~Working on a BIG project!~

Well it has been a little bit since my last post. I have been working on a big project! What is this big project I speak of?  Well I have been working on helping my friend finish her book and building her website!

My friend Kara Allred has been working on her book "Fire & Ice" for a long time now. She started her querying part and has had no luck grabbing an agents attention.  So I read her book and saw a little room for improvement and before I knew it we were working on the book together.

I fell in love with the idea of the book and I wanted to see it succeed so over the summer we wrote and rewrote, changed and re-changed the book.  Well, now we are all done with the writing part and we are beginning to network and try to get her web page up and running the way she wants it.

Part of what I have been doing is working on the web site!  Turns out I actually have a knack for web page design!  I designed and coded the whole website. I have to say I am very proud of myself. So without further ado I would like to present the official Kara Allred web page @ WWW.KaraAllred.COM!

~How much do you trust....~

...your child's doctor? I have to admit when I had my son a year ago I trusted my child's doctor 100%. I mean he is a doctor. He has my child's best interest in mind...right? And, I have to add that I really do like my son's doctor. He listens, he answers, and he takes the time to always explain things to me when I am freaking out over silly things.  Most importantly, he doesn't make me feel stupid when I do ask "silly" questions. 

So why am I questioning it now? Well, while I was pregnant I remember reading posts on "baby community" websites from mother's that were very against vaccinations.  I didn't really think to much of it at the time. I mean if you have ever been to one of those sites I am sure you know of those "hypochondriac" mothers. You know.. the ones who rushed to the emergency room when they had a finger nail size of feta cheese? So I just thought it was that and moved on.

However, a couple months ago my whole thought process on the subject changed. I decided to take a course this semester on medical/bio ethics. I had NO idea how much it would open my eyes to things in the medical world that most people know NOTHING about. 

It turns out that some doctors (and the government) don't feel the need to ALWAYS disclose their research methods. For example, in the late 1940's there was a research done for a nutritional study on pregnant women. The research included injecting over 800 pregnant women with radioactive iron. According to the doctors who performed the experiment, the injections were done to track the iron as it went through the body. According to the lawsuit that was filed by three of the pregnant women about 20 years later, the research was done to see the effect of radiation. 

Whatever the reason for the research, the women were unknowingly injected with radioactive materials. The result: three of the children died from rare forms of cancer. 

I could go on and on about other experiments like this but my point of this post is NOT to scare anyone half to death. But these things that happened make me question "authority". You would think by now there would be strict laws on this subject.  But thats the problem...the "strict" laws do not exist. They don't exist because every-time something like this happens the victims are paid off and the experiment is swept under the rug. 

So I have serious concerns now. Especially when I see my baby being shot up with five different shots within 60 seconds. Do our children absolutely NEED to be getting all these vaccinations?  I didn't get a varicella (chickenpox) vaccination when I was a child. I got it though, and quite frankly I think I would rather get it and have to itch for a couple days than get a vaccination of something that I "think" is totally safe. On the other hand there are some vaccinations that I feel are a necessity. Those diseases that have life or death consequences  and are still around to be caught. 

I am neither for nor against vaccinations. I am confused, and scared, and I don't know who I should trust. I want to trust doctors especially my son's doctor....but should I? Are we really told all the adverse effects of these vaccinations, or do we just get a less serious summary?

~scared and confused SAHM

If you would like to read more on the radioactive research done on unknowing U.S. citizens here are some articles:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E0D8153AF931A35750C0A962958260&pagewanted=1

&

http://www.whale.to/b/plut.html

My textbook for the class is:

Medical Ethics: Accounts of Ground Breaking Cases Ed.6

Gregory E. Pence

~Are You Checking In?~

As technology continues to grow so does the many ways we communicate with our friends and family. It almost seems like privacy is a thing of the past. With Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace we are now giving a play by play of our lives in real-time. But, did we ever stop and think that not JUST our friends and family are reading our status updates?

Sure there are all kinds of privacy settings now but personally, I don't trust that. I can think of a bunch of ways that people can get through those settings. For example, I play Facebook games. A lot of my friends and family do too but sometimes that's just not enough. Sometimes I just need one more friend to unlock the next level. So what do I do? I go to there fan site and post that I am looking for friends to play the game with. I can usually get a new friend within the matter of seconds...because let's face it ....everyone is looking for new friends.

The problem is...I don't know this person. AT ALL! Now I have a "friend" on my Facebook that can now view all my personal pictures, everything that I have written about my personal life, and the thing that scares me the most....check ins.

Checking in to Facebook and other sites is fairly new. I guess talking and tweeting about being somewhere wasn't enough. Now we can check in to places. At the Rebecca Black concert? Just whip out your mobile phone with GPS capabilities and check in with Facebook. There, now everyone on your friends list knows EXACTLY where you are. Remember that person I added a couple of seconds ago? Well now that person knows where I am too. And...where I am NOT. Where I am NOT is home.

Well it just so happens that I checked in at home a couple hours ago so the location of my home is sitting there on my Facebook page as well.  And just my luck...this new person I added is a robber. I think you know where this is heading.

Luckily, I don't really add strangers to my "personal" Facebook page. I have other Facebook accounts with different aliases for my games. But, I know that about 95% of the game friends I add use their personal account.

I believe that a good rule of thumb with any social networking site is ... If you wouldn't want the whole world knowing what you are writing or where you are, DO NOT over use the check in features! I don't care how many "privacy" settings there are...I am not going to put my personal life in some strangers hands and hope that they don't let it fall into the wrong hands. Especially when these "hands" are imaginary..they are in cyber space..how trustworthy can "nothing" be?

~Cautious SAHM

~Time to Change~

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."

~Author Unknown

This is a quote that really got to me.  You see...I waste A LOT of time!  Actually I pretty much waste DAYS at a time!!  I know that is horrible. Isn't the first step to recovery admitting you have a problem??  

So today I am making a promise.  A promise to myself to stop wasting time. Start using every day for something good. So where am I going to start?

Well first of all, I am going to start by getting off the couch and I am going to turn off the computer, and the TV. I am going to turn on the music and do some deep cleaning around the house. And just so you know I am actually doing what I say I'm going to...I am going to post pictures along the way! 

More importantly though. I am making a promise to lose weight!  I am ashamed to say that I can't actually say that I have "baby" weight to lose.  I actually LOST 20 pounds through-out my pregnancy.  (in a healthy way...my son apparently didn't like junk food and loved healthy stuff) So all this weight that I gained is pretty much because I eat too much and I don't exercise.  I don't really do many activities at all. All this is about to change though! And you all have a front row seat to my transformation.  Body & Mind! Each week I am going to have an activity check in post. Talk about what I did for activities and the cardio and other exercises I did.  

So, without further ado, I am going to go do some spring cleaning....and then bring my son for a nice long walk. Here is my "before" pic.

"Before" Pic of me (with my adorable niece)

~CNA Exam Update!~

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I PASSED my CNA exam!!!!  YAY!

~For the Love of Chocolate!~

         

 Who doesn't like chocolate syrup? Whether you are putting it on ice cream, making chocolate milk, or dipping strawberries in it, chocolate syrup is heaven! I love chocolate!

          I have recently discovered that making chocolate syrup from scratch is even better! After trying a couple of recipes I found one that my husband and I can't get enough of, and I would love to share it with all of you! 

First, gather all the ingredients: 

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups sugar (or Splenda if you want a healthier treat)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups cold water

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Second, start making chocolate syrup!

• Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, and salt.
• Whisk in cold water.
• Cook over medium/high heat until combined and thickened. (This part takes a little while.  Be sure not to burn the chocolate)
• Remove from heat and let cool. (I put it in a bowl of ice water to speed this up)
• Mix vanilla into the cool chocolate mixture.

You now have homemade chocolate syrup to share with your family. Make sure you store the remaining chocolate syrup in the fridge!  Also, if you used Splenda, it does not keep as long in the fridge as real sugar so eat it quick!  (That is, if there is any left after you have made it!)

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!!

~2011 Ultimate Blog Party..Here I come!!!~

Welcome everyone from the "2011 Ultimate Blog Party"!  My name is Heather and I am a wife and a mother of one boy! I have been going to school for nursing and just completed a CNA course.  I will actually be taking the big exam tomorrow. 

 I just started this blog "Surviving SAHM" because I love to write and I have always wanted to be a serious blogger. I have decided to make it my story of how I am surviving being a SAHM!  The money, time, social, hobbies, and everything else that gets me by. How am I determined to make being a SAHM work so that I won't have to leave my baby and get a job outside of the home. 

Here is my son Austin who will the most talked about on this blog!  He just turned one and he is the center of my universe! 

As you can clearly see I just started this blog a couple of days ago so I don't have many blog entries.  I am also struggling with getting people to follow. :(  The lack of something to look at might have something to do with it.  I would love if everyone that visits me from the UBP left me a comment maybe giving me some tips on how to get people to come and maybe just any other blogging tips you have!!  

Thank you for visiting!!!

~Brand New SAHM & Blogger