Campfires

"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness."
~Henry David Thoreau

As soon as I manage to get a tent, I'm going to plan a camping trip. Or maybe, as soon as I plan a camping trip, I'll get a tent. All I know is that Zion, Arches, Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon are all within a decent driving distance, and I want to go camping!

Football for Breakfast?

Living in the Pacific Standard Time zone after living in the Midwest my entire life has taken a little bit to get used to. I have to remember that I can't call my friends and family back home at night because they're probably asleep (and likewise, some of them need to remember to not call/text me in the morning, because it's much earlier here!) Evening TV shows and the news are on later at night. Facebook statuses of people from the East Coast/Midwest often contain spoilers for said shows that air later at night here.

And then there's football. Occasionally we are lucky enough here for the Vikings game to air on our local station. But rather than watching a noon (or afternoon) football game complete with soda (or beer) and chips, salsa, and other tasty snack food, given the time difference, we get to watch the Vikings game starting at 10:00 a.m.


So rather than those tasty, salty football snacks, we have cinnamon rolls and coffee. It's still yummy, but it feels odd.


Photo 1: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ries/snack-food-football-stadium-6y
Photo 2: http://stlmagblogs.typepad.com/feast/2010/01/coffee-and-a-pastry-atpi.html

Handmade Cards for the Holidays

This Christmas I told myself that I was not allowed to buy those super cute little boxes of cards at the store, but rather that I had to make all of my cards myself, or use leftover cards (from those cute little boxes) from years past. Well, partially because I had the urge to be crafty, and partially because I felt it was "too soon" to send out leftover cards from 1-3 years ago, I spent a few days making these. The ones above were my standard Christmas cards this season.


These two were crafted when I realized that my list of people was larger than the amount of cards I had made. So, I tried something new.


This one was for my mom's birthday, which is about a week before Christmas. She even recognized the green flower paper as wrapping paper that we used to have at the house. (There was only a little bit let, not nearly enough to wrap anything with, so I added it to my folder of pretty paper to be made into cards)


And then lastly, I made this one for a friend of the family who is getting married this week. I wanted to go with their color scheme, but had no idea what that was. I figured that blue is pretty standard, and it looks nice, so I went with it. (I have since learned that red/burgundy is the color in the wedding. I still think the blue is pretty though)

Not quite an ugly sweater, but close enough.

A few years back my residence hall had an ugly sweater holiday party. I could have easily found an ugly sweater at the "Salvo" (what UMMers call the local Salvation Army Thrift Store), but while shopping there I found this lovely piece of work. Since I was the Residence Hall Director, I figured I could get away with a hostess dress instead of a sweater (as well as those lovely red velvet pants to wear underneath!).


This year we don't have any ugly sweater parties to attend. Perhaps I'll have to organize one for next year. But I'm looking forward to the ugly-sweater-free festivities nevertheless.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season and safe travels!!

Holiday Goodies

One of my favorite ornaments.

A tasty cocoa treat.

Thanksgiving

Things I Am Thankful For Over Thanksgiving Break:

• For the second year now, I got to spend Thanksgiving with Erik
• I was able to see relatives that I normally don't see on Thanksgiving because they live in Las Vegas and Los Angeles
• Being able to talk on the phone with the Minnesota relatives I usually spend Thanksgiving with
  
• Fun times (and free drinks) with my generous cousin
• A very much appreciated early Christmas present from my aunt & uncle: A Costco Membership!
  
• Another job prospect for Erik (he has an interview this Friday!!)
• Decorating the apartment for Christmas
• Today is pay-day!
  

Picture: http://thelegacybuilder.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/a-few-of-my-favorite-things/

Pocket full of sunshine...

It's the weekend!! (I don't have class on Fridays, so my weekend starts early. It gets interrupted by having to teach on Saturday, but oh well) I would say that I'm probably about half-way through the list I posted last time. I have a ton to get done this weekend, but tonight I am enjoying an evening of relaxation (we bought a Christmas tree! but it won't be put up until the day after Thanksgiving).

Here's a goofy picture of myself that I took while playing with the webcam function on my new laptop.


P.S. Sorry if the post title gets that song stuck in your head. It was playing on the radio in the car and is in my head.

So much to do!!

Grad school is busy. Oiy.

In the next two weeks, I must accomplish a lot of stuff.
- Hydrogeology Problem Set (or two)
- Hydrogeology Take-Home test (almost done!)
- Cut a bunch of basalts down to size
- Schedule SEM time to look at the olivines in said basalts
- Give a short presentation regarding my research to my adviser and her other students
- Have my GSA Grant Proposal draft finished
- Give a practice Thesis Proposal talk to my class
- Finish the Thesis Proposal draft
- Prepping the last two labs of the semester
- Grading policy letters for those labs
- and any 'normal' homework that pops up in there (and it will)

I may need to use a substantial amount of caffeine to do this. It might hurt. Oiy.

It is pretty grand...

This is definitely the coolest thing I've seen since moving out west:


Photo 1: Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Lava Falls, Lava Falls Rapids
Photo 2: Grand Canyon, Toroweap Overlook

Some of the Products of My "Extended Weekend"

A card for my best friend and her husband who got married this summer. (Congrats to the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Baker!) This one was made in July, but the other three cards are from a few weekends ago.

For my cousin who just bought her first house.

This one was for my aunt's birthday.

And this one was for my parent's wedding anniversary (the photo is from an old desk calendar I keep around for craft purposes).