Good Friends

BYU is a wonderful place to run into dear friends. Evan was lucky enough to run into BT there today. We owe so much to The man for all he has done with Evan, and all our kids. Just have to be grateful for him.

Diastema - flaunt it for those who got it

Struggling with a sense of alienation following the death of his father in 2008, fashion designer David Delfin asked an orthodontist to insert a bracket to open a space between his two front teeth.

"It was a metaphor for the separation I was feeling," said Mr. Delfin, who called his spring 2009 collection "Diastema," the medical term for a space between two teeth, usually in front.

Gaptoothed Celebrities Flaunt Their Smiles

It turns out Mr. Delfin was ahead of the fashion curve. At model casting calls for New York's fashion week, one of the most coveted attributes is an affront to modern orthodontics: gapped teeth.

The look is a bold departure from recent standards of idealized beauty that have rewarded curvaceous and perfect-smile models, such as Doutzen Kroes and Miranda Kerr, with high-profile ad campaigns.

Instead of perfection, designers now want what casting directors call "characters."

"I think people want to see something different, something off," says casting director Natalie Joos, who is selecting models for the runway shows of Lacoste and Cynthia Steffe this season.

Other distinguishing characteristics in demand this season include tattoos, piercings, scars and even albino coloring.

Some say the popularity of physical flaws reflects the skepticism of today's youth toward the air-brushed perfection of the digital age.

"It's a love for the imperfect, and the authentic," says Stefano Tonchi, editor-in-chief of W magazine. "These are values that are more and more important for younger generations. Originality, authenticity…in a world that is more and more digitally enhanced."

In editorial spreads in Vogue and W, as well as ads for high-end brands like Chanel and Marc Jacobs, gaptoothed gals are having a moment.

In a new ad for Hudson jeans, Mick Jagger's pillow-lipped, gaptoothed model daughter Georgia appears open-mouthed and topless, locked in an embrace with a tattooed man.

Miu Miu's fall ad campaign features a young model named Lindsey Wixson wearing a fur vest and flashing long, neatly spaced teeth.

Even Lauren Hutton, a supermodel in the '70s and '80s known for her signature gap, is getting more work these days: She was featured on the cover of the September issue of Condé Nast U.K.'s Love magazine.

The diastema is also gaining traction in Hollywood, as high-profile actors like Anna Paquin, of the vampire series "True Blood," and Elisabeth Moss, of "Mad Men," grace the red carpet with their pearly whites—and dark gaps.

In a recent issue of Us Weekly, Ms. Paquin said she considers it rude when people ask her why she hasn't "fixed" her smile.

The gap has long been celebrated in many African cultures as a sign of beauty. But in Europe and North America, gapped teeth weren't always considered chic.

According to the medieval laws of physiognomy—in which facial features were thought to dictate personality traits—a gap was a visual signal that a woman was "lustful and licentious," says Colin Jones, a professor at Queen Mary University of London who is writing a book about the history of dentistry.

In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in his Canterbury Tales of the gaptoothed wife of Bath, who says, "as help me God, I was a lusty one/ And fair, and rich, and young, and well begone"—old English for "well-endowed."

In more recent times, amply spaced front teeth have graced the mouths of a wide range of celebrities, from David Letterman to Madonna. But they have never been a widespread trend cultivated by the fashion and entertainment industries.

Sotheby's is currently exhibiting a series of photographs of gaptoothed model Ms. Wixson. The series, called "I Remain, You Desire," follows Ms. Wixson, 16 years old, as she attended casting calls and prepared for runway shows last year.

"Lindsey is one of these girls saying, 'This is my face. This is who I am,'" says Gabrielle Revere, the photographer who followed her on her rounds. "People are responding to it, because it is unconventional."

Spring Break??

Schedules are odd this Spring and for multiple reasons we were not able to make a run for it. Nonetheless, for a couple days away from home, and a couple days of extra hands available - we drove Mackey up to Wisconsin Sunday. Ate a great meal, played a few games, chatted it up then left her there and came back home. We were entertained by the residents.

Ward Dinner

Last week we hosted part of a ward dinner. They broke down the ward into smaller groups and had 8-10 people join at a house to share dinner. We hosted a delightful group. Enjoyed great food, great company and a win by BYU. All in all a pleasant night.

Pictured above is our Butternut squash soup with a balsamic drizzle and our friends who attended.

Tex

Tex is not just a great friend he is a great man.
His work at the U of Minnesota has really been stellar .
He’s William “Tex” Ostvig, and among the labels he ascribes to himself are Mexican, coach, father, and educator, which all happen to be relevant in his work. 
It was fun to read about their recognition of him.
.http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2011/UR_CONTENT_313968.html

Jimmer

Didn't feel totally right posting it on Parker's blog
But could not leave it un-said after last night.
He would want you all to sing along.




thanks to J for sourcing

Formal Photos

One of the fun things at the Stake Dance was the offering of a photo setting with a professional photographer. Anyone could go in , a few of my favorites.

Briggs Beauties

Mackey is fortunate to have Erin and Kelly Briggs as friends. The two sisters took a road trip from Minneapolis to Naperville for the weekend. Most would delight in a similarly spent weekend though few would  have the requisite endurance. The rough outline includes:

• Road-trip down
• Portillo's cake shake  and Redbox
• Sleep-over
• Train into Chicago
• Miracle Mile
• City walk
• St  Pat's parade ambiance
• The Shedd
• Chicago Pizza
• 5-Stake Dance
• New Band Discovery
• New boys
• Church
• Return

Oh, that your week-end was a fun. Come and visit and we can arrange it

Once upon a knight

Everyone does them slightly differently but in our stake the stake young men and young women presidencies literally host the once a month stake youth activities. Saturday night was no different. We arrived at the stake center a little after 12 noon and finished decorating around 4:30 pm. The place looked great , The gazebo was a little labor intensive to assemble, a vestige of a church gym wedding reception of by gone days; but no more than the lights hanging from the ceiling and the walls in and out of the gym that looked like a fortress and ramparts with banners galore and green finery .It was a 5-stake priest - laurel alternate prom dance. The kids dressed up more than usual and the refreshments were a tad bit over the top as well. The Ward youth leadership don't attend at all.

After decorating went home, got dressed up, in time to chaperon for the rest of the evening. I know how to do a Saturday

So, undoubtedly one of the most interesting parts of the night was when a boy band from the Joliette stake asked if they could play a couple of songs during a break in the dance. I was deemed  the appropriateness arbitrator . With the weighty responsibility of trashing the dance with bad music or giving it  momentary zeal I opted to include three girls as my Mormon Idol judges. Kelly, Erin and Mackey  were up for challenge and didn't mind meeting a few guys in the process.(below is setting up for the audition)

St Pat's Day parade

One of the things we love about Naperville is the parades. All the major holidays have them and the blustery March parade is one of the best. I have to admit I'm too embarrassed to take a picture of the belly dancers but they clearly are a favorite as the gyrate down the street to the tune of "Its a brick house". There are plenty of politicians, Irish dancing girls, a few bag pipes, and a new one for us. A motorcycle police group zooming, and I mean clear the street they are zooming, doing a zig zag cut in and out of each other formation. Actually quite cool. Though I think Rindy's favorite was the garden club or maybe the Irish Wolfhound club. (which I refused to take a picture for fear that someone would think I was getting one. They make Chief look small)

Much Ado

Modernized ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ opens this weekend in Provo and one of its non-theater major actors is Brigham. He doesn't have a major role but fitting it into his crazy schedule is admirable. i always admire his courage in boldly stepping out and trying something new. Can't wait to read the reviews.

As a side-note, the play, Much Ado about Nothing was my Shakespeare loving father's favorite. Rindy was able to be there for the final dress rehearsal.

Order a Double

An optimist, focusing on what he or she has, observes what is in the glass - the full half. A pessimist, on the other hand, focuses on what is missing, what he or she doesn't have - the empty half.

The question is how to deal with the situation. There would be one course of action.

Order a Double.

Family Under Assault

The family is under assault.
This month's Ensign has an article by Julie Beck entitled Teaching the Doctrine of Family. A compelling outlining of the assault and battle lines. "This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don’t know the doctrine, they can’t defend it."

Reading the article vividly brought back a recent episode at work. We are in the midst of planning our Back To School marketing efforts. We target moms, which is some what an intuitive audience when trying to sell school supplies. Part of the warm up exercise for the brainstorming session was generating a list of the pros and cons of being a mom. Interestingly their were around 10 women in the group , they ranged in age from 30 -44 , only two of which were mother's themselves. The group proceeded to generate the two lists. The group struggled, I mean STRUGGLED  to find positives. I feel as though I dominated the session - for whenever there was that awkward pause of silence when no one said anything positive I would pipe up with another positive. Finally, the group shifted to the negative list. That list went quickly and expansively. Clearly a strong commentary on the world view of motherhood. Where a random group of people couldn't create a list of positive reasons for motherhood. The battle is closer than I had imagined. It wasn't a debate of working mothers versus stay at home mothers of days gone by but an argument against being a mother at all. It was even an after topic of the Oscars. "In her Oscar acceptance speech, the pregnant actress suggests being a mom will be her life's pinnacle. Some feminists say that undermines her many achievements" The battle is real.

As Crittinton described  motherhood is "the priceless, invisible heart of the economy," and of society. I'm grateful there are still women that find value in being mothers, fewer though they may be, they make the difference. The Family, A Proclamation to the World was only the beginning.

Wisconsin Dells

Mackey went up Thursday after school with her club.
They went 3 - 0 on Friday
I came up Saturday they went 2- 1
We will find out how they did Sunday.

This would be Mackey serving the winning serve of the first match on Saturday.

Princess Time

I woke up this morning and read in bed for ahwile. After some time had passed I heard a small but sweet voice from the room next door. Mom. MOM.

I went and askeekd Julie if I could respond. With an ok I entered the princess's chamber and we chatted . You have to love Princess Shoes

Later in the morning was Dean time.

Cribbage

Cribbage is a partner game to scrabble as a enjoyable family game. Cribbage has gone through its evolutions: me and mom, rindy and me, us and the hartranfts, and now our family again. I was able to spend Friday night with Blair & Julie, unfortunately I lost - Julie ruled.

Sweet Sixteen

Life keeps moving on.
We barely finish a milestone with Parker and around the corner, the very next day we smack into another milestone as our youngest, our Mackey turns 16. What a delightful young woman.