Super Bowl -- Smith family style

Let me begin by saying that we never watch football. I think the last football game my girls saw was last year's Super Bowl. Or maybe a few minutes of the Auburn game for the championship, only because we had it on because we know Jeff Grimes.

So, they have VERY limited experience with this sport.

And by very limited, I mean...virtually none. Although Jenna informs me that they do know what a quarterback is. (Thank you, best friend, Hannah Fox. You've enriched my youngest child's life with your knowledge of sports)

Beyond quarterback, they know, well, that the game is played with an odd-shaped ball. This makes for some very unique comments while finally watching a game.

I thought I'd let you all catch a glimpse of what it sounds like when you watch the Super Bowl at the Smith house.

It's not pretty.

But it is funny.

And so, I present, random comments from kickoff through the halftime show, courtesy Anya, Emily and Jenna.

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Who is happy about that play? The green guys or the white guys?

Did you see that? That guy just slapped the quarterback on the butt! Gross.

That guy [in the huddle] was just pulling his tights out of his butt. Ewww.

Super Bowl XLV. Extra large Vulcan?

I think we should watch a musical during the super bowl.

[As they show Ron Howard in the stands] That’s Opey, right?

[During the "Transformers" commercial] According to that movie, the whole world should be dead by now.

A cheese hat? Really?

[After asking me about the basics of football] Dad, how do YOU know so much about this game? {Editor's note: it's a fair question.}

Do the referees basically just help the green and white guys get off to the side and make sure they all don’t kill each other?

What the heck kind of name is Roethlisberger? Let’s just call him Booger.

That guy’s hair looks like a girl. I think he is a girl. But girls don’t play football. Girls don’t really want to play football. Well…we don’t.

[After a sideline celebration] Yo bro! They got the bro hug.

Oh my gosh. Look at his butt jiggle.

[When the game came back on after a commercial] If you see a funny commercial, rewind and pause, ‘cause I have to go to the bathroom.

There’s a pen sticking out of the green coach’s hat. I really think someone just put it there to make him look stupid.

[Upon seeing a player named “Ward”] I wonder if he’s mormon?

[When it’s halftime] Finally something not boring.

Fergie actually has come clothes on. She's modest....for Fergie.

[When the halftime show ends] Okay, back to the snoozefest...

What in the world is with the purple? Why are the announcers both wearing purple ties? I don’t get it!

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I love those happy little girls.

Kinda freakin' out here

I just heard today, on one of those "10 years ago" deals that they do on news shows once in a while, that it was in late 2001 that the original iPod was released.

When it was first unveiled, the iPod was about as big as a deck of cards, had a black and white screen, text only, no album artwork, no video, no pictures, with a mechanical click wheel (not touch sensitive). It had a 5 GB memory, so it would hold maybe 1000 songs. And it was revolutionary. Hundreds of songs with you at all times, all easily accessible. Do you remember this? That iPod was an incredible technological leap. For the magical price of $400.

This was less than 10 years ago.

Now, the classic iPod has, at it's most basic, an 80GB memory. The newest iPod nano (the most basic of the line) is 8GB at it's smallest, is barely over 1-inch square complete with a touch sensitive screen and no click wheel at all, with full color. And of course there's the iPod touch, complete with wi-fi internet connectivity, and the iPhone, both of which give you the ability to download whatever music you want from practically anywhere, along with the mind-numbing variety of apps available to simplify/complicate your life.

In less than 10 years, this amazing device, the simple iPod, has evolved into something even more amazing, a contraption you'd expect to find Spock using, not Grandma Edith as she's working on those baby booties for her newest great-granddaughter.

There have been over 220 million iPods sold in one of their various forms. That's enough for 3/4 of the population of America to each have one.

Does this freak anyone else out? I can't believe that in TEN YEARS this little music box that was so spectacular, and rare, has become a an even smaller music box that is so ubiquitous I'm guessing you'd be hard pressed to find a single person in America who doesn't know what an iPod is, and probably has one in their home.

It begs the question: What thing that seems fresh now is going to advance to some unimaginable incarnation by 2021?

I'm going to go read a book. Not on a Kindle. The original, you know, with pages.

But I'll probably have my iPod on.

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas everyone!
Thought we'd post today with some faves, highlights and a few lowlights for the Smithereens from 2010.

First, some faves that we everybody had on their list:
TV - The Middle - we all cackle at this one every time we watch.
On DVD - Gilmore Girls - (you can see our previous post here) We've made it through season 5 and are gearing up to start season 6!

Now, everyone's specifics: (You'll note some common themes, but the above are the only ones that ALL of us agreed on)

Karen:
Movie - Toy Story 3 - lots of laughter but pass the tissues!
Books - The Help by Kathryn Stockett; So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore; The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero; Forgotten God by Francis Chan; Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Podcasts - Harvest Church, Billings; North Point Church, GA; The Village Church, TX; Focus on the Family
Random faves - Americano w/ Half & Half; Pandora internet radio, especially Chris Tomlin, David Crowder and Hillsong; Anya's knockoff recipe for Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Highlights - Experiencing and seeing God's healing touch above and beyond what I had asked or imagined; Homeschooling Emily
Lowlight - Grieving the loss of Baby Blake, the newborn son of my niece Becca, her husband Randy and son Cam.

Anya:
TV - Phineas & Ferb; Hawaii Five-0; The Good Wife; Avatar (animated series)
Movies - The A-Team; Despicable Me; Toy Story 3
DVD - The Italian Job
Books - The Help, FableHaven series, The Hunger Games series, Academy 7, The Mysterious Benedict Society; and best of all The Count of Monte Cristo! Yeah baby!
Song - Pedal to the Medal by Kazzer
Artist - Fee; Owl City
Food - Pioneer Woman's Parmesan Chicken
Candy - Shockers
Highlights - Going to Disney World this summer; expanding shelves of books!; baby sitting all the kids of church staff families
Lowlight - High school...nuff said!

Emily:
TV - Avatar (animated series); The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0; The Event
Movies - Toy Story 3, The A-Team, Despicable Me
DVD - The Italian Job
Books - Every Soul A Star; Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life; The Mysterious Benedict Society series
Food - Almost everything Mom makes; dark chocolate pomegranites
Artists - Brandon Heath, Fee
Highlights - Going to Disney World; being homeschooled
Lowlight - having wisdom teeth removed and getting braces - they hurt!

Jenna:
TV - Hawaii Five-0; Phineas & Ferb; Avatar (animated series)
Movies - The A-Team; Despicable Me
DVD - The Italian Job (editor's note: can you tell our girls love this movie about thieves driving Mini Coopers?)
Books - Akiko series; Holes
Food - Anything Mom makes is good; Bajio!
Highlights - Getting Marshmellow (my stuffed bear my sisters gave me for my bday); Cinnamon (my stuffed cat my parents gave me for Christmas) (Editor's note - she's allergic to cats, so this is the only one she can have, although she'd LOVE to have a real one); getting to go to Disney World
Lowlight - Having to get braces

Rich:
TV - Lost - I miss those people!; The Good Wife
Movies - Toy Story 3; Inception
Books - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose; The Hunger Games series by Suzann Collins, The Help
Random Faves - Americano; Tillamook Northwest Berry Patch Yogurt; Jason Gray's Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue; Peanut M&Ms
Highlights - Taking over Children's Ministry at our church; Disney World with our fam, G'pa and my sister's fam; Fridays at home
Lowlight - discovering the depth of my despair and resentment toward God, but finding my way back to Him and His unfathomably deep love!

That's us! Hope you enjoy some space and peace during this Christmas/New Year's week, and that you realize the joy and passion God feels for you!

In Defense of the Blessed Bean

There's a problem here in Utah. It goes unnoticed by those of you outside the state, unless you actually venture here and experience the problem first-hand. It's a discrimination, a shunning, a devaluing of an entire species.

It's not racism, not misogynism, not even religious persecution.

It's worse, as it affects people of all cultures, races, genders, nationalities and creeds.

This scourge of Utah, this vile offense?

I call it javaism.

Because the majority of the citizens of our fair state belong to a faith that deems coffee sinful -- even going so far as to equate it with drugs during Red-Ribbon week at our girls' school -- those of us who partake of its joyous aroma, who sip from its savory umber pool, are seen as suspect, and, unlike those of you in the rest of America with a coffee shop and/or drive thru espresso shack within a coffee beans throw of each other, are made to travel inordinate distances to enjoy the fragrant lusciousness dispensed by that soul-patched barista lest the availability of it's goodness entice others into its buzz-filled web.
I love the simple cup of coffee. I don't love it for the caffeine rush (honestly, I don't even notice a jolt...but I may be immune to it after 25+ years of imbibing). I don't want it with frou-frou creamers or flavors. Just give me a warm cup filled with water that's run over those roasted and freshly ground beans, and I'm satisfied. Content. Happy.

What could possibly be wrong with that lovely cup of joe? What offense can be found in its aromatic enticements? I know not.

What I do know is that there are few created things as gratifying, as restful, as simply blissful as my morning java.

So I defy the prevalent javaism of my community. I embrace the ever-present coffee scent that permeates my home. I smile graciously at the passerby holding that white and green paper cup that he carries like a scarlet letter. And I boldly drink the nectar of the blessed bean, in my car, in the store, at the park, yea, even in a restaurant after dinner.

And I savor it, thanking the Creator of all good things for His wisdom, His foresight, His oh-so-wonderful ingenuity in making that unassuming little plant, that one day would provide the cup that enriches my life today.
Thanks, God, for coffee.

It is very good.

How it should have looked

During the post about Jenna's birthday, I showed you our less-than-beautiful cake that we made.

Here it is again in case you forgot.
We made it again, and while it still wasn't perfect -- I can NOT figure out a way to get it to completely release from the pan. We've made this dang cake about 15 times, and it always sticks a little. Maybe we should rename it Sticky Cake -- it did turn out closer to what we want it to look like.

Voila.
Honestly, though, either way it is ridiculously good. It's probably a ridiculous amount of calories as well, but it's made with dark chocolate, so I just think about the antioxidant value of it's lusciousness.

And try to forget the shamefully large amount of butter that's in there as well.

A President, a Bennett and a Ferret...er, a Fairy

Here in Utah, if halloween falls on a Sunday, everyone Trick-or-Treats on Saturday night. I don't know if this is occurs else where (it didn't happen in Oklahoma when we lived there), but during our 8 halloweens in Utah, it's taken place twice.

So, on October 30, 2010, our girls donned their costumes and headed out for the annual collection o' the candy.

This year, our candy excursion was attended by Miss Elizabeth Bennett (of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice)...
(yes, Anya was also Lizzie last year, but loved the costume that Grandma made her so much she wanted to do it again)

A delightful fairy...
with a modern twist, hence the jean jacket. Anya designed and applied the fairy makeup.

And our 16th President...
Anya made the beard for our little emancipator.

I must say, that Theater Makeup class that Anya took last year has really come in handy.

The whole crew of revelers.Emily and her "24 carat gold" friend, Jessie.
Had a great time, as always, and made a grand haul of sugary goodness.

Gilmore Girls...and guy

Back when Emily had her oral surgery, Karen checked out the DVDs for the first season of Gilmore Girls. We'd never watched this show while it was on, or seen any of it since it left the air, but had heard recently from some friends that it was a fun diversion, and since Emily was pretty much confined to a chair without the ability to speak for the first 2-3 days, Karen thought some new TV might be a nice distraction from the pain.
We all loved it. Fast-paced, pop-culture rich dialogue, quirky characters, lots of laughter, fun relationships; if you haven't seen it, it's about a single mom (Lorelai) and her daughter (Rory) who live in Stars Hollow, CT, along with their eccentric friends and family. Our whole family got hooked. We went back to the local library and got season 2, and had just as much fun with the second season.

So on a recent Friday night, when the girls got home from school, we had the third season ready for the DVD player, and an evening with the Gilmore Girls planned.
The Gilmore's love coffee, especially from Luke's Diner, and are rarely seen without a coffee cup in hand, so all drinks we had that night had to be sipped from to-go cups, from Luke's naturally. Even if they weren't coffee, they had to look like coffee.
All snacks were retrieved from Doose's Market, Stars Hollow's only grocery store.
Our homeschool room became Chilton Academy, the private high school where Rory attends to prepare for her Ivy League college career, and hopeful future as the Christiane Amanpour of the next generation.
Lorelai has never cooked a meal in her life. If we were really eating like the Gilmore's we'd have had massive amounts of takeout, but we opted instead for foods that could be put in the oven or microwave without preparation. We thought that was Gilmore-esque.
No, it wasn't healthy, but it was good, and we had a marvy time catching up with all our Stars Hollow friends.

Besides, what evening isn't better with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts and Popcorn, Indiana Cinnamon Sugar Kettlecorn?