October is for dressing down.

Last October, my friend Mary did a challenge for herself to make the effort to dress better every day and then documented it on her blog. I've decided to join in this year, as she is doing it again. Only my challenge has a twist. I am dressing down. I have fallen into the trap of having to leave looking put together every day. I never grunge down. I always wear makeup and have my hair done. Even on days when I don't go anywhere. sad.

Why would I want to grunge down you say? Because someday I plan on having children. Hopefully some of those children will be female. If I can't have the confidence to be happy with myself just the way I am sometimes, how will they?

and yes, I plan to document the nastiness when it happens.

So as Mary says, "Hold on tight, cuz here we go!"

Can you tell I've got a day off?

I've noticed I have clusters of blog posts now that always happen on my days off of school/work. It's my only chance to update things that have been going on lately. So, what's been going on?

-Ryan is in love with goats. He wants to own some. He keeps emailing me KSL ads for goats and for houses that are zoned for livestock. He plays Farmville on Facebook all the time and dreams about being a farmer. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) I don't think real farming is anything like Farmville.

-I went on exchanges with the sister missionaries, which is really not exchanges because I just went with them to an appointment. They committed me to their next appointment with the same woman today at 4:00. Missionary work scares me. Not because I don't know what to say, or how to answer questions. But because it's actually getting out there and doing something out of my comfort zone. Why does God always choose inconvenient times to make me grow? Doesn't he know I've got stuff to do?

-I spent 1/2 of yesterday doing homework and wishing I didn't have to. So when Laura asked if I wanted to go lap swimming I leaped at the opportunity to put off homework for later. It kicked my trash, as all cardiovascular challenging things do these days. But it was still fun. I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with my mom and my sister, which was tons of fun. I read Laura a chapter of New Moon outloud in a spanish accent, that got especially sexy when I read about Jacob. We watched spoof videos of "Single Ladies" online with my mom. Then when Brenna came over, we tried to teach Bridget some new tricks. Ryan came over after work and we all ate dinner together with everyone and then watched Heroes. It was a really nice day and made me feel like I was a normal person. Like I was someone who gets to go out and socialize instead of staying holed up in her apartment studying drugs and making care plans.

U of U vs BYU Volleyball

We went to the U of U/BYU volleyball game last Friday with our friends the Ovesons. It was a really fun game. It went to all 5 sets, and set 3 and 4 were crazy intense! I was so exhausted afterward from screaming and jumping up and down so much. They went right down to the wire. Eventually, though, the better team prevailed and the Utes won. (I read a comment recently on a news article in the Deseret News where someone spelled it yewts. Weirdo.) It was couch Launiere's 400th win, which was pretty exciting. There were noise makers and confetti poppers and everything. It was a really fun game, one of the best we've been to!

We also found Ryan's bus.

Stuff We Like

I read a really fun blog called Light Refreshments Served. They periodically do posts about stuff they like. It's usually things like handmade aprons and magnetic family home evening boards. I've decided to start doing random posts of the same title for our blog. It will be fun to look back and see the things Ry and I are into through the years.

It's the fall, so I've gotta talk TV. Ry and I have a few shows we watch every week, most of them we watch with my whole family. It's fun to have a reason to get together with my siblings once a week.

Heroes
We watched the first season on DVD. We'd put in one episode after another, and stay up until 2 in the morning on some nights. Which is a big deal for those of you that know Ry and I. We are usually headed to bed around 9:30-10. We've watched every season since then on TV. It's about people who evolve abilities, x-men style. It appeals to Ryan's love of all things superhero and my flair for sci fi.

Glee

When you're a couple that met over a show choir, you can't help but be drawn to a show like this. Although they had a questionable season premier, I couldn't stop watching. Luckily they haven't had a repeat of the distasteful content of that first show since then. I love this show for the characters. They are all huge dorks, but dang proud of who they are. If you know Ry and I you know why we can relate. :)

So You Think You Can Dance
This show is so full of amazing dancers and choreography and people we love. There is seriously some amazing stuff on this show that I believe has impacted my life for the better. I like the host immensely more than Ryan Seacrest on American Idol who is so disrespectful to the contestants. I think Ryan likes her because she has slopey down british shaped eyes like me. :)

Precepting dream come true

We got our assignments for precepting yesterday. I'm with a nurse in float pool at Primary Children's. And GET THIS: She works one day a week in the PICU (Pediatric ICU), and two days a week in the float pool. She's chemo certified so she often gets floated to ICS (Immuno Compromised Unit, read: cancer). I've heard equally fabulous things about both of those areas and they were where I wanted to go the most! It's like the world's most perfect assignment! I don't know what I did to deserve it, but it's perfect! I'm so excited, and ready to get a move on! Can't you tell from the excessive exclamation points?!



Now if only I can get my work schedule sorted out, I'll be happy as a clam*.




*Why do we say that? Are clams really all that happy? I've seen some in real life and they didn't seem to have any sort of affect going on at all.

Single Ladies

I work with a guy that knows the whole single ladies dance. I've spent the last week and a half with that freaking song in my head and then... this happens.

Go to 2:00 minute mark and watch from there. Otherwise you'll probably get bored before seeing the part I want you to watch.



Thank goodness they've improved their content.

Salsa with laura and other random stuff

Laura and I decided that every Monday I have off of work (which is every other week), we'd get together and do something crafty or try a new recipe. This last Monday we made salsa with some of the tomatoes from my dad's garden.

We made a whole huge bowl of it. Most of it is still in my fridge.

Laura likes her salsa more blended so we tossed some in the blender too. It tasted the same, but looked kind of pink.
Hey, give me a break. You don't have to wear make up, or do your hair to make salsa!

The Wednesday following, was Stake Temple night for our stake. Ry and I volunteered to help clean the temple. Before going to the session, we ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

I highly recommend cleaning the Salt Lake Temple if you get the chance. The workers show you all the backstage secret places and can tell you a lot of the history. It was very cool.

Ry and I went to Costco last week and when we came out the sky was just spectacular!We bought a bunch of peaches while we were at Costco, which I have been enjoying for days now. But they don't keep forever, and Ry won't eat them with me, so I made a peach pie last night. We ate it with Loufa, Giardia, and Kell, while watching Heroes. It was quite tasty if I say so myself. Although it's better the day after I've decided.
It was my first try at making a lattice top pie crust. I also discovered pre-made pie crusts, like Pillsbury (I used Western Family, but same diff.) I will never make a pie crust on my own again! WAY too frustrating.If anyone ever wants to go halvesies on produce from Costco, let me know! Their prices are often really good, and the quality is fantastic. It's just too much for two people to consume on their own.

Ferghus

R: You really want to name one of our children* Ferghus?

A: Well, I do, but I probably won't, 'cause they'd probably have a hard time.

R: Yeah, it would definitely be an interesting life going around with a name like Ferghus.

A: In the United States anyway. In the UK they'd probably be one of many Ferghuses.

R: Ferghi.








*We're not pregnant. I just told Ryan about all the Celtic names I'd like to name our kids. Some of my other faves:
(the m and f are for gender)

Arlin m

Carrington f maybe Kharrington?

Driskell m

Eghan m

Ferghus m

Isolde f

Irven m

Kendal (or kendle) m/f

Macklyn (call him mack) m

Murtagh m

Olwyn f

Oriana f

Oscar m

Rowena f

Sawyer f

Tristen/an m

Ula f

Wynne f

Gaining a sister

My little bro. proposed to his lovely girlfriend a few nights ago and is getting married Dec. 2 (tentatively). I'm so excited for them both!

I've been hearing voices

I had an interesting experience yesterday at school. We've been talking about schizophrenia in my psych class, and yesterday we got to experience a little taste of what it's like. We all wore headphones with voices talking to us, then had to accomplish certain tasks.
Some of the voices were just whispers (very creepy). There was one that was almost contstant that didn't really say anything. It was just kind of making gibberish. It sounded like it could be words, but when you listened closer, it didn't make sense. I remember that that voice said "cha cha cha cha" a lot, and it would laugh at you sometimes (also very creepy). Then there were voices that would actually talk to you.
My first task was to read an article and answer questions from it. It was probably the hardest task of them all. I had a really hard time concentrating with all the noise in my head. While I was reading, a woman's voice came on on top of the chatter and the whispers and the weird almost breathing noise. She kept saying things like, "you are the one, you are the way. We follow you because you are the way, you are the one." Then she faded out and was replaced with a man that said lots of degrading things. Things like: "you stink, you smell like a pig. piggy pig pig pig. stink stink stink!" and he would periodically rhyme randomly, "dirt, you smell like dirt. dirt, shirt, flirt." He said Sh** about a million times, telling me that's what a smelled like. he also said things like, "Stop doing that, stop it. What are you doing? Don't touch that. Just slow down. " and "They're laughing at you, they know what you did. They know what you did because I told them." I remember what he said the most because he was there almost the whole time. Sometimes he got really loud, and other times he was just kind of background. Sometimes everything stopped and there were no voices at all.
Other tasks we had were to build things with legos, write a to-do list for ourselves for the next week (that one was easy because I did it during a time when the voices were not there), and our instructor would ask us questions like when you're doing a neuro exam on a patient. I had to try to do things like count backwards from 100 by 7, and remember random words and numbers to repeat back to her while that stupid man's voice is in my head rhyming and telling me I'm a pig and smell like s***.
So it was similar to what a person who hears voices experiences, but still different. They don't hear the-hear them like I was in the headphones. They're in their head, more like thoughts. They are also hearing things they are usually more emotionally invested in. I mean, the guy telling me i smelled like a pig, wasn't that degrading to me. It was just annoying that he wouldn't shut up so I could focus. People that hear voices are usually very involved in what the voice is saying and it usually affects them very personally and are much more distressing.
It was a really interesting experience, and I was glad that in the end I could just take the headphones off and turn off the CD. It made me see a little peak into why people behave the way they do when they are having voice hearing experiences.

Never written a letter (email) like this before.

Dear Fox Network,

I have been singing the praises of Glee since seeing the pilot episode. I was excited to finally have a show about something I could relate to, and tell everyone about how great it was. That was, until the season premier. I was very disappointed, and embarrassed to have rallied my friends and family together to watch it with me. The "Push It" number was very distasteful. The people I was watching it with who had not seen the pilot asked me "What is this show about?!". I understand the number's point in the plot, but it seemed the whole theme of the episode was sex. Celibacy club, Finn ejaculating during the kiss, all of it was too much over the top and sexed up. It seemed the whole feeling about the show that excited me during the pilot was gone. I no longer try to recruit people to watch the show. Instead I have only been discussing my disappointment since seeing the episode. I hope your ratings drop, and that you will make this show more family friendly, as I thought it was going to be to begin with.

Sincerely,

Ashley Green

Salt Lake City, Ut

84111

Young Women's 2nd Counselor

Yes, it's true. I've been called to be the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's in my ward. When I got called, I was like okay! I figured, I'm just moving up to some older girls from Activity Day, only now I'll have help! But I've grown more and more apprehensive. I had lunch today with the other women in the presidency, and I'm just getting more and more...scared? No, that's not the right word. I feel very inadequate. I feel like I'm closer to the stage of the actual Young Women I'm supposed to be leading, than a leader. I really don't think I'm up to par with the other women I'm working with. I'm excited because Young Women's has always been some of my favorite memories. But I remember how I thought of my leaders and I don't think I can live up to expectations. It's going to be quite the growing experience, for sure. So pray for me, and if anyone has been in the Young Women's before, let the advice flow!

Addiction

The classes I'm taking this semester are Psych nursing and Management in nursing. For my Psych class we have some experiences I'm sure I'd never have outside of school... that is, unless I become an addict. I went to both a 12-step program meeting, and to the Ogden Regional Medical Center ATC (Addiction Treatment Center). It was a rather eye opening experience. Not because I've never met with addicts or like I have no idea what it's like, but because of how relate able it all was.

I may not be an alcoholic, or addicted to drugs, but I do have my favorite vices. We all have our favorite sins. We all have loved something or even someone that is bad for us. Things we keep coming back to. I was very inspired by the people I encountered at these experiences. I found the whole thing very therapeutic. For me, not just for those involved.

I went to an LDS 12-step program. We could choose which program we wanted to attend. I was interested to see how the church handles a program like this. It was fantastic. All 12 step programs like AA have you find a higher power. You can't make it on your own, so you have to rely on someone/something else more powerful than you, like God. It was nice to have that higher power be someone I can relate to.

One of the people shared something I really related to. He talked about having a relapse, and then procrastinating and avoiding prayer. He said he was worried that he'd just feel more guilty, that what he'd feel from Heavenly Father would be disappointment. But When he prayed, all he felt was God's love. I know completely what he's talking about. Every time I repent I'm amazed that the atonement always works. I keep expecting an answer more like, "sorry, last time was your last chance. You've had too many chances already. It won't work this time." But then it does, and it's so amazing to feel that love and peace again!

I was so grateful for these people who were willing to let us sit in and listen to their experiences. It was a really amazing experience and I'd recommend anyone to visit one. You'll learn a lot about yourself and a lot about what it's really like to be these people. I'm glad to have the experience.

I'd like to tack on the end here the Addiction Dance from So You Think You Can Dance last season. I think it is beautiful.

Utah State Fair

"A fair is a veritable schmorgishborg..."

Ry and I had a good time at our annual visit to the fair. We got there right at lunch time, so we did something we don't usually do at the fair--ate food.

MMM... philly cheese steak and bratwurst

The exhibit closest to lunch was the "home goods"
We ventured in to check out all the quilts and baked goods.
Too bad you can't sample any of it.

I think Laura and Brenna should enter a cake next year.
(FYI: that Harry Potter Picture is cross stitch!)

Next we went and watched a guy carve wood with a chain saw!
He was making an eagle head.

My favorite part of the fair is always the animals.

Ryan loves goats.

I got a video of two of 'em butting heads. I didn't know the girls did that! All the goats at the fair are girls because apparently it's breeding season and the man-goats are a little unbearable.


Ryan looking portly with the cows.

Luckily, none of them looked like they needed their bum scratched.

Ryan saw these guys and said, "I didn't know they had jousting sheep!"

Our favorite animals at the fair are these guys:

Alpine Pack Goats!

These one's are boys. We found out this year you can rent them out for backpacking trips! I totally want to go hiking with goats!

Every year at the fair I see the big yellow slide, but I've never taken the chance to ride it.
I told Ryan that if it's a good price, then I want to do it this year.
so... we did.

There was lots of other random exhibits at the fair too.
Like a Lego exhibit, and ice cream made on an old John Dear engine.
I found a bike I'd like to take home.
Ryan found a backhoe he'd like to take home too.

I probably took too many pictures of the produce. It's just so colorful!

I didn't know there was an entry for stuff like this!

Or stuff like this

Apparently they're in a division called "oddities".
I think it should be called "Siamese produce" or "Produce I'd like to make inappropriate jokes about."

After that, we spent some time at the photography entrees. I didn't take any pictures of that because... well, it's art and that'd be illegal.

It was a really fun day at the Fair, like it is every year. Next year though, I'm taking someone besides just Ryan so I can ride the Zipper. :)

Gotta catch up!

Whew! I really should not get so behind in my blog posts. I have been really busy lately. I only go to class once a week, this semester. So I picked up more hours at work. Unfortunately, the school work load hasn't changed. I still have hours and hours of homework to do. I feel like I'm taking an online class, except my resources are scattered. Usually, on an online class you have everything there for you on links on the website. I have different assignments in different syllabi and notes for every single one! I also have to do these NCLEX practice quizzes. Supposedly if you do at least 6,000 practice questions before taking the NCLEX, you should be able to pass. Our instructors are helping us along by making us do 1,900 during the semester. We have 1-3 quizzes a week with 100 questions on each quiz. They are killer. You have to pass with an 80% or better, so I end up taking them at least twice if not more. They take about an hour each time! It's very time consuming. I spend my days off of school and work doing nothing but homework. It's really lame, but I guess it keeps me productive on my days off. The quizzes are on the computer, so by the time I'm done writing papers, and taking hours and hours of quizzes I want to get as far from the computer as possible. Therefore, I've neglected posting on the blog. I will be catching up today though, so look forward to some more posts! yay! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

She's currently in Colorado doing a little of this:

Hope all is going fine and you're having fun.
Next year we'll have to celebrate your birthday together.


We love you!

Grandpa Dearden

For one of my projects for school, I had to interview someone over 70 and write a "Geriatric History" paper. I interviewed my dad's dad. I hadn't ever had the chance to sit and talk to grandpa before, so I picked him to do the project on. I don't really think of any of my grandparents as "Geriatric", even though I suppose they technically are. I always think of Geriatric as being someone old and decrepit, which Grandpa definitely is not. I decided to copy and paste my paper onto my blog so it's part of this historical record, which I often think of my blog as being. Also, lots of his family read my blog, so they might enjoy it. It's in no way a complete history, just some highlights. Of course, there were certain required subjects I had to address in the paper as will be evident when you read it. I hope you'll enjoy this little snippet on Grandpa. (You can correct my paper too, but it won't do any good, I've turned it in already.) The formatting went all sorts of retarded when I copied and pasted, so sorry if it's difficult to read.

It was a fun and rewarding experience to visit with my Grandfather and listen to his reflections on his life. He went into great detail on is childhood and early adult life. Then he gave me some other highlights of some of his favorite parts of his later life. Grandpa could have talked all night about the good times he’s enjoyed, and had a positive outlook about the life he had led.

Grandpa was born in Henefer, Utah, but grew up in Ogden. Some of his favorite memories where going to The Gateway up Weber Canyon and camping, playing baseball, and swimming in Komo Springs near Morgan. He spent most of his summers in Henefer with his cousins. His father and uncle married a pair of sisters, so the two families were always very close.

Grandpa spoke about growing up in the depression. He said he didn’t know he was poor, because everyone was the same. He told me how his father would do any odd job he could find to get any amount of money. He would hire himself out with the skills he had of painting, carpentry, and such. As an example of how hard times were, Grandpa gave the example of “The house on Jefferson”, that his father purchased from the great aunts. My Grandpa’s Grandfather had died, and his sisters owned the house. It took His father 3 ½ years to earn the money to pay off the sisters. The house only cost $325, “That’s how hard things were”, Grandpa said.

Grandpa was a well educated man, and enjoyed learning throughout his life. He graduated from Ogden High, in 1948. He told me the story of his last year in high school. He only needed to take 1 class to graduate, so he suggested to the faculty that he could enroll in Jr. College while taking that one class. They wouldn’t let him. So he enrolled the following year into Jr. College, then the University of Utah in Electrical Engineering, or “electronics” as Grandpa calls it.

In the middle of his education at the University of Utah, Grandpa was drafted into the war. He tried to test into the Air Force, but when denied, he joined the Navy. He spent 4 years in the Navy, working in “Electronics” and eventually becoming a 1^st class petty officer. He went to Korea 3 times, and described how awful it was to travel over to Korea the first time on a troop ship with the “Doggies” or Army troops. He said you didn’t want to touch a thing, as everyone had gotten sick and there was vomit everywhere. During his time in the navy he was married to his first wife, my dad’s mother. HHHHe gained an honorable early discharge so he could return to school, soon after their first child was born.

In the next years of his life he was married two more times and had 5 children, 3 with his first wife, and 2 with the next. He held many jobs around the western part of the US. They moved so many times my dad describes going to a different school every year until his junior and senior year of high school.

Grandpa told me a lot about one of his most favorite jobs, his last job, that he took in Israel. He worked with the people in Israel to develop two power plants. Both he and his wife now enjoyed the experience immensely. Grandpa loved working with the engineers in Israel. He described them as very intelligent people, and eager to learn. He described the friendship they enjoyed with each other in learning and developing these power plants. Grandpa also enjoyed touring the country and all of its history. He talked about looking for orange colored road signs that were markers for a historical monument or place. They would follow the signs to explore the history of the area. Grandpa and Grandma also enjoyed going to church at the BYU center in Israel. Grandpa talked about how scholarly the faculty was, and enjoying meeting several General Authorities of the LDS church while attending church.

Grandpa told me he feels very differently from when he was 50, as was one of the questions I asked him. He says now he can’t hear, and he can’t remember anything. He said it’s very different because at 50 he was still working, he still had children that were at home. He said he feels different now because there are no pressures from a job, and he’s not out earning money. He now has to deal with a lower amount of money coming in from retirement, especially with the economy the way it is now. “But we won’t go into all that because I’ll get talking about that for the whole night”, Grandpa said after the subject of the economy came up.

Grandpa talked about some of the difficulties he faces now as opposed to when he was younger. He says he misses playing racquetball. From the time he was in Junior College he would play racquetball regularly. He, my dad, and my uncle would play every Saturday at 6am for a long time. Grandpa said that health and money keep him from doing the things he used to do. His body just can’t do what it used to do, and every place that has a racquetball court requires you to buy a monthly fee or similar. He also reemphasized not being able to hear well anymore, and having difficulty remembering things.

When I asked Grandpa to share with me how to adapt in life as I get older, he said “Stay Healthy”. Grandpa has always been active, and boasts that he is not on any medications at age 79. He told me, “Don’t worry what the doctors say, they don’t really know. Just let them tell you things and then do what works for you.” Grandpa also talked about keeping busy and active. He and his wife volunteer regularly at the hospital, and also at Temple Square. Grandpa says he loves to read, and do Sudoku puzzles everyday. He emphasized the importance of continuing to learn new things, and also keeping a hobby.

I was impressed by one of Grandpa’s hobbies that he’s been doing for many years. I had never known about it before. He keeps track of every LDS General Authority and when they were born, ordained, and called and how long they served. He also keeps track of the LDS Temples and when they are built and dedicated, how many rooms they have, and the services available. He brought out a paper chart of the General Authorities, and then told me that now he keeps them all on the computer. He loves to get the Church Almanac every year and sends letters to the editor when something doesn’t match up.

My impression of my Grandfather’s life was a very positive one. I’d say Grandpa has successfully met every one of Erickson’s developmental stages. He impressed me with his use of computers and the many projects he has going on the computer. Many people at his age have rejected the use of computers and technology similar to it. Grandpa is very up to date, and in sync with the modern world, even in more ways than just computers. All of Grandpa’s memories he shared were positive, and it was difficult to get him to say anything negative about anything, even growing old. He seems to be okay with the fact that he’s older. Yes, he can’t do some of the things he used to, but he’s found new things to do. He still learns, works hard, and has a full life. I was very impressed with his over all positive outlook on life and growing old.

Squirrels in my pants

Ryan and I watch a lot of Disney Channel, we admit it.

Ry just HAD to show me this video today. It's from Phineas and Ferb, which is a cartoon that Ryan watches all the time. I've never really watched it much. Apparently they have a music number in every episode. This video is one of them. It's right up Ryan's alley.

Enjoy

Activity Day two weeks in a row!!

I was asked by the stake activity day leader to teach the girls how to conduct music at Stake Activity Day yesterday. Luckily, it went really well. I think most of the girls enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure I talked way faster than I ever had when I'd practiced, but it ended up filling the time enough. The stake primary presidency were there as well, which made me a bit nervous. Would they mind that we didn't just lead to church music? I threw in a little Journey, the Cure, Josh Groban, and Diana Krall into the mix. I played the piano horribly, I really need to practice. I played Families Can Be Together Forever like 6 times in a row, and never improved by the end. I really need to get me a piano. We started by watching the beginning sequence in Moulin Rouge where the little conductor guy comes out and conducts the "20th Century Fox" theme. That was a hit, so much so one girl kept pestering me to watch it again. It was a little difficult to teach people how to lead music who didn't know how to read music. I stuck with just finding the beat and matching the correct amount of beats per measure. I figured it was easiest. I also had to teach what a fermata is. (don't know how to spell it).
It was the last Activity Day for one of the girls in my ward who is moving on to Young Womens. :( I'll miss her, as she was the oldest and most calm. :) But I'm sure she'll enjoy herself with the older girls.
Overall, this activity day went better than all the rest. I feel like I'm starting to do a little better at this stuff.

Liberal and Irreverent

I have to give a shout out to one of my regular blog reads.
She's just a random friend of a friend who writes hilarious posts. She has ADD, is very liberal, and sometimes irreverent. Since I too lean a little on the liberal side (sssh...don't tell my grandma or my in-laws), and am often irreverent, I can relate to many of her blog posts. She wrote one recently I especially love because it speaks to my heart. You should read it.
(Although since i am not as outspoken in my liberal irreverence, I always get the "no doubt you are mormon".)