Urban Poly Princess

Everyone I talked to at work said was being ridiculous about my skin tags. It didn't stop me from calling and complaining. The cosmetologist Tracey helped me cover them up with make-up and she gave me some stuff to hide my tags BUUUT by later today much of it had worn off so I'm not going to bother.

I told Alyssa it didn't cost $300 and that I took my test yesterday. When I told her it was $152 she said at least it's doable. She wanted to know if I passed which led me to believe she didn't so I told her I did but I didn't ask if she did. She can take it again. I told her it wasn't hard but probably because I studied. She asked me if I picked my broker but I didn't and she said she hadn't either.

I hope she doesn't get discouraged and not take it. I first thought she had sinister motives but now I think she was trying to downplay it because she didn't pass her test.

Sharla bought the office pizza and I have been craving it for a long time. The library is on the second floor where the freezer is. When I was on vacation the office had an ice-cream cake to celebrate Afu's birthday. Sooo for the first time since I've been diagnosed I ate 3 pieces of pizza and 2 slices of chocolate ice-cream cake. I figured it would be alright for NewYears Eve and I've returned to eating better already.

One thing I learned is prospective buyers should have no more than 28%  of their gross income used for a mortgage payment. I am well below that with my rent. The rest of your bills together with your mortgage payment should not be over 36% of your gross income. I decreased my flex-spending account to 1500 a year. I only took out 2500 because I thought I'd need more for invisalign. My aligners are working really well now that he FINALLY listened to me. This year in addition to my diabetes meds which I hope to eliminate asap I'm getting chemical peels and facials maybe every other month. While my sunscreen obsession has served my skin well, my skin is beginning to look dehydrated. This lady has amazing skin although I know enough about skincare that I don't appreciate her hardcore sales attempts. I used to sell Clarins skincare AND makeup to people who thought nothing of dropping lots of money on make-up and skin-care. I did a lot of research on cosmetics so I could sell them better BUUUT what I learned is that more expensive make-up companies often use the exact same product as many cheaper lines. The packaging is the only thing that's different. Many companies are owned by the same corporate owner.

Before just Loreal and Lancome were the same and Clinique was owned by Estee Lauder, now Estee Lauder owns EVERYONE including MAC my once favorite line. Now I use fake Cetaphil for my face and Lubriderm with sunscreen after cleansing.

2013 has been great. I finished my MBA at the end of March and attended all those real estate classes from the end of August until earlier this month. I met my goal of taking my real estate test before the year ended. I looove that! While I didn't meet my goal of making $50,000 a year I finally figured out what to do part time. I looove this real estate thing even if I haven't actually begun. My new goal is to close on at least 12 real property transactions.

2 Nephi 16

I wonder if my medication messes with my sleep. I can't sleep which is why I'm here at all. I haaate these ugly red spots LEFT BY A DERMATOLOGIST!!! I feel like taking pictures and giving them negative publicity. Who the hell goes to a dermatologist only to leave the office looking like they contracted some contagious skin disease???!!! I'm not comfortable interviewing brokers like this. I'm waiting until this clears up first. Who would want someone representing them looking like this anyway???!!! I am definitely visiting their office tomorrow to see if they have any solutions for me. She gave me NO WARNING MY SKIN WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS!!!

I feel like taking pictures and posting it everywhere I can to let people know how stupid they are AND that I'm stuck with this look for 2 weeks. If I could stay home and hide out for that time I would. They are lucky I was so focused on my Real Estate test I didn't think about this really until Sunday when I tried my best to get my hair to cover it.

I thought I needed my social security card to take my real estate test so I looked EVERYWHERE for it before I decided to look at PearsonVue's list of approved identification and saw that I just needed 1 government issued id like my license and another one that just had my signature. My debit card worked for that. My original plan was to take my test and then go and scream at the dermatologist for making me look like I have a bad case of the chicken pox on my neck.

INSTEAD I drove back home where I left the certification indicating that I completed 120 hours of Real Estate education. After shedding more than enough tears on the way back to Logan. I am such a crybaby when I am mad and frustrated!!! I turned around and drove back to the testing center in Ogden. It was EASY. Thank you Gordon for making our class tests difficult!!!

I had to get my fingerprints taken next. Of course I decided since it was just to take my test I'd wear my stiletto boots that look amazing but sure as hell don't feel amazing when you've been wearing them all damn day!!!

Gordon's National test is 100 questions long. The real test is only 80. The state portion is the same at 50 questions. I can't wait to do this!!!

If I didn't pass I would've been ticked BUT I still would've taken it again. My receptionist told me it was hard... uh...NOOO!!! Alyssa what the hell is your trip???!!! She said it was hard AND $300. It is half that amount!!! Maybe it was easy because I actually studied.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Father who helped me pass this thing. It was worth missing Christmas this year. Next year I want to be spending it on a beach on Oahu. Tomorrow is the Singles New Year Dance. Last year I forced myself to attend. This year that isn't happening.  I know my calling should make me want to go but that isn't happening.

We've had ward parties a lot. What about tomorrow when we should have a killer party? The best dancing night of the year and I am in Logan. Yes I'm being negative. BUUUT I think I'll let myself miss that dance from hell, quit complaining and find something all sorts of alternatives next year. I think I want to go out EVERY weekend. That'll be my New Years Resolution. Let me modify that. I'm going to go out EVERY weekend and have lunch EVERY Friday with someone I actually enjoy AND I'm going to look for them instead of whining about it all the time.

ALSO during the week at least once for lunch on Fridays since I don't work then. Of course this all has to work around and with missionary work and my real estate. My goal for Real Estate is to sell at least 12 houses next year.

I could actually go to the dance and begin to build my clientele. Last year I thought I was going to die.

176
I know I tried yesterday to eat on a schedule. BUT like I already know my blood sugar isn't going to improve immediately or without stepping up my workouts and being consistent with those. It seems like it'll never drop below the 170s without that component. I read yesterday that having high blood sugar can result in a baby having birth defects during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. Talk about motivation. My numbers WHILE taking Metformin are still high. I need to lose weight and be extremely consistent with working out.

The most harm you can do to a baby is at the beginning of a pregnancy. The mother's health has to be optimal. Insulin is the only thing proven NOT to hurt a baby when mothers are diabetic and they still need help controlling their blood sugar. Wow. I really have no choice BUT to lose weight AND workout consistently. I'm so glad I found out when I did and that I didn't get pregnant first with my high blood sugar. Especially when I first got diagnosed. My numbers were well over 300 consistently.

It's never been under 100 and an article I read about pregnancy and high blood sugar said levels should be at 70-130 before this Anyone with diabetes is considered a high risk pregnancy. I already am high risk because of my age. I have to monitor EVERYTHING like a hawk. The best thing to do according to everything I read is to lose weight AND lower my blood sugar BEFORE getting pregnant. Who knew I'd get this type of motivation. NOT ME. This is really sobering.

Pregnancy automatically makes your blood sugar rise. It's possible I could do everything I should and STILL have to take insulin when I'm pregnant because it is the only safe way to keep blood sugar at a normal level when I'm pregnant. I'm going to check it EVERY day during my pregnancy AND I'm going to find out whether I'm pregnant asap too so I can monitor this as closely and as carefully as possible.

When I prayed about whether I'd have my own kids naturally I was told I'd have 3 daughters naturally. I never thought it would require this much work BUT it is a blessing to know now and have this chance to improve my health now. I have 2 cousins who tried to get pregnant but this eluded them for 6 years. One of my cousins finally adopted a beautiful girl. The other has 4 kids now. I'm glad I was diagnosed. AGAIN, what a blessing to find out and to have something I can control.

2 Nephi 15
 25 Therefore, is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them; and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shallcome with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them.
27 None shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken;

I like that first part of verse 27, None shall slumber nor sleep. While I looove my sleep this is referring to NOT being aware of how we live our lives. Diabetes may require me to gauge my physical health extremely carefully BUT this is a reminder that my spiritual health is just as if not more important to monitor ALWAYS. Nice analogy for a talk. Diabetes has to be monitored closely and my behavior like what I eat and how often and how much I exercise is extremely important. 

Prayer and scripture study can be likened to food, monitoring my blood sugar level is sort of like taking the sacrament and how we recommit to ALL not just our baptismal covenant. It is a time for reflection, to gauge our spiritual commitment and how we are improving each day and how we are becoming more like our Savior, what we are doing to bring this to pass and what we can and need to do to become more effective. Being a ward missionary is such a blessing because it isn't a calling with readily available results. When you are a teacher your focus is on how to make your students feel the spirit best. As a relief society president while the spirit is extremely important, there is so much to do that is already laid out. Visiting teaching, enrichment AND every Sunday program has to be planned for.

With missionary work I have to help new converts feel comfortable and welcome in the church BUUUT I also have to actively look for and rely on the spirit very much to find new people who are ready to embrace the gospel. I want to be at our activities, I have to be worthy of the spirit to know how to best influence any person I come into contact with. They have to be able to feel like they know the Savior because they know me. I know what that requires and I am grateful for that blessing. It means living as worthily as possible by praying intently often AND studying regularly from more than just the basics or scriptures and conference talks. It is going beyond that.

Although Mark really disappointed me initially with his unwillingness to talk to his friends about hearing the missionary discussions, how he talked to Justin yesterday was awesome. He bore his testimony to him about how he'd feel in the temple because he just received his recommend that allows him to do baptisms for the dead. Justin is gorgeous and I'm happy to be his friend BUT I have hoped for a long time that ANY guy would  just talk to him normally in our ward. It is important for BOTH men AND women to fellowship him. Gorgeous men will ALWAYS have a supply of women ready to fellowship them but their motives are always suspect especially in a singles ward like mine.

Krista wants Anthony to be worthy too. We were planning a temple trip yesterday until we thought about how it'll be closed for 3 weeks. Anthony said yesterday that he was incarcerated last year. I was dumbfounded. I know Krista is an amazing influence on him. He just better be worth it. She's still a very new member. She makes Anthony sit with me during sacrament meeting and she attends gospel essentials with him because I do BUT her knowledge of the gospel is still very small.

Yesterday I was answering a question about how we all followed the Savior or we wouldn't be here on the earth. She was surprised and asked me Really? Is that true? Sometimes I assume everyone just knows everything I do BUT I was raised in the church. I attended a church junior high school AND high school in Tonga before finishing at Kahuku which might as well have been an LDS high school with the huge LDS population in Hawaii naturally near the temple, BYU-Hawaii and the Polyesian Cultural Center. AGAIN, I've just been extremely blessed my entire life.

True Sheperds - Thomas S. Monson
President David O. McKay admonished: “Home teaching is one of our most urgent and most rewarding opportunities to nurture and inspire, to counsel and direct our Father’s children. … [It] is a divine service, a divine call. It is our duty as Home Teachers to carry the … spirit into every home and heart. To love the work and do our best will bring unbounded peace, joy and satisfaction to [a noble,] dedicated [teacher] of God’s children.”⁴
There are times when a little extra prodding may be needed, as well, to help your home teaching companion find the time to go with you, but if you are persistent, you will succeed.

I always tried to give Josh the opportunity to act as my home teacher but he was always a little strange and I never felt comfortable asking him for help although I did just to give him the chance to do it BUT I was never fully comfortable with him. He did serve me a lot BUT I always felt like it was an imposition. ALWAYS. I know if Jeff wasn't his partner, I'd never see him. Jeff has been amazing as has Rich. They have been the kind of home teachers EVERYONE needs. I hope I get another good home teacher since Jeff will be in the North ward.

Trevor and Lisa are getting married on January 17th so I'm not going to ask him about our ward mission plan. That's reserved for our new ward mission leader whoever that turns out to be. That should be perfect. Justin stayed for our linger longer. He is gorgeous but it's not like there's anything or anyone in our ward that looks good. Mark came and sat on the other side of Justin at our table. I told Justin about taking my real estate test Monday and he said he actually took it in California but it was right when the market collapsed. I asked him how he felt about flipping houses and he wants to do that and he told me he is capable of doing most remodeling jobs. He'd be fun to work with. He is sweet I know I wouldn't give him the time of day however if he wasn't gorgeous. I'm glad Mark was nice to him. I want him to get to know and get along with a lot of people in our ward.

I think Ryan and Rachel are getting married on the same day.

What the hell was this lady thinking. You go to the dermatologist to make your skin look BETTER NOT WORSE. She said it would take 2 weeks, she never said anything about looking like I have chicken pox on my neck until then. She's the damn physician's assistant and I am ticked. She actually missed one on my neck I want taken care of without charge AND they are going to give me a solution to this. Do I have to wear coverup on my neck? Stupid lady.

I finished my shower and I'm getting ready for church right now along with studying for my real estate test and watching Law & Order.

2 Nephi 14

I reviewed my Diabetes blog and I'm really not eating very much even if I did eat a lot of crackers yesterday. My metabolism is screwed up because I'm not eating very much even when I mess up. I shouldn't be overweight. I need to work on my 6 small meals a day again.

From everything I've read my body's in a protective mode and will hang on to my weight unless I eat more often. The Yoli diet has some very good advice. You are supposed to have a free-for-all and eat anything and everything for a week. This is supposed to reset your metabolism. Eating more often is good because you don't put your body in starvation mode and it doesn't try to hold on to whatever calories it receives because of that.

Just thinking about eating crap right now makes me feel sick however ALTHOUGH I could eat 1/2 a Little Ceasar's pizza right now. I think a free day would be alright although with my diabetic condition I don't know how that would affect me. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I'm just going to be good until my Dr. appointment on the 6th then I'll experiment with the free day concept. That is when I felt my best, when I ate like that, worked out and had my 6 meals at the same time each day.

Which means I need to spend this time wisely today studying. I need to check the weather for my Monday drive to Ogden. I'm glad my insurance is paid. I don't like driving when it isn't. I'm so glad I found out how much my license costs. This is AMAZING!!! Time to cram some more!!!

I'm jumping in bed and I'm just getting up to eat HEALTHY food. I hate that my blood sugar is in the high range again BUT since I ate all those crackers I'm not surprised. They are 10g carbs for 3 meaning if I just ate 6 a day like a normal person I wouldn't have had a problem BUUUT they aren't whole wheat and I want to be healthy and not just have good blood sugar.

2 Nephi 13
9 The show of their countenance doth witness against them, and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, and they cannot hide it. Wo unto their souls, for they have rewarded evil unto themselves!

After all the controversy surrounding Phil Robertson's remarks about homosexuality, I can't help but think Sodom and Gomorrah was wicked and destroyed largely because of that. I have Gay friends and I know they are good people. It is so difficult to feel the way I do and NOT offend them. I pray for them and hope they find the comfort they so desperately want and need. I know their sincere hope will be answered with blessings. I have no idea of their challenges and struggle BUT I trust my Savior to help them find what they need.

Look Up - Elder Adrian Ochoa
In simple words, look up

I was on facebook when I copied this quote from my friend's status:

 "Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are."
Thomas S. Monson

I'm not a patient person and this is a fabulous reminder of what I need to be. I want other people to be patient and forgiving with me when I mess up, why is it so hard for me to do the same?

I'm wide awake. I fell asleep on my couch then took out my contacts and tried to sleep BUUUT it wouldn't happen. I probably slept too much. I looked at the clock and I get it now. Exactly how long did I fall asleep for?

I need to eat healthy food and not just think about all the low-carb or no-carb food I can eat. I'm not losing weight because I keep eating Cheetos and low-carb chocolate. I like the Yoli eating plan. I'm going to try to incorporate it even before I begin the products. I need to be consistent with exercise too.
I'm going to try to take a nap in a minute but I am so not tired.

I don't know where the hell my receptionist was coming from by telling me it was $300 to get your license. Is she trying to prevent me from getting it? BIATCH!!! This will be done asap in JANUARY!!! AND I will pass this damn thing on the last Monday in 2013!!!

What the HEO???!!!

I guess I'll just have to let her know when I see her on Tuesday. I still don't know who I'll be affiliated with BUUUT I'm going to have a blast wherever it is!!! I'm excited but I stopped to take a break for a minute and I decided to look up what Alyssa was talking about. I DIDN'T PAY $450 AND ATTEND THAT DAMN LOOONG CLASS AFTER WORKING 10 HOURS MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS SINCE AUGUST ONLY TO LET IT BE FOR NAUGHT!!!

I can't wait and I feel like my Father in Heaven is opening doors in this especially for me. I know there's another agent in my ward bishop was talking about. I intend to find out who he is Sunday. Tomorrow I'm not working at the temple as I originally thought I'd take the test in Draper BUUUT I didn't cancel my sub because I can use that time to study. I am sooo blessed. I love it and I am grateful for it!!!

I went to the dermatologist this morning to take care of my skin tags. They are free to remove here. My dermatologist in Salt Lake City charged me $70 to remove 7 or less. He told me my skin is just susceptible to skin tags and I'll get them for the rest of my life. I always get them on my neck. My dermatologist in Salt Lake would just cut them off and my skin would look great when I left. This dermatologist froze them with nitrogen oxide so now I have all these ugly red spots all over the place she said it would take a couple weeks for them to be gone.

I was getting laser treatment but since I was just diagnosed with diabetes I can't get it done without Dr.'s approval. I tried calling my doctor but he said my cholesterol levels must be lower first ALTHOUGH that confuses me because I was told they are fine. My appointment is on the 6th with Dr. Goates. It seems like all I ever do anymore is go from one health care professional to the next. The cosmetologist lady was trying to sell me this eye cream. Her skin is fabulous but I think that has more to do with the chemical peels she can give to people. Her skin showed no signs of aging but she looks like she's in her late fifties to mid-sixties.

I'd love to get laser treatment for my lower legs. later I want my underarms. It would be so nice to never shave again. BUT first this diabetes thing needs to be in check.

These bacon bowls are great for diabetic people like me.

2 Nephi 12
11 And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and thehaughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Like a Broken Vessel - Jeffrey R. Holland

The Lord said, “In the ordinances … the power of godliness is manifest.”³

5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.

 So my Flex spending account sent me a check so I can pay for my Yoli - 362.36. It is ALSO the amount I need to pay for my Real Estate license. Can I get it and pay for my Yoli later instead of my license later. I think that's alright. I keep praying about it and I feel alright. It actually feels like a blessing. I know it's not really going to affect Kinau financially. He is set financially and having my license will help this process go faster. I still will purchase my Yoli kit. It just won't be now like I thought it would be. It feels like the way is being provided for me. 

The average profit for selling just 1 house is $5000. In the beginning my percentage probably won't be as much thanks to the broker cut. I feel good about this. What a decision.  This is going to help me so much. I need to get insurance for my car. I'm going to look online but I can just go back to my former company again. I need to register my car in January and I can't exactly have a lapse there.

This is my blessing in disguise. I won't have to wait until March. I've finishing this in January!

These commercials on these animals ring a little hollow for me. I am grateful I lived in Tonga. I am thankful for perspective. Right before my mission I went on a trip to Tonga with my brother and dad. Tonga is a poor country. Children don't play with toys. Instead they play with balls and marbles. They go swimming too. My cousins took many of the things I took to Tonga. Even if they had money to burn there were no stores that sold American products. Even when I lived there you couldn't buy chocolate unless it was in town

On my mission in my first area I remember visiting a family in a humble home with a television, some sort of digital game system and lots of movies. I remember the mother talking about how they might not be able to provide their children with Christmas gifts. I thought you have a vehicle, running water, hot AND cold. In Tonga that was not common. We lived for the most part in faculty housing at the church's Liahona high School. Campus housing had hot water but this wasn't standard throughout the kingdom. Children were not spoiled or babied the way they are here although I do my fair share of spoiling and babying with my nieces and nephews. I love them so much. They are so much fun and they have made it easy for me to realize how it is that our happiest moments are only found through having our own family. I can't wait to have my own children.

When we lived on campus it was common for pet dogs to be stolen and eaten by people from the neighboring villages. I remember when we lived in Ha'akame and my neighbors stole and ate my pig a friend had given me for my birthday. People stole these animals to eat them. My dad was spoiled too in a different way. His grandfather in his mother's village had all these chickens. He would let my dad take one. This was so my father could kill, cook and eat them. That wasn't typical. I may not have suffered the type of things I saw people experience but it's not like they thought they suffered either. People were happy and content with what they had. Animal cruelty and an entire organization for this is such a first world ridiculous problem to me that will NEVER get any of my money.

It reminds me of this lady I did a story on with my internship here at the Herald Journal. She wrote a book about keeping Christ in Christmas. She told me how she was so worried about putting on the perfect Christmas that she got more elaborate with her decorations and all the festivities surrounding the holiday. She had me a little dumbfounded because it is such a luxury to have that type of problem. Such a first-world silly problem to me.

These animal cruelty ads are so hollow to me because there are so many children and just people in general in the world who need help just with bare necessities. One of the areas on my mission was Cameron Park. Many people had hangers for their airplanes right alongside their garages. I was often struck there with how many first-world luxury problems people have. Psychologists who couldn't help them with their teenagers.

I will forever be grateful for my life and the perspective it has given me. I'm watching this movie about a woman who gets divorced and has no skills to sustain herself. I am so lucky. I have the education that will allow me to get a job wherever I live. The lady in the movie gets her real estate license simply through studying at the library. NOT REALISTIC. My real estate class cost $450 and we all had to sign in and out on the computer. We are required to have 120 class hours before we can even think about taking the test. My instructor required us to get at least 80% on both the state and national portions and then and ONLY then he gave me a signed paper allowing me to register to take the test with a nice $66 dollar fee. After passing this there is ANOTHER $300 fee JUST to get my license. That is B4 finding a broker and selling a single house. There are additional fees to join the MLS

Whatever I'm so excited. I love the idea of staging a home to get it sold. HGTV always stages homes they flip to sell them. If I can negotiate some sort of agreement with a furniture store in town I will. I think I can make commission off of selling the house AND selling furniture too. I know I have natural decorating skill I want to exploit. It is part of why I love real estate. When I asked my instructor about staging a home he didn't think there was a significant difference. I think there must be or it wouldn't work for agents across the country.

I love HGTV. I could and do watch it often ALL DAY.

24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.

The Messiah by the MTC is performing now. I used to subject my friends to the Messiah ALL year in Hawaii when I was finishing my BA after my mission. It was fun. I love the Messiah. I am grateful for my mission that made me appreciate classical music. I love how there are so many parallels with theatre and ballet too. I love all that stuff. It's weird how music can hold so many memories.

Hallelujah is the crowning piece in the Messiah. The first time I heard it sung in Tonga they blew me away at how beautiful it was. The MTC is of course beautiful and technically perfect BUUUT I still love the Tongan version more. The feeling and spirit that accompany it when it's sung is without anything to compare it to. I am so grateful for my diverse heritage and upbringing. I'm grateful I've lived all over the world. 

The Key to Spiritual Protection - Boyd K. Packer