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NoteSync

Apr 23

Posted by Kellie White in Major Events, Weekly Life | No Comments

Brady and his friend Kyle won the Crexendo Online Marketing competition a couple weeks ago.

(I know, I’ve killed all the suspense. But since it happened a couple weeks ago…most of you who care to read this probably already know. Continue reading if you wish.)

It all started over Christmas break, when Brady got an idea: “Taking notes should be simpler.” (insert Windows 7 commercial here.) He found a little desktop app called Notational Velocity and loved it, but it was only available for Mac users. And since Brady is a PC, he figured, “Why don’t I just make my own?” Being a software developer has its perks, I suppose.

The result? NoteSync.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

It’s a note-taking app that syncs with your Google Docs account, so you can access your notes wherever you are.

Well, winter semester started and Brady caught wind of an online marketing competition at BYU. Top Prize: $8,000 and a whole bunch of bragging rights. Brady joined his friend and fellow ISYS student Kyle, and together they formed Team NoteSync.

For the competition, they had to build an awesome website, and get people to come to that site and download/buy their product. Check out their site, it’s pretty sweet. (Not that I’m biased or anything.)

All that development took place over the course of about three months. When the competition finals arrived at the beginning of April, NoteSync was online, available for download…even a few purchases to show for it.

All the teams in the competition were present for the finals. I went with Brady as the official NoteSync cheerleader. As we were walking to the building, Brady said, “I really don’t think we’re going to win this competition.” He’d been saying it for days, and because I wanted to be optimistic and show my support for his hard work, I shook my head and said, “I think you’ve got a pretty good chance.”

Kyle met us there, with matching T-Shirts for the team (gotta have the lucky T-shirts.) There were 17 teams at the finals. Eight were announced as finalists and told to give a 3-minute pitch on their site, and what they did to increase traffic and conversions (purchases). The audience would then vote on who gave the best presentation, and that team won the audience choice award, and tickets to the first Jazz playoff game.

NoteSync made it to the final eight.

Brady stood up and gave his 3-minute spiel. In my opinion, he was the best, but I’m his wife so I’m going to think that, regardless. Turns out, the audience agreed with me, because when the votes were taken, NoteSync came out with literally twice as many votes as the nearest contender. (I bet it was the T-shirts.) Woohoo! Free Jazz tickets! At that point, I didn’t care if NoteSync won a cash award or not. At least we got sweet seats to the Jazz game.

Then came the announcement of the winners. Winners were chosen from the top eight, though the 3-minute pitch had nothing to do with their final placement.

The announcements were painfully slow…perhaps just because we were all so anxious.

Fourth place…not NoteSync.

Third place…still not us.

Second place…no.

At this point I was sure NoteSync hadn’t won. There were so many other competitors who had launched their sites earlier, had more links and traffic, and some had already raked in thousands of dollars in revenue. There was no way we could beat them.

First place…winner of $8,000…NOTESYNC!

Shut up. I totally didn’t believe it at first. Kyle and Brady jumped out of their seats. They ran to the front and were greeted by a giant check, and lots of cheers from the audience. A flurry of photographs and congratulations ensued, and even after most people cleared out of the room, Kyle and Brady were still shaking hands, answering questions from reporters, and grinning from ear-to-ear.

Of course, no victory is complete without the celebratory ice cream. We met up with Kyle’s wife Whitney and went to Burger Supreme, where shakes just so happened to be half off between the hours of 3 and 5. Yes, life doesn’t get much better than that.

Just goes to show what a good idea, a lot of hard work…and maybe some matching T-shirts…can do.

I’m so proud of my genius husband, and his genius friend.

Congratulations.

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It’s like walking…but on snow.

Feb 14

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | No Comments

Running is cold. Biking is dangerous. Skiing is expensive.

Let’s face it…finding the perfect winter sport can be tough. And while it’s important to stay fit during the more frigid parts of the year, sometimes the gym just gets a little too been-there-done-that.

So Brady and I picked up snowshoeing.

Actually, I’ve had my own snowshoes for a while, but for Christmas this year, Brady got a pair so we could go together. It’s a great workout…and a way for us to enjoy the wintry outdoors without having to pay too much for it.

A couple weeks ago we went up to Aspen Grove for some snowshoeing with our good friends Chase and Lindsey.

We started at the Timpanogos trailhead…and climbed until we got tired (and Lindsey and I started getting nervous about causing an avalanche.)

We made it up to an awesome frozen waterfall, where we sat down and ate some lunch…and took pictures.

On our way down, we slid down hills, raced through knee-deep powder, and jumped off (small) cliffs.
On one such cliff, Brady jumped and landed in about 3 feet of powder…and was stuck there for about 5 minutes while we dug him out.
But he made it.
See? It’s the perfect winter activity. All the fun of playing in the snow, the adventure of hiking, and the added cardio benefits that come from working your way through knee-deep powder.
We’re looking forward to going again.

Nightside

Jan 22

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | 2 Comments

Remember when you were young and you thought it was cool to stay up all night at slumber parties?

Well, I get to do that EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. (minus the slumber parties.)

Now that I’ve got you fuming with jealousy…let me explain a little bit about my job. I work as a producer on KSL’s morning news (watch it). The show starts at 5 a.m. and ends at 7. Which means my shift starts at 11pm the night before. Awesome, right?

Actually, I must say it’s been better than I expected. At first I dreaded the crazy schedule, but I’m managing the perpetual state of jet lag pretty well. On weekdays, I’m on the same sleep schedule as a person in Hong Kong…and on the weekends, I get back to a Utah schedule. Somehow, it works out. If you ever have questions on how to make it through a full-time graveyard shift, just ask. I’m pretty much a pro now.

I’m almost two months into my new position now…and I’ve started to notice a few things about myself, as a producer and as a person.

1. I’m getting really good at multitasking…probably too good at some points. During a typical show…it’s not uncommon for me to be checking traffic cameras, giving the weatherman time cues, talking to my reporter out in the field, writing scripts, and adding and removing stories from my show…simultaneously. Two months ago…that would have killed me. But as I’ve grown used to doing three to five things at once, I’ve realized that my interpersonal communication has become somewhat…fractured? I’ve caught myself on several occasions having a conversation with Brady, when suddenly I stand up to go wash the dishes or put away a pair of shoes. While this may seem like a rude or disinterested behavior…it feels quite normal to me. I’ve found in order to behave like a normal person in conversation, I have to consciously switch out of super-productive mode and into calm, focused mode.

2. Having an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift is NOT the same as working 9 to 5. 9 to 5 people typically have a lunch break…and can run errands on their way to and from work. Not so with 11 to 7. The only things open on my way to and from work are the gas station and the grocery store.

3. My daily meals now consist of two breakfasts and two snacks. I get home from work at 8 a.m., which my brain knows as breakfast time. I drink a weight loss shake or eat a small bowl of cereal, then I go to bed for the day. But when I wake up in the late afternoon…my body thinks it’s breakfast time again. So I have another bowl of cereal, or other type of breakfast food (I go through a lot more cereal these days). The only problem with that is…the average person’s “dinner time” falls just two hours later. So Brady will eat a full meal, but I only eat a half serving, then I’m full. Not much more than a snack, really. Then I go to work and snack all night.

Another strange eating habit I’ve noticed…I often crave pizza or a burger and fries as I’m driving home in the morning. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) there are very few fast food or pizza places open at 8 a.m.

4. I use ellipses with unjustifiable frequency (observe the above content of this post…count the number of times, including the one I just typed). This likely stems from broadcast writing habits…when I want the anchor to pause, or add emphasis to a certain point, I use those three magic dots. But it’s trickled into all my forms of written communication…emails, blogposts, even hand-written notes. I fear I am rapidly losing my ability to punctuate correctly.

Broadcast media…it does things to you.

But, all things considered, I honestly love my job. Where else would I be so happy working in the middle of the night? I love what I do, and I love the challenge of putting together a fresh newscast every day.

Life is good.

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Our [Hanukkah] Christmas Tree

Dec 11

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | 1 Comment

jewish christmas treeThis is our Christmas tree.

Brady and I spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving shopping for decorations and making some of our own. I was the designated “creative director”, and was convinced this was going to be the most amazing tree-on-a-budget ever.

I decided to break with the red-and-green tradition and went with blue and gold instead (contrary to what you may think…the color scheme had little or nothing to do with Brady’s and my BYU student/graduate status).

When it was finished, we both sat back and admired it for a while. It’s the first time I’ve been in charge of designing the tree decor…and I thought I did a pretty good job. The lights were low, a fire was glowing in the fireplace, and Christmas music was playing softly in the background. What a perfect holiday atmosphere.

In my excitement and pride for our first Christmas tree…I took this picture and sent it to my mom to show it off.

And my sister responded…”Happy Hanukka.”

Apparently blue holiday decorations are inseparably connected with Jewish tradition.

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The Human Race – Thanksgiving 5k

Nov 29

Posted by Brady White in Weekly Life | No Comments

The Human Race - Thanksgiving 5k

After the Human Race - Thanksgiving 5k

Most people wake up at 6:20 AM to go play football on Thanksgiving morning; however, we joined 3,600 others to run The Human Race 5k.

Our times according to the official race results:

  • Brady – 25:41.8 – 8:16 pace – 27th place in Males 20-24
  • Kellie – 29:55.3 – 9:37 pace – 13th place in Females 20-24
  • Greg – 19:49.9 – 6:23 pace – 4th place in Males 20-24

I am quite proud of myself for finally dressing well for the race  and finding my DC beanie that had been lost for 1.5 years.  I froze running the Frigid 5k in Feb of 2008.  An 8:16 pace is what I expected even though my shoe came untied with 150 meters to go.   Kellie beat her goal of running the 5k in under 30 minutes.

Before the race

Before the race

The race was well organized.  Other than the bathroom lights being off, I would recommend it to anyone in the Utah Valley / Draper area looking for a Thanksgiving morning run.  The entry fee was only $12 plus the cost of an optional shirt ($5 cotton, $13 technical).  The proceeds went to the Utah Food Bank which received over $52,000 from this race.  It always feels good running a race where your money is being donated.

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The Melting Pot

Nov 22

Posted by Brady White in Weekly Life | 1 Comment

The Mojo broth we used to cook all our raw meat

The Mojo broth we used to cook all our raw meat

Fondue?  I’m not going to lie, whenever I hear the word Fondue I think of Chase Brammer and him introducing me to this delicacy.  On Friday night we were invited to go to The Melting Pot with Kellie’s parents for Matt’s (Kellie’s little brother) birthday.  It was, well, a 3.5 hour experience.

Our four course meal started off with two different cheeses, one being Spinach Artichoke.  We dipped breads, broccoli, and even apples into the cheese.

The second course was a delicious salad that didn’t include heating up a pot of liquid and dipping various foods into it.

As for the third course, I’ve never been served raw filet mignon, chicken, steak, shrimp, and sausage and been expected to cook it myself.  Until that night. It was delicious.  The waiter brought out all sorts of sauces to add to our cooked meats, my favorite being the sweet and sour sauce.  I would’ve liked to  taste the shrimp and the lobster tail, but knowing my throat, I decided not to.

Brady & Kellie at the Melting Pot

The fourth course was my favorite, chocolate.  The waiter lit the chocolate on fire with a bit of alcohol which is always entertaining. I don’t care who you are, when my dessert is in flames, I like it.  But the best part was dipping the fresh strawberries into the cookies and cream chocolate, so delicious.

We were there from 7:30 pm to 11:00 pm, but that is atypical.  One of our burners went out and we had to wait for it to be fixed for 20 minutes.

Kellie, Lauren, and I gave Matt a cooking apron with “Dude” written on it.  Matt is a crazy good chef and an apprentice of Martha Stewart, hence the reason why we also gave him unsalted butter and sea salt which are must-haves for his Martha Stewart recipes.

Overall The Melting Pot was an enjoyable experience and we hope to go back for more chocolate, cheese, and meats.

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Domestic Dynamite

Nov 20

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | 5 Comments

If you could have seen my kitchen last night…you would think something had exploded in there.

Frosting on the walls, flour on the floor, dough in the sink…and the scent of freshly zested oranges.

That’s because I was trying to make Brady’s mom’s Orange Rolls. Not an easy task.

A word about Brady’s mom: She is fantastic. She’s an AMAZING cook, and she knows how to make just about everything…from Orange rolls to English toffee to pizza and beyond. Naturally, when Brady married me…I knew I’d have some big shoes to fill.

Fortunately, I’m not alone in wanting to learn the White family baking ways. When Brady’s mom taught a Relief Society cooking class on how to make orange rolls…I was there with two of my sisters-in-law, seated on the front row, taking copious notes.

That was about a week and a half ago. Since then, I’ve thought several times about trying out what I had learned…but I was scared. My previous experience with yeast products had not exactly been stellar (insert tough cinnamon rolls and crumbly flat dinner rolls here). But yesterday I had a lot of free time, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

One thing that I have never had to do before: scald milk. It’s where you get the milk really hot, without bringing it to a boil. Turns out, that makes the whey proteins inactive, which means the dough can build gluten better and make fluffy rolls rather than dense ones. Anyway, this recipe calls for scalded milk.

After the milk was finished I put it in the fridge to cool, and started working on the other ingredients…like yeast. This is another thing I’ve always been scared of. If you get the water too warm, it’ll kill it. But it needs to be warm enough to activate. Needless to say, I was very careful…and after a few minutes I had this:

active yeast

Success! (Looks gross, huh?) If I sat and stared at it, I could see it growing and bubbling. But apparently that’s a good thing.

I mixed up the dough and put it in front of the fireplace to rise. It looked pretty pathetic–just a sticky little blob in the bottom of a mixing bowl. I left to run to the grocery store, hoping it would rise. Imagine what a proud moment it was for me when I returned to this:

Rising bread dough

Yes, the dough rose to the top of the bowl and nearly overflowed by the time it was finished.

At this point I was feeling pretty good about myself. But then came the messy part.

zesterOut came the flour and rolling pin. And butter, sugar, and oranges. Note: zesting oranges (scraping the outer peel off) is most effectively done with a zesting tool (see image). I did not have one of these, so I used a cheese grater instead. And in the process of zesting the orange…I also zested my thumb. Cheese graters are pretty sharp. Don’t find that out the hard way.

I will be buying a zesting tool for future orange rolls.

After I formed the rolls and put them in muffin tins to rise for another hour, I moved on to tackle the frosting. And tackle is probably an accurate word for what I was doing. The only thing I had for mixing was a hand beater with one speed: ultrasonic fast. And when you’re mixing a pound of powdered sugar into milk and butter…let’s just say it’s less than effective. Powdered sugar was flying around me in a cloud, and bits of frosting were hitting the wall, the toaster, the floor, and the chair on the other side of the kitchen. It was a disaster. But it tasted all right at the end.

Finally I put the rolls in to bake for 10 minutes. I frosted them hot out of the oven, and here’s the finished product:

Orange rolls!

(They were so good, Brady had already eaten one by the time I took the picture).

It was a 3 hour battle, but I survived. And these things taste amazing, too. Light, moist, fluffy…I think I’m going to eat another one right now.

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Look what I made

Nov 17

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | 1 Comment

pink and brown baby blanketIt’s a baby blanket. Not for me, of course. Some friends of ours recently had a baby, and I wanted to give them something. A little girl can never have too many blankies, right?

I don’t consider myself a particularly crafty person…so when I make something like this, it’s a great triumph for me.

So here it is, in its full artistic splendor.

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Provo Nightlife

Nov 16

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | No Comments

Spark logoKinda sounds like an oxymoron, right?

The only nightlife I ever knew in Provo was the awkward-date-at-the-creamery nightlife…or the cramming-for-finals-at-the-library nightlife. Now that was a rockin’ time.

But this weekend, Brady and I discovered a semi-swanky jewel in this sleepy little college town. It’s called Spark Restaurant Lounge.

Saturday night we went to a BYU Singers/Concert Choir Performance (which was fantastic…I highly recommend them.) The concert was sponsored in part by Spark, and we got a free $15 gift card at the event. When the performance was over, Brady and I decided to take advantage of that gift card and finish off our night with some drinks and dessert.

When we walked in the door, I immediately felt like this kind of place didn’t belong in historic, traditional downtown Provo. The design was sleek and modern, the lighting was low, and instead of being overcrowded with tables and chairs, there were couches and benches in most areas, and plenty of space to move around in. There was a small stage area where a local musician was setting up for a live performance. Off to the left was the bar. Of course, being in Provo, it was completely non-alcoholic (otherwise I doubt they’d get much business…from the locals, anyway.)

Brady at the tableThe menu was creative. There were a few appetizers, entrees, and desserts, but the main focus was on their beverages, which I have to say were a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of our fabulous drinks…but they were very well-presented. Brady ordered a Double-berry Martini (blackberry and raspberry juice) that came served in a martini glass, complete with “salted” (actually it was sugared) edge and a toothpick with berries instead of an olive. Clever. And did I mention it was fantastic? I had a Mango Mojito (mango and lime juice with a hint of mint) served in a tall, thin glass with mint leaves and plenty of ice.

We also had a banana strudel, with mango ice cream. Delicious.

Afterward we lounged on an ottoman to listen to the live music. Also a great Olivia M. Leeperformance. Her name is Olivia Maude Lee, I think. Look her up if you can.

Overall, a very non-Provo experience. The menu is a bit pricey (Brady and I paid about $17 plus tip for two drinks and a dessert) but it’s worth it for a unique and classy experience. It reminded me of restaurants and bars I visited while I was in London…minus the alcohol and the creepy guys trying to buy you a vodka shot to go with your Sprite (and no, I never drank alcohol while I was there.) It’s definitely a place I’d take friends to from out of town, to show them a fun time that’s not too noisy or hyped.

Check it out on University Avenue.

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The Muffin Fight

Nov 11

Posted by Kellie White in Weekly Life | No Comments

costco muffinsIt sounds epic, I know.

And it all happened in less than 90 seconds.

Brady and I like Costco muffins (but then, who doesn’t?). We also like to package them individually and freeze them so they’re easily accessible and stay fresh longer.

But packaging a dozen oversized Costco muffins in individual zip-loc bags can be tedious. Unless you get creative.

This weekend, Brady challenged me to a game of speed-bagging muffins. The person who could bag six muffins the fastest, wins. Not one to shy away from a good competition, I accepted, fully knowing that I had a better strategy.

We set out our zip-loc bags and prepared our muffins for packaging.

And then we started the timer.

I pulled out with an early lead, because I deliberately kept my fingers off the sticky muffin tops so as not to make my fingers slippery when I zipped the bags shut. As Brady complained about his fingers getting slimed with blueberries…I gained a one-muffin lead.

I stayed ahead for almost the whole time, until I grabbed my last muffin. Brady started shoving me and pushing the muffin away from my bag, as he worked to secure his final muffin. When I was finally able to break free of the harrassment, I tried desperately to zip my bag shut.

But alas, Brady claimed the victory. With only milliseconds to spare.

Next time we do this…there’s going to be a No-Interference rule.

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