Two {Tags}: Part 1a

I am now officially a blogger--I have finally been tagged! In fact, I am DOUBLE a blogger because I was tagged twice. So here ya go:

{5 bands I listened to in high school}

Tim McGraw? What?! I know, I know, I really don't like country music... now. But when I was 15 and living in rural North Carolina, OF COURSE I liked Tim McGraw! And Kenny Chesney, too. In fact, I still like Tim McGraw's song "Something Like That". But now, I really can't abide country music, except for Rascal Flatts, who is probably considered crossover. But there you have it.

The first Something Corporate song I heard was "Constantine" and I loved it right away. I also really like "If U C Jordan" and "Punk Rock Princess" (I fancied myself a pUnK rOcK pRiNcEsS when I was in high school... sometimes). But the best thing about Something Corporate in my opinion is the name of this album: Leaving Through the Window.

How can you have teenage angst without listening to Dashboard Confessional? Even now, years after he was really big, my teenage sister and brother listen to him. I love Dashboard Confessional. I am happily married now, but I'm still young enough to remember how unrequited love feels *sigh*. I like the song where he gets mad and yells "And no one is waiting for you!" (I don't know any of the names of his songs). And of course, "Hands Down" is a great song for when you are happy with your love life.

I really, really like afi. Especially this cd, "Sing the Sorrow". Again, I don't know the names of the songs... when I was in high school, my brother Tyler had a burned copy of this cd, but it was burned out of order, so when I heard the real cd I was all mixed up because the songs were all playing in a different order than I was used to. We used to listen to this cd on the way to school. I like their most recent album, too--"Decemberunderground". It has a marching anthem on it, and a secret code in one of the songs--a phone being dialed along with the music. Jason and I think if we can figure out what number they are calling, we can call it and get a secret recorded message about the next meeting of the afi fan club, the Despair Faction.

Finally, Taking Back Sunday, which was my absolute favorite band for many, many years. I still really love their first album (Tell All Your Friends), but their other stuff is pretty mediocre. But I can never get enough of Tell All Your Friends. My favorite is the end of the last song, which goes "Don't call my name out your window, I'm leaving" (which sort of goes along with the name of Something Corporate's cd). I always wanted to say that to someone, but was never in a situation in which it would make any sense...

Whew! That was time consuming. I wanted to do a "5 bands I listen to now" post/tag along with this, but I will have to do that later.

ME ME ME!!!

Jen did this on her blog, and you know I always copy her, so I'm doing it, too.
It's easy, really; all you have to do is leave a comment with a memory of ME! It can be funny, happy, sad, mad, whatever... but hopefully it will be a good memory :)
Jen was hesitant to post because she was afraid no one would comment... I'm hesitant because I have been reading Seriously, So Blessed, and I don't want to sound like an egotistical maniac. But maybe I am...?

"I try really hard, actually."

I have a confession to make... I like the movie Juno. A lot. But that's not the confession. The confession is that part of the reason I like it so much is because my parents don't think it is appropriate. Sorry, Mom and Dad. I guess that I still have a little bit of a rebellious nature left over from my teenage days.
With all the talk of teenage pregnancy pacts and such nowadays, Juno and Knocked Up have taken a lot of abuse. I can't speak for Knocked Up (I haven't seen it, although I admit it looks funny) but it really bothers me when people assume that Juno somehow encourages or glamorizes teen pregnancy. At no point in the movie does Juno express any excitement about being pregnant; in fact, the whole movie is about how hard it is for her to be a pregnant teenager.
Here are some of the things that I like about the movie:

• It addresses the fact that, however unfair, the burden of pregnancy remains on the girl. She's the one walking around with a big belly. She's the one who has to endure the stares and gossip and dirty looks. The boy is just as responsible for their situation, but he (usually) isn't scrutinized.for 9 months.
• There {still} seems to be an assumption out there that teenage pregnancy doesn't happen to "nice girls". I think people have a hard time accepting the fact that yes, it happens in all social groups and income brackets. Juno breaks the stereotype. Granted, she comes from a broken home, but she has a good relationship with her stepmother and an exceptionally good relationship with her father.
• {Most} Adults know better, but a lot of teenagers still believe the myth that you can't get pregnant the first time. Juno did; she got pregnant during her one and only sexual encounter. (Another point that I like--she's not sexually promiscuous. She's an average teenager who made a mistake.)
• Finally, Juno makes the right decision and she has a family that supports her. Instead of deciding to have an abortion or to raise the child alone, she decides to give her baby up for adoption to a family that can give it what she can't. Isn't that what we, as members of the Church, are counseled to do in this situation? Her parents are understandably upset, but they are supportive of her decision. I only hope that if Jason and I are ever in that situation as parents that we can react with understanding and love and support as Juno's parents did.

So, there you have it. All the reasons that I like Juno.

Oh, I didn't even mention how funny and quirky it is.

The Ragged Old Flag

(I'm not sure why the slideshow doesn't seem to be working... if anyone has any ideas, let me know! I copied the HTML code and inserted it into the edit HTML part when I posted this... post. I've successfully done this before. What's wrong with it?!)

We had a really fun 4th of July weekend. I have always loved the 4th of July--I loved watching the fireworks when I was a kid, and even more when I was a teenager and I got to go out with my friends! One year my family and a bunch of my friends rode the train into Philadelphia to watch the fireworks show. That was really fun, and it was especially neat to be in Philadelphia, our nation's birthplace!

But this year was fun too. We started the weekend on Thursday, when Jason's best friend Dan and his wife Jess came over to hang out. Dan and Jess live in San Francisco but they were in town visiting, and it was really wonderful to see them! It was just like old days (only now we have two kids). I think the last time we saw them was last March.

On Friday morning, Jason and I took the girls to North Canyon Park to eat patriotic muffins (blueberry and cranberry) and go on a nature walk. While we were there, we discovered the Great and Spacious Building from Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life! Who would've thunk it was here in Utah all along.

Friday evening we went to a BBQ at Dan's parent's house, and Tempe met her new grandma, Grandma Hardy. Dan's mom was really sweet and got Tempe some toys, and played with her, and let her help unload the dishwasher... and by the end of the night, Tempe was calling her grandma. When we got home from the BBQ, we got out some fireworks and sparklers to show Tempe before bed. She had a lot of fun, even though the screaming fountain kind of startled her. She wasn't even afraid of the sparkler!

On Saturday, we went out with Dan and Jess to Chili's because I have been craving ribs for a while. I ate a whole rack of ribs, all by myself, and if the waiter had offered us dessert, I would have had dessert, too! (I have been so hungry lately--I guess from nursing)

We concluded our 4th of July weekend at another BBQ on Saturday night. This one was thrown by my friend Christina and her husband Spencer, who were visiting from Idaho. Christina and I went to high school together and were really good friends--in fact, she was my very first friend in PA, and she helped me so much as I got settled into a new school and ward. I don't know what I would have done without her! We haven't seen each other since my wedding, 3 years ago, so it was absolutely fabulous catching up with her.

Whew, it was a busy weekend, and it was especially fun because we got to catch up with some old friends. That's the great thing about Utah! Even though a lot of our friends have moved away, most of them still have ties to Utah so they have to come back and visit!

Now we just need the CHENEYS to come and visit us :)

Spend some time with Tempe!

Tempe is almost two years old. That means that (among other things):

• She says "No, me!" a lot whenever I try to do something for her
• She learns about five new words every day (and she repeats everything--so be careful what you say!)
• She is learning to run and she runs away from me whenever she gets the chance.
• She throws spectacular tantrums!

I think all of those things are very normal for an almost-two year old, but to me they are still interesting :) I love watching her grow and change every day! She is becoming such a little person. She has done some pretty cute things in the last few days, so I thought I better write them down before I forget about them!

• Yesterday, Helena was in her carseat as I was getting some stuff together so that we could leave. Suddenly, Jason nudged me and pointed at Tempe; she had brought two toy cups and a teapot over to the carseat and given one to Helena. She "poured" something into the cups and then helped Helena have a "drink", then took a drink herself. It was adorable! That was the first time I have ever caught Tempe playing with her sister.
• We went to a BBQ at Jason's friend's parent's house (did you follow that?) for the 4th of July, and Tempe got very attached to Dan's mom! She was following her around and calling her Grandma by the end of the night. She even wanted Dan's mom to hold her when she got hurt!
• When we were leaving yesterday, we said "Ok, Tempe, come on!" and she said "Ok", picked up her little plastic toy purse and slung it over her shoulder. "Purse come" she said to us. She insisted on bringing it with her.

She is a fun little girl and she charms everyone she meets. Jason and I marvel every day about how lucky we are to have two happy, healthy little girls!

Helena--3 months old already!

Check out Margaret's blog for more great pictures!

Matching skinned knees

Lately Tempe has been falling down and skinning her knees a lot. Partly because she is learning how to run and partly because she is wearing shorts for the first time in her life, so her knees are a lot more exposed than they used to be. The result is she has perpetually scraped knees--just another reminder that we have a toddler now!

I have been sort of brushing off her scraped knees, thinking that she is overreacting and it can't possibly be that bad. As grownups, I think we forget how much it really hurts to fall down and scrape yourself! I got a reminder a few days ago.

I was riding my bike to Wal-Mart (with Tempe in the bike trailer) and as I turned into the driveway of a parking lot, I totally wiped out. I didn't turn hard enough and so the bike sort of slid against the curb and then dumped me. Ow!! It really hurt! I have scrapes on my palms, elbows, knees, and ankles, and one knee has a really spectacular bruise on it. The next day I was so sore I could barely pull my shirt over my head or walk up and down the stairs! So I began to empathize more with Tempe about falling down.

But the worst part was how scary it was to fall with the bike trailer. The trailer is very, very stable, so it didn't turn over, but it and the bike slid a few feet after I fell before I grabbed it. Luckily we were in a parking lot--but what if we had been in the street?? Now I am too scared to ride in the street. I rode the rest of the way on sidewalks, but I really don't think I am supposed to ride on the sidewalk. Maybe I will have to limit riding with the trailer to bike paths and neighborhoods.

I'm just so grateful that we were ok and nothing happened. After I fell, I got right back up and we kept going (yeah, it was embarrassing, if anyone is wondering) and it took a few minutes for it to sink in... for me to realize what could have happened if we had been in the street. We were so lucky!