Birthday

That's right, it's my birthday. Yeh for me!

A meme a day....maybe not.

A meme is a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. The word meme was coined by an evolutionary biologist in 1976. In blogland, a meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog, such as a question that is posted on one blog and then is somehow answered on other blogs. There are lists of meme's on the web that can be answered by anyone. Here are some websites, among many unlisted ones, that give examples of meme's: Meme's list, The Daily Meme, Friday's feast, The Thursday Threesome, and Unconcious Mutterings. I think that every once and a while I will answer a meme on my blog.

Here is my first one:

I say...and you think...?
Rhyme: lime
Substantial: reason
Instant: pudding
Greed: bad
Brad: crazy man
Season: fall
Accomplished: sister
Invite: party
Sparkle: sunlight
Rainbow: long

(Isn't free association fun? I wonder what the words I chose say about me?)

Another great index card

I think I have mentioned this blog before. The above picture is from indexed, which I think is a fantastically done website.

A long update

Circumstances being what they are, I haven't really had the time to update my blog in the past two weeks. I will try to summarize what has happened and hit the high points for my readers.
I got a flu shot on the 17th which caused my arm to hurt quite a bit. On Friday night, the 17th of November, Roberts and Lowe women alike met to help Alison with the Festival of the Trees project. We cut, sewed, and frayed stars. There was good food, good conversation, and two adorable babies to entertain us so the time quickly sped by. The next day I worked from 9:30 to 3 pm, then went to a late lunch with Ryan and John. I went home exhausted with flu-like symptoms. Sidney and Wyatt came over to have fun with their Grandma and Poppy. I spent most of the time upstairs trying to shake the flu-like symptoms caused by the flu shot I had received the day before. I did come downstairs in time to see Wyatt taking a bath in the sink. What a funny boy! On Sunday morning I felt even worse and did not go to church. I slept quite a bit but still managed to get a paper written for my History of Christianity class.
Work and school followed for the next two days. On Wednesday, the 22nd, I was awakened by my darling niece who showed me the hole in her smile since she had lost a tooth. I had breakfast with Mom, Dad, Sid, and Wyatt, then went to school for one class. (My other two had been canceled but Dr. Francis would not relent on his grilling class schedule.) After a rousing class in which donuts were served, I returned home to help with my niece and nephew and clean the upstairs bathroom. Jen and Lauren came out to help with the Thanksgiving preparations and a good time was had by all. I ended up watching two episodes of an interesting show called Numb3rs and cleaning up the basement in anticipation of Aunt Renee and cousin Mark's arrival.
On Thanksgiving the following people came over to eat: Grandma and Grandpa Roberts, Jen, John, Lauren, Josh, Brooke, Uncle Mike, Renee, Mark, Timothy, Roxanne, Doug, John D., Jen D., Jason, Jacob, Emily, Michael, Ethan, RJ, Nathan, Diane, Larry, Amy, Sarah, Nancy, Jordan, Alison, and Isaac. Jeremy, Britnie, Sidney, and Wyatt came over later. We had three turkeys and a ham along with some other great food. Three tables of people made for fun madness. We ate, talked, and then ate some more. After 3 pm, we had a baby shower for Brooke. Jen and I went together on a gift of books and baby blankets. By nightfall, the aunts were in the living room talking while Brooke, Josh, Alison, Sarah, Amy, and I played a game. It was fun. Amy and I were crushed by the other two teams. (It is nice to be humbled every once and a while :) Jordan and Dad went to see Grandma, who seemed to be better and appreciated the Thanksgiving feast they brought her.
On Friday morning, Dad and I went to the temple. Afterwards we went to see Grandma. When entering Grandma's room, a person is required to put on gloves and wear a face mask. Her cough is still horrible but the pneumonia seems to be getting better. After we went home, I headed off the Alison's house to babysit Isaac while she worked on the tree skirt for the Festival of Trees. Isaac had just gone down for a nap so I studied for a while. I finally decided to take a nap myself when Alison's parents arrived. Her dad played with Isaac while the two ladies sewed. I then took a nap only to be awakened by my mother and Aunt Renee stopping by. All in all, I am not sure how much sleep I got. When Alison and her dad left to buy wood for the signs, I took over playing with Isaac. What a darling baby. I helped introduce him to the blanket buddy that Grandma Roberts made for him. It is a bunny. He seemed to like it once he realized that it couldn't hurt him and that he could eat the ears. After putting him down for a nap, I helped Alison and Pat finish the tree skirt and then headed home to get ready for a night out. Ryan and I ended up at Mikey's house where we watched the end of the Jazz game and then hung out for the rest of the night. Once in a while it is nice to just hang out at someone's home and watch movie previews, listen to music, and talk.
On Saturday I was awakened by my mother telling me about a job that Aunt Diane had seen on the Provo Library website. I decided to apply for it because it pays more than my current job and it would be a nice change. I finished the book I was reading, 84, Charing Cross Road, and took a shower. Later that night I went to dinner with Jen Evans and her friend Erin, who seems really nice. We ate at Mimi's Cafe and had fun talking about life, men, traveling, school, and other interesting topics. We then went to the theater to see Stranger than Fiction, which I would highly recommend. Will Ferrell isn't his usual goofball self, Emma Thompson is brilliant as a tortured writer, Maggie Gyllenhaal is great as an angry baker, and Dustin Hoffman is the typical odd literature professor. It follows the life of Harold Crick, an IRS agent who begins to hear a narrator speak about his life. I won't ruin any more of the movie for those who plan to see it. I would give it 4 stars out of 5. Since there are only about 15 movies ever made that get a 5, that is pretty good. As a person who occasionally writes short stories, the idea that a character from my story could be walking around is amazing. Anyway, I got home about 12:30 pm but couldn't get to sleep until about 3 am. Cursed insomnia :(
Today I went to school and work. School was fairly uneventful. I got a paper back that my Victorian Lit teacher wants me to re-write. Grrr. In my History of Christianity class we discussed the beginning of the Baptists and Quakers in the 1600's. Good stuff. Mom took the day off to help Alison decorate for the Festival of the Trees which is this week. I included a picture that Mom took with some of the background blacked out. The stuff in the background was very distracting and I wanted to have the phocus be the tree. Alison, Emily (her sister), Aunt Diane, and Mom were the decorators. The theme of the tree is taken from a poem by Robert Frost. Tonight, work was completely crazy. Mondays after holidays are always insane. I guess I should try to go to bed now.

Another weekend update

On Friday night I went to see Pride and Prejudice at the Pioneer Theatre. It was pretty good although I took exception to the narration style. I guess that's what I get for being so familiar with the subject matter. It was good though and I would recommend it (even if the character of Elizabeth wasn't as sassy as I would have liked.) Mom, Dad, Jen, and John will be seeing it on Tuesday.
Grandma J. is still in the hospital and I haven't seen her since Wednesday. Dad went to see Grandma J. tonight. Her hip isn't healing as fast as anyone would like. Besides having a brief run of pneumonia, she now has a staph infection that seems to be resistant to many drugs. In order to see her you have to put a mask on and glove up. I guess this is to protect her and the visitor. Her legs are pretty swollen because she can't get up and walk around. She is basically confined to her room until the Staph infection is under control. Her biggest complaint is loneliness and boredom. (If anyone wants to call and cheer her up, she is in room T11.)
Mom and Dad went to see Grandma and Grandpa R on Friday night. Grandpa had a cataract removed and is seeing better. The surgery on his other eye is this week. Hopefully this will help with his falling down. According to Mom, he sleeps a lot these days and is very thin. Grandma is worried about him but is still strong as a ox herself.
After church on Sunday, Josh and Brooke came over for a great dinner. Brooke is feeling well and my nephew-to-be is growing. According to measurements, he weighs 14 oz and still has his head up by her ribcage. Jordan, Alison, and Isaac came over a little later. We all played a round of Times Up and Isaac was darling. He lay on the floor playing and talking to one and all. I got some pretty cute pictures of him.

Warning: annoying person at large

The following happened at work on Monday:
A man came into the library talking on his cell phone. He set a book on cd on the desk, looked at the librarian, and pointed to it(meaning the book on cd.) He then walked farther into the library. The librarian checked the book on cd to make sure all the cd's were there and proceeded to check the item in. It was on hold for another patron, so the librarian put the new patron's name on it. The man on the cell phone then returned to the desk to inform the librarian that the reason that he pointed to the book on cd was because there was a cd missing. The librarian informed him that he was incorrect. Had he bothered to look at the cd cover, he would have plainly seen that there were only supposed to be three cd's in the case (the librarian said these words in a much nicer way though.) He then wanted to take it home again. The librarian said that he couldn't have that particular copy because it was on hold for someone else. The man on the cell phone then said "But I didn't want you to check it in." I ask you, dear readers, what was the librarian supposed to think? Being a good librarian and a person who tries to be nice, the librarian apologized and asked if she could put another copy of it on hold for him. What she wanted to say was this: "If you hadn't been yapping away on your cell phone, we could have had a discussion about why you were pointing at a book on cd. Turn that stupid cell phone off and attempt to be respectful in a place that is supposed to be quiet. If you want my help, treat me like a human being. Grrr." The librarian probably would have pointed towards the door at this point in the conversation.
If any of you readers feel the need to talk on your cell phone while in the library, don't. If you must, do not expect a librarian to be happy about it.

Weekend report

This weekend I saw the movie "Man of the Year." It was a really interesting look at a our political system. Robin Williams plays a John Stewart type comedian who ends up as a presidential candidate. The preview makes this movie look like just a comedy but it has a serious side. It has an interesting, if slightly implausible, conspiracy theory. Anyway, it was worth going to see in the movie theater. I stayed out a little too late considering I had to work on Saturday morning.
I attended Stake Conference on Sunday. It was wonderful. It was sort of a regional stake conference. All Davis County residents were invited. I went to a stake center in Fruit Heights to watch it on the Satellite. Elder Bateman, Pres. Packer, and Pres. Monson spoke. It was two hours of spiritual food. I ended up taking three pages of notes. On Sunday night, Jen, John, and darling Lauren came for dinner. Lauren hadn't had a decent nap and was a little grumpy. We had a wonderful dinner, thanks to Mom and Dad. Dad and I took some cute pictures of Lauren before she became too grumpy. (I put some of mine on the family flickr sight.) It was a fun night. Lauren especially responded to her Grandma tickling her and playing with her feet.