Logan the Scout

I was never much into Scouts. I had some decent leaders but it just was not my thing. Logan on the other hand likes Scouts and I have absolutely no problem with that. We had a Court of Honor this evening and Logan received his Wolf along with some other awards.

Logan putting the pin on his mom.

Like I said, I have no problem that Logan is into Scouting. I am pretty proud of my kid.

Random Ramblings: It's My Blog...

... and I will blog when I want to.

Blogging: So I missed another Sunday. Well, it is my blog so I can do whatever I want to do. So I have decided that for the remainder of my BlogBlitz(tm) I will be skipping Sundays.

Reading: For my quarterly book I am reading the sequel to Mick Foley's Have a Nice Day. Yup, another wrasslin' book. Hey, I know what I like.

Writing: I have had this comic book idea pop in and out of my mind these last couple of days. I am combining that idea with another novel idea The Samaritans with it and seeing where it is going. And surprising myself, I have also scripted a few pages. I think I am going to use this idea for the upcoming ScriptFrenzy. Before I script more I am going to plot out some stuff. This idea was something my friend Joel and I developed way back in the day but we decided to go in another direction. Hopefully he doesn't mind me dusting this off and adding a coat of paint.

Planning: What to eat here in two weeks for the Superbowl. Yesterday we ate these yummy sweet pork sandwiches/salads while catching the games. Now that the stupid Pats and Giants made the Superbowl, the only important thing about the Superbowl will be the food.

Disappointing: While both games yesterday were exciting, two of my least favorite teams won. I was hoping for the Ravens and 49ers but I guess I cannot win them all. But on the other hand, I felt this way four years ago when the same teams faced each other and it turned out to be one of the greatest games ever. Oh well, there is always next year.

Reading Part II:  I have decided to read all my X-Men books from the beginning which leads me to this:

Blogging Part II:  The comic book geek inside of me is going to do a comic book blog sometime later this year. I just have to find a clever name for my blog and set it up. I am planning on blogging about each X-Men book I am reading and I am choosing 3 panels from each book to blog about. I'll be blogging about other stuff as well.

Strange Weather

We took Logan to his basketball game this morning and I went with a light jacket, no coat. It has been unseasonably warm here. In fact, we had rain these last couple of days which melted all the snow we had.

Those smudges are not smudges at all. Those are some snowflakes!

Now we have some snow on the ground. It first rained a lot then suddenly it switched to the largest snowflakes I have ever seen. And then back to rain and then it came down as ice pellets.

Strange weather indeed. But at least we do not have tornadoes coming down.

The End of an Era

Next month marks the end of a huge era for me. 

For the first time since December, 1985 I will not be picking up a monthly issue of the Uncanny X-Men.

This was my first issue of the Uncanny X-Men that I bought monthly.

I am sure most of you are thinking this is not a big deal but this certainly is a big deal for me. Imagine for second that you bought and read a comic (or something else) every month for the last 27 years. 

Now I am ending that streak and it is ALL Marvel's fault. Don't get me wrong, I still love and am interested in the X-Men franchise but I can no longer afford it.

Back in the day, when I first began to read comics there was only one X-title, Uncanny X-Men. But now there are five main X-Men books and at $4 a pop that can definitely add up. But then Marvel decided to be greedy and publish these X-Men books more than once a month.

Because of this obvious money-grab, I was forced to drop other titles that I was reading (and loved) so I could just keep up with the main X-Men books. I was hoping that this would not become a regular thing since Marvel was not consistent in these double-shipped books so I hung on for as long as I could.

Uncanny X-Men #4... ...my LAST issue

But then I had to drop the Avengers, then Captain America, then Secret Avengers, then the plain X-Men, then X-Men Legacy, then Astonishing X-Men, then Captain America and Bucky and now finally Uncanny X-Men. Not only am I done with the X-titles but it looks like I am done with Marvel completely. The new Avengers vs X-Men miniseries will be my swan song for Marvel.

I am not done with comics completely. There is still a ton of classic material that really interests me but my days of buying comics monthly seems to be over. The only book that I will continue to get monthly is an independent book called The Savage Dragon.

I'll have to blog about this comic sometime in the future. 

It is sad that after 27 years and 348 (344 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 and 4 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 2) straight issues that I have to quit something that I love so much.

I sent Marvel an e-mail about this issue back in July but received no reply. I just sent them another e-mail this morning informing them that I am dropping all the books because of this. If I get a response, I will blog about it here. 

School Daze: Logan's 3rd Grade Class

I am not sure if my little experience qualifies as a true "First Kiss" but I am counting it. When I was in the 3rd Grade  I was kissed by a girl named Carmen. Ar first I thought she was cute but then when she kissed me, I hated her. Hmmmm... now that I think about it, that was something that became standard.

Here is Logan and his 3rd grade class. Here I thought I was hot stuff in the 3rd grade and then I look at my kid and I think he is just a little kid. I wonder if he has a crush on any of the girls in his class.

End Piracy, Not Liberty

**I ripped this off of Google. They explained it a lot better than I would.**

Tell Congress: Don’t censor the Web

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.


Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.

Too much is at stake – please vote NO on PIPA and SOPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Click on the link below and sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

For more information and to sign an online petition click here!

Sing Along With...

This last December has been all about the music it seems. I joined the Logan Community Choir and performed on December 11th. I also sang in out Church choir and a special performance on the 18th and I also was invited to join the Logan High School's performance of the Messiah.

A few months ago I blogged that I joined the Logan Community Choir and I am so glad that I did. I had a hoot learning new music and also meeting new people. The performance is an annual tradition to drum up support and food for the Cache County Food Pantry and includes the Logan Community Choir, the Logan High Crimson Colony, the Westminister Bell Choir and the First Presbyterian Choir. I was a bit nervous that Sunday morning but after our Church choir practice, I was feeling pretty confident. My friends came and picked me up and I arrived in the beautiful Logan Tabernacle and I was no longer feeling nervous. There is just something about being in that awesome building. I was a bit disappointed that the building did not fill up but it was nice to have my parents attend to support me and it was very nice to see a few of my neighbors.

We sang the following songs:

• Still, Still, Still -- I was not as comfortable with this song as the others, I could have used more practice with this one. It sounded phenomenal with the bell choir accompanying us. 
• Breathe of Heaven -- Now I knew this song beforehand but had never attempted to sing it before. This  song is just so beautiful and the tenor part is absolutely fun to sing. 
• The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy -- Now we are getting to the fun stuff. Beforehand they handed out these small plastic shakers for us to shake while we sung. This is way fun song to sing and it definitely has a spirit to it.
• Praise His Holy Name -- Oh boy... ...this was intimidating since it asked for not only an insanely high tenor part but it also called for some movement. I will never forget this song. I managed to hit some notes that I didn't think I could hit and it was emotionally and physically draining.
• The Hallelujah Chorus -- I wish we practiced this more. I think I might have been the only person in the choir(s) that have never sang it before. Luckily I found a cool tenor tutorial on YouTube that I used to practice. Hearing and feeling the organ pound was almost literally breathtaking. What a way to end it!

Can you see me?

That next Sunday we had our Christmas program at Church and it was amazing. Every one sang absolutely beautiful and I was impressed by our small group of very talented people. I was mostly nervous because I sang in a men's quartet. We sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives and I sang the melody. I was a little intimidated because the highest note is slightly out of my range and if I screw up, every one would know since I am singing the most familiar tune. But it went off without a hitch.

I even received in the mail a very nice and unexpected note from someone anonymous. It is so nice to get things like this. I really appreciate whoever sent this and to all those that supported me in these singing endeavors. It is greatly appreciated.

Kristy, Logan and I also attended the Christmas Program put on by Logan High. One of the girls that came to see me sing with the Logan Community Choir was singing tonight. I wanted to show her how much I appreciated her support by coming and supporting her. And one of my friends who sung with me also came and sat with us. At the bottom of the program it invited anyone who knew the Messiah to come and sing along. I was not going to go down but Logan and Danielle talked me into it. I am glad I went down, it was fun to perform that song again.

I never would have thought that one of my favorite hobbies would be to sing.

Ugh...

I woke up the night before feeling really sick to my stomach. I don't think that my dreams of puking helped any. So I stayed home from Church and rested and I didn't blog, much less hit the computer.

I am still feeling a bit out of sorts so I calling this day off too.

Survey Says: X-Men Omnibus Vol 2

It finally came!

A few months ago I blogged about this survey place and was able to do some surveys to earn the Claremont/Lee X-Men Omnibus 2. Months passed and I finally got this book in my grubby hands!

So giddy...

List-Mania: Music from Musicals

Two List-Manias in one week? I have always wanted to do this one during my 365 Challenge but I never got around to it. I found these type of columns to be the most taxing but now since I am well-rested, I have the energy to put this one together.

5) My Friends (from Sweeney Todd)

I don't think I was prepared when I first listened to Sweeney Todd and even that didn't prepare me to seeing it live. Sweeney Todd himself is such a tragic figure, here you have a cold-blooded killer and yet you feel for the man. This song is just so haunting and yet beautiful as well. And I love the line "And we'll do wonders, won't we?"

4) Skid Row (from Little Shop of Horrors)

I remember seeing this movie with my family in the movie theaters. This was the first time I was exposed to musicals that went to the beat of a different drum. And I knew I loved it as soon as this song was finished. Playing Seymour would be my dream acting job.

3) Quartet (from Secret Garden)

I had never heard of the Secret Garden before I went and saw it. This musical surprised me in its dark tone. All of the songs had a hint of sadness and this one really hit me. Archibald is one of those characters that steals the show to me and he is the most human out of all of them. Can you really blame him for acting the way he does?

2) One Day More! (from Les Miserables)

I get goosebumps every time I hear this song. It makes me want to stand up for something and fight.

1) Pity the Child (from Chess)

Again, the bad guys win out again. Three of the songs I have picked are sung by those that are villainous or have some hidden agenda. One Night in Bangkok made me pick this CD up but this song is what won me over. The audience is made to hate this guy but he bears his soul in this song and you can see why he is the way he is. I remember watching a girl cry outright when this song was performed when I was apart of this musical. I love this rendition the best although the rocking guitar solo at the end was cut dramatically short.

Who Wants To Live Forever?

For the last few years one of my New Year's Resolutions was to do some Queen art. Now I have always wanted to do a Queen/art blog and I even developed a blog (which is now deactivated) called Sheer Art Attack. (a play on Queen's Sheer Heart Attack album) 

It was supposed to be a bi-weekly art celebration of the songs of Queen. Every two weeks a new song is chosen and posted on Mondays and then participants/followers are invited during the two week period to illustrate their own interpretation of the song chosen. I had this idea in high school and I did some basic doodles of Queen songs but that is about as far as I have got. This quote from Freddie is what motivates me to try this out.

"That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it - to read into it what they like."
-Freddie Mercury

This is the picture that started it all. I drew this picture representing the beautiful song Who Wants To Live Forever?

It was based off the video and this picture in particular:

I got the effect that I wanted but I would love to do this all over again. I will have to post some of the doodles/rough sketched I did as well.

So when is dinner?

We took this picture years and years ago and it is still one of my favorites. We were at my sister's house for dinner and we were patiently waiting.

Brian and Makenzie's Wedding

A few months ago my family and I had the great privilege to travel down south to attend my cousin Brian's wedding down at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple down in South Jordan. And we almost didn't make it!

Originally I was going to travel to the early morning wedding that Saturday morning and Kristy and Logan were going to leave the night before with Lynn so they could attend a Girl's Night Out Party. But the weather was once again not cooperating with us. The snow came down fast and was piling up quickly and I thought it would be better to have a bad night's sleep than to have to travel through the snow in the canyon so early in the morning. So Lynn and her daughter Jessica came over and I drove them all down to Kristy's parents home. 

The drive was harrowing to say the least. The snow was coming in hard and fast and the roads were not clear at all. And it was worse driving through Logan Canyon. I could barely see the road from all the snow and to make matters worse our heater was not working. The stupid thing only blows out the front and you cannot turn it on to other places, like the windows, to help clear them up. So I could not see out my window either! I had a small space to see through and unfortunately for everyone else, I was forced to roll down the window to help clear the window up.

Logan: "It's cold in here!"
Me: "Well, you can either freeze or die."

It was horrible. We got up this huge hill and we saw this semi in the middle of the road and it didn't look like it was moving very fast. We realized that the semi was actually backing up down the hill. We decided to follow the car in front of us and pass it on the left but as we headed that way, the semi was backing right into us! And we could not get any traction and I couldn't move further away since I was so close to the median-blocks that I could touch them. Thankfully, we managed to swing around. We made it through the canyon and stopped at a gas station to clean the windows up and the thankfully the rest of the drive went normally. 

The next morning we awoke early and went to the beautiful Oquirrh Mountain Temple and it was a joy to see my aunts and uncles and cousins. The ceremony was awesome, both the groom and bride were stunning and the officiator had a fantastic sense of humor. After the wedding we hung around and chatted and went back to Kristy's home and got Logan and took him over to Renae's. Then we cruised down to Orem to meet the family again for lunch. We had a fun time killing ourselves with food and also with laughter. We then went back to Kristy's home to grab Logan and then head back down to the reception.

The reception was very nice. The food was good (I cannot believe I ate more food) and the company was great. My mom and sister came down for the reception and we all hung around the Anhder table. That is until it was time to decorate the car. And Logan was way excited to see and to participate. My cousin Kari asked Logan to come along and of course, I had to see what was going on. I only wish I had some lunch meat to stuff under the door handles. Logan was quite proud of himself that he showed everyone that he could.

Brian's sisters getting revenge.

We are so thankful that we were invited to the wedding and to hang out with my family. I appreciate my Uncle Mark and his neat family for allowing my family to attend. And a special thanks to Brian and his cool new wife Makenzie for inviting my wife and I to the wedding ceremony, that meant a lot to us. 

The drive home was a lot better than the drive down thankfully. It was worth it almost being squished by a semi in a blizzard!

The Breinholt Family Christmas Party 2011

Every year, the weekend before Christmas we gather at the Breinholt's for the annual Christmas party. Sadly, two of the families were unable to attend and their presence was missed. 

Logan and Kristy left the night before hitching a ride with Lynn and I left the morning of. I had a big choir practice that I needed to be at. Funny thing is even though I was running late and leaving from Logan, I still managed to beat most of the family to the party. And what was really strange is that the weather was perfect! In fact, driving through the canyon was the best part since it was so sunny and clear! That was definitely out of the ordinary.

Logan doing his best elephant impression.

Zade just lost his cookie.

The party was very nice with a ton of great food. After stuffing ourselves silly we went and played some Minute-To-Win-It games. We divided ourselves into four groups and played. The games were a lot of fun and it was nice to be in each other's company.

After the party. Kristy, Logan and I gave Steve a ride home since we were leaving for Logan. We were going to take off after but we decided to go and get some ice cream at this new Sub Zero place. It was some of the best ice cream I have ever had. It was Dr. Pepper flavored with bits of Twix and cherries in it. It was nice to spend a little time with Steve and his family. His little girls are just the sweetest. I wish I would have gotten some pictures while we were there. 

All in all I had a very nice time seeing my family. 

Been Caught Stealin'

A few days ago I said that I was cleaning out some of my old stuff and I came across a box with old VHS tapes. Now we don't have a VHS player, ours died a couple of years ago so I have no idea why I was keeping them. I honestly thought I threw them out a long time ago.

What I found were mostly old Church tapes along with a WCW event (the one that I attended live) and my Missionary Moments tape that I made on my mission. I didn't throw those out since I still want them and I will find a way to transfer those to DVD. As I chucked out the other tapes, I opened one of the tape cases and peered inside and found this:

Now I do remember taking this tape home from my mission but I thought I had bought my own. Guess not.

For those that have seen the video, On The Way Home, the kid who plays basketball served in the New York New York North Mission (I was in the South at the same time) and he really wasn't that good at playing basketball.

List-Mania: Fleetwood Mac Songs

I seem to go in cycles when it comes to listening to music. I will spend a lot of time on one band and then suddenly switch and pick another band to listen to. This time around I went to a band that I am sure I heard first from my list of favorite musicians/bands.

My parents owned and the fantastic Rumors album and they must have played it over and over again to engrave it on my mind. I quickly became a fan of them when they released the album Tango in the Night and it was like being reunited with some old friends. I then became reaquainted with them and they are never far from my playlist. One of the reasons that I love about them is that there is not a single lead singer. Stevie Nicks definitely made an impression on me with her raspy voice and I grew up wanting to be just like Lindsey Buckingham (I still do). They have such a unique sound.

5) Hold Me

I love to play the bass along with this song. While I prefer Stevie to Christine, I absolutely adore Christine on this track. 

4) Seven Wonders

This was the song that made me pay attention. I watched MTV's Top 20 Countdown pretty religiously back in those days and this video/song was one that I made sure I caught. 

3) Go Your Own Way

This song makes me want to get up and go. Lindsey's vocals and the thunderous drums are the perfect combination.

2) Silver Springs

This is one of those songs that I will stop whatever I am doing and sit back and listen. Stevie is absolutely perfect on this track

1) Tango in the Night

This song gives me the chills. I love to pluck the bass to this song nice and loud.

Mission Memoirs: Afterglow

It seems like I get melancholy every Christmas season and I like to go through my things and reminisce. I was cleaning out some old files in my filing cabinet and I came across a Bible that I used on my mission. It is marked up and banged up. I had this Bible since I took seminary in high school so it has been awhile. I also took this set with me on my mission, and I used this set out on the streets. I didn't want to take my nice leather ones out in case I get mugged and someone takes off with my scriptures.

I thumbed through the pages and out fell this note:

This note was written by Elder Buckner (one of the missionaries I lived with) when I served in Jamaica, Queens. His companion when he was getting ready would carry this portable tape player with him constantly and he would only play Afterglow. For those that are not familiar with Afterglow, they are an LDS duo that sings LDS material. Now I have nothing against them or their music, it is not my cup of tea (and I like cheesy music!). But Elder Buckner's companion listened to them non-stop for months and it was grating on all of our nerves. Elder Buckner passed this note to me when I was reading in bed right after his companion passed me singing and listening to Afterglow loudly.

I am totally hanging on to this keepsake. It is now a bookmark in my set of scriptures.

2011 Resolutions Finale

So where did 2011 go? 

It is hard for me to believe that it has been a year already. This year has certainly had its ups and downs but I think it was still a pretty good year. I am hoping for a better 2012 and I have a bunch of new goals/resolutions that I want to undertake, which I blogged about yesterday. And since I made new goals/resolutions, I should take a look back at the past year and see how I did.


Once again I will use the Mountain Dew LiveWire Rating System with 5 Dews being the best (meaning I totally nailed the goal) and 0 Dews meaning I totally flopped.


Resolution #1
"Take Time to Write More"
I completed both the ScriptFrenzy and Nanowrimo competitions. Unfortunately I didn't do much writing aside from that. I did do some minor edits in my Official Missionary Journal but that's all folks! I did alright with the blogging as well. Not as good as I wanted but I am at least still doing it. 

Resolution #2
"Read More"
The year started out really good. But then the wheels slowly came off the wagon. I did complete my goal of reading a book a quarter. I read all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid the first quarter, Mick Foley's Have A Nice Day the second quarter, Belinda Carlisle's Lipps Unsealed for the third quarter and I just finished (a day late) Ozzy Osbourne's autobiography I am Ozzy. I did manage to read the Ensign every month for the first three months but I failed the rest of the year. And I don't really want to bring up the scriptures, I did a really lousy job with that. At times I was breezing through the New Testament and then it would stall. I don't think I did a bad job but I could have definitely done better. 

Resolution #3
"Be Healthy"
My resolution stated that I would exercise 5 days a week and I think for the most part I succeeded. I know I missed some days and the month of December suffered a bit but I think I did pretty well. I rode my bike 8 miles to work almost daily, I played a lot of racquetball and I did my Total Gym too. Unfortunately due to my knee I was unable to run the 5K marathon. But on the other hand I did run a 1 mile race. For the most part I have eaten more healthier, I pay a lot more attention to serving sizes now and I have cut my soda consumption down quite a bit. I think for the most part I knocked this one outta the park!

Resolution #4
"Pick up a Pen and Draw!"
Uh oh. I have not done any type of art since the mid-point of the year. I have taken some time to do some doodling but that is about it. I didn't do any Queen-related art which I still want to do. Ugh, I failed on this one.

Resolution #5
"Play the Bass"
For the most part I played the bass pretty regularly. I wouldn't say every day but I know that I did it at least weekly. And I am slowly expanding all the songs that I can now cover. The other part of my resolution was to use my musical talents (and I use that term lightly) and look for more opportunities to sing. Now that I have done, I sang in my local Church choir and I have joined a few others as well. I can safely say that I killed this goal/resolution! 

Some of the time I feel like I am not accomplishing anything but then I take a long look (and blog about them) and I think I have done a pretty good job. And I do owe it to the blog, if I didn't have to list goals/resolutions and then have to own up to them, I doubt I would have done anything at all. 

2012 Resolutions

Kristy, Logan and I celebrated an early New Year with a glass of Ginger Ale at 9:00 PM, New Year's Eve. We did this so Logan could celebrate the New Year along with Kristy and I. We hoisted our glasses in the air and I made a toast. 

"Here is to a Happy 2013. I hope it is better than the last year."

Logan and Kristy immediately busted up with laughter. I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself. I think I wanted to skip making resolutions for 2012!

I really liked the format I used last year so I am doing it again. 

I RESOLVE...

• to go back to school and get an education. I am still not sure exactly what I will studying, I am going back and forth from Pharmacist to Paralegal. Either way, I will be heading back to school sometime this year.

I RESOLVE...

• to continue to read more. I think I will continue with reading a book every quarter and I am sure I can find more autobiographies or instructional books that I can read. Along with that I am going to try to read the Ensign magazine monthly again. Last summer we also had the cool opportunity to hear from Elder Bednar and he gave us all a neat promise that I am going to work on to fulfill. 

I RESOLVE...

• to continue exercising and trying to eat right. I will still continue to eat what I want but I am going to limit my portions more carefully. I still would like to run a 5K race but I am unsure how my knee will react. If all goes good, I will try to run the Top of Utah 5K. If that does not work I might run the 1 mile race at Logan's school again. I will continue with my walking DVDs, playing racquetball and going out for runs.

I RESOLVE...

• to actually do some drawing or some kind of art this year. Even if I do some rough sketches that would be good enough. I used to do some art while watching Lost a few years ago so I know that I have the time. I just need to get disciplined and do it. I still am highly interested in doing some Queen art. 

I RESOLVE...

• to continue to use and hone my musical talents. I will continue to play the bass guitar and participate in as many choirs and other singing opportunities. Along with that, I am also going to spend some time learning about music. I would like to get to the point where I can actually read music. 

I RESOLVE...

• to take the time to write more. I have a lot of projects that I need to edit and work on again. I will participate in the Nanowrimo competition again this November and I will give ScriptFrenzy a whirl again here in April. This time I think I might try out something completely different with ScriptFrenzy. I might do a TV show or a musical. I will also blog a bit more than I did last year. I might have to do a few more BlogBlitzes to accomplish that goal.          

I RESOLVE...

• to use my time wisely. I am going to shut off the TV at 9:00pm and spend an hour until bedtime completing my resolutions. So I can draw, read or practice music during this time. I am going to give myself a floating day or two where I can watch TV or a movie or something. Basically so I can veg out once in awhile. 

That should keep me busy this coming year. 

Christmas 2011

My family and I had a very nice Christmas. It was loaded with food and family and was very relaxing.

Christmas Eve we had my mom come over for dinner and to play some games. We ate a ton of good food. Kristy made a cheese fondue and some meatballs and french bread to dip them in and Eggnog Bread Pudding for dessert. It was a very nice evening. After Logan went to bed, Kristy and I prepared the rest of Christmas and watched our annual tradition of Christmas Vacation.

The next morning we awoke and got ready for Church. It was only an hour and it was fantastic. I wish I could start every Christmas morning this way. We came home after visiting with a few people after the services and ate some breakfast and opened gifts. To say that Logan was excited was definitely an overstatement! We opened up our awesome gifts and then proceeded to stuff ourselves sick with candy. That evening we played games and watched the football game. Like I said, it was nice and relaxing.

I absolutely hate putting up/taking down lights from the Christmas Tree. I don't know if you can tell that from how I look.

Logan in his obligatory Christmas pic.

For Boxing Day we went over to my dad's to spend the day there. We ordered Chinese food and once again I stuffed myself with too much candy. I have a major weakness for fudge and (un)fortunately dad had a ton of it. I must have eaten a couple pounds of the stuff. We played cards and games and did our $5 Gift Card Pool. I got a K-Mart gift card which I traded for a Walmart one which I traded for an Amazon gift card. Which interestingly enough is the gift card which I purchased for the party. And I already know what I want to get!

So all in all I had a very nice Christmas. Unfortunately now that Christmas has passed, I have to get on with some New Year's Resolutions and lose the weight I gained and eat better!

Sports, Sports and more Sports

I like sports. I especially like football and I am a huge fan of the NFL. Even though my team choked the last three games and will miss the playoffs, I can still enjoy watching other teams compete. I am already looking forward to this coming weekends slate of games. 

I respect all teams even though there are a few teams that I despise. As a Jets fan, I have to hate on the Dolphins and Patriots. As a Jazz fan I have to hate on divisional rivals. That is just part of sports. But I do respect all those organizations. 

Now when it comes to players, it gets a bit tricky. There are some players that I dislike that I still respect. Patriot QB Tom Brady is the best example. But then there are players that I just don't like and usually it is because of how they act beyond the sport. I don't think I could ever like Steelers QB Big Ben because of his actions off the field. And some players I don't like because of their attitude. One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing players that have all the talent in the world act like an idiot and the lose all that they had. That just drives me nuts.

But then there are some players that I just don't like and it has nothing to do with them.  I am talking about BYU's Jimmer and the Bronco's Tebow. It has nothing to do with their abilities, it has nothing to do with their actions off the field. In fact, these players are very classy and actually make their sport better. But for some reason I just can't get behind them.  And I know exactly who to blame. 

Rick Aaron. President of the Jimmer Fanclub. 

I don't blame Rick entirely. I blame all those local media sportscasters that are in love with Jimmer and Tebow. Seriously, there are times that if Jimmer were in the same room as Rick, Rick would end up kissing Jimmer on the mouth. It never ends and it never fails, even though Jimmer is beyond BYU, Rick keeps bringing him back to the sportscast. Even when he is doing basketball highlights that are not BYU/NBA -related he will still sneak in a Jimmer reference. "He took that shot from Jimmer range!"  That sort of comment makes me want to puke. 

The biggest reason I am not a fan of Jimmer and Tebow is because they are constantly being shoved down my throat. Don't get me wrong, I respect each athlete. I am just sick and tired of sportscasters (Rick Aaron is the worst of them) treating them like it is the Second Coming and then preaching (kissing butt) to all of us to worship at the feet of these athletes. When Jimmer and Tebow play in the Super Bowl or NBA Championship game than I think all this fuss would be warranted. Tone down your man-love!

Happy 2012!

Where In the World is Matt Platis?

I have not fallen off the face of the planet. It may seem that way since I have not blogged in over a month! But things started to get busy last month and part of me just was not in the mood to blog. Personally, I think I am stuck in a small rut and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

It is not like nothing good has happened this past month because that is definitely not true. A lot of neat things have happened to me this last month and I will be blogging about it in the near future.

This month I will be participating in a BlogBlitz (tm). Meaning I am going to blog daily for the next 31 days.