Week Wrap Up #12

Now that I am in California and about to start a new chapter in my life I can't decide if I want to keep "Week Wrap Up."

Obviously very important life decisions being made on this blog.

I don't have a ton to "wrap up" this week, some big changes yes, but for now I will just mention the hilarity in the horror of apartment hunting. Ross and I spent the last few days peeking and peering into what feels like hundreds of apartments. So many phone calls and appointments to lead to almost nothing. One of my favorite complexes was called "The Orleans." It had a certain eerie Haunted Mansion type feel to it.



I'm 99% sure they contacted Disneyland as asked for the rights to whatever font they used.

This one apartment was totally bizarre. It looks like it was a house that incorporated the patio into the living room. It resulted in a tiny (bed?)room that had a glass window peering into the living room.

Hard to explain, but definitely odd.



After a long day of apartment hunting, I landed smack in the middle of a big mud pile. I guess I should just be glad it happened near the end of the day.



Synge really enjoys smoothie.



Now that Ross and I officially have a place, I have moved on to begging for a kitty. This is no easy feat because Ross doesn't particularly like cats. I would like to believe he is warming up to the fact, but it is taking an incredible amount of work. Lately I've been looking at shelters for kitties to rescue. They call out to Ross for help.



One of my favorites is the little dude with the afro. And pumpkin up at the top.

Packing never dies in the Petersen household. It was packing to leave Grenada, packing up to leave Utah, packing up the new things we acquired in Utah, packing our old things in Utah (from storage), packing up our things in California, packing our things in storage in California... I think you are getting the picture. The upside of packing up means finding old memories. When I was younger I loved getting mail, and I understood this meant I had to send mail as well. So I wrote. I wrote to friends down the block over our summer vacation. I wrote to friends serving missions in Sweden. I wrote to elementary school teachers on vacation in Europe. I wrote to friends on vacation in Utah. And now I have at least one box filled with all these memories. It is so much fun to go through them and see what was important to me at that time in my life.

Ross and I are enjoying our time with my parents before we officially move on to the next chapter. This includes getting as much Thai food as possible before we have to scout for a new location in Redlands. Fortune cookies are always fun because everyone pretends like they don't care, but then we all jump on them. I always think of this Jim Gaffigan stand up. Sure, I have gotten some funny ones, but Ross was so pleased when he read his. 

"You could prosper in the field of medicine."

I sure as hell hope so. We are already pretty deep into this ordeal. The look on that kid's face is priceless.

Week Wrap Up #11: Summer's End

I can't believe it, but for all intents and purposes, this is the last Week Wrap Up of the summer. Tomorrow Ross and I head out to California. We are pretty late to the game so I hope that we can find an apartment and get settled quickly.

Here are some favorites from the past week.

Ross and this MASSIVE stereo. I thought he was kidding when he said he wanted to bring it.

He was not. Time to dust off some 8-tracks and CDs. 

Ross is enjoying what little time he has had, and has left, of freedom. This sometimes involves organizing his MTG cards and creating decks. He hates when I take pictures of him doing this. 

Oh look! A shameless selfie. When you are happy you feel good, and you look good too. I can't honestly say the past week or so has been a dream. So much stress of the unknowns, but here is a rare and happy moment. I will take it. 

I mentioned before how we are just missing Ross's birthday. But it has kinda been good because it means he gets lots of different parties. Tonight his parents had us over for dinner and Susan bars for dessert, one of Ross's favorites. He has already had two birthday treats and his birthday isn't til Wednesday!

This week has been full of packing and plotting, so it only takes four pictures to wrap it all up!

Week Wrap Up #10

Life has been a little crazy lately. There is a lot going on and I can't believe that in a few short weeks Ross will be starting school again, but this time at a real deal hospital. Hopefully we will have an apartment in a safe neighborhood that we can actually afford. Hopefully I won't have sold too many vital organs to finance our move and deposit. 

In the meantime, Ross and I still afford time to dream. This outdoor set is going on the blog so that someday I can have something like this. 

But I can't complain, Ross and I bought a mattress set. I wanted to cry tears of joy. Yay we won't have to sleep on our mattress topper! We got a great deal and it is a nice mattress. 

This picture may be one of my favorites this week.

You may be able to get a disposable camera for only $8.69, but no guarantees you will be able to find a place to develop the film. Brings back good memories of begging my mom to get me a disposable camera for summer camps. She compromised by letting me share one with my brother. Haha. 

The next two pictures are just pretties. My bestie Teo told me about this place. It is just up the street from where I'm living so I knew it was a must. The donuts were really fresh! Daylight Donuts is a fun little donut shack. You can't really see, but on the side of the building there is a large display of pez dispensers. Which is pretty much all pez are good for- epically large window displays. 

 It was weird to be up that early but Ross and I had a ton of packing and rearranging to do. Looking back on the week (like so many weeks this summer), it seems like a month. Last week at this time I was up in Ogden, before we had even begun our anniversary trip (when I took a picture of this beautiful sunflower).

Now I find myself back here in Utah Valley, thinking about this next week more than the week that has passed. At the beginning of the summer we thought that we would be well on our way to California by now. And now we find ourselves dragging our feet, albeit filled with anxiety. 

It feels like holding onto a good dream. Trying to remember it and live it before it is ripped away. 

Speaking of a good dream being ripped away, I am already dreading the end of this amazing gelato.

I discovered from my friend Kelli while I was in Vernal and now I am hopelessly hooked.

Speaking of hopeless, I am still sick and it is really starting to get on my nerves. I don't know if there is an operation for new sinuses, but mine are sucking pretty bad and I would like new ones. As a result, I have to sleep with this humidifier up in my face. I never thought I would (have) to see the day when I'd be creating an environment like a hot sweaty room. More proof Grenada has ruined me. 

But maybe that is just because I have bad luck. What employee in good conscious can hand out a smashed fortune cookie? Nothing fortunate about that at all. 

Week Wrap Up #9

I will be the first to admit that this hipster moustache craze has gotten out of control. However, how could I resist this hilarious Slurpee straw that make me look like a female Hulk Hogan?

It's the simple things in life that make me happy here in America, like Slurpees and funny straws. 

That's right, I totally just jumped head first into this Week Wrap Up (with a Hulk Hogan gif). No flourishes, no explanations about my fears that the summer is zooming by now that Ross actually has time (<-- nbsp="" opps="" p="">

I dropped by Provo to pick up my sister for a concert. I went into her closet to check out these shoes that were really cute. Then I gaze up to see oh yeah not a TOTALLY CREEPY DREADLOCK MANNEQUIN HEAD.

Yeah. 

You know, just chillin' with a microwave. I have no idea what that head has a use for. Everyone knows that hair is a nappy mess. 

I don't know if I can summon eloquent words to describe how I feel about the fact that Utah is now having Baby contests. Everything is always a competition (unspoken or otherwise) in the state isn't it?!

At the end of the week we (thankfully) found ourselves out of Happy Valley and back to Ogden. I found this huge mug/jug/keg with a TMNT theme, a pac-man arcade candy tin. And we went with friends to see the new Godzilla movie. It was the weirdest thing though, I saw these huge CDs framed on the wall with movie posters. Wonder what that is about. 

Kidding guys. I know it's a laser disc. C'mon. 

While we were in Ogden we went on a small hike with our friends Matt and Heather, and their two kiddos. 

We had some pretty cool views of Ogden. 

And our course I'm a sucker for my sunflowers, where ever they may be. 

Ross and I have been trying our best to take advantage of our Pass of All Passes card we bought for various Utah attractions, but with his free time so short, I haven't been impressed. We did, however, go to another Ogden Raptors baseball game. You can read about the last "away" game we went to here. Mostly I am just really pleased that I found an awesome t-shirt to represent. I love that the baseball stitches look like a dino bones tail. And it's tye-dye. Heellll-ooo. 

As a new smart phone user I have been trying to entertain myself with apps. One of my favorite new apps is Quiz Up. There is an endless variety of topics and subjects, from Pokemon to Latin American History, to spelling, to Breaking Bad. You can never get bored with so many categories, you are always learning something new, and I am actually finding that I am pretty smart (in the categories that I pick). I have run into several questions though, about Grenada.

In the game you play against a live opponent so it can get your adrenaline pumping if your life is pathetic and this is the most exciting thing you do. But every time when I face-off on a Grenada question, I get it right! To them all those answer choices must be just irrelevant Caribbean islands, but to me, one of those was my home for almost two years. 

Speaking of leaving Grenada behind, the biggest news of the summer came this week when we finally found out where Ross would start his third year of medical school! The school shocked us all by telling us earlier than we had expected... that fateful day on July 17th. When the news amongst my SO friends broke and blew up, I screamed at Ross to check his e-mail. My heart was beating out of my chest and I had a weird chill go through my body. It would be so weird to just finally know. 

We are so insanely fortunate to have our first choice, a clinical center in Southern California. This round of assignments was absolutely insane. Many of my friends didn't get their top choices, and some didn't even get any of their top 3! This medical school thing is not for the faint of heart. It appears that everything the school told people about "oh if you have a spouse of kids, you will get preference," is a bunch of bull. I imagine things are just getting more competitive and it seems that this round you only had even a chance at California if you or your spouse was born and raised there. 

What brought this up though, is the purchase of my new baby. 

A super mondo, programmable crockpot. We bought this before we had the assignment, and I kind of like the contrast. When I bought this crockpot just a few days before, I remember feeling so much uncertainty. Where would we go? What would we need to buy? How would we take our stuff? Would I have a kitchen with enough counter space for this? And although many of those questions are still unanswered, it's comforting to know that at least we have a geographical location in mind now. 

In other but similar news, Ross and I might need these for our future kitchen. 

Week Wrap Up #8

I wonder where to even begin this week. Last week at this time my family was here visiting. Then a few days ago Ross was finishing his major Step 1 USMLE exam. Now... here we are. In a bit of a limbo time, where we don't know where we will be living in a month, but it probably won't be here. Ross is a free man, but we still can't quite start preparing for the next chapter.

And since we can't do that, I will just share a bunch of random photos with you.

Sunsets in Grenada were gorgeous, don't get me wrong. But I respect any kind of beauty, everywhere.



Finally getting around to some Utah Valley respect. While I was at BYU I gained an intense love for jdawgs. I have just now grown to love banana peppers and jalapenos on it. Probably Anitha's doing by increasing my heat capacity.

Sometimes it feels like Grenada was such a long time ago. But no matter how long ago it feels, I know it will always be with me. Like when I saw this sign outside of the women's restroom.

"We apologize for the inconvenience." 

Pffffffft. You have running water. Boo hoo hoo that it isn't hot! #firstworldproblems. I think it's funny now but at the time I was actually quite disturbed. 

This past week I got to visit with Kelli and her dad were up in the area so I had the opportunity to grab some lunch and hang out with them. Pat's BBQ, in case you were wondering, is always a good choice!

That day they even had live music, so that was a fun treat. 

As you might've been able to tell, I have been trying to hang out with friends as much as possible. It sometimes takes a bit of planning to arrange my transportation, but it is always worth it. This time my bestie Front Runner took me to SLC to hang out with my friend Sydney. I always remember that I need more of her in my life.

I also like to combine friends and food. Food, if at all possible, meaning pizza. This week I was able to hang out with my good friends Teo and Roman at Brick Oven.

Nom nom nom. 

Along with friends, I always make time for family. Especially if it is my adorably sassy 10 year old niece.

Our main bonding opportunities come over nail polish. So obviously that means that I need to buy more and perfect my skills. Super proud of this manicure. Love this holographic nail polish.

Another week of summer gone. Trying to live it up while I can. 

Week Wrap Up #7

This week was another fun one because I finished my Kentucky (and Memphis) trip AND hung out with the rest of my family from Utah AND California while they have been in town for the Fourth of July. I have a few different odds and ends for this week's Week Wrap Up.

After I flew in the Petersens needed to go water the garden at their future house. After the sun set it was a little chilly, and of course I had a headache, but I could still appreciate the beauty of the area.



I can see the appeal to people to build out there, in more "wide-open spaces." It blows my mind that someday (hopefully soon) the house will be complete and full of family and friends.

After watering we went to grab something to eat and I saw this pretty intense Canada pride car. I think they won something recently...



In all my store wandering, I take pictures of the most random things. I leave them on my phone until I have the perfect weekly opportunity to dump them here. All in hopes that someone else can appreciate them.

Like this slightly hypocritical toddler tee. What do you think it is trying to say? I get the Seuss quote, but the "Brigham Young University" bit at the bottom makes me wonder if there won't be some unspoken angst if this little one doesn't end up attending BYU.



"You can steer yourself any direction you choose, but if it ins't BYU forget about it!!"

How about this screen capture of autocorrect that is a raving lunatic?



Chill out with the "haha"s, if it's extremely funny 3 "ha"s will suffice.

The longer I stay in Utah, the more pride I have for my home state of California. And since we all know how much I love internet quizzes, what a better way to test my pride than this:

An internet quiz to see what state of this grand nation I should live in. Yep. I got California. The second time I answered it a little differently and got New York. Maybe Ross and I should've put New York as his number one for clinicals. But maybe we will end up there anyway! I've never given the East Coast much thought for my future permanent residency, but I have had some friends say I would fit in nicely. No, not because I am cranky (they contested), but because I am a free spirit and creative. I'll take it.



Like a select few in the population, thrift stores invigorate me. It's like someone setting you loose in a store where a bunch of gold is hidden. It's just up to me to find it!! I win yet another round.

My mom isn't the "shopping" type, so it makes me extremely happy when we get to go shopping together. We find commonality at the thrift store. She searches for books, I search for everything else. I found this cute skirt with detailed embroidery.

And it fit! I love how it is so bright and summery. 

Week Wrap Up #6

This week's Week Wrap Up is brought to you by the letter K. For Kentucky. And Kyle and Kristen.

Also the letter "T" for Tennessee, "M" for Mississippi, "R" for Ryan, "J" for Jen. "A" for Arkansas, "I" for Indiana. You get the picture, I've got around. As I mentioned in a social media post, this West Coast girl is confused. It's been a good geography lesson for me. And a great adventure! Tomorrow I fly back to Utah where my life will still consist of living out of suitcases but with a lot less fun. 

But before I do that, I need to share the pictures that didn't fit into any of the other many posts.

HUGE roadside dino. I love dinosaurs, so it seems only right that this should make it in. It is advertising an attraction called "Dinosaur World." And although it doesn't sound as cool as Jurassic Park, maybe someday I will make it there. 

The next two photos go together for many different reasons. 

First reason is they are both vulgar, second reason is they made me laugh, third reason being they are still tacky, fourth reason is summarized simply by the phrase, "God Bless the South." That is all I have to say. 

Saw this at my now (blog) famous Zaxby's. It's pretty obvious someone just went to the asphalt with a paint roller and dotted out a handicap symbol. Who needs stencils and spray paint? 

I love my Week Wrap Ups because they are perfectly random. Continuing the trend, here is a granny square type crochet project I am working on. American flags! It has been a fun project to work on and I love the small squares because I have a short attention span and I can finish each one in a reasonable amount of time. 

That wraps up it all up for my Kentukcy trip. It has been real. Real fun.