Day 20 - Motivation...?

So I have been having a bit of a hard time convincing myself to keep working on packing my stuff up when I have so much homework to keep on top of, so I decided that my best course of action was to post a picture of how it looks in the study currently - the last few times this has helped motivate me to make it better (so that the next time I take a picture of it, it at least has improved).  So I am hoping that this inspires me to make some progress this weekend and make it cleaner and easier to deal with!

Till tomorrow!

Day 19 - Present....

So one of the requirements for my senior project is to give a 15 min presentation.  This is probably the part I am most worried about since everyone else is presenting in group, and I am a solo project.  However, I have put together my presentation, and this is the first slide.  I think it's going to help me kick butt, so I am pretty excited about it.  I give the presentation for the first time on Friday, so wish me luck!

Till tomorrow!

Day 18 - Book work

So I started trying to put sound effects and music into my senior project today, and was so glad that I just happened to have this book lying around.  It has very explicit instructions on how to do almost everything I need to do with it, and it also has suggestions for where to look for the parts that I don't know.  This is the first time that I actually had any help with this project, so it was nice for a change to have something work first time, instead of having to struggle through and make it work in some other way.  This book is also a great thing for two more reasons - firstly it gave me some ideas for things that will improve the project, and secondly because I still have it, even though I never used it for the class I bought it for. Lucky, no?

Till tomorrow!

Day 17 - Doggy dog

So Tuesday in lab, we had a genetics lab, and one of the tasks was to pretend to breed dogs and see if you could get the dog you wanted after 3 generations.  We set our dog to have mostly recessive traits, partly because it made an awesome dog, and partly because it was more of a challenge.  We still managed to get the dog we wanted out of the end, which was exciting.  Here are our results, although I am not sure you can read them!

Till tomorrow!

Day 16 - Colorful, innit?

In our mad dash to pack things up and move, we have realized that we are going to need help remembering which box contains what.  Since I am a poor, starving college kid, and Katie is supporting me, we decided that the best option was to go to the local liqueur stores and get free boxes from them (they always have some).  However, the problem with liqueur boxes is that they tend to be very colorful, leaving very little space to write where each box goes.  Since that writing on the boxes doesn't work, we decided to use colored duct tape (gaffer tape for my British fans) and put a little strip on every box - then we should at least remember where things go, even if we cannot remember what is in each box.  However, I am a little bit brainless sometimes and so started trying to use the tape and then promptly forgot which color meant what - so I made up this handy color chart to let me know.  I thought it was brilliant at least, and now I know what color means what room, so I can pack better now!

Till tomorrow!

Day 15 - Glitter

So Katie and I have been busy packing in anticipation of our move, and today we cleaned out under our bathroom sink.  We found lots of interesting things that we had forgotten about, and did not find what we initially went looking for (which was lame).  However, we did find some Wyoming support stickers, which I am proudly displaying here.  I think it makes me look pretty, don't you?  Unfortunately we did not have a game to go to, so I took it off after this picture, but they tell me that it is the thought that counts, right?

Till tomorrow!

Day 14 - Weekly Affairs

I have been busy organizing things all day Saturday, so I felt that this picture of our calendar seemed appropriate.  We have an awesome calendar that has space to write things for each person in the house, and has stickers to label things that are happening (such as "no school" or "important!").  It certainly has been helping make life a little easier, and now that we are getting good at keeping on top of keeping it up to date it is helping even more.

Till tomorrow!

Day 13 - Menus

So we have taken to keeping our menu on the fridge.  The fact that we have been planning our menu is a good sign.  It is nice to have a good idea of what we are making for the week, and it is prompting me to make new recipes as well.  This is expanding our repertoire while also ensuring that we have good healthy meals, and that we do not have way too much food in the pantry (a problem we used to suffer from).

I had very little else to talk about Friday, so I went to this instead!  Look forward to more creative posts like this as homework starts to overwhelm my life!

Till tomorrow!

Day 12 - Who Put That Curb There?

So normally at this time of year we are having massive snow storms and it is usually difficult to see the sidewalk.  This little corner in our parking lot was covered with snow and ice last year until May.  So imagine my surprise when the snow is almost all gone from everywhere, even this spot that gets almost no sun and so takes forever to clear.  While I am definitely enjoying having nicer weather, it is really screwing with my head.  I keep feeling like it is the end of April/early May and that I should be graduating in a short while...instead I have more than a month to go.  Keeping my brain focused is taking more energy than the homework I am trying to focus on!  Either way it is not for much longer and if I can just push through I will be there...Wish me luck!

Till tomorrow!

Day 11 - Little Box of Horrors

This here is a view into my box of torture.  Inside are all the wonderful study materials that prevent me from getting enough sleep at night.  Individually they are not so bad, but mixed together they make one potent cocktail that seems to believe that I should have less than no free time on my hands.  I am managing the work, but some days it just feels like more of a burden than others!  However, this box has a lid that makes it double as an ottoman, which is super nice to rest my feet on.  Either way, only a few more weeks and I will be done, so I think I can (and will) manage.

Till tomorrow!

Day 10 - Spring Activated

Today just so happens to be the Vernal Equinox - more commonly termed the first day of Spring.  With Easter just around the corner, I figured it fell to me to put up some of our decorations.  Our Winter wreath has been hanging on the door since sometime last November I think, and so it was definitely time to change it out.  In the process of retrieving the wreath, I stumbled upon our old Easter banner, and felt that should go up too!  So now we have a nicely decorated house - well the front door at least.  Unfortunately with us both being super busy, and with the move coming up, I don't think there will be much more in the way of decorations, except possibly some window stickies.  Either way, however, our house feels more festive, even if it is still cold outside right now (it should warm up soon though).  Also, Happy Spring everyone!

Till tomorrow!

Day 9 - No Joke

Monday's I have a meeting with my senior project adviser.  This week I started meeting her in her lab again (I used to be doing a project in there all the time).  As I left I noticed this again.  It always makes me laugh.  I know that it means no messing around or trouble making since there are some dangerous experiments going on behind that door.  But every time I feel like it means that you are not allowed to make any jokes in the lab.  Then I wonder what would happen if someone were to make a joke, and since it is in the engineering building I like to imagine that it would cause a massive rift in time and space.  Also, a day back and my brain is already working oddly.

Till tomorrow!

Day 8 - What now?

So this got put up on campus sometime in the last couple of weeks, and Katie and I went to find it on Sunday.  I have no idea what it is, or what it is meant to be or represent.  Unfortunately, the thing next to it that looks like a sign is just a blank sheet of metal, which is ridiculously unhelpful.  I kind of want thoughts on it, since I am kind of stumped.  The only idea i had was that it was a plant turned on its head (so the rocks are the ground and the plants are growing out of it).  However that seems simplistic, and so anyone who has ideas, please post!

In other news, classes start at noon on Monday, so super fun there!  I just hope the teachers give us a break and don't assign too much homework this week.

Till tomorrow!

Day 7 - How Sweet

So Saturday Katie and I went for a walk downtown, since it was super nice out.  We figured we should take advantage of us both having time off during a nice weather spell when we could!  We ended up at Sweet Melissa's, our favorite restaurant.  I took this picture, partly so that we could remember the place.  Unfortunately this is a hole in the wall place that exists only in Laramie, WY, and is one of two restaurants we will dearly miss.  I certainly hope that there will be super nice places where we wind up, but I predict that we will make a few excuses to wind up back in Laramie in the future, just to visit these restaurants!

Till tomorrow!

Day 6 - Pasties

So I introduced Katie to pasties when we were in England a few years ago.  Since we don't really make them here in America, we figured out a recipe (with gratuitous help from the internets), and made them first a while ago.  Today I decided to make some more for Katie, and was quite happy at how well they came out this time (last time they were WAY to big to be a normal pasty).  The veggies in it were very well done if I do say so myself - good enough that I ate some of the left over by itself.

Till tomorrow!

Day 5 - Organizational

Finally for the first time since last calendar year I managed to get my closet sorted out.  I finally have all the clothes put in their place.  It is a great feeling.  I like making progress on my room, because it feels like I am getting one step closer to finishing my degree!  I am definitely ready to move on to the next phase of life.  Seeing the progress that I can make is helping me believe that I can make the leap successfully as well, which is nice and empowering.

The rest of my room is progressing well - it is all boxed up and waiting to be sorted...I might actually finally get my stuff all organized for the first time in my life!

Till tomorrow!

Day 4 - Bluecherry Pi

So today, in American date, was 3.14, or more commonly (among geeks and mathematicians) known as Pi Day.  In celebration of Pi Day, Katie and I made a pie.  The one problem we could not decide on was whether to have a blueberry pie, or cherry pie (I was, naturally, in favor of cherry 'cause it's the best!).  Then we realized that our recipe called for two cans of berries, and came to a perfect solution - pour blueberries in one half, and cherries in the other!  It worked really well, and we both got exactly the pie we wanted in the first place.  I even coined a word to describe the pie "bluecherry".  I feel it is accurate and descriptive...and naming it definitely made it taste better!  In this picture the top half of the pie is the blueberry, the bottom half is cherry.  For those who don't believe me (or are just interested in such things) I have included a picture of the pie just before I put the top crust on bellow.  See, one half blueberries, one half the far superior cherries (I am really glad that Katie prefers the blueberry side because it means more cherry pie for me!).  However, despite my prejudice, I must admit that whichever way you cut it, it still tastes amazing (oh yes, I did).

Till tomorrow!

Day 3 - Progress!

So today (Tuesday) I began working on cleaning up the mess that was my room (and now is our study).  Although it is not obvious, I cleaned up the bags, suitcases, and blankets that were all over the floor, and now it is possible to walk in the room!  I feel really productive for having made so much progress, and am super excited to finish cleaning everything up and getting things packed up.  Part of why I am pushing so hard this week to get the room cleaned (other than it is Spring Break and it seems like a good time to do so), is because we just finished figuring out how to move our stuff!  I am really excited about getting to move, and want to pack everything up right now in the hopes that it will be moving day sooner (of course that is silly since it will not make time go faster, but a guy can dream, right?).  Look forward to some more updates on the room, since I will definitely be working on it!

Till tomorrow!

Day 2 - Experimental

So one of my Day Zero list items was to open a cookbook to a random page and make the recipe on it.  I took the "The Starving Students' Vegetarian Cookbook" and opened it to a random page.  It told me to make "Easy Stroganoff".  I complied and this is what it looked like - and it tasted simply amazing!  I think we have found a new recipe to add to our repertoire!  Also, I totally recommend the cookbook - great tasting ideas that are cheap and easy to make...anyone can benefit, not just starving college kids!

Till tomorrow!

Day 1 - More of the same!

So yesterday (Saturday) we went to Fort Collins and had lunch at Panera.  I got a chicken salad sandwich and BBQ chicken salad salad.  It was incredible.  We pretty much always seem to go to Panera when we are in big cities, and every time I remember why, because the food is always so good!  Also, It was nice to get out of Laramie and go some where, even if it was just for a little while.

Till tomorrow!

Day 0 Part 2 - I fail!

Hey guys!  So I got really, really sick for the month of February, getting the flu, pneumonia, strep throat, and tonsillitis all spread out.  As a result I am both really far behind in my posts, and I also believe that I missed a couple of days worth of pictures.  Because of this, I am restarting my challenge from March 11th - and will do my best to not get sick again so I can stay on top of my posts!

Till tomorrow!

Day 29 - Early Morning Snow

Today as I left for work I was the first person to disturb the snow in our parking lot, so the snow was fresh, perfect, and untouched.  It made me feel better since I was going to work with a sore throat.  However, that was not enough to heal me, and after working my shift, I went straight to the student clinic on campus.  Turns out, I got pneumonia for the second time in two years, which kind of sucks a lot.  I wound up at home running a nearly 103°F (about 40°C), which I can assure you is not pleasant.  Probably should have gone to the hospital, but I am stubborn, and did not want to disturb Katie (or summon an ambulance), so I just stuck through it.  I do not like feeling like this!

Till tomorrow!