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!

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.

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.

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!

Tesie-cat

It has been a long time since I last updated. Its been pretty busy here...since we are at the culmination of the summer semester, everything has been snowballing (as it always does). Trying to keep up with research and progressively moving forward with that (which means late nights in the lab), I spent all week trying to catch up on grading only to have three lab reports and notebooks turned in yesterday afternoon (and one of those experiments is at least an 8 page discussion that has to be graded along with postlab, prelab and data writeups for that experiment). All these things which I must have graded by monday morning to submit my grades to the lab coordinator so that he can write up the final grades. I'm also taking a class this summer (though late nights in the lab make it really hard to get up for 8am lectures) and we had a test on Wednesday that I hardly studied for (somehow I made an A on it though, thank God) and we have our final today. I am not expecting it to be too difficult, just another thing on my very full plate.

And as if that wasn't enough, I came home one day to find that Tesia had pretty much scratched her neck off. I noticed she has been itching herself more lately (but its not fleas since she is a 150% indoor cat) but this week was it. I've treated her with spray from the pet store, but to no avail. The poor girl's neck was scratched completely raw. I only hope that her hair will grow back. I took her to the vet today, and it turns out its a food allergy. So...they sent us home with an antibacterial shot (so I don't have to fight her everyday for two weeks to get a pill down her throat, not a very fun thing to do with her) a steroid shot to help with the itch, special non-allergen food, and a nice little vet bill (they had to do blood work to make sure she didn't have some sort of infection, and that it would be ok to give her the steroid shot). I hope she feels better soon! my poor little baby. I brought a blanket with us so she could hide in it (she is the epitome of "scaredy-cat") and she did pretty good at the vet, especially considering how many times she got pricked today.

Well thats my update! Hope everyone has a great weekend...I know I will be keeping busy!
Hopefully I will be able to fit a nap, lots of crochet and run in somewhere. <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://commitment.es/mba2008/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/duck-busy.jpg">

Anticipation

I know that I really should focus on my current project...the bliss blanket, especially as it has been going slow, but I can't help myself (especially when I see people like Lisa who are doing all kinds of different projects!) And I know I have a deadline for this one, but doing square after square is getting a bit monotonous.
So....I ordered some new books today. The first one is called Kyuuto! The title is a spinoff of "cute" and "Kyoto", the beautiful Japanese city. This book has alot of patterns for everyday things that you can make and use. really practical. and they are pretty stylish with a bit of Asian flair, which I really like. I am hoping that I can find a somewhat beginner type of project, make a prototype, and then host a crochet party for some of the girls here in the dept. (all they would need to bring is their hook and a ball of yarn!) Since its an easier project, the new girls won't be working on something totally out-of-reach and utterly frustrating, and the advances girls can pick it up easy and help out the newbies. I think that would be alot of fun! And, maybe I can get other people hooked (haha) on my new hobbie! Plus, the projects in this are small, so they it would not be too daunting and are a fun little distraction for here and there when I need one.
The next one is called Uncommon Crochet. This book also has some really great, fashionable patterns (at least from what I saw in the excerpts) but you play with alot of natural fibers and different textures, so this one also looked pretty fun.
The next one I am really excited about. Its an afghan book. Some of the blankets in here just looked amazing, its one of those ones where I am hoping to find lots of inspiration for when it comes time to make those really special gifts. Of course, they are blankets so they will be time consuming projects, but I know they will be totally worth it.
I got them off of Amazon, because they were so stinking cheap. Ideally, I would have gone to barnes and noble or joann's (does anyone know of another place to get craft books for cheap?) so that I could see everything that was inside, but I like how amazon has the "see inside" option so you have some idea of what you're getting. Even with the shipping, I still beat the retail price. yay!
can't wait until they get in!
Progress update: Work on the blanket has been SLOW. Chemistry has made me have to kick things into high gear on the lab front, so I have been staying late and not getting to work on my blanket as much. *tear* BUT, I have committed to myself to get home early tonight, MAKE dinner for once (geez), go for a run, and snuggle with my Tesie-cat while I work on a square or two.
Have a great day!

tranquility

I was walking by the turtle pond at school and saw that there were all these beautiful flowers! The turtle pond here is actually a pond with multiple tiers. The first tier is more shaded and has tons of flowers like the ones pictured above in it. The next tier is all waterlilies and I have seen some koi in there too, and the lowest tier has all the cute turtles in it. Well....I had never noticed these big, pink flowers before so I did a search on them. These are LOTUS flowers! I had never known what lotus flowers looked like, and I remember reading about them in Greek mythology back in like 8th grade. I LOVE these flowers! Each one looks so solitary, like its fighting to make its way up out of the leaves and water, but when you look closer at them, they look so elegant and delicate. They are symbols of spiritual growth and divine beauty in Asian and Indian cultures.
They look so peaceful...I could spend a whole day outside by the bond reading a book and just taking a break from it all. I think that one day, I will have a pond in my garden, and it must have these gorgeous flowers in it!!