Seasons Giving

Two posts in one day! My sis is probably freakin' out...

Regardless, as soon as I thought about this I wanted to post it ASAP so that folks that wanted to do something different this year would have an idea. For those of you that don't know Tyler (my partner) works for the Utah AIDS Foundation. They offer services to those living with AIDS and their family members. Every year they do Seasons Giving where you can adopt an individual or a family and give them items to fulfill their basic needs.

Here is a link to the UAF site with more information:

http://www.utahaids.org/index.php?id=MTIz

This year our family is significantly reducing our spending (possibly cutting it altogether) and focusing on helping those less fortunate than ourselves. We hope you'll join us in the giving spirit of the season.

Oh My Edward

Hello Twilighters!

We took the family and some friends to the Twilight movie on Saturday night. In case anyone is feeling "on the fence" about whether or not to go see it in the theater or wait for it to come out on DVD, I offer the following post. Don't worry, there won't be any spoilers.


Hello makeup! You can only put so much white facepaint and red lipgloss on someone before it looks ridiculous. In the world of computer-modified pictures, couldn't we find a better way to vamp out the cast? Regardless, it was only a minor distraction for me, and didn't ruin the movie by any means.

Alice, the actress, the character, perfect. I'm only disappointed that we didn't get to see much of her, or the other Cullens for that matter. My recollection of the first book is somewhat hazy, but the other vamps played an extremely minor role to Eddie and Bells. I think we actually got to see more of Chief Swan than the book portrayed. My first thought was that he is a bigger name than some of the other cast members, but then I recognized Carlisle as Peter Facinelli, and I became more disappointed in the fact that we didn't see him more.

Finally, awkward teenage moments...in this movie there are several. If you thought the book read like a high school diary (like I did) then you may find yourself shifting in your seat at several points in this movie (like I did).

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the movie, but I would have enjoyed it more at the price of a Redbox movie, and not the silver screen.

Recent Politics

With the election over I am finally able to exhale a long-held sigh of relief. I am hopeful that our newly elected president can begin to mend the damage done to our economy, the relationships we held with the rest of the world, and with each other.

In spite of this large step towards healing, it seems a good majority of us still cling to hate and narrow-minded ideas. I firmly believe that God is more liberal in his views and boundless in his mercies than we are ready to believe or receive. A friend of mine posted a message from Keith Olbermann:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4xfMisqab8

I think he has some very interesting things to say, and it causes me to wonder about the nature of obedience. We all understand that in our history God has given us directions that seem to conflict with others. Here are a couple of examples I am sure you are familiar with, "multiply and replenish the Earth" and "eat not of the fruit of the tree of knowledge", "thou shalt not kill" and Nephi being instructed to kill Laban. It seems to me that we are given a multitude of choices and the opportunity to exercise our free agency to make those choices. In many circumstances, I'm not sure that one choice is more correct than another. If Nephi had spared Laban, do you think he would have been punished, or do you think God had another plan? I prefer to think that either another choice would be offered, or that his death may have come about by another means. I don't think that Nephi made a wrong decision, but he made a decision and it is in exercising our agency that we learn.

In researching conflicting commandments I came across a poem by Keith Kent entitled The Paradoxical Commandments. I thought it was an interesting read so thought I would share:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today, will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
I hope that when we are confronted with choices that seem to conflict with lessons we have been taught or learned we will exercise our agency in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Life is about making choices and learning from the consequences. For myself, I hope along the way I learn humility and compassion, and forget pride and intolerance.

Tagged...but that's it!

My sister tagged me in her blog and now I'm supposed to post my 4th picture in my 4th folder. Well, my 4th folder at home is Lagoon pictures, which have already been posted, and my 4th folder at work is wallpaper pictures (booooring!). So I'm just posting a random picture I found while going through my pictures. Sue me.

This is me and Ty and I's good friend Brandy (aka 'the good Brandy'). We're all swankified because we're at the Utah AIDS Foundation Oscar Gala (2008). I don't know who won which Oscars but the party was fun, and we made a bit of coin for charity.

So I would tag someone else, but I'm kind of the end of the line for those kinds of things. Ciao!

'Tis the Season

Quick post (B, I'll respond to your "tag" and post the 4th picture in my 4th picture folder another time), but Ty and I went to Lowe's last week to get a hinge or a pipe or something and what did we see when we first walked in? Christmas Trees!!! Seriously people, Halloween hadn't even happened yet!

So, in the spirit of Christmas getting here a little bit earlier each year, I post the following:

Ho, ho, h-bah humbug!