Aggie Land

Some of my favorite places with some of my favorite people.




We lost the football game, but my grandma made the carmel for our world famous carmel rice crispie treats. I think that was more than enough to satisfy the kids. :)

Religion Quiz.

Interesting... Check it out.

http://www.selectsmart.com/RELIGION/

USU-- this really is the right place.

I just got back from a trip to UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, the land of the Aggies. I love USU. Growing up in Logan, I guess that's only natural, but when I say I love USU, I mean it. I really love it.

My favorite things in no particular order:

The ride board (now there's just a big sign with the website)
Aggie ice cream (you get free coupons after the campus tour)
The Hello Sidewalk
Fresh, hot bread from Hazel's (The Hub has always been a cool hang out spot)
The super quick, user friendly "check your email only" stations
The Howl
Pretending to do homework in The Hub or the library or on the grass in the quad.
Standing next to someone on the Aggie shuttle who was either from or had served in South America, thereby losing all sense of personal space
Burritos on the 2nd floor of the TSC. What a great discovery!
True Aggie Night
Conversations overheard in the LDS institute involving marriage, prayers about marriage, and overly determined men who are, in a frightening way, bordering the sometimes thin line between "persistent" and "stalker"
Dances in the Fieldhouse

I Love Sushi.

I really do. Sushi Fever. I Love Sushi. Sushi Mon. WOW! Sushi. Even Kona Grill if I'm broke and desperate.

Just so this is really official, my favorite rolls are, in order of deliciousness:

Something's Wrong #7 (from Sushi Fever. I Love Sushi isn't quite as good.)
Japanese lasagne
Happy Birthday Special
Vegas 51 Special (only available at I Love Sushi)
Rock N Roll
Something's Wrong #15
Crazy Horse
Screaming Orgasm
Almost anything else with crab and cream cheese (without eel) is tied for 9th place.

The first time I went to Sushi Fever was for my birthday celebration almost exactly three years ago. As we walked in the front door, I asked some customers who were leaving if the sushi was good.
One of the girls got a big smile on her face and replied, "Oh my gosh! Screaming orgasm!"
I was a little shocked by her response. "Wow," I thought to myself. "This must be very good sushi."
My friends and I were surprised when, a few minutes later, we saw that Screaming Orgasm was one of the specialty rolls. Of course we ordered it right away.
So, this pic is a couple of years old, but it really reminds me of what good times are all about. Hanging out with my BFF, who's somehow very talented in flirting with older men, who then offer to pay for our sushi, in the days when each sushi chef knew us by name. Seriously. Things can't get much better than that.

St. Charles Bridge

Today, during church, I was brainstorming. I was listening to the speaker, definitely, but in the down time, I was thinking about a short story I need to write for my American Short Story class. My assignment?

Write a short story.

That's it. A little vague? Very.
Back to the brainstorming.
So, today I remembered one of the most crazy things. So crazy, in fact, that I think it may make a perfect short story.

A few years ago... (okay, many years ago), I was talking with a friend who had served a mission in Czech Republic. I'd traveled through Prague, and spent a few days in Prague, so I was telling him about my experience and sharing photos. He asked if I'd met the devil on St. Charles Bridge.

31... and 4 cakes!

I must preface this by saying there have been years in the past when I haven't had ANY birthday cakes. Last year, for example. No cake, but I did go to an Aerosmith concert. This year? 4 cakes. Yep. F-O-U-R cakes, one brownie, and one chocolate chip cookie.

Cake #1- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake
(from my amazing visiting teacher, Jessica)

Cake #2- A GIGANTIC cake from Costco with TONS of frosting.
(The tutors in my classroom got this one for my 6th period class. They obviously like 6th period more than 8th period, since this cake was the more delicious of the two.)

Cake #3- Von's chocolate cake marketed as "the moistest cake ever"
(The second cake presented by the AVID tutors., Very moist.)

Cake #4- Albertson's white cake with strawberry filling
(From Merissa, one of my AVID juniors. Delicious. My friend's pretty much devoured this one last night.)

Brownie- Some type of weird fat free brownie that tasted... fat free AND
Chocolate chip cookie- Baked fresh by a loving CCSD lunch lady
(Thanks to C'Lee and Sadi. This was obviously the only type of cake-like substances the girls could find during their lunch hour, but the thought was very sincere.

So, yes. Lots of cake this year. Good birthday, overall.

p.s. Oh yeah, I also had dinner at one of my favorite sushi places with some of my favorite friends, got flowers (awww...) and balloons, cards from students, tons of texts, and heard from people I haven't talked to in a while. It really was a good day. 31 is seeming better all the time.

100 things you didn't know about me!

Fine. I couldn't quite come up with 100 things, so instead, I came up with 7. (That number is more lucky, anyway.)

1. I used to tell people my favorite color was silver because it sounds exciting, but deep down inside, I think it’s always been brown.
2. I agree with my students. White people really can’t dance.
3. I like to make up random lies to fool people.
4. I’ve always regretted not staying in Ukraine and working for the embassy.
5. I worry about my high school students almost constantly.
6. I Love Hip Hop! (I don’t entirely love Triple E or Weezy, but I can listen to a few songs if it helps me build my street cred.)
7. When I was in fourth grade I won $100 by saving Captain Crunch from the Soggies. (You can thank me for helping you all retain such delicious, crunchy cereal.)


That's it. I quit. It's hard to come up 100 things that nobody knows. Maybe that means I should start keeping more secrets...