Warm Fuzzies on a Cold Day

My dad bought me these alpaca socks for my graduation. He especially ordered them off the internet for me which really means something because my dad DOESN'T use the internet. Now this gift seemed just a tad bit nonsensical in the sweltering heat of late April, but my Dad obviously has more foresight than I do. I am sure grateful for them today in this unseasonably cold weather. It might be sort of freezing in my room, but at least my feet are warm and cozy!

Yesterday in art class we got to talk about Greece. Of course, we didn't necessarily get to do anything because I choose what we talk about. Anywho, I love all things Greece. It is currently #1 on my list of places to go. I love the food, the history, the mythology, the art, and perhaps most of all the literature. I really enjoy Greek day (we did one last year in Enrichment reading) because it is something that I am truly interested in which isn't always the case with my job... coughcoughctechnicalsciencecoughcoughc. We talked about some of the major gods and goddesses, heroes, and some of the most famous stories. We watched a clip from this rather freaky rendition of Aeschylus' The Orestia. 

Our art medium of the day was clay (well more like off-brand play dough). I told the kids they could make anything Greek. Here are a few of my favs:

A statue of Poseidon: 

                               

Mask of Agamemnon: 

Never Have I Ever...

For FHE (which is now called simply home evening...no family) this Monday we played never have I ever. Basically you go around the room and somebody says something they have never done i.e. "I have never broken a bone." If anyone in the room has broken a bone they have to put a finger down. When you are all out of fingers to put down you are out of the game. 

I lost.

Of the 15ish people in the room, I was the very first one to go out. Now in this game that makes you a loser. However, I didn't feel at all bad about losing this particular game. I lost because I have been east of the Mississippi, caused a car accident, been skiing, gone snowboarding, driven for more than 3 straight hours, traveled to a foreign country, dyed my hair, worn braces, etc. etc. A person who has done lots of traveling, crazy things, painful things, etc. stands absolutely no chance in winning never have I ever. Pretty much the winner of this game is the person that has done the least amount of things. Losing this game made me very happy about all the interesting and diverse experiences I have had.

So the point of this post is...

I'm proud to be a loser!

...in this circumstance anyways.

Coming soon...

Pics of my PJs I made!!!

It just took me about three years

So about three years ago I had a slight financial moment of weakness whilst hitting up flea market estate sales with Jessica and Wewe.

I found this adorable necklace made of bakelite beads. It cost about $20 which is more than I usually spend, but I just HAD to have it. Bakelite beads are pretty awesome things in my opinion. Here's a brief outline of what bakelite is just in case you don't know:

One of the first plastics made from synthetic components (although phenol can be extracted from biological sources), Bakelite was used for its electrically nonconductiveand heat-resistant properties in radio and telephone casings and electrical insulators, and also in such diverse products as kitchenware, jewellery, pipe stems, and children's toys. In 1993 Bakelite was designated an ACS National Historical Chemical Landmark in recognition of its significance as the world's first synthetic plastic.^[1]

The "retro" appeal of old Bakelite products and labor intensive manufacturing has made them quite collectible in recent years.

Not long after purchasing this necklace I came back to BYU for my sophomore year. Less than a month into school, wouldn't you know, my necklace  broke all over my bedroom floor while putting it on for church one morning.

I dismally gathered up all the pieces and put them into a baggie, and there they sat up until this past Saturday night. 

On a sudden whim I decided it was high time to dig  out that old necklace and fix it already, and that's just what I did. I was quite a happy girl when I wore it to church on Sunday!

Something that makes me laugh...really hard!

HERE ARE SOME old facebook posts that I really love. A special thank you to J.K. Rowling who has provided the subject matter for a countless number of hilarious arguments, and there is no end in sight! (Remember to read them from the top up.)

Michael Gower i mean, how is that even at legitimate response to what i said?

December 3, 2007 at 7:19pm · Comment · Like

Rachel Finley Are you calling me fat?

December 1, 2007 at 7:23pm · Comment · Like

Michael Gower 

you are pathetic. It really does not phase me that you claim i live in a trailer, because its such a huge fallacy. you and jessica both have to be the biggest and most hated witches in the magical world. i feel sorry for the both of you, me and my...Read More

November 30, 2007 at 5:05pm · Comment · Like
and this one:

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Rachel Finley Just the usual. Being perfect, making everyone jealous, and being a far superior wizard than you.

October 8, 2007 at 10:30pm · Comment · Like

Michael Gower RACHEL! LEANNE! smith. i mean, what the hell are you even duns right now?

October 7, 2007 at 10:32pm · Comment · Like

Remove

and one last one:

Rachel Finley Please...only poors live in Wizarding Heights. Wait, that's where you live isn't it?

Oh, and I got real confussed when you texted me this morning because I thought it was my alarm for some reason and I didn't know what was going on.

November 1, 2007 at 3:08pm · Comment · Like

Michael Gower YOU ARE BY FAR THE WORST WIZARD IN ALL OF WIZARDING HEIGHTS!

October 31, 2007 at 8:17pm · Comment · Like

Rachel Finley Please...I'm the delusional one? Don't make me laugh. I mean which one of us thinks that they are in the richest wizarding family and that they're allowed to breed unicorns?

I'll give you a hint...

It's not me.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2007 at 3:50pm · Comment · Like

Michael Gower Wow. What it must be like to be so delusional...you know, I bet it must be nice to go through life being completely oblivious...is it?

October 31, 2007 at 12:19pm · Comment · Like

Rachel Finley Please, just because no one cares about what you have to say you feel this need to try and take me down with you. I would prefer you didn't do that. Tanks.

October 31, 2007 at 12:19am · Comment · Like

Veggie burgers that don't masquerade as meat

As pretty much anyone who has spoken to me in the last six months knows, I went to London this Spring. One of the best things I ate while there was a veggie burger I bought in Borough Market. It was delicious, and I have been scouring the internet looking for a recipe that seemed close to the one I bought in London. I finally found one! I improvised a little bit, but it turned out delicious!

I was severely disappointed because I was unable to find haloumi cheese. I even ventured to Good Earth for the first time, and they had never even heard of it. I used mozzarella instead and it worked just fine.

I found the recipe I used here.

I had a little bit of trouble keeping the patties together when I flipped them in the frying pan, but I just used my spatula and squished them back together after turning. One of the best things about this burger is the many different ways to eat it. It is delicious all by itself, but you can also eat in on a salad, as a burger, a sandwich, and so on and so forth.

Here's the first way I tried it:

I put it on plain wheat bread with hummus and salsa. BUT my favorite way to eat it is on flatbread with just the hummus!

There was enough from the one recipe for both lunch and dinner, and I still have at least two more meals worth of leftovers in the fridge!

All in all it was a very successful cooking venture.

My Dream Grilled Cheese and Monster Mashing Fox Fairies

I had this dream the other night. Well, at least I think it was a dream. It might have been one of those weird thoughts you have when you are almost but not quite asleep. The circumstances are neither here nor there.

The point is that this thought/dream was about a grilled cheese sandwich. The grilled cheese had colby jack cheese, Italian seasoning, Spinach leaves, and balsamic vinegar. It was quite yummy in my thoughts so I tried it out the next day for lunch. It's good in real life too! I highly recommend picking one up! I also think it would be good with a tomato slice thrown it, but I didn't have any.

We learned about fox fairies this week during enrichment reading. Basically, they are a mythical animal from Chinese tradition that can change into any shape human or animal. The writing prompt was:

Suppose a fox fairy came to your school and took on the shape of a teacher or student. Write a story about what happened.

Here is what Tawni thought would happen:

She would be an At student that Always goes to Resses and Pe. Then She got in BIG trouble. And then she got mad and gave every body bad luck. She got in trouble cuz She punched a kid in the face. She tor the school apart the school became abounolin then ghost came every were then they did the monster mash. [insert pic of monster face here] munste mash

I have no idea what an At student is or what she meant by the word abounolin, maybe it was aboundin, but the story had a happy ending. That's what really counts!

And for your reading entertainment here is an original book of the dead written and illustrated by 6th grader Monica (you have to click on it to read it):

And the ending (it's on the back of the paper) goes:

The guy made it to the main got. he complete his journey.

"Here you go," said the man.

"Thank you, I've been waiting for this," said the main got.

Milestone of the day: I had my first kid in tears, and there's a good chance it won't be the last.

Also, if you are interested bounce on over to my class blog and read my post about Christian screamo music.