I’m totally on board with opposing SOPA. However, I’m more on board with supporting my friends. So go to stopmeifyouveheardthisone.com and enter the giveaway. Do it. All the cool kids are…
English Was Never My Thing… December 28, 2011
On occasion I go back and read some of the posts I’ve put up over the past few years. Sometimes I remind myself of just how funny I am (and let’s be honest, it’s super funny (and modest too)). Other times I am just appalled at my grammar and spelling. Granted, most of the time I’m blogging from my phone while on the bus to a tutoring session. But that’s still not a very good excuse. So I’m making it my mission to be a more careful editor and also to edit my previous posts. Is this a waste of time? I’m sure there are more productive things that I could do with my time. But I like to think that I’m the type of person you can depend on for quality (because we all know that I am clearly not about quantity…amiright?). Plus, to be honest, it just makes me nuts. And when I finally discover diabetes in the next four to five years, people are going to find this little window into my life and expect just as much awesomosity as they found in my Nature paper. So really, I’m doing it for the fans. If you edit it, they will come…
Five Years and Counting… December 3, 2011
A few weeks ago Dan and I celebrated our five year anniversary. Five years! It’s crazy to think of all that has happened in those five years: graduating, Australia, LA, half the Harry Potter movies…
Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all mushy on you. I love him but I also respect him and know that it would make him uncomfortable. Plus I’m on the bus, sitting near a man I’m pretty sure must have a negligible water bill. Just not the right setting.
But I will say this, I have had amazing adventures the past five years with my best friend. And I am extremely thankful for that.
I am also thankful he likes to eat as much as I do. Dating guys that ate like birds was not good for my ego. So in typical style we had a fabulous anniversary dinner full of lamb and beef that literally fell apart, a little red wine, and chocolate mousse. It was all definitely worth the five year wait…
Sleeping In… December 3, 2011
Today I am thankful for sleeping in. And I’m not talking about an hour or two. I mean the kind of snooze fest where I wake up and go back to sleep then wake up and doze off again. Just because I can! I rarely have one of those mornings/afternoons anymore. Between tutoring and going into lab on the occasional weekend day, the best that I get is 10 am. And while this is not shabby by any means, it means sleep in until 10 but then rush to get ready and be everywhere on time. Not exactly the lazy day I would like.
So I’ve already decided that next Saturday I’m scheduling a day with myself. Sleep, snoozing, snoring, and sweatpants. Plus after a long week of plating experiments, chemotherapy (for the mice, not me, thank god), learning multiplication tables, scrubbing the bathroom, and baking Christmas cookies (I have big yet assorted plans for this week), I think a day of rest is in order. Even though I’ve worked many more than six days…
Lab Parties… December 2, 2011
In true Office-style we have created a party planning committee in the lab. And by party planning committee I mean that someone remembers that someone else’s birthday is coming up and then people offer to bring treats. A few weeks ago Waseem brougt red velvet cake for Jonathan’s birthday. Unfortunately I was juicing at the time so I couldn’t eat it. I think I teared up a bit. But no worries, it was soon Waseem’s big 30. I definitely partook in my fair share of Japanese mousse cake (absolutely to die for!) and a bit of tiramisu as well. Totally worth the wait. Tomorrow is Carrie’s birthday so today we celebrated with chocolate zucchini bread, pumpkin pancakes, and apple cider syrup. It was definitely a scrumtrulescent day.
I think I have definitely found my place in this world. Not only do we have frequent celebrations involving amazing food but I get to share it with people who appreciate my “What happens I’m the (tissue culture) hood, stays in the hood” hoody idea and other various (and equally clever) science jokes. Plus we have a lot of culture (dishes).
Too much???
A Turn of Events.. December 2, 2011
You know you’re a grown-up when you leave the house by saying, “I love you. I took Rudi outside but she didn’t poop. Okay, bye.”
Oh my…
Christmas Music Un-Overload… December 1, 2011
I love Christmas music, and today I am thankful for the joy it brings me. I try to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to load my aptly-named “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” playlist to my iPod. I waited until this past weekend to actually load it. However, I did start playing it on the computer while I made dinner on Thanksgiving. I think the extra love and joy made everything taste better. Especially the mashed sweet potatoes. Drool. I also added the Hip Hop and Pop Christmas station on Pandora so I could listen to that on my phone instead of the boring regular songs on my iPod.
So why do I go through all this “trouble” (I’m using these quotes because I know this is what DK, and probably many others, is thinking)? Because I have had amazing Christmas seasons since I’be been little. And I’m also thankful for that. This is the most magical time of year for me and music is a big part of that. I even don’t mind going to Christmas Eve mass (gasp!) because of all the great songs (which I thoroughly enjoy belting out).
So I guess I’m just gonna go all ABBA on you and finish with: thankful for the music, the songs I’m singing, thankful for all the joy they’re bringing…
Clinging To Windows… November 30, 2011
The older I get, the more I turn into my mother. I cry at happy things (on occasion, I’m still me deep down), I am terrible about mailing things on time, and I love window clings. Don’t get me wrong, I always liked the window clings that my mom had for every holiday. I just really hated taking them down and putting them back on the sheet from which they came. It was an impossible task, made more difficult by my need to line everything up perfectly. As I grew older I vowed to never put the damn things on my own windows. Fast forward to having my own apartment and I ignored my previous claim with reckless abandon.
I have clings for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. The only reason I don’t have them for Arbor Day or Fourth of July is because I haven’t found them. Yet.
The good news, however, is that my beloved gel clings are much easier to put back on the sheet. Which would make my job easier if I didn’t have so many. But I’m no longer complaining. As it turns out, no matter how hard I fight it, there are just some childhood memories that I will always cling to…
Showered With Thanks… November 28, 2011
So I am about fifty weeks behind on listing the things I’m thankful for. But we all knew this would happen, didn’t we? I guess I should be thankful that I’m very forgiving of myself. If you knew what it was like to put up with myself, you’d be thankful too…
So today I am thankful for a few things, namely, early Christmas presents. Now I love presents just as much as the next person. I love surprises even more. But what I love most is that people in my life know me so well and get so excited that I receive half my presents before the actual day. Hades, it’s not even December yet.
My parental unit sent the nerdy science books that I wanted (and canNOT wait to dig into). The moment I opened the box I made room for them on the shelf. They look quite pretty.
Dan bought me a gift card to get the Christmas sweater I yearned for (and to give me an excuse to shop on Black Friday). It’s from Abercrombie. But that’s a story for another time. Seriously.
Kelly skillfully wrapped my present in paper towels after I correctly guessed what it was (I’m good, what can I say?). It was perfect. Plus I had cherry pie goo on my hands, so it was quite handy.
Which reminds me, I’m also thankful for pie. Between Tuesday night and Saturday morning, I made four (count ‘em), four pies: chocolate, apple, pumpkin, and cherry. Needless to say, I had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend. I made the chocolate pie for our work potluck (more on that later too!) with delightful Cool Whip topping. I’m drooling. I made the apple pie to eat after dinner on Thursday since the pumpkin was a bit more labor intensive that I planned (and by planned, I mean that I looked up recipes the morning of). But no worries, it was a delicious breakfast on Friday morning, a fantastic tradition back home. Then, just because it sounded good and Sandwich and Kelly bought me the ingredients, I made a cherry pie. By Sunday evening the pies were no more. Which means that I’m also thankful for the weight I lost during the juice, which I’m pretty sure I gained back over the weekend.
So there you have it, a few more things I’m thankful for to make up for some of them that I’ve missed. I bet you’re thankul too…
