Croatia

I went to Split, Croatia last week to speak at a kinesiology conference. It was awesome! I really should have taken Dave with me, but I didn't realize how much free time I would have. And I did not come back with a tan!

I didn't realize that they were having a contest between all the PhD student and I got 3rd place with a prize of 100 Euros! They judged us in small groups, my group presented in English. A few of the other students had a weird presentation style. They would speak towards the PowerPoint with their backs towards the audience. It was kinda weird watching someone's butt. I wonder if they teach classes this way? They didn't comment on the slides, just read what they had put on the slide.

If you have the opportunity to visit Croatia, I highly suggest it! I learned so much from the professors at the University of Split about Croatia and how they were from the former Yugoslavia. Croatia is joining the EU next July and the professors seem to be happy about the new opportunities for their students.

Gold Post Box

Last night at 10pm Dave and I decided to go find the closest gold post box. Yeah we can be spontaneous... Ok, we really aren't spontaneous, it was a one time thing.

To celebrate the Olympic gold medalists the post boxes in their home towns were painted gold. So Dave and I decided to visit the closest one to us. It is located in Alcester, just south of Birmingham, to honor Nick Skelton's gold medal in Equestrian Team Jumping.

Dave trying to be goofy

(he's usually goofy off camera)

Me actually being goofy on camera

and yes I am in my pjs

ADFIGR

For our new calling, the Activity Days has a Faith in God book to pass off different things before they move on to Young Mens/Womens. But the booklet it comes in (boys/girls) isn't as good as the Personal Progress book for the Young Women. So today I finally got a little organized with a checklist. Since we are not in America where the boys do Boy Scouts instead of Activity Days, I tried to make a checklist that is for each gender.

Boys

Girls

Feel free to copy them if you like it.

I hope the kids like them!

PB list Jensen/Riding/Heaps

I'm really only posting this list for my own memory. Just to be a little more organized since I am almost done with the Spackman list, here is the few I need to look up on my Grandpa Jensen's side and the whole list of my Dad's side of the family. I'm amazed at how many ancestor's I have that joined the church so early in the 1800's! I should be done with all the Spackman's and Jensen's in two months, but it's gonna take about 10 months to do all the Riding/Heaps, so I should be done in a year from now, yippee!!! I will miss looking up info on my ancestors, it has been fun getting to know a little about them.

Jensen’s

1. Christen Jensen
2. Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen
3. Frederick Young Jensen
4. Else Marie Andersen Jensen
5. Jens Christian Andersen
6. Catrine/Kathrine Marie Christensen Andersen

Riding/Heaps

1. Thomas Edward Hale Riding
2. Mary Ellen Eardley Riding
3. Edward Eardley Riding
4. Eleanor Elizabeth Excell Riding
5. Henry Excell
6. Elizabeth Austin Excell
7. Christopher Lister Riding
8. Mary Ann Hale Riding
9. John Eardley
10. Ann Cross Eardley
11. Stephen Walker
12. Eleanor/Ellen Swan Walker
13. James Austin
14. Hannah Roots Austin
15. Willard Heaps
16. Beatrice Twitchell Heaps
17. Thomas Heaps
18. Susannah Gouldthorpe Heaps
19. Edwin Twitchell
20. Vesta Lucetta Bishop Twitchell
21. Ephraim Twitchell
22. Phebe Melissa Knight Twitchell
23. William Henry Bishop
24. Eliza Pratt Bishop
25. Nehemiah Pratt
26. Elizabeth Roberts Pratt
27. Isaac J Riddle
28. Clara Maria Berry Riddle
29. Isaac Riddle
30. Mary Ann Levi Riddle
31. John Francis Berry
32. Elizabeth Cherrington Berry
33. John Riddle
34. Elizabeth Wilson Stewart Riddle
35. Fredrick Levi
36. Julia Ann Carroll
37. Thomas Henry Carroll
38. John Cherrington
39. Sarah Belcher Cherrington

New Battery

I have a Dell laptop. The Dell batteries tend to only last about a year and a half. On my last Dell laptop I would buy a new battery every year and a half, but I had put off buying a battery for this laptop because it was going to cost over £100. Yikes! One of the reviews suggested buying a replacement battery on Amazon. So I checked that out, sure enough it only cost £16. The new battery is a little bigger than the Dell, but my computer is working fabulously again! It came the next day AND the seller didn't charge us for shipping! So if you need a new laptop battery, I suggest going to Amazon for it.

My Research

I have to brag. It may not seem like a big deal, but I found out my Master's Thesis has been downloaded 4,748 times from the BYU ETD website! I'm ranked 8th among all the Exercise Science ETD! This means more than my family has been supportive of my research! Plus I finished my first draft of my last project! Yippee!!!

THANK YOU!!!

Last Research Project

Why I can't do my last research project:

Reason #1 Dartfish didn't like my videos

Reason #2 They are putting in a new floor in the Black Box Theatre (see picture)

Reason #3 Construction on the building where the biomechanics lab is

Solutions to Problems:

‎*Reason #1 Fixed, the cameras (from the Tech dept) I used would not let me download into the Dartfish program correctly, so it was making my life miserable! I found a camera (in the Tech dept) that will let me download correctly, Yippee!

*Reason #2 The floor should be done by the end of the month.

*Reason #3 I was thinking about using the Biomechanics lab to collect data because it is really difficult to schedule the Black Box for research, but the floor isn't conducive for ballroom dancing and I have no idea when they will be done with construction on the building. And once I start collecting data I have to do it in the same place for all the participants. Chances are I will be collecting data in the Black Box because that is where I did my pilot work.

I can't wait to graduate!

Primary Activity Days to Preston

I convinced Dave that we should take the Activity Days kids to the Preston Temple/MTC during their school holidays because they usually never get to go and it will be a fun trip for them to do something out of the ordinary. So we got permission from the Primary President and the Bishop. We made all the arrangements, I called the MTC (Missionary Training Center) and Dave called the Temple, then we bought food for lunch.

First, we went to the Japanese Garden at the Avenham Park to see the plaques honoring the first converts and missionaries of the church in England.

Second, eat lunch at the visitor's center.

Third, let them wander around the Distribution Center.

Fourth, do a crossword puzzle about the Preston Temple on temple grounds.

Fifth, tour the MTC.

Sixth, play cricket on the missionary field.

Go Home.

In between all the bathroom breaks and fighting, the kids reported back to their parents that they loved it! I was surprised because Dave and I had to break up multiple fights. Kid #1 is annoying, he knows it and it REALLY bothers kid #2. Kid #1 is leaving Primary and going into Young Mens at the the end of the month, so Dave and I are really excited Activity Days and Primary Opening Exercises will be peaceful once he is gone! I had a chat with kid #2 letting him know that he really shouldn't hit/fight with kid #1 and quoted Alma 31:5 "the preaching of the word had a ... more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword", so he should use his words more. When I chatted with kid #1, I reminded him there are YM that are meaner and stronger than him that will beat the crap out of him if he bugs them. He just nodded his head that he remembers when these YM use to do it when they were in Primary. I thought that would be it and we wouldn't have anymore major fights while kid #1 was in Primary,... no luck. Today I was teaching the Sunday School lesson for them because their normal teacher is on vacation. Kid #1 was annoying kid #2, so kid #2 yelled at kid #1 and called him names. So I took kid #2 to his Father and told him what he did so the Dad could deal with it. Kid #2 left his scriptures in the classroom, so after Sunday School I found kid #2 and reminded him no yelling or name calling at church. He looked so frustrated about having to deal with kid #1. I do feel bad for him that in 2 years he will have to be in YM's with kid #1 because chances are kid #1 will NEVER learn how to not be annoying.

Sports in the UK

On the way to London last week, they were talking on the radio about how most of the Team GB Olympic medalists were from expensive private schools. Apparently here in the UK they don't do sports in schools. Twice now I have heard it is because when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister she eliminated funding to schools for teachers to be paid as coaches in after school programs. Obviously I was not here when that happened, but from my Title 9 upbringing I would have been against that because of all the opportunities in sports I had growing up. But this is also not the first time I have heard of people talking about a difference in the classes. I was working at the Wolverhampton campus a while back when the guy I was working with was talking about how he didn't think it was a good idea that the current Prime Minister David Cameron had a goal of having the majority of the population have a university degree. He thought that the number was too high and that some people need to be plumbers, electricians, or other blue collar jobs. Here in the UK they require 14-year-olds to pick what they want to do for the rest of their life. How many of you knew what you wanted at 14? I guess this is how they keep the feudal system in place. This just makes me more grateful my ancestors left so that I could be an American and have the opportunity to make my own choices without class pressure.

London Olympics

Dave got picked to be an Olympic volunteer, so he was driving IOC VIPs around. I went along for a couple of days. I totally forgot the camera on the first day while I went to Buckingham Palace to watch the finish of the Men's Road Race. I didn't realize how fast they are, but I can imagine that is what the Tour de France is like having them zoom past!

There are signs all over London about Olympic traffic.

The Horse Guard where the Beach Volleyball was.

Dave says this is what he mostly did; sit and wait around in Olympic decorated cars.

This was put in front of the British Museum 100 days before the Olympics as a count down. Now it shows what day and time it is.

Signs all over London telling you where everything is. You really can't get lost.