The life of Zak

Sleepy Evelynn

2011-05-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

We went swimming with Evelynn yesterday and it pooped her out! She was so dang cute- waving to all of the people there, splashing her feet in the water. She was awesome. It does make it hard to feed her dinner afterwards though.

Bathtime

2011-03-11T23:07:00.001-08:00

Isn't she freaking adorable? I think so. Actually I think she looks a lot like Isabel in this picture- don't you think? Anyways, this is Evelynn after her bath. It brings me immense joy to make her hair super crazy. She really is such a fun little one. That's all.

Our Noodle

2011-02-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone. I actually have tried to post a couple of videos, but they never upload for some reason. So here are some cute photos of Evelynn that we had taken in a studio the other day. She is so dang cute! Oh, and she started to crawl a couple of weeks ago. We are so lucky to have such a good natured little one- I am nervous for our next child (no worries, we don't have any announcements to make) - he/she will probably bring balance to the force by being a hellion.

I didn't add most of the quickly photoshopped pictures that the studio does... because they are lame. And do you realize how manipulative the people are at photo studios? They try to make you feel like you are throwing away your offspring with every photo you don't want printed. Anyways, here is the little one:

New Background

2010-11-22T19:39:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.

I know, I know. I haven't posted for a while when I said I would... I guess I will make no more promises, but I will try. Anywho, I thought I would change my background from the prior. I intended having a big picture of myself in the background to be a joke, but it was really starting to annoy me seeing myself all large and grandiose. So here is a new one. enjoy.

I'm Back!

2010-09-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, everybody. We were out of town last weekend so I didn't blog... But I am now!

Tiff and I miss Utah so much... the weather is beautiful, people are around to help watch the kiddo, and a matinee doesn't cost $8.75. It's a good place.

Life is back to usual here in Vegas.. going to class, helping with the babe and watching 24 while Tiff feeds her. Everything is super!

Here are some pics from the vacation.

This is Twin Lakes up Big Cottonwood

Here is Silver Lake Noodle would not let me put sunglasses on her The Baby Bjorn is seriously awesome. If you have a baby you should get one. Evelynn has been noticing her feet a lot lately- its way cute how she is always holding them when she is on her back. She thinks it's way funny when I put them on her cheeks.

Week One

2010-08-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I am trying to blog every Sunday.

I started school again! I have found that I really like what I am doing. I really like what I am learning.... but for the love. Does anyone else have the hardest time sitting through lectures??? My mind is conscious for maybe a half hour... then oh man does it wander. My classes are between 3-4 hours for each lecture. So, hopefully I will remember how to stay in the game.

Here are some pictures of the lovely:

Vacation

2010-08-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Wow... we are bad at posting pictures of our little one. Sorry. We are going to try to blog at least every Sunday, so we'll see if that happens...

Here are some pictures of our little Noodle!

And a video...

2010-05-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

We captured just a hint of a smile at the start of this video. So cute! So far I have had one smile that was in response to me smiling at her. It was awesome. It's kind of sad how stuffy she sounds throughout the video.

At last, more pictures!

2010-05-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry that I have taken so long to blog again. I feel like whenever I get the motivation to blog I need to change a diaper or take a nap or something. I must do better. I so sorry. Our little munchkin is getting so big! She is past her birth weight as of like a week and a half ago, and her cheeks are starting to fill in. She makes SUPER cute faces after she eats or while she is waking up. I think that she has Tiffanie's sleeping genes. She is pretty hard to wake up when fully asleep. But in the process of waking up she stretches like crazy and makes a bunch of funny faces. SO CUTE. Anyways, here are some pics:

Mid-sneeze
In her swing
Doing the muscle pose
Sucking a bink that's half her size- oh! and her eyes are getting more and more blue. I think she has my eye color.
She isn't a huge fan of the big kitty. She lasts maybe 30 seconds.

Some Pictures!!!

2010-05-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to say much yet since I have a little time, but I am adding some choice pictures... Our cute little Evelynn!!

It's a Baby!!!!

2010-05-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

announcing our new baby girl Evelynn!!! She was born on May 7 at 6:37 a.m. She weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz., and she is 21 inches long!!! She's a big baby! She has a lot of light brown hair, my nose,and Tiff's face shape. This blog is not at all adequate since this hospital has no wireless internet and I'm doing this very awkwardly on the TV internet.

Pictures to follow!! She's beautiful!!

Almost Papi

2010-05-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

It's crazy to realize that in four days (perhaps sooner) I'm going to have a child. It still doesn't seem real, even when there are limbs flailing underneath Tiff's belly. I am so excited though! I can't wait to see what she looks like (I hope she's not weird looking) so that we can finally finalize her name... I don't think we are 100% sure on her name yet.. but it's close at least.

So I have all of my finals this week. I never knew that school could be so challenging- I always thought that BYU was difficult, but man! If I studied then like I have to now I could have had a 4.0 easy. It is scary that Tiff's due date is the same day as my last two finals. We are hoping that she will endure to the end... and if she does it will be perfect, really. We are scheduled to have Tiff induced immediately after my last final, then I have a week off of school! So hooray for being able to get to know my kid right off the bat! I think it will be perfect.

Well, that's all I have to say about that.

Hello All

2010-03-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Wow. I feel like I have been in some awful blogging slumber for a long, long while. I'm sorry for the long wait. I guess I'm kinda busy or something. Oh wait... I had a whole month off for Christmas since my last blog. Hehe... well then. Here are the updates. As I'm sure you are all aware of now, Tiffanie is with child and we are EVER so excited. It is a girl, and we are planning on calling her Evelynn Claire (Eva for short (Pronounced ay-vah or Ee-vah, whichever you prefer))(Oh, and not evie (Eh-vee), we don't like Evie. We don't want her to be called heavy Evie if she happens to be chubby.) I am reserving the fatherly right to call her my little E. Claire (I love those pastries, so naturally, I would like to call her that) ... (oh, and if she's fat lets not call her E. Claire... you know, being cream and all). We would also like to give due warning that this name may be changed if we so decide, so don't get too used to that name. Although that's probably the name.

In preparation for celebration of this little munchkin I have been making a quilt in her honor. I thought it would be cool to make it with a huge E on the front to revere her awesome name. I must say, I am pleased with my work thus far. I free-hand cut that E, and it took a long freaking time embroidering that letter onto the fabric. It is almost complete. I am excited for it.

In other news, I am obsessed with scrabble lately. If any of you want to play me over facebook, lets get it on (played to the Barry White music "Let's get it oooooon").... But I don't mean that in a sexual way... that invitation especially goes out to you, Mandoo. Words seem to be your thang, and I would like to destroy you. (At Scrabble).

School has been going well. I am no longer working with the cadavers, but am learning about drugs, the brain, orthopaedics, therapeutic exercise, and the likes. I'm really enjoying it. OH and it looks like I might be coming to Utah for ALL of my clinicals. (hopefully). So, that means that we will be there this summer for six weeks, and then moving back up there for good the summer of 2011. So that will be awesome! The only thing we will have to look at is if we want to stay in Utah to work... because physical therapists make didly squat in Utah.

Well, I just thought I would let you all know how we are doing. We are alive, and very happy. Loves to all!

Happy Birthday Tiff!!

2009-11-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that I am a week late, but I need to acknowledge Tiff's birthday. It was the best weekend ever!! It all starts a week ago Friday, when my parents called to let us know that they were coming down to St. George for a weekend of fun. They decided to come down to Vegas that afternoon so that they could take us out to dinner and celebrate Tiff's birthday. We ended up going to the Cheesecake Factory and it was AMAZING. I got some chinese dish that I can't remember the name of- it was like carmalized asian chicken or something... anyways it was the most delicious chinese food I have ever had. And that is saying something. I have been craving it like crazy ever since. I am disappointed that I didn't take any pictures of that night, but thanks so much mom and dad!

The awesomeness continued later that night when Tiff's whole family showed up at 12:30 a.m. to surprise Tiff! It was my surprise Saturday to her- the fact that I kept it a secret. It was quite funny actually, because I knew that if Tiff were to know that her whole family was going to be staying with us she would freakishly clean the house and make it perfect. So, I thought "If I were Tiff, how well would I clean and prepare the house?" and I became that person. I should have cleaned a bit better, but I was at least able to get new shower curtains for the extra bathroom and totally clean up our extra bedroom and put new lamps in there. Tiff just thought I was being extra nice making the house look great... but it was for her family's comfort. Plus I'm nice. Tiff was so surprised and excited that she started crying when they came in- it was awesome.

After they arrived we stayed up a bit chatting, then went to bed. During the day Saturday we went shopping, watched the BYU game, and then went out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. It was some goooood stuff. They were able to stay and come to church with us, then we had dinner at Tiff's aunts house Sunday afternoon. It was AWESOME!! I am so glad that they were able to come stay with us. I was also VERY impressed that our apartment is able to accommodate 4 extra people very comfortably (if you don't mind sleeping on an air mattress on the floor) - so if you are in the area feel free to stay over!

On Tiff's actual birthday (Monday) we were able to celebrate on our own. We had presents and instead of cake we had cinnamon rolls (Mmmmmmmmmm).

Tiff wanted some Harry Potter movies

She mainly wanted a Brita filter since the water in Vegas tastes like sewage

I don't think either of us needed this gift in the house... but I couldn't resist it at Costco for her

Tiff asked for sheets. Sheets? That's a boring birthday present. But, to her defense, the white sheets that we have been using recently turned pink in the wash... so maybe its time.

Here is Tiff's cinnamon roll cake. it was gooooooood!

For Tiff's Birthday dinner we went out to a place called Sammy's woodfire pizza. It was SO GOOD. Seriously. I got a Thai chicken salad that was off the hizzy. Tiff got a hawaiian pizza that was also no longer on the hizzy. It was so good. the pineapples on it were pre-barbequed even. Oh man. THEN they brought out a birthday dessert that was one of my favorite things ever. It wasn't necessarily something different than others in ingredients, but just presentation. This next picture does it no justice since it was taken with my phone. It was ice cream with tons of chocolate sauce and caramel, a huge thing of whipped cream on top, and walnuts all over. The sauces were running down the sides of the cup onto the plate. Delicious.

This next section is dedicated to our Surprise Saturday yesterday. We went to the airshow!! It was awesome. There's nothing like getting a few tax dollars back with a free show after they spend billions on war planes.

Here are a few videos for your enjoyment

Happy 1st of November!

2009-11-01T15:37:00.001-08:00

I am awful. I really am. Two months without posting. I am ashamed. Anyways, I guess I will put a few pictures in from various Surprise Saturdays and such. This first one was finger painting saturday- we went to 7-11 to get some slurpees and we finger painted while watching movies. It was awesome.

We had stove smores on this one. Did you know that your stove works great to create a perfectly golden brown toasted marshmallow? I did. I'm surprised you didn't know that.

Tiff decided to give me a pedicure this day. It was actually very nice. I see why women spend so much for such a luxury.

This is the party we had at Tiff's parents house for she and her dad's birthday. It was pretty rockin. Tiff's uncle gave her a see's candy cigar.... so no, she doesn't smoke. She just eats chocolate.

Here are our pumpkins that we carved for Halloween. We had ONE trick or treater. He was probably 6 years old, and he came to our door alone at 9:45. ??. I was a little weirded out.

I will try to be better at posting. Everything in school is going really well- things are really busy for both Tiff and I. She is working full time AND substitute teaching, so we are both working all day long. Needless to say we are REALLY excited for Christmas break!!

Events of notable nature

2009-09-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

So a couple weeks ago Tiff and I made our way up to Utah. It was great! We had to take advantage of the time we had, so we started our fun by going on a little hike at Pepperwood falls. It is a super short hike, but so beautiful! I really miss living so close to such awesome things.

Later we went to Bear Lake where we had a lot of fun. This picture includes Tiff's brother Mason, who played me in Jenga- we did amazing- we got up to 36 levels high! We looked it up and the highest recorded jenga game got to 40 levels, so we were pretty proud.
We were also able to go sailing on Tiff's family's sail boat. It was AWESOME. It was a really windy day, so the boat was tilting way over to one side. Tiff was freaking out, but it was very cool.

We were also able to go wake boarding and tubing, which is always the highlight for me
When we got back home we were able to have another Surprise Saturday- I surprised Tiff with a Movie hut where we watched a rented movie and had popcorn- it was quite fun.

Surprise Saturday!

2009-08-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I owe you all an apology. I have not blogged for some time, and I realize that my life is not very available to you by any other means. I am going to try to be better. This post is dedicated to a new activity that Tiff and I partake of every week- Its called Surprise Saturday!! And it deserves capitalizations and exclamation points. Because I like it a lot.

During the first month here in Vegas Tiff and I began to feel a bit sad. I think we felt sorry for ourselves since we had to leave so many awesome friends in Provo. Plus it was so easy to hang out since they all lived like 3 doors down from us. Needless to say it is a bit different here- and don't get me started on the hellish heat. To get us out of our boredom funk Tiff came up with Surprise Saturday- its become a beloved tradition.

The rules are thus: Each Saturday one of us is in charge of planning something that is a surprise for the other. It can be anything- some sort of outing like a date, or just doing something different. It can really be anything. It could be watching a movie with popcorn at home, but the whole fun of it is either planning something for the other person or wondering what the surprise is going to be that week. We set a money limit at $5, so it requires that the one planning needs to be at least somewhat creative.

Our first Surprise Saturday was up to me. I found a web site with a bunch of free stuff to do in Vegas and I found that there is some gigantic aquarium in the Silverton that anyone can go to. It was really quite awesome. They have all kinds of tropical fish- sharks, sting rays, dori and nemo fish, AND they do a mermaid show every hour- real people dressed like mermaids get into this aquarium and swim around with the fish. So it was pretty cool.

None of the pictures came out all that awesome, but here is a sting ray

These pictures don't do it justice. I swear its a big aquarium.

After that we checked out the GIGANTIC sports store. It's like Cabellas only way bigger.

The next Surprise Saturday Tiff took me to the MGM grand Hotel, where were participated in Sitcom testing. Basically you watch a new sitcom that they are working on and you critique it. Then they give you coupons for stuff. It was actually really fun. The sitcom was absolute garbage, but it was fun.

This snake almost devoured Tiffanie.

There will be more to come.

Real or Joke?

2009-06-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure. Is this video real, or is it some joke? Either way, the oversmiley kid in the blue shirt deserves a sledge hammer to the chest. There is no way around it. If there has ever been a video in serious need of a recreation, this is it. I am at your disposal when I come to Utah, Paul.

YouTube - The Lawrence Welk Show: Chicken Dance

Enjoy.

2009-06-24T23:01:00.001-07:00

Tiff and I are obsessed with these skits now. They are too funny.

New things

2009-06-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try REALLY hard to blog at least once a week. For some reason I always have a hard time thinking of something exciting or different- but we did get new callings today! I was almost certain that we were going to be called to the nursery (since there are three in our ward) (and our sacrament meeting sounds like a cd track of jungle noises performed by small children) but we were called to the next closest thing: primary! I am actually pretty excited. We are teaching the CTR 5B class, so we have 4 girls and 4 boys that are 5 years old. I think that we will have a fun time.

In other news, school is still going well. For those of you that are interested in the happenings of our cadaver, we have opened him from the lower abdomen to the chin. We are looking at all of the neck muscles and the thyroid area right now. OH, and it was so cool! He has a pacemaker, so while I was cutting the skin off I suddenly hit metal- at first it looked like a large vein, but I had just hit the rounded edge. It's crazy what kind of things we have to keep ourselves alive. Very cool!

Vegas has treated us well so far. The weather has been PERFECT. It has been a steady 88 degrees with a slight breeze for the past couple of weeks, so we are still dreading the REAL Vegas summer.

The First Week

2009-06-07T12:45:00.000-07:00

After overlooking my last blog post I've decided that it seems a bit whiney. I apologize. It really isn't a super strict hand slapping place to be, it is actually quite pleasant. I really like all of my teachers so far- they are very personable, very friendly, and very helpful. The summer semester is supposedly very mellow compared to the fall and spring semesters, so I am happy to be eased into the program. Right now I am enrolled in anatomy, medical terminology, and selected topics of physical therapy. Selected topics is going to be a breeze, and medical terminology shouldn't be too bad. Just memorization. Anatomy will be the hard one. I don't think it will be that bad really- I really enjoy learning the anatomy, and we are dissecting a cadaver right now. There are 6 cadavers for the class to dissect, so I am working in a group of 3 to dissect half of one person. Our guy is a very large man who had diabetis- he has a bunch of foot and leg ulcers. So far we have taken off all of the skin from his head to his butt on his back side, so we can see all of his back muscles. It took a lot of elbow grease to cut out all of the fat to get to the muscles. Its different to say the least to stab a real person with a scalpal.

In other news we have finally organized our apartment except for the extra room- so it looks very nice! Here are some pictures:

Intense Schooling

2009-05-31T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are all DYING to hear how my orientation day went. It was good. We went over all of the policies and procedures... blah blah... don't sexually harass each other..... blah... you can have relations with your schoolmates but not your teachers... (odd discussion- I realized I was not at BYU anymore)... and all that jazz. The professors are AWESOME and my classmates are great- there is one girl that I was really good friends with in high school that is one of my classmates- so that was cool! I haven't seen her in like 8 years, so that was weird. Anywho, after we did all of the boring stuff one of the professors came to scare us like crazy so that we are hard workers. Apparently Physical Therapy school is VERY strict. As it should be, I imagine. He told us all of the ways that will get us kicked out of school. It really isn't that hard. For example, if we get lower than a B- in any class we are put on probation. While on probation if we get lower than a B- AGAIN then we get kicked out of school. No joke. They have done it in the past. Also, if we are to get lower than a 3.0 (B average) in one semester then we are put on probation, and again if it happens again we will be kicked out. Also, cell phone use and tardiness can get you put on probation and kicked out. MAN! It reminds me of all of those times in middle school and high school when they would give you all of these rules and tell you that it will be EVEN MORE strict when you are in college. I never found that to be true at BYU, in fact I mocked all of those warning teachers from the past. But now, I feel that those words have come true. I'm really not all that worried, since I know that they will work with you if you are ever struggling to understand the material- I mean they WANT you to graduate from their program. Plus, these are things that I am interested in and I am working on making this a life-long career. This isn't retarded inorganic chemistry. Shudder. I did not enjoy that class. I would have been kicked out of school if I couldn't get lower than a B- in chemistry... because I did. he he. Well, that is all for now. I bid you farewell for the next 3 years, for I will be engulfed in study. I will try to do my best to blog my life stories and experiences. Love you all!

Ohhhhh Vegas.

2009-05-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

During our fun day today with failing eye tests and written tests and being in the wonderful Las Vegas traffic and all... we saw this.
Yeah, thats a full-on burning car. It looked like a Pontiac firebird from the 80's... I have no idea what caused it, but I was able to take a photo of it while driving... maybe there is good reason I wasn't able to get a drivers license today.. Vegas has been really good so far- I will post more very soon about school. Love you all!

Vegas here we come!!

2009-05-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being so lazy at blogging!!! Most of you probably know by now, but I was accepted into physical therapy school!! Hooray! I'm so glad that I will not be waiting an extra year to re-apply. SO glad. I was taking a nap when they called me to let me know the good news... so they might be worried considering how disoriented I was when I answered the phone... maybe it was a dream? Anywho, we will be moving TOMORROW. Isn't that NUTS? We had two weeks notice to be in Vegas ready for classes. They start on the 28th! So we have been scrambling for the past little bit trying to get all the loose ends tied off before leaving. We are in pretty good shape, but it's really hard to leave all of our friends and family. Hopefully we will be able to visit often! I mean it's only 7 hours away. That's not too bad.

The Eagles

2009-05-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

For Tiffanie's sister's birthday we went to the Eagles concert at Rio Tinto Stadium. It was special, to say the least. When we got there I was surprised to see so many cups of beer. Practically every person was holding one or two cups. It was nuts. It smelled like I was in Mexico again. We found our seats, sat down, and waited in excited anticipation. After waiting for a bit the lights went out and the crowd began to cheer. The stringy haired drunk woman in front of us was especially excited. She immediatly stood up and got her lighter out to cheer her favorite classic band. You could tell she felt like a teenager again. As they started the music she danced. And danced. The entire show. She and her friend were the only ones in the stadium standing up and they were directly in our view of the stage. Thanks, girls. Here is a very poor quality video of her dancing for your viewing pleasure:

And here is a simple photo of the lovely lady:
So all in all it was a great night. I had lots of fun.

God wants me to keep my job

2009-04-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I woke up late. Very late. This is unusual for me. For Tiffanie its like breathing air, but for me it rarely occurs. I woke to the sound of my phone ringing- the caller was my co-worker wondering where the crap I was. I looked at the clock and my shift had already started a half hour before. I rushed to get ready and was to work about an hour late. (You need to realize that this has NEVER happened in the 3 and a half years that I have worked here- I usually have a very punctual internal clock). I arrived to work and everything was fine. No big deal being late. My co-worker, however, had a fun little tidbit to tell me. Apparently the one person on earth that I have an eternal vendetta against called. This man is deplorable. If I were in a room with him, a baseball bat, and EFY music, he would have the same fate of the pedophile. There is a long story behind him, but I will put it shortly: he was very, very rude to my wife and she wouldn't let me do anything about it. I still want to kick his trash, but we have tried to just forget he exists. Anywho, he called in at about 7:30 a.m., when I would have been there if I had not been late, to discuss some security issues that he was having. I would have been the recipient of that call. It really makes me wonder what would have happened. Would I have chewed him out? Been rude to him? I don't know. Truthfully I doubt that I would have been straight out rude to him... I probably would have put him on hold for an hour or so while I blogged and then said "oh, sorry, its really busy, continue holding". I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that God cares about me having a job. I think that he made me sleep in as to not be recorded being rude to that man. I am thankful for that. Although it would have been sweet to stick it to that fart face.

EFY music

2009-03-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

You may not want to read this if you are in love with EFY music.

Okay. So this blog may get me into trouble. Just bear in mind that this is simply my own opinion, and if you are one that likes to listen to EFY music I do not think less of you. It has great messages and such.... but it just bugs me. You may say "Well YOU like video game music"... and I say "Well played, well played"... Anyways, this past Sunday it hit me just how much I despise EFY music. It makes me feel a little icky inside for some reason. And it fills my insides with violence. If you were to put me in a room with a pedophile, a baseball bat, and then play EFY music in the background, there just might not be anything left of said pedophile after 15 minutes. I don't quite know what it is, but I will explore some reasons now.

One thing that I have noticed about most EFY songs is they just say "Spiritual words" in no context at all. There was one playing that simply said "A little more faith, a little more strength, a little more love, a little more hope...." and on and on. It never said WHY there was more love or hope or strength... it just said words that are supposed to inspire you with those things since they said them to music. Arrrrrrrgll.

The next song that came on after that was 'God likes broken things'. All I can think about during this song is "I doubt that God LOVES broken things". He probably preferes things that don't have to break in the first place. It also makes me picture God purposely breaking things and making problems for everybody just for fun. Like a boy with a magnifine glass burning ants or something. Thats why I don't like that song. It puts apostasy into my mind.

I hope that these reasons give you a little insight to my dislike. Please let me know what you think of this.

Urine Update

2009-03-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are all DYING to hear the update on the urine incident, so here we go. I called the General Manager of the hotel and explained the situation, and she said that she would check with the cleaning ladies and the other manager that was the actual creditcardchargeridiot and then she would get back to me. After much waiting, I spoke to her again. She said that both accounts from the cleaner and the moron contained strong confidence that it was, in fact, that particular Saturday morning after I left that they checked the room and it was covered in urine. She embellished a bit saying that it was all over the mattress and the floor which made it necessary to replace the matress and clean the area. I told her once again that um... I DID NOT urinate in that room. She asked if I had pets, I said no. She asked what I was doing in Washington, and I told her I was interviewing for physical therapy school. After talking for a bit she realized that no, I am not a person that would have peed all over a hotel room. She said she would take the charge off and all is well. Then she started to make small talk to me about how they have had bad luck with that room recently. "Yeah, about a week after you were here we had an older woman that was sick and she left the room VERY messy- we have had some bad luck in that room." .... Oh. Well that makes me want to stay in your hotel again. Anywho, all should be okay now. I am going to try my darndest from now on to not stay in hotels. Vile, retched hotels.

SERIOUSLY?

2009-03-11T06:39:00.001-07:00

So this morning at work I thought I would go through my bank accounts to check all the charges to my cards.... I was stunned to see that my credit card had a $100 charge that I didn't know about. Turns out that the Travelodge in Spokane, WA charged my card for some reason. I checked and found that they had already charged me for the room that I stayed in a few weeks ago for my physical therapy interview, so what is this?? I called the hotel and asked "what the crapizzle?" and they told me that I had been charged for damages to the room. Ummm.... okay.... all I did was sleep and leave, so I don't see what kind of damages I could have done- what were the damages?? Urine. Yes, they are charging me for "urinating on the carpet". Really? I don't remember thinking the floor was a urinal. But the thought that there may have been a large urine stain somewhere on the floor is pretty comforting to me right now. The person that I talked to could not do anything about it, so I have to wait until 10a.m. to talk to their manager. I am so annoyed. My confidence in hotels was shakey before, but now I have none. Hotels disgust me. You have no idea what people have done in them (and you have a pretty good idea, too, which is also not comforting). I have a horrid story that I could tell concerning the amenity inn here in Provo that was related to me from a police officer here at work. If enough of you request this vile story, I will tell it. Otherwise, I will keep it in that back room in my mind that stores disgusting things that you would like to forget. I give you a money back guarantee that it will make you think twice about staying in a hotel, ESPECIALLY a low-priced one.

Snowshoeing

2009-02-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

So... this post was supposed to be put up about a month or so ago. I just haven't come around to doing it. It is dedicated to the joys of snowshoeing- snowshoeing is tiring, but good golly it is so dang fun. We went up near Brighton (Guardsman's pass) and stayed at a friends cabin. It was lovely. Sledding off of the roof was definitely the highlight.

Interview Updates

2009-02-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

So I am sure that you all are just DYING to know how my interviews went. I will start from the beginning of my journey.

It all started Friday morning. I woke up at 5 a.m. to leave by 5:30 and make it to the airport by 6:30.... I thought that you needed about 2 hours to check in and go through security- but apparently that early in the morning it only takes about 7 minutes. So... I sat by the terminal for a couple of hours. In my suit. Playing with my iPod and mentally preparing for questions regarding my future. The flight went well and I was picked up by my Aunt Anne (Tiff's Aunt) in Vegas and I went to their house and watched 70's game shows for a bit. We then went our way towards UNLV campus to find the Bigelow Health science building. As we were stopped in the left turn lane right outside campus on Tropicana Ave, a very bad car crash occured. On the street running perpendicular to ours there was a very nice, very new Mercedes turning left onto the road we were on. The driver gunned it hard and plowed this old blue cavalere that was trying to turn right onto the same road. The cars then both ran into the car that I was in, and luckily it didn't do very much damage to our car. Here is a diagram if you are confused:When everything settled the old blue car was turned 180 degrees and up against the front of our car. Their airbags had deployed and there was a lot of smoke coming out from under the mangled hood. The woman in the drivers seat started yelling for someone to help her out and the man in the passenger seat started making scared yelling noises. As I got out of the car to help them, the male passenger got out and yelled "What the **** were you thinking????" to the Mercedes driver, and then clutched his chest. He staggered to the curb still clutching his chest and was obviously not okay. His screams were a bit too dramatic even if he was actually dying, so that's why he is labeled 'Drama King' on the diagram. I went to him to help him to the ground and to calm him down. I called the police and told them to get police and an ambulance there immediately, and then waited. We had the guy lay on the ground and relax until people got there. When paramedics arrived, I told Anne that I was sorry but I had to go to my interview that started in 30 minutes, since I had to walk there now and I didn't know where the building was. She was fine with that, and I asked a woman at the scene if she knew where the building was. She happened to be the Manager of the Graduate and Professional Student Association, so she directed me and gave me her card. An officer on scene told me I needed to stay for the report, but I left my name and number and sneaked away...

I arrived to the interview on time, and all was well. They gave us name tags and put us in a large room with all of the other interviewees so that we could socialize and get to know each other- I think it is really so that they can see if you are able to make conversation with people that you have never met before, so I turned on the social butterfly Zak and met a bunch of people. They then took us on a tour of campus, which is nice- the scenery isn't very impressive, but some of their buildings are great. They just built a new work out facility that is awesome. SO NICE. It looks like a brand new Golds gym or something like that... anywho, after that we had individual interviews. I was interviewed by one faculty member and a local physical therapist. I felt it went well- it was only about 20 minutes- and then they sent us back to the room with all the people. Seriously way too much time meeting people. The whole thing was 5 hours long and maybe an hour and a half of that was made up of tours and interview. The rest was talking to strangers. Ugg. Needless to say afterwards I was exhausted, and I had to make it to the airport to catch my next flight. My cousin Ambree got out of class at UNLV at the same time I got out of the interview, so she gave me a ride. A few hours later I was in Spokane, Washington getting a rental car to drive to my hotel. It was about 10:30 p.m. and the city was covered in very thick fog. Finding my way from the airport to the city was SCARY. I could not see any signs until I was about 10 feet away from them, and it was hard to see the highway itself. It wasn't too far away though, so I made it just fine. When I arrived at the Travelodge they had no parking and I had to find a spot next door at a car repair place- then I found that they had no record of my reservation. SWEET. They did have an available room, so no prob there. I slept well in the stinky room, and I went to the next interview at Eastern Washington.

I really like the facilities in Washington. They are NICE. They have a brand new building and everything is state of the art- the only problem is that they interviewed 180 people! How many do they take? Right. 38. So That means that they had about 480 applicants, cut 300, and had 180 people fly to their school to have an interview. Doesn't that seem a bit overkill?? That is a lot of people that have pay to travel to your school without getting accepted. Lame. Anyways, the interviews here consisted of one faculty member and two students interviewing a group of 6 applicants. So they would ask a question and have each person answer the question. It lasted about 40 minutes, and then I was out of there. The interview ended at 12:20 and I had my flight leaving at 1:14. It was stressful!! I ran to my rental car and sped to the airport, not filling the car back up with gas for fear of missing my flight. I had only driven about 15 miles all together, so I figured they probably wouldn't even notice any gas being gone. I made it to the airport in time, got through security, and I still had about 30 minutes to spare. I think they have really made the airport a faster place to get through.

For now, I have heard back from UNLV. The verdict: I am on their alternate list. BLAST! Hopefully people choose other schools!!! I haven't heard from Washington yet, so we will see! Both schools received about 480 applications this year, so I think it is still pretty good to get on the alternate list... I just hope this fiasco wasn't all for naught.

An Ode to Aaron

2009-02-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

So as of late I have been on an Aaron Neville kick. I have to admit, I kind of like some of his songs, but what I like EVEN MORE is to make fun of his voice. It is just so unique and odd. If you have never tried to imitate his voice I suggest you try right now. You will love it. A couple of guys in the ward and I have grown closer because of our love of trying to sing like Aaron Neville. One of them sent me this link today and it made me laugh quite a bit.

When he goes off on his trademark "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh ah ahhhh ah ah ah aha - ah - ah - ah - ah - ah - ah" it reminds me of Michael Jackson grabbing his region or Jack Black adding in some sort of "fligga-gigga" in his songs. Just a little dash of spice extra that makes you feel good about your own personal uniqueness.

The following is a very funny video from Family Guy which makes reference to Aaron Neville. And while we are on the topic, I would just like to say that I do not endorse Family Guy. I admit that some of the scenes in this cartoon are some of the funniest I have ever seen, but at the same time the most crass, vile, and blasphemous things also come from this show. So it's a toss up. Enjoy!

Graduate School Updates...

2009-01-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody. I am so very sorry for being such a non-blogger. I don't know why, but every time I think to blog I feel really lazy and I don't feel like blogging. I think if I get into the habit I will enjoy it a bit more... especially since I am out of school now. I have oodles of time here at work to blog but I never take advantage of it. Perhaps I will try to do better.
So here is the low down. The other day I received a letter from the University of Utah. It was in the negative. poop. Them dang indians don't know what their missin! It was a little funny when I opened it, since we were with some friends- They were very scared and uncomfortable, thinking that I was going to break down and start crying on the spot, but alas, I am a strong lad. Perhaps staying here in Utah was not meant to be. It makes me ponder on a wise saying that Homer Simpson once said: "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try." As much as I would like to take that advice, I have not given up. I have, in fact, recieved two invitations from other schools to have an interview!! (applause, cheers, and cat calls) First I received a letter from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas inviting me to attend an interview on the 20th of February from 12:30p.m. to 5:00p.m. I eagerly accepted their invitation, and planned to drive down with Tiff to tour campus and such. I then recieved another interview from Eastern Washinton University... there was a slight kick to the knickers when I read what time they wanted me to be there... I am supposed to arrive on the 21st of February at 10:00 a.m. for my interview. When I first read that my head almost exploded. Since I was planning on driving to my Vegas interview there would obviously be a problem getting to Washington only 17 hours later... expecially since the drive from Vegas to Spokane is 16 hours. So, I searched and poked around the internet until I finally found a flight through Southwest that Leaves Vegas at 8:30pm and gets to Spokane at 10:40. So, that weekend is going to be nuts. I will fly to Vegas Friday morning, go to the interview, leave to the airport, fly to Spokane, find a hotel, sleep, go to my next interview, then fly home right after that. Boo. I'm really sad that Tiff isn't going to be able to accompany me, but I guess it will be kind of nice getting them out of the way together. I just hope that I will be able to get accepted to at least one of them! And if both, then which one? I think that we should go over some crucial influences on my decision: the mascots. So far in my educational career I have been an Eagle, a Warrior, a Hawk, a Ute, A Cougar, and now what?? With these two schools I can be either a Rebel or an Eagle. Yes, again an Eagle. Let us observe:

First off: Is this really the image that comes to your mind when you think of a Rebel? Is it really rebellious to have tassels on your outfit? It might be unusual or tacky, but rebellious? The stash: impressive, but again, not so rebellious. I guess it would be considered rebellious compared to BYU standards, since the stash passes the corners of his mouth. That crazy rebel. One thing that strikes me as considerably rebellious are those tights that he has on. He is rebelling against crotchal comfort. You go man. I think if they are going for a rebel they should have their mascot be a pregnant teenage girl. Now THAT is a rebel.
I like the eagle mascot. Its tough, fast, and cool. I don't know about their motto, though. Start something BIG. Really? Is that all you could come up with? Hmm.. It was probably competing with "BIG is where we aim" or "Do BIG things" or "Be smart and do cool things so that you can be successful and do things that you like and those things will make you feel accomplished" Those would be good mottos.

Feel free to offer insights.

I am totally done at BYU!!

2008-12-19T09:48:00.001-08:00

Is that not so exciting? I finished my very last final at BYU yesterday!! Granted, the test held me by the shoulders and kicked me between the legs very hard, but what can you do. I will now be working as a dispatcher for a few months full time until I find out if I get accepted into physical therapy school... pray that I get in!!! I have applied to five different schools: the UofU, UNLV, and then three others in Washington. Tiff and I are hoping and praying to get into the U- that would be by far the best.

My creations!!

2008-11-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody. I'm sure you have all been wetting yourselves with excitement and anticipation to see my creations. They are both stuffed animals, and our firstborn is named Ralph. Isn't he just the cutest lil' elephant that you've ever seen?

This guy took me about 2 days to finish... It reminds me of when I was a teenager playing video games... I can't seem to stop working on it until I complete it.This guys name is Coco. I think he took me about 3 days to make... I think that I need to stop now and give myself a breath before I start anything else... its just too much fun to make this stuff.

Events that need posting!!

2008-11-08T07:52:00.001-08:00

I have not blogged for a long while now, and I believe that it is about time. Halloween, our 18 month anniversary, and Tiff's birthday are just a few things that I have neglected to post. I am so sorry. First off, Halloween was a party and a half. For some reason in my mind I had this gigantic party planned and tons of people were coming... then on Halloween day I remembered that I had yet to invite anyone over... so only four of our favorite friends came, but alas, it was still awesome. Another thing we forgot were costumes... so we quickly came up with some very lame costumes. The nerd and the shower girl? Yes. Brilliant.

Our smoking cauldron of root beer...

Are these not awesome cupcakes? Tiff's idea.The next event that needed to be posted was our 18 month anniversary. These flowers are for our anniversary/ Tiff's birthday. Two birds with one stone... nice.This is the Birthday extravaganza at on-Sunday. That cake was amazing, mom. So good.This I am proud of. I purchased a box of Dunford doughnuts and made them into Tiff's birthday cake!! It made it really hard to blow all of the candles out in one shot. I am a professional of good ideas.You can see why the doughnut cake was a necessity... hot cake and frosting are bad together.
Oh, fun fact. This was a surprise party. We had a bunch of people over with party hats and all. I don't think that Tiff was surprised at all, though. When she started to unlock the door she saw the lights inside turn off. kind of gave it away.I am labeling this picture "Most awkward photo 2008". These two are not a couple, I just caught Curtis passing by Megan and it looks like he's making a move.Thank you Megan and Bobby!! -From Tiffanie.Tiff's new temple workin' shoes.
Tiff's new sewing machine!! (I will have to post some of my own creations that I have made on this machine already.)

The Rasmussen Influence

2008-10-02T11:44:00.001-07:00

The other day we had a birthday bash with the Payne Family (well, actually Klemm family, but whatevs)... and they had never played the flour game! I thought this was an opportunity that could not be passed. So we enjoyed. Enjoy the pictures of those who were unfortunate.

Poor little Ryan.

Suzie looks like some flour-breathing mythical creature

MMMMMMMMMMMMM flour

This one was a bit amusing... Trevor wanted to get the coin even though he didn't lose the game... little did he know that when you breath with a mouth full of flour your lungs don't feel too hot. He almost perished.

Mt. Timpanogos... yet again

2008-09-01T06:52:00.001-07:00

The other day Jamie and I hiked Mount Timpanogos- it was great! We met up at 7a.m. at the bottom of Provo canyon... so it was nice and cool. Seriously, the weather was absolutely perfect for the hike. It was fun Jamie!

This next view is from a toilet at the top of the mountain... It is rad. It is a pit toilet with two walls: one to your left and one behind you. There is nothing blocking your veiw, though!

Conquering the beast

2008-08-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

A friend introduced me to a new trail in the Provo canyon area... and it's awesome. It's above Vivian park past South fork Park and above some other park that I don't know the name of... it is very nice, and I don't think many people know that it's there. Beautiful scenery is all over this place like Oprah on a baked ham. The other day I went up the trail alone on my bike and I have to say that it is one of my new favorites. The only problem was when I got far up the trail the flowers and plants were so overgrown that I couldn't ride my bike anymore. So, I threw the bike to the side of the trail and hiked the rest of the way. I saw zero people the entire time I was on the trail. It was way nice. Here is a lovely photo of the mountain feeling defeat under my magnificent bicycle offering.

Good job Heidi

2008-07-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

So I was looking through my photos and came across these. Did Heidi do a great job at making children or what? Too cute.

Mount Timpanogos!!

2008-07-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

It finally happened! I had never hiked Timp until last week. Why? I don't know. It is one of the best hikes I have every done. Trent and I went there since I had the day off and it was so fun! There are waterfalls everywhere, The scenery is beautiful, and at the top there were a herd of mountain goats!! It was so cool- they were up in the cliffs way above us jumping around- it was crazy.

first cool waterfall:

second awesome waterfall: (We went right under this one and the mist was so nice)

One thing that is not missing in this picture: homosexual standing.

This is the EMS shack up at the glacier. It's been there since the 50's.

This is in the middle of the little lake at the glacier. There were tons of flowers.

Look at this herd of mountain goats! It was scary- the group of them were blocking the trail on the way down, so Trent and I decided to just walk through with rocks in hand, just in case.

This goat stiffened up and stared at us the whole time we walked past them. It was scary. He was huge!

My shoes after the hike were wasted. Ain't no sissy hikin goin on with us.

Hey look!! Tiff got a new bike!

2008-06-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't this exciting??? Tiff and I can finally go on bike rides together!! Every day I am excited to go on another ride just to see her riding it... it's almost ridiculous. A part of me wants to take it for a spin myself, but its a bit too girly. I think I am enjoying it more than Tiffanie... plus it saves on gas to get to school! Win win win.

Guitar Hero

2008-05-29T11:19:00.001-07:00

So a little while ago we purchased Guitar hero... it has been quite fun. This is Bobby and Megan melting our faces off. I have been contemplating buying this since January... I had enough birthday money to get it, and there was nothing else that I really needed or wanted. So, I'm happy with my hard rockin fun. That is all.

Wannabe Chef

2008-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for ages. If there are any of you out there that actually like reading my posts, I apologize. I have been especially busy lately since spring semester started and I decided to take full time classes while working 40 hours a week. Don't worry, it sounds a lot worse than it actually is. I don't feel all that stressed out or anything, I just don't have much free time. When I do have free time lately, however, I have enjoyed perfecting recipies of my favorite foods.

Remember that Pizza post that I did a while ago? That pizza was childs play. I have perfected the stuffed crust pepperoni-olive-jalapeno pizza. MMMMMMMMMMboy. I will post the recipe when I remember to bring it.
Another thing that isn't hard at all and I haven't perfected by any means is the homemade rootbeer. It's more fun making it than it is satisfying to drink. It's good, but after a glass the amount of sugar gives me a retched stomach ache. I think we need to buy some popsicle molds for the leftovers.

Homemade rootbeer makes me so excited!!

This last dish that I have been trying to perfect for the past week is orange chicken. The first time I tried it was a disaster. the coating on the chicken DID NOT stick and it was chicken with chunks of fried cornstarch with vegetibles. Not great. I then learned how to get the chicken fried perfect (after smoking our apartment out) and yesterday I made orange chicken from scratch. Do you have any idea how long it takes to make??? My stars. Too long. I seriously spent about and hour and a half of actual chopping and measuring and stir-frying and all that jazz... and it came out only okay. Not anything that impressive. I kind of want to try it again, but it is just a bit too involved. Maybe if I have two hours open and I'm bored. If any of you have a killer orange chicken recipe I would like to try it!This poor-quality photo makes this chicken look MM-MM GOOD!

Belated Easter blog

2008-04-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Ahh Easter. From your hard boiled eggs to your creamy chocolates, I love thee. Your wintery-spring weather. Your colorful grocery store aisles. Ahh Easter.

I had a great Easter. It was the first for Tiff and I, and there was a lot of pressure on me since this is her favorite holiday- I had to make it off the fa-sheezy. I came through, however, so you can all take a breath of relief. If you were to merely judge the Easter that I provided for Tiffanie by my gift, you would probably think that I was a failure. I got her some awesome wire cutters. Yes, wire cutters. It is a man-present akin to a drill or a bowling ball, but in this case it is exactly what she wanted, so I scored. Good job self.

Here is a lovely colored egg that we hid for our co-couple easter egg hunt.

These are all finished products. Aren't they great?Tiffanie's poker face in the park:

This is Megan thinking: "I really wish I knew how to hold cards properly"Mr. Ace himself. Watch out.
So there you have it. An Easter miracle! Well, maybe not a miracle. We played scum.

Long Overdue...

2008-03-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

When Tiff and I received our wedding photos we were excited. It took the shop about seven years to get them to us, and now that I think about it, they still haven't sent us a bunch of stuff that we paid for. Louses. Anyways, when we got our pictures we had to do a long, detailed look through. Oh, it is important that you know we got them on a CD for understandation of this blog. We were looking at them on the windows picture viewer, clicking the next button for each, and these are some examples:

This is Tiff's personal favorite
I like her smile in this one. That's hot.
Awwwwwwwww. Flowers and Tiff.

Bah! Wha?? Who is this?
I don't remember Tiffanie doing this pose....
Please to look at my ring.Uh oh!! No more next button! Clothes are coming off!
Um... yeah. So our photography studio kind of messed up and put a bunch of pictures on our CD from a different girls' bridals. Are we angry? Absolutely not. Funniest thing ever.

I am amazing.

2008-02-27T14:11:00.001-08:00

So yesterday I had a hankerin' for some homemade pizza. I decided that I would try making one completely from scratch for the first time in my life. It was SO GOOD. I even made the dough!! (With the help of a bread maker). Usually I don't love homemade pizza, so it was a big deal for this to be so friggin tasty. I would post the recipe, but I'm at work and I forgot it. Doesn't it look so profesh?? I think so.

My nerd score

2008-02-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

I think that this nerd test isn't all its cracked up to be. It asked me all of these scientific questions to see if I was a nerd. They asked no questions about: 1. If you rock at DDR 2. If you own a gaming system and play it 3. If you have watched all of Lost and love it 4. If you have beat ANY of the final fantasy series 5. If you LOVE eighties music. All of these apply to me, and they all would be relevant when determining your nerd level. So, if you are thinking "Zak is way more than lightly nerdy", you are correct.

My first 'post-marriage' dance

2008-02-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

I apologize everybody. I have not blogged for quite the while. I have intended to put classic nasty pictures of all of my sisters and make rude comments about them for not enjoying my close capture challenges, but my bitterness has subsided due to the enormity of time that has passed without doing it. So, I thought that I could report on a delightful night that Tiffanie and I had. We decided to go to the stake Valentines dance, and I must say, the chocolate fountain filled with nacho cheese instead of chocolate was DELICIOUS. Oh baby. Oh, and the dance was fun too. The band played classic 80's ballads and nothing else. I was right at home.

2007-11-20T10:05:00.001-08:00

2007-11-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

I have personally always loved the games on the radio where they play some random sound and the first person to guess the right answer wins a prize. I could always guess what it was. I have decided to come up with a similar challenge for you all- the Close Capture Challenge!!! I will take a close up photo of something, and the first person to guess what it is will win a huge prize. I think I will take a tally of all the winnings over a time period and then award the best guesser with a wonderful reward. (It will probably be a lame reward.) But it will be fun.

What is the picture of above? You must be specific!!

Clue #1: BYU
Clue #2: Rise and Shout
Clue #3: You'll be a little sore after about 4 hours

Lindsay Dunn is the Winner!!!

The answer is a Lavell Edwards Stadium seat number

2007-10-14T04:31:00.000-07:00

The other day whilst at work I was asked to go on a little assignment... I and another were to drive the police cars to Springville so that their radio frequencies could be changed for some reason. It took WAY too long. It seriously took an hour to change one radio. As I was standing around waiting I chatted with an officer about life dreams and aspirations, and we got on the subject of good burgers. That is where most of my conversations end up. He told me of this place called Brand "X" that I recalled seeing on the way into town. That night I told Tiffanie that we needed to go there. The next day we decided it was time.

As you can see, the dining area provides exquisite comfort of which I require for my eating pleasure. It looks like they are still working on getting a sign that isn't bent and broken... but that just adds to the overall quality and feel of an old greasy burger joint.

I ordered the Bacon Cheese burger combo, and Tiff go the Chicken Bacon Swiss. Both were great choices, and I was in love with the fries. They made certain to give you enough fry sauce, and even a cup of white sauce, which I learned was simply mayonnaise after dipping a few fries in it... it is surprisingly delicious, but it just feels wrong. I would have to rate this place as an 8 on deliciousness and a 4 on comfort and overall awesome surroundings... I would say the food is worth it, though. It was fun.

Draper Temple!

2007-10-02T07:42:00.001-07:00

Tiff and I are so excited about the Draper temple! Even though we are Provoites it still feels like home when we are in Sandy/Draper. Maybe one day we will live by it.

Chi chi chi CHIA!

2007-10-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

We finally busted out the Chia Homer that Paul and Mandi got me for Christmas! This exciting event has been delayed far too long!! I actually have to admit that it is pretty dang cool. It grows super fast and grosses Tiffanie out. Awesome. It's my own little black man Homer.

My personality thingy

2007-10-01T10:27:00.001-07:00

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer

You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.
You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules.
Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.
You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller!

In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart.
You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts.

At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do.
You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.

How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding

When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's Your Personality Type?

Is there a reason that the picture is of a woman? Am I okay?

A little collage of cuteness

2007-09-27T06:28:00.001-07:00

Are you kidding me?

2007-09-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

The other day Tiffanie and I went up to Park City to enjoy the afternoon. The main reason was to provide Tiff's mom with a caricature of us both to use with the rest of the family. As you can see, the artist did a magnificent job of pinpointing our personalities in this picture. I, for one, have always enjoyed my time playing pool and poker in truck stops across the country. My chain smoking 35 year old wife joins me sometimes, but she is usually off adultering with lifted ford-truck owners who leave her hitching a ride home with a black eye. Man, those are some bad caricatures of us.

Whilst we were in Park City we also did the zip line. It was FUN. I took a video going down it, but it wont load for some reason. Too bad.

I love ya Bush

2007-08-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

Lately Tiff and I have been realizing just how much school costs when there are two of you to pay for. Yesterday I bought books for both of us and it came to $800. EIGHT HUNDRED!! For books!! That doesn't even touch the cost of tuition and BYU health insurance, so lets just say I am grateful to have a little savings. It also helped to apply for PELL grants, although I was a little disappointed with the amount I received. I thought that I would at least get half tuition, which I didn't. I don't want to sound ungrateful, though, because every bit helps out. Today was a good day, though. I was looking in my Financial aid page on BYU and I clicked on the awards received to check when I would get the check for the PELL grant. When I looked at it there was the amount for the PELL grant, and below it there was another amount.... for a SMART grant!! Apparently since I am a science major in my fourth year being a U.S. Citizen with a PELL grant and having kept at least a 3.0 grade point average I am eligible!!! With this Tuition and books are covered for the next year!!! I say thank you Bush because he endorsed it. Good job, Bush, you made my day.

My wife is a hottie!

2007-08-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah.

Another picture

2007-08-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

Wow I'm hot

2007-08-29T11:10:00.001-07:00

Bear Lake: The Final Frontier

2007-08-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

So last week Tiff and I went up to Bear Lake with her family to enjoy a few days on the lake. SO FUN. Mom and Dad: Get a boat. Am I the only one who feels that we should be a boating family again? Is everybody so lame that they don't want to anymore? Shame. We were there with Tiffs fam, her aunt and uncle and their kids, and then her uncles parents. There were two boats. A water weenie. A tube. A wakeboard. Skiis... and pretty much everybody except me were young children that needed me to go with them on all the fun stuff. It was great. I was SO SORE after all the tubing and wakeboarding and such. I am out of shape. And I don't think all the delicious pizza, burgers, and raspberry shakes helped me out in that respect all that much... but they definitely made me happy. OH the wonders a greasy burger can do.

AWWW look at Tiffy

Remind you of anyone?

I'm about to putt the crap out of that ball

A grip worthy of Wayne Gretzky

Cool Picture

2007-08-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

This is a blurry Jed. He golfs and he's good. I took this picture and liked it, so I thought I would allow the rest of you to enjoy. I like my camera.

A Noble Suggestion

2007-08-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I work at BYU police as a dispatcher. We are subject to random odd calls and strange people. Just yesterday we received a call from an asian woman that had a brilliant suggestion for the miners that are stuck. Oh, and did I mention that she called 911 to tell us this? Yes, she did. She said "This isn't an emergency for me, (all of this is in hard to understand broken engrish) but I was watching the news and I have an idea for the miners- you know how they are drilling holes and putting a camera down there? I think you need to drop the mujic (music). I think that they are tired and maybe they don't have enough energy to get back. You need to drop the mujic so that they have hope." ...... ...... right. I'm sure the sound of drills giving freedom to a blocked chamber wouldn't give much hope to them. Thanks mujic lady.

The China Garden

2007-07-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I was driving to Provo from Springville, and I noticed a crappy looking Chinese restaurant. The one thing that stood out was a large sign that says "Best Chinese food in Provo". It made me laugh since any restaurant could put up a sign that says their food is the best, but at the same time I was curious to find out if that little building did in fact have the most delicious Chinese food in Provo. So, Tiff and I went there on the 24th of July after seeing Harry Potter 5 (great movie). As we walked inside, the smell of old building attacked us like Oprah on a pound cake. It reminded me of the time that Mom and I went to Red Lobster only to find the stank nasty smell of an old folks home- needless to say we ditched our waiter and went to Red Robin. ANYWHO, we both ordered orange chicken and took some pictures as we waited for the food. When it finally arrived the gross old smell was defeated by a wonderful deep-fried-chicken-smothered-in-delicious-sauce-smell that made me smile. The chicken was great. The egg roll = best I've ever had. The rice- eh, it was good. All in all, it was extremely good. I would say that p.f. Changs is still better, but other than that it was the best chinese I have had in Provo. Kudos China Garden. Oh, by the way, Tiffanie was scared of the place.

We love to see you smile

2007-07-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

For the majority of my life I have had the notion that Mcdonalds=pretty nasty food. They have, however, introduced menu items that have delivered joy to both Tiffanie and I. Their parfait, for example, is quite delicious. The cinnamon rolls for breakfast time are also a treat. And one little trick that I have figured out has given me buckets of enjoyment. Whenever I go I get a double cheeseburger from the dollar menu, but I ask for no pickles and onions. I then ask to have lettuce and big mac sauce added. It is a delicious sandwich. Tastes like a big mac, there is one extra piece of cheese, and it is only a dollar. Tiffanie and I got out of the Salt Lake temple yesterday at 8p.m. only to realize that we were EXTREMELY hungry. We hadn't had dinner yet, so we decided to go to the first place available for food. It happened to be mcdonalds. I decided to get two of my *special* double cheese's, and I hoped for that picture perfect burger that they show on the menu, but alas, as I opened my paper wrapping I found the appearance of a barf-diarrhea explosion not known to man. BOTH burgers looked that way. Do you make burgers like that? Is that the way you are trained at Mcdonalds? I think that is why all mcdonalds now use an automatic drink filling machine. With employees that incompetent how could you afford NOT to go automated?

Instead of "We love to see you smile" maybe they should have the catchphrase "We hope you vomit bile" or "Enjoy the runs for a while"... or something.

Of course I'm not holding a burger and posing for a photo while driving on the freeway.

Sleeping Disorder

2007-07-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have always been a morning person. Waking up isn't that much of a chore for me, and I am a pretty light sleeper. Tiffanie, on the other hand, is one of the sleep-lovingest people I have ever known. Getting her up is like trying to take off those security stickers on a new dvd- very hard and time consuming. She has been trying to have more time in the morning to get ready, so I have been lovingly turning the lights on at 6:30 am to help her out a bit. This morning she got up after I turned on the lights, so I figured I would make the bed. It turned out that she simply needed to use the restroom, so she got back in bed after I was a little bit into making it. So, I just made the bed with her in it. She got up shortly after.

Our Next Door Neighbors...

2007-06-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly it took me a bit to realize that we were living next door to a run down, nasty looking bar. They are the true, the proud, the valiant FOE (Fraternal Order of Eagles). If you are looking for classy, you have found the right place. Nothing but fine wines and fancy dancing- it truly gives Tiffanie and I a feeling of warmth and comfort to live near such nobility. Seriously though, its a dive. WT. It has Mandi and Paul's old trailer court written all over it. Haha... just kidding Mandi and Paul, your old trailer court may have been more WT.