Reverb 10: 5 Minutes

December 15 5 Minutes

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

Well, first of all, I'm ditching the time constraint. I checked to see what the prompt was for yesterday and I've been thinking about it for about a day, and I'm not going to take only five minutes to write. So there.

I want to remember:

• The times I was shown extra appreciation at work. This past year, with our new instruments, our lab has exponentially increased the number of chemical tests we do. It's amazing. We're working hard to keep that going and pull more business in, so it's nice to receive a Thank You.
• The times I felt amazing at the gym. I'm going to go more this next year (I totally slacked off in December...but planning on picking it up again after Christmas) and I kinda want to try actually running. I actually ran track when I was in school, and I kinda sucked at it, but I do remember enjoying it so much that it didn't matter. We'll see if my knees can actually handle it...
• That one time Kwiddens had a baby. AMAZING. It's a life-changing experience, and I got to go through it without the pesky pain.
• Holding said baby in the few days after she was born. SO SNUGGLY.
• The feelings of satisfaction every time Scott and I finished a project on the house.
• My visit with Li. We did a ton of fun things and I always love when she stays with us.
• Sunday mornings. We always sleep in, and then when we wake up we get Buster up on our bed and play and snuggle with him and just lay in bed, all lazy and warm, and talk all about everything.
• Time with my family. Holidays, birthdays, just-hanging-out-days, etc. It's the best.

And that's probably not everything. If I tried I could probably think of more but I'm too lazy right now.

Antibiotics Are Useless

So I joined a gym, right?

Right.

I was going all the time and feeling awesome for about two weeks. Then, everything just kinda...well, stopped.

First, Li came to visit. I did go to the gym (and brought her with me) on a Saturday morning, but the other several days I just wanted to hang with my best friend and get some well-needed rest.

As soon as she was gone I was planning on going back. Unfortunately, I got sick. I had some kind of cold or maybe a mild flu. I was tired and dizzy and stuffy and generally miserable, so exercising was just out of the question.

After I got better I started going back, until my ankle exploded. Fun times. The doctor told me to stay off of it for two to three weeks, so I did two weeks (I was itching to get back onto that treadmill) and took it a bit easier for about a week.

THEN.

Maybe this is TMI, but THEN I developed a raging UTI. Have you ever had one of those? Did it make you want to walk on the treadmill? Or walk at all? Nope.

So I went back to the doctor and got antibiotics and went on my merry way. At this point, we had been spending a ton of time working on the kitchen, getting it ready for cabinets, so there just wasn't much time to go work out, even when my symptoms had subsided.

Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. Ugh. My symptoms came BACK, like BAM, so suddenly...awesome. So I went BACK to the doctor and they tested me again and apparently Macrobid does absolutely nothing (at least in me, I'm a medical mystery) and it had gotten worse, even though the symptoms had gone way for a while. The doctor prescribed a different antibiotic, in a larger dose for a longer duration, and I went on my merry way.

Cipro has a few warnings. One is to avoid eating dairy and taking the meds at the same time (which wasn't a problem, really) and the other is NOT TO EXERCISE. Especially if you have tendonitis in your Achilles tendon OH LOOK THAT'S ME. Because apparently Cipro makes it worse and you could actually end up badly damaging your tendons. Super. It's also been making me extremely nauseated and bloaty (TMI again, I know) so that doesn't make me want to exercise, anyway. I totally threw up at work. Gross.

I just took my last dose! Yay!

So tomorrow...it's back to the gym. And I'm going to get skinny if it kills me.

Thoughts on Pride And Prejudice

So while I was watching Pride And Prejudice (BBC version) with Li during my vacation, I just kept noticing things more and more that are just so very radically different than how things are today. It's so interesting how time can alter customs and etiquette so much.

1. I love how they're supposedly "poor", but they have a maid (and/or a cook; I don't know if Hill functions as both). I know compared to other Gentlemen Mr. Bennet has little money, but obviously there are a lot of people WAY worse off than they are. I remember when my family was poor, and that meant no food sometimes. BIG difference.

2. I know that Mrs. Bennet is very obviously lacking in social graces, but even the very worst sorts of people don't talk about someone else's salary, especially loudly, in the middle of a party, while making it seem as if she wants her daughters to marry for money. Oh wait, she does. The only people who know how much money I make are me, Scott, Mim, Kwiddens, and my boss. Oh, and the woman who does payroll.

3. Etiquette played a much larger part in society then, so how is it all right for the rich to snub the poor (if they can be called "poor") when nowadays people would think you a tremendous ass for doing the same? So and so lives in Cheapside! Who cares?

4. When Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and she cites his previous "bad behavior", wouldn't it have been simpler for Mr. Darcy to, right then and there, say "Oh, Miss Bennet, you are quite mistaken! Here is the real story..." But then I suppose there wouldn't be occasion for the lovely letter he then writes to her, or for the rest of the novel. I think this sort of thing often, and I have to remind myself that if things went the way that seems logical to me, the movie/book/show/whatever would be far less interesting and quite a bit shorter.

5. Mr. Wickham "must have something to live on". Um, whatever happened to getting a job? If you need more money, go find work. A lot of people back then seemed to think they were entitled to a living without any effort on their part.

6. A seeming contradiction: the five Miss Bennets are not allowed to own property, so Longbourne estate is entailed upon Mr. Collins, but Miss Darcy has a fortune of 30,000 pounds (or something like that). So how is owning property and owning a large sum of money any different? I'm not really a  feminist, but that just doesn't seem to make sense.

7. Pedophilia! Colonel Forster must be something like 40 years old, and his new bride is 14ish. Gross. Think of the difference in maturity, especially considering Mrs. Forster's closest friend is Lydia, who is only 15 and more than a little silly for her age! Also, what happens when her husband dies eventually and she still has years and years left to live? Apparently, she's not allowed to own property, so how will she live?

8. Mary Bennet and Mr. Collins would be a perfect couple, don't you think (once you got past the cousins marrying thing...)? Mr. Collins, however, seems to feel like he deserves someone more beautiful because, oh look, he's a pompous jerk.

9. Mrs. Bennet is the most obnoxious human being every to grace the earth, either in fiction or real life. When things aren't going her way, her poor nerves! And when things are going her way, will she please just shut up already?! No wonder most of her progeny are ridiculous.

10. I'm in love with Colin Firth. Also, the guy who plays Mr. Bingley, although quite amiable, is not attractive at all. He has bug eyes.

The end.

I think I read into things too much. I do, however, and always will, enjoy watching this movie.

Check Out All The Pix!

I finally got off my butt and transferred a ton of pictures to baby pink lappie, so HERE WE GO!

A few weeks ago Scott and I finally got around to buying a new bed. RC Willey was having an amazing sale, with a couple hundred dollars off plus a free headboard, a free sheet set, free pillows, and a free little HDTV:

Scott's been using it as a computer monitor (surprise, surprise). It actually died on him the other day, but when he brought it back in to the store they were happy to replace it so no harm done.

 So here's our beautiful, soft, comfy, BIG, king-sized bed:

Buster has been getting really good at holding treats on his nose until we say "ok".

The gorgeous Em has gone platinum blonde! She looks amazing:

She and I have similar coloring, so that makes me wonder if I would look good blonde...hmmm...

When we went to Maddox with Li I took a picture of the rolls, because YUM:

I bought a new purse, and it totally makes me think of Indiana Jones. I love it and it smells so good:

I took a picture of the swelling on my ankle last week:

Fortunately, it's getting much, much better. I think I might be back in the gym by tomorrow!

When Scott gets sad (say, when we spend $4600...) he hugs Buster, even though Buster doesn't like being hugged:

We found a new mask for Scott to wear under his cloak when he passes out candy this Halloween:

Of course, we had to put it on Buster, who was not amused:

And that's it!

Vacationy Things

So these past few weeks have been quite busy! On Wednesday the 8th I picked Li up at the airport. I left for work the next morning and didn't see her before I left. She and Scott hung out all day on Thursday (Scott was able to get more days off than I did) and when I got home we talked and made dinner and watched videos on YouTube. It was just really relaxing and fun. Friday she was picked up by a friend, and she spent the next several days with friends in Provo, and then with her sister in Plymouth.

The following Friday, the 17th, I had taken the day off work so I got up in the morning, went to the gym (and got a great workout in!) and then went to pick Li up in Plymouth. Scott suggested we go to Maddox for lunch, so he came along with me. Lunch was SO TASTY. We almost never go there, since it's such a long drive, but it was on the way home from Li's sister's house. I had forgotten how good their rolls were! I ate WAY too much, but we only go there every couple of years so it's totally ok, right?

When we all got home from that Li and I hunkered down on the couch with munchies and watched movies for the rest of the night. Saturday morning I brought Li along with me to the gym, then we showered and headed down to Salt Lake for the State Fair. We went first thing in the morning, so there weren't too many people, and we didn't have to wait in line for anything until we were about to leave. It was pretty hot, but there were shady spots where we could sit down so it wasn't too bad. We had put on sunscreen, but both of us forgot our chests, so now I have this weird sunburn with my purse strap across it.

I was really excited about fair food. A fair is like the one chance I get all year to eat cotton candy and funnel cake (although we didn't end up getting either of those; we settled on fresh mini-donuts with sugar, a slushie, gyros (the best I've ever had, I think), and fudge). We rode rides, too, which was very fun! I forgot how much fun it is to act like a kid. I also forgot how nauseating some of those rides were...my stomach could handle more than Li's, though, so when Li wanted a rest I would go ride one she didn't want to ride (she doesn't like up and down ones where she feels like she's falling). After we had been there about four hours I was definitely done. I was tired, hot, sick, and thirsty. We headed on home and got frozen custard from Nielsen's on the way, and when we got home it was JAMMIE TIME! and we sacked out on the couch for the rest of the night, watching more movies and some Bones.

Sunday morning Li wanted to go to church, and I didn't want her to have to go alone, so I went along. We went to the building that's only a few blocks from us. Since I'm a heathen, I had no idea what time church was supposed to start, but everywhere I've lived there has been a meeting at 9:00, so I figured that was a safe assumption. Well, there was a meeting at 9:00, but it was a Tongan ward...oops. We figured we were already there, so we stayed. The service was half in English, half in Tongan, which, it turns out, is a very pretty, melodic sort of language. There was a translator, so we weren't totally in the dark, but it felt a little awkward all the same.

We came home, changed back into pajamas, and set up a LAN. For the rest of the day the three of us played Warcraft 3 (nerdy!), since it's sort of a tradition that we play every time Li visits.

Monday we slept in, then watched more Bones while we waited for it to be time for our SPA APPOINTMENTS, OH YES. We went to a spa I had never been to before, but will definitely visit again, because for only $65 we got our hands, feet, backs, arms, and faces massaged and exfoliated and steamed...we were soft like buttah. We smelled good, too! After that we went to Zupas for lunch, where we had the most awesome salads and sandwiches, and we even split a brownie, but it wasn't as tasty as it looked. When we got home we decided that we should watch Pride And Prejudice (the BBC version), so we started that, and we were only half watching it while we talked about boys and such. Around 7:00 the three of us decided we were hungry, so we went to Olive Garden for dinner, and then when we got home we finished our movie and then went to bed.

Tuesday morning I drove Li to the airport, after which I went to Nyah's three-month doctor appointment with Kwiddens and Isaac. Poor Nyah had to get shots, and she was NOT happy about it. We all went to lunch, and then at that point I was really starting to feel sick, so I headed home and napped.

So that was my mini-vacation with Li. It was really fun, and so nice to see her, and now the next time I see her will probably be next summer, when I'll fly out to Boston for a change.

Other, semi-related or un-related things:

Taking three days off work is apparently a really really bad idea, since I came back to utter chaos and a giant pile of samples. I'm not even close to caught up. It doesn't help that we had people cleaning in the lab today, so we didn't have use of the hood until around noon (usually I start working in there around 9:00...so you can see how far behind I was). I'm sure I'll get a lot more done tomorrow, and I'll probably be completely caught up.

I've been slowly getting sick over the past week or so. Whatever it was, it hit Scott and Jon much harder than it hit me, thank goodness. I think it's just a mild flu, but I really lucked out, since all I have is a very sore throat, a stuffy/runny nose, and body aches. I can deal with that and still go to work.

Buster desperately needs a bath, but I'm too lazy, so I'm thinking about just spending the $35 to have it professionally done.

I found a really good deal on a heart rate monitor watch. It has a calorie counter thing in it, too. I'm really excited to try it out, but I'm going to have to wait until I don't feel like I got hit by a bus to go back to the gym.

I finally got a new purse last week while Li and I were shopping. It's from New York and Company, and it was on clearance for only $10. I win. It looks like a slightly more fashionable Indiana Jones bag. It smells lovely. I love the smell of new leather.

I think now is a good time to go collapse into a hot bath, then drag myself to bed early. I hope I can beat this bug, and soon. I want my voice back.

Priorities?

So I was at the grocery store the other day and I was waiting so I was looking at the magazines and I noticed something that made me laugh out loud and people stared at me.

The store had covered up "Cosmopolitan":

But had left "Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition" uncovered:

I know Cosmo can be a bit risque, but at least it isn't bordering on porn.

People make no sense to me.

I'm still on vacation with my dearest friend Li, so this is all you get.

I Better Turn Into A Freaking Skeleton

I don't like exercising.

Actually, I love exercising. It's just, I hate exercising.

The thing is, once I get going, it may be difficult but it feels great and gives me energy and happy exercise chemicals for a few days. But getting going is often an obstacle that just doesn't get overcome.

There's always something. I can't run; my knees don't allow for it. Bad knees seem to run in my family. Em is probably going to have to have surgery on her knee again (this will be the fourth time). So, I do the next best thing (and some experts say it's just as good or better for weight loss): power walking. Walk as fast and hard as I can while keeping good form and steady breathing. It's actually a great workout.

I hate exercising outside because it's too hot, or too cold, or too humid, and there are allergens, and there are people watching. I don't like people watching me when I'm all sweaty and gross.

So, I bought a treadmill. I love using a treadmill because I can control my speed and add incline, making the workout much harder. I've used it off and on, but it's in my basement and I don't like my basement. Furthermore, Scott's computer, and now Jon's computer, are in the basement, which means I could only exercise when they're not there (which isn't that often) because I don't like people watching me.

I was complaining about this last Monday, because I really do want to be in shape, and Scott suggested I join a gym. I had briefly considered this before, but the idea never stuck. Gyms have huge enrollment fees and large monthly dues and there are people watching.

But I got online and looked up all the gyms in the area, and it turns out there is a ladies-only gym two blocks from my house. I never knew it was there, just sitting behind Target. I went over and asked for more info, and they gave me a tour and showed me all the classes they offer and went over pricing with me.

LUCKY ME!

They were having a sale. A big one! Usually they have an enrollment fee of $150 and then a monthly fee of $45 (when you sign up for a year). For a few days, until September 1, so until the day after I went there, the enrollment fee was waived and the monthly contract price would be $35. Happy!

So I signed up. This gym doesn't take checks or credit cards; they pull the money directly from your account every month. I was allowed to set the date, so I asked for it to come out on the 5th of every month, since that's the day Scott gets paid and that way there would always be money in there in the cataclysmic event that something happens and we have less that $35 in the account. Since that was only in a few days, they didn't think the paperwork would go through on time, so they decided to just give me a free month and not charge me until October. Happy!

I don't like signing contracts. I don't like being locked into something. I feel like I never know when something might happen and I might need that money, or I might not want something in a few months...worry, worry, worry. In this case, I decided that first of all, if I were actually paying a fee to belong to this gym I would be more likely to go use it (instead of letting it sit in my basement...) and secondly, this is my health I'm talking about, and if I want to make comparisons, I can just take a look at my $35: it's less than Scott spends a month on soda.

So I went almost every day last week! I went to a class called Boot Camp, and they call it Boot Camp for a reason; I was so sore the next day I didn't exercise at all. I went to a few X-Biking classes, which is like spinning but the handlebars on the bikes rock back and forth for an upper body workout as well. Those kicked my butt, but I really enjoyed them. I did cardio on the treadmills several times and got a free session with a personal trainer. She was really great; we went through my goals and did a few measurements and talked about the best ways for me to reach those goals. I also got an appointment with one of the employees to go through all the weight training machines and show me how to use them and help me decide how much weight, how many reps, etc. I did upper body on Tuesday and I will be learning lower body today after work.

I'm thinking that I'll probably go a little less over the next few weeks while Li is here, since I'll want to spend as much time with her as I can, but I have been feeling so great for the last week that I'm hooked.

It turns out it doesn't bother me when it's other women around me while I exercise, and I think it also helps that there are women there of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels, so I don't feel like a total failure when I have to take a break while everyone else keeps pedaling. The instructors are really great and helpful and I'm just really happy I made this decision.

I better get skinny.

Did and Will Do?

Ok, so everyone and their mom is doing a New Year's post, so I might as well jump on in. Four days late. Oops.

So, here are some highlights of this past year:

1 Year at my job

Bought a 1968 Mustang

Had carpal tunnel surgery

Bought A HOUSE

Got 2 new instruments at work

Read all the Harry Potters (again)

Knitted my first sweater

Kwiddens got married

Had to go to court

Drank WAY too much egg nog

Learned to knit socks

Learned to knit mittens

Had our first yard sale

Pierced my ear

Vacationed in Vegas

Got a new baby pink laptop

Got a concealed carry permit and bought a gun of my very own

Buster got a tragic haircut

Had Li over for a week

And here are some things I hope to accomplish or experience this coming year (these are not resolutions, mind you, just some ideas):

Get the rest of the way down to my ideal weight

Wear makeup to work more often (try to look like a girl for once)

Renovate the kitchen

Continue to build my movie/music/TV show collection (I'm thinking about buying Dexter...)

Put more money in savings

Pay off our car

Get a new cell phone

Spoil my new little (NIECE OR NEPHEW) that's coming out of Kwiddens in June (I know the sex but it's a secret for now) (I already started the baby blanket and it is going to be GORGEOUS and expensive...silk bamboo fiber, oh yes)

Keep knitting and crocheting and everything else I love to do

Build up my hand-knit sock arsenal

Get more sun

Work more on the Mustang (although Scott will be doing this more than I will)

There's more, I'm sure, I'm just having a little brain freeze and can't think of any more.

So Happy New Year to everyone. Hope this one's better than the last!

P.S. I wrote 2009 like ten times today in my lab book and kept having to correct it. Oops.

All of my Projects!

I apologize in advance...this post will be super long and has LOTS of pictures.

I thought it would be fun to go through all my crafting stuff everywhere in my house and see what unfinished projects I have lying around.

Here we go!

So several years ago I bought a book (the first of about 20) with patterns to crochet lace snowflakes. I thought I would make lots of them and give them to Mim as Christmas ornaments. I had such a blast making them (and she loved them, by the way) that I decided to make some for me! When I moved into my first apartment in college someone had left a Christmas tree in the closet, so I have a tree (crappy, but free!) and after I made enough snowflakes to cover it I started making other things, like garlands and icicles and angels and even a tree skirt. Here are just a few of the hundreds of ornaments and notions that have gone into this project:
And I still pull it all out now and then and make a thing or two before I put it away again. I have been toying with the thought of making more of this and starting an Etsy shop. Maybe I could make a few dollars doing something I love. Who knows?

And here's another one:
One of I think 5 squares I've made so far that I started a year ago to put together to make a centerpiece for Naomi as a thank you for helping us with money (we were so freaking poor the first year we were married...it was like, "Honey, don't spend any money, we only have ten dollars left!" SAD.) and I was chugging on, making a square every week and then something shiny flew by and my attention was pulled elsewhere...oops. Maybe I'll finish this someday. But I'm not in the mood now.

Here is a throw I am working on for Li:

I started this this past winter and the goal was to finish it before she left for Taiwan, but that wasn't going to happen because, you know, life happened instead, so the goal now is to finish it by the time she gets back from Taiwan, which should be...next September. SWEET, I have another year! (It's really almost done, I just need to get my rear in gear and make a few more squares and then put them all together and make a border, really only a week's worth of work...LAZY LAZY ME)

And then I was feeling REALLY ambitious and started making a bedspread to go with Mim's comforter set for her CALIFORNIA KING I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING I AM THAT INSANE:
Filet crochet with size ten crochet cotton. Yes. It's about eight inches wide so far. Yeah. I was tempted to frog it when I realized how HUGE this project was in REALITY (where I clearly wasn't), but Scott convinced me to hold on to it because, hey, you never know. There may come a day when someone will say, "Hey, I'll give you a zillion dollars if you'll make me a bedspread for a Cal King!" And then won't I be glad I already have eight inches done.

A peek inside the basket with the sock:
Notice it has been pulled off the needles again. I was online today at work (surprise, surprise) and found a method I haven't tried for making smoother joins in colorwork, so I may be able to make these stripey yet!

I just can't believe I still have this:
It's a counted cross stitch I started when I was ten or so. A 13-year-old UFO! Sad. I pulled it out the other day and actually worked on it and it was fun! I like the sentiment, "Families Are Forever", which is ironic since my family was forever ripped apart recently. Fun times.

I want to learn to tat. So far I have bought the stuff. Nothing since then.

Here is a counted cross stitch I ordered online. I intend to finish it eventually and give it to Scott's mom as a present for a birthday or Christmas or something, but with all the stuff I am up to (see the list??? It's growing!) it will be her birthday present in ten to fifteen years:

Here is another pair of socks I'm {not} working on:
The pattern I intend to use is Outside In. I think they will be super cute. Some day.

And of course, the finished back piece of the new blue sweater:
It's going to be so cool. I started the front the other day.

Here is the birthday present for Em that is now overdue:
Elbow length fingerless mittens with a striped underbelly! And the buttons have skulls on them. All I need to do at this point is tack the sides down and add the buttons and they will be done. The other weekend I had her try them on and they fit perfectly, thanks to the frogging and reknitting and frogging and reknitting...yeah.

Now, I bought more yarn, because I really needed more. Here are two mohair blends:
They have the prettiest halo of fuzz around them. The one on the right looks gray, but it's really a mixture of blacks, whites, and grays.

Beautiful soft sock yarn with some nylon in it for added durability:

And this stuff is way fun! I couldn't get a good picture because I pretty much suck at photography and also because I have a camera that I bought on sale at Wal-Mart (Still MAD at Wal-Mart). But it's a really fun spring green cotton with a colored viscose thread going through it that turns pink, purple, and orange. It sounds garish, but it's actually very festive, and I'm sure I will find some fun use for it eventually.

So, there you have it. I have too many things I am trying to do. I am so glad all this calms me down because anything else in this volume would stress me out and I would spend days hiding in my room on Klonapin.

I have to post a picture of Buster, it's the law:
Eating a bone he stole from Wayco (Allene's dog). Good boy, Buster (I don't like Wayco...)!

In other news, I found a "used" treadmill on KSL (I say "used" because it's only been used like two times and it's nearly new) and I went down Farmington to take a look at it, and it's perfect! And less that $200! It wouldn't fit in my car so we have a friend with a truck and he will help us pick it up tomorrow after work.

So back to getting in shape.

I actually had a lady tell me I was tiny today and it felt SO GOOD.

Long Time and Li Again

I got so bored with having nothing interesting going on that it didn't seem worth it to post. So, here I am.

Li is here again. She just spent a few days with me and right now she is with her sister, and in a few days I will go pick her up again to take her to the airport in the morning. We watched movies and played games and made cheesecake, and went shopping down in Provo where we got to have dinner with Wil and Cate and Bill.

I am on this diet where I give myself a hormonal injection every day and eat a 500 calorie diet off a very specific list of foods. You're supposed to lose a pound every day, and it actually works! I thought it was a gimmick, but nope. I've lost 15 pounds, and I'm going to keep going. AWESOME.

The first few days of the diet you're supposed to eat as much junk as you can, so I invited Mim up to have a junk food/movie day. We watched 10th Kingdom, and she LOVED it! It was so much fun to watch something so hokey.

I was able to take a few days off of work to hang out with Li, and it was really nice. I was a little nervous to leave my boss alone for a few days, but I guess everything went off without a hitch. Very cool.

That's about it...not much else to add.

Bye Li, Hello AA!

AA does not stand for Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact, it stands for Atomic Absorption. Here is my graphite furnace (Pb, As, and Cd):And here is my cold vapor (Hg):As you can see, they're both sooooo nice. We went through a very difficult time this week.

Mercury needed a new computer, since the air inside my AA room is so moist and full of acid and such...yeah, the computer corroded itself to death. So that was replaced...fun times. Mr. Graphite Furnace had a bad week, too. First, he wasn't getting enough power to his circuits, and his magnet failed. It turns out that the silly men working downstairs turned off my power while I wasn't looking. Apparently the switch is right next to the switch for their swamp cooler. Oops. Next, the computer decided that there just wasn't a furnace at all, nor an autosampler. So, the repair guy came out and fiddled and poked and prodded and came to the conclusion that he couldn't fix it unless he could get schematics and the service password. SURPRISE, Thermo wouldn't give it to him, so we had to have a Thermo technician come out, and of course, that costs a lot of money so the boss wasn't too happy. SO. The Thermo technician came and fiddled and poked and prodded, and said we needed a new part. THEN, all of a sudden, it worked! For no apparent reason! So we sent the technician home. The next day, the lead sequence ran just fine, but when it came time to play Arsenic, it died. Again. SO...the Thermo guy came back (His name is Freeman. I don't know if this is his first or last name.) and it turns out he had to recalibrate the alignment on the arsenic lamp, which he should have done the first day, so he only charged us for half an hour of work this time. While all this was going on, we had to get the samples tested somewhere, and the lab we normally contract out to was broken just like we were, so we had to find a place who could do it fast and that means lots of money. So, to sum up:

Travel expenses to have the Thermo guy come out:

3,300.00

7 hours of labor:

1,960.00

Getting 5 days of samples run at an outside lab with a rush priority:

12,000.00

Finally having my freaking instruments back:

PRICELESS.


Li is gone and I'm a little sad. We had so much fun. I took some pictures of animals at the zoo...we intended to go to Lagoon but it didn't end up happening because we forgot to check the schedule and when we remembered it was too late. Oops.

Li! Panda!

Work today was cool. Everything worked perfectly the first time, so I got done quite early. I came home and tidied up a bit because LI IS COMING! I'm so excited. I haven't seen her in over a year, so it will be nice to catch up and do all our fun things. We're going to hit Panda, since that's something we did together quite frequently during college.

So we went through our shed and some of our closets today and got rid of a lot of things. I feel less cluttered...so relaxing. I still have odds and ends around the house that I need to find places for, or put them where they're supposed to be.

Scott has been trying to sell some old games and paintball gear, and of course the Jetta, and people keep calling, saying they're interested and that they will come at x o'clock, and they never show up. This has happened like ten times. It's getting old. But what can you do? We have it on KSL, and we bought window paint so we can put a note on the window that it's for sale.

Yesterday we went to get groceries and when we came out to the car, the tire was flat! It had a big hole in it that looked like we had run over a nail. So, we went to the only tire place that was open (Wal-Mart) and spent a few hours wandering around while we waited for our car to be better. Our other front tire was close to bare, so we had that one replaced while we were at it. This car is turning out to be more expensive than we thought...one of the headlights is out and the dealer said it would be $400 to fix it...and we tried to get another mechanic to do it, but he said it was beyond him, so we HAVE to go to the dealer. Snakes, the lot of them.

I love my new phone!!!

So, when I turned eight years old, my mom bought me a ball of yarn, a crochet hook, and a little book about how to crochet. Here is a picture of the first thing I ever crocheted: Clearly, I've come a long way. Right now I am making a tablecloth/centerpiece for Naomi. Here is one of the pieces:And of course I'm making all my scarves for the homeless shelter (except this year I learned how to make hats!), and I think I might make myself another purse sometime. Here is a picture of the tree I crocheted onto the end of one of my scarves.I think I will go do logic puzzles for a little while. Then I will sleep. My favorite!