Sunday, our first full day of the trip.

This is a picture of us on our way to church in Zurich Switzweland. The ward had maybe thirty five to fourty members and met in a very hot fkoor above a private bank. it took us a real ,ong time the night before to locate the ward becaue there was  not any of the traditional trademarked church of jesus christ of latter day saints signage and the meeting house was pretty hard to find. but we made it and had a great time going to church with some brothers and sisters in a foreign land. (we were suprised to find out that there are many more U.S. citizens than the naitve Swiss in in the ward)

The Blog Part 2



Even though this picture has got nothing to do with blogging I wanted to put it on the blog. It is me standing outside the garden tomb in Jeruselem.



          So I can’t say that I’ve totally had a change of heart, and that I’m going to continue my blog, and have been totally converted to the blogger nation. However I can say that my view of blogging has changed. I actually enjoyed working on the layout of my blog.The layout is a picture of an elephant in the backgrownd and they are a pretty wild creatur so i thought it fit the title rather well. I enjoyed all the different color combinations that the blog set up gives you to make the space truly your own.  I also learned that an orange and black blog combination is fun to look at for about two minutes, but the residual imprint that the text burns into your eyes for the next ten minutes isn’t fun at all.          
          My still lingering feeling about blogging is that, I just don’t have anything (that I believe) is important enough to put out on the internet and have millions of people have access to it and “follow”. I don’t believe that I’m privy to any information or insights that are outstanding enough to devote the time into committing to keeping on a blog. That being said I would like to mention that if a person feels the need to blog I’m not going to rake them across the coals for it. If a person feels differently than I do about the blog or their opinion, more power to them. That is totally their choice and the nation that I live in has afforded them the right to act or do whatever they want within reason.  This blog for me has not really ever been therapeutic or been a release. Knowing that what I’m putting out there has the potential that millions of people may see it, I have been pretty careful only to post things that I won’t mind people knowing about me. The opinions I’ve stated here are just that, “opinions” they are not facts. The title of my blog “My Wild Rants” is fitting because this blog has been just that,….. “MY Wild Rants”.  

          So to sum up this assignment for me I think that it has been just that, an assignment.My target audience was my close knit group of friends and the people in my Writing 150 class. I believe the theme has been the same since the begining of my blog;  whatever I want to rant about thats what I'll spend time to put down in a blog post.  I’ve enjoyed some aspects of the assignment and I think that is true with many that I’ve had and many that I will still have. But just in case anyone is basing weather or not to blog on reading this article, the blog has not left a bitter taste in my mouth. I think, if its right for you, you’ll know and you’ll be all the better for participating is something that you love and are passionate about.

Writing 150

        Taking Writing 150 has taught me so much about my writing.  Being able to go back to what quality of writing I was turning out just six weeks ago I have been amazed. Just going through the class I have watched as my jumbled up ideas that I would just poor onto the paper now have structure and have a coherent thought process that my readers will be able to follow. It is exciting to be able to express through writing the exact point that I’m trying to make.  Also, having the people that read my writing actually be able to understand the points that I try to get across is very invigorating as well. It gives me more excitement to write rather than look at every writing assignment as a huge burden or un-climbable mountain that I need to summit.

        Being able to reflect on how limited my knowledge was of the MLA form or writing as compared to what I know of it now; the growth has been astonishing in my eyes. I’ll have to admit this summer has really been a struggle for me as far as the work load that I’ve had with my classes but I can say with total honesty that the concepts I have learned in the writing class have helped a new foundation come in my writing that hasn’t ever been there. I’m not even trying to imply that I am a gifted writer and I know that I have a long way to go before my writing is where in needs to be, but I do have a new confidence in writing that I’ve never had before primarily because of the Writing And Rhetoric Writing 150 class.

Missions and Marriage, the Windows to Weight Gain.

I’ve been a big guy as long as I can remember. Big for your age, large, built like a tank, and above average, were never uncommon things to hear from people when they were describing me. I like being big. It helps my confidence quite a bit.

My weight on the other hand is another issue entirely. My weight has had its ebbs and flows through the years. When I was playing football before my mission I was in really great shape. I was a trim muscular 230 pounds. I didn’t have much fat on me. As time went on and my body changed more I began to put on weight.  I put on 50 pounds over the course of a few years and at the age of 22 I weighed 275 pounds.

Then the mission came and my weight got out of control. Thanks to all the members and the glutinous eating habits I had developed by being an athlete the weight was easy to gain. At the peak of my mission I got up to a staggering 325 pounds. I’ll never forget the day I stood on the scale in my apartment in Albany Oregon and was horrified at what I saw. I committed to start losing weight and by the time I got home I was down to 315 pounds.  

I worked out harder than I had ever in my life and actually after 6 months of being home (AND NORMAL EATING HABBITS) I was able to get back down to 265 pounds. That is around where I stayed until I went to Turkey for work. After a little over 3 months I came home at a skinny 240 pounds. I hadn’t weighed that little since I was in my 22.  

Now, given that extensive and personal background, during this time I fall in love and on November 30^th 2010 I was married.  Maybe it is because the feeling of being complete, or just my tendency to be lazy, or my wife’s excellent treats, but it has only been 9 months and I’m now back up to 300 pounds! I have sort of been freaking out. However, I have also had quite a lifestyle change.  For the first time in my life, my involvement in school has not incorporated some type of athletics. The job that I have has been mainly sitting behind a desk or office “white collar” work. Not to make excuses I just am explaining the change that has happened. So for all of you out there will be reading this blog, watch out! After you are married, if your anything like me, you will be in for a rude awakening if you don’t watch your weight.

Riding Your Heart Out

’ve been riding my bike in preparation for a trip I’m taking with my wife and my in-laws. We are going to be riding roughly 150 miles around the Swiss lakes.  It has been quite a different experience riding my bike for the purpose of training for something. I used to ride my bike everywhere. There wasn’t a curb in my neighborhood that I haven’t taken a jump off of. Now being an adult and riding not only just to get around town but to help me get back in shape, the whole thing takes on a new meaning. I never knew that it could be so tough to ride six miles. However the first time I did the first time I pressed myself to do it I learned that lesson pretty quickly. Now riding isn’t nearly as hard as it was that first time. I have grown to really appreciate how great Salt Lake City is for bikers. It is really a biker friendly city and I enjoy that allot.   Like I said before our trip will be taking us 250 miles around the Swiss lakes. My next goal after that is to do 270 in one day in the famous LOTAJA bike race. You ride your bike from Logan Utah to Jackson Hole Wyoming. It should be allot of fun to get ready for and finally do in a year or so. Biking has helped me learn more fully  the importance of setting goals. Although it isn't easy to just hop on your bike and take off, it sure has become worth it to me.

When Did We Become Grownups?

I had a pool party at the in laws house this weekend and I sat talking with the boys about our lives.  Since I’ve had the same group of close knit guy friends since I was in the sixth grad it was easy to see how far some have come and how little others have progressed or changed. Some of my buddies have grown more mature and become men, others have just grown up, put on some pounds and really have not matured at all.  Being able to see this snap shot into what our lives are becoming this caused my wonderful wife and I to ask each other almost at the same time, “When did we become grownups”? Really, when? It seem like it was just yesterday that Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to sneak up to the TV. room and watch Saturday morning a cartoons before mom and dad caught us and made us go do our Saturday jobs.  This golden time was decades away from the deadline driven, bills to be paid, making ends meet world we live in today. It is interesting to get these sort of frozen moments in time to look at what has led us to this point in our life. I guess it may be time to just bite the bullet and embrace the fact that time is constant and being a grown up really is not such a bad thing.

I was thinking a putting a blog entry devoted to my wife, since I have written one about  allot of the other things that I am passionate about. She definitely fits into this category.  When I was typing this blog entry she came into the room and saw the first part I had written so I asked her what else I should write. A direct quote she gave me is, “she’s beautiful and kind and wonderful and spiritual and humble”. As you can see, (because the list she gave is actually very close to the truth) I married up! I am very grateful that such a special person should choose to take a chance on me. 

We met at a singles ward “ward prayer”. It was raining really hard outside and everyone was crowded into a one bedroom apartment of a girl in the ward. After the prayer was over and everyone was clearing out I caught a glimpse of her. Since I was relatively new to the ward and I was very self-centered, I had never made much of an attempt to speak to her. Because of the rain howling outside she had decided to wear these pink Burberry rubber rain boots. They were the first think that I noticed as she was speaking to another girl in the ward.  As she was squeezing by me I sarcastically said “nice boots”.  This was met with an equally sarcastic, “well their better than anything you’ve got on”! After that I was hooked. From that night on there were not many girls that could even make me look twice. She has put up with my many failings and even stood by me when I took off for four months and lived in Turkey for work. She makes me laugh, like no one I know. Her witty sense of humor keeps me on my toes. I have to bring my “A” game to be able to zing her after she cuts me deep with the love in her voice to let me know that under our banter is nothing but the most pure love.  

Her statistician mind is constantly teaching me new ways that someone could love numbers and keeping track of patterns. She told me just the other day as we were driving down I-15 that her favorite sunset time in July was 8:54. For anyone else in the world I would accuse them of being off their rocker crazy, but not her. She loves more deeply than anyone that I have ever known. I have a tendency, as you may have been noticing from the other blog posts I have here, that I have a real easy time looking for the negative in allot of situations. Sarah just has to look at someone and she knows just how Heavenly Father sees them.  It helps me to try to see them that way.  She makes me better, or at least striving to be. She just told me that I have to include how “smart” she is….. oh well, there you have it. She is smart.  Oh,… and just so everyone knows I made her keep the boots and they’re on my shelf .