bitch n' moan.

Whaaaaa.  I've been MIA, because I've been trapped under a pile of doom.    My prelim is in 3 weeks and I can't bring myself to write more than about 3 lines a day, which means there is no way in hell it will be done before I'm seventy.    My dietetics classes are making me want to stab someone in the eye with my paring knife. Seriously, if I've gotten to 33 without ever having to make a popover or take calculus, I probably will never need those skills.  Really.  And I most definitely will not need those skills in what ever job I happen to get.  I fucking hate math and I fucking hate baking. I will not be looking for a job in either of those fields.   In addition, at one of the shittiest points in my life to date,  the boy-who-would-rather-not-be-mentioned has decided that since he is moving on to bigger and better things in California, he will no longer be needing me around.  Should I be surprised?   Did I not know what dating an emotionally immature transitional 26-year old would entail?  Especially one who has made it clear all along that I was 1) not the right social class 2) not the right religion 3) not the right age and 4) not smart enough for him.      Good luck on finding someone cuter, smarter AND most importantly tolerant of your emotional instability and mommy issues.

Side note:  Item 31 on my life to do list is to "end a relationship with grace"    Guess I'm not checking that one off today.

In addition, I have not been able to find time or energy to run or work out.   And my apartment has succumbed to squabbit dust and hay.    If someone walked into today, they would assume I was squatting.

SCREAM.

Where is the light at the end of my tunnel?  Where???  Light.  That reminds me.  There is an obnoxious fiber optic light that appeared on my night stand a couple of nights ago.  An obnoxious fiber optic light that is practically begging to be thrown out the window and/or run over by my car.....

 grace,  Ms. Riotkitte,   grace.  *sigh*

a little bit of this....a little bit of that

First of all.   Here's a dose of squabbit-y cuteness:

As it turns out, they were having a pooping contest.  Stolie won.  Not so cute...being that is my lap they are sitting on....being they can produce approximately 50 pellets a piece in under 20 minutes, if they put their furry little minds to it.   The boy-who-would-rather-not-be-mentioned constantly reminds me how adorable they would be if only they could learn to control their bowels.   I work with crap pretty much on a daily basis, so it doesn't effect me as much.  It is unfortunate that I can not study their crap.  It takes me weeks to collect the amount of mouse crap they provide in a hour.

In other non-feces related news...

I booked a birthday trip to Atlanta.... and it was free!   Apparently, I was sitting on a pile of United Miles that were about to expire.   I had actually assumed I had already lost them.  Thankfully, United left me a voice mail letting me know that I had a month to use them.    The boy-who-would-rather-not-be-mentioned is in Atlanta currently for work, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him and also visiting me Emory friends and EATING.   Mainly, eating.  I have a list of restaurants I must go to.  Way more then a normal person would go to in 4 days.   I have a super human stomach.  I can handle it.   The trip is a month a way and I'm already planning my entire trip around meals, snacks and adult beverages.    

In the PhD hell arena:   the  abstract that I have been putting off writing, that was due on Tuesday, that has been giving me panic attacks around 3am for the last 4 nights...is not due until March 15th.  woot!    Now, if I had checked the website I would have had this information days ago.   Sigh.  I am still presenting at lab meeting on Tuesday and all I have done so far is about 3 slides featuring the always stunning, Belle and Stolie.   My goal, is to convince them I've gone crazy, so they are scared to question or criticize. My original approach was tears and an occasional irrational hissy fit..   Tears which are usually my best defensive and offensive tool were surprisingly ineffective.  The boss actually mentioned he misses the hissy fits...he has taken their absence to mean I have lost interest in my projects.     

EDIT:  Lab Meeting Cancelled!   Happy week!  Now only if the exam tomorrow and the experiments on Wed. and Friday would also magically disappear.

AND the most exciting news I have for today... my week long plague has finally lifted.  I am once again almost healthy!  Yay immune system... thanks for finally waking up and coming to work.  Slacker.

Hot dogs and babies

This week's Iron Craft Challenge Theme was "hometown".   I asked the boy-who-would-rather-not-be mentioned (but is irritated when I don't), what first comes to his mind when I say "Chicago".   He said "hot dog". Fair enough.   My brother (or his wifey rather) is about to pop out my first nephew any day now and I've been meaning to do something with this white onesie I picked up at a baby consignment sale awhile ago... so Chicago hot dog oensie it was.

First, I looked up what exactly a Chicago hot dog contained...

Then I sketched this design while I should have been paying attention to the finer points of the regulation of CHO metabolism (I really should have been paying better attention... I barely got a B on that stupid test.  a B!)

Next I busted out my blue chalk, embroidery kit and  stitched away.  I attempted to make a stitch sampler of sorts, but I really don't embroider and know like 3 stitches.   During my time on the couch laboring away (again, while I should have been studying or thesis-writing), the following conversation occurred (note it's paraphrased... I have a horrible memory):

boy-who-would-rather-not-be mentioned:  "are you sewing that by hand?"

me:  "Yes,  I'm embroidering.  Sort of."

boy-who-would-rather-not-be mentioned:  *sigh*   "that's just another reason I have to marry you"

me:  "why?  So I can embroider your name on your underpants?"

boy-who-would-rather-not-be mentioned: "No.  It's a valuable life skill."

Hrm.   Maybe if I was born at least 40 years earlier.  I think he forgot the fact that I'm 1) awesome and 2) A kick-ass scientist that is going to invent a cure all super drug and and support him (or a younger version of him) someday.

Anyway this is what I came up with:

I'm pleased overall... although I would have done the tomatoes differently... I was attempting some loopy knot stitch, that didn't quite work.

Read more about Iron Craft here: http://theironcraft.blogspot.com

See all the other awesome projects here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1525156@N25/