Friday, December 27, 2013

so this is christmas

Aaron and I get a long Christmas break this year, and we took full advantage of that. My sister got home from her mission, so we got to Utah early enough to be there when she got to the airport.

Some of us were more excited than others that she's home.

 We ice skated.

 I cut off a lot of hair.

 We lasertagged. (I got 2nd place both games. YEAH.)

We took a snowy family photo and printed it out with the Andrus family motto and gave it to my dad for Christmas. Want to know the irreverent family motto?
"The Andrus Family: None better, damn few equal." 

Merry Christmas!

now that it's past christmas, here's a post about thanksgiving!

Aaron and I lovvvve Thanksgiving. Getting up and doing nothing but cooking all day is actually a blast for us. This year, we had our friends the Hubers from church and Teresa from lab over for dinner. We did the turkey, stuffing, gravy, salad and banana cream pie, while our friends provided mashed potatoes, rolls, vegetable sides, and more pies. Four pies for five people wasn't too bad of a ratio. Mmmm. 






After all the feasting it seemed appropriate to do the P90X ab work out, so that's what we did.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

amazon's screw up was our amusement

We had a mysterious package delivered to the lab on Monday. One of my labmates was expecting a stir plate to arrive and had been told by Amazon it would get there that day. Imagine our surprise when we opened it and found instead...


over a thousand pregnancy tests.

wut.

We haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

kellie and laura take over philly

A couple of weekends ago my former roommates and wonderful friends came to visit Philly. We hit all the highlights- the historic, the artsy, the creepy, and the delicious (which is not pictured: gelato + Reading Terminal Market). 

 Historic Independence Hall!

 Historic Ben Franklin's Grave!

 Creepy Eastern State Penitentiary!



 Artsy Rodin Museum!

Roof deck view of the city partially obscured by our neighbor's stupid umbrella that I hope he takes down for the winter!

It was so nice to hang out with old friends for the weekend and play tourist. Thanks for visiting, ladies! Come back soon!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

some words i found online that i liked

"We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously. We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers. We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty, intellectually curious, always moving… We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible and thrive on self-deprivation. We drink coffee, a lot of it. We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins… We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others. We never want to be as passive-aggressive as our mothers, never want to marry men as uninspired as our fathers… We are the daughters of the feminists who said, 'You can be anything,' and we heard, 'You have to be everything.'"

via

That last line, man. I like it.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, and yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

- Kahlil Gibran, snippet of "On Children"


(I can't remember where I found this, but I feel like it was a great blog post somewhere.)

Thursday, October 17, 2013

i got an iphone. you've been warned.

Aaron and I finally caved and got our own phone plan and also got smart phones. Aaron had been using a flip phone, so...it's a big improvement. I've been taking shameless self portraits with mine, and also random lab photos because I can. I have a phone with a camera more than 1 megapixel now!

safety glasses- this season's must have accessory.



Isn't our lab pretty? We have windows! Other groups aren't so lucky.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

bienvenue aux états-unis, elder!


My younger brother, Jeff got home from his two year mission to France a few weeks ago, and I got to fly home to see him (thank you Mom and Dad!). It's weird and great to have him back. 

It's interesting to me how your relationships with your family change as you get older. When I go home, I kind of mostly want to see them instead of trying to fit in social events with every friend I ever had at BYU. I'm starting to realize that my siblings are really awesome in a not-just-because-you're-my-sibling way, and I want to hang out with them as peers rather than as my younger brother and sisters.

Too bad I'm figuring this out after I moved 2,000 miles away. I guess there's always Christmas vacation, right?


Sunday smores wearing sandals and socks. We love a good alliteration.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

compare and contrast:

this article "Turning Practicality into Passion" about a new male BYU faculty member and this article "Developing a Taste for Research and Mini-Muffins" about a new female BYU faculty member.

Stacey is awesome and a fantastic scientist, and I'm really happy for her that she got this position. However, I'm really disappointed in how they wrote about her. From the college's facebook description (how I found the article), "I'm not sure which I like more: Research? Or Muffins? For Stacey Smith, she may have found a way to combine both!" First of all, it's misleading. I thought she was randomly doing some sort of food science research at first, which would be strange considering her training is all in hardcore physical and materials chemistry. Second of all, it undermines her scientific accomplishments. Two thirds of the article is about her life outside of science, compared to maybe a sixth of the male professor's. What is she going to be researching at BYU? Who knows, but she does enjoy running!

It reminds me of the first paragraph of the New York Times obituary for Yvonne Brill, a brilliant rocket scientist:

"She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. 'The world’s best mom,' her son Matthew said."

Now, this is not to say that I'm anti-muffin or think we should ignore female scientists' lives outside of science. I'm sure that Yvonne Brill considered being Matthew's mother one of her greatest accomplishments, and motherhood should never be trivialized. I just don't like that whenever we talk about female scientists we have to remind everyone that they're female or make them cutesy and domestic. Muffins! Beef stroganoff! Can you imagine a NYT obituary for a male scientist talking about his cooking skills in the first paragraph? No, because the story would be about his SCIENCE. As it should have been for Yvonne and Stacey. As it should be about any scientist, regardless of gender. That's all I ask. 

Monday, September 9, 2013

procrastinating wednesday's presentation

Someday I will write about something meaningful, but today is not that day. Instead: dinnerware and glass jars!


I love this dinnerware line from IKEA. I think I'll buy myself four bowls and four plates for Christmas. Isn't being an adult fun?


Does anyone know where I can get a big jar like this, only with an airtight seal? We've been using some nice stainless steel canisters for flour/sugar/brown sugar since we got married, but they're a little small for actually scooping full cups of flour out without getting it all over the counter. And since Aaron's making two loaves of bread a week these days, we're going through a lot of flour...

Saturday, September 7, 2013

fish say blub

Aaron showed me this music video last night:


I never watch videos when people have them in their blog posts, but you should not be like me and watch this one. It is ridiculous and really great, in the same way that Erasure's "Always" video is really great. Haven't seen that one either? We must rectify that:


Sunday, September 1, 2013

sasha in philly 3.0

A few weekends ago my cousin Sasha came and visited me again. We had a lovely time getting brunch at Ants Pants cafe (raspberry dark chocolate French toast oh my), doing a bit of shopping, getting cheesesteaks at John's Roast Pork (new favorite cheesesteak!), making snickerdoodles and pesto chicken pizza, nail painting, and lots of watching old "New Girl" episodes. 



None of our immediate family live anywhere near the East Coast, so it's nice to have Sasha only a one hour plane ride away. Thanks for visiting Sash! 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

i spent too long looking at this picture and now they look like fortune cookies:


We made tortellini last weekend in celebration of Aaron being done with his pediatrics rotation and shelf exam and me being done with summer term TAing. It was surprisingly easy to shape, like easier than ravioli even with our ravioli press. And none burst when we cooked them! We filled them with homemade ricotta and homegrown basil and topped them off with homemade spaghetti sauce. I'm just now realizing that Aaron literally did everything except shape the pasta, so good job Aaron! You spent your weekend off cooking for me! 

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I sort of feel like I've had writer's block for over a year now. I just don't have anything to say lately! So in lieu of a lovely closing paragraph here's a slothstronaut:


You're welcome.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

taken in lab today


Sometimes I feel like the more I learn, the more I realize that I don't know anything. 
This is terribly frustrating.

Monday, July 8, 2013

dole pineapple whip for the first time was as wonderful as pinterest led me to believe it would be

After Rachel's wedding, we went with my family on our merry way to the happiest place on earth: Grandma's house in SoCal! Also, Disneyland.



Abby's head is down or hidden in every single rollercoaster picture we got (she's behind me). And I can't get over Jenny's face (behind sleeping Aaron). 

Our niece Brooklyn is beyond obsessed with Disney princesses, so Aaron decided to make her believe that we got the princesses to call her while at Disneyland. I pretended to be Rapunzel while talking to Brook, and then I handed the phone to Jenny to belt out a beautiful rendition of "At last I see the light, it's like the fog is lifting!" (Jenny is a phenomenal singer.) Later, we actually found Rapunzel, and Aaron thought it would be great if we could get a picture with her holding Aaron's phone to prove to Brook she had been talking to her. Too bad Rapunzel was a little sassy and too good at staying in character because she acted like she didn't know what a cell phone was, and the result was the photo below. 


Brook still bought it.


Besides Disneyland, we also went to the science museum at USC. Seeing the space shuttle Endeavour was actually really cool. It's pretty incredible that they were ever to get something that huge to fly, let alone make it to outer space for 25 missions. USA! USA!


Other highlights included La Brea tar pits, where I learned that direwolves are not something George R. R. Martin made up in Game of Thrones, but that he probably embellished a bit on their size and psychic abilities, Rocket Fizz candy shop, shopping at the Grove (Abby got not one, but two dolls at the American Girls store! My 11 year-old self is appalled at the injustice of that), swimming in the Burbank pool, watching Monsters University, eating taquitos with the green avocado sauce at Olvera Street, and the obligatory In-N-Out experience. 

All in all, an excellent West Coast trip.

Monday, June 24, 2013

let them eat wedding cake

Aaron's little sister Rachel got married last Saturday, and we got to come party at the wedding. It was so beautiful- wonderful people, great food, eternal marriage, what more do you want? 


My sisters-in-law are the best 



 We did some classy car decorating work. 

Diet coke cans were the obvious choice.



We also enjoyed playing with our nieces. We feel bad that we only get to see them a couple of times a year, and it seems like every time we see them they've grown up waaaay too much. Brielle's walking and talking now and Brook's cannonballing into the deep end of my in-laws' pool, that crazy girl. Also, can you believe that hair? I die. Jeff and Chelsea have set the bar high for cute kids.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

the status is not quo

I just wanted to let it be known that after 2.5 years of marriage and much struggle, I finally convinced Aaron to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Spoiler alert: he loved it, probably because he's now a big fan of Neil Patrick Harris after watching six seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

This is like my third blog post on this show, so if you haven't already seen it, watch. it. Now with Aaron's full endorsement!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

in Just- spring

This is a post about all the spring-ish-food-related things I've been up to lately, because this is my life: I spend my time thinking about chemistry and mostly what I'm going to eat for my next meal. 


Aaron and I made ravioli a couple of weekends ago. We filled it with ricotta we made ourselves, which, ironically I now love (so easy, so cheap, so delicious), and served it with a lemon cream sauce and asparagus. I wanted to make something that screamed spring, and this seemed like a good option.

We also made lemon bars the other week, using the tart pan I got for Christmas. It took some serious math skills to make this happen, since we used Metropolitan Bakery's lemon bar recipe, which is written for a 17"x11" pan. Ta-da, math is very useful, kids!

More spring-related (okay, actually just garden-related) activities: I made pistachio pesto using the basil plant in my windowsill. It was really great. The basil plant is still alive, which is a significant triumph for me. Fourth time's the charm! However, some very suspicious brown marks are creeping up all of the stems, probably because my pot is small and has no drainage whatsoever? I have no idea what I'm doing. I also bought three sun gold tomato plants (like yellow cherry tomatoes) and four jalapeno pepper plants. The lower leaves of the sun golds are all turning yellow and falling off (????), but the jalapenos seem to be doing just fine. I'm thinking about planting some zucchini and maybe some strawberries. Anyone have any tips for any of these?

Or anyone have any suggestions for our next kitchen adventure? We have a sort of three day weekend coming up, and we need a project in case the cicadas come out of the ground and I have to lock myself indoors for six weeks because I am terrified of large, flying bugs.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

astronauts deserve a lot of capitalized letters

I know I'm like 3 days late on this, but THIS VIDEO:


I'm obsessed, probably because in junior high I wanted to be an astronaut. And, after watching that video three times today I still kind of do. I mean, crying in space:


DOES IT GET ANY COOLER THAN THAT?

Monday, May 6, 2013

a short thought (as if any of my posts have been substantial lately)

I think if I were only cooking for myself, I'd practically become a vegetarian-not because I think it's wrong to eat animals or anything. I just really hate cooking chicken.

Friday, May 3, 2013

aaron is no longer on anyone's insurance but his own

It was Aaron's birthday last week. We made a pork wellington and chocolate cake with mint frosting to celebrate. Also, 20 balloons (and the birthday sign I made last year):


sorry, really blurry!
Do you like his black socks? He has to wear a shirt and tie every day when he's seeing patients, and then he doesn't change his socks when he comes home and changes into normal clothes.

sorry, weird cropping?

Aaron made it to 26 years old. More than a quarter of a century! I think that's a pretty good accomplishment. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

drop that new beat

A couple weekends ago, my friends Shane and Shannon came and stayed with us while competing at a ballroom competition here in Philly. I got to pretend I was still a ballroom dancer for two days, and it was glorious. Shannon had me try on all of her very glamorous costumes, and I got to go to the competition and watch them dance Saturday night. I loved every minute of it. It was a pretty small competition, but randomly Riccardo and Yulia (current world champions) happened to be competing at it. BEST SURPRISE EVER. Shane and Shannon also looked fantastic. I couldn't stop smiling while watching them dance, I was just so proud. I kept pointing them out to the grandma sitting next to me, those are my friends! I don't think I would have wanted to do something professionally with ballroom, but it was certainly fun to live that life vicariously for a couple days.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

the butterflies fly away

After listening to "Party in the USA" three times to get myself pumped up Tuesday morning, I went and did my oral candidacy exam, and now I'm an official PhD candidate! Yay!

We celebrated by eating lasagna for the third night in a row and watching an episode of The West Wing. We know how to party.

Monday, April 1, 2013

i was just wondering

I have never been pregnant so I have no idea what I'm talking about, but sometimes I think pregnant people are making up pregnancy cravings. If you're craving pizza and ice cream, doesn't that just make you human? Maybe someone who has been pregnant can enlighten me.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

march madness commercials are pretty great

Aaron finished his shelf exams yesterday, and we are so happy. It's been an absolutely lovely Saturday with those out of the way. Today we cleaned the church, cleaned our shower (East Coast mold is the worst), went grocery shopping, bought shoes for Aaron, got bagels at Spread (so good-you should have one), and watched a lot of basketball.

Tonight we will keep "watching" basketball and also make risotto. I have watching in quotes because I will actually be working on preparing for my candidacy exam/getting distracted by pinterest. Speaking of basketball, though, I'm really proud of the fact that I'm currently winning the Elder's Quorum bracket. Especially because it's the first time I remember filling one out. YEAH TAKE THAT BOYS.

Also...go Duke!

The end.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

well, we are in the school of ARTS and sciences


You wouldn't know it, but our lab is full of talented artists.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

you've had a birthday shout hurray

I turned 24 on Sunday, and it was lovely:

dan dan noodles from Han Dynasty

puff paint note and glow stick bracelet from Sister Andrus

presents from Mom (the fabric of those Everlane shirts is unbelievably soft)

homemade funfetti cupcakes

chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting (complete with candle holes)

Aaron and I went out for crepes at Beau Monde on Saturday night, and then on Sunday we had friends over for games and cake and cupcakes. I had a wonderful time! Thank you for all of the well-wishing! Lucky for me, there is still chocolate in my cupboard, so the joy and gladness continues. 

(Also, I learned that doing a crumb coat when frosting a cake actually works. For some reason, I am dumbfounded by this revelation.)