i had a holly jolly christmas.

it was, perhaps, the best time of the year! :)

I don't have a lot of time since tomorrow morning we're leaving for snowshoe, so all you get for now is a bunch of pictures!

a few fun factoids though...
~that santa? his beard is REAL.
~my coat is not actually that green.
~tonya and I had cute ribbon necklaces, do you see?
~matt totally violated the "limit" we set. and I'm quite sure I don't care. :)
~see those sock monkey pjs that match my sock monkey slippers? matt gave those to me on christmas eve, since I'm used to getting presents on chrismas eve. he is a cute one, he is, he is.
~the polar express is a most excellent movie. I always loved the book but I'd never seen the movie.
~love actually is good, too. :)

and? matt and I both agreed that this was probably the best christmas we've both had in a long long time. yay!

oh, and ps: I'm going to be in the KD magazine--which picture should I use? Matt took them--and the picture on the brick was HIS idea. I swear, he's a way better photographer than he gives himself credit for...

[sock] monkey. that funky monkey.

~beastie boys.

oooh oooh ooh I cannot wait to show y'all pictures. I'm a bit reluctant to try to load them on the computer here, but rest assured, you'll be seeing them.

my dear and fabulous friend tonya gave me a belated birthday present (she didn't "draw" me so getting me a gift is against the rules!) of sock monkey slippers and gen-u-ine, one-of-a-kind, hand made sock monkey. it is ADORABLE.

and it needs a name. little help?

other than that, I'm having a most wonderful time, and I'm only missing my family a tolerable amount. I have had no mishaps, no awkward moments, and I feel very welcome and like I'm a part o' the fam. These people are amazing, you should be so lucky.

hilights so far:
-getting told eleventy billion times how glad tonya is I'm here. It makes me smile A LOT.
-learning about augusta's irish travelers. gypsies, crazy hair, rhinestones and inbreeding. very odd. I mean, people have their own ways of life, and I get that, but some of 'em I just don't understand.
-playing with the little girls--one is almost one, the other almost two. and they are precious. one of them "did my hair" in mass tonight. I was just waiting for all that kneeling business to be finished (since, y'know, I'm not catholic) and it was pretty hilarious. she kept putting all my hair in my face and the pushing it away. and she'd say "Carrie, sit down!" which really just meant that she wanted me to sit so then I could hold her.
-seeing national treasure 2 (good, but not as good as the first) with george and tonya, followed by wine and apples to apples. so. much. fun.
-getting manicures and pedicures with the ladies. I had a leeeetle bit of trouble with the chair and there are a few bubbles in my polish, but nothing big.

only bad thing is I appear to be getting sick. let's hope it runs its course before skiing.

hope all of you are having a faboo christmas eve, and that your christmases are wonderful!

love...

caffeinated mouth jewelry.

we're hoping it's patentable.

so, I'm in the break room making oatmeal for breakfast and a lady from another department asks me "do you think people would call me unladylike if I just put the bag of tea in the side of my mouth instead of bothering to make the tea?"

we joked about it for a bit--about how if the tag hung out and it was pink, and if we could patent it, and then maybe if we could make people think it was trendy they'd buy it. and we'd be rich and so would our company. and we'd call it--you guessed it--caffeinated mouth jewelry.

yeah, this is what we talk about in the breakroom where *I* work. you should be so lucky.

yesterday I got my hair cut. per request, I took a picture. so, here's the thing: I think it looks just fine, but it is not what I asked for. for one, it should be about 1/2 an inch shorter, and for two the layers are too short on top--it's not possible for me to put my hair in a ponytail without LOTS of extra hair hanging down.

I know hair grows, and I know it'll all be fine, and I'm glad that it looks okay, but I'm a tinge annoyed. mostly because, well, since my hair person is preggers and due the 12th of february, I'm going to need to go back again soon, possibly before my sinus surgery. gah.

speaking of preggers, an aside. *begin rant* I am not judging. I am just disappointed. people have sex, it's a thing, and nothing you say or do is going to guarantee they'll stop. (And I would be a hypocrite to rant too much, not to offer TMI, but still.) but for reals, celebrity girls, close your legs and keep your pants on! people look up to you, and you are making irresponsibility okay.

and should you be of the camp that believes that both premarital sex and birth control are sinful, but you're gonna go ahead and get busy anyway, then please just be sinful twice so you don't have to a)potentially consider something else you likely consider sinful or b)have a child you'll resent to any extent.

I can't believe that little Spears, Lily Allen, Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, etc are pregnant and unwed. I know it happens. I do. To really good, normal, upstanding people. Sometimes people who are on birth control. And that same kind of thing can happen to a celebrity, they're (usually) real human beings, too.

But in my (imperfect) eyes, I feel like by choosing to be a celebrity (who is in the spotlight, specifically) you're acknowledging that people to some extent look up to you, and you should be responsible enough to realize the message you're sending.

I don't mean to be all conservative--I'm not. I'm pretty liberal, incase you didn't know. I just worry about the children themselves, and the message being sent to people--especially young girls. It is my firm belief that very few if any 16 year olds are capable of raising a child these days. And certainly not any followed around by the paparazzi. (well, unless dakota fanning were sixteen...but she kind of seems like an old woman in a youthful body and freaks me out a little, but whatever)

And if you happen to have been offended about what I've said, please don't be--because this is specifically a statement about the messages celebrities send by their actions. I mean, unless you're a young, unmarried, pregnant celebrity reading my blog. In which case, hello! ;)

*end rant*

moving on...sorry for that.

other fun things....
1. I finished sending out pretty much all of my Christmas cards. If you, like everyone else I know, may have just said "aren't you a little late?" I would like to respond, "Yes, yes I am, thank you for noticing. Would you hold on just a second? I'ma gonna take your card outta the pile!" Okay, kidding. But seriously, it's the thought that counts, silly. And aren't we supposed to remember Christmas every day?

2. I got mentioned in the Fry family Christmas letter. I am pretty pumped. Not only do I think they had a pretty good one--mostly matter of fact with a side of "yay, my kids are successful--but it had some nice little anecdotes and asides as well. I liked that. By the by, this is the first time I have ever been mentioned in a Christmas letter, to the best of my knowledge.

3. Gobi and Hazel are precious kitties. This morning after Gobi kissed me on the forehead (like he does pretty much every morning) I watched Hazel come up and lick his forehead, and then he licked hers, and it was adorable. They make me smile. And keep me warm!

4. I love it when VS sends out coupons. Last night while shopping I got 5 new pairs of underwear for $15 with my $10 off coupon. can't scoff at a good deal!

5. Matt and I are going to work out tonight. For reals. Right after I have a beer with the ladies. I swear. I am kind of excited because I will see him every single day between now and the 1st of January. And that will be A LOT of fun!

6. I am going to be a baking fool tonight. Pumpkin pie and breakfast casserole! Not in one dish, don't worry! :)

7. Some awesome dude I know sent me this in the mail. Because he's AMAZING. Sterling rules. And? Guess who loves CRR, hmmm?

I leave for augusta in less that 48 hours people. Like, 42. I. Am. Excited.

time to go filter. toodles.

"in order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

~carl sagan

I am such a nerd.

I am in the lab, in my iron-stained lab coat, waiting for my solution to filter and reading about science. For fun. I am even rocking my birth control prescription safety glasses, and when I'm not on the computer I'm wearing some sexy blue-violet gloves.

rowr!

but while I've been (im)patiently waiting for the filtering I've read this and this and this. For my personal edification and enjoyment.

Some of them (like Max Planck) make me think of high school, while others (such as the four laws of thermodynamics) make me think of college.

I happen to know a lot of what they're talking about--that's kinda how it works when you're a super nerdy chemical engineer--but I've learned some new things, too. I didn't know who Mary Leakey was (amongst other anthropological feats, she found what it likely the oldest existing footprints (yet found)--two sets side by side, about 80 feet long -- that are among the earliest evidence of upright, bipedal walking) and I didn't know that Richard Feynamn explained the Challenger explosion using an o-ring and a glass of ice cold water.

And some of it I might've known at one point, but have since forgotten--like how there's something in the middle of the milky way emitting radio waves and how buckyballs are formally called buckminsterfullerenes. and what a fullerene is.

now if only I could take these things I love knowing/learning and make them a part of my daily job. if only...

it'sbeginningtolookalotlikechristmas.

that's what that sounds like in a semi-panicked hurry. which I seem to be in. my to-do list keeps getting longer and longer and I'm not quite sure yet how I'll accomplish all this by saturday. I may have to choose some things to eliminate!

so, the weekend...

friday was the tacky sweater party. matt found some AWESOME sweaters at a place in carrboro. see? we stayed up way too late, played a wonderful board game of i've never (some of which were pretty lame, I was surprised.), ate cookies, played beer pong and stayed up way, way too late. I did NOT intend to be there so long, but we were having too much fun, plain and simple!

oh, I also got molested by santa claus, courtesy of kara, and matt got called SO MANY ridiculous things because of his skeezy mustache. it's because of a thing from school, and it will be shaved off this thursday, he promised. it was funny how many girls thought I'd be upset at him for it--I think it's tacky and hilarious, and I'm okay with it since I *know* it has an expiration date.

saturday morning was choir at 915 until 1145, when I got a call from matt saying he had a flat tire. it was pretty much torn to shreds. but I was able to come collect him from durham and we made it to his birthday massage appointment just in time--and with my gas gauge completely on empty! after leaving the place all nice and relaxed (I got one too), we managed to get to the station without running out of it! thank goodness!

then it was showers and over to see this adorable and tiny little human being, Davis Werner. man, was he precious. and so sleepy and good and wow. we had a lot of fun talking to darren and patty, too, and their doggie abby is my new bff. ;)

we had dinner at zpizza (which is a very kid friendly place with pretty yummy pizza) and went to my place to get ready for party #2 of the weekend--Jones' birthday. There was a pre-party at Bob's, where I learned how to play high-lo, and then we went to Amra's. The amount of drama was excruciating and we stayed entirely too late again (and my voice wasn't super pleased in the AM), but I had my first swedish fish, almost got kissed by a random guy and had a whole whole lot of fun.

and I did not want to get up in the morning. at 645. so I could get to church at 800. ouch. but I got there and we sang the best at 830 that we ever have in the long long time Joe has been our choir director, according to him.

during the sunday school hour I drove to my home to collect matt, brought him to church for show and tell (people thought his mustache was a riot) and went to warm up again. Kara and Sean came to the service as well, and it was both wonderful and unnerving to have an audience of my friends and boyfriend! I am really really glad they attended though.

next was changing out of that skirt so that my little legs were no longer freezing, the longest twenty minutes of my life at walmart (for reals, this little asian man was ridiculous. he kept thinking matt thought the tire was under warranty. yeesh.), lunch at McAlisters and back to walmart.

walmart was also where I got my dirty santa gift (and the pink flashlight)--a copy of Gremlins and mike and ike (green box), hot tamales (red box) and junior mints (white box).

after a failed attempt at a nap I went out to dinner at The Olive Garden with my youth group. man oh man, breadsticks and alfredo--yum! this was when I was called "fat," by the way. we were talking about how much I eat. and although it was COMPLETELY sarcastic, it was enough to annoy me. I started calling my balding co-leader Harry, and then he shut up. :)

then it was time for said gift exchange.

I didn't get these lovely lion slippers. I opened them initially and even had the chance to steal them back, but decided to open a new gift instead. boy was THAT a mistake. I instead got a big old box of target diapers which I gave to our pastor. one of the other leaders came home with a pregnancy test. those are some pretty crazy youth we have!

When I finally got home four and a half hours after the start of the party, and after my weekend o' crazy, I crashed--and went to bed at 1030. my my my, what a weekend!

"i just made an impulse buy...of a hot pink flashlight."

-me!

pictures from the weekend will have to come tomorrow, once I have slept. I think overall this weekend I probably got, let's see...eleven hours of sleep? we stayed at the tacky sweater party far far too late because we were having so much fun, and the same thing happened at jones' birthday shindig too. man, it's so hard knowing fun people! ;)

seriously though, get ready for some pictures. they are pretty darn funny--and just you wait for the sweaters, especially matt's. tooooooo hilarious.

a few tidbits--I held a ten day old baby, Davis, who was SO precious and SO tiny and has such awesome people for parents, I had a shot called a "swedish fish," spent at least, oh, four hours singing, was called fat and got a package of diapers meant for three year olds. yeehaw.

and at walmart I HAD to have a hot pink mini maglite. I couldn't resist. but hey, if you're going to impulse buy, a flashlight isn't such a terrible purchase! it didn't come in this case though. and seriously, I saw it and I couldn't help but buy it--I tried to walk away, but then realized (much like I did with my china cabinet) that if I didn't get it and then decided I needed a new flashlight one day, I would go looking for one like this. and for fear that it's a holiday-only item...well...yeah. plus, I heart pink.

and? if I hadn't bought it, I can guaran-damn-tee you that matt would've gone back to walmart and purchased it for me. 'cause he's like that. reason number 3847102993 that he's fabulous. :)

more about the weekend tomorrow. I'm going to bed!

thursday's child works hard for a living.

or has far to go, depending who you ask. either way, it's still kind of me. but isn't it kind of y'know, mostly everyone?

right.

anyhoo, what I do for a living is becoming less interesting and more annoying by the minute mostly because it's 6pm and I'm still at work on a friday.

bah. humbug.

today I have a blister on the inside of my left thumb from swinging a mallet, a sore spot on the top of my head from the sash of the hood, stains on my jeans from the solution I'm filtering and stains on my shirt from the catalyst I spray dried.

and that's all in a day's work.

essentially, I work in energy research. specifically the fuel part of energy (as opposed to, say the energy that runs to your home (or not if you're jackie!) or solar energy or whatever). and the projects I've spent the majority of my time on are related to the production and purification of hydrogen.

let me assure you it is WAY less sexy than it sounds.

basically I'm a glorified chemist. I make solutions, co-precipitate, plate things, analyze them and sometimes I run reactors. I could get more specific, but 1)I don't know what I'm allowed to say and 2)I don't want to be google-able.

but that's the gist.

also, last night over dinner matt and I made a new rule. it doesn't have a name yet, but I bet it will. somehow the whole which-celebrities-can-I-make-out-with convo came up.

the rules are as follows:
1. there can only be three. total. ever.
2. you can only fool around with them once.
3. the three can change, but after the kissing there's no going back--you are down to two, or one. or whatever.
4. there is no fight club.

it was quite the funny convo to have, let me tell you. especially because it started out about cougars. and celebrity cougars. we decided we each needed to come up with an older person--I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you who his would be, but mine was Harrison Ford. :)

okay, time to get cracking. we've a busy weekend ahead! and I'm going to get to meet little baby davis who turns ten days old tomorrow, and I'm SO excited!

drown out the bullsh*t on the fm radio.

~apples in stereo

I keep singing little phrases from our cantata that make NO sense out of context. Like "I am not afraid." and "I believe." and "Come and Worship."And I get to sing that a flat again. And I like it. :)

so, I must've been even more worked up yesterday than I realized--both from my disaster of a day (odi et amo, email, odi et amo) and from being nervous about giving blood, because my pulse would not slow down!

yeah, that's right, I couldn't give blood because my pulse was too high. wtf? I'm going to monitor it regularly for a while--today it's been around 80--but seriously, huh?

good news:

1. gobi has gained some weight. michelle's cat, miles, has been eating this stuff short term for some urinary tract problems, and gobi LOVES it. I've emailed the vet to see if it's safe, but overall it has improved his demeanor and increased his weight, so I can't complain! he has been EXTRA cuddly the past few nights, and has done more of his reaching out one paw and placing it on me. last night it was my shoulder, and it is sooooooo cute!

2. I found out that I can eat garlic--just a little--leading up to my surgery. I don't have to avoid it completely, just make sure not to eat a whole lot of it. thank goodness!

3. my gorillapod arrived! I'm looking forward to, per matt's suggestions, shoving a ski in the snow and wrapping the camera and gorillapod around it to take a picture. yay!

4. tonight is my last unplanned/unoccupied night for a while, which sounds like it maybe shouldn't fall under "good news" but it DOES! I have three parties to go to, a double date, a hockey game and all sorts of stuff inbetween. And I might get to go meet little Davis! Yay!

5. I got the funniest email today. So funny I laughed out loud, teared up and ABSOLUTELY MUST share it. can you guess which of my girlfriends it is from?

"whud up homeslice c dog

yo 8 is fine wit me yo.

saladz rock! i'll be at the pizza p to the a to the r to the t to the y yo. j dogs got ta work yo - someone's gotta pimp them hoz"

tomorrow I'll tell you what I do in the labbity lab. because if I type it all out now spray drying will last faaaaaaaaaar longer than I'm okay with. but yeah, get ready, it's amazing. ;) perhaps I should just let you have the bill nye illusion.

we can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

-albert einstein.

by the way, the backup title was "science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it."

there are a lot of quotes here.

yesterday matt and I finally finished our brixx thing. AND we got our last free pizza. did I mention how much I love free/reduced price things? this picture is terrible, but it's of us having rootbeers. that's what we chose as our finishing drink. :)

I realized last night that because of my surgery I won't really get to play on my company football team. I'll just have to be a super spectator! We talked about how I'll likely do the jerseys if we do them at all, and how instead of "Care" or "Tulsa," which I'd considered, I think I'm going to be "MoFoFoSho." Okay, not really. but maybe...ha!

other things:
1. I worked out yesterday. Like, for real. I don't usually do this. I told myself I could work out for 20 minutes or clean for 20 minutes. The choice was obvious.
2. Tonight I am going to try to give blood. I figure they'll tell me my iron is low. I hope I do not faint. I'm not good with needles, but since it's at my church, and since I'll be hanging out there for at least three hours after, I think it'll be okay. I'm trying not to think about it too much. But I've been thinking about how I want to try again for a long long time.
3. I got to talk to Tonya last night. She is so much fun. Y'all would LOVE her. It is also nice because her George and my Matt are not entirely unalike, so we understand...
4. I want to sit on my couch and do nothing. desperately. I also (still) want to paint.
5. if it's yellow, let it mellow. olivia's blog said this yesterday, it cracked me up. but really, peeps, if you're in a drought, help out!
6. I almost made the lab explode yesterday, or that's what it seemed like. I made a bubbly frothy mess. Which I then got to clean. Seriously, it was like surges of messy icky black bubbles. gross.
7. this new showerhead is SO worth it. Matt made me promise that this AM, as I got out of the shower, I'd say "Let's Do This!" (y'know, after let's do this, I'm a cashew?) so today, I did. :)

anyhoo. time to go co-precipitate. I hope you peeps in OK get power soon. The weather we're having here is SO different, and bad in a totally different way. I've been thinking of you...

well worth it.

this weekend was a whole whole lot of laid back, easy-going, productive fun.

for starters, I'd like to let you know that I spent nineteen dollars on one of the most worthwhile purchases I've ever made. it is amazing, and just wanted I wanted and worth every penny. it is my new showerhead, which my handy dandy boyfriend installed (which I was happy to let him do, even though I am fully capable of doing it myself) and it is kind of my new hero, in the way that only an inanimate object can be. WORLDS of improvement over my last showerhead, let me tell you. my sinuses and my scalp and my shoulders are quite thankful for this little gem.

and matt got one too, 'cause his showerhead was a bit wonky as well. I made him wait to install it until I tested mine out, but yeah. awesome-tastic.

friday night after working until 745 (no sh*t, people!) I stayed in and cleaned my bathroom while he chaperoned a dance at school, and when he was finally able to come over we had a late dinner at uno's. it was quite funny because the server was simultaneously ignoring my request for my favorite off-the-menu pizza, the chicken fajita pizza (despite my assurance that yes, they could make it, I've had it umpteen times since they changed their menu) and trying to flirt with me in front of my date. very weird. but my pizza was free (a prize from work's canned food drive) and my company (other than the server) was splendid.

and we got to watch half of roxanne (the movie with steve martin, not the show). I forgot how funny it is!

saturday morning after I made breakfast burritos (which, by the way, impressed the hell out of the guys apparently, because it's weird for people to make breakfast or something?!?) we had lunch at armadillo grill-yum!-with kara, sean, jamie and bob, followed by a tour of the big boss brewery.

it was okay, but the dude giving the tour was hung over, kind of cranky and did a poor job of explaining the process, and you were only allowed two beers a piece. the carolina brewing company in holly springs is far superior, if you ask me. better info, better beer, better attitude. we had a lot of fun hanging out on the deck outside and chit-chatting. and both couples are going to let me take their pictures for my website! yay!

then we ran some errands (and apparently one of my youth members saw me at the mall but I didn't see him), I slept in the car while matt went into michael's and we joined the same group (plus sean's friend louie) for dinner at ben's place. next was a trip to the white's, where we drank beer, made from-a-tube sugar cookies and hung out. yay!

by the way, these three couples plus one more will be the ones on the ski trip later this month. it is going to be so much fun!

and then yesterday I slept in (seriously, matt ran errands while I slept!) and played hookie from church (we weren't singing and I'll be there for...hmm...nine plus hours in the next week so I don't feel bad at all!), looked for ski trip stuff (and bought pink gloves!), went to some craft stores and dollar stores and basically had a fabulous relaxing day. even youth went smoothly that night.

and when I got home, I made food for me to take to lunch (taco salad with my leftover turkey--I wanted to make some tortilla soup the Turley way but I didn't have some of the ingredients), baked blueberry muffins and made a cake. because speaking of things that are well worth it, guess whose birthday it is today?!?! :)

I am excited about giving him his present and celebrating tonight. He want a Jersey Mike's philly cheesesteak sandwich for dinner, and we'll either go out to a bar or stay in and watch a movie, or potentially both. I've already called five JM locations to find one that's open late enough (a wrestling match was re-scheduled for today), but I've found it, and I am SO looking forward to this evening! yay!

I also put up my wreath late last week (or was it friday?), so here's a picture of that, too. I need something more festive to wrap around it next year. maybe red ribbon? I LOVE the way it's star shaped. It makes me happy to have it out. Please ignore the dead plants on my doorstep. thank you. :)

and I bought myself some gerbera daisies yesterday. oddly enough, harris teeter, despite its higher prices, has cheaper (and nicer) flowers than lowe's. you get five gerbera daisies for the same price as three! I wanted to get a third color, perhaps white or a lighter pink, but these two sets were BY FAR prettier than the others, so that's what I got! in any case, I now have a pretty new background on my computer, that makes me think of our warm weather. but honestly? I'm really looking forward to some snow!

I went to bed reasonably early, too. yay me!

alright, that's enough parentheses, exclamation points and exuberance for one post, methinks. hope your weekend was twice as fab as mine!

[carrie] don't you worry there is so much you have yet to see. [carrie] don't you worry there is so much you have yet to be.

~apples in stereo

I decided it was high time I use lyrics as a post title.I don't really count camp songs or the Tulsa fight song as lyric titles, so that means it's been a week and a half. totally unacceptable.

anyhoodle, check out the apples in stereo and their new-ish album, new magnetic wonder. a-frigging-mazing.

and speaking of amazing...wow. I've heard many a time (and ready about) how oklahoma has the best sunsets of all the states, which I imagine has something to do with how far you can see there, but north carolina is climbing higher and higher on my list in that regard. check it out!

and while you're at it, check out this awesome pic of a tulsa, oklahoma sunrise that my friend brooke took for me 'cause she knows how much I love the sky. which is A LOT.

I didn't think I'd even get to blog at all today--I've been having to put out fires, in the figurative sense. And I have realized that that is NOT a phrase you should use in a laboratory building.

additionally--happy hanukkah, we're in the middle of it now, right? well jackie's blogs comments made me think of a song my (catholic) big used to sing to me, that her big used to sing to her. mine was "li'l, li'l, li'l, I made you out of clay, li'l, li'l, li'l, I kick you in the face." So not kidding. She thought it was funny. The humor escapes me. but anyway. her big sang " "li'l, li'l, li'l, I made you out of clay, li'l, li'l, li'l, let's go outside and play." I think she got the better one!

and no offense to the jewish customs meant, of course. I mean, the jewish wedding I went to was the most beautiful I've ever seen--or was it the most beautiful bride? I can't recall. ;) anyway, yeah, made me think of that, kinda funny.

and why oh why are there eleventy billion ways to spell hanukkah? I'm just curious.

okay, I'm going to be at work for.ev.er. like, easily until 700 or maybe even 730. but right now I'm waiting for something to finish so I can do the next part.

oh AND I forgot an annoying thing yesterday. when you're expected to fill out info for your college. I got this survey from TU's ChE department a while ago and never finished it. I'll do it, whatever. But I HATE the department chair (he thinks women are stupid. or maybe just me. and misha. and christina. but whatever, he sucks) and I recently got my first piece of ChE mail that wasn't asking me to do something or to give money. At first the notion of just getting info was kind refreshing. And I read about research and all that jazz and then I got to the alumnae section...

And who is all plastered in it? My crappy ex-boyfriend and his used-to-be-my-sorority-sister wife and their trip to hawaii. I am a smidge irritable right now, but I also kind of think this dude deserves (and has I'm sure) a bad haircut. forever. he used to tell me I wasn't capable of being a chemical engineer, like straight out, and I should switch to something that didn't require you to be "intelligent" like "graphic design."

and yes, you graphic designers out there, I agree, the dude sucks. and also, lesson for y'all: don't ever tell me I'm not capable of doing something unless you're 100% certain it's impossible, because you likely won't like the way I respond. ha! okay, end ranting, I swear. but seriously, I'm finally happy to see something the ChE department is doing and then I have to hear about him. phooey!

note to self: he is a part of your path, and it is spectacular being right where you are. chill out.

so, tonight after this one thing stirs and this other thing decomposes and I get to leave, I'm going to pick me up some blueberry beer (it's by shipyard), make some dinner (perhaps cream of onion soup with hawaiian bread, one of my very favorite dinner-for-ones) and not exercise though I'd fully intended to do so. and I will hang out and maybe do some laundry and catch up on TV shows (Life and Gray's, since I don't think Pushing Daisies was on this week) and veg out until Matt comes over. Which will be--get this--after he finishes chaperoning a school dance. awwwwww.

oh and the title? yeah, um, I've been getting annoyed kind of easily recently and I've been getting worried A LOT about money, and thinking a lot about my next steps in my life, and spending a lot of time being frustrated about my health, and I need to remember there's waaay more left on this ride, and that it'll all be okay. :)

also, if I could have pretty sunsets every day I do believe I'd be set. seeing them through the window just totally erases any negativity that's hanging out!

sometimes I really just want to write an angry letter.

there are moments in time when what you want to do as a first reaction is scream and yell and freak out. you want to get upset and stomp around and pout and be angry. and maybe punch something (or someone). I've been feeling like that a little recently. I feel my angry-o-meter rise from calm to berserk in like .31 seconds...

case(s) in point:

when hazel runs outside. did I tell you she spent a night outside earlier this week? I didn't realize she'd escaped, and it wasn't on purpose, but it kind of serves her right. I'm glad she didn't get run over though! but yeah, hazel, yikes. I basically just have to leave the door open and ignore her until she gets lonely and runs back in, or she thinks it's some kind of a game.

when people don't use their turn signals. look, we all forget them now and again. it happens, I understand. but for reals, indicate your turn. it's not hard. you have to know how to do it, else you can't get your license. and you are not so fabulous that you have the privilege of not needing to indicate your intentions while driving. grow up.

when policies are idiotic. i have a card with 0% interest that carries the bulk of my I-have-crappy teeth debt. the people are sneaky--they consider each purchase a "balance" and any payment that you make goes 80% to your higher balance and 20% to your lower, with no regard to when that balance actually has to be paid off. so in order to get them to apply the money to the balance that's due first I have to call every month, the day after I make a payment, and tell them to allocate it how I want them to. if this were your usual credit card I'd want to kiss them for being so considerate, but the whole point of this card is to help peeps who can't pay their large medical bills by allowing them to make payments. grr.

when you are allowed to deduct your medical expenses. i'm still working on the particulars, but if my calculations and the web page I checked out are right, my medical expenses have well exceeded 7.5% of my gross income. I mean, I don't own a home or anything so I don't have enough to itemize, I don't think, but the fact that my medical expenses would be eligible is kind of killing me. stupid effing teeth.

when people do not say "thank you" or "excuse me" or "bless you." that third one is less important, but still. if I open a door for you? say thanks. there's a girl in my office that doesn't do that, and it kills me. it makes me want to let the door hit her. even the person I reallyreally don't like says thanks. yeesh.

when I get paid to do the work of a maid. I'm all about the whole "it all pays the same" mentality or whatever, and I get that I've got to clean up after myself. but sometimes I feel like I'm the go-to if the lab needs cleaning. and while I get paid a lot more than a maid, I also gotta say I have a friggin' degree in chemical engineering. please let me use my brain!

when you can't get your insurance information. my company is switching insurance in january. I am having surgery eleven days later. I need to get this stuff pre-approved and find out how much it costs* and I need to do it sooner rather than later. but we aren't in the system since it doesn't go into effect until jan 1. le sigh.

however, on some happier notes...

today I got to use my brain. a co-worker came to ask me what I knew about water screws, and I learned about 'em all quick like and we were able to discuss their practicality for an application in scientific terms. it allowed me to think and surmise and postulate and I was thankful.

last night matt and I talked about shower heads, and how mine basically spits water at you, and about why that might be--about pressure and force and whatever. I'm glad he's nerdy too. and the thought really does count--'cause he's a forgetful guy, so he never managed to do it, but he'd been thinking about buying me a new shower head and saying he was going to the bathroom or whatever and secretly installing one to surprise me. it's better that he didn't, 'cause I might've been alarmed or not liked the new shower head, but it's still a nice notion. and a cute one, too.

I got to talk to Mary Alise last night. so what if it meant I didn't exercise? I cleaned, that has to count for something. but I totally miss talking to her all the time like we used to. So it was nice.

I found that my surgery will be a little cheaper * since we can still change our flexible spending account amounts. hooray for paying with tax-free money. it still doesn't make a gigantic difference, but it is going to help, and I appreciate that greatly. at this very moment, every penny I can save will be worth it, you know?

and today is thursday, and almost friday. and I am joyous. overly so, if you will.

today I am thankful for bamboo. bamboo and miracles.

well, what--it's true!

so to start off, patty had little davis in the wee hours of the morning today. I saw pictures and he is precious. I am really looking forward to meeting him! I am sure that pictures will go on her blog at some point, so don't forget to check it out! hooray again for patty and darren and their newest member of their family!!!

last night I went to dinner with kara and jamie at waraji. you might recall that the last time I went there the service was kind of crummy, and that I talked to the manager and she said I should introduce myself the next time I was in there. well, we're even now.

a) our server was amazing. attentive and helpful and friendly. and she said to call her mama. I thought this was a joke until I noticed that the ticket actually listed her name as "mama."
b) the sushi was delish. pretty pricey, but delish. I even had eel I liked.
c) after the manager came over to see me she had mama bring me a glass of wine on the house.
d) while jamie and I downed another roll mama brought kara a hot tea.
e) at the end of the meal mama brought the three of us green tea icecream, also on the house.

I will totally go to waraji again. :)

the three of us planned for our ski trip--getting as detailed as making sure we know where the hospital is and dividing up groceries and figuring out what we're going to have to buy where--and we chit-chatted and talked about our guys and how much fun we're going to have.

and then I went shopping. and bought bamboo. specifically, bamboo that had been made into clothing, but, you know...bamboo. so, I've been having trouble with the whole what-do-I-do-about-long-janes (apparently that's what they are instead of johns for girls) because I am allergic to, well, a whole lot of fabrics--polyester, nylon, rayon, wool, acrylic and I think I'm forgetting one or two.

well anyway, I go into belk at 9pm and start pulling cuddl duds off the rack, trying to determine my size and see if the ones that are a cotton nylon combo will irritate my skin. (some weaves and percentages are worse than others) the lady comes to help me, and points me in the direction of, you guessed it, thermal long janes made of bamboo!

I got the green ones--and it's awesome because bamboo is naturally wicking (cotton isn't) and that's kinda extra important for skiing, and it's made from a very renewable source. the jury is out on whether or not bamboo is actually eco-friendly/green because of the part where it's made into fibers, but still. it's at least a step in the right direction. and it's just what I needed! I am excited!

and though they aren't the cutest thing in the world, they will serve their warmth-providing purpose quite nicely, methinks. and they were 30% off, which is always a plus. :) Now that I've looked online I kinda wish they woulda had the blue, but online they cost 30% more AND have shipping, so I'm perfectly content with the green thank you!

so tonight is choir. and running by target to get more christmas cards because silly me didn't count people before purchasing, and therefore didn't buy enough. and then laundry and cleaning. I've kinda been not doing all of my chores, and my room is starting to remind me of this. melissa, if you clean I'll clean, deal? and if I'm a very good girl I get to watch some TV tonight. but only if I clean some first!

but but I won't look away first, and you won't look away first

~the future kings of nowhere.

check out their song like a staring contest. it's kinda catchy. like the catchy-est breaking up song ever. but I still like it. and? they're from durham. yay for liking local music.

so, I scheduled my surgery for the 11th. I need to get my duckies all in a row and then not think of it anymore . icks. 38 days, peeps. and then, hope-hope-hopefully I'll heal and be all better. please be prepared for me to b*tch about not getting to have garlic.

we had a really fun evening last night--taco salad for dinner, beer at brixx and then watching the last heroes. they're all sneaky with their "we'll be back in 2008." yeah, I'm imagining in september of 2008. boo and a half. and the ep was decent, but not awesome or amazing. it was quite clear that they had to kind of throw it all together at the end. :(

oh, and last night gobi didn't want matt to leave. he sat on his coat. it was kinda funny. it's the same thing he does when I am packing a bag...he sits on it so I can't get into it!

other fun--tonya gave me these littlest pets for my birthday--in honor of both gertrude and of reading charlotte's web. they are brigtening up my office! and then the butterfly is from the science center in augusta. (which reminds me I need to send Anna a gift!)

today I had to bust out my chemistry skillz. like, with normality of a solution. yick. I am soooo glad I didn't switch to chemistry, lemme tell ya. engineering is lotsa lotsa better. but it's all okay, 'cause in two hours and change I'll be at waraji eating sushi and planning for our ski trip. it should be fun! the girls realized that if we left the boys to plan we'd have lots of beer and no food. :)

um, and little sad note for the day--today woulda been my granddaddy's 80th birthday. it makes me miss him. but then the things I think of make me smile, and I'm good again. I do, however, hope very much that I can locate a little sock monkey. it would make me happy to have one, 'cause it'd make me think of him. okay, sad note over.

and as I walked upstairs to check out the concentration of our ammonium hydroxide, the big window on the side of the building greeted me with this view. I assure you that I looked VERY silly taking a picture of it, but it was too pretty to not capture in pixels. do enjoy.

someone from tulsa loves me and all I got was this stupid tshirt

-erin d. f.

I have like five minutes to type this, let's see how far I get...type this AND eat my yogurt--and breyers is officially on my sh*t list--they have this whole "now only 80 calories" thing going on--but they CHANGED the size of their yogurt. smart advertising, but bad for business.

also, I took a surprisingly small number of pictures this weekend--all of inanimate objects. weird.

oh, and? I may just have to start doling out pepto bismol to you readers, sorry...

so, I'm officially part of a think tank. friday I went out with olivia, adam, chelsea and amos. dinner at the mellow mushroom followed by drinks and pool at Tyler's. we talked about all sorts of crazy things and had a WONDERFUL time. I'd tell you our awesome ideas, but you aren't a part of the think tank, I'm sorry. I will tell you that I was elected president, impeached, re-elected and then became co-president in the matter of an hour. :)

crap. time to go. I shall finish later.

okay, so yeah. where was I...

so, around midnight we went home, watched half of sweet home alabama (up until the mock-reporter comes to tour the carmichael mansion and interview melanie) and went to bed.

and in the morning, since my computer was upstairs, I wasn't allowed to get out of bed until I listened to this song. awwwwwwwwwwww.

we went to the ale house to watch the TU game, and a total of five alums came--another chemical engineer ('98), a mechanical engineer ('94) and a couple--the man is a lawyer and the woman is a methodist preacher ('60-something-or-other). It was really fun! The MechE brought his son, Kai, as well. AND?!? The woman who is a pastor? Well, when she went to TU she was one of the four freshman class officers--and they're the ones who started the idea of using the hurricane flags for our school spirit stuff as well! Cool, huh?!?

after watching the loss (and can anybody tell me why they took that touchdown back? we didn't get the sound...was it that there were too many men on the field?) we went shopping for tacky sweaters, but were unable to find ones to our liking. well, except one. y'see, we want ones where the tacky design is actually woven into the sweater. and we have now checked, let's see...kmart, target, stein mart, goody's, macy's and goodwill. and the only one we found was this one--which costs $265. perhaps you like that sweater, but we think it's tacky!

after we saw this beee-you-tih-ful sunset, we went to dick's sporting goods to look at wrestling stuff for matt's team and ski stuff for our trip, and then went home and took a nap. we were SO tired. but an hour and a half later we got up, got ready and were on our way to sushi and chapel hill for bub o'malley's christmas party.

it kinda was awful though--I mean, we had fun with jones and christy, but by the time I was tired again it was around 230, and we were three quarters of the way through sweet home alabama. man, I love that movie!

so the late bedtime was made worse by my early sunday morning--I'd agreed to go to the new sunday school class. and after that and church I had lunch with jessica from brixx and searched and searched for a copy of the ultimate gift, which thankfully I found. (though not at the $30 barnes and noble price! thank goodness!) and then there was youth (where we watched said movie) and some recipe-thinking-up, and then a quick trip to the grocery store, and bed.

and I am still tired, just fyi. I never really made up that sleep from saturday night.

oh AND, I'm super excited about this--my tomatoes are ripening! I'm going to take out the red ones and put another banana in the box, but I'm pretty excited about the whole thing! I had almost forgotten about them (it's been a while) but it's a good thing I did! oh, and some interesting links for you---the 20 worst foods in america (some surprised me!) and they found a dinosaur with its skin and all!

also, I've made a little update to my photo website (and plan on making a few more)--now you can see all the pictures of flowers next to one another. just click on the one you like and you'll go to the correct page. check it out!