New Chapter

I guess you could say that last week my graduation became official when I received this lil' piece of paper in the mail. While it's an associate degree--that took me 5-6 years to obtain (mostly due to the fact that I worked a full time job the entire time I was in school, and a couple of degree changes--more to come on that little tid bit)--I felt some sense of accomplishment to finally hold this paper in my hands. I learned a lot in the time it took to get this, not only academically, but also a lot about myself.

As mentioned, I had a few degree changes throughout the time I was in school, that went something similar to this : nursing, psychology, nursing (this time making it clear up to the point that I could apply for the nursing program) and then BAM!, I switched over to Art & Visual Communication w/an emphasis in graphic design. Talk about a major change...between psychology & nursing I could use credits I had already taken, but this switch from healthcare to art left me almost at square one as far as credits go, and while it was something I really wanted to do I was often left frustrated by the fact that so much time, money, and credit hours had been wasted, as what I HAD been doing no longer could count towards what I was NOW wanting to do.

But as I said...I learned a lot about myself in this process.

1. Never settle for anything less than what makes you happy.
I always, always, wanted to be a nurse. From the time I was probably in middle school I was sure that was what I wanted to do in life. I loved health classes and learning about the body, and was for sure that would become my academic endeavors once I graduated highschool. Eventually, as I began filling out paperwork for my application into the nursing program, I realized that this really WASN'T what I wanted to do. I wasn't sure why, I just knew it wasn't going to be something I would enjoy like I had always thought I would--so I dipped my feet into different areas of life and found something that really struck a chord with me---designing.

2. Just because your dreams, and what you perceive to be your strong skills, do not seem to coincide, don't give up. You may just surprise yourself.
Um...art was never my strong point. Seriously, I absolutely hated art classes in highschool (although I had a few decent projects manifest themselves). I was never confident in my artist abilities and dreaded having to share them/present them to others. It was not my thing. I am not a great drawer either, in fact....I would dare say that I have little to no drawing ability in these hands and fingers of mine. Thats why my switch to an art major surprised even myself. I have always felt I had some creativity, but being able to reproduce the ideas I had was never a strong point...until I actually tried. My projects in my college classes came to me, for the most part, a lot easier than I thought they would, and I began to surprise even myself. I had ability that I never knew I had. I'm still not an "artist" in terms of drawing and painting, but I can do it well enough to explore ideas and creativity, and then jump on the computer to fine tune them and make them look less of a 2nd grader level. Who knew?!

3. Dreams can change, and when they do, change your path and chase them! Even though it may not ideal at the time, you will be a lot happier in the end
This kind of coincides with #1. Changing my degree from healthcare to art, at the point in time that I did, was NOT ideal. In fact, it was probably one of the worst things I could have done as far as time & money was concerned. But as far as happiness goes, it was the best thing I have done. I have now found something that I enjoy doing. I have found my passion & a way to express myself that I feel I never would have found had I continued on the path to a nursing degree.

So, here's to another chapter in my life! I am excited to see what it has in store and what I can make of it!

Goodbye 2010

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone, and while it's cliche, it is so incredibly true this year. 2010 had been good to us and I was a little sad to see it go! We were able to venture to Moab 2-3 times thru the spring and summer, spend time backpacking in the Uintahs, paid of our car, brought a new puppy and pal into our lives, were blessed with good health, I graduated from UVU, and we were able to spend lots of time with our families. (I'm sure there are many other things I could add to this list). With that being said, I am very excited to see what 2011 has to offer and hope that it could only get better!

Christmas Eve was spent with a trip to Providence to visit the Dixon clan. We loaded up the Dixon Family Fun Bus (dogs included--we are also babysitting Matt's dog Bobo while he has been in Brazil for his wedding). We really had a good time up there with the family and spent our time chatting, watching old family home videos (I always love that!) and chowing down on good ol' comfort food.

Christmas Day we headed down to Santaquin for my mom's yearly tradition of Christmas brunch. Yummy as always! We spent time, again, catching up with family and visiting the grandparents.

New Year's Eve followed with my parents over for games at the house and of course, food! (Really....aside from the TRUE meanings--isn't "food" what the holidays are about?) New Year's Day we were able to spend time with family at the Dixon family Christmas party, followed by the Hill family party later that evening.

The past few weeks have been super busy, but a lot of fun. What a blessing it is to have your life filled with such great people to call family!

Here are some pics from our last two weeks, wrapping up 2010.

Charlie's reaction when we told him Santa was coming that evening:

Me & Charlie on our way to Providence....this picture brought to reality the fact that Chuck and I sport the same hair color.

Charlie's new favorite way to sit while ridding in the car.
Pondering life's meaning while gazing out the window..
Charlie got to help Brad work on the truck


The traditional family photo in front of the Christmas tree.... ours this year was uh....interesting. Fearing Charlie would tip the tree over in attempts to retrieve ornaments off of it, I opted to only put lights on it this year...and not very well at that! While it took Charlie by surprise that we had brought a tree inside the house, he quickly took a new liking to plucking all of the pine needles from the lower half of the tree, scattering them across the floor and munching on them. Taking the tree down this year could not come fast enough, and that sucker was gone by Christmas evening at 6pm!!

Chronicling Charlie

This "puppy" of ours is hilarious. (And I use "puppy" loosely, he is a 5 month old puppy trapped in a 40lb, large pawed-big nosed-body. We often forget how young he is because of his giantness. I may have made that word up...)

It's so fun to see Charlie's HUGE personality starting to come out as he gets older. Charlie is now almost 5 months old and is incredibly smart, and super goofy. He's always making us laugh--- which is good, cause after some of the stuff he's pulled (most recently : constantly "trimming" our Christmas tree for us when our backs are turned---and I'm not talking about with ornaments or decor, and spilling a 32 oz Pepsi and frantically licking up the puddle before he got caught) we definitely deserve some sort of "payment".

So, have you ever wondered what it's like to be an Airedale (who are notorious for having one of the biggest sense of humor among other breeds), let alone having one live in your house? See the chronicles of Charlie below:

The difference 3 months makes (referring to Charlie's growth, not the fact that Brad may or may not have laid in that position for 3 months straight ;0) :


Lets start with a little anatomy, Charlie-style of course--
Charlie can often be found looking just like this....when he's not looking for trouble of course. It's kind of awkward looking and makes me giggle.



Fashion--
We're not sure why he does this, but I'm pretty sure it's a "Charlie thing". Whenever he is playing or out for walks you can often find his right ear "combed-over" the top of his head. We've also seen him have both ears folded up onto of his head once or twice before, but I've not been able to get it caught on camera.


Sleeping habits--
(he is ALWAYS laying in some variation of this while in his kennel sleeping, and he's pretty much done this since we first brought him home)



The details (at 5 months old)---
Keep in mind the paw is in comparison to BRAD'S hand

Happy Holidays!

I had a lot of fun designing our Christmas card this year, in fact I started it and had it completed even before Thanksgiving. I get so excited about these types of things...can ya tell? I of course love designing, but on top of that I love the idea of actually MAILING something to my friends and family, it's such a lost form of communication and if holiday cards give me the excuse to do something like that I get all the more excited.

I choose to go a little more modern/less traditional this year and I really ended up liking how it turned out. I thought the colors were fun, the design clean, and the wording fun & different. I realize you will most likely classify us under "those types of people who put their dogs on their Christmas cards", and that's just fine, we can handle it :0) And as if that's not bad enough...Charlie got his very own Christmas stocking, that is hung with care next to ours, in hopes that Santa will fill it with Puperoni's, cookies, and chewie toys. I bet you have a new category for us now, don't you....?

Happy holidays!

Amidst the Choas of Everyday Life, We Are Alive

Seems like my posts are getting far and fewer inbetween in recent months...not sure why that is other than it seems like the time is going by quicker and quicker each week. It's insane. Have no fear though, we are alive!

A little break down of what's been happening, nothing out of this world, it's sure managed to take over our time lately:

Charlie: Growing like a weed. Really. We're talking a weight gain of 2-3lbs per week. (I need to get some pics up) He loves playing with Lucy and knows her by name. He also gets super exicted for rides in the car, and then sleeps the whole time. He has had diarrhea (TMI, sorry. But it's never really gone away since he was first sick as a really little puppy) and so he's been in out and of the vet office quiet often since last post, poor little guy. We tease that he's a drug seeker. Again, poor guy. :0) But he's still a very happy and active puppy and he's starting to find his place in our little family. He loves to stand up to the back of the couch and look at the front window, especially when either Brad and I are coming or going.

Erica: Working, school, cleaning, dishes, laundry, repeat. Seriously, repeat. I don't know whats going on but these things have slowly consumed any free time I may have ever had. Granted, I have been doing some design stuff in between for various people/events and have anxiously been working on our Christmas card. (Soon to come to your mailbox!) I am getting excited to graduate the middle of December and should be, and will be (hopefully soon before I start panicking) working on my design portfolio for graduation & anticipate that will keep me busy for a while. I am really looking forward to the little bit of free-time graduating will make for me as I really want to focus on building up Purple Paisely Designs and getting some creative juices flowing!

Brad: Work, school and homework keeps this poor kid tied up pretty tight. He's doing really well in his classes (he never gives himself enough credit) and has a full schedule ahead of him already next semester. When he's not incredibly busy with homework, which is a rarity it seems these days, he has really gotten into reloading lately and sometimes I find him doing his "homework" in the reloading room he has set up downstairs.....not quiet sure when reloading bullets became a core requirement for a degree in Computer Science....I must've missed that concept somewhere along the way. But hey, everyone needs a break and he deserves it most of the time, so I'll cut him some slack.

That about sums up whats been going on in our lives recently, minus photos of course...seems to have become a commonality in recent months, but I am hoping to post some within the next week from our holiday festivities. We have some fun things planned in the next few weeks:

1. Thanksgiving at my parents house this year
2. A trip to Blanding to visit my aunt, uncle & cousins Thanksgiving weekend (be it that Charlie's feeling better). We're skipping Black Friday and heading away from the craziness!
3. A Dixon family Christmas/December Birthday party the first week of Decemeber
4. My dad's bday party
5. A few other family Christmas parties
6. Christmas shopping

Ah yes....the holidays. I love the feeling in the air, the time spent with family, and better remembering what it is in life that matters most.

Photo Update

Um...yes, I am one of those weirdos who post pics of their animals as if they were their child, but I've really wanted to "journal" Charlie's growth so that one day when he is full grown and 70lbs we can remember what a little tike he once was. My ability to do this has been poor, at best--I guess I'm a bad puppy mama ;0) -- but here are some pics of Charlie over the past 2-3 weeks at which times he was 8,9,10 weeks old. (Pardon the sideways photos, I'm not quiet sure whats goin on there). Isn't he a cutie?

Recent Happenings

We have had a lot going on since last post, and it seems I just haven't been able to find the time to post. As imagined, our lives have been super busy since bringing Charlie into our home. Super busy to say the least. The poor lil guy was really sick the first week we had him home and after numerous tests, xrays, and IV meds the culprit was thought to be a really bad case of gastroenteritis. After a night on IV/meds at the pet hospital, we were really glad to have him back. You never would've known he was on his death bed (when we took him to the hospital the vet told us that he about about a 40% chance of surviving in the state he was in) and he's been going, going, going ever since. He is getting really big and is incredibly smart and independent. He is now almost 10 weeks old and has been sitting and shaking on command since 2 weeks ago and is now working on perfecting the "lay down" command. He also has a sense of humor and "yells back" by barking at us when we are trying to discipline him and tell him "no" when he's being naughty. It's hard not to laugh while reprimanding him when his cute face is accompanied by his own little attitude.

In September we also welcomed a new niece into the family, Ava. She is Jen and Nate's daughter and is a cutie with auburn red hair. We enjoyed a trip to see her a few days after she was born.

October snuck up on us from out of nowhere. My cousin Hailey was married on the 2nd and I had the opportunity to design her wedding invitation as well as make and decorate cupcakes to use for her centerpieces, they were the cupcake topiaries (frosted in her wedding colors) that I did for Mother's Day last May, seen here. Both the invite and the centerpieces turned out really cute and I had a lot of fun helping out especially since it's the type of thing I dream of doing some day on my own.

Another big happening in October, thus far, was the celebration of our 2nd wedding anniversary. This year we decided to celebrate by sticking around the area, and we really had a great time. It just goes to show that you don't always need something big and extravagant, sometimes the little things really are the best. We enjoyed a breakfast out together like we used to some weekends when we were first married, took a ride around the Alpine Loop to see the colors starting to change, went to the theater to see Inception (great movie by the way) and then hit up Texas Roadhouse for dinner and home for some lounging together on the couch. We both has a lot of fun, and it was really nice for us as Brad has been so busy with his school work lately that we've hardly had much time to spend together. By the time Monday rolled around we were both wishing we could re-live the weekend. There is nothing better than being able to spend some simple and much needed time with your best friend, and I am realizing how often I take that time for granted.

So, that's been what we've been up to since last post, as always along with the daily demands of work and school. And it's not over yet! We have a lot in store for the rest of the month as we will be celebrating numerous family members' birthdays (October is jam packed with birthdays for us between the two families), my parent's big 25th wedding anniversary on the 12th, fall break (long awaited and well deserved), and somewhere in between all of those I will be working on Ava's baby announcement (which I'm really excited for), as well as designing some pages to go in a book for my friend's vinyl business. Phew! I think that about covers it. Hopefully I can better keep up on blogging over the next little while and cut down on these ginormous posts!

(I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to post some really cute pics and a video of Charlie :0)