I love country music...I decided I don't care anymore if people think only hicks, saps, and wierdos listen to country music. I'm officially addicted, you have to try it...go on a drive on your own while the sun is about to go down during the summertime with the windows rolled down in your car...I guarantee it'll put a smile on your face. Of course you have to turn the volume up and you can't turn it down when someone stops next to you at the stoplights...singing along really loud helps too. I wish I could see more people singing along to their music, I always get embarrassed but why? I used to do the same thing in high school with the Mormon Rap and I turned out okay. Who really cares, at least you aren't picking your nose and wiping it under the seat.

Of course I love most music, and lots of music makes me feel lots of different ways...but country has a special place in my heart- same thing with Bob Marley. I got re-addicted as I drove through Tennessee and Kentucky, it just feels right around here. I think about all my favorite places to go, and favorite places to eat, and the best ones involve country themes (neon lights, old beat up signs, trucks). No wonder I married a girl from Vernal. The other day while eating lunch in my truck (I like to get out of the office without using gas), a guy came outside with a John Deere baseball cap and pulled a bail of hay out of the trunk of his car and set it on the ground. Then he pulled out his lunch and sat on the bail of hay to eat it...his lunch not the hay. Put another smile on my face.

I drove around town today. Went to Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby), U of Louisville, walked around downtown, and went to the Louisville Slugger Bat museum. All the Rocky movies were on all day too...you could say it was a pretty good day.

Thanks to everyone who called, I love talking to you all so feel free to pick up the phone anytime. I would do the same but sometimes when you are the one who is alone and bored, other people aren't and don't want to talk. Joni gets here Thursday which also happens to be our 4 year anniversary, can't wait to see her. Joni got bit by a wierd bug and her foot ended up swelling pretty bad. Of course she had to get on the plane so she didn't have time to go to the doctor. To make a long story short, she went to the emergency room after getting off the plane because it got really bad. Its gone down quite a bit, but she still managed to keep a sense of humor about it. She sent me a picture of her foot while swollen, and she made an indented smiley face on it that wouldn't go away. She is okay, but yet another thing to put a smile on my face.

Joni is bringing the camera so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures next week. Have a great week everyone.

First week

I am feeling all kinds of things after this week, bear with me as I try to express them. I never realized how relaxing it is to hear Joni's voice...I told her that and she laughed because she can put me to sleep. Without explaining all the boring details, my job is basically to improve operations in Latin America by implementing certain programs that would only bore you if I explained them to you...So I won't. I am the only intern in my branch, and since Louisville is the headquarters I work next to all the "Bigs" over Latin American operations.

I learned some valuable lessons this week:
1-I'm not the smartest intern in history (although I'd love to be right now)
2-I can get down on myself when I don't know what I'm doing, but I can bounce back just as fast as I fall when I get to work
3-When I ask for help, I'll get it in droves (is that a word?)

I was so overwhelmed at the beginning of the week with the realization that I didn't know what I was doing at work, along with being entirely alone in a new place, and my boss leaving the country for 2 weeks after my first day. On Tuesday I hit one of the lowest points mentally that I have been in a long time, and the only thing I felt I could do was get on my knees and pray for help. I keep my emotions in check most of the time, but I couldn't help but lose it for those few minutes...I haven't cried like that in a long time. Its kind of embarrassing to even mention, but I want to remember this whole experience and learn from it. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. I recieved phone calls from family members and friends who were just calling to see how I was doing...my 5 yr old nephew Carter even called me by accident...and I pretty much never get phone calls. The amount of contacts I suddenly recieved at work was like a tidal wave of help. Members of the church who work at GE reached out to me from China, Mexico, and here in Louisville. Family and friends reached out as well.

You always hear that we are tested to make us stronger and that trials are for our learning, but its easy to forget those things when you are the one being tested. I may have a long road ahead of me, but I know I don't have to walk it alone anymore. I told my boss what I was feeling and I just hope he doesn't think I'm a head case. I feel its really important to always be open and honest.

I have an awesome embarrassing first day story. I was asked to write a short bio about myself so my boss could send it out to all the workers in Latin America to get to know me better. As you might have guessed, I tried to be witty and mention something different about myself. I didn't have my boss' e-mail, so I sent it to him as a "reply" to one of the e-mails he previously sent me. Turns out this "reply" was a direct link to the CEO who had sent out a letter to the company and since my boss forwarded the thing to me, the CEO's name wasn't on it. I had attached my bio and just said "here ya go" (like, "here I am world") Two minutes later I get an e-mail from the CEO saying "is this for me?". My heart fell into my butt (it couldn't go to my feet because I was sitting), and I quickly e-mailed him back to apologize for my mistake. When I relayed the story to my boss, he about peed his pants with joy. I guess everyone needs a good first day story and I have mine.

Louisville is a cool city with the Ohio river wrapping around it, lots of history, green trees, and hills nearby. The drive here was actually really pretty...except for Arkansas, which is about as pretty as I imagine Oklahoma to be. The mountains between Memphis and Nashville are beautiful too, plus I was driving through them while the sun was setting. Kentucky can best be described with rolling hills that look like broccoli because of all the trees. The vegetation is so thick that you could drive by a town without even realizing it. When it opens up, there are farms with giant red barns and tall silos on rolling hills. Its amazing I've lived as long as I have without realizing places like this even existed, just think about how many people have never really seen the Rocky Moutnains.

So, here I am world...taking things one step at a time. Melecia, I respect you now more than ever for what you go through without Rhett around. I know many of you have felt alone before, and it comforts me to know there is a way through it all, and it all starts by getting on your knees and asking for help.

Sooo... I know you all probably thought I fell off the face of the blog planet. The truth is I really prefer to let Paul blog because he has such a quirky, lovable, humorous way of writing about daily life. It hasn't even been 48 hours since he left, and I am quickly figuring out what a blessing it is to have Paul around. I literally had to sit down and make a list of things I need to remember to do. I decided to scan it...

Looking over this list I've come to two major realizations. #1 - I write like a six year old. #2 - I super lucky to have snagged Mr. Moore. Good luck on your first day Paul! You will do great.

- JONI

P.S. Yes, I realize that by simply reversing the order of number 6 and 7 on the list will make my cleaning efforts much more efficient...

4 days to live

Sorry about the title, I'm not dying. Because I am leaving for the summer on Saturday I have been trying to get everything ready for Joni before I leave. She told me the other day that she has never even picked up the mail from the mailbox her whole life, so you can imagine I am a little worried for her well being...just kidding, she'll be fine...but seriously I'm a little worried. So I am doing everything I can this week to make sure everything that can be taken care of is taken care of. Thats kind of why I feel like I'm preparing for things like I am dying, so that Joni knows what to do when I'm gone.


Believe it or not, we have been dreading this moment for several years. I knew once I decided to be in this program that I would have to complete an internship. We always hoped we would be able to go together, but for some reason I think we both knew it wasn't going to happen. What we always said we would "deal with when we get there" is now 4 days away, and I really don't know how to deal with being "alone" in a new place, let alone leave Joni behind. I keep asking myself why would it be hard? We'll see each other about every three weeks, but for some reason my heart aches a little bit with the thought of being away from Joni. I don't know how military families do it, Melecia do you have any advice? I keep thinking about the "refiner's fire", and how this summer of small trials could be a huge step in the right direction to making me a better husband and future dad. I am also excited to work in such a challenging environment, and I look forward to staying busy learning more about people and business. I'll do my best to keep posting my thoughts, and hopefully we'll be able to take some good pictures when Joni visits.


On a happier note, we took our first camping trip in Texas this last weekend. It was really fun and really muggy. We went with our good friends the Carroll's and stuffed our faces with tin foil dinners, cheap sodas, and ding dongs. We went out to Somerville Lake and rented a canoe for the weekend, and our campsite was right on the lake. Yes, we got Dilly a life jacket...and yes, she is terrified of the water. Joni got a good shot of her licking my entire face in one tongue swoop after I jumped in the water and came up to her to settle her down.

I wish we would have taken a picture of our new monster of a tent. It has three divided rooms and a doggy door, I figured if we're going to camp we might as well do it in style. Aside from Dilly being scared to death of some fireworks that were going off and relasing her "butt juice defense" in our tent the last night, it was a pretty fun little trip. Hope you all have an awesome summer, we'll be keeping in touch in every way possible.

I have to admit I haven't been a big fan of blogging lately. I'm sure other people go through these phases, and I know it will pass, but I just can't get myself to want to write anything. I should say I can't get myself to post anything, because I have written blogs and then I just decided not to post them...it's really wierd. I guess its so easy to feel like you have to have a good story or a bunch of pictures, and since I've had neither of those lately I haven't wanted to be boring. But then I remember the reason I blog is to keep everyone updated and to keep my own personal journal. As crazy as this sounds I am also turned off by the thought of having people judge me by what I say. This is the time of year when all the students give final presentations on issues in our classes, and one person talked about blogging. We also talked about blogging in my law classes. The bottom line is that employers and all kinds of people search blogs, facebook, and other personal pages to see if there is anything that might make them not want to hire somebody...and its perfectly legal.

I hate the idea of being censored. Not that I have anything to worry about...at least I hope, but the thought of it turns me the opposite direction. Its funny because the last time I remember this happening was in 2nd grade. My teacher encouraged us to write more freely, and get our feelings out on paper. I didn't want to write about boats floating in moats, and goats eating oats like I did in 1st grade so this was my opportunity to shine. I wrote little "action" stories, and I was really descriptive about everything. Then my teacher told my mom she was worried about me because of the things I wrote about, makes me sound like an animal. All I can remember is how mad I was that I was told to write freely, but that I really couldn't. To give you an idea of where my mind was in 2nd grade, here's an example of a poem I wrote that we found the other day going through stuff (its Joni's favorite).

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down and broke his crown royal

and now Jill is dating some guy from L.A.

Who knows what other gems I might have had if my teacher wasn't censoring me.

I have been learning a lot this semester about how past behavior influences future behavior when it comes to hiring decisions. Since I wore the same pair of corduroy's every day in 1st grade, what does that say about me now? I must have had a crush on every girl in my class at a different time, and I ate glue to impress the girl sitting next to me, does that mean I might not be a good fit for a company? Okay, enough of this...you get my point?

Speaking of horses, I am actually pretty excited for the Kentucky Derby tomorrow. Mom, I have been telling all my friends about how you sit 2 feet from the television all day during the Kentucky Derby. Each horse has his own little story, and I'm sure when they get a good narrator and some good music, she'll be crying. Any one have any favorites? I like Big Truck just cause thats a great name for a horse...Long Limo must have been taken. I actually think Colonel John will win even though he's never run on a dirt track. I see the favorite, Big Brown, taking 3rd. Mark my words, this is how its going to play out. Don't even try to talk horse trash to me...you proud of me mom?

Some of you may have already seen this, but if you haven't check out this link to a crazy beat boxing french idol.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=X0Pu60K9iCs&feature=related

Reverence for the heat

I just know everyone who has a blog in Texas will be writing about this same subject in the next couple of weeks...or anyone in the south for that matter...because its something that is just insane this time of year down here. Before you start thinking that you are missing warm weather and that I am a whiner for complaining about it, please listen to the phenomenon that it is to have reverence for the heat.

The past few months I have come to love this place...seriously, I love the winter, spring, and fall here. I love driving my truck around in February with the windows down listening to country music and fitting in with my fellow Texans at the local hot spots. Despite the fact that there really aren't any mountains other than the city landfill, I would totally live here if we only had family that lived here too. Jobs are everywhere, the pay is great, and you can practically steal a 4 bedroom home on 2 acres of land for next to nothing (I guess if you steal it then its free, but it sounded good when I first wrote it). I reached the point that I would totally recommend that anyone live here...that is until the heat comes. Something happened two days ago that is pretty hard to explain. Saturday we were out having a BBQ in the park with some friends, having the time of our lives, feeling like teenagers without a care in the world on a cool spring night. Then Sunday came, and God flipped off the AC and turned on the Texas heat.

This heat is unlike anything I have ever experienced...it hurts to wear a hat because it sticks to my head. When I step outside I immediately feel a rush of warmth, and my shirt feels heavy and thick. I am only outside for a few minutes to take Dilly out, and I can't even open my eyes or raise my head...I've been stricken with reverence for the heat. Suddenly my body feels slow, and every time I try to brush the sweat pouring down my face with my shirt sleeve, I realize that the rest my shirt is stuck to my body. I try to escape to the shade, but there is seriously no difference in temperature between the shade and the sun because of the humidity. To give you a better idea of how bad it can get during the summer, we keep our house at 80 degrees to save on electricity, and it feels cold. Keeping a two bedroom apartment at this temperature will cost about $170/ month. Most people who own homes pay around $500/ month...is that normal? I've never owned a home but I thought that was a little high.

So let this be a warning to all of you who think grass is always greener on the other side. Next time you are wishing for summer to come, just remember that everything is bigger in Texas...even the heat index, and its not even May!

PB Dilly

Just wanted to make your day a little brighter courtesy of Dilly and an empty jar of peanut butter. I was writing a paper when it got unusually quiet, I looked over my shoulder and saw Dilly - still as a statue - wondering how in the world she got herself into this mess...

Funny thing is, she did it again 10 minutes later. Stupid is as stupid does I guess.

BOORRRRRIIIING

Once again I'm putting off homework to write about uninteresting stuff. Sometimes blogs are great and fun to write, and other times they seem like a burden. Right now is one of the "burden" times, but I know if I don't keep up I'll regret it later. Within the next couple of weeks all my final projects, presentations, papers, and other stuff is due. The days seem to go by too fast, so I feel like I have to schedule time to have fun.

Dilly was spayed last week, and she has definately let us know how unhappy she has been to wear one of those conehead thingy's all the time. When she sees that we feel bad for her she'll totally milk it and start shaking and pouting. It's pretty funny to watch because she is constantly running into stuff with it. I took it off today for the first time and she immediately started tearing around. I took her to the park while playing disc golf with a friend and she wore herself out rolling in the mud...she really is nuts, I wish you guys could see her. We were shocked to find out she might not get that much bigger, she is so small right now, almost like a big chihuahua.
I spoke to my future boss for an hour yesterday and I'm scared to death now about the types of things they expect me to do as an intern. He is a really nice guy though, and he's been with GE for most of his life. I'll be his right hand man (intern slave), while he runs four regions of the company: 1-South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile) 2-Caribbean (Puerto Rico and others) 3-Central America and 4-Mexico. He told me he wants me to simplify the HR process for all the GM's in these countries, as well as figure out the best ways to utilize company resources, and improve the communication processes yada yada....WHAT!?

Joni is finally done waiting for the state inspectors to come, they came the last possible week they could, and Joni's department was the only one to get a 100% so she is feeling pretty cool right now. Its funny because now she is just bored at work all the time.

I am also starting the full time job search and it isn't fun at all. We really want to go back out west soon to be closer to family, even though we really like it here. I could easily find a job in Texas, but it becomes harder the minute you actually have priorities and you know how much money you would potentially give up to get there. We are getting to the stage that we want to live somewhere longer than a year, and hopefully buy a house with our own yard. So living in a place we can truly call home is on our minds a lot. Am I crazy to be 28 and want to start settling down? Maybe its because we are at such a different stage in our lives than most people our age, but we'll get there soon I guess.

This picture sums up how we felt to finally be on the cruise. We left Miami on Saturday after hanging out there for a day, Miami is a happening place. We had fun watching drunk guys dancing to a cover band playing on the pier after stuffing ourselves with Bubba Gump Shrimp.

Our first stop was Honduras, which was probably the most authentic and poor of the places we visited. We decided to zip line down a mountain on a series of 8 zip lines and we had a blast. The first one was 1800 feet long (pic below), and went over a huge ravine. The other lines went through the tree tops. We had a guide who had to stop us at the end of each line so we wouldn't run into trees going as fast as we were. The guide was about 5 feet tall and 130 pounds so it was a little scary to trust him to stop us, but we survived. If I can I'll post a video of it. We had a harness around our waist with a caribeener that was attached to the line which was the only thing we could hold onto. I played with a monkey Steve.

Just below my hand was a ramp that dropped about 70 feet, kinda hard to tell in the picture.

Nerds

We spent the rest of the day in Honduras at the beach...and no, I didn't lose any weight doing my 40 day thingy. We all jumped off a 15 ft platform on the dock until our noses hurt from the salt water.

The second day was spent in Belize. We went out on a little boat to a reef and snorkled. We saw a freaky looking eel and we swam with a bunch of agressive shark rays. Belize truly has some of the best diving and beaches anywhere. On our way back our boat broke down, and a guy had to hold down some doo hickey on the motor for a half hour just do get us back in time before the cruise left. The island we went to didn't have any paved roads, and we ate peanut butter and bread from a market on the dock.

The third place was Cozumel. We had been there before so we just took a taxi down to the south side and spent the day at a fun little beach. Joni got a swedish massage on the beach while I swam, and we had some REALLY good authentic Mexican food in San Miguel. I got a good picture of Joni showing some serious plumber bum crack during her massage, but in order to keep this blog PG I'll let you use your imaginations.

Waiting in line to get back on the boat. Joni's aunt, uncle, and cousin were with us on the trip although we did our own thing in Cozumel. We weren't hanging out with special needs kids, that's just Jo Ann, she was hot so we wrapped her face like a sheik.

We spent a couple of days on the boat, and the last day we spent on a private island owned by the cruiseline in the Bahamas that was only about a mile or two long. The service on the cruise wasn't that great, and the shows were lame, but we had the most fun doing our own things in all the places we visited. I ate ice cream with just about every meal, and with the 24 hour buffet, there was plenty of food for all of us.

Almost there

Just catching some sun and playing some disc golf, Dilly loves being in the park and she'll sprint all around us for the first 10 minutes when we let her off the leash.

I'm on the last leg of my 40 day personal goals, I'm really curious to know how everyone is doing, or if you just blew it off. Thats okay if you did, inspiration can come in many forms, but motivation has to be your own. My legs hate me right now, I run like a grandpa for the first little while because of the pain, but then I warm up and feel good. I am convinced endurance is totally mental. The times I tell myself I'm not going to run as far, I am even more tired than when I run on a pace for longer distance. The pushups and situps are getting easier but tougher if that makes any sense at all, I guess it depends on the day. Most importantly I hope that I have formed some good habits out of this whole thing. So I told you all I had something to motivate me for this thing and now I guess I can tell you...I didn't plan the 40 days to end the exact day we were leaving, but thats just the way it happened. Joni and I spent all our tax return this year on a cruise. We are going to Honduras, Belize, Cozumel, and the Bahamas and we leave this Friday. Its wierd because people go on cruises to escape the never ending winter, but its 90 degrees here, so we'll just enjoy the time off together.
I figured I should blog and say our farewells now because in order to miss a week in school I have loaded up this week and I won't have much time...I know, poor me right?

So I unofficially found out I should be going to the Louisville internship, just waiting on some approval from the "higher-ups". I might have to work the street corners to pay the rediculous rent there, but its just the summer. Either way I am a lot excited and a little bit sad. We wish you could all join us on the cruise...nothing like a bunch of dysfunctional family members and friends sipping on pina coladas together on a boat...maybe we'll save that for the next family wedding? Bon Voyage! Here's another video of Dilly in case you haven't seen enough. We get a little exercise inside as well as outside sometimes.

p.s. Thanks Kendi for the movie recommendation of "Martian Child", we watched a couple of feel gooders this weekend and that was one of them. It made me want to adopt a kid.

The internship game

I wasn't looking forward to posting two, pictureless blogs in a row within the same week, but I have to make a decision on my internhsip by Monday so I could use all the help or advice I can get. If this sounds boring to you already, don't read it, I thought it might be interesting to think about though. The closest offer is a 12 hour drive so when it comes to distance and being away from Joni it really doesn't matter because she'll fly to see me anyways. The offers are not only in different locations, but each location has a different type of HR internship.

So my options in no particular order are:

Bradenton, Florida- just south of Tampa Bay, and a couple of hours from Miami and Orlando. Bradenton is right on the gulf of Mexico and has some beautiful beaches. I would work in the airport security division, probably managing in a plant-specializing in leadership training and development.

Louisville, Kentucky- there are actually four in Louisville, but the one that stands out the most is a Latin American HR specialist position. It requires that I speak spanish and/or portuguese, and I would have the opportunity to work alongside Regional managers, CEO, and a global client group in helping to improve practices of HR programs in Latin America as well as implementing new ones. Louisville looks like a cool city, and is a 4 hour drive from Chicago.

Mebane, North Carolina- population 7,000...yikes. The good thing is that Mebane is right by Duke University and U of North Carolina and Raleigh, so it is close enough to some bigger towns. 3 hour drive from Melecia, 4 from DC, and really close to Newport and Chesapeake Bay (really nice beaches). This is a generalist role and would most likely be in a plant as well.

Bloomington, Illinois- Cool mid-size town between Peoria and U of Illinois, 2 hours from Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Nauvoo. Speicalist role leading plant in Union relations, which makes it a real "hands on experience" type of role. This appears to be one of the more complicated internships, but could be really rewarding.

Decatur, Alabama- Non Union specialist role. Northern Alabama? 12 hour drive, could meet Joni in Shreveport, Louisianna for weekends. Run Forrest Run!

Selmer, TN- pop. 4,500. The name alone makes me think of Dukes of Hazzard. Generalist role, not sure where I would stay, maybe rent out a room? 1hour from Memphis and Nashville. 11 hour drive from Bryan, welcome to Shreveport!

Ravenna, OH- Nearby attractions include Cleveland and Detroit...on a serious note, close to Palmyra, Niagra, and 5 hours from NYC. This would be in a lamp plant.

So there they are. As far as location and fun things to do, my top three are North Carolina, Illinois, and Kentucky and Florida are tied. As far as job, Louisville is my top choice, as long as its not the type of position I would be stuck in forever if I didn't like it. All of the internships would be great, so I won't complain, but I like the idea of having lots of activities closeby. North Carolina would be cool with Melecia so close, and Joni and I have never been to DC. But I have also always wanted to take Joni to Nauvoo and a Cubs game at Wrigley field (and shopping in Chicago of course). Should location be my priority though? I need some honest feedback, what would YOU do in my situation? I have to choose my top two or three and then I will be told which of those they would like me to go to of those top choices. Winner gets to come visit me whenever they want...maybe.

2 Funny stories

I woke up this morning to POURING rain, I seriously thought the bathtub was on and I was wondering why, since Joni was already gone to work. Then I realized I would have to ride my bike through it to get to school because after looking for the umbrella for an hour, walking wasn't an option (I found out later that Joni had both umbrellas in her car). I figured if I pedaled fast enough, I wouldn't get as wet...not true. I'm not sure how the aerodynamics of bike seat's work (Sean do you?), but the faster you pedal the more water channels from the tire up to the seat, right into your butt. Then the wind and rain soaked right through my sweatshirt and my jeans. This is my LONG day in class, so I sat in wet clothes all day long. Funny how your "outer wear" dries first, then your underwear dries last, and it's very uncomfortable. The coolest thing is...thats not one of the funny stories.

STORY #1
The other night Joni and I went out to share an appetizer and some drinks, which is a great thing to do if you want to go out but you are strapped for cash. Joni talked me into it because the place we went to had 36 tv's, including 8 big screens. Anyways, I went to the bathroom while Joni ordered drinks. When I came back she told me she was excited because she had never really ordered a lemonade before, and she had just ordered a blackberry one (you have to know Joni to understand how much she loves new foods and drinks). After a while Joni commented about how wierd her drink tasted, but I didn't think anything of it until she told me it tasted "bitter". By then her giant glass was empty, and when I asked her where she found the drink on the menu and she told me the "specialty drinks menu", I put the two and two together. When I read, "Jack black rasberry lemonade with Jack Daniels Whiskey and rasberry liquor with sprite" I about tossed my cookies because of how hard I was laughing. The expression on her face was priceless, she wouldn't even let me post the story (happened two weeks ago) because of how bad she felt. Of course I drove home, and of course Joni will never hear the end of that one from me.

STORY #2
In case you didn't know, Dilly sleeps in our bed. I hate it sometimes because I toss and turn a lot, and even though she always starts on Joni's side, she always ends up finding her way under my blanket into some wierd spot so I can't move without feeling bad for smooshing her. I guess one night she had enough of me moving around and she found her way right into the rear end of Joni's pants...hang on, I'm laughing and can't type very well...okay. She literally crawled into Joni's pants and was happily nessled up against her bare bottom (how Joni didn't wake up I have no idea). Joni didn't even notice until she got up and the back of her pants felt really heavy. Sure enough, Dilly was in there happy as a clam. In case you are wondering, these two things didn't happen on the same night...although it would make a lot more sense.

So that's the way things have been for us lately. I'm so glad things like this happen so that we can enjoy wierd moments during times that seem tough. I'm not trying to start a weekly motivational column, but that made me think of another quote my Grandpa Don sent me in that same letter I got on the last day of my mission:
"I will laugh at the world...I will always have great joy in my heart. No living creature except man can laugh or even smile, and yet a man who can't smile is not much worse off than one who doesn't smile. The emotion behind a smile is a fine medicine for the soul. It has an untold value".

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAUDE! I'm sure you'll get lots of wishes but I like to take advantage of special birthday blog opportunities when I can. I'm not really sure how old you are but then again I really can't remember how old I am so don't feel too bad...Joni and I couldn't figure out this week how old I was...of course until we remembered to do math. Thanks for coming to see us this year, I wish we were close enough to teepee your house or something...Maybe another year. Everyone frisbee posing.

Joni and I have become addicted to frisbee golf. I always saw people playing from a distance but I never really played until I came here. Since every park has one here we decided with the help of some friends to get into it. Because all water is brown here and you can't see further than 3 inches, I had to get in to fetch a frisbee with my toes. I must mention that Joni volunteered to go in first but she swears she saw a spider the second she got in the water, so I had to go in even though she was already wet. I waded in there for a good 5 minutes before I found the dang thing. Dilly loves going along with us, and when she saw me go in the water she jumped in after me even though she hates water. Watching her in the water for the first time was the funniest thing ever so of course we posted a video of it at the bottom. I hope everyone is still doing good with the 40 day thing. My 2 week mark is tomorrow and I'm having a tough time but I've done it so far, only 4 more to go. I'm definately going to have to take up swimming when this is over, or at least only run 3-4 days a weeks cause I'm hurting right now. At least I can still relax and watch TV...sorry Glen.

40 Days and 40 nights

I have been inspired by a tradition of the Catholic church called Lent. I am not about to practice it or anything, but it gave me a great idea. I actually started it about a week ago but I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid I would give up after 2 days. If you want to learn more about what Lent really is I'm sure you could google it, but I decided for 40 STRAIGHT days I would complete a goal and give up a bad habit, no exceptions.

So I set a goal to run a certain amount every day for 40 days, and complete a certain amount of pushups and situps. I have also chosen to completely give up any kind of fast food. With the food there is no exception, but if for some reason I can't do the running and exercising, I have to double it the next day...call it Paul's Bootcamp. I figured the only way for me to truly get into shape is to do something like this. I have always hated running, so I have to force myself to like it...I wonder if this would work with certain vegetables? Now that I have mentioned it in the blog it is official and there is no turning back. So for those of you who would like to participate, tell me what you want to give up or do for 40 days...something that won't be easy, and we'll do it together. Of course you need to choose your reward at the end of the 40 days to help you along the way, I'll let you know mine in a couple of weeks. So I've been going strong so far, although sometimes my legs hurt, but I feel good. I am looking forward to hearing what you want to do.

Its funny how inspiration comes, my grandpa Don sent me this quote on the last day of my mission, and I have since laminated it and I read it often:
"The greatest power in the world is the power of good habit. Good, well-established habits absolutely control our success. Our habits determine what we are. We should all make a list of our necessary habits and then become their slaves."

To Joni on Valentine's Day

There once was a boy who was losing his hair
He dated some girls, but there was never a flare
Until one day he met the most beautiful girl
She made him feel special and brag to the world

“Haha! I have found her, a girl with pizazz
A girl who can laugh and love, with a beautiful A$@
Could it be I found a girl who’s not a bore?
A girl who speaks well of others, and isn’t a whore?”...sorry, it rhymed.

So they danced, they camped, and played guitars outside
But none of it mattered as long as she was there by his side
From the day they met, they were never apart
“like peas and carrots” says Forrest, meant to be from the start

I am that boy, and I’ve lost some hair
But none of that matters as long as she’s near
So call this my poem, an ode to my wife
A tribute to the girl I married for eternal life

We laugh, we sing, we fight, and we dance
I act like an idiot, and she loves to prance
So after all that has happened, there’s only one thing to say
“I love you Joni, have a HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!"

This is the place

Today was one of those days that I felt I'm in the right place at the right time in my life. This morning I found myself in the vice president's house at A&M, talking with John Rice, the number 2 guy over all with General Electric. This guy makes $13 million a year, and here I am sitting in a living room by a fire talking to him and seven other people about life and GE for almost 2 hours. I tried to imagine myself in this position somewhere else or at another time, and I don't think it would have happened. Funny, its not the first time I've felt that way, even though I've thought at different times I wished I was somewhere else.

I don't really believe in fate, and that life is mapped out for us against our will, but I do believe the right people are put in front of us at the right times in our lives and it is no coincidence...crap, that's not fate is it? Its crazy to sit back and think about the people you know and why you happened to become friends with them, to marry them, or to even meet them for that matter.

Since moving here we have met some great friends. I have a tennis buddy, a raquetball buddy, a running buddy(Dilly), and lots of hanging out buddies who motivate me to do the right things. I got a new calling that I am not prepared for at all, but I've never been more motivated to be more spiritual and be a better person aside from my mission as I feel now.

I think Joni has been praying for some way for me to lose my love handles and the basketball that I have swallowed recently, because I have lots of motivators to get me into shape. Funny how things work out...no pun intended.

Our Super Bowl party was pretty fun, right up until I threw my hands up into the fan from that last drive the Giants made. Those empty bottles are cream soda, in case anybody is wondering.

Look how big Dilly is getting

I don't want to be one of those pet owners who only talks about their dog, and I promise I won't give a Dilly update on every blog (sorry Carter), but I thought this picture was pretty funny. Dilly has a little stuffed cow that squeaks, and she was snuggling with it, so it looks like a dog with a stuffed cow body. As you can tell, her ears grow twice as fast as the rest of her body. Despite her drama we are really glad we got her and she fits right into our little family.

I don't know if anyone heard about it on the news, but A&M had a 5 OVERTIME basketball game the other day. I've never heard of that happening before so it was cool to say we were there, especially since both teams were ranked in the top 25. Here's a little clip. It was definately loud, but we decided USU fans are way better in basketball. The thing that is lame is the stadium is so big, that rival schools end up buying lots of tickets to the games and they get loud too. For the first two hours we were sitting by a bunch of obnoxious Baylor fans, for the second two hours we moved down by the student section. I was thinking we could get out quicker (man I am like my dad) if we watched the end of the game down by the exit. So we got better seats for the rest of the game which ended up being longer than the regular game. A&M lost but I really wanted to get home, so it wasn't too bad in the end.

Nothing too exciting to report. We've been hanging out a lot with friends and playing when time allows. Joni's sister Andrea sent us a month old "rice crispie christmas house" in the mail. So instead of looking at it we broke out the forks and did whatever damage we could by picking off the good stuff. We probably looked crazy eating that thing but we found enough old candy to make us happy. After we got through with it I think it looked like a mad robot but you be the judge.

We're excited to have a big super bowl party this weekend. When I say big I mean lots and lots of junk food and drinks. We're making mini burgers, the Carroll's are bringing 7 layer dip, the Snideman's are bringing the sweets, and Dilly will bring the whining. We're going for the Giants but I'm predicting:

Patriots 38 Giants 17

I've had some requests to show some pictures of our new place, so I figured what better way to show you then to have our crazy dog Dilly give you a tour. The video link is at the bottom. I think she might have found some sugar...or else we didn't give her enough exercise today. Sometimes she just sleeps all the time, and some nights she goes nuts running around and around in circles. We really try to exercies a lot with her but sometimes its just not enough and other times she's had too much...she might have mental problems because she is always bonking her head on something. Needless to say she gives us a good laugh at least twice a day. Today she was trying so hard to pee all at once outside that she had to balance on her two front legs, and tonight she was "happy wrestling" with her toy cow and ended up doing a somersault from over exertion.

I am sad to say, and I know my brothers will jump on this one, but I no longer fit well into size 34 inch waist pants. I have to go for 36 now...I never thought the day would come. I remember being my same height and gradually going from 28 to 30 to 32" in high school. I maintained the trim figure while working at Lowes, but now its just all gone downhill. Joni says I actually have a booty now, who would have thought. That's a nice image for all you buns appreciators out there...click, click...deleted.

Its funny, I miss a lot of things at times, but one thing I miss more than anything right now is USU basketball. I loved going to those games. We're going to our first A&M bball game but I don't think it will compare even though they are a nationally ranked team. Sorry, I am just writing because the blog is taking forever to download the video...I'm going to take a shower and come back...another nice image, sorry.

Here's a little project I completed during the break. I could never build it myself, we bought it at Salvation Army for ten bucks and restored it. It was a lot more beat up than the picture shows, but we wanted that look, so I reinforced it a bit and added a little, and now it is the perfect tv stand. DVD player goes in the middle. We want to add another shelf in the middle. You can't tell but we beat it with hammer quite a bit too.

My last Friday before school starts up again, I have been really spoiled with this break. Reality hit me again yesterday when I spent $700 on textbooks, and I recieved two new syllabuses from my new professors. Something definately seems wrong about paying $170 for one small textbook, but that is the price we pay for an education right? I am excited to start up again but not quite as excited as I was at the beginning of last semester. Last night I volunteered to babysit nursery kids during enrichment...Lets just say I am glad to have just a puppy right now. I remember babies smelling sweet, but last night I couldn't get the smell of poo out of my system until I was home watching tv for a good 30 mintues. Do things change when it is your own child? I love kids but 6 or 7 at one time is a little nuts.

We have a whole new sunday school class now. We were really starting to like our class and everyone was participating, then the 14 year olds left and now we have fresh out of primary 12 and 13 year olds. Its amazing how much kids have an influence on each other at that age. The "leaders" of the last class would participate and everyone else decided to participate too. Now the most outspoken kid has a bad attitude, and so all of them act bored and pretend to hate participating all of the sudden. We'll see how long it takes everyone to warm up to us.

I got Joni a satellite radio for Christmas and it is the best thing ever. I can listen to it while I am online too, but my favorite station is the pure jazz station...holy crap I'm turning into my dad. Last night while driving to the church I was listening to Oscar Peterson, then Wynton Marsalis, and it put me in the best mood. I wish I would have kept up with piano but I hope to learn a little more someday soon. I think I was definately raised different than most kids because of my parent's appreciation for all music. My mom got me into musicals and my dad got me into jazz. How many kids can say their favorite musician was Al Jerreau growing up? Joni's influence was classic rock and 80's from her dad fixing cars in the garage, and I think church hymns from her mom. Of course her brother introduced her to hard rock and grunge. Now she likes all kinds of stuff. Music is one of the greatest gifts I think we can have. Its amazing how many movies are that much better because of a good soundtrack.