Summer of a Lifetime - Part 1

Summer 2013 started with the annual summer stops at my sisters' homes to visit the nieces and nephews. This summer was a little different, as both of my sisters had a baby in the Spring. So I got to meet the newest members of the Stuetz clan -- both of whom are so adorable!

First stop was Columbus, OH to visit the Thompsons. I spent about 6 days with the Thompsons -- took Nate Dawg to swimming lessons, helped the Duke with the garden, met Burrito Ben, and had a grand time laughing it up with Emma Bean. We went on our third annual trip to the Bunny Fountains in Dublin. The first year we went, Nate would not let go of me and hung on for dear life because he was so afraid of them. But this year, he finally got into it and was running like a crazy man through the water!

Stop #2 -- Melanie's third annual dance recital. It is really cool to see how much more comfortable she is on the stage now than she was three summers ago. Duke came down to the Ohio and drove me back home to NY.  After the dance recital, my mom and I drove back to Liverpool for Father's Day weekend. Duke and I spent Saturday morning hauling compost all over the yard. On Father's Day I went to church at the single's branch in Syracuse that my dad is the in the branch presidency of. Can I just say how grateful I am for my wonderful YSA ward in Minneapolis?? That evening the whole Torres clan came over for dinner.

Stop #3 -- Rochester, NY to hang out with the Torres clan and their newest edition Baby Brianna. We went to the Children's Museum one day and Chimney Bluff State Park for a nice hike another. 

Sesame Street

Just chillin' with the Bernstein Bears!

Its such a blessing to have my summers off from work so that I have time to visit my nieces and nephews and actually have relationships with them. It is so fun to see how they learn and grow each year! They all have such unique and adorable personalities!!!

Snow!

There is something magical about the first serious snow fall of every season. Maybe its because I grew up in one of the snowiest cities in the contiguous US, or maybe its my innate sense of adventure (haha), either way, I LOVE winter and snow! It makes everything so beautiful and white! It makes a wonderful crunching sound when you step in it just right! It makes everything seem more quiet and peaceful. And it means that Christmas is quickly approaching! Snow just makes me happy!

I love playing in the snow, getting bundled in blankets, cuddling on the couch, reading or watching a movie with a nice cup of hot cocoa. I love ice skating, that feeling when your hair is still kind of wet and freezes stiff, and the rosy color of wind-whipped cheeks. I secretly adore blizzards that shut down schools and make driving an adventure.

It reminds me of this clip from Gilmore Girls --->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHgXnH_cBHg

Yep, its that time of year again -- time to dust off the hats, boots, ice skates, and lock deicer!

I LOVE WINTER!

Facebook Etiquette

Over the last several months I've noticed a few things that are just common sense tips while using Facebook -- I'll call them "Facebook Etiquette." These tips may help others who struggle with Facebook interactions, or lack there-of.

1. If you don't want people to know your business, stop updating your status about the tragedy that is your life. Seriously! No one needs a personal narrative of every relationship debacle, every health issue, and every time your child uses the bathroom. Facebook is NOT a journal!

2. If you cancel plans with someone because you need a nap -- don't spend the evening posting your reaction to the football game that you are watching all afternoon. PEOPLE CAN SEE YOUR POSTS-They are public! And the person you ditched will probably be slightly ticked you weren't honest and upfront about how much you would rather watch a football game then spend time together.

3. Stop whining about how you don't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend on your status. I'm sure you have plenty of opportunities to date people and have chosen not to. Not only does it just make you sound pathetic and desperate, but it also makes the girl or boy you turned down last week feel like crap too because (yes) they can see all of your posts.

4. Don't post scandalous pictures online and then wonder why people think you are a hooch. If you're trying to get attention for wearing no clothes - don't complain about how people only want you for your body!

5. To all the mothers out there who update their status multiple times everyday... why are you not taking care of your children? Don't you have more important things to do then sit online? Read your kid a book, take him to the park, or clean your house!

6. Parents, please stop commenting on your grown children's comments!

I could go on and on... but these seem sufficient for now!

First Presidential Debate - A Stuetz Analysis

So, I watched the debate late last night and want to write down my thoughts before I read all the news people's takes on who won and what-not. I find it annoying when the commentators analyze the debates for all of America right afterward before people have time to make their own. I feel like people will feel pressured to agree with the "professional's" analysis -- and heaven knows that depending on which outlet you are listening to, the analysis is usually pretty bias to give the outcome they desire. So I'm writing this before reading any other analysis. I'm interested to see if other people thought similarly to me. As you read this, remember that I am partial to Mitt, so that bias may come out, but I seriously watched this debate with an open mind - and although I know who I am voting for, I was not expecting what I saw. I thought the debate was an overall positive. Definitely not as entertaining as the Republican primary debates - and thank goodness! We have two competent sounding individuals discussing the most important issues of our day - its not meant to be entertaining.

SOME POSITIVE THINGS I NOTICED:
#1 - I thought general tone of the debate was cordial. I thought it was nice that Mitt and Obama were able to discuss things without it getting heated and they both genuinely appeared pleasant to one another, both before and after the debate. I liked how the two families got together afterward and introduced each other. The whole interaction appeared very genuine.

#2 - I'm glad that the debates focused on the actual issues and not crap like tax returns, college transcripts, birth certificates, past gaffes, etc. We actually got to hear the views of each person and their guiding principles, which was very helpful.

#3 - I liked that the candidates had more time to expand on ideas and discuss the issues, they weren't necessarily contained by a time limit. I think this led to more depth and greater ability for each to defend their comments.

MY ANALYSIS OF BODY LANGUAGE/APPEARANCE/RATE & TONE OF VOICE

Obama: This is where Obama lost me. I don't know why, but he appeared off his game. He looked bored and didn't exude any passion (which I think is weird because if you watched the debates 4 years ago, he showed passion -- in fact, that was one of his major selling points). He looked down at the podium a lot and didn't look at Mitt when he was addressing him (both when Obama addressed Romney and when Romney addressed Obama). There was just something missing from his usual demeanor which only showed itself during the informal times before and after the debate. He spoke very slowly, almost to the point where I lost interest in what he was saying - it seemed like he was struggling to find the right words to say and his "uhhh" (which has been mocked on SNL) drove me nuts by mid-debate. All-in-all I think Obama had a rough night in this area.

Mitt: In my opinion, this was Mitt's strongest area. He looked directly at Obama when speaking and when being spoken to, showed some emotion and passion, but maintained a calm exterior. He was able to smile and use his hand gestures to emphasize his ideas. Mitt looked presidential. He kept a nice brisk pace when speaking and didn't stumble over his words as much as he did during the Republican debates.

MY ANALYSIS OF THEIR PREPARATION/FACT-CHECKING

Needless-to-say if you are competing in a presidential debate you spend a lot of time preparing. Both candidates seemed to be prepared and well-versed in their own and their opponents plans. I think Mitt demonstrated a superior ability to show that he is aware of the issues and the state of the union (remember him throwing out that information at the beginning about the # of training programs and different entities in government) - clearly he has down extensive research. I'll give Obama a bone here though and state that because he is the actual president, it is assumed that he knows the state of the union and where things stand, so he probably doesn't have to go out of his way to prove that he is aware of what is going on. I also think that both candidates stretched the numbers a little when describing their plans. They both took the most optimistic view of their own plans and the most negative of the others. And when the fact-checkers come out I'm sure the liberals will say Mitt made more blatant errors and the conservatives will say Obama made more. I don't think either party is deliberately misinforming the American people, but they each have their own different perspective and view on how government/the economy works, and depending on that view and which data you are actually looking at, their statements would be justifiable if you are looking through that particular lens. I think both candidate raised good questions about the other's plans. I thought Obama's question about specific details in his plan was a great question and totally fair. I also think Mitt answered it well, although I would have added, "Mr. President, you tell me I don't have specific plans... well, that may be true - but you haven't shared any specific plan details of your own!" I really wish he had said that to him because I would have laughed.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

You may have noticed that I didn't make a section about substance or the individual views of the candidate. I side with Mitt on most things, so obviously I agree with his substance and views more than Obama's, so that column just wouldn't be fair.

Overall, I really think Mitt had the better debate. Just his demeanor and energy was much better than Obama's (and I'm not saying that because I don't agree with Obama's policies). I think he was much more effective in conveying his ideas. I don't think either had the best debate of their life and neither really gave us significant details about their plans -- but this isn't like the Republican debates where everyone has a similar end goal, with minor differences on how to get there -- these two men have a fundamentally different view of the path that America should take. And I think we got a picture of that last night. I am excited for the other debates!

Now, I'm going to go read all the commentary on the debates -- time to weed through the bias on both sides and see what they think!

Don't get married in Kansas... there are tornadoes there!

This is a story from my internship 2 years ago. Sometimes I still think back on this experience and laugh/cry for the poor kid.

Some people mock the traditional "testing" role of the school psychologist and claim that it is boring. I'll be honest, I definitely prefer the more dynamic role an RtI school psych plays in a school; however, it is days like these that really make me love what I do.

This morning I gave a cognitive assessment to one WIERD kid. I had heard stories about this kids oddities and was excited to finally meet him. I have never seen a little kid's hand move as fast as his did when he was constructing block designs - holy cow, it was like lightning. And the problem was that he kept moving the blocks around so fast that he couldn't keep track of the designs he was making. So that was funny. Then we got to the verbal comprehension part of the test. He kept giving my vague answers and I would ask him to tell me more about what he was talking about. Here are several of his remarks... "Geez, I don't know anything about that." "I don't know EVERYTHING, nobody knows EVERYTHING so stop asking me all these questions. Do you understand? I'm right, nobody knows EVERYTHING" "I already told you what I know about that and its nothing! I know nothing!"... Needless-to-say, this kid got pretty frustrated with me because I kept trying to get him to be more specific. It ended up with him yelling at me, "I ALREADY TOLD WHAT ______ IS! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME?" When I explained that he hadn't actually answered my question and tried to calm him down, the craziness began. He began muttering to himself softly about how he was right and how I didn't know what I was talking about, and that I just needed to wait for him to get out of there to go get a dictionary to prove that he was right. He kept talking to himself for about 3 minutes until I started getting really freaked out and decided to continue with the next subtest. He was having a full blown conversation with himself about me, right in front of me. It kind of reminded me of the movie A Beautiful Mind -- CREEPY! The really scary thing is that he curled himself into a ball and his entire countenance morphed. It reminded me of Gollum, from Lord of the Rings.

Later during that testing session, this 8 year old student drilled me on my current marital status -- here's how that conversation played out:

S: "Are you married?"

Me: "No, I'm not married."

S: "Oh. You must be divorced, aren't you?"

Me: "I'm not divorced. I've never been married."

S: (with an expression of disbelief on his face) "But aren't you 18?"

Me: "Yep. I'm even older than 18."

S: (pauses to think for a few seconds) "Well, do you at least date?"

Me: (laughing) "Yes, I go out on dates."

S: (he grabs his own cheeks) "Good! I want to come to your wedding!"

Me: (laughing) "Ok. I'll let you know when I'm planning on getting married."

S: "I think you should get married at San Fransisco or St. Louis under the Arch."

Me: "Under the Arch, huh? Why?"

S: "Well, just tell me where you are going to go and I'll come! But it needs to be in Missouri. Don't get married close to Kansas."

Me: "Why can't I get married in Kansas?"

S: "There are tornadoes in Kansas and I'm scared of tornadoes."

Me: "Ok, I'll try to stay away from Kansas."

S: "But if you do decide to get married in Kansas, check the weather before. You might have to cancel your wedding and do it a different weekend."

At this point I was laughing pretty hard and trying to contain myself. The kid was being dead serious, so I had to change the subject and finish the test. What a great testing day!

Life Lessons from Seinfeld

Today at work my friend told me that she took a nap under her desk. Immediately I started thinking about the Seinfeld episode that George takes a nap under his desk and has a carpenter come in to make a shelf and compartment for an alarm clock. How cool would that be? I think I'd be much more apt to staying past contract hours if I had an amazing set-up under my desk.

I found this youtube video for my friend that pieces together parts of the episode:

As I was looking through Seinfeld clips I also ran into George's tips on how to look busy... I'm not going to pretend like I haven't used this one. The last few weeks have been pretty quiet at work and I have had a hard time finding things to keep me occupied (don't worry, my work load is starting to increase quickly), so every once in a while I'll pull a George and act upset as I read things on my computer.

I could come up with more life lessons from Seinfeld... but alas, they will be saved for another day.

The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan does it again! This man is a directing genius!

This really was the perfect ending to the Batman trilogy. I will confess that I have already seen it three times in the theater. And I think I liked it the best on my third watch. The first time through I had difficulty understanding everything that Bane said through his mask. I also missed a lot of the plot subtleties. But I loved the overall plot, the twist at the end, and was thoroughly enamored by the cast's chemistry. The second time through I paid special attention to Bane and the Miranda chick. As I watched it, the emotion and motivation for Bane's actions became clearer and I found myself kind of empathizing with him a little. I was also able to pick up on smaller details that I had previously missed. But the third time was definitely the charm. I feel like I fully grasped the enormity of the film's message and how each of the characters play into that message. I also felt like I was able to understand all of the subtle things going on in the background. My only real complaint about the movie is that the fighting scenes were just not good. The hand-to-hand fighting of Bane and Batman were lame and poorly choreographed. But other than that I thought it was phenomenal.

Christian Bale again brought us Bruce Wayne, the tortured soul who is trying to find himself and live up to his father's legacy. I think Christian as Bruce Wayne is my favorite role he has ever done. I will also admit that I think Christian Bale is not only exceptionally good looking, but he is an excellent actor. He really gets into every role he does and doesn't sell out to do dumb parts. I quite enjoyed the distinguished gray streaks in his hair.

I thought Anne Hathaway did an excellent job in her role as Catwoman. Her and Christian had great chemistry and she also showed herself as a complex female character. It would be interesting to see a off-shoot of Catwoman at some point.

Jason Gordon-Levitt played Robin well. He has really grown into an adult actor. The show really seemed to set things up for him to do a sequel of some kind.

Michael Caine as Alfred is still one of my favorite characters. I was so happy to see that his dearest wish was fulfilled in the end. I thought Alfred's portrayal of emotion as he worried about Bruce's life was touching and it was the part of the movie that really made me sad. Well played!

I didn't like the girl who played  Ras's daughter. She had no chemistry with Christian and that whole scene by the fire really ticked me off. If there's one thing you glean from this third movie, this is it... "Don't jump into bed with someone you don't know." 

Bane was fabulous. If you watch his eyes and his body language, there is a lot more emotion there than is apparent the first time through. After you know his back story it is difficult not to have pity on him. I thought Tom Hardy did an excellent acting job on this one. I loved his little swagger and how on earth did they make him look so beefy?

All-in-all I loved this movie. I think the second in the series was my absolute favorite. But this third installment is less dark and just as action-packed. If I wanted to watched one over and over, this would be it!