My kind of pretty

Often when I tell people that I'm from Oregon, I get comments such as, "Ohhh, it's beautiful over there," and "I love how green and pretty Oregon is." And then I proceed to tell them that I'm actually from the other part of Oregon. The desert part.  But you know what? I still think it's pretty, and while it's not green and rhododendron-scented, I think sage brush smells great too.

Over Christmas break, my dad convinced us to go for a drive out in the desert. 

It was long. 

It was cold.

And the dirt road had pot-holes the size of  the suburban we were piled into.

(well, that may be exaggerating just a wee bit) 

But...

Nate thought he was the coolest person ever because he got to stand on top of this rock.

And Wyatt got to shoot guns with his dad and Pete

And we trekked up a frozen river to find...

A frozen waterfall.

 Which was actually pretty cool.

So it turned out alright after all. It was great fun to be in the car complaining and getting lost together. Ahem, I mean, spending time together. 

Okay, all joking aside, thanks Dad! Even Emery had a good time---she doesn't give out her full, four-toothed smiles for just anything.

Adventures in Organization

Two people.

One bedroom.

One bathroom.

One front room (that’s a combination living room, kitchen, dining room, and office).

One coat closet that’s half pantry and one laundry room that’s currently bike storage.

I’m convinced that two people should be able to fit in this space in an organized and clutter-free manner. If not, some serious DI’ing needs to happen…again.

I’m pretty sure the answer is organization.

So I de-cluttered the built-in bookshelf that used to look like The Great Wall of Science Textbooks anxious to bury passers-by (pictures to follow once I get the decor how I want it).

And I threw away some stuff.

And I threw away some more stuff.

And I will throw away more stuff…until it works.

(but lest you think I’m heartless...I do have a shoe box labeled “Steph’s mementos” in which are stored heartfelt cards I can’t throw away, awesome letters from my missionary best friends, etc.)

Up next on the organize/de-clutter list is the laundry room:

Wish me luck!

The Ever Unpredictable and Elusive Sleep

What do you do when you find yourself awake for no reason at 4:18 am?

Obviously, you go back to sleep.

But if that doesn't work?

Me and the husband found ourselves in just such a predicament on this lovely Saturday morning. So instead of sleeping in to an embarrassingly late time like we had planned, we got out of bed and found ourselves facebooking, blog-perusing, and downloading free ringtones for my cell phone well before the sun was up. 

Then we went to kneaders at 7 am and got all-you-can-eat French Toast. 

Because sometimes when you wake up at 4:18 am, you just have to roll with it.

"There is more to life than increasing its speed"

So what do I do now that I'm done with school and not working?

Organizer from Staples that has eternally
 revolutionized our desk space.

I clean. Gone are the days that our laundry would sit in the dryer for a week, aching to be folded. These days I can get through 4 or more 

loads of laundry in one day---from dirty to folded and put away! I've created cleaning checklists for every room in my apartment (from a Level 1 basic clean to a Level 4 intensive clean) and have been trying to go a little more in depth each week in my cleaning. We're talking dusting, wiping baseboards, removing light fixtures and washing them, etc. What about Organizing? or De-cluttering? Foreign words indeed to a busy, stressed out student. But in the past few weeks, the amount of trash and DI bags our little apartment has seen leave the doorstep is quite astounding. 

I cook. We've been "going grain" (okay, bad joke). With my Kitchenaid and new wheat grinder as my tools, I've been mixing up whole wheat flax bread, waffles and tortillas. I've also been experimenting with other grains like oats (steel cut, oat bran, etc.), flax, and lentils.

Next up on the "grains to try" list are couscous (which I've never had much success with in the past) and quinoa. I even tried my hand (actually both hands, arms, biceps, shoulder muscles, and what core muscles aren't being stretched to oblivion) at homemade filled pasta. 

It was exhausting.

But the result was delicious. 

Now I'm yearning for one of these.

If you ever have some pent-up stress or anger, a stretch of hours on your hand, and/or want a good workout--try making pasta by hand with a rolling pin. I used this great tutorial and this delectable recipe.

At first I was more concerned about making them pretty. I used heart shaped cookie cutters and thought they were adorable. Then I cooked one and tried it---way too much pasta, not enough filling. Then I just starting cutting the dough with a knife, around the filled part, and squeezing the edges together with my fingers. They were a little more rustic in appearance, but much tastier.

The Menu

The Husband

The Food

I exercise. But today I'm trying to lay down and put my feet up a little more (hence this long blog post). My back just hasn't been the same since I hiked the Y last week and I really want it to get a little better so I can keep exercising. Usually, I go on up-hill walks with friends, or walk/run on the treadmill at Pete's work gym. Getting to see him a bit during the day is extra motivation to go work out :)

Sunset view from the Y parking lot through the pollution.
 (Thanks Ush and Ash for the phone call!)

I study. NCLEX is coming up on February 15th! I haven't been too zealous in my study habits, to be honest (it seems there are lots of other things to keep me busy). I'm trying the slow and steady approach instead. I've been doing about an hour a day since January 1st, plus a few study sessions with friends. As it is getting closer, I plan to take some more lengthy practice tests.  

I prepare.  Or at least try to. I'm probably a little bit behind in this area right now considering I only have 2 months before my due date. Making lists of baby things I need to get, slowly collecting items, and researching products is quite the task. I have also been reading baby books, parenting books, breastfeeding books, and talking to new moms. While I know nothing is really going to prepare me, the planner in me just has to try. This week Pete and I start prenatal classes. We'll see how that goes :)   

All in all, these days are wonderful. I'm busy enough to still be using my planner but oh-so-much-less stressed out than when I was a student. My daily schedule is flexible enough that when a friend calls and asks me to babysit that day or needs to be picked up from the airport, I can do it! I enjoy my church calling (Enrichment Leader--planning R.S. activities) and put forth more effort into it instead of stressing about it. 

Random tidbit: For some reason, tuna and pickles taste sooo good these days.
When all amount of carbs and chocolate have failed me, tuna saves the day!
My friend gave me this cute little present when I babysat her little boys :)

In a way, I think these 2-ish months after graduating are kind of the calm before the storm.

But a good storm. 

Lots of life transitions are ahead
First baby.

Moving away from Provo/Utah.

Pete starting school again.

Eventually finding a job.

While I'm a little nervous that everything is going to hit like a ton of bricks at the same time, for now I'm just enjoying the present.

And frankly, enjoying the present is pretty easy. 

Of course there are still hard things and bad days.

And the fact that finding a comfortable position for my back is proving impossible.

But overall, life is wonderful.

Surprise! Pete wasn't expecting a PT school phone interview on this morning (as evidenced by his attire and pokie just-got-out-of-bed hair). The school had never finalized a time for the phone interview, so Pete was a little caught off guard. I took this picture after the interview. Usually, Pete's wearing a suit and tie and prepared with questions and info. about the school, faculty, etc. We just decided to laugh about it and I had to get a picture.

While Pete is busy with jobs, church callings, and the logistics of PT school applications, we usually get to enjoy (homework free!) evenings together. 

And sometimes we go a date--on a weekday. 

Just for fun. 

When will life be like this again? 

Maybe when we're retired and all our kids are grown and gone...

if we can still walk by then. 

Basically, these days are precious; I love them. 

But I definitely don't take them for granted. 

I'm so grateful for all the blessings I have in life and the wonderful things that are ahead.

2010 Holidays

Pete and I tried hard to have lots of Christmas spirit this year. 

First, we bought a Christmas tree. 

We searched for the tree of our dreams at a little tree selling place in Provo--and then found it. Then we found out it was $40...so with hopes and dreams slightly dashed, we kept searching for a different tree-of-our-dreams that would cost more like $20.

Luckily we were successful.

We only have three ornaments on our tree and I've never bought any.

Let me explain...

One ornament is of the Boise temple, and the other two are "WillowTree" angels for each year Pete and I have been married (all gifts from my parents). So far we have an angel ornament for 2008 and one for 2009. Every time I saw them on our little tree I thought of how each year we will get one more ornament and each year our Christmas tree will look a little more full and beautiful---just as our lives will be with each passing year.

But maybe I'll be less cheesy and sentimental some Christmas and just buy some ornaments. We'll see :) 

And if I've never bought Christmas ornaments, you can bet I haven't bought a star or angel for the top of the tree. What you can barely see in the first picture above would be a small starfish--that I found under our bed--from our honeymoon in Maine. 

Our second act in the Christmas spirit was making yummy Christmas treats for friends and co-workers. Most people were already out of town by the time we made and delivered them though...so if you didn't get one, that's probably why.

Gingerbread Rice Krispy Treats, Peanut Butter bars, and Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Pete making cookies :)

 We also went to a Christmas Voice Male Concert together (free tickets from Pete's co-worker!), watched "Elf," attempted to read the Gospels (we're still working on it), and listened to Christmas music.

We spent a relaxing Christmas and New Year's with my family in Oregon. Pete was able to get a good amount of time off of work and it was wonderful to get away from Provo for a while. I was going to be awesome at picture documentation, but it didn't really happen. This is what I ended up with:

Pete and Mallory working a puzzle.

Pete watching football :)

In Boise at the Idaho Botanical Gardens (lit up for Christmas!)

Some of the fam.

Pretty snowflake cookies me and Mallory made

With the memory of attending the Hendricks Family beautiful 2010 Christmas Program fresh in my mind, Mallory and I created a program for Christmas Eve at the Jensen home. Complete with scriptures and varied music (guitar, piano, flute, and vocals), we had plenty of talent to work with. However, I'm sad to report that those possessing the talents weren't always cooperative (4 year old Nate was tired, grumpy, and crying at the start of the program...we won't talk about his emotional state at the end). But for putting it together mid-day with little practice, I would declare it a success!

All in all we had a wonderful, relaxing holiday season full of yummy food, every-other-day early morning exercise, and lots of reading books. The New Year rolled in with a bang and I'm excited for all the wonderful things ahead in 2011!

The Fate of the Chalkboard Paint and Other Unfortunate Events…

A storage bin, a stomach virus, and a drive to the gym. So began three separate events that have incurred some high costs over the past month.

First, the ever-growing-weightier storage bin full of craft items suffered an acute 10 foot fall during an attempt to place it high on the shelf in our bedroom. Unfortunately, the only casualty was a pint of black chalkboard paint. Despite our best cleaning efforts, we now have a 10-inch diameter, deep black stain on our bedroom carpet. Not sure how our landlord is going to feel about that…but I have a feeling we can kiss our $500 security deposit goodbye.

Secondly, due to some forceful vomiting, intense stomach pain, and advice from the doc in the family, we went to the Emergency Room on a Sunday night and incited $3000+ in total expenses. Good thing we have health insurance and will be paying substantially less than that! (and good thing the Dilaudid made it all worth it).

Third, while our own vehicle sustained minimal damage, making a too sharp turn in our underground parking garage didn’t fare so well for our good neighbor’s car. A patch of paintless metal and some rubber from our tire are what now remain on the once shiny silver corner of said neighbor's bumper. We’ve offered money and free carpet cleaning so far…we’ll see how that one pans out.

Now before you think “Well, this really isn’t too much to expect from Steph,”
I’ll let you in on a little secret:
Pete sent the craft bin crashing to the ground,
Pete was the happy recipient of the dilaudid in the ER, and
Pete ran into our neighbor's car.

Surprised?
Me too.
Because Pete's stressing enough for the both of us, I simply refuse to.

Life is good :)

Still enjoying the journey...

Caitlin, me, Karli at our pseudo-graduation in August--right before the start of our last semester

Well, I thought I should follow up on my previous post about making the most out of my last semester, because now it's halfway through! As predicted, the days are going by speedily. Projects and papers are underway and I’ve only got 558 of the 1500 NCLEX questions left to go. Also, after 6 or 7 more hospital shifts, all my clinical hours will be done!

Honestly, the hardest thing about this semester has been clinical (and probably the paper I should be writing right now instead of this). I don’t know whether being pregnant has something to do with it or not, but waking up at 5am, driving an hour to clinical, spending 12-14 hours at the hospital, then driving an hour home is just plain exhausting. Add in 12 hour night shifts--driving through stop-and-go traffic on the way home in the morning--and my body has come to know a whole new feeling of “tired.” Taking turns closing each eye one at a time to try to relieve the constant desire to close both, hitting myself in the face, calling my mom to talk to me, and smacking the muscles of my hands and legs to keep them from shutting down are all methods I’ve used to cope with the exhaustion on the drive home from a night shift. Ultimately, I’ve come to know that there is nothing better than crawling into bed after being up all night.

Luckily, I have several things that keep me motivated and many beautiful reminders of how good life is and how blessed I am to be having these opportunities. For example, when my sick patient barely at talking age has been in the hospital long enough to know her medications by name, I have new determination to handle 12 hours a couple times per week. Also, I couldn’t have asked for a better preceptor---her patience and teaching have definitely been a blessing this semester (check out her blog here!). Listening to the words and music of Mo-tab on my way to the hospital remind me what nursing (and life) is all about, and the hot dinner and big hug Pete has waiting for me when I get home at 9pm make it possible to do it all over again the next day. The beautiful red and gold colors I see creeping over the mountainside on my way to a night shift remind me how fast time passes and how soon this time of my life will be over.

Better enjoy it while I can!

VA clinical group and instructor ---Winter Semester 2009



Nursing peers and dean at the Sigma Theta Tau 5k---Fall Semester 2009

Fall is here

I always think Summer is my favorite season…until Fall comes along. The colors in Utah are beautiful! Pete and I went on a Sunday walk in the canyon a week ago. I collected some leaves with which to do something crafty (or just scatter around the house for fun:), and we took some pictures: