Growing Love for Needles

 

I am sick of pumping myself full of hormones and having to inject myself in my tummy 4 days straight and all the other not-so fun stuff that you have to do to try and get pregnant. I am also sick of worrying about trying to get pregnant and feeling miserable every time my period arrives.

I had been reading up about natural ways to get pregnant, and as I was reading all these different articles and blog posts, the more I read the more I realized that I really need to get my body prepared for such a drastic change. If my body isn’t getting pregnant then there is something thats off, and  I need to fix it.

I researched different Fertility Acupuncture centers and I found Zen Fertility, the reviews were ok, but the fact that they specialized in Fertility was a big PLUS. So, I scheduled an appointment, James and I had a consultation and 1 treatment session with a wonderful girl. She talked to us about our goals and what we were hoping to achieve, and we told her all of our concerns. She was a great listener and appeared to really empathize with us. After the consult she had James and I lay down. I was really apprehensive about the needles, I don’t have a fear of them but no one likes to be stuck with sharp pointy things right? She started with me, she inserted about 8 needles, all over my body, but a few gathered in my uterus area, the needles are so thin and flimsy that I barley felt anything, maybe a pinch here and there but no pain. She then moved on to James, turned on some relaxing asian music and left us to relax/meditate for about 30 minutes. I felt really relaxed, and just lay there soaking in all the different feelings I could feel, all the energy moving around my body. It was really weird, I don’t really know how to describe it. James on the other hand, was freaking out a little bit, he had a more emotional experience. Anybody who knows James, knows that he can’t sit still for 5 seconds without moving or doing something, so this was a definite challenge for him, I then started to worry and couldn’t help feeling that he was ruining my experience haha… He was fine after about 10 minutes. (I’ll let him post about his experience)

Once everything was done, they handed us a list of supplements that we should take, and gave us some price lists etc… and then we left.

I felt the experience was great, but I also felt like I should be fixing my entire body, not just the fertility aspect of it, I did some more research and found the info for the number one lady in San Diego for Acupuncture, I called her to schedule an appointment and I could tell she was a little wacky, she was asking about my situation and as she replied, she said she could feel my heart and she started to hyperventilate lol… I liked her, she seemed a little strange but that was ok.

This past Monday, and today, James and I visited our new acupuncturist, her treatment rooms were separate, but much more relaxing and comfortable then the previous. She inserted allot more needles then the other acupuncturist, and these ones HURT. When she inserted them it felt like a burning/stinging sensation, yes OUCH… but the pain lasts a second and then it’s gone. When she took the needles out on monday, they were vibrating from my energy 😀 Which means that it’s working. Hooraay. She also told me that she saw a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, so hopefully she’s not crazy, that night I also had a dream I was pregnant, I went to an ultrasound where there were two fetus’ in utero 😀 So fingers crossed this acupuncture heals my body and I get my babies.

Today whilst in the room with her as she was inserting the needles, she asked me if I felt that icy tingling on the back of my legs (She says she can feel things other people feel, so wanted to see if it was me) I told her no. She then asked, ‘Has someone close to you died recently?.’ I told her no, then started to worry that someone had died and I just didn’t know it. She could see I was worried and told me that it could be someone that passed before, but they were standing right next to me in the room. Not freaky at all, crazy lady poking me with needles, with a dead person watching… hah! I felt really relaxed, yes even after that, and I lay there for about 40 minutes just relaxing and focusing on all the different feelings again.

The needles do hurt with this new acupuncturist, but I feel that it’s better to be healing my entire body rather then focusing on just fertility, and even though she is a little wacko I feel like she really knows what she is doing.

I’m sorry this was a little rushed, after my next session on Friday next week I will update you 😀

Love to All xoxox

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

Hello All,

For the longest time I have been on James’ case about getting pictures done, I’ve looked into different photographers and their prices and I had such a hard time justifying the money it costs now that I have my own camera. Well, a couple of weeks ago a wonderful new couple (Stephanie and Dann) had joined Vivint Solar here in San Diego, we had heard allot about them through a mutual friend so we knew of them, but hadn’t met them yet, so when we did meet, I found that Stephanie and I shared a love for photography and I asked if she would mind taking some pictures of James and I that I could edit. This way I had somebody who knew what they doing and then I could do all the work afterwards.

About 2 months ago I had been out on a drive with my friend Matt, We were just nosy-ing around, checking out the neighborhood when we stumbled upon a road in Rancho Santa Fe that dead ended. It had such a picturesque beauty I had to save the location in my phone for a future photo shoot, So I got out my iphone. dropped a pin and saved it in my bookmarks. This is where James and I took our pictures.

Stephanie was Amazing and Dan was Also awesome, taking pictures can sometimes be a bit of a drag, it can get boring, having to do the same thing over and over again, but Dan kept us entertained by telling us really funny (stupid) jokes the entire time and being great at making us feel less ridiculous, and Stephanie was great at making us feel comfortable. I get a little awkward sometimes in front of the camera just because I hate how fake it can seem, and Stephanie did a great job of knowing how to bring out the genuity, which I hope you can see the pictures.

So these two pictures are the same obviously, I was fiddling with the colors of the leaves and I absolutely loved the deep red, I feel it made the picture more romantic. But I also loved the brightness and the boldness of the greens, they popped out so much and really made the picture enticing. I couldn’t decide which I liked better, so I uploaded both.

The Lemon Grove 🙂 What a perfect location and what great composition from Stephanie. I made this picture landscape as I felt the sky was a little plain and I wanted the main focus to be on the lemon grove and of course James and I in the middle. I fiddled with different effects and colors and loved the retro effect. My jeans helped me on that decision, not really sure why, that’s just the feeling I got when I looked at the picture unedited, that 70’s vibe.

I absolutely LOVE this picture. I love the green and the blue and the contrast and the laid back, prettiness of it. Stephanie got this spot on with the composition, the clouds make it so picture perfect. I barely did anything to this editing wise, just a little brighter on the blue and the green and I think I added a warm filter, but it really didn’t need much.

The Four Of Us: Stephanie was sitting on the grass, with her legs crossed taking a picture of us and then Dan came up behind her and it looked like such a great picture I had to try it, so James and I mirrored Dan and Stephanie and added the dogs, Viola, This was what we got. I did allot of editing on this picture, more facial and skin smoothing, and I also added a red filter to warm it up.

The Dogs: Coco and Bella are perfect in this shot, taking pictures with these two wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it’s always a challenge. Thankfully they did a wonderful job, just been doggies 🙂 I love that they are the main focal point of this picture and James and I are looking at each other so it’s not too distracting from the dogs

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Ok Now here is a Before and After shot. As you can see the unedited picture was composed beautifully, but the sky was boring. When I looked at this picture I envisioned a fantasy land, as if we were walking into something that doesn’t exist here, I wanted it to have an element of the fantasy world and the real world. So I looked up different things to do on youtube. I tried fiddling with the colors of the sky but that didn’t do anything, it was still boring. Then I found a tutorial on youtube where you can actually edit out the sky and replace it. I spent at least half an hour trying to find the perfect sky, then it took me about half an hour to figure out how to do it without making it look terribly fake. I was so pleased with the outcome and It has made me want to create more pictures like it, more dramatic and whimsical.

James said that this picture looks metaphorical, In the book of mormon there is a story of a dream one of the early prophets had, (I have copied the children’s version of the story below so you can read it if you want too.) James described this picture as us walking the straight and narrow path, to the tree of life (there is a tree in he picture) then continuing our journey to Heaven. I named this picture ‘Journey to Heaven” as I felt it was very fitting.

Lehi told his family about an important vision he had had in a dream. Lehi’s dream made him happy for Nephi and Sam but sad for Laman and Lemuel.

1 Nephi 8:2–4

In his dream Lehi saw a man wearing a white robe who told Lehi to follow him. Lehi followed the man into a dark and dreary wilderness.

1 Nephi 8:5–7

After traveling in the darkness for many hours, Lehi prayed for help.

1 Nephi 8:8

Then he saw a tree with white fruit. This sweet fruit made those who ate it happy.

1 Nephi 8:9–10

Lehi ate the fruit, and it filled him with joy. He wanted his family to taste the fruit because he knew it would make them happy too.

1 Nephi 8:11–12

Lehi saw a river flowing near the tree. At the head of the river he saw Sariah, Sam, and Nephi.

1 Nephi 8:13–14

Lehi called to his wife and sons to come and taste the fruit. Sariah, Sam, and Nephi went and tasted the fruit, but Laman and Lemuel would not.

1 Nephi 8:15–18

Lehi also saw a rod of iron and a strait and narrow path leading to the tree.

1 Nephi 8:19–20

He saw many people walking on or toward the path. Because of a mist of darkness, some wandered off the path and became lost.

1 Nephi 8:21–23

Others held tightly to the iron rod and made it through the darkness to the tree. They tasted the fruit.

1 Nephi 8:24

People in a large building on the other side of the river made fun of those who ate the fruit. Some who had eaten the fruit became ashamed and left the tree.

1 Nephi 8:26–28

Click to View Larger Format Lehi saw many people in his dream. Some held firmly to the iron rod and traveled through the darkness to the tree. They tasted the fruit. Others went to the large building or drowned in the river or became lost. Laman and Lemuel would not eat the fruit. Lehi worried about them and tried to help them obey God’s commandments.

The tree of life is metaphorical for the scriptures (Bible and the book of Mormon) Yes, we believe in both. The iron rod, is following Christ’s example, the commandments, etc… staying on the right path, and the wilderness to me, is, where people are lost spritually. The tree of life is the truth, and by eating and sharing the fruit of the tree, we are sharing what we believe to be true and what will bring eternal happiness and blessings. 🙂 This is just my opinion, this is not church doctrine. But I’m sure it’s pretty close 😉

I hope you enjoyed this, I still have about 7 more pictures I will be editing and then uploading on here, so keep checking back.

Love to ALL xoxoxox

Birthday Weekend

Hello All

Sorry it’s been a little while, but with my birthday last week I’ve been really busy. February 28th I turned the big 26… I am grateful to have made it to another year, although it is a little scary getting old haha. I still look 18 though so it’s not all bad I guess, anyway…..

My day started off with breakfast made by James

Yes it was as yummy as it looked, the eggs were a little runny but James has been forgiven 😉 After James handed me my breakfast the doorbell rang and I thought to myself ‘OMG Lucy is here, or my Mum or Dad’ then I heard a voice and it was, American, I have never been so gutted to hear an american accent in all my life, ok maybe thats a little dramatic, but it’s true, all my dreams were crushed, it was not a family member 😦 BUT…. It was a flower delivery lady who was delivering me some flowers 😀

James walked into the bedroom with these….

The first thing he said was.. ‘They’re not from me’. We were both really confused, then I grabbed the paper card that was attached and it read, ‘Happy Birthday beautiful pixie, Love you to infinity and beyond’ Luckily I knew who they were from as there was no name. My friend Zoe, she’s obsessed with Toy story and she thinks I have pixie ears :), I was so surprised to recieve flowers from her because I don’t talk to her as often as I should, So Zoe, I am very very grateful for my beautiful flowers they were a lovely surprise.

James had a meeting to attend from 10-1, so I was all alone, but not for long,  I skyped with my Mum and Dad, (After I had texted my dad to remind him of my birthday) and we skyped for an hour or so, made me feel like I was at home which was so nice. Last year I was so depressed on my birthday, it was miserable. But skyping definitley helps.

Especially when your dad has an antenna sticking out of his head 😉

Then I skyped with Lulu (don’t worry Lucy, no pictures of you on here ;)) We talked for a good hour or so.

I decided I wanted to go to the beach as it was a whopping 82degrees outside, and there was no way I was going to sit indoors on a beautiful day like this, I waited for James to come home, and off we went to Carlsbad Beach. It was nice, and peaceful, and beautiful, and perfect. Just me and the hubs hanging out. I also brought along my camera and took some pics, here are two of the ones I liked the most.

The writing on the picture of James and I, reads, ‘He stole my heart, and now it’s his, forever and always, sealed with a kiss, I love you more then you will ever know, forever and always, I hope you know’ I am not sure if that came from the brain in my head or if I had read it before and just remembered it, So I will take credit for it, unless someone else makes their claim.

We spent about an hour at the beach, then we headed back to the pool at our apartment, We stopped by a Starbucks on the way home, picked up a cheese pastry yum, then went to the pool at our apartment and sat in the hot tub for a little while, with lots of screaming children splashing about, I love kids, but I was kind of hoping they would all go away and leave me and James alone on my birthday, but hey, you can’t have it all ……. just kdding. Kind of 😉

We spent an hour at the hot tub then went back home to get ready for dinner. James had won two $50 gift certificates from work to cheesecake factory so we went there for dinner, it was such a beautiful evening we sat outside at 7pm, perfect temperature 🙂 I was under a heat lamp because I’m always cold, but it was just perfect.

James’ work friends had planned a get together bonfire at the beach for 7.30, so after dinner we headed to the beach and hung out with everyone. I had a fun time, it was nice to just sit by the fire and watch all the little kids run around throwing sand in each others faces, and mingling with James’ co workers. Before we left we told everyone that saturday was my birthday dinner and that we would go Go-Karting afterwards, then off we went on our merry way.

Saturday evening was a success, Tgi fridays was awesome, not all the people could come, but it worked out for the best, we all chatted, ate good food, got a free pineapple juice, my friend Jessica bought me red velvet birthday cake. It was awesome. James and I had to leave early as we were meeting the next group of people half an hour away at the Go karts, there was only 6 of us that went karting, but we had such a a great time, I BEAT James in one race, and came 2nd in another (James was 1st in that one) After the first race I thought I was going to puke, I had such bad motion sickness, but I raced again, this time with no motion sickness, I did get seatbelt burns on my collar bone, which I referred to as neck bones hahahaha, I think all that kart racing made my brain go funny, on the third race I wore a shirt to cover my collar bone, and all I did was hurt my back 🙂 so it was an eventful evening, but very very fun. The Go Karts here are electric and they go up to 40mph which on a little race track is a plentiful speed.

I really missed my family and friends, but I had such a great time with such great people so I can not complain.

James and I had a little photoshoot yesterday with our friend Stephanie and her husband Dan. I will do a seperate post for that, but for now here is a peek at a couple of the pics from the shoot..

Hope I didn’t bore you to death

Love ya xoxox