The Government CANNOT Shut Down Patriotism. I love our Veterans!!

I'm grateful for the congressmen and women who stood up and made possible for this event to happen. It was a prescheduled event and these veterans won't be able to wait for another opportunity. 

Don't cave, congress. 

Stand up and CLOSELY follow the constitution. 

You represent the will of the majority and you know what that will is. Listen to us and do the right thing. We don't like to be forced to buy or do anything that is against the constitution. 

Every day REALLY is a bonus. I'm going to use my time, my day today feeding my relationship with my husband by completing projects that he has wanted done. I sure love that guy. Thanks, Veterans, for making my TODAY possible. 

"How Stress Can Be Your Friend"

This is a really interesting presentation about stress. Kelly McGonigal said that if you "...Change your mind about stress you change your body's response to stress." She also said, "Your stress response has a built in mechanism for stress resilience and that mechanism is human connection...Caring created resilience...You can trust yourself to handle life's challenges and you're remembering that you don't have to face them alone."


Heavenly Father has created our bodies in such a way that it can handle the burdens placed on them WHEN we reach out to others. I have shared that the biggest thing that has helped my recovery is through helping others because...

 "Caring creates resilience"

What I've Done over the Past 5 Months to Drastically Improve how I Feel

There was an interesting article posted on Facebook that talked about sleep aids, over the counter and prescription and their long and short term affects. Since I am not a medical profession, it would be best & wise if you talked to your doctor ALWAYS, no matter what you hear or read. I am very med compliant and always will be. 

I do like both conventional and natural medicine but found it interesting to read how some over the counter medications affect our bodies in the long term. That's why if I can I will take or do something that is more natural. Talk to a health care professional before you try anything. I am not your doctor. (: I can only write my OPINION on what helps me (i.e. doTERRA oils and nutrition). Some nights I do have a hard time falling asleep and that is why my favorite oil is Serenity & probably always will be! (If you become a doTERRA member, the oils are A LOT cheaper and you get loyalty reward points back that you can use for free products).

Here's a quote from that article I mentioned,



"You’re far better of finding safe and natural solutions that will actually address the underlying causes of your sleepless nights instead of just cover up the resulting symptoms."

-Boby Truther (interesting last name, Boby, lol)

I liked how he made suggestion to find the root cause of a sleep problem. You can read the full article in it's entirety here

Another reason why I like essential oils? I still have symptoms of depression and anxiety, they're just more manageable and less intense because of the medications I take. (By the way, I'll never write down medication names, which ones worked and which ones didn't. I don't think that would be right. Everyone's DNA is so unique that what didn't work for me works miracles with the next person.) 

At the BRIDGES Teacher training I found that a feeling of being "choked" is a symptom of an panic attack. I experience this off and on but didn't know it was an anxiety attack. Someone in our group asked me what I do when I feel that way and I asked, "Honestly? I use this doTERRA oil called SERENITY and just rub some directly on my throat. It calms things down and the feeling goes away."

So...if I find something that has helped me combat my depression and anxiety then yes, I will share what I know. About six months ago I was miserable and thought that this was as good as my life was going to get. I was tired of being depressed for 2 1/2 months at a time and then having a good week and slipping back into depression. Most people didn't know I was depressed. Apparently I looked fine on the outside! Or...I hid it well and didn't talk about it. So what has changed since then to help turn things around? (my meds have stayed the same for years, which is a blessing)


-Learning more about Nutrition & I'm eating healthier.

-Using doTerra oils regularly (several help with anxiety and/or depression). I do sell doTERRA from my website, but I actually like an oil that a company called Young Living sells. It's an oil blend called JOY and I like it better than the doTERRA equivalent. I don't sell for them or have an account but I like the oil JOY so much that I patronize the company just for that one oil.

-My awesome and amazing mentor/coach & my mentoring group who I have learned so much from (They're amazing cheerleaders!). My mentor has helped me with my blog and has helped me overcome negative thought patterns that were holding me back and keeping me stuck.

-My Faith. I'm spending A LOT more time in my scriptures, listening to uplifting music, listening to the Mormon Channel, writing positive things about myself in my journal (helps you to learn to truly love and accept yourself), praying and spending more time that I ever have truly listening for answers.

-Exercise! I have biked & hiked this week. And I have gone up and down a ladder today picking apples!  <---I consider that exercise! I'm a little worn out and I'm still not done several hours into it! Thanks to the neighbor who gave me permission to have the (organic!) apples which were just going to go to waste. Tomorrow's agenda, canning...

-Service. Through thinking of others and finding ways to serve them my life has been tremendously blessed. This is the KEY to true happiness. Like President Hinckley's father said, "Forget yourself and get to work."

Bridges Teacher Training this Weekend

Here's an e-mail I received yesterday from NAMI,

"Dear future BRIDGES teacher,

We are excited that you want to teach the BRIDGES course! 

Teaching BRIDGES is a unique opportunity to positively affect the lives of others. You know through your own experience the effects of mental illness, as well as the fact that treatment works, recovery is possible, there is hope, and you are not alone! As you teach others, they will come to know this also.

The BRIDGES teacher training will help you gain the skills to be an effective teacher. You will learn techniques to help convey the BRIDGES material and lead the class on an educational journey to further recovery. The information contained in the BRIDGES class is evidence-based. It has been proven to be effective in improving understanding about mental illness and helping participants gain skills toward long-term recovery.

Many BRIDGES teachers express how their lives and recovery have improved by “giving back” through teaching the BRIDGES course.  As you teach, we hope you will also feel the satisfaction of giving back to others the knowledge and skills that have helped you. 

We look forward to working with you!"

This is what I will be doing this weekend! I am extremely grateful for a husband who supports me and a mother-in-law who is willing to help watch my kids! It is through understanding your disease that you are able to be in recovery and live a productive and yes even a HAPPY and JOY-filled life.

"Breaking the Silence on Suicide"

Thanks, Seth, for being brave enough to share your story with KSL 5 news. I agree with you...healing does come through helping other people.

Paying it Forward

 In Kindergarten one of my kids really struggled to learn her sight words and was behind in her reading when she entered first grade. With the help of some amazing reading specialists at her school and one on one reading with a "reading grandma" tutor she finally learned how to read!!!

I am so grateful for the help she received. I worked really hard to help her at home but she would often get frustrated with mom (; Since then she has really taken off in her reading and begs to go to the library.


So when my Stake Relief Society asked us to volunteer to be reading tutors at this school that is one of the poorest performing schools in our state I wanted to pay it forward because of the help my child received.

This is the blue card that he gave me on the last day. Cute, huh?
That's apparently me on the right with a  book to read to him
although he was the one that always read to me. (:

"Scooer book" also known as the book about soccer that
I gave to him as a gift. I hope that he will read it throughout this
summer because it is a long book!

Don't wait to be asked

"Call me if you need anything."

How many times have we heard that or said it ourselves?

How many people actually take us up on our offer and call us? I know I have said it but I am trying harder to notice needs of others and do something without waiting to be asked.

I read a really good article the other day about someone who called her sick and bedridden friend and asked simply, "I’ve had you on my mind. I need to spend a few minutes with you to see if I can cheer you up a little. Do you think you could sit up and tolerate company for about 45 minutes?”

What she ended up doing was giving her a manicure and visiting with her.

I like the last paragraph,

"If my friend had called and asked me if there was 'anything she could do' for me, I would have told her no. If she had asked if she could come and give me a manicure, I surely would have refused, thinking it was the last thing I needed or wanted. She said only that she cared and wanted to cheer me up—and she fulfilled that promise by physically touching my hands and spiritually touching my heart."

To read the whole article:

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/04/more-than-a-manicure?lang=eng&query=manicure