Reading

I just finished reading Gabby. It's written by Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords. And it was wonderful! Everyone should read it.

On January 8th 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at an event she was holding at a local Safeway in Tucson, Arizona called Congress on Your Corner. Nineteen people were shot and six died. Gabby lived.

The book tells the story of her life, marriage to astronaut Mark Kelly, and her miraculous recovery. It is a story tolled through Mark's eyes. It's beautiful and inspiring. It's a book full of hope, courage, despair, triumphant, and love.

I wish I could meet both Gabby and Mary to tell them how I grateful I am for their service to America, for their story, and for sharing it.

She's a remarkable woman. A hero. A fighter.

It's a great book. Read it.

Go here for a short video about Gabby from 20/20.

You can watch the full 20/20 episode here.

I also read three other books over the break. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. Some of the best books I've read! Seriously, so, so good! I pulled two all nighters reading those books.

If you haven't already read them (you probably have, I'm a little behind) go read them right now. I loved them so, so much! And I can't wait for March 23, 2012 when The Hunger Games Movie comes out.

As you can see I had a great time reading over the break. I used to hate to read. But when I can choose what I read it's SO much better! I wish I didn't have to go back to school, so I could keep reading so much. Soon enough, soon enough.

Wanted: Blog Topics

I've wanted to blog for the last three days. I keep bringing up a new blank post. But nothing comes. I don't know what to blog about.

So I'm opening it up to you readers (I know there are at least 10 of you).

What do you want me to blog about?

Make it good.

Kiss That Frog

Watch this. Please.

Anyone else feel this way? :)

Flash Mob

Have you seen the Flash Mob craze these days?

I had seen a few videos. The proposal one. A few others.

BYU Marketing for Basketball decided to try to do one with the student section at the last BYU home game. They sent out a video to the students with the moves. I watched the video. And thought there is no way this going to work. There are too many moves. It will be so hard to learn.

I watched the video once. I don't have time to learn the moves! So the second to last home game they taught the dance to us. I was reluctant at first, but then it was kinda fun. Before the last home game, against Wyoming, we practiced again. I was excited to do it!

Here's the final product:

It was so fun!! And we got a standing ovation!

Extra Cash

I keep seeing these ads for Google AdSense. And I've decided to try it out. You'll now see ads after my posts and on the sidebar. Look below. Look to the right. See? If you click on those ads I get money! Cool, huh? So, click away!

Thanks!

No. Sleep.

I'm going shopping in 30 minutes! And I won't stop for a loooong time. I can't wait!

Black Friday is the best. And I love it.

Also, I love thanksgiving. I love my family. I love my Savior.

My life is good.

I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!

And...GO UTES!!

King

I wanna go back to this!

I went to the Sara Bareillis concert on Wednesday. It was so much fun! She was so great in concert. One of the best concerts I've been too. It was totally worth being dead tired and totally dragging at clinical the next day.

I Should've Been A Cowboy!

I never posted about my epic birthday party!

But, man, it was epic. Seriously, people still talk about it. Heck, I still talk about it.

It was incredibly fun! Probably one of the best nights of my life to date. I'm not exaggerating. If you weren't there I'm so sorry! Cause you seriously missed out. I can't even begin to describe how great it really was. I miss it!

Anyway, it was cowboy/western themed!

My dad pulled through BIG time and got me TWO bales of straw! Yes, bales of straw in my living room. Three of my best friends, Natalie, Julia, and Kaitlin made me a life size cardboard cut out of a real cowboy in my ward! Rachel, the girl who lives next door and a dear friend, made me a chocolate boot cake with cream cheese frosting! Denver, the aforementioned cowboy, came fully dressed with chaps and all. He taught us all how to lasso! Kristen made the best western food this side of the Provo River! I got some seriously awesome decorations that turned our apartment into something out of a western film with John Wayne.

We had homemade root-beer that made me do some crazy things that we don't talk about. We had about ten Nerf guns for shoot outs. We had a horse pinata! And of course, a rockin' western playlist! Tons of people came and I was so happy to see so many people that wanted to celebrate my birthday with me!

Kristen is so incredibly awesome! And made me a scrapbook and photo album of the epic night, so I can always remember what an incredible 21st birthday I had.

I don't know how I'm ever going to top that party!

{yee-haw!}

{learning how to lasso}

{shum, me, and natalie}

{pinata!}

{denver, me, and tron}

{my awesome boot cake!}

{this doesn't even come close to how many people were there!}

See. I told you. EPIC!

all the answers

{what are your 3 favorite things to buy at target?}

number one: i always check out the $5 movies! you can find some pretty awesome deals. i have to be careful with this one though, cause if i don't have money it can be dangerous for me to venture over there. i'm always tempted to buy the good deals i find even if i have no money.

number two: the clearance section of course! another great place to find awesome deals!

number three: the purse/jewelry/headband section. last time i went to target i got a cute purse and a cute headband for under 20 bucks!

{what do you do at your clinical?}

clinical is the best! and I can't wait to start again in the fall.

last semester i had my clinical at a nursing home in south provo. And i loved it! old people are pretty awesome. at that clinical we had the role of a CNA (certified nursing assistant) some of the time and the role of an RN (registered nurse) the rest of the time. we had clinical once a week for about 5 hours.

we were assigned or picked a patient that we worked with for 2-3 weeks. first thing in the morning we met together as a clinical group. 8 nursing students and our clinical instructor. then we were sent to take care of our patient for the day. first, we had to make sure our patient was alive. i was always terrified of finding my patient not breathing. luckily, that never happened. next, we would look at the shower schedule-did our patient need a shower that day? and talk to the CNA or RN who was over that patient. whatever our patient needed in that 5 hours we did. we helped them get up, change their brief, get dressed, brush their teeth, brush their hair, eat, physical therapy, etc.

each week we were required to do a baseline assessment. that consisted of vitals, heart assessment, lung assessment, abdominal assessment, neuro assessment, etc. we also had several other assignments we had to do over the 10 week clinical experience.

we also did 2 med passes. we were required to give our patient their morning meds with our clinical instructor. we had to do an assignment before where we looked up each medication and wrote down certain things about the meds. our instructor would ask us questions about the meds and make sure we did the 5 rights of medication administration (right patient, right time, right dose, right route, right documentation) and then watch us administer the drugs.

we also had to do 2 nursing care plans. a nursing care plan consisted of a nursing diagnosis, outcomes, interventions, and an evaluation.

this next semester our clinical is at a hospital. i'm going to be at the university of utah hospital and huntsman cancer institute! And I can't wait. We will have rounds on pretty much every floor of the hospital except ob, peds, icu, and pysch.

we will be assigned a different patient each week. and required to do a pre-assessment on each patient the night before. i've heard these are killer and can take up to 10 hours!! (i'm tellin' ya they require our blood, sweat, tears, and sleep. But i love it! call me crazy.) i'll be able to tell you more about this clinical when it starts in about a month!

that was probably more information than you ever wanted to know!

{where do you live?}

currently I live at the good ole' Cove! carriage cove. Or as others like to call it marriage cove. Although, it has not been such a place for me. :) i've really liked it. And i'm gonna miss it.

{how do I feel about a THS reunion?}

i feel so marvelous about this it's not even funny! when? where? i'm there!

{when will you be done with school?}

i will be done with school in April 2012. i can't wait to be a nurse! but i love nursing school!

{what's your favorite scripture?}

alright chelsie you asked some hard questions. my favorite scripture. i feel like you can learn a lot about a person by their favorite scripture. And it's hard for me to pick just one.

2 nephi chapter 4. especially versus 20-25

mosiah 2: 20-25

romans 15:4

doctrine and covenants 58:2-4

there you go. but it does change a lot.

{favorite quote?}

oh boy! i have got a lot of these. ready? go!

the worst thing we can do is to give away the time we have by living in either the past or the future because there's not one blessed thing we can do to alter the past or to make the future come any faster.

chieko n. okazaki

what you have to give is enough, if you give it with all your heart.

the pain of sacrifice is only but a moment. it's the fear of that pain that makes us hesitate to act.

elder bosche

love is the essence of human experience and emotion. it is at the root of all and everything we, as humans, do. without love, what do we have to live for?

plus the two to the right!

and plus many more.

i'm also really loving president uchtdorf's talk from the most recent priesthood session.

{if I could do anything for a day, what would I do?}

i think i would spend my day on a ranch in a far away place. i would wear cowboy boots all day. and a cowgirl hat. and some old jeans that fit just right. i would start the day with some vanilla yogurt and granola. maybe milk a cow, shear a sheep, collect some eggs from the coup, feed the horses. before lunch I would go on a hike to a beautiful lake where we might do some fishing or dip our feet in. and shoot some guns. i would have blt's for lunch. then i would go on a horseback ride in the mid-afternoon/evening. i would take just a few people with me. people I love. people who can enjoy silence. we would find some wide open spaces and just ride! then for dinner I would have good ole' fashion steak with mashed potatoes and a fresh salad with homemade ranch. and dutch oven cobbler for dessert with homemade ice cream. we would dance in the kitchen as we do the dishes. then we would watch the sun set from the porch that goes all the way around the house, drinking raspberry lemonade and enjoying each other's conversation and company. and there would probably be a fire. with s'mores. and i would cuddle with the one i love. yes, yes that is what i would do.

{where am I living in the fall?}

i'm living at riverside condos. It's just down the street from the cove; literally less than a block. and they are blue. i hate change. but i feel ready for this one. i feel pretty stagnant right now. i think i'm starting to grow moss. i'm ready for this change. i'm ready for school to start. i'm ready for something big!

{do I secretly want a specific calling?}

well I just got released as the RSP in my ward. i've been in for a year. and i have absolutely 100% loved it! it has been so incredible. and i have learned and grown so much. my testimony has grown ten fold and i'm so grateful for it. i love the girls i have been able to serve! And i'm going to miss them dearly. they are such wonderful girls and have changed me for the better.

i can't say that i secretly hope for a specific calling. i would love to teach though! i'm excited for a new calling. and the blessings it will bring to me.

{am I living with Kristen again?}

heck yes! thank goodness. she takes care of me. more than she knows. i don't know what i would do without her. Seriously. i tell everyone she is the best kept secret in our ward. i love her! forever!

{am I going to run a marathon with my mom?}

i told my mother that i would run a marathon with her if i got into the nursing program. but i didn't think i would actually get in! so yes, i am going to run one with her. but i don't know when. probably when i get my lazy bum off the couch and start running on a regular basis.

{who is the one?}

see previous answer to the question about what i would do for a day. THE one is the one who would do that with me!

{did I do everything on my summer list?}

unfortunately, no. i definitely had the time. i'm not sure why i didn't. i learned one song on the guitar. it has 2 chords! i played tennis a few times. kind of learned how to play. i read one book. but i'm hoping to read a few more before school starts. i did NOT get a tan. i haven't gotten rid of anything. but i'm sure i will when i move. i didn't really learn how to cook. i didn't learn how to sew a button on. dang! i hiked some though. and i didn't get my young woman hood award. dang! maybe next summer! :)

POST edit: i hope you all enjoyed this. i did! thanks for asking the questions. let's do this again soon. sorry it's the longest post ever.

P.S. welcome to august! can you believe it's august??

Q&A

So I feel like blogging. But I don't know what to write. Everything in my head is so disheveled right now.

Since I don't know what to blog about I'm giving you readers the choice.

Do you have a question for me?

ASK! Leave your question in the comment section.

I'll answer whatever you ask. Promise!

The Exhibit

Remember this post?

Well the time has come for 30 Strangers Exhibit 2010 style!

It's gonna be sweet.

And I'll be one of the featured strangers, along with my mother and grandmother.

You should all come!

It will be a party!

Friday July 2nd

6-9 pm

26 West Center Street

Provo

More info here.

Protect Toothy

So my brother-in-law calls me today and leaves a message on my phone.

He said that he is having a contest at work. And needs a lot of different people to watch these short videos. He was thinking of people who knew a lot of people and he said he doesn't know anyone who knows more people than I do. :)

I'm not sure how true that is but I'm flattered!

So here are the five videos. Click on each link and have fun! They are short and clever. And it will help my brother-in-law out and you can learn about protecting toothy! And if you really want to be helpful you can post them on your blog too. :)

The Psychiatrist
The Stalker
The Vending Machine
The Phone Call
The New Guy

Arches 2010

So I went to Moab last weekend with a group of friends from my ward. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so much fun!

Like Really fun. I wish I was still there.

We hiked around Arches and it was just the time of my life.

Here are some highlights. Enjoy!

the whole group

fiery furnace-and my "asian" face

sand dune arch-we buried Brian and Rachel!

sand dune arch-I promise I'm not racist

Lena and I at delicate arch (Lena is also my awesome roommate!)

a lot of the guys liked to take a little too many risks for my liking

I was so afraid someone was going to get hurt!

Rach and I after we got on top of the arch! We were so proud.

30 Strangers

As promised, here is my story about my awesome time with Justin Hackworth.

It all started when I was reading cjane one day.

She had a link to Justin's blog to enter to be a part of his 30 Strangers with Justin Hackworth project. You enter. He picks 30 people. Takes a picture of you and your mom, grandma, or daughter. He gives you one free print. You give a donation to the Women's Center. Pretty cool right?

I thought "Hey I've seen some of his pictures before and I really like them. This would be so fun with my mom and grandma. I'm going to enter!"

Well. I won!

And on Monday we had our session with Justin. Let's just say he's awesome! Really it was so much fun. More fun than I've had in a long time! I couldn't stop smiling. We were having all sorts of laughs.

I told my mom at one point that I wanted him to be my photographer at my wedding. And then at the end he said "Here Courtney this is for you. Because someday you are going to get married." And hands me a business card about his photography for weddings! He's totally going to be my photographer. I love him!

You can see 4 of the pictures from our session on Justin's blog here. (We are day 19) As he says, it appears that we did not smile at all. But I'm pretty sure he picked the only 4 pictures we weren't smiling in. At one point he had to tell me to stop smiling.

I'm super excited to see all of the pictures on Tuesday!

Celebrate!

Last day of videos!

Here's the last one.

Finals are OVER!

Almost, I've got one more, but it's going to be cake!

SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spinning

Today's video is brought to us by the weepies!

I'm loving this band lately. They really are so great. Look them up. You'll love them too. They rock!

Also, stay tuned for a post about my AWESOME experience with Justin Hackworth today. Really it was the best!

Haven't Met You Yet

I love Michael! So much.

And this song is speaking to my heart tonight.

Enjoy!

Utah Man Am I

In honor of the Red and White game happening today at Rice Eccles stadium (that I will be attending!!) I bring you today's video!

Go Utes! 2010 Football season can't come fast enough!

I Rush and Rush

First Day of Finals!!!!

No matter how much you have to do this weekend I hope you will take some time to have some fun!

Enjoy today's video! It's a classic.

Summer Nights

I'm itching for summer!