Creative person?

So Becca interviewed me this week for a paper she is writing for her college class (her last semester..good job Beccs!) Well, the assignment was to interview and write a paper on a CREATIVE PERSON.  Wow, I was really honored that she chose me!  

When she was asking me about how I am CREATIVE in my daily life, I started telling her about how I am creative with my patients and write songs for them and I try to create a place for them to relax and get away from their illness etc.  I also told her how I am creative with my students in helping them. 

PICTURE:  One of my favorite patients and I.  He was a soldier in HITLER'S ARMY.  He has so many neat stories that I love to listen to.  His face and hands froze off in Russia and he was a prisoner of war.  I'll have to do a separate blog about him another day.  Everytime I call him and tell him I'm coming over he says "Heidi!!  Let's make a music!" (face blurred for HIPPA reasons)

Anyways, Beccs kinda stopped me after I answered a few of her questions and said "Well, what other areas are you creative in?"

I didn't know what she ment?

She said "I was actually thinking about alot of other things than your jobs.  Those were the last on my list.  I was thinking of you decorating your condo, your BLOG, your photography, your aerobics class, cooking, etc

Me sewing my curtains for the condo.  I've done a full redecoration of the place.  (I'll do a separate blog to show the final touches)

Anyways, I didn't even consider myself as a WAY creative person, but isn't it interesting how when people think something about you, you yourself become more that way? 

Here's a quote I gathered on my mission that I love:

"If you treat an individual as he is, he will stay as he is.  But if you treat him as he were what he COULD BE, and OUGHT to be, he will become what he ought to be."

-Goethe

So this is basically my commitment to keep trying to be creative.  I do think that blogging is a creative outlet and a great journal. Angela, my sister-in-law, is quiet the example in this.  She blogs everyday and says she feels her writing has improved.  So, this is my new commitment to keep up better on my BLOG :)  

This is how we were somewhat creative tonight.  Beccs and I went to our ward FHE celebrity costume contest party as....

We had so much fun!  There were actually some pretty creative costumes!

                                     Miley, SNOOP DOG  and Hannah Montana!

This guy kept trying to make us guess who he was by making faces and strange noises over and over.  I finally guessed "Mr. Bean!"  He was like "what?  NO, I am Jim Carey"  I still think he is Mr. Bean. ha ha

                                                  Hannah, David Beckham, Miley
Ha ha

Thanks Beccs for such a fun night!  It was full of creativity!  I hope you get a big fat A+ on your paper :)  Becca is always someone who motivates me to be a better person and better friend.  

We just booked...

our tickets to DUBAI!!  

Tight!  Alana and I are so excited to go to Dubai!

So did any of you see The Amazing Race last night?  They went to DUBAI.  It was way fun to see lots of things there.  So I have had alot of questions from people as the WHERE Dubai is.  So here's a little map.

It's #5&#6 on the map (in green).  So as you can see it is in the Middle East!  (or you can call in Saudi Arabia like my sister-in-law).  I asked her to help me with booking some tickets and she texted me very early one morning saying "Hey let me know the dates for Saudi."  I was laughing so hard.  Apparently she is very nervous for us to go.  She says we are going to have to "veil up" to be safe there.  :)  Good times.  Don't worry everyone Dubai is supposed to be quite safe.  

Her dad gave us a little talking to saying that we cannot dress like this over there (no tight jeans) and to respect the culture. Hhhmmm...I will have to pull out some of my old mission dresses. Tight! Comfortable and stylish :)

So you may be asking WHY are we going to Dubai?  

Well, Alana's brother and family actually live there.  He works for Ford and they have lived there with 2 kids for the past 3 years.  

Alana's parents are giving the trip to her for Christmas...and she invited me!  Luckily we have a free place to stay so I don't have to totally break the bank.   

So YES!  We will definitely be doing a little INDOOR SKIING 

...and a little CAMEL RIDING!!

But the rest we will just have to wait and see!!

Is Miley Cyrus even cute?

This is what I asked myself when 2 different people at church came up to me and said,

"You look like Miley Cyrus" and "Wow, I was sitting there thinking that you really look like Miley Cyrus. Don't worry, it's a good thing.  " 

Is it?

Wait a minute, isn't she like 16?  Good one!  ha ha...I'll take it then I guess.  I'm obviously not too into celebrity gossip.  When I went to California with my girlfriends a year ago they were all singing that "She's just being Miley" song and I was all sorts of confused?  :)

When I was BLONDE, I used to get that I looked like Carrie Underwood  or Reese Witherspoon.   

On my mission, I got a brand new companion who is a best friend today..Breanne!   When you first get to Chile, sometimes it's hard to concentrate because it's all in Spanish and let's be honest, you are not understanding much.  While we were teaching a discussion to a lady, all of the sudden 

she blurts out "Reese"  and starts laughing repeating "Reese".  I just kept blabbing in Spanish trying not to laugh.  When we left the house I asked her what that was all about and she said:

"I can't wait to write home and tell my family that my new comp is REESE WITHERSPOON! "

We laughed and accounted it to the big purple scarf  that I was wearing that day and my  blonde hair!

Well, I had a similar experience today.  While I was visiting a patient this afternoon, we were talking of his life and travels etc.  I sang him a song that related to what we were talking about and right when I was done he blurts out:

"MONA LISA"  

"That's it!  You look like Mona Lisa!"  

Ha!  I was dying and just smiling at him.  I love my job.  Good one.  So now I went from Reese to Mona lisa?  :)  Let's see, she's a world wonder and a work of art...I'll take it!  

Anyways, it was just an amusing day and reminded me of fun mission memories and new ones being created from going BLONDE to BRUNETTE.  

Us girls in California 2008, when I didn't know the Miley song that everyone seemed to be so fond of! 

Now tell me, who have people thought that YOU look like?  Come on people fess up!  

My new favorite little boy!

Please bless I have a little boy like him someday! What a personality!!! You need to watch this, he is so good and so cute...and he knows the only Russian words that I know!

Bridal Show

The BRIDAL SHOW was a few weeks ago now and it was so fun!  A few people have asked what the booth looked like, the flowers etc, so here are a few shots!

The FLOWERS were done by my friend that I cheered with at USU, Kelli Dunkley.  She did such a great job!  The tight part is that the twigs and leaves are still alive so they are up in my front room still.  Her website is BloomsandBlosoms.floral.com in case you need some arrangements or a wedding or party done.

I had some of my students come play harps so I could talk to people that came by.  It was a success.  I got alot of contacts and people that wanted me to play at their weddings.
This is one of my students that I started when she was 4 and now she is 9.  She is incredible at the harp.  A true prodigy.  It was funny because people would look at this picture and then me and then be like "Oh, I get it....that is you!"  (because of the brown hair).  Anyways, thank you Rosie, Becca, mom and dad and my students and families for all your help!

Final Diagnosis

If anyone knows me, they know that I have stomach problems. It all started when I was 21 and I had a bowel obstruction and had 6 inches of my intestines removed because of scar tissue build up. I was in the hospital for a month overall while my boyfriend slept on the hospital floor every night and carried me to the bathroom. I was so sick. When I was taking a barium swallow (intestinal test) my dad said I was turning grey and was on my way out. Thank heavens for modern medicine that saved my life! 

So since then I have random DIRE PAIN in my intestines. It feels like knifes are jabbing into my stomach. This has lasted 7 years. Good one.  I'm sure most of you close friends have experienced and intestine attach or two while spending time with me. However, here is a recent example.

Exhibit A: MAMA'S FISH HOUSE! MAUI, HAWAII

This is me right before the meal, enjoying a miami vice. Smart. Before the attach. Ignorance is bliss!

The food was a dream!  
So here we are in front of the bathroom that I ran to when I started having jabbing knife attacks in my stomach.  However, there was a HUGE LINE and there was no way i was getting in there.  I was sweating and crying and about to pass out so when I ran to the manager and asked for another bathroom, she jetted me through the kitchen into an employee bathroom.  Good one. Needless to say I'm ready for the stomach problems to Stop Please!!

We all decided to get in and paddle the heck out of there!!  :)

So for years I have been seeing doctors to figure out what is wrong, and HURRAY! 

As of Tuesday of this last week I was officially diagnosed with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).  I had to eat only white chicken, fish, rice or potatoes for a day (all white) and took a breath test that measured my hydrogen levels.  Well the test came out positive (12 is a positive and mine was 33).  Here is a Wikipedia explanation of what it is.

Small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SBBOS), or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), also termed bacterial overgrowth; is a disorder of excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine. Unlike the colon (or large bowel), which is rich with bacteria, the small bowel usually has less than 10⁴ organisms per millilitre.^[1] Patients with bacterial overgrowth typically develop symptoms includingnausea, bloating, vomiting ,diarrhea, and abdominal pain which is caused by a number of mechanisms. The diagnosis of bacterial overgrowth is made by a number of techniques, with the gold standard diagnosis being an aspirate from the jejunum that grows in excess of 10⁵ bacteria per millilitre.Risk factors for the development of bacterial overgrowth include the use of medications including proton pump inhibitors, anatomicaldisturbances in the bowel, including fistulae, diverticula and blind loops created after surgery, and resection of the ileo-cecal valve. Small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome is treated with antibiotics, which may be given in a cyclic fashion to prevent tolerance to the antibiotics.

So anyways the good thing is I don't have to have surgery or anything.  I started my first run of antibiotics last week.  It cost $330.00.  Good one.  Well, I have felt so much better...pain wise..but the substitute with the meds is that it has made me so nauseated!  I feel like I am on a Lagoon ride all day...or the back seat of a car.  The doctor gave me some Zofran (anti-nausea) which works usually, but sometimes doesn't!

I'm trying to figure out what to do to feel better.  I have been reading testimonials online of people who have it and alot of them are similar to this one...

I have had gastrointestinal problems for many years. It has been really bad in the last two years. I underwent many tests that concluded I had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). My physician advised a no-lactose, no-grain, and no-sugar diet. It is called “The Simple Carbohydrate Diet.” I have been following it for two months, and I have seen much improvement. It is recommended to follow it for at least a year to get your body healed.

I have been doing this for the most part (veggies, fruit, rice, meat, potatoes,e etc) and I actually think that helps me not be nauseated.  Kinda sucks to cut out things you love but totally worth it if I can  FEEL BETTER FINALLY!

It's that time again!

FALL!!!  I LOVE fall!  It always means a new beginning for me.  Probably stemming from the fact that 'school days' are back in place in one form or another for most people.  For me, (along with January) it means its GOAL SETTING TIME!  

Starting Sept 1st I made only two specific goals in order to keep FOCUS and not feel OVERWHELMED  and give up like so many of us do.  

So yes...It's YOGA TIME AGAIN!!

I Can't believe it has been  A WHOLE YEAR since Trace and I did the "30 day challenge at bikram yoga."  Going everyday for a month (not sun) to the 110 degree room with 40% humidity for a 1 1/2 hour yoga class that kicks your booty!  So this year Trace, Alana and I decided we would do yoga 4 TIMES A WEEK!   It still really is alot but at least you get cut a little slack if you miss one day.  Well, since Sept 1st was on a tues, I realized by sat that I hadn't gotten enough classes in that week so Alana and I decided to do a double yoga class on saturday in order to stick with our goal.  Good one!  We went to TWO CLASSES in a row on saturday!  We felt like we were going to PASS OUT!

We were so exhausted afterwards but while you are in that hot sweaty room, you realize that YOGA has alot of parallels to life.  You have to push through it, not quit, sometimes you are loving it and enjoying it, sometimes you want to die and give up.  The more you push and improve in there, the more you push and improve in life.  Ha!  Wow, do I now sound like a yoga junkie or what?  "FALL BACK, WAY BACK GO BACK.  YOU ARE A JAPANESE HAM SANDWICH" ;)

Anyways the 2nd goal for the next two months is to READ and STUDY my 

scriptures for at least a 1/2 HOUR  a day!  Ok ok, I do have to admit that I changed that to 1/2 hour 4 times a week like yoga.  The reason being that alot of times I go to institute, fireside, church etc and ....well, I guess to just cut me some slack so if I miss a day I won't be totally out.

This has been SO good and really has already helped me to reconnect and feel the influence of the spirit more apparent in my life. 

I do have some other various goals such as MAKING MY BED in the morning.  I do realize most of you have never seen my room look this clean.  Well, I almost posted the BEFORE picture but even I was a little too embarrassed!  Anyways the other goals are like going to institute, temple, not eating out, writing thank you cards etc etc.  You know.  I just give myself a point when I do them. That way if I miss, it's not the end of the world.  I really like this way of doing goals so that you stay with it and don't just give up if you miss a day.  

Anyways, among the goals is to improve my BUSINESS.  One thing is to advertise which I have not done much of for playing at weddings, special occasions etc.  So I am doing a BRIDAL SHOW   THIS SATURDAY AT THE SOUTHTOWN EXPO CENTER.  It should be really fun.  I am having some of my students come and play with me so they can help with the music while I am talking to people.  

ROSIE is AMAZING and put together this BROCHURE for me

Thank you Rosie!!  I love it!  She is so talented!  We are going friday night to set everything up and then going to dinner and to get a COUPLE'S MASSAGE!!   

(the least I can offer after all that she helps me with!)

What a hot date Rose!!

Hears to goals!!