Morning Glory

While I was a student at A&M I read the newspaper, the Batt, regularly. I often grabbed a copy on my way to my first class and always worked on the crossword puzzle or saved it for one of my less intensive learning days. In addition to the crossword puzzles there were some relevant articles, one that has really suck with my through the years was the one about where do you poop on campus. I am sure there were other favorites such as: where to eat, where to nap, where to do lots of things. But I remember the pooping one, because although I hadn't realized it I had found my own special place, I have no idea what the building was called but it was near Rudder and if the timing worked out I definitely stopped there to take care of business.

I find that my body likes routine, when I was on staff with Pine Cove my second summer I realized that I pooped every morning at 10AM on the dot. It was scary when I realized it then I realized there was some comfort in this because I knew when I needed to be near the bathroom. My body still loves a good scheduled poop in the morning.

As I have moved here to Texas my morning routine is totally fouled up I am still trying to find both the time and place. I am sure that over time I will figure out when and where to take care of my morning business. At the moment, I am taking my morning moments in a building that I walk through on my way to my office. The main downside of this stop is that there isn't any internet so I am stuck either thinking or sitting there and playing sodoku on my phone. I am not going to lie these are not my most favorite things to do while I am just sitting around but hey it is what needs to happen.

I am sure that if you are new to this blog you probably won't be back but for the rest of you I am sure that you are just thinking... this is exactly like Hannah... haha I am so strange. Oh well I bet this has made you wonder where you enjoy your morning glory moments and if you wish that you had internet or maybe a magazine. Oh well it happens... enjoy your morning glories gang!

My Dream Apartment

So sometimes the best first step is to know the correct direction to take, so in that light I have been trying to come up with the amenities that I need, want, or are a bonus in my apartment. I am sure that once I find a place all of this will just go right out the window but at the same time at least I will know what I am looking for. Here is the current list:

Needs:
-pet friendly
-two bedrooms
-close to the interstate or a major highway
-walkin closets
-patio
-nice kitchen with lots of counter space and cabinets
-washer dryer or hookups
-lots of grass nearby
-fans in every room
-rent to be under 1100: hopefully that will include any of the extras water, trash, sewage, etc.
-large bedroom, with lots of space

Wants:
-Washer dryer in the unit
-first or second floor apartment
-separate dining space, not a whole room but a space for a table
-gym on the property worth using
-pool, preferably a saltwater pool
-separate storage space
-close to work
-a large garden tub

Bonus:
-dog park, I didn't even know you could get this
-Second bathroom
-built in storage, like shelves
-recycling, gotta be green
-window seat

I am sure there are more things that I need or want but this a good start and it is helping me look for an apartment... I am getting excited about having an apartment soon. I'll keep you updated on my hunt for the perfect place, hope I can find it before football season starts.

Apartments

On Sunday I went and looked at several different apartment complexes, here are the adventures that happened on that journey...

The first complex showed me a one bedroom with an office (think small room). When I walked in the door the guy was super skeptical about me but after a few minutes it seemed like this might be a nice place. Here are a few things I loved about the place: assigned parking, dog park, elevators, gym with classes, and a really really secure feeling about the place. Things I didn't love: there was no grass near the apartments, mirrored closet doors and it wasn't a walk-in closet, odd shape in the living and dining room, the linen closet did not have a door, and the kitchen was a little off. It was a good place to start it reminded me of the things that I wanted and the things that just might be deal breakers.

The second complex... I didn't even go inside I just drove by and realized that it was super super ghetto. It was a horrible looking place I have no idea what they took a picture of on their website but that was NOT the place that I looked at. It looked horrible and I realized that I don't actually have to do inside any place that makes me feel bad when I drive up. It was not good.

The third and final place: At this point in the day it was starting to look pretty stormy but I figured if the office was open I would be able to see an apartment. I walk in to the office and there are two girls sitting there and I start asking my questions and she answers them but doesn't seem really happy about it. I finally have asked everything and thought I would get to see an apartment and then she tells me they don't show apartments when it is raining. Oh really, I have seen many apartments in the rain. I think these two girls decided that they didn't want to get wet so they said nope we won't show apartments I mean who will know. I know!

So I may not have found an apartment but I did find more things that I want and things that I don't want. I will be sure to keep you updated on how this is going for me. Wish me luck on finding the right place.

A new ice cream flavor

I am one of those people who loves ice cream, and I really love Blue Bell ice cream. If you don't know this ice cream is made in Texas and I grew up with it. Every other brand of ice cream tastes like imitation ice cream, this is one of the few things that I really missed when I didn't live in Texas or really the south. I tend to be a vanilla kind of girl, so sometimes I like to branch out and try different flavors. Yesterday when I was grocery shopping I saw this flavor... Krazy Kookie Dough.

The carton is what sold me, I think

The description says something like cake batter ice cream with sugar cookie dough and sprinkles. To be honest there is nothing about this that says not going to be amazing. I am very excited about trying this one. I had seen this in the freezer for a while, so it was really just a matter of time before I got it. Once I made it home it took all of my limited self control to not just eat it right away I waited until after dinner (left over pizza). So I grabbed a spoon and popped the top off, and this is what I saw...

The ice cream... looks a little yellow

So once I start eating this ice cream, I feel as if I have been mauled by a sugar monster. I love sweet things but I felt as if I was drowning in sugar. I will admit that I only had a few bites and realized that I couldn't eat it at that moment. But I was still in the midst of a sugar craving, luckily I had also purchased a box of strawberry fruit bars.

yummy and healthy, or maybe we should say healthier...

 I may not have had a really bad for me dessert but I was able to eat a fruit bar, they are almost healthy. I totally recommend these to everyone I know, they are better than the Eddy's ones. I have no idea what I am going to do with that pint of sugar. Who knows maybe it will be better tonight, probably not. Oh well at least now I know it is too much for me.

Apartment Hunting

If we are going to be honest and I really try my best to be honest about my experiences here in Dallas, I am equal parts excited and terrified about apartment hunting. I am excited to get into a new place and be able to decorate. However, I hate looking for apartments. I really hate it, I almost loathe looking for apartments. In Dallas there are a million different apartment sites to look at and try to find apartments and they are all different. But my least favorite part is to find a place that I like and look at the online reviews and realize they are horrible, just horrible.

So I at the moment I have a page in a notebook with my needs, wants, and bonus items. It contains things like 2 bedrooms, dog friendly with lots of grass, a patio, a pool, a dog park (this is a bonus item), a million other things. It is so hard to find a place that I love online because it is hard to know what it is really like. I will share the list with you soon... hopefully.

In hopes of finding a place before the first aggie football game kickoff I am starting to execute my new plan, start looking at apartments. I plan on looking at two places this weekend, maybe more if I see someplace that I want to go to. But I think if I start looking I will be able to figure out what I really want and what is something I can live without. Don't fret I will tell you all about my adventures in this hunting business soon. Who knows I might just hire an apartment finder and see what happens. There are so many choices and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

I am looking forward to being able to put down roots and finally feel like I am here to stay. It is hard to live without all of your stuff it might be junk but it is my junk and I want it back. Maybe I will call house hunters and see if they do american apartment hunting... that is an idea! I'll be sure to look into that one ASAP. Wish me luck in my apartment hunting, and let's hope for the best!

Publish or perish

In science one of the main tenants is that to survive you must publish or perish. I know this is a hard concept, you have to have lots of papers to be considered successful and the level of journal matters. It means that you can do great work and it may or may not be accepted by your peers.

For the first several years in grad school it was difficult to actually get anything ready to publish. So for years it was, how many papers do you have? None, I have none. Thank you for reminding my that in the eyes of my peers I am totally worthless. This is only somewhat true, it does take a while to get things published but until something gets in print it just seems like you are not really a scientist.

Now when people ask me, how many papers do you have? I say five. Then the follow up question, how many are you first author on? I again say five. Now I sound like a pretentious jerk, five first author publications... And lets be real, I still have two more that I am working on...

The first time my name is first all alone, AMAZING

Yikes, I think I did well in grad school. I will be honest every time my name is in print I get a little bit more excited. There is nothing more awesome than reading the statement... Malcolm, et al. I just get very very excited.

Well I should actually do work but I just love being in science and I love getting things published!

Illusions of a single serving

I have long been enamored with the idea of a single serving of something delicious because for a long time I have lived alone and there is nothing like baking a batch of cookies, a cake, or a pie and knowing beyond all doubt that I am going to eat the whole thing. I have learned to cut recipes in parts and then use that to my advantage or sometimes I would take stuff up to my office and just let them eat it. But I really really love to bake and I love home cooked sweets, now don't get me wrong I also love having someone else make me something yummy but if I make it at least I know what is in it.

I joined pinterest several months ago and I am not going to lie when I saw the pins for brownies in a mug or a cake in a mug I was intrigued. So I first made the brownie and it was way too bitter for me, I chalked this up to getting the amount of cocca powder slightly wrong or not having any ice cream to slather on top because ice cream makes everything better. That one was horrible so I moved onto a vanilla cake in a mug... there are no words for how inedible it was. It was like chewing on a sponge with no flavor. After those two experiences I vowed to never make anything in a mug again. EVER.

Then out of the blue I found a pin for a single serving of chocolate chip cookies in a mug, you can find the original recipe here. It was the picture that drew me in, this looks just like a cookie cake. I will admit that I thought about making this for about a week until I was home alone and looking for something to do, that is not a good combo.

So first I get out my ingredients, I was convinced that this was going to so yummy that I was going to be able to share my adventures with you so I took lots of photos. Since I took all of these photos I am going to share them with you.

All my ingredients, yes I used real butter I figured this recipe would need lots of help.

So at this point I follow all of the directions, that I am not going to reproduce since you can look them up yourself if you are sure that you want to. But after I mixed everything together in this little ramekin thing. I did taste it at this point, it does taste like cookie dough. It wasn't as amazing as some that I have had but it was good enough that I didn't toss it right then and there.

After mixing before microwaving, looks like cookie dough

 So I pop this sucker in the microwave and give it a minute.. maybe that was too long but I peaked at 40 seconds and it didn't really look like the picture. So after 60 seconds of waiting... I was pretty pumped at this point, also since I made it in the dish that I cooked it in there wasn't a whole lot of clean up just putting stuff away.

At the end of the cooking

 So I pull the cookie out of the microwave and look at it. This doesn't look like the picture online but then again when you cook out of a magazine it never looks like the pic so I wasn't overly concerned. I grab my fork, which was not far away. I take the first bite expecting to be so satisfied with this cookie... I wasn't satisfied at all. It tasted like flour with chocolate chips in it. So I started eating in the corner so I taste a little from the center... still not awesome.

Plan B: add bluebell homemade vanilla ice cream

So I moved onto Plan B, add ice cream. Now that I live in Texas there is always Bluebell vanilla ice cream in the freezer and I added a little of that to the top and let it melt a little. I figured this was the best hope for my single serving disaster. Well it wasn't any better, it was actually a little worse. Now it was good ice cream with crunchy flour and chocolate chips. I just ate the ice cream.

So I tell you this not so that you can fix this recipe but so that you can not try it. Learn from me, there is no such thing as a single serving that you can make in the microwave. Maybe you could try it in a toaster oven but I think I am done with these single serving items. I have learned that people who eat these and say how yummy they are must be on a diet or something. This was horrible I would rather make cookies.