&

and on a tuesday morning it began.

wyoming

the other week i got to go home to wyoming.  my aunts had a bridal shower for me (and arley!), my daddy and i made peach preserves from my new (old and huge) peach tree, and we spent lots of time at the cabin.  

here are some pictures i ended up with.  

all-american kitty.

kind of creepy looking.  but beautiful voice.

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oni is very proud of herself when she escapes.

she doesn't usually even try to go far - she just wants to roll in the dirt.  and then lay in the shade.  i'm sure she would love a hammock and some lemonade.  american-like…

happy 4th, kids.

just some things.

the raddest song i've heard all month.  it makes no sense at all.  and i like that about a song.


things i like.

the morning after a really good night at work.

the peaches that are growing in our backyard.  

thinking of ways to stay awake when i am on standby.

watching the planes land at the airport.

my sissy's new house.

backyards and sprinklers on hot days.

magical dresses.

summertime sunsets.

lovely.

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i had an awful, awful wedding dress shopping experience the other week.
to make a stupid story short, there were at least 30 straight hours of no sleep, there were hormones, and there may or may not have been a few cries.
so i am quadrupling my working out efforts so that sort of thing never ever happens again.
and i am quadrupling my working out efforts so that eda isn't bored out of her mind and has to sleep 22 hours every day (although i kind of suspect that she likes it just a tiny, tiny bit).

here is the park that i like to take eda to, after we stop at the school so she can get her leash pulls worked out.

just a thing

here is either the awesomest or most horrific thing i have heard all week.

stretching.

eda likes to help us stretch.

don't even be deceived by that sad sad abuse face.  her tail was wagging so fast while she was burrowing in!

oni says happy mother's day

oni's texas photo shoot.  as you can see, she loved it.


happy mother's day to all the fabulous mamas out there.
you're a good mom if you breastfeed.
you're a good mom if you formula feed.
you're a good mom if you deliver naturally.
you're a good mom if you c-section.
you're a good mom if you make your babies do chores and send them to their rooms.
you're a good mom if you spoil your babies.
you're a good mom if you don't have the means to spoil your babies.  or you just don't want to.
babies need moms.
i think it's kind of cool that there are really no exact rights and wrongs in motherhood.
whatever you're doing, you should probably keep doing.
we love you!

we're running with the shadows of the night

or something along those lines.

tonight i start my night shifts.  i finished 6 weeks of orientation in about 3 weeks somehow.
i really really love my job, and i am excited about the next step!  i won't even deny that i'm excited about the super duper night differential (also known already as "the extra loan payment")!

wish me luck, kids!

happy easter, kids.

8 eggs were the extent of our easter celebration this year.  i told arley we could each pick out something from hobby lobby for $10 as a super extra special easter present, but he didn't go for it...

serious culture

a few weeks ago, we got a little dose of serious culture.
while cleaning up the albuquerque house, we found an envelope full of already paid for theatre tickets at albuquerque little theatre (which is not little).  and then we lost them again.
this last month we re-found them, and decided we should probably use them.  turns out we made a good decision.  we saw to kill a mockingbird, which i haven't read in a while, so it was full of surprises.
AND our tickets were for the front row, right in the center!!

it was so bright so we closed our eyes on purpose….

i know. i'm really lame…!

apparently i have zero ability to multitask these days.
if i work, all i can do is work and then come home and fall onto my bed.
if i don't work, i can work out, and that's pretty much it for the day.

i have all these great photos i've been taking this last month.  but i don't know how to multitask, so you may never see them.

on the plus side, i discharged four patients today (with a tiny bit of help) and admitted one, in the scope of an hour and a half!  yay!  nursing is fun.  i'm taking all these great classes and learning all this great stuff about mamas and babies.

delicious things

i think this may be a breakup/sad song, but i like it because it has a nice ring to it.

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i made two delicious things this week.  the first one was angela's chicken pot pie.  with homemade crusts, thank you very much!  we ate it for every lunch and dinner until it was gone.  i can't say if arley had for breakfast too or not, since i was at work.  but i wouldn't be surprised.

the second one was these amazing tacos!  i'm sure i've mentioned them before.  i can't seem to get enough of them.  my only alteration is that i cook the cabbage.  and this time i could only find green cabbage at the store.  it wasn't quite as beautiful, but still quite as delicious!

i also mixed some sour cream with sriracha and chopped cilantro.  it was a Lovely addition!

here is what joy's looked like:

i highly recommend them.

a "tree"

oni has a new tree.  i think she likes it because she can let her legs hang through the "branches."  or maybe she just feels smart, hanging out in the library.

summery. the season, not the book report. duh!

i still love these kids.

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it's been getting quite summery here in albuquerque.  to celebrate, we walked around downtown looking for good tattoo artists "just in case."  it was arley's idea.
we went into so many creepy creepy shops.  but i did find a cute little zen tea shop at the end of the day.  even if it was amazingly expensive.  

also.  arley braided my hair.

just for tree/blooming/flower reference, this was from 28.march.

officially!

the bad news:  i have been in orientation classes for the entire week.

the good news:  i have officially had a job for exactly one week!  a job with benefits and trainings and certifications.  a job i have been dreaming about for ages.

waaaaaahooooooooooooo!!!!

i think i'm almost a grown up!

rheumatoid

i had 2 likely ear infections the other week.  when i went to the doctor, he didn't see infection, but when i went for my work physical, the nurse said it looked pretty infecty.  and that was when the grossest pain in the world was finally winding down.

it was the grossest pain that would keep me awake at night.  it was the grossest pain that would trick me into thinking it was going away in the mornings, yet get worse and worse throughout the day, until it would keep me awake at night again.

anyways.  i thought of a funny.

you know rheumatoid arthritis?  well, if i remember right, one of the main symptoms is that it gets worse throughout the day.

as i was laying in bed awake one night, due to my stupid stupid ears, i thought, maybe i have rheumatoid….EARthritis!  and then i laughed by myself for an hour until i fell asleep.

artsy

sometimes i try to take artsy photos.  as you know.

eda makes this very difficult.

snoozin

sometimes oni is cute.

little weird house

i'm glad we get to stay, because this little weird house is growing on me.

i'm already making decorating plans.

things are happening!

yay holidays!

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not only did i finally get a job offer, i got the job offer.  my dream job!

well, it is a post partum position.  which is close!  and who knows?  maybe i'll love post partum as much as l&d!  

i do my paperwork on friday, and i start on st patrick's day!  i know it's a good sign, because i took my boards on halloween.  i think holidays are going to be fun here.  

things are happening!!!

kill you eyes

can you spot it?

and by it, i mean me.

in a nutshell

a few things happened in january.  i was so busy doing nothing (except cooking and working out and applying for jobs) that i had no time whatsoever to make any blogs.  so here is what happened, so you don't feel like you missed anything:

i ate some salad.

i made the most beautiful pie of my life.

i ran on mikah's trails in the afternoon.

i selfied.

we made furniture out of the packing foam that came with all our great valentine's gifts.

we hiked some volcanoes, and got lost, but then found our way.

i redecorated with some things i found.

oni was bad so i had to hide my computer from her.

i went to the park a lot.  there is a nice trail there, and also some nice trees.

goals

the wedding season workout has officially begun.  seriously.  for reals.  with goals.

6 month goals

• RUN 5 MILES STRAIGHT (add 1 mile per month)
• LOSE 20 POUNDS (1 pound per week)
• LOWER BMI BY 3 POINTS (see above)
• COMPLETE P90 (6 days per week x 90 days)*
• *every 4 weeks do a week of other workouts to avoid the evil PLATEAU 

january goals

• HIKE 2 TIMES (only did once)
• RUN 2 DAYS PER WEEK
• WALK 6 DAYS PER WEEK WITH EDA
• SWIM 2 DAYS PER WEEK
• P90 6 DAYS PER WEEK

february goals

• HIKE 2 TIMES
• RUN 2 MILES STRAIGHT
• RUN 2 DAYS PER WEEK
• WALK 6 DAYS PER WEEK WITH EDA
• SWIM 2 DAYS PER WEEK
• P90 6 DAYS PER WEEK*
• LOSE 7 POUNDS FROM STARTING WEIGHT (FROM 1.JAN)

and then all these goals get broken down into weekly goals!  so far, i've made all except the hiking goal in january and one missed day of p90 last week!

isn't this fun?