in honor of the Earth

i'm chowing on my favorite chips:

planting "full-sun" flowers

b/c we all know what kind-of heat is just around the corner,

and introducing cool arizona animals to the kids.

HAPPY EARTH DAY
happy to have it
happy to use it
happy to give back to it.

we're packing it up

the home sold

papers are signed

we're packing it up

we're moving on

not sure where

didn't think i'd cry

then i was released from SS

sad to say bye to our first home

and great neighbors

excited for new adventures...

holiday happenings (part 2B)

the snow was coming down.

the christmas lights had to go up.

our attempt didn't last long

but we had fun while we worked.

after the snow was done falling we played and played.

camille was less enthusiastic about packed snow play than the flakes.

jill got a good meal or two of snow in while we were amongst the mountains.

the polar in express:

after cleaning spilt hot chocolate and

soothing overly-tired babies Mrs. Clause finally made an appearance.

olivia and jill were content for a bit until they remembered who we came for.

camille couldn't take her eyes off the big man in red.

jillian was so excited she was the first child on the way back to grab

the mic from the conductor and sing 'twinkle, twinkle'.

(next-up: jeff's mullet and other redneck activities)

holiday happenings (part 2A)

after Thanksgiving the Taylor girls were itching for a dose of Peterson love, mountain air, and Christmas snow. we got what we wanted:

mom performed some holiday tap numbers at a Christmas party and jill fell in love...



Untitled from Alisha on Vimeo.

later in the week uncle brett entertained the girls the best way he knows how:


Untitled from Alisha on Vimeo.

more to come from our fun in the sun...i mean snow.

coming soon...

what

is

this?

holiday vacation to the Peterson's

holiday happenings of the past (part 1)

wonderful second family

awesome husband hair

princess daughter

blindingly bright shirt

connecting with 1st cousins once-removed

chillin with crazy big dogs

Thanksgiving 2009       

2010

i can't wait for the arial skiing, speed skating, snowboard half-pipe, downhill ski races, and everything else!

my love for the winter olympics started as a very little girl watching figure skating with my mom and sister.

my obsession was enhanced when jon went on a mission to jamacia and my family and i got hooked on the movie Cool Runnings.

i see pride.

i see power.

i see a bad a** mother,

who don't take no crap off nobody!

i will use this mantra as i groom my children to become Olympians

so i can fulfill my dreams through them.

live and let die

 i've been picking up more hours at my old hospital. the one i worked at as a new nurse. the one i learned how to start iv's in any vein including the neck, knuckle, and toe. the one that i saw my first "code" aka dead person we are trying to bring back to life. the one that i saw my first dead baby. she was three months old, the prettiest little hispanic baby you've ever seen. full head of thick dark hair. long black eyelashes. beautiful. dead. we couldn't save her. the mother couldn't bring herself to hold the baby let alone even go into the room. i stayed with the lifeless baby in my arms...i just couldn't leave the tiny body alone in the big dark room. i held her until it was time for her to go the morgue. many experiences i've had at this hospital are imprinted into my mind and spirit never to leave me.

the other day i was at this hospital on my lunch break. (i like to step off the floor and get away for 30 mins to take a deep breath and re-group when i can.) in the cafeteria there is a juke-box. i love juke-boxes. it reminds of the pizza hut in fallon. good memories. anyway, i found and played the song live and let die. great song.

i have quite the commute from work to home. 40 minutes on a good day. my stereo in the car is out. these two factors leave me plenty of time to ponder.

this hospital i've been at lately has an incredibly high level of acuity as i'm sure you've already presumed. it's not uncommon to participate in more than two codes per shift and have three other patients that are close to coding. this particular day that i played the song i had really sick patients.

i guess my point to all this rambling is this: are you prepared to live? are you prepared to die? more, are you prepared to see your loved ones die? are you helping your loved ones live? what extent would you want me to work on saving your life if it came down to it? i have a friend that has told me multiple times to save him at all costs. really, you want to live on a ventilator that breathes for you for the rest of your life?

for the record: if i'm brain dead let me go. if i'm on a vent longer than one month without improvment let me go. if my legs were severed off and i'll never Zumba again save me.

some advice: don't take life for granted. it can be gone in an instant. i see it daily when i'm at work. an instant.

more advice: live and let die. if your grandpa is dying and he is 90 and lived a good life, let him go and don't make a scene. if it's your spouse and he's young and healthy, then you can make a scene while i'm  working on saving his life.

remember: death is a part of this life. live great until it comes then go gracefully.

p.s. excuse the randomness. written after 11 hours of helping heal sicko's at the hospital.
p.s. at some point, hopefully soon, i will post of all our happenings at the end of 2009 and all the fun we've had as of late.

AARGGHH!

the holiday season was brought in with some

scurvy pirates and spooky eyes.

pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating was taken to the max.

halloween might be over but dressing-up never gets old.

a long time ago...

(actually  about a month ago)

in a land far, far away

(really, it was just right here in my humble home in humble queen creek in blazing hot arizona)

queen jillian wanted to celebrate her birthday.

(and since she gets what ever she wants, i thought "okay")

queen jillian invited her royal friends over to recieve the royal treatment.

the princesses got new jewelry
(cheap tiaras and clip-on earrings),
and even got to assesmble their own necklaces out of rare, precious diamonds.

(they made candy necklaces)

the servants then came to pamper the princesses.

(okay, so the servants were the parents and other adults i forced into helping me.)

they all got their fingernails and toenails painted and make-up was applied.

even with all the royal treatment, the princesses were NOT impressesed.

(the girls actually were loving everything, but i had to post this straight-faced picture)

they wanted some action.

in an attempt to liven up the party,

queen jillian brought out the surprise performers...

it was the black-eyed-peas!

(i just played a few of their lastest killer jams from my i-tunes)

after the dance party the princesses needed some refreshment.

so to the royal table they went.

but only princess with tiaras could sit at the royal table.

 the littlest princess-in-training was seated on the floor.

(i actually only have four seats and camille was happy as long as she was close by)

after the food was devoured the party moved outside and queen jill

became the envy of all the land with her new toys.

the royal party was a success!

balloons were launched,

queen jill was attached to her new dora doll,

and they lived happily ever after.

lovin' this

sweet jill is three today.

i am LOVING this age!

she's adventurous.

she's funny.

she's not scared of much.

she'll try to be friends with anything

(snails, butterflies, bees, rocks, people, etc.).

best of all, she's a perfect friend for this un-perfect mother.

i love my jillian.

we didn't vote for the guy,

but jeff couldn't resist:

hopefully he'll be productive.

check back for weekly up-dates.

ch-ch-ch-chi-bama

now that she's almost 18 months

i'll post her 15 month stats:

height: 31.3 inches (76%)

weight: 23.6 lbs (63%)

head: 18.8 in (91%)

when will i see you again?

i miss my peeps a lot.

these are the ones i am most comfortable around.

these are the ones who love me no matter.

these are the ones i wish lived closer.

these are the ones i look up to.

these are the ones i love.

we had a wonderful time re-connecting

in the mountains of colorado.

the quaint town of breckenridge hosted us all for a week.

surrounded by trees and mountains i found my inner peterson.

late-night talks, yoga classes, and alpine slides are

among the best memories from the week.

of-course all of the cousins had a

glorious time with one another...

even if they were unsure at times.

Cousins '09 from Sarisker on Vimeo.

i sure miss my peterson family.