Friday was my first test of PTA loyalty. Our big fundraiser for the year is a carnival which I was lucky enough to be able to help out with. Besides setup and take down, I ran the shell game (aka thimblerig) and after a couple hours I got really good at it, at least good enough to switch the ball between cups without people noticing it. A creepy old man even came up to me between kids and complimented me on my quick hands and more then once I accidentally cheated by dropping the ball behind the table making it impossible to win. The whole ordeal was about 8 hours but it was a lot of fun upon reflection.

Mitch took over during my dinner break.

This weekend also hosted a triward activity in which a dessert contest took place. I don't often feel compelled to enter contests but I have been wanting to do something new so I decided to go exotic and make baklava. It took me two hours to prep and cook the damn thing but as I poured the honey syrup over the final product it cackled with pleasure. Twenty-four hours later I had my first bite and it was delectable. The effort paid off extrinsically as well as I tied for first-place and came home with a $20 gift card.

How about a little more baklava-ah-ah?