Bye Bye Birdie!

When my sisters and I were all young, tiny little children, our cousins Annie and Haley would babysit us once in a while. They would always bring over fun movies for us to watch. They introduced us to a classic Frankie Avelon movie called "Beach Blanket Bingo," which is still one my sisters and I like. The other movie I remember that their family showed us one time was a musical called "Bye Bye Birdie." I've been searching FOREVER to find a clip on youtube, from this movie, and I finally found it today!!!!! I am so excited! Here is the clip. It is from my favorite song that Kim , played by Ann Margaret, and Hugo sing together. Enjoy!

Do You Remember?

I am a fan of chick flicks......even the most cheesy of chick flicks, I love!!! Last week I pulled out a popular chick flick movie that came out when I was in 8th grade. I remember this being one of the most popular movies among my junior high school. We use to watch channel one, which is a news station for junior high and high school students, after lunch. The trailor for "A Walk to Remember" was alyways on it. We watched channel one during my naughty science class, in which no one ever shut-up. The moment this commercial came on though, everyone got real quite and actually watched it. We were all so excited for it to come out in theaters. I decided to watch "A Walk to Remember" last weekend, and realized that it is still one of my favorite movies. It is super cute! Here is one of my favorite scenes from the movie. This is from the spring play. If you haven't seen this movie, get off your but, track it down, get back down on your butt, and watch it!

New Shoes!

Happy President's Day! Did anyone do anything cool on this lovely day off of school? I did! I actually went to Famous Footwear and bought myself some new shoes! I have not gotten myself new shoes for almost a year and a half! The last pair of shoes I got myself, are my Nike running shoes. Though they are my work out shoes, I tend to wear them all the time because they are comfortable, and they go with anything. I have been wanting to get me a pair of casual shoes to make for a different look, but I have this problem where I don't like to spend money because I'm a poor, starving college student just trying ot survive through each day. Today I got up the guts! And what a good day it was to get the guts to buy new shoes! Famous Footwear is having some great Preseident's Day sales! I got me some comfortable Asics walking shoes for half price!!!!! I feel very satisfied! I also went to Robert's today to get some more scrapbook supplies. I just need some blank discs to get some pictures developed for my scrapbooking activity!!!!!

Homecoming + Sicklyness = Awkwardness!

I have been sick this week! Not fun! I'm never sick! I blame it all on my co-workers who have been sick. I'm pretty sure they planned to spread it to me next. It all started on Saturday when I woke up with an irritation deep in my throat, kind of near my chest. I didn't think much of it until Saturday night and Sunday morning. I hardly slept a wink that night, and woke up Sunday with pain down at the bottom of my trachea, and a little bit of a hoarse voice. I though to myself, "no, I can't be sick today! It is Jeff's homecoming!" I tried to act like I was okay all though the homecoming, while ignoring the fact that I felt like CRAP! I did a pretty good job, but when I got home, I crashed on my bed for 3 hours! Monday morning I woke up feeling even worse! Not only did I have that pain down my trachea, but it began to spread up my throat, and I had developed a cough. I about ripped my ears off as well! I struggled through my classes yesterday, and worked with my boss to get my guard shift of today, which I was able to do, hooray! Today, I think I'm finally feeling a little better. The pain near my chest is gone, but my throat is still pretty soar. I don't feel like ripping off my ears today either! But my cough is still there. I think my health is finally on the rebound!

Here are some pictures for Jeff's homecoming. Please don't make fun of how bad I look in them. I was sick at the time!

He's Back!!!!!!!

Hey everybody! The day I've been waiting for for 2 years finally came! We got to welcome home Jeff from his mission this week! Here is a picture of me with Jeff for the first time in 2 years!!!!

Jinxed: Gashed Heads and Broken Fingers

Last night at worked, I jinxed myself. I was the headguarding last night. I was talking to a few of my lifeguards and I mentioned that I hoped someone would gash their leg open, so I could use some first aid skills. (For those of you who don't know yet, I'm kind of a first aid freak, and start to intch to use my skills when I haven't used them in a while.) Well, my hope came true, except that instead of a gashed open leg, I treated a gashed open head, which was cool, but way more dangerous than a leg. Some kid smacke his head on the diving board, and split it open. He had a good 2 inch long gash right on the top of his head. It was pretty awesome! Luckily he had no other head, neck, or back injury, because that would not have been so awesome. After I finished treating him, along with my ER Nurse Rochelle, I was called to the front counter to look at a coworker's finger. This coworker was playing basketball, and got hit in the finger really hard. I examined it and determined that I would be very surprised if it were not broken. About an hour or two later, I found out he went to the doctor, his finger was broke, and he now has to see a specialist for it. Basically I had to send two people to the emergency room last night! Is it weird I get a thrill out of this kind of stuff?

I'm Freaking Out!

Jeff comes home in 10 days! It is hard to think it has really been 2 years. I started thinking about these past two years. While Jeff has been gone, so many of the girls in our highschool friend group have gotten married, one of them is pregnant, some of the boys are still on missions, and alot of my friends are all moved out to other places. I'm kind of the old maid who is still sitting around here living my life. But you know what? I've had alot of great things happen over these past two years, which will be saved for another blog. :)

Update On My LIfe!

Wow, I have not posted in a while. I've been kind of busy with a new semester and everything starting.

My class schedule this semester:
1. Health and Human Relations
2. Personal Resiliency
3. Eating Disorders and Body Image
4. Middle Childhood
5. Family Studies

My work schedule:
1. Lifeguard
2. Headguard
3. Supervise
4. Specialty Instructor
5. Scout Merit Badge Instructor
6. Swim Lesson Instructor (only once in a while)

I have 15 more days to have this sick to my stomach nervous feeling!

I'm officially starting to get serious about my training for my triathalon!

I had a sick eye last week, but it is almost better.

I love when I get to sleep in!

Pool Adventures!

Sometimes, I absolutely love work! Especially when my cool friends are there! Tonight the moon was supposed to be the biggest and brightest moon of the year! I was the supervisor at work tonight, and a few of us decided to take a small field trip to the outdoor pools, climb to the top of the white platform, and look at the awesome moon! We had so much fun! It was freezing and the pools were creepy all covered in snow! Here is a photo journal of our adventure. And I admit I stole these pictures from Natalie my sister and Emily Hackett!

I almost jumped of the platform, when I realized the pool is filled with snow and ice. Ouch!
Natalie was a frozen little lifeguard!

We ice-skated on the outdoor rec pool! I think Emily is the next Michelle Kwan!

Don't we look sooooooo cold?

This is our movie poster shoot!

Here is the fabulous moon, taken from the white platform.

Natalie and Amanda's glamor photo shoot!

The whole gang! Emily, Rochell, Me, Amanda, Natalie, and Ryan, our security guard, took the picture for us.

Amanda doing the Gene Kelly pose.

The poor little frozen lifeguard was so cold when she made her snow angel, but she did such a good job!

Eskimos getting ready to head out in the bitter winter night air!

We are going to be models for 7-Eleven hot chocolate!

Certified!

Today was my last day of Safety School. I successfully passed my LGI final, and I am now a certified instructor! I am so happy!

Safety School!

Hello Everybody! I've had quite the first week of 2009! I have been at safety school all week to get my Lifeguard Instructor (LGI) certification. With this certification I can teach an certify lifeguard training classes, cpr and aed for the profressional rescuer classes, oxygen administration classes, and guard start classes. For the past 8 months my boss has been preparing me for this LGI class by having me help out in cpr/aed classes. I have really enjoyed it and am excited about receiving my certification! My LGI class has been really intense, but so much fun at the same time. We are all given teaching assignments to learn how to teach to a class. Yesterday I tought passive submerged rescue, which is where you have to go down to the bottom of the pool and bring a victim up to the surface. It has always been my hardest skill since I took my lifeguard class 5 years ago, but teaching it really was not bad! It wasn't as scary to teach as I thought it would be! Today I had the assignment to teach adult CPR, rescue breathing, and conscious and unconscious choking. I love teaching CPR, so I was really excited about getting this skill. Let me tell you about the coolest part of my lesson today: When you are doing CPR, your chest compression rate needs to be at a rate of 100 per minute. What this means is that if you do straight compressions for one whole minute, you should get in exactly 100 compressions. There is a myth going around that if you do compressions to the beat of the song "Stayin' Alive," you will get exactly 100. I tried this out a few months ago, and found it to be true! So, during my class today, I had another student in my class do straight compressions on a manicin, while I played the song on my ipod speakers. Everyone was supposed to count compressions for a minute, but they were all laughing way too hard! One of the trainers teaching us ran out the door to the water safey instructor training class next door to the the head of American Red Cross Health and Safety courses, to come an watch. It was a hit! But now, I can't get the dang song out of my head!

One of the craziest parts of this class has been how I have pretty much been living with 2 of my bosses and 2 of my coworkers this entire week. Our class is from 9:00am to usually 5:00pm each day. We all car pool together, because Safety School is being held at the South Davis Rec center. It's been like a whole week vacation. Tomorrow is the last day of safety school, and because of all the time I've spent with my 2 bosses and coworkers, its going to be really strange to be away from them.

Long story short, LGI is way cool, and thanks to my boss for getting me into the class!

Goodbye 2008, Bring on 2009!

Happy New Year! I decided to do a little work and put together a slide show of my year, 2008, in review. I had a fun year, with a lot of growing and getting to know myself better. I've made a lot of new friends, and had some fun adventures with my family. The only problem I am having is getting my slide show uploaded onto my blog. Can anyone help me out?

Short Blog For Once

This is what the weather looked like entering the belt route on last Monday. Scary!!!!

Don't mess with the angry lifeguard!

I took this picture before my Economics final. It looked prettier in person.

Making a Difference

This week was the last week of classes for this semester. Now all I have left to complete are my finals. It's just the most wonderful time of the year, ya know?

One class I'm really going to miss is my foundations of health promotion class. This has been the most inspiring class for me and the most motivational professor I've ever had. This professor has taken a few opportunities to just give us an empowerment speech, and today was the last one. She completely let us drop our last lecture today, and gave us a presentation on making a difference. She started out by having us think of all the things that go into achieving a college degree. She then focused on the money that goes into our education. She figured out that if it takes you 4 years to get your degree, that will cost you approximately $20,000. She then went through all the things you could do with $20,000 dollars. She started with fun things such as buying 400 pairs of shoes, or 20,000 watter bottles, or 10,000 gallons of gas. Then she went into more health related things such as treating 2,500 women with HIV, so that they do not spread it to their babies. A family of 4 living on less than a dollar a day could survive for 30 years with $20,000. Her ponint she made was that we are so lucky to be able to wake up each day with good health. We are so lucky to be able to have clean water to drink. We are so lucky to have the educational opportunities we have. Hopefully I can take the education I pay $20,000 dollars for and give of that to someone in need. This professor is also way into international health, and has been to different parts of Africa to spread her knowledge of public health to people who really are in need. She showed us some picutres of where she visited. It was very moving. She concluded our final class session by saying how each of us really does have the power to make a difference in someone elses life, and maybe even in the world. I am so greatful to have taken this class. It has been the most beneficial class of my major. I now know why I chose health promotion, as my field of study, and hope it can take me to great places. And how awesome it was to have a professor who more than just provides lectures, inspires her students to achieve some of the great things she herself has achieved!

2 Months Left!

Can you believe it? Two months from today until my best friend comes home!

Happy Beginning of December!

I love this time of year! On Friday night, I went with some friends to the lights at Temple square. It was hacking crowded, but the temple was beautiful! I took a few pictures to share.

Natalie, Emily and I had a little fun after church today. We did a Christmas Dance Performane, and I thought I would share it all with you. Enjoy! :)

'Tis the season for....

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! My family and I were able to join my grandparents and some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for the delicious turkey dinner. I had an enjoyable time.

Thanksgiving starts the season of many things. In my opinion, 'tis the season for four specific things. Tis the season to be jolly of course. This is a fun time of year, allowing many opportunities to be with family. Tis also the season to be thankful. This time of year is a great time to reflect on the many blessings we each enjoy every day. We all have so much to be thankful for, and it is so important to express that thanks. Tis also the season of giving. I think the world gets so caught up in receiving sometimes, and forgets to think about other. Try and give of yourself everyday to someone, in some way. The fourth "tis the season," is not a happy one, but it is one I want you all to be aware of. 'Tis the season of burgluries. Sad, but true, this time of year is when robberies and car break-ins spike like no other. To add to that, the crashing economy is seeming to motivate stealing even more. Be aware, and be careful! Be aware of your surroundings. Don't leave ANYTHING in your car when you park in a parking lot. Just take precautions. I hate having to live in fear like this, but better worry and try to be safe, than sorry.

To end on more of a happy note, I have a lovely little cartoon for all you BYU and Utah fans! Enjoy!

http://216.252.110.31/us.f559.mail.yahoo.com/ya/securedownload?mid=1%5f2129073%5fAEFu%2fNgAAAnuSTBUOArVYwLQcNE&pid=2&fid=Inbox&inline=1&cred=uErxTU5k3VGSxpDQC.0xb.EfzW4FA5lWrmu8u_4DPqQ3r61rioyjiQOa1wNwi0LVuGkcY66sj3Doh0K8vv.SJegH87TqkCSin9ejew_6BZaU7uY-&ts=1227909714&partner=ymail&sig=0WhYMtDUZhAPrGp_Axj.7g--

Health Promotion + Henry B. Eyring???

Yesterday in my foundations of health promotion class, my professor used a quote in our notes from Henry B. Eyring! Now remember, this is a class at the University of Utah, using a quote from a member of the first presidency of our church! I thought it was pretty cool. It just goes to show how knowledgeable our church leaders our and how their teachings not only help us in religion, but can be applied to school, work, and many other places. The quote my professor used was one about education. She is working to get us all pumped to never stop our education, which in the health field is very crucial, as health and medicing are changing and becoming better and more current all the time. I'm very greatful for this professor and class. Never in my schooling have I had a more inspirational teacher. And now, I shall share the quote my professor used in class:

No service that matters can be given over a lifetime by those who stop learning. A great teacher is always studying. A nurse never stops facing the challenge of dealing with something new, be it equipment or procedure. And the workplace in every industry is changing so rapidly that what we know today will not be enough for tomorrow. Our education must never stop. If it ends at the door of the classroom on graduation day, we will fail…Insatiable curiosity will be our hallmark.
-H.B. Eyring

By the way, I think this is a really funny thing. For our health promotion happy thanksgiving at the U, we all got tangerines. Doesn't that just totally make sense for nerdy health majors like myself? I love it!!!

A Better Understanding Of My Life

This morning in my foundations of health promotion class, my professor ended her lecture in an extremely passionate way, which I can't get out of my head. She was going through some lecture notes on the ethics health professionals must have, in order to be legitimate and successful in their careers. Suddenly she stopped the lecture and started to tell us that there are a very few occasions when she gets on a soapbox in this class, and that today was going to be one of them. She told us that in order of be successful in whatever we do in our lives, we MUST achieve a high set of morals that we live by, and that we need to keep our integrity. She told us this with such more passion and more concern than I have ever seen in any of my professors. Today, more then ever, I finally understand why I'm going into a health profession: I want to do good for other people, and for myself. I'm not going through all this hard education to learn interesting things for myself, I'm going through this to someday be able to share it with larger numbers of people who NEED it! I finally understand that I have the ability to make a change for the better, in someone elses life. I feel more excited than ever about what I'm doing right now with my own life!

Lately, I've also been thinking about what I will do when I graduate from college. If things go as planned, I will graduate in a year, spring 2010, with my bachelor's of science in Health Promotion and Educaiton, with a minor in Human Development/Family Studies. I'm very excited about this, and love to talk about it! Lately though, everyone has been asking what I'm going to do with my degree when I graduate. Here's the problem: My degree is a pretty broad one, and I have way too many interests, so I always have to say I have no idea what to do when I graduate! But if someone were to ask me, today, what I'm going to do, I now have pretty definate answer. I will graduate and find a good job, maybe with Red Cross, Health Department of Utah, or at an eating disorder facility, and work for a good year or so. After about a year or more, I want to apply for graduate school and get my Master's of Public Health, with an emphasis in epidemiology. It is a 2 year program, and after that I want to be an Epidemiologist f the the Utah Department of Health! I'm soooooooo excited about this right now, and feel very good about it. I am really into my major right now, and even though it is difficult, I am loving every minute of it! And by the way, Go Utes tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

Missionary Farewell = Major Party!

My cousin Chloe will be leaving this Wednesday to serve an LDS misison in Italy! In honor of Chloe, we had an "older cousin" party. We had so much fun playing games like catch phrase, twister, and signs. We also enjoyed a delicious ice cream bar. I'm so excited for Chloe, and it is clear she is excited as well. She will do an amazing job. Good Luck Chloe! We all love you!

Here are some pictures from our cousin party.

Meranda, or "Rawanda" as we refer to her.

This is mine and Natalie's sexy pose.

Meranda (eating a spoon), and Natalie

Dancing Peter, and half of Meranda.

Me and Emily having panic attacks while eating ice cream.

Our MAD twister game! We had 2 twister games hooked together.

Cold ice cream Emily!

Isi and Tara laughing at our sweet twister moves!

Chloe and Eddie posing for an ice cream add.

Me and Rawanda playing twister!

Peter serving up the ice cream with Chloe in the background.

Signs game!

Hans and Chloe, and um somebody's foot?

Me, Annie, Ross.