Thankful for Medicine

Today I'm especially thankful for the medical field and all the advancements that have come along with that. Without it, I would be almost completely blind and have to have someone care for me. I would have been disabled at age 16! I'm also thankful for people like Jordan who devote their careers to helping people.

Flashback Friday

Today I'm remembering...the many, many visit I've had to the eye doctor. I got glasses when I was either 7 or 8, and switched to hard contacts when I was 11, then finally to soft contacts last year. I have awful vision! Hopefully I'll be able to get some cute glasses when we get insurance again. I remember when I first got glasses, thy were huge circle ones and came with a flowered case I picked out :) haha!!

Time to Par-Tay!!

Last weekend was awesome. The winter ball for VCU was so fun! We ate lots of yummy food, played games like life size Operation, and danced the night away with our friends! It was great. Jordan even broke out the moves and danced with me all night long!

On the 18th, we went to the mummy exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It was amazing. We watched a 3-D movie about this particular mummy. Then we walked around a large exhibit devote to these mummies. I am fascinated my Egyptian history and absolutely lived this exhibit.

Jordan took his gastrointestinal exam on Friday and did fabulous! Best test yet. He is doing great in school and is so smart.

This week at work has been good. I've been orienting to the unit and am trying to get used to the computer charting system. There is so much to remember!!

I ended up scratching my eye a few days ago and am so bummed. I scratched it a year ago also. I am really sensitive to light and it scratches when I blink. So I came to the doctor yesterday and since it was urgent, I got the only doctor available. Turns out, there is a reason he was available...he is an awful doctor!! He was unbelievably rude. Worst bedside manner. I was dying because he was flashing a light in my eye and I had to wipe my eyes, and he kept saying, "you need to stay still, don't blink, keep your eyes open!" Well, I don't know about you, mister, but when your super photosensitive, it kills you to keep your eyes open! I literally couldn't control my eyes. He made me cry :( so I hope I never have to meet with him again.

Today is Jordan's birthday and it's been fun :). I woke him up to a hot cinnamon roll, a "birthday basket," and a decorated house. Later we are going to the best barbecue place ever, Buz and Ned's. After that we will go see Chronicle and then come home to Jordan's favorite Godiva cheesecake from cheesecake factory. Yum!!! Happy birthday honey! You're the best :)

Thankful for the Gospel

Today I'm thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This church is the only true church on the earth!  I'm so grateful that we can share the gospel with our friends.  The following is an awesome conversation I had with a lady I work with.  And FYI, she didn't know I was a Mormon.  We'd never talked about it.

Debbie: "So Melyn, do any Mormons live around you or by you?"
Me: "Debbie...I am a Mormon!"
"Oh really?  Wow!!  So was your dad a polygamist?"
"No, the church hasn't practiced polygamy since the 1800's."
"Oh, so what do you think about this whole Warren Jeffs thing?"
"Well, their church was a faction that broke off a long time ago.  They're not Mormons."
"Oh I see, so anyways, what do you guys believe??"

At this point I was kindof in a daze.  Was this really happening?

So I continued, "Well, we believe in God, and Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.  That they're three separate beings.  We also believe that Jesus died for us and that through Him, we can return to heaven someday."
"Well I believe that too!  So what makes my church different from yours?"

I gave her the mormon.org website and told her to check it out.  I hope she did.  According to the local missionaries, 75% of investigators who go to the mormon.org website take the next step - meaning they contact their local missionaries, they get a Book of Mormon, or find their local congregation.  Awesome!  I love this church and am so grateful for it!

So Happy

Well people, I told you it would be an attempt to blog three times a week.  Guess I shouldn't make any promises the week I start a new job.  Speaking of which, I've been so thankful for this decision.  It's is one of the best choices I've ever made.  The people are so nice, and I'm going to be orienting for 6 more weeks!  It's awesome and I'm so so happy.  It has been difficult trying to adjust to days (I'm not a morning person!) though.  Waking up at 5:15...and going to bed at 9:30...not so fun.  But I'd rather take days over nights.

Valentines Day was so fun.  I love all holidays, and we celebrated by going to our favorite, Plaza Azteca. I had decorated the house all cute and when I got home from work, Jordan surprised me with the CUTEST stuffed frog that I've named Freddie the Frog (I'm obsessed with frogs, as seen here), the most beautiful roses I've ever seen, and a sweet valentine.  He knows me so well :)  I made him a valentine and tons of chocolate for his long studying sessions.  After dinner, we went to the Blockbuster rental and after looking at the selections, said, "There's nothing good in here.  Do you want to look?"  So I hopped out of the car and the first thing I saw was...Breaking Dawn!  Um, it's Valentines Day!  Let's watch a romantic movie!  So, needless to say, I have the best husband ever, because he agreed to watch it with me.  Regardless of the fact that we both laughed at the awful acting, it was awesome.  

Last Thursday, the 9th, my orientation for work was held in this small room in the hospital.  There were 30 of us packed into the room and no room to move our chairs.  So we were all twisting to see the speakers.  Not so good for the back.  The next morning I woke up with a small twinge in my neck, but when I leaned over later, I got this MAJOR sharp, shooting pain all up my back.  It was awful.  I knew I had pinched a nerve, and was so mad.  Our insurance from my last job cancelled in January and my new insurance doesn't start until April...so we couldn't really see a doctor.  Turns out, I was in so much pain by lunch that Jordan got me an emergency appointment at a chiropractor near us.  He adjusted my back and popped it like 20 times in the process, gave me a TENS unit, some topical cream, and instructions to relax!  It took a while for my muscles to get back to normal, but today I feel almost 100%.  Lesson learned: always adjust your chair so your nerves don't freak out!

Today is VCU's annual Winter Ball.  I'm so excited - pretty dresses, mani/pedi, great food, and DANCING.  I haven't forgotten Jordan's promise from the last dance that we would dance the night away.  I'm so exicted.

And finally, it is Flashback Friday.  Today I'm remembering the Valentines Days from when I was in high school.  My boyfriend from HS gave me a jewelry box full of those Nestles Treasure chocolates and put roses in my shower and said now that I've showered you with roses, will you be my valentine? It was cute :)  Ah, high school.  Good times.

Thankful Tuesday

Today is Thankful Tuesday!  I really believe that showing our gratitude and expressing it brings us closer to the Lord and invites the Spirit more fully into our lives.

I am grateful that I had a nice long break and have started my new job.  It's SO wonderful and the organization is incredible.  They truly care for their employees and want to help you not only in your job, but in your life as well.  I'm so grateful that I decided to turn my career this direction.

Jordan is grateful that I started my new job!  He's also grateful that warmer weather is just around the corner...although today it was 60 degrees...so by warmer he means blasting hot :)

Flashback Friday

This Flashback Friday is in honor of Punxutawney Phil!  Unfortunately, Jordan doesn't share my love for "that rodent who thinks he controls our lives."  But I honestly love Groundhog's Day.  It's the best!  When I was growing up in Mapleton, our family would celebrate Groundhog's Day at our dentist's house (the Lunds) in the Mapleton 8th Ward.  We would have groundhog themed food and watch the movie.  They even decorated their house with groundhog decorations.  It was so cool.  Maybe I can persuade Jordan to stop his aversion to groundhogs, and then we can have parties every February 2nd.

Are you READY???!

I am!  I shall attempt to blog THREE, that's right, THREE times each week!  The blogs will compose of Thankful Tuesdays, in which we post the things we're grateful for; Catch-up Wednesdays, where I'll catch you all up to what we've been doing the past week; and Flashback Fridays, where Jordan and I will share one of our favorite memories, because our blog is our journal.

That was the longest run on sentence ever.

So today is Catch-up Wednesday!  This will be a long post my dears, because I haven't really blogged anything since December (with the exception of my Christmas vacation post).  It's not going to be in order either, because I can't remember when everything happened.

1. We decorated our house for Christmas.  I love getting a real tree every year.  It makes the whole house smell amazing!

2. Jordan and I went to Maymont (my favorite place in Richmond) for a Christmas celebration!  We rode in a horse-drawn carriage, got a tour of the civil war era mansion all decorated for Christmas, interacted with "characters" dressed in their period attire, ate treats, and roasted marshmallows over a bonfire while listening to carolers.  It was awesome.  In addition to seeing the mansion, we also saw some of the sets used for the filming of the "Lincoln" movie!  So cool!

3. Our ward Christmas party was so fun. I helped decorate a table for the dinner and was blown away by the creativity of some people's tables! There was a beautiful program and we felt the Spirit strongly testifying of the divinity of Christ.

4. Jordan and I celebrated Christmas on Hanukkah...because we would be in Utah for Christmas.  Haha!  I thought it was hilarious.  Jordan got me new pots and pans, Wii Zumba, and a shredder.  I got him a hand blender, a Nintendo 3DS, and some 3DS games.  It was very fun :)

5. I quit my job!  I'm quite glad.  I'll just leave it at that, haha.  My new job will start Feb. 6.  I'm so so excited.  The hospital is only a mile away, pays more than the other one, has amazing benefits, and (drum-roll, please) I'll be working DAYS!!!  Heck freaking yes!  No more sleeping during the day for me.  I'm still going to be working in Psych.  I love working with psychiatric patients.  The only downside I can see is that I will miss this view every morning from my other job...

6. Jordan likes to hold on to certain pieces of clothing.  Like a shirt he had from high school.  Needless to say, it had a ton of holes in it.  His mom had tried to throw it away and he "saved it" from the trash.  I tried to persuade him many times to throw it away and had no success, until he got the exact same shirt on our shopping trip in Park City.  He then agreed to put the shirt down, and I took pictures to document.

7. As part of the Richmond Mormon Chorale, we performed again at the Beth Ahaba Concert a little over a week ago.  It was wonderful!  We sang Peace in the Valley.  Sorry the video is fuzzy!

8. I have read 6 books so far this year, including The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Magic Study, Poison Study, and Fire Study!  The "Girl" series is SO good.  Seriously.  Graphic, yes, but so good.

9. And lastly, a bit of humor.  Jordan cut his hair a few weeks ago, and decided to surprise me with a "transition" phase.

Thankfully, it didn't last long!  Bahahaha!