Record Gas Prices

I never thought I'd see the day when gas would go below $2. That day has come. What's even crazier is that a month ago right after Hurricane Hannah and Ike came through gas was over $4. We save over $30 when we buy gas now. Hallelujah.

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

John and I had very interesting Fridays this week:

My Day:
Friday I had a test in my afternoon class and, always the procrastinator, I was kind of banking on my morning class ending early so that I could finish studying. Well my morning class went almost to the last minute. I can tell you, I was antsy. Then when Bessie (my friend that I carpool with) and I got to her car we found out that her clicker's battery had died. This wouldn't have been a problem since she also had a key to her car, except for the fact that the clicker also turned off her car alarm. Not only were we locked out of her car but my books to study for my test we locked IN the car. So I called John and luckily he was on a break and he came to get us. So we ran home, grabbed some food, got a new battery, and rushed back to school to study. When we got there we found that the problem was her clicker, not the battery, The car still wouldn't open. So we decided to open the door and see what happened. Well the alarm went off and we frantically scrambled to find a way to turn it off... which we could not. Finally it turned off on its own and Bessie and I *fingers crossed* passed our test. After the test we decided to try the car again and it worked! That car is out to sabotage our nursing careers! Crazy.

John's Day:
Friday was an especially big day for John, it was the day he had to perform his first pelvic exam. (awkward silence.) So here's a trivia question for y'all;

True or False: There are women who, for their career, travel the country teaching students to give pelvic exams using themselves as the examples.
Answer: True!

Although John sometimes refers to them as medical prostitutes, they were very professional and modest. John got to the class before everyone else and so the instructors delegated him the job of teaching the other students how to palpate a breast on the fake models. They designated him "the boob guy." John was fairly nervous about the exam portion of the class, especially since the woman he'd be examining would be instructing him on how to do it at the same time. He said it went really well though, the instructors even commented on John's exceptional palpation technique when looking for lumps in the breast, later asking him what field of medicine he planned on pursuing. John (red-faced I'm sure) answered "I don't really know... but probably not gynecology!"

I've been tagged!

This is my first time being tagged, I'm kind of excited... its kind of like a middle school excited feeling. (This was actually really hard to think up answers, I had to have John help me.)

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Still living in the mother land (Canada)
2. In gr. 9 at Pen-Hi
3. Wishing I was old enough to go to church dances
4. Dancing after school 4 days a week
   
5. I had an early morning paper route!
   

5 things on my to-do list

1. Go grocery shopping
2. Study for my test Monday
3. Clean
   
4. Blog
5. Set up our new DTV converter box
   

5 snacks I enjoy

1. Popcorn
2. Chips with melted cheese and salsa
3. Veggies and dip
4. Milk shakes
5. Cadbury fruit and nut chocolate bar
   

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire

1. Take John on a romantic get-away
2. Pay for John's PA school... and our other student loans
3. Donate to a charity
4. Buy a second car (or maybe two cars... John could get an upgrade from our '97 accord)
5. Fly home for Christmas!
   

5 places I've lived

1. Penticton, BC
2. Okegawa, Japan
3. Provo, UT
4. Orem, UT
   
5. Savannah, GA
   

5 jobs I've had

1. Sterilizer at my dentist's office
   
2. Tim Hortin's Drive-thru
3. Theo's Greek Restaurant
4. Developmentalist at USDC
   
5. Nanny
   

4 things I'm passionate about

1. My hubby
2. Dancing
3. My mom's cooking/baking
4. BYU ice cream

4 things I say often

1. "eh" (j/k)
2. "crazy"
3. "tell me you love me..."
4. "I don't want to study!"

4 things I want to do before I die

1. Serve a mission with John
2. Hike to Machu Picchu
3. Own and decorate my own home
4. Learn to cook and bake like my mom
   

4 things I want/need

1. A vacation
2. A hair cut
3. Ice cream
4. To visit my family (John's never met my granddad!)
   

4 places I want to see/visit

1. Hawaii
2. England
3. Eastern Canada
4. Where John served his mission (Southern France!)
   

4 TV shows I can't live without

1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. House
4. Lost
   

4 things you don't know about me

1. I like cooking
2. I like to hold toes with John
   
3. I wish I could live in a Thomas Kinkade painting
4. I like to do puzzles

I tag:

1. Catie Lutz
2. Dawn
3. Renee
4. Shari
5. Bryanne
   

Going to the Temple with Hayden

This past weekend we got to go with our friend Hayden Cardiff and his family as he went through the temple for the first time. It was really nice to be there as he experienced such a beautiful and peaceful place for the first time. We drove 2.5 hours to be with him at the Columbia, South Carolina temple. Afterwards we went out for dinner and had South Carolina BBQ (it's mustard based!).
Hayden recently received his mission call and will be serving his mission in Rome, Italy starting in January. John has had a lot of fun playing volleyball with Hayden and will miss him when he leaves!

Our ward family: Hayden, September and Tom Cardiff; Lisa Brown; Bishop, Muthu, and KJ Alletto; and Robin Thomas.

Campaign '08

Since our blog is our family journal and because this is an historic event, I wanted to make a post about the 2008 election for the US president--whether or not I agree with the results. We've been watching the votes being tallied and it has been announced that Barack Obama (51%) has won against John McCain (48%) in the race for the White House. He will be the first black person elected to the office of President. This is a big event for a lot of people because it hasn't been so long since the civil rights movement and not so long that African Americans have had the right to vote. Living in the south, there are many people who are still living who once lived in segregated communities and who struggled for their rights and endured much racism. Civil rights has always been an issue close to my own heart and I respect this day as a momentous event.

Mourning the Loss of BYU Ballet

Today I shed a single tear for BYU ballet. How I miss being able to take a full, fun, and challenging class everyday from inspiring and uplifting teachers (Shani Robison, Suzi Wood, Jenny Barlow). Not to mention that amazing room we had to dance in: it was so big and the huge windows looked out over Mt Timpanogoes. The floor was so nice and I miss being able to dance across such a big, open room.
Tonight I took a ballet class, only my second in the year and a half since leaving BYU where I danced almost everyday for 4 years. Although it was nice to dance again, it was just another reminder that I'll never be able to have such a great place as BYU to dance again. And so today I mourn the loss of my BYU ballet.

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween weekend we had a lot of fun things planned. For Halloween night John and I babysat our little friend, Katie Marshall. It was so fun to see how much she's grown! It was nice to see that she remembers us and still likes us.
Saturday night we went over to Bishop Alletto's house for games. We had a lot of fun playing scum and catch phrase and socializing with a few people in our ward. We also watched a little college football and ate chili and pies. I made my bumbleberry pie. I was secretly hoping that no one would like it or that everyone would be too scared to try it since it has rhubarb in it because I wanted to take it all home and eat it all by myself! John and I were talking about how we used to play games every Sunday with John's family when we lived close to them. It was so nice to feel like we have family here too.
John had to take Advanced Cardiac Life Saving class for school on Saturday and Sunday. It kind of sucked because he had to miss some of church but now he can say "clear!" and hopefully save a life.

Top 10 Reasons We Love Fall

John and I love the fall. We've been waiting so long here in Savannah for the weather to finally change. The beautiful weather, the holidays, there are so many things to love so here are the top ten reasons we love the fall.

10. Halloween candy
9. Left-over turkey sandwiches
8. Soup
7. Pies
6. Sweaters
5. Caramel apples
4. Carving pumpkins
3. Apple Cider
2. Changing colors of leaves
1. Beautiful crisp weather

What's your favorite thing about fall??


This is my favorite soup to make in the fall. It's a little adventurous but really good.

Pumpkin Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
6 medium Red Potatoes, chopped
3 cups Pureed Pumpkin
1 T cornstarch, cold water
1 cup half-and-half
salt, pepper, cumin

Melt butter, add onions, celery, pepper, and cumin. Cook until onions are soft and translucent.
Add chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil then add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are soft.
Stir in pumpkin puree. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
Make a slurry with cornstarch and add to pot to thicken.
Adjust taste as desired with salt, cumin, and pepper.
Right before serving stir in half-and-half.

*Note: All the amounts of ingredients are variable, I always guess, this recipe is approximate and from memory. Curry spice also adds a nice little kick if you want to try it.