I shared about the 5-HTP miracle in June. I was doing pretty well, but I still felt I was missing my vitality and that my body was still holding a lot of stress with my fibromyalgia. I was praying last week about what to do to help myself further. Friday morning, getting up from my prayers, I had a very specific impression that resveratrol would help my body deal with the cortisol, or stress hormone. I really don't know much about resveratrol, only that Eric had given me a few months ago and I had a pretty good day using it. So I immediately got up and ordered some online.
That night I decided to do some research about what I was going to be taking and one study stuck out to me which indicated resveratrol seems to make cells immune to cortisol. Other things I found seemed to indicate that it works in the same genre as I3C and DIM which are clinically proven to positively influence fibromyalgia, and which I take. Tears still come to my eyes as I sense again this strong impression of how closely God works in my life, how generous He is with my pleadings.
Better still, I've been taking it and I do feel so much better! My bowel is working much better, my head is clear and alive. My stomach growls at least once a day now and I feel hunger, a sensation I have not felt, even in fasting, but a handful of times in the last five years. Plus I had a cold last week that went into my sinuses and that is usually where things fall apart for me. But this time, I was able to feel that things kept moving and I made it through a bad cold without ending on antibiotics. I feel so blessed by the results and the timing. God is so good.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
August 29 Last Lecture
I saw this from a post on a friend's blog. I hadn't seen it before and it moved me so deeply. Give it your 10 minutes, it's worth it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8uZBKyrKTU
Seeing that, I looked and found this 6 minute piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYv5x6gZTA
What a beautiful creation from a hard circumstance. I was sad to learn Randy Pausch died July 25 this year. But what a good use of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8uZBKyrKTU
Seeing that, I looked and found this 6 minute piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcYv5x6gZTA
What a beautiful creation from a hard circumstance. I was sad to learn Randy Pausch died July 25 this year. But what a good use of life.
August 20 Cambry's Poem, "I Am"
Cambry had an assignment in her honors English class the first day or two to write a poem about herself using metaphors. When she read it to me I cried. I've never written anything so beautiful in my life, let alone when I was 14 years old. Enjoy:
I Am
I am
a bird with new wings
ready
to lift away from my nest
to spread my wings
ready
to soar
I am
an explorer
ready
to sail into new territory
ready
to find within myself
that secret part that has yet to be
discovered
I am
a seedling
ready
to blossom into a gorgeous flower
ready
to show the world
how beautiful
I am
inside
I am
a candle
ready
to be lit
to help everyone see the world around them
ready
to burst into flame
knowing
that the light I lend
will help everyone
I am
an Idea
ready
to be spoken about
to be pondered on
ready
to flow from the mind
to the pen
to the paper
to become something
amazing
I
am ready
Isn't that amazing?! You may have guessed, she may be ready, but I don't think I am!
I Am
I am
a bird with new wings
ready
to lift away from my nest
to spread my wings
ready
to soar
I am
an explorer
ready
to sail into new territory
ready
to find within myself
that secret part that has yet to be
discovered
I am
a seedling
ready
to blossom into a gorgeous flower
ready
to show the world
how beautiful
I am
inside
I am
a candle
ready
to be lit
to help everyone see the world around them
ready
to burst into flame
knowing
that the light I lend
will help everyone
I am
an Idea
ready
to be spoken about
to be pondered on
ready
to flow from the mind
to the pen
to the paper
to become something
amazing
I
am ready
Isn't that amazing?! You may have guessed, she may be ready, but I don't think I am!
August 18 School!
Doesn't she look beautiful? That's my 9th grader, Cambry. She floated out the door to start school. Look who else was smiling and happy about the start: Parker and Elise. Riley was happy as well, but I forgot to take his picture since he started the week before.
I was thinking as we skipped and ran to the elementary school that every mom should walk her kids to school the first day to see their excitement drive them to a run. We've now been in school two weeks and they still run! Good teachers!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Arnold Goose Nursery Rhyme Skit Link
Here is a link to Dave doing his Arnold Goose skit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6yutvbFQW8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6yutvbFQW8
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Riley's Sacrament Meeting Talk 8/17/08
Here is Riley's sacrament meeting talk. He actually volunteered for this when Dave was having trouble filling the program earlier in the week. Listening to him, you'd have no idea that he was nervous standing up in front 250 or so people.
Getting Ready for School
I think I've only been school supply shopping three times this week. By the time I get everyone outfitted and supplied, I'm going to need a vacation!
We attended Canyon View Jr. High's open house on Thursday night. Cambry's teachers were jumping up and down, some sqealing, to see her on their lists. As she came with us to Riley's classes, the teachers' eyes would light up to see another one! Riley has big shoes to fill.
Cambry was successful getting into all three honors offered. She is also in the top choir and her band teacher was sad she didn't have room in her schedule to TA for him in addition to taking his class. She will be busy this year for sure. But she has great teachers and good friends to work through the burden with.
Riley had his first day on Friday (sorry I forgot to snap a photo) to give the new kids a chance to run through the system a bit more relaxed. We have not heard much good about his math and English teachers, so we hope it works out to be a good year for him. He's a smart, responsible, and fun kid, so I think he'll come out on top.
Friday we had the Elementary back-to-school. I wanted to bring a program to the school and so I have been busy spear-heading Ballroom Dance until I can find a volunteer to take it. I am also the secretary of the PTA so I am anxious to fill the dance spot. All the interest in the program came from girls and only a few at that, so I hope this works. Parker says he's not doing it. I hope I can talk his friends into it so we can get a good group of boys for all those cute, bright-eyed girls. But the extra involvement has given me the opportunity to meet and work with the new principal and I feel confident that the school will continue to excel.
Elise has an excellent teacher, Miss Bailey, who attended this school as a child and has taught both Cambry and Riley. Elise is at the same time excited and frightened to start full-day school. Parker has Mr. Olson who taught David way back when, and then taught Cambry and Riley as well. He is always excited to see us and is very complimentary of our family. I sure do appreciate good teachers who enrich our lives. I would not willingly give my children away for six hours daily to someone I didn't trust to improve them.
We attended Canyon View Jr. High's open house on Thursday night. Cambry's teachers were jumping up and down, some sqealing, to see her on their lists. As she came with us to Riley's classes, the teachers' eyes would light up to see another one! Riley has big shoes to fill.
Cambry was successful getting into all three honors offered. She is also in the top choir and her band teacher was sad she didn't have room in her schedule to TA for him in addition to taking his class. She will be busy this year for sure. But she has great teachers and good friends to work through the burden with.
Riley had his first day on Friday (sorry I forgot to snap a photo) to give the new kids a chance to run through the system a bit more relaxed. We have not heard much good about his math and English teachers, so we hope it works out to be a good year for him. He's a smart, responsible, and fun kid, so I think he'll come out on top.
Friday we had the Elementary back-to-school. I wanted to bring a program to the school and so I have been busy spear-heading Ballroom Dance until I can find a volunteer to take it. I am also the secretary of the PTA so I am anxious to fill the dance spot. All the interest in the program came from girls and only a few at that, so I hope this works. Parker says he's not doing it. I hope I can talk his friends into it so we can get a good group of boys for all those cute, bright-eyed girls. But the extra involvement has given me the opportunity to meet and work with the new principal and I feel confident that the school will continue to excel.
Elise has an excellent teacher, Miss Bailey, who attended this school as a child and has taught both Cambry and Riley. Elise is at the same time excited and frightened to start full-day school. Parker has Mr. Olson who taught David way back when, and then taught Cambry and Riley as well. He is always excited to see us and is very complimentary of our family. I sure do appreciate good teachers who enrich our lives. I would not willingly give my children away for six hours daily to someone I didn't trust to improve them.
August 13 - Seventeen Happy Years Commemorated Laughing
Wednesday Dave and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. What a great time we have had together. Within this year we will hit the mark where I have spent more time with Dave in my life than I did without him, counting our time dating. He definately improves my life.
We went out to PF Chang's for dinner. We tried new dishes and were really quite disappointed with Dave's selection. On the way out we asked for fortune cookies and mine was quite accurate: You are always delightful and entertaining company. Dave's said something about focusing on his best talents, not an easy choice when you have so very many to choose from.
After dinner we went up to see Bryan Regan perform in the Thanksgiving Point amphithearer. We gave ourselves an extra hour to make the 20 minute trip and we used all 80 minutes to get there and into the amphitheater. As is turns out, Bryan Regan was caught in the same traffic, his traffic, and so we didn't miss a thing.
Lestelle and Stephen met us there and we all laughed at some of our favorite jokes and new ones as well. He really is such a funny and clean comedian. And the bonus of seeing it with Dave is that you can have instant replays on demand. Bryan Regan made a series of jokes about NICE neighbors driving them to move with their tinkling wind chimes. This week when the wind picked up, Dave took our chimes down. Perhaps we'll keep our neighbors longer now.
We went out to PF Chang's for dinner. We tried new dishes and were really quite disappointed with Dave's selection. On the way out we asked for fortune cookies and mine was quite accurate: You are always delightful and entertaining company. Dave's said something about focusing on his best talents, not an easy choice when you have so very many to choose from.
After dinner we went up to see Bryan Regan perform in the Thanksgiving Point amphithearer. We gave ourselves an extra hour to make the 20 minute trip and we used all 80 minutes to get there and into the amphitheater. As is turns out, Bryan Regan was caught in the same traffic, his traffic, and so we didn't miss a thing.
Lestelle and Stephen met us there and we all laughed at some of our favorite jokes and new ones as well. He really is such a funny and clean comedian. And the bonus of seeing it with Dave is that you can have instant replays on demand. Bryan Regan made a series of jokes about NICE neighbors driving them to move with their tinkling wind chimes. This week when the wind picked up, Dave took our chimes down. Perhaps we'll keep our neighbors longer now.
August 14 Look, Ma: Bangs!
Aleah decided to cut a curl off last week. She can't exactly tell me why. At least she kept the scissors far enough away from the root and picked a good spot so now Aleah has bangs!
Actually she looks so adorable, I have no regrets. Elise likes the improvement so much she is considering bangs as well. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Riley in his Element
Dave was visiting with folks exiting the chapel after sacrament meeting and overheard a conversation between two visitors there for a baby blessing. One was describing to the other how at scout camp last week, there was this scout who did the funniest skit - one about Arnold Schwartzenegger telling kids nursery rhymes which all ended with, "and blew up!" Dave kept to himself that they were talking about RILEY who did the skit at Mapledell last week since Dave wasn't there Thursday night. Riley had even brought the prop mother goose book up for the occasion and enlisted help from scouts and leaders to get "pumped up."
Riley had a great time at camp. It took him a day to accept that there was structure to the camp; he thought he could just run free and come back to camp when he was hungry. But he has been entertaining us with songs, stories, skits, and games. He's already planning which merit badges to work on next year.
Behold the Parish in his natural habitat.
Riley had a great time at camp. It took him a day to accept that there was structure to the camp; he thought he could just run free and come back to camp when he was hungry. But he has been entertaining us with songs, stories, skits, and games. He's already planning which merit badges to work on next year.
Behold the Parish in his natural habitat.
Painfully Vain
I had a lapse of myself. I'm not really sure what brought this on, but having a gift card to spend at an online store, I'm afraid I had a moment of vanity and spent it all on things to enhance my appearance. All of the improvements are painful!
I bought an epilator which pulls unwanted hair out at the root. Well, duh. That is no joke.
Then I bought two exercise videos in an attempt to rid myself of the 10 pounds gained in the first five weeks home from India. The weight went on so suddenly that I kept thinking it must be water and would fall off any minute. Well it appears I was wrong and have decided to take it seriously three months later.
At the Parish reunion in July, Heidi was talking up how tough Jillian Michael's workouts were, so I bought one: 30 day shred. Well, duh. It is no joke.
I have completed two weeks and I have not lost much weight, but I have lost inches and feel stronger and leaner. I really like that it just kills for 20 minutes and then I don't have to think about it again for a day.
As for the epilator... razors just aren't that big of a nuisance.
I bought an epilator which pulls unwanted hair out at the root. Well, duh. That is no joke.
Then I bought two exercise videos in an attempt to rid myself of the 10 pounds gained in the first five weeks home from India. The weight went on so suddenly that I kept thinking it must be water and would fall off any minute. Well it appears I was wrong and have decided to take it seriously three months later.
At the Parish reunion in July, Heidi was talking up how tough Jillian Michael's workouts were, so I bought one: 30 day shred. Well, duh. It is no joke.
I have completed two weeks and I have not lost much weight, but I have lost inches and feel stronger and leaner. I really like that it just kills for 20 minutes and then I don't have to think about it again for a day.
As for the epilator... razors just aren't that big of a nuisance.
August 6 Nervously Nutritious
As I said before, I had been asked to teach a class again at a Relief Society enrichment activity. They had rather unexciting class topics like food storage, exercise, CPR, and nutrition (me), though they did have one fun class: making smoothies. So they combined the obligatory with a nice outdoor bar-be-que and ran the classes round-robin style.
I started my lesson with the fact that crocadiles eat just one meal a year. When I learned that, I thought, "God could have made us differently." I concluded our three-meal-a-day design allows us to learn lessons about constant nourishment and reaping large effects over long periods compiled of little decisions. I focused the bulk of my lesson on choosing more nutrient-dense foods.
My mom and sister have sprouter machines: a new want for sure! And my mom had just made sprout bread. So she sent me with her bread sample and some sprouts and Lestelle gave me some of her bread from my recipe. I thought my classes went mostly pretty well. The weather was blustery and rained for about a half hour, but we just accomodated and people seemed receptive.
Only when I got home that night and found the note that began, "I forgive you..." did I pause to consider it might not have gone so well. This note is probably the fourth I've received from this person over several years, in addition to calls in the same vein, so I don't really think it's about me or what I say or even do. Still I can't help but think that I didn't ask to teach the class, and my life would have been a whole lot more simple last week if I hadn't.
And then today Dave was conducting in sacrament meeting and hadn't realized that the person assigned to give the closing prayer hadn't attended. So after the closing song, the void being realized, he looked down at me and called me up to say the prayer. I'll probably end up apologizing for that as well. I just feel like an unrequested spotlight is on me this last week (I bore my testimony last week, a member of the stake presidency got up and referenced my testimony, I was asked to say the closing prayer in RS since I was there instead of nursery for once, the nutrition class, and now the closing prayer) and I feel conspicuous. And nervous.
But nutritious!
I started my lesson with the fact that crocadiles eat just one meal a year. When I learned that, I thought, "God could have made us differently." I concluded our three-meal-a-day design allows us to learn lessons about constant nourishment and reaping large effects over long periods compiled of little decisions. I focused the bulk of my lesson on choosing more nutrient-dense foods.
My mom and sister have sprouter machines: a new want for sure! And my mom had just made sprout bread. So she sent me with her bread sample and some sprouts and Lestelle gave me some of her bread from my recipe. I thought my classes went mostly pretty well. The weather was blustery and rained for about a half hour, but we just accomodated and people seemed receptive.
Only when I got home that night and found the note that began, "I forgive you..." did I pause to consider it might not have gone so well. This note is probably the fourth I've received from this person over several years, in addition to calls in the same vein, so I don't really think it's about me or what I say or even do. Still I can't help but think that I didn't ask to teach the class, and my life would have been a whole lot more simple last week if I hadn't.
And then today Dave was conducting in sacrament meeting and hadn't realized that the person assigned to give the closing prayer hadn't attended. So after the closing song, the void being realized, he looked down at me and called me up to say the prayer. I'll probably end up apologizing for that as well. I just feel like an unrequested spotlight is on me this last week (I bore my testimony last week, a member of the stake presidency got up and referenced my testimony, I was asked to say the closing prayer in RS since I was there instead of nursery for once, the nutrition class, and now the closing prayer) and I feel conspicuous. And nervous.
But nutritious!
August 4 - 9 Reunion Therapy
My twin brother Ben is a naturopathic doctor who helps keep us all straight. He has had good experience treating fibromyalgia with a nutritional IV's and thought it was worth the try. I went up to my mom's on Monday and began my treatments that night.
Dave and Riley were down at scout camp, so they missed this one, but we had such a good time. I did have to run back home Wednesday, making it in time for the Purdy swim party (cool picture of the party swiped from a cousin's blog) and then I taught a lesson on nutrition at a Relief Society enrichment evening.
Thursday I made it back up by mid afternoon and Nanette and Ben took us all to the Tree House Museum in Ogden. Since they have a membership there, we all got in as guests. There was much fun to be had with all the hands-on exhibits. At the end of the evening, they did a little play having kids as actors. Parker was papa bear, Cambry was mama bear, and Audrey was goldilocks. They all did a marvelous job -- I think Parker may have found his calling.
Friday Eric, Marie, and Liesel came up to complete the party. Ben and his family came to dinner and Ben doctored us most of the time; much appreciated. Saturday we had to finally call the party quits, but not without pledging to do this again sometime. It was a nice break.
Dave and Riley were down at scout camp, so they missed this one, but we had such a good time. I did have to run back home Wednesday, making it in time for the Purdy swim party (cool picture of the party swiped from a cousin's blog) and then I taught a lesson on nutrition at a Relief Society enrichment evening.
Thursday I made it back up by mid afternoon and Nanette and Ben took us all to the Tree House Museum in Ogden. Since they have a membership there, we all got in as guests. There was much fun to be had with all the hands-on exhibits. At the end of the evening, they did a little play having kids as actors. Parker was papa bear, Cambry was mama bear, and Audrey was goldilocks. They all did a marvelous job -- I think Parker may have found his calling.
Friday Eric, Marie, and Liesel came up to complete the party. Ben and his family came to dinner and Ben doctored us most of the time; much appreciated. Saturday we had to finally call the party quits, but not without pledging to do this again sometime. It was a nice break.
August 3 and 6 Purdy Reunion
The theme to this summer has definately been reunion! We went last week to meet with the Purdy family reunion in Park City. They had sandwiched an informal open house for Deanna and her new husband Lance with the reunion. We enjoyed a video of their wedding day. It is always so enjoyable to catch up and renew acquaintances.
As a bonus, we were invited to a pool party that the Purdys were having later in the week at a private pool in Kristie's neighborhood. What a treat! I only wish I weren't in such a rush that afternoon and could have stayed longer; I didn't get all the kids placed and named and it will be two years before I get another chance.
The pool was awesome! They had a big tube water slide and a rock cliff ledge for jumping. There were tubes and floaters and lifejackets to help the kids feel secure. I was surprised and pleased that Elise repeatedly jumped off the ledge, probably an 8 feet drop, with a life jacket on.
And Kristie gave me some good pointers for the enrichment class I taught later that night.
As a bonus, we were invited to a pool party that the Purdys were having later in the week at a private pool in Kristie's neighborhood. What a treat! I only wish I weren't in such a rush that afternoon and could have stayed longer; I didn't get all the kids placed and named and it will be two years before I get another chance.
The pool was awesome! They had a big tube water slide and a rock cliff ledge for jumping. There were tubes and floaters and lifejackets to help the kids feel secure. I was surprised and pleased that Elise repeatedly jumped off the ledge, probably an 8 feet drop, with a life jacket on.
And Kristie gave me some good pointers for the enrichment class I taught later that night.