House of Geekiness

To make Sundays more fun for our kids, we let them eat "sugar cereals" like Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, etc. These kinds of cereal have become known as "Sunday Cereal" in our house.

Some Sunday Cereals have even gotten their own nicknames or become inside jokes in our house.

Because our youngest couldn't say "Fruit Loops" for the longest time, we still call it what he used to: "Froob-a-loops"

Because of Calvin and Hobbes, we don't call these Cocoa Puffs...

They are Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

Lucky Charms became very unlucky for our two oldest.

One Sunday, we woke up to find that these two had eaten every single marshmallow out of a full box of Lucky Charms and left all the "cereal" pieces. Our oldest spent most of the rest of the that day throwing up and has refused to eat Lucky Charms ever since.

And then, this morning, this happened:

What's your favorite Sunday Cereal?

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDRDIO6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JDRDIO6&linkCode=as2&tag=housofgeek-20&linkId=NGKJ2GVMNXR3MOSL

When Erik, my husband, saw this in his Facebook feed, he started jumping and shouting, "Sweetie, look! You've gotta see this!"

I chucked a bit.

Erik: Did you know these existed??

He frantically started searching Amazon...

These do, indeed, exist. Of course Amazon has them....They have everything! Erik's face looked quite a bit like this kid's (above).

Me: What, taco truck things?

Erik: No, that they had holder things like this!

Me: Well, yeah. Taco Bell and places like that use them to stand the tacos up as they make them...

Erik: No, that they have them for consumers. This is LIFE CHANGING! That's why I hardly ever get the crunchy tacos...This changes everything!

Then, the kids came in and got just as excited as Erik. Looks like we'll be eating our tacos from "taco trucks" from now on.

Are there any crazy kitchen gadgets you can't live without?

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As I briefly mentioned (haha) in my last battle update post, the last few months have been a huge struggle for us. It got to the point where I literally couldn't get up and fix a bowl of cereal without having to lie down and/or nap, and my sleeping schedule got even more messed up. I had never been that fatigued—not after childbirth or even after multiple surgeries. I felt like i was drugged, and I was having occasional chest pain (which freaked me out).

Image source

We had to reschedule our open house tour of our beloved Provo City Center Temple (aka Provo's castle) because I couldn't get there, let alone through the tour.

When we finally did make it, I realized I wouldn't be able to walk up the stairs and through the building—if there was any chance of me completing the tour, I'd have to take the elevator.

I know it's really dramatic of me, but if you've ever been inside an LDS temple, you know that it feels like you're literally in part of Heaven. I started crying. It's silly, but it all hit me, being so sick and not knowing what was going on, then having to let my husband and kids go on without me while I took the elevator. My stupid health has kept me from doing so many things, but it dawned on me that it could end my life early. It felt like my illness was killing me, and I had to leave my family behind. As we got closer to the stairs/elevator, I tried not to think about how well they would or wouldn't get by without me. Had I taught them enough?

Even though I hadn't told my husband, Erik, how upset I was (or what I was upset about), he took my hand and whispered, "We'll take the elevator with you." I protested a bit, realizing how ridiculous I was being, but he insisted. I don't think I have never felt so loved or so grateful that our family can be together forever, even after death. (Read more about Eternal Families here.)

Although I was completely out for the rest of the day and a good part of the next, I not only made it through the tour, I was able to go up one flight of stairs and down another!

The next day, my doctor discovered they'd been giving me too much thyroid medicine. I have Hashimoto's, which we knew, but it usually swings from hypo to mildly hyper, and it had never been that hyper.

Thyroid medicine is tricky. The normal thyroid hormone pill takes several weeks to a month to affect your body, and they'd told me years ago that my body doesn't process it correctly, so I have to have a second medicine that is the already processed form of the hormone (which can show effects the same day you take it). I was getting too much of both medicines.

In the last two weeks or so of the change in medicine, I've already seen significant improvement. I'm still not doing great, but I'm able to make it through most of the day without sleeping much, only one nap! However, I'm still having a terrible time getting to sleep at night, bad anxiety, low energy, depression, and so so many other problems that come from hyperthyroidism.

As I try to get back to work and life, one of the most frustrating things has been mental fogginess/fatigue. My first two full-ish days back to work (I work from home), I made some really obvious mistakes. And, since I am a publicist/social media manager, when I make a mistake, thousands of people can see it.

I know I showed you this picture already, but take another look. For me, this has new meaning. Two separate times, when I made these glaring and silly mistakes, instead of laughing at me, a friend or sister took me aside and asked me about it privately. I'd had no idea I'd messed up like that. While the second was a simple but really bad typo, the first was something that made perfect sense to me when I'd typed it, but after a nap, I saw that it was complete nonsense.

I'm obviously not the only one who has struggled through all this. The kids' school called today to check on us. One of the teachers, principal, and office staff had noticed how often our kids had been late or absent from school. While I know they have to cover their own bases (their funding is based on attendance), they not only asked if we were alright, but they also asked if there was anything they could do to help.

Thank you to all of you who don't judge, who love and help and express concern. We wouldn't have made it this far without you!

My goals

I want to have energy to spend time and actually do activities with my family.

I want to be able to be physically active. I’m not saying I plan on running marathons, but being able to exercise and do basic housecleaning on a daily basis would be nice.

I want my mind to feel less foggy all the time so I can do my job well and enjoy being in the profession I love.

I want to be healthy and be at a healthy weight.

~~I want my life back!~~ I will look for the best in my life and realize what I truly have, always striving to make it better.

If you're in the Provo area and want to come to the open house, check to see if the free tickets are available here until March 5th. (More are added periodically, so don't give up!)

You can learn more about the LDS church here. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

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Persephone: A Retelling

I don't think I'll ever forget the day my elementary school teacher introduced our class to Greek Mythology. My friends and I spent hours arguing over which goddess we got to be and jumping on the giant trampoline.

The myths captivated me, and I quickly read everything that the library had on them. Never getting enough, I started filling in the blanks that the vague stories had left.

I'm excited to share with you my own retelling of Persephone (whose name I mispronounced for years!) This myth has many versions but always left so much to the imagination (and believe me, my imagination went wild). I'll be sharing parts of the book as I write them, so please be patient with any errors you may find, as this is a first draft!

Persephone Part 1

"A Nymph in the Forest" by Charles Amable Lenoir

Persephone

For Persephone, life was one blissful day blended into another. Her days were spent lazily wandering forests and meadows, livening and brightening each flower she touched. Like her mother, Demeter, she was a nature goddess, who reveled in all things glorious and beautiful that grew upon the earth.

She heard vague tales of her relations' warring but had seldom witnessed it, as was her mother's wish. If it had been up to Demeter, Persephone would indeed had known very little of them. However, since her days were spend amongst the gossiping nymphs, dryads, and naiads, she had learned a great deal about her heritage.

She knew of the pairing of earth and sky that brought the Titans forth, of the war between the Olympian gods and Titans, of the scandalous pursuits of her own father, Zeus, the continuous sparring between gods and goddesses, and the pathetically piteous existence of the race known as man.

New tales of intrigue fell daily upon her ears. The latest was, yet again, about one of her father's lovers. She listened as she sat painting a group of unacceptably drab wildflowers.

"Zeus heard his wife coming and turned Io into a cow! Of all things, a cow! Can you imagine?" The nymph giggled with her sisters as they languished in the cool stream's clear water. "Not to be fooled, Hera convinced him to give her the cow as a gift!"

"No!" Another exclaimed. "I can only imagine what mischief Hera had in store for her. I am so glad not to be in her place."

"That's not the least of it either," the first continued. "Hera set a gadfly to chase her. With no respite, she was nearly taken mad, tormented clean out of her mind. And that silly cow ran all the way to Egypt!"

Persephone closed her eyes and shook her head. Would Zeus never learn?

Satisfied with one flower, she moved to the next pale green one. Cupping it in her hands, she blew gently upon it until color blossomed from its core to petals' edge.

These ones will be white, like the Io the cow. She smiled to herself. Despite the foolishness, Persephone found herself taken with these romances.

Read Persephone Part 2

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Little Mermaid inspired Ariel in pink dress perler beadsprite

Creating perler bead sprites of your favorite characters is so fun! Here's me designing a perler bead sprite of Ariel (The Little Mermaid) in her pink dress from my Disney inspired Princess Collection.

I'll be making a series of these videos, so check back soon or sign up for my email list here.

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I've been spiraling downward for the past few months. The latest fibromyalgia / antidepressant gave me chest pain and heart palpitations, and going off of it left me with even worse off than when I started it.

A bad cold/flu bug in November turned into a horrible sinus infection and messed with my sleep schedule. Since then, I've had very few nights of solid sleep. I'm usually wide awake until 3-5 am no matter what I do (sleep hygiene, relaxation, exercise....)

My weight has been going up and down (mostly up), as has my appetite. There are days when I could never eat enough (especially chocolate), days where even the thought of food makes me nauseated, and normal days in between. I lost 8 lbs in a few weeks, then gained 12.

I've been trying to get by, just sticking to the basics: didn't decorate much for Christmas (other than setting up the tree), keep focusing on getting just each day's emergencies/basic house keeping/laundry done, taking it easy with work, and having lots of snuggles with the kids.

Despite it all, I've been getting worse. I'm always tired but have a terrible time getting to sleep, low energy, temperature intolerance (I've been wearing sandals, short sleeves, skirts/capris all winter while my family bundles up--even in the house), terrible memory and concentration, restlessness, depression, anxiety, daily episodes where I get lightheadedness, muscle weakness, nausea, and exhaustion.... So yeah, not much fun.

All this has been accompanied by my usual guilt that the house is a mess, my family needs more from me, and I'm hardly getting any work done.

Erik finally dragged me in for another thyroid check yesterday. I don't avoid them because of the needles (I'm used to tests), but because they usually don't make a difference.

Even after they had to take my thyroid out (Hashimoto's), doctors have treated me like a hypochondriac. They'll act dedicated and interested in helping my health improve at first, then, when tests come back "within acceptable range" or their first/second line of treatment doesn't work, it's all in my head.

So, I've avoided going in to be seen for a while and tried to just live with it.... Didn't work either.

Thyroid results came back low today. At least there's some explanation behind all this. Hope adjusting the meds helps this time.

Obviously feeling a bit down here, but relieved that there's proof for once that I'm not crazy.

When I laid down a few minutes ago, my daughter brought me her tiara. She put it on my head and

said, "You deserve this. You're the best mom in the universe!"

My health is still yucky, but I'm thankful for my sweet daughter and the reminder that I'm special. :)

My goals

I want to have energy to spend time and actually do activities with my family.

I want to be able to be physically active. I’m not saying I plan on running marathons, but being able to exercise and do basic housecleaning on a daily basis would be nice.

I want my mind to feel less foggy all the time so I can do my job well and enjoy being in the profession I love.

I want to be healthy and be at a healthy weight.

~~I want my life back!~~ I will look for the best in my life and realize what I truly have, always striving to make it better.

Psst! Don't miss a post! Sign up for my email list and get your

Last week, I told you about how it burned down five years ago, but today, this majestic castle that has been restored to my city. (If you missed it, you can read about the Provo Tabernacle - Provo City Center Temple Restoration and Construction here.)

This video shows so much that I wanted to share with you—the devastation of that fire, the joy we felt when its reconstruction was announced (you can hear the crowd in the Conference Center actually gasping, which we did as well, at home, right as the tears started), and the wonder at the feats the architects performed. It also gives us a better look inside the building itself, which is even more beautiful that I'd imagined!

A three-story staircase inside the Provo City Center Temple was crafted out of wood, keeping with the Victorian interior design of the tabernacle. (Image source)

The chandelier and ceiling inside the celestial room of the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

Art glass windows and hardware have been customized for the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

Floral patterns can be found in the Provo City Center Temple, including art glass featuring the lotus flower common in religious buildings throughout the world. (Image source)

The entrance to the Provo City Center Temple in Provo, Utah. (Image source)

The main entrance to the Provo City Center Temple includes a reclaimed stained glass image of Jesus Christ that dates back to the early 1900s that came from a Presbyterian church in New York that was demolished. (Image source)

This reminds me so much of the Provo Library, my other favorite building in Provo. It used to be the Brigham Young Academy. (Read more about my library here.)

Oval-shaped baptistry of the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

We get to go tour the inside this weekend! I am so excited!!!! If you're in the Provo area and want to come to the open house, check to see if the free tickets are available here. (**Update: This event has ended.)

You can learn more about the LDS church here. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

#ProvoRocks

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The Provo Tabernacle - Provo City Center Temple Restoration and Construction #ProvoRocks

Image source and news story

Five years ago, my favorite building in Provo, UT (the city we live) burned down, and I cried like a baby.

(Video slideshow of the history and reconstruction)

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And I cried even more every time I drove by it's hollowed out shell.

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This building was in the center of the city. We used to drive by it frequently, we got to have occasional church meetings in it, we watched parades from its front steps, and played on its grounds.

Our daughter, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds

Erik and our two oldest sawing wood for wood burning activity,
July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds

Our youngest, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds

Old two oldest children, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds

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It was one of the first things I loved about Provo.

Then came the announcement. Our church was going to restore it and convert it into a new temple! So many of us cried with joy when we heard the announcement.

The first temple I ever got to go inside of, Portland, OR. It was built when I was 7 and living in Oregon.

If you've never seen or heard of LDS temples, here's more about them and a few pictures:

Erik and I were married in this temple, so it's an obvious favorite! Oakland, CA

St. George, UT

Logan, UT

Bet you can see why I was so excited, huh? :)

The original structure of the Provo Tabernacle had a cupola (spire thingy in the center) that had be removed because it wasn't structurally sound. The new design put it back in!

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I still don't quite understand how they did it, but they gutted the building and raised it up on stilts to build the foundation and lower level. (Video about this engineering feat here here.)

The exterior walls of the Provo Tabernacle are secured for the construction of the Provo City Center Temple. Image source

Locations are prepared for installation of the stained-glass windows in the Provo City Center Temple. Image source

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Over the next few years, we got to witness the construction of our new temple.

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They also had to remove, restore, and replace the spires.

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The skylight in the celestial room. Image source

The steeple on the Provo City Center Temple. Image source

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Construction on the middle floor in the Provo City Center Temple. Image source

The under-construction baptismal font at the Provo City Center Temple in January 2014. Image source

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Construction has finished now, and we just got tickets to the open house! That's another really neat thing about LDS temples. Even though only temple recommend-holding members are allowed inside after the building is dedicated, there is an open house for the public to come look inside before hand.

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The inside of the temple even includes some pieces that were salvaged from the original building, like the pulpit.

This piece was salvaged, and now replicas are in the new building as well:

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As workers peeled away paint and plaster from the burned walls, they uncovered a layer of painted plaster. The stenciled designs were pieced together using historic photographs as a guide. The design now appears again as a motif in the bride’s dressing room of the temple (see image below) - Source

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We are so excited to go explore our new castle! If you're in the Provo area and want to come to the open house, check to see if the free tickets are available here. (More are added periodically, so don't give up!)

You can learn more about the LDS church here. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

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Sunday Cereal

Taco Tuesday Will Never Be The Same

My Battle For Better Health: Kindness and Diagnosis

Persephone: A Retelling

Timelapse Video: The Little Mermaid (Pink Dress) in Perler Beads

My Battle for Better Health: You Deserve a Tiara!

New Video and Pictures of Provo's Castle!

My City's New Castle

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Laura Lynn Watkins

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