New Year, New Poll

Check it out on the right and vote!

Unfortunately the last poll cleared before I was able to record the votes, but here is a screencap of my ever so witty questions:

For the record, the obvious answers would have been Jack for the top question and Sawyer for the bottom question.

... And a Happy New Year!

2010!  It's a new year (though, some might argue, not a new decade quite yet...), and we're looking forward to a great one.  We had a great time visiting the family and triplets at Mom and Dad's house on New Year's Eve, where we participated in a favorite family activity, the Boys vs. Girls puzzle (which victory the girls took this year, which was exciting for Julie's first time), as well as delicious food (of which I consumed way too much).  We spent our first married New Year's Eve at home, where Seacrest was really smarmy and the ball didn't really seem to drop, but there were fireworks just down the street.  We carried on the Barrett tradition of leaving out shoes for the New Year's Baby to fill (which included, among other things, the awesome drawing above, drawn and digitally painted by my lovely wife), and spent many happy hours introducing The Wife to the eerie depths of the Twilight Zone annual marathon (thanks to which we continue to learn a lot about our DVR).  Not long after we officially closed Christmas for the year by throwing out our lovely tree, which lasted quite a while, but was ready to be retired.  Some people don't really believe in New Year's resolutions, but I don't really have anything against them.  I think the start of a new year is a good opportunity to think about goals and how to achieve them, though I think it's also good to make and think about goals throughout the year.  So, here are just a few I've been thinking about for this year.

In 2010:

• I hope to acquire new employment, which will occur hopefully sooner than later.  I won't bore you with the details, but this needs to happen soon.  Hopefully said employment will involve my field of study in some way, though at this point I'm happy to settle for anything remotely art-related, especially as it may help to build my resume and bulk up my portfolio.  It's always hard to find new work, but we have a couple of ideas and try to remain optimistic.
  
• I would like to purchase a new car.  It doesn't have to be new, but you know, new to me.  I don't have high demands for an automobile, especially since I know relatively little about them in the first place.  (Incidentally, I'm trying to sell my BMW.  Email or comment your interest and we can talk.)
• I want to get into a regular-ish schedule of scripture reading and family prayer.  I don't want to admit publicly how my scripture reading has slacked since I returned from Wisconsin, but suffice it to say that there's room for improvement.
• I hope to visit the temple more often.
• I want to try to wean myself off of (at least) one or two of the shows I used to spend too many hours of my life watching.  Be sure, there are some that I still must see (yes, I'm looking at you, LOST, Survivor and The Office), and there are a few I would like to watch casually (that would be 24 and hopefully V), and of course the new shows that I've been introduced to by The Wife (who could foresee my interest in the likes of Project Runway?), but there are a couple I'm glad to walk away from, including one that premiered this very night which I was not too sorry to miss.
• I would like to keep running, as Julie said on her blog, and participate in some 5Ks and at least on 10K.
• Go to Disneyland!!!  (... World?...)  At least once!  Hopefully around one of the holidays so I can finally see the festivities and decorations.
• Celebrate our one-year anniversary with style.
  
• I think I might like to do a little more reading.  Julie is a really good inspiration in this department, as she is always in the middle of some book or other (which means she should also be a really good source for suggestions as to what to next read).

So I guess that's it for now.  There are also a lot of things I'm hoping will happen in 2010, but they don't really involve my active participation, so I'll leave them off my personal list.  Maybe I'll reassess and re-prioritize mid-year and see how I'm doing in my endeavors, but this gives me a starting point.  2009 was a fantastic year indeed, and I am quite sure that 2010 will only improve upon it.

I will now end by displaying another piece by my very talented spouse, designed to celebrate the New Year, and as response to Elise and Jeff's Christmas card.

Wife, you are 2009, and you will be 2010, and every year ever after.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

Christmas! It was here! It was glorious. We spent a lot of time at Mom's house with family and friends and helping with Emily and her visiting triplets, but we wanted to spend our first Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning together at our little place. First, though, I was glad to show Julie some of the traditional Graham family Christmas Eve festivities (seeing a movie matinee, this year The Princess and the Frog -again!- and with just a few of us; cheese fondue with everyone at Cami's house; opening pajamas/t-shirts from Mom).

(Note the two pregnant sisters belly-to-belly in the middle.

After, we headed back down to Provo. The tree was lit, the nog was poured, the night was lovely. We woke up uncharacteristically early for a non-workday (though uncharacteristically late for a Christmas morning, I guess) and were just amazed to see that Santa Claus had visited us after all, which must have been quite a trick not revealing to us that he was here until morningtime.



We went back to Mom's house for continued Christmas Day gatherings, where I ate way too many pullaparts and Julie fell asleep on me as we sat visiting on the couch, after which I shortly followed suit...

As shown here:
It was the best Christmas ever! And here's to many more! Even though I received my greatest present just over four months ago, it was as exciting as ever to wake up next to her on Christmas morning.

God bless us, everyone!

Three Babies

Here is what Julie and I have been spending one or two nights a week doing for the last little while:

Helping my sister Emily visiting from Maryland with her newborn triplets, Alex, Ruby and Bennett! I know that a lot of nights they're pretty fussy, but we've somehow been lucky enough to be there on the nights when they mostly just sleep and eat and coo and cuddle. Still, while I may have grown up with younger twin sisters, adding one baby really makes a big difference. Emily has her hands full with these little ones, but I know she has been praying for children for years, and her prayers have been answered manifold! She and KC are awesome parents, and while I know they're really looking forward to the time when the kids sleep through the night and can play with and entertain each other, they wouldn't give them up for the world.

O Tannenbaum

Presenting our very first Christmas tree! It's a perfectly round and fat five-foot Noble Fir which Julie has appropriately dubbed Bombadil. I took the nomenclature one step further to name the star after the lovely Goldberry.

Look, it's even a Gryffindor tree.

We bought it the weekend after Thanksgiving and totally love the feeling it brings to our li'l abode. Crazy that Christmas is less than a week away...

A New Era Begins

Friday, 11 December 2009 marked a momentous occasion for the animation industry, namely, Disney's glorious return to classic, hand-drawn animation. (I should mention that this day also marked the end of our four-month, 45-film Disney Animation Marathon event, starting with the earliest Disney animated film on 26 August and working our way through the entire canon, almost all of which, we are just a little startled to learn, we own on DVD.) Since its previews first aired, The Princess and the Frog had been advertised heavily as a classically 2D-animated film, Disney's first since Home on the Range in 2005. Naturally (and as has been made abundantly evident here on the blog), I was thrilled and couldn't wait to see it. I should mention, however, that Disney's more recent 2D animated films have not gone unnoticed by me, and I feel even the weakest of them has a lot of generally ignored positives. What bothered me most of all was how Disney seemed to be throwing up its hands (and throwing out its light tables) and shifting all its attention to making sub-par 3D films, when their sister company Pixar was handling that medium just fine. They surely must have thought that Pixar's movies were so successful because of the style of animation, when really Pixar's strength is storytelling and character development, and understanding making quality films with heart designed exactly for their target audience. (I still feel like Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. would be as successful if they were hand-drawn, the stories and characters are just that strong.) So, if this new offering, Disney's 45th (or 49th, depending on what you consider canon) animated film, was successful, it could mean any number of things for my future career aspirations. It had been ages since I bought a Disney soundtrack ahead of time and listened to it before even seeing the movie, though I admit I limited myself a little this time so as to avoid any MAJOR spoilers. And finally, the day came, and Julie and I went to a first-run theater on opening night, which only the biggest and most exciting film releases merit. I promise I won't spoil anything on this post, but I will say this:

*ahem*

EVERYONE within reach of this blogvoice must see this movie forthwith, and by any means possible! It was the most fun I've had in a movie theater in I don't know how long, and it was classic Disney at its absolute finest. I hesitate to award the label "favorite," of course (that honor still belongs to Aladdin), but in so many ways it returns to the classic art form, the brilliant storytelling, and the charming characters of Disney's past. The story is enough of a twist on the well-known story to make it interesting, new and original, while still staying true to the spirit of fairy tale storytelling. The early 1900s New Orleans setting lends itself quite nicely to a diverse display of characters, colors, light and locations, including a take on classic Mardi Gras, a riverboat under sparkling stars and the mystical bayous of Louisiana. The voice acting is excellent as well, featuring Tony Award-winning Anika Noni Rose (also seen in the film version of Dreamgirls) as Tiana, Bruno Campos as Naveen and Keith David as the suave and sinister "Shadow Man," Dr. Facilier, not to mention the awesome supporting cast. There are appropriate themes and some deeper lessons than expected present, and a surprising emotional element. (I'm not even going to try and deny that I cried at one point.) It had everything the classic Disney film formula calls for: A beautiful, strong female lead (a princess to boot), a charming, rough-around-the-edges prince (read: frog, for a lot of it), a fabulous, striking villain, and a strong set of secondary characters (which include, yes, talking animals). Then of course, the soundtrack by Disney/Pixar favorite Randy Newman is a glorious blend of several styles of appropriate music. It's been so long since I've had new Disney music stuck in my head, and I am loving it. I predict already that "Ma Belle Evangeline" is destined to be one of Disney's most treasured love songs, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it's sung by a toothless Cajun firefly. This movie was at times funny, sweet, colorful, exciting, just the right amount of frightening, and now and then even heartbreaking.

In the end, we both loved this movie, and I was all for turning right around and seeing it again, it was just that good. And of course, we're not the only ones who feel this way. It seems to be getting glowing reviews from all over the place.

For the record, the fact that Tiana is the first black Disney princess has little to no interest to me whatsoever. There were some issues raised in the film regarding class distinction and such, but they had little to do with the overarching themes and overall storyline. Her race as far as the story goes is practically immaterial, and all I cared is that she's a charming, vibrant, beautiful addition to the Disney Princess canon.

Go see it!

Giving Thanks

Yes, it was Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago, and yes, I enjoyed my first T-Gives with The Wife very much. I don't have a lot to say about it, but I do want to post something as a prelude to the upcoming holiday events.

We started the day off with Amber's most excellent 4th Annual Cedar Hollow Turkey Trot (for the record, I'm so glad she started this, it's a fun route and a good crowd). Though our numbers were fewer than usual for a race, Julie, Cami and I had a good time, while Dad was on hand as the ever-present "athletic supporter." I so hoped to win the drawing for the iPod, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't TOO cold, and Julie, Cami and I all finished together.* Believe it or not, we didn't take a single picture there, which I guess is what happens when Melody isn't around for the races (even though I think we did bring our camera...). Still, this 4-miler is always a good way to start a day of a lot of eating.

Speaking of eating, Julie and I then headed to Mom's house to prepare our contribution for the glorious feast. Curiously, our assignment was what Julie was quite hoping to make anyway, so we made our yams and our green bean casserole (made with only the right kind of beans, which we went to three grocers to find), and went with Dad to Cami's house for a perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Everything you could want was there, and the company was excellent as always. We missed those of ours who were absent for whatever reason, but look forward to having everyone here for Christmas. There was plenty of food to go around, and quite a lot of leftovers for all to take home as well (did you really think we would need TWO whole turkeys, Cami??). We webcammed with Mom, Emily, KC and the triplets, and it was good to be able to talk to them and see how big the babies are getting! We also had a nice look at the progress of Cami's basement, which is looking better all the time. Cami set a lovely table, and Julie's plate was chosen as the ideal sampling for the photo:

We came home full and happy, had leftovers enough for several more meals, and not two days later had our very first Christmas tree up and decorated, details to follow...

* ThoughIprobablyshouldmentionthatifIhadrunatmyusualpaceI'mprettysureIwouldhavewon1stplace...