ABC's of Moles

A few of you are aware that my friend, Mr. Mole, that has been with me my entire life, will die tomorrow at 9am sharp. Yes, it is time that I put him out of his misery, and start putting myeslf into a bit of pain. I have wanted to have him removed from my left arm for several years now...I just never had the guts to go through with it...until now.

I HATE needles, and my family thinks it quite hilarious that I am going in tomorrow, with Steven sitting in the waiting room, to have it removed. All the discomfort, pain, and yes...even several panic attacks await me in the next 24 hours (minimum, I'm sure!).

I don't think I have much to worry about, though. I did a presentation of moles a few years ago and found it very interesting what a person should be aware of when it comes to moles, and that everyone needs to monitor their moles, especially when considering the possibility of cancer.

So, let me share with you my findings. Here are the ABC's of cancer. This is what you NEED to be aware of:

Asymmetry: Asymmetry can be assessed by comparing one half of the growth to the other half to determine if the halves are equal in size. Unequal or asymmetric moles are suspicious.

Border: If the mole's border is irregular, notched, scalloped, or indistinct, it is more likely to be cancerous (or precancerous) and is thus suspicious.

Color: Variation of color (e.g., more than one color or shade) within a mole is a suspicious finding. Different shades of browns, blues, reds, whites, and blacks are all concerning.

Diameter: Any mole that has a diameter larger than a pencil's eraser in size (> 6 mm) should be considered suspicious.

So...after reading my blog...go to a mirror close by, and have a good look at yourself. If you see something suspicious (and no, I'm not refering to your zits or your hair)...maybe you should consider saying "goodbye" along with me.

TTFN...ta ta for now!

Enjoying a few wedding pics

These are all conpliments of Steven's sister, Emily.

Don't they look good?

Primary kids

Most of you know I have recently been called to work with the children's organization of the LDS church. If the Lord has something in mind for me to do, I am very unaware of what that is right now. However, I am giving it my best shot. I can't say it's the easiest thing I've ever done--but even challenges have their reward (don't they?).

So today, when all 50 kids got together for the last 20 minutes of sharing time...the 5-year-olds were a disaster! Running over each other, tripping their friends, yelling, and just being totally obnoxious. So, after several times of getting onto the "rowdiest" of the group, I kindly asked them to scoot over and I sat between them (must I have to act like my mom at such an early age...I don't even have my own kids yet!).

After a few minutes of bonding with the kids, giving them the "evil eye" and trying to make them feel special and trying to get them to obey me (instead of hate me), it turned into quite a nice experience. The one I usually have trouble with said "My shoes are untied...can you help me?" He proceeded to put his little shoe on my lap, and told me just how to do it...loop this one, loop that one, pull them together in opposite directions, and then we have to do it again my mom says...you have to double knot them. After all was said and done...he said "yours looks better than my moms."

That put a smile on my face...the little rodent had just won me over...and he didn't even know it!

Marriage advice

Several things that are going on in my family at this time have caused me to ponder deeply what exactly a "happy marriage" is made of. I look at all of those "old folks" sitting on their porch swings and wonder...if I asked them the secret to how they've made it this far...I wonder what they'd say. Most of the time, they've given me the answer; "lots of hard work" or "lots of patience." But in my own family, people who I thought were hard workers, very capable of loving and being loved...well, things just haven't gone so right for them lately.

Today after church, I did a bit of research, and thanks to the Internet I found a great article posted on Redbookmag.com (yes, the magazine) and found an article entitled "The 9 Secrets of Happy Couples" and would like to share them with you. Most of the time, I consider this magazine and Cosmo along with it, to be fairly slutty and a waste of time to read. However, I was intrigued by this one. So, thanks RedBook for publishing something normal for a chance!

9 Secrets of Happy Couples

1. They use terms of endearment

2. They do stuff together

3. When the going gets tough, they don't call mom or dad

4. They stay connected to their parents

5. They don't "nickel and dime" about chores

6. They fight constructively

7. They give each other gifts

8. They never lose their sense of humor

9. They take "for better for for worse" seriously

And the best quote is this:
"Most couples think they should strive for a relationship that's 50-50, but the fact is, they should each give 150 percent. In good relationships, couples give everything they can. They don't nickel-and-dime each other, and they respect that each person gives different things."

This is something I need to work on...loving my husband, caring for him and taking care of him 150% of the time, and realizing that my opinion isn't the only one that counts. Yes, most of the time I'M right (he he), but sometimes I forget just how blessed I am to have the husband I do have, and I forget to thank him for being my partner for eternity, and the one who I get to grow old with.

Mexico, here we come!

For Spring Break this year, my colleague and I will be taking a group of students to Mexico. We will go to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Chitchen Itza, Cozumel, and several other places of interest.

Some days I am really excited to go! Other days I wake up thinking..."have I gone completely insane; volunteering to take an unknown group of Junior High kids outside of the country?"

I'll definitely have to keep you posted...

Here's the latest funny story... today a student was told there is "no way we are taking you...you act like a buffoon in my class, how am I supposed to put up with a bunch of buffoons like you in another country?" Well, her mama called after school (before her daughter got home w/ the news, obviously) asking exactly who she needed to make her check out to, and exactly how much it should be for, because if her daughter was "going to Mexico...I will be chaperon"....Well, I have news for her. Neither her NOR her mama will be going with us this year or any other year!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

EVEN though marriage is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, it sure can be rough sometimes. I'm not going to air out my dirty laundry for everyone to read, that's for sure! But I did want to publicly thank my husband for putting up with my tears, my fears and my heartaches, my smiles, my thrills, and my excitements.



Steven, you are the best thing in my life! I love you so much, and I know it only gets better from here. I know they say marriage is hard, and I believe we're just now figuring that out. But I know that we can do it, and I have faith that we don't have to do it alone. So, here's to looking forward to spending the next 50 years with you trying to figure out this whole thing called "marriage" ...

What a day!

MONDAYS . . .
who needs them, anyways?

Mondays are so crazy! Today was like pulling teeth to get the students to respond. It doesn't help that tomorrow is an early release day and the kids are only in classes for 18 minutes each. What kind of "productive day" is that???