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:

Harvest Time - Recipes

All the fall/harvest type foods available right now are putting me in a cooking mood. I have been trying to incorporate them into the meals that I make. As I mentioned in a post last month, I learned how to can apple pie filling, which I repeated over the weekend at my mom's house. Apples are a great fall food, and so versatile. On Monday for dinner, I made potato and cheese pierogies cooked with onions and apples, served with chicken noodle soup. I also recently tried a new caramel fondue recipe used for dipping apples, and it was delicious.
Last night, I made vegetarian stuffed peppers. Those turned out great too. Especially since our landlady just gave us two bags of walnuts off her tree! I love being able to use up fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Tonight I made pumpkin pancakes served with massaman curry over rice. Okay, so the curry was left over from the Thai restaurant we went to for my birthday, but I made the pancakes myself. They turned out great. I would highly recommend trying this recipe. Let me know if you have any more great fall recipes I should try! I'm making my first Thanksgiving dinner this year...