Love Your Heart Friday

Cardiovascular Disease and women:

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Less than one in five physicians recognizes that more women die of heart disease than men each year. Among primary care physicians, only 8% know that more women than men die each year from CVD.

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Many minority women, including African American, Hispanic, and Native American women, have a greater prevalence of risk factors or are at a higher risk of death from heart disease, stroke, and other CVD, but they are less likely to recognize this risk. For example, the 2003 overall preliminary death rate (per 100,000 population) from CVD was 354.8 for African American females as compared to 256.2 for white females.

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Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 12 times as many American females as breast cancer. Stroke kills 2.3 times as many American fe-males as breast cancer.

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40% of women consider themselves “well in-formed” about heart disease, but only 13% consider it their greatest risk.

(above came from here)

So maybe stop worrying as much about those boobies (breast cancer) as you do what's under them (your heart). Get an annual check up with your doctor and be sure to ask about your risks. (but don't forget your personal monthly breast exam cuz it's still important:))

If only...

If Ryan and I had the money for 20% down, we would totally buy this house. I found it on KSL.com and I'm totally in love with it! It's even in an area we would be totally okay with. Totally! (what a total over load of totally's!) but all we can do is drool... sigh.



Anyone have $50,000 just lying around that they don't know what to do with? :)

If I die tomorrow...

Donate my body to science. (only if my organs cannot be donated. I'd rather save the living before educating the living.)

I just finished a book called Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I read a review of it in a magazine, and it sounded really interesting. Especially because I've wanted to donate my body to science ever since taking Anatomy from the U of U and loving anatomy lab. I always appreciated the people that allowed me to learn from all their parts. I never found people in the lab disrespectful at all, and I don't have an issue being all cut up. especially since reading this book. In it, Mary Roach describes an experience where she goes to a place where they are researching the decomposition of the human body. At some university (can't remember which), they have a fenced in area on campus where there are several human bodies just laying out to rot. After reading Mary's description of the decay of the human body, I figured--hey! in pieces cuz someone cut me up, or turning into larva and bacteria food until i'm liquid nasty? I figure it's sixes one, half dozen the other. I might as well just donate, and let someone benefit from my body parts. I quite agree with this quote from the book:
"As I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back. The brain has shut down. The flesh begins to soften. Nothing much new happens, and nothing is expected of you.
If I were to take a cruise, I would prefer that it be one of those research cruises, where the passengers, while still spending much of the day laying on their backs with blank minds, also get to help out with a scientist's research project. These cruises take their passengers to unknown, unimagined places. They give them the chance to do things they would not otherwise get to do..."

So there you go. My final request is to be donated to science. Preferably the University of Utah, since that is where I gained my inspiration for this request. If I die tomorrow, and can't donate my organs to the living, the number to call is in my cell phone under "Body Donation" that should reach you the right person at the U. I can't request how my body is used, but I can request how it's NOT used. So I hereby say the only thing that I don't want is to be like that guy they sliced like bread in 2 inch sections all the way up. I can't really explain why, but i feel a little queazy with that one. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated that part too, it was especially challenging during the Lab final exam. I just don't feel comfortable with it. But feel free to dissect me in any other way. 80% of donated bodies are used for anatomy labs, but if they choose to use me for other research I'm okay with that too.
After my years in the lab, I'll be cremated. My family can have my ashes if they want them, or they'll be put in a big vault with all the other donated peoples at the Salt Lake cemetary. I request, if my kiddos are comfortable, (cuz it'll be 2-3 years after I've died), that they put them in with Ry in his grave. That way we can have one of those joint headstones. (Even then, can we have a joint headstone and not have me buried there?) Unless Ry donates his too. (doubtful. I'd donate it if he dies while I'm alive, but only if his family didn't have an issue with it. He says he's okay with it, but I don't know about his family. Even then, I don't know if I want him donated...I've always pictured it in my head that I'd be donated and he'd be buried the old fashioned way. Won't know till I get there I guess.)

Whatever happens, I don't want anything pricey. It's retarded to spend that much on a dead person, no matter how much you loved me. If they won't take me at the U, than buy the cheapest coffin. Or creamation is fine, but I don't think it's cheaper. They do have this new digestion thing I read about in the book. Or make me into compost like they do in sweden that way my molecules will be part of the tree you plant in the fertile soil. :) Just don't spend a lot of money. Unless it's on flowers, cuz I LOVE flowers. just cover the place in flowers for my funeral and put up pictures since I won't be in a casket.

And while we're talking about it. I don't want to be a vegetable. So pull the plug if I'm brain dead. I'll be better off in the afterlife than here anyway. especially as a vegetable. I think I've already signed Advanced Directives at my parent's house.

I thought that Stiff was a lot of fun. I recommend it to everyone. Mary gets just a queazy as the next person, and therefore isn't super gross with her descriptions. She's absolutely hilarious! while being very tasteful and respectful of the cadavers. I loved it! So pick it up if you're interested in a unique, entertaining, and educational read.

Sorry for the morbid post, but this will be going into a hard copy/journal for posterity so it's important! :)

Memorial Day weekend

Sunday, Ryan substituted for the organist in Sacrament mtg. Only he played the piano. The chorister wasn't there either. So who do you think they got to sub? Me! How cute we were all husband and wifey, playing and leading. (gag me). But it was fun.
Later that day, we scooted on down to my parent's house for dinner. Then my mom was performing at a mortuary for Memorial day with the pipe band. So we all headed up to Layton for that. We brought a Frisbee and played catch in a field next to the mortuary. Laura had her shoes off and pounced right on a thistle. Smooth move. But it reminded me of the the Scottish legend of the thistle. (The English were sneaking up on the sleeping Scottish troops and stepped on thistles and yelled out in pain, waking and saving the Scots.) The performance was good, lots of my old favorites. We wandered around looking at all the headstones. Ry and I read the names and then tried them out as names for our children. Bernice Green. Layola Green. Hank Green.
Yeah, those sound nice. :)
On our way home I had to pee so bad that we stopped at G&G Dearden's. We had a little visit while we were there too. It was nice to talk to them, it's been a while.

On Monday, I picked up a short shift. afterwards, we went to my mom's for a bbq. Unfortunately it was raining, so we had to eat inside. My parents had planned to all go to a movie afterwards, but Mikey and Brenna had just been to the movies and said all the ones we wanted to watch were sold out. So we stayed and played games instead. We played nerts for the first time in a long time. Man that game is crazy! and then Ry and I taught everyone seven up seven down, which is probably my favorite game from Ryan's family.
It was Mikey's birthday party too(he turns 25 on the 28th), so we had pie and ice cream and Mikey opened his presents. He got some little action figures of Indiana Jones and a Speed Racer car. He also got a little electric train, which Ryan was pretty much completely in love with. So if anyone wants an idea for Ryan for his birthday, He'd really like a toy train. :) no joke. I have pictures of our little party, but I left my camera at my folk's house so they'll be up later.




It was a really nice weekend, and a nice break, even if I did have to work during a lot of it. all these extra shifts are paying off though--literally! My last paycheck was HUGE! it'll come in handy when it comes to school time.

Saturday fun

Our Saturday was very full.
I got up before Ryan, for reals! before Ryan! We spent the morning cleaning the house and then Ryan went to practice the piano since he was going to play in Sacrament. While he was gone, I prepared my primary lesson. When Ryan got home, we ran to the library so I could get a book for my lesson. When we came out, I took this picture of our super cute scooters!


We had lunch at Cafe Rio, and then went back to switch our scooters for a car. :( and then headed to Timpanogos cave. I don't know why, but I've been really wanting to visit a cave recently. Since Timp is the closest, we headed there today. The hike was very pleasant. The temperature was perfect. Here's some pictures of all our fun:


only 1/4 of the way!

That's a lot of snow huh? I told Ryan to take a picture of me by the snow because I'm short and it'll make it look taller.

The view from the trail out the canyon.


1/2 way! in case you can't read the sign, Ryan is showing you on his finger.


We found a great name for our first born child! what a successful hike!

3/4 the way. Once again, Ryan is demonstrating.

The next are inside the cave.





This stalagtite is called the heart of Timpanogos. It's the biggest one. Sorry it's blurry.




We had a lot of fun on the hike and in the cave. It's always been one of my favorites.

On the way home we went to cabellas. I've never been, and we were looking for rain gear for Ryan for scooting in the rain. But we had no luck. We only found Gortex stuff, and it was too expensive. We went home for dinner of beans and rice and stewed chicken. Ryan's favorite meal. Then we went to kirkhams and cold stone. yum! We took the long way home on our scoots since it was so nice out still.
We had a fun weekend.

safety first!:

Caspian sea

Today I picked up just a half a shift 11-5. way nice, I could sleep in and then get off work when Ryan does! We went to see Prince Caspian. It was good. I liked it better than the first Narnia movie. I've never read Caspian either, so it was interesting. I think i'll have to now. That actor that played caspian sure is a hunka hunka burnin' love though. :) On our way home we saw some random fireworks in the distance. I think they were from a Bee's game. It was fun to watch them as we scooted down state street though. I've decided from this time at the movies that I definitely like the Cinemark on 33rd the best of all the theaters we typically go to. They have better little things to watch while you just sit there, the theater is always clean and the seats are nice. And they always have the most popular movies playing on more screens than one so you can always find a good time to go. AND they're not nearly as crowded, even on opening weekends (says Ryan, it's a direct quote actually. He read it as I wrote it and said "wow, end quote"). So.. how bout some free tickets cinemark now that I've just raved about you to all my friends and family?

What's in a name?

What is it with people and you mispronouncing, or calling them by the wrong name? Brian Regan has a hilarious bit about this very thing. The reason it's so funny is because it's so true! and so ANNOYING! I am notorious for getting peoples names wrong. To the point where I don't use them often. I'm mentioning this because someone freaked out at me today when I called them the wrong name. It's so stupid, cuz Hey! I don't know that that's how you say it. spell it phoneticly next time you're born will ya? What is it with people's names just in general? like if you call them by their first name and they go by their second? or they spell it funny? or have one that sounds very much like another? (ie. susanne and susan, or monique and monica). Or people who spell their name with a random capital letter? (ha ha! i'm totally teasing you guys! I think it's cool, and I like that all you aunties have it. But you know I forget it all the time. You are nice about it though, so this little rant is not about you.) People just need to lighten up and find something more important to freak out about. It's just a name! and yes it's yours, and it's special to you. But could you be a little more polite and/or understanding when you remind me I did it wrong?

The week condensed

On Monday night we went to Laura's Dance Company concert. It was really good, lots of creative dances. And Laura totally rocked it! I'm so proud.

Tuesday night after I got off work, Ryan skipped out on Elder's Quorum basketball, and we had a picnic on our living room floor! I had planned on a picnic all weekend. I made potato salad and had planned fried chicken and everything. We never got a chance until Tuesday though, and the weather was crazy windy and then started to rain, so we opted to stay indoors. We ate our chicken (first time successfully frying it! last time the flour fell off. the oil was too cool.) on a blanket, and watched the better half of West Side Story (the first half). The dancing in the movie is awesome! and practically non-stop.


Wednesday, I had my meeting for Nursing school. It was just kind of an introductory meeting. just "this is where you'll meet on the first day, here's your forms, and book list" oh, speaking of book list. My first semester's books are HUGE!!! well not the books, but the list. well, I bet the books are huge too. The list takes up the whole front and a quarter of the back of a piece of paper! holy cow! luckily, three of them we'll use for the whole program, even into the RN portion. And they're med/surg nursing, and pharmacology which I'd like to keep as resources anyway. The second sememster is four books-ish and three syllabuses in comparison. gag me. I think my books are gonna cost more than my tuition! But I'm excited. I just saw the lab, and it looks so fun with all the fully working maniquines that have heart beats, blood pressures, breath sounds, etc. I can't wait to learn the real stuff!
I have extra credit and the option to take two quizzes this summer. I don't think they'll lighten my load that much, but for sure I'm going to be taking advantage. I think I might buy my books one by one throughout the summer to lighten the financial load as well. (and perhaps be some light reading--hermione style)

Later that night we went to Laura's Choir concert. It was a pretty good show. It was all broadway stuff, which I don't like as much as the more choral music they do the rest of the year. But it was fun.

I also found out on Wednesday that my beloved favorite best pilates class ever is being cancelled! They got rid of all of them because they can get better numbers with a cardio class. Stupid money. I hate it. I'm soooooo sad! you have no idea how great that class was. and I was getting so strong... :( *sad dance sad dance all the way home*

Should have gone to the gym

Today I ditched the gym to go to the park to paint. Like the title of this post says, I should have gone to the gym. Everything was fine, the temp was nice in the shade, and the breeze wasn't too strong. But then I started painting... sigh. It was the ugliest thing I've ever created. it started out so well, but I was painting like someone who'd never painted before! I painted everything backwards, I painted stuff in the foreground first, which was later messed up when I tried to put the background in. what a mess. I took some pictures, but I really don't think I want to remember this painting ever. I should just stick to mod podge and toenail painting.

you can see what I was trying to paint in the background. sad. I know.


nice set up though. Look how sad I look, I knew there was no saving the poor crappy painting. I wasn't wearing the apron initially, but I had a close encounter with some brown paint and put it on. I got it out of my shirt luckily!

Another first

Today I put in my first Foley catheter. Not in myself! ew, no. I put it in someone else. One of the nurses asked if I'd do it and i said I never had before. He said "What!? well c'mon let's do it!". So he walked me through it. I had a little trouble cuz he told me that the wrong spot was the right one. I know i'm a girl, but i'm not usually viewing myself at that angle, so I was no help to myself either. Eventually, another nurse that was helping corrected us, and I got it in lickety split! yay!

The reason my arms are bright freakin red

"ooh, you got a little sun didn't you?"
"What did you do? you're all sunburned!"
"nice racing stripes"

These are the comments I've heard all morning. Every person who sees me, has to say something. It's nice that people are looking out for me, but uh, I think I'd already know that my arms are sunburned! I feel like saying "no, I wasn't in the sun, my arms are just blushing." It would probably help if I wore longer sleeves. I do have a jacket. But since my arms are fried, it's more comfortable to let them let off all their heat.
The reason they got sunburned is because Ryan and I went to a BBQ for Ryan's work out at the big boss's house in Bluffdale. It was clear the heck out there, so it took us probably an hour on our scooters in rush hour. Ryan asked if I was wearing sunscreen on our way out there. "you're gonna get fried" he said when I told him I wasn't. But I didn't even think about it cuz I was on my scooter, and with the wind you can't feel the heat of the sun which makes you think about getting burned. I should put sunscreen in my scooter for next time.
The BBQ was fun. Ryan's boss, John, owns a few horses. Ryan and I went to look at them, but neither of us know horse etiquette or how to approach one. Ryan spooked one, it jumped and Ryan almost died of terror. He was done with the horses for a bit after that. John and I FINALLY got Ry to ride one though. It was fun. Ryan was pretty excited when he finally got on. He wouldn't ride the one he spooked though. He said she could "remember him".


Ryan looks so happy because he's not scared of horses anymore. (as much) Unfortunately, right after taking this picture, the horse sneezed, and Ryan jumped about 10 feet away and practically started running.

After the party, we went and saw Speed Racer. We really wanted to see Prince Caspian, but the reserved seating was all sold out except ultra crappy seats, and we thought it'd be worth it to go some other time for better seats. There was almost no one in Speed Racer! I don't think that competing against Narnia is the best idea. Especially when the critics don't like Speed Racer, but rave about Narnia. The movie was fun though. Super colorful, with ADHD inducing racing scenes. It had a good moral though, and is a good one to take the family to. I liked it. Especially since I used to watch the cartoon with Mikey all the time. They put Speed in outfits that were perfect! And the "go speed racer go!" theme song was in the score all the time, very clever.
Today our scooters are getting their oil changed! first one. magical. They're also going to fix my front rack which has a defect, and make it so my headlight doesn't point right at the ground so I can only see about 5 feet ahead on roads with less street lights. After this, we can officially take our scooters up to 60mph! neat!

Love Your Heart Friday

So I put music on our blog. I don't like when you go to someones blog and you have to listen to their music. (sorry guys!) I always immediately turn it off. The only person's who I occasionally listen to is Cari's, cuz her's is set to not automatically turn on. So I listen to it maybe because I don't HAVE to. Kind of retarded I know. Also, hers changes on a more regular basis. ANYWAY, It may be hypocritical of me, but it has a point. And it will be coming off automatic play shortly.
It's for Love Your Heart Friday. A good way to love your heart is to de-stress. Stress doesn't just put stress on your mood, or your mindset. It puts stress on your heart too. Studies have shown that high stress people are more likely to get heart disease. If you're type-A or have high anxiety issues, you are more likely to have heart disease. (I guess we all know what Aunt Jana is going to die of.)
So de-stress for your heart.

4 Things I like to do to de-stress (in order of preference)
1. Exercise
2. spend time in nature
3. chill and listen to music/read a book (both take third place)
4. paint or other such crafty/artsy-ness

I usually like to do all these things will people I love who are low-stress as well. like people I don't feel I have to prove anything to. Excluding exercise--I prefer to do that alone in most cases.

So that's why there is music on my blog. The first song is my new favorite at the moment. It's on the radio, at least I think it is. I listen to our XM radio most of the time and my favorite station has U.S. and European pop. It's a little more European sounding, so maybe it's not on OUR radio. :)

Everyone who reads this post is now tagged to leave a comment of their 4 top things they like to do to de-stress. Then I challenge you to do it regularly and often FOR YOUR HEART.

Gym Nazis

I regularly lose my gym pass. Well, not really LOSE it,I just don't put it in a conspicuous place where I can grab it on my way out. I'll use is consistently for about two weeks, and then it'll get left in some pocket somewhere or under some pile of clothes and whatnot. But I always find it again later to use for another week or so before it's lost again. It's never been a problem to just have them look me up. Well, today, the girl that looked me up told me I have to have a picture ID. She's told me this before, but she's the only one who has ever asked me for it. I'm sure it's a policy, but since no one else cares, I never remember. I try not to bring anything to the gym since a lot of stuff gets stolen. After looking me up, and checking me in, she told me this was the last time she could check me in without a card. I just said okay, but thought to myself "bull...ogna!" I have been going to 24 hour fitness for over a year now, I'm sure that as consistently as I don't have my card, I'd have reached the allotted amount a LONG time ago! And besides, I pay my monthly dues, they can't not let me go just because I don't have a card to scan. Unless, of course, they had previously informed me of this. So next time, if she says I can't get in, I'll ask to see my contract and have someone show me where it says I'm required to have a card. It just really bothered me because I could tell she just has some deal about having to check people in manually instead of just scanning their card. I like it better too, it's quick and easy. I know we all have things that we do at our jobs that just bother us sometimes, but come on. I'm SO sorry you have to stop talking to the beefy personal trainer for a little bit to do more than scan a card. She wasn't very nice about having to check me in, nor is she ever. Maybe she thinks I'm one of those people who thinks they are above the rules. However, I was never aware it was a rule (if it is). If I find out it is a rule, then by all means I'll follow it. It's just no one else seems to have a problem with checking me in without a card. Although neither did that same girl when she had to check in the bulky dude who forgot his card after me...

Pilates, Art, and Hernias

The weather today was so beautiful! It was perfect temperature, about 70 degrees. and it was sunny, with high puffy clouds. I spent my morning (starting at 12pm since I worked a grave last night) at Pilates. It was really fun, I love the instructor for the 12:00 class on Thursday. She even used me as an example of form during class! neat! (she's prego, so she can't always demonstrate well.) I guess my hard work is paying off. :)

Later, I went to the craft store on my scoot. PERFECT scooting weather! I didn't want to stop riding. I picked up some painting supplies. Yesterday I went running on the Jordan River Parkway, and I passed a bunch of people, probably part of a class, painting in a park. It was such inspiration, I wanted to get started back up. I finished my last "piece" I suppose I can call it (I can pretend I'm a real artist and call it that) in January, and I've just not been really inspired to do anything else. Actually, I take that back about being a real artist, I am a real artist because frankly, anyone can do whatever art-thing they want and it's their art. People just call them "artists" when other people like it and buy it. :) or if they do it full time. But hey, mine's still art right? That's what art is, just an expression of your own--whether other people think it is art or not.

anyway... I'm going off on a tangent. I ended up browsing a little too much in the craft store (I found a really great straw tote to carry all my paint supplies at half price!) and didn't get back in time to really have a good painting session. So I cleaned up the porch instead and sat in the swing reading my book until Ryan came home. (who knew so much about dead people! -uh, i'm reading Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers really good actually)

I worked my last wednesday graveyard shift last night! yahoo! Now my only night shift is every other Sunday night! Thank goodness I won't be tired as regularly now. :) AND now that I don't work Wednesday night, I can play soccer again! Ryan and I play indoor intermural co-ed soccer with a bunch of my Co-workers and their spouses/friends/etc. It's fun, go Shockatrauma! Ryan has been playing without me for the last 4 months or so. But now I can again! yay! I'm totally the worst on the team, but I help enough that they still let me play.

Along with last night being my last Wednesday night shift, it was also a first. I saw my first inguinal hernia! It was completely bizzare and WAY bigger than you should ever let it get! (it was like a baseball size) weirdest thing I've ever seen in my job by far. For those of you wondering what an inguinal hernia is, go here and scroll down and click on "next". Then use the statue David to find where Inguinal Hernias are. weirdest website ever.

Online Find

Today I was doing laundry...ALL DAY. Cuz it takes that long with our little apartment washer and dryer. While folding clothes I watched "Ten Years Younger" on TLC. They took their subject to the warehouse of a web company: myshape.com. I decided to check it out. It's cool! you put in your measurements and clothing preferences, and they'll generate "your store" with all stuff that will flatter your figure! I don't know that I'll ever buy anything there, just cuz of prices. But it was nice to have it show you what would be flattering. I'm an 'A' shape. which is a big duh. I have narrow shoulders, narrow bust, and wider hips. They should have had a box for "bubble butt" and they'd have me to a T! Most of their suggestions I have figured out by default of trying on clothes and noticing their not-so-pretty-on-me-as-on-the-hanger-ness. Just thought I'd share!

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Church was nice because I didn't have to teach primary. The YM/YW took over, so all of us primary workers got to go to sunday school and relief society. I haven't been to R.S. in so long! I was really bouyed up by the spirit of the other women in my ward. It was a nice break from: "Hey everyone, let's all sit in our chairs! all six feet on the floor please. Paul- can you hear me?" The Elder's quorum provided chocolate cakes and ice cream for all the women of the ward. We ended priesthood and R.S. early to eat it. It was tasty! lots better than a potted plant to kill.

After church, Ryan put on a shirt a got for him when I was in Orlando in Dec. 2006. It was the first time he's worn it. Probably because it makes him look like this:


The abs are actually built into the shirt so they poke out. I got him the shirt cuz it made me laugh. It reminded me of him. although, I don't know why, maybe because he likes spider man?
At some point during the afternoon I bumped him in the mouth. He did this:
(this is a replay so I could record it, so you hear me prompting him at the first.)








What can I say, my husband is a very secure man.

We went to my Mom's house and watched the last of the Jazz game(we won!)and ate dinner. I made my mom this floral arrangement for mother's day.


I had seen ones like it to buy for about $40-50! I thought that was too much for something i could probably make myself. So after a trip to the grocery store floral department, and the craft store, voila! a custom work of art I could sell for $40.

We visited all of my Grandmother's the rest of the day. I rode on the back of Jordan's new motorcycle to Layton, and almost died of terror. Not because we were driving too fast, or because we almost crashed, or because Jordan wasn't a safe driver. But because I couldn't stop thinking of all the motorcycle accident victims i'd taken care of. I watched the pavement flying by under us and just imagined the pain it would cause if we hit it. Then i was scared of all the cars that could potentially hit us after hitting the pavement. Then I started thinking how i hadn't properly said goodbye to Ryan and how I wasn't ready to die! So pretty much, no more Motorcycles for me. At least not ones going faster than my scooter does.
It was nice to see all my Grandma's. We had a lot of fun. We called and talked to Ryan's mom that morning too. too bad we can't go see her and Ryan's grandmas too. :(

Happy Mother's Day!


we also got new fish over the weekend! They're clown loaches. We got them as replacements for our poor catfish that died last week. It was a lovely funeral.

Race for the Cure

This morning Mary and I ran in the Race for the Cure. It was really fun. There were TONS of people! Probably because you could walk it instead of running it. Because there were so many people, we didn't run it very fast. But that's not the point really, we supported breast cancer research and awareness! Ryan said he was watching people cross the finish getting all emotional, and it made him emotional too. It was sad(and touching) to see all the people sporting t-shirts and signs that said "Running in memory of..." Quite a few said "my mom" and it just broke my heart.



Here's the two of us before the race among the hoards of people.

2:30 a.m. philosophical thoughts

One of my recent most favorite movies is Stranger than Fiction. I absolutely love this movie. I love the acting, I love the screenplay, I love the name Harold, I love it, love it, love it. It's about an IRS autitor named Harold Crick who one day hears a voice narrating his life. This voice predicts his immenent death, causing Harold some distress and leads to him finding out about an author who is writing a book that he just so happens to be the main character of. Harold is played by Will Ferrell in a very non-Will Ferrel-ish role, and the Author is played by Emma Thompson- who I just adore. My thoughts have recently lingered on this movie because of the message I got from watching it: that life is about the sweet little moments. Harold lives his life by numbers and counting and regularity and routines. He lives alone, eats alone, and just does the same thing every-single-day; Until he hears this voice and it sets him off living differently--or more importantly--actually living. The night before Harold is going to (knowingly) die, he has a nice quiet dinner at home with his girlfriend and they watch old movies together. and it's so lame for a last-night-to-live kind of a night, but then, it's not. It's absolutely perfect. You wouldn't want him to spend it any other way. The whole ending scene of the movie discusses all the little things that we really should be living for, and it makes me tear up everytime. Oh how I love that movie.

I have a quote written down somewhere from a church general authority about how we're always thinking about how life will really start when... I graduate from school, when I get married, when the credit card is paid off, etc... But then he points out that while you're waiting around for life to start, life is happening.

I think I've been thinking about this tonight, for one thing, because I always seem to get philisophical and somewhat remorsefull at 3 in the morning on night shift. But also because out of the last 48 hours of the last two days I think i've seen Ryan a total of approximately 5 hours. I've worked two graveyard shifts in a row, and since I leave at 6:30 and get home at 7:30 and Ryan leaves at 8 and gets home at 5:45, I see him for just little spurts in the morning and in the evening. I've missed him lots and I was reminding myself to make the little bits of time I see him memorable. Not necissarily making it so we do something special-- but more just taking the time to savor it.

While writing this post I thought to myself that I feel like I'm only living while at home, or at least not working. but really work is life too(unfortunately). Then I wonder why I chose a life that is so full of bodily fluids, discharges, and secretions? Then I wonder why I tend to dwell so much on that part of my job (probably cuz it's the most gross) when sweet small and simple things happen here too. Like the distressed looks on the patient's family member's face at the uncomfort of their loved one. and with just one adjustment of a pillow or a moist swab in the mouth, suddenly everything is going to be okay.

So I reminded myself today to savor the little things, and maybe not dwell on what I'm going to do when that happens. But remember that this is life too.

I pitty the foo who hits my sister with a car!

So Laura got hit by a car today in the High school parking lot! some kid just about took her out. I was sitting at work, when I get a text from laura saying that she was just hit by a car, like her, herself hit by a car. I told her to talk to the school cop, cuz it's not just something to shrug off. and if she ends up being more hurt than she felt initially, He should pay for any care she needs. She did end up going to the school cop, which is good because she later developed some major back pain. Read her blog about it here It's so crazy! what a story! I'm glad she's safe though, and that a couple scrapes and bruises and a little bit of an injured back is all she ended up with. I've taken care of some auto-ped patients, and it sure isn't pretty! I hope the boy that hit her is okay too, cuz It'd be tough to know you hit someone with your car.

Mexican's say the darndest things

"oh you are very white, no? You need a suntan."

thank you. I've tried.

Things you don't know until you own a scooter

- That you should have had one when you were single- great date magnet!
- That you're suddenly a member of a cool new club. Other scooterists (scooterers? scoots?) always honk when they pass. (and are shocked by my awesome air horn! they give me a little beep-beep and it's replied by a HONK!!! like a fire engine. Buddy 150's are awesome!)
- You're also now very alienated from another club: motorcyclists. They'll look at you thinking you're a motorcyclist at first and when they realize you're not, they kind of sneer like you're so not cool enough. I have even had at least 3 rev their engines across the intersection at me. They make all this noise with their big harley engines. what a bunch of weenies. Having to prove their man hood by riding a motorcycle. :)
- All those bumper stickers saying "start seeing motorcycles" are for a reason. And apply to scooters too. You pretty much have to drive like all the cars on the road are out to get you.
-wind proof clothing rocks!

Love Your Heart Saturday

Well I've missed the last couple of Love Your Heart Fridays, so this week I'm having love your heart Saturday. I figured that awareness and prevention of heart disease would be easier for those reading my blog about it if I told you a bit about how the heart works. I'll just touch on the basic important stuff, cuz anything more than that, and no one will read it. I also put in lots of pictures to help visualize it all.

Your heart is a cone-shaped muscle about the size of your fist located behind the sternum and between the lungs.
the heart is pretty much hollow, and divided into four compartments: left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle, right ventricle.

The atria and ventricles are divided by one-way valves. (the valves work really cool, but it's too hard for me to explain with just writing it) There are also valves between the ventricles and the pulmonary arteries and the aorta. The Aorta takes blood from the heart to all the rest of the body. All other arteries in the body branch off of the aorta. The inferior vena cava brings blood back from the lower part of the body, and the superior vena cava brings blood back to the heart from the upper part of the body. All other veins dump into the vena cava's. the pulmonary arteries take oxygen depleated blood to the lungs (the pulmonary always has to do with lungs.) to get more oxygen.


This picture shows how the blood flows through the heart. blood that has given it's oxygen to the body tissues and is there fore oxygen depleated, fills the right atrium. the right atrium contracts, pushing the blood into the right ventricle. the right ventricle contracts pushing blood out the pulmonary arteries to the lungs. the lungs give the blood oxygen, and the now oxygen-rich blood fills the Left atrium. the left atrium contracts filling the left ventricle. the left ventricle contracts sending blood out through the aorta to the rest of the body. the left ventricle is more muscular and bigger because it has to push the blood with enough force to make it through the whole body.

Have you ever wondered about your heart beat? it's usually described as a "lub-dub" sound. the "lub" is when the atria contract and the sound is the rushing of blood and the valve closing. the "dub" is when the ventricles contract and the sound of the blood rushing through and those valves closing. both atria contract at the same time and both ventricles contract at the same time. so it's like your heart sqeezes at the top first and the bottom half right after.

I think that the way the heart contracts is so interesting! here's a picture:

the red parts of this picture are special cells that will send an electrical charge out all on their own. all the muscles in your body contract when an electrical signal (usually from the brain) tells it to. in the heart, the SA node and the AV node are groups of cells that send the electrical signal and make the other muscle cells in the heart contract. there is a totally awesome video that shows how this works. you should totally check it out cuz it shows you what all those bumps on an EKG machine mean. (the heart monitors that go beep beep beep in the movies. they don't do that in real life- can you imagine how annoying that would be for all us healthcare workers to have all those beeps going at different rates with all the different heart rates of every single person? ugh, kill me now.)


this picture has something important for all of you to think about. These are the coronary arteries. they supply blood to the heart. they are the very first arteries out of the aorta. The heart takes care of itself FIRST. Because if the heart runs out of oxygen and food, it can't supply everything else with the same. This is a good message for all those moms that let themselves go and let their needs go behind theirs of their kids. Now i'm not saying mom's should be selfish and make sure they get what they want first. I mean that mom's need to take good care of their own health and well-being -including emotional well-being- so they can be there for their kids. Now I know I don't have kids right now, so maybe I'll feel differently later. but I think that it seems pretty logical to me. If you're not well- you're gonna eventually not be able to be there for your kids when you need to be.
So I hope everyone has learned something new about their heart and how it works! so you can Love Your Heart more this week!

Thrursday and Friday 4/30-5/1

Thursday I took my braids from Mexico out. When I washed it, it was like I was molting! I was losing hair like crazy! now, mind you I had just worked a night shift, and I had only had four hours sleep since then. But as I was standing in the shower, I noticed one of my many hairs stuck to the wall that looked like a little person trying to touch his toes.

later that night, Ry and I went to Beauty and the Beast put on by Ryan's friend Kim's stake. It was really amazing for something put on by a stake! the stage was all decked out, and they had made it bigger. they had a real orchestra too. The costumes were amazing! I was really impressed that it came from a stake! someone put a lot of work into it. the actors did a really good job too. there was some pretty talented people- and some not so talented. but it was very fun.

Here's the stage before the show had started. Quite the budget that stake has!


Today I was all excited because I didn't have school. I had slept till 8 am when Ryan leaves, and I was just debating whether to get up yet when my phone rang. I just knew it was work. Sure enough, I had signed up for a shift and had totally forgotten about it. So I had to get up and go to work. It was a crazy day. I was the only clerk working when we usually have two. I had to keep switching from one side of the unit to the other back and forth and back and forth. I never had nothing to do. It was so busy! but incredibly enough, I had a good day. I think I had a good attitude, so it helped.
This evening Ry and I went to Iggy's to watch the Jazz game. It was fun! the whole place erupts when something good/bad happens. It's almost as good as really being there... almost. Our lucky friends Mary and Vince got to go the the game. I bet they had tons of fun. we left at half time and watched the rest at home. actually, I'm writing this while we watch, so I hope we win!

Ryan at Iggy's