Clogging part duex

On Saturday we went to the national clogging competition held in Lagoon.  Lagoon is an amusement park in Utah.  I think that I am going to write a letter and campaign for all dance competitions to be held in an amusement park!!  It was great.  Instead of being wedged into a gym or auditorium in some school where there is no chance of escape, I was able to take my two girls who aren't clogging on rides until Mercedes my oldest competed.  Great way to sit through a dance competition. 

The only down side to the whole day was that Mercedes was really quite sick and she was only able to compete in two of the five dances she was entered in.  Kind of a bummer but she gave it her best and did really well for being as sick as she was.

My middle daughter Avery is really quite fearless.  She loves the ride Wicked.  It is a really intense ride.  I also discovered that I talk quite loudly when I am on a really good roller coaster.  She was telling my wife all about it.  I had a fun day we drove for over four hours to see Mercedes dance for about 40 seconds so if we hadn't been at an amusement park I think I would have been a little more grumpy. 
That is all.

More thought provoking quotes

As I have said before I love quotes.  I love the way they make me think of things I may not have considered before.  So here is round two.  Enjoy!!

"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), Sherlock Holmes

"Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’."

- Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back


"Destiny is not a matter of change, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

- William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)


"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them."

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)


That is all

Just finished day three or my second Insanity workout. FOUR WORDS, I WANT TO DIE!!! That is all.

Insanity work out dvd

 WOW!!!  I just did the first Insanity workout last night.  I knew I would be sore.  But this is ridiculous!!  Shawn T is a mean mean man.  The workouts are EVIL!!!  Needless to say it is a very good workout. 

As I am going through the first workout and I start to notice that almost every person who is there with him in the gym has stopped.  They are all on the floor panting like dogs and they look like they want to die.  This was at least a refreshing change from the other DVDs I have seen where the group with the main trainer looks bored and they aren't even sweating. 

I am not normally into work out DVDs but I have done this one before and I know it is a great workout in a relatively short amount of time.  The other day I saw Captain Ahab in the rear view mirror and he was  sharpening his harpoon while he was looking at me with a maniacal grin on his face.  I thought its time to get back to a fitness routine.  Since spring refuses to come to Idaho this year and nice days have been far and few between I need an inside workout activity.  Plus then I can drop from a heart attack in my house where someone might find me as opposed to in the mountains where I am sure it would take much longer to find me.  I love to mountain bike but my bike has been starting to cower and hide when I come into the garage due to my plentiful girth.

Tonight is round two.  I am soooooo excited.  UGH.  Why is it that gaining weight is relatively simple while losing weight is tough?  I guess its so guys like Shawn T can torture people for money.  Funny thing is that torture used to be something we wanted to avoid and now we pay for it!!  Kind of crazy.

That is all.  (If you I don't post ever again just know I died gasping for breath on my floor)

My Kindle

I just recently had a birthday.  I am now the ripe old age of 37.  For my birthday I told my wife that I would really like a Kindle.  I already had the amazon kindle software on my droid x phone and have really enjoyed reading books on my phone.  I weighed all the options out there (ok not really) but I did look at some of the competition.  I went with the kindle due to the price and the features, namely that I just wanted a reader. 
I have been very impressed so far with the kindle.  I have discovered that when I read on my phone it keeps track on my kindle and vice versa.  I love it.  I know the kindle isn't the fanciest option out there but it is great for me.  Plus Amazon gives away many of the classic books such as Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, Moby Dick, Jeckyll and Hyde, etc. 
So for what it is worth I really enjoy my kindle.  Easy to use, convenient size, and just fun to own.

That is all

Computers

I hate and love computers all at the same time.  It is amazing that I can turn on the computer and within minutes have all the inforamtion I could possibly want on a given subject. 

My office is a paperless office.  In other words we keep all records and x-rays on the computer.  We have a small server that takes care of the office.  I really dont know how all of it works, but it does, most of the time.  I showed up to work on  Wednesday and my staff tells me that my server is down.  AHHHHHHHH  NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  The staff has been on the phone with tech support for over an hour and they decided that the network card or the cable or the switch is fried. Not a good day when everything is on the computer, and I mean everything.  We use my laptop to act as a temporary server.  But this laptop is 4 years old and it was a low end one when I bought it so the technology is at least 6-7 years old. 

Everything worked out fine the office just ran a little slower than usual.  I am amazed by what computers can do. 
Apparently the problem started with a power outage at the office.  We have the server connected to a battery backup with a two hour batter life.  I guess the power was out for longer than that and the power loss fried something.  Fun fun fun. 

Gotta love technology

That is all

Clogging aka Power Tap

This weekend I took my family to Utah for a clogging competition.  My oldest daughter just started clogging, which is also known as power tap in January.  She has really enjoyed it so far.  From what I understand clogging is limited to mostly Idaho and Utah.  If you saw the show America's Got Talent in 2009, my daughters teacher was in the group the Fab Five.  I had never really experienced clogging until this weekend. 
My wife used to teach dance but she didn't clogg.  To me, having a very untrained dance eye, clogging looks very similar to tap.  I am sure if I asked a clogger what the differences are they would be able to talk my ear off about it.

Previously I posted about my middle child participating on the local swim team.  As with swimming clogging involves sitting for hours to see your child perform for maybe 10 minutes.  YEEEEE HAAAAWWWW.  Fortunately my daughter wasn't on the competition team, because she is so new, but I can feel that day fast approaching.  I started to wonder why I put myself through this?  Why do I subject myself to things I don't really like?  The answer was simple, I love my girls.  It's really that simple.  If you love someone you are willing to submit yourself to less than ideal situations to show them you care.  We really only have our kids in our homes for a very short amount of time, and we need to make the most of it.  If that means suffering through dance competitions so be it.  There are really so many worse things to suffer through, overall I am lucky. 
That is all.