Chemistry Couture

Randy is a talented man.  He's been taking photographs as a hobby for years, and he's started up a flickr account.  Check it out, if you have a free moment.  You'll see some pics of me, some pics of Ellie, and some of his summer roadtrip.  Hopefully he'll keep adding more, I love looking at them all.  Randy's pictures of me make me feel good about myself.  When does THAT ever happen? :) 

In other news I joined up with the girls on my hall for this month's book club.  I got to pick the book, so I chose Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.  I haven't been to any of the other book club meetings because they were reading a lot of Jane Austen, who I am sure many many many people enjoy, but whom I just can't stomach.  I've tried to read Emma a few times and I just get so annoyed with the whole thing that I have to put it down and walk away.  I've given up on Austen.  Nick Hornby, though, there's a writer who knows how to keep my interest.  I was laughing outloud reading it before Flamenco, yesterday. 

Weekend

This was definitely a work week.  I made a (huge) list of things I wanted to accomplish in the lab this week and, despite actually adding to list every day, I managed to get through everything except "read papers," "deglycosylate RNase B," and "run friggin column, already."  That last one will have to get done before my group research presentation on tuesday.  Ick.

What did I do for fun this week?  Monday I started my Flamenco lessons, and I must say I am awesome.  Really, I may have missed my calling.  I was meant to stomp and slide and twirl.  I've been trying not to practice too much in front of people, though, I keep getting very strange looks.

Friday I saw Lewis Black do stand-up.  Egads, my lungs hurt from laughing so hard.  My only complaint is that the Austin Music Hall seating arrangements are a tad too snug.  Every other person in the row had to lean foreward so we weren't sitting all hunched up, shoulder to shoulder. Airplanes have more room! 

Saturday morning we took Ellie kayaking and did a little fishing.  The fish weren't biting, but Ellie saw her first swan, which came right up to us when we grounded on a little island so Ellie could splash around in the water and eat (gasp) shells.  We also saw a water snake and lots of turtles.  I'm still mad I didn't catch any fish (we always catch and release), I haven't been fishing since last fall and wanted my first time this summer to be productive!  Randy and I discovered kayak fishing last August and I have been a lover of the sport ever since.  I even named my red fishing pole Murray (present) and got little red fish hooks to match him.  Maybe we'll have better luck next week?

And finally last night we watched the Cotto v. Margarito fight on HBO PPV.  Randy bought the fight so I bought chicken wings and fried pickles for dinner which we both devoured and then denounced shortly before slipping into chicken wing comas.  Pluckers Ranch wings are so good, but I always eat way too many and get sick.  Must learn self control.

I've also been working on my orange and blue quilt.  I started it a year ago and keep putting it on the backburner.  No mas!  I will finish it soon.  I'm setting aside free time on the weekend and maybe one or two nights a week to work on it until it is done.  Then it will go on my bed and I can start making quilts for other people again.  I need a snuggly for myself, first.

iHeart PodCasts

I've had an iPod for a while now, and I like to consider myself techsavvy to a certain degree.  I now know that I know nothing.  Until today I didn't know what a PodCast was.  One of the undergrads in my lab introduced me to the 60-Second Science series and now I am in a state of awe at the multitudes of FREE shows you can get off of the internet.  I've now got a subscription to 60-Second Science, NOVA scienceNOW, Ask-a-Biologist (so much fun, and probably great for kids, too), YogaJournal, and 20-Minute Yoga Sessions.  Just thought I would share the love.  I think I need a bigger iPod . . .

Organization

In the midst of my recent cookbook obsession I realized that I needed to organize the many loose recipes I have floating around my oh-so-tiny kitchen.  I got a recipe box when I moved into my first apartment five years ago, but that thing has LONG been full.  Most of my more recent recipes are jotted onto notebook paper or the occasional napkin or just simply torn from a magazine.  These random bits were stuffed into drawers, into cookbooks, under my car seat, and behind cans of beans in the pantry.  Total chaos.  So I bought this. 

And then I did this with it:

I really love that the recipe book is still messy and not uniform in any way.  Some pages stick out farther than others.  Some recipes are stuck in the clear sleeves that came with the book.  Some are sideways and one is upside down.  I love it.  And there is still some room!  I plan to have this book crammed full of yumminess before I think about getting another one.  Now, if I can just find time to cook.

To Recieve

I got my swap package in the mail!  My sending partner is Stephanie King (check out her blog).  All she really had to work off of was my statement that I didn't want neon colors, and that my kitchen was red, orange, and limey green.  Now that I think about it, thats kind of a weird sounding color combo, but she did an excellent job!

The placemats are very cute.  They came all rolled up and tied with the same chocolate brown ribbon that she used for the borders.

The napkins are awesome, I love this fabric!

And a bonus, my favorite, coasters!  (Did everyone in the swap make the coasters as well? I'm still working on mine to send off). 

The coasters came in this cute little pouch that I think I will bring to work and use to store my various USB cords and adapters and electronic paraphenalia that is starting to take over my desk drawers.

For anyone out there who is interested there will be one more swap in the near future.  The website is here, and the book that we are working out of is Amy Karol's book, Bend the Rules Sewing.  It is great for beginners, as you mostly work with rectangles and she includes some basic sewing instructions.  If you want to see all the different things people have made you can check out the flickr group (look for me!) and get some brilliant ideas of your own.

To Give

Last week I sent off my latest swap project.  Our assignment this time was Placemats and Napkins, and my recipient partner was Nichole (see her blog here) and her cute little family.  They said they loved Red, White, and Cherries.  I noticed that she has some little ones, so I tried to make everything summery and playful.

The placemats were made using a black background and three different fabrics for the center panel.  I wanted them to be mixy-matchy, but I stuck with red and white as requested.  I changed the directions in the book a bit and made the center panels a little smaller so I had room to sew on the button cherries and embroider the stems and leaves (just a simple chain stitch, I am still teaching myself embroidery).

The White and Red borders are bias tape that I edge stiched all the way around.  I used my blind stitch foot for the edge stitching so everything would be neat and even.  If you don't have one of these feet, they are amazing!  There is a little adjustable plate that moves along the edge of the fabric so you get a straight stitch at a constant distance from the edge without having to eyeball and rip seams and restitch every five minutes because the fabric got away from you.  Whew!

I also used a medium weight interfacing for the mats so they have a little structure.  And best of all, I got to use my little fabric turner for the corners.  I love fun little tools!  There are six mats total, two of each fabric (and I really hope I didn't send these off as wrinkly as they look in the next photo, sorry if I did!).

The napkins were all made out of the same cherry print fabric.  I put a little ric-rac border along one edge of each napkin, trying to make them a little more fun.  The ricrac was sewn on using a three-stitch zigzag, so it should be secure.  The napkins are not reversible, the back of the napkin is the back of the fabric, but I didn't have the mental energy to figure out how to make reversible napkins. 

I really enjoyed the project.  I hope the family likes the mats and napkins that they recieve!  I picture them being used for summer picnics or maybe a tea party or two.  I am finishing up a little something extra that I was unable to send with the main package, but they'll get two parcels in the mail, so hopefully that will make up for the bonus being late.  One more swap to go!

Week O' the Fourth

Yesterday my boss came into the lab to find us all standing around chatting and eating snacks (well, in the offices, not in the lab, eating in the lab would be hazardous).  Instead of telling us to get to work she sat down with us and declared that it felt like a holiday to her and we shouldn't even be at school.  We all felt the same way.  I blame the upcoming Fourth festivities.  Cookout at the Dixon's! 

I've scheduled an hour long massage to destress my self, specifically my back.  I've had a bit to deal with latetly, including but not limited to a cute puppy who still doesn't feel well, a cat battling allergies, a randomly self-splicing FimH gene (egads, that one!), and a boyfriend who is sleep deprived because of the puppy who doesn't feel well.  I'm also trying to finish up the latest swap project, though that's more fun than stressful.  Well, mostly fun except for the part where I tried to cut off the end of my finger with my rotary cutter . . . by accident of course.  I made up for it by using my brand new Clover Mini Iron II, and that made me happy.  Hoorah for tiny seams and pleats and fewer finger burns! 

On top of all that I have been given a deadline to consider a potential move to a far away place.  That deadline is monday.  Eeep!  Off to my massage.  Woot woot for hotstones and student discounts.