Four On, Four Off

(I initially wrote this in November, but I notived today that it didn't post. So here it is!)

So Dustin and I have been married for two months, I definately thought by know I'd be use to his crazy four on, four off, four pm to four am schedule, but I'm so not! I never thought I could be so lonely! Screw peace and quiet! Usually by the third night of him working, I'm done with him being gone. Call it Newlywed-itis, call it Honey Mooner Syndrome, call it what ever you want, but its a pain! Like right now, I'm sitting in my kitchen, pretty much cause thats the only place I can access the neighbors internet connection, but the only noises are the occasional dog collar jingle from a dog readjusting their sleep position, or the furnace kicking on, which, by the way, is very scary in a new house. So now I am contimplating what in the heck to do... I know I want to watch Biggest Loser, but not alone... again... Hmmph... And dinner. I thought I'd be fine cooking for one. But its sad. I'm scared I might adopt ten cats and hide them on the days Dustin's home, but then when he's working become the crazy cat lady who sits on the porch yelling jibberish, with one knee high that's found its way around my ankle, and a sun dress that is so old and blue hair...

Wedding pictures

A - Age: 21
B - Bed size: Queen.
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning out the fridge. Things that are in the back and green and hairy make me sick!
D - Dog:One... but maybe two.
E - Essential start your day item: Breakfast.
F - Favorite color(s): Blue.
G - Gold or Silver: Silver or White Gold.
H - Height: 5'8
I - Instruments you play: I know some piano.
K - Kids: Not yet, just basking in the joy of being an aunt.
L - Living arrangements: A home. :)
M - Mom's name: Laura
N - Nicknames: Manda Moo, Jo.
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None.
P - Pet Peeve: People who don't take pride in their work.
Q - Quote from a movie: "It wasn't over for me!"
R - Right or left handed: Righty!
S - Siblings: One brother, one sister, 2 sister-in-laws, a bro-in-law, and a half bro-in-law.
T - Time you wake up: 6-7
U - Underwear: Sometimes
V - Vegetable you dislike: I don't know, I like most everything I try.
W - Workout style: Classes - I like the pressure of not being able to stop in the middle of a class.
X - X-rays you've had: teeth, chest, and hand.
Y - Yesterday's best moment: Seeing the thirteen beautiful puppies that are less than 24 hours old!
Z - Zoo favorite: all of them!

Bad sign...

So I know I've been a major slacker when Dustin said to me, "You know, you haven't updated our blog since May." Haha! Oops! So in the next few days, hopefully, I'll be updating all of my two readers on what in the world has been going on!

So, since May...

The beginning of June, I graduated from SLTATC with a Certificate in Electrocardiography Technician, Phlebotomy Technician, and Medical Laboratory Technician. I was in the last class of SLTATC before stupid SLCC took over and screwed things up.

On June 26th, we put the old lady down... Yes, Tootsie's health had deteriorated so much that it was time. When the Vet took her pain away, she said she believes Tootsie had torn the ligaments in her knee. She was an awesome dog and we all miss her.

Then, unfortunately, at the end of June, my wonderful Grandpa was put in the hospital with some respiratory problems. He would do well for a day or two, then take a turn for the worst. I tried to visit him everyday, but I didn't as much as I wish I would have. So they did a tracheotomy and after two days, he decided he'd had enough, which I understand. For the last few days of June, we just made sure he was comfortable, then on July 1st, 2009, my Grandpa, Calvin Douglas Edwards, went to be with God. The days following have been really hard. I don't mean to sound selfish, but I just wanted him at my wedding so bad. Its been hard to go to Grandma's house and know he wont be there. A few days after he passed, Dustin took me away for a day fishing, after we finished, we went to Grandma's and that's when it really hit me. Dustin has been amazing the whole time. He lost his Grandpa when he was fifteen, so he knows what its like. I couldn't have made it without him. There are moments he and I had together following Grandpa's passing that are too sacred to me to share.

As always, God has been there for strength, along with my family and Dustin, to help me through. I spent a long time job hunting after graduating, and got a job on my first interview! I started my new job in mid July. I am the Refund Specialist for Jordan Valley Medical Center and Pioneer Valley Hospital. It's been a moderate job. I am often disappointed in the job due to no teamwork within the departments, but if I stay positive and kiss a little butt, I might be able to turn things around. The job is about four years back logged, so if you've been to Pioneer Valley Hospital or Jordan Valley Medical Center lately and paid at the time of service, call the Business Office. You might just be getting some moolah back!

The last couple weeks and months have been stressful, just due to the fact that there's just over two weeks until Dustin and I get married, and I still have a lot to do. Plus, as is usual with relationship stages, things change and I've realized how much more cutesy things I need to do for Dustin like I did when we started dating. It's already paid off! We both are now doing more sweet things for each other and that has just decreased my stress level SSSOOO much!! Now I'm planning the most exciting thing for Dustin and my first full day as husband and wife. We're going to go to Park City, get all dressed up, and I'm going to take him to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I'm so excited!

Oh, and on the 27th, I'll reveal our great, fantastic, wonderful news! I just want to make sure the ink is dry. :)

I'll be posting some more stuff soon!

In need of...

Hey everyone!!

So I'm needing to find a wedding photographer! I'm looking for maybe like a college student photography major or minor or someone who has done photography as a hobby for quite a few years. I kind feel that with digital cameras nowadays, any person with a good quality camera can produce pretty dang good pictures, and now with so many photo shop computer programs, its possible to do a lot of the graphic stuff! I'd rather support someone small, but good than some big photo company who charges up the wazoo for just an hour of photography. So if anyone has any suggestions or connections, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

Thank you!!!

Amanda Jo

(ajoee04@comcast.net)

Yay! I biffed it!

So last weekend, Dustin and I decided to take the wheelers for a little outing. We went to the really popular spot on Bachus Highway for four wheeling. I rode around on the Green Giant for a while. Dustin was on his red racing four wheeler. After a good solo run, Dustin scooted me to the back of the Green Giant and he went driving like a mad man! Okay, so maybe not like a mad man, but he was going faster than I had and was going up some MAJOR hills! We were going up a hill that was about a 75 degree angle and I freaked out and it scared him and the wheeler started to tip and I bailed off the four wheeler and landed on my left side. I slammed my hip into the ground first, then my knee. Unfortuneately, it had to be the knee I have problems with, but gratefully, I had my helmet on. For the rest of the day, my knee was really sore and within about an hour, Dustin noticed a nasty blueberry blue bruise on my kneecap. Well, Monday, it was worse! Then it just got uglier and uglier. Now its an akward purple shade and the yellow tint hasn't happened yet. It was a lot bigger yesterday and every day I find another bruise! Haha! So I decided to post a picture of my battle wound! I'm REALLY proud of it! Lol!!!


I consider it to be my initiation into the four wheeling club!

A little inspiration...

So with some major cabin fever and a good friend of mine training for a tri, I've decided that will be the best way to fit into my wedding dress. Yes, I bought one, and purposely bought it about two sizes smaller than I currently am. So yes, I have A LOT of work. I'm sitting in class right now about ready to die because the weather outside is so amazingly nice and my bicycle is calling me to go on a nice long ride down Jordan River Parkway. It doesn't help that my teacher is out for the rest of the week, so I'm pretty much a lame duck in class this week. I really want to go for a few miles of a ride... Oh, that sounds so nice! If I sneak out now, I could be home in 20 minutes, rig up my bike onto my car, get down to JRP, ride for a bit, then make it to an appointment I have at five. I just want to be basking in the glorious sunshine. Maybe I'll just ride on the side streets of WeJo or just go for a nice run... Hmm... the possiblities...

A story to brighten your day!

Snowplow convoy clears way for transplant patient
The Associated Press
Posted: 04/07/2009 02:33:03 PM MDT

CASPER, Wyo. » Chuck Forbes has battled liver disease for half of his 59 years. When the time finally came for a transplant, a blizzard blocked his route to the hospital -- until a corps of snowplow drivers saved the day.
Forbes was recovering after undergoing transplant surgery Sunday at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. He and his wife, Ruth, made it there from their home in northwest Wyoming despite the storm that closed roads Saturday in the southeastern part of the state.
"I hope those WYDOT (Wyoming Department of Transportation) guys know they performed a miracle," Ruth Forbes said.
She said her husband had been on a transplant waiting list for about a year when "we got a surprise call totally out of the blue at 7:30 on Saturday morning."
They had already made it all the way to Wheatland, some 250 miles southeast of their home in Meeteetse, when they encountered a road-closing barrier Saturday afternoon. A bit panicked, Ruth Forbes called 911.
"The operator said 'The road is closed, we've been forecasting this storm all week,'" she said. "Then she said 'Hang on, I'll get a patrolman to come talk to you.'"
Trooper Chuck Bloom arrived, talked to the couple and then returned to his patrol car.
"He came back to our car and said 'If you wait right here, the area boss for WYDOT will be right here,'" Ruth Forbes said. "In a matter of 10 minutes, we had a convoy of plow trucks."
The couple followed nearly on the bumper of a plow truck from Wheatland in whiteout conditions.
Other trucks joined their caravan to plow a wider path.
In Cheyenne, one plow led them through the city. South of the city, another snowplow driver got them to the state line.
In all, the escort involved eight snowplows and covered some 80 miles.
They made it to the hospital at about 9:30 p.m. Chuck Forbes underwent his transplant at 7 a.m. Sunday.
"He is having a heck of a time getting out of the anesthesia, but they say that's normal because of all of the meds he's on," his wife said. "But the transplant went wonderfully."

*This just goes to show you even Wyomingites can do good deeds... (Just kidding Amanda Marge!)

NEW TOYS!

So Dustin and I got a fantastic deal on a brand new four wheeler! It was about 74% the retail price! Dustin said it's my birthday present! Lol! I'm excited cause its an automatic that I won't be afraid to drive. I don't like driving his Honda 400 Ex because its a racing wheeler. This one is a Suzuki 400 King Quad. Its dark green. I wanted red, but the Ex is red, so we went with green. Then Dustin bought me the coolest helmet ever! Its bright pink and black! How sweet!! I'm so excited for our first camping trip or four wheeling trip! Hooray!

Oh, then we went and bought a toy hauler camping trailer. Its so fun! Yay! Happiness!

Copper and Kya's Play Dates!

So Amanda and Phil are in Hawaii... BOO! So we are dog sitting their dog Kya. I decided to bring over my pupper Copper so they could play last week. Boy did Copper and Kya wear each other out!

Copper was playing on his own, staying out of trouble. Then...

Kya started bugging him, so he started nibbling her ear...

Then Kya pinned him to the ottoman...

And the battle began...

They had so much fun together!

It's a boy!

Hooray! It's a boy! Amanda and Phil are going to be proud parents of a little baby boy! Amanda posted some ultrasound pictures on her blog and there's no question about it! It's DEFINATELY a boy! In the u/s, he's flaunting his family jewls! I'm so excited for a boy! Now I will be the proud Auntie of one of each!

Also, for a quick update, I just want to thank everyone for the prayers, my cousin Jill and her beautiful baby Sydni are doing great! Sydni's lungs are a little underdeveloped, but she is breathing on her own! It's amazing what the human body can do, especially with a little help from Heavenly Father!

Now, I better get back to doing my schoolwork before my teacher catches me blogging!

Baby Day!

Oh my goodness! Today is definately Baby Day for my family!

At about noon, my cousin Jill headed for the hospital for the birth of her first baby! She is about four weeks early, but the doc knew the baby would come early. So if you guys don't mind sending some good vibs and prayers to Jill, Adam, and baby Stevenson, I'd really appreciate it!

Also, Amanda and Phil find out today if they are having a boy or girl! (I'm secretly hoping its a boy!) I'm not sure exactly when their doctor's appointment is, but I'm just excited for another baby in the family! If its a boy, I want to take over some 'lil smokies, but if it's a girl, I want to get some chicken breasts... Lol!

I'm just really excited for the wonderful baby day!

I'll let you all know how it goes for both Adam and Jill and Amanda and Phil!

Gang-free since 1987

I stole this from my second Cousin(?) Kent's blog...



Your hard working representatives are meeting for the next couple weeks on the Hill. Voting on bills and passing laws that seek the best interests of Utah.


Today a bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, stated that communities could create gang-free zones. It passed 26-1.Are they serious?? Once again the legislature is trying to pass something that is good in practice but fails to really THINK about it. Does a community put up signs that say "Gang-Free Zone - Thugs Keep Out". And lets say Walmart in Kearns becomes a gang-free zone. Does this mean that if any are seen within the store, they will be given a citation? Should we just give the gangs Kearns and Magna as gang-zones? Most are there now anyway.





The bill for gang-free zones is not going to change a thing. Do they really expect Gang members to follow this ludicrous law and pay fines.. It’s time politicians wake up and realize that it will take more than enacting fines against gang members..





And then lets look at how we are going to define "Gang". A group of 4 or more individuals wearing the same colors, or maybe a specific tattoo? I am sure that a gang is going to respect an area designated as a gang-free zone.. They are such law abiding citizens anyway and to fine them $100.00 is a joke.





This should be the boundary for a gang-free zone.




Now go back to work passing bills that really make a difference to our state like your underage tanning law, or making sure that you have to verify your age if using a open WiFi network.


Did you also know that our dear Pres. Obama has included 335 million dollars in the economic stimulus package for sexually transmitted disease education and prevention programs... 335,000,000??? And in the stimulus package??

The longest update blog ever!

Okay, so its been over a month since I've last blogged and I know my life isn't all to interesting, but I figured I'd update you all...

A bunch of insanely happy things have happened... My doc gave me the thumbs up... No brain tumor! It was just a small mix of some worrisome test results and strange symptoms that ended up being caused by a bad reaction to a dumb medication!

Amanda and Phil are finally pregnant! Yay! I'm so excited to have another wonderful baby to hold and love!

(There are more throughout the blog...)

December...

My work started out REALLY slow for the month, but as usual, the week before and the week of Christmas was crazy! I had all my Christmas gifts ordered by the 10th of December, but due to a billing problem, Dustin's main present didn't arrive until Christmas Eve! I was so worried it wouldn't arrive on time. I even ended up under budget this year! The best gift this year was the Zoo membership Dustin and I gave to Bekah, Erika, and Jeff! I can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can go! Erika and Bekah moved in for while during the time Jeff is deployed in Afghanistan. Its nice to have them here for a while. Its fun to wake up to laughter coming from upstairs, but no so much when its crying! And Dustin and Bekah have gotten closer. She now reaches for him when she sees him around.

On Christmas Eve, Dustin and I had dinner with my family because we were spending Christmas day with his. We were all just chatting and waiting for dinner to finish cooking when we suddenly saw a sly little girl put her pajama'd foot in the dogs water dish! She thought it was so funny! We laughed, but Erika had to grab her and put on some new jammies. Luckily, I grabbed my camera fast enough to snap a picture...

Haha! She's such a little joker!

I have to admit this was the best Christmas ever! I had my family around me and my friends. Plus, I got a really sparkly Christmas present...

Yes, that's right... A new ring! One to replace my other ring! Dustin even picked it out himself! He's so good at picking out things that look gorgeous on me! Oh, and the way he wrapped it was funny. He had a BIG box, I unwrapped that box to find a box just a bit smaller than the first, inside that box was... you guessed it, another box! And yes, this went on for quite a while! I finally got down to a little box, about the size of a ring box, and then I opened to box and there was no ring... Just a piece of paper that said, "To get your gift, you must give a kiss!" So I kissed Dustin and while I was kissing him, he slipped the ring on my finger! It was so cute! It was perfect!

Then the crazy snow came! It snowed so much at Dustin's house and because of the big field in front of his house, we got stuck in some snow. But since the power was out at his house earlier that morning, our Christmas feast was Betos, since they were the only place that was open. It wasn't too bad, definitely a fun memory of our first Christmas together! My family usually does a big Christmas party on Christmas day, but because of the crazy snow, the heads of the family decided to move it to the following Sunday. I was so happy! This would've been my first Christmas missing the family party, but I didn't miss it! I had a lot of fun at the family party. It's nice now that Dustin is becoming more of a member of the big extended family.

Oh, and another wonderful thing I celebrated on Christmas... The size 12 jeans I got from my parents... Oh yeah, THEY EVEN FIT! Perfectly! I haven't been a 12 in a long time!

With my dumb job, I had to work New Year's Eve, but thank goodness, I got off early enough to go hang out with Dustin... So for our New Year's feast, we had... Mac 'N Cheese! One of our favorites!

January...

The first part of the year was crazy at work! As usual, half the businesses run their end of year at the real end of year, unlike those who end their year in July. I took a week of vacation early in the month, the week of Dustin and my one year anniversary! Yay! On January 13th, we both got all dressed up and he took me to my FAVORITE place... The Melting Pot! The same place he proposed at in April. We had a wonderful dinner, the food was absolutely fantastic and I even saved us some money by using a coupon for free dessert fondue! The whole night I was on cloud nine! He was too!

After our fantastic dinner, we decided to go to a movie! We went to Jordan Landing, we had no clue what we were going to see and couldn't decide between Benjamin Button and Marley and Me. So I made the final decision and we went to Marley and Me. I knew Marley and Me was kind of a tear jerker, but I didn't think I'd cry that much! We were all cuddled up together, he had his arm wrapped around me and I had my head resting on his chest, and I was crying at the end and you know how sometimes when you cry, you have to do that breath catching thing where you breath in quickly, well I was trying my hardest not to do that! (By the way, that was the longest run-on sentence ever!) Suddenly, I heard Dustin sniffle and realized we both were crying! Now, don't think Dustin is some girly girl. This is only the second time I've seen him cry, it was cause he had a dog he felt the same way about and had to be put to sleep too. So we both had that same feeling! It was by far one of the best movies I've ever seen! All the dumb critics are wrong!

Well, I got up the next morning and got a call from Dustin. Sometime during the night, someone broke into his car... Lately, his luck has been that way! They stole the Ipod he bought with his birthday money. He had to buy a new window. In about four months, he has paid about 1000 bucks on car repairs due to vandalism and a break-in. So now he and I are majorly saving our change! Luckily, my boy knows how to save and had all cash available for that stuff.

Last week, I started feeling a little pain in my throat and figured the beautiful gray Salt Lake inversion was the culprit, but it got worse and worse until Dustin had to take me to Urgent Care to get it checked out. The doc looked at my ears, then felt the very tender glands of my throat, looked into my throat, and said, "Yep, its strep!" It has been like five or six years since I've had strep! Unfortunately, the Walgreen's Pharmacy had their computer system updating at one a.m. on Sunday morning, so they could only give me a 12 hour dose of the Amoxicillin to make me feel better. So I just figured I'd go back Sunday when I woke up and get the rest of the drugs. When I woke up, I headed back to Walgreen's, picked up my scrip, and headed to Dustin's house. I didn't want to be at home because the last person who needs to be sick, especially with strep, is Bekah. So I temporarily moved to Dustin's. (Just for the day.) It came the time for me to take my prescription and Dustin brought it over, since I wasn't allowed to get out of the lazy boy or take my blankie off, and I opened up the bag, and realized... These aren't my pills... The bag label had my name on it, but the prescription was for someone else! They mixed up my pills with someone else's! I went back to Walgreen's and got the mess worked out, and to "compensate" me, they offered me a $20 gift card. I'm just glad I'm cautious with meds and looked before I reached in and grabbed what was in there. When I told Erika, she got worried cause she has never really checked the pills before taking them, or giving them to Bekah. So it was a good lesson. Also, I'm glad that other person who would've gotten my stuff hadn't picked theirs up yet! Heaven forbid the person had picked it up, took my amoxicillin, and had a fatal allergic reaction. On Monday I was still feeling really sick, so I called to doc and he got me some other meds to help out. Today I feel good, minus the little bit of pain that's left in my throat and the strange ear issues.

So there it is... An update of the world according to Amanda!

Oh, except change that car repair amount of Dustin's to 1250. The dang road by his house that is plagued with pot holes blew out the side wall on this car tire! Boy, the city is going to hear about this tomorrow!