It's my life... and I ain't gonna live forever...

 

Wow, the other day I was driving all by myself and this song started playing on the radio... so what did I do?

I did the only decent thing a girl raised in the 80s could do ---- I turned the volume way up (that way my voice sounds great in the background) and sang like no one was listening : )

It was A W E S O M E !

I felt alive, and I felt like I really want to live my life according to my beliefs, honoring my ancestors, my dreams and feeling happy for who I am. 

I have such a bad tendency to think too much about opportunities that I've missed in the past, or about worries of the future - when honestly, life is good! I need to 'live while I'm alive', and be here, in the present with my husband, with my children, my family and my brothers and sisters.

It's My Life lyrics
Songwriters: Bon Jovi, Jon; Martin, Max; Sambora, Richard S;

This ain't a song for the brokenhearted
No silent prayer for the faith departed
And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud

It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky, gotta make your own breaks

It's my life
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bon-jovi-lyrics/it_s-my-life-lyrics.html ]

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life

You better stand tall
When they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break
Baby, don't back down

It's my life
It's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life!

Can a good HUG make you healthier?

At college a roommate told me once that giving/receiving 10 HUGS per day was linked to being healthier. Since we were all pretty friendly in that apartment we started making sure that no one would go to bed without receiving their share of hugs per day. This was fun, cute, and it definitely made me (a foreign student away from home) feel happy : )

I’ve never forgotten about it (it’s been more than 10 years – shhh don’t tell anyone I’m that young) and I’ve always wondered if there was any… real evidence.

Well, I’ve done a little bit of research and:

·      Human contact through hugs lowers blood pressure and reduces stress, which cuts the risk of heart disease.

·      Hugs have also been shown to improve overall mood, increase nerve activity, and a host of other beneficial effects.

·      Positive physical touch has an immediate anti-stress effect, slowing breathing and heart rate

·      "A good hug speaks directly to your body and soul, making you feel loved and special," says Mihalko Baczynski, a relationship coach.

·      "Hugging is all natural; it is organic, naturally sweet, no pesticides, non-fattening, no carbohydrates, no preservatives, no artificial or genetically engineered ingredients, and 100% wholesome" says Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD.

·      A University of North Carolina study showed that hugs increased levels of the hormone oxytocin and reduced blood pressure.

·      Several sources suggest that everyone needs at least four hugs a day for healthy survival, eight hugs a day for emotional strength, and 12 hugs a day to really grow and be empowered.

Elevated blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for heart disease - about one in three US adults has high blood pressure! If hugs lower blood pressure (and they do), just think of the positive benefits of a whole lot of hugging! Start by giving your love a healthy hug today. Include more hugs in your daily routine. Ask yourself whose day could I improve by giving them one or more hugs today? Not only will you be helping them, but you'll benefit too.
Some people don't like their personal space to be invaded. Others may feel too vulnerable at times to want to be touched. So proceed with caution if you feel this way or if you sense discomfort in someone else. For some people, it may take a bit of getting used to! Live alone? No one to hug? Volunteer with children or old folks. That will give you an opportunity for healthy hugging.

 Not only are hugs completely natural, they don't cost anything either! Hugs are free! And best of all, the supply is endless.

My personal theory about hugs

"Although my research has confirmed that there's a positive link between hugs and heart health, I came up with my own theory about why we like being hugged years and years ago when I was pregnant. It occurred to me that a hug simulates the periodic squeezing we all feel as babies in the womb - the ultimate place of security. A hug takes us back to the very start of our lives when we knew no fear, no hardship, and no threats."

"Hugs are not only nice, they are needed. Hugs can help relieve pain and depression, make the healthy healthier, the happy happier, and the most secure among us even more so.
Hugging feels good, overcomes fears, eases tension, it provides stretching exercises if you are tall. Hugging also does not upset the environment, saves heat, is portable, requires no special equipment, it makes happy days happier and impossible days possible."

Source: http://www.smart-heart-living.com/hugs-and-heart.html   © Copyright 2007-2011 Thornton Holdings Ltd.
Information presented here is not intended to replace the advice of your
doctor. Consult your physician prior to changing diet or exercise programs.
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I use Essentail Oils - was does that mean?

I have been using Essential Oils on myself and on my family and we not only love their smell but we also love how they help us feel better. 

What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They give plants their distinctive smells, and provide plants with protection against predators and disease and play a role in plant pollination. Essential oils are very clean, almost crisp, to the touch and are immediately absorbed by the skin. Pure, unadulterated essential oils are translucent and range in color from crystal clear to deep blue.  In addition to their intrinsic benefits to plants and being beautifully fragrant to people, essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal and therapeutic benefits.

dōTERRA (CPTG) Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade^® essential oils represent the safest, purest, and most beneficial essential oils available today. They are gently and skillfully distilled from plants that have been patiently harvested at the perfect moment by experienced growers from around the world for ideal extract composition and efficacy. Experienced essential oil users will immediately recognize dōTERRA's superior quality standard for naturally safe, purely effective therapeutic-grade essential oils.

Uses of Essential Oils

Essential oils are used for a very wide range of emotional and physical wellness applications. They can be used a single oil at a time or in complex blends depending on user experience and desired benefit. Essential oils are usually administered by one of three methods: diffused aromatically, applied topically, or taken internally as dietary supplements.

Some oils and how they help you:

Peppermint – allergies, apply to neck/forehead for headaches & fever, invigorates lungs and alertness

Lavender – calming, helps w/ sleep, anxiety, emotions, apply to burns, bee sting, bug bite

Digestzen – digestive blend, rub on stomach for nausea/motion sickness/discomfort/digestion problems

Melaleuca – apply to skin blemishes/rashes, great for athletes foot, eczema, psoriasis, it disinfects

Elevation – joyful blend, to invigorate and elevate mood and vitality

Breathe – respiratory problems, helps sinus, allergies, clears lungs, asthma

Geranium – sooths the skin, good for joint support, tempering minor aches and pains, calming effect

 

If you have any other questions about Essential Oils go ahead and ask : ) If I don't know the answer we can both do some research on it! 

source of the info on the oils: DoTerra's website

Dis-ease, ER, Chiropractor & Essential Oils

At the end of January, on a Friday evening I started feeling sick. And my intuition told me this wasn't just a little something but that my body was indeed experiencing something serious. Based on that feeling I decided to ask for a blessing and assumed that the next morning (after a restful night of sleep) my body would be feeling a lot better. This was not the case.
Sat. morning I woke up (from barely sleeping the previous night) and had a terrible headache and I could barely move my neck. Jay helped me cancel my Zumba class and he took care of our children so that I could just stay in bed and allow rest to help heal my body. I felt positive that one day of 'doing nothing' would help me get back on my feet - literally!
Again to my surprise, on Sunday morning I still had a type of headache that made me think that my brain was going to implode, it hurt to move, to get out of bed, and even to look in certain directions. We decided I should keep resting and 'doing nothing', I felt, again, that this would give my body the opportunity to recover from whatever bug, virus or bacteria was affecting my well being.
Sunday afternoon we had a chance to talk to my brother (who is a chiropractor in England) and he guided Jay in putting pressure and squeezing some parts of my neck and head. I believe as a result of this, on Monday I was feeling a lot better - still didn't overdo (didn't teach my Zumba classes, etc). However; that night I went back to feeling horrible. My head hurt like it had never hurt before, my whole body felt uncomfortable, and now my hears and throat were hurting a lot as well. I got barely any sleep and when I did manage to fall asleep I woke up to the noise of someone playing outside with a basketball. When I looked at our alarm clock I noticed that it was only 4am and thought to myself: "Who on earth is outside at this hour playing basketball??????". After listening a little closer I was chocked to realize that the sound that was 'banging' in my head was not that of a ball but the beating of my heart!
Tuesday morning when Jay and the children woke up I was feeling so so miserable that I asked Jay to take me to the ER. We were starting to feel scared with what was going on and with how poorly I was feeling. The type of headaches I was having were particularly scary. With the type of person I am, I was already starting to think about scenarios of brain tumors, or cancer....
We went to the Gilbert ER and felt blessed that everyone was nice and thoughtful towards me. The doctor didn't want to scare us (but we could see the worry all over his face), they thought I had meningitis. After several exams - including a spinal tap (not something fun to go through), they ruled out meningitis and a few other things but still had no answers.
While at the ER I got well acquainted with morphine : )  Do you know that song: "Diamonds are a girls' best friend"? Well... I think it should be - Morphine is a girls' best friend!!!!
We came home, I stayed in bed for the next 2 days (by then I had been in bed for a total of 6 days) and there was still NO IMPROVEMENT!
We were blessed with the help of Human Angels (friends, brothers and sisters from our Church, positive energy and concern from people that usually take my fitness classes, etc). And I am so thankful for these Human Angels. I believe this is exactly how our Father in Heaven wants His children to act. We are all brothers and sisters and we need to watch out for and take care of each other here on Earth. There are times when we are the givers - we offer help, prayers, concern, support, encouragement... - and then, there are other times when we are on the receiving end of it!
Because I was still not feeling better, we felt inspired to go see a chiropractor. Someone we knew previously and who had caused a good impression on us (Will Jarman). He too was a Human Angel who blessed us with his knowledge. I got an adjustment, started feeling better and went back to his office for another two visits. During these visits he talked to me about using Essential Oils (I'll explain more about what these are in my next blog entry).
When we got home I started putting Eucalyptus essential oil on my forehead, my neck, by my ears and lymph nodes and we immediately started seeing results. My headaches went away, so did the stiffness on my  neck, and earaches.
Being ill always makes me feel so grateful for when I feel healthy.
I am thankful for my body, and for my Spirit. I am also thankful that Father has given us ways to heal, to grow faith and trust, and to serve and be served.

Once upon a time I wanted to save the world...

I remember being very young and wanting to bring every single abandoned animal (that I would see on the streets) home. And I had the same desire to save every person that I thought was in pain - physical, emotional, or spiritual. I would make plans in my head about how I would get the money to feed them and to take care of them, the type of house I would live in with the necessary space for everyone and everything.
My parents taught me how to pray very early and I still remember my dad taking me to bed and saying prayers with me. He would listen and wait patiently for me to finish praying for all the children in Ethiopia, Somalia (etc), for the children in orphanages, for the mothers who didn't have enough food or toys to give to their children, for all the dogs that were cold at night and didn't have an owner to pet them... the list goes on and on.
I've just always had a sincere desire to help - However, I found out (also early on) that I couldn't be there for everyone every time. I do not have the physical strength or power to be what everyone that is suffering in the world needs me to be. And that is why I find so much comfort in a quote by Pres. Benson (a Prophet of the LDS church).

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums.
The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
― Ezra Taft Benson

 The World already has a Savior - His name is Jesus Christ. I will keep trying to help anyone and everyone I can. But I do not need to save the World. Someone already did that. He is my Savior, He is your Savior. He knows you, your good and your bad, and He loves you and me.

When I was about 12 years old I read the following verses in Mosiah 18:8-9

 8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are ^adesirous to come into the ^bfold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

 9 Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the ^dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

I took this to heart.

I am 'perfectly imperfect' at my attempts; but I'm here for my brothers and sisters.