Waves, MLIA, Christmas, and something else

Hi all,

Well, I have been busy the last month.  To my eternal shame, I haven't posted in forever.  So, let's get some stuff out of the way, shall we?

First, although the star thing was cool, it was time to get a different background.  I hope that you enjoy this holiday cheer background.  Overall, it is much nicer and much more inviting, I confess.

As for my news, I have reached a new level of nerdiness!  I now hold in my dirty little hands an invite to Google wave.  And, surprise of all surprises, I even have an idea of what I want to do with it!  We hope to go to Spain this next year with our good friends, and it seems that Google wave would be an excellent way to plan everything.  To be honest, other than that I haven't been able to think up anything, but I'll get back to you on that.  Feel free to throw me a wave at danielknielsen at googlewave.com.  Or, if you want an invite, let me know.  I have a few left.

In other computer nerdiness, I saw a post the other day about how to download almost all of the National Geographic wallpapers without manually going though and clicking on each of them.  So, I now have an awesome screensaver and desktop.  I think I managed to get around 400 of them - not too shabby, I say.  You can be jealous.

Speaking of awesome things, I usually don't make impulse buys.  But I saw this shirt online and I couldn't but help get it for Laura.  It still makes me laugh when I think about it.  Here, for your viewing pleasure:

The name of this work of art is "imposter."  She's a hottie when she wears it.

Let's see, as this seems to be a computer oriented post, I also want to throw in a plug for an awesome new website that I happened to stumble upon.  I would be lying if I said that I believed everything on there, but I would also be lying if I said that I don't laugh a lot everytime I read it.  Someday I will find something that will make it onto that website.  I mean, my life is pretty average, right?

Well, Merry Christmas!  I'll finish up another post in a few days.  I still need to talk about:

-generals

-Christmas

-Lab Success (R) (most important)

-Mp3 explosion

-why Laura is awesome

       -sexy lady comment

Dan

Quilting

Here's a quick update about quilting. I've completed 4 large quilt blocks so far; only 12 more large blocks and 16 more small blocks to go......

Happy Birthday, Pookie!

Pookie joined our family one year ago this weekend. Although we do not know her "real" birthday, we've decided to count from when we adopted her. She was approximately a year old when we got her, so we'll count today as her 2nd birthday.

Pookie's come a long way this past year. She had a rough childhood (bunnyhood, I guess you'd say), and began her life in a crowded shed with tons of other rabbits before being rescued. (For an article about the rescue, click here) It took her a long time to warm up to us; in the beginning she'd only let us pet her if we were feeding her, but eventually she learned that she likes affection from us.

We love having Pookie in our family. Some of our favorite things about her are:

-watching her race around the living room and do binkies

-watching her wash her ears

-the way her ears can turn independently of one another, like when she's eavesdropping

-how curious and inquisitive she is

-seeing how excited she is to get food or treats

-petting her and hearing her purr, if we're lucky

For Pookie's birthday, we let her have one of her favorite treats, a carrot! And, we're also giving her a new wicker ball to chew on. We love you, Pookie!

New Activities

So, two new exciting things that I've started/will start doing soon:

1. I've joined a quilting group. We meet each month, and learn how to make a new quilt block, and then have all month to complete that block. So far, I've only made half of one block, but I'll try to post a picture once I complete it. And, if you interested in seeing what my finished quilt may look like, check out this page. My quilt is the one named "Chloe." (I haven't decided yet whether I'll do the small size or the large size.)

2. I also joined a 12 week Healthy Habit Challenge group with some friends. Basically, we all paid $20 to join and the winner gets a $200 prize at the end. You can earn up to four points a day by doing the following things:

-get 7 hours of sleep
-eat healthy (no treats or junk food)
-35 minutes of vigorous exercise
-work on your personal goal (mine is going to be 20 minutes of scripture study per day)

I'm pretty excited for the challenge. I'm already pretty good about exercising daily and getting enough sleep. Turning down desserts and treats will be the biggest challenge, but the $200 prize is a big motivator for me. I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Kick'n it DC style

We have had a crazy few weeks, let me tell you. The most exciting thing to happen was our 3rd set of visitors to our humble New Jersey home. Lured by promises of NJ corn, homecooking, and general sightseeing wonder, my parents agreed to come out over the weekend and spend some time with us (well, mostly Laura, but since I was around...)

We did the standard touristy things that you would probably expect. For example, we got horribly lost after picking up my parents in DC. And when I say lost, I mean we would have been dead in the water except that my father brought his GPS, which gently lifted us from the quagmire of DC with patient directions and the inevitable "recalculating" after every time I missed a turn. Since this happened about every other turn, it came to be a comforting sound, reassuring me that, while the scenery of DC was changing, my refusal to trust the GPS was not. We cruised the metro, went to all the monuments, got a tour of the Capitol and White house (my great uncle-in-law is a senator from Utah, which facilitated the whole trip), etc, etc. A few pictures:

I hung out with Michelle:

Witnessed some parental love:


And did all of the other touristy-type things:


So, that was day one and two of the trip. Day three was a quick jump up to NYC for the standard sightseeing stuff again. We went up the Rockefeller tower for some awesome zero visibility views, took the ferry, ate in little Italy, bought cheap stuff in Chinatown, and saw Wicked:

The next day was rest day (thankfully). Monday we hit up the waterfalls in the Delaware water gap. As always, they were amazing, but I will only give you a taste with one picture:


Well, maybe one more, though it is hard to top the last one:


And, before you ask, no, I don't know the name of the nice man standing behind us.

The last day we pretty much just hung out and talked, and then dropped them off. Here are a few things I learned from this trip:

1. Having parents come and visit YOU and stay in your house for the first time is scary and fun.
2. Parents who play Wii tennis not only look cool (and pretty funny), but are cool
3. Families are the most important social unit in the world
4. My parents are the coolest

Thanks for coming, mom and dad! We love you!

Sharing means caring!

I was eating a carrot today, and realized that I was being quite selfish. I have had so many carrots in my life (my mother (I love you mom!) was religious about carrot eating), but poor little Pookie has had so few. Many people don't realize this, but carrots are actually considered "treats" for rabbits. Hence, Pookie has only had a few baby carrots her whole life. Poor Pookie. So, I decided that I should share my carrot with Pookie. She was more than willing to oblige, and we had a very fine sharing experience. Of course, Laura caught me sharing, and took some pictures.

Claim your cannoli

So, I am failing to post on the blog very often. I feel, however, that I should respond to the last post. I would just like to point out that Laura does indeed look quite silly (in an adorable, cute, beautiful wife sort of way) when she wears a towel on her head. I asked her if she could get Pookie to sit up there and dry her hair - at least then it would be fashionable. She just thought I was kidding and laughed. I can understand her mirth, however, as I am usually well ahead of the fashion curve and she should take my suggestion. (Hint: tube socks never go out of style, unless you wear them with sandals) Socks and sandals = never a good plan.

Back to the point = when Laura wears that tower (or towel) on her head, it is a source of great amusement (the "how amusing" sound bite from the best board game ever Omega Virus plays through my head when I see it.) I figured that I should lighten her morning with a little towel action myself.

About this point, you should be wondering what the title of this post has to do with anything. Other than being wonderful advice, it would also be a great band name. Rehearsals, my house, Tuesday at 9:00. Bring your kazoo.

Super Saturday

A few months ago, I decided to start a "Super Saturday" tradition. Basically, neither Dan or I are happy that he has to work every Saturday, so I decided that each Saturday I'd wake up with Dan (at 6:30) and make a nice breakfast for us so we can spend a little time together before he has to get to school.

This Saturday, while I was making french toast, Dan came in and told me that everything smelled great. And when I turned around to talk to him, much to my surprise, he looked like this:






I busted out laughing SO hard. He just looks so silly. I know he was just trying to make fun of me because he thinks I look silly when I dry my hair that way, but I look nowhere near as silly as he looks. (but, of course, I have no pictures to prove it).

rocking + inspiring = awesome

So, recently I have become slightly obsessed with the song "Be My Escape" by Relient K. Here is the youtube video. I'm not a big fan of the video, but you can't expect too much, I suppose. The song, however, rocks, and I also like its message.

My favorite quote from the song:
"the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair"

As one of my religion profs at BYU was wont to say, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Fireflies and 4th of July

We took this video of fireflies in our backyard in Princeton, NJ.

I know the quality is bad, but if you look close, you can see little glimpses of light. I'm a big fan.

We also posted pictures from our 4th of July BBQ and fireworks extravaganza. A post with actual information is forthcoming. A small sample:

Birthday

Birthdays are awesome. I was surprised in several ways today. Abby and co-workers conspired to tie birthday balloons to my chair at work (pictured above) and also planned a surprise party at the end of group meeting. I knew Laura was bringing a coconut creme pie to share, but who knew there would be root beer floats, candles, singing, the whole shebang (Dan does not raise his hand)? Then we had an interesing time telling stories afterword. A Thoroughly Enjoyable Experience (TEE). Laura gave me some wonderful gifts and we had a great time hanging out. Plus, I had a great time chatting with my fam. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!

Brides Rock

NOTE: Laura's post is below about this event is below. It is better than mine, and I highly recommend it.

So, as Laura has so eloquently described, we went to her best friend’s wedding over the weekend. I learned several things:

1. Brides = awesome. I have heard rumors that a beast referred to as “bridezilla” exists, but I have yet to meet one in my extensive interactions with brides (two). It made me really happy to see how excited Rachel was and it reminded me a little of my own wedding. In fact, I think I must have projected my wedding onto her wedding a little bit, making me more emotional than usual. As I was following Rachel and Laura around, I got to thinking about how great it was that they met way back in the day – I’m sure my wife would be a much different person if she hadn’t been influenced by Rachel. I’m pretty thankful that Rachel has helped to shape Laura’s life, and Laura hers.
2. People are more likely to talk to you if you carry around a small white bag with beads and such sewn onto it. Somehow I was given the job of “carrier,” and I am pretty sure I carried everything except for jets. Most of it I delivered in a timely manner, however Rachel’s personal purse I carried through most of the evening. Most people commented on how well it matched my suit. I was pretty much the talk of the evening. Rachel was jealous.
3. Best wedding tip: Have your wedding reception/ceremony/dinner/fiesta/safari in a venue that is already decorated and has some type of a staff to take care of “stuff.” It worked well with both of our weddings, and I can’t recommend it more. The last thing you want to be worrying about on your wedding day is whether the white paper mache cupids that you hired your 12-year old nephew to craft for the wedding match each other. No decorating = more wedding fun.
4. Rachel’s family = awesome
5. I enjoy “meat on a stick” appetizers more than “vegetable in a roll” appetizers.

I can tell that the quality of my items is fast decreasing, so I will abstain from any further rumination. Congrats Rachel and Ning!

Rachel's and Ning's wedding

On Saturday, my friend Rachel got married! Rachel and I have been good friends for a long time (eleven years, I think), ever since that eventful day in 7th grade when we decided to work together on a book report in English class. I think Rachel is one of the most wonderful people I know, and I’m so glad that she was able to find someone equally wonderful to be her husband (you’re cool, Ning).

Dan and I were both able to drive to Cleveland for the weekend and be there for the ceremony and reception. It was so nice to be with Dan for three days straight….I rarely get that wonderful luxury now that he’s so busy in grad school.

I did Rachel’s hair for the wedding. It was pretty scary doing her hair for such an important day, but I think we were both pleased with the results. Rachel was such a beautiful bride! And, Ning was quite handsome, as well. I’m so excited for both of them.



The wedding and reception were held at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and everything about the night was lovely….the beautiful flowers, the string quartet, the yummy food, the old friends from high school and Rachel’s family that I got to see, and the adorably-in-love bride and groom.



I loved getting to see my old friends from high school and get to catch up on what’s happened since then. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years already. And, I also enjoyed meeting Rachel’s friend from college, Stephanie. Here are all of us with Rachel:

Chris, Jen, Rachel, Dani, me, Stephanie

I had a wonderful weekend and wish Rachel and Ning a long and happy life together!

For more pictures of Rachel and Ning’s wedding, click here:
http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=17808888#/album.php?aid=2270260&id=17808888

Linear epoxides = better than cyclohexene oxide

So, I'm probably not going to talk too often on this blog about chemistry, but I have been feeling a little frustrated with my chemistry as of late. Just last week, I decided to go back to terminal epoxides as my test substrate, rather than disubstituted epoxides. To my surprise, somthing actually happened - new peaks in the GC trace! Although I probably don't have product yet, at least I have reactivity. It is quite depressing to run screens and screens, only to see marginal conversion to nothing. One screen with new peaks = greatly increased morale. And that is good.

Dumplings

My friend, Amy, is a wonderful Chinese cook. She invited some of us girls from work to her house this weekend and taught us how to make dumplings. They were really yummy!

some uncooked dumplings



boiling and frying



Amy cooking some veggies to go with our dumplings

the final product

Me, Monique, Jennifer, Amy, Monica

Becky, Monique, Jennifer, Amy, Monica

A new way to blog

So, after a fair amount of thought, I decided to use blogger as my main blogging program with links to my main website. Why the change? Blogger.com is simply better for blogging. Comments and navigation aren't so cumbersome, it is easy to link to other blogs, I can customize it more (notice the increase in orange) and it can be edited from anywhere. Using iWeb, you can only edit the blog (and website, for that matter) from a single computer. Since I leave this computer at work during the week, it makes it difficult for Laura to do any blogging. Now she will have no excuse for not blogging.

However, I think iWeb does a better job of hosting pictures, videos, and content pages. So I plan to use both in synergy. So check both from time to time. I have links back and forth and will try to mention changes or additions as they happen. Happy early fathers day!