For the bird lovers

Its no secret that I have a thing for Peacocks.  Well I also have a thing for owls.  And just happened upon this website that shares my love.

I am particularly liking this wreath.

And these cute salt and pepper shakers.

I wonder if Michael would notice a big Peacock wreath hanging in the house...

http://www.shopplasticland.com/c/Birds-Feathers.html&offset=0&sort=

I'm Engaged!

So on our trip to Washington, my wonderfully sweet boyfriend surprised me with the most amazing gift.

About 2 months ago my parents came to visit Michael and I in Memphis.  Unbeknownst to me at that time my dad asks Michael what his intentions were in regards to me.  Michael won't tell me the full details, but he said something to the effect of wanting to spend his life with me.  About a week later he called my dad and officially asked him if it would be ok to ask me to marry him.  My dad said yes, of course.
Then Michael was very tricky, or maybe resourceful would be a better word.  A little while after Michael and I started dating I started my Wedding board on Pinterest.  You know, just in case.  Well clever Michael, he signed up for Pinterest under the pretext that he wanted to see if it had anything to offer guys.  What he really did was go in and print out all of the ring pictures I had pinned.  The next day he told me he didn't find anything useful in it so he canceled his account.  He had what he needed though.  He took the pictures to a jeweler and found me the perfect ring!
He said he had decided to propose in Seattle since he knew it was such a special place to me.  The day we were in Seattle was the very last day of our trip.  So for the whole week leading up to it, Michael was carrying the ring around Washington and apparently having little pow-wows with everyone we saw.  I think I am one of the only people in Washington who didn't know this was going to happen.
So Monday we headed from my grandparents up to Seattle.  We started the day walking around the UW campus, and then driving through some of my favorite neighborhoods.  We even went and visited the Fremont Troll. Then we made our way downtown for our reservations at the Spaceneedle.  I had wanted to take him there to celebrate his birthday which was the next day.  A few minutes after we sat down at our table and the waiter had brought us some water, Michael suggested we take a picture with the beautiful view of the sound in the background.  I said I wanted to wait until the city came back into view.  It took us about 20 minutes to get back around and I meanwhile was pointing out different landmarks and telling Michael about Seattle.  He was quiet and I thought just listening to me and enjoying the view.  Apparently he was actually in agony waiting.  Once the city got back into view, we waved our waiter over to take a picture of us.  Michael got up and made his way over to my side of the table.  He pulled the chair out, and then...

Michael getting down on one knee and presenting me with a ring and the best 4 words ever, Will you marry me?!  

Me in complete and utter shock not believing what was happening.

Taking it all in.

YES, of course!!!

(So happy!)

Slipping on the ring.

Happily newly engaged on the top of the world!!

Beautiful

(And perfect since I had gotten a manicure for my brothers wedding)

Needless to say it was the perfect ending to a great trip.  

Now, into planning mode.

Visiting Home

So I realize I am a little late in posting this, but better late than never!  My visit back home to Washington state was a magical one.  I got to see family I haven't seen in a long time.  I got to spend some quality time with high school friends, family friends and college friends.  My brother got married.  AND I got engaged!!  (but thats for another post)
Warning:  Lots of pictures!

Our family friends the Storedahl's hosted a great BBQ for us.  I love when they host things at their house.  The outdoor living area they have is absolutely amazing.

Relaxing before the party

Tracie, moms friend and one of my other mothers.

The ladies of the family

Grandma

Papa

I got to drink some Washington brewed beer!!  I miss this stuff so much!

The grill masters

Took a trip up to the old house and stopped to admire the gorgeous view from a real hill!

The mountain made an appearance!  (luckily we were sitting still in traffic so I had plenty of opportunity to take a pic)

Me and sis at Derrick's wedding.

Michael and I at the wedding. (yes I did change dresses)

Showing Michael around one of my favorite cities, had to get a pic with the troll!

One of my favorite parts of the trip, CELEBRATING and catching up with these amazing ladies!!  

(Now go to next post to see why we're celebrating)

8 Days!

Yes, that is right, in 8 days I will be back in the wonderful state of Washington!  I haven't been back for over a year and that trip was only 3 days.  This time I will be there for a whole week.  And to top it off I will have the best company, Michael!  He has never been to the west coast and I am so excited to show him around and introduce him to everyone out there.
The main reason for the trip is Derrick and Pablo's wedding.  However, we will also be busy celebrating my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, a mini high school reunion since I won't be there for the real one, and a fun filled day in Seattle.  I feel like I've been waiting all year for August to get here and now it is!  Well close enough.

Family

The one bad thing about living in Memphis is the fact that I don't get to see my family nearly as often as I would like to.  However, every once in a while things work out and I get to see them outside of a holiday.  This past week was one of those occasions.  My dad had some business up in Louisville and so my mom and him decided to extend the business trip and come visit Michael and I.  It was actually kind of a big visit.  First, my parents (and Sarah) stayed with Michael and I at our house.  I wasn't sure how my mom was going to handle that, but she did amazingly well!  Although she did make sure to talk about marriage and children as much as possible.  And second, Michael and I introduced our parents to each other!  I wasn't really nervous about them meeting, I figured it would go well.  But I was still relieved to see how well they all got along!  It made me so happy to know that my family and their family can be one big family!  Needless to say it was a great few days.  However, I am now exhausted.

Enjoying some good ole southern BBQ

At the park on the 4th waiting for fireworks

Mom and Dad

Mom and Sarah

King Size

Last weekend Michael and I made our first big purchase as roomies, a new bed!!  Originally he had a full, then when I moved in we had my queen.  Apparently, though, he was not a fan of my mattress, so shopping we went.  Lucky for us Mattress Firm had just put out a Groupon and they were also having a double coupon sale.  So instead of sticking with a queen, we decided to supersize it and go with a king!

The cats love it obviously.

There is sooooo much room!!  Seriously, I feel like I am on a tiny island.  And its so tall!  I actually have to do a little hop to get up on it. Its great, and so very comfortable.  When we first got it, we had it on the other side of the room but it was so big and overpowering we had to rearrange.  You can't really tell in the pic, but the bed is now framed by a window on each side which helped shrink it down some.  Its still pretty dominating though.  Now we just need to find a new comforter we both like.  The one on the bed now is actually the king I was using on my queen.  Time for more shopping!!  (and maybe I can sneak in a couple throw pillows!)

New Toys

I have to admit, this year I am feeling pretty spoiled.  For mine and Michael's six month anniversary I got a beautiful pearl necklace and dinner at the BEST steak house in town.  Then for my birthday he got me bicycle!  I've been wanting a bicycle for a while now, ever since they opened the Greenline and started putting in bike lanes on all the roads (both of which are huge steps for Memphis).  Well I mentioned it to Michael and he immediately decided that he'd get me one.  And I love it.  In fact we just went on a long ride this weekend and had lunch out at the park we rode to.  Only issue was that we decided to leave the house at 12:30 and by then it was about 98 degrees outside.  By the time we got to the park I was so hot!  Lets just say the ride back wasn't as fun as the ride out.

Isn't is beautiful?!  (Mine is on the right.)

Not only did I get this magnificent bike, but my parents felt compelled to buy me a new computer!  My old PC laptop has served me well the last 4 years, but it often gets over heated and will just turn off on me without warning.  Not so conducive when you are working on grants and papers for hours on end.  As with the bike, I have been wanting a new laptop, specifically a MacBook Pro.  All of our computers in the lab are Macs and I have officially converted from PC to Mac.  They are just so much better.  So good old mom and dad helped me out and got me a MacBook.  They are so great like that.  And while I feel pretty good using Macs now, Michael decided it was worth the money to sign up for One-to-One.  Now I get a year of free training whenever I want!  My first one is tomorrow.  I'm pretty excited.  I am totally going to become a Mac expert.

Love!

I really do feel like the luckiest girl!  But I better not push my luck.  I'm thinking small now.  Like maybe a new sewing machine so I can become domestic!  Those are pretty cheap right??

The Throw Pillow Debate

So, I have recently moved in with my boyfriend.  And by recently I mean last Sunday.  However, before that if you were looking for me, the last place to look would have been my own apartment.  I moved into my apartment the end of December and total probably was there less than one month added up.  Hence, the decision to move in with Michael just made sense.  Well around February (maybe the end of January, I can't really remember) Michael decided to buy a new couch.  Its a really beautiful couch and really comfortable and serves the purpose he was looking for of providing ample seating.  In my (oh so humble) opinion, though, it just lacked something.

It looks so big and bare!

So I told Michael we should get some throw pillows for it and dress it up a little.  The look he gave me told me we would not be doing that.  He said (as nicely as he could), "I don't do throw pillows."  Well of course I couldn't let this go.  Since then I have been telling him that I am just going to show up one day with pillows and because he loves me so much he wouldn't dare get rid of them.  Then to appease me he told me if I ever move in, I could buy some throw pillows BUT he got final veto approval.  I agreed.  And then we made the decision for me to move in.  Now I can't stop looking at pillows!  He told me I had to limit them to 3, but I'm sure I could sneak a 4th one in!  I am trying to be nice though and not go too "girly".  Here are some I am considering.  Don't you think they would look great?

(Hahaha, just kidding, he'd kill me!)

(This would match the curtains and walls)

(Apparently I like the circle theme)

(last two here)

Peacock Skirt

So because my last name is Peacock, I feel it necessary to buy anything with a peacock or peacock feathers on it.  And this skirt is no exception.  What do you think, should I buy it??

(Ruche)

Birthday Celebration

This year for my birthday Michael and I decided to throw a big party at his house (at the end of the month our house!!)  We spent weeks cleaning the house and the back yard to get everything ready.  The party was a HUGE success!  At one point there were over 30 people.  It was so wonderful to have so many friends together at once to celebrate and enjoy each other's company.  It was a lot of work, but I think we just might have to do it again next year.

Michael's house, all clean and ready!

Some of my guests, all having a great time!

Cool Website

I felt the need to share this website because I think every female should know about it.  And if you already do then you're ahead of the game.

http://www.outblush.com/

Enjoy!!

Oh, and apparently I have decided to give this whole blogging thing another go...

A little work out motivation

Just when I look around and I think that people are really getting into being fit and active this article pops up on my Google home page. 

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/176817/20110708/america-obesity-f-fat-mississippi-food-health-rate-increase-high.htm

In case you are pressed for time or don't actually feel like opening the article here are some nice little excerpts for you.

"High Obesity rates continue to earn America an 'F'."
"An annual report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011, from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the country, soaring up to 34.4 percent (That would be my neighbor state, way to go guys!)......The report released on Thursday also showed that over the past two decades, seven states have doubled their rate of obesity and ten states have doubled their rate of diabetes......The highest obesity rates fell mostly in the South, in large swaths of poor and rural areas, and where fried foods are eaten in abundance.....Since 1995, obesity rates have risen fastest in Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee, with the slowest rates occuring in Colorado, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.......Following Mississippi, the most obese states are Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana. It's not until No. 10 on the list, Michigan, that a state above the Mason-Dixon Line appears. The least obese states continue to be in the West and Northeast."

In case you missed the trend in this post (the bold and large words) let me bring it to your attention.  I live in the worst possible place to succumb to corpulence.  And as I have no desire whatsoever to be catagorized as any type of over weight let the long runs in the scorching heat begin.  And perhaps I should consider a move to Colorado?  Or better yet Europe.  If America is getting an F, who is getting the A?

Remind Me

I am completely obsessed with this song right now.  I might have listened to it on repeat my whole way home from work today. Can't wait for the actual video!

Homemade Fruit Punch

Doesn't this look absolutely amazing and yummy?

Definitely think I'm going to have to make it sometime soon!  Recipe here.

Sorority Girl Problems

So I have recently become obsessed with Twitter.  Today I started following someone who is cracking me up right now.  And I feel it is necessary to share some of her tweets.  For your reading pleasure:

I can do all things through wine who strengthens me.

Humidity wants me to be ugly.   (So relevant in the south!)

Must be productive....Must be productive...Oops I just found someone on Facebook I haven't judged in a while.

I feel bad for people who aren't caffeine addicts: when they wake up in the morning, that's as alive as they're going to feel all day.

I should really work on getting some less obvious "I'm judging you" eyes.

Someone please teach me the difference between boredom and hunger.

I don't hate Mondays.  Mondays hate me.

Whenever I feel like my life is a lost cause, I remind myself that somewhere there is a Real Housewife who is a bigger disaster than me.


Hope you enjoyed!  If you want more, you can follow her @SororityProblems

Happy Birthday To Me

Today I turned 27.

And I sure as heck do not feel like it.  And I'm pretty sure most the time I don't act like it.  So how on earth did I get to be it?  So weird.  Ah, well, here's to another candle on the cake and a happy birthday to me!  (Which it indeed was!!!)

I PASSED: The story of my next big step on becoming Dr. Peacock

As is obvious from my complete lack of posting the last couple months, I've been a little busy.  My life was consumed with proposal writing and preparing for my big Admission to Candidacy exam.  Round 1 came on May 10th.  My committee had been in possession of my 8 page research proposal for 2 weeks.  Plenty of time to read and come up with criticisms for my research and plenty of questions.  The exam began with me giving a 20 minute presentation, essentially summarizing my proposal followed by 2 excruciatingly brutal hours of non-stop question grilling.  At the end of that 2 hour period I was sent out of the room where my 7 committee members spent 30 minutes discussing my fate.

(insert Jeapordy theme song here)

Here I would like to interrupt my little retelling to point out some facts that most of you are probably unaware of.  The Admission to Candidacy exam for PhD students is a huge deal.  It essentially determines if you are good enough to go on and actually obtain your PhD or if you should just give up and take the MS (failure).  The proposal that we are required to write is basically like writing a grant, and while 8 pages may sound quite whimpy, trying to fit all of your preliminary data, proposed research, and benefit to the field into 8 pages (which for NIH standards is actually supposed to be 6) is like trying to fit your life story into 1 chapter: almost impossible.  Luckily I have a little grant writing experience so the writing part wasn't too bad.  And by not too bad, I mean I've never been so stressed in my life.  Normally when students are writing and preparing for this exam they take a few weeks off from doing experiments, trying not to overload themselves.  But not me.  I was told that I was expected to work the whole time I was preparing, and I did.  And since we are working on getting a paper out, my normal work load was significantly increased (thanks boss).  Needless to say my mind was not completely focused on my exam.  Never the less, I finished my proposal on time and put together my presentation.  Which brings us back...

After the longest 30 minutes of my life (dramatic, but true) I was brought back into the room with my committee.  I was told my proposal was great, they were all very impressed with my writing.  SWEET!  I was also told that my presentation was very well done, I obviously have no problem giving one.  SWEET AGAIN!  And then the knife....they were not so impressed with my ability to answer questions on the spot.  NOOO!  They all told me that they knew I was smart, top of my class, and they had faith that I knew my science, but they were worried about how I handled the stress and the questions.  They asked me how much time I had taken off to spend preparing, and when I told them none, they were shocked.  (My advisor got scolded a little for not making sure that I did.)  They decided that while they could pass me at that point, they knew I was capable of more and wanted to see what I could do given the appropriate amount of time out of the lab to prepare.  While at that moment I was extremely heart broken and let down, now I can say I'm kind of grateful they did it. Extra practice is always a good thing.  And most of the time students get asked to rewrite their proposal (this is actually pretty common) or redo the presentation anyway, but since they thought I did great at both of those, all they wanted from me was to redo the question and answers session.  Easy.

I spent the next 2 1/2 weeks away from the lab, not doing any experiments but just immersing myself in the science.  I probably read at least 100 papers, reviewed old class notes, and became an expert on every technique and protocol that had any relevance to my research.  So when Round 2 came I was posed and ready for every question they threw at me.  And this time I knocked their socks off!!  Unlike the 30 minutes I sat out of the room the first time, this time I walked out and walked right back in.  The decision to pass me was instant and unanimous.  My admission form was signed and I am now a PhD candidate!  Woo hoo!!

The whole process was long and stressful and for the better part of two months I had a constant nauseous feeling in my stomach.  But I am officially done and can get back to focusing on other things, such as the paper we are submitting next week which will be my first, first author paper (boo yah!).

Oh, and I think the moral to this story here is that it is better to force your boss to allow you time off instead of being an extreme workaholic when your future is on the line.

I want....

Yes I do have a thing for owls.  So sue me.  But this is so cute!

Whoot!

From: The Dog

My mom sent me this as an email and I thought it was pretty cute, so I decided to share it via blog.  Enjoy!

 

From: THE DOG

Dear God:  Is it on purpose our names are the same, only reversed?

Dear God:  Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another?

Dear God:  When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it still the same old story?

Dear God:  Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a Dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the 'Chrysler Eagle' the 'Chrysler Beagle'?

Dear God:  If a Dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad Dog?

Dear God: We Dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent ID's, electromagnetic energy fields, and frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?

Dear God:  More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God:  Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God:  Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good Dog.

1. I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.

2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.

4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.

5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.

7.  Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.

8. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee table

9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house - not after.

10. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt across the capet.

11. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.

12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

P.S.  Dear God: When I get to Heaven may I have my testicles back?