Sexy Wife

I recently started working at a clothing store a few hours each week. Today was not a busy day. I had one older woman looking at jewelry when a young gentleman walked in, and right up to the counter.

"I'm looking for some sexy clothes for my wife."

I think that I blushed a little. Then I turned to the other woman about 3 feet away to gauge her reaction. She had a grin on her face, she was trying to control, as she pretended to be interested in the jewelry.

After a few awkward seconds and some "I don't know what to say" giggles from me, I turned to the woman and said, "This is my husband."

After a sigh of relief she says, 'Oh good, I was about tell him, "Good for you!'"

-R-

The Minivan Mom

My sister Whitney and her husband Ben went on a sweet cruise to the Bahamas a few weeks ago. Matt and I were pretty jealous because that has been Matt's dream vacation...because he's been there twice. And it was my dream vacation too...because I have never been there. Well, Whitney talked to me a few months before the cruise, she had an important request, (...and I almost thought that she was going to invite me and Matt to join them on the cruise!)... would I take care of her three little ones while she was gone? Of course!

One of my goals at this time in my life is to be available. And I was available to be a mom of three for a week. The real question...was I prepared? Only time will...and time did tell.

I see Whitney and her kids often and felt confident that things would go well. They did. But it was a quick crash course on motherhood, without the nine expectant months to prepare, or even adding one child at a time. In fact, I had to get my game face on real quick because kids are very practiced at being kids.

I learned a few things:

1. Kids can pretty much sleep in all day, why don't they? Whitney lied to me and told me they get up around 7:30. Wrong!! They get up around 5:45, ask for breakfast, whisper loudly and believe you when you tell them it is not morning yet. I would not let them get up until 7:30...this did not stop them, though, of waking up whenever they wanted.

2. Get them on a schedule. Granted, it was my schedule and a pretty timid schedule at that, but it was something. Whitney is fearless. She goes anywhere and does anything. She is not stopped or slowed down by kids...she just successfully takes them anywhere and I admire her for that. I was a new mom, though. So, at 7:30, I began to verbally prepared the kids for what was on the schedule after breakfast. We had 2 hours to get ready to go to the gym. And it took 2 hours. We left 30 minutes before the class started to give us time to load and unload. This also gave me time to run back in the house 3-4 times to grab the things I forgot. Do all moms lose their mind when they have kids? Then it was back home to steal a few moments here and there during the next 3 hours to get ready. Lunch at 11:45, walk Samantha to the bus stop at 12:30, take Mason and Luella on a walk to wear them out. Home for quiet time and pick Samantha up at the bus stop at 3:30. Prep for dinner. Dinner. Prep for bed. Bed. Get kids a drink of water. Get them another drink of water. Remind them it was past bed time. By this time I was so exhausted I went to bed too! Next morning...wake up and do it all over again!

3. Don't take kids out to run errands unless it is life or death or a life or death emergency! At least this was my philosophy for the week. On Monday, I took mason (and Luella) to All-A-Dollar to get some treats for the week. First of all, I should have just taken Luella out of the carrier but its a challenge just getting her in. She gets mad and arches her and makes it impossible to buckles the straps. So I decided to just take the whole carrier. So, I grab the carrier, grab my purse, grab Mason before her runs across the parking lot and we head in. Then we get inside and I have to put the carrier down in the isle because my arm was going numb and moved her along with my foot as we moved down the isle. Then I ran out of hands holding my purse, the shopping cart, the carrier and hands with Mason. And, Luella's feet, which hung out of the carrier, kept knocking into stuff and I could see this quickly going downhill fast. We got our stuff, got out of the store and cute Mason insisted on carrying the 15 pound shopping bag. So he half carried, half drug the bag down the sidewalk, across the parking lot and into the car. Then once everything was loaded, including kids, we were off. This is when Mason wanted the treats. My arms to no reach to the back of the mini-van so the poor kid was out of luck this time. Mason did not understand this, though. So, don't run errands unless it is an emergency and at all costs, don't let the kids see what you buy!

4. Wear them out! It's the best sedative. We didn't go on a lot of errands but we did do a lot of walks. After the gym each morning, we went to a playground a played. Then we'd walk Samantha to the bus stop and take a walking detour home with Mason and Luella. Mason and I would talk about what we saw, what the different colors were and I'd quiz him on crossing the street as well...look both ways for cars, wait for the adult! Then we'd go on another walk before we picked up Samantha from the bus stop. And on more than one evening, we played at a park after dinner as a reward for good behavior. I admit that I did take Mason and Luella on a long car ride to Provo to sedate them, and they got like a 2 hour nap...but most days I relied on the physical activity to wear them out.

5. Who needs dumbells when you have a baby? Little Lu-Lu...she is the one who took most quickly to my role as mom. She would not let me out of her sight otherwise she'd let out an ostrich scream. It was a big noise coming from such a small baby. So, while I was normally use to my own body size moving down the hall or through doorways, I had to get use to a baby on my hip. I got creative though. She'd sit in her high chair and play in the spice drawer while I prepared dinner. She'd be in the bathroom sink while I got ready. I put her in the laundry basket when I needed to carry around laundry or toys. I told Whitney my goal with Luella was to have her crawling by the time they got back. Goal achieved! It started out as a worm/army crawl. But she gets around. The night her parents returned, we were in the nursery showing Luella's new trick. Mom, Dad and Aunt Rebekah all circled around the room and who did the baby crawl to...Aunt Rebekah! This confirmed that I successfully completed my job.

It was a busy week, a learning week, but a fun week. The first half of the week was the learning curve for me and the last half was the performance time! Samantha, Mason, and Luella are darling kids. I woke up the morning after Ben and Whitney returned missed those kids. I was bored the whole day. I called Whitney just to see how the kids were doing and had to stop myself from going over and checking on them. This just reaffirms a belief I already hold true, the most difficult things in life are the most rewarding. My personal motto, "I can do difficult things...and love it." -R-

Lake Tahoe

At the beginning of September we went to Lake Tahoe with two other couple friends, the Swansons and the Naidus. Matt and I were so excited just to get away and have a vacation together and we had so much fun with the other couples. We woke up each morning to a delicious breakfast cooked by either the Swanson's or the Naidu's and Matt and I prepared dinner one of the nights. We hiked, biked, shopped and just relaxed. The perfect getaway!

Lake Tahoe

Vikingsholm

Matt in front of 1936 Dodge

At the entrance of Vikingsholm

Getting ready for a bike ride

Matt showing me how strong and muscular he is!

Fake engagement photo :)

We had such a good time. It was fun to get to know the Swanson's and Naidu's better and create some really fun memories. Danielle Swanson made a comment about the vacation that fit perfectly and that we kept repeating at any given moment, "It's my vacation and I'll do what I want!"

Early Retirement or Summer Vacation

What have I been up to since July 1st?...The official closing day of the Salt Lake Farmers Med PIP Office. I, for one, was looking forward to this day to start my early retirement or summer vacation. Prior to the office closing, and prior to the workload diminishing, I would often think of a million things that I would rather be doing than sitting at cubicle and staring at a computer. I got to the point where I kept a running list so that when the day came that I could do whatever I wanted all day, I could quickly remind myself of "what I'd rather be doing." (It's easy to think of other things to do while you're at work, but harder to remember those things when you have a full and empty day ahead of you.)

1. Go visit Heather in Ohio and see new baby

2. Work-out a ton

3. Win Crossfit Challenge

4. Take scripture class with mom

5. Take infectious disease class from Gene Cole

6. Attend temple weekly, with mom if possible

7. Volunteer- find service

8. Finish painting

9. Finish quilt

10. Take up hobby- tennis, dance, school, guitar, language, cooking...

11. Take class at SLCC

12. Take CNA course

13. Play tennis with Hilary

14. Take quilting class

15. Hike with Rebecca

16. Get tan

17. Swim w/ sisters, nieces and nephews

18. Go to work with dad

19. Apply for jobs

20. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up

21. Read Book of Mormon in 3 months

22. Then read Book of Mormon in 2 months

23. Finally ready Book of Mormon in 1 month

24. Get rid of clothes I never wear

25. Organize! Organize! Organize!

26. Be available...

27. Read a book a week

28. Organize pictures

29. Organize office

30. Blog

31. Write letters

32. Catch up on seasons of Desprate Housewives

33. Be happy

34. Be calm and not stressed

35. Sleep-in if I want!

36. Get up early when I want

37. Go to bed when I am tired instead of when "it's time" (typically 10:00 pm so that if I get up at 6:00 am I get a full 8 hours of sleep...I like to calculate how many hours of sleep I will get, just before going to bed, and it frustrates me if I know I can't get all the sleep I want.)

38. Don't be frustrated

39. Get enough sleep

40. Hang out with Matt

These are just a few things I came up with. To be honest, some days have been busy and when I tell Matt how busy I am/was, he just laughs because, really, what do I have to do?! And some days have been pretty chill. What has been a dream come true for me is that I get to see my husband. Matt works nights and so when I was also employed, I would not see him for 3-4 days at a time. Now I get to spend days with him and it feels like we are on vacation...staying in a beautiful townhome located in SoJo. :)

The most difficult part of employment was that it interfered with my social calendar. Not only did it prohibit me from seeing my husband but it was also a challenge to get together with my sisters and attend the play dates. And when I could go, it would be on my lunch break and I had to break the speed limit to get to the designated location, watch the clock the whole time (which ended up being about 20 minutes once we factor in driving time so I couldn't really enjoy the socializing), and then speed back to work. Now I can hang out as much or as little as I want. My schedule is MINE!

Many items on the list have been completed and some are in-process and others are still being planned. But to be honest, I like myself better as an unemployed wife rather than a dutifully- employed, stressed, angry, money-making wife. I think Matt likes me better too!

Last day at the office, the Farmers group.

After work ended, I was able to go and play at my mom's home with Whitney, Rebecca, and kids.

During the summer, Mondays were always "Mondays with Grandma." All the grandkids and parents were invited over in the afternoon to play at Grandma B's home, or go out for a fun adventure. On this Monday, we checked out the parade floats prior to the big 24th parade. And even my Grandpa B joined us!

A separate Ohio post is required to give the trip justice, but will have to come another day. Here is a teaser picture...the whole group outside the Chrisman's church building the day Jonathan was blessed.Two months after work has ended, and reflecting on all that has taken place in that two months, I think that losing my job has turned out to be a blessing for me. I didn't realize what a difficult person I had become because of my inability to leave work at work and enjoy home when I got home. Now that my days really belong to me, I fill them simple things that bring me joy. Where I hated cooking before, I am now looking up new recipes to try and traveling to Matt's work in the middle of the night to share with him the savory meal I made. Previously, if I read the Book of Mormon before bed, it was a verse or two while dozing off after a sentence or two. Now I am able to set aside time to really read and study. I haven't volunteered or joined a service group but I've tried to find ways to give of myself and my time to help others- (since I now have 8 mores hours in my day!) I love people and love spending time with people. I have been able to strengthen friendships, start new ones, and build closer bonds with loved ones. All in all, I am more happy, more calm, more peaceful! -R-

Is Red Bull a Bunch of Bull?

So lately I've been interested to know what Red Bull is made of. Especially since I've been drinking a ton of it. First of all I think it tastes sort of gross, but it does seem to give me that "kick in the pants" punch I need when I'm feeling rather lethargic.

So aside from the taste lets mention some positive aspects of the "Bull".

1) Caffeine - "Friend or Foe?" Well, that depends on how you look at it. If you compare several other energy drinks side-by-side you'll notice that the caffeine content in Red Bull is about 10% less than your average pick me up. And having personally tried several of these other energy drinks, why is it that Red Bull gives me a bigger boost than the other ones especially if it is less caffeinated?

Caffeine is known as a Xanthine derivative (not that this is relevant or anything). It is sometimes use in Newborns who have difficult breathing. It increases the respiratory rate and dilates the bronchioles allowing air to move in and out more easily. Although, I don't believe it's used all to often in the medical setting today.

Caffeine also acts as a diuretic, so get ready to use the bathroom multiple times. This can decrease the intravascular volume of your body leading to a compensatory increase in heart-rate in order to maintain proper cardiac output.....blah.....blah.....blah. So in other words, you need to drink plenty of water with your caffeine intake to avoid dehydration.

2) Niacin - "What the freak is this?" It's one the B Vitamins, namely Vitamin B3, that provide our body with the necessary components to produce ATP (energy). I can't quite remember, but I believe they act as co-transport mechanisms in the Kreb's cycle. Working in health care I've seen patients take Niacin tablets in high doses and got curious as to why they needed it. Niacin actually lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body to help prevent further decompensation of the cardiovascular system. You know that new drug commercial on TV now called "Niaspan". Yeah, that's just niacin in an extended release form so just pick some up at GNC instead.

3) Inositol - "Ino-What?" Exactly! It's some kind of vitamin/nutrient/sugar substance found in our daily diet. It also helps to lower cholesterol and lipids in the body. However, it is more known for it's mental health benefits. Studies have shown that clients suffering from OCD, depression, and ADHD improved in their mood and ability to focus. This would probably fall into the category of complementary therapies instead of alternative therapies.

4) Vitamin B6-"Another B?" in the nutrition facts this is what Red Bull is mostly comprised of. An actual definition from drugs.com is "...functions as a coenzyme in amino acid, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism." COENZYME!! That's what it's called! Not co-transport mechanism; Duh! All of these B vitamins play a different role in the metabolism of our food in order to provide our body with energy.

5) Other interesting stuff - One of my teachers this past semester suggested on taking a B-Complex vitamin. Not only does it have a ton of B vitamins, but it also contains other stuff like Vit. C, Iron, Folate, etc... She also mentioned that by taking a B complex vitamin daily, your chances of catching a cold would be less.

During stressful times in your life (such as school) your body can go into flight or fight response mode. This comes from your sympathetic nervous system response to stress. O.K. bare with me for a sec, I'm trying squeeze all of this out of my long-memory box. Alright....back on track here....so....stress = flight or fight = release of catecholamines (epinephrine/norepinephrine) from your adrenal glands. Something else is also released from your adrenal glands during times of stress and that is Cortisol. Cortisol (glucocorticoid) does several good things, but also has a few bad ones when secreted in excess. It lowers your immune system defenses and raises blood-sugar levels. This is way your more likely to get sick (e.g. like during finals week!). Cortisol is also a fat-storing hormone that mostly causes fat to accumulate around the mid-section. Think of someone you know who might be high-strung all the time. They might be heavy in the middle will skinny extremities. This actually can be a disease (not caused by stressing out too much) called hypercorticolism or Cushing's Syndrome.

The B Vitamins actually help suppress the release of Cortisol thereby keeping your immune system defenses up and alert.

So, there's liquid B vitamins with the caffeine or simply just take a B Complex tablet. Either way you'll stay healthy with lots more energy!