My first blog ever...what to write?

Well kiddos, here I am. I have finally made my way into the great blogosphere. I've been meaning to write a blog for quite some time, but I kept putting it off thinking I had nothing to say that people would enjoy reading. After thinking long and hard (and yes, I spent more time thinking about what to write on a blog than I did studying for my last test), I finally narrowed down my options for my first blog to four.

1-Stories from Work

I have a job at an elementary school. I interact with grades K-6, though I work mostly with Kindergarten and first graders. You would not believe some of the stories and quotes and other hilarious things that happen when you are around children all day, every day. But I'll write more about this one later. I decided it wasn't quite awesome enough for my first blog ever.

2-My Weird Health Issues

I'm fond of saying that if I had been born in the old days they would have taken me out with the horse with the broken leg and shot me. Considering I'm only 22 you would think I would be in prime health. But no. I've had severe migraines since I was 7, I have a brain malformation called Chiari, I have jaw-wink, I've had lots of cuts, bruises, and stitches. I've had surgery, a couple MRI's, etc. etc. You get the idea. But I'll also write more about this one later. I decided it was a little too intense/gross for my first blog.

3-My Art

I am an artist. I love to paint and draw and create things. My dad is a very talented artist (he rocks at graphic design), and I think he's relieved that at least one of his children inherited his artistic talent and chose to pursue it. I have been painting/drawing ever since I was a kid. I'm currently working on some goals of getting prints made of my art, getting them in some galleries, and setting up a web site (just tooting my own horn a little bit here - my talent for art is one of the few things I'm really proud of). But once again, I'll write more about this one later. It almost won for being the subject of my first blog, but something else beats it.

4-I'm Pregnant

:)

WWJD?

I don't think we usually consider what Jesus is like as a person. If He showed up at your house to spend time with you, what do you think He would do? I think He would probably spend time with you doing the things you like to do. Maybe He'd even wash the dishes.

Kristen and I are currently rehearsing a comedic play called WWJD that explores exactly that premise. I highly recommend you all come see it. Performances are March 24, 25, 26, 28 (then skipping General Conference weekend) and April 8, 9, 10 at the Provo Theater Company on 105 E. 100 North in Provo. Tickets are $8 ($6 students – and if you come in a group of 5 or more, tickets are only $5 each). Okay, now that you know the what and where, let me pitch you on why you should come.

WWJD asks the question – what would Jesus do if He showed up at your house one day? Well, first off – he’d do the dishes your roommate has been putting off for forever. Then he’d skateboard with you, go miniature golfing with you, etc. The twist comes in the fact that one roommate (my character), who also happens to be the only religious person in the apartment, can’t see or hear Jesus, and thinks it’s all a big practical joke on him (at least, he does at first).

Seeing things through the eyes of my character, it’s helped me think more about what it means to have faith - is seeing believing? Or is believing seeing? At one point, my character is asked if it really matters that he can’t see Jesus. “Of course it matters! I’ve studied about Him my whole life…and now He’s here, and I can’t even see Him. What’s wrong with me?” Jesus then asks who sinned – you or your parents that caused you to be blind. “I’m not the wicked one, and my parents are just fine.” If you know that, then it’s not important to see.

Like all good plays, this one will make you laugh, it might make you cry, and it will definitely make you think. Please note that our interpretation of Jesus is respectful, but not conventional. For example, He will ride a skateboard, wash dishes, and lead a line dance. If you don’t think you can handle that, I understand. But for everyone else, you should definitely come.

Reading

My wife LOVES to read. I like to read too, and though I can’t hold a candle to the speed with which Kristen plows through just about any novel, I still enjoy sitting down with a good book. I recently finished the last of the Ender’s Game books. I only recently discovered them, but they are very well written, and I couldn’t put them down.

But the majority of my reading nowadays is online. I read news stories, opinion pieces, Facebook status messages, and blogs. Let me tell you – I LOVE reading blogs. I use Google Reader, and have collected more than 50 blogs in my subscription list (and I keep up on them)! Of course, there are some blogs from people I don’t know (Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, Mormanity, (Gay) Mormon Guy, etc.), but most are from friends. One of them is likely your blog, dear reader. So please update!

I’ve talked about the “mommy blog” and the “travel blog” before, and my feelings are still the same. I don’t enjoy reading the majority of those blogs, unless I have a vested interest in them (i.e. to read about my adorable nieces). So I don’t – no harm, no foul. They still have their readership, I’m sure, even without me. And for a while, I debated cleansing my blog roll of friends’ blogs that I found incredibly boring, and usually never read anyway. It was worse than the conflict I often feel when debating whether to remove a Facebook “friend.” But in the end, my practical male thinking won, and I deleted the boring blogs. Now, I can’t even remember who I removed – don’t worry, I’m sure it wasn’t you…

Anyway, there is another class of blogs that I still read, but only with some difficulty. These are the blogs that are very interesting, but whose grammar and spelling mistakes often make them hard to read. I don’t mean those that occasionally have the word “your” when they should be “you’re” (although that does bug me), or those that miss a comma once in a while. I can usually ignore most grammar mistakes and just enjoy the story.

But when words are consistently misspelled, there are agreement errors up the wazoo, the laws of sentence structure are all but ignored, and the text phrase “LOL” is used as a period, I have a hard time. Reading some of these blogs, I can see how if I was talking with the authors face-to-face, I would believe they were intelligent people. Their arguments are well thought-out and they’re passionate about what they’re saying. But they just don’t seem to understand English grammar, and it affects my enjoyment of their blogs.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m all about breaking grammar rules…as long as you know them, and it’s only once in a while. And I hope I haven’t made you paranoid about your blog. Heck, I’m just one reader among many. But if you’re interested in some well-written and interesting blogs, try here or here or here.

I've Done Things

When I think about it, I’ve done some cool things in my life. I’ve been to New York, Paris, and London, lived in another country, and studied abroad (so technically I’ve lived in two other countries). I’ve seen both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. I’ve been to theme parks and ridden roller coasters. I’ve met people from dozens of countries, spoken to people in more than one language, and eaten cuisine from all over the world. I’ve been a waiter, a courier, a clothing salesman, and a paperboy. I’ve driven a forklift and a big box truck, made take and bake pizzas, and stocked food for a buffet. I’ve bought my own car (without a co-signer), purchased a piano (electric – not a baby grand yet), and rented my own apartment. I’ve built a frame and stretched a canvas on it, painted my living room, redid my back patio, and put in a surround sound system. I’ve barbecued on a charcoal grill (trust me, that’s a big one for me), baked a cheesecake, and made roses out of jelly candy. And I earned a college degree, found a salaried, full-time job, and married the love of my life.

Sometimes life may not seem too spectacular. But it is. Life is wonderful, and I’m happy to be living it.

Top 10 of 2010

Merry Christmas everyone! Here is a link to our Christmas Letter for 2010. Hope you enjoy - we had a great year. :) This made some of the pictures a little grainy, so if you want a full copy that looks a little better, let me know, and I'll email it to you.

Love,

Adam and Kristen

Operation Gratitude: Flying Free

The late Sister Marjorie Hinckley (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley's wife) once said this about Pres. Hinckley:

"He always let me do my own thing. He never insisted that I do anything his way, or any way, for that matter. From the very beginning he gave me space and let me fly. He never tells me what to do. He just lets me go. He has made me feel like a real person. He has encouraged me to do whatever makes me happy. He doesn't try to rule or dominate me."

I am grateful for a wife who does that for me - who gives me space and lets me fly. Who encourages me to do my best, but doesn't insist I do things her way, even if she'd prefer it. Who doesn't force me to get a hair cut because she thinks it's getting too long, and who doesn't mind when I grow a beard (some women mind, you know). :) I'm grateful she would never withhold affection or intimacy from me if I didn't conform to exactly what she wanted, and that she doesn't try to rule or dominate me.

And by the same token, I would never do that to her. I would never tell her to have a certain body type or hairstyle, or to act or be a certain way. I'm grateful that we love and trust each other, and that we encourage each other to be the very best we can be.

Operation Gratitude: Christmas Carol

Kristen and I are currently rehearsing for A Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater Orem, and it's a lot of fun. It's definitely a different experience than I've had at other theaters. Some things are better, some are not as good, but on the whole it's a great experience.

I am Fred, Scrooge's nephew, who is a very happy and jovial character. I love playing him, because I get to laugh and smile a lot, and can laugh at things that are funny (very useful when someone messes up, or tries to make you laugh on purpose). :)

Anyway, I am very grateful for this opportunity - to share the Christmas spirit with everyone who comes to see the show on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday during the month of December. :) Come see me perform!