I dreamed of James

This was almost ten years ago! How time flies. I remember it like yesterday.

I don't know if this happens with other sisters that leave on their missions with a boyfriend waiting for them at home? I am assuming that it is not easy for anyone, which is why most people don't do it and just get married. I made the decision after much prayer and fasting that serving a mission would be the best thing that I could do for myself and my future family. So I did and it was not easy at all those first few months. The fact that I knew I was meant to be there serving did not make it a drop easier.
I was having such a hard time with the language, understanding my companion and missing James that I was seriously considering returning home. And then I went to sleep one night.
I dreamed that I was walking in a park across from our apartment in Tacna. On the far side James was standing there with his hands in his pockets. He was solemn in his facial expression, quiet and observant. As I recognized him I  dropped everything and sprinted across the park. (I think my knee high nylons I had been duck taping up to my calves for the past couple weeks even started to fall down as they had been doing lately.) I reached James and threw my arms up to hug and hold him. He stepped back and I almost fell on my face. My heart sank. I only needed for him to hold me and tell me he had a plane ticket and that he would take me home. He looked me square in the eye and said, "You are not a quitter. You belong here. You need to forget me and get to work."
I would like to say that I woke up that next morning and totally forgot about James. I couldn't. However, I no longer felt the uneasy restlessness of not knowing if I really belonged there. I felt peace and comfort that James would be taken care of.  We both had things we needed to learn and experience to help our future family. Things we needed to go through separately to help us be stronger later on in our marriage. My Heavenly Father answered my prayers through a dream. I am so grateful that He knows me and loves me enough to answer my pleading prayers.

Coagulating Blood!!! This is sooo coool!!! It came from my thumb! Love ASEA!

There I was... making a green smoothie.  My costco bag of frozen fruit had thawed and then been refrozen again and was more of a solid brick of tropical fruit than anything else.  I attempted chunking off pieces of fruit to put in to the smoothie but was not having very much luck.  I gave it one last stab... which sent the knife through the block of tropical fruit and right down slicing the fleshy part of my thumb.  I could tell it was deep immediately.  My first thought was, "YES!! I can now do an ASEA experiment to see if what people have said is true about ASEA coagulating blood!"
I immediately put my thumb in a cup of ASEA and watched as the blood poured out of my thumb.  It was a crazy experience.  The blood was leaving my thumb in droplets and collecting at the bottom of the cup!  I dumped out that cup in the sink and watched as the ASEA poured out barely tinted red and then followed the blood... Not mixed!

This was the cut after soaking it in ASEA for about ten minutes.

This is the video of my thumb bleeding in my third cup of ASEA.  It had slowed significantly by this point.  Watch how it looks in slow motion.  My thumb is fully submersed in ASEA.  So cool!

I decided I should go get stitches after talking to several doctor friends of ours! (Thanks Dr. Jeff Green!)  But before I left I wanted to video the cup being poured out.  

This was the cup of ASEA with blood pooled at the bottom!

This was the ASEA being emptied from the cup shown above.  Notice how the ASEA is barely tinted red and then the distinct change when the blood began emptying? But wait!  There is more!!

This is the blood that did not come out of the bottom of the cup....

We decided to put tap water in the cup and see what would happens to the blood.  Would there be a difference?  The last part of this next video is the best!

Notice how the water and blood had already "mixed" and then the end finale!!!  Watch the already clotted blood plop out! 

This is just more fuel in my fire about how beneficial ASEA is to our bodies!  It has already began helping my body be more efficient and speed the healing process!  Think what it is doing in my body daily as I take it orally and spray it topically!  Every cell in my body is benefiting!!

I left shortly there after with a kotex sanitary napkin taped to my finger to go get stitches.  All of the hustle and bustle of performing our ASEA experiment had opened it back up again and it was bleeding pretty good again.

An hour later I came home with six stitches (first ever in my life other than the two I received after giving birth to my first baby.)  I showed the doctor stitching me up these videos and he was stumped.  "What is that stuff?" he asked!  "Only Redox Signalling Molecules!" I said and gave him my card with the www.amazingmolecules.com website and invited him to take a look.  This stuff is incredible!

As for me and my family... we will not be without our ASEA!

Have a great ASEA day!

www.jamesandamanda.teamasea.com

 

The crumpled up napkin on my windshield

February 14th of this year it will have been 10 years since I found a crumpled up napkin on my windshield as I left the track meet headed for home to my apartment.  It had been an emotionally draining week which had started with me confronting my neighbor about if we were going to start dating or not.  Everybody was asking us if we were, but neither of us had really discussed it or decided and really we just teetered around the subject when we were around each other.   I had finally had enough and in all honesty if he wasn't willing to try to date me "officially" than I was really wanting to move on.
I went to his apartment late one Sunday night which was not out of the ordinary.  I was always over there. But this time I was on a mission.  I walked in his front door and found him standing at the stove heating up some cream of celery soup.  We had just recently purchased an entire case of it at the case lot sale.  "I need to talk to you.," I said.  He set down the spoon he was stirring his soup with and looked up at me startled.  "I am tired of not knowing where I stand with you.  Are we just friends?  Are we dating?  I don't know what to tell people when they ask."  I had his full attention now.  He was now starting to back further in to the kitchen as I came closer.  "I don't know.  I guess I will have to think about it," he said shyly.  "What is there to think about?  You either know if you are interested or not!" I exclaimed frustrated.  "I don't know.  I have some things I need to work through first.  You deserve more than what I am right now.  Just give me time to work through some things."  He was now backed all the way in to the kitchen, face was red and he appeared pretty uncomfortable.  I too was uncomfortable, heart racing, kind of dizzy.  I had never approached anybody like that before, let alone somebody who I was really starting to care for.  "Alright, well let me know when you figure out your life!"  I left the his apartment embarrassed, feeling rejected and confused.  That was not at all how I had pictured any of it going at all that night.
Throughout the entire next week I did not see him at all.  This was hard to do when our apartments shared a wall.  We always ran in to each other or at least passed coming and going.  It wasn't until the night of February 14th did I see him next.  He came to my track meet.  First thing I noticed was that he had given himself a hair cut... Need I say it looked like he took his hat and cut his side burns off level with the bottom of his baseball cap.  As he told me good job and good luck and see ya later I couldn't help but wonder why he had cut his sideburns off so funny?  But it was nice he came to the track meet.  I was a little bummed that he did not stay to walk me home or even watch the rest of the meet.  I guess he still had "stuff" to work through.
I walked to my car through the snowy slush with my sister.  I was frustrated with how I had performed and to top it off someone had crumpled up a napkin and left in on my windshield.  I grabbed it and tossed it in the car with the rest of my things.  My sister picked it up gently and said, "Amanda, someone left you a rose." "What?! Where?"  She held the napkin at a different angle and I saw a pretty little rose laying on its side in her hand.  It was actually kind of pretty.
We arrived home, I went inside my apartment and my roommates immediately huddled around my bedroom door.  "Look on your bed!!"  I looked and saw a card and a little gift.  The gift was a little horse named Elmer.  The card read, "This gent would like to ask a dame to be his girl.  Will she take him and all his flaws?" (It was something like that... I can't remember exactly)  My heart was racing, I was dizzy, he had decided that yes I was worth a shot!  I was so happy about it and excited and confused.  Why had he cut his sideburns so funny?  I ran over to his apartment where he was waiting in the kitchen.  I awkwardly ran up to him, threw my arms around him awkwardly and said yes!  And then I was was distracted again by his sideburns... haha.  I guess I can say the rest has been history.  We have so many good stories.  It has not been entirely easy the last ten years since we have been a "couple," but it has been fun.  I have learned one thing for sure.  Sometimes the crumpled up napkin is not what it seems.  It just requires a step back and a different angle and a whole new perspective is given.  That has been a constant theme in our now eternal marriage and I am forever grateful for him and the crumpled up napkin!

The Keeper of the Gate: Grandpa Jim

I would like to write about my Grandpa Jim.  I think of him often.  I remember how he smelt and how his whistling sounded in the morning while he drank his coffee listening to the radio.  I remember the toothpick he would keep in his mouth and move back and forth from one side to the other.  I remember loving mules because he loved them and laughing at his "mule farts smell like roses jokes."  I remember sitting around a campfire in the dark listening to him strum his guitar and sing.  I loved listening to him sing.  I could listen for hours on end.  I remember one time he sang "Amanda, light of my life..." Then there were the times we would go to the rodeos with him and I would think that none of those guys out there on the bulls or horses could hold a candle to my Grandpa.  I remember when he gave my Grandma jewelry that he made her from old Indian beads.  He always made sure to attend my basketball games and always had a smart remark about how I don't have a beat when dancing.  I remember listening to he and my grandma playing at the Elks.  We loved going to listen and dance with all the other old timers.  I couldn't keep a beat then either, but we loved flirting with the old men!  I remember watching my Grandpa's hands tap to the rhythm of the music as he listened to it and the way his voice would crack as he yodeled. I remember how his lips would curl around a corn cob.  I remember when my grandpa came to our house to bury our dog after he was run over on the road and the tears in his eyes as he left.  I remember my Grandpa riding up our driveway on his mule Billy Jo to take me on my first ride on my mare Tweet.  I remember interviewing him about his life on several occasions.  The one thing that has never left me from those conversations are his words, "Work hard enough it will be impossible for them to want to fire you.  You will always have work." I remember watching the twinkle in his eye when he had guests over and was able to entertain them. I remember getting the phone call that he had been in an accident.  I remember gathering with my family in the music room listening to him sing and play his guitar knowing that it would be the last time in this life that I would be able to dance to his songs.  I remember getting the call that we needed to come home now.  I remember walking in his house with all of our family around us and bending down in front of his face so he could see me.  For a brief second I know he recognized me with a small twinkle in his eye.  I remember my family gathered around his bed as he slipped away to heaven.  I did not have sorrow from his death, maybe from anticipation of missing him, but not because his mortal life had come to a close.  I remember listening to the "Keeper of the Gate" being sung by him at his funeral and knowing that our family will be an eternal family one day.  My Grandpa was an amazing man and an admirable example of what hard work will earn you.

I received a ring in the MTC...

Receiving mail as a missionary is one of the highlights of serving a mission!  Especially when you have only been out for a couple weeks or months.  The pangs of homesickness are still very raw and the realization of what being a true missionary is is still almost an imagination as you have still not really been able to be entirely become lost in the lives of your investigators and converts. 

Imagine seeing a package in the mail from your boyfriend.... who you didn't really break it off with before you left but left it kind of open ended... sitting in the mail just two weeks in to your time as a missionary at the MTC.  I received such package.  I ripped it open hoping for candy or a little note or stickers or gum.  I did not expect a ring.

The memories from a life time of three weeks before all came flooding back.  James took me to the temple in Billings and then made a short stop at the LDS Bookstore just down the road.  He said it was to just look around.  Upon entering the store he walked directly over to the rings and asked me to choose a ring.  Ha! I was hesitant.  What did that mean.  I played along with him and told him I did not want a cliche CTR ring but would choose something better.  The sego lily ring.  It was beautiful, bold and I had never seen anyone else where it!  The caption under the ring read, "Just as the Sego Lily sustains life, sisters in Zion sustain life in their homes.  They reflect purity, beauty, patience and strength."  That was everything that I wanted to reflect and become.  That ring was to be mine.

Fast forward to me standing in the MTC post office holding my ring.  I had entirely forgotten that they did not have my size and that they were going to ship it to me in the MTC.  Pangs of wanting to run home flooded through me.  I missed James.  I knew it was a good choice to be on my mission, but I didn't have the conviction that I shouldn't be at home marrying him either.

I knew that I had to be committed entirely one way or the other and that I would not be successful either way if I was always wishing I was somewhere else.  The next day we were to go to the temple.  I knew that this decision to stay or go home was a big one and that I needed to receive some serious answers.  I began my fast immediately with faith that through fasting I would receive the answer that I needed to be able to fully commit either way.  

As I sat in the temple, feeling very much at peace, deep in thought and prayer, I held my missionary plack in one hand and the ring in the other hand.  Both good choices.  Which was better?  Then as I closed my eyes I remember hearing the words, "Have courage."  A flood of peace came over me, almost tingly and light but penetrating.  Have courage to follow the answer I knew I had already received while preparing to serve a mission earlier that summer.  The scripture came to mind in Doctrine and Covenants 6.

22Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might ^aknow concerning the truth of these things.

 23 Did I not speak ^apeace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater ^bwitness can you have than from God?

I had already received my answer previously.  I needed to remember to have courage to continue forward with faith that that was my answer and that I was to be a missionary at that time.  I am grateful that I know with a surety that when I have problems, questions, seek peace and strength, I can turn to my Father in Heaven and He will answer my prayers and bless me with comfort and understanding.

Through out the rest of my mission, courage became a theme.  Whenever I felt lost, scared, desperate, sad, worthless, weak, etc I would look back to that afternoon in the temple and remember, "Have courage."

Little did I know that as I came home and returned to my James, married  him for all eternity and began a family how much courage I would need.  I know that as I prayerfully make decisions and fast about those decisions, I will be led to what my family needs and that we will be protected and provided for.  I will be blessed with the courage to be obedient, step out of my comfort zone and make a mark on this world.

True Confessions of a 30 year old Network Marketer

This will be brutally honest.  I have sat on my lawn mower most of the summer with occasional intermittent bouts of installing irrigation systems and landscaping.  I have had a lot of time to think.  Which is not common for a mom of three babies 4 years old and under.  Did I mention that my average work day is between 10-13 hours long away from the house?  I have had time to think, contemplate, listen, and discover a lot.  I have written thousands of blogs through out the summer.  Only a few have persevered in my memory til now.  I suppose it will be those "blogs" that I will now share with my blog that I have abandoned until now.

I did title this one True Confessions of a 30 year old Network Marketer.  It has taken me seven years of experimenting with network marketing to call myself that with pride.  It takes every bit of courage that I have.  I was raised in a network marketing home.  One that meetings were the norm most weeks.  A home that made up songs about the company that was currently being shared.  (I to this day sing, "Melaleuca, Melaleuca, Melaleuca!" in a sing songy voice.)  I experienced at a young age the awkwardness sometimes involved in the industry and the everlasting friendships made.  Of course this was just what my young eyes saw through my parent's activities.

As I grew older, I learned that network marketing sometimes has a bad stigma associated with it.  This stuck deep in my soul and had a conflicting battle with the good memories that I had growing up.  Growing up a member of the LDS Church in an area primarily not LDS, I have always been "different" than my peers, family, neighbors, etc.  I never cared.  I loved that I knew without a doubt that I was in the right place and stood solid in my conviction of the truthfulness of what I believe.  It did not bother me that others thought me strange, weird, peculiar, goodie goodie, or whatever they thought of me.   But somehow with the network marketing it mattered to me what others thought.... and that bothered me.

James and I have been involved in 3 or 4 different companies since we have been married and deeply investigated several others.  (We usually walked away knowing more about the companies than the person presenting to us.)  I love the 2nd company we were in.  It consisted of calling people I have never met and talking to them!  I literally could care less about what they thought!  It was great!  Then it turned out that that company was a fraud.  Yes, we were involved in a company that was not ethical, had zero morals and lied to us.  Ha.  I said never again.  I will not do this again.  Everyone was right, these are no good.

Two years ago, my mom, who is forever looking in to new and exciting gigs, health fads, pills, diets, etc., stumbled across this salt water drink.  She did not back down when I laughed at her.  Salt water? HA!  Network marketing! HA!  No way.  I have too much to do to waste my time and money.  Over the next couple months, she continuously "dripped" information on me.  Stories of fish coming back alive after having this salt water rubbed on them, people going off of their inhalers, anti depressant medication no longer needed after a life time of dependency, chronic pain disappearing.  So many stories, day after day, were being dripped onto me.

I like to be healthy.  I like to be strong.  I do not like to be sick or feel weak.  James and I said we would try Asea.  (James actually jumped at the chance.  I was much more the skeptic and would not commit in anyway to sharing this with anyone.  I would not "burden" anyone with this.)

That was October 2011.  Over the next couple years we would quietly share it with our friends and maybe some others.  James of course a lot more than me.  I still really did not want anything to do with Network Marketing.  I did not want to "burden" anyone.  Nor did I really believe 100% that this was all it was cracked up to be.  I knew that it had over 30 patents, that it affected the glutathione antioxidants by several hundred percent, that athletes who take it have increased speed and endurance and performance by 12%.  I read the studies, watched the videos.  I knew that it was not bad.  I knew that I was not getting sick when friends around me were under the weather.  I knew that when I actually worked out, I recovered a lot quicker.  I knew that when I sprayed it on my bleeding nipples when breast feeding our new baby they almost healed in front of my eyes.  (ok that was pretty huge and the honest truth.)  I knew that I sprayed it on one leg after frying them in the sun and the leg I sprayed never pealed and healed much faster than the other which actually blistered.  I knew that this "salt water" (Asea) works.  I still did not want to burden anyone with it because of this idea that I had in my head about network marketing.  I did not want my friends or even potential friends to run from me or become awkward because they had not looked at what we invited them to look at.

And then I spent all summer listening to books that James would download for us to listen to.  Books authored by Jim Rohn, Eric Worre, Shapiro, etc.  I listened inquisitively.  After the third of fourth time listening to these books, I realized that Network Marketing is not a burden, not a scam, and was something entirely worth my effort to begin to live.

I believe that we should surround ourselves with what is positive, uplifting, good natured, honest, real.  I realized that Network Marketing is becoming the best you you can be!  Becoming more spiritually inclined, pushing yourself to limits you would never have gone.  It is all about perfecting who you are, listening better, communicating better, serving better, loving more, being accountable for the well being of others.  Network Marketing is about helping others who have a desire to become more, become more. Network Marketing is about setting goals, reaching goals and learning new ways to recommit to goals.  Network marketing is about becoming a leader by helping them learn to lead.

This excites me.  I feel that I am a driven person.  Our philosophy in our marriage and life is that if we can help others, it will be passed along and somehow swing back around for us.  This has worked without fail.  What excites me more is that the Network Marketing company that James and I call ours is every bit of this and more.  I can, (and have) looked into the eyes of the leaders and only see the concern for us reflecting back.  This company has integrity.  This company has morals.  This company's main objective is to help and serve.  I can align my personal goals right along side the goals of this company.  UBUNTU!

Is the old Amanda lurking in the back ground taunting me not to share this with those who are desperately in need of the benefits Asea can bring to them?  Yes.  Does it take copious amounts of courage every time I open my mouth to share with someone about Asea?  Yes.  Do I bumble all my words together and talk too much and go cross eyed?  Yes.  But, that is the beauty of Asea.  I am not left alone to figure this out.  I have a team of partners that will even make calls with me on Valentine's Day during a night out so that I can reach my goals.

This is the confession of a 30 year old Network Marketer.  I love Network Marketing.  It has been a long road for me and I do not doubt that it will even longer.  But as I learn to grow as a leader, I will grow as a Daughter of my Father in Heaven and reach even more of my potential.

On a side note, it is incredibly exhilarating to have finally put this "blog" down on paper.  It has been months floating around in my head with little energy left to finally make it out on to paper until now.  I could not hold it back and now I feel better.  I may even be able to sleep!  If anything more than to help me construct the reality of these ideas, I leave you with my confession and wish for you to find something that pushes you to reach more of your potential and polish the rough edges off of you daily.

Screaming in to an empty room eating chocolate chips

Have you ever just screamed in to an empty room?

I have several times these past couple days.  I always think that it will make it easier to relieve stress or be able to evict emotions,  but I have found it usually doesn't help.  Chocolate chips have a slight edge on screaming into the empty room.

It is times like these when I feel pressure from every direction to appease everyone's needs and requests and cannot humanly do it that I so easily forget that there are hidden miracles in everything.  And so now as I sit here completely mentally and physically exhausted stifling my desire to scream into the dark room I am going to jot down a few of the hidden miracles that occurred today.

My kids were watched over and taken care of by an amazing friend today.  They came home happy and and tremendously tired from playing and wanting to eat "chocolate sandwiches"... hahah

We have wonderful clients who are open and honest with us.  We also have clients who have been waiting for us to do their landscaping for over a year.  Finally finishing their project they are so excited to be able to plant their garden and perennials!  It amazes me how we find such great people to work with!

Part of the stress is that everyone would like their projects done now.   I keep fighting the urge to go hide under the bed when my phone rings because it is one more person needing a bit of work done!  One man called today to request we fix his broken system.  I expressed how far behind we are and I could not possibly take anyone one right a way and that he would have to wait several weeks.  He agreed happily!

Honesty is the best.  I cannot please everyone all at once.  What takes priority is my family... my husband especially.  He pays for the brunt of the crazy emotional waves of his crazy wife!  He is the hidden miracle that every day I am more grateful for.  He is constant and sure and strong... pretty good looking too!

I was told today by one of my throwers.  You were a pretty alright referee.  (That never happens!!)

Whew... I no longer feel like I need to scream.  My head is no longer swimming with craziness.  I feel like I can now slumber.

good night