Ode to Arizona

As many, some or none of you who faithfully read this blog may recall, a little over 6 months ago, I wrote a post entitled "Ode to Utah." You can find it here:
http://www.domesticatedm.blogspot.com/2011/11/ode-to-utah.html

This post was inspired by our somewhat recent, and even somewhat spontaneous decision to bag the idea of business school, and go to medical school instead. With, then 22, applications in around the country, I wrote this post as a farewell to Utah, seeing as I saw the odds of us getting into the University of Utah about 1 in a million.

Little did we know it was more like 1 in a billion. .... and we were not that one. Now it's seven months later, and this week I packed the first two of our boxes (first two of how many hundreds I don't want to know) pointing our faces and hearts towards Glendale Arizona, home of Midwestern University. For the record, Midwestern was not one of the first 22, nor was it one of the first 27, but when our number of applications (and dollar bills associated with said applications) rose to 33, Midwestern was included. And it was there and only there that we received a letter of admission a few weeks ago.

It was not our first, second, tenth, or twenty-ninth choice, but we clearly see now it is the only place we were meant to be. And we are thrilled and excited for our new adventure.

So goodbye Utah will be official come sometime in mid to late July, and we'll head for the south. As a follow up to my original post and as a tribute to the future.... here it is: the top ten reasons to be excited about living in Glendale, AZ. (In no apparent order).

Reason 1: The land of endless summer

Sunshine does wonders for me, and I've never seen it shine so brightly as it does in Arizona. Eli can't get enough of it either. In the winter time we both start to feel so cooped up and we are both a lot happier when we can get out of doors. Goodbye heavy coats and mittens and snow for two years! I may miss you eventually... but it will take some time.

Of course they say that the summer months are as miserably hot as our winter months are miserably cold. I say that I have been there in June, and I really didn't think it was so bad. Of course I spent all day every day lying by the Marriott pool while the help brought around cool towels and fresh fruit. But hey... we'll have a pool in our complex right? :)

Reason 2: Orange and Lemon trees

This may seem very normal to Otto, but in my mind, oranges and lemons only grow on trees in lands of tropical fantasy. Which means I am moving to tropical fantasy!!! WOOOHOOO!

My in-laws and my husband's grandparents have a nearly endless supply of fresh lemons and oranges that make fresh lemonade and orange juice almost year round. YUMMM!!

Reason 3: The Grand Canyon

Do you know that as many times as I have visited Arizona, I have never seen the Grand Canyon? This is on my list of top things that must be done when I move there.

Reason 4: Midwestern University

The process of applying for 33 medical schools has been an exciting, but challenging one for our family. Months of waiting for good news tried our patience. When we finally were asked to interview at only a few of the many schools we had hoped to hear back from, I was surprised and bothered at how unsettled I felt during the interview process.

The morning of our interview at Midwestern, as we drove onto campus I immediately felt a sense of peace about it. The more time we spent there, the more I felt calm and at home. I could see myself moving there and being happy there, and I could see Otto getting the education he needed to accomplish his life goals. (Which include, running for president, inventing a cure for cancer, and saving the world, in no apparent order). It was no surprise to me when Otto received his acceptance; I already felt as though it would be our new home.

After a lot of thought and research, we decided to live in the on campus housing. While initially I was afraid it would feel like living in the dorms again, I quickly decided that it was our best option for a lot of reasons; first and foremost being close to Otto, and allowing him more chances to run home on study breaks. All in all, I couldn't feel better about any of these decisions. The only downside is that it happens to be the most expensive school we applied for. Ahhhhh well.

Oh, and in case you didn't notice from the picture, this school is obsessed with the color blue. It is everywhere. Including every square inch of carpet in my apartment. Ah well... I like blue right?

Reason 5: Phoenix

I'm a small town girl, and my heart will always belong to the country. I have lived out of the country for almost ten years now, and I still feel "all grown up" every time I navigate a bus or train system, or drive on a busy freeway. I love to go home to the country and breathe in the quiet, blissful, carefree sheltered safe air. But the city is an intriguing place, full of new discoveries and adventures. There will be new restaurants (that we eat at once a year) new museums (free ones of course) new malls (to window shop in and plan out my next outfit that I can afford in a decade or two) and new great deals to find and things to learn. New parks to take Eli to, new entertainment and art and new trails to hike (only ones without snakes of course) and new people to know. I can't wait!!!

Reason 6: West is Best

While I have made it very clear that I am ready for an adventure, and would have willingly followed my husband anywhere in the country for a good education, (and stay tuned... our decade+ long education is just beginning!) all in all I am glad we have stayed in the west, at least for now. With the realities of the move setting in, I am realizing for the first time that even though I am almost 30 years old, I have never lived this far away from "home" before. I am glad that if we have to move further away, we are still not as far as we could be. And we are still close enough to Utah for a quick trip up every once in a while for important friend/family events.

Hint: That means all friends and family in Utah should feel at least a little guilty if they don't even consider coming to visit us in Glendale. 

Reason 7: Boating

I am sure we will find at least one day in the next two years that Otto actually has a day off. :) I wonder what Eli will think of being on a boat??? I'll bet he likes it....

Reason 8: I MIGHT actually get a tan for once in my life (I'll spare you the before picture... the after one is coming sometime in the next two years. (Yes mom, I promise to wear sunscreen....).

Reason 9: Beautiful landscapes

I have to say, I expected Phoenix to be much uglier. When Otto first took me to visit several years ago, I was amazed at how beautiful the city was. I LOVE these pink flowers that they have everywhere along the freeways. Look how beautiful it looks! Doesn't it make you want to live there??

Reason 10: Family

Looking forward to a lot more good times ahead with these people!!! It will be so nice to be close to family for a few years... especially because they love Eli SO much and are such good grandparents/aunts/uncles to him. I am grateful they will be so close by.

So... Otto and I are thrilled and excited for a new adventure.

Eli is pretty excited too.....

A Real Achievement

So, today is December 1st. I love December... I love the Christmas lights and music, the feeling in the air and the beautiful nativity set my mother gave me that I get to look at on my mantle all month long. But today, as I was driving home from running errands, a new thought occurred to me. It was one that was too good not to share, so here it is.

Now it is December, which means fall is officially over. (For the record, I don't believe this garbage that winter doesn't start until the 21st or whatever day. In my mind, December=winter, and therefore, the ending of fall). And for the first year in a decade, my fall was FANTASTIC!

That's right... Autumn is a beautiful season. I have always loved the crispness in the air, and the changing leaves, and Halloween and Thanksgiving... but for some reason, fall has always seemed to have it out for me. And unfortunately, it usually involved problems of the heart (anyone who knew me in my single years knows that this was not unusual ANY time of the year... but fall always seemed to rise to the occasion each year) So let's quickly review:

Fall 2000:
-Following a dreamy summer of being sure that high school heart throb was FINALLY going to decide to be in love with me, he got a girlfriend... and it wasn't me. I spent September, October and November in deepest teenage despair.

Fall 2001:
-Certain that my life had come to an end because I had to (gasp) leave home and go to college (unheard of) I spent my days staring at pictures on my ceiling of high school heart throb (who still had never dated me) and telling everyone I knew and didn't know, who cared or didn't care about how wonderful he was. Oh, and I was horribly homesick.
-High school heart throb made an 8 hour drive to come visit me at school and I spent all of my semester money preparing for his arrival! He spent the whole weekend flirting with my roommates. Booo. Oh and then he told me that he knew that I wanted to marry him and that, well, was NEVER gonna happen. What? You mean I'm THAT transparent?????

Fall 2002:
-After a magical summer of singing "Cowboy take me away" (yes, I FINALLY got over high school heart throb) he tried (to take me away that is) and through a series of complicated circumstances, I turned him down... he moved across the country and I.... spent that fall crying my eyes out and continuing to listen to Dixie Chicks in effort to make myself feel better/worse (you pick)

Fall 2003: Yep. Still crying and singing Dixie Chicks. Yep, cowboy still lives across the country and has hated me ever since I broke up with him. Yes, I have issues with moving on apparently.

Fall 2004: Finally got over cowboy and started dating dreamboat #4 (we skipped #2, he was unimportant and happened in the summer, not the fall). Blissful summer with dreamboat followed by (are we sensing a pattern here) him dumping me for another girl in September.... and then marrying her. BAD fall.

Fall 2005: Start of nursing school-most stressful semester of my life. First failed test in college.
-McHandsome #6 (we skipped #5... short lived) told me he thought he was going to marry me... and then dumped me for another girl in my ward a week later. I've seriously got some bad karma going on here.

Fall 2006: Man of my dreams #9 (since fall 05 we added 3 more, and brought back #5 for a short time... just to keep things interesting) played yo-yo with me all fall long. Luckily, I fell right into the open arms of the guy (#12 (we skipped 10 and 11 over the summer) who my roommate and best friend had been in love with for a year. Oops. Not exactly proud of that one, nor did it end well for anyone. By the end of fall 06, I had lost my best friend, and open arms man dropped me like a hot potato for his ex girlfriend. Ouch.

Fall 2007: Move to Salt Lake, failed nursing boards, and heartache #13 (best friend of open arms #12) and I broke up at LEAST once a week for 6 months straight. By fall, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown, (seriously, can you blame me after that year) and finally blocked his number and went into hiding. Ha! NOT a pretty fall to say the least.

Fall 2008: We skipped #14 and on to... heartbreaker #15... we were right in the middle of one of our majorly dramatic on again off again "we don't date, we just act dysfunctional" cycles. Pretty sure we had one really fun date that entire couple of months.

Fall 2009: Enter Otto Stronach Shill IV. Man we had fun together that summer... and then I spent all fall feeling frightened and weighed down by the prospect of something ACTUALLY working our for a change... it was very stressful you know! I was used to being dysfunctional and he was trying to make me CHANGE!

Of course... magically my fears seemed to resolve around December 1st.

And then we lived happily ever after.

And I thought, "Wow, here comes fall 2010! It's going to be my first happy fall in years!"

Fall 2010: Morning sickness. I can't bear to open my fridge (EVER) and I want to throw up ALL the time. And don't worry, occasionally I did.

Fall 2011:
-Perfect Husband
-Perfect baby
-Not a single breakup/heartbreak/failed test
-Perfect life, because... well I EARNED IT!

But that's not really the reason. The reason is because I am SO blessed. And now that it's December 1st and fall is over... I can't even jinx myself by saying that. :)

The tides have turned. 2011 marked the beginning of a new decade of blissfully happy Autumns. And you know... it was worth a decade of silly dramas and morning sickness to have what I have now. Here's to a perfect fall, and a happy winter too!

PS To any of you who lived through any or all of these falls with me, I'd like to personally thank you for putting up with my drama. You are welcome to vote on which year was the worst.... I would start a poll but, let's be honest, that's taking it a little too far.

Ode to Utah

It's been four and a half years now since I packed up my little chevy aveo (Yes, I've totaled that car, and another since then) and drove... kicking and screaming (or at least crying) every last mile from Washington to Utah.

Four and a half years....

At one point I said I never wanted to move to Utah. Then I said, "If I ever move to Utah, I will not marry someone I meet in Utah, because then everyone will say, "You just moved to Utah to get married."'

So... I did, I did, and they did.

But life is good, so I'm not complaining. Sometimes when I round that bend around Farmington, and I can start to see the lights of the Bountiful temple and know I'm almost "home", I remember how I felt that night when I drove in, in tears, knowing that I was here to stay, and so alone. Yet, as much as I didn't want to admit it at the time, I knew deep down there must be a lot of good waiting for me in this city. My mom once said about another difficult move I once made: "Just think of all the people here who you have yet to meet and love." I have tried to remember that every time I was frightened of going somewhere new. Of course, every time she has been right.

Now we are putting in med school applications all around the country. Come next summer, there is a 1 in 27 chance we will stay (I am not smart enough to figure out that percentage in my head. Anyone that wants to do it for me, be my guest). If we don't stay, we will live in Washington, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, or North Carolina.

And so, in honor of the state and city I have now devoted 4 1/2 years of my life to, here is a list of the top ten greatest things about Utah, that I will miss next year, (in no apparent order):

1. The Mountains:

I'll miss the hiking, the views, the fresh air, the summer bbqs, the places that have been my places to be alone and think over the years... the beautiful mountains of Utah!

#2- The City Library

One of my favorite places in this city. When I first moved here I used to love to go buy an Italian Soda, climb to the top floor and spend the afternoon studying for my boards. Now I love to take my baby there and attend story time, check out books for babies books on how to raise babies, classics for me to read and keep my mind sharp, and old movies. I still buy Italian Sodas of course. I love how light this building is. It's always been great for lifting my spirits.

#3- The Salt Lake City Temple

The place we were married... one of the most beautiful places on earth! I will miss being able to go there on a regular basis. I will also miss this:

 The lights on temple square at Christmas time. Despite how COLD it is (see Caleb's face) it really is beautiful, and a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas season.

#4- Siblings:

I have loved being so close to my sister Robin at BYU, and all of the fun activities we have done together! I will miss her next year if we leave Utah! We will also miss having Josh and Amy so close!!!

I should also mention all of our extended family that have taken such good care of us, including my grandparents, and several of our aunts, uncles and cousins. Family dinners have definitely been one of my favorite parts of living in Utah!

#5- LDS Hospital

The place where I learned to be a nurse, became a charge nurse, led my own committee, experienced my first encounters with death, laughed, cried, fell asleep standing up, and overcame fear in a way I never have in my life. The only place I spent almost as many nights as I did in my bed. All the doctors and nurses that I have come to love and respect, and shared so much with.... I will miss this place.

#6- Nurses day out:

Three of my favorite RNs, who constantly teach me how to be a better nurse, and make me laugh hysterically for hours on end every time we get together. I will miss our breakfast/lunch dates out that I have come to look forward to so much!

#7- Liberty Park

Another one of my favorite places in SLC. My favorite place for picnics in the summertime, my favorite trails for running or going for walks with the stroller. I love this place!

#8- Hale Center Theater

Where else on earth can you see Broadway quality for only 26 bucks a ticket? We have seen SO many good shows at this place. I will miss this for sure!

#9- My canning/running/mothering/reading/greys anatomy watching/bread making/decorating/cooking/budgeting/deal finding/farmers marketing/fellow nurse/traveling/shopping/event planning/restaurant hopping/crafting buddy/adviser Bree Ballard:

Last week we stayed up till 11 pm making applesauce, bread, and a complete disaster of her kitchen. Together we peeled apples by hand for 8 hours straight. This week we are taking our babies to story time, exploring the library, canning apples and making apple pie filling, attending a show for women about Christmas gifts, and running a 5K. DEFINITELY don't know what I'll do without her!

#10- Cafe Rio

My life will never be the same. One can only hope and pray for franchises.

Now, before you start saying your goodbyes and reach for a box of kleenex... we aren't going anywhere yet! In fact, we just got our secondary request from the University of Utah yesterday! (That makes 17 secondary requests out of 27 so far, wooohoo!!!)

But since the likelihood of us leaving before the year is up is still quite high, let me say before I go that I'm glad I came. I've gotten a lot of good things out of Utah in the last four and a half years.

And the best of those things..... I'll be taking with me. :)

Just a Typical Saturday Night....

After attending a FABULOUS Women's Conference this evening with some of my favorite women, I walked into the living room to find this:

LOVE! I LOVE LOVE sunflowers. And what a perfect fall addition to my home!!! Thank you Otto!!!!
If that hadn't kept him busy enough... he also had made THIS:

Homemade strawberry cheesecake ice cream... yummy!!! Recipe courtesy of my cousin Janssen, and this random person's blog:
http://www.perrysplate.com/2008/07/brownie-cheescake-ice-cream-with.html
.... though we don't know her personally, we thank her.

And finally, he somehow still had time to scrub my fridge (which I spared you a picture of) and go and buy these:

... for my darling baby who outgrew his newborn suits and has nothing to wear on Sundays. I know... we are poor students. So Otto informed me I only get to keep one.... what's your vote?

Wow. Flowers, ice cream and cute new little clothes. And all in three hours! Is he the best or what? 

While eating ice cream, we enjoyed a rousing game of Mexican Train Dominos with our good friends Dave and Melissa.

Eli won (of course) with his sharp mind, keen intellect and gift for strategy....

A night out with the girls, flowers, ice cream, new clothes from my sweet husband, and games with good friends. What could be better?

..... I'll tell you what. Coming home from a night out with the girls just to see this:

.... and do this....

3 hours away was plenty. Ah, it's good to be home.