Thursday 13: Winter snapshot

“Winter” just arrived in Arizona! While the rest of the U.S. is blanketed in record-breaking blizzards, an arctic blast is beating the cacti here in the desert. I’m not even fake-whining today! (Normally I complain that 60 is cold as Arizona apparently thinned my blood in the last 18 months.) Today’s high was in the high 30s with 25 degree wind-chill. Although definitely a heat wave compared to the rest of the country, it’s still freaking freezing to the likes of us who were enjoying 75-degree days not a week ago!

As this post isn’t even about weather really, I digress to give you a Thursday 13 winter snapshot!

1. A recent photo:

30th annual Jesuit High School crab feed. You’re staring at a new lifetime Booster and his wife. (Wow, wife is still a weird word!)

2. A giant project:

My first solo mail merge.

 

My first social science survey project!

 

871 letters printed, folded and stuffed = 5 episodes of Glee, 5 episodes of Private Practice and 1 episode of Law & Order. That is how I roll! Mindless tasks are best done with mindless TV marathons.

3. Favorite recipe: I cooked up a storm during December and January, so picking a favorite recent recipe is tough. However, I think I have to go with the Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls. To. Die. For.

4. Great movies: True Grit, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pan’s Labyrinth.

5. Photo I took:

High school best friends. I love Tom’s solution for my “Smile, dammit!” command.
It worked. 🙂 Mike, Tom and Tim. John’s there in spirit.

6. Something I’m looking forward to: Visiting Monterey in a couple weeks. I’m doing three presentations at an academic conference (yikes!) and thankfully, I get to drag T along for the ride. Since it’s just a few days after Valentine’s, we’ll be making a romantic weekend of it. (Sigh.)

7. Something else I’m looking forward to: ICE CREAM! I mean visiting Tillamook, Oregon next month. Poor Mr. T is working like a maniac lately with hospital projects and I just about went into hysterics when he informed me that he’d be in Tillamook at a go-live for my ENTIRE spring break in March. Luckily, I only moped for a few hours before deciding there MUST be a cute B&B for me to haunt while T works. Sure enough! I found the “Thyme & Tide” in Oceanside and I have plans to frequent the Tillamook Cheese Factory every day for free samples while T works. 😉

8. A visit to the theatre: 

The Mondavi Center, an intimate auditorium on the UC Davis campus. Absolutely gorgeous wood paneling everywhere. Not a bad seat in the house really. We’ve been blessed to see Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Alvin Ailey here. (Alvin Ailey again in April, too!)
My sweetie and I sat in the second row for a performance by MOMIX, a group of dancer-illusionists. A little close, but SO COOL!

9. A frustration: Holiday weight gain. Seriously, my annual habit of gaining seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s irritates the hell out of me! (Of course, me thinks PW’s cinnamon rolls *might* have something to do with it!)

10. A rockin’ party:

Kicking off the semester with a Mad Woman birthday party was fabulous!
In case you want to know what theme I’ll be ripping off for my next milestone birthday, look no further!

11. Non-school book I’m reading: “The Good Son” by Michael Gruber.

 
12. Number of New Year’s goals completed: Seven so far! I’ve re-arranged the office (with T’s help), sold my photo kit, revised my peer relationships paper, kicked off my first survey project (see above), submitted my thesis for publication, finished an annotated bibliography for a professor, and completed human subjects training (again). Yay!
 
13. Days left in the desert: 101!!! That’s the conservative estimation, it could be as little as 95! Ridiculous to count down, yes, but I’m excited as evidenced by all of these exclamation points!!!
xoxo!
shawna
 

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