Rustic Heaven

Everytime I see this picture my mind fills in the rest of the house, the outdoors, the scent of the mountain air, and suddenly I'm head-long inside a fantasy where I own some huge cabin-lodge-estate thing in the middle of mountainous-nowhere... perhaps Montana? Cowboy hats, sunrises, picnics, horseback riding-- again-- too carried away. I need to stop. Perhaps trapped inside during a thunderstorm! With a crackling fire, baking bread, a ragged old quilt... ahhh! Stop. Stop. Stop.

Ahem. The couch looks comfy enough to stay, even if it is too frilly. Khaki twill the couch and I'd go out of my mind!

I FINALLY LEARNED LONG DIVISION!

I feel so empowered! I CAN DO IT!

Although my co-worker, Lauren Carlile, was a grade behind me in elementary school we both had the same fifth grade teacher: Mrs. Busco. Lauren and I ended up talking about our elementary math experience. I told Lauren that I had struggled struggled struggled with all-things-math until junior high, where the struggle decreased by 2% (likely due to a greater amount of time spent on explanation of concepts). I was a really smart kid-- but math was sticky in my brain; it just didn't compute.

Defending my own honor I said, "Hey! I'm a brilliant history whiz BYU student who tested out of freshman math...I just can't do long division... and once told Dylan that 9+12=23."

Exasperated, Lauren said "but you remember Mrs. Busco's long division, right? Daddy, Mommy, Sister, Brother, sometimes Rover?"

Eh? Noooooo, I do not remember that. I remember learning history and grammar from Mrs. Busco, and and I remember cleaning out Nick Thurber's desk during recess with Heidi Egbert so we'd win the CivilWar unit desk inspection, and I remembered drawing human organ systems and watching Roots-- but I hold no recollection of learning math. Selective memory?

Lauren still remembered Busco's method, so I asked her to teach me. Using our white board at work, she helped me through some problems*. After long division, I converted the remainders into fractions and told Lauren how those worked. I've always loved fractions. :) It must be all the baking. Lauren hates fractions. I told her "No problem-- you can do calculus!" And she can.

I found this website to use for practice. It's ten times more fun than sudoku.

THANK YOU, LAUREN!


*Daddy= Divide, Mommy= Multiply, Sister= Subtraction, Brother= Bring it down, Rover= Remainder.

Geniunely Texan

My dearest love Dylan is away for a week working hard in Texas. We're blessed that he found a job, even temporarily, and hope the next job available will be closer to home.

Because he's in down there I figured I'd post summat of the yokel--er, local-- culture of Texas. While searching for "urban legends of Texas" on Google I ended up finding this lovely picture of a 97 lb rattlesnake that measured one inch more than 9 feet (everything really is bigger in Texas!). The photo was posted with the following comment:

"A reminder that these creatures are actually out there and no matter what you believe, sometimes they should get not only prescriptive rights to be there, but the full right of way. And here's how to cook 'em."

DEEP-FRIED RATTLESNAKE

1 medium-sized rattlesnake (3-4 lbs.), cut into steaks
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk milk into beaten egg and use to dip snake steaks. Then coat them with dry ingredients. Fry, uncovered, in 400 degree oil until brown. Yum,Yum!

Rattlesnake steak? Gotta love the addendum, "they deserve the right of way, but before I forget, here's the best way to cook em."

P.S. I hope my beloved Gram doesn't read my blog. I'd hate to be responsible for her heart attack when she saw the snake.

Jordan

During my church's meetings this year we've been studying the Old Testament. (Hooray! My favorite subject!) Last week during a discussion of Joshua crossing the river Jordan to enter the promised land, our teacher asked if anyone had seen the river Jordan (in Israel, not Utah).

I answered that I'd seen it, and already knew what he was going to ask. "Is it... very deep? wide? fast?" Sorry to crush his object lesson I replied, "No." Explaining briefly that the Jordan is very different today than it was in Joshua's day, and that because of irrigation the water flow is restricted-- one image came to my mind:

Caitlin, Whitney, and Amie at the river Jordan "baptismal" site. Tamarisk trees in the rear.

I'm sure my Sunday School teacher was disappointed with my description of the Jordan river as shallow, narrow, and brown brown brown. I tried to save face by saying that up north where the river starts it is quite beautiful (see photo below), but ultimately had to admit that in the south where Joshua would have crossed it-- the Jordan is neither chilly, nor wide, and anything but swift. Nor does it resemble anything remotely picturesque (except in Israel's nature preserves, where it is lovingly manicured).

Tamarisk trees on the other hand are gorgeous. And they're all over the Jordan river banks. My teacher, Victor Ludlow had to shoo me away from ogling the trees so I wouldn't hold up the group.

Headwaters of the Jordan river, Tel Dan, Israel.

In Sunday school I shared my testimony that the miracle of Joshua using God's power to stop the flow of the Jordan river so Israel could cross to the other side wasn't that the water stopped flowing; it was that they crossed the river on dry ground, which allowed a large column of people to swiftly cross to safety. I know that it really did happen; and that God still takes care of his people today.

Not a Piece of Cake

I flatter myself-- but I must say I have a strong talent for research*. In fact, research papers have ceased to be difficult for me and instead are simply time consuming. Of course there is always the challenge of constructing the most clear, concise, and organized information (which no, I do not always do that requires effort, and rambling is so much more fun). But although research comes naturally to me, and though I'm forever discovering fun bits in my spare time, it still bites to have to do it for class.

At least I know how to pick fun topics.

"Piece of Cake: The Evolution of American Wedding Confections" is the title of my current historical work. Yay. I just spent typing a required 6 page plan for my history class this term-- yes you read that right, they now require that you turn in multiple paged PLANS for your paper. Revolting, isn't it? Ah well. At least I gathered 27 sources for my bibliography. That was the fun part!

*MOVIE QUOTE: "Research. Perfect for the feminine mind."

Wisdom

I love this room.

It's always hard to believe that this room was designed as a walk-in-closet & powder room*. How lucky is the (obviously rich) lady that gets that comfy auto-man in her closet?


If you took the wallpaper off the ceiling, changed the roman curtain to plain white with a rosy-colored ribbon drawstring, and toned down the excess toile on the windowseat-- it'd be glorious.

*"50 dollars for the powder room!"

Maniacal laughter & Really Creepy Puppets

Today I saw a friend of mine from the JC*. We gabbed about old times and she about lost it talking about the "creepy puppets" at a museum everyone seemed to have seen but me.

Confused, I asked "what creepy puppets?" She gasped. "You don't remember those? Oh wait! It was at the museum! And you didn't go!" Thanks for reminding me, I thought grimly, but instead asked "could you send me a picture?"

OH MAN. I AM SO GLAD I ASKED.

*Jerusalem Center. Come on, don't you know this by now?

Don't Ask.

My favorite part is "we sing from the diaphragm a lot".

Stopped in My Tracks

Sorry about the weird musician photo-- it was the best recording I could find.



I heard (no joke) twenty seconds of this in my music class today and ran to the teacher after class to ask hungrily, "what was that last piece, please?" Grinning, he told me it was the oboe sonata written by Francis Poulenc, and his favorite piece ever. I think that's a pretty big thing to say since he's a professional clarinetist. The first movement of the sonata, "Elegie," is just... oh, I love the oboe.

If I were to learn to play an instrument (other than the piano) I would choose the oboe.

QUEEN of ESTROGEN, Part II

Part II: The Science Behind it All

I'm a little unbalanced.

My problem, among others that I have, is being "Estrogen Dominant." That's a condition in which a woman can have deficient, normal, or excessive levels of estrogen, but has too little progesterone to balance it. Let me try to sum that jargon up. Estrogen is balanced by progesterone-- if there isn't enough progesterone, you end up with too much estrogen.

Understanding the players: ESTROGEN & PROGESTERONE. Where do they come from? How they end up unbalanced?

1) Your monthly cycle.

A menstrual cycle can be divided into two phases: the follicular phase which is the first half, and the luteal phase which is the second half. The follicular phase is where estrogen peaks and ovulation occurs. The second half of the cycle is where progesterone is released from the corpus luteum, the rupture that was formed on the ovary from the egg being released at ovulation. That rupture is stimulated by a hormone from the pituitary gland, and large quantities of progesterone are released.

Okay. So basically estrogen is made through your cycle, and then when you ovulate, progesterone kicks in and balances it out-- sort of controls it. But what if you don't ovulate? What if you're on birth-control pills that work by preventing ovulation? Well, then you'd have no corpus luteum rupture on your ovary to produce any progesterone at all-- and your estrogen levels will just get higher and higher every month.

2) Stress & Your adrenal glands' production and use of progesterone.

One of the main functions of the adrenal glands is the production of cortisol, a stress-fighting hormone that is made from progesterone. When you experience high levels of stress, the increased need for cortisol depletes the progesterone that is required to make it. As more progesterone is shunted or sequestered to make cortisol, less is available to balance off the estrogen. If you're stressed out, you end up with less progesterone, and thus-- too much estrogen as a consequence.
Not only that-- but cortisol stimulates slow-wave, restorative sleep. A deficiency of progesterone can limit your production of cortisol, which, can cause you to feel exhausted. Even after a full nights’ sleep. That may be why I am so exhausted. Plus, progesterone has a calming, sedative affect that reduces the amount of time required to fall asleep, and which helps you to stay asleep. If, like me, you don't have enough of that stuff-- it could explain why you're having trouble sleeping.

3) During pregnancy, the placenta produces progesterone.

Progesterone also increases blood supply of oxygen and improves circulation, both of which are important in pregnancy. What may interest my sisters, is that post-partum depression is due, in part, to a relative depletion of the body's stock of progesterone vs. estrogen.

4) Xeno-hormone exposure is a source of estrogen.

Livestock, from which we get not only meat, but also eggs and milk, are fed growth hormones and estrogenic hormones to cause rapid growth so they can be marketed sooner, and then we eat those hormones. Also, the sugar and chemicals ingested from processed foods create chemicals called “xeno-estrogens” in our bodies, which stimulates a vicious cycle in which fat cells are enlarged. Fat cells in turn make more estrogen in the body. Source. Transfats like margarine also contain xeno-hormones. Processed foods and pesticides are full of them.


The extra sources of estrogen that frankly have no business being in your body can be limited by sticking to organics & whole foods, and by any number of other things. If you're interested in this I'd suggest checking out Mastering Your Metabolism and Melissa's Blog.

5) Excess fat storages in your body produce estrogen as well.

This is the most ridiculous cycle I've ever heard of, but it's true: excess estrogen makes you gain weight, and those extra fat cells that you've gained then produce more estrogen that... make you gain weight. Lather, rinse, repeat.


After learning more about what can disrupt your hormones and not just what they're meant to do, I've had "oh, that's why this is going on" moments. I'm so glad there is information to be had that can help me repair and replenish imbalances-- cause I'm really looking forward to being healthy again.

QUEEN of ESTROGEN, Part I

Heads-- I know it's really long, but since Melissa is blogging about what I'm getting into as well in attempts to save my health, so here's my part of the story. Part 1: how hormones affected my health.

A long-standing joke among my friends that the last thing I'd ever need more of is estrogen. People have actually told me that I'm the most emotional person they've ever met. While I take great pride in my ability to feel overwhelming passion-- think sensibility, not sense-- lately I've noticed that things have been even more over the top. I'm concerned.

What first gave away that there was something wrong? Sleep.


My sister has a "superhuman ability to compete at sheer Olympian levels of mommyness and wifery on only 4 hours of sleep". She's unstoppable! I used to have something similar; I kept four jobs and went to school full time, getting better grades than I ever had before, and still wasn't overwhelmed. I got hardly any sleep, and worked myself to the bone.

So when, after being on the pill for a few months, I started needing more and more sleep to function, I knew it couldn't just be me. I mean-- I'd done the workaholic with no REM to speak of thing before and knew I had it in me. So why, when I was willing to work that way again, did I require 10-11 hours of sleep DAILY to not feel exhausted? I'd have to miss class or work because I couldn't stay awake in the morning (which did wonders for my GPA, I can tell you). I knew from experience that I wasn't just a lazy bum-- so why on earth did I have to stay in bed all the time?

Eventually other odd symptoms started to click into place as habitual, and not just occasional. Headaches I'd never had before were common. Crushing depression was daily fare, when I had no cause to be depressed. Agonizing stomach cramps that ended with me writhing on the bed happened all the time. I caught every single bug that came my way, when I used to never be sick at all. I would faint, feel dizzy, vomit, spend *ahem* hours in the bathroom, and no matter what I tried all of those things would happen every day.

I went from being healthy, full of energy, and being skinnier than I ever had been (which still wasn't that skinny) to feeling like there was so sunlight, that walking from my bed to the couch was tiresome, and to being bed-ridden if I wished to be comfortable. Talk about your fast turnaround!

A friend suggested that it might just be PMS. "But," I thought, "This can't be PMS if it lasts all month long." I frantically searched through the contraindications of my birth-control pill, and it was all in there.

So I switched methods. Things got worse. My husband said "okay, no hormones for you" and I tried to get it all to leave my system, which, as the doctor said, could take 3 months or more. With every month that passed I started to feel better; the worst symptoms are gone, but some ugly ones remain. I still have no energy. I still feel exhausted and require 12 hours of sleep.

I suspected that I feel this way because my hormones were just really out of whack. Being me, I did a lot research and study to see if my suspicions had merit. Turns out, I was right-- but it wasn't just the birth control. Then I found out that the other things going wrong with me physically could also be caused by a hormonal imbalance!

What other stuff? My acne has flared, I constantly feel cold-- which never happened before either, and my previously broken leg has been killing me again right where the bones were busted (which makes it really hard to walk).

GET THIS! TOO MUCH ESTROGEN LEADS TO:
Weight gain, especially in the breasts, waist and mid-section of the body. Well, yeah. That's practically the only place I put on pounds.

Carbohydrate and sweet cravings. Um...

Immune system problems, allergies, catching colds easily. Oh boy, have I been sick!

Joint pain. Wait, what? Estrogen may be the cause of that?

Cold hands and feet. This is starting to freak me out.

Acne. It was better when I was on the pill, so I figured it could be related to hormones.

Panic attacks, depression, anxiety, feelings of dread, etc. Oh, so it's not just me!

Mood swings, PMS, irregular bleeding, cramps, and because associated with changes in hormonal levels in the body-- dysmennoreah. Psh! I don't have any mood swings! Ahaha. Anyway. Dysmenorreah is a beast, I can tell you; I figured out that I have that a few years ago. It stopped when I was on the pill (a common treatment for dysmenorreah because there's no ovulation), but when the pill was gone it all came back. Joy.

Bone loss. Okay... so my broken-leg hurting out of nowhere was ALSO related to this? You've gotta be kidding me.

Hail the Conquering Graduate!

Three cheers for my husband for graduating from college! Dylan has constantly impressed me with his diligence and dedication to his schoolwork; I'm so proud of him.

I'm so excited to display his diploma: a Humanities degree majoring in French Studies, with minors in both World Dance and Italian. WAY TO GO, BLUE EYES! Dylan collects chess sets, so to help celebrate his victory I bought him chess piece shaped cuff links.

My Favorite Things: Movie Soundtracks

I owe my love of music to my parents and older siblings who wrapped it around me from a very young age. Thanks you for your example. The marvel of your talents filled my young eyes with wonder and has greatly influenced my life.

Film scores, in my opinion, are the true triumph of the symphonic world. I've been a passionate collector of them for many years, and they frequently make me cry, take my breath away, and make my heart beat faster. They can scare me too-- Jaws, anyone? I find in them more glory, beauty, and feeling than is available through any other source. I listen to them all the time! Just ask my husband-- he often mutters about how hardly anything on my iPod has words.

My father once complained that quality, refined music wasn't being written anymore. When I disagreed, he asked, "Yeah? When was the last time you heard a choral symphony?" My response was swift. "Last week. Superman Returns." The fact is that more symphonies are written today than ever before, and we owe that to the film industry. Isn't that wonderful? Finally something to love Hollywood for!

You all know I love movies, and you know a soundtrack can make or break my love for a film. Some movies use the score as a crutch, and some use it for their crowning achievement. Below are a few lists of what I consider "favorites". The following movie that I LOVE is a Janie-Thompson-esque medley of 16 movie themes that John Williams combined for an Oscars-tribute to musical scores. It's quite fun-- Daddy should especially like it. A bunch of movies he likes make the cut. My favorites too!

All-Time Hit List

Jurassic Park, Jumanji, Tuck Everlasting, Casper, Home Alone, Ever After, Little Women, Dances With Wolves, North & South, Cinema Paradiso, The Mission, Rudy, Beauty & the Beast/Pocahontas, Exodus, Patton, All of Ken Burn's documentary soundtracks, The Parent Trap, Last of the Mohicans, and October Sky.

Latest Fascinations

Rachel Portman's Cider-House Rules and The Duchess.
Ennio Morricone-- Once Upon a Time in America

My Top Composers

James Horner, John Barry, Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer, Alan Menken, Ennio Morricone, James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman, Patrick Doyle, Rachel Portman, Elmer Bernstein, and John Williams.

Look Out the Window

Yummy

from Anthropologie