Elijah

Happy Birthday Donna Church Flaherty

Today is a very special day because it is my beautiful mother's birthday! We were so fortunate to be able to have her visit us this weekend and pre-celebrate her birthday. We had a great time and were sad to see her go. Somehow our new house wasn't quite a home until mom came and stayed in it.
Donna is number 8 of 9 children in the Howard and Ida Church family, and a native Arizonan. We can't go anywhere without running into someone who knows her or her family. Donna was a great blessing to her family after the loss of her older brother Johnny and brought great joy back into the house.
My mom is not only a great musician, but has always been willing to share her talents to bless the lives of others, whether its singing, playing the guitar, the violin, or the piano. Thanks to mom, all of us have come to appreciate music in our lives. I am especially grateful for this blessing. Some other things you may not know about Donna:
- She's very athletic! Unfortunately for her, double knee surgery years ago (before the days of arthroscopic) has prevented her from doing a lot of the things she once enjoyed and excelled at such as Tennis, basketball, snow and water skiing etc. She may not be able to do all the things that she once enjoyed, but she's still a gamer for just about anything (as evidenced by this picture of her off roading on a 4 wheeler this summer), and can still beat you in a game of horse or around the world.

- My mom used to be a prize winning barrel racer! I WISH I had one of those pictures to post, but she was really good and used to compete in rodeos in Utah and Arizona. She's still an expert horsewoman and loves nothing more than a good ride.
- I suppose this isn't any real news to anyone, but my mom is really smart. She was always a great student and was nearly finished with her degree in speech therapy (or pathology-I can't remember which) at BYU when she married my dad and had John. When we were in elementary school, mom volunteered to do Art Masterpiece for our classes and studied a great deal about famous paintings and artists. To this day, she is an avid reader and still attends institute classes.

The rest of the story about my mom isn't news to anyone. It goes like this: Service, love, church service, faith, service, kids, service, humility, service, family, service, service, service... Get the point? My mom has also always been my biggest fan. If I get good news, or achieve something, mom is the first one to know because she truly joys in the accomplishments of her children, even if no one else does.
Though I don't want to dwell on the issue, my mom has struggled MIGHTILY with health over the years and has been a rock through it all, never complaining. As a result, she has amazing faith, and also has become quite the Doctor. Many, many people call her with health questions or for advice. She's certainly the first person I will always turn to when I need help.

So here's to my mom! A great woman, wife, mother, daughter and friend! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Weekend Update

It was a great weekend with mom in town! We were all worried she wouldn't be able to make it due to health struggles, but she came on Thursday and we had a great time! She was a good sport to hang around our crib while we all worked on Friday, but we went out to eat Friday night, visited Kim at the rug store where she was finishing her last weekend of work before moving to Provo to go to BYU, and watched the Suns game. That was clearly not the highlight of the weekend. Saturday afternoon we drove down to Orem for the combined bridal showers of 2 cousins (step sisters) Jessica Williams and McKenna Nuckles. It was fun to see aunts and cousins we haven't seen in a while.
After the shower, we went to visit my uncle Mike who we haven't seen in a long time. In addition to having Diabetes, he is nearly blind, has to have his abdomen drained regularly due to liver problems, and is a double leg amputee. In spite of it all he is very positive, and up beat. His wife (my aunt Elaine) is an inspiration to me. She is an absolute saint! The way she cares for him and somehow manages to work as a professor at UVU is amazing. I am just so impressed by how happy and positive she is even though she carries such heavy burdens. You'd never know it! It makes me feel guilty for the petty things I complain about.
After the shower and visiting with family, we drove back to SLC and went out to dinner. Then we took mom up to the U. We all got gowned up and I took them on a tour of my lab. Sunday evening after church, we went to Bountiful to enjoy dinner with our good friends the Cahoon's. Cathy (and Hannah) cooked an AMAZING Chinese feast for us. The woman has MAD skills! I probably enjoyed holding Kristin & Tanner's baby Maci just as much as anything. She's SOOOOO cute! Since it's mom's birthday on Tuesday, I made a cake and we all sang to her. Mom left this afternoon to return to AZ and the heat. Clearly her boys missed her. While she was gone, dad took Dane to get his driver's permit. Way to pass the test boy! I can't believe my little brother turns 16 in a few months!! Here is dad on Sunday afternoon laying out in his manicured lawn and enjoying the sun. Hang in there dad, mom is almost home!

Young at Heart

This morning I saw a very interesting movie trailer and HAD to do some investigating. Check this out.




If you liked that, you'll also enjoy this music video. I can only hope that when I'm 82 I have as much candy left in my pinata as these folks!

The "Odd" Man Out

The big free lunch that the Bioengineering Dept. hosted today reminded me of something funny from a few months ago that I had forgotten about. Our group periodically goes out to lunch to celebrate someone completing their PhD thesis defense, or to say goodbye to someone who is moving back to Germany or India or wherever. Well, a few months ago we went out to lunch and after being seated, our waiter (a short, stout, 40-something man) approached and said, "Hi, I'm odd and I'll be your waiter today. Can I start you off with some drinks?" Naturally we had all stopped paying attention after the "I'm odd" part. A co-worker asked, "Is that really your name?" He said that indeed it was his real name and pointed to his name tag which clearly read "Odd". Upon further inquiry, Odd admitted that his name was the simple result of being a child of crazy parents in the 60's. His fraternal twin was also given an "odd" name, but since she was born on an even minute as opposed to her brother, she was given the name "Even". Wow. At least Even could go by Eve or something similar, but Odd? Is there ANYTHING short for Odd? Wouldn't you change your name at some point? It's like those kids who never quite realize that there is a correlation between being beaten up every day and wearing a Panama hat to school. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to have/name children.

Anger Management and Smart Cars

Saturday's crushing loss for our Suns very well could have ruined our weekend. Tim Duncan hitting a buzzer beating 3 pointer? Seriously? To say that Layne and I were bothered by the loss would be like saying cats don't particularly enjoy swimming. Heartbreak turns to frustration, frustration leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and as we all know, hate is the path to the dark side. So immediately following the last seconds, Layne and I changed clothes and went to the temple. We did sealings with an enthusiastic German sealer named Rolf who was an absolute MACHINE! It was amazing. We churned through more names in an hour and a half session than I ever thought possible! What could be better than finding a wonderful distraction from the Spurs and performing dozens saving ordinances while we were at it! :) If the rest of the series is like this, Layne and I may be making many a visit to the temple! Maybe we'll put the Suns on the prayer roll. After all, we are in Utah now. (See Christi Billquist for the Utah Jazz playoff prayer roll story).
Ever see a car you just had the desire to hug? On Saturday evening Kim and I saw this SMART car in the parking lot at Smiths. I've been seeing more and more of these European cars here in Utah and after a particularly painful trip to the pump a few days ago I got to wondering about them. What is the actual gas mileage? Are they safe? How much do they cost? Size aside, do they perform like regular cars?
Some answers:

Size: 8ft. long (4ft. shorter than a mini cooper)
Mileage: Nearly70 mpg, 5.8 gal tank
Top Speed: 85 mph
Cost: Once widely available, there will be 3 different models selling for $12,000, $14,000 and $17,000
Safety: SMART brags about this little guy's strength as being like the shell of a walnut. Compact, but very difficult to crack. This video demonstrates why this little guy is safe for the open road.



I'm sold! Where do I get myself a walnut on wheels? Here are a few other cuties.

Happy Birthday John Lee Flaherty!

Today is the birthday of my big brother and best friend from the beginning; John Lee Flaherty. It's going to be hard to limit the content of this post. Being the oldest is a hard job and John has been a friend, teacher, mentor, consultant, protector, supporter and role model for me my whole life. Even when we fought as kids, it was usually either because I was jealous of something he had or something he got to do that I couldn't, or because we're both so competitive. Even though I was a "sister" and not the brother he wanted, he let me tag along and play with him. He was patient (most of the time) with me as I learned how to "play" G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thunder Cats, He-man, Ninja Turtles etc. I have spent my entire life looking up to him, trying to be like him and seeking his approval. To this day, making big decisions is always easier if I've heard John's opinion and especially if I have his stamp of approval. John and I really got close after he returned home from his mission and we attended Mission Bay ward together. I'm certain that I never would have survived the dating years without my big brother! Not only did he talk me through a lot of hook ups and break ups, but I'm only now starting to realize that in all my dating or "sifting" (as John calls it) I was looking for a man just like him. John has always been smart and I was always jealous of his intellect and his academic excellence. No one was surprised when he became an engineer. In addition to being Mr. Smarty Pants, John has always been athletic, musical (he has a GREAT Baritone voice), and can dance circles around most men I know. He is also VERY funny and witty and it seems like every time we talk I end up laughing hysterically about something. He just makes everything more fun.

I think John's general approach to life can be summed up by the way he plays hearts: shoot the moon every time! (and he'll beat you that way every time!) John not only won't back down from a challenge, but seems to thrive on it! He's always looking for a new adventure and you're sure to find one if you hang around him long enough. My big brother exemplifies the words of Norman Vincent Peale, "Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow".

Most importantly, he is a great example of faith and resiliance. He has weathered storms and taken more than his share of life's beatings without wavering. I couldn't be prouder that John is my brother, and don't know what on earth I would do without him! So Happy Birthday John! I love you!!







Note: Ladies, miraculously, this amazing guy is still on the market, so if you think you've got the goods, you may contact me for a pre-date screening. :)

You Know Your Car is Getting Old When...

...Your odometer reading goes from this...

to this...

to this...

to this...

...during the course of a 10 minute drive. Perhaps I accidentally changed my odometer settings from English to Klingon. Don't get me wrong, this car was probably the best purchase I ever made, and has been great for us, but lets face it; Abe Lincoln had a brighter future when he picked up his tickets at the box office. So, PLEASE MTV, PIMP MY RIDE!!!

Mixed Nuts

There has been quite a flurry of action lately, though none of it particularly exciting. Yesterday and today at work we have been hosting 2 PhD's from John's Hopkins University who play a huge role in the bionic arm project. Essentially they wanted two days of us blowing their socks off in demonstration of what we're doing here and how we build, test, and implant the neural arrays. In short, a big dog and pony show. For me that meant being ready at a moments notice to find myself in the lab intensely busy working on arrays and either just be viewed through glass like the ride on Jurassic Park, or to be able to stop what I'm doing and explain it all. Thank goodness they're leaving tomorrow because it's hard to truly be productive with that kind of pressure.

Today at lunch I finished the book 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. My co-worker Rebecca gave this to me to read and as usual, she came through. This was one of the more enjoyable books I've read! While the first 'act' as it were, was by far my favorite, it's a wonderful, imaginative story for readers of all tastes! It had beautiful language and wonderful themes even for those who don't care to delve too deeply into metaphor and symbol. I had no idea what to expect going into this book, but found it refreshing and different. This is a quick read that I never wanted to put down because I was enjoying myself so much. Martel gives us a truly human story that will make you laugh, cry, and think. I'd have to give it 2 thumbs way up! It will definitely join the rotation of books I'll read again, and would be a great pick for a book club!

On Sunday evening I attended a performance of Claudio Monteverdi's Vespers put on by the University of Utah's choir and orchestra in the amazing Cathedral of the Madeleine in downtown Salt Lake built in 1899. It's beautiful gothic interior was the perfect setting for the performance of Monteverdi's master work written in 1610. It was the first time I had heard a live performance of this work and was VERY pleased that I got to hear it in this venue even though there was standing room only. Kudos to all the musicians and soloists, that is a BEAST of a piece to learn!

So I promised I'd post some pictures from my grandma's funeral when I got them and my aunt just sent me this one. It's of the WHOLE group! This very well may be the first and last time this many members of Howard and Ida Church's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren are ever in the same room together. Pretty impressive no? We're practically a whole ward! The group was so large, this was the only way we could get a picture and fit everyone in. My uncle had to do quite the balancing act on the back pew in the choir seats to get this shot.

To end this post, I'll conclude with what ended my day today (early I might add). Allow me to preface this by saying that yesterday we enjoyed weather in the mid 70's and today everyone was wearing shorts flip flops and short sleeves. Well, around noon, the BLIZZARD started and hasn't stopped. Around 3pm we all bailed out fearing the drive home if we waited any longer. I had to get a ride to my car and clear about 3 inches of snow off the windows before I could drive. Here's a little clip of my drive home today. You can't tell how hard the wind is blowing or the snow is coming down, so you'll have to take my word for it. April 15th. Unbelievable.

SEM - The Discovery of a New Toy

Ok, it's time for me to wax nerdy again. This week our lab purchased and had installed a brand new scanning electron microscope (SEM) to the tune of around $700,000. These things are SOOOO cool! For those of you who aren't familiar with this particular piece of equipment, it's basically a VERY high power microscope that allows one to examine objects to within nanometers and microns using an electron beam. The beam is focused by magnetic lenses which bend it. When the electrons hit the sample, other electrons (backscattered electrons) are ejected and are collected by a detector which converts the signal into the image seen on the monitor. The whole system is cooled by liquid Nitrogen. The senior engineers were playing around with it today and one of the first things we put in it was a sample of the 10 x 10 slant neural arrays that I build, coated with Iridium Oxide on the tips. Cool huh? Here are some other SEM pictures I felt the need to share. I know, I'm a nerd, but this is amazing stuff!

A Neuron

Dental plaque (Don't forget to floss!)

Popcorn! Who knew?

Hibiscus Pollen. These little guys are making everyone sneeze right now!

Human Hair

A mosquito

A mosquito's needle

A threaded needle

A fly's leg

After my last post, there was a lot of response to the gun issue that got me thinking about it quite a bit. I started out this post by writing out my own conclusions about it, but it turned into a veritable essay (what can I say, I'm my father's daughter) which I didn't see fit subject the casual readers to. I guess writing things down helps me formulate my own thoughts on something better than just thinking about it does. ANYWAY, if for some reason you are curious about my take on the concealed weapons thing you can read it here. *Warning: It's not just a paragraph!!* In short, I think this blow drier that my hilarious friend Christi sent me is the perfect solution to any and all gun control issues! I may have to put this on my wish list for Santa.

Last week I finished another novel by John Irving called 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'. Though it took me a very long time to complete, I wouldn't say it's because it was boring. It was a very long book, and I've decided that I don't like reading books that are over 600 pages but only have 5 chapters. I like having concrete places I can stop since I don't get long stretches of time to read. That being said, while the story is a good one, this book truly stands on the strength of it's characters. It chronicles the lives of 2 New England boys from their childhoods in the 1940's through the 60's. The story was intellectually and spiritually challenging and the imagery was very well drawn, but where the rubber meets the road it all comes back to the extremely developed and unique characters. Admittedly I could have done without some of the language as the boys got older, but other than that I think it was a very well written book, in a style that belongs only to John Irving. I'm now about 20 chapters in to a WONDERFUL book called 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel. So far I'm in love with it! I'll keep you posted.

Last night I baked Christi B's chocolate bundt cake for one of my hive's birthdays and it truly changed my life! Thanks for posting the recipe! The second I read it, it was love at first sight. Mmmmmm. There is nothing better than chocolate cake and a Suns victory over the Spurs! The Office coming back on this week couldn't be more exciting either. Now if they could just get rid of Kristy Lee Cook on A.I., I'd be all set!

MUST See TV

I LOVE conference weekend! It's so nice to have a reason just to stay at home on Saturday and to have a Sunday with no presidency meetings or firesides to attend. The best part about conference weekend, is of course, conference itself, and this weekend was no exception! I thoroughly enjoyed all the talks and music etc. It's also quite a different experience being in Utah and getting conference on local channels in HD! Every liver spot, crow's foot, wrinkle, laugh line, bald spot and set of dentures is SO much clearer! ;) It's tough to pick a fav, but I might have to go with Elder Oaks' talk Saturday afternoon on Testimony. He is an amazing teacher! I just loved it. BTW don't you just love this picture my dad sent me of my brothers during conference? It reminded me that watching conference is the same wherever you are. :) It still saddens me that so many members view conference as optional entertainment (especially the Saturday sessions). I'm so grateful for a stake president who taught me at a young age that there is nothing more important, nowhere I should rather be and nothing I should rather be doing than listening to the words of the prophets and apostles. I took very seriously his challenge to never miss a single session of conference (including RS general broadcasts) for the rest of my life. So far so good!

An interesting topic of conversation came up when someone I work with confessed that he carries a concealed weapon on campus. In Sept. of 2006, the Utah supreme court ruled that the University's gun ban on campus was in violation of the state's law to carry concealed weapons with a permit. This guy says that after the Virginia Tech shooting, he decided that he doesn't want to become a victim. Well, neither do I, but I'm not carrying a glock in my purse. Speaking as one who has been personally victimized in recent years by a psycho with a gun, I'm not quite sure how this makes me feel. While this person seems to be a mentally stable individual, it makes me wonder how many others of the 50,000 students and employees around me are picking out which gun goes best with their belt on a daily basis. Am I going to be standing in the sandwich line at the student union one day and pull out my cell phone or MP3 player and get shot because someone mistakes my electronic device for a gun? I think this nation is full of some pretty paranoid people, and I'm not sure that putting guns in everyone's hands is the answer to school shootings and terrorism. It's easy enough to get a gun permit in Utah that there are plenty of people packing heat who probably can't even pack a lunch! Any thoughts?