To make this a more concise post I will list the things happening in my life at this time.  It will be a numbered list starting at 13.  Why 13 you ask? Because arbitrary numbers are awesome my friend.

13. I have been working 4 different sites right now for work.  One of those being http://www.natural-edge.com, the other 3 I can’t discuss at this time.  I think they are going to be some pretty good money makers though!
14. I finished up with The Courier a couple of months ago.  Now I want to do something a little more serious.  I have a couple of ideas right now for future movies.  Both of them are more drama than previous silly attempts with zombies.  The most difficult part of making “short” movies is the learning process.  Each movie I can see I am getting a little better, so that is good, but I want to be awesome right from the start!  I know I have quite a ways to go.  Luckily the learning process is fun.  Getting to hang out with friends and family is always a good thing.  Making movies with them at the same time is even better!
15. I have been playing around with the idea of creating a small Facebook app for some time.  The last couple of days I have started getting more and more ideas for the app.  So I believe the time has come to start coding it.
    I always want to keep track of the movies I have seen, have the ability to rate them and add notes about what I thought about that movie.  There are a few sites out there that are similar to what I want but nothing exactly matches.  There are none, that I have seen, that use Facebook to integrate socially to the degree I am looking.  MovieList, MoviesIveSeen or MovieNotes are a couple of names I am thinking of using.
16. There is more but this post is already becoming too long.

I will add another post soon…

Nerium AD™ Treatment

A new company has just launched(Oct. 2011) and they are already doing millions in sales!  Despite my better judgement I have to say I am impressed.  The product they are selling is an age defying skin treatment.  Basically a wrinkle and blemish remover.
The results look fantastic, at least the results that come directly from their site.

The product is called Nerium AD – Skin Care Treatment.  Already the response from family members is absolutely positive.  Let’s see how far Skin Care AD will go.

2012-Things I want changed or want to do:

• Ability to concentrate on important tasks longer than 5 minutes, preferably for hours at a time!
• Start a decent marketing campaign for Natural Edge
• Obama OUT OF OFFICE!
• SOPA better not pass!
• NDAA better be repealed!
• 6 months of emergency funds in savings
• Get out of debt this year
• Purchase a dual-sport bike
• Get the Belvedere running(engine is almost complete!)
• Wood flooring in living room and hallway
• Re-model master bathroom
• Lose weight – even if it’s getting somewhat close to my early 20′s body
• Get a couple of websites going that bring in a good amount of residual income
• Spend more time with family
• Spend more time outdoors

**Edit: As noted by my niece; it does seem ludicrous that I mention getting out of debt, then immediately talk about buying stuff.  I always forget to explain that when I talk about buying stuff(big ticket items) it means buying them with cash.  Unless it’s an absolute emergency I don’t pay for stuff with credit.

That seems like a reasonable list of changes for 2012.

What are some changes you would like to see?  Have you already started on your own list?

So I replaced a thermostat in my house a while back.  Honestly I can’t believe it was still attached and functional when I bought the house in 2004.  This thermostat had to be the original, horribly inaccurate and wasteful model that was installed when the house was built in 1979.  You know the kind.
After I had replaced it I noticed a cool glass bubble with a bit of mercury metal inside(Please see attached image).  Awed by the magical mystery that is liquid metal, I put the glass bubble down in my computer room for further investigation.

Days go by, days turn in to weeks, weeks turn in to months…so on and so forth until a few years pass.  Having successfully sired two strapping young lads I was triumphantly playing a computer game while said strapping young lads went about their business in my computer room.  I see the youngest one, we will call him Aidyn for anonymity sake, start to put something towards his mouth.  With the ninja-like reflexes I have honed over the years I reached out and stopped him from putting the object in his mouth.  I look down at my prize and to my horror I realize it’s the broken glass bubble that once contained mercury, which was now empty AND had a piece of chewed up grape in side of it.  This meant only one thing; he had already put this in his mouth!

It’s panic time!  Ninja-like calm is out the window.  My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach thinking I just killed my youngest child.  I search the area for any liquid metal hoping that it just spilled out.  I don’t see anything!  Gathering my wits as best as possible I gather him up and head up stairs with my oldest boy in tow.  I calm myself down so I don’t startle Mary too bad.  In my best “I am calm” voice I tell Mary that it looks like we need to take a trip to E.R. because I am pretty sure Aidyn swallowed some mercury.
I can see the worry and fear spread on her face as what I just said processes in her brain(all of this happened within .0001 microsecond because she is super smart and my ninja-like skills were coming back).  I pack up Aidyn and tell Mary that it would be better if she stayed home with our oldest boy.  I hurry and check our insurance website trying to find the closest E.R. that is covered by my insurance…it’s in Orem.  Panic sets in again.  There’s no way I am going drive 10 minutes so I can save money whilst my child is potentially digesting mercury!  I set off for American Fork hospital, which is only 2 miles away from us.

We arrive and I rush in to the Triage center.  The on-call nurse could probably see the panic in my face as I walked up to her with Aidyn in my arms.  I tell her what happened and she calmly tells me to wait while she consults a doctor.  She comes back and another nurse comes out and asks me what happened.  After I tell her my story she attempts to assuage my fears by telling me mercury metal isn’t that bad if swallowed, it’s the mercury salts we have to look out for.  Luckily there are no mercury salts in the liquid metal form.
They take us back put us in a room and tell me to wait.  They give Aidyn a cool ‘Cars’ blanket and this creepy home-made teddy bear.  Fifteen minutes go by(which seems like FOREVER) and they come back in and tell me they need to x-ray Aidyn to see if he swallowed anything.  On the way to the x-ray room I immediately get grilled by 3 of the E.R. staff.  They were asking how it was possible a 1 year old got a hold of mercury.  I tell them the story and they ‘release’ me so I can proceed to the x-ray.

Let me say that x-raying(sp?) a small child is quite the task.  We had to do it twice because he was squirming so much.  Now, with my vast knowledge of x-ray technology and how metal looks when x-rayed(see “When Brian was 9 and swallowed a quarter” for more details), I immediately hurried over to the monitor to see Aidyn’s x-ray.  To my relief I don’t see anything shiny or glaring.  But doubt quickly creeps back in as I wonder if mercury looks any different in x-ray.

We go back to the waiting room and are told to wait.  Another fifteen minutes go by and they finally come back with the results.  He didn’t have any mercury in his system!  Joy floods in and I whisk the doctor(female) up in my arms twirling her around while singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music!”.  Ok, I didn’t do that but I was overjoyed.  I can feel myself shaking, probably from the adrenaline leaving my system, more likely from my ninja-like awesomeness.  I immediately text Mary with the good news and I proceed to pack up Aidyn and leave the E.R.

On the drive home I realized that I just paid for a really expensive blanket and teddy bear!

Moral of the story: DO NOT leave mercury laying around, forget about it for years, and then let a small child find it.

More details about post-mercury apocalypse are as follows:

1. It was very awkward getting grilled by the E.R. staff.  All of whom seem to think you intentionally poisoned your child.
2. Yes, I did find most of the mercury that was spilled.  Apparently when one is panicking it’s really difficult for your mind to focus on finding small silver objects in the carpet.
3. Yes, we now have to replace the carpet in my computer room.  Add $350 to the mounting E.R. bill.
4. Very big YES to feeling like a complete failure as a father for leaving mercury laying around.
5. Aidyn was actually having a great time while at the hospital.  He was totally digging on watching the E.R. staff go about their business.
6. Interesting tidbit: Mercury metal is the least dangerous form of mercury if swallowed.  In fact they used to give it to people to help with upset stomachs back in the day.  Mercury vapor on the other hand is bad for you.

Top 20 List (in no particular order)

1. Labyrinth
2. The Goonies
3. Mr. Mom
4. Legend
5. UHF
6. Star Trek:
   • The Next Generation
   • Deep Space Nine
   • Enterprise
   • Voyager( a little bit )
7. MacGyver
8. Quantum Leap
9. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
10. Enemy Mine
11. Big Trouble in Little China
12. E.T.
13. Army of Darkness
14. Harry Potter series
15. Lost Boys
16. Supernatural
17. Princess Bride
18. Space Above and Beyond
19. Stargate:
    • Movie
    • SG-1
    • Atlantis
    • but NOT Universe(horrible show)
20. Willow

My list could probably run well into 100′s but for reader attention I kept is short.  I was going to write next to each one describing why it influenced me, but I didn’t want to type all night long!

What are some influential movies/shows in your life?  Briefly describe why they influenced you.  I really want to read what people have to say about this subject.

2009

- (November)My grandnephew was born.  Yes that is GRAND nephew!
- Ok…apparently I didn’t post anything else important for the whole year of 2009.  I do know I was working a lot and still trying to figure out how to be a decent husband and father.

2010

- (January)Went on a 5 day cruise with Mary, my mom and Nick.  That was a BLAST!  Memorable moments of cruise include: gaining 5 pounds, swimming with dolphins, eating great food, having a seriously fun time with family and going down a HUGE zip line setup.
- (March)Mary is pregnant with our 2nd child!
- (March)Got my first case of Pink Eye(gross!).
- (March)Had my first real taste(bitter and heart wrenching) of parenthood.  Elias had a MAJOR asthma attack and had to go to Primary Children’s Hospital for 4 days.  The real kicker to that whole event was Eli’s insurance was set to be effective the day AFTER he went in to the hospital.  So the insurance didn’t cover anything of the $17,000 bill!
- (April)Family Easter camp out at Topaz Mountain. Memorable moments of that campout: my dad almost starting the desert on fire with his flying lantern firework!
Note:I have great teen age memories of Topaz mountain. One day I will write a post about it!
- (May-ish)I was called as Assistant Scoutmaster.  I really miss the cub scouts!
- (May)I turned 33!
- (May-June)2 of my nieces graduated from high school.  It’s very sad to see my little nieces growing up and becoming adults.  Sad in a “I wish things would stay the same” type of way.
- (July)Had a super fun time at Lagoon with my family(Sue, Scott, Ashley, Kris and Sydnee)!
- (July)Found out we are having a boy.
- (August)Started planning The Courier movie.  Yes, it seriously took a year to get this thing rolling.
- (September)A fun Labor Day BBQ with family.  I wish we had more of these events.
- (September)Went to Lake Powell with family.  Memorable moments:  Me realizing how much weight I have gained, me realizing I need to make serious life changes and me realizing how difficult it is to go on extended camp outs with a pregnant wife and young child.
- (October)Great Halloween party with the Ivie side of the family.
- (November)Welcomed my second child(Aidan) into the world!   Mary was amazing!  **Note:  This is where the true parenting pain starts.
- (December)Fun Ivie family Christmas party.
- (December)Celebrated Christmas with my 2 kids and hot wife! This year(2010) was a very hum-bug year. We didn’t even have presents under our tree.

2011

Updates coming soon for this section.

Elias is doing great.  He is climbing and exploring like mad.  He took a tumble off our night stand the other day.  He was so intent on flicking the light switch on and off that he took a header off the side!  Luckily it wasn’t too far of a drop.  Bonked his head a little.  He got over it quickly once he discovered that he could climb on something else!

He is saying and signing quite a few words now.  It’s really exciting to see his vocabulary grow.  I was putting on my shoes the other day when he started saying “shoo” and making the sign for shoes.  I was excited!  He picks up so much from the Signing Time videos it’s crazy.

Mary and I have been trying to teach him to kiss off and on for a while.  Just today he started giving us kisses!  It’s the coolest thing in the world.

Mary and I have also been discussing when we are going to start on our second kid.  I have to say I am nervous and scared.  I have no idea how I am going to support the growing family.  But, I have to do it.  I know things will work out.  It’s still scary!
We are thinking of starting for kid #2 in December.

Work

It’s been a rough week and a half.  All of last week I spent my work days moving and clearing out the warehouse and offices of our 1145 S. 1680 W. location.  Man my back is sore!  You never realize how much CRAP you accumulate until you have to move.  There was a load of junk, useless items and other filth that just piled up.  I think there was some stuff that someone had the good intention of repairing, but they must have forgotten about it.

I moved 4 different loads of pallet racking.  Pallet racks aren’t too heavy at the start of the day.  As the day progresses they seem to increase in weight!  Those stupid things are awkward and a pain to take down.  Luckily I had help on the last couple of runs to the new warehouse.

The new location is now 1273 N. State St., Orem.  I think once we get settled and unpacked we will start increasing business.  Having a State St. location is going to be very good for brand exposure.  It will be nice to start getting more sales for Natural Edge.

Life

I will start with my birthday.  I am now 32 years old!  It’s pretty strange to think about.  I know it’s not much different than 31 or 30, but it still makes me think how fast time has gone.  My body is sure starting to feel age creep up.  I can remember when I was 16-24, I could never seem to gain weight.  I was as healthy as ever and could run FOREVER!  Now I try to go out and run and it’s like I lit a fire in my calf muscles AND my lungs.  I guess that’s my fault.  It’s no longer difficult to gain weight…in fact it’s rather easy!  The difficult part now is trying to lose the stupid weight that I have gained(205 pounds).

Mary is still putting up with my guff…thankfully!  She has been busy lately with designing cakes, which adds to my weight problem!  She has some pretty awesome cake skillz.  Yeah they are so great they deserve the ‘z’ plural ending!!!
Elias is starting to get some attitude and a funny personality.  He is walking and talking(still mostly gibberish).  Mary and I have been teaching him sign language, ok ok, Mary has been teaching him sign language.  He is getting too cute and too smart, which makes it difficult to reprimand him when he does something wrong.  So far he is a great little kid!  I love him to death.

Bees

We are now into the bees 3 months now and everything is going great!  Both the hives still have their queens and I just put on the first Honey Supers!  So hopefully by the end of July I can start harvesting some honey.
We have been really blessed by Mary’s brother John.  He has become really interested in beekeeping.  He has offered to purchase, and store,  a honey extractor for our honey.  He is even going to buy a hive next year.  We are going to put the hive next to our existing two and plan on  sharing duties on that hive.   Over the next couple years we should have an ever increasing honey harvest!  I hope everyone loves honey.

Work

Work has been pretty busy lately.  For the past year or so I have been working for Patientdocs.com full time as well as working Natural Edge.  I just got news last week that I am going to be reduced to part-time hours until further notice.  At first this was a big blow, as I have quite a bit of money that needs to go out each month;  Mortgage, insurances, food, bills, utilities and other money black holes.  But as I thought about the reduced hours a little more I realized that it’s really going to be a benefit.  It will give me the time I need to finish up side projects so I can focus on Natural Edge.  I will also need the time to work on some upcoming side projects that John(Mary’s brother) has offered me.  It’s just going to be very tight for the next month and a half until I get things rolling.

Summary

So I realized that life can sure kick you in the boys if you arent’ expecting it.  Luckily I feel there is a lot of help being directed my way, which makes me very grateful.  Without it I would be floundering in the tumultuous river that is called life.

Side note:  I am getting excited for Halloween already!  I know many of you think me a geek for that…but I say “NUTS” to you!  It’s fun to do something that isn’t typing on a keyboard!  And it’s awesome to see and hear the reactions from people.

Here are some pictures of the family and the faire: