NEW BLOG

I'm sad to say this is my last post....well, on here anyway! I now have a new blog hosted by www.casadeblundell.com.

It's still Vertigo but it looks a little different and has a new address. My new blog is www.casadeblundell.com/laurie.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Work Day

Today was a workday at the Treadaway's (the pastor of Encounter where Jonathan and I go). And boy was it a work day! I have sore muscles that I didn't even know I had....I'm sore from my big toe to my fingertips. I spent the majority of the morning and afternoon laying tile in the living room and kitchen, with the help of others of course (Amber and Shari). The outside of the house was also repainted by Miguel, and it looks excellent! Shane took on the job of building all new kitchen drawers, Jonathan and Josh were in charge of all the tile work and cutting tile to custom fit in certain areas. None of the tile work would be done without much help from the "scrapers" who spent all day on their hands and knees scraping up old adhesive..and that was a task. Dennise and others were out in the yard cutting down an old, big tree and cleaning up ivey throughout the yard while Marni, beth, Shalyn and others were busy in the house cleaning up bathrooms and vaccuming. Sarah and Marni brought all the helpings and goodies for lunch and Sally, Jose and Mr. and Mrs. Perez (jose's parents) cooked us some wonderful fajitas, rice and beans for dinner. Overall it was a very productive day and I was excited to be a part of it. This whole project started out as an idea in a small community group as a way to help Brian and his family and repay him for all his hard work and dedication to the church. It's amazing to see God's handywork in this and see how He brings the community together. There were probably a total of 30 people that came out to help and the majority of them were not in the small group that took on this project. The love of friends is evident in this group and everone has such a big heart for serving our Lord and others. Of course I have pictures to show for the day but due to wanting to keep the hosue a suprise until the Treadaway's see it, your going to have to wait until Tuesday to see them...come back for more later.

Fun Times

So, i'm working on putting together a slide show to show at our rehersal dinner and wedding reception. I got a bunch of pictures of jonathan growing up from his mom the other day and since he posted some pictures of me, it's my turn to post them of him. These are two of my favorites and the third one--well, I just couldn't resist.

YUMMY

This close to their wedding, most brides would be watching everything that goes into their mouths and working out probably everyday. Well, not this bride--I just had some delicious chedder fries and a juicy hamburger from Snuffers and then went and had some cookies at my parents house. I'll watch everything that goes into my mouth just like other soon to be brides...then I feel it go into my tummy! And tomorrow i'm gonna eat cake! Fitting into a dress is highly overrated.

Finalizing

Last night my mom, Jennifer (my sister-in-law) and myself sat around my
parents kitchen table and addressed about 90 to 95 wedding invitations.
And when I say "we" addressed them, I really mean Jennifer--I wasn't
allowed to write on them....apparently "I have the medical brain so I
write like a doctor--which means it's not readable". I would agree with
this statement, my handwriting isn't that great but it's just because I
write so fast...my brain thinks so fast and if I don't write it as fast
as I think it, I'll forget it. Anyway--we did make a dent in the number
of invitations we have to address...I think we are about * way done,
Maybe.

We are also putting the finishing touches on things and making sure
they are all in order. We (my mom) met with the caterer last week and
got all that settled and we met with the florist a couple of weeks ago
and got all the flowers picked out and ordered. Let me tell you, I'm
tired of making decisions....I'm to the point now that I don't want to
make another decision. My poor mom, I told her that she can make all
the decisions from this point on...If she likes it, I will like
it--let's hope! I went out to the Arboretum about a week or two ago and
did my bridal portraits. It was a very windy day and a little on the
cool side. Although we have done a lot, there is still a lot to be done!
Let the planning continue. 44 more Days!!

New Photos

I just uploaded about 200 pictures yesterday to my flickr account. It's a bunch of pictures from Jake's 6th birthday party, Jake's gymnastics meet, Brad and Tami's Birthday bash and some pictures of a couple of showers for me and Jonathan.

Check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20595264@N00/

ALL DONE!

I just completed re-finishing Jonathan's dresser to match the rest of my furniture. Here are some pictures I took along the way....I think it looks pretty good if you don't mind me saying so myself!



BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Christmas came early this year!!

Yesterday I received mine and Jonathan's wedding present to each other. I went to my parents house after work, and with much anticipation there it was, the wonderful box filled with goodies. We both love photography and thought it would be a great investment to buy a nice camera. So we said, why not just make the camera a wedding present and we can both enjoy it. Now, when I say "our" camera, I really mean "my" camera that he can borrow! I'm totally kidding, but he will have to pry it out of my hands to use it, I'm not gonna lie, I can be a camera hog...as long as Im the one taking the pictures and not in the picture.

So I opened up the box and there was the beautiful Nikon D50 with 2 lenses, an HD wide angle lens, a tripod, filters and carrying case. I had some fun last night taking pictures...one lens gets you so close to your subject you can get an up the nose photo--don't worry I won't do that to you. Of course Presley was the main subject of my pictures last night, but I did get some other shots as well. I love figuring out all the cool little tricks to photography. I'm sure you'll get to see plenty of our pictures we take on here.

There is just something about capturing a moment and keeping it as a memory forever. I love having pictures of occasions or just everyday randomness (if that's even a word) that you can pull out whenever you want to and reminisce. I have pictures of ski trips and mission trips to Mexico and Honduras from high school and I love looking at them and remembering the fun times we had back then. I've taken many pictures of my niece and nephew over the last couple of years, its fun to see them as they get older and see how much they change.

I'm warning all of you right now--I'm about to go picture CRAZY!!

Yikes!

This picture pretty much sums up yesterday for me--just substitute the cigarettes for chocolate and the prozac for a massage and it will all be okay!

I never believed in the phrase "Bridezilla" until yesterday. I can honestly say that yesterday was one of the worst days I have had in a very, very long time (I'm talking years). It started out at 4:45am when my alarm went off, I woke up just as tired as I was when I went to sleep...work was pretty bad, by 10:00 I had 2 nurses gripe me out for no apparent reason-I though I was being very nice and considerate. (I'm assuming they just let their frustration out on me for something else that was going on). Among other things, It was just a bad day at work overall. Next we had a "miss-communication" about living arrangements when Jonathan and I get married (long story). I basically just feel like I have lived out of boxes since last May when I moved out of my old apartment and haven't had a true "home". I'm ready to feel at home again somewhere! Anyway, back to the story...lastly, I was just frustrated with my heart problems...I hadn't felt good for a couple of days and it finally just caught up with me yesterday and felt REALLY bad. But I'm going to see my cardiologist on Friday morning to pray it goes well and we might get this thing finally figured out and under control. I know a lot of people who have more things to be stressed out about than me so I know I will be ok and--this too will pass! Now, I wouldn't say that I was a bridezilla by any means, just stressed out and probably griped out a few people who are closest to me. So I'm sorry if I did get testy with anyone yesterday, I truly didn't mean it and my frustration just happened to be aimed at you at that moment. PLEASE forgive me!!

Never Alone

I was listening to a CD on my way to work this morning and one of my favorite songs came on...Never Alone by Barlow Girl. If you haven't heard it before I suggest you try to find it and listen to it. Here are the lyrics to the song:

I waited for you today
But you didn't show
No no.
I needed you today
So where did you go?
You told me to call
Said you'd be there
And though I haven't seen you
Are you still there?

Chorus
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel you by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone

And though I cannot see you
And I can't explain why
Such a deep reassurance
You've placed in my life.
We cannot separate
'Cause you're part of me.
And though you're invisible
I'll trust the unseen.

Chorus

I love this song because it is a reminder of how much Christ loves us and will always be there for us. It basically says that when we talk to Christ and don't hear him reply it's because our walk with Him isn't as close as it should be. He is always there and will always hear us, we just may not hear Him...that's when we need to strengthen our relationship. On the flip side, at times, He may be silent in our lives, and it isn't necessarily because we aren't close enough with Him. I heard someone say something a while back at a conference... he said, "When Christ is silent, He is not still." Just because Christ isn't talking to you He is still showing you things and working in your life. Anyway, back to the song above...the part that I love the most is when it says "And though you're invisible, I'll trust the unseen." So even though you can't hear Him, He's there and just trust the unseen! Simply put--Have Faith!

WOW

I never thought the day would come where I would have to ask "Permission" from someone else to spend my money...well, okay so it's not entirely ALL my money. Jonathan and I just made a pretty good sized purchase and before I could buy it I had to ask him if it was okay--Wow, I can feel my independence slipping away. I am a pretty independent person and always have been, but it just dawned on me the other day that in about 2 months, I'm about to lose some of that. I guess that comes with the territory huh. But I would rather be married with less independence than single with all the independence in the world. I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm going to have to get use to though.

Check It Out!

Jonathan and I just went live with our wedding website. Check it out
sometime - www.casadeblundell.com

We also both have new email addreses through this domain.
laurie@casadeblundell.com
jonathan@casadeblundell.com

Jonathan's blog has already moved to this location and mine will be
soon
www.casadeblundell.com/jonathan

Service

I got this in an email today and couldn't help but share it. It is hilarious and I can just picture this happening at church...

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the
foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with
names with small American flags mounted on either side of it.

The seven year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so
the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly,
"Good morning Alex."

"Good morning Pastor," he replied, still focused
on the plaque. "Pastor, what is this?" he asked.

The pastor said, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and
women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque.

Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear,
asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15 ?"

Engagement Pictures

Jonathan and I went to Las Colinas yesterday and took some engagement pictures. These are two of my favorites but you can check out Jonathans Flickr page to see the rest of them. Enjoy! Jonathan's Flickr page

Old to New

As some of you know, I love to re-do old furniture and make it look all
pretty again. I have re-finished a lot of my furniture and I decided to
re-finish a dresser that Jonathan had so it would match the rest of the
furniture. Well, I started on it yesterday and forgot how much work you
have to put into it. I just got the drawers sanded and that took a lot
of work. Granted it probably took more work than necessary because the
type A personality and perfectionist in me was coming out. That and I
had a dog circling me and barking at the sander the whole time. But I
still love to do it...there's just something about taking something that
has been beat up or is just old and making it look new again. I'll show
you pictures when I'm all finished with it.

Simon Says

Okay I'm not normally the one to like put downs or anything like that
but when you're watching American Idol you can't help but laugh at some
of the things Simon says to the contestants. Here are just a few of the
funnies from this season so far. To make them even funnier you have to
say them with a British accent.

"We could have had breakfast, lunch, dinner, flew back to LA, come back
again and you'd have still been singing that song, it's like
never-ending."

"Sandie, I didn't understand a word of that ... literally [it was] like
some language I've never heard in my life."

Simon: "What normally happens when you sing in public, Deborah?"
Deborah: "I've had a few people cry."
Simon: "I can believe that."

"You sounded like Cher after she's been to the dentist."

"You are fabulous but it was the singing that was slightly
off-putting."

"Unfortunately, not a note is in tune."

"I have got no idea what this show is any more. I'm serious. I've got
you standing in front of me looking like some Easter Bunny nightmare
experiment."

"You look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle with
those massive eyes."

"What I wanted was apple pie on its own. Instead I've got apple pie and
a gallon of cream on top."

"I'm not sure I would have chosen a song saying 'I want to go home
tonight,' Elliott, not the smartest lyric in the world."

"It's like you've gone to Dolly Parton School the way you look
tonight."

But he can also dish out compliments:

"You walk in here with no confidence and no attitude and yet you are a
brilliant singer. . . . You are in the top 2% of good singers this
year."

"Alaina, I thought that was really, really, really great. I like you a
lot."

"I thought it was very good, excellent choice of song. Reminded me of
early Dionne Warwick, I thought."

My Wife at Jiffy Lube

I always hate driving into the garages when I get my oil changed because of the big whole in the ground. Now I understand why the employees always offer to drive it in for you. Hopefully this never happens to you!

Alterations

So my dress came in about a month ago and when I tried it on I couldn't
zip it up all the way....because I'm a McFatty! Just kidding, somehow my
dress was made a little too small. So I went and had my alterations
done yesterday and hopefully I'll be able to breathe when I zip the
dress up. Actually, I'm just thankful that I will be able to zip it up
all the way. Let me tell you, alterations aren't cheap either! But then
again, nothing about a wedding is cheap. Now let's just hope my dress
is finished in time for my bridal portraits, and it fits!

Moving

I think I have, or will have, the record for moving the most in one
year. Let's see, From this time last year, I moved from my apartment
with Jen to a house with two other friends, from that house to a new
house my friend bought. Then this weekend I just moved in with my
brother in Forney for a coule of months before the wedding. Then in 3
months I will be moving to Waxahachie then 3 months later when the lease
is up on Jonathan's loft we will be moving again! That will make 5 moves
in 1 year, wow. The good part about that is that with each move I get
rid of more and more stuff. I will say that it comes to a point where
you are tired of living with half of your stuff in storage or at least
not with you. My brother has been gracisously storing a lot of my
things at his house and now I finally get to live where all of my
belongings are...but they are still all in boxes and will remain that
way until May. Ok, I feel like I'm talking in circles so the point to
this is that I am sick of moving and I'm ready to just buy a house and
stay there for a REALLY REALLY long time! Oh and we (Jonathan and me)
calculated it and it's going to cost us roughly $15 in gas every time we
want to see eachother. So by the time we get to eachothers place we've
already spent the money we were going to when we went out. GEEZE...but I
guess it doesn't help that neither one of us have a car that gets good
gas mileage Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike traffic and that I
think the majority of American's spend probably a total of 10-15 hours
in traffic a week. That's just wrong I tell you, wrong. I took me over
an hour to get to work this morning--too long!

What To Do

Have you ever felt like your life was stuck in a rut, you just do the
same thing day in and day out. Well, mine is anything but that right
now. But I have felt like that before and thought to myself, "What is
the one thing, or maybe two things, that I could do and be the
happiest?" Not necessarily for a job or pay or anything - money or time
is no object.
Jonathan and I have talked about this before and besides the obvious of
being a spouse and parent I would have to say that if I could do
anything at all and it would make me the happiest in life, I would work
in a childrens home and just love the kids who don't have parents. I
have a huge passion to go to Russia and work in an orphanage (short-term
of course). But there are just as many parentless kids in America.
Every child needs to feel the love of a parent or a parent figure. They
simply need to feel loved! I would also work for Habbitat For Humanity
building houses. I love the fact that I can use my hands and my
abilities to help build someone else a house. What would you do, what
would make you the absolute happiest in life?

WINTER

It's snowing!!! I can't believe we actually had a winter this year.
Normally it's warm during our winter so I am very excited that we are
truly having a winter! I could just sit by the window and watch the snow
fall but unfortunately I have to work....can't we just tell the patients
that we are busy watching these white pieces of heaven fall from the
sky. Oh well, back to work.

My Life @ Work

I was just told yesterday that I have to do a short lecture on Friday
morning at work over complicated exercise testing. All four of us have
a different aspect of testing that we are covering. I get the pleasure
of covering CO2 production and minute ventilation.
Some people have wondered what I do now in my new position at
Children's so you can have some kind of clue as to what I do in the
pulmonary physiology lab (a recent name change of the lab) here is part
of what I will be talking about on Friday:

CO2 output (VCO2) during exercise is determined by factors similar to
those that govern O2 uptake: cardiac output, CO2-carrying capacity of
the blood, and tissue exchange are major determinants. However, because
CO2 is much more soluble in tissues and blood, CO2 output measured at
the mouth is more strongly dependant on ventilation that on VO2 (oxygen
consumption). In addition to this, because dissolved CO2 is a weak acid,
the body uses CO2 regulation to compensate for acute metabolic acidosis,
which affects the pattern of VCO2 as work intensity increases above the
point of anaerobic metabolism.......During progressive exercise VO2
increases nearly as much as does VO2 over the lower work rate range,
with an average VCO2-VO2 relationship of slightly less than 1.0. It
should be recognized that the slope of the VCO2-versus VO2 relationship
is not equal to the respiratory exchange ratio, as the relationship
usually has a small positive intercept on the VO2 axis.....VE has been
demonstrated to be closely proportionally coupled to VCO2 during
exercise, it is useful to analyze Ve in relation to VCO2......

So what are your thoughts on this?

Rambling

Many people I talk to say that I am a closed book, or atleast
not an open book. I will agree with this, but mainly because I'm not just
going to spill my life to someone. If anyone wants to know anything
about me they can ask, I don't mind answering anything at all! All this
to say it's just not me to open up to people a lot. Recently I've had a
lot of people tell me that they know me but they don't KNOW me. Well, I
don't know how to help you but this might be a good start:

I'm a city girl and love living in the big city, but I'm a country girl at heart! (I'm a big Texan) I love country music but secretely like some
Rap music (sshhh, it's our secret), I love Ice Cream and brownies, I
like the smell of rain but love the smell of snow. I like the smell of
exhaust from cars in the winter because it reminds me of the cold and
snow. One of my favorite songs is The Way You Look Tonight. I believe in forgiveness. I would live in the mountains with snow if I could, but at the same time I would live in NYC. I like to walk anywhere I go but people
look at you funny so I end up driving. I love animals and will always
miss my beloved Rat Terrier Annie, but I love my new doggy Presley too.
I like Elvis Presley, don't ask why because I can't tell you. I love Dr.
Pepper but can't drink it, potato casserole is my favorite food, I like
cherry cordials and maraschino cherries. My favorite color is
orange (burnt not neon), I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, I wish I had
a voice to sing or the talent to play the piano, I love to sing in my
car (you'll never hear me sing out loud)... I bust out in song like the
best of them. I love the smell of fresh cut grass. I love the feel of sand on my bare feet. My niece and nephew are my two most favorite kids in the
whole world. I want to adopt a kid from Russia, I want four kids (i
might change my mind after the 1st one). My fingernails are always blue--don't let that freak you out. I am engaged. I'm marrying a 6 foot 5 inch guy, yes that's 13 inches taller than me! I love to be the photographer. I
like chick flicks but also action movies, I don't like scary movies, I
think they are stupid. I like to watch Disney channel, there's just
something about nice clean family shows. But I also LOVE Grey's Anatomy and ER. Friends is my most favorite show ever. I like to go shopping
but don't over spend (most of the time), I like root beer floats, I hate
working out. I like riding my bike and roller blading. I love to
snowboard, even after breaking my tailbone doing so. I don't know how
to snow ski, I can't get up on the wake board when I go out on the lake.
I love to drive but hate paying for gas. I like to go to the dog park
and watch all the dogs. I love to people watch and listen to their
conversations. I will just sit there and add my own monologue to
peoples hand gestures when I can't hear what they are saying. I will do
the same thing to dogs in a backyard or at the dog park (I've told you
I'm crazy). I love Christ and live for Him everyday. My favorite trip
I've ever gone on is a missions trip to Mexico the summer before my
senior year of high school (long live the 3 amigas!) I will forever
remember my high school group at church. I don't like it when people
look at me or blow in my face or basically in my general direction. But
I have to have a fan blowing on my face at night--go figure. I love to
have my back scratched. I love the sound of rain on the window. I'm scared to
death of fires and tornadoes--so scared I should probably seek counseling. I don't like thunderstorms. I hate to
stay by myself at night. I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of
leaving people I love behind. My family is the best (Medlins included)
and my new soon to be family is also the best (Lehmanns included) ;)
I'm a grouch if I don't get my sleep..a girl needs her beauty sleep. I
don't like to bother people, if I feel bad I probably won't say
anything--why should my problems be put on someone else. If I pass out
I'll just get back up and get back to what I was doing...even if I'm at
work. I'm scared to death that I'm gonna pass out at my wedding-haha.
When I'm mad I like to be by myself---it's not that often though. I
hate conflict or arguments. I'm a people pleaser and that gets you into
trouble sometimes. I have to have a night of doing nothing at all once
a week. I don't like to be too busy you don't have enough time for
loved ones. I love science and physics. I hate math. I work to live,
not live to work. I HATE mushrooms and am allergic to seafood. I don't
like tomatoes but like tomato paste, I don't like peaches but I like
peach flavor. it irritates me when people smack, if I ever do please
smack me! I have 3 brothers and 1 sister (technically 2 brothers). I miss my grandparents and wished I got to
know them better. I'm a goofball when you really get to know me. I wish
I didn't have to take medication everyday. I like giving hugs but
probably won't initiate one. I'm a woman of few words--if you could
only see inside my brain soo many thoughts. I laugh at myself- A LOT. I love to re-finish furniture. If I could, i would quit my job and volunteer for Habitat
For Humanity helping with the houses. I want to open a doggy daycare
someday (doubt it will ever happen). I'm not a morning person but once
I take my shower I'm usually okay. I like to dance to music but you will
never see that. I love to observe things and watch peoples behaviors.

pheww...did you get all that. There's more where that came from but I think this is all you can handle now. I told you it was a rambling!!

smells

So why is it that when you smell certain things it brings back a memory.
I can smell this certain smell and it brings back memories a christmas
morning like 20 or 21 years ago. I can't describe this smell, but it is
very specific and I know when I smell it. I was driving to work this
morning and there it was, this smell, and all of a sudden I thought of
Christmas when I was like 4. Well if you are wondering why this happens,
here's the reason. Although I'm sure it's more scientific than most of
you would like...sorry!

Inside your nose about the level of your eyes, is a small patch of
tissue containing millions of nerve cells. The odor receptors (sensors)
lie on these nerve cells. Each of the receptors recognizes several
odors, and likewise a single odor could be recognized by several
receptors. So, similar to codes, what happens is that different
combinations of the 1,000 receptors result in our ability to identify
10,000 different odors. The process that takes place is pretty complex.
After an odor molecule enters the nose and are recognized by the
olfactory sensors, the signals are eventually sent to the olfactory bulb
that is located right above the eyes. The signals only go to two areas
in the olfactory bulb, and signals from different sensors are targeted
to different spots that then form a sensory map. From there the signals
reach the olfactory area of the cortex (smell sensory cortex). An
important quality of the olfactory system is that information travels
both to the limbic system and cortex. The limbic system is the primitive
part of the brain that include areas that control emotions, memory and
behavior. In comparison the cortex is the outer part of the brain that
has to do with conscious thought. In addition to these two areas,
information also travels to the taste sensory cortex to create the sense
of flavor. Because olfactory information goes to both the primitive and
complex part of the brain it effects our actions in more ways than we
think.
Many people wonder how certain smells able to trigger memories of
events taking place several years ago despite the fact that sensory
neurons in the epithelium survive for about only 60 days. The answer is
that the neurons in the epithelium actually have successors. As the
olfactory neurons die, new olfactory neurons generated by the layer of
stem cells beneath them, which eventually takes the role of the old
neuron as it dies. The key point to the answer is that "memories survive
because the axons of neurons that express the same receptor always go to
the same place". The memories are stored in the hippocampus, and through
relational memory certain smells trigger memories.

Well, I hope you didn't fall asleep reading that...I know what you're
thining, your a NERD. And to that I say, I've told you I was a science
nerd before. Live with it.

Most Depressing Day Of The Year

Today has been declared the most depressing day of the year. This year, make it your call.

The superstitious have long worried about courting bad luck on Friday the 13th and stayed “beware the Ides of March.” But for the past couple of years there has been another day to mark in black on the calendar: The most depressing day of the year.

In 2005, a psychologist named Cliff Arnall (who was, at the time, a part-time lecturer at the University of Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning in Wales), declared that he had devised a formula to calculate the worst day. That year, it was Monday, Jan. 24; last year, Monday, Jan. 23. So watch out, because today may well be 2007’s most miserable day.

Arnall’s so-called formula looks like this: [W + (D-d)] x TQM x NA.

All of the letters and symbols apparently represent a sort of mathematical code to track the following:
W: How bad the weather is at this time of year.
D: Amount of debt accumulated over the holidays minus how much is paid off.
T: The time since the holidays.
Q: Amount of time passed since New Year’s resolutions have gone south.
M: Our general motivation levels.
NA: The need to take action.

Some of the factors that affect our mood are:

The weather*and in particular, the lack of daylight*is an issue in January and February, especially in the northern latitudes. And that’s the primary cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Another universal dilemma around this time of year is debt.. “Buyer’s remorse is a core part of the post-holiday blues,” acknowledges Ellen McGrath, Ph.D., president and founder of Bridge Coaching Institute in New York City. “Love is defined as buying a great gift, but when the bills come due in January it can lead to depression.”

Late January is also time to confront reality, say psychologists. Difficult decisions about jobs, family and relationships are often put off until after the holidays. So while we may wake up feeling very positive on Jan. 1, life may look a lot less shiny a few weeks later.

While Arnall’s equation has received its fair share of criticism, most experts agree that if this “day of doom” prediction helps raise awareness about the serious issues of depression and seasonal affective disorder, then, overall that’s a good thing and not harmful. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that almost 18.8 million American adults suffer from depression and nearly six percent of the population is affected by SAD.

Still, plenty of people take offense at such a specific “most depressing day” pronouncement. “It essentially vacates any concept of free will or self-determinism, putting the focus on external events rather than what’s within us,” says Susan C. Vaughn, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.

So the moral of the story is even if you have maxed out your credit cards, failed at your New Year’s resolutions, and the weather is lousy, not everyone will succumb to depression*especially not all of us on the same day. In fact, some psychologists and life coaches argue that January can be a time of focus and motivation. The frenzy of the holidays is past, and there is time to concentrate on accomplishing new goals.