Update on our family status - I am temporarily a single parent while Jamie runs around the country having fun. Okay, not quite. Cam's car broke down in Laramie, Wy., and things were a little stressful for our weary sojourners. A bishop in the area helped them get situated, but the biggest hero in the tale is Jay (Jamie's dad), who borrowed a trailer from a friend and drove from Idaho to save the day. This was at no small cost, because his back gives him trouble, but he was willing and so they made it the rest of the way out west.
Michelle is back in school (and hating it), and Brandon is still working at Western Enterprises in the warehouse. It is boring work, but fairly decent money. He plans on working a bit longer and then submitting his mission papers. One benefit of his work there is the time we get traveling together. We have had some great conversations.
Pictures: Michelle thought she was clever buying her "toy-letry". The boys have "assumed the position". In the evening after work, when we weren't doing something else, the guys would huddle around the shrine to all things virtual and comment on strategy and give advice. I don't think they got into a disagreement all summer, unless you count the informal competition to see who could push Michelle over the edge with that last sarcastic comment. Michelle was glad to have them back, and she won't mind seeing them go. If you want to see the results of teasing Michelle, you can check out the last picture. In this one though, I think it was me with a comment about the cats that set her off. It is a tough life living with the guys, but Michelle holds her own most of the time.
Michelle is back in school (and hating it), and Brandon is still working at Western Enterprises in the warehouse. It is boring work, but fairly decent money. He plans on working a bit longer and then submitting his mission papers. One benefit of his work there is the time we get traveling together. We have had some great conversations.
Pictures: Michelle thought she was clever buying her "toy-letry". The boys have "assumed the position". In the evening after work, when we weren't doing something else, the guys would huddle around the shrine to all things virtual and comment on strategy and give advice. I don't think they got into a disagreement all summer, unless you count the informal competition to see who could push Michelle over the edge with that last sarcastic comment. Michelle was glad to have them back, and she won't mind seeing them go. If you want to see the results of teasing Michelle, you can check out the last picture. In this one though, I think it was me with a comment about the cats that set her off. It is a tough life living with the guys, but Michelle holds her own most of the time.
Music - You HAVE to listen to or see John Mayer's Where the Light Is. The DVD is amazing! He plays an acoustic set, a blues/rock "power trio" set (just for Jamie!), and then does his hits and other assorted miracles with his band. If you don't have any John Mayer, this is a great collection of his songs, and all the tracks are very good. I can't believe he did it all in one night. That much talent is almost sickening. Almost.
Here is a link to my favorite acoustic clip from the DVD:
It is called In Your Atmosphere. I have learned the first part, but I'm still working on the middle.
Book recommendation - Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. It is a clever and engaging book that explores the basic assumptions we make about how we think. We are often wrong, and I found him quite enlightening and amusing. Here is the preface from his website:
And praise from other clever authors:
"Stumbling on Happiness is an absolutely fantastic book that will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how your own mind works. Ceaselessly entertaining, Gilbert is the perfect guide to some of the most interesting psychological research ever performed. Think you know what makes you happy? You won't know for sure until you have read this book."
—Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics
"This is a psychological detective story about one of the great mysteries of our lives. If you have even the slightest curiosity about the human condition, you ought to read it. Trust me."
—Malcolm Gladwell, Amazon.com
More coming soon...
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