Utah JAZZ are for real?

I thought I would briefly give my take on the NBA's Western Conference race and in particular the Utah Jazz. I should preface this by saying that I've been a Jazz fan since I could remember. Watching Stockton and Malone pick-and-roll was just like second nature to I'm sure a lot of you just as it was me. This years Western Conference is the strongest that I've seen in my short 26 years of existence.

2 losses and we're out... yet so close to the top

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Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams have emerged as true stars. Deron especially has become a leader both with his play as well as being more vocal with teammates.

In head to head games versus the top teams in the league the Jazz have a really good mark. For this reason I think they will close the gap on those teams in front of them and will have at least one home playoff series. Then again, in this wild west things change as fast as the weather.

will others step up to
help carry the load?

Have I Been Offended?...

Generally speaking I would probably try to avoid posts like this. However, it is something I do feel very strongly about. Maybe I'm thick-skinned or overly confident, but one thing I've never been able to figure out is how some people are so easily offended.

I didn't mean to... I promise

Let me make no mistake about it, people say and do hurtful things, whether voluntary or involuntary. I would also follow that statement with this... 90% of the time it seems the offending party does not mean to be offensive. I truly believe this. There is just one little detail I've failed to mention though. It is absolutely our choice whether we are offended. This may sound odd to some of you out there, but it's true. We have the ability to decide how we want to react to any situation. Do we choose to be offended or do we choose to (privately) seek the true meaning of what someone said or did, or do we simply disregard an intentionally mean remark or act? As the Captain Hook song in Peter Pan says, "The choice is up to you, the choice is up to you!"

I sooo wanted to make a Peter Pan reference

Am I wrong here people?

I Love Sundays

Seriously, does anything beat a Sunday afternoon. Here is a general rundown of my average Sunday:

Wake up around... well OK I still usually get up pretty early (Thanks Jaron and Carmendee).
But unlike other days, I grab the kids and bring them to the bed with us. Jaron wrestles around and makes rash demands like "I want Doodlebops!" or "Chocolate Milk!", while Carmendee usually chills and drinks her bottle or stares at the light and is just generally cute.

After getting up and going to church we all come home and take naps. Oh yeah... it doesn't get much smoother than that.


We usually eat a delicious dinner prepared by Jess and then watch TV, play videogames or read.
And by we I mean Jess and I. Jaron drags out anything and everything he can and makes a mess while Carmendee demands attention. It's a balancing act you know.


Sunday is better than Monday-Friday for obvious reasons, but why is it better than Saturday you ask? Because on Saturday I feel obligated to work.

Do work young man. DO WORK!

I have to do something productive or I feel like the day was a waste. On Sunday, it's good enough to spend time with the family, get a little church in me, relax and recharge to get ready for the coming week. Oh how I love you Sunday.

Dad's Little Boy

As promised, here is a post dedicated to my son Jaron. As you can see from the pictures, he likes to emulate me any time he can.

he looks better than me in that shirt!

I wanna ride

Jaron is an extremely active kid. He loves to wrestle with me and rough house around. Although he is active he is not destructive... yes there is a big difference. Jaron loves books and often brings them to Jess and I demanding that we read them to him one, two or twelve times with the response "AGAIN!" Another redeeming quality that he got from me – besides his good looks :) – is a love for Nintendo.

Nintendo's expanded audience strategy is working beautifully!

He loves to run around and play Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii as well as Guitar Hero III. Even though he looks an awful lot like his mother (see, the good looks were never mine!) he acts just like his dad, which makes me a proud father. Thank you Jaron for making our lives interesting!

Introducing Carmendee!

Keeping with the theme of family, I am going to highlight each of my two kids today and tomorrow. After all, I HAVE to show them off to the 2 people that read my blog. This is the newest member of our growing family. Her Name is Carmendee Dawn Albrecht.

So... Serene

I like to think of her as "Daddy's Song." She is really a great baby. She sleeps through the night until 7:00 a.m. (most days). It's amazing that I haven't even been losing any sleep at all with her! As you can see, she is the cutest little baby (at least in her daddy's eyes). She loves to smile and giggle when I hold her and tease her. Is there anything more innocent and pure than a babies laughter. I'm sure you will see lots more pictures of her in coming posts.

Do any of you have children? What is your favorite memory with your newborn baby?

My Wife = My Life

I need to give a shout out to my lovely wife of nearly 4 years. It's her birthday tomorrow and I'm excited to give her the gift that I picked out (all by myself no less). It will be nice to go to dinner with just her and no kids tomorrow (thanks Ryan and Lynn!) This is one of my favorite pictures of my wife. This is from our vacation in Hawaii last year. I used Photoshop to enhance the look of it.

my lovely wife

My question for all of you is this. Have you ever forgotten your wife's birthday. If so, please detail what I'm sure was total carnage!

Mac & Cheese

I knew my blog would be random but.....

There is a product I'm sure you are all familiar with. It's called Easy Mac. The principle is simple right, you throw the contents in a bowl and nuke it for about 4 minutes. Well, I managed to screw up this beautiful yellow delicacy, proving that maybe I am not "smarter than a fifth grader". Allow me to explain. This is what a bowl of mac and cheese should ideally look like.

mmm... delicious

And here is what I had for lunch today...

Not quite as Cheestastic looking is it

Boys and girls, let this be a lesson to all of us. Two lessons actually. The first is that things may not always seem as the appear. The other - always follow directions. I simply added everything all at once before throwing it in the microwave for 4 minutes. I haven't made mac in the microwave in a while and didn't know you weren't supposed to add the powdered cheese sauce until after the noodles and water came out. It still tasted the same, but it all just seemed wrong as I shoveled the yellow goop into my mouth.

First Post!

I finally did it... I started my own blog. I've long contemplated maintaining a blog of my own but never took the time to do it. I chalk it up to being overly busy rather than being too lazy. I guess if you want something bad enough, you will "rearrange" your priorities to make it happen. I haven't got anything profound to say in my pilot blog post, but stay tuned...