and an outline for a final presentation) Is it fair to have an outline due, for a final presentation which your not going to be giving until the end of the semester, at the beginning of the semester?

Wish me luck....I get another two weeks off at Christmas! Ya hoo:)

It's Christmas at the Turley House!!

We went to Show Low this weekend and cut down a christmas tree!! Dallas was too excited to wait, so we put it up tonight:) I'm excited we did. It doesn't feel like christmas until the christmas tree is up and sparkling.





I love turning off all the lights in the house and just sitting around the christmas tree telling christmas stories...

Things that make me smile...

{Note from Natalie: Dallas posted this about his chemistry professor and I just love it! It is officially my favorite post}

I actually really enjoy my Organic Chemistry class, the one and only reason being the professor. I am taking it at MCC, so it's not quite as hard as the university course (just ask Natalie), but I absolutely love that guy. He is very patient, explains things several times if he has to (and only occasionally makes fun of stupid questions), but always tries really hard to teach... which in my mind is what higher education is all about (if you think that is such an obvious statement that the author must be an idiot for even thinking it, let alone writing it, you obviously have never been to ASU).

Even better than the fact that he is an awesome teacher is the fact that he is hilarious. He is a really funny guy, who likes to have fun with the material and the students pretty much every day.

I was over at Andrea's house finishing my homework when Caleb picked up a crayon and started drawing on a pile of papers right next to me. I wasn't fast enough, and he put a little green doodle on the corner of my homework before I could stop him. I was almost finished, so I just left it, and wrote a little note, saying that the crayon was a present from my 2 year old nephew that just wanted to say hell0.So what does my professor do? He grabs his own marker, squiggles his own little green doodle, and writes "Hi."
So yeah, my 40 year old Organic Chemistry professor, Ph.D., is corresponding with a toddler on my homework. How cool is that!?

And they say OChem is no fun...!

Motivation...and CHRISTMAS

the time has come for me to again find motivation. i need to study. i've said it so many times that i'm tired of hearing it come out of my mouth. i need to study. i feel overwhelmed already and i've only been in class for three days.

thankfully christmas is coming up and i get another 'sorta' two weeks off then. i have a test when i get back, so break will include a little studying. hopefully not too much.

i am soo excited for christmas...i need to start decorating my house so i can get in the christmas spirit. i've decided even if i play music it just doesn't feel right until the tree is up and decorated:) we're heading to show low this weekend to go and cut one down. yes!!!!!!!!

Craft DAY!!!

Some friends from school came over yesterday and we had fun doing some of these craft's!!

Chauvinist MEN!!!

male chauvinist
 
–noun
a male who patronizes, disparages, or otherwise denigrates females in the belief that they are inferior to males and thus deserving of less than equal treatment or benefit.

I am sorry...but I had an experience this afternoon that reminded me how much these people(chauvinists) bother me!!!

My friend had a flat tire so I went to help her out.(None of our men were around) The only reason you need a man around when you have a flat tire is for the muscle and so they can be the ones to get all grimy and dirty:) Other than that they are useless if you are the kind of girl who
#1-knows how to change a flat tire
#2-doesn't mind changing a tire.

Instructions on how to change a tire:
1. Make sure you have a jack(what lifts the car for you!), a crowbar(what loosens the bolts/nuts), and most importantly a spare or donut tire:)
2. Take your crowbar and start loosening the bolts (This is the hard part for us girls)
- It is important to do this before you lift up the car with the Jack because you don't want the car to fall off the Jack as you wildly jerk the car around trying to get the bolts off that the mechanic put on with an electric thing:)
3. Once they are loosened proceed to lift the car with the jack
4. Remove the obnoxious flat tire.
5. Put the spare on by putting the same bolts back on!!

Ta Da you are officially an expert! - No Need for the brains of a man, just their muscle:0)


If I had been a man none of the following would have happened....
- During our changing the tire today we had 2 people try and tell us to skip step #2!! I really just wanted to yell at them, "Thanks, but No Thanks, for your stupid advice. Thank You I am doing it the correct way. Yes, I have probably changed more tires than you! (In high school I had a streak of flat tires, 7 just to be exact. Someone either really didn't like me or there were really big nails on our dirt road!)."
- I have to admit that we did accept the help of a man. Those stinking bolts were almost welded on!! I was resorting to jumping on one side of the crowbar and pulling up on the other end...at the same time trying not to strip the bolts. I had successfully loosened two of them and he very easily loosened the other two for us. It was when he opened his mouth that he started to show that all he was worth was his muscle. "You should have put your Jack on first."

I am of course (yes one of my faults) not able to let it pass. "No Actually," I say, "You don't put the Jack on first because YOU DON'T WANT THE CAR TO FALL OFF THE JACK. Thank you so much for your help:~)"

His input was, "The parking break helps the car not fall off the Jack."

OR you could just not put the Jack on and save yourself the trouble of having any possible problems at all of the car falling off the Jack!!!



I really believe the reason that most girls won't even try to learn how to change a tire is because they believe there will always be Chauvinist Men around!! Maybe, today with all our cell phones there is usually one close enough to come help you out! Someday though you are going to end up in a situation where no one can come to your aid and you're going to have wished that you had learned!!

Now about those Men who think they know something and don't! Just because you are a man does not mean that you know how to fix a car, change a tire, or KNOW ANYTHING at all about a car. It takes some actually training and knowledge. You don't just magically know what your doing because you have..a..muscle.

Any of you girls ever tried taking your car to the mechanic or gone to get new tires? Well, I have and I am personally sick of the stupid men at these places. They just suppose you don't know what you are talking about and almost dismiss you!! It drives me bonkers!! I'll admit I don't know a ton about cars. I do know enough though that if you spend two seconds talking to me, I'll comprehend the problem!! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO JUST DISMISS ME AND MY QUESTIONS!!

-I always send my husband to do all car things. Not because I can't do it, but because he gets treated like a human being and can actually get something accomplished. Huff!!

Sewing Lessons

Dallas wanted a bag for the air mattress...
I suggested he sew one out of some old jeans...
He thought I should do it...hmmm time for a quick sewing lesson!!

Sewing Lesson
Day 1: He decided to help me with a pincushion I wanted to make. I just needed to figure out what shape to cut out the pieces. I left him to it! An hour later I go see what's taking him so long... he was still at it but he had his computer out, paper, pencils, and a CALCULATOR!! He was figuring it out engineer like:) (At least he's putting that education to use:)) Two hours later he has a pattern and starts cutting out pieces and handing them to me to sew together. He keeps cutting...after 6 or 7 pieces I say that's enough! "It's going to look like a football no matter what you do to it."
Back to the drawing table he went. After another hour (total of four) he has another pattern ready and while I'm in the shower tries to thread the sewing machine and start sewing it himself.
After rescuing him...and a quick lesson on how to thread the machine... he starts sewing it together...very...very...very...slowly:) Hey at least he's trying:)
The final product wasn't too bad! (yes I added the bow for a finishing touch)





DAY 2: He started on the bag for the air mattress today...
It was quite the process.
He was going pretty well...with the occasional freezing of the sewing machine with me coming to fix it...
until he stopped paying attention and his seem turned out being a quarter of an inch at the top and an inch at the bottom.
The perfectionist that he is decided to take it out and fix it.
~30 min later I hear in a frustrated voice, "Oh NO!!! I sewed it backwards!! I sewed it once and it was right! I took it out and sewed it again and it's backwards! I even zigzagged the edge!...Look ziggyzagy!"
It was soo funny I couldn't stop laughing.
Poor guy...

Here's the finished project...looks pretty good!

Procrastination

I found this little comic strip and couldn't resist sharing it. I feel like this ALL the time during school!!

http://hypocrisyinaction.blogspot.com/

So I found this AmaZInG blog called "hypocrisy in action!"

My hubby, who has amazing writing ability decided to write some of his thoughts on a blog(after some nudging from yours truly)

He really has an awesome ability to write...and he has some interesting things to say about things going on.

Check it out!!!

~Transformation~

This was recently transformed....



INTO THIS!!




I decided to try making this dress! I found this very cute material…and had to try.
It’s not finished…I’m of course having lots of problems because

A- I hate following patterns…I tend to do what I want…It doesn’t always work out.
B- I obviously can’t measure and made it too big!!
C- It’s too big in the shoulders…ugh the worst place to try and make it smaller…
D- I forgot to buy a zipper so I can’t finish it anyway till Monday morning when I go back to the store.

We’ll have to see how much patience I have…hopefully I can finish it!




I also decided to make pillows for my big Study Chair and hopefully a cute apron (I lost mine in the move and I NEED an apron) ~-WISH ME LUCK~

I need Thanksgiving Break Ideas

I need book ideas!!! I want to read a really good book over break. I've already read the Vampire books! (And Yes I lIke them Even if they are Kinda Silly:)

Any ideas???

Sleep

Sleep is a very precious commodity in my life right now. Anybody who has ever lived with me knows that I do not fall asleep easily. It sometimes will take me hours and hours of staring at the ceiling as my mind wonders through the events of the day or things that are going to happen the next day. I usually stay up until the wee hours of the morning waiting for myself to get tired!!

Digression: This isn't a recent problem, I've had it my entire life. I remember having to go to bed..like all children..before I was tired. I would lie awake for hours..listening to my parents talking in the room next to me or just coming up with games to keep myself entertained. I would pretend I was an orphan(or homeless) and that all I had to keep warm was a pillow case. I would try to crawl into my pillowcase to stay warm.
Some of my favorite childhood memories includes a time I was laying awake..probably telling myself a story... when suddenly I hear my Mom scream in terror from the next room. I then hear my dad call out to her, "What's wrong," only to hear my mom squeal back, "A mouse just ran over my toe!" I just sat giggling in my bed..cus I was supposed to be asleep! (At least that's how I remember it!)

Recently, thanks to Christy, I have discovered a new way to help me fall asleep. I concentrate on breathing in and out... AND NOT thinking of anything else. Surprisingly although it sounds cheesy this almost always works and I fall asleep in a few minutes.

Well, no longer... I have been learning about sleep cycles in one of my classes and breathing and respiratory stuff in another class. Now when I try to just think of breathing in and out... my mind wants to describe exactly the pressure required for the oxygen to exchange with carbon dioxide in the alveoli, and that my brainstem can cause involuntary control but I can override that with my cerebral cortex..blah...blah..blah

I am very sad to lose my sleeping aide :(
(Ugh PA school!!)

It is in times of Trial that we learn the most about ourselves.

I am currently in one of those "Times of Trial." A Trial I am putting myself through. We all do it to ourselves at some point. I am learning very quickly that I don't handle "BAD Stress" very well. Bad stress, the kind where your life might fall apart if everything doesn't go as planned. Not...Oh dang I didn't pass that test...but Oh My Gosh if I don't pass this class, I'll get kicked out of PA school.

Good stress is I need to pass this test so I need to have a little anxiety so I'll have the motivation to do what I need to do.

Bad stress is not good for me. I do the opposite of study, I get discouraged and my brain shuts down. Literally I can go through all my notes and not remember anything!! Nothing goes into my head until I calm down and "de-stress"

Ariann asked me how I have time for crafts and such. These are my de-stressors. I also like to plan study time and then purposefully not study and watch a movie instead. You would think that this would cause more of that bad stress... but surprisingly it doesn't. I get to laugh at my books and say AH...I don't need you:)

I love to plan something I should do and then NOT do it and do something fun instead:)

How silly are we???

We went camping with some PA friends a couple weeks ago....and well, we were the biggest dorks ever...:)





We found these rocks already like this!!! (okay they were different letters)
Anyway we couldn't resist:)

I'm Peanut Butter and you are Jelly...we're so happy...

HaPpY HaLoWeEn

Dallas and I enjoying the Carmel Apples he made Sunday night. They were amazingly good!! I haven't had a carmel apple that good...ever.

Andrea, Me, Katie, and her Roomate made these pumpkins a little while ago...I think they are soo cute!

I decided to that I still wanted to hand out candy so I made this REALLY cute "candy bowl"...okay its a sock with plastic rats on it:)

Just to make myself feel better....

I haven't posted in a long time. I've let Dallas tell you all our funny and crazy stories these last few weeks. I think I just needed recovery time after my beyond crazy test week.

I'm not feeling very good today (not enough sleep is my diagnosis) so I'd thought I'd cheer myself up with a

'what makes me happy post.'

• My handsome husband who is so kind, caring, helpful, gentle
• The same cute caring husband who is too smart for his own good and gets awesome grades in school without trying.
• Being able to help my husband "Ace" his anatomy practical with just a few minutes of coaching
• Getting an 'A' on a test because they through out all the questions you missed (phew)
• Watching the awkwardness of a brand new relationship start
• Sitting on the couch
• Taylor Swifts new song "Love Story"
• Riding my bike to school (I know that this is supposed to be a happy post but...I rode my bike next to a highschool when they were getting out of school on my way home yesterday and almost got hit by a STUPID high school boy, and had more 'close calls'....never again)
• Watching Dallas find a hobby besides computers....biking (He rode his bike all the way to ASU-Main yesterday...almost 30 miles)
• I love baking....you just throw a bunch of stuff in a bowl, stir it up, put it in the oven, and while you study it cooks:) without being babysat...too much
  
• A cute husband who looks awesome in the kitchen and LIKES it!
• The gospel...ITS AWESOME
• Nursery, the kids are cute and its so much fun trying to find ways to get them to show you their personalities
• Flowers
• Sewing.. I love the beautiful things you can create...wish I had more time to enjoy it more.
• Learning: I grow so much every single day
• Movies, they are the perfect break from studying
• ReAding, just wish they it didn't take so much time and I knew how to put one down once I start
• My two week break that is starting in 2 weeks (Can't think about the next two weeks..finals)
• Food, I probably mentioned this already (sushi, hamburgers, mexican food with lots of jalapeno cream cheese sauce, anything that is bad for me, corn on the cob, hot chocolate, Dallas's amazing potato soup, funeral potatoes... wait this is turning into a list of all the food I've had lately...I guess I'm not to creative...or I'm just happy when I get fed:)
• Candy...I'm thinking of giving it up for Lent...although thats still a long ways away (lots of my friends are catholic)
• Playing Volleyball with friends
• New Friends
• OLD friends
• Breaks....yes from studying....but they are THE BEST
• Carmel Apples...If I can ever get Mara and Ben to our house to make them.
• Smiles, happy people, the shade on a sunny day like today
• Family...I get to see them tomorrow at the SHOW LOW BOYS SOCCER STATE GAME!! GO COUGARS!!!
  

Action is the foundational key to all success.
Pablo Picasso

Thieves and their thieving thievery

So we had another "incident" yesterday. I parked my car right across the street from ASU West campus at 9:00 in the morning, and when I went back to it at 4:30PM (long days at school = no bueno), it made an awful noise when I started it up. It sounded like the exhaust pipe cracked again (happened over the summer, easy fix, thankfully), so I stuck my head under the truck. This is what I saw...




My first thought was "seriously...?!" Some big idiot crawled under my truck while I was at school and cut out the catalytic converter! Thanks for that, guy, I hope the asbestos gives you cancer!

But the fun didn't stop there, I went down to our local auto repair shop this morning to see about getting it fixed. The buggers wanted over $500 to fix it! Apparently not all forms of thievery are illegal. Thankfully, my wife is smarter than I am, and we she decided we needed to go somewhere else. Our second opinion was less than half as much, but it's still going to be about $250 to fix everything they messed up, with no guarantees that they won't do it again next week.

You would think with all this stealing, ripping off and otherwise taking advantage of we've had lately, we'd be pretty down about things, or at least a little paranoid, but we're actually pretty chipper, all things considered. The good news in all this is that I actually have to ride my bike to school (and back, which is the hard part). Natalie has been doing a lot better than me at riding her bike to school consistently. General consensus is that life is pretty dang peachy. I only have 7 more weeks of classes until I am done done, job prospects are cautiously optimistic; Natalie is doing well in, or at least surviving, PA school one late night and Sonic vanilla Dr. Pepper at a time.

You can take my catalytic converter, but you can't take our good humor!

Take that you Thieving McThieverson. I still hope you get cancer.

Check out my Brother-in-laws drawings!

Everytime I look at Jareds drawings I am amazed!!

He's holding a raffle for one of his drawings, I think all you have to do is leave a comment!!

Check it out,

Perfect Pencil

KaBOOM

Natalie got a flat tire on her bike on her way to school on Monday, which actually turned out to be several small holes, which are really annoying to patch because it takes a huge patch to cover a pinhole, and when there are a bunch of them, it turns into quite a hassle. I had bought Slime to put in the tubes, which is supposed to seal up those little itty-bitty holes all by itself.

Well it didn't work. So after disassembling and reassembling the bike 3 different times, I finally patched the last of the itty-bitties, and was pumping up the tube (without putting it back on the bike this time because Natalie was laughing at me taking this tire on and off the bike) when something strange started happening...

I got to about 40 psi when the tire started to bulge. I had just enough time to say "what the...?" and then it exploded.


Ka Boom.

Imagine the noise biggest balloon you have ever had the misfortune of popping would make if it suddenly decided it would rather have its insides be on its outsides. Ka Boom indeed.

When the tube blew it gashed a 10 inch seam into the wall of the tube, and actually shot a piece of the tube across the room. Thankfully the Slime spewed all over the inside of the tire, not the inside of our living room; it was quite adventurous enough without having to wipe up gobs of green goo off our walls and TV.

So yeah, needless to say, Natalie won't be riding to school tomorrow.

My weak cheezy moment!!!

Do you get it???


I'm a DALLLAS FAN!! (HE HE)

The terrible week of five tests is overish...

I was trying to come up with something to post about but the only thing that is going on in my life is tests!!! I can't really think of anything else.

I can't believe I actually made it through this week. It was literally the craziest week of school I have ever experienced, ever. Let me put it in perspective for you.
I have to back up to last week because that is where the chaos began. Monday last week I had a Physiology exam which I did very poorly on :( But, I had to shake that off and move on because I had a Women's Health exam on Thursday. Supposedly it was going to be the worst test ever. Almost the entire class failed it last year!! So, cramming for three days straight was required in order to pass, all the while I had this week looming over my head!
Thursday night the cramming began. I had 6 tests to cram for!!!!!!!! Starting this past Monday I had a Clinical Medicine exam followed up on Wednesday with two exam, Physical Diagnosis and Epidemiology!! Thursday I had a Physical Diagnosis Practical (Midterm doing a physical exam on a REAL person with a REAL person watching and grading!!). Friday, or this morning I had a Neuroanatomy exam (remember those terrible anatomy test:( That equals out to 5 tests in 5 days.
My week should be over right!! No, I have a physiology exam on Monday and a Clinical Medicine exam on Friday, AGAIN! Added on top of it Conference is this weekend!

This is my crazy life!! Imagine that I actually chose to do this? I must be crazy.

Our program is very condensed. I guess when you condense things you must also add more exams in there. I was conversing with various students around Campus. The Dental students have ONE EXAM a week, on like Friday morning or something. Can you imagine that this person I was talking to was complaining about that?!!? THE NERVE!!
The Medical Students have a schedule similar to the dental students, although I don't know the details.

Needless to say, I am missing my family. I miss my cute nephews who are just on the other side of town. I miss my sisters (also ALL on the other side of town). I miss my husband, who has worked the last few nights in a row which means I haven't seen him in like 3 days:( Yes, he's working again tonight!

After all that complaining, out I go to celebrate my friend's birthday! (What a fun happy birthday week for her:(

Dallas's high school

I was jealous that Natalie got to write about her high school fun, so I did one too.

...

High School: Gilbert High School
1. Did you date someone from your high school? I dated a couple of girls, but nothing very serious. Mostly just hang-out dates.
2. What kind of car did you drive? For most of my sophomore and junior years I drove a dirt-yellow Nissan pickup. No AC, and if you drove really fast through a puddle, water would splash up through the gear shift. Yeehaw.
3. What was your most embarrassing moment in high school? I didn't have very many, but I got asked to Winter Formal. My date went through this whole scavenger hunt, where you would find clues written on puzzle pieces, and when you get all the clues, you have to put together the puzzle to find out who was asking you to the dance. I found all the clues, and when I put the puzzle together, it said "Megan" in big bold letters... and I had no idea who Megan was. It took me 2 days to figure it out. Yeah, awkward.
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Not in high school. Band in junior high, but that's it.
7. Were you a nerd? Absolutely. And very snobby about it too. I took a regular English class my senior year; I thought I had accidentally walked into the Idiot Convention.
8. Were you on any varsity teams? I was on the swim team for 3 years, which didn't exactly have a Varsity/JV distinction (everybody who went to practice got to swim at the meet), but the Boys went on a winning streak at the end of my first year that lasted 2 and a half years! We won our region my senior year, which was very exciting because we got to push our coach into the pool (which was the only time he ever got in the pool in 3 years of swim practice) and he shaved his goatee.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, I never did anything adventurous enough to get suspended or expelled.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? Nope, never could.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? I really liked my Math teacher Mrs. Sullivan (? I think that's her name...!), and my chemistry teacher was really cool.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? My freshman year I hung out with the Goths (it was so much fun!), my sophomore year I mostly just wandered around; I didn't really have a group
13. What was your school mascot? Tigers
14. Did you go to Homecoming and with whom? I went to Highland High's Homecoming (our cross-town rival who was (and is) inferior at all things sports, academics, and basically anything that makes high school fun)
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, I don't think so. But I did have a lot of fun, and there are a bunch of things I wish I had done differently, I definitely don't miss it enough to want to do it again.
16. What do you remember most about graduation? My graduating class was the most irreverent group of kids possible. We had probably 30 or 40 beach balls that we sneaked in, and we did the "wave" almost throughout the whole ceremony.
17. Where did you go senior skip day? I don't remember, but when I was a freshman and sophomore, it sure seemed like the seniors had a lot of senior ditch days!
18. Were you in any clubs? I was in the Physics club my senior year, which makes me sound like the biggest dork ever, but it was actually really fun. We built a solar-powered boat and raced it around Tempe Town Lake. We would have won... but we were slackers and didn't finish the boat until the night before the race, so we didn't test anything, and it broke when it was too late to fix it.
19. Have you gained weight since then? Yeah, I weighed about 160 when I graduated, I'm closer to 180 right now
20. Who was your prom date? My senior prom date was a girl in the Physics club with me.
21. Are you planning on going to your ten-year reunion? I think it would be really fun, just to see everyone and all their kids (my high school was about 80% LDS, most of my friends have 3 kids at least)
22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Don't be so dang shy all the time! Just go have fun, and try out for the volleyball team your sophomore year instead of senior year!
23. Looking forward, what advice would you give your future self??? Lay off the sweet stuff, it rots your teeth and gives you love handles!!!

I'm married to the silliest guy!!

You know when someone does something so funny you have to tell someone? Well you are all my someone!!

-I was practicing various exams on Dallas for my test that is on Wednesday (Yes, he gets to be my all around guinea pig). Some of the tests for lung quality involve the patient saying various vowels, particularly "E" has you auscultate(listen with the stethescope). As you go along, you have the patient change from an auditory eeee sound to a whisper. I was waiting for Dallas to switch over and he didn't seem to be doing it. I looked at him and I said, "Whisper?" and he said, "How do you whisper?" How do you whisper???? I thought it was so funny! The funniest part was that he really couldn't figure out how to do it. We had to practice for a minute. Then when I went to auscultate he couldn't do it again!(Stagefright) It was so funny, I have been giggling since...he he!!

HIGHSCHOOL TAG

- I saw this on Meredith's blog and it looked life fun!!
High School: Show Low High School
1. Did you date someone from your high school? Sure did, but just one guy my junior year!
2. What kind of car did you drive? I drove a '91 Chevy S10 little pickup truck that was green with red interior(kinda like Christmas). It was sooo much fun! It didn't hold a lot of people but I thought I was pretty tough!!
3. What was your most embarrassing moment in high school? which one, which one, I felt embarrassed all the time and it usually involved being clumsy and falling. I don't know if this is the most embarrassing but I remember telling Shawna this the other day. I think I was a Sophomore and I left my purse in the gym after a rally. Well, needless to say the P.E. boys found it and started to go through it. I found out later they had found my little can of medicine(Sucrets container) with sudafed, and they were joking about it being birth control. I was so embarrassed, really those boys should have been embarrassed.... Natalie Pearce, birth control?????
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in marching band my Freshman year and choir all 4 years. I played the French Horn and decided since I couldn't even play my instrument in marching band I would just do concert band, but in never seemed to fit into my schedule after that. I loved choir though!! It was tons of fun!!
7. Were you a nerd? Umm probably. A choir nerd??? I think I got called a 'Jock' once, but I really doubt I could have been considered that. Can you have girl Jock's?
8. Were you on any varsity teams? I was on the Varsity Volleyball team my senior year which was so much fun. My sophmore year I made it to state in track with the 4x800 team which means I got the title of being on Varsity, but that was the only year I did track. I really should have done it the other years too.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, just a couple of detentions here and there for talking and being late to class after lunch.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? No, but I can see my cougar cub song from elementary school.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? I'm not sure I had one. Mr. Adams, the science teacher, was awesome and since I decided to go into science as a major we could say he was a big part of that desicision.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? Before I could drive I walked to the insitute building. After that we always found somewhere around town to go to lunch!
13. What was your school mascot? COUGARs!!!!
14. Did you go to Homecoming and with whom? I went to two homecomings the first with Jimmy Brookband and then Justin Weeks my senior year!!
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? That's pushing it!! I loved high school but it was good to move on!! Although I really missed the opportunities I had in high school to be in good choirs, cool clubs, and play competitive volleyball!!
16. What do you remember most about graduation? I was soooo worried about falling. I picked pretty tall shoes to wear. Then the program was planned so I had to walk from one end of the gym(to sing in the choir) to the other(to give a speech) about 3-4 times in front of everyone. Two of these times I was the only one walking and I already mentioned how proned I was to falling....
17. Where did you go senior skip day? I don't remember for sure... we probably went swimming in Fools Hollow.
18. Were you in any clubs? I was in the spanish club so that I could go on the Spanish Club Trip. I attempted to be in the hiking club, but in the end it was just because there were cute boys in it.
19. Have you gained weight since then? uh yea!! I'm like a weight gaining roller coaster!
20. Who was your prom date? My junior prom I went with Karl Owens!! My senior year... what a good story that is. I didn't have a date but my best friend Megan had a date that didn't have a group yet, so she told him he had to find me a date. He called up his friend from Bullhead City(?) and asked him to take me. So I had a blind date for my senior prom! He ended up being..kinda weird. I was excited to be at my senior prom though and got to hang out with all my friends!!
21. Are you planning on going to your ten-year reunion? If we have one, I will definently try to be there!! I would love to see everyone!
22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Don't worry about what other people think about you, especially those silly boys!! Have fun!!
23. Looking forward, what advice would you give your future self??? HAVE FUN!! My favorite quote as of late,"Shoot for the mooon. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars..."

Your all tagged!! It was a lot of fun!! (Even you mom, I would love to hear about your high school years!!)

****I've been in PA school for 3 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days***

You know how sometimes you all of the sudden realize how funny something is? I was sitting here at my desk, trying to dutifully study for my tests(5, AHHH) next week and I realized how ridiculous I look!

First of all I'm stuck sitting at this desk for the entire night because I re-injured my knee playing volleyball last night:( (and yes I was wearing my 'bionic(sp) women' knee brace) My knee is twice the size it is supposed to be. I can't do my usually wondering down the stairs every hour for something from the kitchen. Instead I have an entire box of KIX on my desk that is slowly depleting. (This strikes me as funny because who eats kid-tested, mother-approved, KIX when they are 23 yrs old, without milk nontheless)
I also love studying with lots of colors. It keeps things interesting. I have colored paper, colored highlighters, and 3 sets of fun colored pens! I'm very serious about my pens. I always seem to get pen and highlighter marks on my hands. Tonight somehow I accomplished to mark myself up to my elbows in little pen marks? How would one do such a thing without doing it on purpose?? I had to think about it for a long time but I realized I got lazy and didn't cap my pens and must have repeatedly but my arm on them. I am really quite the sight :)

My Family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Just some (not studying) thoughts.

My life right now consist of studying, going to school and loving Dallas. That's it, that is all I have to do all day every day! Sure, I could do other things, but why? These are the things that I love most. I love to study and learn new things. It is so fun and exciting!! I get to spend all day studying and learning things that will help take care of my future family. Dallas told his step-sister last Sunday that as far as school goes, "I'm thriving." I wouldn't put it that way, but I can definently find joy in what I am doing.

 

I had to buy a ~$800 dollar set of medical equipment this summer. I was feeling really annoyed by it all!! Why would I need such an extravagance? Every doctors' office and hospital provides this equipment for their providers. Then I started thinking to the future...

Little Caleb fell off the trampoline and gashed his head open(little exaggeration)! (in the future) If I had been there I could have just pulled out my doctors (pa) bag and stitched up his little head!

If one of my (future) or my sisters kiddos, possibly has an ear infection... I could just whip out my otoscope and check! Fun right :) *I know your all so jealous*

 

Now of course I get tired of studying (like right now), just like you get tired of almost anything that you HAVE to do. If I can keep in mind that I actually like it...Learning that is... sometimes it can set me into the right mood. Other times I have to do something else, like posting my thoughts.

 

Dallas.

What else can I say? He is the love of my life and I don't get to see him nearly enough.

My friends often get tired of me talking about Dallas, which makes me sad because he is so wonderful. I never thought I could love someone so much so easily. I married my best friend.

Dallas and I had to speak in church on Sunday on Marriage and Family. I know what all of you are thinking, the easiest subject in the world. It was. Friday night, when Dallas was at work and I was missing him very much, I sat down and started righting the introduction to my talk. I got a little carried away and ended up pretty much writing the entire thing. All I had to do was add some quotes from President Hinckley and I was set!! I wanted to share some of my favorite parts with you…

Dallas and I have been married 2 ½ years. I grew up in Show Low, AZ in a family of 8 kids and Dallas grew up in Mesa with lots of brothers and sisters too!

We met at a party 3 ½ yrs ago through Dallas's sister, Mindy, who I'd met at ASU

Dallas and I became best friends pretty much immediately. He was the sweetest, nicest, most helpful, caring guy I'd ever met. (He was that way to everyone)

We dated on and off for 5-6 months continuing to stay best friends due to Dallas's insistence on being part of my life

We finally convinced each other to get married and have enjoyed every minute of it.

 

[talk continued…]

I love the commintment that marriage, specifically eternal marriage, brings to our relationship.

• There is a bond that is formed in that holy place that is so special and complete I can not imagine living without it. The trust that encircles our relationship is not something to toy with or take lightly. It forms a perfect security blanket in the world that we live in.
  

 

• Gordon B Hinckley once said, "How sweet is the assurance, how comforting is the peace that comes from the knowledge that if we marry right and live right, our relationship will continue, notwithstanding the certainty of death and the passage of time. Men may write love songs and sing them. They may yearn and hope and dream. But all of this will be only a romantic longing unless there is an exercise of authority that transcends the powers of time and death."
  
• "Every man who truly loves a woman and every woman who truly loves a man hopes and dreams that their companionship will last forever. But marriage is a covenant sealed by authority. If that authority is of the state alone, it will endure only while the state has jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction ends with death. But add to the authority of the state the power of the endowment given by Him who overcame death, and that companionship will endure beyond life if the parties to the marriage live worthy of the promise."
  
  
• "But this gift, precious beyond all others, comes only with a price—with self-discipline, with virtue, with obedience to the commandments of God. These may be difficult, but they are possible under the motivation that comes of an understanding of truth"
  

• Eternal marriage is a security blanket in this world. It is knowing that we will be here for each other for eternity. We are completely committed to each other. We were joined in a union which death cannot dissolve and time cannot destroy.
  
• With our marriage in the temple, we have made an eternal family. The children that we have someday will be born under that sacred covenant and will have that gift from us. What a wonderful thing to give your children! There are very few things that you could give them greater than the gift of an eternal family.
  

  
   

  • I will never forget the excitement and joy that Dallas had the first day he, literally, carried me over the threshold to our new apartment and said, "Welcome, to your new home, Mrs. Turley." What Dallas meant to say was, "Welcome to your eternal family, a relationship you can count on, will always be there, and will be the 'place' you come for comfort." He was so excited to finally have that feeling of commitment and certainty, that this was forever…
    

  
   

• The proclamation to the world concerning family is a wonderul revelation. I love it and its coming forth was perfect timing. It is just another testament that the Lord knows what these last days are going to consist of and gives us the tools we need to get through them. When this revelation came out we had no idea that we would be in a world where we would need to define marriage as between a man and a women. But there it says it explicitly, "Marriage between man and women is essential to His eternal plan, and children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity."
  

  
   

• I love to hear the prophets and apostles speak of their love for their wives. We often heard President Gordon B. Hinckley speak of his wife and their love for each other. It gave me tingles every time and made me yearn for that kind of love and commitment.
  
• Joseph Smith often spoke of his love for Emma in this same way. These two people were truly dedicated to each in life and in death. They loved each other unfailingly and trusted in God to help them through the trying times. In the Ensign this month there is an article about Joseph and Emma. I can't help but love this article about their various hardships and the private love and compassion they held for each other through these hard times. It actually saddens me that we do not speak to each other this way anymore. They letters almost reflected poetry to each other. Hear are some exerts from the ensign article.
  
  • Joseph wrote, "My heart is entwined around yours forever and ever." "My dear and beloved companion of my bosom in tribulation and affliction." "If you want to know how much I want to see you, examine your feelings, how much you want to see me… I would gladly walk from here to you barefoot and bareheaded… to see you and think it great pleasure, and never count it toil." "Oh, Emma, do not forsake me nor the truth, but remember me; if I do not meet you again in this life, may god grant that we may meet in heaven. I cannot express my feelings; my heart is full. Farewell, O my kind and affectionate Emma. I am yours forever, your husband and true friend." No one could deny Josephs affection for Emma. He truly loved her unfailingly.
    
  • Even Emma's letters reflected her deep love and concern for Joseph, "I verily feel that if I had no more confidence in god than some I could name, I should be in a sad case indeed, but I still believe that if we humble ourselves and are as faithful as we can be, we shall be delivered from every snare that may be laid for our feet." "The walls, bars and bolts, rolling rivers, running streams, rising hills, sinking valleys, and spreading prairies that separate us and the cruel injustice that first cast you into prison and still holds you there, with many other considerations, places my feelings far beyond description."
    

 

I love these lines. They would be considered cheezy these days… but I think they are wonderful. They were expressing, quite eloquently, how much they loved each other.

 

 

Our car is Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, Lucky

Happy Half-Birthday Dallas

Dallas is 24 1/2 today!! Isn't he sooo cute!!

I love celebrating half birthdays! They are so much fun!

9/11 - Twin Towers Memorial

Remember.

Pics from a fun Sunday Afternoon

Kyson just looks so cute with his tongue sticking out!!

Caleb's back! He's playing with his dad in this picture:)

I love PBS and President Dallin H. Oaks!!!

Dallas and I decided to not pay for cable while we were in school. it really only takes away from precious studying time. There isn't really anything on that is that great to watch anyway.

Instead we have 'bunny ears', that kinda work. They do pickup the various PBS channels. Did you know they have 4 PBS channels? (create, world, just music, and another one I can't remember) I love them all!!

Today (while making flash cards) I watched an ethics panel called "Ethics of America" debate various ethical problems we run across in our lives. They were things like: would you tell the neighbors wife that her husband is having an affair, would you vote for the same man for the PTA. It was pretty interesting seeing these well known, highly educated people debate these simple things. The best part is that President Dallin H. Oaks was also on the panel of experts!!! What an amazing way to see one of the men we greatly respect talking about the ethics of these somewhat wordly problems. It was very interesting and I loved seeing his wisdom radiate from his demeanor.

I also watched a show where a modern day philosopher explains the philosophies of ancient philosophers!! It was actually quite insightful. He talked about many philosophers including Socrates and tried to interpret their philosophies into our modern way of living.

One philosophy I thought was really interesting was Seneca's philosophy on anger and anxiety toward things that we cannot control in our lives. This particular ancient philosopher said that if we were a little bit more pessimistic about the way our lives play out, we would not be surprised by things that don't quite work out the way we want them to, we wouldn't get angry or upset and in the end we would be happier. He thought you should meditate at the beginning of the day about things that would probably go wrong so that we wouldn't be so upset or surprised when it happened. For instance, I shouldn't be surprised if on my way to school I hit every red light, I have to go on a detour because of construction or a car pulls out in front of me and I get in an accident. It is an interesting way of looking at things. Makes you think...

Whirlwind Decorating!!

I made a goal to decorate my house during my week and a half break and I did it! I just decorated with stuff I already had for the most part. It was fun and I just finished!! I only bought a couple of things, most of this stuff is things I've had for a really long time. Dallas helped me out so much! There is no way I could have done it without him. He is so patient, even when I keep making him move everything this way and that trying to find the perfect position. He was great!!

This is my favorite wall in my living room. I thought it turned out really well.

I wanted a cute nook and this is what I came up with.

The sewing machine is from Dallas's mom.

This is actually what took the longest. I painted my old wooden table, my aunt gave me when we got married! It took a lot of paint... Dallas helped me a lot with the table, he did most of the sanding.

This is the only corner of the kitchen that's decorated, the rest will have to wait.

We already had tons of random pictures from one of our apartments we lived in so I decided to just hang them up going up the stairs. It's kinda fun. (I'm actually afraid they are going to all fall down when our washer is on. Crossing my fingers.)

During our vacation to Baltimore we bought this painting from a homeless gentleman who painted it on the bottom of an old dresser drawer! We decided to make it the theme of our downstairs bathroom. I was actually quite impressed that I was able to come up with all this stuff lying around my house! (The only thing I bought was the little ship... cus I thought it was really cute)

Dallas brought me home some of these things from his travels with his old job, science care.This little crab is one of them. In the little box is a hair pin(?) from Tonga that Jamie brought home for me.