Friday Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?
The Gravitron

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?
Usually remain quiet until I can get a feel for the personalities of the people there.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?8

Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?Nope, because I rarely ever get sick.

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television? 15-20

Things That Start With N!

I got tagged my wife Kara for this fun little meme. For this one I'm supposed to use the first letter of my first name to come up with words that answer the following questions, but not use my name. Sounds easy enough!

1. Famous Singer: Nelly
2. Four Letter Word: None
3. Street: Northstar Dr.
4. Color: Navy Blue (Favorite color by the way)
5. Gifts/Presents: Nice clothes
6. Vehicles: Nova
7. Things In A Souvenir Shop: Nic Nacks
8. Boy Name: Nathaniel
9. Girl Name: Natalie
10. Movie Title: Night At The Museum
11. Drink: Night Cap
12. Occupation: Night Watchman
13. Celebrity: Norris, Chuck
14. Magazine: Nickelodeon Magazine
15. U.S. City: New York City
16. Pro Sports: National Football League
17. Fruit: Nectarine
18. Reason For Being Late For Work: Not waking up in time
19. Something You Throw Away: Nonfat yogurt
20. Something You Shout: No!

That was a little harder than I expected, but still fun :D I'll tag my sister-in-law Danielle

We The People (Part 1)

So how many people are already sick of election season? I haven't seen any political ads yet, but the campaign in all over the news almost every day. What I am sick of, though, is all the mudslinging that is going on. I wish the candidates would just focus on what they can do to help the country versus what the other guy can't do. That's all that matters, right? When they are in office, we want the person to do the job so we need to elect a person we know can do the job right. I really don't care what sex, race, veteran status, religion, or birthplace the candidate is just so long as they can do the best job possible for the country. The president is supposed to lead the country and do what is right for the country. Let's elect the guy who can do the best job and can do it right. That's the power we as American's have. We can elect the guy whom we feel can lead us the best and right way. So forget all the mudslinging and tiny details. Let's elect the guy who can do the right thing and do the best job for our country.

Stop The Madness

Okay, so last week was Black Friday. I almost never go out on Black Friday and usually when I do, I show up at the store when it opens. I don't go for the whole camping out thing. Well, my experience this last Black Friday was not a good one. There was a laptop for sale at Circuit City for 300 dollars. Not a bad deal. So, we actually showed up to the store 3 hours before it opened, thinking that would put us in a good spot in line. Man, were we wrong. There had been people camping out in front of the store since noon on Thanksgiving Day!!! No laptop is worth me killing a national holiday, not to mention day off work, by camping in front of a store. To make things worse, there were only 7 of those laptops available. Of course, the store didn't tell you that until they had almost opened the doors. So the intended purchase was gone. We actually ended up getting another laptop in the same store after waiting 2 and a half hours in the checkout line. Plus, the guy in front of me was the very first person in the line outside of the store. He didn't smell right either. He smelled like he slept with dogs. Plus, he was a 45 year old male shopping with is 65 year old mom. He kindof gave the stereotype that he lived in her basement and lived and breathed computers. It was not a great morning. After that, we all just crashed. There was no more stops for us. Where does the madness end? It needs to stop. If stores are going to have a huge sale, One, they need to have enough stuff, and, two, they need to streamline getting people out of their store. more than 10 minutes in a checkout line is far too much.

Alone Time

Today I read a comment by a prominent church leader. He mentioned that there is a lot going on in the world and that we need to keep up on these events. However, when we watch the news, all kinds of notifications of awful events come pouring into our homes and souls. He mentioned that we sometimes just need to cut this stuff off for a moment in order to just get some peace to ourselves. I totally agree with this. In today's world, it feels like we always have to be moving, be doing something. Sometimes it's great to just slow down and be alone. This time alone can be the greatest opportunity you have to bring peace to your soul and your life. So if you feel really rushed and stressed, just stop for a moment and shut it all out. Give your soul a rest and let it rejuvenate. Trust me, it will be well worth it.

Where Did Thanksgiving Go?

It happens every year. The Christmas Season is upon us. I think this year is extremely different, however. This year the stores started putting out their Christmas materials right after Halloween was over. If I recall correctly, there still is another major holiday between Halloween and Christmas. Ya, that holiday is called Thanksgiving. However, people seem to be forgetting that. Just today I heard a co-worker ask when Thanksgiving was. That wouldn't be sad except for the fact that Thanksgiving is 2 days away. People seem to be forgetting that Thanksgiving is still a major holiday. It is a holiday because we wanted to remember how the pilgrims in a new land had a great feast with the help of the Native Americans, who helped the pilgrims survive. Without that help, there may not be a United States today. Let's please not forget that Thanksgiving comes between Halloween and Christmas. You would think that a whole month is enough time to get ready for and celebrate Christmas. Let's not forget one of the most meaningful holidays of all, the Thanksgiving holiday, which by the way is November 22nd.

The Best of Times

Some of the best times in life come about with little to no planning. There can be very little money involved as well. Regardless of the amount of planning or funding involved, these times can be the best times of your life. I'll give you an example. Over the weekend, we were visiting family in Riverton, UT. In fact, we were put in charge of watching the kids while the parents were gone all weekend. Out of nowhere, again, no planning, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law decide to come over and watch the UFC fight. They also brought a family friend and his girlfriend along. It turned out to be about 3 hours of family and friends just hanging out together. And it took just a bit of money to get the fight to come in. It was just a great time. We got to catch up with the family, share good times, and watch a few good fights. These times are the best times you can have in life. Hang on to these times and do your best to have as many of them as possible because you never know when these times may come again or when they won't be able to come again.

The World's Worst Drivers

Last night we had to drive down to the south end of Salt Lake City, UT. I really don't mind too much of the drive. Driving through southern Idaho can be quite dull because there isn't much to look at while you are driving to Utah. In addition, the other drivers aren't bad, either. That is, until, you reach the Utah border. Ahhhh, Utah, the promised land and the land of unenforced speed limits. I have driven through Utah multiple times over the last month and I have yet to see someone get pulled over for speeding. I have seen cops pull people over to help them out, like if they have a blown tire or have lost something they were carrying. I have yet to see people get pulled over for anything related to speeding. In fact, many times, I've almost gotten run over by the person behind me. The speed limit will be 65 and I'll be either going that speed or 5 over. Guaranteed, I will always get tailgated and passed by everyone else. This even includes construction zones, where the speed limit is 55. I'll go that speed or 5 over. Again, I'm getting run over or passed by people going so fast it feels like I'm a snail on a road full of rabbits. I've seen people be better drivers in Las Vegas or even Southern California, but Utah drivers have got to be the worst. I'm not saying pull every single driver over in Utah to get the point across. What I would like to see is the police enforce the speed limit to the point of picking people at random and pulling them over. That would at least get the word spread around that the police are serious about the speed limit and Utah drivers might actually begin to obey it.

Friday Feast

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?

Telephone surveyor at Western Wats. Horrible job, if you can, find anything else as a job besides that place.

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

Probably at a cabin in the woods

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

I try and say something and it doesn't come out right.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?

Hard work, never quit until the job is done, get a good education, pay your bills.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Pogs
Bowl haircuts
Furbies

To insure or to save

It seems more and more that insurance costs keep rising and rising. There are all kinds of reasons publicized for this rise. I would like to talk about when it is better to save to be insured.

As a example, I will use this new dental insurance that my employer is pushing on us. For my family to be covered under this insurance, it would cost about 70 dollars a month. 70 bucks a month!?!?!? You've got to be kidding!!!! This is a clear sign that saving the money is better than getting insured. For the average everyday person, the dentist usually only sees you twice a year, usually for cleanings. These cost about 50 dollars a pop. Now, doing some math, that means going to the dentist costs you 100 dollars a year and all you have to do is maintain your teeth by your daily brushings. Now, if you were to insure your family with dental insurance, it would cost 840 bucks a year. That's a 740 dollar savings, 640 dollar savings for a two adult family. And with insurance, you still have to pay a copay. It really makes me wonder why you should pay insurance on something, when, if you do a little math, it is clearly less expensive to save up money yourself and just pay it out of your own pocket.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the subject (no pun intended).

The Ideal Place

Today I would like to write about where I think are the greatest places to live. Some of these I have been to and others I would like to go to.

1. San Diego-I love this place. The weather is perfect, the seashore is right there, and there is plenty of things to do. Also, the most beautiful LDS Temple is there. I absolutely love San Diego.

2. West Virginia-I lived all over this state for 2 years as an LDS missionary. The place is great, especially in the fall when all the trees change color. Everything is covered in trees and plants and the people there are great. If I had the means, I would definitely go back there.

3. Logan, Utah-I lived here when went to school at Utah State University. The town is great because it has everything you ever need and if there isn't a store there that you need, Salt Lake City is only an hour away. It is also a beautiful, quiet town, and it is easy to get around. If I got offered a job there, I would seriously go.

4. The midwest-I would love to live here because there isn't a hill in sight. I'm kindof tired of living up in the hills and dealing with hills everywhere in my current city of residence, Pocatello, Id. I drove through Kansas on the way to Illinois once and it was great because you could see from one horizon to the next with no interference.

So there ya go. If anyone would like to add their favorite place to live, please let me know.

Best Shows Ever

It has been a while since I last updated my blog. To get everything back on track, I thought I would like a few shows that I think are the best shows ever. Here they are:

1. Whose Line is it Anyway?

2. The Office

3. Friends

4. Seinfeld

5. The Simpsons

6. Star Trek: The Next Genereation

7. Star Trek: Voyager

8. My Name is Earl


They are in no particular order. I just think those shows are great. As you can tell, I like the comedy style of show. I am also a bit a of a sci-fi lover. So there ya go.