and in large

This hibiscus bush is one that I bought for $25 at Home Depot this Spring and have housed on my deck. It gets an incredible amount of sun, and is ideal for such a tropical plant.

And here is a slightly different angle that shows off the flower a bit differently.

and in large (highly recommended that you click that link)

And finally, the one that may be my favorite, just because it gives you an unexpected view of the flower and it highlights other aspects of its beauty.

Hope you enjoy the flower and have a good weekend!

I'll be at a wedding next Friday and may not be able to post. We'll have to see what the internet connection is like at the hotel.

Posted by danielle at 10:13 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

How did you do last week?

Posted by danielle at 10:29 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

So, I don't have any photos of flowers of of fuzzy friends for Friday today. On the weekends when I could be taking photos of flowers, I've just been too hot. Taking photos always makes me hotter and I just haven't felt like doing it.

I mainly wanted to leave a note, so that all of you don't worry that I'm having a migraine. I've actually been doing pretty well with them lately, which is a real plus.

I haven't really typed much out lately about how I'm doing, so I thought I'd take a moment to share a few things along those lines too.

One is that I'm facing these experiments at work that I've been trying to optimize for the past month. For the first time, last week I got data that looked like the protocol is working and I'd finally gotten the kinks worked out. Then I did it again, got the results this week and bam! it looks weird again. I'm hoping it is a bit of a fluke, but it is frustrating to wonder if having the time that it worked was the fluke instead.

Ah scientific research. It is like banging your head against the wall interspersed with moments of exhilaration.

Another thing is that I gave a presentation at lab meeting this week. I was very nervous going into it, because the only time I've presented for my current boss was when I interviewed. And it is quite a different matter when you present work that they are very familiar with vs. data that they've never seen before. It is easier for them to spot any glaring mistakes when they know the data. But it all went well and when I asked him the day after if there were things I should change, he indicated that it was very clear and understandable.

It was also good to have him thinking about my project for a while. He is very good at looking toward the future and dreaming up experiments that might be useful for a publication. Now, I just have to get those dang experiments to work. *sigh*

For now, that is all I really want to say. Some family is coming to visit soon. I've got a trip planned to see some friends from undergraduate college. And there is some stuff going on with my choir/church. But I'll save all of that for another time.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Hugs to you,
Danielle

Posted by danielle at 10:10 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Well, I hope that your last week was better than it was for me.

How did you do?

Posted by danielle at 09:35 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Doesn't this make you want to just reach out and touch that big white belly?

But as you may know, the white parts are off limits. That is one big venus fly-trap belly you are looking at.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Posted by danielle at 02:58 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Here we are again, another Monday. How did you do last week?

Posted by danielle at 09:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

When we were in Texas, I was disappointed that the bluebonnets weren't in bloom, because I've heard how beautiful they make the roadsides and the fields at Wildseed Farms. I've also seen photos that are just spectacular and I was hoping to experience that beauty in person.

Luckily, there were a row or two that were just beginning to bloom when we were visiting. By the way, I was leaning over a rope to get these shots, so unfortunately they aren't super close-up like I'd wanted.

And then there were a few that weren't exactly blue. I wonder if they are still called bluebonnets?

I'd almost forgotten that I had these photos. But I was getting kind of desperate for a Friday photo.

Also, I keep getting random requests for photos of the Girlie on Friday. I hope to share something with you next week. I'll keep my eye out this weekend for a good shot of her. She can be tricky to photograph.

In the meantime, have a good weekend. :-)

Posted by danielle at 09:40 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Here we are again, another Monday. How did you do last week?

Posted by danielle at 09:40 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

As you can guess from the title, I weighed myself this morning.

Guess what?

I've lost 20 pounds since I started my attempt at weight loss by changing my eating habits! That is 20 lbs over 5 months.

The only thing I've done differently is change what I eat for lunch and occasionally remember to eat less at supper (I'm eating less cheese for one thing). So, what have I done to my lunch? Well, I'm eating either Smart Ones or Lean Cuisines with a Stonyfield Farm lowfat yogurt each day. It might sound boring, but there are enough different types of meals that so far, I haven't gotten tired of it. The main thing I have to watch out for is that I go to the grocery and buy 3 weeks worth of meals all at once - yep 15 boxes of food and 15 yogurts - and if I'm in the mood for a certain kind of food at that moment, I tend to buy all of that by accident. For example, the time before last, I was in the mood for creamy, saucy foods. So every dish was creamy/saucy and I didn't have any Mexican or Italian dishes. Then this time, because I'd had such a dearth of Mexican and Italian dishes, that is practically all I bought.

The other thing is that as I wheel around the grocery and go to check out, I sometimes feel a wee bit embarrassed that I have a whole bunch of 2 types of food in my cart. But that feeling passes soon enough and then I'm glad that I don't have to go back again for another 3 weeks. And then, of course, I have to fit all of that in our freezer. It is a bit tight, but (just barely) works.

So, that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about my food habits. But after 20 lbs, I figured it was worth mentioning in case anyone else wants to try it.

Oh, and at the beginning when I was trying to get used to eating less, I'd have a banana too or a random piece of fruit. Eventually, my stomach adjusted and I just got used to the smaller meal.

I'm excited. I'm down to a weight that I haven't been since I was in college which was over 10 years ago. I'm about ready to try to buy another jean size smaller too. I haven't quite psyched myself to go jeans shopping and potentially be disappointed that I haven't actually gone down in size yet. Plus, it is a difficult time of year to buy jeans, since everything is shorts and capri pants right now.

I'm also thinking that I'll fit into one of my favorite dresses again. The infamous red dress, for Texas Seestor and my parents. It really doesn't go out of style, I think.

In fact, with tomorrow being Pentacost, I might try to see if I can wear it for church tomorrow. Although with wearing a choir robe, it isn't really noticeable. But at least, I'll know that I'm wearing red.

:-D

Watch out! I'm on a roll!

Posted by danielle at 11:05 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

As promised, pics of my new iPod Nano.

Look how little it is inside the packaging box!

Yes, I just had to get that turquoisey blue color. :-)

And it is so slim!

I'm really quite fond of it.

Maybe in the future I'll get a pic or two of it in my new armband. Yes, that is right, HB bought me a Nike armband to hold my nano. And by the way, doesn't nano remind you of the old children's teasing thing that you did with your tongue? neeener neeener neeener

Enjoy your weekend. I'm hoping for good weather to go on a biking trip with HB that got postponed due to inclement weather last weekend.

*UPDATED to add pics of the armband*

Note: This is the start of the playlist of the songs that I downloaded on Sunday. I'm using it for my walks.
Can you read the titles of the songs?

Hint: you need to look on Flickr at the larger sizes

;-)

I'll post the list later if no one gets it.

Posted by danielle at 09:41 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack