Accidentally on the Edge: Mexico Edition

Hey guys, it’s been a LONG LONG time since I’ve made a blog post.  I had such good intentions when I started this thing, and my Facebook memories have been reminding me about some of my more popular posts from last year where I talked about my better health journey.  I had a feeling that as soon as I started back with my classes this blog would fall by the wayside, and sure enough it did.  

Life has been going good, I worked hard my first two quarters in my master’s program going full time and working full time plus (all that over time from Humana).  

As most of you know I got a new job back in February and perhaps I’ll make a post about that whole experience some time, because it was a truly faith boosting and miraculous event.  Once I started the new job I knew I would need to cut back to part time with my classes, and after that quarter and lots of prayer and thinking it over I decided to take this quarter off from my classes.  I’m really enjoying my new job, and I’m not really in any rush to get my degree since it doesn’t do anything to help me with my current job, and I really needed to be able to focus more on my job and cut some stress out of my life.  Again as most of you know my job consists of a lot of travel, so when I’m home I want to be home, not home and stressed trying to work on homework.  

Don’t worry I will be going back to school; I didn’t put that much money into taking classes just to stop.  I enjoy my classes and I enjoy learning, I just needed a break to adjust to my new lifestyle. 

Also I’ll do another post about this another time to give it the time it needs, but I’m still working on my better health journey, I have worked really hard over the past year and I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I’m trying not to focus on how much more I have to go.  My last doctor’s appointment I was excited (probably one of the first times that has ever been the case) because I knew had worked hard and it showed in the numbers on my blood work and in my weight.  My doctor was impressed by the progress I had made.  However the past 3 months in this new job has made things a bit difficult, I eat out almost all the time (by necessity), it’s hard to find time to work out, and in general I’m kind of in a major slump right now… I’m hoping to get out of it here soon because I have big plans!

So I’m writing this blog post from my hotel room here in Mexico City.  And it sure has been quite a day!! I was supposed to fly in last night but my flight was delayed really late and so I decided to schedule for a different one this morning.  Somehow I was able to get bumped into first class on both my flights and guys! I’m never going back to sit with the common folks… ha-ha ok just kidding but seriously, first class was awesome.  I didn’t really notice much on the first flight, as I slept the entire time, I had to wake up by 4am to get to the airport on time. 

However, my second flight I finally got to see how the other side lives! Started out while everyone was boarding we were offered orange juice, or mimosas, or champagne.  I wasn’t really thirsty so I didn’t take any drinks, but they were not served in the cheap plastic cups, oh no only fancy glass cups for first class! Also on my seat waiting for me when I got on was a little water bottle, a blanket, a pillow and earphones.  The flight to Mexico City from Atlanta you always get served a dry little turkey sandwich and pretzels and a drink.  Sometimes if you’re lucky they bring a second round of snacks in too. However, in first class none of the peasant food for us. 

We had a three course meal in the form of a side salad, scallops on a bed of couscous and capers, a roll.  The main course was a choice of beef with veggies or penne pasta with veggies, and a dessert of a small cheesecake with fresh fruit.  But before we can eat this fine meal we are served with hot towels to freshen up with, and then given a cloth napkin to lay down on our tray table and then our utensils are not plastic, and we actually get a butter knife (I heard a guy ask for a plastic butter knife once to spread the mayo they give us with our turkey sandwiches and the flight attendant told him they aren’t allowed to have even plastic knives on the plane… LIES!!!). 

All in all, my first class experience was amazing, except for the guy sitting in front of me who decided to recline his seat all the way back the whole 3-hour flight and then sit forward in his chair working on his laptop… um excuse me sir why is your chair reclined??

Anyways I highly recommend flying the first class experience, however you just might never want to go back! The flight home will be hard sitting in the back of the plane knowing what I’m missing!

After getting off the plane I had to go through immigrations and customs, and that line does not discriminate first class or not, we all have to stand in the long never ending line! However, that process isn’t too bad, a couple questions a few stamps and you are on your way to getting your luggage… that’s when the stress starts!  Here in Mexico when you go through customs you push a button, and if it comes up green you are good to go, no additional screening nothing, if it comes up red you have to have all your belongings searched by hand, and by scanner… it’s not a fun process, I have about a 50/50 record of getting searched… it’s not fun!

Today was one of those days I got searched, I have Gatorade powder with me to help me stay hydrated and not sick from the altitude, that almost got taken away because it’s in powder form and opened and apparently super shady in its watermelon flavoring.  The one thing I didn’t think I’d get grief over? My laptops! I have always traveled with my work laptop (obviously, I’m here on business) and my personal laptop, because I can’t binge watch full house on my work laptop! Now I could have sworn I read somewhere that you can’t bring 2 laptops into the country, however if one is declared as a machine of business it’s ok and it doesn’t count as two.  So I always declare my business laptop as a “machine of business” well today the guy going through my bags found my two laptops and proceeded to lecture me on how this isn’t allowed… now I have been blessed… er cursed… er given the ability to get sassy in any language I learn (currently I only know 2) and I had to keep chanting to myself… Mexican jail is no fun, it’s not worth getting sassy over.  Yeah it was a close call.  Luckily after he lectured me and said very sarcastically “well maybe in ‘America’ you can carry 2 laptops around but here it’s illegal” and me biting my tongue chanting, it’s just not worth it… I made it through customs with all my bags, and everything I brought with me!

Then on to the taxi experience… my first time coming to Mexico I got a taxi at the taxi stand and it cost me about $360 pesos, which I had been told it would cost between $250-$350 when I got outside to get my taxi I was told I had to wait for a van because that’s what I paid for and I proceeded to wait 30 minutes while at least 15 cars drove by… I learned my lesson that I need to make sure to ask for a car, and not get charged more.

 So today when I asked for a taxi I was told it would be $360 and I was like wait is that for a van or a car? And the guy just sat there and looked at me as if he didn’t understand, so I kept repeating the question (this is all in Spanish mind you) until he rolled his eyes, sighed and said fine for a car It’s only $250… um yes thank you… I don’t want to wait for a van and I don’t want to be charged extra… and then I proceeded to wait in rush hour traffic while it took an hour and a half to get to my hotel (from my hotel to the airport with no traffic it’s usually only 15-20 min). 

Here's a pic I snapped while sitting in rush hour traffic... what else was I supposed to do? My texting ability was weirdly disabled during that time!

Anyways that’s my glamourous travel experience for today… I’m finally in my hotel, all settled and binging full house episodes (I sure do love the Netflix options here… it’s like the biggest thing I miss when I’m not here). 

All in all I love my new job, I have always said I wanted a job that would have me travel, I didn’t care what I was doing… and that’s basically what happened.  Traveling all the time isn’t as glamourous and I thought it would be, it’s rather exhausting and I look forward to being home in my own bed with my puppy, but I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything right now.  The good is out weighing the bad, and that’s all that matters really.  I love meeting new people, getting to practice my Spanish.  I love being put in weird awkward situations (maybe not always in the moment, but I always have fun stories to tell)

Alright guys I’m hoping to start this blog back up again, and for my faithful readers who stuck it out to the end I’d love to hear your ideas… would you like me to post on a schedule? Have a theme? What kind of theme? Or if you have any other ideas of how I can make my blog better please let me know! It’s fun getting these experiences written down so I don’t forget them, but it would also be fun for people to actually read them and be interested in what I write J.

Looking forward to your ideas and suggestions!!

Here are a few pics of the view from my hotel room, I'm usually always on the same side of the hotel which as no view at all, I do have a bit of a view from this side of the hotel though, it's kind of fun!

The big dark building is the world trade center, it has a movie theater, shopping center, and lots of yummy restaurants there!

This is the terrace right below my window, it's a really pretty place to sit and eat breakfast.

Keeping it Real, Grad School Style

So last week kind of kicked my trash.  I had approached the week thinking this is going to be a piece of cake.  Normally in my Quantitative methods class I have 2 major assignments due, however last week there was only one seemingly minor assignment (until I read the instructions).  Also in my Managerial Communications class we had just a paper and a power point presentation to put together, I actually kind of enjoy writing papers; those assignments are easy for me.  So I thought well I have Monday off work I’ll be able to get all my work done and be free and light the rest of the week. 

Funny how things never seem to work out the way you think they will.  Monday came and I decided to sleep in a little bit, and I woke up just in time to join my sister in law at a body pump class.  After that I ran a few errands and by the time I got home, it was lunchtime.  As many of you know I have missionaries for my church living with me, and Monday is their P-Day (their “day off”) and this particular p-day was one of the missionaries last days off as a missionary.  So we decided to all go out to lunch as a sort of farewell.  However due to that sidetrack, I wasn’t home until around 3 and when I sat down to work on my assignment I ended up taking a nap, when I woke up it was time to go to my parents for a family get together/bonfire.  So my completely free day to get all my assignments done was gone just like that.

That’s ok, I’m going on week 3 of no over time required in my job, and so I get off work at 2:30, plenty of time to work on my assignments during the week.  However one thing always led to another and I found myself Friday night starting to freak out a little because I didn’t have the paper written, or any of the assignments done.  I had to miss out on a friend’s bridal shower because of my magnificent ability to procrastinate.  Luckily I did get my quantitative methods assignment completed Friday night, and then after running lots of errands on Saturday I found myself working until about 11:30pm to get my paper and power point completed.  I don’t have high hopes for my grades in relation to these assignments, but I’m glad I got them done. 

What’s interesting is I noticed (at the end of the week) why I had such a hard time focusing and getting things done… you ready for it?  I “forgot” to delete my social media apps at the beginning of the week.  I have been doing this no social media experiment during the week for a couple of weeks, and I decided that I could probably use it in moderation.  However I learned that isn’t the case, I have a social media addiction.  Now you may notice me still posting during the week, but that’s not from my phone, my phone is social media app free during the week.  Sometimes I’ll get on Facebook at the end of the day when all my work is done, but only from my computer.  And if that starts to become too distracting I will stop doing even that. 

But another thing I noticed this last week was I was blessed in having my paper and presentation come together the way it did.  I made a promise to myself and God that I will not do homework on Sundays.  My mom always told us about how she did that when she went back to school and it always blessed her life.  When I first started college I didn’t stick to that 100% but always tried to not do work on Sunday.  However after my mission I made a goal to get all As for the rest of my college career, to do this I made a promise to never do work on Sundays, that often meant waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning to finish up work left over, but I’ll tell you this… I hit my goal of all As. 

As I’m now starting my grad school career, I’d love to get all As, but I’m not sure that will happen, however I am keeping my commitment to not do any home work on Sundays, which meant I had to work super fast to get everything done by the end of Saturday night.  As hard and stressful as it was I’m incredibly proud of myself (is that ok to say) that I was able to stick to my commitment. 

This week is going a lot smoother if you are wondering, I have in fact finished all my assignments for the week and even though I have a few random things I have to do throughout the week to be “present” in my online classes I’m basically free for the rest of this week and it’s an amazing feeling!! I’m even making plans to start working on next week’s assignments this week so I can continue being stress free.

It is hard to make a commitment to not do work on Sundays; it takes a lot of faith.  However I can promise form experience that God keeps all His promises, if we keep ours.  One of my take aways from this last general conference was we need to make a better effort to keep the Sabbath day holy.  What are ways you are keeping the Sabbath day holy?

I can't leave Prim out, she won't let me!

How 5 elephants helped me stay safely on the edge

Over the last year I have felt overwhelming bouts of stress and anxiety.  I knew I needed to make changes in my life but didn’t know where to start.  I would read blogs, articles, and anything I could find to try and see what I could try to maybe help me with this anxiety, and also my desire to change the direction my life was headed.  One thing I kept reading about was acupuncture.  When I first started reading about acupuncture I thought, but do people really do that? I hadn’t had any experience or knowledge of this being practiced around here.  Then I heard my sister talk about how she goes to get acupuncture and how much she likes it.  So I started to see if there were any places here in Louisville and how much it would cost.  Unfortunately acupuncture can be very expensive so when I saw that I just put it on the back burner.  I had mentioned to my mom that I wanted to try it sometime, but it was just too expensive. 

One day back earlier this year my mom found out about this health center opening up and they were doing an open house and offering free “samples” of the services they provide.  One of the services they provide is acupuncture, so my mom and I went to check out this open house and we were able to try a mini session.  I told the person doing the acupuncture (Becky Flynn) about my stress and anxiety, and my mom told her about how she has really bad sinuses.  Becky then chose a few points for both my mom and I and then we just had to sit very still for about 15-20 min.  My mom said that as soon as one of the needles went in she could feel her ear open up from some of the built up sinus pressure.  I didn’t notice anything right in the moment, but I also wasn’t really expecting to feel anything.  Stress and anxiety are so hard to measure, I didn’t know if I’d notice a difference.  However on the drive home I felt about 20lbs lighter, I could tell a major difference. 

My mom and I decided we wanted to keep going and see how this could help us with our physical aches and pains, but we soon found out that the health center was still too expensive for what I could afford.  But then Becky told us she has her own practice outside the health clinic and she offers a sliding scale pricing, to make it affordable for anyone needing acupuncture.  As soon as we found this out we started going to see her.  My mom and I went regularly for 4 weeks and then we took a bit of a break. 

One of my biggest concerns about trying to start eating healthier, is I couldn’t control my hunger.  I would try to eat less and eat healthier but then I’d just get so hungry I couldn’t stand it.  I mentioned this to Becky, and told her about how I was starting to meet with a nutritionist and I wanted to have more energy and desire to make these choices.  I honestly believe that getting acupuncture has helped me get to the point that I am right now. 

I started writing this blog post a couple weeks ago, and because of how busy I am during the week I have had to work on this only on the weekends.  I’m so glad it’s taken me a little while to get this together because I have liked acupuncture ever since I started, but after this week I LOVE acupuncture. 

I have been so stressed about doing school full time and work more than full time, and I had my first test in my stats class this last week.  During my undergrad at BYU-Idaho I had a routine that I did before every test, I would go to the temple the day before and the day of I would get a Jamba juice.  So I stuck with that routine, I went to the temple Thursday night, and then I had an acupuncture appointment Friday afternoon, my plan was to take the test right after my appointment, and her office is very close to a smoothie king so I was planning on getting a smoothie on my way home.

I joked with my mom about hopefully Becky can help me with being prepared for my test, and then when I went to my appointment I mentioned that I had a test that day.   Becky then stated she was glad I told her about my test because she would do some brain boosting points.  She also addressed my stress, and I mentioned how unbelievably tired I was, and that I had a horrible headache that just wouldn’t go away.

I left that appointment with absolutely no traces of a headache (and trust me it was a really really bad one), I was so wide awake that I didn’t even go to bed until around midnight that night, and I wasn’t even a little tired.  When I went into that appointment I was so tired I was questioning if I could even take my test because I felt my brain shutting down.  And my stress was basically gone.  I was able to take my test when I got home, and while I didn’t get a perfect score (that would require a miracle haha) I did sooooo much better on my test than I ever anticipated.

 

Excuse me while I go set up appointments for the day of my tests for the rest of the semester… I’ve definitely found a new thing to add to my pre-test routines J.

I’m not saying this is a cure all, and that I never feel stress and anxiety anymore.  What I am saying is it has helped me come a long way in the last 4-5 months I have been going. Another thing I love about this whole experience is Becky, she is so helpful in explaining what she’s doing, and why she does what she does.  Honestly if you live in the Louisville area and are even a little bit curious about acupuncture you should check her out. 

Whenever I tell people that I get acupuncture their eyes get real big and the first thing they ask is but doesn’t it hurt? Isn’t weird to have needles sticking out of you? Well let me tell you, it doesn’t hurt, not really.  Honestly there have been a few times, and a few pressure points that do hurt, I’m not gonna lie.  But the majority of the time I don’t feel anything, and if I do it’s like someone lightly snapping a rubber band on your wrist, it stings but quickly goes away. 

 

I honestly feel like going to get acupuncture has helped me keep my stress and anxiety down, has helped me stay motivated and focused on my trying to eat healthier and be healthier.  I used to get headaches daily, and I took medicine every day to prevent these headaches, yet I’d still get them. I have since run out of the medicine and I was scared of not being able to get it renewed, but when I have gone to get acupuncture I am able to keep the headaches under control without the medicine.

I still very much believe in modern medicine and going to the doctor and taking medicine, but I also feel like if there is a way to get and feel better without medicine, I’d like to try that too. 

Below, and scattered throughout this post are some pics of when I got acupuncture the last couple of times, I often not only get the traditional acupuncture with needles and stuff, but I also get a treatment called Gua Sha.  

 I have pics of what my skin looks like after that, and it honestly looks a lot more painful than it is.  I can’t even describe how much I love Gua Sha.  I’m sure many of you have gotten that pesky crick in your neck from sleeping on it wrong or twisting it just the wrong way.  I do all the time, and I’ve gone to chiropractors to try and get it worked out, and I’ve gotten massages to try and get it worked out, and while I love both the chiropractor and getting a massage, I have never had that crick in my neck go away faster than I have with the Gua Sha technique.  She also does a technique called moxa, and I’ve had this done a couple of times and it has serious instant boosts of energy.

I can't say enough good things about my experience with acupuncture and I suggest it to anyone who listens... seriously guys give it a try... and especially if you live near or in the Louisville area check our Becky Flynn and her practice 5 Elephants (isn't that the cutest name).  And I promise she will take great care of you!! And one of the best parts, it's so very affordable!!   

This is the moxibustion therapy.  I'm not exactly sure how it works, but the two times I've had this done I have left with so much energy it's unreal!!

Thoughts and Ramblings from the Edge

Well life has been crazy!! I knew it would get messy once school started, but man has it gotten messy!! I'm realizing that even though I worked 60 hours a week before I had a lot more free time than I gave myself credit for, now that I'm working 55-60 hours a week, trying to complete the iron man challenge and now I'm doing classes full time I don't know how I'm gonna keep up!! Today I planned out my week and I don't have a minute of time to just relax!!

This weekend however I made time to "relax" which was during the 8 hours of conference I had the incredible opportunity to experience.

First I started out my Saturday in the best way possible, at the Down Syndrome of Louisville event where I walked a 4K.  I'm hoping next year I'll actually be able to run it, however this year I did improve greatly on my time and performance form last year.  Last year I was totally not in shape and I remember having to stop and rest often and came well in last place, I was also in a ton of pain the rest of the day and the next day.  This year I didn't need to stop and rest even once, and my friend Valerie and I didn't come in last place... I'm pretty sure there were at least 5-6 people still behind us!! Also I wasn't sore at all, in fact I had wanted to stop at the gym to do some biking to finish up the Iron Man challenge I'm working on but I didn't have the time.

 My friend Valerie was so nice and came to support our team and be my walking buddy, even though it was FREEZING!!

This is Ruby's original poster, I was obviously excited to see it.

The reason I didn't have time to go to the gym was because every 6 months my church has a general conference where all the members around the world gather to watch the Prophet and Apostles speak to us over many hours on Saturday and Sunday.  It is my favorite weekend of the year and I feel real sadness every time the last prayer is said on Sunday.

I'll admit though I didn't always feel this way about conference, I always loved conference weekend because when I was little it usually meant my cousins coming in and being able to play all weekend, but as I got older and watched it I don't feel like I truly appreciated the sacredness of conference until I was out on my own at college and I got to choose for myself how I was going to make conference apart of my life.  I gained an even deeper appreciation of conference during my mission, and this deep appreciation has not gotten any dimmer since I've been home.

This has been one of my favorite conferences of my life time, it's hard to pick a favorite talk, but I could probably narrow down my top 2 favorite sessions, the general women's session and the Saturday morning session were my top 2.

While I know I'm not "old" at the age of 28, however being 28 and single in the Mormon church, you could say I'm practically an old maid.  I absolutely love my single status, I know it's not something my parents probably want to hear, but I do enjoy being single, I'm a very independent person and I think if I ever do meet a guy who is crazy enough to want to marry me it will be hard for me to settle down.  Those are things I'm working out... don't worry I know it's a commandment to get married and all that jazz.

However with all that being said, it can be a little hard or discouraging to be single in the church.  There is such an emphasis on strong marriages and families, as there should be I believe.  But I often feel like the single people of the church get over looked, like oh this is just a temporary part in your life, lets focus on the more important members.  I know that is not true, trust me I'm not trying to play a pity card here or anything. But sitting through talk after talk, and lesson after lesson on marriage and how hard it is to be a mom and things like that, it can wear a person down.  I do have to do a shout out for my ward family however, they do an amazing job of making me feel loved and included even though I don't have a husband and kids.

But I just want to use that little bit of background to emphasize how absolutely AMAZING the general women's session of conference was.  All those feelings I've ever felt of being a "second rate Mormon" were totally washed away as I listened to talk after talk, and watched 2 videos highlighting single sisters.  I saw and felt and knew in that moment that this is a church for everyone, no matter what marital status you are.  I am not alone, my God knows who I am and what my struggles are intimately.

I felt like this entire conference was written and given just for me, and I know just about everyone else who watched this conference feels the same way.  I already love the 3 new apostles who were sustained this conference and I can't wait to get to know them better.  I loved the talks on women and mothers, the talks about the Atonement and Sabbath day observance, the talks about the plan of salvation, trials and progression.  I feel renewed, rejuvenated and ready to do better and be better.

My heart ached seeing 3 of the Apostles I've seen sitting up on that stand my whole life not there, but I also rejoiced in all the talks that mentioned these men and how amazing they were.  I cried watching President Monson's strength fail him right in front of our eyes.  I love him so much and can't even imagine the weight on his shoulders and the pain he is in from missing his beloved wife Frances.  I adored the children's choir on Saturday and seeing those two little boys in the front row holding hands was just about the cutest thing I saw.  There were so many big and little moments of conference that I feel will be forever etched in my mind.

I have renewed my conviction to keep the Sabbath day holy, and I want to try to find ways that I can be better at it.  I have decided to take up the challenge given by Elder Larry R Lawrence of the 70 in the first session to ask the Lord in sincere prayer what I lack and what is keeping me from progressing (admittedly this is something I'm nervous about doing).  I've also committed to "ponderize" a scripture a week. I will strive to always be temple worthy, and I have made specific goals on how I can attend more regularly.  These are just a few things I have taken away from conference and committed myself to do, however they are not the only things I have committed to trying.  If I listed everything I got out of conference this post would be way too long, and also more personal than I'm willing to share.


What were some of your favorite parts of conference? What are some of the things you feel more committed to do going forward? I'm already planning on re-watching conference this week, and I can't wait! If you haven't had the chance to watch it I recommend it, these talks are great no matter where you are in life, check them out here: lds.org

Just a pic of Prim enjoying conference with me :)