Mr. Speaker

My thoughts on are two-fold on the current state of debt-reduction talks in Washington.

1. I think Mr. Boehner has put himself in an untenable situation by coming out of the gate with an "all-or-nothing" position. I do not think he'll get his way of "no tax increases." Rather I believe he's placed himself in a position of eventually compromising (losing credibility) or forcing the country to default on its bills (making him the: Hands-down-single-biggest-scapegoat/bad guy/villain-in-the-history-of-the-entire-universe).

2. I'm not a Republican nor a Democrat; frankly I don't know what label I would best associate. But I do know that I want this whole "my government is unable to live within their means" issue fixed. Moreover, I could really do without all the drama, grandstanding and posturing. I hope you wise up Mr. Boehner and realize everyone - both rich and poor - will need to take their medicine to make this situation better.

Last Day in Triple Digits

That's right folks... 100 days to go till our due date. Yikes! Lots to do, so little time.

Proof

Just want you to know that when we pulled into the gas station last night to get gas the odometer read 505.0! We got over 500 miles on the tank! 42 miles/gallon. Not too shabby.

Booyah Beantown!

Beantown's got it goin' on! Let's talk big-4 sports over the past 10 years. Boston has 7 championships in 10 years! Booyah!

Let's review, shall we?

2002: New England Patriots (Football)
2004: New England Patriots (Football) & Boston Red Sox (Baseball)
2005: New England Patriots (Football)
2007: Boston Red Sox (Baseball)
2008: Boston Celtics (Basketball)
2011: Boston Bruins (Hockey)

New York, during that same time frame? 2. Not as good! Just sayin'.

Booyah Beantown!

Recipe for Fuel Efficiency

For +500 miles per tank of gas, add:
-1 part 59-60mph (no more than 60mph) despite posted 65mph on freeway
-4 parts Goodyear Fuel Max tires
-1 part 2008 Honda Civic

I think the most we ever got out of a tank of gas before was around 410 miles. Right now we're sitting at 460 miles with 1/4 tank remaining. Amazing what highway driving and a new set of tires can do! I'll fill Stella up in the morning but we'd totally break the 500 miles per tank barrier just on the drive up to work tomorrow morning without filling up!

Moreover, we're putting roughly 550 miles on the car every week just commuting back and forth to work. It's quite possible that we'll spend the same amount of money, perhaps less, each month in gas if we're able to maintain all of this "efficiency."

I would have never imagined taking this new job with the associated commute that we could possibly spend less in gas money per month than what we were. Crazy! Again, we feel very blessed.

It's True!

They really do land wherever the wind takes them!

This morning when I got off the bus (I ride the bus now) I saw a hot air balloon that looked like it was right in the middle of campus. As I walked closer to the Marriott Center it turns out they were walking it down the street in between the Marriott Center and the BYU Broadcast Building (our neighbors to the East). I had to snap a couple pictures.

It made my day. Seeing the hot air balloon reminded me of my last birthday when Michael took me on a hot air balloon ride, we had such a blast! And look how pretty that balloon looks with the beautiful blue sky! It is going to be a GREAT day!

Saw Before Felt... Crazy!

This morning Michael felt our baby kick for the first time! I was lying in bed and I felt the baby moving. In the past I have tried multiple times to have Michael feel it too, but he hasn't been able to. This morning I felt a kick and was pretty sure it moved the sheets and everything. I drew Michael's attention to my stomach. Shortly after he excitedly said that he saw a kick. Then he put his hand on my stomach and felt the next three. :)

Have a happy Friday! We're headed down to Albuquerque for Micheal's cousin Ashby's wedding. We're excited to see his family!

O Rise and Shout

Congratulations Niki!!!

Niki just had her last class ever! She'll graduate from BYU in August with a MPA degree. We're very proud of her!

One more Cougar in a true Blue family! :)

For the record:
BYU: 9 (Stan, Peggy, Niki, Oriah, Michael, Tina, Mackenzie, Spencer, Alex)
Utah: 3 (Peggy, Tyson, Niki)

Sounds like this year's football score!!! Oh, this was fun to read about too! Go COUGS!!!

3 Stikes and You're OUT!

I have been taught that if you want a job you will present yourself in the best way possible. That was not the case for a girl that just came in our office.

Background: We are currently hiring people to work at the Stadium of Fire. The job is currently only open to BYU students so when people call me or come in I always ask that question first.

Ok, so here is what happened:

Little Red Haired Girl (LRHG) walks in the office, resume in hand. She asked for Suzette(I corrected her because I was pretty sure she really wanted to talk to Suzanne). I asked her what it was about and she told me her friend referred her to our office to apply to work at Stadium of Fire. I am the one she needed to talk to to schedule an interview so I told her and we continued our conversation.

Me: "Are you a current BYU student?"

LRHG: "No."

Me: "Ok, do you plan to be a student?" (maybe she is an incoming freshman, they are eligible to work).

LRHG: Almost sounding in shock that I asked such a question she says, "No, and I don't ever plan to be. I hate BYU." (STRIKE 1, keep it to yourself)

Me: "Ok... I'm sorry this position is only open to current BYU students."

LRHG: Clearly annoyed, "Then why do you always have old people working for you?" (STRIKE 2, why are you questioning me?!?!)

Me: Trying to be patient I said, "In the past we have opened it to non-BYU students, but we try and give our students the opportunity to work if they would like to. If there aren't enough students interested we will open it to non-students and the job will be posted at yjobs.byu.edu."

LRHG: Defeated and very annoyed, "Thank you" then she walks out. As she is still in the office, but at the door, maybe 10 feet from me she says, "Another reason to not like BYU, stuck up little university" and walks out. (STRIKE 3)

Hmm... I'm pretty sure if she really wanted a job she shouldn't have acted that way. I'm thinking she wanted to see the Stadium of Fire for free.

To you Little Red Haired Girl I say, "Good luck in your future. I hope when you are really wanting a job you don't act the same way you just did. And I'm not sure why you even came to look for a job here, I don't think you really want to work for a University that you so clearly hate. Good luck in your future job searches."

Liar Liar

If I were a constituent in Representative Weiner's New York 9th District, I would be inclined to write him a letter along the lines of:
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Dear Congressman Weiner,

Please resign from our nation's House of Representatives. You have violated the public's trust and proven your inability to lead or govern your District's affairs by choosing to spend your time in office satisfying your libido rather than rendering consecrated service to those whom you have taken an oath to serve and protect. Your behavior is shameful and you are unfit for public service. Once more, please resign.

Most sincerely,
Michael Albright
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Yet another elected servant whose brain resides in his pants.

A Night With Five Guys, Jeff & Po

Friday night = date night!

We drove up to Orem to the Cinemark near where Oriah used to live when we first met. Bought our tickets for Kung Fu Panda 2 (not 3D) and crossed the street to Five Guys for dinner. And guess who strolls in with some grand kids in tow? You guessed it: Elder Holland himself. He was wearing a collared shirt and slacks; must have been "casual Friday." Answered his cell phone once and we think he was talking to the Mrs. That was fun!

And man alive you'd have thought I saw a stinkin' celebrity! Self-admitted, I was pretty star-struck. What's more? He sat down two tables away. I'm pretty sure I stared at him our entire meal. Sorry Oriah. Don't worry though, I texted everyone in Oriah's family who was in Utah what was going on. Oriah's Dad was quick to remind me that he puts his pants on one leg at-a-time like the rest of us.

Well, it was getting close to movie time so I had to stop my staring-fest and gear up for some close and personal Po time! Fun movie. Good lessons. As enjoyable as the first one and a pretty big door left open at the end for a Kung Fu Panda 3!

Great date night and a memorable one!

Head Hunting

Got called in to the new workplace to fill out some pre-employment paperwork. Figured it was time to spring the question: "What led them to send me an email regarding their opening." The answer: "The recruiter found you on LinkedIn."

Well, I'll be. I was head hunted by the Company's recruiter. +100 applications over the past year-and-a-half that I sent out all resulted in an equal number of rejections. The one solicitation I received turned into the golden job offer.

Thank you to LinkedIn!

More importantly, thank you to Christian Karlsson who time-and-time-again tried to get me to create a profile on LinkedIn during our grad school years. I finally gave in to his seemingly endless nudging and who knew, at the time, that such a small thing would mean so much all these years later. Thank you, my friend, for your persistence!

June

It's June 1st. A year ago I recall the last of the snow having melted off Mt. Timpanogos. This year...not-so-much. I've heard stories that the ski resorts will likely stay open through the July 4th holiday. Crazy amount of snow and rain this spring.

3 days left at work and then change is coming! We're excited to be moving in a new direction with new challenges and different concerns to think of and manage. A very exciting time for our family and a beautiful time of year to make new memories and new associations.

Baby keeps growing! We have another appointment this Friday morning. It's always fun hearing his little heart racing away at 140bpm, or whatever they're at. We can't help but feel blessed and acknowledge Heavenly Father as the source.