Happy Birthday Monthly List

We are starting something new. We will have a happy birthday box for each month. We have over 27 birthdays to remember now that we are married and so it is difficult to get cards out to everyone. I hope you all know that we remember your birthdays and hope that all is well.

We hope in this way, we can help you all feel that we care even if we can't afford to get you a card or a present.

Hair by Twixt

I had a request to post a picture of my new do. Here it is. Here is the story:

I went to Shep's Salon, a little basement salon. It looks like it is in grandma's basement and then you go into this hip place where they play some crazy new fangled music. There are also three male hair stylists there. My grandpa would have a fit! Anyway, I felt very metro if you know what I mean. Patrick consulted with me on what I wanted and without warning me, snip went the hair. I was a little worried! He got rid of 7 inches of hair without blinking an eye. He then turned me over to a skinny guy who informed me that his name was Twixt and that he would be washing my hair for me. I really didn't want to laugh, but I wondered if he was serious. I was going to make some wise crack like "Oh you are a combination of a twit and a Twix" but when I realized he was serious, I didn't say anything. Patrick came back and cut my hair. It wasn't anything like the picture I had showed him, but he assured me that it was hip. He then proceeded to spray my hair with 1/2 a bottle of hairspray until I almost passed out due to lack of oxygen. I hated it! I specifically told him that I didn't like bangs and what did he do? He styled it so that they hung in my face like a dead, drowned rat.

I came home and was worried what Ty would think. I started blubbering about my experience. He just laughed as I cried and blubbered "...and his name was Twixt....and he just hacked off my hair...". Ty being the wise man he is suggested I go to Fantastic Sams and get it highlighted. This seemed to be a good idea. I did so and Kendra (that was her name) was able to style my hair more to my liking. I did it this morning in about 10 minutes. I am happy with the result, even if it was a traumatic experience getting there.

Enough about the hair. One of the most exciting things happened on Friday. They dedicated the new addition to the Tanner Building where I work. I lovingly call it "the Tanner Tot" as it has only 4 stories and the original building has 7. President Monson came to do the dedicating. He graduated with an MBA degree several years ago and as Pres. Samuelson said "He is our most distinguished alumni". It was a very special experience. The whole first presidency came as well as several other apostles. I was in a separate room due to space issues, however, I could feel President Monson's power as our prophet. It was a special experience. I love my new job and I love working at BYU and having such wonderful experiences.

Friday Night Lights!

I figured that if I didn't post these pictures of my own will and choice, Cami would do so for me and then I would be at her mercy for the description of the event. What I am talking about is my first BYU intermural football game.

The activities guy in my Elder's quorum (whom I home-teach) decided to get a group together to play with the BYU intermural games. He sent a sign-up list around and when I, being the last person to get it, saw that only he had signed up for the team I was motivated by a feeling of responsibility and mis-placed loyalty to sign-up for the team to help him out.

I didn't realize that they had also sent a list around the other Elder's quorum in our ward and they got a much better turn-out.

But, I decided that I signed up for it, I may as well go have fun. And, to tell you the truth, I did have quite a bit of fun. I played center with offence (a position I have less-than-fond memories of from Jr. High football) and just tried to stop anyone I could on defense.

So, without further adieu, here are some pictures of the football experience!

A Treatise on Self-Inflicted Agony

I thought it might be high-time for me to add a few comments of my own to the blog. Cami has done a great job picking up my slack this past month, and for that I am grateful. It seems that Cami is really great at picking up my slack generally... I keep promising her that one day the roles will reverse and I will be the one to do the picking, but until that day comes I can only be grateful for a wonderful friend and companion who not only says that she loves me, but shows me that she does through her thoughts, words, and deeds.
Part of my excuse for leaving so much slack in my life for Cami to pick up is the extreme anxiety I daily face over the completion of my research-- the culmination of which being in the form of a 30 page 'scholarly' document about something I pretend to know only just a little about. Everyday I subject myself to paralyzing agony over the sheer thought of putting words on paper towards this end. This mind-numbing punishment I renew each morning with increased devotion. Day by day I slavishly approach my computer, open my rough draft document, and proceed to minimize it in order to direct my attention to just about any other activity that I can invent. I permit these distractions to control my mind until a sufficient amount of guilt builds in my bossom and finally explodes in a crazed outburst of writing. Of course these outburts are in direct relation to the degree of pressurized guilt which prompts the explosion. And, as is the case with all actions which ellicit guilt, daily my guilt dwindles until a week from now I fear I may not feel at all guilty about playing spider solitaire for 6 hours straight.
I know that as Cami has read this, her grip on the arms of her office chair has continued to tighten until at this moment it may actually require minor surgery to remove her fingers from the plasticized foam arm rests. Therefore, I will reassure her (and anyone who may be concerned) with this simple little life-altering revelation I recieved this afternoon: I need to get off my lazy derrier and git 'er done! This measure of self-motivating censure has kicked my guilt into over-drive today. Now my goal is to hold onto this guilt in order to use it as a daily motivation to get work done without the ever-mecessary ritual distractions.
Although this may all be a little over-dramatized, the fact of the matter is that I guess I have been a little intimidated by the daunting nature of the task ahead. But I feel confident that I may find the strength sufficient to accomplish all things I must as I continue to rely on those who make my life a blessing to live: my Lord, my wife, my family (including my great in-laws), and my friends. Thanks to all of you who fill me with stength. May I find a way to fulfill the measure of your expectations.

Tag? I haven't played that in a while.

So I guess I am supposed to write some stuff about us. My sister "tagged" us. That means anyone reading this blog has to do the same...I guess. I am not very hip, as you may already know. When Ebay is your primary shopping experience, well....


Here it goes: Don't say I never did nothin' for you Kendra.


8 favorite tv shows: Eight is a lot. I think I can also answer for Ty who is at the moment camping with the scouts. We watch everything together anyway. These aren't necessarily in order of preference.

1. Stargate - It's just plain cool.
2. Star Trek - Who couldn't like it? It is so classic.
3. X-files - Why do I like this again?
4. The Office - Hilarious! (and sometimes shocking)
5. Monk - Very amusing
6. 24 - Scary and almost real.
7. hmmm...Ty likes Smallville, I don't
8. Not sure on this 8th one...


8 Favorite Restaurants - These are in order of preference.
1. Tucanos - Meat and more meat!
2. Tepanyaki Japanese Grill - Konichiwa
3. Los Hermanos - Sabrosa!
4. Papa Johns - Bon Giorno!
5. Bombay House - Spice and rice
6. Brick Oven Pizza - Don't let the name fool you, they are light as tarts.
7. Costa Vida - Es Facil
8. McDonalds - Millions eat there, why shouldn't we?


8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. I got up
2. I took a shower
3. I ate breakfast
4. I went to work
5. I worked at work
6. I had a lunch for my boss for bosses day
7. I came home
8. Ty and I watched the X Files movie with a couple of friends.


8 Things I am Looking Forward to: (Miss Grammars says this should be: things to which I am looking forward, but who really talks that way anyway?)
1. Going to San Fransisco next month
2. Riding the train to Denver
3. Going home for Christmas
4. Being settled somewhere with money and a house
5. Having a family
6. Getting a better car
7. ? Ty can fill these in later
8. ?


Things on My Wish List:
1. Peace in the world - Why is that so difficult?
2. World Peace - Quite a different thing
3. Piece of cheesecake - I am craving that right now.
4. A new car - I am looking forward to it and it's on my Wish List :)
5. Health for all of my family
6. A Massage
7. Warm weather
8. Ty to be home and not out camping with the scouts.

Well that about does it I think. Now you know all about me/us.

Back By Popular Demand

Ok, so we have had requests to update our blog. I didn't know we were so popular. Ok ok, so we had a request from my sister Kendra :) For those of you interested in the continuing computer saga from before: I got my new computer and it seems to know its place. I gave the problem computer to the new part time girl, she wasn't there today, hope she is all right. So here's another crazy look into the lives of an ordinary and sometimes boring couple:

We went to the zoo last Saturday. It was extremely cold, but fun at the same time. Ty had to "study" the primates for his Biological Anthropology class. I am not sure the purpose of the studying. Was it to find out how similar monkeys are to men? Or was it to see how we hope that we are not similar? It was interesting anyway. We watched the Capuchin and Golden Tamarin monkeys for 1/2 hour and then moved on to the Gorillas for another 1/2 hour. We watched them try to get macaroni out of a square PVC pipe for a half an hour. It was definitely entertaining there at the zoo. I don't know why they fascinated me so much. Perhaps because they are some long lost relatives. I am just joking about all of that. I know who my mamma is and she ain't no monkey.
(A picture of baldy. My name for the old, slow moving, blind Capuchin on the left. Poor little guy. He was ugly. There was a bald Tamarin also. The sign said it was the dad and that all the babies had pulled his hair out. No joke. I guess they aren't like humans since our dads pull out their own hair.)

I particularly loved the Golden Tamarin monkeys. They are little balls of golden fur that jump around and play. They had 3 babies born recently. They were so cute, I wanted to hug them, and love them, and squeeze them....anyways...

We also rode on the newly constructed carousel. Ty chose the Tiger and I chose the Panda. I don't know if that has anything to do with our personalities or not, you can be the judge. However, remember this: Kung Fu Panda rocks!

It started to snow on us as we were walking around, but I still decided to get my flavor burst cone. It is ice cream with flavored syrup swirled in it. I was cold, but it was good.

Most of the animals were asleep of course. Why do zoos have nocturnal animals if they are only open during the day? I bet the zoo is a party place at night, however, it isn't so fun to see them during the day. "Oh honey, look, it is a very rare (fill in the blank)." "Where? I don't see it?" "Oh, it must be in its box sleeping, but the picture's pretty good." Since we aren't supposed to tap on the glass, there isn't much to see. Don't we all wish we could just stir up those cougars and tigers a little? That's why we go to the zoo right? To see some Discovery Channel hunting action.

So, we did have fun and hope you enjoy the pictures. Just think of it this way, by looking at our pictures, you mostly saw everything that we saw since most of the animals were hiding and asleep anyway and who could blame them? I should have been at home curled up in my warm house as well.