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!