Crack!

In October of 2008, shortly after we moved to Arizona, I was introduced to two wonderful people. Dr's Jon & Kori Sprintz. They have their own Chiropractic practice called Health for Life Chiropractic in Mesa, Az. I was never too keen on the whole philosophy of chiropractic treatment, probably because my dad always talked bad about it. Saying that Of course the more you get your back cracked the more you have to go and the more money they make from you....

I definitely have a different view of it all now, after 15 months of treatment. I have known since I was 12 that I have minor scoliosis in my spine. I have always had back pains and it only got worse when I was pregnant with Joey. I really just learned to live with it. It wasn't anything that really could be fixed and I just thought I was supposed to be in pain all of the time because that was just part of life. After quite a few years filled with stress, getting married, moving to a different state, I thought I would have an open mind when listening to my friend Sara tell me about Jon & Kori.

My consultation appointment was a little bit emotional for me. They took X-rays of my spine and a computerized nerve scan. When Dr. Kori was showing me my X-ray it then hit me why my back hurts so much all of the time. It's crooked.  After explaining to me what chiropractic care could do for me, Paul and I decided to try it.

At first, I was going 2-3 times a week and it was painful. Dr. Jon was basically retraining my muscles and my spine to a new position. A few times, he would adjust me and by the time I got home, my bones had snapped back to where they thought they should be and it would cause my ribs to be out of alignment. That was painful. After a few weeks of that I could feel my body starting to adjust to it's new range of motion and positioning. I was working out more, stretching more and even got a few massages to help ease the muscle pain.

Now, it's been 15 months and I'm only going in for an adjustment once, sometimes twice a month. I feel great. I still get occasional back pain but not nearly as bad as it used to be. When it does start to hurt I do more of the stretching exercises that they taught me and it always helps. Not only does going in to see them make my back feel better but it also helps my mood. They are always so upbeat and happy and positive thinking. It has been an enlightening experience to learn about how my spine and nerves work and made great new friends in the process!

I went in to their office today with a smile and left with an even bigger one. I think I am even a little bit taller too!

Stormy night & a glass of wine.

Thoughts flow through my mind, I try to analyze but can't.

I sit and think of all the times you made me smile,  and all the times you didn't.

Days turn to night and night to day, with each passing minute your memory never fades.

My heart is whole with thoughts of you, missing only your touch.

I dream of what may be, and smile deep inside my soul.

Knowing that you think I am beautiful, gets me through it all.

Twenty Days.

I still can't believe that in just twenty days I will be the beautiful age of 30.  Still nothing is planned and I have a feeling this birthday will be spent just like all of the others. Just another day. I was really looking forward to my parents coming for the weekend to visit, but my mom called today and said they won't be able to come afterall. Then, I had high hopes that Audrey, my cousin was going to be coming to spend a week with me and she too can't make it. I completely understand in both situations why they can't come visit, but I have to admit I am sad about it.  Not that I don't want to spend the day with Joey and Paul, but I was really really really really looking forward to seeing my closest family.

Moving on.

It's an unusually stormy day here in the valley of the sun. I thought that living in the "Valley of the Sun" meant that all days were sunny, with beautiful blue skies, and birds chirping. It has been raining off and on since 4am this morning and when it rains, it's a down pour. The wind is howling around the house and the lake level in the backyard is rising.

I'm not really one to like rainy weather. I remember a couple winters ago in California, it rained for 33 days. Not fun and I don't miss that. I do love a good storm, as long as it only lasts a day or so. Anything more than that I get antsy. I need my natural vitamin D. During the summer we did get quite a few monsoon storms, but those really don't last long and they are so entertaining that I don't think much about the fact that it's raining. This week however has been strange. We have had a couple of rainy days and it's been cold. Yes, I do think 55 degrees is cold. It's especially cold when you have to go to the grocery store in it.

While at the grocery store, I picked up the latest People Magazine. I wanted to read the featured story on Heidi Montag and her "Obsession with plastic surgery". As I'm reading the first pages of the article, I'm really disgusted. Ten procedures in just one day? She has said she did it because "We all want to feel attractive, and who is anyone to judge me?". Does she really think that having all of these procedures are what make her attractive? I really do want to know who (if there is anyone out there) actually finds her to be an intelligent individual. After watching the first 5 seasons of MTV's The Hills I don't think plastic surgery is going to make her any more attractive. Her personality has shot all hopes of attractiveness, in my opinion.

As I'm reading more of the article I am actually feeling sorry for her and myself. She said it right that yes, we all want to be "attractive" but what really makes us attractive? I too have always wanted to be beautiful. I always compared myself to my friends and always wanted to have clearer skin, smoother hair, bigger breasts, a smaller nose, smaller eyebrows and who knows what else I obsessed over during the last 29 years. Did this obsession cause me to have multiple surgeries? No. I have accepted myself for who I am and have learned to see the beauty in what I do have.  I have had one surgery, and that was 8 years ago. I do not regret it and I am still happy with that decision I made.  It hasn't changed how I view myself though.

It is so sad to me to see what society does to some of these young "characters" (I won't call her an actress because she isn't one). If only everyone could just be beautiful in their own skin and not have to spend millions of dollars on plastic surgery. I really do feel sorry for her, that she feels she is so ugly that she has to "build" her body and face to look like a barbie doll. Listening to a clip of her interview made me sad for her and thankful for myself at the same time. I am turning 30 soon and while I may complain about my nose, and my acne scarred skin, I do love who I am and what I look like. It's what makes me, me.

This post isn't to be putting someone else down to feel better about myself. I am not judging her. I am really just trying to write through my confusion of what attractiveness and beauty really is. It shouldn't be what TV producers and movie executives lay out in writing, it should be in the way you walk, the way you carry yourself, and being the best YOU that you can be.

The crow & the butterfly.

This weekend went by amazingly fast. As I sit and try to think of all that went on my mind is flooded with answers.  It is so hard to believe that today is already January 18. The month is more than half over and every day is getting closer to the big 3-0.

My family and I are huge fans of AMA Supercross. We love riding dirt bikes of our own and really love watching the races week after week. Last weekend marked the start of the season in Anaheim for Round 1. It was an exciting race and felt so good to watch it with our friends in Yuma. They are into the racing just as much as we are, if not more. I guess you could say that for me personally, Supercross is my football, or basketball. I learn about the riders, follow their injuries and lap times and root for my favorites every week.

Saturday, the 16th, was Round 2 here in Phoenix at Chase Stadium. Of course we bought tickets, and of course we went. We have gone every year for the past 5 years. (actually my 2nd date with Paul was to Supercross in San Francisco back in 2006). Part of the whole experience is getting to the stadium early and walking through "the pits" and going inside to watch the riders practice. We got there right at about 12:45 and went straight into the pits to see the riders hanging out by their bikes, mechanics working on the bikes, families and friends sitting around visiting waiting for the big race later on in the night.

Our favorite rider is Ryan Dungey. Ryan won the AMA Supercross championship last year for the lites class (which means he was riding a 250) and this year has moved up to riding the "big bikes".  He did amazing at the first race last weekend, keeping pace with James Stewart  and taking 2nd place. This weekend in Phoenix he ended up winning 1st place. He's an amazing rider. He's also a very personable guy. We were fortunate enough to get to meet him and hang out with him for a bit after the race (thanks to my good friend Jason Curtis). He was just a normal kid who was excited he won and wanted to talk bikes with Paul. It was so refreshing to see a rising star be so personable and down to earth. He reminds me a lot of Travis Pastrana.

Back to the pits, while we were walking around we saw a friend of mine, Jason Curtis. We talked with him for a bit and one thing lead to another, we ended up spending a lot of time with him for the rest of the afternoon/evening. We didn't even sit in the seats that we bought. He came down to our seats with guest passes and we were able to come up to the Press Box to sit with him and a few of his friends. Those seats were pretty amazing. You could see the whole track and it was nice to be in good company. Not to mention the seats were cushioned instead of hard plastic. It was thanks to him that we had an even better experience at the race and were able to meet Ryan Dungey afterwards. It was definitely a night I'll never forget. Joey was so excited as well. Afterall, Ryan Dungey switched to #5 this year for the big bikes....that's Joey's number!

Saturday came and went. When we got home we were greeted by our friends from Yuma who were also at the race. They were sitting in a completely different section that we couldn't even get to with the tickets we had. Had a great dose of toddler on Saturday night and I didn't want the night to end. I was amped up and went to bed with a smile.

Sunday brought feelings and emotions that I didn't know existed. My friend Tennille likes to run marathons. She had signed up for the PF Chang's Rock & Roll Marathon here in Phoenix and not only was it a marathon, it was the Ultra Marathon. I had never been to a marathon of any sort and really didn't know what to expect. She had little baggies that she had given to me and a map of where to meet her at different markers on the course. When I got to the first meeting point, it was mile 13. (Actually I believe 16 or 17 for her since she was doing the Ultra). As she approached me, tears filled my eyes and I felt like a proud mother. She is a really good friend of mine and I am so proud of what she was doing. There were so many people running. People standing on the sidelines cheering, it touched me. I'm not exactly sure why or how yet but I know it did. Not sure if I was feeling like a failure because I wasn't out there doing that and I complain at even running 1/2 mile? My friend was running 31 miles!!!!

I met up with her again at mile 20 and she was starting to get pretty sore and tired. I had walked against the runners for a bit so I could speed walk along side her for a while. I'm not sure if it helped her at all or not, but I know it felt good to be supporting her. After we parted ways again, I rushed to the finish line. Parking in the area was horrible. I finally made it the finish line and had plenty of time to spare. Stood on the sidelines watching as many runners passed through the finish line. 1st time runners, vet runners, full marathon, ultra marathon, 77 year old runners. I couldn't believe that there were 30,000 people running in this marathon. That's an amazing amount of people. So many of them working so hard to reach the finish line. It was an amazing experience that I honestly don't even know how to put into words yet.

Now it's Monday and it's rainy outside. I don't really miss the gloomy days of California. I love the sunny days that kiss my skin. I'm hearing that we are supposed to get this weather for a full week and I'm not really looking forward to that. I was hoping to get outside and work in my backyard a bit, trim some palms and just read my book with the sun shining down on me. I guess it would be better if it was actually raining and not just cloudy and cold. Maybe it's time to bake some more yummy cookies??

Just a little bit of patience

Sometimes when something is frustrating you, all you need to do is take a step back, have some patience and try to approach it again. I had Joey take a break from his writing assignment, he ate some dinner and then I sat down with him again. I sat with him while he brainstormed some ideas, thought of some positive words and then formed sentences. He wrote his rough draft, I corrected it and really only changed 1 or 2 words, added some commas and this is the final draft.

Dear Camden,

Our school Basha Elementary, is having a reading challenge. The challenge is to read as many books as possible between January 6 and March 31. If our school wins, the library will be given $15,000. The Basha school library will be able to purchase a numerous amount of new books with the prize money.  One of the benefits of reading several books is that it can make you read faster which allows you to read more books. Another benefit of reading is that it can make you smarter. You should set a goal for reading so that if you accomplish the goal you feel completed. The are many benefits to reading as many books as you can.

Your friend,

Joe

I think he did a pretty good job. It was a much nicer letter than the first one he wrote. It's amazing what happens when we have just a little bit of patience.