Does this count?

Em and I had a discussion this last week. We were talking about how it really seems difficult for this generation to keep a journal.

I can't think of very many of my friends that keep one on a regular basis. I'm always hearing someone say how hard it is to keep going and they always seem to need to catch up. The only person I've ever known to keep one on a consistent basis is my father-in-law. I really am amazed how diligent he's been at it for what, 40 plus years? Whenever I go into his office I look at the volumes he has on his bookshelves.

This made me think of something. Does writing a blog count as keeping a journal? I know a journal is supposed to contain your innermost thoughts and feelings but in a day and age where most people seem to be incapable of "inside thoughts", let alone writing something down in an actual pen and paper form, it seems that blogs just might be the next best thing.

I can count myself as a person who, for some reason, just can't seem to write things down in a journal. I tried for the first couple months of my mission, but fizzled out in spectacular fashion. Even until fairly recently I vowed never to keep a blog because I felt that they were a waste of time. Especially after talking to Em about it this week, my mind has changed a bit.

What do you think?

"S" is for...

It seems to me that these last couple of weeks have been dedicated to things that start with "S".

School (Yay for finals soon!),

Siblings (We went to ABQ to visit my family for Thanksgiving),

Sickness (for me momma and Audrey) and

Snow (Welcome to Utah, buddy) all begin with "S".

The end of the school semester is next week and I've been ready for it since sometime in September. I wish I could say that I've done exceptionally well, but the last few months have been ones of change and a good measure of uncertainty in our household (Loads of fun, I tell ya...).

As for siblings, We had a really good time in Albuquerque visiting with my family. It'd been five months since we left for Utah and it was amazing to see what had changed and what had stayed the same. Audrey had SO much fun with her cousins that when we got home she kept asking to go play with them and she STILL asks to go see her nanny, grandfather, grandpa T and gramma Linda.

On a side note, if you find yourselves flying a fairly short distance, make sure to check what type of plane you're going to be in. We got a Delta Connection CRJ200 Operated by SkyWest Airlines. I don't know for sure, but it seems the longer the name, the smaller the plane. Luckily it wasn't a Turbo-Prop like someone I know that flew from Denver to ABQ.

Ours only had 52 seats with 2 seats on each side, one (1) flight attendant and not enough room inside to change your mind let alone room to change a dirty diaper mid-air BOTH trips..... Oh yeah, we had to check one of our carry-on bags because the overhead compartments weren't the standard size. The plane must've been built with elves in mind. I guess the "S" for this part could stand for SMALL!!!!!

Unfortunately, during our trip Audrey got some sort of 24 hour bug and gave it to momma who gave it to me. Ick. There is ALOT of detail that I could go into, but I won't. Suffice it to say having to run to the bathroom for reasons other than the normal ones isn't one I'd like to experience again anytime soon.

Lastly, we got SNOW this week!! Yay! I like Pudding cups! Er, I mean Snow is fun to play in. Momma and I took the kids to the park to go sliding down the hill and I took Audrey with some of her cousins later in the day as well. I think we've gotten about 8 inches total in our area with more expected later this week. Looks like winter is here to stay.

I'm looking forward to one more "S" over winter break. It stands for SLEEP!!!

Pain in the Neck

Disclaimer: I know this isn't Monday and I've already posted this week, but I feel wordy today. Sorry it's so long.

So, ya.

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking from class toward the bus when I passed by a bunch of tables/ booths that were showcasing different companies that work hand-in-hand with UVU. This is a fairly frequent thing since there are plenty of companies that like to pander to college students. Most of the time I ignore them and head on my merry way, but sometimes I like to stroll and look for free junk (mainly pens).

On this particular day, for some reason, I resisted my urge to bulldoze my way through the crowded hallway casting my usual furtive glances that, if someone caught me checking out their booth, might have the look of "Don't talk to me!!".

I decided to stroll in a non-hurriedly type of pace and actually check some if this crap out. Maybe some of it won't actually be crap. It seemed unlikely since the first unsuspecting fellow to attempt to gain my attention was from Wells Fargo. Poor guy never saw it coming. As soon as he asked if I had a checking account I spun around, grabbed him by the coattails of his suit, pulled them over his head, sucker-punched him a couple times and stomped his foot for good measure! Not really, but I did tell him of the last experience I had with his company which could have felt like that to him if I hadn't been in a decent mood.

After I left the poor sap in a bloody heap (figuratively) on the floor, I walked further on and saw a weird contraption of two poles with a couple of strings going between them and a guy standing there looking like he needed something to do. It looked strange enough for someone like me to actually be interested in it so I decided to stop and talk for a moment.

It turned out that the guy was from

"The Official Chiropractor of the UVU Athletic Department!!!!"

Uh, ok... Anyway, his little contraption has you stand as straight as you can and it measures the alignment of your hips and shoulders. I always knew I was crooked as a question mark, but I figured I'd see if my body was as well. Turns out that my left hip was about half an inch higher than my right, and my left shoulder was a full inch LOWER than my right. Yup, I figured as much. I was nice to the guy and wrote down my contact info just for the fun of it and proceeded to now RUN to the bus since I lolligagged too long.

Well, about a week later I got a phone call from the chiro place and as luck would have it, I won the little drawing they had from their little expo. (I entered into a drawing?) The lady on the phone said I won about $200 worth of chiro tests and such, no strings attached and wanted to set up an appointment.

About a week after that phone call I went to my appointment and filled out the usual new patient paperwork while asking A COUPLE of times to make sure this was really free. Then I get in to see the chiropractor and tell him my aches and pains and whines and cries (or that's what it felt like cuz hey, I've never been to a place like this for myself before...). So, after the pity party, the Doc fondled my head and neck, took some x-rays and told me that was all he could do that day and he'd see me at the follow-up appointment. (A-HA! That's where I'm gonna have to pay!)So, I set the appointment and ask AGAIN what it was going to cost me, and again the answer was "Nothing." Nice!

So, I got to my next free date with the bone dancer yesterday. We exchanged pleasantries and he told me that it looked like someone tried to screw my head on the wrong way. My atlas bone was about 1/2 inch to the right of center and my C5 and C6 vertebrae were compressed giving my neck only 15 degrees of bend when it should have 35 to 45. I always knew I was stiff-necked.

Since it happened a couple times and I never got them fixed, (Car wreck 5 years ago and falling out of a tree about 15 years ago), I've done some semi-permanent damage and he wasn't sure how much he could do. We'd have to bone dance to find out. Well, I get to the chiro table and he does the usual once over to make sure there isn't anything else wrong with my back, hips and such. (Ok, not too bad.. I could get to like this..)

Then he gets to my neck.

A little wiggle to make sure I'm good and loose and the next thing I think of is that someone just crushed a soda can right next to my ear, and WOW that felt weird! Then he does it again the other direction. Same thing. The lady in the hallway calls out, "Wow! I heard that out here!"

Glad I could provide some entertainment for the place.

Long story short, The doc says he can work things out and I should be a bit sore for a bit. We'll see. I have my next appointment with the bone dancer today.

Time Flies!

On Wednesday our little family flies back to Albuquerque for the holiday. We get to spend almost a week visiting with family and friends that we haven't seen in almost 6 months. It really seems weird to me that it's already been that long. In some respects, it seems like we only left a few weeks ago and in others it feels like it's been years.

I've been looking forward to seeing everyone again, finding out what's changed (probably not much) and what's stayed the same (most everything). When we left, Henry was barely a month old and was just a little baloney loaf. Now he has quite the personality and is starting to feed himself Cheerios!

Audrey has really learned how to express herself (and be defiantly independent as well), and is completely daytime potty trained! How wonderful the joys of only changing diapers for one child again.

As for momma and me, I might be a bit more bald and Em claims to be growing white hairs by the day, thanks to the kids. Other than that, it'll just be good to see everyone we've missed for the last while. Man, time flies.

I'm Thankful For Heroes

I like heroes. I don't care too much for the comic book type stuff. I prefer the real ones.

I know he says he was only doing his job, but there are 154 other people on-board US Airways flight 1549 who owe Capt Sullenberger their lives.

I can also say that there is a distinct possibility that the situation could have turned out much worse for people on the ground if the plane were in the hands of a pilot with lesser talents.

For those who are into real-life heroes or just have a morbid curiosity, I found a site that has a video reconstruction of the flight from take-off to splash down.

As we reach the height of the travel season, I plan on doing my best to say thank you to those who see to it that we get to our destinations in a safe and preferably mundane manner.

http://www.exosphere3d.com/pubwww/pages/project_gallery/cactus_1549_hudson_river.html

By the way, there is no sound for the first minute or so, but it really is fascinating to get to see the inner workings of an airplane crash without having to actually GO THROUGH the experience.