'cause evil's not my cup of tea

This is one of my favorite songs. Ever hear that evil voice in your head that tells you to give up, or that you're "worthless and weak"? When I hear this song I don't hear the anti-establishment message it was intended as. I hear it in my own little world as stickin' it to evil personified. Because sometimes don't you just kinda feel like looking evil straight in the eye and saying "hey you jerk, I'm getting tired of you hanging around. You don't belong here - SO SCRAM, beat it - I don't have to listen to you anymore "I'm right and I'm free, I'll fight and you'll see."

Maestro of the Movies

Jaws.



Indiana Jones.



Harry Potter.



Star Wars.



What do all these movies have in common? They all have scores written by John Williams.

A few months ago, Lindsay and I were looking at the Hollywood Bowl schedule to see if there was a concert available that we would want to go to. I saw that John Williams would be playing and said, "We are going!" She was all for it, and we bought tickets right then and there.



However, we realized a few hours later that the drama performance at Manchester Academy that Lindsay was in charge of was that night as well! Fortunately, they ended up rescheduling that, so off to the Hollywood Bowl we went!



The first act was kind of a compilation of movie clips set to original music, not anything specific to a movie. James Taylor was there as a narrator for a Faulkner story set to music, then played one of his own songs on guitar, which was pretty cool too.

The second act was even better. Favorites such as the Harry Potter theme, the Titanic theme and of course, Star Wars. I made a video, but it was too big to upload to the blog so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRobHEOubfk

Tennis

So one of my new hobbies that I've started over the past few years is playing tennis. I love tennis because it's good exercise and it's a lot of fun. I also love how it is an elitist sport which is also free (at least in the summer anyways). Along with golf it is probably the only other sport that uppity-ups appreciate and play on a consistent basis. I prefer tennis not only because it's free but also because it's better exercise and you don't have to wear silly pants or shirts to play. It's the elitist sport for the common man. There is now a little network of about 4 or 5 friends that I'll play tennis with to the point that I'm usually playing at least once a week. It definitely makes the summer fun.

I've also become somewhat of a fan. It's definitely hard to sit through a 4 hour match sometimes but I've definitely got caught up in the Rafa-Roger rivalry. A couple of times I've gotten up very early to see them play for the finals at the Australian Open and I have to admit that tennis is one of my favorite sports to watch when Roger is playing. One of my dreams is to see Roger Federer play live at the US Open in New York which probably means I will have to go there next year around this time because he will likely retire in fact this US Open may be his last.

Happy Birthday Lindsay!

This year Lindsay hits a big milestone in age as she will be turning 30. Lindsay is a great big sister. She is always cheerful and supportive. She is also willing to help out with tasks whether they be big or small. She is also willing to help until the task is done which is another great thing. I’ve always been amazed by Lindsay’s creativity and her ability to make cool things. I am lucky to have a supportive and kind sister. It’s great having Lindsay as a birthday buddy and I hope she has a great birthday and a great upcoming year!

1. How old are you turning this year? 30!

2. What is your favorite food? Chocolate. It should be it's own food group.

3. What is your most frequently purchased grocery item? Lettuce. Roommates of the past used to joke that I was like a rabbit. The trend continues. Spencer like salad too.

4. What is your bedtime routine like? I brush my teeth, wash my face, say prayers with Spence and give him a kiss. Alternately, I wash my face then brush my teeth then give Spence a kiss then say prayers.

5. What are three things you absolutely have to do every day? Get out of bed, move around, read scriptures.

6. What do you listen to most (artist, radio station/program, podcast)? 80's music channel on our sweet TV.

7. What’s one skill you wish you had? I would love to be better at sewing clothes

8. What skill are you most proud of? I can make something from 'nothing.' Using materials we already have, I can make cards, decorate, bake, and create art.

9. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Italy

10. What is your favorite place you’ve been? Slovenia

11. What are three of your favorite books? The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Anne of Green Gables

12. If you had to buy any magazine what would it be? Vogue to get hair style ideas

13. What is one thing that gets on your nerves? When people burp and dont say excuse me. I work with kids.

14. What is your favorite sport to watch or play? Hockey- to watch or play. Soccer to watch (I can cuddle with Spence while he watches,) and it's also fun to play!

15. What do you love to do when you have nothing to do? Do a little home decorating project/ tweaking, read from my Slovenian Book of Mormon, write a letter

16. What are three things you wish you had? A classroom of my own (during the school year not just summer school) an infinite supply of chocolate, more time to DisSPENCE with Spence

17. What is your favorite treat? brownie a la mode

18. What are a few things you hope to accomplish or learn this year? Continue developing my relationship with Spencer

19. What are your favorite things to watch (tv show/movie)? Office, Simpsons, Parks and Rec

20. What are your three most visited websites (besides facebook/email)? Blogs, Youtube, news sites (yahoo, msn, new york times)

James Cameron and Tim Burton x2

Last night Spence and I went to our old ward's FILM FESTIVAL!

It was a blast! They always go all out and it was fun to reunite with some of our old friends. The theme this year was 'James Cameron,' and EPIC movies, so there were neat displays around the gym for Avatar, Terminator, and Titanic.

We loved crashing this singles event with a few other married couple friends of ours.

The films that were submitted were great!

There was a submission by our friends from the Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, some love stories, life stories, documentaries, and 'foreign films' (one in french,) 'The Most Interesting Mormon in the world-' 2 spoofs of the 'Most interesting Man in the World' Dos Equis commercials were a hit.

The movie makers were creative as always- there was one, 'a fist full of love,' that reminded me of Spencer's and mine last year- with a great training montage.) Way to set a trend Spence!

Here we are tearing up the place!



The AVATAR set:




Help!!



Beej and Rach will remember last year's Film Fest theme- Tim Burton. It was fun to reminisce with Spence on that event, before we were engaged!



On the Tim Burton theme, when Mom was in town this last week we went to the LACMA (Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art) Tim Burton Exhibit! I've been seeing the ads around so it was really fun to go see this with Mom!
They talked about his developing style -
-he used creature-like bodies and
-body modification
in his art
-we saw an old writing piece from his High School class and doodles on newspapers!

We also saw some hilarious sketches he did, taking some phrases literally and making other funny scenarios with different made up characters.



It was really great to check this out with Mom- it was fun that she was game! Thanks for the fun outing, Mom!



And that concludes my post.

Happy Birthday David!

Wish we could be together again this year to wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICO!

Miss you! and miss your under-the-radar humor and your creative opinions and ideas and your recollection of almost any date/family event ever, and your killer work ethic with anything you do :)

Love you tons!

1. How old are you turning this year? 24

2. What is your favorite food? Chicken Wings (family recipe version)

3. What is your most frequently purchased grocery item? spaghetti

4. What is your bedtime routine like? brush my teeth, read some news, read scriptures, bed

5. What are three things you absolutely have to do every day? check email, listen to some music, read sports/entertainment news

6. What do you listen to most (artist, radio station/program, podcast)? arcade fire

7. What’s one skill you wish you had? Handy man skills

8. What skill are you most proud of? Retaining information

9. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Germany

10. What is your favorite place you’ve been? Chile

11. What are three of your favorite books? Lord of the rings trilogy, Harry Potter series (except book 5), Zeitoun

12. If you had to buy any magazine what would it be? Entertainment Weekly

13. What is one thing that gets on your nerves? When people I don't know sit right next to me in a lecture hall when the whole row has empty seats

14. What is your favorite sport to watch or play? Basketball

15. What do you love to do when you have nothing to do? Surf the web

16. What are three things you wish you had? better musical skills, a job after college, better time management

17. What is your favorite treat? Twix

18. What are a few things you hope to accomplish or learn this year? Graduate, read more books, make more friends

19. What are your favorite things to watch (tv show/movie)? Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Arrested Development, 30 rock, Mad men

20. What are your three most visited websites (besides facebook/email)? ESPN, wikipedia, youtube

Plugging in!

I've been wanting to get one for a while now, so a few days ago, I finally just went ahead and ordered.... an electric violin! This picture is actually the exact one I got. It's black and has a weird cutout on the side and it's awesome! It was a very reasonable price (maybe too reasonable) so I was a little worried about how well it would actually work, but it works great. I plugged it into my friend's extra amp and we had a grand old time jamming together, him on the electric guitar and me on the electric violin. We hope to start a band of some sort which would be great fun!

There's no place like home.

It's a small bungalow on a very quiet, nicely treed street. Less than a half a block away is a huge field with two playgrounds, a spray park, a little climbing wall and two hockey rinks - one outdoor and one indoor. It feels perfect for us. I came here a few times before we moved everyone in to do some cleaning and setting up and it felt kind of weird to be living in someone else's space. It didn't feel like home until we were all in here together - with the boys running all over the place, having our first meal here as a family - that's what really makes a home - home. Here are some pictures. http://comfree.com/home-for-sale-fulton-place-alberta-250422

We've spent a lot of time taking off wallpaper and painting in the basement and in one of the bedrooms. I've also spent hours painting the stone fireplace in the basement white. It's been kind of fun to have a place of our own again.

Uninvited Guests

Summer is here in northern Alberta, along with millions of uninvited guests, flying, buzzing, biting, drawing blood, and generally afflicting and tormenting.

A very rainy spring left many pools of standing water which are a perfect breeding ground for, you guessed it, MOSQUITOES. The local researchers tell us that we have at least 36 different species of these little pests, and some of them are attracted to the CO2 that we exhale, and some of them use infrared to target their victims. Both methods seems to be working well, as this is the worst mosquito season here in 30 years. Part of the reason is that efforts to

spray them have been hampered by high winds, although we suspect that this is just the official excuse to cover local government mismanagement...

Bug spray has been flying off the shelves and some are even hoping for an early frost to kill them. As the weather gets warmer and drier, the numbers are expected to decrease. We're getting a small taste of what the Egyptians must have felt when Moses unleashed the plagues on them. It's a great opportunity for character building.

Love and swats to all,

Gramps