Faking It

In celebration of Harry Potter and that I am currently passing my statistics class, I've been doing some holiday baking. I'm better at baking than cooking, but in my itty bitty kitchen with my crappy oven aka apartment living, it's difficult to bake. But I've done it. I love holiday baking more than any other kind and I refuse to let space or suck get in the way of it. So I made Italian Sprinkle Cookies. And because it's the season of giving, and I have nothing else to write about other than how much I LOVE the new Harry Potter movie, I'm going to share the recipe and encourage you to get on it! COOKIES: 6 eggs 5 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon almond extract 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon extract GLAZE: 1/2 cup warm milk 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar Jimmies (colored sprinkles) In a mixing bowl, beat eggs unt...

I had an authentic Mexican breakfast burrito this morning. And by authentic I don't mean El Paso authentic, because frankly any Mexican food that comes out of EP is going to be authentic. This was straight out of Juarez. One of the undergrads in my lab, who speaks English but prefers Spanish, Berenise, stayed the night with her father and brother in Juarez. And bought breakfast burritos on her way to campus this morning. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101110/ap_on_re_us/us_drug_war_mexico_americans_killed Read this article please. Ever since I first learned of the situation in Juarez, in 2006 when there wasn't a drug war and the random killings of whoever's in range, but rather the concentrated killings of women and girls, I've been passionate about the situation there. Now I live 2 minutes away I feel even more personally affected. It makes me sick that nothing is being done. An entire city that is going to be devoid of life soon enough right next door. It's desperat...

Claira Ann Barnes was born this week. On Thursday morning. She has a full head of hair and a huge dimple chin. I'm so happy for my friends; I'm glad she's here safely, that there were no complications, that the entire thing is over, and that God has blessed them with a beautiful healthy baby. And I can honestly say, she is the first baby I cannot wait to get my hands on. Also. People are starting to know who I am. Personally and professionally. It's quite nice. I'm different from everyone else here because I'm Jennifer's only grad student. Where people usually come in and work in a lab with returning students, I'm all by myself. I don't mind. But it's been harder to meet people and by harder I mean I really haven't. I talk to people in my classes and I've gone out with people whenever they go out which has been twice. Everyone's really nice, we're all just so busy. Jim, the professor I TA for now, talked to Jennifer and requested ...

Erin, my sister, was here for about 24 hours. Quickest planned trip ever. There was the time over labor day that she met me at the airport and then went back to Tucson, but that wasn't supposed to happen. We went to the El Paso Zoo, which may be the smallest zoo in existence. But we spent a few hours there so I guess it did what it was supposed to. Getting there was an experience--we drove off a part of the freeway I've never taken before. I don't go that direction because it's the way you get to Juarez. As we got closer to the zoo the Mexican flag kept getting bigger and bigger... ...but it wasn't in Juarez. We did, however, find the Coliseum where the Academy had stayed and Erin declared her undying hatred of El Paso. They were right by the border, in the Coliseum right after the circus had come through town so yeah...I get it. Now that I've been down there. Dodgy. We then went shopping, got sushi, found all the cute songs on her itunes and then went to bed. S...

I'm teaching on Wednesday. A whole class. By myself. It's my job to teach chapter 9 on Hearing and Auditory processes. Processes I know nothing about! I've never held anyone's attention for an hour and a half! I walked into Sensation and Perception this afternoon to help administer an exam and the instructor I work for says to me, "You're ok to teach this Wednesday instead of on Monday right?" Me, "I'm teaching?" Her, "Ok thanks! I'm sorry I got the dates wrong but I'm glad you'll do it on such short notice!" Me, "?" And the next thing I know I have a book chapter and supplement and 72 slides to make sense of. Enough to where if someone asks me what does that mean I have something intelligent and correct to tell them.

Part of my job is to work in the lab my advisor runs. At the moment we're doing a study on probationers on a mental health caseload. The thing about people on probation is that they tend to be slightly evasive. And by slightly, I mean, they lie to their PO's and give inaccurate information like their phone numbers or place of residence. Or they don't pay their bills and their phones get disconnected. So in order to find them to take part in our study every once in a while we go on home visits, or as I call them, drive-by's. I went on a drive-by on Thursday and me and my lab partner only picked out a handful of people to try and connect with and the hardest part was actually getting her to agree to drive to all these places. Because according to her, a location that is 20 minutes from UTEP is a "hella far drive." Seriously? "20 minutes is like half of El Paso!!!" "Oh-kay...1. We have to do it so there's really no point whining about it. And B...

My sister was here so my entire weekend was filled with relaxed fun like I haven't seen since the summer. Thursday, I picked her up at the airport and we just spent the night in watching t.v. and doing homework because we're both in school. We weren't even into a full hour of being together when Kelly was telling me about a friend of hers who's pregnant and I regaled her with tales of how it's just going to be a common occurrence now that she's out of high school. I was surprised at how long some of her friends have waited; people I know have kids that started school this year. But I knew a girl who got pregnant at prom prompting Kelly to say, "promdom" rather than "prom" giving us our joke for the weekend. Friday, I left her alone all day because I had school and a few meetings but afterwards we ate Mexican food! I haven't had any Mexican since I moved here somehow. There's Mexican food everywhere but I don't have the time/the mo...

Tests themselves don't make me nervous. What makes me nervous is during the time you're waiting for the test to start you hear people talking about things you've never heard of before. Yeah. Cue the music. My first midterm as a PhD student was today. Stats. Blah. Historically, statistics and I don't have the best relationship. It's quite tempestuous because frankly I hate stats, but I see the need for them, but I don't get it, but when I do it feels so good. Tempestuous. But I've been hearing horror stories about Ozzie, the ANOVA teacher, and how his tests are total ball busters and he goes way too fast for anyone to learn. And maybe because this is the fifth stats class I've taken and we may be reviewing things I've already "learned", but I like him. And the test was not nearly as horrific as I was expecting. Somehow I didn't experience any test anxiety which is new for me. It's so unusual that when I told my Mom she was quite shoc...

I got my haircut! First one since I moved here. Luckily, I have a really relaxed attitude about my hair; I believe that it will grow back. And as such, am not freaked out by cutting, or trimming, or whatever because it will eventually grow back. I use the word luckily though, because this haircut turned into an adventure. I'm considering this my first real El Paso encounter. In a city that is about 95% Hispanic, and almost everyone speaks Spanish, almost everyone also speaks English. Except Cecilia my stylist. She knew enough English to say, "Hold on, little English." and then grab someone who knows big English. So I explained what I wanted and basically just told them to stick with the haircut as is just shorter and I basically got that. Which I'm viewing as a small miracle because even though I said it, I have no idea what they're talking about in Spanish, and I can't talk to her during and she can't ask me questions...I was a little nervous. But after a...

I am enjoying a school free Friday night. It's lovely. For some reason I was on a real education high this afternoon; I get that way because I'm a nerd. But I had a great day! It's actually been a really great week in general. But there was really nothing more I could do tonight school wise, so I decided to put this energy into housework and baking. I cleaned my living room and kitchen area, vacuumed the carpet, cleared all the stuff that's been piling up around my couch, put together a care package for Baby Barnes, and made up a batch of Molasses Cookies. I'm currently waiting for them to harden up in the fridge before I bake them. A lot of new stuff was introduced to my schedule; I went to my first colloquium which sounds cooler than when I say I went to a meeting on how to handle academic dishonesty. I thought they were mandatory and I was one of 15 people that showed up in a department of at least 45 so yeah...but I'll go to all of them anyway. It's in m...

And wouldn't you know it, I forgot to take pictures of the food. Oh well. I thought they turned out pretty well and I had a good time at the party. I met some new people and it was just nice to not spend another Saturday by myself. Not that I mind, it was just nice. I ordered an Iron Scroll Bakers Rack from Pier 1 a few weeks ago and it finally got here! I was so excited because until now I've had a ton of stuff just sitting on my counter tops because there's no room for them in the cupboards. My Starbucks coffee cup collection, spare coffee cups from my permanent collection, my cook books, all manner of random items that I do not have space for in my clown car sized apartment. So needless to say, this purchase is special and I couldn't wait for it to get here. And it finally did! I went to pick it up from the store and it was too big to fit into my tiny clown car sized car. When I was in the store signing for it, prior to them wheeling it out from the back room, a coup...

I got that in the mail yesterday...NEVER! In other news Juarez had an absolute massacre yesterday. 25 people killed in one day! It is absolute insanity! One thing I'm glad of is that I haven't heard gunfire--I do live on the border of New Mexico, but I work 5 minutes from there. My Dad and I have agreed to take the phrase, "it's not like you've moved to a third world country" out of our repertoire because while that is true, I'm not entirely sure it is. El Paso is nowhere near as violent or dangerous but it is right next door. It's a trip. I got my key (somebody screwed up and while I have a key to my office I do not have a key to the building that my office is in??) and decided to buy a UTEP key chain for it and I'm a little embarrassed to say that that purchase made me feel like I belong to the school. I am pathetic! I've been using the copier for 2 weeks, calling people by their first names, I HAVE AN OFFICE, but it was the key chain ...

Phoenix feels like a favorite pair of jeans. The fit is great, they're so comfortable, they make my butt look great. I've never understood people who say they hate Arizona because I've always really loved it. The whole family came to pick me up at the airport. Apparently before I got there they witnessed blatant child abuse by a lady who was waiting with her children, and I started to sob. This is why I don't work with children because I would get so burned out and so jaded from seeing such horrible things. But the weekend continued, and I've had a great time. I had to sleep on a twin bed which I haven't done since elementary school aside from the times I go stay at the Campbell's cabin in Prescott. It was interesting to be sure. I kept waking up because I was teetering on the edge. And on Sunday I saw my friend get married. She absolutely glowed. I've been to a lot of weddings and all brides are beautiful on that day but she was radiant. Truly. I had a ...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Officially. Pumpkin Spice Latte's are back at Starbucks and only good things can follow. Including the Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Fragrance Oil that's burning in my diffuser as I type. It smells like Fall even if it doesn't feel like it. Things are starting to take shape. It is amazing to me how one thing can go so perfectly well and everything else is riding in on horse and buggy. For example, I bought a parking pass almost 2 weeks ago and it still hasn't come in the mail. First, I don't understand why they can't just let me pick up the parking pass at the office that is down the street from mine. Second, WHY ON EARTH IS IT TAKING SOOSOSOSOSOSOOO LONG TO GET HERE! I LIVE DOWN THE STREET! I have always known and now have absolute confirmation that I am in no way shape or form a townie. I am big city, hustle and bustle, carbon emissions, a Starbucks within a Starbucks kind of girl. So no one can tell me ever again "o...

I've been trying to cook forever. I learned to bake pretty early on, and while my presentation is occasionally lacking I can make some pretty tasty pastries. Cooking is a whole other beast. My Dad tried to teach me once and it was a disaster. The man doesn't use recipes, he just thinks it up as he goes which is fine if you know how to cook. I didn't. I still don't. But I've been practicing, mostly over the last year. I got cookbooks for Christmas and managed to pick every horrible recipe in them so needless to say I stopped trying to cook on a regular basis. But I was also 45 minutes away from my parents so I had plenty of leftovers and free meals whenever I needed them. Now I'm 6 hours away from them so I'm thinking frozen foods won't make it. I bought Taste of Home's Fall 2010 magazine yesterday which is primarily filled with recipes for baked goodies but at the back they had a plug for cream cheese and a recipe for veggies with a cream chive and o...

Classes at UTEP started this week and it was pretty interesting overall! I had filed all my paperwork last week but I figured I'd give them a little time to input it before I tried to register for my classes. But then I couldn't wait and tried to register Wednesday. Didn't work. Thursday. No go. Friday. Nada. So I figured I'd call on Saturday to get some help, but they were closed all weekend! THE WEEKEND BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!??! So first thing Monday morning I'm on the phone and long story shorter...got registered. But I had nothing to do Monday so I stayed in bed. Tuesday was day #1! Program aside, this school is B.S.!!! I wasn't able to buy a parking pass until I was registered for classes, and once I was registered still couldn't buy a parking pass who knows why not, so I parked in the visitor lot and walked. Had my first lab meeting, which I had to leave early from to make it to class, but I met all the undergrads who worked in the ...

El Paso Church #1: Strike 1 And so commences El Paso Church Hunt 2010. I've been trying to get out to church for the last 3 Sundays. The first Sunday I woke up and didn't want to go. I'd just finished moving and was exhausted so I went back to bed. My fault, I know. Last weekend, I got up, got ready, drove around for about an hour and crossed state lines again before giving up. The directions I had were technically correct, but I had to look at a map to realize I needed to take the I-10 frontage road. So I didn't go last week either. But I had done some more driving around El Paso and had drove myself over to the church so I would know where it was so I could actually go today. From the outside it looks kind of like a "super church" but I've been to those before and I like to keep an open mind about a new place. I never expect to find a church that has everything I like or believe exactly what I believe, especially since I have such radical ideas about cer...

And the past 2 weeks has faded away. This week I had the moment where I remembered why I am in El Paso. On Wednesday this week I had orientation at UTEP so I got to meet most of my cohort; there are 12 new PhD's and 4 Masters students. It was like a huge weight off my shoulders because up until then I had no reason to be in El Paso. Since I arrived here EVERYTHING has been so hard! My parents moved to a different country with 3 kids and a dog and they didn't have as difficult a time as I've had moving 2 states away. I thought, back in April when I made the decision to come to UTEP and move to El Paso, that all roads were leading me here. The decision was so easy! And then I get here and Texas knows I hate it and has been trying to shove me out. But orientation has put me back on track. Now a whole new set of fears. Mostly, orientation was filling out and filing paperwork. As a grad student I get a waiver on out of state tuition which is amazing and a huge reason I chose thi...

My sisters were just here for a few days and now they're gone and I can't remember what I did before... I picked them up from the airport on Monday and after Erin dropped their suitcase on her toe, drawing blood and creating a big ugly bruise, took them and their luggage back to my apartment. The girls managed to bring me some housewarming presents (I LOVE presents!!!) with them on the plane. 2 sets of gorgeous wine glasses and a really lovely canister to hold some kitchen utensils that my Mom got me from Pier 1. There's a lot less space in the kitchen I have here than there was in my old apartment so I'm trying to be creative with where to put everything and the canister is so fun and fits my style and now that I have wine glasses, and 2 bottles of wine, I might have to get something fun for those! After hanging out for a bit we drove down the street to get some lunch before going on our big El Paso Adventure. We drove down to the mall that's down the street from m...

It's done. Everything. I am officially living in Texas. I am also, for the first time in my life, entirely alone. Right now, it sucks. I hated saying goodbye to my parents. I've been on the couch watching my new t.v. since they left and I still have so much to "do." To update from my last post: I set my alarm on Friday night to wake up at 6:45 a.m. to eat breakfast with my parents early so we could be at the apartment by 8 a.m. The window the Home Depot gave us for the delivery of my washer and dryer was 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. so getting there a bit before 8 a.m. was the goal. For whatever reason, my so-called "smart phone" doesn't automatically switch the time when I take it into a new time zone and I had forgotten to do it. So while my alarm was set, it was set for 6:45 a.m. in Phoenix, which is 7:45 a.m. in El Paso. I didn't wake up in time. I was woken up by my parents but we were still running late. However... If we had been there before 8 a.m. like w...

Yesterday, after unnecessarily cleaning my apartment in Phoenix for the final walk-through and the 6 hour drive between Phoenix and El Paso, we arrived to some mild rainfall. It took us less time to unpack both cars and the moving truck than it had to pack them originally, but we also had a "Come to Jesus" moment when my parents brought my couch up the stairs. My mom's still working on healing her ankle from the car accident in December so it was intense. When we had gotten the keys and done the walk-through to record the state of the apartment one of the doors to the utility closet where the washer and dryer will go (tomorrow!!!) was barely hanging and one of the light bulbs in the living room ceiling fan had been broken off (??) in the socket so before we left I went down to the office and asked for a work order. That was on July 17th. Last night when we got in nothing had been done. When I went down to request the status this morning there was no record of a work order...