Weekend Updates

Yes, I was bad. I didn't post for a whole weekend, and then I took last night off as well... so here it is, a quick rundown of the weekend!


Craig and I drove out to my parent's house in Ligonier on Friday night-- after a quick stop at Walmart to buy a fishing license from Derek-- the semi-breasted, nail painted, ear pierced, beared sporting goods clerk-- odd. Still not sure if Derek was a he or a she or somewhere in between. Best not to wonder I think. So then we are off to western PA with the dog and the cat. The cat does not like her carrier. AT ALL. She cries pitifully the whole time she is in there and claws desperately to get out. So after a little while I felt awful and we rolled the windows up and let her out of the carrier... turns out she is also terrified of the car trips. I should have guessed based on her reaction to the outdoors here, but the car was a lot for her. So she sat in my lap for 3 hours til we got there. She rolled her self over on her back stretched out her legs (one of them ending up jammed under my chin) and pretty much was content as could be--- as long as I didn't dare move or talk too loudly... ah... good thing she's a cute kitten and we already love her... she's a little pain the butt sometimes! Murphy was his normal needy self... he thinks he should get to ride in the front with us... so he spends the time drooling heavily on my shoulder and inching himself into the front seat (like we won't notice 100 lbs of dog suddenly on my lap!)


Saturday morning, Craig and my Dad leave at the crack of dawn to go fishing. Its trout season, and I want some trout! Here are a couple pictures of some soggy fisherman, and their haul! (Craig got only one -- but it was the biggest one!) And I got to bring them all home frozen to enjoy later!




The boys went fishing again on Sunday-- and it was a much nicer day out, here's a couple pictures of that. Craig didn't hook any trout on Sunday, but he did catch a whole bunch of bass-- you can see the one in the picture below. The guys did end up with 6 fish on Sunday though... and I helped out by gutting them. Did you know trout have teeth?!?! And they are kinda sharp little buggers too. Oh well.. in the name of the fish dinner than I will have now-- gutting them was the least I could do.


Trout "Recipe" (ok, so its not a recipe per say, but it is a tasty simple way to make trout)
One trout-- Split into "fillets"
Dredge the trout in seasoned flour (flour with a little salt and pepper)
In a pan over medium heat, melt a little butter (~2 T)
Saute trout in butter on one side and then the other until cooked through and lightly browned on both sides
Add capers (a good palmful, drained) and toss to coat with butter and heat through.
Remove from heat, squeeze in fresh lemon juice to taste.
Eat. (see... tough directions on this step)

And now a couple of gratuitous shots of the dog being, well... the dog. We stop every time on our way home at the little mom and pop drive in I worked in through college to get some ice cream. Murphy loves ice cream and so we get him a vanilla toddler cone. The tough part is convincing him to eat the ice cream FIRST and then the cone. He always wants to take two huge bites and be done, but that inevitably leads to a mess of ice cream getting dumped on the ground. This time didn't go too badly, and I managed to get him to eat about 2/3 of the ice cream before he bit the cone in half!

Latest Cake

Here are a couple quick photos of the latest cake for class. This cake was the final cake for the "Fondant and tiered cakes" course (Course 3). We passed... even with our slightly unorthodox cake. No movies this time. just some quick snapshots and a recipe.

This cake is actually a brownie then frosted in peppermint REAL buttercream and then done up to look like a plate and cake in fondant.

I did up the bottom round brownie to look like a fancy plate using silver tinted royal icing and brush embroidery and stringwork-- which sadly does not come across in the pictures. Made the fork from silvery-gray fondant and then stacked some triangular pieces of brownie together to make the slice of 'cake' which Craig then covered in chocolate-y brown fondant and minty green for the top and back. I added on the rope borders and made a quick fondant rose, and there you have it... our final cake!

This is our last cake for about a month as there is no class during May. Our next course (Fondant and Gumpaste) begins again in June-- I for one am looking forward to the next class... but also glad for a few weeks with no baking that HAS to be done-- plus it should help with that whole diet plan thing! Cakes are awfully tempting, plus you have to taste things along the way to make sure they are "ok for company".

Long Awaited Random Holidays!

Today is in fact NATIONAL PRETZEL DAY! ( I bet you never even knew there was such a thing!)

Today is a day I actually wait all year for, and for one big reason-- as a fundraiser for children's miracle network--- Auntie Anne's pretzels pulls up a big trailer at the back of the medcenter and 'sells' pretzels all day-- and lemonade. Mmmmm... hot cinnamon sugar pretzels and sweet sweet cold lemonade are waiting for me just as soon as I finish my science for the day... if there is better motivation than that-- I'm not sure what it is!

For more information on National Pretzel Day... Check out this site!

Murphy... silly boy.

Mmm. water tastes better with tennis ball!

We took him for a walk and he was thirsty (luckily, I'd made him haul around some water and a bowl for himself) and tired from playing fetch... so he just dropped his ball in the bowl and slurped away. Of course, then he promptly dropped that slimy ball on my lap, but that's what puppy's are for!

And in random news... I came home today to a wedding present, that was kind of fun! (unexpected but fun!)

Stay Back Superman, We've got Kryptonite! (really!)

Kryptonite Not Just From Meteors!

"A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero's nemesis Lex Luther to weaken him in the film "Superman Returns"."

Mysterious Fossil just some more MOLD

" Scientists have identified the Godzilla of fungi, a giant, prehistoric fossil that has evaded classification for more than a century, U.S. researchers said on Monday."

The Foundation for a Better Life

The Foundation for a Better Life are the people responsible for all the really creative billboards and radio/TV ads you see around now promoting traditional values-- Perseverance, Courage, Love, Living your dreams, Forgiveness, Optimisim, Effort, Responsibility-- and many more. I highly recommend their website. This is a non-profit who will not accept donations, the only thing they ask is that you "Pass it on". So in that light, I am placing the link on the side of my Blog... and I recommend you check it out. The site has the bill board and ads-- but also a wonderful collection of quotes from all over the world about values and how to live them.

And these are the people responsible for the best ad ever!

(Picture taken from http://forbetterlife.org/be_inspired/billboards.asp?id=19)

Veggie Pizza Things Recipe

Veggie Pizza from my Mom

1 tube crescent dough
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened
½ cup mayonnaise
1 envelope Ranch Dressing mix
Assorted finely chopped veggies (scallions, cauliflower(note by Jesse-- EWWWW!), broccoli, tomatoes, carrots (note by Jesse-- I usually just shred them), etc.)

Press crescent rolls to cover the bottom of a cookie sheet (note by Jesse-- Line the pan with foil-- use the foil to lift it out of the pan when finished). Bake at 350 until golden brown (follow the directions on the tube to guesstimate a time). Cool.

Combine cream cheese, mayo and dressing mix. Spread in a thin layer (heck spread however far it goes) over the baked crust.

Combine chopped veggies (and finer is better here…..) in a large bowl, then distribute over the cream cheese layer to cover. Press down on the veggies so they adhere a bit.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or longer, if you have the time.
Cut into small squares to serve.

***Note: I have seen other people use grated cheddar or something on top of the veggies....not heated or melted or anything, just kind of laid on there like the veggies.***

The Bridal Shower and Barbecue Night

Well... I forgot to get a picture of the food spread before it was demolished... but it was nice. We made kingergarten punch (Hawaiian punch+ginger ale + floating rainbow sherbet) and I made these veggie pizza things that mom gave me the recipe for (someone once told me that they "simplified their veggie dipping experience") and Kim made her extra delicious spinach dip. So that was out with some cheese and crackers and the cake for food.

Here are some pics of the day. Bride-to-be Leah had a good time and we all got a kick out of the ever popular TP bridal gowns.

We told the guys (Leah's fiance Mike and Craig) that they couldn't be in the living room, so they sat on the stairs and looked at us... then shortly decided to grab as many snacks as they could and some DVD about communists taking over Colorado and head to the cellar (and "check out" the beer fridge).

Jackie and Nekeshia won the first game and some "fabulous" prizes from Dollar Stores (and playdough)

Nekeshia won the "guess the kitchen white powder" game after finally believing that not all the bags were FLOUR... and that none of the bags were "crack". My friends are NUTS!!! Craig is sad to see the flower leave as he was quite enjoying wearing around the house as a hat.

Bride-to-be Leah with the two "models" in the Super-Biodegradable Gown Contest Kara and Jackie. Jackie and Nekeshia won by a close vote for their daring "bare the goods" neckline, while Kara and Candice received special note for their traditional gown, long train, and lovely veil.

Tiki was adorable all afternoon, but she then decided that all these gowns with the dangly trains were just big toys for her! She started chasing the gals through the house trying to pounce on the trailing TP trains. Cute... but she is a naughty little girl!

I had to pick her up to prevent further disaster to the "gowns" so here is one more pic of the kitten (and me).

All in all a big hit, and a lot of fun. When the shower was over, we let boys out of the cellar and sent them outside to fire up the grill. Craig cooked up hot dogs and burgers for everyone-- the gals and then our guy friends who came over just for dinner while we hauled all the chairs out of the house (we are still looking around for a picnic table set when we pass clearance stuff at Lowe's) and got chips and all that kinda stuff ready. It was gorgeous weather out and was nice to be able to sit outside. I got my hot dog perfectly burnt... and 3 other people asked for theirs burnt as well, so I proved to Craig that that particular foible is not THAT odd. It was a great evening and a really nice day.

The Cake!

Here is the cake I made this weekend for the Bridal Shower. I am still working on the whole film-making thing, but this one is not as shaky as the last one. I used the same yellow cake recipe I referred to before and then made a stabilized whipped cream to fill and frost. I also sliced til I had about 2.5 cups of strawberries and put some sugar on them til they were softened a little and leaked juice. I split the layers, filled them with the whipped cream then topped with a good handful of strawberries and then stuck the next layer on and did the same again. I had made the roses and leaves from fondant the night before and let them dry, then arranged them on the cake just before I put it out. I would be cautious about using fondant on whipped cream for any cake that has to sit-- as the moisture of the whipped cream can liquefy the fondant into a sticky oozy mess.

Anyone want a dog? One naughty dog for sale!

Here he is. One very sugar high spoiled rotten pup.

He got into a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar while we were at work on Friday and dragged it around the house. ahh... sticky sugar floor, sticky sugar walls, and a sticky sugar dog. Such a lovely suprise when I needed the house clean for the bridal shower the next day.

He was soooo happy with himself though, hyper, but happy.

Saturday was a tired day

Well... Friday night I had 2 huge glasses of Moe's super delicious sweet tea... and this was my first caffeine in over 4 months... I was WIRED. I was up past 5:30 this morning and showing no signs of drooping.. not good. I was up by 9 and getting ready for the day-- I made it through the shower, got all the stuff done I needed to, hosted the BBQ and now I am ready to crash. I have pics of the cake and all that, but its going to have to wait for posting til after I sleep. (maybe through til tommorrow evening at this point. I am BEAT! (of course, if the weather as pretty as promised, the sun will be in my window bright and early and I will be awake... but some nice daylight is totally worth it!

night all.

Random Science News of the Day (and its about frogs!)

Frog Foot Boogers are Sticky (aren't all boogers sticky?)

"Scottish scientists have determined how tree frogs can stick to smooth surfaces even when completely upside down, yet can easily walk or jump."

Read a little more here.

Ethanol may be best left to its time honored use.....

So apparently the "green" fuel ethanol may not be any better than gas. Leave it to environmentalists to get it wrong again....
Story:

Ethanol raises ozone levels, U.S. study says
Switching to 'greener' gas alternative could lead to more smog-related deaths
Read more here

Today and a good quote

OSHA has apparently taken one more nosy step into my life... we are now required to have annual health checks to work with animals. And they get to decree what vaccinations we require and how often and all sorts of fun things. I was getting a hard time at my appointment because the survey we had to fill out asks if we are allergic to animals and if we have had any itchy eyes etc from working with them... so I said yes. (all furry things but dogs seem to cause me some problems) but basically they are minor and I really just deal with it... I mean I have a cat who makes me sneeze... so roomba +allergen reduce febreeze+ no cat on the bed makes it all just dandy. Anyway, since the mice occaisionally make me sneeze, I noted that on the form... now they want to sign me up for all sorts of pulmonary function tests. ugh. I think not. If I start having more problems with them than I do in my own home, or if my reactions get worse... then I will let them know-- but til then- they can just hold their horses.

On the vaccine front... I am a BIG supporter of vaccines-- I am just personally opposed to the tetanus vaccine for myself. I hate them. I get a sore arm for 2 weeks and it gets weak and just generally screws things up for days. But, OSHA says I have to have one... and not just the Tetanus-Diptheria... I have to get the TDaP-- so that adds in Pertussis. Again, for a normal person... I think this is dandy and a good plan.... for me, I think it is unneccessary. I worked with Bordetella sub species, and in particular Bordetella pertussis for 3 straight years. I have absurdly high levels of anti-pertussis antibodies... my titers (and everyone who worked in that lab) are sky high... We used to try and harvest serum from lab members for some experiments (ahh... budget cuts) but we found that all the lab members serum killed the bacteria sooooo ridiculously fast that we couldn't even do the tests we needed-- so we started a trading program with a nearby lab that worked on a different bug-- they gave us samples and some folks from my lab gave samples to them... it worked. (and here's where you can insert the bad jokes about grad school not just taking sweat and tears-- but even wringing the blood out of you). Anyway-- I know pertussis isn't too bloody likely to be an issue for me. EVER, but nonetheless... vaccinated I am. Here's hoping this new formulation causes less side effects for me-- but based on how lousy my arm is feeling, I am thinking no.

I get to do the PPD this week too... silly nurse tried to give it to me today... that would mean reading either Saturday or Sunday... no one's in then... least I called her on that.
I asked towards the end of the appointment if there were any additional precautions or things I should beware of with the whole procreation/animal work thing... and she seemed very blase about it.. she did not inspire confidence to beleive her... so I asked about the whole procreation thing with some of the drugs I have to handle for work... and she also just sorta glided over them as non-issues. UGH. I was not so happy... ( I know some of the things are BAD... and I already talked it over with the other folks in lab.. and they will handle them for me! yay!)

Being over at the dr did allow me to at least make an appt with the wonderful nurse practitioner who is my primary care person... she's really swell and I am very glad I got on her patient list and off of the evil hypercritical doctor. (seriously.. who was she to say if I should or should not have the pill... for ethical reasons... when I called and scheduled the whole women's care appt with that in mind, why did she take the appt if she "never" prescribes them. grr... she's pissed off basically everyone who has seen her, maybe she's good with kids, but she is lousy with women.) So the point with the primary care person was to double check all the other vaccine stuff and if I need to take care of any other health crap before moving on with this whole "baby" thing.

Other than that... I have to nag craig to go get his tetanus... with all the construction junk we do... its only a matter of time til a rusty nail finds its way into a foot or something-- and better safe than sorry.

A cool quote by someone who is no longer with us from VT
"We need you all to sign these informed consent forms, after all, we can't treat you like prisoners, you're grad students, we treat you like slaves." ~Dr. Kevin P. Granata to his Biodynamics class Winter 2004

Zoo Poo leads to Great Fuel and Extra! Extra! World not Round! Read all about it!

As a new feature and public service from the gal muddling her way through a PhD in Biology (what was I thinking?!?!?!) I am beginning a semi-regular series of posts on random (and amusing) science news.

Today's topics

Zoo Poo leads to Great Fuel
"Scientists in the Netherlands have discovered a fungus in elephant dung that will help them break down fibres and wood into biofuel."
Read more here.


Extra! Extra! World not Round! Read all about it!
"As countless photos from space can attest, Earth is round—the "Blue Marble," as astronauts have affectionately dubbed it. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Planet Earth is not, in fact, perfectly round. "
Read more here.

Random Nonsense and (no)news

OK, so 1 day with no post and I get complaints... so here is a post.













haha... I bet you thought that was all you were getting-- I will ramble some more though!

I am working on planning a bridal shower for a friend this weekend-- she requested not a really dressy shower... in fact she requested it be a "jeans" kinda time-- woooohoooo! So I have to bake the cake (no big surprise there) and I am taking votes on what kind to make--

White Cream of Coconut Cake with Citrus curd filling
Chocolate Cake with Mocha Silk filling
Extra Moist Yellow Buttermilk Cake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Strawberry Filling

Some other mix of the cake flavors and fillings?
(Or maybe this one?)
Any votes? Any other suggestions? I am most likely to cover the thing in some sort of fondant for class practice-- but the inside is the important part anyway!

Tonight my friends Kim and Katie are coming over for dinner-- we try to get together at least once a month to do this-- we split the meal meat, sides, and dessert-- and this is my turn to make meat. If its not raining and above freezing I am making barbecue chicken on the grill.... if it is cold and raining I'll be making foil packet baked barbecue chicken. No news on dessert yet-- but Kim usually brings 2 so it should be good!

Saturday Night

Look! Finally a picture of the happy couple!




So Saturday night instead of the symposium reception, Craig and I hopped in the car for a mad dash to Winchester, Va. Mapquest told me this is a 2 hour and 15 minute drive, we made it in just under 2... We were in such a hurry because John, Christina, Mom and Dad were all meeting there and had asked us to come along... for dinner at 6pm... and I left the symposium which ran late at 4:37... so we were going to be late no matter what... it was just a question of HOW late.

So we drove down there all but setting new land speed records as this was Mom and Dad's first chance to meet Christina and because John had asked in particular that we try and make it. (And because I am the best big sister he could have ever dreamed of!)

We met up at Outback... (ok, so the promise of steak was helpful too) and had a lovely dinner. After dinner we took a couple of pictures and then everyone hit the road to get back to their homes.










The newlyweds and the "to-be" weds




Dad and Mom with the happy couple.

Genetics Symposium and Women in Science

<---- Wonderful photoshop job by Jess P. for the fliers! Yay Pipet-Man!! This weekend (yesterday actually) was the annual genetics symposium-- and this year it was here in Hershey. I do have to say we did a WAY WAY WAY better job than they do in state college organizing it (for example... we had enough food for everyone, and actually picked up the speakers from the airport/train station on time). A few of the gals in my class and a few in the year before me got together and decided at last years fiasco that we should not let that happen here, so we did. As a side effect of the committee being (almost) entirely female, we decided to invite two prominent women as speakers (we'd never had a women in the 20 speakers previous years had invited) and while I was not as gung ho on the "it has to be a girl thing" as some people-- there were some other folks I would have preferred to have speak.... it did provided us the opportunity to have a side session about the state of women in science. We were lucky in that two members of the national academy of science- Dr. Susan Wessler and Dr. Nancy Hopkins accepted as Keynote speakers for the symposium-- and agreed to share their inputs on being a successful woman in science. So along comes the seminar on Friday afternoon, the majority of the female grad students in the building are there and there was only one man in the room-- that part was kinda funny. So the women start off on their spiels (sp?)-- Nancy Hopkins was a driving force behind a revolution and MIT about the position of women within that university that was then taken on a nationwide level. If you are interested, here is a brief article by her about the status of women in science. She gave a speech on the facts and figures of women making it through their PhDs by year through this century and then on how many made it to be full tenured professors. It was informative and data heavy... I thought she did a very good job with that part.
Dr. Wessler went second-- she got her first professor job at 29 at the University of Georgia and has been there ever since... she has received many accolades for both her teaching and research efforts and offered us her "advice" and lessons learned over the last 25 years on how to be a successful woman scientist and a mom.

A few of her points paraphrased as they struck me--

"don't have kids til you have your job" To me this would mean waiting til I was 35ish when at best I could even hope to have a "professor" style job-- I know reproductive assistance has come a long way-- but that strikes me as a risky gamble. And to me it suggested that science was a higher priority for her than her family.

"don't expect to be the "earth momma" type" She tried nursing, but then a conference came up and she left the kid.... end of nursing. The kids were also in day care full time from the beginning-- and she thought that was the ideal solution. This seemed kind of a iffy decision to me, I'm going on the theory for now that any kids we have should be a high priority-- not something that should be put aside when not convenient.

"don't bother being a "soccer mom"" You're not going to be able to take your kids to piano and ballet and soccer practice. It's not worth it. For me I wondered what part of her kids growing up was important enough then.

With all these things... From what she showed in pictures and described she has raised 2 lovely adolescent daughters who are intelligent and really good kids, so it has obviously worked for her and she has made the time to take long exotic vacations with them every year... but for me I don't know if trading every day life and family events for 2 weeks on safari would be worth it.

I really was not a fan of her talk-- though I do understand that her opinions are absolutely valid... I was more put off by the fact that she belittled women who make the choice to take "lower" positions to compromise family and work. I think thats the problem with the feminist movement-- they are purportedly all for women being able to make their own choices... but only really want women to make the choices they themselves have made. If I choose to be a teacher instead of run a research lab, and I am happy with my choice and can help educate the future-- why is that a less valuable option??? particularly if by doing so I am able to more fully participate in the raising of any children we may be so lucky to have.

The goal of those talks was to give us female grad students some tips and ideas on how to face a "male dominated" field (not sure I agree that it is--- 75% of the grad students here are women!) and how to balance family life with a career. We had one speaker who was divorced at 30 when she was starting her career and is now as she approaches retirement engaged again (and seemingly very happy about it) and the other who was married with a children but who has now been divorced. I would love to see women who have actually balanced a career and a family happily --- I'm not sure you can really have it ALL. I think you may have to decide which parts of ALL matter most to you and then do your best with them. I think if you can be happy with what you have and what you have done and do then you have it all... not by trying to juggle 10 balls and always worrying which one is going to drop first. The talks were a somewhat sad revelation for me... in that even women will judge other women for being family oriented and it was one more nail in the coffin of my even wanting to have a research lab of my own.

Dinner with the speakers (lucky me being on the planning committee) was painful... these women were so far left of me that by comparison Craig should be keeping me in a burkha.... it was BAD. At one point it was suggested that Bush alone was responsible for global warming. And that was among the more mild of their statements from my point of view. It was a very long dinner... during which I shoveled food in or bit my tongue to prevent myself from screaming so much of the time. I had to be the polite host... and I think yelling at the table would have undone that. ugh. it was not a fun dinner (plus my chicken saltimbuca was not very tender.... )

Their science talks were fine, and I again displayed the poster I had taken to colorado... and it was well receieved. I got some suggestions that I should get it published already-- now I have to keep convincing my boss that it is time too! I ended up skipping out on the reception that I helped plan (and some darn good food!) to go do something far more exciting--- but that is another post and waiting on photos...

Another look at the latest cake

A different view. a pretty package. Still VERY yellow...

oh, and on that recipe... allrecipes.com allows you to scale them... I halved it and made 2 full 8-inch rounds.

Cake Course #3 Cake #1

The latest cake. all fondant and yes it is very very yellow. Also you can see here my first fondant rose. I still need some work, but I am pretty happy with it overall. We were pretty good this week and did follow the directions for the most part... well... everyone else made a white cake but still... and I did all the little flowers to the side, but something had to be done to tone down that yellow. (next time it needs to be a prettier pastel color to go with the others!)

too bad fondant isn't too tasty-- but this cake is a yellow buttermilk cake with a strawberry butter cream filling... so the inside should be good at least! I REALLY recommend this cake recipe, its super simple, very flavorful and moist too--- Craig even did the baking this time-- and it still turned out great!

Easter flubs

So in addition to the pretty pics and fancy food-- there were a few snafus -- the biggest being the creation of "loch mathers" in our cellar. Ah yes, some sort of voodoo force my parents bring with them leads to the explosion of major disasters of home ownership. Previously the ceiling opened up and flooded the hallway and this time we got a lake.

Long story short... all those dishes and pots and pans from cooking had to be washed.. only the drain line was backed up and all that dirty soapy water ended up pooling to 6 inches deep in the basement. ugh. Thankfully Dad was here and he and Craig figured out how to suck all the water out of the basement and then snaked the drain in the floor and dug out.... somehow... a piece of duct tape?!?!?!! How the heck did duct tape end up down our drain? ugh, what a mess, but Craig got it all cleaned up and it seems to be better now.

other than that, anyone need some mashed potatoes???? we have a TON! (seriously, 6lbs of mashed potatoes serving 4 people... I've got loads!) I'd make flitch, but these have horseradish in them... and I can't see that being good with sugar and peanut butter. (nor can I see flitch being good for my waistline!) but it is sooo yummy.

Easter

Here are a couple of pictures of the feast I made up for Easter... the final verdict was bacon wrapped dates, Cream of Asparagus Soup with spinach, Beef Wellingtons (with no liver bits!), horseradish mashed potatoes, parmesan roasted broccoli, and home made rolls. Topped that off with a special blend red wine made in California by a friend of Annie--- Meritage. VERY nice. (and it looks all pretty on my fancy table!)And here are a couple of pictures from the dessert! A mild lemon pudding topped with a fresh lemon curd served in a cleaned out eggshell with pound cake "toast"-- breakfast for dessert! I thought they were cute and spring-y.

And one picture of the two of us this morning after church.

My only picture of the Happy couple so far... a cell phone snapshot!

Dishes!

So Mom and Grammam have come to my rescue with some help finishing my china pattern before they all disappear! If you look in the picture below, you can see a selection of the nifty dishes and serving pieces we now have. You can also see the beautiful silver my Grammam gave me for a wedding present that had been hers and a few of the pieces of crystal we have received. Craig and I are pretty spoiled... but now we definitely owe everyone some marvelous wonderful meals on the beautiful dishes we have! First shot at those come Easter!

Look at my pretty new dishes!

YAY! I have a new "sister"

So my little brother got engaged last night! YAYAY!!!!!! (or as he put it in the text message he sent-- "wooo!") Christina is a really nice and smart girl, plus she works making beer... so my brother is a lucky guy. Here's hoping and praying that she has a swift and permanent recovery so they can move on with planning their future together!

As soon as I can get a picture of them I will get it posted on here and everyone can see the happy couple.

Woohoo... more news as I get it... and John, you'd better bring her up here to meet/see us as soon as you can!

Graduate Student Appreciation Week

As yet another shining example of our tax money at work, the state has declared this week "grad student appreciation week" -- of course, they only told us today, and we don't get the pay we deserve or a party or even a cookie, just this announcement to our email inboxes this morning. We're trying to sucker my boss in to taking us for lunch in "honor" of this week... mostly by hanging copies of the proclamation all over the lab.

So here I am, and I feel (under)appreciated. (not by my boss, he's actually great... just by the masses who I have to explain that I am in "22nd" grade to, and that yes, when I graduate I will be a doctor, but no, I can't help you with your "insert medical condition here" or tell you why insurance is so expensive... I work with mice.)


Here is the text of the proclamation below....

On March 21, 2007 the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring April 2 through 8, 2007 as Professional and Graduate Student Appreciation Week.

A RESOLUTION Designating the week of April 2 through 8, 2007, asProfessional and Graduate Student Appreciation Week" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Professional and graduate students have earned distinction in their chosen fields;
and WHEREAS, The economy of this Commonwealth is strengthened by the research and development efforts of professional and graduate students;
and WHEREAS, There are more than 80,000 professional and graduate students enrolled in the State System of Higher Education universities;
and WHEREAS, Professional and graduate students are the future doctors, teachers, lawyers, businesspeople, scientists, artists and leaders of our State;
therefore be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the week of April 2 through 8, 2007, as "Professional and Graduate Student Appreciation Week" in Pennsylvania.


and with that out of the way, back I go to the mice and the enzymes.... woohoo.