We thank thee, o God, for a prophet.

Today (or now yesterday) Gordon B Hinckley passed away. For those of you who don't know who that is, he was the current prophet of the LDS church. He has been the prophet since March 12, 1995. He was a pretty amazing dude, and I'm really sad to hear of his passing. He will join his wife now who passed away in 2004.

My friends Esther and Dan broke off their engagement yesterday. They're still friends though. Games night was tonight at my house and they were both there, along with many other people.

I have not seen Trevor and Miranda in a loooong time. I miss them. I used to see them almost every day! The lest time I saw them was the day before I left for Florida (Jan 1st).

Yesterday was Katie Black's birthday party. The cake made it there without any problems. it weighed about 20 pounds and was rather large. There will be pictures added tot he photo gallery soon. Lots of people showed up and we had a blast playing catchphrase and making lots of noise (so much that the people downstairs were banging on the ceiling).

The title: William Fowler - We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet (LDS Hymn)

If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten.

Sunday is Katie Black's birthday. I have a giant double layered chocolate cake half done. When finished it will have a strawberry creamcheese filling, and will be frosted with chocolate fudge. This is per Katie's request, I'm actually a bigger fan of the creamcheese frosting. Adam Schetselaar's birthday was on the 21st, my brother's on the 24th, and there are so many other birthdays in January. It's been a nice reminder that everyone else is getting older too. A better reminder than the monthly wedding invitations. Katie's birthday party is Saturday night at her apartment in Parkway Crossing.

I hope nobody from work reads my blog. I got a raise at work. They reconsidered my pay since I was hired at the old pay range and most other people in my training group were hired at considerably more than me. If a technical lead position opens up at work I really hope to get it. I love working for NetApp.

Mike Toth has created a fantastic recipe database at http://recipe.queldor.net which is still a work in progress, but for me has been handy to enter a few of my recipes into.

We've been getting a decent amount of snow here in Utah, but I have still only been sledding twice this year. It's pretty hard to find someone to go with me. I need to go out and get a snow tube since I gave all mine away when I left MA.

The title: Monty Python - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Now, if you starve to death, you'll just have yourself to blame

This might seem pointless to write about, but I can't get the taste out of my mind. Yesterday I made an amazing sandwich and I will definitely be making it again. So since it was so amazing I am going to tell you what was in it. I marinated some thinly sliced chicken breast pieces in pesto then cooked em in the oven under the broiler. I made some roasted red peppers in a pan with some olive oil. Then I added some muenster cheese, field greens, and slapped some garlic mayo on some multigrain bread. Amazing taste.

I have been going to the gym as close to daily as I can. I have been "running" on the eliptical machine for at least 30 minutes, and today I did an hour. I barely sweat if I do at all and when I leave I don't feel like I did much. I've been running on the cardio setting which says my heart rate should be 152. To get up to that rate it's only a kind of speedy walk.

The title: Weird Al Yankovic - Eat It

They say it's your birthday

As of January 11thI am 30 years old. On Thursday some friends joined me at Texas Roadhouse for a fun meal. I got to ride the sawhorse, which is always a good time. The best part of my birthday was Sarah Beynon. Even though she is 2500 miles away she made me a cake. She then took the cake to a friend's house and they sang happy birthday to me over the phone. She lit all the candles and had me blow them out over the phone. I think she is destined to be one of those extreme romantics. Certainly nothing wrong with that at all.

I think I may have a sinus infection. On the plane ride home I developed a headache of doom. It has not gone away since then. I have taken several different over-the-counter painkillers and none of them made any difference at all. I really hope I don't have to go to the doctor for this. i just got insurance, but it's $25 to go see a doctor which is a lot of cash for someone to just give you a prescription for pills (that will cost you even more money). It would be a good excuse to go ask a doctor about getting my leg straightened though.

When i got to Florida last week it was cold (in the 50 to 60 degree range), but it warmed up after a day or two. the last few days I was there it was in the 80's. i got to see my Bobi and Pepe and a bunch of aunts, uncles, and cousins. All of them used to live in Massachusetts so it's weird to me that they all ended up there. They are from both my mom and dad's side of the family. The most exciting part of the trip was going to Disney World, which I haven't been to in probably 15 years. Pictures of the whole trip will be posted in the photo gallery soon.

The title: The Beatles - Birthday

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Yesterday I flew to Florida. I got to the airport two hours before takeoff and it took so long to get through bag checking and security that I was only sitting waiting to board for 10 minutes. The flight was good though. I was sitting next to quiet people. The guy accross the aisle was holding a conversation up until takeoff by shouting it between someone three rows back. That was pretty annoying. It wasn't warm when I got here. I put my sweater back on when I was waiting in the baggage claim. This morning it is warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt, but it's still not how Florida should be. They said it was a lot warmer before I showed up. I haven't seen all these people in 10 years, and besides the two youngest girls, everyone looks exactly the same. I know I look different, and everyone says so. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing. Some people said if they passed me in the street they wouldn't have recognized me. We're going to Disney World later in the week, which I am pretty excited for.

The title: John Denver - Leaving on a Jet Plane