Take 2

I ran yesterday's half marathon in 2:22. That's 10 minutes off last year's time. :) Things were going really well until about miles 9-10 or so - I was actually on pace for 2:15. But then my hips and back decided they'd had enough. At the end of the race I felt so much worse than last year, but shockingly enough, I'm entirely pain free today! Woohoo! Let's hope the soreness isn't yet to come...

Romero Pools

Saturday I went hiking up Romero Canyon to Romero Pools with some friends from the department. I've done this hike a couple times before - once on the 4th of July when it was ungodly humid and my camelback sprung a leak leaving me wet from my waist all the way down to my ankles, and once at night, also during monsoon season.

The hike is about 5.5 miles, and relatively easy. The middle part is a bit steep, but really not all that bad. Even now, there was enough water to swim in - which means it's a great place to go during monsoon season. When we hiked it at night, we started about 9, played around in the pools, and hiked back out, getting home around 3. When the moon is full (or nearly) it's so bright that you hardly need headlamps, and at night you're nearly guaranteed to have the place to yourself.

Itty bitty

I made these for my labmate's baby - the one who hasn't come yet, not the one that was born in January. I know there's no scale there for you to tell, but they're so tiny! I tried them on my other labmate's 2 month old baby, just to get an idea of how small/big they actually were, and they barely fit her! Which I assume/hope means they'll be just fine for a newborn. I made a couple "practice" booties, and kept thinking that they were way too big, but maybe not. Anyways, I'm pretty delighted with how cute they turned out.


P.S. This does not mean that my labmate is right about the housewife thing.

Hausfrau

Last week for my advisor's birthday I made a batch of Strawberry Cupcakes. The cake came out delicious, the frosting was all sorts of wrong, but tasted like strawberry ice cream (I did get that part right!) and managed to stay mostly together until group meeting.


That evening, as I was packing up to head home, the Chinese first year that sits in my office started asking me about the cupcakes. She really thought I had bought them at a bakery, and was pretty amazed that I had bought them. I was pretty excited, because that's a super flattering compliment...until she followed it up with,

"You'll be a very good housewife."

Sigh. I have to keep reminding myself that there's nothing wrong with being a housewife (aside from the minor detail that I'm not married) and that she means it as a compliment, but ouch. Yes, I love to cook, and enjoy having a clean house when I manage to keep up with the chores, but I'm not getting a PhD in chemistry with the aim of being a housewife. I could probably "keep house" for a few months before getting bored. But eventually, I'd do just that: get really, really bored.

On my way out, I stopped into my labmate's office a couple doors down to lament to my labmate. He laughed and said no, no, she used the wrong term. It's "hausfrau." For some reason I find the term hausfrau hilarious. I'd much rather be a hausfrau than a housewife. :P

After the housewife comment, my labmate says, there's an English expression, what is it..."The most efficient way...a man..." So I prompt with, "The best way to a man's heart is through is stomach." And she lit up, saying, "Yes! That's it! You will be a very good housewife!"

It's not all sad though, she also asked if I could teach her to bake. Super cute. Yes, I will most definitely teach you to bake. It'll be fun. We're having a baby party for my recently delivered labmate and still pregnant labmate over spring break, maybe that will be a good chance to have her over to bake something.

Tucson/Arizona Bucket List

Stuff to do while I still live in Tucson:

• Botanical Gardens
• Titan Missile Museum
• Roller Derby
• Sunset at Gates Pass
• Reid Park Zoo
• Go to the market and mass at San Xavier - rumor has it the Indian fry bread is amazing
• Tucson Rodeo
• Rodeo Parade
• Organ Pipe National Monument
• Pima Air & Space Museum - I've been holding out for Dad to make another pit stop in Tucson, but I'm not sure it's going to happen
• View the Ansel Adams collection at U of A
• Camp on Mount Lemmon
• Hike the Grand Canyon rim to rim
• Havasupai
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument
• Monument Valley
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Petrified Forest
• Sycamore Canyon
• Tour Kitt Peak Observatory
• Mexico
• Montezuma's Castle National Monument

Stuff that would be on the bucket list if I hadn't already done it:

• Dinner & margaritas at Cafe Poca Cosa - pricey, but freaking delicious
• Dia de los Muertos parade
• Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum
• Eat a Sonoran hot dog
• Hike Seven Falls
• Picacho Peak
• Baseball at Hi-Corbett Field
• Center for Creative Photography
• Saguaro National Park
• Breakfast at Hotel Congress
• Night hike to Romero Pools

Cochise Stronghold

The weekend before last I went camping and hiking at Cochise Stronghold, about an hour and a half southeast of Tucson. The area is a nice mix of desert, big rocks, and something resembling forest at the lower elevations - all quite different from stuff closer to Tucson.

We did the 10 mile hike - roundtrip from the eastern stronghold to the western. The trailhead at the eastern stronghold seems to be a lot easier to access. If you prefer a shorter hike, the hike from either end to the divide (the ridge in the middle) would also be nice.

Good Week

Wednesday I found out my abstract was accepted for a talk. Eep, but good.

Thursday I found out I got that little scholarship I applied for a couple weeks ago. Can you say travel money? :)

Friday I got galley proofs for my paper! That they didn't actually tell us was accepted before sending the proofs, but whatever, I'll take it!

Take that grad school!

And now recruiting is finally over for the year. Things went pretty smoothly, no more side swiping incidents, and I didn't have to fire any more drivers. :P Other than the incredibly annoying girl who could not shut up to save her life and somehow thought it was appropriate to wear a white camisole without a real bra underneath (or a shirt over the camisole) to faculty interviews Saturday morning, I don't have a whole lot to say about the weekend. Very, very excited for a good night's sleep tonight!

Crunch Time

The abstract I submitted back in February was accepted for a talk! I'm more surprised this year than last, though maybe that's because I was more excited myself about the abstract I submitted last year. A talk is so much scarier, but definitely better in terms of being noticed and hired after graduation, so I suppose the stress is worthwhile... If it wasn't already time, it certainly is now to buckle down and get some research done...