Proof

Here is the photographical proof that Lianna and I were in Hawaii.  The pictures don't look too good through blogspot... but they are amazing when you see the originals.

 This is by far my most favoritiestesed picture I took

I hope you liked it

shhh... we're going Wegistered Nurse job hunting..

We are now scouring the market for places hiring new-grad nurses. Six rejections, and 2 interviews later, we are still waiting with baited breath, bells-on, with fingers, legs, arms, and eyes crossed for one of the hospital positions to call back and say "We are pleased to welcome you to our team!"

In light of all this, it's testimony time! I absolutely know that Heavenly Father is taking care of us. He has given us food, shelter, and enabled us to pay all our bills when I (who is the budgeteer of the family) saw no way to stretch our money over all those things. I know that He is watching us, knows both me and my husband personally and loves us infinitely. I have complete faith that my husband will find a job, and that it will be in a place that is perfect for us. Part of me is a little worried that it's time for us to become like the proverbial currant bush, and I'm not looking forward to any sort of chopping, but I know that, in spite of my fears and worries, only the best lies ahead.

Aloha Family

At the beginning of July we went to Hawaii! My mom is from there, (90% of her relatives still live there) and there was a big family reunion. It was amazing. Imean, Oahu is nice all the time, but seeing almost the entirety of your relations is what really makes it wonderful.
We stayed in a beach house with my Mom, Aunt, my Brother and his lovely Wife, my Sister, and 3 awesome Cousins! Eating my mom's amazing cooking for a week, buying all the fruits and juices and foods you can't buy anywhere else, smelling the flowers, the ocean.. and of course some ocean and beach time..plus old friends.. Well anyway here are some highlights:

Spent the night with our good friends, and snorkled with them the next day. I highly recommend this snorkle site for proficient swimmers; it's locally called Electric Beach and there are tons of fish everywhere. (check back in a couple days for more pictures here.. they're just not all edited etc yet.)

We even saw dolphins!

Visited with more good friends and their adorable son!
Spent time with my little sister, brother and his wife, and mom, played in the water with cousins,

how fun is that?

not as much fun as this!

My mom and my aunt, soaking up the sun

took a gorgeous hike..

Went to two family reunions - can I say YUM?

PoPo's (grandmother's) side

 
 

We visited the "Blowhole" where a small crevasse in the rock allows sea water to shoot up 20 feet in the air like a whale blowing water.

My husband told us to smile like we really loved each other, and this is what came out of both of us.

Visited the Laie Temple - it was closed for cleaning while we were there, which was a very sad day for us.

It was such a wonderful, wonderful trip. Can't wait until all the pictures are edited!!

happy anniversary!

Today is Teo's first Year anniversary of being our family doggie!

One year ago today we brought home our canine compadre from the Denver Dumb Friends League.

Then, he was so skinny! you can see his poor little spine sticking up in that picture above. He weighed in at 38 lbs at the vet, was curious but quiet, and didn't know a rubber ball from a decorative feature. His bark was so quiet and rare that we wondered if he'd had his vocal chords removed. His tail, as you can see in the picture, was long but never terribly curly. He refused to crawl into the up to 50 lb dog size kennel, in spite of me (L) climbing in there to entice him, and treats, toys, cuddling.... instead he lived for months in a 80 lb dog size kennel.


Now...
He is well adjusted to family life. He weighs just over 50 lbs, most of which is lean muscle. His tail curls even when he is in trouble, or sleeping. He vigorously defends our home, expresses his opinion, and terrorizes squirrels, rabbits, and cats with his deep woof and knows how to find his BALL, his SQUEAK toy, his STICK, and his TOY (all other instruments of fun). He loves his smaller kennel.
And we love him! His personality is so fun, forgiving, and loving. His worst qualities are a propensity for excited jumping on you, and eating through soft and hard toys when left to his own devices. Some may argue they also don't like his licking habits, but I happen to love doggie kisses (so eww all you want, he probably won't stop .... because .. well, I encourage it). If all adopt-a-dogs were like him, I'd do it again and again and again! We love you, Teo and are so glad you are with us!
ps. we have also decided against DNA testing for now, and instead are opting to wait until they are more accurate. Since we have his personality pretty well figured out and just want to know out of curiosity, we decided it can wait.

narcissus

So a cousin of mine blogged about a book - living in the age of entitlement: the narcissism epidemic.
It argues that (and here I paraphrase a paraphrasing) the internet allows people to be narcissistic with their posts and updates.
I had more to say than anyone would want to read in a comment, so here is my response.

My opinion is that narcissism is a condition where an individual is obsessed with themselves, and has no thoughts at all for anyone or anything else. This happens too seldom to humans for it to be called an epidemic - everyone at least cares for one person's well being, or a plant, or an animal. I am reminded of a French movie, where the character learns to appreciate friendship as an emotion, not as a checklist, ergo becoming human instead of narcissistic and underdeveloped emotionally.

I think we want to reach out to others, and that is why we post about ourselves. We tell the world - or anyone who cares to read or watch - about our triumphs, goof-ups, meals, and habits. In ye olden tymes this would have been done through letter writing, and those who we sent letters to would eagerly read and re-read any details we recorded. Now this process takes seconds, instead of days, and we can reach a wider group of family and friends. I can catch up with a friend's life without taking a horse-drawn coach for a week; I think this is not narcissism, but the desires of humans to reach out and touch one another. Sometimes people choose to post inane things - that is their choice, and i don't have to read. Sometimes people choose to post racist, brutal, bullying, or vulgar things. My opinion is that this is wrong, just as any intent to harm is wrong. Still not narcissism though.

I also think that complaining about someone else doing better than you is due to a misplaced feeling of entitlement. Now I don't think gloating is good, but I believe gloating aims to put others down, and sharing lifts others up. Calling them both the same thing is just plain silly.

So what makes a statement a gloat, and what makes it a share?

Entitlement. This i believe IS an epidemic. The United States was founded on principles of God-given rights - or what every human deserves and should be able to expect without punishment or payment. We have taken this and run with it, interpreting everything we desire to be a basic right. I believe we are entitled to rights to live without being brutalized or oppressed. I also believe we have the right to act and take credit for those actions. I think people who have a lot will think they deserve what they have and more. I have found the poorer i have been the less I feel like I personally deserve it and the more I realize I have been blessed with more than I need.


Examples of undeserved entitlement are:

1The student/athlete who feels they should get good grades/good scores without following rules and working hard OR
The teacher who insults their students verbally and expects their respect

When I was a young student I had a teacher who called me stupid, and accused me of cheating on my homework because I did not perform well on tests. It was frustrating, and while he lost my respect, I worked hard to complete assignments. Because I DID do all my homework I managed a B in the class. I did NOT ask my parents to make him give me a good grade, because I was NOT entitled to special treatment because I had bad experiences, but I WAS entitled to achieving a grade I worked for. I ended up liking the man, but only because he never graded me on our personality differences. In other words: he did not demand that I respect him in spite of his untrue accusations.

2. The person who expects special treatment because they are them, while others are clearly also needing attention.

I work for a physical therapist and work with patients on an appointment basis. A false sense of entitlement sometimes rears its ugly head when patients who are not on the schedule, or who come in at an unscheduled time expect to be seen right away and then become angry when they are not.
I believe in good patient care, and I believe i can help many people become pain-free. And, sometimes out of courtesy people SHOULD be given special privilege. But chaos ensues when people are not willing to follow an order, when people in any situation assume they should get something they have not followed the correct steps to obtain.

But, there are those who would argue that receiving exactly what we earned is a poor reflection of effort, and judges too harshly those who have lesser natural ability.
What do you think? Are we entitled to a reward based on a personalized standard - where because we have done our best we should achieve the same as someone with more natural talent doing THEIR best?

Friends, Fur, Family, Fiance

My brother-in-law (who just happens to be a couple weeks younger than me) just got hitched!!
His FIANCE is amazing, beautiful, deaf, highly accomplished at lip reading, journaling, and is fun to hang out with. Their dog (seen here, sort of) and Teo have become puppy friends. A week before the wedding, the 6 of us went on a triple-date to Greely's Trailathon after spending the night in my BIL's new apt, soon to be the couple's home. There were many family-oriented fun events to participate in including golf-cart driving, dog walking, person walking, bird watching, and rock wall climbing, all of which we eagerly partook in.
We even made up our own event - the Frantic Search. Goal: find the lost backpack containing service dog vest and paperwork, money and water. Participants: various volunteers, my BIL, and a cop. Tools: feet, walkie talkies, and a golf cart. My BIL emerged the victor; after driving a golf cart the entire park, he spied the pack in the back of an elderly man's cart. He screeched to a halt, jumped out and ran at top speed to tackle the man .... or at least the man probably assumed he was going to be tackled, as he kept on driving away from the crazy running, screaming man chasing him ....
It was tons of fun, and tons of sun. Teo was exhausted and slept the 1.5 hr drive home, then slept some more until the evening.

from left: JD, me, Teo, BIL, FIANCE, their dog
They were both looking at the camera until right before it took; they turned around as it took, then right after turned back around... like a coordinated prank... those dirty dogs...
That afternoon I threw a shower (I wish I could say literally, like down a hill.. but alas..) for FIANCE . She is from the east coast, so her family called us on skype and we used two laptops to join them into the circle. A few wonderful ladies, friends of my Mom Q and mothers of my BIL's childhood friends, came and we had a great time eating, getting to know each other, and opening gifts. Sadly, I brought my camera, then promptly forgot to take pictures with it. So it sat under my chair while we enjoyed ourselves... here is a picture of the aftermath:
my BIL, who helped us set up, then helped us clean up. Good guy. In the back, you can see the laptops finishing out the circle.An unflattering picture of FIANCE, and Mom Q cleaning up tissue paper and gifts.
I didn't take any pictures of food, but it was delicious and beautiful. Baked brie, lemon bars, veg plates, fruit, lemonade... Perfect for an 80 degree Colorado afternoon.