Today I am informed that I am now a major stakeholder in GM, a bankrupt company. This certainly validates my decision to buy a Toyota RAV 4 last March!
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(1) Mon Jun 01 2009 16:03 mixed bag:
Susie and I had a fab weekend, including vacuuming up spiders at the church, and having what I hope will become an annual "downtown day." We hiked Ensign Peak (which was much harder than I remembered, so Kudos to my pregnant wife for completing the hike). We also hit the Planetarium, lunch at CPK with Alyssa, Susie's cousin, and Temple Square. Temple Square included a visit to the Christus, wherein Maggie saw Jesus' owies. I explained that Jesus got those owies so we could be happy. Nothing makes religious stories more fantastical to me than when I explain them to kids (try explaining the Christus to someone that can't understand the Atonement, eternal marriage, etc). Maggie got to ride on the train, which she slowly eased into. Maggie was also the only child that simply watched the kids play in the water at the Gateway Olympic park. She certainly is a timid, rational child ("I can't go in there, my clothes will get wet"). But the highlight of Maggie's day was the U on the mountain. Perhaps next year we will hike to the U (it looks to be a much easier hike that to the Y).
1. I ran all the way to the end of the Porter Rockwell Trail! It was a 7-mile run and I did it in about 75 minutes. I wish I could find a good 10K here; it seems like it's 5K to half marathon only. I'm not sure I'm ready for a half yet.
2. We made yesterday a Provo day, including eating Rubio's with Frances and Roy, and gave them flowers and an "It's a Boy!" card that Maggie colored in. We also perused BYU. Maggie enjoyed the Eyering Science Center, the Richards Building, and the Tanner Building most. She was also obsessed with the "Y" on the mountain. We wore her out traversing campus, because she slept the whole way home. Traffic was horrible in UT county, so that explains why this is a yearly pilgrimage only.
3. Today we cleaned the chapel and luckily I had two elders to help me, which is two more than they got last week. Cleaning grubby handprints off so many glass doors apparently takes 90 minutes.
4. We bought some sleeping bags today (which is our mother's and father's day gifts to each other). Maggie thinks they are fab.
5. We settled on a boy's name: Dalton. Everyone heard "dolphin" over the phone, for some reason. We're still working on a middle name, but, needless to say, it won't be James, nor will be it John.
Tomorrow we head to the cabin after church. (4) Sun May 24 2009 00:34 mayday:
It's been an exciting few days:
Now we need to go through all Tyler's baby clothes from 2001 and see what is still usable. ![[No comments]](/nb//themes/Default/no-comments.png "No comments")
Thu May 21 2009 20:41 baby blue:
We're having a boy! Susie & I were both right this time. I really wanted a boy the first go around, and got a girl. This time, I really didn't care, and got a boy. I am glad to even up the gender numbers in the house, but would have been happy either way. Everyone we know that is pregnant right now is having girls, so I guess we get to stand out now. I have a feeling that raising this boy will be substantially different from raising Maggie. I hope I'm up for the challenge.
But Maggie's favorite part was her shoulder-back ride and looking for bugs. She loves bug hunting, and beetles are in season in Draper. It was a very fun walk. (2) Wed May 20 2009 21:15 Picture it:
Last night we went for a walk in Corner Canyon and Maggie had the time of her life. She sat in her stroller and ate her fav: Teddy Grahams. Then she got to see goats! Then on the way home we had the perfect view of the Draper Temple and Maggie couldn't stop pointing at it and saying "mama daddy temple." Then a woman on horseback joined us on the trail. And then it starting raining on us (one of those wierd storms where it rains but the sun's out) and then came out the most beautiful rainbow! It arched from Lone Peak right next to the temple and was breathtaking. Maggie finally saw it (after much pointing) and now she knows a new word.
Second, yesterday, around 3:30, a coworker tells me that he thinks he saw a homeless person sleeping in my car when he walked by it at lunch time, 3 hours previous. After yelling at him, I went over there and lucky me, no homeless person. He did, however, leave me his coat, shoe, and smell as a calling card. I spent most of last night cleaning my car, including deoderizer into the carpets and upholstery and sanitizing spray over all hard surfaces. I think my carpool buddy didn't lock his door, because it does not appear my car was broken into, nor did he touch or take anything out of my car.
This morning my carpool buddy called to tell me we couldn't carpool today. His basement is flooded. So, now that I am a flood expert, I went over and helped him clean up the disaster.
I'm pretty sure God's mad at me. (2) Wed May 13 2009 17:15:
This week has not been good to us, but is full of entertainment value for the masses. Firstly, last Friday, our basement flooded. It's from the neighbor's sprinklers, which everyone says means he (his insurance) should pay for it. But he hasn't. My goal today is to go ask him about that, since it's been a money pit getting it fixed. Why our insurance guy didn't tell us he should pay for it is utterly ridiculous. Some people are only interested in a paycheck and not in doing their jobs. All he cared about was telling us that he would cover it, but our deductible would basically throw the entire liability back on us. But on the plus side, I have learned a lot about the carpet laying. Maybe I can qualify as a carpet-bagger now.
(1) Tue May 05 2009 04:59 on the road again:
In TX enjoying some good BBQ and avoiding messin' with anybody.
(1) Thu Apr 30 2009 15:23 hit the road:
A coworker bought a house a street over from ours in March, and since the demise of busy season, we have been carpooling. It's been just grand to whiz by all the accidents in the carpool lane and to keep a few miles off my car. It's also been nice to have some meaningful car conversations to help pass the time. Hopefully we can keep this up for a while.
Mon Apr 27 2009 16:39:
why do we let kids be two? our next one is going from one to three.
(1) Fri Apr 24 2009 09:45 EST healthy addiction:
I'm officially addicted to Naked Juice, which is not a bad thing on its own. After all, a pound of fruit a day has a lot to offer a person. However, the unhealthy part of the addiction comes in the price tag--$4 a bottle. I guess I'm stuck with only affording it as part of my trip per diems. Luckily my Wednesday jaunt to San Jose should suffice until I go to Dallas in a week and a half.
Apparently my daughter really is precocious, because I remember HATING kite flying growing up because I couldn't do it, and here is my two year-old, flying a kite while she plays with some cat, looks at the deer on the mountain, and points at the swings and slides. It's a moment I wish I could put in a bottle and relive during some future catastrophe. (1) Mon Apr 20 2009 23:43 EST the best things in life are not free:
but fortunately, they only cost a dollar. Maggie has enjoyed three nights in a row at the park, her favorite place in the world. Sunday night we watched people flying kites. Maggie insisted she be given a turn, so we had to take her home kicking and screaming. We bought her a Cars kite today and had the skies to ourselves (less the hang gliders). Pictures at swishina.blogspot.com. I'm too lazy to post the link.
Doesn't TX understand what the civil war was about? I think too many Americans think it was about slavery, which is incorrect. The Civil War was about states rights, and the fact that SC and the followers had no legal right to secede from the Union, because the federal government trumps state governments and the federal government did not allow them to leave.
I'd be ok if TX left, however. The so-called immigration problem would now be theirs alone to battle--good luck with that one. I personally don't think immigration is a problem, because since I'm unwilling to pick the grapes of wrath, far be it from me to deny someone else the pleasure. And it is also my opinion that undocumented workers are the problem of the employer, not the employee, but I digress.
I wonder how the Walch family views this whole fiasco. Kristen and Aaron may find themselves trapped in a foreign country before they get the chance to move! (2) Sat Apr 18 2009 10:16 EST lee scoresby:
The Park City McDonald's has stepped it up a notch, with flat screen tv's as far as the eye can see, including in the powder room. CNN was on, and they were discussing TX's ridiculous desire to secede from the Union. Pooh Pooh.
After we put Maggie to bed, Susie and I always watch a movie at the condo. It's about the only time we watch movies, and since we only go to the condo twice a year to celebrate the end of a busy season, we see precious few flicks. That being said, we normally try and see something that has a local buzz. The movie this time was "Mamma Mia!" and I personally thought it was horrid.
But a critique of the movie is not the point; who knew you could write a hit musical all around the songs of a Swedish band? I assume ABBA is more or less a one-hit wonder because Susie only recognized "Dancing Queen" and I recognized two others, but not by name.
The point is, what other bands could we do this with? U2 comes immediately to mind, and Pink Floyd must be a possibility, what with the endless laser shows at planetariums across the world dedicated to them. The Beatles, maybe? Or are they too popular to get away with it? Any others? I told Susie that I'm tired of busy seasons so she and Rachel should write one based on Coors music and it could be Mamma Mia in reverse, set in Ireland, a young bridegroom desires his real mother to walk him down the aisle....
We also discovered a back way to downtown from the condo down Monitor Drive that puts you within walking distance of Prospector Square, so now we can walk to our dining choices. I would love to live somewhere that has that suburban feel at my house but yet is within walking distance of the downtown proper. I've decided precious few communities offer this, and most tend to be in cooler climates, but maybe I can retire somewhere like that.
Lastly, Maggie must have watched a Hitchcock movie lately because she makes me taste everything before she'll sample it herself. I'm getting tired of always getting her two of whatever she wants, just so she can give me one of them. I'm trying to lose weight after busy season, not gain it. She's always up to something. (4) Fri Apr 17 2009 17:55 EST Marry Me!:
Susie and I spent last night at the condo in Park City and had a decent time, despite the fact that it was 30 degrees and snowing and Maggie slept in that small double bed with us, and even then kept screaming all night. Will spring ever come this year?
We didn't give each other anything for Easter this year, other than candy-filled eggs, because it just seemed like the right thing to do. I think this decision was spurred partly by my souring to a story of a coworker's wife scouring the valley for 3 matching Gymboree dresses for her daughters and the fact that, at the end of busy season, the best gift is time with my family. Susie and I concur that the former is totally a woman thing; I get zero pleasure at the thought of my children wearing matching outfits, let alone frilly Easter ones that they wear once at Easter and grow out of. It was nice to simplify Easter.
Due to a cold, wet spring here in UT, we spent two hours at IKEA on Saturday. Maggie was in heaven. She enjoyed having us all sit on different furniture and stare at each other. She also enjoys playing on the toys in the kids section, including a rocking moose and a tent just her size. She also had to point out all the arrows on the floor by lying down on them. We didn't buy anything but got some nice, dry exercise away from the rain.
3 more days! (1) Sun Apr 12 2009 23:30 EST holiday fever:
Maggie seems to have her first understanding of a holiday, thanks mainly to various neighborhood/community egg fights (I can't in good faith call it a hunt when the eggs are scattered on the floor in plain sight and the parents line their kids up to grab as many as possible at the sound of a fire engine horn), and Charles Schulz. She even gave the Easter Bunny at IKEA a hug for a treat, which is huge for such a shy little thing. Today she practically crawled under grandma's car in her church dress to give the cat one of her pieces of candy.
(2) Fri Apr 10 2009 21:57 EST One nation under the sun:
No surprise, President Obama is taking a lot of flack in UT for saying the US is not a Christian nation. As for me, I tend to agree with Obama. If we're a Christian nation, how come I have to work on Good Friday?
The photographer was really nice, but it felt wierd to be taking pictures to give to clients. Why should they care what I look like? Competence is not based on looks.
I tried to pawn the bio off on a coworker and told them to think of it as an eulogy, but no one was biting. (2) Thu Apr 09 2009 10:47 EST in the spotlight:
Yesterday I got to take a break from work and go get glamourshots! Apparently we put pictures and bios in our big proposals, and since this was my first one, I got to go through the ringer.
Though it was already 30 minutes past Maggie's bedtime, she was wide awake and rearing to go. She was slow, to be sure, but she sure enjoyed gathering her eggs. I had to help her out a lot, and sometimes the egg my light was shining on would be snatched before Maggie could waddle over to me, but she had fun anyway.
People that used to live in our neighborhood but have since moved away all came back for the gala. It's clearly a very popular event and quite the eggstravaganza. Wed Apr 08 2009 11:08 EST park in the dark:
Our neighborhood hosted a flashlight egg hunt. When we arrived just before dark, I could see hundreds (possibly thousands) of eggs scattered everywhere. I thought, well this will be lame. But once it was dark, it was harder to find them. Especially in the back of the park where the grass was unkempt and very long.
Yes! People that have gobs of money are not necessarily happy, because spending money brings but momentary pleasure. But the ability to earn the money you spend helps you take ownership of spending choices and pride in what you buy.
Additionally, I find it very satisfying to get paid. But I find it equally satisfying to add value in the workplace. It is very rewarding to see a project end, and know that, without me, the outcome may have been different, even wrong. I get excited when I add value. The idea of punching in and punching out never made sense to me, yet many employed people do little more than clock-watch all day.
We had layoffs this past week, and while I feel for those "who will continue their careers outside of the firm," as the man put it, these people cared little for the value of work.
While there are plenty of CEOs to blame, tis true that many people trusted them for no other reason that they were invested in their product and had to likewise peddle it to sustain the bubble of easy street earnings. I think we would all do well to remember that nothing in life is free, contrary to what the MLM gigs of the world would have you believe.
My church often talks about work being an eternal principle. The very idea of eating bon bons on a cloud in the eternities is simply incorrect. We believe we will be working, having families, creating worlds, managing said worlds, etc. The prerequisites to do the above will require a deep understanding of science, management, and other soft skills. I certainly am not qualified for the above, but I'm willing to learn it when the time comes. I wonder how many will effectively opt out because the road is too hard? (5) Thu Apr 02 2009 11:22 EST the anti-hijack:
Rather than hijack a very lengthy comment on Sumana's blog, my response is thus: "But [Jon] Stewart is saying that our wealth, the prize that we've earned, isn't money, but our ability to earn money. Our asset is the ability to create assets."
Susie and I are expecting baby sprout on October 3, 2009. It is entirely possible sprout will not come until October 12, however, if history has anything to do with it. Maggie knows there is a baby in mommy's tummy, but we're not sure if she knows what that means. (7) Tue Mar 24 2009 16:38 EST quickie:
Quick break before I go insane: worked until nearly 1 am, back to it by 9 this morning, with no end in sight. Well, end in sight, obviously, is April 15th. It seems like no end in sight.
Eventually that got old. She looked up at me and said "Daddy, where did two go?" What a brilliant little bug. (2) Sun Mar 22 2009 16:39 EST smarty pants:
Today I'm wearing a jersey-looking shirt with the number 13. I didn't play on any teams or anything in acquiring this shirt. Anyway, Maggie looked at me wearing it and said "One, three!" over and over again.
It was fun to test drive a car, and Maggie enjoyed riding in the golf cart to the car. She also enjoyed playing in the showcase cars. And, believe it or not, I had fun playing hard ball.
We decided how much we would pay, which was about $5K less than the dealer wanted. We never budged on price, and walked away. Then we came home and checked other dealers. Apparently the dealership wasn't lying, so we're going to go back this week and buy it for $3K less than they want. I figure, I hate playing these pricing games, but I won because I got them closer to my number than their number. It was less intimidating because I pretended I was on a game show and the salesman was Howie Mandel.
FYI to car dealers, showing me other cars in my price range is not the answer. I don't want a highlander, because it's too big, the third row seat is all one piece (in the fab RAV4, you can have one or both seats down), and the car had twice as many miles than I told them I would consider in a used car.
I've never had a new car before. I'm getting excited! May the pathfinder rest in peace. It scares me to drive it anymore. (3) Sun Mar 22 2009 11:39 EST Deal or no deal:
Yesterday I took a break from work to go car shopping. What an ordeal. Susie and I are apparently ultra-picky, because the car we want simply doesn't exist. So, we will most likely settle for the RAV4. It's a new 2009 with optional third row seating. Apparently people don't like optional third row seating in a crossover. People want third row seating in a gas guzzling tank, or in a minivan. But since I care about fuel efficiency, and am not forty, the RAV4 with the third row is our pick. Said third row will remain in its down position for many years to come, but since we are buying this car with the future in mind, and expect the car to last ten years, there you have it.
Fri Mar 20 2009 23:19 EST movers and shakers:
As of January 1 of this year, six houses were for sale on our street alone. Now we are down to one. Five houses have sold in two months. As of January 1 of this year, we had zero flowers in our front yard. We now have 30 buds waiting to blossom. It's nice to see the changes warm weather can bring to a dilapidated housing market and a hibernating garden.
Fri Mar 13 2009 14:50 EST Yes!:
happiness is a clean car on a bright, sunny Friday!
I can't believe I have a two year-old. Time flies when you're that cute I suppose. Happy Birthday, little bug! (2) Mon Mar 09 2009 14:49 EST two years happy:
Maggie is very excited to be two, because she got a slide, a new dress, pink balloons, a big girl bed, and her entire room madeover (see Susie's picture blog for details).
Yet we are also commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. We have been "advised" (not commanded, as far as I am concerned) to be careful in delaying marriage and our child-bearing years.
So. How does one achieve self-sufficiency when one is encouraged to marry in his/her early twenties and have children before a career is started? Don't these two ideas conflict?
But that's my gospel, as I understand it. The great balancing act.
Other conundrums include:
1. Being advised to spend as much time with family, but also being given demanding church callings. Meeting after redundant meeting.
2. Being advised to sacrifice work progression for family, but still maintaining that self-sufficiency. I mean, how many times, realistically, can I tell the boss to do it himself so I can go home early, without getting canned?
3. Following the word of wisdom. I mean, this one's two-fold. Workout time is away from family, but is it not essential? And how can I stay fit when the state of UT is obsessed with ice cream?
4. Quality vs quantity. Mormons are commonly known for being "advised" (again, not commanded) to carefully consider not limiting family size. But we are also commanded to spent quality time with our children, and still make time for a spouse in there! How does that work, when one also works, serves as a Bishop, volunteers at the cannery once a month, attends the temple regularly, home teaches, etc?
Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my family, I sacrifice sleep to have it all. I NEVER sleep past 8, and am normally up by 6:30. I try and workout and work late at night/early in the morning so that when Maggie wakes up I'm ready to play with her. I try and come home before 7 to spend time with her before bed, even if it means going back to work at 8 pm. But this solution doesn't work for everyone; even I can only handle it 6 months of the year I'm crazy busy.
I told my sister, who plans to work after she has kids, that this is the only way I've figured out to not feel guilty for neglecting my family and still meeting my obligations to the best of my ability. She cringed. But we do what me must, when commandments conflict. (5) Sun Mar 01 2009 10:21 EST when commandments conflict:
Susie and I discussed at length yesterday the state of the economy. My brother was asked to take a 15% pay cut at his job, and is already needing assistance to make ends meet. We've also seen people in our ward have to move because they apparently bought more house than was prudent. Yet every week in church we are taught to be self-sufficient. The Mormon pioneers lived in "Deseret" meaning honeybee, meaning industry. We are constantly told to have a food storage, a savings account, to avoid most kinds of debt, etc.
Last night we went to the Draper temple open house. While it is a beautiful building, I felt there was a lot of wasted space that could have been used to make a session fit 60 people instead of just 50. Maggie enjoyed that she got to ride a bus to the temple, but was otherwise quite bored. It's not fun having your child be the one to scream in the celestial room because the cattle line is moving so slow. End result is that a 3-hour tour is too much to ask to visit 10 rooms in a temple 3 miles from our house. Even if there are cookies.
This morning I surprised Susie and Maggie for a belated V-Day and we went bowling! For some reason, I thought Susie was a better bowler than I, but I beat her 80-47. The morning bowling crowd is huge; lots of people were there at 9 am with us. Susie thinks the lady behind us was laughing at our pitiful attempt to hit the pins down as her 10 year-old seemed to compile strike after strike. But I told Susie at least we were playing, rather than just sitting on our duffs eating deep fried bowling food at 10 am like she was. I got four spares and Susie got a strike!
I should mention that Maggie did not like the gist of bowling. She cried everytime someone threw a ball because it disappeared. We taught her how they come back and that seemed to quell most of her fears. She also didn't like it when the pins got knocked down, the sensitive thing. I guess bowling is too violent for her tender disposition.
Next we went at bought Maggie a bed for her birthday! We can pick it up next week. The headboard is a white picket fence motif. Maggie loved laying on all the beds at the store, and still remembers we bought her a white bed with purple sheets.
We also bought her some new clothes, now that she is finally growing. Babies R Us is a fun store; I always want to buy Maggie lots of dresses there.
Then we came home and I went running OUTSIDE because it's such a nice day! Later we're going to the park. I also perused the backyard today and noticed that the weed seed has been busy this winter. Weeding is a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. Time to go clean up.
It was nice to take a break in the midst of busy season and enjoy at least one weekend not working. (2) Sat Feb 21 2009 17:00 EST spring break:
Spring is here (at least for the day) so we took full advantage: