If Lori had a blog...

I have several friends that have not entered the blogging world themselves, but prefer to stay on the outskirts and "stalk" others blogs. Sadly, one particular friend has a severe case of "closet-bloggism". If any of you reading my blog know Lori Lessig Tanner and have a blog of your own...you can be sure she has spent time exploring yours (Sorry Lor, call this an intervention)!

Maybe some of you are feeling invaded right now. Maybe you're wondering what is going on in Lori's life....what are some of her dreams and aspirations? Well, you're in luck. Lori sent me the most entertaining email, not too long ago, entitled "If I had a blog". I thought it would be fun to post it on my blog. Maybe if there are enough comments, we can get Lori to make more regular contributions to the blogging community.

Hey everybody, I hope this email finds everyone well. I am at home today studying for the GRE and it sucks, I take it tomorrow and just want to get my score and get it over with.

So yesterday I was bored and was looking online at everyone from high school's blogs (highly recommend it)...First off everyone has minimum two kids, we all are behind the curve on that one…and everyone is like "my life is so great, look at us I use digital scrapbook and document everyone moment of my child's life." It's like, "Here is Braxton eating his first happy meal." "Here is Emmy doing her times tables and she's is only two."

I am not saying this is bad. Who knows I will probably be just like that. I can see my blog now. This is Catherine with her kindergarten class, you can recognize her because she is the only white kid in the bunch--she is fluent in Spanish and she is only five. Here is me and little Andrew playing in the Santa Monica Park with the homeless dudes. Here is me and my family in front of are spacious two bedroom apartment. We have been here for 10 years and have finally saved enough money for a down payment on a 1.2 million dollar three bedroom one and a half bathroom house. Location is great, literally right next to the 405 on ramp. Mike and I couldn't be happier. AWESOME I know.

I love you Lor! You are you are so amazing and funny. By the way, how did the GRE go? Call me.

Fancy Tickling Things

I know that it has been a long time since the last time I posted, but after checking all the blogs I know exist, I found that I'm not the only one. That made me feel better. The good news is I've started thinking in "blog" again...this means there may be more blogs in the near future.

More good news...My parents are fantastic and gave me a digital camera for graduation! This means I will have pictures to post on the blog. No pics today because I'm at work. I have yet to figure out how to get them from the camera to the computer (I'm sure it's easier than I think). I still forget that I have it though and miss many a good pic.

Other things that tickle my fancy these days include:

• "Flight of the Conchords" --Hilarious duo from New Zealand that write songs. They have a series on HBO. My roommate Jessi bought the DVD for her boyfriend (he conveniently left it at our house) and I have watched nothing else. Definitely YouTube.com worthy!
• Holiday Specs--one of my dearest friends gave these, sort of like 3D glasses, away as party favors at her wedding and they are SPECTACULAR! You put them on and can see a snowflake in every point of light. Lights that work the best: Christmas tree lights, street lights, stoplights, car lights, house lights. I carry them with me where ever I go (for when ever I want a little magical moment). I also use them to pick up on guys..."Hey you want to look through my specs?"
• French accents-- my roommate Michelle and I got to know this Frenchman in our ward a couple of weeks ago. He has a very thick French accent and I can't help but try to repeat everything he says. It's very entertaining! The three of us are going to a French restaurant tonight...The Paris. Jeremy says it's one of the best in town. Exciting...no?!
• The Nordstrom Rack--up until about 3 weeks ago I had only gone to The Rack twice in my life. I have probably gone 4 or 5 times in the last two weeks. I went during their Red Tag Sale and ended up buying many Christmas gifts for others and myself. I've decided to take a much needed break so my pocket book can recover.

It feels really good to be back in the Blogging world and looking forward to the new year! 2008 is gonna be GREAT!

Ode To Lyd and Nat

What can I say? It is almost surreal to be reminded of how well someone really knows you...I am one of the luckiest girls to have, not just one--but TWO, of my best friends in the whole wide world as cousins! Due to the fact that we share the same blood, we have been friends since birth--26 years and counting...


I can quite honestly say that these two fantastic women probably know me better than I know myself. I was reminded of this fact when Natalie, very lovingly, updated my blog for me (i.e. Madonna, that's who). She got all facts straight--from the list of my current activities, to the constant LOL (I really do laugh A LOT), to incorporating "ya'll" into my everyday vocabulary. Weird!

I can always count on Lyd and Nat to give it to me straight. To me, that is a TRUE friend. They are also always there when I need them...Natalie was my wingman one night when I was supposed to meet up with some new boys, even though she was engaged. And Lydia relocated nanny jobs and came all the way to Connecticut to be with me while I was nannying. While in Connecticut, we even made a video together to send to MTV with the hopes of meeting N*SYNC. It was one of the most memorable years of my life.

When my life seems like nothing but a quick succession of busy nothings, they are there to remind me how incredible life is! I can't thank them enough for always making me feel like I'm irreplaceable.

Thanks!

I PITY THE FOO'!

That's right. I think a mischevious, or shall I say prankish, best friend/cousin/roommate thought I would find the face-lift of my blog 1) upsetting or disturbing or 2) SPECTACULAR! Mr. T RULES! I'll be honest, I don't recollect episodes of The A-Team. In fact, my only real memory of Mr. T is one of my dad dressed up as Mr. T for Halloween. It was when we lived in the Yellow House across from the Teeples (that means I was 5). My hugely creative mother even made my dad's skin brown and faked a mohawk. He even wore the ridiculous amount of gold chains. If I had a picture I would post it...alas only a hard copy exists. I truly pity anyone who has never heard of Mr. T!

Madonna, that's who

My name is Shanna and this is my Halloween costume. I feel it is a very good likeness of Madonna, please note the single black lacey glove (fingerless!). LOL. I don't know where I come up with these things, but I do. LOL. I'm very good at it. What I'm not good at is updating my blog. I just feel so much pressure to say something great, because I fear that the happenings of my everyday life are not noteworthy. JK. LOL! But just now, at this very moment, I am realizing that this is not so. I have plenty to say. Just ask me! LOL! I had a date on Saturday night. I was partially responsible for some creatively racey lingerie at a bridal shower on Saturday morning. I had to cook a turkey for my ward's Thanksgiving dinner in between the bridal shower and the date. I was very busy. But because I care, I've taken the time to write this to y'all. I've also recently started incorporating "y'all" into my everyday vocabulary. I feel that it sounds unusually authentic when I say it.

Another stumbling block for my blog and me (that's what I call us ;) LOL) is that sometimes I feel a great deal of pressure to have cool pictures, but now I know this is not necessary either. I have come to realize that I just need to bless the rest of y'all with my regular ramblings, because it breaks my heart to realize that y'all click on my blog every day and are served a heaping portion of disappointment when a post has reached that more-than-a-month-old stage. It's like leftovers in the fridge that were so good at first, but once opened, just too old to enjoy. LOL!

Anyway, I've been cooking up a Shannanigans Stew for y'all, and it's been simmering for a while now. I think it's just about ready to be served. So come back with your appetites. Dinner's almost ready.

Oh yes, and one last thing I've realized - and this is a big one - is that when my cousin Natalie creates a blog for me and makes up my password for me, it is very possible that she will remember that password and take matters into her own hands when my blog gets a little too stale and she has too much time on her hands. But I know it's my own fault for not changing my password initially. That little rascal. Gosh I love her.

POOF!

I just love the way that Heavenly Father makes things happen in our lives! One moment we feel that we're at a dead end; we've done all we can do...and then POOF! He answers our prayers; almost like magic. And in my case, this was a prayer that I had only said in my heart, not even formally on my knees...which makes me feel even more undeserving...

As many of you may know, I officially finished my Bachelor's degree in Radiation Therapy this summer! YAY! And with graduation comes the job hunt. Radiation Therapist jobs are hard to come by in this lovely state--good pay, great hours, no weekends, no holidays, AMAZING patients--honestly, who would want to leave their job? I knew the the job outlook was sparce when I started the program and told myself that I would look out of state then.

When September rolled around I decided it was time to seriously take action, so I looked out of state. I applied for a PRN ("on call") position at a hospital in California and another PRN position at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT (really close to where I used to nanny). I heard back from the hospital in California right away which was very encouraging. The HR lady told me that she had sent my resume on and that I would hear back from someone.

In the mean time....sometime at the beginning of last week.
I'm minding my business, making plans to take a resume to every treatment center in Utah--whether they were hiring or not--introduce myself to the managers so that they could put a name with a face. This particular afternoon, I had stopped by Allison's to see her and the kids, and was disappointed to see they weren't home. I let myself in and decided to wait...thinking to myself, "I really need to call those Cancer Centers today and set up some appointments..." Suddenly, my phone rings. I don't recognize the number. I don't pick up. They leave a message. So, I listen to my messages....POOF!

The message was from the Cheif Therapist at Utah Cancer Specialists, informing me that they are looking for some therapists to add to their PRN pool and would like to know if I would be interested in the position! HOLY COW!

This is where I am jumping up and down, screaming and laughing! I can't wait for Allison to get home! I couldn't believe it! Apparently he knows my old clinical instructor, Daryn, from McKay-Dee and had called him to see if he knew any therapist looking for work. Daryn, being the AWESOME guy that he is, gave him my number.

I had never spoken to Utah Cancer Specialists before; never gone there to observe; didn't know a soul in their department. I had only made plans to call them. That's it!

I am now pleased announce that I am currently the NEWEST PRN employee at UCS! Being PRN is going to help me gain more experience (even if it is only once week) and now I have my foot in the door somewhere--not just anywhere, but in UTAH! I couldn't be more pleased and extremely grateful for the chance. I love Heavenly Father! It is so nice to be reminded how aware he is of every little aspect of our lives. He really does work miracles!


P.S. I have yet to hear from the other two hospitals. Hmm.

The Wisdom of Bill & Ted

Not too long ago I received some most excellent advice from my dear, dear friend, Vanessa. I have found that it can apply to almost every situation in life.

We were having late-night girl talk at her apartment; I was, of course, talking and she was patiently listening to me babble on and on. As you may have already guessed we were discussing dating and the potential prospects in our futures.

When it comes to dating I often find myself speeding ahead so far in my mind, that sometimes I'm already trying to decide whether I want to marry the guy before I even decide whether to go on a date with him. I know, this is a terrible mind set...Elder Oaks even addressed it in his talk entitled, "Dating Versus Hanging Out" If you've never heard it or read it, you should.

(http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=ca5be2270ed6c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1)

As I was splurting out the thorough analysis I had performed on a current dating/hang out dynamic I'm in...Vanessa kindly interrupted me to share this "Pearl of Wisdom" (as I like to call it). The conversation went something like this...

"Shann, this may be sort of a weird analogy, but hear me out....you know 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Bill and Ted try to recruit VanHalen before they even learn how to play the guitar. I think you may be trying to recruit VanHalen before you've learned to play the guitar...?"

Suddenly a light went on! Her simple advice from Bill & Ted's was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment and rang so true that it has stuck with me. In fact, I shared this with one of my roommates (we'll call her Bessi) who analyzes dating relationships almost exactly the same way I do, and Bessi found it just as enlightening. We are constantly reminding ourselves to stop trying to recruit VanHalen. We get so ahead of ourselves that we miss out on enjoying the moment!

I'm so glad that Vanessa knew what wisdom was contained within the cinematic masterpiece that is "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", and passed it on to me. With that...I would like to share one more tidbit from one of the greatest films of our generation...



Bill: Be excellent to each other.

Ted: Party on, dudes!