James sent me this article here about facial recognition for cats: how it can track their feeding patterns, letting the owner know if they are not eating, as well as whether or not another cat attempts to eat their food instead.
Mom's latest tiny and gigantic tomatoesMushroom I saw while walking, because ... they are coolEvolvus, miniature morning glories, in the front yardJames's New Joystick: Saitek X-55 RhinoJames bought a joystick specifically for playing Star Citizen, the heir to Freelancer, a game we both loved. Star Citizen has released a space simulator out right now, and James is loving it.
Tomatoes Gleaming in the Afternoon SunI loved how the glass table, plant and hour glass seemed to be glowing, along with the tomatoes. A Plenitude of Peppers! And a Goliath Pepper!!Last Saturday, and Afternoon at Tower GamesJohn playing his newly minted Cryx army against Brian's Menoth. He's enjoying learning his new army's rules. Suki the Cat on Dad's Shoulders with ClayRandom photos from July - enjoy! Mom's gardenGarden produce and gigantic cucumbersMom's birthdayThe Elder WandOne of our friends went Harry Potter world and saw Diagon Alley at Universal. They said it was absolutely amazing and brought back an elder wand.
July 4th!Mom got lots of glowy things for us to wear - blinky heart for dad, a flag flow stick for herself, a blinky bracelet for her and I, and a ridiculous hat. The fireworks were great this year! We sat in the same parking lot that was shooting them off, which was AMAZING. Random PhotosWeekend Activities - Roller Coaster Tycoon / SoccerOn the weekend, I got to play some Roller Coaster Tycoon II! That was a lot of fun and brought back memories. I haven't played it in years. I played it on free-for-all mode with no cash and made a million roller coasters. On Sunday, we went to church and heard a very thought provoking sermon. I wish I had written it up in here. I feel as if I felt something that I'm supposed to do. Pray that I have courage to do it. We watched the USA/Portugal soccer game after that at John's brother's house. It was an awesome game, but when the USA lost the last goal with thirty seconds left in the game - I was SO angry. It was a huge disappointment. At least we tied. That is why I don't like watching soccer. It makes me mad. Monday - John's BirthdayOn John's birthday, he opened his presents from me and mom. I got him mostly books. I enjoyed wrapping them. My favorite was the mustache box. He's excited about reading this new series by the author of the Percy Jackson books. I also got him the new Mario Kart - a suggestion from James. We bought the food for the cabin trip after we watched How to Train Your Dragon II. John liked it, but it wasn't my favorite. Tuesday - Arriving at the CabinOn the way down to the cabin, we listened to Sanderson's Writing Excuses episodes. We checked it out and it was really nostalgic. It looks exactly the same as when we came here on our honeymoon with a few minor changes. John looked through the guest book and found where we had written in it on that week. I laughed at the entry. Both of us wrote in it. It's so cute. We ate frozen pizzas for dinner while watching the Sherlock Holmes TV series. Benedict Cumberpatch is a perfect Holmes. And the Bilbo actor - he's a great Watson - though slightly different from the book's version. It's a modern day adaption - kind of amusing - though it was jarring at first. Wednesday - Walk, Fire, Steak, Watching MovieWe took that fun walk down to the pond after a beautiful morning sitting on the chairs outside, looking at the mountains. In the morning, we had oatmeal and cereal and watched another Sherlock. In the afternoon, I made my favorite chocolate muffin / cake stuff and made a fire in the fireplace! It was hard to get it started, but finally it caught and I got to make smores. SO tasty! I made some nice Earl Grey tea with it and made steak / potatoes for dinner. James gave me some advice about it over Facebook. There's no cell signal here, so I cannot call anyone. Then, we watched Pride and Prejudice until late. Thursday - US / German Soccer GameSo far today, we loafed and John and I are watching the US/German soccer game. It's 0-1 Germany right now in the 68th minute. I'm really tired, for not sleeping well. We're hoping to watch the second half of Pride and Prejudice today, maybe play some Lego Star Wars and just relax. We'll probably have tacos for dinner. General CommentsI haven't really touched science much. I had thought about reading papers, but then just decided it would be nice to have a mind-break from science so that hopefully I can be more rejuvenated when I return. I'm a little stressed about July. There are a lots of things to plan for and do. I have to completely rewrite my NSF application. I'm not sure how to do that yet. I need ideas. Pray that I can get some. I don't like the ones that I have right now. Funny DreamsOver the weekend, I dreamt that I dreamt I had a son and named him Jazen. That's an interesting name. Then I dreamed I had a daughter and John wanted to name her Zergera Zaleena (Z-air-GARE-a, Za-LEAN-a). When I told him that, he laughed. Definitely not happening. My former professor of physics, Craig Wiegert, reported that he dreamt THIS on his facebook page. I was laughing about it all day: "You know that kind of dream when you're in just your underwear, on Capitol Hill, learning about the geology of all the marble, then meeting some grad school friends for lunch, and you all agree to go back to one of their apartments for a party, but only you are on time, and that friend shows you home movies of his emu with mange drinking gallons of blood, and then everyone finally shows up as you're packing your suitcase, which is insanely full even though you're still just in your skivvies, and your friend won't give you back your charging cable or drive you to the airport? My favorite part of that was his studying the geology of the marble and the emu with mange. People told him not to eat rich food at bedtime. That was John's response as well.
Huge Snails!!We found these huge snails on our walk. It was amazing! I've never seen a snail that big in real life, as far as I can remember. Into MirkwoodThere was a trail out near the pond that we got to explore. I love wooded trails! It reminded me of traveling through Mirkwood. There was a really huge mushroom and large tailed frogs in the pond that jumped away when I got close. The moss covered stones were very pretty. We passed a small stream on the way to the other side of the pond. More PhotosHere are a few more photos! For more photos, see photobucket: http://s1285.photobucket.com/user/jpetree331/library/Parrots%20Perch?sort=3&page=1
Umm ...I've been vacillating on whether I should write anything. Probably not, but here's a short note anyway. Schedule of Activities Last WeekI worked on my presentation M - Tu and gave it Tu night in lab meeting. On W and Th, I worked my butt off on experiments. On F, I talked to Khalid with Mingda and Victor, and planned future experiments. On F night, I went to hang out at Brian's house with John. Their RP campaign ended with a slaughter. On Saturday, we went to visit James and see his new apartment. Then, we went to see Godzilla with James. Afterward, we went back home and ate a wonderful steak dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday. They had gone on Friday to a hotel in Atlanta to eat out and so that my Dad could take pictures of the city. The pictures are very nice. Saturday night, John and James played a new game; then later, John and I watched a Star Trek: Voyager before going to bed. We've been slowly watching them in sequence recently. I think we are on #10 of season 1. Visiting JamesI really liked James's new apartment. It's small, but cozy. I was super impressed that he made a decorative planter with lights all on his own! It looks professional. He was telling us how there's this hiking trail right nearby from which he can see Kennesaw mountain and Atlanta. GodzillaGodzilla is a very B monster movie. There were a lot of plot holes. I was not that impressed. However, Godzilla's breath weapon was the best part. I also enjoyed the part where this other monster egg was pulsing EMP pulses. It looked pretty cool. Experiments and labI'm a little nervous about my experiments. I got some awesome data on Thursday night, and now, things are kind of in limbo while I plan on what I'm going to do from here. There are some ideas. Pray I have wisdom, as I search this stuff out. Today, Kevin is hosting a lab cookout, so John and I are going to go and say hi to everyone. I think it should be fun. BooksSomehow in the month of May, I managed to read a lot of books. This is mostly due to listening to them in the car. I tended to listen to most of them, then read their endings. Two were books I'd read for a while and just finished. I'm almost done reading Brandon Sanderson's books. I've got the other three Alcatraz books, The Hero of Ages (3rd of the Mistborn trilogy) and the Alloy of Law. He's a very prolific writer. I never thought I'd get close to reading them all. FINAnd that's about all!
|
AuthorWant to find out what it's like to be a mother in graduate school? Come on the journey with me as I find out! Due date Dec 25, 2016! Archives
February 2019
Categories
All
|