A Mighty Heart

I've been reading Mariane Pearl's memoir, A Mighty Heart, about her husband Daniel Pearl's abduction and murder by terrorists. I finished it last night around midnight. I found myself crying through the last chapters as I thought of her incredible strength. She was pregnant with their first child when her husband was kidnapped in early 2002 in Pakistan. She became the center of the investigation to find him, organizing CIA, FBI, local intelligence, law enforcement, and cyber-crime experts. John is out of town this weekend and as I read about her despair of losing her beloved spouse I wished he had been next to me in bed. I felt a tiny fraction of her loss for a moment, as I considered how it feels to have half of your heart missing.


(photo credit: Glamour.com)

In 2007, the movie version of A Mighty Heart was released starring Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman. I haven't seen the film, but I highly recommend the book- it is well-written and still very timely, considering how much of a target our country still is for terrorist groups.

Not in a gay way, just in a hey way...

Love this little Flight of the Conchords gem that Richard showed me. So funny. And very pertinent to my life right now, considering I'm back in school and in a Theory of Gender and Sexuality class. Everywhere I look I'm seeing gender and sexuality subtext, which is not nearly as exciting as it sounds. :)

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Even though Steve's birthday was actually, um, yesterday, I hope he'll forgive this belated birthday post!!!

Steve is a great big brother to me and Catherine. He's 6 1/2 years older than me and 8 years older than Catherine. With an age gap like that, we weren't often much fun to play with or have hanging around, but Steve always took care of us and let us hang out with him. I remember making Cup'o'Noodles runs with him to Smith's, playing Myst, and always having help writing papers or with my math homework.



He's a great dad- hands-on, fun, yet a good disciplinarian. He loves having both a son and a daughter and they both love him very much.



I'm also grateful to him for providing me (along with Kerry) with the most adorable niece and nephew!




He's a great husband! He loves Kerry so much and is so proud of her! He's definitely her biggest fan and supports her in all she does!




And lastly, he's a hard worker and a hard player! He loves history, maps, and museums and he always researches any trip in advance- he's like a built-in tour guide on vacations! He's a skilled photographer and I've learned a lot from him. He took this picture last year in California.




Hope you had a great birthday, old man!

A masterpiece in mastering one's challenges

This is a ballet performed by two amputees and is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen! Thanks to Pilgrim Girl where I first saw this.

Self-deprecating paper goods

Hilarious greeting cards with just the right amount of LDS cheekiness from Line Upon Line.






First seen on Deseret Book's new blog Light Refreshments Served.

So You Think You Can Dance!!!

If you take all my excitement over American Idol and multiply it by 100 then you'll be close to how excited I am for the season premiere of SYTYCD!! It is such a great show!! AAahhh! I've posted some of my favorite dances (although I feel like I'm just scratching the surface here... I didn't even add in Neil and Sabra's 80's dance, or Benji and Travis' geek dance... there are just so many good ones to choose from!!)











And my ALL TIME FAVORITE dance! It moved me so much! Mia Michaels even won an Emmy for choreographing this beautiful piece! And I was so, so, so proud of Heidi and the breakthrough she had with this dance. I have a friend who has known Heidi since she was a young girl, and by all reports, she is sweet and sincere in addition to having a lot of talent!!

I'm a little sad...

... about tonight's American Idol results. David Archuleta didn't win. I do think that he'll go on to be very successful and I really like David Cook, too, so I'm not crushed about his victory.

American Idol finals!

Despite a massive blackout affecting 10,000 households in Salt Lake City last night (including mine), I still managed to vote for David Archuleta! I hope he wins because I think he's incredibly talented. This is the first year, however, where I really, really like the other finalist, too. David Cook is a great performer and I know he'll sell a lot of records (think Chris Daughtry!) I can't wait to find out who wins tonight!

Happy Birthday, Catherine!!

My little sister, Catherine, is beautiful, kind, loving, talented, smart, stylish and generous.



She has been my sidekick and example for 24 years and I am lucky to have her as my sister.



Anyone who knows her can appreciate how wonderful and special she is.



She has a creative and brilliant mind, an incredible work ethic, and a tender and giving heart.



She is so smart and works so hard- last semester she got a 4.0 while taking 23 credit hours! She is my example!!



I got to spend most of the day with her and I had a blast. We had lunch at Cafe Rio with her cute mother-in-law and sister-in-law, went shopping (most of the time looking for something specific that I needed, which was so nice of her!), and got Slurpees.



We laughed all the way home about the silliest things, nearly choking on our Slurpees and driving off the road. No one can make me laugh or cheer me up the way Cath can.



The highlight of my day with Cat came when she told me she wanted to spend her time on her birthday volunteering at an elementary school. That is Catherine- completely and utterly loving.



I love you!!! Happy Birthday!

1 + 1 = 4 ?

I'm pretty much over the moon in love!




After two years of marriage, John and I have decided to add to our little family of two.




The only problem is, we couldn't just stop at just one little addition, so we have two special somethings to announce!




We're having a hard time thinking of names that go well together but aren't too matchy.




Without further ado, I present the source of our giddiness and love, our new babies:




Nintendo Wii



Nikon D40 (pictured with my new vibration reduction telephoto lens)



You may remember this post, where I came into some Amazon.com money. Well, we decided to splurge his and hers style.


What, you thought it was something else???

Political profile

I took this quiz and the results, I have to admit, didn't surprise me that much. I'm often unsatisfied with both political parties. This was underscored when I attended the Republican State Convention last Saturday. Some of the speeches from the candidates I found myself nodding in agreement. But often, the very same statements that made me cringe got the biggest cheers from the (albeit ultra-conservative) crowd. I find myself year after year picking and choosing candidates from all across the political spectrum because I struggle to find the best possible choice from two parties that I am not happy with. I encourage you to take this quiz!

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

The cause of my partial deafness...

When David Archuleta came back to Utah last week, I swear I could hear teenage girls screaming from miles away.

Lip service

Not only have I always loved lip gloss (or "lippie" as we called it in high school), I seem to collect it! I have tons!! Metalia wrote a post about her addiction to lip gloss and it sparked a memory for me. I used to buy the same lip gloss as a girl who I knew had kissed a crush of mine (who shall remain nameless) in high school (*you know who you are). It was Lip Smackers Pear-a-dise. It was pretty, shiny, and smelled and tasted good. More importantly for me, however, was the possibility the lip gloss that had actually touched his lips would magically guarantee that he would gravitate my way and find MY lips irresistible. I probably don't need to tell you how that particular story ends (hint: my lips remained untouched until well until my senior year). Even though I wasn't able to lure that particular boy with my sparkly lips, my love of the gloss wasn't happily wasn't harmed.

Cinco de Mayo!

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Richard and Catherine invited me, John, Mom and Aunt Barbara to Su Casa. It's been their tradition to dress up and go to Su Casa (one of our favorite places!) for a fun dinner. Catherine and I donned matching bright red lipstick to be more festive and although it kind of burned when it went on, I felt so saucy afterward!!

In-church entertainment

Lily joined us today for church. She had already been to 3 hours of church earlier in the day, and then Grandma picked her up and brought her to our last hour, which for us is sacrament meeting. She was very well behaved, especially when I found a little card for her that had a picture of Jesus. "JESUS!" she kept exclaiming loudly. The real kicker came when the bishop (who happens to be her father) got up and began talking at the pulpit. Lily stood up on my lap, pointed at him and yelled, "Jesus!" Well, hmmm, not quite. Then, a sweet little old lady got up to speak and she, too, apparently reminded Lily of Jesus. She just really wanted to think about Jesus, I guess.

Later, Sam and Lily played for a while and after dinner, Steve (daddy) came to take them home. When I was helping get the kids buckled in, I saw a piece of ribbon that I swiped. I put it on my forehead and waved goodbye to them as they backed out of the driveway. Steve rolled down his window to let me know what Sam thought of my improvisation. He said, "Daddy, I think Barbara looks more like a non-ja." Four years old, people, and he's making up puns.

(A little photo evidence of my nerdiness that my nephew called me on.)

Lily's birthday party!

Sam chose the venue for Lily's birthday party and so we ventured forth to Chuck E. Cheese's (where a kid can be a kid, you know). Sam and Andy (Kerry's friend's little boy) were LOVING it. Lily was a little bit more unsure. She did love playing skee ball and the creepy, singing, animatronic animal band. Mom, Aunt Barbara and I made Lily a Tinkerbell costume (if you have ever met this child, she definitely has the "Tink" personality.)

It does not say "RSVP" on the Statue of Liberty

First of all, I will give a prize to whoever can name the movie quote from the title.

Second, this is a great article by the US News showcasing where the presidential candidates stand on immigration (via Momocrats.) I am proud that my church urged lawmakers in Utah to act with compassion when considering this subject during the past legislative session. Compassion is exactly what I am interested in and looking for in a candidate.

Third, this is what is actually inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

-Emma Lazarus

Real World Facebooking

HILARIOUS. A disturbing look at what Facebook has turned us into!



Via Mormon Mommy Wars.

Happy Day!

Today is my darling niece Lily's 2nd birthday!! I love this girl! While we were in Disneyland, this normally brave and assertive girl was a little fearful. She found the train that goes underground through dioramas of dinosaurs and volcanoes especially frightening. Now, every time she sees me (weeks later) or hears her parents talking to me on the phone, she has to tell me, "Shoo-shoo 'cary!" Indeed, little girl.

It's also graduation day for many of my friends, including my brother-in-law, Mark! Congrats!

The bright side

Instead of being depressed about the fact that it's snowing in May, I will instead focus on the beauty of watching snow flurries so delicate that they can float upwards on the slightest breeze.

What are you choosing to see the bright side of today?