A Shot in the Leg (Four to be Exact)

It is amazing how much trust I put in my doctor today. I think moms usually just breeze through and don't really think about it. The doctor injecting something foreign into our own little, helpless lifebloods laying there on the table. Emmett, my purest little angel, laid there smiling and kicking his feet, like the happiest thing alive. I cringed inside thinking about it. Torn. I allow the vaccinations because I have to trust it is the best thing. For my children. For the greater society. But there is a piece of me that is uncomfortable with this. I think of autism. The pain it would cause me for the smiling responsive face of my son to be locked away inside of him... There are so many unknowns.

On so many levels it is hard to know who and what to trust. I guess I try to hold on to my optimism that the government and drug companies are altruistic at heart. I hope I am right. But I won't be caught dead ever taking meds for high cholesterol etc. But I just gave my child vaccines. Thankfully, Brent has been off of him reflux medicine for a year now without incident. It turns out our naturopath doctor discovered he hadn't had reflux all those years (nearly 4 of them, consisting of 2 pills a day, antacids and mucas thinners galore) of taking medication. He had an usual bacteria called H. pylori. A 10 day dose of antibiotics and he was cured from years of suffering. All of the traditional doctors would have had him on aciphex his entire life. There is a place for alternative medicine in my families lives. A place for traditional medicine as well. Finding the balance between who to trust and when is the trick.

Free Cap Trappers for Utah Valley Residents

Hey Utah Valley Moms and teachers. I am giving away free cap trappers if you email me me with your name and address by Thursday at midnight. Tell me why you would love and use them. This is in honor of the article that just came out in the Utah Valley Magazine. Drop me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Rebecca@SavvyMayCreations.com

Slueth Your Way to the Top!

Brent and I had quite the entertaining evening tonight. He has amazing information finding skills. This includes some serious internet savvy. With a first and last name he finds addresses, phone numbers and a slue of other information of key people we want to show Cap Trappers. It was quite intriguing to watch him work. A little creepy too, when you think about what if it was someone looking for our info. You really can't hide these days. If someone wants to find you they can. Of course we are completely harmless information gatherers. We just send some Cap Trappers!

So here is the lesson, with a little of your own legwork at home, you can find the contact information of just about anyone you need. Don't pay someone or some site thousands of dollars to do it for you.

Watch the Curb!

I seem to be developing a bad habit. Hitting curbs at just the wrong angle and sending myself and my bike skidding across the road in tandem. It is not pretty. Neither is my raspberried, swollen chin. Thankfully my helmet protected the rest of my head. Now if I could only just learn to use my head. You would think I would have learned my lesson from the garden hose last spring (same principle as a small curb) but I didn't.

I blame this on my birth to the biking world on a mountain bike. No matter what angle I hit anything, I could usually recover. (Although that does not explain all the battle wounds on my legs from my mountain biking years. We won't go into it.) Now , on a road bike, even after 3 years, I still seem to think those skinny little tires will take a curb the same way as my mountain bike.

I better learn a lesson from this. Learn from my mistakes yes. But more than that, just because to activities appear to be similar, it doesn't mean the same rules apply.

If I had a camera I would post some pictures of my road rash. But I don't. You will just have to imagine the beauty of my chin, elbow, knee, and hip!

Rebuild

We made the long trek home yesterday from Canada. My children were angels despite the 12 hours straight in the car. Which was actually 2 hours faster than we did going there!

Monday evening the aunts, uncles, and cousins congregated at the remains of my uncles home to dig through the ashes. Our search was for treasures that cannot be replaced. Amazingly, there were so many that we found! Albums from which we peeled baby pictures, journals, just barely legible...It is one of those miracles you pray for. A column in the middle of the home where the albums were, somehow they survived. The oven and microwave, melted and gone...but the pictures survive.

I really need to get a new camera so I can add pictures. When I get copies from my cousins I will post them.

It is time to rebuild.

Family Strength after the Firestorm

I write to you from Canada. My Dad is from here (Southern Alberta). It has been a family tradition to visit for a big family reunion over the 1st of July (their 4th of July). This year was also marked special by the celebration of my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. Family traveled from all over the world to be here.

The Firestorm

On Friday afternoon, as we were packing up things getting ready to go, we received a phone call. A phone call you never imagine you will get. My aunts house burnt to the ground. In the massive conflagration it was a miracle no one was killed. The Lord was truly watching over their family. There was not even a moment to grab a photo album or family heirloom. In fact, all of the family history was in the house as my aunt was preparing a special book/presentation/video for the celebration.

Priceless items are lost forever. But what was not lost was that which is most precious, life. The home will be rebuilt. The clothes replaced. In the immediate aftermath it wasn't clear if the reunion should continue (my aunt lives down the street from my grandparents). But amidst the grieving the decision was made to continue.

So here I sit in Canada. It has never been so clear to me what is important in life. If my neighbor called me and told me my house burnt to the ground, I don't think I would lose much. There will continue to be grieving and rebuilding but family and the strength we draw from one another after the firestorms of life, this is where joy and peace come from.

Westminster Clambake

Tonight Brent and I had a great opportunity to speak at a fund raising event for Westminster College. Brent just finished his MBA there this Spring. He had fabulous experience in the program, and the money we won in the business plan competition gave us the cash to make our first tooling and order our first Cap Trappers for marketing.

Writing a business plan is a fantastic practice for anyone trying to start a business. It forced us to think through our strategies and to evaluate the market and financial aspects. After 2 solid months of working on the plan, it was clear the need existed and the idea was viable. It also allowed us to apply the concepts and principles we had been learning. I say "we" because I was his study buddy through the program. We decided instead of putting a strain on our marriage by all the time away, I would do the program with him. I read the books and we discussed and did homework, papers and projects together. (I still need to talk to them about an honorary degree :) !)


We were asked to speak at this event at the President's home, to discuss our experiences, and the future of our company. It was a high class event with lobsters flown in from Maine that morning! I saw them put them into the boiling bed of seaweed and squirm around as they slowly cooked to death. Needless to say, I did not have lobster! We got to hobnob with very prominent professionals in the Salt Lake area. Brent was a charmer of course, especially with the old ladies!


I connected with the President, Michael Bassis and his wife Mary. They met on an Outward Bound adventure. Twelve years ago I backpacked in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado for 30 days with Outward Bound. It was a life changing experience. But that is for a different post.

Brent and I plan to stay connected with the college. Hopefully we will someday be members of the Presidents Innovation Network ($10,000 yearly contribution minimum). There is something really neat about small colleges. Something we found lacking in our undergraduate experiences.