Mom and Dad loved thier birthday gift from all of us kids. I had them do a second video because you could not hear them when we gave it to them at the restaurant.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Wii Fit
Wii Fit is a kick in the pants (and will give you sore calves and hips, but in a good way.)
We got ours a week ago, and it has been a lot of fun. The first thing I tried was the hula hoop. You stand on the balance board and wiggle your hips around to make the hula hoop on the TV move around. Then you lean over to catch other hula hoops thrown to you. The goal is to get as many rotations as possible. The faster you spin, the more rotations you get and the better workout as well.
I have been trying to emphasize the strength exercises, but I am a little disappointed. Most are very good at toning muscles, but only a few are good at core muscle strength building.
I would solidly recommend this to anyone who is a couch potato. Just remember, like any exercise program, it does no good if you don't do it. Keep at it every day.
We got ours a week ago, and it has been a lot of fun. The first thing I tried was the hula hoop. You stand on the balance board and wiggle your hips around to make the hula hoop on the TV move around. Then you lean over to catch other hula hoops thrown to you. The goal is to get as many rotations as possible. The faster you spin, the more rotations you get and the better workout as well.
I have been trying to emphasize the strength exercises, but I am a little disappointed. Most are very good at toning muscles, but only a few are good at core muscle strength building.
I would solidly recommend this to anyone who is a couch potato. Just remember, like any exercise program, it does no good if you don't do it. Keep at it every day.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Movie Review: Enchanted
I don't get to go out to movies as often as I like. Some thing about paying almost ten bucks to see a prime movie, and the gamble that it may stink as well. Because of this, I did not let my six and ten year old daughters coax me into taking them to see Disney's spoof on itself, "Enchanted."
However, 2nd run movie theaters have come to my rescue. The normal charge for a movie, a dollar to a buck and a half. Wahoo. So Enchanted hit these theaters this last weekend, so off we went.
My main impression: Take a large can of Cheese-Whiz and spray it into a big pile. Then take american cheese and melt it on top of that. Then add sprinkle six cups of sugar on top.
Sarcasm aside, I enjoyed MOST of the movie. Amy Adams as Giselle was well done as the over-the-top romantic princess from a completely fictional fairy tale world (she got on my nerves, but she was supposed to), and James Mardsen did a fantastic job as Prince Edward, as the self-absorbed prince on a quest to rescue his "true love" (that he met yesterday). The evil queen role was amazingly, and not unexpectedly well played by Susan Sarandon, who could have easily stolen the whole show if given the chance. Even Timothy Spall as the queen's crony, Nathanial (better known as Wormtail in the Harry Potter films) was was clever and funny.
Patrick Dempsey as the lawyer love interest however had all the emotional appeal of concrete in January. His character had all the warmth of a snowball. Because of this, I had a hard time with the main love story even happening. Of course, I know it is supposed to be a fairy tale in cold, hard New York City, but even the other New Yorkers in the movie had more appeal.
All in all, a fun cute movie. I think I should have gone in with a little lower expectations and I would have enjoyed it more. I was expecting an A grade move, and this was a B+.
However, 2nd run movie theaters have come to my rescue. The normal charge for a movie, a dollar to a buck and a half. Wahoo. So Enchanted hit these theaters this last weekend, so off we went.
My main impression: Take a large can of Cheese-Whiz and spray it into a big pile. Then take american cheese and melt it on top of that. Then add sprinkle six cups of sugar on top.
Sarcasm aside, I enjoyed MOST of the movie. Amy Adams as Giselle was well done as the over-the-top romantic princess from a completely fictional fairy tale world (she got on my nerves, but she was supposed to), and James Mardsen did a fantastic job as Prince Edward, as the self-absorbed prince on a quest to rescue his "true love" (that he met yesterday). The evil queen role was amazingly, and not unexpectedly well played by Susan Sarandon, who could have easily stolen the whole show if given the chance. Even Timothy Spall as the queen's crony, Nathanial (better known as Wormtail in the Harry Potter films) was was clever and funny.
Patrick Dempsey as the lawyer love interest however had all the emotional appeal of concrete in January. His character had all the warmth of a snowball. Because of this, I had a hard time with the main love story even happening. Of course, I know it is supposed to be a fairy tale in cold, hard New York City, but even the other New Yorkers in the movie had more appeal.
All in all, a fun cute movie. I think I should have gone in with a little lower expectations and I would have enjoyed it more. I was expecting an A grade move, and this was a B+.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Freakin Hillarious
Hillarious interview on my fav NPR program Fresh Air.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11510006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11510006
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Notes from Elder, I mean President Eyring.
I guess when he said the following, he was not yet sustained as a member of the first presidency, but these are comments that he said at our stake conference about a month ago.
He said that he woke up at 4 in the morning and was inspired as to what to speak about with our stake. He felt that we need to pray to God more directly. That we should pray and ask God what he would have us do. He gave us 8 points to follow as a process.
1. Decide something before you pray. Be committed to what God will tell you to do.
2. Thy will be done and I will do it.
3. Be prepared for Him to ask difficult things of you.
4. Has to be with a spirit of sacrifice.
5. Pray like a child. Be willing to submit your will to the Father.
6. Have a repentant heart. There is always something we can do better.
7. Gotta have hope, be optimistic. If you move forward, God will magnify.
8. God has to know that you love him. Charity.
He followed up with the idea that we should not be as Jonah, who prayed to know what to do, but then hid himself rather than follow the Lord's will.
He said that he woke up at 4 in the morning and was inspired as to what to speak about with our stake. He felt that we need to pray to God more directly. That we should pray and ask God what he would have us do. He gave us 8 points to follow as a process.
1. Decide something before you pray. Be committed to what God will tell you to do.
2. Thy will be done and I will do it.
3. Be prepared for Him to ask difficult things of you.
4. Has to be with a spirit of sacrifice.
5. Pray like a child. Be willing to submit your will to the Father.
6. Have a repentant heart. There is always something we can do better.
7. Gotta have hope, be optimistic. If you move forward, God will magnify.
8. God has to know that you love him. Charity.
He followed up with the idea that we should not be as Jonah, who prayed to know what to do, but then hid himself rather than follow the Lord's will.
Friday, June 29, 2007
5-Mile hike
I had my first activity with the scouts yesterday. We took them on a five mile hike on the south-side of Mount Timpanogas just above the Orem Cemetary. It was a good hike, and we were able to get a couple of requirements passed off for the boys. (I had Meg take the picture when I got home. I thought it would remind some of you of my Dad, because he wore a similar hat.)
It was hot. Nineties hot anyway. We also got a great view of a wildfire burning on the other side of Provo Canyon. Saw lots of planes and a couple of helicopters putting out the blaze.
We underestimated the amount of time it would take for this hike. We met at 6:30 pm and didn't really get out on the trail till almost 7. It was about 9:30 before we were back.
I was impressed with the boys though. From my previous experience with taking scouts from this age group on the Greenwater trail at Wolfeboro, I expected them to show up with a can of soda in thier pocket and flipflops. They all had water bottles and decent shoes.
Each boy had to record that they saw or found evidence of 10 animals. That turned out to mostly be birds and insects, but we did see several deer. We also saw what I think was elk pellets, or they were from one pretty big deer.
It is an interesting group. Because of a lack of 11 year olds, we have combined three wards for our patrol. For this activity we had four boys and four leaders. A one-to one ratio. Not bad, but since my ward has the most scouts in this age group (currently three), my work is cut out for me on attendance.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Moving on
I have had some mild and expected changes in life recently. My church responsibilities are changing. I was in charge of nursery, which are the toddlers from 18 months to around three years old. My team finished a major project last week, training the U of U hospital nursing staff (2500 + people) into the modern age of computerized charting.
Leaving nursery is harder than I thought. It is easy to become attached to the kids. Not much is cuter than kids in this phase of life. They are developing a great deal in the way of communication and social skills. They are learning to talk and deal with other people hopefully in the less "me" centered ways of being the baby. It was fun being part of the "village" in helping to raise these kids. One of the parents told me that he wished there were two of me so that one could stay and take care of his daughter.
I am moving on, or perhaps back to Scouting, in being the eleven-year old scout leader. Last time I was an adult leader was with the Webelos, so perhaps I am progressing an age group at a time. The pros, I am freed up to help with the baby at church during Sunday School and Priesthood meetings, I can attend (supposedly) adult classes and discuss the gospel with those (supposed) adults. The cons, lots of meetings. I do mean a lot, and almost all of them during the week. Besides the weekly meeting with the boys (of which I think there are two), there is a monthly Roundtable training meeting (that one was specifically mentioned when I was set apart) and a monthly key scouters meeting with the unit leaders. Then there are courts of honor, planning activities, making sure the boys are progressing on advancement, having fun, and, most importantly, preparing to receive the Aaronic priesthood.
Work is a different issue. I have geared up for a year to roll-out this software. (My team has been working on it longer, I was hired specifically for this.) Creating online training, going over class-room agendas, meetings, planning meetings, pointless meetings, other meetings to plan future meetings, post-meeting wrapup meetings, two months of almost non-stop classroom training, and finally 12 hour floor support shifts for a week after roll-out.
Because of this there hasn't been much planning on what needs doing immediately after roll-out. My team-leader has been saying "relax, take it easy." Ok, then what. We have to plan on how we will train the docs for CPOE (computerized provider order entry). Docs don't want to come sit in a classroom, but I doubt the online training would be effective enough to really get them to where they need to be. Probably a subject for a future blog.
Leaving nursery is harder than I thought. It is easy to become attached to the kids. Not much is cuter than kids in this phase of life. They are developing a great deal in the way of communication and social skills. They are learning to talk and deal with other people hopefully in the less "me" centered ways of being the baby. It was fun being part of the "village" in helping to raise these kids. One of the parents told me that he wished there were two of me so that one could stay and take care of his daughter.
I am moving on, or perhaps back to Scouting, in being the eleven-year old scout leader. Last time I was an adult leader was with the Webelos, so perhaps I am progressing an age group at a time. The pros, I am freed up to help with the baby at church during Sunday School and Priesthood meetings, I can attend (supposedly) adult classes and discuss the gospel with those (supposed) adults. The cons, lots of meetings. I do mean a lot, and almost all of them during the week. Besides the weekly meeting with the boys (of which I think there are two), there is a monthly Roundtable training meeting (that one was specifically mentioned when I was set apart) and a monthly key scouters meeting with the unit leaders. Then there are courts of honor, planning activities, making sure the boys are progressing on advancement, having fun, and, most importantly, preparing to receive the Aaronic priesthood.
Work is a different issue. I have geared up for a year to roll-out this software. (My team has been working on it longer, I was hired specifically for this.) Creating online training, going over class-room agendas, meetings, planning meetings, pointless meetings, other meetings to plan future meetings, post-meeting wrapup meetings, two months of almost non-stop classroom training, and finally 12 hour floor support shifts for a week after roll-out.
Because of this there hasn't been much planning on what needs doing immediately after roll-out. My team-leader has been saying "relax, take it easy." Ok, then what. We have to plan on how we will train the docs for CPOE (computerized provider order entry). Docs don't want to come sit in a classroom, but I doubt the online training would be effective enough to really get them to where they need to be. Probably a subject for a future blog.
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