Saturday, November 14, 2009
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Since I was very small, my dad has exposed me to a variety of peculiar music. I am sure that he would say the same thing about me! I usually make fun of it initially, then I end up asking him if I can borrow a copy because it has grown on me. One year he copied TSO's, The Lost Christmas Eve and I instantly became a fan. I went out and purchased the other 3 albums. Beethoven's Last Night is THE BEST. Listen to track #5 for a taste.
My dad's birthday is November 21st and it just so happens that TSO comes to Salt Lake every November. In 2005 I surprised my him with tickets. I didn't tell him where we were going, just that I would pick him up early and he would be spending the evening with me. I think it was a couple of days before his birthday so he knew something was up. We headed to the E-Center where I sprung the tickets on him. We were a little early and found a wonderful fast-food, greek restaurant (Greek Souvlaki) where we were able to enjoy spanakopita and dolmathes before the concert.
The concert was fantastic, more than I could have imagined. The storyline was awesome, the voices were incredible and oh boy can this one girl play the violin. The light and fire show was spectacular... If you can just imagine Christmas carols with a heavy metal, rock & roll twist. WOW.
My dad and I went again the following year and then the year after that we brought Pauline (his wife), Nathan (my younger brother), Matt and Kristy (brother and sister-in-law) and my daughter Jill. I don't think they had nearly the same experience we did, but it was fun anyway. If I could afford to go every year and take every one I know, I would.
You can check out their website at http://www.trans-siberian.com/...
Enjoy the magic!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Football & Photoshop Fun
Football - this is about as excited as I get about football season.
"Pause"
Ah the temptation to be funny and just leave the rest of this post blank....
My hubby Justin follows the Denver Broncos and my brother Matt follows the Winnipeg Jets. Oh wait, that is hockey... I meant to say the New York Jets! My mom likes... uh, I can't remember but I think it is the Kansas City Chiefs. Mom and Matt do their "picks" every year and I can't help but feel jealous and left out of the fun. It looks fun but I have not enough knowledge to be any good at the "picking". I would have to go with my gut feelings, best team emblem or nicest looking quarterback. Could I win any money doing that? Mmmm...
Anyway, when my son was a year and my nephew, Logan, was about 2, I snapped a sweet little photo of the 2 of them sitting on the couch together. I saw some potential for a cute football related moment and got to work photo shopping. I thought I would share...
Since now I am on the photo shop subject, I will share another picture I doctored. This was Dax on our lawn at about 10 months.
I love to do this type of thing in my spare time. I have done a few more here and there but honestly don't have much time to do it. Once I start, I can spend hours and hours in front of the computer. I did a rather creepy picture of my immediate family a few years ago...
Look out, you may be next!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Daxton Justin Olsen
I purchased my home as a single mom in 2001, married my husband Justin in 2002 and had Daxton in 2003. November, November, November…
Daxton was a blessing. His older sister Jill was born in 1992 and I really didn’t think I would be able to have any more children. It was shortly after Justin and I were married that I discovered that I was pregnant.
The pregnancy was great. I gained the typical amount of weight and had the usual aches and pains. I remember how exciting it was to find out he was a boy. Justin was pretty stoked about having a boy and I know that is what Jill was hoping for. My official due date was November 28th, then the 21st with a scheduled c-section on November 14. I went into labor in the wee hours of
I got up that morning (not having rested real well that night) and decided that I may as well go to work. I got in to the shower and my contractions didn’t subside, but got worse. I talked withJustin, who was already at work and told him that I thought we ought to call the doctor. I told him that I was going to finish getting ready and then call Dr. Craig at 9 when the office opened. Jill was home with strep throat so I called and asked my mom if she would leave work and come over. I also asked her if she would stop at Macey’s and pick me up a blow dryer because it had blown up that morning while I was drying my hair.That said, I still had a very bad hair day!
The doctor told me to meet her up at the hospital and they would see if I was really in labor. Sure enough, at about
Dax was born at
He was very alert and could hold his head up.
The family was able to watch him in the nursery be prodded, poked and Justin was able to wash him off. Justin was also able to feed and love on him while I was in recovery.
When I finally got to see him (it was quite some time later), he was just this beautiful, dark little person. He had long fingers that he liked to fan out across his chest. He had dark penetrating eyes and he was so quiet. It was love at first sight.
1 year - what a monkey. Dax was scaling my kitchen cabinets before he was one and could climb trees with ease.
2 years - still scaling. This kid had incredible balance and I never had to worry about him losing his footing or landing on his head.
3 years- adorable. He was such a busy little guy. His favorite movie at the time was Napolean Dynamite!?
4 years - already developed great wit. I remember him coming in to the bedroom with one of my ladies magazines. He had turned to a Dove ad, it was a cover fold out that featured 3 naked ladies. He said, "Mom, these women don't have any clothes on." Then he raised his eyebrow and gave me that, "this magazine is going in my bedroom" look and walked out with it. I turned to Justin and said I didn't think there would be any way our next child could be so dang cute and funny.
5 years - such a handsome young man. Even though he is busy and rambunctuous and doesn't sit still very often, he is still good natured and sweet to his mom. He knows when I am having a bad day and gives the best hugs and back scratches.
6 years - Dax has changed so much since he started school. He loves it. He loves to do his homework every night and practices his letters and sounds every chance he gets. His teacher tells us he makes friends easily and is already showing leadership abilities. She also said that he has a talent that not many other kids have at his age; he can talk to his friends AND do his work at the same time. He gets his multi tasking skills from me.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veteran's Day
I grew up in Edmonton, AB Canada and every Remembrance Day we would get a poppy to pin to our shirt. I remember it was a big deal, we would sing the national anthem and our teacher would recite the poem "In Flanders' Fields". I used to know the poem by heart...My brother did a wonderful job recognizing all our relatives that have served our country. I just want to express my gratitude to everyone who is serving or has served. Thank you for your service and sacrifice so that I may live in a free country.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Golf, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

So I started writing down the reasons why I love to golf so much and realized that it would be a pretty boring read for most of you, so I shortened it down to the top 1o reasons instead.
1)Being outdoors, the scenery, the beauty
2) Relaxed pace, you don't have to rush
3) Fantastic stress reliever, therapeutic
4) You don't have to be good all the time
5) You are your own biggest competitor
6) You can do it with friends, family or solo
7) You always have that one shot that keeps you going back
8) You can enjoy it at any age
9) It is always challenging
10) The sound your club makes when you hit a perfect shot
Monday, November 9, 2009
More B&W
OVER BEANS & WIENERS
Justin and I were talking about Dax and why his eyes have been red for the past couple of weeks. I thought maybe he wasn't over his illness, his dad thinks it is lack of sleep. He also said that Dax has been asking if he could get another shot. Since his flu shot wasn't a big deal to him, he thinks everything should be cured with a shot. I told him that he would in fact be getting another shot this month and he said, "I can't believe my mom would sign me up for something like that."
Sunday, November 8, 2009
LOST Characters - oh brotha...

Desmond - his picture is worth a thousand words... rrrowwwrrrr
Jack - I love Jack's take charge attitude. I also love the fact that he is in touch with his feminine side; bring the tissues, this guy loves to cry
Jin - Asian man that can kick some serious butt - can you say hot in Korean? 뜨거운
Ben - I don't trust him but he is growing on me, gotta feel bad for a guy that was raised by Uncle Rico
Hurley - sweet, he is so me when it comes to food
Charlie - he will always be a hobbit to me
Locke - loved him in the 1st & 2nd season but then he got a bit weird
Mr. Eko - so much to say, so little reason to say it
Sawyer - I don't see the attraction other than he has a way with words-I wonder what my nickname would be... he's got baggage and a really long torso - keep your shirt on James
Sayid - aside from his bad taste in women, Sayid rocked in season 1, hope to see better things from him in season 4
Michael - "yawn"
Walt - creepy kid, I expect to see him again
Boone - reminded me of a young Indiana Jones and then he died

Kate - aside from her buck-teeth, Kate is a natural beauty and a beast...
Juliet - I want to like her but I don't trust her
Danielle - I would pick her first to play on my softball team
Sun - she is pretty nice, for an adulterer
Claire - oh, I called this one, I can't wait to see the storyline between her and Jack develop
Ana-Lucia - she grew on me and then died
Rose - nice spiritual lady
Libby - I liked her because she was fond of Hurley but let's face it, their children would have been u-g-l-y
Shannon - make the whining stop... oh, uh, thanks







