Reason 148: Woah.

Thursday, October 27, 2011.

"A diamond is a piece of charcoal that handled stress exceptionally well." -Unknown

How cool is that quote?  I am a really big fan of that.  

School is crazy.

Work is crazy.

Writing a thesis is crazy.

Managing undergraduate students is crazy.

Traveling is crazy.

That is 5x crazy.

I have never studied so hard or worked so hard in my life.  Want to know what the great news is? 

Being a graduate student is WAYYYYYYYYYYYY better than being an undergraduate.

Yep.

Just living the dream.

Tomorrow?
San Francisco.
Women's WCC Conference Championships Preview

Reason 147: Love what you do.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011.

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."-Confucius

Life is so crazy.  I wonder how many posts I have said that in?  There is not really time to blog.  Half of the problem is that I can't really blog about much.  When your job deals with medical care and people can easily narrow down your list of possible patient's, you can't really talk vaguely about injuries either.

Soo.... in general, track and cross country are wonderful :).  I have seen some very cool injuries, learned a lot from everyone I work with, and I really enjoy all of the athletes I work with.  It's amazing how much you can learn from people when you spend so much time with them.

We have traveled to...

Park City

Utah State

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Roy Griak Invitational

(Photo from Flo Track)

South Bend, Indiana
Notre Dame Invitational

Madison, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Invitational

Traveling with the cross country team has been awesome.  Nice hotels, nice restaurants, plenty of time to explore the cities we were in. In South Bend, I got to spend time with Uncle Joe and Aunt Carol and eat a delicious dinner with them!  I also got to tour Notre Dame Athletics complex.  Super cool, I love that school. 

This weekend- San Francisco.  West Coast Conference Championships.  

146: Fallen off the blogging world...

October 2, 2011

My poor, poor little sister.  I have accidentally fallen off the blogging world since June and she is imploding.  So here are some highlights and a written commitment to try and do better!  Purely pictures, but that is less work for me.

June 17-21: St. George trip with Mary!

July 3, 2011: Jason's birthday!  (And surprise party on June 27)

Homemade apple pie.  I am the coolest- so proud of that.

July 2, 2011: Stadium of Fire!  

 Brad Paisley!

 My talented little Hannah was a stadium of fire dancer!

 The light dance. Wayyyy cool.

 Liberty Bell

 My pretty momma.

 My super good looking hubby.

My cute family!

July 6, 2011: Andrew and Justin's Court of Honor

July 15ish: Lake Powell with the Burton's

July 26ish: Panguitch Lake with the Burton's

August 11-12, 2011:  BYU GRADUATION!

Reason 145: Hannah

Tuesday, June 28, 2011.

Dear Hannah,

See this?  This is a blog post.  For you.  I will see you in two days, my love.  Now quit sending me angry email messages :)

Reason 144: I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise...

Thursday, June 2, 2011.

This is an AWESOME song.  Love this.

"Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere

Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair

Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair

Sunrise there's a fire in the sky

Never been so happy 

Never felt so high

And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise"

Loving Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett (How can you NOT love Jimmy Buffett?)

I could use this vacation right....now.

Reason 143: Quinoa

Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

If you haven't tried quinoa (keen-wa) please do so.  Today.  It is a million times better than rice and could be compared to a mini massage in your mouth.  And the best part?  It is super healthy!  Here is a description I got from WebMD...

"Quinoa is now readily available in many supermarkets and is one of the best whole grains you can eat, according to Zied. "It is an ancient grain, easy to make, interesting, high in protein (8 grams in 1 cup cooked), fiber (5 grams per cup) and a naturally good source of iron," she says. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) also has plenty of zinc, vitamin E, and selenium to help control your weight and lower your risk for heart disease and diabetes, she says. Quinoa is as easy to prepare as rice and can be eaten alone or mixed with vegetables, nuts, or lean protein for a whole-grain medley. Try to make at least half your daily grain servings whole grains. In addition to quinoa, try barley, oats, buckwheat, whole wheat, wild rice, and millet."


And to start off (or continue) your quinoa adventures, here is an uber delicious recipe from Our Best Bites (my new favorite website).

Mango Quinoa Salad

(And if you don't like mango, leave it out.  Some readers suggested peaches, avacadoes, or roasted red peppers instead!)

Mango Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from Ali Vincent

2 cups cooked quinoa* at room temperature, or chilled

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

*Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth.  I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works great too.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad.  Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

And in other news, only two weeks left of spring term!  Jake and I are planning a spectacular St. George Adventure with two of our friends, Mary and Marc, after Spring ends.  Oh yeah and the BOC is coming. On that note, I am off to study.  

Reason 142: Nursery

Sunday, May 29, 2011.

We got our calling in our new ward and we are officially in the nursery!  This will definately be a new experience- especially since I've been in single student wards from August 2008 until April 2011.

This picture hangs on the door.  Funny, huh?  Today actually was really fun!  Not many callings include puzzles, snacks, playtime, singing time, and coloring.  And I LOVE being in there with Jason.  I think there are about nine kids if they all come.  Today we only had five- so it was a good introduction.  I realized how long it has been since Hannah was that little- I don't remember much about the 18- 36 months age group.  They are SMART kids!  

We are super excited to be in this new ward and feel really welcome.  I also played the piano in sacrament today- accompanying a vocal solo.  We just jumped right in, I guess!  And tomorrow morning we are off to the cemetery to decorate the graves.  We were supposed to go today, but lo and behold, it is raining.  Surprise, surprise!