Fifteen Minutes of Delusion

Last week Kara and I were given this award by the lovely and talented Josi Kilpack , an amazing lady who has quickly become one of our favorite authors. I'm honored to consider Josi both a mentor and a friend, and I was tickled to get this award from her. This is Josi and I at the 2009 Whitney Awards Gala. Here's what she said about us: Don & Kara —They joint blog, so it goes to both of them, but together, and apart, they are such examples of what life really is. They have some trials, big ones that I can’t imagine, and yet if you ever read their blog they have such joy in their lives, in each other, and in their two daughters. AND, despite their family focus and optimism amid trial, they are generous and motivated toward the accomplishment of their own goals and dreams. That is a very rare gift indeed. Wow - that was great! Thank you, Josi. This award comes with a meme, which I have completed below. (I'm still thinking of who to pass this award on to - I'm not part...

I haven't been the best tagee lately, but this one from Jenna over at Cranberry Corner was so fast and easy, I just had to do it. The rules: Go to the 6th photo folder on your computer and post the 6th photo. This is a picture from the elementary school field day a couple of years ago. The kids put on these big inflatable rings and ran into each other. Look at the bigger image for the full effect. Seemed like a lot of fun to me!

My friend Jewel, over at Pink Ink , gave me a blog award : This award is for bloggers that blog about real life. I'm not exactly sure what Marie Antoinette has to do with real-life blogging, but hey! I'll take it. I'd like to thank all of my blog readers for their support and comments, even though I don't get nearly as many comments as some other bloggers I'm aware of. Still, I know you're out there reading, and it motivates me to keep writing. (And I know I'm behind at least two tags - I'll get to them soon!) I'd also like to thank Kara, Anna, and Alyssa, for giving me lots of great topics to blog about. I'm not going to thank the van, because I don't want to blog about any more car trouble. Now I come to the trickiest part of the award - nominating 7 others. It's not that I can't think of 7 other blogs to award - quite the opposite is true. I follow over 100 blogs, and many of them would certainly count as being award-worthy. But n...

1. Do you like blue cheese? Absolutely 2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Not first hand 3. Do you own a gun? Only plastic ones that shoot rubber pellets 4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I get water. 5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Only financially 6. What do you think of hot dogs? Used to love them, now not so much 7. Favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night 8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Strawberry Smoothie 9. Can you do push-ups? A half dozen or so, which is more than a month ago 10. What is your favorite movie? Labyrinth. It's a long story. Maybe I'll share it some day. 11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My Hawaiian ring with Kara's name in Hawaiian on it 12. Favorite hobby? writing 13. Do you work with people who idolize you? They keep me around. That's good enough. 14. Do you have ADD? That's a good question. Hey, look! A squirrel! 15. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm terrible at ...

Nicole tagged me with this Meesa challenge thing a week or so ago, so I figured I'd better hurry up and do it. A. Attached or single? Happily Married B. Best friend? I'm great at acquaintances, lousy at close friends C. Cake or Pie? Pie, especially fruit, although I make a mean pumpkin pie D. Day of Choice? New Years Day. So many possibilities ahead. E. Essential item? my Treo phone F. Favorite color? Chartreuse. Actually, I don't like the color all that much, but the name is great! G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears H. Hometown? Along with Nicole, I still claim Laie, HI I. Indulgence? Blogging J. January or July? January - especially now that we're in Texas K. Kids? Two L. Life isn’t complete without? A worthwhile project M. Marriage date? June 23, 1990 N. Number of brothers and sisters? 5 sisters O. Oranges or apples? Apples - so very versatile and autumny P. Phobias? I used to work Technical Support, and now I'm afraid of the phone. Q. Quotes? “Remember - no matter w...

Annette Lyon tagged me for the Closer Look meme, which is completely different from the Keeping It Real tag I did a couple of weeks back. Well, maybe not completely different, but different enough. Plus, Annette pays more attention to my writing blog, where she has been a great source of guidance and support, so it's very easy for me to cut her some slack here. Also, some of these pictures are recycled from the above mentioned similar tag, as it might be considered bad form to post picture's of my host's housekeeping on my blog. #1 The Kitchen Sink - This is our house, and we made sure the sink was empty before we left. I should have taken a picture. #2 The Fridge - and as a bonus, the freezer. And there is no yak - it has been eaten. #3 Favorite Shoes - Not so essential here in Utah as they are in Texas. I don't wear them to work here because they keep the office a little more comfortable than my stingy landlord. #4 The Closet. It still looks like this, although wi...

I was very excited to learn that my youngest sister Noreen has a blog now . That excitement was tempered when she tagged me with this Keeping It Real tag. Doesn't she know Reality and Delusion don't mix well? The rules are NO CLEANING/CHEATING. What you are about to see is real. Real enough, anyway. #1 The Fridge - and as a bonus, the freezer. See if you can find the frozen yak. #2 The Kitchen Sink - Kara had a little lamb, and left the pan in the sink. #3 The Toilet - For some reason, I couldn't get the flash to work on this one. #4 My Bed - I just finished using this for a Saturday snooze. Notice the bedroll behind the bed, where the girls sleep over some nights. #5 The Closet #6 Self Portrait #7 Favorite Shoes - if it weren't for church and a fear of losing toes to the lawn more, I would wear these all of the time. #8 What My Kids Are Doing Right Now - Anna is writing a puppet show for Activity Days... while Alyssa is watching a Dora tape. Don't worry, Kara - Do...

I was tagged twice - on 15 Minutes of Delusion by Josi , and on 90,000 Words of Delusion by Kim . I toyed with the idea of playing twice, but I was doing good to finish this once. 1. As a child, I was a bit of a clown. On my eighth birthday, my mom brought a cake for my class. Walking back to my desk with my piece in hand, I saw some paper on the floor. I successfully managed to step on the paper and have it slide out from under my foot. I then proceeded to intentionally and strategically fall forward, avoiding pain and injury but planting my nose squarely in the middle of my cake. The class roared with laughter. Priceless. 2. One of my favorite practical jokes as a child was to take fun snaps (those little noise makers) and gently set them under the pads of the toilet seat. Yeah, that would make you pee your pants if they weren't already down. 3. My English 315 Professor was impressed enough with my term paper that he suggested I submit it for publication. I sent it in to the on...

I got an award! Two awards, actually. Well, really the same award - twice. But still, I'm honored. The award is the You Make My Day award. And I'm relieved to report that I didn't get it from Dirty Harry. The award was given to me by both Tristi and LDSPublisher . I'm glad I was able to make their days. Thanks, ladies. Now the rules say I'm supposed to pass this along to 10 bloggers who make my day. I've made a handful of blog friends - most of them have already been given the award, but let's see what I can do here. 1. Nicole over at A Good Day . She hasn't posted much since Princeton got home, but who can blame her? 2. Autumn at Queen of Chaos . She cracks me up, and makes me think. 3. JuSaMee over at JuSaMee's Blog . It's fun to follow a different side of Hawaii, and she also cracks me up. 4. Malia and Stuart at Hang Loose, Hang Ten, Howzit, Shake a Shaka . Their blog makes me wish I'd tried harder to learn to surf while in Hawaii, but ve...

To prove that I'm not just trying to kill off the tags, I've picked up an "I tag everyone" Christmas Tag from Nicole . 1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for all but the most odd-sized presents. 2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. 3. When do you put up the tree? Traditionally the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year halfway through December. 4. When do you take the tree down? What? I have to take it down? Grumble, grumble. 5. Do you like eggnog? Absolutely. The really rich stuff we dump straight into the ice cream freezer. Eggnog ice cream is amazing with a good pumpkin pie. 6. Favorite gift received as a child? I got a kitten from Santa at the Ward Christmas party. My parents worked it all out, and it was really, really cool. 7. Do you have a Nativity scene? A plastic one for the porch, a ceramic one for the mantel, and a little acrylic one the kids can play with. 8. Hardest person to buy for? Me. Yes, lately I have had to buy for myse...

I was tagged for Seven Things About me by Stephanie Humphries . Rules of the Meme: 1) Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. 2) Share 7 facts about yourself. 3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. 4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. 1. In my youth I had a freckle on my right earlobe, and it looked like I was wearing an earring. 2. Before I will wear anything , it needs to be washed. My wife and kids are the same way. 3. I still read the Honolulu Star-Bulletin online almost daily. 4. I've recently grown a beard again. It is much more gray than it has ever been in the past. 5. My beard really itches, but I can't shave it yet. It's there to camouflage the extra roundness in my cheeks. I'll shave in about 12 pounds. 6. For several years, I taught one computer programming class per semester at Utah Valley State College. 7. My LDS mission was in the Misso...

I was tagged for 10 things by Marcia Mickelson . Here we go: 1. About ten years ago, three of my sisters all had their babies on the same day. I sent a little note to the Associated Press and, as a result, the story took on a life of its own. It hit the local news, national news, lifestyle feature pseudo news, and the talk show circuit. They were in papers around the world, had a full page in People magazine, were drawn into a Ripley's Believe It or Not cartoon, written into a textbook , and were interviewed by Oprah, among others. The sad irony to this tale? The three births took place the day after my 30th birthday. Had the cousins been born a day earlier, I could have been part of the story. But as it was, fate robbed me of an appearance on Oprah by a mere 24 hours. 2. Speaking of cousins, Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt is my second cousin. Our great-grandfather Thomas Dudley Leavitt had 24 children, so there are a lot of cousins ou...

Tagged by Autumn. Here we go. Five things found in my room: Stacks of magazines I will never have time to read. Three laser printers; one that prints onto rolls instead of sheets Two dead cell phones, one mostly dead phone that I'm trying to return, and one that works quite well Four computers and five monitors A box of tissue that is being emptied at an alarming rate Five things I've always wanted to do: Become a pilot Write a book Make a movie Start and run a successful business Become a philanthropist Five things found in my (computer) bag: My passport My Pilot's Flight Log Book (one hour and holding) A bag of foam earplugs Batteries - AA, AAA, and Dell Rechargeable Lithium Ion (the non-exploding kind) Business cards of people I will probably never see or speak to again Five things found in my wallet: Texas driver's license, but without the M endorsement this time Good Earth supplement card only needing 4 more stamps (too bad the nearest Good Earth is 1,000 miles awa...

OK. Well, I didn't get the dozens and dozens of guesses that others did with this game , but it was fun anyway. The answer is #2. Something similar to this did actually happen to my buddies J and D, but I was not along for the ride. Instead, if I remember my ancient history correctly, I was helping another friend with his Eagle Scout service project when the whole affair went down. Being anxiously engaged in a good cause has kept me out of trouble more than once. FYI, this is a PBY Catalina As for #1, the haunted house story was pretty much just as I described it. I personally never saw or experienced anything, and often spent hours alone in the house by myself after dark (reading like a true geek). But whether or not the house was truly haunted, most people believed it was. #3 - what can I say? Looking back, I still can't believe I thought concocting a pretend girlfriend would make for a funny joke. I guess everyone does at least something embarrassing when they're 16.

Tristi is pressuring me to tell a lie. So much for positive peer pressure. I've never been able to lie very well. See, whenever I try, my ears turn red. However, you can't see my ears from where you are, so maybe I have a fighting chance at this Liars game. Here's how it works: I list four experiences from my past. One is a lie. It's your job to guess which one. Ready? Here we go. 1. I spent nine weeks in a haunted house one summer. 2. That same summer I spent several hours in jail. 3. I had a make-believe girlfriend turn real on me. 4. I used FedEx to ship a dead rabbit. Oh, you want details? Oh, OK. 1. I was fifteen that first summer on Lanai. The fifteen year old gangs could only work the day shift, and were given housing away from the main camp. My group lived in Hale Manele, an old wooden frame building at the edge of town set up barracks style. Some people said the building used to be a hospital. Most people called it Hale Spooky. The first few weeks of the summer...

I was tagged by Autumn over at Autumn Ables to come up with 5-10 classes to either take or teach, depending on which version of this game's instructions you read. In keeping with the new status of 'Rebel,' (which was given to me by Connie in response to comments I left at LDS Writers Blogk ) I've chosen to make my own rules and split the difference, coming up with 5 classes to teach, and 5 to take in hopes of improving my life. These are classes to help make my life better, and they constitute the curriculum of Deluded State University. First, the classes that I will teach. There will be weekly quizzes, and the final is comprehensive. Home Improvement 280: Project Initiation This course describes how to make detailed plans and solid preparations. It will involve a weekly field trip to Home Depot. Civics 125: Becoming the Neighborhood Oddity Subjects covered include aluminum foiling and taping, carpet ripping, window climbing, and vodka spraying Theater 305: Advanced...

Nicole tagged me. Let's see what I can come up with... Four jobs I've had: Flower shop delivery boy Tuba player (in a lavalava, no less) Pineapple picker Software Engineer I have pictures of me doing each of these. I'll see if I can track them down. Four places I've lived: Omaha, NE Laie, HI Austin, TX Lehi, UT Four movies I love: Labyrinth Forbidden Planet The Gods Must Be Crazy Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Four movies I'd like to see: Flyboys War of the Worlds Get Smart Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Four favorite foods: Pizza Panipopo Bryers Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream Gingerbread cookies Four weird things about me: I have the Wiggles on my personal playlist. There's a song from a Barbie movie, too. I regularly sleep in a room that can only be accessed by climbing through the window. Aloha shirts make up 80% of my wardrobe, even though I've lived on the mainland for 15 years now All of my shirts have to be lined up in the close...