Everything has changed

We had a gorgeous baby girl born on Saturday, July 1st at 6:15 in the morning. And she is the reason I haven't blogged since then. But she's a good reason. This is from the day she was born. She looks a lot older now that she's two months already!

So many things have happened in the last two months! I don't even have time to recap. I am immersed in my kid and my thesis. I have to have the draft completed by Monday the 11th (my own deadline) to get it to my advisor. I'm giving her over two weeks with it, then I'm getting it to the rest of my committee. I want to defend in November, so I'm hoping this is enough time for them. I still have to set the actual date for my defense, which I'm going to do next week.

In other news, I successfully did a poster at AMQUA when my baby was 6 weeks old. It was not a fiasco! It went really well. And I went to see a couple of talks including Bill Ruddiman's talk about his anthropogenic greenhouse hypothesis, while my husband hung out with our daughter in the lobby.

Now I'm keeping a baby book after deciding not to keep one and then changing my mind about a week ago. My mom suggested I keep one to write down interesting baby stuff in, and at first I thought it was not my thing. Then I realized that I was already forgetting stuff about the first weeks of having a newborn. Then I figured it was a good idea. And we've been taking oodles of pictures of course.

More to come in the future. I promise!!!

Trying to avoid work

It is after 3pm and I haven't done too much in the way of work yet today. I feel like I'm trying to avoid it even though I keep telling myself I'm not. Why?

I have a good chunk of thesis written. This week I finished the two gruesome tables I had to include. Just today I DID install Adobe on my computer so that I can make my figures. I have a list in front of me of the figures I need. This week I also finished the results section. Now on to the discussion. Which is what I think I am avoiding writing. That and one more section of my introduction that I don't want to write. I must get to it though! I must overcome!

In my procrastination I started reading thehomelessguy's blog (linked from She Falters' blog). I like it! It reminded me of times I've been confronted by homeless people. Most of the time I'm pretty leery of homeless people because there were many crazy ones where I grew up that were just scary and young women wanted to stay far away from them. But there were a few times when I got to know a homeless person a little. One guy I met in Laramie, WY, played the balalaika. And I have a sneaky feeling that one of my former employers is now homeless or close to it. He was my best friend for a while, I knew him pretty well. I hope he is ok.

Finished! (with my book)

Yay! On Sunday afternoon I finished War and Peace. It was a nice experience in my life. I believe that my favorite quote (at least that I can think of) is the one I posted before. Yesterday afternoon I picked up Skeleton Crew and read The Mist, a story I hadn't ever read before (I've had the book for years but hadn't read every story). I got completely sucked in and read the whole 155 page story in one sitting. It was really creepy outside too - thunderstorms and rain. That always makes King more intense.

I've read a lot of Stephen King in my life; the last book of his I read was Bag of Bones, around December 2004. Incedentally, that book scared the daylights out of me. But, after not having read him for a while, it was nice to get involved in a story of his style. I love the way he writes. I know it is probably simplistic and too mainstream for literature lovers, but I like it.

Life

"We imagine that when we are thrown out of our accustomed grooves that all is lost, but it is only then that what is new and good begins."

-- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

I love this book. It has to be one of my all-time favorites. It has taken me quite a while to complete it. I'm actually not done yet, I still have about 100 pages left. But if you know War and Peace, I'm super close to finishing. Perhaps I will finish before I give birth...

I *heart* friends

Did you ever have one of those days when all of your friends seemed to email you at approximately the same time? I'm talking about the friends that aren't in the same geographical area as you, the old friends. I had so much fun today replying to emails and thinking about my old friends. One might even be moving somewhere close to me within the next year or so maybe!

One of my friends from here got back yesterday from a visit to her parents, and she stopped by to chat for a while. I've really been missing the girl time lately. I spend lots of time with my husband and no kidding I love it, but lately I've been needing to hang with girls a little. Probably this impending motherhood thing. So that was really nice.

Back to writing thesis

I've been playing around with data some more, so no actual writing has gotten done in about 1 week. I have a good methods seciton done, and most of an introduction, and background. I'm feeling good about what I've written so far and what I still have to write. I just got done meeting with my advisor and looking at my pollen data. I have just a teeny bit more data analysis to do before I can look at it all and write the story. I'm pretty confident that I can do that well too, without too much hassle. My data looks pretty interesting.

I must say this now - there are some times when I absolutely love my advisor. Today I asked how different my actual thesis should be from the pub that I'm writing it for. She says, "no different, try to make them as much the same as possible. Doesn't the grad school offer a publication option?" No, our grad school does not offer a publication option. But I don't have to explain every laboratory method in detail, I can cite others that actually explain that sort of thing. And my thesis doesn't have to be ultra-long. Ah, sometimes my advisor really is cool. Plus, as I was just ruminating over on my walk to my office, she has been pretty supportive of my pregnancy. She's not overly excited, but she hasn't given me any shit about pregnancy things, or even scheduling things after baby. For example, there is a workshop at Grand Teton National Park that my work should be presented at, coming up on September 19-20. One of us should really go because we got all our funding from the Park and from the other "entity" running the workshop. She asked me today if I think I'll be up to going. I said yes, but with the caveat that I must take my husband and baby. She says that's cool, I should just talk to the lady organizing the workshop and let her know what's going on. She even said maybe I'll get the top-of-the-line accomodations. So, I'm feeling blessed right now.

I am off to make a to-do checklist for myself and see about getting some food. My baby is dropping into my pelvis so there is definitely more room in my tummy for food now. Sometimes it's really awkward to eat because the baby is so squirmy though! It is such a weird feeling! Less than 4 weeks now!

Countdown!

It's time to start the clocks. The due date is in approximately 5 weeks. Babies can come without hesitation within 2 weeks of the due date. This means I could "go" safely starting the 23rd of this month. Aah!

My Dicentra spectabilis

This weekend we did get to go to the nursery, and I got a bleeding heart! Here it is. No blooms, and it probably won't bloom this year, but next year it will.

We also got some tomato plants and some seeds. The seeds won't come up for a while, but that's ok. We're not sure when we're going to be in the hospital, and who will water our plants while we're there. I suppose D could come home to water them. That might be silly though. I guess we'll hope for rain.

We just got back from shoe shopping and treats. We bought D some Birkenstocks! These are his first expensive shoes. Maybe in his whole life! The most expensive he's had before are $40 Chuck's. We've been getting the super cheap $5 "fakenstocks" from WalMart for the past few years, but they wear out in a month or so. The ones he had prior to this shopping trip lasted 3 months total, and yesterday the entire "rubber" sole came off and started flapping around. He's been afraid of losing an expensive pair of shoes in the past, but he's never lost a pair of shoes in his life. So we went with the good-investment shoes. I love my Birks, and now he gets to start loving his. How cute!

We also had treats, and I had a huge rootbeer float! MMMMMMMM! I haven't had a rootbeer float in a few years! It was sooo good. D had this cool concoction that is basically an italian soda with ice cream instead of ice. So kind of like a rootbeer float but whatever flavor you want. He had orange, and he said it was good. My baby must be enjoying that rootbeer and ice cream now because it's squirming all over the place. Heh.

References

I was just working on compiling all my references in one file. I don't have any cool software like EndNote, so I'm just putting them all into Excel. I have lots! It's nice to get them all in one place. I needed it earlier this year when I was writing a progress report. Oh well. Now I have the list for the future.

I'm starting to write my thesis! This references thing was part of that. I don't have much done so far, and this afternoon I get to learn how to process pollen data. I'll be making graphics and stuff like that along with writing for the next couple of weeks. I also have to put together a poster for AMQUA, but that shouldn't take too long. I spent so much of this last semester talking about my charcoal data that I think I can make a poster in a jiffy. I'll have pollen graphs to add to it which will be cool. That's the last step before I can actually come up with conclusions! Yippee!

It is so nice to have the internet at home! I'm actually at home right now, wow! If any of you enjoy "modern rock" check out Woxy. You have to be a member to get the high-quality stream but it's worth it so far. Woxy is cool. There's my shameless advertising.

This weekend hopefully we're going to fix up a bit of garden by our patio. There are a couple of plants growing there now, and we wanted to add some tomato seeds. Last year we grew a tomato plant in the ground and it succeeded. I really want to get a bleeding heart plant for out there. We had one where I grew up next to our deck, and every year it grew and it was huge by the time we moved out! It is supposed to be nice and warm this weekend so hopefully we can go to the nursery and buy some plant stuff! That's always been one of my favorite things about summer.

Working from home

Ahh, this is the life. Getting some academic work done from the home office. I haven't had internet at home for a veeeery long time. I've never ever had speedy internet at home, in the past it was always dial-up. So this is a new thing for me.

This morning I finished my own abstract for the upcoming AMQUA meeting in August. I sent it off to my advisor (co-author) and she emailed me back in minutes saying it was good to submit and I could register. It's really cool to have an email-responsive advisor. She's the type who checks her email every 5 minutes while she's sitting at her computer, so responses from her are super fast. Now that I have email at home though, she can get in touch with me more often. I guess it's a two-edged sword.

Now I have to walk up to school to take my husband some lunch and do a few things there. Then it's back here for some cleaning and organizing and maybe some more academic work. I have some data processing to do and then I have to put together the AMQUA poster. And writing my thesis!

HOT!

I'm taking a short break from counting pollen to put my feet up and eat some applesauce. It's been in the 80s here for the past couple of days, and I'm starting to swell. Ick. It's not too bad, but I can feel it in my hands and feet. I could really use a nap right now too, but I've got to stick it out through two more slides. Not so bad.

I'm looking out the window right now and it is so beautiful outside that I don't want to stay in!

Here is a really pretty picture for those of you that enjoy pretty pictures. It's from last summer.

Back? Maybe

This semester was really busy, and I wanted to get things done so blogging fell by the wayside. Pretty soon we'll be getting internet at our house, so I will probably post more. I've been thinking about it. Since March we've moved to Family Housing. It's super nice here, we're in a 3-bedroom townhouse-type house. It's taken a while to set up, and it's still not finished. There is still some organization needed, but it'll get there. This past weekend we sort of fixed up the new baby's room. We don't have much furniture yet (no crib, etc.) but we do have a dresser and a rocking chair. I unpacked my old stuffed animals and put them in hammocks which is pretty cute. And we washed all the baby clothes we have so they're all ready and we don't have to think about that anymore. It seems like we're set on clothes for the first few months, until it gets cold.

I'm well on my way to finishing my masters. I'll be done counting pollen this month. Then I have data analysis and writing. I've moved much of my stuff home to the "office" there, and that's where I'll be writing. It should be good, I've always liked working from home, and writing seems easier there.

Things seem to be going well with the baby. I'm getting kicked and punched all the time (right now in fact). It's been fun, and we're both looking forward to having it "outside" me.

Emotional Crumminess

I'm feeling like I really need to post about this (weird!)...

At the end of last summer I posted about telling the new grad student how the lab is. Turns out she just recently got an email from a prospective grad student with questions about the lab. So, she wrote her back and told her what she thinks about the situation here. She was truthful, and I thought she wasn't very harsh at all (she let me see her reply email). Well, apparently she was talking to a couple of our lab-mates yesterday and they yelled at her for being so truthful. They made her feel so bad that she wrote back to the prospective grad student and told her to ask the rest of us (now I have an email to respond to).

I am a little angry because I read her reply email and I thought it was truthful and straightforward without being rude. I feel strongly about telling new and prospective grad students the truth. Why doesn't everyone? Why should new students be "buttered up"? Just to get them to come to your University? Rrrrrr.

This semester hasn't seen much blogging

I'm sick with a bad cold right now, so I'm sitting here staring at the computer instead of staring through a microscope at pollen. It doesn't feel much better on the eyes. My monitor stinks - I really need a new computer. The one I'm using is old and fryed.

Anyway, there hasn't been much time for blogging in my life lately. I don't have a hugely hectic schedule at school, but during most of my downtime (i.e. not in class or teaching lab) I am counting pollen. It is going well so far. I've mastered the common types in my area (diploxylon pine and artemisia are the big ones, then there are some chenopods, spruce, fir, sometimes a tubuliflorae). I have seen some neato grains, like a linguliflorae, and a caryophyllaceae. I've seen some alder too, which is a nice change of pace from artemisia. I'm trying to power through the pollen.

Last weekend before I got sick I finished counting my charcoal. Now I just have to "analyze" the data - read: blackbox it. I don't want to talk about the black box. Ugh. This is supposedly for a semester project in the class I'm taking from my advisor this semester. Something I can do for that class and also incorporate into my thesis. Not a bad thing, but not too interesting either. I have a semester paper in my other class too, and at first I thought, "Oh, I want to do some more thesis research for that paper too, so I don't 'waste' any time this semester." Then I got to thinking, "How boring!" I like learning new things, and recently I've been realizing that I am really interested in something completely different. So for that paper, I'm focusing on something I'll really enjoy. It'll be a literature review paper instead of a data paper, but that's fine with the professor so that's fine with me. I feel much better for choosing that too, like I'm doing something I want with my time, not just trudging on to the final thesis product.

So I haven't had much time for blogging. I have also been "being pregnant" which is cool. I had an ultrasound last week which was super cool! I also started feeling my baby move around last week, which was also way exciting. I've been feeling it every day since then, and it's pretty cool. Other people can even feel it if they touch my belly - it's already that powerful! So, yes, thinking about mommy-hood is taking up some of my time.

To tell you all the truth, I also haven't felt too much like blogging lately. I don't have time to surf the net, so I don't find interesting newsy things to talk about, and I don't read all that many other blogs. Reading what happened to BotanicalGirl really made me sad too, and that put a wedge between me and my blog. There are some things I have been thinking about related to academia and my PhD (?) but I'm questioning whether or not to put them on here. My husband says I should, because we don't talk to a bunch of other people about our problems/thoughts on academia, so I should maybe get other feedback. But I'm leery about it still. Maybe the next time I get some quality time in front of the computer I will post about some of that.

no title

"If there is someone on your blogroll who makes your world a better place just because that person exists and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence on your blog."

The all-powerful 5 things meme

I haven't had the chance to post in a looong time, and then I get tagged by BotanicalGirl! Hehe!
Just so you all know, I've been counting pollen, not goofing off. But it really takes the time away from the blog-reading and the blogging!

Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.

1. Seeking Solace
2. StatGirl
3. ScienceWoman
4. BotanicalGirl
5. K

Then select five people to tag!
1. SithKnits
2. Rhyax
3. Soma
4. B
5. Where's My Tab?

What were you doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago I was in 8th grade. I don't remember a lot of specific events from then (is that bad?), but I had recently started playing the cello, which was awesome. I was really dorky in middle school though, so maybe that's why I don't remember doing a bunch of fun stuff...

What were you doing one year ago
One year ago I was writing grants frantically (well, maybe not frantically) trying to fund my master's research. I didn't write that many actually, only 3. And 2 out of 3 got funded, so I got all the money I needed. I was still trying to get used to grad school and a new place. The new place hasn't been easy. I think I'm still adjusting!

Five snacks you enjoy
1. Animal cookies! I eat too many of these.
2. Cheddar cheese. Yes, just a piece of cheddar cheese.
3. Pistachios.
4. Carrots and ranch dip.
5. Seedless oranges.
The funny thing is that most of these I have only recently been snacking on! Yay for pregnancy. A few month's ago I wasn't eating pistachios or animal cookies or just pieces of cheese. Huh.

Five Songs to Which I Know All the Lyrics
1. Ace of Base - The Sign. Heheh
2. The Beatles - I know lots of their songs...
3. Goo Goo Dolls - Fallin' Down
4. The Clash - London Calling
5. The Ramones - Rock and Roll High School

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Move away from here to somewhere I want to live.
2. Build a super-cool dream house there.
3. Buy a car that has a working speedometer!
4. Take a vacation, or two.
5. Save some both for "retirement" and my child's education.

Five Bad Habits
1. Saying "like" too much. I'm no 'valley-girl' but I do say it, and it makes me sound silly.
2. Slouching.
3. Not eating enough vegetables.
4. Being judgemental.
5. Watching too much Star Trek.

Five Things You Like Doing
1. Watching Star Trek. Heheh
2. Taking walks.
3. Hanging out with my husband!
4. Reading.
5. Sleeping.

Five Things You Would Never Wear Again
1. Two pairs of socks, layered.
2. A thumb ring. It's just not comfortable anymore.
3. A skirt that's too short.
4. Tapered-leg pants. I just can't stand them.
5. Jacket that is 2 sizes too big.

Five Favorite Toys
1. My sewing machine. I need to use it more, but I do love it!
2. My computer, with whatever silly games on it.
3. Our Gamecube.
4. Whatever book I'm currently reading. Now it is War and Peace by Tolstoy. I'm serious!
5. Pollen-slide making stuff and a microscope.

Passed

My comps are over. This means I get to keep working. Phew!

I'm finding it very difficult to write something now, because in my head I'm being sarcastic and you can't make a blog sound very sarcastic. I've tried before (I guess, I didn't try very hard) and text just doesn't come across as sarcastic. Too bad, because I'm a pretty sarcastic person. Oh well.

the before-comp weirdness

My comps are next Wednesday 9am. I'm still studying feverishly. Studying so much makes me forget to do simple things. I can't stand too much of it. My brain is so full of whatever that I am always behind or late or confused.

Anyway, besides that we heard our baby's heartbeat again yesterday. The doctor said it sounds very good. The ultrasound is scheduled in a month!

Comps studying

Ok, here I am studying for my comps. Actually taking a short break to write this post. I hope you all notice the La Nina post below. What might happen to you in a weak La Nina? Well, if you live on the Gulf Coast you will see it a bit drier than normal, and if you live in the northern Great Plains and Montana you will see it a bit cooler than normal (yay). In the Pacific Northwest it should be a bit cooler and wetter than normal. These things you can expect for the spring.

Anyway, I was going to write something about the daunting amount of reading I have piled in front of me. I realize it is not really THAT much. It could be worse. I have a binder devoted to climate papers - including Teton specific glacier stuff, other Rocky Mountain glacier stuff, ENSO papers, PDO papers, and decadal-to-millennial scale climate variability stuff. Then there's the geography binder (which is thin) and it has stuff on Western settlement geography, grazing history related to settlement, bioregional history stuff, and a little National Park Service historical geography. I've also read a few books which can't be in the binder. Then there is my vegetation/fire binder which is very thick and it has postglacial vegetation papers mostly from surrounding my area, Western US general veg history, charcoal methods papers, tree-ring methods papers and other tree-ring studies in my area, fire and climate stuff from the Western US, a source-area paper or two, and a copy of the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Guidance Overview. My next binder is just as thick and includes all the papers we read in the Vegetation History class I took, and lastly I have an archaeology binder that includes some random papers of Jackson Hole archaeology and pages copied out of *the* volume on archaeology in the valley. Oh, and last but not least I have to go over my notes from my Quaternary Geology class and go over a glacial and Quaternary geology book to get my bearings in Quaternary geology again. I keep forgetting about that! Ugh!

I have to go over all the old papers I haven't read in a year or 6 months, and finish reading the geography stuff. I'm hoping for January 25th or thereabouts for the test. I think I'll be ready.

Cool climate stuff

NOAA predicts weak La Nina!
This is cool because just last week when we were in Jackson, WY, and a bunch of moisture was happening in CA and a bunch of fires were happening in OK, TX and NM, I was wondering if this year will be a La Nina or an El Nino. And, I'm studying up on ENSO for my comps, so I'm all into this stuff.