jake & kim

Jake's 30th!

2012-01-22T23:09:00.000-08:00

So I know this post is late and I have not written anything in a very long time, but I figured I should update everyone regarding Jake's new age status. He has left the 20's realm and entered the 30's. I know he probably will hat this post, but I am thrilled for him! I had an exceptional surprise birthday party that our awesome friends Sherry and Dan offered to host. His birthday night started with an awesome dinner at an authentic Peruvian restaurant in SF, with our awesome friends Chris & Masha. Afterwards, Chris and Masha left with an excuse to get their incredibly well behaved child from their parents only to surprise Jake at Dan & Sherry's later. Before we got to Dan and Sherry's we stopped off at Nordstrom Rac (to kill time in order for the guests to arrive) and I tried to convince Jake that we needed to leave because I was tired and didn't want to shop, however convincing Jake to leave was actually quite difficult.

After getting him out of the store I made up an excuse to stop by their house and another to get him in the door. At the door, Dan smoothly stated "hey guys, you know it's pretty late, Sherry is just in the living room and you can get the papers from her..." we stepped around the corner and Jake saw our other friends and they all yelled happy birthday. His face was hilarious, he didn't expect anything, he was thoroughly surprised and excited. He was so suprised by Chris and Masha who beat us there our other friends helped make it a special night too Amy & Shawn, Katy & Greg.

He was pretty spoiled this year with a new snap shirt, workout shirt, Enders Game the book, a kitties & friends daily calendar, and ....... a new wedding band. I chose a Cobalt brushed band. I decided to get him one because he broke his ring finger a year ago and has been wearing his wedding ring on a necklace and periodically wearing it on his finger only to suffer for 10 minutes trying to get it off, as his knuckle is now deformed and big :)

But, enough of the details.... I am just so thrilled to celebrate this milestone with Jake, he is truly an amazing man. I am so grateful to have him in my life and am so proud of his many accomplishments and dedication to our family, home and the gospel, a few of which include completing a BA program and MBA, landing a great job with Schindler and working his hardest every day to excel and take it to the next level. He is training for his first 10k and has become an avid BBQ'r and cook. He is an Indian and Thai food connoisseur and knows everything there is to know about every sports person/program/type. Above all he sacrificed two years of his life to serve the Lord, but more importantly has dedicated his entire life to the Lord and silently serving friends, family and others. He has always been my role model, my hero and my best friend! I love you Jakey and thank you Barbara & Larry for bringing this ray of sunshine (95% of the time) to me!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY 30th birthday and here's to a minimum of 30 years together (on this earth)

Love, Kim

Thoughts regarding mothering

2011-09-12T01:16:00.000-07:00

I am sure you are surprised by the title of this post, as I currently am not pregnant nor do I have any children. I do however, have many amazing mother/friends and I have been thinking a lot about the concept of mothering and its role that it plays in our lives especially in our religious lives as LDS women.

I feel that I keep encountering women who for one reason or another are feeling a lot of self doubt, grief, frustration etc... in regards to mothering. But, I'm not talking about the every-day trials that being a mother brings, but more the deep ache in many a womens heart when she feels that she does not meet the task or is not in essence "good-enough" in the eyes of the Lord. I have heard all kinds of reasons for this, "What if I only have one kid and MAYBE two," "what if I have no children (me)" "What if I work outside the home" "what if I don't want to have my kids within 1 1/2 years of each other" "What if my only role in life is to birth babies and that is the extent of my existence".........

There are so many more comments you may have thought yourself, will think in the future or just anguish secretly inside.

I want to clear up some points of truth to all my amazing mothering friends:

1. Your righteousness is not predicated on the number of children you have. For example if you feel that if you do not have seven children then you are not following the gospel, then you are wrong. Just because you have one or six, all the effort, sacrifice and dedication you put towards your children will not be wasted or counted as naught. Your mothering to one child is just as admirable and exemplary as it is to many. And, if you can and are blessed to have many you are an admirable beautiful, women as are the many other women.

2. You must have children within 2 years of each other or else you are ...... Whoever decided on this concept needs to clarify that although it may be a nice concept and work for a few women it is NOT necessary to raise a strong, healthy, family and a prerequisite to having children. As women you need to listen to your bodies, and evaluate your mental fortitude and your financial resources in order to effectively make this decision. I believe that Heavenly Father is an extremely caring person and he wants you to be happy, and healthy. He wants you to enjoy and bask in the delight that each and every child brings to you. Do you burden yourself with the constant worrying of the next child? Instead focus on the one in your arms and you will know if and when the right time comes for the next.

3. Satan's plan is to destroy our happiness, when he does this he has succeeded. You must understand that as LDS women we are vulnerable within our minds. We are our own worst enemy, we plague our hearts with feelings of inadequacy, guild and perfection and when we do not meet these standards we feel as though we have a "God" supported reason to feel this, we do not. God does not want us to be unhappy. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMETHING BEING DIFFICULT AND SOMETHING THAT BRINGS SELF-DEPRECATION. DO NOT, diminish yourself: 1- in the eyes of God because you are Less than perfect..... or 2- diminish yourself because our God-less world hardly values motherhood.

4. You always have a choice!!!! (I am not implying that you can stop being a mother, because you did birth them and it is now your sacred duty to care for them) This is a great concept. The GREATEST BLESSING GOD GAVE TO US IS AGENCY!!!!!!!! When you take your agency out of the picture, NOTHING in life will matter. Think of it this way when you put someone in a prison they will do everything in their power to escape all the while feeling trapped. But, What if that person was you, putting yourself in a pre-made God sanctioned box, in which every LDS women is to live her life by. I will promise you that you will spend the rest of your life trying to escape or feeling anger, sadness and frustration while sitting in the middle of it. This box I am referring to is the perfect LDS mother who has 7 kids, cleans the entire house, cooks three meals a day for herself, neighbors and friends, she is always kind, never raises her voice, stays home every day, and bakes cookies on the weekends. ...... now although this is actually very admirable for a woman to do, please be sure that if you are doing this, that you remember that you are choosing to do this and there is no invisible law out there saying that you must be this way or else eternal salvation will not come to you. Remember it is our differences, varieties, parenting styles, careers, hobbies, talents that make the LDS church as vibrant and beautiful as it can be.

5. BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Please give yourself credit for the sacrifices and love that you give continually on a daily basis to the babies you currently have (or don't have). I want to see that joy re-enter your eyes when you understand that God doesn't look at you with criticism, he honestly sees you more with love and admiration ....... and remember that for many of my friends this is your first or second baby. I have heard many older women say (whose kids are out of the house)"now that my kids are gone, I finally figure it out." Remember that it can take a life-time to learn how to mother and probably eternities, so stop CRITICIZING YOURSELVES FOR IMPERFECTIONS within the first few years, you are human like the rest of us.

6.The church does not teach that the ONLY way for women to obtain happiness is through mothering. BUT, the church DOES TEACH that mothering will be our greatest joy and role in life. I believe this to be true, I have talked to many women, LDS and non-LDS who admit that their children are their greatest treasure and many of these women are well educated, career oriented, home-makers, had past-careers, .... etc... currently employed. These are women who have "experienced the non-mothering world" and they still always declare their greatest love is their children. The church is acurate in stating this and that a womens natural role is to nurture her family (not ONLY role). Also, remember the quote "there is a time and season for everything" mothering at home, may be your calling now, that could change later in life or even now.

So, I don't know if this is helpful for any women out there, or maybe offensive, unsure... (and remember this is more my opinions/insight not gospel doctrine by any means ) but please stop trying to fit your "square" piece in a "round" peg and start realizing that your role in this life is not only to raise children but to obtain happiness from them and the world around you. Do not be the self-driven cause of your loss of happiness.... always remember your greatest gift from God is agency, so use it wisely and do not presume God to be a being who wants you and me and everyone to be of a singular personality or type, embrace your uniqueness & YOUR NEIGHBORS TOO.

Sailing with FAmily, celebrating my mom's 50th birthday

2011-07-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

A tidbit from my final summary paper for my Bolivia trip

2011-03-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

For the few who read my blog, I thought you might like to read a bit about what my work entailed in Bolivia and a bit of a personal piece to open up the paper, enjoy my 3 readers!

Upon arrival into the La Paz, Bolivia airport the notion was instantly reinforced that I had entered a third world country. Despite my native Bolivian preceptor Dr. Oscar Lanza’s efforts to convince me that there is no such thing as a third world country, by prompting the question, “where are the other two worlds, we are all part of one world together.” It was apparent that this country was far different from my country of origin in the United States. The airport was small and after a lengthy discussion with the customs officers (entirely in Spanish), I finally convinced them with my entrance letters and home residence in La Paz, that I should be allowed to enter the country legally, but unfortunately I was not cleared until 1:00 am. As I drove through the quiet streets of La Paz, I could not help but notice that hollow red brick homes towered on cement stilts hanging off the sides of steep hills and cliffs. They were built, seemingly, on top of one another and if any tectonic shifting were to occur hundreds of families would plummet to their deaths. Despite the obvious poverty evident throughout every make-shift home, barred store window and scattered sidewalk mounds housing chilly persons in dirt stained blankets, I could not help but be impressed by the effort made to create beautiful shrubbery designs and soot covered pink flowers which ran down the middle of the downtown streets. This little insight provided affirmation that even the populace of these so-called “poor-third-world-countries” want to beautify and take pride in their homeland and helped me realize that we really are not that different after all.

Statement of the Problem

The Bolivians have an aphorism that states “when God designed Bolivia he gave the country every single natural resource needed for self-sustenance and provide richly for its citizens.” The country lays claim to many natural resources including large petroleum deposits and massive gold and silver mining operations. The country boasts miles of prosperous agricultural lands providing work for many of the poorest residents. The landscape varies from desert salt flats in the south, to the humid Amazon jungle in the north and the impressive Andes’ Mountains which span the entire country presenting its majestic peaks and substantial glaciers which provide pure sources of water. Despite the countries obvious assets, it continues to struggle financially and, more related to my topic, it suffers from substandard nutrition and health. Many of the country’s poorest citizens lack access to nutritious food and basic healthcare. At first glace, I can assume many explanations for such sorry access to basic needs - my assumptions include the obvious such as poverty, rural living, or lack of or inconsistent education and, if access is afforded, then poor hygiene, decreased access to sanitation services and potable water for cooking, showering and hand washing. I have described these Bolivian predicaments in minimal detail merely skimming their complexity, and their deeply seeded social and political implications. Once contemplating their immensity you might find yourself at odds with the country as I did, feeling as though anything I can do, would not address the problem in its entirety or even place a dent in the massive poverty/health/nutrition crisis that this country faces.

Context/Organization Setting and Project

A few days after my arrival I was introduced to the Centro Comunal Del Carmen, a medical clinic focused on serving women and children. The clinic is comprised of three separate clinics, the other two being Pasankeri and Llojeta. These clinics are funded primarily by two agencies, the Madrid Paz y Solidaridad located in Spain and secondly, a German organization named CBM. There is also minimal support from the Cuban government, in the form of Cuban doctors working in the Pasankeri clinic. The clinic’s mission focuses primarily on what they call “primary care.” Primary care in Bolivia is not the same as in the United States, in the Bolivian context it refers to preventative medicine, or in other words, public health education. Because Bolivia does not have the infrastructure to manage large numbers of sick persons, the doctors (trained in western medicine techniques) must turn towards prevention as their greatest defense against severe sickness and death in the case of children. The three clinics focus a great deal on preventative measures and education and have created a program called “Crecimiento y Desarrollo” (Growth and Development program – C&D) which encompasses part of their mission, and to enroll as many children and mothers as possible. Promotion of this program ensures that children are seen on a monthly basis and therefore watched closely for signs of malnutrition, acute diarrheal episodes and complications including dehydration and other significant illness such as acute respiratory infection. This monthly visit is also used to educate parents regarding a variety of topics ranging from the care and feeding of newborns, hygiene practices, the importance of washing hands and using bathrooms and discussions on healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables. These clinics are built along the outskirts of the city of La Paz, bordering the neighboring city of El Alto. El Alto is notoriously known for its soaring rates of extreme poverty, lack of clean water and minimal sewage services. When navigating El Alto, you know the city limits because seen along telephone poles are stuffed scare-crows hanging by their necks, warning people of the fate that awaits them due to violence and crime. Theft is rampant in El Alto, the enticement to steal is for provisions that will prolong life another day; starvation makes burglary profoundly tempting. It is the goal and mission of these clinics to provide quality medical care for the poorest of the neighborhoods. The clinics Llojeta and Pasankeri are proudly free-of-charge and Centro Comunal Del Carmen charges a minimal fee of five Bolivianos, an equivalency just shy of one US dollar. However, it is difficult to enroll children in the C&D program because parents work long days on the streets, doing whatever is necessary to earn a living and/or because the later two clinics are relatively new and more marketing is needed.

The clinic is desirous to obtain more funding to demonstrate statistical proof that their methods and model have had an impact on the community; therefore they have been very pro-active in accumulating statistical data from their patients. Data was collected for children 0-5 years old in the following categories: Acute Respiratory infections (with or without pneumonia), Acute Diarrheal infections (with or without dehydration), Skin eruptions, hospital admission, and favorable outcomes. The same information was collected for 6-14 year olds, but with additional conditions such as acute gastrointestinal, pulmonary, genitourinary and dermatological infections. Other data sets were collected regarding malnutrition status, mental health and immunization status. These large data sets were nothing short of extraordinary and a large effort was required on the part of the clinic staff to compile these numbers. All the data was then compiled into a 55 page annual report, detailing various sorts of percentages and numerical informational data. When reviewing this report one mistake however, was noted by Dr. Oscar Lanza. All of the data was subdivided as ages 0-3 years and 3-5 years. This division of ages is not in accordance with the National Institute of Health (NIH) and therefore all their calculated tables are incomparable with the national database. This is because the NIH requires that childhood data be categorized starting with ages 0-1 years and subsequently ages 2-5 years. It is important for the Centro Comunal Del Carmen to submit their data to this database, as well as compare Bolivian health rates with those of other countries. This age discrepancy led to me and Erin Littman’s project; we were assigned to re-stratify the data into the correct age groups as defined by the NIH.

All of the data has been acquired for years by grouping children ages of 0-3 and 3-5. Not only has the incorrect age groupings not allowed comparisons and submissions to the NIH, also it has not allowed any assessment regarding the critical age of change; one year old. In Bolivia, this age is when many adjustments occur, the child is often un-swaddled for long periods of time, experimenting with new foods, learning to walk and the mother might be pre-occupied with a forthcoming new baby. Once the data is re-tabulated in order to fulfill NIH requirements, we produced two main objectives. The primary objective being to identify the most vulnerable age group (i.e. ages 0-<1 or 1-5). Our secondary objective was to identify the most vulnerable age group, further categorized by one of the clinics three programs (Crecimiento & Desarollo – C&D, Jardin Infantil – JI or Poblacion). The importance of our secondary objective was to obtain evidence of the clinics failure or success regarding increased rates of health. If success was found, we hypothesized that the highest health rates would be linked with the C&D program. This program, as described previously, is based on preventative medicine (or primary care) and the child is seen monthly for General checkups monitoring growth and development status.

Results Achieved

Our original goal was to re-calculate the acute-illness tables, malnutrition rates and attempt re-tabulation of ages 6-14. Because of the vast amount of data and our primary limitation; the language barrier, we simply focused on acute illness for children 0-5 years. Because none of the staff spoke English, understanding, computing and writing a report in Spanish was an enjoyable yet daunting challenge. After many days of difficult data interpretation, a few mistakes and formatting issues, we were able to complete four tables (Pages 12-13).

The tables signify the following:

1. Table 1: Medical intervention for children ages 0-5 years enrolled in Jardine Infantil (JI)

2. Table 2: Medical intervention for children ages 0-5 years enrolled in the Poblacion en General.

3. Table 3: Medical intervention for children ages 0-5 years enrolled in Crecimiento & Desarollo program (C&D)

4. Table 4: Medical intervention for children ages 0-5 years enrolled in C&D, JI & Poblacion.

Once the tables were computed two comparisons were made. First, a comparison of the individual tables 1-3 comprising 0-<1 years and 1-5 years of all three groups: JI, C&D and Población. This comparison enabled us to make the following statement and ultimately answer our primary objective.[1]

§ The healthiest group is: 0-<1 of the C&D group (TABLE 3, 79.4%)

§ The least healthy group is: 1-5 of the Poblacion en General (TABLE 2, 21.2%)

§ The group with the highest amount of respiratory infection: 1-5 of the Poblacion en General (TABLE 2, 53.6%)

§ The group with the least amount of respiratory infection: 0-<1 of the C&D group (TABLE 3, 17.6%)

§ The group with the highest amount of EDA: 1-5 years of the C&D group (TABLE 3, 9.7%)

§ The group with the least amount of EDA: 1-5 years of the JI group (TABLE 1, 1.5%)

§ The group with the highest rate of other pathologies: 0-<1 years of the Poblacion en General (TABLE 2, 20.6%)

§ The group with the least amount of other pathologies: 1-5 years of the JI group (TABLE 1, 6.0%)

§ The group with the highest amount of reconsults: males 0-<1 years of the Poblacion group (TABLE 2, 90.9%)

§ The group with the least amount of reconsults: males 0-<1 years of the C&D group (TABLE 3, 19.2%)

Our conclusion, based on the aforementioned bullet points, we have identified the most vulnerable group, as was our initial purpose. The group identified was the children ages 1-5 years of the Poblacion en General. This group displayed the lowest healthy percentages and the highest rates of respiratory infection of all groups studied.

Our second comparison was of TABLE 4; strictly contrasting the age groups 0-<1 years with 1-5 years, all three groups combined (C&D, JI and Poblacion).

§ The healthiest group is: 0-<1 ages with a 58.9% (compared to 44.9% of the 1-5)

§ The least healthy group is: 1-5 ages

§ The highest amount of respiratory infection: 1-5 ages (with 38.9%)

§ The Least amount of respiratory infection: 0-<1 year olds (with 24.7%)

§ The highest amount of EDA: 1-5 ages (with 5.4%)

§ The least amount of EDA: 0-<1 ages (with 4.1%)

§ The highest amount of other pathologies: 0-<1 ages (with 11.0%)

§ The least amount of other pathologies: 1-5 ages (with 9.5%)

§ The highest amount of reconsults: 1-5 ages (with males 62.0% & females 56.4%)

§ The least amount of reconsults: 0-<1 ages (with males 40.5% & females 47.2%)

Our conclusion, based on the aforementioned bullet points (regarding TABLE 4), we identified the most vulnerable age group as the ages of 1-5 years (outlined in red TABLE 4). This group displayed the lowest healthy percentages, and the highest rates of acute respiratory and diarrheal infections. The age group 1-5 also had the highest rates of reconsults possibly indicating advanced severity of illness compared to the 0-<1 age group.

The significance of our results was three fold. First, by identifying the least healthy group, Poblacion ages 1-5 years (health rate of merely 21%), the clinic can now change their medical and public health approach to this specific age group. Because it is so apparent that these children suffer greatly from acute infections, when a child does arrive at the clinic, health workers can tailor their care and preventative health education to the specific needs of this population. Via group discussion many theories were proposed by the staff explaining the low health rates (21% TABLE 2), but no one anticipated such a low rate of health. Some of these theories of course included cessation of breast feeding which usually occurs around this age therefore, those children become susceptible to Bolivia’s elevated malnutrition rates. Also many governmental programs have been designed to decrease the infant mortality rate but, their scope usually supports children until the age of one.

Second, by identifying the age group most vulnerable as ages 1-5 years, the clinic had insights regarding their current efforts. For example the staff noted when community education is provided in the indigenous language of Aymara, even though the direct translation of the word “child” means “child,” culturally the Aymara people tend to relate the word “child” with the word “infant.” This simple oversight, is confirmed since preventative education functions effectively for infants (0-<1years) evident by the excellent health rate of 79.4% (TABLE 3) but not as much for children 1-5 years evident by the average health rate of 54.3% (TABLE 3). Therefore, these data have indicated that more specificity is needed regarding education, instead of saying “children etc….” the age range must be clearly stated, this will avoid any confusion or meaning lost in translation.

Finally, by identifying the highest health rate of 79.4% (Table 3) for 0-<1 years in the C&D program (compared to averages of 50%), this granted evidence supporting the successful medical methods utilized by Centro Comunal del Carmen. The C&D program is the best health program that the clinic has to offer, and these data provide strong support on behalf of grant proposals and reassurance that the C&D program is outstanding at reducing rates of acute infection. It was proposed during the presentation, that Centro Comunal del Carmnen could become a medical model for other third world countries due to their tremendous success.

[1] The tables and conclusions are color coded, Blue Generally means “better” and yellow generally means “worse.” When viewing the graphs you can see this colorful trend and can loosely identify which group is most vulnerable). The colors also aided in presentation/understanding purposes for the clinic.

San Diego here I come :/

2011-03-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

So in a week I am moving to San Diego for 6 weeks to complete my Internal Medicine rotation. For the next year I will be moving every 6 weeks, back to my house and somewhere else back and forth, back and forth. I don't know what to think about this. Anything is BETTER at this point than sitting in my classroom for hours on end, but by the end of the year, having to leave Jake again and again is going to try me. Man, this schooling takes it all sometimes.... but, on the bright side Jake and I are going to go to Disney Land while I am down there and lots of time at the beach, as we will see each other every weekend.

I am finishing up my surgery rotation and have loved every minute of it, besides being allergic to some of the soap. I'm pretty excited for San Diego!!!

Until next time!

Kim

Ideas for Young Women Activities

2011-02-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

So I am involved in YW and am very interested in hearing anyone's ideas for YW activities. I have a few, but I know my awesome, talented friends have participated in many YW activities. What are some of your favorites, please share with me!

TTYS ;) Kim

The Last Days! Tiwanaku Ruins

2011-02-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

This is a topographical map, which I liked because it really demonstrates the altitude of Bolivia and how high it is. The black arrows indicate the Tiwanaku movement/expansion from Bolivia.

Tiwanaku is an important pre-columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Incan Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five hundred years. The site was first recorded in written history by Spanish conquistador and self-acclaimed “first chronicler of the Indies" Piedra Ceazea de Leon. Leon stumbled upon the remains of Tiwanaku in 1549 while searching for the Inca capital Collasuyu. Some have hypothesized that Tiwanaku's modern name is related to the Aymara term taypiqala, meaning "stone in the center", alluding to the belief that it lay at the center of the world.However, the name by which Tiwanaku was known to its inhabitants may have been lost, as the people of Tiwanaku had no written language

The three pictures before are some of my favorite and are what made is stand out a lot to me. These heads represent all the governors of the Tiwanaku empire. I found them beautiful and interesting to note the many differences between them all.

This hole is really interesting because it is considered a type of "microphone" you speak in it, and your voice is amplified a lot. The cool thing about it is that the hole is actually carved in the same manner and with the same curvature as the human ear. So beautiful! and when you speak in it, it actually works very well!

This is the famous "Sun Gate" it is entirely carved out of one stone and all the inscriptions on the top tell us a lot about the history of the people. These gates and stones used to be covered in Gold and precious metals. We know this because if you look on the side you see hammer marks from the Spanish, when they destroyed these ruins and took all the precious metals with them, making their country rich off of the wealth of these indians.

This is a baby of indigenous heritage int he area, the indigenous people are so cute, becuase they always want you to take pictures with their children.

The Best Face Product Ever

2011-02-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

So even though I'm in Bolivia, I can't refrain. I've been using this now for over two months and I have not worn face make-up in TWO MONTHS. I used to wear face make-up every day. The reason is because my skin without make-up actually looks prettier. I have only been using the Youth Code Serum and the Eye Cream and the best thing is that the serum is only $22 at Wal-Mart. When I worked at Lancome (which is owned by Loreal) they were working on this product for 10 years. I started using the Lancome version samples, and decided to give the Loreal version a try, because I know that they both use the same science for their products (Lancome is the high-end brand and Loreal is the "regular") and I have to tell you that the Wal-Mart Loreal version works just as good as the $75 Lancome Nordstrom version. My skin tone has evened out so much and it has brightened noticeably. So like I said, even after a month I noticed a difference, but now I am hooked. Just FYI for anyone interested.

Another product I've been using for a couple years is for acne and scarring, it has been the only thing that could control my acne. I have had such good results with it, and I tried getting it from a guy in SF before I left for Bolivia and he told me it sells out a lot because it works so well, he said people should bathe in this stuff. Anyways it is more for acne and scarring. IT is called Jan Marini Bioglycolic Acid Face Wash and PCA skin hydrator Plus (phase 6) face cream the packaging just changed to a little pump, not the cream jar.

The Pampa's; preview to the jungle and the Amazon river

2011-02-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about 3rd world countries and their rural airports are the fact that the runways are dirt and located in the middle of the jungle usually, covered in mud. This airplane is abnormally large for such a little airstrip. but I love it anyways. If you notice I was wearing a jacket, leggings etc... because La Paz is really cold, but the second they open the cockpit door and you walk out of the plane, in this little city called Rurrenabaque.... the 100% humidity 100 degree weather hits you like a wall of wet sticky yuckiness.... Bolivia’s Amazon Basin is one of the world’s largest intact wilderness areas. The rain-forests, swamps and wetland savannas, through which many rivers flow, combined with many villages make for an awesome adventure. There is a sheer abundance of wildlife, including monkeys, alligators, macaws and anacondas, piranhas and many types of birds.

I dislike humidity more than most other things in life. This picture demonstrates the runway carved out of the jungle and my friends all walking to the jeep for our 3 hour jeep ride to the Amazon river, which proved to be terrible, because there are no such things as paved roads here and it's more like a 3 hour long roller coaster. Luckily I don't get car sick and don't mind the bumpiness for about 2 1/2 hours. The heat is what gets to you.

If you look behind me you will see a sheet of water, this demonstrates the flash rainstorms that come on without warning and leave just as quickly as they arrived.

We started our awesome Pamapa's Amazona tour in log canoes, they are essentially really long logs, dug out in the middle with the sides built up. They made me a bit nervous at first, but our guide, said that it is nearly impossible to capsize them. Next I'm going to share with you many of the awesome animals that I saw along my treck on the river!

In this photo, if you look really closely you can see the eyes of an alligator, we were in our canoe just slowly moving past it, while his eyes checked us out.

this bird is very common in the Pampa's it is called Hoatzin or Bird of Paradise

These two big daddies are called the Amazon King Fishers, very majestic and at least a few feet tall, massive birds!

This guy is the largest rodent in the world he is called Capybara. They are essentially large rats, cute little guys right?

So the first day I arrived in Bolivia, I had a meeting with my professor Dr. Lanza and Gonzalo Caure and I asked them "Where can I pet monkeys" they didn't really have an answer, after that I made it my goal to pet and hold a monkey and if you look at my lap...... ahhhhhh an adorable bright yellow monkey!

NOT ONLY DID I HOLD ONE, THEY CLIMBED ALL OVER ME AND SAT ON MY HEAD. If you will notice, we are all wearing jackets and long socks etc.... turns out the mosquito's eat you alive there, and our guides failed to tell us to buy DEET, so in the 100 degree 10% humidity we were dressed for the snow. But worst of all.... these mosquito's EAT THROUGH YOUR PANTS they are genetically evolved to eat through your clothes, you have to drench your clothes in DEET in order to avoid being eaten alive. Later when we got some DEET we were able to go in swimsuits and not die.... but until then winter in the Amazon!

I KNOW I LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE MANIAC, BUT I WAS REALLY SHOCKED THAT THEY WERE CRAWLING ALL OVER ME, AND THAT THEY WERE SO ADORABLE AND THAT THEY WERE ON MY HEAD!!!

This HOT fella was hanging out by our lodge when we arrived. We just waited it out in the boat. It's funny because when we arrived he started walking away and there was a boat of 6 or so people already there just sitting in the boat, and they told us that they thought the Gator was fake, because he didn't move for so long and didn't realize he was real until we pulled up. They thought their guide was just having them look at a stuffed gator! Good thing they didn't get out of the boat!

This is a picture of my housing for two days, my cabin is the one on the right. You have the walk-ways in order to not get wet in the rainy season and avoid the local gator who slept under my house all night long.

Me, And my awesome friend Maria, Justin and Craig enjoying the mosquito's and the sunset!

Finally some shelter from those crazy mosquito's in this mesh "common area" complete with 15 hammocks and you could actually not wear winter-clothing in there. Pretty awesome, I thought I was going to die from the heat!

One of the activities that you do at night is go Croc and Gator hunting at night. I got this great picture of a spider eating and spinning it's prey in it's web.

If you look closely in this picture you will see a small glowing light in the top middle of the photo. That is a Caiman Crocodile. At night you go in the canoes and search for them in the bushes, by shining you flashlight and it catches the croc's eyes and glows intensely. I have a lot of these glowing eyeballs. It's a bit creepy to see them slowly creep back into the shadows and the glowing eyes disappear.

This is me with my night-time alligator neighbor that slept under my house. Turns out he's pretty friendly and if you feed him chicken you can pet his nose. Apparently he's a local at this eco-lodge!

The next activity for the next day was my LEAST-FAVORITE although these pictures do not do it justice we went ANACONDA HUNTING. We trekked through a couple miles of marsh-swamp land in galloshes (mine had at least ten holes in them) trying to find them. We were out there almost three hours and the mosquitos were insane and it was raining. As my friend Guy likes to say "We're trying to find the Anaconda's, isn't it the other way around, they are supposed to find us!" We didn't end up finding any... secretly I was VERY HAPPY THAT WE DIDN'T FIND AN ANACONDA!

NOW THIS PICTURE IS VERY SPECIAL, BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO CATCH BRIEFLY THE BLOW HOLE OF A PINK DOLPHIN, THEY ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO TAKE PICTURES OF, it's located to the right of the canoe and looks more like a white frothy thing rather than the blow hole of the dolphin.

This area with the dolphins is where we went swimming because they scare away the croc's and so it is relatively safe to swim there. It was so fun and such a neat experience, I never got to actually touch one, sometimes they come up really close to you and nip your feet and play with you, these one's didn't they just swam near us. The picture above is us hanging onto our canoe and being dragged around by it while swimming.

This adorable guy is called Rutherford (I named him) the Three-Toed-Sloth, he is freakin adorable!

More Rutherford the Sloth!

After our swimming adventures we went to the "futbal field" where we played a rousing game of soccer, in a half soaked, muddy field along with our friends the Ostriches!!! I was the only girl that played and I soon realized why many didn't, I was soaked from head to toe in mud.

Here is Me, Justin and Guy's victory shot. We lost the game 3 to 4 (to the Bolivian's) we were the Gringo's. I actually made a great goal just before being pummeled into the mud and eating some sort of manure. I topped it off with a victory mud slide into the goal!!! I just can't get over our Ostrich team mates though, it was so funny!

My awesome Pampa's Amazona vaccacion ended SOOOOO WELL with a huge bottle of DEET and my good friend the Caiman Crocodile PEPE!!!

Best wishes mi amigos!

Hope you've enjoyed my adventures!

Love, Kim

Some other animals I met are:
-Howler monkeys

·         Brown capuchin monkey
·         Capybara
·         Pink river dolphin
·         Black caiman
·         Spectacled caiman
·         Yellow spotted river turtle
·         Macaws and parrots
·         Hummingbirds
·         Herons
·         Amazon kingfisher
·         Black vulture
·         Three-toed sloth
·         Red brovker deer
·         Anaconda: 3!
·         Toucans
·         Paradise bird/hoatzin
·         Storks
·         Red cap cardinal and red crested cardinal
·         Turkey vulture

More Uyuni!!!

2011-02-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who don't know, one of my favorite things about visiting Peru and Bolivia are the Llama's. I think they are so beautiful and they have such an arrogant face, that you can't help but bother them as much as possible. Most of the time the locals tie little bells and bright colored fabric to their necks or ears to keep track of them.

As you can see the terrain in Uyuni is very dry (seco) and has little Oases throughout this desert-like area. The sky is one massive expanse that travels so far with small mountains in the background. I loved this trip because we jeeped for at least three hours on dirt roads to get this far. We were literally in the middle of nowhere or as I like to think "God's country."

My favorite Llama picture because this little guy finally decided to give me the time of day......Isn't he beautiful. I love the desert background.

This is a picture of the laguna Colorado, otherwise known as the "Pink Lagoon" if you look in the picture below, you will see that there are flamingo's here year round. I think that the weirdest combination of animals is definitely Llama's and Flamingos. The Flamingo's are pink because of the algae that they eat.

This is one of my most favorite pictures because it demonstrates the remoteness of the area, and the beautiful red lake and a flamingo and a wind storm. Pretty amazing RIGHT!

This is just a picture of a perfectly pointed mountain and demonstrates the beauty of this lake so well. I was imagining that, that pointed mountain is really an Incan pyramid covered in dirt, that is why it is so perfect. If you look at that white sandy stuff, that is actually a medium that is used to make glass, I can't remember the name of it, but that is probably why the water is so glassy looking :) I just thought what a beautiful landscape, so far out in the middle of nowhere.

Next we jeeped a couple of hours to the geysers and mud pots. They are really so random, we're driving around in desert and all of a sudden these beauties pop out of nowhere. The cool thing about them, is there are no rules where you go, I pretty much walked right through them and got some of the steaming mud on my pants.

This is my favorite picture of the geysers, because it looks like we are in the clouds, me and my buddy Suzzane! what an experience, loved every minute of it!

Next we went to a natural hot spring, or hot pot, the best thing about it is that it was in the middle of nowhere, once again. If you look at the background and that beautiful landscape, it's like we were swimming at the end of the world. In the picture are my friends Erin, Suzanne, Ruth, Maria, me and Craig.

Another beautiful flamingo!!!

Afterwards me and my friends all had a modeling session (no making fun of me) but I like this photo so much because it demonstrates the vastness and remoteness of the area. Have you ever seen a more beautiful world!

More of me, but you will notice that the Southern parts of Bolivia are similar to Utah, because we are now leaving the deserts and Geysers and getting into some red rock formations.

This cute little bunny-looking thing is called a Biscotcha, it looks like a mix between a rabbit and a squirrel.

Ruth, me and Suzanne

we are sitting on a rock formation that we considered a duck, we are technically sitting it it's mouth. The name for all of these rocks are called the rock gardens. They are actually molten lava deposits from many years ago and they expand for miles.

This is a picture of one of my hotel rooms there, it was pretty because they used the molten rock as a wall, to give it an artistic appeal.

Next, we commenced our journey to the salt flats were we started driving through at least 6-12 inches deep of mud. A solid lake of mud that we drove through for about 20 minutes. there was a while where one of the windshield wipers stopped working and I couldn't see anything but sheets of mud. We couldn't stop or else we would get stuck. Definitely an experience.

Me in front of our muddy car, that got kind of washed off becuase the mud was so watery.

AND THE AMAZING SALT FLATS!!! WHICH I ALREADY BLOGGED ABOUT!

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!!!

Uyuni and The Largest Salt Flats in the World

2011-01-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here are some cool illusion pictures that a lot of people take in the salt flats!!! sorry for a short post, more to come later.... enjoy!!!!!!

Isla De La Luna and Cocacabana

2011-01-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

Legends in Inca mythology refer to the island as the location where Viracocha commanded the rising of the moon. Archeological ruins of an Incan nunnery were found on the eastern shore. This nunnery was used by the Incan's to house the virgins that they would then sacrifice later. They had levels of classifications for the virgins, essentially spectacular, medium and regular. These sacrifices supposedly brought great honor to their families, when they were savagely beaten because they believed their screams would reach the heavens, the louder they were. A very humbling and quiet, little island gives you a lot to contemplate regarding the many thousands of lost lives and dead Indians from this area.

The picture below is one that I really liked from the Isal del Sol, I think it portrays the flavor of the community really well.

Cocacabana

2011-01-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

COPACABANA

(not the one that the song is about)

that Copacabana is in Brazil

Copacabana is the main Bolivia town on the shore of Lake Titicaca, from where boats leave for Isla Del Sol, the sacred Inca island. Lake Titicaca is bordered by both Bolivia and Peru. The Bolivians like to say: "The Titti is the Bolivians and the Caca (poop) is the Peruvian side. " But, the actual meaning is actually Puma Rock. The Puma is a mountain lion/cougar and is actually a very special symbol to the ancient Incan's.

We had to take a ferry to cross the lake at one point so Ruth, Craig, me and Maria, in this little boat that putted through the water, when we first got in, it was funny because the entire engine was laying in the middle of the boat floor. I guess they just had a dead one and one that ran the boat too.

This is a picture of our hotel in Cocacabana. I have never been to the Mediterranean, but if I had, I think that it would look a lot like Lake Titicacca. I love the stain glass windows and large doors of this hotel.

The two pictures above are two of my favorite plants that were around my hotel. They symbolize Bolivia to me very well. I don't know their names at all, but they are breathtaking (I think).

Me trying to slack-line

This beautiful sculpture is actually made of rock and painted. I am sitting on the Turtles head. It actually is used to hang up hammocks from it to trees so people can sit and enjoy the lake Titicaca harbor behind me. My friend Karly.

Copacabana was the religious center of the Incan's. It still is a very religious, special city today for the Bolivian people. The crosses in this picture were erected in the 1950's to replace and beautify the top of this steep mountain, which for many years before was used by the Spanish to give religious sacrifices/gifts. Although the top of this mountain originally had Incan significance, the Spanish converted it to a Christian religious center. Even today many Bolivians make a yearly 3 day trek (over Easter) to this place to worship. Also if you look to the right you see blue tents where miniature houses, money stacks, computers, cars....etc..... are sold. If you buy one here you can have it blessed and it means that you will get that in the future. But you first buy a miniature then have it blessed. There are so many types of cars and houses, you can choose what kind of car you want, if you want a farm or a business, or a small/large house. It was really interesting for me to see this. The vendors make them mostly by hand.

I bought a very small money stack for picture purposes and to show you what it looks like, along with the golden drink "Inca Kola" Jake's favorite soda from Peru.

This is another picture by a beautiful yellow building in my hotel (not my room though) with my friend Suzanne

Our entire group on the Isla Del Sol. I will talk more about it later. the Isla Del Sol is a rather large island located in the middle of the Lake. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there, because our boat was an old fishing boat that maybe went 5-10 miles an hour???? Ruth, Maria, Erin, Suzanne, Karly, me, Craig, Justin, and Tracy.

If you can't tell I have a fetish with beautiful yellow buildings etc...

This is my friend Maria standing in the main harbor of Lake Titicaca, so pretty!!!

After our 1 1/2 hour boat ride we landed at Isla Del Sol where we had a traditional Bolivian/Incan lunch (shown below) which I must say was fantastic.

The large corn is called Choclo, along with potatoes, yucca, fried minnow-like fish from the lake, fave bean (large) and of course their amazing trout caught that morning along with boiled eggs. I have to say YUM!!! all served in blankets and we eat out of hand-made ceramic dishes. It was so simple without any preservatives or sugar, but I loved it, it still had great flavor!

Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) is an island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca.Geographically, the terrain is harsh; it is a rocky, hilly island. There are no motor vehicles or paved roads on the island. The main economic activity of the approximately 800 families on the island is farming, with fishing and tourism augmenting the subsistence economy.
There are over 80 ruins on the island. Most of these date to the Inca period circa the 15h century AD. Archaeologists have discovered evidence that people lived on the island as far back as the third millennium BCE. Many hills on the island contain agricultural terraces, which adapt steep and rocky terrain to agriculture.

I love the previous three pictures because they really demonstrate the beauty of Isla Del Sol and how remote it is. The area is very poor, but at the same time the people eat lots of trout from the lake and farm all their vegetables. The woman in the last picture is wearing the traditional indigenous clothing for Bolivia.

My friend made fun of me because I was chasing the lambs around trying to pet them. But I love this picture so much because it truly demonstrates the beauty of this island. It is not tropical by any means, more temperate, but still very beautiful. It's such a breath of fresh air to see such simple lives, and to literally breath clean air. Simplicity can bring a lot of happiness for many people. It makes you stop and think about what you think are necessities and which are not. Also, I just loved seeing other ways of life, so may people live agrarian centered lives and it is a way of life that I will never fully understand, but enjoy learning about.

This picture is literally taken on top of the Isa Del Sol peak. I am on top of the world here and what a beautiful world we live in!!!

The Highest City in the World

2011-01-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

So I have now been in La, Paz Bolivia for a couple weeks. This is a beautiful city of approx 20 million people. This is the highest city in the world.

Pedro de la Gasca, to whom the Spanish king had entrusted rule over the former Inca lands, commanded Captain Alonso de Mendoza to found a new city commemorating the end of the civil wars in Peru. Then the city of La Paz was founded on October 20th, 1548 under the name of La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora de La Paz (The City of Our Lady of Peace).

this is the The Pacha Mama a statue symbolizing the Mother Earth.

These two pictures are of an early 19th century Catholic church. I all of the south american "Plaza de Arma's" there is the main cathedral and usually a few government building including the capitol building which you see below in yellow. These buildings are beautiful and massive. it's hard to believe that they built them so long ago.

Me and my friend Craig tried Papaya ice cream for the first time. I have to say that it wasn't great, but I actually dislike papayas they have a really weird smell and taste. YUCK!

I'm on top of the world LITERALLY! I have to say coming to Bolivia has been such a gift and a blessing. There are so many amazing things to learn from other countries. Especially ones that are as poor as Bolivia. Even the little guys have so much we "big shot Amercan's" can learn from them.

What I love most about Bolivia thus far (my top 5)

I love that whenever you greet anyone it is with a hug and a kiss on the cheek
I love that they have 2 hour lunches, because they believe it is important to spend time with your family and eat and cook homemade food.
Because Bolivia is such a poor country they have what is called "medicina primero" which means primary medicine, which is not what you and I call our primary docs, it is actually the primary level of medicine meaning PREVENTION. They have to force doctors, nurses, and public health workers to educate their people in ways of prevention, because they do not have the resources or infrastructure to handle the secondary level which is treatment of diseases. In my clinic that i work in they spend a lot of time teaching the poor about sanitation, bathing, nutrition etc...
I love the Spanish language even though it is hard trying to understand it.
I love that each meal is formal. All my breakfast, lunches and dinners are on china with tea-cups and bread plates. Meals are supposed to be a celebration with one's family.

Here are the TOP 5 reasons I love the US:

we have indoor smoking regulations (I am soooo sick of being a smoker, even though I have never had a cigarette in my life, living here I might as well be one because 50% of Bolivia smokes all in my face).
I love that in the US people are not allowed to pee in the streets. First of all our streets do not stink to high heaven. But, yesterday a man just whips it out and pees right in front of me and everyone else. AHHHHH sooo gross :(
We can get loans to go to school. In Bolivia there are only a couple public universities and in order to get into one of them you have to score VERY high on your exams. Otherwise in order to attend the private universities you have to pay cash, which prevents the poorer students from attending.
I am so grateful that we have safe drinking water in the US, it's really a hassel to not even be able to brush your teeth with the tap water or don't get it in your eyes etc... for fear of infection.
I am grateful for our ease of living in the US. Even the poorer class in the US still has relative ease compared to the agrarian poor districts here that live in mud houses and work sun up to sun down for their food and income. In most places of the world people farm their food. There is no such thing as Safeway or Smith's. I don't want to take my abundance of food for granted. the children in my clinic are fed twice a day by our clinic, but do not get dinner at home because their parents have to feed the older children (who did not eat breakfast and lunch) so they go to bed with many tears

White Coat Ceremony

2011-01-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

The last couple months have been amazing and one of my greatest accomplishments occurred December 17th, 2010. I am not done with school, but there is a medical tradition that marks the transition from student to "student practitioner" this is called the White Coat Ceremony. It is when we are awarded our white coats after these many, many moths of grueling, intense studying (didactic work). I have to say it was truly one of my best memories and days of my schooling thus far. It's amazing to think I actually got through this part of it. All those late, late nights and early mornings and 8 hour classes are behind me now and will never again torment me :)!!

Here are a few highlights enjoy!

My #1 fan of all time (Jake). This journey has been just as hard for him as it has for me. He has been solid as a rock throughout the entire process. I do not lie when I say, I don't even know the last time I made dinner, (amongst many other household duties) he has pretty much taken on most of the daily life necessities. He does this with a huge smile on his face and with so much love. I admire his selflessness so much and will be entirely grateful for his support forever, because I know it has not been easy for him. But, I do have to say that his cooking ROCKS! We definitely found a secret talent of his. Thank you Jake, you are my best friend and nothing short of remarkable! It is when you go through things like this together, that I KNOW we were meant for each other, THANK YOU JAKEY!

My biggest fans! (mom and dad) thank you for making the trip for the weekend to be there with me, I know there were many, many times growing up where I was pushed to achieve far beyond what I thought I was capable of because of my parents love and expectations of me. You both are truly wonderful examples of hard work, determination and unending support/love for me. Thank you for always allowing me and helping to be the best that I can be! My sister Haley was there too, but I can't find a picture with her, thank you for coming. I love your spirit and joy that you bring to my life. I have no doubts that you will be 100 times more successful that I have been. Keep working hard and to my ENTIRE family THANK YOU for loving and supporting me even when I was ornery :)

Me and the American Academy of

Physician Assistant President

My Class (I am in the front row fourth to the right)!

Many of my awesome Professors

Me getting my white coat!

It is done (Phewwwww who would have
thought it would happen)!

Coroico

2011-01-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Located three hours from La Paz are the subtropical valleys known as the Yungas. The biggest town in the Yungas is Coroico, it sits on a small mountain slope just above a river with amazing views over the green forest-covered Andean foothills.

Coroico dates back to the colonial era and was used as a gold-mining outpost. Today, Coroico and the surrounding Yungas valleys are important agricultural areas. The Yungas is blessed with fertile land and excellent climate, which produce abundant cropsof coffee, fruits and coca for the markets of La Paz and the rest of the Altiplano region.

Also, Coroico and the surrounding villages in the Yungas valley make up one of the few places in Bolivia where you will see an African influence. Africans who were brought as slaves to work in the mines. When silver-mining declined they were moved to the Yungas to work on coca and other plantations. Slavery was later abolished in the 19th century and many remained in the Yungas growing fruit, coca and coffee on small farms. Many of these Afro-Bolivians communities are isolated in a handful of villages in the Yungas valley and are rarely visited by tourists.

Coroico is probably best known for its road that leads to it. Officially called the Yungas Road but also called Death Road or World's Most Dangerous Road because it once had more deaths on it per year than any other road in the world. But this road is now replaced by a new one and it is only open to bikers.

Here are my two new friends, Charlie and Jeena!

I love this picture because it shows the beautiful, poor cobblestone streets of Coroico and if you look to the left you can see the traditional dresses of the native women in Bolivia. (Ruth, me, Maria, Erin)

I just liked the view with this photo with my friend Erin. I love the yellow houses.

This is all the girls in my group just hanging out at the main square (Plaza de Arma's). Karen, me, Maria, Erin, Suzanne, Karly and Ruth in the front. All these girls have been in the program with me. They pretty much rock and have been so amazing to spend time with.

This is a tree that we thought was fun that we climbed before going canyoneering. This tree is located on steep mountainside between bushes of Coca (which can be made into cocaine) and coffee, and platanos (type of banana and other things)

BEFORE!

AFTER! Here we are in our canyoneering gear. as we will be canyoneering waterfalls and the river that carves right through the floor of the jungle surrounded by steep mountains.

Here I am getting ready for my turn to repel down this waterfall.

Soooo fun!

This isn't me, I didn't get one of myself, but this is one of the harder waterfalls to repel down because all your footing is behind the falls. amazing. The falls ranged from 10ft to approx 25-30ft.

We came off conqueror! After all the repelling, we floated down the river on our backs toward our lunch spot.

After that amazing canyoneering, we had to climb one of the steepest hikes ever, to get back up the other side of the mountain to the cars. So they could take us home on this narrow, dirt road carved right out of the mountain. These people have no fear of heights whatsoever, I just closed my eyes or looked the other way at the wall instead of the floor bellow.

me in front of the beautiful landscape.

Cuzco, Peru

2011-01-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from our Peru trip. The picture above is from CUZCO. these ruins are called Saqsaywaman, They are located just outside Cuzco up on a hill. I you look closely you will see how massive the stones are that make up these ruins. the larger the stones, the more advanced the culture was. So although when you look at macchu piccu there seems to be much more left than in Saqsaywaman, you can tell that Saq was built at the peak of the Incan empire and knowledge because of the sheer size, and how perfectly the stones fit together. Incan's did not use mortar, al the stones are held together strictly by the precision of the cutting of the stones. So of all the ruins that I will be showing to you Saq is the most advanced.

This is an herb that the Incan's used for medication to soothe their stomach's (it's some form of mint, but I can't remember the name).

Saq was the major military base for the Inca's because it could overlook the entire Cuzco valley and they could see their enemies approaching. Although in the end not much was left of the Inca's because the Spaniards came in and destroyed everything. The Spaniards believed that the Inca's were devils/demons, so only complete annihilation would make do for them. It's very unfortunate that such a large scale murdering was done in the name of "Christianity," very, very sad.

Turns out it wasn't very difficult for the Spaniards to do this because the Inca's were away at war with each-other. this is our tour guide Phelipe, he was great. He had been studying English for three years and did very well. A tour for these ruins cost around $8, very reasonable. One american dollar is equal to One Sol (peruvian money).

I think Llama's are pretty awesome!!!

here is the large scale picture of Saq. It is Located 2km from Cuzco. Together with the city of Cuzco, this monumental complex is considered the first of the new seven wonders of the world. The Incas called it the House of the Sun and the Spaniards called it a fortress because of its zig-zag shape and the 1536 revolution. The construction, which is made up of three platforms one on top of the other, was one of the most important religious complexes of its time. At the top there used to be three large buildings one being a temple, another an astronomy tower and another that I don't know . there used to be many houses and many thousands of residents.

This picture is one of my favorites because it demonstrates the beautiful countryside of Cuzco and you can see all the farming and green land for miles.

TAMBOMACHAY.-
Located 7km from Cusco at 3,700 meters above sea level, this site was popularly known as the "Inca's Baths". Researchers believe Tambomachay was an important center of worship of water. It is an archaeological complex made up of well-crafted canals, walls and windows which show the Incas' extraordinary architectural talents and their in-depth knowledge of hydraulics.

This is from an animal reserve which I fell in love with!!! More pictures from here to come, because Jake has those ones!! but amazing!

here is a photo of the local dance costumes worn in Peru, showing the native dances of Peru.

On New Years eve Jake and I ate at this great little italian restraunt and were serenaded with a local band which was sooooo good. We bought the CD!

Happy New Year 2011 (or Feliz neuvo ano!!!) we celebrated in the Plaza De Armas of Cuzco, but we only stayed until 11:00 because of the fireworks and firecrackers going off every minute filling the air with smoke and the free-flowing alcohol, but it was still fun to be apart of it for a short time! Yellow is the color for New year in Peru (probably many Latin American countries). I think it means money... not sure though.

On Jan 1st we took a private car far out into the countryside of Peru, we were driving all throught what is called the Sacred Valley. This valley is peppered with many Inca ruins and beautiful agricultural plots of land that climb up steep mountainsides. It is surrounded by steep mountains on all sides and has a beauituful peaceful feeling about it.

Here are some of my favorite ruins called Chinchero. There terraces were made by the Inca's in order to prevent erosion of their crops. for a long time the Peruvian government allowed the people to still cultivate this land, but because of misuse and the people not rotating the crops they are no longer used.

An alter of Chinchero

The beautiful streets of Chincero

These are salt deposits started by the Inca's but finished by the Spanish it is called Mora.

This beautiful crop-circle looking ruin is called Moray. I don't know much about it except in this particular place each level has a different temperature, sot that different crops were grown depending on the temperature. Various levels were used for experimentation and flowers too.

Moray

Moray, with the beautiful mountains in the background

The country side of Peru is amazing, and so beautiful, it is not tropical. but lush and green with large towering mountains and many, many farms. it is very humbling to see the hard lives and work that many of these native people do. Most do not have running water, or plumbing. They do not have tractors to farm their fields it is all done by hand from sun up to sun down. Hard, working loving people. their homes are small made from mud bricks. It is interesting to think that, truly American and some European countries live the way we do, the vast majority of the world is agricultural and poor. We definitely are very, very blessed despite our current economic downturn and political distress. My heart is heavy about the extreme poverty that it seemed MOST of the peruvian people lived in, yet many seemed very happy and hard working. It is definitely a myth that the poor are lazy... if anything they are much more hard working than I ever have been in my life.

These beautiful ruins are called Ollantaytambo they are ruins which are part of the Sacred Valley (along with Mora, Moray and Pisaq (which will be another post altogether). It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level (lower than Cuzco). This is where the 4 day Inca trail hike begins (which we did not do). The Inca trail is unique because the Inca's didn't have many paths to their cities, because they didn't want people finding them. The trails are only one/two persons wide often carved within sheer cliffs.

Ollantaytambo

Some more ruins of Ollantaytambo

Here is a picture of the tiny walk ways that were carved out of the cliff. Jake is in Red. Their cities are very high, usually on steep mountainsides.

Overall, if you want to be blown away with beauty, heights and ancient architecture; it is true that Peru is the Archeological capital of the world.

Peru Machu Picchu

2011-01-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Aguas Calientes

When we went to Machu Picchu we stayed at a little town called Aguas Calientes (hot water) which is right at the base of the mountains and dispatch point for Machu Picchu. This little city is special because it is tiny and you can only get there by train and there are NO cars in this little town. It is built up by a huge river in the bottom of a steep jungle canyon. It is so beautiful.

In Machu Picchu there is a peak called Wayna Picchu located in Machu Picchu. In the morning they only let 400 people climb to the top and after climbing it I know why. Although pictures never do justice to the steepness of it, the stairs in the above picture are at least a 45 degree angle and the bottom ends in a sheer cliff. the stairs are about 6 inches - 8 inches wide.

the hike consists of thousands of tiny steep stairs, it took Jake and I about an hour to get to the top. Macchu Piccu is 7500 feet above sea level and wayna picchu is almost 11, 000 feet above sea level. so the thin air is mostly what gets to you!

this is one of my favorite pictures because it demonstrates the cliff's and the steepness of the stairs.

IF you look closely you can see the Wayna Picchu trail winding up the side of this peak, so beautiful with all the foliage, because this is the beginning of the cloud rain forest.

I am normally not afraid of heights, but going down this stair case gave me the creeps. While climbing wayna Picchu i had two thoughts, the Incans were crazy to build this clear up in the sky off of shear cliffs, and HOW and WHY??? it's so amazing to see what the Incans could build they were truly amazing and very intelligent. But, up in the clouds and clear up high in sky you have an odd sense of serenity, but I guess I feel much more spiritual in the temple and church than I did in the sky :)

the House in the sky at the top of Wayna Picchu

because it was a cloudy day you can kind of see Macchu picchu far below underneath those clouds.

this is macchu picchu and that steep mountain in the background is Wayna picchu.

this is a temple at machu, something really fabulous about the incan's is that they did not use any mortar at all and the rocks often have a 13 degree angle which helps to avoid any seismic activity destruction. there were parts of macchu that were restored and even with our technology we could not replicate the perfect fit of the stones and the perfectly carved smooth lines of the rocks.

I absolutely loved the Llama's so any llama picture I could get was awesome!

A Halloween Legacy 2006-1010 and more to come next year!

2010-11-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

HALLOWEEN 2010 (SUPERMAN & SUPERGIRL)

HALLWEEN 2009 (DISCO'S DIVA'S)

HALLOWEEN 2008 (BIKER DUDES)

HALLOWEEN 2007 (VAMPIRES)

HALLOWEEN 2006 (FAIRY & MAFIA-MAN)

HALLOWEEN 2005 (???? I DON'T HAVE ANY PICTURES AND FOR THE LIFE OF ME CANNOT REMEMBER WHAT WE WERE, OR IF WE EVEN DRESSED UP????) OUR FIRST HALLOWEEN TOGETHER AND I CAN'T COMMENT!

CAN YOU FIND ME?

2010-10-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

MY OR SUITE LECTURE AND SKILLS LAB FROM YESTERDAY!
SEE IF YOU CAN FIND ME
HINT (I'M IN BLUE)

Is there such thing as absolute Solitude?

2010-10-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Standing outside an old mine from the 1950's

My dirt mustache

Because my school is Jewish, I celebrated the lovely holiday of Yom Kippor all last week and I went home to visit my family (while Jake stayed at home and worked). A highlight was (one of many) going to Goblin Valley with my dad, sister Haley and some uncles and cousins. Goblin Valley is an ATV paradise where you can ride for miles and miles into otherwise non-reachable gems of dessert. Our first ride was a 60 mile loop, we started at 10:30 AM and ended at 6:00 PM. We had only a few mishaps due to rocks breaking the glass oil gage window and my dad stuffing it with a washcloth, until going back to camp and a rock hitting off the chain of another ATV and I was high centered a few times. Other than that a great, amazing experience, one I will never forget.

My New "Medical" Blog

2010-09-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

So I finally made another blog, beause I had a lot of people having difficulties with my medical posts on my personal blog, sooooo after a lot of work (because I don't know how to do this kind of stuff very well) and enlisting my sister Sara to design it for me, I have my new PA/medical blog

http://kimsmedicalmeandering.blogspot.com/

I have created a Food Friday Post for today so take a look and enjoy.

Of course we are still keeping our current blog. Please become followers of my new blog, as I have been getting a lot of feedback from people really liking it, but I want to see who you are!

Thanks everyone!

Til' we meet again! Kim

Philadelphia & New York! Our vacation three weeks ago!

2010-09-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

So over my intercession break, Jake and I completed one of our dreams. We went to New York! First we flew into Philadelphia and me up with my sister Sara who was living in Cherry Hill NJ. We had such a good time, Cody and Sara work for Pinacle Security and they just had someone move out of the Pinacle housing and so Jake and I had our OWN apartment!!!! It was a blast. The first thing we did was go to the Jersey Shore (no I didn't see Snooki???). I have to say it was one of the very best beach days I have ever had. I absolutely was in heaven.

Me obviously (self portrait) I do those a lot!

Jake and Cody decided to build a huge hole in the sand (??? don't get it) but it was very successful! I think they dug this hole for an hour :)

Sara (my sister) who is so cutely pregnant and Cody!

As you can see Jake was full of ENTHUSIASM upon arrival to the beach!!! He loves the beach!

This little guy, WAS MY MOST FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP (no offense Sara & Cody & Jake). This is Sara's dog Peanut! he is awesome and I just love him, I wanted to take him home with me :)

Me again, lets just say I normally don't like swimsuit pictures on my blog, but I want some proof someday that I have not gained myself in body weight in PA school YET!!! hahahaha hopefully we can keep it that way (a good 10 lbs or so is fine)

After the Jersey shore, the next day we went to downtown Philadelphia and our first stop was the Betsy Ross House. If you notice my sister and I wore red, white and blue in honor of our historical tour, yes maybe we are annoying. Notice that Jake did not dress for the occasion!

Here Jake is making "pretend" homemade food at Betsy's house! It was funny cuz, this was one of our favorite parts of the house!

Me making a Turkey pot pie in the wood burning oven, ahhhh the joys of modern cooking that we don't have to deal with that :)

Next we went to the oldest inhabited street in the US, "Elfreth's Alley." It was so charming and I adore old architecture and walking down this historic street was a blast to the past.

So pretty, RIGHT!

Of course the Liberty Bell!

My sister and I in front of Independance Hall, I was so bummed because there were not any more tickets for the day, so I missed out on one of my lifelong dreams, of standing in the same room as John Adams! But, honestly it was just as lovely on the outside, as I'm sure it is inside.

Next we of course had to get the famous "Philly-cheese-steak" at this cute diner!

Another great attraction we visited was the Ben Franklin Institute. Of course you have me in front of my favorite museum attraction "The Heart" you actually walk through the heart on sort of a "little tour." It was fantastic!!!

Jake and Cody inside the Left Ventricle of the heart, sooooo awesome (notice red & blue and me in white and blue... we are so patriotic!).

Jake playing with small crane!

We attended the Nefertiti Exibit, we were not able to take pictures in the exhibit, so we took pictures in the gift shop. It was so interesting and best of all the Nefertiti exhibit is sponsored by Hilti (Jake's company).

From Philly we then went to NY, NY! First off, I thought SF had a lot of people, NY blows everything out of the water, so amazing!

Then comes my most favorite part of our entire trip, Mary Poppins on Broadway!!! This play was so amazing, I was in love with it the entire time. Jake was so awesome and bought me tickets to see it, he absolutely loved it too, HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

This is me trying the world famous Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity. BTW if you noticed a change in length of my hair from beginning to now, my sister took me to the ghetto's of Philly where I had it done for ultra cheep, the woman who put them in didn't even speak enlish. This was my anniversary present from Jake! He's so sweet! BTW I didn't love the frozen hot chocolate, just OK.

Jake with his TO DIE FOR cheesecake at Seredipity.

Times Square was one of my favorite things, it glows like crazy at night and was so chuck full of people and things that it could almost make you dizzy. Jake and I sat on some little tables with creme sodas and watched people and looked at the lights and adds for over an hour at 11:00 PM, such an experience. A bit crazy there, but truly a fun experience.

We did not do the Statue of Lady tour, so if you look really close at this picture you can see her in the background (very small).

And last but not least the NY, NY Temple. My friend told me that the temple walls are built again on the inside, so that they do not touch the world in any way. So the outer walls that you see are not the actual temple walls!

A so concludes our adventure, which was so fully enjoyed!

Two fantastic blog posts; extremely thought provoking!

2010-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

I do not have anything from myself today as the rigors of school find me almost a basket case :) But, I wanted to share a link to my sisters blog. When I read both of these posts I fell in love with them. My sister has a real gift for writing and always has, this is something I lack and I often HATE writing (unless it's blog posts about vaccines or food!).

The first is about our attitudes and our ability and freedom to change them. I loved this post and absolutely loved how it made me think deeply inside myself and remember that I always have control over any situation (it just might not be how I want it). That control is my attitude. ENJOY here!

The next post by my sister (Sara), is based on an article written by an LDS San Jose State professor (who is Sara's friends mom). The article particularily focuses on differentiation between envy and competition. The actual article is entitled "Toward a More Authentic Sisterhood." This article addresses LDS women and how to better support, uplift and prize one another. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read this article and ponder many of it's points. I especially like Sara's take on it! ENJOY this post here!

Many days of drought!!!

2010-08-22T17:39:00.003-07:00

I know it's been three weeks since I've posted for anyone who is interested. I was in finals week and then in NY for a week and then my mom was visiting for a week and on top of that, no internet installed in my new house yet! So stay tuned if you like my posts for new ones this week!

TTYS, Kim

The First Vaccine Ever Invented: Smallpox Vaccine

2010-07-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Many people think of vaccination as a modern invention, but the actual concept of vaccination originates in 1798 when the smallpox vaccine was developed. The virus which combats smallpox was discovered a few years later, is still the exact virus we use in our current vaccine. Other vaccines developed in the early 1900's include vaccines for the Plague, Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough), TB and Tetanus. Over the years many more vaccines have been developed. There are currently two vaccines (Hep B and HPV) which have the power to combat cancer.

Vaccination is the best, most cost effective, and easiest mode of disease prevention in the entire world!

Today I wanted to write about the history and miraculous outcome of the very first vaccination ever created, THE SMALLPOX VACCINE.

CURRENTLY SMALLPOX IS COMPLETELY ERADICATED WORLD-WIDE; THIS IS DUE TO VACCINATIONS

In the early 1900's 13 million people died from smallpox and it has mortality as high as 80% in children.

smallpox 1912
The smallpox virus is one of the largest, most complicated viruses in nature. Smallpox virus has the longest genome of any virus in the world,187 genes, in comparison HIV/AIDS virus only has 10 genes!

The earliest account of smallpox"virulation" (i.e. vaccination) is from as early as 1000 BC in India physicians would take a scab from a smallpox sore and grind it to powder. The ground powder would then be blown into patients noses. Perhaps of more significance is, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was the wife of a Brittish Commissioner serving in the Ottamin Empire of Turkey, when she learned about the ancient practice of virulation, she "vaccinated" her children, then brought the vaccination/concept to her country of origin, Brittian. The "vaccination" was used in the royal family which fueled support from the European public.

The problem with this powder "vaccination" was that 2-3% ended up contracting smallpox from it, and ultimately dying as a result of the illness. Despite this 2-3%, the use of this "vaccine" reduced contraction of smallpox and therefore the death rate ten fold and determined worth-the-cost.

Edward Anthony Jenner was the creator and inventor of the current vaccine. He discovered that you could use "cow-pox" instead of "human-pox" (i.e. smallpox), without the 2-3% mortality rate. This was discovered by following a patient of his whom was a milk maid. Milk maids, were known to have very beautiful skin. Their beautiful skin was because these maids never contracted smallpox, therefore they never developed the insidious scarring which results from smallpox. Jenner found that milk maids contracted "cow-pox," as a few lesions, only on their hands. It became apparent to him that exposure to the "cow-pox" created a type of immunity against smallpox. So Jenner made a vaccine from the cow-pox, eliminating that 2-3% mortality, and vaccinated his own son to prove it's efficacy.

Even though Jenner's smallpox vaccine was developed in the 1790's, smallpox still raged on, because of production and transportation limitations.

In 1855 the US government mandated that all school age children get vaccinated for small pox, this legislation promoted mass production and access nationwide.

D.A. Henderson with his Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2002

For a while the last cases of US small pox were in 1949, of 8 people and two died. That was until we utilized mass air-travel. This travel gave the US access to India and Brazil which had raging epidemics of smallpox. The CDC calculated how quickly smallpox could spread via air travel, only 14-21 days to a raging epidemic. This air-travel dilemma fueled the desire to eliminate the epidemic entirely. In 1967 Dr. Donald Henderson led a team with the goal to completely eliminate smallpox epidemics worldwide. WHO workers vaccinated 25 million people but, there were still many un-vaccinated persons. With a disease that's as infectious as smallpox, you MUST HAVE 98% of the population vaccinated in order to prevent spread. The next mass vaccination of smallpox was started soon after in Sierra Leone, which had the highest levels of smallpox world wide. Within 9 months small pox was eradicated entirely in Sierra Leone.

WHO officially certified smallpox elimination, December 1979. This declaration occurred 2 years after the last case of recorded smallpox in a 23 year old man named Ali Maow Maalin from Somalia.

This eradication included the use

of over 100 million vaccines worldwide

After many, many years presently the smallpox vaccine is no longer needed or used (except for the Commander in Chief and possibly the militia). Three vials of the smallpox virus exist, they are held in three, level four, high security facilities and are carefully guarded.

In some states routine vaccinations are not mandatory. But, please it is my personal opinion which is also shared by the medical community at large, THAT YOU PLEASE VACCINATE, I hope this story proves to be an excellent example of vaccination miracles!

As always remember I am a Physician Assistant student, I am not certified (yet!) and I am not a physician. The comments on my blog come from lectures I attend in school, personal thoughts and opinions on the subject and other sources. Before making any health care changes, please talk with your doctor first! Kim :)

Food Friday: Onions

2010-07-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Arcimboldo's oil painting: Summer

So I have always been interested in onions, because #1 I LOVE them, #2 so many people HATE them, #3 a few women in my ward boil onion skins in water and drink the water when they have a cold and they say the cold goes away within the day, #4 Shreck describes himself as being an onion, and who doesn't want to be more like shreck right (or avoid it???) :)

So as usually I get a lot of my information from one of my favorite books:

Did you know... the thickness of an onion's skin has been used o predict how bad the next winter will be? Thin skin means a mild winter and thick indicates a rough winter. .... so my fellow Utah friends, grow a few onions in your garden and get a heads up on the winter before it happens and tell all your friends how bad it's going to be and they will think you are so smart!

Onions are members of the lily family... and there are two types: 1. bulb-forming, 2. perennial

The origin of the onion is believed to be in Asia where 5,000 year old onion gardens have been excavated. Pharaohs were buried with onions as a sign of eternity. The Romans believed the onion could cure any ailment. During the middle ages onions could be used as currency, and even a FANTASTIC WEDDING GIFT! (wow, hasn't life changed... could imagine getting an onion for your wedding???).

Onions contain a compound called QUERCETINE, A POWERFUL FLAVINOID ANTIOXIDANT. Onions are also an excellent source of fiber, vitamin C & folate. Phyotochemicals found in onions have shown to reduce the risk of some cancers!

Onions can be used for:

CANCER: yellow onions were the fourth highest in anticancer-growth activity. Onions display moderate levels of cancer-protective activity.
LUNG CANCER: Quercetin has been show to have beneficial affects vs. lung cancer.
COLON AND LIVER CANCER: strong-tasting (yellow & shallots) do a better job of inhibiting the growth of liver and colon cancer.
PROSTATE CANCER: the strongest risk reduction factors for prostate cancer were onions, cereals and grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.
HEART HEALTH: (my favorite reason for eating onions, and probably most applicable to you!). sulfides found in onions decreases blood clotting, and significantly LOWERS YOUR LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVEL. When you decrease the clotting properties of your blood it REDUCES YOUR RISK OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS (narrowing of the arteries by fatty plaque buildup!!), HEAR DISEASE, HEART ATTACK AND STROKE.

A couple months ago I came across an old 1900's custom, which said that onions have the ability to attract germs and sickness from the air. It went on to say that as far back as 1900 someone with a flu or cold, would put an onion by their bed, and when they wake up the onion would be black. It also relates, that the sickness would be gone or decreased. In the early 1900's hospitals and homeowners used to put onions in bowls next to patients beds to help absorb bacteria. This long-standing belief, is discredited by many scientists, because they say that virus and bacterial are transmitted via contact, not as much via air particles and that an onion wouldn't have the abilities to, in essence, be a magnet for these air-bound germs. However, there have been no scientific studies regarding cut onions but it is highly discredited by scientists (http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/onion.asp).

My cute, Philipino friend in my ward told me that in her culture they boil onion skins in water and drink it when they are sick and she said she is never sick for long. Given what we know about onions, the boiling does not rely on the traveling through the air, it is soaked into the water.

Many high end restaurants never used previously chopped onions. They always use fresh ones and throw away any left overs, because, not only the smell that fills the fridge, and the proposed belief that they attract a lot of bacteria. This could be a good reason why onions have such thick skin and so many layers, so air does not have access to it!

TIPS FOR NOT CRYING WHILE CUTTING ONIONS: all methods for reducing the volatility of the sulfide that causes the irritation.

Peeling and cutting under running water,
Chopping near a gas flame,
Refrigerating onions before chopping,

Thanks for reading, hope this was helpful. I am a Physician Assistant Student, I am not certified yet, and I am not a doctor. Please talk with your doctor before making any lifestyle changes or medication changes. My blog is often a conglomeration of my opinions, ideas, views, classroom lectures, past knowledge and resources from books, websites and research; not all of it is solid fact or everyone's beliefs and opinions.

The Common Cold

2010-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

THE COMMON COLD - A.K.A. UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTION (URI). The common cold is CAUSED BY A VIRUS. They are the MOST FREQUENT human illness. 25 million seeks care for colds/year in the USA and SADLY 30% RESULT IN ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTIONS!!!

The CC is actually a HUGE economic burden because it is the most common cause of missing work and school, totaling 500 million per/yr.

CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS OF AGE, WILL USUALLY GET 6-8 COLDS PER YEAR.

CHILDREN WILL OFTEN HAVE ONE COLD PER MONTH SEPT-APRIL

ADULTS WILL USUALLY GET 2-3 COLDS PER YEAR.

......and you may ask..... Why start in September.... Is this because that is when the COLD WEATHER sets in???? Actually... it is scientifically proven that cold weather does not cause or affect a cold, .... IT IS MORE LIKELY DUE TO ATTENDING SCHOOL WITH MANY OTHER LITTLE KIDS, AND WE ALL STAY INSIDE WITH EACH OTHER AND OUR BEST BUDDIES GERMS! But, to give the "weather" hypothesis some credit, it has been shown that more viruses survive LONGER in winter when the indoor humidity is actually quite low.

The ways that URI's are spread, in order are:

HAND CONTACT
Small Air droplets (coughing, sneezing)
Large Air Droplets (this occurs when you get the virus directly on your mucus membranes -i.e. eyes, nasal passages, mouth)

IT is important to remember two things:

HAND WASHING IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO PREVENT COLDS, this is because of #2..
>90% of people have NO VIRUS IN THEIR SALIVA therefore air droplets are less virulent (think of how snot is not saliva and little kids are touching their snotty noses and touching your hands etc....)

it is NORMAL for your snot to start clear and turn white then yellowish-green later. It can still be a common cold even with green snot. In fact colored snot (i.e. green) is a NORMAL self-limited phase of the common cold.

THERE IS NO CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD.  ANTIBIOTICS PLAY NO ROLE (note anti -bacterial NOT anti-viral and the CC is VIRAL).

THERE IS A 1 IN 4,000 CHANCE THAT AN ANTIBIOTIC WILL HELP THE COMMON COLD. if you take antibiotics for a cold they will eventually lead to increased resistance and lead to more serious resistance infections.

The best way to PREVENT a common cold is:

FREQUENT HAND WASHING (good old soap and water)
Do not touch eyes or your nose
COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO CROOK OF ARM, OR INTO SHIRT, not hands!!!
Vitamin C (200-500 mg daily)

Many over the counter medications advertised for colds are good, they mostly just help with the symptoms of the cold, not to cure the cold. BUT PARENTS USE MEASURING SPOONS WHEN DOSING THE MEDICATIONS, because a basic kitchen T-SPOON from the store is around 2-10 mL, whereas a MEDICAL dosage is based off of a BAKING MEASURING T-SPOON IS, WHICH IS 5 ML. Be careful not to use the "large" spoons, because they are about 15 mL. The thing to remember is your basic kitchen spoon is extermely variable and you could easily overdose your child by not using BAKING MEASURING SPOONS.

Does Your Child Get EAR INFECTIONS???? The #1 reason children 6 mo. -3 years old!!!

2010-07-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

EAR INFECTIONS - I.E. OTITIS MEDIA (AOM) IS THE #1 DIAGNOSIS FOR SICK CHILDREN BETWEEN AGES OF 6 MO'S - 3 YEARS OLD!!!

by the age of 1, 60-80% of kids will have had at least 1 episode of AOM; 80-90% BY AGE 2-3 YEARS!!! AND 75% of kids will have RECURRENT AOM!!! (I want to BOLD everything in this post and put tonz of !!!! everywhere)!

AOM is the #1 reason that antibiotics are prescribed to kids.

30% of ALL antibiotic prescriptions are for KIDS.

INFANTS SPEND APPROX 42 DAYS ON ANTIBIOTICS FOR AOM IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE AND 49 DAYS IN THEIR 2ND YEAR OF LIFE!

The annual cost of these antibiotics total $5 billion per year, and of that $5 billion 40% OF IS SPENT ON KIDS 1-3 YEARS OLD!!! AOM has increased markedly from the 70's to the 90's there are many hypotheses as to why this is. The leading explanation is because there are more children in daycare, due to women moving into the workforce vs. staying home.

A big reason why AOM occurs mostly in children and not adults is because the anatomy of their Eustachian tubes (the tubes that connect the ear to the nose for drainage) are immature and their immune response is immature too!

Because the Childs tubes are more FLAT vs. the adults which are DOWNWARD SLOPING this causes a decrease in drainage and fluid to get stuck.

Some major Risk factors for getting AOM:

BOTTLE FEEDING WHILE LAYING DOWN, DO NOT PUT THE CHILD TO BED WITH A BOTTLE. the reason is because the E.Tubes function in a Pressure-equalizer-type-role, and when you lay down the pressure in your head changes and can actually suck fluid inside the tube. Also the fluid can travel in that direction more easily because gravity is no longer helping the milk to go into the stomach. Try to always feed with a bottle while at least sitting up, or laying partially (not flat) how about 30-45 degree angle!
RESPIRATORY VIRUSES & BACTERIA this will often occur because of the fluid in the E.Tubes, because V&B love moist environments - the perfect home for infection.
DAYCARE- increases exposure to virus's and bacteria, at a younger and more vulnerable age vs. home care. Often daycare cannot be eliminated, but try and look for smaller daycares with less children vs. large classes.
PACIFIER USE (unsure exactly why, probably has to do with the eustachian tube location)
FAMILY HISTORY
THE SEASON (i.e. winter...)
MALES are more likely to get it than females
SMOKING

BREASTFEEDING IS PROTECTIVE VS. AOM! This is partially because mother's milk has inherent antibodies that she provides to the child for their immunity while their immunity is still developing.

Look for my installment #2 next week on Ear Infections with some really interesting new research regarding how ear infections are linked to skin irritation and asthma! And what you can do to try and stop the Ear infection BEFORE it even begins.

Food Friday: Honey "One of the few non-perishable foods in the world"

2010-07-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

So I have always been interested in honey, because a long time ago I heard that HONEY has ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES and is a traditional topical treatment for infected wounds. According to Dr. Charles Molan It can be effective on antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It is one of the only things on this earth that DOES NOT support bacterial life. It is important to note that different types of honey have varying amounts of antibacterial activity. It has been determined that Manuka Honey from New Zealand has the highest amount of antibacterial properties than any other type of honey.

so a little info: bees travel an average of 55,000 miles and need to tap over two million flowers just to bring one pound of honey!!! Bees have been producing honey for over 100 million years. The color and flavor of the honey depends on the bees' nectar source (blossoms).

The benefits of honey have been documented as far back as Babylonian writings. Queen Cleopatra used to take milk and honey baths to maintain her youthful skin.

Honey has been shown to help the following disease conditions:

decrease CHOLESTEROL
Aided in protection against COLITIS (which is an intestinal infection/inflammation)
CANCER: significantly decreased tumor growth in mice when fed honey.
WOUND-HEALING: in a children's hospital in Germany for three years researchers used a special preparation of honey called Medihoney, and as a result significant reduction in even the most resistant wound infections were observed.

DO NOT GIVE HONEY TO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF ONE YEAR, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO KILL BOTULISM SPORES THAT LIE WITHIN

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/cga/lowres/cgan711l.jpg

Whooping Cough Vaccine - DTaP

2010-07-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

So in my class yesterday the topic was WHOOPING COUGH. It is of importance for California because we have started to see a re-surgance of it lately, it has been labeled an epidemic. It is important to understand that most of us consider an epidemic as a huge massive outbreak of disease and often we have a hard time treating that disease or the sheer number of people who have the disease. But, another type of epidemic is in the case of whooping cough. Whooping Cough used to be nearly extinct due to vaccines and so therefore even if a couple hundred persons get it (50,000 since 2005), it is considered an epidemic due to how serious it is, lack of treatments and the fact that it is avoidable.

The reason an outbreak has been seen in WHOOPING COUGH is due to LACK OF VACCINATION, and even more important LACK OF BOOSTER VACCINES CONTAINING THE DTaP VACCINE (you get these when 11 or 12). Over 50,000 cases have been documented since 2005!!!

When you are 12ish you are supposed to get a "booster" shot which keeps your childhood vaccines active and keeping them working. But, the booster does not often contain the DTaP vaccine which is the booster for whooping cough. So that booster must be obtained separate from the booster. The second piece of the puzzle is due to a decrease in vaccination of children, and then these children contract the cough (previously extinct) and then pass it to the other "non-boosted" youth AND adults.

Now when it comes to vaccination, I like to look at the benefits in particular; the SERIOUSNESS of the illnesses they prevent.

To illustrate this example, is one of the most contractible and serious preventable-diseases is whooping cough.

If you were standing in a large room speaking to 150 people, and you were infected with whooping cough approx 142 (95%) of those people would contract Whooping Cough. Whooping Cough is spread via "aerosol," which means it spreads VERY, VERY, RAPIDLY through the air and your breath.

Whooping cough once contracted lasts 1 1/2 months to 3 months. The cough starts as a regular upper respiratory failure, but after a couple weeks, it changes and the cough becomes so intense that it actually causes CONVULSIONS of the body, to the point where you have almost no control of yourself (almost seizure-like), this stage lasts approximately 2-4 weeks. One of the biggest problems with whooping cough is not just the convulsions, but because it decreases your respiratory immunity it turns your lungs and body into a very susceptible breeding ground for other secondary infections.

So how is it YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN can avoid getting this disease? MAKE SURE TO OBTAIN THE BOOSTER SHOT CALLED "DTaP," AROUND THE AGE OF 14ish or if you never had had one at 14, This is because the whooping Cough Vaccine given for your kindergarten shots only lasts approximately 10 years, so once it wears off, if you come in contact with anyone who has it, YOU WILL GET IT and YOU WILL GIVE IT TO OTHERS AROUND YOU.

hope this was helpful and I didn't completely loose anyone, as I sometimes am unsure how to explain this stuff.

Medicine Highlight: ASPIRIN

2010-07-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

ASPIRIN A MODERN MEDICAL MIRACLE

Aspirin really is ONE OF THE MOST FABULOUS DRUGS on the market FOR CERTAIN CONDITIONS!

The father of modern medicine was Hippocrates, who lived sometime between 460 B.C and 377 B.C. Hippocrates was left historical records of pain relief treatments, including the use of powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help heal headaches, pains and fevers.

By 1829, scientists discovered that it was the compound called SALICIN in willow plants which HAD PAIN RELIEVING PROPERTIES!
Because Salicin was tough on stomachs, a means of 'buffering' (i.e. decreasing stomach effects) was searched for. In 1853, Charles Frederic Gerhardt, neutralized salicin by buffering it with sodium and acetyl chloride, creating acetylsalicylic acid- what we currently call ASPIRIN. Gerhardt never sold or marketed his medical miracle. So along came a man called, Felix Hoffmann who convinced his employer, Bayer to market the new wonder drug. Aspirin was patented on February 27, 1900.

File:Bayer Aspirin ad, NYT, February 19, 1917

Some uses for aspirin include:

Stroke,
PREVENTION of blood clots
Painful periods
Fever,
Headache Disorder,
HEART ATTACK and HEART ATTACK PREVENTION
Pain,
various forms of arthritis

Do not use aspirin if:

pregnant, and especially if you are in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy
You are breast feeding
YOU ARE A CHILD!!!
you are allergic to "salicylates"
if you have an ulcer
If you have a "bleeding disorder" such as anemia or decrease in clotting factors

To highlight aspirins amazing properties, it truly is very effective at managing pain. But, according to many of my professors, one of the best preventative measure you can take regarding avoiding a heart attack is to keep an aspirin in your wallet or purse. When you feel chest pain or feel a heart attack beginning, one of the best ways to decrease the extent of the heart damage is to CHEW AN ASPIRIN. This has been proven to be one of the best MEASURES YOU CAN TAKE TO TREAT A HEART ATTACK, YOURSELF BEFORE THE AMBULANCE ARRIVES. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! So You, yourself must keep an aspirin in your wallet at all times, an tell your parents, grandparents and spouses to do the same.

It is important to understand HOW aspirin is able to accomplish this miracle. The reason is because of it's mode of action and how it is absorbed in the body. THERE ARE ONLY TWO SUBSTANCES THAT ARE ABSORBED IN THE STOMACH: ALCOHOL AND ASPIRIN, versus other drugs and substances have to run their course through your intestines before absorbed and therefore take a much longer time to take effect in the body. Once absorbed, Aspirin works in three functions: anti-inflammatory (i.e. decreases pain), anti-pyretic (i.e. decreases fever) and a POTENT ANTI-COAGULANT (i.e. stops blood from clotting). It is the clotting blood that is causing a heart attack, you can stop FURTHER clotting.

Also, according to pharmacology one of the best ways to PREVENT A FIRST-TIME HEART ATTACK, is to take a "BABY ASPIRIN" (I.E. 81 MG) Because the dosage is soooo small, there are virtually no side effects associated with it (unless you are allergic to aspirin). One "baby aspirin" can affect and alter the clotting properties of your blood for many days (in a good way!). So I would ADVISE ANYONE WITH A STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF HEART ATTACK, to start taking a "baby 81 mg aspirin" every day or every other day. Because the potential this little dosage has to stop a FIRST HEART ATTACK is very high!!!

The most significant side effects associated with aspirin include:

Abdominal Pain with Cramps,
Stomach Irritation,
Heartburn,
Nausea,
Vomiting

Hope this was helpful for all my fellow blogging friends!

Kim

Sources include: www.emedicine.com, www.cartoonstock.com, and

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blaspirin.htm

Old Habits Can and Should Often be Changed When it Comes to Health Care!

2010-07-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

So I don't know if many of you know that because I am completely not realistic about life sometimes, I was crazy enough to choose the ONLY PA program in the country which is a dual degree with Masters in Public Health. Now, the truth is that I absolutely love public health topics because the are so relevent to EVERYONE. So I thought I would enlighten your minds with a recent topic from one of my classes and the one of the sources comes from a NY Times article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/business/22geisinger.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

So when it comes to health care costs MANY OF US KNOW, medicine is not cheap, so this obviously affects you and I. If I could describe the way most PRIMARY CARE offices work (this is your regular physician you see often), because the physician is payed per procedure or per patient, in order to cover costs of not only the physicians salary, but of the staff, and personell running the "business." it is in the offices best interest to see as many patients as will be allowed. which turns out being about a 15 minute appointment per patient.

So right now the way the reimbursement system works is, practitioners are paid based on sheer quantity of visits, NOT BASED ON QUALITY. At this point a practitioner is not compensated for any instruction, life-style modifications (i.e. exercise instruction etc...) and the current medical system does not support PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE, it really supports TREATMENT OF EXISTING CONDITIONS.

So in this article it highlights an Eastern insurance company who is experimenting with novel reimbursement ideas. This company pays for multiple nurses for each doctor, and their entire role is to manage and keep up with chronically ill patients. They are available for phone calls every day of the week, and often end of conversating with these chronically ill patients (i.e. diabetic patients) up to once a week. This has shown to drastically decrease ER visits and further progression of these chronic diseases to extremely expensive and very sick people. The doctor is also compensated for PT EDUCATION REGARDING PREVENTATIVE MEASURES, and it also available for for appointments. When the insurance company saves money based on patients not being so sick and decreases in hospital visits, the saved money is given to practitioners as incentives to continue practicing more preventative medicine.

It really is quite novel, and it is important to understand that there are many problems with the health-care system as is. It will take major change on the part of not only practitioners, but insurance companies too. BUT THE GOOD THING IN ALL OF THIS CHANGE, IS THAT IT IS CREATED IN ORDER TO BENEFIT THE PATIENT AND CREATE MORE PATIENT CENTERED CARE, not insurance dominated and quantity dominated.

Anyways I am always interested in improving the health of communities and individuals and making care much more quality and prevention driven.

Food Friday: Walnuts and the link between good sleep!!!!

2010-07-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

So when I was doing my undergraduate degree, my professor Andy Anderson, would always tell us "women" to eat a handful of walnuts a day and it would cure our "womanly problems," he would always tell us that if we did anything better for our health, eating walnuts would be the very best.

So, I decided to figure out why...

Walnuts contain a good amount of MELATONIN, a hormone that protects cells from oxidative damage and AIDS IN NORMAL SLEEP PATTERNS.

Walnuts have have the highest level of omega-3 fats compared to any other nut. A one-ounce serving contains 2.6 grams of omega-3 fatty acid, providing TWO-HUNDRED PERCENT of the recommended daily value. Omega-3 acids are also excellent for raising HDL cholesterol. Now a discussion regarding HDL/LDL/triglyceride cholesterol is a whole other post, but to make a long story short. When trying to reduce cholesterol in MEN, reducing LDL cholesterol is the best way to avoid a heart attack and sclerosis of the arteries. But, in WOMEN, RAISING HDL CHOLESTEROL IS THE BEST WAY TO AVOID SCARRING OF YOUR ARTERIES AND A HEART ATTACK.

Walnuts are also a good source of B vitamins (which are associated with high energy levels), especially thiamine b6, folic acid, and minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium and copper. They are also an great source of gamma-tocopherol, a type of vitamin E which is helpful in fighting BREAST, prostate, and colon cancer. They are also rich in antioxidants and anticarcinogenic properties.

Petrified walnut shells had been found in Southwestern France dating back more than eight thousand years. There are even inscriptions found on clay tablets speaking of walnut groves in Mesopotamia as far back as 2000 BC. Many ancient cultures considered walnuts "brain food" because they looked like "little brains." In Asia students would munch on walnuts to improve their recall, and they believed that walnuts could help fight amnesia, treat pain and aide in digestion.

Some other benefits of consuming walnuts:

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: they have been found to reduce overeating. Though they are high in fat (like ALL nuts) they have not been found to cause weight gain.
SLEEP: walnuts contain MELATONIN which is a powerful antioxidant, which is essential for sleep. Researchers found that adding walnuts to the diet increased blood levels of melatonin 3-fold.
DIABETES: walnuts may improve insulin resistance in those with type 2 diabetes.

P.S. remember that although nuts are REALLY good for you, they are HIGH in calories. So do not overeat them.

Food Friday: Yogurt, Cacliums Supreme Queen!

2010-07-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

So every Friday I thought I would highlight a certain food that I have heard about in my classes and then I also look it up in my book "101 foods that could save your life" by David Grotto (sweet book).

So today I thought I would post about yogurt. When most of us think about calcium we think about milk (1% 300 mg), but turns out there is almost 30% more calcium in yogurt (approx 389 mg calcium). Yogurt is the highest source of calcium and is highly recommended for women (women MUST eat the recommended amount of calcium every day!!!!) to eat a 6 oz cup EVERY DAY But, try to find varieties that do not have High Fructose Corn Syrup, so just look on the back of the cup.

Another benefit of yogurt is that it is considered a PROBIOTIC (helps digestion), because it contains bacteria that produce lactic acid. the consumption of these bacteria is beneficial for boosting the immune system, enhancing INTESTINAL TRACT FUNCTIONING, lessening symptoms of lactos intolerance and reducing the risk of certain cancers.

When choosing a yogurt, remember that they do have sugar in them so try to find one with REAL SUGAR not High Fructose Corn Syrup and try to find one with less than 20 grams of sugar or preferrably less than 15 grams (highly unlikely).

Many women struggle with yeast infections. Eating yogurt that contains LIVE CULTURES OF LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS (should say on the back) on a daily basis will introduce good bacteria and help treat yeast infections.

Yogurt is one of the oldest foods in recorded history, it is believed to date back as far as 10,000 years (in Turkey).Civilizations recognized yogurt's digestive health benefits and spoke of yogurt's "cleansing" attributes and contribution to longevity. Elie Metchnikoff from the Pasteur Institute won a Nobel Prize for isolating the cultures used to make yogurt (20th century).

Yogurt is also shown to benefit the folowing:

Reduction in odor-inducing bacteria of the mouth (i.e. bad breath!!)
Found to reduce arthritic inflammation of rats (i.e. reduce arthritis)
Improves LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios (i.e. good heart health)
Shown to increase anticancer activity towards colon cancer.
Ability to suppress H. Pylori (main bacteria in your stomach which can create ulcers), decreased the infection.

The Most Inexpensive, Easiest, and No-Effort Way to Nearly Eliminate Infectious Disease!!!

2010-07-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to note themes that keep popping up in random places, and I really like the concept of avoiding disease rather than getting it, and then having to fix and treat it.

So I was thinking the other day, Is washing your hand after going to the bathroom really necessary? In my brain, unless you are poking your fingers in your feces, most of the time you only touch the toilet paper, handles and out the door you go. So what is the point of washing EVERY time. Is it really because we obtain so many nasty bacteria from our feces that ends up floating around in the air and magically lands on our fingers and if we don't wash our hands we will come down with infection?

BTW I want to add, that I know we have all left the bathroom without washing our hands and have probably remained quite happy and well.

So as I thought about this further... I figured out that when it comes to infections via bacteria, viruses or fungi etc... your primary line of defense is WASHING YOUR HANDS!!! I know we have heard things like this before, but it isn't your antibacterial kitchen cleansers, sometimes not your purell hand soap (because if you note the term ANTIBACTERIAL does not apply to viruses or fungi), which prevent you from getting sick. It truly is GOOD OLD HAND WASHING, you can rest assured that the washing your hands (for at least the length of the "ABC" song) should be the most INEXPENSIVE, EASIEST, AND LAZIEST way to prevent infectious disease!

So how do we keep track or remember to wash our hands every other hour or so???? Just make a habit of washing after you use the bathroom!!! SO SIMPLE RIGHT. Not only are you making sure you eliminate any of the POOP that you get while prodding it, BUT you also are participating in THE MEDICAL FIELDS GREATEST DEFENSE VS. INFECTIOUS DISEASE. I bet you had not idea that you really were super smart!! So don't skip the hand washing after the bathroom and if you haven't washed your hands in two hours, take your lazy bum to the sink and rest assured that your effort is WELL worth the EFFORT!!!

The Power of Relationships

2010-06-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

"The relationship between a person and another is the most powerful therapeutic tool there is!"

Why is it some people are able to heal, progress rapidly and/or make amazing life style changes; and some people can't or don't? It is often due to the strength/existence of their personal and clinical RELATIONSHIPS- Carl Rogers (famous phsychologist who developed the foundation for Western Education System).

I am going to tell you the THREE qualities that you can develop which have the ability to transform a regular relationship into a therapeutic one too (this means it has the capacity to treat, prevent or manage disease)!

(I think this applies to clinical relationships AS WELL AS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS)

Respect
Genuineness (trustworthy)
Empathy

RESPECT: what exactly is this? this is accepting someone as they are without being judgmental. It's looking at someone as an individual and as a valued member of society and YOUR life.

GENUINENESS: this is the ability to be YOURSELF in a relationship despite your role (i.e. mother, wife, friend, employee...). Also, added by me, I feel it is having a true and honest interest on their behalf. You really want the best for that person... regardless how reckless, obnoxious, wonderful they are!

EMPATHY: This one is really important to distinguish from sympathy. To have empathetic qualities you gain the ability to "APPRECIATE" that person's experiences. THE ACTIONS associated with empathy include: LISTENING to total communication which include their gestures, feelings AND words.

Remember when dealing with your loved ones, peers, coleugues, and co-workers that YOUR RELATIONSHIP with them is scientifically proven to be ONE of the BEST defenses against disease, or disease progression, and/or healing from disease (and for your own "warm fuzzies").

Certain phrases can have a calming effect, no MATTER HOW STRESSED THEY ARE: these statements are those which ACKNOWLEDGE fears, feelings & concerns - this allows someone to feel "heard and validated."

So think twice before damaging your relationships, because there is more at stake than meets the eye!!!

Love, Kim :)

Medication: To Take or Not to Take!

2010-06-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

So, I feellike this debate rages on and on and on and on, including with myself. To give you a bit of background, before I started PA school I was very fearful of medication in general. I actually had many long "thinking-periods" where I actually wondered if being a PA was a good choice for me. I felt this way because I almost felt that there were very few good reasons to take medications and had learned much about a lot of big Pharm conspiracy theories (which many are often true). But, after much reflection, some prayer regarding the subject and ultimately starting school and now in my third pharm class I have come to, I think a solid bit of advice to the world regarding medication:

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE LUNCH"

What I mean by this, to try and put it short, is that many medications truly are little miracles, BUT you must recognize that they are not the type of miracle that occurs without consequences. When deciding to take medications, please use the mindset of pro's and con's. I will ASSURE YOU that often the pro's of medication outweigh the con's, and make sure that when you take these medications you are not ignorant of their side effects.

I usually would fully support a combination of health care including: EXERCISE, WATER INTAKE, SLEEP, HEALTHY EATING (which is a whole other post), and MEDICATION. You can truly get optimal results when combining all forms of treatment. Do not rely solely on medication, and think of it as a "no-effort" quick-fix to your problems, because if you do this, you WILL develop other problems that did not exist before. Be wary of medication, be smart about them, but most of all do not fear them... just be cautious and realize many of them are truly miraculous, but not without some side effects. You are not above the side effects of medication, but if you do weigh pro's vs. con's and couple it with LIFESTYLE CHANGES, I really think you will NOT REGRET YOUR MEDICATION USAGE!

I plan on doing a medication spotlight once a week on commonly used medications so stay tuned!

as always, Love Kim

READ THIS BEFORE YOU DIE....!!!

2010-06-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

So IF I could tell you that if you could do ONE thing that has the capacity to decrease aging, improve ALL of your health in pretty much EVERY way, decrease your chances of cancer and EVERY other illness blah, blah, blah, blah, blah

Do you think this is even possible? Could such a thing exist and us know about it? How about you sit for a second before I give you the answer and try to think if this is a joke or not.

I will now reveal the answer to this question,    ........


                                               EXERCISE!!!!
I know so simple right! But, in my classes and over the last little while, I have notices a theme, and according to my professor Coleen, there is only ONE thing that has been scientifically proven consistently EVERY single time, that has shown time and time again to be your best defense vs. disease states of all forms.

I like to look at this example as analogous to the Children of Israel (I know this is a stretch). The Children of Israel were traveling in the wilderness for 40 years, they were close to the promised land, they asked the king of another land if they could pass through because it was a short-cut and this king denied their request, so they had to go the long way, which was slow and hard, and it let to a lot of complaining and murmuring. The Lord sent poisonous serpents, and they bit them. Then Moses prayed to the Lord and asked the Lord what they should do to be healed, so the Lord told Moses to make a brass serpent and place it on a staff and whoever looked upon it would be healed. But, it is so interesting to note that there were many of them who refused to look upon the staff, because it just seemed far too simple.

BTW if you have ever seen the symbol of MEDICINE IT IS A STAFF WITH A SERPENT WRAPPED AROUND IT, THAT STORY OF MOSES IS ITS FOUNDATION!

Maybe my analogy is far off base, but I think it has some merit, that being; we have been told soooo many times how good exercise is for us, but yet so many of us (including myself) just refuse to do it, or expend vast amounts of money and energy into other possibly fruitless, or far lesser things. Now this does not mean that if you DO exercise you will never be sick, but it definitely reduces most ailments a lot. So are you ignoring solid counsel, hoping for an easy fix/miracle to come around?

It is recommended to eventually work up to 30 minutes of exercise 5-6 times a week, preferably cardio, but women do not forget the power of weight training & toning (that's a whole other topic!).

Hope you enjoyed my reiteration of profound wisdom that we all know and have heard over and over again!

Publish Post

Is your Doctor Wacky???

2010-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered "Is my doctor wacky?" when you go into a physical and the doctro starts telling you to puff out your cheeks, stick out your tounge, shrug your shoulders, blink your eyes etc... It doesn't make any sense. I am going to tell you that each one of those movements really does have a lot of information and value and here's why?

When your doctor asks you to smell, or asks about your "smelling ability" he is actually testing your Olfactory Nerve. If you were to have a decrease in smell or loss of smell, this could indicate an abnormality in this nerve.

When your Doctor looks inside your eyes with that "little light instrument" called a fundoscope he is actually looking at the Optic nerve which leaves the back of your eye. When he tests your visual acuity (i.e. read the eye chart E F P D....) he is also evaluating the optic nerve. If you were to loose vision in a certain area of your eye this can indicate which side of the optic nerve there is a problem. For example if you loose your vision in only your right eye, he would deduce that a problem might exist in the Right optic nerve and NOT the left optic nerve. It gets a lot more complicated from here, but it's fun to learn.

When your doctor makes you follow his finger while he draws an "H" in the air and eventually puts his finger between your eyes so you are then cross-eyed, he is testing THREE nerves. Each one of the these nerves innervates different muscles in your eyes and therefore are responsible for certain movements. For example if you look to the right, one of your eyes might be able to go much further to the right than the other, this can indicate either weakness of that specific muscle or a problem with the nerve innervating that muscle. I think it's funny because many of us have a hard time going "cross-eyed" and this indicated weak eye muscles (usually not a nerve problem). Soooo in yoga there is something called "eye-exercises" in order to keep these muscles strong. Check it out!

When your doctor asks you to open your mouth, and touches your face with cotton balls, this is not for pure enjoyment, it is actually to locate different sensation patterns on your face. If you were to have less or no feeling on your left forehead compared to your right forehead, the doctor could deduce that there is an abnormality in a branch of the Trigeminal nerve (which innervates your entire face via 6 branches). The facial nerve also innervates the muscles that help you open your mouth, if you can't open your mouth..... nerve problem??? maybe
.

When your doctor asks you to puff out your cheeks, raise your eyebrows, frown, smile... he is actually testing different branches of the Facial nerve. If you notice sometimes people can smile higher on one side than the other, this could indicate less innervation on that side. Each facial action test each area of the facial nerve, so look to see if things are the same on both sides of your face. If you had a problem with certain branches you might not be able to lift your right eyebrow, but you can your left.

I think this one is self-explanatory - your vestibulocochlear nerve tests your hearing, but when and if your Dr. tickles your ear canal with cotton, he is also testing a reflex to make sure this nerve has sensation and not only "hearing" function.

Have you ever wondered why the Dr asks you to say AHHHHHH, it is not to see if you can speak, he is actually looking at the funky peach drop from the top of your mouth called the uvula. He is looking to see if it RISES (look in the mirror and see it rise) because if it doesn't or only half of it does, this indicates a nerve problem with the glossopharyngeal, vagus nerve!

A simple shrug of your shoulders tells the doctor if your Spinal Accessory nerve is intact...

Last but not least, when the doctor tells you to stick out your tongue he is actually testing the strength of your hypoglossal nerve. Sometimes people might be able to stick out their tongue but it might go to one side, this indicates that the other side is not working or weak etc...

So I hope this was fun for you so next time your Wacky doctor plays "head, shoulders, knees and toes" you can be happy to do it!
smell, watch, cross-eyes, open your mouth, tickle-tickle your face, raise your eyebrows, puff out your cheeks, smile, frown, tickle-tickle your ear, AHHHHHHH, shoulder shrug, stick out your tongue... YOU'VE JUST TESTED ALL TEN OF THE CRANIAL NERVES!!! good job!

Pregnant!!! MY SISTER.... not me!

2010-06-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

So some good news on my side of the family, my sister Sara is Pregnant!!!! This will be the first grand-baby for my parents!!! This is so exciting, I can't wait to have a little neice/nephew in January. I know Sara & Cody are going to be great parents and I can't wait to me the little peanut!

Kim :)

CYSTITIS!!!

2010-06-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

.... Better known as bladder infection. I bet you can guess what my lecture was about today!

I decided to write a little bit about this because there are 150 million cases worldwide each year and Women are 30X more likely to get a bladder infection than men.

I have known many who suffer form this and it is extremely painful, so some info!

Some risk factors include, first; the use of spermacide (with the ingredient nonoxynol-9- AVOID THIS) and secondly FAILURE TO EMPTY THE BLADDER, i.e. holding your urine for long periods of time. This is extremely important, when you have to go to the bathroom, GO! Thirdly, dehydration. It is extremely important that you drink plenty of WATER so as to keep your urine at a dilute concentration.

Some ways to avoid getting cystitis include: going to the bathroom regularly, good hygiene, POST-SEX voiding, hydration and .... STRAIGHT UP CRANBERRY JUICE (none of the 15% sweetened stuff, 100% pure).

Something to think about too if they are recurrent, is to consider doing a cleanse which would reset your natural flora. I often would suggest things like all-natural cleanses using pure fruit and vegetable juices after you use antibiotics, so as to reset the flora of your gut and pelvis, because antibiotics are necessary to kill the "bad guys" but also kills the "good guys." So consider past antibiotic history, if you get recurrent bladder infections.

Also note that it is important to treat bladder infections IMMEDIATELY as they can travel to your kidneys and turn into a medical emergency.

Hope this is informative! If you have children this can be a concern so be aware!

TTYS, Kim

Water vs. Gatorade (or some-other electrolyte drink)

2010-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

So.... I figured I would share some more of what I am learning every second of every day, maybe it's not interesting to anyone but me, but maybe not. I am going to try to apply real-life scenarios that are applicable to you and I vs. just telling you the science behind everything.

So, have you ever wondered why athletes who overexert themselves have often passed out or even died after "cooling down" or drinking water after an "extreme (I mean a very hard)" work-out?

To start at the beginning your plasma salt concentration is mediated by two main processes: 1. antidiuretic hormone release (from the pituitary gland) and 2. THIRST. It is absolutely essential that we drink enough fluid, so we can maintain the volume of our cells (in particular our brain - 85% water). The status of your hydration is accurately measured and managed by SALT concentrations. When an individual/athlete exercises vigorously they sweat, and sweat has salt in it (if you lick your sweat it tastes salty- mmmmmm!). So when you loose lots and lots of salt, it throws your water balance off, and because salt is what keeps water in the blood stream, when salt leaves (via sweat),the water goes into your tissues; In particular your BRAIN. your brain SWELLS!

so to get to the first question; if you were to replenish your fluids with water (which does not have any electrolytes/salt...) you would only increase the swelling of the brain. Your body needs a drink that has electrolytes in it such as salt and others...which would pull the fluid OUT of your brain, back into your blood and eventually you PEE!

So, normally I ALWAYS advocate for people to drink MORE water because we are all walking around with a brain functioning at 75% instead of 100% because most of us are all dehydrated. BUT in the case of extreme workouts, especially if you are sweating a lot and especially if you are doing them consistently, I advocate for GATORADE or a good all-natural alternative coconut water (which is naturally high in electrolytes, without added sugar).

(don't go crazy thinking your brain is swelling every time you work out, just be concious of extreme workouts such as Bikram Yoga etc... that cause excessive sweating) & DON'T GO EATING A LOT OF SALT, BECAUSE EXCESS SALT CAUSES A HOST OF PROBLEMS, JUST STICK TO H2O AND GATORADE ETC...

BTW this is WHY Gatorade was invented in Florida for their football team! Because they were passing out too much!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

2010-06-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to shout out to all the fathers out there "Happy fathers day!" in particular my father - Stephen R. Mahoney.

May dad has always been so special to me. I am grateful for his kindness and love, and for everything he's taught me. I think what I've learned most from him is the value of hard work. But, along with that also the value of enjoying life and having fun weather it be by camping, BBQ's, boating, or mowing the lawn! I just have always felt such a great amount of gratitude for my dad's support, and his ability to always be someone I can talk to and communicate with, without feelings of inadequacy. I am always so impressed with a father's ability to work everyday for his family and to give up so much of himself to support his children. I feel like mothers get a lot of the credit, but fathers deserve a lot too. I have always felt that fathers have a very special ability to give to their kids and at the same time keep awesome humor which lightens up each day and makes it exciting!

So dad I love you and thanks for being such a great dad! I love you lots and always will

Love, Kim

Power of Gratitude/Appreciation/Positivity

2010-06-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to share with you some incredible "scientific" findings that I am learning about, that in my opinion coincide sooooo well with church doctrine that I have been taught since I was born.

To make long story short, the heart has been scientifically proven to have it's own nervous system that surrounds it (i.e. it has in essence it's own brain). It has been shown that there are more neurologic pathways that leave FROM the heart and travel TO the brain, than there are opposite pathways. For so long science and medicine has convinced itself that the brain is entirely in charge of everything that goes on in the body, but as it turns out the heart has its own functioning body and in essence can tell and send commands/signals to the brain. So what this means for us is that the term "listen with your heart" "lead with your heart" or the description of the Holy Ghost in which it starts as a "warm feeling in your hear and spreads to the rest of the body" is entirely accurate scientifically! Something really interesting to note is that heart transplant patients do not have any neurologic connections to their brain, because surgeons do not, at this point in time, know how to reconnect the heart with the brain, so once the new heart is successfully "hooked up" via it's valves, surgeons pretty much wait for the heart to "self-initiate" and start pumping due to it's own (sometimes with a little help from paddles).

To take this one step further... if you were to take a stressful situation or a very saddening experience and illicit feelings of gratitude or happiness (due to a remembered scenario or situation from past) and then breath in for 5 out for 5 you can change your brain wave patterns via controlling your heart rate to a point of maximal functioning. What this means is that when we are upset, frustrated, depressed, sad our brain functioning decreases drastically, but by simply taking a couple minutes and sitting still, and breathing in and out, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY focusing on something positive/something you're grateful for, within just a few minutes you can dramatically change your brain cortical functioning to a very optimal level.

I learned this in class because we actually used software to demonstrate the principle which was hooked up to our pulses. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE; that the stressful situation itself was not eliminated or changed, it was purely our response to the stimulus that was changed and actually started in our HEART and our heart was able to manipulate our cognitive functioning.

So remember WE ARE NEVER VICTIMS OF OUR EMOTIONAL SITUATIONS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR SERIOUSNESS, we DO have the capacity to train our minds and bodies to respond in a more positive manner and essentially, perform in the best way possible, given our situations. I do not want to make light of anyone's stress, as stress can be very difficult to handle, but please consider the idea of POSITIVITY & GRATITUDE, BECAUSE OUR PROPHET TRULY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT, WHEN HE SUGGESTS THAT WE BE "MORE GRATEFUL."

this science is called Heartmath, website www.heartmath.org

Nathan & Sara Visit in April 2010

2010-06-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

So I realize how long it has been since I posted anything, so I thought I would post a few pictures of when Jakes brother Nathan and his sister Sara came to visit in April. I loved having them visit, they were so much fun. Most of the pictures are compliments of aspiring photographer Sara. We went to alcatraz and the beach. When we were getting cupcakes with our good friends Bekah & Kyle & Nate and Sara we saw Merideth from one of our favorite shows "The Office." One of our favorite activities was taking Nate and Sara (and Bekah & Kyle) to eat at the Sushi Boat, where we all sat around a bar like setting that had the sushi chef in the middle with a river flowing around the small sushi kitchen. On the river were miniature boats with plates of sushi, each plate with different kinds. The price is based on the kind of plate that you choose. It was such a fun experience and Sara especially loved it!

There is nothing funner for us than when people come to visit, so please come visit beautiful San Francisco!

Love Kim!

Mom visits!

2010-06-12T15:43:00.002-07:00

Sorry this has been such a long time since we have posted, sometimes I think we forget that we have a blog, but I am posting a few fun pictures of when my mom came to visit in the beginning of May. It was great to have her out to see us, she was able to come one week after she graduated from nursing school (AMAZING!). We had a
blast. We went to the Japanese Tea Gardens, and drove around in little yellow cars all over the city. I took her to my favorite asian cuisine and we went to a great french bakery. All in all a great trip, and it sure was fun having her visit! It is always sad to see my family go when they go, but we'll see each other soon!

Kim

Teen Life Conference

2010-03-16T11:20:00.011-07:00

Every year Touro University puts on something called Teen Life Conference, in which local high school students (few hundred) come to our campus and we have tables with health information, lectures, exercise classes, rock wall etc... to teach the kids about health and being healthy and eating healthy, an all around HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. I was in charge of putting together our booth on "What is a PA?" and "Confidentiality." I also gave a presentation on "Sugar in Soda, and replacing it with water!" So I wanted to share with you some of my highlights.

In one 12 oz. can of soda there is:

–207 Calories

–40 g of sugar

•Forty grams of sugar is the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar.

•10 teaspoons of sugar is the equivalent of 20 sugar cubes

•Drinking one Coke a day for a year results in the consumption of 32 pounds of sugar.

A 120 lb individual will burn 100 calories for every mile ran (9 min mile). In order to burn 1 lb of fat (=3500 calories), the individual must run 35 miles.

One 12 oz can of soda a day can translate into 18 lbs of fat gained per year (HOT)!!! Is one 12 0z can of soda worth running for two miles?

hope you all enjoyed a bit of my lecture, there was more on water, but this is all I have time to do now!

2010-03-10T22:21:00.002-08:00

I am procrastinating studying for my test, what's new right!

Every day I am in this program, I get more and more amazed at the intricacy of the human body, the amount of knowledge we do and don't have and what a miracle it is. All the while getting excited about my decision, but more and more fearful of the massive responsibility it has. I have never been more aware of the phrase "To much has been given, much is required!" Sometimes it seems like toooooo much, but I keep also learning over and over again that the Lord provides ways for us all to accomplish what it is we have been asked to do and His burden in light, and in a really weird way knowing this has made my mountains climbable:) I know this is a bit personal, but just wanted to share! I think about you all often and hope you are all AMAZING!!! Happy March!

Love, Kim

2010-02-10T22:44:00.002-08:00

This is how I feel after two huge exams this week! the last of a run of six, I have a week off and then it all stars again :) School sure stretches you, but I wouldn't trade for anything :)

Kim

Ya...it's been over 2 months...

2010-02-05T12:46:00.004-08:00

So we haven't blogged in awhile. I know Kim's been all over me to get it done, so sorry this is a lame post with quick recaps. I know the holidays were long enough ago that no one really cares to see our pictures, but I'll give you a tolerable taste and try to forgive and forget. I'll try to keep it current from here on out.

Kim's mom and sister Haley ice-skating in Utah.
The farm cat Dorkus that likes to climb on people.
Kim and her sisters acting normal on Christmas.
The Mahoney Family Christmas party.

With Uncle Sam at the Bitner Christmas party.

Winter weather in northern California.
Kim playing on the Touro University Championship Co-Ed Basketball team!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T16:08:00.006-08:00

My sister Sara and her husband Cody came out to visit us for Thanksgiving. We had a blast, we went to Pier 39 and Fisherman's wharf, Union Square and rode a Trolley all over San Francisco and looked at the lights. We watched the lighting of the big Macey's Christmas Tree at Union Square. We went shopping on Black Friday from 11:00 AM until 10:00 PM. We went to a beautiful Italian restaurant. Overall a great break, with wonderful family!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-17T20:04:00.003-08:00

Halloween 2009 Party with my PA class!!!

YOSEMITE

2009-10-14T17:10:00.006-07:00

Jake and I went to Yosemite last weekend, It was the end of my 10 day break and we thought we would run away for a couple days. Yosemite is beautiful. I absolutely love camping, I love the fresh air and the trees, I love cooking food in the fire and just forgetting about other life's stress (except I did study homework fireside- very intimate). I love the fact that there aren't any electronics while camping. Yosemite has so many beautiful rock formations and big red wood trees. Definitely one of my favorite places.

Deep Sea Fishing!

2009-10-02T16:01:00.006-07:00

Jake's work took him and his team out deep sea fishing today. They went out to the ocean underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and this is what Jake came home with!

This is Fisherman's wharf with all the seals saying goodbye at their departure!Jake came home with a Leopard Shark!!!! Pretty cool, now I have to figure out how to cook it, any ideas????

The Lungs!!!!

2009-09-19T14:28:00.004-07:00

So since not a whole lot goes on in my life except school I thought I would share some of my favorite things with you all.

I metioned in my earlier post that my favorite organ in the body are the lungs. They actually are fairly large adn extend from the bottom of your rib cage all the way up under your clavicle (in a way when you put your hand on the top of your shoulders close to your neck your lungs extend that far up. They are very smooth and slimy and begin with a single esophagus that branches into two branches (L & R) then branches another 23 times in order to reach the most basic level where air exchange takes place into the blood stream.

So I'm sure you're wondering why they're my favorite. Does anyone love to pop the air-bubble-packaging that comes with vases etc... and you can pop them one by one. Well.... I love that stuff and the lungs kind of feel like hundreds of little tiny air-poppies, but of course they don't pop, all at the same time being extremely slimy and cold (love it). They are actually only 10% hard tissue and are 90% air when filled, but when you touch them they feel like a soft solid.

When I was at USU we actually blew up some pig lungs with an air pump, and they are actually quite large and blow up like balloons! AMAZING! I hope you love the lungs as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3pfeXULyv0&feature=related#watch-main-area

The above link is to watch an inflation of Pig lungs, enjoy!

Some Fun Facts About the Lungs

The right lung is slightly larger than the left. 
Hairs in your nose help to clean the air we breathe as well as warm it. 
The highest recorded "sneeze speed" is 99 miles per hour! 
The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court. 
If placed end to end, capillaries would extend 960 miles. 
We lose half a liter of water every day through breathing. 
A person at rest breathes between 12-15 times a minute. 
The breathing rate is faster in children and women than it is in men. 

The "Small" Intestines

2009-09-12T21:43:00.003-07:00

So my cadaver lab is about as exciting as it gets around here and I thought I would tell you a little about what I am doing there. So for those of you who don't know a cadaver is a dead person and I have a group of 4 for my cadaver and we are doing a complete dissection of the human body. Let me just tell you that the human body is the most amazing creation on this earth. It is phenomenal how intricate it is and how something that looks like a little string can be a nerve that is completely responsible for all of your gastric functioning and more.

So far my group and I have dissected the back and all of the musculature (this involves skinning and removing each muscle layer by layer). The Chest's musculature and the thoracic cage (this involves cutting open the chest with a bone saw), the lungs (which are my favorite organ - like the way they feel), the heart, the entire abdominal cavity including the liver, stomach, etc... and one of the most fascinating and smelly organs of the body - THE INTESTINES. I'm sure you all know that the small intestine is actually 22 ft long (not small) and my classmates removed theirs and stretched it out along the room and you better believe that there was 22 ft in that little body. It is really funny because my teacher had to warn us NOT TO USE THE INTESTINES TO PLAY JUMP-ROPE. Of course we weren't doing that, but some previous class had and I guess that's just not cool, I was tempted though.

Bear Creek Half Marathon!

2009-08-29T21:40:00.006-07:00

Now that Kim has started school, she's not really going to have any time to do anything fun. So she's been training for the last 6 weeks for the Bear Creek Half Marathon at Briones Regional Park near Walnut Creek, CA.

It was a warm day for a race, especially one where the trail climbs over 3,000 feet. It got up to about 100 degrees half-way through the race, but Kim kept it going and finished with a great time!

She is so amazing to have done so well on her first half marathon; all while starting medical school. I know this will be the first of many, now let's see if she can get me out for one! Great job sweetheart!

All smiles! (this is before it got up to 100 degrees)

Kim and her friend Joy from school.
Ready to go, about 50 people in the race.

On your mark, get set....
Go! Notice Kim in the back pushing people early on for some spacing....

Crossing the finish line!

The price paid!

My First Day of PA School

2009-08-25T21:28:00.003-07:00

So many of you know I had my first day of Physician Assistant School on Monday (yesterday) Aug. 24, 2009.

I can't describe how nervous, scared, complete and excited I feel all at the same time. This is a huge undertaking and I have been working toward this day for the last 5 years +. So much time, effort, sweat, tears, self-examination, self-actualization has happened to get me to this point. I know I have a long road ahead. I feel like I am accomplishing one of my life's greatest missions (I feel there will be many different ones).

I want to challenge all my awesome friends out there to really look inside yourself and think of something, a goal maybe, of which you want to accomplish AND DO IT. I never thought I would feel so sure of my path in life as I do right now and it is a great feeling. My favorite quote is
"Anything in life worth having is never easy" and I like to add "or convenient."

Enough of this sappy stuff, I just wanted to thank everybody for helping me get here, being supportive and kind and at the end of 32 months I will graduate.

Our 4 year anniversary!

2009-08-17T12:22:00.006-07:00

Show all
So Jake and I celebrate 4 years together on August 19, 2009. I start school on August 19, so we did something this past weekend to celebrate. Jake suprised me and took me to a bed & breakfast victorian inn at half moon bay. We ate at an organic eclectic eatery (AMAZING), which I loved. The next day we walked around downtown and bought a bunch of produce from local produce stands.

I can't believe it has almost been four years. Time flies by so quickly, but I am still so in love with Jake. I have believed from the beginning that he was made for me and I for him. I used to not believe in the idea of a soul-mate but, every year that goes by only further solidifies my belief in one and that Jake is mine. We have been through so much together over the last four years, to name a few (just for reminiscing purposes):

Lived in 5 different apartments, ranging from 400 sq ft to 1100 sq ft.
We have lived in four different states (Utah, Arizona, Missouri, California)
Jake graduated from USU Cum Laude with a BA in Spanish
I graduated from USU with a BS Biology
Jake graduated from Thunderbird School of Global Management with his MBA
I was accepted and will be starting PA school - MSPAS/MPH program
We have owned a motorcycle and eight different cars and sold six of them (4-runner, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Rodeo, Civic, Matrix, Saturn Vue & one right now we are trying to find)
When we were first married we lived off of $1000/month
We owned a cat for two weeks (I was allergic)
We have been on many vacations (Cancun, Yellowstone, Snake River, Disneyland twice, Ensenada, Nauvoo (church sites), Moab, Bear Lake, Sonoma, Camping of sorts, Panama and who knows how many Utah trips)
Together we have tried: Mountain Biking, Running, Yoga, Tennis (Jake taught me), Four-wheeling and Motorcycling.
Jake converted me to Seinfeld, I converted Jake to Keeping up Appearances, and together we are AVID Arrested Development, The Office, Flight of the Conchords, LOST, SYTYCD, and yes Jake too- The Bachelorette viewers! (although he'd never admit it, JK)
As much as I've tried I just can't get Jake to appreciate one of my favorite movies "White Chicks" but he does appreciate my other favorites "Get Smart," and both "Pink Panther 1 & 2". Jake has succeeded in getting me to love Indiana Jones and most superhero movies!
Jake bought both our mountain bikes with money he earned from donating plasma (his was stolen in AZ).
We both tried Thai and Sushi together and they are now our FAVORITE cuisines.
Jake loves the fact that I scrapbook and thinks it's good for our family (I did not expect that)
We have become healthy food fanatics. Jake lets me take away butter at the table, reduce the sugar in his food, remove oil from his pizza, tell him to eat slower and make him eat tonz of vegetables, all with a smile on his face!
Our extended families have grown via one nephew, one niece, one sister-in-law, and two brother-in-laws.
Together we have held 14 different jobs. I have held 7 different jobs (Group Home Leader, Assisted Living CNA, Dillards sales associate, Lancome make-up artist, substitute teacher, Science/Math Tutor at anorexia/bulemia clinic, med/surg CNA, med/surg Secretary), Jake has held 7 different jobs (Herald Journal classifieds, Wells Fargo- Tellar, Loan officer, Spanish tutor at anorexia/bulemia clinic, Thunderbird- Financial Aid Assistant, Carreer Center Advisor, Hilti Sales Manager)
When we first got married we owned two chairs and purchased a bed. Now it's a bit more every year!

I do not intend for this to sound braggy, I am just so grateful for what we have been able to accomplish together. The best part of all of this is that after four years and all of the above, WE STILL LIKE EACHOTHER!!!(hahahha) All in all I think we are working well together and I can't wait to see what our future holds. I feel like Jake and I together can accomplish anything we set our minds to. Lucky for me it is usually what I set my mind to!

Here's to you, JAKE and US. I love you! We were meant to be forever, and I am sure looking forward to a forever with you!

I know we are slackers! Our Apartment finally!

2009-08-17T12:12:00.004-07:00

So I know that we have completely forgotten about our blog, but I will be updating it a little bit at a time. I have to go all the way back to March when my sister SAra got married. I think Jake and I have just been running around with our heads chopped off the last few months. But, we are starting to come back to reality bit by bit. Just in time for me to start school in two days! Ahhhh! I am so excited. Hopefully I can keep you updated with my school process. But for now, I am posting some pictures of our apartment that I have taken forever to post. You can look at the previous posts for the before pictures, and here are the "after" Pictures. I am especially proud of my kitchen that I painted the walls and laid the flooring. I decided not to paint anything else after that, though.

Battle of the Bay

2009-06-28T19:27:00.004-07:00

I have been an Oakland A's fan since I knew what baseball was. I'll never forget my first Little League team's tight green and yellow jerseys and that everyone was upset that we weren't the White Sox or some other 'cool' team. Well, I thought it was cool and have followed the A's ever since. I even caught a home-run at Oakland's stadium a few years back.

So moving to the Bay area gave me the chance to get in some awesome baseball, and Kim and I jumped at the first chance we had. The MLB is in inter-league play right now, so we went to one of the "Battle of the Bay" series, the Oakland A's vs. the San Francisco Giants. I won't comment on the outcome of the game or the series, but we took a few pictures.

Evening picnic by the Bay..

2009-06-21T22:05:00.008-07:00

Not to make everyone else jealous, but Kim and I walked about a half-mile from our front door to have a little Sunday evening picnic. The weather has been beautiful, albeit a little chilly here lately and we wanted to enjoy being so close to some amazing views.

We stopped along the trail for some photo-ops
More pictures at Kim's request (more like command ;)

So we hiked down the hill to the edge of a cliff (smart, I know)

But we got a great view and enjoyed a nice Sunday dinner
Yep, contented. Like the Rizzuto

Our Place in SF

2009-06-12T08:16:00.004-07:00

After we got back from Panama, we packed up most of our apartment in Glendale and drove our car north to San Francisco to look for an apartment. Lucky for us, rents are lower (but still ridiculous) than they have been in years, so we looked at a lot of places all over the city. We need to live in the city for my job, but wanted to be close to the freeways for Kim's commute.

We ended up finding a great little flat a few blocks between two great parks and only 4 blocks from the beach! It is a 2 bedroom, 1180 sq. ft. with a fireplace on the second floor and great city views. The best part is a single car garage all to ourselves! Parking in the city is impossible! We love it and are excited to have people come visit!

View from the kitchen of the Golden Gate

Living room and boxes
Park down the block
Messy bedroom since Kim's in Utah
Hallway