Spread Some Joy

Regardless of how you feel about the United States involvement in Iraq, we can all agree that it's feels great to get mail - especially when you are far from home. To send a letter to an American soldier go to http://www.letssaythanks.com/ There you can send a short message that will be delivered to an American soldier. It only takes 1-2 minutes.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On

Kari, Lori, Shelli, Ali, Audra, Aly, Me, & Christi

Kari & Me

Last Friday, November 17, we celebrated the wedding of our dear friend, Audra. Here are a few pictures from the wedding. She's a great friend who's been a good example to me. I'm very happy for her and wish her the best!!

Because they were so stinkin' cute, I also included pictures from last February when we went to Las Vegas to celebrate Audra's 30th birthday.

Happy Thanksgiving

For my Dad's birthday I shared several memorable stories about him (see King Ron Turns 50). One of them was about the song his sings every Thanksgiving morning. I thought I'd share it with you. As you read the lyrics, please try to visualize Ronnie struting around our family's home singing it at the top of his lungs.


There's a big fat turkey down on Grandpa's farm
Who thinks he's very gay.
He spreads his tail into a great big fan
And struts around all day.

You should hear him gobble at the girls and boys,
He thinks he's singing when he makes that noise.
He'll sing his song another way
Upon Thanksgiving Day.

Another Great Picture

Another great picture from our girls' weekend in Park City.

Pictured: Kari, Sandra, Me, and Christi

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous

This weekend I headed up to Park City for a girls' weekend at the Hotel Park City. My friend, Shelli, had arranged with her friend, Kayla, for us to stay there for free. This was possible because Kayla is one of the managers for the hotel. Kayla went out of her way and booked the penthouse for us (a room that normally goes for $3,000 a night - No, that's not a typo, $3,000 a night). And when I say room, I mean living room, kitchen, dining area, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, laundry room, and balcony. It was fabulous!!

When we entered the penthouse, the beds had been turned down, chocolates were on the pillows, and rose petals were strewn across the sheets. Rose petals also adorned the bathroom vanities, and the toilets. Yes, the toilets. When I lifted the toilet seat to go to the bathroom, rose petals were floating in the toilet bowl. I hated to ruin it, but I really had to pee. Also on the beds were nice, fluffy robes with the hotel logo and next to the beds were slippers.

Well, we put on our bathing suits, dawned the robes, slipped on the slippers, and headed down to the spa. As we entered the spa, vanities lined one side of the hallway, while rows upon rows of towels lined the other. There were several doors that led to our spa options. These included the dry sauna, the eucalyptus steam room, and the jacuzzi. I loved every minute of it!! I think I could get use to this lifestyle very easily. Here are just a few of the pictures we took while we were there. Enjoy - I know I sure did.

Me entering one of the bathrooms

To my surprise, I found rose petals in the toilet

Lesli and me outside The Penthouse, heading for the spa

Even if this isn't real, it's awesome

Even if this was done in PhotoShop, it looks awesome. I'll think twice about swimming in the ocean (or climbing up a ladder into a helicopter from the ocean).

Proud Member of the Colbert Nation

Election Afterthought

After the Democrats swept both houses of Congress, the federal government continued to change with the resignation of Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. In the spirit of the stupidest things politicians have said, and as a farewell to D-Rum, here are some of the stupidest things he's ever said:

"Needless to say, the President is correct. Whatever it was he said."

"Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want."

"First rule of politics: you can't win unless you're on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.""If you develop rules, never have more than ten."

"Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."

"Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often."

"We do know of certain knowledge that he (Osama Bin Laden) is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead."

SIDENOTE: I'd like to thank TJ for this post. He posted something similar on another blog. Thanks TJ. You are a blogger extraordinaire!!

A Little Late, But Still Adorable

I'm sure this will not come as a shock to most of you, but I LOVE to have my picture taken. I'll be the first to admit it - I'm very photogenic. I rarely take a poor picture. These two, however, are not that great. I'm blaming it on the lighting. Still, I thought I'd share them with you. They were taken at my ward's Halloween party - Hollywood Halloween. Everyone was suppose to come as an actual person from Hollywood or a movie character. As you can see, I came as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I bought the dress and helped my roommate, Lesli, adjust it into a jumper. I thought it turned out fabulous. Alina went as Punky Brewster - also a great costume. Enjoy!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

As I read the headlines this morning,
I was filled with both joy and heartache.

First to the joy:


Democrats Sweep Congress
Pelosi Says Democrats are Ready to Lead
Democratic Governors Claim Edge
Democrats Gain in State Legislatures

• It truly is the best of times.

Now to the heartache:

Divorce Underway for Britney and K-Fed

Yes, it is also the worst of times.

Election Series - Part IV

The following quotes are from Marion Barry (former mayor of Washington, D.C.)

"Outside the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."

"First, it was not a strip bar; it was an erotic club. And second, what can I say? I'm a night owl."

"I am a great mayor. I am an upstanding Christian man. I am an intelligent man. I am a deeply educated man. I am a humble man."

"What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?"

"The laws in this city are clearly racist. All laws are racist. The law of gravity is racist."

"I am clearly more popular than Reagan. I am in my third term. Where's Reagan? Gone after two! Defeated by George Bush and Michael Dukakis, no less."

"People have criticized me because my security detail is larger than the President's. But you must ask yourself: Are there more people who want to kill me than who want to kill the President? I can assure you there are."

Election Addendum

Election Series - Part III

To be fair I thought I'd better publish the best quotes from The Stupidest Things Democrats ever Said. As I was reading it, I realized that Marion Barry is the Democratic Party's Dan Quayle. Because of this, he will have his own post. Enjoy!!

"The first black president will be a politician who is black."
- Doug Wilder (Virginia governor, 1989-1993)

If I could be the condom queen and get every young person in the United States who is engaging in sex to use a condom, I would wear a crown on my head with a condom on it."
- Jocelyn Elders (surgeon general, 1993-1994)

"I am not indecisive. Am I indecisive?"
- Jim Scheibel (St. Paul mayor, 1990-1993)

"This is the worst disaster in California since I was elected."
- Pat Brown (California governor, 1959-1966)

"Old people have a duty to die and get out of the way."
- Richard Lamm (Colorado governor, 1975-1987)

"I say get 'em by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow."
- Mendel Rivers (South Carolina representative, 1941-1970), discussing how to win over foreign nations.

"There are no issues. My opponent has a job and I want it. That's what this election is about."
- William Bulow (South Dakota governor, 1927-1931)

"No sane person in the country likes the war in Vietnam, and neither does President Johnson."
- Hubert Humphrey (vice president, 1965-1969)

Election Series - Part II

The following are all quotes by Dan Quayle:

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and a child."

"We have been pushing the idea that George Bush is going to make things much, much worse."

When explaining the difference between the House and the Senate: "There are lots more people in the House [compared with the Senate]. I don't know exactly - I've never counted, but at least a couple of hundred."

"Hawaii is a unique state. It is a small state. It is a state that is by itself. It is a - it is different than other states. Well, all states are different, but it's got a particularly unique situation."

When remarking on the 1989 San Francisco earthquake: "The loss of life will be irreplaceable."

When discussing the possibility of living on Mars: "Mars is essentially in the same orbit. Mars is somewhat the same distance from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind - or not to have a mind. How true that is."

"I stand by all the misstatements."

"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

"One word sums up the responsibility of any vice president. And that word is 'to be prepared.'"

"Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists."

"My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will never, never surrender to what is right."

"I was a less-than-serious student in college. If I had it to do over again, I would be far more serious. I did play a lot of golf. But I don't think that's any reflection on my ability to lead this nation."

"I support efforts to limit the terms of members of Congress, expecially members of the House and members of the Senate."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy. But that could change."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

Republicans

In honor of the upcoming elections, I thought I would re-run a popular 4 part series that I originally posted on "Leonard's Lawn."

The following quotes are taken from one of my favorite books, The 267 Stupidest Things Republicans Ever Said. I have the Democrat counterpart, but to be honest, it's not as funny because Republicans are just plain stupider than Democrats. I've included one quote by Dan Quayle, but as I was going through my book, I realized he's going to need an entire post of his own. Enjoy!!

"Who will the Antichrist be? I don't know. Nobody else knows. Of course, he'll be Jewish."
- Jerry Falwell (president, Moral Majority, 1979-1990)

"I hope I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, anti-racism."
- George Bush

"Boy, they were big on crematoriums, weren't they?"
- George Bush, touring Auschwitz in 1987

This is a great day for France!"
- Richard Nixon, attending French president Charles de Gaulle's funeral

"We have every mixture you can have. I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews, and a cripple."
- James Watt (Sec. of the Interior, 1981-1983), describing an Interior Dept. advisory group

"We don't need some character in the Dept. of Education with sandals and beads telling us how to educate our children."
- Pat Buchanan (1996 Republican presidential candidate)

"The President ought to be allowed to hang two men every year without giving any reason or explanation."
- Herbert Hoover (president, 1929-1933)

"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles."
- Ronald Reagan

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
- Dan Quayle