Just Fooling Around

I really like to celebrate holidays, even small ones like Saint Patrick's Day, but it's hard to get excited about them when it's just the two of us. Especially since James isn't always big on the whole "get in the mood for the festivities by decorating, preparing and planning some activities" thing, especially if it's a small holiday. But that's good news on April Fools!

I really didn't get very much trickery in. I only did two things, but they were fun! The first was at school, since I was substituting for one of my math teacher friends. I was to be there for the whole week, and on April 1st there was a review scheduled for all classes. The test would be on April 3rd. So at the beginning of the class I made up some gibberish about the substitute plans not being very clear and having some mix-ups, that unfortunately led to the test being that day.

The students were very upset. "What?!" "Are you serious?" "Why do we have to take the test today?!" I was amazed that they all believed me. I told them to take out a notebook paper (claiming the copy machine was broken) and that the test questions would be on the Powerpoint presentation. It also made me kind of sad how easily they believed me, like they were hardly even surprised that a teacher would be so incompetent with scheduling.

Anyway, they get all ready with their papers and pencils, and finally I displayed Question 1 on the screen and when I hit next it said, April Fools! No test today!

"Oh--oops," I said. "Looks like it's April Fools! It's a review today. Don't worry, the test is next time!"

I thought this was most hilarious. All the students, however, just stared at me. A few of them with their mouths hanging open. Some pencils dropped.

Finally one student said, "That... was NOT funny."

Bwahaha. I can't even think about it without laughing.

Next was the April Fools dinner. I made James stay in the living room while I made dinner so it would still be a surprise. Then he came in to see...

Cake for dinner!

It looks like cake, right?

It's actually meatloaf. And pink mashed potatoes. But I'm very very happy with the fact that James actually did fall for it, for a couple seconds! Made it totally worth it. In his own words, "I wouldn't put it past you at all to actually make cake for dinner."




It was my first time making meatloaf. I'm glad I did, because it opened my eyes to how easy meatloaf is. I never would have guessed. The part that took the longest was actually the potatoes, because I dyed them pink with beet juice. I had to boil the beets, and then boil down the water until there was just concentrated red dye left.

At least, that was the plan. But by the time it had boiled for quite a while, I realized the water had changed from pink to brown. I panicked for a second but luckily I had read one website that said bases, such as baking soda, made beets lose their red color and that's why some people used vinegar, an acid, in a red velvet cake recipe. I didn't want to add vinegar, because gross, but I tried lemon juice, and I think it worked!

On the left is the water that had been boiled for too long. The right side is after I added lemon juice and diluted it with plain water. Eh? Eh? It's not like it would have been the end of the world to have brown mashed potatoes--maybe it would have looked like chocolate. But it's fun to learn kitchen chemistry!

Duchesne

It's starting to be hiring time for the next school year, so I've been looking around for job openings. Honestly I've been a little less than enthusiastic about it though. I haven't been very excited since being rejected 4 times. But I went to the Teacher Fair at BYU and met a few people. I saw the principal from ALA (where I applied and interviewed in December), and he recognized me and acted really friendly and even asked for a resume. He told me they may have an opening for next year but it didn't sound super promising.

Anyway, I met some people from Duchesne County School District. That's about 2 hours east of Provo, out in rural Utah. They are super desperate for teachers who will come out there, so they wanted to interview and show me around. It also seems to be a geology-rich place, so I figured we could at least check it out.

Well, it turns out that 2 hours feels a lot longer when you're actually driving than when you're thinking about driving. It felt like we were going on a road trip!

But at least it was really scenic!

On the way home we stopped at a little rest stop.

I did the interview, it went really well, and I toured the school. Everything seemed really nice and it would probably be my dream job if it weren't for the commute. They ended up offering me the job, but we decided to turn it down because nothing would really make sense. I'm not going to spend 4 hours every day driving. Moving in between would be expensive and inconvenient. Living apart will just not fly. And lastly I can probably get a job elsewhere that's closer.

But it was, really, a very fun road trip.

I really love these power line holder thingies. Emily and I always called them cat aliens. Every time I see some, I take a picture and send it to her.

We passed by lots of giant fields, with these cool twisty sprinkler systems. We also passed through Uintah National Forest and by Deer Creek Reservoir, but didn't stop for pictures.

More Lunch Art

Finally, what we've all been waiting for! James, wielding a Sharpie, strikes again! You can now enjoy more amazing lunch bag art.

Friday 3/6, Orem High School working with special ed kids. This and the one below are based on this cartoon. Just don't watch any of the other ones. This one is just inane, but some of them are almost like Happy Tree Friends. And if you don't know what that is, thank your lucky stars.

Same day as above. It was a two-sided specialty lunch bag :)

Monday 3/9, Salem Junior High also with special ed kids. Drawing based on this picture. (It's from the blog Hyperbole and a Half, but it has some not very nice words in it so I'm just linking to the picture.)

Tuesday 3/31, Provo High School teaching math. It was just a quick little one but I thought it was cute anyway.

Wednesday 4/1, Provo High School still teaching math. And may I just say, THIS. IS AMAZING.

This one isn't copied from any picture or based on any internet joke...it's all from James' mind. Which is both strange and hilarious.

Me: "Why is life spelled with a Y?"
James: "I thought it seemed more gangster-y..."

Talk to a Geologist

A few weeks ago Thanksgiving Point, a natural history museum, was having a geology themed night for families. Kids would come and get rocks and they would learn about them and how they were formed. My friend Matt Randall and I were asked to come in and talk to the kids about their rocks and what people in the geology profession do. It was fun to explain to little kids what their rocks were and how we could tell. Most of the rocks were just some form of sandstone so that was pretty easy. Matt and I ended up just chatting and looking at some of the fossils in the room that we were in as people tended to come in waves. All in all it was a fun night to just hang out.

Best Friends

So the other day I was reading on a blog about a photographer who used these little books to give out to potential clients with examples of his work. I got to thinking that since it was only $4 to get it printed and shipped that I would make one for Miranda. I looked through the pictures that I have and found pictures of both of us and some pictures that were taken of us individually. Sorting through the pictures I picked the ones that looked best together on the facing pages and send it off to be printed. It printed and shipped in just a few days. When it came in the mail I intercepted it and wrapped it before Miranda got home.

Miranda really likes surprises so the day I ordered it I talked about this surprise that she was going to get...keeps her on her toes. Anyways...the day it came in I gave it to her and she was very surprised that I made it. We really are best friends.

Poof! You're a pie!

Since Pi Day was so exceptional this year, I figured I'd stretch it out into two days! (That's not actually what I figured. We just didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted to do in one day.) So on Sunday the 15th, it happened. I knew it had to be now or never. The most momentous Pi Day, and I did it. I really did it. I made my first pie.

It also happened to be the last day I would see one of my best friends from high school, Daniel, for two years, since he was leaving on the 25th of March. So we made it a two in one. Daniel and another of my best friends, Jennifer (they are siblings, coincidentally), helped me make the pie.

I say "one of my best friends," which is true, but the other sad truth is that I haven't actually talked to him for almost 2 years. (The irony.) But it was great to catch up with both of them, and everything was just like old times. Except better, because we made a pie!!!!

I got the pie crust recipe from Brooke, a friend from my ward. It was fantastic crust! Very flaky and delicious. Brooke is super sweet. I texted her a picture of the pie and she said, "It's beautiful!"

Also, after the pie was in the oven we began to wonder when it was considered "done." I looked it up on the internet and found this hilarious gem. Made by a website called the Pie Academy. (Don't feel obligated to watch...it's not for all senses of humor.) Sorry I couldn't find this anywhere on YouTube or else I would have put it right on the blog.






Actually, the truth is we made 2 pies. The crust recipe claimed to be enough for FIVE pies, but it was not quite enough for two. The second pie was a little embarrassing because we ran out of dough. I was using up the last tiny scraps just to put those strips on the top.

The filling is apple, by the way. I went for a classic. It was the best pie I have ever tasted.

A Fun Evening

After the Pi Day festivities we hurried back to Provo for our friend Taylor's birthday party. In honor of the day, we stopped at Zeek's Pie Shakes (formerly Sammy's Pie Shakes--James: "Zeek and Sammy had a breakup?") to get Taylor a birthday shake.

 The party was really fun. Katie, Taylor's wife, made an exquisite four-layer cake.

We also played a fun game where everybody anonymously writes down a celebrity or character, and then we have to guess who wrote what. If you correctly guess what somebody else wrote, they join your team. As soon as I heard "Admiral Ackbar," I knew James was on my team.

And here they are. James and Taylor have known each other since freshman year in the dorms. It was nice to see them. All in all, a great evening!

An Irrational Chain of Events

As many of us may know, March 14, 2015 was the most momentous occasion of the century. Most especially at 9:26 (both AM and PM). It is also known by the name of 3.1415926 . . .

π

Pi Day. We did many momentous things for this occasion. To start off, I created a pi chain.

This photo courtesy of my Dad!

This chain has 314 links. Each link represents a digit of pi, and each color stands for a number. Red=1, Orange=2, Yellow=3, and so on. We hung it up at my family's house, for all to see and admire. This wasn't even the nerdiest part of Pi Day!

The reason we went to visit my family this weekend was because of Spencer my brother. Somehow, in the past year or two he has gotten ridiculously into Rubik's Cubes. And what do you know. For the first time in four years, there's a Rubik's Cube competition in Utah! This is a WCA (World Cubing Association) official competition. Best of all it was right at the University of Utah, about 30 minutes away. James and I an my brother Josh only went for part of it, but my parents stayed all day.

Spencer Specs:

"How fast can you solve a Rubik's Cube?" (A seemingly simple question.)

"Well, that depends . . ."
3x3				4x4
Two Hands			One Hand	1 min 32.26 sec
Fastest		Average	24.68 sec
Overall	Official	18.97 sec
What we really wanted to know ↓	15.71 sec
12.54 sec

He got to compete with about 80 other cubers. And as we all knew, Spencer is a cuber to be reckoned with. I gave him the nickname "Cubert."

I'm super glad I got this picture RIGHT as he finished a solve.

Here's a video of how fast he REALLY goes.

So that was a very fun day. To end it all with a bang we went back to Provo for our friend Taylor's birthday party. But that's next. And if you're thinking, "What?! The Pi Day of the century and no Pie?!" Don't be alarmed. I didn't actually make pie on Pi Day (okay, be alarmed), but I did make it the very next day. Which counts because it's pie. More about that later.

Hope everyone had a grand March 14th!