Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Going crazy on Facebook

Ya'll can keep up with what I'm up to on Facebook too. Here's the link to my page and don't be shy! Send me a friend request!

First singles activity, first crush

(from left to right: Janael, Lori, Scott, me, Wyatt, and Pam)

I met some new friends off of LDSMingle.com. We went up to Jumpoff Canyon for a hike. I've since gotten a hiking high. Love it! And then we followed it up with a crepe dinner at Scott's place.

Not the best picture. But this is Scott. He's a hottie, nuff said.

May 2008

HYPNOBABIES INSTRUCTOR TRAINING
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
MAY 2ND-5TH



My roommates Liz and Karin.
You can't tell but in this picture I have a 102 degree temperature. I got strep so bad that when I got home I got to spend sometime in the hospital for a day getting loaded up on some super antibiotics. As much as I'm a "granola", I am thankful for modern medicine.
Where do birth junkies go whilst in Nashville? Not the Grand Ol' Opry! Never! We head to
The Farm!
The Farm is home to our fellow birth activist and midwife Ina May Gaskin who is a major pioneer in midwifery. This place is the closest I've witnessed to people living the Law of Consecration. Everyone works for one common goal, they all put in and every takes what they need. It's a very peaceful place, there is definitely a special spirit here. If it weren't for the ticks that we all took back to our hotel, I might consider spending a few more weeks here.


All of the homes and structures on The Farm are solar powered and very eco-friendly.

Most homes are made out of mud and clay. The local residents were so friendly and allowed us to come into their homes and photograph some very beautiful art.



Most homes and structures there had a live eco-system growing on the roof.


Lion.

From the outside.

The Straw Cabin is made entirely from clay and straw and stuff is uber strong!

The world's largest jungle gym. lol! This was meant to be a meeting house, only they didn't have the funding to complete it and it's just sort of there.

Yes, I AM ALIVE!!!

A HUGE apology to all my faithful readers. Silly me thought I was invincible. Divorce kind of throws a bigger curve ball at you than ya planned. But I'm making my way back to life and doing the healing I need to do.

So without further ado, I'll be slowly updating this place. I have so much to tell ya'll!!! What I've been up since May, what the dating world is like, my new jobs, and my how my kiddies and the ex are doing. So sit tight and I'll get to it!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Still here

Sorry, life has been crazy for me. I've been really sick, and just got done with my Hypnobabies Instructor training(saving for another post). Just trying to adjust and make this transition smoother for everyone. I think once school is out for the kids, I'll be back on here more. Just be patient!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

My college roomies

1998 - me, Colleen, and Trynda

2008 - Trynda pregnant with her 4th, me(single!), and Colleen pregnant with her 1st.


A few weekends back I got rare opportunity to go out with a few of my closest friends. Trynda and Colleen were my college roomies and we've stayed in touch ever since our crazy days at C.E.U. Us three live far apart now, so it is rare that we all find ourselves together on the same weekend.


We were partners in crime when we pranked the guys down the hall(everything from turning furniture upside down, to it being to moved down to the laundry room, and stealing their clothes and them stealing our bras and stringing them up in the hall for everyone to see), late nights singing "You Don't Own Me!"(from the movie The First Wives Club) at the top of our lungs into kitchen utensils after a breakup or just feeling erked by men in general, playing leap frog down the hall, my first taste of Starbucks icecream, walking in the nearby cemetary for peace and quiet, the boys belows us that would bang their broom on the ceiling because we were being too loud, annoying our other three, weird roommates, helping eachother through some very difficult times, me and Colleen getting stuck in a ditch with 2 hot guys whilst exploring the backwoods of Price, me and Trynda laughing til all hours of the night at the glowing stars on the ceiling(seriously, we must've been high on something because there's nothing funny about glowing stars on a ceiling. lol!).

We've seen eachother through boyfriends, breakups, engagements, weddings, babies, and now a divorce. I feel very blessed to have them as friends.

Hypnomom of the month

About a month ago I was interview by Kerry Tuschhoff, the founder of Hypnobabies, for my entrance into the hypnosis intructor training program coming up next week. She liked me so much that she asked me to be on her live radio show to talk about my children's births. It was great fun, who doesn't love telling their child's birth story? Here's the link. Enjoy!

http://www.ecstreams.com/HealthyLife/wma/hyp0411_wma.asx

Sunday, April 6, 2008

*insert sad/witty title here*

I'm not sure exactly how you title the curve ball that life has given me. It could be "Single...again!" or "Back on the market" or "The big D word", whatever. If you couldn't already guess, my husband and have divorced. I just want to get it all out right now, so that I'm not explaining myself like I have been since it happened.

First off, I'm okay. Yes, this totally sucks. I'm loosing my best friend who I love dearly. I'm a whole lot of emotions right now, but I'm okay. Things are very amicable. Our oldest two are handling it well. I wish I could tell you more of the story. This will have to do for now. I would appreciate lots of prayers sent our way.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Lia Sophia party - pretty jewelry!



I lied! I have one more thing to post about. I'm having a Lia Sophia party here at my place this Wednesday, April 2nd, at 7 p.m. My sisters have been big fans of this jewelry, and really it's beautiful! I'd love everyone to come that can. Don't be shy! There'll be lots of refreshments. My address is 1962 E. 6400 S. Murray.

Please be patient

Life has thrown me a curve ball. I'll be back posting in a month or so. Wishing all of you the very best!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Busy!

Yep, I'm busy as usual. Here's what I've been up and will be doing for the next week or so:

- Getting ready for the caucus that I'm hosting for the Constitution Party.
- Doula prenatals and consultations.
- Picking up and taking kiddies to school.
- Trying to manage my home, but being very unsuccessful.
- Trying to campaign, not really, but doing what I can.
- Mentoring meetings for doulas.
- Making more cinnamon rolls(hahahaha!) for the construction workers who are fixing our intersection - Jacob loves watching them!
- Going to the library.
- Getting ready for my trip to Nashville, TN in May to take my Hypnobabies Instructor Training.
- Visiting Teaching.
- Going crazy!

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back blogging in a week or so.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Kidney needed

If you've got a spare kidney, this family could sure use it! Here's their story.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Changed my mind

I decided to try something else. Now that I've figured out how to do this, it's pretty easy. So for those who saw the previous layout, did you like that one better or this one? The first one was a Winter Wonderland and this one is called Splendid. So which one? I can't decide.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Betcha didn't see this coming!




I'm making my way to Capitol Hill. Yes, you heard me!

Everyone here knows how involved I've been with the midwifery legislation here in Utah. Well, I wanted to take a more active role. The initial plan was to become a delegate. As I became more involved in the process I met people, who I know I was supposed to meet. One thing that has been a passion to me has developed into something much bigger.

In the process I changed political parties too. I had always considered myself somewhat of a republican, but it seems lately that there is no difference between republicans and democrats. They're both one faction running on two different tickets. Neither of them coincide with my beliefs and morals. So last year at the Utah Homeschooling Convention I passed by the Constitution Party booth. I didn't think much of it at time, I signed up for their emails and went on my way. But as the Primary Elections started my mind returned to this party. I ran into a friend who was the legislative chairwoman for her district and she helped me find the right people. Everything has fallen into place.

The Constitution Party believes in our God given rights of free agency, defending the family unit, and restoring the republic. What what I find gratifying is that it's an educational party. They strongly believe in education and involving the public. There are weekly seminars in your neck of the woods, many people meet and learn about the constitution and how it should work for our country.

On Tuesday of this week I went down to the County Clerk's office, submitted my application, and was sworn in to run for State Reprentative of District 46 for the Constitution Party. My district covers south-east Murray, South Holladay and Cottonwood Heights.

I don't plan to actively campaign. My purpose is to help the Constitution Party receive more recognition. Hopefully, with my name on the ballot listed under this party, more people will wonder what they're all about and want to learn about it. As it is, I've four kiddies who need a mommy at home. Maybe in the next few years this is something that I will definitely aggressively pursue. In the event that hell freezes over and I am elected my main focus is to protect the birthing rights of Utah's women. Our healthcare should not be legislated by a third party or anyone!

Ta da!!!

Okay, so it's not super fancy, but I'm satisfied. I'm not exactly sure how to add all the embellishments, I suppose that's where the Photoshop Elements comes in?Sheesh, it took forever to just find some time to do this. Now I need some time to put everything else back.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Under construction!

I'll have this blog up and running a little better in a few days.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Experimenting

Just changing things up here a little.

If anyone would like to customize a blog for me, I'll bake you a dozen cinnamon rolls. Seriously, I would! Me need help. Me html illiterate. Me like purple.

Monday, March 3, 2008

I can't stop myself!


This is the third batch of cinnamon rolls I've made in just a few days. Soooo goooood!!!


So last year I bought a bread machine at a yard sale for $5. Josh had been wanting one for a while and $5 is a steal. Til now, it's sat untouched by me. Josh has made amazing breads in it. Basically I've been intimidated by this machine. The operation manual looked way too complicated and I don't like messing with things that look like a car manual.



Last week I got this HUGE craving for cinnamon rolls and I had this amazing recipe, so I tried it. Holy cow, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. And now I can stop making cinnamon rolls! Thank you to the Bread Man 2000 for satisfying my cinnamon roll craving!


Here's the recipe for anyone that wants to try.

Almost Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

4 T. butter, melted
4 T. water
1/2 box of vanilla instant pudding(the 3/4oz size)
1 C. milk
1 egg, beaten
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
4 cups flour
2 1/2 t. active dry yeast

Filling:
1 C. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 C. butter, softened so it's easy to spread.

Place ingredients in bread machine in this order and set for dough cycle. When it's complete, remove and roll it out to a 17X10 rectangle. Spread softened butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over spread butter. Roll dough tightly from long end, pinching ends closed when completely rolled. Slice with a pizza cutter, or dental floss(which ever works better) into 1 inch sections. Place onto greased baking pan and let it rise until double. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Frost immediately.

Frosting:
4 oz. cream chees, softened
1/4 C. butter, softened
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 t. milk

Enjoy!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tagged!

Thanks for the tag Joann!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 Years Ago: Finishing up my first year at college. Enjoying the ups and downs of college life.

5 Things on my To-Do List today:

1- deposit my paycheck, chaching!!!
2- fold the heaping pile of clean laundry that just keeps getting bigger and bigger!
3- take a shower
4- get ready to go see The Business of Being Born - free screening at SLCC W. Jordan campus if anyone wants to come along!
5- take my kids to school, pick them up, get dinner ready, vacuum, take a shower(did I already say that?), put dishes away, load more dishes back in the washer, do more laundry, clean the windows that my son tried to clean with Spray 'n' Wash, play with my kids, make more cinnamon rolls......I could keep going, but I'm already exhausted.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I'd buy us an awesome house, a maid, butler, take several vacations a year, pay off my parents mortgage, buy a house for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's and everyone else in my family, watch my hubby relax and not have to worry about working, pursue my dreams of becoming a midwife and open a birthing center.

3 of my bad habits:

1- I always over extend myself, making commitments that I sometimes can't follow through on and then the people in my life end up feeling like they're not a priority.
2- Can you say "open mouth, insert foot"? I'm pretty socially inappropriate and don't always recognize when I've offended someone.
3- I spend way too much time on the internet.

5 places I have lived:

1- Coos Bay, Oregon where I was born.
2- West Valley, UT where I grew up.
3- Price, UT where I went to college.
4- Los Angeles, California where Josh and I lived for four years at his job.
5- Murray, UT where we live now.

5 jobs I have had:

1- Gymnastics coach, I taught the tiny tots. So fun!
2- TCBY - hated it!
3- Cruise America - tourists renting motorhomes, I was the rental manager. Stressful!
4- J.W. Pepper - the world's largest sheet music distributor. I really liked this job, got to work with some interesting people.
5- MOM - yep, I'm a mom!

5 things people don't know about me:

1- I can still do a backhandspring.
2- My favorite author is Orson Scott Card.
3- I absolutely hate talking on the phone, it's phobia for me and don't even think about asking me to talk to insurance companies or getting a babysitter. Email is way better.
4- I've never had stitches. Broken lots of bones, but never had stitches, knock on wood!
5- My favorite scented lotion is Cranberry from The Body Shop - it's their seasonal scent.

I tag Megan, Jessica, Darci, Mindy, and Tammy!!!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Adventures of an inventory auditor - embarrassing moment, sort of

That's my part-time job. It's not a glamorous job, but it gives me a little extra spending money on the side. It's super laid back and really easy. And basically all I do is put a little laser on my finger and scan inventory. I've been doing it for a month now and I think it may be bad for my wallet. I haven't spent anything, but some of these stores always leaving wanting to go back. lol! Like last week and the week before I inventoried Justice and Limited Too - little girl clothes. Dangerous place for someone who has three daughters!

Anyway, last night my company inventoried Borders, by Fashion Place Mall. If you've been there you know that it's pretty big store. Occasionally as we scan, we'll come across an item that has no barcode and you need the assistance of the store manager. You get their attention by yelling,"SKU CHECK!". In a small store someone will easily hear you and come to help you. But if you're in Borders and you yell "sku check", either no one will hear you and if they do, they have no idea where you are. So with a large store you yell, "sku check" and the name of the section you're in, like,"sku check magazines!".

Well, that's really not a problem. However, if your manager puts you in adult erotica and gay/lesbian literature you've got a problem!!! So this was me,"SKU CHECK......silence.....erotica"(trying to say this in my most-discreet-don't-attract-any-attention-to-me-but legitimate-professional-adult-not-embarrassed tone of voice). I tried saying "romance", but then the store worker always ended up in the wrong section, not even close to where I was. Why not just put the smutty novels next to the smutty porn books?! Well, the store worker was just as red in the face as I was, he didn't quite know how to handle it. lol! Poor guy! And it always got every one's attention. To say the least, I was given a pretty hard time over it.

I really saw too much too. Feel like a need a shower or repentance. It would've been nice if some of these books just had solid covers. I'm just glad for it to be over.

Tonight's store is Express. Must. Resist. Temptation.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Midwifery Legislation update

I know, I know, all this midwifery stuff is so exciting. Just thought I'd give ya'll a synopsis of what's been going on. I've been busy up the capitol all week, it's sort of exhausting but fun.

Midwives never wanted to be licensed by the state. They were being prosecuted and one midwife was told she had to choose between her LDS temple recommend or her midwifery practice (they were accused of practicing medicine without a license - a felony in Utah). She left her midwifery practice and pursued the bill to legalize midwifery in Utah. It would have been lovely to have stayed under the radar - had they not been threatened with jail time and loss of religious privileges.

Sen. Dayton's comments about not adhering to regulations is totally false. Midwives have a long and proven track record and were being monitored and have much better outcomes than physicians in Utah (this is true over the whole world actually). She and the UMedA are using scare tactics and false information (attributing deaths and other catastrophes to midwives - totally unfounded which you can see in DOPL's stats).

The bill affects ALL midwives - licensed and unlicensed. They already have rules and regulations in place and DOPL (dept of occupational and professional licensing) is keeping track of the midwives and maintaining statistics and outcomes and they are excellent.

The biggest problem with the bill being passed out of the senate was that the senators were under the mistaken impression that this was a"compromise" bill between the Utah Medical Association (which is the group behind the bill) and the LDEM's (licensed direct entry midwives).

At the Senate committee meeting the UMedA was admonished to stop wasting everyone's time and work something out with the midwives.They met and after a number of hours they agreed on many points. The UMedA told them they would draft the bill and have the LDEM's review it before they submitted it to the Senate. Instead they wrote their own new bill that effectively risks out at least 96% of all clients. They snuck the bill into the Senate without notifying the midwives.

This bill removes parents rights that have been guaranteed elsewhere in statute. If this bill passes it will mean that a group of surgeons that don't understand normal or natural birth have forced women into medically managed hospitals - many of them forced into surgery.

The group Utah Friends of Midwives has more information about this and you can join their email group:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/UtahfriendsofMidwives/

Sunday, February 17, 2008

My fun sleepover

Megan is my best friend. I'm still amazed that even over the years and with the distance that we've still been able to keep a friendship going. We became friends back in our ol' elementary school days. We had tons of sleepovers and did gymnastics together. She was my bridesmaid and a huge help on my wedding day(her mom helped out too!) when Josh and I got stranded at the temple - funny story. We've both done cheerleading and drill team, just at different schools. She's like a sister to me.

Well, I got the weekend off and headed up to Hyrum and spent the night. I haven't had a sleepover in ages! It was a total blast. We shopped, ate out, and watched Pride and Prejudice, what Josh calls a "tea and crumpet" movie. lol! And I got to sleep in, hallelujah! Her children are absolutely adorable! And a huge thankyou to her hubby Aaron for watching the kids while we went out, even though he was totally tired from his scout outting.

Thankyou Megan for a fun weekend. And I'm totally getting my passport now, you'd better be too!



Parks and Maddy, too cute!

Megan and Aaron. What a cute couple!

Snowy roads = poo!

This is the only way to describe our drive home after our Discovery Gateway visit. Roads were awful all over and I think we were just greatful to get home safely.


Discovery Gateway

The kids had a blast at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum last week. They had a new Sesame Street Body exhibit. So the kids got to go through and learn about the body. I love this place because the kids can just let their imaginations go wild.


Jacob showing off his construction get-up

Miri learning about the different parts of the foot.

Autumn shopping at the gift center.


Alisha and Miri doing their pretend shopping.


Learning more about the body at the Sesame Street Body Station.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Valentine's Day crafts

A huge THANKYOU to Joann who posted this idea on her blog. It was so much fun for my kiddies and surprisingly easy. We sifted through our crayon bucket and found all the small broken pieces. Jacob especially had fun breaking the pieces that were too long. We found a silicon heart mold tray at Target for $10. And here's what we came up with.







Sunday, February 10, 2008

GNO


Michelle, Erin, me, and Heidi

Last night I got together with some old friends from high school. It was so much fun to get out with the girls. We talked about birth stories, our kiddies, high school memories, stuff that we're into these days, TV shows....I think we could've kept going all night! lol! So for those Granger alum's that read my blog, you missed out! Hope you can join us next month!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Health Committee heard our case today

Basically what this bill is, is a turf war. The Utah Medical Association does not like us taking our money somewhere else.

It was a total riot listening to Sen. McCoy(who supports us) ask the president of the UMA some really important questions that she didn't have any answers to, and she couldn't site her sources for the "horror" birth stories we were hearing. She basically could give no good reason why this issue is being brought up again. The thing that bugs the UMA is that we have numbers and statistics that favor us. Our numbers reflect that not one baby has died under the care of midwife, then the UMA president went on to admit that there's atleast one infant death per week at St. Marks(nothing against St. Marks, they're a very "birth naturally" friendly hospital). Duh! Not such a smart thing to say to the committee.

The whole committee was totally bugged that this issue is still on the table. The Utah Midwives Association is supposed to meet with the UMA over this bill and make some more compromises. If they don't find a way to compromise with us they'll be loosing their credibility with this bill.

Unfortunately, the bill passed out of committee and is now headed to the senate floor. So I'll be going back up to the capitol with my fellow homebirthers and midwives to talk more to our reps. And we'll let the UMA keep digging themselves a very large hole.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Check out the Reunion Blog!

There's a new announcement. We've organized a Lady Lancers Night Out. Hope you'll join us!

Friday, February 1, 2008

Come show your support(and read below as well).

SB 93 has been assigned a committee!!! If you'd like to show your state reps that your DO NOT approve of this bill please join us moms at the State Capitol this coming Tuesday.

We will be meeting in Room W020, West Office Building, Utah State Capitol Complex at 8:00 a.m. Look for PINK stickers that say "NO on SB93!"

We need lots of moms and babies. Lots of babies! The more women we have who oppose this bill the more this senate committee will take us seriously. We can kill this bill right now with lots of support. If it's killed now it'll never make it to the senate floor and that's what we want.

Please come show your support!

Utah's midwives NEED your help!

EVERYONE, I need your help! Many of you know that I'm very passionate about childbirth. Well I'm also very passionate about who a woman's right to choose her care provider. For some of you, you feel comfortable with an OB/GYN or maybe a CNM. For me, I choose a LDEM(Licensed Direct-entry Midwife). This issue has come up because State Sen. Margaret Dayton hates Utah midwives. She would like to get rid of us, and I count me in this too because someday I would like to become a midwife. Senator Dayton has introduced a bill that would limit who a woman chooses as her care provider. Sen. Dayton has been quoted in the newspapers saying that,"women should have the choice of laboring with a high end obstetrician or laboring alone at home in a dark bathroom". Those are her exact words. She's not a nice lady.

Two years ago Utah midwives fought hard for a bill that would allow them to practice legally and gain licensure. Licensure would allow them to practice with medicine. Meaning that for us women who choose to birth at home, our midwife is able to work with medicine such as antibiotics(for Group B Strep), or administer pitocin in cases where the mom is hemmorhaging(never to induce).

Senator Dayton has introduced a bill that would not allow me to birth at home. In this bill she attempts to define what "normal" birth is. The thing is, women come in all shapes and sizes, you can't put a label like "normal" on us. Because of this bill I would be risked out and my midwife would not be allowed to take me on as a patient. My midwife provides me the EXACT same care that you would find in your OB's office. She does regular blood screening, urine tests, doppler for heart tones, and can even refer your for ultra sounds. What I love best about my midwife is that she absolutely cares for all of her patients. It's been comforting to know during my pregnancies that if I had any cares or concerns that she would take the time to listen and thoroughly address everything. And I've had OB's that just dismissed me or would not respect my wishes.

I know that most of you would not even consider birthing at home, but this does affect you too. Perhaps your choosing to birth with a midwife in the hospita(CNM - Certified Nurse Midwife), under this bill your own CNM would not be able to take you on as a patient. Wouldn't it be sad to not be able to choose a medical professional you trust? I risk out out of midwifery care because I am Rh-, GBS positive, I have hypothyroidism, a history of babies over 9 lbs(one the more ridiculous reasons, in my opinion), a family history of hypertension(although I don't have it), a history of miscarriage before 12 weeks, and because I refuse all the other "optional" tests offered in a dr's office. Isn't it amazing that with all that's wrong with me, that I can still give birth at home to a healthy baby? This bill defines a "normal" birthing woman as someone who is about to give birth for the first time, has NO history of any genetic or other diseases, and has been impeccably healthy their whole life. I do not know of a single woman that would come close to this definition.

Not only does this bill limit your choice, it would risk-out over 90% of Utah midwives clientele. Clearly this is a restraint of trade. I'd also like to point out that the statistics and numbers for Utah midwives for the 2006-07 year were excellent. Even the WHO and Utah's own health department have been quoted saying that homebirths had FAR LESS complications than births that occured in the hospital.

Again, I know that most of you would not choose a homebirth for you, but I would hope that you value your agency in choosing your care provider. I'm asking you to please write to your State Senator and House Representative. As a constituent, your voice needs to be heard, your Rep needs to know that you do not approve of this bill. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING A LETTER. Find out who your reps are and send them an email.

Here is a link for finding out who your State Rep is: http://le.utah.gov/house/DistrictInfo/newMaps/State.htm

And for your State Sen.:http://se15.utahsenate.org/perl/spage/distmapal.pl

Here is Senate Bill 93 (SB93): http://le.utah.gov/~2008/bills/sbillint/sb0093.htm


If you would like to write to your rep, but aren't sure what to say in your letter send me an email and I'll put together a message for you.

THANKYOU!!!!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Heidi!

Here goes:

1. Best thing you cooked last week?
We found this recipe in our pH Miracle cookbook and it's our favorite. It's called Zippy Breakfast and it's basically chopped avocadoes, tomatoes, bellpepper, Udo's oil and Liquid Aminos over hot rice. It's so freakin' good!

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
I'd take my hubby and go on a cruise somewhere in the Caribbean.

3. When was the last time you cried?
Last week. I try to avoid at all costs the country song,"I Loved Her First". Whenever I hear it, I just start blubbering.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago:
1- Cheering for C.E.U. Go Eagles!!!
2- Waitin' and datin' on my guy - he didn't know how smitten I was with him, so he didn't know I was waiting.
3- Getting engaged to another guy when "my" guy came home off his mission - LONG story!
4- Having a major prank war with the guys down the hall. Good stories there!
5- Just trying to get through my first year of college.

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago:
1- Being a mom to my two oldest.
2- In the primary presidency.
3- Living in Los Angeles.
4- Hosting A LOT of baby showers. We had 10 babies born in one year, that's a record for the Canoga Park ward.
5- Going back to school as Los Angeles Pierce College.

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago:
1- Had a wonderful homebirth with Autumn.
2- Elected as the new president of Utah Friends of Midwives Association. Spending lots of time up on Capitol Hill talking to senators and reps.
3- Started my doula work.
4- Found my passion in childbirth and hope someday to be a Licensed Direct-entry Midwife.
5- Busy being a mom and chauffering them all over.

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:
1- Blogging, which I never thought I'd be interested in.
2- Reading, self-help or new-age books mainly.
3- Researching anything about alternative medicine, learning about herbs.
4- Attending births, obviously.
5- Making desserts. I don't know why this is so soothing to me, but there is just something about digging into something sweet that you've made all by yourself.
6- Learning about autism.
7- Traveling.

8. Five favorite foods:
1- Sweet 'n' sour chicken
2- Chicken parmisan
3- smoked beans and sausage
4- Lettuce wraps from Pei Wei
5- Ham fried rice with sweet n sour sauce drizzled over it.

9. Five places you've been:
This should be five places you'd like to go to because I haven't been anywhere exciting.
1- Nauvoo
2- New Hampshire, Boston
3- Oregon
4- California
5- Washington

10. Five Favorite Memories:
1- My wedding day.
2- The births of all four of my children.
3- Dressing the guys up in our brasiers for a talent show in college, way funny.
4- The day I won the state championship in gymnastics.
5- Toilet papering my ex-boyfriends house. Sweet revenge!

People I'm tagging:
Tisha Hunt and Sara Farrer, because I don't think they've been tagged yet. Connie Pender because I haven't heard from her for forever. Scott Pearson, because he's too busy to update his blog. haha! Bobbie Newton because even though I read their family blog I don't know very much about her.

Okay taggies, copy and paste and put your own answers in, then tag five other people.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Happy Day

Josh, Miri, and cousin Amaya

Well, atleast I think it should be celebrated. My sweet hubby, who works so hard for our family, got a new promotion and raise at work!!! I know he's felt really conflicted about staying in the IT industry, but this new promotion is a change. It's an opportunity to learn more and make his resume look really snazzy. I'm excited for him. He actually had a spring in his step this morning. I love you honey!!!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

President Hinckley 1910-2008



I am happy to know that our beloved President Hinckley is with his loving wife Marjorie. I am also saddened by his departure. He will be missed.

My baby is sick

A few days ago Autumn got what I thought was just the beginning of a cold. Coughing, runny nose, congestion, no big deal right? Friday night a fever accompanied the symptoms. On Saturday she could hardly breathe. I thought she had classic RSV symptoms from what I was reading on the internet. The one precaution to lookout for was blue coloring in the lips and extremities. So after her nap on Saturday I found her struggling to breathe and her lips turning blue. We rushed her over to the Urgent Care center nearby and had them do an Nebulizer treatment, which helped a ton. The doctor came in and listened to her chest. Not good. She got x-rays next. She didn't have RSV, she has pneumonia. So we have nebulizer home with us and she's breathing in Albuterol. And I hope feeling much better, at least she sounds better. Poor baby! It scared me out of my mind to see her struggling to breathe like that. While I'm a very "crunchy" momma, I am thankful for modern medical technology. I can't imagine how I would treat pneumonia with out it.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Memories

Heidi's blog entry about her daughter and makeup had me reminiscing about the time Jacob and Alisha got into their Aunt Jennie's makeup. Jacob was 5, Alisha 4. Half of me was thinking,"Quick hun, where's the camera?", the other half that was not so happy was thinking,"Holyfreakingbleepbleepbleepeyetwitchingbleep!!!". So yeah, it took weeks for it to come off because most of it was semi-permanent. Oh joy!



Notice that the makeup is not just on them, but on the bathroom mirror, floor, wall, bathtub, EVERYWHERE! And I think it's still there to this day. That semi-permanent makeup is definitely a formidable opponent when it comes to your heavy duty household cleaning chemicals.



And yes, Alisha is crying and Jacob just doesn't know what to do because both of them know they're in trouble! And they definitely know that mommy's makeup bag is off limits. Now if I could just make my point with Miri....I can wish can't I?

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Girls Night Out

I seriously need a GNO. I can't do anything this weekend, but next weekend is totally open. Just throwing this out there incase there are any takers here. Anyone want to join me for a movie and food?

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I'm hiding in my bedroom...

for like 10 minutes. The "witching hour" has begun at my house. I need a sanity break. I really wish my hubby didn't have crazy hours cause I'm done being mommy at like 4:00. Seriously, what do you do for your kids when all you feel like doing is shipping them to Mexico?

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Spammers

Do they ever take a break?! I'm gonna have to shut down my yahoo address, I get atleast 25 of these ads in my inbox everyday. The porno, sexy singles invites, and viagra ads have got to stop! And I'm tired of inheriting millions of dollars from long lost loved ones in Africa! Venting done.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Seriously.




This is the one show I didn't want to become addicted to. And now I can't get enough of McDreamy and must catch up on past episodes...Darn that writer's strike!

Sunday, January 6, 2008

What does it mean to be a child of God?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

^^ Authored and published by Marianne Williamson ^^

I think this is what is means to be a child of God. My friend Tisha posted this quote on her blog. It has touched me deeply and I'm still pondering on these words. I wonder how it would be if more people knew who they were. But it's not simply to know who you are, but to feel who you are. Not that you are better or more worthy than another, but to feel that worth, that love inside yourself. Maybe that small part of the Great Plan of Happiness is to find that love and happiness inside of ourselves. And when we love ourselves, then we can let that light shine.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Strummin' on the ol' banjo!

Well, not a banjo, but woohoo I'm taking guitar lessons! I just signed up and ordered my acoustic guitar online. I wanted to do something different this year and since we don't have the space(or in my case the patience) for a piano, I opted for a guitar. I'm so freaking excited!

And, and, and!...I also applied for a job. I've already got all the logistics figured out. It's been years since I worked outside my home. Apparently the doula business hits a huge lull in the winter time. I need something to keep me busy. lol! Feeling excited today!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Shameless plug

Are you or someone you know pregnant? Would they be interested in hearing how they can have a wonderful birth experience? Would they be interested in talking to a birthing doula? If you've answered yes to all three, please come see me!

I'm currently taking new clients. I do free consultations. I'll help you envision the birth you've always wanted by writing up a birth plan, attending prenatals with you, educating you on your choices in whatever setting you've planned on(hospital, birth center, home, etc), and helping you feel like an active participant, in control of your baby's birth no matter the birth you choose(epidural, C-section, or unmedicated).

I travel within the following counties: Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Tooele, and Summit.

I can take emails at kameo1010@yahoo.com or call me at 801-830-8872 to schedule your free consultation.