Eden Jean

INTRODUCING...The most beautiful niece ever...Eden Jean!!

Weight: 6 lbs. 13 oz.

Heigth: 19 1/4 in. long

Birthdate: April 21, 2010 (3:00pm ish East Coast)

Eden in her favorite position with her mommy

Eden in her baby sling her mom, my amazing sister Chelsea, made for her

Eden with my mom-now grandma

Eden with her daddy

Chelsea and Mike have posted more pictures and videos of Eden on their blog! All the pictures on this blog are courtesy of Chelsea & Mike Strayer and Heidi Shields.

The Other Side

Tonight I got my first glimpse of the other side of Domestic Violence-The Offenders! My internship for the last few weeks I have until I'm finished at Chrysalis will be working with (in groups) the court mandated DV offenders.

While I didn't know what to expect I think after attending both a women's offender group and a men's offender group that I will learn a lot in the next few weeks!

It is hard to hear the horror stories of DV victims.

It is hard to hear the horror stories of DV offenders.

I am learning so much about DV that I never knew, the affects it has on all it entrenches in it's grasp, and so much about myself as a person and as a therapist.

Perception & Perspective

The other night in group therapy I showed the women a bunch of optical illusions and asked them a bunch of questions about the illusions. I was banking that when one women couldn't see the picture that another, that could see the picture, would point it out to the struggling woman. This happened many times and when we were finished with the pictures and questions I talked to the women about how our brains work.

I was trying, in a sort of easy way, to explain how cognitive therapy works: the idea that the way you think affects the way you act, and that in turn affects the way you live your life. CT at it's basic roots is teaching people how to restructure their negative thoughts that are leading to negative choices and actions/behaviors.

I pointed out to the women that sometimes no matter how hard you try you can't see the picture that everyone else seems to see and you need someone, outside of yourself, to help point out to you what is there. Then, it seems, you can't look at the picture without seeing the object.

So many of the women I work with at the shelter and so many people I come in contact with in life have negative, or false, cognition's they believe are true. They, like the women in my demonstration, have a hard time seeing and understanding the truth because they have lived with or been taught the negative cognition's for so long.

I LOVE what I do because I get to help others change their negative/false cognition's to positive/true cognition's. I get to help others work on their cognitive dissonance. In other words I get to validate!

Glasgow, Scotland

Itinerary: See as much of Scotland & Ireland as possible w/ a wee bit of England too!

Thursday March 11, 2010

--Try to fly to Philly to no avail

--Fly to San Francisco Airport

--Spend the night in SFO (attempt to sleep)

Friday & Saturday March 12 & 13, 2010

--wake up early to do a job interview at SFO for a job

--get a flight to Philly (wahoo!)

--Arrive in Philly and almost decide to fly to Rome

--Actually make our flight from Philly to Manchester (miracle!)

--Somewhere in here the time changes and it's a new day

--Arrive in Manchester, England and pick up rental car

--Drive in rental car from Manchester, England to Glasgow, Scotland

--Arrive at hotel, drop off bags, find something to eat

--Get a phone call from Joshua Barton (friend of mine who lives in Glasgow)

--Crash into bed

Sunday March 14, 2010

--Wake up and go downstairs for continental breakfast

--Pick up Joshua for church

--Attend LDS church and discover it is Mother's Day in Scotland

--Meet new friend Wendy going to Glasgow University for Grad School

--Joshua & Wendy give us the tour of Glasgow Uni & Then Downtown Glasgow

--Eat dinner with Joshua at "Mediterraneo"

--Becky gets really sick during dinner and leaves her mark (literally) on Glasgow (in the alley)

This is how I de-stress! I love to swing or rock! They had rocking chairs all over the SFO airport and I LOVED it!

As you can tell we are already having fun and we haven't left the airport!

YES!! We were ready to take off...the flights for this entire trip ended up being crazy (due to weird unforseen things happening) but we had lots of little miracles!

This is a Peugot! I think it was my favorite of all our rental cars! Jodi braved the driving on the wrong side of the car and road the entire trip! She was amazing! We picked up our car from the Manchester airport and drove to our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) in Glasgow, Scotland.

We were just wandering around near our hotel in Glasgow and came upon this really cool looking indoor place where there were lots of pubs and places to eat. It was nice inside and warmer than outdoors. I loved all the twinkling lights. We decided to eat at a little Italian place called, "Lombardi's". I got some Bruchetta and then Becky & I shared a 15-in Marguerita Pizza.

We picked up Joshua Barton, I met him when he was serving his mission in Boston, MA and I was living there, and he directed us to church. We started with Relief Society, then YSA Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting. It was Mother's Day in Scotland!

Here we are in our Sunday (we had to pack them in either back pack or carry-on) Best!

I met Wendy and we instantly became friends!

On the steps of the Uni

Looks a wee bit like Hogwarts??

(L-R) Kylee, Becky, Jody, & Wendy @ the Main Gate

I LOVED the Cloisters! The acoustics inside them was marvelous. I asked Joshua to test them out for me and he did.

This has been like this for years--apparently it is iconic in Glasgow.

It was so great to see Joshua again!

Ireland

Itinerary: See as much of Scotland & Ireland as possible w/ a wee bit of England too!

Monday March 15, 2010

--Becky was sick all night and i felt really bad for her

--Woke up at 7:00 am to pack and catch our Aer Ligus flight to Dublin

--Becky talked to a Pharmacist and got meds

--We picked up our next rental car and drove to our hotel ("The Crown Plaza")

--Jodi & I went to the mall right by our hotel and ate at "Eddie Rocket"

--Then Jodi did both Becky & I's eye make-up

--We then drover all around Dtwn Dublin

--Found the Temple Bar area, the Dublin Bridge, and had a blast

Tuesday March 16, 2010

--We woke up early and headed to the Coast to the Cliffs of Moher

--It took us a LOT longer than Jodi has estimated

--We were driving on these crazy winding roads the size of bike trails

--The Cliffs of Moher were amazing (it was wicked windy)

--Then we drove like crazy to make it to the Blarney Castle

--We somehow (miracle) made it to the Blarney Castle before they closed

--I got to kiss the Blarney Stone.

--I even got a student discount (nice perks for being in school)

--Then we ate at a Pub called, "O'Connor's Muskery Arms"

Wednesday March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick's Day)

--Becky was too sick to go to the Parade

--Jodi and I hopped on the double decker bus and went to the St. Patrick's Parade

--The Parade was CRAZY but so much fun

--Then Jodi & I went to Trinity College

--We saw the Book of Kells and the Long Room (my favorite place on the trip)

--For dinner we went to the TGI Friday's right by our hotel

--Packed up our stuff and went to bed.

This is how we got around

This is how people in Ireland pass the time in the airport

I am enamored by these walkways that are sort of like escalators bu w/o the stairs. Jodi & I may or may not have run down them like little girls!

Jodi was trying out her new eye make-up on Becky & I

Here we are the Dublin Bridge

I really like this bridge (I have a thing for bridges, stairs, swings, & trees)

I couldn't pass up these two stores next to each other.

Temple Bar

Yes! Indeed He does!

This is how we got around. Jodi was the planner, Becky was the navigator, and I was the passenger!

The Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking and amazing!

It was wicked windy!

Welcome to the Blarney Castle

Becky & Jodi

My roommate have the pictures of me actually kissing the Blarney Stone!

or "Watchmen on the Tower"

I love the archer's window. These are made so that archer's can shoot their arrows out and kill those trying to attack the castle but the windows protect the archer's from getting hit by incoming arrows.

The stairs are built counter ways to confuse incoming soldiers and so that those wearing Long Swords have easier access.

LOVE this staircase!

Here's the shirts we bought to celebrate "Green Day"!

There were so many people all over. Jodi & I actually ran into the missionaries!

The Parade

More parade

It was hard to see so Jodi & I found this windowsill that we took turns standing on and supporting the other for better viewing!

He's not actually on my

back but up on something. I just wanted a picture to commemorate the Leprechan theme.

This was at Trinity College

The tide was taking the water out of the city but they did dye the water green

Just wanted to catch the shopping scenery.

Here we are sporting our shirts!

Jodi and her loot from Boots, a store not in the USA, that she loves their make-up.

I just loved this whirly window.

The back side of the Dublin Castle looks like Legos!