Tuesday, September 30, 2008

It took me long enough!

Last year for Christmas, part of Ryan's present to me was a "queen for the day" package at an Aveda spa. This includes an hour long facial, spa mani and spa pedi and hour massage. And I have not used any of it! I'm pretty much nuts.
I don't have a really good reason.... but I guess I wanted to save the massage for a time when I was particularly stressed out, and the mani and pedi for sometime special (and when my nails were grown out since I am usually so stressed I pick at them and keep them short). I wouldn't want to waste such a nice treat on little stubby nubbies. However, my nails are nice and long now, so I am thinking I will do the mani and pedi before I go home with him for Thanksgiving (at least that's kinda the plan for now) so that I am nice and presentable. =P And, I just booked the facial. I just figured, heck, why not? What else do I need to wait for? I am excited....I have never had one before. I have heard they can be kinda painful, but I am still looking forward to it. It's next Friday evening. yay! I will cash in on the massage sometime soon too. =)


Monday, September 29, 2008

to catch a 'diller



I was coming home from lab the other night...it was pretty late I caught the last midnight bus leaving campus and I was walking to my apartment when I heard a little rustling sound in the leaves. I froze. And I looked around....and then I saw it. An armadillo!!! My first one since coming to Texas. I have only seen them dead on the sides of the roads (so sad), and not a live snortling little fellow rustling about for food. Fortunately, I had gotten my camera back from Nikki that day (she borrowed it to take some before pics of her mom's wedding dress before she has it restored) so I got a pic of him! I think he is cute. His head it buried under some leaves...he was probably sniffing around for acorns, or ants? I don't know what they eat. Well I proceeded to walk VERY QUIETLY down the stairs to my apt so that I could get a closer shot of him (at this point i was standing above him on the walkway), when I was about halfway down the stairs he froze and stood up on his back legs and was sniffing the air. He knew I was there and darted off before I could get a better pic. He was so cute though when he was standing up.
I am jealous of Ryan. He always has cool looking compounds. And admittedly, these pics aren't as cool as the ones Lisa takes of their purple and green columns, but I think red is pretty cool. And, the compound that he isolated was pink (much to his dismay). Mine are always brown, yellow or clear. =( Here is a pic of his red column from last week, it looks kinda orangey in the picture but it was very red. Something I have not seen before. What is a column? A column: you pass your crude mixture through some sort of material (here, it is silica gel) and you can separate the compounds in that mixture based on some sort of property (we usually can do so based on their polarity. more polar compounds tend to "stick" to the column, while less polar run off. As you increase the polarity of the solvent running through the column, your desired compound will come off. And, you collect everything in test tubes then collect only the fractions that have your compound in it.)


Otay, that's it for now. I was starting this post last week but then something happened and I didn't have time to write it all over/finish it. I'll update about Banana's wedding soon. I need to get some pics off the camera. fun fun!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Cherry limeades


Cherry limeades. yummy. Sometimes I go with Ryan to the petshop when he gets the snakes' food because it is fun to look around at all the pets and reptiles they have in there. And while we are there, you can without a doubt see me shaking my head "no", when he starts looking at me with pleading puppy eyes. Well, there is a Sonic near the pet store and so he took me there. He loved getting cherry limeades with his mom, it's a fun memory he has of getting them with her since they both really like them. Well, he says I remind him a lot of his mom, and he wanted me to try one. They are so good! I am not a fan of Sonic's food....but I will go for a limeade (he says they also have good slushies and other floats/ frozen drinks) anyday! They get my vote. =)

Oh, Ryan FINALLY named the two new snakes (the Brazilian rainbow boas he bought back in June). He decided to call them Johnny and June....like the Cash's. I had heard a song I liked on the radio called "Johnny and June" by Heidi Newfield. It is a country song. Anyways, I told him to try to catch it on the radio, and it became an inspiration for their names. Ha, its kinda cool too since he bought them in June.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

a lil update

Well....I am glad I called this blog Nessa Weekly, and not Nessa Daily, otherwise I would be totally failing. So, you were pretty much being spoiled when I was updating almost every day. It's ok...it will probably fluctuate, this is just a dry time (much like our weather.)
Which by the way, has been quite disappointing, especially given the last weekend with Ike. The devastation down in Houston is terrible, but if it had hooked left, it wouldn't have been as bad, and Austin would have seen some nice, wet (if a little windy) weather. But....not even a drop here. The weather channel had my hopes up so high. sigh
Anywho, last week was my birthday. Which was really nice (as nice as it could be in the middle of the work week.) Remember that Ryan's present to my was my sewing machine, which hasn't come in yet. Sometime this week. =) I'm really looking forward to getting started with that! He also took me to dinner, to a seafood/ steak restaurant called Truluck's. He also told me that he had a surprise for me after dinner, so we had to leave the restaurant by 10:45. (Yes, we had a late dinner because I worked later than I was hoping to) So, when we got there, the hostess showed us to the table, which was in a dimly lit private corner, and we get to the booth and I see this and think, "wow, the restaurant has really fancy bouquets on their tables!" Then i turn to the hostess to say thank you, and she has this big silly grin on her face, then I get a confused look on my face, and then *lightbulb!* "Oh, I get it. The flowers were the surprise!" I didn't really say that, but thats what happened in my head. He's a tricky one. Here's my b-day bouquet.


The first bouquet he got me was red roses for my birthday two years ago, so he tied that in with the red roses in this bouquet. Dinner was so yummy! I ordered the tenderloin medallions with king crab. This also came with leeks (I forget how they were cooked, but very good) and a "loaded" potato cake. There were also some other greens, but I am having trouble recalling what. (this is the problem with waiting posting procrastination). Anyhow, I had not had crab in so long....it was perfect. He had the ribeye (which was very good) and some oysters(still creeped out by those).Then, he tricked me again. I saved room so that I could savor my dinner again with leftovers the next day and also have room for dessert. After I finished eating, I had to go to the restroom and we were the only ones left in the restaurant, so I asked him to have my food boxed while I was gone. When I came back, he told me that they weren't serving dessert anymore since the restaurant had closed a half hour earlier. I thought this was odd, since such a nice establishment would presumably serve the customer as long as they were inside, and it was afterall obviously my birthday! But, I believed him and waited for my boxed food to come back, quite bummed. But then, the server brought out a molten chocolate cake (my favorite) with raspbery and amaretto sauce drizzled around it and strawberries. He specially requested it for me...it wasn't on their menu. It was so delicious....best lava cake I have had yet. And...second best bday cake to Mom's sweet 16 bday party at the Laguna Beach Ritz Carlton's lemon raspberry cake.
Also, I was surprised on my birthday by a present from Lisa! It is a cute, patchwork pin cushion. The design is from this book. I LOVE it. And the design is so nice, because the base is so broad that the pin cushion doesn't wobble and rock when you stick pins(unlike those dense little tomato cushions) in it. Lisa was also so thoughtful as to add a little packet of Carolina (she is from SC) plantation rice as a little extra weight inside it. It will be so nice to have such a pretty, happy little pincushion next to my sewing machine. And on the bottom, she made a little patch to personalize her handiwork. Thanks Lisa! The lighting isn't the best in the world...sorry!




All in all, I had a wonderful birthday. I am anxious to go home for my cousin's wedding next week to see and celebrate with my family.
Just something fun.... I was vacuuming this weekend. And Tesie is TERRIFIED of the vacuum. Usually, she hides under my bed, or she will pull one of the bathroom drawers open and squish herself back inside the cabinet, or hide amongst my pots and pans, but this time, she found a new spot. She never ceases to make me laugh. Enjoy! Sorry she looks like a demon. It's a rare photo that her eyes don't glow like the dickens.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

What a fun weekend

I know, I know, it has been forever since I last updated. This is due in part to several things. First of all, I have been working so much, I didn't have time to. There have been so many things I have wanted/needed to do and had to keep putting off since I have been getting home so late. Secondly, since I have been working so much, I haven't had time to do anything interesting or worth writing about. And no one really wants to hear me vent about work on here right? Plus, it is just unprofessional. So...finally this weekend I was able to do something, or things rather, that were fun and a nice break.
Ryan and I celebrated our two year anniversary on Saturday night by going to this really yummy sushi restaurant. It is his favorite place in town I think, and definitely a place I will have to take Mom when she comes out. But....yay for us! He is my best friend, and I cannot imagine what it would be like without him here.
Then, I spent a whole lot of time this weekend doing fun stuff.

I needed a break from crocheting the blanket I have been working on, so I did something a bit different. I made a corsage rose for Lisa! It only took me a few hours (maybe three or four?) and not because it was a hard pattern, but because the yarn is so stinking difficult to work with. It is totally worth it though, and I am sure I will be making more. =) It is a merino wool-kid mohair blend lightweight yarn....and really soft. We were both having rough weeks last week, so I thought it would be fun to give her something to start off a brand new week. I have red and ivory yarn also, but I made her a purple one since she has these amazing purple shoes that she loves! I envisioned her pinning it to one of her bags or to a hair tie to wear when she wears her shoes, or to anything really! I walked past her going to lunch and she had it pinned to her shirt and she has already posted about it in her blog!


Then, I also resurrected that little toddler's sweater project I was working on. I think its going to be so cute. Maybe I will have it done just in time before it cools down in Stillwater and send it to Ryan's sister for Maddie or Hayden.


And...Miss Tesie. I love this girl. She always hangs out right behind me on the couch whenever I am crocheting/knitting and sometimes she curls up right behind me and sleeps. Whenever I touch her or move, she'll make a little cooing noise. Look how regal she looks. She actually had her legs crossed right before I took this. By the way, she is doing much better with her allergies. I think the special food is helping and her neck is all healed up and the hair growing back.


Then....(drumroll) I got a sewing machine. Finally! I ended up getting a Husqvarna Viking Emerald. It is a computerized machine, very quiet and durable, and will be good for making some clothes and quilting. Actually, its a very nice machine and is something that I won't grow out of for a very long time. It was a little more pricey that I was originally looking for, but Ryan wouldn't let me leave without it. He said that given how fast I have taken up crochet and quickly picking up other things, he doesn't want to see me frustrated with a machine that can't do what I want it to. (I am not sure what all that is yet) but I believe this one has everything I will need. So....it is my birthday, anniversary (and I said it also better be my Christmas present.) I also got this table attachment accessory (since I don't have a sewing cabinet to lower my machine into) so that I have a nice level working surface around the machine. I am so excited for them to get in and start with classes at Joann's. =)

So, yes it has been a very fun, relaxing anti-science weekend. It really couldn't have been any better. =)


Also, just a little update for Ryan. He won a fellowship! It is a fellowship for Okies (yes, only people from OK are eligible) but nonetheless he won! I am so proud of him. And Penny (our wonderful graduate administrator who really is like a mom away from home) worked really hard to make it so that he could get some extra money out of it. We are working on finishing up this last project that has been so frustrating, but he is working hard to wrap it up and I just have a couple more experiments to run for my portion then I am done. The snakes are also doing really well. He was really happy because he finally got the girl rainbow boa to eat! (No, he has not named her yet) It had been about a month since she last ate, and she was refusing to eat what he was giving her. (they were feeding on thawed frozen rats before he got them and he was giving them live food and she wasn't taking it). I told him he should try to get her frozen rats and he tried it. Since their previous owner also fed them in their cages, he gave her the frozen rat in her cage. He said she was so hungry she almost took his hand off. (well not literally, but she really went after the food.) Poor girl, I would have too. You don't wanna mess with me when I haven't eaten! But, I know that really cheered him up because he was starting to worry about her. Especially since breeding season is coming up (which is why he got them in the first place) and she needs to be bulked up to breed. His prayers were answered!