Ring n things

I've been playing with all sorts of new ring styles. Pretty soon I'll be stacked up in rings on all of my fingers! Here is a stack of super skinny rustic rings I stamped with each of the kid's first and middle names. Most excitingly, I've been trying to set stones in bezels! I've mostly succeeded with a garnet and moonstone, each soldered to a skinny band, and stacked with a 3mm Hebrew stamped ring and a twist ring on top. I've got a few more styles to come, but I'll leave you with the cutest little ring I made for Ronnie. I also made one for Lila, who almost immediately lost it, so hers will wait. But Ronnie looks so mature with this little silver band!

The Zoo

The zoo is always a good excuse to spend some time in nature on a beautiful day. While the kids were watching the animals, I was mostly watching the kids. Noe was having the best time ever. Her favorite animals were the giraffes. Lila was being particularly agreeable and photogenic, but Ben's "misery gene" was acting up. Ronnie was happily off an playing with her bff. Fun times!

Piled Higher and Deeper

If you saw my "Les Miserables" post (2 posts down), you may have noticed a comic from PhD Comics (i.e. Piled Higher and Deeper). PhD comics pokes fun at grad school, and he really nailed it (think: Big Bang Theory). Yesterday, Edwin came home with a little surprise for me. The writer, Jorge Cham, spoke at UCSF, and Edwin picked up a signed copy of his book! How cool is this? Now that's a sweet anniversary gift (although I was VERY happy with my surprise Bowflex SelectTech weights too!). See what 13 years will get you!

Worker's hands

Noe helped me with a little project this weekend. My local Urban Outfitters was selling a mannequin for just $25. I picked it up for a friend who also makes jewelry, only to find a giant stain under the neck (where the price was conveniently pinned on). I set it aside for a garage sale until this weekend. In a crafty moment, I purchased some white and black fabric paint. Noe went to it. Lila and Ben helped, too, and we painted the body white. Then, I used some rubber stamps and black fabric paint to put my name across the top. So glad we could salvage that purchase! And isn't that a beautiful purple druzy gold necklace?

See the movie!

My current obsession is the MOVIE Les Miserables. As dignified adults, we are not supposed to like movies better than books or theater, but this time, it was way WAY better! (studiobriefing.net)

I've see the stage production a few times, from the cheapest farthest seats. At best, I could see people moving about the stage, but I couldn't see faces and couldn't really follow the characters very well. By "Drink with me" the stage was usually a blur. But this time, in the larger than life movie, everything was clear. Same music, same story, but better. It was flawless. In fact... I saw it TWICE over the holidays. And it was even better the second time. Gavroche... amazing! Eponine... perfect! Wow, all the detail I was missing. So seriously, go see it! I just might see it a third time. While I certainly wouldn't recommend the movie for kids, I have been playing the music non-stop at home (and doing my best to explain the story without scarring them). Ronnie and Lila have been singing "Castle on a cloud" and even Ben can't resist a little Jean Valjean.

After going on to Edwin about my current trials and tribulations in the lab, Edwin sent me this comic from PHDCOMICS. Edwin always finds just the right interweb tidbit to cheer me up.

Excuse this post in which I stole all my pictures from the internet, EXCEPT the meme, which I made on quickmeme. Are memes the funniest thing or what? My personal favorite:

Chilly weather treat

Believe it or not, it is actually chilly in Houston. All the way down to 50 degrees (F)! Grandpa built a fire in the driveway, perfect for roasting marshmallows. Marshmallows always come out best when they catch on fire for a bit, don't you think? Ben sure thought so...