At least, I'm adopting their feeding habits. I'm already the right size for one! This morning I had breakfast after my shower (like normal). Then I got ready to leave for school, and decided I was still hungry enough for a second breakfast of French toast. Last night before I went to bed I had a 'late night snack' of cheese manicotti (though eating something that substantial just before bed did leave me feeling less nauseated this morning).
Last night I went up to Melissa Tate's apartment to ask her how to cope with morning sickness. Since she's already had one child, I figured she'd be a good source. So, she showed me what she was eating. Currently? I thought? Yes, it turns out--she is also pregnant, and is apparently due just about a week before me (though I haven't seen a doctor to confirm my estimated due date yet).
Just on a whim, I decided to call Maja (Nash) Onda. Turns out, she too is pregnant, and due in the middle of July. I'm so excited that three of us are all due at about the same time--and glad to know there are other people going through the same sickness and restlessness, and other obnoxious symptoms I'm dealing with. Somehow makes it more manageable to know you're not alone. For a little while there I was feeling like I couldn't really do this--and I'm only in about my 6th week!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The influences in my life
My Grandpa is cool. Yesterday he asked me if putting more water in the ocean would eventually result in a drop in sea level. That is actually true--if you were to melt all the glaciers in the world the increased weight of the water would cause the ocean basins to subside and become larger, eventually sea level would be lower than it is right now--it will just take hundreds of thousands to millions of years to happen. My Grandpa introduced me to science--I remember many hours watching Nature and Nova, and other fascinating TV shows about nature curled up next to him on his bed. When I was about 8 my family took a trip to Canada, and one of the things I remember about that trip (besides heating up a nail in the fire until it glowed red-hot) was stopping at Mt. St. Helens. I'd watched a number of shows on the volcano with my Grandpa, and really seeing it with him was one of the coolest things we did on the trip. My Grandpa always wanted to see an erupting volcano, and he would watch anything on volcanoes. There's a volcano watching website he frequents (I think he still does anyway) so he can watch volcanoes erupting live. I wish he'd been able to go to Hawaii or Iceland, or someplace with an erupting volcano just so he could see one, but I suspect he never will.
My Grandma, Mimi, is also cool--she's still a substitute teacher and she makes blankest, quilts, hats, and stuffed animals in her spare time. She should really get onto etsy and sell some of her wonderful, home-made wares. Until she starts charging, I'm going to enjoy all the expertise and talent she shares with the rest of us! From her I learned to make bread, which is a skill I really value (as does Derrick :) ). She's been a great friend and as much a mother to me as my Mom (though don't ever tell my Mom I said that!)
I am so glad I have very curious and creative grandparents. I hope when I'm the same age as my grandparents I'm as active and interested in the world around me as they are.
My Grandma, Mimi, is also cool--she's still a substitute teacher and she makes blankest, quilts, hats, and stuffed animals in her spare time. She should really get onto etsy and sell some of her wonderful, home-made wares. Until she starts charging, I'm going to enjoy all the expertise and talent she shares with the rest of us! From her I learned to make bread, which is a skill I really value (as does Derrick :) ). She's been a great friend and as much a mother to me as my Mom (though don't ever tell my Mom I said that!)
I am so glad I have very curious and creative grandparents. I hope when I'm the same age as my grandparents I'm as active and interested in the world around me as they are.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The order of things
Three random people at Borders know I'm pregnant and Derrick doesn't. How fun is that?
I finally worked up the gumption to take a pregnancy test yesterday morning (though that was a bit of an adventure too--the first time I tried I couldn't hold back my pee long enough to open the stupid test package, as if my body really, REALLY didn't want to know). I sent pictures to Derrick, who may have seen them by now if he's checked his email, but definitely hadn't last night, since he was still driving through a lovely snowstorm in the Wasatch mountains. Since I had a 40% off coupon at Border's, I went out to buy The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Borders didn't have that book in stock, so I bought The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy and the Baby's First Year instead. I'm pleased with the book. It's a bit like a high school text-book, which I find reassuring. Anyway, when I couldn't find the first book immediately, I tried looking it up on the computers scattered around the store so I wouldn't have to ask anyone. A very helpful employee came over to help me and saw what I was looking at, and wished me congratulations. Then at the check out counter I complained about not being able to find the book I wanted and the two people there were very helpful, but also now know I'm pregnant before my husband does. Now I really want Derrick to check his email so I can tell him! :)
I finally worked up the gumption to take a pregnancy test yesterday morning (though that was a bit of an adventure too--the first time I tried I couldn't hold back my pee long enough to open the stupid test package, as if my body really, REALLY didn't want to know). I sent pictures to Derrick, who may have seen them by now if he's checked his email, but definitely hadn't last night, since he was still driving through a lovely snowstorm in the Wasatch mountains. Since I had a 40% off coupon at Border's, I went out to buy The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Borders didn't have that book in stock, so I bought The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy and the Baby's First Year instead. I'm pleased with the book. It's a bit like a high school text-book, which I find reassuring. Anyway, when I couldn't find the first book immediately, I tried looking it up on the computers scattered around the store so I wouldn't have to ask anyone. A very helpful employee came over to help me and saw what I was looking at, and wished me congratulations. Then at the check out counter I complained about not being able to find the book I wanted and the two people there were very helpful, but also now know I'm pregnant before my husband does. Now I really want Derrick to check his email so I can tell him! :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Give a Little Bit
I'm a terrible daughter-in-law. Derrick and I spent thanksgiving with his family this year since we're spending Christmas in Utah. Since we'll be in Utah, we also exchanged our Christmas gifts. My in-laws really splurged on us this year--Derrick got a very nice (and very expensive) tripod and tripod head for his camera, and I got a set of the dishes I wanted from Bed Bath and Beyond, and an ironing board (it's amazing how domestic I'm becoming, but you really do need one for sewing, and it's really irritating ironing on carpet). Very thoughtful and very useful gifts to us, especially given that the two of us are still maintaining two households and thus don't have a lot of spare cash for fun things like new dishes and camera equipment.
ANYWAY. Then my in-laws opened their gifts from us. They weren't quite so extravagant, shall we say. We bought most of our gifts for family in Greece this year, so there were some space and financial considerations. Even so. Derrick's dad wanted wine from Greece, which we purchased and managed to get back to the states even in Derrick's soft-sided bag, and got all the way to Indiana, where I dropped it carrying it into the house. So, Derrick's dad got Argentine wine instead.
We gave my Mother-in-law an olive-wood spatula. Yes, that's right, a spatula. It's a very nice spatula, made of really quite beautiful, curly, spalted olive wood. But it's a spatula. To make it even worse, in Greece we got me a small square tablecloth with a Greek key border and olives embroidered on it, and a set of four matching napkins. Derrick showed it to his mom, who thought it was for her, and quite obviously thought it was an absolutely gorgeous piece. I wish we'd given it to her now. Oh well--at least this means we really, REALLY have to go back, if for no other reason than to get my Mother-in-law the tablecloth she deserves.
ANYWAY. Then my in-laws opened their gifts from us. They weren't quite so extravagant, shall we say. We bought most of our gifts for family in Greece this year, so there were some space and financial considerations. Even so. Derrick's dad wanted wine from Greece, which we purchased and managed to get back to the states even in Derrick's soft-sided bag, and got all the way to Indiana, where I dropped it carrying it into the house. So, Derrick's dad got Argentine wine instead.
We gave my Mother-in-law an olive-wood spatula. Yes, that's right, a spatula. It's a very nice spatula, made of really quite beautiful, curly, spalted olive wood. But it's a spatula. To make it even worse, in Greece we got me a small square tablecloth with a Greek key border and olives embroidered on it, and a set of four matching napkins. Derrick showed it to his mom, who thought it was for her, and quite obviously thought it was an absolutely gorgeous piece. I wish we'd given it to her now. Oh well--at least this means we really, REALLY have to go back, if for no other reason than to get my Mother-in-law the tablecloth she deserves.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Melt into the Walls
So, I finished curtains this weekend, which is truly an accomplishment for me. I remember as a kid trying so hard to use my grandma's sewing machine to sew doll clothes, only to have the sewing machine eat the fabric and get clogged. My grandma, who spent every evening listening to the TV as she sewed stacks of clothing and quilts, would have to come in after me and clean out the mangled pieces of fabric wound tightly with yards of thread. Under her expert hands the machine would function beautifully, but no matter what tricks she'd show me, I just couldn't get the thing to work for me.
While I was at Penn State Melissa talked me into making her a dress for Halloween (I guess the bad memories slipped my mind long enough for her to convince me it would be fun), and that was probably my first successful sewing venture. The dress was huge--not only did we get the wrong size pattern, but I was so nervous about my ability to sew small seams that I cut something like an extra half-inch on every side of the pattern. Even as huge as it was, the dress turned out sufficiently nicely that I was willing to take up sewing again.
Anyway, my bedroom window faces the apartments next door, which have annoyingly bright lights on all night long. I haven't been around enough for it to really bother me, but lately I've had trouble getting to sleep, and thought actual darkness might help. To my happiness, they do, and they look really snazzy! The curtains are made from some lovely faux-suede fabric that was a joy to work with. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 yards of the stuff in other colors that I plan to make into a quilt (in my copious free time, of course).
While I was at Penn State Melissa talked me into making her a dress for Halloween (I guess the bad memories slipped my mind long enough for her to convince me it would be fun), and that was probably my first successful sewing venture. The dress was huge--not only did we get the wrong size pattern, but I was so nervous about my ability to sew small seams that I cut something like an extra half-inch on every side of the pattern. Even as huge as it was, the dress turned out sufficiently nicely that I was willing to take up sewing again.
Anyway, my bedroom window faces the apartments next door, which have annoyingly bright lights on all night long. I haven't been around enough for it to really bother me, but lately I've had trouble getting to sleep, and thought actual darkness might help. To my happiness, they do, and they look really snazzy! The curtains are made from some lovely faux-suede fabric that was a joy to work with. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 yards of the stuff in other colors that I plan to make into a quilt (in my copious free time, of course).
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Sound of Settling
So, it's been a ridiculously long time since I've posted. I was at Woods Hole, MA for a month, and then I went to Greece for about two weeks with Derrick. The last six weeks have been absolutely amazing--I was über productive at Woods Hole, and then had a fabulous time in Greece with Derrick traveling from Athens to Naxos, and then to Santorini. Coming back to real life is so hard.
I don't know what to say about WHOI. It's an exciting place to be, not least of all because there's so much going on that I find interesting. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work there at all, and more, to have worked with someone like Tim Eglinton, who is an impressive, well-known organic geochemist, and great person to boot; and I feel fortunate to have spent a month surrounded by such smart, motivated people as are in his lab. When I went to WHOI I couldn't believe how excited I was to go there (it's just another place where people do research, right?). Dorky as this is, on my way to Woods Hole I felt like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. I felt the same way I did when I fist went to tech. I think I expected things to end the same way there, too, with disillusionment and semi-failure (or something akin to it). I admit, I struggled with feelings of inadequacy while I was there: with feeling like I'm intellectually inferior to the people around me, like I'm an impostor risking exposure every time I opened my mouth, like I really don't belong and people are just humoring me because I'm a girl. Feelings I haven't really had to deal with since I left tech (this place certainly doesn't inspire them, and I was too preoccupied with other feelings of inadequacy at Penn State to worry about the minor detail of my stupidity).
And yet, WHOI was invigorating and challenging in a way I definitely miss, and on balance it was a very positive experience. I don't think I've enjoyed working so hard for a very long time, nor have I been in a place so dizzyingly stimulating. My visit definitely reaffirmed my decision to do science, and made me want to work harder and find out more (sorry Derrick, no kiddos just yet). I was sad, almost to the point of crying (though I didn't) as I rode the bus to Boston, watching the sun set over the Cape.
'Course, then I went to Greece, and since then have had a dickens of time getting myself at all motivated :)
Greece is a beautiful country, and the people are very friendly. I loved seeing the Parthenon and the Acropolis, and learning about so much history. I'd never been to Europe before, and I have to say being someplace that's steeped in so much history is pretty amazing. Oh, and the food was fabulous! The first night Derrick and I were in Athens we went to this little restaurant just downstairs from our hotel and we got grilled feta as an appetizer. That is my new favorite dish. Very simple--just feta cheese with olive oil and spices--we had it at every opportunity and saw a number of variations, most involving thin-sliced tomatoes or peppers and some combination of oregano and basil. I'm definitely going to have to experiment with this dish to perfect my own version ;)
I should probably do a more organized report (with pictures!) but I'm tired and it's late, so I'll do it in a future (but soon!) post.
I don't know what to say about WHOI. It's an exciting place to be, not least of all because there's so much going on that I find interesting. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work there at all, and more, to have worked with someone like Tim Eglinton, who is an impressive, well-known organic geochemist, and great person to boot; and I feel fortunate to have spent a month surrounded by such smart, motivated people as are in his lab. When I went to WHOI I couldn't believe how excited I was to go there (it's just another place where people do research, right?). Dorky as this is, on my way to Woods Hole I felt like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. I felt the same way I did when I fist went to tech. I think I expected things to end the same way there, too, with disillusionment and semi-failure (or something akin to it). I admit, I struggled with feelings of inadequacy while I was there: with feeling like I'm intellectually inferior to the people around me, like I'm an impostor risking exposure every time I opened my mouth, like I really don't belong and people are just humoring me because I'm a girl. Feelings I haven't really had to deal with since I left tech (this place certainly doesn't inspire them, and I was too preoccupied with other feelings of inadequacy at Penn State to worry about the minor detail of my stupidity).
And yet, WHOI was invigorating and challenging in a way I definitely miss, and on balance it was a very positive experience. I don't think I've enjoyed working so hard for a very long time, nor have I been in a place so dizzyingly stimulating. My visit definitely reaffirmed my decision to do science, and made me want to work harder and find out more (sorry Derrick, no kiddos just yet). I was sad, almost to the point of crying (though I didn't) as I rode the bus to Boston, watching the sun set over the Cape.
'Course, then I went to Greece, and since then have had a dickens of time getting myself at all motivated :)
Greece is a beautiful country, and the people are very friendly. I loved seeing the Parthenon and the Acropolis, and learning about so much history. I'd never been to Europe before, and I have to say being someplace that's steeped in so much history is pretty amazing. Oh, and the food was fabulous! The first night Derrick and I were in Athens we went to this little restaurant just downstairs from our hotel and we got grilled feta as an appetizer. That is my new favorite dish. Very simple--just feta cheese with olive oil and spices--we had it at every opportunity and saw a number of variations, most involving thin-sliced tomatoes or peppers and some combination of oregano and basil. I'm definitely going to have to experiment with this dish to perfect my own version ;)
I should probably do a more organized report (with pictures!) but I'm tired and it's late, so I'll do it in a future (but soon!) post.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
I'm leaving on a jet plane
I had a wonderful time at woods hole, and am leaving with a whole bunch of data and good experiences and friendships I hope will continue far into the future...
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