My Poster

The trip to Denver for GSA was over a month ago, but it was so much fun! We got to see lots of friends (friends from undergrad, former professors, field camp buddies) and it was great being able to catch up with everyone. I can't imagine what next year's conference is going to be like. It's going to be in Minneapolis, so I'm guessing that even more awesome MN geology-types will make an appearance.

Aside from all of the fun, I also survived my poster presentation (see above). I got a lot of useful feedback from people. It was also great to hear people suggest things that my adviser and I were already working on (but didn't include on the poster). Presenting on day 1 (which was Halloween, btw) was also very lucky, as I came down with a nasty cold halfway through the conference.

Birthday Season

June, July, and August in my family are pretty much considered to be "Birthday Season." On each side of my family we get together for a big birthday event (usually not too far off from the 4th of July) and celebrate. With our roadtrip this summer and lots o' research time, I completely forgot to post the cards I made.

For the ladies

For the men

And this one for the guy cousins who turned 24

I'm Getting Out of Nevada!!

At least for a few days, that is. :)


I'm headed off to Denver, CO for the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting! There will be some work involved, as I'm presenting my poster on serpentine weathering on the first day and I will also be keeping my eyes open for job opportunities. But, I'm thinking of this as a nice vacation and looking forward to a great time reconnecting with some awesome geologists! (Free beer and wine at the alumni parties is another plus!)

Photo: http://www.c-villecameraclub.org/Larry%20Goss/slides/Big%20Blue%20Bear%20-%20Colorado%20Convention%20Center%20Denver.html

I Need to Get Out of Nevada!

I love the sunlight. I love the warmth. But oh dear god, I need to get out of this state!!! Lately, school has been stressing me out big time. I have a lot of responsibilities, which I agreed to take on, but it's turning out to be a lot of stuff. I don't like to be a bitter and down person, but I need to vent. So here goes:

• People here do not know how to drive! I've complained about this many times, but it never ceases to tick me off. Today Erik and I decided to avoid an exit that is always backed up at a certain time of day. Instead, we end up at a light that says "No turn on red," so logically we stopped to wait for the green light in order to make our right turn. Three, that's right three! cars pulled around us on the shoulder of the road to turn right through the red!! Ugh... so much for taking the less frustrating route home!

• I suspect NV Energy is trying to steal our money. Two months ago we got an electricity bill that was $50 more than the highest bill we'd ever had. We were shocked by it, but figured that it was possible that we used the air conditioning a bit too much that month. So, we took efforts to cut back the following month, and the next bill was back to the normal range. We have not changed those habits. Today I opened our bill to find out that it had skyrocketed again! There's no way we used that much electricity (we even had days without air conditioning because it was cooler outside!).
• Nevada is brown. And dry.
  
• Nevada/Las Vegas makes a bunch of the "This is the worst place to live/Places with the worst water/Most dangerous neighborhoods/Dumbest people" lists. At the same time I see the other sides of those lists with Minnesota near the top for "Best places to live/Cleanest tap water/Smartest people" lists...
• My best friends aren't here. Erik's best friends aren't here.
• There are giant cockroaches. Enough said on that topic.
• I get more headaches here because it's arid and I suck at drinking water.
• Our neighbors have sketchy friends who like to publicly urinate on the tree outside. I am thankful that I realized what was going on, and looked away in time to avoid that image.
• We only get one channel that works all the time here, and it's FOX. Enough said.
• I'm sick of hearing/seeing Sharron Angle and Harry Reid advertisements. Harry Reid, your state is screwed and I don't really think you can fix it. Sharron Angle, you are an extreme moron and should be nowhere near public office.

Oiy... if you made your way through that mess, I apologize for the bitterness and the giant unloading. I'm hoping that things will start shaping up soon, and my outlook on stuff will improve along with it.

Photo: http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Nevada_Test_Site/

Appletini

Erik and I went out to eat at the Yard House on Friday night. They supposedly have the world's largest selection of draft beer, so you can imagine why Erik wanted to go. I, on the other hand, am not a fan of beer so I tested out their martini menu. I love sour-apple-flavored things, and after having one of their apple martinis, we set out to make our own.

1 part sweet & sour mix
1 part citrus vodka
1 1/2 parts sour apple pucker

Shake over ice, and enjoy!

New (Wedding) Blog

I'm starting a new blog: Amethyst, Diamond, & Peridot. It'll be about the adventures (and hopefully no misadventures) that Erik and I come across while planning our wedding.

Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 28th Anniversary
Mom & Dad!!

Photo by: LLB
Flowers by: Design Vertigo (an awesome new store in downtown North St. Paul, MN!!)

The Proposal

Something exciting happened last weekend:

It was around 1:00 in the morning, our 4-year anniversary had just technically begun, and Erik and I were still up talking. We decided that it was about time that we got some sleep, so I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When I came out of the bathroom, there was Erik down on one knee in our room. Candles were lit, and my penguin stuffed animal (Tubby) was standing beside Erik, who was holding a ring box.

He said, "Do you remember the night, the first time we stayed up all night talking, when you fell asleep in my arms? I thought to myself I could do that forever. Will you marry me?"

I was very much surprised, given the hour of night, and had a goofy/giddy smile on my face.

"Yes, of course," I replied.

So, needless to say, Erik and I are really excited! I bought a wedding planning book at Barnes & Noble today (The "I Have a Life" Bride's Guide, edited by Andrea Mattei) to help me get started with some of the planning. Also, once a few more things are decided, I'll probably start a wedding blog so that this one doesn't get overloaded with posts about wedding planning.

Bucket List #1

Some time ago, I started to write a bucket list. It may or may not have had something to do with the release of the movie Bucket List (which I never actually saw, to tell the truth). I just thought that it sounded like a fun list to make; I really love making lists. As of a week ago, I was able to cross something off!

#1. Live in a state other than Minnesota for at least a year.

I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to get my master's degree in geology. If all goes as planned, I'll be done in the spring (or summer?) of 2011. Then I'll be able to cross off #26 on my list.

5 Ways I Procrastinate Online

I've been meaning to do this post for a while, but get this... I was busy not procrastinating and working on my Geological Society of America annual meeting abstract that was due yesterday!! But now, I am back to procrastinating. Though, in all fairness, if I hadn't have woken up this morning with a giant headache, I would be at school working on my thesis.

There are many ways to procrastinate online, and I would like to share with you my 5 favorite ways to do so. In no particular order:

1) Lolcats at icanhascheezburger . The kitties are just so cute!!

2) PhD Comics (Piled High & Deeper). Anyone in grad school should appreciate the humor of these comics. There's even an "emergency button" in case your advisor walks in.


3) Various blogs. See my blogs I follow on the sidebar :)


4) Yahoo news stories. If it weren't for FOX (we only get one TV channel) and Yahoo, I would probably never know what is going on.


5) Facebook. Because, well, yeah... I'm a student who got sucked into the trend.

Images:
1) icanhascheezburger.com
2) phdcomics.com
3) blog.ning.com/2008/04/augmenting_your_blog_or_websit.html
4) yahoo homepage screenshot
5) brainz.org/completely-unscientific-yet-accurate-look-social-sites/

How am I supposed to make cookies with a brick?

That's right, a brick. I'm talking about a brick of brown sugar, because it's so ridiculously dry here. Erik and I decided to make chocolate chip cookies this last weekend, and it was a bit difficult to get started.

Brown sugar is supposed to be delightful and fluffy. Here in Las Vegas, however, brown sugar has the tendency to dry out. We've encountered this problem at home by not keeping it in an airtight container before, but this time we ended up with a brick straight from the store.

Here is the initial brick:


The white marks are from Erik trying to bust it apart with a spoon:


We read that microwaving the brown sugar with a bowl of water next to it might help. Not so much...


This is where we gave up, went to a different store, and bought brown sugar of the proper consistency.

Monday's Gone

This is how I was supposed to feel about today,
until I woke up with a migraine. Boo.

Photo: icanhascheezburger.com

Road Trip: Part 3

On the return trip from Minnesota to Nevada, we decided to play the license plate game. First, Erik sang the "States Song" so I could make the list of all 50 states. Then we began crossing off states as we saw the corresponding license plates. When you've got three days of driving to do, one needs something to keep entertained and awake.

By the end of the trip, we had crossed off 36 of the 50 states! The biggest excitement of this game was when we saw two (that's right, two!) Alaska license plates. Erik only wanted to count the conterminous 48 states, but I had a feeling we'd see a Hawaii plate (there are lots of Hawaiians in Las Vegas). In the end, I was wrong, but I'm glad we counted all 50 because we saw Alaska!

What did we miss, you ask? Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio (we saw 2 Ohio plates the day after we got back in Las Vegas...), North Carolina, Rhode Island (we basically had no hope for this one), South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Photo: childrensfurniture.guidestobuy.com

Minneapolis Makes Me Smile

The "watermelon garage" on the way to Great Wall (yum yum yum!)

Cora is being so calm.

Ginsberg and Charlotte having a tussle.

Ulysses, or zen kitty, hanging out in a decorative box.

Road Trip: Part 2

"To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change."
~Charles Horton Cooley

Road Trip: Part 1

It's summer and after a long semester followed by field work and lab work, it was time for a break. So for roughly two weeks, Erik and I are going to enjoy some time back in our lovely state of Minnesota. Also, we decided to drive instead of fly. Here is a sampling of what we saw along our way.


Not so long after leaving Nevada, we passed through the breathtakingly awesome Virgin River Gorge, Arizona. And as two geologists, it was difficult to keep our eyes on the road and away from the amazing rock faces.


Going through Utah we were amazed by the landscapes.


We spent a lot of time in Colorado, but who could blame us with scenery like this? This particular shot was taken somewhere between Gunnison and Denver.


There's not a whole lot to see in Nebraska as far as the landscape goes, which is why we were intrigued by this Gateway.


And then there's Iowa, which most people would call extremely boring. However, the stretch from Omaha to Des Moines is actually quite nice. And there are wind farms! I love wind farms. They make me very happy.

And finally, after three long days of sitting in a car, we made it to Minnesota.

La Cucaracha Maraca

I was awoken around 4:00 this morning by an unfamiliar noise.

*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*

I sat up to listen to the noise better. The same sound kept coming from the hallway. Having no idea what it was, and being a little concerned, I woke Erik up.

"Erik, do you hear that? What's that sound?" I asked.

"Huh... [insert really confused just-woke-up-words here] Oh... it's just the water heater," he replied.

*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*
*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*

"See, Julie, it's repeating; it's the water heater," reasoned Erik.

"But, I've never heard it make that noise before," I replied. "Oh well, I have to go to the bathroom anyway, but I'm turning the bedroom light on so I can see what's making that noise."

I got up, and as I was about to enter the bathroom I saw a huge cockroach belly-up on the bathroom floor. Ewwww. But, that wasn't the source of the noise.

Then I heard the now slightly more familiar *tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap* coming from behind me. So I turned around.

On top of our 3-foot tall pile of recycling, in a plastic cupcake container I saw a (smaller) cockroach scurrying around.

*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*

"Erik, I found what's making the noise! It's a cockroach in the recycling!!! Ewwwwww! And there's a big one in the bathroom too!" I complained.

Knowing that the cockroach in the bathroom could be dealt with easily, I focused on the one (very much alive) in the recycling. The cupcake container is one of those take-out containers that you can snap shut. I snapped it shut, worried that any other course of action could result in the cockroach's escape and subsequently I'd be more grossed out than before.

*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*
*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*
*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*
*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*
*tap tap tap scratch scratch tap tap*

It just kept making the noise inside of the container! So in a slightly cruel, but desperate attempt, I began to shake the container. I hoped that it might end the bug, and it could all be over. Erik eventually had to come to my rescue and finish the job.

After all was taken care of, I crawled back into bed.

"Ewwwww, ewwww, ugh, I hate cockroaches! They're so gross!" I exclaimed. "We need to have the bug spray people come again this week, it didn't accomplish anything the last time they were here!"

At this point I began to get a little loopy (I mean, I was tired and had just lived through a semi-traumatizing bug experience. Remember, it's 4 a.m.).

"Ugh... cockroaches... La cucaracha! Ewww..." I paused.

Then I giggled a bit.

"La cucaracha maraca!!"


Image: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id307768700?mt=8

School's Out

School ended a few weeks ago, which means no more classes or teaching for a few months! Yay! I've been keeping fairly busy though (trying to finish up thesis-proposal-related paperwork to make sure I'm on track and getting things together for research). So, even though I'll be doing research all summer, I'll have a lot more time for fun activities.

For my research, I'll be going to northern California soon to collect weathered rock samples for my thesis research. We'll be in the mountains; it's supposed to be a place with amazing scenery! After samples are collected, which shouldn't take long, the rest of my summer will be spent doing lab work.

We're also planning a road trip back to Minnesota for a bit this summer, because I haven't been home since December. Not only will it give Erik and I a chance to hang out with family and friends, it will be a nice escape from the 100+ degree heat of Las Vegas. My family also has a ton of June/July/August birthdays, so I'm hoping to be back around birthday party time to be able to see everyone!

That also means that I have a ton of cards to make before we leave! This weekend I'm hoping to do a bunch of anniversary cards and start planning the birthday ones. I feel like most of my blog posts as of late have been about cards, so I'm contemplating the idea of starting a separate blog for that. Any thoughts?

I'm also making it a goal to be more active this summer. I didn't ever exercise while in Morris, but I didn't own a car and you could walk anywhere; I also played intramural volleyball. Here in Vegas, walking places is pretty much out of the question (I've got a 20-30 minute commute to campus), and as far as I know intramurals are for undergrads (not to mention, I don't need more reasons to be on campus all day!!). So yeah... although I never really "exercised" in the past, I know I'm definitely less active than I used to be.

Erik and I are going to try going on more walks and hopefully make time to play tennis or go swimming. I bought a jump rope today as part of this "do stuff!" idea. Maybe I'll even start trying yoga (we already have a mat and a ball).

Happy Mother's Day!

For one of my best friends who is having a baby in December. :)

For my mom and Erik's mom. :) Hugs to you both!

New Stamp

A friend of ours graduated today with a Ph.D. in Soil Science.

Congrats to Dr. Robins!

Now that the majority of my work is done (just need to do some grading), I had the free time to make a card for him. I used a new stamp that I ordered from 'Paper Pretties.'

Holy Mackerel! Congratulations!

End of the Semester Craziness!

There are 23 days left until the semester is over, and it feels like I'm swimming towards a shore but I'm not getting anywhere. Each week, more gets crossed off the To Do List, but there's always so much more to do!

Here's what I'm dealing with. (Not trying to complain, just need to get it off my chest. The person I generally vent to is out in the field somewhere camping and digging soil pits)

[x] Practice poster for Geosymposium
[x] Contaminant Hydro paper on Acid Mine Drainage
[x] Revise students' policy letter rough drafts
[x] Form my thesis committee
[x] Get committee to sign paperwork
[x] Schedule my Thesis Proposal Presentation for my committee
[x] Final poster for Geosymposium
[x] Presentation on Acid Mine Drainage
[x] GPSA Fall Grant Application
[x] Geosymposium
[x] Aqueous Geochemistry homework
[x] Revise and complete Thesis Proposal
[x] Get the completed Thesis Proposal to my committee
[x] Grade students' final drafts and normal homework
[x] Figure out students' final grades
[x] Run olivine dissolution models for Aqueous Geochemistry
[x] Write paper on olivine dissolution model
[x] Prepare presentation on olivine dissolution model
[x] Finalize dates and other info for summer field work
[x] Survive my Thesis Proposal Presentation
[ ] Get all thesis proposal-related paperwork turned in

Holy buckets. I needed to get that out, but... that's a lot!

To end things on a positive note, here are some SEM images that I took in the lab last week (of my olivine samples) that reminded me of a doggy and a frog. Does anyone else see a resemblance?


Note: I may occasionally cross more things off my list as they happen. Might not keep up though. We'll see.

I Love Little Surprises (the tree outside blooms!)

"Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning."

~ Lydia M. Child

Strawberry Bellini

I'm very glad to be living near a large city with a multitude of restaurants as opposed to living in a rural town with about 5 different food options. However, with that said, we have yet to find a replacement for Bella Cucina. Sure, we found an Italian restaurant that had great food, but it's part of a chain and they don't have my favorite dish (fettuccine fra di avilo) or my favorite drink to order (other than a cosmopolitan), a strawberry bellini.

Well, Erik and I are still working on perfecting the fettuccine dish, but we mastered the bellini! We were shopping at Costco the other day and came across the giant container of strawberries, when I suggested that we try making daiquiris, or better yet, strawberry bellinis!

Next came the quest to purchase champagne that would both be affordable, but not taste gross. After wandering the bubbly aisle for quite some time at the liquor store, I was about to pick a very cheap kind of champagne (after all, it was just going to be mixed in--it's not like we'd be drinking it by itself), when a bottle with a light blue label caught my eye.

My thought process: "THEY MAKE MOSCATO SPARKLING WINE?!?!?!?!?! We are so buying this one!" (In September, we discovered moscato and it has been my favorite type of wine ever since) Another plus, the bottle cost less than $10. We had a winner.

Here was the delicious result:

1 tray of ice cubes
2 oz. white rum
4 cups of strawberries (!)
2 spoonfuls of sugar
1/2 bottle of champagne

Mix in a blender, and enjoy. :)

"Treatsa Pizza" or Grasshopper Pie

This is probably one of my favorite desserts ever. Seriously. It's the oreo cookie crust that gets me (I always save the crust for last!)

It was Erik's 23rd birthday yesterday, and this is what he chose for his birthday dessert. I gave him a choice between my Grandma B's chocolate cake and this ice cream dessert. I love both of the choices, but he'd never had this one before.

Here's the cupcake version of the dessert (I made a pie-sized dessert too, but there were some leftover ingredients, so I made mini pies/pizzas in a muffin pan).


Oreo cookie crust. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. Homemade fudge sauce.

Delicious.

3 for Valentine's, 3 for Birthdays

I've made a few cards recently, but waited to post them so that the post office could do it's thing and get these off to the recipients before I went and ruined the surprise on here. I've been following the blog Mojo Monday which posts sketches or templates of cards. I love them!!! I really like making cards, but I've always struggled a wee bit with coming up with things to do with the papers and layers and such. These are also some of the first cards where I've tried using ribbon successfully. :)

"Manly" version of a Valentine's Day card, for my sweetie

Valentine's Card (red edition)

Valentine's Card (pink edition)

For my uncle's 55th birthday

For my grandma's 80th birthday

For Kelsey's birthday

Yay for (so far) keeping with my goal of not purchasing greeting cards, but making them!

Valentine's Day

I think I got more excited for Valentine's Day when I was a little kid. You'd get to to go the store and pick out a box of little Valentine cards for all of your friends at school (favorites of mine included Powerpuff Girls, Star Wars, and Kittens), and of course some candy too (Sweethearts, anyone?). At school, you'd get to decorate a brown lunch bag which would become your desk's mailbox for candy and cards from your classmates. And no one was left out, because the rule was if you were going to bring Valentine cards or candy to school, you had to have enough for the whole class. It was always one of the best days of school, ever. I mean, who doesn't like less time for class and more time for candy and fun?

Now you just see a ton of commercials telling you to spend $60+ on long-stemmed roses (when you could just wait until summer and get 20 beautiful roses for $10 at the Farmer's Market), ridiculous jewelry that's supposed to look like it's hugging something, or having to pay an arm and a leg to go see the new romantic comedy at the movie theater. Oiy... I liked when things were simpler and only about $5 total cost for the day.

Well, given that my boyfriend and I like simple things, we're going to have a pretty laid-back day, which I am looking forward to very much.

Tentative Schedule:

• Heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. Although, they turned out nothing like those in the photo. Mine were free-handed and ended up looking like asymmetrical blobs.
• A walk to the park (hopefully there are doggies in the dog park for us to watch!).
• Prepare the slow cooker for a tasty pork chop dinner.
• Go feed and play with Milo (a very poofy orange kitty).
• Pick up delicious cupcakes at the Cupcakery. (This is our one splurge for the day)
• Have delicious dinner, wine, and cupcakes!

Photo: http://www.more4kids.info/613/valentine-treats-for-kids/

Milk... doesn't always do a body good.

Last night I realized that we still had a lot of milk left to drink. Not wanting to drink it just for the sake of drinking milk, I thought that milk and oreos would be a tasty treat for dessert.

It's a good thing that I looked at the expiration date on the milk first (2/02/10). Being very disappointed that I could no longer have oreos and milk, I dumped out the expired milk. Erik noticed my mopey-ness about not getting to have oreos and very sweetly offered to go to the gas station across the street and buy me some more milk.

He got back, gave me the milk and I was very excited to have my dessert treat. But, the milk tasted a bit funny. Not having had milk out of a cardboard carton in a while, I thought that perhaps this was why it tasted different. Besides, I couldn't even taste the weirdness all that much when I just dunked the oreo in it.

This morning: I awoke much, much earlier than normal with a very upset stomach.

Morals of the story:

1. Don't trust gas station milk.
2. Don't continue to drink said milk after you decide it tastes funny.
3. Do go to a real grocery store to buy new milk when you realize yours is expired.
4. Give up on the idea of oreos and milk when you realize your milk is expired, because fate has already decided that for some reason you are meant to drink funky milk and get sick.

The end.

Photo: http://thedesouzafamily.blogspot.com/2008/01/oreos.html