Day 232-238: Whatever.

This week started out interesting. I decided to actually check on my semi-living potted plants, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I was examining my jalapenos. Do you see it?

GAHHH! BIG HONKIN' CATERPILLAR. Don't even try to pupate on my plant, you fat cow.

We tried to knock it off with a stick, and then used a compressed, computer air duster thingy to try to "puff" it off. Basically, we snapped the leaf off, and catapulted the little demon off the side of the balcony with a satisfying puff of air. Hurumph. Don't mess with the only plant that's living, okay?

In all honesty, I've been having a really hard time cooking lately. With a new, evening work out schedule, I find that I have little energy left. So, during the week we eat sandwiches and frozen (healthy) meals. Ideally, I'd like to cook on Sunday for most of the week. Turns out that the only day off I have, I'd actually like to take OFF. This being said, I did cook up some soup and also some roasted garlic hummus today for a yoga group I attend, and it was pretty fun!

We got a new T.V. Please don't judge me. I love it. It was a STEAL of a sale. Seriously, don't judge me, or you'll end up like the caterpillar. That's a funny word...caterpillar. Say it three times fast without laughing. I dare you...you judgey judgers.

Tony's totally hard at work writing two term papers. I really wish I could go back-to-school shopping :(. I miss buying notebooks, pens and folders. I do not miss term papers.

Do you know what a Tofutti Cutie is? It's a delicious, non-dairy ice cream sandwich. I'm not sure about all of the flavors, but at least the vanilla one tastes just like ice cream. Nummers.

Day 226-231: Odds and Ends

This is my pal, Maurice. He was a high school intern for the summer in our lab, and he will be missed greatly. We had some good times. He taught me how to play minesweeper, and I taught him how to do a western blot, split cells. Fair exchange, I think. I look a little puffy. I'm not sure what's going on with that, though I can guarantee I'm not preggers. Unless I'm one of those women on the Discovery channel who's 95 months pregnant and one day "POP" a baby comes out.

Hellooooo worst nightmare.

I finally bought something to put on the counter to hold my fresh produce in. Tony was getting super annoyed with the plastic bags everywhere, and picked this up at Target this weekend.

Speaking of produce...my tomato is ripening. My plants are basically surviving by the grace of God. I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to ever have a kid if I can't even remember to water some dang plants every once in a while. Most likely these plants have now modified their DNA to survive my black thumb. Anyone want a heirloom seed? Hah. Hah. Hah.

AHH!!??!! WHAT IS THIS POD GROWING ON MY BASIL??!!?? GET IT OFF!!!! Aliens. Are. On. My. Balcony.

Humming birds are cool, and really hard to photograph.

I'll leave you with a sneak peek at how I entertain myself on Sunday afternoons when Tony's busy studying or (gasp) playing WoW:

Stunning.

Day 218-225: VEGAS BABY!

Tony and I headed to Vegas this weekend to celebrate our two year anniversary. I cannot believe I've been married for two years! In some ways, it feels like the time has absolutely flown by, and in other ways, it feels like we've been together for much, much longer.

I definitely can't complain :). These past few years have been so full of excitement and adventure...not to mention trials and my fair share of nervous breakdowns. Through everything we've been there for each other, whether it be accepting that graduate school in the sciences was far harder than I imagined it would be, working our way to debt free, getting to know 3-5 year olds every Saturday night and even quitting smoking. I could not ask for a more full life.

Here are a few shots from Las Vegas. They are in no particular order because I'm horrifically lazy. It was a great weekend, full of lots of memories (including winning $150 at the 25c slots...yeehaw!) and much needed rest.

Enjoy!

The trip there through the Mojave was beautiful. I love the desert. We'd live there if it wasn't so dang hot!

Tony drove the whole way. It's what he does.

This one's for you, Momma, just in case you forgot just how many honkin' freckles I have...

We stayed at The Palazzo, a new addition to the Venetian hotel. It was ridiculous. I wouldn't mind living there for more than a few days...

One day we ate at the Treasure Island champagne brunch buffet. Mimosas + every type of dessert you can think of = happy Lisa.

Mandatory Tony scruntchy face photo:

We walked around the strip a little on Saturday. I really liked this waterfall outside of the Wynn hotel. The creepy statue in the water reminds me of the allegory of the cave from Plato's Republic. Way to go liberal arts education!

Our room was truly outstanding. The view of the strip was awesome!

Not to mention, the room had gold squishy couches and to-die-for retro accessories. I speculated if I took a pillow we'd be promptly charged about $100.

Everything was so elegant and chic!

We went out to a show, Mystere, on Saturday night, which was a blast! I even wore eye-makeup and kept my hands away from my face long enough to not smudge it for an evening. Okay, maybe not the whole evening. Maybe like an hour. Don't be fooled by that gooney smile of Tony's, he's a tough guy...

As evidenced by this photo:

I guess I make gooney faces too sometimes...

The bathroom was pretty posh too--fancy mirrors, glass shower, soaking tub, TV (!???!!), phone in the toilet (Really? Um, yes concierge, I need more toilet paper NOW!).

They also provided robes during the stay, which I napped in on more than one occasion.

The view was even more spectacular at night:

In the morning, this same view shows the mountains that surround Las Vegas:

Sunday we walked around the shops in the Palazzo and the Venetian. The shops are made to look like Venice, complete with faux sky and a river running through the "city" of shops.

I liked the street lamps. Weirdo.

I also liked the gondolas, but that's a little more of a reasonable affinity, I think.

Mandatory self-portrait shot.

Umbrella art!

Anyone else feel like Mary Poppins?

All of the coins thrown in the fountain are donated to a research facility helping drug-addicted individuals--pretty awesome.

I loved the fountains that were throughout the hotel!

So, running is really hard. Here I am, purple. Don't judge...just pray I don't die. That would be embarrassing for Tony. "Oh, we're so sorry, how did your wife die?" "Um, she tried to run a mile, got a side cramp, and had a heart attack because she was worried her stomach was going to fall out of her butt." "I see."

Day 204-217: Where have you been?

I've been at home, busy prioritizing my life. Unfortunately, keeping up this site and my cooking site became a chore, and that's not what I wanted this experience to be. I wanted this to be FUN. I think I'm ready to post some more things now, if that's alright with you guys.

So last time I left you with photos from our trip to Missouri. I think the hiatus was due to me resisting returning to normal life. I liked being far away from California and school, and I wasn't really ready to deal with being back to the daily grind.

Tony's back to work finishing up his degree:

Meanwhile, I'm getting into the regular habit of daily devotions and journaling. Yes, those are curtain rods in the background. No, I haven't put up curtains yet. Just allow the bad home-keeper demons take me away in my sleep, because that's what I'll be doing...sleeping instead of wasting my dwindling energy on putting up some freakin' curtains.

I've still been cooking, but mostly just the same-old-same-old. I did make a rockin' eggplant parmesan recently. You should try it out...it's DELICIOUS.

I love shopping at Henry's. They have such good deals on produce, and apparently, they sell heart shaped plums.

After we got back from Missouri, most of our plants looked like this:

Outstanding.

After a little watering,

And a little pruning by Tones,

They began to revive!

We even have jalapenos! I just read a really neat article by Simply Recipes on how to tell the heat of a jalapeno, you should check it out.

No matter what kind of picture I'm taking of Tony, I usually get this face. Just go back through the archives if you don't believe me.

I have another alien pod. I hate them.

So this weekend I went to a special running store in San Diego called Road Runner Sports. Now, those of you who know me well are asking "What the heck are you doing in a running store?Everyone who's ever encountered your amazing athleticism knows that the only thing you could possibly be doing in a running store is walking out of it." Yes, I know. I have a handful of people who have testified that running has changed their life entirely. So, in an effort to increase my energy and exploit the southern California coastal weather, I am going to try to run. Jog. Walk-run. Crawl. Well, I have a plan. I'm basically following a method that works you up to running two miles in about two months. I know, I'm going slow about it, but I would really like to not quit running...again. I tried for a bit in San Antonio with Tony, but I ended up crying after about one mile. Sigh.

Anyway, I got my feet totally examined by the running people. They made me run on a treadmill and analyzed how I run in slow-mo to find the best fitting shoe for me. The current and only pair of athletic shoes I own are about 6 years old and are beginning to fall apart. I guess the elliptical machine doesn't cause a bunch of wear and tear...

So, I bought some new ones, one size bigger than my normal shoes to account for my feet swelling when I run, and with arch supports because, guess what...I have high arches and I never knew!

So, um, pray for me, okay? I'd really like to have more energy during the day and evening, and I'd really like to try and run several miles by the end of the fall. I'll let you know how it's going, and I promise I won't take pictures of my blisters.

And on that note, see you next week!