Format update

Also, a quick comment on the format change for blog. I HATED the bullet points being flowers on the other one. Therefore, a change that make the blog still readable without too much eye strain.

There may also be some other changes in the next week. Stay tuned.

It begins again...

Another Monday, another week of academic fun! We were supposed to be heading in to campus this morning around 8:45, but someone - and not the female in the relationship - is still in the shower. Nor has he eaten breakfast yet. So much for getting there at 9 AM.

On the plus side though, I finally made myself go to be early last night so that I got a solid 8 hours of sleep. I like waking up when my alarm goes off and actually feeling rested. I'm starting to get myself on what I call the "normal" sleep schedule (11 PM - 7 AM), but it's going slowly. I think if left to my own devices I'd sleep 1 AM - 9 AM. I used to be a morning person, but I'm not now. Not at all.

Other good news from the home front is that my apartment is getting cleaner. Yesterday the recycling got dropped off (and there was a lot of it), clean laundry was folded and put away and Christmas decorations made their way back into boxes. We're almost all caught up on dishes - at least until we decide to eat again and mess up more pots and pans cooking. Housekeeping seems to be a never ending task.

It has been decided that we will be getting rid of cable television. We've decided that for what we're paying we could rent 55 DVDs at the local video store (Video To Go - awesome place!) for a week. Lately we've been renting old television series and watching them anyway, so we might as well cut the $60+ out of bills and put it towards better things. I'm not overly impressed with cable (the channels they keep adding don't interest me much) and I like supporting Video To Go, which has all sorts of great movies (unlike Blockbuster which only has stuff from the last year usually).

Last little update - I think I have arthritis in my pinkie finger on my left hand. It's either that or a stress fracture, but as ibuprofen helps it and it hurts more when it bends, I'm betting arthritis. The constant crafting is catching up with me. Of course, maybe it's the nightly crocheting...

So far away

The weekend is so close, but it seems like it's taking forever to get here. Probably because I'm hungry and can't eat lunch for another hour. Then I get to run to a meeting with my advisor. After that I have to finish up a few things around lab for tomorrow and then I get to head home. Mmmmm home.

I've been slowly and steadily working my way through DDR, although I know I have a LONG way to go. It's fun for the most part, except when I have to replay songs 6 times to beat them. The graphics aren't the greatest, but Wii isn't about graphics, it's about the versatility of the system. I've never had so much fun with a game system - except for playing Duck Hunt long ago.

There is another batch of letters going out to people right about now, so start looking for them in the next week. I have a package that I'm expecting. I love getting mail, especially if it's something that I don't have to pay for. Magazines and boxes from amazon.com are great, but letters from people that I don't get to talk to that much are even better. Hint, hint. I'm of the opinion that everybody likes good, non-bill mail and so I'll keep sending stuff out.

Almost Friday :)

Today is Thursday. Not a remarkable day by itself, but notable because tomorrow is Friday which means that I don't have classes. It also means that the weekend is near which is great news for me.

Oh, and I just realized as I'm sitting here at work that one of the buttons on my shirt was not buttoned. Of course it's the one right over the cleavage. I wonder how long that's been that way...

This week has gone pretty smoothly. Classes seem doable. I don't have any that I'm thrilled about taking or that I find really interesting, but they'll fulfill credit requirements so that I can be done over the summer. I have one seminar course that I'm taking that I might be switching out of, but that would be all the changes.

Research is... going. I'm still having problems getting the subjects that I need, but hopefully this won't be the case the next time I run a set of trials. I'm not going to get my hopes up too much.

Plans for the rest of the week:
1.Work a decent amount tomorrow. I don't like being the very poor grad student.
2.Meeting with the head of my committee to go over data collection on Saturday.
3.Data collection on Saturday. At this point three subjects, still could get a few more though.
4.Apartment cleaning and laundry folding. My housekeeping (as well as my roommate's) has gone downhill drastically since finals week from last semester and hasn't yet recovered. Hopefully that happens soon because it's becoming BAD.

I'd love to say that I have something really exciting to report, but the above is really it for the night.

The pancake party that went all day

On Friday night, we thought it would be fun to have the usual suspects over for a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning. On Saturday morning people had all shown up by 11 and there were 8 batches of pancakes cooked. By Saturday evening (about 6:30 PM) people finally decided that they should head home to take showers.

While pancake breakfasts are fun (and this one was no exception) me thinks they should no longer be called pancake breakfasts when they've been going for 7+ hours. It was good to have everyone together though.

Of course, now people have flown back to distant reaches of the country and most of the rest are back at classes that seem to never end. I just started what I hope will be the last semester of classes that I ever take.

I've had one class today which didn't seem to bad. It's about research ethics. While I like to think that I'm on the up and up as far as research practices go, it's always interesting to hear what different people think about situations. Truthfully, how do you know how you'd choose until faced with the decision?

I'm looking forward to a week of trying to get some small projects done around the apartment. Tonight's exciting tasks? Cleaning out the fridge of old nasty stuff and folding laundry. Thrilling, I know, but sometimes you have to do grunt work for life to continue smoothly. At least I prepared everything for tonight's dinner last night so I don't have to worry about cooking time. I was hoping to drop everything off at the recycling center tonight, but we're supposed to have rain pretty solidly for the next day or so, so recycling will get put off and the pile will continue to grow.

I'm signing up for a Tai Chi class through the local parks and rec with a friend. We were looking for a class to get us moving a little bit and it sounded like fun and (most importantly) was cheap and worked with both schedules. Now we're trying to recruit the guys to come with us as well. I'm not sure how successful we'll be with that.

Other quick notes:
Lots of Settlers of Catan being played amongst the group lately. If you want to play, let me know.
We hit a record high for temperature today. We also have flood warnings.

2008

So far in 2008 I've gotten started on several new craft projects, organized my bookshelves and got my hair cut. Not a bad start seeing as I'm only three days in. As it is the start of a new year it's time to look back over the past year and see what I'm hoping to get done in the new one.

2007 Recap
2007 was a busy year for me, a good one overall, if not as productive in certain areas as I would have liked.

Good things about 2007

• Switched my major to better reflect what I want to be doing
• Joined a new lab, so I feel much more connected with research
• Got the ball rolling on my own Master's research
• Completed several major craft projects
• Spent a relaxing week at the beach :)
• Had a lot of fun with the community garden

Things about 2007 that could have been better

• Would have liked to get more done on Master's research
• I've not been paying as much attention to my health and fitness as I should
• I would have rather avoided the two apartment floods
• Working landscaping for a summer wasn't a great decision
• Need to set aside more time to hang out with friends

2008, The Year Ahead

To accomplish

• Complete several more major craft projects
• Complete Master's degree
• Find full-time job related to what I'd like to be doing in 5 years
• Step up working out and eating better
• Develop a better budget plan and stick to it
• Find a better organizational system for the apartment
• Collect pictures of all quilts and afghans I've made, along with patterns for future reference

Resolutions are all good and fine, but how the heck are you going to do it?

• The only thing I really need to plan in order to get craft projects done is time. I am really excited about the art clay set that I got for Christmas. You mold the clay in whatever form you want and then fire it with a blow torch. The clay burns off and you're left with a piece that is 99.9% silver. I just need to figure out what I want to make, because that stuff is expensive.
• Completing the Master's degree is a bit more challenging. I had originally hoped to have it done by May, but it's looking more like August at this point. I still need to do most of the research and analyze it all. No small feat. And then there's the actual writing of the thesis.
• Finding the full-time job directly relates to the previous bullet point. I'm starting to look at where in the country I'd like to be, what I'd really like to be doing and figure out companies that I'd prefer to work for. I'm also hitting up many friends that have gone through the process for advice. If you have some, send it my way.
• Step up the working out and eating better. Three words about sums up the action I need to take on this one: STOP BEING LAZY! I have plenty of great recipes and I know how to work out. I just need to set aside some time for both. The biggest thing with food used to be that I didn't get home until 7 or 8 PM most nights. With my class schedule this semester and a little bit of planning ahead I should be able to whip up some good dinners quickly.
• Develop a budget plan and stick with it. I've yet to make a budget actually work. What I really need to do is track all the money coming in and going out for a month and see what kind of realistic plan I can come up with. It's fantastic to come up with a plan, but if you don't stick with it, even if you change it some, what's the point?
• What's next? The better apartment organization system. I've been working on it some during Christmas break, but for the most part, I can still use some help. A big part of the problem (at least in the kitchen) is lack of storage space. I don't have enough cupboards for all of my dishes, cookware and dry goods. Instead I have a huge stack of cans on the kitchen floor, hidden behind part of the table that doesn't get used. I've been going through books and craft supplies which tend to take up a lot of space - at least in my apartment. I've been trading away books I no longer want to get ones I do, which isn't really saving space, but it gets me more books cheap, which is never a bad thing. I used up almost all the yarn I had laying around in scrap afghans for my brothers' Christmas presents and I've pulled out fabric enough for two quilts from the stash box. Biggest things to help avoid more clutter? Don't buy any more fabric unless for a specific purpose, no more kitchen gadgets unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, no more developing new wardrobes without donating old clothes and no more keeping stuff because I may use it at some point in the future.
• Lastly, making a portfolio of afghans and quilts. Most of this is easy, because I am in touch with almost everyone that I've ever made them for. I just need to harass people into taking pictures of them for me, so I can attempt to connect them to the pattern I used. This is more important with the afghans, because quilt patterns are easy to identify.

Overall, I think this will be a year of some big changes; I know it will. I have a lot to work on - and I still haven't mentioned the story I started for NaNo, didn't work on much, but still plan to write. It's been percolating in my head and I have some really fun ideas on how to make it work. Both of the NaNo contenders actually, although the Claussen story is going to get worked on first.

I hope everyone had a fun New Year's and I wish you the best of luck and health in the year ahead!

Merry Christmas!

A little last minute holiday cheer for everyone :)

It's been a busy few weeks getting everything ready for the holidays. Presents to finish, cookies to bake and an apartment to clean. Although I didn't get to the whole cleaning the apartment thing, two out of three isn't bad. I'll be posting pictures of the afghans I made for my brothers now that they have them it won't spoil the surprise. I think they both liked them, which was good.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Several very memorable moments and some good times hanging out with the family. Most memorable moments from the past few days:

My three year old cousin was opening a present that someone had placed in a Dick's Sporting Goods box before wrapping. My grandmother saw her opening it and asked "Isn't she too young for Dick's?", after which everyone in the room over 7 preceded to laugh loudly. We didn't try to explain it to the 6 year old cousin who kept demanding to know what was funny, because let's face it, you really can't.

Same three year old cousin from the night before, another cousin (senior in high school) and my aunt, mother of the three year old were in the room. The three year old was rolling on a ball and my aunt told her to be careful or else she could break a bone. After which the following conversation occurred:

Three year old (TYO): "I'm not a dog. I don't have any bones."
Aunt: "Yes you do, 206 actually."
TYO: "No I don't"
Me: "Yes you do sweetie. Your bones hold you up. If you didn't have bones you'd be a puddle."
TYO: "No I wouldn't."
Me: "Yes you would."
TYO: "Nuh-uh"
Me:" Yes you would"
*At this point the other cousin lays on the floor, flat on her back to be a 'puddle'*
Me: "You'd be like her, a puddle."
*TYO runs away crying. You would swear she was 13 the way she acted for a while, shutting herself in the bathroom to cry and telling everyone that she had to cry in there. She eventually came back out and told us we had to apologize, which we did for scaring her. The next day she told my aunt that she 'likes to hang out with my cousins, but I don't want to be a puddle.'

More tomorrow when I'm less tired.

Holiday Battle Plan, Part II

Current holiday preparation update:

Baking/oven: We are getting a BRAND NEW oven, most likely tomorrow. Hurrah! The best part is that this one has what I think of as a standard range, with two big burners and two small ones, unlike the one we have now with one big burner and three small ones. The manager for the complex said that she decided to get me a new one with all the cooking that I do. It pays to be pals with your complex manager if you live in an apartment, it really does. As an added bonus, the new oven will also have a built in timer - not anything huge, but it means I don't have to use an old watch of Pat's anymore.

As the new oven won't be in until tomorrow, I've decided to wait on test baking until Saturday, when I'll have plenty of time. The only problem with the new stove? Cleaning the apartment and moving furniture around enough so that there is space to get the stoves in and out.

Presents: Shopping for everything except a few minor stocking stuffers is done! Note, shopping, not creating, is done. I still have a few more presents that I have to finish working on, but I'm hoping by the end of the weekend everything will be done. I'm also waiting for 5 packages to show up, including my secret Santa presents. But everything that's done is wrapped and under the tree.

Parties/Christmas events: They are many and close together.

• I'm heading home at the end of next week. I have a day when I get there to "relax" (aka helping Mom do baking and wrapping of presents for the many cousins) before the parties begin.
• The 23rd we're going to our neighbor's house for a Pre-Christmas get together. We're supposed to be bringing an "American Christmas Cookie" as they are German and tend to have a much different baking schedule for the holidays.
• The 24th is Christmas Eve at Gram's house (as is tradition for as long as I can remember). The bummer about this one is that Dad has to work afternoons that day and may not be able to go.
• 25th is Christmas at our house. I'm hoping that we'll be able to sleep in - but every year we STILL get up early. The youngest kid is now 19. I think we can be done with the 5am wake up calls. Although now there is the puppy who will have everyone up by then anyway.
• 29th is one of Pat's family Christmases that we'll be going to. There will be a mad dash of baking on my part between getting back to EL, unpacking, packing and heading to this one.
• 31st is the New Year's Eve Holiday Extravaganza at Kris and Nathan's. Not at my place anymore, which will suck because of them only having one bathroom - but I don't have to clean up before anyone comes over or after the messes :)

I'm just really excited for this weekend and the new oven. I made chocolate lava cakes last night - probably the last thing that will get baked in the old one. They were pretty good. The mix made four, so Pat and I each had one and I've frozen the other two so that we can have them later at some point.

Non-holiday updates (aka research and the lack thereof): Another roadblock in the wonderful world of research. We need to find an indoor track and I'm having the toughest time getting in touch with the guy who schedules one that we're looking at. I know that he's very involved with planning stuff for the bowl game - but all I need is two minutes on the phone with him to figure out if us using it is a possibility or not. Hopefully I'll hear from him before I leave next week. Another potential problem is that one of my advisers is going to be moving to New York in the next two weeks. He'll still be on my committee long distance, but there is a huge difference between walking to someones office to ask a question and trying to work out problems over email. I'm hoping that it won't become a problem.