No Title in particular

Ok,

Has nobody read by Blag but Holly??? I thought you would all see it by now!!!

Blog 03/31/08

The Last Month
Not that we are getting trunky or anything but my mind has been wandering lately to our last month of missionary service and I'm starting to tick off the last time we will be doing this or that - some good and some sad. Yesterday was our last Fast Meeting in the Rockbridge Ward. Last week was probably the last time Randy and Theresa will spend the weekend (something we will miss). I paid the last rent check today. This Friday will be our last Friday Food and Fun at Institute. Yesterday we went out to dinner in Lynchburg and as we were leaving I realized this might be the last time we would be in that city, and as I opened a bottle of shower cleaner it occurred to me that this will be the last one we will need and so on and so on - time goes by quickly and we are already looking forward to returning home and thinking about seeing you all soon.
Words to live by – as I was preparing a lesson on leadership I come across the following quote by J. Paul Getty (for you youngsters – Getty was the world’s richest man for many – many years) on how to be successful and make lots of money. “Get up early. Work hard. Strike oil.” In other words everything involves a little bit of unexpected luck.
Love
Elder/Dad/Grandpa Cottle
P.S. What’s with that Theresa anyway? I am going to pass her on the final four – just watch

NCAA Bracket Showdown - Round II

The results are in - and get them here first! I think I have to agree with Brent and start planning a trip to Las Vegas; maybe we could finance my final year of law school a la Ben Campbell. But other than her continuing domination, there is certainly a lot of movement within our bracket. And once again, congratulations to Sam and Grandpa for predicting the actual point spread. As I've discovered, its not that easy. So, without further ado, the scores:



Theresa: 20
Roger C: 20
Grandma: 18
Grandpa: 18
Sam: 17
Randy: 17
J'Neil: 16
Craig C: 14
Addy: 14
Ben: 13
Craig M.: 12
Matt: 10
Kristin: 9
David C: 8

Easter fun

Hey Everybody,

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend last week. We had a very quiet weekend--no one came to visit and we didn't do anything too extraordinary. However, we did have a good time. Here's some pictures of our activities. The Urkrianian Easter Egg is the largest in the world, located in Vergerville Alberta. About the size of Cardston--perhaps a bit bigger. It's about a 1 1/2 hour drive northeast of Edmonton (I know--none of you thought anything was north of Edmonton). Also, check out the creative easter egg decorating taking place in our own home. We are sure to find fame somewhere.

So, hope this finds you all well.

Kathy

Places to LIve

So I visited the My Spot link Randy suggested. Here are the results of where I should live:
Charleston: West Virginia, Carlisle: Pennsylvania, Roanoke: Virginia, Salem: Oregon, Lynchburg: Virginia, Sheboygon: Wisconsin, Ropeka: Kansas, Bloomington: Indiana, Portland: Oregon, Frederick: Maryland, Eugene: Oregon, Harrisburg: Pennsylvania, Altoona: Pennsylvania, Springfield: Missouri, Spokane: Washington, Tacoma: Washington, Albony: New York, Hartford: Conneticut, Olympia: Washington, Bend: oregon, and last but not least Kent: Washington.

Some Music

Ok, I've wanted to post some music, but just attaching it to the post, like you do a picture, just isn't working. So here's a link to where you can hear something I've been listening to lately. It's a little along the lines of J'Neil's classical leanings these days.

http://craigthegrey.com/blog/archives/347

Sorry I forgot

Oh ya, next I tag Addy !!

My Blag!! Is that what your calling it??

Here is the latest picture of myself



10 Years ago I was..
I was at my first year up at Ricks College. Oh those were good times!!

If I were suddenly a Billionaire...
I too would pay off my student loans, and then travel the world without a doubt. I would also share some money with all of you.

Things on my to do list today..
Finish laundry, go grocery shopping (which I have already done), take a nap, clean up the house. Not much to do today, Matthew is on spring break for school.

Places I have lived...
Salt lake City UT, Sandy UT, West Jordan UT, St. George UT, Rexburg ID, Provo UT, Cleveland OH, Highlands Ranch CO, Arvada CO

The Best and Worst Job I have ever had..
The worst Job would be McDonalds, and the best would be a place called Biologics, where we made hospital bracelets. And of course being able to stay home with the kids.

The best thing I did this year..
Went on a trip to Hawaii!!

My favorite purchase of the last year...
I really can not remember. Must be exciting.

Something that most people do not know about me...
I am pregnant!!!

What I have been doing..

Last T.V show I watched: Survivor
Last book I have read: The scriptures. I don't read books. I know that is a disgrace to this family.
Last movie I watched: I am Legend ( Last night)
Last music I listened to: The radio this morning
Last website I visited: My E-mail

Jamie, we're waiting on you

Jamie, we are waiting for your BLAG post, so we can learn all sorts of important things about you. So, come on, give us your answers, and then tag someone else.

New Banner Picture

April is a week away, can you believe it? But, as per Kris' suggestion, I am going to change the title banner every month, which means that I need a new piture! So if you have a good picture of any number of Cottle family members, send it to me at randaltheresa@hotmail.com and you'll see it grace the top of this prestigious publication for all of April.

In the meantime, here is a fun link. It is basically a quiz that you fill out, and it will tell you the top 20 places you should live (in the USA). Apparently, I need to move to Portland, or Albuquerque, or Charleston WV (my top 3). Theresa's top places were Santa Barbara, Honolulu and Baten Rouge! Anyways, if you are looking to move in the near future, or are just curious, check it out.

Blog 03/24/08

March 24, 2008

Happy Easter! I hope you all enjoyed the day and were able to spend some time with family and also had the opportunity to reflect upon life in general and, more specifically the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ and what it means for each of us. We were lucky to enjoy the company of Randy and Teresa - commiserating as we watched many of our bracket picks go down to defeat (what's with Duke anyway? And I have learned to never pick against Teresa when it comes to finding the right underdogs – check out the NCAA standings on the blog) - learning all the life lessons as presented by Dr. Seuss in Horton Hears a Who, and then worshiping together on Easter Sunday (also a great Easter dinner anchored by Grandma's delicious rolls). l Hope your Easter was as satisfying as ours.

Do you sometimes wonder how the rich and famous live? Last Friday Night we got a glimpse into the lives of a couple of successful men. Both of these men were profiled in "The Mormon Way of Doing Business" (I have shared this book with some of you) and they were doing a fireside at SVU. Here are some fun things we learned. David
Neelman, founder of Jet Blue and currently starting a new airline in Brazil, talked a little longer than expected and as he glanced at the clock he said, "I see the time going by but I'm not worried about missing my flight - I think it will wait for me - I'm the only Passenger!"

Then we heard from Rod Hawes - an insurance company owner that recently sold to Zurich Insurance for a lot of money. How much money? He was talking about the benefit of paying tithing (a great story that I won't go into here) and he said, "Don't pay tithing with a sad face. I think it is fun to pay tithing I thought it was fun as a graduate student when my yearly tithing totaled a $100.00 and it is even more fun now when my tithing check has 8 or 9 ZEROS behind it!" What? Run that by me again - let's see, 6 zeros make a million so 8 would make........ Now that is 10% of a lot of money!

Words to live by: From Horton, "a person is a person, no matter how small."

And from Sister Hawes (See above). Three things you can’t bring back, so take advantage of them when they happen. 1. Time – Never pass on something you really want to do because of time (her comment about being ready to do things with her husband, “In 30 minutes I can be ready to go anywhere – even to see the Pope.”). 2. Words – Use words for good not bad, because once spoken you can never take them back (“An evil word swallowed never hurt a stomach.”). 3. Opportunities – Don’t let them pass you by, they will never again come in quite the same form. These are good thoughts to make part of our lives.

Now what is this – I am below everybody on the NCAA (I think they call that dead last). Please Ben, give me some advice on the next round, I need help!

Love
Grandpa/Elder/Dad Cottle

Listening to people with money

One great thing about being at a University is having the opportunity of hearing guest speakers. Last Friday we had the privilege of hearing Jeff Benedict, the author of the book "The Mormon way of doing business" and two of the people the book was about, David Neeleman, founder of Jet Blue and Rodney Hawes and his wife, who has made millions in insurance. They talked about how important prayer is in their lives and how they wouldn't make any decisions without first taking it to Heavenly Father and seeking his advice. To me it was a testimony that even thought you have had great success in life, your not above asking for help from above. Rodney Hawes also told how important it is to pay your tithing even when you feel you can't afford too. He told of how there was a time when he felt he couldn't afford to pay his tithing but he did and the windows of heaven were opened to him. He still feels it is very important and feels it's a privilege to pay a 9 figure tithing. I could see many in the audience adding just how much that would be. Whether we make a lot or a little it is very important for our eternal salvation.

NCAA - Round I

I don't know about all of you, but Theresa and I had a great time watching the NCAA tournament with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. It seemed to me that every single game went down to the wire. This has really been a great week of basketball, and I can only imagine it getting better. Theresa and I are actually in a pool here at the law school where we have to pick the entire tournament at once, and after two of my final four picks lost in the second round (Duke and Georgetown), I am sure glad that we get to re-choose our next round here. And, I also really enjoy that we get extra points for the upsets: as the following scores will attest, they can really increase your score. Theresa, our current leader, used her sixth sense to predict victories by Villanova (12), Sienna (13), Kansas State (11), Davidson (10), and San Diego (13). The alternate strategy, thoroughly studying the teams and commentaries, has also been successfully employed (I know my Dad did this, and you other leaders probably did as well). Which technique will win out in the end? It's hard to say. If we have learned anything from this tournament already, anything can happen.

THE LEADERBOARD
Theresa: 56
J'Neil: 48
Craig M: 46
Brent C: 45
Kristin: 44
Sam: 44
Randy: 43
Craig C: 42
Ben: 41
Addy: 41
Grandma: 41
David: 37
Roger: 36
Holly: 36
Jodi: 34
Grandpa: 34

Happy Easter

Hey, I realized I could post happy easter so...

HAPPY EASTER!!!

YAY!! BAND!!!

Ok, So many of you might not know.... I had been in band at the start of 8th grade, but by mid-october I decided that I could probably be making more progress on my flute even out of Band so I removed myself from it, joining the plethora of students who are in Exploratory (a variety of classes that rotate, ranging from teaching you how to golf (I did excellently in that one) to music appreciation (won't need that).)
But... I finally decided this week after going to another Band performance -I support my friends in Band, I've gone to every performance but one, when I was watching an excellent 8th grade basketball game (triple overtime) - that I really wanted to be back in band. I admitted to Mr. Rose, the band teacher, that I wanted to come back and explained why. He was very excited and this Friday I got back into band. It was awesome because when I came in everyone knew my name and were so excited that I was coming back.
So I just thought you guys might want to know.... : ) I'm back in Band!!!

Hello?

Five days without a post? I guess we've all been too busy watching NCAA basketball. Anyway I thought I would rectify the lack of post so here it is. Exciting don't you think? I really don't have much to say except after work I'm going snowboarding. Global Family ski day today and Dad and I are going to take Bailey out. It should be fun, wish us luck. Well I have to get back to work. The show starts in about 20 min. Later All.

March 17, 2008

The two words that bring joy to the heart of every student - Spring Break - happened at SVU last week. We took a mini break and traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina, about 200 miles due south, to attend the temple (somehow our golf clubs also ended up in the trunk). Spring has started to arrive in the southeast. It we 72 degrees in Raleigh and even good old BV reached 70 on Friday. However, the weekend was cold and windy with rain showers (and boy do we need the rain).

Déjà vu Moment of the Week:
I was in J C Penney's at the Lynchburg Mall - sort of shopping and sort of wasting time, when I overheard the following conversation between a teenage boy (13-14) and his parents.

Boy, "I don't like these Arizona Jeans (Penney's house brand)."

Mom, "But this is the brand you have been wearing since you were six years old."

Boy, "I just don't like them"

Dad, "We always buy this brand - and besides, they are 50% off!" His voice getting a little louder and more parental.

Boy, "I want the Levi jeans"

Dad, "But Levi's cost twice as much and the only difference is the patch on the hip pocket - they are probably even made in the same Bangladesh factory." His voice getting louder still.

Mom, "Now dear, if he wants the Levi's maybe we should....."

Father interrupts, "Now Margaret, there is no difference in those jeans except in that boy's head."

Boy, "If you buy the Arizona jeans I won't wear them to school."

And so it went - a boy wanting to be stylish and parents looking at the price tag. But it took me back to a J C Penney's in Kalispell Montana (On Main Street - not in the mall) some 40 years ago. As we were loading up on school clothes for the year Craig suddenly announced he would no longer wear the house brand (which he had been wearing for years), but needed the Levi patch on his hip. After a discussion almost like (word for word) the one above - we gave in (although we had limited funds so purchased fewer jeans). Then Roger (two years younger) pied up and announced that if Craig got Levi's, so did he!

So listening to that conversation in Penney's brought back fond (?) memories of raising teenagers and for those currently raising teens – or for you teens who are trying to raise your parents - you have my sympathies - and enjoy it, the time will pass swiftly

Love
Elder/Dad/Grandpa Cottle

Golf Tip

Here is an important golf tip for the upcoming season, courtesy of Craig Miller.

sorry

I promise I will do my tag thing soon. I have just been busy. Sorry.

Jamie

Blog 03/10/08

March 10, 2008

First, a note about the SVU Institute Choir’s performance as a prelude to the recent CES Fireside satellite broadcast. The Choir presents a fair share of challenges in that there is rarely a Wednesday night (Choir rehearsal night) that there is not a something else going on at the University. But Sister Cottle just hangs in there, working with those that come and encouraging those that do not - and the results speak for themselves. There was a good turn out Sunday night and they sounded great. The University is lucky to have Sister Cottle (for that matter- so am I!).

We now know how maple syrup (I'm talking about the real stuff - not the Log Cabin fake syrup) gets from the tree to table. Believe it or not - there is a thriving Maple Syrup industry in Virginia - some 50 miles north of Buena Vista - in Highland County (in the hills - population 2400 people and 3000 cows). Each year on the first two weeks of March the county hosts Maple Syrup days and one can travel the county and visit various Sugar Camps (as they are called) and learn about Sugaring. We went last Saturday and here is what we found out. Trees must be Sugar Maple trees. The tap goes into the tree about 1.5 inches. The trees must be tapped at a time when it is warm (above freezing) in the day and cold at night, usually starting in February and ending in March. The sugar water is collected from the trees by a series of tubes (no more buckets – the picture of the buckets on the tree that you see on the blog is for tourists only) running by gravity feed to a collection barrel. Oft times they will have as many as 70 tubes running into one collection area. When the barrel is full the sugar water is taken to a “camp” where it is heated and condensed by this crazy looking contraption that bubbles and steams and looks mysterious, and after 12 hours – whalla – maple syrup! It is then bottled and distributed. There are three varieties – Light, medium and dark amber – depending upon the strength of the maple taste. Dark has the most taste. Also, according to our guide, the real maple syrup is much better for a person that the fake kind (of course he was trying to sell us some of the good stuff). Most interesting and now I know something I did not know before.

A Happy Birthday to both Heather and Dillon this week. And is everybody gearing up for March Madness starting a week from Thursday?

Love
Elder/Dad/Grandpa Cottle

By the way, what's with that header picture? Who are those people and what possible crime could they have committed? They look so innocent!

nice picture!

Ok, I'm laughing out loud.... nice header picture! Shouldn't there be a sign somewhere there telling us what they're guilty of!

Blag - Holly Miller

Hey sorry it took so long to get on this. Mom and Amy told me that Randy had tagged me but I don't get on the computer much over the weekend until I get to work and I'm bord out of my mind. So anyway here is my answers to the blog tag. Enjoy! :)

The latest photo of myself I have handy...
(an amazing feet since I'm at work and don't have many handy)


10 years ago I was...
17 years old, in my final year of High School, no quite sure what to do with the rest of my life but ready for an adventure.

If I were suddenly a billionaire...
I would probably invest some of it some how so I could live off it for awhile. Then I would love to travel... everywhere

Things on my to do list today...
Get ready for and go to church, come home eat lunch then go to work, go to parents for dinner on my break, maybe play some x-box or Wii while I'm there, then come back to work for the 11 o'clock show. Go home, go to bed. Exciting isn't it?

Places I've lived...
Edmonton Ab, Rexburg ID, Orlando FL, (and hopfully somewhere else soon. Got any suggestions?)

The Best and worst job I've had...
The best - Roaring Fork @ Disney World
Worst - Roaring Fork @ Disney World (they didn't have very good management)

The best thing I did this year...
Go to Virginia for a visit and got a job in my field

My favorite purchase of the last year...
US Open tickets

Something that most people don't know about me...
I'm a dreamer. It sometimes gets me frusterated when reality doesn't live up to the day dream.

What I've been doing...
Last TV Show I watched - Simpsons
Last Book I've read (for fun) - Mary - Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret george
Last Movie I watched - I'm in the middle of National Treasure DVD, full movie was Singles 2nd Ward
Last Music I listened to - Pictures(?) by Coldplay (co-workers computer)
Last Website I visited (for fun) - mental_floss.com

Next, I tag JAMIE
(although I would like to hear from the non author members of the family too)

Feb 2006.

Help the Homeless Snowman Cause

You can help a homeless snowman today by donating some snow. (this one has lost his home due to melting snow). No Hot drinks accepted.

Get a picture with the snowman

Who would like a picture with the snowman? Only $5. Get as close as you would like... he'll even give you a shoulder hug!

Blag

Since we haven't had any posts for a few days, I thought I would try something new. It's called blog tag. Basically, when you are tagged, you answer a set of questions and then you say who is tagged next, and then they answer the same questions. I know, it's kind of e-mail forward lame, but it could be fun, and we might learn a little about each other. So I'll start:

The latest photo of myself I have handy...

10 years ago I was...
15 years old. Theresa says I was a nerd, but she didn't even know be back then.

If I were suddenly a billionaire...
I would pay off my student loans, and then probably buy a vacation home in Mexico. And then open a record store.

Things on my to do list today...
I worked on my research paper on Open Source Synthetic Biology Then we had to clean the house. Theresa and I are going out for Pizza by the Slice at a little place close by.

Places I've lived...
Edmonton Ab, Mexico City (and area), Charlottesville Va, (and soon Palo Alto Ca)

The Best and worst job I've had...
The best - research assistant; worst - paper carrier

The best thing I did this year...
Get a summer position in Palo Alto. And go to the Outer Banks, NC.

My favorite purchase of the last year...
Radiohead tickets

Something that most people don't know about me...
I'm extremely ticklish

What I've been doing...
Last TV Show I watched - Freaks and Geeks
Last Book I've read (for fun) - I'm A Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson
Last Movie I watched - Blame it on Fidel
Last Music I listened to - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, David Bowie
Last Website I visited (for fun) - Pitchfork Media

Next, I tag HOLLY

Blog 03/04/08

March 3, 2008
We attended three different wards yesterday - it makes a long time in meetings - but I love to listen to the students bear their testimonies.
Since yesterday was Fast Day my mind has turned to the fasting process. I cannot count the number of times I have fasted but most have been on the monthly fast day, but from time to time I have fasted for a special reason. I started to consider the difference between the regular fast and the special fast and why the special fast seems to produce a more spiritual experience. So I decided to try something a little different yesterday. Early in the day I focused on one special reason for my fast (not going to mention it here but something very important to me), and throughout the fast I tried to focus on this reason; by thinking about it, the circumstances around it and what I wanted to happen. It turned out to be a great fast – I felt a good spirit and, developed some ideas of what I could do about special reason. So as you approach the next fast day I suggest you give it a try.
My nomination for the mistaken identity goof of the week- A couple from Utah called to ask about serving a mission at the SVU Institute. In the course of the conversation the lady said to me, "Now that SVU - isn't that the Mormon school owned by Gladys Knight and the Pips (You young whippersnappers ask your parents about Gladys Knight and the Pips)?"
Stifling the laughter, I explained that SVU is a private (not Mormon) university with a conduct code similar to BYU. Furthermore Gladys and her Pips had nothing to do with the school. But one Glade Knight, a Virginia businessman provides much financial support to the University - in fact he was instrumental in getting the school started. I also mentioned that I had met Glade on numerous occasions and he looks nothing like Gladys or is he accompanied by the harmonious tones of the PIPS. As we finished the conversation I still sensed some doubt about my version of the Knights!
Have a good week
Elder/Dad/Grandpa Cottle

In response to my picture

Thank you for the comments... 'I'm flattered'.

So as grandpa asked: How am I? Um, I'm good... I'm having lots of fun in school. My favorite classes being Science and Algebra. we are reading a book called "Bronx Masquerade" in 'Lang. Arts' which is an interesting story of High school students in the Harlem part of New York learning about poetry and how they themselves can change the world with it. Our teacher wants to write a book similar to it with each of the students writing a poem and event that promts the poem... I think I'll write mine about being a third (I'm always the third person... it's not bad... just something I've noted and would be interesting to write about) Something fun about algebra is that I am on a team for the Math Omlypiad which is a Math competition in the Eastern Washington Area. It's fun to practice problems and gives me extra stuff to do.

I attended 'Discovery Day' for the High school I will be going to next year (going to 9th grade) And I figured out I can be in Marching Band, the Band like a class during school AND the Jazz band. But that is if I get in jazz band when I try out and I dont know what to do for marching band. It's fun to think about and get back into playing to flute so next year I'll be ready. (If I'm in jazz band I would be playing the bass guitar... ooo, cool)

I'm continuing with Piano... and not doing any sports... I like to walk (especially when it's nice out and I can go into the park to see the baseball and track practices... :) ) I'm saving up for a telescope but it's going pretty slowly. I like to look at Astronomy pictures and am increasing my knowledge about the universe beyond. (I'm have decided I want to follow the career path of an Astrophyisist--studying the 'what' 'how' and 'why' of stars, nebulae, and celestial objects)

And that's about it for me.... Now that you're all caught up... Next time you see me or hear from me I'll hope (as much as I liked those "WOW" comments) you won't be too surprised.

Well, Randy posted music...

So, after watching Randy's videos and thinking about if I should share my music interests, I concluded I would. These are some pretty cool videos demostrating some of my musical taste and a bit of the wonderful talent you can find on 'youtube'. It would be pretty cool if I was the one playing these but I'm not there yet. Although my dad wants me to learn how to play "Flight of the Bumblebee"(the really fast one with the guy playing the xylaphone) on the piano because I'm starting to play things much faster than they're supposed to be played.


Flight of the Bumblebee--I like full orchestras... and some jazz but I didn't find a video for that.

Moonlight Sonata--Lovely piano piece by Ludwig van Beethoven (did you know that he was deaf? For one performance his friend had to turn him around to see the crowd applauding)

Beatboxing flute player-- It's kind of interesting to mix these two talents together (the song is the Super Mario theme. I'm a Mario freak...)

There you go... A little of my style of music...

Looks Like We've Really Taken Off...

Thanks to you all, this blog has really taken off. In February alone, we posted 36 entries - that's a post every 19 hours! Everyone from Bailey to Grandpa have added to this site, so give yourselves a pat on the back! (and if you still haven't gotten involved, its not too late - just give me an e-mail if you want to sign up)

I'll be taking you suggestions and changing the title picture every month. I was thinking of maybe using pictures of members of the family out in nature (especially in mountains of forests etc, since these images would go well with the title, "All Cottles Great and Small"). So I would be great if you all could send me some pictures of your family out in nature. Thanks!

Mental Floss

In her recent post Holly mentioned Mental Floss and posted a link to one of their articles about cold places. She reminded me how much I enjoy Mental Floss. Although I very seldom look at their stuff on line, Mental Floss has been the first, and remains the only, magazine I actually read cover to cover.

Did you see the last issue with articles on how to get to heaven? It was very informative: I found the Buddhism and Islam pieces particularly interesting. There was also a relatively accurate section on the Mormon view of getting to heaven. I was remined of it today because in the most recent issue they published a letter to the editor from a Mormon correcting some of the mistakes.

A few issues ago they announced the Golden Lobe Awards for things like "Best Use of a Sick Day" (Rene Descartes) and "Most Misguided Marketing Scheme" (Dodge La Femme in 1955-56). J'Neil particularly liked the "Most Desirable Corpse in History" category (Abraham Lincoln).

We love Mental Floss....