Baby It's Cold Outside....

Well snow has fallen and the below freezing temperatures have set in. Temple square is beautiful with the lights and the snow sprinkled over everything. I have to take in the beauty so I don't complain about the cold and the slippery-icy roads :)

Monday night, I went ice skating at the Gallivan Center Ice Rink. Although I did this many years ago when I was very young, I put it on my bucket list-as something I would remember! It was tons of fun. I had one goal for the night: Don't fall! My roommate and I both accomplished the goal.

After ice skating I had the pleasure of meeting some Logan friends, Matt and Natalie, at Temple Square. I just love how people--who aren't in a rush--are so much friendlier and are usually in high spirits.

Last night I had an awesome experience of going to see Savior of the World. It is a production they do at the conference center theater. It is presented as a musical. This production focuses on the birth and ressurection of Christ. I constantly had chills through the entire show and tears were shed through most of the musical as well. The guy I was with, Adam, made the observation that there were always angels above each scene. They would take part in some of the singing but they were always there just watching the events "on earth." He said, "makes you think a little about what you do each day." Although we are taught that Christ and his Angels watch over us-it put into perspective what really might be happening all around us. We have angels around us to protect, watch over, and guide us.

Another very powerful scene was when the apostles were talking in the room where the last supper was held. They had heard that Christ was ressurected. As they spoke, Christ silently entered the room. As he began to speak, you could feel the spirit so strong, the apostles each went and touched the Savior's hands and feet to see the scars from the crucification. It was a scene of reverence and awe and I just thought about how close I'm feeling to God at this time and how I would react when he comes. I was able to connect to most of these scenes on a very deep level. I would encourage anyone to go see it. If not this year, next year!

Another wonderful experience I had last night was while talking with a friend on the phone. This friend is going through a lot of hard experiences right now. We had been talking for about 50 minutes and we had one of those quiet moments, not awkward, but quiet. This friend then says, "I just don't want to hang up, I feel so good talking to you, like everything is going to be alright." I was so touched by that. This friend also told me about how much I had supported and been there for them. I told this person that that was the Lord. He said, "maybe so, but you allowed yourself to be used as his tool." I thought about that afterwards and realized he was right. I have chosen to be a tool in the hands of the Lord. I wouldn't have it any other way!! Not only do I have the opportunity to bless those around me, I get to come closer to the Lord and receive blessings of service as well.

I have a testimony of the realness of our Savior and the Atonement he performed. I know that he is here to not only help us through our sins but other trials that may bring pain that we had no control over. He is here to rejoice with us and feel joy over accomplishments. I do know that someday "things will be okay" we just have to have faith in that.

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone!!

Today, What Did I Do For My Being

Hello World-it has been a while!

I waited a little while to write because I felt like my health was overtaking my life--and it was--but I didn't want this to become a blog about the woes of my health. I have no problem sharing my updates but I also don't want to focus on that. When I focus on all the things going wrong, it makes it harder to deal with. I'm having positive thoughts. When somebody asks me how I am, I'm not letting my health define "how" I am. I can be happy even when I'm in pain--and that is my goal!

I saw this quote/motivational thought on pinterest and have adopted it as my guide:

I have created one or two goals for each of these questions and I will share those with you:

Mind: a)Read a "fun" book this month and b)Study 2 hours per week for my PHR exam (see below-I'll explain the exam)

Body: a)Do physical therapy(PT) stretches each day and b)Do pool exercises twice per week

Spirit: a)Study scriptures each day and b)study a general conference talk or broadcast each week

Relationships: a)Do one act of service per day and b)Write a letter each week

Creativity/Passion: a)Learn a new song on the piano
                    --I've selected "If You Could Hie to Kolob" by Marshall McDonald (watch it on YouTube)

There is a program online, as well as an iphone app, called "Lift." My friend Adam Black shared it with me. There are a bunch of categories that are goals and you pick your goals and set a time to do them. Each day you check back in and say what you did. It creats a string of posts of people who have done their goal. It keeps track of how many days in a row you do something and people can give you "props" or write encouraging comments on your posts. It is just this network of people trying to stop bad habits and create new ones. So I've inserted each of my goals and now I have people "cheering me on" and keeping me in check. You all should look it up and see if Lift can encourage you to work harder and stay on task for your goals.

I will explain the PHR exam-since most of you probably have no idea what that is. Working in Human Resources, there are three levels of cirtification: the first being a Professional in Human Resources (PHR). I will be taking a 3 hour exam next Spring and if I pass I will become "Cydnee Haws, PHR." This will enable me to take on much better and in-depth jobs. I'm starting to study now because this exam covers A LOT of material and I haven't had real life exposure to quite a few areas of HR. I believe with my studying, taking more trainings, mentoring from my boss, and prayers, I will be able to accomplish this!

This last week, I got two more injections in my back. It took a few days to feel better--I still don't know if it really has helped my back or not but I did it once more for my doctor. I've also been wearing this shirt made by Tommie Copper. They have a bunch of different clothing items as well as braces to wear on your wrist, elbow, knee, ankle, etc. These items have been infused with about 60% copper nylon. There are a lot people who wear copper bracelets and say that they have way less pain. The idea is the same with this clothing. I bought two shirts to try out. I wear them all the time-during the day and when I sleep. I've been doing this for about three weeks: Last night I decided to wash both of them at the same time and go a night without wearing one and see how I felt afterwards. Within an hour I was in a lot of pain in my shoulders and collarbone again. It was hard to sleep. I put one on this morning and didn't think much of it. As I've been writing this paragraph, I've been assessing my pain level, it is significantly lower. I'm still going to wait another week-and probably try a day without that shirt on see if the pain comes back that quickly again or if it was a one time thing. If I decide it works I may buy a few more products. I'm willing to try anything to get rid of pain!!

Speaking of trying anything for pain: I had dinner with my grandpa and step-grandma last night. They took me to Market Street Grill, it is one of our favorites. I ended up getting the special which was fillet mignon with crab legs and veggies. It was amazingly delicious. While eating, Grandpa Dan talked about some of this healing he does through meditation and spiritual processes. It is nothing that I'm even close to understanding but he asked that I be open-minded and see if he can help with anything. So I'm being open-minded and letting him "practice" on me. Anything that can take some more pain away is worth trying, even if I don't understand it right now. If I only did things I completely understand, I wouldn't get very far in life!

I've been reading 2 Nephi in my "Closer to Christ" scripture study. When I was reading chapter 19, I found a specific line very interesting to me. 19:19 says "and the people shall be the fuel of the fire." I was thinking that there can be two meanings of the word fire. The first being bad-disasters, sin, etc. or the opposite fire being good-motivation, testimony, light. The people, me and you, get to chose which type of fire to be. You get to choose how the fire keep burning no matter which situation you are in. You can still have a testimony and be motivated and have the spirit with you when you are in undesireable situations. Or, you can sin and gossip and destroy your body but you are fueling the fire for Satan. I found this to be a cool concept. How am I fueling my fire burning? How's your fire being fueled?

Health Update

Dear Friends and Family-

Many of you have been asking for an update on my medical situation. Some of you know more than others but I’m just going to tell everything I know!

My migraines: I saw a neurologist a few months ago. He gave me a new pill and I’ve been really careful with my diet-avoiding anything that can possibly be a trigger for migraines. I have only had a few migraines since then. I’m very happy with that progress.

My back: I have two bulging disks in my lower back and two in my neck. Because of this, I have a lot of pain in my back, neck, and shoulders. The pain is usually on the right side but recently has been extending into the left.  I saw two surgeons and a neurologist about their opinions on surgery. All three of them said no. I am going with a doctor named Mark Reichman (at the IMC in Murray). He prescribed: physical therapy, regular exercise to strengthen my core and to lose weight, do another injection, and take anti-inflammatory pills.

I’m seeing a physical therapist a few times per week and we are doing a technique called “Lumbar Stabilization.” Basically, when you look at a spine-there is support from the ribs towards the top and the hips from the bottom. The lower back only has muscles and tendons surrounding it. I have to learn how to stabilize those muscles to protect my back from getting more damaged. As I am able to stabilize then I will be able to do more with less pain. I’ve started swimming as well to help my back. I’ve lost a couple of pounds in the past few weeks from trying to eat better and going to the gym nearly every day. I will schedule for the injection soon.

Long-term plan-In 8 weeks I will check back in with Dr. Reichman. If the PT and dieting and such are helping then I will keep doing that. If there is no improvement at all-he will think about surgery. He said that by the time I’m 35, I will need to get the disks fused which is a start of other surgeries-which we obviously don’t want. But if it is the only thing that will get me out of pain, that is what we will do.

The rest of my body: I’ve been having a lot of pain in my arms and legs. It is hard to explain the pain sometimes. Pain in my joints-elbows, knees, ankles, wrists, and shoulders are fairly frequent but come and go. A few different times in my arms-there will just be constant dull pain and then when I try to do things with my hands-as simple as typing or moving an ice pack—and sharp pain will shoot up my arms. Sometimes it only goes to my elbows; other times all the way up towards my shoulders. There is also weakness fairly often. If Iay down and try to read or text by holding the book/phone above me-I don’t last very long. My arms begin to hurt and are extremely weak. Areas have also become sensitive to the touch; just touching the top of my arm-just above my wrist-can cause pain and sensitivity.

My legs are doing the same thing. Last Saturday, I went to Ikea with my aunt and mother. About 10 minutes into the store, my right leg began hurting in general-just dull, constant pain. Then with each step, massive pain would come. I couldn’t put any weight on that foot without pain. Within another 15 minutes my other leg was the exact same. I tried to push through it-but that was impossible. My aunt ended up pushing me on one of those furniture carts.

I talked to my neurologist about this yesterday. We went through all of the pain points associated with fibromyalgia. He is pretty certain that is what I have. He asked that I do an EMG and see a Rheumatologist. He wants these things done to make sure no major nerve damage is done. Tomorrow, I will go back for a nerve conduction study. I looked up the definitions online so I didn’t explain things incorrectly:

An electromyogram (EMG) measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals.

Nerves control the muscles in the body with electrical signals impulses. These imputlses make the muscles react in specific ways. Nerve and muscle problems cause the muscles to react in abnormal ways.

If you have leg pain or numbness, you may have these tests to find out how much your nerves are being affected. These tests check how well your spinal cord, nerve roots, and nerves and muscles that control your legs are working.

A rheumatologist is a board-certified internist or pediatrician who is qualified by additional training and experience in the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis and other diseases of the joints, muscles, and bones. **They specialize with things such as fibromyalgia.

I’m waiting on the rheumatologist until we find someone that accepts my insurance. That may still be a few months before I get in.

For now, I’m going to work with my current physical therapist and make sure that I’m getting enough exercise but not too much. Either one can hurt me more-I just need the perfect amount. Getting the right amount of exercise can bring up to 20% improvement.

I’m also on another medication. This is used to treat epilepsy but I take it at a lower dosage. Dr. Goldstein says that it is a harmless drug-it won’t damage my insdies by taking it for long periods of time. Taking the medications can bring up to 10% improvement.

Dr. Goldstein says that for someone with fibromyalgia having 30-40% improvement is great improvement. I will have to find the balance of not letting the pain stop me from living but know where my boundaries are so that I don’t hurt myself more.

I think that is a pretty in-depth summary of what is going on right now. It is hard to deal with and takes a lot of time to go to all the doctors, to physical therapy, to the gym, to do my PT stretches on my own, my own personal research…but I’m hoping that some improvements can come. I just have to take it one step at a time!!

Thanks for your support and concern!

Cydnee

Doctors, Apartments, and Water Aerobics

I started this post last week:

This Saturday, I am moving into my new apartment! I will be sharing with 4 girls....I'm still trying to get used to the idea since even in college-I always lived in a house. I feel cramped thinking about it! :) But I have been trying to be open minded and I keep reminding myself of how cheap it will be. I will be paying student loans and medical bills so I needed something super cheap. Good news is that I'll be sharing a room with my awesome friend from Utah State, Aubri Squire!

Two Wednesdays ago (8/14/13), I visited two surgeons about my back. The first one was no help at all. He witnessed me cry in his office as he told me "we really can't do anything for you!" That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I needed some sort of plan because I need to get out of pain. He suggested to keep doing the injections, pain meds, and maybe start swimming. I was extremely let down and frustrated as I left his office. I had about an hour before my second appointment. I went to a park that was nearby and tried to calm down. I texted a few people and got into a positive, open-minded viewpoint for the next doctor.

The second dr. was more helpful. He said he wouldn't want to do surgery on me right now because by the time I'm 35, I'll need to get things fused and such. I said that is fine but what do I need to be doing now to get out of pain. He told me to 1)Get a regular exercise plan and strengthen my core 2)Lose some weight 3) Do another injection 4)Take an anti-inflammatory and 5) Start physical therapy again. I'm fine with this plan but my first thought was that I had done all of these things and it didn't seem to help. But I decided to be positive and give it another go. I will meet back with him in about 7 weeks now.

I also decided to see my neurologist about a back consultation. We'll see what he says as well.

Now, I'm to date:
Last Wednesday, I met with a physical therapist. I've never felt so positive!! He explained exactly what he wants to do, gave me a vision, and was extremely energetic about the work we will be doing. He warned me that this is a life-long committment to physical activity. I'm feeling great about that as long as we can get to a point where my back doesn't kill after every move I try to do.

I moved into my apartment on Saturday, went apartment hunting again with Aubri Monday night, and we're moving into our new apartment on this next Saturday!! Yeah, the apartment we moved into was HORRIBLE! There's mold growing all over the bathroom, I'm really not sure how I missed that when I walked through. Then there are just some other issues with roommates and space and neither Aubri nor I can deal with this stress. We want to be able to come home and be home and have a social life. That isn't going to happen in this apartment. On Monday night, we went and looked at 2 apartments and called a bunch of others. We found a place we like. It is a little bit more expensive but I'm hoping I'll be okay! It will be worth paying more to not live in a complete dump and have better people around.

Yesterday I had my first official Physical Therapy session with Alan. He was great. It is just very simple movements right now but they are critical to success. The technique/program he uses is called the "Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization Program. There has been a lot of success with this technique but I just have to remember to do my stablization exercises everyday...forever!

I also started to do some swimming. I haven't been actually swimming but I've been doing excercises in the pool. I walk back and forth and do skipping and grapevine and all sorts of things. I've committed to 30 minutes per day for at least three times per week. I am going to go to a water aerobics class as well. It is on Tues/thurs/Saturdays. Last Thursday's class was absolutely amazing. IT was pretty much Zumba in the water. So cool. Last night was a lot more chill but I still had my heart rate up to about 180ish. I'm excited for that class to continue.

I think those are my most recent updates. I've done a few other things but I don't want to make a post tooooo long-like this one already is! I'll update you more soon.

"Food" is a Miracle Worker

A few weeks ago I began this new diet to help with my migraines...since last Tuesday, I've only had one migraine. Other than that, I've barely even had a headache. It is a MIRACLE!! I feel like I can think and function. Although the diet is very restrictive and to me seems very random (for the foods I can and cannot eat) I'm sticking to it for now to give my head a good long break. I will gradually start to add a food in and see if it triggers any pain in my head. If it does: I'm never eating it again. If it does not: I can reintroduce it to my diet.

I met with a neurologist last week. They did some blood tests and then I did an MRI of my brian on Friday. The MRI came back perfectly normal (as did my last CT brain scan). All but one of my blood tests came back normal and with that one I'll just be retested in a month and we'll see if it is anything to worry about.

I went home this last weekend. It was fantastic!! On Friday night, I went to the wedding reception of my dear friends Jason King and Whitney Norton King. Everything was very simple and gorgeous. I loved it. Afterwards, I hung out with Matthew Sargent. Such an awesome kid :) We had ice cream and then drove to a hill in Hyde Park. We ended up having a personal firework show from some rich family down the hill. I started to play patriotic music on my phone as we sat on top of his car. It was pretty epic.

Saturday was a slightly exhausting day! My madre and I went to help Grandma Gwen. Ali came and just hung out. I've been helping my grandma sort through tons of files from her life and my grandpa's. They have SO much stuff it is kind of ridiculous! haha But I'm stern with her and question if she really needs this or that. Half of the time she says yes and I ask her, "when are you going to use this?" She just looks at me and says, "Fine, throw it away." I'm the ultimate declutter-er! If you ever need this service..I'm up for hire. Saturday night was good. My mother made a recipe I picked. Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp. It was delicious. After dinner, I went with Zach, Natalie, and Franchesca up the canyon. We sat in the back of the truc
k and star-gazed, joked around, and attempted our squishy pictures...like always. I also took up cupcakes to celebrate Zach's birthday (that was last Tuesday). So much fun!!

Yesterday, I was able to do an actual workout for the first time in a very long time! I did pushups and crunches and stretches and some yoga. It was 25 minutes of solid workout! YAY for me :)

I'm still in the process of finalizing an apartment. I'm going to end up couch hopping for about a month because things keep changing but hopefully this can be finalized and I'll just couch hop for about a month.

I feel like that is pretty much the update. Tomorrow is the 24th of July. I'll be heading up to Logan tomorrow for the Pioneer Day celebrations-I'm very excited. Well until next time...take some steps to better yourself-in any way!

Don't Ever Get Comfortable..Things Change for Good and Bad

I've decided people need to stop telling me, "It could be worse!" or "It'll all work out." Because after someone says that..it does get worse! And I'm not really sure how everything is going to work out. It will work it self out but is it going to be in a way that I would like? I have no idea but I want my body to get better and get back to a normal life.

It is amazing how your entire body works together to function. This last two weeks my migraines have become extremely severe and all too often. When I say often I mean every day! I've experienced five of my worst migraines. They put me completely out of commission-your brain controls your body-everything works together. I'm unable to explain how much pain I felt-my head compressing so much that I couldn't function. At one point, I had my hands up to my head in agony wishing it could stop because I didn't think I could take anymore. I thought of the Savior and His Atonement. I thought of him in Gethsemane and the excruciating pain he endured. I thought the pain I was feeling was excruciating but it was only one of my migraines. I wasn't even feeling back pain at that moment-or imagine combining the pain of two migraines!! I can't begin to comprehend the pain that Christ felt in the Garden. I'm so thankful for his sacrifice for me specifically. I am helpless without him. I know that I am very weak, especially right now. I need to try harder to rely on him and gain a deeper understanding of His great Atoning sacrifice for the world.

My job is great--although it isn't my dream job--my employer has been so good to me. They are flexible with my schedule and care about me and how I am doing. Just this last Thursday-I was very stressed. On Wednesday night, I had been told that I need to find a new place to live by the end of the month. That is only 2.5 weeks away! I was freaking out and had a slight panic attack-to say the least. At work the following day, I was very quiet and trying to not think to hard. If I thought about my pain and the stresses of finding a new place, I was going to induce a migraine and make it harder for me to work. I tried to just focus on work. I've been feeling bad about work since I've missed so much. I was hoping that people at work weren't starting to get annoyed. I was called into the office of the HR Director. One of the VP's and his assistant were there. I was scared out of my mind. They had me sit down facing all of them and I was asked how I was doing. I didn't know how to answer. I asked, "How am I doing with what?" They asked about my job and how I'm handling my responsibilities. Besides being gone, I thought I was doing alright with everything. I have reached all my goals and try to be prepared for anything in case I have to leave or call in a sub. All of a sudden they all started complimenting me on how they love the work I do and how much they appreciate me. I was shocked! Then they gave me a $50 gift card. To know I was appreciated in a place where I felt like I deserve the opposite, was such a great blessing. I try to express my appreciation and love for people as often as I can. But I want to try even harder and I encourage all of you to as well. It could make someone's hour, day, week, or month. Make sure people feel loved!

I do want to give a shout-out to some of my friends. I've been able to chat with some people who are far away. They give me courage and strength, make me smile, and give me something to look forward to. The past little while, I have greatly relied on my friends in Texas, Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, and California! I have some pretty awesome friends in Utah too :) Thanks for all of your messages, talking with me-or probably more listening to me-haha, you have no idea what it means to me knowing that you are there to talk to. Thank you!


This weekend I was able to go home and spend some time with my family and a few friends as well. A dear friend came home from his mission this past week: Joseph Ditton. Mi padre and I went to his "homecoming" talk. He is within the top two best homecoming talks I've heard. He balanced principles with mission stories. He seems so grown up...I mostly remember his obnoxious pre-teen/teen years! haha But he has definitely matured. He shared his "Top Three Things to have Success as a Missionary." The first one was to find truth-seekers. To do this you must share your testimony of the Book of Mormon to everyone. Those who are seeking truth will accept it as truth and want to learn more. The second thing is the principle of Obedience. He shared about truth and light. The Holy Ghost shares the truth. When we think of light-people usually think of Christ first. Although that is correct, WE can be the light as well. In order to have that light and have the Spirit of truth dwelling with you, you must be obedient. D&C 93:28 says, "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things." There were some interesting insights shared about truth and light-Joseph encouraged us to study D&C 93. The final thing that Joseph taught about was Love. He said, "You can't want someone to be baptized without loving them." The great thing about this talk was that it doesn't only apply to full-time missionaries. It can apply to ward missionaries or not even missionary work. You can apply these things to personal growth or just growing and nurturing your everyday relationships. Joseph, thanks for sharing these things today!

I hope that we can all take steps in our life to come closer to Christ, gain a deeper understanding of His Atonement for each of us, that we can find ways to show our love and appreciation for those around us, and that we can either do missionary work or develop greater bonds with our other Brothers' and Sisters'. I love you all and am thankful for those who support and strengthen me.

Be Strong

"Be strong, like this!" -Clayton Fielding

This week I started a new goal with Clayton. I'm going to cut sugary treats from my diet and he's going to go to the gym 5x per week. We started this goal a few weeks ago and I was going to "not eat candy at work." It had good intentions-I have this candy jar on my desk and it tempts me all afternoon. If I eat one, I could eat the entire thing but if I can stay strong then I'm good. The last few weeks, I've missed quite a bit of work-then I didn't really know what my actual goal was. I originally said no candy at work but I'm not at work, so can I eat treats? Pretty much I told myself..yes! I failed at the goal. This last weekend I told Clayton that I had to start over. I can have one "treat" per week so I must choose wisely.

Today, this candy jar is just looking sooooo good! I told Clayton that and then he sent me the picture and told me to be strong! It made me laugh. I've decided this little kid is my inspirational mascot as I work to acheive this goal. Thank you, Clayton!

Great news with my back...I think...today my back is mostly stiff. There is a little bit of pain but I think the shots are working this time. I think by the end of the week we'll know for sure. Once my back is feeling better, I'm hoping that I'll be able to sleep better and then with those two things fixed I'll be a much happier person. I'll start researching for surgery as well as how to get rid of my migraines. One step at a time! I can be strong. I'm just being super thankful that I'm not laying on the couch, wanting to die because of massive amounts of pain!

So there is some irony I'm noticing to my work. I have created this reading schedule as a goal-there are a bunch of business-y books that I want to/should read and I knew I would just put them off if I didn't create a schedule. So the book that I'm on is called, "Getting things Done" by David Allen. The irony is that I have not had time to read it because I have too much to get done! I don't know why as I'm trying to read this book, I really just can't make time for it! It is my third book of the schedule and I finished the other two. I guess I just need to crack down and "get it done!"

Something that has been on my mind lately is respect; the way you treat people. There's a saying out there that says something like-people won't always remember what you said but they'll remember how you made them feel. The way you treat people will effect the way they feel, the things you say to someone will effect the way they feel. Sometimes people just need to put aside their pride and let things go. Saying something degrading will not make your point, it actually doesn't accomplish anything. I'm not sure what it does for the person who said it but it does damage to those who heard it. A co-worker asked if I had ever heard the acronym "CDR." I hadn't so she said that it stood for "Courtesy, Dignity, and Respect." A company she once worked for had it as their "moto." I think that it is something everyone should strive to live by-it would just make the world a better place and releive people of harsh feelings.

Let's take small steps to make the world a better place. Think about how the words you use and the actions you take will effect the people around you.

Futbol, Greek Stands, and Weddings

Well hello world! I have not been very good at posting for the past few month but here you go:

Well to start out, a few of my friends got married! Preston and Kayci got married at the beginning of May. Everything was beautiful. A funny story with that-Kayci ended up buying Jessi's dress from when she got married. Jessi had put it on KSL and Kayci found it. The weather ended up being perfect. During the day the clouds were teasing us with rain but that evening for the reception it was great. Now they are living up in Pocatello in a retirement home! It makes me laugh-but free rent to do a little upkeeping for the home is an okay deal :)

That same day, Albert and Marcy got married! I was able to make it to their reception later that night. I just wedding hopped that weekend! Again, it was beautiful and my friends are so happy together :) Albert and Marcy have disappeared from the earth though-haha they are in the newly wed stage and I haven't talked to them since their wedding day! We'll have to change that.

Then just last week my friend Rhett married Kristyn. I was able to attend their ceremony. Then they had a photobooth, food, dancing. It was in a flower shop so their were natural decorations there as well. They are still in Vegas partying for their honeymoon!

About two weeks before Rhett got married we got to have one last singles hang out! We went mini-golfing and out for some ice cream. He's one of my friends that we just talk and talk. We ended up chatting until about 11:30pm that night. Just as we were saying good bye his girl called. It was just great to be able to catch up before he's off in the married world. But we did plan to do dinner once per month-so I'll get to know Kristyn better and we can all stay caught up!

 

I've been able to come home a few extra times in the past few months. I've been having a lot of back problems and migraines. In the beginning of May I had an injection into one of my disks. After a few weeks of massive pain, I called the dr. back and told him I didn't think it was working. We met again and looked at my MRI again. The disk right below the injected one had buldged about 3x as much as it was in November. He thought it would be good to do injections again. We just did two more injections into that disk on Tuesday. I'm hanging out on my parent's couch still trying to get better. I'm on tons of meds and it is making my brain work a lot more slowly than normal! I'm not used to that.

When I've been spending time at home, my adorable little sister and I have had some fun photoshoots. We just went outside to our yard and played around with the camera. She is soooo cute! I love her to death. My parent's are also so good about helping me. They'll bring me food and water and they feel so bad that I am in tons of pain. I am too but I just have to keep fighting. I'll probably end up doing surgery in the next 6 months. That is the only long term solution to my back problems.

 

 

We had a dear family friend pass away.

Mark Kailing passed away after fighting against cancer. His family is so strong and they are loved by so many. He passed away the week before his and LaDena's birthday's. We ended up still doing their birthday bash. The theme was animals. There were face painters and kareoke. I ended up being a tiger-it was so great, even though the circumstances were less than ideal.

I surprised my dad pretty well for Father's Day. I got tickets for the World Cup Qualifying Match. USA vs. Honduras at the Rio Tinto Real Salt Lake field. Some of my family members and friends were mad that I didn't invite them! But my dad was very excited. I hadn't been to a game at all in that stadium. The atmosphere was so fun. It was loud and there were lots of cheers and songs. USA won! The final score was 1:0 but it should have been 2:0. We scored earlier in the game but we were offsides so it didn't count. The refs were SOOOOO biased. I'm not someone who gets frustrated or mad at sporting events. But even I was getting frustrated at their calls. It made the game even more rewarding that we won with all the calls against us and the lack of calls against Honduras.

 

The last exciting thing that I've been doing is hanging out with Bonnie at work. We've been going on walks and trying new places for lunch-whenever my back can handle it. Last week we went to this little greek stand on the street, it is called Moms. It was amazingly delicious. I had a gyro. The meat was delicious and the sauce they put on make it even more perfect. Plus it was cheap. I'm excited for our many more lunch adventures.

That's the update on my life for now! Maybe once I'm off my pain meds I'll have more stories! Let's all pray that these injections work and I can be pain free until surgery :) Love you all!!

Featuring Josh Wright

As you all know I LOVE the piano. While I was at Women's Conference a few weeks ago there was an artist by the name of Josh Wright who played for us. I was mezmerized! He's doing a giveaway of a signed CD of his newly released (or soon to be released) album. One of the ways to enter the drawing is feature the promotion on my blog...so here it is :) http://joshwrightpiano.blogspot.com/

Check out his blog to see details if you are interested. He has a youtube channel, facebook and twitter account, and I'm sure other great ways to hear him. Check it out!!

Migraines and Bucketlist Items

Well this last week was great and horrible at the same time! I've been having a lot of problem with migraines. I ended up having a day where I just had to stay home from work. But alas, all is well. We'll figure it out.

On Friday, I got to go to Jurrasic Park 3D with some friends and then we went out for ice cream after. That was really fun to just have a night out on the town. I don't go to movie theaters very often-but obviously for a good 3-D movie you need to. It was just the original Jurrasic Park movie, redone. It was awesome!!

On Saturday I crossed something off my bucketlist!! I went with Josh, Kathryn G., and her old roommate, Rachel Boaz to the Festival of Colors here in SLC. We walked in, hadn't bought chalk and people were just throwing the chalk on us. By the time we made it to the line for chalk we almost didn't need to buy any because we were covered in color. We still bought some chalk so we could cover each other even more and throw it on to other people.
It had been raining off and on all day and we were a bit worried about it. But we hit the perfect window-it was raining as I drove to the Festival and then as we were leaving, it started to rain again. Here are a few pictures of our lovely colors!

I have a lot on my bucketlist and I'm continually adding to it, so we'll see what other adventures we can find myself on over the next little while!

I've just finished up a book called Personal Entropy for work. Basically it discusses how to increase your productivity-the factors that contribute or deter you from that goal. It was a great read and I wrote a little bit more of the specifics on my "Keeping Up With Business Blog" if you want to check it out.

A little bit from my scripture study: I was finishing up 1 Nephi and starting 2 Nephi. These are a few things I found that we can use to come closer to Christ and other patterns I saw or thoughts that I had:

In 1 Nephi 20-22, something I found is the fact that Christ is the light and that there will be a prophet to lead his church. We know that there was a time where the earth had no prophet but since Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth, we will always have a prophet to lead and guide us. That is a powerful tool: to have the  mouthpiece of God so close. These scriptures also talk about how the righteous need not fear.

With my 100 Days Closer to Christ, there is a scripture of the day and a thought of the day. I LOVED the thought of the day that went with these scriptures: "Our faith in the Lord is the source of spiritual power that will give you and me the assurance that we have nothing to fear from jeourney." -M. Russell Ballard

If we follow Christ and have faith we will have spiritual power to lean on at all times--even the tough times!! I believe those are the most important times to be leaning on faith so that I don't stray from the path of truth and righteousness.

Have a good week! Keep Christ's light close and challenge yourself to try something new :)

Movements

Lately I've been really focused on working out and trying to stay active. I've been going to a couple of yoga classes and trying to go running a few times a week. It is so interesting to see how much the body is capable of even when your mind thinks you can't take another step or you can't bend any further. Your body stores tension in different areas of the body-maybe the neck or the shoulders or the hips and then your body moves in different ways in order to release that tension. As I'm doing yoga and running I feel that tension and stress leave me. It is amazing and makes me want to continue to run and "yoga."

It is interesting how people get into different routines, once you've learned how to do something or where something is, it has become second nature to do that thing or go to that place. Sometimes I find myself stuck in these routines and not paying attention to the details of what is around me. I've driven the same route to work almost every day since September. I've changed it up a little here and there but I've found the fastest route and that's the way I go. Just recently, I was sitting at a stop light and I looked up and saw that there was a NewBalance store there on the corner. I sat and thought to myself, "Is that new?" and I couldn't answer. I had no idea because I had just driven straight down that road. I wonder how many other details and beautiful things I miss because I'm just trying to get to work or to the store. I will be safe but I want to be more observant about the awesome things that I have around me. I want to admire the architecture and wonder at the big trees and  ponder about the people I see walking. There is so much to take in and I'm going to try to take in a little more of the movements around me.

In my last post I talked about sticking to the basics in reference to gospel principles. In September, I began my 100 Days Closer to Christ with my scripture study. I did well for the first little while and then kind of fell apart. I'm going to start again to help focus my scripture study. I also have a goal to study my scriptures for 1/2 an hour every day. I'm sharing this because I'm the type of person that once I've shared a goal, I'm much more likely to achieve it. Anyone and everyone is welcome, and encouraged, to check up on me and these goals! We will see my movements and steps in my spiritual progression and strength to withstand temptation and be a strength to those around me.

There are movements all around us and in our own lives. We must embrace these  movements. We must learn and grow from these movements.

Inspired Steps and March Madness...in April?

I know, I know..it has been a very long time since I've blogged. A few people bugged me about this but I just couldn't find time to write. I have been inspired by my dear friend, Josh, to post. I now commit to the world that I'm going to do better! :)

Well it is April. I have all of 2013 to catch you up on but don't worry, I won't do it all in one post, that would get overwhelming for everyone. So I've decided to just talk about April and then as I'm writing future posts I may refer back to, and catch everyone up on the first part of 2013.




Usually March is filled with basketball for people considering March Madness but my basketball craze came in April. As an FHE activity we were able to attend a Jazz vs. Portland game. It was a lot of fun to hang out with some of my girlfriends from the ward. I was also thinking, it was the first bball game I had been to since college.






A week later, I went to a work conference on benefits. We met at the Energy Solutions Arena (previously known as the Delta Center) and had an all day training with drawings, food, etc. After the training we had dinner and then we went to a Jazz basketball game. We were playing the Thunder! One of the drawings throughout the day was for us to go down onto the court during halftime and high-five the players as they came back onto the court. We were suppose to cheer them on and pump them up for the second half. I was selected for this AWESOME task :) We ended up getting free t-shirts too.

The players were not all that excited because they were losing-and these games are really important because they are battling for 8th place in the tournament against the LA Lakers. So they need all the wins they can get. We tried to be as positive as possible and cheer them on as they high-fived and fist-pumped us. Even though they were losing, it was super cool to be down on the court.

I went up to Logan for Easter and my mother's birthday at the end of March. We had my birthday dinner (only 2 months late) at El Torro Viejo- my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant. It was fun to spend time with my family. I pretty much hadn't gone to Logan since the beginning of the year and I miss Cache Valley.









A few thoughts that I've had in April:

*General Conference: came at the perfect time. I was reminded of a lot of basic, key principles that may have been lacking. Sometimes I get so caught up in details that I have to step back and go to the basics. Where is my foundation? What am I leaning on? What is important to me and am I doing what I need to to get that? I love being able to listen to our church leaders. I felt such a spirit as they were talking and I'm excited to go back and study their words again. I was able to listen to the Priesthood session. I particularly loved Elder Hales talk. Even the quote that is at the beginning is perfect "Standing obedient and strong on the doctrine of our God, we stand in holy places, for His doctrine is sacred and will not change." My life is always changing, I am always changing but if I am holding onto something constant, that is true, I will remain on a stable foundation. I will be able to help others through their changing times. And we can remain true to God. I just love this gospel. I just have to remember to stick to the basics.

*People: are in my life for a reason. I just want to give a shout out to all of my friends and family and say thank you. Especially, those new friends in my life. Keep living by the spirit because at times you don't know-through your example and words you are blessing those around you. Each of you are blessing my life. I love people. I love learning from you. I love learning about you. I love serving you. I love spending time with you.
I have been blessed with this ability to love easily and forgive easily and that makes me vulnerable to get hurt easily. After chatting with a friend, he said (and I am paraphrasing), it is better to love and forgive and get hurt then to close up and not be blessing those may be needing that love. So I will continue to put myself out there and love and forgive and I trust that the Lord is there to help me get through the pain may come later.

I feel like I could keep writing all day about random things! This post HAS been very random and scattered and the next one may be too since I'm trying to catch you up. But I'll get back to my normal posts soon. But there are a few thoughts and steps from Cydnee's April 2013.