Last night we toasted Chad and Mireya as they said their goodbyes to the U.S. of A for a while. Mireya has a great postdoc opportunity at Oxford. Chad is interviewing right now but has prospects for a postdoc in London. I can't imagine having to make that commute twice a day every day, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right. Besides its a small price to pay for 2 years abroad. I'm slightly jealous of all that easy access to the rest of mainland Europe. They could fly to Italy cheaper than I could fly to El Paso. Now, that's insane...
Next, we zoomed off to Claus and Morgan's for some Danish spiced wine and pastries. We spent most of the night chatting to another Dane who is a free-lance journalist. He recently did a 25-minute news story for Denmark's PBS equivalent on the Minutemen, that, ahem, special group of well-armed men and women who spend their free time and money on a vigilante mission to guard the U.S. border of Mexico by building fences and using intimidation tactics to deter illegal immigration. Very interesting. Needless to say, his liberal sensibilities clash completely with the philosophy of the Minutemen. Regardless, he's still entertaining the invitation they extended to him to spend a week-end out on one of their ranches learning to shoot guns and do all kinds of good ol' hick pasttimes, the likes of which I'm sure few Danes have ever seen. :)
Tonight is Greg's company Christmas party at the Renaissance Hotel and then a possible graduation celebration. WooHoo!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Evidence
I just unearthed these photos from our wine and cheese party last month.
The boys are such loving drunks...
Actually, I think they were accosting Brian because he's uncomfortable with man hugs. So maybe not so sweet. But definitely funny. :)
Greg doing some kind of deranged typewriter dance. I never did get the explanation for this one.
The boys are such loving drunks...
Actually, I think they were accosting Brian because he's uncomfortable with man hugs. So maybe not so sweet. But definitely funny. :)
Greg doing some kind of deranged typewriter dance. I never did get the explanation for this one.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Oh, Puh-lease...
This morning as I was getting ready, I was listening to one of those morning news programs. You know, the ones that are about 10% actual news and the rest is entertaining fluff. They had a holiday segment about doing the world a favor by giving "green" gifts - of the environmentally friendly kind. Besides non-toxic household cleaners (and you know people love receiving cleaning products as gifts), one of these guilt-free treasures was jewelry made from "100% recycled gold".
Huh?
I hadn't realized that gold wastes in our landfills had become such a big problem. I mean, I know when I get tired of my gold necklaces, rings and bracelets, I just chuck them in the trash. But had I known recycling programs were in place, I would have much preferred to do that rather than contribute to this growing problem.
Ugh. No shame in the marketing world. Seriously...
Huh?
I hadn't realized that gold wastes in our landfills had become such a big problem. I mean, I know when I get tired of my gold necklaces, rings and bracelets, I just chuck them in the trash. But had I known recycling programs were in place, I would have much preferred to do that rather than contribute to this growing problem.
Ugh. No shame in the marketing world. Seriously...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Eerily Quiet...
My boss is gone (on his fab tropical holiday conference, grrrr...). Its dead week here on campus so the students are nowhere to be found. The weather is cold and cloudy and drizzly. Its Monday.
In short, I feel like I should be at home in my pj's, sweats and fluffy socks. Instead I'm trying to motivate myself to write exam questions on my least favorite biochem subjects (amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, if you're wondering). Work, ugh.
The week-end was good though. We stuffed ourselves with Aussie meat pies at Mark & Brianna's, followed by a pathetic go at Dance Dance Revolution. Pathetic in that I suck! I also went on a baking spree and whipped up 3 different kinds of cookies. Now the problem is getting them out of our house and in the mail to friends as quickly as possible. Greg finally chopped down all the scraggly, dying bushes in our backyard. I shudder to think about uprooting them and preparing the soil for new plants. The never-ending joys of home ownership. :) We lost our second game of the new soccer season, but as always, we had a great time doing it. And that's our super exciting week-end in a nutshell. Oh, what glamorous lives we do lead.
In short, I feel like I should be at home in my pj's, sweats and fluffy socks. Instead I'm trying to motivate myself to write exam questions on my least favorite biochem subjects (amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, if you're wondering). Work, ugh.
The week-end was good though. We stuffed ourselves with Aussie meat pies at Mark & Brianna's, followed by a pathetic go at Dance Dance Revolution. Pathetic in that I suck! I also went on a baking spree and whipped up 3 different kinds of cookies. Now the problem is getting them out of our house and in the mail to friends as quickly as possible. Greg finally chopped down all the scraggly, dying bushes in our backyard. I shudder to think about uprooting them and preparing the soil for new plants. The never-ending joys of home ownership. :) We lost our second game of the new soccer season, but as always, we had a great time doing it. And that's our super exciting week-end in a nutshell. Oh, what glamorous lives we do lead.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Bring on the Holiday Parties!
The next few weeks are jam-packed with festivities. Everything from an Aussie-style Christmas dinner party (complete with meat pies) to a Glogg & Aebleskiver party (its a Scandanavian thing). From Greg's company holiday party to a farewell kick-off for friends moving to Oxford. And let's not forget the holiday-themed book club meeting. And a white elephant gift exchange at our next poker game.
Right now I'm trying to forget about my holiday to-do list and focus on enjoying my time with friends and family. Who cares if they don't get their cards until the New Year? They'll still know I love them. If I can't find that perfect gift for Greg, will he even notice? Doubtful. I just need to relieve some of the pressure and enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy...
My new mantra.
Right now I'm trying to forget about my holiday to-do list and focus on enjoying my time with friends and family. Who cares if they don't get their cards until the New Year? They'll still know I love them. If I can't find that perfect gift for Greg, will he even notice? Doubtful. I just need to relieve some of the pressure and enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy...
My new mantra.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Paying Dues
I am very begrudgingly finalizing the slides of my work that will justify my boss's attendance at some tropical island getaway in the middle of December under the guise of a scientific conference. Ok. Whateeeeeveeeeerr.
I've seen the pictures!
I know all you and your buddies do is spend a morning comparing notes and then its off to the beach. Or hiking a waterfall. Or tubing some river. Or sipping pina coladas from extravagant glasses with little paper umbrellas.
God, I'm jealous...
I've seen the pictures!
I know all you and your buddies do is spend a morning comparing notes and then its off to the beach. Or hiking a waterfall. Or tubing some river. Or sipping pina coladas from extravagant glasses with little paper umbrellas.
God, I'm jealous...
Accidental Overdose
Have you ever made it to 3 in the afternoon and suddenly realized the only thing you've consumed all day is coffee?
I guess that would explain the shaky hands and queasiness...
I guess that would explain the shaky hands and queasiness...
Monday, December 3, 2007
Post-Dinner Coma
My husband shortly after a dinner party...
After stuffing himself with chicken parmiagan, green beans with almonds, chili-rubbed sweet potato and a strawberry tart, the poor thing didn't stand a chance.
We'd been neglecting our friends Claus and Morgan for the last six months so I cooked us all a fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself, on Friday night. The chicken parm was demolished, and I spied Claus using his fingers to swipe the last crumbs from his tart plate at the end of the meal. Haha! :) Between the 3 drinkers (Morgan is 6 months preggo so she's off the sauce, poor thing), we polished off 3 bottles of wine. Yikes! That probably had a lot to do with Greg's state after they left.
The rest of the week-end was spent celebrating our friend Kyris's defense and meeting up with soccer peeps for practice. The work week started entirely too soon again. We miss our 4-day Thanksgiving week-ends...
After stuffing himself with chicken parmiagan, green beans with almonds, chili-rubbed sweet potato and a strawberry tart, the poor thing didn't stand a chance.
We'd been neglecting our friends Claus and Morgan for the last six months so I cooked us all a fabulous dinner, if I do say so myself, on Friday night. The chicken parm was demolished, and I spied Claus using his fingers to swipe the last crumbs from his tart plate at the end of the meal. Haha! :) Between the 3 drinkers (Morgan is 6 months preggo so she's off the sauce, poor thing), we polished off 3 bottles of wine. Yikes! That probably had a lot to do with Greg's state after they left.
The rest of the week-end was spent celebrating our friend Kyris's defense and meeting up with soccer peeps for practice. The work week started entirely too soon again. We miss our 4-day Thanksgiving week-ends...
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