Flight to Reno.

I wish I had time to document all of my life and interesting meetings. As I stood in line at airport security sporting my Ohhh so Mormon byui gym tshirt I made a most unsuspecting friend. Apparently we were both headed to reno. This unnamed woman shared some good stories of her travels. She gave me some much needed company and advice. "Only in Utah" and "the odds are good but the goods are odd" were two phrases she used liberally. She told me of her traveling and adventurous lifestyle. Who knew I would run into a gal who had been born in fremont Ohio, lived in mesa Arizona and then spent a good portion of her adult life in Kodiak AK would have so much to talk to me about. Like her dads unexpected death after she got out of the military. Her inherited money that moved her to Alaska (all inspired by her teenage dream to find a good Alaska man that oprah talked about). She actually did marry only to have two kids and then find out her husband was cheating on her with a transvestite. I can't make these kind of stories up! I really wish I would've asked for her name. She went on to tell me about how she set out to finish her degree in cedar city Utah. Her road trip out to Utah from Alaska which took 6 days ended in a flat tire near Logan Utah. She told me how this nice gentleman changed her tire then kept in touch. A week later her drove down south to see her again. Two weeks later he proposed and 4 weeks after that they were married. I may have had a sore neck by the end of the flight but it was worth it. I love people. Thanks to unexpected meetings and great life adventures.

Thanksgiving

I had a wonderful relaxing thanksgiving break. Here are a few pictures of my actual meal and the tree we decorated after dinner. I'll spare you the picture of Walmart later in the evening.
On my break I got ahead with my homework, went to the temple a couple of times, did lots of packing and organizing, watched all the harry potter movies plus a few Christmas ones, saw the king tut exhibit in Idaho Falls, and went bowling with some friends. That's the short of it. I'll save the long of it for in person conversations.

Heavenly

A lot has happened in the last month. Some good, some not so good. I think I'll just try to tell the good because, honestly, that's what I would like to remember.

I always have to remind myself how blessed I am to meet and make great friends. Too many to name drop right now, but some people are great and help build me up when I need it most.

Last night I went to a Relief Society activity where we shared our cooked crock pot meals. It was a small little gathering. We had some good food and treats. I met a gal who does acupuncture. I sat around talking to her for awhile asking all of my questions. I got her business card before I left and told her I wanted to try it some day. I was hoping that I would be able to do a trade because money is something I don't really have any of right now. I think my massage skill is all that is keeping me going right now. This girl text me after I got out of my morning class and we set up a time to do a trade TODAY! Who knew I would get my wish granted so quickly. I think it was probably best that I hadn't studied up on any acupuncture or else I might have backed out. Or maybe its a good thing I've been in a medical assisting program and been having people give me saline shots for the last few weeks. Needles just don't seem to phase me so much. I just thought, sheesh, if they are going to help me....lets do it! I gave her a lil massage first and then it was my turn. We started with a little assessment. She took my pulse I assume since she was holding my wrist and then asked to see the top and bottom of my tongue. I could've asked so many questions but I just tried to explain some of my complaints. We decided to work on my neck, lower back and feet/legs. She wiped all the places she was putting needles in with alcohol swabs. I think it felt like there were 8 or so needles near my neck and then maybe that many in my lower back area. Then there was a couple in my ankles and one in the area behind my knee and one off the to the side of my shin. It was the strangest thing that I couldn't really feel some of them going in. I specifically remember her telling me in the ankle area, "this might be tender." It wasn't. Then after she had placed all of the needles she told me how to focus my thoughts, or I could just sleep. She said she would leave for 20 minutes with on check in half way through. As I sat there I could feel different needles at different times. Just crazy how energy flows through you. When it was all said and done she took them out and she gave me some time to get up and put my shoes on. I can not believe how wasted/tired/relaxed/loopy/out of it I was. I would say it was pretty close up there with my hot stone massage response. Took it all out of me. So she told me to go home and take a nap. I am not sure how long of a nap I took when I got home but I was in bed or on the couch for at least 2 hrs just paying attention to all the places that just had needles in me. My ankle was actually more tender when the needle was removed. SO weird and yet so cool. I was probably needing to go to the gym today but I skipped that since it took me awhile to even be able to drive away from her office :) Sooo that's that. I just wanted to share my experience about my first time having acupuncture. She sent me a text later telling me that her massage was heavenly. I couldn't think of a better word for my experience too.