When it rains, it pours

I received a letter in the mail saying that I was accepted into Nursing School (which I've been trying to get in to for the last year!) So exciting!

I would be well on my way to Nursing School graduation starting this September if it weren't for this...

growing inside my body. I am 13 weeks pregnant (due December 1st) but the baby is measuring at 14 weeks (by the way, we know the exact date of conception because I've been so closely monitored, so the baby is just big) and the Physician Assistant said her unscientific guess was that it's a boy (which made Grant really happy but kinda surprised me because I thought it would be a girl.) Anyway, needless to say I have been feeling uncomfortable and so fat for the last few months and I'm sure it will continue. I didn't get morning sickness really, just indigestion and nausea if I don't eat every couple hours. For the most part, I can't complain because I know some people have it so much worse. I've been spoiled with ultrasounds every week for my first trimester as I was seeing my reproductive endocrinologist (I was seeing one because I was diagnosed with PCOS and had two miscarriages and her name is Dr. Hatch and she is AMAZING) but I'm proud to announce that I am no longer a high risk pregnancy (which had a thousand "don'ts" which were crazy like no exercise, no flying, no tonic water, and about 10 others.) So now, I am just a normal pregnancy which is good because now I can exercise again but bad because I don't get weekly ultrasounds. Things are perfect with the baby so far and whether it's a he or a she, it's big... Just a little frustrated about nursing school because I don't want to leave a newborn at a babysitters so I'm going to defer for a year and see where I am... Things are good though. We're excited.

I think I will write my story of getting pregnant or you could call it a "journey" in a blog post coming soon for those interested...

Highlights

Grant and I have been quite busy the last few weeks. These pictures do not do our trips/happenings justice, but to be quite frank, I didn't really feel like taking pictures or getting my picture taken. I just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the trip more than concerned myself with capturing every moment on film (although it's always nice to have pictures to remember the trip by.) Here are just a few:

Grant and I took a Fun Ship called The Elation to Catalina and Ensenada. Grant had never been on a cruise before so we decided to take just a little cheap short cruise to introduce him. It was kinda crazy for me because I felt dizzy the whole time but Grant felt fine. We had fun just chillin. Here we are in Ensenada:

A surprise in Ensenada was seeing The Black Pearl from the movie Pirates of the Carribean. It was just sitting there in this obscure location. It was pretty funny.

We went on an excursion called A Taste of Mexico where we went to this restaurant and we made all these Mexican dishes. Tamales, Tostadas, and Guacamole. Here is the ingredients for our Guac. A little trick they told us to keep the guacamole from turning brown is to keep the pit from the avocado in the guac. Look how pretty it was!

Then Grant and I took a trip up the coast for about 5 days. We had never driven up together so it was a lot of fun. We stayed in Solvang, San Luis Obispo, Carmel-by-the-sea, and San Fran of course. I also had my birthday on our trip and we had fun enjoying all the beautiful scenery and eating at fun little restaurants. We explored a lot of little quint towns and got to know some of the variety of landscapes California has to offer. On our way to Carmel, we were on Highway 1 driving through Big Sur and there was a rain storm that was really pretty until we reached a point in the middle of the mountains where they said the road was closed due to a mud slide. We had no sleeping bags or blankets in the car and we were only like 30 minutes away from where we were going to be staying. It was getting dark and we were wondering what we were going to do! We decided to park our car on the highway and wait it out. We started reading a book to eachother called The Secret History that we both got into and it took our thoughts off of our situation until they opened up the road about 2 hours later (originally they told us it would be closed all nite!) It was a fun adventure. Here is where we were stranded:

When we got home, Grant picked up playing softball with the ward which he has been looking forward to for forever and came home with this little baby:

He pulled his hammy! He is still suffering, but went to the doctor and he said it was okay but he might need physical therapy but luckily he doesn't need surgery.

Yesterday we had our 2 year Anniversary so we celebrated by going to the temple where it all began and went out for some nice Japanese cuisine.

So much in the last month! No wonder I'm too tired to blog :)

Bailey (while watching Twilight): Callie, Grant's cheating on you!

About a year and a half ago, Grant and I went to Hawaii and we wanted to go Parasailing. We were visiting our friends Dave and Sjauna, who were kind enough to snap some pictures of us while we were up in the air. They were taken from far away and we were so dark I couldn't see our faces. I decided to lighten them up in Photoshop so that I could see our faces. Here is what I found:
Grant and I posing up in the air. Notice Grant has his thumbs up in the air but I was way too freaked out to let go of the ropes.

Our poses quickly turned to this:

and as we were lowering back down at the end:

as if nothing ever happened.

Finally seeing the expressions on our (my) face was like opening a present. I hope you feel the same.

Grandma Bench's Amazing Heart

Last weekend I got a call from my dad (who lives in Virginia) telling me that my Grandma Bench (who lives in Utah) was scheduled for an angiogram and probably needed to have open heart surgery to bypass a blockage the doctors believed existed. My dad said that it was semi-serious and that he, Elvera (my step-mom) and Liam (my brother) were planning on flying out to Utah to be with her. I decided that I could make it work and wanted to go out and be with the family and with my grandma. We had a family fast on Sunday for my grandma and grandpa and I arrived in Utah late monday nite. My aunt kindly picked me up from the airport (at 12:30 a.m.!) and my grandma was scheduled for her angiogram early tuesday morning where they would determine where exactly the blockage was. She was scheduled for her bypass surgery on wednesday. After the angiogram the doctors miraculously didn't see a blockage and determined she didn't need bypass surgery! It was amazing. It only took Grandma a few hours to recuperate from the angiogram procedure and she was back in business. It was such a relief! We got to spend the rest of the time in Utah enjoying eachother's company. Sorry to all those in Utah I didn't get a chance to see/visit! It was a short trip for me. I lived with my grandparents in Utah for about a year a few years ago and really got to know them as an adult. That time I got to spend with them was really such a blessing in my life and they helped me through some really difficult times. I am so glad that Grandma is okay, and Grandpa too! Thanks to those of you who expressed your concerns for my little sweet grandma. We are all so glad she's okay.

Why are these the best candies EVER?!?!
Do you recognize the candies that make my heart go pitter pat?

Grant starts with a capital C...

...and ends with an official P.A. Yay! He's official. He got his number and on the card it reads: Congratulations. You may now engage in the practice of public accountancy, sign attest reports and use the title Certified Public Accountant and the abbreviation C.P.A. Woop Woop. We celebrated with a nice dinner but we will be celebrating a little more once busy season is over which is one more week! Then, Grant has 3 weeks off, we will take a cruise to Mexico, travel to Virginia, possibly take a drive up the California coast to San Fran, forget our worries, celebrate Grant's awesomeness (and mine too a little) and know that we are reaching our goals and Grant's busiest and hardest year (first year senior) at Deloitte is over! Grant deserves to celebrate. He has worked so hard and does such a good job. Nicely done babe! CPA looks good on you.

J'dore this. I've never been much for pastels but I love love love these colors and the concept. These colors are so amazing! Did I mention the colors? I wish I had these balloons in the middle of my house like a chandelier, or hovering above my house to whisk me away to Paris. Either way, I want them.

Testing, Testing, 123

My sister-in-law Danielle had a very interesting blog post about colors and how we all see colors differently, some can distinguish colors and hues better than others (studies show that some women have an advantage over men in this arena.) This is a concept we were taught also in A Devil Wears Prada as Meryl Streep's character teaches Anne Hathaway's character about the particular color her ugly sweater is, a color that was picked for her by people in that very room.

There is a test you can take called the Munsell Hue Test that gives you a score of how well you see color. Danielle is an artist so this topic is of great importance in her work, and since I know some of you are artists, (you know who you are) and some of you think you are (like me, you know who you are too :) I thought this test would be fun to take!

I have also decided to initiate a competition between my husband (with artist genes) and myself.
I surprised myself with my score and originally I thought Grant would win me, but now I'm not so sure he can! I will let you know who wins. In the meantime, let's see how you guys do!

Wha' Happened?!

For some reason, I keep wanting to use this phrase in conversation but I'm afraid no one would get it. "Hey, Wha' Happened?" It comes from one of the funniest movies of all time "A Mighty Wind". Check it out this..

My Wild Side

Grant got me these for Valentines too! I love this bunch of wild flowers! And as I was taking pictures, two Iris' stood out and reminded me of Grant and I. I think I came to this conclusion because it almost looks like the Callie flower is reaching over to the Grant flower (it seems like I'm always reaching for him) and if I'm a flower, Grant's a flower (that was the best line from The Notebook, " If you're a bird, I'm a bird." AH!) Enjoy. I had fun trying to capture the beauty of the bouquet with my Nikon D40. I need to find more opportunities to practice. It's so fun, especially the making-up-stories part about my subjects :)

"Come and gimme some sugar.." Here the Callie flower is going in for the kill:

This one looks like the Grant flower is giving in:

Here, they are just chillin, looking at the scenery, like buds (excuse the pun):

My Romantic Side

Grant got me these on Valentines. Actually, it's funny because I don't care for roses or carnations (Grant knows this), but Grant got me these which look cuter than mini-roses and are actually mini carnations! He's got good taste. I like these because they are petite, red, playful, and a cross between being cute and elegant.

Love Notes

I made this one for G:

and for some reason my heart skipped a beat when I saw this written on a little red envelope...
(isn't it strange how the simplest things can make your heart go pitter pat?)

and when I read this, my heart melted again. The best part about this is I know it's true because he proves it every day.

Valentines doesn't mean much if it's the only day of the year you show people that you love how you feel. We need to do it the rest of the year! It's so important.

I am so lucky to be Grant's Valentine!

Callisaic

1. 

step 1: go to flickr.com

2: in another window open http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

3: choose 4 columns, 3 rows

4: answer the following questions in the search bar of flicker. pick your favorite one on the first page and paste the address into your mosaic

1. What is your first name? Callie

2. What is your favorite food? cheese

3. What school did you go to? Golden West

4. What is your favorite color? gray with gold

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Hugh Jackman

6. Favorite drink? Postum

7. Dream vacation? New Zealand

8. Favorite dessert? wedding cake

9. What you want to be when you grow up? nurse

10. What do you love most in life? laughing

11. One word to describe you? sensitive

12. Your nickname? cal

Fiercinating

Can you believe Grant took this picture of me and I really looked like this, not posing at all! It's kinda scary to think I could have this fierce of a look on my face and not even know it.
"Why is that girl mad dogging me? I don't even know her."

One Day...

Anne and I took a picture together with shady doll heads in the background.

Anne received a cake in the form of a beehive hairdo.

ANNE GRADUATED HAIR SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Levi fell in love.

Bliss in a Bottle

The BEST REFRESHMENT EVER! Now, I am really serious. It is the Hibiscus Vanilla Hint Water. I think hibiscus and vanilla must be the flavor combination of the gods. I'm sure Heaven tastes and smells like this water. I don't think I've ever fallen for a water before. Or with any flavor of a drink. I was IN A COMPLETE STATE OF BLISS upon first taste. I kept telling Grant how much I was in love with it after each sip, how good it was, handing it over to him to taste and enjoy with me, but then taking it back really quick so I could get another swig. After I finished the water, I kept the bottle just so I could smell it (is that weird?) I just happened to randomly choose it at Sprouts because I was thirsty and I thought I would give something new a try. After prolonging the inevitable as much as I could (the end of the water in the bottle) I read the labels on the bottle: no sugar, no preservatives, no bad stuff. Meaning, this would NOT classify as a bad snack. Oh my. It has received a lot of press for being super healthy I found out (upon researching it for this post.) I fell in love all over again. I get the HINT (ha.) I even considered going to their website and purchasing a case that costs $44, and I really think it would be worth it! Then I could have bliss at my immediate disposal without a trip to Sprouts.

Who Wore It Best

Has this ever happened to you? Well, it has happened to me...twice in the last year and both times at wedding receptions! I am waiting for my friend Heather's wedding photos to have a "who wore it best" feature starring me and the other girl. Actually, I am not embarrassed by it at all. I just think it's funny and I think it's even funnier that it's been so frequent recently. We both had on different accessories and everything so the dress had a different look on both of us. Grant and I got in the car and I asked him the question, "who wore it best?" and he laughed and said, "you did" which was the right (and only) answer. We were also talking about how it's happened to me recently and he asked me where the dresses were from. I told him the first dress was from F21 and the second was from Target. Not exactly exclusive stores. What he said next was music to my ears. "We are going to have to make it so you can shop at boutiques so that this won't happen to you." He was so sensitive to every woman's worst nightmare: showing up at the party in the same dress as someone else! I don't really care about that so much as the idea of shopping at boutiques. I like this solution. Even though shopping at boutiques doesn't mean you won't show up with the same dress as someone else. Thus the "Who Wore It Best" segments in our favorite fashion magazines. Oh well. My solution is just simply go up to the other girl (whether it be a fellow wedding invitee I haven't seen before or Sienna Miller) and say, "I like your dress" and laugh the embarrassment away together. It seems to be working...

Where the Wild Things Are

Let this be a lesson to us all. Some camera angles/smiles/facial expressions make human faces look like animal faces like dogs and lions (or Richard Gere, but that's another post). If you're still skeptical after seeing this picture, double click the picture for a better look. Just be aware of it before something like this happens to you.

Confessions, Complexes, and Conclusions

I must confess, I have this funny little thing about me where I don't finish books that often. I get bored in the middle, or sometimes even in the first couple chapters. I am one of those kinds of people and can you believe that I actually love reading?! What is wrong with me?!

The light bulb turned on about what has been missing from my bookshelf. Peer pressure, social accountability, public judgment, a swift kick in the pants, more pressure, an opportunity to form an opinion with a time and place to share it, and friends who I know are powering-through-the-middles-of (or enjoying) the same reads.

Well, thankfully for my children whom I will be educating, I have joined a Book Club (their father Grant has been secretly praying for something, anything!) Just becoming a member of a secret elite club (okay, maybe it's not secret...or elite) alone has encouraged, no required, me to finish the books we have chosen. That means I will be finishing at least 11 books this year. That will be a record for me. Our first selection was...
And I actually finished it! This is (kinda) a big day. I mean I have finished books before, don't get me wrong, but it's less than half the books I actually start. I am so glad for this much needed motivation to finish the books because my pride won't let me be that guy who goes to the book club without reading/finishing the book AND I know that many times the best part of a book is at the end! (Which fact, when I told my dad I couldn't ever finish a book, prompted him to solemnly reply, "that's the saddest thing I've ever heard" and coming from a psychiatrist, that phrase is locked and loaded with the potential to cause one or more major complexes, and he said that seven years ago. YIKES. I didn't think it was that bad, but it probably is the saddest thing (a slight exaggeration) that I never get to the best and most rewarding parts of books. Dr. Bench, I feel your pain.)


Well, that was before! Now I have succumbed to the the tried and true method of pure peer pressure (aka The Book Club). Extra motivation people, the proverbial swift kick in the pants (thanks Book Club, I needed that). I mean, that can't be overlooked or overrated. If there is anything that you find hard to do, find a friend to do it with right?! I mean, it works, there's no arguing with that. Maybe for this purpose was the Book Club created. Maybe it was brought forth so friends could get together and talk about their personal reading, but maybe it was to manipulate people into finishing books. All I know is that it will manipulate me into having experiences I've been lacking. Experiences that will quicken my wit, multiply my understanding, ignite my imagination, hone my humanity, grow my heart, pry open my mind's eye, volumize my vocabulary and reveal my raw intelligence (my kids will never know what an imbecile their mother once was-Don't tell 'em dad...or Grant!). And last, but not least,(read this part slowly, with feeling) this Book Club experience (emotional pause) will still my father's mourning soul, wrestling the saddest truth he ever did internalize, which sadness spewed straight from the mouth of his First Pride and Joy (what a paradox).

I owe you big time Book Club!!

So, the members of my Club are all going to dinner to talk about Confessions and then see the movie! Doesn't that sound like fun?! Also, a great website where reading friends can get together is called Good Reads. I'm on there now and I'm adding my reviews, my opinions, my star ratings, and getting recommendations for future literary adventures, it's great. If you are on there, let's be friends, and if you are not on there, join up! It's good times AND you can see what I think about what I've read, which opportunity is worth signing up for, even if you don't read.

(Can you tell how joining a Book Club has opened the flood gates of my creative long-windedness and caused me to become more self-amused? Think of what it can do for you!)