spring cleaning

The lab got a big grant to renovate the center wing.... which means that everyone who works there has to move to one of the other wings. So, lots of groups are going to be doubling up on lab space while it's under construction. No one is moving into my lab, but some of our other lab space is going to be shared in a few weeks, and we've been cleaning out like mad this week. Which is good. Scientists are pack rats. I've been dumping old samples by the gallons; some of the stuff has labels with handwriting that no one recognizes because it's so old.

It's a great chance for me to clean... haha.... scientists are also not real concerned with dirt and dust and grime. Or at least the "boys" in our group aren't. Seriously, I've been wiping out drawers and cupboards and cleaning sinks that they would have just been filled up again without a thought. Ick. 409 industrial degreaser has become my best friend...

My siblings came over for some real food last night... I made lasagna. It was yummy. I love Italian. :) And we had Frieda-buns, which are amazing and I need to have her over to teach me how to make them.

I finished my second 'third-saturday' quilt block. Woot. And I've been working on one I started a few years ago... the pattern was/is too hard for me and so it isn't going to turn out that great, but I guess I'd rather have it all put together and not be perfect than have a bunch of cut fabric laying around. :)

Otherwise, nothing new. I'm excited for the weekend! It's going to be a busy one...
Blessings.

flowers and frustrations and fun

These are my valentine roses... they're so very pretty. I love roses. :)


This is my amaryllis bulb that finally decided to bloom... I got it before Christmas. I like it, but it clashes with the A & W sign...

So I talked to 3 banks and my mutual fund company this week... and got very frustrated and confused and close to tears. I now officially hate finance and all things that have to do with money and investing. O wait, this is not a new sentiment. :) At this point I think I'm back to square one. They still haven't even changed my name and address on the account, and Dad and I have been corresponding with them since last September. Sooooo.... I wrote another letter of instruction... woot woot, I'm getting so good at them... and they're getting copies of pretty much all of my identifying documents in the mail. I guess it's good some random person couldn't get in and mess with my account... but then, you never know, it might be easier for somebody to steal the vast amounts I've got invested (HA! Seriously, it's not like I've got a massive account or anything, it shouldn't be this hard to just change my name!) than it is for me to change my personal info.

We had a student researcher day at the lab this week... I'm the "material girl." Yes, the pop culture reference is intended... My coworkers think it's funny; I'm not sure how I feel about that. Definitely a study in contrasts.... :D Basically I just make sure there are enough lab coats, gloves, safety glasses, and put together their lab notebooks. I wish they would have done SR days when I was in High School; they're lots of fun. There were two AC kids this time, which I loved. And one of the researchers that was presenting started telling stories about his grad days, back when you could still dump solvents down sink drains and smoke in the lab, and what happens when you try to put out your cigarette in a sink full of solvent. Hilarious. They were wide eyed.

Blessings.

I'm a slacker

O well.

We had a pretty quiet week last week, it was nice. I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't get a snow day...

Dang came over for supper and there were no leftovers. :D

My amaryllis bulb finally bloomed... I've had it since before Christmas. There's a dozen roses on my kitchen table... I love having a house full of flowers. :)

Friday we got together with our potluck for a V-day party which was lots of fun. I discovered that I don't know any valentine's day trivia.

We're still trying to get my mutual fund in our names. Saturday morning we went to three different banks because they need ANOTHER signature guarantee from us... yeah, none of them do that "anymore". But, in case you need a notary, they have plenty of people who can do that. I was so frustrated, because Dad and I walked into the bank in w-ton and it took all of 5 minutes for the lady to check and stamp our signatures. *sigh* Should have just cashed it out and started fresh.

The rest of the day I delivered dad's annual flower order and helped my mom paint. :)

We really didn't do much Sunday... went to church, R and S's wedding reception... I don't like eating out with the entire world, so I just made chicken parmesan (it's red and therefore valentiney! or something) for supper.

I didn't have to work yesterday because it was President's day. Woot. It was amazing. I went shopping, and then Bob and I met for supper at Red Lobster. Yum. I haven't been there in years. When I was little it seemed so much more upscale, maybe because we usually 'ate out' at fast food places... still, I was a little surprised at all the sweatpants I saw, and the redneck vibe we were getting from the table next to us. :)

Blessings.

various and sundry

This week was experiment with ground beef week.... I attempted meatloaf for the first time in, oh, 2.5 years. The last time I made it was with Shelly while grandma was in the hospital and we wanted comfort food... total flop. And I tried a skillet meat ball recipe, it was good but next time I'm going to just bake the meat balls. I'm not overly fond of ground beef; next week there is none on the menu. :)

Wednesday night some w-ton girls came to visit us. It was great fun, and I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me for dragging them up to the front and then having to sit through a member meeting. They came over after church- good times.


I planted four flats of flower seeds yesterday. Our porch is just a little too cold for them right now so they're on the floor in the kitchen. Someday, when we're rich and famous, I'm going to have a green house attached to our palatial mansion.

So this is a great Rudyard Kipling quote from "Just So Stories":

Of course, the Man was wild too. He was dreadfully wild. He didn't even begin to be tame until he met the Woman, and she told him she did not like living in his wild ways. She picked out a nice dry Cave, instead of a heap of wet leaves, to lie down in; and she strewed clean sand on the floor; and she lit a nice fire of wood at the back of the Cave; and she hung a dried wild horse skin, tail down, across the opening of the Cave; and she said, 'Wipe you feet, dear, when you come in, and now we'll keep house.'

Blessings.

I voted

Did you?

potluck

I survived. Bob survived me being nervous. And I think people had at least on ok time. :) Thankfully, I didn't burn anything (although my broiler was setting off the smoke detector- but that's to be expected), and everybody else brought wonderful food. We don't really have a lot of room around our table when it has all the leaves in it, but it worked. I used my china... and left the goblets at the back of the closet because I didn't feel like getting them out...

Yay for fresh flowers, spider mums and daisies.


And then on Sunday we went low key and spent some time playing games with Caleb and Bethany and little Alea. We went to Cracker Barrel for supper and did not eat off china. :) It was a good time.

Blessings.