The Dorm Life

Late night runs to #2 Donuts, hanging out in the halls with all the girls, dance parties, hanging out with the roomie, sharing a bathroom with 40 other girls, and wondering why I was so tired for my 8am classes when I went to bed at 4am. . . oh how I miss my freshmen year!
The dorm life is where it’s at… and James and I have somehow found our way back to it.
Yep, that’s right, we have moved into the dorms. James has bravely taken on the job of Resident Director for the Co-Ed dorm here at Grand Canyon University… and I will forgo my sleep and quiet time.

Actually, I’m beyond excited for this move. I love the dorm life! I think my favorite year was working in the dorms as a Grad Assistant at California Baptist University. Freshmen are so much fun and full of life. Even though I had to come out to the hall every night around 2am to tell them to shut up, it was all worth it.

So here we go! We have moved in and ready to go. The RAs are going strong with training and James and I have fallen in love with each and every one of them. I can’t wait for this year and all that it Brings. God has blessed James and I in where we are at and has given us more than we could ever had wanted or needed.

Here are a few pics of our apartment. We are down in the lobby… sharing walls with freshmen boys! And can I just tell you, the smell seeps through the walls. SICK!

Here is the apartment after we moved everything in:

Oh the joys of moving!

James is putting together our bed in the bedroom:

And I made the bed… Great team work!

Here is the living room! The door is out to the lobby, which I am very grateful for… anything to avoid walking through the guys hall

Pic was taken by standing in the opening to the kitchen.

Here is our kitchen! It’s huge but no counter space. Got to get creative when cooking!

The office / study room is connected to the kitchen… sorry for the bad pic. I took it with my camera

Again, this pic was taken with my phone. But here is the bathroom that is connected to the office, which leads to our bedroom.

If you haven’t noticed, our apartment is a long maze. To get the our bedroom we have to go into our living room, through the kitchen, into the office, walk through the bathroom and then we have our bedroom.
So, there you have it… our new home

The McGee and Roger Family Vaca to Colorado

After spending a long day at Sarah and Matt’s wedding, SOMEONE had the greatest idea to drive out that night to Denver. Completely exhausted we headed back to the house we stayed at, threw our clothes in our bags and headed off to see Billy and Naomi Foote.
Our time there went by so fast! “Time flies when you are having fun!”
We only stayed one full day, so that day we went to downtown Denver and at Rock Bottom and walked around. After several blocks we realized that we made it to Denver just in time for the Gay Pride Festival. Can I just tell you, there were some weird people there! I know a few gay people and they are nothing like the people we saw that day!

Billy Foote is currently the chef at Bar Louie so that night he shared with us his most God gifted talent… Cooking!
The five course meal including:

Bruschetta with a Mango salsa

Ahi Tuna
… please be seated for this one fokes- James Rogers ate it and liked it!!!!!

Chicken wrapped in bacon… James and I opted for Parmesan Chicken

Ribs that literally fell off the bone

And for dessert: Grilled Pineapple marinated in brown sugar with ice cream

Thank you God for Billy Foote! The McGee and Roger’s Family gave him two thumbs up ☺

The McGee and Roger’s Family gave him two thumbs up ☺

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

James and I had a great time in Glenwood Springs, CO as two of our wonderful friends got married. It was a jam-packed week full of bachelor and bachelorette parties, decorating, the rehearsal dinner, softball games, and of course the wedding. Here are a few pics from the week:

Here is beautiful Glenwood Springs!

The wedding!

Just did a remarkable job playing his guitar and singing at the wedding!

I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Sarah and Matt Clayton!

One Year Anniversary

I can’t believe James and I have been married for over a year! It feels like just yesterday James and I were planning the wedding. I guess the saying is true, “time flies when you are having fun!” This year has been a great experience, full of new and exciting adventures.

Now a year later we have created our own home in Arizona with our own friends and community. It’s the best year of my life and I can’t wait to experience more with James by my side. My love for him only grows stronger each and every day.

For our one-year anniversary we were in Vegas visiting James’ family, so the day of our anniversary he surprised me by getting a hotel room at the new Encore hotel on the strip. It’s one of few hotels that has a five star, five diamond rating with waterfalls outside ice cream shops and garden walkways throughout the entrance. I walked in awh at the beauty within the hotel, and not to mention our glass wall view overlooking the entire strip. It was perfect night… even though I lost all our money on the slot machines. Who would have thought that you don’t win every time?

Here are some pics of our anniversary:
Welcome to our room on the 51st floor!

This is the view from our room!

James and I explored the hotel and found waterfalls and of course… the pool!

We also had the pleasure of hanging out with the Paulus family while we were there… I think this is going to be an annual tradition! James and I had a blast taking the girls through the lazy river

And last but not least, our anniversary weekend wouldn’t be complete without visiting a live filming of the World Series Poker Tournament. It was actually quiet interesting!

Ralph Webster Neighbour III

A husband, father, counselor, teacher, pastor, friend, and follower of Christ. Whatever he may be to you, I am proud to call him my father. He is selfless, passionate, kind hearted, and a servant. As a pastor, starting his own church, we didn’t have much money, but as a child I would never have known it. He did everything he could to find things for us to do that didn’t cost money. My favorite Saturday outings as a kid started with Burger King. My Dad would get us a croissant to split but Nate and I were so busy decorating our BK crowns. Next we headed over to Sams club for samples and next door was a furniture place that gave away gummy bears. As I got older, my love for gymnastics grew and my dad sacrificed every weekday, driving me 45 minutes to and from gymnastics. It was one of my favorite times of the day as my dad and I had heart to heart talks. Through college my dad and I went through some of the toughest times together. While he was dealing with extreme turmoil in his own life, he faced the fact that he might lose his daughter to an unknown illness. It was in these times that I saw God through my dad more than I ever had before. He taught me so much during these times and I’m sure for so many other people. I thank God for blessing me with such an amazing father!

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

Fitness and Exercise Blog

As most people know, I started my journey this past year to becoming a nurse but it’s been a little frustrating in the sense that I have this degree in Kinesiology and will never use it. So, this past weekend I had this idea that I would start up a fitness blog with tips on nutrition and exercise. I would love to hear your feedback on posts and even subjects that you would like to know more of, so check it out!

http://shefit.wordpress.com

P.S.- I will still be updating this blog on my life, for those of you that actually read it

Our Surroundings

Why is it that when people go overseas on mission trips such as ISP that our focus on God increases, we live with a purpose and find beauty in our surroundings?

These past few weeks I have had the privilege of spending every morning at 6am with my brother at Extreme Bootcamp (Ok, maybe not a privilege since it’s extreme torture on one’s body, but at least my brother and I are in torture together). Extreme Bootcamp is an exercise and weight loss program that my brother has been going through. They make us do everything from mountain climbers, sprints up and down hills, to push-ups till you can’t feel your arms any more.
Last Friday we went for a run through the hills of Chino. Now, for me, I get anxiety with just the thought of running, but today I found it quiet enjoyable. As we started the run my focus was on how far we were running and where the end was, but that focus soon shifted. I found my thoughts focused on God.

I thought it would be a great time to spend talking with God and enjoying the beauty he had surrounded me with. As my thoughts ran through my head, I was reminded of the beauty I have experienced in Brazil, Turkey, and Rwanda, all which were from ISP trips. At that moment God pointed to the beauty that had been surrounding me all these years and yet I never stopped to notice it. Isn’t it so true that the hectic American lifestyle takes away so much of the beauty surrounding us. Not just creation, but the beauty in life, such as dancing, laughing, creating, and dreaming. I hope that I not overlook God’s beauty in my daily life through the busyness of nursing school, work, friends, and being with my husband.

Here is the pic of my run

On the Road Again… Just Can’t wait to get on the Road again

Tomorrow marks the first of many days to travel. First stop… Cali! Here is the run down of our schedule:

June 2^nd: Head out to Cali

 

June 4^th: Beach Day with Laura and Toni

 

June 6-7: Shannon’s Bachelorette Party in San Diego

 

June 12: Ronnie and Shannon’s Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner at Rubies on the Pier 

 

June 13: Ronnie and Shannon’s Wedding… HOLLA!

              Dad’s Birthday

 

June 14: Celebrating Dad’s Birthday after Church

 

June 17: Head out to Vegas to visit the In-Laws

 

June 21: Our One-Year Anniversary! 

 

June 22: Head back to AZ and stop by the Grand Canyon

 

June 23: Ronnie and Shannon come out to AZ

 

June 24: All of us pile up in a car and head to Glen Wood Springs, Colorado

 

June 25: Sarah’s Bachelorette Party

 

June 26^th: Matt and Sarah’s Wedding Rehearsal

 

June 27^: Matt and Sarah Get Married!!!!!

 

June 28: Pile back up in the car and head out to Denver Colorado

 

June 29: Hang out with Billy Foote in Denver

 

June 30^: Home Sweet Home… well, kind off

 

July 1^: Start packing up the entire apartment and move it 3 feet over to the dorms

 

July 4^: Watch Fireworks

 

July 20^: James goes to work and I will see him in September sometime

             (not really, but you reslife people know what I mean)

 

End of July/beginning of Aug: Brother and Sister Road trip to Texas to visit Nana and the family

August 21-22: Jenni Price comes out to visit… yay!!!!

 

August 31: JAMES FINISHES HIS MASTERS PROGRAM!!!!!

                   . . . and I start my 3^rd semester of Nursing… 2 down, 3 more to go

  

Any one up for hanging out while I am in Cali… you know where to find me

… no, not Golden Spoons… in Chino with the fam!

Aspartame… I think I am killing myself

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… I think I am killing myself.

 I drink and eat aspartame like it’s water. My sweet tooth just can’t get enough of this stuff and sugar has never cut it for me.

 Aspartame is defined as “an artificial sweetener made from aspartic acid; used as a calorie-free sweetener.” In 1976 FDA approved aspartame in the use of foods, and later discovered that the researcher who submitted the work, “had cut out tumors in animals that had been fed aspartame and neglected to report all of them or check for cancer. Also, animals that were “reported as dead, were later reported alive again” In fact, I have discovered that people can get aspartame toxicity from this deadly chemical… not just from several cans of diet coke. Reports have shown that people have gotten aspartame toxicity through one single piece of sugar-free gum.

Symptoms include:

Eye


- blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes

Ear


- tinnitus: ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic

-
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric


- severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal


- nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic

-
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

 

So today has marked the first day of giving up aspartame. No more diet coke, crystal light, and sweet n’ low. There are thousands of other foods out there that contain this deadly chemical, but these are the few things I use constantly throughout my day.

For now I am attempting to stick to tea and splenda, although I have heard that splenda is just as bad. Maybe I should just cut out all artificial sweeteners together and replace my sweet drinks with water. 

Obviously life is just too short to do that, so like all things, I will stick to moderation.

Good-bye to you. Good-bye to everything I knew. You were the one I loved, the one thing that I tried to hold onto

Have you ever. . .

Instructions: Copy & Paste. Then bold the things you have done. That’s it.

1.Started your own blog (James and I started one together but now its turned into just mine… James was too cool and decided to start his own)

2.Slept under the stars (Awh, I miss Pine Summit too!)

3.Played in a band (I played the clarinet growing up solely because my brother played it and I wanted to be just like him)

4.Visited Hawaii (Senior in High School Cheer competition… don’t judge… yes, I was a cheerleader!)

5.Watched a meteor shower (Best night ever with James! One of our first nights alone at pine summit was watching the stars out on the field… who would have thought it was going to be the same night a meteor shower hit. We just thought there were hundreds of shooting stars.)

6.Given more than you can afford to charity

7.Been to Disneyland (I miss that place!)

8.Climbed a mountain (Yep!)

9.Held a praying mantis (My bro and I were always finding/collecting weird insects growing up!)

10.Sang a solo (Oh the joys of grade school church plays… what happened to my voice now?)

11.Bungee jumped

12.Visited Paris

13.Watched a lightning storm at sea (Does the Amazon count?)

14.Taught yourself an art from scratch 

15.Adopted a child (We adopted a child on my hall when I was an RA)

16.Had food poisoning (NO BUENO!)

17.Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18.Seen the Mona Lisa in France

19.Slept on an overnight train

20.Had a pillow fight (I miss those days!)

21.Hitchhiked

22.Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

23.Built a snow fort

24.Held a lamb

25.Gone skinny dipping (No comment)

26.Run a Marathon

27.Ridden in a gondola in Venice

28.Seen a total eclipse (Yep)

29.Watched a sunrise or sunset (All time favorites were while in Brazil, traveling through the Amazon. Pictures could never capture the beauty of it all!)

30.Been on a cruise (10 of my best girl friends went after college graduation to Ensenada and for my honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta)

31.Seen Niagara Falls in person

32.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

33.Seen an Amish community (A clan of about 75 of them were at Sweet Tomatoes (aka- Soupplantation) they took up all the tables)

34.Taught yourself a new language

35.Had enough money to be truly satisfied (No lie, I’m perfectly content!)

36.Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

37.Gone rock climbing (RA training while a GA… so much fun!)

38.Seen Michelangelo’s David.

39.Sung karaoke 

40.Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (It was breath taking!)

41.Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant ( Does buying McDonalds for a homeless person count?)

42.Visited Africa (I Loved Rewanda… maybe one day I will go back?)

43.Walked on a beach by moonlight (My favorite moments with God… maybe someday I will with my husband!)

44.Been transported in an ambulance

45.Had your portrait painted (At Knotts… I got the guy to do it for free)

46.Gone deep sea fishing

47.Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

48.Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

49.Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Cancun baby!)

50.Kissed in the rain (I’m sure I have… just don’t remember when exactly)

51.Played in the mud (best childhood moments!)

52.Gone to a drive-in theatre 

53.Been in a movie

54.Visited the Great Wall of China

55.Started a business

56.Taken a martial arts class

57.Visited Russia

58.Served at a soup kitchen (One Christmas my parents forced my brother and I to do this before gifts and everything… we were so bitter goin into it and so grateful after!)

59.Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Never sold them… just bought them!)

60.Gone whale watching (and never saw one… what a waste of money!)

61.Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I loved giving blood)

62.Gone sky diving

63.Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

64.Bounced a check

65.Flown in a helicopter

66.Saved a favorite childhood toy (I still have MonkMonk and Teddy)

67.Visited the Lincoln Memorial (So pretty at night with the lights!)

68.Eaten Caviar (It was a dare while on the cruise with all the girls my senior year… gross!)

69.Pieced a quilt

70.Stood in Times Square

71.Toured the Everglades

72.Been fired from a job

73.Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

74.Broken a bone. (I broke my ankle screwing around before gymnastics lesions started doing handstands on the bar… my coach told us to never screw around before practice so I had to lie about it when it happened. My best excuse was that I was walking and tripped… GOOD ONE!)

75.Been on a speeding motorcycle (My dad use to ride a motorcycle. Highly doubt we were speeding though)

76.Seen the Grand Canyon in person (When I was 3. Hoping to go this summer since we live in AZ now)

77.Published a book

78.Visited the Vatican

79.Bought a brand new car 

80.Walked in Jerusalem

81.Had your picture in the newspaper (There were a few from high school and when James and I got married in the Chino Champion… got to love small towns)

82.Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

83.Visited the White House (8^th Grade!)

84.Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish!)

85.Had chickenpox 

86.Saved someone’s life

87.Sat on a jury

88.Met someone famous (My brother use to be a radio DJ and interview tons of famous people. My all time favorite was going to D-land with the brady bunch!)

89.Joined a book club

90.Lost a loved one

91.Had a baby

92.Seen the Alamo in person

93.Swam in the Great Salt Lake

94.Been involved in a law suit

95.Owned a cell phone (several)

96.Been stung by a bee ( When I was little I just thought this little bee was so cute sitting in the palm of my hand… till it BITE ME!)

97.Hit a home run

98.Got flowers for no reason (Take note James that this is not highlighted)

99.Grown your own vegetables (Are pumpkins a veggie?)

 

- Thanks Lanaya!