Until now, Becky was entirely responsible for the content of this blog. No longer. For better or (probably) for worse I will now directly contribute to this blog by posting entries from time to time. I decided to join this blog because it's devoted to the family, and I am an important part of the family - husband and father. My personal blog (www.deadundead.blogspot.com) will now be entirely devoted to my reviews of horror movies. All that I want to blog about (besides horror movies) will be included here, on the family blog. Here's an update about me:
1. I continue to slowly lose weight on the Atkins Diet. People have commented that I look thinner. I recently figured out how to make a very tasty soy pancake-omelette. (Combine eggs, milk, and soy flour. Cook it like an omellete. Apply generous amounts of butter and sugar-free syrup). I also eat a lot of jalapeno flavored sausages, bunless burgers, bacon, vegetables, and nuts.
2. I am writing my dissertation proposal. I will use "real-time data collection" to study how exercise influences mood/affect among severely obese individuals (and whether stressors and general health symptoms function as moderators).
3. I recently read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. It was incredible. I am now halfway through The Prophets by Abraham J. Heschel. It is very educational and enlightening. I recently started reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov, but I quit after a few chapters because it wasn't interesting enough. I read it several years ago, but I forgot most of it. It is a very influential book, but you need to be a fan of science fiction novels in order to fully appreciate it. I am VERY selective about what I read. In general, I stick to stuff that is "real" or otherwise very educational and/or profound. For some reason I feel this way about books, but when it comes to movies I'll watch all kinds of crap.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
First 4
This post is in response to a tag from Michelle...
If you are tagged, you must post the picture that is found in the 4th picture file on your computer; it will also be the the 4th picture in that file then you tag 4 people to follow suit. So without further adieu, here is mine:
This is a picture Owen took of our dog Chimi. He was playing with a new alien toy and Owen was trying to capture the cuteness. For the record, this is not the cutest shot but it's not bad either.
Liz M., Heidi P., Heidi Lynn C., and Teresa you're tagged.
If you are tagged, you must post the picture that is found in the 4th picture file on your computer; it will also be the the 4th picture in that file then you tag 4 people to follow suit. So without further adieu, here is mine:
This is a picture Owen took of our dog Chimi. He was playing with a new alien toy and Owen was trying to capture the cuteness. For the record, this is not the cutest shot but it's not bad either.
Liz M., Heidi P., Heidi Lynn C., and Teresa you're tagged.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Paying it Forward
I am a craft junkie. I love to make things, and I've found a few things that I wanted to make this year but I find that it's more fun to make something for someone else than to make it just for yourself. My s-i-l Heidi posted this on her blog and I thought that this was a good idea and also would give me some fabulous people to make goodies for.
The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a totally customized hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise.
There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.Sounds like fun, huh, huh, huh? ;)
The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a totally customized hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise.
There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.Sounds like fun, huh, huh, huh? ;)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Darkness and the Light
A couple of weeks ago in Gospel Doctrine, our talented teacher shared a talk given in 1978 by Bruce R McConkie regarding the restoration of the gospel. The talk in context was wonderful but it was the poetic opening of the talk that was the most striking to me and has laced my thoughts ever since. Here's the excerpt:
When the sun goes down and the dusk of day deepens into night, then darkness reigns. During the night, darkness is everywhere and the vision of all is dimmed; none can see afar off. Though the heavens teem with stars—an uncounted host of them—and though the moon—she who rules the night—reflects her rays of borrowed light, yet the darkness is not pierced; the blackness of the night continues.
Deep shadows hide the beasts of forest and field. Wildcats stalk their prey in silence. Packs of hunger-maddened wolves strike terror in their victims as their howling calls draw nearer and nearer. Coyotes are baying in the distance; somewhere a lion roars; and in that deepest shadow a jackal lurks, awaiting his chance to steal the slain game of another. The terrors of the night are real.
But finally a distant dawn is heralded. The morning stars shine forth more brightly than their fellows. A few rays of light part the darkness of the eastern sky, a sky still spotted with clouds. Beyond the mountains, not many leagues away, a new day is gestating in the womb of nature. As the earth turns slowly on its decreed course, the dawn brightens; the light of the morning increases; darkness flees. The stars no longer shine; the moon hides her face; their reflected glimmerings no longer pierce the blackness of the night. The sun rises. The blazing light of heaven covers the earth.
When the dawn comes and the sun shines, the doleful creatures of the night begin to retire. The lions return to their lair and the foxes to their holes; the baying of the coyotes is no longer heard; and the howling wolves are silent. The terrors that lurked in the shadows are now hidden in the rocks and in the caves.
With the new dawn the flowers in the field and the trees in the forest take on new life. The oxen in their stalls and the sheep in their cotes awake from sleep, while the fowls of heaven sing praises to the Lord of Sabaoth, to the Creator of the first day. The blessings of life and light are everywhere seen. It is a new day—a day of joy and rejoicing and light.
For me this description of the darkness precisely describes how several spans of my own history have felt like. I myself have been one of the doleful creatures crying out in terror- begging for the darkness to cease. Hope does spring eternal however, when you at last can sense the sinister blackness evaporating and the song of day piercing your darkest shadow and bathing your soul in light. Its breathtaking and wonderful to feel the shackles of the darkness fall from your shoulders. Anyway, I hope you have no idea what I'm talking about. I hope you've never felt this. But if you have, I thought that you would appreciate the above quote.
When the sun goes down and the dusk of day deepens into night, then darkness reigns. During the night, darkness is everywhere and the vision of all is dimmed; none can see afar off. Though the heavens teem with stars—an uncounted host of them—and though the moon—she who rules the night—reflects her rays of borrowed light, yet the darkness is not pierced; the blackness of the night continues.
Deep shadows hide the beasts of forest and field. Wildcats stalk their prey in silence. Packs of hunger-maddened wolves strike terror in their victims as their howling calls draw nearer and nearer. Coyotes are baying in the distance; somewhere a lion roars; and in that deepest shadow a jackal lurks, awaiting his chance to steal the slain game of another. The terrors of the night are real.
But finally a distant dawn is heralded. The morning stars shine forth more brightly than their fellows. A few rays of light part the darkness of the eastern sky, a sky still spotted with clouds. Beyond the mountains, not many leagues away, a new day is gestating in the womb of nature. As the earth turns slowly on its decreed course, the dawn brightens; the light of the morning increases; darkness flees. The stars no longer shine; the moon hides her face; their reflected glimmerings no longer pierce the blackness of the night. The sun rises. The blazing light of heaven covers the earth.
When the dawn comes and the sun shines, the doleful creatures of the night begin to retire. The lions return to their lair and the foxes to their holes; the baying of the coyotes is no longer heard; and the howling wolves are silent. The terrors that lurked in the shadows are now hidden in the rocks and in the caves.
With the new dawn the flowers in the field and the trees in the forest take on new life. The oxen in their stalls and the sheep in their cotes awake from sleep, while the fowls of heaven sing praises to the Lord of Sabaoth, to the Creator of the first day. The blessings of life and light are everywhere seen. It is a new day—a day of joy and rejoicing and light.
For me this description of the darkness precisely describes how several spans of my own history have felt like. I myself have been one of the doleful creatures crying out in terror- begging for the darkness to cease. Hope does spring eternal however, when you at last can sense the sinister blackness evaporating and the song of day piercing your darkest shadow and bathing your soul in light. Its breathtaking and wonderful to feel the shackles of the darkness fall from your shoulders. Anyway, I hope you have no idea what I'm talking about. I hope you've never felt this. But if you have, I thought that you would appreciate the above quote.
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