Snow Day

It snowed on Sunday. Mike was really interested in looking at it, so I asked him if he wanted to go out and play in it, and of course he said yes. We went out, stomped around for a while, then I took him over to see how snow-covered the playground was. Then I took some videos. Enjoy.

First video. This one is long

Going down a snow covered slide

After the first slide, he went down this bigger one. I didn't get the first attempt on video, but this second one was funnier

This is another long one. I wanted to see if he'd go down the big slide covered in snow, but I think it was too much. I was nervous with him being that high with the slippery snow, too, so when he didn't go down, I put away the phone

Hope you enjoyed! This kid...

P.S. Yes, I'm aware I skipped the number 4 in numbering my videos. I lost count when uploading. There is no video 4. Oh well.

I feel like I should blog

I guess this happens about once every year. I don't have anything specific to blog about, but I haven't blogged in like seven months, so I should do something, right? Here's some stuff. You likely already know this, but hey, it's for posterity or whatever.

• I totally didn't do NaNoWriMo this year. I'm ok with that. I don't know if I'll ever do it. I got the emails and stuff from the Salt Lake group, but didn't even read them
• Hayley is pregnant. It's a boy, and he'll be named Henry. He'll show up in January
• I'm pretty sure everyone I follow on google reader still follows me. It's just easier to not unsubscribe, amirite? You should all blog more often, too. If you don't follow me anymore, well, "sucks to your assmar."
• I'm super into putting links in this post
• Work is very busy. Not travel busy, but work busy. And I'm not particularly fond of this project I'm on
• Speaking of work, everyone is leaving! My boss is leaving, my bosses boss already left, and another manager I liked on my bosses level left
• Again, speaking of work, I'm going to try to get my bosses job. Maybe I'll blog about that another time
• Mikey talks a ton. He mimics everything, so watch your mouth. And pay attention to the kind of TV you watch when he's in the room
• I'm excited for the holidays. I love Christmas
• I may or may not have teared up watching a video where a flash mob choir sing carols in a mall, especially at the part where they sang Oh, Holy Night, and got to the line, "Fall on your knees; oh hear the angel voices" and everyone singing knelt down in front of people dressed as the holy family

That's about it for now. I'll try to blog more. You guys do it more, too, ok?

20,000

I'm out of shape, don't want to be, but have been lacking the motivation for the past few weeks (in spite of being in a weight-loss/healthy-lifestyle competition where I am going to lose money). Then, a work friend of mine told me she, too, was lacking motivation, so we started motivating each other. She had also figured out a way to bring her laptop to her treadmill, and I might try that out. We both work from home, so getting those 10,000 daily steps you need each day gets difficult.

During this conversation with the work friend, I texted Hayley and said, "my goal is to get 20,000 steps tomorrow." That might have been a little ambitious. Then, I challenged my work friend to see which of us could get the most steps this weekend. (We both have a FitBit, so we track our steps and other stuff. The FitBit is pretty cool. Ask me questions about it.) Then she told me she usually gets like 12,000 with her run on Saturday, since she's training for a marathon. So my challenge to her might also have been a little ambitious. Luckily, there were no monetary or other types of wagers, just the challenge.

After texting Hayley and making the challenge, I had a tiny panic attack, wondering what I had just done to myself. I have trouble getting to my daily 10,000, how was I going to do this? Then, I got over that quick, and decided that I'd add walking into the already planned activities of the day. While Mikey napped in the morning, I would get on the treadmill and stay there until he woke up. I would walk and hike while we were up the canyon with Hayley's parents and nieces and nephew. I would walk to the movie theater for the move we were going to. And finally, when we got home, I walked to the mailbox (down a half a block or so). And I did it! I was on my way back to our house when I reached 20,000 steps. See?

I almost didn't do the walk to the mailbox because I had a couple new blisters, my feet were tired, and... ... ...I was chafing a little. But I did, and I'm glad. And in spite of those blisters, I'm still going to walk to and from church tomorrow. I'm gonna win my little bet with the marathon trainer if it kills me. Also, I really just needed some motivation, and getting to 20,000 steps, while not a big deal for some, was a huge deal for me. Here's hoping the motivation stays!

Not quite getting it

So, The other day, I got an email from a guy who works for a company I interviewed with before I got my current job. He asked if I'd like to meet him for breakfast, only he said he'd be in DC... I know we live in a world of autocorrect, so maybe he wrote SLC on his phone, and it autocorrected to DC, so I responded back. It wouldn't be bad to meet up with this guy. It's smart to keep in touch with business contacts for networking and all that. But I'm not sure this guy caught on to his error. Here's how the conversation went:

Garrett - I'll be in DC Friday morning and wondered if you were able to join me for breakfast? I'm staying near the capitol.

Hi Steve,

Good to hear from you! I hope everything is going well for you and [Company]. I'm still in Salt Lake, so I won't be able to meet you for breakfast; on top of that, I have meetings all morning and afternoon, so if you meant SLC and not DC, I might not be able to get away until evening. If you are in DC, enjoy your stay! 

With my response, you'd think I have either helped to clear up the confusion on the location, or at least given him an opportunity to clarify what he meant. I mean, he knows I'm in Salt Lake. They flew me out to their corporate headquarters, and bought my plane ticket. That flight didn't leave from Washington National Airport (DCA), I left from Salt Lake International Airport (SLC). Also, we know each other because we were both on an emailing list of English/Technical Writing majors from Utah State University. Sure, I could have moved back east, but there were some clues.

The crazy part is, he responded  back, and I'm flabbergasted. Because, as I said, it is important to keep good networking contacts, I will probably leave it with his response, but part of me wants to respond... Here's his reply:

Another time then. I'll probably be back to DC in june

 Yeah... remember how I still live in Salt Lake? If you're in DC in June, I won't likely be able to meet you for breakfast then, either.

No one is going to read this

I don't get too political very often. I hope this "Kony 2012" movement actually works. I really do.

So lots of people are talking about Joseph Kony today. Well, they've been talking about him for longer than that, but I just found out about him today. And I'll be honest, I finally watched the video because two of the celebrities I follow on instagram posted something about him. Don't know who Joseph Kony is? Here's my own personal recap of what I have found out:

• Joseph Kony is a rebel fighter in Uganda. He is supported by no one. He doesn't have much purpose besides just having power. He's gone into peace talks a bunch of times, but then goes back to violence. 
• Kony kidnaps kids from their villages at night. He tuns the girls into prostitute slaves, and the boys into children soldiers. He makes them mutilate other children's faces, makes them kill their parents, and then they become his soldiers.
• He's been doing all of this since the 80s.
• The USA doesn't do anything because there's no direct (or even indirect) threat to our country. It's just senseless violence and the killing, rape, and mistreatment of non-american men, women, and children. Mostly children. Like 30,000 children.
• Well, the USA did do a little. Some ambassadors from the army were sent to help look for him. 
• But because Kony doesn't threaten us directly, if there's not a reason to continue to look for and arrest Kony, and the money, resources, and technology needed to arrest him won't be used.
• That shit should stop.

I want to try to gather and share some of the thoughts that came to me after having watched this video. I agree with that last bullet there. When you watch the movie, it may seem a little dramatic, but think of all those kids that he has turned into monsters. It's nuts. It's not overly dramatic. It is really that intense.

I also think it's great that something is being done! In a situation where the normal people see tragedy and evil, and they found a way to actually make a difference. I can share this on facebook, and while I usually make cynical remarks about supporting a cause on facebook, the whole point is to just have it talked about. If it is still in the public eye, the politicians who can do something about it will keep doing something about it. It feels like a big "we the people" moment, and it made that cynic inside me shut up for a while, and be excited that something could be done.

Then, that cynic started sneaking its way out again. Why can't we do this about issues facing america? Why can we all rally around this idea and make it better? I guess it's because the outcome we want for "Kony 2012" is pretty cut and dry. No one can seem to agree on how to rally around our issues at home. Feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, let's say. Oh, let's just go CRAZY on talking about food stamps, shall we? Should there be drug tests? Shouldn't anyone, even if they are unfortunate enough to be a drug addict, be able to eat? Aren't the homeless just lazy people who won't take a job at McDonald's? Why should MY tax dollars go to help people who do drugs and are lazy? Why SHOULDN'T my tax dollars go to help them? Who else will help them? Doesn't improving those people improve society as a whole?

Then, I start to think why I'm not an activist about anything. Why I don't dive deep into the issues. Because deep down, I don't think I can really make a difference. If I vote democrat in Utah, does that even matter? If I vote republican, does that even matter? If I don't vote at all, does that EVEN FREAKING MATTER? All politicians are made from bags of dirt and lies. As prim and proper as they look in a suit and tie or pant suit and heels, they're going to disappoint, come short of promises, and the end result--no matter who it is or what party he or she is from--will be about the same. Some things fixed here, others worsened there. Some left alone, and others dealt with. The political party only changes which batch of things go in which pile. But this movement... can it really mean I could actually help something?

Maybe it's because Uganda and the Invisible Children are so far away. Maybe because kids are dying and we all know that's inherently wrong, so that's why we can rally around it. If it were happening at home, we might see things differently, or just differently enough to form two large opinions--parties, if you will--and debate the best way to go about it, and how to spend the money. But as cynical as I might get, or as much as I've been let down by politics and politicians in the past, I want this to work. 

Catch that sonofabitch. Hold him accountable for murders, assaults, rapes, prostitution, slavery, and crimes against humanity. Because if we all didn't talk about it, no one would care, and nothing would be done. And if something CAN be done, and we do something about it, maybe we can do more. Maybe we can do more at home, even if we can't always agree on exactly how to go about it.

Spaghetti!

Mikey is pretty good at stuff. He's even gotten pretty good at picking up little pieces of spaghetti that we give him for dinner, so I wanted to see how he'd do with a bowl of it. He really likes spaghetti. And this kid has never tasted anything but whole wheat, so hopefully we can just keep that trend going.

You may notice that he doesn't get quite so red as you might think a baby playing with spaghetti and sauce might. That's because I make our sauce with canned or bottled tomatoes. It's still messy, but doesn't stain so bad. You'll see him dig right in to eat, then start to realize this could be a toy. He makes piles to his left, swings it into his eye. It's all good fun



Also, I hate my voice.

I don't get it

So, I read Mindy Kaling's book, and it's funny for sure, but as I finished the book last night, one of the final chapters had this sentence in it:

I love shopping and fashion, as anyone who has read more than a paragraph of this book will know.

And she's right, she has mentioned fashion a bunch in her book. I don't know why, but lately, I've been aware that people talk about fashion. it's been in a couple books I've read that were written by famous people, and on a few TV shows, I think. The thing is, I don't get how anyone can love fashion. I'm not saying this in the same way my oldest sister would say, "I don't get how anyone can love pickles." She means pickles are gross, vile, and she could never love them. I'm not saying fashion is gross, vile, and no one could ever love it, I'm saying I genuinely don't understand how it is a thing people can love. I truly don't understand how one might love it.

Do fashion lovers discuss pleats and shoulder pads? With whom do they discuss said pleats and shoulder pads? Girlfriends? Designers? Maybe that's the kicker right there. It's a rich person thing, and I've never been rich, don't think I'll ever be rich, and can't fathom the type of things you will obsess over when you don't have to worry if you have enough money for milk this week. But that said--and realizing I will never quite understand it because I'll never be in a position where I'll have the time and money to try to understand it--how is loving fashion different than loving clothes, or liking to look nice or fancy? I know people who love clothes, and people who like to look fancy. But does that mean they love fashion? ...maybe, I don't know.

I do know that I don't "love fashion," (in quotes because I'm still not sure if it's a thing) but I don't like to dress like a slob... at least not in public. But from reading the whole of Mindy's book, she's fine with wearing old T-shirts and sweat pants (also known as yoga pants for women) in her home, or sometimes to work. So what does this even mean? To me, it's like a cook saying, "I love ingredients." ...uh... don't you just love cooking? Or flavors, maybe? Maybe it's just a way for rich people who think they're more enlightened than me to let me know they think they're better than me.

And in the words of Happy Gilmore, "You think you're better than me?!?!"

Hi

The other night I got to go to a little get-together with some old friends from the singles ward. It was fun to catch up, talk for a bit, and see how everyone is doing. When you're single until nearly 30, you don't imagine the types of get-togethers where there are mostly married folks, and most of them have a kid or two. I also thought it was funny how much everyone talked about how they feel like they sort of know what's going with each other, because, while none of use comments like we used to, everyone still reads everyone else's blog.

I read yours. Yes, yours. and I never comment (I'm blaming some of that on Google reader), but it's nice to see what's up with you. And from that get-together, I'm guessing most of you still read mine. So hi. Hope you're well!

An update

I feel like I should blog. But I don't know what to write about. Bulleted lists help me, so here goes.

• Hayley updates her blog more, so if you want to know what we're up to, you should check out her blog or the project life blog
• I'm on the healthy bandwagon again. It took two little competition thingers where I didn't try too hard to actually get me to where I wanted to do it. I paid money to be in those other "be healthy and lose weight" contests, but it wasn't quite enough to motivate. Why is that?
• I actually JOGGED on the treadmill last night, not just walked briskly
• The fitbit app on iPhone iPod Touch is pretty awesome. Not sure if they let you use the website for free, but the app is free. It's very similar to WeightWatchers
• Orange is still my favorite color
• I kind of want to eat an orange now...
• I just clipped my fingernails
• I haven't talked in person to anyone I work with in MONTHS. On the phone, IMs, and emails sure, but not in person. Weird
• You don't get a whole lot of steps in (you're supposed to get 10,000 per day) when you work from home and have a 2 bedroom house
• I'm not feeling especially creative today

**I didn't finish this blog post until Saturday morning. I thought I better add a few bullets from today**

• I lost 5.5 lbs this week!
• I'm not starving, and don't feel deprived
• I'm going to kick some butt in the FGI8 competition this time

And here are a couple pictures of my family (that won't be new to anyone who reads Hayley's blog or her Project Life blog). Neener neener.

Quick tip No. 13

Just avoid using the third person on your facebook status.

*disclaimer: this is going to be a long post about grammar
*nuther disclaimer: this only mildly irritates me enough to write a blog post about it. If you're guilty of changing voice in your status updates (and I may very well be as well), we can still be friends. This is just a quick tip. And I'm not your grammar police, even if I DID get a badge for it in 7th grade English.

The problem with changing voice in facebook statuses stems from the olden days of facebook, when your status automatically defaulted to "So-and-so is..." and you put your text after that, and the text appeared right after your name. Folks, the automatic and forced "is" is gone now. There's no reason to use the passive verb, and no reason to think you need to default to third person.

The biggest problem here is that people don't understand that they have started in a passive, third person voice, so as their sentence progresses, they switch to the more common and comfortable first person.

Here's an example. THIS IS WRONG:

Sally Schnawz
is really excited about my nose job surgery! I love it!

First, take a look at your facebook news feed and notice that facebook has now put the text under your name. That way, we all get that the next bit of text is from you, and Facebook is not forcing you to start a sentence with your name anymore! Secondly, when you update similarly to the example above, it sounds like you are saying that a third party person with your name (Sally) is excited for you, and you love that she is excited for you. What you really tried to say is that you, Sally, are excited about and love your nose job. So you should just say that. THIS IS RIGHT:

Sally Schnawz
I am really excited about my nose job surgery! I love it!

Don't get it yet? here are a couple actual examples from people with whom I am friends on facebook, complete with an explanation of what English tells us they said, my understanding of what they tried to say, an example of what they should have said had they really wanted to continue in the third person, and and example in first person. I make learning fun!

Helen Hungrypants
really wants Cafe Rio for lunch... wish it wasn't far away! I have a free meal!

• What it really means: Person A knows someone named Helen. Helen wants Cafe Rio. Person A wants to use his or her free meal card to satiate Helen's desires for a salad, loaded with more than the daily allotment of calories for the average person. And a soda. Because free meals come with a soda.
• What Helen tried to say: Helen, herself, is craving Cafe Rio and wants to use her free meal card to get something for lunch, but Cafe Rio is far away. Shucks.
• Third person example: Helen Hungrypants really wants Cafe Rio for lunch and wishes it wasn't far away! She has a free meal!
• First person example: I really want Cafe Rio for lunch. I wish it wasn't far away; I have a free meal!

Theresa Therapist

Thinks I am going to like this semester. Love my play therapy class & hope I can learn a lot in my marriage & family therapy class!

• What it really means: Person A knows someone named Theresa. Theresa thinks Person A is going to like school this semester. Person A loves Play Therapy and is looking forward to Marriage and Family Therapy. The rest of us aren't sure why Theresa has anything to say about Person A's class schedule.
• What Theresa tried to say: Theresa, herself, thinks she is going to like the semester and wants to give some key examples to demonstrate why.
• Third person example: Theresa Therapist thinks she is going to like this semester. She loves her play therapy class and hopes she can learn a lot in her marriage and family therapy class!
• First person example: I am going to like this semester. I love my Play Therapy class and I hope I can learn a lot in my Marriage and Family Therapy class! Also, I need to take a basic grammar class as soon as possible!

There are countless additional examples. As you can see from the given third person examples, third person doesn't quite flow because no one talks that way (except maybe The Jimmy). Just stick to talking in the first person, because you're naturally going to flow that way anyway. It'll save us all the trouble of struggling to figure out what you're really talking about.