new job!

I got a new job! It's only 5 minutes from our apartment. (Woot! No more driving to West Jordan) It's at Nexus Pain Clinic. I'm super excited, I don't know all the details yet, but I'll update again after I start! :)

New Callings

Will and I were released as Ward Missionaries a little less than two weeks ago. Last Sunday Will was called as the 1st counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. This week I was called as 1st counselor of the Primary Presidency. I get to spend two hours with four awesome and funny children and sing primary songs...I don't really know what he does. I win!

From The People That Brought You...

Running on Treadmills in a synchronized manner comes the Ultimate Rube Goldberg Machine in This Too Shall Pass.

Check it out.

The original video for the song is here.

Pi Day

It was a fantastic event. For those of you that missed it I hope next year you'll drop everything to come. Sara ended up inviting the whole ward during the "Good News Minute" Relief Society, which was a good thing because we struggled to decide what pies to make. Tollhouse, Chocolate Pecan, Peanut Butter and a delicious Mixed Berry pie where what we finally settled on.


The we made the Mixed Berry Pie rather hastily after church so our first attempt ever at a lattice top wasn't too impressive but the blue, black and raspberries still tasted fantastic.


There were more pies that came. From left to right the chocolate pie (still in it's box), Eric and Cecily's Banana Cream, Carson's Key Lime, then our Tollhouse, chocolate pecan and the peanut butter pie in front. We had a few late coming pies of apple, coconut caramel, and an apple strawberry.


It's a good thing that Sara invited the Ward because we had plenty of pie to go around.

A Well Known Figure

I gave this speech in my Public Speaking Class. The topic was a Special Occasion Speech.

I come here today to bring back to your minds the importance of a well-known figure that, I believe, is not only one of the most important figures of our time but of all time. The ancient Egyptians had a good estimation of the power of this figure. The Babylonians had ideas of this figure looming in their thoughts. Yet no one came closer to understanding how powerful this figure is than the Indians and it is shown in their text, the Shatapatha Brahmana. I know what you are all thinking, “Who is this figure and how did these ancient civilizations know about him?” and I stand here to tell you that even you don’t understand this figure, because you should be thinking “What is the figure and how did these ancient civilizations know about it?”

I am here today to talk to you about the figure “Pi”. The true value of pi can only be estimated, and the best way to really show its power is by using a letter from the infamous Greek alphabet. Two vertical lines topped off by a single horizontal vector showing that it will stand tall and that no one will knock it off its pedestal of power.

I’m sure you all remember learning about it in elementary school. Pi is a mathematical figure used to estimate the circumference of a circle. Pi times the diameter or my personal favorite way to describe it, 2Pi*r. 3.14159 is just a rough estimate of what it is. I say rough because it has been calculated to well over 1,000,000 decimal places with no end in sight. There s no reoccurring theme in the whole series and there is no simple explanation of what it truly is capable of.

What would the world be like without pi? Would we have any round things? Think about what it would be like to ride in a car that had square tires, or to try and kick an elliptical ball down a field. Why, people would be tackling each other just to try and get to the ball as it bounces erratically. Are we grateful enough for what pi does for us in our everyday lives?

Today I come here to tell you that we’re not. We lack proper gratitude for this figure but I offer you a way to repent and justly show your respect for this powerful figure. Today is the 14^th day of the 3^rd month, March 14^th: 3.14 – Pi Day. A day to gather those close to you together, bake a warm and flakey pastry dish filled with sweet or savory fillings and share the joy of “Pi”. Think about it, with a standard 9 inch Pie dish you can bake a full 28.27inches of pure deliciousness. Celebrate Pi day with a pie that you hold close to your heart. It could be a warm, sweet apple pie, a savory pecan pie or a tart key lime pie. It doesn’t matter what pie you have, the important thing is that you remember what makes it possible for you and all those who you hold dear to have such a wonderful dessert: Pi

Synthesis

Blake gave us vouchers for free tickets to see Synthesis, BYU's Jazz Band, last night. Since you could only redeem one voucher per person I turned around in the HFAC and made good friends with Kenny, a helpful stranger and we got the two tickets.

It was fun to go and hear them. They had a guest artist come and they played his songs that he'd written back in the 50's and 60's. He was rather long-winded in telling his stories but we did some pretty sweet circular breathing.

We left at intermission because it was getting late (9:00, isn't it sad) and he was a little more long-winded than we would have liked. It still was really fun so thanks Blake for the tickets!

This Time With Friends

After the dinner with Brent and Amber we decided that we needed to have another fantastic meal, this time with friends. Since we had the boys from Kaysville down last year to watch Utah crush Alabama (tear) in the Sugar Bowl and have Japanese food we thought it would be a good idea to invite them again.

Also, Erik and Ali Gunn got married over Christmas break and we thought it would also be a good opportunity to introduce Ali to the boys as well.... she was a little taken back, it got pretty crazy. Again, there was a ton of food but these boys took care of it all. We made yaki soba in our new wok that we got from Williams-Sonoma (we decided that would be a good use of the gift cards given to us for our wedding) and the group rolled dozens of gyoza in a manner of minutes.

It's Japanese food, get it?

Sara was super excited to use the Fiesta Ware from our wedding. It was the first time that we had pulled it out. I must admit, it looked pretty good. We put it right back in the boxes after the dinner. Now we're just looking for another reason to pull it out again.

Don't cry over spilled soy sauce

Another Post About Food

We have a lot of these...


Way back in December when Brent, Amber and the girls were here we had a delicious Japanese dinner over at Amber's mother's home. It was a blast! Brent showed me how to make Yaki Soba and taught us how to roll sushi. We had a great time and made so much food that it was impossible to eat it all.

We rolled the sushi with bamboo wrappers

Then I taught Sammi how to cut it with a wet knife. She paid very close attention.

A very happy girl.

Lifelong love affair with Masterpiece theatre

Dad called me with amazing news - on pbs.org you can watch masterpiece theatre and right now they have an amazing new version of Emma - it's only available online through the 9th of March - check it out - you won't regret it!