Things I love:

~new music
~turquoise jewelry
~sunshine
~my FAMILY
~my little Tesie-cat
~chocolate
~the Office
~cool, clean, soft sheets (I would wash them every night if I could!)
~spinach, kale and other yummy greens
~ feeling accomplished because I got up early and got alot of things done
~manis and pedis (home and salon)
~checking off things on my "to-do" list ( I will add silly things too, like "take a shower" just so I can check it off.) I know, I'm a dork.
~cooking
~knitting
~my healthy, pretty plants and flowers
~weddings/dreaming about weddings (thinking about others, and my future one)
~the beach
~hugs
~foot massages (especially after a long week, thanks mister!)
~writing utensils...I have a pen fetish
~shoes
~new pipette bulbs
~nuts
~baking
~reading
~naps
~relaxing and meditation


Things that don't bring on that less-than-three feeling:
~Swarming wasps (they were back again today, but this time they didn't get me). I got attacked and bitten multiple times by wasps on my stairwell a week ago, I don't understand why my apt. complex doesn't get rid of them since I've told them all about it!
~a grad students salary ( I know tuition is paid for, but in the end, if you calculate it, it comes to less than a dollar/hour) I'll just be glad when this is all over!
~waking up early =/
~Texas drivers
~crocs (the reptile and the shoe)
~how expensive everything is!
~humidity
~fast-food ( i really try to avoid this, but sometimes, you get stuck working really late without having any dinner and then thats the only things thats left because everything else is closed and you're too tired to cook. so gross)
~bad directions

Hmmm...thats all I can think of for now. There's not too many things that get to my "bad-side". Cant wait to get home and finish off the front piece, I really didn't get to work on it last night!

I'm back

Its the Wednesday after my return from a wonderful vacation. Ryan got to come home with me to California and see the ocean for the very first time! We spent the first four days at Jalama beach camping with the family. We took one of those days to drive up the coast. Ashley, Stevie and Chanelle came with us to Monterey and we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you have never been, you have to go! They had all kinds of great exhibits there, including a fantastic Jellies section. They also had this HUMONGOUS tank with hammerheads, huge yellowfin tuna ("Hey Big Tuna"), a sunfish, other sharks, barracuda ("OOOOOooooo, Barracuda!" <--haha, Baba), Manta Rays, and other big things. This tank was seriously enormous. The sea otters were also SO cute and had such great personalities! They also had seahorses (not that many though, there are more at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach) but they still had them...my favorite! I got this ridiculous seahorse pen...but I couldn't resist. Then after the aquarium we all had lunch at this Italian restaurant on the bay. I had to have the clam chowder in bread bowl, since we can't get that in Texas! That was alot of fun...Stevie played a horribly funny prank involving clam chowder, a straw and water on Bella . good times. Then, we headed back down the coast to camp via Route 1. Wow...what a gorgeous drive! And scary at times... due to high mountains meeting ocean and a scary windy road. Plus, there were really pretty trees (redwoods, pines, oaks, etc) along the highway. TOTALLY scenic. Then on Thursday, after jalama we went down to San Diego to the zoo and after that, to see my cousins. It couldn't have been better timing because Briana got engaged that same night! YAY!! So happy for you Beerwanza and Chids! Friday night Ashley, Stevie, Ryan and I saw Wicked at the Pantages and got to meet up with Ben to eat beforehand. It was good to see my brother for a bit since our time at the beach was short (he had to leave early for work) and the show was amazing...totally worth it! I need to get Ryan to take me to more things like that in Austin. Then on saturday we just kinda hung out with Michelle, ate at the Sub Station (the best) got dessert at Swirl (but due to a lawsuit is soon to be renamed...maybe Droppings N' Toppings if they choose Ryan's suggestion? HAHA!) and then off to the airport. It was a pretty busy trip, but I was still rested and rejuvenated. And I am so glad that Ryan had a good time. He has mentioned that he just might have to come out every summer! (another satisfied customer. =D) So...its been good. And, all the animals and plants were doing well when I got back thanks to Nikki!

Things here have been ok. Just getting back into the swing of things. I have an exam tonight for the class I am taking. blech.

I started a front piece of the cardigan and am almost done with it. Maybe I can finish it tonight when I get home. Then I have to make the other matching side and make the accent pieces like the cuffs and pocket. Can't wait to see what the finished product looks like!


back to work...blech

Wahoo!

I took some pictures of the Tesia Squeeze last night. That little grey strip is the knitted piece I wrote about before. I rubbed some fresh catnip on it last night and you can see the effect it has on her. She couldn't get enough of it! She usually gets all crazed out by the catnip and then ends up crying and running laps around the apartment. She's nuts. So...this is kinda funny. Ok, a while ago, Ryan forced me to watch the Rocky movies. "Forced" is a bad word, and in fact I actually enjoyed them. Anyways, Rocky names his dog in the movie "Buttkiss". I don't know if it is spelled like that or if that is really the dog's name, but that is certainly what it sounds like. Let's just go with it. So... its a well-known fact that Tesie is spoiled ROTTEN. She's a terd sometimes, and she has earned herself another nickname...Tesie-Buttkiss. I think I call her this too often, because she was trying to get my attention by clawing on something other than her CLAWING POST specially designated for filing down her sharp, long nails. And I said, "buttkiss!" and she responded and stopped. HAHA! Well, I thought it was funny. Well...enjoy the pictures of her loving her witching rag. That thing drives her crazy.

AND...(drum-roll) I finished the back of the sweater! I was really good last night. I got home, ran (ok, by ran I mean half-walk half jog. I kept getting really bad side-stitches!), had dinner, cleaned a bit and then finished knitting. I felt so accomplished for how tired I was. I got to bed a little later than I had planned for but it wasn't too late and TOTALLY worth it. And I still made it to my early class this morning. GO ME!! Here is a pic of the back piece. Its not terribly large so I dont know why it took me so long. The hardest parts were learning how to do the increases as you move up into the armpits, and then casting on the sleeves. I'm starting to get pretty fast once all the stitches are there though! The most narrow section is 11" wide and it is 13" top to bottom. Sounds about right for a two year old, right? yay...I'm happy.

Almost...

Done with the entire back panel of the toddler's cardigan I am knitting. It has taken me much longer than I expected it would, but I am getting much better and made alot of progress on it last night. I decided that since it is the first piece of clothing I have knitted, I will save it for myself, for my first little one...even though thats probably a long ways away! I will just keep it safe, tucked away somewhere until it can be used. Its got too much sentimental value already. I think once I have finished the back panel, I will probably start going through the crochet book. I think it will be easier to bring a crochet project back home than a knitting one...maybe I can finally start the slippers. yay!
I am so tired... as soon as I leave work I have to go to the store to pick up something for a casserole I am making for dinner. While thats cooking, I will try to go for a wog (walk-jog) and keep it easy but still do something. Then I need to do a little bit of cleaning ( I didn't get much done this weekend since there was an adventurous toobing trip on Sunday and was just exhausted and slept when i got home), and then get to sit down and finish the back side of the sweater. I like crashing on the couch with my knitting and Tesie nearby with the radio on. There is a easy-listening program on at night featuring Delilah (don't know if you've heard her, but she sounds like she is pretty big) Anyways, she has a really relaxing voice and is pretty inspirational and encouraging on the radio. Its a nice way to wind down.
Nikki and Nick were at Barnes and Noble the other day and got me a knitting magazine. It has all kinds of neat projects and patterns in there. I have more knitting to do than I have time for! I have all these things lined up that I want to make. Maybe I will be able to make something neat for my secret santa this year. Speaking of Christmas...There's my little demon cat next to my tiny charlie brown christmas tree. Even though she has a whole basket of toys and balls, she must have played with and broke about have of those little ornament balls. She is the essence of "spoiled". It's sad but that is the most recent pic I have of her. Sorry I am not much of a picture person...another reason for starting this blog! It forces to chronicle things a little bit better with pictures. =)
Ok, and another thing I have to do is take some pictures of tesia. Last weekend, I had invited Nikki and Nick over to dinner and they had their little mini-dachshund, Mylo with them. So, he came inside too..I thought it would be ok since Tesie would just go hide under my bed. I wish I had thought to take pics because she was so good with him. He is young, so he was really trying to go after her and get her to play with him, and after a couple whacks on his head to show him who was boss he kinda cooled down, but tesia chased him a little bit and acted the total opposite of what I expected from her. You know how cats rub up against poles and things? She even did that with him at one point. (do I know this cat anymore?) So yeah, I wish I had thought of my camera then but maybe I can catch her doing something tonight. ( I know you want them mom!) I love that cat. I woke up happy this morning because she was curled up right next to me. And she makes this really cute cooing noise when I touch her and wake her up. And as soon as I get up, she gets up too and is following me around everywhere....like my little shadow. Thats my cute little Tesie! I'm going to miss her when I'm gone.

Today is a good day

ahhh..what a nice day. It started out rainy but now the sun is out and shining. I had to go to the DMV this morning to get a new license. I cannot find mine and I seriously looked everywhere. That was also part of my cleaning expedition this past weekend. So, I finally just went to get a new one. I hate how the DMV is setup here. First of all, its not like the California ones where you can make an appointment and then not have to wait as long. When you first get inside, there is one man behind a desk who you have to talk to and figure out what you need. Then he gives you the proper forms. You go fill out the forms and then bring them back to him and he does a lookover and then he gives you a number. Then you have to wait until your number is called. There are usually then 5-12 people busy helping the people who have numbers. I went first thing this morning to avoid the buildup of people. I must have just come after a rush because this one guy had more people in his line than there were people waiting to get their number called. Plus he isn't the fastest so it took FOREVER ( and he was kind of a jerk to some people). Plus you have to wait for the people who weren't called from the previous day so you are already automatically behind them. I am so glad I took my knitting with me! I got a good amount done on the back panel of the cardigan, so i am really going to try tonight to get that whole piece finished up. Its going to get a little tricky because you have to increase and decrease the number of stitches to make the shape for the armholes and neck. It should be interesting.

The boss left already! Thats a pleasant surprise. I learned that he is going out of town for a talk he has in Cali on Monday, so if he is already gone today, then maybe he won't come in tomorrow either. i'm crossing my fingers. =) He hasn't really been coming by to talk to me much lately so its not bad, its just less stressful when he isn't here.

I am excited. I just ordered a new bathing suit online. I have not bought myself anything for a while (except for the knitting supplies, which I see as an investment really and hopefully save me money when it comes time to give presents) and I have been pretty good so I decided to treat myself. The last time I got a bathing suit was two years ago, so its about time, and this one was on sale. Its really pretty...its a jade green. The top is bandeau style with gold accents. The bottoms are not ties, but on the hips/waist instead of being fabric, the front and back pieces are connected by these two little gold cat pieces (kind of like how sometimes there is a ring there instead). I love cats! You know my cat converses. =) hehe Anyways...it is more of a by-the-pool sort of pretty suit rather than surfing/get-tossed-around-in-water-and-sand suit. That's ok though because we don't have a beach here. And it wont be here in time for me to bring it to cali. maybe next time!

Also...I have decided that tonight is a "me" night. I'm gonna take a bath, light some candles, give myself a mani and pedi, do a face-mask and then kick back and relax and finish up knitting that piece! I should also start practicing my crochet techniques. I think that will be easier to bring on the trip and I want to start making some pretty gifts!

Ok...time to go make this catalyst I made recrystallize. (this is a way of purifying compounds. First you dissolve it in a solvent. The solvent can be something that is is not readily soluble in and you force it into solution by heating. If you do it this way, once it is all dissolved you slowly cool it down and your solid (since it does not really like being dissolved in this solvent) will slowly "crash out" (thats what we call it), or precipitate, out of solution as nice crystals. Then you can just filter off the solvent and collect your product and hopefully all the impurities remain in the solution. This technique usually works really well, plus sometimes the crystals that come out are really cool looking. Another way is to dissolve the product in something it likes, and then add a solvent it doesn't like in like a ~1:>10 ratio, and your product will also crystallize out of solution. I have tried both and its being really stubborn. Don't worry though, I shall be victorious!

Hmmmm...this is something I have noticed lately. Usually, I am really good with my typing. But as I read over things, sometimes I type things in duplicate or make really silly typing errors I usually don't make. Or sometimes in lab, I forget to do really basic things. Like I am not catching the things I usually do. its kind of annoying. I don't know...maybe I am really tired? But its not just this week. It's something I am going to keep an eye on....weird.

Its only Wednesday

I am exhausted! I don't really know why...I am pretty sure I am sleeping well at night. I did have a really late night on Sunday though...I was on a roll cleaning and doing house things that I couldn't stop! It's Wednesday...I hope I can make it through the week. grrrr...annoying things at school don't help either.

I started the cardigan last night. It looks good....so far. I'm currently working on the back panel, which is pretty big! I am not even a quarter of the way through. I think the hardest thing is getting the piece that you are working on started because its so small and you have to keep it tight. I hope I can get a good chunk of that piece done tonight. Its going to be kind of a late one in lab though since we finally have the molecule of the semester meeting tonight. (the whole group is divided into two teams, and each team has a team leader. Mike picks some nasty, huge, hard natural product and each team has to propose a synthesis of it, with relevant precedence for key steps. Hope that wasn't too alien-sounding.) The winning team (leader) gets a bottle of wine (nothing really fancy)...but a prize nonetheless. Anyways, we have had this thing scheduled for a really long time and the meetings kept getting pushed back and postponed...so I am glad we are having it because I don't like having late meetings in the summer (6-9pm) but I am also not glad because I am just so tired and by the time I get home and have dinner its gonna be late. such is life. I am enrolled in a spectroscopy class this summer that begins tomorrow and it starts 8:30am. OUCH

I can't wait to go home and lay on a beach and DO NOTHING. well...I will probably bring some knitting/crocheting so I can share with the girls. =)


I still haven't been able to go running this week! (yet somehow I am pretty sore...maybe from taking apart my bed and putting it on the rails all by myself?)

ok...chemistry to do.

yarn

I went to Joann's last night and got some yarn and a book on crocheting. There are these SUPER cute slippers from the Indigo book that I want to make. I also got yarn for the toddler's cardigan. It is going to be a dark heather grey, with some stitching and part of the sleeves that will be a dark red. The yarn is really soft. I think it would be really cute for a girl or boy, so if it turns out good I will send it to Riki since she has a little girl (Madison, almost 2) and Hayden ( about 7 mo?). Last night, I made the gauging stitch. This is just a little piece that you make (about the size of the kitchen square) and you measure it to make sure you are stitching at the right tension. When I was done, I stitched/sewed a border around the edge with the red (just to make sure that the colors looked good together) and I think it is going to look really cute when it is done! I gave Tesia the gauge piece. I have some catnip that I rubbed into it. When i gave it to her she went nuts! She was rubbing her face in the cloth and just TOTALLY loving it. She wore herself out because soonafter she was OUT. I was laughing so hard. I love that cat so much.
I just recently started giving her a bit of tuna at night when I come home. Its her little treat and she KNOWS the sound of the can opener. She must love it because she started sleeping with me again.

Whew! I just talked with the boss about vacation. Ryan actually broke the news to him when he was getting a form signed and he told him to send me to his office. He said it was ok after I told him how much time i had in fact taken off so far. He thought I had taken more because of my recent trip with Tante bay and then dad was in town about a month before that. I told him I would not have anything I go home for Christmas. I'll have to work a little bit during Thanksgiving break. =( At least he was fine with this trip home because I was really worried about it a while ago. thank God!

Ok...gotta do a couple things before my TA meeting.

Hobbies

So....I have decided that I need something outside of work. I decided I would take up knitting. Its easy (enough) and the individual projects will be fun to work on something to look forward to. Plus, it doesn't cost alot to get setup and start working on something. This will also keep me busy while I save up for something I really want....A sewing machine!! (I really feel like I am copying Lisa, and in a way I guess I am, but I have done tads of these things before with mom and Tante San, so I guess I have just recently been inspired to really pick these things up.) For knitting, I got two books. Knitting for the First Time and Indigo Knits. The first book has the really elementary techniques and a corresponding project from beginner to intermediate level. Its mostly things like toddler sweaters, or a stocking, but I need to learn somehow! The second book, I am already in love with. Its all based on working with indigo dyed yard (and even denim yarn) and they also teach you really cool things like bleaching you so you can get all these special texturing and color effects in addition to the different stitches. I think the white and blue arlook so great but of course you aren't limited to those colors! There are 30 projects in it...and there are about 15 in there that would be worthwhile doing, and some that would make great gifts for people. I am so excited to hurry up and get through the first book, so that I can really make something I want to.

Project 1: A kitchen square. This is pretty much just like a kitchen washcloth. I made it in like camo-colored yarn to give you Ryan.


You may know that he recently got a pair of snakes ( a love of his i had no idea about until he got them). Anyways, he has to spray like this vitamin stuff on them every night to help them with their skin and makes shedding easier. So...he can have a cool looking rag to use when he does that. I think the snakes are great ( burmese pythons) the regular one is a girl, which he has named Sage. She is really cute and LOVES to swim in the water bowl...that is what she is doing in the pic. and the Albino one...he is thinking of naming Apollo (after the greek god of the sun). He is really pretty since the albino's come in either a white/yellow morph or a peachy white/orange morph. Apollo is the latter, and he came from a really good breeder out of Oklahoma, so he really is gorgeous. He is funny...his tail is really good at gripping and when you hold him he puts it in and around the funniest places. Here he has it in Ryan's pocket.

My next project if I am remembering correctly is a toddler's cardigan. I have no use for this (sorry mom! =P) so I may end up giving it to Goodwill when I am done, or sending it to Ryan's sister since she has two little ones. But I get to go to Joann's tonight (which is REALLY close to my house) to get the yarn and get started. I can't wait! I will keep you updated on it!

Also...I some pictures of my balcony from when dad came out to visit and set me up with all the pretty plants! I know mom and the girls back at home haven't seen it yet and I have been bad about sending pics...so they will go up here!


I love it. I spent most of the day yesterday doing my "spring cleaning". I also hung up pictures (the gold framed Indo ones, and Michelle's butterfly) . Also, Pete, a recent graduate, sold me his bed rails so I finally got my bed up off the ground yesterday. I'm not used to being so high! I got alot done...and I feel really good.

Its getting late...I need to go to Joann's!

Monday, Monday

Its Monday and I am already tired. I am always tired though. And I am just worn out because I had a busy day yesterday. Anyways, this is my first blog entry!
I was inspired by a fellow classmate, Lisa and her blog and I thought it would be a good idea to start on of my own since its hard to talk to all the family members regularly!
So...here goes. I will try to be good and update as often as I can, hopefully at least once a week.
I will have a post later on today hopefully with some pictures!