Blessings

 I am very blessed. I was a bit clingy to my husband yesterday after hearing the news of Bishop Sannar in Visalia. You never know when someone so precious to you could be gone in just an instant. Like any Sunday, they woke up that morning and got ready for church. To them it may have seemed like any other Sabbath Day. Anyway, I've been praying for the family. Remember to keep them in your prayers as well. Though a tragedy, it's a comfort to know the family was sealed together and the Lord will take care of those who are suffering.

Our sacrament meeting was very spiritual on Sunday. Our first speaker was a young man about to leave for his mission to south Africa. He gave a wonderful and emotional talk. We then got to hear from someone in the ward who will be leaving and moving out of California. They will be missed! She spoke about finding comfort in the Lord.

We then had a very special musical number. Alex Boye, a European musician and famous gospel singer, sang a beautiful piece of music to us all. He's released many singles, has been featured in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a soloist, and is a member of the church. It was just beautiful hearing him sing! You can read more about him here: Alex Boye.

There were so many people who attended our sacrament meeting! We have a big ward to start off, but we had to pull out extra chairs just to make room for everyone. Definitely a super special meeting.

Anyway, I really do feel blessed. I have a wonderful home, husband, family, and ward. Life has its challenges, but it sure is great at the same time! I love how my coworkers ask, "Why are you Mormons always so happy?" As you know, there are many answers to that. I love the opportunity to express my testimony to them.

Okay, busy day ahead. Bye everyone!

Just a Few Things

  First of all, I LOVE this weather!! I know Bakersfield has been experiencing great weather too. Makes me very excited for Fall to roll around. Dexter is the happiest cat because we've just been leaving the door open all day. He really is happy, too. I love seeing him so content like this; makes me feel like a good pet owner :)

  So, I started taking math; a lot of pre-calculus. It's to brush me up on the things I "learned" in high school. I thought I'd start off with that instead of jump into calculus and kill myself. Of course, this time I'm actually paying attention. I love it!! I love math! I never thought the day would come where I'd say this. Now I've given it a chance, and I really enjoy it! Sure, I need Gary's help on homework often, but still. I'm just very glad he's a math whiz. I actually look forward to studying everyday.  It's also smart to prepare for the 2-year engineering course coming up. Of course, like any other degree program, you need to get prereqs out of the way, so this is what I'm doing. Getting the precalc stuff out of the way before I dive into the harder stuff, since I never made my way to calculus in high school. I think advanced algebra was my highest. :)

Anyway, yes, I'm still finishing up my medical program. I was just anxious to get a head start on my engineering degree. I got all the anatomy and physiology out of the way (earning a 98% total for those courses), so now I'm just learning the basic office skills and medical ethics. I think I have maybe one more anatomy course to get rid of, and a few more advanced physiology courses, but so far so good. My last exam was a perfect score, so I am happy.

PetSmart has cut my hours down a lot, but it's not too big a deal. I did mention that I wanted a little more hours than 5-10 hours per week though, haha. But it's nice having more time to study and go to classes. Once I finish and get my medical diploma, I'm jumping into full-time. I wish I would have gotten my degree sooner, but no looking back on the past! I still have plenty of time to catch up. I eventually want turn my 2 year engineering degree into a 4 year, possibly postgraduate degree later in life, but my goal is to finish the 2 year program. This is at our local college, btw, not online. One of the things I considered besides mechanical engineering is being a health physicist. A health physicist studies radiation physics and radiation biology with the goal of informing the safe use of ionizing radiation. So I could work at a hospital, nuclear power plant; pretty much anything involving radiation. I really do have a lean toward physics, but I'll see! I'm going to go through the classes first to see what really gets my attention. And yes, I do plan on taking the class Carla recommended, to also help me see where I can go before I start the engineering program.

Anyway, just thought I'd update y'all with that information. Time to finish getting ready for church! Have a great, beautiful Sunday everyone!

PS- Gary's job was looking to hire a new entry-level programmer since there was an opening, but they weren't having any luck. Their applicants were either over-qualified (by far) or not qualified at all. When luck was running low, Gary had a brilliant idea and went to the bosses, and told them to place the ad at CSUB since they have a great computer science program. Sure enough, that same day, they had many applicants who qualified. After going through the interview process, they hired a guy who Gary soon recognized to be a student he tutored in the past. Pretty awesome, huh? Go Gary!

Ah, Summer Mornings

 I still love Summer, regardless of the heat. In fact, it's quite funny. I went visiting teaching yesterday morning and when I stepped out of my car in  my jeans and button up shirt (with the sleeves rolled up), my companion in her short sleeves and skirt looked at me awkwardly and said, "You look hot. Why are you wearing that?" It was warm, but it didn't seem too hot for me. I explained this to her, leaving her even more confused. "How can this heat not bother you?" She asked. I pondered for a moment, then came to this realization: I grew up in Bakersfield. When we met inside and sat with the girl we were visiting, we spent a good 10 minutes talking about the air and heat differences in our valley compared to lower valleys like Bakersfield. No offense, Bakersfieldians. Anyway, it made me realize why I often don't understand people around here who complain of how terrible the heat is.

One of my favorite things about getting up early is enjoying the morning beauties. I come out of the bedroom around 6:30-7, then open the patio door. An excited orange cat usually shoves his way through as I open, so I know somebody else loves it too. I make Gary's lunch, then go and comfortably seat myself on the patio for a bit. Dexter and I both enjoy listening to the singing birds, smelling the fresh, wet grass and flowers, and feeling the cool breeze. Oh I love it! Never imagined I'd be such a morning person. But I am! I love early mornings! Well, just as long as it's AFTER 5am :)

So, I decided at this point to take a walk. I took a trail back behind our complex, overlooking the mountains and canyons. I then proceeded to Bridgeport, where I spent the rest of my walk (until I walked home, of course).

To me, walking the lake never gets old. And boy do I love my camera! Besides, everyone is always so friendly.

When I arrived home, I showered, folded the laundry, cleaned the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and litter boxes; I then vacuumed and organized the place. Day's not over yet! Gotta run by the bank, get my oil changed, then stop by Gary's work.

Off I go! Bye everyone.

New Blog

 I decided to start up a fertility blog again, because I'd rather not fill my family blog with personal medical things. If you're interested in reading it, let me know. I'll send you the link. Thanks!

Eggs

 Yes, what a rather interesting blog title.  I shall explain why. Medical topics ahead:


  So, not too long ago...probably close to a year ago, I went to my doctor for my thyroid and all, and decided to mention all the stomach pains I've been having since I was about 19 or 20. She prescribed me medication for it, but needed to find the source. She ran blood tests to check for Celiac's, but I came back rather clean. So, before proceeding to any further steps (like scopes and other heck-no things), she told me to track down everything I ate and see if it was food related. So, I started that. Nothing special came up. In fact, it seemed more random and inconsistent. I mentioned to my doctor I just couldn't find a source.

  About a month ago, I decided to start eating eggs again for breakfast (favorite thing in the past to eat for breakfast). So, I did. That day, a couple of hours after breakfast, I started having serious cramps and stomach pains. Suddenly a light bulb flickered in my mind. The next day, and the day after, I tried again with the same results. So, I stopped eating eggs. I was fine. I cut eggs out of my diet. Nothing...again, I was fine. So, I picked up eggs again and tried different ways of cooking them. Moments later, stomach pains again.

  Hah! I had found my source. Now, children have egg allergies, not usually adults. Most likely I have a malabsorption issues with the proteins in the eggs. Oh, the joys. I guess it's better than Crohn's (which my doctor originally assumed and gave me meds for), or Ulcerative Colitis (whew).  Nope, just good ol' eggs.

 Sucks, though. I like eggs. I'll probably still eat them every now and then and just deal with the stomach pains :)

In other news, ouch! Yes, ouch! Okay, not serious ouch, but a little ouch. The new medication. Sometimes, during midcycle, I can feel an ovary twinge uncomfortably from ovulation...which is normal. It's a good sign (unless it's a cyst or something). However, this time around I felt BOTH ovaries working. Both at the same time? Not common.  But, it happened. I felt it. It wasn't "fall on the floor" pain or anything, just uncomfortable twitches enough to say, "ouch!". Doctor says it's normal (as long as I'm not falling over). In fact, it's a good sign of fertility. This stuff put both ovaries to work. Nice job, body!

 Okay, out of the medical topic. I decided to put the rats on the patio outside. Now, before any judgment is passed, I DO keep a thermometer outside and keep track of the temperature. They're in the shadiest area, and they love it! However, if the temp reaches above 85, they come inside. Normally it's around 80-85. Higher temps, they come inside. I did quite the research on this to make sure. The rats love being outside, too. There's always a nice breeze along our patio, and because of the direction of our apartment, we never get any direct sun. One of Gary's home teachers explained this to us upon visitation. Something about the stucco and our location, etc. So it's always a few degrees cooler on our side. Sweet.

 Now, when Fall rolls around, they'll be out there more frequently. Fall around here is usually in the upper 60's, low to mid 70's. The evening and night may be too cool for them, though. Just in the summertime it gets to about 60 degrees at night and early morning(sometimes in the 50's), so in Fall and Winter, they'll probably have to come in at night, depending. I know, my grammar is off today. Eh, oh well.

But I am looking forward to Fall!

This was probably the most pointless blog of all. Just bored. Got everything done today...well, almost. Still need to finish all the laundry. I've already got 3 loads out of the way...2 more to go! Yes, that's a lot. But I hate stuffing my washer. Last time I did that, I had torn clothes. So, I'm more careful. Besides, it's bedsheets and comforter day. I also went to the post office, went to the mechanic, cleaned and vacuumed the now spotless apartment, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned out the animal cages and entire litter boxes, swept the patio...and yeah. I'm sure there was more, but eh.

Okay, bye!

Plans and Stuff (There's That Word Again)

 Hey, everyone.

 So life is going pretty well thus far. Work, stuff, you know, the usual. Anyway, Gary and I have been discussing furthering our education, and put out a few plans.

 First of all, I'm going to finish my medical transcription courses, because I'd hate to just drop out of that. I'm doing well so far, with a 98%. I was disappointed at my last test, because I missed one darn answer (which I got right the first time before I changed it last minute). But anyway, I know it's something I can do from home when I become certified, but I also should have done more research about the job opportunities. It's hard to get started in that field, and the pay is crap. Of course, if you're lucky enough to find entry level work, once you get years of experience, then you can start earning decent money. At the same time, it's what you get for doing an easy trade school. You get what you pay for, right?

 Anyway, I was going over in my head subjects I can take to further my education. See, my problem is, I think too much. I haven't finished school because I won't just PICK something and go with it. There are too many things I like. It made me wish I took high school more seriously. I goofed off, copied notes, passed notes in class, had other people do my homework (if it was even done), etc. I was a terrible student with okay grades. I never took anything too seriously. Truth is, I couldn't tell you what subject I was good and bad at because I never made an effort. I looked at math problems and automatically went "nope".

 There's a show on Discovery called "The Colony". Some of you may have heard of it. It's on the second season right now, but Gary and I decided a couple of weeks ago to download the first season and watch it before getting into the second. A group of unpaid volunteers were kept in isolation for 78 hours, before being thrown out into a cut-off area of Los Angeles which simulates life after a global catastrophe. The volunteers, without being told what to do, have to live like this for 10 weeks. No food, no water, nothing. For 10 weeks they had to find food for themselves, find and purify their own water using charcoal and sand (and later using ozone). It was fascinating what they had to do. This season consisted of engineers from the electrical field, aerospace, and mechanical. Of course not everyone was an engineer. Just a few. There was a handyman, mechanic, marine biologist, and contractor. The second season has less scientific people, and more "ordinary" people, like a model, logger, inventor, etc. Anyway, there was a guy in his 50's who Gary and I called "the wizard." Everyone on the show called him professor, but he was more a wizard in my eyes. This guy was a genius! Seriously.

 

Every time the engineers would plan and build something, I found myself highly fascinated. Gary noticed this, and he got excited. He began explaining to me basic physics and calculus. Over the next few weeks, I came to the realization that actually like math. I know! Who knew? Surely I didn't know. Like stated above, I goofed off in high school, therefore never really giving myself the chance to know if I truly liked a subject or not. I never tried. While Gary was explaining math and physics to me, I was able to understand him and ask him many more questions. Finally, he told me to get my degree in engineering, and stick to it. So there.

CoC (College of the Canyons) here in Santa Clarita has a 2 year engineering program. I went over the courses, and planned it out. 2 years here, then a transfer to a 4-year. My plan right now is to specialize in mechanical engineering, but we'll see. Just a degree in engineering itself will do. Then I shall choose. I encouraged Gary to get his postgraduate degree in engineering himself. He would love that. Going back to school right now for him is a big leap, so I'm not pressuring him to make any decisions.  He does want to go to Cal Poly. Hey, if I get good enough grades in my courses, I may attempt a transfer there. But again, we'll see. There's also engineering in the medical field, and since I'll be a graduate of a health program at this point, it might help me get a good start.

Once I finish up my medical transcription courses and graduate (early 2011), I will begin my engineering program. I applied to the school and have already chatted with a few counselors. It's either this, or keep talking myself in circles about how I don't have my degree. I need to just DO it and stop whining. So there, again.

I know, it's a lot of math, a lot of physics, etc. I'm not sure how I'll do since I've never actually done those things before, but it's worth a shot, right?

Okay, so that's that.

In health related news, I have started a form of fertility treatment. Yay! And yes, we're covered. We're still doing paperwork to see what kind of physical procedures we're covered for (IVF, IUI, etc), but at least we're getting somewhere. The goal is to see if this will work. It induces ovulation each month (sometimes TOO well, according to women with multiples), and helps balance out hormones. I decided to read stories of women who take this drug, and they all swear by it...most of them stating that it got them pregnant after years of trying within a month or two. Talk about ovulation butt-kicking. I started the treatment yesterday because of my cycle day (pre-ovulatory phase). However, if I was later into my cycle, I would've had to put it off another month. So, progress has been made. I'm supposed to start taking it on about day 8 of my cycle, up until post-ovulation. Some women take it up until pregnancy because it's also a form of progesterone. I heart my doctor.

 Okay, I've spent way too much time on this blog. Bye!

Catalina Vacation

Gary and I just got back about an hour-2 hours ago from our summer vacation. It was sooo nice!! I am extremely and badly sunburned, but I'll talk about that later :) About every other year, my family goes on a vacation to Catalina Island. I've been doing that since birth, my mom since she was a baby, and Grannie since she was young. Definitely a family tradition. Gary and I were unable to make it 2 years ago, but we were definitely able to make it this time around! I opened early Monday morning, but I have the rest of the week off. Yay! So does Gary.

Anyway, Gary and I got up early Tuesday morning, and got ready to leave. We had already packed most of our things the night before, that way we'd be more prepared in the morning. We traveled down to San Pedro, where we waited to get on our boat. Gary and I picked some nice seats next to a window, until we both decided we wanted to go upstairs on the top and sit outside to feel the nice breeze. The trip was about an hour long.

Gary and I on the boat feelin' the breeze

My hunky husband on the boat

View of the island from the boat trip (the above and 2 following)

When we arrived on the island, Gary and I walked to our hotel to check in. They had it available right away, and ready to go. Here's the story of our hotel:

Weeks ago, when I was planning out our hotel, I found the Seacrest Inn. It was a "couples only" hotel, with fairly cheap prices. I decided I was going to buy the cheapest economy room. I didn't really care about the room itself. We just needed a place to sleep. However, I booked the wrong date. When the inn people notified me to confirm the dates, I told them I had the dates wrong. The owner of the little inn sadly informed me the economy room would not be available on the dates we wanted. However, he said the next room up, $20 extra per night, was available. I thought about it for a moment, then confirmed it would be okay. He sent me a confirmation e-mail shortly after. As I opened the e-mail, I then realized he was kind enough to charge us the economy price for the nicer room. Fantastic!

It just gets better. When we arrived to our inn and checked in, not only did they have the room available, but he led us past our assigned room, into another room labeled "The Retreat". Inside, was a small little room, big bed and television, and a table for two. We then headed over to the bathroom...inside was a big double whirlpool jacuzzi tub, with a built-in shower attached. It was beautiful! We had to double check, but sure enough, the owner of the inn decided to give us one of the mini honeymoon suites. It was perfect. Because of this, he saved us close to $100 each night! Wow! So, if you ever go to Catalina, make sure you call Roger at the Seacrest Inn!

What I also loved about our inn, was it was a block from the beach, and had a rooftop patio we had a key to. 2 level rooftop patio, with a beautiful ocean view.

These two are the first level of the patio. This is where breakfast is served in the mornings, since it's also a bed and breakfast.  The next two are the top of the roof patio.

That night, we both lounged on the chairs to watch the sunset from the roof. This was our view from our inn.

Gorgeous, huh? See, I likey our inn.

Anyway, back to day 1. After we checked into our hotel and got settled, we met my parents at Coney Island Burgers, where we enjoyed our lunch. After lunch, we decided it was time to take a nice nap :)

After plenty of rest and a few places to stroll around, it was time to meet my parents for dinner. First, I had to write in the little journal the inn provided. The journal consisted of stories of love from other guests who had stayed in our room. Some were sweet and romantic, and some said things like, "Got drunk, had great sex.". Nice, huh? I decided to add a little sweet something about our love. Anyway, we met the family for dinner at Antonio's Pizzeria, where we had delicious pizza.

 After dinner, Gary and I strolled around the beaches and went for some nice romantic walks.

Some random pictures of our walk:

(We don't look tired or anything, right? Lol)

 Finally we headed back to our inn, where we watched the sunset (as mentioned above), then crashed!

 We got up early the second day since we fell asleep so early, and had a full day ahead of us! We strolled in and out of the shops, then decided we wanted to rent a peddle boat to take out on the ocean. We didn't have sunblock with us, but said, "eh, we'll probably burn a little." A little? Hah! Not quite. We are currently tomatoes.

But here are some photos of our peddle-boat adventures on the ocean.

After we spent our hour on the peddle boats, we strolled a little more, had some yummy lunch at Vons (bought some sammiches and chips, and ate in our room), then met my family at Lover's Cove, where we spent a good chunk of the afternoon snorkeling. Yes, and sunblock was used this time!

Gary applying sunblock this time!

Gary and my dad chatting about guy stuff

Brother Quinn (or Quinny-Pooh). He's very knowledgeable in marine biology since he's currently pursuing a degree in the field. So he had fun telling us about the fish and ocean. He also interned at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The fish get VERY up close and personal. Especially when you feed them.

 After Lover's Cove, Gary and I spent another evening strolling around. But first, we had a BBQ at my parents cottage where they stayed. It was a nice little 1 bedroom cottage where a bulk of the family slept. The BBQ was nice and definitely filling!

 Gary and I then spent another evening strolling around and enjoying our alone time. We walked behind the casino where it's much more private, and sat upon some rocks to watch the ocean. Most of our time was more of a nice silence, while watching the waves and the sunset.  Ah, nice, peaceful, and more private.

  We headed back to the hotel, soaked it up in the jacuzzi, then went to bed.

  We awoke this morning, our 3rd day, checked out of the inn early, dropped our stuff off, and spent today walking around the island, relaxing in the park, having lunch at Antonio's, and hanging with the family at the corner park. Finally around 3pm, we boarded the boat and headed home. Until next time, Catalina!

It was definitely a perfect, perfect getaway and vacation. Sooo relaxing, fun, and well worth the red tomato and sad looking skin we currently have. Aloe vera is a friend right now.

Now to call back the person who left a message on our answering machine about giving a talk this month in church... (oh the joys).  Eh, I'll call him back later :)

Bye!

Released!

 While Gary and I were sitting in the crazy world of Nursery today, one of the bishop's counselors came to us and informed us we are now being released. Today was our last Sunday! 99.9% of me wants to party, and there's that small percentage of missing the little ones :) It will be good to be back in Relief Society!

I'm soooo looking forward to vacation coming up soon! Getting away on an island will be the best thing this summer.

Besides that, nothing really much to update! Maybe later, though.