Updated 26 in 26

Welp, I've redone the 26 in 26 list!

Now modified to include a new life in San Fran

1:   Order a boat of sushi
2:   Go to a beer dinner 
3:   get a California license and license plate
4:   Be in a wedding 
5:   Attend something out of my ordinary. 
   6:   Host a cocktail/dinner party 
7:   Climb Cape Hatteras 
8:   Reunite with the fourple

9:   Add a stamp to my passport
10:   Learn basics of a new language
11:   spend a weekend in wine country
12: deck the halls for christmas, and the 2013 holidays

13: Visit Biltmore during the Festival of Flowers 

14:  Get a puppy!
15:   introduce my parents & Mike's parents. 
16:   Do 12 DIY projects. (3/12)
(Camera strap, JOY letters, M&T art)
17:   Make a 27 in 27 list. 
18:   Learn a new hobby.
19:  Visit 3 tourist attractions in San Fran &/or San Jose (1/3)
20:   Learn to unwind and relax
21:  Reduce my diet coke consumption 
22:   Buy something from a home shopping channel and something from etsy.
 23:    Lose 26 lbs (total) (4/26)
24:    get a hot stone massage &/or reiki
25:   Add to my tattoo collection
26:    Find the PERFECT red lipstick. 

Weekend Update

7 days to go...

let's look at the last 3 :)

Friday:

My very last day at work. Wowza. 

I started working there in 2010, and it's been a roller coaster. 

I'm proud of my research and the skills I have picked up;

I'm excited to see where my life leads now, but I was a bit sad to go. 

Sadness that was made better by cupcakes...

note the DO NOT EAT post it. 

There was (clockwise) a blackberry cobbler, mint chocolate chip, mochachino, dark chocolate with chocolate and chocolate, pumpkin cheesecake and a turtle cupcake. I managed to bring one of each home with me, and I'm sure dad and I will be enjoying them during the week as we keep packing. 

So. Good. 

My boss also brought in lunch from Neomondes. I don't care how you THINK you feel about Lebanese food, you need to go get something from here. Anything. Just go. 

And then, I finally said goodbye to my lab. 

I work here alone (with my PI, of course) so every page of every notebook on that bottom shelf was done by me: every experiment, every data analysis, every protocol.  

after work, I headed down to Charlotte to say goodbye to a few people there. 

the welcome committee. 

Saturday

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed to the Ren Fest. 

These are definitely things that are better seen, than read, so just..look :)

tickets

leather cuffs with some of my favorite things..

happy cider

fabulous leather work and colors!

blown. glass. 

head pieces..

head pieces, 

and MORE headpieces. 

I obviously had fun with those. 

After Ren Fest we headed out to dinner for BBQ!!

more like "goodbye NC!"

Glad I managed to sneak in some BBQ before I left. 

 Finally, we met up with another friend of mine at a local bar, 

to toast to old friends, my leaving and Mr. Brennan's fabulous 30th birthday. 

Which he got a drinking horn as a present for.

He's happier than he looks. 

really..

 I wish I would have taken a picture of the 15th anniversary Sweetwater ESB that I drank, 

or of the various positions Shiva can find to sleep in during a car ride.

But, I did neither. 

I also wish I had something fun to say about Sunday. 

But, I did the usual. 

Eat, Pack, Pack, Pack, Sleep, Pack, pack. 

what about you- anything fun?

Friday Hodgepodge

Another week in the record books, huh?

It's definitely been a crazy week, here's some quick snippets, 

to get you all up to date:

Monday, I voted early AND gave blood. 

Talk about getting all of your civic duties out of the way at once. 

It took me 2 days to recover from giving blood, but..whatever. 

I did a little browsing at Target.

What? Are you shocked?

I LOVE those green/black loafers in the middle, but as of tomorrow,

 I am unemployed and I don't want to pack another thing.

donations are accepted and encouraged, by the way. (sz 9) 

What? Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is my official last day at work. 

2.5 years, it seems..bittersweet. 

I'll tell you more about it later, ok?

Can I just say that these: 

need to be in your home, right now.  Go on, go buy some. I'll wait. 

Back? H'ok, moving on!

I put my awesome artistic skills to work earlier this week

 and sent Mike and updated family photo of us all:

Exhibit A as to why I am a scientist....

 We made some progress on the packing front. 

Well, after Shiva finished popping all the bubbles on the bubble wrap, 

and after she finished tearing the duct tape off all the boxes I'd already made...

then we got some progress made. 

I also took a bit of time to myself this week to get my nails all pink, 

with just a hint of halloween-ness. I really kinda dig the black shatter topping, and

if I tell the truth, I did these while I was home last weekend, and as of right now, they've only got a couple minor chips. Totally rocking them all weekend. 

Julep: Drew for the pink, and Ursula with black crackle. 

On Wednesday, I got all gussied up in my newly found pink sparkly tank top, 

Exhibit B: I am a scientist because I am definitely NOT a fashion blogger. 

and headed out to Graffiti Frozen Yogurt,

self serve froyo with a thousand flavors and a billion toppings, 

cheap and right of 54, so you should TOTALLY check it out,  

and met up with these fabulous ladies. 

It was so nice to see Angela again, and FINALLY meet Molly, and meet a few more girls that I'm sad I don't have the chance to get to know better. Oh well, this is what blogging is for right? And I'm definitely waiting for one of them to venture to SF, cause I'll be RIGHT there. :)

and Finally, I've been having some fun Skyping back home:

yes, 

that is my ipad,

sitting in front of my computer screen,

 sitting in front of the tv, 

that I took a picture of with my phone. 

mama!

papa! 

and one more fun thing, just for a friday fancies extravaganza! 

(Seriously, 100 FFs? YOU GO AV!)

glitter party by teeller 

Let's be honest: If I owned those things, I would wear them the DAY we arrived in California and unpack my boxes just to celebrate making it that far. Also, Mike, those earrings ;)

Linking back up with some of my favorites today,

 hope to see you guys on Monday, have a great weekend. 

Feel free to come pack my house, by the way :)

  

another day, another destiny

can you sense a theme yet?

Anyway, while I'm scurrying around working, cleaning, packing, caring for animals
and meeting some of my lovely blogger friends, content here is going to be light. ish.

I fully plan on tickling your fancy with tons of pics when I get a chance to get caught up.
 READ: next week/the week after. :)

For now. Let's discuss two quotes, shall we?

Source: be-the-change.tumblr.com

This..startled me. I find myself having less and less time and yet, my life is so full. I have made so many new friends from blogging, plus IRL friends, (crazy right?). Did I mention that I LOVE my parents for all they do, and Mike's family for being so kind, and Mike for being..well...him. More later on that.. Maybe during all of this moving/packing/crazy, I need to stop and soak up everything around me more.

and:

Source: cinsaab.tumblr.com

If you would have asked me about being alone 6, or even 2, months ago, I would swear that I hated it. What I really hated, was being lonely. Once upon a time, I lived in a house with my thenboyfriend, his BFF and the BFF's girlfriend, and it was the loneliest I've ever been. I was surrounded by people, pets, and clutter, and I hated every single second. Today, Mike is 3000 miles away, yet, I'm NO WHERE near lonely. In fact, I hardly ever feel lonely. I'd rather stay at home with my dog and cats and watch a movie than go out sometimes, and that..is new for me. I still wish Mike was here, and I'd still rather be in the same room as someone, but I'm learning that the real -me- likes some quiet by-myself time.

I will, however, never admit to anything that I just wrote.
=======

Tomorrow brings you a normal "Friday Hodgepodge" and even a "Shiva Saturday"
(well, two days from now brings you that..I can't give you everything at once) 
and next week ( squared!)  is EUROPE!
I hope you like it here guys, cause I do.
The ride's bumpy, but super cool.


What about you? Am I the only one learning about myself at 26?
Wasn't I supposed to "find myself" in college?

At the end of the day...

you're another day older. 

(name that show)

We're still here. 

Packing, cleaning, working, moving, general hubbub. 

Yes, I have TONS of photos to show you, but I'm not quite to that point yet.

 I keep having rough day after rough day, and then typing up a post with nice edited photos...

isn't happening. 

Can we look at Pinterest photos today?

I saw this rug in Target today, think it's too girly for our living room?

via

Do you think having all this in a guest room would make up
for having an air mattress on a bedframe instead of a real mattress?

via

Can someone send me $100 to buy this? I'm kinda loving all things Paris right now

via

and finally, just something to make us all smile. :)
Dogs diving after tennis balls:

psssst. TRIFABB meetup tonight in Durham. HORRAY!

Weekend Update

Guess what I did this weekend?

Nothing. 

it was aweeeeeeesome

wanna see what we did(n't) do?

We napped, 

we played a LOT of tug, 

we saw the pretty fall colors, 

we ate cupcakes, 

we giggled at my sillyness,

we ate, 

and we slept in. 

Ok, Mom & I slept in. Dad and Shiva decided that 5am was an acceptable wake up time, and that the next four hours should be spent in various degrees of napping and outdoor exploring. 

I'm really glad I went home.

 Yes, there's plenty to be done here, 

but sometimes,  there's plenty NOT to be done. 

I can pack tomorrow. :)