travis, summer, & associates

Actual Trick or Treating

2009-11-06T15:04:00.003-05:00

Halloween night was rainy and freezing. Perfect for trick or treating :(. Finley was so cold, but she refused to wear a sweater. We ended up going to 6 houses or so and called it a night. Finley was really cute...she would say "Trick or Treat" very well when people opened the door and then tell people "Happy Halloween" without my prompting. She, of course, was really excited about all of her candy! The candy bag has actually turned into her reward for going popo. Every time she goes popo, she gets to pick out a candy. So far, she is quite fond of "nerds" and as always lollipops.

Ward Trunk or Treat

2009-11-06T15:00:00.001-05:00

Cartersville Downtown Trick or Treat

2009-11-06T14:45:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin Patch 09

2009-11-04T16:37:00.004-05:00

Cute Pumpkin Craft

2009-11-04T16:31:00.003-05:00

Finley's First Manicure

2009-11-04T16:13:00.003-05:00

Fe was really excited about getting her nails done! She picked out a cute pink and sat still as the lady filed and painted her nails. Unfortunately, I was still being worked on while Finley was supposed to be letting her nails dry. Before I knew it, she had touched and basically rubbed the paint off each nail. Than she was sad her nails were "ruined" - she loves that word. So, I grabbed the polish and painted over them again leaving a goopey finish that she then let dry. Oh well. Totally worth 5 bucks :)

These are for you Dad!

2009-11-04T15:54:00.004-05:00

Finley and I went to California at the end of September and we, of course, made a trip to the desert with my Dad and the rest of the fam. While we were there, my Dad attempted and completed his longest trek ever...6 HOURS! Sam and I sat in the back and by the end of the trip our shirts were stained with pollen from running over so many desert plants...but we had fun! (and after 4 washes and a little elbow grease my shirt is clean again!)

Just cute...

2009-11-04T15:51:00.001-05:00

Little Folly Beach Trip 09

2009-11-04T15:11:00.006-05:00

Daddo builds the best holes!

The "HOBO" pelican.

Travis, Finley, and I were sitting on the beach and along came this pelican. At first we were so excited because it was soo close to us. We were eating and he seemed to be eying our snacks. Travis decided to give him some cheese, since that seemed like it would be better for a pelican than crackers. So, he threw him the cheese but the bird didn't catch it. Trav is got closer and threw it again and this time the pelican caught it.

Then it just kept hanging out and Finley was no longer excited. She kept yelling "LEAVE pelican", but it just kept hanging out. When it finally left, it flew about a hundred feet and then began begging to the next family down the beach. Thus, the name "hobo" pelican.

Visiting Fort Sumter

Thanks Daddo and Nanno for an awesome trip!

August 2009

2009-11-04T15:05:00.002-05:00

Finley's favorite thing is when we take her to get ice cream. I used to get her strawberry, rationalizing in some way that it is healthier than chocolate, but the older she gets the more she insists, "I want the BROWN one!". Oh well, she is her mother's daughter :)

the train museum

2009-06-19T00:06:00.003-04:00

Today, we went to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History and it was REALLY fun. It had a really nice children area with books about trains, puzzles, a play kitchen, train tables, and a plush train to climb on. What more could a kid as for? I think my favorite was the dress up area, though. :)

ultimate playdate at east cobb park

2009-06-19T00:00:00.004-04:00

Finley and I joined Kt, RoRo, Natalina, and Babbo for a little music in the park type thing. The girls had fun, but it was SO hot! I'm am really not a fan of summer :)

finley on the bar at gymnastics...

2009-06-17T16:18:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty disappointed with the class, but finley seems to enjoy it. that's what counts, right?

myrtle beach

2009-06-17T15:56:00.004-04:00

of course, there was lots of playing in the sand...

here is finley sucking ice out of nanno's hand. i still don't understand how nanno can hold ice in her hand for so long...

finley was fishing. i actually really tried to catch one, but those little guppies are quick. nanno tried to catch one also and after giving up said, "it's like they know what we're trying to do". :)

timmy the turtle was mucho fun.

aw, the obligatory little boy who wants to play with your toys and the parents don't intervene. i just had to include this... :)

fe's first attempt at eye liner...eek!

2009-06-17T15:48:00.002-04:00

bath time!

2009-06-17T15:40:00.002-04:00

It is always fun when RoRo joins us for bath time. On multiple occasions Finley will just start taking off her clothes when she sees or hears the water running at Rosie's house. And it is even more fun when Natalina joins them!

strawberry picking

2009-05-18T15:47:00.005-04:00

last week, kt, roro, tatatina, fe and I went strawberry picking. the girls were into it for about three minutes. then they just wandered around as kt and I tried to fill our buckets.

not long after, finley ended up slipping in a puddle of mud at the entrance of the row I was on. I should have gotten a picture. her shoes and legs were completely covered in mud and she was really upset. I didn't bring my bag with us into the fields, so I tried cleaning finley as best I could with the two wet wipes kt had left after changing natalina :). when I was done, finley was still sad and turned to rosie and said, "i fell down roro" rosie hugged her and said, "i know" and "it's okay fe". they continued to hug and repeat themselves over and over. it was adorable. rosie was comforting her. precious...

ballerina time

2009-05-05T15:18:00.014-04:00

a typical day...

finley rae is 2!!

2009-05-05T15:18:00.013-04:00

Finley had so much fun at her ladybug birthday party! We had a couple families over with little girls Fe's age and they played pin the spot on the ladybug, ladybug bean bag toss, and dug through the sand table to find little plastic bugs.

Thank goodness Nanno came to visit for the party or I never would have been able to do it all. Thanks Nanno!!

the happiest place on earth

2009-05-05T15:17:00.005-04:00

ummm...I love Disneyland. I took Finley for the first time while we were in California and it didn't disappoint, despite the 100 degree weather. The lines weren't too bad and Finley really enjoyed it...it's in her blood :) Her favorite rides were Dumbo and the Finding Nemo submarine. I can't wait to go again with Dada!

our trip to california

2009-05-04T15:23:00.010-04:00

Finley and I flew to California for two weeks in April. It was the first time I wasn't really worried about flying with Finley because she is old enough that I feel like I can reason with her when she gets upset. She also really enjoys hanging out in the airport and watching planes taxi into the terminal and take-off. The morning after we arrived, my dad, Sage, Fe and I packed up the motor home and headed to Glamis for Easter weekend.

Finley loved playing and lying in the sand.

Here we are hanging out in the motor home...

Sage would watch Finley while my dad and I went out in the buggy (is that what it's called?) It was a lot of fun and it was actually quite beautiful in the middle of the dunes.

I love this picture of Finley playing in dad's car. She is doing a "thumbs up", which to her also means her thumb must be up in the air...cute.

On Easter, the group we were with had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and Finley scored big time. She found at least 20 eggs all by herself. If there was any question before, she officially loves candy :)

easter festivities

2009-05-04T15:09:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the smog Easter egg hunt and coloring eggs at Aunt KT's...

testing...testing...123

2009-04-01T15:08:00.009-04:00

i'm trying to learn how to post videos, so i've included two from our trip to the georgia aquarium with nanno, kt, rosie, and natalina.

the first one is of finley "swimming like a fish." she had never done this before, but as she was watching the fish she starting swaying her hips. sorry it is sideways...i took the video that way and i don't know how to fix it.

the second video is of finley chasing pigeons (also sideways) in the park after the aquarium. she was doing this evil laugh as she was chasing them. it was pretty funny, although probably not to the pigeons.

it's been a while...

2009-03-31T22:07:00.004-04:00

i'm going to re-enter the blogging world with a real humdinger of a post:

yesterday, while i was doing my weekly pine cone, stick, and spike ball removal from the yard, i noticed a mound of dirt in the middle of the lawn and without thinking kicked it to spread the dirt out. as i was kicking it (in what felt like slow motion), i thought how it could have gotten there. as i pulled my foot away, my fears were confirmed. there were millions of ants scurrying around their destroyed home and my shoes! eek. luckily, i didn't get bitten because the ants here in georgia are ferocious. i'm just glad i found it before finley did.

so, i went to home depot and purchased some ant killer. i hope it works. the end.

toad statistics

2007-06-28T23:20:00.000-04:00

we call finley 'little toad' because she scrunches her legs up just like a toad when we hold her (these statistics are for her, not an actual amphibian).

toad went to the doctor today and got four vaccinations. she was also weighed and measured. she is nine weeks old exactly. she weighs 11 lbs 10 oz. she is 23 1/2 inches tall. at birth, 63 days ago, you may recall her statistics were as follows: 7 lbs 13 oz; 19 1/2 inches tall.

this means, in nine weeks, she has gained about 4 lbs and 4 inches (about a pound of weight and and inch of height every two weeks, or, broken down even further, she is putting on about an ounce of fat (er, muscle?) and 1/16 inch in height every day).

we thought this might be some kind of record or something, but it turns out she is pretty average. depending on what "baby percentile calculator" you choose, finley is from the 50th to the 90th percentile in height and the 50th to 75 percentile in weight.

she may be of average size, but according to our own, personal baby cuteness calculator, she is 100th percentile.

finley rae: first two months

2007-06-22T22:34:00.001-04:00

here are some more pictures from finley's first two months. click on the individual pictures to enlarge / see detail.

"me and peanut shared a back seat ride to grandma and grandpa's house." age, 2 weeks.

"mom and dad wrapped me up like a burrito. this is how i like to sleep." age, 2 weeks.

"me and uncle tyler." age, 3 weeks.

"me and dad at a rest stop in texas during our 2000-mile trek from kentucky to california." age, 3 weeks.

"mom and dad channel the blues brothers." age, 4 weeks

"i'm thinking." age, 5 weeks.

"i'm distracted." age, 5 weeks.

"why, i oughtta....." age, 5 weeks.

"go away." age, 5 weeks

baby double chin. age, 5 weeks.

"hey, where's my pacifier?" age, 6 weeks.

"ole!" age, 6 weeks.

"yawn." age, 7 weeks.

"i'm not sure quite yet what flowers are, but i think i like them." age, 8 weeks.

"check out my michelin man arm." age, 8 weeks.

"graduation was cool, but i could have done without all the air horns." age, 8 weeks.

"my braaaaaaiiiiiin is so heeeeaaaaavy." age, 8 weeks.

"me and mom." age, 8 weeks.

finley is here!

2007-04-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

5:27 pm thursday 26 april 2007
7lbs 13oz, 19.5 inches
full head of hair including attractive baby mullet

"will trade companionship for room and board"

2007-03-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

my mom and dad are going to california. i need a place to stay. i hope someone will love me enough to take me in for a while. i would really like to stay with my boyfriend-cousin pasha, but i know he has to move because his dad is getting a new job and all. maybe pasha can come stay at grandma's house with me so we can go swimming together and chase ducks.

say hello to little fetus

2007-02-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

it's a girl. ETA: april 17, 2007.

"my living will" [an old post i never published]

2006-07-16T21:59:00.000-04:00

i go under the knife tomorrow. based on the dire warnings my physician is required to provide so that i may give informed consent to my ACL reconstruction surgery, i have decided to create this living will. i am not really worried, but neither was the guy in florida who had the wrong leg amputated.

to my lovely wife summer, in the case of my death, i leave the subaru WRX, my heart (symbolically), and all my nalgene bottles.

to drew m. i leave my 1/3 part of my books and any unclaimed horse memorabilia.

to shawn g., i leave my stairwell study location. be aware that i am only working on acquiring this location by adverse possession, and you will need to hold it beyond the statutory period to get full and clear title.

speaking of property law stuff: i leave blackacre to any children of my property law professor not yet born who reach the age of 25. thanks for the great teachings!

to my brother, in the case my right leg needs to be amputated, i leave all of my right shoes.

[this was originally composed on march 20, 2006. it was never finished, probably because there are so many more people i need to include in my will. to all those people, i apologize, and take comfort in knowing that i don't have lots of stuff anyway]

friday study session

2006-03-10T20:40:00.000-05:00

summer had her third molars (the "wisdom" teeth) removed this morning. now we're studying up on dry sockets -- what they are, how they develop, and how to prevent them.

check out an article for yourself, this stuff is awesome! http://www.baoms.org.uk/ce/ce_dsocket.html

wanted: anterior cruciate ligament

2006-02-23T00:11:00.000-05:00

i am--literally--on my last leg, people.

the results are in from last week's MRI. even though i squirmed as much as i possibly could in an attempt to obscure the results, my ACL in my right knee appears clearly and obviously to be obliterated. since returning to the states in 2001, i have suffered the following:

*torn right acromioclavicular joint.
*torn left acromioclavicular joint.
*now a torn anterior cruciate ligament (and maybe more) in my right knee.
*damaged cartilage, scarring on ligaments in both knees.

so i am left with a semi-good left leg to stand on. i will use it to hop to class.

these are the major injuries i have suffered in the last four years. the list above is not all-inclusive, but i am afraid to continue typing, as i may somehow injure myself further.

in any case, everyone please be on the lookout for cadavers with great looking ligaments i could steal. also, $10,000. scratch that. more like $18,000.

thanks!

baby name suggestion box

2005-12-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

as of this writing, summer is not pregnant. however, we are embroiled in an ever more contentious (though good-natured) debate about what to name future offspringlets.

we have a few names in mind, which we may or may not reveal here. if you would like to suggest some names, please do so in the comments below or email us at littles @ gmail * com.

his and hers II

2005-09-30T14:46:00.000-04:00

that summer and i have twin shoes was only a hint of the twinnage to come; now we have twin callings as well. we were both called last month as secretaries of the youth organizations in our ward; i in the young men's and she in the young women's (obviously).

we definitely feel that the calls were inspired, and that the shoes were a sign that should have tipped us off before.

summer motivates II

2005-09-30T14:44:00.000-04:00

following a church speaking engagement for which i had not spent much time preparing, on my performance:

"that was rough."

see also: the previous installment

summer motivates

2005-09-19T10:08:00.000-04:00

academics:
"you're slightly better than mediocre" [i had told her that i thought i was a mediocre student]

on losing weight:
"oh good, you didn't eat so much this time."

studious summer (haiku version)

2005-08-30T18:02:00.000-04:00

taking 19 hours

uses highlighters too much

in law library

wife on the dean's list

2005-07-22T17:32:00.000-04:00

i should have blogged it months ago, but last semester summer had a 4.0 and made the dean's list in the college of family, home, & social sciences.

my apologies for forgetting until now, but things have kinda been hectic.

father's day

2005-06-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

sier,lis,sum

g'ma,sum,trav

las vegas

2005-06-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

laughlin with the fam

2005-06-25T20:27:00.000-04:00

(we will post jet ski photos once we get them developed...)

oxnard 2005

2005-06-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

stacey, is this you?

2005-06-16T17:38:00.000-04:00

http://austin.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/71020820.html

answers to true/false quiz #1

2005-06-04T05:46:00.000-04:00

if you haven't taken the quiz yet, this post will be REALLY boring. so for your own sake, check out the quiz questions first. here are the answers, in a particular order (1-10).

1. true
2. true
3. false - once she wasn't actively typing a message, but there was at least one IM window open.
4. true
5. true
6. false - there is only one coffee maker.
7. true
8. true
9. false - i have been on time to work about twice
10. false - i have been on time to meetings about twice

those incredible answers were worth waiting a month for, huh?

try this fun search

2005-05-05T15:49:00.000-04:00

katie napoleon

true/false quiz: travis' job

2005-05-01T01:33:00.000-04:00

see if you can tell what is true and what is false about my job:

1. true or false - my boss is the nephew of future MLB hall-of-famer, wally joyner (eligible for the cooperstown ballot in 2007).

2. true or false - the other day when i got to work the front door was locked because the company had received a threatening email from a former employee. there was concern that said employee might be visiting the office that day to exact some sort of revenge.

3. true or false - i have never walked past a certain secretary's desk without seeing her typing something into an IM window.

4. true or false - there is only one bathroom in our entire office to serve all of our 50 or so daytime staff.

5. true or false - but there are two microwaves.

6. true or false - and three coffee makers.

7. true or false - i was recently reprimanded for working too hard.

8. true or false - a coworker in my department often refers to me as a "brown-noser", even in company meetings and in front of upper management.

9. true or false - i am yet to arrive on time for work.

10. true or false - i am yet to arrive on time for a meeting.

that's it. good luck! check back later for the correct answers and see how you did. the answers are finally here.

fun with satellite images via google maps

2005-04-08T12:01:00.000-04:00

this is the coolest thing i've seen in a while. the images don't get that detailed for rural areas, or even downtown lexington, but in some locales, you can easily pick out individual cars, boats, etc. images are supposedly 6-12 months old. the satellite image of summer's dad's house was taken after they put down the new sod, for example.

see also geourl.com. or just enjoy the new satellite feature at maps.google.com.

the fish begin to take the bait

2005-03-28T16:02:00.000-05:00

Congratulations! You were admitted today to the University of Kentucky College of Law. A formal letter of admission is being mailed to you tomorrow morning and should arrive soon.

as we have said, UK is one of our top choices. we are very happy. as always, my status is up-to-date here.

a few things about my job

2005-03-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

i've been at the new job about a month now. here are a few interesting (lame-o?) tidbits:

last week there was a fight on the sales floor. this is right behind us, so i mostly keep my headphones on to drown out the pathetic phone sales banter that wafts over the inadequate cubicle wall. when it happened, i initially thought it was thunder or an earthquake, but, nope, it was two grown employees engaging in fisticuffs at the office. both left after the incident (one whining, "he hit me first!") but since then i've seen both back on the job. that's the spirit! they have a board hanging on the wall with their sales goals and totals, and i think it would be funny to add a new category: "altercations," goal: 0 total: 1.

i am yet to leave the office for lunch or spent any money at lunchtime. staying at work and packing a lunch makes me feel thrifty and efficient, and feeling thrifty and efficient is good.

i have a great window view from my desk and i feel fortunate to have found such a great job doing something i enjoy. with overtime pay, i am even earning more than i thought i would. over the last 6 months, the lord has answered our prayers in ways we never expected, and with wisdom we could not comprehend until now. it has really given us a lesson in faith, and reminded us that we need to trust him, even when we cannot see the end from the beginning.*

*a more detailed explanation coming soon

funny things summer says

2005-03-22T02:46:00.000-05:00

numero uno: i came home from playing hockey one night and smelled freshly popped popcorn. "yum", i thought. "can i have some?" summer looked embarrassed, then said in a funny voice, "i ate it all!" then, grabbing the inside of her thighs, shouted, "they made me do it!"

numero dos: the other day we were having a pinching fight. she pinched me, and i pinched back much harder. she was upset, and thought to remind me, "you're the oldest". this is funny because we are both the oldest among our siblings, and we were both told countless times in the course of our childhood scoldings that the oldest should know better. i laughed for five minutes.

numero catorce: summer's sunday-isms. these include lootie, meme, shawater, and beepbeep. they mean little, sleep, shower, and pacifier, respectively.

thank U2 for the numbering system.

WRX: smooth like butta

2005-03-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

watch the powerpoint slideshow. it was supposed to make a statement about what i love more, my wife or my WRX (answer: my wife), but it doesn't really communicate that very clearly.

'true love' slideshow featuring our WRX

we rank the law schools

2005-03-14T02:22:00.000-05:00

as promised, here is a spreadsheet showing our personalized law school ranking process. if you don't have excel, go to http://www.openoffice.org and download the free spreadsheet program; it is able to read excel files.

long story short, loyola and kentucky are at the top of our list, with ASU close behind. i like hawaii lots, but i think i'm gonna be overruled on that choice no matter what. what this means is: no school besides UK, loyola, and perhaps ASU have any shot unless i somehow were to be offered a full ride at one of them.

the main factors influencing our rankings can be categorized this way: (1) family, (2) climate (3) various costs, most still to be determined.

if you open the file with excel, you'll be able to see all the pretty rainbow colors summer used to decorate the spreadsheet. some of our categories may be unclear since they've been abbreviated. if you have questions, please raise them in the comments.

which is the best law school for us?

update on law school applications

2005-03-10T01:52:00.000-05:00

this week i've received application fee waivers from case western reserve (cleveland), washburn (kansas), baylor (waco, tx), la verne (ontario, california), pacific (sacramento). i'm not that excited about them; baylor has a beautiful new building, but i just don't think i can deal with the people (texans) there. ohio is indisputably the ugliest of all the 50 states. kansas is kansas, la verne is unaccredited and pacific waives the fee for all internet applicants anyway. ah, the wonderful options i have!

i will continue to update my information here. we've been working on an excel sheet of our own rankings of law schools based on our own criteria, but two snags have prevented me from posting it here. (1) we lost the final draft and have to go back and redo the last changes we made, and (2) FTP access is in question during the all-encompassingly transition. look for it in the near future.

valentine's day, take two

2005-03-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

i've been meaning to post these pictures for a while. about a month ago, i ruined things by trying to move valentine's day up to saturday night so i could play hockey on monday. bad idea. in these pictures, you see my attempt--on valentine's monday when summer thought i had gone to play hockey--to show summer that she is the most important thing to me.

summer's hot new haircut

2005-03-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

not to mention scary laser eyes of death!

161

2005-03-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

85th percentile. it'll have to do.

schools to which i've applied and likelihood i'll be admitted:
probable
1. kentucky
2. loyola
possible
3. stetson
3. arizona state
3. hawaii
less likely
6. george mason
6. arizona
pretty much no chance
8. brigham young
8. washington and lee
10. michigan

i've made these estimates based on (1) my LSAT and GPA compared to the schools' 25th/75th percentile information (2) the fact that i've submitted all of my applications late (3) the number of applicants versus number of first-year spots at each school (4) other factors (such as my special residential connections to KY and CA, and lack of connections to HI, where out-of-state applicants are discouraged).

two weeks ago, i attended a property law class at the u of arizona and a professional responsibility lecture at arizona state. i didn't notice a big difference in the calibre of students at the schools, but there was a big disparity between the towns and law school facilities. tempe and the ASU law building/library were awesome. tucson and the rogers law school were drab.

you can follow the status of my applications and acceptances (none yet) here. for convenience, i've also placed the link in the left bar, under the appropriate heading, "humor".

more on the arizona trip: summer and i had a great time there visiting relatives. as for the schools, i was well-prepared by stacey's stories for the tremendous amount of web-surfing and lack of attention law student pay in class. in arizona, online shopping and instant message conversations seemed to be the most popular diversions. at ASU, it was games such as solitaire and minesweeper.

let me explain

2005-02-28T23:35:00.000-05:00

i did not intend for my post on 6 things... to be taken negatively. i DO regret not having done some things, or having wasted my money on things so i could not currently afford a drum set. but the point of blogging it wasn't to complain, whine, or even roll about in a muck of self-pity.

like any goal, if it is written down and made visible, it is more likely to be accomplished. i'd hope that having blogged these things, i can set my sights on them. but to strengthen this claim (and show that i am not totally ungrateful and whiny) here is a new list:

7--okay 94--things for which i am SOOOO grateful

-my beautiful wife, who is so awesome, i can't even SAY how wonderful and smart and funny she is, and who reminds me every day why she is my perfect match.
-my family, where i can always find love, support, a delicious meal, and a great game of golf or fifa, respectively.
-the holy scriptures, inspiring and influential people, my personal spiritual experiences, and my knowledge of the gospel of christ.
-tivo, movies, video games. what?
-the WWW, google technology, and firefox browsers. new name for my firstborn son: "mozilla".
-my schooling, my great teachers, especially mr. little (middle school band), mama keefe (8th grade american history), mr. fogos (10th grade AP US history), mrs. settle (12th grade AP english), dr. carter (college, four philosophy classes), dr. widmer (freshman yr, mountain biking), dr. gantt (junior yr, psychology), dr. howard, (junior yr, music theory and aesthetics), professor sommerfeldt, freshman & junior yr, religion)
-my experiences in chile, as an icecat, as a DJ, and (now) driving a WRX.

anyway, i could go on. but right now i plan on giving in to a primal urge to drive the WRX.

6 classes i wish i'd taken, 6 things i wish i owned

2005-02-24T01:15:00.000-05:00

classes i wish i'd taken as an undergraduate:

-soper's satire class
-statistics 221
-economics 110
-latimer's religion and the founding of the american republic class
-a class on journalism
-a class on video editing

things i wish i had RIGHT NOW

-golf clubs
-a mountain bike worth about $6000
-health (muscles, low body fat, decent aerobic/anaerobic conditioning)
-drum set
-electronic piano that teaches you how to play
-every adobe software program in existence

it is finished

2005-02-13T03:45:00.000-05:00

games, (22 questions)
short passages, (26 questions)
games (22 questions)
short passages (26 questions)
reading comprehension (27 questions)
pointless writing sample (1 question)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

this was how my LSAT went on saturday. obviously, one of the games sections was experimental. good thing, too, since i sucked at both of them. only one will count against me.

since mid-december, i've taken the equivalent of over 20 practice tests (maybe closer to 23), attended ace classes, poured over all the ace, princeton review, and kaplan materials that i could get my hands on, as well as various online sources. i took four pencils with me to the testing center on saturday, including my "seinfeld/murphy's law pencil" (i'll explain what, exactly, this is--if necessary).

only 22 or 23 of the 56 registered showed up for the test, prompting the proctor to keep the doors open a few minutes longer. i don't think anyone else came, though. it was very odd; we were in a room big enough to hold 2200 gyrating zoobies, but there were only 22 of us. as i started into my first games section, diagramming scenarios vigorously atop a rough-topped desk, my pencil sounded obnoxiously loud in the silent room, like starting a chainsaw in the middle of the night.

the hardest part of the test came as we were filling out the pre-test information on the answer sheet. they asked us to copy (in cursive, not print) a short paragraph stating our intent in taking the LSAT. i haven't used cursive since about 5th grade. our teachers, whom i despised, kept telling us we had to learn it because "that's how you write in high school". when i learned they were lying, i rebelled. i banished my knowledge of cursive writing to the subcutaneous cortex of my neoprinal brainstem, where (coincidentally) i have also stored old episodes of three's company and speeches by former vice president, albert gore. needless to say, this information is not exactly available for instant retrieval. i couldn't remember how to form a cursive "I", for example. i kept scribbling down the ampersand sign (&) and then erasing it in frustration. go ahead, laugh.

so that was my experience. i'd venture a guess at my score, but i usually have no luck with such ventures. sometimes, when i have an inkling that i've bombed, i actually have done well. other times i confidently breeze through the sections and finish early, only to see that i've scored worse than the times when i struggled. go figure.

i am only sure of one thing: i'm keeping my score. the fear of implosion or collapse was the big, lurking fear in my walk-in closet, but it didn't happen. i know i did well enough. thus, i am a graduate of the LSAT. i hope that my score will at least qualify me for the lowest three to four of the schools to which i've applied. if i have scored in my high range, i may be qualified for them all. we'll have to see; scores go out on march 7 at 7pm eastern time. stay tuned.

i have swallowed and spit out tons of unconfirmed information over the last few months--i've had to infer things based on some reported environmental reforms in scandinavia, conclude things based on newly discovered oral histories among native americans, find the assumptions of arguments for alleged choral (rather than solo) arrangements by bach, determine whether J comes before T if Q is after S, and whether N CANNOT teach french at the senior high school if K teaches german at the junior high school.

i know what you are thinking: "HOW EXCITING FOR YOU!" and you are right. it was a blast. i will miss brent dunn's soothing voice. i will miss seeing the word "except" consistently written in all caps ("EXCEPT"). i will miss dividing the world into strict 35-minute intervals. now i just hope i get a thick envelope or two.

thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes. i appreciate all of your help. next up: full-time employment and the GRE.

brief, rambling, update

2005-02-03T22:02:00.000-05:00

to explain my prolonged absence from the blog, let me submit a strand of my recent brain activity:

lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat Summer! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT Summer! lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat blog? no way! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT find a job! lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat cheeseburgers! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT Summer! lsat LSAT lsat LSAT find a job! lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat candy! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat Summer! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT Tivo! lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat Gamecube! LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat LSAT lsat

after consulting a crack team of researchers and parents (and facing up to my currently dismal earning potential), i was persuaded to apply to law schools this year (ten schools so far) and prepare to take the LSAT on february 12. i have been concentrating on studying since i completed my applications in the last week of january, and am consistently scoring in the mid-160s on the LSAT. today i took some time to apply to several jobs, so that i can start working as soon as the big test is out of my life. i am also looking forward to returning to the gym and working off my burgeoning fat stores.

summer has been very busy with work and school. she has been dominating her classes. for example, she didn't miss a single question on her first accounting test and is practically perfect on her quizzes. summer is also the top student in her psych 111 class, where her classmates call her "the genius".

finally, since we are in the middle of a long winter (according to punxatawney phil) i'd like to restate my argument for attending law school in hawaii, in 1000 words:

the defense rests, your honor.

another giddy schoolgirl

2005-01-19T19:22:00.000-05:00

since briant posted katie's 1st day of school picture, i thought i'd post summer's. at first i thought summer was only excited about going back to school for the accessories and the new outfits, but i have been proven wrong! she loves her classes and the things she is learning. i am so proud of her.

the weather outside is frightful

2005-01-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

detailed local weather info is here. we've had over a foot of snow in the last couple of days.

more pictures of the weather: [1] [2] [3] [4]

romper room

2005-01-05T00:56:00.000-05:00

that's what it sounds like in the apartment below us, approximately 24/7. there is yelling, screaming, running, fighting, loud music, banging, doors slamming, swearing, smoking, and other various activities of questionable legality*.

most annoying, however, is the loud music continuing until the wee hours of the morning, and the tobacco smoke that wafts into our apartment as they frequently indulge themselves. they look and act like high school kids, and their primary purpose in life seems to be "producing noise". we've called the landlord, but he doesn't care (and why should he? we pay approximately the same amount in rent as the romper-roomers). so it looks like we'll have to move soon.

meanwhile, keeping with our tradition of coping through poetry, i offer this:

the neighbors are stupid
the neighbors are dumb
the neighbors blow cigar smoke into our room

the neighbors are noisy
the neighbors are loud
they make me feel like i'm on an amplifier-cloud

the neighbors are slutty
they're nothing but sleaze
they've probably got a sexually transmitted disease

the neighbors are dirty
they don't pick up their trash
they're lucky i don't give 'em a kick in the ear

briant, please explain what kind of poem that was. and if anyone can think of a better rhyme than "trash-ear" in the last stanza, please let me know. i've tried about every body part i can think of, but nothing works. oh, well.

UPDATE: cops spoke to the landlord, an eviction notice is forthcoming. YAHOO!!!!

*legal, in the sense of the contract to which all tenants in our complex are bound to adhere.

christmastime is here; some suggestions

2004-12-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

there's no more denying it. with less than two weeks to go, it's time to get ready for christmas. here are a few suggestions:

*sing christmas songs. they are off-limits from december 26-october 31, so take advantage while you can. for example, you could be singing along to hark! the herald angels sing right now. for guitarists, there are loads of high-quality tabs and lyrics available for free on the web; try these sites:

noelnoelnoel.com
about.com
online guitar archive

*break out the decorations. they're not too expensive. summer bought some stringed lights at target for $1.50/box. the tree wasn't too bad, either, considering we bought one the size of a small, malnourished child.

*don't go shopping at a "brick and mortar" store after thanksgiving. it is worth paying the shipping and handling to avoid the teeming masses of people, unless you LIKE exposing yourself to countless cases of the flu and potential seinfeld moments. online shopping is very convenient and safe nowadays (except for ebay which should be avoided like michael newdow. if you would like to hear my nightmare stories, just ask sometime).

*on all-encompassingly, i review several books and movies (and suggest a few CDs) as last minute gift ideas. you can order them from amazon and have them delivered for christmas (if you hurry).

*for inspirational and thought-provoking christmas messages, i suggest jordan fowles christmas post, as well as the church christmas devotional. you can access the archived video/audio (in 19 languages) here. it will also be rebroadcast on BYU TV according to the following schedule (i assume all times are mountain):

Tuesday, Dec. 14, at 3PM
Friday, Dec. 24, at 9PM
Saturday, Dec. 25, at 8AM
Tuesday, Dec. 28, at 3AM

*test your christmas carol knowledge by taking an impossible quiz. unless you have a Ph.D in 19th century sacred music or go by the name of ken jennings, you will probably not produce a single right answer. good luck!

*go christmas caroling or to a christmas concert or sing-along. we went to the tabernacle on saturday for this event. it was great, except for the kids sitting directly in front of us. they were so noisy and obnoxious that by the end, we knew all of their names (alex, kayla, and sam) and could remember every single annoying thing they did for the previous 90 minutes. but ask me to name one song that was performed and i can't do it. okay...i'm exaggerating, but only a little. with any luck, your experience will be better.

*and finally, watch the dancing santa/summer shopping mood expose (a 9.6 MB download--you might find it disappointing, but i think it is hilarious). over the thanksgiving holiday, summer and i were in los angeles, and stopped by vons. i saw this dancing santa, and couldn't stop laughing. please note summer's harsh tone as we interact. i am a battered husband.

merry christmas!

birdies!

2004-12-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

birdies they eat
a lot
and won't
go away

--a poem by travis (probably a haiku or something--you never know with poems) who wanted to add "quoth the raven, 'nevermore.'" as the last line, but in the end thought it sounded too dark.

- - - - - - - - -

we finally put up our bird feeder three weeks ago, and within 36 hours it was a huge hit with the local mutt birds (what does a guy have to do to get tucans and penguins? sheesh!)

there are actually several common-but-interesting-looking birds that have stopped by to 1) shake all of the seeds out of the feeder and onto our balcony, effectively emptying the feeder within exactly 9.5 minutes of its being refilled (see photos [1] [2]) and 2) shoot their poop around, indiscriminately. some of it is splattered on our window under the feeder (see above).

these birds are a true joy, and not nearly as complicated to care for as a labrador puppy. i think i'll go write some more birdie poems.

xylophone ecstasy

2004-12-06T12:22:00.000-05:00

in north korea

summer gets high for church

2004-12-04T08:15:00.000-05:00

the sunday before thanksgiving, summer felt like she was getting a cold sore. she went to the fridge to grab one of the pills i keep handy to prevent such outbreaks.

she grabbed the first bottle she saw and asked me (while i was hurriedly making breakfast) if it was the right one. i half glanced at it.

"uh, yeah..."

to make a long story short, it wasn't the right medicine. it was lortab, a narcotic analgesic, which i got a while back after a knee arthroscopy, and should have probably thrown away long ago.

needless to say, her sunday school answers were a little weirder than usual.

just kidding. but she did suggest naming our first child "hildabrand sarcophagus", which, as we all know, is a sure sign of narcotic inebriation.

top-grade* with travis

2004-12-02T12:16:00.000-05:00

yesterday someone commented: "Where are you guys? Can't believe it's been this silent on your blog..." [link] we're sorry for our neglect, and we appreciate your concern. here's the deal. i am unemployed and, as you might expect, it's really starting to get to me. and summer has been working lots of hours at her job lately. so please excuse the dearth of posts.

technically, i have been "employed" since october, but my employers can't pay me because they don't have any paying clients (and i don't get that many hours anyway). they all have other jobs, so they aren't putting much time into their little side venture. so, i'm ESSENTIALLY unemployed. and--speaking of being unemployed--while you are here (any of you people that read this thingy), i need some help.

1. advice. summer is in school and will be for 2+ years. should we scrap our "master plan" in which i work while summer is finishing her undergraduate studies and she works while i get a law degree? this would force us to take on $60,000+ in debt, according to our estimates, but i could still take the LSAT in february and start law school next fall (provided i score very, very well on the test). i'm not even sure i want to practice law, i just really want to study law. i would particularly appreciate the opinion of current and former law school students on this subject.

2. networking. here's my resume [REMOVED]. if you know of anyone who is looking for an experienced writer/editor, a savvy internet marketer/SEO, a voracious researcher, or a quick-learning, detail-scrutinizing consultant/advisor in any industry or area, please pass it along to them. if they're one of those "work at home!" or "earn $2000/week stuffing envelopes!" people, though, you should quickly shoot them and dispose of the body.

thanks! and stay tuned for stories about our new bird feeder, summer's "drug" problem, and our christmas preparations, all coming soon.

*the term "top-grading" comes from the book of the same name by bradford smart. "Simply put, topgrading is the practice of packing the team with A players and clearing out the C players," Smart writes. "'A players' is defined as the top 10 percent of talent available at all salary levels--best of class."

junk mail can bite me

2004-11-22T01:42:00.000-05:00

the wife and i have been getting an inordinate amount of junk mail lately. some of it is so blatantly junk that they've assigned me the wrong middle initial, or my first name is misspelled.

while i hate junk mail merely because it exists, this is not the apex of my emotions. i am most upset that these agencies are giving out my personal information to every bozo that asks for it (any day now, i'll be getting an application for a "pre-approved credit card" from the nigerian guy who used to email every week to offer me $20 million bucks).

so we called a magical phone number, followed the pre-recorded message, and opted out forever.

The major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, Inc., Innovis, and Trans Union Corp. can be reached at one telephone number: 888-567-8688.

you can also print out a form and mail it to the direct marketing association. see all the options here: Junk Mail Opt-Out

cool names--if you're high

2004-11-14T01:16:00.000-05:00

for no reason in particular, summer and i were checking out baby names the other day. when i searched "unique baby names" this site was first in the google results. we browsed through some of the suggestions and we determined this site is either a joke, or was created by someone under the influence of heavy narcotics.

here are some of our favorites. you'll notice one would have to be a serious fruit to name a child any of these (then again, they are unique):

Air
Answer
Blue -- isn't this a name for a dog?
Brown
Canoe -- maybe for an algonquin child...
Camera
Cinnamon -- if you're lucky, she'll grow up to be a british pop star.
Citron
Cloud
Columbine -- ah! such fond memories!
Comet
Democracy
Diplomacy
Eccentricity
Efficiency
Eleven -- i think a good rule is: don't name a child a number.
Emotion
English
Favorite -- if you're not worried about hurting the others' feelings...
Five -- great name for your fifth kid!
Furry -- great name...for a hamster.
Glass -- good for a child born with one eye!
Green -- what's with the colors?
History -- siblings can be named Economics and Mathematics.
Silver -- giddyup! hi-ho! away!
Sesame -- yes, and her sisters can be named Poppy and Rye.
Summer -- yes, and her sisters can be named Winter, Fall, and Spring.
Theatre -- buildings should be named after people, not...oh, never mind.
Traveler

i guess we were asking for it by searching for "unique" names, but we feel they just listed a bunch of random words. if anyone reading this has one of these words for a name, we are sorry you have such a crappy name. if anyone reads this and thinks, "hey, what are you talking about? those are great names!" then we have some more you'll surely like. here is our list of unique names (it's fun. just pick some stuff from around the house!)

toothbrush
laundry
plate
calendar
photograph
toilet
chlorox

:: summer and i both contributed to this entry ::

celebrity sightings

2004-11-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

i met donny osmond this week at work. he was sending out literally 500 packages to people in his fan club, half of which were in england. he is a really nice guy and pointed out that my co-worker and i look like sisters (we get that a lot). it's funny when you meet a celebrity whom you have seen so often on tv or whatever--you feel like you know them or that you've met them before. really, it was weird.

later, my boss told me that donny is not the first celebrity to drop by the store. others include steve young and larry king. larry king supposedly came in wearing "the shortest shorts you've ever seen a man wear" and was conspicuously lacking his signature suspenders.

funny, i never saw anybody famous while working in the LA store. but provo is a special place.

apostolic ebonics?

2004-11-10T17:47:00.000-05:00

the 1987 documentary "the kingdom and the crown", which was produced in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the LDS church to the british isles, was on BYU TV today. it features an interview with elder russell nelson of the quorum of the twelve apostles, in which he reflects on the history of the church there. of the early converts, he said,

"those saints raised the roof with a religious fervor"

weekend update

2004-11-08T01:51:00.000-05:00

this weekend, in commemoration of our first date last november 6, travis and i went to see jon schmidt at the provo tabernacle. we went to see him play for the first time last january, just before we got engaged. he is a hilarious performer, and has terrific command of the keyboard, so it is always entertaining to see him play.

friends invited us over later to watch "the best two years", a film about mormon missionaries that puts "god's army" to shame. it is based on a play by scott anderson, and it is an uplifting, funny, and realistic look at missionary work. this was followed by a trip back to our apartment for an invigorating 4-way game of madden 2004.

the next day, we had a fondue party at our house. it was a hit. we started off with a light spinach salad, complete with slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and poppyseed dressing. the main course was a swiss cheese fondue, into which we dipped french bread, brocolli, and potatoes. for desert, we alternated between dipping angel food cake, banana and apple slices, and graham crackers in a peanut butter chocolate fondue. mmmm.

dinner was followed by a round of compatibility: "arguably, the best game of the decade" (as stated on the box). we all had a good laugh at that one. "arguable?" anything is arguable...pap smear: arguably a pleasant and comfortable procedure! on a lighter note, travis and i won!! of course, that's arguable.

as one would expect, video games followed.

2 months married

2004-11-04T01:55:00.000-05:00

we celebrated with papa john's by candle light, then a viewing of jerry bruckheimer's cinematographic behemoth, pearl harbor.

overheard: three quotable remarks

2004-11-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

ONE: while discussing the latest osama bin laden tape, and the fact that TV newspeople keep saying such tapes may contain "secret messages" he wants broadcast to his followers:

why don't [news organizations] just say, "listen, we have this tape...it's retarded..." and then just not show it.

TWO: when summer walked in the door on tuesday night, returning from work, she told me she was very hungry. she explained that when she saw a guy delivering pizza to one of our neighbors, she heard herself say, out loud, "mmmm, pizza".

THREE: in response to dismal vote counts, john edwards appeared on the stage to give his "i have a calculator and a law degree" speech. he looked tired and seemed to be faking his characteristic opie smile. the question was raised by a TV viewer in my company, "why is edwards giving this announcement? where's john kerry?", and the response came, loud and clear, as if from my own mouth:

kerry has locked himself in a closet where he is pouring ketchup on himself, screaming, "no bush! no!"

rate our punkins!!

2004-11-01T22:35:00.000-05:00

**we are each impersonating our pumpkin**

halloween was sweet!! even though, technically, it wasn't halloween yet (we celebrated on saturday along with the rest of provo). we carved pumpkins, baked pumpkin seeds, and watched a ghetto scary movie named "ghost rig" with our new friends.

go here to see all pictures from the night.

$11 gets newlyweds dinner, ice cream, movie

2004-10-24T03:03:00.000-04:00

the other day, as we pounded the pavement for the grand old party (and eight bucks an hour), summer stooped down, picked up a ripe dandelion, and as she blew the seeds away said, "i wish we won't die of poverty". we both laughed because we know we won't. at least, we have a naive hope to that effect.

we are experimenting with being thrifty. tonight we were able to eat dinner, see a movie and get some ice cream, all for $11. we had 2-for-1 coupons for steak out and coldstone, so we got two cheeseburgers for $6 and two scoops of ice cream for $3. then we saw the bourne supremacy for a buck apiece at the dollar theatre.

now, our next step is to scale back our grocery bill, which could perhaps be achieved as i encourage summer's love of ramen noodles.

emasculated

2004-10-22T01:30:00.000-04:00

summer has beaten me in both NHL 2004 and NFL 2004 on our gamecube. my life as a man is over.

on the campaign trail

2004-10-21T03:39:00.000-04:00

this week, travis and i have been passing out flyers, door to door, for this guy's campaign. he is a republican state senator running for re-election in a 65% democratic district.

for the most part, it has been a highly unpleasant job, considering it hasn't stopped raining since we started. and we are working in a part of salt lake that i didn't even know existed where every yard is surrounded by chain link. as travis so eloquently put it, "i feel like i'm in latin america again". despite being sopping wet and harrassed by barking dogs, we have had a good time. i mean, i got paid to hang out with my bestest friend, twab. :)

some door to door highlights:

1. "are you a third party running for president?"

2. "are you related to james?" (my favorite--compare our photos.)

3. travis: "what issues are important to you right now?"
elderly woman: "get rid of bush!"
travis: "ha, well...james isn't an assasin, so, i don't think he can help you with that one."

4. woman answers the door looking worried.
travis, energetically: "hi, we're jehovah's witnesses!"
woman slowly starts to close the door.
travis: "just kidding. we're campaigning for your state senator, james evans."

"what are all these random words?"

2004-10-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

summer got her new utah driver's license in the mail last week. late last night she sat examining it for the first time, and seemed upset. "they put all these random words on my license" she said. one of the security measures on the utah driver's license is the watermark-underlay of words--but not just any words, as summer initially concluded. she began reading them off to me. "duschene, piute, morgan, emery, juab, davis..."

she turned and looked at me, quizzically. i'm laughing: "honey, those are the counties in utah." her, unwaveringly incredulous: "box elder?...washington?..."

me, laughing uncontrollably, trying not to wake the neighbors: "yes. and this is going on the blog."

my dad, renaissance man

2004-10-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

i've been trying to think of how to describe my dad for a long time. briant beat me to it, calling him a renaissance man. [read his post here] why?

--Ph.D in veterinary science.
--his 300+ pg. dissertation covers the equine arteritis virus.
--percussionist.
--learned to play the piano at age 45.
--learned to play the mandolin at age 50.
--learning to play the bass guitar.
--10 handicap golfer (on a good day).
--ice hockey goaltender (played in college)
--canoeing enthusiast.
--fly fisherman.
--bird watcher.
--founder and presiden of the BYHA. [link]
--and hockey coach. [link]
--well-known among his players for not swearing around them, but rather using such terminology as "son of a buck!"
--taught me honesty. once we picked up a pizza from pizza hut and they gave us too much change. dad drove back to return the money without a second thought.
--taught me about commitment. parents have been married over 30 years.
--drives a tahoe, but wishes he had a suburban.
--edits the home movies to make...interesting films...which may or may not feature the soundtrack to jaws.
--fancy meal? he'd rather just eat a baloney sandwich, if you want to know the truth.

wedding woes

2004-10-12T21:37:00.000-04:00

i just realized we never really blogged anything about the wedding. there is so much to say. here are a couple of my favorite stories.

everyone experiences wedding disasters. they are inevitable. and our wedding was no exception. the day before the wedding, a group of us spent just under three hours driving to san diego. once we got there we realized that travis had forgotten to bring church clothes to wear to the temple.

[husband's note: ask summer who packed my suitcase :) ]

we spent the better part of the evening buying everything from dress socks and shoes to a shirt and tie. who would have thought that was how he would spend his last day of bachelorhood.

later that night, i asked travis to remove a tag tied to my necklace and i gave him one of my pearl earrings to do so. of course, in a matter of seconds, the pearl popped right off of the the stud. i was devestated and tried blaming it on travis, but i knew it was my fault and the world had definately come to an end.

the next day as i was blow-drying my hair, my blow-dryer just died. at that point, i was past feeling. i was determined to get through the day without breaking down into tears of frustration.

that goal, however, was short lived. as soon as we were inside the temple. we realized we didn't have our marriage license. i thought we had forgotten it in la canada, and i totally lost it. life was over, i was going to miss my own wedding. thankfully, i was wrong, travis ran outside and returned with our license, which was stored under the seat in the car.
even though we ended up leaving san diego much later than we had planned, everything turned out okay.

the ring ceremony went surprisingly well, considering travis helped me write my "vows" 5 minutes prior. as for the reception, not a single complaint. it was perfect. i wouldn't change a thing. i was surrounded by my favorite people and ate more chocolate covered strawberries than i ever thought possible. when we got to the hotel and had a chance to reflect on things, i thought about how fun the whole wedding was, and i said, "let's do that again!"

trav's response: "ok. got $20,000?"

trav got a job!!!

2004-10-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

hip hip horray! i'm so proud of travis. he got a job as a search engine optimization specialist. i think it kinda sounds boring, but he is really excited about it and he even gets to work from home. it's too good to be true. now i just need to find a job and we're all set!

recipe for...wall stuff

2004-10-11T08:39:00.000-04:00

as promised in interior decorating 101, i'm going to provide step-by-step instructions for creating your own wall crap--er, decorations. as summer mentioned, we spent very little on them, and they were relatively easy to assemble (after i threw a couple of minor tantrums, of course).

we bought 11 unfinished pieces of wood measuring 8' x 1" x 2". fortunately, the hardware store cut them for us so we didn't have to buy a saw and i didn't lose a finger. each rectangle required exactly 2 pieces of wood and each square required exactly 1 piece of wood. the wood cost us a buck per 8' section at lowe's. we also picked up some nails ($3.50), staples ($4.00), a staple gun ($16.00), and a couple of boxes of mounting brackets (the kind that can be pressed into the soft wood or hammered in with small nails -- $0.79 a box). we had a hammer already. total, we spent about $40. if you have access to a nice, powerful drill, i'd recommend using screws to build the frame with. they'll hold it together better. also, whatever you use, make sure your nails or screws are long enough, but that they're not so bulky that they'll split the wood.

we created four (4) rectangles measuring 2' x 6' and three (3) squares measuring 2' x 2'. three of the rectangles hang vertically in our living room while the other hangs horizontally above our bed, to create the illusion that we could afford a headboard. eat your heart out, trading spaces! the three squares are on the adjacent bedroom wall. [see the finished products here]

at wal-mart, we picked out fabrics in three colors harmonious with our existing living room decor, three colors matching our bedroom. we bought 2 1/4 yards each for the rectangular sections, 1 yard each for the squares. if we were counting yardage, i think summer and i would have more than gary crowton's BYU cougars this year. each fabric cost between $1.50 and $4.50 per yard. we spent about $25 total.

at home, i hammered together the frames. i had to do it out in the stairwell so i could get an angle on the 6' pieces. as i finished each frame i brought it in to summer, who was stapling away like a mad scientist. she did an excellent job of stretching the fabric taut and folding it on the back side of the frame. we basically created several canvasses of different colors.

what you'll need:
wood
fabric
mounting brackets
staples
staple gun
screws (and power drill) or nails
hammer
hot wife
steamy, frequent sex
the lord

you're all set!

interior decorating 101

2004-10-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

since i moved in i've been looking for a large painting of sorts to put on the wall. but my search was going to be fruitless unless i was willing to pay $400+. we didn't know how we were going to afford decorating our small apartment. while shopping at crate and barrel, travis and i found our answer. hanging on the walls were large pieces of fabric with bright blended colors. we knew we could do something similar. but custom fabric like that is hard to come by. it was a long-shot, but we decided we'd go with several pieces of solid color side-by-side. after trips to wal-mart and home depot and a little elbow grease, here are the finished products. the whole project cost about $65, and would've been just $50 if we'd had a staple gun. the instructions are here.

his and hers

2004-09-20T05:34:00.000-04:00

sage quotes

2004-09-02T12:59:00.000-04:00

summer's six-year old brother, sage, is quite a character. we've spent the last week with him, and have amassed the following list of quotations.

1. sage by the pool, bouncing a ball: "i'm a dolphin that plays basketball! ourf! ourf! ourf! (sage continues to make seal noises for some time, until he loses interest)

2. sage showing us his new comforter that has faux roses sewn onto it, excitedly exclaims, "feel the roses!"

3. after the "feel the roses" incident, as well as sage's proud wearing of a shower cap for much of the day and other interesting experiences, i demand to know, "what gender are you? you have three seconds to answer." his response? "i'm a kitty".

finding nemo

2004-08-24T09:50:00.000-04:00

for an early birthday present, i got summer 'finding nemo' for the gamecube. i haven't seen the movie yet (summer promises to make me watch it this week), but apparently the game is like the movie in that the goal is to find nemo. we're only on level 2, but it looks like the search may be in vain...someone else already found nemo:

compare our hair

2004-08-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

the afro to the left, holding the drumsticks is my brother, who i've asked to be the best man at the wedding. i haven't seen him since christmas, and when i saw this photo, i decided to dig up the only surviving picture of my afro days, back in 1996 (right). everyone involved with the wedding has asked me to use my influence to have tyler cut his hair, but as a former afroist myself, i cannot, in good conscience, make such a demand.

my slage tanner

2004-08-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

this morning when i checked my email, i had an email from my six year old brother sage. how cute is this:

priceless...

the power of prayer

2004-08-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

this morning, i decided to try taking a new way to work, which i hoped would get me there faster. the new way was through narrow, residential streets that i didn't even know existed until travis pointed them out. shortly after i started down the windy road, i realized i didn't know exactly where i was going. travis had shown me the way about a week ago, but by now my memory was foggy. the route is pretty simple, but there is a crucial turn that you can't miss.

i drove for a while before i realized i had no idea where that road is. i started to panic. i couldn't be late because we were having a surprise going-away party for a coworker, ana, that i needed to set up for before she got there. finally, i prayed that i could find my way and make it to work on time. hopeless, right?

nope. literally three seconds later the road wound around a corner and i saw a very large tree in the way. it had fallen over, and now was completely blocking the narrow road. i had no choice but to turn around. i decided i would turn at the first street i came upon, which was about a quarter mile back. sure enough, that was the street i was supposed to have taken all along. even though this is a small thing, i can't help but see in the fallen tree the lord's hand, which he moved to help a lost girl find her way.

typewriter versus corkscrew

2004-08-16T02:25:00.000-04:00

summer and i eat our corn-on-the-cob differently. i eat it typewriter style (lengthwise). she eats it corkscrew style. we are pleased to announce that we have come to terms with this discrepancy in our corn-eating habits, and the wedding will go forward as planned.

about comments

2004-08-16T02:09:00.000-04:00

please comment. do so anonymously if you don't want to take the 15-20 seconds to create a profile. you can always add your name to the comment yourself. then it's like you signed in, even if you didn't.

or visit and sign our guestbook [here]. thanks.

our song

2004-08-15T02:21:00.000-04:00

soon after we got engaged, i took summer to see jon schmidt in concert. jon schmidt is a spectacular pianist. he is an skilled songwriter. and he puts on a sensational show. but he isn't known for his singing. the vocals on this song are provided by somebody else. just fyi.

he is best known for "waterfall" and "all of me". i like his music because it makes me feel indescribably happy. summer says it helps her feel spiritually uplifted. perhaps we're talking about the same thing, just in different terms.

i had asked summer to marry me a few days before the show, and (if i interpreted her head-nod correctly) she had accepted. but we had a dilemma: we didn't have a "song" of our own. there were lots available. but it had to be perfect, you know.

then jon introduced this new song. he talked about how much he loved his wife and what she meant to him. of course, it was part of the show, but we knew he meant it. then he played this song.

click here to listen to a sample, or download it for $1.29.

before it was over, i knew it was going to be our song. and afterwards, summer said she felt the same way. not only does it describe, unerringly, the love we have for each other, and the relationship we share as an LDS couple, but the first time we heard it was together, live at the concert, and newly engaged.

it couldn't get more corny if this was a chick flick.

three weeks and counting

2004-08-13T12:05:00.000-04:00

three weeks and counting until the BIG day. i guess this is really happening. ah! so much to do, so little time!!!!

bachelorette weekend

2004-08-12T10:21:00.000-04:00

this is my last weekend in provo as a single woman. thanks to rachel, i'll be flying home next friday to enjoy a weekend of fun. just like old times. i can only pray serious amounts of ice cream will be involved.

i have cool friends.

de facto party

2004-08-12T03:31:00.000-04:00

about this time every year since i was born, i have (i've been told) celebrated my birthday. this year was no exception, thanks to summer. see below:

hang out with us

2004-08-10T03:14:00.000-04:00

we just got tickets to the tonight show in the mail. even though, when given the choice, i always pick letterman over leno, i think it'll be lots of fun. we can use two of the four tickets and we're looking for company. email or call me or summer to get in on the action.

grocery shopping blues

2004-08-09T03:10:00.000-04:00

summer and i went shopping at super target on saturday night. super target is like the middle-class shopper's wal-mart. they have everything you need with the added bonus that you can shop there without feeling like you're at a flea market in tijuana.

at one point, we left our cart to browse a nearby aisle of crap. on the way back, i went over to (what i thought was) our cart and began pushing it away, towards the fruits and veggies. we put some items in the cart and had actually walked about halfway down the aisle with it, when summer realized it wasn't ours.

fortunately, we were at target, not wal-mart. this provided us with two key benefits. 1. we could communicate with our fellow shoppers to explain the mix up, and 2. our victims didn't suggest we resolve the issue by taking it to the "jerry springer show". i would've feared both of those scenarios if we had been shopping at wal-mart.

ode to summer

2004-08-08T12:54:00.000-04:00

last summer, it hit me. i had to find one. i had to find one QUICK. all of my friends were moving on. 3 of my 5 original college roommates had gotten married. of the others, doug, had left for south america and matt had given himself to his true love in life, the united nations. my new roommates couldn't be trusted. i suspected one of using another's credit card to make a scandalous online purchase. two others reneged on their commitments (one moved home and one moved in with other friends) increasing our rent payments substantially. when i invited another to move in with me, he quickly asked to borrow my car, then wrecked it into our house and refused to pay for the damages. other roommates went to great lengths to avoid making conversation with me or each other. it got so bad that when one of my all-time favorite bands, bad religion, came to town, i had to go to the show alone.

i was at an all-time low.

i decided at some point, struggling through this time of abandonment, that i needed a "guaranteed friend". i needed someone who couldn't say, "uh, i have to go to south america", one who wouldn't eat an entire meal in the same room as me without saying a word, one whom i could trust completely.

i was officially on the lookout for the one.

there was a list of course. a short list. "bad religion fan" was a quality the one had to embody. the other items weren't quite as specific, perhaps, but just as necessary. i wanted to find someone exactly like me. and i did. (coming from someone as full of himself as i am, that is a tremendous compliment)

one night, i got a phone call from an old friend, starting the turn of events that eventually provided me with this one, guaranteed friend. the full story can be found here.

i have never met anyone like her. in the words of the bouncing souls, "no one seemed to notice how she was different but i did and i knew."

it should be like this for everyone....does everyone have this same kind of spiritual epiphany to tell them that they're getting to know their perfect match?

like that doll, my buddy (also born in the 1980s), summer is the friend i will take with me everywhere. i want to be with her forever.