I'm a huge McFan of McMommy!

McMommy, who is fabulous and if you do not read her blog you are totally missing out, had a fun idea to have her McFan's post fan pics similar to the one she made for Oprah when she joined the twitterverse. This has given me the motivation to go through with an idea I have had for awhile now and show you, my dear reader(s), how a blog addict such as myself views the world, which can be very different from how "normal" people view the same world.

It all started when I decided I was hungry and didn't want to go home and cook or perhaps had no time to do so because I had lab work after water aerobics and decided to hit the local Wendy's before heading back to my hermit cave rock I live under according to BFF Pasha apartment or lab. I did this somewhat frequently until one night I was totally thrown off, they had to close the road in front of the Wendy's and I REALLY wanted my kid meal and chocolate frosty with cookie dough added (I love that they will spike my frosty with the dough stuff for I think a quarter!). I was trying to figure out how I could get to the Wendy's as I passed it and observed the layout of the barricades. And then, just when I thought all hope was lost I looked ahead and saw the golden arches of a McDonalds. I had no idea it was there because I don't get out much this is on the opposite side of town from where I normally am. I got my happy meal, complete with toy for Niecey and decided that I like the McD's kid meal better than Wendy's except for the lack of the awesome frosty goodness (I hate that McD's "chocolate" shakes are really vanilla shakes with some chocolate flavor added, gross!) and so have switched over.

Another reason I enjoy going to the McDonalds is that it reminds me of two of my favorite bloggers, McMommy and HappyHourSue (her blog title is Happy Meals and Happy Hour, which you would know if you aren't her husband and read her awesome blog!). And so dearest reader(s), I present to you what I see in my mind when I am going on a happy meal run:

Welcome to McMommy's, can we take your order please?

Here is the menu for the food:

A happy meal option that is extra happy!

Here is the McCafe menu:

McMommytini anyone?

And here is what comes with the most popular meal by far at McMommy's, The Happy Hour Sue Happy Meal:

The yummy crusty browned part of the turkey stuffing.

A Mojuito

Chocolate

And your very own Bathtub Gangta Mini!

So there you have it, a blog addict's view of the world. And Melisa, I remember you bringing up this question in a post at some point and this should be proof positive for you that you are not the only one that is often reminded about their bloggy friends/idols, though my being the one that is proof that it happens might not be the most reassuring as far as if it is sane or not ;).

Workin' on my Fitness Melisa Style

As some of you are aware I have recently added Melisa to my list of people I stalk blogs I read. She is so cool, though her sons may not always think so they are teens and so don't count (unless they are agreeing with me) ;). One of the things I learned about Melisa is that she is a group fitness instructor, I enjoyed reading posts from the instructor's point of view. Many of you are aware that I do water aerobics, that is a group fitness class, after I graduate I will most likely be moving back to the Chicagoland area and have been contemplating how I can keep doing water aerobics there. Of course this led to the logical conclusion that Melisa is going to have to start teaching water aerobics and WeaselMomma should totally become my water aerobics buddy, how fun would that be?! I tweeted this to her and she admitted that she actually has taught water aerobics in the past but she found it boring, guess most of the people that went were little old ladies who weren't the cool ornery kind. And so with this post I am continuing my campaign to convince Melisa that my idea is brilliant and she needs to go with it (and on days she isn't our instructor she should totally join WM and I, once again I predict much fun!).

Dear Melisa,

I already showed you the post with the video of how awesome Flat WeaselMomma and I are at water aerobics and from that and meeting her one can predict that the real WeaselMomma would be even more awesome. Well I decided that I should suck up "up the ante" as OhCaptain might say and show you why you should definitely become my water aerobics instructor because I am so your kind of instructee! Back in May of 2008 you posted about how you wore one of your fabulous tiaras while teaching your spin class and it was a mega workout and challenged your readers to try it as well. Being as I did not have time to hit the "mall" before leaving for my next workout and figuring that it would probably not stay on my head given the movements we do and it could possibly rip up the swim cap so I busted out my silver and gold sharpies and the tiara swim cap was born!

Not too shabby I think, drawing a tiara on the swim cap while wearing it was not the easiest of tasks (because it stretches I figured this was really the only way to do it). I made sure to take pictures in case metallic sharpies are water soluble, wouldn't want to spend all that time and effort and not get a pictures of it! Here is another shot of me before I got in the pool, showing off my awesome water aerobics outfit and if you squint you can see them massive muscles I've gotten over time (thanks to the lifeguard for snapping this shot for me).


And to answer your question if wearing a tiara made for a more butt kicking workout:


YES IT DID! Look I'm too exhausted to even give a real/full smile and totally look like a drowned rat fabulous. And so there you have it Melisa, I am the perfect candidate for your water aerobics class (that currently doesn't exist)! We would all have so much fun, even if the rest of the class were little old ladies and WeaselMomma and I were the only young people in the pool while you taught (unless you decided to teach from the pool like some of my instructors have done or do) and the three of us were the young people if and when we had a different instructor. People would be so jealous of us given how much fun we would have while looking fantastic. And so you should definitely start teaching water aerobics again, in a heated shallow pool (cold locks up my knee and I am short and HATE deep water aerobics and freeze real easy).

Your Future Devoted Class Member,
Karen

Snonna

While catching up on her blog (or is it this one...) I once again came across Nonna's obsession with the vile white crap that falls from the sky like manna but evil and not from heaven. Never mind the death and destruction it leaves in its wake, Nonna wants to play in it! I believe her and Niecey would get along quite well as the child loves snow (she will probably grow out of it living in the midwest). I decided Niecey was old enough to play outside by herself as long as she stayed in view of the window so I could supervise her from the warmth of my aunt's place over thanksgiving. She got her fix and stopped whining and I got to be the coolest auntie ever and stay warm, perfect!

And so, for Nonna, I put aside my hatred and "played" in the snow just for her:

Note my awesome not falling skillz! And in case anyone notices, no I am not wearing gloves, I do not get adequate circulation to my fingers to be able to really wear them. I am better off keeping my hands in my pockets with the exception of when I am cleaning/shoveling the snow I have a pair of gloves that have a mitten shell that work to a point and are better than leaving my hands completely exposed to the elements. I hope you all enjoyed my romp in the snow and those of you blessed with a warm climate free of the retched stuff appreciate how awesome you have it, if not I propose a switch, I live at your place and you can hang out in the frozen wasteland! I will admit that it can be pretty, here is an example:


I snapped this shot as I power-walked across campus to get to water aerobics, I was late and so went straight from work as the sun was setting. I couldn't help but stop to capture the bell thingy with the snow and sunset thing going on. It has a fancy name that I forget how to spell and it is a huge campus landmark, it makes noise every 15 minutes and a prof plays music on it at noon and I think sometimes later in the day as well, it is cool.

Facebook Facts Meme

Uncle Richard decided to tag me for a meme thing on facebook. Since I am a blogger I decided to do it here and not there, I only use facebook to harass people.

25 Random Things About Me:

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note containing 25 random facts about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

1. Until I left for grad school and with the exception of two work injuries at the deli I always went to the same clinic/hospital that I was born in.

2. Doc has spoiled me by being competent and putting up with my silliness so I'll probably die if I go back. Seriously they are messing up my middle sister, her doc never heard of fricking MS (she may or may not have MS, we don't know because he is too stupid to test her).

3. I love my plants. They have their own room in my apartment, they share it with my computer/home office.

4. When I was an infant I shared my nursery with Daddy's computer until we moved into our house not long before middle sis was born.

5. The number 5 is my favorite number, I am all into multiples of 5, LiteralDan shares this obsession.

6. I collect GIANTmicrobes, I'm such a nerd!

7. If they made my research organism I would be so happy!

8. I am seriously considering using GIANTmicrobes to decorate any future offspring's nursery, if I have girls then syphilis and kissing disease, a boy perhaps cold and the clap...

9. I would rather have girls than boys if I procreate, which means I will definitely end up with boys with only the weird family thing to protect me from that fate. My Dad has three girls and has a granddaughter, his sister (who really wanted a girl) has three boys and a grandson.

10. I have a friend who only wants boys, I told her we should plan ahead so we can trade!

11. While Richard was top speller in the 3rd grade I peaked in 2nd by winning my class's bee, I blew the first word in the big bee (thru not through, lol).

12. I wanted to write a microbiology version of the 12 days of Christmas but got too busy and sick to actually do it, maybe I'll get it written for this Christmas!

13. Researching the Dreidel Song for my newest song made me fall in love with it and I think given how Christmas seems to be trying to kill me I might want to consider celebrating Hanuka instead, of course that holiday would have 8 days instead of just 2 to get the job done should it decide to kill me too...

14. I hope Ian records my new song soon...

15. Like Richard I can't dance, we are just too pigmentally challenged my dearest adopted uncle! It was hilarious when Niecey was learning to dance, you could tell who she was copying in the beginning, the slightest bob thing was my signature dance, with my bad knee and her poor coordination at the time it was the best move for both of us. Her style has evolved a lot since then but I think you can see some of her early influences, you be the judge (the tongue out arms outstretched is a new move she invented, the zombie!):

16. When I had my appendix out I "raced" the other appendectomy kid and totally smoked him, of course I was a few years older and had the laproscopic and I think his burst and they had to cut him all the way open. Either way I gave him a head start and I dragged my own IV and held my own guts in, he had two nurses!

17. I rode a mechanical bull when I was 16 (give or take), it messed up my wrist and I suspect is part of why I messed it up so bad here. The only good part I can think of is that I was in a volunteering group and we went to the mayor of my hometown's wake and I made his widow laugh when I answered her question as to what I did to my wrist (it was splinted) with my standard, "I got into a fight with a mechanical bull, it won." It is one of the prouder moments of my life, it felt good to be able to give that poor woman something to laugh about in such a horrible time.

18. I wish I knew where my appendectomy video went, I'm afraid my mother recorded over it, it was pretty cool and I brought it to school to show my biology class.

19. I am going to ask for a vid of my stomach scope, if I think it is cool enough you will all get to see it too.

20. This is my least favorite kind of meme, I suck at thinking of stuff off the top of my head, I need inspiration to work my quirky magic!

21. I am giddy over the impeachment/impeachment trial of my former governor, my office mate told me I was enjoying reading the paper too much the other day since I kept cracking up while reading about it. Seriously how can you not when you read about how he is trying to cast himself as the victim and boycotting his own trial. He is a lovely dramatized version of Chicago politics, never trust a Chicago politician, the corruption jokes aren't actually jokes, the politicians are!

22. The thought of Blago making Oprah the replacement senator amused me greatly, I think I would have considered watching whatever channel broadcasts the senate stuff just to see if she treated it like her show, hehehe. Hell I'd consider voting for her just to see that, especially if the republican candidate sucked (probably would, it is IL and they all do in both parties)!

23. Adam Sandler has a special place in my heart, my mother really needs to start paying attention to if he is in movies she takes us to see. My prude and somewhat religious mother. Did any of you see Little Nicky? She made me see it because she somehow got free tickets and didn't want to waste them by not going even though I had a paper due the next day... Only reason she didn't walk out is because of the huge fit she threw to make us go, she was extremely offended by that movie and I enjoyed it greatly knowing that! His Zohan movie offended her too just not as much, hehehe.

24. I think I harass my doctor too much but probably don't see him as much as I should. I have trouble figuring out if whatever is bad enough to warrant a visit and since I am sickest at night and usually feel a lot better in the morning I usually put off calling for weeks. If he talked to me at 2am many nights in the past he'd have been able to convince me to have just about any test/referral he wanted. Figuring out this stuff was always Mom's job, I am so not into this grown up crap!

25. I always procrastinate going to bed, even when I am exhausted and it doesn't make much sense because I love being in bed!

Tags: Cheryl and Nonna, because you both bitched that I didn't tag you before when I made a point of not tagging anyone, congrats you've been tagged! Anyone who is bored and wants to use this has my blessing.

Twit or Not?

OK so many of you fellow bloggers have that twitter thingy and I vaguely know what it is. For those of you less savvy than even I am from what I can tell twitter is like facebook's status updates on steroids. You basically write relatively short one liners and can reply to other people's "tweets". Facebook has recently made it so you can comment on other people's status updates so perhaps they are practically the same at this point. I see them on many of the blogs I read and several bloggers talk about their twitterings and such. I was delurked by the lovely Mrs. Watlz via her twitter, that was quite amusing!

Now I figure you see where this is going, I am contemplating getting this twitter thing. Sometimes I come up with what I feel are hilarious thoughts but they are only one liner type things and so not really enough to support being a blog post but that does not make them unworthy of being shared. Sometimes this is probably a good thing though since sometimes when I am sleep deprived and feeling sickly the stuff I come up with is decidedly not funny, unfortunately I am in this state a lot lately (I have an appointment with Doc next week so no worries). That part aside I have been neglecting facebook for the most part and have been trying to go on it more to keep up with some of my people and at first I really enjoyed the new status comments thing but then I started getting swamped with the back and forthing of it. I am used to skype, which is almost instant not the facebook thing that has a lag time and at least for me seems to dump the comment backs on me all at once. And of course if I were playing on twitter I would have less blog reading and writing time most likely. But on the other hand all the cool bloggers are doing it and if McMommy jumped off a bridge I just might follow suit.

And so dear readers I would like to know what you think about twitter. I get confused reading other peoples' twitter things since it only tells you what they write and if they are replying to someone else it will say that name but not give the original comment. Is it less confusing if you are one of the Twitterers? Can't I just con you all into going on skype instead? Of course that could cause the blogosphere to crash, all of us would be too busy cracking ourselves up on skype to blog, unless we posted the conversations on our blogs taking turns or something... Who all thinks I should go for this twitter thing? If there are enough people pimping it I'll probably try it, no promises that I will and if I do that I will keep it. Thanks!

On a different note, do I have any Jewish readers? If so please let me know if "stealing" the dreidel song would potentially offend you. I made a song about how to label chemicals in the lab for the lab jerk who can't seem to get it through his thick skull that there are laws/rules that apply to him too, it is definitely not vulgar like my last song. I didn't really have any qualms about the last one since it is "my" song, but I definitely do not want to offend someone of another faith, especially one I respect and admire and that has way better songs than mine! Seriously I can listen to the dreidel song all day but you start playing most Christmas songs and I am sick of them very quickly. Thanks for letting us steal your religion to make ours ;). Oh and thanks for producing the best doctor ever!

Mother Meme

OK I find this amusing, in all my months of blogging no one has ever tagged me for a meme. This does not upset me so don't be all, "OMG Microblogologist is such an unpopular whiner!" And I don't need to get flooded with meme tags, remember I will enact swift and total revenge on anyone who over-tags me by over-tagging them back with my access to multitudes of inane myspace bulletins! That aside my mother sent me an e-mail meme (what are they called in e-mail language, on myspace they are usually called surveys...). Breaking my normal rule of not posting someone's name without their permission here is my mom's meme with her answers (she doesn't have a blog I can link... yet, my commentary in parenthesis):

1. Six names you go by:

1. Susan
2. Sue
3. Susanita
4. Suzy
5. Mom
6. Grah
(interesting, I guess "Mom" and "Grah" aren't the cool names, not good enough for #1&2 eh Mommy?)

2. Three things you are wearing right now:

1. black denim pants
2. black sweatshirt
3. camouflage t-shirt
(I thought you swore off black after Grandpa said it made you look like a bowling ball, yes my grandpa can be a jackass dear readers, I wrote him a bitchy e-mail after hearing that one! Oh and Mom does not resemble a bowling ball dressed in any color, I'd post pics to prove it but she knows where I live and I'd like to be able to see my family again...)

3. Three things you want very badly right now:

1. for more hours at work

2. for it to be warmer
3. for my foot to be totally normal
(Thank all that is holy that sex is not on this list! I would've been so traumatized! My mother is a virgin damnit, Daddy said the storks came and dropped us off and I believe him! That said #1 is just pathetic, totally get 2 and 3.)

4. Three people who will fill this out:

1. Mel
2. Karen
3. Richard
(I am 2 not 1, sad, and rather presumptive aren't we...)

5. Two things you did last night:

1. read with [Niecey] for 90 minutes

2. watched American Idol
(I don't refer to the kiddo by name on the blog Mom, nor our hometown, don't want to end up on the news the bad way.)

6. Two things you ate today:

1. lasagna made by a co-worker

2. Alphabet cereal in skim milk

(Skim milk is gross, you should drink real milk, oh and a study showed a little milk fat is good for you.)

7. People you last talked to on the phone:

1. AT&T about my cell phone
2. Richard
(The red button turns it on AND off)

8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. work
2. see Twilight with Cheryl at the Tivoli
(Hahaha, Cheryl had no idea you had plans! Funny that you are going to watch the movie of the only vampire romance book you have not read.)

9. Your favorite beverages:

1. cold water

2. decaf tea (iced or hot)

(Can't think of anything snarky to say here, I must be losing it!)

And now to answer these burning questions myself:

1. Six names you go by:

1. Karen
2. Auntie Kee
3. Microblogologist
4. Microbiologist (this one amuses me)
5. Micro
6. Real Karen (there will be a post on this)

2. Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Jeans, leggings, and fuzzy pants.
2. Two shirts, a fuzzy shirt and a hoodie.
3. Boots, regular socks and fuzzy socks.

3. Three things you want very badly right now:

1. To stop refluxing/having GI issues.

2. For it to be 80°F during the day and 65°F at night all the time.
3. Niecey cuddles.

4. Three people who will fill this out:
Whomever wants to may play along, I am not officially tagging anyone.

5. Two things you did last night:

1. Wrote a blog post.

2. Listened to the Dreidel song (seriously the Jews' song is way better than most of the Christmas songs and it makes me giggle to see it listed as a "Christmas song"!)

6. Two things you ate today:

1. French toast

2. Chicken noodle soup
*cough and chocolate cough*

7. People you last talked to on the phone:

1. Niecey, she has discovered that hitting the redial button on the phone calls me, which will work until someone in my anti-social family calls someone other than me on that phone, this could get interesting.
2. Auntie D

8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. Spend a few hours in the lab inoculating and pouring plates and such.
2. Water Aerobics (it's back!!!!!!!!!!)

9. Your favorite beverages:

1. AE 2% Chocolate Milk

2. 2% Milk

Welcome to my blog Mom, while this is the official my linking you I totally know that you accidentally linked yourself and so may or may not have "snooped", I don't care if you have (I could have stopped you had I wanted to). I planned to link you eventually *cough after editing some posts cough*, I was introducing you to the concept with my vague blog references. Oh and don't freak out about stuff I write, if something is serious I'll probably let you know, or tell Cheryl because she is on skype so ask her, though she has the attention span of a gnat so probably will forget... You may comment if you like, I prefer you click name/url, you can write your name (Mom or Grah/Graw/Gra, not Susan like you keep signing your e-mails... I'm still your daughter...) and leave the URL blank. Oh and this so counts as communicating so my being a neglectful e-mailer is negated now by this (plus it is not like I have much to say in response to you talking about work, you so need to get a life or a more interesting job!). Love you! (I bee-lieve my not posting your Halloween costume is my mother's day present to you this year, the horrible pun would bee your bonus gift, though this parenthetical will likely get the attention of my regulars and have them taunt you into saying I can post it, I am so evil!)

And a little extra for all of you:
Public Service Announcement from Niecey: Fiber makes you poop like you never pooped before! (thanks Auntie Cheryl for teaching Niecey about fiber and Niecey for making me laugh my butt off when she called me to let me know this while I was working and to tell me to put it on my blog.)

Fun with Reverse Stalker

I've noticed on google analytics that my post about the benefits of having an art major sibling is one of my most popular posts but since all the people who find it are lurkers who likely only look once I don't get my curiosity satisfied as to what they were searching for when they stumbled on my blog and more specifically that post. I think the majority come from doing image searches on google but that does not answer the what they were looking for part. So I am getting ready for bed and my Reverse Stalker (right side bar) caught my eye:

Islamabad arrived from images.google.com.pk on "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks."

Islamabad left "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks." via theunmarriedhouse wife.blogspot.com

I edited the post to include a plea for a comment not too long ago, so far no one has, until then I'll have to keep an eye on the reverse stalker. Enjoy the stalker from Islamabad Sibling, and thanks for the awesome artsy stuff!

In other google analytics news the epic battle between North Carolina and Tennessee for forth place, until now only known to me, is currently nearly tied up with Tennessee ahead by only one visit (TN: 101, NC 100). I'm guessing that NukeDad (NC) and Nonna (TN) are the representatives of their states, based on the % New NukeDad is the main one representing his while Nonna might have some help (she says she is highly competitive so she might start recruiting people now so she can thoroughly trounce NC/NukeDad). The battle for second place isn't much of a battle anymore, at one point it went back and forth between California and Illinois but the home state (with the indicted and impeached governor, yeah!) has pulled ahead (IL: 185 CA: 143) and likely will remain that way since I have befriended several bloggers (WeaselMomma and LiteralDan) from the homeland and Sibling is there and also when I visit it counts all my clicks when I post and use my blog roll to catch up on my blog addiction while on vacation.

There won't be a battle for first until I move out of the frozen tundra, I click my own blog way too much and google doesn't distinguish between me and everyone else unfortunately, though I do have more than just me clicking here, Loren stops by regularly (or as regularly as someone with 4 kids, three of them 4 year olds, can) and Kev (has the baby been born yet?!) has been known to come for a bit, though he did not approve of my and my coworkers' immaturity involving the crazy visiting professor (it was not in the best taste and definitely not one of my finer moments, months of build up anger...), don't worry Kev I plan to make a "lab drama" post much more to what you had in mind, just have to get around to it, lol.

Time (ok past time) for bed, good night blogosphere.

Edited to add: Look, while writing this post another one came:

Munich, Bayern arrived from google.de on "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks."

Summing Up 2008

I stole this from Tammie who stole this from Cindy. By doing this I might just open the floodgates to meme tags but oh well, usually that is a sign one's blog has "made it" I guess. And of course if it gets too bad I can always sign on to my neglected myspace page and turn "bulletins" into "memes" and tag the excessive taggers until they are also drowning in them...

2008 - Questions and Answers

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I started a blog.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do new year's resolutions and lately whenever I set goals all hell breaks loose that prevents them from happening, and they were insanely reasonable goals too!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Deb did, to a beautiful baby girl she needs to post more pictures of so it won't slip my mind next time (she says she was conned into the second which would imply there won't be a third but her kids are so cute...)! My sister's BFF did but I barely know her, she birthed twin girls and lovingly chose a couple who will take very good care of them in an open adoption. Oh and VegasDad's lovely wife recently had a baby boy, a carbon copy of the first so they have a spare, sweet! And thankfully Abby's wife Sharon did not give birth, she is due in February (Hallie was extremely premature and her beautiful twin didn't make it so there was concern about her little sister coming early as well). Liz had a boychild, definitely a cutie. And Jayden made his appearance in April of 2008 making the MommyDaddy blog's title appropriate (they registered the URL before she got pregnant and without immediate plans for her to become so, lol). I think that covers all the 2008 babies for the people who I read and who read me back. Nate and Tricia's baby girl was born last January on the 8th, but he has way too many readers to read me, their story is amazing though so if you have time click on over there and join the thousands enamored by them of which I have been for almost a year (I started reading shortly after Gwyn was born).

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, though a member of my church back home passed away unexpectedly, I didn't know him too well except that he was a nice guy and sold me Oldsie.

5. What countries did you visit?
Michigan (lol).

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
The ability to digest whatever I feel like ingesting. A wrist I don't have to worry about messing up doing every stupid little thing (like cleaning fricking test tubes, I was going to work this weekend but nooooo). Note: I am a little cranky at the moment, it is not that bad.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
9/24 = Miracle Dodge Day. That was the date of my last GI related appointment with Doc and I managed to wiggle out of being referred to the doc with too many cameras. It also marks the day when someone actually had data proving I was full of shit instead of making an unsubstantiated accusation to that effect.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I didn't die. I made some progress on my project, not nearly as much as I had planned (original plan was for it to be finished AND written up by now, not even close, sigh).

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not taking care of myself that well and not getting my project done.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
That is an understatement. There are others way worse off than I am though so I try not to complain too much (this post would not be evidence of that).

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought a counter top dishwasher, that has helped me out a bit. My camera is another good purchase, my old one was great but dying and it rarely worked when I needed it so it was time, nieces are only little once and this might end up my only one so I have to get pictures of her.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mine, I didn't hit my idiot coworker with a rolled up newspaper like I wanted to but my boss told me not to and I grudgingly listened to her (I was semi-joking when I asked her).

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Said coworker and the visiting professor.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Right back to the university in rent and fees and such, the rest tends to get spent at the new super walmart (say what you want against them, having a 24 hr one stop shopping option has been great for me).

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting to see not only my beloved family members for Thanksgiving but also being able to make it over to meet the Weasels.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
I don't know that any will.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner.
c) richer or poorer? Richer since I have been saving my money.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Research.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being sick.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Packing the car up and driving to Chicago, missing dinner sadly.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Not in a romantic sense no. I did make new friends so in that sense yes.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I don't watch TV, my internet addiction takes up my free time.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not really.

24. What was the best book you read?
I read a few, don't know what the best was, most were pretty good.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Ian.

26. What did you want and get?
Time with my loved ones, though not nearly enough.

27. What did you want and not get?
My mommy was supposed to come visit me but wasn't able to, that rather sucked.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Wall-E, it was cute and Niecey's love for it definitely raises its value in my world.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25 and I worked, talked to various family and friends on the phone, opened the presents from my mom while on the phone with her, other than that it was just like any other day. Pretty much how every birthday has been since I moved, I don't really fuss much about my birthday anyway.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If there were approximately 300 less miles between here and Chicago.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Not cold: If it is clean, fits, and vaguely matches it works.
Cold: If it is warm it doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it doesn't smell it is fine!

32. What kept you sane?
Who said anything about my being sane? The computer keeps me "sane", it is how I communicate with the outside world for the most part.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Do bloggers count as celebrities? I don't keep up with the celebrity stuff and being from Chicago, IL I have basically no faith in politicians, ESPECIALLY ones from Chicago, IL (either party). I suppose I fancy the prosecutor that indicted the governor, I hope he doesn't think his job with my home state is done, it is very far from it, there are much bigger fish to go after than stupid blago.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I hated everything about the 2008 election from start to finish, I am unaware of a single good thing that came of it other than I discovered that I could talk to certain people who had different beliefs than my own without it turning into an ugly fight that resulted in loss of friendships. I kindly ask those who feel differently about the outcome of this election to not bring it up with me, I don't want my blog to turn into a cesspool, politics sicken me in general and there is way more than enough stress working against me and my stomach lining...

35. Who did you miss?
Considering the vast majority of my family and friends live 350 miles or more away I'll go with everyone for most of the year.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
The Weasels, finally a happy question!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Kids are the most important aspect of ones life, for me it is currently Niecey and Buggy (godson).

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
If you're going through hell (grad school, lol) keep on going!

Community

When I talk about my blog to people, whether it be fellow bloggers or people who are unaware of the blog world I will often cite reasons for starting this whole blogging thing. I lurked the blogosphere blogless for over a year I think, I enjoy reading and being a grad student I often don't have enough time to really get into a good book and so rarely bother trying to read one. Blogs were different, they are like a long series told in many short segments and it was easier for me to read a post or two or 100 in my spare time (aka time I should be doing lit review, bleck). Another thing about blogs I found was that if I really liked something brought up in a post I could comment about it and therefore interact with the author, how cool is that?!

As is often the case reading one blog led to reading another and another and another... The blogs I read in the beginning were premie blogs but eventually that led to blogs written by non-premie parents. After awhile I noticed that there were these social clicks/rings between some of the blogs I read, this intrigued me. Not too long after this I was reading one of my newest favorites and came across this post. I got a good laugh out of it and commented, we had a comment and e-mail exchange in which we discussed the idea of my having a blog:

NukeDad: I know that a lot of people who read it [his blog] are bloggers themselves, are you a blogger?

Blogless Microblogologist: I am not a blogger myself, life as a grad student who doesn't get out much does not make for much amusing blog material*.
NukeDad: Keep in touch, cuz when you start your blog I want to be one of the first subscribers.

This exchange happened about two weeks before I started this blog. I had actually entertained the idea of starting one before but had concluded I would be the most boring blogger ever, him expressing interest in a blog by little ole' me made me think about it more seriously. After this conversation I talked to Baby Sibling about hypothetically starting a blog and we threw around some ideas of what I would call it and write about and she came up with "Microblogology" and I instantly fell in love and HAD to start the blog immediately.

Back to the concept of community, the topic of this post, I even named it that. Seeing how the different bloggers interacted and formed friendships definitely attracted me to joining the blogosphere and becoming one of them and not just be a lurker on the outside looking in. Life can be a little isolated when you live 350 miles from most of your family and friends and don't make friends that quickly/easily in general but especially in the college setting**. So I started the blog and it did not take that long for me to make a few friend in the blogosphere. Not too long ago (ok fine, forever ago), I was recognized for this in what I consider to be one of the best awards I have seen by WeaselMomma, this is so sweet of her (thanks WeaselMomma!) here it is: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

How sweet is that?! Only problem I have is that I have to choose 8 people, there are WAY more than just 8 people in my blog roll who totally deserve this award, but here goes:

1. NukeDad
   
2. Nonna
3. LiteralDan
4. Sweetened Taters
5. Missives from Suburbia
6. Waltz in Exile
7. Former Goat Nanny Diaries
8. 7 Acres of Heaven
   

I see this as a sign that I have made it into the blogging community, a community that I am very proud to be a part of. I have witnessed several occasions that highlight how awesome the blog community is but the most recent example I have come across I think is a shining testament to just how great our community is. It all started here, on WeaselMomma's blog, her husband had lost his job and she jokingly suggested that her readers should help them out by clicking her google ad links***. What started as a joke ended up earning her almost $200 since all of us WeaselLovers started clicking her ads, she was amazed and so grateful that people took the time to actually click. It was exciting and fun since she would update us as to how much money was earned at the bottom of her posts. Then out of the blue it was over, google got rid of the ads program and never sent out the $200. And then, just like a pheonix rising from the ashes (a second time in a way), the blogging community rallied. They would NOT be beat by this, they WOULD help the Weasels! And thus the Save the Weasels' Christmas was born, run by Big Bad Daddy Rant and pimped by others, like NukeDad.

Unfortunately I got behind on my reading because I had to work and did not find out about this until now, too late to donate nor pimp it, left only to document the fact that not only did they manage to replace the $200 they managed to earn up $250! In the end it is not about the money, of course it helps, but this $250 means so much more than its face value. This money represents how people can come together in times of hardship to help someone out just because it is the nice thing to do. The moral of this story is that there is still good in this world, sometimes it seems hard to find but it is there. I don't know about you but this definitely helps restore some of my faith in humanity! And this act of unselfish love couldn't have been directed at a nicer family, I had the great honor of meeting them with my little Niecey over thanksgiving break and they are truely wonderful people.




~~~~~Copy LiteralDan Section~~~~~
*I must say I stand corrected, apparently a few people do find my world amusing.
**In my experience as both an undergrad and a grad student one tends to form a "buddyship" with someone that ends when the shared class ends. To me a real friendship is one that continues on, even if you don't talk much when you eventually do it is like nothing has changed, the majority of my friends that fit into this category are ones I have known since K-12.
***Google ad links was a blogger feature that allowed you to host some ads and if people clicked them the blogger would earn money from it, like 0.001 cents a click so it took a LOT of clicks for this feature to make a blogger much money.

An Update, A Message for Doc, and An Answered Question

So I have not posted since I was in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holiday, what a neglectful blogger I have been! Rumors of my death are somewhat exaggerated, my new wife/babysitter is taking very good care of my workoholic self. Though her looking up what a GI doc would likely do to me if I ever let Doc talk me into seeing one has led me to conclude that I think I would rather die than take that referral. Good thing my issues are not life threatening, Doc said he has yet to lose a patient and I would hate to be the one to ruin his record!

My Shadow and I rocking the bun look Grah dislikes

I have not forgotten this blog and all of my bloggy friends, in fact in my spare time I have been trying to catch up on my blog reading, remember I was a blogoholic before I was a blogger. I will be posting more about my trip over thanksgiving and such but it will have to wait until I have a few more brain cells working. Since coming back I have been working every day and I think I am averaging about 10 hours a day, though not all of that is working 10 solid hours and I have been going to water aerobics (Thursday was the last day before finals and break sadly). I still have some residual plague symptoms but it is not that bad and does not interfere with my working so I plan to ignore it and hope the immune system eventually works it out.

Niecey and Smallest Weasel (so cute!)

Despite all the driving, 5.5 hours to Chicago followed by about 5 to Michigan after sleeping an hour between, it was worth it to get to see my beloved family and it was such a treat getting to meet the real WeaselMomma and her delightful family. My little shadow definitely felt it was worth the time and gas for me to come visit her and go meet our new weasel friends. I was not planning to make the trip since I was still sickly but Doc assured me that I was not contagious anymore and told me to go see the family. Niecey definitely appreciated the fact that I followed his advice and wanted to tell him. Here you go Doc, a video on my blog just for you, thank you so much for all you do to try and keep me functioning despite my orneriness:

And I have decided to answer a question (and probably go off on several tangents) I received from Abby here since my computer ate my reply to her on her blog and also I have a tendency to write way too much for a comment (if you aren't cool with this Abby let me know and I'll delete this part or edit it). She and her wife have an adorable daughter who has GI issues, some of her symptoms are quite similar to mine but the poor kid is way worse than I am and we have different causes for our issues. I find it interesting that so many GI issues have very similar symptoms and treatments, I learn so much reading about what they are going through with Hallie (though of course I prefer the posts that tell how cute and smart she is with pictoral evidence). In my experience and based on what I know and have read, people with GI issues have to find the right balance of drugs and foods to either control or lessen the symptoms. The current treatment Hallie is on or is about to be on involves a course of antibiotics to try and knock back a potential overgrowth of bacteria in her intestines (most likely kinds that are not the healthiest to have) . Someone suggested that they put her on probiotics (she is actually already on them), which are health benefiting microorganisms (generally bacteria), to hopefully prevent some of the more unpleasant aspects of going on the antibiotic* (diarrhea mainly I am guessing but they can cause more than just that).

Being a microbiologist with similar issues and who happens to work with probiotic organisms (specifically Bifidobacteria) I commented that I felt this was good advice. Use the antibiotic to knock out the bad and then take probiotics during and after in hopes of colonizing her gut with healthy bacteria. She asked me what I use and somewhat ashamedly I must confess that I do not really practice what I preach and currently am not taking any probiotics. I was trying to get into the habit of eating Dannon Activa but I do not like yogurt and especially after coming down with the plague I had even less desire to eat the stuff. I am definitely considering trying probiotics in pill form but have not gotten around to looking at what my options for that are. In Hallie's case I would recommend taking a supplement that contains at least one strain of Bifidobacteria (for her colon) and potentially a Lactobacillus species or two (or more, they tend to colonize the upper intestines) because the goal is to help her get through the antibiotic and establish a healthy flora. Given that the science is behind on substantiating claims made about certain possibly probiotic organisms (human studies are complex and expensive) and currently probiotics are not regulated it is hard to say if the claims made by these products are valid or not**, but it does not hurt to try.

I really hope that the antibiotic, mixed with probiotics, helps balance out Hallie's system. It is hard enough as an adult dealing with GI issues and knowing the reason behind them and the treatments (some of the treatments can be unpleasant), I cannot fathom being a child and only knowing the pain and discomfort these issues bring. But it is not all bad, Hallie has parents who fight for her and will do anything to help her as well as a nanny who adores her and does what she can to help as well. Also she is developing an instinct for what foods make her sick, something I am starting to get as well and it is very useful. No matter what she is an amazing little girl who is going to be a big sister in about two months (8 weeks).

~~~~~Copy LiteralDan Section~~~~~
*Anyone can have GI issues during and after antibiotic therapy, the intestinal flora in humans is very important and antibiotics tend to wreck at least some havoc with it, one of several reasons not to go on antibiotics unless it is necessary. I am not against the proper use of antibiotics, improper use of them and the resistance that is resulting from that is a huge public health concern. They can cause more harm than good in someone who is sick with "just a virus" and I am glad that doctors are more and more standing up to their patients who insist on having a script even when it is clearly a viral infection and it is explained to them that an antibiotic will not help. I say those people should be put on placebomycin and told it should work within 2 weeks and they should drink plenty of fluids and rest...
**Please do not interpret my skepticism as my not thinking probiotics give benefits, as a scientist my job is to be skeptical.

Microblogologist in the World of Weasels

A few months ago I came across a hilarious blog. Little did I know that not only would this blog entertain me and give me a fun source of blog fodder (the Flat WeaselMomma series), but it would lead to my becoming friends with the real WeaselMomma. And so being that she lives not too far from my parents' place and I was pretty sure she wasn't a serial killer* I suggested we have a playdate "for the kids". She must have decided I wasn't a serial killer* as well and her daughter Monkey Weasel decided it would be fun to have us crash her birthday dinner so Niecey and I jumped in the trusty oldsmobile and off we went.

A great time was had by all and the real WeaselMomma is an even better cook than the Flat one! Her family has the same tradition as mine and the birthday person gets to pick the meal so we had fried chicken, broccoli and noodles so ironically both forms of WeaselMomma made me chicken.

Her entire family was delightful and Niecey and I felt at home right away. I am so happy we were able to have our get together, we'll definitely have to do it again! Niecey wanted to write WeaselMomma a letter when we got home, she wrote the first part and then I took over:

Dear WeaselMomma,

i am niecey i am 5. I have a bear named big bear, he is my favorite bear. He loves me and I love him too and I have a monkey comforter and I like it, it is my favorite and I love it. And I have my own bed I like my own bed. I sleep downstairs and I go to kindergarten at school and I have friends that I like they are nice to me.

Niecey

I thought she wanted to write a thank you note but apparently not, lol. Guess I'll have to thank them myself. Thank you Weasels for being great hosts and making us feel like part of the family! And for all you jealous people who read WeaselMomma's blog and have never met her, she is even funnier in person and hanging out with her was like a living a great blog post. Her husband is hilarious as well and the two of them together...

I can't wait to see the pictures her hubby took, I didn't take many myself so have to wait to see if they turned out. I'm also looking forward to reading her post about our meeting. Oh and there will be a few more FWM posts, I have plans and pics for them but have not gotten around to writing them all up, they will have to wait until I get home.



~~~~~Copy LiteralDan Section~~~~~
*Unless we are both serial killers with very involved cover stories to try and lure our unsuspecting victims and our meeting was part of an evil serial killer alliance to make our stories even more believable.

The Adventures of Flat WeaselMomma: Water Aerobics

When I first joined my boss's lab she had another grad student, she was finishing up her master's degree and we became friends (I miss her terribly since she graduated and moved away, college sucks). E is a bit of a fitness nut, she believes that exercise is something that should be incorporated into a person's lifestyle, I was more of a, "can't we just go get ice cream instead?" when the subject came up. Then one day I was loitering in our office distracting her from her thesis writing (sometimes I distracted her too much but there were times she needed it, I tried very hard to balance it), she was a bit stressed as is normal for someone going through the torture that is writing a thesis and preparing to graduate and during her Karen break she mentioned how she wanted to try water aerobics but she wanted someone to go with her. After much discussion I conceded and agreed to go with her, grudgingly.

So we went and she didn't really like it, she was into a ton of cross training stuff and in shape so to her it wasn't the level of intensity she wanted it to be. And then there was me, Miss Whine Why-Do-I-Have-To-Go, and it kicked my butt and I LOVED it! I have a knee with tendinitis and probably arthritis and quickly noticed that it worked the muscles that need to be worked to possibly get the knee back into alignment, I suck at doing the at home exercises, combination of laziness, forgetfulness, and lack of motivation. Water aerobics to me is fun, working out with others around helps to entertain and motivate me, and it makes me feel good, I had gotten somewhat badly out of shape. I am totally committed to it and try to go all four days a week it is offered, I schedule my experiments in such a way that I can do both whenever possible. And so Flat WeaselMomma's visit to my world would not have been complete without her attending a water aerobics class.

I almost dropped my camera in the pool while taking video of parts of the class. The weird fuzzy stuff at the bottom of one part is a towel. And my somewhat randomly cracking up during it is in response to the others making fun of me. I had some footage that was hilarious but unfortunately one of the ladies kept getting into the shot and I don't think she wanted to, since I was in the pool I could not check the view screen to make sure, plus we move around a lot, I didn't know until later. Since I am fairly certain she did not want to be recorded (she moved away from her regular spot when I got the camera set up) and even if she doesn't care I will not post parts with her in it without her knowledge and consent. If people are interested in those parts I am willing to ask her next time I see her if she minds being in the background of a few clips and if she is fine with it then I can make either a "bloopers" vid or edit this one to include that footage. But for now I think this is kinda funny and you get the idea:

In case it is hard to understand what I was saying between the noise and my voice not being 100% back I basically said that I do this 4 days a week and thanked you for reading my blog and watching the video =). Oh and I also reinformed my bratty little sister that it is water aerobics not water dancing!

The Adventures of Flat WeaselMomma

In my previous post I introduced you to my guest Flat WeaselMomma (FWM) from World of Weasels, she came in the other day. I nearly had a heart attack when I found her smooshed into my little mailbox, I was expecting the mail carrier to prop her in my door like she has done with that size envelope in the past, perhaps I had a newbie or something...


After making sure she was OK I took her to dinner at the Pita Pit, my newest eatery here in town, I go there maybe once a week more or less, it depends on my mood, time and if I am hungry when I am on that side of town. I wish they had smaller pitas, we had trouble finishing the whole thing, they are so big!


Then we headed into the lab. I am still sickly but was starting to feel better and wanted to get some prep work done so I could start working on my next rep as soon as I knock this virus out of my system once and for all (unfortunately it is rallying, sigh). We made the broth for my next rep, broth keeps for quite awhile so I knew if I took a turn for the worse it would be fine.

Then we went to the super walmart, I let FWM hang out with her own kind a bit, see it may look like she is waving but in reality that is the Flat Pride sign.


So all in all a good and relatively productive day, hopefully I will soon get over this virus and perhaps we can go on some more adventures soon! Oh and rumor has it I don't share with FWM and I will admit that it definitely appears that I am a selfish donut hog in the video in my last post but let me assure you that I do in fact share with my beloved guest. This was the scene before I made that video, you can clearly see that FWM had ODed on the chocolate, the thought of taking a bite of the donut made her feel sick.



Doc Disclaimer: Those wrappers were from the past couple days, I am totally not living on chocolate. Oh and if they call you tell the psych ward people they can let me go, or at least give me internet access so I won't go into blog withdrawls, it will so not be pretty otherwise...

NukeDad is a Psychic

The second post on this blog was a conversation I had with my baby sibling Cheryl. I had just started my blog and figured out how to edit and make a link on that first post. I was quite pleased with my awesome tech savviness and so bragged about it to Baby Sibling. On that post, NukeDad, the one who helped push me over the edge of indecision about starting this blog made this comment:

nukedad said...

Careful, she might start her own blog. ;)

July 31, 2008 9:42 AM

And guess what dear reader(s), she did! Life of an Unmarried Housewife was born on Friday September 19th 2008. So if you need your sibling's future told just go on over and give NukeDad a visit, tell him the microblogologist sent you. Hmmm, I wonder what is in store for Middle Sister...