Teeth

 Years ago, there was a young girl who decided to race on her bicycle against her younger brother. However, she seized out and hit face first onto the asphalt. Resulting in this accident, she chipped her two front teeth.

Some years later, before starting high school, her parents helped pay to get those teeth bonded so she would look somewhat normal and not like a goblin (as her husband now so kindly puts it). However, over the years, some of the bonding had come off, leaving her looking for new solutions.

She then came across a dentist who offered her that solution: porcelain veneers. The girl was uncomfortable with the price and told the business she would not pay $1000 per tooth. Several weeks later, she received a phone call from the dentist's staff, telling her the price had dropped more than half (almost 3 times the total). So, she agreed.

Okay, okay, I'll stop with the story-telling. I had my teeth done today, so I'll post a pic. Yeah, I think they're huge but I know it's something I have to get used to. In fact, I laughed at myself in the mirror when I got home because although it looks better, they're still big. Just so you know, my lips and gums are still swollen from the shots (yes, I had to get shots in my gums to numb the teeth). But this will do for now:

Don't mind the funny smile (ignore the irony), I still can't feel the upper part of my mouth. Which is pretty funny in itself.

So there, my new smile!

Women's Issues Night

    Last night I attended part 1 of a 2-part event to the Women's Health Issues night. I learned a lot of great information and I plan on working hard to improve my health because of it.

 The focus was on cleansing cells. This included food allergies, anti-aging, parasites and probiotics, cleansing and digestive system, the lymphatic system and OB/GYN issues. Certain women in the ward were chosen to present each topic.

 To be honest, when we first moved here, I may have been a little quick to judge. I saw all the women who were slim, healthy, happy, and seemed to be very financially stable. My first bad thought was "trophy wives". A lot of them were holistic, stay-at-home moms who spent time each day to exercise, meditate, and eat all organic. I even had the idea they were brainwashed in this whole "holistic" approach and just following a trend (yuppies).

I then felt a bit overwhelmed (and sometimes still do). It often feels like I'm the only overweight girl in Valencia, especially in our ward. It really was like a culture shock to me. I'm not saying women in Bakersfield aren't healthy, but it really is rather different here. Like I said, it really felt like it was more of a trend. In order to fit in, you had to be blonde, young-looking, slim and organic. I would say tan, but that's more south in the OC area. Gary and I joke that when we first moved here, we'd see these girls and be like, "Oh, there's a young girl probably around our age" and just as we have that thought, six children would line up and sit next to her and call her mom. Lol.

I got to know a lot of these women. A lot of them know my health issues and are really trying to help. Last night's presentation proved to me these women really know what they're doing and they're far from how I seemed to have judged them. They're kind, sweet, hard-working women. Sure, they have a lot of money, but most of them (and their spouses) have been out of college for awhile and like us, have built their way up. Several women who already have kids who are growing up/grown up, tell me all the time they used to live in our apartment complex years ago before children or when they had young children.

Anyway, the main idea was to present us with holistic approaches. Some admitted before they were educated they spent a lot of money on false trends. Some of them suffer from chronic illnesses like I do, therefore creating them to educate themselves. Some of the women are very educated, including Master's degrees in nutrition and other health fields. When they were describing the system of the cells and lymphatic system, they were dead on. They truly DO have excellent knowledge.

We talked about holistic foods, antioxidants, enzymes, probiotics, moderate exercise, etc. There's still a lot I need to learn, but I'm very interested in taking the holistic approach further. Of course, we have been eating healthier and shopping at the natural markets around here, but there's still improvements which need to be done. This can help my thyroid condition and other lurking illnesses. No worries, they still believe in doctors and medication. In fact, most of them are working with doctors and nutritionists, or have in the past to gain more knowledge.

So today, before work, I plan on making a trip to our nearest natural market. I plan on buying enzymes I can start taking before meals as well as more fruits (the darker the fruit, the more antioxidants they have). Taking antioxidants can reverse the process of free radicals which has a hand in the aging process. When a cell is dying or damaged, it bounces around the body in search of a new, fresh cell to cling onto. When it does, the new cell is now damaged and it then does the same thing and searches for its own new cell. These are called free radicals and the process can help be prevented and reversed with antioxidants. Obviously, toxins in the body are usually what start the process. Notice how smokers always look much older? It's because of this process. They inhale several toxins from the cigarettes, therefore damaging cells and starting the process of free radicals. Of course, we all naturally age so it's going to happen in our lifetime, but we can help slow it or steady it.

Anyway, there was a lot of good information I won't go into detail about. But if you have questions, I'd be glad to answer them :)

Part-2 will be focusing on the endocrine system and hormones. Definitely looking forward to that!

The OB/GYN section was presented by a nurse in that field who has been working for many years in the hospital. She had a lot of great information as well, and said if I had any questions, I could talk to her. It's good to have someone in the ward with that knowledge. Most of the presentation was revoled around birth and pregnancies, but she still made a few points about trying to conceive. She said it's important we focus on our health before getting pregnant. Very true. I would much rather get pregnant while slimmer than looking like this and getting pregnant. Not to mention the major difference being slimmer can have on my cycles and overall health.

After the event, I asked a lot of questions and the ladies want to help me best they can to lose weight and gain fertility. I'm so blessed to be in this ward.

Okay, that was that. Things to do today!

Dexter's Vet Visit

 This morning, after crawling out of bed and feeling super sick, I noticed the limp was getting worse on the cat. I made Gary's lunch, kissed him off to work, showered, called the vet's office, and drove him down to see his vet. I gotta say, I really am quite pleased with the veterinarian we have been seeing for over a couple of years (Dexter was fixed at this vet). Our first vet upon moving to the valley was in Canyon Country and it was an animal hospital (yeah, learned later those are usually the most expensive). Not only were they insanely pricey, but they did procedures on Lila without telling us and we were forced to pay. I then immediately found a vet for Dexter's neutering and vaccinations and have been satisfied since.

 Anyway, I drove Dexter to Collett Veterinary Clinic in Sylmar where his leg was examined. Dr. Meza pushed and pulled his leg and poor little Dexter was not pleased but didn't complain. Finally they had to give him an x-ray. When that was complete, the vet showed me the pictures of the x-ray and studied them for sometime before saying aloud, "Ooh, ouch." No bones were broken, thank goodness. However, he noticed the area around his carpals and metacarpals were larger than the area around his "good" leg (2 x-rays to compare). He then explained it was due to nerve damage. The most likely situation was he got his leg stuck in something, then twisted and pulled, damaging the nerve. While the bones weren't broken, nerve damage is considered worse because of the long healing process. His other concern was it may be due to another illness. However, when I mentioned how active and hyper Dexter is (constantly climbing, running, sprinting, playing, etc), he was a little more relieved and hopes it was due to injury and not some hidden chronic illness.

So, the prognosis is good, but there will be a healing process. Dr. Meza gave him an injection to help with the inflammation and pain, then sent us home with 4 syringes pre-dosed with medication. Starting tomorrow, he will be getting medicine. He has to come back in two more weeks to see if he's doing any better. If not, more tests may be run. As for the next month, sadly we have to put away the kitty condos and keep Dexter in an area where he cannot do acrobatics (as said by the vet). He won't like it, but it's the rule. Lila still gets toys and stuff though, just not Dex. He needs to stay off of it and heal.

Since coming home, he's been hopping (I'm guessing the x-ray didn't help him and he's been really sore since) around a bit, but mostly sleeping and laying around. Poor guy.

I decided, while at the vet, to call in sick from work since I thought I was going to die with whatever is hitting me. I then noticed Gary again came home early from work (he did 2 weeks ago when I was feeling sick as well) to rest. Repeat of what hit us two weeks ago? Not likely, but who knows!

Anyway, time for more rest. That's the update!

Peaceful Sundays

 I always love Sundays. My work has been kind enough to always give me Sundays off. I think I've worked maybe 3 Sundays since starting my job which was almost a year ago (I've been there that long?).

 Sacrament meeting was nice as well as Sunday school and Relief Society. I always love coming home with the spirit. Makes the day less stressful and it's always a great way to start the week.

 Gary and I came home from church and I made lunch/dinner. It wasn't really anything special, just stuff thrown together (I seem to be good at that). It was some sort of Mexican burrito food mix with beef and cheese and all that jazz. Probably not exactly healthy, but that's a different topic. Gary then requested I make him cookies like I do every couple of weeks or so. I'm not a cookie fan, but he is. He eats some, then takes some to work throughout the week, even shares with his coworkers if I make enough. I told him in order for me to make cookies, I'd have to make them in a clean kitchen (since I had just made a mess cooking up dinner). Moments later, I saw this:

Hah, that boy cleaned up the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, hand washed everything else, and disinfected the counter tops. So, I made him cookies. I swear he's a kid at heart.

 I then let my limpy cat outside for him to enjoy. It was breezy, cool, but beautiful.

 Yeah, he's still limping. He also runs, plays, jumps up and down on things, etc, but still limping nonetheless. Gary says my next day off I can take him to the vet if it's not getting better. Poor animal. I noticed his right leg does look a little thinner and more odd than the other, so we'll check it out.

After cookies and such, we finally settled down to watch more Battlestar Galactica. We finished the 3rd season and have 2 seasons left. It's quite good!

In other news, Gary and I (mostly him, but I still join in because it's really fun) have been playing this game called Minecraft. It's a java based game, but it's amazing and really fun. It's almost like WoW but not entirely. It's a sandbox building video game (sandbox meaning you can freely roam a virtual world) where you can build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. You can pretty much build your own world. You chop trees to get wood, mine for coal and other things to build fires, construct workbenches to make your own weapons and armor, create your own rivers and streams, etc. It's like it's unlimited on what you can do. At night, monsters come out so you need to take cover. Gary's been building this sort of castle with a garden (since you can plant and harvest) with surrounding walls and everything. Right now the beta version is out. Oh, and you can play multi-player. Definitely worth checking out.

Okay, I suppose that's all for now. Bye!

Horn of Gondor

 Okay, so my blog has nothing to do with the horn of Gondor. I was going to type in a title, and this popped up. I'm assuming Gary used it for his photo editing he's been into lately. :)

Just a few blogging updates and such. The crazy week was over, and the following week (last week), I had the same amount of hours posted, which was fine. I called in sick one of the days, although last week seemed to be a sick week. Gary even came home early Thursday and Gary doesn't come home sick. Not sure what hit us, but I'm slowly becoming human again. Of course I had no fever, because I would be on my death bed if I had a fever (low body temperature thing. My average is around 96-97). And although sick, I was getting only a few hours of sleep each night which made me even worse. Sick and insomnia-not a good match. Luckily last night I was able to sleep about 6 hours.

School as usual is going well. I fell about a month behind back in October, but caught up this month. This was because after months of disease processes and other human body functions, this last course was on medicolegal ethics. It was 2 chapters. I read through them in a day and perfected the test. There, now I'm all caught up. I will be done with this program in April and I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully from there I can take the exams to become certified. When that happens, I'm on to higher education. A few other things I'm looking to get certified in on the side (it would better help me get a job in health care) is phlebotomy and my BLS (Basic Life Support) card. BLS comes with other certifications like CPR, first aid, etc. Through the AHA (American Heart Association), you take the BLS and CPR courses online (takes like an hour or two), then go to the nearest location to do a quick hands on training. From there, you're certified. It can take just a few hours and the cost is around $40. My next day off is tomorrow, so it's something to think about. As for phlebotomy, programs can be expensive, but our local community college offers classes for way cheaper. I think it's normally around a 6-8 week program. Although my goal isn't to become a phlebotomist, it can be very helpful to be certified if I want to get my foot in the door.

Anyway, new topic. A new grocery center opened up near us (we've been getting a lot of these lately) called Valley Produce Market. Gary decided to try it out one night while I was at work. I guess it's a mix of Middle Eastern foods and Mexican foods. He said there is a big variety of different fruits, meats, etc. So he brought home the most delicious mangoes, oranges and grapes. I'm about to go check it out myself in a few and get more foods. I didn't think I'd like mangoes so much. YUM!! I guess I assumed they'd be more like watermelon and other melons (yuck). But nope, they are fantastic.

 Anyway, time to go grocery shopping! Then I get to enjoy a day off tomorrow. Yay!

 BTW, this weather is amazing. I LOVE it. It doesn't seem like it was actually snowing a couple of weeks ago. It's been in the mid to upper 70's. I heard from a source, however, it's considered the "January Thaw", which will last a week or two, then drop back down cold again. I am enjoying it while it lasts, though (and so is Dexter!). Speaking of the cat, we caught him limping the other day. He's been limping for a few days and we noticed it to be his front right leg. He'll jump up on things, play and is super hyper still, so we're just keeping an eye on it for now. Nothing's broken, that's for sure. Dexter likes to stick his paws under the door when we're in the bathroom or whatever (when there's a closed door), and I think when I opened it I may have hurt him, maybe twisted or sprained it.

Okay, that's all. Time to head out! I may even take a stroll later to enjoy this beautiful weather. Bye!

Crazy Week

 Oh man has this week been crazy. Definitely an interesting first week of 2011. After having a week off work, I definitely made up for it this week.

 Monday, I was scheduled to go into work around 3. However, someone called out, and I instead went in a few hours earlier- and stayed until closing. Long day! Tuesday was supposed to be my day off- until 2 people called out. So I went into work around 6am and didn't leave until about 3. I worked all day Wednesday, and Thursday, I closed the store late that night only to discover someone called out again- the opener for the next morning (this morning). So, I went into work 4 hours earlier than scheduled today and worked more than a full shift. Tomorrow would be my 6th day working. So, last night, I added up my work hours for the week and realized I was working full time hours. Full time hours= benefits. Obviously management wouldn't like that since I'm a part time employee. So, today during my shift, I casually mentioned the full time thing to the management and went along my way. Only minutes later did one of my managers approach me and say, "Don't worry about tomorrow. We have you covered." Worked like a charm ;)

 You can probably tell my brain is definitely shut off. Let's not forget to mention all the studying I've been attempting to schedule in around the crazy work week! Let's see, this unit I've been studying pulmonary medicine, cardiology and hematology, gastroenterology, and endocrinology. I'm currently on the gasteroenterology and learning interesting things about that area of the body. Did you know 50% of people who have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) have reported a history of verbal or sexual abuse? Yeah, I didn't either until I read about it.

 Anyway, nothing else too new. Gary received another raise and I am extremely proud of him. Go babe!

 Oh, and I'm definitely loving this eReader. I've been using that thing way more than Gary has. I've read a few books already. Currently I'm reading book 2 of the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Scary, yet full of very interesting facts and science. Emilee loves science. It's also making me use that define feature (where you touch a word in the book, hold down, and it will give you the option to define the word) like crazy when it comes to the scientific terms revolving around botany. One scene, however, doctors were performing some sort of autopsy on a victim who had been slaughtered and they used medical terminology like none other to describe the details. Let's just say it was pretty gross to understand everything. :)

One more random- Gary and I are currently watching Battlestar Galactica. I gotta say, it's pretty darn good...better than I expected. I also learned the creator is LDS and I researched the many similarities to the story and the church itself. It was rather interesting.

Okay, it's late, and it's time for bed! Just thought I'd give you a very random update. Night!

A COLD Winter!

 Okay, so I'm in southern California...obviously it's not as cold as many other states and countries. But this winter has been particularly colder than usual. The other day, I told Gary, "I wouldn't be surprised if we got snow this winter."

 Well, while sitting in Relief Society today, one of the sisters, during the last 5 minutes or so, announced there were snowflakes outside. We all whispered and exchanged how exciting it was, then anxiously awaited RS to be over so we could check it out. Sure enough, there was snow! It wasn't sticking at first, just kind of falling. I assumed it would be all we would get. However, hours later, while sitting on the couch with my hubby, I decided to peek out the window. That's when I noticed there actually WAS snow piling up on the cars and grass and such. So, wrapping on a jacket and warm clothes, I grabbed my camera and did the best I could to take night pictures of the snow.

 While I had the patio door open for just a minute or so, Dexter was out there trying to figure out what in the world was happening. He kept sticking his nose out, backing away, and examining the snowflake. Too cute. But too cold- so I threw him back inside and shut the door!

It's been a perfect evening with hot apple cider and snugglies!

The unfortunate side is my poor body. This cold has been really affecting my joints and thyroid condition. I tried opening a bag of chicken for dinner but found my hand joints in pain just from trying. I had to run my hands under hot water in hopes it would help. Eventually I used a knife, haha. I will get through this! Blasted cold.

If it does continue snowing through the night, I'm looking forward to getting daytime photos of the snow. Since I have the morning off, I plan to drive around the beautiful parts of town and take pictures. So we'll see! As for now, time for a hot bath and more hubby snuggles. Bye!

Christmas Updates and 2011

     I hope everyone had a great Christmas/New Year. I know I'm a bit behind on the Christmas blogging, but hey, life's been busy! So I'll break it down best I can without boring everyone.

    On the 24th, we left town and headed to Bakersfield where we spent Christmas Eve and day at my parents' house. We received a load of awesome gifts and Gary was thrilled to discover a new/old gaming system to add to his collection- the N64. I myself received lots of cute gifts including a watch, new sweater, hot chocolate mugs, new shirt, socks, sushi making kit (yum), perfume, a new awesome blender, and a few other things. We stayed there until Sunday afternoon, when we headed back with Jazmine, who stayed with us for a few days or so. Yeah, so pretty much I brought my camera and forgot to take Christmas pictures. Bad Emilee. But I will "steal" a picture of Gary and I on Christmas Day. Hope you don't mind, Mom!

Okay, so makeup and hair weren't exactly a priority that morning, but at least Gary doesn't have his morning mohawk.

   Monday morning, we awoke and headed out to Hollywood, where I promised Jazmine I would take her. We toured the Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, and the Guinness World Record Museum. We then toured around the area a bit, then headed to N. Hollywood where Gary purchased more games for his N64 and also bought Jazmine new Xbox games.

Jazzy-Pooh

Spiderman

One of Gary's old favorites-Conan

Ze Dracula

Some scary dude

Gary and Forrest Gump

Um, I don't remember? I think it's Clint Eastwood.

Star Wars

 My camera then died, so a few were taken on my phone.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. We then did a little grocery shopping to get us through the next few days, then headed home. For dinner that night, we had pizza and chicken nuggets. Yum!

Tuesday morning, after sleeping in a bit, we had a bit of a lazy day. We went to a few places and saw a few things, but nothing too big and exciting. For dinner that night, Jazmine and I decided to play with my new blender and make homemade salsa. We chopped up tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, tomatillos, and a few other ingredients, then blended it all together. It turned out slightly watery, but after a few attempts to drain it, it turned out delicious! And hot, might I add. I added all the jalapenos. But it was still great and Jazmine loved it. We then made homemade guacamole, and Jazmine cooked up some beef and beans. We had chips and salsa, but also wrapped up other ingredients including the beef, beans, cheese and guacamole in tortillas. Very filling and delicious. Not to mention it was fun to do all of that with the sister. Oh, and I snapped a hilarious photo of her chopping onions. After wiping many tears away and attempting to see, Jazmine found a new solution to chop her onions.

Hehe, sorry Jaz. Had to post.

Wednesday wasn't as lazy as Tuesday, but we did a few more shopping trips and played video games. Gary wanted to check out the local thrift stores for any old games and Jazmine and I did some clothes shopping, where I bought her a cute dress. We then went to our mall where we did some more shopping/walking around. After a few places, we headed to our theater where we watched Tron in 3D. It was...okay. The graphics and stuff were fun, but it wasn't anything special. Jazmine enjoyed it though. We then headed back home where we spent the remainder of the evening playing video games/shooting zombies. For dinner we had garlic pizza sticks and sirloin steak soup.

And then Thursday- we headed back to Bakersfield where we dropped Jazmine off at home, then headed out to Taft where we spent Thursday and Friday. We watched a movie, some television, and had delicious food (including fried ice cream- yum!).

Saturday was lazy for us. We spent most of the day inside, but I did manage to run that morning and ran a good mile. I was proud of myself. I'm determined to work off the holiday feasting as well as focus on losing weight.

So, that was that! No more boring you. Besides, it's time for church. Have a great day everyone!