Coincidence? You Decide.

I joined this...
Rented this...

And was sent this by a friend all within 24 hours.

Have you seen The Social Network yet? What did you think? Apart from a few shady college partying scenes, it's one of the best movies I've seen in ages. Great dialogue, compelling characters, and an intriguing storyline made me want to watch it all over again. I also want to watch some interviews with the actual Mark Zuckerberg since he's taking over the world.

I'll Just Slip Into Something a Little More Comfortable...

Kudos and many thanks to my father-in-law for being the genius behind my favorite gift this Christmas: Pjs in the unbeatable combination of cozy, classic, and purple. My ratty sweats are officially retired...for the most part. For that, Andy thanks you as well.

Out of the Stone Age

Luddite - (n.) One who opposes technological change or innovation.

Confession: On many counts, I am a Luddite.

I'm not opposed to new technology per se, but chafe against the encroachment I feel that some technologies could put on me living my real life versus being entrenched in a virtual one. The most obvious signs of this are that I don't have a Facebook account and don't text. Other glaring evidences: My sister recently had to show me how to use Google Reader, I just got a Gmail account (my Hotmail one has worked just fine for the past 12 years, thank you very much), we have a webcam we don't really use, I'm not familiar with Skype, it's beyond me why you would need a Twitter feed ("Just scooped up some soggy Cheerios off the floor...again"), I used Drop Box and "cloud computing" for the first time a week and a half ago, and I have no idea how to convert a file into PDF form.

You may wonder how I've functioned all these years, but I've been relatively happy in my technology-lacking existence because, in my mind, I have fewer things to worry about and updates to either make or check. I'm pretty hit and miss with blog posts as it is, but maybe I'm underestimating the excitement of friending people I haven't seen in years or getting sucked into the vortex of social networking, playing games, or downloading apps for hours on end. Granted, I can waste time with the best of them checking email and surfing blogs, but my status quo worked just fine.

Until today. After succmbing to "positive" peer pressure from my family, I took advantage of my mother's gift of a year's worth of text messaging and took the plunge. Andy and I are now in the world of virtually instant messaging and I'll admit, it's fun to hear the little bling when a new message arrives or getting instantaneous feedback regarding a question, picture, or random thought. What I don't want is to become the couple or family who are in the same room, heads bent, tapping on various devices and never actually engaging face to face.

I'm moving pretty slow because we don't have a data plan and I insisted on a QWERTY keyboard since I'm a novice compared to seasoned texters with their thumbs tapping at the speed of light. I might have to take the plunge all the way, though, since I found out today that I might only be able to contact my next potential interview for the Mormon Women Project via Facebook. Gasp! Can I really revolutionze my digital persona so quickly? I'm hoping there's another way and that I can dip my toes in slowly. But if not, wanna be friends?

What are your thoughts on technology for social connection? Are there any methods you don't use or can't live without? Have I been biased all this time? Let me know what I'm missing or if you're fine living under a figurative rock like me.

Christmas 2010

We spent 11 days in Eastern Washington with my family, two days more than we expected, courtesy of getting voluntarily bumped from our flight home on Christmas Eve. That meant we were with family on Christmas Day and Ben and Lucy got to spend more time doting on their new little cousin Harper.

Highlights of the trip:

• Long walks
• Good conversation
• Lots of laughter
• Movie nights, including Wall Street 2, Inception, Despicable Me (which I slept through TWICE!)
• Couples' dinner with two siblings and their spouses
• Andy getting to drive my bro-in-law's sporty Mazda RX-8
• Watching the finale of "The Sing-Off"
• Going bowling three times
• Lucy spending most of the vacation running around the house sans clothing
• A solo pedicure at my favorite ghetto nail salon - just me, massaging hands, and a stack of magazines
• Driving around seeing all the new construction in my hometown
• Lots of helping hands to play with Ben and Lucy
• The family gift exchange (hot items included an Elvis impersonator set and a Sham-Wow! car cleaning kit)
• Duets on the piano with my sisters
• Wrapping mountains of gifts (none for us as ours were home in Ohio since we were planning on being home for Christmas Day)
• Innumerable air hockey and ping pong matches
• Delicious treats and hot cocoa concoctions
• Waching Ben and Lucy have fun with Grandma, Grandpa, the aunties, and uncles
• Celebrating Kira's birthday on Dec. 22nd with a homemade pizza night (I heart BBQ chicken pizza)
• Lots of bubbly (sparkling cider) and other fizzy beverages (Cactus Cooler or Diet Dr. Thunder, anyone?) Ben got his soda fix for the year
• Family dinners around the big dining room table
• Myriad trips to the nearby Wal-Mart for necessary provisions and hoping I wouldn't run into anyone from my past. Mission almost succesfully accomplished except for seeing a girl I went to church with as a teenager who introduced me to her newborn daughter named Nollie. Very surreal to have a namesake, especially when you have such an uncommon name. Can I ask for royalties?
• Watching Harper, the budding fashionista, model her new winter wardrobe
• A hilarious and very loose re-enactment of the Nativity story
• Going out for Chinese food Christmas Eve
• "Reindeer Games" - a.k.a. reserving the church gym and spending the day playing blind volleyball, dodgeball, tag in the dark with glow necklaces, and other games with the winners getting cash prizes (we're talking single dollars here)
• Trips to visit the neighboring horses and feed them apples and carrots
• Rides on Grandpa Jeff's tractor
• Not having to check bags on the airplane in either direction

All in all, it was was a relaxing and joyful visit. I love my family; Blood relatives, in-laws, and out-laws alike.

A Year in Books

I always love the end-of-year "Best Of" lists printed in many newspapers and magazines. I like to gauge if I'm up on the various sectors of popular culture or if there are music, movies, authors, or other artists that I missed and need to explore. In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not usually up on the most cutting edge music. That's what happens when your audio diet consists mostly of NPR or kids' books on tape and your computer with iTunes loaded on it dies.

For some reason this year was feast or famine as far as books go, alternating between long dry spells or so many books at one time from my library reserve list that I couldn't finish them all. These were my favorites of 2010, in no particular order.

Loved the unique epistolary format of the book, with the protagonist's life examined in letters. I really identified with the main character - her desire for home and family, but still yearning for adventure and self-actualization through travel and other experiences unique to women of her time. This book made for one of the most interesting discussions of my book club to date, with widely varying opinions of Bess and her choices.

Somehow I made it to age 30 without hearing about this YA and high school literature class standard. The author's stream of consciousness writing style and her spot-on channeling of teenage concerns and jadedness "spoke" to me. The heroine's emotional inner turmoil and its eventual resolution could have been depressing, but emerged hopeful.

Richard Russo is one of the masters of a class of authors who artfully examine the themes of adult life and relationships. Other such writers I've enjoyed include Elizabeth Strout and Wallace Stegner. While some readers might be turned off by the frank "realities" of marriage, aging, loss, childrearing, and expectations (met and unmet), the beauty of the writing and vivid characters provide a satisfying redemption. Caveat: His books do contain a fair amount of profanity. Judge me as you will that I like them anyway.

A veritable tome that is worth every page. The story of twin Ethiopian brothers, their absent doctor father, nurse/nun mother who died in childbirth, and their love/hate relationship traverses miles, literally, emotionally, and figuratively. Because of the characters and storyline, the book includes medical diction and themes, but my dad was a doc so I found it interesting, not exhausting.

Loved it from start to finish and evangelized it to everyone I knew. See my earlier review here.

Thanks to various Top Ten lists I now have a few more books to add to my reading list for the new year. I'd love to hear about the highlights of your year in books and happy reading in 2011!

Diamonds or Tin?

Today Andy and I celebrate a decade of marriage. We just got back from dinner at a yummy restaurant and shoe shopping with leftover Christmas money. They say that tin is the traditional gift to commemorate 10 years of wedded bliss, but my vote is for a diamond anniversary band. As it stands, that will probably have to wait until our next ten years.


We were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, wedding number 27 of 51 on December 28, 2000. I remember feeling nervous as we waited for the ceremony to begin, as the gravity of the commitment settled upon me. But as we began, it all felt right and I still feel the same way these ten years later. Sometimes I think about what babies we were (20 and 22, respectively), and how I never planned to get married that young. But when I met Andy, I knew he was exactly the type of guy I wanted to marry. So of course I spent the next year trying to break up with him because I had so many other plans and things to check off my list before I tied the knot. Thankfully, I had many unique experiences before marriage and have had many since then as well. It's definitely been a sometimes bumpy and winding road, but I wouldn't trade what we've learned and shared. As far as most journeys go, I'm a travel junkie and Andy is a homebody (unless it's a golf vacation), but all I know is that I have one swell traveling companion on the road of life.

It's That Time of Year Again

Just a little sneak preview of our 2010 Christmas card, designed by the lovely and immensely talented Kiki Comin. One of my favorite things about the holidays is sending and receiving actual printed greetings. It's a tradition I hope will always continue, even as technology changes. I love seeing families grow and getting updates on people's lives. Email is much more convenient, but there's nothing like the running out to the mailbox, slitting open the cards, and looking fondly at friends' faces smiling back at you from the pictures hanging on the back of the front door.

Apologies to those of you who live nearby, you'll have to substitute us in lieu of a card. Between our many moves and friends moving way, our Christmas card list keeps growing. So I've had to limit mailing cards to those who live out of town. But please know you're worth the postage!

P.S. For all of you who agonize over coordinating outfits for family pictures, here's a little side note. I had a light blue polo shirt picked for Andy and the morning of our photos he tossed it aside and announced he would wear his red striped one instead. Have I mentioned that Andy hates taking pictures? :) His natural good taste ended up working well with the background.