Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Day 34 - April 29, 2008

ZYX....
I learned how to say the alphabet backwards (thanks to my mom who is a pro at it!)

Day 33 - April 28, 2008

SMILE!
My mom and I decided to spread some sunshine to someone else in the neighborhood (that and I really wanted to go for a walk because the weather was absolutely gorgeous!). So we created this smile face, with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth with the words "smile" on it. It needed something else, so I found some string I had, and we added hair. Unfortunately no matter how much art supplies I owned, I did not have a glue stick, or scotch tape. So we added the hair by sticking the tabs you use to mark book sections on it. It looks like barrettes to me.
We didn't know who we were going to give our precious gift to, so we decided to just walk down a street and randomly place it on someone's car. As we were walking, a cute dog, who looked like my other dog - Finny (although Finny was much cuter) - came and started to walk in front of us. She would start to slow down, turn her head to look at us, and then start walking again. My mom and I laughed as we realized we were "psuedo - walking" this dog. Several people even asked us about "our dog." We thought that maybe this is Finny up in heaven letting us know that she is thinking of us, as we were just talking about her the hour before.
We found a car and place the 'smiley face' on their car windshield. Who we received it... we have no idea. But we hope that it will help them on their day :)

Day 32 - April 27, 2008

Daisies...
I realized recently that I REALLY needed to change the wreath that was on my front door. It represented fall.... and I am ready for that season to be completely over. I generally buy a wreath at the craft store, at a reasonable deal. But when I went to see what they had... there was nothing I was willing to pay at this time. But the day before I found some supplies at Robert's Craft Store, and on Sunday, I put together my new wreath. I'm excited, because I made it myself, and it was a lot cheaper. I've decided though that this will be phase 1 of the wreath. It needs some more color or something. So stay tuned for phase 2.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Day 31 - April 26, 2008

Lights!
My parent's are currently visiting and staying with me. It's been nice, especially as my dad is able to help with a few things at my place. One thing he assisted me with was changing the light bulbs. Now I generally do change them on my own.... but I had one that actually exploded and the light fixture cover was holding all the glass from it. My dad helped me get out the remaining light bulb that was stuck in the it. I tend to go through light bulbs quickly. He gave me a tip of covering the bottom, metal part of the light bulb with aluminum foil. This will help the connection better. So I went around adding aluminum foil to several of my lights. He was kind to just bum with me as I did a few errands in the afternoon. We stopped at a Chevron station once and saw BYU baseball hats. We both decided that we need a baseball hat. So we went all out and purchased 2. I have to admit, this is the only BYU piece of clothing I have right now. This appears to not be a normal thing where I live. Generally everyone has at least 1 - 2 shirts expressing the BYU label. You should see this town when the football team plays. It's fun!

Day 30 - April 25, 2008

Graduation Dinner
My gorgeous sister and brother in law graduated from college today....Yeah!!!! I went with my family to their graduation ceremonies, and then for dinner we were invited to celebrate with this event with them at
I have never been here before. This is a fun place that if possible you should experience once. Everyone sits around the metal grill, and the cooks prepare your food in front of you. They also put on a great show with the knives, and fire, and throwing food at you in hoping that you'll catch it in your mouth. Our cook didn't have the best throwing technique though. It was a lot of fun!!!

Day 29 - April 24, 2008

Popcorn Popping on Trees
When I drive into work, I feel at times that I am driving out of the city and entering a peaceful, bit of heaven in a sense area. Then I walk into my office and that thought changes a bit. But the scenery outside is absolutely beautiful when the seasons are in the process of changing. Despite working at this location for almost 2 years. I had yet taken pictures of the beautiful surroundings, especially during the season changes. I took a minute to finally try to capture it. I couldn't do that well. But I figure it's better than not having captured any memories. At the time I was taking pictures, there were some deer eating dinner. Some even posed for me.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Day 28 - April 23, 2008

Permission Granted
Tonight I cut out a hand and wrote on it "permission granted to have a FABULOUS day." I've placed it right by my front door to remind me, as I give it a 'high - five' that it is my choice to determine if my day is going to be good or not.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Day 27 - April 22, 2008

6 Minute Cure
During work today, I began to get a headache from working on projects and paperwork. I found this article online and decided to try it out. It was nice how within a short time I was able to just relax and forget about things that I didn't need to remember. I have this posted by my computer to help me remember to just take a few minutes to relax.



How 6 minutes can change your life.... ...FOREVER!!

In this issue, I'm going to tell you about a SINGLE technique that has helped thousands get over their blues and stress.

As a valued subscriber, I couldn't wait to share it with you.

Its 2:00 pm, you are in the middle of work - well, chill out for 6 minutes. The 3-STEP routine that follows will DRAMATICALLY improve your life!!

Sit erect but comfortably in your chair. Do it best by pushing your hips right up till the backrest so that there is no slouching. Rest your arms comfortably.

STEP 1 : Stimulate relaxation (2 minutes)

Begin by rotating shoulders clockwise and then anticlockwise, 5 times each. Do it while your arms rest on the side.
Then, bend your head so as to try touching the shoulder. Do it on each side (5 times each).
Bend your head forward and backwards alternately. In the forward bend, press your chin against the neck.

Note: At all times, keep the neck erect. People with cervical problems should avoid these exercises.

These exercises ease the pressure on the bunch of capillaries around the neck. This helps to ease the blood flow into and out of the brain and stimulates relaxation.

STEP 2 : Breath observation (2 minutes)

Close your eyes and "unburden" your mind. Just "observe" your breath. As you breathe NORMALLY, become aware of the inhalation and the exhalation process.
Breath awareness works at a subconscious level where one is made aware that all that exists is really breath - nothing more and nothing less. This has a remarkable de-stressing effect

STEP 3 : Pranayama or Yogic breathing (2 minutes)

Close your eyes. Take GENTLE but DEEP breaths. While inhaling, feel the air filling in - from the bottom (stomach) and gradually upwards till the top of the lungs. Then, exhale - letting the air get out, first from the top and then towards the bottom. Repeat 10 times. Better done while standing.

IMPORTANT: While inhaling feel that you are drinking in fresh oxygen, happiness and light. While exhaling, feel that you are letting out the negative emotions, toxins and waste.

This technique called AUTOSUGGESTION is one of the most POWERFUL yet little known method of Yoga. It uses "self suggestion" to DRAMATICALLY change the outlook to life. Pessimism is replaced with optimism. Stress is replaced with an inexplicable calmness. The feeling can only be experienced!! Believe me, it really works!

That's it !! You're done with your 6 minute yoga. Now for the interesting part:

Do it regularly and tell me if you're NOT addicted to it. I guarantee your delight, OR YOUR MONEY BACK - Er, I'm not charging anything.....

Day 26 - April 21, 2008

Unpacked!!!!
I went on a trip to Arizona over the weekend to visit with friends and to see my nephew be baptized. I caught a REALLY early flight home (6am) and then was able to eventually get back to my place around noon. Stating I was exhausted was an understatement. But this has been the first time that I actually unpacked and did laundry before the day was over. This has never happened before. I generally take about a week or so to get to it. Surprisingly, I have liked not having to look at a suitcase beckoning me to unpack it.

Day 25 - April 20, 2008

Singles Fireside and Mission Stories
I was invited to attend the 1st ever mid - singles fireside for the Tempe/Mesa/ Phoenix area in Arizona. I've never been to a fireside for those specifically for ages 30 - 39, usually I attend the ones that are for ages 18 - 30 years old. Since I'm really close to that age (315 more days till my birthday! :) I felt like I fit right in. It was fun to see old friends and to catch up with what has been going on in their lives since I left. In addition, this was the first time Elder James J. Hamula, the person who gave the talk, spoke since being called as a General Authority.

That night, my friend, Aaron, and I had dinner with my parents. My dad served a mission in the East Asia, Philippians area, many years ago. He began to share stories with us that I had never heard before. I laughed with several of them, and couldn't believe that I never heard them before.

Day 24 - April 19, 2008

Korean Candy
I was introduced to this really fun Korean store in Tempe. It was interesting to go to as you really can't read a lot of what it is you are looking at. You have to really hunt for the English on the packaging. But I tried 2 new treats they had. One was a sweet potato type treat, and another one was a roaster pumpkin treat. This was a completely different taste for me. But it was really good. I think that I preferred the roasted pumpkin the best. (sorry I can't find any pictures, and can't remember the exact title of the food).

Day 23 - April 18, 2008

The New Photo Booth
I spent the afternoon at Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture. My friend, Aaron, gave me an acupuncture treatment and then I waited around several hours till he was done. During that time I was able to do research for work and also visit with my parent's, sister and brother in law, as they were also getting an acupuncture treatment. During the last hour I was talking with my brother in law and we began to look up things on the internet with Aaron's mac laptop he so generously let me borrow. On the computer I saw this photo booth icon and was wondering what it was. We explored it and soon discovered that this is the new wave of photo booths for the 21st century. It was a lot of fun. You can make the graphics do some fun things.

Day 22 - April 17, 2008

New Session Executed
I had thought of a session idea for music therapy to use at work. In my head it worked out to be a really good session idea. It took me a long time to prep the materials, and get everything ready. I was able to implement it for the first time in one of my groups. Right before my group though, I was doubting as to whether this session idea would really work out the way I had envision it. I was about to cancel the idea and just go with what was familiar and I knew had work. But after some uplifting self talk I went ahead with it. It turned out to be one of the best sessions I had done with that group in a long time. Everyone enjoyed it and was able to get a lot out of it. I'm excited to use this in other areas, and have also been thinking of ways I can change and adapt it to make it even more fabulous!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Day 21 - Lamps

I bought these really cute lamps at my cousin's store about a year ago. Today I decided to finally buy and put light bulbs in them. Is this a sign that I am more into appearance than in functionality?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Day 20 - The Power of Balloons

When I came home from work today, I wasn't feeling the best, and have been experiencing nausea since then. I decided that I needed to make this feeling not be "so bad." So I blew up balloons and placed them all over the bathroom to make it a little more lively and colorful. Balloons have this amazing power to bring enjoyment to everything and every place.

Day 19 - Meditation

I've been doing a lot of reading regarding meditation lately. I have been wanting to see how I could incorporate this into music therapy sessions. Despite doing a lot of reading though, I have never personally experienced meditation. Monday night I did it for the first time. I have read different techniques that could be used. I liked the Mantra Meditation method, as I really like the idea of mantras, and tend to use them in music therapy. One thing I had read was to use "Japa Mala" beads. You hold onto one bead on a necklace, state the mantra, and then go on to the next bead. In a sense, this helps you to stay focused on what you are doing in the present. I didn't really have the beaded necklace, but I did have a beaded bracelet that I just used several times. One thing I really liked about it, was how it helped me to just relax as I really focused on deep breathing through it.

Day 17 - Baby Shower!!!

I realize now that I have missed a day of reporting. On Saturday I co - hosted with other fabulous girl's to give my sister, Lindsay a baby shower. She will be having a sweet boy in a few weeks. The shower was a lot of fun. My mom flew up and surprised my sister at the event, and was also able to assist in putting it together. Lindsay got some really cute baby clothes and other essentials to help her.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Day 17 - Temple Square (actually this is Day 18)


Today I went with my mom to Temple Square to see Music and the Spoken Word. We both realized that neither of us have ever been inside the Assembly Hall, despite going and visiting the grounds numerous times. We noticed that people were going inside, so we went exploring as well. At that time though a church meeting was going on, but they didn't mind us taking a peek. It's really beautiful inside with nice soft tone colors, and magnificent organ.

The grounds were absolutely breathtaking as Spring is here (I think). We were able to just sit outside, look at the flowers and enjoy the whole experience.




Day 16 - Congee

My mom has been in town visiting with me this weekend, and has recently discovered a new "stoup" as other siblings called "congee" (prounced con - gee). Legend has it that this is a magical formula that brings energy to those who consumes it. My mom wanted me to experience this, and so showed me how to make it during the afternoon.
So here I am excited, and prepared to embark on this incredible "congee" experience.
The key ingredient in this is "lamb." I can't say I have eaten much lamb. I am generally a chicken and fish kinda girl. But as we all know, it's important to follow a recipe when cooking... especially when a recipe doesn't exist.
So my congee consisted of in addition to the lamb... spelt flour (because I shouldn't really eat barley, or rice, or anything else good), white navy beans (we decided to do a spicy theme), mushrooms, celery, carrots, onion, garlic (there it is again... it's everywhere), vegetable broth, a can of diced tomatoes, than curry, cayenne, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, a can of hot green salsa picante and cumin. Above is a picture of it before we turned on the crock pot. I think we overfilled it a bit.
Here is a picture confirming that we overfilled it too much. Supposedly you are supposed to cook it for 8 hours. But my mom and I decided to be rebellious and cook it ALL NIGHT!
Here is a picture of it in the morning. It pretty much sucked up all the juices by then. When I looked at it and tasted it though, I felt like something was missing. I finally realized what it was..... cinnamon.
Here I am ready to try this new food, for my breakfast, looking real great, being sweaty after returning from the gym. Excited that this will give me the additional energy I need. It did taste good. I especially liked the slight kick it had.

Day 15 - Wild Oats

Day 15 was a busy day for me, as I worked a longer day than expected at work, and then needed to drive up an hour afterwards to go pick up my beloved mother who flew in that day. On the way home from picking her up, we stopped at Wild Oats (as the closest one to me is 30 minutes away). While there I tried 2 new things. Spelt sesame seed cracker sticks. These were really good. They are located in the bulk section, and I had always looked at them and thought "one day I'll try those." Today was the day I decided. I bought 8 cents worth and did not regret a penny that was spent on them. My mom and I also tried this garlic soup something. I am not able to remember the name at this moment. It was red, had garlic, and was really good. I remember the garlic as I had just recently experienced an episode of consuming too much garlic. The soup though was absolutely delicious! I would get it again, if I can remember next time what it was exactly.

Day 14 - Bar Keepers Friend

When I first moved into my really cute apartment, I bought some stainless steel cookware that had come highly recommended to me. I love the cookware, but was saddened when the first time I used them, my pans became discolored. I may have had the heat up to high, as I cook with a gas stove, and am not use to the whole temperature adjustment thing. So for the past year, I have been having to look at this:
Once when I was looking in Macy's kitchen area (a thing I tend to do a lot of) I found a bottle of stainless steel cleaner, but it was more than what I was willing to pay to clean the pans. But this week I did a search on how to clean this, and discovered that if I use "Bar Keepers Friend" (found in the dish detergent area by Comet at your local store) that it would clean them up.
So I decided to take a gamble on this.... since it was only $1 something. I spent some time with this, but was excited with my results as I feel like I have new cookware!!! Thanks Bar Keepers Friend!
What is also nice is that I kept saying "I'll clean them one day." Well with this new thing I'm doing I needed to think of something to do and so I decided that this was going to be the "one day."

Day 13 - GarageBand

On the 13th day, I was actually really excited to have time to complete this project for work. This was going to help me develop my "mixer/recording" skills using the computer program GarageBand. My really cool friend is letting me use a 4 - track mixer recorder for recording songs that have been written at work. In previous sessions, I helped some clients write songs. We recorded them using the 4 track mixer, with real microphones (that was the biggest hit with this machine). So on this so called "13th day" I finally had time to transfer the files from the cassette tape on the 4 track mixer to the computer to add effects, instrumentation and just make it sound like a really cool song. I found a book at the library that showed how to do some amazing things with the program that I didn't know existed. It was a lot of fun mixing sounds, adding special effects and being able to listen to something at the end of it and just being amazed that I actually put that together. What is even more exciting is that in a few more months when I get to know the program better, I'll look back on this project and can't believe that I was actually excited with the results. This will be because I am much better, and have a more "sophisticated" and better idea about this whole thing :)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Busy Week!

For some reason this week has been busier than my past weeks. I have a feeling that this schedule will continue this way for awhile as well. But I have still managed to get some new experience in every day. I'll post them this weekend.

Please be aware though that April is International Guitar Month!!!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Day 12 - The Shadow

Today was more of a 'new experience' for me. I had 2 people job shadow me throughout the day. I have never really had that before, for that long of a time. Mondays are my busiest days when it comes to holding groups at work. I would have these thoughts throughout the day that all my sessions would not go well, and that it would just be a "bad" therapy day. I realized though that this was just 'stinkin thinkin' and that it wouldn't be true. I thought it was funny though, how I would go into the group with an idea of what we would do, and than realize immediately that the "plan" was not going to work. So I would have to improvise during the entire session. Luckily my instincts were correct and the new plan I came up with worked out well. One thing I realized though, was how nice it was to have people help you out throughout the day. The time went by a lot faster, and made the slower times a lot more enjoyable.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Day 11 - Got Ink'd?

Have you seen the commercials for "Bubblicious Ink'd" gum? I haven't either, but I was just told about them tonight. I found this gum at the store and was wondering what it was like. It looked interesting, and I am a huge sucker for image packaging. I tried it tonight with my cuz'ins. It tastes really good at first, but the flavor doesn't last long, and it's not the best to use for a bubble blowing contest. It's fun to have though with friends as it turns your gum a good blue shade.


Day 10 - Cactus

Saturday I was at Harmon's Grocery store and saw the prickly cactus fruit. It looked interesting to me, and I was thinking "I wonder what that tastes like." So I decided, why wonder, why not try it. Word of caution though... even though there aren't any "cactus pricks" on it, don't just carry it around, place it in a bag.

The way you prepare it (according to the sign by the cactus), you wash it, peel it, than eat it. This is what I did. This is what it looks like inside.

It's a really pretty bright red fruit. It tasted different than what I thought. Although I didn't know what it would taste like to be honest. The best way I can describe it is that it's a mixture of a kiwi fruit and watermelon. I enjoyed it though, and wouldn't mind having it again.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Day 9 - Liver Cleansing

I have been working towards getting off some medication the past couple of weeks. At times though my body has noticed this slight discrepancy in chemicals. One thing I have heard that helps with this is to do a liver cleanse. My mom just completed this, and didn't have any problems while doing it. I decided to try this as well to see if it may help me out a bit. I got the recipe from her, and chose to start it TODAY. It just consists of orange juice, lemon juice, garlic and ginger root. Then you follow it with dandelion tea. Generally I can handle eating or drinking anything. Well, after I did it I decided to end it TODAY as well. I realize now that I messed up on the formula and added WAYYYYYYY to much garlic. It just made me sick all morning. So this may actually work, and if you do decide to do it, just watch out on how much garlic you add. But at least I had the courage to try this out.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Day 8 - Spoons

Soon I'll be able to add "playing the spoons" to my resume. I ventured into this new area of instrumentation today. I didn't do too bad. It's still a bit hard to keep them steady, but I'm sure with practice I will be able to figure it out. It may even help me out with my technique of using chop sticks. Perhaps at our next Family Reunion Talent Show I will be able to have an act down like this one:

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Day 7

FYI - It has been 1 month since my birthday!!! Just another 11 more months to go :)... and today I used a carrot as a spreader to spread hummus on a tortilla. Quite an interesting experience. Never done it before, but may do it again.

Oh, and today while I am sweating and trying to lift another set of really heavy weights, my trainer decides to make me work harder by starting up a conversation. He casually asked me if anything interesting happened this week. As I am panting and trying to talk and work I told him "yes, I planted an herb garden." He began to laugh and stated "that was the last thing he would have expected to hear." I thought that this would have been one of the most common things to do around here. Perhaps not everyone is "into it" like I thought.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Day 6

Today my escapade took me to Lowe's where I found some really cool herb garden kits. I've always thought it would be fun to have an herb garden (and cheaper), but have never done it before. No excuse now though. It is done. Now I am just needing to have faith that I planted them right, and that it will be able to get enough sun to actually grow. I'll keep you updated.

I was able to plant - Lemon Basil, Oregano, Italian Parsley, Genovese Basil, Catnip, Mint - Spearmint, and Peppers (Santiago Fi, Hot Portugal, and Sweet Cayenne).