Girls Night Out aka G.N.O

Before I say anything let me say this... don't judge me! I'm not a fanatic.

Oh man, so last night I had my first ever girls night out as a married woman in CO.

It was quite an experience.

Some girls from my ward called me earlier this week and invited me to go see... you guessed it... New Moon with them friday night. And... I totally went! hahah. since Aaron and I are in the primary we don't have any opportunities to make friends with anyone other than the 3-4 year olds. I love those sunbeams, don't get me wrong, but I really hate the fact that I still don't know anyone's name in the ward after five months of being in the primary. sigh. So anyway, when I got called I was excited to actually get to know some of the younger married women in the ward.

Let me describe my friday night.

I got picked up around 5:10pm by A. Morby along with a few other girls. after a few introductions and giggles they showed my what I was to wear for the rest of the evening, apparently they all got dressed up for the last movie "twilight". I was definitely surprised that they had been thoughtful enough to bring me an extra shirt so I could match the group, even if it was SUPER cheesy.

What the heck! it was girls night.. so I went crazy. I knew Aaron would get a kick out of it too. when I showed him he told me that that kind of stuff wasn't allowed in the house. haha!

anyway, first we went to dinner at a restaurant called Rock Bottom, not bad. Our group was huge so they but us in two separate tables = pretty lame but OH WELL! One of the girls had made little new moon gift bags. That was way cool of her. She had also brought a New Moon trivia quiz with prizes for whomever guessed the answer correctly. I won a new moon candle shaped as a heart for guessing who said the line " I never imagined it would be so easy to do! I thought it would be next to impossible- that you would be so sure of the truth that I would have to lie through my teeth for hours.." which book it was in and where int he book it was. This quote was toooooo easy. I'm not going to give away the answer because I know that those who really read the books will know.


The movie itself was surprisingly better than the first in my opinion. There were fewer parts that made me laugh out loud that really weren't meant to be laughed at than there were in Twilight. - like Edward running up the hill, like Bella's bumbling-stuttery speech, like Jasper's constipated facial expressions... the list goes on. I set my standards REAALLY low for movies like this so that I come out more pleased than I expected. It works. The atmosphere helped too. It was hilarious to hear girls scream whenever Jacob took off his shirt. oh girls.... I am so not like you, but you do make me laugh. I'm glad Aaron wasn't there, nor do I ever plan on watching any of those movies ever when he is around because I know what his reaction to it would be. This morning he told me that the Twilight books were to many girls what bikini editions of sports illustrated were to some guys. The way girls lust over the relationship aspect of the characters = how boys lust after bodies? I can see his point... but I really hate comparing the books to something so base.

Anyway, the point of this post was NOT to critique the movie or the books, because I could write a novel on that myself about all the flaws and awkwardnesses of the film. The point is, I had fun, and I'm really glad I went because there are some cool people in my ward and I'm grateful that they thought to invite me. (I really really missed Aaron though) by the time I got home he was already in bed. So instead of talking his ears off I settled for cuddling. :) He is way more real, interesting, easy to love, funny, intelligent, and perfect for me than any fictional character could ever be. So suck it Edward and Jacob!! hahaha

Anyway, if you want to know my real opinion about the books just ask me.

blogness

TOO MUCH TO UPDATE!!!!

So, it's been what? almost an entire year since I've written anything? What can I say... I've been busy? yeah well... okay, i'll repent.

Just so you know, my life is AWESOME!! No, like seriously better than it has ever been. Seriously. I'm married to the most terrific man in the world and have been on my honeymoon for five months now. (almost five) I love being married to my best friend, cause everyday feels like a party.
Marriage is totally and completely unlike anything I expected when I was younger. It's a lot more difficult, and a lot BETTER than I could have imagined. Getting used to being married is pretty much the most natural process in the world when you are married to the right person. Everything about it is so utterly right... I don't know how to explain it in any other way. However, every once in a while something will come up that will just surprise you. For instance, I strongly dislike any and all bugs. I know Aaron knew this while we were dating because... that wasn't something I was able or really cared to hide from him, but I don't think he realized the extent to which I don't like them until we were married. The first time he really discovered how much I really hate bugs happened one night after an FHE activity, I was following him in my car back to another party. On the way we stopped at a gas station, which was no biggie until this big ol' grass hopper decides to take a ride on my windshield. Of course I didn't like this. I tried all sorts of things to get it off. When speeding up didn't work, I decided the best course was to get turn on my windshield wipers. Ugh... that totally failed because that big ugly thing just decided to take refuge in the divit between my windshield and the hood of the car, with his hideous legs wrapped tightly around the wipers that I had just tried to wipe him off with!!
THE NERVE! He hung on all the way to my destination. I was revolted by having to look at such an ugly creature that whole trip. I mean... how dare it get on MY car?! hahah. Anyway, during this whole event I had called Aaron and told him about the little critter hanging onto my car for his dear life, all the while complaining about how gross it was and how much I disliked it and just wanted it off my car. Aaron couldn't believe I could have such a pansy-ish attitude about bugs. He probably expected that to change before we got married but... it didn't. Colorado has more spiders than dirt, and I don't like either of those things. Spiders aren't the worst things out there, but I still refuse to deal with them. they are GROSS! I should clarify that I am not afraid of spiders, but rather disgusted by them. Like, I get more of a vomiting reaction to insects than a RUN AWAY! reaction. really. Would you like it if you had a piece of soggy-dog-ransacked-trash-left-out-to-cook-in-a-plastic-bag-in-the-arizona-sun-for-weeks? If you are normal, then you would answer "no". Well for me, insects are like pieces of soggy-dog-ransacked-trash-left-out-to-cook-in-a-plastic-bag-in-the-arizona-sun-for-weeks- aka: I'd rather not be anywhere near it. Don't think Aaron just takes over the duty of exterminating undesirable critters though. I don't think he has much sympathy for my aversion to bugs because he still makes me kill them if I want them out of my life. sigh... Kara, where are you when I need you? hahaha!

Anyway, I know this whole topic is entirely ridiculous, but hey... I'm just a little ridiculous okay?
In other news, I have been going to CU boulder and will graduate this fall (if i pass all my classes) from ASU!!!! I'm so excited! Aaron and I are flying down for graduation so we'll get to see our Arizona friends and family again. Happy thoughts.

OH yeah, Aaron got a job!!!! He is officially Dr. Aaron Mortensen. I'm so dang proud of him and super grateful for his diligence. It took a long time to find but now he has the perfect (well as perfect as we could hope for ;) ) job where he gets to help lots of people in need and has really stellar partners who are friends and tutors to him. I'm so so so so so so so so SO grateful for the blessings that my father in heaven has provided us with. Every time something falls apart, we find that it only fell apart because we were blindly pursuing a dead end.

Anyway, the only thing i have left to say is, Aaron is hot. haha!

oh and GO SUNDEVILS!!!

So THIS is pain...

Hey all! I know it has been ages since I last blogged so let me update you on my life. Last week I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to get a tonsillectomy!!!!!!!

Okay okay, let me start from the beginning. When I was about eleven I started getting these things in the back of my throat called tonsil stones that I would have to clear out. I remember going to the doctor at a routine check up and asking him what they were and if I should be concerned. He didn't really tell me much, only that it was nothing to worry about and that they would probably go away as I got older.
BUT THEY DIDN'T!
In fact they only got worse. Eventually it got to the point where I was cursing the existence of my tonsils on a daily basis and a visit to the Otolaryngologist (ENT) was due. I had an AWESOME doctor who told me that I could get a tonsillectomy to treat my case, but it was ultimately up to me. He described the surgery as someone taking a scalpel and creating two parallel lesions, and then proceeding to rub those lesions every 20-30 seconds. Pain... lots of pain.
Well, I did it anyway. We scheduled the surgery for the following monday and he gave me a list of instructions to follow.

Boy oh boy.... what an experience.
That Monday I woke up too early for life and left with my dear mother for the Surgery Center. Honestly the only things I remember are waiting for the doc, getting hooked up to an IV (still have a bruise from that btw), being rolled on a bed into a room with one of those raunchy gowns (ugh! I HATE those hospital gowns), anesthesiologist-check!, Dr. Yin -Check!, touchy nurses-Check check! dull burn in arm and.....

out cold.

Next thing I knew I was in a completely different bed and had oxygen blowing at my face. I didn't really understand that I was supposed to breathe that stuff in for a while. It was just irritating at first hahah. Fortunately there was a nurse by my side waiting for me to wake up. She made sure I kept it on my face until I was good and aware (thanks foe doing your job lady!). As soon as she saw me come to she asked me what my level of pain was. All I couldn't think about was how much my tongue hurt. It hurt so bad!!! And that dang IV in my hand. That hurt too. It wasn't too bad because I was soon outta that place and on my way home.
Side note- I don't know what I was on drug wise, but what ever it was it made me super friendly. I kept thanking the nurses over and over. It seems a little out of place now, but I was so genuinely grateful for their help I guess I didn't notice how weird I sounded. hahahaha oh well

The aftermath of the surgery is by far the worst. I didn't really know how bad the pain was for the first couple of days due to some extremely effective drugs. (I hate you oxycodone).
This whole thing put me in bed for a straight week. I have never, ever been an invalid for that long. It was so hard to sit there!
Thanks to lots of absolutely amazing friends my healing process was bearable. Thye brought smoothies, popsicles, icecream, and smiles. Can't begin to explain how grateful I am for those wonderful people!! I heart you guys.

anyway, I know everyone is dying to see a picture of the aftermath so here it is!!!!

Day six of the mother of all sore throats. SOOOOO HURTY!

today is day 11 of an estimated 14 day recovery period. I am very anxious for post day 14. when I can finally swollow again I'm totally eating a nice fatty burger. In-N-Out anyone?

dB SPL

The other week I was trying to explain to a friend what the purpose of dB SPL was. I was embarrassed when I couldn't. Now normally this wouldn't really bother me, but the fact that my major delves heavily into this stuff and I have studied and thought I had an understanding of it, made me very aware of how much work I've got ahead of me. I couldn't even remember what SPL stood for. YIKES!!!!!

Let me take this moment to redeem myself.

The human ear is incredible. The amplitude levels (often associated with intensity) which we are sensitive to = massive. If anyone knows anything about physics and units I'll toss this number at you- in normal mediums (air and similar gases) the softest sound the human ear can pick up is about 20 micropascals (μPa) = 2×10⁻⁵ Pa, or for example, a mosquito flying three meters away, and the loudest sound pressure being above a million. Because of the vast ratio of sound pressures, we need to bring this down into a level of measurement that we can work in. That's where logs come in. They help break down these huge quantities we have into manageable and understandable numbers. Decibels are logarithmic, thus allowing us to see changes and patterns in huge quantities.
For instance: the log of a million is 6 (the cheaters way to figure this out is count the zeros) similarly, the log of a trillion is 12, aka a difference of 120 dB.

So why the SPL tagged at the end of our dreaded decibel?
Merely because decibels are relative to an implied reference level. They are a "dimensionless unit" comparing two quantities. So, telling you something is 60 dB doesn't really tell you much until I give you a reference.
I'm talking about acoustics, so in this case the reference is the softest Sound Pressure Level (SPL) that can be heard by humans on average. (That was the 20 micropascals (μPa) = 2×10⁻⁵ Pa I was talking about earlier) That value becomes 0 dB SPL
Now, because this is an average, it is possible that someone can hear below 0 dB SPL (which I think is cool!)

Okay, so I have absolutely no idea if that made sense at all. I'll admit I don't know everything about it, but hey! That's why I'm in school in the first place. Not only that but it goes into so much more detail that I just don't want to go into as this is bound to bore the crap out of everyone else. Sorry!
I know it sounds dumb, but I'm glad I wasn't able to explain this to my friend. It made me reevaluate the way I have been studying for my classes. Really I need to be learning this stuff, not to pass a test and forget about it, but to be able to use and teach it at some point. I'm sad that I lost sight of this for a bit because I do so much better in my classes when I remember that I love this stuff hahah!
No... I really do.

Cool facts:
The greatest sound pressure we can hear without immediate hearing loss is about 120 dB SPL (short exposure), but sustained periods of 80 dB SPL environments will damage your hearing

oh and if someone wants to correct me or add to this I would be grateful. If I have something wrong then teach me :)

okay, bed time

Innocent until proven guilty.

I have a few words to say concerning the topic of my dear friend Travis Alexander. I've held out thus far on talking about him as the act of reviving and recording memories is both a joyful and painful experience. Many of my friends have bravely expressed their feelings about Travis which I appreciate immensely. To them, thank you.

Now it's my turn.

Recently an article was posted in the East Valley Tribune concerning Travis and his tragic death. That article released information that portrayed Travis in a compromising light. At first I was shocked and hurt after reading the article. It made me call into question the Travis I know and love. And then, then I immediately felt sick and not only because of the gruesome detail that went into the article, but because it frustrated me that an article by someone who didn't know him and couldn't care less about him, could make me doubt the character of someone I knew personally as a great friend and confidant. Let me describe the Travis I know. The REAL Travis.I first came to know Travis through the singles ward. I thought of him as a bit stuck up and a sucker for attention. He had a manner about him that made me feel like he knew he ruled the space he occupied, and Travis was not a small guy :). It didn't take much to figure out who Travis was even though I had never been formally introduced to him. (The dude with the cool suits! duh!) The first time we spoke was at a bowling alley after FHE one night. He walked, or rather sauntered up to me with the intention of introducing himself and before he could get his name out I sputtered, "I know who you are; you're Travis Alexander." I had no idea at that time that Travis had been secretly hoping to be my friend and that by knowing exactly who he was and telling him so, that had tickled his fancy just perfectly.
Later that October I ended up going on a trip to Utah to watch general conference. The group consisted of myself, Katie (Barnes) Lorsch, Mark the man Brummett and our very own Travis Alexander. During that four day trip I learned that Travis was an inherently bad driver, a hilarious story teller, a procrastinator, a great listener, a generous and gracious person, a walking musical, and an invaluable friend. We spent endless hours laughing on that trip. We felt and shared spiritual experiences and endured the wet and cold together while moronically eating Häagen-Dazs ice cream :).

Later in my life Travis would continue to prove a priceless asset to me and my group of friends. I have him to thank for salvaging my friendship with my long-time best friend after a nasty bout of misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Indeed it was Travis who would stay up far past 12 consoling me in my frustration. I knew the Lord had placed Travis in my life for a reason because Travis knew exactly what it meant to be a true friend.

I still can recall a time when I was completely stressed with homework and studying for finals. Things were intense and crazy at my house and I was this close (imagine me pinching my thumb and index finger ridiculously close together haha) to having a panic attack. Travis as the dependable and endlessly generous friend he was immediately offered his home to me saying that not only could I study there, but he would sit with me and help me study. I could have cried I was so grateful. I think I might have. When I got to his house with all my books and notes he met me with a big bear hug and a plate of cookies with my name on it. True to his word he sat with me and listened as I cheerily ranted on about phonetics and language/speech disorders. I didn’t even care that he fell asleep an hour and a half into my studying.

Now, Travis wasn’t perfect by any means. I’ve seen Travis though great times, and extremely low times, but he was always constant. He truly lived a Christ centered life. Ha, this is the kid who stressed endlessly about being able to get his tithing in on time so he would be worthy of entering the temple! Travis had a strong testimony of the gospel and was unwavering in his faith. Those who knew Travis knew him as a goal setter, and a goal attainer. His goal was to return to his Father in Heaven. I think that’s exactly what he did.

I don’t know what happened. Frankly there are things that I really don’t want to know. I do know this though; Travis, regardless of what people say or think, I love you and I know that the atonement is indeed real. You were a grand example and a blessing in my life. Thank you for sharing precious hours of your earthly life with me. Till we meet again, I love you.

Emotion = UGH!

I can't run hard enough, long enough, or fast enough.
Maybe I'll be able to run better when my chest stops hurting. For some reason I'm not breathing right.
Probably a posture problem. ha


school next week people. I'm taking 18 credit hours this semester. wish me luck.




UGH+whimper= :(

Less is More and Fewer is... ah forget it.

First I apologize for not having written in a very long while. I knew I needed to blog, and I have had things to blog about, but every time I sat down the juices stopped flowing.
okay done.

Today was a good day for me. I started the day off by running a bunch of errands and being mostly productive = happy Diana. For part of my errands I had to run to Walmart and later that day to
Target. Now, I'm not one of those people who hates Walmart because honestly, I couldn't care less about any Walmart/target rivalry or... whatever. However, there are a few things that Target definitely does better than Walmart and this is one that I appreciate- look at this sign from Walmart. See anything wrong? (don't pay attention the lame "ain't be needin'" junk)
Most people don't notice it but where Walmart has a "10 items or less" lane, it should be....
What is: "10 items or fewer" ding ding ding!Target gets double jeopardy!

Walmart- thanks for saving me some money occasionally but c'mon!!!! Rise above the this sad excuse for grammatical knowledgenessibility! And I don't want to hear any excuses about saving space on signs, or the money it takes to print a few extra letters. Boo.
Here's a quick lesson:
The rule usually encountered is: use "fewer" for things you count (individually), and "less" for things you measure: "fewer apples", "less water". Since "less" is also used as an adverb ("less successful"), "fewer" helps to distinguish "fewer successful professionals" (fewer professionals who are successful) from "less successful professionals" (professionals who are less successful).

So what does this mean? You count "items" like cars and coconuts. We don't count water and dirt (well I guess you could count particles of dirt but... who does that?), so it then becomes fewer items/cars/coconuts and less water/dirt/insert here. Easy.

All in all this really doesn't matter. It's just another pointless thing that bothers me and makes my friends have more reason to call me nerd. Blast!