Ad-nalysis Sunday: Burger King Creeper Caper

Here's a little ad that made my jaw drop.



I was shocked at the sheer bluntness of the commercial.
I was shocked because even though I hate Burger King, I didn't hate this commercial. It was unique and refreshing.
I was shocked because I am a McMuffin addict and right now I'm craving a BK breakfast muffin sandwich.

Blogger Power!

(image from House of Smith's)
Today was the big day for our blogger group, Service Soapbox.
We're a group of bloggers (duh!) who want to make the world a better place.
Today was our first official event. A baby shower to benefit the March of Dimes.
One of the things The March of Dimes does is help struggling new moms with diapers and other necessities.

Check out all the loot we brought in for them!
(These pictures are also from House of Smith's. Shelley takes better photos than me.)

Just like a REAL baby shower, we had some amazing food and decorations.
This cake was make and donated by Amber from Amberlicious Cakes.

Are you drooling yet?

The decorations were equally impressive.
Shelley from House of Smith's brought her amazing Rose Forms. Have I mentioned Shelley is my BBFF (blogger best friend forever)? LOL!
Seriously though, her blog is amazing.
These flower arrangements were also donated by Karlie from Garden House Floral. She is way talented.

My friend Ashley was my "plus one". She's such a trooper. Ashley doesn't even have an active blog but was still happy to come with me.
Someday you should ask me what we did after the shower with silicone breast implants.

Ashley eating a delicious cupcake. We were on a sugar high for hours!

Did I mention KSL showed up to do a story (for Studio 5)?
I wonder who told them about the event...? LOL.
Brooke Walker was there in the flesh, but I forgot to get a picture with her. (But it's not like I don't see her every other day of the week.)
Watch Studio 5 Monday at 11 to see her report. I'll post the story after they air it on Monday.

I was in charge of games! I gave out prizes for the people who knew the answers to these questions:
Greatest amount of children born to one woman – 69 children by a Russian woman in the 1700’s. She had 27 pregnancies and gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets

Oldest woman on record to have a baby (naturally or with a doctor's help) – 70 years old, she had twins in 2008

Oldest man to get a woman pregnant - A farmer in the Indian state of Rajasthan, fathered his 21st child at the age of 90!

Youngest girl to get pregnant and have a baby - Lina Medina (born September 27, 1939) is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of 5 years, 7 months and 21 days.

Youngest father – 13 years old British kid in 2009

We also gave prizes to the woman with the most kids, the longest labor, shortest labor, longest time between kids, shortest time between kids, etc.

We had SO many donations for the shower, EVERYONE got to go home with a prize! I won five passes to a Roller Skating rink!

Ashley one a free car wash! Too bad she has to drive 45 minutes to use it in Draper.

Here is the entire Blogger Baby Shower planning committee! What a bunch of gorgeous women if I do say so myself! I love love love these women! They worked so hard and pulled off a really successful event!
I should also mention the whole thing was planned over e-mail. The committee never actually met in person.
That's Blogger Power!

***UPDATED: Here's the story that aired TWICE on KSL! Once on Studio 5 and once in the 4 o'clock news!

And here's the link.

Big News!

We got a dog!
What? Were you expecting something else?
Meet Yoda.

Yoda was abandoned on the side of the road in a broken crate.

My in-laws, Aaron and Ashley, were driving to work when they saw the crate and stopped to see if they could find the owner. It's a good thing they did because it was clear Yoda had been there at least overnight, if not longer. He was shaking, and was absolutely filthy.
No one in the area recognized him.
So Aaron and Ashley took Yoda home. They posted an ad online saying they found this adorable puppy. They even put up posters in the area where they found him.

Tom and I have been thinking about getting a dog, so when Aaron and Ashley asked if we wanted to take him in, we said YES!
You can see why we decided to call him Yoda.
Yoda is the most cuddly dog in the whole world! He just loves to snuggle.
He loves to lick too.


And he's REALLY good with kids. (Finn had been playing/eating in the dirt.)


We couldn't have asked for a better puppy.
I am so in love with this dog.

Ad-nalysis Sunday: Another AT&T Shoutout

I've decided to forgive AT&T for using Luke Wilson as a spokesperson. Great Actor. Horrible phone salesman.

AT&T has redeemed itself with a series of clever commercials that speak directly to my generation and younger. But don't worry, even you older folks should be able to appreciate them.











(I wasn't going to post all five videos, but I couldn't choose a favorite! They all crack me up!)

I'm one of those people who uses my phone more for texting than I do for phone calls. I use my phone to update my Twitter. My Twitter page automatically updates my Facebook page. So when the newscaster says "This story has been confirmed via wall post", I say, yep, that's my life!

I'm not even with AT& T, and I want one of these Backflip phones. Therefore I would say these commercials are pretty effective.

I should also mention that since I work in a newsroom, I LOVE commercials that spoof the news. The actor in these commercials makes the perfect fake newscaster.

****On another note, I'm pleasantly surprised by how many people read my Sunday posts. I've gotten some really good feedback and good suggestions for future posts. If you see a clever ad, on T.V. or anywhere else, let me know! If I write about your ad, I'll make sure you get a shoutout.

The Hubby's Life

My hubby is a masters student.
He is "mastering" the art of Marriage and Family Therapy.

Don't read into this. We do not have marriage and family problems. My husband is just a psychology nut and likes helping people.

Other people in his class, however, think because they've had SERIOUS marriage and family problems, they are shoe-ins to be therapists.

He comes home with pretty good stories of all the "crazies" in his classes.

Like the time a girl asked a gay guy if he could be attracted to straight men.
Like the time someone wrote "I don't know what the answer is" in a RESEARCH paper.

Some of the best stories have come out of T.B.'s latest class: Human Sexuality.
This is the textbook:

Yep, that's a zipper made of people. I couldn't' stop laughing when he brought that home.

(And now when you see this book at our house, you won't give us grossed out looks.)

The stories from this class aren't appropriate for a family blog.
I'm trying to keep things PG, you know?

Did I mention my hubby is the smartest person in his classes? I'm so proud.
Brains are hot.

Cupcake Craziness!

This is Ashley. Ashley is my friend.
Ashley is my friend because I stalked her in church, ambushed her, then TOLD her we should be friends.

You see, in our last area, there were no young couples in our ward. We had no friends. After two years in that ward, we finally started making friends, but then we had to move.

I was not going to let that happen again.

So in our NEW ward, Tom and I sit in the back. While Tom listens, I scan the congregation for young couples.
One Sunday, I saw Ashley and her husband.
The rest is history.

Today Ashley and I were going to go rollerblading/biking to get some exercise.
But then it rained.
So we made cupcakes instead.
I'm sure you see the irony here.

These weren't just any cupcakes. They were brownie/cake cupcakes.
The bottom layer is brownie mix, the top layer is yellow cake mix with white chocolate pudding powder mixed in. (Stole that idea from Mallory!) The icing is a lame-o vanilla buttercream, but it was yummy on top of these cupcakes.They are seriously some of the best cupcakes I've ever had. You can find the recipe here.

Me and Ashley stuffing our faces.Ready for my closeup. (So glad I got my eyebrows waxed today!)

Ashley looking gorgeous even though she has icing on her nose!

Stamp of approval from the hubby!

Ad-nalysis Sundays: Are you a Glee Geek?

I dedicate this week's Ad-nalysis to GLEE!!!!! (Yes I know this is an awful picture of me.)

Season 2 starts THIS week and Fox has done an amazing job of getting me psyched!!!! Every time I see a promo, I want to scream in excitement!

Let's see if they can get you excited too!









I even gasped out loud when I saw this ad in one of my magazines.

Is Glee the greatest show ever created? Hardly. But it's fun, dramatic, and a perfect show to watch with the girls. We'll be having a girls night every week until the season is over. You're welcome to join the (Glee) club.

*Side note: I realize this isn't really an "analysis", but my goal with Ad-nalysis Sundays is to share the ads that I think are clever, funny or effective. These Glee ads fall into that category because they get me PUMPED!

My first day as a Redneck

Don't I look good as a Redneck? That's my hubby's rusty pickup truck and his new Remington Wingmaster 12 gauge shotgun. But our story doesn't start here.

Tom has wanted a shotgun since we got married. But I work in TV news. Almost every day there is a shooting somewhere. The worst stories are of accidental shootings. Kids shooting kids. Or a fiancé accidentally shot by his future father-in-law.

I did NOT want a gun in my house.

My attitude softened when there were three major earthquakes less than three months. It Utah, most of us live along the Wasatch Front. Also know as a HUGE FAULT LINE! There could be an earthquake here any moment.

In the case of a natural disaster, we need protection.

Tom found a REALLY good deal on KSL.com for a shotgun, so I caved (after some negotiation).

This morning, Tom took me shooting for the first time in Payson. Every year his friend Nick holds "Nick-a-palooza", a shooting competition.

This is me holding the gun this morning. I couldn't hold it far enough away from my body.

This is Tom.
Tom, is that a gun in your pocket...?

Our brother-in-law Aaron looking too cool for school. They'll let anyone shoot as these things.

Even children. (She's shooting a bb gun.)

At "Nick-a-palooza" there's lots of food...

...Lots of guns....

...And lots of men with guns (and a couple girls)!

The view was also AMAZING!

Here is a video of my first time shooting a shotgun. For the record, I was seriously nervous, and when I say "Do I look good?", I don't mean "Do I look good for the camera", I mean, am I holding the gun right?


You can't tell, but I had my eyes closed when I pulled the trigger. Proooooobably not a good habit to get into.

Then I shot a 22. That was WAY easier! I even hit a few targets.

Then I started getting the hang of things.

Tom's already a pro.

This is Nick. For the first time in five years of "Nick-a-palooza", Nick won the grand prize.

I'd like to thank my super-hot hubby for this new experience. I enjoyed my first day as a hick. And to be perfectly honest, I'm glad we now own a gun (but I will deny saying that.)

P.S. Yes, my shoulder hurts.