Something to look forward to..

After I win the Lottery, I would like to take my dysfunctional family on a cruise in the warm waters of the Caribbean (Don't cry girls, we are going to the Mediterranean). I would like to do this so that I can spend time with my nephews, my sister's can take a short break from being Moms, I would have all the cooking catered, and would try to have activities for the boys like shuffleboard (me too), videos (they need comfort), and trips to warm sandy beaches in warm blue waters. Ahh. And if I charter a small yacht for just us, maybe I could even bring Henry along (not to the Caribbean though).

I can dream eh? it is cold, windy, and gray here in Moscow, ID today and the thoughts of warm blue waters is nice....

Now, if I did offer a cruise trip to my family, would they go? would my nephews be allowed to go? Would the Grandma's come? I know Mom and Dad would be there! Them folks are going to be retired!!

Henry is giving me that look....gotta go.

a bout of depression for a week...PMS NOT

For those who do not want to read about my sad, negative rant, just skip this entry.

I am feeling alone. Not due to lack of a boyfriend but lack of friends. I do have two good girlfriends although they live 3.5 and 6 hours away. I want a friend more local, one to hang out with on short notice.
EDITED OUT......Must have been PMS, ANXIETY, and an overall sensation of LACK OF CONTROL. sorry.
The biggest issue with all this is: If I am to be living alone regardless of my path, and must BE of DO something that doesn't bring me total joy (there is little that brings me any joy), than why should I keep on moving forward? What is there hope for? what is there to believe in?

Civil disobediance

Check this out.....its so cool to know there are creative activists out there.

Tim Dechristopher attempted to save some of the most wonderful red rock country not protected by any National Park status.

Cool.

More homework for Ms D

Here it is! the old Datsun. I had to take the picture at night cause I am not around during the day to see it.

Here is a cool sweater for those PBR fans. This dude has a collection of piss beer sweaters.

COLD

Cold. It has hit many areas of the United States this week. Here in Moscow, the cold combined with high moisture levels in the air has created wonderful hoar frost. Some places had over 1 inch of hoar frost. It is such a beautiful natural creation.

School in session

Oh my, school is back in session and I have not found the time to write in the blog. Or maybe it is not having much to write in the blog since i have been busy doing school stuff which does not appear to be exciting enough to share or mention. So bare with me as I space out and not keep this up like I did along the holidays.

Four classes and my research project. It looks to be another busy schedule especially cause I do not say NO to everything. Two 3 credit classes and two one credit classes. Sitting through a 3 credit class again (non-official audit). Field work planning, especially the sediment monitoring, I need to get the monitors installed. LAb group meetings including literature reviews. And i still need to search and apply for more grant monies, apply to membership of some professional organizations, and apply myself to be a part of volunteer groups.

Who has time to date in the graduate academic world? Unless Mr. Wonderful and I share a class or HE is very outgoing, it will just be Henry and I for a long while. Sure makes for lonely dinner dates. "Seating for one please!"

Other than school, it finally snowed yesterday after a week of gray cold damp days. Last night felt very warm and this mornings snow was large albeit heavy crystals. Hopefully we get more, maybe I will have to get out this weekend.

Later folks!

no privacy

Okay, not going to make this private. Look all you want, its me.

Big Brother on the internet

So, it has been brought to my attention the dangers and fun of having a blog. For those of you who want to keep up with this blog, send me an email or leave a comment. I will be looking into how to make this PRIVATE and not available to search engines...especially Google.
Are you wondering what happened? Someone out there in internet world has an automatic search string that picks up certain words (ie. cyanobacteria). Great and I won't fault them, it is a great topic to read up on (geeks unite!). However, due to the damage one's personal blog page, facebook, myspace etc. can have on the future prospects of professional growth, I must make this blog private and watch what I post.
For those who are snooping (not invited), please realize that variety is necessary and one can make a choice of what to embrace. Just because someone is linked or mentioned on this page does not mean I fully support their comments or views.
Until next post, everyone have a great day!

Do not draw attention...

Self effacing woman

It is not that we have chosen to be such, we have been trained to be such. From now on, we must question ourselves and make choices so that we are not self effacing.

Success

Hard work pays off. This past fall while taking classes, writing a proposal, counting zooplankton, playing fetch with Henry, and dealing with a sore back, I applied for a grant through the University of Idaho. Just last week, the news came. I won the total amount...$2000. Whooo hoooo! this money will go to supporting the social aspect of my research project.

Next, I need to apply for more grants to fund the sediment monitoring aspect of my project. Finding the grants available is the hard first step. the second step of writing the grants is not an easy ride either.

Stay focused. 18 Months left to get this all done.

Dear Cindy,

On behalf of the Environmental Science Program Graduate Interdisciplinary Enhancement Fund (GIEF) grant committee, it is my pleasure to inform you that your proposal entitled “Potential Impacts of Solar Bee Long Distance Circulation Machine on Zooplankton, Cyanobacteria, and Recreational Activities” will be funded in the amount of $2,000. Congratulations!

Acceptance of this funding constitutes acceptance of full responsibility for the conduct, ethical performance and financial monitoring of the project and agreement to comply with University of Idaho policies and procedures, as well as applicable federal, state and local laws. You do not need to submit documentation of your expenditures to Environmental Science, however, appropriate use of the grant funds should be evident in your final Master’s thesis.

The awarded funds will be set up as a scholarship and you will receive a letter from Financial Aid notifying you that the funds have been made available in your account.

If you have any questions, please contact the Environmental Science Program at (208) 885-6113. Best wishes for success in your endeavors.

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Mulkey

Director, Environmental Science

HOPE

For all those out there who have given up on the dating campaign, here is an article that provides "hope" and not a bunch of irrelevant tips.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/articlematch.aspx?cp-documentid=16798563&gt1=32023

I have hope for my future. By letting go of the past and ridding myself of garbage, the empty spaces are actually radiating light instead of sucking darkness.

Facebook quandry

Do I want to convert? It appears as if everyone is doing it. All excuses I have also have a reason against each excuse. Please, any one paying attention to my blog, please let me know it you are part of the Facebook crowd and what you like/ dislike about it and what you use it for. its not like I really have time to keep up with it, most likely it would just be another distraction for me. Hummm.

distractions

Today was a beautiful sunny day. I was on my way to school but chose to be distracted by a very handsome albeit quiet man. So I went fishing (slang). Did not catch the fish today. But hopefully, I will have another chance to fish and try a different fly, or approach, or maybe my leader was showing, who knows with fish. Any one out there know about fishing (flirting)? It has been a while for me and I need pointers.
Unfortunately, he did not appear interested in playing fetch with my dog. that is a negative, Henry is my guy! enough blabbering, it is bed time...good night.

To Mom and Aunt

Some one got spoiled this Christmas and it wasn't me!

Nephew Hayden

Here is a picture of my nephew, Hayden, he was born in September to my sister Sherri.

Kelly in Canada

Here is a short video of Kelly Maas skiing in Canada.

YouTube boerdom, wolf

Check this for those of you who have never seen one of these amazing beasts. People ask me how I know its a wolf when I have seen them, well, the hairs on my back that stand straight up tell me so. Also, notice in this video how large her feet are. It is a her, her teets show about 3/4th into the video.

Porn

Check it...
If i was not studying this is what I would like to be doing in the winters!

Home work from Ms D.

For Ms Dulong:

Here are some homes I walk by in this town. It feels weird taking pictures of houses especially if people are home! is it legal? am i invading their privacy? should i get permission? I worry to much on these things. i guess since i am not making any money off the pics then it should be okay.
Here is a large one on the corner. this part of the house holds the library/ den, with books up to the 20+foot ceilings:

This next one is a cute Tudor style. There are many homes of this style in the neighborhood.



And this next one is cool too, but I should have taken the photo from a different angle.















Some of the paint jobs people do on these old homes are very creative:

Healthy..almost

Ahh, I feel much better today.
It was not that bad of a flu and luckily I was able to sleep it off with out missing to much work or any school.
Classes start next week, yippee! I must be sick, I am the only person who enjoys classes. It is like story time for me, sit back, listen, and just be prepared for discussion!

I sent out a bunch of invites to folks to read this blog. If you peeked, thank you! Please let me know if you are following and any comments you have.

Happy New Year!

Illness

Here is a character of my flu.

Happy New Year

It is a new year and i returned to Moscow with a flu. So i stayed in bed for about 2 days. The weather outside has been snowy and rainy. the many inches of snow from Sunday to Monday have all but turned to slush and if it freezes, create a bumpy and slippery travel.

My drive back from McCall was an adventure in white knuckles and slow speeds. The roads were great up until Cottonwood. There they turned to snow covered and very icy. To maintain these roads in the winter must be very difficult due to the unforgiving winds continuously moving the snows horizontal. the following pics are from New Meadows (snowey) and north of Riggins.