The Nelsons

Catching Up

2012-01-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

Blaaah! I haven't written in a while. School started up again and I have been trying to get crocheting stuff ready for Michaela's baby. I haven't had a lot of time to do anything else. The last visit I wrote about I talked to my doctor about eating chocolate over the holiday. He said that he wasn't going to give me permission, but sounded like I will probably eat some anyway. I actually was set on not eating any, but when he said that I had to. :) I had to take my blood test before doing so if I flared up the illness again the results would be on how I was before. So I went in and got a blood test and then that day I hate a little bit of chocolate. (This was a few days before Christmas. ) Then the next day I had a bit more. I was fine both days. On Christmas Eve we went over to Kyle's parent's house and had dinner. I had a little bit of fudge and then some potatoe salad. These were the only two things that I had that was out of the norm. About 20 minutes later I wasn't feeling so good. Diarrhea, sick to my stomach, bad headache, bad anxiety... not good! Parently poops means everything. Haha.. welcome to my world. Sometimes when this happens I wish I had a xanex!

The next day I still wasn't feeling so good. I wanted some more chocolate so I had a bit more. It made me even worse very fast. My anxiety got a lot worse. Feeling so good before and then feeling that bad again made me realize how sick I was before. I have no idea how the heck I even functioned at all. After that I didn't even want to touch to chocolate.

So the next appointment we had was on the 5th. The doctor said that I probably won't be able to each chocolate. But then he said that when I flare it up then sometimes the things I eat after will make it worse or I will be more sensitive. So there might be a chance I can still have it. We just have to figure out what flared it up and made me so sick. He told me to go back on the original diet and then call him the next Monday. I called him that Monday and I was feeling better, but I was going to job interviews that week and noticed that when I get nervous my body goes crazy. When I was leaving the house before an interview one day my body started going crazy. I started getting really sick and I had to go number 2 all of a sudden. It was pretty...haha. I didn't think I was going to make it. I was finally able to calm myself down and I was ok. Since then I have felt a lot better. It took me a while to start feeling better though.

We saw the doctor again last week on Thursday. We got our blood tests back. Since we started I have lost 20 pounds and my A1C (overall blood sugar) has gone down from 6.1 (I think it was) to 5.7. The 6.1 was prediabetic. Nakoa's has gone down as well. When she started she was on medication and at a diabetic range. But now she is off medication and at a 5.7 just as I am! AWESOME!!

Next now that I am feeling better we should be working on the Gastrointestinal tract. Since being diagnosed I have had a lot of gas coming out of both ends.. haha! I have never burped so much in my life. It is a bit embarassing because I can't control it.

Another Visit

2011-12-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Another week another Dr. visit. The visits are getting shorter now since we both are doing so good. He hasn't added anything and probably won't for a while since we are going to do another blood test again in a few weeks. This past week when he added cheese I figured out that tomatoes was making my hands hurt. Kind of like arthritis. I was eating nachos w/salsa and it started hurting that day. I then cut out the tomatoes and I started to feel better. So no tomatoes for me :(. So, so far I have to be careful with what meats I eat. So all natural meat. Also, I have to make sure my veggies are washed really well to make sure the pesticides are off or buy organic and then no tomatoes. Both Nakoa and I are still having some problems with our memory(foggy brain), but that will come eventually where we will work on that part of our body. I know body won't be the same as it was before, but I still feel really good. I am sad about the foods I can't eat, but it is worth feeling better. I know how badly my dad felt and how others with diabetes suffer. I am so greatful that I have found something that is helping. These coming weeks we are kind of reverting back to the original diet so that our test come back good. The carbs is what is probably making my blood sugar go up so, Dr. Redd is wanting me to eat that sparingly. I said to myself that I was going to have some chocolate no matter what for Christmas, but that isn't happening. It is going to be sooo hard. I know that my weight is probably contributing to a high blood sugar level so I am starting to work out more so that I can drop it finally. He said that once the Hashimoto gets better that it will lower as well.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Haven't blogged for a while. The last couple of weeks have been good. The doctor added rice, butter, potatoes, and cheese. I haven't had any side effects from them yet. There different cheese's that I might react different to, but I haven't tried all of them. During these weeks I had celery. I don't think I washed it off good enough because I started getting an allergic reaction. The next time I had it I soaked it in water to make sure all the pesticides and stuff were off of it. I was fine. So I guess I have to be careful with the pesticides that are on certain things.
I have been sick as well and that can make the Hashimoto flare up as well. I stopped losing weight for a week while I was sick. I wasn't able to weight myself this last visit though.
Thanksgiving was great! He gave us permission to cheat. He just didn't want me to eat gluten. I wanted and still want a roll so bad! I had some turkey, yams that had brown sugar, corn, carrots, and then for dessert I had pumpkin pie!! It was sooooo good! It was hard to go back to the diet...
I feel so good! I can't believe how much I have changed in the way I feel. I have forgotten how it feels not to be tired all day long. I think I have 1 more week of the supplements that I am on and then I will do another blood test to see how the last 3 months have been.

O Happy Day!

2011-11-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

Today is the happiest day of my life! Ok, ok... maybe one of the happiest days of my life. Went to the doctor again today. I was on a mission to convince him to add more food! It didn't take much and I scored..big!! At first he was going to add rice and I was really happy about that because then I could have sushi! Then he said corn and I was like YES CORN!! So there it is, I can now have POPCORN!! We are not totally in the clear yet though. I have to see if the corn reacts to the disease and see if I get any side effects from eating it. Then I can try the butter on the popcorn! This totally makes my day.. actually month!

With the beef I had an idea to try it all natural where it is grass fed, hormone free, and antibiotic free. Kyle and I tried it, it was a little gamey at first, but I got use to it and I had no side effects from it! Anyone know why they even put all that stuff in the meat? I find it kind of crazy! Anyone watch Food Inc. or King Corn on Netflix? If you haven't you should! I know that they feed the cows other things like corn to fatten them up faster and cheaper. Not sure about the hormones and such.

Anywho! It is crazy how good I feel! Everyone comments on how different I am. A lot of them say that I have a sparkle in my eye.. haha! I am think I am just so ecstaticed about losing 12 1/2 pounds! I am definitely starting feel myself that way as well! I do hate that I can feel tired depending on what I eat. When I ate that beef that made me tired I was kind of wierded out about that something just like that can make me feel that different. Another thing that I noticed striggers something is how much sleep I get. It seems that when I stay up late and don't get enough sleep that in the next few days I will start to have a lot of anxiety. I woke up this morning with a clenched jaw and headache. Bleck!

I am still taking the same supplements for now. I think next week he will change it up. We will see.

Past 2 weeks

2011-11-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Met with the doctor again this today. Last week week when we met we went over my the tests results that we took when we first started. The tests mainly said that I am on my way to adrenal fatigue. I am in the 4th stage of 7 stages of adrenaline fatigue. There were other concerns, but this is the one that they will address for now. They gave me supplements to help with my brain fog, adrenaline fatigue, low blood sugar, stress, and to help my immune system.
Overall i am still doing really good. With the new foods, i tried them all at once and went to the dentist all in one day. The next couple of days I was feeling really tired and because i took everything at once I didn't know which food or drug (dentist) was making me feel tired. To make a long story short I tried beef again and when I eat a bigger amount of it it makes me quite tired the next day. So it sounds like there won't be very much beef for me in the future. Today I went back to the dentist to have them fix a tooth. They gave me the anesthesia, but not as much this time and all day I was feeling quite tired. So I guess it was the combination of the beef and drugs. I haven't really been the biggest fan of beef, but my body seems to crave it every once in a while so i don't think staying away for the most part will be that bad.
This past couple of weekends Kyle and I have been going hiking. My endurance compared to before has been really good. I completed a mile hike when before on the same hike I couldn't even get a quarter of the way through. I have lost altogether 9 pounds since I started this program. i have noticed though when I ate the beef or when I flared up the illness that I slowed down with losing the weight. The doctor said that sometimes i might even gain weight, that when the illness flares up that my body keep hold of the fat and then when the inflammation goes down that it is then able to release the fat. Pretty interesting.
Other than that I think I got a hold on the medication thing. I lowered my meds again thinking that it would help with my anxiety. It helped, but then I started getting really tired and emotional. I decided to higher it again because I would rather feel anxiety than tired and emotional. I think the supplements are helping with the anxiety now, but I think with the meds I have the right dosage, but I have just have to decide how long to wait to take the extra pill. If that makes sense.
Anyway, that is what has been going on. Cross you fingers that I get more food for Thanksgiving!

More Food!

2011-10-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

I got more food added to the diet! Eggs, Tomatoes, and Beef! Hallelujah! We are having rib eye steaks for dinner! I am just happy to eat something other than turkey and fish.. bleck! I find myself being kind of afraid to eat anything other than what I have been eating. I don't want to get sick again.
This last week I have cut down on the supplements I am taking. I am feeling really good! My energy is coming back, but I find that when exercising I can't go as long. Although I am waking up at night a couple of time some nights, I am able to sleep a lot better. I wake up feeling a lot more refreshed. There is a big difference! I am not feeling sick at all anymore. I don't think I have felt this good since elementary/Junior high.. no joke! I think the only thing that is really bothersome is my anxiety. Some days I have a really good day and others my anxiety is awful. I get headaches from it as well.
This next week I will still be on the supplements to keep on detoxing. Next Wednesday he will discuss my tests further with me and make more changes to what I am doing.
Nakoa is doing really great as well. She is totally off her diabetes medication, which is amazing!
We both have lost some weight. During these last 3 weeks I have lost 5 lbs altogether. Before all of this at one time I was exercising 2 hours a day about 3-4 times a week during one semester. I was exhausted, but I really wanted to lose some weight. During that semester I only lost 5 lbs. I am so glad I found something that I am seeing results in! Until next week

Day 14

2011-10-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

One more week! I sooo want a Reese's peanut butter cup! This past week has definitely been harder to stay with the diet. Although I have not cheated. This week food wise has been easier. I am not as hungry as I was the first week. It is getting kind of boring eating the same things over and over. I weighed in this past week and I have lost 1 pound! yay! I know that is not much, but it takes a lot to lose just that. The doctor said once we get working with the hormones I will start to lose a lot more.
I have felt a lot better this past week. I think I felt sick only once or twice this past week. Which is amazing! I have felt extremely tired this second week than the first. It made me realize that the first week I was feeling better than I realized... being sleepy. The doc said that this is normal because of the supplements I am taking. The supplements are just helping detox. This next week I will be slowly getting off of them. I have been really burpy. Burping almost constantly. I always refer them to like a hiccup burp. I think there is just a lot indigestion going on as well. They talk about this in the book they doctor gave me as well.
Two weeks ago I saw my other endocrinologist doctor. I was feeling really anxious again and thought it would be best if I lowered my meds. I am really sensitive to changes in the medication. I have been having headaches which is normal for me. I think I'll just have to deal with that until I find the right dosage for me.
I have been reading more of the book the doctor gave me. This disease involves a lot more than just my thyroid. It really effects everything! And I feel like my insides are 10x more messed up than I thought. If any of you know someone that has Hypothyroidism or Hashimotto they definitely need to read the book highlighted in my last post. In the book it sounds like I most likely will need to be on a gluten free diet. I seems that most people that go on this kind of a diet feels better and have less side effects. The book goes into more detail of why. But there are other things that I might have to take out instead like dairy. It all just depends on the person and how the tests that they do come out. I think the test that we are waiting for during this period should come back this week. I guess we will see how it goes.

Day 7

2011-10-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today is day 7 of the diet. I forgot to mention in the last post that this diet will last 3 weeks and then the doctor will start adding foods once my tests come in. The first day of the diet was definitely harder than the following days. I was constantly hungry and I felt like I was snacking all day.
Almond milk has saved me this week. When I felt really hungry it helped me feel better for a longer period of time. The food hasn't been bad at all. I have been concentrating more on what meat I will have for the day since that is what fills me up for the most part. I thought the fish was what might kill me because I am not a big fish lover. I found some fish that hasn't been that fishy like tilapia, halibut, and tuna, and mahi mahi. I added garlic and onion powder which made it taste really good. I was surprised, but then when you are hungry anything tastes good. :) I have had to be really careful with certain things as well because tuna in the can has soy and there is a lot of stuff like turkey bacon or turkey burger that has sugar in it. I checked pretty much all of the cans on the store shelf to see if there was any cans of tuna w/o soy or something I can't have. Overall my I feel like my body is adjusting and doesn't need as much to eat.

I have still been sick here and there, but it does seem that I'm not sick as often as I use to be. The doctor said that my estrogen level is really high and suggested I stop taking my birth control. I think that was what was making me so severely sick more often. I know before I stopped taking it my body would have episodes where it just went crazy like it was trying to get rid of something. He also indicated that birth control pill is what can sometimes start or even cause the hashimoto. The heart palpitations returned for a couple of days at the start of the diet, but then disappeared later in the week. Even though I have drastically changed my diet I haven't lost one pound. So discouraging, but I hope this changes. I am a bit more tired, but I think I am only handling this because I can sleep in a little bit because of school. Thank goodness!

Surprisingly, cutting out the sugar hasn't been as hard as I thought it would. It is definitely easier cutting out the sugar completely rather than eating just a little bit here and there. I am definitely hoping I don't have to cut out the chocolate or popcorn.. some of my favorites!
I am hoping for more changes this next week. I know not all of them will go away for good, but I definitely hoping it improves.

The doctor gave me book and it already is really so interesting. It is called "Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?" I know that seeing my other regular doctor he just gave medication to treat the loss of my thyroid or the symptoms of the loss of it. They weren't treating the autoimmune part of it or what my immune system was doing to my thyroid. In the book they talk about the program, what they do and why they do it. I haven't read it all, but it is very interesting. Sometimes I carry my recipe book around and some people have asked me about it. They themselves have the disease or someone they know has it. It is kind of crazy!

6 Month Treatment

2011-10-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know I have been dealing with some health problems this past year. My mom saw a doctor on KSL and said that he specialized in Hashimoto, the disease that I have. When she told me my heart just jumped. Nobody has really been able to really help me other than give me medication and some supplements. She couldn't remember his name, but then got back to me and told me. I made an appointment right away. My mom and sister, Nakoa, went with me in hopes he could also help Nakoa. She has type 2 Diabetes and PCOS. Making a long story short we decided to do his program together! I want to be thorough for those that are curious about the program and the disease I have.

First off, Hashimoto is an autoimmune disease where my system is attaching my thyroid and slowly eating away at it. The side effects I have had are: severe anxiety, depression, headaches, soreness in my hands, sick to my stomach almost everyday, very tired most of the day, cramps, foggy brain (forgetting words), diarrhea, cold all the time, weight gain, muscle soreness, loss of hair, heart palipatations. These are just the ones I can think of. Some of these have gone away since I started medication, and some come and go. I haven't really had a good day where I haven't felt tired or sick for a while. With all of these side effects you can see why I am so excited to do this program.

The program is 6 months long. I started off with a blood test. When I went back they gave some other tests.. :) One of them was a saliva test and the other was a stool sample. LOL I know I know. This was not my favorite, but you gotta do what you gotta do. The next step starting today is an Anti-Inflammatory Diet. I think the doc said that I have inflammation around my heart and liver. This diet is to reduce the inflammation. There are foods that I could be eating that are inflamming the Hashimoto and making things worse. Here is what the diet consists of.

Things to Avoid:

*Any food that you are allergic to

*Dairy (milk, cheese, Yogurt, butter) eggs, margarine, & shortening
*Food prepared with gluten. Example: wheat, oats, rye, barley; those ingredients are normally found in breads, pasta, cereals, etc.
*Tomatoes and tomato sauces, corn, white potatoes, red potatoes, rice
*Alcohol, caffeine (coffee, black tea), sodas, Fruit juices
*Sugar and artifical sweeteners
*Soy or products made from soy, such as soy milk or tofu
*peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil (anything with peanuts)
*Beef, pork, cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, canned meat, sausage, shell fish
*Dehydrated fruit

Foods to eat:

*Drink plenty of fresh water (8-10 glasses), herbal teas, and decaffeinated green tea

*Quinoa and buckwheat (NOT with whole grains added)
*Fresh fruits and vegetables
*beans(navy, white, kidney, garbanzo, black, etc)
*peas (split, fresh, snap)
*mainly fish, except shellfish, and moderate amounts of chicken, turkey, and lamb (select fish which is less prone to heavy metal contimination)
*Use mainly olive oil, coconut oil, and flaxseed oil (in moderation)
*Unsweetened almond milk
*These nuts in raw form: cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts.

In addition they gave us some anti-inflammatory supplements along with a drink supplement. They luckily gave us some recipes that help a lot as well. This is my first day and I feel like I am doing ok. I definitely need to bring more snacks to munch on during the day at work though. I get empty fast.

School and More Crocheting

2011-09-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while now. Not a lot has happened since then. Since Kyle graduated I thought I better start back up again and go back to school. I was pretty excited to start something new. I went and saw a counselor at the U. It looks like I need just 4 more classes and bunch of volunteer hours to apply for the program I want to do. I decided to sign up for 2 classes since that was all that was offered for that semester. I signed up for Sociology and Political Science. Both of which I was not excited about. I haven't really gotten into politics at all and I don't totally understand the structure of the government. Sad I know. About 2 weeks into it I was really enjoying the classes especially my Political Science. My teacher is quite interesting.

With having Hashimoto I get really tired and sick quite a lot. It is hard for me to concentrate. I knew I couldn't keep it up. So I talked to Kyle and decided to drop a class. My morning class of course, so that I could sleep in. I was so disappointed! I have been so motivated to start school because I want to have more options with work. I am not totally loving my job right now :)

Lately I haven't been feeling the best, but I can still function pretty well for the most part. I have spent a lot of time watching tv with Kyle and looking for new projects to crochet. I have finished one project that I started for myself a couple of years ago. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet. I was thinking of just selling it. I kind of want to make a bunch of afghans and sell them next summer at the farmers market or some event like that. Here is the throw that I finished.

Nakoa, my sister, found a picture of a baby football. I wanted to try making this too. I think the problem I have with this is making them the right size for the right age. Here is what came out of that one.

I already have 1 order for this one. I love making these for the little ones! They are so cute on them! I hope to find more cute stuff to make!

Graduation

2011-05-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

Kyle finally graduated from the University of Utah with an English degree. I am so proud of him and envious of what he has accomplished! The day was nice. We met up with his family and my mom later that day to attend the ceremony and eat dinner.

Not sure what our plans are now, but Kyle is looking for a new job. His job now will end at the end of summer. They are not sure if the program he is working for will continue. It all depends on if they get another grant or not. In the mean time he is looking for another job. It sounds like he might be interested in being an advisor. We will see. As for me I have signed up for classes in the fall and will try to work towards my degree. I have finished my general education and have a certificate of completion. I am so glad I got that done at least, so it is easy for those credits to transfer 5 years later :) I am looking for some volunteer work that I might enjoy as well. I have been feeling a need to do so for a while and haven't really found what I might like to do yet.

I have been trying to work on my diet and my health altogether. I haven't really had any energy to do anything other than go to work and maybe exercise once or twice a week. The supplements I am on have helped quite a bit, but I feel I am still at a low functioning level. I have been having pain on my left side still and from talking to my doctor I think it is from my liver. He said that it feels like it needs to be cleaned out. He wants my diet to be 50% raw foods. I have been keeping track of what I am eating and that has helped me a lot with what I put in my mouth. :) From my last visit he said that it is feeling better.

Follow ups

2011-04-14T13:51:00.001-07:00

So I have been back to the doctor this past month. I was and still am having a little discomfort on the side where the kidney stones were and still had blood in my urine. I went in and they did another CT scan and another test where they went into my bladder to check things out. Both tests came out good and my doctor said I was probably just still healing. I will have to go back and see him in a year. The endo. doctor has changed my medication so I am taking a little more. There was a little miscommunication on that. He told me to take a half a pill more and he meant a half a pill more a week not every day. :) haha! I was a little relieved when i found that out. I was feeling so sick almost everyday. Although I am taking the medication most of my side effects are still there from the disease. I am taking vitamin D and Selenium, which helps with my energy a lot! Although I am still so tired a lot of the time. I joined a softball team so that I have some motivation to work out. When I do I have to work so hard just to loose 5 pounds, which is another awesome thing (not!) that I get to deal with. I have been having joint pain in my hands kind of like arthritis, but that is the only thing that has gone away a little bit that I can tell. There are so many side effects it is crazy to me that one thing can cause so much. The other night I woke up in the middle of the night. Kyle was in the other room doing homework. I was yelling in pain because my legs were having cramps in my muscles and joints. He came in the room thinking that I had another kidney stone. Anywhere I moved it just made them worse. The next day I had to ask him if it was real or not. I think we both have nightmares of what happened in Uruguay :) I hope to see a naturalist that has helped my sister with her thyroid problems as well. He told me he can help me, so I am anxious to see him soon. I am just waiting for him to look at all my blood work and go from there. Wish me luck!

Down With The Sickness

2011-03-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

So for the past couple of months I have been dealing with some health issues. The Monday after I got back from our trip I had already had a dr appointment set up for my yearly check up. My dr was feeling around at my thyroid and said that it felt a little swollen and wanted to get it tested again. They tested it the year before for the same reason and the tests came back normal. That Thursday as I was going in to get an ultrasound on it, they called me and said that I have Hashimoto. This disease is an autoimmune disease where my immune system is attacking my thyroid. They said i may have to be on medication for the rest of my life. I am finding out more and more about it, but it explains a lot about how I have been feeling for the past couple of years. Since I got kidney stones, I think that it kind of set the thyroid disease off worse. So now I think the side effects from the thyroid disease is more intense. Now I am just waiting for my body to get use to the medication and start working. After this they will check my blood levels again and see where I am at and decide from there what to do with my medication.
On the other hand I was still dealing with the kidney stones. For some reason it was taking a really long time for it to pass through. I was still having severe pain throughout some days. About a week & half after we got home I was feeling really severe pain & had taken 2 pills, which is the maximum I can take. Later that night or early morning I was having more pain and took 2 more. The pain wasn't getting any better and sometimes worse. It was close to morning by then and I decided to call my doctor. He told me to come in and get another medication, because they couldn't call that strong of a medication over the phone. I went in with Kyle and got the medication. I was feeling a little bit better, but then I got home and Kyle went to school and it got really bad even after I took the new medication. It turned out they gave me the same drug, just minus the tylenol. I couldn't take it anymore so we went back in to the ER where they did a bunch more tests and stronger drugs. They looked at the pictures they took and wasn't totally sure that it was kidney stones. They were concerned about how long I have had the stone also. They wanted to do more tests to rule out other things. They checked me in and had me stay the night. The next morning I was able to keep something down and I wasn't having anymore pain, so they decided I would be ok to go home. They said if I had pain between then and Monday that I would have to have surgery to get it taken out. I didn't have much pain, but it took me another week to passed the stone. I was so relieve to not have to pee in a strainer anymore. The stone was so little, about the size of a little flake, but I am not kidding you, it had a hook on it! I still had to go back to the doctor for a check up after I passed it. I was still feeling uncomfortable on that side and feeling little spurts of pain. They told me sometimes what happens is that a part of the stone breaks off and stays in there for longer. He told me to come back in a month if I am feeling the same way. He said it is important because sometimes it can cause damage and effect my kidney. It now has been about a month. I have a dr appointment next week. They should just take more pictures of it and decide what to do from there on what they find, if anything.
I feel like I have been through so much and traumatized just a little bit and again I feel so lucky to live where I live.And even though it costs like 10 times more here, I am thankful that I am able to go to such a great hospital where I feel like I am good hands and where they can do so much for me. I am so lucky to have a companion that loves and cares for me so much to help me through it all! AND a mother that I can call whenever I need to take me to the hospital and take care of me when I need her! Looking back I feel so lucky!

URUGUAY

2011-02-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would finally write about our trip to Uruguay. I have been so excited for this trip for the longest time. I definitely didn't think I would learn what I did. My perception of what I thought it would be like was totally different than what it really was like. There is so much to write about I think I will start at the beginning.

Our first flight was Sunday 12/26 around 4pm to Houston. Our next flight wasn't until the next morning so we got a room at the airport hotel there. We had to get up pretty early the next morning to get through the lines and such. Our plane left at about 9 that morning. We flew to Panama from there where we had a lay over for about 4 hours. It wouldn't have been that bad if the airport wasn't so ghetto, but it was alright. We at least had the internet. From there we left at about 7:00pm and didn't arrive til the next morning at about 5am. Although we thought we would sleep on the plane, we didn't. So by then it was Tuesday morning and we were exhausted. We didn't reserve a hotel for the previous night because we thought we would want to go walk around and see things. So from the airport we took a cab to our hotel in hopes that we could get a room that morning.
We got into the cab and there wasn't very many people on the roads that early in the morning, but the guy's driving was giving me an anxiety attack. At this point it was still dark as we drove up to the hotel. My first thought was that we are staying in the ghetto..eek! I think Kyle read my expression on my face because later he said that it would be ok as long as we didn't go out when it was dark. Yikes!! Once we got in the hotel they told us they didn't have any rooms and the rooms wouldn't be ready until later in the afternoon. We just camped out on their couch. I actually fell asleep a few times. I thought I was going to die, but eventually we got up and got some lunch. If you know me, I don't do so well with no sleep.

In the lobby, particularly in the bathroom, was where I had my first Uruguay or foreign experience. As the day went on and I used it a couple of times it got considerably stinkier and stinkier. I told Kyle and he said that they throw away their tissues after using them in the garbage, not in the toilet. I was a little appauled, and couldn't bring myself to do it myself.
Once we got into our room, which was around 12 pm, we just slept until the next day around 11am. We only got up to get some dinner and then went back to sleep. Our hotel room wasn't the greatest. The bed was so hard and the airconditioner wasn't working, but they did get that working for us at least. Wednesday, the next day, we decided to go down to the beach, which was just a couple of blocks away from our hotel. The beach that we went to was a little rundown so we decided to walk over to the next beach. I hadn't worn flip flops for a while, with it being winter here, so I got some blisters on my feet. But once we got there it was awesome! The buildings were so beautiful. As we got closer you can tell that the buildings weren't kept up that great, but from far away it was awesome! Kyle explained that during the depression it was just hard for everyone to keep them nice and hasn't been easy ever since. Here is a picture of the building close to the beach.

We stayed at the beach for a while and then decided to wander up to the mall. By then I was dying and Kyle had no pity on me. He just said, now you know how it feels to be on a mission.
The mall was just like any other! I think I loved it more than ours that we have here. When I shop here everyone has the same style of purses and shoes etc. In Uruguay there is a big variety of CUTE purses and sandals! Nothing was really the same in that way. We didn't buy anything there, but we did at the artisan market where everything was hand made. Everytime we go somewhere we try to do this to support the local people there. Anyway, after we were done there we took a cab back to our hotel. We stayed in for the rest of the night.
Thursday we planned to go on the Colonia city tour. It took about 2 hours to get there by bus. On the way there it gave me and idea of how the people live there. There were homes that were big and nice to homes that were literally shacks or huts. There were so many more of the huts though. I can't believe there are so many people that live like that. It was so sad to me. Because there is so much land that isn't being used that they would be able to use it to grow food so at least they had that. Colonia was beautiful! All of the buildings there were old and some of the roads were cobble stone. The town is right by the ocean as well. From there you could see Buenos Aires just barely from the shore. Here are some pictures that were close by or there in Colonia.

They built this bull fighting arena and shortly after it was outlawed.

We were exhausted by the end of the trip that day so we decided to stay in town by our hotel the next day, which was New Years Eve!
We slept in til about lunch time and we decided to wander around and get some lunch in Montevideo. Everyone was drinking and dancing around. It was really fun to see. From the buildings up on top people were throwing water down on the people below. Some people were just soked! People started to throw beer and water at each other so we just got lunch and got out of there. As we were eating lunch there was a little drum band playing and dancing around us! It was really cool to see!! We also went to this square that is there to honor one of their past leaders that helped them achieve independence. There was this big statue of this guy on a horse and then down below underground there was a big huge Urn with his ashes in it. There was 2 soldiers there guarding his remains. So cool! Here are some pictures of that.

That night for New Years we were going to go down to the beach where they had fireworks. We were watching the news and how crowded and crazy it was there so we decided to stay at the hotel and see if we could see the fireworks from there. In the stairwells there were windows and we could see the fireworks. They were everywhere! It was so awesome! I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip! People were lighting them everywhere even in trees! It was pretty humid there so nothing caught on fire. :) The next morning, we knew everything might open late, but nothing was open accept a few restaurants. So we decided to go walk around some more and see if we could find some stores that were open. Every time we went out the smells just get to you. The sidewalks smell like urine and around the garbage cans the garbage is everywhere because there are so many people going through them. I remember one morning I was just in tears. We saw a couple of guys probably in their 20s or 30s going through the garbage for food. Keep in mind that people throw their waste in there too, so there has to be a lot of disease from it. I realized that there was no kind of homeless shelters anywhere. I really didn't realize how people live there. I think I thought that most people lived like us in the US.
Sunday they have a big market where people come out and set up their handmade items and just other items they find to sell. Alot of our pictures is in video. I didn't really want to post video, but this was one part that we caught on video. It went on for blocks and blocks! It was so much bigger than what our farmers markets are like. That morning it was raining, but we went out anyway. The rain there was like mist, it got a little heavier too. It was so weird. Later as the day go better we went back to the beach to get more sun and relax.
That night things changed for the worst. I got up to use the bathroom and I started to have pain on the left side of my torso. It started getting really bad and I couldn't take it anymore. We finally decided to go to the hospital, but the hotel manager said that someone would be sent to our room. So we went back up to our room and waited for the ambulance. In Uruguay the actual doctor comes with like their assistant or nurse. They gave me a shot for the pain and said that it was probably food poisoning because I was throwing up too. The pain went away, but I was still feeling quite nauseated. We planned to go on a city tour to Punta Del Este the next morning, but because we were up all night, that wasn't going to happen. We still had a few more days there so we weren't that sad about it, but they charged us anyway for not canceling it that night. We planned to go on Tuesday again. On Monday night the pain came back again, but after the ambulance came back the second time the pain didn't go away and so around 10am Tuesday we decided to go to the hospital. They gave me pain medication through an iv and liquids, but it wasn't working and I was just throwing everything back up and just trying to manage the pain. After a couple of tests they said that I have 2 kidney stones. And at about dinner time and not being able to eat anything all day, they finally gave me a room and something to eat and check me into the hospital. The room was free for the night! They gave me morphine for the pain. The first dose wasn't working so they had to give me another shot and then I started having allergies to the morphine. My veins were popping out and I was itching around the veins. Kyle tried to take a picture of them, but it didn't turn out so well.

At this point in the picture I have been stuck 4 times for a stupid IV. This was my first IV too. I think I was tramatized just from that, but then I have always been scared of having an IV. I hate needles! The first one the nurse did and I don't think she knew what she was doing and she had to poke me twice to get it. Then they had to take it out because of the reaction and put in another one.

Once I was stabalized and happy Kyle went back to the hotel and got somethings for the night. While he was gone the nurses came in to give me a strainer so that I could catch the stone if I was to pee it out. It was a huge glass bottle that had a net on it. I had no idea how I was suppose to pee in it. The nurses didn't speak english so they had to think of a word that I understood when I looked it up. Luckily Kyle left the dictionary with me. I feel so lucky Kyle was with me when all this happened. He was so great with it all even though we both were scared out of our minds. The next morning, which was Wednesday the pain stopped and they reluctantly let us go. The Urologist gave me some perscriptions to get me through the plane rides.I don't think either one of us slept that night. I thought Kyle might have an anxiety attack. He kept on asking me every other minute if I was ok, which kind of conforted me too. He even asked to take a St. Johns Wart, which is something I use sometimes for my anxiety to calm me down.
I was fine the rest of the night into Thursday morning, which was when we left. That morning I was feeling a little sick and I could feel the second one wanting to come down from my kidney, so I was quite uncomfortable. At this point the first one didn't pass yet. I was told to take the pain medication 2 hrs before our first flight. The first flight was the longest. It was about an 8 hour flight to Panama. Then we got to wait another 4 hours for our next flight to Texas. There I got to call my mom and tell her that she probably needs to take us to the hospital as soon as we get there. By that time my body was shaking, I actually thought it was the airports that were shaking from the airplanes coming in but I was wrong. I was feeling sick off and on from the medications. And everytime I took and nap and woke up it make it worse, so I tried not to sleep so that I wouldn't chuck on someone in the airplane. I had this aweful scenario running through my head that they would land the plane just for me because I was in so much pain. We had another 3-4 hr lay over in Texas and then another 4 hr flight home. I think I was so lucky and had heavenly help to get through all that traveling. As soon as we landed I had to go to the bathroom. I forgot to mention, that when you have kidney stones you feel like you have to pee a lot. So I used the bathroom after we arrived in Salt Lake and I think I must have passed the first stone there, because shortly after the other one started to come down and I was in massive pain. We got out bags and my mom rushed us to the hospital. Once we got there it was starting to go away and they didn't have to give me any pain meds, but they confirmed that it was kidney stones.

So they sent me on my way with a pain med & nausea perscription andto just wait for the last one to pass. It was so aweful! But looking back I am so glad I went. There was so much we didn't get to see, but I think I was humbled by going and I am so much more thankful for what I have and feel that I am lucky! But I don't think I will be going out of the country for a while. :)

Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

Our Hotel

I tried to get some rest while I had a place I could throw up :)

I had to mark my time in the Uruguay hospital. Aweful picture though :(

Weird signs at the airport. I have no idea what it meant.

Cool car we saw on the side of the road in Colonia

A little church in a neighborhood on the way to Colonia

Everything that we ate there was so good!

New Year Eve everyone dancing in the streets!

Here is a video of the people that go around garbage can to garbage can to get out stuff they might be able to use or or sell. They were everywhere. Kind of crazy

DAD

2010-11-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

Frank Okelberry
October 2, 1955 - May 10, 2010

I keep putting this post off because it is still so hard. My Dad passed away this past year in May. He had been sick for a while. He struggled with addiction and had problems with diabetes. We knew he was sick, but I think it all came as a shock to us still. As much as I miss him, I know he is better and not suffering anymore.
I think of all the things he will not be included in, but I know he is watching us and trying to comfort us. I can't wait til we will all will be together again!
On my sisters blog, she has some of the comments that were sent our way. If you want to read about them. http://cowboyandindians.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

All of us minus Michaela

Michaela & Scott's wedding

Mom & Dad's wedding

Michaela & Dad

Reading to Jada

Dad & Nakoa with his adopted parents Gma & Gpa Okelberry

Him singing and playing the guitar was one of my favorite memories growing up.

This is his biological parents Gma & Gpa Tsinnie

I found out he was in a play! So cool!

Talent show

My baby blessing. He is stylin!

His best friend, Richard

Me & Jeran

Dad, Gpa Bingham & Nakoa

He loved fishing! He would take us with him all the time!

Michaela's baptism

Christmas was always so good! Some of my best memories

All of us at his last birthday with us

My baptism

Mom & Dad's engagment picture

Dad with some of his siblings

Taken in Santaquin at our old house

Love you Dad!
Rest in Peace

Crocheting Maniac

2010-11-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a few items that I have been crocheting this past year. I will post more later that I have been doing recently.

Joel's Graduation

2010-11-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Joel graduated from the U in Electrical Engineering. I am so impressed with what he has accomplished! He now is interning with a company in Idaho and is planning on applying for graduate school.

He just loved his tie that I made him :) He was a good sport and wore it during the ceremony.

New Years 2010

2010-11-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Every year New Years has been kind of boring for us. We do the usual... Go downtown see the lights, check out whatever is going on, and sometimes going home before midnight. This year we are planning on going to Uruguay. This is where Kyle served his mission! I am so excited because not only will it be New Years, but it is going to be summer weather! It is going to be such a nice, exciting, and relaxing vacation for us! Here is a picture of us bringing in 2010.

BTW, I made the scarf Kyle is wearing :)

Christmas 2009

2010-11-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

2009 Thanksgiving

2010-11-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last year I think we had dinner with Kyle's family, but after wards went to Nakoa's for this.

Mom & Jada

HAHA! This is my Grandpa Bingham, my mom's dad :)

Good Friends

2010-11-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

For now I will just post about pictures that I have. In November I got together with some good old friends that I have had since Elementary. It is always so good to see them! We try to get together every once in a while. I seriously LOVE these girls!

Pretty sure Karlie and Joleigh are pregnant in these.

Looking Back & Catching Up

2010-11-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

So apparently I need to catch up from the last YEAR. Yikes! I will start on the next post, but I must warn that 2010, now that I look back, has been a year of change, loss, and struggle. As some of you know change is really hard for me, so what you think is not so big, is big for me. I even tear up when trying to write this. So as hard as it is, I will do it anyway. I think this is why everytime I think I need to update my blog, I put it off. I would like this blog to be more of the day to day things that I think about and what is happening. Not just about the big events and such. So here we go!

Cruisin to the Bahamas!

2009-11-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

So the Bahamas was pretty awesome and relaxing! It wasn't like that to start out with though. We made the mistake of flying the day of the cruise. Our first flight out of Salt Lake was delayed because of weather in Minnesota. We were already on the plane when they told us this so they wouldn't let us off the plane to try to make another flight. LAME! So we just barely missed our second flight into Miami. We would miss our boat.. The stupid airline wouldn't accommodate us because we booked our flight through Travelocity. And because I was so stress out tryin to get everything figured out I didn't think to call travelocity to see what they could do for us. Instead we had to pay for an extra ticket into Nassau, Bahamas. We stayed over night in the Miami Airport, which luckily had a hotel in it.
Then the next day we flew off to Nassau and met up with our boat. It was all worth it though! It all was so relaxing and hot! In Nassau there was a Straw Market where all the locals sold handmade items. We bartered and bought a few items there.
The next day we went to an island that the cruise line owns called Cococay. It was nice. They took us there by smaller boat. On the island they had food there and laid out chairs and such for us. I was quite nervous to go out and swim in the ocean. I am afraid of little creatures. Anyway, Kyle got me out there and the water was warm and so clear that you could see all the fish. We went out by the rocks and there were a lot more out there. Some people were even seeing gigantic sting rays. At that point I pretty much wanted to be done.
The next place we stopped at was Key West in Florida. This is where we planned to go scuba diving. I was very nervous for this and was even thinking about backing down when it was time to go out. Kyle stayed with me the whole time and held my hand as we looked at all the fish. It was pretty cool experience. On our way home I got pretty sea sick because of the smaller boat though. Afterward we did a little shopping and walked up and down the streets.
On the boat it was pretty relaxing. At night we went Hot tubbing, which is my favorite thing to do to wind down. The pools and hot tubs were not crowded at all! We also watched the sun go down. It was a very romantic and relaxing vacation! We didn't get a lot of pictures, but below are the best ones we got. I put them in backwards. :)

scary monster in Key West

Huge statues in Key West

Scuba Diving in Key West

Cute Elephant we found in our room!

Sunset pic

sunbathing in Cococay

Cococay Beach

Becoming a Bahama Mama

Bahama Mama

All of the buildings in Nassau were so bright with color

our boat

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-10-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. Not sure how old he his.. 50 something. We all got together at Nakoa's and had dinner to celebrate! We also got some group pictures.

Jeran and his girlie friend Vanessa

I love my siblings!!

Jace eating cake.. haha

One Great Concert!

2009-09-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

So I was listening to X96 one morning and they were talking about the fair. They said something about Boyz II Men being there. As soon as I heard I got on the internet and fished around to see how I could get tickets. I immediately texted my sisters to get them on board too. When I got home to tell Kyle I was so excited. He was like.. what do you think this is 1992?? haha!! I found out that we had to wait in line the morning of the concert. I was stuck! I couldn't get out of work and nobody could get there to wait in line. My sister got online and I told her that I couldn't make it that morning. I was totally bummed cuz I was so excited to go... ( you have no idea!) About an hour later Nakoa texted me and said that she was in line!! I was so excited that I was having an anxiety attack..(seriously!) She got them! I was jumping up and down at my desk. Later that day Nakoa texted me and said that she couldn't find a babysitter. Me and Michaela were so bummed :( I was so thankful for her to stand in line for us.. and even with Jace. He can be handful. But she couldn't even go with us. I have THE best sister in the world!
I have seriously been listening to their Motown cd for about a year non stop.

It is a collaberation of old Motown songs from when I was young and before I was even born. My parents like that kind of music so I have become to love it myself. It has some really great songs from the Temptations, Stevie, and Lionel.

My favorite song that they do is the old temptations song called It's The Same Old Song. I will post a performance of it! I play it over and over :) But the whole concert was pretty much like that! So AWESOME!! really.... AWESOME

Here is the link( I can't figure out how to post it on the blog.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VluKHCIClPc

Blankets for sale!

2009-08-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

Like I said before, I have spent a lot of my time crocheting blankets. I love doing them! I have almost about 3 baby or little kid blankets made. I am now totally finished with one (the blue and brown one) but will post a picture of one other that I have pretty much finished the body of, but just have to finish the ribbon on. These are really good gifts for birthdays, baptisms, or baby showers! Let me know what you think or if you are interested.

close up

July

2009-08-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

This past month has been a nice one. Kyle and I decided to pretty much just stay at home and rest for the 4th and 24th. We love to just stay home and watch movies, so that is what we did. My birthday was also this month and I got to celebrate with my cousin, Sonya, whose birthday was the following week. Here are a few pictures of family from the little gathering.

Kyle and his brothers

Mom and Michaela

Laraine and Andrew
Jada and Mom
Sonya and April

Michaela, Scott and I also went to my favorite band's concert.. Incubus!! I seriously love their music! I had pictures of that night, but can't figure out how to post them. I have also been filling a lot of my time with making afghans. This has become almost an addiction for me. I love doing them! I have finished 2 of them this month. Here is one of them that I most recently finished for our friends Miguel and Lacy for their soon to come baby.

I have finished some earlier that I have not shown yet that I will soon be selling. I just have got to finish some odds and ends with them to show them. So check back soon!

Eventful Weekend

2009-06-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was good. My friend Charlotte and new little one Brienna came to visit! I was so excited to see her! I love getting with her and talking about what is going on. She has been a really good friend! She is one of the very few people I can really talk to and feel like she really understands me. I can tell her anything! Here is a picture I took of Bri. (ok.. so I can't figure out how to put the picture below.. :) We ended up going to the Arts Festival at Library Square. Kyle and I have always enjoyed going. Afterwards we just in time for it to storm we went to Litza's pizza.

Saturday was a nice day too. I got to sleep in as much as I could, which is always nice. I got some tickets from my work to go to Transformers 2. They have a film festival every season for the company where they rent out theaters. We invited Kyle's brother Joel and his girl friend Natty to see it with us. The movie was alright. Quite cheesy if you ask me, not to mention soooo long! Afterwards we went to the West Fest.

Here we go!

2009-06-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

Finally! I got one up. I am not sure what I am going to be writing about, but I was hoping it would be somewhere I can write my thoughts down on any little thing. I think I will start with tell you a little bit about me. I have been married to Kyle for almost 4 years and we pretty much spend every minute we have together still! I love it! We just bought a condo close to down town Salt Lake. I have always wanted to lived there and we love it! Plus it is close to both of our work and Kyle's school. I will have worked 3 years at 1800 contacts in August. I am still working at AE also on occasion. Ha Ha.. I can't really think of anything else. I am pretty much a quiet homebody. So anyway, hit me up! I would enjoy hearing from you!