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.