delicious summertime

Well hello, little neglected blog!

It's been wonderful to be back in Illinois.

[despite the oppressive humidity]

I have so many memories of summers in this small town.

A few things I have been up to...

fun in the strawberry patch

shishkebabs!

mojitos in matching glasses

sistahs

Debussy

peonies

girl on the go

{photos from my last sunny Baltimore weekend.}

Oh, my goodness. I have no idea where the past week went!! So much for the days when the end of the semester meant instant freedom and carefree summer.  In grad school, it just means that you are done with the distractions of classes and can actually focus on your own work.  I have been busy busy busy tying up loose ends and prepping for the summer.  Aaaah!

Today was a big day because I finally defended my thesis proposal (aka my baby of this semester), and it was approved! Which is a very good thing, because it means I can officially go out and do my field work, and am not screwed. yet.  I am so glad I have the defense over with; basically the first official loophole you have to jump through in the quest for a masters degree. I have no idea how those crazy PhD people do the even more intense version. 

So anyway...I have one more day in the lab before the craziness that is going to be my summer officially begins!

I have said goodbye to the boy for the summer (waaa) and am ready to launch off and do this thing.

Crazy itinerary:

-Tomorrow= last day in the lab, clean, pack (uck), pick up obligatory PA gift of Yuengling, burn CDs for 12 hour drive

-Thursday= hit the road and drive home to the beloved cornfields, humidity, and devastating summer storms of IL yay!

-While at home....stock up on camping gear and finish organizing 100+ pages of field data sheets :/

-Memorial weekend= drive to the Quad Cities to help college roomie/best friend Christine move, catch up on life, and stomp on ye olde revered collegiate grounds !

-June 8= the day the camping urge I've had for the past 2 years is quenched for probably quite some time.

Fly to the west shore of Tahoe and spend the rest of the summer camping, playing in the Sierra Nevada, and oh yes, doing field work 50 hrs/week.  Which basically entails lots of wandering around and tree measuring.

I am so excited to go home and relax. I haven't seen my family since Christmas and I kind of miss them despite our common dysfunctionalities ;). I also can't wait to reunite with the high school and college friends. I honestly think I have more friends from high school (that I keep up with) than I do from college; I come from a small town and had a very close group! 

I am also excited to see California for the first time, do mindless outdoor labor (my brain has not shut off for the past 5 straight months and it is beyond the burn out point) and of course get tan!

Most of all, I am excited to have fun+work hard but also get the summer over with so I can be back with Ben, hopefully in the same town for the first time in 2 years !!!

Life is kind of spinning right now, but in a good way.

late spring disorientation

I ran away to Baltimore this weekend to try and decompress after the post-finals fallout!

I can't believe I didn't take a single picture all weekend.

But rest assured that that the trip was chock full of the typical sunshine, fun daytrips, ice cream, fancy cocktails, and kill-me run.

We went to DC for Ben's sister's new apartment housewarming party.

But first we had to make a stop at the National Zoo, after a relationship-testing navigational mishap in a hot traffic jam.

Can I just say that I have been living in a bubble all year? I know it has its own issues, but at least compared to B-more and the party town in the middle of nowhere, DC is soooooo nice. And his sister's apartment is adorable. 

But the street layout in that town is beyond confusing. 

Like usual, the weekend went way too fast and I'm not sure that I am completely relaxed and back to normal after the craziness of this semester.  Probably because I'm not actually finished; I am finishing up my thesis proposal [tonight!!] and am working full time in the lab all week for my research assistantship. Plus getting ready to leave for California where I'm spending the summer to do my field research.

It's weird to be on campus without all the hustle and bustle of the 40000 undergrads.

All the spring flowers have faded and the trees are in full glorious green, but it doesn't seem like summer yet.

Maybe because it's only 60 degrees out.  brrr.

p.s. I will definitely try marshmallow fluff in the fruit dip next time. And probably almond extract, although I hoard that little bottle like it is liquid gold ;)