Blastoff!

. . . for the last time.

Atlantis final launch.

7-8-11

Drill, baby, drill!

Last night I went to Home Depot with one of my roommates. Yeah, it was friday night at 10 p.m.. Don't judge. This time we weren't both wearing high heels so we didn't get anywhere near the same attention as last time.

So we were walking around, and we discovered a board covered with screws and a line of power drills waiting to be tested! Awesome. Just awesome.

Also, for any of the dudes out there looking for a handy girl: my roommate knows quite a thing or two about power drills. She was explaining about torque adjustment of hammer drills, which settings worked best for different drills, which brands were best. One drill that was making all this noise and flying off the screw--she switched some buttons and dials, and voila! perfection.

Where are the Donuts?

Yesterday morning I left Seattle with the commuters, but not to go to work (yippee!). I came to visit my sisters and their 9 (almost 10) kids. I showed up and was greeted with enthusiasm.

"Aunt Karen's here!"

"She is?!"

"Yay!"

"Where are the donuts?"

Uh?

So I looked into their shining expectant faces and said, "Oh, I stopped here first so I could find out which ones you wanted".

Correct answer.

"YAAAAAYYY!"

My Dad is Rad

Some things you should know about my dad:

• He has a gentle soul and loves people easily
• He is dorky on the coolest level but gets uber geeky about gadgets: cooking or computer
• His cheerful temperament and ready sense of humor has been a blessing in my life

Cool things I loved about my childhood with my dad:

• Pancakes on Saturday morning. He made them from wheat that he'd grind up for the occasion. I still remember being woken up on Saturdays from the insanely loud noise of the wheat grinder. That is the best sound to wake up to. I remember him pouring batter in the shape of a K sometimes too. That's a tricky letter to turn into a pancake. So delicious.
• The wheat grinder played an important role in my childhood memories with my dad apparently because when I think of the pancake breakfasts I also remember his homemade bread with a lot of fondness too. He used to make little fried scones with some of the bread dough. I remember my first Puyallup Fair scone as a severely disappointing experience because I was expecting my dad's scones.
• Being pushed REALLY high on swings.
• Advice he gave me when I was 12 about how to recover faster from a surgery so I could be released from the hospital. Something like: "You can decide if you want to stay here and feel sorry for yourself or stop moaning and go home. Bravery is a choice." I still remember it anytime I feel myself starting to freak out about blood and doctors. I try to think--how would my dad want me to handle this?
• Discussions about science and eternity. Deep stuff.
• Teaching me how to play checkers.
• Loving me even when I was 17 and knew way more than him. Thanks Dad.

Things I learned from my dad

• Perpetual motion is impossible.
• You can change your own oil, but it's easier to let someone else. Just be sure you change it!
• Being nice to people is a pretty awesome way to live your life.
• If you take care of your Teflon pan, it will take care of you. Never put it in the dishwasher. EVER.
• Loving your family is a full time job. It involves sacrifice, tenderness, consideration, compassion, and loyalty. But we're all so glad he is so good at it.

I don't understand how I got so lucky in the parent department but I am grateful that I did.

Happy Father's Day to the

best

dad

in

the

world!

Thank you so much Dad.

Freaks of Nature

I got attacked by a swarm of Aphids as I ran into a branch on the way to my car this morning. Attacked might be a bit of hyperbole, but whatever. I've always been fond of these bright green little bugs. I had to brush myself off before getting into my car though, because my affection does not nullify my repulsion at having 25 or so bugs riding with me to work.

I used to call them Algebra bugs because they always seemed attracted to the bright white paper of my Algebra text book as I did my homework on the lawn of my high school. I guess since I was fond of Algebra, I became fond of them.

But let me reassure you, they are truly strange little weirdoes. I don’t know what, if anything, you know about Aphid reproduction cycles, so welcome to science class.

Sometimes during the seasonal life cycle of Aphids they reproduce parthenogenetically; instead of laying eggs they give birth to a tiny little clone of themselves. This means that most of the time the population is entirely female.

Weird?! I know, right?

It totally gets better. Sometimes a little baby aphid clone will already be growing its own little aphid clone BEFORE IT’S BORN! Thus, the mother could be giving birth to both its daughter and granddaughter at the same time!

Hope you can keep your breakfast down while reading this.

You’re welcome.

If you, like me, have an opposite reaction to all this fascinating science you might consider reading the following:

Herding Aphids: How 'Farmer' Ants Keep Control Of Their Food
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212548.htm

The Aphid Life Cycle
http://www.backyardnature.net/aphid_lc.htm

Wikipedia article on Aphids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid

HOMEWORK: Write a 5 sentence paragraph describing why you love summer vacation and what you are planning to do. Extra credit if you include learning something cool about your favorite freaky animal.

Last day of school countdown: 9 school days!!