Wednesday, February 27, 2008

And the winner is.....

David Archuleta!!! Holy cow! This little sweetheart is soooo adorable and he has such a sweet voice! I have actually "named" a stuffed animal after him so when I watch him on American Idol I can just hug and squeeze the cute little thing! He is a grandmother's dream come true...just too cute. Now, I have to admit...his "giggles" border on obnoxious, but hey...as long as he keeps singing and not giggling I will be happy.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Billy Joel Concert

This last Saturday Matt and I went to a concert at the Honda Center (previously the Arrowhead Pond). A couple weeks ago Matt sent me a text message while I was at school asking me if I wanted to see Billy Joel. I am not a HUGE music person. Don't get me wrong, I like music, I like listening to music...but please don't ask me to identify a band by listening to a single song...and I would certainly be out on the first round of "Don't forget the lyrics!" But I figured it would be fun and I knew Matt would really enjoy it so I agreed to go.

Unfortunately our seats were in the nosebleed section... Here are a few pictures of us and our view.

Now, obviously they had his image projected on the jumbo screen, and we could hear the music, so it wasn't that bad. It was a really fun concert. The performances were all fantastic, and he has a really fun sense of humor so he kept us laughing when he wasn't playing. It was really funny when he said "Hi everyone, I'm Billy's dad...he couldn't be here. He is at home combing his hair." Ha ha ha. (cuz see, he's old now...and doesn't have any hair.)

He even had a roadie come out and sing "Highway to Hell" while Billy Joel played backup guitar. Here is a video I found of it (not from the night we went).



The best part was watching the people around us. To our right we had 5 ladies who wanted to stand and dance through the entire concert (and they were totally drunk). Then straight ahead a few rows was a couple who wanted to act out all the songs to each other...especially the love songs (get a room!). Then to our left there was the teenage boy who obviously was dragged to the concert by his parents, I think he actually fell asleep for part of it. Then of course I can't forget to mention the lingering smell of pot.

We had a great time. Matt sang along with most of the songs (I didn't), and I danced (Matt didn't). And the best part is...we only live like 5 minutes away from the Honda Center so we didn't have a long drive home. What a great night!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Diabetic Lifesavers: What's Your Protocol?


Today was a big day for us at school. We presented our "Table Clinics." Which is an oral presentation of research that we do on a particular subject. My group did research on diabetic patients and proper protocol in the dental office. Our title was "Diabetic Lifesavers: What's Your Protocol?" We give the speech in front of a panel of judges and it counts for 50% of our grade. We also will present at the California Dental Association convention and the California Dental Hygienists Association Scientific Session, also in front of judges. And where there are judges, there are PRIZES! All of the groups did a wonderful job, we all had great topics. The other topics were 1. Topical Anesthetic (which one works best), 2. Spa Dentistry (does it really work?), and 3. Xerostomia (a big word meaning "dry mouth"). The topical anesthetic group won 1st place today, and my group got 2nd place!! We were pretty excited. Now on to the big time conventions!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

The Many Reasons Why I Hate Randy Jackson


I have been watching American Idol from Season 1. I have always disliked Randy Jackson. I have always thought he never contributed to the show. In fact I noticed a distinct change in his "character" after his gastric bypass surgery, he went from being like Paula (compliment everyone, even if it just based on their looks) to trying to be more like Simon. I am now getting to the point where every time he is on the tv screen I want to put a fork in my eye! Thank goodness for recorded tv...I can just fast forward over him. But I thought I would rant a bit about all the things I hate about him first.

These are in no particular order, and this list is not all-inclusive.

1. "Yo"-This must has been little Randy's first word as a baby.
2. "You can definitely blow"-He uses this as a compliment, but then might follow it up with "pitchy"
3. "Pitchy" or "A few pitch problems"-I think he has to use this word because he wouldn't be able to describe the singing as "flat" or "sharp" or anything, he just knows it doesn't sound good.
4. "Season 7"-The word he uses to refer to the contestants (during the auditions he refers to them as the city that they are in, for example..."Boston")
5. Takes a drink after every critique...or at least reaches for his cup
6. "You worked it out"-I just hate this
7. "You did your thing"-I hate this too
8. Boos at Simon at the introduction-I think it is because he wants to tear down his competition (the popular one)
9. Dawgs-Hate it
10. (sucking in) "Sheee" when he is about to deliver "bad" news
11. "Man"
12. "I don't know"-How he ends many critiques, a cop out if you ask me. Maybe because you don't know what you are talking about!
13. During the auditions he would always turn the attention over to "Cowell" to get his opinion before he would offer his own...sounds like someone isn't too sure of himself!
14. Adjective-"like" (i.e., Janis-like Joplin-like, whatever)
15. The blank stare
16. "Alright so listen"
17. Hand symbols (peace, rock-on, etc.)
18. Gratuitous self-promotion of past relationships with celebrities
19. He can't judge the song as a whole, he has to break it up into sections to critique the beginning middle and end.
20. He has to describe how the song effected him: "That wasn't really good for me"

Do you have any things to add to my list? Maybe we can make another post about why we hate Paula Abdul, hey at least she is sober this season.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

I've been tagged!!

My good friend Susie has tagged me to do a post about my wedding day (for the friends that couldn't be there) and also for my "love" story. So far I haven't found the opportunity (or the reason) to scan my wedding pictures, but I figured that I could do a couple of my favorites!



Where we met
If you don't know this story then you may be surprised to find out that Matt and I are one of those couples that actually met on the internet! The way it worked was as follows: Matt came home from his mission in October of 2000. Most of his friends had moved on with their lives, his brother had gotten married, and his dad was dating his (now current) wife. So, there really wasn't a whole lot for Matt to do, so he spent some time chatting online. He had a few of his favorite sites, one being ldschat.somthin'. I on the other hand, had started chatting online for the first time a few months prior. I had actually just gotten back from Utah with some friends who went to conference, and I tagged along so I could meet a guy I met online who was going to BYU. (Candace, I know you remember this!) Nothing ever happened with that other guy. But when I got home I figured all this online chatting was silly, and there wasn't really any point to it. But, I ended up chatting a few more times. That is when Matt and I met...the story continues.
What was the first thing he said to you?
Something that is really common to chatters are these letters a/s/l (no, not "American Sign Language"), it means age/sex/location. Then, being on an LDS site we also added "rm?" to the "stats." Matt posted that he was 21/m/Anaheim/rm. The main reason why I started to talk to him on an individual basis is because I saw that he was from Anaheim, and my grandfather lived in Anaheim also. Silly, but hey...it brought us together!
When was your first date?
We met for the first time in person on November 30, 2000. I only remember the date because it is my mom's birthday. My young single adult ward would go to the temple every Thursday night, so I invited Matt to meet me in L.A. (half-way between us) to go to the temple. I figured if a guy that I met online could go into the temple, then he should be safe to meet in person. We met at 4:00 in the afternoon so we could have some time to get to know one another before we had to go into the temple where we wouldn't have been able to be really social. Afterward we went to Jack-in-the-box for a quick dinner and then we decided that we still wanted to "hang out." So we went and hung out in a well-lit parking lot just to talk...yes...talk. We actually didn't leave L.A. until 4am. Which means we had a 12-hour first date.
When was your first kiss?
I don't know when it was. It was only after we had been dating a few weeks, but since we were dating only on the weekends I guess you could call it our 3rd or 4th "date." We were watching tv at my house and I was just looking at him affectionately, and he took that as an advancement, so he reciprocated the unintentional advancement. It was ok with me though. :)
Courtship/Engagement?
Matt and I got married 1 1/2 years after we met. It was difficult to date long distance, so in reality we only saw each other on the weekends and an occasional "I miss you" visit during the week. My mom actually bought an air mattress for Matt to sleep on, and when I visited him, I simply stayed in one of the bedrooms. To be honest, I can't remember if we got engaged in January or February of 2002, but it happened and we got married a few months later.
When were you married?
Matt and I were married June 1, 2002 in the Los Angeles temple.
It was the first available Saturday after school ended. It is also the day before my baby sister's birthday. I loved having a June wedding, summer is the best and I got to use some summer-ish decor (i.e., lemons).
I made my own wedding cake... the hard part was that I had to make it right after attending my Grandfather's funeral (that is for a different post all together...just think 3 funerals and a wedding!)
I had my own full-sized bagpipe band (thanks dad)
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We spent the night in a hotel near LAX, then we woke up really early to catch a flight to Kauai, Hawaii. It was fantastic!! We had the privilege of staying in a time share condo right on the beach. Each morning we woke up and watched the sunrise. It was amazing! Then, Matt literally popped his eardrum while we were snorkeling. We really didn't know what to do, because we didn't know what happened, he just wasn't feeling well. So, we sat on our balcony and read to each other and we went for hikes. We pretty much had to stay out of the water after that. We made it home, then a week or so later (after a round of antibiotics due to the infection) Matt had surgery on his right ear to repair his eardrum. Now he hears better out of that ear then the other.

So now I would like to tag: Holly J., Aracely (even though I already know most of the story), and Jennifer F. Thanks for taking the time to read!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

He cheers me up.

I had a really lousy day yesterday. It all revolved around school and I just wasn't happy. In fact, when I got home in the middle of the afternoon I ended up going to bed and I slept for about 4 hours or so (I was pouting). The sleep felt good, but I still didn't feel better about my day. Of course I had called to complain to Matt about my bad day so we was already aware of my unpleasant attitude. He came home fully prepared for me:

He walked in with a white paper bag and as he handed it to me he said "I know you had a bad day, so Happy early Valentine's day." Inside the bag I found the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and ice cream from Coldstone! He really knows how to make me feel better. I actually started to cry because I thought that it was so touching.


Thanks Matt! I love you!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Jabberwocky

Do you know the poem "Jabberwocky"? Most people do, but do you really know the poem? I have actually never read in full the story of Alice in Wonderland, but I do know that the poem comes from "Through the Looking Glass", a version that Disney has yet to make. Well, for me this poem is special. As young children my father used to gather us (6 of us kids) up behind a chair in the living room (kind of tucked into a corner) and he would recite "Jabberwocky" from memory. Now, seeing how it is a poem of nonsense it probably doesn't really impress too many people. But dad found the art in it. He really actually acted out the poem. The "jaws that bite" and "the claws that catch" would really freak us out. When the young hero has his battle with the Jabberwocky my dad would act out the sword fight. The funny thing is that even though we all got to the point where we could recite it along with him, we would all still scream when he got to the exciting parts. This is one of those things that may not make sense to most people, but it is special to me.

JABBERWOCKY
Lewis Carroll(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Would you like some chips with that salt?

Let's say you have gone out to eat at a Mexican restaurant (one of my favorites, by the way). And as expected they deliver the basket of chips and the cup of salsa. Now personally, I am not shy and I dig right in, but my dad and I had a conversation about this situation that I thought was intriguing. He had gone out with a business associate of some kind to lunch at El Torito (fantastic chips and salsa!). Then immediately after the chips were placed on the table, this other person started shaking salt all over this community basket of chips. I too have experienced this same situation. I was out with some girls from work, and not only did she salt the chips, but she also salted the salsa.

Now, like I said, I am not shy about eating the chips and salsa, but I think it is a little presumptuous of anyone to start putting salt on a community plate of food. My dad gave the example, what if I wanted ketchup on my chips? Could I just go ahead and add ketchup to the community chips? No, of course not. I can honestly say that even though salt is a common seasoning on tortilla chips I think that if a person has special "needs" for their chips they ought to be polite enough to ask for their own basket and defile them as much as they want. Leave the community chips alone!