Things I'm loving

British TV

Adam and I have been watching (sometimes only a little at a time because I'm tired) the Family Cooking Showdown.  At first it felt like a mediocre substitute for The Great British Baking Show, but it is growing on us.

Helping Mark change his sensor

It isn't really fun at all.  You use this chemical to help loosen the adhesive.  Adam usually does it.  He wasn't home and Mark asked me and we laughed and talked which was restorative to me.  Every once in awhile Mark would wince because I was going too fast.  He sort of deserved it though because when I went outside to take the garbage out, I said I might get mauled by a cougar (I saw a news story that a cougar jumped off someone's roof to kill a deer in their front yard and since we have 1) a roof and 2) deer in our yard it kind of freaked me out).  He said, "We won't sell your stuff if you die, don't worry."

I said, "You can sell my stuff if I die; I don't care.  What if I have to go into a medically induced coma?"

He said, "How long should we wait to pull the plug?  A week?  Ten days."

Teaching in Orem, UT

We were talking about space and the solar system and some of the students had this dawning realization that other stars might have earth-like planets around them.  One girl raised her hand and said, "Well, we know from the Book of Mormon that Jesus said He had other worlds."

Yes, we do.

Emma is happy happy happy

She is sending us these effusive messages about her classes and the song they're singing in Women's Chorus this semester which is her favorite song she's ever sung.  She is getting to the point in her college career that she's done with general classes and she'd moved onto the stuff she really loves and has likeminded friends in her classes.

Mark's pretty happy too

He has a few new classes for the semester that he likes + friends are in those classes.  Also they've started rehearsing a lot for Les Mis and he likes that.

Fulfilling wishes

In December, one of my students came to me and asked, "Did you know there's a new Dog Man book?"

I didn't know.

He said, "A lot of kids in the class would really like it."

If "a lot of kids in the class" wanted the book, they did a good thing sending him as their emissary.  He's one of the cutest kids in the world and I did what anyone would do and ordered the book on Amazon.

I put it on the shelf during Christmas break and he discovered it yesterday.  His smile made it all worth it.  I didn't even want to stop him when he was surreptitiously trying to read it during spelling, but I did.

Also yesterday one of my favorites (am I supposed to admit I have favorites?) came and asked me if I had any more books in a series of Weather Channel books.  Are you kidding me?  I love the weather.  I'm ordering more books.

(In case it isn't obvious, I have a weakness for kids who want books.)