My View

Looks like fun, huh? Well it is all coming to a bit of a closure today. I defend my thesis today. My thesis you ask? Well it isn't exactly finished, but it will be in a few months and I definitely have enough information to fill up a few hours. Today at 4, when it is over, I will be a happy camper!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! Erik and I drove to MN. It took a little longer than expected but we made it and that is what matters. We spent Thanksgiving Day with my family. It was very nice to see everyone. I enjoyed just sitting around and chatting. The next two days, Erik and I each spent time with our families. On Sunday we drove back and were wishing we had more time with our families.

I've been working quite a bit on this presentation. When it was mostly finished last night, Erik and I spent some time putting up Christmas lights and getting out decorations. We did not get a Christmas tree, but I decorated the Christmas Cactus. It makes me chuckle every time I look at it. I'll have to put up a picture later. It is funny looking, but it works just fine for us.

1400 miles, 5 states, exhaustion

It has been a busy couple of weeks. I went on a little road trip through 5 states. I don't have much to say, but here is a little recap...

I started my trip by driving north, to Fargo, to visit Katie. It was great to see her and where she is calling home away from home. We had a great day together. We went to see all of her wonderful artwork. She is so creative.




Below is the building that Katie takes her painting class. It is so cool with exposed architecture.


From Fargo, I drove east, had an interview. Yep. And then I drove south. I stayed with my parents. Had the interview part 2. Dad and I went out to lunch and Mom, Dad and I went out to dinner. Mom and I tried to go get Cities Sampler CDs but the last tickets were handed out about 3 people in front of us. It was a nice time. It was nice to hang out with my parents.


I also was able to deliver this baby quilt to my friend Gretchen and her husband Lance who are expecting a little girl very soon. It was nice to see them and see how happy they are.

I got back Thursday night. Kevin and Jen came over and we made apple pies. I undercooked one of them. Our oven is warmer on one side. We made the pies for Friday night when we had Thanksgiving for the grad students and families. It was a good time and a good turn out with lots of good food. Saturday I slept, Sunday I relaxed and did a little work.

Now, I'm waiting and looking forward to Thanksgiving! :)

Extended Halloween

Chocolate cake with an orange creme frosting and an ice cream cone covered in chocolate for the stem.

The whole wild crowd: Blackmail, Ghost, Dead Husker, Trailer Park Manager, Rodeo Queen, Old Lady, Peg Bundy, Hippie, Stickman, Stickwoman, Mime, Oscar the Grouch, The Husker Football team going down the drain, Burger King Guy, The Dude (Big Lebowski), and Huskers Guy.


Erik and I, a stick couple. :)

Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins last night. Can you figure out who did each pumpkin? ;)

Where I've been

This is where I've been... my cubicle... home sweet productivity. I'm on quite a deadline so I've been here.

This is a Green Ash by our apartment. It is beautiful. I think the autumn colors are just about over here, but it has been beautiful around here.


Saturday night Erik and I went over to Brenda & Chris's for a bonfire. It was nice to relax around a fire and hang out with friends for a while. We also got to enjoy their dogs. I love both of their dogs but I really like there Border Collie/Springer dog named Mongo. He is a sweetie.

I made Apple and Oat Bran Muffins yesterday. They turned out better than I expected. I think I would add a little bit more cinnamon next time, but still very good. Otherwise I slept yesterday and enjoyed a day away from my cubicle. :)

Happy and Healthy

I've been thinking a bit about what makes people healthy and I'm working on becoming a healthier person overall - mind and body. I've heard some people gain weight and get somewhat depressed when writing their thesis - I am determined that that won't happen to me.

I just wanted to share what a blogger wrote and I agree whole heartedly with her. This is from Kelli at http://www.africankelli.com/

"Ultimately, what I think we need to remember is that we cannot shop ourselves green with new light bulbs or hybrid cars. We cannot eat ourselves thin with 100-calorie packs of crackers. We cannot pull ourselves out of financial ruin by shopping sales that “save.” Nice marketing ploys! If we make these choices because they fit in our budgeting, nutrition, environmental plans — that is another story. Simply, I think we can focus on using less and walking more — those two things alone will make us all healthier."

I also found another website that I have enjoyed looking at http://northernimages.com/lakesuperior/index.php
It is a has some beautiful photos of a place Erik and I hope to live someday. :)

Erik and I went down to Nebraska City this weekend. We really enjoy that area. It is beautiful and the trees are just starting to change colors. It was a rainy weekend so I didn't take any pictures, but it was still a lot of fun. We went to Kimmel's Orchard and the Peddleton Outlet, had lunch and worked our way back to Lincoln.

The past week or so

This weekend we went to a Lincoln Stars hockey game. That was a lot of fun and I knew how many periods there are in hockey. :) haha. Saturday and Sunday we went to the farmers markets. Saturday we got jalapeno catfish cakes and Sunday we bought pumpkins, radishes, cabbage, bell peppers, and broccoli.

I got some huge zucchini from Martha and made zucchini brownies. I sent most of them right out of our house so I wouldn't chow down on them. I sent some to work with Erik, some to our neighbor, Abby, and I sent some all the way to Fargo, ND because test takers need to eat veggies - so zucchini brownies are just the thing. Forget that they have plenty of sugar in them. :)

And we caught up on cleaning and laundry, but that isn't fun but it did occupy a good part of the weekend.

I've been working on a presentation for school. I had it printed yesterday and then someone found 3 mistakes (2 typos and one redundant sentence) so I had to have it reprinted. That was a bit of a bummer.

Yesterday it was 84 outside and today the high is suppose to be 62. Quite a difference, but I'm definitely not complaining. I'd much prefer the cooler weather.

I have been reading the icanhascheezburger site a lot lately. They are just so funny.

Last night we went out for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Paz. We met up with two of Erik's work friends. That was nice and I love eating there. It is in walking distance too so we enjoy the walk to and from there.

I've been window shopping lately online for clothes and electric tea kettles and area rugs - which are so darn expensive - definitely not worth it right now, but fun too look. I really dislike our carpet in our apartment. I've had an increasing disliking to the carpet for a few months now, but we won't have for too long, so it is fine, and it works.

We also dog sat last night. We watched Jessie for the night. He is a fun and good dog. I can't wait to have my own dog... and barn cats, and horses and maybe a rabbit too.