January 31

My best girlfriend's baby came today, and I'm in love with her already!! She was born at 3:37 a.m., and she's beautiful. Her name is Amery. Welcome to the world, little one.

January 30

Today in lab we made mouthwash, ointment and potassium permanganese solution. We were supposed to make wart remover too, but they didn't get the flexible collodian in time. Dang.

January 29

I noticed these parking signs outside my landlord's house. And, now, check out my front yard. Big basketball game tonight. It's even worse during tailgaiting season. People are out there honking, drinking and screaming at 6:00 a.m. for football. At least tonight they're just parking. At $25 a pop, my landlord is raking in tons of cash each week parking for these events. She's a parking nazi...so much so that it ALMOST makes me want to move. Almost.

January 28

I went and got my ID badge for my rotations at the hospital yesterday. (And yes, I did white out my last name in the photo and start to do my first and then said screw it.) I have to keep it for the next 3-1/2 years, otherwise I've got to fork over some $$$ to replace it! My advice=never smile for ID pictures....it always turns out badly. Or at least it does for me, since I'm horrible at fake smiling.

I talked to my best girlfriend last night, and she's due any day now. It's so exciting, and I'm so happy for her and her DH that it literally brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait to meet the baby!!

January 27

I have the day off from school today! (Don't worry, I'll make up for it tomorrow) So, instead of doing any studying this morning, I went to the gym, and then I thought I'd play with my new point-and-shoot camera. Check out my new hat. DF always wears adorable hats with little rims, so we got me one last weekend too. $9.99 at Target. Hats give me headaches, but this one is loose enough that I think it'll be okay. Have a great Tuesday.

January 26

The hill in front of Hardin library. It looked really peaceful when I was heading to my night class this evening. The sun was almost set, and the lights were pretty on the snow. I'm sure by the end of the semester, it will no longer be dark at 5:45 p.m.

January 25

Lunch and dinner.

January 24

DF and I went to a couple's baby shower today for my girlfriend and her husband. We had a fun time, especially talking to my friend's little brother. He's a riot. Here's us at the shower.

Also today: Got a new camera at Best Buy (mine broke yesterday), went to a cancer benefit for a friend, and Dongying's birthday.

January 23

Here's a picture of what I compounded in lab today. Don't ask me what it's called, 'cause I can't remember at the moment. And don't ask me what it's for, 'cause I'm not sure I ever really knew. Hmmmm....

Good news, I got my ring back from the jeweler today. It's all pretty and shiny and new-ish.

January 22

Exciting news. I got my GorillapodSLR from ThinkGeek.com today!! It's just a little baby tripod, but check it out...it's hanging out wrapped around the legs of my table. Oh, imagine the places we'll go together, my Gorillapod and I. I've been wanting one to play with for a long time, and the impending nuptials are what made me go for it. I rarely buy anything fun for myself, considering I'm in grad school, have no job, and therefore no money. I wonder if I'll have trouble getting through airport security with that??

January 21

Know what that is?? A giant stack (well, at least half an inch) of papers for one class that we got today. AND we went through most of it during three -- count 'em, three -- hours of lecture for compounding lab. Like my ruler?? Heh heh heh

Is it just me, or did Aretha Franklin’s inaugural singing yesterday leave a little bit to be desired?

January 20

Inauguration day. Very exciting. It's also the first day of the semester. Luckily, I have no classes on Tuesday.

On the way home from the gym this morning, I thought I’d stop and pick up a course pack I needed. I wasn’t sure where the print place was, so I just parked in a ramp. Bad news=the ramp was several blocks away from the printer, and according to the man on the radio, the temperature was registering at 10. There were three parking spots right in front of the print shop once I walked all the way there, of course. Needless to say, sweaty and in capris is not the best for walking around in below freezing temps. People were looking at me like I was nuts. It’s a really strange feeling to be sweating and cold all at the same time. A shout out to AP who I saw at the printer's today.

This entry is much longer than I'd like, but we're in need of an update: I have had a headache for the last two days. I'm not sure if it's from caffeine withdrawl or the stress of going back to school. Only mild to moderate, but an Excedrin Tension Headache kicks it. Excedrin contains caffeine. Is that bad??? Hmmm..

Oh, and that's a picture of the pear I ate today. It was so pretty when I picked it out, but it got banged around on the way home. Tasted delicious, and I'm sure it looks a lot worse traveling through my GI tract.

January 19

Today I drove back to Iowa City to get ready for the start of the new semester. It was a little freaky on the way. I saw upwards of 20 vehicles in the ditch. Many of them were mangled and flipped upside down or on their sides. I hope the occupants made it to their destinations safely.

When I got home, my front steps were covered with snow, and there was a good inch or two of ice underneath the snow. My landlord is doing an awesome job with snow removal!! Hope you can sense my sarcasm. On a happier note, no apparent bats or bugs or spiders in the apartment that I can see. And trust me, I did a thorough inspection.

When I left for break, it was right after my last final. Upon arrival this afternoon to my apartment, I got a laugh at the mess that is my study area. There were books, folders and notes everywhere. I'm thankful I only have 5 more finals weeks in my entire life!! This semester is going to be harder, based on the fact that I'll be taking 19 credit hours. I'm looking forward to pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. At least that's what I say now. Check back with me in about eight weeks.

January 18

Fabulous news=I have eaten two pieces of cake in two days. I love cake!! And I only get it on special occasions.

In more important news, I went to my best girlfriend's baby shower today. It was perfect...not too short, not too long. She got lots of useful goodies. I'm excited for the baby to be born so we can all finally learn her name!! Until then, it's a secret.

Caffeine update: today I switched to tea. No headache yet, so I think my weening off plan is working. Hoo-rahh!! I was planning on driving back to Iowa City tonight, but the snow has deterred my travels. I think I'll go back tomorrow morning if the roads are relatively clear.

January 17

My friend Brian and I were discussing how ridiculous this is. We sell the above Redline product at the gym. I took two pictures for perspective. I hope you can see how small this can is. These bottles of Redline sell for $3.00. They are 2.5 fluid ounces a piece. Assuming 128 ounces in one gallon, this stuff is $153.60 a gallon. That is one expensive bottle. Amazing. The people that buy this stuff are probably the same ones that complain when gas is $3.00 a gallon.

Today was my last day at the gym. Forever. Went to a surprise party for a friend from work. Then DF and I watched the first half of Willow. Yes, Willow. It was $5 at Wal-Mart.

January 16

My parents have been kind enough to let me stay at their house over break. I was digging in the closet the other day for an extra blanket, and a gleam caught my eye. You'll never believe what was hanging there in all its glory....my letter jacket. That thing must've weighed five pounds!! Please note my prized possession: a Star Trek communicator. It even has a battery operated piece behind it so when you push on it, noise emits. Only one word comes to mind to describe this: Awesome. My best friend also had one on her jacket. Also note just to the right and slightly cut out of the picture is a Pedigree dog food pin. And just to the right of that is a rabies tag that has been sewn on. This is not shown in the picture, but believe me. It's there.

Nothing too exciting today. Gym, Sam's Club, laundry, napped with DF and Azteca for dinner. Have to work early a.m. at the gym tomorrow. It's my last day there. Forever.

January 15

Yes, that is a giant crack in my car window. The Fit got a new windshield today. One of Will's friends is a service manager for an auto dealership, and he got us a great deal at an auto glass shop over in Silvis that I just couldn't pass up. The crack was up by the rear view mirror. Merely a cosmetic irritation at this point, but we got such a great price, I figured I'd go ahead and fix it.

In more important news, DF and I booked our wedding last night!! It feels so good to have that done. Everyone is invited. It will be on Thursday, July 30th, 2009, 1:00 p.m. at the Sandals Regency La Toc Resort in St. Lucia. Be there or be square.

January 14

Look what came in the mail today....my year-end statement. Know what that means?? Time to complete my new year's resolution. Called my discount brokerage firm and talked to George. He's going to help me roll over my measley 401(k). That was the easiest resolution ever. It's going to be a great day.

January 13

Isn't fresh cilantro pretty? I love it, and it was one of the ingredients in the chicken avocado enchiladas I made for lunch. For my first attempt at enchiladas, I think they turned out pretty delicious. I hate it when I buy cilantro to make fresh guacamole, get it home, and it turns out that I accidentally bought parsley. Makes me crazy.

January 12

Gumball machine at work. Sorry for the blur, but I didn't have a tripod. I thought the color would be a nice contrast to the white snow that has been falling all day. Happy Monday.

January 11

I accidentally got myself addicted to caffeine during finals week last month. I swear, it was an accident!! Kind of like that time I accidentally got drunk in Chicago in the middle of the day -- wait. That's a completely different story. Anyway, I grabbed a Rockstar one day when I needed a boost, and here I am, nearly a month later... I'm really sensitive to caffeine, and when I stop drinking it, I get a horrible withdrawal headache. That is why I'm afraid to stop. I should probably just suck it up, deal with the near-migraine-strength-vomit-inducing headache, but I'm afraid.

Sometimes I think to myself, "People drink coffee every morning. What's wrong with a Dew for breakfast?" But I know it's not great for me. I'm trying to taper myself off. I downgraded from Rockstar to Diet Mountain Dew, and now I'm moving on to Diet Pepsi, which I'm hoping has less of the evil compound than does the Dew. Next, I'll try some caffeinated tea, and then nothing. Wish me luck.

January 10

I warned you about the self-portraits!! The hair is straight again. Check out how unsymmetrical my eyebrows are...I'm not purposely raising one. That's just how they are. No amount of tweazing will fix that. Besides, I wouldn't want to fix it. I am who I am, and I'm definitely not perfect, or symmetrical, apparently. :)

Worked 'til noon today. DF and I had a nice, romantic dinner at Cafe Fresh in Moline. It's on the corner of 5th Ave and 13th Street. Go there, try it, enjoy it. Then we headed over to our friend Tien Chang's art show. He had seven new oil paintings for display. He did the oil painting of DF and I that DF commissioned for my birthday (which I love). I didn't feel right snapping a bunch of pictures of his stuff, so you get a picture of me.

Side note: The sludgy, melty ditch that turned into a giant piece of ice is now covered in snow, and the snow has removed my urge to stand in it to see if it really is waist-deep.

January 9

Get ready for a year potentially full of self portraits. Just a warning. Went and got a cut and color today from Barbie at the Barbie Shop, and she said, "Your hair has a lot of body right now. Want to try to make it curly?" So I said, "Sure." And here is the result. Truly quite amazing, if you ask me, considering my hair is normally as flat and as straight as a --I don't know, but something that's really flat and straight.

I also drove with DF over to Iowa City to pick up the mail, water the plants, the usual, and found the mail I was missing and expecting from last week. Hoorah! Went to dinner at Tiramisu this evening with the "in-laws." And no, I'm not using the quotation marks for "emphasis," just that they're not really my legal in-laws yet, but it's just easier to call them that. I had some pasta with chicken and vodka sauce and a glass of wine and good conversation about orangutans. Always a good dinner topic if you're in need of one. Or if you're in the mood for a smile, just google the word orangutan and look at the baby orangutan pictures that pop up. Gotta work at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow. Bleh.

January 8

Let's just admit it: I'm a superclutz. I like to think it adds to my charm. I'm constantly smacking my hands against things, and I've already managed to knock a stone out of the band of pave on my engagement ring. Took it to J.H. Revell Jewelers & Goldsmiths in Bettendorf, IA, to have the stone reset. I highly recommend them. The service was prompt and friendly, and my ring should be back in one piece in approximately 10 days. They also said a few others were "loose" and that they'd tighten them for me. Not surprised at all. I'm sure over the course of my life, I"ll knock every single stone out of my ring at some point.

January 7

I couldn't pick just one picture today. My best girlfriend are her hubby are having their first baby!! I went over to her house tonight to hang out and help her fold and organize all of her freshly washed baby clothes. I pulled out a onesie (I have no idea how to spell that), and it had the above printed on the front. Utterly and totally cracks me up. Doesn't she look great for being 8 months pregnant?!! I can only hope if I have children someday that I can look as good as she does.

She's photo blogging too, so we snapped a few pictures of ourselves. The button that you push to engage on my camera to take a picture fell off after a particularly hideous shot of ourselves. My point: I have literally taken a picture so bad that I've broken a camera. Bwahahaha!!! This is highly amusing to me.

Side note: Soulja Boy is the most horrible, disgusting, worst-est song ever written. And I use the word "song" very lightly. It should be banned from ever being played again, ever. Everywhere.

January 6

Where I go to sweat every day (well, almost every day)....Anytime Fitness. Yes, I know it seems strange that I work at Gold's Gym -- where I get a free membership -- and pay to belong to another. Here's the thing: it's so busy at Gold's, and after working out at the same place for over seven years, I just needed a change. Anytime is great. They have just a little more equipment than what you need for a good lift, it's never busy, and the music is quiet enough that you can actually hear the tunes from your own iPod. Plus, they had a good student rate when I signed up (plus no enrollment fee), and I can go to the one in Iowa City or Bettendorf. Or anywhere for that matter. Anytime. Oooh, and they have a Tread Climber...good stuff.

January 5

My favorite coworker=Joey. AND not just because he came in to replace me today. He's actually fun to work with. Ladies, he's single and ready to mingle.

January 4

Drove to Chicago today with DF and my folks to wish my little brother a happy 30th birthday. As you can see above, he's really not that little....at least a good head taller than me. Had lunch at Big Bowl, and it was delicious. Oh, and I found the black and white option on my camera. Very exciting. Amazing how much better we all look when we strip away the color.

January 3

Tonight DF and I went to Cafe Indigo for dinner with our parents. His brother's friend owns the place, and the food was delicious...a slightly different fare than the usual in the Quad Cities. Afterward, we played some board games: Apples to Apples and Trivial Pursuit. I won nothing.

January 2

Today is the one year anniversary of the day DF and I met. I made him pose for a picture with me. We drove to Iowa City today to water the plants and pick up the mail...only to find the mail I was expecting gone. Hhmmmmm.....

January 1

So here begins my project....one picture a day for a year. When I got home from my New Year's Eve celebration, there were a bunch of Suze Orman books sitting on my parents' coffee table. I found this one to be highly appropriate, and spent the first hour-ish of the new year scanning through it. My new year's resolution? Rollover my 401(k) that I've been letting sit for the last two years. I know I've needed to do it, but I've been putting it off. Thanks, Suze.