new fav

i've been really digging Real Simple's recipes lately. this hummus recipe was in the latest issue and looked too easy and good to be true, BUT ITS NOT! i don't have a food processor so i just used our blender and i did go to the international market to get tahini, even though it says it is optional. we chowed on this all week and i had my new favorite lunch EVERY DAY...

YUMM... pita and fresh veggies with homemade hummus, yes please! i struggle with things to eat for lunch, but i looked forward to this everyday and it is such an easy meal to fix up.

i have this dream of someday getting into the habit of soaking dried beans and keeping them in can-sized portions in the freezer - if i ever make it happen this recipe would be EVEN HEALTHIER!

dr. simmons goes to anaheim

i think i mentioned that Grant went to a conference a few weeks ago - he was a busy man at Experimental Biology in anaheim. he is on one committee that has sub committees and its one of the few times each year that all his old grad school peeps are in one place so he is a social butterfly! in addition to all that, he nominated his advisor for an award and Dr. Laughlin got it!

Because Grant was the nominator he was asked to do a short introduction for Dr. Laughlin before he gave a talk on mentorship at the award ceremony. Word on the street is that Grant blew it out of the water and even got a laugh out of the audience!

He hearts research...

SoDak

we left for Brookings Friday afternoon and headed back Sunday afternoon. it was such a great weekend for us to get away and leave all the stress at home. we had soooo much time to talk and reconnect in the car - it was AWESOME! and if you know me and my amazing ability to sleep in the car you will be shocked to learn i drove the whole time BOTH WAYS... that is 18 hours in the course of three days! i was proud, but it can mostly be attributed to the fact that i gave up my beloved lattes at the end of march, but drank one to help me along both ways on the trip!

Olive was the most stressful part of our trip - we stopped three times in the first hour to clean up bodily fluids and allow her a break from the nausea. after that she was fine though. she didn't love it, but she laid down and slept the rest of the way. she was out of control at Jon & Jess' too... it was frustrating because she is usually so well behaved. its just like having a kid - as soon as they are out of their element all bets are off. she wasn't naughty, but just overly excited leading her to lick everyone and jump which i CAN.NOT.STAND. she has a much more strict training schedule being implemented!

anyway! the party was so fun and cute - the decorations were so simple and perfect! i love it that way. it was really low key and great to just hang out and see our friends.

jude loved the tissue paper pom poms!

there was quite the spread of food... G couldnt resist. do you see how beautiful their kitchen is?? their house is so great!

our hosts - aka judes mama & daddy aka jon & jess

jude trying out the cupcake... he did a pretty good job taking his time and savoring it!

opening our present to him... love it!

gettin' all cleaned up for the night! the rest of our time there was spent eating good food and enjoying our time together. we did a lot of talking and also went for a nice walk outside. it was a perfect weekend get away! thanks guys!