it's about time

It's time for another post. I don't really have anything amazing to talk about today though... Let me think...

Well, while I am thinking I will just tell you that there is another mystery photo on its way. I haven't taken many pictures like that but it will be a fun time.

I still haven't thought of anything great to tell you about the last couple days so I will just tell you a little about what I did today.

At 6:00 AM I went on-campus to continue training for the research I get to be involved in until April when I graduate. Right now I am working on becoming reliable compared to experts at measuring certain stuctures of the brain from a bunch of MRI scans we have. Here is a sample of what I was looking at for my first 1.5 hours of the day.

I came home after going to one class from 7:45-8:45. Then I took a quiz online for about a half hour, ate a bowl of cereal and went back on campus.

On campus again I did my pre-lab for O-Chem lab, read through the real lab to make sure I didn't mess up when the time came, and walked across campus to turn in some registration stuff for the scouts in our ward to get a required merit badge in November.

From there I went to O-Chem for an hour, then stress management, then back to O-Chem lab from 3:15-5:40.

Erin picked me up from class, Ana laughed when she saw me, yelled "dada," ran to where I was and gave me a hug. She's cute. Then we went to Arby's for some curly fries and stuff like that.

I got back home at 7:00pm and here I am now. I still have to read Hamlet for class tomorrow, I haven't started, so that's pretty much what I will do until I can't stay awake anymore. Tomorrow I start at 6 with more MRI's!

Ana Update

*She's 15 months old now. Crazy!

*She's generally happy now that she can walk. She walks all around the house, making a happy mess as she goes.

*She can say about 20 words. Her lastest additions are "uh-oh" and "fishy" (for goldfish crackers).

*She jabbers all the time. The other day she was playing in the kitchen and I said "Ana, what are you doing?" She came around the corner and jabbered some answer, and then turned right around back into the kitchen to continue playing. (Apparently, it meant "I am unrolling the wax paper mom...")

*I made this toy for her today out of a mixed-nuts can. I put a slot in the top and she loves to put game pieces in the top. She played with it forever today.

*She likes her new coat. And its a good thing because its getting cold in Rexburg.

*At play group, she just likes to watch the other kids. I always thought she'd be more fiesty, but if someone takes away her toy, she just looks confused.

The things I learn in O-Chem

Today in O-Chem my teacher played this video at the first of class.



What else can I say after that? Nothing I could type now would ever seem funny after what you just witnessed.

date night (a.k.a We have the best babysitter)

For his general arts requirement Dave chose to do a theatre appreciation class and therefore is required to go to all the plays on campus. Its great, because I really enjoy theatre and its a great excuse for a date. Last night was the first one: Wait Until Dark. It was really good. I'd seen the movie years ago, but hadn't remembered anything except that the heroine was blind and at the end her apartment was dark. Seeing the play was really cool, though because when she darkens her apartment, the entire theatre was in complete darkness. It made it kinda spooky and intense, but not too scary, as I don't really like scary shows. It was a lot of fun.

What is even better, I don't have to worry about Ana while we are out. Our neighbor's daughter just turned 11 and she is the best babysitter ever. She loves Ana and when she comes over, Ana runs to her. She even cleaned up Ana's room and vacuumed the hallway. She takes such good care of Ana and Ana loves her. Its so nice not to have to worry about what is going on at home when I'm out on a date.

usedtocould

When I was in high school, I used to spend most of my time down the street at the Hicks home. We would make short movies, music videos, watch movies, play music and all sorts of other stuff. Jared taught me to play the guitar and we had a great time with it. I also played the drums a little bit with them. The first song that I ever played just like the drummer in the real thing was from Material Issue - Valerie Loves Me. Maybe not "just like" the real thing but you get the idea.

Things have been busy for me since I got married and we've had a baby. Now that I am not working for a little while and have a little more time, I am realizing that I miss that more musical/creative part of me. I am interested to see what you think of the song. The video that was good quality on youtube doesn't allow posting in blogs and all the other versions of the video have sound that is horribly off, and it annoyed me. So, I found this wonderful youtube gem of a dancing mechanical mule set to "valerie loves me"

It may be wierd but we are mostly focusing on the song right?



When I used to play a lot I knew mostly Weezer songs, Fountains of Wayne, Everclear, some Beatles, a couple songs from the Cure, and Material Issue as well. I knew every song the band 'For Now' played (i was in it) and a few 'Fixit' songs as well.

Oh well. Enough of that. I need to go visit my friends again.

txting epidmc

Okay, I have to rant a little bit. Its true I have sent a text message or two in my day. But thats probably about all. I think the text message craze is undermining the importance and art of communication. I was perusing the Scroll (school newspaper) today and I came across an article about texting. Allow me to quote a student featured in it: "You can do it in class, in the library, while you're talking to other people, or even in the two seconds it takes your date to get in the car." Automatically I thought to myself, "that would be the last date I would ever go on with that guy." Besides the obvious rudeness of texting while on a date with a girl, why is he just waiting in the car for his date? I think it is very sad that communication with others has been reduced to this. This guy (and it was a male student, a Business major, evidently, but that is another post...) obviously knows how to make those around him feel important. Dave and I have a friend who got dumped via text messaging. Of course, they also got together via text messaging, and most of their relationship consisted of it. Now, I do think texting has its place - but 27 out of 100 students admitted to having 10 or more text conversations a day. A girl featured in the article said, "It's nice ... when you don't really want to talk to someone." I think with the loss of communication came the lost art of common courtesy and compassion. Well, I could go on, but I think I've got it out of my system now...

At breakfast today...

Some of you may think these sausages look/are gross. You may be right, but I definitely don't agree with you. They are 100% processed, pre-cooked, greasy goodness. I do like them a lot but that is not the only reason I am posting about them right now.

After I got back from class this morning I put a few in the microwave for breakfast. (No, I didn't eat before class. My day started at 6 today and I didn't have time. I'm working on it.) Anyway, as always, Ana really wanted some of the sausages because if Dad is eating some, they must be the coolest, best food ever. I fed her a few pieces but wouldn't let her hold them because of the aforementioned greasiness and the fact that we still have some half folded clean laundry on our couch. She started trying to grab the pieces I was putting in her mouth and just as I thought to myself something like "She will just have to accept that I am putting it in her mouth for her..." - I don't remember what I was thinking exactly, basically something about me being in charge - so, just as I thought that, she grabbed the piece of sausage from my hand and ran away giggling with a huge smile on her face.

Our 15 month old baby outdid me. Maybe I should get used to it...

Confession #3 - Am I the only one?

Or do other moms have a problem with over-emotionality. For example, I was driving through the Wal-Mart parking lot, perusing for a spot, listening to country radio. A song comes on about a boy who is asking his girlfriend's dad for her hand... The guy sees all these pictures of her as a little girl - dressed up as Cinderella, playing in the sprinkler, riding a bike for the first time, etc. And he realizes that in her dad's eyes, he's just stealing Cinderella. So there I am in the parking lot, listening to this cheesy song, bawling my eyes out. It was pathetic really. Things like this happen frequently, particularly when involving family tenderness. Hallmark commercials, and even my friend's wedding do it to me too. (Dave is always quick to point out that I didn't cry at our wedding, but I cry at everything else.) So, I ask again, am I the only one?

I can hear the bells (or) my husband is really cool

I was really tired yesterday, so I laid down to take a nap while Ana was napping. Dave left to go to Hollywood Video to rent a Wii game. When he came home, he had a surprise for me. THE HAIRSPRAY SOUNDTRACK!!!! He knew how much I loved it, read my post and decided I needed it. Isn't he cool? I love the CD. Thanks, Dave. You are so my favorite husband ever!

You can't stop the beat

Dave and I went on a date last night. Shocking, I know. We don't venture into that realm much. Mostly because we usually decide we want to go only a few hours in advance, and then can't find a babysitter. But, last night we put Ana to bed and went to the 9 o'clock show. Dave's nephew (and finacee) came over and watched a movie at our house, and we brought them milkshakes.

Anyway, we saw Hairspray, and I loved it. Here's a run down... First of all, its a musical (rated PG) so that makes it about 10x better in my book. John Travolta plays an overweight a woman (by the by, the part he played has always been played by a man on Broadway), Christopher Walken as his/her husband and Zac Efron (from High school musical, and we all know how I feel about that) the heartthrob of a teenage dance show in the 60s. Overweight Tracy Turnblad gets to dance on the show, changing the face of the show forever, much to Beauty Queen Michelle Pfieffer's (and daughter) dismay. Add the racial turbulance of the era, featuring Queen Latifah and Amanda Bynes who falls for a black dancer (much to her Christian mother's dismay). Music, dancing, and a whole lot of fun! I loved every minute. I'm pretty sure I want to own in when it comes out and I think I might just convince Dave that I need the soundtrack. And I'll listen to it all the time. And I mean all the time. And I'll probably be dancing too. Just so you know.

PS - Dave, we really should go on dates more.