Monday, January 31, 2011

Icicle farming

With the weather fluctuating on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, we've noticed a large crop of icicles growing near our window.  Amazed by the size of these pointy beauties, here's a photo of my proud icicle-farming hubby:


Unsure how big this thing really is?  Here's a photo of Charlie lying next to it. 


*Note:  Sadly, our prized beauty snapped in two after this photo was taken. 

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Snacky snacky

I love funny packaging.  
A turkey leg could work too

My new mantra

Friday, January 28, 2011

New (sort-of) blazer

We went thrifting the other day and hubby scored this lovely warm blazer.  Here are two ways he styled it up:

Young republican

Young democrat

Shnazzy!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Roasty roasty

With a slowly healing stomach, I am now venturing into the non-carb and non-fruit realm:  meat.  Here's a picture of my first meaty meal.

Say hello to my roasted friend

Crispy and salty skin, juicy white meat, crumbly corn bread, and veggies soaked in drippings- I salute you! 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Nothing gets me going (pt 2)

like a couple of prunes or a can of prune juice

Another successful bathroom run!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Five reasons

This past Christmas I took a day trip into Manhattan with family.  I completely forgot about these pictures till just recently.  Here are five reasons why I love New York City: 

I love the city's buildings.

I love the inhabitants' creativity.

I love the hubbub.

I love the culture.

And I love the food.  (A whole universe of flavors resides in this bowl.)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Nothing gets me going

like a good buy-one-get-one free sale 


and a box of instant Mac and Cheese.

Another successful grocery run!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Transpoosion

Have you heard of heart transplants?
Kidney transplants?
Poo transplants?


Yes, you read right.  Poo transplants.  Apparently some patients suffer from terrible diarrhea caused by very bad bacteria.  Currently available antibiotics can't help, so some doctors are turning to "transpoosion" therapy.  They place a healthy person's poo into the patient's stomach.  The result? In most cases, the bad bacteria are killed and the patient's system returns back to normal.

Inspired by these findings, I'm doing my part to help.  No, I'm not donating.  Instead, I've designed some stickers that donors could wear after making a donation.





Click here to find out more! Thanks Alice for sending me this pootastic article.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Yodish

I'm always looking for ways to liven up my lectures (keeps the students awake and me entertained).  Yesterday, I used a small green character to share my thoughts on their first homework assignments.

Yes, I attempted to sound like him too.

Visit here to translate your thoughts to Yodish.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Remember the license

Hubby and I purchased our car way back in July and I'm a little embarrassed that I still don't know my license plate number. I think it's CR something?  Or maybe CA something?

Perhaps we should have customized our plate like these guys?
They're so proud of their potatoes

Aren't we all?

Decepticons- beware of this VW bug!

If you could customize your license plate, what would it say?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Back to School shopping

As a kid I loved buying new stationary for school.  There was something so exciting about getting new pencils and pens and then using them to write my very first words in my very new notebook.  With the beginning of this semester, I decided to treat myself to a new planner.   Tada! 

These lovely ladies will definitely keep me on track.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Anti-Atkins

I've recently been having some stomach issues.  No need to gross you out with the details, but let's just say it hasn't been pretty.  Now that my stomach is slowly getting back to normal, I find myself eating a lot of starch.

Tonight's carb-tastic treat:  hubby's congee. 

 Yum-o.  What a feast!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Where's Charlie?

Our dog Charlie sure does sleep a lot.  (I think he gets that from me.)  Sometimes he's in such deep slumber that he doesn't even mind us bothering him.  Today we covered him with a basket of clean laundry. 

Can you spot him? 

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hairy lips

This post is dedicated to the mustache.  

Here are some famous men showing their support for this humble lip ornament. Can you guess who they are?




(Hint- Here's a list of possible names: John Travolta, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Jack Black, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Tom Selleck, James Franco)







Highlight here to see the answers:  a)Jack Black, b)Tom Selleck, c)James Franco, d)John Travolta, e)George Clooney, f)Brad Pitt, g)Ryan Gosling, h)Johnny Depp

Friday, January 14, 2011

Bruce Lee and me

According to my hubby, I frequently make the "Chinesey" sound "Aiyah!"  I didn't think I said it that often until one day he pointed every "Aiyah!" out.

You know what?  He's right. "Aiyah!" is my go-to word when I
  • lose my balance 
  • am surprised (ex:  I see a mouse)
  • struggle with using an object (ex: can-opener) 
  • struggle with opening a tightly sealed object (ex:  jar of olives )
  • hurt myself accidentally (ex:  stub my toe)

Last night when watching tv, hubby pointed out another person who also uses my special term a lot.   
It's you and me, Bruce Lee.

image taken from here

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Memory trick

Some researchers say that people are more likely to remember unusual or unique information.  So, perhaps my previous slide should look something like this?

pig image from here
Pig riding at its best

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Valentine's day

While walking through Walmart today I happened to hear this exchange between two men in their mid-twenties:

Man 1:  "Oh no."
Man 2: "What?"
Man 1:  "It's Valentine's day already?  I see all this red stuff."

Oh yes, Man 1 (and all men reading this blog).  The countdown is on.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Nicknames

Today I took attendance in class for the first time.  Of course, several students wanted me to call them by a different name.

Some of their requests made sense:

(*Note:  Names changed to protect students' privacy.)

William Dykstra  would like to be called "Will"
Gregory Cesaer would like to be called "Greg"
Allison Reitsma would like to be called  "Alli"

And some of their requests made less sense:

Robert Thomas would like to be called "Frank"
Nicholas Hayes would like to be called "George"
Vannessa Heely would like to be called "Zambia"

Monday, January 10, 2011

How do you pronounce that?

I really enjoy making Power Point presentations for my class. Here's one slide that always cracks me up.

pig image from here

These images will be forever burned into my students' brains

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Ice ice baby

Yesterday we visited a collegiate level ice sculpting competition with a friend.  It was amazing to see what these artists could do with a block of ice and various power tools.

Most competitors relied on their trusty chainsaw to create figures from ice.


Here, two teammates work together to join two forms.

The cold temperatures prevented us from staying for the entire event.  However, we were able to see several smaller already completed works.

Ice horse head


Ice ram


Ice fish

And our favorite, the ice-burger
Can you see where we took a bite?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Bliss in a bowl

Yesterday hubby made Acorn Squash soup.
It was delicious.
Here's his recipe:
  • Chop acorn squash in half and roast until soft.
  • Sautee chopped celery, carrots, and onion in butter in a stockpot.  Season with salt and pepper. 
  • Add chopped roasted acorn squash into the stockpot and sautee until everything is soft.
  • Then, add water and "Better than Bouillon" until everything is falling apart.
  • Puree the buggery out of the soup.
  • Season with cardamom, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Basket-whaat?

Yesterday was the big Hope vs. Calvin college basketball game.  Since I'm not the biggest sports fan I figured I should know something about the game before watching.  So, I made these two lists:

Aren't you impressed with my technical knowledge?  
Hmm, I had much to learn




The game was super exciting. 
There was plenty of team spirit

Look, cheerleaders! (Cross off question 9)

Free throw- 1 point (Question 2) and referee (Question 6)
  
Sadly, we lost (2 periods- question 3)
But, at least I learned a thing or two about basketball.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Flavored seaweed

Here's an interesting food combination that only the Japanese could dream up:  tomato sauce and seaweed.  Before you groan in disgust, take a look at this tomato-seaweed snack that I found at the store.

Doesn't the cute packaging draw you in?

It was yummy- great texture and slightly sweet and salty.  We finished the whole bag in a couple of minutes.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Hungry for head gear?

Look at what I found today.  Isn't it cute?
Now where can I find some Cinnabon ear muffs?

Monday, January 3, 2011

Funny Asian signs

Attention!  Attention!  We've found other Asians in Western Michigan!!!  Unlike the mythical unicorn or Loch Ness Monster, they exist.  We saw them chowing down at a dim sum restaurant in Grand Rapids.

Who knew that seeing groups of black heads and hearing warbling Asian pop music could make a person so happy?   

To celebrate this new finding, here are some interesting Asian food labels and signs:

Crackers that taste like fried chicken?  This could be the best invention ever.

Who knew you could sell magic mushrooms legally?

I wonder what nude tastes like...


Fancy canned meat?  Seems like an oxymoron

Obama:  president, father, husband, and....grocery store inspiration 

*last image sent to me by a friend