TuRkEy! Here we Come!

Great Day here at the Nelson's! It is finally...officially....Thanksgiving Break! Happy Day! A blizzard however is on its way to Utah- apparently it s supposed to be the worst that Utah has seen in several years! High winds, well below zero temperatures, white-out conditions, and power outages. Boo, Utah Boo! However, this storm was supposed to be here at 2pm today....here we are at 6:48 and still no storm. Oh bless those weathermen's hearts!

Our plans have changed a bit for our Turkey Day celebrations. We were planning on just staying here in Springville- but we decided to go to Elba so Cole's mother wont be alone for Thanksgiving. We're excited for our very first Thanksgiving together! And tomorrow we will be celebrating our 5 month anniversary! Where has that gone!?! I love everything about being married! A few of my most favorite things about the life with the ball and chain:

• Not having to say goodnight
• When Cole walks in the door, he comes to give me a kiss before he does anything else
• He is always excited for what I cook
• Our apartment that is just ours
• Decorating for the holidays!
• How opposite we are...but the same in things that matter.
• That we have so much fun just doing nothing!
• That I always know what he'll order when we got out...chicken fried steak and a water with lemon (he eats it...WITH the rine....blech)
• How he is so much like my Dad
• He helps me clean... he's the greatest roommate!
• Talking about our future...our dream house...future kids names (good thing it'll be a while...we have things to discuss where our posterity's names are concerned!)

And quote of the week from the sarcastic man that is my husband....we were talking about how he'd waited until after we were married to tell me we would live in Elba someday...

"I liked it- so I put a ring on it- and THEN told you about Elba!"

Oh Beloved husband of mine....how could I say no to such an offer? Haha.

I met wit my advisor todady to make sure there would be no surprises in April. Graduation is a go! How crazy!? 5 more months and I'll be a college graduate! Awesome! My schedule is a little crazy next semester- turns out when you're about to graduate- you just have to take the classes you need when they're offered...which kinda screws up your schedule! But oh well- hopefully I'll use the 3 hour breaks in my schedule for studying...although I doubt it especially since it'll be my last semester. Senior-itis is definately something I'm familiar with! But I'll be taking Personal Training Strategies, Problems in Exercise Perscription, Basic Entrepreneurship Skills, Exercise and Wellness Certification Preparation, Women's Health Issues, and I'm currently signed up for Physics since some of the medical sonography programs require it...although I'm weighing if its worth it! 16 credit hours and BAM....college degree! Woo-hoo! BYU has been great...helped me meet my husband and all...but I'm quite content to finish and head to the next chapter!

Our only big plans for the week are Thanksgiving dinner and going to see Tangled...I'm kinda excited!

Xoxo,

Hmmmmm....Turkey!!!! :)

Just An Update!

I keep seeing all of my friends update their blogs and I love reading them but I always think to myself "I should do that...meh...maybe later!" So....it's later. It's Saturday and I'm at work...per usual. Last night, Cole and I went to Abram's apartment for a housewarming party! It was so good to see Abram and a bunch of the Burley Boys! Abram has the best decorated bachelor pad probably ever. It looks like an IKEA display apartment! It fits him so well!

Cole and I are staying in Springville for Thanksgiving. I havent been able to see my parents since my Dad got burned over Labor Day- so thats a little hard to not see them but he's doing A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and is back in good health. Miracle? I think so! But this is the longest I've not seen my parents since I wont be able to see them until January. Crazy how getting married does that! But we're pretty excited to have a nice relaxing holiday! We're both pretty worn down and the two of us keep getting colds because of stress and school and just a lot going on so the sleeping in and relaxing will be much needed! My Dad makes the BEST cured and smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving- I was pretty sad to miss out. However, my Dad (he's so awesome) is sending us the cure to make our own. Most people would not be half as excited as I am about this- but seriously- I'm stoked!!! And i'm kinda excited to have a little Thanksgiving dinner with just the two of us!

We just have classes Monday and Tuesday and Cole's girl's first game is Tuesday night! I'm excited to see his coaching skills in action! He's so funny when he comes home and talks about his students. In his weights class- apparently he modivates them by Halo 3 terminology. Ijust know that those kids walk out of class everday thinking "BEST- P.E. -TEACHER- EVER!" Yep! That's my husband!

My dear sweetheart of a friend in Australia sent me flowers the other day after a rough week AND I found out that I can text her....Awesome? Indeed! I miss her a lot.

And here is a countdown of the next month-ish that I am looking SOOO forward to finishing!

1. 1 more midterm
2. 1 physiology paper
3. THANKSGIVING!
4. 1 more physiology lab
5. About 20 medical journal readings for Obesity (I was supposed to be doing these all semester...Crap!)
6. 4 more statistics assignments
7. 2 projects and presentations
8. Another dentist appointment
9. Finals
10. CHRISTMAS!!!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I've secretly been listening to Christmas music....(shhhh- dont tell Cole- he hate x-mas music before Thanksgiving) ....I want a hippopatums for Christmas and Baby- It's Cold Outside are two of my most favorites!! Christmas will be so fun...we're going to Elba this year. Cole's Mom rented some large house or something- I'm not even sure what it is but its a bigger place so that Cole and his 4 sisters and all of their little ones and families can all be under one roof. I think it will be so much fun!Oh- and for all of you that knew that I put my foot down and told Cole I'd never live in Elba....haha...oh how things can change in less than 5 months of marriage! Yes- I've agreed to live in Elba on the ranch someday- not for a while though! Cole loves to ranch and I love him- so I'll follow him wherever he wants to go- I can ultrasound anywhere and Elba is gorgeous and will be a great place to raise a family!

Oh- and Cole and I are going to Harry Potter in about an hour! I'm not a super fan of HP but I like the movies and Cole has been excited for it for weeks! I hope its good.

XOXO,

Hogwarts Bound!!!

Thankful-ness

I have decided, with the craziness that this semester/week/month/year has been that I needed to actually perk myself up and remind me of the sooooo many things I am so blessed to have...and its almost Thanksgiving!

1. My husband!!!

Cole is seriously the greatest! He helps me do the dishes and clean. He holds me when I cry and wipes away my tears. My parents ADORE him. And all of the little things he does everyday. Like when I lay in bed fuming for hours about how someone has been so cruel and malicious to me and he just rolls over and says "I love you- I just wanted you to know!" at 3 am! I'm just so lucky! He's a hard worker, SOOO much like my Dad, he's the kindest person you'll meet, and he is ALWAYS on my side.

2. My family!!!

My parents are seriously to most Christ-like people you will ever meet. They care about those they come in contact with and they work harder than anyone you know! They would do anything for their kids and are not more concerned with being "the cool parents" than being real parents- there were times in my life I didnt appreciate that! But all of the good things in my life- my work ethic, my goals, my testimony, my eternal marriage....I owe to my parents! My big brothers are awesome! Matthew and I talk probably 3 times a week. Being newlyweds at the same time has really made us even closer! I idolized him when I was little and we had our time of disagreements, but I feel like we're back to the relationship we had when we were little when I would follow him everywhere! He has the greatest advice and is so loving and brilliant and he married the perfect girl! Anita is just genuinely sweet- Matthew hates that people in Casper think her and I look alike, but I take it as the greatest compliment...she's adorable! And Kalob is about to be a Dad!!! Whenever I talk to him he is just so excited for the future of soccer games and baseball and coaching his boys- I'll laugh when it's a girl so he'll have to start dreaming in tu-tus and ballet!

3. My friends!!!

I have had the most wonderful friends in my life! Amber, Shelly, Maren, and Kaylee are so amazing in so many different ways. Amber is soooo much fun- you can't be around her without laughing and instantly falling in love with her. Shelly is the kindest person I've ever met-she makes me a better person just by knowing her! And she will be the most beautiful bride next June...I cannot even wait for her and Nick's wedding. Maren is so grounded- I always turn to her for advice. And probably one of the most hillarious people ever- and so intelligent- but not in a way that makes you feel dumb. She's amazing and sincere and kind and compassionate. And Kaylee has been such a blessing in my life when I hated BYU my freshman year and then we became friends via Pocahontas....Thank you Disney! She was so much a part of me being able to meet Cole and I cannot wait until her and Phil move back to the US from Australia!

4. My education!!!

Though at times (many times) I hate going to class, studying for exams, working on projects, writing papers, and all of the other things that come with being a student- I will be more prepared for a career, motherhood, and basically just life in general. I've been so blessed with a scholarship and for the opportunity that I didn't have to go into debt for my undergraduate degree.

Halloween!!!!

I have always LOVED Halloween! Since I grew up on a ranch and we never had trick-or-treaters, we always went to a family friend's house, Nancy! She was the greatest- she had the thickest southern accent and she was just always soooo fun! Halloween is when I miss childhood the most!

This year, Cole and I decided to have some friends over for Halloween since it was on Sunday. I bought bread bowls at a bakery in Provo that looked like pumpkins....I was pretty excited! and I made Broccoli and Cheese Soup....DELICIOUS! It was so nice to just have everyone over! We haven't really had very many visitors since we're in Springville. I also made cookies that looked like bats, pumpkins, and candy corn! I'd forgotten how much I love baking with how crazy everything has been! I'm kinda bummed that Halloween is over....now I have to find more decorations!

These next couple weeks are also going to be pretty busy for us! I have a whole new slew of exams- one of which I took today, studied for 5 hours for it and got a less than optimal grade! And I have another exercise physiology exam at the end of the week! Greatest day of all time will be when that class is over! I also have a root canal scheduled for a week and a half- and about 14 other cavities needing fixing. Curse my teeth! I think the dentist thinks I'm nuts with how emotional I am about my stupid teeth. He was like- "I fix people's teeth because they've been on illegal drugs- at least your problem is genetics." Thank you Mr. Dentist- I'm so glad we've established that I'm not on Crack Cocaine.....(which, by-the-way, I could tell you all about because of my Substance Abuse Class- even how to make it if you're interested....thank you BYU for my education in the best ways to cook Meth, Heroin, and Crack....a life skill I'm sure I'll be using!)

Cole is just as busy as ever too! I've just realized how selfish this blog always sounds! He comes home every night and plans his lessons. Those 8th graders have no idea what an awesome teacher he is! He buys candy for test review days........if only my college professors would do that- maybe I'd have nicer things to say about them on ratemyprofessor! haha. Cole hasn't had to go back to Idaho in a few weeks, but he'll be going home again this weekend to work the cows and get ready for Winter. Someday- it will be so much easier for him when we live in Burley.

I'll be applying to the Medical Sonography Programs at Weber State in January. So we aren't sure if we'll be staying here in Springville or moving to Ogden. It depends on if I get into the regional program- where I would do my clinical training in Provo and go to classes in Ogden like 5 times during the semester or if I get into the on-campus program. We're not even sure which one we would prefer at this point! It'd be nice to be that much closer to Burley for when Cole needed to travel- but it'd also be nice to stay here where he would probably have a job with the school he's at now. Cole is trying to teach me to worry a little less....not my strong suit, and plan a little less...also Hard! Both of those things are so hard....I'm a planner and a worrier- its what I do best!

Well- thats all for now!

Xoxo,

Jamie

"Hey Life!!! SLOW DOWN!"

Just a little update of why I've fallen off the map the past few weeks! Here's a list of my adventures:

• Married Picnic courtesy of Aaron and Ali!
• Drove to St George for two weeks in a row for my internship
• 7 Statistics Homework Assignements
• 6 exams (Exercise Physiology, Worksite Health Promotion, Obesity and Weight Management, Substance Abuse and Addictive Behavior, and TWO statistics exams
• Reading for well over 100 pages for Exercise Phys
• 5 Quizzes
• 7 papers
• A trip to Elba and Burley Homecoming (first time in FOREVER that we actually got to go TOGETHER)
• Work was thrown in throughout the mix
• A Beer Handler's License Meeting (its for a class!)
• Dinner with my scholarship
• babysitting for Cole's sister
• and Homework Homework and more Homework
  

And all of this at the expense of the husband! No time to grocery shop or clean the apartment....not ideal! Poor guy! Good thing I lucked out with him!

Last night- we went to Herriman. Cole watched Maddison, Bryson, and Dawson and I went to a Young Womens night with Brooklyn. There was a speaker there who, though she was a bit odd, was a very, very powerful speaker. She talked about the role of being virtuous women in the world and that these girls are the women of tomorrow and the need the world has of them to be strong, courageous, completely converted women that teach their sons with the same power that the mothers of the Stripling Warriors.

She quoted Alma 56: 47-48.

47. Now the never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

What a great perspective that I needed! After the craziness of life and the constant stress of school, what a great reassurance of peace and of purpose. She said something else that really struck me that I realized needs to be a greater focal point in my life. She said that when she was younger and if someone asked her what she wanted to be-she would have never said a Mother. Not that she didn't want to be one- she knew she would be- but she had other life ambitions. But with all the power of her voice she said "I am a Mother! I was sent to this earth to be a Mother! All of my life ambitions and education prepared me- not for a career- but for Motherhood."

I have an awesome Mother! She, individually, is the reason I have an eternal family, an eternal marriage, and that my two brothers have temple marriages. She alone! What a great woman I someday hope to be like...but in a few more years! Haha.

XoXo

Jamie

Busy Busy!!!

Is there a pause button to my life? Because lately it feels like a big NO! Last week, I took two exams on Tuesday before heading to St. George for the World Senior Games. I was there until Thursday night and then came home to take yet another TWO exams and a quiz for exercise physiology! I'll be leaving again tomorrow to go back!

I love St. George and I love the Senior Games.....I DONT love the grad student doing her study on the carotid ultrasound so it is a HUGE mess! Since I'm the only one who had been there before and knew how it worked, people can sense the one person who has a clue what they're doing. So....all the old people came to yell at me because of the disaster she had made it. So I was calming them down and explaining why it was a mess when the grad student comes and tells me to stop telling them its a mess. For those that know me you know this about me: A. Dont tell me what to do and B. I'll say whatever the heck I want to when I'm the one having to problem solve the mess you created! It ended badly for the grad student when she tried to yell at me, we'll just say there were some tears....and they weren't mine. Those poor people. For her study, she made them fast- they're all participating in sporting events, mind you, and they're old- so fasting until late in the afternoon was basically just cruel. AND they had to have 7...thats right SEVEN vials of blood drawn for her study. I was not on the Grad Students side, these poor people were mad and had every right to be.

Alas, I still had a great time in St George once we were able to get it organized! I got to visit a couple that used to live in Casper- Wes and Aubrey. She was actually the person who talked me into coming to BYU. It was so fun to see them again! They just had twins and I loved seeing them! They are the kind of parents I want to someday be.

And then I drove home! It really sucks to spend as much time apart that Cole and I do with him usually going home on the weekends and these two weeks with me in St. George but I am so grateful for him always- and when I do get him for the weekends, I LOVE it! I came home to find that he had put our bookshelf together and cleaned our apartment! He knows how stressed I get when I dont have time to clean! Seriously...the best husband EVER!

With everything I have yet to do tonight: laundry, quizzes, reading, grocery shopping, packing, and finding some time for sleep- I better quit blogging and start checking everything off my list!

And lastly a few quotes that are how I'm feeling

"In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive"

"It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted."

Xoxo,

Busy Bee

Date Night!

Last night- Cole and I decided on somethings we needed to do- rather wanted to do:

1. Ikea...Bookshelf
2. Tai Pan...Home Decor!
3. Gardner's Village... Fun!
   

We've been putting off getting a bookshelf- mostly because Ikea is far! So we went and got our black bookshelf for the living room....assembly and pictures to come!

Second stop was Tai Pan....ps- can we just say that I have the best husband and the fact that he grew up with 4 sisters- he doesnt mind going shopping with me or going to places like Tai Pan- because he spent hours in those places growing up! Thank you Cole's sisters! So we got some more Halloween Decorations....I LOVE Halloween- my favorite of which are three Halloween pillows that say "Bippity" "Boppity" and "Boo!" They're cute...I love them! Also...pictures of our Halloween Hollow of a home to come!

And finally- Gardner's Village. This is where Cole took me 1 year ago on our date when we had our first kiss. Its this little place where they have awesome little shops... the Wild West Shop is Cole's favorite, and a Christmas shop, and a quilt shop, and a fudge shop. And they go all out for Halloween- women dress up as withces and wander around! I love it! And we also went to dinner at Archibald's which is a restraunt there that used to be a mill in the old days! So fun! Date night was most fab with my handsome husband! I love him....A LOT!

Xoxo,

Halloween Lover