It is official!  The Monday after the switch to daylight savings in the springtime is definitely the worst day of the year.

This whole idea of "spring forward" just doesn't jive with my body.  Nor is it good for my children.  Kids that normally go to bed at 8pm are still lingering at 9pm wondering why they can't sleep...and then the following morning they can't get up because instead of 6am, their bodies are telling them it is 5am.  Except for Olivia who decided to get up at 4am this morning (really 3am) wide awake ready to face the day.

Maybe we can opt-out of this crazy scheme...

  Sad but true.

Having lived in many different areas during my life and called my soft drinks by many different names, it was fun to come across this map.  I grew up calling it soda because my parents are from SoCal.  I lived in Texas as a kid and got accustomed to calling my soda a Coke...doesn't matter what you are drinking in Texas, everything is a coke.  My favorite coke is Dr. Pepper.

Later in life I moved to Utah, and everyone here calls it a "pop".  The 1st time I asked a friend to get me a coke, he returned with an actual Coca-Cola.  Fair enough I will change my vernacular...but I don't like the sound of the word "pop", so I switched back to soda.

What do you call you soft drink?

Giving gifts to others isn't easy.  In fact, I think one of the reasons for the propagation of gift cards is because it is just so tough to know what another person wants for their special occasion.

My sister and her husband have combated this by keeping a running list of items that they desire.  Everyone in my family has admired them over the years for doing so, but to my knowledge none of us have made the attempt to adopt the idea. 

While searching Google's endless apps/tools, I found Wishlistr -- a site that lets you setup your wish list and share it with others easily.  Pretty cool, eh?

I took on a seasonal job this year to help pay for Christmas.  Three nights a week from 10pm-6am I have been doing a janitorial/security shift...all while working my day job.  It has been brutal on my body.  My sleeping patterns, my appetite and worst of all, my mood swings have all changed...and not necessarily for the better.  Which is why I had no difficulty identifying with this article that says the graveyard shift has been links to cancer.

When Amie and I moved back to Utah from San Diego we were naive enough to think that winter would not be a big deal.  That first winter was the worst ever in my memory.  We had become acclimatized to the non-existent winter in Southern California, and the colder temperatures in Utah made even our bones shiver and ache.

Our recent move to St. George (not so recent anymore, it has been almost a year now) brought similar feelings, although this time we could only think of how great wintertime would be.  Nice, mild temperatures and the occasional need for a light jacket.

On Monday it snowed in St. George.  And this snow was legit....Not like the icy sleet we had in February that melted in a few hours. This was real, stick to the ground, snow. It snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed.  Finally, on Tuesday morning it let up.

Here is a snowman that the kitchen staff at work built with the snowy goodness.  Yes, it is only about 6 inches high.

Oh, how I miss thee!

Why have you abandoned me in this, my time of need?

You don't call, and you certainly don't write.  How long must I bear this burden left by your absence?  How will I ever fill this void?

What, it has only been a week and a half since we parted?  An eternity.

Well, see you tomorrow then.

Last night Jacob was up watching a bit of election coverage with me while Amie was out.  When he observed that Obama's electoral votes were climbing and the gap between McCain was increasing he said, "Mom is going to be soooo upset.  Poor Mom."

Later that night, Amie was disappointed. But like McCain in his concession speech, she is very classy in her determination to support our new president.  And that's all I have to say about that.

Why is it that on Halloween morning I have already had more than my fill of candy?  Aren't the stomachaches and apathy for sweets supposed to come after the trick or treating?  Man, we gotta do something about this holiday....or at least something about my overpowering desires to indulge.  Happy Halloween everyone.

 

This year has been a year of discovery for me in many ways....it is not over either, so I might discover more. 

• I re-discovered that I can be physically active and actually enjoy it.  By the way, I am down 45 lbs since this discovery.
  
• I discovered that there are very few things left on TV that are actually worth watching. 
  
• I discovered that my beloved Cougars will never be able to live up to the hype.
• I re-discovered my love for books and reading.  I have read about 38 books in 47 weeks.
  
• I discovered that despite my "controlling" nature (something I am convinced I inherited from my father, sorry dad), that the Spirit will teach my children right and wrong, not me....I am just a vehicle for the Spirit to reach them in these early years.
• Lastly, I re-discovered that the Lord's promises are sure.  Unwavering obedience unlocks those promises.
  

Sorry for the boring post, but I felt it was time either to retire the blog or to post again.  Here are a couple of sweet pictures of hikes I was on this week.

Found this photo on the internet.  Thought it was an interesting pose.  Not saying that it is an indicator or reflection on the GOP, but whateva.

Some of you may remember my post about this most disturbing sign at a local pool.  While at the pool on Labor Day, Natalie called to me and said, "Dad, remember this?"  She proceeded to go underwater stretching her hand upwards, mimicking the sign.  It was a great laugh and a good reflection on the memory she is carrying around in her noggin.

One of the cutest pictures in the world!

Before we made the decision to move to St. George, we did the classic exercise of listing the pros and cons.  Among others, one of the cons was the summer heat.  Well, we are breaking into July and after a couple weeks now of straight 100 degree weather, I am happy to report that the heat is no longer a "con" in my book.

Except on one account...my car.   My car gets so hot that even with the air conditioner running on full, the air is warm before it hits my face.  I can literally put my hand up to the vent and feel frigid, cold air flowing, but somewhere between the vent and my face it turns boiling, lava hot.

I guess that is the drawback to having a car from 1991?

My sister-in-law's family owns a huge ranch up in Idaho.  Every year, we are invited to make the trek to this remote part of the potato state and enjoy several days of doing absolutely nothing.  It is heaven on earth.  Every year after I return from the ranch, I spend weeks online looking for my own property to purchase.  After about a month, the impulse buy syndrome wears off and I look forward to next year's trip.

Speaking of doing nothing, do you remember the tv show about nothing? Amie and I saw Jerry Seinfeld, live on Friday night.  We had a great time with our good friends Doug & Marla and Tim & Stephanie.  As with most popular stand-up artists, Jerry (cause we are on a first name basis now) has a unique ability to deliver his routine, but make it seem like it is totally unrehearsed.  It was a really good night.  It was so good that I succumbed to the impulse buy syndrome and I bought tickets to see Brian Regan when he comes to Thanksgiving Point in August.

I think that I have issues....on the bright side, at least I didn't buy a ranch?!

My sister-in-law, Michelle, had a birthday yesterday.  To celebrate, we all signed up to do a 5K run/walk with her...there were 17 of us in all.  Amie and Natalie took off running and I assaulted the course with Olivia, Spencer and our jogging stroller.

The stroller didn't hold up very well....we had to stop to pump up a flat tire three times.  The best part came about 3/4 of the way through the race.  Amie and Natalie returned back to us, because Natalie was tired.  This is when she posed the question, "Michelle wanted to do this for her birthday?!  I never want to be invited to this kind of party again!"

Sounds like we are going to make it a tradition.

When I started this blog, I swore that I would never become the blogger that posts once every couple months.  Well inadvertently, I have become that guy. Not because I lack the desire to blog, nor the material to post.  It is simply because I have not found a convenient time in my schedule to be consistent with it. 

So here is an update for those of you that have not yet removed me from your blog viewing rituals.  And to those same people, thank you for feeding my fish while I have been gone.

• We signed Jacob and Natalie up for baseball this year.  Since it gets so hot here in St. George, the season starts and ends earlier than most.  With both of them playing, we had games Monday-Thursday in the evenings (crazy), and we finished up the season a couple of days ago.  Natalie asked me this morning if she "had" to play next year.  I told her that if she loved her father she would play, but that I wouldn't make her.
• Natalie graduated from pre-school and is anxious to start kindergarten this fall.  As a graduation present, Spencer broke his leg while we were at the ceremony.  He was on a playset out back and took a bit of a spill.  He got a nice blue and green cast that he wore through in less than a week.  His 2nd cast lasted the remaining three weeks and he just got it off yesterday.
• Olivia is quite possibly the world's easiest baby.  The majority of the time she is quite content to sit there and smile.  She is growing fast and just had her 6 month birthday...if there is such a thing.
• Amie and I made the decision to send Jacob away to "boarding school" this summer.  In reality he is just at Grandma Jackson's for two weeks, but it feels like he has been gone for longer.  He calls us everyday to update us on the daily activities.
• Lastly, Amie and I are going to see Jerry Seinfeld live next week with some good friends.  Is it weird to think that this may be the highlight of my summer, or year for that matter?

I will see what I can do about getting some new pictures up as well.  Peace and love.  Eric

I have a friend who picked up a cat on a whim and has had litters and litters of kittens in his house ever since.  I am not much of an animal person and the thought of looking after an animal is less than desirable.  So sad to say these fish are the closest my kids will come to actually owning a pet.  You can feed them if you like.