Girl Scout cookie time!!

I love this time of year...Girl Scout cookies!! My most favorite, Carmel deLights (which when I was a Girl Scout, were called Somoas) and the ever popular Thin Mint.

I was a Girl Scout for 6 years in the Keystone Tall Trees Girl Scout Council in Butler, PA. Although I had a late start in the girl scouting scene, I enjoyed it very much. I skipped Brownies and Juniors and went straight to being a Cadet. Since I've moved out to Nevada I haven't known an girls personally that were scouts to buy cookies off of. A professor down the hall at UNR had a daughter that sold them, but I never met her. This year Chris and Lisa's daughter, Emily, (all friends from Reno I met at church) is a Brownie. I hope she doesn't mind, but I can't help but post the picture of her I was sent. So cute!

Some quick Girl Scout history: Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts' membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia, to 3.6 million members throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and in more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas.

Well fix'in

Since I'm now the ground-water specialist for the Nevada NAWQA unit, I am responsible not only for sampling our monitoring well network, but also for the maintenance of the wells. Recently a snowplow hit on of my wells in south Reno and cracked the cement collar around the well. This week Nyle, a well-seasoned NAWQA field guy, and I went to fix the well.

This is what it looked like when we got there, but...

...the top was really broken off. So Nyle jack-hammered the rest of the 2-ft deep collar out, while I scooped. The metal thing is the hammer off the jack-hammer we used.


And then we mixed up 3 bags of cement and cemented in a new collar. Aren't you proud of me laying cement, Dad?!?

Running at the dog park

I re-met a girl at the bar Friday night that suggested a dog park down by the Carson River as a good place to train for my 5K race (which is now in 27 days). At the gym I have been hitting a running wall at about 1.5 miles on the treadmill. Sorry, I know I'm mixing units...a scientific writing no-no, but a 5K is 3.1 miles. So, she graciously offered to take me down there Saturday morning and run with me. I don't usually gab with someone while running, mostly because I'm so out of breath, but it was fun and we ran 2.2 miles! Just some trails through the sagebrush that goes down by the river. We even saw 5-6 wild horses! I've gone back twice now and it's harder every time....today I'm going to try for 2.6 miles. Wish me luck!

A Google-Earth image of the park. There's a north loop and a south loop, but I've been running the south loop (1.0 miles) and then an extended north loop that goes along the river and the hooks back up with the south loop (1.2 miles). Today I will try the entire outer loop (1.6 miles) and then the south loop (1 mile).

Using the KitchenAid

I LOVE my new KitchenAid mixer. This weekend I made cookies and tried my hand at making bread from scratch. The bread hook attachment is a brilliant invention!! I saw a recipe similar to Grandma Green's cinnamon rolls she would make at Easter time...gonna have to try that. Does anyone have Grandma's original recipe? I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to have it!!

Used the new KitchenAid, the new baking sheet and the new wire cooling racks! Oh, and Aunt Elaine, I did return Ella's baking sheets and got a really nice set of bath towels. Thanks so much!

Ghosts of Bodie

The UNR hydro program held a contest for a new logo to use for t-shirts, posters, and things of the like. I'd like to say I won in a fierce battle, but I was the only one who submitted an entry...4 very good entries though. Long story short, we were able to use whomever's help we wanted, so I talked to my best friend from high school, Mandee, who is now a graphic designer. In an unbelievably short amount of time, Mandee whipped out 4 versions of what I said I'd like to see and the hydro program director, Steve, picked his favorite.

Steve said the winner would receive a prize...and I got to choose it! Besides being a professor, the program director, and a consultant, Steve is also a photographer. I had seen one of his prints auctioned off at an event last year and Justin and I bid on it until we emptied our pocket-books and still got out-bid. So I told Steve I wanted a print of that photo. Last week I finally got to pick it up and hang it in my office. It's sweet. He must have used some weird lens on it to get the blurred effect.

This is in Bodie, NV. It's an old mining ghost town. The shot is looking into the broken glass of an old building, but seeing the reflection of the other buildings in the broken glass. :o)

Big Washoe Lake

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Justin, Willy and I took a short drive out to Washoe Valley on Monday. Washoe Valley is the neighboring valley to the north of Carson City. Justin actually lived out there for a short time. We drove around looking at the going rate of houses and then took a small hike down to Big Washoe Lake. Little Washoe Lake is just north of Big Washoe Lake. It's been so cold here that the shallow lake had frozen over and then it go really windy (Washoe Valley is known for that) and broke up all the ice and shoved it up on the eastern shoreline. I've never seen anything like it!

L: Eastern shore looking northwest at the back side of Slide Mountain (Mt. Rose Ski resort is on the other side of that mountain R: Looking south toward Carson City (just on the other side of the hills there)

Justin

Close-up

Grass on the sand dunes on eastern side of Big Washoe Lake

Belt buckle, Huntington-style

I forgot to post pictures of the handmade belt buckle that Justin gave me for Christmas. For those that don't know, Justin's family has owned and operated a family jewelry store in Las Vegas since 1950. Both his Grandfather and Dad are extremely talented hand-engravers. Last year I got a hand-engraved necklace...this year an awesome belt buckle. Justin has one just like it, although his name is one it and there are rubys around it (he puts your birthstone around the edges). It's made of sterling silver and was melted and cast into the shape all at the store. Pretty sweet!

Bad picture, but it says Love Justin, Christmas 2006

Justin's fern ties for 1st!

We had a photo contest here at work that I organized. 4 categories: water-related, non-water-related, people and catch-all. The first 3 categories had to be taken while on official work status, the catch-all could be taken anywhere, for example on vacation. There were lots of entries and a good turn out for the number of people that voted. In the end, the picture Justin took of the fern at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park tied for first place in the catch-all category. Both pictures are shown below.

Justin's fern

Bear in Marlette Lake

2nd Snowboarding attempt

Now I'm posting more up-to-date stuff. Last weekend Justin and I went snowboarding 2 days in a row (would not recommend for a beginner like me) in between doing his field sampling. Saturday I made quite a bit of progress, Sunday I did not. But here's a few pictures Justin took on Saturday. Oh, it was also Elvis day...so that made it fun too.

L: On the lift R: Being silly, but check out the view of Reno behind me as the hill seems a bit too steep to me!

In action, but looks like I lean back uphill too much!

High school friends, bar tabs & sickness

I know where you think this blog entry is going, but you're wrong! Quite innocent, really. Just a few random things to report on today.

First, my best friend from high school, Mandee. I got to see her briefly on December 30th...the date will be important later. Which leads me to my next topic...bar tabs. So while visiting with Mandee and her boyfriend, Denny, at the bar inside the Days Inn (it begins with an F and I can't think of the bar's name) I had a tab with the bartender. Who, by the way, ended up knowing Rob from a few coincident years in boy scouts. Anyway, Mandee and I both chatted with the bartender, who goes by the name Guppy, and then paid our tabs and left. I used my debt card and as of January 10th it has not hit my bank statement. If if hasn't hit by now (11 days later) is it really going to? Did Guppy give us a break on the tab? But he ran my card. What do you think?

And finally sickness...just a pic that Justin snapped of me while I was sick on New Year's Day...stomach flu, if you recall.

One year anniversary

Today marks my one year anniversary of being a full-time working American citizen. My taxes should be easier this year, as I paid no student tuition...except for those pesky monthly student loans I'm paying back. (And the fact that Nevada has no state tax. Gotta love all those people that come to gamble away their money and pay my state tax for me!) Anyway...here's to another year of being employed and to hopefully a pay raise!

Christmas Catch-up3

Ok, almost done with Christmas. Green's Christmas was at our house and here are a few photos of the party.

Left: Aunt Elaine, Aunt Mary and Aunt Donna; Right: Me and my Goddaughter, Ella

Left: Luke likes to do flips with Aunt Donna; Right: Uncle Randy, Matt, John and Jake

Aunt Patty reads to Luke and Sadie

Most of the Green Family

And the night was finished with some long overdue poker :o)

Christmas catch-up2

Did you ever realize how hard it is to go through a drive-thru when all your car windows are frozen closed? This mornings problem at Starbucks...

Christmas morning! Luke was so fun to watch opening gifts. He wanted to play with each one of them before going onto the next one.

Left: Santa came! Right: Luke rips into the presents, notice the sticky buns on the table!

Left: Dad & Rob got Russian hats; Right: I got the softest, fluffiest bathrobe ever!

Top: Mom & Dad get a new computer! Bottom: I got a KitchenAid mixer!!

Christmas catch-up1

Seeing as I was quite sick as I was traveling back across the country to Nevada, I apologize for not being more prompt on my Christmas blogging. I am back to pretty much good health now, although I don't think I should have hit the gym as hard as I did last night. For some reason I never learn that if you take a week and a half off from the gym, you can't just pick back up at the same pace you were at before the break. Anyway, on, I mean, back to Christmas. First, the Cypher's on Christmas Eve hosted by Uncle Jeff and Aunt Becky.


Left: Luke and Pappy, Right: Matt, Aunt Terri, Lacey & Aunt Janet


Left: Me and Aunt Terri, Right: Lacretia and Aunt Pam


Left: Uncle Jack with daughter (a bride-to-be) Brianne, Right: Mom & Dad

Pappy and I