SYTYCD...dance...dance...dance

In the eleventh hour, I had the opportunity to go to the So You Think You Can Dance concert with some great girlfriends. Laughter was my medicine that night, for sure...love these girls.

Last Year Kyle and I went and loved it, so when this ticket became available, we knew I had to go. What a show! If you love the tv show, then this concert is a must.

It was fun to see my two sisters and Tiburon during intermission, speaking of which all got backstage passes to meet the dancers (lame!...I mean so fun and happy for them!)

Here is my most favorite dance from the season with my favorite dancer KUPONO...lu-huve him. At the very end (1:45 minutes in), you can hear my sister yell "I LOVE YOU KUPONO". We are all so proud of her moment.




video via Tiburon

Thank you for a fun night, ladies!

Kyle Week: A New Word

We taught Aiden a new word...

Kyle Week: Friday Favorites

Thanks to my good buddy Derek Miner for introducing me to the beauty of Vadrum.

Kyle Week: Song of the Day - Random Mix

The Arcade Fire - Wake Up
Theme song for this movie. Thanks Cameron



Band of Horses - I Go to the Barn Because I Like the
Weird name...great song. Thanks Tetro.



Iron & Wine - Boy With A Coin
Thanks Steve.



Company of Thieves - The Fire Song
My favorite female vocalist. Thanks Facebook.

Kyle Week: Quick Cali Clip

Try saying that title 5 times fast...

Just thought I would share the last 52 seconds of the video I put together of our Beneficial California Trip this past summer.



Yes, I got a LOT of strange looks while taping that middle portion...

Kyle Week: Song of the Day - My Morning Jacket

If I were wise, I would pull a Mother Hips and break this post over two days. Unfortunately, I have too much music to get in before the week is done. Like I said on Monday, so much music, so little time.

My Morning Jacket has a very unique sound and a LOT of worthwhile tunes. I'll divide them into 'Rock' and 'Mellow', and try to put the two or three I think you will most enjoy at the top of each section. If you like what you hear, there is a whole album's worth of tunes on this post.

ROCK:

Gideon


Wordless Chorus
(Great falsetto at the end. You should hear me attempt it while in the privacy of my own car...)


I'm Amazed


It Beats 4 U


Off The Record


Anytime
(The first 10 seconds is my current ringtone)



MELLOW:

Where To Begin
This song was on the Elizabethtown soundtrack. Love how the song crescendos (particularly at the 2:00 mark: "It's the art of feeling naked in your clothes.")


Thank You Too


Look At You


Golden


Gideon (acoustic)


It Beats 4 U (acoustic)

Kyle Week: America's Pastime

A lot of people think baseball is boring.
A lot of people hate the Yankees.
I fall into neither camp.

In honor of the Yankees 27th World Series title, I thought I would share with you an email I received from my dad in December of 2002. I liked it so much, I have kept it for almost 7 years.

"O.K. To keep you entertained during the long winter, here are the ways in which baseball is unique and different from any other team sport.

Its the only team sport where:

1. the length of the game is determined by number of possessions (innings) rather than by a clock.
   
2. the player scores points rather than the ball.
   
3. the boundary line is in bounds rather than out of bounds.
   
4. the defense is in possession of the ball.
   
5. one member of the team is intentionally stationed out of bounds. (the catcher.)
   
6. the dimensions of the playing field are not standard from field to field.
   
7. the manager or coach dresses like the players.
   
8. each team is assured an equal number of possessions.
   
9. the game can be finished before it's over. (if the home team is ahead, the bottom of the final inning is not played.)
   
10. one part of the playing field is subject to standard dimensions, but another part is not. (infield vs. outfield.)
    
11. the playing field intentionally consists of two different surfaces. (dirt and grass.)
12. part of the playing field is intentionally elevated above the rest. (the pitcher's mound.)
13. play is not interrupted by a planned halftime or rest space between periods.
    
14. a player, once removed from the game, cannot return (I think).
    
15. offensive players who are trying to score points must take their turn in a specific order - the batting order."

So it's official: my dad rules.

Follow His Star

We interrupt Kyle week with a Public Service Announcement. Saturday November 14th is Public Day for the Creche 5th National Convention. This will be a great way to start out your holiday season right, with remembering the real reason for the season. All the details for this event are on the poster below.

All the nativities featured above belong to my mom's good friend and neighbor Debbi. She has a beautiful collection of nativities from around the world. These few are to give you an idea of some of the neat nativities you will see at the convention.

All are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Kyle Week: Quick Tech Tip - Clean Up Your Desktop

Ever feel like your shortcuts and file icons are taking over your desktop? You know....something like this:


How am I supposed to enjoy Ginnie J's photography with all that virtual litter? If your desktop looks like mine, it's time to throw up some Fences to reclaim your space.

"Fences" is a free software program that you can download here. Once installed, the program will automatically build some default fences and start to organize your clutter. It will look something like this:


Certainly better, but still some room for improvement. Fortunately, Fences will allow you to adjust and customize as much as you want. I decided to delete any empty Fences, change the labels on the rest, and resize to something a little smaller. Here is my final version:


Other options include the ability to adjust transparency of a 'fenced' area, remove the labels all together, or to show them only when you hover your mouse over the 'fenced' area (see my 'Work' fence below). A scroll bar will also appear when you hover over a fence so you can access files inside the fence that aren't visible on the desktop.


However, the best feature is the ability to hide EVERYTHING with a simple double-click on any empty area of your desktop. Suddenly, nothing is standing between you and the 2031 opening day shortstop for the New York Yankees:


However, if there are certain files or shortcuts you want to keep on your desktop, simply right click on the desired icon(s) and select the option to "Exclude this icon from Fences' quick-hide".


Any icons that have been excluded will remain on your desktop while the rest still disappear when you double-click (notice 'Current Projects' stuck around):


There you have it. A simple, free application that will allow you to organize your desktop in a way that is intuitive and personalized. You can easily add or delete fences, and you can even take 'snapshot' backups and restore at any time to a previous snapshot:


The program works on PCs running XP, Vista or Windows7. I have not found a version for Mac, but then again, my wife uses the Mac, so organization isn't a problem on that computer.

Kyle Week: Song of the Day - The Mother Hips (pt 2)

Tim Bluhm & Greg Loiacono - pre-show performance in SLC in 2001
(Fellow T-Bird, Brian Isaacson is in the bottom left corner)

As promised, today will focus on acoustic songs written and performed by Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono - co-guitarists and vocalists for The Mother Hips (when recording/performing as an acoustic duo, they are known as Ball-Point Birds).


Daisy & Joaquin
Classic Tim & Greg.


My Stony Heart
I love the mood of this song. Feeling melancholy? This song is for you.


Impatience/Change
The following line in this song (at 1:02) always makes me stop and think. "What is a man who doesn't follow paths that lead him where his heart wants to go?"


An Extraordinary Meeting In The Winter Forest
I love this song. Very visual storytelling.


I hope you enjoy the music. As mentioned earlier this week, if you have any suggested artists, please share.

Kyle Week: Quick Tech Tip - Half Stars in iTunes

There is something strangely satisfying about rating a song in iTunes. Sort of like a private, people's choice award - without the Red Carpet. The only problem is deciding how to rank those in-between songs. You know, a song that deserves more than 4 stars, but is not quite worthy of 5 stars? Serious dilemma, right? Not any more.

Here is how you can tweak your iTunes to allow for 'half-star' rankings (it might look more technical/intimidating than it really is):

For Windows Vista:

• Close out iTunes.
  
• Open your Start Menu and type iTunesPrefs.xml into the 'Search' field and hit enter. A new window will open up and you should see a matching search result.
• Copy the iTunesPrefs.xml file and paste it to your desktop - just so you have a clean copy if things get messed up.
  
• Return to the open window and right click the iTunesPrefs.xml file and highlight the 'Open With' menu option. When the submenu pops up, choose WordPad to open the file.
• Once open in WordPad, search the .xml file (ctrl f) for the following line:

• Below this line, but above the next line, type

• Save the WordPad file and close it out.
• Open iTunes and start giving those in-between songs the love they deserve.
• Once the half-stars are enabled, you can delete the iTunesPrefs.xml copy you placed on your desktop.

For Mac:

• Close iTunes
• Open Terminal (go to 'Applications', then 'Utilities')
• With Terminal open, type in the following command and press enter

defaults write com.apple.iTunes allow-half-stars -bool TRUE

• Open iTunes and test it out.

End Result:




Kyle Week: Song of the Day - The Mother Hips (pt 1)

(Greg Loiacono, John Hofer, Tim Bluhm, Paul Hoaglin)

Trust me...their music is even better than their logo.

In fact, The Mother Hips have SO MUCH good music, I had to split the post over two days:

• Tuesday will highlight music from the entire group - specifically three recent albums.
  
• Wednesday will highlight the acoustic work of Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono - dual front-men (guitars/vocals) for the Hips.

Time We Had (Kiss the Crystal Flake)


Channel Island Girl (The Green Hills of Earth)


Lion and the Bull (Pacific Dust)


Time Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear (Kiss the Crystal Flake)


White Falcon Fuzz (Pacific Dust)


Singing Seems To Ease Me (The Green Hills of Earth)


Third Floor Story (Pacific Dust)

Kyle Week: My Life According to Rush

I occasionally wander over to Mindi's blog (for good humor) or Tiffany's blog (for good writing). When I say occasionally, I mean about as often as I change the oil in my car. During one of these random visits I happened to catch this post (inspired by Tiburon). I immediately knew if I were ever to author a post other than for Kami's birthday, it would be the one you are reading right now. That's right, I just linked this post to itself (you know, just to mix things up).

Describe yourself:
Working Man; Driven; Finding My Way

How do you feel:
Need Some Love; Limbo

Describe where you currently live:
Subdivisions

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Half the World; Territories; The Way the Wind Blows

Your favorite form of transportation:
Red Barchetta

Your best friend:
New World Man

You and your best friend are:
Second Nature; Open Secrets

What's the weather like:
Turn the Page; Freeze

Favorite time of day:
Here Again; Nocturne

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Circumstances

What is life to you:
One Little Victory; Making Memories

Your Relationship:
Sweet Miracle; Chemistry; Between Sun & Moon; Time Stands Still; The Speed of Love; Closer to the Heart; In the Mood

What do you fear:
I Think I'm Going Bald; The Enemy Within; The Weapon; Losing It

What is the best advice you have to give:
Show Me Don't Tell Me

Thought for the day:
Everyday Glory

How I would like to die:
Roll the Bones; Between the Wheels

My soul's present condition:
Hope; Ceiling Unlimited; How It Is:

My Motto:
Best I Can

What I believe in:
Spirit of Radio; Freewill; Before and After

I'm impressed by:
Marathon

My wish for others:
Big Money; Peaceable Kingdom


Now that I've wasted 5 minutes of your day, feel free to scroll down to my previous post, where I'll try to redeem myself by providing something of actual value.

Kyle Week: Song of the Day - Fleet Foxes

Music, like emotion, is deeply personal - and meant to be shared.

So much music, so little time to share. Therefore, 'Song of the Week' is now 'Song of the Day'

Much love to Ryan Jacobs for introducing me to Fleet Foxes. They may look a little grisly, but they sure sound amazing. If you like harmony (and who doesn't?), you'll love Fleet Foxes. They have several great songs, but non better than "Drops In The River."

Rules for maximum enjoyment:

• No distractions.
• Volume up.
• Use earphones.
• Close eyes. Seriously.

Why I love this song:

• 'Crosby Stills & Nash' harmony.
• Slow crescendo throughout the song.
• Mellow without being boring.
  

Other worthwhile songs by Fleet Foxes
White Winter Hymnal (this was my first exposure to FF. Caught me by surprise)
Ragged Wood (2nd favorite - love the change of pace starting at 2:30)
Blue Ridge Mountains
He Doesn't Know Why (did I mention Crosby Stills & Nash)
Sun It Rises (just get past the first 22 seconds...)

Listen to anything that sounds like Fleet Foxes? Leave a comment and share the wealth!

It's Kyle Week!

This week Kyle turns the big 3-4, and rather than one honorary birthday post gushing (lots and lots of gushing) about what a wonderful husband/terrific father/overall nice feller he is (because I know your time is precious), I thought I would let you really get to know him by giving him a whole week here on the blog. Isn't that the gift that all husbands would want?! ;)I did give him a few reminders:

-keep in mind about 95% of the visitors here are FEMALE
-one post per day is required

pretty easy, right?

So, let's hear it for Kyle week, and show him the love! Or at least a birthday wish or two.