Stuff in My Life...

So I'm still at school at CWI this semester and I'm taking Anatomy & Physiology and Precalculus (should have signed up for dual credit in high school...).

I have a huge secret to tell you: I actually like math. I never thought I would say that. But you know what? It's really pretty cool. Now does that mean I'm going to study it extensively? Probably not.

I also really love Anatomy & Physiology! What a cool class! I've learned so many things already. I guess I just thought I would be memorizing a bunch of bones and muscles, but that's definitely not the only thing. Here are some interesting tidbits I picked up:

• Your body needs calcium in order to make your muscles go. If you are calcium deficient in your diet, your body will pull the calcium it needs from your bones to keep your heart pumping and your lungs working.
• Losing weight too quickly (more than 1-2 pounds/week) causes you to have an excess of acid in your body which may cause you to pee too frequently and hyperventilate in an effort to keep your pH levels in normal range (slightly basic). If your body fails to keep your pH in the normal range, you will die.
• Ever noticed that women are more prone to cellulite than men? That's because of the way our collagen fibers are arranged. In men, collagen fibers look like this: XXX In women, they look more like this: | | |  Basically, the arrangement of collagen in female connective tissues allows for fat to bubble out, causing cellulite in even thin women. But in male connective tissues, the fat is constricted by the X arrangement, making it less likely for cellulite to be present.
• Your armpits stink because you have sweat glands called apochrine glands secrete the regular sweat contents (urea, HCl, and water) as well as proteins. The bacteria on your skin feed on the proteins and then produce an unpleasant smell. These apochrine sweat glands are also located in your groinal region. It is thought that these glands are homologous to scent glands in some animals used to attract mates.

Anways, I really like the class so far. And I seem to be doing well! I just have to keep up with everything. The older I get, the more I enjoy learning.

New Antiques!

Last night I got some serious treasures when Matt's grandparents came over to my in-laws' house. They came over because my sister-in-law, Stephanie, turned 19 and we had cake and ice cream about it. After we finished eating, Grandma Knight said, "Let's play 'What's in Grandma's Crazy Grab-bag!'" In the bag she had some stuff they didn't use anymore, but thought we might like to have. Otherwise it was all going to the thrift store. 

 

 

In my opinion, I made out like a bandit! The treasure pictured above is a citrus juicer. You lift the handle, put a piece of citrus fruit in, and squeeze the handle all the way down. Then you pour the juice out of the spout!

 

This used to belong to Grandma Knight's mom. She used to sell WearEver Aluminum products. Basically these were like Pampered Chef items, but way cooler and way before Pampered Chef came around. In fact, WearEver revolutionized the way people cooked by introducing aluminum into cookware and bake ware. A lightweight metal that would seemingly wear forever? Awesome! *Update: Don't use aluminum cookware because you can get Alzheimer's from it!*Grandma Knight's mom would host dinners using her WearEver products and see who she could sell them to.

My other treasure used to be Grandpa Knight's mother's (but maybe his father's...). It's just a tea pot, right? No, the glorious thing about this tea pot is that it's electric. I suppose the idea was that if you went to a motel or something and you wanted to have some coffee or tea, you would just fill it up with water and whatever else and plug it in! If you look on the bottom right of the pot, there's a little place where you attach the electric cord. Pretty cool, huh? I thought so.

Weird Dreams.

(this picture doesn't belong to me, but I wish it did)

I dream very vividly and often. Maybe I just get really good sleep or something, I don't know. But I thought I would share some of my weirdo dreams with you.

First of all, I have reoccurring dreams. Well, it's not so much that I dream the same exact dream, more like the same basic dream. So different things will happen in the dream, but the concept and/or location are the same. I have farm dreams, pool dreams, ocean dreams, mountain dreams, and secret passage dreams.

Farm Dreams

Farm dreams always take place at my grandparents' farm outside of Pendleton. The thing that makes these dreams strange is that the surrounding area is usually really populated or lots of people go there for recreation. Like there are businesses and train stations. If you've ever been to the farm, you know that it's out in the middle of nowhere so you really feel like you're away from it all. I usually fly in these dreams, too. But lately there have been really popular swimming areas at the farm and sometimes the wheat fields are the Columbia River.

The other really odd things about these dreams are that my siblings and mom have them, too! Theirs are a bit different though. Some of them have farm dreams that are apocalyptic!

So last night I had a farm dream. It went something like this:

My family and I were going to go swimming down at the river. On the way there, Joe (my brother-in-law) was really upset because Cindy was hanging out with Cinna (from the Hunger Games). She wouldn't stop hanging out with him even though it was making Joe mad. (For the record, Cindy making Joe jealous is sooo not something I think she would do). When I finally got to the water, it was dark and cold outside, so I couldn't swim. That part made me quite annoyed. Then the dream changed and it was the next day or something. We went down the dirt road eastward to a different spot on the river. To get to the river, we had to walk through some brush. Among the brush were calf brain mushrooms.

(also not my picture)

When we got to the water and stepped in, I noticed there were calf brains in the water, too! They were attached to the rocks like sea sponges or anemones! That's when I also noticed they were attached to my ankles. I frantically tried to pull them off, but when I did, I could only really get the fruit of the mushroom detached. It was very painful when I tried to pull out the roots, so I gave up. A little while later I looked down and saw that one was trying to attach itself to my right thumb. I discovered that the calf brains attached by sending out a poisonous thread that would numb the skin and then burrow itself in you until it was secure. Luckily, I got the one off my thumb before it got in too deep. We finally decided to walk back up to the house and as we were walking I saw that all the calf brains were gone! I was so relieved to have them gone, but my ankle was pretty swollen.

Anyway, that's the kind of stuff I dream about. Very vividly. Farm dreams are the only kind of dreams I'm going to cover today. But stay tuned, because I dream almost every night!

New things.

I've been pretty excited about new things lately. So I want to post about them. You might have noticed right off the bat that there are now polka dots in the background! I love them!

Also, I cut my hair very short! Pixie! As you can see, I took a bunch of selfies. No shame, guys. No shame.

So that's what I look like now. Sometimes I have more product in my hair, and sometimes I try to put it up into a pompadour. But I don't have the right kind of product to do it justice yet (in my opinion).

Another thing that's new is my phone. I got an LG G2. I like it! It's lots of fun and I especially enjoy the camera.

This is not my picture, so that's why it says Verizon on the back. Matt and I switched to T-Mobile because they were running a great deal and we didn't like AT&T. Plus, no stinking contract this time! Yeehaw!

A picture I like that I took with the camera (the pictures above were also taken with the camera on the phone):

I guess I like it because the picture is sharp and detailed and it's a picture of the quilt my grandma made me for my high school graduation. It was one of the very last quilts she made (now she has Alzheimer's and doesn't make quilts anymore).

I also got contacts! Yay! See above pictures.

And finally, I am applying to BYU-Idaho so that Matt and I can go there in the fall. That's right, go there. Like to Rexburg. That should be fun going to a real university again! I've heard great things about BYU-Idaho, so I'm pretty excited.

Woohoo for a bunch of exciting new things in my life! New things for the new year!

Hang on, guys.

Oh, hey there! I'm trying to change the way my blog looks right now, so if you're on my page right now, don't be alarmed that things look kind of crazy or stupid. They'll get better really soon. Okay, thanks bye.

UPDATE: Things are normal now. So if you still think things look crazy or stupid, keep it to yourself! Or email me with suggestions.

Christmas: I Believe in Christ

This post is not about Santa, cute decorations, recipes, or funny stories. And this post is not even about the beloved story of Christ's birth (although all of those things are wonderful). This post is about my testimony of Jesus Christ.

Readers, I know that Jesus Christ was born in the most modest of circumstances and lived a very humble mortal life. I know the He is the Son of God. I know that He healed the sick, raised the dead, and caused the blind to see. I also know that He suffered every pain--physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental--imaginable. I know that He bore the weight of all my sins and yours too so that you and I can one day live with our Father in Heaven again with a clean conscience. I know that He died on the cross and that three days later He was resurrected. I know that He lives once again! I know that He loves me. I have felt His love and I can feel it now as I'm writing this. I know that if we repent, keep the commandments, and have faith in Christ, we can be healed and forgiven of our sins through Him.

Christmas is about Jesus. Not only the baby Jesus, but the one who performed miracles, atoned for our sins and pains, died and was resurrected, and who lives again and loves us all.

Here are the words to a song that should be a Christmas carol:

I Believe in Christ

I believe in Christ; he is my King!

With all my heart to him I'll sing;

I'll raise my voice in praise and joy,

In grand amens my tongue employ.

I believe in Christ; he is God's Son.

On earth to dwell his soul did come.

He healed the sick; the dead he raised.

Good works were his; his name be praised.

I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!

As Mary's Son he came to reign

'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,

To save them from the woes of sin.

I believe in Christ, who marked the path,

Who did gain all his Father hath,

Who said to men: "Come, follow me,

That ye, my friends, with God may be."

I believe in Christ--my Lord, my God!

My feet he plants on gospel sod.

I'll worship him with all my might;

He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.

From Satan's grasp he sets me free,

And I shall live with joy and love

In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I'll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."

I believe in Christ; so come what may,

With him I'll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

To rule among the sons of men.

Text: Bruce R. McConkie, 1915-1985. (c) 1972 IRI

Music: John Longhurst, b. 1940. (c) 1985 IRI

Merry Christmas! If you want to learn more about Jesus, go to www.mormon.org. 

Anxiety about Worms

Since I've decided to make writing about dumb stuff I've worried about a thing, I will go ahead and write this post.

I have an irrational fear of worms. Yes, worms. I suppose that worrying about tape worms and other parasitic worms is not so irrational, but I worry about blood worms (they eat sand, not blood), worms in trees, silk worms, and anything that looks like a worm. Okay, I suppose I have overcome my fear of earth worms through extensive study and handling of them.

Funny story: I just looked up worms in Bing images and now I'm even more terrified. I saw a picture of a guy getting a long white worm pulled out of his foot!!! HIS FOOT! I'm debating whether or not to show you. NO. No pictures.

So last night I had a dream that was completely terrifying. I was supposed to feed a worm. This worm was as big around as a softball, yellow and ridged. It also had purple spikes and it lived underground. It was probably about a foot and a half long. Anyway, my job was to feed it this sticky substance that wouldn't get off my hand. I ended up putting my hand in the hole with the worm, desperately trying to get the food off my hand. Before I was able to free myself of the sticky food, the worm was chomping on my hand with its pincers! At that point my husband woke me up because I was making scared, crying sounds. (Thank goodness for him).

When I was eight, my driveway was very long and my bus stop was at the end of the driveway. One day it rained a ton, so all of the earthworms were squirming around on the road, trying not to drown. I knew they couldn't hurt me, but I got the serious heebie jeebies walking down the driveway, seeing them and their trails in the mud.

I've changed my mind. I think that worms are not really such an irrational fear after all. Especially parasitic worms that come out of your foot. Also, blood worms bite really hard.

UPDATE: There were pictures here, but every time I would go back to this page, I got really freaked out. So I took them off. You're welcome.