enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things...

Today's Jane's birthday. and I love her! I will post more reasons why in a little while....but I just wanted to get it out there that she makes me happy!! (and i love her blog)!

I received this from a patient who just loved me! Our personalities really meshed and I had a lot of fun with her. After the baby came out she was so appreciative and kept telling me how she "couldn't have done it without me"....and then gave me this gift card....

It's Kelli's birthday! I thought about it all day and never called or texted...I HATE it when that happens!! Kelli makes me laugh...HARD! She is one of those act tough on the outside ladies who is the sweetest, most compassionate lovable angel on the inside! Kelli is an essential dynamic to "The Girls" a group of 10 or 11 of us Arizona girls who have remained friends through Merry Miss, Young Women, College, Marriages, Divorces, and re-marriages....oh, and single-villes! She is kindof the glue! She entertains us when we need it and calms us when we need that too! She is a phenomenal woman with stunning children! And she listens to my advice, even when I tell her to jump out of a moving car...how can I not LOVE her?!?! :)

Happy Birthday, Stealth!

April 19th

Oh, how I love my Katrina!! She is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been since we last talked, we can pick up right where we left off and keep going. We seem to have such an understanding of each other even though we are so different! Oh, I just love her. She is constantly teaching me in little things she does or says.

Here's just a FEW lessons I have learned from her.....

1. How to look at the world and find unexpected beauty.



2. To never take for granted the small, simple things in life.



3. To boldy follow your dreams and not let anything stop you.



4. She taught me I can "pull off anything" in the fashion world! She taught me to have fun with my clothes and wear it well!
   


5. She taught me so much about people and their core values.



6. She's the inspiration for indigo/magenta....my blog name!



7. Loving and caring for your body the natural way.



8. And to be who you are, without apologies!
   

Happy Birthday, Lady!! Thanks for the unspoken lessons!!

So I always let my hairdresser (Janie) do whatever she wants. It's fun for her and always an adventure for me. I would say almost every time I don't like it when I leave, but I ALWAYS end up loving it. This cut was quite and adventure! I love my spikes, we all know this, but this one was pretty extreme. I didn't take a picture soon enough to show the dramatic effects of the cut, but it has definitely taken some getting used to. Overall, people don't love it....I love the strong opinions I get on my hair! I've heard "light socket" "lesbian" and makes me look "old". There are a few out there who genuinely like it.



It isn't my favorite, but it's different, so that makes it fun....and let's be honest, it'll grow. So I'm just embracing it and acting confident...that's always what makes it cute anyway!

(sorry about the extra chin....that just came out of nowhere! :) )

I got tickets to the Bon Jovi concert and thought, who better to take then the one woman who introduced me to Bon Jovi and made me think they were SO cool...my older sis! You know, back when they looked like this:

That was THEN....this is NOW...

Nice to know that somethings have changed...but looks like you can't always take the 80's out of the man....(i.e. perm...tight jeans....unbuttoned shirts....)



Collette and I had so much fun. We haven't ever been to anything like that together....and I LOVED it! I even locked my keys in the car because I was so excited. So we had to call our parents to come bring us a spare. I REALLY felt like I was 17, maybe even 13 again! (Thanks, Dad!)



Pretty sure that every move I saw Jon do, I've learned in my aerobics class. It was kinda cute...again sometimes you can't take the 80's out of the man....

Every outfit, Jon made sure he didn't button the top 5 buttons....a little creepy! :)

Here's the best part though.....Collette and I watched it later...and laughed and laughed. If you want to hear Jon....listen to the above video....if you want to hear me...click below!

I recently put in part of my backyard (still needs some artificial grass) and bought some outdoor furniture. And we thought a little BBQ after general conference would be fabulous! So we invited a few over and broke in the BBQ!

Here's some pics of the new backyard goodies!!

I LOVE my patio set!! It makes me happy!!

The fancy-schmancy BBQ!

And my personal faovorite...the firepit!! It is DIVINE! Definitely the new hang out place!!

My neighbor, Jamie Sparrow, brought over a pool for the party! It was a hit!! I finally can afford a pool in my backyard!! :)

My cousin, Chris and I got invited to an 80's party by a friend at work. Can I tell you how much I LOVE the 80's. I think my hair was meant to be 80's hair....and I am not ashamed to say it!!


Seriously....and I mean SERIOUSLY.....this is my ideal family picture:

Sorry, if that is anyone's cousin from St. George...I really do LOVE it!


Anyhow, the party was great and I LOVED dressing up....

• Tostones (fried green plantains with YUMMY toppings and cheese)...DELICIOUS!




• Fried Yuka (a root vegetable)....FABULOUS!

Main Course:

• Arroz con Pollo---cuban flavored chicken with yellow rice....the BEST of the night!









• Moros--black beans and rice mixture (served as a side)...PHENOMENAL!




• Lechon Asado--marinated pork---not too bad


• Havana Sandwich a La Locura (with fried plantains)--pretty good.









• Vaca Frita--(fried cow) beef in moros....good, but dry.

(Side note: It is against the law in Cuba to have beef in your fridgerator or in your home. It is a delicacy there and is only given to the tourists....crazy!)

Dessert:

• Flan




• Tres Leches Cake---changed my life! So good!!









• Guanabana milkshake--different




• Mamey milkshake--think you had to have been raised on it!! :)

You've gotta love Cuban decor!!

Oh, how I love Ethnic Food Night!! :)

I went to a friend of mine, Shawna's, art show! She is amazing and I love her! An art scout saw her work and she was asked her to do a display at the Bellagio! She was so excited and I was so proud!


Here's some of my favorite pieces:

I had so many thoughts, prayers, blessings, and even a few fasts to help me out for my capstone! Here's some of the stunning flowers I got to remind me that I had some love and support! Thank you to everyone who thought of me!! I am spoiled to have such good friends and family!!

Love you all!!

March 26th

I'd like to consider myself a pretty laid-back person that doesn't let things bother me too much. But this capstone project (my equivilant of a thesis) just about put me over the edge! I've worried myself to TEARS about this day for the past year!

So to write this entry makes me REAL happy!

I did my project on "A Study of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis". I was bored just reading the title! So I thought I would add some graphics to makes the powerpoint presentation just a LITTLE more interesting. Whatever did we do before Google Images?? It saved me....once again!

I had to have one member on my committee outside the School of Nursing. His role was to protect me and be my advocate incase my committee decided to have a heyday during the questioning portion. Ironically, that LOVELY member (whom I had never met) was the ONE AND ONLY member who interrogated me! Okay, that might be a little extreme, but he did ask his fair share of questions, including but not limited to..."What do you think about reproduction in HIV positive patients?" and "Can you explain DNA transcription to me?" Excuse me, sir? Did you listen to the TITLE of my paper??? Luckily I did a research paper on HIV + mothers and transmission to their children my senior year of HIGH SCHOOL! I knew enough to get by, but I was shakin' in my boots.

They then send me out into the hallway to decide if I pass or fail. (really there HAS to be a better system) I couldn't hear much, but I did hear them all start laughing...NOT reassuring! But she called me back in and said Congratulations! It was a great moment! She said she knew I was nervous because my voice was shaking....I said it was shaking worse when I was practicing at home! She looked surprised! hehe....

On my slide about side effect of PCOS...(increased hair growth)

hehe...an actual statue in Austria...notice the goiter (caused by Hashimoto's Thyroiditis..)

My last slide: Any Questions??

I got an ADORABLE package from my old roommate"s (Katrina) sister, Maresa. She had come to stay a night or two with us and I fell in love with her too! She is so adorable, and got accepted into Physical Therapy school here in Las Vegas, so I'll get to see some more of her!!



Anyhow, while she was here my roommate, Ashlee, and I had a grievance with our roommate Kristin. Kristin was performing clean-up duty after one of our parties and she THREW AWAY a HUGE pot of Mac&Cheese Ashlee and I had worked really hard on (even added shredded cheese). We had to calmly explain to Kristin that leftover Mac&Cheese is even better than fresh Mac&Cheese. And EVEN BETTER than that is the Mac&Cheese that has time to cool on the stove and the top layer gets a film-type cover.

Needless to say, the next day when I went searching for our treasured Mac&Cheese and came up empty handed. We all had to have some mediation. Good thing Maresa was there to provide that! She concluded that it was a red-head thing. However, after much research, it is not just a red-head thing. Leftover Mac&Cheese if PHENOMENAL!

So a little while after she left we received a package in the mail to 2 boxes of macaroni and cheese with instructions! She'll be glad to know that the box (empty now of course) is proudly displayed above the stovetop to prevent any other offenses! shew....