oh the places I'll go...

An excerpt from one of my FAVORITE books that speaks to me right now...



"You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing."



Lately I feel a little like I'm in The Waiting Place...waiting around for a yes or a no from all my job applications. Still waiting for answers about teaching positions in Kazakhstan and upstate New York...

(from my visit to the Sacred Grove...amazing)

Meanwhile I fill out more and more applications. I have a skype interview on Friday for a postdoc position at Harvard! Cross your fingers for me!!

I've never been one that enjoys The Waiting Place. Whether it be a strength or a weakness, I like to ACT, to feel like I am moving forward. This time around it's rough because I don't know exactly what I am moving forward TO. I know I will likely be moving far away, but who knows where? I know I will defend my dissertation in June and graduate in August, but beyond that, it's dark. As a speaker in sacrament meeting put it a few weeks ago, I am in the "Holy Place of Uncertainty." Will I find the bright places where boom bands are playing? Or will I grind on for miles across weirdish wild space? Will the streets be marked? Will the windows be lighted? Should I turn left or right?

As much as this time is uncertain, it is also holy and sweet. It is a time to trust the Lord and have the faith that if I do all I can, He will open doors for me. Recently some of my favorite verses of the Book of Mormon are 2 Nephi 4:33-35. Nephi's prayer to the Lord resonates with me:

"Wilt thou make my path straight before me!...O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever...Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen."

My path is clear because I will trust in the Lord forever.

In the meantime, I plan on having the best summer! I look forward to spending time with family that are close by. I may not be so close in a few months so I need to eat them up!!

Also on the list: partying it up with Steph! She was the angel I needed after the mission. We have lived together for 2 1/2 years and plan on ending this era with a bang!

Secret confession...I've already teared a couple times thinking of leaving my family, roommates, ward friends, lab friends, and high school friends that are still around. So for now I'm not thinking about it!!

WELCOME SUMMER!!

when Mama came to town!

I feel like my Mom's recent trip to the good ol' US of A deserves a larger shout-out on my blog than it has gotten up to this point...

Life is so much better with Mom's hugs, face-to-face (hahaha I just typed face-to-Tace by accident...only the fam will appreciate this) Mom chats, Mom's pieces of cake as big as your head, and Mom's laugh. MISS YOU MAMA!!! 

my BIRTHDAY adventures!

For my birthday, Steph took me to get my hair dyed for the first time! (Well, last year, we dyed it darker on my birthday...but we just used a cheapo box and it faded after a couple weeks.) I was SO nervous but now that I've gotten used to it, I LOVE IT. Thanks Steph :)

 BEFORE

 AFTER

The next day!

My family and I will be celebrating my birthday late since my mom just got in from Russia (YAY!) but my birthday was pretty great thanks to good friends. Friday night I went to Salt Lake to have dinner with my good friends Maddie, Audra, William, Chris, Will, and Matt. I love that the years fly by but my friends are always there. Saturday I had a breakfast/lunch with some good friends in my ward. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of these two parties. Annie was a sweetheart and drove all the way from Salt Lake to have dinner with me on my birthday. Thanks Annie!! Oh and also...on Saturday, my friend Jay took Steph, Tracy, and I up in a little airplane. IT WAS AWESOME. Jay is such a great pilot it wasn't even scary. I have great friends!

Liz's 2012

The years seem like they're flying by these days! I can't help but feel a little pensive as we send out the old year and welcome a new one. How will I remember this one?

2012 was a year of science!

I had two papers published this year! I am the first author on both and they will be the first 2/3rds of my dissertation. 

2012 was the year I completed my comprehensive exam for my PhD!

Completing the written portion was probably the most stressful month of my life, and completing the two hour oral portion was probably the best feeling EVER.

2012 was a year of travel!

SEATTLE with Diane to see our dear friends John and Rosemary sealed in the temple!

ST GEORGE and VEGAS with Steph and Kelli for my birthday! This one was a mystery until we were in the car on the way there.

SAN DIEGO with my lab to present at a conference.

BEAR LAKE with William, Mitch, and Alyssa for some intense four-wheeling and jet skiing.

SAN ANTONIO to see Jenny, Jonathan, James, and Ella!! This included a night camping on a beautiful beach...such a sweet visit.

HELSINKI, FINLAND with Mom and Dad! It was my first time out of the US and a wonderful place to see my Papa for the first time in a year (Mom traveled with me since she came home for Grandma's funeral).

A brief but exciting layover in MOSCOW, RUSSIA!

And a fantastic 3 weeks in NOVOSIBIRSK, KRASNOYARSK, TOMSK, and BARNAUL, RUSSIA with my amazing parents! There are no words to describe how incredible this experience was.

And lastly, DISNEYLAND with Steph and Marissa! This one was also a surprise! They didn't tell me where we were going until we were about to enter security at the airport. I am so lucky.

2012 was the year I lost Grandma Glenn.

I'm so grateful I know I will get her back someday!

2012 was the year of Darrell!

I was the lucky girl who got to date this guy and thus catch my first fish, go to my first RSL game, discover the exciting world of podcasts and homemade salsa, and experience all kinds of other adventures.

2012 was the year I became the activities cochair in my ward!

This has been a lot of work, but I have had so much fun and made so many wonderful friends! I've also learned how to feed 150 at a time and how to grill the perfect hot dog.

2012 was a year of some firsts!

First time dying my hair.

First time being a soccer coach.

First time running a half marathon without really training.

2012 was the year I got to team-teach PDBio 120 at BYU!

Loved. Every. Minute.

2012 was the year Annie, Abby, Ryan, and I bonded! A lot.

Holidays, birthdays, random hang-outs, the good times never end. Ron sure is a champ to put up with 3 girls all the time.

2012 was the only entire year I was Josh-less.

Man I miss this guy.

What's coming up in 2013? I will get 2 new nephews. Josh will come home. I will graduate with a PhD. I will get a real grown-up job teaching college (hopefully). I will likely move. Seems kind of intense eh? I guess I'll git 'er done the same way I did 2012, one beautiful day at a time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

glazing ham like a boss

Read this list of ingredients and tell me if it doesn't make your mouth water:

*honey
*ketchup
*mustard
*worchestershire sauce
*minced onion
*ground cloves
*ginger
*orange juice
*molasses

Yep, Abby, Ryan, and I just came up with this sweet recipe all by our creative selves because we wanted to glaze the ham we just put in the oven. Annie was the taste-tester and gave it two thumbs up. You are reading the blog of the next Paula Dean. NBD. I thought I would blog about it before we tasted it so I can follow up with a raving review later on.

PS - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Despite Abby and I being sick as dogs, it's been a joyful holiday! I'll hopefully blog more about it later, but in the meantime, here was my glorious day: sleeping in (and waking up feeling a little less sick = win), watching Gilmore Girls with the sisters, reading some more of the books I got for Christmas, going to see "Les Miserables" with my aunts/uncles/cousins (it was INCREDIBLE. more about that later too), and now watching the Jazz game while we wait for our glorious ham and funeral potatoes to cook. Today is a success.

Prayer of the children

I just returned from a FABULOUS day in Salt Lake. Annie, Abby, Ryan and I went to the Kurt Bestor concert at Abravanel Hall (we used to go every year when we were young and thought it'd be fun to revive the tradition!), ate dinner at Zupas, and headed to Cummings Trees (once again a tradition! Dad used to get his tree there when he was a little tyke) to pick out our gorgeous Christmas tree!! I must say, today really filled me with the Christmas spirit! We also watched "Scrooge" while we decorated the tree. Favorite. So grateful to have sisters nearby. :)

Honestly, one of the most powerful moments of the day for me was the song "Prayer of the Children" during the concert. He dedicated it to those involved in the shootings in Connecticut. It was really powerful to me. It reminded me that Christmas is all about hope...the hope that comes through Christ and His Atonement. I was hit with the reality of all the heartache that exists in our world. BUT this season we celebrate the miracle that Christ can heal all. My heart and prayers are with the victims and families of victims in Connecticut!

4-year-old Liz

So you thought this would be a post about me when I looked like this (I'm in the purple and Abby's the darling one in pink)...

...but it's actually a post about 25-year-old me that hasn't progressed since age 4. Let me explain: I cannot eat without spilling on myself. This is not an exaggeration. One time I was on a date with a cute guy and he bought me JDawgs for lunch (famous hot dog place in Provo that has a special secret sauce). I thought the date was going well...good conversation, etc...until my date paused mid-sentence, grabbed a napkin, and wiped some special sauce off my forehead. Embarrassing. He never asked me out again. The reason I'm writing about this now is to document something funny Ryan said to me last night at Hires Big H. We went to dinner there for Annie's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!) last night and it blew my mind how many times I spilled on my pants. White pants. Bad idea for Liz to own white pants. By the end of the night, I had like 5 fry sauce stains, 1 stain from the fudge sundae Annie got for free, and 1 stain from the avocado that wasn't supposed to be on my burger. It was disgusting. Ryan's comment: "You can always tell what Liz ate...just look at her pants!" Embarrassing.

grateful for family...

This summer, it's been fun to spend a lot of time with family! With the parents in Russia, the Bosters in Texas, and Josh in Mexico... Annie, Abby, Ryan, and I have gotten to hang out a lot! Ryan is such a champ to be the only guy most of the time haha. Some of our recent adventures include...

the CHEESECAKE FACTORY at city creek to celebrate abby's 23rd birthday!

i won 6 tickets to a country concert at the WESTERNER (aka a cowboy bar...good times) so i took the sibs, megan, and my friend darrell. the best part was ordering 2 orders of fries and 6 waters :) oh and playing pool was pretty legit too. ryan fit right in:

lots of random hangouts with annie! this one is from the night she came to a BASEBALL GAME with me to see a friend from my mission play... 

just last friday, annie came to provo to sleep over. we watched SMALLVILLE (our fav) with the shawcrofts while i made cream puffs for a bridal shower the next day. my first try was an epic fail (see top panel). luckily i had ryan, abby, and annie to help me get it right. turns out the words "rolling boil" are imperative. i was pretty proud of try #2 :)

it's also been a blast to see extended family recently! they are all so sweet to us with my parents off in siberia.

CAFE RIO with suzi when she was in town!

we also had a sweet visit with grandma and grandpa gibbons afterwards!

i'm sad i didn't get a picture last night of our party with the glenns at alta ridge! luckily it will be a fast sunday tradition, so i'll get a picture next time :) speaking of the glenns, it was a blast to hang out with them on andrew and haley's wedding day!

  

randoms

(1) I PASSED MY COMPREHENSIVE EXAM!!! basically this means my coursework is complete and i am officially a PhD candidate! sounds official eh? so now i only have my dissertation left to complete. psh that will be cake ;) currently, writing this paper takes up most of my day...

“MOLECULAR DETAILS OF MEMBRANE FLUIDITY CHANGES DURING APOPTOSIS AND RELATIONSHIP TO PHOSPHOLIPASE A₂ ACTIVITY”

Gibbons E, Pickett KG, Streeter MC, Warcup AO, Nelson J, Judd AM, Bell JD

(2) with the semester over I get to do research full time for the summer! i'm super lucky because i got a fellowship with the BYU Cancer Research Center....so they basically pay me more money than i would usually make to do the same research i would have done anyway! lucky me. (oh and they took me out to lunch at la jolla groves in the Riverwoods...BEST. SALMON. EVER....oh and the bathrooms were pretty shnazzy as well...bonus)

(3) I may or may not have tripped on like 3 chairs at once the other day while i was all alone in the lab. i may or may not have fallen HARD CORE all the way to the ground, right on my knee. i may or may not have a huge black bruise on that knee.

(4) my bro-in-law ryan and i decided which half marathon we're going to do this summer! the hobbler half marathon (no pun intended) is 12 weeks away so this was my first week of training! I've run 3 out of 4 days this week so i'm feeling pretty heroic. saturday  i'm running a 5k with steph in payson for her school so hopefully i can beat my sad rex lee run 5k time from march. (sidenote: it's super depressing to start running again after you've been slacking. hopefully my body will forgive my recent neglect)

(5) so i get asthma when i'm running...but the more i run the better it gets and it usually only lasts about 1 mile. who cares though...the funny part is what i think about when i'm running with asthma, all i can picture is a diagram dr. judd drew me of a glob of mucous in my airways hanging there making it harder for me to exhale. we called it the loogie explanation and got a good laugh out of it (because i wondered why mucous in the airway wouldn't prevent inhalation as much as exhalation ... turns out there's this thing called gravity making the loogie hang the way it does). disgusting i know. sorry about that. i may or may not have drawn this on the board during my final review for the physiology lab i TA. good times.

(6) one of the highlights of this week:

we got to meet the Guschins! they are my parents' good friends in Novosibirsk and were visiting the United States from Russia for their daughter's graduation. we had such a fun visit with them...they were so kind. it made me happy to feel a little more connected to my parents since they seem a world away. it made it more real that they're actually in Russia. a favorite quote from Brother Guschin: "your father IS russian...he is a russian man." :) so proud of my jukie and pops.

(7) When i was growing up, my mom would always make the 4 girls matching Easter dresses. they were usually the same pattern but different colors. it seems like annie was always blue, jenny always pink, and then abby and i were purple, yellow, or green or something. we were pretty cute. if i had old pictures on my laptop i'd put one on for your viewing pleasure. since i DON'T...here's one from THIS year :) some things never change...

(8) did i mention i bought a fedora? sometimes i'm random like that.

(9) i finally applied for my passport so i can go to Russia in August!! SO EXCITED.

(10) so i was just looking up something on Craig's List...and thought this was funny/weird. sorely tempted though. enjoy...

FREE PHYSICAL LABOR

My name is Mike and I'm looking to do some physical labor for anybody who needs it. Why am I offering this? Lifting weights is incredibly boring! I'd much rather help somebody move a bunch of bricks, dig a hold, pull some weeds/plants etc. The catch is it's gotta be something that will give me a good sweat so I can get a work out. I'm 6'3" and a big strong guy, so give me something difficult! I need to do this! Give me a call anytime, leave a message if I'm not there. I teach piano so that's the recorded message you'll hear when you call. Thanks!