Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Snowshoeing in Boise






I went snowshoeing again this year in Idaho. This time it was the day after Christmas up at Bogus Basin ski resort in the mountains just north of Boise. My brothers Alexander and Sam, Sam's friend Tyler and I were at about 6,000 feet and it was 15 degrees the whole time and snowed a bit - luckily, we made it out alive and didn't even have to eat each other. It was great.

Amazon Q4 Beard Challenge


The Amazon.com Movies team, of which I am a proud member, recently decided to meet the combined challenges of a dour economy and the fourth quarter (busiest time of year for us retail folks) by launching an initiative to improve team productivity (actually, it was all my friend Nick Love's idea): the Q4 Beard Challenge. What better way is there to save a few extra minutes each day than not having to shave? So, that's exactly what we did. Starting November 1st, about thirty or so of us (including some of the Music and Video Games guys) stopped shaving and just let our natural manliness manifest itself. There was supposed to be a contest and official judging for the best beard on Dec. 19, but Seattle was completely snowed out and the event was canceled because no one could make it to the office. Judging will be handled online (of course) at a future date. But, here are a few samples of my meager contribution to the effort - the devolution of a beard.



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

So, I'm a wimp...

I don't think I signed up for this...
Yes, that is my backyard.


The boys, of course, loved it.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Fragrance Flashback

So, I was in Walmart today doing some Christmas shopping when I decided to stroll through their fragrance aisle, just for fun. What a trip down memory lane! As I stood there, perusing all the latest fragrances by Brittany, JLo, Shania, and everyone else who has ever had any sort of music career to speak of, I was suddenly plunged back to 7th grade as I got further and further down toward the bottom shelves. There were all my old favorites: Navy, Sand & Sable, Exclamation (just to name a few). And of course, the classic tiny aerosal sprays of imposter designer scents featuring the 80's modern art splash-of-color cans...you know what I'm talking about: The bright yellow lid on a can that said "If you like Giorgio, you'll love PRIMO". Ah, suddenly I was 16 again, and I thought I was so sophisticated.
It was so fun to see all my old favorites there on the shelf. I have often heard that woman associate smells more closely with memory, and I had never experienced that more powerfully than the time I was getting a drink of water in the JSB hallway (at BYU), and some guy walked by wearing Obsession for Men. I turned around quickly because I totally expected to see Ryan (a boy I went out with in high school) walk by. Of course it wasn't, but it certainly brought back all kinds of memories. So strange. And then today, standing in that aisle remembering things like my first date, and what my room looked like when I was 17, and the first time I bought a "real" bottle of perfume (Navy), graduating from the aerosol cans. *sigh* Good times. And why did I ever stop wearing Curve after college? I loved that stuff...maybe I'll have to go retro and revisit my fragrance roots.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

It's Christmastime in the City

So, this past Saturday, we decided to take in some urban Christmas activities in downtown Seattle (thanks, Audrey, for all the good suggestions!). We started at the Seattle Center (Space Needle) where they had a winter train village that the boys loved! Capturing that on film...well, less than successful. Then we took the monorail into the heart of downtown, and Liam thought that was about the coolest thing ever to ride "the big train up high".

We went to a gingerbread house display, saw the carousel in downtown, and rode the elevator in Macy's several times trying to figure out why there was a separate M button to push, but it never took you to the mezzanine, just back to the first floor. Still a mystery, but we finally found the FAO Schwartz and Santaland. No, we did not visit Santa (the wait was astounding), just stopped in to look at the moving reindeer and take in some general Christmas ambiance. Caleb was so excited about the whole trip that he fell asleep (which is why is in not in most of the pictures).


I think the most alarming thing to me was as we walked past the Nordstroms, and saw the waiting line to see Santa. It was like summertime at Disneyland, except that the "ride" only took one person at a time, for several minutes. Yikes! Many crying children in line, and an elf selling mini boxes of cheerios for $10. Okay, so I don't actually know how much she was selling them for, but when the man next to us on the street asked her how much they were, his exclamations and expletives lead me to believe that it was pretty pricey for a box of cereal. Ah, the holiday spirit of price gouging desperate parents who have run out of snacks and whose children are crying and whining. ;)

All in all, we had a wonderful time, and it totally put us in the mood for Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone and love to all!