All That and a Bag of Chips on My Shoulder

Silly Baby

2012-02-09T12:45:00.001-08:00

Oskar is such a comedian, he's always hamming it up for the camera.

I especially love this last one, it looks like he's dancing to Mr. Roboto.

Oskar's Coming Home

2012-02-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Oskar gets to come home tomorrow! I'm scared and excited, and pretty scared but really excited. He passed his car seat test today AND hit the 4 pound mark.

Oskar the Amazing

2012-01-29T15:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Joel and I talked to the doctor taking care of Baby Oskar and she said he was doing so well they were going to take him out of the incubator and put him in the open crib. She said they had been dragging their feet with him because even though he was doing exceptionally well, he is small for his gestational age and he is still pretty young (34 weeks if still in the womb). But, in her words, he won. He's been given a try because he's so determined. If he maintains his temperature and gains weight for 48 hours in the open crib he passes the test and has done everything he needs to do to come home. And since this morning which has been 12 hours since in the new crib he was doing great. So Oskar the Amazing may be coming home after 3 weeks instead of 5-8. Crazy! I can't wait and yet I'm pretty scared to be responsible for this tiny baby. In other news Joel and I still don't know what we're doing with our life, as far as where we're going to live when Oskar gets discharged from the hospital. We don't know house/apartment we'll live in and we don't even know what state we'll be in. Luckily the financial situation has worked out really well. Also I'm thankful I haven't had to sneeze for two weeks. Mostly I'm thankful for the miracles we've seen with this baby and the prayers and support from so many family and friends. Heavenly Father is truly watching out for this little baby and his parents.

2 Weeks

2012-01-27T13:21:00.001-08:00

Oskar is two weeks old today! When we walked in to the NICU he was wearing clothes, they were preemie size but still big on him. It was so precious. He's still doing really great. Today he weighs 3 pounds 5.6 ounces and he's still eating like a champ. They took out his feeding tube and he now eats exclusively from a bottle. At every feeding he eats more than his allotted amount and yesterday I fed him the entire bottle and he was still hungry the pour little thing, so I poured some more milk in his bottle and he downed the rest of it. Then he pooped a lot. The nurses are way better at maneuvering around a poopy diaper in the incubator than I am. They taped a piece of paper to his incubator outlining the things he needs to accomplish in order to be discharged. He's got all of them crossed off except for two: gain weight and hold his body temperature, and these two kind of go hand in hand. Once he hits 4 pounds and seems to be holding his temperature well they'll put him in an open crib for 48 hours and if by the end of that he's both continued to gain weight and keep a good temp then he can come home! In other news my incision has started bleeding so we went to the doctor yesterday and he thinks I might have a hematoma, a collection of blood under the skin. So I just have to wear gauze pads over the cut now to sop up all that old blood. It's pretty gross. Other than that I've been great.

Gaining

2012-01-23T20:17:00.001-08:00

Oskar hit 3 pounds today!! And we tried to nurse tonight, it didn't really work because he wasn't getting the immediate results, but we're going to keep trying every evening when we get to hold him. Hopefully it won't take too many tries to get him to go for it. He's also holding his temperature better. I think it's a matter of two, maybe three weeks before he's coming home. I can't wait!

1 Week Old

2012-01-21T13:05:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was one week since Oskar was cut out of my uterus, and he's doing really good. He's still breathing on his own and eating about half of his meals from a bottle, though the last day or two he's been doing two or three consecutive bottle feedings. We usually go to the hospital to see him twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. We only get to hold him once a day so we usually do that when we come in the evening. Both times we see him we get to change his diaper and feed him, in the morning we just feed him while he's still in the incubator. I'm getting more confident with feeding him but burping him still makes me nervous. Starting either today or tomorrow I'm going to do skin to skin contact and I'm pretty excited about it. My milk production has been pretty terrible, I can't even make enough to feed him at all of his feedings and he really doesn't eat very much. I'm going to talk to the lactation consultant again on Monday but she did mention that doing skin to skin contact would help with the milk production and I'm really hoping it does. Not making enough to feed him is quite depressing. He got moved into a new room this week because he's doing so well. He also had a routine ultrasound on his head this week to check for brain bleeds and the results were great, he didn't have any bleeding in his brain. Two days ago when they told us last he weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces and even though he's only gained a few ounces so far he looks different to us. The nurses said that if he continues eating like he is he'll put on weight in no time. We're so proud of him! He's such a little feisty guy, he actually pulled out his feeding tube yesterday, something the nurses told us he wasn't strong enough to do. They also said he wouldn't be able to eat from a bottle for two more weeks so I guess they're not used to such incredible babies like Oskar. We love him so much and it's getting harder and harder to leave the hospital every time we go in, I want to take him home NOW. Keep praying for him and hopefully he'll be home in no time.

And more

2012-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures

2012-01-17T09:07:00.001-08:00

Joel and Baby Oskar

2012-01-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

Three Days Old

2012-01-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

We finally decided on a name!! His name is going to be ... Oskar Brinkerhoff Ackerman. It's quite a big name for such a tiny guy but we think he'll grow into it quite nicely. Oskar has been doing really great so far. He has been breathing on his own and today started eating from a bottle. He doesn't eat very much at a time but he has those reflexes which is just awesome. He is really tiny, only 2 pounds and some ounces but he is the cutest baby I have ever seen in my entire life. He's just perfect. I got to change his diaper twice today which was kind of scary because he's so small and I don't want to hurt him but with practice I think I'll be fine. I also got to feed him three times today and he did so good. Sometimes he gets tired in the middle of eating so they did put a feeding tube in so when he gets tired they can just put the food down in his stomach but the for the last feeding he ate all his food by himself. I'm so proud. He's eating every three hours and so I'm pumping every three hours and taking what I get to him. It hasn't been enough yet so they supplement with some formula but hopefully soon I'll begin making enough. I also got to burp him after he ate which was way scary because he kept jerking backwards. The nurse kept telling me I was stronger than him and to hold him there but that is easier said than done.
We really like the nurses that are taking care of him, they're really informative and always tell us what a cute baby he is. They help us and show us what to do and always calm me down when I get anxious about an alarm going off or Oskar pulling on his cords. He's also had a lot of visitors in two days, Joel's parents have come to see him along with Kelsey and Boyd, Dave and Lisa, and Cecily. Tyler and Jessica came yesterday morning and Tyler helped Joel give Oskar a blessing. Amanda and Jake came yesterday and today the Jackie and Jason Brinkerhoff family came along with Pete and Bekah. He's meeting a lot of his family and I hope the nurses don't get tired of us bringing in so many visitors, we just have big families!
We love his SOOOO much and are so grateful to have him be ours, we realize how blessed we are to be in such a good situation now with all of the scariness of before. Keep praying for him and hopefully he'll grow and progress quickly. I can't wait for the day when I get to take him home with me, I don't think I'll ever put him down!

Mr. Baby is the Cutest

2012-01-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

Mr. Baby

2012-01-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

Latest Baby News

2012-01-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Joel got a job offer to write for a PAC here in Utah so we decided to stay for January to see if it's something he wants to do. If it is something he wants to do we're going to move back to Utah for this year. Because of this our original plan of staying for three weeks was extended to staying through the end of January. So I made a baby appointment with the same midwives Kelsey goes to so I could have a checkup while I was here.
The first thing the midwife did was listen to the baby's heartbeat, which sounded good. Then she measured me with the tape measure to find that at 31 weeks I was measuring a 26, which is what I measured at my last appointment a month ago. She immediately took me to get an ultrasound there at the clinic where they found my baby was in the 10th percentile, compared to being in the 27th percentile at my last ultrasound more than a month ago. They also found in this ultrasound that the blood flow from the cord was cutting in and out which meant the baby wasn't getting a constant flow of blood. Perhaps because of that the abdomen and femur measurements were small (the head was good though). The midwife said when a body needs something it sends it to the most important places first, like the head, and the other parts of the body suffer, like the abdomen. So it seemed like the baby wasn't getting enough from the placenta, causing him to be small.
Next she sent us up to the maternal fetal medicine section of the hospital at St. Mark's in Salt Lake. On the way there we stopped at Joel's parents house where Joel and his dad gave me a blessing. At this point I was feeling terrible and figured that we would have to deliver the baby not only early but soon. The midwife had told me that he was probably going to have to come early but he would be okay.
Once we got to the hospital they did another ultrasound where they essentially found the same things except with their measurements he was in the 15th percentile. Next they took me into another room where they strapped me to the monitor to check the baby's heart rate. The doctor said it was okay but not as good as she wanted it to be. While the heart rate was being monitored they gave me a shot to help the baby's lungs develop in the case that he would have to come early he would be farther along. Then they looked at the baby on an ultrasound again to see three good movements from him before they would let me go.
Today we have to go back again so they can monitor his heart rate again and give me the second steroid shot for the baby's lungs. Unless things drastically increase we're going to have to go back every week for the next 9 weeks to check on him. Along with that I have a fetal kick sheet where I have to monitor the movements of the baby and write them down.
All in all I feel a lot better about things. I've realized that if he comes early it obviously wouldn't be ideal but it would be okay. He would have to be in the hospital a while but hopefully he would still be healthy and he would grow like he needs to. I'm not a fan of worrying myself to death the next 9 weeks monitoring the movements but that's better than a premature baby. I already had a freak out early this morning where I didn't feel him for a while and thought something was terribly wrong. Luckily I have Joel who calmed me down, made me eat something and lie down to count the baby's movements. I felt 10 movements in 15 minutes so everything was okay.
So there is the whole situation. Joel and I have recently tentatively decided that we will stay in Utah until the baby comes because it's probably not smart to travel back to California in this state, plus the doctors here are so nice and a much shorter drive than they would be in California. Please keep us in our prayers and especially keep praying for the little Guy.

New Bed

2011-12-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

When we first moved to LA we had to buy a bed because we didn't have a way to transport our old one. Not wanting to spend any more money than we had to we ended up going to an outlet type store and buying a queen bed for less than $300. It was fine at first because I'm a tummy sleeper, squashed frog more specifically, and so the hardness of the mattress didn't really bother me. Joel, being a back sleeper had a harder time. But when my pregnant belly got too big for me to sleep on my stomach it became very very uncomfortable and I would wake up with sore hips and a sore back. So recently we decided that we should start looking for a softer bed so we both could sleep better and not wake up in so much pain. Then yesterday in the Penny Saver I spotted a California King bed for sale with a pillowtop AND bed frame for just $100. We went over to see it and laid on it and it was MUCH more comfortable. So we got a friend with a truck to help us and we bought it! Last night I felt like a dwarf sleeping in this huge bed, but it was so comfy. The only problem now is we have two beds in our tiny apartment and our room is completely taken over by the thing. It's worth it though.

12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Because Joel is so sweet and precious and the best husband ever he decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas again for me this year. Last year he ended the 12 days with a Grand Slam by proposing to me so I guess he's got a lot to live up to this year. Just kidding! I was so surprised by him doing it again this year and I'm already thrilled with the gifts he's given me. He's spreading the 12 days out over 25 because we're going to Utah for so long and some of the gifts are too big to travel with.

Behold the first day of Christmas: A Winter Scene

The second day of Christmas: A sewing desk!

There is a hing on the top left of the desk that allows the top piece of wood to fold out to make room of the sewing machine and fabric. Now that I have a place to sew I just have to figure out how to thread the stinkin' machine correctly.

The third day of Christmas: A sewing cabinet!

This is my favorite so far!! It's so cute! It reminds me of a mailbox. In the card that he gave me with the gift he said he that it may look like he's encouraging me to sew but it's just that he found these cool pieces and thought I would like them, which I do and I do want to sew so maybe this will encourage me. If I don't use it for that though this cute little cabinet will house something else.

I'm excited for the rest of the days of Christmas!! Thanks Joel for being so sweet and giving! I love you!

Grandpa

2011-12-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

Baby Parts

2011-11-15T14:30:00.001-08:00

We went in for our ultrasound today and if this baby's behavior is indicative at all of his future personality we are in for a ride, although I should be expecting such things when marrying a character like Joel. Last time we got an ultrasound the lady couldn't see his heart very well because he wasn't in a very good position and wouldn't move. We also found out last time about the placenta being underneath him, which if it didn't move come birthing time I would have to get a C-section. So for these reasons we went in again today at 23 weeks. Today he was in a good position for her to get a good look at his heart and she said that everything looked fine. This time, however, he had his little feet wedged down between my cervix and the placenta so she couldn't see the placenta. Joel says it makes sense because his feet are probably cold and he was just trying to find a place to warm them. She tried to get him to move but he was not budging, apparently he was just too comfortable. So the little stinker put me in quite an uncomfortable position: pants off, sitting on the table with a cold slimy apparatus up my hoo-ha that had a camera on the end. She ended up getting a good idea about the placenta this way. Apparently the placenta needs to been at least a distance of 2 centimeters away from the cervix in order to be cleared for a vaginal birth. My placenta was 2.5 centimeters. She also said in the next 17 weeks it should get further and further away so I don't need another ultrasound and unless the midwife spots something we are a go for the most painful experience of my life. Yay! Also the baby is in the 27th percentile at 1 pound 5 ounces right now which is above the danger point (10th percentile) so if he continues to progress in the 27th percentile everything is good. We're grateful that everything is looking good and the baby is already exhibiting such stubbornness. And since I know you're so curious the ultrasound lady was much better today. She talked to us and told us what was going on, last time she must have been having a bad day ... or maybe she just enjoyed seeing me so uncomfortable. Who knows.

Here is another picture of baby, I was told that his mouth is open and tongue sticking out taunting us but I can't really see it.

And here is that infamous foot.

Jamie: No Rant and No Slant

2011-11-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

We had another baby appointment today. It's a little frustrating to me that it takes an hour to get to the hospital and all they do is take my blood pressure, weigh me, and listen to his heartbeat. I KNOW there's a baby in there because he's kicking me all the time. As for my weight, I don't want to know what it is (I gained seven pounds this month). This is the third time we've been in and the third midwife we've seen which doesn't really bother me except I would kind of like to know who is going to be there when I actually have the baby ... if I don't get stuck in traffic for hours and actually make it to the hospital. Also I was supposed to have another ultrasound this visit but I don't remember the very unenthusiastic ultrasound lady telling me that. So now we have to go back next week and then again in three weeks for the regular appointment. I also don't remember the killjoy ever telling me (because she didn't) that part of the reason we need another ultrasound is because she couldn't really see his heart. I thought it was just because of the placenta being in the wrong place. So there are multiple issues going on and I'm not very happy about it. The good news is the midwife did say I could listen to Eye of the Tiger while I'm giving birth. I think that will really help. Hopefully the post labor state doesn't affect me so drastically that I suddenly think naming him Rocky or Sylvester is a good idea. I guess that's what Joel is good for.

In other news I don't really love either of my jobs, doctor bills are expensive, there's nothing to eat right now, and I can't sleep on my belly anymore. Joel tells me I'm too negative and I need to look at the good side of things. So here are some good things. We got a free lamp yesterday, that was nice. And the anatomy lab I'm in isn't dissecting cats anymore, I appreciate that. It's cold enough outside that I have to wear a jacket and I have lots of cute ones. And I'm pretty sure for Thanksgiving we're going to go out to eat so I don't have to buy or cook anything. Joel is on the third Harry Potter book. I did a craft the other day ... it kind of worked out. I eat sausage. And I'm pregnant and going to have a sweet and precious baby in less than four months. This one really does make me happy, even if the ultrasound lady is the worst.

21 weeks

2011-10-26T19:10:00.001-07:00

Here is my belly at 21 weeks.

Baby

2011-10-11T12:49:00.001-07:00

Can you tell what it is? If not, you're welcome to call me to find out.

Today is the Day!

2011-10-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

We find out this morning if our baby is a boy or a girl!!!! Joel thinks it's a girl and I think it's a boy and double pizza is on the line.

I Love You More Than Work

2011-10-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is how much Joel loves me.

I Love You More than Work
by Joel Ackerman
For my wife, Jamie, so she knows she's always number one

Call me Marie Callendar,
I love you more than pies.
Call me Ron McDonald,
I love you more than fries.
Call me Haagen Dazs,
I love you more than ice cream.
Call me the Green Giant,
I love you more than beans.
Call me Country Crock,
I love you more than spread.
Call me undertaker,
I love you more than dead.
Call me Tropicana,
I love you more than juice.
Call me pagan pantheist,
I love you more than Zeus.
Call me Aunt Jemima,
I love you more than syrup.
Call me circus clown,
I love you more than cheer up.
Call me Merriam-Webster,
I love you more than words.
Call me ornithologist,
I love you more than birds.
Call me Keebler Elf,
I love you more than fudge.
Call me bitter old man,
You're better than curmudge.
Call me pure Italian,
I love you more than silk.
Call me a fresh cow,
I love you more than milk.
Call me wake-up caller,
I love you more than phones.
Call me human body,
I love you more than bones.
Call me marching ants,
I love you more than picnics.
Call me Oriental,
You're better than chopsticks.
Call me Mr. Thirsty,
I love you more than drink.
Call me weirdo pervert,
I love you more than stink.
Call me the zamboni,
I love you more than ice.
Call me Oriental again,
I love you more than rice.
Call me shopaholic,
I love you more than sales.
Call me Ishmael,
I love you more than whales.
Call me carbonation,
I love you more than fizz.
Call me Yogi Berra,
"It ain't over 'til it is."
Call me Captain Kirk.
I love you more than Spock.
My name is Asher Lev.
You out-do Chaim Potok.
Call me Leslie Knope,
I love you more than parks.
Call me commie bastard,
I love you more than Marx.
Call me Tracy Turnblad,
I love you more than Link.
Call me Descartes,
"Therefore I am, I think."
Call me politician,
I love you more than lies.
Call me the thigh-master.
I love you more than thighs.
Whatever you may call me,
I love you more than work.
And if you say I don't,
then I'll call you a jerk.

Heartbeat

2011-09-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

Joel and I finally went to the midwife today and we got to hear the baby's heart beating!! It was soo amazing! The midwife said everything looked good and it definitely IS okay to sleep on my stomach. She was asking about family illnesses and I think she was impressed at what a healthy family we have. So in exactly four more weeks we go back in to get an ultrasound to see if it's a boy or a girl. I feel like it's a boy. I want a girl but I still feel like it's a boy, so it probably is. Either way it's pretty awesome!!

Engagement Photos

2011-08-07T21:39:00.001-07:00

Joel's younger brother is getting married next month and so we were looking at their engagement photos, which inspired us to find OUR engagement photos and take a look at them again. Joel's older brother was visiting and had never seen them which made me realize that I didn't actually show anybody, I don't think, the engagements that we didn't use. We had a good laugh looking at them and hope that you will too.*

*Disclaimer: These photos are very entertaining. Please do not use them for any "awkward engagement photo" websites or anything like it.

This first one is a great one. We are in a cemetery and Joel is actually SITTING on the giant ball of a headstone.

This next one was also taken at the cemetery, but in a different part. This was taken way at the back at what is essentially a dump. This is where they dispose of all the trash and dead flowers that people leave on graves. We also have a nice industrial themed background and of course a perfect touch of class with the caption spray painted there on the cement.

Here we have your classic front cover of the touching movie involving the girl's ghost coming back to quietly guide and direct the troubled lover back to a life of do-gooding and peace after her tragic death by car accident ... caused by him in a drunken stupor. Classic.

And last but not least we have the traditional peek-a-boo engagement photo but with the added bonus of the remains of the burned out tabernacle in the background.

California Pictures

2011-07-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Joel's Blog

2011-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Joel has a blog now too. www.ackermanifestdestiny.blogspot.com

19 Days

2011-06-22T13:13:00.001-07:00

We've been here 19 days and it's slowly getting better. The good news is we saw a coyote in the neighborhood next to us and at the international marketplace the pitas are 40 cents a package. I've had a couple job interviews, and got one of them, but the others weren't just summer jobs and the schedule didn't work for the fall, so I didn't get them. And I'm going to try to get us tickets to Jeopardy.

New Look

2011-06-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

What do you think? Joel says he loves me even though I'm a peace loving hippie and he's a war-mongering Republican. I'm not too sure those are mutually exclusive.

The Beginning

2011-06-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

We've been living in LA for one 11 days. I hated it at first, and I mean really hated it. It's so big and crowded and it seems like EVERYBODY is having an awful day. It's hot but because of the pollution, I'm assuming, it's smoggy and weird. Our apartment is small and expensive and every time I go to the grocery store I feel like everyone is staring at me. The first couple days we were selling Orabrushes to Wal-Marts across southern California but that turned out to be a nightmare. Trying to sell tongue brushes to busy and angry people all day is not my idea of a good time. So after the three days we decided to give ourselves as a trial period we didn't feel bad about giving up. Then Joel left to go back to Utah for three days to finish up some work he had. Back when we found out he had to go he suggested we buy me a plane ticket too so I could come with him, but being the financially minded person I'm turning into (thanks Dad) I thought it would be a waste of money. Turns out it would have been a waste of money but it also would have been better than me being all by my lonesome for three whole days. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal. In Provo if I was left alone for a couple days I would hang out with my friends or go to Kelsey's house when I wasn't working. But here, here I have nothing. I have no friends, I have no family, no job, and there is no one to spend time with. I would have had the internet and my artificial relationships via Facebook but it wasn't set up yet, so I didn't even have that. I had my phone and spent a lot of time on it talking to Joel and various family members who were probably concerned about my sanity (thank you family members).

But the good news is that was last week. I decided I didn't like last week and I didn't want to have any more weeks like it. Making sure some of those things didn't happen was easy. I decided Joel is never going to leave me for more than 23.5 hours again in our lives. We both decided, as stated above, we weren't going to spend one more minute in Wal-Mart ever again either. I decided I was going to start right away looking for a job so I have something to do with my time, feel productive, have more money, etc. We cleaned and organized the apartment so we feel like real people. And we decided to spend more time familiarizing ourselves with our surroundings so I don't hate it so much. We found a park just 7 minutes away on foot. We found the LA River, which consists of a huge concrete ravine going under the bridge with a tiny tiny trickle of water, nevertheless it is called the LA River. We found the public library, the laundromat where Joel will work, a grocery store full of people who DON'T stare at me, and the temple. On top of that I had two job interviews today. It's still uncomfortably hot and weird outside and the people here are generally unfriendly but maybe I'll eventually become unfriendly and angry too and fit right in.

Chuppah Ceremony

2011-05-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Po'm vs. Po-em

2011-05-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

James claims
P-O-E-M
should be pronounced
po-em--
"because that's how its spelled."
While I like to meld
the two sounds into one:
po'm --
and be done.

P-O-E-M in two beats
takes more time
and less fun
as it depletes
the potential for rhyme
if syllabically one.
And of all words which should find
it easy to rhyme
P-O-E-M
should L-E-A-D them.

Ponder the poetic possibilities of po'm!
To paint the palaces of Rome;
Create a longing for home;
To sing the ocean's white foam,
Or the bee's honeycomb;
To wonder at the life of a gnome,
Or live to wander and roam!
All are possible if P-O-E-M is po'm.
And if the writer of po'ms
prefers to write in a boat
then, for the sake of the rhyme,
lets call him a po't.

But what
rhymes with po-em?
Except for a handbook for a farmhand:
If you have fields, hoe 'em.
If you have seeds, sew 'em.
If you want crops, grow 'em.
When they've grown up, mow 'em.
Then tow 'em
To a barn for to stow 'em.
That's all you get if P-O-E-M is po-em.

And if after this po'm
James persists
to say po-em,
Well,
I must insist
she call me Jo-el.
(That'll show 'em.)

Why, you might ask, when James is a she,
Do I call her James instead of Jamie?
Because of the two names
James claims more word-games.
Jamie only rhymes with Amy,
While James claims me,
Sometimes maims me,
But of all dames,
James tames me.

By Joel Ackerman for Jamie Brinkerhoff

Singing in the Shower

2011-05-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Joel loves to sing in the shower. He usually sings The Queen of the Night Aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute, or Under Pressure by Queen (which I think I inspired because I sing it so much). But this morning I found him singing this song. Enjoy this intimate moment.

Charts

2011-05-04T08:02:00.001-07:00

Joel wrote this earlier this week. It's mostly true...

My wife and I come from very different backgrounds. We were both American, and Mormon, but she grew up in a female-dominated household, while I grew up in a male-dominated household. She was taught to love BYU and hate Utah. We were taught to hate BYU and we lived in Utah. Her family was realist. Mine was idealist. Her family grew up on beans. Mine grew up on rice.

This last difference has been the biggest source of contention in our home. We grew up on entirely different menus. Besides her being a water drinker, and me strictly juice—dessert has been the major challenge. My wife’s desserts are chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow treats: cakes, brownies, bars. My desserts are fruity. Pies, primarily.

Rather than divorce, we decided to form a Treaty of Treats, in which she’d explain her dessert preferences and I’d explain mine. Ironically, she did so with a bar chart, and I did so with a pie chart. We had a good laugh over this, and have enjoyed trying each others desserts ever since.

The two charts have become apart of our family history. They hang on the wall in our kitchen. There is one other chart important to my understanding of my wife. It hangs in our bathroom, and explains how periods work. And, of course, it’s a flow chart.

Wicked

2011-04-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Another reason why I wanted to go to New York for my honeymoon was so I could see a show on Broadway. So Monday morning we headed to Times Square to see if we could get tickets for that day on discount. We got in line pretty early and were discussing with each other which show we wanted to see. I hadn't really heard much about most of them and so I didn't know if one would be better than another. I had seen Wicket about four years ago and loved it. Joel hadn't seen any of them but had heard the most about Wicked so I suggested we just see that one since I knew it was good and would love to see it again. We ended up getting OUT of line because they didn't have discount tickets for Wicked and walked to the theater to buy the last two tickets they had for the days when we were going to be there. It was a little more expensive than we were thinking but we got 5th row tickets right in the center of the theater. It was amazing. It was even better than when I had seen it years ago in Portland. We were so close we could see all of their facial expressions and get hit with their spit!

New York

2011-04-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

We stopped on our way to the Statue of Liberty to get our cartoon selves drawn by a street artist. It was slightly uncomfortable to be sitting there with huge smiles on our face staring at a point in front of us while everyone was walking by and even stopping and watching. But I'm glad we did it because now we have it as a souvenir from our honeymoon!

Here we're on the ferry and Joel is looking very thoughtfully at Ellis Island. This was the saddest part of the trip for me. When I went to buy tickets for Ellis Island you end up buying tickets for that AND the Statue of Liberty because the ferry goes both places. So when I got the tickets I asked specifically for tickets to Ellis Island. She gave me the tickets and we moved on. We spent about an hour going through the security line and getting on the ferry, that part was way annoying. Then the ferry took us to The Statue of Liberty and I thought they were just stopping there first and then on to Ellis Island. What was actually happening was that the ferry wasn't running to Ellis Island anymore that day and they didn't tell us. So we spent too much money to go to the Statue, which I wasn't even that excited about, and missed out completely on Ellis Island, which was the place I wanted to go most in New York.

STatue of Liberty

Guggenheim

Central Park

2011-04-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Central Park! We didn't see any animals eating humans or bums sleeping in the leaves. We weren't chased down by any crazy armed men looking for drugs or mugged by anyone. We didn't get offered any nice, juicy, sweet caramel apples or get malled by a group of bikers. It was great! Unfortunately it was cold and so we also didn't see many people busking and definitely didn't see any coordinated song and dance, which was a little disappointing. But I did get a picture next to the fountain that is at the end of the song in Enchanted!

New York!

2011-03-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Joel and I went shopping(Joel's idea) on 5th Avenue a day or two into our trip. He wanted to find a dress for me, which I thought was a wonderful idea. We saw this dress in the window and though it took some convincing Joel got me to go inside and try it on. I loved it but didn't think we should buy it but also didn't want to cause a fight the first week in our marriage, so I let Joel get it for me.

Joel looking nice and crazy in front of Madison Square Garden.

Then we made our way to Serendipity, a restaurant known for a setting of the movie, Serendipity. Also Oprah went there to try their famous frozen hot chocolate. It was so good. I drank almost the entire thing which made me sick. But before the getting sick part, it was really great. Joel got their apple pie which he said was the best he's ever had.

New York Honeymoon

2011-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here are Joel and I, newly married, and leaving for the airport for New York at 4:00 AM.

We went to Tom's Restaurant for breakfast one of the first days we were there. I thought Joel looked like he fit in well with this backdrop.

One of our next stops was this huge cathedral, I forget the name.

We also went to Rockefeller Center. I was excited about it because of the show 30 Rock - unfortunately no Tina Fey though. In fact we didn't see anybody famous. The scarf was to keep my ears warm because it was so COLD outside. I realize it didn't actually match very well with my shirt. Get over it. More to come later.

Hello Dolly?

2011-02-21T16:21:00.001-08:00

More Bridals

2011-02-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

Bridals

2011-02-21T16:14:00.000-08:00

2011-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Joel and I had his friend take our engagement pictures this Monday. This is one of our favorites, I think it captures the essence of Joel and Jamie. Joel pointed out it looks fake so I want to clarify. It's not. This is for real people.

Bam!

2011-01-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

12 Days of Christmas cont.

2010-12-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

On the fifth day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... a dozen roses. This present was not only beautiful but it has special meaning because of something that was in the book he gave me on the first day of Christmas. And you're going to have to read the book if you want to know.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... an all expense paid trip to my dining room for a delicious home cooked breakfast.

Here he is ladies and gentlemen

The Sweetest Boy this Side of a Jam Sandwich Down

2010-12-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Joel Ackerman, my most sweet and precious boyfriend, is doing the 12 Days of Christmas for me this year.

On the first day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... a copy of his favorite book, The Little Prince (which I had never read before and ended up really liking).

On the second day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... Yentl and a bag of popcorn. Yentl was the movie that Joel and I watched on our second date when Joel realized he wanted to hold my hand. Cute, huh?

On the third day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... a trip to the Salt Lake Temple to look at the beautiful Christmas lights.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true Love gave to me ... hummus and chips. Joel knows my favorite things and this is definitely one of my favorite meals.

Harry & Ginny at Hogwarts

2010-12-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Harry & Ginny

2010-12-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Little Joel

2010-12-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Big Joel and I have been spending a lot of time at Kelsey's house lately and Little Joel always has funny things to ask and tell us. This week was particularly funny.

Pretty soon after we walked in the door the other day Joel asked me, "Jamie, are you pregnant yet?" I'm not sure why but he feels the need to ask me almost every time I see him if I'm either married, pregnant, or have any kids. The other day out of nowhere he yelled at me from another room, "Jamie! My Mom has kids." Thank you Joel.

Soon after that he had a question for Joel. "Big Joel! BIG JOEL!! Can I see your hairy chest?" Big Joel told him that it was neither the time or the place which didn't make Little Joel too happy and he kept pestering him about it.

He had some more funny questions but these were the best and most recent.

2010-11-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

I have nothing to blog about. Give me ideas.

New Car

2010-10-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here is my new car. Any ideas for what her name should be? Telulah is taken, that is what my old car was named, just in case that is what you were thinking. I can't wait to bring it back to Utah though I am definitely not excited to make that 13 hour drive.

Sometimes I Smell like Grandpa

2010-09-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I catch myself smelling like Grandpa Brinkerhoff. I think it was a mixture of sweat and sawdust that emanated from both his person after he had been working outside, or from his old blue truck all of the time. It's pretty gross when you think about it especially in relation to me, an apparently not so clean but young 23 year old girl who doesn't really do any physical labor. I don't hate it though. When I smell this particular smell on my person it reminds me of Grandpa. I'm not sure what the people around me think but it makes me smile. Grandpa Brinkerhoff passed down some distinct and ironic things to me: my nose and my smell.

Photo Shoot

2010-09-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ministry of Silly Walks

2010-09-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Photo Shoot

2010-09-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I met a girl who does makeup and hair for photographers and she asked me if I would ever want to help her out for one of the shoots (I think she really liked my hair). So yesterday she contacted me to see if I wanted to do one last night and let me tell you, it's a good thing I spent so much time watching America's Next Top Model. I just did what Tyra taught me and I think it kind of worked out. We'll see. The photographer said she would get me some of the pictures after she edits them which will take a couple weeks so I had Sarah take a picture of me after I was done just to show off the makeup and hair. After I get the legit shots I'll post them on here too.

2010-09-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

2010-09-02T09:10:00.001-07:00

I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that when I was scheduling my flight to Portland I forgot that Jordan was coming in Thursday morning instead of Friday morning. So basically Jordan is going to get there Thursday morning and I'm not going to until Thursday evening at 5:30. The good news is that I have a bunny rabbit. She is precious and I'm not even allergic. I'll post some pictures of her soon. Joel thinks he's being replaced by her but just because I do all my blogging about her now doesn't mean that's what is going on.

Joel's Latest Commercial

2010-08-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

As you know Joel writes, produces, and sometimes acts in commercials. He normally has a whole crew help him with this but when a chocolate fondue fountain company called him and asked him to do a commercial for cheap he said he could but couldn't afford to pay the crew so he had to do it all himself. So he's been working on this commercial pretty hard for a week or so. Let me know what you think.

Joel's 25 year old interview

2010-08-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

What is your favorite color? Green
Favorite cereal? Cracklin’ Oat Bran
Favorite vegetable? Potatoes or sweet corn
Favorite food? Juice
Favorite drink? Also Juice
Favorite tv show? Seinfeld
Favorite restaurant? Any American food restaurant owned by Greeks
Favorite holiday? Christmas
Favorite animal? Rabbit
Favorite toy? Baseball
What is your favorite thing to do? Write
Who is your best friend? Jamie Brinkerhoff
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Illinois
What do you want to be when you grow up? Movie maker
What would you do with $100? Put it towards gifts for people
How much does a car cost? 5 grand…it depends
What do you like to do in the summer? Write
If you could have only one present this year, what would it be? A car
What is your Mom's favorite food? Reese’s
What does your Mom do after you go to bed? Sleep…I think
What's Dad's favorite food? Oreo’s
What is Dad's favorite thing to do? Play baseball
Where does your Dad work? In his house
What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? Talk Baseball
What do you dislike eating? Anything gooey
What's your favorite thing to wear? Overalls
What would be the best thing someone could give you? A successful career
How does the grass grow? Photosynthesis
Where does electricity come from? Science
Where do babies come from? Two people having sex.
How do we get to Grandma's house? My Grandma’s are dead and I never go to my step-grandma’s house.
Where does the sun go at night time? On the other side of the world
How do fish breathe under water? Photosynthesis
How do you make cookies? Have Jamie make them
What is Mom's favorite thing to do? Read and be with family
What do you love about each person in our family? Zoram: funny, Keri: talks a lot, Naya: makes jokes with Little Joel and Mari: is a monkey

Because Joel and I aren't a family and Keri posted the interview asking about "our family" I had him answer about Keri's family.

2010-07-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's lame you can only upload four pictures at a time. So here are a couple more from the wedding and then some random hanging out pictures.

Jason's Wedding

2010-07-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures from my friend Jason's wedding. The wedding was earlier this year but I just now got the pictures.

The Joy of Statistics

2010-07-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

This just happened in Joel's statistics class. The teacher was talking about dotplots. Joel spoke up in front of the entire class and said, "Were you just talking about dots?" The teacher replied, "Yes." Then Joel proceeded to tell the class, "When Carson was born I hit him and he turned into a dot." Which caused me to immediately burst into laughter that I tried to quiet down but probably didn't do a very good job...and tears. And turned BRIGHT pink.

Flux Capacitors Strike AGAIN!

2010-07-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

The Flux Capacitors, my volleyball team, were reunited again last week for an outdoor grass volleyball tournament. We had not played together since the epic win of 2008 where we won the championship in the Provo City League but came together and played like champs once again. One of our members, the capatain, now attends Weber State in Ogden and he signed us up for this tournament. We drove up there and made it worth our time by kicking everyone's trash along with getting t-shirts and $20 Wal-Mart gift cards. Here is the picture after we won, I think it's going to go up in the hallway of Weber State. Since we were outside all morning playing, even though I put on sublock, I think I still might have gotten more freckles...sorry Mom. We'll be defending our Provo City title this fall as we enter league play yet again.

Big Sickie

2010-07-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know where we could have picked up this nasty virus from, but Joel has had it bad for the last 3 days! The first and second day he was throwing up all day and today he had diarrhea. But it's a weird sickness where he throws up out of his ears and has diarrhea secrete from his armpits. Since his insurance doesn't cover anything but acts of God and none of his symptoms are mentioned in any of the major religious texts, I haven't taken him to the doctor, so I'm a little on edge about him. The biggest worry at this point is dehydration, and he seems to have some of the warning signs but not others. I asked him when he last had a drink of water and he said, "In the MTC before I went on my mission." I really thought today he would be much better, but he just slept on the couch most of the day except for when he had to go out to compete in a triathlon to raise money for special needs children. That picture was from yesterday when he was feverish and puky all day. I had to take a picture because it reminded me so much of when Little Joel was sick.

Hopefully tomorrow will be much better - he didn't eat anything the last two days and had just a little bit to eat today (he actually didn't eat it but he chewed for several hours on a literal drill bit), so he's really been weak and listless. (He has no lists of anything, not even to-do lists or groceries to buy. Normally he has lists of everything including a list of times in the day.)

I know it's probably too much to hope that I won't get the same sickness, but I sure hope Joel is the only one! He has been so pathetic and sad the last few days, I can't wait for him to get back to his normal busy and spirited self, always active either trading stocks or breaking horses.

We did WHAT last night?!

2010-06-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

One thing I like about Joel is he is thoughtful and writes me nice thank you notes after we go on dates. Here is the most recent:

Dear Jamie,

I just have to say you were awesome last night. As I said before, you looked absolutely beautiful. And thanks again for the delicious dinner. Having seven courses was impressive, but ALL from SCRATCH? Most impressive.

The after dinner entertainment was amazing too--I knew you could play the saxophone, but not that you could play the violin and the harmonica at the same time!

I was really scared I blew it when I locked my keys in the car, but when you unlocked the door using refrigerator magnets, I just thought, I can't blow it too bad with Jamie around to fix things.

Then on the way back, when you asked me to roll down the window so you could talk to those Pro-Choice activists, I didn't know what you were going to do. But you spoke so eloquently. That was the first time I've ever seen so many angry picketers change their minds. You could really see they were remorseful.

Of course, really I just love being around you because of the fun we have together. But I loved that last night you didn't let our fun get in the way of you saving that toddler from getting run over by a car.Way to sacrifice the body. I hope you recover quickly and are out of the hospital soon. I'd love to go on another date.

Sincerely,
Joel Ackerman

Pictures of Joel in Action

2010-06-25T14:35:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of Joel directing. Thanks. He looks real handsome when he directs. You can tell by the pictures.

On Set with Joel

2010-06-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday I went on set with Joel while he was directing some final scenes for his film. This was maybe the second or third time I had been on a movie set, so it was interesting to see how things work. When Joel directs he usually wears a hospital gown without anything else but this time, since it was on BYU campus, he put shorts on. My job was to take pictures of Joel in action calling action. These are just a few that were taken.

Joel's 25 year old stats

2010-06-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you have complained that I need to keep a more regular blog. Well, unlike many of you, I don't have children I can talk about. But, I decided that since I have a boyfriend I can tell you about him and some of the cute things he does or has done.

Sometimes I feel like his mom right now because I do a lot of motherly things like reminding him to eat, fixing him food, making sure he looks presentable when we go to wedding receptions or other events, picking him up from school and generally giving him rides. (His car is broken down right now.) Like yesterday I picked him up from school and he was just standing in the rain soaking wet and looking all pathetic and sad. I asked him why he didn't stand under something while he was waiting for me, and he said “I just forgot.” I asked him why he was sad and he said “I don't know,” so I asked if it was because he was wet, and he said “Kinda,” then he started crying and said his shoes came untied. It was so cute. I just reminded him he knows how to tie his shoes, and he said he knew but now the laces were all wet. Joel hates touching anything wet or gooey. He won't touch anything like glue and doesn't like caramel or gum because of their texture.

He is becoming a lot more independent since I started dating him. When we went with Kelsey and Boyd on Memorial Day up the canyon he made and packed his own lunch, complete with a tuna fish sandwich, crackers and a tupperware container FULL of applesauce. He didn't bring his own lunch sack though so it got over all my lunch on the ride, but I was proud of him for making his own lunch anyway, and he was really excited about it too. Since I'm trying to let him make more of his own decisions, I told him he could pick what he wore to he and his roommate's club (they have a discussion and dance night every other Wednesday). When he came out of his room he peeked around the corner and asked if he could borrow some of my tights. I told him to show me what he was wearing. He was in one of those shirts tied up with a lace at the neck and in really short shorts tied around his thighs to look like knickers —so he looked like a Shakespearean-era guy. (Just so you know, normal dress code is a slacks and a blazer. In fact they made him wear a blazer.) He looked so ridiculous but it was cute especially with his skinny little legs.

While he usually speaks quite well, sometimes he gets confused about words. For instance whenever he wants us to do something even marginally exciting, he says “Let's throw cosh into the wind.” The saying is actually, “Let's throw caution to the wind,” and it sounds the same. I didn't realize he didn't know what he was saying until he asked me one day, “What is cosh anyway?” Also when I take him to McDonald's he always orders “french flies.” I told him it was fries but he insisted it was flies because of how far you can throw them and he started throwing them all over the restaurant. We left promptly and I told him we're not going back to McDonald's for awhile until he learns how to behave in a restaurant. He whined a lot but by the time we got back to my apartment he forgot all about it. Boys.

He loves coming to the apartment because I have a lot of records and he loves listening to them—especially his favorite, “Tomorrow” from the soundtrack to “Annie” which he listens to over and over again. It's annoying, but it comes in handy when I'm trying to get something done. He really likes moving the record needle, and when he's not dancing around in circles to the song he loves watching the record go around. A couple days ago I came out from cleaning my room and he was still watching it, and then he told me he felt sick. When “Tomorrow” doesn't work I can bribe him with juice, or Powerade, which he calls “medicine.”

The other record I've got him listening to is the “Fiddler on the Roof” soundtrack because I told him it was about Jews. Joel loves Jews even though he doesn't know very much about them. His favorite song is “If I were a rich man.” It was so funny when I came in the other day and he had a bowl on his head. I didn't know what it was supposed to be until I looked on the cover for the record and it is a picture of a bunch of men in yarmulkes.

Joel loves having his back scratched and even more than that he loves having his head scratched, and he thinks it makes him smarter. Also, he loves to eat the smarties that Macey's gives out for free at the checkout because he thinks they make you smarter too. When I asked him how they would make him smarter, he just said “Smarter the Farter” and started laughing and couldn't stop laughing for five minutes. I think that proves his theory wrong. Laughing hysterically is something Joel does a lot—usually at his own jokes, which usually don't make any sense. The other day he asked me if I wanted to hear a joke and I always say yes. So, he said, “How did the chicken cross the road?” I said, how? He said because “Michael Jordan stood on George Washington's car,” and then laughed hysterically for five minutes. I've learned not to repeat his jokes to him because he thinks they're funnier when I say them. I reminded him of “Smarter the Farter” the other day and he started laughing and saying it over and over again until I made him take a nap.

Finally, he's been going to the potty by himself for 13 years in a row!

Pictures to come.

Joel Ackerman. My Partner in Crime, Crime of Love.

2010-05-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Jewish
Older than me
Exquisitely beautiful
Long haired

American
Cream of the crop
KKK member he is not
Entertainer
RM
Manly
Aerodynamic
Narcoleptic

That pretty much sums up Joel and why I like him. Also we love pockets.

Hopefully Things Never Change

2010-05-06T11:59:00.001-07:00

I moved into a new apartment a couple weeks ago and am still unpacking all my stuff. I was looking through my notebooks and came across a journal I kept in high school. I forgot what an awesome teenager I was until I read a list of some of the jokes I pulled on people.

-Painted Kamron's toenails pink while he was sleeping.

-Crawled outside and around to the quiet room window where Boyd and Kelsey were. Wore a scary gorilla mask and black hat and scared them good.

-Sang extremely loud to Boyd's friend whom I do not know Happy Birthday on the phone. Not his birthday.

-Drew on Jared's face while he was sleeping. He said he was gong to get me back. I boobytrapped my room with black thread going back and forth all across the room. Mom came in.

-Called Jared's roommate and acted like I was the girl he went out with the night before, saying I didn't think it was going to work out, that I was confused, and that I needed time to think.

News

2010-04-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

I got the job at BYU as the staff transcriber so it looks like I'll be staying here for another year.

2010-04-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't? This is going along with the theme of silly Jared pictures. Feel free to post your own.

Here's another one for you to steal

2010-04-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

We all make faces. Some are better than others. Some don't make faces anymore (ahem Kelsey) so we had to go back to pictures from years ago. Enjoy.

Who's Your Mamma

2010-04-04T20:26:00.001-07:00

Gymnastics

2010-03-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

2010-03-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

This is to demonstrate how similar me and Barbara really are. The first picture is a drawing that an art student did for an assignment, I'm not entirely convinced he did get the nose right but it does remind me a lot of Barbara Streisand.

Grad Schools

2010-03-07T19:56:00.001-08:00

I'm looking at grad schools right now trying to narrow it down to which ones I will apply to and, if accepted, which one I would like to go to. So far I've narrowed it down to 8 universities all located in the Pacific Northwest.

Portland State University: 3 years and about $32,000, located in Portland
Western Washington University: 2 years, about $20,000, located in Bellingham
Oregon State: 3 years, about $40,000, in Corvallis
Northwest University: 3 years and about $40,000 in Eugene
Seattle Pacific: 3 years, $33,000 and in Seattle
Seattle University: 2-3 years, around $30,000 also in Seattle
University of Puget Sound: I'm not really sure but I assume it's comparable to other ones and located in Tacoma.

These are mostly all small schools but they have the program I want and are around the same price. From this point I'm not quite sure what to look for. I've searched for the most important things, program, location, and cost, and now don't know how to eliminate two more. Applying to graduate schools is pricey so I don't want to apply to any more than 6. So now I'm leaving the choice up to you. Which ones should I eliminate?

2010-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Videos

2010-02-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos from Christmas that I just now uploaded.

2010-02-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

HJS
Homer Jay Simpson
or
Halley Jamie Sarah

2010-01-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

I just received my diploma in the mail today which means I have officially graduated from BYU. There is no going back. My first order of business is to frame it and hang it on my wall as a sign to all who enter that I have accomplished something no matter how little it means to the professional world. My second order of business is to dye my hair and style it into a mohawk, cite a source that doesn't exist, stop showering, have boys over until 12:30 AM on a TUESDAY, and grow out my beard. Take that.

2010-01-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkt1NrFAaTc

Getting to Know Me

2010-01-19T19:47:00.000-08:00

It's not that I haven't realized it before but it has come into focus more often lately that I am really obnoxious. It's not in the way that you think, or maybe you do especially if I'm your sister or daughter. It's not in that really annoying ever present way where I interrupt constantly inserting my own stories, hysterical laughter, or animal noises, vulgar or non. Contrary to what others might think it's not even a insistent argumentative attitude aimed at everyone that has teeth (hillbillies and the British are excluded). It's selective and severe obnoxiousness. There are a few things I feel so strongly about that I have to voice my opinion despite my relationship with those with whom I am conversing. They are as follows:

Harry Potter
Vegetarianism*
My abilities
Women's Rights
Anyone doing anything I don't like
Certain racial or ethnic stereotypes

*Opinions strengthened due to recent reading of Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

College Graduate

2009-12-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have now finished my last day of school as an undergraduate at BYU. I'm done with the research papers, presentations, and endless amount of homework hanging over my head. I'm done with loud people in classes who think everything they're thinking in their head should be expressed out loud for the whole class to hear. I'm done with reading journal article after journal article. I'm done missing everything being taught in a class because I'm struggling so hard to stay awake. I'm done! 4 1/2 years and 9 semesters later. You can call me Sociologist Brinkerhoff. Now on to grad school...

2009-12-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

I found this on mylifeisaverage.com.

"Today, I went to howmanyofme.com. There are 22 people in America named Tom Riddle. My first thought: there are 22 Voldemorts in America. We're doomed. Then I checked for how many people were named Harry Potter. There are 102. I immediately relaxed. 102 Harrys vs 22 Voldemorts - we're safe."

Birthday!

2009-11-29T16:22:00.000-08:00

We went to a frozen yogurt place on my actual birthday.

In these pictures we have more from the Danger party. We have some dangerous dancing, smoking, and dangerous food. For the food we got donuts because they are dangerous to your health, Diet Coke and Mentos, very hot salsa, wild mushrooms, parasite candy, pop rocks, windshield wiper fluid next to blue juice, peanuts and strawberries for those with allergies, and jalapenos. We also have on the table scissors that we used to run with. It was an awesome party!

2009-11-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

Knife Fighting

Birthday cake!

Hooked

2009-11-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Kamron doing what he does.

Zombie Attacks

2009-11-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here is the entire group. We went around BYU campus staggering and groaning and attacking people. The international cinema was showing a movie so we split up and went down both sides of the big room in the Kimball Tower. It was really funny until they turned the lights on and somebody yelled that they were going to call the police. Since we've always wanted to get into the Police Beat we were okay with that but unfortunatly I don't think they actually called. Then we walked to the Wilk and went into all the dance parties they were having there with more groaning and staggering. We went to the Creamery on 9th and all staggered over to where the raw meat was. We stood there staring at it for a while then bought some and took it outside where we all devoured it right in front of the Creamery windows. I think everyone enjoyed our show.

The zombies are attacking the Ghostbuster!

He got revenge though and took down some of the zombies.

Captain Crunch brains....yum.

ZOMBIES!!!!

2009-11-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

For Halloween night we went as character zombies. I was Little Orphan Annie zombie. A guy in my ward is a film major and did my makeup for me and it was pretty awesome.

BRAINS!!!!

Here we have Orphan Annie zombie, Rogue zombie, and Annie Oakley zombie.

X-men

2009-11-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now seeing the beginnings of another stage of human evolution."

Repelling Wolverine with mind power!

Jean Grey

2009-11-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

This was the best Halloween ever!! On Friday night we had a ward party and I went as Jean Grey, Sarah as Petra, and Halley as Rogue, all women from X-men. The nerds in the crowd were loving this.

Hear me, X-Men! No longer am I the woman you knew! I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever -- I am PHOENIX!

-"You have no idea what it's like to have your entire life pulled out from under you!"
-"Warren, please. You're talking to the woman who's been killed, cloned and kidnapped more times than I can remember. Let's keep it in perspective."

Here we have a Ghostbuster, the X-women, a business student, and Shaggy from Scooby-doo. The Ghostbuster won the costume contest.

Not Impossible

2009-10-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Luke and Leia Skywalker

This is conglomeration of two well known Star Wars pictures. Here we have Luke Skywalker and Leia in the front. Then Han Solo and Chewy. C3PO, R2D2, and Darth Vader are in the back. We were just standing outside with a lightsaber and this is what happened. We couldn't have stopped it if we wanted to.

Twins!

2009-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

Carson and Mr. Lunt, who sings the Cheeseburger Song from Veggie Tales, look pretty much like the same person/cartoon.

Berry Picking

2009-09-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

We went to this U-Pick berry patch in Springville a couple weeks ago to pick some delicious fresh blackberries. I'm pretty sure they were genetically modified because no blackberry in its natural state should be as large as the ones we were picking. Nevertheless it supporting local business so I felt okay about it, and the blackberries were delicious.

SUN

2009-08-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Nose

Recreation of the picture taken a couple of years ago in Seattle.

Woohoo!

That is a peacock.

More Space Needle

2009-08-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Before

After. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I love Seattle.

Zoo

2009-07-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

This was next to the penguin exhibit. I was tired and had to sit down and the only option was a boat.

Again, I was tired and had to lay down, the only option was a hippo.

At the fountain in the Seattle Center. I didn't want to get wet.

Atop the Space Needle

2009-07-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

Our project paid for us to go to the Space Needle last week. I've gone up there before but it was fun to go again. The elevator ride up was my favorite.

What can you do...

Seafair

2009-07-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

These are some legitimate nasty pirates coming to take away the key to the away from King Neptune and his royal guard.

Mari's got the teeth of a pirate. But not the smile, no not the smile, she'd need more arrrrr for that.

King Neptune and the princess and his guard. They ended up being pansies.

Looking for some pirate booty.

The Beach

2009-07-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

We took the animals to the beach to play too.