3 jobs all at once!

I got a job! Woohoo! I am a "research assistant" in the Library of the Music Special Collections department. Basically, its a fancy title for me just scanning & cataloging lots of music in various forms. I also have the job at the MTC watching missionaries clean. What's nice is that I get to choose my own hours, so I don't have to be tied down by an employer like Sam's club that makes you work 5 hour shifts no matter what. The only crummy thing is that there's only an 80% chance that I will get to keep this job next semester. I really hope I can keep it by then. If not, oh well, I'll just start the interviewing process again!

Last night I packed all of our un-opened wedding presents into the car so that today when I get the keys I can just drool over them as I put all our pretty dishes, pots and pans, and other appliances into our new kitchen. I can't tell you how long I've dreamed of doing this. For some reason, that's the most exciting part of this week for me. I couldn't sleep I was so excited. I love to host guests, and to be limited in that respect has been not my favorite.

It's been frustrating, though, because although we are supposed to move in today, the lady who is moving out is supposed to give us the keys has NOT called us or answered her phone all weekend OR today. So I am just a little peeved because I am working 60 hours starting this week and I need to know ahead of time so I can plan when I can drop stuff off. I really don't like getting my hopes up for no reason.

My mom had to give Ginger away because she became allergic to her. :-(

Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers. - Homer Simpson

Today is my birfday! We had a great weekend...I wish I took pictures. This is definitely something we need to work on. I took for granted the fact that my dad is the photo-man. I leave the picture taking up to Richard since he's the one with the camera---but lately I've learned that I need to become the family historian. So I've been trying to write in our little journal on Sundays to update our lives. Time just goes by SO quickly! I just can't believe it!

One of the ladies, Jan, at the Beehive Home made me this cake during her shift! She is so sweet.

So Saturday (yesterday) Richard sneaked around all morning buying me a birthday present/ flowers with his sister Natalie. I thought he was at work. I was in Midvale getting my weddnig ring re-sized for the up-teenth time (sigh). Anyway, he ended up getting me some really soft pajamas, super cute. And his sister gave me a coupon for "sewing help on one project from start to finish". I am very stoked about that! And to top it off his family got me a gift-card for JoAnnes! So I will get to learn some sewing after-all!

Then at night we (Richard, me, Natalie) went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner with Dani & Todd & Nicholette (and Vivian) Millecam and Chris & Kristin Manning & Taylor. That was super fun, I'm so grateful everyone was able to come and celebrate. It was nice to enjoy some STEAK!

My parents had a birthday party at my grandma's today because it's my mom's birthday tommorow. I wish I could have been there, one of my favorite things to do is to go to my Grandma's house to have dinner with the whole family. My cousin Hannah has been in the hospital and I think that she is home now, getting much better. They don't even know what happened yet. Oh! And my parents got a puppy! It's a Cavalier or something strange like that mixed with a Bichon.

This is cute little Ginger. She's ADORABLE.

This week I had a couple interviews, one to be an equipment manager at BYUbroadcasting and another to work at the MTC. The BYUbroadcasting one fell through, but I got hired on-the-spot at the MTC! So I am very excited to be bossing the sister missionaries around and telling them what to clean on Saturday mornings. In the summer I will be doing it every day, but until then just 6am to 10am on Saturdays.
We also got the managing position at our new apartment complex, so this is fantastic! We will get $80 off our rent a month, which will definitely add up. It's only a 4plex, so it's not too much work to begin with enough to justify no rent at all.

The title of this post has to do with one of Richard's video game songs. I thought it was hilarious.

We each have a bajillion tests this week. I'm kind of scared.

Apartment shopping

It feels like we are finally starting our LIVES! (In a way...)
We are getting our 'own' place, and Richard and I are really excited about it. We have only shopped a few days, and some great opportunities have shown up. We are probably going to get an apartment on 750 W 440N ish in Provo, which is near a bus stop that goes straight to campus.
It is really nice, we felt really good about it. We even are the top 'choice' they claim to be the managers of the 4plex. This would make rent $505 a month! That's super cheap compared to other 2 bedroom apartments that we've seen in Provo that are not nearly as good of quality. (Some one bedroom apartments that are old and poorly maintained are at least 640!)
It's bitter-sweet to leave the Beehive home, but I feel like it's time. I am nervous to look for a job that will fit with my school schedule, but I believe I will find one. We have saved enough that if I don't get one this winter, we will survive just fine. I just really need one this spring/summer to save up for the next school year.

So Yay, we will be putting a deposit down tonight via online. We are waiting to hear whether or not we have to pay for the last week in November. I really hope not, seeing as we won't even LIVE there until January! But hey, that's the way things work out sometimes. Finding a place in late December sounds impossible.

I'm so glad we decided not to live in the remodeled victorian home. It turns out to be way too run-down for our taste. But it was quite charming, just needs some fixing up before it can be deemed 'liveable' in my opinion.

Emails are an easy way to record your life

Mom,
Sorry it took me so long to respond!
Yes Richard JUST got the gift cards right after you sent the email, that was good timing. You were so generous! Wow! Thanks so much. He is really excited to use up the target gift card because I used all the ones up from our wedding myself (oops! I wanted frames!) And plus I am grateful you gave us a restaurant gift certificate so we can go on a date :-)

my add in---> Richard's birthday was October 5th! We went to Thai Chili Gardens (even though the last 3 times we went out to eat, we went there...*sigh*) and enjoyed some curries. I was kind of sick that day, so that's about all we did. I bought him an evolution-running DVD. He loves that sort of stuff.


I am SO excited about my classes next semester! I figured out finally how to fit all my classes in next semester without having to do some in the spring. It turns out a lot of the education classes only last half a semester (they are block classes), so even though they are about 2 hours long, I can take a lot more of them because I can take half before Feb 24, and half of them after Feb 25th. I was worried that I would have to go to school this spring, but thank goodness I don't! So I can make money and not get too burned-out. Plus, I actually get to learn how to teach, instead of taking all these ridiculous biology classes that (in my opinion) are a waste of my time. Plus, I am DONE with all of my generals finally. No more religion classes, no more history or English classes...just education and a couple biology classes.
Hopefully I didn't confuse you with all that mumbo-jumbo.

--->YAY! EASY LOADS OF CLASSES FROM NOW ON (mostly)!

I think I feel alot better about our beehive home situation knowing that we are going to move out before next fall, and also knowing that I have all summer to find a new job and work. We have actually saved a lot of money so we should be fine. We are planning on going on a cruise (we got a free cruise with our cookware) after we quit this job. That will be a lovely break/reward.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.

-----> we are officially moving out of the nursing home before next fall! YAY!!

OH! One more thing!
A lady (Myrle) this week broke her ankle (the same one who has had gangrene and is still healing from it---she has always been so hard to deal with) and Valoy has finally told her family to find a new home for her. Myrle's daughter has been spending the night every single day this week until they find her a new home. So yay! Now we don't have to find her on the floor in the mornings and clean up her diarrhea in the middle of the night!

---->Once Myrle moves out, there will be no level 2 ladies anymore! This means we can go to bed at 8:30 if we really wanted, instead of waiting up until 10:30 to give people pills. I would never go to bed at 8:30 anyway, but that just shows that we will have peace at night instead of stress. Myrle would always ask us for pills over and over, sometimes as late as 12 am. Thankfully, she is leaving, so this won't ever happen again. She will be placed in a care home that will take much better care of her because they will be awake all night to take care of her diarrhea, falls from broken ankle/gangrene toe/ dizzyness, and her continued alzheimers.

.....

Love,
Kristine

"This Marriage"

I found this piece written by Eric Whitacre. He is an amazing choral/ band composer.
Watch this you-tube video and read this lyrics while listening to this gorgeous piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzGkcZaCK_0&feature=related

It is very touching.


May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk,
this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade
like the date palm.

May this marriage be full of laughter,
our every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness here and hereafter.

May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcomes the moon in a clear blue sky.

I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

Our latest crazes

So, Richard has his little 'kicks' of new, innovating technology...and recently he has decided that ignoring the innovations of running shoes is the best idea, based off the book "born to run"; it answers the question :

"Why does my foot hurt when I run?" Basically, the answer is because everything we have been taught about running is wrong. The thing that causes the MOST injury to athletes is the fact we are even wearing shoes in the first place. Our bodies were made to run, barefoot.

A runner that is famous for running barefoot, Barefoot Ted, has a blog here. As we all know, with our dirty roads and the fact that our culture isn't accustomed to running barefoot, there has been an innovative running shoe invented called Vibram five fingers. These are basically gloves for your feet, so you can run in the cold, outside, wear them in water...basically wherever. Richard and I tried some on the other day, they were pretty awesome. The only downside is that they are $80 on average, so we are waiting for newer versions of the shoe to come out before we actually purchase some.

The author of this book was really first interested in this barefoot thing when he discovered this tribe in Mexico called the Tarahumara. Here is what he says:

"Then I meet the Tarahumara, and they’re having a blast. They remember what it’s like to love running, and it lets them blaze through the canyons like dolphins rocketing through waves. For them, running isn’t work. It isn’t a punishment for eating. It’s fine art, like it was for our ancestors. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain. And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what were the first designs? A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle—behold, the Running Man."

Anyway, this tribe will run up to 70 miles a day. With no injuries. It's insane. It's because their stride is great due to the fact they wear very thin-soled sandals that they make from leather. They don't need these dumb cushion-y running shoes that make you land harder on your heel, and therefore ruin your bones. No, they run with shorter, lighter strides. Rich and I went to a running shoe store this past friday, and the worker had read this book as well. He loved the theory so much, that he even had a friend who could take your running shoes and shave off all the cushioning to help correct your stride, while still wearing a running-type shoe. Of course, I can't tell what store this was because they could get sued for telling their customers to alter their running shoes in such a way. But I was really glad to see that someone else knew of this important concept of running with as little cushioning as possible.

Another one of our 'latest crazes' is the book series "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.
Basically, it takes place in the future US, but now it's become this corrupted country called "Panem". It is divided into 13 districts, and 12 of them have to fight over food. The way they do this 'fairly' is the Capitol randomly picks two children (ages 12-18) from each of the districts to fight to the death in a hugely televised arena. Whichever child wins, their district gets food for a year.



It's pretty sick, but awesome. And the sequel just came out, so Richard and I rushed to the book store to use our precious gift-certificate this weekend. We LOVED them both. :-)

My Cookbook

So! I just compiled alot of my favorite recipes I've learned this summer (before they all slip away from remembrance). All of these recipes I've either executed or tasted, and liked. As my sister-in-law Natalie puts it, "Has a taste level of 7 or above". Since this summer I cooked alot at the Beehive home with their recipes, and I also took a cooking class on campus, I have learned so much.

Darn, I was going to put a link on here for a google-doc with all of them on it, but I can't seem to manage it yet. To be updated!!!

Anyway, Richard & I have kept ourselves busy these past few days of our 'break' before school starts again this fall. We went to a raspberry farm and sorted raspberries, and as a reward came home with 6 lbs worth of berries and a kit to make them all into freezer jam. Church can be busy for me because I was just called as the choir director, so I'm desperately trying to get people to actually join the choir in the first place. It's hard when you don't have alot of male singers around that know how to sing in parts. We also recently bought a new computer for Richard's job on the side, and have been selling text books for ridiculously high prices, to our advantage. They are still cheaper than the bookstore, so we are giving people a deal nonetheless.

A lady broke her hip today, and we were so sad to see her leave to the hospital. We are not sure if she is coming back. We are actually quite close with her too, so we are worried. Another lady has a broken shoulder & a UTI, and another lady cracked her spine. When it rains, it pours! Let me tell ya. Our work is cut our for us, but at the same time the ladies seem to be healing quite fine and not really needing too much assistance.

Our new runaway

Hey! So back we are from Canada. We had fun hiking with all the Low's in Waterton National Park, which is the Canadian side of Glacier National Park. There were deer walking around the whole town we stayed in, they were not afraid of humans at all! One even licked Rich's hand (scandalous!)


Anyway, after a long drive and a trip to BYU-Idaho to see how it's doing, we are home. A couple nights ago, one of the ladies who's new (the one who would stare at her wall), was having a rough time. She is known to take all her clothes out of the closet and put them on her bed, and then we usually just hang them all back up. But this day, she was taking all her clothes outside. "Hey Jean, where are you going? Let's help you put these back inside." We put them all away, but when we were done, I couldn't find her! So I look down the road and I see her about a block away, struggling to walk through some sprinklers. "Jean! Where are you going? Did you want to play in the sprinklers?" It was kind of a cute site, she was wearing this adorable blue house-dress that looked hawain along with purple slippers. She was very timid, and wouldn't really respond. Once I tried to put my arm around her to help lead her back home, but she swung her arm around and tried to slug me! But I ducked just in time. She ended up tripping over a little cement wall and got herself back up on the grass.

"You keep pushin' and pushin' me!" She said. She continued to walk briskly away, down and away on the street. Meanwhile, richard finally made it outside and decided to just follow her to make sure she's safe. I ran inside and called her family to ask for some help. Anyway, about an hour and a mile later, she made it home safe. It was quite dramatic for her to snap this way. Amid her Alzheimer's she made it all the way to her own home! She remembered where it was. That was quite impressive. Anyway, the next day during another person's shift, she did the exact same thing. Jean can't be reasoned with, due to her disease. So it turns out that she cannot stay at our facility due to her running-away. Her family has agreed to put her to bed in the evenings, since she tends to get funny at that time of day. I feel so bad for Jean, she can't help what's going on in her head. Nothing will make her happy, and depression medicine just makes her act very, very strange. So it is with Alzheimers, you can just never predict what will happen!

And that's our latest adventure!

IKEA

Well, thankfully things have calmed down since that last post...the lady "Mildred" is healing just great after some major doses of antibiotics. We are so glad she's doing better and her foot is healing great. I was joking with Dani about how we don't have a child yet to write about in our blog, but I guess our old ladies somewhat count! I should write more of the funny things that we experience here more often. I promise we have more hilarious experiences than bad.

Rich and I decided to cure our July 'blahness' by re-arranging our room (which we are kind of confined to on the weekends while other people work our shift)...and have managed to make it cleaner, more organized, and so much more functional! And this is all thanks to wonderful IKEA. :-)

Rich and I have been considering moving out of our nursing home after we've been here a year (which is what we promised them), but we do like this job when it's not so crazy, and the benefits are truly great. After going to Sam's Club this afternoon (where I worked for 4 summers), I was reminded about the fact that any job has his downfalls, and our job seems to have so little compared to it's benefits.

So we figured, maybe we can cure our feelings of being 'cooped up' on the weekends in our room by making our room a better place to be. So today we ventured to IKEA and bought a really cute loveseat so we could have somewhere to actually sit comfortably in our room to watch a movie or read a book. We used to drag the Beehive home's lazy-boy chairs from the living room all the way into our room on the weekends, and they were bulky and took up so much space. Our new loveseat is the perfect size for us to both sit on and cuddle, without taking up the entire room. It makes our room feel less like a bedroom but more like a modern-styled living space, which juxtaposes our very old-fashioned nursing home. This makes it a true escape, and so far it doesn't feel like we are always at work. Even though we don't technically have our own place to call 'home' quite yet, I am reminded of what Richard's mission president told him:

"Live the first ten years of your marriage like nobody would like to live, and you'll be able to live the rest of your marriage like nobody can afford to live."

This gives me hope. It's true, I've seen this manifest itself in so many other people's lives. So here we come, Beehive home, ready to stick it out another 6 months and continue to think long and hard whether we want to remain here another year after that or not. It's worth the effort, I think. We'll hope for the best.

OH, PS...I will post a pic of our new room once we get the right cover for our loveseat. We accidently bought the wrong size...that store can be so confusing!

drained

Phew. I love our job here at the nursing home, but lately it's been very draining.
Here's my chance to moan out my frustrations!

One of our lesser anxieties is the new lady who doesn't really do much except sit in her room and stare at the wall. She worries over the fact there is too much light in her room. It's somewhat depressing to see her so blank and desolate, and have this constant worried look in her eyes. She refuses to watch TV, read, or any other activity we try to have her do. I really feel bad for her, I can't comprehend what makes someone so out of it. Alzheimer's is a very real and scary thing.
Our biggest anxiety is a lady (let's call her Milda) who is so shaky most of the time she will drop whatever she holds. For days she could not walk at all, and was going undiagnosed with whatever condition she had. Diarrhea, vomiting. It wasn't the prettiest picture (or smell). I really did feel bad for her. It was especially frustrating when this happened over the holiday weekend when all the doctor's offices were closed. Even on our one day off the worker woke us up twice in the middle of the night to help her pick up Milda after she had fallen like dead weight on the ground.

Meanwhile, we haven't gotten a stress-less night of sleep for the past week due to this, and she's not showing any improvement. They've finally diagnosed her with a bladder infection (which I suspected from the start) and she is on antibiotics. She still cannot walk, and she will fall involuntarily out of her bed in her sleep. Every morning I find her on the floor.

I guess you have to be there to see it. I just get upset because her family is kind of oblivious to how bad she is sometimes. I can't stand to see someone suffer, so I spend alot of time in her room just fixing things up and organizing things because she can't do it herself.

random thoughts

Yay! So my bread turned out great, I was happy about that. And it doesn't even crumble when you slice it thinly, that's what made me most excited. Spring finals are coming up, and then I'm off to Indiana to see my family! I miss them alot, it's hard being out here without any parents or relatives, I'm used to spending weekends with a grandparent at least once or twice a month. I also wish I could see my brother and sister grow up, Phil is apparently quite the talented guy. I secretly hope he doesn't study music when he goes to school, because I think he has alot of potential in other careers. It's so hard to stop developing a musical talent that you've invested so much time in and that you could potentially become a professional in.

I still mourn over 'giving up' flute, but at the same time I feel secure knowing that I chose a career that I have a passion for and is still very practical. I wasn't passionate enough about flute to carry it out through college professionally, that drive just wasn't there. I think its great that other musicians have a drive because they need that so much. But science really attracts me, I love how there are so many areas of study that directly apply to your every day life, and there is an endless frontier of discovery and information to learn. Not only does it apply to our every day life, it is crucial for our health and the environment.

Music seems to have a sort of finite existence to me, although you can always become better at your talent and find new and better music, I simply find it to have some sort of an end. With flute, for example, I would simply become good enough to maybe get accepted into an orchestrea, and then teach flute to highschool students. Maybe teach at a college level if I was really good. But again, I am not much for teaching it, because most students don't even practice near enough and don't care enough past getting the 'chair' they want or the grade in the class. Or to not look like a fool at a recital. It's just a frustrating thing, I think.

Then again, I have to remind myself that music is important. It brings joy to you and others, it brings confidence to those who master it, and it is a very good skill to develop one's creativity, motor skills, and makes you cultured. So it all depends on if that's your driving factor to teach.

Home-made bread

I am so excited, Richard's mom spoiled us by giving us a wheat grinder and a bosch for our wedding! We have finally decided to start making homemade bread together once a week. During the school year we were pretty busy and had alot on our hands, but now that it's the sumer we are looking for projects and healthy things to do, and I am just way excited to learn how to do this. At first I was intimidated when Richard told me he wanted me to make home-made bread every week like the way he was raised, but now that I appreciate the healthy-benefits and cost-benefits of making your own bread, I am ready to get started. I heard whole-wheat bread is the hardest to make, but I'm willing to keep trying until I get it right. When we went to the bosch store to pick up the nutramill, I saw there was a bread-making class so I dragged Richard there after his root-canal surgery and we watched a lady quickly prepare some bread. It seemed simple, but we also noted there are many things that could possibly go wrong if you are not careful. Bread is a tricky thing.



Other than this, we have been doing pretty good. Richard and I are taking classes this spring and recently Richard had to fix a failed-root canal. He went to an endodontist who actually took out some bone to get to the infected area and remove more of his failed root-canal stuff. I still don't really understand all that happened, but I do know it costed an arm and a leg! I'm so grateful it didn't affect us too bad, we are lucky to have the jobs we do.

Richard is basically shadowing dentists for hours and hours as well as taking a physiology class, and I have been taking a jogging class, a field botany class, and a genetics class. In fact, I'm going to take a 4 hour genetics test in about half an hour, but I think I'm pretty ready so i thought I'd write in here. Jogging is my least favorite, it's hard to run in the morning because I have early classes, and running at night in spanish fork really isnt very safe (nobody has flood lights! It's incredibly dark!). I refuse to run in the middle of the day because I always feel soo sick afterwards. I am going to Indiana in a couple weeks, which I'm really looking forward to. I have to leave Rich behind because he needs to watch the old ladies and finding a replacement for us is very expensive, we'd have to pay them $80 a night when we are gone. Add to that a plane ticket and it's just to much. We will go to Indy for Christmas so that will be nice, we are willing to suck up the cost for such a special holiday & to keep our job :-) The only thing stopping us from living there is if I get pregnant, which we dont plan on letting that happen for awhile....

10 looong daysss

:-)
It really hasn't been as bad as I thought. The first two days were rough, I definitely ached for my hubby wubs. But then once school started up again and my job kept me occupied, time went by faster and I interacted with people constantly all day to help fill the gap of where RIchard would have been.

Weekends are the worst, though. School and work do not happen on the weekend, which is normally a welcome blessing, but not when I don't have my Richard it feels pretty empty and lame. I'm glad nothing can replace him. :-)

I have scrapbooked, geneology-ed, exercised, studied, read "The Host" which is a very interesting book (thanks dani!)...it is somewhat dark but I've heard it gets better towards the end. I'm halfway, I need to read it faster! Also, I have cleaned and ran lots and lots of errands that had been building up since the crazy winter.

I am so relieved that Richard is coming home this Sunday, and also relieved that our summer schedule lends us a break to relax and revive ourselves for the Fall instead of making us burn out before then. I guess when you have two years of school left, it kind of looms far in the distance and motivation tends to creep away once you've realized how much more there is to do.

I am so glad, though, that Richard was able to go to Guatemala. He has had some very touching experiences helping others. Not all of it has been dental work, although 85% of it has. He was able to visit his mission companion "Otto" in Guatemala City, which was a miracle! And he even did his dental work. He told me that he was able to visit a couple very, very poor families in destitute conditions, bringing them food and toys for their children. He had some very personal experiences and conversations with them and really felt the spirit. I can't wait to hear more. He will be flying to Tikaal tommorow to see some ruins, and from there flying home to me on Sunday!

Richard did alot of x-rays and diagnostics, but his favorite part was assisting the Oral Surgeon. I am so glad he was exposed to so many dental situations and professionals, I think it will give him added motivation and a surety that this is really what he wants to do for the rest of his life. I know that he needed to be there, and everything worked out so he could. He has wanted to go to Guatemala, ironically, ever since he and Otto were companions. He must have sensed that they'd see eachother again soon.

Guatemala

I'm trying to come up with ideas of what I can do while my hubby is in Guatemala doing dental work for a week! Since we're still newly weds, I don't know what I will do without seeing him most of the day. It's pathetic, I know.
Here are some ideas:

• Train for 2 half-marathons I'm registered for (although they are in August and September)
• Family genealogy/ temple work--lots left to do
• Scrapbook our wedding/engagement/honeymoon pictures!
• journal and study ahead for school
• FIND A JOB for the summer!!!
• find some good books to read
• find discount prices for my summer-class books (same for RIchard's books)
• Sell tons of Anatomy books that Richard has been collecting. (hopefully this will make bank!)
  
• Play computer games (civ, nancy drew, whatever)
  

Human Bodies and what they were adapted for…..

In my evolutionary biology class we are discussing the evolutionary implications of human development since the stone-age. I know human evolution is a touchy topic, but even if you look at it at the not-so-controversial micro-evolutionary scale, some things might explain some human behaviors/diseases. Here are some examples:

o The pace of cultural change has been so much faster than the pace of evolution by natural selection that modern humans are largely still adapted to life in the stone age. (Evolutionary Analysis, Freeman & Herron)o For example: Humans evolved for optimal long-distance running (read Spark or this journal I have)…so it’s interesting to note why running is so good for us, because our bodies are formed ideally for it in the first place.
o Stone-age humans lived on diets rich in fish or lean game, nuts, fruits, and vegetables—so maybe that’s why our bodies are so well adapted for those types of foods and why they are particularly healthy for us (read “food cures”)


o Lactose intolerance is natural---most mammals are made to only endure milk during infancy and to slowly wean off it completely. But because our society uses dairy products everywhere, humans have gained a tolerance for it over time. Except for me, of course. I try to keep convincing Richard that he is lactose-intolerant as well because he has all of my symptoms. He only recently stopped denying it, he just loves milk too much!

o More menstrual cycling increases risk of breast cancer bc the combination of estrogen and progesterone duing the postovulatory phase of the cycle stimulates cell division in the lining of the milk ducts---and these can have more opportunities for mutations that can create cancers. (Evolutionary analysis, Freeman & Herron) Studies have shown that because we use birth control, we have a lot more menstrual cycles in our lifetime than women did in the past. They have done studies looking at tribal women, and have found that they have 1/3 of the amount of menstrual cycles than western society, because they are always either pregnant or they were nursing (and you don’t menstruate then). Their rate of breast cancer is 1/12 that of our society.

The Cambrian Explosion!

I have literally spent months studying this fascinating topic!!

The Cambrian explosion is a hypothesized time in which an there was a random explosion of evolution during the Cambrian era, 520 million years ago. This is significant because they found really cool animals that they can’t fit into any classification system of known animals today! Here are examples of some cool ones:

Opabina-- it has 8 eyes and a proboscis!

Marella--so bizarre!

Hallucigenia--it lives up to its name....

This explosion hypothesis is based on tons of fossils of soft-bodied animals found in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia as well select areas in Greenland and China. It has many implications on the process of evolution itself, whether it occurs in spurts or if it occurs gradually and we just haven’t found the fossils that occur earlier.

One scientist that spoke a lot about it was Stephen J. Gould, and he’s so famous he was in a simpsons episode!

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Why biology is so fascinating!

I have some treasured nuggets of knowledge that I have been meaning to share with the world! Some of these random facts of drastically altered the way I think about my body, the earth, and just the nature of living things and how they function. it's one of my favorite things to talk about so I think I will put some of my favorite topics in this blog so I can always remember them and hopefully share them with my future classroom. These are also things Richard and I love to discuss and analyze together because we are both taking so many biology classes. It makes life so much fun and it puts my brain on fire! (in a good way...)
It's always good to be motivated by your subject matter, eh??

Time to blog again!

With busy lives I figure it's a good idea to make a blog to update family and friends if they're interested to see what we're up to! Life at the Beehive home is awesome--we live with 10 old ladies and give them pills and sing the "Sound of Music" with them, and in return we get free rent and food. It's a sweet deal, it actually is a fair amount of work (I didn't mention all the cleaning) but its very enjoyable and feels we're part of a new adopted family. We figure 10 old ladies = 1/4 of a baby. So maybe it's good practice for the future!

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Cali to see a lady that Richard baptized on his mission who was going through the LA temple for the first time. We ended up running into a lot of people he was close to, unexpectedly! I got to see Las Vegas for the first time, we just drove through it. It was so much fun, we came home with a decent load of stuff from Trader Joe's because that's his version of heaven. We listened to the book "Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card all the way to Cali and back, it's kind of a suspenseful book but I'd recommend it if you're into that sort of thing.

In the words of my favorite old lady, Muriel:"Oh, I love ya!"