Friday, January 27, 2012

Thankfulness Friday - Beets

In the winter months, there aren't many vegetables to whet my appetite.  Seems like I always buy same stuff every time I go to the produce market - cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, peppers, potatoes...  This week, I picked up some beets.  I don't know many recipes that uses beets.  So, I ended up cutting one up and throwing it in a pot of boiling water with potatoes, carrots, onion, and some meat balls.  It turned out to be a great meal.

Looking forward to the spring and to starting the vegetable garden again with yummy tomatoes, basil, peppers, and egg plants.  Last summer, I tried growing beans, but didn't have much luck.  Then, being pregnant and with the early arrival of Baby Bunny, the garden was very much neglected.  We hope to be more adventurous and ambitious this year!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Smile!








 Can't get enough of pictures with Baby Bunny smiling.  She is cute!


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thankfulness Friday - Truth For Life

I am a self-proclaimed Alistair Groupie.  Alistair Begg that is.  He is an amazing preacher at Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, OH.  I had blogged about visiting his church a few years ago.  Most recently (last May) John and I traveled up to the Brooklyn Tabernacle to hear him preach.  That was a grand experience which included listening to the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir live and in person.  I first heard Pastor Begg preach on the radio as Truth For Life ministries about 10 years ago.  In addition to the clear and relevant Biblical teachings, the broadcasts also stood out because of Pastor Begg's Scottish accent.  And, when his announcer introduced him, it sounded like Alex Trebek, the host of the TV quiz show Jeopardy.  Ever since I got my iPod 6 years ago, I've been downloading TFL podcasts and listening to them in the car.  I think even Bun Bun knows Uncle Ali's voice since she's been listening to him in my womb.  Alistair's messages are always timely.  I credit his sermon series on Ruth to my meeting John.  That's a long story for another day.

This has been an incredibly discouraging week.  Experiments did not work.  I had no confidence going into the start of the new semester.  On Tuesday, Alistair's preached from Romans 12 and reminded me to work as if for the LORD rather than for man, to persevere...  It was tremendously uplifting!

Check out Truth For Life!  You can download podcasts from iTunes or directly from the website, all for free.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hands


Ooohh...  These belong to me...
Baby Bunny has lately been fascinated by her own hands.  She stares at them, plays with them, and twirls them.  I caught her looking at them the other night.  She was in her crib about to fall asleep.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Thankfulness Friday - Productive Week

It is the last week before classes start.  First day of the semester is next Tuesday.  We have an extra day off to observe Martin Luther King Day.  This has been a crazy busy week but a very productive one.  I started several experiments and will go back to work on Monday to finish them.  I hope and pray they were all successful.  All in all, this was a very productive Christmas break.  Really since the summer, the lab has been cranking out a lot of data.  It helps tremendously to have three very hard working and capable students in the research lab.  This is excellent since I will have a good amount of results to write up for my manuscript.  If all continues to go well, I will have a journal article published this year.  Of course, this will alleviate a lot of pressure come tenure review time.

Gotta go... Bun Bun is awake!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Half year


Yesterday was Bun Bun's half birthday.  We celebrated by going to the park for a hike.  Daddy had to go to work.  So, Bun Bun got strapped to Mama for the hiking trail.  Up and down hills, over little streams, and through bogs, we saw lots of other walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and doggies.  It was an atypically warm day for January.  We didn't see any forest animals though, nor were there fish in the streams.  It was still a fabulous day.  Happy half birthday, my little chunky monkey!

On Wednesday, Bun Bun weighed 12.5 pounds!  She's quite heavy, and Mama got a good work out!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Thankfulness Friday - Tummy Time

I'm working!  I'm working!
To help gain head control, build up arm muscles, and firm up the abs, babies do tummy time.  They lie on their stomachs, prop up on elbows, and lift up their heads.  With practice and lots more tummy time, they'll prop up on their hands, tuck in their knees, and start the crawling position.  Baby Bunny has been doing a lot of tummy time lately.  She hasn't quite made it to propping on her hands, but I think she's very close.  We still have a little bit of time before she gets into the crawling position and thus start baby-proofing the house. 

This week, I discovered that Bun Bun has a hot temper.  She was already very exhausted from a morning of PT.  I took her to the doctors for weight, length, and other measurements.  She was NOT happy and started to wail.  Not even food or Mama time could assuage her.  She wanted out of there.  No more doctors.  No more nurses.  Don't talk to me, don't even look at me!  Get me out of here!  She cried and cried.  Poor girl.  She eventually calmed down, had a nice visit at Mama's work, and ate lunch with her colleagues.  She even visited Mama's lab and saw growing yeast cells.  It was a busy day.  She zonked out for the night and the entire next day.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

Revelers are about in the neighborhood.  There are cheers and fireworks.  I'm still up, sitting in Bun Bun's room, getting some work done on the computer.  I can hear Bun Bun's heavy breathing; she is in deep sleep, and not much will wake her.  She'll sleep until the morning when I wake her for her first breakfast.  Yep!  She's an easy baby.  I'm counting my blessings that I can get a good 7 hours of sleep every night.

I am not ready for the new semester which starts in 2 weeks.  I missed being away from the classroom this past fall semester.  But, I'm not looking forward to the spring only because my last spring class was full of bad experiences.  Every class is different, and I really hope this one to come will be more teachable.  I am changing up a lot of things.  The lab experience will be very different, too.

I look forward to 2012 with some excitement and cautious optimism.  This is an election year for the President of the US.  I am up for tenure later this year and will be putting together my dossier in the summer.  I've got lots to do.  I hope and pray for God to strengthen me and help me do all things as if on to Him - being a Mom, wife, daughter, sister, teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend.

From a rocking chair in Bun Bun's lavender room, I wish you all a wonderful 2012!