Very cool quote...

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy,
they are the charming gardeners who make our
souls blossom.” –Marcel Proust

No Trees Were Hurt...

What's with the image on the left? It's a sampler of our e-mail Christmas cards. I think e-mail cards are just as fun to send and receive digitally as they are via snail mail. So here's to Christmas e-mail. No trees were hurt in the making of these cards. Merry Christmas!
- Suz

Word Clouds

More holiday cheer! (Make your own "word cloud" at http://www.wordle.net)

Merry Christmas

Love, Eric, Suz & Em

Atari 2600 -- Adventure: Revisited

Peter Hirschberg, created an open source port of the Atari 2600 game Adventure for Windows and Mac OS X titled Adventure: Revisited. Your goal in Adventure is to locate the Enchanted Chalice and return it to the Golden Castle, all while avoiding the three evil dragons determined to stop your progress! This version of Adventure is faithful to the original 2600 version, complete with sound. To download Adventure for your computer, please follow this link, http://peterhirschberg.com/adventure/index.htm.

I'm back... in Vancouver, Canada.

This time the NetBackup training is going well. First day in class, so far so good. I was told about this pizza place tonight, Lombardo's, so I gave it a try. http://www.lombardos.ca. I had the SALMONE pizza, with Tomatoes, mozzarella, smoked salmon, capers, onion & fresh dill. It was good!

Wikipedia needs your help... and I'm a sucker around this time of year!

"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge." — Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

If you have used Wikipedia, then you should give back to Wikipedia.

BigBus.ca Bus Tour in Vancouver

My class was cancelled today. The instructor was hospitalized so looks like I'll get another trip out of this deal. Maybe back to Canada or someplace in the USA.

So today I had some free time. I decided to take a bus tour of the city. Along the way this little chicken restaurant came up.

The logo on the sign made me think of this SNL video Cluckin' Chicken.

I'm trying to keep the PETA thing going! :)

I'm here.... in Canada.

Oh Canada...








Not much to say, the flight was fine. Here is the view from my hotel, The Sutton Place;

I'm going to see Body of Lies at Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver.

I love animals... they taste great!

Earlier this month, animal rights group PETA produced a web game which parodied the popular Cooking Mama game series, under the title Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals.

Use this link to play the PETA game; http://www.peta.org/cooking-mama/index.asp

Thanks PETA!

The Goonies 20th Anniversary (Game)

Rob, I posted this for you and the kids.

The Goonies 20th Anniversary is an excellent remake of the console classic by Retro Remakes competition veterans. Your quest involves saving a group of local kids trapped in an underground cave, and perhaps stealing a bit of loot while you're at it. You can punch at the enemies to protect yourself and collect vitality drinks to restore health.

The Goonies Game - use this link to download the game for your computer.

The latest video from CNNBC

Obama's Loss Traced To Eric Nikolaisen

Listen to Your Mother!

"Or rather, listen to these mothers—they're doctors, models, makeup artists, cosmetics tycoons—beauty gurus of one sort or another. We asked a group of beauty gurus what single bit of advice they'd give to their daughters—and they offered some of the wisest, truest counsel we've ever heard." Read More (From Oprah's Spirit Newsletter)

(photo from: freefoto.com)

SLC made the list.... of 'Most Stressful' U.S. Cities

Forbes Magazine released a list of America's most stressful cities. Los Angeles was No. 4, with San Francisco taking No. 5 and San Diego taking No. 6. Chicago ranked as the most stressful city in the nation, according to the magazine. According to Forbes, Los Angeles had a high 7.3 unemployment rate, high population density and poor air quality. The magazine said those forces combine to make a perfect storm; of stressful tension. Top 10:

No. 10 -- Philadelphia
No. 9 -- Providence, R.I.
No. 8 -- Salt Lake City
No. 7 -- Cleveland
No. 6 -- San Diego
No. 5 -- San Francisco
No. 4 -- Los Angeles
No. 3 -- Detroit
No. 2 -- New York
No. 1 -- Chicago

Ratatouille

I don't have a way to make the beautiful ratatouille from the Pixar movie, but I decided to give the more "provincial" or chunky/chopped ratatouille a try.

I served it smothered in mozzarella and with a side of garlic bread. It was pretty good, and relatively easy to put together.

Suz

*11/3 Gayle suggested I post the recipe too...

Suz's Ratatouille
(a compilation from the recipes I researched on the web)

1-2 bags frozen squash (comes pre-sliced)
1 onion (small, chopped in big chunks and separated)
2-3 garlic cloves (smashed and diced)
Olive Oil
Mozzerealla cheese
Canned Tomatoes (optional)

(Use a oven friendly pan) Add oil to pan (to cover the bottom about 3 T) and saute the onion and garlic. Add the squash and cook. (I'm going to omit the tomatoes next time and see if we like it better - I for one am not a huge stewed tomato fan) Sprinkle liberally with cheese and put in the oven under broil to melt and slightly toast the cheese. Serve with garlic bread. (most ratatouille would also have eggplant, I just have no idea what to do with it.)

Halloween 2008

The Halloween fairy hit my house while I was at work. I drove into the driveway Friday afternoon to find tombstones in the grass, a pumpkin carving station on the picnic table to the side of the house, and Eric and Emily waving at me from the front window where our blinds were missing. They were still working their magic. (There's a little friendly holiday competition on our street - especially with the Christmas lights. Frank, a few houses up, does a bang up job with his Christmas lights each year, and this year Eric said "We'll let him have Christmas".)

A couple of weeks ago Eric ordered a Halloween movie to project on the front window. Once the sheet (the screen) was pinned over the window, the amp was in the front bushes, and dusk was settling in, he started the movie up. Throughout the night, cars and trick-or-treaters would stop to watch the spooky Halloween greeting/movie. One little girl had to be dragged away to go get more candy at other houses, her eyes never leaving the window (only to come back about a 1/2 hr later - a promise to get her to trick or treat). See the movie here

We were settled out on the driveway near a bonfire with the candy to pass out and we could hear little giggles escape from the trick-or-treaters who were passing by. We roasted hot dogs over the fire pit, drank hot cider - and were really tired by the end of the evening. Suz

Busy Day Soup

Jacque Jensen used to work in the cubicle next door to mine at work. "Busy Day Soup" is her awesome recipe. Long day? No problem! You'll have dinner covered in no time!

1/2 pound hamburger
1/2 onion chopped
1 can Bean & Bacon soup
1 can Alphabet soup
1 can Tomato soup
1 small can corn
2 cans water
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Brown the hamburger and add the chopped onion. In a soup pan combine the cans of soup, water, chili powder, the browned hamburger and corn. Simmer. (Thanks Jacque!)

REALLY?!?!

$150,000 Wardrobe for Palin May Alter Tailor-Made Image - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/us/politics/23palin.html?ref=style

Gov. Palin modeling the latest uniform for her Death Star tour!

Beauty everywhere

I recently saw a gallery of photos on Facebook showing favorite pics of China. They were simply beautiful. It made me think about the beauty in my neck of the woods. So last Sunday when I went out to pick up the Sunday morning paper I took my camera with me. Want to see more of the first Utah snow of 2008? We haven't made the drive up into the mountains to see the trees this year so today I grabbed my camera and went out into the backyard to enjoy the fall foliage - the picture is Virginia Creeper that's creeping along our cinder block fence. (the image is sized to use as a desktop background if you're looking for a fall update for your computer) - Suz

Drum roll please...

My Glassbooth results. The candidates that best matches up with MY beliefs are;

79% -- Ralph Nader
75% -- Barack Obama
75% -- Cynthia McKinney
50% -- John McCain
NA -- Joe the Plumber. Click here to learn more about Joe.

Please don't let this man become our next President;

Glassbooth

There's a pretty neat internet tool that helps you see what candidate you align with. It links off to Wiki articles about the major issues too. It's called Glassbooth. First you rate the issues that are important to you, then you run through a quiz to find out what candidate best matches up with your beliefs and why. All without having to cough up your own personal info - which for me was a plus as I'm tired of registering all of my personal info - on one more site, one more password to get access to one more thing.

"glassbooth connects you to the 2008 presidential candidate that represents your beliefs the best." If you want to check it out go to: http://glassbooth.org/

Suz

Midnight Snow

I just let the dog out and we're getting our first snow! (The dog was pretty happy to get back inside.) It was sort of snowing/slushing earlier today, but it's actually snowing fluffy flakes now. Earlier this week we mowed the yard and put the flower pots in the garage. Eric had heard we were going to have snow. I'm glad he was paying attention! I was just enjoying the autumn leaves tumbling in the wind today. I remember trick-or-treating wearing my coat. What is up with that? Covering up a costume with a coat! Okay, so Emily has the same tale to tell. Happy first snow everybody!

Banana Crumb Muffins

My latest effort involves figuring out how to make a decent breakfast muffin for breakfast on the go. I really like the Starbucks bran muffin, but it's way too expensive for everyday.

So far, not so good. The first batch I tried whole wheat - too dry and over baked. The second batch was Doughnut Muffins and they had no flavor. The third batch, Banana Crumb Muffins, was just right! I'm still working on finding that "perfect" whole wheat/nut muffin recipe, but it was nice to provide the fam with some homemade goodness that actually tasted good this morning.

Click here to get the recipe!

Nothing But Nets -- Sounds like a cool plan!

Nothing But Nets is a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. While the UN Foundation has been working with the UN to fight malaria for years, it was a column that Rick Reilly wrote about malaria in Sports Illustrated, challenging each of his readers to donate at least $10 for the purchase of an anti-malaria bed nets -- and the incredible response from thousands of Americans across the country -- that led to the creation the Nothing But Nets campaign.

Hurricane Geek (sorta)

I'm a bit of a weather geek for watching hurricanes - well really just the ones heading towards Texas. The last big one I followed was Rita which much like Ike covered the majority of the Gulf of Mexico. It's just awe inspiring. Why watch hurricanes in Texas? My sister Jo Anne lives there. Last night I got through to her and here's an update on things in her neck of the wood - post Ike.

News from Jo's part of the world (Spring, TX):

• She has water and gas, but no electricity
• Power lines in places have been broken completely in half, workers are being sent in to help with getting the power back on
• Almost all of the transformers in the grid were down. (2.2 million people affected, 500K had their power restored as of when I had talked to her last night)
• Mail service has not been interrupted (she's proud of her post office)
  
• House next door and across the street had a tree fall on them, her fence was blown down
• Looting and people looking for a fight on her on street
• No ATM machines, most banks are closed, grocery stores are running debit as credit
• Gas stations have tankers, police, and big lines
• More news at khou.com

Suz

jeff

When I was a kid my brother always meant fun. Can you tell from the photo, that he was a bit of a rebel? While military police might not bring to mind words like "playful" he always wanted to have fun (he was a military policeman when I was a kid - when we spent the most time together.) From taking me on motorcycle rides to the really big water fight of legend - when he was helping Janel and me as we were doing the Sunday dinner dishes. I remember lots of water all over and Janel and I ended up escaping down the hall and locking ourselves in the bathroom - Jeff's keys leaving a dent in the door as he tried to break it down. He, he, he... Somehow our parents slept through it all having their Sunday afternoon nap after church.

Jeff's in the hospital now in Las Vegas. Yesterday he went in for a follow up on a stroke he had last summer. They found a problem and when they went to put him under to take care of it there were complications so they admitted him to the hospital to sort everything out. Please send positive vibes his way. - Suz

miDdLe ScHOoL

Brought to us by the letter "M" and the number "7"- Maybe I should have titled this "The Big Day of New" ...new school, locker, teachers, friends, et al. But I think I like the Way Back Machine spinoff on alpha numeric sponsoships of a day. Remember when?

I attended the kick-off meeting this morning for parents, and the counselors won my heart saying how cute our 7th graders are - and it's true. Kids milling around in the hallways, happy to see each other, schedules in hand, teachers smiling "it's a good thing." - Suz

Brownies (old school)

There was something kind of nice about yesterday evening. Went to my mom and dad's and had time to visit for a bit. My mom had the Olympics on, she's always been a bit of a nut for the Olympics - time stands still :). My Dad's recovering from surgery and said he wasn't in too much pain, but honestly how fun is a catheter during a recovery period? Mom had made brownies, a big ol' pan of them. Mary Lou Broadwaters recipe - which means old school, and very good (she was our next door neighbor when I was very small.) That sheen on the top means it's gonna be good. My mom let me beg a couple off her to take home to Eric and Em. They hit the spot with the fam waiting for me at home. Thanks grandma. - Suz

2 things

A couple of cool things.

1. a letter by Lea Cabrera "ode to my sis"
2. a kindness article - paying it forward could be good for you
   

Suz

“Excuse me, sir, do you have any Grey Poupon?”

From The Salt Lake Tribune...

A Sandy, Utah man took offense to a motorist, who, after getting him to roll down his window, asked, “Excuse me, sir, do you have any Grey Poupon?”

After hearing the request for Dijon mustard, the 22-year-old driver pulled a black handgun from his glove compartment, cocked the weapon and pointed it at the three people in the other car.

“Here’s your Grey Poupon, roll your [expletive] windows up,” he responded.

If you’ve never seen the original 1985 commercial here it is.

A Bug's Point of View

So this green bug stops at a traffic light and the light says "Why's that smoke coming out of your engine?" ... oh wait, this isn't a joke. This is what happened this afternoon. High temp light + a little bit of smoke = oil all over the parking lot and not in the bug.

Grandma's Hummingbirds

Eric took these photos of hummingbirds nesting in Gayle's front yard.

- Suz

Almost There...

There is a trail about 9 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon, above the "S" curve and it leads to one of my favorite places - Desolation Lake. While on the hike you come to a fork in the trail the left side goes to Dog Lake, the right side to Desolation Lake. This being the first hike of the season we took the left trail, towards Dog Lake (the shorter hike). Hikers jogged by and mountain bikers had us jumping off the trail. The nearby creek kindly wound near enough to the path so Em and I stopped to wade on the way back down. The wildflowers were out everywhere and the air was heady with their scent. We didn't make it to Dog Lake, but it was a great hike. - Suz

Happy Soap

Last week I went to Tuesday Morning on a Saturday around ten o'clock a.m. looking for soap. Not scented or fancy bathroom displays, but simple, soap that wouldn't make my hands break out. After passing by the scented bars as "over-the top" and colorful collections - these 2 little bars of soap just spoke to me. One was made "with joy" - now how can you go wrong with that? The other, the label says, gives you a sensation of "well-being". I'd like to think it was money well spent. - Suz

Happy 4th of July!

Sigg H2O Bottles

The July 2008 issue of Shop Smart;) magazine -the quick and easy guide from Consumer Reports- has a safety alert about plastic containers. I had heard about the plastic bottle issue from one of my friends and Gayle showed me the article. Bottles and containers labeled #3, #6 and #7 are best avoided. What happens is that the BPA, PVC and carcinogens can leach into your food/water through things like plastic wrap, bottles, lunch boxes and food containers. So while that leaves me wondering what I am supposed to store my food/water in - I found the Sigg web site. The Sigg water bottle has 0% leaching of anything into the water. mysigg.com (their FAQ page was pretty interesting) Just wanted to share the find. - Suz

Chalk Art Festival

Yesterday we went down to the downtown Farmer's Market and had breakfast. Em had stuffed crepes w/fresh strawberry sauce and Eric had a Belgium waffle - they both shared. There were tons of cute dogs, we'll have to take the Squirrel next time.

We also walked Gateway's exhibit of the Utah Foster Care Foundation Chalk Art Festival which was pretty neat too.
- Suz

Are you an Eeyore or a Tigger

11:32 minute video that puts things back in perspective:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8577255250907450469

Orbs? or Ghosts?

The other day I got to work, thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye and grabbed my camera. This is what my camera saw - and no I didn't just sneeze... ;)

Some people say these orbs are dust, but not every photo is this dusty.

Suz

Summer Kickoff

Summery stuff we've been doing:

• Eric took Em and Kiani to the arcade. Later we all went to U2 3D.
• We've planted roses, rosemary, an apple tree and Boston ivy.
• Weekend chores (wahoo!)
  
• Last night it was frozen yogurt and a bonfire in the backyard after a lot of gardening.

It's been a very rainy start to summer, but today it's blue skies all around.

A River Runs Through It

Emily's ballet recital was tonight. The highlights of the program, called "Film Follies" included Em's class (of course), the small ballerinas in tutus almost as big as they were and lets not forget about the break dancing ballerina who could moon walk in toe shoes! Em's class performed a graceful, flowing ballet to the music from "A River Runs Through It" (Em was a water sprite and did a great job!)

Suz

AT&T Park / San Francisco Giants

Day two at NetApp Training, more storage stuff... after class we went to the baseball game. Here are a few photos;

Minnesota Iris

Thanks to Steve in Minnesota, we have a bunch or family heirloom Iris' growing along the side of our driveway. Last year he sent us a big box just loaded with rhizomes. They're thriving!

Net App Training

I'm taking a class at NetApp, in Sunnyvale, CA. It's a three day class on the operation of a NetApp Storage Device. So far things are going well, I'm down here with three IT guys from other Disney studios.

After class we headed to Fisherman's Wharf, in San Francisco. Had dinner and took in some of the sights. This small picture is of AT&T Park where the San Francisco Giants play. The score of tonight game was SF 10, NY Mets 2.

Clouds

Today was a spring cleaning, gardening kind of day. I took this picture off of 13th East. I guess I must be paying attention to the clouds more this year. They've been amazing.

- Suz

Macbeth

Em played two parts in her class play Macbeth: Queen Elizabeth, and the apparition. She did a great job!

Boil, boil, toil and trouble...

Dance in America

Great Performances on PBS is sharing an incredible dance show "Wolf Trap's Face of America" that takes place in our national parks. You can watch it online at:
www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/wolftrap/program.html

Suz

More Springtime in Utah...