20110131

Maneaters & Monsters

The mixdisc swap is officially underway! Woot woot!

Get mixing and make sure to have your mixes in the mail by Feb 14!

Unfortunately, we ended up with an odd number of swappers, so I am the odd woman out. I decided to pair myself with you, dear blogosphere. Here's my mix! Enjoy!


Track List:
Maneater by The Bird and The Bee
You Wreck Me by Tom Petty
These Boots Are Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra
Girl is On My Mind by The Black Keys
Stiletto by Billy Joel
Fakin' It by Simon & Garfunkel
Still Ain't Over You by Rob Thomas
'Round Midnight by Thelonious Monk
So What by Miles Davis
Mister Magic by Grover Washington, Jr.
Lover Man by Cannonball Adderley
The Man Who Loves Women by Tom Petty & The Heart Breakers
Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line by Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Minnie the Moocher by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Monster by Lady GaGa

Happy Sunday... er Monday!

20110130

My Life is Fantastic. Exhibit E.

Go ahead. Click on the image. And salivate.

I had a lovely evening at home tonight. I listened to Cannonball Adderley (loving the Bossa Novas!), took a long bath, drank half a bottle of White Zin, cleaned and reorganized my kitchen to have more counter space, and oven roasted baby heirloom tomatoes. All while it was raining outside and I was chatting with my dear San Diego Caitlin.

My life is fantastic.

Tomorrow brings statistics, reading, thesising, and brown rice penne with oven roasted tomatoes and goat cheese.

Love.

20110128

Who nose?

Nose!
Since my move to California, I've been thinking about getting my nose pierced.

This is how my thought process has gone...

I want to get my nose pierced.
I should read up on nose piercings.
I read up.
I watch a video of a nose piercing on YouTube.
I decide to not get my nose pierced.

But after hearing from a handful of wise people about how my nose is fantastic, how I should totally go for it, and after reading up on it a bit more, I decided to get stabbed in the face.

Tahoe Caitlin provided emotional support through the process. I do have an unusually high tolerance of needles and pain (per the 'betes), so it wasn't bad at all. Just a few seconds of ouch. It was a little awkward to have someone clean my nose out with a Q-Tip, and a little different to have a needle so close to my eye, but hey...

So, maintenance goes like this: I clean it and soak my nose in salt water twice a day. Soak my nose! I went for a surgical steel stud but eventually will replace it with something like one of these beauties!

Happy Thursday!

20110126

My Life is Fantastic. Exhibit D.

A small glimpse into the glamorous lifestyle of a grad student.
I could read about menarche all day!
I know that fact because I read about menarche all day!
Week Four of the quarter, fools. That means next week is midterm.
And that means my nights of getting adequate sleep are numbered.
I'm secretly terrified to think about how this quarter is going to go down.
And my life is fantastic because you know what that is, Blogosphere?
That... that is high pulp orange juice. Mmm...

20110123

20110122

Mixdisc Swap II

Last September, Kayla organized The Exciting Mixdisc Swap! 
Methinks it's time for a second installment!

(Rules and regulations from Kayla!)

So here's how it's going to go: 

Q: What the frig is a mixdisc?
A: Like a mixtape, but in CD format. 

The Rules:
  • Your mix must be of a decent length.  I won't give you an exact number, but keep it somewhere around 12-15 tracks long.
  • You may choose any genre or mix of genres you like.
  • You may include no more than 2 songs of the same artist.
  • You must follow the theme.  However, how you interpret the theme is entirely up to you.  It may be literal, abstracted, or you could even make your mix an antonym of the theme.  Woah!
  • Your mix must be titled.  Write it on the cd.  You can make it cute if you want, but you don't have to.  I would encourage you to have fun with the title though.
  • You must include a playlist with your cd.  We don't want to make our partners play the guessing game (or the Google the lyrics game.)  You don't have to include cover art, fancy or not, but...why wouldn't you want to?
  • You have exactly two weeks from the official beginning of the swap (see below) to finish and send off your mix.  
Alright, so them's the guidelines.  Now to how this will work.

The comments section of this post will be the official sign-up sheet.  Comment with your name to show your interest.  And, you know, be excited about it.  I'm thinking multiple exclamation points.  !!  You have until Sunday, January 30 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time to sign up.

That means Monday, January 31 is the official start time of the swap and Monday, February 14 is the deadline!

Once you've signed up, e-mail me your name and mailing address at dearblogosphere@gmail.com.  I'll randomly pair us all up and then send your info to your partner (and vice versa.) 

The theme for this swap is: Maneaters & Monsters

Any questions?  Things I forgot?  Let me know.  Otherwise, get signed up and start mixing.

Merde,
Natalie

20110119

My Little Cow School

wants me.
Snagged from here.
Got word today that I have been accepted to the PhD program here!

YAY!

I am so happy and so excited! I had to hold myself back from screaming into the phone when I got the call. I then proceeded to spastically jump around my apartment whilst calling my mom.

I'm a happy Aggie. (Can you tell how hard it is for me to not fill this post up with exclamation points?!)

I was so nervous I wouldn't get in. The nightmares I've had, Dear Blogosphere, the nightmares!

HAPPY Wednesday!

P.S. Still waiting for the word from three other programs so I'm not 100% certain I'll stay here. But... well... :-)

20110118

Te Amo

Because anything looks classy in my wine glasses.
I went grocery, etc, shopping yesterday evening and gave into my love of conversation hearts. I had three options: en Español, BIG hearts, and sparkly, tart ones. I'm not a fan of the large ones, and the idea of my candy being sparkly freaks me out a tad, so Spanish it was!

One of my most memorable dates involved an entire "conversation" in conversation hearts. We went to a movie and passed them to and fro, the conversation getting hotter and heavier, until he dared to pass me the "Kiss Me" conversation heart.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww!

Hahaha.

Happy Tuesday!

20110116

Happy Accidents

I finished my first "roll" of Instax Mini film after a nice photography walk downtown this afternoon. Lots of great pictures, lots of happy accidents! I'm really enjoying instant photography and how little control I have over the process. And it's so much more than just snapping a picture. One must be somewhat thoughtful and careful, as each photograph costs about $1. Then, after you've taken the picture, you watch the lines, colors, and patterns slowly appear. It's rather magical and you can't help but reflect as you watch each image appear. Then laugh at the blurriness and effect of the flash, or marvel at "how well that one turned out!" Yeah, I think I am in love.











20110114

My Life is Fantastic: Exhibit C.

Just a scosh granola.
I had lunch on the quad today in shorts and a cardigan. About 64*F and sunny. It feels like spring! People were napping in the sun and I had the pleasure of watching a very handsome fellow sunbathe and do push ups. Once again, I sing California's praises.

Happy Friday!

20110111

20110110

Pushing Daisies


Ahhhhhhh, I love this show. So fantastical and tragic and terribly romantic. Oh, and charming.

Only three more episodes left. Then I think I'll move on to Dead Like Me. I also want to watch Six Feet Under but I'm not sure I'm ready to see Michael C. Hall in a different light...

There seems to be a common thread in my favorite shows. Just a little macabre.

I'm taking a break to finish the second half of this episode, blog, and research recipes. I'm thinking about making the following at some point this quarter:


I'm particularly excited to start quiche-ing it up. Oh! I'm also looking for a good risotto recipe... so if you have one, please pass it along!

Happy Monday!

20110108

My Life is Fantastic. Exhibit B.

What is the point of this story?
What information pertains?
The thought that life could be better
is woven indelibly
into our hearts and our brains.

Another wonderful day. Let's just say any day that ends with me lounging, sipping on a blue bombsicle, chatting with my San Diego Caitlin, and dipping TJ's tortilla chips in homemade mango salsa is a fantastic day.

Don't believe me? Check these photographs out!

YUM! Megan's Dad's Mango Salsa
Tahoe Caitlin and I made that delicious salsa as well as tasty tilapia tacos (the triple 't's) and tried a new cocktail -- the bombsicle. It was... is delicious. UV Blue, raspberry flavored vodka, and lemonade. Basically, it's Louie-Bloo Raspberry with benefits. Lots of benefits that lead to Tahoe Caitlin and me showing off our sweet dance moves to Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Band on my new shag carpet. My new shag carpet...

It's like Astroturf! And that bright blue drink? Bomb-tastic. 
Tahoe Caitlin and I christened the carpet with a picnic. SWANKY. So swanky. Also, we checked out my books and albums... which is always fun. Flipped through my copy of Lawrence V's book (brilliant, totally brilliant) and listened to Paul Simon. My heart is warmed by the fact that I have friends who will listen to The Simon with me (hence the lyrics at the beginning of this post).

Blogging in style. Thanks for the tip, Kayla!
Tomorrow is going to be pretty low key (except for the sure to be amazing party!). It's weird that I'm sort of looking forward to a day of work. Well, and leftover mango salsa. :-) I have purpose! I also have textbooks to buy. Happy Friday! Or... Saturday morning!

20110107

My Life is Fantastic. Exhibit A.

So today was absolutely wonderful for so many reasons. I got up bright and early, working in bed, then went off to a lab meeting that was fun (the first week of the quarter is always good, it's hopeful), then to lunch with my amazing peer mentee, Maricela. We talked pregnancy, labor, babies and academia whilst eating salmon with roasted veg and a crazy good browned butter sauce with walnuts and capers. Oh, my.

I arrived home to find my zipcard in my mailbox. Ye haw! After chatting with a friend for a while, I decided to rent a car for the day.

A Caitlin Mobile! AKA Scion xB (the car with the underbite).
And I found this out...

My phone can lock, unlock, and honk the car. Weird!
Anyway, all of this car renting was for one purpose.

Tiffany Bow Box.
Containing this...

Twist.
It's very intricate and feminine, but simple and classic, of course. So, naturally, I'm in love.

I also went to Target to pick up a birthday present from my mom -- a mini food processor. I'm making salsas! It's going to be my new hobby. Megan (if you read this), I'm making your dad's mango salsa as soon as... tomorrow. Yeah, I am so in the mood.

Happy Thursday!

20110104

Another Sunny Day


Another sunny day, I met you up in the garden
You were digging plants, I dug you, beg your pardon
I took a photograph of you in the herbaceous border
It broke the heart of men and flowers and girls and trees

Another rainy day, we're trapped inside with a train set
Chocolate on the boil, steamy windows when we met
You've got the attic window looking out on the cathedral
And on a Sunday evening bells ring out in the dusk

Another day in June, we'll pick eleven for football
We're playing for our lives the referee gives us fuck all
I saw you in the corner of my eye on the sidelines
Your dark mascara bids me to historical deeds

Now everybody's gone you picked me up for a long drive
We take the tourist route the nights are light until midnight
We took the evening ferry over to the peninsula
We found the avenue of trees went up to the hill
That crazy avenue of trees, I'm living there still

There's something in my eye a little midge so beguiling
Sacrificed his life to bring us both eye to eye
I heard the Eskimos remove obstructions with tongues, dear
You missed my eye, I wonder why, I didn't complain
You missed my eye, I wonder why, please do it again

The loving is a mess what happened to all of the feeling?
I thought it was for real; babies, rings and fools kneeling
And words of pledging trust and lifetimes stretching forever
So what went wrong? It was a lie, it crumbled apart
Ghost figures of past, present, future haunting the heart.

So warm, so sad. And a pretty cool unofficial music video, eh?

20110103

Winter Quarter

Well, I am about to head off to campus for the first time in 2011. Woot woot.

This quarter is sure to be crazy! I'm taking an advanced stats course on multilevel models, human development in an evolutionary perspective, and, of course, independent research. I'm going to be a study coordinator, a teaching assistant, and I will have made a sweet poster to present in Montreal by the end. I'll have a decent draft of my thesis finished and I'll also have my thesis committee formed. Last quarter, I lost just a little over 10 lbs so I hope to lose another 10-15 this quarter! AND... I may find out if I'm going to be working on a PhD and, if so, where that's going to go down. Eek!

I've started a journal. Hopefully it will end better than my last one, which got cut up, turned into modern art, and promptly disposed of. Ha ha. Anyway, It's a photographic journal. I have my nifty instant camera, which I'm excited to experiment with, and I basically take a shot and write about it. So far, I have three entries. I'm going to be pretty lax about it, only shoot and write when I feel like it, but I'm hoping to have something at least once-a-week.

Also, I joined zipcar, so I'm excited to explore a little here and there via automobile. I haven't really seen much of Sacramento or other towns nearby. There shall be photographic evidence of my adventures, friends!

Well, those are my quarter plans. We'll see how many of them come to fruition! :-)

20110102

Welcome to 2011

Happy New Year!

I'm back in the land of palm trees, bicycles, and rain! No more of this:

Crazy blizzard whilst driving
I've done four loads of laundry (seriously, new year's resolution! do not procrastinate on laundry) and cleaned my apartment. Last night began my main resolution to adopt a normal sleeping schedule! Midnight to 7 or 8 AM. How glorious does that sound?

Anyway, my sister asked how my apartment was looking and I have to say, never better! I spent most of yesterday cleaning/vacuuming/laundering/scrubbing/etc. Pictures as proof (and because I love sharing life in 390 sq ft)!

Thanks, Ali, for the rabbits to hold my rings! And, thanks mom, for the "compact" and earrings!
I love my wine rack.
My kitchen with my new mugs (thanks, Em and TJ!) and groovy laptop sleeve. 
My kitschy kitchen feels so tiny after two weeks of cooking in my mom's.
Garage (haha) and living and dining rooms.
Back to work then off to Trader Joe's, suckers! :-)