Photostory Friday: Rock On

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

We got Guitar Hero for Christmas. We all have a great time playing it -- except Emma. 

Emma doesn't play. She rocks. 

She dances. She bangs her head. She jumps up and down. She sticks her tongue out. 

Emma is five. 

Emma is our little free spirit. She meets life on her own terms. There is no guessing where you stand with Emma. She will tell you. She's as blunt as a sledge hammer, and as sharp as a sword.

She sings, loudly and often -- and most loudly while sitting on the toilet. There is always a soundtrack running through our home -- from "Livin' on  a Prayer" and "Eye of the Tiger," to her most current obsession -- the soundtrack to Mama Mia. There is a constant chant (from the bathroom, mostly) "Soo pah pah, Troo pah pah."

One of my greatest fears, as a parent, is that I won't be able to help Emma channel her will and personality into a rewarding and productive life. It's a never ending struggle between reeling in and letting go. 

Often I get the urge to clip her wings and try to keep her grounded. But it passes -- some spirits are uncontainable. 

Keep on rockin' my little Freebird!

365: Week Two

Welcome back for week number 2!

It's been the most exciting week of the last seven days of my life!

Day 8

January 8: The only sun I see, as a free man in January, is on the drive home from work. But even the pretty sunsets are not worth stopping (well, and I was on the freeway) so I just rolled down the window and shot. 

Day 9

January 9: This is the view from my office. Actually, it's just how I see things -- I'm actually shooting through the railing of the porch outside of my office. I love my job. That's obvious, right?

Day 10

January 10: There are people who can take good pictures of the moon. I'm not one of them. Yet.

Day 11

January 11: 11:59 pm. This is the picture that almost stopped this project in it's tracks. See, we got this really cool game for the Wii, this Christmas. And I was doing really well. REALLY WELL!

Day 12

January 12: The end of our weeklong devotion to the study of evaporation. It turns out that water left in direct sunlight (blue) evaporates faster than water left in the shade (red). Who'd a thunk it?

Day 13

January 13: Like I said -- the only sun I see is on the way home. Tuesday it was following me like a devoted fan. I thought maybe if I took it's picture, it would get out of my mirrors, so that I could see to drive. It didn't. Maybe I should stop taking pictures while I'm driving.

Day 14

January 14: The big winner! Jordan won the Reflections competition at school, in the photography category, and tonight was the "Awards Banquet" -- and the bestowal of medals. She now moves onto the next division. I am very proud of her, she's already surpassing her dad. If you'd like to see her award winning picture, go here (it's the landscape shot). It also won second place in the county fair. Her father couldn't do any better than third this year. 

See you next week?

Jack is Back!

Chris will be unavailable to play for the next twenty or so Monday nights, from 8:00pm to 9:00 pm mst. 

I wish I had written this list:

1 Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it as half empty. Jack Bauer sees the glass as a deadly weapon.

2 When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.

3 When bad things happen to good people, its probably fate. When bad things happen to bad people, it’s probably Jack Bauer.

4 The only reason Jack gave Nina mouth to mouth in Season 2 was because he had to kill her himself.

5 Jack Bauer never retreats, he just attacks in the opposite direction.

6 Jack Bauer doesn't need a receipt to return something to a store, just a gun.

7 Withholding information from Jack Bauer is now classified as a suicide attempt.

8 The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times. They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street. No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.

9 When asked what he got on his S.A.T's, Jack Bauer promptly responded "Blood."

10 Passed out, surrounded by terrorists and nerve gas, and handcuffed to a table leg, Jack Bauer laughed to himself and said, "I have them right where I want them."

11 Once, someone tried to tell Jack Bauer a "knock knock" joke. Jack Bauer found out who was there, who they worked for, and where the bomb was.

12 The 2009 budget for the US Military covers Jack Bauer, two pistols and four billion rounds of ammunition.

13 When Jack Bauer ran out of ammo, he caught 3 bullets in his chest and used them to reload.

14 Jack once shot himself 10 times, just to prove 50 cent is a loser. He proceeded to wrestle an alligator while talking to Chloe about schematics.

15 If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.

16 If everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12".

17 Life doesn't give Jack Bauer lemons. Life asks him which fruit he wants.

18 Jack Bauer doesn't need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom because his organs are afraid of making him angry.

19 ...and on the seventh day Jack Bauer said, "I'll take it from here."

20 Jack Bauer’s calender goes from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Jack Bauer.

21 There have been no terrorist attacks in United States since Jack Bauer has appeared on television.

22 The state of California plans to reduce violent crime by changing the method of capital punishment from lethal injection to Jack Bauer.

23 Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.

24 Jack Bauer does not get taken prisoner. He puts himself in a disadvantageous position so as to make his next several killings more dramatic.

25 Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

26 Jack Bauer let himself be drugged, beaten and captured inside a crate on a Chinese ship heading out of the USA with no way for help to find him. Now he has them right where we wants them.

27 Only Jack Bauer can fly a plane from the luggage compartment.

28 Jack Bauer is the only human in the world with the ability to make Chloe O'Brien drop the personality disorder and patch him through.

29 Jack Bauer sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

30 Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

31 If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.

32 When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack Bauer found it and put it back.

33 When Christopher Henderson tried to shoot Jack, his gun was, in fact, loaded. The bullets were just too scared to come out.

34 When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.

35 When Jack Bauer plays dodgeball, the ball dodges Jack Bauer.

36 If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef. Then it's beef.

37 Superman is one of the few individuals who could possibly survive a confrontation with Jack Bauer. But that is only because he can fly away.

38 If Jack Bauer's gun jams, it's because he wanted to beat you with it.

39 Jack Bauer is currently involved in a complex law suit with the California Department of Justice due to their attempt to ban Jack Bauer as an "Assault Weapon". Jack maintains he is primarily used for hunting and target shooting, and is quite safe to have around families. But statistics don't lie.

40 Jack Bauer doesn't have a firewall on his PC. He has a Bauerwall. It's basically just a JPEG of Jack Bauer. No virus has ever attacked Jack Bauer's PC. Ever.

41 Jack Bauer can break anyone and anything, but he will always break the protocol first.

42 Lets get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.

43 Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone.

44 Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

45 A standard deck now contains 48 cards. Too many people were getting hurt for trying to play Jack.

46 It's no use crying over spilled milk... Unless that was Jack Bauer's milk.

47 If Jack Bauer gives you his word, return it immediately and run.

48 On a high school math test, Jack Bauer put down "Violence" as every one of the answers. He got an A+ on the test because Jack Bauer solves all his problems with Violence.

49 Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.

50 Jack doesn't believe in Murphy's Law, only Bauer's Law: "Whatever CAN go wrong, WILL be resolved in a period of 24 hours."

51 Tony was once shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and was back on the job in just a few hours. Jack Bauer still can't believe that loser went to the hospital first.

52 Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.

53 When someone asks him how his day is going, Jack replies, "Previously, on 24..."

54 No matter how or when you die, the last thing you see will be Jack Bauer.

55 The Berlin Wall fell because Jack Bauer needed to get to the other side.

56 American Idol is only popular because it has a commercial for 24.

57 When 24 airs on the Spanish channel everyones lines are translated except for Jack's. The reason for this, nobody speaks for Jack Bauer

58 Superman's only weakness is Kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.

59 When Special Forces raided an afghan training camp, they found an empty camp and a pirated copy of 24 Season 4.

60 Kim Bauer was an accident. Not even the pill can stop Jack Bauer.

61 In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What have you done with your life?

62 There is the right way, the wrong way, and the Jack Bauer way. It's basically the right way but faster and more deaths.

63 Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.

64 Most pilots need 5,000 feet of runway to land a plane. Jack Bauer needs 100 feet and a gun.

65 When Jack Bauer goes to the airport and the metal detector doesn't go off, security gives him a gun.

66 Jack Bauer arm once wrestled Superman. The stipulations were the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside of his pants.

67 Messenger bags owe Jack Bauer for single-handedly stealing them from the clutches of emo fashion and making them genuinely cool. Same thing with hoodies. And crying.

68 Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.

69 "You don't know Jack" is a blessing among terrorists.

70 Jack Bauer doesn't take fingerprints, he takes fingers.

71 Jack Bauer set an ordinary flash memory card to self-destruct. Don't ask how he did it, he's Jack Bauer.

72 Jack Bauer does not use doors. He makes his own.

73 Don't ever ask Jack Bauer what is going on. He'll explain in the car.

74 Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.

75 When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.

76 Jack Bauer teaches a course at Harvard entitled: "Time Management: Making the Most Out Of Each Day."

77 Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're dead."

78 Jack Bauer once opened a can of whoop ass. All he found inside was a mirror.

79 If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Stalin and Hitler so they wouldn't have to bear witness to what he'd do to Nina.

80 Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.

81 Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better  do it.

82 Jack Bauer wasn't born, he was unleashed.

83 In the 18 months where Jack Bauer was presumed dead, Tony Almeida was put in a coma, Michelle and David Palmer were killed, a major hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast, and Rob Schneider made another movie. See what happens when Bauer isn't around?

84 Jack Bauer has never caught a cold. How do we know? Colds still exist.

Photostory Friday: What the...?

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

WARNING!! This post contains a rated PG word!

It's January. It's cold outside. The snow is grey. I just washed my brand new, leather wallet. I have to register my Bronco, and the windshield is cracked and the check engine light is on.

It's times like these when I reflect on happier circumstances. Last year, one of the happiest times for us was our trip to Disneyland. At Disneyland, our kids engaged in one of the great California sports: Autograph collecting. It took a little coaxing for Emma (to you and I, Mickey Mouse is a beloved character -- to a not-quite-five-year-old, he's a six foot rat), but eventually she came around, and participated fully in the sport. 

There was Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Jack Sparrow, Winnie the Pooh, and of course all of the Princesses. At one point we came upon a flock of children (or is that a gaggle?) surrounding Alice (of Wonderland fame). She was singing and dancing and signing autograph books, for the adoring masses, when suddenly, who should burst upon the scene? The Queen of Hearts! 

The kids scattered like someone had dropped a grenade -- they were diving through windows, climbing up the front of their parents, running like mad for Fantasyland.  

Except Matthew. 

My son stepped forward, took the Queen by the hand and kissed it -- thereby winning her approval AND her autograph -- the only one in that crowd to do so. 

But that's not why I love this picture. I love this shot because it (inadvertently) caught the expression on Emma's face. This was the same look on the face of every kid in that crowd (except Matt), and describes perfectly what each one was thinking:

WHAT.

THE. 

HELL. 

IS. 

THAT?!?

365: Week One

This post was inspired by Candy over at Everyone has a story to Tell... Candy is a great photographer, and has decided to take on the immense challenge of documenting the life of her family through a photograph a day, for the entire year. She also invited/challenged others to jump on the bandwagon. I've been undecided as to whether I was up to it, but I've been taking pictures everyday, just in case.

 I've decided that I'm going to go ahead and commit publicly to do it, and I'm probably going to post the pictures about once a week. Even after only a week, looking back at a snapshot from each day tells me so much about that day -- so much that I would not have consciously thought of, or else would have forgotten already.  It's a fascinating exercise. 

Thanks for the inspiration Candy. 

Here goes:

Week 1

Day One

January 1st is my favorite day of January. In fact it 's the only day I like in January. See -- January first is my last paid holiday until Memorial Day. And it's snowy. And it's cold. And I have to register my car in January. These are things I dislike immensely. But I love the first day of the year. Today we celebrated with pancakes.

Day Two

January 2. My first day back at work -- this was not a day I was looking forward to. It was grey and snowy that day, but before the storm blew in, the morning began with a brief, but beautiful sunrise. This was taken from the porch outside my office, and it was the prettiest thing I saw that day -- at least until Utah creamed Alabama in the Sugar Bowl that night!

Day 3

January 3. The one thing about snow that I do love is how pretty it is the morning following a big snow storm -- when the sky is blue, and everything else is white. The sky was blue that morning I promise, but I just thought the tree looked better in black and white. I was supposed to be going to the store, to get eggs -- instead I drove around the neighborhood taking pictures of the snow. 

Day 4

January 4. All that cold and snow takes a toll, and we are all down. Notice that we have three bottles of Nyquil -- that's because I like the green stuff, and everyone else likes the cherry flavored. Okay, maybe like was the wrong word.  Notice how empty the bottles are too. 

Day 5

January 5. In January I pull out all my Jimmy Buffett music. It makes me think of warmer places -- places I have never been. One of my favorite songs from Buffett is "Changes in Latitudes/Changes in Attitudes."  Right now I'm thinking about 20 degrees north latitude is about right. It sure beats the 20 degrees I'm currently in (I work twenty miles from home -- it took me two hours to get home tonight. I'm hating snow).

Day 6

January 6. This is the only snow man I want to see until next January. We collect sculptures by Jim Shore -- I love the folk art vibe. 

Day 7

January 7. This is what our lives will revolve around for the next week. Evaporation. Yes kiddies, it's science fair time again. For Matthew's first science project, he has decided to see if water evaporates faster in the sun or the shade. I think I know how this is going to turn out -- but I'll let you know. 

So there you go, one week down fifty one to go. Check in again next week to see how exciting the second week of January was. 

I'm on pins and needles!

The Real Crimson Tide

I suppose I should state up front, that normally I bleed blue.

My college football team is the BYU Cougars. The University of Utah Utes are the enemy -- okay, the opposition anyway. The nemesis. The team you root against in all cases. The problem is, I was born with this genetic flaw that causes me to acknowledge reality and fairness. Earlier this football season -- after the Utes destroyed the Cougars -- I admitted here that Utah was the superior team (this year, let's not lose our minds here). But when they were selected to play in the Sugar Bowl, against Alabama -- a team ranked number one longer than any other team this year -- I didn't give Utah a snowball's chance in New Orleans. Frankly, many of the comments I heard from Utah fans were along the lines of "I hope they just play well." The Utes came through the season unbeaten, but not unscathed -- Utah didn't beat TCU, TCU beat themselves. But they say great teams take advantage of the circumstances they are given, and Utah is now 13 - 0. The ONLY unbeaten team left in college football. 

Today I'm a Ute fan. I'll bleed red until next September.

In 2004, the University of Utah was the first of the non-BCS automatic qualifiers to crash the party. They finished the season ranked 6th and were rewarded with a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, to play 23rd ranked Pittsburgh. It was a joke, and I believe a slap in the face -- a chance to prove what the elite schools believe, that even the top team in the Mountain West Conference is no match for a mid level team from the ACC.

Utah 35

Pitt 7

Since that time non BCS schools have won twice as many of the big bowls as they have lost. This year Utah finished 12-0 in the regular season, and were ranked 6th. They are the first team to crash the party twice. This time, I think the BCS gods on Mount Olympus decided to put an end to all this foolishness, and put the upstart Utes up against a team that they had no chance of beating -- The vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide, a team just one win from the national championship. Alabama would demolish the Utes, and all of college football would know their rightful place again. 

Utah 31

Alabama 17

I believe in the law of unintended consequences. Sometimes we say things that we wish we could take back, but the thing about words is --once they're out there, they're very hard to reel back in. Alabama coach Nick Saban, before the game, and in trying to put the best spin on Alabama's only loss, at that point, to Florida, stated that the Crimson Tide were the only team to go 12-0 in a real BCS conference. I don't think he was necessarily trying to slap Utah in the face, but Utah plays best with a chip on their shoulder. The Utes didn't beat Alabama, they dominated them. The rolled the Tide. I had my questions about this Utah team for most of the year. No more. Bring on anyone. Bring on Florida, anywhere, anytime.

And speaking of Florida, can we stop talking about Urban Meyer now? Meyer coached the Utes for two seasons, and got them to that Fiesta Bowl in 2004, but it was never about the Utes -- it was the Urban Meyer show. No one is denying that he is a great coach, but he used Utah as a springboard for his own career. He didn't even stick around long enough to coach them in the Fiesta Bowl. This year they did it without him. In fact, Utah beat Alabama by more points than Florida (the only other team to beat the Tide this year) did. And Kyle Whittingham is still at Utah. 
Florida and Oklahoma will play for the BCS title. Fine. Let them have the BCS title -- that's appropriate, it's the BCS' party. But The University of Utah is the 2008 National Champion.
If you believe in fairness. If you believe in honor. If you believe in sportsmanship. If you believe in honesty. If you believe in rewarding effort and heart. Heck, if you believe in America, that is the only answer to the question of who should be crowned as the National Champion.

Utah's win was good for the Mountain West Conference. It was good for all of non-BCS football. It was good for all of college football. It was good for BYU, for that matter. If nothing else it helps to solidify the idea that the Mountain West Conference deserves an automatic bid to the big bowls. But, personally I hope that never happens. I hope teams like Utah continue to crash the elite parties, and embarrass and expose the Bowl Championship Series for the fraud that it is.

CONGRATULATIONS UTAH 

2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Photostory Friday: Sharing

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My resolution for this year is to share more, and in that spirit, I'm about to share with you my fantastic recipe for homemade pancakes -- from scratch!

At our house, I am the breakfast guy, and I make three things -- Pancakes, Waffles and French Toast. 

And bacon. 

I've been working out this pancake recipe for years. You see, the most important thing about pancakes, the thing you must never forget, the thing that will make your pancake cooking a success is consistency -- by which I mean, the consistency of the batter. It makes all the difference -- therefore you must be precise in your preparations. 

This is a basic recipe, to which you can add anything you want (blueberries, raspberries, bacon,  --  dirt from the floor if you want to), but you must follow these directions first. 

Get your mixing bowl -- one with a pouring spout, preferably. 

Get your electric griddle (this is not absolutely essential, but it is your best bet for even cooking) -- turn it to at least 400 degrees. 

Crack two large eggs into the bowl. 

Add exactly 1 3/4 cups of 2% milk. 

Add exactly 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. 

Using a good metal whisk, stir until it becomes nice and frothy.

Here is the MOST important part:

Add 1 3/4 cups of flour 

BUT

You have to do it my way, which is: Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup, and pack it full of flour -- seven times. 

I KNOW, you're not supposed to pack flour -- we're living on the edge people!

Add 4 teaspoons of baking powder.

BUT

Once again -- my way: (one tablespoon equals three teaspoons -- roughly). Put in a tablespoon of baking powder, followed by a teaspoon of baking powder. Trust me. 

Add two tablespoons of sugar -- but it HAS to be sugar grown on the south side of the farthest Hawaiian island to the west, and harvested in the month of September. On an even numbered day. 

Just kidding -- any sugar will do. 

Add one half teaspoon of salt. But it has to be...that's only funny once. 

Now Mix like the wind!

Mix (with your good metal whisk) until all of the BIG lumps are gone. The little lumps will cook out. 

You batter is now perfect. Take a picture of it.

Then let the pouring begin. Pour carefully, using a rubber scraper to help guide the batter into perfect round pancakes -- about 3.5 inches in diameter (any bigger and you risk spraining your wrist).

Let the pancakes cook until edges are beginning to dry and the bubbles on top begin to pop. Turn them over -- crust should be golden brown. Cook for about another minute.

Remove from griddle. 

Eat. 

Enjoy. 

Makes about 15 pancakes. 

Happy New Year!! 

And don't say I never gave you anything.