Dylan at ECU

Last Saturday, I had my buddy take some photos of me at ECU campus so that I could send them home to my Granny (who is 90 and may or may not ever get to see me out here). He has a brand new camera and is really interested in becoming a photographer. I asked Julie to do this for me...but there was a mix-up and she thought that I just wanted her to take photos of the campus (which she found boring to do). So, I got Stephen to do it. Got to say, the pictures turned out nice but it was really weird. The fact that he wore a bright pink shirt and I wore a purple collared shirt (ECU's color) probably didn't help that uncomfortableness much. Oh, well. He did a great job and now I've got some good photos to send home to Granny and kin.

This structure is pretty much the symbol of the campus. It's called the cupola and it's never looked this good.

Again, the legend...and the cupola.

These were kind of awkward photos. I really didn't know what the heck to do with this guy. I'm definitely not a male model.

Where I'll be spending most of next year.

Arggghh!!! That's the symbol that we're supposed to make at football games after first downs. What's with Southerners (particularly Texas) and their need to make stupid hand signals for their school? 

 

 

 

Overall, it was fun. But, I never want to do it again. EVER. Sorry, Flight of the Conchords, but I will keep my normal job and not even do this part-time.

What I've Cooked Recently

For about a year, now, I have tried to cook three times a week. Julie is still by far the better cook of the two of us but I am getting a little bit better. I got out of the habit of cooking for about the first month we were here, but I am back on track, now. In church on Sunday, I gave a talk about my role as a father. I mentioned how there is no male work or female work only work. Now, everybody in the ward is going to hold me accountable for those comments even more than I already do. So, here's a run down of my best meals since we've moved to Greenville.

1- Bacon and chicken penne. I was really proud of this meal. It was delicious, took quite a few ingredients and took a long time. So long, in fact, we didn't eat until 8:30 that night.
2- Puffed French Toast. This meal was absolutely delicious. It was french toast with an interesting twist. I made the batter, dipped the Texas toast in it and then fried it on the stove. After I fried it for 5 minutes on each side, I rolled it in cinnamon sugar. We added bacon to our meal just to make it a little more healthy.
3- Crock pot Mac and Cheese. Julie and I had never heard of the idea of making crock pot Mac and Cheese. It called for the use of eggs and other ingredients I had never thought of to put into Mac and Cheese. Letting it heat up in the crock pot made the cheese nicely melt and come together.

These are the top three meals I enjoyed making and eating in the last few months. With Julie being unable to cook for some weeks, soon, I'm going to ge the opportunity to make even more delicious meals. 

I Hate Mice

Think he's cute? Well, I don't and you're wrong if you do.

I was going to try to think of something more creative to name this post, but I couldn't. And Julie would be upset if I named this post something more harsh than "I Hate Mice." But, last week, we discovered mouse droppings in our home and heard scurrying in the walls. Now, I am not a violent man but I definitely do not want a mouse pooping all over my stuff. So, I tried to think of non-lethal ways to get rid of it...but, non-lethal mouse traps are expensive and I didn't know how I'd make one myself. Finally, on Saturday night (when I snuck out of my room to watch the rest of the BYU game) I flicked on the light to the kitchen and saw it quickly dash behind the oven. When I pulled out the oven, I found a little hole that I felt it was sneaking into the walls through. So, I thought, here is my chance; I'll just board up this hole and it will presumably just leave (or die without me feeling like there's blood on my hands. Ignorance is bliss).

I thought that was the end of it...until a few days later I found poops in another spot in our house. I had the thought (more like deep wish) that maybe those had been there before and I just hadn't realized it. That thought quickly became even more of a pipe dream that night when I saw it running across my bedroom floor in the corner of my eye. Mustering all the courage I could, I chased after it. That was dumb. It ran right out under the door and hid in another hole in the kitchen I must have missed in my otherwise thorough investigation. So, Jules and I taped the hole shut and put a large barrier in the way of the hole.

Again, I thought that was the end of it. We heard him in the wall throughout the rest of the day and again figured we were done with him. The next day, we found more mouse poops. To this, I told Julie, "He's made it personal. I'm in a Master's Program and this stupid thing keeps outsmarting me." So, what did I do? I finally called for an appointment to Pest Control (who is coming Monday if I don't get to the little devil first). I will tell them to try to not kill it. However, Mouse, I gave you your chance to leave us alone and live in peace out in the fields. Now you have to deal with the wrath of a being with superior intelligence; or at least a being who has a cellphone.

My Role as a Daddy

Last week, Sister Elaine Dalton gave a talk in General Conference about a father's role for her daughter. I liked what she said, for the most part, and thought I would write what I think my role as a father to my daughter is.

1- I need to show Eloise how she should be treated in marriage. I am trying more and more to do my part around the house because there is no such thing as "man's work" or "woman's work" in the home; there is just work. I have been learning how to cook and am trying to do it 3 times a week for us. Also, the way I interact with Julie and the way I treat her, I feel will have a major impact on Eloise's views about marriage. Part of being an example to her in marriage, ironically, is to show Eloise that she is beloved and welcomed as a part of my family but that my marriage comes first and is the my most important relationship. I fear that child-centered families are often the ones that break up. I want Eloise to have good relationships with all of her friends and boyfriends and I think this modeling begins with me. Marriage should always come first in a family; unless you want your kid to live with you until they're in their 60's, it is the relationship that will be the most intimate and the longest. 

2- I need to teach Eloise that princesses are only in fairy tales for a reason (or if you're in England and happen to marry one of those princes and then do nothing for the rest of your life while making lots of money). When I was in London, us guys were sorely outnumbered by the girls (33 to 5, I think). There was a girl in particular that was very high maintenance and had been used to the idea of men waiting on her at all times in all places and being placed on a pedestal. Danny and I made it a goal to treat her differently than any man ever had--as an equal and as a friend. We teased her and didn't wait on her every whim. I don't know if it made a difference (probably not) but I fully plan on wrestling my girl and teaching her not to be a delicate flower that needs to be waited on. It will make her (and her husband) much happier in the long run.

3- I need to show Eloise that the only things that really matter are the relationships you have. I feel like way too often, children are taught that education and employment status and honors are what matter. In my family studies, I have run across so many articles that measure good childhood development by how well they do in school and how smart they are. I feel like this is the new good parenting philosophy in America: be rich by working way too much and spend money on your kids to go to extra-curricular activities to learn things that you should be teaching them at home (but you're not because you're never home and neither are they). These variables are stupid to me; I won't consider myself a failure if Eloise (or my other sons or daughters in the future) doesn't get into Harvard. However, I will consider myself a failure as a father if she never learns the golden rule, is unkind to her parents and family, is a disloyal friend and doesn't have a personal relationship with God. 

4- I need to be actively engaged in her life. Again, there is a trend in family studies to talk about "quality time" rather than "quantity time." I agree that it's unproductive to be at home in your bedroom watching the news while your children are downstairs doing something else and calling it family time. However, this idea that you can work all the time and then take a week off and go to an exotic island and consider this quality time is silly. I measure my dearest, oldest friends by how much time they spent with me even when it wasn't exciting and convenient. I feel like as a Dad, it's my responsibility to spend quantity and quality time with her and not only when it's fun for me.

5- Finally, I just feel like it's important for her to know I love her and that I'm proud of her. People express love very differently and receive it differently. However, I don't think it's ever killed anyone to say they love you and are proud of you. I also know that those words are hollow without actions that confirm it.  

Aquarium Trip

Wrote a post about our trip last weekend to the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium out here in NC, over on my photog blog. Check it out here.

And here is a sneak peak of a few pictures up there: