My Perfect Brother...

i was just watching some random videos of my brother, mckay.  he makes me so happy. he came home last weekend for thanksgiving and when we dropped him back off at the denver airport so that he could go back to utah, i missed him the second he stepped out of the car.  there is never a dull moment when he is around. ever.


 just some random things about him:


~he is a clean freak. his hands are sterile. he washes them 50 times a day. he doesn't do stinky and
dirty.
 ~ when he finally relaxes (which is only occasionally because he is an exceptional student and
musician) he LOVES to watch movies.
~he is passionate about all kinds of things....from politics, to the stupid things about byu and byu housing, to how our family is going to have a family cemetery in the "Harline Family Compound" that he is building for us someday with all the money he makes off of his many many businesses (including his future airline, cruise line, best-selling novel, etc.)
~ he, like the rest of our family, is a diet coke addict.  mom's fault.
~he really LOVES to complain about utah,  especially provo drivers...stupid
"u-TARDS!"
~ he is hysterical.
~ he is SO talented and accomplished beyond belief.  i walk comfortably in his big shadow.
~he has, on more than one occasion, left me a letter by my bedroom door when i needed it. i STILL read them and will cherish those letters forever.
~he is a great example. he has strong values and standards and has set the bar high when it comes choosing the kind of a guy i want to marry someday.


so heres my favorite brother...

i love him SO MUCH!!

      

 

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME

Ok so I thought I was pretty awesome today because I FINALLY got a nursing job!!

But then I watched this...

...yeah, there are some awesome people in this world!

As of late, I have felt reasons to CELEBRATE:

Here's to seeing the most glorious word: “PASS”—yes!  I never knew that word could actually make me cry.

And Here's To:

Brown rice for breakfast

Hawaiian beaches, malasadas, books, and juvenile delinquency with my mom and dad J

The very short shorts that the cross-country skater man in our neighborhood wears during his daily workout.  Yeah,  I wouldn't even think to take a picture of that!

My sister that makes me laugh many times a day.

Going to the gym almost everyday

…followed by my reward and main motivation.  A 32-oz Diet Coke.

Spaceship footies and T-shirts for bed.

Indulging in homemade soup and hot rolls, pot roast and potatoes.   AND cookies 'n cream pizookies.  Those are a new fav.

Working at White House Black Market.

My most faithful cuddler, Lexi.

           

Watching scary movies with my mom and sister that scare us so much that sleeping alone is out of the question.

My mom’s most reliable words, “Do you have something for your lips?”

My dad’s even more reliable words , “how are you going to pay me back for that?” 

My “seasonal" love affair with Justin.  Although you might have let Jessica Biel down, you have always come through for me this time of year.  Bleached locks...now that's what I'm talking 'bout!!





P.S. Something even better than Justin...Being sung to (most excellently) in my ear :)

Motivational words of encouragement.

            “I speak to you this morning not only about a little more effort, a little more self-discipline, a little more consecrated effort in the direction of excellence in your studies.  I speak of it also in terms of your lives.

            This is the great day of preparation for each of you.  It is the time of beginning for something that will go on as long as you live.  I plead with you: Don’t be a scrub! Rise to the high ground of excellence.  You can do it.  You may not be a genius.  You may be lacking in some skills.  But you can do better than you are doing.

            Be excellent in every way.”  Gordon B. Hinckley

            And Here’s To the next brave new steps that I’m about to take  ;)

Love...

"love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only what you are expecting to give - which is everything. what you will receive in return varies. but it really has no connection with what you give. you give because you love and cannot help giving."

 -katherine hepburn

"Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two."
-Louis de Bernieres

My Utah adventure

I graduated! That's right...I am officially a nursing school graduate.
And to celebrate I went out to Utah this week to look for potential jobs.
However, after a day of searching, I discovered that this...


ended up being the most effective way to find them.
No trip was needed in the end.


BUT it wasn't a completely worthless trip...I ended up spending time with friends, making a hot tub out of a tree planter, staying at Starbucks until 12:30 AM, meeting new people, and eating a pizookie at the cutest little dessert place ever.


I also got to see the beginning effects of fall on the ride while listening to my true love, Jesse McCartney...





..oh Colorado. How I will miss you!

Life: it goes on

its here….yep, my big tests (kill me now) and then, end of school…fini!!  i don’t know how to feel yet, ask me after tuesday. one thing that i can definitely say is i’m sooooo scared about what/where i’m to be after school ends….

“in three words i can sum up everything I’ve learned about life:  

 it goes on” 

~~robert frost~~

indeed, it will go on and I need to figure it out.


i’ve been thinking about the last year and a half and i’m flooded with memories, both good and the bad.  this experience has stretched me in ways i could never have imagined.  i have had some incredibly tough challenges, but i also have grown in ways that i don’t think i could have if i hadn’t come back home and gone to nursing school and been with the people i was with. thinking about all of it, i’m trying to have a clear perspective on how to move forward, what i have learned, and what i need to change.


a few of the positives and not so positives…..
~long car drives, sometimes half asleep, and one car accident during the winter.  this is when i learned the word “panic attack”
~there are some really bad teachers… the greatest and most inspiring people in the world should be in the profession because they make ALL the difference!  there are a couple of good ones but are NOT enough of them.
~there are really mean (fully-grown) adults.  people need to magnify themselves at the expense of others and other’s feelings.  its sad.

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others. 

For beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness. 

And for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

- - Audrey Hepburn - -

~i know i care.  as insecure and frustrated as i have been at times, i know that there is one thing i can offer that will help me in my profession. its not hard for me to love…i  feel when i see patients in pain, patients that are trying to keep their dignity,  patients that are treated rude and with disrespect.  it only takes really small, simple things to make a big difference..
~i understand pain.  kidney stones.
~i understand happiness…and heartache.  there was a boy.  where is the disconnect button?
~my home in the forest is an amazing refuge.
~my family’s support is unwavering and unfailing.
~my own voice.  i needed one and i know what it sounds like now. 
~the Lord knows me best.  i should trust Him.  i need the spirit in my life all the time. but i have to pay the price to have the spirit with me. its worthwhile work....i need to remember that.


...so here i go!

Book affair

i have been reading this book...

and i believe i have begun a love affair with books just like the main character, Liesel.

allow me to explain the signs of this affair....

numero uno:

yesterday i was in walmart with my mom and sister buying groceries, make-up, all that jazz.

when we were making our way up to the counter to pay, i stopped by the book section.

you heard me...i STOPPED and LOOKED at the books.  it was spectacular.  

numero dos:

it gets even better...i actually picked out two books that i plan to purchase once i am done reading this book and the last two books of the Hunger Games series.

numero tres:

i look forward to reading...all day, everyday.  and i never want to stop once i have started.

i never thought this would happen.  but i'm glad it did. 

now i just feel like i have been missing out on too much.

does anyone have any favorite books to recommend?

i have some serious catching up to do...

Marry me

i have been going to many wedding receptions as of late, and while so many of my friends have been getting married, i have been telling EVERYONE that i’m embracing singlehood for the moment….but this past weekend i got the wind knocked out of me.

i can’t stop thinking about it.

i went to this beautiful place for my cousins wedding.

the portland temple is gorgeous; the setting was serene, peaceful, simply incredible. in short, it was a beautiful day~beautiful bride, handsome groom, wonderful & fun family, and sensational food.

everything that i can hope for someday.

there was a dance “party” at the end of the reception that night.

i have some cousins that can dance!

most memorable moment:

jessica (the bride) dancing her tail off with all the girl cousins

and michael (the groom) watching her.

i watched him watch her.

it was the way he looked at her, almost bashfully and out of the corner of his eye, but definitely saying,

“i’m the luckiest guy in the world…”

moral of the story: i want that.

no, I CRAVE that.

for whatever reason it hit me that night that i am too excited to get married...just maybe

p.s.  today i officially decided that this song will be playing for my husband's and my first dance...

Becoming a palace

"Imagine yourself as a living house... 

 God comes in to rebuild that house.

 At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing.

 He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

 But presently, He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. 

What on earth is He up to? 

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. 

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage:

 but He is building a palace.'  

C.S. Lewis

Do you see this??

Do you know what this is??

That is right my friends...it is a Colorado Springs Police Courtesy Warning.

Today will go down in history as the day that Jordan Harline FINALLY got out of a speeding ticket.  

After two attempts to get out of speeding tickets in the past (in one I even hyperventilated...yeah that didn't go over too well) 

I finally tried a new approach and...

voila! I ended up with a warning...going 18 over...in a school zone 

It's going to be a lucky month...

In 13 days

In 13 days from today, I will be sitting down to take the second most important test

 (the first most important being the NCLEX)

 of my whole schooling career.

ATI predictor test....BRING IT ON!!!

I did the math...

and I found out that I only have 26 more hours of driving to and from school...ever.
and although I get sick of my rear falling asleep on the drive everyday, 
I think I might miss the time alone to think about anything and everything. 


but this week I realized that in 30 days from today, 
it will be time for me to not plan my future life anymore but actually live it.  
and for the first time I feel so calm and confident with 
where I am and where I am about to go in life, 
even though I am still clueless as to where to I should move 
and where I can find a job.  
I'm determined to embrace what's in store for me next...


because I know this next chapter of my life will be the best one yet!

Walking with Grandpa Christensen

One of the most inspiring people in my life is my grandpa.  Today we took a walk in the forest and  sat and talked for a long time at the park.  Our conversations empower me.  He makes me want to become better and do incredible things with my life.  Today one of our conversations was related to an excerpt from a photo-copied page my grandpa gave to me...


"For some, it is all too easy to become fanatical; some feel that they should be on their knees praying all the time when instead they should be out working, having prayed already and continuing to pray in their hearts.  Some people expect the Lord to do all the work and reveal things to them that they haven't bothered to study out in their minds beforehand....Others may be paralyzed into inaction, waiting for an answer from the heavens, when in actuality the Lord may be requiring them to move ahead, proceeding the best way they know how, before he will confirm their course."


This reminded me of a quote I love that I read recently by Pres. Uchtdorf: "When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer- no matter how eloquent the oration."


Thanks Grandpa for your wonderful insight and inspiration.  I love you!

Last week I experienced something wonderful...

As I was doing my routine medication administration, my patient called out for her husband.  As I was about to give her the shot, her husband, who is 90+ years old, slowly made his way over to the bedside and grabbed her hand (he has been living at the hospital with her and spends every waking moment at her side). She looked up at him and said, "I think I need about 5 kisses right now."  He smiled and leaned over the bed rail and kissed her several times...

"I gave you 10."

At that moment I promised myself that I would find that- I would find a man who will love me with a love that is unbreakable and grows everyday, even when we are 90 years old.  I have seen it, and I know I will find it.  And I will never settle for anything less.

And when I need 5 kisses, I know without a doubt that he will give me 10.

Advice from Elder Busche

This was just what I needed today...and everyday

Cutest thing ever!!

...who cares that he doesn't even know the words
His itchy nose solidified my conclusion that he is the cutest kid ever!

The past few weeks...

I saw a delivery for the first time

I saw a C-section

I held sick babies and cried

I decided that I am going to be a labor and delivery nurse

I experienced the love parents have for their newborns 
I started my first IV!!!

I went to a Jack's mannequin concert with my beautiful cousin and my new friends

I saw old and dear friends in Utah

I spent time with people who mean a lot to me

I spent Valentine's Day in a hotel room...all alone

I fell in love all over again

I realized that I am more grown up than I thought I was

But more importantly...

I decided that I'm ready to grow up