What I've been Up to?

It has almost been a year since I last posted here. Last summer I found out that I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid and other systems in the body. I have done tons of research trying to learn more about this condition. There is so much conflicting information out there. Medical doctor's try to treat it with thyroid meds, while functional doctors want to figure out why someone has this condition in the first place and treat it from there. I personally think that the later is the better way to go.

I have been off of gluten for almost 10 months. I also eliminated soy, refined sugar, and any processed foods for the most part. Dairy and corn are really hard because they are in everything! If I do eat dairy it's once in a while, like going to Coldstone. Icecream was a weekly thing for me before my diet switch. In the past 10 months, I've probably gone a total of 4 times. That's pretty good for me!

I think one of the major things that kicked off my condition was the level of stress I was dealing with daily. I've always been a stressed out person for as long as I can remember. I started going to yoga with one of my best friends back in September and it has helped out with my stress levels. Although I haven't been able to go lately and it's killing me! I can definitely see a change in my body when I do go to yoga. I feel more focused and physically my body feels clean (if that makes any sense).

I am still in school and am counting down the days until I graduate. It has been a long ride and I cannot wait to be done. I am so grateful that I was accepted into the Ultrasound program in the first place, but it honestly has been one of the hardest things I've had to do. I wish I could have done this when I was younger and healthier, and also before I had Owen. I hate being away from him and that I can't be a full time mom to him.

Here are some images of what our Spring has looked like so far…

Sugar

Owen has been getting into EVERYTHING!

He's a smart kid though. 

He knows how to get out of stuff too. 

 The other day he got into the pantry and opened up a bag of powdered sugar. 

He knew he was in trouble and came to me and told me what he had done. 

 He looked so scared. 

I told him not to move and quickly grabbed my camera. 

He couldn't stop laughing after I started snapping away.

When I shower in the mornings I always put on Power Rangers for Owen so he can be occupied. 

It normally works.

So while I'm showering I could hear him in the bathroom. 

I opened the curtain to take a peek at what he was doing and found him cutting up all of my necklaces.

I screamed! I yelled! 

"OWEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!"

His response as he continues to cut the last one up: 

"Sorry mom. It was an accident. I won't do it again."

"I'll buy you a new one mom."

That kid!

I couldn't get mad at him after that. 

He's got me wrapped around his little finger. 

Film

I am in love with film. I love the look of it. The colors are much deeper than digital. I love the thought of knowing you only have so many shots left and you have to use them up on the most important stuff.  

I finally decided to develop some of my film that's been sitting on my desk for forever. I really wanted to send them in to the INDIE FILM LAB, but I had like 10 rolls of film, and that would have cost so much money. So I basically made myself just go and drop them off at Walgreens. 

I think I'm loving Walgreens too.

Lazy Sundays

I used to hate Sundays when I was a kid. To me it meant that I couldn't go out and have fun. It's so different now that I've grown up. I love Sundays. I love how relaxed they are. I love that I can hang out with my family and not worry about work or school. I can devote my entire day to my family. 
 My sister Sheryll came over to hang out for a bit and Owen fell asleep on my bed watching his current favorite movie, Hotel Transylvania. He looked so peaceful that I couldn't help but take a picture of him in this state.
Tonight my sisters and their hubbys came over to watch The Walking Dead. It's pretty much tradition that they come over and watch it. I'm not really a fan, but I do love getting together with my family. After the show I saw that Celebrity Apprentice's season premier was on. Now that's a show I could get excited for! Sheryll and Russ stayed for that and just recently left. 
I love lazy Sundays. 

Life

Life has been passing by way too quickly.  My baby is growing up so fast and I just want everything to slow down.  Can we just hit the pause button and live in this moment for a while?     Every time I make the bed, Owen jumps on and messes it all up.  It's so frustrating, but so funny at the same time. It's the small things that I want to remember forever. 

Santa got Owen a bike for Christmas and we finally got to take it out a couple weeks ago. 

Owen thought it was so fun. 

He's been stuck inside our house just using it as a chair or a stepping stool. 

He finally got to see what the bike was all about. 

Matt helped him with the pedals. 

We didn't get to stay out for long, but that short amount of time in the freezing cold was way fun.

I think about family a lot. I don't know why but I feel that my life (even with all the imperfections) is perfect. I know that doesn't make sense. I don't know why I think this, but I feel that because I am so happy right now with everything that I have, something will be taken away from me. That sounds weird, but I think it's because I'm scared I can lose something I love so much.

I watched The Impossible with my sister the other day. The movie was based on a true story about a family vacationing in Thailand when the huge tsunami hit in 2004. It was basically about a family trying to survive and find each other. They didn't know if everyone else was dead, but they kept trying to stay alive. I cried throughout the entire movie. I thought about Owen the whole time. I definitely recommend seeing that movie. 

Park City

After our short trip to St. George, we took another short trip to Park City the next day. 

This time Owen stayed home with Grandma. 

It was so fun spending time with Matt and just being by by ourselves again. 

We even got to hold hands! 

We stayed at The West Gate Hotel. 

It was pretty nice for being free. 

(We got it by signing up for a timeshare presentation, 

but never actually showed up to it.)

We are sneaky. 

The Westgate Hotel is up by The Canyons, 

so when we first got there we went out and up the mountain and explored. 

We went on a little hike, 

rode the gondola, 

went on another little hike, 

and rode the gondola again. 

By the end I was starving. . . and tired. 

So we went back to the hotel, showered and accidentally fell asleep. 

Once we woke up we went to Oishi Sushi. 

It was pretty darn good. 

The sushi was pretty inexpensive too. 

I think it's like half off for the summer. 

I recommend going there if you are ever in Park City and craving sushi.

We walked around Main street for a little
admiring all the expensive clothes.
Stopped at my new favorite ice cream place.
JAVA COW
How have I never heard about this place?
I want to go back right now.

We ended the night with a movie.
The Borne Legacy.
I love Jeremy Renner.

Summer isn't over yet.
There are still plenty of items I need to check off my Summer list.

 

We were originally supposed to stay 2 nights, 

but we missed Owen so much we decided to go home early. 

We woke up and ate at Wasatch Bagels. 

Amazing! 

I got a burger. 

Yummm.

Why did we eat so much?

Swim, Eat, Swim Again, Eat Again, Repeat

Our St George Itinerary... wake up Eat Swim Layout Swim again Eat Swim some more Eat some more Swim a little more Ice Cream Here are some edibles we put in our tummies. . . Frei's Fruit Market This place has THE best jam in the world. Go get some NOW.   JAM! Lots of it.   We stopped at this cute little bakery.  It had cupcakes.  The place was nice, but I probably wouldn't go back.  The cupcakes weren't amazing.  I could write an entire post on where to get amazing cupcakes,  but I'll save that for later.   Peanut Butter, Peach, Strawberry, Chocolate   The Pizza Factory!  Delicious!  It's funny how we have one in Salt Lake, but I've only had it once.   Owen figured out how to get free candy.  He would just wiggle the knobs on these candy dispensers and candy would just spill out of them. (He was taught how to steal at a very young age.)
  Pepperoni & Ranch Chicken Pizza We also went to Nelsons Frozen Custard, but didn't get great pictures. It was about closing time for them when we got there so they turned off most of their lights. Who wants to remember some dim lit ice cream? Not I.  I think this means I have to go back during the day. Don't mind if I do.