Quote of the Week:

"If we do everything right, there is still a 30% chance that we are going to get it wrong." -Vice President Joe Biden
Huh?

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

Gotta love Logan in the summertime! We have done lots of things like gone to Summerfest:Which is a great outdoor art festival where we go to check out some local artists, hear some cool music, and observe some of the random locals that seem to only come out in the summer:But, let's be honest, we really go to Summerfest to eat the Dutch Oven food and Funnelcakes. Good thing it is only here once a year...
Now that I am only working on my internship through work this summer in order to graduate, I have more time for projects. I needed an end table, so I took this:And used a little of this:To make it into this:I have had the chance to have lots of fun visitors to Logan. My favorites were all in town for the 4th of July weekend, so there was lots of food, fun and watching the fireworks from the stadium. Then, last week, two of my BFFs that I grew up with in Pleasanton converged in Logan. We had a great time, and of course I had to take them to the Famous Aggie Ice Cream (which they insisted must not be THAT famous because they had never heard of it!). Here is a bad picture of Robin, Me, and Janette:And a way better picture of the cute kids:This week, we are going to Harry Potter (which is an event in itself)there's a visit from my favorite Janae from Idaho Falls and then leave for a week in Cali on the 22nd. Until then, I just have one more project to tackle:
This is my $8 kitchen table that right now resembles something from the '80s. So, I have stripped the top and am thinking it needs to be a red top with a black base to match my house but I haven't totally decided...

I'm a Barlow, Yes I Am

Talk to any member of the Barlow family about this little girl named Sammie and be prepared to hear some gushing:Can you spot the family resemblance?

Moneyball Shmoneyball

Dear Oakland A's:
You are breaking my heart. I am reading a book right now that is written about your brilliant tactics to save money while still winning games and being contenders called "Moneyball". There is even a movie being made about the Oakland A's of the late 90's and early 2000's where Brad Pitt will be playing the "visionary" General Manager Billy Beane. The concept of spending the least to get the most return is something that everyone can relate to, especially now. But, I have to tell you that it is now 2009 and you are becoming legendary at something else that no one will write a book about. Being bad. Not only being bad, but setting a new level of bad-ness and it makes me sad.
Gone are the days where we would get all decked out in our green and gold and head to the games early to catch batting practice. To be able to take in the sights and smells of the Coliseum was always exciting. No matter how many games we went to, we still anxiously made the 20 minute drive to Oakland to see our team. We were proud to cheer on our A's and to defend them to anyone who said a bad thing about them. In fact, the Coliseum will always hold a special place in my heart as will the smell of hot dogs and fresh cut grass.There is nothing better than spending a summer night at a ballpark that is filled to capacity with the buzz of excitement to watch our team and cheer them on to victory.
The tone at the Coliseum has changed dramatically, though, and that is the part that breaks my heart. It is almost with dread that we go to Oakland to see our A's because we know that they will most likely lose. The stands are not even close to being full and the excited buzz is gone. Even the players drag themselves onto the field as if they have lost a bet and now have to play baseball. Moneyball, I am afraid to say, is no longer working. It is time to think of something else. As I sat at the game with my family the last time we went and reminisced about the "good 'ol days" with my Dad, I truly felt a sense of loss. So, my plea to you, Oakland Athletics, is this: Please do something different! Restore the trust of your faithful followers before you lose all of us loyal fans that are left.
With that said, I pledge to always be your fan. I will take a page from the Boston Red Sox fans who watched their team suffer from the Curse of the Bambino for years and never let their loyalty waiver. In the end, they were blessed with a World Series title. I have faith in you, A's. I know that you can be great. There will be something to celebrate again and your stands will be full of fans that can once again hold their heads high.Please just hurry. I don't know how many more losing seasons my heart can take.

Seriously? Seriously...

Conversation overheard in the check-out line at The Wal-Mart today:

Daughter:(wearing a Class of 2009 t-shirt and a CTR ring) Mom, why do I even have to take the ACT to get into College? It's not like I will need any of those skills to survive in life.
Me: (thinking silently in my head) Yeah, you will never need basic reading, writing, and comprehension skills...
Mom:(wearing a BYU shirt and CTR ring as well) I don't see why they make you take that test. You don't really need to go to college anyways.
Me: (again silently in my head, except for screaming this time) What?! Even the prophet has instructed women to be educated!
Daughter: I know! You and Dad didn't go to college and we are doing just fine.
Mom: Right. Girls don't need a degree to be wives and mothers. You will just get married and your husband will take care of everything that you need.
Me: (silently in my head, trying with all of my might not to scream out loud) Seriously? What's the need to be educated?
Daughter: I know. When I get married, then I can just do what my husband wants me to do and I will be just fine.
Mom: (pulling out the food stamps, no joke, to pay for her food)That's true, now we just need to find you a husband.
Me: (pulling out my phone to make sure that the date says 2009 and not 1950) Wow! I wonder if these people have been frozen in time...

Seriously? Since when did it become okay to just not be educated? There are many ways to educate ourselves without having degrees, and some of the smartest people I know have been quite successful without having one. That's not the point. I just worry with the way that the world is changing that we need to be taking every opportunity to better our lives and be prepared. Seriously. I think that I will write the book that is floating around in my head. It's called, "Making the most of your Singleness". Seriously.

Happy Father's Day to my Favorite Fathers!

I hope that everyone has a great Father's Day this weekend-especially a few of my favorite Dads: I love you all and thanks for being such great Fathers and Friends!

Beautiful Disaster Behind These Hazel Eyes

It has been unusually long since I have blogged, but it is mostly because I have not been feeling very inspired as of late. This could partly be due to the fact that it has been raining for days and days here in Seattle, er...Logan. So, I needed a cure for the blues and fast. Anyone who knows the Barlow girls knows that we love love love Kelly Clarkson! We have been to her concerts any time that she has come near us and even flew home one time to see her play in San Jose. There's nothing like going to a fun concert with your sister (who, by the way could be Kelly's twin) and just having a blast to cure the blahs. So, we packed the rain gear into Lois the Montero and headed to Provo for the outdoor concert because let's be honest-we will always go see Kelly come rain or come shine or under the rainbow:As you can see, neither one of us has Hazel Eyes...but I for sure had some frizzies in the rain:Luckily, it only sprinkled for a few minutes and we stayed pretty warm the whole time. We sang and danced and got pretty close to the stage. It was great!And, I decided that I really love to go to outdoor concerts because it stays pretty cool and my ears don't ring for days and days after the concert...which may or may not have happened after seeing Kelly with Reba in the Energy Solutions Arena in October...anyways, it was fun weekend with Laura and Kelly and I think that the funk may be lifting:)