Quick Tip

{don't those strawberries look FABULOUS!}

You greatly increase your chances of eating healthy foods when you’ve stocked them in your cabinets and refrigerator. Not exactly rocket science, you say. True. But what’s in your kitchen right now? Have you set the stage for success or failure?

Sugar & Spice

I made these very DELICIOUS Cupcakes!

This weekend I had a baby shower for my good friend Stephanie. Stephanie and I met while working in Orphanages is Ecuador! We have been great friends ever since!

I was so excited to have a shower for her because I just love everything GIRLY! We had some struggles scheduling the shower because her little arrival decided to come about a month early! She weighed 5 lbs. and is still so very tiny as you can see! It was so fun to have her there with all the girls it definitely made the shower sweet! Welcome little Audrey! By the way her mom is so girly she had her fingernails painted BRIGHT pink! So dang cute! The tutu below was DARLING, my mom’s friend makes them custom! She is incredible and will do anything and everything you want. If anybody is interested let me know…I promise they are too die for! The picture doesn’t do justice!

The proud MOMMY in RED!

Check out those adorable finger nails!

Seriously this TUTU was so adorable! Pink and Brown!

Candy for all the GIRLS!

TRUE AGGIE? Yes!

There is nothing like re-living old times in Logan as an AGGIE! Last weekend we spent a night at the USU Inn on campus with some of our good friends! Trisha and I are both Aggies and wanted to get back up to Logan with our husbands. We planned a little getaway and had a BLAST. Of course we started out at the Bluebird with the famous “bluebird” chicken. Trish and I were stocked to eat there again…but I have to admit that the food was only so so and the place was FILTHY dirty! I guess as starving college students we didn’t mind.




You can’t go to Logan without partaking of some delicious aggie ice cream! This place brings back A LOT of memories, let me just say lots of aggie ice cream in my day!



The real reason we picked this weekend was because it was ‘True Aggie’ night, yup that’s right true aggies AGAIN! Phil definitely got a kick out of standing on the A and kissing me many times to make sure we got the perfect picture! True aggie night is HUGE deal. They had a DJ and a dance going on and they expected over 3000 students to attend and stand in line to wait their turn to become a ‘true aggie’ it was hysterical!



Phil and Trevis went back to the room before me and Trisha. As soon as we got back to meet up with them (it was like 10 minutes after) this is what we found on our door! When I saw it I knew Phil had to have written it because he loves to leave me funny notes!




We stayed up late playing games and laughing our heads off! We can’t wait until next year to go back and make this an annual event!

Darbee, thanks for tagging me I was looking for things to do today at work! This is a fun one, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Here goes...TEN things that made me HAPPY TODAY!

1. Watching the Jazz beat the Rockets on their court! Now I am excited to watch the Jazz sweep this round with a 4-0 VICTORY! (Crazy I know, but I really am a SUPER FAN!)
2. Planning my friends little GIRL baby shower, does it get any better!
3. Thinking ahead to lounging on a huge ship cruising across the Caribbean & hopefully catching some rays!
4. Phil telling me that he loves me.
5. Skipping out on work for an hour to warm up in a tanning bed!
6. My work out this morning & training for the ½ marathon in Bear Lake!
7. When I put my Capri’s on this morning they fell right off of me…unfortunately I was at the gym so I wasn’t able to change my mind in the clothing that I picked for today! Lucky for me I found a safety pin!
8. I booked a spa pedicure for me and a friend for tonight! CAN’T WAIT!
9. Text messaging with an old friend.
10. Planning my schedule for Summer Classes! I really am excited about this one!

FRIENDS I AM TAGGING...If you are on the side you are TAGGED!

Lifes Turns

Tonight as I was lying in bed I received a call from my dad telling that I need to get down to Orem and see my Grandma as soon as I can. I knew that she was sick but in the back of my mind I was trying to push it away because sickness is hard for me to handle. Last November my Grandma was in perfect health at 78 years old and doing great. The first week of December her life took a MAJOR turn she started slowly loosing her ability to speak. Doctors thought she had experienced a mini stroke and that she would be back to speaking after some therapy. A month went by and that didn't happen, it only got worse. After many trips to the UofU and many tests she was diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's). What a terrible disease. It's a terminal illness and the expectancy is very unpredictable. However, her stages are moving rather quickly. Last month she got a feeding tube put into her stomach and this month she is having major respiratory problems and can hardly walk or bath on her own.

When I received the call from my dad tonight he said I needed to come soon before I regret not seeing her. Now of course nobody knows how fast she will go but the way it's progressing they will be hiring hospice very soon. Luckily my dad is living with her to take care of her. I haven't shed one tear about this the last 6 months but tonight for some reason I feel an overwhelming burst of sadness for her. I know that I need to keep the 'eternal perspective' (as Phil would tell me) but right now I just want to let the tears flow and feel bad. I am however, excited for her to reunite with her sweetheart that has been gone for 26 years. I know that she is still here so I just want to spend time with her and make our time together special. The crazy thing about this disease is she could be really bad for one month and then really good for the next, you just never know. She is only able to communicate through writing her thoughts on a notebook and before long she will lose her ability to even write. Again, another reason to get down to see her ASAP.

I am sorry to vent but again as my eyes are FULL of tears I think I already feel a little guilty that I have waited this long to get down to see her. I hope that she will understand. Life definitely takes unexpected turns whether we are ready or not. I look forward to our visit on Friday.

PLEASE HELP

i am looking for some advice from ANYBODY and EVERYBODY out there!! we are going to Florida in a few weeks and we plan to go to Disneyworld one day before our cruise. i know that one day is not nearly enough but hey, that's all we planned for. we have never been to any of the parks, with exception to Phil going to Epcot many years ago! so please help me decide which park would be the most fun for us adults...who are truely kids at heart! haha!

• Magic Kingdom


• Epcot


• Animal Kingdom


• MGM/Hollywood Studios


• Or anything else I am not aware of!

this is one time that i will be thankful for phil's GIMP knee! you better believe that we will be pushing him around in a wheelchair...that means FRONT OF THE LINES for us!

Looking Forward to...........

I am sooo excited for May 22nd! So you think you can Dance is #1 show right now, and it definitely deserves to be! For those of you who have not been addicted to SYTD in the past I suggest you watch it this year...I can guarantee you will be hooked! Phil even LOVES and looks forward to this show and he isn't a dancer. You will find a style of dance for everybody...from street dance, to krumping to ballroom and the jive! I know what show I will be watching all SUMMER!

Girl's Night Out

On Saturday night me, my sister, and my good friend Trisha went out to dinner and shopping during Priesthood Session! It was so fun being with the girls and for the two moms’ it was fun for them to have a peaceful dinner! There is just something about GNO’s. I don’t think I will ever be “too old” for a night out with the girls. I am so grateful for all of my friends that have played such an important roll in my life. Tonight was rejuvenating!

instant family

What a fun weekend I had! I usually get one or two of my nieces and nephews at a time for what I like to call “SPOILING” time! Well this weekend was different I had all four of them over Friday night for a slumber party! I was a little nervous about little Addi because this was her first time away from mom & dad! To my surprise she did GREAT and she loves her Aunt Whitney and sometimes her Uncle Phil! Friday I met my sister in SLC and gave her my car so that I could have her SUV with all the kids. I took them to a pizza place for dinner and video games! I was reminded how easy I really do have it! When I usually go to dinner I am with my sweet hubby with no distractions or worries, let a lone four kids screaming! Boy, I am SPOILED! This was very different. I had to juggle four kids and their food and drinks. But we still had a great time! After dinner we went back to my house so we could spend time with Uncle Phil. We rented a movie and set up camp in our room! The kids were so excited to have a slumber party on my floor! It was a great night…and YES Addi even slept through the night!

Updates...

Phil’s Recovery....

This has been a very painful process for Phil. After surgery he was admitted to the ER and on bed rest for 5 days. After a week and one day he is still having a VERY hard time moving. I still have to help him move his leg in and out of bed. His knee is very swollen and sore. He had his follow up doctor visit today and the x-ray showed that everything is still in place. The swelling is worse than ‘normal’ but after physical therapy tomorrow the Doctor thinks he will start to see improvement. I have really enjoyed helping Phil but I am ready for things to get back to normal everyday life…as I am sure he is too! Again, we have had so many great friends come by and visit us and bring way too many YUMMY goodies! THANK YOU!

Updates...

Lily....

Last week my mom took Lily to get her shots, thanks Mom for helping out! Anyway, the next day Lily came running into my room and she had WELTS all over her body! I called my mom in panic and she assured me it was just an allergic reaction! I keep telling my sister she needs to hurry and SELL her house so she can move close to me and take care of my kids & dogs when they are sick! Gross…I seriously wanted to die. They didn’t seem to really bother her; in fact I think I was itching myself more than she was! After a benedryl and a LONG nap she was back to normal…thank goodness!

{Don't be surprised if this post is deleted soon...just looking at these pictures makes me itch & sick!}

Recovery Nightmare

This picture has nothing do with the post itself! But it's a GET WELL picture for what we will be doing in one month on our CRUISE!

{This is a NOVEl but it's purpose is for our Joural}

Phil’s surgery went very well. The Doctor said the ACL repair couldn’t have gone better. He also had meniscus tear so the surgery went longer than planned. I was able to sit in the 2nd recovery room with Phil. It was really hard for me to sit with him because he was in a lot of PAIN and I can’t handle that! The Doctor said that right after surgery he woke up with intense pain so the pumped the meds right away. I felt so bad for him.

Now for the fun part! He was supposed to go into surgery at 12:45 PM. He arrived at the hospital about one hour prior and was hurried into a room with an IV full of sugar water to wait. His sweet mom was able to sit with him there, thank goodness! Two hours later, yes two hours they FINALLY got him into surgery. After surgery they told us to plan on about one hour for post recovery to come out of the anesthetics. Well they were wrong we waited about three more hours for him to come back to life. My poor little hubby was in so much pain and he was so uncomfortable. He kept asking me to talk to him about anything and everything. I think my voice was able to comfort him a little bit. Well any of you that know me well know that I am a crazy person in hospitals…I can’t handle seeing other people in pain, sick, you name it it’s not for me! So I was talking to him and running out of breath because I was having a hard to breathing watching him in pain. I had to sit down and fan myself back to reality! Duh, it wasn’t me in the hospital I was there to comfort my husband! So after two hours I told him that I just couldn’t talk anymore I needed to sit down and breathe! Phil was still out of it and hadn’t even really opened his eyes since I had been there. I turned on the TV and turned the channel to the Jazz game. Phil lives for the Jazz and as soon as he heard that familiar sound he opened his eyes and asked for his contacts! What? Just minutes before that he couldn’t even open his eyes and now he wanted to sit up and watch the jazz! What a funny boy! Needless to say we watched a couple of quarters and he was then ready to head home and try and make it in time for the 2nd half. I was thankful for the Jazz last night!

Now for the not so fun part! Last night was a rough night for both of us. We were up every hour trying to situate his knee, take more medication, trying to use the bathroom, and just talking to keep his mind of the pain. We are so lucky to have great friends in our ward. Our good friend came over around 11:00 PM to give Phil a blessing in hopes for a little comfort. What a great blessing to have so many wonderful people around us that honor their Priesthood. The night was long but we made it. This morning Phil kept complaining that he really needed to pee but not a lot was coming out. After a few hours of trying to find relief I called the Doctor and he immediately said that Phil needed to go to the ER. WHAT? He had just spent 9 hours in the hospital yesterday and now you want us to go to the ER. Phil was not convinced that he needed to so we covered up his leg and put him in a warm shower in hopes for some relief there. Didn’t work. So after a couple more hours without success he finally gave in and let me take him in. The ER visit was painless, well painless in the fact that we didn’t have to wait and we were only there about an hour. Poor little Phil wanted anything but a catheter. He kept asking the nurse if there were any pills that would help him PEE rather than doing the catheter. They were all laughing at him because he was being rather hilarious. (Possibly the Loratab speaking) He didn’t win though they had to do the catheter. I of course left the room! He didn’t have any trouble filling the bag up so I was grateful we took him in! The Doctor said that often times after surgery the body does this so there was nothing for us to worry about.

We are so grateful for our wonderful friends who have called and stopped by to check up on us! It means a lot to know that people care, thank you!