Am I justifying? ... I don't care!

If you are like me (and if you are, then you are probably feeling a little frumpy this morning. Sorry), then you LOVE TV. Now, there are only a few shows I feel a little guilty about-- Sex and the City (on TBS) and Grey's Anatomy come to mind--but not too guilty... I still love them, watch them, and talk about them to Blaine (who is a great sport).
Anyway, to the point... This book is amazing! Blaine bought it for me when we were dating, and I open it up every once in a while to make myself feel better about spending most of my free time watching "my stories." Everything Bad is Good for You, by Steven Johnson is a (very thorough) look into the idea that Pop Culture is getting better, smarter, and more complex with age. Johnson disects various mediums, like TV, movies, the Internet, and the vast world of gaming, and basically says that despite what people may say and think about these "non-stimulating", "lazy" vices, people who partake of "smart TV", etc. are able to work through problems more creatively, and have been proven to me more social than those who don't... FASCINATING!
Okay, so I know I'm a really big geek, but hopefully, you other TV-a-holics will feel a little less guilty now too. :)
Oh-- and how freaking excited are all of you for The Office and My Name is Earl tonight?

Life is Good

Our Little Family

Here's a recent picture of Blaine and me.

*sigh* I just LOVE him ... Life is good.

The Lees!

While the fam was in town, we had a professional family portrait taken. (It's about time...) I think this actually turned out really nice. Aren't we cute?

Playing dress-up

Okay, so this picture is old and really serves no purpose, but I just came across it and thought it was hilarious enough to post. This was taken by Laurel when Michelle was shopping for a wedding dress. Those of you familiar with North Orem-- this is at the wedding dress shop on State Street... the "creepy" one with the bride-in-a-glass-jar-sign. We were having bad luck shopping on this particular day, and thought it was about time we face our fears and go to the scary bride store. There were signs all over that said "NO CAMERAS" but we couldn't resist. These dresses were just too good to be true.

P.S. There was also a great one of Laurel in a "mermaid style," but I don't have that picture. :)

I have ISSUES

Clearly, I have some serious issues...

Today in my class, I actually told one of my "darling" students that he was "shunned", and could no longer talk or comment for the remainder of class until he was "unshunned."

I'm not really sure what this means... Either I am a horrible teacher (probably), this kid needs to get out of my class due to his lack of understanding what kind of things are allowable to "share" in an educational environment (most likely), or I am way-overly-embarressingly-excited for September 27th, when the greatest show, THE OFFICE comes back to television (definitely).

Hooray for Dwight Shrute and his very weird and hysterical meanness toward anyone but Michael.

Hooray for Michael G. Scott and the fact that I can say I once worked for Ah-ha.com and also had a horrific boss (Gary) who rode a bike around the office while we were on sales calls, and once "pretended" to fire me... (No, seriously, this REALLY happened, and he thought it was hilarious. He told me I was caught stealing cash from someone, and I was fired. I was deciding whether to begin crying or fighting, and he started laughing his a$$ off...)

Hooray for Drew--who is so much funnier than Andy.

And hooray for Pam and Jim!!! I've been waiting for this moment for three seasons, and I can't wait.

I love great TV. Bring it on.

Thanks, Friends.

Hello everyone-- this is a quick "thank you" to my dear freinds who have been nice enough to allow me to make jewelry for them. I am kind of a nerd, (duh), and am thoroughly enjoying my new hobbie. So, thanks!

Happy Birthday DeAnn!

SURPRISE!!

We've been planning this forever. Mom told us that she would really like a "suprise party" when she turns 60. (I really don't know how it could be a suprise if she asks for it, but...) Well, we decided that 52 would have to suffice. My parents and Matt were dropping off Brett at BYU, and we figured it would be a great time for a party, even though her birthday isn't until the 24th. I love you, Marme!

Nope--this isn't Disneyland...

Melinda (our "other" sister) is the greatest! She actually does this for a living--she throws Princess Parties. She can be Belle, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White. If you know my mother, you know that she truly believes she is Snow White. It was so fun to have her there...and hilarious to see everyone's reactions to a real life princess.

(Above) Alexa, Elizabeth and MacKenzie with Melinda. Alexa and MacKenzie are Cara Ray's cute little girls, and Elizabeth is Karin Hawke's

Cara with her new baby, Kaylie, and Lanae and Mike Sampson

(Left) Kevin and Robyn Luke with the birthday girl...We even made her wear a crown and badge.

(Below) Megan and Melinda. The Weird thing is, when Melinda is wearing her blonde Cinderella wig, these two look like twins!

(Below) Snow White and me. Really, this was better than Disney-land in one very important way...Snow White didn't make me feel like a 28-year-old weirdo who wanted to get her picture taken with her. I had a bad experience with my hero, Belle this last summer. :) "Is your Papa an inventer too?" "We do look alike, do you also love to read?" Thanks Belle...I feel like a freaking loser.

Viva la resistance . . . to pants!!!

During a recent water cooler conversation with a colleague, the following story was relayed.

Our vice president (Sean) was walking one of our hallways lined with offices when he started a casual conversation with someone coming the opposite way. During this conversation, Sean leaned on what appeared to be a closed office door. To his ultimate dismay and horror, it was not and swung wide open when leaned upon.

Inside was a new mother sitting casually at her desk with her blouse unbuttoned and a mechanical breast pump attached and pumping away. He quickly apologized, closed the door and went straight to her supervisor, the colleague telling the story.





This woman still works there today, and I will often snicker when walking by that office. This leads me to my point. If she was able to keep her job after this incident, why on earth should I be subjected to wearing pants?

At what point in our so called civilized society did wearing pants become the norm? Somehow pants became such a staple of our existence, that phrases associated with power were coined around pants. For example, "who wears the pants in your marriage?" Who cares if you’re wearing pants, everyone is. Now to show real power, the phrase should go, "who is wearing NO pants when the in-laws are over?" Oh, how the authority just oozes from that statement.

I for one, feel that pants are hindering our productivity both in the workplace and the social arena. Some of my most brilliant moments have occurred whilst free of pants. Some naysayers may inject, "why don't you wear shorts, they aren't as binding as pants?" Let’s be honest here, shorts are simply a stop on the train to "No Pantsville".

So, say so long to the slacks. Kick off the khakis. And leave the Levis at home. I'm making casual Friday truly casual, and sticking it to the man at the same time, the pants man that is.

Too many pillows!!

10 pillows are on the bed, can you find them all?

I was recently on a business trip to San Fransisco and had the good fortune to stay at the Luxurious (overpriced) Le Meridien hotel. Upon arriving at my 10th floor room, the first thing I notice is the extrenuous amount of pillows arrayed on the bed. For a second I thought I was at home but upon examining the prices associated with a 7.5 ounce bottle of macadamien nuts, I realized I was far from it. This leads me to a few questions.

1. Why???? What is the motivation to cover a perfectly good bed with enough pillows to construct a fort without actually making said fort? If the maid would have created a maze to go through to get into bed each night, I would have asked for even more pillows to be used. Unfortunately the descending size method was used which somewhat resembled this Brady Bunch picture.

2. At what point during the Industrial revolution did someone come up with the price of a "Throw" or decorative pillow? Maybe if there was a grundle of electronics inside the pillow, I could accept the reasoning for a $50 price tag.

Case in point.

Good ole Teddy Ruxpin. Now if every pillow in our house could do such things as lip sync to cassette tapes, I would be first in line to purchase more pillows. We could even start up a Ruxpin army.

3. Are pillows now sold in the same denominations as hot dog buns? Is there some new marketing ploy I'm not aware of that only allows pillows to be purchased in packs of 8-10? If true, I sure hope plasma tvs aren't far behind.

WELCOME BACK JAGS!

Man oh man--TEN YEARS!

So I didn't go back to my 10-year as a profesional killer, (Grosse Pointe Blank...if you haven't seen it, DO!) and there was no impromptu dance-off, but I am here to say I survived my first high school reunion, and it was great!

9 am pedicures, a day of shopping, trying on (and re-trying on) clothes and we finally made it to our reunion. I am so glad I went. It is great to see your old friends happy... Here's Katrina, me and Rochelle. I am elated we are all still such good friends. What would life be like without them?

Most of my high school memories have Valerie Springer (Richards) in them. And I wouldn't have it any other way. (Becca, we are still mad you didn't come!)

Jeff and Katrina came in from California for the big event. Jeff was nice enough to hang out with Blaine all night while I was flitting around catching up.

Some buddies from school days. Kristen, Marianne, Jami, Katrina, me, Jody and Rochelle.

Cho and me. I love this girl!

"Girl time"

I spent a couple nights at Laurel's house while Blaine has been out of town in San Fransisco. We had a blast hanging out, shopping, going to lunch, playing with baby, and watching movies our husbands would rather stab thier eyes out than actually sit through... it was awesome!

Here's Isabel hamming for the camera and showing off her super cute outfit. I LOVE HER!

Michelle, Laurel and I went to lunch with cousins Robbie, Karin and kids (James, Anna and Elizabeth). Since I moved to The Great Salt Lake, I miss seeing my other family. Yay, Kemptons!

So, I don't know everyone's thoughts on Travolta in drag, but I promise, this movie is great! There are few movies in my life that have left me skipping out the front doors, still singing the soundtrack in my head (or sometimes out loud)... What a Girl Wants and Love, Actually come to mind... Movies that are so fun and so good, you call your mom in the car on the way home.

Two thumbs way up... fine holiday fun.

Teen hearthrobs I missed

So I am sitting here with Rojo (Laurel) and we are talking about all the dreamboats I left out of my poll/quiz. I am ashamed and amused by my lack of recall, and I am ready to remedy the situation by listing seven more of some of the best "boyfriends" for teens everywhere...

1. Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)... Who didn't want to date Ferris? I think I still have a crush on him.
2. Preston Meyers (Can't Hardly Wait)... I obsessed over him in this movie for years.
3. Murray (Clueless)... I called Donald Faison "Murray" up until I got obsessed with Scrubs. Now he will forever be known as "Turk."
4. Ian Wallace (What a Girl Wants)... I know I was way too old to LOVE this movie, and I really pay more attention to Colin Firth when I watch it. (Yeah I said watch, as in present tense. Don't judge me.)
5. Oliver Pike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)... This one is mostly for Kendee. :)
6. Brand Walsh (Goonies)... Hello! "Slip her the tongue Brand!"
7. Moondoggie (Gidget)... One of the first and BEST teen movies in history would never have been the same without a certain surfer and his cuddly red hoodie.

Okay, so tell me--let's see your lists.