LIFE, etc.

A Lesson in Laryngitic Anatomy

2012-02-10T22:25:00.001-07:00

On Thursday I had a doctor's appointment in Salt Lake City. I have been experiencing some gravelliness going on in my voice, which is no good because the instrument that I'm focusing on is my voice. So my voice instructor, Prof. Modesitt, recommended me to her ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor in Salt Lake. His name is Dr. Palmer and he and his staff are very good. He is actually a singer for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir so he knows his stuff when it comes to vocalists and their throat. While I was there, I had an ENT physical and the guy doing it looked so far up my nose he might have seen my brain. I also had a laryngeal videostroboscopy where they look at your vocal cords. It was so cool! My brain pretty much exploded with the coolness of it all. Here are some pictures of my larynx (sorry they're not very good quality):

The montage: Here we have a bunch of different pictures from the laryngeal videostroboscopy. I marked green on some of them. Those are problems.

The those things circled with purple are my vocal cords. In the green bracket, there is a space that doesn't come together like it should (causes airiness of tone on higher notes). The blue circle indicates red irritation and the blue star indicates how that whole area should be colored (not blue like the star, but the nice pale color around the star).

Why it's happening: I have Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) or Throat Reflux. It is a type of acid reflux that takes place only in the throat so one doesn't really know they're having it (meaning the acid isn't making it up to where I can taste it). The acid is not being blocked by the epiglottis (the device that blocks the airway when you swallow food) and so it gets on my cords and irritates them. The reason for the gravelly voice is because of excess mucus back there. When the body has irritation (like acid burning vocal cords), mucus is produced to heal the injury. Karin, the vocologist in Dr. Palmer's office and the one who conducted the laryngeal videostroboscopy, said that the larynx is as sensitive as they eyes. For example, if you were to put three drops of acid in your eye a week, you would have red, irritated eyes. Same with your vocal cords. Just three drops of acid a week can do damage. In fact, vocal cords should be as white as the whites of your eyes (these photos don't show it well, but my vocal cords had a bit of pinkness going on).

This is me exhaling and not talking. Blue circles indicate red irritation. The green bracket is bracketing irritation caused by acid leaking around the epiglottis (the top of the image is where the epiglottis seals off). The skin is appears bumpy and rough. That is caused from the acid. Not much acid-- just three drops a week. Crazy.

So I'm taking a couple of prescriptions to help me stop refluxing and in a while, my chords will be healed up and not irritated and I won't have all that mucus that makes me gravelly or the gap that makes me sound airy.

After the Dr, we had lunch with Nick. He made us some Brazilian slave goodness called feijoada. He gave mom a Valentine from Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut so we had to go by. We only got 1/2 dozen and had intentions to share them with dad. Well, when we got home I hid the doughnuts. We had dinner and then Mom and I went to Puccini's La Boheme. After the opera, mom and I decided we needed to finish our audio book that we listened to on our trip to/from Salt Lake (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor in honor of Black History Month). But if you listen to a book, you'll need a snack. So we had ice cream. And doughnuts. And dad wasn't invited. I told mom that I was concerned about his weight, so we shouldn't let him know about the doughnuts. Hahahaha!

Oh goodness (laughing quietly to myself). I'm sure glad dad doesn't read this blog.

This is getting rather lengthy. I'll wrap up now.

Random Photo from My Mission:

Me and Elder Michael J. H. in our car after a Krispy Kreme stop.
Mmmm. Doughnuts...

While my love for you grows like a blooming rose....

2012-02-10T22:08:00.001-07:00

... my blog withers like an unwatered plant.

Source: Science Photo Library.

I thought I might do that nice little poem for the upcoming Valentine's Day. Ha.

My poor neglected blog!

Oh well. Life goes on.

How does it go on?

Well.

And busy.

And I'm just really tired.

Cool things:

As you know, Isie came home from her mission. The day after she came home we made pupusas at her house. I loved eating pupusas on my mission and was not disappointed. The were good. So I bought some maseca and made some at home with my family.

Yummy! You eat pupusas (which are essentially stuffed corn tortillas) with a cabbage salsa called curtido (I think) and red salsa.

Enjoying the Salvadorean goodness.

Random Photo from the Mission:

After the last district meeting of the transfer period, we would take district photos. We did these like a basketball team (this is actually pretty mild. There are some that I have that are ca-razy). Standing LtoR: Elders Jacob C, Eric P, David S, Ryan C, me, Ted A. Sitting: Sisters Courtney W and Audrey E.

Thursday: The New Hump Day

2012-01-29T20:34:00.007-07:00

Every once in a while, you need a break. A break from work, a break from school, a break from life, a break from family (No, I'm not talking about mid-life crisis-like breaks. Just little breaks). Many people feel like the weekend is a great time to take a break. Others feel like the halfway point in the week, Wednesday (or Hump Day), is the best time to take a break. I say: Why not have both?

Heading up on Blackfoot. LtoR: Michael S, Meckenzie S, me

On Wednesday I took the day off and went skiing at Brian Head with my friends Michael S. and Meckenzie S. Meckenzie scored a sa-weet deal on lift passes ($10!) and I rented my equipment from Sports Authority (saved about $2 vs renting from Brian Head). We spent the day at Giant Steps and had a blast! Michael and Meckenzie are snowboarders and I am a skier, but we made it work. We did some sick jumps (ha- I didn't. Big air kind of terrifies me...), moguls, and races down runs.

Michael catching some air.

Me chillin' on the slopes.

There was one epic race that I need to tell you about.

The race was down Giant Steps: a run that is almost one mile long fraught with moguls, powder, ice, and steep slopes. The stakes: bragging rights for the win.
Ready.
Set.
GO!
I wasn't going to play mister nice guy and not use my skier advantage (e.g. poles) and I had a good lead for 2/3 of the run. We were flying down the mountain! I was trying not to turn to slow down and it got scary at times because of the high velocity speeds. But these speeds didn't last forever. There are two large spots of moguls. These moguls were covered with crud (crud is powder that’s been skied over. It looks like cookie dough; it's chunky looking, but still soft. Crud is a preferred snow texture. Source). And I fell. About four times. One time I managed to fall with my skies crossed, looking up the mountain and I could see Michael above me, crashing down the mountain in clouds of snow. He passed me! There wasn't much of the moguls left, so I got untangled (fell once more), and then went straight down, no turning, over the remaining moguls and hit the groomed trail. I'm surprised at how fast snowboards are. My legs were shaking from exhaustion at this point. I couldn't catch Michael. He beat me by 1.89 seconds. We collapsed at the end.

Other items of note from the ski trip:

People smoking and the whole parking lot smelling like pot.
When we walked into the lodge for lunch, there was a man who was freaking out. Turns out he was recovering from a seizure. Scary.
Got slightly sunburned on the right side of my face. Explanation: riding up the lifts take longer than going down the mountain and the sun was to the right when you go up the mountain.
Pillows isn't as fun as I remember it (that was my favorite trail when I was an avid skier back in the day).
You use a lot of different muscles than you usually do. I'm still a wee bit sore.
Michael and I decided that the party wasn't going to end just after skiing, so we went to Pizza Hut, Sweet Mercy cupcakery, and Crave FroYo (the latter two we visited while our pizza was cooking. We sampled froyo and actually purchased 2 cupcakes. Yummy!). Then we went to my house and watched Inception.

Pizza, cupcakes, cheesy bread, movie. So good.

Because of this amazing ski trip, I got behind in my English class and am stressed because of it. I never want to miss another day of English again. That is why my hump day will be on Thursday from now on (English is on MWF).

Segue.

Friday: Isie came home from her mission in Boston! It was late at night (her flight plans changed) but I am so happy that she's home! Elise B. (the other part of our trio from high school) came down from Provo area with Isie's sister, Venice, and Venice's friend Forest. We made posters (mine was pretty much the best poster I have ever made... I don't have a picture of it. I'll get one later), and got her some Boston Baked Beans, and tapioca pudding (her favorite). We went to the airport and were hysterical because of the great anticipation. There was another missionary family at the airport. They were very composed and calm. We were not.


The "Welcome Home Isie" committee with their noses pressed against the panes in search for her plane.

Forest is dancing the Safety Dance to stay calm, cool, and collected.

Isie's family (aka: my other family) LtoR: Grandma June, Venice, Isie, Colleen, Sage, and Pat.

Laughter! I think Isie was freaking out about how different Sage looks.

On Saturday Isie taught us how to make pupusas (she served the Spanish speaking people of Boston) and we ate those and tacos. Nom nom nom.

{Side note: after delectible dinner at Isie's, I went to a dance party and met a young gentleman who served in Boston with Isie! He returned home about five weeks ago. Cool!}

Today, Sunday, Isie spoke in church and did a great job. Following sacrament meeting, I went to Grandma June's house with Isie's family and enjoyed lunch, music, company, and "my other family." I love them!

Random Photo from the Mission:


Tuesday Taco Party! Elder and Sister Bingham started this great tradition of Taco Party the night before transfers. Elder and Sister Bushman continued the great tradition. The food isn't usually tacos. I think this night we had falafels. LtoR Elders Matthew P, me, Taylor T, Bushman, Sister Bushman, Elders Tucker C, Eric M, Brian H, Travis G. Taking the picture is Elder Tyson W.

Riding a Bike....

2012-01-29T19:55:00.001-07:00

... in the winter. On Sunday. This is what I look like:

Complete with trousers tucked in socks.

Make a Difference in the World

2012-01-23T22:23:00.039-07:00

Greetings, individuals of the homo sapien persuasion. I hope you're not squeamish from the above photo (it's just iodine. And ink. And tiny bit of blood). Today I donated blood and got that rad sticker that states that I make a difference. According to my blood donor card, one blood donation can help save up to 3 lives. Only 8% of the eligible US population donates blood. Every 2 seconds someone in America needs blood. Less than 30% of the people who give blood once will ever give blood again. Donated blood only lasts for 42 days. You can donate blood as many as 6 times a year. Interesting, eh? Here's some more interesting facts about donating blood.

When I have donated blood in the past, I get done in under ten minutes. Today, my vein collapsed and it took 19 minutes! Gah! It was forever! Luckily, they had Ratatouille on and it kept me entertained.

The moral of the story is: if you can donate blood, do it! You'll save a life. Or three.

Random Photo from the Mission:

Roomies! These were the Anacostia North Elders when I was living in Anacostia. LtoR Elder Eric M, Elder Me, Elder Matthew P. I look a little heavy in this one.

The Sunday Evening Post

2012-01-15T23:38:00.003-07:00

Sometimes this is how I feel. Yet I still blog. Source: Despair.com

Education News: I am officially a music education major at Southern Utah University. I am not overwhelmed. Yet. I am not underwhelmed. I am just whelmed.

Sports News: I have been playing racquetball with my friend Michael S. I also really want to try Zumba (it has yet to be rescheduled for this semester). A visiting high councilor even mentioned how Zumba has helped his old body and he can now almost touch his toes.

Religion News: I received a new calling today. I am the assistant finance clerk in my ward [congregation]. I also have a new home teaching companion who is also in the music ed. program. And today I spoke in the Hamilton Fort ward about The Book of Mormon which is pretty much my favorite book. Ever.

Finance News: I don't have enough money. I need a job. However, I did get a $500+ check from SUU for having left over grant money. $150 of it went to purchase textbooks (hooray for the internet and cheap, used textbooks!).

Arts and Entertainment News: I went to listen to the American Piano Quartet as part of Cedar City Music Arts Virtuoso season. Holy cow. Those guys can play some piano.

Obituaries: I'm still alive.

Random Photo from the Mission:

Some of the best memories I have of the mission are the wonderful missionaries I served with. These are the missionaries that lived in Parkview Gardens in Riverdale Park, MD in September 2010. LtoR: Elder Austin L, Elder Me, Elder Andy P, Elder Tin Chi L, Elder Taylor T.

Book Club

2012-01-08T21:16:00.003-07:00

I just posted on Friday. And today is Sunday. And I'm blogging again. Yay!

Anywho, in the great book I just read, it talked about reading great literature. Some of the last pages of said book contain a list of one hundred books that a man should read. So I got the idea that I should start a book club for men only. It was only in recent decades that book clubs became associated* with feeling sharing time and weep fests.

I don't want that.

The program:

Just read one book a month (because of school/work schedules sometimes bog us down).
Discuss the principles and lessons learned from the book.
Discuss how we can apply those principles and lessons to become better individuals.
Eat cookies.

I'm pretty sure that the vast audience of my blog readers are female, but don't you think that this is a really good idea?

I do.

I love reading, but it has been a long time since I have sat down and read a good novel. Once this get's rolling I'll have an excuse to expand my appreciation of great literary works.

English majors aren't invited. Sorry.

And now the random photo from the mission!

Lunch at Moroni & Brother's Pizza (which is owned by a member in the Spanish branch) with my Mexican Elders.... They're not really Mexican, but they're in the Spanish program. Love these Elders! LtoR: Elder Jordan L, Elder Me, Elder Ty W, Elder Bret C. Yummy yummy pizza!

The exterior of the restaurant, courtesy of Google maps.

☮ ♡ ☺

*I know that there are many book clubs that aren't full of feeling sharing time or weep fests. Society, however, ofttimes views them as such.

College!

2012-01-06T20:12:00.005-07:00

Without scruples, life would taste like foot.

~E. M. Liebhardt

I went to freshman orientation today at Southern Utah University. It was here I decided that I'm not going to lay low. I'm going to be outspoken. I'm going to make new friends. I'm going to get good grades. In a nutshell: I'm going to rock the socks off SUU.

I recently finished a book. I suppose it would go under the category of self-help books. Or reference. Or etiquette. Or self-improvement. The book is called The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man by Brett and Kate McKay. It was a very good read and I learned about alot. One inspiring thing that I learned from this read is as follows:

Great achievements come to those who are willing to take risks. A leader who continually plays it safe will never put themselves or the people they lead in a position to experience success. A life without risks is surely alluring; its sweet lullaby of safety and comfort has lulled many a man into the trap of mediocrity and apathy. But a man who never dares greatly fails to see that he has taken the greatest risk of all: the risk that he will never progress, never refine his soul, never amount to anything worthwhile. (209)

That's just one tidbit of goodness that I enjoyed whilst reading this informative book. This section is obviously talking about leadership and though I'm not aspiring to lead the SUUSA or anything, I, and you do, too, have many instances where we lead. Whether in our families, schools, communities, or churches, we are all leaders in some small (or great) way. I'm choosing to lead my personal experience at SUU. To be the effective leader of this path I need to take risks.

And take risks I shall.

And I'll keep my foot out of my mouth.

Most of the time.

Goodness me! I almost forgot about the segment I like to call The Random Photo From My Mission.

This is me and my trainee, Elder Jacob C. of Taylorsville. We are at the Washington DC Temple Visitors' Center.

☮ ♡ ☺

Game on!

2012-01-02T20:58:00.003-07:00

New Year's Eve.

There is no other holiday like it.

To celebrate, some people like to get really drunk and party like it's 1999. Some people like to throw things that represent bad memories from the past year into bonfires while dancing around like a heathen.

You'll be happy to know that I don't drink and that I didn't have anything bad memories to burn from the past year. So what did I do? How did I celebrate?

Games.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm a gamer. But not in the sense that society associates with people huddled in their basement in front of a computer screen or a gaming console trying to save Middle Earth. I play other games. These games:

Mille Bornes, Scattergories, Boggle, Taboo, Dominoes, Scrabble, Quiddler, Hearts, and Push the Dummy to name a few.

I like winning. So I try to win most of the time. Sometimes we play Dominoes when everyone wins (the stars were aligned to make that one happen. Or we didn't want to read the novel-like instructions to remember how to play). Sometimes we play Scrabble when my dad actually loses (a rare event that only happens once every 26 years!). Sometimes you don't have Taboo so you download it on a smartphone (there's an app for that!).

Our family has been dubbed Word Nerds because of the wordy nature of the games we love to play.

Another great thing about New Year's Eve is food. Lots of food. And sparkling cider. And playing games until 0330. Did I mention games?

Did you know that if you dance after drinking a glass of sparkling cider, you feel really crappy? You think it would be common sense to not dance when one has a full belly of bubbly goodness, but when there's a strobe light (there's an app for that!) you can't not dance.

So with the games, movies, dancing, games, social interaction, late nights, and games, I wish you all a happy 2012!

Look what Gail made for our family of Word Nerds. Cute.

Presenting the random photo from my mission!

Me at the National Arboretum at the azalea hill. The National Arboretum was my favorite place to visit.

☮ ♡ ☺

Showtime!

2011-12-28T00:35:00.001-07:00

Aaaah, the movies!

There are many blockbuster hits that arrived in the theater Christmas weekend. Mom, dad, Nick and I went to see one! Here is the treview (it's either a trailer or preview... I'm never sure which)

The film is called We Bought a Zoo and was very good! I recommend it. (If you were looking for an in-depth review, I'm sorry to disappoint)

Wanna know something crazy? This was the first time that I had been to the movie theater since... before my mission. The last film I saw was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in July 2009. That's approximately 30 months in between trips to the movie theater. And want to know something else? I really don't like going to the movies. Here's why:

if you have to go pee during the movie, they don't pause it for you.
sometimes there are very loud, large, white guys in front of you who like to laugh. Loudly. (this guy was pretty entertaining in and of himself! Ha.)
it's very expensive (I know Cedar isn't near as expensive as other places, but I'm po'.)
if you want popcorn and a drink, you'll have to give them some appendages (usually an arm and a leg)
there's no such thing as ample leg room.
if you take off your shoes your socks will get stuck to the floor.
babies. They are loud.
bright cell phone screens contrasting with the dark. Annoying.
my couch is better than those seats.

So call me a movie theater hater. I'll just keep using Netflix or Redbox or whatever and enjoy my movies at home. For a fraction of the cost. Where I don't have to wear shoes. And where I can consume lots of food and drink for free. Sort of.

Random photo from the mission!

Me and Elder Peterson behind the Capitol.

☮ ♡ ☺

And now for your viewing pleasure...

2011-12-27T23:42:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Christmas season this year. This post was supposed to be more wordy and cool, but I'm technologically challenged and can't seem to figure out what the cow I'm doing so I'm going do another post... Enjoy the pictures!

My eldest brother, Damian, papa, me at the annual Sorensen family Christmas party.

Me, Damian, papa, and Gail playing Hearts. I won.

Chocolate fountain with yummies!

Sometimes I wear niece's hair thing. What are those things called? Clips? Sure. We'll go with that.

On the way home from SoCal on Monday with Tandy and the kids, we stopped to see the lights at the St. George Utah Temple.

The reason for the season.

Looking around at the lights.

Me and the kiddos.

Family! Grandma, dad, mom, me, and Nick Christmas morning!

This wasn't a Christmas gift but I did acquire it on Christmas day. Hooray for the accordion!

I am an audio book

2011-12-23T18:37:00.034-07:00

Move over Jim Dale! Mr. Liebhardt is taking over your job!

...Kind of. But not really. Let me explain.

On Monday, I drove to Utah from SoCal with my sister-in-law and and her three perfect children. She will probably say that they are far from perfect, but they're close enough. During the drive I read the first eight chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone aloud to the children. The 6 and 8 year-olds were really into it and remembered details so well. The 4 year old, not so much. My voice was exhausted by the time we got home.

I wonder if you can get sick from overusing your voice. The reason for wondering is: I got sick. Nasty, nasty sick. So Tuesday I combated the illness with home remedies of gargling with salt and soda water, taking zinc, and chicken noodle soup. I had to get better fast because I had a grand adventure planned.

The Grand Adventure

{This is like a post within a post}

On Tuesday morning I dragged my ailing body out of bed at a reasonable hour to start my journey to the Provo and Salt Lake areas to visit some awesome people and spread some holiday cheer. And germs.

The agenda before I left:

Mount Timpanogos temple with Nick [✔]
ice skating [✔]
President and Sister Mansell (my mission president and wife) [✔]
wedding reception of a friend in Ogden [ ]
Temple Square [ ]
Bingham's (a missionary couple I served with) [✔]

The check marks indicate things that I actually did.

When it was time to hit up the reception and temple square, I was physically exhausted (I skated for almost 4 hours with my friends Elise and Mandie) and still sick (although I felt loads better) and I wasn't in the mood to drive in the dark. So, sorry Mr and Mrs Chugg. I suppose I'll mail you the card I have for you. As for Temple Square, I'll be back up there on the 28th for the wedding of a cousin.

Highlights of the trip:

the temple!!!
ice skating-- I learned how to go backwards!
visiting with Elder Tolman-- one of my former mission companions. We still call each other Elder.
visiting with President and Sister Mansell-- find me nicer people and you win a prize.
vising with Elder and Sister Bingham-- they're still Elder and Sister because they're super awesome and serving another mission! This time they're serving at the Family History Library in Salt Lake. And we made a lot of cookies. I also stayed last night at their house. They were very accommodating.
having a nap on my cousin's couch-- I was sick. I was tired. I needed a nap.
not paying for gas-- mom and dad bought the gas for this trip as a Christmas gift!

This adventure was done between the 21st and the 22nd of December. Today is the 23rd and I drove home early this afternoon after stopping in Salem to see Elise's house and deliver Bingham cookies (angel thumb prints and white chocolate macadamia nut).

Where are all the pictures? Well, I left my camera charger in Maryland almost three months ago. I still haven't got a new charger. And my camera is dead. So that's why there aren't any pictures.

Except for....

The random photo from my mission!

It's Elder and Sister Bingham! This picture was taken at their apartment on March 24th, 2011 when we were allowed to watch the BYU vs. Florida Gators game. They were finishing up their mission so we presented them with this shirt, signed by all of the Elders serving in AC (Anacostia) at this time.

☮ ♡ ☺

David Archuleta Concert!!

2011-12-11T00:05:00.002-07:00

I didn't go.

But.

I will tell you what I did.

I spent the evening at Gail's house. Gail is my eldest sister. She has two kids: Caroline, and Johnathan (whose name I misspelled on the Christmas card. Drat). They are very entertaining. Especially Johnny. He's two. I wish I had a perfect brain to remember all the funny things he did while I was there. I will rack my brain and share with you the cuteness that is my nephew.

I was making funny faces at Johnny to entertain him and then he would imitate them. One such face was sticking out my tongue, blowing up my cheeks, crossing my eyes, and pulling my ears (like a monkey?). He imitated this face by sticking out his tongue and plugging his ears.

We also ate some ice cream (death by chocolate. Yummmm). Johnny had his in a cone. And it got everywhere! He essentially had a nice melted ice cream goatee going on. He eventually got a napkin and wiped his mouth... sort of. He would pucker his lips and only wipe off his lips so he still had the great chocolate mess on his chin. Then he got better at using the napkin and was able to wipe most of the mess off... Except for a little strip above his lip. So he had a nice chocolate Hitler-stache. I was laughing pretty darn hard. If only my phone was cool enough to hold several photos so I could have documented this joy. (I still have the Razor that I had before I went on my mission. It only holds like two pictures before it says the memory is full. Sad.)

We played catch with different kinds of balls. Whenever I would throw him the ball, he would cringe and close his eyes so I taught him "keep your eye on the ball" and I demonstrated by opening my eyes as wide as they would go and watching the ball as I moved it around. He didn't really grasp the concept of watching the ball and keeping his eyes open when the ball comes near, but he did great at opening his eyes wide. Every time I would say "Ready?" as I would prepare to throw him the ball, he would open his eyes as wide as they would go. And as soon as the ball left my hand his eyes would shut. We'll keep working on that skill.

I don't know why, but I was pretty tired when I was there and I laid down and said, "I'm going to take a nap." He replied "I'm going to take a nap, too!" And he flopped down right next to me and started fake snoring.

My main reason for going there was so that Gail could wax my back. Don't judge me. It's my German/Hungarian ancestry. I'm very hairy. While Gail was waxing me, Johnny would come up behind me and stick his little hands on my love handles and watch the process. Luckily his hands were warm.

After everything was said and done, we played a rousing game of Disney Scene-it which Gail won because of a stupid tie breaker (whoever has the longest hair wins). I like that game. But I also like winning.

The moral of this story is: My nephew is the cutest two year old alive.
-------------------------------------------
In other news, I played racquetball for three days in a row! I am so sore. I tweaked my ankle a bit and ran into a wall which jacked up my wrist. But it's so fun.

I'm playing violin in Cedar City's 71st annual performance of Handel's Messiah. It is free and performances are Sunday and Monday (11 & 12 December) at 19:30 at the Heritage Center Theater in Cedar City, UT. Be there or... don't be. But you should be.

And now, the random photo from my mission brought to you today by the letter blue.

That's me. Looking shnazzy. In an alley. On Capitol Hill.

☮ ♡ ☺

♪ Christmas Music ♫

2011-12-04T22:17:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite things about Christmastime (which is one word, by the way. I found that out when I was writing letters from Santa to elementary school students for English class in high school. I will never forget that I spelled "Christmastime" incorrectly) is the wonderful music that accompanies this magical time of the year. It seems like the music warms the heart and soul. And there needs to be lots of warming here in Southern Utah. It's snowing yet again.

My past two Christmases were spent away from home because I was serving a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Washington, DC metro area. While on my mission I acquired some great Christmas music, most of which was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Which I love. They are soooo good. Seriously. Check them out.

Anywho, music of the Christmas season is meant to help us reflect on things such as winter fun, family, our Saviour and His love for us. They can be secular or religious, fast or slow, complicated or simple. I love them all. Well, most of them. I won't tell you which ones I don't like so that those songs aren't ruined for you.

My favorite Christmas season song is The Christmas Song (aptly named, no?). It has such wonderful chords and the words whisk me away back to my childhood. There are lots of artists who perform this song. I can't tell you whose rendition is my favorite, but I really just like piano and voice, not too jazzed up. Simple.

So now I have a question for y'all:

What is your favorite Christmas song? Why?
Also, include which artist did your favorite rendition.

I hope that you will be able to feel the wonderful Spirit of Christmas this season. Good uplifting music is one way to bring that special Spirit into your life.

Random picture from the mission: Me and Elder Hutchison in front of the

Washington DC Temple Visitors' Center during the Festival of Lights.

☮ ♡ ☺

Merry Christmas Season!

2011-12-02T19:27:00.035-07:00

Good ol' Cedar City has some great Christmas traditions like the Storybook Cavalcade Parade (which I'm going to be in tomorrow), Santa's Holiday Celebration, The Creche Festival, Handel's Messiah, and even fireworks!

One thing I really don't get are the lights that adorn the two downtown blocks.

I get the snowflakes. But bananas? We don't even live in a climate

that can grow bananas yet we string them downtown.

This is the old Post Office turned City offices. It has Santa and his sleigh

on the top of the facade. Makes more sense than bananas.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season and that your hearts will be filled with the light of Christ.

PS I know that those "bananas" aren't bananas. They're swags, or even festoons. But don't they look like bananas?

☮ ♡ ☺

Prosocial Differences in Gender

2011-11-29T20:16:00.026-07:00

Things that have happened:

Thanksgiving in Reno at Katie's! She is my sister.

Who: Katie, Casey, and their two boys Hayden and Corbin, mom, dad, grandma, Aunt Gayela, Nick and his lady-friend, K-Leigh.
What: Thanksgiving fun.
When: Wednesday to Sunday last week.
Where: Reno, Nevada. At Katie's. Didn't I already say that?
Why: Because I hadn't met Corbin because he was born while I was in DC. And we love spending time with family!

Now I will post pictures and let you enjoy because a picture is worth a thousand words. So now this entry may be compared to a very wordy.... word fest. My brain isn't functioning very well right now. Sorry.

One of the highlights of the trip was snuggling with eight-month-old Corbin. He is one the happiest, friendliest, well-behaved babies I know. And he really will just snuggle with you.
He's a cutie!

Another great thing we did was play games! We played Settlers of Catan (pictured above),
Apples to Apples, and Quiddler (at which I dominated).
We also watched a lot of movies. A lot. I watched 6 movies.
Seems to be the thing to do whenever we go visit Katie and Casey.

Another entertaining thing was just playing with the kids. Hayden loves Thomas trains. Above is Nick playing Thomas with Hayden. It was also really entertaining to just watch Hayden play by himself. He has quite the active imagination. And he's really good at building things- train tracks, Legos, whatevs.

Another wonderful thing about this holiday: spending the day in pajamas. Although, I'm pretty sure I was the only one that didn't put on normal clothes. Who cares? Flannel is really soft and comfortable.

Me and dad both like plaid (above).
Hmm, when you look at the preceding sentence, it shouldn't rhyme. But it does. Go English!

In the past, many children have been entertained by pulling out the Tupperware from the cupboard and spilling it all over the floor. See the image below.

Starting from top left going clockwise: Nick September 1986, Hayden November 2008, Jonathan in undated photo, me April 1991.
But guess what? Mom does it, too!

I guess she decided to organize Katie's Tupperware cupboard. How nice of her.

And of course we can't forget the feast of Thanks! We got all your classic trimmings: green salad (there was also fruit salad [with the pomegranate on the side] , but I didn't have room on my plate the first go-around.), turkey, cranberry sauce (the good, homemade kind provided by aunt Gayela. MMmmm), sweet potatoes with just butter (they're already sweet, people! You don't have to load them down with marshmallows and brown sugar! They are my number 2 favorite.) green bean casserole (my number 1 favorite). There was also stuffing, banana cream pie, pumpkin pie, and I'm sure some other stuff but I just can't remember.

On Friday, I went to Lake Tahoe with Nick and K-Leigh. I bet you're thinking, "What an annoying little brother! Disturbing his brother and his lady friend!" But everyone else was going to Virginia City, an old, historic mining town that I had visited before. Twice. So we spent an exorbitant amount of money to go to High Camp at Squaw Valley and ice skate. The ice was thin and breaking due to the warm weather (or I was really fat from the feast the day before) and so we left after not too long. There was a little Asian girl who was skating and she was so good. The future Kristi Yamaguchi right there. (Kristi Yamaguchi? She's that really good ice skater, right?). We ate at a reasonably priced restaurant called Rosie's Cafe. I had a Baja Cheese Steak sandwich that left my hands smelling like cheese steak for the rest of the day. It was really yummy.

That evening mom, dad, grandma, Katie, Gayela, and I went to the Reno Nevada Temple. It is the first small temple that I had gone to. It was a wonderful session and there were two individuals receiving their endowment. Yay!

On Sunday after a 9 am sacrament meeting we started our long trek home. To help us stay entertained, we listen to audio books (formerly known as books-on-tape). On the way up, we listened to Carry on, Jeeves: A Wooster and Jeeves Comedy by P.G. Wodehouse narrated by Jonathan Cecil. It was very funny. On the way home we listened to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. When we got home, we still had two discs left so we listened to it in the kitchen. I realized that I own this book (an autographed copy, no less) and went to my room to finish it up (one reads much faster than listening to a narrator). By the time I finished, they still had one disc left.

One major landmark that we drive by on highway 50 is the shoe tree. Apparently some punk chopped it down.

The chopped down Shoe Tree.

Another tree that has been designated Shoe Tree.

A memorial post. Many words were written on it.
My favorite: Shoe Tree lives on in our soles.

Mourning Shoe Tree.

Sooooo that's what's up. To read another view of the holiday, see Momma Linda's blog.

Random fact: I have now been to 8 dedicated temples! I hope that list will continue to grow.

Random question: Have you ever made a mix tape?

Random photo from my mission:

Weekly planning in Gaithersburg area. It's around Christmastime and I'm gorging on sweets from the ward.

☮ ♡ ☺

Unexpectedisms

2011-11-20T22:31:00.007-07:00

Unexpected anger: Turning on the TV to watch pretty much the only show that you watch only to find out that the American Music Awards are on instead. Grrr.

Unexpected boredom: Has church always been three hours? I'm pretty sure that I got all meetinged-out on my mission. I miss the wonderful lessons presented by Brother Dr. Harrison in my family ward. Must endure!

Unexpected gratitude: For mom. She made and amazing dinner today for us all (and she makes dinner often) and then she cleaned it all up. And she finally finished up all the apple business (dehydrated, apple sauce, apple jelly). She is just amazing.

Unexpected nap attacks: I had one at 7:30pm today. So I had me a nap. Now I hope that I'll be able to fall asleep tonight (the time is currently... Oh, man! Is it really that late already?! It's about 15 to 11.).

Unexpected lateness: It's 10:45.

Unexpected laughter: Yesterday Caroline was over and I showed her and mom the apple breaking trick. Mom asked where I learned it and I said "On my mission." Caroline overheard and responded with the statement: "Oh. Sam (her uncle) only learned Portuguese on his mission." At this point, mother and myself commenced in hearty laughter because, let's be honest: breaking apples in half with your bare hands is waaay better than learning Portuguese.

Unexpected frustration: Portuguese: it's a really hard word for me to spell. Had to look it up.

Unexpected blessings: Going to the temple with mom and grandma on Wednesday to commemorate 63 years of marriage between grandma and grandpa.

Unexpected joy: sitting around the dinner table and being absolutely, inexplicably happy. Why? Because I'm surrounded by the ones that I love most: family.

Unexpected weather: It's raining right now.

Unexpected comfort: Making your bed in the morning is worth the investment of time. It's so much nicer to snuggle in between tight, smooth sheets as opposed to wrapping up in a mess of blankets and sheets. Try it. You'll like it.

Unexpected blankness: I don't know what else to say.

Oh look! Yet another random photo from my mission!
This is at a birthday party of a young man in the Gaithersburg I ward March 2010. We're playing spoons. Sister Patterson did a great job catching the thrill of the game on film.

☮ ♡ ☺

Witty Title

2011-11-13T12:27:00.016-07:00

I've been trying to be a diligent blogger. Unfortunately, sometimes I'm really boring and I don't have much to blog about. But mom has a wonderful blog entry about the weekend.

Before the weekend came, I went to the St. George Utah Temple with my good buddy Michael. His YSA (Young Single Adult) stake* was going and I thought that it was also my stake so I tagged along. Turns out that it's not my stake. Whoops. Regardless, I had a marvelous time. Plus, the stake presidency brought doughnuts and hot cocoa! Burned my tongue on the hot cocoa.

Anywho, today was pretty legit as far as Sundays go. I was really excited to finally attend my YSA ward, but that was not the case. We had stake conference**! This stake conference was a wee bit different. Usually we gather together in our stake center and listen to our local stake leaders, but today we had a regional broadcast from church headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. There were 80 stakes listening to the broadcast in the Utah South and Utah East regions. We heard from
Brother David M. McConkie, First Counselor, General Sunday School Presidency who spoke about the power in priesthood quorums,
Sister Jean A. Stevens, First Counselor, General Primary Presidency spoke about listening to the counsel of prophets and then acting on that counsel,
Elder Tad R. Callister, Presidency of the Seventy spoke about establishing eternal marriages (or we could say relationships instead of marriages because the principles are the same), and
Elder Russell M. Nelson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the blessing it is to have a physical body and how much Satan wants us to deface and defile our bodies because he wants us to be miserable. Elder Nelson talked about a bunch of other things, too, but that was the thing that stands out most in my mind. Why do I tell you this? To prove to you that I do pay attention in meetings. And to let you know that Stake Conference is awesome. Some have the notion that Stake Conference means that they can stay home and relax. But it doesn't mean that at all! Stake Conference is a marvelous opportunity to learn principles of everlasting happiness and to receive personal, customized revelation for you from our loving Heavenly Father.

Hope you enjoyed my thoughts for the evening!

In other news, there is a girl.
Yes.
A girl.
Who works at Panda Express. And I'm going to ask her out. I'll let you know how it goes because I know how interested you are in my so-called love life. Ha.

And I have employment!
Well, temporary employment, but employment nonetheless and it pays well. I'm going to be doing secretarial work at a local investment firm for a week while the investor is out of town. Yay! Stuff to do!

Oh look! Another random picture from my mission!
This is on a P-day at the National Mall! My best friend, Isie, wanted a picture of me kissing the Washington Monument. So I humored her.

☮ ♡ ☺

*A stake is an ecclesiastical and administrative unit of the Church, almost always covering a geographic area, composed of several wards and/or sometimes branches (congregations; wards are larger than branches). Administered by a stake president.

**Stake conference is a semi-annual meeting of the members of a stake in which both general and local church leaders are sustained and leaders give stake members counsel and instruction.

November News

2011-11-03T23:05:00.014-06:00

Perhaps I should start out with "October Olds" as I haven't posted for a minute.

Halloween was spent in Temecula with Damian and his family. It was fun. I have no pictures because I didn't take my camera, but I'm sure Tandy will get them on her blog before too long. I ate lots of food. Mainly candy. Their kids are super cute.

Good times.

Anywho, this weekend was spent up in Grand Ol' Vernal, Utah for Teagan's (my cousin's daughter) wedding. Mom, dad, Grandma L, and me loaded up the bed of the truck with Dutch ovens (dad was doing the food for the reception: Dutch oven cobbler. Yum!), luggage, and boxes of Christmas gifts (it almost resembled Santa's sleigh), and drove the 7 hours to Vernal. Too long.

Many of Grandma's posterity lives in Vernal and she decided that she needed to take up a bunch of gifts. She amazes me, that woman. She gets all her posterity a gift for Christmas and has all their birthdays and names memorized. You may think that that's no big deal. But it is. It's a huge deal. Grandma has 8 children, 34 grandchildren (of which I am the youngest), 77 great grandchildren, and 44 great-great grandchildren. And add in their spouses, too. That's a lot of people.

We were joined by Nick, his lady friend K-Leigh (not actual spelling), and aunt Gayela. They helped with the preparation and serving of the Dutch oven goodness. Mom, dad, Nick, K-Liegh, and I slept in a 5th Wheel-toy hauler of cousin Scott's nicknamed The Ramada Inn. That thing is huge! Its ceilings are taller than the ones in my house! I wish I had a photo to post. But I don't.

On Saturday morning before the wedding, Mom, dad, and I went to a session at the Vernal Utah Temple. The temple was the Vernal Tabernacle and was converted into a temple in the mid-90's. It is a smaller temple, but the session we were in was packed because there was a couple being sealed for eternity. Yay!

Me at the Vernal Temple.

Back to the wedding details: Teagan is very country (I think everyone in Vernal is...) and so was the decor. Living in Southern Utah, I have been to my fair share of country themed wedding receptions and have been appalled by the amount of hay bales. But Teagan did a very good job with color scheme and decor.

The eating area.

The cake.

The servers LtoR: Dad, Me, K-Leigh, Nick. Sorry it's a bit blurry.

The happy couple during the ceremony!
We sat on the front row and had a nice view of Trevor's back.

The "shoes" Teagan wore to her wedding. You go, cowgirl!

On Sunday morning we decided that we would go to sacrament meeting with someone whose ward meets at 9am (we have enough family in Vernal, there's bound to be someone assigned that time) and the winner was Monica! So we went to church with her. And there was no heat in the building. I was cold. I am usually cold (just shake my hand and you will see what I mean) but I was shivering. I was in my coat (the mustard yellow corduroy one. yeah.) and I had a scarf. And I wore a hat. I wasn't going to wear the hat, but I was shivering so bad that mom put it on my head. I pointed out to mom while I was sitting there shivering that we drove by three chapels to get to Monica's chapel and I bet that all of them had working heat.

It was a good weekend.
I love weddings. I love weddings more when I don't have to serve food or bus tables.
I love seeing family. I don't love driving 7 hours in a truck with very hard seats.

I just realized: last weekend I also spent 14 hours in a car going to/from SoCal. Gross.

☮ ♡ ☺

What to blog about...

2011-10-23T20:07:00.006-06:00

I'm trying to be a diligent blogger. So sometimes my entries might be fluffy and not interesting/entertaining.

So today I spoke in sacrament meeting. It was a good talk, if I do say so myself. And I do. Some great, magnificent, good-looking friends and family came to listen. That was nice of them. It's always good to look up and see familiar faces (might I add faces that aren't trying to make you laugh.... Damian). The topic I was assigned to talk about was tithing. But let's be honest, who drives 4 hours and wants to hear about tithing? So I talked about my mission.

After the block of meetings, we went to my house and ate food. Lots and lots of food. I love food. We had meatballs, and little sandwiches, and a veggie platter (lots from the garden!), and strawberry jell-o salad (the most divine food ever), and apples and caramel dip (apples from our tree), and pumpkin chocolate cookies (pumpkin from our garden), and apple crisp (also made with apples from our tree).

It was a great weekend. I feel bad for mom. She always stresses out about these things. Now she has a cold. No bueno.

Thanks for reading!

Oh look! Another random picture from my mission!
L to R: Sushma R., Me, Rajesh R. They are Nepalese refugees. Great people.

Home again, home again, jiggidy jog.

2011-10-17T21:16:00.006-06:00

Greetings to the person (people?!) who read(s) my blog!

Guess what?

I have successfully completed my two years of service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served in the Washington DC North mission which covers DC and surrounding Maryland. And now I'm back in good ol' Southern Utah.

My greatest desire is to post the thousands of photos I took on my mission, but I won't.
However, you can expect some photos from my mission in future posts. The photos might be relevant. Or they might not. We'll see how it goes.

I'm excited for the adventures that lie ahead as I continue to power through LIFE. One bowl at a time.

Oh look! A random picture from the mission! Dinner at Elder & Sister Sowby's. L to R: Elder and Sister Sowby (in mirror), Sister Lewis, Elder Krugman, me, and Sister Otieno. August 2011

Reporting

2011-08-23T21:52:00.002-06:00

Just in case anyone is wondering, it will be a little while before Eric will be able to report "officially" in our ward Sacrament Meeting. He returns on September 28th, the following Sunday is General Conference, so no local meetings that day. The second Sunday in October is our ward's Fast and Testimony meeting, so no speakers that day. The NEXT Sunday is the third Sunday and it is the ward Primary Children's Sacrament Meeting Program. So he's going to be scheduled for the FOURTH SUNDAY in October, which is the 23rd. The Seventeenth Ward meets at 1:00 pm for Sacrament meeting and is located at 256 South 900 West in Cedar City.

Please, do come. And feel free to stop in anytime once he's home...but that's a ways off yet. I'm getting ahead of myself. (And maybe just a tad excited?)

submitted by: The Momma

He's Okay

2011-08-23T16:39:00.000-06:00

Dear Missionary Families,

In light of the 5.9 earthquake which occurred this afternoon in the Washington DC area, but nearer Richmond, Virginia, we wish to let each of you know that all missionaries have been accounted for and there has been no injuries, no property damage or anything of any concern to the missionaries or the mission field. Thank you for your concern. All are doing well and can faithfully continue in the work of the Lord in the Washington DC North Mission.

Washington DC North Mission Office

Homecoming

2011-08-02T10:31:00.001-06:00

Eric is scheduled to return on September 28, 2011. That's all I know at this point. He'll fly into St. George.

MARYLAND

2009-10-21T15:54:00.003-06:00

Here is the address for Eric while he is in the Washington DC North area:

Elder Eric Liebhardt
Washington DC North Mission
11700 Falls Road
Potomac, MD 20854-2823

It will come to this address (the Mission Office) and be forwarded on to him.

Easy!

MTC address

2009-10-01T16:48:00.004-06:00

Eric has given me permission to occasionally update his blog.
This is for while he is at the Missionary Training Center only. He'll be off to Washington DC and other parts nearby very soon. Until then, you can write to him here:

Eric Liebhardt
MTC Mailbox #253
DC-NORTH 1013
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Missionaries do love letters! I'll get his DC address posted as soon as I receive it.
He's doing well, enjoying himself, working hard, staying COLD !! Apparently they haven't turned on any heat there yet, and he's freezing. But he loves it.

LIFE IS GREAT!

2009-09-13T21:20:00.014-06:00

Eric Liebhardt:

Born at approximately 2:00 pm
weighing 9 lbs 2 oz (or something like that. Mom doesn't remember)
and 19 1/2 inches tall.

My birthday wish for this year: everyone should own one funny hat.
My birthday wish for last year: I don't remember, but I'm sure it had something to do with a certain girl.
My birthday wish for next year: I don't know. But I'm sure it will have something to do with open hearts and willing minds.

Cake this year: No cake. We had apple pie made from the apples from our backyard.
Cake last year: I don't remember. Probably a Duncan Hines/Betty Crocker mix.
Best birthday cake: DQ ice cream cake is the bomb-dot-net! Or fudge brownies and cookies 'n' cream ice cream. Mmmmm.

[Almost] every year, Mom asks what I would like to eat for my birthday dinner. This years menu included the following: Dutch oven potates [with bacon and cheese!], dutch oven BBQ pork (pork shoulder roasts should always be cooked in a crock pot. They're waaay more tender that way.), dutch oven elk [apricot, honey, pineapple- dad's recipe] (I was skeptical at first, but it was delicious!), rolls, strawberry jell-o salad (the best thing ever), green salad, a variety of soft drinks and punches, and apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Mom and Pa outdid themselves this year.

Presents acquired this year: My presents was the presence of those I love! I had lots of family from all over the country come, albeit they were in Salt Lake for a scrapbooking expo, but they still made the four hour drive to Cedar! Gramma from Georgia, Aunt Donna from Georgia, Aunt Laura from Texas, Katie, Casey, and Hayden from NV, Tandy, Lexi, Braeden, and Ella from CA, Uncle Robert, Aunt Janet, and Sarah from UT, Gail, Seth, Caroline, and Jonathan from UT, plus my local family: Nick, Mom, Dad, and Gramma L. And I had my non-family family: Isie and Venice , and Katie. I would have invited about twelve hundred more people (we had enough food, too), but I didn't have a way to contact several because I lost my contact list when I lost my phone...
And I got a surprise phone call from my brother, Damian, who is serving overseas! We had a nice fourteen minute, eleven second conversation. He just called to wish me a happy birthday! My family is great!
But. I did get a few great things: a box of LIFE, a new scripture case (mine was falling apart), and some money (which is very helpful for the mish), and Isie is in the process of making a quilt for me to take on my mission (yeah, they told me to bring a blanket. Weird)! And Nick made a funny card with lots of insults on it. Oh, and Mom purchased 92% of my necessary mission clothes. Thanks Momma! I love you!

Only ten days til the mission! On Thursday, mom and I were talking about how, often times, Elders will come home from their missions looking different/fat. Mom said, "What if we don't recognize you when you come home?" My response: "Mom, I'll be wearing a name tag." Duh. She worries too much.

I also got to attend a session at the Salt Lake Temple with Mom and Gramma A. on Friday morning. It was so great! I'm glad I got to go before the mish.

So. Pictures of the celebratory day of birth? Yes? Ok!

All of my nieces and nephews! This is the last time that we will all be together for at least two years! Hayden (on Katie's lap with Katie hiding behind him), Caroline holding Jonathan, Braeden, and Lexi holding Ella.
*

(Not a birthday picture, but still cool.) When Tandy and the kids came to town, Tandy really wanted to go eat someplace that she couldn't eat at in SoCal. So the Grammas, me, Braeden, Gramma L, Lexi, Tandy, Ella, Nick went to the Pizza Factory. I had a Calzone. Twas delish.

Katie, Venice, me, Isabel (Isie). We are so good looking.

We're still good looking.

We then played Harry Potter and were going to make a short movie, but we ran out of time because we were going to go to the CES Broadcast fireside. I will definitely post the pictures/video of us being wizards and looking into the pensieve later, but this post is already waaay to long, so I think I'll stop now. It was a great birthday!

WHAT'S ON MY MIND

2009-09-06T22:23:00.011-06:00

[Missionary tag] My mission: The days are flying by and there's still lots to do. Lots and lots and lots and lots to do.

[Pile of folded shirts] The inevitable clothing shopping: I do not like shopping. Especially for clothes. The image of a folded pile of shirts represents the things I must purchase before September 23. Some of those things? 8 white dress shirts, 1 pair of slacks, 1 suit, lotsa socks, shoes. And that's only a portion of the list.

[Burger King King] The Burger King: He's just really creepy.

[Camera] Pictures: As I'm preparing to serve, I think: should I still do some legit missionary pictures? What pictures should I put in my little album I'm going to take on my mission? And should I buy that digital camera on Ebay to take on my mission?

[Messy garage] Gramma's carport: I've been helping my grandmother, Berenice, clean out her carport. It is messy. There is so much clutter and garbage and junk and dirt. It seems like an impossible task. But. We're making progress.

[Milka] Milka: The other day, dad informed me that I had a package in the mail. It's contents: Milka!! And a wonderful letter from my German friend Maria M. There was also a ladybug stuffed animal. In Germany, ladybugs bring good luck.

[Peach pie] Peach pie!: We had peaches. So mom made 3 pies. I think I've eaten, cumulatively, one pie. Or close to it. They are soooo good.

[Mailbox] Letters and other informative items: Oh how I delight in receiving letters! There is something about a handwritten letter that takes me back to a simpler time; a time full of nostalgia and peach pies; a time when junk mail didn't exist; a time when life was simple, uncomplicated by computers, TV, mobile phones, and loud media. I've been getting letters from a couple of missionaries and Maria.
And. I got MTC info and info regarding my mission. And I'm waiting for my new debit card. Woot for mail!

[Christmas tree] Christmas: I love Christmas. Even though it's only September, Christmas has a way of sneaking a way into my thoughts. This Christmas will be... well, different. But there is no place in the whole wide world I would rather be.

[St. George Temple] Temple: I'm trying to attend the temple as much as I can in the next few weeks that I'm home. The St. George Temple has been closed for the past two weeks for it's scheduled cleaning and maintenance, but it reopens on Tuesday.
I had a nice long visit with my across-the-street-neighbor, Josh, who recently (less than 1 month) returned home from serving in Florida. The nearest temple to his mission is the Orlando Temple and he only got to attend once because it was four hours out of his mission. I hope that I'll have the opportunity to attend the DC Temple often. And it's even in my mission.

[Guy sleeping] Sleep: I love naps. And I love sleeping in. It seems like my body needs 12 hours of sleep/day. Maybe my brain manufactures excess melatonin? I don't know how I'm going to fare in the mission field, but I have faith that the Lord will give me the strength and energy to carry on.

[Alarm clock] Tomorrow: Tomorrow will welcome me. With tomorrow (and every tomorrow) there are new challenges, blessings, and friends. Although I'm not a fan of waking up, I hope I can face tomorrow with a smile and a willing attitude.

*Not Pictured*

[Speaking] Opportunity to speak: I will be speaking in sacrament meeting on the twentieth for 15-20 minutes. That seems like a really long time for me to talk.

That's not all that's on my mind. There's tons more going on in there. One might even say, it's mind bottling. And no, I don't think the expression is really "mind bottling." It's from a movie.
☮ ♡ ☺

HAIR RAZING EVENTS

2009-08-23T21:44:00.041-06:00

Yes. I said "hair razing." Raze as in to tear down; demolish; level to the ground or to shave or scrape off. Meaning I lost my lovely locks of wavy, luscious, voluminous, golden-brown hair. Although I'm not bald, I feel like I am. It's quite a contrast to go from 5 inches of hair to one inch, and it's nicely tapered down on the back. But I love it. And I'm going to save a fortune on shampoo! Thanks mom!

This is a lovely before photo of my hairy head. It doesn't look 5" long because of the beautiful waviness of it, but I plucked out a hair and measured it with a ruler. 5".

In the process of the hair razing.

The finished product! Rather dashing, eh?

I'm really not that distraught about losing

it, but that is a very large pile of hair.

Why is it italicised from this point on?!

So why did I cut my hair? Well, the next day, Saturday, I was planning on going to the temple and do my missionary photos. My good friend, Krista, is a marvelous photographer and she offered to do them for me. So I packed my bag and left Cedar around 7:15 to meet Krista at 8:00. I got there. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. For about an hour (48 minutes, according to my clock) and decided that she just forgot.

(Oh, let me insert right here why I didn't call her: I lost my phone the day before. I have no idea where it is. I retraced all my steps around town and there is no sign of it. Not even crushed pieces in the road [which is where I think it is. I played a rousing game of Chinese Fire Drill and it's likely that my phone fell out of my pocket when I jumped out of the car.]! It's just mind bottling.)

So rather than wait around even more, I went to my first session at the St. George Temple. It was lovely.
After the temple, I drove to Santa Clara to Krista's house to find out what's up. Turns out, we suck at making appointments. I was positive that we had agreed on 8:00. She wasn't sure what time. She texted me multiple times the previous night and that morning. But. My phone is lost so I never got her messages. Instead of taking pictures in the now horrible noon lighting, we just sat in her sitting room talking. And ate a bowl of Life :)

Today, Sunday, was a wonderfully spirit-filled day. Block meetings were canceled across Utah (My college ward had a short 1 hour sacrament meeting) for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple dedication- the 13th temple to be dedicated in Utah. I went to the seventh dedicatory session with my parents and then to the ninth and final dedicatory session with my brother, Nick. The Spirit at both sessions was sooo amazing and I'm so glad that I got to attend with family, which is really what the blessings of the temple are all about.

And I finally had a Court of Honor for my Eagle Scout award. I finished it about 1 year ago, but I never had a Court of Honor. I, along with 4 other young men from my ward got 'em! Here are some photos.

Myself talking about scouting experiences.

Starting with me going clockwise: Eric Liebhardt, Evan Harris,
Justin Jones, Jesse Carter, & Lance Brown.

☮ ♡ ☺

WARNING: LOW MERCURY°

2009-08-08T13:03:00.005-06:00

Why is it so cold today?
Isn't it August? This is when Cedar usually gets some major heat in the summer months, but that is definitely not the case for today.
A huge cold front moved in and it made my last night's sleep miserable.

The first time I woke up, I closed the window.
The second time I woke up, I unfolded the blanket at the foot of my bed and put it over me, in addition with the bedspread I already had.
The third time I woke up, I put on socks, flannel pajama pants, and a long-sleeved shirt (I usually just sleep in my underwear).
The fourth time I woke up, I went into the computer room and grabbed the little space heater and turned it on in my room.

That was not cool. In the temperature sense, it was cold. According to weather.com it was 56° F last night. Tonight, it will be 46° F. I think I might be building a fire.

So I have a theory, albeit a lame one, but a theory nonetheless: People are attracted to climates that describe themselves.
e.g. I am drawn to hot, dry places; therefore, I'm hot and dry (definitely hot, but dry? I don't know...) My friend, Brantz, loves cool temperatures; therefore, he's cool (and he is.)

So let me know how you roll- what climate you're drawn to. And we'll analyze the data. Or not. Just... whatever.

MOSAIC ME!

2009-08-04T00:37:00.024-06:00

I'm sure you all are wondering, What is that crazy box of random photos on this post?. Well, I can answer that question for you.
I was recently blog-stalking and came across this little blog activity thing that one of my friends had done. So I said to myself:
Self, this is pretty rad. I should do that.
So I did.

Here's how it works:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. Choose 3 columns with 4 rows.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name (or favorite animal)
1. Dutch 17th century polder windmill, 2. Cookies & Crea m Shake, 3. RIP Ann Richards, 4. Green River - 10,000 views!, 5. heidi in Louboutin, 6. Ice Age is here in Amsterdam!!!, 7. the river Rhine flows through Basel, 8. Our hand painted bakery menu board, 9. epiphany + entertainment, 10. gather 'round kids, it's story time!, 11. Yosemite Reflections #1 - Mirror Lake, 12. Intimacy

Hmmm. Cool?
I think so, yes.

So now, you should do this activity and share it on your blog!

MYTH BUSTED!

2009-07-25T17:27:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Friday July 24, I went to the Greenshow with my friend Kelsee to watch our friend, Marisa, play the fiddle.
Following the show, we went to my house and watched Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Old school. On VHS.
We then killed lots of time playing with one of Marisa's apps on her iTouch that has 6500 random tidbits of knowledge. One of them said: If you plug your nose and eat an apple, an onion, and a potatoe, they all taste the same.
So we put it to the test.
We went to Marisa's (she had all the necessary items to test this theory) and cut up a potatoe, an onion, and an apple in to similar shapes. We then plugged our noses, grabbed one, and ate.
What did we find out?
Potatoes still taste like potoatoes. Apples still taste like apples. And onions still taste like onions. The flavors were subdued a little, but not enough to be unable to tell them apart.
When I grow up, I want to be a Mythbuster.
Myth busted!

SUMMER STUFF ctd.

2009-07-19T18:02:00.026-06:00

Tuesday, July thirteenth:
Tandy really wanted me to go to the Greenshow with her and the kids. And one of Lexi's friends, Caleb. To describe Caleb: hyper, crazy, attention seeker. I think that sums him up pretty well.

The kids and I.

Gypsy night at the Greenshow! This sure is a great shot of Marisa!

Ella likes to wear sunglasses. Upside-down.

The kids were the true entertainment for those around us. They had a massive grass fight and involved Tandy at the end. Lovely.

Crazy kids. It's all downhill from here!

Seriously downhill.

Hunchback? Ok. I think that's what I was going for.

The kids and I ran around for a while, screaming, play a pirate kidnapping game, and tag. We eventually got kicked off the lawn before the play performance because we were being too loud.

Playing the Pirate kidnap game. I'm "kidnapping" Braeden and being attacked by crazy Caleb.

Not-so-Synchronized somersaults.

Kids can be brutal.

After getting kicked off the grass, we picked up Nick from the Sigma Chi house, went to Wendy's and then ate at the park and played! There's too many pics. Here's my favorite.

She's smiling. Really big. When Ella swings, she sometimes holds her breath and forgets to breathe, but if you make airplane sounds, she respires.

Goodbyes!
Gramma has been a resident of Cedar for over 40 years and she has never been to Hermie's Drive-in. So Friday night, Tandy took me and gramma, and the kids to Hermie's. So good and greasy! Just the way my arteries like it.
After dinner, we went to gramma's house for a little while. Gramma was sitting on the couch showing a bunch of photos of grandpa (who died this past December) to Braeden and it was so darn cute and I got all teary eyed. He was genuinely interested and was hanging on to every word gramma was telling him. So cute.

Braeden sitting next to gramma while looking at photos. Lexi is looking at an album, too.

And then it was time to say goodbyes! Tandy left the next day and I was off to a dance. Ella was so sweet. She didn't want to let go. I'm gonna miss her! And Lexi. And Braeden. And Tandy. I'll miss them all!

Aww. So tender. But she would not let go. Seriously.

Braeden gives such great bear hugs!

Lexi! She's getting so tall.

I bet you're now thinking: Wow. His whole summer has consisted of playing with nieces and nephews.
That's not [entirely] true.

I had a pool party with my buddy, Michael! He leaves on his mission... Wednesday. He will be serving in the Paraguay Asuncion Mission.

Jumping into the pool!

He gave a really great talk today at his "farewell" and I know that he will be a great missionary and serve those in Paraguay well! God speed, brother!

I also went on a lovely date with a lovely girl. We had a wonderfully delicious picnic while we sat on a wonderfully red cliff and enjoyed the wonderfully beautiful views of St. George. Then We went to Footloose at Tuacahn.
Her name is Krista.

We had a fantastic time!

That's my summer in a nutshell. Well, all the eventful, fun, blog-worthy things.
☮ ♡ ☺

SUMMER STUFF

2009-07-18T22:07:00.038-06:00

I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to (among other things) keeping my blog up to date. So this is going to be somewhat of a blogging blitz of the summer. So far.

A bit of a disclaimer before I get too into this: Tandy and the kids left today and I got a disc of some photos (200+ of them) from Tandy. It's very hard to decide which ones to post. Here it goes.....

One Monday evening, Mom, Gramma, Tandy, Lexi, Braeden, Ella, Nick and I went to the Greenshow for FHE. Here are some photos.

Braeden started off the evening being a pouty little stinker so I was tickling him to cheer him up. I almost have a smile on his face!

Some of the Greenshow-ers putting on a... show. The fiddler is my good friend/stand partner, Marisa. She'll be a junior in high school this upcoming year.

The kids were sure mesmerized!

Me 'n' Nick being creepers.

I'm a creeper. (This will be a reoccurring theme throughout this post.)

Ella, Tandy, and Lexi. And a creeper lurking.

CREEPER!, Gramma, and Nick.

A semi-normal photo of Eric/CREEPER!, Gramma, and Nick.

Random news: My Blogger account is screwed up and everything I do is in html. I don't know how to fix it and the format/feature options are very limited in html. Grrr. 'Tis frustrating.

I wasn't actually present when this photograph was taken but I just think it's so stinkin' cute! Ella loves salt and pepper shakers so mom gave her some that are really hard to open. She was so happy!

Mom, Dad, Gramma, and I were in Provo for the Fourth, so Tandy brought the kids over one night (the 7th or 8th... Not sure which) and we did some sparklers and some other fireworks.

Me assisting Ella with her sparkler. This is one of my favorite photos!

I really love this one, too.

Braeden showing off his muscles.

Lexi has muscles, too! She also has a CREEPER! behind her.

Nick is crazy-dangerous with his fireworks!

I don't like feet! Neither does Tandy for that matter. Who knows where Ella inherited her love of feet? She was nice enough to clean off my feet after running around outside playing with fireworks.

Tandy invited me and Nick out to Kanarraville one evening to have dinner and roast marshmallows. She said we could invite a couple of friends, so we invited Kelsey Chandler and James Pace. It was lots of fun!

Ella loves melted marshmallow on her face.

Nick's face is priceless. You can purchase it for only $12.

The whole gang! Minus me. L to R/going around the fire: Braeden, Tandy, Pam (Tandy's mom), Nick, Kelsey, Pace, Ella, Lexi.

Kelsey! And CREEPER!

I baby sat Tandy's kids while Tandy went to the St. George Temple with her mom and cousins for some major sealings. Yay for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!

I only got a few good photos in before Braeden made off with the camera. I think he should be a photographer. He's pretty good when he makes an honest effort.

The kiddos on Temple grounds. They're not very cooperative when it comes to looking at the camera at the same time...

Ella was being a pill most of the time because she has massive separation anxiety when she's away from her mom. I decided to make a mean face with her. Braeden's look in the background is precious.

And I'll end this HUGE post with a photo Braeden took. Not too shabby for a four year old, eh?

There are still so many photos and things that I need to get posted. But it's late. I'm tired. So I'll do it tomorrow.

JEREMIAH 16:16

2009-06-30T23:32:00.023-06:00

Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

On Monday the twenty-ninth, mom, dad, Tandy, Tandy's mom Pam, Lexi, Braeden, Ella, Gail, Caroline, Jonathan, grandma Liebhardt, and myself journeyed to Navajo lake for family home evening. The theme: Jeremiah 16:16. The activity: fishing! The little kids (sans Ella and Jonathan) and grandpa, aka dad, all participated. I'm not one for fishing. So I built a rock castle because sand was in short supply. Rather, in no supply.
The weather was a little brisk but beautiful! After dinner of fresh strawberries, avocados, pasta salad, and roll sandwiches, we had a nice lesson about missionary work and the gathering of Israel. Almost everyone participated- grandma Liebhardt was chilly so she was in Gail's Blazer along with Gail and Jonathan. And Ella was playing in the van with Pam.
Tandy, Braeden, Lexi, Caroline, dad, mom, and I faced the chilly weather to roast s'mores over some briquettes in the fire pit.

Here are some photos. I hope I'm not being redundant because mom posted some of these on her blog...

Cutie to the max! Ella picking dandelions.

Grandpa/dad getting the kids' fishing poles ready. Notice me in the back working on my rock castle.

Braeden fishing on a rock.

Ella, Tandy, and Pam on the shore.

Gail and Jonathan on his first outing to the mountain. I think. He could have gone some other time...

An aerial view of my rock castle. It was pretty awesome.

Another photo of my castle as the clock strikes twilight.

Brrr! Caroline and Gail bundle up to keep warm when the sun went behind the mountain.

Roasting mallows.

I can't help but chuckle to myself when I look at the picture above for several reasons: Tandy appears to have a hanger/marshmallow sticking in her eye, I'm not toasting anything and... ok, so maybe that's all.
Before this picture was taken I was standing up and mom was doing a very good job taking pictures randomly and without warning, and she caught me making a very weird face. Twice. I guess I make that face often? Below are my faces from the previous two pictures.

Ella was having lots of fun knocking on the window.

No, that's not mallow on Lexi's nose. It's paint. That is, however, mallow around her mouth.

Aahh, Navajo Lake. So peaceful and serene! Next time: frog catching!

☮ ♡ ☺

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

2009-06-30T23:28:00.006-06:00

Hey family and friends and others that read my blog!
I have officially submitted my mission papers to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
In our family, whenever we have a missionary go out, we put up a map and stick Post-its on it where people guess where the missionary is going to serve. The person that guesses the closest location wins a no-expense paid vacation to that place!

So leave your comments with your guesses! One state-side and one foreign!
Or you can do it on Facebook. Whatev.

The map. In our kitchen. With some guesses stuck on.

☮ ♡ ☺

MANTI PAGEANT

2009-06-28T17:41:00.039-06:00

I went to the Manti Pageant Saturday the twenty-seventh with two dear, dear, dear friends of mine: Isie and Venice Jardine.
We left Cedar in Isie's car around 12:40 pm and drove to Richfield and ate lunch at Wendy's. I took the wheel from there and I finished the next forty minute leg of the journey to Manti.
Here are some lovely photographs chronicling a small portion of our adventure in Manti.

Driving sure is exhausting!

Driving.

A really really really blue pond! This photo doesn't convey the blueness of it. And cows.

Can you see the temple?

We made it without any harm or accident.

Yeah it is!

When we pulled into town, we did not heed the signs and park in the designated parking area. We parked on Main Street next to the Manti City vistor's center. And there were lovely trees there that provided some well needed shade for that hot day.
AND
there was the greatest playground with the most fun spinny toy things ever. Seriously. I wish we would have photographed that little place. I had so much fun playing there and making myself ill.

Isie finding cool shade at the park.

Me and Venice sitting at a picnic table at the park.

Drinking the cool, refreshing water from the "trough" set up by the Pageant area. Please note a portion of the fourteen thousand plus chairs set up behind us.

After playing and resting for a bit, we walked up to Temple Hill and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, the beautiful Temple, and the lovely views of the Sanpete Valley.

Looking up Temple Hill over a flower bed.

Funny story: While by the temple, Isie offered to take a picture of a young [engaged?] couple. Venice and I were in the shot and Isie said, "Eric, Venice, you're in the picture!" And the guy gave us a weird look and asked us what our names were. Turns out their names are Eric and Venessa. From Brazil. It was funny. Trust me.

Isie and Venice

Awkward engagement photo? No. Just two great friends!

The Manti Utah Temple beautifully back lit by the sun.

The gates to get into the seating area opened at 6:00 and we got in at approximately 6:15 and were able to find superb seats. We placed our blankets on our seats and then had dinner from Miller's Drive-In and ate in the park. I even saw a bunch of kids that I went to school with from Cedar! Small world. While eating at the park, I managed to spill a little plastic cup full of fry sauce all over my pants! It was awful! Luckily, Venice grabbed a bunch of napkins and I was able to clean up the mess.
After dinner, we went back to our seats and basically eavesdropped on conversations around us for entertainment.
There was a young couple that asked Isie to take their picture with the temple in the background. The three of us were playing the game "find the cutest couple". They were the cutest and Isie continued to take pictures of them, trying to photograph them kissing. What can I say. We're just a bunch of hopeless romantics.

The cute cuddling couple.

The sun is setting, the stage is set, and my spirit is singing.

Great friends. Great times!

☮ ♡ ☺

BAD BUSINESS or WOES OF WORK

2009-06-16T17:48:00.009-06:00

If you haven't heard yet, I have a job.
Hooray! Right?
Wrong.

I do "landscaping" for Fred*. And by landscaping, I mean yard maintenance. I began working for Fred last week because Nick started doing cabinets again for Cozzens so I took Nick's place at Fred's as a temp. Or so I thought.
Apparently, I signed on for the long haul. And that's okay because I need a source of income. But that's the thing. I don't know if I'm ever going to get paid.
You see, Fred is a very bad businessman with a very bad business plan. The only bank that would support his business is down in St. George so that's the place he has to go to cash/deposit his checks. No problem, right? But, to get to St George, one has to have gas.
And to purchase gas, one has to have money.
And to have money, one must have access to a bank.
But how is one supposed to access their bank when it lies 50 miles away and all of the vehicles on has access to are out of gas?
They can't. So they don't have money to pay for gas, or their employees.
PLUS his truck broke down. And he has no savings funds to get a new one. Or good enough credit to take out a loan. But he has good folks and got a loan through them.
But I still don't know if I'm ever going to get paid from Fred. He checked is business account to find out how much dough he has: -$20.00 Hmmmmm.
If I don't get paid, this will be the rockinest service project ever.
Anyone have a place for me to find employment with steady pay and less financial risk?
_______________________________________________
*Name has been changed

My sprained ankle has kept me from earning any [possible] income because I've been pretty gimpy for the past two days. But I should be able to do stuff tomorrow.

☮ ♡ ☺

LUCKY DAY

2009-06-13T12:37:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago, my friends and I established a bunch of holidays. The one I founded falls on June thirteenth and I dubbed it: Lucky Day.

Lucky Day is a fake pagan holiday where one celebrates luck. To celebrate, one decorates a pole with white [Christmas] lights on their front lawn and hangs a horseshoe on the top opening up like a 'U'. This will catch all the luck that rains down from the great Lucky Dog (no, not god. That's sacrilegious). The lights on the pole must be turned on at dusk or the luck will never find it's way down to earth. Make sure the lights get turned off at 11:11 pm and at this time, make a wish for a lucky year! Should Lucky Day fall on a Friday (Friday the thirteenth!), it is important to place 7 lucky pennies (head-side up) around town. Doing this boosts karma level and your kindness to others pleases the Dog. Friends may gather at poles and enjoy such awesome activities as roasting Starbursts over open flame, modern interpretive dancing, and searching for four-leafed clovers.
There's still time to set up a pole!

*****************************************

On another note, I sprained my ankle playing volleyball at a friend's house last night :( I wish I could say that it happened when I came down from an awesome spike or something, but that was not the case. I am just a klutz and tripped. Ouch. It still hurts really bad and is quite throbby.

I hope you enjoy the blog. I'll post photos and all sorts of fun stuff for you all to enjoy!

☮ ♡ ☺