Needles and Tape

I love my chiropractor!  He is such an incredible person who has helped so many people emotionally and physically.  I went this morning with my mom and brother.  I definitely had a brand new experience...acupuncture!  I'd never done it before.  My chiropractor did it to help me with the lovely pain that I get on a monthly basis ;)  It was a cool experience.  Not the best feeling to be poked with lots of needles, but it wasn't too bad once they were in.

Here's a picture where you can see two needles on each hand/arm.  There were also ones poking into the inside of my wrist, but I didn't want to lift my arms up because I was trying to relax them.  I also had three needles in my stomach.

The next couple of pictures show something that I've had done a few times by my chiropractor.  I found out in high school that I have scoliosis.  If you ever look at me while standing up, you'll notice that my right shoulder is lower than my left, which means that my head tilts slightly to the left.  I do it in pictures too.  Okay, don't look at me weird now hahaha.  Anyway, my chiropractor tapes my back sometimes, pulling my right shoulder up and both of my shoulders back.  It helps me feel how my posture is supposed to be without compensating for my curved spine.  For some reason, it's making me exhausted today.  It works my muscles in ways that they aren't used to.

Only two more hours until I leave to my sister's for our fun card making night :)

Christmas Craftiness :)

Before leaving to my dad's house on Tuesday, I spent a few days finishing up some Christmas presents and also making cards.  Last year and this year almost all of my Christmas presents were handmade, and it was such a different experience.  It brought me so much joy to make gifts from my heart.  My siblings and I draw names for Christmas, and this year I had Julie.  I started crocheting her a blanket in the spring and finally finished :)

I made myself a really cute recipe box a few years ago and thought it would be a great idea for my mom and Bill.  I made it at the end of the summer during a crafy night with my friend Elin.

I also finished up a scarf that I started crocheting for my mom over the summer.  I made Bill an "eye-sock."  The story of the eye-sock goes back to my childhood lol.  My mom would often put a black sock over her eyes in the morning to block the sun from coming in.  So a couple years ago, I sewed her an "eye-sock."  It was black with flower lace around the edges and I embroidered "Julz" in pink.  I've been telling Bill I would make him one for over a year now, so I finally made it the Monday before Christmas.  After making that for Bill, I spent a few hours sewing a little apron for my little brother Jesse.  He is starting to help bake a little bit so I thought it would be fun for him to have an apron of his own.  It was blue with baseballs on it and I embroidered a big "JESSE" on the front.  It was fun to make.  And it was fun to spend time with my sister Julie since I made it at her house :)  Thanks for letting me use your sewing machine Julie!!!  I made my dad and Heather a cute picture frame...which means we should probably take a new family pictures soon.  It's been a while.

I spent about five hours on Tuesday making cards while watching "Little Women" and the Food network haha.  I love making cards but don't give myself time to do it during the school year, so it was fun for me to make a few different kinds of cards.  My sister and mom bought some of them from me.  I had fun showing them to my family :)






My sisters and I are going to have a card-making night on Wednesday and I am super excited for it.  I've been trying to stay busy during the break.  My niece Aliyah was blessed yesterday in my blessing dress, which was really neat.  She's so adorable.  Then I had a Barton family dinner at my aunt and uncles' house.  It was great to see the family and spend time with them.  I'm excited to start school again in some ways, but I also wish I had more time to work on developing certain qualities in myself.  I guess that's one of the challenges of life...figuring out how to grow and develop good qualities while we are busy with school, work, and many other activities.  It's a challenge, but I'm excited to learn how to do it better :)  

Time to re-dedicate :)

I'm done with finals!!!!!!!!  Wahoo :)  It feels so wonderful.  I am so grateful for the classes I was able to take over the semester and how much I learned from them.  Not a day goes by when I am not extremely grateful to be at such a wonderful university that has such a great spirit.  I'm so thankful for the strength Heavenly Father has given me the last couple of weeks to finish the semester.  I love Him.  That is precisely the reason that I am going to use this Christmas break to "re-dedicate" myself to Him.  I made a to-do list for the break (I can't ever get a break from those hahaha) and I am so excited to study the scriptures, the conference Ensign, finish Christmas presents, spend time with loved ones, etc.  I am going to start off the new semester right...meaning the Gospel comes before school and anything else.  No matter how much school work I have to do, there is ALWAYS time for Heavenly Father.  After all, there isn't a day that goes by where He doesn't make time for me.  Anyway, I am excited to relax and rejuvenate myself :)  

I just went to Cafe Rio with a friend who just got home from his mission.  It was really good to catch up and talk.  One of my new roommates just got back to Utah from the Jerusalem Center and she is here until tomorrow.  Then she'll go home to Alaska for Christmas and come back for winter semester.  I knew her from the ward last year and I'm really excited to have her as a roommate.  My roommates are all great.  My old roommate Alex is sleeping over tonight.  We're going to have lots of fun.  She means a lot to me and I always have such a great time with her.  We watched a movie last night and it was the dumbest movie I've ever seen haha.  But we ordered a yummy pizza, which made it better.  Now I'm going to go get some things done.  My brother Jon has his second degree blackbelt test tomorrow!!!  I'm so happy for him and his accomplishments.  He's the best brother.  Here's a picture from the day my friend Xanthe got married.  It matches my re-dedication goal because I am with the most important person to me!