Ugly People with Good Hearts

One of my favorite games in the world is to grab a point and shoot camera and take ugly face pictures. I could sit on a couch for hours with a group of friends making the most ridiculous faces the world has ever seen and then spend the next hour laughing my head off looking at them. Its particularly fun to zoom in on the pictures to get the full detail of the hideousness.

True friendships are forged when you spend some time together taking ugly face pictures. You know you are comfortable enough around your friends when you can do this because it can get pretty bad at times. Below are some genuine photos that prove my point.

I have 30 pieces of double bubble bubble gum in my mouth.

Matt loves jello with pineapple chunks

Jenna

This pic went on to be one of the best ever take while at Utah State

Cade

Walking Dead?

No matter what Jenna and I try to do we are not photogenic together.

Not super ugly faces but the cat on Jenna's shirt is super ugly.

Rachel at her finest

Kenzie is one of my favorite people in this world

Creepers

This was a good pic to zoom in on. Taylor's face takes the cake

Jenna's just disgusted

Kenzie takes this one.

This is my favorite of Rachel

...And my favorite of Kenzi

...And my favorite of Carli

This is 50 pieces of double bubble bubble gum

Haley is currently serving a mission. She was very good at this game. :P

A Brief Post

Today I will be brief. I have made zero headway on the essays I need to write for grad school application and I'd like to make a small dent today if possible. I had every intention to get some work done earlier today but I slept in much longer than I had intended and then I had to get some snow clothes. Plus I had to take a nap as well.

I think was lacking a bit of sleep as of late. You see my dog Cuda had a "drinking problem" as we called it. I've mentioned this in a prior post here. This problem for the past three months or so has caused me to get up at least three times in the middle of the night to give him some water. Last night was the first time in a while that I was able to sleep through the entire night. Catching up on sleep was very nice.

Now I'm going to attempt to write or at least outline an essay so that I feel like I'm doing something productive.

Akin to a Unicycle

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas spent with family and loved ones. Christmas is one of the best days of the year because you can stuff your gut to a point of explosion and then fall into a deep food coma. Yep there really is nothing better. 

About two years ago my good friend Robbie got a unicycle for Christmas. She had asked for one so it was no surprise to her but to me it seemed like such a random gift. A unicycle is something I would never even think of asking for. I rode said unicycle and couldn't get the hang of it. I had to hold on to someone to make sure that I didn't crack my skull open.

For Christmas this year I received something akin to a unicycle in regards to its randomness. I didn't even ask for this gift but once I saw it I got very excited. Here is a pic of my new Dutch Oven.

My step mom makes really good apple cobbler in our Dutch Ovens and I always request it for my birthday. She got the idea to just buy me a Dutch Oven along with all of the fixings needed to make said cobbler. My goal is to learn some recipes that I can make in my fancy Dutch Oven and then share it with all of you. 

Another surprise that I received for Christmas that made me equally excited was this bad boy.

Mine broke about three months ago and I haven't had the motivation to go play since then. Now that I have a new racquet I'll be out on the courts as often as possible.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Isn't wonderful to have snow on the ground and bright blue skies above? I can't think of any other weather to have on Christmas day.

I made it a goal of mine this year to bring the true spirit of Christmas into my life a bit more this year. I feel that I did a decent job and I found myself thinking more of the Savior and giving then receiving gifts of my own.

Last night I had a new experience that really ushered in the Christ Spirit. My buddy Schyler invited me to participate in a Christmas tradition he has of attending Christmas mass. I'm a huge fan of new experiences so I was like a giddy school boy. We went to The Cathedral of St. Mark on 100 South which is an Episcopalian church. It was a beautiful building and I felt like I was in a very special place. Once the service began the Christmas spirit permeated the room. We spent the next hour and half reciting Bible verses, singing hymns, and praying. My favorite part was when we sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing as the Processional Hymn. The choir and orchestra belted the melody at full blast and I couldn't help but get chills. It was such a great way to welcome Christmas and what it truly means.

My hope is that on this day in which we celebrate the birth of Christ, each of us might remember what He's done for us and what we in turn can do for him.

Merry Christmas.

The Eve of Christmas

It's snowing outside right now. This is the first white Christmas I have experienced in six years. For two years didn't see a spec of snow while in California. California's version of snow is a lot of rain. The last four years since I have been home have been bone dry. It's nice for once to have snow on the ground and to really have the Christmas Spirit.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Sunday Naps

One of the greatest things in this world is the Sunday nap. It's that one thing in this world that can be relied upon to give needed rejuvenation. I haven't always been able to indulge on the Sunday nap because of one thing or another but when I am able to enjoy it, my life becomes so much more fulfilled.

Jason's Sunday Nap History:

Birth-January 2, 2007: As a lad I never napped. Naps did nothing for me and I wanted nothing to do with naps. I actually had a phobia of naps. My fear was that if I were to fall asleep I would miss on really fun and important things. One time I was sick and my mom forced me to lay down and get some needed rest. I was so nervous that she would leave and do something fun without me that I grabbed her car keys and hid them under my pillow. Needless to say, I never took a nap on Sunday

January 3, 2007-December 23, 2008: Something switched in my brain during my mission. It seemed as though that on day one I began having an overwhelming desire to take a nap every day. I'd wake up at 6:30 in the morning and by 7:00 I'd be ready for a nap. The only time in those two years I was able to nap was in the summer of 2007 when my mission president recommended it due to the inhumane heat of Redding, CA. The Sunday nap never happened because I was usually in church from sun up to sun down so there was no time to nap.

January 2009-August 2009: My desire to nap on Sundays were not to occur during my first 8 months home because my church fell at 1:00. I got to sleep in so napping on Sunday wasn't really necessary. No harm, no foul.

September 2009-August 2012: This period of my life was the best for the Sunday nap. Church was in the morning, I didn't have any callings that required me to stay late, I lived in Logan where all of my friends napped, and there was nobody nagging me to not nap. I will be forever grateful for this period of my life because I was constantly rested and ready to go when Monday rolled around.

August 2012-Present: My calling no longer allows me to nap on Sunday. Ward Council and EQP visits don't allow me to get home in time for a decent nap. This means I wake up Monday morning exhausted and unwilling to function. Its OK though, I manage.

This is me napping at two in the morning during the Relay for Life. Mary Neary was able to sneak up on my and take this sweet pic.

Driving From Airborne

Well where in the world did the day go? its 1115 and i havent blogged. So here i  driving back from airborne blogging. i promise to do better next week. have  great.day