No time!

I'm trying to finish up corrections on my thesis, and get ready for my defense. I have one week from Friday. I'm getting nervous about my talk - I still have to put part of it together. It is good that I have already given several talks about my work, so I have intro and methods parts finished. But I have to figure out how to make my discussion and my summary really kick ass.

I have spent so much time in the past two weeks working on my summary figure. I hope it is going to turn out spectacular. I just had to re-do it this morning to put in even more data, but this should be the last time I have to change big things.

I also made an appointment with the lady at the graduate school who goes over formatting. But that is going to be the Monday after my defense. I can't deal with more before! I'm already leaving the house messy.

On a completely different note, I am enjoying this winter so far. Just in the past two weeks it has gone from mild fall to chilly winter! The high today is not supposed to break 10 above zero. I walked to work yesterday morning through snow on the ground and the brisk air was invigorating. I'm happier than last year because (1) our house is much better insulated than the place we lived last year, so I'm warmer, and (2) I am not having morning sickness every day, which really put a damper on the holdiays last year. I'm looking forward to enjoying baking for Christmas this year! And decorating the tree, and wrapping presents for my baby, etc. Alltogether this year is much more fun.

Pie picture

I promised a picture of my lemon meringue pie. It was only beautiful until it cooled. Then my meringue shrank. Everyone suggested I didn't use enough. I'll try again sometime.

Picture of the week Nov 27

This picture, taken this past July 30, is of the fire weather from the Paradise Complex wildfire in the Paradise Valley, MT. We actually drove through the Paradise Valley the next day down to Yellowstone, and the smoke was fairly bad. In a few spots we could see flames. The smoke in Bozeman got much worse around Labor Day, and I have pictures of that too which I will post later.

Happy 100th post!

Wow! 100 posts in about 2 years. I started this blog back in November of 2004. It seems like so long since then! I've gone through a pregnancy and 4.5 months of my daughter's life. I've also passed my comps and written my thesis. Reading my old blogs is a trip!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I made a lemon meringue pie for the first time ever this year. I will post a picture of it later because it is beautiful.

Have a nice holiday, everyone!

Scheduled

My thesis defense is scheduled. I have 17 days to prepare. I still have to fix my summary figure and my discussion a little. And practice the talk.

Now I have to care for my baby. What's new??

Picture of the Week - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope you all have wonderful plans for the holiday. We are having dinner here at our house with two of our best friends. And our daughter gets some babyfood sweet potatoes. Mmmm.
This week's picture is me reading a paper by our cozy fireplace - in our previous house. This time of year we really miss the fireplace.

Funny Labor & Delivery Anecdote

As I promised...

Our daughter Z was born at 6:15 in the morning after a night at the hospital. We had all previously agreed that Danny would cut the cord. So the doctor gave Danny the scissors and he cut the cord. Then the doctor continued with the rest of the birthing process. Danny still had the scissors and he asked the doctor what he should do with them. "Just throw them on the floor", was the doctor's reply. Danny looked down and saw other flotsam and jetsam from delivery on the floor, and obviously they scrub those delivery rooms pretty well. So he did throw the scissors on the floor. But not until after considering that he had bare feet, and hadn't been wearing his shoes since before midnight!

We laughed at this later that day and again when we told my mom.

I should be asleep

Yes my bedtime is significantly earlier than it was when I was not a mommy. Actually, that is a lie. I just tend to go to bed early. I have for my whole life practically.

I drank coffee this afternoon, which is turning out to be a big mistake. I am tired but not sleepy! AAGH! Sleep is precious and I'm missing it!

Tomorrow... funny labor anecdote. I promise!

Hmmm...

For those of you with keen eyes, you will notice that the Picture of the Week on my sidebar is not the same picture as the one in my blog text. They are *almost* the same though!

Picture of the Week

I started using Blogger beta and you can add pictures to your blog super easy, so I've added a Picture of the Week. I'll post it too, so readers who use readers (heh) can see it.

This week's picture is of Swan Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Taken by Danny.

New look, new thoughts

I hate it when people give up their blogs for a long time and then start posting again. Wait... That's what I'm doing! To those of you who might have me on Google Reader or Bloglines or another reader, I apologize for the long absence.

For me, it has been impossible to write these past few months. Learning how to get along with my child has taken up most of my time. Then there was/is that thesis I have to turn in. I am giving it to my committee members tomorrow! Which means my defense is coming up. I'm only getting a Master's but I still have to do all this stuff. Thankfully it is almost over.

Sure there are tons of things to post about when you have a new baby! But who really wants to sit down at the computer and write about something when you could be either hanging out with said baby, or taking care of the myriad other things that don't get much attention when you are a new mom (e.g. house cleaning, dishes, husband, self). Instead of posting I had to work on my thesis. Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I want to post again. So I will. And if you are still reading my blog after the hiatus, THANK YOU!