Blue Christmas

I have finished decorating for Christmas. My decorations consist of a tree and a faux-pine garland over the fireplace. And a nativity set. That's about as all-out as I go. But it was fun putting up the decorations this year. As I pulled out my old ornaments, one by one, I was reminded of Christmases past.

I purchased most of those ornaments five years ago, in an effort to cheer myself up in the aftermath of the breakup of a five-year relationship. I wanted a blue-themed Christmas tree. Allison wanted a pink tree, but I wanted a blue tree. Maybe it had something to do with my mood that year.

I got my blue tree. And I loved it. And it did cheer me up.

But this year, I don't need the blue anymore. Oh, I still used the ornaments, scattered throughout my tree here and there. But there are new ornaments now, some added from Chase's personal collection, and some we collected together. Looking at our house decorated for Christmas, there is definitely a more colorful, rich, and full look to my tree and home now. Maybe it has something to do with my mood this year.

I Love Lucy

Lucy is 18 months old now. We've enjoyed her for the last six months. She can definitely be a pill, but most of the time she's a sweet, loveable dog that we just can't get enough of. Some of her favorite things include trips to the dog park, chewy treats, sneaking on to the couch when we're not looking, running at full speed and chasing birds, licking the popcorn bowl when we're finished, and following us everywhere we go.

30

It's been about a month since I turned 30, and I'm finally getting used to the idea. I don't really feel any older, until I remember that I have a 25-year-old husband...:)

My birthday was great. I was able to get the day off work, and Chase and I went to breakfast at Emigration Market with my mom, Rod, and my Aunt Karen and Uncle Allan who were in town from Canada. Chase and I went to Gardner Village to walk around and do some shopping. There were lots of cute little kids there in their Halloween costumes.

We also stopped by Daybreak and looked at some of the model homes. Ever since I went there for the first time a few months ago, I have been interested in their community and philosophy, which is to bring people together and help the environment by creating small communities with neighbors, recreation, and shops/businesses all within walking distance. It's a pretty cool little place.

Later that night, we went to Ballet West's "The Dream". It was a delightful little 3-part ballet with a completely different story/theme in each act. "The Dream" referred to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", so the third section was a short rendering of that story.

As much as I was dreading turning 30, I have found that so far it isn't really that bad. In fact, sometimes I secretly enjoy the looks on people's faces when they ask how old I am and I tell them. Shock! I hope that my 30s are a decade full of success, accomplishments, and family. I am glad that I am able to look back on my 20s with a sense of accomplishment. Some of the things I was blessed to be able to do in my 20s:

Graduate from college with a bachelors degree, and again with a nursing degree
Travel to 7 different countries
Travel to 9 different states for my job
Get to know many different types of people, from patients with artificial hearts to Tibetan refugees
Learn many new skills
Buy a house
Get married to the best husband I could ever ask for!

Here we are on my 30th birthday....


And here I am celebrating my next decade!

Fall

Wonderful morning. I slept in, while Chase took Lucy to "the dog park". I put that in quotes because what he was really doing was setting up a surprise breakfast for me in Miller Bird Park. We had planned to go on a bike ride this morning, so I got ready for that while he was gone. Then we biked up to the beautiful park on 15th East. It was a glorious fall morning. The weather was perfect and the colors were beautiful. The light shone just right on the surroundings. I loved biking through the picturesque Sugar House neighborhoods, many with fall decorations and colorful leaves. I like to imagine my grandma growing up in the same neighborhood when she was young. Others that were out seemed to be enjoying their morning too, and a peaceful feeling seemed to be in the city. When we arrived at the park, there was no one else there. A blanket was set out, along with a vase filled with a rose bouquet, breakfast, and a book of poetry from which Chase read to me the poems of Charlotte Smith and William Wordsworth. The stream rushed by down the hill. The sky was blue and the clouds floated quickly by. It ended all too soon as we had to go home so that I could go to work. It was fun coasting as fast as we could down the big hills to get back to our house, with Owl City playing in my ears. A wonderful morning with good company and good exercise, that makes me glad I live in Salt Lake City.

(500) Days of Summer

It's not very often that I come out of a movie and actually think, "I loved that. Really LOVED it. I'd watch it again. I might even buy it when it comes out on DVD." It seems that so many movies these days are full of lame attempts at predictable humor or are remakes of something earlier, whether it's an older movie, a book, or a children's toy from the 1980s. But this movie was great. It was original, and funny, and moving. I love the kind of movies that have so much emotion, and are so heart-wrenching, that you find yourself thinking about them, and the characters, long afterward. Not only was the movie a great getaway into the lives of its characters, but it made me consider my own life as well. It's often been hard for me to move on from things in the past, whether situations or relationships. A line from one of the characters in the movie stated, "I think next time you look back...you should look again." That was timely in my own life right now, and is something I think we all need to hear from time to time. Sometimes things were not as great as we remember them. Looking to the future can be just as fulfilling as the memories.

Did anyone else see it? Watch it and let me know what you think!

Things

My house is a huge mess. And here I am, at 11:30 at night, blogging and messing around on Facebook. I am on a weird schedule with my new job. I don't even know what day it is half the time! This afternoon, I told a friend I would baby sit for her, but then had to take it back because I remembered it was Tuesday...Young Women's activity night.

To make matters worse, Chase is gone all week. He is on a week long training with Outback Therapeutic Expeditions so that he can hopefully land a full time job as a wilderness mentor for troubled teens. If he gets it, he will be gone on backpacking trips every other week. I guess I am going to have to find some new hobbies. This week I will be baby sitting my niece and later this week I will be doing some canning. Now if I could just find the motivation to clean my house...

Also, tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of our engagement. I so badly wish I had pictures of that lovely event, but of course I didn't know what was happening, so I didn't bring my camera. We knew Chase would be gone on that day this year, so we went up to the spot in Big Cottonwood Canyon last weekend to reminisce. The night we got engaged, he had set up a beautiful dinner with candles glowing all around, even in the waterfall (try to imageine it from the photo above). He read me a poem that he wrote, which he also put into script on our bathroom mirror last year on the anniversary of our engagement. What a sweet husband I have. Sure will miss him this week.

Plans

I like to make plans. Few things make me feel as satisfied as sitting down and making a good plan. Unfortunately, it usually stops there. I fail to plan for after the plan. I carry out my grand plan, and then what? I had been planning to go to nursing school for so long...that was my plan. Now it's over. What will I do? Like the time I planned to go to Maine for the summer. I spent hours thinking it over, corresponding with the camp where I was to work, preparing, purchasing, packing. I went there and had a great time for 9 weeks. Then I came home and wandered aimlessly for 2 months. Well, this time I don't want to do that. I'm trying to make a post-plan plan. Here are some of the thins I would like to include: catching up on leisure reading, cooking more regularly, organizing my house, attending the temple, volunteering, exercising. Ideas?

The Challenge

I signed up for this last month. I have to admit, I haven't done too well on it. It's really difficult for me to use public transportation while I am in school and my schedule is so tight. But I have eliminated a few trips. I think this was a great idea that our city mayor, county mayor, and governor collaborated on to get people to take responsibility for improving Utah's air quality. So I am going to challenge myself to keep doing it, even after it ends on the 18th. I challenge all of you to drive less to clear the air also!

7 Clinicals Down, 3 To Go

The countdown for nursing school:
9 more tests
7 more weeks of my current job
5 more weeks of class
3 more clinicals
1 set of boards to pass (if if pass the first time that is...)

Then the best part...

Our graduation celebration trip, where we will go here


And here


And here


Post-school happiness coming soon!

1.5

Today is our 18-month anniversary. One-and-a-half years. We celebrated by going to Docetti Gelato.

I will be sad to leave the newlywed stage behind one of these days. I don't know exactly when that ends, but it's been fun thinking about all the "firsts" since we've been married. The first holidays being married, the first times going places since we've been married...it will be sad when the newness wears off. We've had a great year and a half!

Rain

What is this weather? I feel like it is October, not June. I was ready for summer. On the other hand, with this weather, I don't feel so much like I'm missing out on summer, since all I do in my free time is study. Maybe the good weather will come later, when I'm finished. 7 more weeks to go!

I'm back...with some new additions

After a 6-month blogging hiatus, I have decided to come back. I think I needed a break from blogging for a while. So, since I know you have all been dying for an update, here it is.

The new additions to the Raymond family are:







The dog is Lucy. We got her about a week ago from an animal rescue. She's a German wirehaired pointer/Lab mix. She's a bundle of energy and very cute, but has already managed to get into some trouble. She got out and ran down the street last night terrorizing the neighbors' dogs, while narrowly missing getting hit by a car (twice) herself. We have also already gotten a barking complaint from SL County Animal Services. But, she's adorable enough that we love having her around.

We also bought our first house! It's right near downtown Salt Lake, and was built in 1924. Needless to say, it needed some work before moving in. Here are some pictures of the progress:

This


Has become this


And this



Has become this



We also had fun peeling off 8 layers of wallpaper in our spare bedroom



Thanks Carrie! And to our families, who spent hours helping us with the remodeling/tearing out walls/putting up new walls/painting/cleaning/decorating.

Here are a few more pictures of finished work: