I'm so vain, now and than...

My mom has her background set to revolving pics. It is on the photo album from 1993-1996. I had to laugh out loud at some pics of me. Since I am a grown woman, confident and secure in my looks and abilities, I have NO shame with what I am about to post. Here are some before and after pics...

When I was 6 I loved gymnastics. I did cartwheels everywhere I went.



Now I run, lift weights, and do yoga...



In the world of Latter-Day Saints, youth can start going to dances at age 14. Apparently my eyes were shut when I got dressed for my first dance. What were my parents thinking letting me leave the house like this? If I still look like this at dances, no wonder I am still single!

...of course maybe times haven't changed to much...here is me at the 2008 New Years Dance... oh wait, SIGH of relief, I was suppose to dress up silly...


...and again at another ward activity, oh wait again....the theme was geek night...


Here is an old pick in the bluebonnets. I just love the giant clip on earrings. I believe once I hit middle school I started only wearing oversized t-shirts.



there we go,thank goodness I grew up!


I always did like to dress up on Sundays. Before...

(got to love the pink jelly shoes)

After...
Here is my first day of 1st grade, ready to take on the world....


Here is an early pic of 2009, ready to take on the new year...


I'm so vain, I probably think this blog is about me....

Faith Is A Principle of Action and Power, and in that order!

Last Saturday, I was blessed to be able to hear Elder David A. Bednar, an apostle of Jesus Christ, speak at a special fireside in San Antonio. One of the many awesome principles he taught about was FAITH. He said faith is a principle of action and of power, and in that order. (Hmmmm, could he also be a believer in "Taking Action"?, I do believe so!) Sometimes we pray for power to act, and think we have to wait for that power before we can exercise faith and act. However, acting in an important first step that we must take before the power of God can be revealed. Power won't lead to action, action leads to power.

I tried to experiment upon the word this week. I had a lab practical today that was really scaring me. I had a minor meltdown while practicing last week for it and I spend the whole weekend praying to keep it together. Monday started off well. Tuesday, you can see by my previous post, left me fighting for a good attitude all day long. I know Tuesday was important to this process. Wednesday I just got right back up again and decided that Tuesday was a fluke, and the day went well again. There were some specific things I did to "act" and exercise faith, such as serve somebody each day this week, pray morning and night, and read scriptures in the morning before school. I know I am right where I need to be in school. I know that through my future career I'll be able to serve people. So, it is easy to conclude that by doing the specific things I laid out to do, the power to accomplish what I needed to would come.

Sure enough, it worked. Not without much effort, but it worked. I don't know yet the results grade-wise of my lab practical today, but I do consider it successful. I did not cry, I did not freak out. I marched right in and started "treating my patient". I made a few mistakes, but as my wise father told me, my expectations of how well I should perform are probably higher than my instructors. I'm exhausted! Now this isn't to say that I have this faith thing down and checked off the list. HA! Nope, it is a lifelong principle that I now have in my toolbox to pull out and use when the next thing comes along.

Snow Fall, a Tender Mercy!

Written on Tuesday...

Some days despite the best of intentions, trying to have a good attitude, getting up earlier to read scriptures, and even wearing my "Take Action" shirt, the day is still rough and tears manage to escape. But then, snow fell.... watching snow fall is one of my FAVORITES! How lucky I am that today, a rough day, I got to see snow fall (and stick!) from my kitchen window.

Lessons from a Cadaver Lab

****Warning, this blog is not for the faint of heart. I am not trying to be gross, and I will use anatomical language, but I have found that many people can't stomach the details. For me however, it was fascinating and so educational!*******


Lessons from the Cadaver lab...

My class got to visit a cadaver lab with a bunch of PT students. I have been excited about this for awhile now. Most people think I must be morbid, but I beg to differ. I've been studying the human body and how to make it function better when injured for 2 years now. To be able to see what it all actually looks like, that is a chance I couldn't miss!

Our teacher reminded us that these bodies were donated by the people because they wanted us to learn. And when their use has been maxed out, the remains will be returned to the families for burial or cremation.

The bodies are stored on a platform in metal vats with some kind of preservative solution. The bodies are kept in there closed when not being dissected or observed, but when in use the platform is brought up out of the solution and locked like a table. They had 4 bodies out for observation. Yes it smelled, and it took some mental pep-talking to get used to it and not be grossed out, but it was not unbearable. Most of them were very dissected, meaning no skin, and the muscles, arteries, nerves, and many internal organs were exposed. Out of respect, and to make it easier to detach, the faces were covered. That helped a lot. I was amazed at how much I could identify on the body. I saw brains, hearts, kidney's, gallstones and a gallbladder full of them, a pacemaker, and a spinal cord. Here are a few things I was fascinated with...



1.) The IT(Iliotibial) band that runs on the lateral side of your lower extremities from your hip (Illiac) to just below the knee (the tibia) is a lot wider than I thought.


2.) I totally identified the psoas major muscle! A handful of us were identifying muscles in the leg, working from the feet up. We got past the hip and behind the internal organs sits a muscle that originates on the spine. I was like- Oh, THAT is what the psoas looks like. It is one of the hip flexors and it combines with the illiacus. It is one of those muscles that you can't really palpate on yourself.


3.) the Brachial Plexus is nothing to be scared of, it is so cool. It really does look like an "M" and you can follow each nerve to the muscles each innervate. Like the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the biceps (one of my favorite muscles to admire as many of you know). The radial nerve innervates the triceps. The axillary nerve innervates the deltoids (which in combination with the biceps completes a very nice upper extremity). And then we followed the median nerve all the way to the carpal tunnel. These nerves were a lot wider and flatter than I expected.

4.) Sure enough, the femoral artery in the inguinal area is an excellent shot to the heart. No wonder it is used to have nice access in cardiac procedures.

Finally, I came out with an even stronger conviction of the existence of God, the Creator of it all. Cells, nerves, arteries, fascia, organs, muscles, bones, joints, the brain, the spinal cord,and on and on...billions of pieces all combining together in harmony and working in such an amazing rhythm...it boggles my mind that one could think it is the result of some random cosmic event. I am, one, truly in awe of this magnificent creation, and two, humbled at the possibility that one day I can be part of creating!