Gram's and Carol's First Horse Show

My 5 year old niece Carol-Anne has been taking horse riding lessons from my mom and they decided to venture out and participate in an open horse show. Carol has been really excited and has been working hard to prepare like cleaning her tack (funny tidbit that used to be my saddle), riding with gram and practicing technique. Since gram is a total genius at teaching this stuff, Carol has come a long way in one summer. She rides very nice and is very good about remembering and adding onto what she has learned all ready. Carol and Butter (one of papa's roping horses) make a good team. She even got to wear one of Papa's new belt buckles that matched her fancy horse show outfit. I decided it would be fun to go up and watch them on Wednesday morning and see how Gram and Carol did.

The above picture is of Carol and Gram in 6 and under lead line. She was so darn cute. And smiled so big for the judge, look at that great technique her heals are pointed down her right hand over her belly button, left hand holding the split reins perfectly and in the perfect spot, and her center of gravity is right on. Not bad at all for being 5. They ended up winning 2nd place and a trophy. I think I was about this age maybe a year younger when I did my first leadline with my dad. I will have to get an old photo of that and put her and me side by side and have a good laugh at what a dork I was.
This is after she won 5th place in showmanship at halter with gram. I wish you could see her face a bit closer, she was beaming. It was her first ribbon and "golden horse" trophy ever!














Doesn't Butter look so nice and clean? Carol scrubbed and scrubbed with pink soap to make him perfect. The above picture on the right is the judge doing her walk around during showmanship at halter. All in all I was so glad that I went, Carol rode in my car on the way home to grams after, the poor girl was so tired and yet tickled with herself she literally clung to her ribbons hugging them to her chest the entire way home, and kept telling me and everyone else "I got 2 ribbons and red and pink one, and 2 golden horse trophies, that makes 4 right?" Funny girl.

Medical Records

I went to work yesterday and looked up my chart to see how my labs were from the day before. My hematocrit was normal, and my blood glucose was 81. Not bad, not bad at all. I'm glad I wont have to take the longer glucose test, I'm almost glad I don't have to wait forever to know the results.

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Just Another Day at the Hospital....

So I decided on my day off of work it would be fun to go into work and have my glucose test and my hematocrit taken. I have to say that drink isn't THAT bad, it just tastes like Hawaiian punch gone wrong. It was strange though after I drank it about 45 minutes later I was sooo tired, i was trying to read my book and could hardly concentrate, and all day since then I have felt exhausted. I'm not sure what my glucose is but the nice thing is I can go to work tomorrow and look up my chart and not have to wait to find out, its a bonus in some strange way.

Idaho

Dan's parents are going out into the mission again to Yap (if you dont know where Yap is, like most of us, I suggest google maps). They are leaving August 18th so we decided to rearrange our plans a bit and go visit them this past weekend before they leave. So of course all the crazy Miller males had some plan for a project, this time it happened to be cutting down trees with a chain saw while suspended in the air in a little basket. I sat on the stairs while Dan and Eric had a go at it. IT WAS TERRIFIYING. I dont know if it was just my pregnant mind getting the best of me but while they began I couldnt keep these images from zooming through my head:

1. Eric with the chain saw, losing balance or forgetting about dan, dan getting his head sawed off.

2. Eric with the chain saw, losing balance while cutting and sawing dan's arm off.

3. the basket getting to wobbly and dan falling to his death.

4. Dan cutting a tree at a bad angle and having it fall and crush him to death.

5. a big portion of the tree falling on the propane tank below, everything blowing up and dying.

There were a couple more variations but I think you get my point. Funny thing was suzie called and said to her mom to tell dan that his baby needs a father, EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING THE ENTIRE TIME. Also an irony of this whole ordeal was what actually met its death turned out to be the chain saw after jason dropped it. Im glad that all the men made it out alive, I suppose I should be remorseful about the saw, but im not, not after the things that went through my mind. I should trust that they all knew what they were doing but you know how that goes, all I can say is thankyou Kara for distracting me with baby clothes.

Doc appointment

On friday I went in for another routine checkup. I was supposed to have my glucose checked, I didnt really know if I needed to fast or not. So I called in awhile ago and my first answer was no you dong need to do anything. People I talked to kept telling my different so closer to my appointment I decided to call in again for a second opinion, the next lady said I needed to fast all day till my appointment at 1:30. I thought wow this is not going to be fun. I later talked to suzie who said that that was kind of strange and I could probably just take it easy on food a couple hours prior to the test. I called in AGAIN to ask for a third opion, the lady basically agreed with suzie. So friday morning I sleep in super late since I worked late the night before, so I decided well maybe I shouldnt eat anything till the appointment since it is so close. I get there at 1:30 and I am starting to feel pretty hungry and a little nauseated. Apparently my doc was running behind so they sent in the poor medical student instead to talk to me first. So we talked, I told him everything felt normal yadda yadda yadda I answered all the questions, he timidly asked if he could measure me. I said of course, I dont care what you do I know you need the practice, and I happen to be an excellent guinie pig. So he measured, did some small talk and found out that I work at the hospital too. That seemed to put him at ease so he asked if I would let him try to find the heartbeat. Sure why not. So he is searching around for the jelly and its right in front of his face so i kindly point it out, poor guy was nervous. He told me not to be nervous if he couldnt find it, it doesnt mean anything is wrong just he is new at this, I assured him I wasnt going to freak out and pretty soon my belly was smeared with jelly, but he did find it. So then we didnt know what to do so he looked at my chart a bit and we talked about kick counts and the glucola thing. He dedided to go see if the doc was ready yet. That was around 2. At around 2:15 he came back in sheepishly (they send the med students to try to distract the patient while they wait) and said it would still me a minute but he said he could do a really good full scale assessment on me, so he did the reflex thing and listened to my heart and lungs yadda yadda yadda, it was like a free physical exam. kind of strange but what else were we going to do, like I said Im an excellent guinie pig. FINALLY my doc came in around 2:30, did the measurement asked how things were going said I could go over to the lab anytime in the next week to do the glucose check, and that I didnt need to fast at all. So much for feeling down right terrible and nauseated and starving. (i decided to skip it that day and go to the training table for some fabulous cheese fries and take the test on tuesday). But all in all everything was normal, no protein the the urine, bp was 110/58, I gained 6 pounds (maybe the cheese fries werent such a good idea YIKES). So now I just wait till that poor medical student does a rotation on my floor. The first med student I had was there for my pap smear, that was a little ackward and yet very funny. Its all in the name of science right?

Tagged

4 Places I Visit Over and Over Again:

1. U of U
2. Spanish Fork
3. JH
4. Menan

4 Bands/Groups I Love to Listen To:

1. Blink 182
2. The Rat Pack
3. Christmas Music
4. Mormon Tabernacle Choir

4 Movies I'd Watch Over and Over:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Elf
3. Love Actually
4. The Grinch

4 Places I'd Rather Be:

1. Costa Rica
2. New York
3. A Winter Wonderland
4. Jackson Hole

4 People Who Call/Text Regularly:

1. Dan
2. Mom
3. Sina
4. Dad

4 Favorite Foods:

1. Mom's Chimichangas
2. NY sub
3. Mom's Turkey dinner
4. Mom's seafood Christmas dinner

4 People I'm Tagging:

1. Sina
2. Dan
3. Suzie
4. Kim

YUCKY BREAD

I was making dinner tonight, I thought spaghetti, green beans, and garlic bread sounded yummy. So I was getting everything ready and I was finally ready to pop in the garlic bread. I took it out of the bag so I could put it under the broiler and I saw a dark speck on it. So I decided to go in for a closer inspection. Upon bringing it closer to my eye I realized there was a big, gigantic, juicy, nasty black FLY squished on the side. Needless to say we made our own garlic toast. SICK, seriously you nasty smith's bakers don't you open your eyes when you package up your fly infested bread? huh?

stretch marks

does anyone know of anything that will actually really help with stretch marks? some magic belly rub or something.

Baby Shower

I am totally excited about my baby shower that my sister is planning for me!!! Ever since I became preganant I have been a bit obsessed with pumpkins. Mostly fact that I am really starting to look like a pumpkin, Jack will be my "Jack'olantern" and Haloween in general. So my sister, Sina, and I were brainstorming possible themes for the shower. I quickly ruled out Dan's suggestions; AK 47 shower or camo. NOT HAPPENING. But I wasnt really coming up with anything fun, until my sis found a site with lots of fun ideas for a PUMPKIN OCTOBER BABY SHOWER!!!!! SSSOOO FUUUNNN. It is going to be great, I even personally requested her yummmy pumpkin pie as desert, and my moms house will look so fantastic all decorated for Halloween with all those pumpkins, they even have a pumpkin patch. If that isnt enough to real you in this might, my tummy is going to be soooo huge and for some crazy reason people flock to pregnant bellies and always lean down and touch and ooogle and chat with the little pumpkin inside, so it would be the perfect time for you to get that all out of your system. I hope you are free to come, of course the invites wont be sent for awhile yet, but it will be a blast and I hope you can make it.

A Breakthrough

Today I feel I have reached a major landmark in this pregnancy. I FINALLY have less than 100 days to go! I seems as though i can really start a true countdown. Not that I can't count over 100 but it does seem to get a little redundant doesn't it? So I will endure and persevere knowing that there is an end in sight. Just think in a week or two I will reach my last trimester... another great landmark in my quest to parenthood. Still though I am a tad edgy about what my future holds in the next 99 days. I have heard countless times over and over again that "just wait the third trimester is the worst," and I can't help thinking, honestly how does it get any worse than the first trimester?? I really don't know, but I am sure very soon I will start to find out. And since I am apprehensively awaiting for the worst, I sooth my fears by thinking OK just 62 more days till maternity leave. I can do this. And if things turn out to be just as bad as the first trimester at least I know I have a caring, understanding and loving husband who will listen to me cry and complain and puke and wipe my tears away. So much patience he has, that I can scarcely understand.

Patty's Amazing Chicken Fettuccine Tomato Alfredo

A couple weeks ago we had a birthday party for my mom and this recipe is what my sister in law Patty and my brother Mitch made for us. Let me tell you something... you DO NOT need to go to Olive Garden to eat amazing pasta. I swear this is better than the restaurant stuff. I probably had 4 servings of this pasta and had to stop before I popped it was that good.

Chicken Fettuccine Tomato Alfredo

¼ Cup Butter

¼ Cup Olive Oil

2 Chicken Breasts Cubed

¼ Cup Chopped Green Onions (It says to use only the white part, I used the green too!)

2 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 Cup Whipping Cream

1 Package Alfredo mix (red McCormick powder packet)

12 oz. Fresh Mushrooms sliced

15 oz. Can Diced Drained Tomatoes

½ teaspoon salt & pepper

¼ Cup Fresh Parsley or 2 Tablespoons dried (I used fresh)

2 Tablespoons Dry Basil

1 Box Cooked Fettuccine Noodles

½ Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese

***Start cooking noodles, while noodles are cooking…

***Heat butter and oil, until butter melts. Add Chicken and cook until brown. Add garlic and onions and sauté.

***In a separate bowl mix Alfredo packet and whipping cream, add to the chicken and stir.

***When noodles are done cooking drain them and keep in the pan over low heat add the chicken/Alfredo mixture and stir add all of your spices and vegetables (mushrooms, tomatoes, salt/pepper, parsley, basil) stir and top with parmesan cheese before serving.

Some People.....

I was at work yesterday and one of my coworkers walks over to me and takes a good look at me and says "are you pregnant? (I say yes) Oh, I thought you were just getting really fat lately. How far along are you (I say 6 months) Oh, well don't you think youre big for 6 months? (I stare at her in awe and say NO I am absolutely normal." SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!!!!! WHO SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT?????? WHY WOULD SOMEONE BE SO HORRIBLE WITH WORDS???? I DONT KNOW.

Scentsy

My sister in law, Stacy, sells Scentsy products. These are amazing! I love the pomegranate... its truly divine. What I love about Scentsy is that there is no flame, and the wonder scents spread rapidly throughout your house plus NO MESSES! When you are done with a scent you can pour it out or wait for it to solidify and it will pop out in one chunk. Scentsy works much better than scented candles, no flame, no mess, the wax will not burn you, and no dangerous overheating candle warmer that doesn't really spread the scent anyways. So if you are still spending outrageous amounts of money on candles, I suggest you look into Scentsy.

A Health Story

My mom decided that she needed to lose some weight to get back down to her optimum size for her height and bone structure. She started the Jenny Craig program. At first I was a little skeptical, but after seeing the results I am amazed. I believe she started Jenny Craig in March and since then she has lost 35 pounds! Way to go mom! After hearing how the program works, I am becoming a believer. You are probably thinking it is just one of those programs that you have to eat their nasty food for the rest of your life and if you stop you balloon out again. NOT TRUE! Why this system makes sense: At first you do eat their food, the reasoning being that most people do NOT know what a portion size if of anything, they do NOT know how many carbs, protein, vegis, fruit, fiber is needed for a HEALTHY diet. This method you go in and see your counselor and talk about what you are going to eat (you get to choose) for the week and a plan for putting all the meals together for one day, the portion sizes yadda yadda yadda. This way you SEE what a portion of chicken breast really looks like, I was shocked at what I thought a portion was and what it actually is. From week to week they teach you what to eat and why and how to eventually do that on your own, my mom is at the stage where she eats her own meals part of the time and theirs also. She writes down everything she has so she can own up to what she is putting into her mouth (this helps with bored eating, emotional eating, and OVER eating). You are probably thinking she has to work out a ton, nope, just a walk in the morning. Again, why does Jenny Craig work? Because they teach you HOW to make the right HEALTHY lifestyle changes, to lose weight and keep it off. So if you don't know where to begin with weight loss, Jenny Craig is a great place to start. And for all you pessimists out there who is thinking Jenny Craig or other weight loss programs are ridiculous because all you have to do is eat fewer calories than you exert, well this is what I say to you, that is true, BUT thats not always the healthiest way to do it, and most people are over weight because they don't know HOW to do it, as simple as diet and exercise sounds most of us are in the dark and could use a little guidance to get us started on the right path.

What are you thinking?

Alright, what just went through your mind? Are you wondering, hey thats not Dan, who is this dude and what is he doing on Ti'ana's blog? Or were you thinking, whoa flash back to the 90's? Your interest has probably peaked and you cant stand not knowing who this ghoul is. Well this dude, my friends, can introduce you to some amazing adventures. JAMES ROLLINS is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Judas Strain, Black Order, Map of Bones and other adventure thrillers. If you are looking for some amazing books that keep you on edge and make your mind tick, James Rollins is for you. Click off the t.v. and flip open a book, you might learn something or think about something you didn't before.

Birthing Class?

So at my last appointment my doc gave me a paper that had all the different parenting classes and such that the U offers. I am wondering if this is something I should do, or if it is really not that necessary. They offer: Basic Breastfeeding, HypnoBirthing, Infant Massage, Parenting I and II, Prepared Childbirth Series, Sign 2 me baby sign language, Labor and Birth, Preventing Preterm Labor. Lots to choose from and I dont know if it is really a necessary thing.

Code Yellow

As some may know I work at the U of U hospital. Yesterday was an interesting day. I was scheduled to work from 3 to 11:30, but around 11 I got a phone call from work. It was a girl I work with as a clerk, she asked me how long it would take me to get into work? I was a little confused but assumed they were just slammed with work and needed me, my answer was uuhh.. then she tells me we are in a code yellow. Which means somekind of internal or external disaster. So i ask what type of code yellow, she says we have a bomb threat. Then she tells me we don't need you to report to work now, but if we call back you need to come in asap, park in the ozone (a parking lot we would have to be shuttled in from) and make sure you have your hospital ID and regular ID, and it takes awhile to get in because we are on lock down. But it all worked out in the end, a little before my shift started it was cleared, all I had to do was have my ID and have my bag searched when I arrived. Codes always make the floor a bit crazy, so it was nice that I wasn't scheduled till 3.

Alright Mommies Get Specific

I would like your proffesional mommy opinions on a couple things : best baby bottles to use and why, best pacifiers to use, and best gas drops? There thats its fast and simple.

Doc Appointment

I went to see my doc yesterday for another checkup. My B/P was 132/78, only trace protein in my urine!!!! HUURRRAAAYYYY!!!! It eased my stress a bit and I am glad to say that I get to go back again in a month and not sooner. I got weighed and my doc said that I was doing great and was right on the dot for weight gain every time, so basically I am not getting too fat just the right amount of fat :) she also measured my belly and I am measuring where I should, and the doppler found the heartbeat no problem. So there is a good update for you, one that I am satisfied with.