Also...

Amazon has U2's new CD to download for $3.99.  Like the elusive pumpkin-flavored custard at Nielsen's, I'm guessing this one won't last long...

Is Larry Mullen Jr. the only man who can pull off a flat top? Discuss.

U-G-L-Y, You Ain't Got No Alibi

Newsy bit: I purchased a condo this weekend! While I'm not looking forward to the mortgage payment, I AM excited to create my own space and decorate!! As I've been looking around at different furniture stores, I've come to the following conclusion: Utah, we've got a lot of ugly furniture. I went to three furniture stores one night last week, and barely found anything I would even consider! I actually saw this couch:

And the recliners! Oh, the recliners. They're just all lined up waiting for you as you walk in. This is an actual purple recliner from a store I went to:

The only reason for all this mass ugliness was that people must buy this stuff! Who are these people?? I know no one reading this blog would be guilty of such a crime of bad taste.  May we all stand up for more attractive furniture. It just starts with one to say NO to bad design!

Kids Today...

This post will officially make me sound like an old lady complaining about kids today and their crazy technology, but I'm doing it anyway! In general, I am a fan of the Facebook. Since we Bird girls all "like to know stuff," it's really the perfect way to keep up on who's dating who(m), what trips people are taking, and who has added a new friend in the last couple of hours. What a great invention!

However, I have to say that it has now taken the passive aggressive form of communicating to a new level. In my ward, the clerk is a fan of letting people know about ward council through a Facebook event. The problem is that of the 15 people who are supposed to show up, he would only invite 5 or so people to attend via Facebook, and that was the only form of communication about this meeting. So last Sunday, I had heard a rumor that we were having ward council, but had no invitation through the special Facebook group. So I head over to the church for our 10:00 meeting, and only Kristen and one other person were there. I ask what's going on, and being the kind soul that she is, she immediately tells me to be nice, because she knew I would be mad. It turns out that the meeting had been cancelled, and the clerk had sent out a message via Facebook at around 1:00am the previous night letting the 5 people invited to the meeting know that it had been cancelled. I was livid! I mean, is it now too difficult to even send a text letting me know that I don't need to get showered and gussied up 3 hours before church? Believe you me, he got a stern Facebook punch in the arm from me!

I was further convinced that Facebook is just way too easy to get out of doing things you don't want to when my home teacher sent me a message on Facebook on the last day of the month. It said that he hadn't had time to come visit, but here was a lovely message for me to enjoy. Now I'm not the world's best visiting teacher, but I am at least woman enough to admit when I don't do it, instead of sending a lame message and counting it! I'll be setting up a Facebook event for everyone who agrees with me, so please watch for that coming soon!

Talents for the Talentless

There are many things that I cannot do - dance, swim, play any sort of instrument, sing, spell "Occasionally" correctly on the first try, etc. It was always a "joy" to try to come up with something for the talent shows we seemed to have every year in Young Women's. But through the years, I've been able to realize that I am good at a few things:

I'm prettymuch an awesome sleeper. Rarely do I have a night where I can't fall asleep almost as soon as I hit the pillow. And once I'm out, I'm out! I am also excellent at falling asleep in seated positions, such as on buses, planes, college classes, and Sunday School. But It does make it awkward when I start head-bobbing or when I wake up to find my head on a stranger's shoulder.

I can pick a perfectly ripe avacado with 98% accuracy. Okay, I just made that statistic up, but I love me some avacados, and I've bought enough of 'em to know by feel whether they're ripe now, will be ripe in a day or two, or are yucky and brown inside. I hold my breath and get a little thrill every time I open one up, and find that, yes, I picked right again!

I can tune a large amount of stuff out. Julie and Melinda mock me mercilessly when I have no idea what they've been talking about right there in front of me. What can I say? If I'm reading or watching TV, talk to/about me at your own risk! I'll be happy to get back with you at the next commercial break/chapter end.

With the exception of "occasionally," I - along with the other Bird sisters - can spell. Every so often there's a word that throws me, but spelling and grammar have always been - dare I say it? Easy. I cringe every time I see "Your" or "their" used incorrectly.

I can roll down a hill, then run back up it with very little swerving. This probably means I'd be a good drunk.

What are your lesser-known talents? Don't hide them under a bushel, people - let them out!

Draper Temple

On Tuesday, it was our ward's turn to take our youth to the Draper Temple Open House. The Church definitely knows how to do things well. You meet at one of four local churches that have been given a specific color and that also have a corresponding colored bus that will take you up to the temple. We were protected from the cold and wind by enclosed pathways that led us right into the temple. The floors were protected with plastic mats everywhere so we didn't have to wear booties (the Parade of Homes should take a lesson). The temple is absolutely beautiful. I loved the hardwood throughout on the doors and the colors of the furnishings which included sage greens and muted blues among the earth tones.

Our young women had been looking forward to seeing the Bride's Room, which is one of my favorite rooms too. Years ago as a child, our family went to the Jordan River Temple Open House, where I vividly remember going through that Bride's Room and seeing the elaborate dressing area with pretty crystal knobs. That visit made me want to definitely set a goal to be back in that room and to be sealed in the temple. That has yet to happen, but early last year, over 20 years later, I found myself back in that room with Kristen as she was preparing to go through that same temple. This particular day, the temple wasn't busy with weddings, so the girls receiving their endowments got to get ready in the Bride's Room. So now I've achieved part of that goal I set as a little girl.

I also loved the Baptismal Font surrounded by a glass-walled viewing area and the Celestial Room with the largest chandelier that just sparkled with all of the crystals.

We ended the tour back through another set of canopies in a Stake Center that shares the temple parking lot. There the Church has displays set up, missionaries available for questions and cookies! All the cookies and water that you want. One of our girls was proud to say she had 7 cookies. It may have had something to do with the cute boy who was serving the cookies. Then back on our color-coded bus to the church where our cars were parked. It's a well-oiled machine.

It was quite something to see and the view is unparalleled. If you haven't made it yet, you should definitely go.

I've become very practical. How great are these labels that I can print on label paper, cut and have ready to organize my freezer or fridge. Love this! I already have the template downloaded and saved (along with a few others I couldn't resist).

I'm Leaning!

When it comes to having my picture taken, I am a leaner. Does it stem from a fear that I'm not going to be in the picture? I don't know. But take this example from a picture taken at work on Monday. I'm dead center in the middle of the picture - what do I think I'm doing??


And it's not just a recent thing. Here's a picture from 2004 when I was in London. Instead of sitting normally like everyone else, I have to throw my entire body into the picture and lean awkwardly on the girl next to me. I'm sorry, Noelle Tanner Bastian. I know now that I was too close.