Why I Don't Mind (Too Much) Summer Isolation

    Summer, so far, has been pretty good for me. I live on the other side of town from where everything's quote-unquote happening, so I don't really go over there so often because my mom has expressed to me that she does NOT want to be our family's designated chauffeur and constantly be driving around our large town... understandable, but somewhat unfortunate for me.    
    So I've mostly stayed at home/gone on various day trips, which is okay by me for now. I really don't mind being antisocial for a week or two before I get shipped off to sleepaway camp; in fact, that way I get to  play piano like a boss, have Death Note marathons, talk to Kruuuup about Death Note marathons, go to the beach, and make pancakes in the morning. Not bad, yes? Next on my list is making Run-DMC t-shirts, woot woot! And filming a Dance Moms parody with my neighbor/friend and a few other people. Doesn't that sound great? It sho' nuff does to me.
    I gotta say that I'm never really THAT intensely excited for summer (that's probably exaggerating too, I'm less than excited) for a few reasons.
    1. I live on the opposite side of town from most of my friends, which is very inconvenient and means that I can't just walk over to their houses whenever I wish. And my mom will drive me over there approximately once a week. So that takes care of that.
    2. I really, really, really like school... call me crazy, but I do. I don't really mind most of the schoolwork (don't quote me on that), all my friends are there, and... yeah. Isn't it a no-brainer at that point? So I'm always sort of sad when school ends.
    3. I don't go to all these nonstop day camps that a lot of kids my age do, so (1) I miss some friends, and (2) I have a lot of free time.
    Those are my main reasons. But I really think that I'm quite lucky for getting camp for a few weeks, AND going to Europe in August! I'm extremely pumped for that. So summer's going just as planned. Hurrah, me!

I Could Be Amish

    I just got back from Lancaster County, in Pennsylvania, where the FAM spent the long weekend. Let me tell you, there was something about the perpetual scent of manure mixed with the thrill of homemade butter that just was so... perfect. Long story short, I loved it! I'm too lazy to sync my phone to my computer right now and download my photos, but in a bit I'll see if I can upload some of my great pictures of wide open fields and Amish lemonade stands.
    I think it was how simple the lifestyle of the Amish is that made me so enraptured. I know, the idea of no electricity probably sounds sort of like a living hell for most of you guys, but I really think I could get used to it... if you gave me some time... maybe...
    They hang their clothes out to dry on clotheslines--I'm totally in the process of convincing my dad to do this as we speak, by the way; wish me luck--and raise CHICKENS--I saw this Amish kid on the side of the road who was literally throwing a chicken into the air and catching it, like it was some kind of toy--and wear suspenders and straw hats. I mean, what's not to love? I guess I could settle for being a Mennonite, just as long as I got to live on a farm. That would probably be for the better, seeing as I'm not sure I could maintain the dress code of the Amish females.
     We stayed at a bed-and-breakfast with a farm, this old Mennonite couple called the Rohrers that my parents and grandparents have been staying with whenever they went up to Amish country since way back when, and it was great. I loved just looking out at all the fields, and watching the dairy cows walk around, and listening on the front porch for the clip-clop of the horses and buggies as they drove past. I tell you, the buggy part was absolutely surreal. The Amish kids, since they can't use bikes or anything that isn't powered by their own energy, ride around on these cool scooters which I think would be really handy to have around, and I want one. See, life's just so simple, and so perfect too. I don't think I would mind... don't quote me on that. Anyway, my brother really hit it off with the Rohrers' dog and had a blast with that, while my mom and I hit it off with the Bird-in-Hand (that's the town we stayed in) Farmer's Market and their delicious picnic foods (our daily lunch--Polish kielbassi, really airy bread, local-made cheeses, lemonade, and WHOOPIE PIES!).
    So stay tuned for those pictures! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but as you can see, I've been busy. Adieu!

Lunchtime

      There is an undeniable agreement around the world--lunch is awesome. I'm going to get to the point right now, and say that not only is LUNCH awesome, but its carrier--the famed lunchbox, bag, sack, or whatever you may call it--truly generates the awesome. So today I'm going to share with you some great ways to transport your lunch, across the globe and through the decades. Enjoy!
Always, the tin lunchbox.

I've always had a small obsession with lunch boxes with compartments. I find them to be so adorable and, well, organized, which is what I like. However, I've always felt conflicted because me and the retro tin have always been a package deal, but the cute compartment containers DON'T FIT IN THE TINS! Hopefully, you all understand how catastrophic this is for me emotionally.
Oh, the classic lunch pail, from dinosaur days. Of our parents.

The average school lunch in France. What are we missing here, folks?
The average school lunch in Japan. So cute!

All right, no offense, rest of world, but the only cool lunch things I seem to be finding on Google are from Japan. There must be some fun-lunchbox deficiency currently... I'll need to work on that. Anyway, I think we've reached the end of the line here. Hope you enjoyed this, and are now hungry. I'll feel some sense of accomplishment.
   By ze way, I'm going to Amish Country for Memorial Day weekend! Make sure to mention what you're doing in the comments...

The Chopsticks Project

    As a certain four people (#theband) may know, I'm sort of a fail in terms of chopsticks. But they're so cool! So after I publicly embarrassed myself at dim sum about a month ago with said Asian people, I decided that I should really get in some chopsticks practice for myself and become respected whenever I attempt to eat sticky rice or something along those lines. To help me on my food-ish foody food-esque food-related journey, I'm going to try to make it fun for myself by looking at madly cool pictures of pop culture-related chopsticks! And you guys get to observe along with me! OMG OMG OMG

Here we are. Click on the names to go to the link and the picture!

-Lightsaber chopsticks (red = Darth Vader, blue = Luke Skywalker (Luuuuke), green = Yoda)

-Nunchops! (nunchucks, but chopsticks)

-Random little animal faces chopsticks

-Samurai chopsticks

-Flosticks (they look like twigs...?)

Junk Food is Delicious

     I mean, seriously. How good does this look? I want to eat healthier and eat more fruit so I can run like the Tarahumara (please read Born to Run) and become invincible--insert Lion King epiphany music here--but everything's just too tempting! So I'm going to help out my dear readers and offer some handy junk-food counseling (she says, acting like the expert health nut while eating a Boston cream doughnut) by sharing some cool snack recipes that are healthy and good and all that schnazzy jazz. So without further ado, I present to you the impossible--a nutritious and wholesome food that actually TASTES GOOD. Mind blown.
           Super Simple, Super Succulent, Super Salubrious Fruit Tart! Thesaurus that.

Filling--I'm assuming you're going to take the lazy way out and buy a pie crust from your grocery store of choice

• 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup whipping cream, if you want
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons of some kind of jam/jelly/preserves, for glaze (optional)
• 4-5 cups fresh fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches and/or kiwis

PREPARATION

1. To make filling: Pour orange juice into a large heatproof bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the surface and allow to soften for 2 minutes. Set the bowl in a skillet of simmering water and stir the orange juice to completely dissolve the gelatin. (Or use a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about 25 seconds.) Beat cream and sugar to soft peaks in another bowl.
2. Fold the drained yogurt into the gelatin mixture with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the tart shell and chill in refrigerator until partially set, 20 to 30 minutes.
3. To assemble tart: If you plan to glaze the fruit, melt apricot preserves (or red currant jelly) in a small saucepan over low heat; if using preserves, strain through a fine sieve set over a small bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Trim or slice fruits as necessary and arrange on the chilled filling. Brush the fruits with the apricot (or currant) glaze, if using. Return the tart to the refrigerator to chill until the filling has set completely, about 4 hours.

The Whoa Factor

    So today, at school, was 3Rs Day, which our school has every other year, and it's basically when all these cool, heroic people from historic eras come to visit our school and talk about their experiences. And it's televised and everything! It's a really thoughtful day for everyone, and I love learning about the more, I don't know, mainstream (that seems sort of insulting, but for lack of a better word, we'll have to go with that one) events, such as people who come who are Holocaust survivors; or the more obscure ones, such as a guy who came to visit who was only a little kid during the Rwanda genocide. Either way, I really enjoyed myself. We're so privileged to have all these amazing people visit us and tell us their stories. We traveled in homerooms, and here was our schedule:
    pd. 1--Holocaust violist
    pd. 2--Burundi genocide survivor. I'm not going to go too much into detail here because I'll be writing into the night like the crazy, unbridled child that I am, but this guy was really impactful. He spoke in broken English about how he was only a young kid when his Tutsi family, friends, and neighbors were killed for no good reason, and the horrifying things he had to go through. But his main message for us was that we should always be forgiving, and be optimistic. I thought he was AMAZING.
    pd. 3--lady with a You Are Beautiful campaign. It didn't interest me that much, but you know. It was a valuable life lesson, I suppose.
    pd. 4--lunch
    pd. 5--Kellum Smith. Amazing.
    pd. 6--9/11 survivor. Now this is truly just astounding (love that word). This man worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower, and caught just about every lucky break thrown at him. He saved people and saved himself, returned to his family surprisingly quickly, and had seriously minimal injuries. He was a wonderful public speaker, too. That was definitely one of my favorite presentations.
    pd. 7--guy with cerebral palsy. His name was Johnnie Tuitel, and he was just so charismatic that he automatically became my favorite, especially his choice words about a certain Jack Rosen's hair. HA! He also apparently drove his wheelchair into a pool off a high dive. Role model.
    And then we had an all-school assembly thing for our principal, who's leaving. All in all, fabulous day. 

Mouthing Off

       The infamous Pac-Man mouth, followed by some Smash Mouth wisdom. One of these days (when I finish those stupid journal entries for S.S., cough cough, procrastinating), I'm going to make a list of some schnazzy quotes. Possible candidates: Walt Whitman, Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief, Roberto Benigni, and even MORE Holden Caulfield, because y'all just can't get enough of this guy. Seriously, everyone, while you're waiting for Allegiant to come out (if you don't know what I'm talking about, I disown you. After you get over the initial shame of this, look it up, please), read The Catcher in the Rye and we can have a meeting over coffee--nah, hot chocolate with paper umbrellas from the Chinese restaurant--and discuss it like the mature, well-read individuals that we aren't. Well, I'm pumped for this! Anyway. Smash Mouth!

Walking out of the door I'm on my way, can you tell me just where I'm going?
Occupational skills, would you give me a clue what to do cause my minds in motion?
Just trying to relax, I find myself on the couch with big plans but there's always tomorrow
Is something wrong with me or the way that I'm thinking?
Come on, come on and tell me why you're staring 
Come on, come on... it must be what I'm wearing 
Come on, come on and tell me why's it taking so long for you to recognize and stop
Another day in the sun, I'm having fun feel the heat sneaking up on me
I take a look in the sky, a plane goes by, is that the reason that I can't breathe?
I take a look and I wonder why, why these birds don't fly
It's hard for me to see and I believe my oh my...

Blind?

    So I went to the doctor for my annual checkup on... *checks sources* Tuesday, and much to my dismay I discovered that my right eye, to be frank, is quite deficient in terms of seeing stuff. My left eye is pretty great, so it compensates for the right, so it seems like I can see fine. But I was misled! Okay. So I might need contacts. Glasses. A monocle, as my friend Krista suggests. Obviously this is pretty weird, but if I continue to dodge my eye doctor appointments, I think I'll be okay. Holla, steampunk monocle! I seriously want to make a DIY of this.

Glee: Relieved and Disappointed

     So tonight's the season finale of Glee, one of my favorite least-favorite TV shows. I'm sort of glad it's over, but at the same time, all my shows are ending and it's so depressing! But anyway, the burning question on the minds of all Gleeks. WILL BLAINE PROPOSE?!

Bombs Away Playlist

      This sort of has a double meaning, seeing as Bombs Away is a song that I really really like, but I'm reflecting--a little late, okay--on the whole bombing scene at the Boston marathon on Monday. I'm not going to go into how sad and crazy the whole fiasco really was, and I'm instead going to put forth a new playlist to, well, capture all them feelings for me! Hope you guys enjoy and comment on your thoughts about the song selections, the bombings, or the epic guitar solos.

*Behind Blue Eyes: The Who
*In the Meantime: Spacehog
*Dead Walker Texas Ranger: Sleeping with Sirens
*Bombs Away: B.o.B (dur!)
*My Name is Jonas: Weezer
*Coming Home: P. Diddy
*Pain: Jimmy Eat World
*Minority: Green Day
*Wavin' Flag: K'NAAN

That's Gold, Jerry! Gold!

Indojewban Birthday

Hey guys! I just got the Blogger APP, which I didn't even know existed, and I'm in a very good mood because of it. Score, y'alls!
So as some of you may know, my birthday was on Sunday. And I had a right dandy time! I went into the city the day before, and had a blast at the New York Children's Initial Film Festival. Here are some cool pictures that I took before the films started and they were just showing previews. Sorry for being blurry! I don't know where exactly they'll be placed in the post formatting on the Blogger app, but it'll all be cool... I think. Don't get lost!
Anyways, I did that and it was awesome, as well as seeing the Shoe Obsessions exhibit at FIT, eating at Patsy's beforehand, jumping around at Duane Reade, singing and skipping on the city streets (mostly B.o.B songs, for those wondering), and eating at a "gourmet" doughnut place in Chelsea by the name of the Doughnut Plant. It was just SMASHING. Bombs Away...
And then on Sunday, I went out to eat at the Yard House at the mall. We knew about it from eating there in Arizona, and seeing as my mom and I are suckers fo' mac and cheese, it was just a win-win. We gorged ourselves on mac and cheese, and when we got home, we had FUDGIE THE WHALE CAKE! French the llama! It was pure awesomeness, although occasionally I wish that Fudgie could have been a narwhal. Oh vell.
Evidently, I had a spectacular weekend, and I hope y'all did too. This was a whole lot of nothing, but I just, ya know, wanted to flaunt my birthday and stuff. A huuuuge shout out to all y'all who made Polyvores and whatnot in honor of March 3rd (and me, dur). THANK YA THANK YA THANK YA! So sweet. Alrighty then, you're probably all getting bored, so I'm gonna wrap it up. Adieu!

Oh Dear, with the bonus of JUMPSUITS!

   I can't believe this keeps happening! Probably I'll keep apologizing profusely every time I don't go on this here Extravagant Eggheads, and then it'll just happen again. I used to go on here every day when I first started out, but now I guess you guys are lucky if you get a post every WEEK or so. Last week I didn't post at all. So I'm SORRY! *sniff* And I'm deeply disappointed in myself. Y'all can reprimand me if you want to. I'll really try harder to be more constant on here, and I appreciate when you guys STILL COMMENT after all these darn years. Well, 1 and some change years.
   Okay, so after a request by Miss PAHM to do a Fashion Feature on rompers, I decided to do just that... sort of. I added my own panache to that and decided to do rompers' underrated-by-the-majority-of-teen-girls-everywhere, overshadowed cousin--the jumpsuit. Check out these here pictures, and be amazed! Swooning is optional, but encouraged.

    Okay, I evidently went a little bit picture-happy; lo siento! I'm such a fashion/computer geek. Nah, just an all-around geek, I guess. If you're reading this blog, you know you're a geek too! Haha, okay. But now you understand how great these jumpsuits are, right? Knew ya would! The geometric-looking one was actually made by Mondo Guerra on Project Runway. Huzzah! I bet you love him now too. Who am I talking to? The abysses of my mind.

Hope you enjoyed, and have a dandy day! LURVE RHEA

Tracker Guide

To feel like an honorary Boy Scout. Hopefully my Girl Scout troop will be going to Camp Glen Spey or something so we can camp out! I'd honestly so much rather be in my brother's Cub Scout troop than in mine. They get to make igloos and fires, and we get to rip paper. Terribly exciting, no? Use this for a reference guide! Opossum fingers bleed together, and house cat palms look like sloppy traced noses on mugs. Credits to sciencedaily.com, enjoy!

AYO UP HIGH fo' 2013

     Welcome, dearest amigos, to the magical wonderland we call "2013", where the so-called rapper Key Dollar-sign Ha writes slow ballads chock full of autotune, like that's supposed to enhance the mood or something (um... at least she tried?) and the world is (so far) not destined to end... whatever, some ol' quack will probably declare it the end of the world sometime in May. It happens, we get over it. Hopefully (hint, hint, folks) we will be exiting the realm of "swag", the irrelevant "YOLO", and the whole mobscene of One Direction.
      Today in Spanish we had to write our resolutions for the new year in our handy-dandy cuadernos de español, and I started to write about my running goals, and suddenly! I had an epiphany! Well, not really. More like a scoff over humans these days. I thought to myself, hey, it's great that we're willing to get stuff done and have a successful year for ourselves, but if we REALLY want to change what we're doing, I think we shouldn't have to wait until January. Like Earth Day, we should be improving our lives RANDOMLY, not only on a specific day where half of us won't even follow through with our resolutions throughout the year anyway. What's the point? How about we just try to modify whenever modification is necessary? It'd be much more approachable like that. So here are my RIGHT-NOW resolutions, which have nothing to do with the new year except, ya know, everyone wants to hear about goals for the upcoming 12 months anyway. So here we are! Sorry for the Jenna Marbles-esque rant... 
1. I would like to definitely run every single weekend without skipping unless I have legitimately NO time in my schedule to run. Wish me luck on that one, folks!
2. I would like to spend less time mindlessly playing Sudoku and Minesweeper (I know, I'm a major geek who may have puzzle issues). For real! You can lightly tap me with your elbow if you see me doing this...
3. I would like to eat more produce, because according to the Tarahumara, that is a major food staple that's great for running and, dur, overall health. And also eat more salads that aren't bland.
4. I would like to create a sewing area in my room and periodically rearrange my furniture because I *cough* may have a slight attention-span problem.
5. I would like to work on my Italian skills, because the Gekottys got a brand-spanking new Rosetta Stone Italian kit-thang that I really haven't been doing anything with. Oh, me. What if we  move to Italy on a whim then, huh? And we don't even know Italian? Prob-lem.
6. I would like to cook stuff that isn't only dessert or peanut butter and Nutella or mac n' cheese, enough said, yeah?
      That's about all I can think of! Be sure to share your resolutions through comments, and enjoy your new year! 

The Holiday Treasure Trove

     I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah, which confuses a lot of people. "Wait, how can you be both--?" This FAQ is often followed by a realization. "Oh, I get it, so your parents are so religious they make you celebrate both? Do you go to temple and church? Do you get presents for both? Luck-eee!" Then I have to explain to them, yeah, I celebrate both, but I'm not really either religion, at least not that much, because my family's just not really religious at all. I never go to temple OR church, but I celebrate all the good holidays of both. Mwa-ha-ha! So now that that's all out of the way, I'll give y'all a belated description of my holiday bounty. Here's what I got in terms of sewing, in list form, since it's easier to write and read. Geez, I'm such a lazy bum, aren't I? With a British accent.
*A sewing machine! YESYESYESYESYES!!!! I'm terribly against over-punctuating things, but I think this Christmas gift deserves five gosh-darn exclamation points.
*Patterns for pants to sew--pajamas and capris. Considering that my current pajama pants are more like long shorts, I think this will be a very productive project :)
*Buttons, bows, googly eyes, beads, etc. to bedazzle my newly-sewed clothes
*One of those sewing supplies kits--it even has a pincushion with one of those little pepper things on it! AAAAH! <3 and="and" font="font" it="it" tonses="tonses">
*Cute scraps of fabric from my dad and grandma--here are some pictures of my favorite prints. Okay, they're at the bottom of the page, thanks for nothing, defective Blogger settings!
     I also got some good running things for Hanukkah, like a phone holder to go on my arm so I don't have to carry it to listen to my B.o.B and other rap stuff. I always get freaked out it's going to fall and break, and then what of my two-year contract? Scary. This way, I'll be in shape for track in the spring! Distance, y'all! Definitely join track, everyone. It's a must! 
     Plenty of art supplies are always good too--Mod Podge! Five Below, which is up there on the list of best stores ever, is where we got all our cool ornaments, except for me and my brother, who made ours. And of course, no gift-giving holiday is complete without the ritualistic giving of glitzy stationery to the oldest girl of all the Gekotty cousins. I must have a whole drawer full of the stuff! Unfortunately, I didn't get the HESS truck of my dreams, but I'll just gaze lovingly at the Gekotty boys' cars. Heh. I love my new last name.

Fashion Feature: Intro & Bobby Socks

   Allo, everyone! As y'all know, I'm an avid reader of Rookie, THE online magazine fo' teens which every girl here should check out because, y'know, its variety of categories displayed are pretty captivating for everyone (style, advice, stories, moosic, lists, DIYs, ideas, and random lovely articles thrown in). So I was just reading leisurely and I said to myself, "Hey Rhea! Why don't you take a page from the Rookie staff and make a little style "feature" thang for Eggheads so you can showcase cool stuff that you pick up from the WWW and inspire other people? Man said it would be fun..." and guess what folks? I decided it would be a positively dandy idea! And I did it! So every so often, you'll see a heading of "Fashion Feature" and an article of clothing, and you'll say to yourself, "Hey! It's time for *da-da, da-da, dude looks like a laday* Fashion Feature!" So here's my style corner-category thang; you saw it here first! C with a circle, copyrighted.
     There's nothing more sentimental and childhood-reminiscent than a lovely pair of bobby socks, yes? Plus, they look great with almost any kind of shoe you could possibly wear. I'm thinking oxfords and Airwalk-type shoes would look splendiferous with a pair of these guys! So imma jump right in with a few pictures of cuteness. I hope you guys love it and don't forget to recommend some of your own favorite clothes, be they current or retro or futuristic or none of the above. Pictures courtesy of ModCloth and American Apparel!

Also guys, I got bangs! AHHH! They're side-swept and I lurve them. Just wanted to share. OK, buh-bye, and wear your childishly decorative knee socks with joy and confidence!

Why The Newest HESS Vehicle is Too Cool for School

     I'm sure y'all have been watching TV over break (The Year Without a Santa Claus? Elf? Home Alone? Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Seinfeld reruns? How come there are no Hanukkah movies, huh?) and have been observing plenty of commercials, unless you live in an out-of-civilization bungalow in the Alaskan tundra, which is pretty nifty if you ask me. Or if you're in Cancún with my almost-neighbor Laquifah, escaping the water and (heh heh) swine flu. Or if you're on safari in Africa, searching for coelacanths and geoducks like Little Miss Oreo. But if you're not in those debatably desirable scenarios, I would imagine you'd be spending some of your at-home time holed up in a room with a television set, watching holiday specials. So obviously y'all have seen the rated awesome HESS commercial! Every year at Christmas, my brothers (I have two) and cousins (all boys) get HESS trucks from my grandparents, and I must settle for something glittery and full of pink, fluffy stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that. HAHAHA MOM! Okay. But y'know, this year I saw the commercial and my mind was ba-lown. *pshhh* Like that. It was so fabulous and cool, dude that I decided to dedicate an entire post to it. Watch and loooove! I'm so odd, I know. It's just one of my tics.

The Mrs. F Song

   Welcome, friends and foes! Hopefully no foes though. The other day in school (Friday, to be exact), me and fellow writer/commenter/Polyvorer PAHM wrote and performed a heartfelt song to our amazing language arts teacher, Mrs. F, for a Christmas present. The caring PAHM had actually bought a splendid bracelet for Mrs. F, but had left it at home, so during Enrichment, we got to work. Here are the lyrics to the catchy ditty, and I'm sure y'all will be singing along pretty soon! Old Frecklebrains said his ears were bleeding rainbow jellies of sadness and despair, but who listens to him? Note to PAHM and Little Miss Oreo: he actually said "aaaaaahhh!", ya know, the signature noise.
     This song is to the tune of Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Give us feedback, prettay please!
                                                         THE MRS. F SONG
Just a fabulous teacher
Born and raised somewhere around heeeere (actually on the same street as me)
She took the after-school train going to J. Crew (it's her favorite store)

Teaches at                     School
Her students think she's really cool
She's the trendiest girl in the whole wide world (such a fashionable girl!)

(This is the part where MC G-bags and PAHM attempted to make a rap for me)
It all started at the field trip when we gossiped at the table (that's when our daily gossip sessions all started)
Then we found out that we were able
To do something as awesome as a fable *fable fable fable* (getting lower, end of rap)

Don't stop
The snowflakes
They're made out of popsicle stiiiicks
We helped you out by cutting the
Yearbook piiiiics *guitar noise*

     After all that jazz, we went through a few more raps and verses about the infamous love square (I'll try to make a post all about that later, but it'll be tricky, and I think all my schoolmates except me and Jack are getting tired of it) which I forget, and ended the song heroically with a "MRS. F!" and a toss of the song paper into the air a la Glee's version of Misery. It was great! See y'all later.

Bread-Baking Festivities

    Ooh, yum, baking bread later today. Posted right down heres is a delicious recipe that we're going to be making today in the Alien kitchen (because 'Alien' is my surname...?). It's of a certain Cheddar Cheese Bread that is sure to be spectaculamousar, so get out your bread tins (or whatever they're called. What, molds? Cups?) and start baking! Also, in the spirit of the winter present-giving holidays, look into this for future chef-mathematicians such as myself: the PI DISH!

It has the first few dozen digits of pi all around the rim. Perfect, I would imagine, for making apple pi. Pretty punny, huh? Ayo up high! So enjoy this darn-well delicious bread recipe. Good luck, chefs. Your time... starts... now. 

FOR MAKIN' THE CHEDDAR CHEESE LOAVES:

Ingredients: 3½ cups flour

1¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tbsp. butter, softened

4 oz. sharp orange cheddar, coarsely shredded

1¾ cups buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease two 5-by-9 loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Using your handy-dandy fingers, mix TWO tbsp. butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated (it should look like sand). Add the cheese; toss to coat. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough just comes together. Divide between the pans; smooth the tops.

2. Cut a shallow cross all the way across the tops of the loaves. Thinly slice the remaining 1 tbsp. butter. Place the butter in the cuts in each loaf. Bake until the top is browned and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before slicing.