You know you're a Geography Major when...

Someone erroneously calls the Baltic states the Balkan states, and you recognize it. Thank you How I Met Your Mother.

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.
- Sir Francis Bacon

text support

Today Matthew flew home for the weekend to say goodbye to his brother. Michael will leave for his mission on Wednesday. It's not that I miss him -I do but that's not really what this is about. It's that I know I can text him at any time but for the first time in 4 months my text is second. Family is first. That's the way it's supposed to be. I want it to be that way. But, I miss having my best friend only a text (or a 3 minute drive) away.

I'll probably get a lot done this weekend though.

At work I got a text sent from a flying plane. It made me remember the last time he sent me a text from the air -Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure I wanted to be with him then. When I got this text I was sad for the November Lana because she really didn't know what was up. She didn't know how amazing Matthew is. She didn't know how much happier she would be if she gave him a proper chance. She didn't know. But April Lana knows. And when April Lana got the text from the air, it made her smile. It made her sigh with contentedness. She knows how amazing he is. She knows how lucky she is. She knows and it makes her glad.

This Week in Pictures

Last Thursday through this Wednesday I was a visiting student teacher at Scera Park Elementary School in Orem.

On Tuesday I taught about daily lives in Revolutionary America. I had them switch their shoes on their feet to experience not having form fitting shoes as it was in the 1770s.

We also made butter -ineffectively but I know what to do next time I do this.

I showed them and example of embroidery and we smelled tea in bags. I had them smell it before I told them what it was. It was a fun inquiry lesson, they all had great ideas as to what it was.

Then I played a song for them, and then we sang a song together called "Soldier, soldier will you marry me?" I couldn't sing on key (from nerves I guess) but we all had fun and no one minded that I didn't sound perfect. One girl told me I was awesome for playing the guitar. :)

I love teaching.

Wednesday night Matt and I went to see Tartuffe on BYU campus. My friend Rafe was in it. We had a lot of fun (mostly taking photos of ourselves) but the play was really awesome.

The stage set up

Matt with his laser eye (shooting Voldemort in the background)

After about 30 shots of Matt making a dumb face we got one where we both look good.

Friday (today) we went up to Brighton Ski Park for night skiing with Matt's Dad and roommate Seth.

It was super cold, but I was carving up a storm on that mountain.

The snow was super different from Shasta -it was dry. It was almost too dry and I kept catching my edge in this fake feeling snow. There were some places where it was icier and it was much easier to carve. I had a lot of fun and I did not get hurt. Seth and Matt and Matt's Dad wiped out a few times fairly badly. I did not wipe out once. I fell a few times and got stuck on the flat part of a run 3 different times, but I escaped injury-less, besides a skinny bruise across my entire back where a girl plowed into me as I was strapping on my binding...

Let me stress that it was ridiculously cold. I was not properly warm until after we gorged ourselves at In-N-Out and I had a bath.

I think this is an especially flattering photo of the two of us, so it had to be included. Guh...

Waldon, Cookies, Cream & Poulet

This past week was my first week observing at a local school in Provo. I went to Walden Charter School. I loved it there. It was a bit 'liberal' and some have considered it 'unruly' and 'wild.' I, however, loved it.

I felt that while the students may have traditionally less respect for authority, they seemed to have more respect for people. They treated me as a person from whom they could learn. They were interested in what I could teach them.

I got three opportunities to teach this week. I co-taught two periods of Financial Literacy for 11th and 12th graders on the basics of banking. I really enjoyed it and the students seemed to like it as well. Today I taught a cooking class. We made homemade oreos (my sister's recipe) and we reviewed convection, conduction, and radiation. I LOVED IT! Can we talk about the MOST PERFECT JOB EVER?! Teaching and Cooking. My loves combined. If only that also involved travelling somehow... It was amazing. I loved it.


In other news, I made this really great chicken for my roommates when they came home from Christmas break. It's called Poulet aux quarante gousses d'ail. (Chicken with forty garlic cloves.) It was delicious. We all watched a movie and feasted. I also made raspberry scones with clotted cream and fresh raspberries for breakfast. Uhm, tasty. Luckily Matt came home early so he could enjoy some as well.

all the garlic skins...

Have I ever mentioned that I love cooking? Well, I do.