MARCH MADNESS

March Madness kicked off today and the smell is in the air! This is got to be one of the best times of the year. I was a little indisposed the last two years so it is nice to be back! I used to have dreams of one day playing in the big dance. I would go outside and just shoot and shoot until the sun went down, then I would turn the garage lights on. Then when I didn't even make the junior high basketball team, I realized it was time to start exploring other dreams. Now i'm studying business. Although the Utes' glory days are currently just a memory, I still love the emotion. These kids go out and play with heart, not for money or for the fame, but for the love of the game. If business doesn't work out, heck, maybe i'll revive that dream agian...

Sleep

I felt the urge to talk about a confusing phenomenon.  It is sleep and being tired.  As kids, we never wanted to go to bed at nights.  It was always the best thing when we could finally have a "late night" with the friends or cousins.  Naps were despised and sleep was often fought with kicks and screams.  Now, as adults, that is all we want to do.  Sleep is the best part of the day.  It is bliss once our head hits the pillows.  Yet, ironically enough, we don't do it!  Like right now for example.  I finished reading my scriptures and am dead tired, my eyes burn, and yet I'm still awake.  Which is weird because the only thing I want to do right now is fall asleep.  So now that i'm even more tired and have successfully rambled on here about sleep which will most likely put all my avid readers TO sleep, i'm going to sleep!  Sleep tight!

A Belated Birthday Blog!

The dictionary defines late as doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time. On February 24th, 1988, something very special happened. If my memory isn't failing me, it occurred at 9:10 A.M. Out came a gift straight from heaven. That gift turned 20 this year! A week shy of a month late, I post this blog for that special someone. Our first time hanging out together was in a cemetery. She paints amazing modern art. I left her to go on a two year vacation to the Dominican Republic and she faithfully wrote me every week. Her green eyes make putting greens look dull in comparison! She has a passion for dogs! We love going to sporting events together. She is amazing at stick...and improving.:) Our kisses are perfect. She is the funnest aunt ever! She is a Mac geek too. She loves clothes! We always laugh together! Hablamos Espanol. She makes missionaries smile twice a week. We are 3 months short of 4 years together. She is always thinking of me and doing nice things for me. We know each others pouting moods! She is teaching me how to play tennis. We make a killer team when we cook together! She is beautiful! She is happy. She is fun. She is loving. She is sweet. She is so special to me. She is Danielle! Happy Belated Birthday my Sweetheart!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

This Post is for my special mom on her special day!
10 Things I know about my mom:
1. She is a true Utah fan, even if she doesn't get as intense as us boys and Ace during the BYU vs. Utah games.
2. She rocks at sewing. She made me some wicked cool fleece pants back in junior high. She also made me some fish shorts that I used to sport. Whatever rips or comes undone on my clothes, she can fix.
3. She is an amazing cook! She whips up the old-school recipes to perfection and turns new things into masterpieces. She cooks everything from tin foil dinners to Sunday dinner to Shrimp Bisque.
4. She has an amazing talent to make a photo album become a rockin scrap book
5. She has a better gospel study each morning then a majority of the missionaries out serving.
6. When I worked at Upper Case Living she would get up at 5:15 in order to make me a lunch.
7. I’m not the most tidy person in the world but have grown to really appreciate it because Modge always keeps the house so spiffy!
8. Her favorite things in the world are named Liberty, Addiley, Noah, Benjamin, and Ezra!
9. She is using the computer more now then any other time in her life and getting more skilled each day.
10. She is turning 51 but looks like she should be turning 41.
I love you Mom, Happy Birthday!
-Juice

Why We Love President's Day!

There is something wrong with northern Utah in the winter. It is cold. There is something ideal about southern Utah. It is warmer! So as President's day neared I knew that staying put just wouldn't cut it. Despite being under the age of 65, I decided that it was time for me to become a snowbird. After a million calls we had 6 of us to up and go come Friday. Josh, Heather, Jimmy, Katie, Danielle, and I. On the way down we stopped in Beaver to get hooked up with some classic squeaky cheese. That was just the beginning of the party. We spent the weekend just rocking out, spending all the money I've earned this semester. We hit up Cafe Rio and the little 3 year old next to us kept pointing to Josh saying, "He's hot." I bought a Mexican flag bandana at Gen-ex from some socially backward employees. Then we got caught up in buying our $2.50 flip-flops from Old Navy and I left the bandanas on the floor. Luckily they were retrieved later. We spattered the weekend with stargazing, catch phrase, and mission talk. On Sunday we attended the Senior Branch and felt intimidated by the gray haired veterans. With a solid team effort, Sunday night we had a Tin-Foil-Dinner feast! Someone forgot to add water to the cake… Later we played around on the red rock and took lots of pictures. Hot tubing, midnight grocery runs, and Nacho Libre weren’t left out. Unfortunately Monday had to come and we had to pack up. Although too short, the trip was hipper then chip dip. Hipper then Tostitos with nacho cheese sauce! How could it get better then three good buddies hanging out with the girls they love for a weekend!? Thanks to the parents for the condos! Let’s do it again next month! P.s. Did I mention the insane-o go-cart race, a hilarious game of miniature golf, and rocking the arcades like 10 year olds?

Mr. Big Red Painful Zit

The drool of Professor Bowles’ voice made me yawn. I put my arm on the chair to rest my head for a few minutes of quality “shut-eye”. My finger grazed past my eyebrow and a surge of pain shot through the bridge of my nose. More cautiously I retraced my path and skimmed over the sensitive area. Sure enough, he was back, Mr. big red painful zit. Why me anyway? There were at least 200 other faces just in this same auditorium and he chose me. He could have attacked the gangly read head across the row. Or a perfect nose hit for Mrs. Glamour with the pink backpack upfront. I tinkered with the idea of popping him out of existence right there in the 8th row of Economics. Then I realized it was too risky without a mirror. Something could go wrong. Someone else could get hurt. I sighed in frustration. I looked at my watch. 20 minutes left. I decided to let him be. He would live, but not for long…

It's Just a Game!

Our second game of Intramural Basketball was last night. My team is a great group of guys who just want to go out on the court and play a little basketball. The first week we did just that, had a great time, and came away with a victory. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible last night. The team we played was a bunch of fowl-mouthed punks. In the first half we went up on them by 14 points and that is when they started getting pretty frustrated. They started pushing through screens, swearing, and the usual lack of sportsmanship. Then in the second half their "superstar" started taking it to the basket and they cut the lead. The superstar went up for a layup and missed and I came down with the rebound. Out of frustration he came around and whacked me in the eye. The ball went lose and he dove for it on the ground. No foul was called and I dove at both him and the ball. He flipped out, his teammates jumped, my teammates got in, and before anything erupted the ref had called off the game. Wow. What a joke. My team calmly walked to the bench as their team continued to spout their fowl language and antagonistic remarks. And that was that. Game over. It made me realize how ridiculous I must have looked as a kid when I got really worked up in the games. It is so much more fun to just go out and play basketball. Oh well, maybe next game!

The Climbing Burn

My arms begin to quiver. I feel the burn and think of that time I laid outside by the St. George pool for too long and my body became an offering from the sun’s kitchen. But this burn was different. It was more like the burn I felt in my legs as I leaned back in the bindings as I floated down the cirque trying to stay above a newly laid 3 feet of freshies. I lean toward the wall and push up on my left foot, which allows my outstretched hand to grasp the next handhold. My eyes immediately begin surveying the area looking for another hold that is within my climbing pattern. All holds with a green piece of tape below it are fair game. I see a small wedge shaped hold and go for it. My foot grazes the hold and slips off and I fall backward but don’t fall. The rope running along my ear is tight. I look over my shoulder and smile at my belayer whose right hand is holding the rope tight to his hip. His firm grip is keeping my 175-pound frame safely suspended 20 feet in the air. I close my eyes and try to mentally force some strength back into my unconditioned limbs. I blink and my eyelids flip open. I flex and throw my body back toward the grips for another go at it. And I climb.

The Bitter Logan Winter

I saw him dip his fingers into the cup of hot chocolate. His awkward shuffle shook the cup and his fingers quickly retracted and then flicked as if the epidermis was unfamiliar with contact from a steaming drink. I ducked my head into my chest and laughed out loud at the humor of it. Then the cold dug deeper into my lungs and the laughter was suffocated. My head tilted up and focused on the blue panes cascading down the library exterior just a few hundred yards up the sidewalk. Refuge could be sought inside its walls. Then I started to notice my neck muscles cramping up. Likewise, I felt the cold denim brush against my exposed legs like Velcro on silk. Unconsciously I found myself doing math in my mind. If the bitterness of winter lasts till March, that is only a month and change left to go. I rounded the corner and the library doors came into sight. I breathed again and the vapor from my mouth paved the way forward. I was going to make it. At least, this time…

Welcome to the Juice Box

If any of you are like me, you can only read the daily mac rumors so many times before you start to bore. That is when you find your way to Whiskeymilita.com, buy.com, or worldcarfans.com. These are a few of my frequently visited sites. But now The Juice Box can become a frequent visit for you. Since I'm so heavy into blogging I decided I needed my own. Enjoy.