July 27th

Today is Felicia and my (John, to those of you who were wondering who's abandoned blog this was) two year anniversary.  This past year has gone by in such a hurry.  It's been a year of high expectations, goals, many a nights standing in front of the dry erase board planning our days, making check lists, writing out our budget (time and time again), and constantly trying to squeeze just one more drop out of the day.  School has been the bulk of our lives since we've known each other.  We're there now as a matter-a-fact.  It has felt like an eternal process but there is light at the end of the tunnel, for Felicia anyways.  Anything she touches turns to gold.  Her attitude is, "if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right".  And she shines and I squint and smile.  

In our relatively short time together, in comparison to those of you who read this, this date has been a trail  marker for us.  A mountain of sorts that we have had to conquer together.    Obviously, two years ago on this day we were married.  One year later to the date we gave talks together in sacrament meeting.  There were many steps taken to get to those points of achievement.  The trail was dark at times but hope and blessings kept us moving.  Without dedication to each other those achievements that are miracles in my life would have never come to pass.  

As the clock chimes the passing of another year, our steps towards progress have taken us to new heights and our commitment to life and each other has granted us the opportunity to say "yes we can" again to a new challenge we've been prepared for.  This day proves once again that it is a special day for us as we would like to invite all to Felicia's baptism on Aug. 15.

We would like to publicly thank the Landrum's for their tremendous cooperation in making changes to their plans and making their lives a little less convenient so as to make ours a little more.  We hope that all can attend as it will be a very special day for all of us.   

ps. We are out of mins. on our phone plan so if you so desire, we can be contacted after 9pm.    

        

Blood Money

I have been donating plasma for, well, way too long.  Mom and Felicia cringe every time it's mentioned.  "I don't like it.  What if you get AIDS from a dirty needle?" -Mom  

Well as far as I know I haven't acquired any disease or virus but I have bought a lot of groceries and rented a lot of movies from the money I make doing it.  I get bonuses for donating on my fifth and seven time for each month.  I made enough this week alone to pay for my rent. (Don't quit your day job to do the same.  You'll be disappointed.)  Anyways, I took some pictures last time I went in so any of you who are unfamiliar with it can get a glimpse into my side job.  

Oh the life of a poor college student.  I love it.

Family Reunion Memories

Since there is so much talk about the Family Reunion, I just thought I'd post this to get us all excited.  Enjoy.

Dirty Harry

             Yes this is just the rabbit and yes, it is worth watching all the way through for some comic relief at about 50 sec.  Make sure you turn up your volume so you can hear my commentary.  So here it is. The much awaited and much prolonged video footage of            Harvey/Thumper/Dirty Harry.    Sorry it took so long Em. 

 

Nurse Dummy (that's me)

Do you remember as a kid playing house, cops and robbers, lost kids in the weed-fort, H&R Block (for only a very select few) or Doctor? That was fun. Now that we've all got our intern hours out of the way we get to practice some of these skills on a daily basis in the real world. (Make sure your kids are doing the right internship so they don't grow up to be a "lost kid" or a "robber") Anyway, as most of you know, Felicia is doing her internship, known as clinical hours, as a nurse. (That was a lot of commas) She gets to do a practicum in a made up scenario on a dummy and then practice her new skill in a real life situation at the hospital during her clinical hours. This past week was extra exciting for her. She learned how to put things in patients like drugs through an i.v., nasal gastic tubes, urinary catheters, depositories, and i.v.'s themselves. Then, as explained earlier, she got to practice all of those friendly skills on real people. Well she felt quite confident in herself in all of the above learned skills except for one, i.v.'s. She'd got to practice on a dummy but they don't let you practice on one another during nursing school anymore. Well the instructors know that practice makes perfect so they turned a "blind eye" as some of the students, including Felicia, took some i.v.'s home to practice on the brave or stupid. She confronted me with her real life practice problem and asked if I'd volunteer my hand to her for a minute. "Sure!" I don't mind needles. I get stuck by a 16 gauge needle twice a week for an hour at a time. A little 22 gauge needle won't be but a little prick. Right? Well the pictures below will tell the rest of the story. Just a little advice for anyone planning on sticking a needle in someone. Don't do it so slow that you can see your skin dimple before the needle break through. It feels really gross. Especially when it has a catheter attached.

Notice the paleness 

(zoom really close and you might see beads of sweat)

Best Friends

Several months ago I had a dream that to most would be just another odd or meaningless dream, but to me it left a big impression on my heart. Like most of my dreams it took place in Burley at our old Sandy Glen residence, but I, and everyone else, were the same age we are now. I had just bought a McLaren F1 which is an exotic sports car and use to be my all time favorite. I was not wealthy however, the car was just really old and banged up but I couldn't pass it up. I was overjoyed and brought it home with much excitement! A few of my friends passed by me on the lane and laughed and kept driving as they yelled out their window, "what a junker!" Slightly discouraged I pulled into the driveway and saw Dad working in the garage. He gave it a quick look and with a disappointed look on his face said, "not a wise purchase son" and went about his business. Now really disappointed in myself, I sat in my new, beat up childhood dream car and just stared at the steering-wheel. To add a little salt to the wound a couple of my sisters poked their heads in the window and asked if it was too late to take it back. Just about the time I was going to back out of the driveway Emily came out the front door. She looked at the car from the front porch and with a squeal of excitement she leaped in the air throwing her hands to the sky. She ran down the sidewalk with a giant smile on her face and said, "OH JOHN... YOU GOT ONE!" As she stuck her head in the passenger side window she asked me where I had found it and oohed and ahhed as her eyes scanned the interior. At that moment all my sorrows went away and it was all suddenly worth it.

I woke up from that dream with tears in my eyes as I realized one of my best friends was going to be moving to Atlanta, GA in just a couple of days. That dream represented my relationship with Emily in so many ways. Just as in my dream Emily possesses a quality that few others do. She has always been able to share excitement for other's joys and make you feel like you are the most important person in her life. Besides some heavenly beings (my wife included) there is probably no one else who knows me as well as she does. No one else would have really known just how much I loved that car or even the name of it for that matter. She has always taken an interest in my interests and set her life aside to listen about mine. There is usually no one else I'd rather talk to than my younger sister. I love her so much and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY on her very special 25th (which is my lucky number)!

I love you Em!

"Mind Diet"

During my time as a university student I have spent a great deal of time and effort in strengthening not only my mind but also my body. As some of you may know I spend a good deal of time at the gym, sometimes more than I should when it's basketball season. I am constantly trying to make gains by one-upping myself. One more rep, one more pound, one more set. Over the years I think I have gained a certain knowledge about exercising that only comes with experience. One bit of knowledge I have gained is the grand importance of diet. So many underestimate the importance of healthy eating. The mentality is usually "figure out how much weight will kill me then cut it back a little, then drink this stuff." To make significant gains takes time and consistency, neither of which do a whole lot of people want to commit to.
Something more important that I've come to discover is how much our brians work and grow the same way our muscles do. Have you ever worked out so hard you hurt the next day and LOVED IT! I crave that. That's happened to me several times while studying for finals. My mind hurts and I become addicted to studying. The more we study, the more we understand but without consistency, our recollection weakens. Our brain suffers from knowledge atrophy just as our muscles do when we don't use them. "Bigger, stronger, faster" goes along with athlete and genius alike. Both are constantly training what they want to improve whether it be lap time or understanding.
Now something even more important that I am trying to put more emphasis on is what I'm thinking about. It's actually one of my goals right now. My wife has been such a huge example to me of mental conditioning. I know I am a man of few words and don't contribute much to social gatherings but I do have thoughts and questions going through my mind.... most of the time. Felicia has told me on several occasions that when she's not thinking about what she's learning at school, she's thinking about religion. She's not much of a social butterfly either but if you ever get the chance to get inside her head a little you'll find that she doesn't waist any of her hard drive on unimportant garbage. She's not interested in gossip, who was in what movie, types of cars, or who got voted off American Idol. You'll have to ask me if you have any questions of that sort. She can explain to you how a certain disease works, the order of the rainbow, explain the solution to a math problem she hasn't seen in years, tell you what Dr. Chung taught us about a certain something in Human Anatomy two years ago, or explain to you cell biology, which she first learned while reading in the back seat of her parents car on a family vacation at age 9. Her key to remembering.... she's always thinking about it.
While watching again the movie "A Beautiful Mind", one of her favorites, the star of the show explains how he copes with his schizophrenia. He said he has to block out certain thoughts and images. A diet for the mind. It made me think of my patriarticle blessing which says to "raise my thoughts to high levels of spirituality". It will greatly help me control the all aspects of my life. I waist so much time thinking about pointless garbage. The reason I have a high percentage of being able to identify a car solely based on it's headlights glaring in my rearview mirror at night is because I like to study and think about cars. Now to be able to not only live worthy to have the constant companionship of the spirit but to be able to recognize it and heed it's promptings. I will have to strive to raise my thoughts to new heights, ponder what I study in the scriptures, what I learn at church, what is said in conference, and what I hear my wife, family, and leaders ask of me. Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said while talking on faith, patience, and being in control of our lives, "The Lord twice said: 'And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life' (D&C 101: 38, Luke 21:19) Could it be that only when our self-control has become total do we come into true possession of our own souls?" I believe our minds are the key to unlocking many doors and to gaining understanding and control of our lives. We must first be in control of what goes in and what we spend our time thinking about. So I'm on a mind diet.