tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-794871175357025522024-03-20T09:11:41.166-06:00cindy's blog thingCindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.comBlogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-90668392831287108702016-01-01T14:06:00.002-07:002016-01-03T09:59:21.105-07:00January 1998. (Isabella is turning 18)<div class="MsoNormal">
December 31, 1997. Wednesday.</div>
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New Years Eve. I went to the mall to try to find something
presentable to wear that night. I was at some trendy store and tried on the
largest junior’s sweater I could find. I didn’t want any more maternity
clothes. It still looked ridiculous. I gave up. We went to hang out with Brent’s
friend from work and his girlfriend at her house in West Jordan. We made pizza
and played games. We brought pie and we watched the first Austin Powers movie.
I was so tired and uncomfortable in that giant bean bag chair while 35 weeks
pregnant.</div>
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January 1, 1998. Thursday.</div>
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We went to the mall. It was crowded. I got a frufru pink
dress (not too frufru) from Sears for the baby. I think we picked up Olive
Garden with a gift card and brought it home to eat. We put together the dresser we bought and filled
it up with little clothes. Brent thought it was too soon because she wasn’t due
until February 2<sup>nd</sup>.</div>
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January 2, 1998. Friday.</div>
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I went to work. I felt kind of sick and didn’t want to be
there but I wondered if I was being a baby about it and kind of faking. I went
home early anyway. The supervisor gave me that “frustrated, but what can you do
to the pregnant woman” look. I think Brent was at home, I’m not sure. Little
did I know I wouldn’t be coming back to work again for six weeks.</div>
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January 3, 1998. Saturday.</div>
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I started feeling like I was having contractions at some
point so we went to the hospital to be safe. I was about 35 weeks and 6 days
along. They thought it was too soon and wanted to give the baby more time for
her lungs to develop so they put me in a hospital bed and gave me drugs to stop
the contractions. I think they gave me terbutaline. It made me shake really bad
and felt weird. It worked pretty good though and they let me leave, but they
did say I might be back again soon, tonight or tomorrow or something. We went back to our apartment and hung out. I
think we got sandwiches from Hoagie Yogi and I tried to eat but didn’t have an
appetite all that much. The contractions started again and kept up until we
decided to go back to the hospital around 10 that night. They said you are at 36
weeks just about so it should be fine. </div>
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January 4, 1998. Sunday.</div>
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They gave me an epidural and I couldn’t move anymore so I
fell asleep, it was probably between 12 and 1 am, I slept until around 7 am. I think they may have woke me
up and told me it was time to push. I pushed unsuccessfully for hours, it’s
hard to get a first baby out and I couldn’t push well because of the epidural.
The doctor showed up around 11 in his church clothes. Isabella was born around
noon, 12:07 to be exact (I had to look it up.)<br />
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* * * * *</div>
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You were about 6 lbs 13 ounces. You
were the prettiest newborn I’d seen and I was grateful you didn’t look like a
pasty chicken, froggish baby. We were
going to give you the middle name Ryan but I chickened out and we named you
Isabella Sydney Hales. We went home the next day. It was snowing and you were
in this huge, white baby bunting thing to keep you warm, and you had a little
pink hat on. Our biggest thought was how could they let us take her home? We
are stupid! But we figured it out with lots of screw ups along the way. You
were my little companion, my little best friend who went with me everywhere. I
was scared to death, I was messed up on post partum hormones. But I loved you
fiercely. I still do.</div>
Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06171790040429837011noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-39881443449253993892015-09-07T18:19:00.001-06:002015-09-07T18:19:03.268-06:00I'm on a diet, or somethingOh jeez. A year and a half ago I went back to work. Right before that I sarted taking fluoxetine (prozac). I've always had issues with depression and anxiety, though I've always thought I had a pretty good life. Sometimes you can't help what you feel though. And I've had terrible mood swings. I was so freaked out by anxiety about trying to go back to work and depressed that I wouldn't get a job (I was totally blowing things out of proportion) that I started taking the "crazy" pills. I really did feel kind of crazy at times. They helped sooooo much! I think there is a very good chance I would have been fired without them. Because my anxiety really messes with my confidence and I would have done a poor job because of it. I would have at least been a crying mess. But a side effect of the pills is weight gain. It's also a side effect of being 44 and being a junk food addict. So I've gained about twenty five pounds and I'd already been steadily gaining over the past few years. not anything close to that rate though. I try and try again to lose weight. To kick the junk habit. There's been a lot of failure in that arena though. So I'm going to try again. This time I'm going in phases, because my all or nothing mentality doesn't work.<br />
<br />
Phase 1 will be for the month of September. Starting tomorrow, of course. It goes like this:<br />
Eat healthy all day, as much as you want/need. At night you can have a bowl of the slow churned ice cream (1 cup). On the weekends you can have a little dark chocolate. Just do this until the 1st of October, then move on to phase 2 (yet to be determined).<br />
<br />
The reasons I am doing this is because I look bad, but mostly, I feel terrible a lot. I've never been this heavy without being pregnant and it is hard(er) to go up stairs. I'm out of breath constantly. I need to get back to healthy and exercise alone isn't going to cut it. (I will do that too. I already was, off and on.)<br />
Now I will post super unflattering pictures of myself. They are already on facebook anyway, so whatever. The best wake up call pictures I can find without stripping down to the yoga capris and the Down East undershirt and taking a selfie. 'Cause I'm not in the mood to do that. I'll check in once a week, or whenever I feel like it. Join me if you like.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's me with Howard Jones, and cousin in law, Heather. We met him after the concert last night. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">199.5 lbs. Oh dear.</td></tr>
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-28045755591140204642015-02-07T12:22:00.004-07:002015-02-07T12:23:18.382-07:00QuoteI don't fear being excommunicated<i>,</i>this just resonates with me, especially the highlighted part:<br />
<br />
“Now, any day now, the church might decide to dispense with me, and I
will say very frankly and very honestly, I don’t see any reason why they
shouldn’t. I really don’t. It’s just that simple. And if I were called
in for ex… sometimes they say, “What would you do if y<span class="text_exposed_show">ou
were called in to be excommunicated?” Well, I can tell you one thing
for sure. I wouldn’t miss the trial like some of my friends have, who
don’t bother to go to the trial. I wouldn’t miss it on a bet. Now, I
would want a witness there, but not a witness on my behalf. Now if
President McKay had shown up, I wouldn’t have objected to anything he
said. But I wouldn’t want a witness there on my behalf. But I would want
a witness, somebody else who could tell what happened there. I would
want somebody to see what happened. But I wouldn’t try to defend myself
at all in an excommunication trial. Because I don’t have any defense. I
would have to say, “Now look, you are the people who are sort of on
trial. You have got to decide whether you want guys like me in the
church or not.” And there are good reasons for not having people like me
in the church, and there may be, for all I know, there may be some good
reasons for having people like me in the church. When I was a young man
and started teaching seminary for the church there were liberally
minded seminary teachers, you know. And we thought we could make a
contribution to the church. We really did. Well, I don’t think that any
longer. The church belongs to the true believers who are 100% tithe
payers and the general authorities. I used to think the church belongs
to all of us. <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">That was back in my youthful idealistic days, you see. I
don’t believe that any longer. I seriously don’t believe that any
longer.</span> </span>And if they decide to get rid of people like me, which I am well
aware would include a lot of people in this audience, I would think
they would be perfectly within their rights." -Sterling McMurrin</span>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-73518125671027514932013-10-12T20:36:00.000-06:002013-10-12T20:37:28.395-06:00Happy Birhtday ZoeZoe's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. She is fourteen! I can't believe she is that old already! This is the first time I don't have a picture of the cake or the kid blowing the candles out. :( I went to Arizona, my step dad, Chuck, passed away sadly. I came home the afternoon of Zoe's birthday and we had a family dinner before Brent's mom took off south for the winter. Brent and Zoe made the cake the night before and we took it to the dinner. Brent even hosted a slumber party for Zoe and a few friends the Friday before! Well, "hosted" isn't exactly the right word. He was there, in charge, while the girls were over, a first for him. We are usually at home for the birthday cake and we forgot a camera when we sang to her and didn't even do the candles. I think she still had a good day. She wanted giftcards so she could go on a shopping spree, she ended up getting a "smash book" which is a scrapbook that has all sorts of fun doodads and it gets really fat after you fill it up so you have to "smash" it together. Zoe is such a beautiful, bright girl. She amazes me with her creativity all the time. I love her!<br />
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Some pics of the present opening:<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-43205779032710160652013-10-04T16:28:00.003-06:002013-10-04T16:28:56.404-06:00Enough AlreadyYou don't like Obamacare, I get it. Actually, I don't, but I get not liking something. The fact is it is law and has been voted on 40 times or something like that and still passed. Tea party people don't want to compromise. They don't care if the government is shut down anyway so why bother. Too bad they don't care that people are going to hurt financially because of this. Some facebook friends think it's the workers' own fault: <i>They never should have taken a government job in the first place! They should have lots of money set aside to cover their expenses in an emergency! </i>As if it is always so simple to do that. Just vote on a budget and deal with your Obamacare issues later. It's unfortunate that these teapartiers won't likely be voted out because they come from very republican districts or very gerrymandered districts. (I hate that they have ruined the term <i>tea party</i> for me, I used to have good associations with the Boston Tea Party and three cornered hats.) Hopefully, republicans will see them for the obstructionists they are and put some good republicans (by good I mean sane and not a$$hats) in office instead soon. Hopefully there is a lot of, "I think we might have made a mistake" thinking going on. Very soon, please. <br />
<br />
From a reader of <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/30/dont-forget-what-the-shutdown-is-really-about/">this</a> Ezra Klein story:<br />
<br />
"In May 2007, 140 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to
defund the Iraq war. In September of the same year, Congress voted to
increase the debt limit. Imagine if Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats had
threatened to breach the debt ceiling unless Republicans agreed to
defund the war. At that time, approval of the Iraq war was polled at 33%
in favor and 64% against."<br />
<br />
This pretty much sums it up:<br />
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Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-74913275729648354992013-09-21T21:20:00.002-06:002013-09-21T21:27:23.790-06:00HomecomingMy cute baby girl went to the homecoming dance tonight. I guess she is not my baby girl anymore.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-30869991461724371322013-08-20T09:48:00.005-06:002013-08-20T09:48:45.009-06:00first Day of School (2013 edition)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl1BhWzg8NAa7lzkLsyI17b9Bj9DnGd0DtCKHgesOBzFg_p2HiZRszKxOCKfDwpRuiZQHVh8l1poZbvoMqNZNCXvzrDI2suoq8qbJUXKJ3BRsp250fZr8xqUiMg7erDYJPiVyMUQD8_o/s1600/IMG_5629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl1BhWzg8NAa7lzkLsyI17b9Bj9DnGd0DtCKHgesOBzFg_p2HiZRszKxOCKfDwpRuiZQHVh8l1poZbvoMqNZNCXvzrDI2suoq8qbJUXKJ3BRsp250fZr8xqUiMg7erDYJPiVyMUQD8_o/s400/IMG_5629.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabella is a sophomore now. I can't believe how old she is getting!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoe is starting 8th grade!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And my "little" boy, Noah, is in fifth grade. Stop growing up. Just stop.</td></tr>
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-56968946672412013022013-07-15T20:40:00.002-06:002013-07-15T21:19:52.710-06:00CaloregonWe just got back a few days ago from a trip to California/Oregon. We were right on the border, our hotel was in California but we spent most of our time at beaches in Oregon. The Redwood forest is amazing but it turns out the rest of the northernmost part of California is not so much. Well to be honest, we really didn't see that much of it so my apologies to Northern Californians. We just weren't that taken with Crescent City California and its foggy coldness. Though the wild, human loving grey squirrels were quite the attraction. Especially when one cuddled up to Noah. Noah leaned down to the ground, being distracted by the other eight squirrels surrounding us and accidentally gave the guy a good petting. Which made me screech of course, rabies you know. We love Oregon though (the whole Northwest, really). We'd move there given the chance. Maybe someday. Here is a slew of pictures for you picture lovin' types out there:<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-81202732299928865412013-07-05T18:52:00.003-06:002013-07-30T10:26:10.163-06:00Happy Independence Day!We went to the parade again, sans Brent. He had to work. He was probably better off though. It was HOT. Fireworks in the evening too and a nice 4th dinner.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-10661264122114125792013-06-05T20:14:00.002-06:002013-06-05T20:14:39.461-06:00Sometimes this place isn't too bad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-43216272356687227782013-05-14T15:47:00.000-06:002013-05-15T13:30:23.060-06:00HmmphDid you ever see that episode of Oprah where this woman was told her baby daughter had a great chance of being mentally challenged so she put signs up all over her house, labeling everything and spent hours teaching her every day and there she was on Oprah years later celebrating her daughter graduating from college or getting a scholarship or some other major, impressive feat? I think that episode was a load of crap. Do I think it was bad that she put all that time into teaching her daughter? No. It's good she did everything in her power. But I don't believe her daughter was really learning disabled if this is how it turned out. We have put in hours with one of our kids trying to help her with her learning difficulties. She isn't anywhere near mentally disabled of course, but she does struggle. She is smart in her own right but some things, like math, are hard for her (really hard for her) and all of the hours we've put in aren't making her a math genius so far. I watched that episode of Oprah and I took some ideas and tried to do my own thing with my own kid. I made her letter of the day bracelets (kind of weird yes, there was no pinterest back then) and books to try to teach her the alphabet (she was three at the time). I read to her and did lots of other things I can barely remember years later. I'm not saying you shouldn't try but my efforts at the time were met with frustration. Frustration on my part, frustration on her part. She wasn't ready for what some of the kids in her little preschool were doing at the time. Now she is not ready for the math that others in her class are doing. So what do we do? Do we keep cramming kids through a hole, letting those that don't slide in easily fall to the sides? That is what happens. Or do we make different sized and shaped holes so everyone can fit and it doesn't become a sort of survival of the fittest free for all. I have my doubts that they are ever going to listen to me on this though.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-39027249689704240802013-04-06T16:24:00.002-06:002013-04-06T18:16:46.374-06:00Easter 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who are these gorgeous people?Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-68490358619349353812013-03-30T12:41:00.002-06:002013-03-30T12:41:48.772-06:00Happy Easter II<a href="http://www.redletterchristians.org/what-if-jesus-meant-all-that-stuff/">I like this post too.</a><br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-55064021617541861072013-03-30T11:03:00.002-06:002013-03-30T11:04:09.196-06:00Happy Easter<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">Marie
Osmond on Marriage Equality: "“The God that I believe in is a god of
love, not fear. I don’t tell my children if you’re not good you’re going
to Hell. I tell my children that God will be there for them when they
struggle. That’s the God I believe in…<br /> <br /> I believe in (my
daughter’s) civil rights, as a mother. I think my daughter deserves
everything that she desires in life. She’s a good girl. She’s a
wonderful child. I don’t think God made one color flower. I think he
made many.”</span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not one to normally quote Marie Osmond but I really love this quote and wanted to remember it. Yes, It's about marriage equality and her daughter but I love the quote just for the general meaning of it. I <i>do </i>believe God is a God of love more than fear and He put us down here knowing we come in all sorts of varieties and that is a beautiful thing. God sent us here to learn and grow and he sent His son Jesus Christ to be our Savior, to save us from all that pain that being mortal throws at us. Just a nice little reminder this Easter weekend.</span></span></span></span></h5>
Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-61540057981965874082013-03-07T13:30:00.002-07:002013-03-07T13:32:10.903-07:00And something about baconI'm feeling better this week. I'm thinking (hoping) that last week was rock bottom. Rock bottom for everything. I did modify my diet. Took out gluten, cut back on dairy, sugar and processed food. I feel much better and I'm unexpectedly down ten lbs. I <i>was </i>retaining<i> </i>a few pounds of fluid the last time I weighed in before this though. My mood is much better than it's been in a long time now and I'm going to adopt a more zen, screw 'em all outlook on life. :) So I'll stick with this diet for the month (that's the plan anyway) and see where I am then.<br />
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I finally gave myself permission to read a novel too and happened to stumble across one that looked interesting at the library last Saturday. I hadn't given myself permission in a long time because of school and the giant textbooks that I have to read. The book is called <i>Sugarhouse</i> and is a memoir about a guy and his wife renovating a former crack house in Sugarhouse, Utah. I know! Totally up my alley. It's like I was meant to find this book. I'm almost done and I don't find the parts about the trouble with his family in the Midwest all that interesting but mostly it's entertaining. It has two awesome lines I have to share: <i>"...between shifts (at work) and school I cruise around Sugarhouse, one of two viable neighborhoods for liberal types who want to live in Utah but pretend they're still in America."</i> and thi<i>s, </i>discussing where to go out to eat: <i>"There's always Training Table, which was locally famous for having, instead of table service, phones at each table- a concept popular with, well, no one, but they make up for it in bacon."</i> Training Table has the best bacon I've ever tasted.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-58295026453410444482013-02-28T12:15:00.002-07:002013-02-28T23:20:47.944-07:00And...nowThree hours on a heating pad, I'm ready to get up now.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-81755475620455204092013-02-28T09:11:00.001-07:002013-02-28T23:19:57.524-07:00What's that?I've been feeling crappy about things for a long time. I don't feel like myself enough anymore. I used to be humorous. I was always slightly self-deprecating but still humorous. I miss my old self. Depression sucks and I want it gone. I have chronic pain too. It started about ten years ago, shortly after Noah was born. It wasn't very bad at first but it's gotten worse and worse. It comes and goes. I can control it sometimes with exercise. That is one reason I'm so "religious" about exercising. But sometimes I get injured, for example, right now I'm working through a back injury, and I can't work out like I was and then things go south very quickly. It feels like I have screws in the back of my neck that are being tightened too tightly. It feels like all my joints have been tightened too much with those screws too and everything is all stiffened up. Like when you do tighten screws on something and things get all pulled together unnaturally. There are a bunch of other things too. I spoke with a doctor about it once and just got the line about it being normal as you age. Most people I talk to don't feel like this though. I looked up things on the internet and talked to some people and I've decided to diagnose myself with fibromyalgia. Sure, I should probably tell a doctor about my self diagnosis next time I see one but it doesn't have a cure anyway. It doesn't really have any objective findings for a doctor to measure either, from what I've learned. (Objective findings. See, I have been learning some things at school.) Now that I think about it, I've been to the doctor for a few of the symptoms but haven't talked about the symptoms collectively. I've just discussed foot pain or dizziness or whatever. So I guess I'll tell the doctor what I think next time.So now that I have self diagnosed myself what do I do? I've read about dietary changes so I think I will have to try some of those out. The diet tips have included cut out gluten, sugar, dairy, processed food and nightshade vegetables. Sounds easy..................... I'm being sarcastic of course. I don't know if I can eliminate ALL of that. I could cut out gluten for a while, give that a try. I already do at dinner for the most part. I've got that down because of Isabella's celiac, of course. I could seriously restrict the rest too. So I can try things. I still feel that if I drop twenty pounds it would help.<br />
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Maybe I do feel hopeful a little. I can't control any actions but my own. I can sit and do nothing and fail. I can get up and try and hopefully see change. The other issues...I can't control other people. I'm a good person. I'm not a good what the norm is around here but I'm still a good person. If others can't accept me, don't want to accept those who are different, then I can't control that. I shouldn't have to try to be what makes other people happy when it makes me miserable. So there is hope. There is hope and writing still makes me feel better, even if it is cryptic and fishing. Now I'm going to go take some ibuprofen and get busy.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-18024214088346190782013-02-15T12:53:00.002-07:002013-02-15T12:53:36.530-07:00Happy V-Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Noah's Valentine box he made for school. Yes, we got the idea from pinterest but he added his own flair (the hands) to make it his own. I think it turned out pretty great!Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-61133793047098962862012-12-15T20:44:00.000-07:002012-12-15T20:44:36.952-07:00A small thoughtWe owe nothing more to anyone other than love, kindness and acceptance.<br /><br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-25475396532402635852012-12-11T16:04:00.000-07:002012-12-11T16:15:41.037-07:00You can do it tooI think I need to watch this every morning before I get going for the day.
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I used to quote Rob Schneider saying this all the time, to Brent, just to bug him, after I saw whatever Adam Sandler movie this was originally from. Ah, memories.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-11726250234930818852012-11-10T15:09:00.001-07:002012-11-10T22:31:50.236-07:00Only One OpinionSo I keep debating whether I should go here or not. In 2008 I was fired up and passionate about my political beliefs. Now, they are there but I haven't gone into them a lot because I've been there, done that a hundred times and I'm just tired of it now. I'm bored with explaining. But maybe it's time to give it a go one more time. This election has really rattled some people, to say the least. I think for the LDS people anyway, their conservative political beliefs were there (for conservative Mormons anyway) and on top of that was the shining hope of something special and unique in their eyes. Something that could have been a game changer. The within-hands-reach-possibility of a Mormon being president. I can imagine how exciting that could be. However, I didn't share that hope with them because I am not a conservative and I don't believe God finds us any more special that anyone else. That's just my feelings on it, maybe not yours.<br />
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So they were understandably saddened, disheartened, disappointed and, in some cases, horrified at the loss of Mitt Romney. Or , rather, the win of Barack Obama. I understand that. In 2000, I sat in disbelief and disappointment when George W. Bush became president. I was just coming into my realization that I leaned Democrat at the time and I wasn't in awe of Al Gore, but environmental concerns were on my mind. I still wonder where our fuel efficiency standards would be now if he had become president. Where our dependency on foreign fuel would be and how much alternative energy we would be using. then when GWB was re-elected, well after the fiasco of the Iraq war and the debacle over WMDs I was sorely disappointed. I admit I cried just a little. I hated that he was going to be president for another four years. So I get the pain conservatives are going through. On the other hand, those who are glued to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck should probably take a step back and get some perspective. Rush Limbaugh is a man filled with hate. I don't know how anyone can say otherwise. Glenn Beck has a messiah complex. Sorry, but I really believe it is true.<br />
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So conservatives are in pain. I don't agree with it, of course. Mitt Romney is a swell guy and all, good family man, good at making wads of cash, nice hair. But he isn't what I wanted in a president. President Obama, on the other hand, he's not the antichrist. He is really no more liberal than Bill Clinton was. To me he seems like a good person and I trust him more with the reigns than I trusted Mitt Romney. All of this is really just one person's opinion, so don't worry about it too much. I know you're not worried about it. I mean the only reason I'm even writing this is because my blog doesn't get much traffic these days. I kind of like that. I know there are a couple of readers here and there but not enough for my blog to actually make a stir. So I can write this without getting all confrontational.<br />
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Anyway, now I'm going to discuss why I voted for President Obama. What is important to me? Not enough has been done to protect the environment. It is a big concern to me because I want a nice home for my children when they grow up. Environmental issues are important to me. Reducing greenhouse emissions is important to me. Finding clean, alternatives to coal and oil is important to me. I can't say Obama has done a ton on this front but a little is happening. Fuel efficiency standards have been raised. Alternative energy sources are getting more attention. It's not enough but it's something. The truth is, democrats have the record for supporting environmental issues and republicans don't so much. So I'm hopeful more will be done this term.<br />
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I feel safer with Obama as president. Romney did not seem very good with foreign policy to me. He seemed a little too keen on the idea of jumping into another war. The few examples of him dealing with diplomatic matters did not seem to go well. I trust Obama more to be diplomatic and to work to find peace without war. It's a<i> good thing </i>that our reputation as a respected country has gone up with Obama as president. <br />
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I believe in a social safety net. No, I am not on welfare. I have never used any of the traditional social programs to help with my personal needs. Things like welfare, food stamps, WIC, and government sponsored student loans. I've never used any of them but I'm glad they have been there for those who need them. Someday my kids will be grown and the truth is I <i>can't </i>afford to pay for much of their college education. Scholarships would be welcomed of course, but if they don't happen or don't happen enough, I still want my kids to get an education. I believe they have a right to an education and a low interest rate loan would be welcomed. It's not my job to judge those who have come on hard times. I believe most who have come on hard times did not do this out of laziness. Life is hard and sucks sometimes and there is a heck of a lot of difference between the likelihood of success for someone who is born in a stable, upper middle class family and someone born to a single mom who is doing drugs and is absent a lot of the time because of work or neglect or whatever. I've seen children who come from homes like this. They become adults and it is like they are at the starting line of a race with a heavy weight strapped to their shoulders. It is so much harder for them to get it together and to figure out how to be adults, how to take care of themselves, and sometimes, how to keep from dragging other little ones into the messiness of their lives. Sometimes they fail and they need help getting back up. Sometimes the only source of support they have is the overworked, public school teacher who takes times to help them as children. That is just one example of hardship. There are so many more out there and not enough charities and kindhearted people out there to help those in need.<br />
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I've read about how the government shouldn't help because this takes away the opportunity for others to serve. Okay, if I am homeless and disease ridden, it is not my job to be a vessel for your good deed points. Charity and kindness are wonderful, important things, but people aren't hurting just so you can feel good about yourself. (Sorry, but that point really sticks in my side a little.) To me that just makes it sound as if someone is suffering just so another can get the reward of serving them. We need charity, but we also need government safety nets to help when there is not enough. People DO die because they don't have healthcare. They DO lose their homes because of the hardship of medical bills. Things aren't ever going to be perfect, but the government can help. The government is THE PEOPLE after all.<br />
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So, abortion. Not my favorite subject. I hate abortion and wish it didn't exist. But I cannot tell a woman who is deciding between her own life and an embryo what she should do. I've never been in that position so I can't make a judgement on that. I can't tell the rape victim what to do if she should become pregnant. This is what I <i>do</i> believe: the best way to prevent abortions is to keep unwanted pregnancies from happening in the first place. It's all fine and good to say, well they shouldn't have had sex. But you know what, they are going to have sex (speaking in general terms here) and I'd rather they had education and birth control than an innocent child be aborted or be born to a woman who has no safety net. Especially when those who oppose abortion also oppose helping that child after he or she is born. Not to mention that birth control<i> also </i>prevents unwanted pregnancies in impoverished families headed by a husband and a wife. It isn't just people having sex out of wedlock. Here's a study too: <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/05/966121/obamacare-birth-control-abortion/">http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/10/05/966121/obamacare-birth-control-abortion/</a> .<br />
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Oh yeah, the economy. It's improving a little here and there. It needs to improve more, of course. I believe the president has done some good and tried to do more but has been blocked by congress all along the way (the jobs act). People say the housing market will never get back to where it was. Well I don't believe house prices were ever <i>supposed </i>to be as high as they were. A person who would buy my house in my neighborhood shouldn't have to pay $250,000 for my house. My house might have sold for that much in 2005 or somewhere around that. That is nearly $100,000 more than what we paid for it four years earlier. Did wages go up enough to justify this? No. House prices never should have been as high as they were, there wasn't enough money out there to make the payments to support this.<br />
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So, there you go. My beliefs as a person who believes in God and Jesus Christ. My spiritual beliefs do inform my views. I'm not looking to change any minds. These are just my views. To be honest, I'd be surprised if anyone actually made it through reading this whole thing.<br />
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Oh, and here is a good blog post that deals with the worries about the president bringing on the apocalypse and all of that fun stuff: <a href="http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/2012/11/sorry-to-kill-your-apocalyptic-election-buzz/">http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/2012/11/sorry-to-kill-your-apocalyptic-election-buzz/</a><br />
<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-32048157762945052072012-11-05T14:35:00.001-07:002012-11-05T14:42:49.208-07:00Halloween 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-89000099436055533542012-11-02T22:17:00.001-06:002012-11-02T22:21:52.144-06:00A new plan, again.Well, it's time for another go at dropping a few pounds. Yeah, I know, I try and it works out for a while and then I give up and go back to my evil ways. Oh well, keep trying, right? (Incidentally, I think my writing and grammar have gone way down hill as of late.) So what is my plan this time? I've got this workout calendar in the family room where I exercise. I put an "X" through each day I workout and write down what I did. Doing this I am often able to get in five or more workouts per week. Sure, sometimes only two or three, but frequently more. Seeing all the Xes really encourages me to get those workouts in. (Is that how you spell the plural of X? I dunno.) I thought maybe the same could apply to eating healthy. So I made another calendar, this one just for eating good. I put an "X" on each day I eat healthy, which mainly mean no junk food. Today will be day five.<br />
Now, I have no plans to live in a state of complete denial but hopefully this will help me rack up a bunch of good days and make a good habit. I'm already planning a few cheat days: election party on Tuesday, Brent's birthday a few days later, then Thanksgiving is coming up, of course. My plan is to weigh in every ten "good" days. Starting day was Monday (I think) and I weighed in at 175 lbs. Don't mock me. I'm 5'9" so it could be better but I'm not exactly outrageously huge or anything. So, here goes again.<br />
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Starting weight: 10/29/12-175 lbsCindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-33802447241197275582012-10-28T12:11:00.000-06:002012-10-28T13:16:39.147-06:00A Whole Bunch of Halloween Pictures (except for those years that apparently weren't scanned, pre digital camera, I must find those...)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabella's first Halloween- 1998 (with Grandma Cathy)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabella and cousin Lauren-1999</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabella and Zoe- 2000</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabella, Zoe and Noah-2003</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2004</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2005</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2006</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2007</td></tr>
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Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79487117535702552.post-18701093119050912572012-09-01T21:41:00.000-06:002012-09-02T12:23:18.964-06:00Adding To My Vegetarian CollectionIt seems that every time I post a picture of a meal I've made it's a vegetarian meal. That's because I want to be a vegetarian and they usually turn out to be fairly healthy meals. I think I could, without too much trouble, at least get to the point where we are eating vegetarian five days a week. That would be great and it would still leave room for the special occasion meals that have meat, like the turkey for Thanksgiving and the chicken salad sandwiches at Christmas. Ideally, I'd love to be vegan and all that. It's too hard with the gluten free thing though. Isabella has so much she already can't eat. I don't think it would be fair, realistic or maybe even healthy (I don't know) to eat vegan too.<br />
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The vegetarian thing for me, it isn't a new advent of the last few years. It's been around for decades.If someone thought, "What happened to her? She's become such a liberal type in so many ways." I'd have to respond, no, I haven't been taken over by liberal hippie types, I've been like this for decades. When I was 18 I was attending community college in Mesa, Arizona. In my public speaking class I gave a speech on vivisection (animal testing). I poured over articles on the microfiche on the subject (haha, microfiche!) In my English class I wrote a paper on the evils of fur. We had to give ideas for subjects for our papers in class and I think I actually raised my hand and suggested "Meat is Murder". Haha, again. (I was a little too influenced by the idea of The Smiths. Not The Smiths music itself though, I'd never really listened to them, just heard of them.)<br />
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I don't know where I came up with these ideas, it was all pretty much organic though. Most of the people I knew at the time were Mormons and the idea certainly didn't come from them, I was chastised by a couple of them when practicing my vivisection speech on them at the LDS Institute (place for Mormon religion classes). I don't think I was totally convinced <i>myself </i>of the animal rights thing, I was definitely fascinated by it though and could see nothing wrong with it. As far as I was concerned, you were <i>supposed</i> to be all idealistic about things in college. I wanted to become a vegetarian but my mom cooked all of my dinners at the time and I couldn't expect her to do it for me and Chuck, my stepdad, would never have gone for it. At BYU I wrote a paper for biology called "The Elephants Demise". I remember my roommate MaryAnn (may she rest in peace) laughing at how dramatic the title sounded. <br />
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When the girls were little Brent and I both wanted to give it a try. Brent a little more than me at the time. I got a bunch of cookbooks, experimented a little but I didn't cook well enough at the time to make it fly. I have always incorporated quite a few meatless meals into our diets though. When Isabella wasn't growing, before she was diagnosed with celiac disease, I worried a little that my vegetarian meals might be the reason for her issues, scanty as those vegetarian meals were. So now I know that wasn't the problem. I keep experimenting, finding more and more dishes. Most of the dishes I come up with are pretty healthy and have a lot of whole foods in them. They are tasty and you just feel better when you are done eating. I swear, the fact that they are colorful and pretty and look healthy make it a much more pleasant dining experience too. <br />
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I guess I figure if I get enough meals on here in photographs, I'll have enough to make it easy to do. No fuss, no muss.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasta primavera with spaghetti, veggies and provolone cheese, sauteed with olive oil, garlic and rosemary.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIJreRbYvJJy8dNNW4oURhTKoR3ih5683qdJUEum1tiYlDXlE4oeR8AicMR3gpa0NPc_o-wRItQkQKQKu1hyphenhyphenL5p-WO4JWThnoa9ZU5vD7v6bfqEthpmwOgtryVcrR3HrVXgVQr1aR3_4/s1600/IMG_4420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIJreRbYvJJy8dNNW4oURhTKoR3ih5683qdJUEum1tiYlDXlE4oeR8AicMR3gpa0NPc_o-wRItQkQKQKu1hyphenhyphenL5p-WO4JWThnoa9ZU5vD7v6bfqEthpmwOgtryVcrR3HrVXgVQr1aR3_4/s320/IMG_4420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetable soup (potatoes, zucchini, spinach, celery, tomatoes and carrots from the garden, garbanzo beans, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning), spinach salad, and pumpkin muffins.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10172744619242863341noreply@blogger.com0