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March 28, 2010
Increase Your Child’s Recall3 Comments
Did you know that smelling peppermint could increase recall by 28%? That’s significant, especially if we could harness that power when our kids really need it, like during tests or recitals.* I pulled out my peppermint when I was writing the thesis for my master herbalist program. It cleared my mind and helped me focus better. You can just open the bottle and smell it, or you can put 3 drops in a little water in a diffuser like this. Read more… March 25, 2010
Sleepwalk Drinking? Just Don’t Drive!A man in his late forties and his wife and his mother came into the ER. The wife said he came into their bedroom at 2 AM, sat on the bed and fell over. She talked to him and shook him, and although he was breathing comfortably, he wouldn’t wake up. She called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He was awake, but groggy when Mike saw him. Mike asked them if he had drunk any alcohol that evening. They said no. Mike asked if the guy EVER drank alcohol. His wife answered that he did not. Mike asked if he had taken any drugs. They said no. Mike started ordering tests. He ordered blood work, a urine sample and a CT scan of the brain. The urine had barbituates and benzodiazepines-both sedatives, and the blood contained alcohol. Mike returned to the room and excused man’s wife and mother. He told the guy there were drugs in his urine. He said he had taken Donatol for his stomach and Ambien (a strong sleeping drug). Then he had gone in his garage to work on his motorcycles. Okay folks. First of all, it’s wise to lie down after taking a drug like Ambien because it makes your body go to sleep. It also cause your brain to be amnestic, which means you can’t think or remember things. People do crazy things on this stuff. They don’t remember a thing. Older people sometimes take this stuff and end up behind the wheel. It can be quite dangerous. Mike told the guy that his blood alcohol was close to the legal limit. The guy said he couldn’t remember anything. Mike asked, “Did you drink tonight?” “I may have.” “Do you have alcohol in your garage?’ “Yes.” He lowered his head a little. “Do you drink it sometimes?” “Yes.” So this guy had taken the sleeping drug, gone out to the garage for some tinkering, fallen asleep on his feet, drank some alcohol out of his hidden stash in the garage while he was “semi-conscious”, and then returned to his bedroom to pass out heavily and scare his wife to death, without remembering a thing. Nice. A considerable amount of money was wasted on tests. Moral of the story: If you go to the ER, make sure you tell the physician what drugs you’re taking, and if you take Ambien, go to bed not to work. March 12, 2010
What’s Great About Community Ballet?The longer we’ve been involved with our community ballet group (about five years now), the more reasons I’ve found to love and be grateful for it. This picture shows a full color layout of my 11 year old daughter, Raquel, published on the front page of our local paper, the Cedar City Daily News just after the last production.  Raquel on the front page of the local paper. She was famous for a week! Cedar City Junior Ballet does at least one large production every year. This time it was Cinderella.  Raquel performed "en pointe."* I didn’t watch Raquel practice much before the show.  The spring fairy with her butterflies.* It was thrilling as a mom to see her dance on point shoes and feel that all the hours of rehearsal had been worth it! I’ve never had to push her much because she was motivated by these super-fun productions. She naturally wanted to develop her skills so she could get better parts.  Stephanie Richards danced exquisitely as Cinderella.* Anyone who wants to participate, can be part of this community ballet group, no matter what age, no matter what skill level.  Raquel (lower left) with old and new friends. The lady who directs our group is Christine Mills, and the non-profit organization she started is called the Cedar City Junior Ballet. Her sister, Lise Mills, helps put on their annual production, but usually works in personnel at the Shakespearean Festival and the SUU Department of Dance.  Chris is on left, Lise on right. They were hilarious!* Chris teaches lessons throughout the year on classic ballet technique. She charges $10-15 per lesson. Sometimes she only barely covers the studio rent. We need to find some local businesses who will donate regularly to the cause.  The "mean sisters" stole the show!* Each fall, usually in September, Chris holds auditions for the next production, which takes place the following February.  The fairy godmother and the fairies of the seasons.* The first year we participated, my kids knew no ballet. They were in a production of Sleeping Beauty and then A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Nathan was 7 and Raquel was 5. Chris is always short on boys, and luckily Nathan was willing to participate twice. They had a great time!  Nathan & Raquel with our neighbor, Tom after the show. Chris charges all girl participants a $300 show fee, but now she gives us 15 tickets to sell at $10 each to pay half the fee. The fee covers FANTASTIC costumes, made by her, Lise and volunteers, along with the theater rental, which currently runs $2,000-3,000.
We’ve always been able to sell plenty of tickets to our neighbors and friends. Last year’s production was Copellia, a story about a doll that comes to life. Isaac, then 6, begged me to let him participate, so I let him even though his Saturday rehearsals were at different times then Raquel’s.
Isaac absolutely loved being part of a big production, as he had often seen Nathan and Raquel do.  Isaac's the short village boy in the middle. Raquel played a village girl and a Scottish doll in the tinker’s workshop.
We love community ballet because we’re not paying any extra for someone’s personal profit, but we’re still getting top notch education and performing experience. The feeling of community is wonderful, too.
I’ve been extremely impressed and happy with the quality of these productions. We’re already gearing up for our next daughter, Lily to participate. She was very excited about the show and is ready to jump right in.  Lily wanted a picture with Cinderella. Last month Raquel talked me into taking a few tap classes with her. I did and enjoyed myself immensely. I’ve found that the hands-down best way to inspire my kids to do the things I want them to, is to do it with them. Who knows? Maybe I’ll try my hand at a little ballet sometime and join in the next production.  Thanks for all you do Chris & Lise!!! *Photo credits to Parker Grimes PhotographyMarch 5, 2010
Run Over By A PigA little while ago Mike treated a guy in the ER that had been run over by a pig. The man was going to slaughter the pig. He shot it in the head and it had slumped to the ground. When the man went over to the front of it, the pig jumped up and rammed him, breaking the man’s tibia bone in his leg. The pig chased the man around the room for a few minutes. The man was frantically trying to keep away from it. Finally, someone else came into the room, saw what was happening and shot the pig again. This time it died. The man was alright except for his broken tibia. Usually Mike treats people in car injuries, not pig injuries. All in a day’s work. Moral of the story: Make sure your pig is good and dead . . . |
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