Dimple's Discoveries

I’m sure you’ve all seen the newest addition to our family, Miss Cassie Jo is our 2-year-old German Shepherd. Here’s a little bio on her: She is a rescue who most recently has come from Missouri. She has also gone by the names of Java and Luna Mae, she has an incredibly smart mind and absolutely uses that to her advantage. She is spoiled beyond belief, and loves to whine if she feels neglected (even if we petted her 34 seconds prior). She is learning and working on several new tricks, her favorite is to sit, and her least favorite is the command to focus. That being said, she will do every trick in her book for hot dogs! She is also my new service dog in training, or SDIT for short. Day 1: She sniffed around a lot. She stared at us and we stared at her.  We started looking for her at the end of November (ish). I have three main triggers for seizures: Low amounts of sleep, low blood sugar, and stress (an ugly cycle of stressing=seizure=more stressing about another seizure...

        Four years ago I went on my first emergency call with police to a domestic violence scene. One call was all it took, and I knew I was made for advocacy. At 18 years old I had already seen my first case of domestic violence at my job in a geriatric center where I literally jumped between the victim and her abuser (do not try this at home!), and knew deep in my soul that I could do this for the rest of my life. I have seen some of the darkest horrors human beings can inflict on each other. I have cried with victims as they've shared their stories from hell and fought PTSD as a result. I've held clients as they shake after a night terror or assessed injuries to determine medical care. For years I've mediated conflicts, counseled endlessly, and encouraged and empowered women to rise from the ashes. Looking back makes me wish that the 24 year old woman I am could write a letter to the 18 year old girl I was, so here are the five lessons I've learned as an advocate...

           As a teenager I used to love to read LDS romance novels. My parents would drive us to the library once a week and I would leave with a stack of eight or nine books tucked under my chin, and I would lose myself in a world of heroines who were carefree, laid back, and breezy with a problem or two, but she would eventually triumph after a seemingly short five or six chapters, and it always wrapped up so very neatly (and of course, with her on the arm of a handsome new beau)! I imagined that life would go like that, and that I was indeed that heroine. I would never have dreamt that I would be the 24 year old that would scrub her bathtub when she was stressing over something, or carefully packing two weeks ahead of an upcoming event (yes, I have done that!) I know that I am a control freak, and I'm actually proud of it. It's part of why the events on and since May 13th have been so difficult for me.      ...

Tyler and I have been married for just over seven months now, and it's the comments of those around us who have driven me to write this post. Lest any of you cringe, it wasn't negative comments but rather the casual or slightly surprised "You guys are so happy" remarks that have started the cogs turning for me. Each one has caught me off guard, because why shouldn't we be happy? These thoughts might come across jumbled, but here are a few reasons why Tyler and I are "so happy": 1. We have an eternal marriage--  We knelt across an altar in the Ogden temple on April 25th and covenanted to each other and to our God for time and for all eternity that we would heed and follow His commandments, and that if we do so, we will be blessed to be together forever. I get to keep Tyler for the rest of eternity if I do my best here on earth. It is my covenanted responsibility to cherish him. That's bigger than any argument we could have about if we should p...

Friday was a very controversial and life-changing day for a lot of Americans. While I am not the first (and most assuredly not the last) to post on the Supreme Court ruling, I would like to offer a few thoughts on the situation. First, let me explain my thoughts and actions since hearing of the Supreme Court's decision: I am against gay marriage, and when I heard the ruling you can imagine my feelings on the subject. Suffice to say I was frustrated, and started reading many articles, blog posts, and news stories on the ramifications of this event, many of which I shared so that those who believe as I do could see what was coming, or understand as I now do how this can alter marriage, adoption, religious freedoms, and society in general both now and in the future. I have studied (and almost have a Bachelor's degree in) Marriage and Family Studies. This is not only a moral debate, but career-altering information for me. I was definitely undergoing some heated scrutiny for doi...

I have been volunteering at a local shelter for victims of domestic violence, doing some slightly different work than I have ever done before. One of my new tasks is to admit victims into the shelter by determining eligibility, and then assisting them in "checking in" by finding out more about their situation and helping them settle in for that first day or night at the shelter.This is by far my favorite part of my responsibilities, because I can't wait to sit across from them as they tell their story, and tell them how proud I am of their courage to leave. Several have spoken of pretending to go to the grocery store, picking up their children and their purse and coming straight to the shelter. It has moved me more than I can say, but I would love to share a realization I had a couple of weeks ago while checking in a resident. This resident came in with her young child, and was attempting to cuddle the sleeping toddler around her very pregnant stomach as she quietly ...

I have been afraid countless times. Unfortunately being afraid is not an emotion I lack. It's not uncommon for me to be on high alert as I walk in a dark alley, as I am home alone and hear a loud noise, or even when someone touches me unexpectedly. However, these momentary times when your heartbeat stops for a second are not the ones I am referring to. Tonight I will tell you about the time I felt true fear. We've all heard of it, and some, I'm sure, have already experienced it's cold and rough grip: The mind-stopping, heart racing, time-slowing fear that flows like ice through our veins and freezes us where we stand. This fear that can so quickly penetrate every cell of our bodies and souls can be paralyzing; a lesson I was soon to learn. I work in dangerous situations all the time with my line of work, both at the county jail and as an advocate. Perhaps I had become accustomed to the thought, or was incredibly naive about my work... either way I was not emotion...

 Outlier: a mathematical term for something or someone varying from the norm. I believe that outliers are what we notice or are affected by the most in our lives. Especially once you have worked in a particular job or field for an extended period of time, even traumatic events can start to be the baseline, and you go about your job until an outlier blindsides you. For me, domestic violence calls have become my baseline, and I forget the average Joe on the street doesn't openly discuss people being thrown, punched, or attacked without batting an eye. The calls that I remember with the most clarity are the extremely violent, the young, the old, and the most heartbreaking. This call was an outlier.  The call from dispatch sent us flying to the Emergency Room, where we waited for the ambulance to arrive, and then waited almost an hour for her to be evaluated, treated and have documentation of her injuries.    We finally got the call to go back, and I knew it was ...

The call came as I was wandering the canned foods section of the grocery store in my pajamas. 'Of course! Stupid Murphy's law.' I thought to myself. I had fifteen minutes to be heading to the scene, which meant a rushed check-out, a scrambled change, and I had to leave the groceries in the trunk as I sped to the meeting spot. Miraculously I made it with two minutes to spare, and we were off. The call was about ten minutes north of us, so we hopped on the freeway and collaborated on what we knew from dispatch. Usually we have a good idea of what is happening on scene before we get there, but this time the only warning was "It's a child". My heart sunk, and the car was quiet as we pulled up to the house.  After talking with the two officers on scene and one of the women involved, we finally had the full story: a mom with three boys ranging in ages from 4-8 picked up a homeless woman she didn't know (who admittedly was manic depressive, bipolar and off...

I am a fierce and passionate feminist. Let it be known that I am completely on board with women being considered equal to men.I also believe in gender roles, and cannot wait to fulfill my #1 goal of being a stay-at-home wife and mother. Believers in both ideas would call me a traitor or fence-sitter. I am about to tell you why I am not a walking contradiction (in this topic anyway). I believe that gender roles are a stronghold for a stable community. Before anyone decides to get spicy, do I mean that a man cannot be a good cook or nurturer? Of course not! Do I mean a woman isn't capable of holding her own in an office or any workforce? Of course not! We are all capable of so many incredible things, each of us with unlimited potential. But each gender has intrinsic and divinely placed gifts, so we are each asked to lift where we stand by using the gifts we have to better the world around us. The Proclamation to the Family states: "Gender is an essential characteristic of indi...

http://www.rainymood.com/ (Open this website in another tab while you read this story) I have always loved rain: the raging thunder, the foreshadowing heavenly smell, the cool drizzle on my face, the refreshing wind. The rainstorm that started on July 15th started out no different for me. It had been a hot and muggy day, but dark clouds hinted at rainfall, and I was content as I changed my outfit to go to a dinner meeting with my coworkers. I decided to change into long sleeves, long pants and knee-high boots as the rain started to fall. Our windows were open, and I could hear my neighbors run through the rain singing, laughing and dancing in puddles.This was nothing unusual, and while waiting for my ride I went out and stood on the porch and watched the spectacle, smiling faintly as I enjoyed the quiet moment. It was the week before finals, I had been working full time and going to school full time, so a peaceful second to relax was rare and appreciated. As the rain fell harder, I ...

When I was in Junior High I knew an amazing girl who was struggling with a lot on her plate. These struggles went far beyond boy trouble or puberty complaints. Even after all these years I remember the courage and strength she exhibited in surviving all that she did. We separated for a time, and we have recently started talking again. After seeing her story unfold from my perspective I wanted to know what it was like from hers. I have asked her to share her story, in the hopes that one day, someone, somewhere can be bettered by what she endured. This is her story, in her own words: "To say I understood how it all happened or why things turned out the way they did would be a lie. I don’t know how or why anything happened the way that it did. At 15 life seemed like it was at its all-time low. Things at my home were not ideal, years of verbal abuse finally pushed me to my breaking point. I was lonely and wading through pools of pain and darkness. Being a 15 year old I didn’t know h...