Okay, so it’s been a while and we have been extremely busy around here! As I type this, I’m trying to remember what all we’ve done since I last posted and for the life of me, I can’t even remember back that far! April is the month for birthdays in our family. We have, my mother in law, mine, my moms, and my niece, so needless to say we have had some celebrations. My niece, Brooklyn, turned 5 this year! That’s crazy, I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.

Jonathan and I, along with Tracy and Keri and Aaron Lehmann hosted “Fresha Peppa” cafe for Brian and Heather Treadaway and had a blast doing so!

This is “tiny” -Jonathan and “Fredrique” -Aaron. Keri was the chef, I was the paparazzi and Tracy was the local bar fly…fun times in deed. I think Brian and Heather had a good time, I hope so anyway!

The last two weeks of April I was out of town for work. I had an investigators meeting for some research trials we are doing. I was in Orlando, Fl first and was able to go over to Universal Theme park for a while….the park itself was closed but we were able to walk around and then eat some dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.

The next week I went to Atlanta, Ga….not as much fun there! We flew in on the 28th, had meetings all day and then had meetings the next morning and flew out that afternoon. We waited on the tarmac for about 2 hours before we could leave Atlanta due to bad weather in Dallas. Then when we were close to Dallas, we had to circle around a few times because there were so many planes trying to land at DFW from delays. We eventually made it back home about 5 or 6 hours later.

Jonathan and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary and unfortunately I was in Atlanta on the 28th while Jonathan was back in Dallas! Not the way we thought we would spend our anniversary, but life goes on. Friday night we went to Outback Steakhouse for a delicious dinner and then Saturday we were going to go spend the day in Ft Worth but because of the rain we decided to shoot for next weekend instead.

So that’s been our life for about the last month….hopefully it will be a little less crazy around here for a while!

Day 117 alternate, originally uploaded by Laurie B!.

“Once we surrender our mind to GOD completely, HE will take care of us in every way.” ~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba quotes

This morning Brian challenged us to face our Giants so we can follow God completely. He talked about 5 giants that we each face, I’m sure at one point or another I could easily say I have or will face all 5. The giants were: fully surrender, intentional relationships, caring for others, personal responsibility and leadership.

My biggest giant is Fully surrendering to Christ. At the end of the service we were able to go up to the stage and pick up a stone to signify our “giant” as a reminder for us. Hopefully over the next year I’ll be able to work on my giant.

Solar scientists predict that, by 2020, the sun will be starting into its weakest Schwabe solar cycle of the past two centuries, likely leading to unusually cool conditions on Earth. Beginning to plan for adaptation to such a cool period, one which may continue well beyond one 11-year cycle, as did the Little Ice Age, should be a priority for governments. It is global cooling, not warming, that is the major climate threat to the world, especially Canada. As a country at the northern limit to agriculture in the world, it would take very little cooling to destroy much of our food crops, while a warming would only require that we adopt farming techniques practiced to the south of us.

So what is it…global warming or global cooling? Here’s my theory…..we’ll continue with global warming as everyone says is happening now and then by the time 2020 hits, the global cooling will just bring the earths temperature level back down to where it is now. So basically it just evens out…haha. Just kidding, I know it doesn’t work that way.

So why is it that when you smell certain things it brings back a memory.
I can smell this certain smell and it brings back memories a christmas
morning like 20 or 21 years ago. I can’t describe this smell, but it is
very specific and I know when I smell it. I was driving to work this
morning and there it was, this smell, and all of a sudden I thought of
Christmas when I was like 4. Well if you are wondering why this happens,
here’s the reason. Although I’m sure it’s more scientific than most of
you would like…sorry!

Inside your nose about the level of your eyes, is a small patch of
tissue containing millions of nerve cells. The odor receptors (sensors)
lie on these nerve cells. Each of the receptors recognizes several
odors, and likewise a single odor could be recognized by several
receptors. So, similar to codes, what happens is that different
combinations of the 1,000 receptors result in our ability to identify
10,000 different odors. The process that takes place is pretty complex.
After an odor molecule enters the nose and are recognized by the
olfactory sensors, the signals are eventually sent to the olfactory bulb
that is located right above the eyes. The signals only go to two areas
in the olfactory bulb, and signals from different sensors are targeted
to different spots that then form a sensory map. From there the signals
reach the olfactory area of the cortex (smell sensory cortex). An
important quality of the olfactory system is that information travels
both to the limbic system and cortex. The limbic system is the primitive
part of the brain that include areas that control emotions, memory and
behavior. In comparison the cortex is the outer part of the brain that
has to do with conscious thought. In addition to these two areas,
information also travels to the taste sensory cortex to create the sense
of flavor. Because olfactory information goes to both the primitive and
complex part of the brain it effects our actions in more ways than we
think.
Many people wonder how certain smells able to trigger memories of
events taking place several years ago despite the fact that sensory
neurons in the epithelium survive for about only 60 days. The answer is
that the neurons in the epithelium actually have successors. As the
olfactory neurons die, new olfactory neurons generated by the layer of
stem cells beneath them, which eventually takes the role of the old
neuron as it dies. The key point to the answer is that “memories survive
because the axons of neurons that express the same receptor always go to
the same place”. The memories are stored in the hippocampus, and through
relational memory certain smells trigger memories.

Well, I hope you didn’t fall asleep reading that…I know what you’re
thining, your a NERD. And to that I say, I’ve told you I was a science
nerd before. Live with it.

Today has been declared the most depressing day of the year. This year, make it your call.

The superstitious have long worried about courting bad luck on Friday the 13th and stayed “beware the Ides of March.” But for the past couple of years there has been another day to mark in black on the calendar: The most depressing day of the year.

In 2005, a psychologist named Cliff Arnall (who was, at the time, a part-time lecturer at the University of Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning in Wales), declared that he had devised a formula to calculate the worst day. That year, it was Monday, Jan. 24; last year, Monday, Jan. 23. So watch out, because today may well be 2007Â’s most miserable day.

ArnallÂ’s so-called formula looks like this: [W + (D-d)] x TQM x NA.

All of the letters and symbols apparently represent a sort of mathematical code to track the following:
W: How bad the weather is at this time of year.
D: Amount of debt accumulated over the holidays minus how much is paid off.
T: The time since the holidays.
Q: Amount of time passed since New YearÂ’s resolutions have gone south.
M: Our general motivation levels.
NA: The need to take action.

Some of the factors that affect our mood are:

The weather*and in particular, the lack of daylight*is an issue in January and February, especially in the northern latitudes. And thatÂ’s the primary cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Another universal dilemma around this time of year is debt.. “Buyer’s remorse is a core part of the post-holiday blues,” acknowledges Ellen McGrath, Ph.D., president and founder of Bridge Coaching Institute in New York City. “Love is defined as buying a great gift, but when the bills come due in January it can lead to depression.”

Late January is also time to confront reality, say psychologists. Difficult decisions about jobs, family and relationships are often put off until after the holidays. So while we may wake up feeling very positive on Jan. 1, life may look a lot less shiny a few weeks later.

While Arnall’s equation has received its fair share of criticism, most experts agree that if this “day of doom” prediction helps raise awareness about the serious issues of depression and seasonal affective disorder, then, overall that’s a good thing and not harmful. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that almost 18.8 million American adults suffer from depression and nearly six percent of the population is affected by SAD.

Still, plenty of people take offense at such a specific “most depressing day” pronouncement. “It essentially vacates any concept of free will or self-determinism, putting the focus on external events rather than what’s within us,” says Susan C. Vaughn, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.

So the moral of the story is even if you have maxed out your credit cards, failed at your New YearÂ’s resolutions, and the weather is lousy, not everyone will succumb to depression*especially not all of us on the same day. In fact, some psychologists and life coaches argue that January can be a time of focus and motivation. The frenzy of the holidays is past, and there is time to concentrate on accomplishing new goals.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has called in sick when you were in
fact, not sick! If you haven’t, you need to try it sometime…just for a
simple day of relaxation. Not that I do it often, maybe once or twice a
year (usually on my birthday). Anyway, here is a list of excuses that
employers have heard from employees calling in sick.

1. Employee was poisoned by his mother-in-law.
2. A buffalo escaped from the game reserve and kept charging the
employee every time she tried to go to her car from her house.
3. Employee was feeling all the symptoms of his expecting wife.
4. Employee called from his cell phone, saying that he was accidentally
locked in a restroom stall and that no one was around to let him out.
5. Employee broke his leg snowboarding off his roof while drunk.
6. Employee’s wife said he couldn’t come into work because he had a lot
of chores to do around the house.
7. One of the walls in the employee’s home fell off the night before.
8. Employee’s mother was in jail.
9. A skunk got into the employee’s house and sprayed all of his
uniforms.
10. Employee had a bad case of hiccups.
11. Employee blew his nose so hard, his back went out.
12. Employee’s horses got loose and were running down the highway.
13. Employee was hit by a bus while walking.
14. Employee’s dog swallowed her bus pass.
15. Employee was sad.

I found some of these first aid remedies that you can do at home to be
pretty good ideas…now if they work, that’s another story.

You Have a First-Degree Burn

The trick: Smother it with onions. Icing cuts circulation, and you need
healthy blood cells for healing, says Martin Ehrlich, M.D., of Beth
Israel Medical Center, in New York City. Instead, expel excess heat by
running cool water over the burn for several minutes, then cut an onion
in half and let it rest on the wound. Onions contain a mild analgesic,
says Dr. Ehrlich.

Your Hand Is Full of Thorns

The trick: Coax them out with candle wax or duct tape. Light a candle
and pour melted wax on the hand, let the wax harden, then peel it off,
says Dr. Tallman. This should free the more stubborn spines. Then use
the sticky side of duct tape or roll a lint brush over the area to pick
up the stragglers. Gently, of course.

Your Tooth Is Killing You

The trick: First, make an appointment with your dentist. Then suck on a
clove near the throbbing chopper. The oil in the clove acts as a mild
local anesthetic, says oral surgeon Richard Crinzi, D.D.S. Plus, it will
freshen that dragon mouth.

And the best one, which I will definitely try….

You Feel Like Puking

The trick: Make a golf-ball bracelet. Sailors swear by ginger to
suppress seasickness and general nausea. But there’s an acupuncture
trick that works just as well if you’re feeling queasy, says Dr.
Ehrlich. Find the pressure point “pericardium number six”: From the heel
of your palm, measure three finger widths toward your elbow. In the
center of the wrist area, tape a golf ball snug against that point, and
your stomach should calm down.