The _______ Life of Brent and Erika

We've been falling behind in the whole "keep a record of our life" area. I've had lots of great ideas for posts, but never felt I had the time/desire to really post them. So here are some notes, bullet pointed for your convenience. Brent had a birthday! He's now 26 (he's been so for more than a month!), and he had a wonderful birthday. Thank you to all those who sent cards, letters, presents, and congratulations. So far he seems to be enjoying 26 just as much as he enjoyed 25. We've been playing the Wii a lot. We're currently in the middle of 4 RPGs (Tales of Symphonia, Rune Factory, Fire Emblem 2, and Dokapon Kingdom). I'm working towards earning a guitar; Brent is earning a drafting table. Our ward boundaries were realigned and we are now in a different ward. No new callings yet. At the moment, we're really into The Office , Monk, and Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin . We went to a wedding down in Zion National Park this weekend, and ...

We're still here. Just so you know.

This is just to say that if you're interested, I've got another blog (the list just keeps growing). This one is a media blog like unto the one that I have my students read about. It's just a blog about my thoughts on the media I see/read/encounter, etc. You can read it here , or find the link in my blog list.

I've been tagged, as they say, but I also think that this has the potential to be awesome. I guess we'll see what we come up with. The basic idea, if I understand this right, is that you do a google image search for various things about your life, and choose an image from the first page of images. Here we go! My first name: Erika Mostly all I come up with is pictures of people...this lady seemed nice. My Age: 23 Apparently, 23 is the most boring number ever. Mostly I got charts and graphs. This jersey is really the most interesting thing there. Sad. My Birthplace: Bergstrom AFB, TX Aren't they Top Gun-tastic? Where I Live: Spanish Fork, UT I thought this barn was crazy awesome. Favorite Food: Pineapple Picking a favorite food is actually really difficult for me, but since I try to sneak pineapple into practically everything I cook, I figured it was a safe bet. Favorite Pet: Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie) After much deliberation, I've decided that shelties are my favorite d...

You know those times when you get a mild headache right before bed, and you think, "Oh, this isn't too bad, I'll just sleep it off."? So, you go to sleep, and every time you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (which on this particular night seems to be happening with uncharacteristic frequency) you wake up to the realization that your head still hurts? And when you wake up in the morning expecting to feel refreshed, you actually feel worse than before you went to bed? Yeah, I hate it when that happens too. And then, you think, "Well, maybe I'm just a bit dehydrated," so you drink 50 gallons of water hoping it will help, but instead of helping you're just hit with a double dose of discomfort: mildly annoying headache and a sloshy tummy. So, after trying to tough it out for more than a few (waking) hours, you decide that maybe you should just take something, but you're at a point in your life when you constantly think, "B...

I love the fill in the blank concept, although I'm often finding that it's a bit difficult to find the right word to actually describe the post. I've decided that subtitles are a good way to get around this. I just discovered TED Talks, which is basically a big conference where people from all sorts of professions and specialties get up and give a talk. The goal is just to share good/inspiring/new/fascinating ideas. Here is one I've really enjoyed: You should especially watch the leopard seal story at the end.

Okay, I don't know that the hyphens are necessary in the title. Oh well. I have two dilemmas in my life that I find somewhat related (symbolically, not actually). I'm hoping that some of you may be able to offer me suggestions to solve both problems (one is more serious than the other). I love to cook. Many of you know this. However, I'm terrible at planning ahead, and I'm often afraid to try new recipes because I hate being disappointed. What this ends up meaning is that I find a few easy, fast recipes that I really like, and I make them over and over again. I rotate recipes on about a two-three month cycle, and right now I'm sick of practically everything I make. Things that I used to like (stir fry, lasagna, bbq chicken, loaded baked potatoes) are becoming repulsive to me because I've just had them too much. Eating is not fun anymore. The answer to this dilemma is obvious: I need some more planning, and I need some new recipes. Okay, on to the second dilemma....