Have a sweet tooth?

This ice cream by Turtle Mountain will knock your socks clean off. 

Clean off, I say! 

I have a new obsession:

It's bad.

An Ode to Frontline

Scroll down for the next post to continue the conversation about exercising. :)

I have a new obsession: FRONTLINE. 

I have seen the show here and there on my parents TV, but since we don't have cable of any kind, I couldn't watch it. Well, the other day I discovered that you can watch tons of them...online! Lately it has been our guilty pleasure. When we get done with homework, we look at each other and ask, "You wanna watch Frontline?" We're such nerds. 

Two of my favorites I've seen lately have been "The Meth Epidemic" and "The Medicated Child." This show is exactly what it says, "Thought provoking journalism." 

I constantly find myself drawn to social problems that are growing in the United States. The two episodes above are alike in that they both talk about substance abuse and the breakdown of the family. 

"The Meth Epidemic" talks about the history of meth and how the main component of the drug, ephedrine, made it's way into the United States from the pharmaceutical companies that produced it in India. Because meth made from this ephedrine was so pure, it had a huge impact and increase on how many people were addicted to the drug, and it continued to spread from the west coast to the east coast. The documentary emphasizes that most of the time, it is the children that really suffer from these addictions. Many families are broken up and children put into foster homes because their parents are junkies. 

"The Medicated Child" talks about the role of child psychology and medication in America, and how it is becoming a large business. The documentary talks about psychologists who misdiagnose children and keep giving them medication. One psychologist goes as far as saying he believes most kids that have ADD actually have bipolar disorder. A family takes their child to the doctor concerned about the amount of medication that he is taking and they leave with yet another prescription. 

It was so hard to watch these documentaries and to not get frustrated. Both talk about the role that huge pharmaceutical companies play in both illegal drugs and perpetuating the idea that it is okay to medicate our children who are often around three or four years old. And in both of these cases, it is our children who are suffering. 

I try not to judge anyone and I can't speak for each child and their needs, perhaps they do need medication. But I can't help but think there is a bigger problem that no one is addressing when parents give their child medication after medication. Are people giving medication to their children to babysit them? Are they doing it to make parenting easier? Isn't there an alternative?

I don't know what is behind the increase in the amount of children diagnosed with ADD. But like it says in Frontline, after a psychologist came out with the theory that children with ADD actually have bipolar disorder, bipolar disorder diagnoses soon increased by over 4,000%. Can you believe that?!

They also point out in the documentary that we do not really know the implications of putting our children on these meds. But as it shows, it is not a good outcome. 

What's important is to educate ourselves so we know what's going on around us, especially with the variety of factors that can damage our families. 

Note: If you're interested in the debate of medicating children, there is also another Frontline episode that is a little older than "The Medicated Child." It is entitled "Medicating Kids." I haven't watched it yet, but I'm getting around to it. 

World Record

I think Mark and I set a world record for "Number of Weddings Attended" yesterday. At least if there is a record, I'm sure we shattered it. We went to two weddings yesterday. Aren't you astounded?

Okay, maybe it's not that many, but it sure seemed like it. My cousin, Brittney, got married in the Logan temple yesterday at 10 am. We were invited to the ceremony, which was so nice. It was the first temple ceremony that I've got to witness other than my own. It was special to watch. 

After that, we headed down to the wedding breakfast at the Bluebird. We couldn't stay too long, because we had to jet down to Salt Lake for Mark's cousin's wedding.  So we crammed in Mark's parents van with his parents and grandparents. Her wedding was at Snowbird up Little Cottonwood Canyon. We arrived just in time for the ceremony at five. It was out on a terrace of Cliff Lodge. I'd never been to Snowbird before, so it was actually pretty cool. The canyon was gorgeous. 

We went to the ceremony, followed shortly thereafter by hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the Eagle's Nest. Someone passed us a "free drink" card, and I used mine to get a Coke. One of the hors d'oeuvres was guacamole, and let me tell you, it was outta this world! You know me and my obsession with guacamole. That just might have been the best part about the whole night.
 

Here's me licking my bowl of guacamole clean.
Okay, that's really not me, as evidenced by the nose ring. But seriously, I would have licked it clean if I wasn't at a formal wedding surrounded by strangers--and in-laws.





I've never been to an actual "reception" (nice dinner, expensive drinks, embarrassing speeches, and awkward drunken dancing) before, so it was so fun to be a part of it. However, the people that were drinking seemed to be having a little more fun. Odd, I know! 

Out of all the times that I've forgotten to take my camera, I really regret this one. The reception was pretty and different than what I was used to. I would really love to share some actual pictures, but sadly I have none. Another thing to work on. As usual, enjoy some mediocre pictures that I could scrounge up from the internet. 

These aren't pictures of the actual wedding, but I guess they'll have to suffice. They are in the exact same place anyways. With all the driving, crowds of people, weddings, and I do's, at the end of the day I ended up with a smashing headache. I'm pretty sure this is how I looked and felt at the end of the night. 

Who knew that breaking world records could be so exhausting?

I'm obsessed with hummus...

You are all going to think I'm weird...but I'm in love with hummus. I love it as a veggie dip, with pita bread, or in a veggie wrap. You can do so many things with it! I used to buy it...but if you have a food processor, it really is so much easier (and cheaper) to make it yourself. 

Hummus

1 can chickpeas (or about 1 1/2 cup cooked beans, if you are making from scratch)

2 cloves garlic

1-2 T. tahini

1 t. cumin

juice from half a lemon

salt to taste

1 t. olive oil (or you can use water)

Blend in a food processor, scraping the sides until smooth. You don't want it to be too pasty or too runny, just a smooth consistency. 

You can add roasted red peppers or other vegetables and I'm sure it would taste delicious.

Okay, okay, you caught me. This picture isn't mine, and I didn't make that hummus. But hopefully from the picture, you can see the right consistency. There is a pool of olive oil in the middle (optional, of course), so this isn't necessarily how it'll turn out. But every time I look at it, I just start drooling. Doesn't it look amazing?

A Few of My Favorite Things...

When I was in Seattle, I stopped by a little store called Fireworks. It was in the SeaTac Airport, although I know they have several other stores in Seattle. I saw some soaps that were "all natural" so I gave some of them a sniff. They all smelled AMAZING! But my favorite one of all was this...

This soap by Pacifica smells so unbelievably delicious...I bought two of them! (One is for a gift, but I admit, I'll have a hard time giving it up!) And it doesn't say it on the package, so I don't know if it is a fluke or something, but one side has an exfoliating scrub. It feels like a dream! After my bar is gone...I just might die if I don't get another to replace it. 

And my next favorite item:

Can't beat 10 dollars from a street vendor! As long as I tried to refrain from buying the 80s style shades, I just couldn't take it any longer. By the way, the stripes are GOLD. I am in love. I admit I look pretty amazing in them, (ha ha)but I think Mark looks even more amazing.