More deer and a llama...

With the use of our digital camera and some binoculars, Ken took some magnified photographs of some deer from our back porch. The deer were located on a bluff that is just north of our backyard. The llama was spotting in the lower part of our subdivision wandering the empty lots - yeah, it was a little weird. Our neighbor said he would notify one of the local farmers to let him know a llama was loose - hahahaha.

Behind in Blogging

I've been MIA for two months! Life goes by fast and Ken and I have been busy. Here is an update into our lives...

Deer Scare

On the way to the club a deer almost came to it's demise by way of our bummer. Once the headlights lit up the doe, I screamed, Ken swerved, and there was this loud noise. We stopped and Ken got out to investigate; there was no dead deer, no blood, just a smudge mark along the side of the truck where the salt had been rubbed off. This is the first time we've seen a deer in this area (leaving our house, on Redwood Road, between the Maverik and Bangerter Hwy).

Area 51 - Naughty or Nice

We had so much fun the last time we went to Area 51, we decided to give it another go. This time the night's theme was "Naughty or Nice." Being shortly after Christmas, there were a handful of people dresses in Santa or Elf costumes; however, we went for a goth, black ensemble.

Christmas at HealthSouth

On Christmas day, we packed the MINI with gifts, Grandma Nelson hopped in, and we brought Christmas to Ken's Mom, Chris, who was recovering from knee replacement surgery at HealthSouth. A three way call was made and Ken's Dad, who is in Virginia, and Ken's Sister, Brother-in-law, and nephew, who are in Alaska, were present. As we opened up presents, we decorated Chris' leg with bows. The craziest part was when Ken's Dad was opening his present from Chris; we asked, "What is it?" and he replied, "It's a guitar." "No tell us what you really got." said Ken. Dennis replied that it was packaged well and that he was still opening it. We again asked, "What is it?" and he replied, "It's a guitar." There were strumming noises coming from the phone... the actual gift was suppose to be a framed picture of Mount McKinley. Having insured the package, we hope everything will get straightened out.

Ken's new hat says, "Alaska GROWN."

End of Semester Party

The End of Semester Party at the UofU thrown by our friend, Thad, was great. The night was filled with: eating great food, observing Jupiter and it's moons magnified 200x through the telescope on the roof of the South Physics building, listening to Thad's moon rock story, and watching music play on a Rubens' Tube.

Christmas Tree

This is the first year our Christmas tree has been decorated with ornaments! We purchased it last year at an after Christmas sale, put it up to see if the lights worked, and then took it down. Mom and Dad came over and gave us a hand with the decorating - thanks Ma and Pa.

Area 51 - Uniforms

We haven't been to Area 51 for YEARS; so when a friend suggested going, we jumped on the bandwagon. The night's theme was "Uniforms". Check out the photographs...

Blue Fish

I normally don't publish restaurant reviews on my blog; however, this food deserves it. [I consider myself as much of a foodie as I am a breathie and a sleepie and if you are consuming oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide you too fit into these three categories.] Blue Fish, Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar, located at The District, has amazing tasting sushi and wonderful service.

The middle roll is their Sunkist Roll (spicy tuna and cucumber topped w/ salmon, avocado, thin lemon slices, and sunkist sauce).

The sushi chef made us this cool, edible, orange bunny.

Gobble Gobble BOOM!

Ken and his buddies did some clay pigeon shooting on Turkey Day. I'm not much of a shotgun gal, but I don't mind shooting a .22 every once in a while. From what I recall, the last time I did skeet shooting, my Pa felt so bad that I couldn't hit a flying target that he lined up some of the clays along a fence for me (how sad). Flying objects may get my mercy, but this is not so for any furry running friends.

Turkey = food coma.

BTEC - North Carolina

In November, I headed to North Carolina for the QC/Analytical course at the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) at NC State University. This course focused on analytical methods used to detect, quantitate, and characterize therapeutic biomacromolecules.

My pipetting skills were good enough for me to earn a gold metal (i.e., I had a low coefficient of variation (CV) on five replicates that were weighed against a defined volume). I only have one more course in February 2010; it will be nice to see old co-workers again.

First time eating oysters.

Aerial shots from the plane.

Sunset on the way home - taken from the truck on the I-15.