Discoveries of 2009.

Here's my list of discoveries or rediscoveries from 2009 from Amber's party. Remember last year?

Emery’s Discoveries of 2009

1. Skype – Skype is a communication tool, which includes features such as: instant messaging, video conferencing, and telephone calling. You can transfer files directly, as well as share your computer desktop, meaning you can essentially show the other person via video conferencing, everything that you see on your computer screen. Computer-to-computer calls are free. Yes, I said free. Instant messaging is free. Video is free. The video conferencing is the best. With a few hiccups here and there, based on your Internet speed, it really is a great way to keep in touch and truly feel like you're just sitting next to the person on the other end. So, have you started thinking about all the people you wish you could see more often? Do you live far away from family and you just want to see them or they want to see you... or see your babies? Just download the software at www.skype.com. It's easy to get started and quite user-friendly once you get going. Just make sure you have a webcam.
2. Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs – These snack packs hit the spot perfectly when your sweet tooth's got a craving. They don't have trans-fat or partially hydrogenated oils, so for pre-packaged snacks, they're pretty good!
3. Tylenol Cold and Sinus – In 2009, I endured six weeks of the worst combination of colds, bronchitis, sinus infection, and the flu that I've ever had in my life. I learned that Tylenol Cold and Sinus works wonders.
4. Ziploc – snack size bags – Trying to keep your portion sizes under control? Use Ziploc snack size bags, exclusively, for all snacks. All you need at any snack or meal, for that matter, can fit into a Ziploc snack size bag.
5. Long Gloves – No, I didn't just discover gloves this year, but I did discover that the key to a good pair of gloves is length. Try wearing gloves that keep you warm, well beyond your wrist.
6. Utah Book of Lists – Looking for a job? The Book of Lists is a fabulous resource for the biggest and best businesses in Utah.
7. Giving Blood – Did you know that every donation of blood could save up to three lives? The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.™ And it takes less than an hour. Find the Red Cross near you and donate today!
8. Safety Pins – I've learned that safety pins always come in handy! You should always have a stash in your purse, your car, and your drawer at work. Often, I come across a need that a safety pin will fix. The need may not be your own, and if it's someone else in need, they will thank you 100 times over and openly praise your resourcefulness. Be prepared.
9. See's Butterscotch Lollipops – Just taste one. Say no more.
10. Traveling Candles – Traveling is fun, we'd all agree, but staying in a stuffy hotel room is the pits. Bring a traveling candle in a tin and your room will smell like home in minutes.

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Whatever.

Funny "Whatever" Baby @ Yahoo! Video

Šiandien, aš pasiilgau Lietuvos.

"Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose."
~Tennessee Williams

Šiandien yra Lietuvos nepriklausomybės diena. Kaip aš norėčiau būti ten, tarp savo draugų. Pasiilgstu draugų. Pasiilgstu Lietuvos. Tik pažiūrėkite į šias nuotraukas... Ar galite mane kaltinti?

All photos à la moi.

Baby Bronson: Truly a Miracle.

Main Entry: mir·a·cle
Pronunciation: \ˈmir-i-kəl\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin miraculum, from Latin, a wonder, marvel, from mirari to wonder at
Date: 12th century
1 : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

Welcome home, Bronson! Watch this video. It's long, but the last few minutes are worth it. I can't explain it, but watching that little boy walk out of the hospital, just two weeks after he was pronounced dead on arrival, brings a lump to my throat. Our Father in Heaven is a God of miracles. That, I know. And I know that our faith and our prayers can call upon God to bring about a miracle, even change the course of an event entirely. And bring about a miracle, He did. Prayer is powerful. Just take a look.

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Love One Another.

"Love is the answer and you know that for sure."
~John Lennon

Salt Lake Choral Artists: Beatlemania!

"I think people who truly can live a life in music are telling the world, 'You can have my love, you can have my smiles. Forget the bad parts, you don't need them. Just take the music, the goodness, because it's the very best, and it's the part I give most willingly.'"
~George Harrison

♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ We're singing again, as well as introducing The Young Choral Artists! ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

The Salt Lake Choral Artists' next concert will be like nothing you've ever heard from us before: Beatlemania!

John, Paul, George, and Ringo: those four iconic names that changed the face of pop music forever. Experience the British Invasion all over again as the Salt Lake Choral Artists sing the classic music of Lennon and McCartney as well as music by artists that both influenced and were influenced by the Beatles. With Get Back, a live Beatles cover band, and the award-winning vocal ensemble T minus 5, this is sure to be a night to remember!

You'll hear many of your favorites, including "Hey Jude," "All You Need is Love," "Here Comes the Sun," "Blackbird," and more.

Due to overwhelming demand for tickets, there are two performances!

Option 1:
February 20, 2010
Libby Gardner Concert Hall
7:30 PM
Tickets for this performance are sold out at the box office. There may be a small handful left. Call and ask, but don't count on getting in at the door!

Option 2:
For the first time ever, SLCA is offering a matinee performance!
February 20, 2010
Libby Gardner Concert Hall
2:00 PM
Tickets for this performance are still available! They are $15 and can only be purchased through our website.

Don't miss it! It will be an extravaganza like none other! See you there!

Content of this post taken directly from The Salt Lake Choral Artists' blog.

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Baby Bronson Update: Awake, Alert, Moving, and Smiling!

"The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him."
~Pablo Casals

I've been following Sara Staker's blog updates on her baby boy Bronson since his drowning and near death on January 30th. (Story here.) A current resident of the PICU, he's been up and down over the last week and a half, but today, TODAY, he is back! Just thought you'd like an update. Though we have mutual friends, I don't know the Stakers personally, but I was so drawn to their story and have been sending my positive energy, thoughts, and prayers their way ever since I heard of the accident. Bronson now seems to be on the upswing! I'm thrilled. I started smiling, laughing, and crying all at once when I read today's first update. You can read Sara's updates and see new pictures here. So good to see that little boy smiling again!

Sara: Bronson, you, and your family are still in my prayers! Thanks for sharing the good news today!
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Random Photos: I'm a Goofball. The end.

"I also found child's play - stuff that was not considered serious, but goofy - was the stuff I liked to do, so I still do it as an adult."
~Matt Groening

Please laugh. Yes, at my expense. It's funny. Laugh. :)
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Life's fun.
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Baby Bronson: Prayers Needed.

"Take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He 'would fight [our] battles, [our] children's battles, and [the battles of our] children's children' (Doctrine and Covenants 98:37)."
~Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Ministry of Angels, Ensign," Nov. 2008, 30

On Thursday, on Facebook, a friend tipped me off to a family desperately in need of prayers and good thoughts being sent their way. On Saturday January 30th, their 16-month-old baby boy Bronson, youngest of four boys, drowned in the master bathtub. Sara, the mom, performed CPR until the paramedics arrived, but by the time he arrived at the ER, he was in full cardiac arrest. He was intubated en route to the hospital, but it was entirely ineffective because the tube was mistakenly placed in his esophagus instead of his trachea. All resuscitation efforts were futile up to that point. He was DOA. But miraculously he was revived when his heart started beating spontaneously in the ER. He is alive. In the PICU, but alive.

Sara started blogging again, after a 16-month hiatus to keep family and friends apprised of their situation. Her last blog post had been the day after Bronson's birth. Ironic, she said, that her very next one was the day after they nearly lost him. Whether she intended it or not, the link to her blog has been forwarded to thousands, like me, who now are aware of their immediate need for prayers on behalf of their son and family. You can find her blog here. Sara very openly and candidly is sharing what happened and giving an update each day. In reading her initial post after the accident, I cried and cried. I'm not a mother, but I could so easily relate to her feelings and anguish. Her words are powerful and helped me to remember how fragile life is. She urged us to focus on what's most important and leave other things to be done later. This is what's most important to her right now:

Please take a look at her blog. If you don't have time to read, please say a prayer. I know I don't know this family personally. We have mutual friends, but I don't know the Stakers. But a prayer said is a prayer heard, in my book. And baby Bronson needs a miracle. If not just for him, for his mom. She needs a miracle.

Photo of Bronson borrowed from Sara Staker's blog.

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Groundhog Day.

Rita: "Do you ever have déjà vu?"
Phil: "Didn't you just ask me that?"
~Rita (Andie McDowell) and Phil (Bill Murray) in the film Groundhog Day

For the last several years, in celebration of Groundhog Day, I've had a tradition of inviting a few friends over to watch the 1993 film Groundhog Day. I've found that every time I watch the movie, I just like it more and more. This time, I found myself laughing out loud almost non-stop, it seemed. You see, as I may have mentioned before, I have this keen ability to forget details of movies (and books), which allows me to watch them again and again ALMOST like it's the first time. I'd forgotten SO many details and nuances since last year's viewing, so it had me wheeze-laughing at times. It really is a very funny movie. Bill Murray is one funny guy.

So, the other funny thing is this... on the way to work today, the radio station I had switched to started playing Sonny and Cher's "I've Got You Babe" and jokingly began to recreate the recurring 6am scene from the movie. Now if you haven't seen Groundhog Day recently, then you may not remember, but this is the song that Phil wakes up to again and again and again. Hearing it on the radio this morning brought a huge smile to my face. Good job radio peeps!

Happy Groundhog Day to you!

Oh, and if you're interested in knowing if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, he did. According to him, there will be six more weeks of winter. But apparently, not all groundhogs think alike. Read here to learn the some other groundhogs predicted winter ending much more quickly. Hmmm. I think they need to band together and provide a much more unified front. What do you think? haha...
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