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!

recently...

Recently...

I've tried analyzing these babies about 10 different ways...

...and I THINK the most recent try is a win! We will know once I try it out on a few more runs. Cross your fingers that this one will be the winner and I can move on to the hard part of the project haha. Oh and for those nerds out there wondering...these are images of F-actin!


Recently...

I've been team-teaching PDBio 120...

...and LOVING it. For real. I'm all kinds of happy and excited after I teach. Up until now I've taught portions of most classes, but today was my first day teaching the whole 50 minute class! I think it went well! I love getting to know more and more of my 200 students. Yep, definitely thinking I chose the right career. :)


Recently...

I've been having fun...

...country concerts, Jazz games, BYU football games, hipster photo shoots, family get-togethers, perspective-gaining drives up the mountain, 3D movies, intense workouts (yes that is a cupcake), pumpkin carving parties, haunted forests, etc. 

Recently...

I caved and bought a cd on itunes...

...and have been listening to it for days! I was doing so good with my resolution not to buy music, but I couldn't help myself. I have a weak spot for music.


Recently...

I've been learning a lot about how I sleep...

...using this super crazy app on my phone. It lays on the bed and uses my movements to track my sleep cycle. Best part? I give it a 30 min window and it wakes me up at the most ideal time. I honestly feel great when I wake up now because the alarm isn't jolting me out of deep sleep. The future is here, folks.


Recently...

I've started apply for teaching jobs...

...and I can't believe I'm going to be all grown up with a real job in less than a year! Crossing my fingers somebody will want me!

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!

  

L-I-F-E

long time no blog. time for another edition (or rather the first edition but "another edition" sounds better) of...

the AMAZING, the DULL, the NERDY:

first up, the AMAZING:

Brian Regan concert (FREE)

Lady Antebellum on valentine's day:

Long overdue hangout with Annie and the Shawcrofts:

(you get to imagine a photograph here that doesn't exist. picture this: homemade mac and cheese, smallville, qwirkle, and mexican train. also imagine...the later it gets, the harder we laugh...the weirder we get...the more scared ryan gets. good times all around)

Two free nights of bowling in the past month...high score of 85...sure beats that one time in high school i bowled a 9. yes folks...10 frames, 9 pins total. i'm pretty good.

now on to...the DULL (although i am pretty easily entertained so these are all things that make me happy even though they may appear dull to others):

i joined a DINNER GROUP! you know what this means: i'm eating better, I'm spending less, i'm honing my domestic skills and cooking, and making new friends. love this.

MY ROOM IS CLEAN! that's right. this is big. i finally pulled my life back together over the long weekend and man i am so much happier. it makes a huge difference. "only the home can compare to the temple in sacredness" = true story IF it's clean. sweet deal.

i hung up a shelf in the kitched and put cute little things on it. i'm not usually good at stuff like this, but dang it looks good and homey now. yay.

I discovered wordle.net.  mom and dad, i finally went on the site and i'm addicted to making word clouds now! they are so legit. i made one of my patriarchal blessing and my prospectus hahaha. these may or may not be hung in my room in the not-so-distant future.

and on to everyone's fav: THE NERDY:

i have officially scheduled my oral exam for the last week of march! i'm super nervous, but i've started doing review sessions every week with one of my professors and it's secretly getting me kind of excited. yeah we all thought i was a nerd but now it is proven.

i just printed my poster today to present my research in san diego this week!! pictures to come from my lovely nerd adventure.

my friend josh and i went into steph's 6th grade class as visiting scientists to teach about microorganisms! they swabbed for bacteria and everything. this might have changed my life. cute girls writing you thank you cards that say "i might want to be a scientist someday" and kids telling each other, "hey science is COOL" make me happy.  yay science!! we may be going back from round 2: heat, light and sound...so stay tuned for that. oh and also, they call me Dr. Liz. enough said.


well that's another edition of...the AMAZING, the DULL, the NERDY.  that kind of sums up my life recently. except for the dull part. mostly nerdy and amazing.

flies have it so easy

so here i am reading some papers for my developmental genetics class tomorrow and i learn that the males of a certain species of fly (Drosophila biarmipes to be exact) have a pigmented spot on their wing to attract the females.

they flash that baby during courtship to help the females choose a mate. so it got me thinking...LUCKY! all the females have to do is look for male with the best SPOT on their wing. that's it. they have it so easy. if only human males had a spot on their forehead and that's the only thing i had to look for :)

other random tidbit...i am so tired i thought the name of the fly species had the word "armpit" in it and i found it quite humorous until i recognized my error. i wouldn't put it past those developmental biologists to name something "armpit". i mean when you have a ligand called "sonic hedgehog" and a mutant called "one-eyed pinhead," "armpit" doesn't seem so far out there ya know?

have i mentioned i love being such a nerd?

did i also mention that steph and i went to the brian regan concert tonight? amazing. hilarious. i was literally exhausted by the end because i laughed so hard for such an extended period of time.

back to studying fly wings. later.

2011...looking back :)

let's see...in 2011, I....

*started back up at BYU (after a 21 month hiatus) to finish my master's degree

*moved in with total strangers that became great friends :)

 Stephanie, Mandy, and Chelsea

*ran a 10k, 3 half marathons, and a 5k!

*flew to San Antonio to see the Bosters twice! the 2nd time around I got to meet my niece Ella Bay :)

*took a trip to Baltimore, MA with the lab to present my research

*witnessed my little brother receive his endowment in the Salt Lake Temple...first time the whole family got to go together!

*said goodbye to Josh for 2 years! lucky mexico :)

*went to Abby's graduation!

*played with the fam a lot :)

*shipped my parents off to the MTC and then to SIBERIA

*bought a laptop

*fell in love....with skype ;-)

*decided to switch to the PhD program and got accepted

*took pretty pictures of cells (at BYU and UC Irvine)

*had way too much fun in my lab

*went to a lot of free stuff with steph...

*pierced my ears!

*let go of some things :)

*passed my prospectus defense!

*moved into a cute townhouse and made some new friends!

*was reunited with mission friends (including reunions, a roadtrip back to SEATTLE, a trip to california to see Diane, skype sessions with asia, and other fun times)...

*and other dear friends!

*made a lot of mistakes, felt lonely at times, got frustrated with myself, had financial worries and learned how expensive adulthood is (but of course spent way too much money on country music on itunes), and was once again reminded life doesn't always go as planned! yet still genuinely happy. how?

*missed the parents A LOT, but grew closer as a family!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES 2011!