For Your Spare Time...

In my research for one of my magazine articles, I came across the book titled Kindness to Animals and Caring for the Earth by Richard D. Stratton.* Of course, I was immediately intrigued, checked out the website and found out that it is an LDS book! I emailed the author and inquired if I could ask him a few questions for my article. He replied and told me that his Alma Mater is USU, that he works for the Forest Service (who knew we would have a few things in common?), and that he would send me a copy of the book. I was elated. 

I received my book today and WOW. It is amazing. There are so many quotes and stories from prophets that I had never heard before. I haven't finished it yet, but I would definitely recommend reading this book. It gives a whole new light on what it means to be sacred stewards of what our Heavenly Father has given us. (By the way, I love the picture on the cover.)

Here are a few sample quotes:

"The simple answer is that animals do have spirits and that through the redemption made by our Savior they will come forth in the resurrection to enjoy the blessing of immortal life." (IE 40:16, Jan. 1958) --Joseph Fielding Smith

"It is terribly important that we preserve and improve the great natural resources with which the God of heaven has so richly blessed us, that we may not follow the experience of some other nations that have come and gone because of the mismanagement of their natural and God-given resources." (TETB, p. 645) --Ezra Taft Benson

"We should by every means in our power impress upon the rising generation the value of life, and how dreadful a sin it is to take life. The lives of animals even should be held far more sacred than they are. Young people should be taught to be very merciful to the brute creation and not to take life wantonly for sport. The practice of hunting and killing game merely for spot should be frowned upon and not encouraged among us. God has created the fowls and the beasts for man's convenience and comfort, and for his consumption at proper times and under proper circumstances; but he does not justify men in wantonly killing those creatures which He has made and with which He has supplied the earth." (JI 31:218-219, April 1, 1896)

--George Q. Cannon

"Satan, spitefully determined to destroy everything that God has commanded to live and muliply, began his earthly career by making war on the birds and fishes and systematically destroying the animals and trees. This, we are told, was because he was envious of the beautiful rapport that existed between Adam and the animals." (NE, p. 52, Jan-Feb. 1981) --Hugh Nibley

I am so impressed with how much research Richard D. Stratton did to get all these quotes and anecdotes and so thankful that I came across this book. It is such a testimony builder to hear words from LDS Church leaders on a subject that I care so much about, but doesn't get very much attention in our church. 

Thanks so much, Richard. 

* Richard has a website, but at the time of this posting, was not working for some reason. I posted the link at the top of the post to Google Book Search instead. 

If you care to buy the book, you can find it on Amazon. 

Black Pearl

No, I'm not talking about the cheesy Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

I've got to put in a shameless plug about one of my favorite restaurants here in Logan, the Black Pearl.  We just went there for dinner and it was exceptional, as always. Trust me on this one; it ain't no Tepanyaki. Bleh. 

Everything that I've ordered so far has been scrumdiddlyumptious and the price is exceptional, too! Not to mention the service is fabulous. (Do I sound like a commercial yet?) But it sure is a good restaurant and I highly recommend it. 

Oh! And their veggie sushi--well, sushi overall--is oh so mouthwatering. 

Here's my heaping mound of Ma Po Tofu. Yum!

Mark and his Beef & Broccoli.

Hmm....homework? I don't think so!

Mark cracked open his cookie to find it empty. No fortune, how sad! Is that bad luck? ;) 

But I think that might have been the best part of the whole dinner, hilarious! 

Who are YOU Voting For?

So I've decided to stop being passive and actually vote this year. I found a tool online that will help you, if you are a little indecisive like me, in deciding who to vote for. Now go rock the vote! 

Looking back over the past year of election coverage, I think this cartoon illustrates my favorite moment so far. So FUNNY! 

Auntie Updates

I finally got to hold him. 

Sue and her little boy. Doesn't she look great?

The grandparents, pleased as punch! 

I love this picture. He pulls the best faces. 

So, we finally got to hold the little man! He actually went to the NICU about ten hours after he was born because of an infection in his blood, so we had to go scrub up to see him. (Hence, the gowns.)

He is so adorable. And the best part is? He got to go home with Sue today! 

Landslide

Do you have a song that you can listen to a thousand times and never get sick of it? 

For me, I think that song is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. 

I have a "seasonal theory" about music. I always find myself listening to certain albums at certain times of the year. In the summer, I usually find myself listening to more reggae, folk, acoustic and more pop rock, while the fall and winter I usually listen to more melancholy stuff. Sometimes, in the summer, I'll listen to more harder rock, and it just doesn't sound good. But if I play the same stuff in the winter, it just sounds awesome. 

Well, I think "Landslide" is the perfect song for fall.

What do you think?

I'm in Love!

After hours of labor, Sue finally had her baby boy this morning! It took forever but it went by so fast at the same time. I was so excited to meet the little guy, and I CAN'T WAIT to hold him in a few more hours. As luck would have it, I actually remembered my camera. So here's a few pictures I didn't steal off the internet! 

Waiting outside the O.R.

First picture-- the "Little Burrito" 

Proud Papa!

This is definitely one of my favorites. What a cute little face!

He had his eyes open and was looking at us the whole time.

I am so excited and thankful that Sue had a safe delivery and that her and "the little man" are happy and healthy.

A few months ago, I had a dream that Sue had her baby. I was so excited and when I finally saw him, he looked exactly like Ryan, only a 20-inch Ryan. Even complete with a hat and a polo shirt. My dream wasn't too far off was it? 

2008: The "Revolutionary" Election Year

Well, I've caved in. I really try to make my blog pretty neutral and avoid causing a disturbance, but I'm breaking my silence.  

To tell you the truth, I don't claim a political party. I've always considered myself sitting somewhere in the middle, sometimes leaning a little left. When the primaries started, I didn't really have any interest in them. Of course I followed them and read about them almost daily because it was required for my classes, but I wasn't really dead set on having a certain person win. When Obama and McCain won the primaries, I thought, "Oh good. I probably won't vote this year." (I didn't really like either one of them.) 

Of course, that all changed on August 29th. I remember I was in the Hub eating lunch with Mark when I saw that McCain had announced his running mate, Sarah Palin. I thought, "Who is that?" A few weeks later I wandered onto Wikipedia and read up about her. That's when I found out about her experience (hardly any--plus you have to remember that "Alaska is right next to Russia"), education (a BS in communications-journalism from University of Idaho), ties with oil companies (she wants to drill for oil in Alaska. That's funny, her husband works for the oil company BP), etc. Basically, the more I found out about this lady, the more I think McCain picked her just to get himself into office.

And she scares me. 

As if I wasn't petrified enough, I watched her interview on ABC with Charlie Gibson. Am I the only one that thought she dodged every question? 

The more and more I think about politics, the more I realize that people have certain agendas and they do just about anything to get them accomplished. 

Because he picked Palin, I can't vote for McCain. I think he chose her only because she appeals to certain people on the surface and that just doesn't cut it in my book. How desperate is he to be in the White House?

Plus, it's pretty scary to think of someone with only a Bachelor's degree and less than two years of experience as a governor possibly being the most powerful person in the world if McCain doesn't make the four years. 

Her environmental views don't help, either. 

Call Me Crazy, But...

I LOVE this hair! 

I Can Speak Geek, Too!

Believe it or not, I am slowly becoming more self-reliant. I am getting better at this over the years, but now it is extending into the realm of computers as well!

The good thing about it is, now I won't need Mark to whisper sweet HTML codes in my ear anymore. I will know it myself! (Hopefully.)

I am taking a Website Design class where I'm set to learn HTML, CSS, and XHTML. Also, I'm taking an online journalism class and I'm supposed to record and produce a podcast. I am nervous about the website design...well actually, I'm nervous about it all! I have to design a site for a client for my final and that's what makes me squirm. 

Looks like my Mac and I will become even better friends over the semester, if that's possible. My teacher told us that learning HTML and CSS are like learning a second languages, only we'll be talking to computers. I forgot to ask her if my computer will be talking back, and if he's willing to do the laundry and give hour long massages.