One of Those Chet Quotes

"I remember doing this as a kid... on my parents' estate..." -Chet, watching a fox hunt on Downton Abbey

comfort and joy

Anne [eating mac n cheese]: Bethany, this is so good. Thank you.

Bethany: You're welcome. It's great comfort food, isn't it?

Anne: Yeah... I feel so comforted... [crams garlic bread into her mouth]... but not as comforted as I feel by the counsel of the Holy Spirit...

[Aubrey begins to dance as though there's a green screen behind her]

[Anne shovels mac n cheese into her mouth]

Thomas Edison-ing

Kayla: Oh, who did you have Starbucks with?

Bethany: Nobody.

Kayla: Did you get two drinks?

Bethany: ... yes. Oh shoot, I'm so pitiful right now.

I needed a ton of fuel tonight as designed a Rube Goldberg machine for our leadership retreat.

Kayla: "I have a crush on the old man that looks like Albert Einstein."
Rachel: "Albert Einstein is hot."
Kayla: "Yeah, totally."
Rachel: "No. ... No, he's not."
Kayla: "No! But he has, like, elbow pads... and he's kind of stand-offish."
Rachel: "Do you know what Albert Einstein looks like??"

"It's too cold now! They won't send me ants because it's too cold outside!" -Kayla

She loves ant farms now. They're a community pet. She loves herself some community.

TGI-Break

Student: So do time zones separate regions?
Me: Not really. We're in the midwest and we have the same time zone as the east coast.
Student: No we don't.
Me: Um, yes. Yes, we do.
Student: No we do not.
Me: Yes. Indiana and New Jersey are in the same time zone.
Student: No they're not.
Me: Yes... they really are.
Student: (Googles answer on phone) Oh okay. You're right.

We're in the last half hour of a service learning project splitting and hauling logs
A dozen male students sit on a porch drinking soda
I continue to haul logs back and forth to the wood pile
Student: Good job, Miss M. You really are the hardest worker.

Roger: Who did your team elect as "The Tallest"?
Students: Miss Mueller.
Roger: Great. The contest is... who has the tallest... thumb.
All contestants make a "thumbs up"
Students: EUGH! Miss Mueller has alien fingers.
Me: Excuse me?
Student: It's okay, though. They're proportional to your body!

I will only watch Bond movies with Rachel

I've never seen a James Bond movie, so when I went to the 10:25 PM showing with a group of people, I was not optimistic. Especially because I'd heard it was almost three hours. Especially because I was ready to watch Pitch Perfect AGAIN.

The redemption? Rachel Hannah Sims. We cracked jokes throughout the film and talked about the objectification of women on the car ride home. She is THE best. Also, the movie wasn't half bad.

Favorite moments having to do with movie length:

• I arrive back from the bathroom and Rachel leans over to catch me up, "Don't worry... there are only eight hours left."
• "How has he died 20 minutes into this movie?" "Well, there's the funeral, and the viewing... oh. Except they can't do a viewing..." "Shoot. But isn't a funeral like 2 hours?" "Good point."
• "Oh, you know what? The credits alone are going to be it. They're going to be hours."
• "We know he's going to escape. There's an hour of this movie left."

Favorite moments having to do with the fact that we're girls watching James Bond:

• "Is she dead? No. Yes. Wait. Is she dead?"
• "That man has got to die. He has really, really got to go."
• "So she gets OUT of sex trafficking... and he jumps in the shower with her. She cannot be feeling good about herself." "You know what? He definitely, definitely has STD's now." "Yeah. he has STD's. That black woman has STD's. The women in the next movies will have STD's. James Bond is officially spreading STD's."

one check, two check.

Box One (Novel)
Sometimes I disagreed with Don Miller... or wasn't sure if I agreed. But as I read the last chapter, I realized that he had won me over. As a writer and as a person. His honesty is charming and thought-provoking. I was both amused, moved, and challenged. 

Blue Like Jazz: check.

Box Two (Conversation)
Kayla: I found a name I liked today.
Bethany: Tell me.
Kayla: Promise not to steal it.
Bethany: Um...
Kayla: It's Yiddish.
Bethany: I'm not gonna lie. If it's Yiddish, I'm probably going to steal it.
Kayla: It's Maven. It means "trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others."
Bethany: I genuinely like that name. I really do.
Kayla: As soon as she's born, she'll have intelligence spoken into her through her name.
Rachel: You should name her "Professor."
Bethany: "Professor! Good job going on the potty!"
Kayla: You're both awful.

God-sent relief and relationship after a horrifying day at work: check.