Memories

Okay, maybe only one memory. Some people at work (myself included) are dressing up for Halloween today. To ruin the surprise, my costume is a ladybug. I have wings, and antennae, and red sequined shoes. I've been agonizing about what to wear in addition to the above mentioned accouterments. A black dress (which I don't have and haven't been able to shop for), a black shirt and pants, shorts, a skirt? This morning I finally settled on black leggings with my ballet skirt over them-not a look that I'm in love with normally, but it's Halloween, so everyone looks odd, right? However, I work in a lab, and while I'm in the lab doing lab work, I like to have pants on. Just in case. So I pulled my jeans on over the leggings (and fishnets), slipped on my shoes and headed off to work. I noticed that my jeans don't feel right. I feel a little pudgy, which is silly, since I'm skinny. I started wondering how I wore leggings under my pants for so many years at BYU when there wasn't enough time to change between dance class and whichever chemistry class was next. Maybe that's why most of my jeans from college are too big now.

Weather or not...

Really, Texas? It's the end of October. Isn't it about time for fall weather?

Weekend adventures

 I think my favorite thing about Texas (other than my friends, of course), is the amazing BBQ. They don't just BBQ things, they cover things in a rub and slow cook them in a smoker until they are mouth wateringly delicious. A friend of mine mentioned a few months back that he was going to build himself a smoker out of two ceramic pots. He generously shared with me all of the research he'd done, and I proceeded to build my own. Over conference weekend I smoked a chicken. Since that worked, I decided it was time to try a brisket...the holy grail of smoking. I asked a few friends for tips, bought a brisket and set my alarm for super early Saturday AM, as I knew a brisket could take upwards of 12 hours to smoke. Below is the smoker in all its glory. Unfortunately you can't see all of the smoke issuing from the cracks, but be assured, it's there.

The brisket was a success. I thought it was a little strong Saturday night, but the friends that came over to share it with me assured me it was quite tasty. For me, it was certainly better the day after. I will be repeating the project and trying to hone my rub making skills and experiment with different types of wood.

Gus has been making slow progress-he's not as scared of me as he was when I first got him, but he's still not ready to let me touch him. If I put his food dish in my hand and hold it in the cage for long enough, he'll make his way over and eat out of the dish. I did this on Sunday morning with the cage door open to accommodate my arm. When Gus decided he was done eating, instead of hopping on to the perch right next to him, he flew over my shoulder and landed in the middle of the living room. I decided that instead of traumatizing him by trying to catch him right away I'd let him roam a little, after all, he wasn't getting in to trouble. I laid on the floor so I could watch him and proceeded to go over my Sunday school lesson

He seemed to like the shelf under the table where his cage sits. He tried to eat the seed in the glass jars a couple of times. I couldn't get a picture of it this time, but I assure you it was quite cute. After wandering around in the kitchen and living room, he settled into a spot under the table, fluffed himself up, and prepared for a nap.This was when I decided it was time for him to go back in to his cage. I chased him around the apartment for a while, and finally succeeded in returning him to his proper place.