For Love of Family...

It's been a long time since I've blogged...but I have a good excuse for my naughtiness.  I was studying for the Professional Engineer's Exam - an 8-hour, 100-question all engineering test that required all my time, energy, concentration, and will power to prepare for.  So, forgive me for not having the ability to think about anything other than chemical formulas, Bernouli's equation, or proper sizing of wastewater treatment systems for the last few weeks.  Yeah, my life was pretty darn exciting for the entire month of March.

BUT...like all things, good and bad, that day has passed, and now I am able to go back to my normal, witty, charming self.  I know you were all missing me so much!

Seriously Japan???

While reading through a blog I read regularly - The Everywhereist - who actually does post articles almost religiously without becoming boorish or annoying - I found a link to a BBC article.  A VERY disturbing article in my opinion.  From the brilliant minds of some Japanese farmer-scientists, it is with great trepidation and fear for the natural order of the world that I share with you....

wait for it...

wait for it...

wait for it...

Weekend in Review

Because I'm currently studying for the Professional Engineering exam, my weekends for the past 5 weeks have consisted of me sitting at my kitchen table, in front of a laptop, listening to professors and engineering professionals lecture about all topics covered in the Environmental PE Exam, which I'm taking on Friday, April 13.  The review course is given online, and literally consists of 7 hours of exam prep every Saturday and Sunday for the entire month of March.  It was a brutal experience.  My last class was yesterday...and I'm glad I took the course, because I'm pretty sure I need a refresher on all things engineering before sitting for this exam...but I'm not sure the class prep is going to be enough to get me through the grueling 8 hour, 100 question, multiple choice exam I'll be sitting through next week.  Plus it was hard to stay focused on stuff like this:

For 7 straight hours 2 days in a row, with lecturers whose native language definitely wasn't English.  By the end of each class, but especially on Sundays,

Highlighters

It's pretty bad when people at work nickname you ANYTHING.  My *almost* decade of work experience has educated me to understand that people are very creative, and will use all readily available information about you - including your educational background, marital status, diet preferences, personal habits, and fashion sense to come up with some pretty accurate nicknames that perfectly capture your persona at work.

Personally, I know that I have been nicknamed by co-workers on several occasions - and anyone who works in an office environment and thinks they haven't been given a nickname is just fooling themselves.  The nicknames I know of are:

Clarice - Apparently I reminded someone of Jody Foster's character in Silence of the Lambs when I was trying like hell to keep up with some pretty messed up stuff going on at work and I had to have several conversations with people who were practically geniuses about the topic I was working on.  Despite the thoughts conjured up about working with a delusional cannibal, this nickname is actually my favorite.

Young Sarah - Which is pretty obvious - I work with a bunch of middle aged men and I (at the time) was a 20-something trying to figure it all out, and

Stompin' She-Beast - OK - this one was given within my first 2 years of employment, by a group of my peers, who had to listen to me moan and groan about all of the problems I was having with my boss.  At the time, I wasn't confident enough to approach him with my issues and develop a way to work around it.  So, instead, I would let my frustrations build up to the point of explosion then go to lunch with "friends" and let it all out - apparently with LOTS of GUSTO!

Gotta Keep Your Head Up...

Driving into work this morning I heard "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer - one of my favorite pop songs of early 2012 (I have no idea when it actually was released, I just have heard it a lot this year).

My favorite lyric set from the song is:

"The glow that the sun gives

Right around sunset

Helps me realize

This is just a journey

Drop your worries

You are gonna turn out fine.

Oh, you'll turn out fine.

Fine, oh, you'll turn out fine.

But you gotta keep your head up, oh,

And you can let your hair down, eh."

Tweedle Do...

"Painting the roses red

We're painting the roses red

Oh, pardon me

But Mister Three

Why must you paint them red?

*talking*

Huh? Oh! Well, the fact is, Miss

We planted the white roses by mistake

And...

*singing*

The Queen she likes 'em red

If she saw white instead

She'd raise a fuss

And each of us

Would quickly lose his head

[Alice:Goodness!]

Since this is the part we dread

We're painting the roses red"

Kale-iciousness

My sister, Lindsay, sent me a recipe for Lentil-Lemon-Kale soup that I'm super excited to try this week.  I'm hoping for a delicious, tangy soup that will pair perfectly with some whole wheat garlic bread (gotta have my carbs!).  OK, I admit, being this jazzed over making soup is just a tiny  bit ridiculous.  But I can't help it, I just love food! And trying new recipes...especially ones that are somewhat healthy, that help me to justify the 3 cups of ice cream I am sure to imbibe as a "snack" the night that I make this beaut...makes me giddy.

Here's a pic of the soup Lindsay sent over...it looks delicious to me, and I totally can't wait to try it!