tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76369667176919838002024-03-21T09:39:40.657-06:00LITTLE BUT LOUDThere's lots of noise in this little head so here's where I let some of it loose!Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-67131128011684365172017-01-22T01:25:00.002-07:002017-01-22T09:46:09.284-07:00Maybe We Can All Win?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m not
sure I know how to express what I feel. I truly, truly don’t mean this to be
political, even though it involves politics.
I am not political. (or technical- this is my second time writing because
my blogger app ate the first one-sigh!) I am so not political that when I took
one of those silly online quizzes that tells you what political party your
views line up with they came up with a big “?” for me. Just like the boy Joseph
who didn’t know what church to join, I have always felt strongly about NOT
JOINING any of them. Other than a 1 month stint to vote in the primaries, I
have been unaffiliated. I just hate how rigidly people sit on their sides. I
don’t see anything in black and white, not even shades of gray. Most everything seems to me to be an intricate
kaleidoscope of many colors. Truthfully I sit in the middle and lean a bit
right. I readily admit the minute Trump announced his candidacy, I started
speaking out against it because there were just too many alarming things about
him to sit around and not warn people of what I saw. I am no great admirer of
Hillary Clinton either and it was disheartening to see the Republican Party
implode instead of offering up a viable alternative. So, the whole election was very discouraging for
me. I do believe in upholding the election,
so there you have it and in that sense I accept it and want it to work. Even as awful and
scary as Trump is, I believe he wants to be a good president and could be part
of our country accomplishing some good things, in fact, if I were to let my
overly optimistic nature take over, I could see the possibility of many things
changing for the better. Wouldn’t place any bets on it, but I can hold that
possibility out there. Mostly it feel like it’s gonna be a mess, but maybe,
just maybe we can take a mess and clean house and build something better in the
aftermath. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">January 20
still seemed like a funeral, like something fundamental and valuable was just
ripped away. Sounds silly when we enjoy great freedoms still, still get to vote, still have the peaceful transfer of power, still have a pretty great system. Also, things have never been simple or not messy and
politicians in general have left a lot to be desired, and it's been on the decline for a while, but how do I explain
this? It’s like something really got left by the wayside this time around. If we compared the US to a body, we could say
it has been a pretty healthy, strong body. It’s now getting kind of old, but it’s
held up pretty well, in spite of all the junk food and overeating and lack of
exercise and late nights and partying and all.
So, sometimes it feels easily winded, or creaky jointed, and gassy and all
but ya know, it’s not that young anymore. Then one day, it gets in a fight, gets cut
open, and there, inside is this big ugly pussy mass that shouldn’t be there. We’re
sitting in the operating room now, but instead of just extricating the mass and
cleaning up, everyone is just arguing about what it is, if it is malignant, whose
fault it is, what to do, should we even care? Why don’t we just get used to it,
we were feeling alright, anyways, maybe that mass should be there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So what do
I mourn? That so much decency got left outside the door. Truth, respect, and
human decency, transparency, and good old ethics seem gone from the scene.
Unity, unity was already pretty much gone. These things are what make a
society, what make it possible to preserve the freedoms our country has enjoyed
for so long. That is what is so sad.
Trump didn’t do this all by himself, he just saw the opportunity to
seize upon the tide and use his ability to bring out the worst in everyone and
play it to his advantage. I can’t believe I am writing this but I even miss the
old news reporting. I mean, there were
already so many problems in that industry to begin with, but even a year ago,
things seemed so much better than today. I am embarrassed to admit that when I see a
headline of a natural disaster pop up on my screen, I am actually relieved to
see a real news story again, because most every national outlet is pretty much
spewing forth gossip column material 24/7, and they can’t seem to see how to
extricate themselves from this whirlwind that fuels Trump’s flames. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The other
thing I feel is disenfranchised. I don’t feel like I had any say in who we even
got to choose from. I watched our votes
for the lesser of two evils get walked all over in the primaries, and the electoral college decide what they were doing before I even voted early.. You know, I appreciate Trump taking the time
and effort to prepare a speech that was composed of complete, coherent sentences.
Truly, I am proud of him for raising the bar. I just feel like those words “</span><span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">January
20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this
nation again,” were exactly the opposite of what I felt was happening. His speech
kinda had the undertone of <a href="https://youtu.be/AQ7RvRPCSWM" target="_blank">Scar’s inaugural address</a> instead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">I’m not going to fight to get rid of the guy, I’m not going
to oppose his every sniff. I’m not secretly hoping he will screw up so bad he will
be impeached, nor immolated in his tanning bed.
I’m praying he can open his mind and listen to some of the better voices
surrounding him. I hope he does well in
his responsibilities. I hope he can work with others to come up with some real, sustainable, good changes instead of gimmicks. I hope the same thing for everybody who was elected. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The sad thing is, that even if the best happens, some of the
worst already did. SO, even though I
certainly don’t agree with any of the violence or lashing out, or crazy foaming
of the mouth rants on the internet, and I think peaceful protests and scrutiny came much, much too late in the process, I just have to say, that when I see the
response to any protesting or any scrutiny of any kind being- “Stop being
whiners and sore losers” I just want to say, in many cases, I think it is so
much more than that. I don’t think
people are protesting their team losing or not getting their way, I think they
are protesting the THING that is going on, the death of the country we used to be-the security we felt in our freedoms. I understand why some people felt they had to vote for Trump in spite of
all he said and did. My big concern, however, is really all that was just overlooked. I
mean, just a few election cycles ago, Howard Dean’s candidacy in the Democratic
primaries died for yelling like an enthusiastic cheerleader at a rally. He
apparently didn’t posses the decorum and dignity of a president. Yet here we
are, with a man who regularly invents his own truth and feels above all ethics,
who insulted basically every category of people on the earth except people
whose name is Donald Trump or are his direct descendants, who has lashed out against everyone else’s free
speech and threatened some unorthodox, unconstitutional and authoritarian types
of things, and we just overlooked it all and elected him. He got away with so much. Why? Everyone believes his delusion that he is above it all? Does any other politician getting away with anything give him a free pass? Do we really worship and fear money that much? Now that he's here to stay, Can he get away with any of those threats?
Hopefully not, but even if not, even if it was all hot air, what kind of
precedent has been set? We are being
completely desensitized to really dangerous rhetoric. Someday, if we continue down this road, we
will be living with a dictator. Let me tell you, Pinochet was a great dictator,
he got the best economists to straighten out the economy in Chile and mobilized
women’s centers-centros de madres- where they met to help each other as
communities. He laid down the rule of law and created a more prosperous
nation. He just did that at the cost of
too many lives- of rounding up people in the national stadium for the sport of torturing and killing them. He did i at the cost of free speech, of families divided by
the professional and political sides they fell on. He did it by getting rid of or silencing those he found undesirable, that is,
disagreed with him. Eventually, after
many years, he stepped down, but he took a LOT with him, and he left a country
that had to relearn to govern itself and heal so much trauma, so many wounds. Would
that ever be worth it? I’m grateful for what he did to help his country, but I
can never condone how he did it. I would never want more prosperity at that cost. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Even if
something like that never happens here, I have witnessed another sad
thing. Trump's hate speech has emboldened
the hateful. And the ironic thing is, I don't think he is overtly even KKK material, he just doesn't care for anyone really. We are just pawns. If you don't meet a need for him, he's happy to throw you under the bus. If you do serve his needs, you are his buddy. so whatever gets him more attention and more votes...in any case, I have seen even in my nice respectful neck of the woods some ugliness and overt discrimination I hadn't seen before. Sadly, those feelings must have been there before, just unexpressed. As a people, we are seeing so much polarization and
judgement of anything anyone says or does related to all the junk that has come
up around this whole election. On the one hand, I guess it is good we can see
how bad things were on the inside, worse than we thought, but now that it’s
exposed, it needs to be healed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #282828; font-family: "georgia" , serif;">SO, here is my plea. I’m doing my level best to generate good
feelings towards our new president; compassionate, helpful thoughts. I’m not
going to pretend he is someone he isn’t, I’m just going to try to understand
him. It takes a lot of work, so much so, that in 4 years I will have prayed so
much, and become such an expert at loving kindness meditation, done so much qi
gong and yoga, that I will either be sainted, become enlightened or at least
have the clearest chakras in the valley. I’m going to watch and learn and try
to speak out respectfully when I see concerning things and try to suggest helpful things. I hope we can all try in whatever way we can to reconcile. I just ask that we can all not forget that we do have time to be nice, to encourage respect, to remember that this kind of talk and attitudes we have been exposed to is not normal, and never should become normal. I know, previous presidents haven't been normal either- I know there has already been an erosion of ethics and of upholding the constitution, but that doesn't make brashly flaunting words to further go down that path a good idea. disrespectful, hateful speech and actions are never normal or alright. I have never heard another president talk like this one does (hope he at least curbs it a bit now), so let's not ever get used to this. Let's pledge as a people to BE the opposite- to be more respectful and more kind. Can we all do one more thing in that regard as a society?
Can we stop lashing out at each other? The wound is open right now, and the
tumor exposed, what if we just started listening to each other, and here’s the
great thing, we don’t even have to agree with each other- we just need to really
listen; for understanding, so we get each other. And then ever so gently, maybe
we can open our minds to new possibilities. Maybe there is no right or wrong on some of the things people waste so much energy fighting over. Maybe it is right for one member
of a group to quit rather than perform at the inauguration and maybe it is right
for the others to go. Maybe we need both
things to happen, you know? Maybe #notmypresident doesn't mean the writer is a sore loser or subversive in most cases. Maybe it means they think he does have time to be nice, that our leaders should be nice. Maybe it's O.K. to either use that hashtag or not use it, depending on what feels right to you. Maybe some of us need to march in protest and others need
to stay home and just spread kindness. Maybe it is good for one person to investigate or speak out on
the ethics of the president’s plan to separate from his business and maybe
someone else needs to defend his position. Maybe both sides have their heart in the right
place, even if they are to some extent misguided. Maybe all the issues are more
faceted than the simple North and South poles of a magnet. Maybe instead of
despising the bigoted, we could listen and respectfully dialog and help them let go of their fears. Maybe most all of us just love this place we
call home, and we should recognize that this is the thing at the root of our angst,
anger and fears. If we recognize we have
that love in common, and that fear of losing it is what is fueling our
prejudices, divisions, judgement and failings, we can stop ignoring that tumor
and work together to gently remove it and heal instead of fueling it's growth. Maybe we could become indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all, for real. Wouldn’t that be great? </span></div>
Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-78086033969381449352017-01-02T00:04:00.000-07:002017-01-02T01:09:33.626-07:00Christmas Was Silly I wish I had a little camera built into my glasses and I could just click pictures at any given moment, and the picture would look just like what I'm seeing or focused on. (Maybe Google glasses will get there someday). As it is, I have these great pictures in my mind that I can't just post here, but they will always be in my head, and my heart. One of my favorite things that happened was the day before Christmas eve, I got a message from an old mission companion (she's not old, my mission was just a long time ago ( yes younger people, I know that sounds like dissonance, but don't go there- one day you will be my age and you will see how young old people are.)) and anyways, she was in Spanish Fork! She is from Santiago and we tried to meet up when I went back to Chile, but never could arrange it. So I went and got her and had a nice visit till way too late! It is amazing that you can live with someone for like 2 months and even have some difficult times, and still be like sisters some thirty years later. It was so cool, I just love my buddy Cholito, aka Marisol Catalán. She is a really strong, amazing, wonderful, hard working, loving and diligent woman, a super mom and grandma. I will never forget our adventure with waxing- which didn't end well for me, or when we realized it was my hump day and I had been on my mission 9 months so she dressed me like I was 9 months pregnant for a picture to send home to mom. Good times! Then there was the time she needed an antibiotic and gave herself a shot because I was too chicken to learn to give shots on her. (She already knew how to give shots, I still don't) I decided she was wonder woman that day. Anyways, you'd think I would have the prescence of mind to take a picture together when we met up, but no....I did not.<br>Christmas Eve we just had a nice dinner and time with our kids<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> and I didn't take pictures of the yummy food because we were busy eating it and that is the main sensory experience there if you ask me. I did tape a bit of present opening but it is the dorkiest thing ever so I don't know why I always record it, it is always really bad filming.</span><div>
Christmas day we got up early to a snow covered wonderland that was nice to look at if not to step in, and I planned to take pictures but never got around to it. Instead, we went to church which was just a combined sacrament meeting with another ward, nice music and talks, a really sweet Christ centered way to spend the morning. Then in the afternoon we went to my parents and watched all the kids open their present from their grandma which were all quilts she made each of them- totally amazing! That was awesome and I wished I could take a picture but I didn't have my phone with me, and the moment would be gone by the time I got something so I just enjoyed it. The kids loved them!<br>
So what is silly about all that you ask? Well, let me tell you. I was listening to the radio recently and a linguist was talking about words and how they evolve, and gave the example of a word that started out meaning blessed, and then over time, that came to mean innocent, and over more time it took on a connotation of weak, which over time led to it being used to mean mentally weak which led to meaning absurd or foolish, or commonly it is used today to mean doing something funny but ridiculous... the spelling and pronunciation have shifted just a bit too, but the word is SILLY! And I kind of like the idea of silly meaning blessed. I know, I am so silly!</div>Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-16986573541917961312016-12-06T20:11:00.001-07:002016-12-06T20:11:26.517-07:00A Little Fashion TruthA while ago, I was in the store and saw a thin, softy, cheapo, shawl like blanket thing and thought it would be perfect to drape over my frozen body in the many air conditioned places I have to spend too much time in, so I bought it. Later, I noticed the tag said it is a blanket scarf. Hmmmm...amidst the dizzying number of thoughts and activities going on over the course of the next few days, that label bubbled to the surface of my consciousness and I thought- wait a sec..this must be some new fashion thing! So I looked up how to wear a blanket scarf, and It IS a thing. <a href="http://www.gurl.com/2014/12/20/style-tips-on-how-to-wear-tie-blanket-scarf-outfit-ideas/">See here.</a> Except, no matter how much origami you want to subject it to, it is definitely still a blanket in my mind. A shawl-like blanket maybe, but a blanket. The only way I can conceive of this object being a scarf is if I were Madame Maxime. Literally, I can hold the corners and spread it out nearly the length of my arm span, and if the bottom touches the floor, it comes up to my chin. The tips I got from the link show a supposed 20 ways to wear your scarf, but somehow, they seem to be 5 ways repeated with different pictures and wording. Tip number 2 says if you want to make it look less huge, fold it in a triangle and wrap the top ends around your neck and back front, which makes it look for all I can see like a tablecloth posing as a bib. Tip 3 says Own your huge scarf and wear it looped around your neck. Add glam accessories like a fur vest, heels and big sunglasses to look more dressed up. Yes, I would recommend that, because if you chose pajama pants, a t-shirt, and flats, everyone would assume you woke up late and rushed out the door as is, blanket still tangled around your neck in your haste to get to work on time.... OR you can "Wear your blanket scarf as a cape, then drape it over one shoulder to look (like you are wearing a) super chic (picnic blanket)". Tip 8, my favorite-Tie your scarf over one shoulder to give off an easygoing vibe...of a Scottish Hindu American with no fashion sense when it comes to saris.<br />
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Tip 13-If you have too much fabric left over after looping it around your neck like you would a normal sized scarf, just tie the ends like so- or, you could take a tip from my book and cut the sucker down to size to scale with your body. Let me just say that if you want to wear the blanket as a scarf, be my guest, but personally I will think you are trying to keep your childhood blankie close at hand, should you need it's comfort at any given moment. Now, put that on pint- sized me, and I will look like I am about to be swallowed by a blanket. You can drape the blanket over your shoulders and belt it, thus trying to pass it off as a vest, as tips 5,6,7,11,and 20 all depict, but in my mind, you wrapped a blanket over your shoulders and belted it to keep it from slipping off. OR whoop de doo! you can skip the belt and just let it hang loose in front, and if you wear a cool hat, no one will suspect you are wearing a blanket! If I'm going to be completely transparent , I must reveal my hypocrisy in this disdain for wearing blankets as scarves. For years I have been wearing blankets under the pseudonym of poncho, but somehow it was easier to believe as a coat substitute than as a fashion statement. I mean, I just assumed we all understood that ponchos were blankets with a slit or a hole added to accommodate our heads. Don't get me wrong, I am ALL. FOR. making it socially acceptable and chic to run around with a blanket as an accessory, I just think we should be honest about what we are doing and not call it a scarf.Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-86998744582432119152016-10-12T20:30:00.004-06:002016-10-12T20:30:50.504-06:00This Is Not the Blog design I WantedThis remake is getting off to a sad start because I have bad techno karma. Plus, for some reason, every program, every app, every operating system must be "updated" so often that everything is always changing and what you want to do, what was once a simple thing to do- be it yesterday or ten years ago, is now no longer possible or is much much more difficult to do. Why, oh why oh why isn't it getting better, easier, simpler? So, my header makes me sad because The lettering doesn't have the contrast I want if I do it in blogger, or if I insert my own, the way I want it, I still have to have a typed in thing all over it too. My background picture also cannot be inserted because I can no longer change it's size. Anywhere. And this is a whiny stupid post I will only publish to say- this isn't what I wanted yet.Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-40324532875863003522016-09-10T23:58:00.001-06:002016-09-22T19:59:28.159-06:00Little But Loud<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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This blog has just sat here for years. My kids got older. Sadly, my floor doesn't look all that different sometimes in some rooms. My life is different. Raising teenage boys is different, so if I start writing again, I feel like this blog will be different. I feel like writing a lot, but I don't know if it will happen, because life is crazy busy. If I do ever start writing though, I would like to change my background and subject matter and everything, but keep it here, where I have all my other memories. All this is just to explain why I am posting a screen shot of my header and background here, where I can remember it, and separate the old from the new. I kinda hope I find the time to create the new soon. I don't know about you, but the suspense is killing me. Will I write next week, next year, or next decade? I love surprises! How nice that I can surprise myself. Or, maybe just look back and enjoy the record I have of the little kid years. It was fun, the past; how quickly it all disappeared....</div>
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<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-78160822811489705432013-07-17T00:03:00.000-06:002016-10-05T15:03:28.100-06:00Big YYears ago when the Things were little we were riding in the car and Thing 2 kept saying, w, w, w, big W.... I finally asked him why and he said " Y, Big Y! " we found out about the big Y this month. Up on the mountain above us is a big letter Y, for BYU. People hike up there all the time, whole families go. Some people hike it every day for exercise. People, but not me. I've never been there.<br />
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We now go to the day before Independence day. Huck had been bugging Papi to find out if they were going to have a Young Men's activity or not. Someone called Papi about 6:15 to tell him they were going to hike the Y. He didn't plan on telling the boys because he doesn't like sending them on riskier activities without their own personal escort. But right before 6:30, Huck walked in the room as Papi was about to go to the church and he had compassion on him and asked him if he wanted to go. He said he did, and left with him. Well, Papi wasn't going to be with the YM this time, and about an hour later I got a call from our Bishop. He couldn't reach Papi, and his connection with me wasn't that great. All I heard was something fell. Then he came through more clearly. Huck fell. On the mountain. They wanted to have the paramedics check him as he hit his head and scraped his back. In my mind's eye, this was maybe oh he slipped, hit his head slid a few yards on his back, not fun, probably ought to be checked. Lovely, would I ever manage to get this kid grown before getting himself killed?- I wondered aloud. I talked to Huck, tried to calm him down so he wouldn't worry. He was sobbing that he was sorry, that he was scared. I assured him he'd be all right and not to worry, everyone would take good care of him. </div>
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Then Papi walked in and I told him what happened . He said he wished he had followed his instincts and left him home. Then he said he was going up there and for me to wait at home. The next time I talked to him, they were on their way to the hospital and he told me Huck had cuts and bruises all over his body. It must have been quite a tumble! I had to keep waiting as the hospital might want to ask about meds and all. I told the other boys their brother had fallen off the mountain. Tom asked, "Did he survive?" I assured him he did but would be pretty sore. They called to get his info while they were stitching him up just so I could hear him cry. Papi told us to bring up two mattresses to make him a bed in the living room as he wasn't going to be able to go up and down stairs. Tom was very helpful. </div>
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When they finally got home, with two scout leaders helping to carry him in, I got their eyewitness version of what happened. I am here to tell you if I were an eyewitness, I would have had a heart attack so you wouldn't be able to hear my version. He didn't realize hopping from one rock to another on that steep angle would speed him up so he couldn't stop and would finally lost control and go flying. He fell roughly 200 feet, all the way from the fork in the Y just about. He bounced on and over huge rocks like a rubber ball flying through the air, and stuck it at the bottom, about a meter from another big drop below there. His leaders thought he'd be dead or paralyzed when they reached him. But, although his head and knee had big gashes and he was bleeding, scraped and bruised all over, he was mostly just scared his dad would be mad at him. So much so, people kind of looked askance at Papi when he got there. Like maybe he was going to yell or something? What did they think? He'd hit him? After the fact I discovered he was afraid Papi would be mad because the ambulance would cost lots of money. Hopefully he sees the difference now between parents yelling at him to please not waste things that cost money and having money to care for you when you need it. Ahem! So, Papi was a model parent and took good care of him, imagine that! </div>
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Anyhow, the leaders also gave him a blessing, before I even got the call, and they told me when the paramedics first saw this face, they were worried about his missing ear. Too bad no one was in the mood to joke around. ..." What?! My ear's gone?! Find it, quick!" I'm so terrible....Huck now thinks it's so cool they took him down the mountain on an ATV to the ambulance. He got 13 stitches in his knee and about 8 in his head, I could never see that too good through his black hair. He literally couldn't walk he was so sore, or lie down flat or roll over. I couldn't even hug him because everywhere hurt! He had huge scrapes and raw skin on his back and hip and his forehead which was all swollen. he was a mess. I figured it would take a few weeks for him to be able to move like normal again. We ended up propping him on pillows on the couch instead and Tom used the mattress to be by him and take care of him all night if he needed it. Not that I could sleep after his traumatized leaders told me the tale of his near death experience. Plus, I had to check on him every few hours. Huck told me the whole way down he thought he was going to die. All night when he dozed off he dreamed he was falling and couldn't stop. I wondered if it would affect his diving once he was able again: would he be afraid he was falling when he dove now? </div>
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Ok, I didn't take pictures that day or the fourth which was spent taking care of him. That Saturday I decided to take pictures before there was nothing left to take pictures of. Every day he was remarkably improved over the previous day. These pictures really look oodles better than he did the first day. </div>
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No raw skin now, just scrapes. How did he not break a rib? Or his hip?</div>
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No swelling left, no raw skin, and half the scabs are already gone!</div>
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The bad knee is still bandaged here.</div>
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Even at the worst, it was hard to see the stitches and bloody head scars, but they look way better here. At this point, he was walking around with a chair as a crutch. His team sent him a card, just what I had been thinking....<br />
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This whole thing has been so incredible- he still has a slight scar from a scraped up eye from last summer, but there is hardly a bruise or scab on him anywhere at this point, just less than 2 weeks later. Everyone is just amazed. The only thing that still hurts some is his hip. He got his stitches out Saturday, 10 days in, and that afternoon we went to the rec center. He was able to do everything he normally would. Then he goes to dive. I in my insanity assumed he will do a simple forward dive. Oh no, he takes off and does a triple somersault. He almost completely made that last rotation... But he smacked his lower back on the water, which didn't feel too hot. So we decided he can dive, but he's not ready to smack just yet, which happens in diving, so he's giving it another week. I had hoped he'd learn a bit of healthy fear or at least carefulness from all this, but I wasn't so sure he really had. Then Sunday, he calls me all excited to watch a video. ....He wants to go skydiving this summer! Right... Over my dead body, not his! Just one question... Did any of these people survive? You notice they never show them actually landing.....I am amazed and confused at this personality type. And scared spitless to be the mom of one of them. (Give me strength!) So, I've decided to look on the bright side. We are enjoying a miraculous recovery from a miraculous near miss. I'm so glad today I'm not grieving a tragedy. </div>
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Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-54353488278244220932013-05-29T23:22:00.001-06:002013-05-30T01:36:05.086-06:00My Beauty Campaign Rocks!My friend Dinorah who got me to do <a href="http://www.dressingyourtruth.com/">Dressing Your Truth</a>, said I should be a poster child for them. Then Shazam! The next thing I knew, I found out I was going to be one! Her wish was the Universe's command. All I did was answer a survey, and suddenly, I got an invitation to be a part of this campaign. They have partnered up with<a href="https://mybeautycampaign.com/"> My Beauty Campaign,</a> which is a mission that a group of photographers have set up to help every woman be able to say she is beautiful, and mean it.<br />
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The founder, <a href="http://www.nuttallphotography.com/">Mandi Nuttal</a> was my photographer. She is really sweet and professional. I told her I always felt like a stick figure in photographs so she agreed to help me learn to pose. It turns out that it's simple. If you stand there trying to look natural, you don't. If you stand like a contortionist, in the most unnatural stance possible, with your shoulder bend one way, your leg thata way, your hip at yet another angle, and your head just so, which doesn't align with any of your other body parts, you will look natural! I know: it's paradoxical, but it's true. Plus, you feel so silly it makes you smile quite naturally! Whoda thunk! Mandi is also really good at putting you at ease. That could help too, as well as all that camera magic stuff she does. </div>
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So, I finally went and visited the DYT people for this photo shoot and they aren't little people on my computer screen, they are real life people who are bigger than me! (Sure that one shocks you all). And nicely enough, they are kind, gracious, helpful and overall fun to hang out with in real life too. Emily helped style my hair which my lovely daughter Erika cut so well, and also did my makeup really sweet. Sara helped pick outfits for me and found awesome jewelry for me to wear. I don't think I ever got to play dress up with friends as a kid, (mostly because I was playing with boys,) but now I got my chance to do that. Fun! Their store is fun to shop in too guys, even the cashier is a real buddy. I controlled myself and didn't waste all my money. So now I want to go back and waste all my money. Ha! </div>
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So the other half of this is once I got selected, I had to go through a series of exercises to help me see my inner and outer beauty. It was kind of a journey of where I've come from to where I'm at now, and where I'm going. It is such a sweet program, I would love to give this experience to so many amazing and beautiful women I know, especially the ones that don't realize how beautiful they are- not to mention all the girls out there just starting their journey as women. It is a bit silly that at the age when I'm supposed to start falling apart, all these things are happening to stick me back together again and look better than I ever have. I keep thinking that at this rate I'm going to be the most awesome looking cadaver ever to grace a coffin ;)-Ha, ha! The Dressing Your Truth course has helped me appreciate everyone's beauty so much more, even though I already did think everyone was beautiful in their own way already. It would be so fun to send everyone to have themselves fixed up and photo shot like a model...So, when I become a millionaire, I will be sending you all to go through this course. (:. (If you're really interested, you might not want to wait around for that- Just sayin'!) </div>
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so, ya wanna see my pictures?! I will try to post them now. Wish me luck, this is the techy part which is the part of my life that has simultaneously fallen into an abyss along the same timeline of this beautiful energy type saga. I'll spare you those details (today anyway).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOECcyZcJ2MbRJrcZ-sY-keVKQA6IDQEEcq5FHJZSLer1XNVLtCLoeO2Di3kvlWVjVFO-UzFs4-SZejz_1M5tMkNSrcT2b2bLKY6L3rCYAlWEF25uhyEFDPQofhd596nk_1EyFtKBTA/s1600/Beautiful%2520Shellie%252015-M%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOECcyZcJ2MbRJrcZ-sY-keVKQA6IDQEEcq5FHJZSLer1XNVLtCLoeO2Di3kvlWVjVFO-UzFs4-SZejz_1M5tMkNSrcT2b2bLKY6L3rCYAlWEF25uhyEFDPQofhd596nk_1EyFtKBTA/s320/Beautiful%2520Shellie%252015-M%5B1%5D.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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There's more but this was so painful to try to postl, I may regress to snail mail and telephone calls...<br />
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Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-62823859225218612692013-05-14T15:57:00.001-06:002016-10-05T15:05:25.000-06:00How to ...So after a long pause, I'm posting to explain how to make a necklace. I saw a necklace on pinterest I liked so over time I hunted down the beads I needed and figured out how to put it together. So now people are asking how to do it and this is the best place for me to put together a picture how to, so here goes. This is the finished necklace.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYZOs9Jq3lrY2tBUkbQRThfEL1oYZezwY7fZEtG4LYoFStadrw_CRCjQlmwPT6N8LunFyTaqwMh-GSQamm0MN63Z5N-VQfZ3HVYj6deqjBB_QNrwmQT_0es_1J9vmpQWgO8kwVlp2Tw/s640/blogger-image-842452861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYZOs9Jq3lrY2tBUkbQRThfEL1oYZezwY7fZEtG4LYoFStadrw_CRCjQlmwPT6N8LunFyTaqwMh-GSQamm0MN63Z5N-VQfZ3HVYj6deqjBB_QNrwmQT_0es_1J9vmpQWgO8kwVlp2Tw/s640/blogger-image-842452861.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here is the layout of each section. There are 11 rows. For each row you need two pins, a big chain and a small chain, two gold beads, a small lime bead, a raspberry bead, a pink bubble gum bead, and an oval turquoise bead. Line up the chains so that you string the first row in the very middle link of each chain. </div>
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The top pin will have the green bead, all the way to the last gold bead on it and the bottom pin will just have the turquoise bead on it. Here are the first steps: </div>
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See, we have strung the green bead first and then the middle link of the smaller chain.</div>
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So as you can see, you simply string the raspberry bead next after the chain, then a gold bead and then a pink bead.</div>
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Next, string the middle link of the largest chain on and follow with another gold bead. After this we will use pliers to make a ring to close off the row.</div>
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I forget the name of these pliers, but as you can see the tips are rounded. So, you bend the wire back, then twist it around the tip, like so:<br />
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OK ,now we will set that down and take the other pin and string the turquoise bead onto it.</div>
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We are then going to twist the end just like we did with the top side of the row.<br />
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Use wire cutters to clip off the excess wire on both pins. You can use your pliers to make sure the ring on the top pin is securely closed. Leave the ring on the turquoise bead side slightly open so you can hook it through the top ring.</div>
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Then make sure you close it off tightly as well. This will all seem quite awkward if you have never done this before. Practice makes perfect or better yet, good enough, so make sure you have lots of pins to practice on. Now you will be doing 5 more rows on each side of this one, in exactly the same fashion. Here's the tricky part. </div>
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This is upside down really, but as you string the chains on each additional row, make sure the chain is not twisted. just flatten it out by running your finger down the chain. </div>
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Make sure on the larger bottom chain that you string the next row 3 links out from the last row. But, on the little chain on top, you are gradually going to string the links closer together so that the necklace curves nicely. This will depend on the sizes of your chains so just practice stringing the pins through to make sure you find the right intervals. My first rows from the center on the smaller top chain were 5 links apart and then I went to four and then three links apart. After you do this, you'll want to place the hook and eye closure on the ends of the bottom larger chain </div>
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You use a jump ring for this, which we will also use in the next step so I'll move ahead. Choose the spot where the smaller chain will meet the larger chain on a model or yourself if no one will help. (Not sure why boys aren't up for that job, but oh well. ) Open a jump ring, easy with just your hands or pliers,<br />
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and hook it to the ends of the small chain and then hook that to the sweet spot on the large chain where it hangs nicely. You can just mark the links so you don't have to do this on a person. Once you thread the jump ring through the two chains, close it back off with the pliers. That's it! Ta da! You can make matching earrings as well!<br />
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Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-20601294537189193422013-02-09T18:40:00.000-07:002013-02-09T18:40:06.334-07:00Paranormal Vortex at WalmartSome life events are so bizarre, you just feel compelled to share them. Some of us have more of these experiences than others, probably more than our fair share. This is the other reason we feel we need to share. We don't want you to miss out on the fun. <br />
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So, yesterday, I decided to make the fastest Walmart run of my life right after dropping off my kids at school and before working. So, hah! I made it in and out of that place in under 30 minutes with close to 30 items! Isn't that awesome? It would be if it weren't for the fact that this is against the laws of nature and so nature threw up in my face. When I got home and went to put the things away, I was missing the last things on the receipt! I figure they were all in the same bag. So after making sure it wasn't hiding in my car or house anywhere, I called Walmart. The person I explained my sob story to said that this happened all too often and to just bring the receipt to customer service. But maybe the bag was still there somewhere and they could just hold it for me, I wondered. Oh, no, I was assured, they just put everything back on the shelves, so just bring in your receipt whenever. "How trusting, Walmart." I thought, how do they make sure you're not just making this up? By the time I finished work and went to get my kids I found out my twins were invited to a birthday party so we had to go get a present anyway. Also, I had been trying to make a necklace but I just didn't have the right size jump rings to finish it, plus, I had discovered a big bag of avocados on my kitchen counter (after just buying a bag of 4!) so I figured it was a great night for Chilean hot dogs and I needed wieners and buns. So, I went back to Walmart for the second time with my receipt and a son, to recover my lost items and get the other items I was looking for. <br />
First, I have to deal with customer service. I explain my story and you can see the doubt oozing out of the worker's being. He gets a notebook where I am not noted. Well, that would be because the person I spoke to never asked me my name or anything. I quoted my whole conversation word for word. I exuded polite I'm not lying vibes and I intend to get my things or my money back vibes. I guess I don't look like a crook, since he called someone to look up the videotapes to see if a bag was left around the time I was there. Finally I was allowed to go retrieve the same items, and as fate would have it, they were all still there. We picked up our other items, and while not the fastest trip in the world, it wasn't the worst. Then, I get home and go to put everything away, when what do I find in one of the bags? An Axe deodorant. What is not in my bag? My jump rings. Apparently, I got my way with Walmart and so nature was still upset with me. On the way home, my jump rings turned into an Axe deodorant. <br />
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This is even cooler than the miracle of two fish multiplying into enough to feed five thousand! This is like two fish turning into enough pizza to feed 5000! Except I really needed jump rings, not Axe. So maybe it's more like the two fish turning into 50 gallons of soap (that in any case the 5000 men probably needed as much as food). I looked at my receipt. No Axe, just jump rings. I rest my case, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Today my husband asked me if I went back to straighten it out. What was he thinking? First of all, how do I explain that? Two times in 24 hours, I ask for something back again? they will think I'm trying to get a second something for free, or barter with deodorant in this case. Or worse, they will think I'm a nutcase to insinuate that little circles of metal turned into deodorant. They will show me the video of the jump rings going into the bag and not turning into deodorant. They will at least say they did no wrong and the trunk of my minivan must be possessed. I figure if I don't want to keep getting sucked into Walmart, I had better just quit while I'm ahead and pick up my jewelry making items at Jo Ann's instead. (Note: this is not a hidden less than subliminal commercial for any franchise chain whatsoever, it's just what turned out to be more convenient.) Now my only problem is, will Walmart feel wronged by this? I just looked up the deodorant online and it is 88 cents more than the jump rings. What if I just tip the customer service desk the next time I have no other choice but to go to Walmart? What if I'm setting a bad Sunday School example of complete honesty with stores here? Or could the fact that I am coupon deficient and can't price match to save my soul and thus always pay Walmart full price mean I deserve an 88 cent savings on something I didn't even want or need so maybe I can just give it to the homeless like the super coupon lady I saw on some talk show once? Questions, questions. The fact that I have spent more time in Walmart in the last 36 hours than I usually do in a month just cinches everything. I don't even care what is morally right here, my mental health depends on me staying away from Walmart for a long time. The end. Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-82491345129688041302012-11-24T13:04:00.000-07:002012-12-11T14:52:57.283-07:00Huck the Diving Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dytfT-F8cKjt6Kz9SE_blwdKg_ink8hqybcaAchKXeu0bGtHysRXp8P89jWHIDhcShiEzeSI02rM9Dvp7L4SQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
I won't press my luck, I'll just post this one video for now and see if I can add more later.<br />
There was this restaurant in Sandy called the Mayan we went to one day. You could eat a fun meal while watching divers jump off a "cliff" with a waterfall into a big pool below. Papi and I both thought it would be the perfect job for Huck when he grew up! He was barely walking when he started diving in and out of the bathtub. That's how he scarred his brother for life when he accidentally knocked his brother Tom with his foot, sending Tom's chin on a collision course with the edge of the tub, leading to stitches. Huck obviously wasn't scared of heights, he would jump out the second story window just for fun when he got just a bit older. Then by the time he was in cub scouts and they went to a swimming pool, the den leader asked me where he learned to dive. What? He had been doing flips off the high dive. Most kids wouldn't even climb up it. I decided he really needed to get into this sport. I knew he would love it. It was his destiny :) It took us only 4 years to figure out how, but finally this summer he got to go to a BYU diving camp and from there got invited to participate in a diving team for kids at BYU. So, as of September he spends his afternoons diving. He loves it. He's pretty good at it. Of course, he needs to learn a lot, but I'm sure he will. So, he went to his first meet in Boise. One of my awesomely super friends helped drive us there since I"m too chicken to drive. My brother and his wife let us stay at their really nice home with them. It was fun! But, as is our usual style, it wasn't uneventful. After doing all his 3 meter dives, while practicing for the 1 meter competition, he hit his head on the diving board. I was just walking nearby and saw him dive and knew he was too close, saw him hit his head and couldn't do anything about it except freeze and watch him hit the water and then disappear. Sickening feeling that is, but once the water started to settle, he popped up, upset and I was so relieved! I knew he should be alright. But as he came up, a coach was diving in after him and they braced him and called the paramedics. He needed to be checked to make sure he hadn't damaged anything. I just tried to assure him because I was sure this was now freaking him out. We got a ride in an ambulance and some nice people made sure he was fine and we were released in time to get back for his things as everyone was leaving. He got a 4th place medal in the 3 meter though, so that cheered him up. He will be in a meet at BYU in January so if you're around, you'll have to see him in person, as my camera is old and needs to be replaced. <br />
<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-90301869390850742942012-11-24T10:23:00.001-07:002012-11-24T11:50:16.728-07:00Why I'm not the CEO of AppleOr, why am I not on their creative team? I love my iPod, iPod Touch as I lovingly think of it. I can pretty much do everything with it except take pictures because I was channeling someone more practical than myself when I decided to buy the cheaper, older version without a camera.<br />
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It almost replaces a computer if it weren't for the fact that too many internet things flip to the mobile version and there's the fact that too often there are pictures I just can't see since they won't let me enlarge them. If only this device were around when I was younger and had eyes. So, yesterday my nephew Scott (aka Scar) and I were talking about the iPad mini.<br />
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Probably the problem with their trying to sell this size device is the name. I really haven't heard all the people who use iPads around me complaining that it is too big. Gee, if only this were just half it's size, I could squint a little more... No, but you will hear a lot of iPod users like me wishing their iPod was just a little bigger. So, Why call this the iPad Mini? I realize it's JUST LIKE an iPad, yet smaller, however, why not appeal directly to those who are tired of using their imagination when viewing images on the iPod? Why not call it something that reflects a pumped up, new and improved iPod? Small enough for a true purse size, more readable than the iPod, chucking the iphonienesss of the ipod, ready to leap small buildings in a single bound, It's the Maxi Pod! WHO would forget that name? I would laugh at the sheer mirth of it every morning if I had one on my nightstand, thus increasing my resistance to disease by virtue of stress busting endorphins;), and even better, I would design a dock for it that had awesome speakers on each side, which I would call the wings dock, so you could wake up to the music blaring out of you maxi pod with wings!!! OK, I'm not expecting any calls from Apple anytime soon. Still, I just feel the need to draw up a prototype. That of course will probably have to be done on my clunky old PC (the pioneer pad)<br />
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Ta Da!<br />
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Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-24179962263625147312012-11-15T17:37:00.000-07:002012-11-23T13:25:35.780-07:00My Favoritest New Clothes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, I know favoritest isn't a real word, I'm just using linguistic license, because it expresses my feeling so much better than most favorite does. Also, I am testing my blogger to see if I dare do another post :)<br />
I looove this scarf a lot! And it worked, maybe, just maybe I'll try videos next.<br />
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Not missing the black at all.</div>
<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-71816716239032454142012-10-08T12:26:00.001-06:002012-10-08T13:46:07.623-06:00We interrupt our reminiscing to deal with current events!I HATE BLOGGER! HOW CAN YOU LEAVE ME WITH NO OPTION BUT TO ERASE A COMPLETED ENTRY OR LEAVE IT ETERNALLY TRYING TO UPLOAD A VIDEO FOREVER END EVER AMEN?! EVERY OTHER PROGRAM IN THE WORLD INCLUDING YOURS USED TO PERIODICALLY SAVE !!!!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?! I MAY NEVER FORGIVE YOU EVER, HOW RUDE!!!!!!Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-23436766257332266322012-09-28T12:37:00.000-06:002012-09-28T13:01:24.473-06:00The Health SagaSomeday, hopefully in a few more posts, I will be up to date on everything I didn't write about and can write on a blog, and then I can just pop in with what's up or on my mind. Won't that be nice? I think it will be a lot funner. So, when your body gets to be 40 something and you've been wearing it ragged, it finally will start complaining. A few years ago, I started having some problems with a cough and a feeling when I laid down at night that I was suffocating. Then that got so bad, even when I wasn't lying down I was short of breath, so my Dr sent me to the ER, just to make sure my lungs weren't filling up with fluid or something, ha! So since they weren't I got sent home with vague possible explanations and I went to see an ENT, who sent me to a GI who did an EGD of my esophagus and stretched it back open again. Don't you just love medical acronyms? They save so much time! A year later, I start having a whole gob of stomach symptoms, loss of appetite, heartburn, nausea, etc and then one night my chest hurt so bad and I had such weird symptoms with it that we had to go to the hospital again, just to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. Which of course I wasn't so they sent me home with vague explanations like some kind of inflammation, but luckily a smart nurse had told me that it was probably my esophagus. SO I went back to the GI, who told me yeah, a bad esophagus attack feels like a heart attack. Oh, and you shouldn't be eating anything spicy or citric and you should have stayed on the medicine we gave you last time for life. Except I never got that memo, just to not eat right before bedtime. I had another EGD, got stretched, got meds and since there were scars from ulcers this time I had to stop eating all the things I live so much. No more chile and lime! No more grapefruit or pomegranates or pineapple, or need I go on? BUT, since eating these things causes great pain, it was relatively easy to kick the habit. I just look back fondly at that food I can't eat anymore. Those were the good ole days! <br />
SO, next I do fine for a while and the problems start up again anyways including problems swallowing. I get another EGD. It didn't really make much difference. Meanwhile, I find out I have osteoporosis so since I'm having all the problems with my esophagus, I can't take the meds for that, so I get an infusion. They tell you to take Tylenol after cuz you have flu like symptoms. I had to go straight after to a class so I bought some Tylenol on the way. But then in class I got so dizzy, I thought I might faint. Then I came home and had the worst flu of my life, and all I could do was sleep. Eventually, on the third day I noticed that the Tylenol I bought was Tylenol pm and so it was making me sleep. So I stopped that, by then all the aches and pains had gone away and now I was no longer dizzy and sleepy! I figure next time should go much much better seeing as I will be real careful to take regular Tylenol. It did help because now I only have osteopenia. Getting the treatment through my insurance was a real pain in the neck. If I can get that worked out again I will have that treatment soon.<br />
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While all this was going on, the GYN also found what turned out to be a cyst in one of my breasts that I couldn't even feel, but when I went back a year later, they found a huge lump I think on the other side. So the technician was really freaking out and got the doctor and while I'm waiting, she comes in to let me know that the doctor will look at it soon and I suddenly realize that I am looking at a magazine about gardening and I am totally at ease and completely absorbed in thoughts of what to do with my garden while a total stranger is worrying sick about my health and after all, what if I turned out to have a cancer? Well, that would really mess up my summer plans but I really didn't have time to die so I'd need to do whatever treatments were required and hope for the best. I figured getting all uptight when I was going to have an ultrasound and find out within the half hour would be a lot of senseless worrying time that would be wasted if all was going to be well, so I decided to go back to the garden magazine. I did think it would be completely ironic if i ended up having cancer after the excessive amounts of nursing that supposedly lower your risk, had pretty much wiped away most of that body part. Such is life. Like running out of gas in Iraq. Did you see that movie? It was an Italian movie ...A Tiger in Winter I think it's called. That's when I discovered Chileans really speak half Italian and took it up for a while till life distracted me but if you want to learn a language a fun way for free, check out livemocha.com, awesome site! That last message was brought to you by a lack of Concerta, because stimulants give me heartburn so they are off the table too. <br />
Back to our story, after the ultrasound it turned out it was just a big cyst and everyone was relieved and I was so proud of myself for making the decision to put off worrying. Except, what about that sister in my ward who was told the same thing and the next year they said, no, it's cancer?....That's sort of like the story a comedian told about mosquitoes. It turns out that Female mosquitoes buzz but they don't bite, so if you hear a mosquito in the dark while you're in bed, don't worry about it, go to sleep! BUT if you DON'T hear anything, well the silent make mosquito could easily be in your room getting ready to bite! Sweet dreams! <br />
But wait, that's not all! If you have heart attack symptoms that you know are just your esophagus, how iwill you know when you get older and have a real heart attack that you are having a heart attack? Getting older is getting more and more complicated and I have decided the best solution is to not even go there. It's better to read gardening magazines until you keep over. You will at least die happier. <br />
So, I have spent the last year working out how to take calcium and vitamin D with my acid reducers so that they aren't cancelled out and how to get off acid reducers and not have problems because they cause as many problems long term as they solve. Crazy. Also , meanwhile, I was having too many headaches and dizziness and weird sensations that felt like adrenaline rushes and palpitations. This was all pretty frustrating, so that's why I started really working on getting enough sleep, eating better and exercising and meditating and doing other exercises to reduce stress. Things still weren't very wonderful. Managing my body was starting to get to be a real job. NO wonder people get to the point where they don't mind dying. I started getting theses shooting stabbing pains in my head. That turned out to be an abcessed tooth, so I got my tooth pulled. That fixed that pain. My Dr. gave me stronger meds, had me do the holter monitor, which came back "normal enough" and sent me back for another EGD. Meanwhile I was felling crummier and crummier. I needed to go to girls' camp and wasn't sure I could make it through a day there. So, I asked Papi to give me a blessing. This is when I learned an important lesson. At one moment I was told that I needed to exercise my faith to be healed. This was the missing link. Once again, I assumed I just had to suffer through all this and figure it out myself, I mean God can't just come take away all the pain in life for the asking or what in the heck would we learn here? Except maybe I have that part figured out and I need to learn the other half, showing up and asking like a little lid for Him to take it away. Since I just got told to do that, I did, and SHazam! It worked! I felt a whole lot better. Stuff was still getting stuck in my throat so I went on a semi liquid diet for the week till I got my EGD, but all the other symptoms went away! This time, when the Dr did the EGD, he stretched out the whole length of my esophagus, which actually looked better than the last time but felt tighter. SANTO REMEDIO, as we say in Spanish. Now I just have to work at maintaining my new wonderful health. Which is enough work for me as it is. THE END. (Don't you hate it when people tell you about all their every ache and pain in gross detail? :) )<br />
<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-56909670762739741722012-09-21T15:04:00.000-06:002012-09-21T15:04:00.460-06:00More Mediation and MeditationSo, here's the update on what's up with my mediation plans. I survived running a mediation program at a High School last Spring, and now my next step is to be mentored by a master mediator. BUT, my husband is planning to finish school, so he is taking classes again. Next semester he may be taking the monster class. This semester he has to NOT flunk Celestial Marriage so he can get his religion credits made up and I will no longer be left wondering what are the odds of accomplishing an eternal marriage if you can't even pass the silly class about it. Luckily, he's better at hands on stuff than the theoretical and also, he's better at live in person classes than online ones you can totally ignore. <br />
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Meanwhile, I am trying to do some reading that will help towards my goals and also, I have found out WHY I am really doing all this. I just jump into these projects because I get these signs pointing me in that direction and I follow them without really knowing where they'll lead, and it turns out, all roads lead to home. I figured this out when I started a side course of study in ADHD and related issues. Among other things, I finally took the Parent to Parent class (online and I did NOT ignore it, thank you very much). I've also been participating in a CHADD exchange. This has lead me to a lot of reading and programs out there and it just turns out that a lot of the therapies out there have elements or are full on versions of mediation. One method for working with teens, Collaborative Problem Solving is basically having mediation sessions with your teen. ADHD and self coaching also use a lot of the same techniques. Communication skills in therapy are based on some of the same things. Ta da! So now I have a place to practice my skills every day! Which will also make me a better professional mediator. Oh, and an offshoot of the things a mediator needs in their arsenal is a book I really love and think everyone should read just to look at how you perceive and relate to others better so here I am recommending it- The Anatomy of Peace by The Arbinger Institute. Anyways, in a very roundabout way I have put doing the mentorship on hold till at least summer 2013, but I'm not dropping the whole idea at all, I have a lot of work to do there. <br />
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As for meditation, I find that doing meditation is helpful, but like most things in life I do it sporadically. However, sporadically is much more beneficial than never. There are a lot of areas where you can learn to be more mindful as well which I am also exploring. Here's a<a href="http://99u.com/articles/7198/How-Goals-and-Good-Intentions-Can-Hold-Us-Back"> little article</a> about one aspect of living in the moment and how it can help. So, it made sense to me, that focusing on now gives us more immediate positive feedback. But what if what you are doing isn't that exciting? So my idea was to MAKE it exciting, and it does help :)/. Another meditative exercise is dance, so I started "belly dancing" aka Middle Eastern traditional dance. I found myself a discount outfit and some online training and went to work. Now I do private performances for Papi only. I know I don't look like a real professional dancer, but it is a truckload of fun and what can I say? I just love it. So, one day I decided to even jazz up the outfit with some henna designs on my foot. I nearly gave my mom a heart attack when she saw it. It fades away about as fast as fingernail polish, so really, no worries! Here's a picture. It was also pretty relaxing to do. I did it while watching my online course so I wouldn't get distracted. Just one of those other counter intuitive things that works for minds like mine. :)<br />
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<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-6472598882006139592012-08-28T11:04:00.003-06:002012-08-28T11:19:09.021-06:00Summer Boys<br />
So, you've been wondering what my boys did all summer, have you? NO?! Too bad, I'm going to tell you anyways. Tom and Huck continued to go fishing a lot, and Thing 1 got into it by the end. Thing 2 is still a hardcore engineer. If you can get him out there however, instead of fishing, he goes all Jeff Corwin on you and brings home snakes to keep in habitats he builds them and keeps on the front porch. Others like Tom try to bring home and keep pet fish. I think we have finally convinced them to let wild animals be wild after so many dead fish and lost snakes.<br />
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Here's Thing 1 <br />
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Here Huck got caught by a fish-soaking wet! </div>
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Tom also informed me that his armpits smell like sour cream and onion
potato chips. Do you think maybe he should bathe more often?</div>
Huck, meanwhile, joined in on some sports camps this year. He paid no attention to the smell of his armpits but the smell of his feet spawned a whole crew of bath police on him. He did basketball, volleyball, swimming and diving this year. He loved the diving and was invited to be on a team for kids at BYU so he is starting that now. In order to be on the team, he has to do good in school, and we are seeing what a difference high motivation can do for his academics already. We just hope it keeps up!<br />
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Tom did at least volleyball camp, and I can't remember if he did soccer or not. He and Huck also went to two scout camps where they learned a lot of stuff and got merit badges and got filthy. Tom has also picked up bowfishing and recently got a guitar he hopes to learn to play. He is also going to learn more archery this fall.<br />
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Meanwhile, I had all the boys on Rosetta Stone with the deal that for every unit they completed they would get a prize. The Things are very into Beyblades lately so that was their motivation. Tom finished the whole first level and everyone else is on their last unit of that level, so we finally got somewhere after I think 3 years I've had the program. we are on our 4th or 5th computer as they all break down and we have to go through this big hassle to get a replacement and get it installed on the new one. We have gone through about 6 headsets so far. But, since the last 3 years we never got past unit one and now we are on units 4 and 5, I have hope. <br />
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We also read some fun books together including Cosmic, A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago, and The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963. Probably we read something even better but my brain doesn't work that way. I can highly recommend each of these reads and the boys all loved them too. Now we are reading Ender's Game. Of course I forgot to read them Farmer's Boy since that was the school's plan. We checked out a lot of comic books ahem! Graphic Novels this summer from the library too.<br />
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While the Things built various and sundry things like weapons of mass destruction and went swimming with friends, and tried to overdo their screen time, my big boy, Papi was supposed to build a Beauty Salon for Enigma in my former office and fix the downstairs basement. Enigma, who is not a boy, will of course remain mostly Enigmatic until she complains that I don't talk about her and tells me what I can tell you. BUT I will say she is mostly MIA with her cute B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D who consumes her life. We are too boring. They did grace us with their presence long enough to rip all the cabinets out of the office so Papi could remodel the room. I cleaned out almost all my stuff and got things boxed up in the downstairs family room. And then, Papi decided it was urgent to do a total landscaping makeover of our yard. Cuz that's how he rolls. But, since I reminded him that it took him 2 years to lay all the floor upstairs after ripping it all out, he did the whole thing in just under 3 weeks; WITH the help of a very bored newly retired buddy who kept him at it every day. yes, the Espinoza Family Circus was his entertainment. While my basement is still languishing, and our bathroom is sorely needed now that school started, I can at least enjoy a really nice yard.<br />
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Here are the illustrations: Here's the garden before-sky high grass:<br />
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And here's after! grass gone! Next we have our borders all rocky and plants planted-<br />
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We didn't get a lot planted, but the grapes and nectarines are awesome this year as are the tomatoes! As you see we even have an artichoke! And baby corn!<br />
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This lemon head visited us this summer too. I've already forgotten his name. He met a tragic end.<br />
Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-66811478012901897242012-08-14T20:40:00.000-06:002012-08-14T20:53:32.615-06:00Shellie Thaws OutThis Christmas, Papi asked me the usual- what do you want for Christmas?
I gave my usual answer- I don't know. Then, one day I was so freezing
cold, I said, do you know what I want for Christmas? 7 pairs of thermal
underwear! And he did it! For once I was comfortable in the winter.
It was great. I could almost enjoy winter. Then, it got hot enough to
go back to regular underwear. Then it got hot enough to turn on the air
conditioning. So we did. But it didn't work. So we got it fixed. It
worked for about five days. Then repairman said we needed a bigger
system. We opened the windows. The end. No air conditioning in my
house. The air conditioning was already broken in my car. SO, I
finally thawed out. Some days I actually get hot. Which is awesome.
Now I can stand an hour or two in an air conditioned courtroom if I'm
wearing long sleeves and still feel comfortable. The freezer which is
my church still needs a little help. But I finally don't feel cold most
of the time. I feel so much more energetic and joyful. I love the
sun! Also, I love having the windows open, because you can hear all the
birds and bugs and kids and wind in the trees and the rain and all those
outdoor sounds and smell the outdoors and feel the outdoor air and I
have decided that I would live to live somewhere in the world that the
temperatures all year round vary between 70 and 100 degrees Faranheit.
Then, I would like to live there in a house with a very open floor plan
so I feel like I am living outdoors. That is my retirement dream. Any
ideas where I could go? <img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKdr7GQJM6MgpRiV6L_s-zIoaI8gyUl7crvuijqOWZyon-dQZ4IsgZOAQ6bU3mWfOWMIqBkqZNC05E5DlV6JoqmKLEB3z2BKX9rbnseiPhIULU58vGrrzcu9jSBwOTxbHf50gV9uhHQ/s320/zamel-house-open-view-to-the-beach-3.jpg" width="320" />
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Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-73095069922544023642012-08-14T20:23:00.000-06:002012-08-14T20:23:27.656-06:00Before and After<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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K- these were taken by a ten year old, same spot, same lighting and all, not the best resolution because most of the photos were of my walls instead of me so I had to crop out the walls. For some reason the background seems different too, not sure why... anyhow, that was the best I could do for now. Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-10945378747250584352012-08-12T20:47:00.002-06:002012-08-12T20:47:59.591-06:00I'm Back and Dressing My TruthI have been MIA for 9 months now, which is some sort of record. Not sure how yet, but I would like to get back on here and record my experiences. I keep thinking that will happen, but life keeps interfering. Most of the last 9 months have been full of angst and stress and experiences that aren't really bloggable without probably violating someone else's privacy, so I guess I may have to write a real old fashioned journal somewhere else, but then summer came! And life got good again. So, I have a million things to talk about that are not private to anyone :) Except me, and I don't keep secrets about myself too well. Do I have secrets about myself? Hmmm... I will have to think about that one.<br />
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So I will start with the last thing I put on here and work backward. On the sidebar I posted an ad. Crazy. Not something I would normally do, but this will explain a fun part of what I have been up to lately. Mostly I have posted here and emailed and all to help assuage my guilt for telling a bunch of people how to do this DressingYourTruth stuff for free. Ok, so most of them speak Spanish and would never have invested in this anyways, so I guess I'm not a criminal. If you are interested in investing in this kind of thing, you will know where to go. Of course if you use counter espionage tactics on me, I will probably squeal, but here's what this is all about. <br />
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This starts out like one of those fun personality tests- you know, either you are red because you are motivated by power,or white because you are motivated by peace... or you are concrete sequential in your way of seeing things, or you are abstract sequential and so forth. So, I am definitely blue-green and abstract random. But, this system of categorizing people breaks you into groups by your energy type. There are four types of energy- the first group is the type that generates ideas, the second gathers information, the third type is all about action, and the fourth group is reflective or analytical, which brings us back to doing things again, but better. obviously, we all do all these things but we lead with one energy type. The idea is that if we understand and honor our types, we will be in better balance and do all these things better. K- so this is fun, but then the whole thing behind this "club" is that there are elements of style that match up with your type and if you dress your type, you will better represent who you are and not only will you look your best but people will respond better to you because they will get who you are better. <br />
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Hmm, so curiosity kind of sucked me in and I decided to try this. Guess what? It worked! No, I do not look like a supermodel now, but I feel more coordinated. Even while I am still a clutz, this is true. My outsides do match my insides better and I feel more comfortable in my own skin. I was always pretty comfortable with myself, but I always felt like I looked funny. Actually, I still do, but now I get why! And I LIKE how I'm funny looking :) <br />
<br />
K- so here's the deal- this is a racket to make money for the founder, but then again, how else could she make a living off teaching this? The company is relatively new, so they are just starting to grow but there is a lot of good you can get out of this. If you join you have access to classes and meetings, etc for life and guides to help you. It certainly doesn't seem like it is worth all that money, but when they drop the crazy price to suck you in, if it drops below $100 then I feel it's worth it. And probably barely covers all their costs for running this service, so, hey! Whether or not it's worth it to you depends on how strapped you are for cash and how much help you need getting dressed in the morning. If you won't end up getting evicted from your home or have to give up braces for your child or you know, all the much more pressing things in life, I think it is worth it. I do think there is room for improvement in the presentation at times but the principles themselves really work.<br />
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SO, how is this any different from "What Not to Wear"? I used to watch that show, BACK when I had cable and time to watch TV and it did help me see some things such as what is in fashion, how to combine things well and to see yourself in 365 degrees and notice things that just don't work or do work on you. I learned about what works for different body types and such, and if the person was similar to me in any way I could pick up some good tips, but the guys on the show even said you just have to try on a lot of stuff to see what works. I don't have the stamina for that. Shopping overstimulates and overwhelms me in too many ways. I don't really need another way to waste more time either. (My wardrobe has always been over 50% hand me downs because of this.) The one thing that did bug me about that show is that at times, it was so unrealistic, like the mother to babies and toddlers that went home with a $300 cashmere sweater that she loved enough to wear every day. Except, I don't know about you, but would you wear a $300 cashmere sweater anywhere near your sticky, burpy babies? In other words, there is a lot to glean from shows like this but a lot to weed out too. Get real. What I like about this DYT system is you are given a set of principles to help you know what kinds of colors, fabrics, lines, patterns, and textures will work for you. There is a little bit of help on body type and fit, but the focus isn't on that. With the elements they focus on teaching you, you can find what works best for you and your type or how to combine elements from you secondary type in with those elements, to make a wardrobe that is more uniquely you. You can be as in or out of fashion as you want to be, and still look nice. Whatever fashions come and go, you will know how to sort out what works for you quickly and make better wardrobe choices. Once you learn the basic concepts well you learn to listen to your instincts more and you end up doing yourself more justice. So far, I have found this has pretty much been true and helpful. I did use my instincts in a lot of ways. Now I know why some outfits just never worked for me and before I didn't get why. <br />
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Here's how it was worth it to me. A friend introduced me to this right when I was noticing that my work clothes were getting pretty raggy and I probably really needed to update my wardrobe in general. So the whole personality stuff is what I found really fun and then the ideas of dressing based on that really interested me so I tried it. This is what happened. I was able to walk into a thrift shop with a half hour break from work and pick out 25 sweaters and blouses to try on in my size in just 5 minutes. Then I did have to try them on super fast, factory style to be able to have time to check out, but the scary thing was, almost everything looked really great on me! Even though I was in a thrift shop I had to narrow it down so I picked what worked the most with what I already had and left with a handful items I am really happy with that work with several things in my wardrobe and look great on me. Each item was about $3. Sweet! Normally, I HATE shopping. Nothing fits or works on me and the prices don't either usually. I can't stand all the wading through things and then trying to make up my mind. This course helped me know how to streamline the whole process into something fun that worked for me. Is it always that wonderful to shop? No, I don't always find great deals, but I don't waste time if there's nothing there for me. Shopping is WAY less stressful. <br />
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The next thing that worked for me was this- you really look nicer when you look more like yourself, when you are bringing out your natural beauty and honoring it. So, you really do get nice compliments on your looks. Even if you're funny looking like me! Hopefully you always have gotten compliments, but instead of hearing I like that outfit, or I like the color of that top, I have regularly heard things like "You look so great! You look radiant! You look happy! You look better than ever! Your whole outfit looks so good on you! You look so cute! Did you know even your gray hairs shine? " (OK, now go take the free course at dressingyourtruth.com and see if you can pick out which type I am, and which secondary type.) <br />
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My husband has really loved my new choices and is especially thrilled that I wear the jewelry that he buys me and I used to forget to wear. I had tried all kinds of things to remind myself to think of putting on jewelry but it just never happened. I felt guilty that he gives me stuff I never wear, but now that I see the purpose behind jewelry-to bring out who I am in my dress, it's easy to remember it somehow. Luckily, he picked out things that really fit me :). This has also got me making some jewelry with stuff I bought from my jewelry making neighbor when she left to go on a mission. Fun, fun! Less unfinished projects! So, the other nice benefit of all this is I have more fun getting ready in the morning and I am dressing nicer and more femininely. It sort of is a get in touch with your femininity thing. <br />
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What has been even nicer for me than the compliments is that I am simply taken into consideration more at work. I used to wear things that made me sort of disappear and blend into the woodwork. Now I feel like I am being treated more like a professional and I am consulted more on what is needed. So, shazam, what you wear can actually be helpful. Of course, you may assume this is all attitude. In part, it has to be because it has to come from within you-that is the idea of the whole system- you are bringing to the outside what you have on the inside. It's easier to show that if what you wear matches up. For the first time in my life I see a point to getting dressed besides just covering up. For most of my life I have pretty much ignored this aspect of life as much as possible so now I have this new bonding thing with all my girlie girl buddies. Ya, it's sort of been like a mini version of the Miss Congeniality movies. Ha ha! <br />
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The other thing I like is that this system teaches a lot of tricks to makeover clothes and shop on a shoestring and swap with others who have things that don't work for them but work for you and vice versa. They do also have a small online store and shop locally (the local shop sells stuff on consignment as well) you can check out. The gently used stuff is better priced than the in stock online stuff obviously. It seems to be growing so it might be an even better resource over time.<br />
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One last fun thing is that you really do get some insights into your personality and gifts as well as everyone else's around you. I discovered that one of my gifts is being able to cheer people up. I used to feel guilty I didn't do more things for others and this course helped me see that I am doing something, the thing I do best. Not that I'll stop trying to do more active things for others, but now I know what I lead with and I can appreciate who I am and not feel guilty about it anymore. Warm fuzzies. <br />
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SO, here is where I should show you my before and after pictures. Except I'm the type of person that has a hard time finishing things, so guess what? To be continued.... (don't despair, I got the before, and this week I can easily do the after. I did work clothes so I have to get dressed for work to take the last picture) Come back soon now, ya hear?<br />
<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-70607641946805921402011-11-08T10:51:00.002-07:002011-11-08T10:51:52.027-07:00Mediation and MeditationSo far, I'm not getting into blogging too heavily yet. A big reason why is I feel guilty doing it when my basement is still a disaster and my garden is not ready for spring. Another great excuse is, I'm going to school. Yep! I'm taking classes to certify as a mediator. Why? That's just the way I roll. One thing leads to another and I find myself on a new path. Not that I plan on leaving the old path, but I'm branching out in an effort to have more services to offer and to learn something new. So this path started really a few years ago. I was interpreting in a trial and a witness does mediating, which had nothing at all to do with the case, it was just a side job this guy had. The attorney asked him what training he needed to do that job and it didn't sound like it was any more complicated than becoming an interpreter and that piqued my interest. I had already interpreted for mediations and I liked what I saw, and actually, it requires some similar skills to the ones I use to interpret. Then a few weeks later my husband mentioned that a guy that works for him was taking a mediation course and he thought I would be good at it. Plus, they need more people doing it that speak Spanish. It was too weird, I took it for a sign and spent the next year and a half trying to get BYU to let me sign up for a prerequisite course. Finally last fall I took that course. Due to the fact that BYU will do anything to make my life difficult, they no longer offer the mediation courses so I'm taking them at UVU. It took another year to get my records to UVU and get into the course. Now I'm fighting to get into next semester's course. Anyhow, it has been a fascinating ride so far, and I'm learning a lot of things that apply to life in general so it shouldn't be a wash-up no matter what.<br />
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Now the other thing I'm doing just adds a t- medi<span style="color: red;">t<span style="color: black;">ation. :) Sweet, huh? Why? Because I have had a lot of health issues </span></span>and I figure the root cause of whatever is really going wrong (who knows) is that you can't live in a blender indefinitely. Eventually, the stress will make you sick. This is a way to calm and focus and relax my body and mind. I'm no sure how far I'll get with it, but so far, I'm liking it too. Which leads, in a strange sort of way to what I plan to do next when I get done with school. Take belly dancing classes. Because they help you relax and stay fit. I'm not planning to do live performances. It's just for me; it's really fun! My mom probably remembers that when I was really little I said I wanted to be a belly dancer when I grew up. I meant ballet, but now I"m getting back to my original goal- to be a (closet) belly dancer. Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-24853514959770332112011-10-29T12:46:00.000-06:002011-10-29T12:46:17.624-06:00Too Amusing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Thanks for the clarification.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2MbZP1agSCwPQH0RKCq8j3-KOk3fZXJ0BEGZuFSqEvPa75bsBePY8n4CaHXAVeJ_mhIfWRHBWrpT-vtIdAXNTDLfWIe0uW-C2vbYwrL_dSh4WDao1PkckzkfhOObFnYJ0VVpv10YGQ/s1600/followcristo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf2MbZP1agSCwPQH0RKCq8j3-KOk3fZXJ0BEGZuFSqEvPa75bsBePY8n4CaHXAVeJ_mhIfWRHBWrpT-vtIdAXNTDLfWIe0uW-C2vbYwrL_dSh4WDao1PkckzkfhOObFnYJ0VVpv10YGQ/s1600/followcristo.jpg" /></a></div>Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-56339937545904341342011-10-18T01:49:00.002-06:002011-10-18T01:49:38.513-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just in case you were wondering what to do with those hangers, wire, and duct tape lying around your house....<br />
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<br />My computer won't take these photos so I had to try saving them here on the blog. I need to stop locking horns with computers-I don't get enough sleep! BUT I WON!Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-25227727043248337302011-10-15T22:30:00.002-06:002011-10-15T22:30:31.183-06:00Loved this One, Thanks Anna!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-51383866382232245412011-10-11T00:19:00.002-06:002011-10-11T00:19:44.456-06:00I Used to Be ShortStill catching up here. I have to save this story that happened a few months ago. I was with Thing 2 at the store and he happened to mention something about "Tom" aka Gigio, being pretty short. I said., "Well, he got that from his mother." Thing 2 stops short. "Wait a minute," he says, "You mean to tell me you were short when you were a kid too?"(Totally shocked here). I told him that not only was I pretty short when I was a kid, I was always the shortest one in my class. And I still am, I'm still very short. He was incredulous. He argued with me that I was not short anymore. I told him I was still short. He almost comes up to my neck already and he's only 9. He holds his hand up at an angle and says, "No, Your head comes up to that sign" Well, that's just an illusion I tried to explain to him. If he's looking straight up at me, the sign farther back appears to be right over my head. I saw a lady who was more like about 5' 7'' not far from us and asked him if he didn't see that the mommy over there was taller than me. No, she looked about the same size to him. So, there you have it. I used to be 4'10'' but now I'm 5'7'', at least in my baby's eyes. The End. Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636966717691983800.post-14837998309588896032011-10-08T19:51:00.001-06:002011-10-08T19:51:18.350-06:00Stinky Locker SyndromeGood news, my husband found my patience! You'll never guess where he found it! And he gave it back to me. <3. <br />
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One other piece of good news. This year we finally qualified for reduced fee lunches at school! This tender mercy is probably why I'm not writing this from a mental hospital. <br />
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Almost three years ago, I bent over backwards to make appealing school lunches for my kids. See <a href="http://little-but-loud.blogspot.com/2008/10/return-of-school-lunches.html">here</a>. Which came from <a href="http://little-but-loud.blogspot.com/2008/09/food-4-thought.html">here</a> and<a href="http://little-but-loud.blogspot.com/2008/09/todays-special.html"> here.</a> Now that you see where I was coming from, I will catch you up on what has transpired since then. I spent two years alternating between trying to teach my boys to make lunches they would want to eat and trying to make exciting things for them that would make them the envy of the lunchroom. No matter what marvel went to school with them, a certain person's backpack and the recesses of the mini van were often found harboring old rotten lunches bags in this child's backpack and under back seats of our vehicles. Strange lunch bills appeared from the school. I tried to curtail this activity every way imaginable without any permanent success. Things would get better for a little while, then the lunches would start appearing again. Then the last term of last school year we had the famous incident. The one I'm sure you're dying to hear about. You aren't? Too bad. <br />
This will go down in the annals of history as the stinky locker incident. So, it's spring of 2011, and the uneaten rotten lunches are back. I am desperate. I send an email to the teacher in hopes she can help me come up with a plan. No response. Since parent teacher conferences soon followed,I asked about it but this was an IEP/PTC in a hurry because they all had a lot to do and they sort of brushed off that concern as unimportant. <br />
Not more than a week after that, I get an e-mail from the teacher. There was an incident at school. It turns out no one wanted to go to their locker anymore. Everyone was complaining about a foul odor on that hall. So, they had each child open their locker to try to find what the source of this stench was. When they had Huck open his locker, what did they behold but a locker stuffed to the gills with rotting lunches in brown bags. No wonder they started showing up at home again, there was nowhere else left in his locker for them. I'm not sure why he couldn't just say, eat them each day or if he was going to refuse them, just throw them away. I guess that he somehow had my other admonishment to not throw away food emblazoned in his mind and heart, NOT the one about just eating your lunch. <br />
So, I digress a bit. The e-mail went on to say that the stench was so awful, the lunches had to be taken out to the trash bin outside because the toxic fumes were making people feel faint and or nauseated. This was all such a shock to the teacher because she always assumed he ate school lunch. I mean, she'd never seen him with a lunch bag before the whole year. She also never read my e-mails or heard what I had to say about it in person the week before. Her proposed solution to this dilemma? "Could you please put something more interesting in his lunches so he'll want to eat them?" I consider it very fortunate that she chose this method of communication because if it had been in person or over the phone, I think it might have gotten nasty. As it was I could cool off and then explain why this was impossible. I did have a long talk with my son about his see food diet- I see everyone else's food, that's what I'll eat. We talked about the health consequences of some of these foods he was mooching off others, because he wasn't begging for their carrots. I let him know that everyone was going to be watching him now so he'd better start eating his own lunches. The last week of school I found out he was buying two milks a day. How? Turns out he convinced a friend to give him the money to help the other guy buy his milk for him and pay him back with one of the milks....ARRRGGGGGH! BUT! THE! SCHOOL! YEAR! ENDED! So I heaved a big sigh of relief and hoped the world would end before he started second grade. When it didn't I started suffering panic attacks.<br />
Now thanks to our underemployment, we can let the boys just eat the hot school lunches for no more than we were wasting on homemade ones and one big huge daily burden was lifted from our collective shoulders. Of course, I can never quite relax. Who knows how much of the hot lunch gets stuffed into someone's locker? Sometimes I think I look a bit like Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus at the end of the Pink Panther, eye twitch and all...Shelliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12851446861098955538noreply@blogger.com2