Where Does the Time Go??

    Seriously where does it go?? I can't believe it is the middle of April! I meant to post this last weekend but it just didn't happen. So last weekend marked one year from when John proposed. It has been the best year. We can't really remember life without each other so I guess it feels like it's been even longer. I love waking up to my best friend. Wish I could say every morning but the life of a night nurse doesn't allow that. It just makes me appreciate our time together that much more. So a couple of weeks ago John's brother and girlfriend came out to LA. We absolutely love having visitors. Especially since we don't live near any family:( We did a lot of fun things. I don't know if you know this but LA is so fun:) We went to Santa Monica beach and did some tandem biking. I can check that off my bucket list. I actually didn't really like it. Riding on the back I felt like I had no control, not to mention couldn't see where I was going. It was a fun thing to do with this handsome guy though!

I went to my first ever soccer game while they were here. It was fun. Talk about a low scoring sport. The fans kept things lively. Here is our soccer team photo.

Since we were coming up on our year engagement anniversary we were telling them about Paradise Cove where John proposed. It is up in Malibu and so pretty. You actually go on a little hike and then walk down some stairs into the cove. They wanted to see it so we went. That place will always have a special place in my heart.

Here is us a year ago:)

Here is us a year later:) Just love love this boy:) He will tell you I love to annoy him...which is also very true!!

Later that evening we checked out the LACMA, a museum with a super cool light display. 

Thought you might enjoy some kissing. Too much? Too bad. So that is life as of late. With me working nights and being gone a lot during the week and John working lovely busy season hours we make the most out of every weekend! I sure do miss being closer to family but I sure am grateful for my own little family here in Los Angeles.

Procrastination at it's Finest

So this week was the start of my online Bachelors program. I made my study plan at the beginning of the week. Things have not gone as planned. I have actually been really productive. My house has been kept clean. I made a meal plan for the week and even prepped some meals to freeze and cook later. Grocery shopping done.  My legs are shaven, not just half way (yes my poor husband, this isn't as frequent of an occurrence as it should be). I have also done a few other miscellaneous tasks that are usually neglected. I am writing a blog which doesn't happen that frequently. Hmmmm this could be a problem. Now that I am out of things to do it's time to start studying:) Wish me luck.

Happy Holidays:)

 

December was a busy fun filled month for us:) We started off with a trip to Utah for Jessica and Ty's wedding. I went up a couple days early and got to spend some quality time with Jessica as we got ready for her wedding. We were a little concerned when it snowed the whole night before the wedding. However, everyone was able to make it to the wedding safely and the fresh fallen snow could not have been more perfect for pictures. They got married in the Brigham City temple. It was beautiful!!



 

One of the great things about the wedding being in Utah was being able to visits John's side of the family in West Haven. With the three of us girls getting married this past year and other trips, we have been able to see both families a lot!!!

After the wedding we had one work week in between our next mini vacation. We were able to drive to AZ to spend Christmas with my family. Christmas Eve we went for lunch to one of my favorite places Zupa's. I went there all the time in Salt Lake and they just opened one in Mesa. I got my favorite mango berry salad. There we discovered just how allergic John is to mangos. He had a reaction from my plate or some cross contamination from the people that made my food and spent the afternoon in a benadryl induced coma. I love mango flavored anything and was not convinced that I needed to give them up based on his allergy. I have learned my lesson. We went and saw the temple lights, played some intense Phase 10, had a gift exchange and ate lots of yummy food.



We made the trip back to LA for another short work week. John's brother Matt and his girlfriend Lindsey came down for a visit. We had so much fun with them. Matt got us free tickets to Knott's Berry Farm.

 For New Year's since Vegas is on their way home we decided to bring in 2013 on the strip.  I was a little hesistant about the idea but it turned out to be a blast. They shut down the strip to cars on New Year's so we were free to roam the streets. For the countdown we were standing right in the middle of the street with firework shows all around us.

 Getting back to the cars was interesting with people trying to head in both directions. We made some friends as well as some enemies as we got up close and personal trying to make our way to the car. Getting back to our hotel, which was not on the strip, also proved to be quite the challenge. John and I ended up napping in the car for a couple hours before getting on the road.  New Year's Day was a lot of fun. I have been to Vegas a few times but realized I have only seen a small part of it. The inside and outside of the Bellagio hotel is my favorite. We ate lunch at the Paris buffet which was amazing. We went and saw the water show La Reve which was awesome as well. So I guess you could say the holidays were pretty awesome. It was fun to reflect on such an amazing year. John and I are very grateful for finding eachother and sharing the joys in this life together. We are counting our blessings and looking forward to an even better 2013:) We hope you all had a Happy Holidays!!

 Inside the Bellagio

 Outside The Paris..... We plan on getting a picture of the real thing this coming May!

New Years on the strip:)

Not so mobile anymore:)

So looking at my blog title I am unsure about whether I need to change it or not. The title came to be because of my travel nursing job. My travel nursing job took me two places, the last one being where I am supposed to be. It is crazy that my 5 month contract in Los Angeles has turned into a permanent stay. I could not be more happy about that. Maybe I will keep it for now because fortunately I found someone who loves to travel and see new places too! So as you know my wedding is coming up in less than a month. I have been handling things pretty well considering I am planning two receptions in states I don't even live in. The subconcious Monica however has not been handling things quite as well. When I go to that should be restful thing called sleep my mind goes over every possible disaster that could happen when it comes to the wedding. Here is where my dreams have taken me lately.....

So the first wedding nightmare was about me putting off things and in the end completly forgetting to do them. I think this stems from the nasty little habit I have of procrastinating. I am really good at putting things off until they absolutely need to be done. Anyways so in the first dream John and I had been in Utah a couple of days before the wedding. We spent our days just enjoying life and hanging out with the family. Suddenly it was the night before and  I realized that I had not gotten my dress hemmed. Next, I realized that I hadn't made an appointment to get my hair done and would now be left to do my own hair. I was so upset. John on the other hand could not see what the big deal was. Boys, seriously, they just need to show up.

The second dream took place at the AZ reception. I showed up 20 minutes before to find that next to nothing had been done to set up the reception. The food was no where close to being ready, people had forgotten to bring the decorations and were just standing around. My sister had been in charge of bringing my dress from Utah and had forgotten it. So there I was dressless, foodless and decorationless with guests showing up any minute. I started setting up chairs and tables by myself. I was even moving chairs with people in them because they were too busy sitting around chatting and wondering what the crazy brides problem was. I don't even know where John was at this point.

The last dream I had John and I had already been sealed and were heading over to the reception. I was so excited thinking about the food and all the wonderful people that would be there to celebrate. I looked over and there in John's hand were the invitaions. None of the invitations had been sent out. We had planned and bought food for a bunch of people we didn't even bother to invite.

So as I reflect on these dreams I realize that they areall based on my actual concerns. When I had the first dream I hadn't set up a hair appointment and so I took care of that problem real quick. The second dream had to do with my least favorite part of the wedding planning. The decorations for the reception. I would honestly love to just show up and it be taken care of. I have never been artistic or creative so planning decorations does not excite me. Invitations are not a very fun part of wedding planning either. Picking pictures that John and I both like, finding everyones addresses and footing the bill....it has been a bit stressful.:)  So after thinking that I have been pretty chill through all of this, I think my dreams are proof that its a lot of work. There have been so many fun things too though. I absolutely love planning a future with my best friend. It is so fun to think that soon there will be no more leaving each other at night. We can stay in our own home together and begin our life as a family. The next few weeks are going to fly and I hope I can get everything done! All the small details really don't matter much anyways. I love that the best part of this whole event is anything but stressful. Those moments in the temple kneeling across from the one I love will be the best, most peaceful and meaningful moments of the whole day. Alright lets just fast forward to those moments:)

Changing and Rearranging:)

       Its been forever since I posted. Not really because I don't want to blog; but because posting pictures and arranging them on here makes me CRAZY so I went on strike. To be honest life has been full of lots of fun things. Thanksgiving I went back home and got some quality family time. Christmas was spent here in LA with a certain someone. More about him later:) Disneyland on Christmas Eve, and again later that week. In January my family went on a cruise to Mexico. It was a really fun trip:)


     So whats new you ask? Remember how I really DID NOT want to move to LA? Remember how I thought it was going to be smoggy, and dangerous, and too much traffic, and craziness at the hospital, and scary, and horrible?? Well there is smog but mostly sunny days. So I drive an hour or so to work when I live 11 miles away. Guess its not enough to keep me from taking a permanent job at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Yep that's right!! I am gonna be working in the float pool and could not be more excited. I guess there were enough reasons to stay.......



Here are some good reasons.... this is January 75 degrees....do you see that blue water? Blue skies? Love it!!

Disneyland at Christmas? Don't mind if I do:)

Malibu in the middle of winter:)

Nice warm bike ride on the beach in December

For the art lover... Great view from The Getty art museum

The Urban lights outside another museum LACMA

Flip flops and tshirt on a mild January night!

So there you have it.... I guess the sunny warm weather, beautiful beaches, museums, hikes and handsome boy convinced me to stay:) I started travel nursing a year ago. I met some awesome people and have had some cool experiences along the way. Fortunately LA is a big place with so much to see and do so I hardly feel like I am settling:) Looks like LA is gonna be home for awhile:) Come visit!!



Slack slacking

Its been awhile since I blogged.....It's really too bad because it has been an eventful few months. In the beginning of November I got to visit my friend Maren in Boston. It was so much fun. We walked, walked and walked some more. I fell in love with the city. It was fall so the leaves were changing and falling. I loved riding the subways and buses around town. It took me back to the good old days in Germany:) Here are some pics!!! We walked the Freedom Trail. We also took a train to Maine just for fun. We ate good food and just enjoyed the city:)

 

So Much To Be Thankful For!

Awww Thanksgiving! It really is my favorite holiday! Some people find that strange. Some people think it must just be for the ridiculous amounts of food and the afternoon naps. I associate it with more than those things though. Thanksgivings growing up were always so fun. When I think of Thanksgiving I think of family. Thanksgiving brings everyone together. I remember playing with cousins, smelling the food cooking, setting the table all pretty, eating the olives off our fingers as a pre dinner snack, laughing, sharing and loving. We have always gone around the table to say what were thankful for. Some people made you laugh, others made you cry. This year I am grateful for so many things. As I have gotten older I realize how truly blessed I am. I no longer live in the sheltered world of my youth. I see sickness, hunger, loneliness, heartache, bitterness and sorrow in the world around me now. I see now how truly blessed I am. I am grateful for agency. I feel so blessed to be able to make good choices and take responsibility for my own happiness. I am so grateful for a loving eternal family. I feel so blessed to have my best friends be within my own family. I have been so blessed with amazing friends. These friends know me better than I know myself. I am so grateful for a great job. I know in this economy not everyone can choose what they want to do and where they want to go. I love being in a profession that allows me to serve people every day. I am grateful for the challenges and the opportunity I have to never stop learning. I am grateful to have a place to live, a car to drive, food to eat. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to travel for work, meet new people, and experience different places. I am so grateful for my health and my ability to be active. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Without it I don't know where I would be. I am grateful for a Savior who died for me. A Savior who makes it possible for me to repent and strive to be a better person. I am grateful for commandments and counsel from modern day prophets. I am grateful for the protection obedience brings. I am grateful for trials. I am grateful for what they make me learn and the strength and character they bring into my life. I seriously could go on and on. What are you thankful for this year??