Countdown to Christmas

Made this countdown to Christmas calendar last night out of all recycled materials (grocery bags and catalogs/magazines)! The ladies in the office are enjoying their piece of chocolate each day until the big day. :)

Sailing

One of the perks of attending a conference is getting to do a few fun things that the area has to offer that you might not have where you're from or that you just don't get to try. Today, since the conference doesn't technically start til tomorrow, and my meeting duties were over in the morning, I tried out sailing. The conference offered either sailing or kayaking trip and since I haven't EVER been on a sail boat I thought that should be my choice. Very fun and our instructor, a 14 year old very aware and impressive young lady, taught us how to tack and all that stuff. And the view of San Diego was gorgeous! Can't wait to explore with Andrea at the end of the week.

Wifi in the sky

Pretty crazy that the day has come that not only can you fly through the air to another city across the country in just a few hours, BUT now you can get WiFi on that flight for FREE. At least for first time users. Pretty cool. On my way to San Diego to spend a week living in luxury (I think) at the Loews Coronado Bay resort. I'll post pictures later. Unfortunately I'll be spending that week in meetings but will try and fit some fun times in there too like a trip to Tecate Mexico! :) Friday starts a very fun West Coast vacation though and Ms. Fabulous herself is flying out to share in the fun in San Diego and then when we become high rollers in Las Vegas. More to come...

Master Naturalist Class

I have been taking a class since September and am becoming a Master Naturalist. It's a really fun class and I enjoy being back in a class learning new things each week. We have had classes on all types of topics - trees, reptiles, mammals, birds, ecology, interpretive skills, etc. We are nearing the end of the class and I have to say I'm a little sad that it's ending. We had our last field trip this weekend and went over to the Eastern Shore for some birding. Stopped at Kiptopeke Park, Fisherman's Island Wildlife Refuge, and the dump (yes, the dump - there's a pond there that had a TON of birds).

The coolest thing we did was go to the bird banding station which I'm thinking I might try and volunteer there as part of my required 40 hours/year. They set up mist nets all day and count, measure, and band all the birds they catch. Here are the volunteers doing their thing.

And some bird bands - sizes dependent on the type of bird they catch.

And the size of bird that I got to hold and release!!! :) I release a Yellow Rumped Warbler - which was the most common bird we caught that day.

And then we got to see some hawks which was VERY cool.

New Craft Projects

Visited the Russo's in WV and got inspired to do some crafting. In fact, we visited Michael's THREE times in the week I was there. :)

Jes has been knitting for a while, and even Rob has given me a washcloth that he knitted, so Jes was trying to make a knitter out of me too. I have to say I can see her excitement when going to the yarn store. There are just so many colors and different kinds, all very organized also, and you can't help but imagine all the things you could make with them. So the first visit to the yarn store Jes bought some stuff and I just looked around. I felt like I needed a knitting lesson first. Well I got a refresher course - the first time she tried to teach me it just didn't work. But this time something clicked and it made more sense. That still meant that while knitting I had to seriously concentrate and couldn't talk to anyone or I would mess up! :) Hopefully I will get better at that as time goes on and I can join in on Jes's weekly knitting group again. Here are some pictures from the yarn store and of me learning and then my current project - a scarf.

We taught Jes how to decoupage (spelling?) that weekend too and she made a super cute canvas for Ellie. I can't wait to see what Rob will come up with for the matching canvas.

Lastly, I had seen this craft on a blog and wanted to try it. It turned out alright. Still not sure if I like it or not. It's super girly - which I'm sure part of it was my color choice. I was going for a spring time wreath since I already have a fall and christmas wreath. We'll see if I keep it or give it as a gift. :)

Weekend

Highlights from the weekend:

Estuaries Day was Saturday. Probably the coolest thing we saw were some baby turtles that had hatched (well I didn't see the live ones) but someone brought this one up to the tent to show us that hadn't quite made it. Someone said they thought they were snapping turtles but hard to tell from the one that I saw.

Enjoyed having Saturday night and Sunday off so that I could relax. Got some grocery shopping and laundry done. I tried a new recipe for an eggplant and goat cheese sandwich that was quite tasty.

Also finished a craft project. Trying to improve my sewing skills. They turned out pretty cute but definitely not the best sewer out there.

Tough Week

It's been a super busy week with something after work every night and lots of work stress. Very excited to spend the evening having dinner with my BF! :) Just what I need.

Tonight I played in my first WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association) kickball game! And I did alright. Got on base which is pretty exciting considering we were playing the best team in the league. :)

Crafty Sunday

Got some craft projects done today (or at least one done and another one started).

Project #1

Decided to practice my sewing skills by making some cloth napkins. Good practice and good for the environment - no more paper napkins here! Found these cute squares of fabrics that I washed and ironed, then that I just had to trim a little.

Then, folded the edges over twice, pinned it.

Then, sewed around the edges. Finished two and have six more but need some more different colored thread so I'll have to wait til I get back to the store.

Two finished ones!

Project #2

Saw this online and thought it was a cute idea for a centerpiece. Bought the pumpkins during a trip to Michael's for work this week. Spray painted them.

Then, spray painted some speckles over it in brown.

Finished product with placemats and napkins I got from World Market back in July.

New Recipes

Here are some new recipes to try out. I loved all of them!

Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Chicken
1/3 cup canola oil, plus oil for grate
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary leaves
1 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks (I used thin chicken breasts though)

In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients except the chicken. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture for the grilled flat bread. Add the chicken to the bowl, and toss with herb mixture so that all pieces are well coated. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and as long as overnight.
Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. Be sure to oil grate when ready to start cooking. Let chicken stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling.
Place chicken on hot, oiled grill and cook for a total of 18 to 20 minutes giving it a quarter turn every 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Grilled Flatbread
1 pound refrigerator pizza dough, room temperature (I got mine for 99 cents at TJ)
2 tablespoons reserved marinade from Garlic, Lemon, and Herb Rubbed Legs

Preheat grill or gill pan over medium heat.
Cut the dough in half and save 1 half for the round 2 recipes. On a lightly floured work surface roll the remaining half out into a rectangular shape about 1/4-inch thick.
Place the dough onto an oiled grilled grate. Brush the top with half of the reserved marinade. Grill for 4 minutes. Flip the bread and top with remaining marinade and grill for another 3 minutes.
Remove bread from the grill to a cutting board, cut into pieces and serve warm.

Asparagus, Pecorino and Red Onion Salad
** Made this earlier this week and I would probably not use as much onion next time, but it's really good and no cooking involved!

1 bunch pencil asparagus, tough bottom stems removed
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup coarsely grated aged pecorino
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

Cut the asparagus, including the tips into very thin slices, crosswise and place in a medium bowl. Add the red onion and pecorino and toss to combine. Dress with the vinegar, olive oil and salt and toss again. This salad should be fairly heavily dressed. The vinegar will sort of "cook" or tenderize the asparagus.
It is best to do this about an hour or so in advance to let the flavors "marry".

I've caught the craft bug

So it's been FOREVER since I've posted anything here - but now that summer is over maybe I'll have more time to write here. But lately I have definitely been feeling the crafty bug. :) So my first project was relearning how to use a sewing machine (it's been a while since I have used one but I even brought my mom's back here today so maybe I'll get to do some more sewing). Second was working on some pillows for the couch now that I've decided to go with a navy and white theme to go with the new navy and white pillow that I got for the blue chair. So needed some to match on the couch. Found some cute fabric with Sarah in Chesapeake and this weekend made some lovely pillows. Even ties in with the window frame on the wall! :)

More projects to come!

Hatteras 09

There's something about this particular beach house that just is so relaxing (other than when your gall bladder decides it doesn't like the fajitas and ice cream that you had for dinner)! I love it here. It's on the sound, kayaks to use, great sunsets, a hammock, cute decor, comfy space, etc. Just a great vacation rental and I highly suggest it to anyone looking to go to the outer banks that doesn't feel the need to be ON the beach.

The week started off with a bang (see previous blog), but then got much better as the week went on. The weather did not cooperate with us that much, but it was still really nice. We kayaked, went to the beach, went to an art show, read a lot, hammocked, played a bunch of games, slept, and saw really cool phosphoresence in the sound at night. Watched the sunset most days too when it wasn't raining.

Great times, great friends! Can't wait to go back.

BWET Conference

Headed up to Silver Spring, MD two weeks ago for the first ever national BWET conference. All of the previous and upcoming recipients of the BWET grants were invited and we spent three days meeting new people, discussing projects, how to improve evaluations, etc. Heard from some good speakers - including Jane Lubchenko (in the yellow below), head of NOAA at the evening reception at the National Aquarium in DC. We also got to participate in a field trip at a local site that participates in the BWET program. I chose to go to one on streams with the Earth Force people - did water quality testing, collected macroinvertebrates, and hiked a little on a restored stream. Nice to be outside! And the ride to the field trip was on a "party bus" so of course Sally and I had to pose for pictures in our NERRS shirts. :)

Well, it's coming out folks!

Skipping a few things here, but I'll go back and fill in later.

So I'm officially having my gall bladder taken out. August 26th. Whew, a little scary but at least I won't have to worry about it after that.

Backstory:

Got up bright and early July 19th, excited for the beach trip, only to find out that I felt extremely nauseus and feeling really crappy. I rallied enough to get the car packed and let Andrea drive my car and we were on our way. After about 3 hours of feeling like this, I finally felt better and thought nothing of it. Just that I had a stomach-ache, and it was gone and it was time for VACATION.

The rest of that day was fine, went kayaking, everything was normal, until about 30 minutes after bed. Woke up feeling extremely crappy again and it went from bad to the worst feeling I've ever felt in about 3 minutes. Had to go to the ER, fun times on my first ambulance ride, had tests done, my first ultrasound, etc only to find out I had gall bladder DISEASE. But I was able to enjoy the rest of vacation (more on that later) without a lot of problems (other than some worrying and nausea).

Well, today I saw the doctor in VA and it's coming out. So let's just hope for no problems and a healthy recovery. Someone at work suggested I keep it and put it on a shelf in the lab and let the kids guess what it is! :) Don't think I'll want to do that - but a funny thought.

Thanks for all the concern and well wishes everyone!

Birthday Celebrations!!!

As soon as the third camp was over, I began the weekend celebration for my birthday! Sally and I started it out with some drinks at the Crab Deck, a weekly tradition on the last day of camp. Came home and packed up for the BEST girl's weekend!!! Sarah came up to VA that night and then Saturday we drove over to Charlottesville to meet Andrea and Jes.

The weekend included wine tasting, tubing down the James River, dressing up for drinks and tapas at Mas (one of my FAVORITE places in cville), lots and lots of girl chats, birthday cake and gifts, breakfast at Bodo's, pedicures, shopping, etc! It was awesome. Just what I needed and wish that it could happen more often. Ended just too quickly. Here are some fun pictures from the weekend.

Then, Monday at work we had a little celebration and I got surprised with flowers delivered to me!! They were so pretty. Came home and the VA girls came over for some enchiladas and mojitos and of course, some more birthday cake! All in all, a great 27th birthday.

Camp #3 - Chesapeake Bay Investigators

I'm so behind in my blogging - so expect quite a few in a short period of time.

So the Chesapeake Bay Investigators camp (CBI for short - and yes we had fun shirts to look like FBI shirts) was our third camp for the summer. This one was for rising 7th and 8th grade students and it was so very different than the first two. It was almost like we were on a mini vacation because these kids could somewhat take care of themselves and didn't need constant watching. BUT, I definitely missed the cute little ones.

The plan for the week was for the kids to see as many different habitats around the Chesapeake Bay as possible.

Day one we spent on the Dragon Run, a pristine river in Virginia, where we went electroshocking with some of the VIMSers. The kids loved it (and only one got shocked - midly, he was ok).

Day two we went to York River State Park for some canoeing and marsh mucking through the salt marsh.

Day three was spent at VIMS, looking at the shallow water habitats and the oyster reef habitats.

Day four was the big field trip day to Goodwin Island, where we went trawling, explored the island, ate some crabs, etc. Had one incident that day - a kid chipped his tooth on the boat. :(

All in all, a great camp and great campers! Looking forward to the last two.