Harry Potter Puppet Pals

Have you seen this on YouTube? Hilarious!!!!

New job

I've started my new job and it's already pretty exciting. My official title is Media Relations Coordinator for the Utah House of Representatives Majority Caucus. Whew.

I have an ID badge that gives me access to all sorts of cool, secure rooms in the Capitol. My favorite so far? The kitchen with the built in fountain drink machine. Yay! I'm in a very nice, HUGE office that is really meant for two people but for now, it's just me. My office is on the fourth floor of the Capitol and overlooks downtown Salt Lake City. There are tours of legislative interns roaming the halls, getting acclimated to their new surroundings. Every now and then, I'll see a Representative or Senator. Mostly, though, everywhere I look are workmen and painters trying to finish the last minute "punch list" items. The Capitol is beautifully restored, but it's a huge space with such minute detail everywhere, so often I'll see shiny, dark wood, built-in cabinets... with no hardware to open them or blue tape on the walls marking where the paint needs to be touched up. Oh well- six more days until the Legislative Session starts- hopefully it will all be ready by then!!

Happy Birthday Week!

This is the birthday week for a lot of my friends and family!!


My dear friend and sister-in-law, Chelsea, had her birthday on the 7th. Chelsea is stylish and creative- she has a great eye for fashion and design! She has also been a very sweet addition to the family- she is patient, genuine, thoughtful and fun! We have already spent some special moments together as sisters and I look forward to sharing many, many more with her!






My friend, Caroline, one of the best mothers and friends I know, celebrated her bday yesterday. She is truly one of my dearest friends. For years I was her children's nanny and I hope one day to be half the mother she is. She has been there for me through all my peaks and valleys of life- she nurtured my spirit when it was weak and was always my biggest fan!



My cousin, Christine, has her birthday tomorrow! She always has time for me and is a wonderful listener. Her compassion and loyalty have meant so much to me. She always includes me, supports me and makes me feel important. Even though I'm older by a year, I often find Christine is full of wisdom and grace that makes her feel like my OLDER cousin!




And my other dear sister-in-law, friend, confidant and example, Kerry, celebrates her birthday on Saturday! She is a great mom to the two biggest joys of my life, Sam and Lily, and a great companion to my big brother. She is so talented and hardworking and I really admire all she has accomplished!





What a wonderful week of birthdays! I am so lucky to have all these wonderful women in my life!

Our role in gender roles

Check out this very interesting post over on Feminist Mormon Housewives. Lisa brings up a really good point about gender roles and how we emphasize or change them in our own lives. I really liked a lot of the comments, too. She also brought up the fact that religion (specifically mine) has very little to with the gender roles found in any particular society. I agree with that. We believe that gender is inherent, and with that comes a scope of responsibility. But Lisa's examples of sewing and car maintenance aren't in that scope, yet some would say those tasks have a "gender" attached to them. In fact, other commenters on this post brought up the fact that our church leaders have encouraged us to become more self-reliant in all tasks. I encourage you to follow the link to this post and read what Lisa has to say, then share your thoughts here (or on FMH).


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While I'm on the subject of sending you on link treasure hunts, head over to the Myers' blog where Steve has posted about why he likes Ron Paul for 2008 and he's asking for your feedback, opinions and questions. It's a great, friendly forum for discussing the election.

Select a Candidate 2008 Widget

I've added this American Public Media Select a Candidate 2008 for you all. It's really cool- you answer how you feel about a certain subject and then you are matched up to the candidate you should support. I was surprised that I wasn't as similar to some of my favorites as I thought. It's a useful tool. (I won't be able to see your results, FYI.)

New Family Blog

I've started a blog for my family to contribute to called Spencer Pines. Soon I hope to have one for John's family, too. I'm following Lyndsay's good example!

Capitol Re-Dedication Ceremony

DISCLAIMER** I know that I am turning into the biggest political nerd and it's probably boring you guys to death, but that's just the price of being my friend.**


(Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News)


Some of you know I have a new job working for the Utah State House of Representatives. I am going to be the Media Relations person for the Majority Caucus and house leadership. (Mmm, kay, what??) Translation: whenever a legislator wants to hold a press conference, I will make it happen. I am excited about this new opportunity!

Last Friday, I was invited to the Senate breakfast at the Grand America. It was a fancy affair, with VIPs everywhere. The most amazing part was that I actually knew some of the people there!! Then after that, I headed over the the Capitol. I volunteered as an usher for the Re-Dedication Ceremony.

(Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News)

It was an incredible experience! The Mormon Tabernacle choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, Bell Choirs, the International Children's choir, the Madeline School Choir and the 23rd Army brass band were there to provide INCREDIBLE music! I had a great view of the proceedings from the 4th floor balcony (right above the stage). The acoustics were amazing in the rotunda and it was so fun to look into the audience and see people I knew (or recognized).
(Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News)

The governor was there, along with Secretary Leavitt, the First Presidency, clergy from other churches, all the legislators and Supreme Court of Utah Justices, former governors... the list goes on and on! President Hinckley invoked the Dedicatory Prayer on the new building.

(Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret Morning News)
I didn't find out until later that the body of a construction worker had been found during the ceremony! What a sad (and kind of freakish) thing!

Christmas 2007

Farewell, Baby James

A baby in our ward passed away on Saturday. He was born very ill and his family knew his time here would be brief. The funeral is tomorrow and as I've been thinking about them, I have been so comforted by the knowledge that I have that this life is not the end. I know that we will see and be with our loved ones again after we die. It is this knowledge that comforts me and I know has brought comfort to this family. I cannot imagine trying to get through such a horrible loss without the certainty of eternal life.



James Montgomery Larkins
2007 ~ 2007
James Montgomery Larkins, born July 11, 2007, in Salt Lake City, Utah, passed away early Saturday morning December 29, 2007, surrounded by his parents, sisters and grandparents. Shortly after his birth, we knew that our time with James would be limited and feel blessed that we were able to enjoy him for these past five months. "Baby James" was adored by his three sisters who loved to feed, hold and cuddle him. He was tenderly cared for by his mother and father and other special family members, neighbors, healthcare providers, and a wonderful babysitter. The influence his sweet spirit had on so many people stretches well beyond the brief period he was with us. He will always be remembered with longing and anticipation of a happy reunion in the next life. James is survived by his parents James Frank and Allyson Evans Larkins and three sisters: Abigail Louise, Samantha Kate, and Madeline Victoria Larkins; his grandparents John Thornley Evans, Thomas and Margot Miller, and Frank and Victoria Larkins; and three great-grandmothers: Alice Thornley Evans, Virginia K. Larkins and Mary Louise Walker; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins, all who dearly loved and cherished him during his earthly life. James will be laid to rest on Monday, December 31, 2007 at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 E., 1300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah following funeral services at The Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 South Wasatch Drive at 12:00 noon. Relatives and friends may call at a viewing from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. prior to the funeral at the Monument Park Stake Center. Online condolences www.larkinmortuary.com

What a great time of year!

I've been spending my time doing crafts, hanging out with family, Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, singing carols, enjoying the snow, and visiting with friends.
(Hanging out with some high school friends at a white elephant party.)





Also, a very Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law, Richard, who is 27th today!! (Here he is with the Spencer men last Christmas!)

Gingerbread Village

Catherine and Richard have made a gingerbread house together ever since they've been together. This year they shared their tradition with us and we made a whole village together as a family! It was so fun to see how creative everyone could be!

Lily was especially interested in eating all the candy and frosting she could get her little hands on!



Steve and Beverly's Quidditch Arena





Richard's incredible Commerce Center



Catherine's beautiful Church (notice all the landscaping)



John and Barb's Schoolhouse



Mom with the completed village



Mom, Richard, Steve, Kerry, Barb, Sam, Catherine, Lily (not pictured: Aunt Barbara, John and Mark)

Seen in SLC...

This is the Thornton's Thanksgiving tradition...

John's cousin, Joe, is a magician and juggler, and after dinner we all head outside for his knife and fire juggling show!

Christmas fun with my family!

My dad treated us to a concert of the Bell Choir at the Conference Center on Saturday night. It was fun to trek down there all bundled up, braving the snowstorm, to hear beautiful music and see the gorgeous decorations. After the concert, we gathered at my mom and dad's house for ice cream and Steve and Kerry decided that it was too dangerous to drive home so they (and Sam and Lily) slept over. That following Sunday, even church was canceled because of power outages. It was so fun to be snowed in together!



The beautiful tree at the Conference Center



Lily "helping" John do his work



We bundled Lily up for one of her first excursions in the snow. She lasted about two mintues. :)

Which Austen girl are you?

Take the Quiz here!

Cool "mommy" blog

I found the coolest advice blog called Ask Miss Angie. Her readers ask questions and she'll post her answers or seek out expert opinions. Then she has other people comment with suggestions. I read through her past posts and she seems really grounded and gives great advice! She also posts pictures of beautiful, classic works of art in every post. I love this blog and I don't even have children that I need advice about! I thought all the mommies and daddies out there would find it interesting!




Photo: Little Knitters by Albert Anker

John is rubbing off on me!!!!

Making Christmas Cookies

Hope you all are feeling cozy and warm!! I love stretching out Christmas as long as possible- so we made some Christmas cookies just to have and enjoy here!

Back to Bethlehem

Last Saturday, all the children in our stake gathered at the ward building for a special Stake Primary activity. It was called "Back to Bethlehem" and it was a wonderful experience that John and I had the opportunity to be a part of. We divided into families, brought our "taxes" (cans of food for the food bank), and wore our "Biblical attire" to get in the mood. We were greeted by Roman centurions who hassled us for our taxes. The building was packed with people and amid the chaos of trying to get into the cultural hall, it really felt like we were in another time. We entered "Bethlehem" through a narrow, low opening, very similar to what John says the actual "Eye of the Needle" entrance to Jerusalem is like. Inside the cultural hall the lights were dim and there were tents set up as booths in the bazaar. Our kids had shekels to buy food or pay for activities. There were vegetables, fruit, dates, scones and honey to eat. They could also participate in wood carving, the dreidel game, matchmaking, leather working and even learn to write their names in Hebrew. (John spent some time learning Hebrew and studying in Israel, so he has us decked out in authentic clothing and really enjoyed helping the kiddos write their Hebrew names.)



After we had visited all the booths and gotten a drink from the "well" in the middle of the room, we gathered on our blankets on the floor to hear the Christmas story from the Bible. A narrator read the story and volunteers from our stake acted out the parts of shepherds (bishopric members and high councilmen), wise men (stake presidency), the angel Gabriel and Mary, Joseph and Jesus. My favorite part was watching Brent and Susie Clayton as Joseph and Mary. They walked through Bethlehem, searching for a place to stay. They were turned away at the inn and finally ended up in a stable. The children were rapt watching the story play out. I found myself so moved and touched by seeing my friends portray this couple- I felt so much sympathy for them! I imagined seeing my actual friends cold and hungry and desperate for somewhere to stay! Then the angel Gabriel brought baby Jesus (played by baby Evelyn) to them. It really was such a special and poignant experience for me and I think the children really understood the Christmas story in a deeper way.

Funny, funny...

I saw this on someone else's blog and I LOVED it! Hilarious!

Word of the Day answer

Pulchritudinous

Main Entry: beautiful

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: attractive

Synonyms: admirable, alluring, angelic, appealing, beauteous, bewitching, charming, classy, comely, cute, dazzling, delicate, delightful, divine, elegant, enticing, excellent, exquisite, fair, fascinating, fine, foxy*, good-looking, gorgeous, graceful, grand, handsome, ideal, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, nice, pleasing, pretty, pulchritudinous, radiant, ravishing, refined, resplendent, shapely, sightly, splendid, statuesque, stunning, sublime, superb, symmetrical, taking, well-formed, wonderful

Antonyms: grotesque, homely, plain, repulsive, ugly, unattractive

Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus


I came across this word and I had no idea what it meant. I had to check it out on thesaurus.com! I was so shocked to find out it meant attractive! It sounds like it would mean something else entirely! Judging from the comments (er, um, comment) it was obscure for you, too!!

Word of the Day

Pulchritudinous


Post a comment if you know what it means (I had to look it up!) NO CHEATING!

I'm going to moderate comments so you won't be influenced by each other!

Thankful for today...

-Snow
-Johnny's sweet testimony today in church
-Fun family (Thanks for dinner, Mark and Chelsea!)
-Watching Elf in my bed with my cute husband
-Receiving a bag of John's handmade childhood ornaments (Thanks, Sue!)
-Peppermint and Egg Nog flavored ice cream
-Finding a perfect gift for someone I love
-Watching Susie, Brent and Evelyn act out the Nativity story yesterday at our Stake Primary party (a very sweet and touching visual reminder of what this season is all about)
-Hot Cocoa
-The pretty pictures that John helped me hang up in our kitchen
-That I can borrow toilet paper from my parents first thing in the morning whenever I need to (like this morning...)
-Blogging and all the friends (new and old) I can keep in touch with through the magic of the internet

Hope you are all enjoying the season so far!

I am officially a nerd

Hanging out with Johnny all the time has really rubbed off on me. Case in point, I am about to write a techie post. Yup, all about the new Leopard (Mac's new operating system) and iLife '08. I never thought I would get to this point, but you see, John has instilled a love of great, user friendly products from Apple in me. The Apple love is getting so bad that I'm the one who will stop fast fowarding through commercials if I see a Mac and PC ad.

The best part of iLife is the new iPhoto. It is so sweet! You can organize your photos so much better than before- and I know a lot of you (like me) take a record number of photos.

I know I totally sound like a commercial, but I really enjoy things that make my life easier. I'm grateful to have my laptop back-it makes me feel connected to the world again.

M.I.A.

My laptop is broken. I dropped it. It was in a cushy protective sleeve made of neoprene or some other cool substance, but the angle of impact still wreaked havoc on my little silver baby. It is in the Apple store as we speak (as I type? as you read? whatever) being worked on by the "Geniuses". (Seriously, that's what they're called. Apple doesn't have tech support, they have geniuses.) So that's why I have been so Missing In Action the last few weeks. I have to steal moments on Johnny's laptop to check up on all of your blogs, check my email, pay some bills, etc... and his fingers get twitchy and his eyes glaze over and he starts sweating and reaching for his laptop within fifteen minutes and then there's no time left over to write on my blog. So, my apologies, ladies and gents! I have discovered a few cool things in the last little while that I'm excited to blog about. But right now I'm late for a real life (second!!) date with Casey, so I've gotta go!

Living a better life

I've been such a slacker about posting recently. I have been settling into my life again. John and I have made a commitment to each other to stop living life on "emergency mode." We feel like we're always putting things off until the end of something ("we'll clean the house after the election," or "we'll start going to the gym as soon as work settles down".) It's this "just get through it" mentality that really diminishes our quality of life. True, things have been super hectic because of my 70 hour work weeks, but now we have a chance to recommit to living a rich life! I'm actually really looking forward to slowing the pace here a bit. So I've spent some time registering for classes, taking naps, making cards, hanging out with my niece and nephew, catching up with friends, and slowly tackling the monster mess that is my house. It really feels good to pause and take a look at what I can eliminate from my house and life and what I feel is missing that needs to be added in. Knowing my personality, I'm likely to get involved in another huge project at some point, but my goal is to not let that project take over my life. It may be time consuming, or stressful, but I need not let it overrun every other aspect in my life.

Let Barbarakah commence!

So, we lost the election (sucky) but we worked hard and I feel good about our efforts. It really was such a pleasure to work with Dave and I met some really incredible people!

BUT, yesterday was my (gulp) 25th birthday, so I've moved onto the fun of celebrating! My cousin John, started a tradition with his wife called, Jennakah, which is like Hanuakah- 8 days of celebration! John and I have adopted this fun tradition and we celebrate our bdays for at least a week. Yesterday, Dave took the staff out for lunch and last night my mom, dad, John and I had dinner at Happy Sumo and saw Dan in Real Life, with Steve Carell (very sweet, touching and funny)!

Tonight I will continue the fun celebrations and erase the sting of an election lost!

Thanks to many of you for your kind wishes!!

T minus 3 hours and 19 minutes...

until the polls officially close and this campaign is over. So many mixed emotions... relief that the grinding, grueling work is over, despair because I'm out of time to convince voters, joy in the idea of sleeping in on a Saturday, sadness because I will miss all the friends I have made...

Go vote today, wherever you are!