OMG an update

As I am sure you have noticed or perhaps you haven't since surely my readers (the few of you there are) have abandoned me due to lack of publication. Sorry, I have been a little busy with life here in Dallas and super stressed about trying to find a job. I wish I could promise that I would be more diligent about this but we both know that isn't really going to happen.

Summer here in Dallas is getting super hot and I am trying to keep busy and cool. I thought that since it has been so long since we chatted I would let you know how my 2014 resolutions are going (you can read about them here).

1- try 50 new recipes

I think I have tried about 21 new recipes this year or new versions of recipes. I have a few new editions that I am super excited to share with you. I think I will actually make this goal.

2- Run 200 miles

To date I have run about 86 miles! I know I had high hopes of being over 100 already but since I jacked up my foot pretty bad in february I think I am making good progress. I think this is going to happen or at least get close. It is hard to get long runs in these days since it is still 100 when I get home from work.

3- Quit Stressing about the blog

Yeah, this is going as well as I had hoped. I was hoping for more of a post a few a week and be consistent with this but it turned out that I was so stressed that I just quit writing. Hopefully I will be able to get somewhere more balanced.

4- Apply for faculty jobs

This is actually going pretty well. The academic job market for 2015 is just now opening and I have found a few positions that I am going to apply for. So this is going to happen. This also probably means that I am so stressed that I will most likely post more often since that makes me not have to do work. :) I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this. I hope to be able to share some of this journey but it will probably be really vague since I can't really post anything about it... oh well we will see how it goes.


Since I hadn't really thought about these goals recently, this was a great refresher about where I have already been this year. I am hopeful that I will be able to actually keep up with my blogging and not be so stressed about all of this. I am not sure that will happen but since I find it somewhat cathartic to share my life I hope to get better about this. Well I am off to tackle the cleaning of this house since I have no desire to actually work on my work stuff.

Dallas STARS

So many months ago, before playoffs obviously, I went with a few of my good friends to see the Dallas STARS play hockey. Seeing them play has been on my list of things to do in Dallas since I got here but for a million and five reasons it never seems to work out when I can get tickets through work. So eventually, I got a chance to see the game. It was on short notice which for some reason almost always works out better for my schedule. My friends snagged free tickets from some raffle or something so that was awesome. We sat near the top but it was nice to be able to see the entire rink.

It was a pretty close game and in the end it ended up being a shootout. I have to admit that after spending much of my childhood watching Mighty Ducks, I love a shootout. The agony of loss in the final seconds and the amazing winning at the same time, what more could a girl want.

In the end the STARS pulled out a win! It was so fun to see them play hockey, I will definitely be grabbing tickets next year when they are offered. It was so fun to cheer them on, and it is always the best when they actually win! This was a great way to check another item off of my Dallas Bucket List.

DIY: Jewelry hanger

I don't know if you know this but I am super obsessed with jewelry, I love everything about it and I am a firm believer that you can't have too much jewelry on (this is of course not totally true but I love to wear lots of jewels). I have been in need of a new way to hang my jewelry so that I know what I have and it won't get tangeled up in a drawer or worse forgotten about. So after scouring Pinterest to find a great idea I decided that I didn't like any of them and developed my own method. 

Supplies:

Frame

Cup Hooks

Paint (for frame)

Spray paint for hooks

I had gotten a free sample of this gray paint a few months ago with no real plan for it but I decided that it would be a perfect complement to the Pink I was going to use for the hooks. So I painted the frame a dusky gray. I snagged this frame from a garage sale for $10, which is way over priced since it was broken (but it was a Young Life fundraiser so I donated a little extra cash). It was also cracked but I repaired it using wood glue.

A great idea!

So pink and perfect

To paint the hooks, I stuck them in the top of a shoe box since this would allow me to spray all sides of the hooks and not my arm. This was actually super genius, if I say so myself. I painted them a few different times to make sure that I got all of the sides painted.

I decided that I wanted something similar to a chevron print as the pattern for these hooks. I didn't really want them to be in a line and this gave some exciting visualization but not too much. I drew the pattern out on newsprint so that I could make sure it looked good. I found that about one inch apart and three hooks per side worked best for me.

The frame

These are actually much more even than the picture suggests.

I hung the frame using two nails that it rests against since I took off all of the hardware so that it would be flat. I then laid the pattern against the wall and pushed a pushpin where I wanted each hook to go before removing the pattern. I then screwed the hooks into the wall (this was actually kinda hard work).

I have loved having this in my bedroom, it allows me to choose my jewelry everyday and remember what cool stuff I have. I am not sure what I will do as my collection of jewels grows but that is a problem for another day. I do have a few empty hooks so it won't be that bad. Let me know if you give this a try. 

New Patio Garden

Several weeks ago I planted a small garden on the back patio... actually it is starting to turn into a much larger project than I had intended but that is kinda just what happens when you are single. I don't get much sunlight and I still want to be able to use my patio so I just have a line of pots that are near the railing.

This year I have:
3 tomato plants: big boy, cherry, creole
3 bell pepper plants: both green
6 basil (they come in packs of three)
Parsley
Dill
several flowers

Apparently I didn't really take any photos of the starting process but I have some much more recent pictures.

Gotta have some pretties

I think I might have over bought

This garden is growing really well, I am so excited about my cherry tomato plant, I bought the larger one (there is the $2 plant about 3 inches tall or one for $6 that is much bigger). I think I might switch to buying the bigger plants if the other plants never give me any tomatoes.

So many plants

Cherry tomato plant with lots of tomatoes

This tomato plant is going to have to go... it is sick

Herb garden!

I have lost a few flowers and a basil plant but other than that with lots of watering things are going great! I just found out that the tomato plant has to go... silly virus.

Wall Monogram...Fail

As any good southern girl does, I love monograms. I don't have many on my clothes but I do have some towels and the like that are monogrammed. I think I will be monogramming more stuff in the future, I think it makes for great decor. Anyway, I found a super cheap frame at a garage sale and I decided that I should make a wall monogram.

I bought paint, the letters H and M, and a fleur-de-lis. I am also obsessed with fleur-de-lis, I have them all over my house. Anyway.

I painted all of my things and then realized I didn't really have a plan for hanging the letters inside the frame. I opted to add a foam board back and I covered it in light tan fabric.

This fabric was a bit much.

I used hot glue to get everything attached (that took forever). So I decided to hang it in my office.

Cute but I think it is going to have to go

It isn't that often that I get to the end of a project and realize that I have no idea what to do with the finished item. I may have forgotten to plan for a way to attach this to the wall. I tried just resting it on nails and it kept falling off. So for now I have no idea what I am going to do with this. So silly. I also don't know if I love how it looks so it might get recycled soon. 

Finding a new vet

Last year when I took Lily to the vet for her annual checkup it was probably one of the worst things that had happened to us in a while. I will admit that I don't have a single nice thing to say about that vet, they were horrible and super expensive. So throughout the year I have asked around at different events to figure out where most people in Dallas take their fur-children. A ton of people use CityVet, so I found one pretty close to the house and figured that we would give it a shot. They're still more expensive than the vet in St. Louis but the visit covers more stuff so I figured why not.

I am going to be honest and tell you that I absolutely loved this vet. I found that every single person was willing to listen to my concerns and help me come to a decision about things I had questions about. 

So nervous

Lily thought that this was probably the worst thing that had happened to her in months. What a baby. I think going to vets makes her very very nervous. When the vet came in she took a moment to lay on the ground and snuggle Lily (who had none of it), which meant a ton to me. It was nice to know that they were willing to spend a few extra minutes with her to see if she could calm down.

Since I loved the vet so much, I have already taken Lily back! Yes, you did read that right, I have already taken Lily to the vet twice in 10 days. A few days after the first visit I found this strange thing on her head. 

What is going on???

As you can see it looks a whole lot like a pimple, the big painful kind. I watched it for a few days and  when it doubled in size I decided that we should probably get it checked out. As we waited to go to the vet it kept getting even bigger. I will admit that this was insane, I was starting to freak out. If you google this, it is one of two things: not a big deal or a HUGE deal. 

So we get to the vet and they take a look at it and determine that it is kinda like a zit or a fire ant bite. So it was some sort of bump that had puss in it. Gross. The vet popped it and now Lily just has a little hole in her head. I am glad that we checked it out, I kinda feel like a dork but better safe than sorry.

I loved the vet at CityVet, we are using the one at Preston and Royal. Feel free to contact me for her name if you would like it, Lily and I give her our highest recommendation! 

Am I still always late?

So a few weeks ago I wrote this post about how I am late just about everywhere I go and I figured it had been several weeks so I will share how it is going. I am getting better about being on time for things, one way that has been effective for me to make this happen is to decide that being early isn't bad. So I am trying to arrive places 15 minutes before it starts, this gives a buffer for traffic or a needed pit stop and I don't panic on the way.

If I had to give myself a grade for how this is going, I would get a B. I am significantly better but there are still days that I am super late to things. I have made it to group meeting on time over the last several weeks so that is amazing. But I have been late to work, I decided that I should get to work before 10 everyday, I hope to get this closer to 930 but I have to start somewhere. I don't know what happens on those days but like a diet one small mistake really throws me for a loop and I have a hard time getting it back on track. I am still working on not letting one day late throwing me off.

One of the most memorable times I was late was for a family dinner at 6 about 25 minutes from my house. I knew that traffic would be terrible since I need to cross town at rush hour. I left my house at 505 so there should have been plenty of time. It turns out that it took me 75 minutes to get there. I cross two stalled cars and one place where people apparently don't know how to merge, gotta love the big city. I was pretty irritated about this when it happened but then I realized that I gave myself twice as long as it usually takes to get there and that was enough. Sometimes traffic happens and there isn't much you can do about it when it happens.

I am learning to give myself grace when I screw up being on time and not letting it ruin my day. I have also been keeping work with me so that when I have a few minutes to do something else the time isn't lost. I am proud that I am still making an effort to be on time, I will keep you updated on this journey.

March New Recipes

It was another crazy month in March but I was able to try 5 new recipes. Honestly, most of them were kind of a bust, but I think I can fix a few of them and I will enjoy them again later but some are just done. I am going to list these in order of best to worse.

Chicken Milaese: I got this recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook. Yes I know I can't believe I read it either. Now I did check it out from the library to see what she had to offer. This is an easy healthish fried chicken. I am going to figure out exactly how to make this and share the recipe with you. I am in love... this is a keeper.

Garlic-Butter Shrimp: Now this wasn't really a recipe exactly but I had read about how you can sauté shrimp in butter that garlic has been browned in. It didn't involve much and I kinda overcooked the shrimp. I had grabbed some fresh gulf shrimp from Kroger and they were good.

Strawberry Shortcakes: I snagged this recipe from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That? book. I had pretty high hopes for these but they were salty and super dried out. Now I think that they are supposed to be pretty dry honestly. I think the extra salt was due to the fact that I didn't use unsalted butter and then added the salt as well, this happens occasionally in baked goods. I also tried to make strawberries in some sort of sauce and that didn't go well which could have added to the dryness. I will probably try these again eventually and see if they are better. 

Chicken Fried Rice: I snagged this from Pinterest and it was mediocre. The recipe suggests that you sauté the veggies in sesame oil, which was good but everything taste like sesame oil. If I make this again I will probably just use canola oil or something with no flavor. Either way I didn't love this and it made so much more than I had anticipated so I ate it for 3 days.

Spaghetti aglio e olio: I also snagged this recipe from Ina Garten's How Easy Is That? book. This is essentially pasta with garlic oil, I was intrigued by the idea and wondered if her version would be better than mine. No, it was not amazing. Now I made some shortcuts and substitutions so that could be why it failed, but I wasn't overly impressed. I think if I am in a hurry for dinner this isn't going to be an option but just regular pasta probably is an option. This is definitely out.

All in all it was a mediocre month for recipes but it was fun to try several new things. I am on the hunt these days for easy dinners to make when I get home from work and I am starving and I don't have much time to cook. Let me know if you have something you want me to try.

March BarkBox

I feel as if I always post about last months BarkBox when I am just getting the new one. I guess that isn't too surprising since I can't ever seem to get my life together and post consistently. But this was another win for me and Lily.

So what did we get:
-2 toys: a bone with a hole in it (kinda like a kong) and one that crinkles
-Twistix
-Salmon treats
-Biscuit cookies

Both of the toys are a bust but Lily likes the salmon and twistix treats, we haven't gotten around to the cookies. I am sure that she will like those. I love getting all of these treats but honestly we are rarely out when the new box comes. Aside from the toys, which for us always suck, it was a great box. I like the treats and it seemed like just the right amount of stuff. Honestly, Lily is kinda over the toys and we have a million so I took some to my mom and I may see if some of my friends dogs are interested in the other toys.

So far BarkBox has been a pretty good investment. We are coming up to the end of the 6 months that we got so I am trying to decide if we are going to get another 6 months. I think we might, I guess it depends on what comes in the next box. For the most part we have loved all but one of the boxes, so that is a pretty great success rate. I will let you know when I know what I am going to do!

San Francisco: More Pictures

As always when you visit a new place there are always a few random pictures that don't really fit into any category but they are too cool not to share with you. I loved every single second that I spent in San Francisco including the time I spent at the conference. I saw some big names in my field (which is amazing) and heard some pretty exciting science that should be coming out soon. 

The Golden Gate Bridge

From above

Trust me, this was the only time I saw the whole bridge!

We drove out to the bridge one afternoon and it was shrouded in fog. I had heard about the fog, but this was intense. You could see all of the city but only the top of bridge was visible. When we drove across the bridge you couldn't really see anything. I would not have enjoyed driving over that, my dad was a champ for doing that. When I flew out the pilot flew over the city and then I saw that bridge! It was pretty, you can't tell from the pic but it was there!

Pillow Fight?

On Valentine's Day apparently there is a giant pillow fight that is announced on twitter the day of. I kept seeing people with pillows, it was strange. But eventually we found the pillow fight, it was insane. I saw lots of people beating each other with pillows and feathers were everywhere, I mean everywhere. Also, on the way back to the trolly I saw that most of the homeless people had new pillows.

Chinatown

We stopped on the trolly in Chinatown. It was so cool. It was decorated for the Chinese New Year, which was the next day. I wish we had more time to actually shop but we just walked through it and then back to the trolly.

The Parade for New Years

Alcatraz

The last pic I have for you is Alactraz. We didn't go out to the Island, my dad had already been and neither my mom or I was super excited about seeing it. I decided that since it would take up so much of our limited time in San Francisco we would pass on this one. I would like to see it at some point but it was neat to see it from a far.

I am sure there are more pics but these are the best of the best. I loved seeing all of these things and wish we had more time to spend in the city but I love that there is still more to see when I finally get back to see San Francisco!

San Francisco: The city

After we toured the PCH and Pebble Beach we headed back to San Francisco to see what the city would hold for us. We spend Valentine's Day seeing as much of San Francisco as possible. It was a whirlwind of a day, so much to see and so little time.

And we are off

After we grabbed some coffee at Starbuck's and headed over to the trolley and decided to take it down to Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco

Family fun

Check it out...

We loved riding the trolly, I particularly loved hanging off the side and allowing the wind to blow in my hair.

rawr... yummy

We stopped into Boudine to have some sourdough bread. This was so yummy. I tried to get as much as I could. The fun shapes were so fun, we chose a turtle! It was so good, I wish that I could find a way to make this here, but alas there isn't something like that here.

The lovebirds

As we wandered through the Wharf I could hear the sea lions and that was exciting. I loved getting to see the sea lions. They stunk but they were so cute and it was so fun to see them swimming and playing with one another. Some of them looked young and almost snuggly but don't worry I didn't allow them to get close. From the Wharf we headed over to Pier 39 to actually see the sea lions.

Swimming!

After we spent time down by the water we headed over to Ghirardelli square. This is where the great chocolates are made and there is an ice cream shop. We wandered through their shops and spent time wandering by the water.

Out on a pier

Yummy Chocolate Sunday

The day in San Francisco was amazing. We saw so much of the city and there is still so much left to see. I am already looking forward to going back some day and seeing more of the city. It was so neat to spend the day with my parents and see another part of the country.