FIREPROOF

Last night Brant and I were actually going to get to spend some time together...I am amazed at how much more free time he has this semester! We decided to get a movie and he was nice enough to let me choose:-). I have been really wanting to see Fireproof...it is a lower budget Christian film with Kirk Cameron. Let me just say that it was absolutely AMAZING! I was crying through a lot of it...happy and sad tears! There were some parts that were really cheesy but it had such a wonderful message...it is all about fireproofing your marriage and that the only way to do that is through Jesus and God. Brant even really enjoyed it! The movie is shaped around a book/journal called The Love Dare, where you spend 40 days doing things for your spouse to allow your marriage to grow and all the while strengthening your relationship with God. While I have always seemed to have my faith, Brant has been struggling...I think mostly because of what has gone on with his mom. I truly feel like the movie got Brant thinking and you can't say that about a lot of movies. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone, especially if you are married or getting married!

SO much has happened since the last time I blogged!

The end of the semester went well for both of us...I made it to 4th semester! Sounds like a no brainer but thanks to one of our lovely teachers about 8 of our nursing friends were not so lucky :-(. They are keeping their spirits high, though, and doing what needs to be done to graduate! Brant finished with all A's and one B...I was SO proud of him, especially because it was his hardest semester.
We were able to enjoy almost three weeks of break in Phoenix this year. It was so nice to be able to catch up with friends and family! We were also able to see our Izzy:-)! Brant and I kept gifts simple this year with only getting each other stocking gifts. He got his gun earlier in the semester and I should be able to get my Canon xsi soon!
Right before break ended Jenny and I had Meg's bridal shower. It turned out just the way we wanted! Not too many people came but we were able to make it a fancy brunch that way with china plates and actual silverware. There was good food and of course mimosas:-)! My best friend is going to be a bride in less than 3 months and I CAN'T wait! I am so happy for her and Mark...they are entering into something so precious and wonderful. Being around them for 4 years of their almost SEVEN years has been truly amazing. There is no doubt that their love is true and that they will have a wonderful marriage!
Over break found out from Meg's photographer that she was doing another free session but this time it was for Trash the Dress!!! I emailed her right away and she offered a spot to me! I have been wanting to do one of these for a long time and I can't wait:-). Some of you are probably wondering what in the heck that is, LOL, but it is where you wear your wedding dress in an unusual location (like the desert or beach) and take some fun photos! It should be sometime in February but once she figures out the details I will know!
I know it has been almost TWO years since our wedding but all these neat things keep coming up having to do with it! Theresa showed me this thing that Nancy (Andrew's mom) had made for them right after they were married. This company either takes your actual bouquet or a recreation of it and puts it in a shadow box with anything that you want (invitation, veil, pictures...)! They dehydrate the flowers and then airbrush them back to their real color. It is pretty neat and they can make you pretty much anything you desire. If you are interested the website is.... www.floralkeepsakes.com . Depending on what you want it can get a little pricing but totally worth it for something you can never get back:-)!
This past weekend was our SECOND 1/2 marathon...we still can't believe we've even done one, LOL! It was the P.F. Chang's Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon on Sunday the 18th. It took me 24mins longer this time but I was just SO glad to finish! Considering I have only run twice....yup only TWO times since the last 1/2 I don't think I did half bad, LOL! I also walked three of the 13.1 miles...my goal was to finish not die so I felt it was necessary HAHA! I was not expecting the heat this time...I don't think others were either considering there were ridiculous lines at the water stations and a couple people were taken away in ambulances:-(. I felt much better after this one...no throwing up this time YAY! I also wasn't really sore this time either. I am assuming my body now understands what I will be doing to it about twice a year now! Jenny and I plan on always doing the P.F. Chang's and then picking one location out of state every year as well. Next year will possibly be the Disney Princess's 1/2 Marathon in Disney World...I hope it works out!
On the job front...well that has been a different story. Brant found out right after break that he no longer had a job:-(. His company laid off him as well as five architects. It was unfortunate but expected. There just wasn't enough work to go around. Luckily he is taking an internship class and in the process of looking for a new one! Times are tough right now so hopefully something will come his way. Thankfully he was not working much any way and we did not need his money for bills!
I knew I just wasn't going to be able to keep my position at the hospital my main job so luckily something much more exciting came along. I have been with care.com and babysitters4hire.com for a while and was just getting random babysitting jobs here and there. Right before break ended a mom with three little boys called to see if I could do an interview to be their nanny! A few days after my interview she called to let me know I got the job! I was so exciting to be doing this again. I was a nanny all of sophomore year and loved it. The dad is on Orthopedic surgeon and the mom is an ER nurse so it is absolutely perfect for me, LOL! They have three little boys who are 4, 2 1/2, and 5 months. They are so cute and actually very well behaved. Depending on what day it is and what is going on I do not have all of them. I feel so comfortable with their family and very thankful to have this opportunity. I still be working at the hospital once a month so that I can keep my position there. I will have been there for one year in April....that is quite a feat for me, LOL, since I haven't had a real job for longer than 3 months before due to only working in the summers!
4th semester has just started for us and I am so excited. Our Critical Care rotation will be busy but so worth it! I get four days in the ER and can't wait to see what happens. The responsibilities we will have this semester are actually making us feel like real nurses:-). I will definitely keep you updated on anything exciting we get to do!

Well I think that is it! Have a great night and I am sorry for the spelling mistakes/things that don't make sense, LOL, it was a long post:-)!

New post...

Ok so I don't have time right now but I promise a new post will be coming;-)!

Until then here's a new pic from my BESTfriend's bridal shower!!!

Annual Christmas Picture...

~ Merry Christmas From The Arnold Family~

Tucson Half Marathon

I did it! I ran the entire 13.1 without stopping, walking, or dying!!! There were times when it was exciting, not fun at all, and other times where I wanted to hitch a ride with the passing cars. I thought I would do a recap of each mile...

Mile 1: Ok so it's frikin freezing and I just had to pee in a bush but I am doin good!

Mile 2: Still very very cold...so thankful I wore a long sleeve shirt under my Nike dri fit. At least my knees are numb, though, so I can't feel when they start to hurt.

Mile 3: Ok so I lost Jenny and Kristin...must catch up to them. I spent the rest of this mile doing so.

Mile 4: I am back with Jenny and Kristin...but of course they are running too fast for me!

Mile 5: Found my pace and also that I may have a blister brewing on the ball of my left foot:-(

Mile 6: Yup that's definitely a blister...thankfully there was some Xood(Gatorade type stuff) to make me feel better. I will end up running the rest of the race with my left toes slightly curled under so that I don't put as much pressure on that damn blister.

Mile 7: I can't believe I am at mile 7...it's not that bad!

Mile 8: Getting sleepy...

Mile 9: Yay they have GU (equivalent to very thick Gatorade) to wake me up and keep me going!

Mile 10: My knees are now numb due to the running not just the cold!

Mile 11: Who in the world thought it would be funny to put a very steep hill at mile 11? HUH?! Oh but I see that the people playing the drums are supposed to make us feel better.

Mile 12: Holy crap I'm almost there! This is where I was listening to a song from Aladdin (don't ask) and telling my self Ms. Jones is behind me not letting me stop HAHA!

Mile 13: I see the Mustang and know Brant is waiting for me at the end...I am way too excited and think I may cry! Linkin Park and Jay-z's Encore is blasting quite loudly by this point.

The last .1: Umm so it's really not cool when you cross mile 13 and realized you still have .1 to go...it's further than you may think.

Finish line: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I made it in 2hrs 21 mins (that's only 5 mins over what I wanted to run it in)...but I now feel like jello. I see a big tub full of ice and water bottles. I desperately want to jump in but figure that wouldn't be very sanitary so just take a water instead. Brant informs me that my knees are about twice their normal size...SWEET!

The next 20 mins: I spent these trying to find a trash can to puke in, eating a banana, and taking pictures with all the other crazy nursing people who ran with me!

The drive home: I was trying not to puke and keep my foot on the gas.

Home: Oh hey the blister isn't as bad as it feels, take a HOT shower, throw up twice, sleep for the next six hours!

All in all I would say it was a success! I can't believe I didn't walk once...the Lord knows I wanted to but I figured once I stopped I wouldn't be able to get going again. This is a good thing it turned out so well because Jenny, Kristin, and I have to do it all over again on Jan 18th...YAY!

~Little Elliot~

So I once again forced Jason and Crissi to go out so I could get my hands on little Elliot! He is such a wonderful baby! Here's a few pics from the night...

It's been a while...

Well I can't even remember the last blog I did...without looking that is. So much has been going on! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Brant's family and I even made my first apple and pumpkin pies...they were mostly homemade, LOL! I was able to finally pick up my bridesmaid dress for Meg's wedding...they are absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to wear them on the big day.

Shelly Ivy, Meg's photographer, had a free photo day on Saturday and we thought it would be so nice to have Christmas pictures taken with Izzy! The shoot was so much fun and we got the perfect shot for our first Christmas card plus some other amazing ones...I will post some when we get them!

After the holiday weekend it was back to Tucson. We saw Cirque du Soleil (Saltimbanco) on Sunday night for our 5 year anniversary which isn't until this Sunday but Brant will be busy and I will have just finished my first 1/2 marathon...most likely I will not want to get off the couch after that, LOL! We have never seen one of their shows before and it was pretty AWESOME! I would love to go to another in Vegas.

Brant has since been working his little butt off to finish all his projects due this week and next. I haven't seen him much the last few weeks but it will be worth it in the end:-). I had my Med-Surg clinical final today and it actually went very well. It was a little nerve racking having a fake patient, in a fake room, trying to be a REAL nurse, and your clinical instructing pretending to be the patient (their voice anyway) and grading you at the same time, LOL! Sounds worse than it actually was but just glad to be done. I have my Peds clinical final tomorrow which Jenny and I prepared for today. I just have to keep my positive attitude and I know I will be fine:-). I then have my 1/2 marathon Sunday...this I don't feel as prepared for but how can you really be?! I am doing it with some wonderful friends, though, and we're gonna get through it together...I can't promise we won't be dragging each other or offering to pay the boys for piggyback rides, HAHA, but we are GOING TO FINISH!

Next week we are pretty much free from anything nursing...giving us plenty of time to study for finals! I have a final Monday and Wednesday of finals week and then I am DONE with 3rd semester! I am finally on the down hill of nursing school...only one more semester of clinicals and then we will be acting as the nurse...CRAZY!

Meg and Jon are both graduating at the end of finals week. I just can't believe it...we are all becoming grown ups, LOL! We plan to go home once their graduations are over and spend a good amount of time in Phoenix this year for Christmas. Brant's firm has slowed with the number of projects they are doing so he will be able to take off much easier. I won't be working while I try to transfer to a different area in the hospital (either ER or the Women's center). I am also looking into the VALOR program at the VA which allows you to work almost like a nurse and pays $19/hr. I most likely would not be able to start that until the summmer, though.

Well that's my novel! Hope you enjoyed it!

P.S. Here are some pics from the last few weeks: