Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Before you Roll your Eyes . . .

So before you roll your eyes, roll them, and then roll them again. And again and again. That's the idea that I've come across in this book that I recently picked up and just barely began putting to practice. Yes I know. Here comes another natural approach at something else. Which is why I say, before you roll your eyes, roll them as much as you can. I know. I know. Not only is it written by a man named Quackenbush but it claims that one can heal their blurry vision naturally without the use of spectacles, contacts or the recently-made-famous surgery known by the name of lasik. Granted, those who've been in some sort of major eye accident are probably not able to take advantage of this idea, most of us who suffer from things like near or farsightedness or even astigmatism can actually relearn to see using correct vision habits that we've somehow managed to unlearn because of our stressful, rigid lifestyles.

Seeing that I suffer from nearsightedness and astigmatism I thought I would be the perfect candidate for experimenting with this idea on myself. I have roughly 20/60 vision in both eyes and astigmatism in my right. This approach was actually discovered by opthalmologist William H. Bates.

I will admit that when I was first presented with the idea that I could heal my eyes naturally, I was very skeptical. I've actually long looked forward to the day when we would be able to afford lasik surgery. Since we still can't, I finally figured there would be no harm in trying this particular method and seeing if indeed there was a way for me to regain my sight. The possibility of saving the money we would use on lasik surgery was also a temptation.

As of Sunday May 23, 2010, I made the decision to take off my glasses and contacts for good. This has not been easy because my eyes have very much adjusted to my prescription and though I am not blind, I see somewhat fuzzy. It's difficult to find little things lying around like my keys or an earring I may have dropped.

I haven't read the entire book yet. It's quite thick. But it does use science, common sense and logical reasoning as far as I can tell. It's not just a book about eye exercises. As I read along, I sometimes notice my tendency to strain my eyes and squint. According to Dr. Quackenbush, this is an incorrect vision habit that most nearsighted people acquire under stress and duress to perhaps read something they've mentally checked out from, such as textbooks in school or the zillion notes we have to write down from a chalkboard in class. Along with Dr. Bates, the theory seems to be that if we can relarn to mobilize our eyes in correct vision habits, that we can read whatever we want, in whatever dim light we want, as long as we take breaks when we feel our eyes are straining too hard.

For those of you out there with blurry vision, you've probably noticed, without paying too much attention, days in which your vision may slightly blur a little more than normal and then days when everything looks sharper. That is our natural ability to heal our own eyes.

This was the hardest idea for me to accept: Glasses and prescription contacts, actually make your vision worse. I still have a hard time with this but am struggling to deny the logic behind it. The truth is that I remember the first time I couldn't see the blackboard in highschool. If I remember correctly, it was a stressful time in my life. The instinctive thing to do these days is go to the eye doctor and get glasses, which is what my mother took me to do. By doing this, the thing we don't allow ourselves a chance to do is heal naturally by removing the cause of stress that tightens the muscles around the eyes causing us to strain. And the problem with glasses is that now, our poor eyes are asked to adjust to an improper vision, which they tend to do. And they will adjust time and time again to each new prescription given to us if we continue this pattern each time our glasses aren't enough anymore to fix the blur. So by getting rid of glasses, you allow yourself to adjust properly. Yes it takes time. It's not a quick fix. But is it worth it? I guess I shall soon find out.

This was the first step for me to take. The second thing he says to do, is to learn to blink a lot and move your head and neck more often. Don't just read with your eyes. At first it will supposedly be more of a conscious effort, but with enough practice, your eyes should learn to move better and adjust to their normal sight again.

So I know I've witten a lot. I guess I'm just excited to try it. And if you see me wandering around blinking like a goof, now you'll know why. I find that blinking a lot instead of squinting, actually brings things into better focus. It's not perfect yet, but I've noticed slight improvements. Funny. Anyways, I don't know if anyone else out there is interested in trying this with me. I don't care if I'm the only goof wandering around batting my eyes. But if anyone else does, please share with me whether it's been a positive experience or not. I seek insight from others all the time on natural things that actually work. Whether it has anything to do with vision or not. Thanx to all who've taken the time to read my thoughts today.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Taking Photos around our Apartments

Gio was our photographer for these. I loved how this one was edited.

Fluffing up the dress I made for her. I had so much fun with this little project. I've always wanted to have a little girl so that I could make her dresses.

It's hard to tell, but on the center of the bow, I added one of Grandmother Cheryl's many buttons she gave me because she had no idea what to do with her button collection. I love having tons of vintage buttons now to use and choose from for fun little projects like these.

Here's the back of the dress.

And now she's struttin' her stuff.

She loves playing with my jewelry all the time. She's such a girlie girl.

And I love the angle of this photo.

My little model.

She discovered her shadow and I thought it was so funny because she actually waved at it and kept saying, "Hi." I tried to catch a video of it but I missed it. There's a short video at the bottom of this post anyways of Gio trying to show her the shadow dog but I think Chrys understood "dog" and was then looking around for a real one.

In the fifth month already.

I don't know if I'm ready for labor again. Guess I'll have to be soon.

Here's my little model with her favorite aunt. Well, one of them.

And Auntie Gio with her favorite niece. So far. :o)


Toes, Teeth and Pigtails

So I hope this doesn't gross anybody out but I felt this was worth writing about for whatever reason. Sometime six months ago, I got a small bug bite on my middle toe. For whatever reason (could just be that I scratched at it furiously because I have no control) it didn't heal and turned into a wart. I've never had a wart before in my life. I didn't even realize small infections could turn into warts. I thought they came from frogs. Just kidding. It doesn't bother me or anything but I think it looks ugly. So I am trying to find a way to get rid of it. I've seen those freeze off things but want to try something natural first. Surprisingly I've read that applying fresh garlic to it and letting it sit on the wart for a few days will make it go away. I haven't tried it but it's worth a shot right? I mean, it worked on Chrys' ear infection so it must really have a lot of antibacterial properties. It brought her temperature down almost instantly.

So here goes. It's probably not even that bad to anyone else. But I suppose that because it's my foot it matters to me. I am a dancer and I love feet and toes so I've always been obsessed with keeping toes looking pretty. And warts are just not pretty.

Here's to hoping. If it doesn't work, I'll let you know. I might just end up using the freeze off. If anyone out there has heard of any natural remedies for warts I haven't heard of yet, please share. I love experimenting on myself lately.

Since we're on the topic of toes, here are some cuter toes for your viewing pleasure. It's her first pedicure.

As long as I let her brush her teeth, she allows me to paint her toes and do her hair.

These are her first pigtails too. I had fun with these. She has such little hair. I love her laughs. Tell me she's not a cutie. Just try. Words of a proud mother I suppose.

Visiting with the Choi's

We met Soon Nyoung Min and Joungho Choi over the summer of 2007 in Colorado. They're both from Korea and graduated from BYU. Joungho was a tech for APX. So while Alex sold the systems, Joungho would install them. They became real great friends and then we moved all over. They both had one little girl at the time. Now they have two little girls and sweet little boy. We only had one child at the time too. Now we're also about to have our third. Crazy how time flies. And they happened to be living in South Carolina this past year. What a coincidence. Sadly, they were moving just as we arrived. But luckily we got to hang out with them once. We spent a whole Sunday with them. Jumping all around, having dinner and catching up. We love these guys. As you can see, our kids are like best friends. I loved watching Chrys try so hard to get up over and over again but I guess the terrain was a little too unstable for her.

Soon Nyoung and myself.

Alex and Joungho and their daughter Da Yu.

For "Ya'll" to Enjoy

I haven't posted much about our stay here in the South yet. So here are a few things: People around here say "Ya'll" a lot. I think it's growing on us. The ward is super friendly. The kids love going to the little pond across the street and playing on the playground and seeing the ducks and turtles. I could do without the bugs but it is quite lovely. Super humid but at least I can go back indoors whenever I want. I feel bad for the reps who have to walk in it all day long. Here is Orion at the little park on a Sunday evening.

My sweet little girl.


On this particular day, we saw a couple of ducks or geese (I couldn't really tell) fighting. Chrys thought it was so great as you can clearly see by her expression. I only caught the last little bit of it on camera. The fight started on the land and then progressed into the pond. It ended when one of the ducks swam away under the water to get away from the other one. It was kind of funny. Everyone at the park stopped to watch them. I've also posted a short clip of the kids on the seesaw. They love it. I couldn't help but think of the day I seesawed with Grandma Cheryl out in Sioux Falls. That's one I wish we'd caught on camera. Oh well. This is for ya'll to enjoy.



Lilypie 1st Birthday Ticker

Our little swimmer