Happy Birthday Spencer!

Lindsay:
I admire you for so many reasons, Spence! You are incredibly thoughtful, generous, and loving. I admire that you are level headed and yet have a really fun side of you that comes out all the time. It comes out in both unexpected small ways, when you surprise me and make me laugh, and in large ways when you come home with a fun movie or share fun great outing ideas. I am so glad that I married you and you have made me the happiest I have ever been! I love love love you! Happy Birthday!

Coleen:
Happy 3-0 Spencer!Welcome to the grownup club :)I love how you're always willing to pitch in to get a job done - whether it's painting signs for your own wedding, helping me get the grandsons to bed, or cleaning up from dinner, whatever - you're THERE!And you're always thinking of a better way to do something. In fact, you're always thinking. So inspirational :)xo Coleen

OJ:
Happy Birthday, Spencer! Welcome to the start of a new decade - it's a real milestone. I admire how organized and analytical you are. You have backup plans for your contingency plans. You have a roadmap for where you want to go. Speaking of roads, I admire how you can cover a lot of ground in a short time in an automobile, as we found out when we met in San Fran. Happy Trails.xo Gramps

Charla:
I admire what a good guy Spencer is. He just seems like he always tries his best to do what's right. I also appreciate how devoted to Linds he seems.

Jordan:
Happy Birthday Spencer and hope you have many great years in your 30s ahead of you. You seems to have many passions especially sporting ones in life and I appreciate how you seem to be able to keep up with many of them and I think it's great that we also have a true soccer enthusiast addition to the family.

Rachel:
I remember when I was in LA over the summer, Spencer was welcoming and always very accommodating whenever he and Linds and Beej and I wanted to hang out together. He is very easygoing and fun to do stuff with. Happy birthday Spencer, I hope it's a great one!

Beej:
Some of the things that I like about Spencer is how he is very technical but not to the point of being over bearing if you say something that is technically not correct. I also like the way he takes recreational sports such as soccer and softball etc. seriously because so do I. I am glad that he is a member of our family.

Ian and Melissa:
I love how Spencer has a sense of adventure, and I love his stories. He has an amazing memory and is so quick to lend a hand and see what needs he can help with, especially with our family, and we really appreciate that quality that he has. (Just like his mom!) We love you Spencer!

Rico:
What I like about Spencer is that he is always calm and relaxed. He never really seems to get rattled by stressful situations. He has a way of keeping a cool head. He also is willing to do difficult tasks which is great.

Snowshoeing

This past Monday was President's Day, as all you U.S. residents were probably aware. It was BYU's last day off of the semester, so I tried to make the most of it. Andrew and I decided to go snowshoeing for a bit in the afternoon. We drove up Provo Canyon and found a pretty good trail. I'd never been snowshoeing before but it's pretty fun! You have to make sure you go in some deep powder though, that's where the real fun begins. Also, make sure you fall down in the snow at least once. Making a snow angel is optional.

Meet my buddy Oscar

So the Oscars are coming up. Last year was entertaining since it occurred on my birthday so we had an Oscar watch party for my birthday party. This year, I figured doing an Oscar picking contest on the blog (with entries being posted in the comments) could be fun. Here are the categories, keeping it limited to the following 5:

Best Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Actor

Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actress

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)


Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

There's no prize, but let's have fun!

The Name of the Wind

So I recently finished this book by Patrick Rothfuss, called The Name of the Wind. The book was released in 2007 and it is the first book in a trilogy known as the Kingkiller Chronicles. The second book of the trilogy was released earlier this year. I found out about this book over the summer when NPR did a list of the top 100 science fiction/fantasy books. Interestingly enough they released this list on my 24th birthday, so in a way I guess it was a birthday gift.

Anyway the trilogy (even though it's still not done) came in at #18 on the list. I really liked the book. I feel though that the explanations about it confused me about what the book would be about, but that's fine. The synopsis on the back of the book is extremely vague and deliberately so, but there are so many reviews praising the book that are printed on the first few pages of the book. These reviews also make the book seem to have a different theme than what I thought after I finished it, but it's still a good book.

What I wish I had known before I read the book is that it is essentially about a man who recounts the story of his life to a biographer. The biographer wishes to know more about the man because of the various legends that swirl around him (that is once he recognizes who the man is). The first 50 pages of the book set up to get to the point where he recounts his story and then the remaining 650 pages or so are him recounting his life, he tells the biographer he will need three days to tell his life story (hence the reason why it is a trilogy).

So if you do happen to come across this book and feel interested in reading it, don't read the synopsis on the back nor the pages of reviews praising the book, because they will give you a different idea about what the book's about.

Here is a link to the NPR booklist:

Heart Day at Upper Crust

Dad and I are semi-regulars at the Upper Crust restaurant in Edmonton so thats where we had to have dinner last night. We scored a table last minute - so - Yay!!

The special Valentines menu featured such specialties as 'Heart-shaped, crisp baked Asiago polenta topped with a roasted cherry tomato and zucchini relish garnished with marinated pearl bocconcini' (ordered naturally by Dad)

All the desserts were of course either chocolate, red/white, or heart shaped. Dad succumbed to the white chocolate cheesecake and me - the heart-shaped apple-berry pie. And it was all delicious.

I'm unable to resist any kind of holidayish foodie thing so was also completely unable to resist snapping a photo of the heart-shaped pie. Just had to share...:)

Teaching Depth and Complexity.

Recently we had a seminar at my school about what makes someone an expert on a given topic. We discussed the theories of depth and complexity and Sandra Kaplan's 11 points that help someone become an expert on a topic. It starts as a reader or seeker looking more deeply into a text or resource...

As a reader, I already like to ponder my texts and make connections to other disciplines, so this was right up my alley. This seminar really grabbed my attention because I am already innately doing some of the things we learned about. The seminar put terms to my practices and icons and ideas to my toolbag as a teacher.

Here are her points. (Below) So before reading a book to my students I could ask, 'what are some of the different points of view (point #11: different perspectives) you hear in this story?' and it gets them thinking more deeply about the story and the characters. Here's a worksheet about it:



Or you can look more closely at the worksheet on this site:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4872391/Depth--Complexity-Icon-Chart

Anyway, I thought this lesson was really great and I am excited to incorporate it into my teaching.

One of the exercises we did in the seminar was to talk about areas where we consider ourselves to be experts of sorts. I talked about singing. What is an area where YOU think you're an expert?

Book Review: In Harm's Way

While we were at a friend’s house I noticed a book on his TV stand. It turned out to be In Harm’s Way and stated that it was the history behind the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in World War II. I had heard of the story of the Indianapolis (as has anybody who paid attention during the movie Jaws) but this book went into great detail about what happened to the ship as well as the mission it fulfilled just before its sinking: the delivery of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

The quick version of what happened is that the Indianapolis was sailing alone to its next destination when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine. The book then goes into detail about the experiences of the survivors of the sinking and how they tried to survive the merciless ocean while awaiting rescue. However, the rescue would take far too long to be initiated due to bureaucratic mistakes elsewhere, which cost lives. Only about half of those who survived the sinking itself would eventually be rescued.

I don’t think I’d recommend it as a book club reading; it’s not that kind of book. It is also somewhat graphic due to its description of what happened to the sailors. However, anybody interested in historical books and/or World War II would find it a compelling read.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!!

O.J:
JORD - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!Hope it's the greatest ever. I admire how you always have a plan for getting things done, and you always stay calm nomatter how much storm is swirling around you. And, you're one of the best I've seen at finding bargains, coupons, deals, etc. Cheers for the coming year.Luv, Dad

Coleen:
Happy Birthday Jordan! So hard to choose just a couple things to put on the admire list...But right now the thing I admire most is what a great job you're doing as 'Dado' The boys are so excited to see you when you get home and they're always telling me about the 'Monster' game and how you practice soccer with them in the basement. You are so kind and fun with them. And - along with Char, you're about the best bargain hunter I know! :)

Linds:
Jordan is delightfully thoughtful, kind, considerate, and fun! I love how he thinks deeply about things - it makes interesting conversation to talk with him about stuff. He is a great older brother because he is a good friend. Glücklicher Geburtstag! Love you!

Char:
I admire how you haven't filed for divorce yet.
Kidding aside, these past few months I have really appreciated the fact that you have still not lost your ability to see the humour in sometimes ridiculously frustrating situations. A laugh is never buried too far under the surface with you. You're a good one Jord.

David:
The things I like most about Jordan are that he always gives good advice and that he shows that he cares about you by putting a lot of thought into his advice. I also like that he does not pretend to know more about a subject even though he knows alot of things about many subjects.

John:
Snej is the best big brother in the world! From him letting me be his shadow until he left for college to him registering me for my classes after my mission Snej is always there to support in a non-intrusive manner.

Rachel:
Jordan is always really thoughtful about things. I really enjoy talking to him because he gives really good insights about a lot of different subjects. I think it's awesome that he is so well-traveled and knows a lot of different languages, and that he can play many musical instruments. He's a very talented guy! Love, Rach

Spencer:
I really like how Jordan keeps a level head and doesn't let his emotions overcome him even in stressful situations.

Spencer, 2; Common Cold, 1

So right after our latest celebrity encounter with Mr. Drew Carey, I felt something coming on. Turned out it was a cold. Pretty nasty one, too; it's a week later and I'm still feeling the effects of it. There may be only 6 more weeks of winter according to Phil, but that's still plenty of time to get sick. Hopefully I haven't gotten Lindsay sick as well!

But we all know the best way to fight a cold, right?



Yep, goold old chicken noodle soup! Lindsay has a pretty good recipe for it and between that and Campbell's, I've had plenty this past week. I'm not sure where she got that recipe, but if you don't have it already, you should ask her for it!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

I just read this online in the Washington Post:
At 7:25 a.m. this morning Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa. According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. But just how accurate is the prognosticator of prognosticators? It depends on the source.

http://www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/about-groundhog-day/ is the official website of Punxsutawney Phil, and perhaps not impartial, it claims the Groundhog has issued a correct forecast 100% of the time. AccuWeather's grade for the groundhog's accuracy is slightly lower, but still quite respectable.

Enjoy the weather, wherever you are :)