Their Baby & Ours

They could be twins, right?

Lani keeping a watchful eye on the strange squirmy thing

On Saturday I prepared dinner for us and our friends Claus & Morgan - enchiladas and tres leches cake. That's right, tres leches cake. And it was mmm-mmm-good if I do say so myself. As usual, we had a great time with them and their little August. He's such a flirt, shooting us huge smiles and blowing bubbles for us all night long. I could just eat him!

But I won't.

Sadly, we'll soon be missing these evenings of good food, wine and discussion. Claus & Morgan, our only set of friends with whom we regularly rotate dinners, are moving to San Diego in three weeks . Claus has a new job at UCLA, and Morgan's parents live in SD so we understand the appeal. But it's still very sad. We've been good friends ever since they moved into the apartment next to ours on Far West three years ago and our dinner tradition began. We're really going to miss them, the semi-drunken debates and the culinary fun. :(

But I'll stop being selfish just long enough to wish them the best of luck in this new adventure. They will be greatly missed and will always have a place to stay when they come back to visit.

Ok, back to being selfish... So far that's two things I do not like about Austin. 1) The humidity, and 2) the constant transition of friends. Being a college town and the fact that we've met most of our friends through UT, we're constantly having to say good-bye. It's always hard. And always leaves us with a little hole for a while. But I guess if I'm looking on the bright side, that also means that we have new places to visit and stay throughout the U.S. and, really, the world.

So, Claus & Morgan, we'll give you some time to settle in, but don't be surprised by a raid from the family K sometime in the not too distant future. You've been warned.

European Championships

Gomez tried to get his attention.

Then I gave it a shot.

But in the end, Greg only had eyes for Spain.

What IS That?!?

Another downside to working in a chemistry building: the intermittent smells of death and fart.

Right now a potent waft of the latter is making its way through our labs. We have no idea where it's coming from or where it's going. We just want it to move along, never to return again.

Personally, I blame the organic kids down the hall - possibly a nasty trick but more likely some unfortunate soul forced into research requiring a sulfurous compound that not even the venting of the chemical hoods can contain. I don't know whether to hate him or pity him.

No. Pity, definitely pity. Off to steal a few breaths of fresh air...

A Dining Room! Finally!

This past week-end I dragged poor Greg out to the Four Hands warehouse sale. He was grouchy and wasn't really in the mood to fight the crowds, but guess what... Those sale prices cheered him up really quickly. What can I say? The boy does love a good bargain.

We finally have a real dining room table! Complete with 8 chairs!


Isn't it beautiful? It sure beats our crappy college buy.

Here's a look at the dining room from our stairs. The only thing missing now is a rug to go under the table.

We also bought a new coffee table!

I loved our old one, but it wasn't very functional. This one has a shelf underneath and two drawers to store our remotes. Plus, the new coffee table fills out that space much better.


Unlike the too-small old one...

We also ordered a matching end table that was supposed to fit between the couch and love seat. Unfortunately, it was somehow left out of the delivery. Looks like I'm going to have to track it down. Yay. :(

We're almost done with living room furniture now. The last item will be a TV cabinet to fit a new TV. I've stopped resisting the idea of a big set because I know it will make Greg very happy not having to squint while watching such quality programming as Hell's Kitchen and Wife Swap. ::insert rolling eyes here::

Plus, I think my 13-year-old set may be possessed. A few times I've turned it off, and the screen goes blank but the volume stays on very, very quietly. Maybe it's time to retire the poor thing. Hmmm... I see some plasma vs. LCD research in my near future.

Where the Hell is Matt?

I stole this from my friend Katie's mom's blog.
Because it just makes me very very happy. :)

World peace and cultural understanding through really crap dancing... Love it!

Greg's Birthday Week

Long over-due photos from Greg's birthday extravaganza

On Thursday, happy hour at 219 West

The Turks and Greg in his new Poland top

Janice, Dave & Glenn

Then on Saturday we had a few people over for burgers and games.
Otherwise known as the infamous mojito night...

Greg and Glenn manning the itsy-bitsy grill.
Greg's got mad burger-making skillz.

Glenn & Beth perfecting their Catch Phrase strategy

Drunk Jim, Aubrey, Lance & Brian

Greg, ready for mafia

The dudes - done with mojitos and moving on to Crown and Coke at this stage

Lance mixing super-mojitos - I blame him for my pain.

Cupcake decorating contest - Glenn samples the goods

Ugliest. Cupcakes. Ever.

Maniacal Mark

Greg declares the winners via taste-test.
Jim is deeply engrossed in the evaluation process.
Glenn just really, really wants that cupcake.

New, Pimped Out Deck

You may remember the great deck fiasco of last month. It was, in a word, horrendous. Here's a recap:

Greg in acid-resistant gloves & goggles
about to pump base solution all over our deck
and embark on an 8-hour journey into hell.

That tiny stretch of stripped deck took about an hour. Maybe more...

Still smiling, still optimistic
Or possibly stoned from chemical inhalation
Hard one to call...


It took us days to recover but when we finally did, we hired
Apex Wood Refinishing to complete the job.
Brett stripped, power-washed, and replaced a few rotting boards.

And then painted...

And the final product!

We bought the table, chairs & chaise lounges from Home Depot.
The cushions and umbrellas are from Garden Ridge.

The deck, sexified with flowers, tiki torches and colorful cushions

Ah, now this is what decks are made for...



One final image:
Proof that Greg does manly house stuff, like mowing the lawn.


Busted...

Will Work For Donuts

I just got this email from our department secretary:

date: Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 3:36 PM
subject: Donuts in graduate office

Hello All!

We have some donuts from Shipley's in the graduate office, about 2 1/2 doz., free for the taking...."first come, first served!"

Penny



Exactly five minutes later, I get this:

date: Fri, Jun 20, 2008 at 3:41 PM
subject: Donuts are all gone!!

Sorry. You graduate students should be "track stars!"

Penny


Bunch of scavengers! Ha ha!

p.s. In case you were wondering, I did not partake. ::giving myself a pat on the back::

The Anti-Stress Diet

Compliments of my friend Bobbi (or Boobs as she's more affectionately known - hi, Boobs!)

*****
This is a specially formulated diet designed to help people
cope with the stress that builds during the day.

Breakfast
1 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 cup skim milk

Lunch
1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
1 cup spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Hershey's kiss

Afternoon Snack
The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag
1 tub of Hagen-Daz ice cream with chocolate chips

Dinner
4 glasses of wine (red or white) and 2 loaves garlic bread
1 family size supreme pizza
3 Snickers Bars

Late Night Snack
1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)

******
My diet starts tomorrow...

Champ At All Sports Red-Neck

We went bowling with our poker crowd last night, and do you know what I scored? Huh? Do you?

151, baby!

That may not seem all that impressive to some, but for me, it's nothing short of a miracle.

But it gets even better. Brian, being the consummate gambler that he is, bought four $5 lottery tickets to give as prizes: one for top guy/girl scores, one for the first person to hit two strikes in a row, and one for... well, we never quite categorized that one because Brian's such a sweet guy that he handed it over to Aubree during a guilt trip over a practical joke gone awry. (He really is too nice sometimes.)

So guess who won the ticket for two strikes in a row? I bet you'll never guess... ME! AND it turned out to be a $50 winner!

I also won the ticket for top girl scorer. AND it turned out to be a $15 winner! (The other two were losers so I'm feeling pretty charmed at the moment...)

Not a bad way to end a perfectly crappy, exhausting day.


p.s. It is a testament to my husband's patience and character that he still urges me to come out and spend time with him even after I'm grouchy and quick to bite. Thanks for keeping me sane, babe.

p.p.s. I would be remiss (and unforgiven) if I didn't mention the fact that Greg scored a 160! Yes, he beat me. Consider this to be me bowing before his superior red-neck sports skills.

p.p.p.s. We really need to set Brian up with a lovely girl. Know anyone?