Anthony and Jasmine

Long awaited Fence, we finally meet

2011-11-07T23:00:00.004-07:00

Remember this post from last Fall? It's finally happened! This was Tony's Anniversary gift to me. Last Saturday my mom and dad came and helped us pick up the wood with their truck and helped us load and unload it. Then needed to get home and finish their own yard work before the cold weekend so Brook stayed and helped us complete our backyard. We couldn't have done it without any of them. They've been so great with all the help and support. It's so nice to finally feel like our home is finished after four years! We have nice grass, with all the sprinklers in, and now a beautiful fence. I'm so glad Tony knows how to do all that stuff. He did it all by himself. But we couldn't have done it with out my Dad bringing his tractor over and tilling the ground for us a few times, and my brother Zack who came to level it out after it had settled. And my mom and sister Brook, and my brother Dale who came and helped us rake it and level some more and pick up all the rocks. We're so blessed to have such wonderful families so close to help with all things. Thanks again to all of you for your help. Now Pilot has a place to run and play. It's been a week now and it's still not old every time I walk by a window I have to stop and stare and smile. It feels more like home now. No more midnight pranks from teenage kids in the neighborhood coming up and pounding on the sliding glass door and scaring me. OK, it only happened twice and it was a year ago now, but still, it won't happen again. Yay!

Hymns of Thanksgiving

2011-11-07T20:15:00.002-07:00

Anthony and I are singing in the Hymns of Thanksgiving again this year. They have such a beautiful collection of songs and music this year. We met with the orchestra last Sunday and it was so nice to hear it all together. I feel so thankful to be a part of it. If you're in the Boise area, please feel free to come to the performance, no ticket needed. If you can't be there in person, it will be broadcast on two local channels all during the week of Thanksgiving. They will have a program by Governor Otter and his wife, and a piano performance by Del Parkinson, to name a few. We've been a part of this for a few years now, and my Dad and some of Tony's aunts for even more years and so we've either been watching the performance or participating in it for long enough that it's become a part of the season for me. It doesn't feel the same without it. So with that all said, I invite everyone to this performance :)

A nose by any other name...

2011-08-18T21:47:00.013-06:00

Tony started out the day in pretty good spirits, but surgery takes a lot out of you

He had septoplasty surgery this morning and he's been sleeping most of today. I hope tomorrow goes better. We're hoping this will help him breath the way he should but he keeps asking me why he did this. I keep reminding him it will be worth it but he's having a rough time right now. It was nice having the buzzer throughout surgery because they would send little text messages letting me know how it was going which was nice to have the peace of mind.

While he was in recovery the doctor came out and let me know how it went: he said it took him quite a bit longer than he thought and thinks that there is a history of trauma that made it so bad and feels very positive about the results. I'm not sure if Tony knows that yet because our conversations haven't been very long between his naps. He gets to take the plugs and gauze out of his nose tomorrow. He can't wait, and I can't wait for him. In the meantime I change the dressing for him pretty regularly. They call it a mustache dressing, for obvious reasons :)

One of Tony's wonderful sisters, Debbie brought over some dinner (actually enough for a few nights!) and it was so sweet of her. And as always, very good :) Thanks again Deb! Tony loves the Ice cream Creamies.

Work pics

2011-07-10T17:09:00.003-06:00

Tony got a little light-headed again on Thursday during a procedure, but they're getting fewer and farther between, I had to snap a pic while he was trying to get some blood back to his face. About a minute after this he was lying on floor with his feet on the chair :)

I love my job, I love just about everything about it, except for the occassional creepy guy who stares just a little too long, smiles just a little too sinister, and asks for you by name when he doesn't need anything, and who you sometimes wonder if he sabotages his own foot just for an excuse to come back. It's a part of the job, you have to deal with it, that's life.
Have you seen "Megamind" yet? It's one of our new favorites, and for a few weeks after it came out we would tell each other things in "codes". So then at work a few of the assistants started codes after Tony's experience with "Mike-the-guy-who-threw up-on you" and now its just Code:Mike and we all smile and know what to do lol. Since then, a few more codes have popped up. Code Wilson: this guys looking for drugs, Code Candice: this one's a fainter, Code Roger means, "uh, this guy is kinda creepy". It's been nice having Tony around the office because he is always so willing to look out for us and help out. But then last week we had a male patient who started hitting on Tony and now we have a Code David which means Tony would rather that one of the girls takes care of this patient :) we got a few laughs over.He does get a kick out of allthe little old ladies who flirt with him and call him "beautiful boy" :)

My New Favorite App!

2011-06-24T20:08:00.009-06:00

So maybe you don't use apps, maybe it's no big deal, but to me it's been great! Product Reps, drug Reps, account numbers, order numbers, phone and fax numbers, I used to carry around all these cards from office to office at work so I would have them with my at any time if one of my bosses needed them. If I didn't have my book I felt lost. But about a week ago I found a great app that solved my problem :) Cam Card takes a picture of the card with my phone camera and automatically saves the info as a contact in my phone. I can flip through the cards as images if I'm looking for a specific card, I can still flip the card over to read the back if I've made any notes to myself or written down account numbers etc. I already feel lighter! And since I always have my phone with me, I don't have to worry about where I've left my black card book. Love it!

I went from this: To this:

Tony's new job..

2011-05-25T21:09:00.004-06:00

Ever since I started back at work for my dad, I mostly shower at night. I've had people tell me this is strange, but now at least I know that Tony finally understands. Once school got out I've been taking him to work with me to help out as we've been a little short staffed. He's been a great help. He's picking things up really fast and has been pretty easy for me to train, part of it may be because I talk about work too much, but mostly because I think he's pretty smart.
He's had a few pretty good experiences and few not so good ones. Like today for example. He was assisting the doctor during a suture removal. Very routine, nothing to be concerned about, except when the patient gets light headed from watching, faints, then throws up his lunch, all over Tony! and the wall, and the door, and the floor...quite an experience. Maybe more than you wanted to know, and definitely more than he was expecting. But needless to say, he came straight home and showered, then showered again. He's been a trooper :)
He's also had a few light-headed experiences during his first few days. The first time I had him working in the back with patients I thought he'd enjoy standing in on a procedure and getting used to what we do. I was busy at the front desk most of the time but stepped back for a few minutes to make sure they were running on schedule. As I walked by the procedure room I expected to find Tony there, but instead found him lying flat on his back in the doctors office. It had never occurred to me to warn him about the sight of blood because I guess I've gotten used to it. He didn't stay down long though and jumped right back in. He had to step out a few minutes later for a breather. As it turns out, he's ok with the sight of blood but doesn't like the sound of blade on bone. He's helped out on a few more procedures since then and it is getting easier for him. My days are a lot less stressful and he's been a big help. It will probably only be short term but I'll enjoy while I can.

Someone please explain

2011-05-25T00:01:00.002-06:00

I was flipping through the paper this morning and stumbled across this article that I haven't been able to stop thinking about all day:

"A newborn tossed down a housing project's trash chute survived the eight-story fall because he landed on a pile of garbage and the compactor was jammed, investigators said Monday.

A maintenance worker heard a baby boy's cries coming from the trash compactor in the Walt Whitman Houses on Sunday morning. The child was taken to Brooklyn Hospital where he remains in stable condition, said Jerry Schmetterer, spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. He said the baby did not appear to have been injured in the fall.

Laquasia Wright, 18, was arrested on charges of attempted murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said it appeared Wright had given birth shortly before tossing the baby. She was also being treated at Brooklyn Hospital on Monday and it was unclear when her arraignment would take place."
-Associated Press May 24, 2011

My jaw had dropped while reading this article and I sat there thinking, "Here we are, wanting children, and people are literally throwing them away." Even though I know the answer, I still had to wonder, "why, where is the justice?" This is actually the second case like this in the the past month. The other baby was found in a hospital restroom in Queens.

Change gonna come

2011-04-17T22:59:00.004-06:00

Well, I found out that my Relief Society President's Husband has just been called into the Singles Ward as the new Bishop, so they have re-organized the Relief Society Presidency after only 8 months so I have been released and have been given a new calling. Which is probably the calling that has scared me the most of getting, so I'm sure that's why the Lord saw fit to finally give it to me. Each time I've been given a new calling I would be saying in my head, "Just so long as it's not RS Teacher..." and three times now I've had my prayer answered, but this time as I was sitting in the bishops office and repeating those words once again in my head "Please, anything except RS Teacher" those are exactly the words he said. Dang! I still haven't gotten over it. The Lord must really want me to get over this fear because I will now have plenty of opportunity to. I'm still a little sad at not getting to serve with the sisters I had been working with, but there is also a little relief to it as well. Being in the presidency is not always easy. So this will be new to me. I taught a few times as a counselor, but this will be every month. I can already feel myself stretching just thinking about it. lol So keep a prayer in your heart for me because getting up in front of any kind of audience is not my favorite. Thanks :)

Just an update

2011-03-29T17:58:00.004-06:00

I realize it's been quite a while since I even got on here, I've been pretty busy lately- but I guess I don't have any pics to post. Tony's on spring break this week, so I'm hoping to get a lot of house work/maintainence done. This week is National Spring Cleaning Week (yes I need a whole week lol) if only we got paid to use it. I'm hoping that we can get our grass in this week, but there's been some rain and I don't know if that will interfere. But Tony did hang the curtains that have been patiently waiting for him to hang and I think they're great! It would also nice to get our backyard fence put in (I think I would rather have that before the grass because the neighborhood kids walk through our yard to get to school and if we plant they might walk) so at least I have options :)

Everyone needs a break now and then

2010-11-24T19:15:00.015-07:00

I was so excited to get the call when my fabulous cousin CC called to say she was engaged! Last Saturday was the wedding and Tony and I were so glad to be able to go- We decided to rent a car to drive down because we weren't sure how reliable our own car would be, all in all after gas mileage it would have cost us $30 more if we'd taken our own car so it was totally worth it! Plus we love road trips and it's been forever since we've taken one. Tony's a great driver and I read out loud as we go. We stopped at Hoover Dam on the way down and stretched our legs.

The wedding was great and I found I couldn't stop smiling because I was watching CC the whole time who was beaming! I'm so happy for her and from what I heard and saw of her family her new husband is great and they are so good together!

I got to see a lot of my cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't seen for years- it was like a mini reunion. A lot of them haven't met Tony so it was fun catching up with everyone.

I don't know when I'll get to see any of them again but I look forward to the next time, and to the next road trip.

Bee Sting

2010-07-15T15:50:00.000-06:00

Poor guy! Tony was working out on the farm and a bee flew into his face and stung him just below the eye. It was swollen when he got home from work but the next morning he could barely open his eye! My eyes would water ever time I looked at him even though he kept insisting it didn't hurt that bad. But needless to say he's a little bee shy now :)

The Grand Canyon

2010-06-20T21:49:00.002-06:00

Ever since Tony and I were married I've wanted to go to the Grand Canyon with him :) I haven't been since I was a kid and he says he's been there but didn't remember it. He only knows he has been because of a picture his mom has- it was great making making new memories together. We went with my mom, dad, and little sister Brook :)

I got to rub Brighty's nose :) He brings good luck! I remember my mom reading Brighty of the Grand Canyon when I was a kid. The story was based on one of the favorite Burros they used for Prospecting. After the prospectors were gone and had moved on they used, the Park used the forgotten Burros to give rides for tourists and kids.

New Indoor Soccer Season

2010-05-13T22:59:00.003-06:00

We decided to continue playing on our indoor soccer team and we've had a lot of fun doing it. Our first game was last Saturday and I'm happy to say we started the season off with a win! Another plus, we decided to change our name and instead of "The Watermelons" we are now the "Cereal Killers" which I think sounds a lot better, especially when the other teams are usually "Stoners United" and "Adrenaline" and "Kaos". This Friday we play "Off Like Mad" and we're hoping for another win.

Indoor Soccer

2010-04-04T01:45:00.002-06:00

Last month Anthony and I joined an indoor co-ed beginners soccer team with my brother and his wife and some friends of theirs. We've had a lot of fun playing together. Anthony hasn't played since High School and I've wanted to see him play for a while. It's been so much fun playing together. I've never played so I was pretty nervous when we started because I didn't want to hold our team back. But I was so relieved on our first game night when I found out most of our team were as beginner as I am. We're The Watermelons and we haven't won any games, until last night that is! But even though we haven't been winning it's still so much fun playing. I don't have any pictures because I'm usually thinking about other stuff during the game but maybe next week. I think it will be the last game.

It finally happened...

2010-01-20T19:59:00.002-07:00

Last Thursday night just before Tony left for work he got a message from his supervisor saying that the company he works for needed to individually meet with all employees the next day to give them some bad news. He mentioned it before he left and I started to worry. He hoped it was only that they could no longer afford benefits. Last week they called and asked him if he wanted to sign up for dental and we were so glad!

So after working the overnight shift on Thursday, he went over to the Primary location to meet with his Supervisor. He called me at work and said, "Hey babe, just found out I don't have to work on Monday..." my first thought was oh nice. "..or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or any day after that". Great. That's what I was hoping it wouldn't be. The company is contracted through the State and the State is cutting back on how many kids are sent through their program. So they were only keeping 3 employees, and one of them was a guy who's worked there for over 9 years so what do ya do?

Tony started school on Tuesday and is going full time. I was grateful that he was able to have a job that allowed him to still get 40 hrs/week and do homework at the same time so it worked out really nice. I don't know if we'll be as lucky. I'm just grateful he was able to keep his job for as long as he did because they thought they were going to cut back last July and gave him notice then but then they recieved more kids and they've been going this long. So we've been blessed.

I can also look at it as no more overnights :) Although, I'm still getting used to him being home more often. A few nights ago I woke up to the blaring glow of our alarm clock! I couldn't believe the small light had woken me up but I'm not used to sleeping on that side of the bed! And last night I woke up in the middle of the night, uphappy with my choice of pillow and reached out in the dark for another one. I found one and jerked it over. Once I got comfortable I realized I'd just stollen Tony's pillow! lol Good thing he's a deep sleeper. I quietly slid it back and tucked it under his head laughing at myself. I'll have to get used to sharing a bed again lol.

Update: No pic

2010-01-11T23:52:00.003-07:00

I haven't updated because I haven't taken the time to add pics to my comp yet, but I figured October is too long.
We spent and early Thanksgiving on November 7th with Tony's family who all came home for Roberts Wedding. We hosted the dinner at our house but I'm so glad he comes from such a big family because we all split the dinner and I didn't have to cook the Turkey (which I'm sure everyone was grateful for because I've never done one on my own, and there's a lot of pressure with Turkey Day not having a Turkey).
The Wedding was great and we're so happy to have Whitney in the family. I love it when sibblings get married: I love how it takes me back to my own Wedding Day and how perfect it was. I couldn't have done it without help and I'm still so grateful to all those who made it that way. It is always perfect when I think back.
On that note, we had our 6th Anniversary October 30th and enjoyed an evening at home. Tony worked overnight the night before and the night of, and he was so tired, but he made the best steak dinner before I got home from work and had flowers and set the table. He made it through dessert before crashing and I loved all the effort he put into it. He's a great cook and I'm glad he enjoys doing it. After he worked as the Grill Chef at the steakhouse in Rexburg, I don't cook meat anymore which works out great for both of us!
For Christmas break we decided we needed a break and spent it with my sister Prairie and her family in Philly. We toured all the sites that everyone should see if they go there: Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Love Park, Wannamaker Bldg and light show, Philly Mint, Valley Forge, and walked all over!
We went to Gino's for a genuine Philly Cheese Steak: loved it. The line wrapped around the building in the freezing cold: I think just going through the experience was half the fun!
We were gone for 10 days and loved seeing Larry and Prairie and the kids. They're all growing up and we see them once a year and miss so much of the small things that it was so great to spend Christmas with them. They were so wonderful to us and showed us a great time. We didn't want to come home. This was the first extended trip we've taken together since we've been married we decided we want to travel more.
We had some trials in 2009 but also so many blessings! We recognize that everyone has trials and are just grateful we can learn from them. Looking back I know I'm better for them and that we grew so much. We've made our Resolutions and I love starting fresh. Happy 2010!

Family Hayride

2009-10-18T14:26:00.013-06:00

Every year for as long as I can remember, my Aunt Merry and Uncle Monty have put on a family hayride out at their ranch. We all ride the wagon, loaded with bales of hay, out to a predetermined location, where the hay was unloaded and arranged in a circle, where a campfire was made in the center. Dinner was laid out on the wagon and we'd sit around the fire, telling stories, visiting, and singing songs. After True and Andrea were married, we've enjoyed having the guitar and fiddle as part of the tradition. The kids usually start a game of hide and seek somewhere out in the dark, and we all stay til late, enjoying tradition and family.
When I was very little, it was only one wagon and he had Clydesdales pulling it. Now, they use two wagons linked together and it's pulled by the truck. After I got married and moved away, we missed some years, but it's so nice being back in the area to attend things like this. This year was a little different. I think it was probably due to the fact that there were a few new babies this year, and Grandpa Pearce has a harder time in the cold weather, but we all loaded up onto the wagon and rode out to the field. We made a few loops around the field for tradition, and headed back to the old red barn. Instead of sitting around the campfire, we sat on haybales in the barn and had a little more light and warmth. After dinner Aunt Merry started things off by passing around a cup of M&M's, everyone taking two different colors. Depending on what color you had determined what you shared with the group. Yellow: Something funny, Green: Favorite gift, Red: A tender moment, Blue: A lifelong dream, and Brown: A piece of advice. It was a lot of fun to hear from everyone and we sang songs until it was time to go, then Uncle Monty drove everyone on the wagon back home Some people requested that it be held in the barn every year, but I'm not sure what will happen. I think a small part of me would miss the way things were, but I also know that no matter where we have it, I still love going and sharing that experience with family.

Dad and Tony, waiting for the party to start

It was also Dad's Birthday

The first wagon

The second wagon

Inside the barn during dinner

Grandpa telling us a Bear Story

Music and Fun: True and Andrea were great!

Grandpa and I

Brinley and I on the wagon

The Fruits of our Labor

2009-10-10T13:31:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday Tony and I went to his parents house and spent most of the day Canning Peaches and Pears with his Mom. She's an expert canner so we appreciated the help. We did about 30 Quarts of Peaches and 30 Pears. There's something satisfying, if not beautiful, having them all lined up on my pantry shelf, with the colors glowing.

My Handsome Husband and my Cute Sister

2009-09-18T14:28:00.002-06:00

We went out to dinner with my family a few weeks ago for my little sister's birthday. She received her own camera and snapped a few shots. I like this one of Tony so I had to borrow it. Bonnie left for school a few days later and we miss her.

Dry Spell and no Posts

2009-09-18T11:58:00.005-06:00

I've noticed that around this time of your the posts are slowing down and lacking. Of course, I'm one of the worst :-) But I do love catching up with friends and family and love reading everyone else's.
Normally, I really don't have a lot to post about, let alone any pictures even though I've found my camara, but lately I have new news (no- I'm not pregnant) I'm still hesitant as to how much info I'll share over this website, so for those of you who actually read this comment, you can decide if you want to know more. I've made a separate blog (Our Hope) for those who are interested. If not, enjoy the occasional comments on this main page which I'm still keeping. Thanks

Ok, Found it !

2009-08-01T17:23:00.003-06:00

It was on top of my sisters fridge where I had apparently put it to keep it out of the reach of Logan, who loves to push buttons. Now where did I put the USB cord....

No Camera, no Pics

2009-06-13T01:42:00.001-06:00

I can't find my digital camara :-( No fun to post of I don't have pics. I wonder where I put it...

Backyard Dreams

2009-04-26T17:38:00.007-06:00

So I've been begging Tony all Spring if we could PLEASE plant our back lawn and put the sprinklers in, and the back fence up. The biggest problem there has been that when they built our neighborhood, they scraped away all the good top soil and left only hardpan. So we had some dirt brought in last Fall and there it has sat ever since because we didn't have anything to spread it around with. One step at a time, right? So yesterday, we got together with my BIL Zack who has a truck and needs some yard work done, and he went and picked up a little tractor that my parents agreed to lend us. I knew it would be next week before we could get to the backyard because Tony was sleeping off his graveyard shift from the night before.

But, I came home from running errands yesterday and found Zack in my backyard, pushing and scooping around the dirt! I was so surprised and so excited too! What a sweet guy! He hadn't even started on his own yard yet and came of to help me with ours. I'm so blessed! So here are the before and after pictures, with hopefully more to come! We still need to finish all the leveling and plot where we want the sprinklers to go, etc, but it's a start! Thank you Zack!

I just can't get enough of her!

2009-04-23T23:32:00.003-06:00

My niece Brinley. How can you EVER say no to this face? You can't. It's impossible because she's too good. It makes my day when she just climbs up into my lab and snuggles. She is ALL girl and it's so much fun. If it's pink, she loves it. She's quiet and shy and melts my heart. Two words, ANGEL BABY.

woot i'm blogging

2009-04-09T11:55:00.005-06:00

I thought that since Jasie hasn't been able to update much in the last while, I would take the time out of my not so busy schedule and update for her :-). This is a first for me so don't make fun yet, wait a few times. So we've had an eventful few weeks, I had my hours cut back to a gynormous 24 hours per week which has cut back our budget quite a bit, we're still making it alright.

This last week has been pretty eventful, tons of fun stuff happened. First we had a birthday party out in Letha for Grampa Pearce. He turned 94 this year and he is still at it. Here he is playing the harmonica for his grandkids and great grandkids to play musical chairs to.

We also got to go fly kites with Jasie's family out at the burk family ranch. We had all kinds of kites going, most were of the single string variety but we did have 1 kite that was a trick kite and after spending most of the afternoon fixing it (thanks Jasie for the hair rubber band it really did the trick) we were able to take it out for a few test flights and put it into service for the rest of the evening. It was really a blast. Everyone should go fly kites often especially with little kids around, they just make it that much more fun :-).
Here's Jasie flying a kite with her mouth

2009-03-15T19:19:00.002-06:00

So Friday afternoon, Tony, co-worker Lucy, and I drove over to Sun Valley for a Podiatric Conference. It was mostly for Lucy and I, but I thought the reservation was made for two Queen beds so I invited Tony to tag along for a much needed break.

It wasn't too long of a drive and we got there before sunset. I went in to check in, only to find out the reservation was for one King bed. Oops. After a few jokes with the others I decided to get a roll-away. Sorry Lucy. If I'd know, well- it would have been different, but it turned out ok.

Our classes didn't start until the next morning so we thought we'd enjoy the town a little bit. We didn't go too far, but it was fun to stroll around the little shops and double blink at some of the prices. It's amazing what people will pay for a sweatshirt in a giftshop. We didn't run into any celebs but maybe next year :-).

Classes started at 7:30am "The Role of the Podiatric Medical Assistant" which I felt was more for the Dr. giving the lecture than for us because it turned out to be a Q&A with him asking all the questions, picking up some tips on what we were doing as assistants. He was surprised at what we were taking on and commented that he needed to change some things at his office. Kinda weird, but :-) it was nice to meet other assistants from other offices and meet some new faces.

The other classes were great and during lunch I met a lot of vendors, a few offers to bring lunch to our office to show us their product (Don't let anyone tell you there's no such thing as a free lunch).

I should have taken some pictures, but it was a quick trip. Tony swam in the pool while I was in classes, did a little shopping, and feels so much more refreshed. Over night shifts are getting to him. I look forward to when he can move on to the next phase in our life: (Anything but night shifts.)lol

We got back last night and realized that we haven't been on a vacation in years and maybe we'll start making plans for a longer getaway. We'll see how it goes :-)

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

2009-02-06T01:53:00.000-07:00

Where are they now?

2009-02-04T00:53:00.009-07:00

So some of you may remember the "toenails" from a few months ago. Well, most of our elderly patients who qualify for regular nailcare come in about every 3 months. Today our Little Old Lady came in and I was so glad! I was worried she would wait too long again. I regreted not getting an "after shot" last time, but she was more than willing to let us get one today. You would hardly recognize them!! I almost didn't when she came in. They were nowhere near the length that they were last time, but if we stay on top of them at her regular visits, they will never get that bad again!

Building our own cathedrals...

2008-12-06T15:59:00.004-07:00

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral."-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I stumbled upon this snip of thought the other day and passed it by, thinking it to be just another random quote that fills our life, but as I went on throughout my day it replayed across my mind when I least suspected it, after I thought it was long forgotten, and demanded a little more of my attention.

We all have rock piles, perhaps of different sizes but they're still there, made up of our fears, trials, losses, pain, and more. I realized that I didn't want my rock pile to be anything but that: a rock pile. Where would I keep my rocks if I didn't have my rock pile? Until we are given more of vision of what our rocks can be: beautiful cathedrals. Why have a rock pile when you can have something much more beautiful? I know it may sound so cliche but it's what I needed today.

2008-12-04T00:54:00.005-07:00

We went to Brooke's basketball game a few weeks ago and we had just as much fun watching Logan as we did the game. Logan just learned how to say Tony's name. "Nnooo nie" It's so cute! I love it. Holly says that sometimes he will just walk around the house with his hands out like he's looking for something and says over and over, "Ere's Nony? Ere's Jajie?" We have so much fun with him. We're good buds :-)

YES this is real!

2008-11-06T01:20:00.012-07:00

Ok, so we don't regularly take pictures of our patients feet but this was one of our exceptions. I've seen some pretty gnarly feet but it's been a while since I've seen any like this. I felt so bad for this little old lady.
Nobody noticed that her nails had gotten so long because she always left her socks on, and she never said anything. She had been keeping cotton underneath the nails because they were starting to curl around and grow into her skin. We should have taken after pics because we cut them back to normal lengths and she walked out much happier than when she came in. Sometimes I cut so many toenails in a day that when I close my eyes at night that's all I see! It's a good thing I like feet! But as bad as it sometimes is, I loved seeing how happy people are when they leave after having something like this taken care of.
-Jasmine

2008-10-22T20:16:00.001-06:00

"Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them.The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."-- Voltaire

Joy in the Journey...Now!

2008-10-05T11:45:00.006-06:00

"If you pile up a lot of tomorrows, you'll wind up with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays...." Professor Harold Hill

Just yesterday my dad repeated this quote in one of our conversations and so I've already been thinking this one over. I love the musical "The Music Man" and grew up with it as one of our familys classics, so I smiled today when I heard Pres. Monson recite it during his talk. And to hear it again reminded me of true it is.

My Favorite Season!!

2008-09-10T00:39:00.003-06:00

So this month has slipped by so fast...no, the last two months have! I still feel like I'm trying to get used to it being July.

Summer is gone...but I don't mind too much because I love the Fall! It's my favorite season. Before we were married I had always wanted to get married in the Fall and have Fall colors. So when Anthony proposed in August, it was perfect (although cutting it a little close :-) but I got my wishes: The Perfect Guy and the Perfect Day.

You know, officially it's not Fall until Septepmber 22, but I don't care what the calandar says because it's not Fall until you can smell it. So usually about this time I start waiting for it to happen. I know it's getting close, but every day I keep checking and it's still not here. Some of you know what I'm talking about, but for you others, I'll let you know when it's actually here :-)

-Jas

Guilty Camping...

2008-07-28T22:07:00.003-06:00

So at the beginning of July, my sister and Dad drove down to San Diego for a family reunion. My Uncle picked out a campground that his family has been going to for 3-4 years. It might not be the authentic camping atmosphere but it was fun. It had an outlet post at each campground (so yeah, we did have electricity) but what mattered was the family. The kicker though was one the first night Holly and I were puttering around, getting bedding ready for the night when our neighbor camper called out a hello and came to introduce herself. She neighborly offered any help we might "because her husband is an Eskimo" and she introduced her cat. She made us smile and was pretty interesting. But then she asked us where we were from and we told her and we asked her back. She said they were from California. I asked her if she came to the camp very often and was completely caught off guard when she told us that she lived there. Then she told us they had lost their house in the fires and didn't have any insurance at all. It was a little akward after that because the more we talked the worse I felt. Here we had driven 10+ hours to go camping at this campground and they were forced to live there. They couldn't afford the nightly fee so she volunteered at the campground cleaning the bathrooms. By the end of the vacations we'd gotten to know them a little better and I was grateful to know that they did have a house in Texas. They hadn't lived there for 20+ years and have been renting the house out since then. It's in such bad shape right now they can't live in it, and they're also saving on getting there.

So even though I felt guilty, I still like camping. And even though my home is not the way I'd like it right now, or completely finished, I can forget about that and just be grateful that I do have a house to go home to.

-Jas

Independence Day!

2008-07-09T21:29:00.004-06:00

I went down to San Diego with my sister and Dad last week for an extended Family Reunion, and we were there over the 4th of July! We were camping, so when the time came, we just hiked over to the edge of the hill we were on and set our camp chairs down and watched a local fireworks display. I had my 18 month old nephew, Logan, on my lap and every time a firework would go off, he would spread his arms really big and say "Wooow!" (One of his favorite words). It was the best thing to watch! He was so impressed by each and every one of them. He can almost say my name (at least I pretend like he can). At first he'd point and say something that sounded like Daddy (one of the few words he can say) but now it comes out something like "Dajee". It's great :-)

2008-06-22T23:09:00.004-06:00

Info Update: Tony's Aunt just moved to Meridian and opened up a Golden Spoon frozen yogurt shop! He's working there right now and has gotten to be a great swirler! To be honest, I've never heard of the Golden Spoon before this, but now I know all about it and am a new fan of the Fro Yo. So if you're ever in the area, stop by and say hi!

I love feet!

2008-05-31T00:22:00.006-06:00

I guess it's sorta natural for me to like feet since I grew up with a Podiatrist for a Dad. Most people krinkle their nose when they find out what I do for work, but someone has to, right? Most people take their feet for granted and don't think about them until they start hurting, so I think there should be a national feet day or something along those lines, I'll take up a new cause and let it be known to the world. Foot Appreciation Week ;-p Fun Fact: From your hip to your ankle there are only 5 bones, but from your ankle to toe there are 28 bones! I'm amazed more and more each day by the human body and all the tiny details that went into creating us, and I'm grateful to our Father in Heaven who thought about where our feet will take us. So love your feet!

My New Favorite Quote

2008-03-22T16:19:00.005-06:00

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us"
-- Helen Keller

It also reminds me of a line from one of my favorite movies, "The Sound of Music".

"When God closes a door, he often opens a window."
-- Rev. Mother to Maria

-Jas

Our 4th Year Anniversary!

2008-03-19T13:57:00.003-06:00

Our Anniversary was last Oct (2007) but I'm just slow at posting. We've never really done anything big for our anniversary so this was as close as it's gotten.

I've always been a James Taylor fan so last year I bought one of his CD's. At first Anthony seemed a little doubtful and didn't want to listen to it because "he'd never heard of him", which was all the more reason I insisted he listen to my new CD because in my opinion, everyone should know who James Taylor is! Lets just say that from the first time I popped it into the car CD player, that it was the only CD we listened to for two weeks straight. He loved it! Every time we got in the car, we'd let it play.

Well, last October he came to Boise so we bought tickets. We were early enough to get 4th Row Tickets and it was so much fun! When James came running out on stage, everyone tood up and they all starting taking pictures. He said it was ok so we pulled ours out! I love the ones we have of him and they make some fun memories!

But one of my favorite parts was when Anthony moved up next to the stage as James came back out onto the stage for an onchor, Tony held up our tickets, amid all the other things that were being held up there, and James signed our tickets! I moved up a little later when there was a little bit more room and we both leaned against the stage and listened while he played another 1/2 hour. It was great!

It's true that not enough people know who James Taylor is, but that won't stop us from being fans. -Jasmine

New Year: New Life

2008-01-06T21:23:00.003-07:00

For our New Years Resolutions this year, we decided to go with quality, rather than quantity. We'll see how it goes. :-)
-Jas

Is this thing on?

2008-01-03T01:51:00.001-07:00

Testing....