Cupcakes - December 2009

One of my favorite pictures....

My farming children, loves of my life!!! 1993?

Capstone Placement

Hello darling family whom I will see a few days. I have just been notified of my capstone placement and it is just what I wanted. I will be on the 7th(oncology) floor at UVRMC which is the hospital 5 minutes from our house. I am pretty excited about all the time I will save from not driving. I'm also excited about the oncology. It should be a great experience.

In other news, I currently have a cold. But I scored well on my ATI test today with the results suggesting I will be very likely to pass the NCLEX. Clinicals are over for the semester and I have no school until after Thanksgiving Break.

Thanksgiving!!!!

Guys, I am so excited to see all of you at Thanksgiving. And to get used to the family being together with both me and Markie being married. What an odd change, if I do say so myself. It has been a while though. Landes and I have been wed for almost 5 months now. Halloween was really fun. I went to work dressed as a princess, which my patients enjoyed. We went trick or treating with nieces and nephews and had a party with friends. This week has been pretty busy. I only have 2 more weeks of ICU nursing...pretty cool. Life is good. I made some pot roast today and we went for a lovely walk. Its been a great day. I am excited about getting our Ghia this month. Hopefully its not snowy by then so we can go cruising.

vroom vroom

my ghia is running awesome still, i cant wait to do the lighted parade, and ej's certainly excited too. can she be added to our family group older sister?

Marie

Its been quite a week for me. I've been making smoothies for breakfast almost every day. I worked as a manager 4 days this week and as a driver for one. I studied a lot for the NCLEX. Then I took it on Wednesday, finishing the 5 hour test in one hour after answering the minimum amount of questions. I was sure that I failed. But lo and behold, a few days later I found out that I passed and I have a license to be an LPN. I turned in a few applications yesterday and will do so more on Monday. Life is really fun. I still enjoy marriage a lot. We mostly just hang out, watch movies, go for walks, and sell plasma. Definitely the best summer ever. I hope everyone is doing well. I am jealous of lake trips and such. I hope Mark and Essi are doing great after a week of marriage and that everyone else is happy as well. I can't wait to see you in Seattle!!!

Hello Family, I hope you all are doing well. We have been married for a month now. Crazy huh. I am now growing basil, lavender, and some neon orange begonias. I love my little garden. I have posted a video tour of our apartment for your enjoyment. We got a bedspread today, so our home finally looks complete. I finally finished changing my name today and got a Utah driver's license. I feel a little like a traitor...no longer a Martineau or a Californian.

This week has been even more exciting than the last. I went to the regular hospital, Vernaza and watched some surgeries. I also went to the ICU for a day and the ER. In the reanimacion room I saw someone who did not look like she was breathing so I took her pulse and she was cold. I asked a doctor if the patient was ok and she said it had been 20 minutes and someone from the morgue was on their way. We met lots of medical students there as well. Tuesday was Nurses' day and we had a booth at Vernaza. I helped with an ACLS class with the Bomberos(firemen) and a CPR class at the police academy (los transitos). My Spanish is getting a little better...I can't speak much more but I understand more. I should probably study that. We went to the history of guayaquil museum which was full of miniatures and pretty cheesy. Then we were sitting in the jungle-like park on the malecon, and someone wanted a picture of us with her baby. It was funny. For dinner, we had empanadas, and batidos which are like smoothies. I had pineapple-mango. Friday, I went to the maternity hospital, then we went out for desserts and some shopping. I got some new makeup for the dance. We also went to the iguana parks and I was feeding the iguanas chips when one got overexcited and bit me. They don't really have teeth but I bled a little. It healed quickly and I think I will not be diseased, so don't worry. We had a health fair in the evening at the stake center where I took several blood pressures. Afterwards, we went to a single adult dance. I ripped my jeans pretty bad when I struck a pose for a photo. Good thing I brought a dress with me as well. The bad thing about the dance was that everyone was fast dancing, but we kept pairing off. I did not want to dance with boys, only with my friends. So, a traditional greeting is to kiss the cheek of the person you are meeting. On friday, I forgot that men can do this to and that it is supposed to be on the right cheek. I was meeting a mission friend of Christie Sue and made the mistake of turning my head. It was very nearly a kiss and so embarrassing. We spent Saturday in Las Playas, boating to see the dolphins, then swimming on the beach all day. I got roasted last week so this week I decided to forgo attempts at getting darker and wear sunscreen. I got some more cute earrings at the beach as well. I love the jewelry here. Today was our last sunday in the ward here. Next week we will go to Otavalo and the next week I will be in Utah with Landes. This trip is going by so fast. I am loving it. Trying to enjoy every moment.

Guitar.... this week's hobby

The video may take forever to load because it is so big...

I have a new obsession with playing the guitar. Who's to know if this will be short-lived, but at least it's fun for now. :) I just learned how to play this song (it's actually the first song i've ever played, and I happened to learn it two hours ago), and I wanted to see what it sounded like. So I took a video of it. And now I'm just posting it here cause I have a video of it now and i thought that would be neat. I stopped a lot and messed up a few times, plus I paused every once in awhile to scroll down on my computer screen to see more lyrics. So yeah, it's not perfect one little bit. Maybe not even good. But let this serve as a warning to all those whom I shall live with this summer-- I may still be on a guitar kick. (I didn't know whether to write who or whom...)

I love you guys. Oh, and happy mother's day! I know that mother's day was yesterday, but it's pretty much still Sunday night to me... I love you mommy.. You are wonderful. You are my hero. :)

Can't wait to see everyone soon!!!

christine

Ecuador

I've been in Ecuador for a little over a week and am loving it. Here are some things I have done so far....

baptisms at the guayaquil temple, swam at a beach on the equator, held an iguana, saw some macaws, ate empanadas, ate platanos, ate lots of seafood, beans, and rice, bargained for some earrings, ate breakfast at a buffet(each day), taught nutrition in the community(in Spanish), took a lot of blood pressures, measured the height of 60 kids, sang songs in spanish, bought a purse, had delicious ice cream, went for a walk by the river, looked at 2 cathedrals, built a house, stood in the back of a truck on the freeway(and lost my hat while I was at it), rode in a landrover ambulance, toured a boat, accidently attracted a sailor, attended church in Spanish(twice), got sick for a day, took lots of Immodium, talked to school children about brushing their teeth(spanish), helped with a CPR class, washed clothes in a bathtub, saw more poverty than ever before, and had a lot of fun at the same time. This is a pretty incredible experience.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

I got Marie's wedding announcement yesterday. It was so beautiful and made me so proud that I just had to hang it on our fridge.

Yesterday for Cinco de Mayo we made crepes. Dessert crepes with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, sour cream and powdered sugar. Dinner crepes with some kind of sauce. I was the one who made the dinner crepe sauce, but I don't remember what it was called, it was a white sauce with swiss cheese and ham. And then for dessert I decided to (attempted to) make fortune cookies. We watched Nacho Libre in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo. Overall it was a very fun day.

Bekah has been looking for some houses for us to move into next semester. She has found some four bedroom ones so maybe it would be me, Kalo, Bekah and some fourth person to be determined. I am very excited about it.

I can't wait to come to Fairfield. I am excited about going to Mom's graduation as well. It is going to be a good summer. :)

Marie, I miss calling you... I hope that you are having fun though. Partying it up in ecuador-- you are so lucky.

I love you all.

bean

Ecuador

I will be beginning my journey to Ecuador in less than 24 hours. I am currently in the very last preparation class. So long my delightful family

Mommy is visiting me....

I'm sorry to say, I have been working your mom really hard. I picked her up at the airport at 10am and we drove straight to the wedding dress shop. I was nervous that I wouldn't still like the dress, but don't worry, I do. We purchased the 1st pair of shoes I tried on. They were really cute and 'on sale.' Not cheap, but really cute peep toe heels. The lady doing fittings started to measure me, then told me I had to buy the $70 poofy slip I was wearing for the fitting, so I left and will get fitted for real on Monday. they were pretty mean about that. I was so annoyed. But if I can get something for free, why spend $70 on it just because I wasted 5 minutes of someone's time. I called my future aunt Mary Ellen and we agreed to meet early at the shower to look at centerpieces and slips. But, she arrived on time, so we were sitting there early watching them prepare...rude. Several of Landes' aunts came and some cousins, as well as Nan, Michelle, and Kate. A few of my friends came(Landes gave them a ride which was so sweet). The games were fun. Afterward I picked centerpieces from a selection of stuff that Mary Ellen owns. Mary Ellen and Kay offered to make boutteniers, corsages, and a cascading bouquet. I am pretty excited about that. Then mom and I went shopping and got some other essentials. We arrived back at Bob and Michelle's house around 10pm and she was exhausted. Today Landes, Mom and I will go to church with the Schirmers, then drive to Nan's house for dinner. Tomorrow, we will do the dress fitting, talk to Mary Ellen about the veil, finalize the cake, and look at white temple dresses. It will be a busy weekend and I'm so glad Mom is here to share it with me. Mom leaves Monday evening, Tuesday and Wednesday I have class from 8:30-3:30, then work from 5-10 on Tuesday(my last day), Thursday, I have class from 8-12 and neither Landes or I has to work. I leave for Ecuador Friday at 10am. Wish me luck. I will be using skype to keep in contact as well as email and such. I love you all

Done with Finals

I have officially completed my finals and will now start the moving process. At least now I don't have to be out until tomorrow. It was a lovely weekend. Landes and I both worked Friday night...it was super slow. Afterward, we relaxed in the hot tub at his complex which is finally open. Yesterday, I finished my final art project (A in the class woo woo! I may not be good but I am much better than I used to be.) and took my online final for labor and delivery. We went out for baby back ribs to celebrate and watched the newish James Bond movie on the big screen with his roommates. Then we went for a nice "summer night" walk. I'm excited about it actually being warm enough to walk outside at night. It was probably in the 40s yesterday, but it will improve I'm sure as the year goes on. I hope that Mom had a delightful birthday yesterday. I am so excited to see her next week!!

My summer plans

Christine put hers up and I got pretty jealous, so here goes....

April 19: I have to move out of my apartment and be homeless for awhile
April 21: Finals are over
April 25-27: Bridal Shower and Mom visiting me
May 1-29: I will be a nurse partying it up in Ecuador
May 29-June 3: I am homeless for awhile again
June 4: I move into my "married" apartment
June 11: I go through the temple for the first time
June 13: I get married in the Salt Lake Temple
June 13-20: Honeymoon in Oregon
June 20-26: Taylor Family reunion in Astoria
June 27-30: Fairfield reception, then baseball game, visiting you guys for a few days
July 1: Back to Provo to live in our apartment and work for the first time in 2 months. It has been a long time since I've done that. I still haven't decided whether I will become an LPN or whether Landes and I will both work part time as pizza delivery personnel.

Pretty much life is really good right now. Summer will be super busy and fun and exciting, then I'll be an old married person as Christine says. I'm so excited about school ending soon and having some free time with which to relax or sleep or something. I only have 2 days left of classes and clinical ended yesterday. We printed our announcements today and should be sending those out is the not so distant future. Work is going well. I am making more hourly than ever before and Landes even thinks I am a good driver. He is an amazing guy. You should all be pretty excited to have him in the family. I love you all. Christine, good luck with the job finding and trip planning. I hope that all go incredibly well. You can just bring me a gift when you come visit me, or send one with yo mamma, whatever your preference. I am jealous of your root beer party also. Sounds amazing

My summer plans. etc....

First of all, thank you Marie for sending an invitation to this email address. I don't know why it was so hard for me to figure out... But anyways, now that it's all better, I will try to blog more.

So, I was telling Leslie my summer plans, and I thought it'd be a cool idea to post them here, too. Just so you know, I am open to any suggestions....

May 22 Finals are over
May 22 MOM'S GRADUATION at Arco Arena (Congratulations mom, I am so proud of you!)
May 23-26 Maybe move out of my apartment??
May 26-30 South Carolina for Sam's graduation
May 30-June 5th-ish Maybe a furlough in Boston filled with magical adventures
June 6th- Utah and spend a week with Marie helping her move into her new apartment and spend my last week with her before she gets old and married and boring.
June 13th- Marie's wedding
After June 13th for who knows how long- be in Utah. I don't know what we're planning on doing there or for how long.


After that- I don't have a heck of a clue. I have no money. I need a job--- just found out I might not be able to get a stafford student loan for next year because turns out they stop giving you money after a while. Guess you aren't supposed to take six years to get a bachelors degree. so I probably need to get a job that not only I can live on with the income, but also be able to have enough money saved for when school starts in August. Maybe I need to get a job in Chico so I can keep it when school starts. Or maybe I need to get a job in Fairfield so I can save money. Or maybe I need to win the lottery, but I guess I'd have to start playing the lottery for that to happen, and right now I don't, so the chances aren't looking that good.

I would love to come home though. I could teach the dogs all sorts of new tricks. Oh, and I told my roommates that I might be moving out this summer. And then in the Fall I know of some people who are also moving back after being at home for the summer, and they all would be really nice to live with.

I am pretty excited about Marie's wedding. Is there anything I can do to help? Also, for this whole bridal shower business... Is there one that I can come to? And if not, that's okay, but maybe I'd still like to send a present. Where can I send it to?

The weather has been really nice in Chico for the past week, but yesterday it was overcast and today a little drizzly. I am grateful for the rain and know that we need it, but I am definitely excited for it to be summer again. There's nothing like walking out the front door and your face being blasted by hot air. I love it!

So, if anyone knows of any ways I can make money this summer, or of anywhere I should live, you should definitely let me know.

I love you all, and am excited about posting more. Everyone else please post!!!

bean

Update on Marie

Hey family,
All is going well here. I made almost $17 an hour doing deliveries tonight, then came home and we picked photos for our announcements. I saw Laura this week and she helped me pick out a the perfect wedding dress. I am done with pediatrics clinicals and get to see the miracle of birth for the rest of the semester's clinicals. I did well on my peds test this week and have another next week. I bled faster than Landes on Monday with a time of 5:30 for a pint of blood while he took about 6:20. But he retaliated by taking 8 minutes and scoring 94 on the marriage and family test while I took 12 minutes and got a 92...shameful. I think he enjoyed his birthday. I hope you all aren't worried about me adding an oldie to the family. j/k. I brought him some morning muffins, bought him a book, and cooked him chicken gizzards, mashed potatoes, salad, and pumpkin cake bars. Everything was great except the gizzards...they are really tough and chewy. Today, I went to Kamilla's bridal shower. Of the 6 of us to live together my sophmore year, three will marry this summer....weird

If you want to look at the rest of our engagement photos, you can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/ZachCrookston .

Sorry for not posting

I'm sorry I don't post that often anymore. It's really hard to post though... I don't know how to change my email address on here. It is an sbcglobal account, and I don't have that anymore. but it won't let me change it to a gmail account. Ack! so confusing.

I hope that everyone is well. I can't wait to come home next week. And marie, I hope that you have a wonderful st. patrick's day without me. I know that it will be hard.

Love you all!

We took engagement pictures on Saturday. This is one of my favorites. I have such a cute fiance

I got engaged today. This is my new bling. Landes is a great guy and I am excited to be with him for eternity. June 13th is the big day. Please come : )

I just got some exciting news. I got a $1000 scholarship for the spring. That will certainly help pay for ecuador. That on top of a $200 discount and a $500 decrease in cost because of grant money the program received. I guess working hard to get good grades really does pay off. It was a fun weekend for me...quite extended. I have only had art since last Tuesday. I worked Fri, Sat, and Monday, went to the Draper Temple Open House, got flowers and chocolate for v day, made cheesecake, went on a walk by the river and fed the ducks, went to the movies and watched Push, did an exercise video 4 times this week, did my taxes (mostly let mom do them), went to church, made strawberry crepes, and bought some new t shirts. And most of that time was spent with Landes...wonderful. Now, I will attempt to focus and do some homework. But because today is monday schedule and most of my classes are Tuesday classes, this week will be super easy. Tomorrow, I get to go to the NICU and see tiny babies. I am excited!!!

Rain

I am very grateful for the rain, but it is so cold and deary. I am planning on spending Monday, President's Day working on my masters papers...... maybe finishing my taxes. Sorry, my life is a little boring...... But I am happy, I have the best family !!!!! Love, love

Delivery Driving

Last night we get a delivery order around 10pm. I decide I'm willing to take one more because I haven't quite counted out yet. He told me it was 433 n and it was a basement apartment. He instructed me to go in the back door, go down the stairs, and knock on the door. When I arrived at the location I thought that all the odd numbers were on the left. I saw a 440 and there was a complex next to it. I assumed the basement apartment had a different number and proceeded to let myself in the back door and walked down the stairs. There was no door, just a hallway with bedrooms. I realized I was probably in the wrong place. I heard talking in the kitchen and wasn't sure if they had heard me come in, so I went up to explain myself. They were having a "Clue" party and thus were all dressed in ridiculous costumes pertaining to the characters. They weren't mad, but asked me to take some pictures of the group of them in costume. They then proceeded to tip me a dollar. I left, went across the street, and delivered the pizza. He tipped $8 and laughed at my mistake.

Vegas

Try and guess who I spend all of my time with. We had a lot of fun this weekend....dressing up, going out...

Life is going great for me...lots of snow all over the place...cool classes...good job...delightful boyfriend. This amount of snow was on my car after school one day...The windows were all cleared off before I arrived. I'm taking Maternity nursing, pediatric nursing, nursing ethics, and intro to art and drawing this semester. So if any of you have questions about any of that, I am learning a lot. My clinical right now is at Primary Children's up in Salt Lake. It is the most cheerful hospital...murals on the walls, a slushy machine. I may want to be a pediatric nurse although labor and delivery may be exciting as well. I'm excited about Ecuador...just had my 1st prep class and it sounds fun, and really busy, a great learning experience. Too bad I'll have to leave Landes behind...

Where are you, my family?

So where are you darlings? What are you doing? Send pictures!!! MOM