Kansas Road Signs, M. Hall, and Other Random Tidbits
WE and I drove through the great state of Kansas on our way to Colorado this weekend. We got a kick out of the propaganda billboards – most of which mentioned Jesus in some way, shape, or form.
But my favorite, however, was the huge billboard declaring
“Happiness is a Crock of Beans!”
On our way back from CO, we streamed the BYU vs Utah game on WE’s iPhone. So that was pretty exciting. I actually turned it off right after the game even though WE insisted we listen to the post-game and revel in the victory. I’m kind of glad that we didn’t listen considering M. Hall’s super poor post-game performance (not to mention the 4th qtr). Not that I condone the crazy fans that do horribly mean things to the opposing fans during this the most unholy of ‘holy wars’, but I certainly don’t think that “making it personal” is a justifiable excuse for using the h*** word 
I do agree with Bronco – that M. Hall let out his emotions – but “speaking from the heart?!” Come on.
We also practiced notes for our upcoming choral Christmas performances. Check out our 2009 winter Evening Song performance schedule here.
And we started an all-comprehensive study on parenting. (Everyone always says that you’re never ready to be a parent, but I think this is THE #1 most popular excuse for NOT preparing) ***Note: We are currently accepting recommendations on great reads***
Of the books and articles that we have read so far, this one about helicopter parents I found particularly interesting. And for the funniest thing I’ve read so far, here’s a summary of the anti-beatitudes found in a book written by one of my old college professors.
Beatitudes for an Unhappy Family:
1. Blessed are they who tell the truth 99 percent of the time, for they shall be known as “basically” honest people.
2. Blessed are the deceitful, for they shall avoid disappointing others.
3. Blessed are they who use sarcasm, for they shall be known as funny and humorous people.
4. Blessed are the critical, for they shall look good in the eyes of others. Yea, confess thy spouse’s sins.
5. Blessed are the selfish for they shall have the most toys at the end.
6. Blessed are they who shout the loudest, for they shall be heard.
7. Blessed are they who are right, for they shall win arguments.
8. Blessed are they who insist on getting their own way, for they shall obtain their independence.
9. Blessed are they who swear for effect, for they shall influence others.
10. Blessed are they who are the biggest, for they can intimidate others with their size. After all, might makes right.
However humorous, unfortunately for most of us, these come a little too close for comfort and are good reminders of what NOT to be.
Man, if I wasn’t already married to you, I’d really want to be.
The only thing that made that awful drive bearable was to have you right there with me…
So, why are you suddenly doing a study on parenting? Did you see some things this past week that you DIDN’T want to do?
Books are nice, but you can only prepare so much with those. You just have to jump in there, and then buy a book or call your sister or brother for advice that probably won’t work for you…
I agree with A1.
After all the years of child development classes at BYU and then teaching preschool and kindergarten for 3 years, I felt like I should know what I’m doing. But you never 100% know for sure what’s the “right” answer for every situation.
That’s when you call your mom, the pediatrician–can I just say how much I love having a doctor for a brother!, an old roomie
, and pray your little heart out that what you decided to do was the right thing.
And I’m thinking we missed out on some top notch billboards by not moving to Kansas. Sure we have billboards here in Vegas, but I don’t think I’ve seen one talking about religion in the traditional sense anyways.
And I realized I didn’t leave any book titles. I don’t really remember specific titles about general parenting (pregnancy, sleep training, general newborn care is another story since I mostly bought those books), but don’t forget to do some searching on lds.org for old Ensign articles and conference talks. They give a different perspective than you can find in most of the books out there.