Social Media, Ivy League Style

So the past couple of weeks have been fraternity and sorority rush weeks.  

And how do the Greek societies at an Ivy League school advertise?  

Social media? 

High technology?

Nope.  Painted sheets.

This technology is only as high as they can hang it.

Hey, that could be the name of a new social application: PaintSheet. (patent pending)

12 Predictions for 2012

Sure, anyone can slice, dice and parse last year into highlights and favorites.

But it takes real courage to prognosticate.  

So in my best Jeane Dixon style, here are my predictions for 2012!

1.  At home:  After 7 years of post-grad, Mother Terisa will become Doctor Mother Terisa.

2.  Paul and Bethany: will obtain master's degree and go west, young man.

3.  Grace and Alice: will be cute.

4.  Lynne and Kit: will exemplify Good Humor (c). and

5.  will continue to fall head over heels in love with the Big Apple-y City.  And each other.

6.  In Philadelphia: Gabe will find a Philly slang tutor and will pass for a native.  Also, there will be a rock and roll gig.  Seriously, July 4, in Norristown. (Actual photo of my Philadelphia band.)

7.  At church: A beautiful and inspirational building will be started.  One morning we'll wake up to find it has been taken over by the Occupy movement.

8.  In the US: I sense there will be a great electoral struggle.  Someone will win.  It is not yet clear if it will be the American people...

9.  In the world: there will be consternation over economies, wars, human rights and reality TV shows.  It will be December before someone realizes that the media has accidentally replayed the 2011 tape.

10. The weather:  I predict there will be weather in 2012.  Regardless of how normal or extreme, it will be attributed to global warming.

11.  Gabe will keep his unbroken string of years in which he does not figure out what he wants to be when he grows up.

12.  At play:  There will be serious (and nonserious) adventures in 2012.  Watch this space!

2011? Whew!

In honor of the many end-of-year lists that proliferate pre-New Year's, we look back at the major events of 2011.
Also, this is as close to a Christmas newsletter as we are going to get.

Executive Summary: 2011 was not boring.

It started early in January on a somber note with the death and funeral of Gabe's dad,  Alvin A. Gabrielsen, Sr.

Dad was a WWII veteran and his death was a loss, but we decided it was better to bury an old soldier than a young one.

He was also an architect, and we have little doubt that mansions in heaven now bear his signature design features.

In the middle of February, we celebrated the creation of the newest family in our circle.  Our daughter, Lynne, married Christopher Burton.  Kit is the guy parents pray for when they find out their baby is a girl.  Smart, funny, outdoorsy, grown up, and good-natured.  Plus he loves Lynne. They have adventures in store.

 It was also about this time we heard about Terisa's APA internship applications, and of her acceptance to a two-year internship/fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  

Our boat was definitely rocked.

We managed a couple more trips to New Mexico to hug the granddaughters.

Lynne and Kit graduated (actually in December, but walked in May); Kit in International Studies/Chinese, and Lynne in Business Management.

In June we packed up the Big Yellow Truck and headed east.

The mayor was glad to see us.

Gabe went to a regional youth conference in July, even though he is not young.

Lynne and Kit embarked on the next of their adventures: Weehawken, New Jersey, home of Fred Astaire and Thelonious Monk.  Kit works in brand management for Unilever, and Lynne works in Harlem for a group of charter schools.

We withstood an earthquake and a hurricane, and the wettest August/September on record.

In September, "ground" was "broken" for the new Philadelphia temple.

October found us in Socorro for a few chilly, but family-licious days.

November brought Dayna, our first of hopefully many overnight visitors.

 

Also in November, the Philadelphia 1st Ward Young Men occupied Manhattan.  All of it.

We had an east coast clan Thanksgiving that explored the limits of what two square feet of counter space can do.

And finally, we got more family, fun, and food in Utah at Christmas time.

Whew! Can 2012 be any more exciting?  Don't touch that dial!

Christmas Nuggets

We've been having a wonderful time with family over the Christmas break.

Here's hoping you are the same.  

It started out with us arriving at our Utah house to find it warm and clean and decorated.  Thanks Jim and Lu and Dayna and Al!

Then we set about recaulking the tub and calling the plumber--not once, but twice--to come and fix leaking things. 

We had plumbers last year, too.  Next year we're just going to set a place for him at the Christmas table.

Brewed up a batch of mac and cheese (thanks, Alma, for sharing your recipe), a new holiday tradition discovered in Philadelphia.

At the Christmas Eve family party, Dayna's meticulously decorated Christmas display was attacked once again.  This year's traditional "pillage the village" was the result of the village denizens rising up and organizing an anarchy support group: Occupy the Village.  Previous years have seen the village under road construction, falling victim to ebola virus, and selling out to corporate interests.  Is nothing sacred? Some day, Dayna will have revenge.

Despite the annual village attack, Dayna, and crew put on a fabulous feast.

We also spent some time in Ogden, where Great Grandma Grace and little Grace spent some quality time together.

Grandma Terisa was mobbed by a gang of granddaughters.

She added girl-sized furniture to their new tea set, and they enjoyed the first of many tea parties.

Finally, we are wondering if our Utah house is too large any more.  More than once, Terisa has had to text or call me from the far end of the house...

We are loving the holidays with only one regret: we can't be in both Utah and Philly at the same time to spend time with all of the people we love in both places.