A New Year

Well hello everyone! It's definitely been a while. Life has been pretty great these past few months, as I have graduated from nursing school, passed my state board exam, and got a job at Banner Thunderbird as an RN! Kind of crazy how much has changed when you look at it, yet all of you knew what I could do and how well I would succeed. You all are wonderful!

Adjusting to working the night shift (7p-7a) has been interesting...I'm definitely snacking a lot more to keep myself awake. I love food so that doesn't seem to bother me much. haha I'm also trying a few lunges around the unit when I feel my eyelids falling and not being able to hold them open, we'll see how long that lasts...But the hardest part has been sleeping during the day when the rest of you people are working and living. I sleep just fine, but when everyone is sleeping and I have to stay awake, that's the hard part. I'm loving my job! Love to take care of those kiddos who are so sick they need some more TLC.

The new church Billy and I have been at (since last sept) has also been going well. We had a super great christmas eve service and are gearing up for a great easter service as well! We have joined a small group, are getting to know new people, and loving every minute of it. God put us in a great place and we're learning to trust Him for more than we ever thought we needed to. Funny how that sounds...

I just hosted a bridal shower at my house the other day...here's a project that was super easy that I used for decoration. Light and fluffy. (These are not my pictures btw, I forgot to take any!!)

Step 1

Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inch-wide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

Step 2

Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.

Step 3

Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

Step 4

Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.

These were tons of fun, and you can do a bunch of colors for any occasion.

Capturing Daylight

There ya have it! Billy and I have finally figured out a name for us...Capturing Daylight. We got the name from Future of Forestry's song, Capture Your Daylight, and we love their music and liked the name. It kind of means, 'seize the day', so to speak. We can't wait to start playing gigs and playing for more weddings! look us up...become our fan! www.facebook.com/capturingdaylight

Sakana, Yumberi, & Next, and maybe a craft

Question: How do some weeks go by so fast and some weeks just crawl on by? There must be some kind of way to slow things down and enjoy the days...

This past week went so fast I don't even remember half of it. From clinicals, to tests, to projects, seeing my husband, to even trying to keep food in the fridge, it has been quite the rollercoaster this week, and I don't see an end any time soon. Good thing God knows there's an end and that He gives me strength to do all of it.

Last night, Billy took me on a date! It was fantastic: Sakana Sushi and Grill, dessert at Yumberi Yogurt, and afterwards more time at Next Coffee. It was such a great night just having time together where I'm not doing school too. The sushi was great, frozen yogurt even better, and conversation even greater! Billy and I have been discussing what names we would call ourselves for our music business that we're starting. We have played for a lot of weddings and other gigs since we've been together, and we are deciding to make it more official and advertise our music services. First of all, we need a name to call ourselves. :) Not just 'Billy and Arianna', but something else that would be unique. We have some ideas, but nothing has finalized yet...the discussion continues. :)

Here's a craft that I'm going to be doing sometime in the next week, it's another fall craft, go figure right? :) This goes out to Amanda at The Hand Me Down House...this was her idea!

So to celebrate the autumn season, I decided to make a Fall Wreath to hang on the front door.

I used some decorating raffia, a wreath form and my glue gun.

I got this raffia at Michael's for around $4.00 with my 40% off coupon, and I managed to find the straw wreath form at Dollar Tree for $1.

First I took thee or four strands of each color raffia and glued one end of the bunch to the wreath.

Then I wrapped them around the wreath tightly. I glued the end of the stands to the wreath and then started another bunch of raffia, overlapping the end of the previous bunch so no ends would be sticking out.

I continued doing this until the whole wreath was covered with raffia.

At the end there were a lot of loose ends and pieces sticking out. I trimmed as many as I could with scissors, and then the ones that I couldn't trim short enough, I glued down (I tried to do most of my gluing on the back of my wreath where it wouldn't be seen).

Now that my wreath was done, I decided to make raffia flowers. First I took the purple colored raffia and grabbed five to six strands.

I wrapped it around a cardboard form (or you could use your hand) so that it is uniform and even, like this:

Then I wrapped another piece of raffia around the middle and tied it in the back to secure it like a bow.

Then I made another "bow", exactly like the one shown above and glued them on my wreath in an "X" to make a flower.

Finally, I hung it on the door and admired it. :)

What do you think?? I wish there was less pink and purple in there, but I still like it -- it still says, fall, right? :)

A hike, some dogs, and some toes

It all started off yesterday with an amazing hike (and workout!) on North Mountain with Kellie Cannon. She's an awesome hiking partner. :) But as some of you well know, I am afraid of heights. I'm okay with going up the mountain, but going down? That's another story. That's why I'm in love with the paved part that North Mountain offers. It's so awesome for people like me! Kellie takes pity on me and hikes with me on the paved part. haha! It was so beautiful up on the top...God has created some pretty amazing things!

Then had some einsteins for breakfast, they always have amazing food.

So this week and next week Billy and I are watching my parent's dog, Abby, who is a 10 yr old lab (at our house). She's getting to the point where she just wants to hang out all day, and not do a whole lot. WELL...with Zoe now at the house too (our 3 month old lab-ish puppy), Abby doesn't get too much sleep. Zoe likes to nip at her legs, neck, ears...anything she wants pretty much. It's quite hilarious how much she plays with Abby, and Abby seems to like it most of the time. And then there are the times when they sleep during the day that Zoe can't part with Abby and has to be laying on her. Almost like a mom! :) Here's a picture of them, sometimes pictures are worth a 1000 words!

Isn't she so cute?? That's Zoe's duckie in her mouth...her little pet, she doesn't go anywhere without it! It'll definitely be quite the week with both of them! I guess it's getting us prepared for things down the road...maybe kids? Oh dear! :) Unfortunately, Zoe has a stress incontinence issue...when she is doing something naughty Billy or I will go after her and when we catch her she usually pees because she is afraid. Kind of odd actually - hope we break that habit!

Another thing I did yesterday was do my own pedicure! I've gotten quite good at doing flowers on toes. I've done quite a few of my friends toes too, and even if you think it's gross that I touch feet, I guess God has gifted me with feet tolerance. haha And I'm kind of used to things like feet considering I'm in nursing school. Anyway...it was my first time doing a french tip...here's a picture, sorry about you people who don't like feet! What do you guys think? I'll be more than happy to do yours too! (for a price :D )

cute right??

Overall, it was a good day yesterday. Had to meet with a school friend to do a project, school is an every day thing in my life. It doesn't even matter if I have class that day!

Hope all is well with you all...

A good day

Had a nice relaxing day today...went to the gym and ran a few miles, then took my sister out to lunch for her birthday, then went grocery shopping (not my favorite thing to do but still...needed some food in the house!), taught a couple piano lessons, and vegged! It was a good day...but not going to happen again for a while. :)

Sometimes I ask Billy how his day went, like today, and he usually says "good", like he did today. And then I ask how his meetings went, and he again says, "good", and then I ask him specifically how they went and what happened, and then again he says "nothing really happened". lol Are all guys like that? Come on! I want specifics!! He eventually went on to tell me about this day with details - that's what I want! haha

Here's a recipe that I have tried...and it's delicious! Something unique and healthy.

Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I've had lettuce wraps tons of times in restaurants, but I've never tried to make them myself. After trying lettuce wraps at so many restaurants, I'm happy to say that these were JUST as good as the ones you would order!

Ingredients:

Sauce:
• 6 t. hoisin sauce
• 4 t. soy sauce
• 2 t. sesame oil
• 4 t. white wine vinegar
• fresh ground black pepper

Filling:
• 2 t. olive oil
• 1 t. minced garlic
• ½ t. grated fresh ginger
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 cups mixed vegetables (We used mushrooms, carrots, red pepper and onion)
• ½ green apple, finely chopped

Wraps:
• lettuce leaves (washed and separated)
• shredded carrots for topping
• rice noodles (optional for topping)

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix.

To make the filling, heat a skillet on high heat with cooking oil. When the pan is hot, add garlic, ginger and green onions to the pan. Stir fry for a few seconds, just until fragrant.

Add the ground turkey and break into small pieces. Cook until almost cooked through.

Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Mix in the sauce and cook for about 1 minute until thickened slightly. Add the apples to the pan and toss to coat.

Remove the pan from heat.

Serve the filling in lettuce “cups” and top with shredded carrots and rice noodles.

Make sure to have extra napkins...it's very messy! But VERY good!

Happy eating!

Monday...busiest day of the week!

Why is monday always the busiest day of the week? It seems like the weekend comes and goes, and then everyone needs monday to start their engines again. What do you think? But truly, mondays are the craziest days I have. Not to mention that I was in the crazy house today! Psych clinical was busy and went quickly, even though it's not my thing. Good thing God has equipped us with different talents and abilities, or we'd all be doing the same thing and in the same career!

Anyway, here's another fall craft that I found that I actually have the equipment already but haven't done yet. Maybe for one of my free days this semester....tell me what you think! :) Just know that it's not my idea. :) The credit goes to Amanda at The Hand Me Down House...

"I found this set of candlesticks at the thrift store for $2.99 each:"

"I cleaned them off, took my trusty can of spray paint and gave them a few shiny coats. :) "

The second step was to take some fall floral leaves and put them in the candle holder. I used some that I happened to find at the thrift store for $.99 -- but you KNOW the Dollar Store has TONS of cute fall leaves, too -- they're all over the place!

"I wrapped several ends together and bound them with a rubber-band. Then I put them into the candle holder and put little pieces of newspaper around them to hold the leaves in place in the candle holder."

" What do you think??? I just can't say no to a quick and inexpensive project -- so I think they're pretty cute. :) "