Are you biased?

My class right now deals with multicultural counseling and we have had to examine our personal biases and where they come from. Are they based on personal experiences, passed down from family, or socially based? I've had to create a genogram to examine my family's biases and I've found it very hard to think of my loved ones, or myself, as having biases. I guess I was equating biases with prejudices, which I now know are not the same thing. Anyway, I interviewed my dad about his biases and was completely shocked at his answers. They helped me understand myself better too.

So my challenge to you is this: Think about your biases. Where do they come from? Do those biases turn into prejudices? How do your biases influence your daily life? How do they manifest themselves? Do you think they're good or bad?

Here are some of the biases I've recognized in myself:

I am biased against people who become inactive in the church, but then look for reasons to stay inactive. They look for any reason to be offended and stay away. I think it's lame.

I'm biased against people who are so focused on their looks and fashion that they neglect their inner selves and the things that really matter in life. I pity them.

I'm biased towards people who, like my great-grandmother Celia and grandpa Storey, look for the best in others and constantly put others before themselves for the greater good of society.

I'm biased against men who think women can't, or shouldn't, work as hard as them. It really bothers me and I take it very personally.

Those are just a few. I can go on and on in different cultural aspects. Although it's been uncomfortable to examine myself and deeply rooted beliefs, I know it will help me be a better counselor as I grow in self awareness. I think accepting those biases, realizing that they're a part of you, and working on the ones that need work is the key. It's all part of the process of life, I guess.

I've been...

Slip 'n' slidin with Eden and Sara in Phoenix.

Monkey-ing around with my sisters.

Loving every minute with this girl and laughing at everything that came out of her mouth and the faces she made. I was so excited to catch this happy shot. She usually is making funny faces.

Witnessing the witness of birth. Congrats to Em, Brett and Eden on their new little bundle.

Welcome baby Avi Lee Gardner. Born August 20th. 8 lbs 7 oz. She's already smart as a whip and knows how to say "I Love You" in sign language!!!

Eden loves loving on her "stister" and would just sit up and give her random hugs and kisses in the hospital. I love this shot because Avi's eye says it all - HELP!!!

I just could not get enough of this little one. We had lots of one-on-one time together and she was such a good girl for me. She is such a good listener and so polite. I am missing her so much!

jon and aly sitting in a tree...

K-I-S-S-I-N-G. well, we weren't really in a tree. we were on the temple grounds. i took this on saturday during my shoot with jeff. jon was gracious enough to come with me and carry my camera bag for me since i couldn't haul it around. so i took a minute to snag this shot.

then i had some fun with photoshop

then jon threw in his creative ideas and we ended up with this

i don't know how i got so lucky to have him in my life, but he has seriously been so good to me during this recovery. probably the best he's ever been at taking care of me. i love him so much.

I've been tagged...

And why not? I'm on my recovery bed with nothing else to do. So here goes:

5 things I was doing 10 years ago....
What every other 16 year old was doing -
1. Driving...finally!
2. Dating...finally!
3. Flipping out at my mom
4. Playing with friends
5. Eating up the sophomore experience in high school

5 things on my to-do list today
1. Ice my incisions
2. Get up and walk around
3. Finally shower
4. Watch football with Jon
5. Take some senior pictures of Jeff, my cousin Julie's oldest boy

5 snacks I enjoy
1. Watermelon and Cantelope
2. Crumb Donuts
3. Peanut Butter Granola Bars
4. Popcorn
5. String Cheese

5 songs I know the lyrics to
1. I don't know the full lyrics to any songs, unless primary songs count

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Invest in real estate
2. Pay off debt
3. Travel the world
4. Adopt a few kids
5. Buy a few vacation homes

5 bad habits
1. Burping in public
2. Picking at my fingernails
3. Not putting stuff away
4. Procrastinating
5. Picking at my scabs

5 things I'd never wear again
1. Leg warmers
2. Hair clips - my hair will never be long enough again! ;)
3. Short shorts and halter tops
4. A perm
5. Florescent biker shorts

5 favorite toys
1. My camera
2. Laptop
3. Trampoline
4. Nintendo - Old school kind!
5. My BMW X5

People Tagged:
1. Sara
2. Abby
3. Emilie
4. Erin
5. Angie

Great News!

They found some endometriosis! I know, wierd that that is great news, but it truly is an answer to our prayers. I went in for surgery yesterday and through the laproscope they were able to find 2 spots, one in front of my uterus and one near my left fallopian tube. The Dr. said that we found it early enough that there isn't any anatomical damage, but it was substantial enough to block the motility in my left falopian. Basically the eggs were being produced and the tubes were open but the endometriosis wasn't allowing the egg to travel down to the uterus. So they blasted them away with a laser and we should have some success in 3-4 months. Thanks to everyone who has wished me well and kept me in their prayers. This has been an amazing spiritual experience for me as I have been wrapped in my Heavenly Father's love. I'm so grateful for Jon and his worthiness to hold the priesthood and exercise it in our home. He gave me a wonderful blessing in the morning which really put me at peace and changed my fear to joy. Yes, joy in having surgery. I know. Crazy. But I'm so glad that our questions have been answered and we can move forward with faith and not feel trapped in this crazy emotional cycle. I'm also really really glad that I don't have to go back on the clomid and do insemination for a while. They encourged us to try naturally for a few months to see how that goes. ;O If you want more info on endometriosis click here.

I've also been really fortunate in my recovery. I have had a great reaction to the anesthesia and haven't been sick at all. Shoulder pain is also typical because they inject gas into your belly to give them more room to move the laproscope around, which agitates your diaphragm which for some reason triggers pain in the shoulders instead of the diaphragm itself. But so far the only discomfort I've had is around the 2 incisions in my abdomen. Jon has done such a good job taking care of me. And my families have been awesome too. Right now my mom is vacuuming my house for me. :) Em has called to check up on me a few times, Wade called to see how I was feeling, Jen and the kids brought me flowers, Ang and her kids brought me a Jamba Juice, and Mike and Nikki came and made us dinner. And on Wednesday Leila and Becky brought me a fabulous smelling recovery basket to papmper myself in the bath. How on earth did I get so lucky?

AND, I got some great news last weekend too. For so many years I have thought that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed my babies because of my epillepsy medicine I have to take. But I got a second opinion from my cousin's husband, who is a neurologist, and he said that I could and my Rx bottle and Dr. were wrong (he has spent years and years testing and re-testing my medicine so I trust him). I am so excited about that! I was really feeling sad because I would have to miss out on that experience, which wasn't easy to take since I took 2 years of classes that all touted how crucial breastfeeding is. So now I'm feeling much better and feeling like things are moving forward.

Thanks again to all of you who sent me well wishes. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted on our progress.

happy birthday paco!

It's my brother Jake's birthday today. I think he's 25. I can't exactly remember because he lives too far away (just kidding, Jake!) I have so many fond memories of the time I've been able to spend with one of my best friends. Here is my list of favorite childhood memories with him:

~ chasing pigs in the manure pit
~ bouncing each other 10 feet off of the tramp from our backs! (until mom yelled at us to stop because we were going to break our backs or our necks.)
~ sleep outs on the tramp
~ horseback riding - I know you remember the time when I was on Freddy and you were on Chancey or Cody and Freddy took off down the lane to the barn and I couldn't get him to stop because I was laughing so hard!
~ one on one soccer matches in the backyard and the basement
~ walking Beau to the park and flying off the swing set and climbing trees onto the roof
~ complex (and brilliant) Lego villages
~ playing nintendo until the wee hours of the morning - what was the one about the kid in dreamland that we could never save so we never wanted to turn it off? Nemo something?
~ double shot tournaments
~ laughing at the boner candidates on X96 together on the way to school every morning

Happy Birthday, Paco! Have a great day. I hope all of your wildest dreams come true. Love ya!

we've been simpsonized!!!

I saw this link on someone's blog and thought it'd be fun. I know, a total waste of time, but here it is...

If you'd like to participate, check out http://simpsonizeme.com