March Madness!!!

The NCAA Basketball Tournament is off and running and our beloved Cougs have finally won a tournament game! (99-92 over Florida) I came home from work at 10:30 to watch and im glad i did!! there's nothing like watching Basketball or sports in that matter in HD! BYU started the game i thought very...nervous, which really supprised me. Maybe the monkey on there back of not winning in there last 7 tries were weighing on them? what ever it was BYU had to really fight to get over it. The cougs built the lead up to 13 at one point only to watch it wither away as Florida buried one three after another.. for being a bad 3 pt shooting team all year it sure didnt show for the gators! they shot the ball very well today. Florida had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation as well as at the end of the 1st overtime, But it was not meant to be! the 2nd overtime.. well...well that was Jimmer time!! What a great player!
Well, time to get ready for my rec league game at sojo rec center. hopefully we can get a win. I

love this time of year! March Madness is here!!!

No news to report here....

Except for the little fact that IM GETTIN MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thats right, On Christmas morning I got on bended knee and asked Erin to Marry me!!!!! I have found the perfect person for me! Erin and I have chosen June 19th as the day we will be sealed for all eternity! Words cant describe how happy Erin Makes me!! but maybe the perma smile i've had since our first date can.

We are currently starting to plan things and holy cow...its kinda funny..haha jk. More details will come as it gets closer to the big day.. We have chosen June 19th to ensure that both our brothers will be there., Eric gets home the end of march and Spencer gets home about a week before the wedding. We are both sooooo happy! and cant wait to continue our little love story!

late

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Lets all become Yoot fans now!!!

saw this on cougarboard. and couldnt resist!! hahaha


So you want to be a Ute fan? Congratulations.

Honestly, I can't say I blame you. Being a Utah fan is one of life's greatest pleasures, but before you get started, you're going to need to understand there's a simple playbook you need to follow. Some people are able to follow these instructions intuitively, but if you're not one of them this guide will clearly spell out the basics of being a part of Utah fandom.

Before you start, you need to understand that most of what you do as a Utah fan is reactionary. We'll learn about trolling and provoking BYU fans later. As a beginner all you'll need to do is watch what BYU fans do and react accordingly.

Here's what do when ...

1. BYU does something well:
We'll start with an easy one. There's one special hyphenated word that you can always throw around as a Utah fan: self-righteous. Don't worry about what it exactly means. If BYU fans are doing something, I can promise you, they're doing it in a self-righteous way and you shouldn't be shy about letting them know or yucking it up with your fellow fans.
Outside of being self-righteous, the only other acceptable explanation for why a BYU fan is doing something is that they are unable to think for themselves. Don't consider what their actual point or intent is or even if you might agree with it. If you can't classify BYU behavior as either being self-righteous or the behavior of a mindless drone, you're not trying hard enough to classify it.

2. BYU does something wrong:
Hey! It's your big chance! You know all those rules and standards those BYU people have? This is the time to throw them all back in their faces. Try to point out all the ways that theyve failed to live up to those standards; lay the guilt on heavy by pointing out how they've let everyone else down; use the word hypocrite liberally; blur the lines between trying to do something and promising to do something; ignore that you spend a lot of time and energy mocking them for caring at all about standards at all (see #1).
Luckily as a Utah fan, you don't need to worry about representing anything or anyone. You see, the real genius of being a Utah fan is you'll never have to worry about double standards, because we don't have any standards to begin with.

3. BYU does something wrong and youre an active, LDS Utah Fan:
Oh, man. This is the best! You will need to ignore that you probably have made a special effort to separate BYU from the church. When BYU does something good, it has nothing to do with the church--it's just BYU sports. But when when BYU or BYU fans do something wrong you need to take big-time offense. Those embarrassing actions are blight on your church and need to be stopped. Make a big deal about this, like writing on your tithing slip that your money should not to go BYU sports, or mentioning it Elders quorum. Make sure you say you think the church should drop BYU sports, but point out that it's only because you care about the church's image that you think so.
Finally, there are still no double standards, so as soon as the controversy blows over go back to coming up with insulting nick names or finding any other possible way to mock the people that only represent your church when they do something wrong. Also, you dont need to worry about your actions ever reflecting in any way on the church. Everyone knows that throughout the rest of the country no one ever associates the Utah community with Mormons.

4. A BYU fan accuses you or other Utah fans of doing something wrong:
Two easy options for this one--deny or excuse. Is there unequivocal proof of what those lily-white BYU fans are accusing you or or friends of? Well, then they're probably making it up, or just lying about it. Start with that, but if by some chance it turns out they can prove that they're not making up the accusation up, the odds are theres probably something you can kind of compare it to that a BYU fan has done.
Example: Let's say a BYU fan is complaining that their head got cut open by a beer can thrown into their section at RES. First, you deny that it happened. Say something like, "that didn't happen, or you shouldnt exaggerate. If they happen to be able to show you the scar or a photo or something you might need to stop denying and start excusing. This is done by saying something like, "Oh yeah. Well, my sister got pushed at LES." Voila. Problem solved.
You will need to avoid discussing even the possibility that there might be a shred of guilt among Utah fans. Just keep beating that you-do-it-too drum until that BYU fan accepts that since everyone has done something wrong, no one can ever tell anyone else they what theyve done is wrong (without being self-righteous, of course).

5. BYU loses:
Ha ha! Just like you said they would. After a BYU loss, their fans will probably eating their own a little. This is a great time for beginner trolling. Remind them how fast Utah is or how awesome they are in big games. Just keep up with the Salt Lake media and use whatever line they are pushing at the time. Be merciless and personal in your mocking. Remember there's a time when it's more important that they lost than you won; that time is always. Look to feed every doubt they may have about their team and create a few they dont have yet. Work as hard as you can to get BYU fans to define their team the way you see them. The more you can get them to start thinking like you, the more they will do your trolling for you.

6. BYU wins
Looks like it wasn't your day, but here's the deal: they probably cheated, or the refs cheated, or they got lucky. If you get tired of arguing that they're cheating cheaters who cheat all the time, maybe you can find something they said after that game that you can take offense at or whine about. Your offense will make a great distraction from the unfortunate outcome, maybe even a bigger story than the outcome. Ignore any metal gymnastics you may have to do to take offense at the statement. The important thing is manufacture enough outrage over the statement or action that fellow Utah fans can hold onto it as long as necessary. With enough whining, the distraction will tide us over until Utah manages to win another game. Once that happens we can all go back to the advice in #5, and along with the Salt Lake media can keep telling BYU fans how the honor code or whatever other excuse we can find is going to prevent them from ever winning anything. Ever.


Well, that should be enough to get you started. Best of luck and we'll get into the really complicated stuff later, like why we dress like pirates or what exactly the source of our foaming-at-the-mouth hatred is.

Hot Diggity!!!

Happiness!!! Dictionary.com says this about "happiness"

"Synonyms:1, 2. pleasure, joy, exhilaration, bliss, contentedness, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction. Happiness, bliss, contentment, felicity "

I would like to add some more meanings of what happiness is to me.

1-Happiness is getting that "holy crap she's hot" feeling everytime you see that "someone"

2-Happiness is laughing so hard everyday that your abs are getting a work out...everyday!

3-Happiness is smiling so much that your jaw hurts at the end of the day.
4-Happiness is being with someone and not doing anything, but loving every minute of it.

5-Happiness is being able to play basketball, volleyball, tennis and golf with the one you love.

6-Happiness is being able to hike a Mountain with someone you like, and never once get frustrated with them...well unitl she steals your phone and you think you left it at the top! haha :-)

7-Happiness is being with someone who makes you feel loved without her even being next to you.

8-Happiness is loving everything about her!

9-Happiness is knowing that she's not a Yewt Fan!!!

10-Happiness, Complete Happiness is being with Erin anytime, anywhere, doing anything!!!!!

EBT brings soooo much happiness into mylife!!! thanks babers!

Im in a New York State of Mind!!!

Congrats to the 2009 World Series Champions, Your New York Yankees!!!!!

Congrats to

Jo,

Jete

Al

Godzilla

AP

Mariano

and

hip

hip

Jorge Posada!!!

thanks for a great year!!!

Repeat in 2010!!!

Fire Bronco!!!

enough said!

Greatest Decision Ever Made

After attending Priesthood Session at the Conference Center Earlier I was thinking, "man, all ive blogged about is stuff thats really not that important", ie. BYU, man they frustrate me! ok I gotta stay on track here, back to Conference. So I thought I should write about something that had brought me more sleepless nights, more heartache, more crazy, crazy experiences, and more joy than anything i had experienced up to that point, My Mission! I feel im lucky to say that my Mission was honestly the greatest 2 plus years of my life. Hahaha you might see the 2 plus and wonder about that. well thats another entry for another day.

Elder Britten David Goldhardt, you have been hereby called to serve in the New Jersey Morristown Mission! Every Latter day Saint young man anxiously waits for the day when they can read were Our Father in Heaven Needs them to seve for 24 months. So many thoughts ran through my head when i was told over the phone i was being reassinged.. (again, another entry for another day) First thought was, what the heck is in New Jersey?, all i could think of was New York, and it was somewhere on the east coast. Being the Historian that i claim to be, i started to look up all the historical facts on New Jersey, and of course most, are associated with the Revolutionary War, as I read and read I became more and more facinated with the Garden State. I had pictured in my mind old open Battle Fields, and lots and lots of trees. hahahaha boy was in for a rude awakening. I arrived in New Jersey june 24th 2002, I was met in the Newark airport by the AP's and drove to the mission home to meet the mission pres. I wont state his name, only because he was a jerk. haha and i only had him as Mission Pres for 2 weeks. President Norman then came in and resurrected the great New Jersey Morristown Mission of Excellence.

In every area i learned something new, I gained a new attribute, and strengthened my Testimony. My Mission was the hardest Time of my life!!! I had many experiences that i will never tell my parents, that scared the hell outta me, Experiences that made me think am i ready to go? Experiences that created a great love for the people of Jersey. I think its funny that when i think of my Mission, I can only remember the great times! and i only remember the hard parts when i read my journal. On my Mission i learned to think of others First, something i had very rarely done prior to the Mish, and now im told to stop thinking of others first and focus on myself, i have struggled with that alot!!! I met the greatest People in the world , in the state of Hardknocks, I met the Rene Family in Rockland, Tevon and Danielle in Jersey City, Michelle in Jersey City as well.

In Passaic there was the Great Wither Family! whom I love and look up to sooooo Much!!! They are great Examples to me in living the Gospel! Victor, Jackie, and there two sons (at the time) Jonathon and Kevin were the best! They fed us and were my family out there! they took care of me! i dont know how I'll ever be able to repay them for all that they did. haha vico.. "its the weekend!!!!" haha crazy video making! :-) In Elizabeth there were Kimberly Hughs, and Kitchner Toussaint.. Although there were many others, these specifically made a deep impact on my life and im in debted to them forever! As my brother Eric serves the people in Spain im often reminded of experiences on my mish and it brings back so many good memories..hahaha bashing with the J dubs, having them admit to us that our church was the true church, but they're not ready to join yet. having preachers break down, when giving the first vision, seeing how hard the adversary works when teaching the first vision.

Seeing all the CRAZY people!! i swear there's some interesting people their!. haha. oh man. So with all this, why was my mission the best 2 years of my life? Because , i came to "know" God our Father, His tender mercies upon his children. His deep love for all his children, His Son Jesus Christ, the power of his Atonement, and the many blessings and opportunities it gives all of us! I came to know the Book of Mormon, wow its crazy how history repeats its self!!!! i gained a greater respect for the Prophet Joseph Smith and a Sure Knowledge that this is Gods Church, and he is at the head of it! its been said that from knowledge comes truth, i would like to add that with the knowledge i gained, came Joy and an extreme Happiness! How Lucky I was To Serve a Mission in New Jersey, I love that state! i love the people! I love the Gospel I was able to share with them. and I loved seeing the Spirit Touch these people while sharing the the great message we had been sent their to share. What a Hard, Gut renching, Heartaching work it was. But what a great, rewarding and joyful Experience! There truly is Joy in the Journey.

peace out peeps!