No Pain, No Gain...

This semester I decided to take a Yoga class. I figured I could use the relaxation I heard it brings and I have never done it before and wanted to try it. Wednesday was the first 'real' day we yoga-ed....

Downward facing dog, Cobra, Bridge, Warrior, Half sun salutation.... They were tricky!

I learned that my feet sweat, alot, and it was hard to hold my ground when my feet keep slipping on my mat (any hints would be helpful). I felt good after class, limber and energized! The next day, hhhmmm not so much. I was in PAIN! Parts of my hurt that I didnt know even existed! Did you know there is a line on each side of your stomach where there's supposed muscles? I didnt! Everything around my arms, belly and chest hurt like a beast! But, it was GOOD PAIN! I'm excited for yoga, I think it'll help me strengthen some of the muscles I lost after my surgery and develop some of the muscles I didnt know existed!
Plus, it makes me feel great afterward and helps me relax.

Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll get more 'bend-y' and who DOESNT want that? lol

The Letter F

I'm bringin it back folks!

FAMILY
I love my little family so much! I dont have many cousins, aunts or uncles, nieces, nephews or siblings, but I am greatful for what I have and that Heavenly Father everyday for my wonderful family!

FAILURE
I am scared to death that I am gonna mess up this opportunity I have to go back to school and become a nurse... nough said

FEMALE
I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that I am female.
Things I love: we have WAY cuter clothes, shoes and jewelry than guys do.
I do have a problem with the amount of emotions I have no control over. There have been many instances where I KNOW I am being a girl; analyzing, mulling over, the back & forth... PLEASE!

FEBRUARY
My second favorite month...the month of love! February has tons of good in it: Uncle Pats birthday, MY birthday, George Washingtons birthday ;) (all the cool people).

FERTILITY
My life has been a roller coaster on this topic. Will I; Wont I, Can I; Cant I, Should I; Shouldnt I. I'm tired and trying to accept the fact that it just may not be meant...

FEATHER
As in my feather pillow... its my favorite pillow and if I am stying over somewhere or traveling, that pillows commin with me!

This is just a few of my F's off the top of my head...
the rest of the alphabet will be appearing on a regular basis now lol

How could something so simple, be so wonderful?

I made cinnamon rolls a couple weeks ago, not a big deal but this was the first time I made something with yeast! I was nervous at first, made sure I had my thermometer so the milk was the right temperature for the yeast and Presto!
They were good but not so pretty:

See, the problem was that I could only get the dough so thin and smooth with my hands, I didn't have a rolling pin so it was tricky.
I was at mom & dads house and noticed Grandma B's rolling pin on top of the fridge covered in dust. *Lightbulb moment* I asked mom if I could have it, she said yes and I was off to bake again! Well, I made the rolls last weekend for Patrick & the kids. This time they turned out SO much better!

I'm in love with a rolling pin....

He knows whats up

If you know me, then you know one of my FAVORITE foods is Octopus! I love it! I usually have it for my Birthday and Christmas. If you think its rubbery, you havent had it made right, the key is to boil it first, then bake it in the oven with onions and coconut milk for a LONG time so it gets nice and soft. YUM! This year I made a pan of it to take to Patricks family Christmas party and saved a little bit for myself :) I took it to mom & dads Christmas morning to see if anyone wanted to try it. No takers... EXCEPT my sweet baby nephew Stone Face! He was so down with it! Here's the proof:
What a smart baby!

Have we met?

The first time I met Patricks dad we were sitting in the kitchen at his parents house and his mom had just come home from visiting some ladies in their ward. His dad was doing the normal asking me about myself...he was really nice and pretty funny, I felt really comfortable talking to him, not nervous at all. At one point he called me Vickie. Excuse me? Everyone stopped talking and starting laughing. Apparently one of the ladies his mom had just seen was named Vickie and he got confused. Ok, no problem. We kept talking, laughing & then his dad said "Sorry for calling you Vickie" to which I unbelievably said "Its ok but do it again & I'll smack your face". WOW! Now normally you wouldnt say something like that to your boyfriends father.....not me though! Luckily he busted up laughing and we continued talking. ~whew~
Now, I THINK I'm on good terms with him but I'm not real sure cause I havent seen him since then! Whenever Pat talks to his mom on the phone she always asks how Vickie's doin so I think I'm safe!

Another day Pat & I were over at my mom & dads house sittin in the kitchen talking and mom said to Pat "Dont be mad at me if I call you Sam" lol
She said when she looks at him she thinks 'Sam'... reasonable enough.
The weird thing is that he has an older brother named Sam.
Whenever I talk to mom, she asks how Sam's doin.



So, there you have it, two people who have REAL names but are called something else.

Thats all I got,
Vickie

Recap...

So lets see, Thanksgiving came & went. Stace came down & it was really nice to see her. Unfortunately it was also finals week @ school and my Psyc teacher was kind enough to give us our exam to take over Thanksgiving! Thanks!

Patrick & I went shopping at 5AM on Black Friday lol we went to 5 stores and bought ONE thing! hahaha oh well, it was fun.

Played Scrabble that night (Me, Pat, Stace & Dad). If you ever have the opportunity to play with Dad or Stace, be prepared to PLAY! They're ruthless and they'll make fun of you :)

Saturday morning Mom, Asian, Belle, Stace, Me & Patrick went out to breakfast. Belle was very entertaining...especially when she stuck her straw in the maple syrup & drank it :(

I am very greatful for my family!

(On a side note: Uncle Pat was in the hospital and I'm SO SO greatful he is home now and I hope he's ok and will get better...LOVE YOU)

My finger

You may or may not know about my finger.... Those of you who do know and dont get, let me explain in detail.

I would say it all started about, oh, 6 years ago maybe? It was winter and I went outside and notice that my ring finger, at the base of my nail, on my left hand started hurting. Let me rephrase that, it felt exactly like I had slammed it in a car door! Some of you might be thinking, "thats pretty extreme Steph" yes, yes it is. IT HURTS JUST LIKE THAT! I immediately ran in the house and stuck my hand under the faucet and let hot water run on it. In a matter of seconds it was gone. I remember thinking "what the crap was that"?! After about 3 years of this I decided to go to the Drs... I actually went to 2 Dr.s. This is what I told one of them:

ME: Something's wrong with my finger, when I get cold it feels like its being slammed in a car door and it wont stop until I get warm again.
DR: Meaning?
ME: I run in the house and stick my hand under warm water in the faucet.
DR: That doesnt make any sense
ME: Thats why I came to see you
DR: Let me look at my book (proceeds to grab this cliff note like version of medical ailments)
ME: It also hurts if I myself am not so cold, but I go outside and I have to go pee.
DR: (looks up from book with a VERY strange looks on face)
ME: Yeah, so if I know I'm going outside I have to make sure I pee first
DR: So, it hurts when you're cold and it hurts when you pee?
ME: Yes.
DR: (still looking confused)
ME: But it can be cold outside and if I myself am warm, like all bundled up, then it might not hurt at all. :)
DR: (looking @ book) I dont see anything in here even close to what you're describing.
ME: I was thinking maybe it had something to do with when I was going to school to be a nail tech. Could I have caused some kind of nerve damaged to the base of that nail what with all the acrylic being put on and ripped off?
DR: (humoring me I think) Yes, yes that could be it.
ME: Hhhmmm, well, can we just cut this top part of my finger off?
DR: (looking REALLY shocked) It hurts that bad?!
ME: Yup, real bad.
DR: Well, we dont usually cut body parts off randomly. Besides, what if you had phantom pain?
ME: True, if its gonna hurt I'd rather have a finger there.
DR: It doesnt hurt when its warm right?
ME: Right
DR: Maybe you should move
ME: I'm not letting this finger run my life!

Fast forward to 2 years ago.... I was sitting in my apt. on the couch watching TV. It was August. All of a sudden it felt as if someone were stabbing my finger with an ice pick! I looked down at my finger and started yelling! Ran to the sink and let the water run over it.. NOTHING! IT WASNT WORKING! What was going on?! It stopped after about 10 seconds (which felt like forever) I looked down and there was a blue dot under my nail. Had a blood vessel just popped? That had to have been it. Man that hurt! So now, on top of the whole cold=pain thing, I cant touch anywhere near the base of that nail, it is so tender. The blue dot is still there. If I hit it or bump it, oooohhh man! I also cant snap with my left hand anymore

Anyways, so there's the story. Its a mystery that lives to this day. I'd go to another Dr. but I dont want them to touch it lol

So if you ever see me bent over a sink, always have my left hand in my pocket or wonder why I'm always waiting to go to the bathroom until the last minute, now you know.
I'll be better when winter's over...