How can you mix up night and day?

Our little Taylor turned 5 weeks old today.  I am now coming to grips and accepting fully that she has night and day totally mixed up. I had it coming.  Brooklyn was such a good baby and easy to keep on a schedule that I knew this one would be different.  Not only does she want to play at night, but she also must eat more at night, then sleeps pretty much the whole day.  For instance, last night I was up every hour and a half to feed her.  That means get up at 1, feed and change her (takes about a half hour) then attempt to go back to sleep, only to be woken up 45 min to an hour later to do it all again at 3:30.  This lasted till 8am when the sun is up and smiling and my eyes are rolling so bad I can't even read what's on the tv guide channel anymore. That's when Brooklyn gets up and wants breakfast and watches Sesame Street so I guess it doesn't really matter anyways what show I get to semi sleep through.  Once breakfast is on the table my day starts and there is no turning back.  

Now I sit here, 11pm, feeding Taylor, typing one handed, dreading to go to bed knowing what kind of routine awaits me in just a few short minutes. Feel free to drop any advice. I'm not quite desperate, but I can feel the time soon coming.

Baby Pictures!

Isn't she lovely . . .

My sister offered to take pictures of Taylor.  She's not a real photographer, but loves to play with her camera.  We had lots of fun at her house this morning getting some cute pics.  Big sisters are awesome.  Thanks again Traci!

Merry Christmas

We hope you strike gold!

Elf Yourself!

I had too much fun making this. Merry Christmas!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/Xm7qIT9DNm181r7w

It's about time!

Okay, so she's been home since Saturday and we've spent so much time loving her I haven't updated the blog till today.  We got the phone call as we were on our way to my niece's baptism.  The doctor started out by saying, "How would you like to take your baby home today?"  We were shocked. 

We are so happy to have Taylor home with us, especially Brooklyn.  She wants to hold her, hug her, and kiss her all the time.  She's always coming to me saying, "Mom, Taylor is so cute!"  Brooklyn's been a great big sister getting burp rags, throwing away diapers, getting pacifiers, and making sure that Taylor is happy.  

When we were bringing Taylor home, Taylor started to cry and Brooklyn plugged her ears and said, "Mom it's too loud."  I had to explain to her that Taylor might do that a lot, so the whole way home Brooklyn kept her fingers in her ears not knowing what else to do. 

 

We've kept her in the house all week due to the wet weather, but soon we'll be planning some outings while Mike is home for paternity leave.  I'm going to cry the day he has to go back to work.  At least we're all together for the holidays.  

The Mom Song!

Check this out!  So funny and so true.  I'd post it as a video, but I haven't learned how to do that yet.

http://blogs.northlandchurch.net/2008/08/11/the

Proud sister

On Monday, Brooklyn got to hold her sister for the first time!  She was so good and sat very still.  She is so happy to be a big sister and prays for Taylor to come home every night.  

Taylor now weighs 6 lbs. 6 oz.  She no longer has an IV, but is still on oxygen and has a feeding tube.  When they do her feedings they feed her by bottle first to see how much she can do, then if she doesn't take all that she needs they give her the rest in the feeding tube.  I fed her this morning and she took her whole bottle!  As long as she can keep that up, the feeding tube will come out. They are also starting to ween her off the oxygen.  Looks like we'll have her home within the next few days!  We'll keep you posted.

Update

Every baby needs a picture of them crying so they can see later what we had to put up with. :)

But honestly, most of the time she looks like this.

However, this is my favorite.  It's like she's winking!

The current update on Taylor: 

Today she got her chest tube out!  Now she's only hooked up to the nasal oxygen tube, an IV and has a feeding tube.  They started giving her breast milk today and if she tolerates that well through the feeding tube, they'll start her on a bottle tomorrow.  Thanks for your prayers!

Surprise!

So a big surprise came monday night, or should I say Tuesday morning.  I went into the hospital around 1am with small contractions about 4-6 minutes apart, not really sure what was going on and by 2 am Taylor arrived (1:51 am to be exact).  No time for an epideral, I did it all on my own.  Wow! That hurts!  She weighed 5lbs 14oz and was 19 1/4 inches long!  Who knows how big this baby would have been had I carried full term.  She's only 2 weeks further than what Brooklyn was, but almost twice as big!  Average time for a 34 week baby in the hospital is 7-14 days (thank goodness none of this 6 week stuff).  She does have a c-pap that helps her with her breathing, and because of the c-pap she had a air pocket develop in the lining of her lung and pop so they needed to put a chest tube in to help it heal.  She'll have that in for at least a couple days.  So once we can get her breathing and feeding well on her own she can come home.  My recovery on the other hand has been very quick thanks to no meds and no tearing.  I just get tired in the afternoon and need a nap so I really can't complain.  It's been a very exciting week for us and your thoughts and prayers are still needed.  Thanks everybody for your love and support!  Pictures will be posted soon! 

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

Her favorite movie . . . for now

So I finally understand why my brothers hid "Little Mermaid" from me when I was a kid after watching it daily for a couple of weeks.  I gave Brooklyn this movie the day it came out and she watched it everyday that week.  Anytime she sees anything that has to do with the movie she immediately yells "MOM, SLEEPING BEAUTY."  I mean anything!  Commercials, billboards, coloring pages, roses, castles, it just doesn't stop.  After watching it for a week straight, I found I could use it as a tool to get her to do stuff for me like helping clean the house and her room, doing homework, etc.  I don't know what I'd do without bribery. 

To my loving husband

Happy Birthday!

(yesterday)

I have to have the most loving husband in the world.  I want him to know how special he is to me.  He's a wonderful father of soon to be 2 girls and a very hard worker.  He has many talents such as writing, playing guitar, singing, a sense of humor, and listening.  I love my husband and hope he had a special day. 

(P.S. He is so hot in this picture!)

It's a...It's a....

GIRL!!!

We went in for another ultrasound today and the baby was finally cooperative.  We will be having another little girl (much to the sadness of my sister who was mostly excited for a craft idea that only works for a boy).  We're very happy.  Of course I would love to have a boy, you know, to carry on the Harris name, but maybe next time.  We're pretty set on the name Taylor Hope Harris.  Brooklyn picked out Taylor and Kristi added the hope.  Her plan is to have three girls with the middle names Faith, Hope and Charity.  I should totally give my boy(s) a middle name from the scout oath or something.  Like Cheerful or Thrifty, something snappy, something catchy.

The great part is that we already have a bunch of girl clothes so that helps out a lot.  The baby is right where it should be developmentally.  The doctors are paying more attention Kristi and her body.  This is where things started to go south when she was pregnant with Brooklyn.  But, the pregnancy has been extremely different and incident free so far that we are very hopeful that there should be limited set backs if any!  We're a little more experienced this time around and so we're a little more aware what is and is not supposed to happen.

So, for all those of you who were just dying to know...It's going to be a girl! 

Help me out . . .

So I love getting ultra sounds at the OB/GYN office.  My doctor seems to do them just for fun.  I don't mind cuz he always gives me a picture to take home.  So the last time we went (Aug. 25) we were supposed to find out what the baby's gender was.  I'm a planner, I've got to know.  Well, these are the pictures we got.

Cute profile!

Okay, now this SHOULD be the shot!  That little plus sign is right between two legs.  However, the doctor said this isn't really a good shot to tell what it is.  He's saying a girl, just because he's not seeing anything else, but he wants to check again next time (Sept. 23).  I'm okay with that cuz maybe we'll get some more pics!  Sorry to all of you who I left hanging with no response or answer.  It's simply because I don't really know myself.  I'm waiting to find out what happens at the next appointment.  To be continued . . .

What a beautiful world . . .

So seeing as blogs aren't really fun unless there are pictures, I'm finally posting some of my own.  Here's some pictures from our trip to Greer.

What happened to August!?

Wow time flies when you have too much to do!  So yes, we moved and I love our house!  I love the whole moving process so much that some of our stuff is still in boxes (note sarcasm).  Luckily it only took us two weeks to get our internet working, but by then I had started "school" with Brooklyn at Noah Webster Basic and it's pretty much taken up all my energy.  Starting a new job can be so exhausting but I really like it there.  

Mike started school too at ASU.  He's working on getting a degree in Graphic Information Technology which he's totally interested in.  So hopefully that means he'll finish!  I don't care how long it takes, just as long as we can keep living in our 3 bedroom house, I'll be fine.

Other fun things . . .

I read Breaking Dawn! Everybody's opinion of it is pretty much my opinion.  I liked it, but didn't.  I can honestly say that I've never been so mad and happy in a book before.  There was one point I was going to throw the book across the room and call it quits, but I plowed through it before school could start.  I just hate not finishing something I started.  I'm glad to say that I finished it and got my closure.  Eclipse is still my favorite by far. 

And P.S. . .  Did you know that a partial draft of Midnight Sun is on Stephenie Meyer's website.  I guess someone illegally posted it on the internet and she was pretty upset about it.  But instead of just getting mad she was nice enough to provide it on her website so her fans wouldn't have to go find it and be dishonestly reading it.  Some people say she'll still publish it, but she almost made it sound like she's postponing the whole book indefinitely.  I sure hope she still publishes it.  I read her draft and loved every minute of it.  I want more!!!  She didn't even get to the meadow scene.  That's what I was getting excited about and then it stopped in the story like 2 days before it happens.  It's not like I don't know what's going to happen in the book, but I want to know what He was thinking!  Ugh . . . we'll have to wait for more from her . . . again.

We went to Greer over Labor Day weekend!  A much needed vacation I must say.  Although staying in a hotel on a squeaky double bed with a 6' 4'' husband isn't really a fun vacation.  I'm glad we were able to get queens the next night.  We slept much better and enjoyed our time with family.  Brooklyn caught her first fish!  A small blue gill, but still quite the adventure.  Apparently she went to touch it and the spine poked her.  Once that happened, she didn't want to have anything to do with fish or fishing.  We're just so glad Mike's grandparents have a trailor there so we have a fun place to "hang" and fishing equipment to use.  Thanks Old People!  

Moving...gag me with a spoon!

I’m pretty sure our family and friends hate us by now with as many times as we’ve moved in the past 5 years (Thanks, Kris). We’ve pretty much moved every year for the past five years. Heck, I hate me for moving that much. Moving is pretty much one of the most unpleasant things one can do. Include moving in the middle of a nasty, humid summer and it’s pretty much the equivalent of childbirth for men. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but with all the lifting and sweating and pain, it’s all we’ve got, ladies. Let us think we’re really suffering even though you really know it’s nothing.

Our new house (yes, I said house) is on the campus of ASU Polytechnic (or ASU East). It’s all the old military housing that ASU now provides to student families at wicked awesome rates. We just moved out of a two bedroom apartment and now live in a 3 bedroom/2 bath house w/ den. It’s about 1300+ sq. ft. and we’re paying roughly the same in rent. Is that nuts!? Oh yeah, and they include water, not to mention free cable and high speed internet! It’s almost like we’re making money on this deal, except we’re not because we write them checks and not the other way around. Anyways…

So, we’re all moved in and in the process of unpacking (ugh.). At least the unpacking is inside an air conditioned building. However, still unpleasant. The good news is that we have a ton of space to put all of our stuff (read crap). We also have enough space to have more than two people over to visit. Yeah!! So we’ll probably be planning a get together in the future. Hopefully I’ll have a grill by then and we can have a barbecue when it starts to cool off.

To anyone who reads this blog that helped us move in any way, big or small, THANK YOU. We’ve been horrible at moving in the past, unorganized and scatter-brained. This time around was so much smoother. We had a ton of help loading up the U-Haul and even more unloading. It went much faster than I had imagined. Thank you Emerald Bay Ward and Family and Friends.

We love our new house. We’re happy in our new ward but will miss the friends we've made (you can always move out here by us, you know!). Please keep in touch whether you’re moving to Connecticut or not at all. Thanks for you friendships, kind words and all the help.

I'M FREE!

So Sunrise Preschool has been Brooklyn and my day home Monday thru Friday for the last 16 months without more than 3 weekdays off the whole time we were there.  And now, I'm free!!! For the next 8 days I'm jobless, well, with the exception of packing and moving to family campus life.  

I don't have to watch 20 kids at a time all by myself for 7 hours straight anymore.    

I'm glad I won't have to worry about coming into work at 6am 

or stay till 6pm 

or working 11 hour days, 

or watching another class because someone called in "sick."  

I don't have to solve other teachers' or the directors' problems 

or dish out lunch while my class runs wild.  

No more lessons plans, 

no more lunchtime trainings, 

no more laundry day!  

I'm FREE!!!! I'm very excited to start my new job at Noah Webster Basic on my birthday of all days. Although I'll be trading one "teaching" job for another, I'm glad this one is more structured and education oriented.  Just the experience I was looking for.  Wish me luck in our new life!  Things are about to change . . .

Twilight (part 2)

So after posting that first Twilight post I looked into some popular fan sites such as www.twilightseriestheories.com and www.twilightmoms.com only to realize I'm way in over my head trying to post anything discussion worthy of Twilight.  I now get all my fixes there.  My favorite site is www.twilightmoms.com.   Also, in the t-moms web site they've posted all of Stephenie Meyers teaser quotes from Breaking Dawn and if you join you can see the discussion on each quote.  She is posting a quote every day until BD comes out.  I can't wait until I get my closure and then, unfortunately, I will move on.  

Get Smart! Don’t believe everything you read…

So Kristi and I went and saw Get Smart last Saturday and we thought it was great! Online reviews tell you that this movie is not good: two and three stars. I, on the other hand, beg to differ. It definitely was not a 5-Star performance by any means but I had a great time watching it.

Steve Carell puts on a great performance as Maxwell Smart. From what I’ve seen of the old show, he captures the character well but adds his own twist on it. You do tend to see glimpses of Michael Scott throughout the movie but that’s mostly because it Steve Carell and that’s how he acts. Overall, I found him very funny (as usual) and he didn’t get annoying, which I was kind of afraid he would.
Anne Hathaway…oh, Anne Hathaway. Anne plays Agent 99 who is not entirely thrilled to be paired up with newly appointed agent Maxwell Smart. She basically spends the whole movie being very good looking and kicking a lot of butt (both of which are, let’s face it fellas, super hot). I like her acting on and off, not just in this movie but in all of her movies I’ve seen. She’s not as innocent as she looks. If you think she’s LDS because she was in The Other Side of Heaven, you are sorely mistaken. For this role, I like her. Not a ton, but enough that it didn’t distract me from the movie. Oh and Anne Hathaway bending and contorting through a field of high-intensity lasers? Ho-ly smokes! (drool) And then to see Steve Carell follow behind her was equally entertaining but in a completely different and less hot way.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is great (in my opinion) in pretty much everything he’s done. This is no exception. I guess since his last two careers, wrestling and acting, are both basically “playing pretend” (read “fake”), it would only make sense he’s good at both. He’s pretty much the only wrestling actor I’ll endorse; him and Andre the Giant in Princess Bride (sorry Hulk Hogan).

This was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, actually much more so that I had expected. Now, granted, there are some dumb parts but that’s really to be expected with this type of movie. It’s aimed at such a wide demographic that they have to try to please everybody and for the most part, it works. The dumb parts tend to be generally short and sparse which is preferable.

For those of you who watched the old series (i.e. Mike Rogan) and those who know about it but have never really seen it, you’ll both like this movie for different reasons. Either way, this movie is highly recommended.

4/5 STARS

p.s. there’s no coda or anything at the end so there’s really no need to stay all the way till the end of the credits. We waited for nothing for you. You’re welcome!

To all you Twilighters . . . (part 1: Theories)

Note to reader:
I did two different posts in one day! I wonder if that will ever happen again. The other is my "tag" reply if you are interested. Since Mike started his "own" site I'm going to be better at posting more often and more interesting than my usual posts. So here I go!

For all you Twilight fans, I type this post. I've been asked so many questions about what I think and heard so many different theories I might as well just put my opinions out there and tell people to refer to my blog. I think this will have to be at least a 3 part post. I'll take my time and make it as interesting as I can so that those of you who haven't read the books might be a little more interested and open to subjecting yourselves to such entertainment. Why you haven't read it by now I will never know.

So the biggest question I think everybody has is:

WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?

Every time I hear a different theory I'm compelled to read the whole series one more time. Currently I've only read through them all about 5 times. So here are some of your theories and mine. Feel free to respond with more.

Theory #1
Bella will change Edward to a human!
Hmmm, I'm not so sure. However, this was one of those comments that got me going home and starting the series again. Such lines from Edward like "I've never felt this way . . ." or how Edward seems to be developing more human like emotions makes me think twice. But could Stephenie Meyer really pull of a switch like that in her plot? I kind of hope . . .

Theory #2
Someone is going to crash the wedding!
Who you may ask? Well, there are a few people on the list, top two being Jacob (How can you have a Team Jacob if he doesn't come back?) or possibly even the Volturi. Maybe the Cullens will have some unexpected visitors again? That would definitely be fun to read through. I hope it happens as much as I want them to be together. I love that Meyer's books do not exclude some real intense action, even if it is crashing a wedding.

Theory #3
Carlisle is the Stregoni benefici!
Remember when Bella researches vampires on the internet when she figures out Edward's a vampire? Her research included the definition of the Stregoni benefici "An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and mortal enemy of all evil vampires." I think there is more to Carlisle than meets the eye. With the last encounter of the Volturi there seemed to be uncomfortable tension between Jane and the Cullens and a hint of bitterness. I hope to hear more of Carlisle's experience when he was with the Volturi.

Theory #4
Jacob will imprint on Leah!
I sure hope so. That will give everybody a happy ending. I like happy endings. I'm sure Meyer won't disappoint me in that department.

Theory #5
Bella's power will be . . .
Okay, so there are too many theories to make it one title. Some say it will be a defensive power like protecting others' thoughts being read or from powers like Jane's. For me that's a little too "force field"-ish, but it does kind of fit in seeing how Edward, Aro, or Jane had no effect on her. She's really good at attracting boys, though not like Rosalie. She's also good at making oposing groups cooperate. Not just werewolves and vampires, but she created a whole group of friends at school that might not have otherwise happened had she not come to Forks. Some even say her power will be turning Edward human. Again, things that make me go hmmm . . .

Well, I hope this wasn't too long for you. My other posts will be about "What I hope will be in Breaking Dawn" and "Silly questions I've thought of and heard." Feel free to share any of your ideas. Stay tuned for more!

Just for you Holly (and who ever else wants to know)

Okay, so I finally have a few minutes. Here you go Holls!

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Carwasher Cashier
2. Day care staff memeber at Hand in Hand Child Care
3. Vocal Lesson Accompanist at Eastern Arizona College
4. Receptionist at Arizona Maxillofacial Surgery (Oral Surgeons)

4 Movies I would watch more than once:
1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. She's the Man
4. Steel Magnolias

4 Places that I've Lived:
1. Mesa, AZ (born and raised)
2. Thatcher, AZ
3. Chandler, AZ
4. Gilbert, AZ (Oh yeah, I get around)

4 Places I've been to/visited:
1. Utah
2. California
3. Nevada
4. Mexico

4 Favorite foods:
1. Steak
2. Potatoes
3. Otter Pops
4. Fresh Fruit and vegetables straight from the garden (washed first of course)

4 Places I would like to visit:
1. Church Historical sites
2. Italy
3. Portugal
4. All the temples in the world

4 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Having another baby
2. Moving into a house
3. Mike finishing his degree program
4. Growing old with my dear sweet husband :)

So, I got tagged...or whatever...

Hey, it's Mike. My sister tagged me so here's the info:

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Fry’s Food (bagger)
2. United Artist’s Theaters (best job ever!)
3. Deseret Book
4. Bank of America (no, I’m not a teller)

4 Movies I would watch more than once:
1. TRON
2. Harry Potter (any)
3. Iron Man
4. Lord of the Rings

4 Places that I've Lived:
1. Mesa, AZ (born and raised)
2. Portugal
3. Cabo Verde (that’s in Africa)
4. Gilbert and Chandler. AZ

4 Places I've been to/visited:
1. Portugal
2. Cabo Verde (that’s in Africa)
3. Nauvoo
4. Washington D.C.

4 Favorite foods:
1. Steak
2. Strange foods I’ve never tried
2. Barbecue
4. Mint Julep from Disneyland (okay, so this isn’t “food”, sue me)

4 Places I would like to visit:
1. China
2. Italy
3. Japan
4. A home that I own

4 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Having another baby
2. Starting my degree program
3. Finishing my degree program
4. Start a business with my best friend, Clint

Mike's new blog

So, you can probably tell when I post something versus when Kristi makes a post. Generally hers are meaningful and not random at all. Mine are the exact opposite. So rather than clutter up the family blog with random ramblings and strange internet finds, I've created my own blog to house such gems. Go take a look!

http://www.goldfixe.blogspot.com/ Click HERE

Uh oh...Did we lose you?

Okay, so we changes our layout to something a little more...(insert adjective here)? In that process we lost our list of blogs. I found some of them but I know I'll miss somebody and I don't want to offend or lose touch with anyone.

Please leave your blog address in the comments and we'll definitely add you to the list.

You guys rule,

Us

It's about stinkin' time!!!

Okay, so I've been kind of in denial for the last couple of weeks. However when you want something so bad and you finally get it you just can't stop thinking about it and you keep wondering if you really got what you wanted. Something quite like visiting another continent or country, say like Italy. You know you made the plans, got the ticket, and even got on the plane, but when you get there all you can think is, "I'm in Italy. I can't believe I'm in Italy" when all you really know is, you're definitely not home, something's different. Okay, so that's my analogy. Here's what's up.

WE'RE PREGNANT!

Officially confirmed, 100%, real live baby in my tummy. Here's the real proof.

The due date is January 5, 2009 according to the ultra sound so I'm 9 1/2 weeks. Mike's rooting for next year because next year's benefits include 3 months of paid paternity leave as opposed to the 2 months he will have this year. I'll be suprised if he stays home for 2 months as it is, but it will be nice to have the help. So that's the news! You may now consider yourself informed.

Sweet. Fancy. Moses.

Okay, I like water slides. I haven't been to Sunsplash or whatever in, like, eight or nine years. That being said, I want to fly to Germany right now to ride on a single water slide.

Get this...You hop in what I can only call a launch tube for the human torpedo you are about to become. There's no sitting down waiting for some faux-lifeguard to tell you when you can go. Nope. You enter the death chamber and basically hyperventilate until...sweet release. You either die immediately or choke on your heart as you drop straight down. "But Mike", you say, "I've been down the bonzai slides before. I can handle this." Trust me, this is different. You don't drop straight down on the bonzai. And why do you need to drop straight down? What a silly question. To pick up enough speed for the FULL LOOP, of course. That's right. For the first time ever a full loop on a water slide. Take that Sunsplash!! Your water park just sank another notch on the water park hierarchy.

Check out the video to see how awesomely scary this this is:



I'm pretty sure they have medical teams standing by to remove the colossal wedgies received by this. That and all the hard attacks. You think the splash down pool is super-chlorinated? I bet it is what with all the people getting the pee scared out of them.

via Gizmodo

Monkeys+Brain Control+Robots= End of Humans (or awesome zoos)

This video shows what could be the beginning of the end of human civilization. Monkeys are now controlling robots...with just thier minds. Let the war on the primates begin.

These monkeys have probes the width of a human hair inserted into the section of the brain that controls movement. The monkeys are also immobilized so they cannot move their limbs. Then a scientist offers the monkey a little snack. Then the monkey, using only his brain, controls the robot arm to grab the food from the scientst and put it in his mouth (the monkey's mouth, not the scientist's).

These so-called scientists claim they are trying to understand more about the brain so as to treat or even cure brain disorders such as Parkinson's or even Alzheimer's or mental illness. I don't buy it. It looks to me that they are just trying to create a super army of MonkeyBots to take over the world. Know what I think when I ponder on the future of this experiment?

And, of course, let's not forget...those Damn Dirty Apes!!!

Last night at Midnight I was sitting in the Cinemark waiting for the next installment of Indiana Jones to start. We waited for two hours until midnight finally rolled around and the lights went down. As the previews played I felt a little excitement building inside me in anticipation for the next adventure of Dr. Jones. The Lucasfilm logo flashed onto the screen and it began. Two hours later I wished I had been in bed and asleep instead of in the theatre. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was good. There were a lot of things that stayed true to the Indiana Jones genre and there were some things that were a bit of a stretch even for an Indie movie (Shia LeBeouf swinging on vines through the jungle…really?). Since it is a period piece there were a few things that I thought were a bit hokey at first but when I thought about it, they really seemed to fit (think Roswell and the atom bomb). Harrison Ford is in his mid-sixties but still manages to slip back into his Indie character and still manages to leaves a trail of destruction as big as the other three movies. I wasn't blown away but I do recommend you see this movie.
Excuse me but I need to get something out of the way…

An Open letter to George Lucas:

Mr. Lucas,

First and foremost, thank you so much for the fantastic movies you have brought us over the years. Many of them have changed lives and, to some extent, changed the world. You contributions are legendary and we thank you for that.

Having said that: Please stop making movies.

You have lots of money. Ridiculous amounts. You have pretty much every movie making technology at your disposal and in your name. This does not mean you need to keep making movies. I thought that became very apparent with the Star Wars prequels. People saw them because they said Star Wars but left the theatres wondering what just happened. You and Spielberg made a great team. Made. As in past tense. Please leave the movie making to the new guys. They have wonderful new ideas of what movies should be. New ideas. And they all seem to use ILM and Skywalker Sound; your studios, so it’s like you’re helping anyways. Let’s let that be your new legend. ‘Cause let’s be real, this Indiana Jones movies fell the same way the new Star Wars movies did: pretty good but just not the same.

Thank you, Mr. Lucas, for all you’ve done but please stop.

Sincerely,

Mike Harris

She's Cookin'

Here's a cute video of Brookie. I think we can all guess who she's going to vote for on American Idol.

your iPod will kill you someday

Hopefully you all remember when I told you about the Eagle Ray leaping out of the water and striking a woman on a boat in the face, killing her instantly.

That’s nothing…Listen to this.

This happened on Tuesday in British Columbia, Canada and is absolutely ridiculous (and not just because it happened in Canadia). 23 year-old, Isaiah Otieno, was on his way to his mailbox, rocking out to his iPod when a crashing helicopter came out of nowhere. The helicopter struck Otieno and dragged him for an undisclosed distance. Otieno did not survive.

I thought the Eagle Ray was pretty bad but this is a helicopter in a rural area that hit a kid walking to a mailbox. A HELICOPTER!! Now comes the controversial arguments of “Was it the iPod’s fault that he didn’t hear the helicopter coming?” There have already been attempts to ban iPods while crossing the street in New York and elsewhere. No doubt this will bring up the issue again. Crossing the street in New York is one thing. People probably get hit by cars every minute in New York. It’s like a rite of passage there. But really, how often do helicopters fall from the sky and hit unsuspecting iPodders? I like my iPod but I’m not attached to it like some people. I know people who treat their iPod like an extra appendage and would not be able to function without it. It’s sad really. If you wanna go deaf, that’s your call. Crank up the volume and enjoy your hearing as it slowly slips away. But just beware of cars while crossing the street and fiery helicopters falling from the sky that will kill you.

via gizmodo

my retro binge

For those of you that don't know I was recently accepted in the Graphic Information Technology program at ASU. The degree is offered at the Polytechnic campus (ASU East) and we are applying for family housing on the campus. The campus is the old Williams Air Force Base so the houses are old Air Force houses. These houses scream retro so during my daily perusal of Craig's List I hit retro gold. I would put every single one of these in that house and it would be magnificent. Here some of the gems that I found:

Best. Couch. Ever.

Retro-tastic!


My sister almost cried when she found out these were sold!

I would turn this into the best cabinet you've ever seen!!



Every dinner would taste better on this table. I'm sure of it.

What better way to store your books than on an old school library cart.

strictly for my ninjas

A good friend of mine, and the singer for our band, Jared Nielson, made this video a while back for an Institute Film Festival. It's done in the style of Ask A Ninja. It won him first place and some gift cards to Cheesecake Factory (a gift that keeps on giving in insanely over sized portions). Seeing how I still think this is funny, I thought I'd share it with the handful of people that actually read this blog.

Keeping with the theme, for more cool ninja action, check out the progressive online comic book, Dr. McNinja. I stumbled upon it not long ago and have been a fan since.

Mermaids and cloaking devices

I was called at the begining of the year as the Valiant 8 teacher, the kids that are turning 8 this year. I told them at our first class that if they would bring their scriptures to church they would get a point and when they get to 50 points we would have a class party. Such were the events that brought on the pool party I held for them this last Friday. Little did I remember the days of being an 8 year old. Everything was normal and to be expected when the first two girls arived, but then the boys came. Only two of them but the dynamics between an 8 year old boy and girl is a completely different world from the one we live in. I tried playing with them for a while, but I didn't know when to take them seriously or if we were still pretending. I quietly stepped out of their world to watch in amazment as a twisted and complex storyline of mermaids, humans, androids and cloaking devices ensued before my very eyes. Luckily no one was really hurt and everyone "got along." It's pretty entertaining watching my primary kids, but when it all comes down to it, I'm glad I get to give them back to their parents.

cute personified

You can make any picture look like this. Go HERE and upload your photo to have it aged and made all cool-vintage-like!

via How About Orange

Iron Man is Gadgetastic!!

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Iron Man was released in theaters at 8 PM on Thursday instead of midnight Friday like everyone else though. Kristi and I took advantage of this and went on a date to the movies. To start there is a killer trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie. If you are not excited about this upcoming awesomeness please leave this blog immediately. There was a great new trailer for The Dark Knight that hints at just how dark the feel of the movie is going to be. The new Narnia movie made an appearance as well as new flicks from Adam Sandler and Mike Myers.

The movie starts and doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff. Robert Downey, Jr.’s character, Tony Stark, seems all too perfect for him (much like Hugh Jackman and Wolverine). He doesn’t try for laughs, his personality just draws them. There is a lot of humor in this movie which really surprised me. There is a thin line you walk between awesome and cheesy when you try to make an action movie funny. From where I sat, it never strayed into cheesy. Not once.

There’s gunfire, explosions, hostile situations, flying, back-stabbing and lots and lots of action. This movie simply has it all. If you’re a comic book fan and have enjoyed the Marvel and DC movies up to this point, buckle up. This one, in my opinion, is right there with Batman Begins and passes up all three Spider-man and X-Men movies. If you’re a gadget and technology nerd, like I am, you’re likely to slip into a techno-coma with all the sweet gadgetry, robots and AI that Tony Stark has. The man builds a freaking exo-suit in a cave in the middle east while being held captive! The suit progresses from there. Becoming more streamlined, more powerful and, let’s face it, more aesthetically pleasing.

Jon Favreau is slowly becoming one of my favorite movie makers, especially if he keeps making gems like this one. With Films like Zathura and the ever-awesome Elf, he’s becoming a force to be reckoned with in the movie industry.

Iron Man is beautifully executed with great special effects. This is an absolutely must-see for anyone claiming to be a comic book fan and, truthfully, anyone who loves a great movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 MRU’s (Movie Rating Units) (yes, I made those up)

p.s There's a coda at the end of the credits, so you may want to stick around a bit longer.

overheard conversation

White girl: “What’s up, Rob?”
Thug-like Hispanic guy, Rob: “Just standing out for the West Side. Know what I’m sayin’, cuz?”
White girl: “No. I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Thug-like Hispanic guy, Rob: (no response)

I have no idea why but this totally made my afternoon.

Tell me it's not just me...

Okay, so I'm pretty sure I'm not totally nuts but here's the deal...I have my phone set to vibrate before it rings.  I usually keep my phone in my left front pocket or in my desk drawer at work.  Here's where I start to go nuts.  I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket...when it's not even there(insert eerie music or sarcastic "oh brother" here).  And it's not just once or twice this has happened, we're talking multiple times everyday!  It's driving me slowly insane. The worst is on the drive home when my phone is either in my front shirt pocket or in the cup holder and my thigh goes nuts!  I have to check several times to make sure I don't have some magical phone that has appeared in my pants pocket even though I can see my phone in the freakin' cup holder next to my leg.  I'm pretty sure they make pills for whatever form of crazy I'm currently experiencing.

Oh Noes!!

I swear it’s the end of the world…

This weekend was one of the best I’ve had in a very long time. Saturday started off with a little jam session with me, 2 cousins and an uncle. We will be the musical entertainment at my cousin, Julie’s, wedding next month. I had never really played with any of them (in an organized fashion anyways) so it was really cool for me. Two of them are amazing musicians and a big reason why I picked up the guitar over 10 years ago. You’d think I’d be a lot better after 10 years, but as long as I look like I know what I’m doing, I’ll keep everybody fooled as long as I can.

Later that day we all went to the temple as immediate and extended family because Julie would be receiving her endowments. It was awesome. It was the first time my parents, my sister and I had been in the temple together since Holly got home from her mission. That, with the addition of Julie and her family, made it an even more incredible experience. And Rick. Rick is the guy Julie is marrying. He’s phenomenal and oh so perfect for Julie. He’s a perfect fit for our family full of weirdos. Good find Julie. Now find one just like him for Holly.

Sunday only intensified the family togetherness. Let me preface this first: My grandpa Val was born and raised in the Church in a small Idaho town. He was a good kid. Then he joined the Navy. A few wrong turns later and alcohol and tobacco were part of his life. He married a sweet girl named Mary and they started a family. They had five kids and settled down in Arizona once Val left the Navy. The kids grew up and started their own families. By the time I was born Grandpa Val had stopped smoking and drinking. He never went to Church though. The only times I’d ever seen him in a church was to send a grandkid off on a mission or if someone had died, always wearing his patented “Marryin’ n’ Buryin’” suit. Out of Val and Mary’s five kids, only the two oldest daughters (and their families) are active members. We’ve tried countless times to get them back to church and if they did go it was only once or twice and then nothing more. Fast forward to 2008. When Julie got engaged she went straight to Grandma and Grandpa’s to tell them. This was a moment that would change our family. Julie told them about her engagement and then, whether led by the Spirit or her heart, asked Grandma Mary to be at her Temple wedding. Grandma replied, “I’ll be there”. She then turned to Grandpa Val. The same question followed and his reply, “I’ll try”. These were amazing words for Julie and for the rest of our family. Grandma and Grandpa have never been to the Temple so there was much preparation ahead. But their willingness to put forth all the effort necessary was a miracle in itself. As of today they have received all the Temple Preparation lessons. Fast forward to yesterday. We went to Stake Conference in Scottsdale where we all raised our hands in support of my Grandpa receiving the Melchizidek Priesthood and being ordained to the office of an Elder. On a whim, the Stake President called Julie and Grandpa up the stand to share their testimonies. Julie went first and bore a sweet testimony of forever families and the story of our Grandpa’s journey. Then Grandpa got up. It was amazing to see him up there. He spoke for a moment of the love and support his family has given him. Then he said something I had never heard him say in my entire life. “I know the Church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a true Prophet.” It was a first for many of our family to hear. All of us had tears in our eyes as he spoke, including Grandpa. After Conference we all gathered in the high council room. We stood in a circle, placed our hands on his head and gave my Grandpa Val the Melchizidek Priesthood. Another amazing experience, not only for Grandpa, but for everyone else in the family.

We all are hoping and praying that my Grandparents can attend the Temple in time for Julie’s wedding but mostly we’re just praying they get there.

Get your food storage together people...the Second Coming has gotta be close!

Signs you need to loosen your schedule...or take special pills...

When you actually buy pre-cooked, pre-peeled Hard Boiled Eggs In a Bag. The package boasts that it contains 9-10 eggs per bag!! Oh boy!! Less eggs for more money!? Where do I sign up? The cost of this confusing time saver is roughly almost $5. So you pay twice as much for less eggs...but, hey, they're cooked AND peeled! Seeing them floating around in the bag reminds me of that huge jar of pickled eggs that used to sit on the counter of the meat department of every grocery store. You know, the ones no one bought because 1) they're nasty and, 2) they're probably at least 20 years old. Well, now you can try them in the comfort of your own home. These ones aren't pickled but they're probably just as gross. The awesome people at thekitchn.com, part of apartmenttherapy.com (recommended), actually bought them and put them in their mouths. The result..."stale", "rubbery whites" and "hard yolks" were a few adjectives thrown out. You'd not only have to be pretty hard-pressed for time to consume these but probably a little bit overdue for some therapy as well. If you have the time, however, here's some tips to make the process all the more easy!

So...what do you do all day?

I’ve been asked by several people where I found some of the stuff I’ve posted. While some of it came from random surfing, there are several websites that I visit throughout the day that I love. My day doesn’t seem complete without at least one visit to these awesome sites. This isn’t all of them but these are the big ones. Also, I haven’t posted stuff from all these sites, just a few. But I highly recommend all of them. I’ll include a little description with each so you’ll know what it’s about and if it’s worth the trip across the World Wide Web for you (in my opinion they all are). Here’s my list of great time wasters:

www.woot.com – This site has one thing for sale each day until it's sold out and it’s usually at a good price.
www.tanga.com – Much like Woot but this one has daily puzzles you can solve. I think Woot is better for buying though.
www.uncrate.com – If something cool or awesome or both is about to come out or is available now, these guys will find it and let you know where you can get it. One of my favorites. They also run www.bargainist.com (good deals and freebies) and www.outblush.com (for the lady folk).
www.thesneeze.com – This is one awesome site. It gets kinda cussy at certain points but not overwhelmingly so. I highly recommend starting with Steve, Don’t Eat It and then going anywhere on the site after that. It’s all great. I got my sister hooked on this one. Definitely at the top of the list.
www.craigslist.com – If you don’t know what this one is you obviously don’t know how to use the internet, or don’t have it, and you probably aren’t even reading this anyways, so…yeah…
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com – This is a great design/DIY blog done by a talented Graphic Designer named Jessica Jones. She’s also funny and very entertaining and has tons of snazzy projects to make your house/apartment cooler than it currently is (and, yes, that’s possible). She also has a bunch of links on the left side of her blog that lead to equally cool websites.
www.gmail.com – I pretty much leave this one up all day. I check email, write emails but mostly chat with my sister and whatever friends I have left. If you don’t have a Gmail account, ditch Hotmail or Yahoo and do yourself a favor. It’s, like, 1.21 Jigawatts better!
www.google.com – I’m not even going to bother explaining this…
www.gizmodo.com – This is one of my top favorite because I’m a nerd. I like gadgets and electronics and dorky stuff. I also like humor. Lucky for me this site combines all of them into a super-techno-funny-blog. If you’re at all interested in cool gadgety stuff, check this site out. It’s updated throughout the day so there’s always something new to read.
www.musiciansfriend.com – This is where I go to drool over guitars. Faded Cherry Flying V, you will be mine some day. Oh yes, you will be mine.
www.tigerdirect.com – This is where I go to drool over computer parts. Newegg is good, too.
www.azcentral.com – Local and Global news. I’ve even written reviews of four restaurants on this site right HERE. So you know they’re top notch.

That’s all you really need to know about right now. I’m sure there are more but it’s too much effort to remember all of them. Besides, these should keep you plenty busy. If you know of any other fun sites that aren’t listed please leave them in the comments for me and the other three people who actually read this blog. We’ll entertain each other indirectly through the internet. It’ll be fun.

Orange is the color of Feral Cat Awareness

We’ve all seen the pink ribbons for Breast Cancer awareness, right? This is a great idea to raise awareness for a disease that has affected many people’s lives. But did you know there are other colors for other types of awareness? I bet you only know a few. Puzzle Pieces for Autism, Green for Organ Donation and Yellow for Support Our Troops are the relatively popular ones. But did you know that PURPLE is the color for domestic violence awareness and religious tolerance? It’s also the color for lupus, the homeless and children left unattended in cars. ORANGE is the color for Leukemia awareness as well as hunger, racial tolerance, and Support of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and North Samaria (Israel). Orange is also the awareness color of, I kid you not, feral cats. That’s right…feral cats. I love the fact that we’re raising awareness for diseases and certain conditions but feral cats? C’mon...is this really an issue everyone needs to be aware of? Is this even a problem anymore? And by awareness are we protecting them or wanting to be rid of them? So many questions. Anyways, let’s continue. BLUE is for child abuse prevention, hurricane support, Officers lost in the line of duty and free speech. My dad is a great man. He only wears grey t-shirts. I wasn’t sure why until today when I found out that GREY is the awareness color for brain cancer, asthma, diabetes and allergies. All my life he’s been trying to make a statement and I finally got his message. My hat’s off to you dad in your war against allergies and asthma. I salute you.

There are no less than 50 colors and color combinations that raise awareness of things like Prostate Cancer (light blue) and Homeopathy practices (emerald green) to chronic pelvic pain (light green) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (teal). Members of my family have suffered illnesses for which people are trying to raise awareness. I am a proud organ donor and encourage others to do the same. I guess the whole point is sometimes we can go too far. I can only imagine the kind of person walking around with an orange ribbon on supporting feral cat awareness. So pick a worthy cause and stand behind it. Slap on a purple ribbon for Patrick Swayze and let the world know just how aware you really are.

Fun and Ewoks at the TMF

Kristi and I went to the Tempe Music Festival on Saturday because I won free tickets from Movin' 97.5 FM. We had a blast and the highlight for me was definitely seeing the Gin Blossoms. It had been forever since I had seen them and they still, to this day, remain one of my favorite bands. Fergie was the headliner that night but we left before she even came on stage. Neither of us are big fans and we probably couldn't handle all the Fergaliciousness that was about to be released. We also won passes to the "Glamour Lounge" which consisted of a 10'x20' space closed off by chain link fence with music that was too loud and free food and gelato. Man, I love winning stuff. So, we both had a good time, saw some bands, had some funnel cake and then went home.

Today at work I was looking at AZcentral.com and saw that there was pictures from the festival. I started looking through them and stopped when I swear I thought I saw an Ewok in one of the pictures. Maybe I know a little too much about Star Wars and recognized it too easily but I've made a comparison chart below...I'll let you decide: Ewok descendant or unfortunate coincidence?

LUNCH!

While we're on the topic of water creatures (see post below) I thought I'd share with you what I had for lunch the other day at one of my favorite lunch spots: Phoenix Ranch Market. Behold my meal...

Yes that is an entire fried fish and, yes, it was delicious. I pretty much ate everything but the eyeballs which if anyone tells you they're good, they're not. They pop with gross eye goo in your mouth which has a less than savory flavor. Africans love 'em though...ahhh, mission stories.

Eagle Rays go on killing spree in Florida!!

Okay, I read this and thought it was a little nuts. And I don't know why I pluralized it, there's only one. No need to blame the whole Eagle Ray community.

Get this... "Judy Kay Zagorski was sitting in the front seat of a boat traveling 25 mph on Thursday when she was struck in the face..." by a friggin Eagle Ray!! This 75-pound ray literally flew out of the water and hit this lady square in the face. IN THE FACE!! This all took place in the Florida Keys yesterday. With all due respect to the deceased, this is an awesome story. The murder suspect is seen below...

Source

Photography

I love photography. I wish I had taken a class in high school or college when I had the chance. I'm sure I still do have the chance, but with work, piano lessons, and everything else that takes up time in my life, I don't know where I could fit the time in. Every summer for the last two or three years we've visited Mike's grandparents in Greer. Usually around Labor Day weekend we'll go and spend a relaxing and blissful weekend and only worry about what lake to go fishing or where we want to eat. I just love being out in nature so we've been playing with our simple Easyshare Kodak digital and with more and more practice we've been getting some really good pictures. Well, they look better than the first ones we've tried to take. We edited some of the photos on iphoto on our mac. Like I said, we're not professionals, but I need to find a good spot for some of these pics in our house because I'm so proud of them.