Eat Your Heart Out, Hulk

In case you're interested, the American Gladiators are having try-outs here in Austin on Saturday!

Larisa yells Oooh-yeeeeah! (a la Macho Man Randy Savage).

Damn. Its probably too late to dust off my little 10-pound weights and start working on my pecs, right. Another golden opportunity missed...

Things I Am Thankful For...

1. I have married the most kind, generous, loving man I've ever known.
2. We have a beautiful house together.
3. Our kitties are sweethearts.
4. My sister is moving in with us. Yes, Mel, I listed this as a positive too. :)
5. My friends and family are all healthy.
6. This time next year, I will be out of grad school.
7. I've gotten to travel to some pretty amazing places.
8. I get the opportunity to try teaching and working closely with students.
9. Shoes - and not the practical kind
10. People who still believe in manners and friendliness
    
11. Independent movies
12. Public transportation
13. Claritin
14. Girly evenings with my book club(s)
15. Fiesty evenings with my soccer team
    
16. A new presidential administration
    
17. ...

I will think of more. But now its time to get back to work...

I feel better already. :) Everyone should make this list from time to time.

Thirty-One, O.M.G...

I'm turning thirty-one tomorrow. Holy crap!

Thirty-one. Three One. 3-1.

Deep breath. Its only a number. Its only a number. Its only a number...

This morning as the realization sank just a bit deeper, I started taking stock. Its only natural that since I'm here at work and feeling swamped that I immediately focused on the negative aspects. Here goes:

• I'm still in grad school, nervously & anxiously fretting about the outcome of this loooooong interlude in my life.
  
• I'm still running experiments that probably will not work.
  
• I need to be writing my dissertation at the same time.
• I may or may not have bitten off more than I can chew with this class that I'm taking over.
  
• Soon I'll be out - one way or another- and I'll have to find a "real" job.
  
• I'm surrounded by pregnant women.
• As of tomorrow, we will be sharing our house with my little sister for some months, which is not really a negative until I remember how bitterly we used to fight as kids. And this worries me.
• I'm a full-blown allergy sufferer now.
  

I am one overwhelmed, sometimes-frantic, often-crying stress-ball.

The most logical short-term remedy? Pampering. Definitely.

Yesterday I had my hair cut and highlighted. (Yes, Mom, I highlighted my hair! No lectures!) Tomorrow I'm getting a pedicure, a gift from my birthday last year. (Thanks, Claus & Morgan!) And my lovely husband has organized a little party for later that night. This week-end I'm hoping to relax and catch up with the family - my mom, brother and sister will all be here- and take a little reprieve from the worry.

And I'm also going to force myself to come up with a more positive list for taking stock. This is no way to start a new year in my life.



p.s. Ewa, I got your birthday card yesterday. Thank you! It had a big sparkly high-heeled shoe on it surrounded by little (shoe?) fairies. Plus, I have a $10 discount at DSW. I think that's a sign if I've ever seen one.

Oh, the Horror!

Oh my God.

I've just had a horrible realization! The students in my class were born...


...in 1988! **gasp!**

The eighties weren't even their formative years. Who are these creatures!?!?

I'm Surrounded!

Last year it was weddings. This year its baby showers.

Everyone seems to be pregnant right now. Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Kate Blanchett, J Lo, Nicole Kidman, etc, etc, ad naseum. Even people like freakin' Nicole Richie and Jamie Lynn Spears! In fact, I heard on the news the other day that we might be entering a new baby BOOM! The total number of U.S. births is the highest its been since 1961, the end of the last baby boom. And things are no different around these parts.

This week-end I went to my friend Alisha's baby shower, had dinner with a 7.5-month preggo friend, and learned that another friend is almost 3 months pregnant. I guess that's the natural progression of things. But don't hold your breath for us just yet. (I'm talking to you- Mel, Mom, Ewa!)

All these big bellies mean that Greg and I definitely have babies-on-the-brain, but I have to get out of grad school first. And, of course, it wouldn't hurt if I had a job lined up too. And there are a few more vacations we'd like to take. Oh, and get our finances bulked up. And get healthy. And... let's see. What other excuses can we use here? Well, you get the idea.


**Update** Just got an email from Greg. Two of his friends in England are also expecting their first child soon. I'm extremely happy and excited for these expectant mommies and daddies, but please, when will it stop?!

Well-Equipped Lushes

Greg and I looked all over Austin to find a liquor cabinet that we liked but with no luck. So we ordered this little baby off the net and it just arrived this week-end. Yay!


Just in time for my birthday party!


(Uh-hum, excuse the mess in the background. It was laundry day...)

Its a Miracle!

WE WON! WE WON!

FINALLY after playing and losing 15 soccer games, we've won! 3-1! And I was SOOOOOO close to scoring a goal. I had a beautiful opportunity, but the ball just had this weird spin and I couldn't get it in time. Boo! But Greg, superstar that he is, scored two goals!

I can't believe we've finally FINALLY won a game!

WooHoo!

Scavengers

The babies, waiting for me to get out of the shower so they can lick the walls. Mmmm, people-flavored water tastes so gooooood...

Nosy Much?

I went to the lab this afternoon to do some last-minute preparations for a little in-lab lecture/safety training that I have to give my students this week. Brad and his mentors were just finishing a meeting.

When I was introduced to Brad's undergrad teaching assistant, she recognized my name. Apparently I wasn't her biochem TA last year, but I was for some of her friends and she remembers my name from their discussions.

Hmmm. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Doesn't it just bug the crap out of you to find out people were talking about you, but you have no idea what they were saying... or am I just obsessive?

So Nervous...

I have my first lecture today at 1 p.m.!

34 students + 6 undergrad mentors + 1 professor of biochemistry +/- Grace (depending on how she's doing with the baby this morning)

Wish me luck!

Its Not Whether You Win or Lose...

We were demolished tonight in soccer. But despite my turf burn and sore knees, I feel great! Why?, you might ask.

Because there was a distinct lack of bitchiness.

Everyone played hard. I was bumped by a short, little speed demon and had a spectacular tumble to the ground. The difference between me and the girl playing last week - I didn't jump up screaming and swearing... I was hit by another girl. She apologized profusely even though I didn't even really feel it. But I have to say, I really appreciated the guesture.

Its amazing what a little good sportsmanship can do to the game.

Frustrated and Pissed

When playing soccer, I can handle being smacked with the ball or having my foot crunched or colliding with another player or tripping and falling hard to the ground or whatever. Its all a part of the game. I'm tough. I can take it.

What I cannot take is bitchiness! We're not in high school anymore, girls. We're all adults. Temper tantrums ceased to be cute a long time ago.

GROW UP!!

Back to Reality

Well, we said our tearful goodbyes to Ewa at the airport today. It was an absolutely lovely visit. And I think we all had an even better time of it than we were expecting.

Now, unfortunately, its back to normal life for the family K. Over the last 3 weeks, we've eaten a bit too much, drank a lot too much, thrown money around more liberally, and skipped work more than was absolutely necessary. So our detox diet starts today. Or rather the business of shrinking our tummies back to normal size and getting back on track with savings and work schedules begin. Boo! That just doesn't sound fun at all.

But it had to happen some time. Tomorrow I have an all-day retreat learning more about the program I'm working for this semester. My first lecture is on Monday so I'm busy preparing lots of checklists, memorizing students' faces and tweaking lab instructions. Its going to be a hell of a lot of work, but I'm actually really excited about the opportunity to jump in. Now if I can only finish this stupid PhD...

Shopaholics Anonymous

It is a sad fact that when shopping with my mother-in-law, I often covet those little treasures that she seems to effortlessly pluck out of oblivion while I am blindly fumbling through all the crap hanging on the racks. The woman seems to have a 6th sense that allows her to spot the fabulous little things that I overlook or dismiss without a second glance. And even better, she always manages to find them at 50-70% off! This must be a talent that I either do not posess or have not honed to perfection as she has.

During this visit, we dedicated two full days to outlet shopping. Eventually I just gave up and began following her around, conceding to her obvious superiority in the realm of fashion and bought several duplicates of her finds - a pair of lovely leather boots, a fuschia top, and this little brown number. And under her influence, I also finally replaced my 10-year-old black peacoat with a new sexy gray one. And miraculously, Greg never even lifted an eyebrow at my shopping spree. Perhaps Ewa should visit more often. :)


Oh, and for the record, I have no reservations about wearing the same clothes as a woman twice my age. She looks damn good for 62! And dresses a hell of a lot nicer than a lot people I know.

Stumbling Through Margaritaville

Dilek celebrated her 31st birthday today and will probably still feel its effects tomorrow morning...

We met her and friends at Vivo for the strongest, most delicious margaritas ever. I only had one because I was driving, but to be perfectly honest, that was probably still too much. Ewa and Greg had three. Now Ewa does love a good margarita. But I don't think she was quite prepared for these lethal babies. No one was more shocked than she was.

Now I am forbidden from giving too many specific details under threat of irrepairably damaging my relationship with my mother-in-law (and, really, who wants that?). But I must protest. It would be positively unpatriotic and hypocritical of me to succumb to censorship. I am torn on this issue. But one thing I will do is refrain from painting a picture of a little Polish woman saying in a loud, jolly Zsa Zsa Gabor accent Folks, I cannot believe zat tree margaritas can do such a zing to me or some variation on that theme between giddy, drunken giggles. And I most certainly won't mention that as I was helping her to her room, I was trying to convince her that the safest course of action might be to crawl up the stairs so she wouldn't topple backward. I wouldn't do that...

See what a good daughter-in-law I am. :)

First Night in Austin

We made our way downtown yesterday to take advantage of some free entertainment courtesy of the city of Austin. This is the third year that they've put on the little mini-festival called First Night. We heard the Austin Ensemble Choir perform holiday songs and then two sopranos sing opera arias. After a wander around, we headed up Congress to catch the parade.

My favorite was the Austin Bike Zoo. Here are a few pictures of their very impressive animal and bug costumes.

A 10-foot high Monarch butterflyThat snake consisted of about 6 bikes connected together. The pronged tongue was a girl lying on her back on this sliding platform. The snake's mouth would open, she'd come out and kick her legs to make it look like a flicking tongue. It was awesome!

After the parade, we headed home, cleaned up and spent New Year's Eve night at Dave and Janice's party, complete with leftover sparklers from Beth & Glenn's wedding. And what better way to ring in the new year than teaching your mother-in-law how to play the drinking game Asshole? Honestly, I can't think of one. I'm sure the game will experience a revival of sorts among the 60+ crowd in London suburbia. Nothing like a little cultural exchange for the holidays. Rock on!

Poor Greg is still suffering. But I remain (mostly) unsympathetic. He was on a mission last night and now must pay his dues. For future reference, experimenting with your own vodka-gin recipes while slightly inebriated may not be the best of ideas.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008, everyone!

Ever since I escaped the hell that is high school, every year has just gotten better and better. So I have no reason to doubt that this is going to be the best year yet. :)

I don't really hold much stock in New Year's resolutions. They're usually forgotten within the first few weeks of making them. And yet I feel compelled so here goes:

1. I will get out of grad school this year - with or without a PhD.
2. I will figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
3. I will start my running schedule again and lose this loathsome spare tire that has newly taken up residence on my midsection.
4. I will try my best to avoid arguments and/or bloodshed with my sister when she moves in later this month.
5. I will be happy and celebrate my 31st birthday as if it did not solidify in my head the fact that my 20's are now completely and utterly gone.

Cheers, everyone. And I hope your 2008 surpasses all of your hopes and expectations.