Lowe's Coupon Experience

As part of our bathroom remodel we take a lot of trips to Lowe's. Thankfully it's practically right around the corner. We checked out Home Depot but Lowe's has many of the same products at similar prices (plus Lowe's has a vanity that is relatively inexpensive but looks nice) but Lowe's is closer so we do all our home shopping there for this project. Anyway, I had a 10% off coupon for Home Depot that I wanted to use at Lowe's. I called the store first just to make sure they accepted Home Depot coupons - they did. So I went in to buy the toilet and vanity. I went up to the cashier to pay for the items and showed him the coupon. He gave me the funniest look (sort-of incredulous) and said in total disbelief like I was either crazy or just being funny, "That's a Home Depot coupon." Me, "I know, your store accepts them. I talked with customer service and they said you did." Then he tried to scan it, which obviously didn't work. He gave me a look like, "I told you; you're crazy." Me: "Can you call a manager?" So he called up a manager who of course told him that they do accept the coupons. Looking a little sheepish, he tried to figure out how to enter the coupon. As he did so a higher-order worker came up and got everything sorted out. I sure was enjoying myself. I still can't get over the look on this kid's face - it was priceless. Anyway, it saved us a bit of money. I didn't even try to price-match to Home Depot on the toilet (they have it for $5 less) because the cashier probably would have had an aneurysm.

Dolls, Dragons, and Pots

We have a few nice decorations for our home from the places we've lived or visited. The first image is a picture of our Kachina. Kachina is a Hopi word meaning "life bringer." Kachina dolls are made to represent the various Kachina spirits. My parents got us this doll a few years ago for Christmas. Here's our Kachina holding a watermelon and a knife.


We lived in Utah for the first years of our marriage. Kristi used to work for a service organization in Utah and we got to go on one trip down to southeast Utah. She received this nice pot from the people down there (it's certainly not authentic Native American make but it reminds us of the desert and beautiful Utah).


In September 2007 I attended a conference in Cardiff, Wales (yes, I actually went to most of the conference and didn't just sight-see). Wales is the land of sheep and dragons. It's a land of mythology and history. At one gift shop I saw the cutest little Tic-Tac-Toe set (pictured below). They also had a similar chess set but it was about $80, a little too much for me. Anyway, I purchased this delightful little set (it was hand-made in Wales). I love the cute little dragons and sheep. It even made it home on the airplane(s) in one piece. Well, technically it's not one piece but none of the pieces broke.

Beethoven Podcast

I've been enjoying a great podcast by the CBC about Beethoven's 9 symphonies. They're relatively brief and very enjoyable. It's always interesting hearing about great classical works and great composers.

Here's the link to subscribe in iTunes. You can also download them individually here (as well as see the CBC page about Beethoven).

Beethoven had a huge impact on classical music - he is considered one of the greatest composers of all time. I love so many of his works, especially his piano pieces. His Piano Sonata #8 (Pathétique Sonata) is one of my favorites. I also love his Rage Over a Lost Penny. His symphonies, of course, are all great.

Kitchen and Bathroom work

Well, we finished our kitchen painting (OK, Kristi and Anwyn did). Here is a photo of it all done. I'm also posting a picture of our new IKEA magnetic knife holder. We've wanted one for a long time but had to paint first. Now our knives are easy to access if an alligator ever decides to attack. We'd pull a knife off, "Wwhhii" and that alligator would turn around an hightail itself back to a swamp. Of course we practically live in a swamp so it might not go very far but if it ever looked like it was contemplating a return into the house with its beady eyes, I'd stare right back at it and say, "Wwhhii" and it'd know not to mess with us.



Once we finished the kitchen (well, we'd love to redo the cupboards but probably won't ever do that) I guess we needed something else to do so yesterday I started ripping out our 1/2 bath. We've been wanting to redo it for ages - the toilet ran (that's an easy fix, of course, but we didn't really like the toilet anyway) and the sink/vanity was hideous. So, I started pulling everything out. Now it's down to the bare floor and walls. We need to finish tiling the bathroom (it was just tiled up to the old vanity), put some baseboards on, repair the walls a bit, paint the walls, and install a new toilet and vanity. We found some nice ones at Lowe's (plus we have coupons too) that are reasonably priced. I saw the coolest sink at Home Depot yesterday but it was $800 or so! Yikes, but if we actually had any money I'd consider it because it was so cool. Here's a picture of the sink. A faucet goes on top but that's the sink. It looks really cool in real life.Well, here are a couple in-process pictures of the bathroom. You have to love the lovely unpainted wall spots. Oh well, we'll get everything looking nice.

The Dark is Rising

I recently started re-reading The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. It's been a few years since I last read them and after watching the Dark is Rising movie (The Seeker) I thought I should re-read the books. The movie The Seeker is a mediocre movie if you don't compare it to the book. If you compare it to the book then it becomes an abomination. They completely missed the point of the novel. It's not just a modern adaptation of the story, it's a completely different story. The movie has very little of the symbolism that the book has. The movie is different enough from the book that it is "inspired" by the novel at best. It's like taking The Lord of the Rings and changing the story to the point where Sam kills Frodo, Sam takes the ring, Sam dies, Sauron takes the ring, Merry steals it from Sauron and usurps his place as dark lord. That's an extreme example but the movie The Seeker is nothing like the book The Dark is Rising. I don't think the screenwriters/director/producers read the same book I did. Reportedly, Susan Cooper was appalled (as I would be). It's unfortunate that such a rich and wonderful story was very poorly adapted to film; it could have been a great film.

Song Composition

Here's a recording of a piano song I wrote fairly recently. It's not the highest quality recording but it'll do for now. The following link actually takes you to a page from which you can listen to or download the song. The song is called Midnight Lullaby - it's not much of a lullaby as recorded but it originally was intended to be one. On the other hand it might just be the sort of lullaby a parent would sing to a child who was up at midnight - a little sweet but with a touch of frustration. I composed it in its earliest form around midnight one night as I worked on school stuff. I find that I do my best composing after 11 PM and often after midnight. Or maybe I'm just tired so everything I do sounds good because my brain isn't working fully. Or maybe some of the higher cognitive processes aren't working as well so some of my sorely limited creativity can leak out.

http://www.brainybehavior.com/music/

Doctoring and Other Fun

Today Anwyn wanted to be a doctor. She got the Little Fisher Price Medical Kit for Christmas and likes to do check-ups of all of us. She listened to my heart, looked in my eyes, mouth, and ears, took my blood pressure, and then took my temperature ("You have a fever; you need some pokes"). Then she pulled out the fake syringe ("Are you going to be brave?") and gave me a shot then placed on bandaid on the poke site. "You are sick for pretend. Go home and try to get some rest."

She's going to be a great doctor someday. I asked her if she wants to be a doctor when she is a grown woman. Anwyn replied, "Yes. But I am going to be a mommy but I can still be a doctor sometimes."

Here's a great little video of Lily. She loves to shake her head and smile.

Utah Photos

We took a trip to Utah at the beginning of May to attend my brother's wedding. My grandmother also passed away so we were able to go to her funeral. My sister also had a baby while we were there (we never got down to see the baby though). It was a very eventful but pleasant trip. We took lots of photos, some of which are viewable in the linked web album, or you can just view the photos from the trip in the slideshow below.

I Almost Broke My Leg!

I'm really pumping out the posts now. I guess I need to make up for lost time. This evening Anwyn was jumping off our couch onto the floor. After one landing she exclaimed with all the enthusiasm a three-year-old can muster, "Mom! I almost broke my leg!" Kristi was on the phone so Anwyn kept repeating it over and over. The thing with 3-year-olds (and 2-year-olds) or maybe it's just our particular brand of 3-year-old, is that they have to keep repeating something over and over until they are validated or at least grunted at. "I almost broke my leg!" Dad: "Wow." Anwyn: "Mom, I almost broke my leg!" I've never heard anyone sound so pleased about a near break (it wasn't really a near break), 3-year-olds are wont to exaggerate. Their lives are perpetual mellodramas. It's okay though, the myelination of their frontal lobes will finish in another 20 years or so and they'll probably improve.

Recent Photos and Activities

Painting the kitchen!

Anwyn in front of our condo.

Kristi's Mother's Day Calla Lily. I'm not a huge fan of getting Kristi cut flowers because they die in a few days. I much prefer getting plants (especially that bear flowers) that will live for years and years.

Our own precious Lily!


Lily with a messy face and bed head; she inherited both traits from her father!

Favorite Music

In my previous post I wrote about one band - Muse - that I really enjoy. There are many groups and styles of music that I enjoy. One of my favorite things about riding the bus to school is I can sit and listen to my iPod and enjoy all the good music on there (I also enjoy listening to podcasts, particularly NPR ones).

Let me just say that my greatest love in music is classical music. There are few things in life better than songs by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Dvorak, and others like them. This post isn't about classical music though.

I love some old groups/bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, ABBA, and Simon & Garfunkel. Elvis is OK but a little over-rated in my opinion.

There were some good groups and songs in the 70s and 80s but those were low years on the whole in the pop music world. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of music that I like from those eras but newer music tends to be so much better. The 90s had some pretty good music too - Soul Asylum's Runaway Train is one of my favorite songs. I also really like Collective Soul's The World I Know. The Cranberries came out with great songs too. I also really enjoy They Might Be Giants (who have good songs from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s). Ben Folds is another artist who started in the 90s who has some very good songs (you have to be careful with his music because he likes to swear in songs). Green Day has some good songs from the 90s as well. I know I'm missing a lot of songs and groups but I really want to write about my current favorite groups.

One group I recently learned to like a lot is Guster (they also started in the 90s). They have some songs that are bad (they like to swear too) but they also have a lot of really really good songs, especially their newer stuff. I'd have to say that my favorite group at this time is Yellowcard. Their music is very good. They have a few songs that aren't that great but overall they've come out with great music (as long as you focus on albums from Ocean Avenue and on). I love the layers upon layers of sound in many of their songs. Their music is so complex and well-written. Their prettiest song is called How I Go from their album Lights and Sounds. That song is amazing (it basically tells the story of the movie Big Fish but you don't have to know the movie to enjoy the song). One thing I love about Yellowcard is their use of a violin (one of the band members plays the violin). They also use a full complement of strings at times (in a Beatles-esque way). They are one of the few bands for which I'd actually consider going to a concert.

Another artist I enjoy is Brandi Carlile. She's folksy and has a lot of really great songs. Her voice is a little different but very rich and pleasant. I particularly like her songs Have You Ever and Downpour. She has a lot of other good ones but those are my favorite of hers.

There are other groups that have some really good music as well: Jimmy Eat World, The All-American Rejects, Five For Fighting, Relient K, MIKA, Barenaked Ladies, Simple Plan, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional (they have only a few songs I really enjoy) and The Ataris (this group has a lot of really great songs). Great Big Sea (a Canadian group) has quite a few good songs too (and quite a few not so great songs). Blackmore's Night is a different group with some good songs (they have a wonderful version of Greensleeves). Within Temptation has a few good songs too (warning - their songs can be really weird - picture a high fantasy novel come to life). In general I enjoy the sound of modern emo/alternative music.

I also really enjoy Alison Krauss music. She's an amazing artist. Her lullabies are without peer (e.g., Slumber My Darling, Evermore, and Blessed Be). I also love her songs A Living Prayer, When You Say Nothing At All, Simple Gifts, The Scarlet Tide, and her songs from O, Brother! Where Art Thou? This woman can sing (and play the violin)!

I'm also a huge fan of crossover classical music (think Charlotte Church). I'd have to say that my favorite crossover artist is Hayley Westenra, an artist from New Zealand who has about the most pure voice you'll ever hear. Her range is amazing too. Her voice is so good it's unreal plus her songs tend to be well-arranged. She has a version of Shenandoah that will make you cry. She also sings Abide With Me with perfection. While I like most of her songs I particularly enjoy (in addition to the songs I mentioned) River of Dreams, Quanta Qualia, Hine e Hine, Both Sides Now, and Pokarekare Ana.

I also really enjoy the groups Celtic Woman (they do a lot of amazing modern Celtic music), All Angels (4 females), Libera (a boy choir), The Choirboys, OperaBabes, and a few others like them. The string quartet Bond has some pretty good songs too (think Euro dance/pop meets Mozart). I also love Nickel Creek, CCR, and some other groups.

One thing I really like about music now is the use of different instruments in bands. It's not entirely uncommon to have pianos, violins, cellos (those are becoming very popular), trumpets, and other instruments like that. There's a lot of musical freedom (in a good way) today and such a varied sound to songs.

Of course I love the Utah musicians Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band and Peter Breinholt. Both do great music. Well, I could go on but there's a little flavor of some of the music I enjoy.

Musings about Twilight

Well I finally gave in and read the Stephenie Meyer Twilight series (it also helped that I was sick and bed/couch-ridden for a number of days without much else useful to do). I was impressed, actually. They were well-written, if a little sappy, novels. The first was the most sappy of the three but they improved after that. Not that I don't mind a little sappiness but when it's leaking like a pine tree it's a little overboard. I have to say that I'm not quite sure who I want Bella to end up with. Edward certainly has wonderful traits and Bella really loves him but I can understand Jacob's position too.

Jacob is the werewolf. Werewolves in general don't have quite the uh, appeal that vampires do. Vampires usually just bite you and suck your blood (often portrayed as somewhat romantic at least) while a werewolf will just rip you apart (which isn't conducive to romance). But Bella and Jacob are really good friends. Jacob makes Bella happy in a way that Edward just can't. To be fair, Edward makes Bella happy in a way that Jacob can't but Edward and Bella's relationship just isn't the same as Bella and Jacob's relationship is. I'd have a tough choice too if I was in Bella's shoes. If Bella ended up choosing Jacob I really could understand and respect her choice. At this point I think I'm rooting for Edward though.

A wonderful link was forwarded to us the other day: http://mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/2008/02/twilight-series-for-dummies-and-totally.html. The blog is hilarious and very well-written. It's quickly become a favorite read.

If you haven't read them yet they are worth a read. I can't say that they are my favorite novels but they're good. I wouldn't mind owning them but I wouldn't rush out and buy them without looking for a sale (of course, I do that for pretty much everything so that's not saying much). The other great thing about the novels is that the author is LDS and a BYU graduate - it's always good to support a fellow BYU grad (if they deserve it; I mean I wouldn't support a BYU alumnus who ran a drug dealing business, not that there are very many I'm sure).

One thing I thought was interesting was how Stephenie Meyer kept alluding to a band in her books without ever using their name. If you now what her taste in music is then you know who the band is without her having to name them. It's Muse, of course. I was exposed to them within the past 6 months or so. They are one of the most fabulous bands ever. Seriously. Some of their music is way over-board (but then were some Beatles' songs/tracks) and it takes some time to get used to their style but once I did I fell in love with their music. It can be a little heavy - just as a warning - but the musicality of their songs is way up there. At least some of the band members have classical training. One of their songs Butterflies and Hurricanes actually has a piano part that reminds me of Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto. Another great thing is that most of their songs are very clean and free from bad language. Anyway, Muse is the band that Stephenie Meyer alludes to but never names in her books (you can also kind-of pick it up if you read her acknowledgements at the end of the books).