Conference Talks Killed the Radio Star

Each morning my drive to work takes about 20 – 25 minutes. So the question is what do I do with those 20 – 25 minutes? To avoid traffic it might be a good idea to listen to one of the talk/news radio stations. But since I’m headed north when most of the traffic is headed south that really isn’t a concern. For the first few weeks of the job I listened to the same CD over and over again. One of the gifts I have been blessed with is the ability to hear the same song over and over again and be totally fine with it. (But it was a Jonas Brother’s CD so I’m guessing everyone could listen to that time and time again.) After a few weeks of the CD I decided to listen to a radio station. Each day I was able to listen to the same 6 songs every day (in that they were the most requested) and as a bonus I usually got 8 minutes or so of commercials! In all truth I was fine with all of those scenarios… But the past few weeks I have been listening to Conference talks and BYU Devotionals as I drive into work. This simple addition/change in my schedule has enlightened my mind and helped me be more pleasant throughout the day.

True… In the afternoon you will usually still find me blasting the Jonas Brothers for the drive home. (Sometimes I’m a little tired in the afternoon and I need a little help staying awake… And listening to 3 guys who are younger than me share their knowledge about love and romance through the medium of music seems to do the job.)

So what? Why would I take the time to write this? And why would I think it might be of any value to anyone else? Making a small adjustment in our schedule, even if it is only for a few minutes, to listen to the words of Prophets, Apostles and other inspired individuals will be of more benefit to us than being up-to-date on what is topping the billboard charts or hearing about the latest celebrity feud.

I feel like that is something most of us know… But sometimes we don’t take the time or put in the effort to follow through with what we “know”… But in this case, I’m glad that I am trying a little harder to be a little better!

Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010

It is Thanksgiving Day 2010! And that can only mean one thing… The EricDStokes.com Thanksgiving Day Parade is back! This parade not only delights children of all ages but it also highlights some of the most exciting moments of my 2010! The parade is about to start its two and a half mile journey so hopefully you’re all bundled up and ready to cheer!

This year the grand marshal of the parade is… Jack Shepherds eye!



That’s right after six confusing seasons LOST has finally come to an end. You will remember the series opened and closed with the image of Jack’s eye, and within that “blink” we were introduced to a Smoke Monster, polar bears, and a giant four toed statue. LOST you will be missed.

Next in the lineup appears to be Mark Monson and Brett Andrews fast asleep.



This entry commemorates the Spring Break trip I took with the roommates to Disneyland. And what did we learn on this trip? Roommates get tired when traveling with Me because I like to speed walk from one ride to the next… And wake up early to hit the park first thing… The only time I wasn’t speeding during this trip happened to be on the 10 hour drive down to California and back.

Making its way down the street is a HUGE diploma!



This year I graduated from Utah State University with a Masters degree in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences. And what do you do with a degree in Instructional Technology and what is Instructional Design in general? Well our next two entries should help explain…

It’s a giant balloon explaining the definition of Instructional Design!




If there is one thing I have learned this year it is that no one knows what my job title means. It usually takes 5 – 10 minutes of explaining for people to even begin to give a faint nod of the head signaling they might have an idea about what I do. (Which is somewhat concerning in that I’m supposed to be able to teach effectively… And yet I struggle to explain my job title. And sadly it looks as if this balloon even has some typos... So maybe this won't help the situation.) Following the Instructional Design definition balloon is another entry that requires some explaining… SwRI is the wonderful company that hired me on full time right after graduation. The full name of the company is Southwest Research Institute…. I could go on but it looks like the crowd is getting a little restless. Hopefully the next few entries will liven things up.



Coming to us from our friends at YouTube are two of my favorite characters from random viral videos. We have the classic Antoine Dodson and Marcel the Shell with Shoes on. If you haven’t seen the clips these two balloons are based off of do yourself a favor and check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw

And our last entry officially signals the start of the Christmas Season…



That’s right it is the return of Christmas Fedora! Out of all the Fedora’s I own this is the one most rarely seen! So be glad you were here today to witness this moment!

Well it looks like that is the end of today’s EricDStokes.com Thanksgiving Day Parade. Hopefully ya’ll enjoyed it! And hopefully you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I personally have a endless list of things to be grateful for… From family to friends to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ… I’ve got it all!

Much Love,
Eric D. Stokes

Not your regularly scheduled program…

Most days after work I do some type of workout… And during those workouts I usually watch a number of different news programs that are on. One good thing about this schedule is that often the news stories that I watch for the hour or so are frequently “bad”… Now that is not the good part, the good part is those reports get my adrenaline going. Thus because I’m not happy with the news I put that energy into the workout. And for a brief period of time I feel like a tough guy.

But yesterday during my one hour workout I watched as three of the miners in Chile were rescued. I was honestly smiling during the entire workout.



I loved how each of the three guys that were rescued during that hour approach the President of Chile in the same way. After hugging family and other random rescue workers they each put out their hand to formally and respectfully greet the President. But with each of those three the President threw his arms around them and hugged them for an extended period of time. So good!

While I didn’t get my usual adrenaline rush from negative news reports throughout the workout I got something much more motivating… Watching good people being reunited with friends and loved ones. News like that not only makes you feel good inside, but it also makes you want to be a little bit better!

Much Love,
Eric

Sweet Home...

So a week or so ago I attended a reunion for the Alabama Birmingham Mission and I feel like I’ve been smiling ever since. You might wonder why going to a reunion would make me so happy… Often reunions (whether we are talking about missions, high school, or family reunions) can remind us of our shortcomings more than remind us of what the reunion is really about. Whether it is comparing ourselves to a seemingly perfect relative, or worrying about getting to our ideal weight in hopes of proving something to our graduating class, or still being single after you have been home from the mission for years. Whatever the case, reunions can be twisted into a form of self torture.

Thankfully that wasn’t the case with this reunion… It wasn’t huge and a number of people I love dearly weren’t there… Nevertheless getting to interact with a few of my friends from the mission, and seeing President and Sister Peterson again made me think about so many great memories…








I’m sure those pictures don’t make you feel the same way they make me feel… (and that is probably a good thing.)

Attending the reunion reminded me how grateful I am that I was able to serve a mission for two years… And even today the memories, people and experiences from the mission make me want to try a little harder to be a little better.

I find it crazy that even after all these years I’m still being blessed by serving a mission.

Much Love,
Eric D.

10/10/10

I felt like I should give at least a little shout out for today's date...
So there ya go!

-Eric

The past 5 months…

So I have been ever so slothful in keeping this blog up-to-date and for that I apologize. I have numerous “Lessons Learned”, thoughts, humorous stories, etc. all written out… But I always find myself being overly wordy and I really like to refine things before I post them. So every so often you will still be seeing one of those fatty posts pop up on my blog. But hopefully you will see many more little random thoughts here and there… Today’s little post will simply be an update on what I’ve been up to the past few months.

-I graduated from school (again) and this time got a “hood” with my diploma. That’s right I received a Masters Degree in “Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences”.

-Moved back to Bountiful.

-I began to check the internet daily for more than peoples status updates and sales on American Eagle… Yes I was searching for a job.

-I watched LOST come to an end. And LOVED it! (Yes it did take me some time to understand, but it was way good!)

-Began to attend a University ward in Salt Lake City.

-Went on a family trip to Disneyland.

-I applied at Southwest Research Institute (Swri), got a call for an interview, went to the interview, was offered a job, accepted the job, flew down to Texas for training, flew back to Utah to start working, currently working up at Hill Air Force Base and loving it.

And those are the “big” things that have happened over the past few months… I’ve been very blessed and things have turned out even better than I would have guessed as my time at USU was coming to a close. Makes me excited for what is still ahead!

Much Love,

Eric D.

Disneyland SnickerDoodles

So when I walked out the door this morning this is what I saw…

Yuck… After spending a week in California and having a decent week of weather in Logan I wasn’t prepared for the return of winter. So I thought today would be the perfect day to debut one of the new features on EricDStokes.com… That’s right every so often I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes. (You never know what you will get with my blog posts… random thoughts, entertainment news, some of my deeper thoughts, and now thoughts on food.)

This recipe comes courtesy of the bakery at Disneyland. Back in Critter Country they make some delicious Snicker Doodles.

Disneyland Snickerdoodles

Dough
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. For the dough: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the dry ingredients.
3. Form the dough into 1 inch balls. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten.

For the topping:. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the top of the cookie before baking.

Bake 8 minutes or until cooked through. (8-9 minutes seems to work for me.)

I’ve made the recipe twice and both times they turned out great! One of the best things about this recipe is that it makes 60 cookies… So not only do you have enough to take them around to the neighbors but you have plenty to “test” as your making them and plenty more to have the next day or two.

So ya... Try this out sometime soon, you will be glad you did!