Day 85-88: March goes out with some green

I noticed most of the photos for this post are green--my favorite color! I swear, this was unintentional :).

Day 85:

I am pretty adventurous when it comes to food these days. *Thud* Did anyone else hear my mom faint? I put her through some troubles when I was little, as I was a very picky eater. These days, I try to reward myself by buying something new at the grocery store every once in a while to curb my creativity and eagerness to try new things.

This past week, I bought these green tea tapioca balls (no, no...not THAT kind of tapioca. I'm not brave enough to try that again quite yet). They're very easy to prepare, just boil in water for about 5 minutes, drain and serve plain or with a bit of honey, the latter of which I preferred. I think these are very similar to the "bubbles" found in boba (bubble tea) served at some Thai and other Asian restaurants. The verdict--actually pretty good! I don't think I would buy them again, simply because they're not all that economical, but they were a fun treat!

Here they are straight out of the package:

And after they're cooked:

I love their coloring!

Day 86:

Grocery shoppin' day. Tony and I picked up a refrigerated pepperoni pizza at the Commissary, and dressed it up with some black olives and mushrooms--so delicious!

Look at his thumb. It's so manly :).

Day 87:

Saturday, while I was at work, Tony did all of the laundry! YAY! I helped him fold it whenever I got home, but I was relieved that I didn't have to lug it down to the laundry facility and back!

Day 88:

Brussels sprouts, I love you.

Side Note: Puppies

So, I go into work early on a regular basis, which limits my human contact. Normally, while my experiments are running, I'm either planning the next experiment, reading a paper, thinking about how overwhelmed I am, or, if I'm really lucky and I feel super productive--I get to talk to my office mates or I surf the web.

Today is Saturday, and I went in to work at 7 AM. I do this not because I like the pain and isolation, but rather, so I can leave guilt free in the late morning early afternoon, and spend the rest of the day with Tony. Since it's Saturday, 9:45 AM, my gel is running and I don't feel like reading another paper about the unfolded protein response in cells, and the first other human (aside from the security guards) I've seen in lab today just rolled in, I'm going to show you a photo.

This is not a photo I took, but it is a photo I edited slightly to look awesome :). Tony's mom and dad are in the market for a second puppy (they just got a new Schipperke puppy a few months ago, and they decided they wanted another little furry guy running around the house). They are using the same breeder they used before, and Tony's dad sent us a few photos of potential pups they might want to own. Here's a photo of a little guy who they probably won't choose, because he may grow to be nearly double the size of the other new puppy (18 lbs versus 10 lbs is just not a fair fight...). He's a chubster, and he's adorable.

I mean, look at those cheeks! That stare! That little button nose! Too bad he's a big boned fella, otherwise I would totally suggest to Tony's family that they NEED this puppy. I'm sure it's just the angle of the photo, and the moment the photograph was taken, but seriously, how could anything look cuter?

Here's a photo of Shadow, the new puppy Tony's parents already own:

He's a mischievous puppy, and he likes to bother their older dog, Rob, A LOT.

I bet deep down, Rob likes the company, though. Rob doesn't express his emotions very well to people other than my father-in-law, whom he absolutely adores. I wonder what the next puppy will bring to the family in terms of personality?

Off to the world of science...

Day 82-84: The Light at the End of the Tunnel

So, those of you who know my current schedule will be pleased to know...*drumroll*...Tony's new job is 8 AM-5 PM. YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY! No more even looking at my clock at 3:47 AM***, let alone shutting off the most annoying alarm in the history of waking up.

***I realized this morning that I put the wrong time earlier. I guess even I am in denial about how early I wake up. Yuck.***

Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest. Hopefully, I will soon be "normal," or as normal as someone like me can be. Awesome. On to the photos, or more appropriately, what I've realized has become a documentation of my life. Enjoy, y'all.

Day 82:

Group meeting. On a Monday. Ugh. I was really thankful when I got home to find dinner made, and a special treat waiting for me in the refrigerator: Berry Lemonade Jones' Soda. It's expensive, and it's arguably not good for you (too much sugar), but after a long day and a long group meeting I was thankful for its caloric deliciousness. Thank goodness it's so expensive, otherwise I would undoubtedly already have Jones' soda love handles.

Day 83:

Ok, so I actually took this photo today...I know...cheater. The reason I took this photo today was because I accidentally fell asleep on the couch at 5:30 PM (Tony did too), and, for all intensive purposes didn't wake up until the following morning. Allow me to quote the Green Mile: "I is tired, Boss. Dog tired."

One more week of the unholy early rising. One more week.

Day 84:

I don't know if y'all have heard of this book, but I found it to be outstanding back in the days I was dating Tony. I am re-reading it again now from a much different perspective, and armed with a much better knowledge about my life partner. I never thought I would hear myself say "Hmm. Yeah, that sounds about right..." to so many points in this book. Moreover, I appreciate its biblical perspective about marriage and the interesting relationship between women and men. I definitely would recommend this to daters, and newlyweds, along with veterans (like my mom and Dad, who I believe are going on close to 40 years of marriage this year), who will probably find its contents equally interesting.

Day 77-81: This is a Marathon.

Day 77:

By request from my friend, Poppet, I'm going to update you on the vanilla extract project. Basically, the alcohol is starting to obtain a darker color, though definitely not as dark as a store bought extract yet. We'll have to wait a few more weeks :).

Day 78:

The 'maters are growing. Soon we'll have to transplant them into a larger planter so they can really start to take off. I can't wait to have fresh tomatoes to cook with!

Day 79:

The Girl Scouts. Are. Everywhere. My hips are not thanking them, but my taste buds...well that's another story. I honkin' LOVE samoas. Not to be a tease, but I did find a few recipes on the internet for homemade samoas (om nom nom), and I'm definitely going to try to make them. I don't mind supporting the Girl Scouts, but at $4 a box those little princesses are becoming price gouging hags. Seriously.

Day 80:

I took Saturday off, without any regrets. Tony and I went to a flea market down by the area near Sherman St. (one of the offices Tony works at when he's not on Coronado). There was some guy in a sombrero selling his art (i.e. fingerpaintin'), and I thought it was really lovely. It'll go with the only other real piece of art I own, a-la-Brittni. For whatever reason, trees are very symbolic to me. I must have been influenced early on by Disney's version of Pocahontas. Hah.

Day 81:

I semi-successfully warded of a migraine today--the second one in two weeks--by loading up on prescription strength Motrin. Num. I made some lavender honey bunches, which use dried lavender flowers, which, you guessed it, smell like lavender. The honey bunches taste okay, but it's a little hard to get over the whole "hmm..smells like soap" thing. Tony's napping, and I'm going to see what he thinks before I share the love on the cooking blog. I'm pretty sure these bad boys would taste pretty excellent without the lavender, so the recipe may show up even if I get the "Yuck, tastes like soap!" reaction.

 

Day 73-76

This weekend Tony surprised me by going on not one, but TWO mini-trips to try and get me feeling better. I'm a really lucky lady to have him around.

Monday and Tuesday were not good days in the happiness department, and I, therefore, don't have any really interesting photos to post. We'll pretend that day 75 and 76 didn't happen, and I'll just put up a bunch of photos from the weekend. You'll forgive me, right?

Day 73:

Tony and I went on a little hike on one of the trails in the Lake Poway area by our apartment. The flowers were bloomin', the birds were singing (quacking/honking), and it was a really pleasant afternoon after a busy morning at work.

This is one of my favorite photos, and I can't really find a reason. It's not edited, which means it was actually a good photo to begin with! Success is welcomed with open arms in any area of my life right now. Sometimes, I congratulate myself for getting out of bed.

Look at this twisty beast. Nature is amazing.

There were fields of flowers covering the mountain sides. The whole countryside was purple, yellow, green and red. 

This photo was taken by the lake, this little fella was about 30 miles from the ocean. I guess he didn't mind since there were about 5o million kids wanting to feed him stale bread..

Honker.

Tony: "That rite thurs a Spinekorn." 

Just trying to keep you entertained...Spinekorn catcher.

Day 74: Point Loma

Thank goodness for the calming of the ocean. Here are a few pictures from the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma. 

The ocean was calm.

Though there were a few waves, and a few surfers.

 

Flowers bloomed even by the ocean! 

All in all, it was a really lovely, migraine free weekend :). Hurray! (Remember day 75 and 76 don't exist for all intensive purposes. It's much more productive and healthy to dwell on the good rather than the bad.)

Day 71 and 72: Thank Goodness the Weekend's Here!

Day 71:

I wanted to make dinner, dang it, since we had been living of leftovers and quesadillas for the past few days. I made a hearty lentil and barley stew, which I'll post on the cooking blog eventually. It was really good--and healthy too! Normally, for Tony those combinations don't occur frequently...:).

This is the pearl barley I used in the soup. I'm trying to be artistic, and I'm failing :(. 

Suggestions?

Day 72:

I went to water the plants today and I saw something AMAZING.

Do you see it?

Maybe now:

THE SEEDS ARE SPROUTING! This means that my black thumb is doing better than it did last year, after I killed our love bonzai, along with about 10 kinds of vegetables and flowers in San Antonio. Now I'm all about the watering. These babies get dry out here quick, so I try to remember to water them at least every other day. I'm on my way to having some home grown tomatoes and basil!

Day 68-70: Recovery

I feel like graduate school is effectively killing me. It's sapping me of my spirit, changing my personality into a bitter, jaded individual, and it's physically causing me troubles (i.e. migraines). Why? BECAUSE I LET IT!

I'm choosing to allow graduate school (the stress and people involved therein) to get the best of me. I've been working very hard on myself the past few weeks. I've tried to make positive changes, like going to bed earlier, exercising more regularly/vigorously, eating normally, focusing my eyes on God, participating in church, but something still has to give. I can't figure out what's wrong, but I'll let y'all know when I do.

For now, I'll just try not to be a whiny baby. I hate it when I'm a whiny baby.

Day 68:

I had a headache Sunday afternoon and into Monday. We don't have curtains in our apartment (I know, you might as well pass wife of the year award right on down to me...), and Monday afternoon my head was exploding. Tony, being resourceful and wonderful, put this blanket up to help me feel better. It blocks out a lot of the light (unfortunately, not the noise), and helped me relax. He's so great.

Day 69:

This is the work horse. Tony and I built this computer together in the fall (okay, he built it, I just thought I was building it), and we use it on a daily basis. It has all of my photo editing software on it, and a huge processor and lots of memory space so I can edit my photos quickly and efficiently. Plus, it lights up blue and has about 18 fans to cool it off, including a heat sink that's shaped like a butterfly. Guess who picked that part out?

Day 70:

I was too exhausted/blue to cook dinner tonight, so Tony made leftovers for himself, and a quesadilla (or, as he likes to call it a 'diller) for me. See? I told you he's really great :).