Stye in my eye September 20, 2009

I know this is a bit of an over-share but yesterday I developed a stye in my eye (it is almost more painful because of the name.  It’s got to be the only medical condition that rhymes).  For those of you who don’t know a stye is a staff infection in the eye that creates basically a pimple under your eye-lid.  It hurts a lot,makes everything uncomfortable, and it is incredibly difficult to force myself to not touch it.  I have been on-line and gotten some home remedies such as putting a tea bag on the eye or taking a Vitamin A and C.  I have been having alergies all week and putting allergy drops in my eyes every day.  I am pretty sure the over-lubrication is what caused the infection.  I may go to the doctors tomorrow; although most of the websites say it is unnecessary.  Before I do that I was curious if any of you had experienced a stye and have a successful home remedy.  It’s weird because normally I don’t get allergies but something has been different here in Utah this year and it has been bad.  It has made my asthma flair-up, my eyes sting and my sinus bothersome.  What a pain in the eye (ok, that was a bad pun but I’m sick so humor me!).

What is a Stye?:

How To Avoid a Stye

A stye, or hordeolum, is a small bump that can appear on the outside or inside of the eyelid.

A stye develops from an eyelash follicle or an eyelid oil gland that becomes clogged from excess oil, debris or bacteria. Styes seem to be brought on by increased stress, but can also be a complication of another condition, called blepharitis.

Although the appearance of a stye can be unsightly at times, it is usually harmless.

Symptoms of a Stye:

Patients with styes often complain of watery eyes, pain, tenderness, itching, or redness around the stye. Styes usually appear as a reddish bump on the eyelid. When a stye first develops, the eye may feel bruised and may feel sensitive to light.

In severe styes, a yellow spot may develop in the center, similar to a pimple. Known as an internal hordeolum, it develops as pus builds up inside the stye. Pain usually subsides if the stye ruptures and pus is drained. Some styes never form this pimple-like head, and the pus continues to accumulate. Some large styes can interfere with vision.

Causes of a Stye:

Some people with chronic blepharitis are prone to clogged eyelid glands, in which bacteria builds up and infects the glands. Sharing make-up or applying too much eye makeup can sometimes cause styes to develop. Increased stress also seems to bring them on, but the relationship between stress and styes is not well understood.

Treating a Stye:

• Warm compresses:
  Gently press a very warm washcloth against the eyelid for 10 minutes at least 4 times per day.
• Massage:
  Gently massage the entire area to speed healing.
• Antiobiotic ointment, eye drops or pills:
  Antibiotic ointments or eye drops may help cure the infection. If the skin around it is becoming infected, antibiotic pills may be needed.

Complications of Styes:

If a stye does not go away in a relatively short period of time, it can turn into a chalazion. A chalazion develops when the oil gland becomes infected and a blockage develops. This blockage causes the gland to become inflamed. The pain and inflammation eventually goes away, but a hard lump or bump remains on the eyelid. A steroid injection may reduce swelling, or your eye doctor may suggest lancing the chalazion or surgically removing the substance inside of it.

Helpful Tips for Styes:

• Always allow a stye to drain on its own. It is best to resist the urge to squeeze it yourself, as this may cause a more severe infection.
• If a stye does not go away within a week with the application of warm compresses and massage, see your eye doctor.
• Do not wear eye make-up or contact lenses until a stye heals, to prevent the possibility of infection.

Fitness Challenge July 11, 2009

This week I am starting a new fitness challenge with my friends.  It is sort of like the show Biggest Loser where 10 of us are competing to see who can lose the most weight at the end of 12 weeks.  To make it more motivating most of us are contributing $25 to a pool for the winner.  I don’t know if I will win (some of the girls are exercising hours a day!) but the process will be a win in and of itself.  I feel more motivated than I have in years.  I’ve always hated dieting but this time I feel like I am doing it with friends- because I am!  It is also fun because my sister Anna has joined in.  Since we will be together more starting in September it is nice to know we can support each other. I will keep the blog updated on my progress.  I have definitely lost weight this week and all I have done is lower my calorie intake and exercised on my wii fit.  It’s fun and easy! By the way, it is not too late if you want to join in.  The only rule is it is only for girls and no diet tricks (pills, starving yourself etc).  Just let me know and I will email you a link to the yahoo health group we created.

I am particularly excited about this challenge because I have been going through some stressful stuff lately and the endorphins from exercising and eating right should help me deal better.

With this new fitness challenge I thought I would post a fitness related joke which makes me laugh every time.  Enjoy!

For my birthday this year my wife purchased me a week of private lessons at the local health club. Though still in great shape from when I was on the varsity chess team in high school, I decided it was a good idea to go ahead and try it. I called and made reservations with someone named Tanya, who said she is a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and athletic clothing model. My wife seemed very pleased with how enthusiastic I was to get started.

They suggested I keep an “exercise diary” to chart my progress.

Day 1. Started the morning at 6:00 AM. Tough to get up, but worth it when I arrived at the health club and Tanya was waiting for me. She’s something of a goddess, with blond hair and a dazzling white smile. She showed me the machines and took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. She seemed a little alarmed that it was so high, but I think just standing next to her in that outfit of hers added about ten points. Enjoyed watching the aerobics class. Tanya was very encouraging as I did my sit ups, though my gut was already aching a little from holding it in the whole time I was talking to her. This is going to be GREAT.

Day 2. Took a whole pot of coffee to get me out the door, but I made it. Tanya had me lie on my back and push this heavy iron bar up into the air. Then she put weights on it, for heaven’s sake! Legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made it the full mile. Her smile made it all worth while. Muscles ALL feel GREAT.

Day 3. The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the tooth brush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I am certain that I have developed a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer. I parked on top of a Volkswagen. Tanya was a little impatient with me and said my screaming was bothering the other club members. The treadmill hurt my chest so I did the stair “monster.” Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by the invention of elevators? Tanya told me regular exercise would make me live longer. I can’t imagine anything worse.

Day 4. Tanya was waiting for me with her vampire teeth in a full snarl. I can’t help it if I was half an hourlate, it took me that long just to tie my shoes. She wanted me to lift dumbbells. Not a chance, Tanya. The word “dumb” must be in there for a reason. I hid in the men’s room until she sent Lars looking for me. As punishment she made me try the rowing machine. It sank.

Day 5. I hate Tanya more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. If there was any part of my body not in extreme pain I would hit her with it. She thought it would be a good idea to work on my triceps. Well I have news for you Tanya – I don’t have triceps. And if you don’t want dents in the floor don’t hand me any barbells. I refuse to accept responsibility for the damage, YOU went to sadist school, YOU are to blame. The treadmill flung me back into a science teacher, which hurt like crazy. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like a music teacher, or social studies?

Day 6. Got Tanya’s message on my answering machine, wondering where I am. I lacked the strength to use the TV remote so I watched eleven straight hours of the weather channel.

Day 7. Well, that’s the week. Thank goodness that’s over. Maybe next time my wife will give me something a little more fun, like a gift certificate for a root canal.

What do you give this woman with a BUMP on her head? May 4, 2009

I had funky but real life scare on Saturday.  What happened is I was working at the houses, tired and sore from cleaning and being on my feet for two days straight.  As a little reward I decided to bring my swimsuit and enjoy the hot tub up at the house.  It was cold and very windy and the hot tub sounded great!

Without even looking at the temperature I jumped right in and the water was around 95 degrees, which is warm but  not hot.  To keep the heat in I decided to only unfold one part of the hot tub cover.  These covers are heavy.  In fact, it is difficult for me to move them at all.

As I was enjoying the hot tub the wind got worse and all of the sudden a huge gust caught the cover and quickly blew the folded half over landing a large blow to the back of my head.  I didn’t see it coming and the punch sent a shock through my body.  I didn’t black out- thank goodness!  If I had I could have drown because I was completely alone at the house.  After a second, I was able to get out of the hot tub and rush inside.  After sitting I changed and then laid down with ice on my head.

For the next few hours I monitored my condition carefully.  I felt a little light headed but it was hard to tell since I had been in hot water, and been tired. Eventually my dad arrived bringing food, which I was able to keep down.  Perhaps I should have gone to the emergency room but I decided to just rest.  If it had been a weekday I probably would have gone to the doctors, and I may still do that tomorrow. We’ll see how I am feeling.

Since the accident I have felt pretty good; although, a fairly strong headache has never completely gone away.  I have a big goose egg on the top of my head and it is tender to the touch but considering what could have happened I feel lucky.  Who would have ever thought that a relaxing hot tub could become so dangerous!

Naturally I have been thinking about it today.  It is sobering to think I could have died or at least have been sent to the hospital.  I am so grateful I was safe and that the Lord was watching out for me- even when I was doing something admittedly stupid.  Sometimes on this blog and in my life I grumble about politics or people that get on my nerves,   I whine about a bad day, I wish things could be easier or better.

In the end I love my life! I know what it feels like to be unhappy- to be depressed.  I have had periods where I felt alone, confused on how I could make things better, and even hopeless.  Getting through such experiences has taught me that I am worthy of a happy, vibrant, wonderful life.  This is my right as a daughter of God.  I do not have to resign to a stupefying existence that I don’t enjoy. I love my family, friends, job, hobbies, interests, entertainment choices, and most importantly my faith. As I said in my Easter post I know that Jesus lives and watches over my life.  He wants me to be happy.  He forgives me for my sins.  He loves me unconditionally.  I am alone a lot in my life but in truth I am never alone because Jesus Christ has never forgotten me.  He is my best friend.  I am so grateful for that.  I am so grateful that He watches out for me and I hope I live my life in a way that He is proud.  As a friend quoted to me the other day “I hope I wake up every day and Satan says ‘man she’s up again!”.

I am so glad that I wasn’t hurt and that I can keep living my wonderful, happy life.  How lucky am I to be happy- really, truly, genuinely happy?  I wish everyone could feel as I do. What a gift!

By the way, thanks for all of the positive feedback on my blog.  It boosts me greatly and is a fun part of my life.   The process has also made me a better writer.  I have now been writing this blog for over a year, and we are at 5,000 hits! Not bad for a single girl from Draper, Utah.  Not bad at all.

Giving Blood April 15, 2009

So, today I gave blood on behalf of Edward Cullen! Let me explain…

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago I have set a goal to perform one day of community service a month.  Luckily I found out that my apartment complex has a day of service a month as well.  This month they decided to do a blood drive.  As part of the promotion every donor had to pick a Twilight hero to donate their blood in behalf of.  As creepy as donating blood to a vampire might be it was actually kind of funny.  They even had the movie playing in the donation center.  Everyone knows I am not the most die-hard Twilight fan but I liked the first and second books and it was a creative idea for a blood drive.  I also thought the movie was campy and fun.

The actual giving blood part was a different story.  My veins are always tough to find. When I was 17 I had my appendix taken out and at the hospital the nurses tried and tried to insert my IV.  Eventually once the expert phlebotomist failed they had to insert the IV through my finger!  It is always tough and to be honest that is why I don’t give blood much.  In fact, I haven’t done it for years.  So today I walked over to the clubhouse and gave blood.  It was painful and it took both arms and 3 attempts to get things going but I did it.  It hurt and I am battered and bruised as a result.  I look like a drug user with pricks all over my arm!

Like I said, it hurt and was a sacrifice, but I feel it was worth it.  Hopefully my hard earned blood will go to help someone who really needs it. I challenge all of you that are able, to go out and do it!

Here is a website about the Twilight promotion. http://www.freewebs.com/twilights-bite/

Here are some interesting statistics about donating blood in the United States (some of them are a little obvious like there is no substitute for human blood- really!). I found them from the New Jersey/New York Red Cross website:

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

BLOOD STATISTICS

Usage:

–4.5 million Americans benefit from life-saving blood transfusions each year.

–40,000 pints are transfused each day in the United States.

–New York Blood Center alone requires over 2,000 volunteer blood donations each day to meet the transfusion needs of patients in close to 200 New York and New Jersey hospitals.

–1 out of every 3 people will require a life-saving transfusion sometime during their lifetime.

–Someone in this country needs a life-saving transfusion every 3 seconds.

–Transfusion recipients include cancer patients, accident, burn and trauma victims, newborn babies, transplant patients, mothers delivering babies, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, etc.

–Each donation of blood can help save 3 lives following component (red cell, platelet, plasma) separation.

–Much of today’s sophisticated medical care ( transplants, heart surgeries, etc.) rely on blood transfusions.

–Car accident and trauma victims may need as many as 50 or more red cell transfusions.

–Severe burn victims may need as many as 20 platelet transfusions.

–Bone marrow transplants may require platelets from over 100 donors and red cells from over 20 people.

–Blood products are perishable.
* Donated red cells last only 42 days.
* Donated platelets last only 5 days.
* Plasma can be frozen for a year.

–The need for blood never takes a holiday.

Eligibility:

–Nearly everyone between the ages of 17 and 75, weighing a minimum of 110 pounds and in good health can donate blood. Donors over age 75 who are healthy and meet all other donor requirements simply require a doctor’s written permission note to donate.

–60% of Americans are eligible to donate blood; yet on average only 5% of Americans donate blood.

–In the New York/New Jersey community, less than 2% of eligible people donate blood.

–People can safely donate blood every 8 weeks.

–People can safely donate platelets every 3 days or up to 24 times a year.

–Of New York Blood Center’s approximate 450,000 donors, 8% self identify themselves as African-American, 11% self-identify themselves as Hispanic and 5% self identify themselves as Asian. But more donations from people of color are needed so New York Blood Center can better match its community’s richly diverse population and the need for “precise match” transfusions.

How Blood Works:

–Red cells carry oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues.

–Platelets act like band-aids to form clots and stop bleeding.

–Plasma is the liquid through which blood cells, proteins, enzymes, nutrients and hormones “swim”.

–White cells, also called “leukocytes”, are the body’s primary defense against infection.

–The average person has between 8 to 10 pints of blood in their body and can easily spare one for donation.

–After donating, blood volume is replaced, or regenerated, within 24 hours. Red cells need 4 to 8 weeks for complete replacement.

–There is no substitute for human blood.

Dieting is so miserable at least I found this funny March 12, 2009

My friends, I am once again dieting.  This time the main reason is to help boost my gall bladder health.  While that might sound odd, I have good reasons. My nurse friend keeps pointing out that my gall bladder might be heading for problems.  This would not only be painful but since I only have a high deductible insurance plan I can’t pay for surgery right now.  Hopefully everything will be fine but in the meantime I am trying to stick to a diet I found on a website for gall bladder problems and praying that will solve the problem.  I figure it couldn’t hurt.  The main things it suggests are items high in amino acids such as grapes, celery, berries,  carrots, fish (it says wild fish but I can’t afford that) soy milk, prunes (yuck!)  and whole wheat breads- yummy, hah….not so much? At the same time you are to avoid dairy (except for yogurt and cottage cheese), meats including fowl, pork and beef, nuts and oddly all cabbage type vegetables.  In general low fat is supposed to be good but omega 3 fatty acids such as fish oils and olive oil are recommended.  The diet is big on organic foods but again those get into money.   All fast food is out- especially anything that is fried.  I have also been working on the wii fit to try and get in shape.  That blasted animated trainer is killing me!

Anyway, I have been trying the diet this week and am doing okay.  I’m on week 2 of consistent work on the wii fit.  I wish I could say I never messed up but there has been an improvement from weeks previous.  Today I started out strong with a turkey (just one slice) sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and mustard.  On the side I had some a few corn chips without trans fats and some strawberries.  This was pretty good.

Unfortunately things went down hill from there.  I met up with a friend for a late lunch (my hair stylist Grace who got me sweet deals on a new flat iron and hair product).  I loved chatting with Grace but the Cafe Rio meal was definitely off the diet. I did try to minimizing the damage by only eating half and getting half chicken/half pork instead of just pork.  I also got the burrito without any cheese.  I haven’t quite figured out how to stay on a diet and be social and have fun.  I felt like I did the best I could but still feel frustrated.  Any tips? Be nice!

The other confession…I had some ice cream later on in the evening.  In my defense it was lower calorie ice cream (6 grams fat for 1/2 cup), but still I shouldn’t have.

At least I am trying, and I mean to keep updating my blog regularly with how I am doing.  Any motivation you’ll can give me would be great.  I really don’t want to have  surgery for my gall bladder, and I want to be healthy.  I suppose I should celebrate the small victories and keep pressing forward.

I did have a nice phone call from Miriam and a pleasant visit from my Uncle Tom today.  Plus the lunch with Grace- so I would say I did pretty well socially today! Still, I felt a little discouraged on the dieting front.  However, this made me laugh.  I think it encompasses dieting to a tee.  At least I didn’t end the day eating cheesecake from the freezer!:

This is a specially formulated diet designed to help women cope with the stress that builds during the day.
BREAKFAST
1 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 cup skim milk
LUNCH
1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
1 cup spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Hershey’s kiss
AFTERNOON TEA
The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag

1 tub of Hagen-Dazs ice cream with chocolate chips

DINNER
4 glasses of wine (red or white)
2 loaves garlic bread
1 family size supreme pizza
3 Snickers Bars
LATE NIGHT SNACK
1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer).

One last comment- I am very sad Jorge got voted off Idol.  I thought he would last longer.  I am a big fan of Danny and that’s pretty much it.  I think all the girls are bad except for Lil.  I can’t believe Megan  Corkey stayed on after her song.  It was terrible. The judges were definitely too soft on her and too hard on Jorge.  Oh well!  That’s a reality singing competition for you!

Inspiration Boards February 5, 2009

Hey everyone! Thanks for making my last post my most visited yet! I guess doing longer posts pay off. Well, this a shorter one, so maybe no one will read it but oh well.
I have been busy getting things back to normal at my apartment and job. It has been crazy trying to get reservations made and also be ready for a handwarmer event this Saturday. By the way, I have gotten 13 reservations since I have been home- not bad! They only got 1 while I was gone. That certainly makes a girl feel indespensible.

I have taken a little bit of time this week to finish one project I call my inspiration boards. One of them is for “work” and one for “pleasure”. What I mean by that is they large are cork boards that I loaded with pictures, sayings, jokes- all kinds of things. The work one is all beautiful things that will hopefully inspire me to be creative, think differently, and work my hardest. It is right above my desk. The other one is on the other side of my bedroom next to my dresser and TV. It has photos of family, friends, sayings I like, my hobbies etc. Here they are. Feel free to steel my idea if you like. I love, love, love them!

On another random note, if you have not started watching the new and improved season of Masterpiece Theater (now called Masterpiece) start.  It has been amazing.  I just finished their newest version of Wuthering Heights and it is fantastic- even though it is not my favorite story I loved the production and performances.  They also did the complete Jane Austen with new series tellings of Sense and Sensibility, Pursuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey and Emma.  The only one that they didn’t redo is Pride and Prejudice- probably because the Collin Firth version is a classic.  They also did a Tess of the Dubervilles which was great and I LOVED the recent miniseries Cranford (I have yet to not love Elizabeth Gaskell in any form).  All of these titles are available on DVD and probably at your library.  I cannot recommend them enough.  Wonderful!

this is the work board. It has fashion, flowers, rooms, design, colors, all things I think are beautiful

This is the personal board. It has my goals, sayings I like, family, my travels, friends and just things (and people!) I think are beautiful.

Getting Ready for a Cruise January 13, 2009

I don’t know if I have mentioned it on this blog but I am going to have an interesting experience next week- I am going on a singles cruise!  Being that I live alone and work primarily alone the opportunities for me to meet new people are few and far between (plus, my ward has a 3 to 1 ratio and nearly 200 people!).  A friend of mine went on the singles cruise a couple of years ago and really liked it (ironically she was engaged when she set sail!). Anyway, I got an email from the Sandy institute (institute is kind of like LDS  Sunday school for youth) announcing the 2009 cruise.  This year the cruise happened to land on my birthday week.  Yes, I am turning 28 in a week.  I know it is only a year older than 27 but for some reason it feels much older to me.  It’s like I can feel 30 breathing down my neck.  You know next June is my 10 year high school reunion!  Crazy!

The other benefit to the cruise is how affordable it is- 6 nights for $512! In addition, I had a free airline ticket because I had volunteered my seat when I flew to Hawaii in April.  This means I can go on a long trip for very little.  I might spend less on the cruise than I do in my regular life! The other advantage is that it gives me the opportunity to see my friends in Southern Cali. I am going to spend 4 days with my friend Raelene after the cruise and I will get to see my good friend Emily (and I will get to see her newbaby- yeah!). I love getting together with old friends and reminiscing.  It is the best!

It will probably be a long time before I get to blog again but I wanted to write about this upcoming cruise.  It is interesting because on one hand I am excited but on the other I am a little nervous.  I think it is easy to think that as soon as I leave the world is going to fall apart.  How is everything with the properties and my other work going to get done if I am not here? I wish I could have the European sensibility of vacation as a right- as an essential part of life.  In Europe they close down for siestas and take weeks off at a time every year.  In America we see it more as a luxury, even a burden at times.  Do you’all ever feel that way?  This cruise is especially scary because I will be uncontactable for most of the time.  I will not have my normal crutches of internet and cell phones. I am not even going to bring my computer!  I am giving it to Jim and my dad who are going to take over my work while I am gone. I haven’t been on a trip without my computer since my trip to Japan in 2005 because before this job I needed it for school and other responsibilities.  It is going to be very weird and kind of scary.

On the other hand, I think this exhile is the part of the vacation I am looking forward to the most.  I am treating this cruise as a spa week, and I hope I will emerge energized and rejuvenated.  I have had so much sickness lately and I want to get healthy so badly.  I need an opportunity to become %100 well.  I also need some time to think back on the last year- think of the growth, learning and mistakes I made.  2008 was a year of healing for me and it is appropriate that I have some time at the beginning of 2009 to digest those experiences and make it a year of growth and strength.

Plus, who knows I could meet someone nice…stranger things have happened on a singles cruise!  There are over 160 LDS singles going (don’t know the guy/girl ratio but that doesn’t matter too much).   I just want to meet someone that I can talk to.  Someone I think is interesting and has a good heart.  I also greatly value education and responsibility.  I want someone that has direction, motivation, and inspiration in life.  Is this too much to ask? Sometimes it feel that way.  When it comes down to it, I want to fall in love.  I want the butterfly’s and the excitement, and I don’t think I should settle for anything less.  Is he going to be perfect?- of course not; but I still think I should be in love with the boy! I know the church doesn’t believe in fate, but my opinion is that while there may not be one person in the world for me, I don’t think there are hundreds floating out there.  I think there are a select few people in the world that I could actually be married to and be happy.  Really it is amazing as many people get together as do.  The chances are out of this world, but somehow it happens. Maybe someday it will happen to me.  Until then I will enjoy my cruise and try to put the nerves out of my head!  Any suggestions or thoughts on this post are most welcome.  I may not be writing again for a little while. We will see.  Bon Voyage!

Quick Quote- and Still Sick December 5, 2008

So, I am still sick.  I pretty much have had a cold for the last 2 months.  I am so tired of it!  For me life has to still go on despite not feeling perfect, so I am trying to find a good balance of health and work.  This is particularly difficult during the holidays because I have more scheduled than I normally do.  For instance, this week I volunteered for Festival of Trees on Wednesday and Thursday, plus I have work, 2 lunch dates with girlfriends, the Messiah Sing-In and I am practicing my recital piece tomorrow (We will see if I perform in the recital. Hopefully I will have a voice on the 19th!).  In addition, on the 14th I am going to Vegas to visit my friend Julia.  I just have to get better- completely better! I went to the doctors on Monday and started to cry.  Needless to say the doctor didn’t have much sympathy for me and diagnosed me with the same lame virus. Oh well, at least he did not misdiagnose.

Please excuse the complaining of the previous paragraph.  I am still trying to have a good time and be happy, it’s just hard when you don’t feel great.  Since I have been sick (and its been a thin time for TV) I have been reading up a storm and wanted to share a quote I found in the book I am currently reading called One of Ours by Willa Cather.  It is very good so far.  It is about a boy named Claude who grows up in a home that doesn’t communicate and is very poor.  In describing Claude, Willa Cather says:

“He is not so much afraid of loneliness as he is of accepting cheap substitutes; of making excuses to himself for a teacher who flatters him, of admiring a girl merely because she is accessible.  He has a dread of easy compromises, and he is terribly afraid of being fooled”

Isn’t that a good quote?  It sums up a certain side of myself.  I fear more the temptation to settle for mediocrity than the larger fall from grace.  That’s all for today.  I just wanted to share that thought and complain a little bit about being sick!  Thanks for putting up with me!

A crazy week and comments on literature November 18, 2008

This last week has been nuts!  I am still tired and sore from the effects.  To start with, we had a bunch of crazies at the houses.  Up until this point we have had great experiences at the houses.  With 50 groups I suppose it was a given that it couldn’t last forever.  This was a group of art salesman that go from city to city putting on art sales.  They had stayed in our homes in July without any problems, but not this time. They were nuts, getting drunk, partying and more.  They even set fireworks off and the police came.  Two of the idiots tried to climb a neighbors fence when they were all drunk.  I told them it was a good thing they didn’t get shot at.  I said “This is republican country.  People have guns.  You can’t go jumping fences!”.  I felt like telling them “This is not the real world house. You can’t do whatever you want at any time.”.  Instead, I just told them that “this is not spring break Miami.  This is small town Utah.”.  What a nightmare.  It took me almost 2 days to fully clean up after this group.  Plus, we had to go door-to-door to all the neighbors apologizing for the bad behavior of the group. Needless to say we are going to be changing our policiies to prevent such problems again. I certainly don’t want to go through such an experience again.

You would think after such a week I would get a break during the weekend but no. For starters on Saturday I worked at the Fat Flake Festival in Salt Lake.  We have a warm team booth where we give away free warmers.  It was a very successful festival where we gave away thousands of warmers.  Plus, we got to hear some interesting bands and meet interesting people (never in my life have I seen so many granola types.  It was like 5,000 versions of my brother and sister in-law walking around!).  It was a fun evening but very exhausting.  Just being on my feet all evening in the cold takes energy away.  I don’t want to sound complaining because I am certainly thankful for the work but working on Saturday is difficult.  There is something about Saturday that refreshes the spirit and gets me ready for worship on Sunday.  Whenever I have to work on Saturday sitting through church is somewhat brutal.

Then Sunday ended up being nuts because I had my grandpa Wagner and grandma Richards over to my house for dinner.  It’s kind of a long story but my grandma got lost getting here and my grandpa got sick and had to leave early.  Thank goodness for my Uncle Jim for helping me take my grandpa home and guide my grandma over to my apartment.  Eventually we were able to have a nice dinner.  I tell you it is the last time I have 2 old people over to dinner!

Needless to say, I left the week exhausted and rested most of yesterday but am still tired today.  What’s hard is I am determined to exercise today even if I am tired.  It’s just hard to be motivated when I am so tired.  Excuses, excuses.

Anyway, to help me relax I have been catching up on my reading. I am almost finished with the Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It is a good book- perhaps a great book.  I don’t know if any of you have read it but it has entirely surprised me.  It is one of the only books I have read where I literally have no idea what the plot will do, where it will go.  Even now I don’t know how it will end.  I hope to finish it by the end of today. Then I need to get reading several other books for my book clubs.  Next Tuesday I have book club for Rebecca and I have to start it today or tomorrow to get it done!

Back to the Book Thief- it is a great book for plot, characters and descriptive language; However, I have one major reservation.  It is being marketed as a young adult book and I feel this is totally inappropriate for teenagers or children.  It has a lot of swearing in it- some in German, some in English.  I am actually kind of disturbed that it is being marketed to children.  In addition to the language the tone of the book is very dark (after all, it is narrated by Death and set in Nazi Germany) and there are a lot of vivid descriptions of death, war and evil.  I know there are limits to how much we can shelter children, but I don’t feel that a child needs to deal with these things in a book.  At the very least, I do not see any benefit to the story that is gained by the swearing.  Maybe some of you that are parents feel differently but don’t you think we can shelter our children from such things for a little while? Is that wrong? How do you know what will teach and inform children and what will scar them? After all, you don’t want your children to be naive and overly-simple. Still, a book like this I would not read to my children or teenagers.  It is an adults book. The thing that is most annoying is that I don’t think I would have any problems with the book if I didn’t have it in my head that it is advertised for young adults and children.  It just bothers me.

I will let you know if I like the ending…

Exercise is hard! November 13, 2008

So, I am writing this blog to squeeze out a little encouragement from all of you.  As I have mentioned before my sister and I are doing some fitness/health challenges to help us be healthy.  It has been a lot of fun and a good way to keep me motivated. The thing that helps me the most is being able to think about someone else.  This is nice because I often feel that dieting is such an inward experience and I hate that. I hate thinking so much about me and the way I look. It’s good in a way but I am doing better focusing on helping Megan reach her goals and I think the same is true for her.

I am also doing a fitness challenge with my friend Camille. We are trying to see who can exercise more before we get together over Thanksgiving.  This week I have been doing pretty good- 80 minutes of total exercise so far but I need to do even better.  It’s just hard at first because your muscles hurt and your body revolts from such activity. I am going to try and work in yoga and other types of activities to help make sure my muscles are well stretched and ready to go.  Still, it is hard work.  There is no getting around that.  I was wondering if any of you have found ways to exercise or motivate yourself to exercise that I might use?  I have always loved to swim but it is not the most practical of exercises for year-round activities.  I sometimes do the workouts on fittv and those are pretty good.  Plus, my apartment complex has a gym with weights and equipment.  I really wish I had a buddy I could exercise with and perhaps I will meet someone in my ward who might be interested. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions/encouragement you could all give me.  Thanks in advance.

Speaking of my ward…I just got called as Enrichment leader (for those who don’t know enrichment is an activity organization in our church for women that sponsors book clubs, craft nights, cooking groups etc).  I may try to start a walking group since I have the leadership power to do so. We’ll see. If any of you have good ideas for that also I would appreciate it. Thanks and let’s get some more comments on my blog!