Singing in the Rain

JD must really like me, because I was able to talk him into watching Singing in the Rain. For those who have seen it, I know you are thinking, what is there to talk into? But for those who have not seen the "musical treasure" skeptisism often takes precedence over enjoying this fantastic movie. JD even appreciated the ability of the actors to sing and dance and act. It surprised me how much of the dialogue I have memorized too. It was a really fun night. Interesting facts from the movie:

• The Singing in the Rain scene was filmed while Gene Kelly had a 103 degree fever. The rain water was mixed with milk so it would show up on the film better. This mixture happened to make Gene's suit shrink. They also went through quite a few umbrellas.


• Debbie Reynolds was 19 when filming the film and Gene didn't approve of her dance skills compared with his. One day, Fred Astaire (as in Fred and Ginger) found Debbie crying under a piano after Gene had yelled at her over her dancing and he offered to give her private dance lessons to get her to the level Gene wanted her at.


• Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) actually dubbed over some of Debbie Reynold's songs in the film, with her normal voice of course.

I HATE VALENTINES COMMERCIALS!!!!

This is a vent so if you don't want to read about me whining stop now because I am passionately against stupid Valentine's Day commercials. THEY ARE SO FLIPPING STUPID!!!! JD and I were watching something last night and a commercial pops on about a couple and a stupid teapot and how their marriage almost fell apart because on their first Valentine's Day he gave her a one person teapot. So this Valentine's he gave her a 2 person teapot with a diamond necklace in it....result you are wondering? The dumb girl opens the teapot ready to cry and then the necklace and says... Now this is what says I love you. Really? Seriously? This is dumb.

Another case in point.....the stupid commercials on the charm bracelets, no offence to those who think they are cute but what do they have to do with anything and what man is really capable of putting together an entire meaningful charm bracelet with that many trinkets all for the low low price of $150+?

And finally, the Hallmark speaking book.....I think they are creepy not cute.

I am not saying that I hate the holiday. I think it is nice to have a day in recognition of the people you care about, but the extent to which it is commercialized to dupe the poor men out there just bugs. I am done now....until the next commercial comes on.

Ski Pipe World Cup 2011

The day finally came! JD and I had a blast up at Park City Mountain Resort for the 2011 Ski Pipe World Championships. It was super fun (parking was the first great adventure) and we didn't get too cold, another bonus. The athletes were fun to watch as they came down the pipe we stayed down at the bottom and could see the looks of frustration or excitement depending on how their run went. Overall a fantastic new experience. Hopefully the debate ends well this year with the Ski Pipe event being added to the Olympic games in Sochi 2014. :)

Catharsis of Clearning

There is something that I love about cleaning, not just cleaning though, deep cleaning. I love the citrus scent of lemon as I scour the tup and counters and sinks in my house. I love vaccuming, washing, dusting, wiping, scrubbing, folding, organizing, emptying, sweeping, mopping, fixing, and so on. I like 'clearning' this occurs as I think as I clean. I love being able to 'dejunk' my brain as I dejunk a closet. Oft times as I am figuring out the best way to go about a cleaning project I figure out the solution to the questions/challenges/experiences I have going on. Not to mention how good it feels to have accomplished a project whether it was the loads of laundry, or the jumbled mess of a drawer in the bathroom now organized to perfection; how to balance school and work, or prepare a fun lesson for my primary class. The finished project certainly feels and looks good. I love clearning.

Bouncy Balls

Things have been a bit of an adventure in the Speth home lately. I started having lung problems (pleurisy, crackles when I breathe and popping, pain) again last week and my health has felt like a bouncy ball ever since. One day I would feel great and the next I just hit the pavement kind of hard before bouncing back. Yesterday I got to go to the hospital for a CT and my poor arms are so scarred from weekly INR monitoring for my Coumadin that they needed to use Ultrasound guided imaging just to find a place to insert an IV for contrast, now that is crazy (though kind of cool how my major takes a role, I have had X-ray, CT, and Ultrasound this week). Feeling good today, so hopefully the next impact doesn't come or maybe the bouncing will stop and I can continue to just roll along............

They Can Touch Their Toes, Why Can't I?

JD, Erin, and I went to the U's first gymnastics meet of the year against #1 Ranked UCLA. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! When I was sick over the summer a lot of gymnastics competitions were happening (as well as replays from the previous year) so while in a recliner, I watched a lot of balancing, flipping, spinning ect. during my recovery. I have always wanted to go to a meet but this past summer cemented in that goal and I have to say it was even more fun than I thought it would be. There were girls who were past Olympians, US National team members and so on. It is crazy to see those athletes up close and doing all of the amazing things they have trained their body for years to be able to do. The crowd at gymnastics events is really fun too. I think everybody is just in awe of what they are watching, it doesn't matter which team member was competing, cheers would errupt for both the U and UCLA after each participant finished their event. It was super fun. Icing on the cake? THE U WON!!!! 195.700-195.300 We will definately make it a point to get back there this season.

Goodbye 2010

I think I will kind of miss 2010, mainly because I like numbers that go by 5's (probably a pharmacy thing, we count medication by 5), they are just very easy to do math in, such as I graduated in 2005, that was 5 years ago. Christie got the wonderful 2010 from high school, but Emily and I are both 2010 graduates from college so it evens out. I like the two round o's that bring balance to the year as well. Can you do that with 2011? No. But no point in prolonging the past instead I will highlight events of 2010, and look forward to new and more exciting adventures in 2011.

• Moved from Ogden to Riverdale, beautiful new apartment with even better neighbors


• Taught primary both in Ogden (10-11) and Riverdale (9-10) next year we will be with the 7-8 year olds


• Nat graduated from Radiation Therapy


• JD and Nat both got new jobs! JD at South Ogden IHC Pharmacy, and Nat at Calton Harrison Orthopedic Clinic


• Lots of trips: Zions National Park (March), Fish Lake (July), Denver Colorado (August), Vernal (October), and California (December); each come with many adventures and pictures


• Attended the 3rd stage of the Archery World Cup


• New refinished piano


• Living Dead Zombie 5K & Santa Run 5K (Nat survived both and even improved her time once her lung healed up a bit more)


• Pulmonary embolism-still experiencing the impact of this one, 'got' to spend a month in a basement, sleeping in a recliner, weekly blood draws, coumadin galore


• JD is a Galactic Hero after outscoring Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters at Disneyland


• A lot of papers exams and homework as JD continues Pharmacy prereqs, and I dig into my Masters program (1/4 of the way done :)


• Fed sting rays


• Ogden Marathon finish line volunteer