(I just like this 1923 photo of a ballerina. No reason)
Almost done! I finished my online class discussions. All I have left is a 14 page paper, due in 30 hours. I have an outline and most of the research done. I’ll be so happy to be done with the class.

After ethics I go back to my old job to write up a final report on our last study. It’ll take me a few days, but then I’ll be officially done with that job too. That leaves transcription to fill my days. Yes, I suspect I’ll be pretty bored. Hopefully I can volunteer at the cat shelter some more and visit Miranda and her new baby.

Tonight is another Movie Club. We’re watching a western called Shane, Trevor’s pick. We actually might have a large crowd tonight, maybe up to ten people. I better clean my basement tonight.

I usually like to have food for the movie watching, but money does not permit these days. Sadly, we’re really feeling the strain of my reduced workload. We actually sat down and wrote out a budget last night – something we’ve never had to do. No restaurant week for us. No rabies shot for Molly this month. Some things will have to wait for better days.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I must continue my internal battle as illustrated below.

Hoorah! Just a quiet celebration this year. Ben and I opened presents in bed this morning. I had lunch with him at my favorite sandwich shop, Panera Bread. We’re going out to dinner and then having ice cream cake with friends. In between is normal stuff – transcription work, school work, walking the dog. Actually, I’ve been at the library for most of the day so I don’t have to deal with the dog 🙂 It’s nice and quiet here with wi-fi, allowing me to do lots of work and posting (as you may have noticed).

Birthdays always make me think of The American Astronaut. “Aren’t you going to wish me a happy birthday?”

We had a fantastic three day weekend in beautiful San Francisco with my family. We stayed in a posh hotel near Union Square, next to lots of shopping.

That night we met with Drew for dinner and good old Ghiradelli ice cream.

Saturday morning we took a tour of Chinatown with Wok Wiz. Our guide Lola gave us cultural insights into the area, having grown up there. The tour capped off with a dim sum lunch.

At night we saw the local cabaret must-see Beach Blanket Babylon. I’ve seen it three times now, my parents much more. It’s a hilarious fast paced musical revue with pop culture parody. It’s been playing for 32 years and sells out every single show. They pack you into the Club Fugazi tight, elbow to elbow. But you forget about that as soon as the show starts.

Sunday we rented a car so we could cross the bridge to see our old house in Marin and the beach we used to visit.

We drove to Muir woods to ogle at the redwoods and sequoias. Despite huge crowds, the forest felt magical.

We crossed back into the city and did a driving tour of the Castro and Mission neighborhoods. We stopped to take photos of the pretty painted lady houses.

Then back to the hotel for a quick rest before eating a superb meal at Zingaro’s. I’m going to try to recreate my entree later this week. To walk off dinner we hiked up to the Grace Cathedral and walked the labyrinth.

That night I opened some birthday presents and ate Valentines chocolates. Ben and I had a fast, safe flight back to Denver early Monday morning. The Salt Lake crowd weren’t so lucky, but they eventually made it back too. We are all tired, like usual after a Waterhouse vacation, but we had a great time!

More photos are on flickr, mine and Ben’s.

nataliedee.com

I took a wrong step today and fell splat on the gravely asphalt. Yuck. Just a big swollen bruise. Although I scratched up the casing of my cell phone I was holding, luckily it appears to be functioning still.

How nice that Ben had a Valentine gift to give to me today – these cuddly pajamas! My old set were 7 years old and shrunken from the wash. I’ve been wearing sweats and t shirts to bed. It’s so cozy to slip into these instead.

In other news, Miranda had her baby!! After a long labor (I think about 30 hours) she was finally delivered by c-section this morning. I’m so happy for them!

So very not pregnant. The only thing gestating in me is a nursing degree.

uhh, 4? I have to agree with mom that the short trim above the lip is kind of weird. But on a “gross out” scale it’s really not gross. Note how well the eyebrows complement the stache. Then again, I’m biased. Ben calls my crush on Edward James Olmos a “daddy crush.” 🙂

Bruce sorry I couldn’t include you in my scale, but I didn’t have a photo! I welcome other submissions though.

Intuition from Brian Omura on Vimeo.

I made some changes to my moustache scale in the previous post. You can click on it again in the original post to see the new one. With some reflection I decided some of the order wasn’t quite right, and I wanted to change some of the representation. I take these things very seriously. Serious.

Ben wanted me to point out that this is a “gross out” scale. That means 1 is the least gross, and 10 is the most gross.

Songs and Bands I wish were in Rock Band
1) Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
2) Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
3) I Believe in a Thing Called Love – The Darkness
4) Don’t Tell Me – Madonna
5) Don’t Speak – No Doubt
6) Psychokiller – Talking Heads
7) Birdhouse – TMBG