hedrich number 3

today was the third time.  i told him i was hurting.  he told me it's to be expected.  he told me once again how bad i am...i am a bad case.  last week he called it shocking.  i am not sure ...i guess he is trying to give me reality but really- it just makes me feel bad.    i asked him if he really thought i could be fixed.  he told me i can be improved...but he did not claim a miracle cure.  i appreciated that.  he told me my muscles are all spasming- he felt around and they are hard as rocks.  my si joints aren't the best...he wants to do a shockwave treatment on friday.  okay.  we will try one.  i still don't know where all this cash is going to come from.  i guess i dont' have to eat.  to say the least!  haha.  but if it works, it will be worth every penny. 

children's program

 aren't they cute?  they do a great job helping Michele in the Children's Programming.  i really do think Tessa is lucky to have this job. 

 this is actually a pretty small group compared to what usually happens there.  and lots of the programming happens downstairs.  but sometimes they have bedtime stories upstairs.

warm fuzzies

i just got big warm fuzzies!  i got a message from a sister Fowler on Ben's facebook account.  it was:

Hi, we just had Elder Wright over for dinner. We work as missionaries with your son in the Crystal Palace Ward. He is a wonderful missionary! Just thought you'd want to know.

that makes me happy.  :)

NUCCA

today was my first NUCCA adjustment.  NUCCA is a type of chiropractics.  there are explanatory videos on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlrtSPdNCnAanyhow...my head is pretty crooked on my spine.  it is right up in the upper cervical spine involving the atlas and where the brain stem is located.  he gave me numbers.  most people that are out are at a 1-2.  degrees?  i can't remember if he said degrees.  he said 6 is bad.  mine is an 8.  soooo mine will take some more work.  of course, why not!!!!!  jeepers.
also, it is such that he says the ligaments around the up cervical area are sprained.  i will likely be a tricky case.  yipee.
a sprain isn't necessarily an injury that happens all at once one day...but it can happen over time by overstretching the ligaments.  fun times.  
anyhow, first adjustment was pressure right behind the left ear.  um, owie...it was right at a pressure tender point and i think i almost yelled out loud for a few minutes!  at the same time, it was gentle.
afterward, he took the balance measurements again and i was MUCH more balanced than last week.  he retook the xrays.  he said he can still see issues there...so there is work to do.
i have to take it somewhat easy.  i will lose the adjustment at some point, he says it is normal.  also, i can be pretty sore.  and heck yeah, i am pretty sore in new ways right now!!!  it is because some muscles are spasmed from working too hard...and some are loose and atrophied from not working enough.  once things start to go into balance again, it wreaks havoc a bit on the muscles...until they can adjust and strengthen.
i am supposed to go in twice a week till end of FEB.  UGH...i am so pooped just thinking about that!!!  plus, it is going to really add up$$$.  i need a money tree in a bad way.
i hope hope hope hope hope this helps.  we will see how it goes.

ben's update

Hey momma!
My week has been pretty decent.  Can't really complain too much.  Just kind of the same old.
First off, let me address the elephant in the room.  No, we did not have a baptism yesterday.  She had some questions planted in her mind that she still needs resolved, so we didn't even have the interview.  Ah well, hopefully we can help her overcome it.  It'll be tricky though, we resolved many of her concerns, but some are a bit... big.
I saw the phone booth, and when I realized it wasn't busy there I finally took the pic for you!  It's usually busy in areas with a phone booth, but not Crystal Palace Park in January!  I was confused by the balloon letters because first I looked at the napkins and was like,"Oh no!  Whoever wrote on the napkin had their writing fade away!" and then I figured it out.  That was a pretty cool idea.
The flat was messy in my tour because that was right after I moved in.  It's been cleaned up a lot now.  I haven't been in the conservatory since the flat tour, so yeah, we use it for nothing at all haha.
People in England DO NOT EVER BBQ ANYTHING!  I miss it :(  our BBQ is awful, I'll be honest, I will never use it.  Burgers here aren't very good.  Most food here is pretty meh really.  I had some amazing fish and chips though the other day when I was in Mitcham on exchange.  The fish was MASSIVE.
1)No, you don't have to.  But you can.  There is no deposit thing like we do in Canada.
2) We have to be in off the streets by 9:30 at the latest, just like the White handbook says.  Everywhere is well lit here pretty much.
3) We would do a baptism at the stake centre (a.k.a. my old chapel in Wandsworth)
4) We meet as a zone at the stake centre every week before district meeting.  But every transfer we have big meetings.  Every other transfer we have a meeting with 2-3 zones together.  This Tuesday we actually had a zone training, so the AP's came to our zone and we had a long day of powerpoints and such.
5) Did I say the ZLs get on our case?  Just with everyone really about getting up on time, exercising in the morning, stuff like that.  We do good at that though.
6) Oh, I though I mentioned.  They are the Senior couple assigned to the Crystal Palace ward.  Elder Fowler was a seminary/institute teacher in Seattle his whole life.  He is now the 2nd counsellor in our bishopric.  They are so great, they help us in so many ways!  They are in the most recent zone picture I think.  It's not the guy with whiter than white hair.
I am not really figuring out my area.  I just follow Elder Bailey, and he doesn't tell me too much about where we're going or anything.  Oh well.  Did I mention he has been in Crystal Palace almost 7 months?
Well, I can't think of any amazing stories this week.  One of our investigators made it to church for her 3rd week in a row though!  Even with a crazy work schedule!  She has now been to church more times than we have been able to meet with her, which isn't really the best haha.  This week we are seeing her though.  She was meant to get baptised February 15th, but we'll see if that will work with her schedule.  It should if we do it right.  We also copied that shirt and tie letter you sent me, and made them for two of our investigators.  They loved it!
Yeah, keep it up with the facebook thing.  Glad some people are interested
Good to hear Cole is having a good time!  He is in a beautiful place from what I know.  Y'know... With mountains and green and stuff.  My comp was showing me pics from when he served in Cornwall.  You really appreciate nature shots when you are in London for this long.  Speaking of which, happy 4 months!  Woo!
Brent has been getting migraines for as long as I knew him.  Too bad he's back at home.

:( I don't really appreciate the way you have spoken of my cookies.  Sometimes when I really ponder and think about the glory and great mysteries of God, I tend to forget about worldly things.  One of those things, is the cookies I put in the oven 2 hours earlier.  Heh... heh heh...

That reminds me, the YSA challenged me to prepare them a spiritual though that links xylophones and charity.  I came to Moroni 7:46 (or is it 48?) and talked about how other instruments need tuning, but xylophones stay constant and never fail.  That was random, but hey, just uh... thought I'd share.
Nah, my nose is fine, it happens to lots of missionaries I guess.  Nothing to worry about, it's not too annoying or keeps me up or anything like that.
I'm glad you like my new haircut.  It's a bit different, but it's easier to maintain.  I can also pull it back in kind of a Joseph Gordon Leavitt style :D
Brown sauce is so good!  I put it on my eggs, sandwichs, toast, and just everything really!  Mmmm!  My spelling is getting worse the longer I am out...
Yeah, listening to talks in the morning and at night and during meals is good.  One that is kinda fun is Principle of the Prophets.  It is by Thomas S. Monson and it was a BYU devotionsal some years back.
Guess who had ratatouille finally!  That's right, me!
Some old guy we are teaching is a little crazy.  He tried to force 10 quid on me the other day.  He also talks to animals and the wind.  And he says the Goblins keep making him ill.  And he said he can see that I will be a TV comedian one day.  He's great fun.
I met a Canadian Woman on Tuesday!  After Zone training, one of the APs was on the same train as me, and he started talking to a Canadian.  So I got pushed over into the conversation by the other missionaries.  So I had a lesson with the AP, and I finally taught a Canadian!  Fetch yeah, eh!
So, we have the JW red book of revelations in our flat.  I think only higher up JWs are supposed to have it.  So, yeah, just thought I'd mention that.  We also have the Quran.  :D
Ok, so packages can indeed come to this flat.  I guess here they actually knock, or else they take them to the post office, unlike wandsworth where they left them on the ground outside the flat.
I promise I will handwrite letters when I am out of London.  There is just no time to do it here, unlike in the country.
Something weird here is all the members seem to have crosses in their homes and wear cross necklaces and stuff.  I don't get it...
Well, peace out, until next week.  We are going to Greenwich today.  Should be good!
Elder
Wright
#Swag

skiing

well, there won't be any skiing pictures to speak of.  the phone wasn't working apparently today.  but let it be known that Pete, Tess, and Ayden DID indeed go skiing today.  i am happy they got to go!!!

here are some pictures of their new ski stuff.  that will have to suffice.

extras

 here is the blog book for 2013!!!  i love doing these!!  so easy.  i can't even imagine scrapbooking ever again.  this is the reason i blog. 

 i love Canada's money.  it's so bright and pretty!  and cool.  and plastic.  BUT i wish some could drop out of the sky for me this week.  this could get tricky.

before the new Sherlock season starts, i thought i'd better explain HOW he faked his own death.  i'm pretty sure this will be the explanation on sunday!

Ben-pics

 it looks to me that Ben has been trying is OWN origami. 

 YES!  the classic phone booth pic!  i was really waiting for one of these!!!!  love me an English phone booth!

 not sure just yet what this is...

 some dude's head on some bricks. 

 this is Crystal Palace Park.  the original crystal palace burnt down.  the following pics will show the original foundations.

 and here we have our balloon letters!  i am glad to see they made it to his new digs. 

 above is a picture of Ben's new flat.  up the stairs- #17!  he sent a video of a tour of his whole flat.  it is very nice!!  i will try to upload it, but so far videos from there haven't worked to upload. 

here he is showing off what he calls his "British haircut" 

the saga continues...

well. 
today i saw a new chiropractor in lethbridge.  Dr. Hedrich.  i heard about him and his treatments on the radio actually- so i looked him up and did some research.  sounded interesting, so i gave it a try.
had some x-rays done.  um- wow.  my body is very crooked.  i saw my bones, and they don't look so hot.  i didn't think i was anywhere close to that.  my right SI joint is either jammed, or pretty solid thanks to prolotherapy.  the left one is terrible.  my spine is twisted, bent, etc.  a couple of the discs aren't the greatest.  i am feeling sad for my poor body today.  no WONDER i am in pain all the time!!!  my muscles then try to compensate for things- some overworking, some underworking.  it is a bad state to be in.  and all the exercise i do- while i'm so crooked.  it's just going to cause problems as i try to straighten up. 
anyhow...i could go on and on.  this chiro has different techniques than some others.  so we have to try a few things, and re-take some xrays and...see.  am i hopeful?  i try not to get my hopes up- but i must say it is so nice for a change to SEE what could be going on- and what COULD be the problem.  all the other treatments i've tried, have basically treated symptoms, but not the problem.  i knew this.  but when you're hurting all the time, it' doesn't matter.  if you can't get help- you do what you can.  so we shall see.

what i wish people could understand

(grabbed off a blog, and there are lots of goofy grammer and spelling mistakes)

Pain is exhausting.  We have all had a bad headache, a twisted knee, or a pulled muscle, and by the end of the day it is a monumental effort just to read the mail.  You may not have consciously realized it, but the pain that has relentlessly nagged you through out the day has drained you as bad as any flu.  Even when you try to ignore pain it will stay in the back of your mind, screaming for attention, draining away all of your energy. With chronic pain this is amplified because it isn’t just one day, it is months or even years of struggling to live with this very demanding monkey on your back.  I’m tired just thinking about it.

Pain causes poor sleep.  You would think that after a long day of fighting with constant pain sleep would be a great reprieve.  Unfortunately, this is just a dream (pun intended).  First chronic pain can make it hard to get to sleep and stay asleep.  The pain will pull you right out of deep sleep.  Many pain patients take medications to sleep, because sleep is vital to your health, chronic pain, or no.  Even when you do sleep, the pain signals continue to your brain and can cause sleep to be broken, restless, and oddly enough, exhausting.


Pain makes you cranky.  Chronic pain sufferers aren’t (all) just cranky buggers by nature.  Pain drains you physically and mentally.  When you are in pain even the simplest things feel overwhelming and people tend to react accordingly.  You may have only asked your chronic pain spouse if they would like to go to a movie, but in their head they have considered if they can sit still that long, how much medication it would require, if they have the energy, if they will stay awake through the movie, how high their pain is now and how it might increase, if they go will it make getting through tomorrow harder, and most importantly, given all this, will it be any fun.  They didn’t grouch at you for the fun of it, pain just makes it very hard to remember that everyone else is coming from a totally different perspective, where a movie is just, well, a movie.

I’m NOT CRANKY!

Pain kills your concentration. Most chronic pain patients fight like crazy to live a normal life.  They try to ignore the pain and go about their days, but it’s just not that easy.  Even when you ignore pain, push it to the back of your brain and focus on, say, work, pain doesn’t give up.  You can sit at your desk, working on your computer, trying to concentrate, while your pain plays the part of a toddler desperate for your attention.  Pain will poke you, tug at your clothes, spill juice on your keyboard, scream your name and try to use your arm and leg as practice for the uneven bars.  No matter how hard you try to tune it out, part of your brain is always processing the pain and it often pulls your concentration to terrifyingly low levels.

Pain damages your self esteem.  The pain has made you tired, cranky, and killed your concentration.  Being exhausted all the time makes everything more of a challenge than it should be, your quick temper has strained or destroyed once strong interpersonal relationships, and your inability to concentrate has hurt your job performance.  You can’t do what you want to do with your time even when you try and it seems like everyone is mad or unhappy with you no matter your efforts.  Life as you know it is crumbling and all because of …you?  Most pain sufferers blame themselves for these failings, remembering that they used to be able to do everything.  They see chronic pain as a sign of weakness or a personal defect that they should be able to overcome.  The end result is that on top of everything else chronic pain damages your self esteem.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Pain causes isolation.  When you’re in constant pain the last thing you want to do is attend the company party, the neighbor’s backyard barbecue, or even small gatherings with your closest friends and family.  Your friends and family are still the light of your life, but the physical and mental energy it requires to go out and be social can be just too much to handle.  You start to bow out of parties and cancel plans, not because you don’t want to go, but because you just can’t.  Eventually people stop inviting you, calls to make plans decline, and the scary thing is you don’t mind.  The pain has slowly, but surely, isolated you.

What about you?  What are some effects of pain that seem obvious, but aren’t?

yummy recipe

choco chip almond cookies

Serves: how ever few or many you want!

 

this recipe yielded 15-20 drop cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup Trader Joes (TJs) ‘just’ almond meal
• ¼ cup TJs coconut oil (liquified)
• ½ cup TJs honey (or other sweetener like maple syrup)
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• ½ c. enjoy life semi sweet chocolate chips (you can also add some type of nuts for crunch!)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Line a cookie or baking sheet
3. Combine dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients (except coconut oil)
4. Then slowly add coconut oil
5. Drop spoon size cookie dough on the sheet until full
6. Bake for 7-10 minutes until firm and light brown

NOTE...these are amazing for a treat and good for you!!!  BUT don't ever use that much honey.  i used 1/4c and it was still WAY too much!!! it doesn't make many, but good for a treat. 

one good thing about january

work

usually i go along just fine with work.  i really enjoy the people i work with.  i LOVE the days i work with Tessa!!  i love working with books.  period. 
BUT-  every so often something weird happens.  something that usually makes me mad.  it may not seem like a big deal to most, but i do spend a good chunk of time there, so it does affect me.  for example;
a few months ago, i gave Donna an idea.  Ben actually gave ME the idea.  it was a great idea!  it was to do "blind date night with a book" ...where you basically check out brown-paper-wrapped books based on subject and a short synopsis only.  i told her all about it assuming she would have me set up a display at any time.  it never happened and then 2 days ago she asked me for the details again.  then yesterday she had one of the new girls doing it!!  like- she is in CHARGE of doing it!  personally, i really believe that i can pick really great books for this project, and it was MY idea i gave...and MY idea is now being done by someone else.  yes, i am a peon- but still....
that is my frustration for now. 

holidays

 our holidays seem to consist of movie marathons.  enough to make us feel like lazy slobs by the time school starts up again.  LOVE harry potter marathons though!!  best shows, best series.

 i won this wireless speaker system at work the other day!  the staff had a contest to see if we could guess how many books were in the book tree.  i stressed over it, cause i really wanted to win this!!  i guessed 734, and the answer turned out to be 760 or something.  wow!!  i really actually won something

and here we have Tessa's new ride.  it is a pontiac something or other.  seems to be a pretty good car..2009...we hope it lasts her for years to come. 

gifts from Benny boy!

 the same day i won my speaker, i also got a package in the mail!  it was so fun to open things from Ben!!!  we sure are building up quite the British stuff collection!

new years!

 personally, i am not the biggest fan of new years.  i heard on the news, that 85 percent of people do NOT make new years resolutions...so i guess i am one of those.  plus, we never DO anything...it seems like just another day.  i say if you want to make a goal, make it ANY time of the year!!! 

2013 was a rather large year for our family in many ways.  it is a very big deal to have a child graduate high school and move away from home.  like- far far far away.  it's been a big year.  hopefully the kids are all having good life-experiences though, because for us, it's been great!!