New Job: Contango Capital Advisors

If you haven't heard, I started a new position about 2 months ago. I haven't said much about it because I was quite upset with the whole situation. I will tell you more if you wish to hear. Not on this blog though. Contango is a wealth management group that, up until now, managed accounts and catered to an asset class of people with $500k and more. I have been hired to develop and implement a new product that would cater to the asset class of $50k to $500k. There are 2 of us working on this project and it has been a huge learning curve. I'm glad the other gentleman I'm working with has done this before. I had no idea what went into something like this, especially making it scalable out the gate. It has been fun putting this together and traveling to the different states to train the reps on the new product. Contango is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation. Once this project is complete I suppose I'm to stay on as support...but will that be enough for my active mind?

Movie Review

Sarah and I have been saving our pennies and gift certificates to hit the movie theaters when the blockbusters come out. Here are a couple more we have recently seen.
Indiana Jones: This movie was very good. It had the great acting and wonderful script. I didn't like the move away from a religious story line to a science fiction story line. The very ending was disappointing but everything up to that point was worth every penny.

SARAH: I enjoyed this movie, which made me happy because I was extremely nervous going in. For some reason I was worried that they were going to change Indy to much and it wouldn't feel the same. I don't know why I worried with George Lucas and Speilberg behind it. Although I knew in the first 15 minutes that it was going to be about "space men" (thanks to a well planted 51 posted on a warehouse door) I didn't believe it until I saw the weird men themselves. I thought the action was fun. There was a great car fight scene, just like in the older movies. Shia LeBeouf did a great job. I am still a little sad the couldn't get Sean Connery back even for a moment, oh well. If you are looking for a fun flick this does entertain, you just have to keep an OPEN mind.
Iron Man: My favorite movie so far this year. I didn't know much about the comic Iron Man but I have a lot more respect for it now. I love to see a superhero emerge simply because they have the means to do so and not because they were bit by a spider and given superpowers (not to say that SpiderMan is a dumb movie, just different). Iron Man had the feel of Batman Begins. Robert Downey Jr. is the Johnny Depp of Iron Man; he was made for this role. I've seen it twice in theaters now and I highly suggest anybody that likes well written, well acted, great directing, and superb action sequences in a movie to watch it. Call me up and I'll go again!

SARAH: It is rare for me to enjoy a movie so much that I want to go and spend another 16 dollars on it. I loved this movie. Despite the fact that we were in a semi-crappy theater, this movie shined. Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious right off. He is a multi-millionaire that is not afraid to get his hands dirty doing what he loves. Making weapons. John Favreau (D-Bob in Rudy) directed this flick and did an excellent job, mainly because I wasn't car sick through out like some other movies. He has only directed a handful of movies (Zathura & Elf to name a few) but it doesn't show. This movie truly entertains, I don't think I have been that entertained since I watched Pirates 1 for the first time, or Lord of the Rings. Do call us if you want to go...we are there!!

My Birthday

My Birthday was this last Monday. I turned 26. Crazy. Sean had to leave that afternoon for a business trip in Arizona so Jack and I celebrated with my Mom and Dad. It was a great day!!

Jack absolutely loved the frosting. He destroyed the cake!

Movie Review

I loved this movie. The imagination of CS Lewis and those that were able to interpret what he meant, astound me. Prince Caspian is a lot more action filled than the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
This movie was okay. I wouldn't suggest watching it. If you want to see a well written dance movie rent Stomp the Yard. How She Move felt like a much lesser version of Stomp the Yard. Plus the title is hard to say anyway.
Cut every scene in half and this movie would be great. Total chick flick. PS I Love You felt way too long all the time. I felt like the movie was about 5.5 hours long.
Martian Child is a great movie for anybody that is a parent. This drama can be a tear jerker at times. Rent this and watch it.

Tulips

On Saturday Sean's cousin Lisa was sealed to her husband Josh in the Bountiful Temple. I couldn't get a sitter for Jack so I got to walk around the grounds while Sean was inside. It was a beautiful day, and Jack loved all of the tulips. I am just glad that some survived.

His new thing is to sit down when he sees something he wants to explore. This time it was an ant.

Internet's Down

This is what I feel like. Here is a picture of a recent episode of South Park. The internet in South Park and most of the world has gone down. Randy Marsh and his family heard that there was a little internet left in Silicon Valley, Californee. They packed up the car and found their way to an internet refugee camp where everyone was allowed 45 seconds a day on the internet.
Okay, so it's not that bad. I haven't packed up the house...yet. Maybe I should just find the router, un-plug it, and plug it back in.

It's official

Our internet has been disconnected. Sean tells me not to worry we will have some soon. So I will keep you posted.

The Zoo

Jack and I went to the zoo last week with a bunch of Flanders. I was totally excited to take him to the zoo but the morning of he woke up with a cold. So all he wanted to do was sit in his stroller. So sad. He did love the elephants and got out to see them better. So here are a few fun pictures, all involving elephants.

Jack and Mara watching elephants

Jack and Raiyah watching elephants

Finally me and Jack watching elephants

So here goes...

I was tagged as well so I guess I get to think of 7 quirks about myself. Plus after Sean's hilarious answers I am going to look boring.

1- I have the World's biggest sweet tooth. I would eat sweets any time of day and for every meal if Sean would let me, and if I knew that it wasn't destroying my body and teeth.

2- I love to read...and I will read pretty much anything you put in front of me. I do hate scary novels though...so NO Stephen King. I used to include fantasy in that but now that Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are two of my favorites I can't say that.

3- I am not a morning person. I love my sleep and I hate that it has to be disturbed by waking up. When Jack cries and needs attention immediately it starts the morning off rough, but if he just sits and talks and gives me time to wake up I am a little better.

4- I do not fly well (I can hear the whole Martin Family laughing). I should restate the first statement...I fly fine...it is just getting to the airport early enough to make it so I don't have an anxiety attack about getting through security with enough time to not miss the plane. My in-laws prefer to leave with just enough time to walk onto the plane as it is ready to pull away. I cannot do that without feeling nauseous.

5- There are two household chores that I despise. Dusting and Ironing. Ughhhhhh

6- RD (our friend) calls me IMDB (Internet Movie Database) because he thinks that I know more than the actual site. Which is totally not true because that is where I get most of my info from.

7- I love my job. It is all I have ever wanted to do and now I get to!!!

I tag Justin, Claire, Chelsea, Josie, Molly, Heather, and Megan G.

7 Quirks Tagged

I have been tagged. Normally I ignore it because I find them very annoying much like the emails I receive on a daily basis wanting me to put in my own answers to about 400 questions. Because this comes from my sister-in-law (and I'm sure Jack would want to know if I know I'm annoying) I will abide. (Megan M and Justin, please don't take umbrage to this):

1,2,3,4. I have scoliosis, asthma, allergies, and a really big head (look at the size of that thing, it's like an orange on a toothpick). Will someone please call Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? I'm sure I qualify.
Ty: So Sean, you have a really big head. Wow, that must be tough.
Sean: It is Ty. As a kid playing baseball all the other kids would switch fitted hats when they were sick of theirs or just for fun. Never with me, my head never could fit in their hats. I felt left out and eventually had to quit playing baseball. Its nothing that a 50 inch plasma and a hot tub can't fix!

5. Organizing my mp3's. I have almost 500 gig of music now. To relax, I sit at the computer and organize, tag, and rename my mp3 collection.

6. Girl handwriting. I have better handwriting than my wife. It makes her mad.

7. RMS Ricky Martin Syndrome. My father Rick Martin has lost his filter when he talks. He is a very social guy but every now and then he will say something that will make your toes curl hoping the person receiving isn't offended. He doesn't mean to be offensive, he is just genuinely curious. I am about stage 2 RMS is what my wife tells me. This problem is most aggravated by moochers, my brother Justin (it's getting better), and just flat out annoying/rude people. For example, I have no problem asking,"how do you sleep at night...?"

I'm not going to tag anyone.

So...

...if your wondering why I am doing a mass amount of posting today it is because our internet will soon be gone. I got a bill in the mail yesterday from the company that provides our internet and cable, which was a first. Up until recently we were getting free service because I work for the company who built the community we live in and so the cable company gave employees free service. Well no more. I called yesterday to cancel the service...so it will soon be gone...and who knows how we will post after that...

Sean: this feels like I'm loosing a best friend. *sniff sniff* What am I to do? Oh, thats right, start living a real life instead of a virtual one. By-the-way, do you know how much internet costs? It's highway robbery. Please Google, hurry and provide the world with free internet; I don't care if I have to look at a pop-up every now and then...I do it right now anyway.

The Rope Swing Hike

The hike that we go on a couple times a week has been dubbed The Rope Swing Hike. It has been made famous by the Flanders family. Which, for those who don't know, is Sean's mothers side. So we went up last Saturday (Friday too) with Justin and Megan and their nephews Kimball and Cole. Normally we hang around at the top for ten minutes or so before heading back down. This time we stayed for at least a half an hour playing on the Rope Swing. So here are a few fun pictures of the boys (I didn't get any of Kimball and Cole) taking a turn on the swing.

Sean, Jack, Sarah

Justin and Megan - my wonderful in-laws

Justin

Sean

Jack - who hates the feel of the rope so he has trouble hanging on.

Flip's

Last Thursday Jack and I joined a mommy and me class at Flips. Flips is the gymnastics place that Sean used to work for and fortunately since he worked there for so long they let us take classes for free. Jack absolutely loved it. The music, tunnels, a pile of foam to play in, parachute, trampolines, and a huge bouncy floor that he could run on. It is fun because now he is trying to do somersaults on his own. I got a work out that I was not planning on. I thought I would watch Jack do all of this fun stuff but I had to help Jack do pretty much everything. At the end of class Chan (in the picture) gave all of the kids stamps on their hands and feet. As you can see all Jack did was point at them. All day long.

Emo Jack

Jack's hair is getting long. I love his long hair and Sarah wants to cut it. We had some fun styling it after the bath yesterday. In the newspaper we saw that Zac Efron is in town. Does he look like Zac? I think it's more of a scary spidey style. You know, the one where Toby McGuire walks down the street acting like he some kind of cool; just after he is wrapped in the black SpiderMan outfit. I think I would like to see a military style mohawk if we have to cut it short. Chase wants to see a punk style mohawk. Sarah wants him to look like all the other 17 month old kids, the kids who's hair is spotty and barely coming in. We would have to shave his eyebrows to pull that one off. What do you think we should with his hair?

What's In Your iPod?

I love music. Since I was a little tyke purchasing "Another Bad Creation" or "Vanilla Ice" from BMG music, my music collection has grown exponentially. I don't stick with the same genre either. I have and like a whole amalgam of music. For instance, while running I like Hip-Hop, Mashups, Techno, Dance, or anything with a strong beat. (Over 100 bps, beats per second). Boating trips I love reggae. Just hanging out it's fun to listen to some easy listening like Jason Mraz or Jack Johnson. Punk music, I can listen to just about anytime. I tend to favor the mainstream punk like Blink 182, Good Charlotte, or Simple Plan versus the non-sellout MXPX flavor. These are the current albums I have on repeat in my iPod:
Artist: Secondhand Serenade Album: A Twist in my Story
Easy listening punk music to it's fullest. (If there is such a genre.) Like most the albums I retrieve I first hear on the radio and give it a try. The song I heard and I'm sure everyone has by now is "Fall For You." This one took about a week to track down. Well worth the search.
Artist: Simple Plan Album: Simple Plan
There is something about Simple Plan's style that I love that I just can't put a finger on. It's about as mainstream punk as you can get. This album, like the rest they have, rock. Almost every song is great but "What If" is my favorite.
Artist: Various Artists Album: The Vs Experience
This is an album I found while I was searching for mashups. Mashups is a genre used mainly in dance clubs. They take one popular song and mash it with another song, give it a strong beat, and spin it for all to hear. I have many different mashup albums but this is one that I can listen all the way through without skipping. Fun to run with.

Dandelions

Your probably wondering what this glob of yellow is. Well it is all of the dandelions from my house to the mailbox (which is about a street away). When it isn't raining I let Jack walk to the mailbox, to use up all of his energy before his afternoon nap. I have to set little goals for him or we would be out there all afternoon. Most days I point to a tree or some kids ball that was left outside, and he runs to it, then I point somewhere else. Today with the dandelions everywhere I thought why not point to all the yellow stuff. Well Jack decided to pick every single dandelion, and then let mommy hold them. Once I tried to secretly throw it so I wouldn't be stuck holding it, but somehow he knew, ran and found it and gave it to me once again.
When we were done with our walk we had a good size glob. I call it a glob because as you can see from the picture Jack doesn't tenderly hold them. He squeezes the life out of them. His hands were very yellow by the time I pried the glob out of them. Sadly they are now at the bottom of my trash can. I guess that is where weeds belong anyway...

Jazz Advance to Round 2

Ronnie Brewer is the man of the hour in my eyes. He shut down T-Mac in the 3rd quarter.

Jazz played a wonderful game, completely obliterating Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, Tracy is going to walk away from this game thinking he won because he scored 30 some-odd points. In fact, I wouldn't put it past him to pull a Zoolander and show up in California Sunday getting ready to play the Lakers only to finally realize...HE LOST. T-Mac has never advanced to the 2nd round of the finals, sad part is he blames his teammates. Way to go Jazz! Bring on Kobe.

Check out Molly and KC's post on Tracy McGrady...very good and harsh.

Stake Temple Night

Because stake/ region/ everyone-they-can-invite conference is coming up our Stake Temple Night was tonight. Sarah and I decided to do sealings. Our assigned temple is the Bountiful Temple. It is such a beautiful temple; one of my favorites. Attending the temple is always such a wonderful escape from "the world" and reminder of things to come; always refreshing and never cloy.
We are in a branch, not a ward...in Utah. Sounds weird, right? To make things more interesting, our active membership is around 450. The most bizarre calling I have heard yet is "baby gift giver." And we have 5 now!