Saturday, October 2, 2010

Catch The Ball

Dear BYU receiver corps:

This is Eric Drage. This is the only image I was able to find of Drage in the amount of time I had, which is both sad and illuminating.

I guess I can't blame the Internet for not remembering Eric Drage. He was 6'0", 185 lbs. He wasn't considered fast enough to play at his hometown school, the University of Arizona. He didn't have a professional football career. Even in this picture, he just looks like another small, skinny, slow white kid playing football at BYU.

But this is why the Internet is completely mistaken for not remembering Eric Drage. During his three years of starting at BYU, he caught 162 passes for 3065 yards and 29 touchdowns. He would throw his undersized frame at every pass thrown his way, catchable or not. In high school, he played with broken fingers. At BYU, he played with broken ribs. Eric Drage gave absolutely everything he had on every single play. He NEVER dropped a pass. EVER. He caught every catchable ball thrown his way, and a bunch of the ones that weren't. I have never seen as many sick, disgusting, and amazing catches out of one player than I saw from Drage. Most players would give up on the balls he caught. I watched him have to juggle a high pass three or four times before reeling it in for a TD. I saw him drag himself on the ground underneath a safety to catch a tipped pass. He went after high passes over the middle. He went after passes that would be hopelessly out of bounds or too far ahead of him for mere mortals to catch.

Eric Drage was the epitome of a BYU receiver: slow, undersized, overachieving, determined, fiery, precise, resourceful, and intelligent. And over all else, he caught the freaking ball. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. There's two parts to the equation of Quarterback U. We know plenty about the first part, the quarterback. But equally important in that equation are the receivers, and BYU has always had fantastic receivers. Nothing flashy about them - they just caught the ball, no matter where it was, or whether they were technically a running back, fullback, tight end, or receiver. Too many to name in one post. Guys like Matt Bellini, Ben Cahoon, Kaipo McGuire, Chad Lewis, Itula Mili, Chris Smith, Gordon Hudson, Glen Kozlowski, Tyler Anderson, Reno Mahe, Curtis Brown, and on and on.

Anyway, you who are getting a free college education playing a skill position at BYU would do well to emulate Eric Drage. You have the physical tools to be better than he was. You just need to get your heart and mind into it, on and off the field. And catch the freaking ball.

That is all.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Silhouette Giveaway!

Want to win a silhouette? Here are the details http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6344

I've been using Sugardoodle to prepare for my primary lessons and I stumbled upon this. Good luck!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Ashley's Disorder

My friends, Ashley has a disorder. She is incapable of drinking an entire glass - be it milk, water, coke, hot chocolate, she doesn't finish. You can always tell which glass is hers after dinner, because there is about a half inch of liquid in the bottom of the glass. (Therefore, I try to find them fast, because when it was milk she was drinking... Nasty.)

This all came to a head last night. She had some root beer, and I was stealing a drink here and there as we were watching House. She got to the point where she was done, and the usual amount was left in the glass. I picked it up to drink a little - I didn't finish it, just in case she wanted more. She was like, "Wait, was there still some in there?" "Yeah." "I swear, I finished it! I swear!" "Nope - you left the usual amount in there. I didn't even finish it, you can check for yourself." To her surprise, there was. She was convinced she had finished it, and even laughed to herself that I was going to be disappointed when I picked up an empty glass.

Even though she is conscious of it, it happened again tonight. It's hilarious! But our question is, is there anyone else out there like this? Or is Ashley the first one with this strange disorder? Let us know!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!!




David's birthday was back in March. The big 27!













He kept saying "Oh, I don't need anything." and "Don't worry about me, just focus on school."








So, I planned a surprise party for him. :)







We are so blessed to have good friends from church.














We have great neighbors across the street who we've become good friends with.







I made everybody wear a party hat and play pin the tail on the donkey. lol We had a lot of fun.






















I made Four Cheese Tortellini Shrimp Alfredo. Sounds gross, I know. So I also made Spaghetti with Gnocchis for those with good taste :P It was yummy! We had garlic bread and salad, and then German Chocolate Cake with coconut frosting for dessert.































David won the game! Happy Birthday David. I love you so much!!! (even in your old age...you can't help it) :P

Snow Day!

Wow! What a crazy semester it's been! I have a bit of catching up to do. I have been too busy to even think about our blog. The last week of February, it snowed in Texas! It was crazy! I had to go to clinical that day, so David had to teach me how to drive in the snow.

This is from our front porch, looking at the front yard.









This is from standing in the loft, looking out the window at our backyard.









The snow flakes were huge! It looked like snow balls falling from the sky!



















This is from one of the bedrooms, looking at the front yard.








This is when I was driving to the hospital.












Don't worry, I was being safe! :P




David and Bella had fun playing in the snow together. Bella was so freaked out by it. I think she enjoyed it though. :)


Monday, March 22, 2010

RIP, American Dream

It was nice knowing you. I had 27 good years with you, when I believed that I could achieve anything I wanted, as long as I worked hard enough to get there. I could make choices about my education, my health care, and my money. I got an education. I got a job. I got married. I bought two cars and a house. I put away money for a rainy day. And I felt good about my country and the freedoms I enjoy here that allowed me to do all of those things.

But now you're gone. Now, more than ever, we will subsidize failure and punish success. Now, we will cut down excellence in order to guarantee mediocrity for all. Now, we will move out of the shining city on a hill and back in with the huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, and the wretched refuse of the teeming shores from whence we came. So, forget about that hard work stuff. Forget about your dreams of making it. Forget about being successful. Forget about working hard for what you want. It isn't right for you to dream, or succeed, or want. Just sit back and take what Uncle Sam gives you. He'll make sure it's fair. Sit back in your doubly mortgaged house that the bank can no longer foreclose on you. (What, you were making your payments? Silly you! Go spend that on brand new hybrid or some solar panels, instead!) Enjoy the furniture you bought with the credit card you defaulted on. Pour yourself a beverage you purchased with the food stamps or unemployment checks you've been getting for the last two years. And don't worry about going to the doctor about that chest pain you've been having - he doesn't have an opening until 2011, and by then he'll be out of business. Are you worried about losing your job with your newfound urge to slack off? Join a union - your union boss will have your back, and make sure you don't get fired. Or, if you do, you'll have a sweet severance package. Don't worry about any of that. Don't lift a finger! Uncle Sam will now guarantee you have your house, your health care, your food, and everything else he decides you need. He doesn't guarantee they won't suck; all he guarantees is that your hard-working neighbor's will suck just as bad as yours. So relax - or don't, whatever. The outcome will be pretty much the same either way.

Life is mediocre again in America - just like every other social democracy in Europe.

It used to be excellent, but I guess mediocrity is okay. It's not like we have any other choice anymore.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Beans, beans, the musical fruit...

...the more you eat, the more you toot. And in Ashley's case, it *was* musical tonight - a perfect C. I called it, too. Ashley guessed a B, so we tested it on the keyboard, and I was right on. So I have perfect pitch, and so does Ashley. Or, part of her anyway... ;p

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

March 2

Did you know that Texas and I were both born on March 2? Pretty cool, huh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence

Happy Birthday, Texas! Thanks for giving me a place to live and work with no income taxes. :D

Monday, February 22, 2010

2/22

Heelllllllllllooooooooooooooooo! Happy 222 Day, everyone! LA La la...

For those of you who don't know why or how we celebrate 222 day, that's probably because you're just not cool enough. That's unfortunate, but I'm not too worried about it.

For those who do, break out your prankin' hats, lobster pots, and simulated fecal matter. Or take a couch nap after watching The Skulls or playing some Tamale Loco (yes, it's still out there.) Or have a blues night about the fact that you can't get 1/2 price Papa John's or remember who GNO and GNT are and which one - if any - was the Burger Queen. Or whatever - as far as holidays go, it's just capricious and arbitrary. Maybe you say those things are played. Soooooo played. But are they, people? Are they?

About as played as a purple slurpie.

Ahoy hoy!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Nursing School

So, Ashley has now begun nursing school. She's doing well, and had her first clinical yesterday. We're alive, but very busy.

See you in a couple years.