Thanksgiving in Arizona

I fully realize how late this post is, however, I wanted to acknowledge our amazing roadtrip to Arizona and share some of the highlights.

1. You may have to turn sideways to fully appreciate the cuteness, but this little guy is totally worth it. Riding a John Deere sans pants - priceless.

2. There is no better way to see Twilight than with obsessed fans. An by obsessed, I mean, blogstalking, t-shirt making, Rob Pattinson worshipping, spend all of your wages on Rockstars and movie tickets, obsessed. Thanks girls, you made the movie amazing.

3. The view from South Mountain in Phoenix is amazing at night. It was even better since I was able to share it with some of my favorite people (Tim, you are my #1 favorite)

4. Phoenix has this amazing canal system that was built by the pioneers. I am sure the fact that it moves water throughout the city is great, but the roads that run parallel to the canal are the real bonus. This is one of the best places for running that I have ever found. You can run forever and only encounter cars on the rare occasions that the canal intersects with a through street. Saturday I had one of the best runs I have had in months - I ran long and fast and it felt completely effortless.

The trip was fast and furious, short and sweet, but Arizona, you didn't disappoint.

Proud to Drive American Made

Yesterday I had the rare pleasure of driving from Provo to Logan, and back. I had a lot of time to listen to the radio and am somewhat of a talk radio nerd. A large portion of the news programs were devoted to the hearings in which the US automakers made pleas for government assistance for their industry. Now, I have not ever been particularly fond of most US made cars, although my grandma, and then Craig sure loved the Taurus. However, last week Tim and I drove his Ford Escort XR2 to Phoenix and back and it performed like a champ. In support of American made vehicles, I thought I would give you the highlights:

1. We made it to Arizona and back on $70.00 in gas.

2. The seat reclines well and is quite comfortable for sleeping (Tim had to stay awake and drive)

3. When we hit an unexpected blizzard, it made it through the un-plowed roads without any major mishaps.

4. Law enforcement did not mistake us for drug runners (apparently a problem when you drive that path in a black BMW).

5. Did I mention the gas mileage.

I still love my gas guzzling, foreign made SUV, but after this last experience, I am looking a little more fondly at American made.

Redneck Tivo

I thought twice before writing this post as it forces me to admit my fascination (not quite obsession) with The Biggest Loser. This is the first season I have ever watched and I am fascinated. It is crazy how much weight they lose, and of course the intense workouts are fabulous. I would LOVE to have Jillian as my personal trainer. She does not let people slack and yells at them if they try. Last week she took the seats off the spin bikes so that her team could not sit down during the entire workout. Apparently this is the first season with significant drama between the contestants. That part is like a train wreck - you can't turn away, it's almost as good as reality TV on VH1.
So, last night I hurried home to be able to watch the show, hoping that one of the "villans" would be sent packing. When I got home I watched for a few minutes but then decided I needed to get some things done, so, I set the trusty Redneck Tivo (VCR), put in a tape and went upstairs. I passed the TV a few times but finally turned off the TV so as to not spoil the ending. At 8:45 I was done with everything and ready to watch. I almost cheated and watched the ending, but forced myself into the other room until 9:05. At that point I discovered one of the major flaws of my Tivo. The cassette tape in the VCR was actually Loony Tunes (compliments of Ada and Miles) and not suitable for recording. The VCR spit it out and sat happily idle the entire time that I counted on it to record my show. I do realize that this entire problem could have been averted if I would just give in an pay for Tivo or DVR. I might have to give in since American Idol is coming up soon and I cannot risk another VCR disaster.
By the way, one of my favorite people, Amy C was voted off. Check out her transformation. http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/contestants/transformation_gallery/season_6/

Seven Years of Bad Luck

I am sure that all of you receive way too many emails which either promise fame and fortune if you respond, or worse, predict impending doom if you fail to do as the sender instructs. The most recent request I received had neither such promise, and seemed pretty interesting. Instead of forwarding it to anyone, I decided to post it here. If you are interested, leave a comment and respond to the following questions. By the way, I did shorten the list and only included the questions that I found really interesting.
1.Where did we meet?
2.What's one of my favorite things to do?
3.Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?
4.Am I Liberal? Moderate? or Conservative?
5.Have you ever heard me sing?
6.Have we taken photographs together?If so, please send your favorite and I will add it to this post.
7.Have we ever had a falling out?
8.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that Iwould bring?

How Many???

Tonight as I finished my swim, I passed a flyer for some sort of lap counting, club that the gym is sponsoring. The flyer kindly listed the number of laps required for a 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and full mile. The only problems was, they listed 72 laps for a mile when for years I have been counting 64 as a mile. Perhaps this is the reason that swimming a mile in a triathlon always seems so much harder (it certainly isn't the murky, freezing water, and the people kicking, hitting and swimming over the top of me). I was bothered to the point that I did mental math all while I was showering and getting changed, trying to make their numbers make sense. I finally embraced my obsessive side and stopped to ask a manager at the front desk the length of the pool. The good news is, it ISs a 25 meter pool and 64 laps IS a mile. Tragedy averted, now on to a new excuse for my poor swimming in triathlons.

It definitely is a swim inspired day. I saw a guy this morning at the gym who looked just like Michael Phelps. Ok, he didn't have the snaggle teeth, but he did have the big ears could definitely pass for at least a Phelps cousin.

Something to Read

Hailey asked for a list of good reads. Here are the books that I have either recent read, or that are waiting in my basket to be read.

A LONG WAY GONE - ISMAEL BEAH

Is he not the cutest thing ever, doesn't he just make you want to smile? Amazing considering the fact that at age 12 his entire family was killed by rebel forces in Sierra Leone. After a year of hiding in the forest, he was "recruited" into the government army. This is his memoir, written by him after graduating from high school and college in the US. His resiliency is amazing. Just be prepared to be shocked.

MY LOBOTOMY - HOWARD DULLY

When he was 12 years old, Howard had an "ice pick" lobotomy. Creepy eh? He wasn't sure why except for that his stepmother hated him and wanted to change his personality. I haven't read it yet but I was so excited when I found it on the 1/2 off table at Borders. I have been eyeing it for a long time and finally had an excuse to buy. Perhaps there is a "How To for Dummies". I will let you know.

THE SHACK - WILLIAM P. YOUNG

I read half of this book before being distracted by a new release (yes, it was the new vampire book). The premise is kind of wild, the protagonist is invited for a weekend with the godhead. Their forms are anything but typical: God is a large black woman, Jesus Christ is Mediterranean, not so attractive guy, and the description of the Holy Ghost reminds me of Tinkerbell. A lot of people have issues with the book - think its blasphemous. I was impressed with the parable and thought the book did a great job of helping us to understand God's love. I'm hoping the second half is as good as the first.

ANTHEM - AYN RAND

I

This book falls into the category of books that I think you should have read if you consider yourself well read/educated. The book was written in 1937 and deals with socialist/communal values. The pronoun "I" does not exist in the book nor the culture in which it takes place. It takes some time to get used to the writing. However, the bonus is that it is super short so you can be well read in an hour or two.

It seems like all of my recent reads have been a little heavy. I'm in the market for something light hearted/trashy. I've already read all there is to read on vampires/werewolves, any other suggestions?

A First

Last night I was talking to my roommate about how long I resisted communication via email, or anything else that did not feel "personal". I tend to be slow on the trends, but am finally making my first appearance as a blogger. I figured that since I had the blogstalking down, it was time. Be forewarned though, my tech skills and creativity are very primitive, so I may require some hand holding and assistance.
Today I woke up thinking about "Moonlight Sonata". Last night at yoga this was one of the songs on the background music which is supposed to help with the mood. I found it ironic as Moonlight Sonata is a song with a lot of underlying tension. I'm not sure if it was the song, or my wandering mind, but the session was not as relaxing as I had hoped.
I just emailed my selections for the ucoming year with my bookclub. I have a serious love affair with books and hope to review some of the things I read. Not willing to give my comments on Amazon, but for you, anything.