It's my mom. This is a clip of an interview she did.
And I don't remember if I put a link up here for an interview that she did with a local magazine a couple of months back. But here is it. Wasatch Woman Magazine Article
I'm not too fond of the article considering there are some "twisting of words and facts" (in my opinion). Plus, I have a copy of the magazine and that picture has been horribly photoshopped. I even showed it to my students and they could pick out the photoshop job done. No, they didn't change the shape of my mom, but they didn't do a good job with trying to get rid of the background. They took a bunch of pictures out at the track and then they end up trying to photoshop out that background and give it a flat white one? Doesn't make sense. If that is what they wanted in the first place then they should have done some pictures in a studio or up against a wall.
LOVE YOU MOM!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
I made it past 25!
No, not in age, in the number of books I read. At the beginning of the year, my goal was to try and read about 50 books by the end of the year. Well, life came into play and I tried to get over 10,000 pages. I got that easily considering the size of books that I read, so then I wanted to get half of the books read. And I made it! Woot!
Book 24: Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon
The story was actually pretty good for a fantasy novel. The characters had some dimensions to them and their relationships were okay together. There are romantic scenes in the book, but they aren't all that badly written. I doubt I'm going to read any more of the series though. It just wasn't that interesting to me.
Book 25: Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
I originally bought the book for Jakob, but then I decided to read it. I'm not a big fan of the book. The story is carefully put together (which is a plus and a minus at the same time) and the characters actually seem real, there are a lot of battle scenes (which are pretty well written). The minus was that for me, I could predict most of what was going to happen. This is part of a trilogy, that I'm probably not going to read unless Jakob ends up liking the book and I buy the rest of the trilogy.
Book 26: The New Tolerance by Josh McDowell and Bo Hostetler
I had to read this book for a class that I am taking (yes, even teachers need to keep taking classes), and I'm not a fan of this book. It could be the fact that I had to read the book for something and I couldn't just read it on my own time. It makes some good points and it is kind of on the right track, but it almost says that there is no way to reverse this. I ended up skimming through the last part of the book. I do agree with certain things in the book considering that there is a "tolerance" that is happening in society. This book is relevant and if you are looking on some commentary to society, then read the book. But the way it goes about it is odd.
Book 27: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide by Duane "Dog" Chapman
I liked the book. Well written, and gives some good background on Dog. Dog spent the first twenty-three years of his life on the wrong side of the law. but it takes a look at everything from his life in jail, to the turn around, to his bounty hunts; specifically the capture of Andrew Luster.
Book 24: Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon
The story was actually pretty good for a fantasy novel. The characters had some dimensions to them and their relationships were okay together. There are romantic scenes in the book, but they aren't all that badly written. I doubt I'm going to read any more of the series though. It just wasn't that interesting to me.
Book 25: Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
I originally bought the book for Jakob, but then I decided to read it. I'm not a big fan of the book. The story is carefully put together (which is a plus and a minus at the same time) and the characters actually seem real, there are a lot of battle scenes (which are pretty well written). The minus was that for me, I could predict most of what was going to happen. This is part of a trilogy, that I'm probably not going to read unless Jakob ends up liking the book and I buy the rest of the trilogy.
Book 26: The New Tolerance by Josh McDowell and Bo Hostetler
I had to read this book for a class that I am taking (yes, even teachers need to keep taking classes), and I'm not a fan of this book. It could be the fact that I had to read the book for something and I couldn't just read it on my own time. It makes some good points and it is kind of on the right track, but it almost says that there is no way to reverse this. I ended up skimming through the last part of the book. I do agree with certain things in the book considering that there is a "tolerance" that is happening in society. This book is relevant and if you are looking on some commentary to society, then read the book. But the way it goes about it is odd.
Book 27: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide by Duane "Dog" Chapman
I liked the book. Well written, and gives some good background on Dog. Dog spent the first twenty-three years of his life on the wrong side of the law. but it takes a look at everything from his life in jail, to the turn around, to his bounty hunts; specifically the capture of Andrew Luster.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Productive weekend
Okay, its been a while since I could say that I had a productive weekend from the moment I woke up to the end of the day.
With the help of my parents and my brother we turned:
This dresser which we got for an amazing bargain because is didn't have a top and there are some nicks and scratches on it
Plus
This hutch which was another amazing bargain because of the scratches and the fact that the bottom part was missing
Into this!
Add a few plates, some candle sticks and crystal glasses, turn on the lights inside and viola!
That was Project 1 in the Kitchen/Dining area.
Now, onto another area . . . the loft.
Take a pile of books and a blank wall . . .
Add a few shelves, a cube organizer, and a small book case and you've got yourself a nifty little reading/exercise room (we haven't put up the exercise equipment yet)
(sorry about the photo. Blogger wouldn't accept my full panoramic photo, so I had to cut it in half).
Plus, Michael and I went out to get a new router and modem. Very productive day.
With the help of my parents and my brother we turned:
This dresser which we got for an amazing bargain because is didn't have a top and there are some nicks and scratches on it
Plus
This hutch which was another amazing bargain because of the scratches and the fact that the bottom part was missing
Into this!
Add a few plates, some candle sticks and crystal glasses, turn on the lights inside and viola!
That was Project 1 in the Kitchen/Dining area.
Now, onto another area . . . the loft.
Take a pile of books and a blank wall . . .
Add a few shelves, a cube organizer, and a small book case and you've got yourself a nifty little reading/exercise room (we haven't put up the exercise equipment yet)
(sorry about the photo. Blogger wouldn't accept my full panoramic photo, so I had to cut it in half).
Plus, Michael and I went out to get a new router and modem. Very productive day.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Snowy Days
So it finally stopped snowing (yay!) after about 3 days of straight snow. I don't mind the snow, as long as I don't have to go out in it or drive in it. Unfortunately it decided to snow Monday and Tuesday, so I had to go to work with it snowing. And that isn't the greatest of adventures (especially around the High School where many of the students have never driven in snow before).
But the one thing that really gets my goat--if I had a goat--are those people who think that just because they have 4-wheel drive, they can drive at or above speed limit and be safe. What about the rest of us? I have 4-wheel drive but I tend to drive to the conditions, which means that when it is snowy and there is a lot of snow on the ground, I will drive slow. On Monday when I was driving to work, I left about 20 minutes earlier than I normally do to make sure that I had time to get to work. As I was driving down State Street, I kept my car in the right most lane for those who decide they want to speed through the conditions to go on the left. I think that is pretty safe. So I'm driving along and this other car pulls up along side me on the left going about the same speed I am. I'm thinking to myself that it is nice to see other people taking their safety + the safety of others into their own hands and driving slow. Well, no sooner had we made it to the light, this big truck comes speeding up behind me. The light turned green and we started off again. I am going my slower speed and this truck is so close to my bumper that I can't see his headlights. If I would have had to suddenly press the breaks, he would have gone through my back windshield. I noticed that the driver in the car next to me was looking over and he sped up a little, which left a gap between his car, the car behind his, and mine. This truck roared into the other lane, laid on the horn, and squeezed between the guy's car and my suv. He flipped me off as he passed and I'm pretty sure that he flipped off the other guy too because he laid the horn on him as well as he roared past.
Can you believe it? I believe in Karma and his guy is really going to lose some points with that stunt.
Slow down people! The speed limit is posted for GOOD conditions. When it is bad conditions out, you shouldn't be going that fast!
But the one thing that really gets my goat--if I had a goat--are those people who think that just because they have 4-wheel drive, they can drive at or above speed limit and be safe. What about the rest of us? I have 4-wheel drive but I tend to drive to the conditions, which means that when it is snowy and there is a lot of snow on the ground, I will drive slow. On Monday when I was driving to work, I left about 20 minutes earlier than I normally do to make sure that I had time to get to work. As I was driving down State Street, I kept my car in the right most lane for those who decide they want to speed through the conditions to go on the left. I think that is pretty safe. So I'm driving along and this other car pulls up along side me on the left going about the same speed I am. I'm thinking to myself that it is nice to see other people taking their safety + the safety of others into their own hands and driving slow. Well, no sooner had we made it to the light, this big truck comes speeding up behind me. The light turned green and we started off again. I am going my slower speed and this truck is so close to my bumper that I can't see his headlights. If I would have had to suddenly press the breaks, he would have gone through my back windshield. I noticed that the driver in the car next to me was looking over and he sped up a little, which left a gap between his car, the car behind his, and mine. This truck roared into the other lane, laid on the horn, and squeezed between the guy's car and my suv. He flipped me off as he passed and I'm pretty sure that he flipped off the other guy too because he laid the horn on him as well as he roared past.
Can you believe it? I believe in Karma and his guy is really going to lose some points with that stunt.
Slow down people! The speed limit is posted for GOOD conditions. When it is bad conditions out, you shouldn't be going that fast!
Monday, December 07, 2009
Folk Dance CAW Reunion
Jakob and I went to the CAW Reunion Saturday morning. It was nice to see some of the people I used to dance with. I need to get back into the groove of doing that. I've been getting back into clogging slowly, but I really want to be able to compete again. I miss doing that. It was nice to take the break that I did to allow myself to heal and to focus on other things (like graduating!) but now that I'm back into reality and I don't have to worry about getting a good grade, I want back in.
We'll see how that pans out.
House Stuff
Here is the front of the house on Saturday. Nice and sunny.
Sunday turned into winter. Jakob had a "fun" time when he was driving. He said that he almost slid through a stop sign. As you can see in that other picture, my driveway is kind of steep, so this should be entertaining when I try and get into the driveway later today.
Sunday turned into winter. Jakob had a "fun" time when he was driving. He said that he almost slid through a stop sign. As you can see in that other picture, my driveway is kind of steep, so this should be entertaining when I try and get into the driveway later today.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
House stuff
Okay, so I haven't been all that diligent in getting pictures while we were remodeling the house, but what I've got, at least it shows some of the progress. I need to take some updated pictures to show how a coat of paint really makes a difference!
Where is Melissa? I'm cleaning, but where? . . . .
On a ledge in my living room!
This was the before picture of the front connection rooms. It was really yellow and dingy.
But with a coat of paint. . . . .
Voila! It is a really pretty burgundy/brown.
Our bedroom was a really weird combination of colors and "designs" (if you can call them that) so we really wanted to paint over it, but we couldn't find a color that we really liked within what we had, so we did some custom mixing (thanks to my mom) and we came up with a really pretty mocha/milk-and-coffee color.
This is a corner of that "accent" wall that we're covering with another color and then the test colors next to it. I know it didn't come out all that well in the picture the color that we're painting the main wall, but it is a deep red/orange. Really compliments the mocha color on the side walls.
When we move, our family has a tradition of what we do and where we eat and with our move, it was no exception!
Burger King!
Where is Melissa? I'm cleaning, but where? . . . .
On a ledge in my living room!
This was the before picture of the front connection rooms. It was really yellow and dingy.
But with a coat of paint. . . . .
Voila! It is a really pretty burgundy/brown.
Our bedroom was a really weird combination of colors and "designs" (if you can call them that) so we really wanted to paint over it, but we couldn't find a color that we really liked within what we had, so we did some custom mixing (thanks to my mom) and we came up with a really pretty mocha/milk-and-coffee color.
This is a corner of that "accent" wall that we're covering with another color and then the test colors next to it. I know it didn't come out all that well in the picture the color that we're painting the main wall, but it is a deep red/orange. Really compliments the mocha color on the side walls.
When we move, our family has a tradition of what we do and where we eat and with our move, it was no exception!
Burger King!
Family Times
So we decided to try out the Pizza Pie Cafe that opened in town. We went there once before (both my mom and I got food poisoning) but we decided to try it again for my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday again Dad! But the food isn't all that bad. If you go during a busier time, you know that the pizza will at least be fresh. Their dessert pizzas are great! I wouldn't recommend the pasta because that is what my mom and I got sick off of, but I'm willing to try it again when I have a few days to recoup if it happens again.
But these 2 pictures say it all. Mike really likes the dessert pizza and just "had" to try out all of them.
Needless to say that he went back for more after this picture.
But just to show what our Thanksgiving table ended up looking like, this was just a quick snapshot.
And then Mike with an enormous piece of pie!
What can I say, this guy really likes desserts! Eh, our whole family does. If you put a bunch of food on the table, the stuff that will go the fastest is rice, pasta, bread, and dessert. I'll take the veggies, but when we have Sunday dinner with the 5 of us, we need to practically double the amount of bread (especially if it is good bread!) because we'll all take a bunch!
Ahh, food and family. It doesn't get any better than that.
But these 2 pictures say it all. Mike really likes the dessert pizza and just "had" to try out all of them.
Needless to say that he went back for more after this picture.
But just to show what our Thanksgiving table ended up looking like, this was just a quick snapshot.
And then Mike with an enormous piece of pie!
What can I say, this guy really likes desserts! Eh, our whole family does. If you put a bunch of food on the table, the stuff that will go the fastest is rice, pasta, bread, and dessert. I'll take the veggies, but when we have Sunday dinner with the 5 of us, we need to practically double the amount of bread (especially if it is good bread!) because we'll all take a bunch!
Ahh, food and family. It doesn't get any better than that.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Holidays
It seems that most holidays have their own time, except for Halloween and Thanksgiving. It seems like it goes 4th of July, then a little mention of Halloween, but then it goes straight to Christmas. It's just interesting. I noticed that the minute November hit, there was Christmas stuff out in the stores (in some stores it was out before then) and now that thanksgiving is actually over, the Christmas push is really out there.
Now, I'm not against Christmas, but I'm all for giving the holiday's their own time. I'm one of those people who doesn't put up the tree (if I put one up at all) until about Dec 20th, and it tends to come down about the 30th or Jan 1st. Jakob likes having the tree up, and maybe because we now have our own home and there is a bit more room, we'll see about putting it up. We've never been able to put up the entire tree, so it'll be interesting to do so this year.
But Thanksgiving was fun! We had so much food and all of it was simple and good. My mom made an amazing soup yesterday with most of the leftovers, so it's all good.
We're still trying to get things organized in the house, but after today everything will be out of the apartment. We've been trying for the past couple of days to get the stove out, but either we've been busy with the BYU/Utah game prep, or we were just tired from all the moving so we needed to take a break from moving.
Now, I'm not against Christmas, but I'm all for giving the holiday's their own time. I'm one of those people who doesn't put up the tree (if I put one up at all) until about Dec 20th, and it tends to come down about the 30th or Jan 1st. Jakob likes having the tree up, and maybe because we now have our own home and there is a bit more room, we'll see about putting it up. We've never been able to put up the entire tree, so it'll be interesting to do so this year.
But Thanksgiving was fun! We had so much food and all of it was simple and good. My mom made an amazing soup yesterday with most of the leftovers, so it's all good.
We're still trying to get things organized in the house, but after today everything will be out of the apartment. We've been trying for the past couple of days to get the stove out, but either we've been busy with the BYU/Utah game prep, or we were just tired from all the moving so we needed to take a break from moving.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Moved
Well, everything (except the stove) has been carted over to the new house. Yep, that's right. I bought a house. Well, we bought a house. I'm not going into this much debt alone. Anywho, we spent the weekend moving and man was it a frenzied weekend. I've got bruises everywhere and my shoulders are sore from all that carrying of boxes up and down stairs. I didn't do a lot of the heavy lifting (because I can't), so mainly it was just a little here and a little there. Mostly packing and stuffing stuff into boxes and bags. But at least the apartment is now empty and I can start to clean it.
The house though is a mess. Well, not that much of a mess, more like organized chaos. The garage is semi-covered with boxes and a few of the dressers and tables that we're still trying to make room for in the house. Luckily we have enough of everything to actually fill the house quite nicely. I keep wondering how in the world all this stuff used to fit in the apartment. But at least we only have about 2 years worth of "together" history to move. I've still got stuff in my room at home that needs to be moved over to my house, but I think my mom likes my stuff in that room. It makes it seem fuller. But I've got about 60+ porcelain dolls that need to be moved over and I've got to get a cabinet to do that in. But that isn't that big of a problem.
Once things have settled down a bit, I'll post some pictures. My kitchen is a bit smaller (length wise) than the other one, but I've got more cabinet space and counter space, so as soon as I have my kitchen together---let the cooking begin! I am sick of eating sandwiches or "fast-food". But we kept with tradition. Any time that we move we eat Burger King and I am proud to say that we have kept up that tradition . . . especially last night at about 9pm when we finished.
Well, back to the grind of things here. At least today is a half day so I don't have to see my students all day and I have the next 5 days away from them. Yay, time to organize and plan for the next 3 weeks worth of school before the winter break.
The house though is a mess. Well, not that much of a mess, more like organized chaos. The garage is semi-covered with boxes and a few of the dressers and tables that we're still trying to make room for in the house. Luckily we have enough of everything to actually fill the house quite nicely. I keep wondering how in the world all this stuff used to fit in the apartment. But at least we only have about 2 years worth of "together" history to move. I've still got stuff in my room at home that needs to be moved over to my house, but I think my mom likes my stuff in that room. It makes it seem fuller. But I've got about 60+ porcelain dolls that need to be moved over and I've got to get a cabinet to do that in. But that isn't that big of a problem.
Once things have settled down a bit, I'll post some pictures. My kitchen is a bit smaller (length wise) than the other one, but I've got more cabinet space and counter space, so as soon as I have my kitchen together---let the cooking begin! I am sick of eating sandwiches or "fast-food". But we kept with tradition. Any time that we move we eat Burger King and I am proud to say that we have kept up that tradition . . . especially last night at about 9pm when we finished.
Well, back to the grind of things here. At least today is a half day so I don't have to see my students all day and I have the next 5 days away from them. Yay, time to organize and plan for the next 3 weeks worth of school before the winter break.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Black Friday Shoppers beware . . . .
Dirty Secrets of Black Friday Doorbusters
Interesting little article. In this down economy you would think that consumers are really looking for a deal and since retailers say they are "hurting" for business, some of these practices are really dumb. Plus, it did lead to one person's death last year and--while not trying to be morbid--I don't think that death last year will be the last one on Black Friday.
Interesting little article. In this down economy you would think that consumers are really looking for a deal and since retailers say they are "hurting" for business, some of these practices are really dumb. Plus, it did lead to one person's death last year and--while not trying to be morbid--I don't think that death last year will be the last one on Black Friday.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sore
Who knew that carrying paint cans up and down two flights of stairs would make you sore?
Who knew that doing that up-and-down motion of painting would make you sore?
Who knew that wiping paint spills off the ceiling would take so much elbow grease to make you sore?
.
.
.
.
.
.
don't you just love remodeling!
Who knew that doing that up-and-down motion of painting would make you sore?
Who knew that wiping paint spills off the ceiling would take so much elbow grease to make you sore?
.
.
.
.
.
.
don't you just love remodeling!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Deals
My mom taught me well. I can find a deal almost anywhere. And with the connections of my mom, I've been able to find a lot of stuff that most people pay full price for or don't know how to fix it so it works for them.
For instance:
I've been looking for paint for a while and there is a secret in the world of paint. . . and if you use it, it can save you a boat load of money. With my mom's help I got 34 gallons of paint for around $30. That is usually close to $1,000 worth of paint, at normal price. And these are all colors that I like and I can work with. These aren't just the crappy and cheap quality paints. These are the top-of-the-line paints and glazes that usually cost about $25-$30 a gallon. I'm going back for a few more 5 gallon buckets soon.
My mom got tired of the look of her dining room table and chairs and stripped and re-stained them a darker color and it looks like she bought a new set when she only paid about $20 for cost of supplies.
My parents are redoing their dining room by putting hardwood flooring in, repainting, and putting up a wall of fully wood cabinets. They got the hardwood flooring at about 60% off, the paint at about $1 a gallon, and the cabinets at about 65-75% off original prices. It looks amazing.
I don't think I've ever paid full price for something unless it was food. And even then it is just a quick meal or something that is "buy one/get one".
For instance:
I've been looking for paint for a while and there is a secret in the world of paint. . . and if you use it, it can save you a boat load of money. With my mom's help I got 34 gallons of paint for around $30. That is usually close to $1,000 worth of paint, at normal price. And these are all colors that I like and I can work with. These aren't just the crappy and cheap quality paints. These are the top-of-the-line paints and glazes that usually cost about $25-$30 a gallon. I'm going back for a few more 5 gallon buckets soon.
My mom got tired of the look of her dining room table and chairs and stripped and re-stained them a darker color and it looks like she bought a new set when she only paid about $20 for cost of supplies.
My parents are redoing their dining room by putting hardwood flooring in, repainting, and putting up a wall of fully wood cabinets. They got the hardwood flooring at about 60% off, the paint at about $1 a gallon, and the cabinets at about 65-75% off original prices. It looks amazing.
I don't think I've ever paid full price for something unless it was food. And even then it is just a quick meal or something that is "buy one/get one".
Monday, November 02, 2009
Fall and Halloween
I'm glad that fall has really officially started. I am in heaven right now. Fall is my favorite time of year with all the crunchy leaves and the sweaters and the colors and the soups and stews that I start making. This fall is a little bit more stressful because of the few things that we have going on, but I'm enjoying myself so far.
Halloween was fun this year. I really didn't do much. I was really grateful for it being on a Saturday because then I could sleep-in and get other things done that day. I wasn't able to finish the costume that I wanted, so I just pulled on one of my stand-by and it worked out fine. Jakob and I went to Court's for a Halloween get-together. We have an . . . . interesting. . . . .group to say the least. 5 of us have been friends since 1997 and a few of them have been friends since Kindergarten. Crazy! But we always have a fun time together. I made a pumpkin-vanilla checkerboard cake that I forgot to take a picture of when we were cutting it.
I just pulled on one of my Saris, easy and semi-comfortable (and I couldn't get it to pin right on the shoulder!) and Jakob pulled out his gunslinger get-up; complete with sidearms.
Mira moved right as the picture was being taken, so the gun wasn't pointing at her anymore.
Funny little story. They set up DUI checkpoints on Halloween and we were caught in one of them. The cop that was talking with us was really nice and at least enjoying himself. He was joking with us and then let us go on our way. When we were at the gas station a couple of blocks away I realized that Jakob's gunbelt and guns were sitting in plain sight in the back seat. Wow, were we lucky that he didn't spot them or ask us about a permit for them. They are stage props, but they look real.
But life is stressful right now. We're trying to close on a deal and a few things have just popped into our faces. But I'm alive and kicking. Believe me, I won't go down without a fight.
Halloween was fun this year. I really didn't do much. I was really grateful for it being on a Saturday because then I could sleep-in and get other things done that day. I wasn't able to finish the costume that I wanted, so I just pulled on one of my stand-by and it worked out fine. Jakob and I went to Court's for a Halloween get-together. We have an . . . . interesting. . . . .group to say the least. 5 of us have been friends since 1997 and a few of them have been friends since Kindergarten. Crazy! But we always have a fun time together. I made a pumpkin-vanilla checkerboard cake that I forgot to take a picture of when we were cutting it.
I just pulled on one of my Saris, easy and semi-comfortable (and I couldn't get it to pin right on the shoulder!) and Jakob pulled out his gunslinger get-up; complete with sidearms.
Mira moved right as the picture was being taken, so the gun wasn't pointing at her anymore.
Funny little story. They set up DUI checkpoints on Halloween and we were caught in one of them. The cop that was talking with us was really nice and at least enjoying himself. He was joking with us and then let us go on our way. When we were at the gas station a couple of blocks away I realized that Jakob's gunbelt and guns were sitting in plain sight in the back seat. Wow, were we lucky that he didn't spot them or ask us about a permit for them. They are stage props, but they look real.
But life is stressful right now. We're trying to close on a deal and a few things have just popped into our faces. But I'm alive and kicking. Believe me, I won't go down without a fight.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Some Concert Footage
Here are some pictures that I took while we were at the concert. For most of the before, intermission, and after the concert we were with the costumed characters making sure they didn't get mobbed or hurt, but I did manage to take a few pictures. I wish I had taken more.
This is how close we were to the set-up. Great seats!From the show:
I was also able to capture some film footage because I want to use some of it while teaching my students. Please forgive the shakiness and overall quality of the video. I was sitting my Michael who was very excited and was bouncing in his seat during a lot of it. (warning: these clip are a bit shaky. Sorry)
We had the pleasure of having Anthony Daniels narrating our concert. It has been said that he isn't going to all the different concerts, so it was great to have him in SLC.
I have a few more video clips, but they are taking a while to upload, so I'm going to see if I can cut them down any and then upload them as one clip.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Great Concert
So last Friday, the boys and I went to Star Wars in Concert at the ESA. It was great! Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) narrated it and the presentation was amazing! I love the combination of media, technology, and live orchestra! It made me miss playing in an orchestra.
We had great seats to boot.
I'll put up pictures and video once I get them off my card.
We had great seats to boot.
I'll put up pictures and video once I get them off my card.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Long time coming
Okay, so I've been kind of lazy when it comes to posting my book reading skills. I know I'm not going to meet my goal of 50 books by the end of the year, but we'll see how many I can do and how many pages I can read. Here's my update:
Book 20: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Weird book. He writes very similar in all his books. I couldn't remember if I had read this or not, but when I was reading it, much of it seemed familiar. But it is kind of weird with the talking animals and then the fact that the pigs think of themselves higher than everyone else. When you think about it, it seems that the author is calling humanity "pigs".
Book 21: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
I despise Jane Austen, but the way that Grahame-Smith rewrote the book to include a newer way of thinking and the zombie aspect, it made it rather tolerable. It is still in the Jane Austen style of writing, but it is a long and rather interesting read.
Book 22: The Bar Code Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn
Written for a younger audience, to me it seemed like a younger take on 1984. It has a pretty good story line and it keeps on moving along. I don't want to say too much, but basically it is about a conspiracy that threatens freedom.
Book 23: Night World #3 by L.J.Smith
The third installment in the series. It continues on the same path that the other books did with the fact that they all have the same type of story line, but each story follows a different character. I want to read the conclusion as soon as it comes out. I have an idea of how it is going to end, but once I start a series, I usually see it through to the end and these books are like getting 3 books in one.
Book 20: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Weird book. He writes very similar in all his books. I couldn't remember if I had read this or not, but when I was reading it, much of it seemed familiar. But it is kind of weird with the talking animals and then the fact that the pigs think of themselves higher than everyone else. When you think about it, it seems that the author is calling humanity "pigs".
Book 21: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
I despise Jane Austen, but the way that Grahame-Smith rewrote the book to include a newer way of thinking and the zombie aspect, it made it rather tolerable. It is still in the Jane Austen style of writing, but it is a long and rather interesting read.
Book 22: The Bar Code Rebellion by Suzanne Weyn
Written for a younger audience, to me it seemed like a younger take on 1984. It has a pretty good story line and it keeps on moving along. I don't want to say too much, but basically it is about a conspiracy that threatens freedom.
Book 23: Night World #3 by L.J.Smith
The third installment in the series. It continues on the same path that the other books did with the fact that they all have the same type of story line, but each story follows a different character. I want to read the conclusion as soon as it comes out. I have an idea of how it is going to end, but once I start a series, I usually see it through to the end and these books are like getting 3 books in one.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Varsity Club
So one of the things I like about Football games are the tailgates that I get to go to. One of them is the one that my mom helps host--which means I help host. My mom is the President of the BYU Varsity Club, which is a club for former athletes and their family. Before every home game they have food and a time for the athletes to catch up, so we get to see a few people, and since I'm part of it, that means that Jakob and Andrew (his brother) get to tag along. They play the "security" role, but mostly they get to have a bit of fun before the game with good food and they get to meet a few really good people. Here's a couple of pictures of recent people they've met:
Ty Detmer and Reno Mahe with my mom and Mike.
The guys with Ty.
We get some fun people showing up. This year the boys want pictures with whomever they can get.
But we also get to go to the game, which is fun because they were going to put my mom on the east side of the stadium and when she refused because my dad and I have a sun allergy, she was able to pull some strings so we're still in the west side of the stadium, up against the press boxes. It is nice because we don't have anyone behind us and we get the shade and weather protection.
Look, I'm doing better! I'm actually trying to get into a few pictures!
Ty Detmer and Reno Mahe with my mom and Mike.
The guys with Ty.
We get some fun people showing up. This year the boys want pictures with whomever they can get.
But we also get to go to the game, which is fun because they were going to put my mom on the east side of the stadium and when she refused because my dad and I have a sun allergy, she was able to pull some strings so we're still in the west side of the stadium, up against the press boxes. It is nice because we don't have anyone behind us and we get the shade and weather protection.
Look, I'm doing better! I'm actually trying to get into a few pictures!
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