The Great and Dreadful Day Draws Near

I am not a prophet nor do I ever plan to be one, actually this post has nothing to do with that. . . I'm just announcing that tomorrow, July 18th, 2008, Joseph will be getting his tonsils removed. A day he is both excited and afraid for, hence the title "The Great and Dreadful Day. . .". Stayed tuned for what I am expecting to be some pretty funny posts and pictures of Joseph after the surgery. And if we're lucky there might be some pictures of me (Jen) playing nurse, or mom, or whoever would take care of a sick boy.

Gardening

So I have always loved yard work and gardening. In fact I worked for three summers in high school at our city's golf course planting all of the flowers and basically designing each flower bed. It was my favorite job ever! Since I've come to college I've missed being outside in the sun, digging holes and getting dirt under my nails. I've been waiting for a yard of my own to work in, but as a student there's no chance. Luckily our new apartment has a yard and a small plot for a vegetable garden. A few months ago I planted a few things: 3 tomato plants, 2 green pepper plants, 2 cucumber plants, red onions, and a watermelon. Soon after I planted my garden the cucumbers died. Sad days!! I soon realized that that certain part of the garden got absolutely no water from the sprinklers, and the soil, well I guess I should say sand, is not the best for a garden. Despite the road blocks the rest of my babies are doing wonderful (I diligently water once sometimes twice a day). Here is a sneak peak into the abundance that we will soon be enjoying on our salads.

Not the best view of the garden, but that's the watermelon and you can see a few tomato plants. Oh and I forgot to mention the grape vines that are taking EVERYTHING over!

Here is a close up of one of my green peppers. Yum!

And of course a few tomatoes, all of which will be ripe on the same day!

Rock Band!

This blog needs to experience a bit more fun. Let me introduce you to Reason Dictates, a rock band that shreds harder and rocks louder than any other (ok, that might be an exaggeration). Reason Dictates is Joseph's band, his one true love (besides me). Here are some pictures from his latest show, a few of my favorites so as not to overwhelm you with the awesomeness of my photography skills.

Joseph melting faces with his bumping bass and stellar lyrics.

Doin' a little head banging!

Joseph writes his own songs. . . next winner of America's Got Talent?

If you are interested in getting a taste of Reason Dictates let me know and I'll arrange for you to taste a bite. You never know, you might be a rocker too.

Anatomy

I am finally taking my last class at BYU. . . .Functional Anatomy. What does that mean? Well to put it simple, we memorize all of the muscles, and bones and how they connect and what movements they create. I must admit I have no motivation left in my body. . . not a single ounce. I have cried over this class because despite my hating to go and my decision to just "pull a C" I cannot keep my obsessive compulsive personality from kicking in and making me strive to get an A. I guess that is a good thing.

So there are a couple of interesting things that have happened so far. First, I have a cadaver lab once a week, where I get to study muscles on dissected people. I actually really love that part (despite the horrible smell that I can't seem to wash off my hands. . . yes I do wear gloves). My TA is a non-member, which is fine, but he tries his hardest to be as crude and disrespectful as possible. At first it was kinda funny, but now he just looks dumb to everyone.

Today in my lecture part of the class we were learning about bones, their classification, structure, bone diseases, you get the picture. Suddenly a slide came up that said "WARNING, if you have a weak stomach you may want to look away." I love blood and guts, so I perked up in my chair as did most of the people in my class. My teacher proceeded to show disgusting broken bones (you know the kind that stick out of peoples legs, I won't go into anymore detail). Suddenly from the back of the room some people started gasping and we all turned around to see one boy having a seizure in his chair. He had passed out cold. It was kinda scary, but a little funny at the same time. As we sat there during the rest of the slides I thought to myself, "buddy if you can't handle pictures of blood and guts, you're in the wrong major." So what have I learned from this? Nothing, except that maybe going to class for the next few weeks might end up being a little more interesting than I thought.

Family Vacation

Oh the days of the family vacation. Mom and dad pack all of the kids in the car and drive across the country to some destination (usually chosen by mom and dad). The car is packed with tents, sleeping bags, coolers full of food, and lots of little bodies. At first things are fine and dandy, and then everyone starts to get on everyone else's nerves. "Mom he hit me." "Get your feet off of me." "Do I need to pull this car over!?!" (Just a few I'm sure you've heard)

I remember these days and I'm sad to admit that most of the time I was one who complained and one who was not pleased with the destination that my parents had picked. However, now that I am older and much wiser I have realized the beauty of the places my family used to vacation and the reason my parents took us there. And when I look back on those times I smile and remember the fun I had.

Joseph and I recently vacationed in Yellowstone National Park. It was our first family vacation without in-laws or siblings. We hiked, fished, biked, camped, built fires, and enjoyed gorgeous scenery. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

The Dental Hygienist's Diet

I have a new diet for all of you out there looking to fit into your bathing suits, it's called the Dental Hygienist's Diet, guaranteed to help you drop the pounds you've been housing on your back, belly, or thighs. Let me share with your my inspiration for this new diet.

Over the past two weeks I've had to observe a dental hygienist for eight hours, in order to fulfill a requirement for my dental hygiene program. Now this is all fine and dandy, I don't mind spending my time in a dentist's office, actually I quite enjoy it. It has however, become my inspiration to avoid fast food like the plague.

Yesterday a woman in her 30's came in for her six month check up. Pretty simple. This woman had just come from work and "had not had time to eat." She carried in with her a bag of Wendy's. In fact this woman worked at Wendy's. As she sat in the waiting room, she scarfed down some of her fries and Mr. Pibb. When it was time for her to come back to get her teeth cleaned, she didn't brush the Wendy's off, she merely sat down in the chair, with a big nasty grin on her face.


just to give you a little taste

I was dry heaving in the chair next to her, the burger breath, combined with the chunks of fry in her teeth was almost more than I could bare. I vowed right then and there to never eat at Wendy's again. Not only were her teeth disgusting, but I was up close and personal with a food preparer (fly down, dirt under the nails, greasy hair, etc., etc.). So that's it for me. The more time I spend cleaning people's teeth, the skinnier I should get. So I beg of you, to help me avoid anorexia, please brush your teeth before visiting your dentist.

Ah, nice teeth

Happy Valley. . . You Mean Slappy Valley

Just a quick neighbor update for those of you that occasionally check our blog in hopes for a new post to read. Earlier this week (I not sure what day it was), our wonderful neighbor informed us that his wife was put in jail for beating him. Now it may surprise most of you that in "Happy Valley" and in BYU "approved" housing such horrors could occur, well I've got news for you folks, happy valley may not be so happy anymore. Joseph and I now count the white people when we visit the grocery store. Anyway I guess our next door neighbor (the one with brain damage, due to an abusive husband, who's father played with Santana and ZZ Top, and who gets "lost" frequently) got upset with her newest husband and punched him in the face three times and then preceded to smash their new flat screen TV over his head. Scratchless and bruiseless he is doing fine. She is now living down the road in the Provo City Jail where she will reside for 6 glorious weeks. That's right folks, 6 glorious weeks of breathable air, and peace and quiet. Don't worry though, they are not getting divorced, well because he "still loves her man!"