Do you have any Grey Poupon, or French's or...

Ever really looked in your refrigerator? Especially at the condiments. Well, evidently we haven't lately. I was making Daniel a sandwich yesterday, I was letting him pick what goes on it. And he wanted mustard. It may have been easier for me to take Daniel to the fridge than take the mustard to him. Who has this many bottles of mustard???



Am I going to throw any of them out you ask? Nope, we have a mustard for every occasion.

Why I don't swim in the ocean

Matt here again...this is what happens when the wife leaves and I'm here alone. I don't like to swim in the ocean for a number of reasons. One in particular is the fact there's always sand in the car and you get sticky aftewards. Another reason is shown in this nice video of sea creatures found on the beach after the Tsunami.

EDIT: Even thou the last video featured a freaky creature, this is the one I was meaning to post. That'll teach me to not double check my post.



If you still enjoy swimming in the ocean after that video, I've much respect for you.

Fluffernutter

I'm not making this word up. Its a sandwich that teri makes from time to time. And if you still don't believe me, wikipedia says its true. I figured I'd see if it passes the Daniel approval test.

Here's what it looks like.



So Daniel dug in, and well, the results are obvious.

Sickness Returns & Daniel

I guess I'm a guest blogger even thou my name is on the blog. Teri went to Utah to be with her family for Christmas. And fortunately for me, she left me with an empty house and her cold. At the same time, Daniel is visiting for a few days. So I decided, it was 70 degrees in December with a nice breeze, to put Daniel to work helping me with some yard work.



So I'm working from home, outside on the porch while Daniel does some leaf blowing. He's such a good worker. But I've no clue what the yard will look like after he's done. Based on how thorough and OCD he can be, I may be lucky if there's any grass left. I've already asked him to not blow away the pine straw at the base of a tree.

Done!

As of 11:41 am this morning, I completed my last final. I feel like the elephant that has been sitting on my chest (and steadily getting bigger) is finally gone and it feels great. I had my organic final today and I think I did alright. Technically, because my class was a non-traditional computer-based class, I know what I got on the final... sort of. I got an 83 when I left, but there are portions on the exam (mechanisms and synthesis and short answer questions) that you originally get full credit for, but you will get points taken off when she (or more likely her TA's) grade's it by hand. So, assuming I didn't get those questions COMPLETELY wrong, I should be alright. I'm so happy!!! I may not have failed o-chem!!! Hurray!!

So, this will be my last entry for a while. I'm flying to Utah for Christmas tomorrow and won't be coming back until January 6th (the day before classes start again). I hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas!!

Hi, my name is Teri and I'm an addict...

I've been really sick lately. And it's been a really good thing that I only had to take two finals out of 5. Any way, since I've been really sick, and have had no energy, all I've been doing really is napping and watching TV. When I ran out of recorded shows to watch, I turned to this new function on our tivo. It allows to to stream videos from your netflix queue. It is the most awesome thing EVER. Now you don't have to wait the 1-2 business days for movies to come. Granted, not all the movies on netflix can be viewed instantly, but most of the newer things are on their.

So, with this in mind, I browsed Matt's queue and saw that the first two seasons of 30 Rock were on there. I've never watched this show before, but a lot of people I know and love (note: these terms are not mutually inclusive) watch this show and really like it. So, I thought that I would give it a try. Let me again mention that I've been sick and everybody knows the best part of being sick is being able to sit and watch TV and not feel really guilty about it. That being said, I have gone through both seasons 1 and 2 and all the episodes available in season 3 in a matter of 2 days.

I love the show. I think it's awesome. Period. Kenneth is my favorite. I love Jack's not so subtle neuroses. I love that Liz remembers herself as nerdy and nice, when in reality she's just as mean and sarcastic. I'm addicted. I'm going to have to quit cold turkey...

Dead Week and Taggings

It's dead week this week. For those who do not attend NCSU or any other school that has instituted a "dead week" policy, lemme esplain. Dead week is the last week of classes before the final exam schedule starts. Teachers are not supposed to assign tests, quizzes, or large projects due during this week, in order to allow students to study for their upcoming exams but they can gain approval from the Dean of their college to make exceptions.

Let me say that dead week is not feeling very dead to me right now. I had a term paper due Monday, a quiz in organic chemistry, a power point presentation that is due tomorrow (that is counting towards part of my final exam grade), and a diet analysis project due Friday. I'm thinking that all but two of my classes made exceptions to the dead week rule. Ugg... On a brighter note, though, I will be officially done with classes on Friday. All I'll have left is two exams. Huzzah!!

So, in order to take a break from studying and otherwise frantic-ness associated with school, I thought I'd respond to a tag! Thanks Susan!!


8 TV Shows I love to watch:
1. Chuck
2. The Office
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Good Eats
6. Dirty Jobs
7. Mythbusters
8. Big Bang Theory

8. 8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. The Underground (even though it's closed, I have yet to find a better restaurant)
2. The Rockford
3. The Oakwood Cafe
4. Jimmy John's
5. Sullivan's (best steak EVER)
6. 518 West (best Italian in Raleigh)
7. The Melting Pot
8. The Foundry Grill


8 Things that happened YESTERDAY:
1. I woke up from less than 1 hour of sleep (for some reason my body decided it doesn't need sleep, which has turned out to be a little blessing in disguise with regards to homework)
2. Went to class
3. Called my mom to thank her for my new luggage (Yay for Christmas!!)
4. Finished my powerpoint presentation and other various homework assignments
5. Drug out the Christmas decorations and put up the tree, but didn't get to the lights or any other decorations which are now sitting on my floor, looking very sad
6. Went to target; got some necessities and groceries
7. Studied for the quiz I took today (which I got at 75 on. I'm ecstatic! It's organic chem, so my average on tests and quizzes has been around a 50. A 75 is fantastic!!)
8. Went to bed at 5:15 am. Ugg...

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to
1. Christmas in Utah (there'd better be snow!)
2. Seeing my mom in 13 days
3. Graduating about this time next year
4. Being done with this atrocious semester
5. Sleep. I am tired.
6. Getting all my Christmas decorations up
7. My exercise nutrition class next semester
8. World peace (I couldn't think of anything else)


8 Things on my Wish List: (alright, time to get crazy)
1. I wish I could get an A in my organic chemistry class (fat chance of that happening though)
2. I wish it was summer again
3. I wish that I could be at the beach
4. I wish my parents lived closer to us or vice versa
5. I wish I could graduate early (again, fat chance)
6. I wish that my fish won't sit on chairs
7. I wish that we could figure out an alternative source of energy. Go green!!
8. I wish that we could all get along


8 People I Tag
1. Mary
2. Joel
3. Megan
4. Marilyn
5. Jenny
6. Rachel
7. Heidi
8. Cyndi

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving Day. I'm sitting here listening to Christmas music, letting my oven do all the work for me and thinking about all my many blessings. I'm so grateful for everything and everyone in my life. I hope this season finds you happy and well! Now go stuff yer faces!! :)

Feelings on inadequecy

In general, I feel like a failure in more ways than one. Specifically speaking my feelings of deficiency are founded in my best friend Mary this time. The girl can blog. Lately, she has been a blogging fiend. I this part of this is because of the infamous blog battle, but I also think that it's in part that she and Christian actually do things together (nice) and when they do things together they chronicle it (even better). Matt and I do things but we always end up forgetting the camera and then we never end up with pictures. I think that I will make an effort to take more photos in the future.


Other than feeling insufficient with regards to my blogging habits, nothing particularly exciting has happened lately. I'm playing the piano for the institute choir again this year and am actually enjoying it. It's not that I didn't enjoy it last year, it's just that this year my reasons for doing it have changed. Last year, I did it because Mary asked me and I said yes, hoping that I could see her more often. When Mary and Christian got together, though, it seemed like she was there less often so I was less inclined to go. I felt like I shouldn't be there in the first place (because I wasn't single) but Mary was my pass. Being there with her made it kosher. So when she didn't come as often, it felt awkward

This year, it's because they really needed someone and I wanted to fill the need. I also had been wanting to improve my playing abilities since the horrendous failure of me being called as the ward choir pianist in the Cary 2nd ward prior to us moving. I think I'm gotten better and I enjoy the music (especially since we're working on Christmas music). Any way, I'm really liking it and I will master O Holy Night (which is the hardest song for the piano).

My hand is dead to me

This year was a pretty low key fair year for me. Technically I went to the fair 7 separate times, but 6 of them, I was working the NCSU Dairy Bar where I scooped unhealthy sized portions of ice cream and handed it to them with a smile and sometimes some words of encouragement. I loved it when parents would order ice cream for their 6 year old kid and when you handed their order out, their eyes widen, jaw drops and then immediately break out into the biggest grin you've ever seen. It's like Christmas morning over and over again. And the best part is that you're giving them that Christmas morning feeling. :)


Let us not forget, though, that I completed 10 shifts at the dairy bar, most worked two in a row. Each shift is three hours long. Thus, over the course of 8 days I worked 30 hours (not that I doubted your math skills in any way). I am so grateful that Matt has a wonderful job that pays him the big bucks so that I can go to school and not have to work.

That being said, I cannot begin to describe to you the pain my right arm and hand went through over the course of those 8 days. I truly believe that I bruised the bone and I have contracted carpel tunnel syndrome, but it was worth it. Even though I was in a lot of pain, I got paid (indirectly) for it. For my efforts, I was paid one point for every hour I worked. I earned 30 points this year, just for dairy bar. I also earn points for doing things with the club like working events, participating in activities, and general participation in food science club things. Then, at the end of the year, we "redeem" our points for money that we can put towards school related things. Every year, the amount that a point is worth is different, depending on how much is leftover in the budget. I really want to go to a professional conference in Anaheim, California this year, so I need to earn as many points as possible!! Last year the points were worth close to nine dollars, so if I get that again this year, I've already earned 270 dollars towards the trip. :)

Any way, it was hard, but totally worth it.

Cinnamon "Tea"

Matt and I were recently in Charlotte visiting friends for my fall break. We have a ton of fun (as usual) spending time with them! In addition to visiting the North Carolina Renaissance Festival, we ate... a lot (also as per usual). I always end up hovering in the kitchen whenever we visit Blayke and Eduardo because they are both fantastic cooks! Eduardo made this steak for tacos one night that was delicious accompanied by homemade refried beans (which Blayke actually made) and pico de gallo with avacado. Mmmmm... it was good. They also made this wonderful (but totally not good for you) sausage dip (sausage, cream cheese and rotel). This has become one of Matt's new favorite foods.

In addition to the other wonderful things that were made, I was introduced to cinnamon tea. It's not really "tea" in the sense that it contains tea leaves, but tea in the sense that you brew cinnamon sticks in water and let them steep. After you've let them release their cinnamony goodness, you mix the warm cinnamon water with some sugar and a tablespoon or two of evaporated milk (or just regular milk if you don't have the evaporated kind). I cannot begin to describe how much I love this drink! It tastes like those little red hots candies that come out around Valentine's Day but not hot. I always wondered where that flavor came from because it truly doesn't smell or taste anything like ground cinnamon, but now I know! It's amazing to me how different a spice can be when it's applications are varied! I suppose that's my food-nerd side coming out! Any way, hopefully I'll be posting again soon about this...

Mission: Destroy the mouse

One of the very best things about our new home is that the previous owner was an english major and transformed the dining room into a library to house her enormous book collection. I have always wanted a library in my house and am thrilled to be able to have one so early in my life!! I don't have nearly the same amount of books as she did, but I've got room to grow!

The one drawback is that the previous owner also LOVED Disney. When we walked through the house, there was at least one Disney related thing in each room, if not more. I think it was her love of the mouse that drove her to do something that truly (in my opinion) detracted from the house. She had cut-out holes of Mickey Mouse on the top molding on the shelves in the library.

The following is a documentary on my attempts to get rid of the mouse:

So you have a mouse problem, eh? Don't look at this like a problem, but an advantage to beautify a room.

In some of my earlier planning sessions, I had contemplated square, ceramic tiles, preferably of the hand painted spanish style, but given the desired use of the room (garden-themed), I opted for silk flowers.


Shown here is the final result. Note: I hung curtains in front of two panels of shelves to be explained later.

Here is the end result of the mission. Also, please don't think that I am crazy. I am going to paint the cabinet doors white. I just haven't had time yet. I love my room. It's wonderful to read in. Very relaxing.


Here are the two panels I've hung curtains on. I made the curtains to cover up my pantry storage since there really isn't any. The "pantry" is a few shelves above my washer and dryer, but that space smells like laundry detergent and also makes most food stored there taste like tide.
I also love the shutter blinds that the previous owner installed. Several other windows in the hosue have them too. It just goes so well in this room though.

Any way, I love my library and look forward to collecting more books and cool old glass bottels to put on my shelves. :)

School, glorious school!!

And thus, another semester has started. I am particularly busy this semester already and am wondering if it will ever get better. On a brighter note, after this semester, I will only have two more semesters left until I graduate. What are you doing with your life after graduation, you ask? Well, since you inquired, I'll tell you what I'm not going to do!

• Animal Trainer - I love animals, but feel I lack the necessary qualities (read: patience) to make this a life-long career. However, I have taught Truman how to sit on command, so I'm not entirely ruling this out.

• Professional Computer Geek -I am not talented in the art of computer. In fact, that's one of the many things I love about Matt: I don't have to worry about my computer being broken again. I feel that if someone were to ask me to fix their computer, I might bring it back to them worse than it was to begin with.
• Sushi Chef - I do love the sushi. I tried making it at home once... I failed miserably. I just can't get the roll tight enough to hold all that deliciousness inside. I think I'll leave the rolling to the professionals.

• Hair Dresser - This, as a career option, is out. As any body who's gotten their hair cut by me before can tell you, I just don't have a talent for it (Do you remember those awful bangs, Mary? I'm so sorry).
• Ninja - I am quite possibly one of the clumsiest people I know. It's not that I don't want to be a ninja, I just believe I don't possess the necessary skills (such as stealth, killing and stealthy killing) nor could I hope to ever master those skills, this late in life. But I aspire to the same level of ninja greatness as the following:

House Warming Party

On Labor Day, we had a house-warming party for a bunch of our church friends. It was fun! We had Hawaiian haystacks for dinner. Funnily enough, two real Hawaiians were in attendance and had no idea what they were about to eat. :) I'm pretty sure it's called "Hawaiian" because it has pineapple in it... Any who, for those of you who haven't had the privilege of having one, a Hawaiian Haystack is a mixture of ingredients assembled by the person who is to consume it (so that if it stinks, it's your fault, not the cooks!). Typically, it starts with a bed of rice and then some type of chicken and sauce mixture (I used cream of chicken soup and milk to make mine) and then toppings including, but not limited to, pineapple, mandarin oranges, chow mien noodles, almonds, green onions, and coconut. Several people expressed hesitation about what they were about to eat, one of them being a very picky southerner. She loved it. I know it sounds crazy that all those things would work together, but they do!! It's delicious and so easy (especially if the chicken is pre-cooked)!

One of the reasons for the party was to give us motivation to unpack those last few boxes and put up pictures. I have to say, the house looks pretty good, thanks to the decorating help from Blayke. She came all the way from Charlotte to help. :) The pictures instantly made it feel homey and more like our space.

Well, it's been a nice break, but I have to get back to my organic chemistry homework... *ugg*

Daniel Visits (warning: this is a LONG post)

Last week Daniel came up to visit a few days. It was really nice to have him here. For the most part things went pretty smoothly (although we did have to take away the air freshener...) and we didn't have any mention on hamburgers! To see the pictures from his visit, go to here. (It will take forever to upload all of these pictures. For some reason blogger hates me and my large files.)

On Tuesday, I took Daniel to this new museum in downtown called Marbles. It was really cool, but a little too young for D. We went any way and when he wasn't saying, "Too old" he seemed to have a good time. The museum is basically a glorified playground and craft center for kids under 10 years of age. They had several different areas with themes. The downstairs area had a place for very small children that was a little town where they could dress up, go shopping, go to work, go to the doctors, etc., etc. and was geared at learning social things. In addition to the town, the water exhibit was downstairs. There was a little pool with running water and toys for kids to play with (with plastic poncho type things to keep them from getting too wet) and a bunch of aquarium tanks with interesting fish. Daniel was totally disinterested in either exhibits, so we went upstairs.

Upstairs, they had an exhibit that was all about creating things. There was a place where you could make your own car (with wooden erector set looking things) and then race them pinewood derby-style, there was a place that you could make whatever you wanted our of recycled materials. They actually had real tools (ie. hammer, nails, screws, saw....) that the kinds could use and Daniel enjoyed sawing away at a piece of wood for a while. Also in that same area, there were giant lego blocks and other wooden building blocks where a couple of kids were working on a pretty impressive tower (using step ladders and such) and finally, there was a place that had scraps of fabric and scissors and templates where you could make your own clothes. Pretty cool (I was seriously interested) but Daniel kept saying, "Too old".

The final exhibit was a temporary exhibit that was all about the Olympics. They had all sorts of activities you could do and a scorecard to keep track of your progress. There was a long jump, a basketball hoop, javelin throw, bean bag toss, vertical jump, and two really cool stations. One of them was a big replica of a hockey rink with a very waxed floor and goalies nets. It had a video of the Carolina Hurricane's team talking about hockey and then the kids could grab a puck, a stick and slip on some socks (if they didn't already have any) and slide around playing hockey. Daniel was a little interested but I thought it would be better for him to watch in stead of participate (there were a lot of kids in there and most of them very small). Also, they had a small gymnastics mat, just like the ones they use for real gymnastics floor events, some hula hoops, some scarves, ribbons on sticks, and a balance beam sitting right on the ground. I picked up the ribbons and started dancing around with them (the other parents gave me some odd looks, but whatever) and Daniel loved it. He picked up some ribbons of his own and started waving them around. I got of video of it. I also got him to walk on the balance beam (it was literally sitting on the ground). I held out my hand to help him balance but he kept pushing it away. I kept my hand there, ready to help him if he needed and by and by his pushing my hand away turned into him using my hand to balance, using only one finger of course. He also really enjoyed the javelin throw (which was a pool noodle cut in have with some fins attached at the end for you to throw at a giant painted bullseye) and the bean bag toss.

Close to the sports area, they had some coloring stations. One of them was a "make-your-own-flag" station. They had examples of real flags and suggested making up your own flag. Initially, Daniel didn't want anything to do with it, but when I suggested coloring the Scotland flag, he was all about it! He did a pretty good job. After that, thought Daniel was finished saying, "Too old," more and more often. So we left.

On our way home, we stopped by the Harley Davidson dealership that is close to our house. He had a great time looking at the motorcycles and when I asked which one he liked the best, of course he happened to pick the most expensive bike in the place. It was one of those cross country affairs with the big cushy seats, the big dashboard and lots of buttons. We wandered back into the accessories section and started looking at helmets. Daniel kept saying, "Wayne get for me, four-wheeler... Love it, for me," and talking about how great all of the helmets were. Of course he loved the one that had a microphone built into it with the full face shield.

After the motorcycle dealership, we went to the farmers market where Daniel picked out a watermelon for dinner. It was a huge thing for 2 bucks!! He picked a good one too and proceeded to carry it over his shoulder. Afterwards, Daniel dutifully went grocery shopping with me a pushed the cart for me. It was really sweet.

So, all in all, it was a good visit, although next time I think I'll try to find something a little more age appropriate. :)

p.s. - I'll work on trying to get the video to work. We've had some trouble in the past getting video to actually appear on our blog, so we'll try to work out the kinks. :) Cheers!

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Mary. So here are four things.

4 Random Things I love about my husband:
1. The way he looks at me when I get excited about something
2. He cleans the kitchen
3. His head (scars and all)
4. He's like an electric heating blanket

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Goodberries
2. Summer Camp Counselor
3. Receptionist/Customer Service Rep/Office Assistant
4. Lab Monkey

4 Movies I have watched more than ten times:
1. Princess Bride
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. The Man Who Knew Too Little
4. Zoolander

4 TV Shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. Burn Notice
3. Psych
4. Gilmore Girls

4 Places I have Been:
1. Brisbane, Australia
2. The Fox Theater in Atlanta
3. Sundance Resort
4. Calgary

4 People who e-mail me regularly:
1. Matt
2. Mom
3. My boss
4. Megan

4 of my favorite Foods:
1. Spaghetti and Meatballs
2. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
3. Spinach Artichoke Dip
4. Squash (any kind)

4 Places I would like to visit:
1. Disneyland
2. The Great Pyramids in Egypt
3. Seattle
4. Europe

4 Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. School
2. IFT
3. Graduating
4. Christmas

4 People I tag:
I'm not sure anybody actually reads this other than Mary and she's the one who tagged me. So, whoever reads this can be tagged! (Let me know in the comments if you choose to accept this mission!!)

The State Fair Saga: NCSU Ice Cream

While my current school has some short comings... *cough football cough* I can firmly say that their food science department is one of the top ten on the East Coast, if not in the nation. Our facility is awesome and we have the greatest professors. In addition to having an awesome fruit and vegetable lab (read: totally wicked tricked out kitchen), there is a meat processing pilot plant and a dairy on the premises. This is where the take the milk that the animal science's cow's produce and turn it into creamy goodness.

There are several different flavors of ice cream available for purchase at The Fair including the traditional chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, while also including some truly delicious flavors, such as pecan crunch, cookies and cream, cheesecake etc., etc. This past year they increased the total fat content in the milk (which means more cream, less milk) which in turn increased the amount of fat soluble flavors in the the ice cream and making the consistency more creamy. Both good improvements in my opinion, even if that means that it has a few extra calories. :)

The NC State ice cream booth is manned by students in the food science club on campus. The students aren't paid directly. Instead, they're earning points toward a monetary refund at the end of the year. This refund can be put towards any kind of school related expense, like for example my upcoming trip to Anaheim next year. Hopefully I'll be at the fair every day scooping for some amount of time (my hands and wrists are going to kill me, but if it means a free trip to California I'll do it!!) which is a dream come true for a true Fair Fan. We, the students, do a good job of giving you your money's worth ($4 for a cup or cone) and you get service with a smile. :)

So, if you're going to come to The Fair this year, I implore you to stop by the NC State Dairy Bar and get some ice cream! I know you won't be disappointed.

Bathroom Crisis '08

I can say without a doubt in my mind that the worst thing in life to be without is... (drum roll please)

RUNNING WATER!

Two days ago, I noticed there was a spot on my pants that was wet after having used our downstairs bathroom. After carefully probing the floor, I witnessed fluids bubbling up from the seams in our linoleum flooring. After I freaked out for about 30 seconds, I called Matt, who proceeded to tell me that there was nothing he could do about it at the time and told me to wait until he got home. Waiting is not my style, so I called the next person in the chain of command: Mom. After talking with her, she referred me to my father, who told me to go into the crawlspace and have a looksy.

So, I donned protective clothing (read: biohazard suit) and grabbed the not-so-useless giant flashlight that came with our drill, and set out to conquer the crawlspace. However, I was surprised by how dry it was and by the lack of life down there. I only saw a handful of tiny spiders ( one of my biggest fears is getting bitten by a very venomous black widow or brown recluse) . It was only after a few minutes of crawling and slithering that I found the spot where the leak was.

My only indication that there was a leak was a very small pool of liquid. Following the drips, I found the spot where our bathroom sits. The insulation was pretty thoroughly saturated and, not having gloves on, I could only see a little bit of staining. I crawled out, called our real estate agent and asked what we should do. He told us to call our home warranty company to send someone out to look at it. So, I did.

Now, upon entering the crawlspace earlier, I was met with an odor and a valve for the main water supply. Fearing any type of liquid being sprayed at me while I poked around, I shut off the valve. And when I left, I turned the valve back on. After I had called Brian (our agent) and the home warranty company (who promised to send someone out the next day), I decided to take a shower and get the dirt from the crawlspace off. I jumped in and started to rinse. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that the water pressure was dwindling down to nothing and I am proud to say that I got my hair completely lathered and rinsed by the time the water ran out (It's nice to know I can take a quick shower if needs be).

I went back to the crawlspace and turned the valve and tried all different positions for the valve, but to no avail. The water refused to flow. We were only without water for approximately 24 hours, but I can say that it was truly uncomfortable. We could not use the restroom, we could not wash our dishes or our clothes, we could not wash our hands and did I mention that we couldn't use the restroom? And because I couldn't use the facilities, I had to go even more (why is that?). Any way, I have been in situations without power or without many creature comforts that I now enjoy, but I can say with all surety that water is number one on my list of must haves.

The Pegboard Office Desk

What does an OCD do when he has an afternoon to kill and 3 computers to setup? He does what your about to see. Total cost is approx $20.

• $10 pegboard
• $1 for each bag of wingnuts, screws and washers
• $10 for the nylon ties

So I have 3 computers. A linux box, windows box, and a linux router. They're all accessible via a 4-port KVM. This equates to a mess of power, monitor and network cables. My previous setup was with nylon zip ties, but I didn't quiet think them thru and tied & tightened all the zip ties after I was done. This didn't prove to be useful later when I needed to add or remove something. So I learned from my mistakes and hopefully this setup is much more useful.

Before:

After:


Click here to find out more. Note, to follow the process, change the smugmug style to Journal.

My favorite things: the State Fair Edition

You know that song from "The Sound of Music"? Well here are a few of my favorite things at the State Fair:

• The Food:

• I am a self-proclaimed foodie and love all things gourmet and tasty, but I have always had a soft spot for absolutely ridiculous food. For example, a deep fried candy bar doesn't make a whole bunch of sense when you think about it. A candy bar is already several hundred calories and is basically empty calories, but dipping it in some batter and flinging it into a vat of hot oil seems to create a magical combination that not even Anton Ego could pass up. Other popular fair fare includes polish sausages, ice cream (from the NCSU Dairy Bar), roasted corn (from the place by the big strawberry), salt water taffy, kettle corn, cotton candy, candy apples, turkey legs, the free hush puppies at the grist mill... the List goes on. All of those delicious options, waiting to be explored... It makes me salivate just thinking about it

• The Rides
• Half of the reason the rides are so exciting is the fact that they are transportable and therefore not as safe or secure as rides at a theme park. Who else loves the fact that the ring of fire is the most rickety wobbly ride there?! Any body? Any body? The other half is that I, for some reason, can't seem to actually make it to a theme park with any kind of regularity despite my strong and vocal protests to that effect. I, my whole life, have lived within a 100 mile radius of at least one theme park. Yet, I have only been to them a handful of times. *sigh* So in lieu of actually going on a roller coaster, I ride the rides. (And enjoy the added bonus of the carnies)

• The Giant Vegetables
• I am a sucker for giant anythings (and really, really tiny anythings for that matter). I find it amazing that we can manipulate vegetables to be 300 times their normal size and that farmers can actually get said vegetation to full term (without it rotting or getting eaten). I especially love the pumpkins. I think it's because when I see a one ton pumpkin, it reminds me of Peter, the most famous of pumpkin eaters, and I wonder if I would be happy living in a pumpkin of that size or whether I'd divorce his butt the moment he presented it to me as a living option.

• The People
• So many people in one place is bound to present you with a plethora of interesting folk. I love making up stories about people I don't know and wondering what their life is really like. I also love that fashion disasters come out in full force for the fair. It amazes me what people will wear to the fair, particularly women. I have seen women on dates to the fair, wearing stiletto heels, a strapless cocktail dress and have their hair and makeup done. I can imagine that perhaps they didn't know where they were going on that date or maybe they dropped by after some fancy occasion, but if it were me, I would demand that I be able to go home and change. Heels and gravel do not mix.

*Le sigh* I can't wait until October. I love the fair so much that I will probably be going several times this year (if not once every day to scoop ice cream so I can go to Disneyland next year!!). If you want to come with me, let me know!

Insomnia

What should one do when one cannot sleep? I am up for suggestions as I have not been able to get a full night's rest since moving into this house. Perhaps it is cursed, or I allergic to it. I don't know, but it's definitely getting old.

On a completely different note, I think I might try mixing things up a bit. I thought I might might start blogging about things unrelated to my life in addition to updates about the goings-on in the Davis house. I think I'll start right now.

Have you ever noticed that there seems to be more and more people at the State fair every year? I know I've definitely noticed an incline in attendance and general craziness surrounding the most wonderful time of the year. Today, while looking up guidelines on some of the culinary competitions, I stumbled upon some statistical information on the state fair. Last year, over one hundred forty-five thousand people attended the fair on the last Friday it was open. One day, people!! The grand total for attendance for the two weeks was a record breaking 858,611 fair-goers. (For anyone who's interested, they have information about attendance going back to 1986 here)

While this may shock some of you (namely my husband who honestly can't find a single good reason to go other than his wife would disown him if he didn't), but let me assure you, there are good times aplenty to be had. Between the deep fried milky-ways and the opportunity to milk a cow, courtesy of the NCSU Animal Science Program, there is so much to do; it can't be done in a single visit. Here is a guide to help you optimize your fair going experience:

1. Plan ahead: Don't wait until the day of to buy your admission tickets and ride booklets. If you buy in advance you will save two dollars on admission and eight dollars on ride books.
2. Go during non-peak hours: Unless you love crowds (and the ridiculously high percentage of amputees in said crowd), try to go during the day, or on a Monday or Tuesday. Check out the previous attendance link to give you an idea about the best time to go.
3. Have a loose idea of what you want to see: I'm not saying that you need to have your timetable all sorted out in advance, but you should try to figure out what is first priority on your to-see/to-do list and make sure you see those things first. Then, everything else is just gravy. It's amazing how much time it takes just to walk back and forth from places and to avoid disappointment, do the most important things first. If that means eating a deep fried twinkie first, then go forth and conquer.
   
4. Give yourself a good amount of time to be there: Like I said before, walking around takes a lot of time and if your list of things you want to do looks anything like mine, you'll probably need to spend a good portion of the day at the fair. Plus, if you like to ride the rides, you'll be spending a lot of time in line, so bring a sudoku or something. Also, parking is a nightmare. Allow 45- 60 mintues to deal with parking and the accompanying traffic around the fairgrounds.
5. Go with a group: Going with a group can increase the potential for having a good time. Granted, sitting alone in a bucket on the ferris wheel with your honey is sweet, but sharing the 20 minute wait in the line with a bunch of your friends will make it even sweeter.
6. Be sure to people watch: Honestly, this is my favorite part of the state fair. People come from all over to be at the fair and it's interesting to see what North Carolina has to offer.

Ok, so I think that about wraps up general fair pointers. This year, the fair is being held October 16th through the 26th. It looks like it's going to be a great year.

Our Cat is Ginormous

I knew that our cat was not a small kitty. Even when we first got him, he was a pretty big cat... But lately hi has been putting on some weight. I think it's because he's moving out of adolescence and firmly into adulthood. We've put him on some weight control formula, but it seems to have no effect. We've tried feeding him less food, but it hasn't worked. Any way, it has gotten far out of hand. Hopefully, making him go outside will be good for him...

We've moved!!

We've moved into our new house, finally! We have most of our things in the house and are in the process of unpacking and putting away. I'm glad that we are finally here, although it doesn't feel like home just yet. I would have a bunch of pictures of everything, but we can't find the camera yet. I know it's in a box here, I just don't know which box!! As soon as I find it, I'll snap a couple of pictures of the new paint in a few rooms and how we've got furniture. :)

In addition to having to remember to go to our house when we go home (we've both forgotten a few times and started heading toward our old apartment), we're both going to ditch our cars in support of public transportation! I will be taking a combination of the city's bus system and my bike. Matt will be doing both or just the bike. He hasn't quite decided yet. We're hoping we save some money that would've gone towards gas. I rode the bus today for the first time and it was surprisingly pleasant. I've heard some horror stories about the CAT system, but I had my headphones in and it was great. Eventually I am going to ride my bike all the way to school, but I think I'll have to work up to that one.

Truman has had a really hard time adjusting to his new surroundings. This is him hiding while the movers came and took our furniture away. He just buried his head completely and sat there the whole time. Poor kitty! We've moved a couple of times before and generally he needs about half a day to a day to adjust and realize that he's just in a new place. This time, it's been a couple of days adjustment. He seems to be ok for now, but he's still pretty jumpy (not that he wasn't already jumpy). There were two other cats (possibly more) that lived here before and I think he smells them and is waiting for them to jump out and attack him. We're also hoping to transition him to an inside/outside cat (and in the process hopefully eliminating the litter box!! Yay!). I think I'm going to wait to start that journey, though.

The video

Here is the video of our house right after we closed. :) Enjoy!



EDIT: Updated to fix the link. The video should work now. Sorry for the trouble.

We are official

** So, I wrote this post on Tuesday and tried attaching the video but I think it was too big. I'm going to try to figure it out. But just in case you were wondering, everything with the closing went very smoothly and we've been hemorrhaging money ever since.... It's not been a good feeling.**


As of 3:00 pm eastern standard time yesterday, Matthew and I became homeowners. Yes, we closed on our house yesterday. It was really weird. They gave a us a huge check. I mean, like house huge, and then we signed it over and signed our lives away. But, on the brighter side, no more neighbor's 70 lb dog running laps back and forth on our ceiling everyday, no more having to stop playing the piano at 9 or feeling bad about cranking the volume on our movies. :) We are so excited that we went our yesterday and bought some paint samples and a rug. :) Hurray! Here's the video of my walk-through. Enjoy!

Tag!!

I have been tagged. I'm not sure what that means really other than I have to confess 6 random things about myself. So, here it goes.

1. I have my Canadian passport. It expires next year, but I have it nonetheless. Because my parents are both Canadian, I am a dual citizen.
2. I secretly have always wanted to be an actress. I think I've always had a flair for the dramatic and I used to practice making myself cry.
3. There are very few things I truly hate in this world, but I really, really HATE cold weather without the consolation of snow.
4. I still get scared when there's a really nasty thunderstorm outside. I know that it's dumb and childish, but I just can't get over it.
5. My parents don't have any baby pictures of me. They have tons and tons of my sister and tons of my brother, but none of me. How fair is that?
6. My dream car is a 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe. Oh.... it is a thing of beauty.

Da Beach!

So this weekend, I went with my brother-in-law's family to the beach. They are moving to Colorado later this week and had one last hurrah on the east coast. We left Friday morning and drove to Virginia Beach. We spent a few hours playing at the beach and then headed back to our hotel in Newport News. The next day we spent all day at the beach. I don't know how many people realize how much I love the beach, but I truly adore the beach. I don't know what it is about it, but it cleanses the soul and rejuvenates the spirit. I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but it's true. The kids had a blast and Lori (My sister-in-law who gets really bad headaches when she spends too much time in the heat) actually had a pretty good time. We went to church on Sunday with a friend of Lori's who used to live in Raleigh and then spent the rest of the day at her house with her and her kids. Susan's (Lori's friend) husband is in the Navy and is currently deployed somewhere in the Atlantic (or so we assume). On Monday, we went to Water Country USA. We were only there for a little while because Lori got a really bad headache. Needless to say that Savannah was not happy. She pouted the entire way home. Any way, I am back safe a sound and I'm going to try to port more often I promise. :)

Lab Activities Chair

I am a self-nominated activities chair for our lab group. Today was our first outing. We went to a pottery painting place in north Raleigh. It was a lot of fun! The group included Me, Ruth (our lab coordinator of sorts), her son Brent, Caroline and Sara. I made a sushi plate to match my new kitchen. Normally, when I try these sorts of painting projects, they don't turn out very well. I was very happy with how it turned out.


Our next outing is karaoke. That will be interesting...

In other related news, our house has both radon and termites. Joy. So, we're treating the termites and mitigating the radon. I'm a little disappointed that there seems to be so much wrong with this house. But, at least we have plenty of time to get things fixed before we close. I'm so grateful for our real estate agent who has been on the ball since the start. He knows his stuff and has been very forth coming with everything. I would recommend him to anyone! If anyone is in the market for a real estate agent, let me know!!

How the time flies

I spent the majority of my time today in rehearsal. I'm playing in an alumni concert tomorrow for the Triangle Youth Philharmonic. It's at Koka Booth Amphitheater at 3pm. The repertoire is fairly decent and despite many of us not having played in a while, we sound pretty good. I think that has a lot to do with the many other people who majored in music and have been playing furiously since high school. It should be a good show and the weather will be nice, so you should all come (if you can).

While we were eating the lunch provided for us, they had a slide show of TYP over the years and the many things it has done. It made me think of all the things I did in high school and how it seems an entire lifetime away from now. I know that it was only four years ago that I graduated, but it seems longer. It got me thinking about all the things that have happened to me since high school as well. Here's a run down of the major life events that occurred since high school:

• Graduated
• Went to college
• Got engaged
• Dropped out of school
• Got married
• Went back to school
• Transferred to NCSU
• Started working in a lab on campus
  
• Bought a house

I can't hardly believe it. Looking over the list, I noticed a lot of it is school. It seems that I am forever doomed to be student. Did I tell you I've decided that I want to teach on the university level and do research? I know that deep down, I've always loved school. I didn't always like the hard work associated with with, but I've always enjoyed learning. I'm such a nerd... and proud of it!

So this summer, I'm performing a research project with another undergrad student. We going to be looking at the possible anti-inflammatory effects of purple sweet potatoes.

Cool, huh? It has a lot to do with the anthocyanins that are present in this violet variant. They act as antioxidants, protecting you from free radicals. Any way, it looks like I'll be having a lot of fun playing with my food this summer.

The Fridge is here!!

Our fridge was delivered today! Here are some pictures I took!

Isn't it beautiful? It's a bottom mount fridge!!

It's got a bottom deli drawer and a soda can rack. It's so cool!

It's also got a filtered water dispenser on the inside wall of the fridge. It's kind of weird but I kind of like it. It beats having it on the outside of the fridge. :)

It also has an ice dispenser. *sigh* I'm a happy camper.

Memorial Day

Matt and I went to the beach with some friends for Memorial Day. I'm proud to say that I only got a little crispy. Normally I get burnt on my shoulders and back, but I was really good about reapplying there. I was so good about remembering my shoulders and back that I forgot about my forearms and the back of my lower legs. :) It wasn't too bad though. Matt got a little crispy on his feet... go figure.

Matt and I rented a beach house with Blayke, Eduardo, Scarlett, Nate, Jenny, Josh and Michelle on Ocean Isle. Our house was on a canal a little ways back from the beach which was really cool. We had our own little dock and there were lots of little fishies that loved to eat the bait off my hook. The house was nice, except that there were only two bathrooms. While no one else thought this was a hardship, it seemed that every time I had to use the bathroom, everyone else did, so there was quite a bit of waiting done on my part doing the antsy dance. We were really close to the beach and the weather was relatively mild the whole time. We had a really good time.

On Monday, we bought a refrigerator. We went into Lowes while waiting for a movie to start and we found the perfect fridge. The space we have for the fridge is on the small side and it was really hard to find the fridge that we wanted in the size we had to fill. But there it was. It is a thing of beauty. The only catch is that they were clearing out that model for the new ones and we had to take it right away. So, it's going to sit in the corner of out apartment until we move. :)


Speaking of our move, Matt and I are going to paint our house. Any ideas about the colors? Leave your inspirations in the comments.