Summer & Tyler: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

End Cali Trip

Posted by Summer

I also was able to hang out with Case and Justin....we spent a quiet evening at Barnes and Noble--I forgot how much I love it there-sipping on our drinks and reading bridal mags looking for inspiration for her wedding.

Sat was the real reason I was there (besides for Shira's wedding) and had a fun time at Casey's bridal shower.

I loved how embarrassed she was--although I would be just as uneasy as she was when opening certain items in front of her mom. :)

{All the bridesmaids minus Tatum with Case!}

And last but not least had to fit in a small Bobbies's girls reunion at the Sagebrush Cantina. It's crazy that almost everyone we grew up with is teaching dancing in one way or another except me and Hilary! All the surrounding high schools dance teams and studios are being taught by fomer Bobbie's girls. I'm so proud of them!

I was super lucky that everything worked out and Ang and A were able to drive back to Utah with me. The boys were great and the time passed so much more quickly.

The highlight was being able to stop in Saint George to meet up with Bob and Gess and see Grandma & Grandpa Barnett...they are some of my favorite people ever! The grandparents I never had since mine passed away really young and my grandpa is in Wisconsin and haven't seen him in over 10 years.

A short terrible run down but needed to get this posted!

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rest of Cali Trip

Posted by Summer

I'm such a terrible blogger lately, not that I don't have anything to post about..but I've just been soooo busy. Thanks Ty for picking up the slack!

This was a month ago from my Cali trip--

All the girls got together downtown and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and celebrated mine and Heather's belated birthdays. I loved seeing everyone and so glad I had the chance to meet Maren for the first time!

The practically only sunny day on my vacation, Ang, Adi, all the boys and I hung out by the pool. Boy, I sure do miss this house and backyard and am admitting to coveting Adrienne and Angela's life at the moment. Hanging out with the cutest little guys and spending time in that beautiful weather is such a no brainer and I hope they are grateful for every moment!

{Me & Baby Drew!}

{The only pic I could get of A :)}

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rap Music Decoded!

Posted by lebruf

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Count your blessings

Posted by Summer

Tyler forwarded me this email today from my mother-in-law, Rachelle. It truly brought a tear to my eye because I really am so grateful for everything that Heavenly Father has given to me. I have a wonderful loving husband and amazing family and friends. I am just sad that I was not able to know Andre, Ty's grandpapa in the prime of his life. He makes me smile every time I see him and is such an example to us all.

Hello friends and family,

I was given a small assignment to write a short uplifting message for our Relief Society newsletter this week. The topic was "Count Your Blessings". As I searched for quotes, through various talks on lds.org, and in little story books, I realized I had the best example here at home with my Dad. I wanted to forward this to people who know my Dad and let you know he is in kidney failure now, but still doing remarkably well and staying upbeat.

Love to all, Rachelle

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

The prophet Alma urged, "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

"How are you doing today?" asked the doctor.
"Terrifically fine!" said my almost 92 year old father.
His response last Thursday was no different than it had been for the many years we have visited this particular doctor, or any other. My father has been widowed for nearly 17 years. He has been legally blind for 16 years, hard of hearing for over 10 years, and has had chronic kidney disease for over 10 years. As usual, my father quickly tuned out to the rest of the conversation the doctor had about his failing health. I was the one who had to hear the news and make the decisions.

My father is now in kidney failure, but with the doctor's blessing, we decided to not do dialysis. Instead, the doctor suggested to contact Hospice.
Friday, we met with a Hospice nurse. Monday, we met with the Home Health Aide and also the Spiritual Care Coordinator (LDS Chaplain). Wednesday we will meet with the doctor who will attend him at home. There will be other specialists down the road, as needed. Everyone is so positive and helpful. It is truly a blessing!
My father, Andre Liardet, is also a blessing to everyone he ever comes in contact with. He is always upbeat and happy. He always uses humor and likes to sing. Even in his weakened state, he keeps us laughing. He plays Swiss tunes on his harmonica for all the visitors. Everyday, he says about a dozen times or so in his french accent "It is a beautiful day!" It could be raining, snowing, hot or cold, it doesn't matter. For every meal, he blesses his food and also tells me "Thank you very much". He says his prayers every night, with gratitude. Although he has had trials, disappointments and challenges throughout his life, as we all do, he has remained faithful, true and appreciative. His spirit IS terrifically fine!

President Hinkley said "We should all be thankful to the Almighty for His wonderful blessings upon us. We have all that this great age has to offer in the world. How lucky can we be, really? We ought to be grateful, to be thankful, to walk with appreciation and respect for the blessings of life and happiness that we enjoy."

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you"? - William A. Ward

Here is the video I took last week of Grandpapa playing his harmonica...

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Monday, June 29, 2009

Something that actually might make HBO worth the subscription

Posted by lebruf

I'll have to admit my guilty pleasure of liking a lot of what is produced for the HBO series, (Showtime for that matter too) even though it normally requires a subscription. When HBO was free on promotion at my last address, we managed to watch quite a bit of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage.

For anyone who has seen the miniseries "Band of Brothers", it is pretty easy to agree that this is the pinnacle of the work those folks at HBO are capable of producing.

The exciting news... They're going to do another WWII series, this time focusing on the war over the Pacific - aptly titled "The Pacific". I still won't get HBO, I'll just torrent it.

Here's the trailer:

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Google Voice - kick A, free, ...soon available?

Posted by lebruf

I've had my Google Voice number actively working for me for the past 4 months.

Google is known mostly for their search engine, and GMail. I use them every day, love them, but none of them compare to the utility and sheer coolness of Google Voice.

Google Voice started out as a totally separate company, GrandCentral. I signed up for my GrandCentral account (thanks for the recommendation Trevor) back in 2007 when I was still living in Corona Del Mar, CA, so they gave me a number local to my 949 area code. I never really used the service after initially signing up, but I am so glad that I got my foot in the door at that crucial time.

GrandCentral got bought out by Google in late 2007, and they basically tinkered with it and re-released the interface under the name of Google Voice back in February. When I finally realized everything Google Voice could do for me after revisiting my account after years of neglect, I started making it central to my communicatins with friends, family and clients.

Here's how it works:

I have my own Google Voice number, a basic 10 digit number local to my area code. I give this number to everyone who wants to get a hold of me and I determine from within Google Voice how the call gets handled.

Google lets me choose which outside phone numbers my incoming calls get routed to. I currently have all calls routed to my cell phone and my office's direct line. That way, I have the option to pick up on whatever line is most convenient for me at the time, both ring when I get an incoming call.

I can schedule for it to ring me on my home phone number as well after 6 PM (or any other time I choose). Every incoming call is announced to you when you pick up the line (it will read the name to you if the contact already exists in your phone book) and give you the option to either

take the call
put them directly into voicemail
listen in on the message with the option to pick up
record the call

The call recording feature is awesome, the whole conversation gets stored in your account for access later. You can forward the recording to anyone, or just save for later reference. I've already used it a few times to ensure details of some transactions were kept meticulously.

For numbers that frequently call in (like my wife) I opt to just have it pick up as normal. The coolest thing though, is that I can customize my greetings for certain callers. My wife gets a different greeting from my clients, who get a different greeting from my friends.

I can elect to have numbers blocked, or automatically routed to my voicemail. I can record as many custom messages as I want for whatever caller or call group that comes in. Annoying phone calls from repeat offenders can give you some great opportunities for creative custom messaging.

I can send and recieve text messages from my cell or on the web. The incoming text messages will route to any SMS-enabled phone you've linked to your account and you can respond directly to them. The coolest thing is being able to text people from the your account on the web.

The web interface is very much like GMail. It lists messages by date, and has an easy search function. Google uses AJAX programming, the magic that allows you to see the list of people whose names start with a certain letter the instant you type it; so composing messages is just as easy as e-mailing from GMail.

I also get elective notifications via e-mail, and a text message whenever a new message is recieved in the account. Another very convenient feature is the message transcription. The voice recognition seems to be about 75% accurate, but I've only gotten a handful of transcriptions that made it impossible for me to tell what the gist of the message was.

From the web, I can place a phone call by going to a contact name, or just typing a phone number and then Google Voice will ring any one of my linked numbers. When I pick up the number it rings me on, I'll hear the ringtone like I had placed the call myself from that phone. This helps me to make sure my caller ID shows up on the other party's phone as my Google Voice number, and it's nice doing the 1-click dial thing. It would be awesome to simply dial out like you can with SkypeOut, but currently it's not a feature, and for now I'm actually pretty stoked on the landline capability I'm getting out of MajicJack.

If I ever lose my cell phone, or I'm in a place with no service, I can have the calls routed to any number in the US for free. The caller ID will pop up on any caller ID enabled phone.

So why havent' you heard about it yet?

Because it's not available to the outside yet. I got lucky when I was grandfathered in from Grand Central, and I have desperately wanted to get my assistant, my wife, and my parents their own Google Voice number.

The Good News:

Google has recently grabbed 1 Million Phone numbers which means that they'll be adding accounts in the near future. Obviously there are tons of pros to using the service, but just to be socially responsible, here are the cons one might consider.

Either way, I can't wait to get myself an additional Google Voice number. Believe me, as soon as they're available, you'll want one too.

Google Voice's Twitter Page

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Friday, June 26, 2009

Who's Bad?

Posted by lebruf

I didn't think Michael Jackson's passing would affect me this much, but it kind of has. The television coverage, the devotion of his fans... watching this video actually brought a tear to my eye seeing America's initial reaction to the first-ever Moonwalk (go to 3:45). This is the Michael Jackson I will always remember. Regardless of what he allegedly did later on in his life, you can't deny that this man was undeniably the King of Pop. Incredible performance.

This is still my all-time favorite MJ Video:

and for a fun little anecdote:

This Image

was the last frame of the Thriller music video that I ever watched until I got up the courage to watch it again when I was something like 16 or 17. I remember the instant that this image flashed on our TV screen, and that I (little pansy ass that I was) went running out of the room, unable to sleep soundly for the next several weeks.

Later that year (I'm pretty sure it was like my 6th birthday or something) my parents bought me my own copy of the album. I remember opening the present up at the birthday party we threw at Chuck-E-Cheese's and thinking that my parents were sick and twisted freaks intent on scarring me for life with a souvenir of the single scariest thing I had ever seen on screen up to that point in my life. My parents have a great sense of humor.

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Shira's Big Fat Jewish Wedding!

Posted by Summer

This is going to be a pretty long post but I want to make sure I remember everything I learned about my first Orthodox Jewish wedding! Casey, Justin, and I were some of the few non-Jewish friends attending so we were a bit out of our comfort zone. There was so much going on and a lot to take it but we enjoyed ourselves so much and had a blast dancing and celebrating.

Oops on us...we arrived right on time and the celebration didn't start for at least another hour. It was really interesting-they had a sushi bar and appetizer bar for all the guests to munch on when they arrived. I now know why...by the time we had to leave (as Tuesday was a work night) we had been their 5 hours and we hadn't been served cake yet!

This day is considered a personal Yom Kippur for the chatan (hebrew for groom) and kallah (bride), for on this day all their past mistakes are forgiven as they merge into a new, complete soul.

{Justin in his Yamaka}

It is customary for the chatan and kallah not to see each other preceding the wedding. Therfore, prior to the wedding ceremony, they greet their guests separately, which is called "Kabbalat Panim." Jewish tradition likens the couple to a queen and king. The kallah is seated on a "throne" to receive her guests; while the chatan is seated at the chatan's tisch, the groom's table, where guests gather to partake in singing, dancing and drinking, while sharing words of Torah.

{Shira with mom on the right and mother-in-law on the left}

{Shira greeting us and getting all teary!}

Morris then is escorted to Shira, amidst singing and dancing. The Bedeken, veiling of the bride, originates from the story of Jacob. NOt having first seen his bride, he married Leah instead of Rachel. This custom ensures the groom this is his chosen bride, as he lowers her veil.

I left the picture off of the Chuppah...because we were so far away...but the wedding ceremony takes place under the chuppah, marriage canopy, a symbol of the home to be built and shared by the couple. Under the chuppah, Shira will circle Morris seven times. Just as the world was created in seven days, Shira is figuratively building the walls of the couple's new world together.

The first part of the ceremony begins with the blessing over the wine, a traditional Jewish symbol of joy. Shira and Morris will share their first cup of wine; symbolic of the joy they will share in their marriage.

According to Jewish law, when Morris places the ring on Shira's finger, this is the central moment of the wedding ceremony and at this point the couple is fully married. The ketuban is now read aloud. The reading of the ketubah acts as a break between the first part of the ceremony-kiddushin (betrothal), and the latter part- Nissuin (nuptials).

The Sheva Brachot, seven blessings are recited over the second cup of wine. These prayers encompass the creation of the world and humanity, the survival of the Jewish people and the land of Israel, the marriage, the couple's happiness and the raising of a family. Several rabbis who have been an influential part of our lives and our own fathers recite these blessings.

{We were in the very back so you can see how many people were there! }

A glass is now placed on the floor, and Morris shatters it with his foot. this serves as an expression of sadness at the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Even at the height of personal joy, we remember the fragility of human life.

After Shira and Morris leave the chuppah, they spend a few minutes alone in seclusion known as yichud, as husband and wife.

It is considered a mitzvah (obligation) to rejoice with a kallah and chatan. there is much music and everyone dances as they celebrate their simcha (joy).

The meal begins with a blessing over the challah (HUGE braided bread). After the meal, Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals) is recited and the Sheva Brachot (seven blessings) are repeated.