What is this world coming to!

Okay, so I dont know what is wrong with society but this is freaking disturbing. This happened on Christmas Day.

A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.

To read more, see the article below.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/36752274.html

On the other hand this happend in Utah, a dog stole a bone at Smiths.

See below for article and video.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5161818

Merry Christmas

I want to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a great day and Santa brings you everything you want.

Love you all,

Freddy

My favorite day of the year

I am so happy that today is the winter solstice. It means that the days cannot get shorter and can only get longer. It also means we are headed for warmer weather. Oh I love it!!!!!

Enjoy the shortest day of the year, it is our last one for a another year.

Christmas Lights, what not to do

Okay, for those of you who don't know I am a bit of a Christmas Light Nazi. Christmas Lights should be full of color and not done half assed. 1st here is a good example taken at the University Club in DC

Notice how the lights cover the trees and the bushes . It is tastefully done. On the other hand, along the same property is the worst light display ever.

What makes this bad is that only the trunk and 2 limbs are covered in lights. Come on here. You can do more than that.

Another bad light display is at the National Education Association (NEA) Building, Sorry Maury. You would think with union workers they could put something together that was good. But it sucks

You don't put icicle lights up on a tree. Ugh it makes me so mad I could just scream.

Anyway, lights should be tastefully done but some of this stuff sucks.

BTW, here is one more Pretty shot of Washington DC at Christmas time.

Here is my favorite Old Navy Commercial!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuyOmzkSYEA

Merry Christmas

Here I am enjoying my two gifts from my parents. I was so happy to get my Kitchen Aid Mixer and Food Processor. I made cookies and sliced sweet potatoes to make chips. Anyway, thanks a lot Mom and Dad!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you get your bellys filled and have a great day

Love you all

Work is never boring

This is an article about an event that happened outside of my office.

Enjoy

The list of world's dimmest criminals may have just gotten longer: Police said that a suspect who allegedly robbed a PNC Bank at 1400 K Street NW this morning hailed a taxi to flee the scene.
According to police, the taxi driver dropped the suspect not too far away at 14th and Euclid streets NW, then promptly returned to the bank to alert police. The suspect, 43-year-old Francis Clifton Marshall, of no fixed address, was apprehended in the area a short time later.
Police said that Marshall entered the bank about 9:30 a.m. and persuaded a teller to give him an undetermined amount of cash by passing a note claiming that he had a bomb. It is unclear whether Marshall actually had a bomb. He was charged with bank robbery and probation violation, and he is due to be arraigned in D.C. Superior Court tomorrow. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112501697.html

Another take on the Story

In case you missed the news earlier, that bank robbery that briefly closed K Street near 14th this morning appears to have been perpetrated by someone who is several sandwiches short of a picnic. Early reports indicated that the suspect told a teller at the PNC Bank branch that he had a bomb, received some cash and an exploding dye pack, and then proceeded to hail a cab and asked to be taken to 14th and Euclid Streets NW. But the cab driver, realizing that he had been paid with a fistful of dye-covered stolen dollars, just returned to the bank after dropping the guy off to tell authorities exactly where he had taken him. The Post has a story up now, too, which confirms that the suspect, Francis Clifton Marshall, 43, was quickly apprehended thanks to the cabbie's tip. But certainly the best anecdote from this whole adventure comes from our own reader comments. Says CapitolGal:

I was at 14th and K and even called 911 about this guy. It was quite bizarre. I was shoulder to shoulder with him when the dye pack went off. Red dye gas went everywhere, completely covering me in the red cloud. I ran across the street and called 911. While I was telling them about what was happening, the guy kept digging thru his grocery bag where the red gas was spewing from, and his pants kept coming off -- and he was without underwear!! He ran down K street with red dye gas coming out of his grocery bag and his naked butt kept coming out of his pants. It was truly quite strange, and I seemed to be the only person calling 911 about it, Later, I asked the police outside and they confirmed that it was a bank robber but the officer couldn't tell me if the robber had been apprehended or not.

Well hopefully you can rest easy tonight, CapitolGal, knowing that this guy was in fact arrested shortly after committing one of the sillier bank robberies in the city's history. Hopefully he'll get some nice new underpants courtesy the D.C. Jail. http://dcist.com/2008/11/25/k_street_bank_robber_seriously_dumb.php

A few items

Okay, so November has not been the best month for me. First, Obama won the election, which I actually think might be okay. It looks like his government will be more centrist than he actually is. 2nd BYU lost to Utah. What a horrible game, I had a feeling it would be like that, I just did not think we would give up 5 turnovers, no wonder we lost.

But I am excited about Black Friday!!!!! I need to find some deals. I want the following, somehow, in the next year.

1. Kitchen Aid mixer
2. External Hard Drive
3. Food processor
4. North Face Coat $350 :(
5. Work out clothing
6. and much much more

My big goal is to get the Kitchen Aid Mixer for 150 for the 4.5 quart mixer or 200 for the 5 quart mixer. Anyway, I cannot wait for the ad tomorrow!!!!!! You all have no idea!!!!!

What a wonderful kid!!!

This little known kid died the other day, Brenden Foster. He had leukemia and was living on borrowed time but all he wanted to do was to help the homeless. He wanted to make them sandwiches. Read the following story. It is just amazing!!!! What a great kid.

http://www.komonews.com/news/34851839.html

BYU vs Utah

Well it is that time of the year. We have come to the BYU vs Utah rivalry. I am nervous that BYU will lose but I am keeping hope alive. Growing up in SLC and living a few miles away from the University of Utah, I have a deep resentment for the "U." So lets "Rise and Shout" and hope BYU wins.

Paranoia

One of my favorite blogs is this guy who takes random pics around Sweden. He recently took this pic and I really like it. I think this is so true. This guys site is: http://oktylus.blogspot.com/

I cannot believe I just did that

Okay, so I admit I loved the movie Bring It On. It was cheesy and wonderful. A great movie to bring a smile to your face. So tonight I was flipping through the channels and I saw that Bring It On: All Or Nothing was on TV. So what did I do, I started to watch it, that was my downfall. I flipped between it and reruns of Friends. But as the night went on, I was watching more and more of Bring It On. Oh it was horrible, but I kept on watching it. I even had something to do towards the end so I paused it so I would not miss the ending. Oh, it was so bad, but I could not stop watching I was hooked. Anyway, I cannot believe I just did that.

R.I.P. GOP

Well, the election is over and I am so glad. I was so sick and tired of these commercial on TV every 5 seconds. Obama's win is a very historic and monumental moment and I do not want to take away from that. But I would like to take some time to vent about the party I support. The Republicans blew it! I don't mean this year but 8 years ago. It happened when we let the religious right take over the party. When "W" ran 8 years ago, he ran as a compassionate conservative, someone who would work with both parties. He told us he was going to be a conservative that cared about social issues. Well, that did not happen. 9/11 changed the nation and the Bush Presidency. He gave up all of those principals (which he did follow in Texas) and ran a crusade to fix the Muslim world and moved to the far right. This movement changed the party, we used it as our excuse to do everything and it dominated our policies. We used it as our excuse to intimidate others and punish those who don't want to do what we want. Bush screwed up our international relations, economics, and etc, all for the religious right. We alienated whole groups of people. He never lived up to the way he ran his campaign

This election was about change and ending the Bush policies. Obama is young, energetic, calm, and a great speaker. The GOP could not match it. We were too beholden to the religious right, we are not capable of accepting people who are different. I hate that about the Republican Party.

When Collin Powell said he was voting for Obama he said he was doing it because the republican party has lost its way and I could not agree more. We screwed it all up and we deserved to lose like we did. We need someone young to change our party and we need to return to the center. We need to be accepting of others and allow diversity in our party. Somehow the Democrats were able to do that, why could we not do the same? I hope and pray this loss will allow the party to regroup and change for the better.

Congrats to the Obama supporters out there, I hope he is able to lead this country the right way and keeps to the center, we don't need another President going off the deep end.

God Bless the USA

Daylight Savings Time

I hope you all remember to change your clocks back an hour to end Daylight Savings Time. I did not know this, but Daylight Savings Times could really help us in the War on Terror. The Washington Post today had an article about how not all countries follow Daylight Savings. It told of an incident in Israel where not knowing about daylight savings time actually thwarted a terrorist attack. See the following:

"Back in 1999, terrorists on the daylight-saving West Bank built several time bombs, delivered to co-conspirators in Israel and scheduled to explode at a set time. Problem was, Israel had just switched back to standard time, so the only people injured were the terrorists themselves when the bomb detonated an hour earlier than they expected and killed them all. " Full article found at the following address: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/31/AR2008103103692.html

See Daylight Savings Time really can help us win the War on Terror :)

Even Funnier

So, I thought my post yesterday was funny but I got an even better one today. Well, my parents are on a mission in Colorado and they live in a small town outside of Denver. One day when coming home the only road to their apartment was blocked, so they got out of their car and walked around to see what was going on. Turns out the town was having their Halloween festival Now my dad, dressed as a missionary is a suit and tie and probably in a winters coat if it was below 60 degrees, is bald and wears fedoras to protect his head. As they walked around this guy comes up to my dad and said, "oh I love your 1950's costume!" My dad said, nah, that is how I normally dress. I love it. BTW I really wish I could wear a fedora but my head is misshapen and it does not look good. :(

What this election really comes down to!

A friend at work reminded me today what this election is really about

A vote for Obama means you are unamerican!
A vote for McCain means you are a racist!

I thought it was great so I had to post. Please don't get mad people, it is suppose to be funny.

High School Musical

Okay, I admit it, I love the High School Musical Series. Last night I saw High School Musical 3. I loved it. It was a lot like the first HSM, a catchy musical that really looked like a musical. They did a creative job of making scenes on a stage work well in a movie. The dance numbers where flashy, fun and fast moving. I am a sucker for these movies and in many ways I am 13 year old girl. I totally recommend this movie to anyway, it is a great escape to some good wholesome fun.

3 banks in one city

Okay all, since I moved to DC I have had 3 banks, is that weird? When I first moved here I signed up with First Union (oddly I chose them because they sponsored a cycling event, I know I am strange). First Union then got bought out by Wachovia. I have had Wachovia for a few years now and have been quite happy with them. Then the mortgage crisis happened and hit Wachovia hard. Wachovia bought a bank in California that was chock full of bad debt and mortgages. After a short bidding war Wells Fargo bought them out. I am quite happy with this decision, mainly because when I go home out west I will have access to my bank, as now Wachovia is not there. Anyway, is it strange that I have had 3 banks since living in Washington, DC and I did not seek the change?

Best Campaign Picture Ever

My friend Kevin sent this to me and I had to post. If this is will not help you want to vote for John McCain, then nothing will :)

Picture was origionally posted here at Reuters http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?collectionId=2358&galleryName=All%20Collections#a=29

I am exhausted!

I have also come to the realization that I am exausted by campaign commercials. If I see any on TV, I automatically hit the mute button (pay attention marketing campain managers. This particular realization came after watching 3 Obama commercials during a half hour show and one was 2 minuits long. The problem is that I live in the DC metro TV area. Northern VA is part of that viewing area and as we all know Virginia is a "battleground" state. So, when Obama opted out of public financing and therefore became flush with cash he decided to innudate Virginia and other "battleground states" with commercials. Just wait until the 30 min infomercial hits the airways during the end of October. Remember Ross Perot, so help me if he pulls out a flip chart I am going to flip my lid. Help us all, it is going to be a rough 3 weeks. I am going to need a vacation after this all.

I am a voyeur!!!!

Well It is official, I have decided I am a voyeur, NO, I don't mean in a perverted way but I do love to look at other people's blogs. I found a great thing at the top of blogspot blogs, next blog. You go to the newest updated blog. It is really cool. You see some interesting stuff out there. I tried one day to see how long it would take to find someone I know or to find someone from Utah. It did not take long to find a family from Utah. It is fun just to read, see what these people are doing. By doing this you can really see what people are doing and what is going on in their lives. Anyway, it is fun to do and a great way to waste time at work :)

What I am Thankful For!

I have good friends!!!!! Sometimes you forget, but it is good reminder when you write a blog and they all write back to say Welcome Back!!! I am really grateful for that. I love you guys. BTW what on earth were we thinking when we did not take a group photo together. Sorry MW, I wish this picture was better:(

Long Time No See and Weird Stuff

Okay all, as I was verbally reprimanded by a good friend for not blogging, I thought now would be a good time to get back in the swing of things. First, I am sorry for taking so long to get back into doing this. 2nd, it has been a busy few months, I launched a new website at work (e-mail me if you want to see it, if you know me you know where to e-mail me at) and got another project or two at work. 3rd, I really have not had anything to blog about recently, so I stopped blogging. Well today I got some inspiration, I have finally seen it all. Lots of people play music in their cars. Today I heard a white male in a shirt and tie listening to Latino music. Oddly that was not the weird part, he was playing the marraccas. I mean 2 of them and full on rattling and shaking. It was freaking weird!!! Anyway, I will try to blog more. Sorry everyone, Love you all. Enjoy

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day!!!! I was reminded yesterday of my dad when I was at Old Navy. I was patiently waiting in the one line, that I thought serviced both registers, to purchase my clothing items. The lady at the one of the registers finished and I thought would call the next person in line. I was wrong, in walked this lady (ie my dad) and asked if the register was open. The cashier, I guess not realizing that there was a huge (like 10 people) line that she was suppose to call from, she let the lady buy her clothing. The real kicker is that she did not have all of her items and had to run to get one more. Come on lady!!!! Anyway, my dad would do this all the time and we called it "trying to get on". His most famous "trying to get on" was on the golf course where at the last second he would show up at the golf course and hope that there was an opening. He was just trying to get on. Usually this would work and we were always amazed Love ya dad!!!!

Friday the 13th (on saturday)

At times, I think have had some bad luck but then I read about this couple from Utah who won a radio contest for having the worst luck. I think I have to agree.

"The couple has had 12 cars in the last two years, as most of them broke down. Pike is on his sixth job this year, either because he was seeking more money or because of layoffs. Recently, he was in two car accidents, two days in a row, at the same intersection. After receiving treatment, the couple's medical records were stolen from the hospital. Two months ago, he learned of an episode of identity theft left him $10,000 in debt. They canceled their original wedding date June 4 after another family member decided to get re-married on that day. " (from the Salt Lake Tribune)

For the whole article go to http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_9577664

IKEA food adventure

Okay, so I love IKEA, particularly the food. I went today for an IKEA meal. Ugh, I was not happy after eating it. First, they got rid of the small potatoes and replaced it with mashed potatoes. 2nd, that meal is heavier than I remember. My tummy is really feeling it now. I am not sure what happened but the traditional Swedish Meal at IKEA has lost value with me.

Happy National Day

Today is Sweden's National Day. I want to wish you a Happy National Day. Go out there and enjoy Sweden!!!!!

Big Rain Storm

The Washington DC area had a big rain storm. I got my camera out and took a picture. I used the flash, which showed off the rain drops.

Enjoy

15 minutes of fame

Yesterday at work, this lady was explaining that she recently was on NPR explaining how she helped create spell check. She was saying that she hoped this was not her 15 minutes of fame (as Andy Warhol would say) and hoped to be remembered for something else. It got me thinking, have I had my 15 minutes of fame?

The only thing that I could think of was during the 3rd grade when I was interviewed by the Deseret News after my school group went to go hear President Regan speak at the American Legion Conference. The paper quoted me as saying that I thought President Regan was boring and that I would rather be in school than listen to the President. Now, I rally don't remember what I said (my BYU friends know that I sometimes have a hard time expressing my feelings and often make offensive remarks without realizing it), but I meant to say the American Legion speakers were boring instead. They published my remarks on the front page of the paper, with a caption that said; see if you can find the boy who would rather be in school than hear the President speak. Needless to say, I was not happy and it must have been a big shock in a very Republican state with a popular President. This was my first experience with the "liberal" media and might count as my 15 minutes of fame. I sure hope not.

Do you think your 15 minutes of fame has already happened? If so, what was it?

Favorite things about living in DC

One of my favorite things about living in DC are motorcades. It does not matter if it is the President of the United States (large motorcade with closed streets) or a member of the cabinet (with just a few cars), there is something exciting about them. Maybe it is the police sirens but I love watching the pass by. Today there was a motorcade of a few buses driving around the circle I pass on my way home from work and like a nerd I just sat there excited watching it pass. I think my excitement comes from the fact that I don't know who is in there and I really want to know. Anyway for those of you who don't have motorcades on a regular basis you are missing out.

BTW the Vice-Presidents motorcade is the scariest. One day, I was driving home from school and I came in contact with it while it was traveling on the other side of the street. What they don't tell you is that as the lead police come at you, they sweep the street, to push you off to the side. They are relentless. I thought they were going to kill me.

Change We Can't Believe In

Well, today Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination for President of the US of A. Unfortunately, Mr Obama should have any easy time winning the presidency because his campaign is based on his perception instead of reality. Obama's entire campaign is "I am not President George W. Bush," "Change" and "I will pull the troops out of Iraq." Every speech Obama has given, he has said these words at some point. Now come on people, even I could win on that platform. President Bush is extremely unpopular, so it should be easy for a Democrat to win the White House (in fact I think Obama will win no matter what McCain does or Obama screws up). I believe this because people want change (even though McCain has shown he does not walk lock in step with Bush), they want someone different in the White House and they love the possibility of the 1st Black man to be President of the United States. This election has nothing to do with past results (many of which shows that Obama is extremely liberal), nor what they will specifically do once elected (Obama has never explained that). God Help America when Obama wins. I think America will regret their decision.

World's Hottest Single Royals

Forbes Magazine just came out with the list of the top 20 hottest single Royals under 35 (see below). Of course guess who topped the list, the British Princes William and Harry. Now, while I agree they are good looking and do deserve to be among the top 20, but I have to question some of the others in the top. What are Zara Phillips and Princess Beatrice doing in the top 20, there are much better looking royals out there, such as the Swedish royal children. Granted I am biased, but they are all very good looking (come on how could you not love them all), don't get in half has much trouble as the British boys and have been in stable relationships for several years. They don't get the same street cred out there because they are not in the British Royal Family.

1. Prince William


2. Prince Harry


3. Zara Phillips


4. Princess Beatrice


5. Charlotte Casiraghi (Monaco)


6. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum (Crown Prince of Dubai)


7. Princess Victoria of Sweden


8. Prince Azim of Brunei


9. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden


10. Andrea Casiraghi (Monaco)


11. Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis (Germany)


12. Princess Madeline of Sweden


13. Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark


14. Prince Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein


15. Princess Tsuguko of Takamado (Japan)


16. Princess Sirivannavari (Thailand)


17. Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum (daughter of the ruler of Dubai)


18. Princess Iman bint Al Hussein (Jordan)


19. Prince Philippos (Greece)


20. Princess Sikhanyiso (daughter of King Mswati III of Swaziland)
    

Laundry Day

So, Tuesdays are my laundry day. I chose this day mainly because it is not crowed at the Laundromat and KFC has their 2 piece meal for $2.99, it is so yummy. I am not sure how many of you do laundry at the laundromat but it is a very interesting experience. First, the reason I love going to the Laundromat is that it is cheaper and you can do laundry in a short period of time compared to doing laundry in my building. Second, the machines are front loaders and you can get your clothes cleaned much better than a top loader, and it uses less water. Third, you can meet anyone from any part of the world. We have Latinos, African Americans, Ethiopians, Africans, white people and many other races and ethnicity. I love my little latino ladies!!!!!

Now at the laundromat, it is much like the thunder dome. By this I mean that it is a lawless place and people do what they want, so needless to say it drives me up the wall. These are the things that drive me the farthest up the wall:

1. The laundromat is not daycare, control your kids. Don't let them run around, scream and play in the same place, where I am trying to get stuff clean.
2. We are not in the 1st grade. The person who wrote the book about everything we ever needed to know we learned in kindergarten is genius and speaks the truth. People of the Laundromat, we need to share. These people are crazed over their laundry carts. They all leave their bags in the these carts to "save" them, as if we are in the animal kingdom and we are peeing on our territory. I understand that we would like to make sure we have cart to get our laundry out of the machine but there are only so many carts and like 30 people doing laundry. Eventually it does not add up.
3. People have some weird laundry habits.
1. I have seen people clean with bleach and ammonia (a deadly combination). They also use many different types of soap, bleach, and fabric softener. These people sit there and watch the machine and pour in their different types of liquid cleaner based on the machines cycle. They are obsessed with it, it makes me laugh
2. They only put 2 or 3 items of clothing in one machine (washer and dryer) at a time and then do this with 5 or 6 machines. People do not understand the true meaning of the front loader and the fact that you can put a ton of clothing in one machine.

Anyway, that is my rant about the laundromat. If you have not tried it, you should, it is a great social experience and amazing to watch. In some ways I wish I had gone into sociology or anthropology so I could study people. The Laundromat is the best.

Happy Memorial Day

I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day. I love living in DC because of the pic below. I love pics that involve the American Flag.

Mormon Church on 16th Street in DC

I am not sure if many people know the historical significance of the Mormon Church in DC. The church first built a chapel on 16th Street and Harvard, it has a spire and stained glass windows. To read more about it see the following website: http://beltwaygaze.blogspot.com/2007/10/washington-chapel.html The Church sold the building many years ago and left their presence on 16th Street in DC.


Now the LDS church wants to build another church on the historic street. BTW, I live at the top of this street and the White House is at the bottom. The residents of the street are putting up a hissy fit and are trying to get it stopped. (Even the mayor of DC lives near by) They even created a website http://2big2much.org/ to stop the church. The Washington Post wrote an article about the building too. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302750.html This drives me up a wall, I know people don't want construction by their house, but come on. This church actually provides on-site parking which most don't. They complain about the size of the church but when this chapel raises their property value I am sure they will willingly accept it. Stay tune for more developments, I ride past the location on my way home from work.

Not reading e-mail can be funny

So, this is one of the few times I will talk about my job. First I have to say my boss is very busy and gets a lot of e-mail. One day I was in a meeting with my boss and as we were discussing something an e-mail popped up on his screen. He quicked looked at it and said "I am not going to read that." I must have had a shocked look on my face because my boss quickly replyed "Oh but I would never do that to yours" I took that as a good sign and proudly told him that I sent him an e-mail with some stats he wanted for a meeting. He then said, without a missing a beat, "Oh I am not going to read that either."

Although it was a bit deflating to here that, I got a good laugh.

Lots of crazy stuff to say

This is my attempt at blogging, so we will see how it goes. I sometimes have a lot to say and this will be a good avenue for it. I am not going to try to limit my blog to just one subject. I am going to try to cover it all. So people out there, enjoy.