JDRF Walk 2009

Thank you everyone for your support! We had a blast!!!

Our JDRF Walk Tee Shirt Logo

My mom and I ordered tee shirts today for our JDRF walk on November 14. We got a key lime green color and my mom made this logo to go on front. I can't wait to see them finished!

It looks like we're going to have about 30 people walking with us (so far anyway). Unfortunately, my parents can't be there :( They have to go to Texas for my dad's schooling. My mom and I are both pretty sad but I also understand. I'm glad a lot of other people can go though. I hope we raise lots of donations. We aren't doing so great with that, but there's still time.

Walk to Cure Diabetes

We have registered to walk for a cure for diabetes. This event will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 14. It is taking place at UNLV's North Field. Registration begins at 9am and the 5K walk begins at 10am. If you would like to join us here are some details for you...

You can register for the walk here...

http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=walk.walk&eventID=5363&chapterid=4356

Our team name is Cassie's Crew

You can donate here...

http://walk.jdrf.org/

Just fill out under "Donate To a Walker"

Cassie Stout
Cassie's Crew

If you're walking here's the link to your sponsor form

http://www.jdrf.org/files/General_Files/Walk_Central_Resources/walkercollectionform.pdf

Our Goals:

Each person who will walk we'd like to have them earn at least $100.00. If you just find 10 people to sponsor $10 we'd reach that goal.

If you can't attend the walk we'd still appreciate a donation - just whatever you feel is appropriate. The link for donations is above.

Our end goal is $2000.00 but I really think we can do better than that :)

Everyone who participates in the walk will receive a team shirt.

Thanks everyone, I think this will be lots of fun!
Cassie

Classification or Division - Our Family Pets

This is my . . . sixth essay to write. I got an A on this one too!

Our Family Pets

Throughout my life our family has had a few pets, well perhaps more than a few. Most parents think seriously before they go out and purchase or adopt a pet because of the great responsibility involved in caring for them. I love my parents but by the end of this essay you will think them either completely brilliant or very much insane. My parents believe one very important way to teach their children responsibility is through taking care of animals. The family pets we have had over the years fit into three main categories: birds, livestock, and dogs.

Birds are so beautiful and many people might have a small parakeet or lovebird. Well, have you ever seen an emu in real life, besides in a zoo? We have had several different birds over the years and yes one species was an emu, if fact we had three of them. Other birds we have raised are peacocks, chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, parakeets, and lovebirds.

The peacocks are amazingly beautiful; however, they are the loudest of our birds. They will keep you up at night with their loud “help” cry. The chickens and ducks are the easiest of the birds to care for - throw them some feed and they are content for the remainder of the day. The geese are similar except they might hiss at you and chase you around the yard. This can be quite alarming for those that are very young and the same size as the goose. Although geese were frightening to some of the children, they were nothing compared to the emus. They were by far the most terrifying animals we ever raised. They are large, fast, and they kick tremendously hard, but the most horrifying thing was when they would try to mate with us. Yes, you read that right; those crazy emus would try to mate with all us kids, especially my oldest sister Ali. Sadly, we could no longer allow the younger children to go play with the other birds.

My father grew up raising show pigeons. They look like your typical pigeon except better fed. He bred them for color and size and then would show them with the same eight men every year that also raised pigeons. I always found this to be a little strange. Lastly, we raised parakeets and lovebirds. They were also easy to attend to but they were so delicate and they never seemed to live very long.

We raised a few types of livestock. We have had one pig, three goats, and two horses. Some friends of ours gave us the pig after realizing it was not a house pet. We have had him for about eight years and call him Wilbur – he is huge. The goats were easy enough to take care of, at least the females were. The male would head-butt us every time we would go to feed him. My family had him for Sunday dinner when I was about twelve. Our horses have spent most their lives in a corral. When we do try to ride them they nearly always run straight for home - this is what horse folk call “barn sore”.

Lastly, our family raises and breeds several kinds of dogs. We do this for extra income and also to teach my siblings and me responsibility. However, that does not mean that I enjoy doing farm work everyday. Do not get me wrong, I love dogs just as much as the next person but I do not want to feed, clean up, and play with eighty dogs. The kinds of dogs we have raised over the years are: Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Miniature Schnauzers, Cairn Terriers, Boston Terriers, West Highland Terriers, Italian Greyhounds, Welsh Corgis, Pugs, Pugstons, Miniature Pinchers, and Miniature Dachshunds. This all began about twelve years ago when my dad decided we needed family dogs and purchased two Rottweilers. They had puppies and my father made what he considered a good profit and decided that breeding dogs would be a nice business. Thankfully, we live on twelve acres and can provide large kennels for our dogs. Each day we have to spray out the kennels, feed, water them and do any repairs we see need to be done to the kennels. Many of our breeds require grooming, and we do this several times a year. In total, we groom about thirty dogs, three times each year. We also administer shots, post ads in the newspaper to sell the puppies, do all sorts of paper work and interact with the buyers who come to purchase the puppies.

I believe having all the responsibility of raising these animals has made me an industrious person. I do have my favorite animals and consider them “my pets”. Will I allow my children to have pets when I am a parent? Of course; however, I do not think I will allow any emus or more then three dogs at a time.

Compare and Contrast - Home and Cabin

This was my third essay.  Sadly, I got a B in this one.  However, I did only write this one in about an hour.  So it is not that bad considering I wrote it in about an hour!

Home and Cabin

My family lives on a small farm in Fort Mohave, Arizona in a beautiful home. I love being in my house with my family; however, occasionally when we are at home we do not interact with each other as much as we do at our cabin at Kolob.  Frankly, they both have there ups and downs in many ways.

            When we are at home it is always convenient for us.  The closest grocery store is a few minutes away.  We consistently have hot water for our own personal hygiene and other uses; power for heat, air conditioning, and many entertainments such as: television, computers and so on.  Furthermore, our house is rather roomy so it is very suitable to have friends, family, and large parties.

            Despite the fact that our hometown is very convenient, there are many other matters that I like and dislike.  First of all, I love that I could go swimming during most of the year with my friends and family because of our sizable jacuzzi.  I love baking and cooking and it is very easy to do it at home where I have space to move and many ingredients to make up my own recipes.  Quad riding is absolutely an enjoyable activity I have always been fond of during my leisure time. 

Although there are many activities I love doing at home to pass the time, like in many homes, there are many things I dislikes.  I do not believe I will ever love the dry heat we experience in the desert.  Because it gets so hot, it is hard to do other recreational activities other than swimming and quad riding in the dessert at temperature of 120 degrees.  Occasionally I feel like I am cooped up in my house with nothing to do.  The scenery is not the most beautiful either.  I grew-up in the desert and it gets exhausting after a while.  However, I do love the desert sunsets.

Our cabin is high in the mountains and about an hour away from the nearest town.  For the most part, our water is cold and we have to use a generator for our power meaning no entertainment and no use of necessities.  Compared to our house, our cabin is nothing more than a fraction in size.  We never invite too many people to our cabin at once.  If we did, some people would have to sleep in their own mobile homes or in tents.  Being outside on the peak of the mountains in the cold at night is not something I look forward to since I am so use to the heat.

            As you can see, our cabin is not the most convenient place to visit, but in some ways it is without doubt worth it.  In the morning, all you can hear are birds chirping and faint cow moo in the distance.  The weather is absolutely perfect and so still and peaceful.  The landscaping that surrounds the cabin is perfectly aesthetic, especially behind our cabin where you can see a significantly immense valley of trees and which also overlooks Zion Nation Park.  There are many trails that lead to many beautiful locations on the mountain.  I have grown fond of exploring the woods of Kolob and discovering many new areas, whether I am alone or with my family.

            Kolob has some lovely lakes; unfortunately, we cannot swim in them seeing that they are much too cold.  Food in our cabin is somewhat limited compared to what we have at home because we only pack what is necessary to bring.  During the winter season our pipes freeze, we have to go outside in the snow and fill a huge pot full of snow and melt it.  So that in the cabin, we have water to drink or other uses.  Unfortunately, when it snows, sometimes it is too cold and windy to go outside sledding.

            Home has all the conveniences I need to be comfortable and happy.  The cabin may have many inconveniences but I find many delightful experiences in the woods. Regardless of both their ups and downs, I love to be home but I also look forward to visiting our cabin.

Good Parenting - Definition and Example

This was my second essay in my English 101 class and I got a 100%. Yay!!!

Good Parenting

I have learned many good qualities from my parents that I can use with my future family. I am fortunate to have parents with many attributes that I highly respect. In this essay I am going to describe what I believe constitutes good parenting.

Growing up in a large family, conflicts seem to arise nearly each day. Whether these disagreements are trivial or serious, my parents always seem know to how to resolve these daily mishaps. When I face burdensome trials, my parents have always done their best to be patient and understanding to whatever difficult situations I may be going through. They listen and do their utmost to assist me in any way. Many times they would share their own personal life experiences in hopes of helping. My parents are great communicators and they seem to always have a solution to my problems.

My dad is the most able and zealous person I know. It seems he always has a major project he wants to achieve, especially with the whole family. He expects and encourages my siblings and I work every Saturday for six to eight hours on our farm. Most of the time I find Saturdays to be intolerable, but I know that he wants me to be hardworking. My dad has also put together a dog kennel, approximately 80 dogs, for my siblings and I so that we can learn responsible and how to take care of a family business.

I have been home-schooled almost my entire life, along with my brothers and sisters. My mom has given up virtually every single day to educate us kids at home, so that we would not have to experience distressing circumstances or harmful influences in public school. My dad also sacrifices everyday to go to work and provide for the family.

There are so many things that I have learned from my parents. They have taught me to be a virtuous, patient and a diligent person. They keep me safe from bad influences and even from myself sometimes when I convince myself or I am convinced by others to make a bad decision.

Throughout my life my parents have been very consistent. For as long as I can remember, we would have breakfast and dinner everyday as a family. Also, as I mentioned previously, our family does very laborious work, which helps us to bond with each other. They constantly remind me to have honorable goals that will encourage me to be a moral person. They have very high expectations of me to do my best at everything I do. However, if I deliberately disobey them I will always be punished. I understand why I must to be disciplined, to learn from my mistakes. Because of this, I always work hard to not repeat the same mistakes over again, and it will help me become a better person.

Even though my mother and father are very strict with me, I am extremely appreciative of everything they do. I know that they do their best for me and want me to be happy. The attributes my parents have been an example of, have now given me the chance to take them as they are or improve upon them for the bettering of my future children.

The Blessing of Adversity - Narration and Description

This is my very first English 101 essay and, thankfully, I got an A.  I am sooo happy!!

The Blessing of Adversity

            On December 9, 2007, our family had an enjoyable night putting up our Christmas tree.  Homemade ornaments made by my five siblings and myself over the years, as well as ornaments my parents made as children were placed on the tree.  The tree was trimmed with bows tied by my mother and poinsettias were placed in between some of the branches. We had our traditional hot chocolate and the house smelled of freshly popped popcorn. My younger brother and sister danced merrily around the tree to a Christmas CD excited about the coming holiday.  Eight homemade stockings that my grandmother made, hung over the fireplace in our family room.  This was the last fond memory I had of my childhood home.  None of us knew at the time that a traumatic event was about to occur that would change our family’s life forever. 

            Twenty-four hours later the scene had changed tragically.   My home was now wet, burnt and still smoldering from the events of that day. The smell was a combination of burnt wood and mold, a smell I’ll never forget.  When our family was allowed to see what we could salvage there was scarcely anything left.  The most difficult thing for me was seeing my once beautiful piano.   The keys were charred and stuck together from the heat.  My room was no better.  The broken ceiling was on my bed and floor, soggy and blackened.  Porcelain dolls that used to sit on a shelf I had painted myself lay on the floor all smashed.  There was no wall where my window once was.   It looked like a scene from a war movie.  Tears burned my eyes while I surveyed the rooms where so many memories had been made.  The only thought that kept me sane was knowing that my family was safe.

            If it weren’t for the kind and generous people in our lives I don’t know where we would be today.  Within three hours of our fire, we had a house, food, basic living supplies, including a refrigerator, washer and dryer and even a Christmas Tree was given to us by our wonderful friends.  Several of our friends stayed late that night making sure our family’s needs were all being meant. 

            We lost our home on a Monday and that following Saturday we started the clean up.  My family was overwhelmed by the amount of support we received from family and friends that day.  We had more than fifty people come out to help take away the debris in wheelbarrows.  Everyday for weeks someone would knock on the door of our rental house and give us something that would be useful for my family.  Blankets, coats, clothes, food, school supplies and even a keyboard for me to play along with a few music books were just a few of the items which were given to us.  My mom has an online business and when the word got out about our fire, we started receiving packages from all over the country.  We had received so many things we had to give much of it away.  Each and every time we were given something, my family was so thankful for the goodness we saw in others.

            Having been through this experience has made me realize how benevolent and exemplary people are and how much, if given the opportunity, are willing and even looking for chances to serve others.  I’m so grateful for the good works and kindness so many were willing to give to our family.  It’s been a year now and we just celebrated Christmas in our new home.   It seemed like an endless year but it was all worth it in the end.  

How to Get in Shape and Develop Physical Fitness

I GOT ANOTHER A. . . YAY, YIPPEE, HOORAY!!!

In this essay, I will discuss how people can get into shape and develop a healthy lifestyle. Many people wish to get into shape to enhance their health. Unfortunately, most individuals consider it very difficult to maintain a strict diet and regular exercise program. I am going to make a number of suggestions that can help provide some strategies to stay healthy and improve overall physical endurance and strength.

First of all, diet is very important. You must balance your calories with your daily activity levels. The more you eat, the more exercise you need do in order to keep from depositing more fat in your body. Avoid drinks with empty calories like soft drinks. This is a very important guideline to obey.

Drink water to maintain good hydration. By drinking water instead of a soda, you can eat more food and maintain a better balanced diet. Avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. However, do not drink so much water that you feel your stomach bulging. Rather, drink eight glasses of water spaced out throughout the day. Furthermore, reduce the intake of caffeine and alcohol as both of these substances tend to cause dehydration.

Counting your calories and carbohydrates may seem difficult, but it will increase your health by allowing you to understand what you are actually putting into your body. Work hard to have self-control when it comes to foods that may be tempting. Concentrate on eating healthy food such as whole wheat and grains, fruits, vegetables, leaner meats and low-fat milk products. However, it is not bad to have a little indulgence every once in a while but just be careful not to go overboard. Remember you are what you eat. So if you eat lots of fat and sugar, well, you get the idea.

Next, in order to maintain a strong and healthy body, be consistent in physical exercise and activity. Sadly, some find exercise very difficult as they lack focus and are not self-motivated. However, if you exercise at least three times a week, you will be lowering your risk for cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and depression. If you have a tough time exercising alone, invite a friend or family member to go on a walk or any other activity such as sports. If you happen to find exercise tedious and exhausting you can always find an activity that you may enjoy doing that does not feel like a workout. Some physical activities you may find enjoyable might be dancing, bicycling, sports, skating, hiking or even gardening.

Even though exercising physically is very important, your brain should also stay active. You can keep your brain active simply by reading, writing, doing math problems, or even playing games such as crossword puzzles.

Getting enough sleep is very important for all ages. Many men and women do not get adequate sleep because we tend to lead busy and complicated lives. However, plenty of sleep can improve your capacity for mental focus and memory; moreover, it will lessen irascibility and impatience. In most cases, getting a sufficient amount of sleep will increase your energy level and improve your mental functioning.

The total amount of sleep needed for an average person is eight hours. Nevertheless, some people function well with six hours of sleep; whereas, others need about ten hours of sleep to stay at their best

In conclusion, if you decide to follow through and commit to the information above, you will feel more energized and live a long, healthy life. Although, at times, it may seem strenuous and even impossible, you will be happy and satisfied with your hard work.

English 101 Essay on Type 1

Here's an essay I wrote for my English 1o1 class. I GOT AN A!

It was December 7, 2008 on a beautiful Sunday morning; my mom woke me up at 6:00 with a concerned expression on her face. She sat next to me on my bed and told me that my dad, who is a doctor, thought that I might have type 1 diabetes. Over the past several months, I had been experiencing many complications that led him to this conclusion. I was not aware of what type 1 diabetes was, so I was not too bothered by it.

Soon after my mom told me the news, we drove straight to a drug store to buy a glucose monitor to test my blood sugar, also known as glucose. Unfortunately, my glucose was approximately 400; the normal range is 80 to 120. Now my dad knew for sure that I was type 1 diabetic. He explained to me a list of symptoms of the disease, which some are: unusual thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger but loss of weight, blurred vision, extreme weakness and fatigue, irritability and mood changes. I had had every one of these symptoms for about two months.

What causes type1 diabetes is unknown; however, they say a child that has a parent or sibling with type1 diabetes has a 2 to 6% chance of succumbing to this disease. According to my mom, the only person in my family that has type1 diabetes is my grandmother’s first cousin. My mother also had gestational diabetes with all five of her pregnancies, but her temporary diabetes was the worst for me. Babies who weight 9 pounds or more have a greater chance of getting type1 diabetes and all of my brothers and sister weighed 9 pounds or more.

There are many issues that can occur with type 1 diabetes. If I do not take special care of myself I could develop complications and life threatening diseases, such as: heart and blood vessel disease, kidney disease, loss of eye sight, feet and skin issues, depression and even losing a limb. The best ways I can prevent these from happening to me is by taking care of my blood sugar with insulin shots, eating healthy, exercise, and seeing my doctors frequently.

I have to be very careful, particularly with my glucose. There have been some times when my blood sugar was dangerously low. Most people would be hospitalized, but thankfully because my father is a doctor and knows the basics of type1 diabetes. Sometimes I fear that someday I will go to bed like any normal night and never wake up. This has happened to some diabetics.

Ever since I was diagnosed, I have had to change my life style almost completely. There are so many things I have to do daily to control my diabetes. I have to prick my finger 10 times or more in order to check my glucose, give myself 4 shots of insulin, eat very healthy, I personally exercise forty-five minutes and all this information needs to be logged into a journal for my doctor to review. There are many other little necessities I do each day in order to stay in good health.

Although type1 diabetes may sound frightening, a big part of me is happy to have it. Diabetes has forced me to take my health seriously - I have become very aware of my eating habits and the way I physically take care of myself. I know if I continue to pay close attention to my health I will live a long, happy and healthy life.