Going Back to Brooklyn

Okay, I really didn't go back to Brooklyn but it sure felt like it yesterday.

Warning: Normally I don't get preachy-churchy on the blog but it looks like this one will be!

A few weeks ago I signed up to go on splits with the missionaries and I admit that I did it under less than spiritual circumstances. I signed up for Sunday (yesterday) for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that I didn't have to feed them. I am not a huge fan of being assigned to feed the missionaries, I didn't have that sort of luxury on my mission. I had to beg and scrape by to get dinner appointments. I also only had to go with them from 7-9 and that didn't seem so long and I knew that I wouldn't have to split with the missionaries the next time.

But when the time rolled around I was not in the mood. And then they called me and asked if I could go out an hour earlier! They came over at 6:00 and I spilt with Elder Mockey (I think that is how you spell his name) and we headed out. Elder Mockey is from South Africa and has a very cool English/Swedish/Austrailian accent and was a newbie. This was his first area and the end of his first month in the mission field. It was a lot of fun getting to know him and hearing how he speaks English. And we quickly bonded on how strange Americans are with their hard stance against the superior Metric system.

My bad attitude of going out with the missionaries changed quickly when we went to our first appointment. We taught a young mother named Misty and her friend Mason was there. Mason had just joined the Church and he was preparing to go on a mission and his conversion story was awesome. He had went through a lot in life and hit rock bottom and then one day he wanted something better in life. He was a tremendous example to Misty. I was able to share a few things with her and she committed to try out living the Gospel this week and see how she feels. After we left I was invigorated. It took me back to when I served my LDS mission in New York.

Then we went and visited and taught a kid named Diego. His aunt and uncle were members but he wasn't but he was highly interested in the Church. Elder Mockey was very excited to teach him since Diego had a huge State swimming competition and Elder Mockey wanted to share with him his experiences of playing nationally in rugby and he mixed in some scriptures with it. I was left speechless, I have been on a mission before and I felt like I knew what I should say but Elder Mockey just took and ran with the ball. I was impressed by his stories. I was also very impressed with Diego and his cousin who is the same age. They said that they would study the scriptures right before the big meet. The young folks today...  ...they are so much stronger than I am. The youth in my ward are inspirations and I look up to them and I wish I was like them. Some people are afraid of what the world will look like when the youth grow up and lead but I am not afraid. I think we will be in good shape.

After we visited them we went to our last appointment of the night. We visited a man named Rule (not sure how to spell his name either). Elder Mockey told me that this was the first time he had visited this man and that we should teach him about Joseph Smith and the restored Church. Rule was a neat man. He said that he had a lot of faith in God and he felt that he was always led around and protected by God even through the rough times. Five minutes into the our discussion he said "I think I have been baptized by the Spirit but I have not been baptized by water, like Jesus was." I turned to Elder Mockey and smiled. We continued to talk and teach with him and committed him to be baptized on the 19th. We were all very excited and happy.

This is what I have forgotten. I had forgotten what it was like to share the gospel with those that are looking and searching deep for guidance and for someone to show the way. I came home at 10 that night, I was with the missionaries for 4 hours and it seemed like it was only an hour. I had forgotten how rewarding missionary work is and I look forward to seeing these people again and going out with the missionaries.

So it did feel like I was in my last area in Brooklyn on my mission. I am so glad and thankful that I went out with the missionaries.

If I was a Rich man...

Now I have that song running through my mind. Apologies to everyone else that is humming it now too.

I am sure that we have all dreamed about what it would be like to be rich. What we would buy first, what we would do for our family and stuff like that. I hope that money would not change me and that I could still lead a simple life. I would like to think that I would donate a lot of money and that I would take care of my extended family as well as those that live around me. I don't spend a lot of money as it is now so I think I am safe to assume that I wouldn't spend so much if I did have a lot. Sure, I might pick up a few more comics but that would be about it.

But then I got thinking... ...I definitely know what I would spend money on that I don't now. And yes, it has to do with comics.

I would purchase original comic book art and I would ask my favorite artists to draw something for me that I can frame and hang in my home. My home (my comic book den; I do have to have a place for all my geeky stuff!) would have a ton of comic art hanging on the walls.

Of course I would get another drawing from my favorite artist Alan Davis.

The ClanDestine

I would love to have something like this from Alex Ross hanging on my wall. Bonus points to whoever can tell what this painting is all about.

I would also try to track down some original art from Marvel's old Star Wars comic.

Something like this would be so awesome!

Now I am just getting envious surfing the internet finding cool pieces of art. Like this one of Alpha Flight (a Canadian team) from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.



Okay, I'll stop. So if I ever get rich, this is the vanity thing I would spend my money on!

Random Ramblings

I still like getting snail mail and when I came home yesterday I found a letter from my Aunt Margo. And I knew exactly what it was!  Every year for the Superbowl she makes a little board with a bunch of squares with each one of our names on it. She has done this for the last couple of years, I have even won one of the major prizes and few years back. I think I got some pretty good numbers this year. I know I look forward to this yearly tradition.

Thanks Margo! I'll get over sometime...

Well, I finished the last two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I think I am going to count them in my resolutions but I don't think I will count them all. Since they are pretty easy to read I will count them as one book. So I am done for the quarter! HUZZAH!

I am looking forward to Spring. I am getting a little antsy about my goal for running. I have not ran since last year (that really sounds like a long time ago) and I really want to start.

I still have my buddy Randy to walk with.

Logan has his first Pack meeting the other night. He has been going to Cub Scouts the last few weeks but this was the first time he has to go with all the other Scouts. I think he was a little intimidated by the whole thing but he did enjoy himself. My family and I are very blessed to live in the neighborhood that we do. We have fantastic Scout Leaders and we have fantastic neighbors. I am not a big social person, if I could I would stay home in my house and not have to leave. Social get-togethers like these and other Church-related meetings are typically not my thing.

But for some reason, this place is different. I look forward to seeing my neighbors and I look forward to associating with the kids and the young people. Perhaps it is because they make me feel young. They also make me want to be a better person. Either way, I am incredibly blessed and lucky to have my family be here in this place.

Should These Count?

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to read more. Instead of reading a novel once a month, I decided to read one once a quarter since I was adding some other reading goals too.

Now the month has not even ended and I have completed three books so far. And I started my fourth one this morning. Once I am done with that book, and I am thinking that it will be finished in just a few days (since I started and finished my third book yesterday).

But should I count them? I know they should count for at least something.

Logan at school has been coming home talking about this thing called the "Cheese Touch". He would talk about it all the time. So finally we convinced him to bring home this book that contains this so-called Cheese Touch. He brought home this book called Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kristy started to read it and she laughed through it so I gave it a try. Now three of these diaries later, I am now starting my fourth one.

I have to admit that I really get a kick out of them. But then I also survived middle school. It seems like I have had some sort of the same experiences as this kid did. I would post some of my favorite parts but I don't want to ruin them. You really should check them out yourself. They are a fast and entertaining read. It totally made me remember what it was like to be that age.

If I count reading them then I will be finished with that goal by the time January ends. Hmmmm.... not sure what to do about it. I think I will count them as something but I am not sure what to count them as.

Ugh

I don't want to talk about it.

At all.

Maybe it it time I hang up my shoes. Maybe it is time to make a dramatic change in my life. Maybe it is time for me to stop watching sports. That may be too dramatic, perhaps I should start with changing the teams I love and follow.

And I am not talking about switching teams. I am talking about not following ANY team. And just watch the sports I love because of the game and nothing else.

I guess I do want to talk about it. I should be proud that my team made it this far. I should be proud that they came out in the 2nd half and played the way they should have. But I am not proud. I am tired of giving it my all, investing all that emotion and coming up empty.

I take losses hard. But I take it even harder when it is the playoffs. The further they go, the harder I take it. I thought I would wake up feeling better today but I am still empty and I still feel down and depressed. Not even a bowl of Count Chocula can fix this. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a player and lose at this stage instead of just being a fan and lose.

Either way, a loss is a loss.

I'm sure I will get over it eventually. I mean this is definitely not the first time. And I am sure that once the season ends after the Superbowl I will be looking forward to next year.

At least there was one good thing that came from that Jets game:

I about died laughing when I saw that. It reminded me a little of what Favre would do.

Upon Further Review: Conference Championships

You know I would have never thought that the New York Jets would go to the AFC Championship 2 years in a row! And this year has been amazing, who would have thought that the Jets could beat the Colts and Pats on the road to the AFC Championship?

Oh yeah.... ME!

Having your team in the playoffs is bittersweet. I am proud that my team has made it to the AFC Championship but I don't know if I can handle it physically. I am not a casual fan of the football, I am pretty hardcore. I love the game and I will support any team that just plays good. I will support any team that makes a good coaching move (just like I am glad that the Broncos hired John Fox as their new head coach, I really admire that guy) I just like watching football. It doesn't matter who is playing in the NFL, I will watch it and enjoy it.

But the playoffs are different. It is personal and I take it personal. I live and die by each down and with each yard. After last Sundays win against the Pats, I was euphoric all week. But the closer we get to Sunday, that sinking dreadful feeling is returning. Now I have to gird up my loins and go through three hours of emotion. I don't think I can take it.

But I cannot wait...

Green Bay at Chicago:
Oh boy... another divisional game and emotions will be riding extra high for this one. The Packers have just steamrolled into the playoffs and the Bears have the best special teams squad in the NFL. Something will have to give (and hopefully it isn't my heart!) and however makes the first mistake will be out. While I am now a believer in the Bears, I don't think they are going to the final round.
Winner: Green Bay Packers

New York Jets at Pittsburgh:
Now this is football. Cold weather, mean defenses, pounding the ball. Both teams are physical, both teams have great defenses, both teams are well coached, both teams like to run. The biggest key for the Jets is controlling Pittsburgh's large QB and the Steelers will need to be able to stall the Jet's potent pass rush. Points will be rare in this one and I foresee the Jets scoring on defense which will be the difference.
Winner: New York Jets

And I will be one happy pappy! The Jets and Packers are my two favorite teams and I will have the ultimate  Green Superbowl! History will be made as two 6th place teams win all road games to the Superbowl.

Mission Memoirs: Count Chocula

I used to eat a lot of cereal while serving my LDS Mission in New York. It was easy to make, you could eat it for every meal and it was usually cheap. Most stores would have a buy-one-get-one-free deal on all the cereals and not just the crappy ones. My favorite by far was Count Chocula.

And then it all changed one horrible P-Day.

I was looking forward to this P-Day and I had some big plans.  C-Town, which is a local grocery store usually has some decent sales on cereal and as a missionary, cereals are the best! They can be eaten at any time and you do not have to have milk.  Lucky Charms are one my favorite but every once in awhile and usually around Halloween they would have Count Chocula on sale. I never thought I would like a chocolate cereal but after trying a bowl I was hooked.  For P-Day I was looking forward to digging into a huge bowl (usually from an empty CoolWhip container) for breakfast.  I got the cereal out and poured it in and doused it with milk.  I took the first bite and I was in heaven.  I eagerly took another bite and one of the pieces felt a little strange.  I looked at the box and it said that it had a new type of marshmallow so I thought that was it.  I took another bite and the marshmallow bit still felt strange so I looked into my bowl wanting to find one.

And instead I discovered a live cockroach climbing on the side of my bowl.  I was horrified, I stuck my spoon in the cereal and stirred it and found a couple of them bobbing up to the surface.  I wanted to barf, I looked inside of the cereal box and it was full of roaches.  Yuck!  I threw the box out and I couldn't bring myself to look at the other box.  I don't think that I will ever want to buy this cereal again!  

The ones I ate were not this big thankfully.

I don't think I ate that cereal for years. And even now when I treat myself to a bowl, I look inside the box. After eating a roach I have no fear of accidentally eating a bug. I have eaten the worst and the most gooiest of all bugs. If I can do that, I can do anything.

Snicker... I just had to post this when I was looking for Count Chocula pictures.

List-Mania: Childhood Toys

The last time I did one of these type of columns was back in October! After reading some of my cousin's blogs, I thought this would be a fun subject to cover. I could have just listed all the fun video games but I decided to go with actual toys. Here are my Top 5 Favorite Childhood Toys.

5) Cobra Rattler

After Star Wars I needed something else to play with and GI Joe fit the bill. They had cool action figures and vehicles and they also had some of the best villains. One of my favorite vehicles was the Cobra Rattler. It had a cool large Gatling gun and a ton of missiles and bombs. It also came with Wild Weasel (the pilot). I think the biggest reason why I loved this toy was because the first GI Joe comic (#34) featured this cool jet.

4) Space Legos

I loved Legos as a kid and I never thought anything could top that. Then Space Legos came around. Luckily I was a spoiled kid and I got a ton of these. I used to love to build my own ships. I still have them at my mom's house and one day I will get them and let Logan have them. The best part about Space Legos is that I was only limited by what I could think of. I would spend hours making ships.

3) Star Wars Blasters

I had two cool Star Wars guns. I had a Stormtrooper rifle and Han Solo's pistol. When we would get a ton of snow in Edmonton my friend Alvin and I would play outside with these guns all the time. I still have the rifle and I know I have the pistol somewhere. I was lucky to live in a day and age when toy guns could be all black.

2) AT-AT

This toy made all my friends jealous. This thing was so huge! You could place your hand inside of the AT-AT and manipulate its head to swivel around. I had a small die-cast snowspeeder that was a perfect size so I could re-enact the Hoth battle. And I did hundreds, perhaps thousands of times!

1) Secret Wars Wolverine

I remember the day I found this cool action figure. It was at this large toy store in Edmonton and I was browsing down the aisles. Marvel never had any action figures out and I was shocked to Wolverine (this was before he became big). He had a pair of silver claws that you could snap on the wrists. I had to have it. But right next to him was Spider-Man in his black costume. My parents would only allow me to get one (see? I am not that spoiled) so I grabbed Wolverine. I do not regret it even though I have never seen that black Spider-Man again. I still have this guy and his claws.

Honorable Mention:

Vic Hockey Stick

No matter what, if you were a kid growing up in Edmonton, you had a hockey stick. It didn't matter if you played on ice or on the road. You had a stick. Me and my friends used to play almost every Saturday during the winter. The roads were so icy that we could skate on them in just our shoes. We used a tennis ball as a puck and we would be out for hours. In our old house, I used to go downstairs and play hockey down there too. I would use the bottom of the stairs as the goal and I would take shots from all over the unfinished basement. If you were the right socks, you could skate around too. 

Random Ramblings

Okay, I am not doing so well blogging. I am not doing it as often as I wanted and there are a couple of reasons for it. One of the reasons is I am just not as disciplined anymore. I know I don't have to blog everyday. Yeah, that is just plain laziness.

The other reason, and perhaps the biggest reason is that I just don't know what to blog about anymore.

I know that I do have some stuff that I would like to blog about but then the first reason comes around. I am just too lazy to start what I know is going to be a big blog. For instance during my 365 trek, I wanted to blog about the time I coached the 9th grade girls basketball team. I know those would be lengthy blogs and that is why I have never blogged about them.

But for the most part, I just don't know what to blog about anymore. So I might have to get geeky. For the past couple of months I have been reading all my X-Men comics from the beginning of the new X-Men. Long story short, I have every issue of the Uncanny X-Men from issue #94 to the current one #531. And that is not counting all the other X-Men series as well. And there are hundreds of other issues. So I thought it would be fun (well, for me, maybe not everyone else) to review them all. Take a run of issues and give my thoughts about them. Currently I am in the middle of the Chuck Austen run and that is what brought about this idea. His run was probably the most controversial run on the book. In fact, I may have to go back and count how many times the word "naked" appeared in his run. Yeah, I usually don't antiquate naked with the X-Men. But it sure happened all the time during his run. We'll get to that more in depth when his time comes up.

So that will get me blogging a bit more. I will have to pool some of those columns before I start publishing them. Another thing that I noticed my blog is missing lately is List-Mania! Look for that to return sometime this week. Those are a little time consuming to put together but I always get a kick out of doing them.

Blogging also allows me to stretch my writing muscles and my dad found another cool and fun way that I am going to try. NPR has this contest called 3 Minute Fiction. They give you a topic or some specific instructions and you write a story and submit it to them. They judge it and read the best one on the air. It sounds challenging and I think it could be a lot of fun. I might publish it here on the blog when I finish it. I better get cracking, it is due on the 23rd.

While I was cleaning out my bookshelf I also found something else that I had no idea I even possessed.

When Kristy bought me my bass guitar for Christmas she also included a book on how to play. I don't recall that at all. We were talking about it just the other day and again I didn't think I owned such a book. Boy was I wrong and my face red when I found this book while cleaning. So cleaning is a good thing! Now at least I know if I am holding and plucking the strings right.

Boo Hoo Brady!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I know I have a ton of words after watching last night's Jets win over the hated Pats. Don't get me wrong, I respect the Pats and I respect Brady. But I was so proud watching him throw that first pick and get sacked hard 5 times.

I am still on a euphoric high. It is still a dream. Funny thing is that when the Jets scored that last touchdown with about two minutes in the game I got a call from a friend of mine. Last weekend he and his wife were in a terrible sledding accident (he broke his leg horribly) and I have been to the hospital to administer a blessing and have been taking care of some of their needs. Well, he called me in tremendous pain and said that he needed help right then for a blessing. So I hopped off my couch and ran to get my shoes when he said in his sick voice "I am only kidding. Congrats on the win." Funny guy...

Upon Further Review: Divisional Playoffs

This weekend's Divisional games are definitely divisional since the Ravens/Steelers and Jets/Patriots have already played twice this season. I find that these games are the most entertaining of the playoffs. You have teams that get on a roll and get hot and then you also find which teams are really impostors and have had a little luck with the rolling of the dice. Each game should be quite entertaining and I am definitely looking forward to them. I have a ton of Mountain Dew all ready to go!

Baltimore at Pittsburgh:
Each team that played on the road is the one that won and that may just continue here. The Ravens finally found their offense last week and they will keep the Steelers busy. The Steelers home field is not as intimidating as it has been the last few years and the Ravens have already won there once before. This will be a tough slug fest with the Ravens winning late.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay at Atlanta:
Unlike the earlier game, this will be all offensive and it will come down to whoever stops the other team first. The Packers are the hottest team in the playoffs. I like this match up for the Packers and if QB Aaron Rodgers gets on a roll, the Packers will be hard to stop. But the Falcons running game should have the Packers worried. The Packers will make the first stop.
Winner: Green Bay Packers

Seattle at Chicago:
This all depends on which Jay Cutler shows up. The Seahawks have nothing to lose and they are feeling mighty after slaying the Superbowl Champions. This will be a tougher game than the Bears like and it will come down to special teams.
Winner: Chicago Bears

New York Jets at New England:
Man is this getting ugly. The Jets are putting their money where their mouth is and it will be interesting to see if they can play it out. I have a feeling that this go around, the Jets are a little more humbled (as much as they can be with Rex Ryan) and they will not lose like they did last time. And for the last couple of years when the Pats come to the playoffs for the big games they lose. I am calling an upset here, I gotta go with my Jets!
Winner: New York Jets

Alien in Repose

Yesterday I had a little more energy so I decided to do some cleaning. I targeted a bookshelf that Kristy's dad built for her (which I have taken over with my graphic novels) and my purpose was to throw out anything that I have not used or even looked.

Kristy and I have stored some of our old college notebooks and stuff like that in there. I left all of hers alone and I plowed through mine. Going through that stuff did bring a smile to my face but most of the time I was wondering why the heck I kept this stuff. And for some reason we have hoarded binders. Just plain empty binders. So I chucked them all out along with most of my college stuff. I did keep some things, like the perfect paper (as was told by my professor) I wrote for my Political Science class and newspaper articles I wrote for the Herald Journal. But everything else got chucked out.

While going through my books I found my Missionary Guide. For those that served around the time I did, you definitely know what this book is all about. While serving an LDS Mission, you are to study this guide everyday with your companion. Now it is a good book and does a very good job in educating a missionary in how to be a missionary but personally, you go only read it so much. By six months out it became more of a chore and we had to change things up.

I ended up doodling all throughout mine. Yeah I know, not very missionary like but there were times when your companion is reading in monotone and you have to do something to keep yourself awake.

Have you ever seen a one-legged Alien? (His other leg is right behind the leg you can see; I found it funny how many times I had to explain that to my companions)

So when my kid goes on his mission and I give him my Missionary Guide to look at and read before he goes, this is the first thing he will see as he opens the book. I am such a strange geek.

The Jets?

When it comes to the NFL the question I get asked the most is "Why the Jets?"

Now the Jets are not my first favorite football team, that would be the Green Bay Packers. I liked the Packers because of the old school uniforms, I liked them because of Sterling Sharpe, I liked them because they traded for a fun gunslinger named Brett Favre, I liked them because they traded for the Minister of Defense Reggie White, and I liked them because of the old ball coach Vince Lombardi.

So how did I end up being a Jets fan?

I have always liked voting for the underdog and the Jets were a horrible team back in the early nineties. But it was an experience on my LDS Mission to New York that solidified me into being a Jets fan. I was serving in the Flushing, Queens area. I was with my second companion Elder Nez and we were over at a member's home for dinner after church.

NOVEMBER 14th 1993

Afterwards we all (including Beyung) were invited to Mike’s house to eat and relax.  Mike’s dad did not want all of us over and he was kinda mad that all of us were there.  He did not want to be disturbed while watching the Giants/Jets game. This is not the first time we have been invited to Mike's house much to the chagrin of his dad. Usually I would peek into the living room to check out the scores but we always left Mike's dad alone.  He was very cranky when we all arrived so we all scurried to the kitchen for cover, except for me. I stayed momentarily to see the scores before hastily retreating into the kitchen.

Then we heard his dad yell and I knew I must have overstayed my brief welcome. Mike went into the living room to see what was the matter and come to find out,  Mike’s dad wanted to know where that one missionary was.  He wanted to know where I was!  Mike came and got me and we entered the living room to see what his dad wanted.  He looked over at me and said “Are you going to stand there or are you going sit here and watch the game with me?”  We were all flabbergasted!  A missionary was personally invited to sit on the same couch and watch the game with him. That was unbelievable!  I sat down next to him and I was nervous.

He looked over and said, “Who are you for?  The Giants or the Jets?” I did not know what to say so I looked over at the television and I saw that Ronnie Lott was on the Jets team. (I guess he was traded while I was on my mission.)  I replied “I like the Jets!”  I must have picked the right team because he muttered “Damn Giants.  I hate them!”  He looked over at me as if he wanted me to say the same thing so I did. From now on, I will always be a fan of the Jets.  Mike announced that dinner was ready and I was getting up when his dad yelled out "Hey bring us our plates. He is eating with me!" Mike was stunned.  Mike told me later that his dad has never spoken personally to a missionary and that this was a first time and that I should be flattered.  I was flattered and a bit frightened also.  After the game was over Mike’s dad left to go take a nap upstairs, before he wanted to know if I would watch the Jets game with him next Sunday.  I said sure out of respect and fear and a little bit of excitement!

And that is how I became a fan of the New York Jets. I have followed them ever since that day. No one can accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon because they were so horrible then.

2010 Book Reviews

It has been awhile since I read these books so I hope that this review can still be worthwhile. Last year for one of my New Year's Resolutions I resolved to read at least one book a month (12 for all year) and review them for the blog.

My mom bought me Larry H. Miller's autobiography Driven for my birthday. Now I am not a huge supporter of the man. I do believe that he has done quite a bit for Utah but I did not see eye-to-eye on everything the man did. But I will say that his autobiography was fascinating. Driven is the perfect title for his book. His love of cars and his love of hard work are very apparent. His love of numbers was my favorite part of the book. Even though I do not agree with him all the time, I would love to work for him and I definitely respect the man. The chapters devoted to how the Utah Jazz came to Salt Lake were fantastic. He was also very honest in the book. He often regretted all the time he spent working and he regretted that he didn't spend enough time with his imperfect family. Miller is a man of integrity and I recommend this to any Utahn, any Mormon and any sports fan.





I finished my last book of 2010 reading the autobiography of Carrie Fisher, Wishful Drinking. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Boy is she whacked out! But I still love her. In fact, I love her even more after reading this funny and quirky book. If you are a Star Wars fan, you definitely need to check this out. The whole bras-cannot-exist-in-space thing is absolutely hilarious. One thing that I appreciated while reading this is how upfront she is with all the craziness of being from a celebrity family. And I had no idea that she dated Paul Simon. I definitely learned something reading this book. I recommend this one to Star Wars fans and for those that love train wrecks.

My next books will be the Thomas S. Monson autobiography and then the Belinda Carlisle one.

Logan: The Good Omen

I have to say that I am very, very lucky to have Logan. Since the moment he was born he has been a good omen. Even though he splashed me when he was born, he has been a good thing in my life.

The first night, after he was born, I spent the evening at the hospital. I held him as I watched the New York Jets defeat the New England Patriots for the AFC East Title.

Fast forward 8 years (or so) and another big Logan milestone was on the same day as a big game for the Jets. Yesterday, on January 8th, Logan was baptized.

He was a little nervous. That might be putting it a little mildly, he was pretty nervous. He wouldn't be quiet all morning until we got to the church. And then he zipped up tighter than the white jumper I had to wear. I am sure he became even more nervous when he had to share the dressing room with two other boys and two other dads. But we got dressed in our white jumpers and made it to the chapel and sat on the front row. I can tell he was still nervous. My jumper was a little tight, I had to suck in my gut the whole time and I had to get up slowly from sitting since that thing rode up a road that is not travelled much. I know, I know, too much information. I am sorry but I want to remember this special experience.

"Hurry! Take the picture before my gut explodes!"

Some of my family took part in the program. Logan asked Grandma Breinholt to play a special musical number on the piano and it was beautiful. It certainly set the tone for the meeting. Aunt Lynn was asked to give a talk about the Holy Ghost and she did so well. I am not sure if she was nervous or if she was a little emotional but I have never heard Lynn speak so softly (it is not like she yells all the time or anything like that). The talks were perfect and then it was time for Logan to be dunked.

When I was baptized, I had to go under three times! I wore a belt that was way too long and it kept coming to the surface when my dad baptized me. Logan didn't have a belt with his jumper and we practiced a ton of times beforehand. But according to Aaron and Gregg, Logan didn't make it the first time. His knee poked out of the water so I had to do it again. Logan is definitely my son alright!

I whispered to him that we did a test run and we did it again and got it right. Afterwards we dressed (again nervously in a crowded dressing room) and we went to another room for the confirmation. I am so blessed and so glad that Logan chose me to do both. The confirmation went very well, I could feel the Spirit. I am so proud of my special little guy.

After the confirmation, Bishop Hebdon asked Kristy if she would bare her testimony. That didn't surprise me at all, I think the Bishopric likes to get Kristy to bear her testimony. Then the Primary President spoke to Logan and then the Bishop concluded the meeting after he spoke a few words. My Bishop always says the perfect things. I asked his Aunt Sherry to say the closing prayer and then we met over at our church to have some lunch.

I love pictures of people eating.

See?

Renae looks so happy eating.

Such cute nieces and nephews.

Breinholt Relief Society.

The Bishop and his illegal family (not sure I want to blog this inside joke, I don't want him to get into trouble!) came along with my dad and his family, Jennifer and her family, my mom and most of Kristy's family.

I am very grateful for my family and my extended (in-laws) family. They treat me so good and they are always so supportive. It was a perfect day. Mom and Dad came over for a short visit and Renae and Gregg came over (so Renae had a place to feed Ty) and it was nice to sit and relax and chat. We made a quick impromptu visit to get some Aggie Ice Cream and then we came home to watch the Jets game.

A perfect ending to a perfect day. The Jets did win in the last seconds of the game, so yes, Logan is a good omen for me. But I would trade all the Jet victories to have a special day like this with him and my family again.

Upon Further Review: Wildcard Weekend!

The end of the NFL season sure snuck up on me. In fact I totally forgot about it. I didn't blog my picks for the final week of the regular season. I have blogged about the NFL for 33 weeks straight and I forgot about the last week! 

I am so embarrassed....

Oh well. At least I remembered Wildcard Weekend! 

New Orleans at Seattle:
History was made, the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs without a winning record. History could be made again. But it won't. Seattle will be tough to play especially at home but the Saints want to prove to everyone that they are still the Superbowl Champions.
Winner: New Orleans Saints

New York Jets at Indianapolis:
I don't think the Jets figured in facing the Colts so early in the playoffs. But if you are to slay a monster, you might as well do it right in the beginning. The Colts will be a handful but I think the Jets can be just as much as an issue for the Colts. The Jets loaded up in the offseason to be able to take care of the Colts in the playoffs. These are not your daddy's Colts.
Winner: New York Jets

Baltimore at Kansas City:
Oh boy. This could be quite the slugfest. You have to give Coach Haley props for making the Chiefs contenders so quickly. I do think that the Ravens have more talent but with the young Chiefs team playing at home, they certainly will not be pushovers. This will be a tight one but the Ravens will win the game... ...barely.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay at Philadelphia:
This could be quite the entertaining shootout. The Eagles should have won that final game against Dallas and I believe that will ultimately hurt them. The Packers are soaring and have all the confidence to go to Philly and put a hurt on the Eagles.
Winner: Green Bay Packers

So history will be made. The road teams for all four games will come away the winner. At least I hope so.

Comic Book Day

So I might have already broken a New Year's Resolution.

I might not blog 5 days this week and I blame this entirely on my comic book obsession hobby.

I order all my comics online (and I save about 35-43%) and to save even more money, I have them all shipped to me in one easy end-of-month package. And today was the happiest day of the month, it is Comic Book Day. And I almost didn't want to blog forgot.

But I have a good excuse. My all-time favorite X-Man has returned from the dead. I think I will tweak my New Year's Resolutions and say Comic Book Day is also an official Blogging Holiday.

Yellow Submarine

I don't know which is worse. Putting up all the Christmas decorations or taking them all down?

We have a ton of Christmas decorations and while I don't have a problem with that, I do have a problem with how we pack it all back together. Every time I think I have a handle on it, I find a new pile of stuff that has to be put away. But what really irks me is that everything fit the Christmas before! We only have maybe one extra decoration to pack away. How can that small little ornament cause such a packing logistics nightmare?

Every year Logan gets a new ornament. This time Santa choose to give Logan this:

Can you tell what it is? If you can't look at the topic dummy!

Lately Logan has really taken a shine to singing and to music. Nothing warms my soul more than hearing him play some games on the computer singing along with the likes of Alice Cooper and AC/DC. At first he also disliked music in school but now he has taken a liking to that. He also will join me in singing when I have to practice for a musical number in choir. He learned about the Beatles in his class and they sang Yellow Submarine.

I am so glad that he likes music. I could have a new partner in crime!

2011 Resolutions

YAY! 2011!

I am so glad to see some of my fellow bloggers come back to their blog and I am also glad to see that some of them has used the opportunity to blog to come up with some goals and resolutions. Reading them has motivated me.

I really like the way my cousin Jeremy posted his so I am going to steal it.

I RESOLVE...

• to take the time to write more. I have three unfinished novels that are just sitting around. I also have a children's story that is just sitting in my filing cabinet. My goal is to finish at least two of them and continue the third. I will also so another round of NaNoWriMo this November and I will need to figure out what I should write. And I will participate in another round of Script Frenzy this April. I am not sure what I will do for that competition. I might continue my comic book or try something completely different like a TV episode or a musical.  And this blog will continue 5 days a week.          

                               I RESOLVE...                                 

• to take the time to read more. I really liked reading a novel/book once a month last year and I think I would like to continue that resolution for this year too. One thing I have learned by blogging daily is that I can do anything daily if I just put my mind to it. If I can blog daily, I can read something daily. So I resolve to read my scriptures daily. I also resolve to read the Ensign (a church magazine) from cover to cover every month. I also resolve to read a good book once a quarter. I have a bunch waiting.

I RESOLVE...  

• to take care of myself. I am no spring chicken and I need to watch what I do (and what I don't do) to my body. So yeah, the ugly E-word. Exercise. I have been a slacker the last month and I need to get going again. I resolve to exercise 5 days a week if possible. I have some fun walking programs that I can do (and will do!) during the cold winter months and then get back into running when the weather gets a bit warmer. And speaking of running, I also will run my first 5K race this year. I will run the Top of Utah 5K on September 17th. I will have all spring and summer to train so I have no excuse not to make it. I will also watch what I eat and try to slim down my portions.

I RESOLVE...  

• to pick up a pen and draw. I want to draw and I want to be creative. Last year I wanted to reactivate my Queen blog (Sheer Art Attack) and post some art based on Queen songs. I was going to do it once a month and I think that may have been too lofty a goal. So I will see if I can do something quarterly.

I RESOLVE...  

• to continue to the play the bass guitar. But instead of just playing it by ear, I may borrow some books from the library and really teach myself how to play. And to also continue to sing with the choir and look for some other opportunities to use these talents.

I RESOLVE...  

• I have some other things that I want to do this year but they are private or they are too mundane and boring to list them here.

That should keep my plenty busy for this new year. I will blog monthly how I am doing. I am not a huge fan of such disclosure but I think that really helped me accomplish these goals last year. I also want to wish all my fellow bloggers that have also blogged about some resolutions and goals the best and that I will do my best in supporting them.

C'mon 2011... Make My Year!

HAPPY 2011!

I hope everyone has a better, a more successful and healthy year. I am looking forward to this year and making new resolutions. Looking back at 2010, I can say that I had somewhat a successful year and I owe it to this blog. Who would have thought that writing this blog would have made me a better person?

I have some new resolutions that I want to complete this year. But I am not ready to share them just yet. Sometime this week I will blog about it. I recommend this to my fellow bloggers. Knowing that there are people who read this blog, I feel that I HAVE to walk that aisle and get in the ring. It felt that I should be accountable for what I blog about. It is also good to review what you have done and make some tweaks.

All I know for now is that this blog will stay around and will stay current. At least 5 days a week.

And I will have more pictures too.