Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Adventures in Chemistry Class

Chemistry this semester.

I have to admit, though I like the sciences, Chemistry is just not one that is super fun. Biology, mmmm, fun. Chemistry....blah not fun.

Then again, it can be interesting. As in far, far, far from mundane. Dangerous, you might even say. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I've been living out there on the edge.

First, my luck with lab partners has been atrocious. My first partner was actually the cousin of someone in my high school class. So we actually had stuff to talk about, and she'd already taken Chem 101 (unlike certain other people who decide to jump right in to Chem 111 as their first college chem course...ahem) so she knew how to do experiment setup and all that jazz.

However, bummer of bummers, she dropped the class. So, since there was one group of 3 in the class, I stole the odd man out and had a great lab. Great lab partner. Unfortunately, the next week, he went to help judge a gradeschool science fair, and I was once again alone for lab.

So another student whose lab partner dropped asked if we could be lab partners until my stolen lab partner came back. I said yes, and we proceeded to make soap. Which was pretty cool, it did all sorts of neat bubbling and foaming. You know when you boil macaroni in just a smidge too little water at just a smidge too high heat, and it foams over? That's what hot boiling lye and lard do. Very cool, right up until the time your lab partner decides to blow on it to make the foam go down. The problem with blowing on hot boiling lye and lard foam is that if your lab partner (me) is stirring the concoction at the time, the foam tends to fly into the air. Since the hand that is stirring is also in the air above the container, hot boiling lye and lard gets stuck on said hand. Owch.

Not to worry, though. The cold water was right there, and no blisters, sores, or other nasty chemical reactions took place. "Whew!"

You would think that would have used up the bad luck for the day, but NO. My poor lab partner took off her goggles to wash the equipment we were using and splashed soapy lye-lard residue in her eyes. She had to stand in the eyewash for 5 minutes. The eyewash does not just get your eyes. They should call it an eye shower. The poor girl was soaked.

The next week, *I* made sure to go to the gradeschool science fair.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Family Tree

I downloaded a neat program, called Legacy 5.0 and I started an online family tree! This software, when used with the Worldconnect database on http://www.rootsweb.com, it's a neat way to show and gather information!

I've had this interest for a while now, but finally decided to really do something with it. So I've been looking information up on the above website, plus the LDS database at http://www.ancestorhunt.com/mormon_church_records.htm

If you know any dates, such as birth, death, or marriage, or can fill in any blanks such as middle names or surnames, I'd love an email with the info!

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

What Nolan Can Do

Since my big boy is almost a year, I thought I'd get busy and actually type about him a little. Oh, and if you want to skip to the really important stuff, scroll down to the next entry, and you can see his 1 year old picture.

When you are almost one, you are very durable. Bouncing off of objects doesn't seem to phase you much, and at this point, I've become convinced that diapers are there specifically as a cushion for when you plop down on your rear every 3 seconds or so.

Nolan has also learned the art of the "sympathy cry" You know...the owwie doesn't hurt unless you have an audience thing? He'll fall over and whack his head on something, and unless it's a BIG whack, he usually doesn't really complain much...until he notices that I noticed his little accident. Then the little bottom lip pokes out and he starts this sad little ooooo-oooooooo cry. It's really very pathetic. And he knows it.

Nolan knows "NO". Just this morning, I asked him "Nolan, what does NO mean?" and he said, "Why Mommie, NO means to see just exactly how much you'll let me get away with. Test the waters. Push the envelope. Ride the cutting edge. Push the button."

Especially the "push the button" part. He can operate the receiver we have for the entertainment center. Pushing the button makes all sorts of neat sound effects. Saying NO means "Push the button as many times as you can before the parental unit carries you off or has a stroke, whichever comes first. More points if you can make one parent have a stroke while the other grabs you."

Nolan can walk, to a degree. He does pretty good, but then gets tired of it. Because he can crawl so much faster, you know.

1 year old

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