Graceland

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Ward Trip to Arches

Here are a few pictures from my ward Moab/Arches trip. This has stressed me out a bit since I was called to Activities in January. It ended up being pretty fun. The weather was OK- a little cool, but nice for hiking today. We did have a stormy, tent rattling night. There was also ample "topless" time (in the convertible), although we turned on the heater for a while because it was a bit chilly driving to the hiking trail. I managed to get a sunburn AGAIN. What a bonehead, did I not learn from diving in Sipidan two months ago, or all those other times I think I'm not out that long so I don't need sunscreen-duh!

Milo and friend in the ward- they were cute running around together all evening

Roasting marshmellows and apples over the fire.

Shortly after it started to rain and blow pretty hard. We had a fun "talent" show around the fire, but it broke up early as it was getting cold and wet.

This morning Jerry and Joe decided to go for a swim. It was NOT a warm morning, nor was it warm water. Silly boys!

Cute Brook and Linwood. They are on the Activities Committe and rode down with us.

Me, my tent. I think I have a lot in the front pocket of my sweatshirt and look sort of pregnant, which, if you were wondering, I am not. :)

You can't really see them, but that is Melinda, Brook and Linwood under the Arch.

All in all a good weekend. I would have liked to hike a little more, but it was good to get to know my ward better, and I think it was a fun weekend for everyone. ( Well except maybe the people whose tent blew down and broke in the middle of the night. )

Friday, May 9, 2008

Boyd's 40th

We had Boyd's 40th birthday party last night. Not the blow-out like Don's half-century party, but a respectable celebration all the same.

About 20 of us met at Stoneground for dinner.

Then back to my place for cake, ice cream......

That's a Cylon and Battlestar Galactica quote for you non-sci-fi nerds out there

Couldn't skip this shot

...friends...

.....and guitar hero.

Happy Birthday Boyd!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Papa Don Slim's Birthday Bash

Just wanted to post a few pictures from Don's party. Michael, Sandra and I had a crash course in tie dying in order to appropriately throw a theme party for Don. We dyed shirts, hats, banners and tableclothes. It was much more fun that I thought. Everyone came in their favorite tie dye or put something we made on when they got there. It turned out to be a fun evening. Here are a few pictures.

Don, his mom, and friend Rick- gotta love those pants- you can't really see but his shoes are tie dyed too. Michael made Don's shirt for him so he could be surprised with the birthday theme.

Some of "Don's girls"

Michael, Don, Kip and Sandra

Don's sister and friends

We'd expect nothing less from Suzie-
tie dye galore including her dog!

Every birthday party has to include this photo.

Sandra, Michael and me. I think, in this photo, Michael's shirt sort of looks like one of those shirts that has all the human body organs and systems.

The Banners. I should have gone for simple solution first- but eventually I learned a bleach pen at the end of the project is much easier and more effective than trying to tie letters in the material before hand. :)

Friday, May 2, 2008

Shout Out to Katharine on Her Birthday

Today is my dear friend Katharine's birthday. I wish I was there to wish her well in person. Since I'm not, and since I was tardy getting something in the mail (Kat it will be there next week), I'm going for public snaps.

Some of my favorite things about Kat:

1- She has an amazing recipe for ANYTHING you want- quick and easy or elaborate.

2- Home improvements are cake for this girl- she wouldn't dream of hiring anybody regardless of the project, she will figure it out.

3- Super smart, but doesn't make you feel stupid. Once I said to her, "Nobody would ever know how smart you are just by talking to you." Which is actually a compliment. This girl is MENSA material but relates well to any crowd.

4- She's a good sport about letting us tease her about not-so-smart lapses (i.e. almost getting hit by the train, that guy in Europe, Big Ben)

5- Would do ANYTHING for her friends. Once when my apartment flooded while I was out of town, she not only took everything out while the carpet was ripped up and drying, she also moved everything back so I didn't have to come home to a mess. One more- she and Erica flew out for my birthday a couple of years ago and made an amazing dinner for all my friends; Kat brought the most amazing cake with her on the plane.

6- Always up for a good adventure. (i.e. spontaneous road trips, biking Poor Man then flying down Sunshine canyon, jumping in Boulder Creek, hiking, shopping, trying a new restaurant)

7- She helped me discover my love (need) for a convertible. Plus, she likes to be in charge which means I rarely have to drive (yes, I love this in a person)

8- Amazing gift for teaching. Wanna know how science fits in with the gospel? Kat will tell you many ways AND make it interesting.

9- I have great memories of day-long hikes in Rocky Mtn Natl Park. We'd climb some amazing peak- often exploring beyond the trail's end- and talk the whole way solving all the problems in the world (or at least our worlds). I always came away feeling tough (from the hike) and smart (from the conversation).

10- Really, everything is more fun with Kat. Museums are more interesting because of her interest in art history, road trips hilarious because she does things like assign points for how many strangers photos you can get in, food is more tasty because she insists on homemade, conversations more colorful because of her strategic use of hyperbole. She's just great!

Some photo memories:

Hey Katharine, what's under your skirt? I think Kat had wet shorts due to a dare (another great thing about Kat is she ALWAYS takes a dare) at the beach that day.

This is from a weekend we spent at her family's condo in Winter Park, CO. I think we were trying to do ballet and ski at the same time.

Hiking in Arches National Park- Kat's wounds from biking Slickrock the previous day.

Kat in the tiger stripes. I must say Sam Jones' hair looks amazing in this photo.

Science nerd at her finest

In SLC. The best part of the photo, for me, is the memory it brings up of that evening which we will refer to as "The Seduction of Dwayne"

My all time favorite picture of Kat. Mid-air jumping down the sand hill. She was even a good sport when I blew this up and hung it on the institute bulletin board.

Love you Katharine! Happy Birthday!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Meet Milo

This is my downstairs neighbor Milo. We've become friends over the past few months. He's a little shy and it took a little work to win him over. We started with sideways glaces at church, but now we're getting along great. (If only I could win over guys my age with the same tactics- the 600 superballs don't seem to impress the 40 years olds like they do the 4 year olds!)

Yesterday I came home from work and there was an envelope on my door with my name in crayon. Cute Milo had drawn me a card. It made my day. It's always fun to get surprise mail or packages, and this one was really great. Milo also gave me the only valentine I received this year. It always makes me smile to see him at church or in the condo building. Thanks Milo! You're the best!

I just added his family's blog to my link list. Sad they are moving to Texas this summer.

My Movie Reviews

Quiet Earth. B-. Another SciFi recommended by Netflix, although this one was actually interesting and enjoyable. A guy wakes up and everyone is gone. Made in New Zealand, it claims to be one of the top ten movies in the US in the year it came out (sometime in the 1970s). After it was over, we agreed that it was good, but the ending was a little confusing, so we watched the ending again with the directors comments. Lame. Apparently the whole movie was supposed to have an anti-nuclear message and the director takes credit for his movie making New Zealand nuclear free. So.... pretend you don't know that and enjoy the movie.
Sunshine. C-. Netflix. That's it. We are not trusting Netflix's rating of sci-fi movies again. The sun is dying so a crew is going with a nuclear missle to "re-start" it. I kept hoping aliens would show up or at least something would happen to draw me in. A lot of things almost happened, but when they did, it did not make much sense.
Warm Bodies. B. Red Box. I was surprised by this movie. I'm a fan of a good zombie flick, but when I heard about the plot, it seemed a bit too much. It turned out to be very entertaining. I'd rate it pretty high on the must see zombie film list and very high on the cheesy teenage romance film list.
Wolverine. B. I'm a fan of the X-Men movies. I'm also a fan of Hugh Jackman. It was hard to go wrong going in with those two biases. The fighting sequences were too long, but that was expected. If you've like the X-Men movies, you should like this one too.
The East. B. I forget how much I love the indie flicks at the Broadway. This also had an environmentalist-based plot, but was written well and I liked how it ended. A women goes under cover in an environmental terrorist group. It goes with the obvious plot of her having sympathies for members of the group and trying to balance that with her personal beliefs. Worth seeing.
World War Z. B. I was in the middle of the book and didn't want to see the movie until I finish, but I couldn't help it and saw it opening weekend. Not a big deal as they are very different. This is a different kind of zombie movie. While most are horror flicks, this was more of a suspense movie. They cut out the gratutious gore associated with most zombie movies and gave it more of a plot. Fun for zombie fans and non-zombie fans.
Silent Running. D. Netflix. I have no idea why this is rated so well on Netflix. Sci-fi movie made in the sixties with blatant environmental message. Forests have died on the earth so they are growing them in a space station orbiting Saturn. Earth decides to abandon the project and for some reason that means they have to blow up the forests. One man understands the impact of losing all our forests so he kills everyone. My description made it seem way better than it is. At one point, he programs his robot helpers to play cards and you watch them play cards for about 10 minutes. Skip this one!

My Book Reviews

The Rent Collector. B. I loved this book while I was reading it. Then the author's comments on the back disappointed me. It was fiction! I was so inspired by the "true" story of this woman living at the dump in Cambodia and learning to read. The whole way through I thought it was true. I was mad when it wasn't. Although toward the end, it started getitng a little unbelievable. It was based on real people which bothers me wondering how much is true and how much is fiction. I still recommend the book, but know what you're getting into.
Divergent. B+. Fun, quick read. YA fiction. Your basic strong female in post-apocolypic world fighting to make change. Even though the story's been told over and over, this one was very engaging. I can't wait to read the next in the series!
World War Z. B+. For staters, this is very different from the movie. It's 10 years after we won the zombie war. The book is a series of interviews with survivors. I was hesitant about the way it was written and that I wouldn't stay involved without a central character. However, the book created a very real world. So much so that when I was getting off the freeway one morning and saw some homeless people waking up under a bridge, for just second, I thought they were zombies. I also wanted to bring it up in conversation. Like when someone was talking about North Korea, I wanted to say, "Did you hear how they handled the Zombie Apocalypse?' It was a fun book. I've never read a zombie book before and I may never again, but I'm glad I read this one. It also was welcome to read a book that isn't a strong female character overcoming incredible odds. I'm seriously weary of that plot line.
Waiting to be Heard. B+. I've followed the Amanda Knox case for several years. I thought, since I knew most details of the case, this might be boring. I was surprised at how engaging and well written it was. She is a quirky girl and, while the complete lack of physical evidence makes me sure she is innocent, I can see why people think she is hiding something. The book was haunting to think the someone who doesn't understand a culture coupled with a corrupt prosecutor could put an innocent person in jail for years.
Girl Gone. C-. Maybe it was called Gone Girl. I don't remember. Book club book. I've never gotten into mysteries. This one took a while to get into, then I couldn't put it down, then it ended and I wished I never picked it up. Ridiculous ending.
The Kitchen House. B-. I have no idea how to rate this book. It was slow to start. Once things started to happen (murder), I found myself sucked in and not wanting to put it down; however, once I did put it down, I didn't look forward to picking it up again. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's similar to a bunch of other books I've read. I'm just getting weary of the genre and need to mix it up a little. Overall, an interesting read. The story of a young white girl who is indentured when her family dies on the boat from Ireland to America. Her relationship with her new family (the slaves whom she is sent to live and work with) and how her life is different from them because of the color of her skin.
The Happiness Project. D. I'm reviewing the book, but I'm not going to finish it. I knew this wasn't my favorite genre, but it was the book club pick this month so I thought I'd give it a chance. I didn't see the point of reading someone's goals. I sometimes feel like these "self-help" books are an excuse for people to feel like they are doing something to be happier, when really they are an excuse to avoid working on yourself by living through someone else's experience. Instead of reading the book, how about spend that time working on your own "happiness project". As I read, I kept thinking it should have been a workbook for readers to complete their own project while reading hers. I'll be interested to hear how others in book club liked it.