Starting Summer off Right!

Summer started with a Memorial Day visit from Geoff's family and mine.  It rained the whole weekend, but there was enough time to fit in a bit of sightseeing and lots of time for the families to get to know each other.

We also fed everyone lots of Tex-Mex before sending them home. The next weekend I headed to Lake Conroe with the girls to celebrate our 30th birthdays.

It was tight, but we got 5 women's worth of luggage into the car.  We shared a cabin on the lake and spent the nights in the hot tub and days playing Uno and catching up.

It's been almost three years since we have all been together.  On our last day, we kayaked in the morning then rented a pontoon boat to spend the afternoon floating around different parts of the lake.  It was a great, relaxing way to start the the summer and hopefully it will become an annual tradition.

30 x 30 Wrap-Up

Work Things
1. Find a Time Management System that Works
This is a constant struggle but the Pomodoro Technique, paired with a weekly priorities list, and a dry erase board listing the current status (urgent, backburner, waiting on a collaborator) and next step for each project are currently working for me pretty well.  I still constantly underestimate how much time everything will take me, but I'm getting better.

2. Five Publications 
I have only had two papers actually come out, one on paraoxonase in the Journal of Lipids  my dissertation work in Human Genetics but I have three more in press which will be out sometime in the next few months (hopefully) depending on the publishers' timelines.

3. Three Grant Applications
I've applied for more three applications and most importantly had one funded by Wenner-Gren.  I'll be ramping that research project up soon and I can't wait!  

4. Keep up with New Statistical Applications
This is a sisyphean task as there are always new methods coming out.  I did attend a great course taught at Cold Spring Harbor Lab in August which gave me all sorts of new references to work from.

5. Improve my R and Linux Programming

A friend of mine started an R programming group in San Antonio which has been great for learning new applications and meeting other nerds.

Fun Things
6. Go on a picnic
Not yet.  This whole fun things sectionis going to be ugly.  Evidently, I need to have more fun.

7. Go camping
Nope.

8. Go to a local festival
Turns out I don't like crowds.

9. Go to the beach
Yes!  In Malibu and Venice.

10. Go to a professional sporting event
Uh-uh. But I'm hoping for a San Antonio Silver Stars game this summer.

11. Participate in alumni association events
I cheered on the Jayhawks at a March Madness watch party.  Turns out the motivation I needed to finally get out of the house was getting rid of cable.

12. Use the library
I haven't actually checked out any books yet, but I've started looking forward to my commute thanks to their audiobooks.

13. Visit the zoo and botanical garden
Neither.

14. Watch classic movies

This one I've done a lot and, in agreement with every list ever, Casablanca was my favorite.

Crafty Things
15. Crochet a throw
Decided to be a bit less ambitious and crochet a pillow instead.  I'm really starting to get why people enjoy crocheting, though and may try a throw eventually.

16. Sew 6 garments for myself 
I did make two new items from scratch - my Easter dress and a mod pink pencil skirt I haven't posted yet - but I am even more excited to be upcycling new outfits from old clothes - teal pants and black cardigan with crepe ruffle, navy skirt and grey striped button down, and summer t-shirt dress (I'll be posting soon).  It's better for the environment AND my wallet.

17. Knit a sweater (Vignette Cardigan)
I knit one and I've cast on three others, because starting is the most fun part of a project!  

18. Knit a pair of socks
This was my first pair of socks with sock yarn and they are so decadent.  There is something really luxurious about hand knit socks.

19. Own no yarn that moved from PA
I'm counting those three cast-ons as using the yarn, so this is pretty much true.  All of my yarn now fits in the four wire baskets I have allocated for it, and I'm determined to keep it that way!

20. Put all photos in scrapbooks
Done, done, done!   

21. Learn to take better photographs
I really regret that I didn't put more time into this and I think I'll carry it over into the new year.  I do wish I took better photos, but I know it will take work.

22. Learn to draw
I started working on this and then realized that it really isn't that important to me right now.  

Yummy Things

23. Bake through Bread Baker’s Apprentice
I've learned to vary hydration levels (stiff dough for bagels and wet, sticky dough for focaccia), make lean pain de campagne and extremely rich casatiello, and leavened bread with direct fermentation (cranberry-walnut bread), instant yeast (stollen), and sourdough (pumpernickel).  My favorite development, though, is the sourdough pizza dough that has replaced my normal Friday dough.

24. Make brunch once a month
I love breakfast food.  This year we had apple-sour cream pancakes, Dutch baby, Southwestern omelet with extra crispy hash browns, waffles, spicy chicken biscuit sandwiches, peach and sausage kolaches, Moroccan merguez ragout with poached eggs, and migas.  

25. Try out six new canning recipes
Before summer rolls around, I'm using up my last stores of ginger pear butter, tomato jam, serrano jelly, ice-brined garlic dill pickles, peach butter, and - my favorite and already gone - chocolate balsamic strawberry jam.

26. Cook with a new ingredient each month
I tried out kala jeera, forbidden rice, pork belly, cocoa nibs, crab, caperberries, chia, and harissa, but I spotted three new fruits I'd never seen at the store today.

Strong Things
27. Run a half-marathon
I did it! I'm I ready to train for next year.

28. Compete in a 1 mile swim race
I missed the actual race (I was at my statistics course), but I've been swimming a mile most Sunday mornings.  

29. Complete two triathlons 
This year I completed the Spa Girl triathlon and Wurst Tri Ever.  Both had particularly fun swimming elements.  The Spa Girl was held at a resort and we swam the quarter-mile in the lazy river and the Wurst Tri Ever we road a water slide that dropped us into a spring-fed pond.

Last Thing
30. Purge things we don’t need from each room of the house
This has been so satisfying!  It is an ongoing project, and I think I may double back and purge more.

March in Instagram

Happy Easter! 

Everybody's working for the weekend.  Even pandas.

Sunnyside up eggs on colcannon cakes for St. Patrick's Day brunch.

Well, the madness is over now, but I celebrated an early win with the KU alumni association.  Wave the Wheat!

I've hated these pillows that came with our couch since we got them so I used some scrap yarn to crochet a new cover.  I love the texture, but napping on it leaves a particularly weird impression on your face.

Hank enjoyed the spring weather by lounging by the open windows.

The Alamo City R users group has been meeting at a really cool cooperative workspace downtown and I finally made it to a meeting.

Also, we got engaged! 

February in Instagram

Koi in the pond at the Japanese Tea Garden

Two of my favorite women in the whole world!

After two failed attempts to get a sourdough starter going in the summer (it got moldy), I spent a week getting it going and making pumpernickel.  It was good.  Not worth six months of effort. 

Magnets made from clear Christmas ornaments and sea glass from Rhode Island and Long Island.

Gave a talk on skin color and health at AAAS meeting - I love Boston!

A few extra days with friends and their adorable kids in Boston.

I finally got my library card so that I can spend my commutes listening to audiobooks instead of just hating my fellow drivers.  

Knitting and watching Jayhawk basketball are two of my favorite pastimes.

Hooray for friends visiting!!!

I own way too many spices and I don't even know how to use the more exotic ones.  I put some kala jeera and star anise in this Lagman Uzbek with chickpeas in place of lamb.

It's Ladies' Night!

Actually, it was ladies' weekend this past weekend thanks to a last minute cheap flight and the gorgeous and a need for South Texas margaritas. The weather has been in the upper 70s so we spent most of our weekend outside - farmer's market, Riverwalk, and of course Mexican food!

I've been wanting to try one of these BYOB painting classes and so I was really excited when Veronica suggested one.  Our class did "Starry Night over the Alamo" which was a bit of a challenge but lots of fun.

I'm really happy with how mine came out and now I have a bug to paint some more.  Now with my confidence up, maybe I can go it alone.

Sunday was particularly relaxing with brunch, a trip to the Japanese gardens, and DIY manicures before the Super Bowl!  I love these girls!

January in Instagram

 This month was so busy, I can't even believe that it started out in Kansas with snow and stomach flu.

Our friend Maria came to stay with us for a week.  She lived here for two years so we took her to all her old hang outs and showed her the new Riverwalk extension.

The day Maria left, Jason and Abby came to stay.  Abby was here because we organized a conference, but they stayed through the weekend to hang out.  We had lots of tacos and, of course, visited a mission (we did the Alamo last year).

These flowers were an unexpected thank you gift.

Hank loves to sit up in her cat town and look down on us.

For Christmas, I got the Smitten Kitchen cookbook and only made it to the first page before I decided I HAD to have the apple-sour cream pancakes.

I also got the Super Natural Everyday cookbook and made this rice salad featuring forbidden rice.  Somehow I thought it would be hard to get - turns out you can get it in the bulk bin for $4 a pound.

Scrabble Night!!!! (That's Geoff's game face)

 

Celebrated Kansas Day on the 29th with this gorgeous quilled necklace my mom made.

Finally got the last 7 years worth of photos (since I bought a digital camera) printed and in albums!

Whew!  Quite a month.

Wishing you a (Retroactively) Merry Christmas!

I hope those of you celebrating had a wonderful Christmas.  We were in Kansas with my family.  These are our stockings on Christmas morning - the stockings were made by my Grandma and mom and the quilted fireplace screen was just made by my mom this year. En route, we stopped in Oklahoma to catch up with my aunt and cousins.  We dropped off some homemade gingerbread play dough (made from Sugarbelle's recipe) for my cousins' sons.  It smells exactly as good as you imagine and comes together in no time.

We made it to Kansas ahead of the snow and did all sorts of wonderful Christmas things like playing Trivial Pursuit, making Rice Krispie treat ornaments, and having dinner on the Plaza with my mom's sister's family before we were all stricken with the stomach flu.

But let's back up, the Christmas season started off way back in November when we attended the annual lighting of all of the trees on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word.  Every tree on campus is outlined in multicolored lights that twinkle all season.  It's gorgeous.

When I was complaining of a lack of Christmas spirit, my friend Katy took me down to the Riverwalk where we sat outside and drank prickly pear margaritas.  Totally getting into the idea of a relatively warm Christmas!  The Riverwalk Christmas lights are fantastic, like a fairy land (and that's not just the tequila talking).

In the Christmas spirit, I began to plan a special treat for my mom.  She loves stollen, but my dad hates the fluorescent candied fruit that so often fills it.  Instead, I soaked dried apricots and cranberries in a combination of whiskey and cider for a week before taking the fruit to Kansas with us.  I baked up the stollen recipe from Bread Baker's Apprentice with a (too thick) layer of almond paste in the middle.  It was good fresh, but I liked it best toasted with butter and I found the more muted fruit to be festive (and less frightening).

Giving handmade gifts is one of my favorite aspects of Christmas and this year was no exception.  I was particularly busy at work these last few months so some got finished once I was already in Kansas, but they were no less welcome.  Here are few of my favorites:

For my mom, a pair of Cozy Toes socks knit from yarn she picked out while we were in Portland.  She knew they were coming but had no idea what they would look like.  (In fact, due to some facebook complaining about my lack of time, she thought they were coming unfinished.)

Mom also got a new cover for her sewing machine (which I made good use of in finishing up this and other presents) based on an applique from Ellison Lane Quilts.

For dad, I made a custom-etched casserole dish that no one will ever walk away with from a potluck. Etching glass is so easy and  can be done with etching cream that you can pick up at any craft store.  It elevates inexpensive glassware into a cherished gift and I think it would be a great way to personalize bakeware that might be on a wedding registry. I also made a casserole carrier to tote it around based on this Sew4Home pattern.  Somehow I neglected to take a picture of that part.

By far my favorite gift this year was this lovable guy.  He's based on Otto the Lovable Monster with some liberal modifications.  I made him for a very special two month old and wanted him to match the That's Not my Monster board book by Fiona Watt.  I love these touchy-feely books that all follow the same format ("That's no my monster, his ears are too scratchy") until the final page ("That's my monster, his ears are so fluffy.").  So I made his to match the final monster.  I think I did a pretty good job.  You may recognize this present idea from this dragon and the orangutan up in my header.  I'm sure it will come up again because there are about twenty more books I haven't made a knit version of yet!

The holidays - even, and maybe especially being sick - gave me time to slow down, appreciate being surrounded by people I love, and rejuvenate me for the excitement and business of 2013.  I hope you are looking forward to this new year too!