red letter

it was a pretty big day for me and the interweb, as i received my first hater comment on the blog, from none other than "anonymous." hello, big time!

the dad-man came to the defense of my honor, but also offered a characteristically well-thought and well-worded defense of periods of denial and reflection across all religious traditions. i must agree that periods of physical denial, such as the monthly fast in which i, as a mormon, participate, when undertaken in the proper spirit and frame of mind, with reverence and a goal of drawing closer to God, are effective and valid and sacred. and i certainly don't mean to demean that. but, it also remains the case that i do better when i am trying to add real virtues instead of just take away vices.

with that said, continuing discussion of the non-insulting (and non-anonymous) variety is certainly welcome, but i am going to move on to a less controversial topic: babies!

that's right. i met joelle and baby natalie for a little dinner tonight, and may i just say that baby natalie is sitting up and smiling and generally turning into the gosh-darndest cutest baby in the world, as you can plainly see here.

i think even "anonymous" will have to agree with me on this one.

{also, two unrelated questions. one: do they make non-reflective spectacles? because i could be totally into that. two: did anyone else watch "the bachelor" finale tonight? seriously, what the heck was that?}