Weekend projects and New Jobs

I can't believe its taken me this long to update this blog! My how the times flies. I hear it gets worse as we get older. sigh. Life has really picked up speed in the last few weeks and I guess that's sort of indicative of this time of year. The start of the school year signals the end of summer for more than just students it seems.

I started a new job about a week and half ago at University of Texas Health Science Center. I actually work two floors below Byron (well...when he's in that office...which is never). Its great because on a rare special occassion...I get to grab lunch or a cup of coffee with him.

I'm working the neurophysiology group with a new faculty member there. I'm actually the first hire - which has its ups and downs. For one, I get to set up cool equipment and sort of help design everything. But then again- its frustrating sometimes to have to put EVERYTHING together and trouble shoot all day.

I work with these big fancy microscopes as seen below:




I have no idea what I'm doing and have broken about 1/3 of the important parts so far. But- my boss says that's normal. Its VERY frustrating trying to learn all the controls- but- I'm getting better at it already. We are studying the synaptic communication between cells in the brain. Ask me one day in person as to how we get these special cells. Its a whole new aspect of my job that I can assure you...is not very plesant.

But... so far...I'm enjoying my job. I have a great boss who doesn't get too upset when I break expensive equipment, and the work is interesting and challenging. I'm learning a whole new set of valuable skills. I do however miss Wake and the familiarity around there. Its hard coming to a new place and feeling lost the majority of the time. Not to mention the complicated administration there. There are so many forms to get a lock changed its ridiculous. Job creation I guess. But..I made cookies for the man who seems to know who and where everything is and he likes me now. He's been there 30 years and knows his way around the system. Maybe I'll make some for the parking people. I've gotten tickets for the most ridiculous offenses!

And now for weekend projects:


I made a new friend here; her name is Ally and she is awesome. She has this natural knack for interior design and came over to help me rearrange my house. She suggested putting a larger piece of furniture in the corner to help offset the other stuff in our living room. So...I started hunting and found this nice, heavy duty rod iron frame at a local flea market/furniture store. I got a great deal on it but mainly because it was missing the shelves. Bear with the pictures...I must have drank too much caffeine when taking these pics.

Before:


You see...I've figured out a way to get Byron to buy into the idea of buying more furniture is to find a way that he can 'fix it'. In other words...if he can use his new tools on whatever it is...I will have a MUCH better chance of getting the furniture I want.

So- we went to Lowes, used the last of our gift cards and bought some wood, stains, and sealers. Byron cut the boards to the perfect length using his new saws etc. We stained them over the weekend and....

After:






PLUS... I've freed up some extra cabinet space in the kitchen so everything isn't so crammed in there! I now have this totally original, beautiful shelf! Thanks Byron!

This weekend is a family retreat with the church we've been attending. A bunch of young marriends are going so we are looking forward to making new friends! Byron has to study - but I hope he can sneak away for a few hours on Saturday to participate in the fun. The outline reminds of a small taste of church camp- which is always a good thing.

Ranch work Day

So last week was my first experience in Cattle Ranchin'! Granddad B and Grandma were gracious enough to endure my ignorance on the subject and invite me up to see for myself. I spent the night up at the ranch with all the Momma's and baby calves right outside the door. We spent ate supper and visited on the porch over a nice bowl of Blue Bell Icecream. Front Porch sittin' is one of my favorite pastimes. It reminds me of summers at home. I told Byron we simply MUST have a front porch on our first house. We'll see how that works out.




So Wed. morning I arose at 5 on the dot, very excited and ready to start the day. Its amazing how easily I wake up when I'm excited about something! Louis came up to the house about an hour later to get everyone moving and over to the barn. By this time the cows are moving around and starting to 'bawl' to each other. They know what's coming and they are NOT happy about it. They Mooo constantly. And- after its all over- it doesn't stop for a few days. So..I'm glad we only stayed one night.

The end goal of all this is to seperate the calves from their Momma's (I know...its a very sad sad thing), so they can be sold to another rancher that has lots of grass available for feeding. The Branches are 'stockers' only. Their farm is for bearing calves, and lots of them.

So- we worked two herds of cattle (about 60 mother cows in each). About 3/4's of them have baby calves. So- Louis starts by seperating the Momma's from the babies and sends the mothers through a 'shute'. This is where we (correction...they) gather their tag info, check for fertility, etc. My job was adding the Ivermectin (de-worming medicine) to their backs! I was too scared to get out there and actually herd anything. those Momma's weigh more than a 1,000 lbs and are NOT happy when they are being seperated from their babies.

After the mother cows are seperated, accounted for, and de-wormed, they are let go back into the pastures. BUT...they don't go anywhere. Their babies are still calling to them. So..they hang out by the fence and bawl.

Last, they seperate the babies into the 'replacement' heffers, and ones going to market. Each year- they keep a few good looking babies calves that will replace older cows that are no longer producing. The rest are put into a seperate field to be sold the following morning.

We did two herds which lasted about 6 hours total. Grandma took everyone to a delicious authentic mexican lunch and we returned back to the ranch to take an afternoon nap:) All in all- it was an awesome experience. I've never been around anything like it and I'm always up for a new adventure!

Here are some pics of the workers:








And...lastly...I accepted a job offer last week working at University of Texas Health Science Center in their phsiology department. I'm excited to start working and establishing a rountine. I'm also waiting to hear back about my acceptance into the Master's program for teaching Math and Science at UTSA. I'll keep you posted with how everything turns out!

God Bless!

New Projects in SA

So...unemployment has certain perks that just otherwise would be put off until a much later date. I started growing Cherry tomatoes on our front porch and they are blooming so fast! Some of you back in NC reaped the benefits of my first Tomato experiment when I grew them in Miracle grow- which was great at first- not so great when they were 12 feet tall in my apartment windowsill. This time, I'm trying them out in regular dirt first:) It is so absolutely dry here that I've lost several already. I forgot to water for one day and 1/2 of my plants shriveled up! So- I put them on the front porch so I remember each time I head out of the house to water them! Grandma B was also kind enough to donate some of her prized plants as well.



My second project is my version of 'interior design'...sort of. I've always liked the idea of refinished shutters inside the house. (sorry the picture is sideways). It fills up a large wall with a simple shape. So- I went to the Habitat Home store an found these beat up old shutters for super super cheap. They have some paint on them- so I went over to Lowes afterwards and bought a sanding block and paper. They were originally double the size you see in the picture- but I thought a way to get Byron to accept these as our new Living room decor was to bring them home and tell him a.) they were less than $10/ for both, b.) it would keep me busy and NOT shopping/buying more decorations for at least a week and c.) that I would need him to saw something for me. Basically- this was the winning statement and a perfect excuse for him to try out his brand new saw he got for a wedding gift. He was all to eager to be of help. I"ll post another picture with the final outcome of the shutter experiment.


And lastly, I've been doing a lot of cooking lately. Lesa sent me an AWESOME wedding gift with some secret family recipes compiled from the Branch sisters, family friends (aka...Miss Jolene), and grandparents. I simply LOVE it! I think it could be one of my favorite wedding gifts. It has recipes hand written on special cards and placed in a nice binder packed full of love, and yummy treats. So...I finally had some time to 'season' my cast iron skillet (also a wedding gift!). I found a link online and followed the instructions (paying careful attention to do the opposite of what Shaun Sidden told us how he did it! Just ask him). And- I cooked up some steaks for dinner tonight to try it out. All in all - I think it turned out great (well- as great as can be without a grill handy).





I've really enjoyed the cooking, gardening, and my decorating projects, but I'm ready to go back to work. I've interviewed at several places in several differnt career paths. On one hand- I'm thinking of going back to school for a Master's in Education (focus in science) because I've really enjoyed the mentoring/tutoring experiences I've had over the years. And, they have scholarships available and stipends, but I'm not a Texas resident yet (Officially) so I might need to wait 6 months. I've also interviewed with several research labs near the medical center. The temptation of a paycheck is strong when compared with going back to school. Byron and I would like to buy a house soon and two paychecks would be REALLY nice then. I'll keep you posted with what works out!

Well...since Byron doesn't want us to get a dog yet I live vicariously through our friends and family.
Dan and Kate got a new puppy and they brought it over to watch a movie with us last Saturday night. She is super cute- and very very tiny! You'll have to ask Kate what happened with the first pup they got :(, but Emma is a welcome addition! Kate also showed me a website that plugs in all your information and lets you know what kind of dog is right for you and your circumstances. Of course- we filled it out while Byron and Dan were out renting a movie.


According to the website the best dog for Byron and me at this time in our lives is....A Schnoodle! ha. I know for a fact Byron will not allow me to buy a dog that is called a schnoodle. I really want a pig but I'm going to do more research before buying one of those! We have no room for a 50 lb porker in our home!

The Honeymoon....

Wow. It feels like the honeymoon was centuries ago! Byron and I went to Banff, Alberta for our honeymoon. Those who know me well know that I don't like to be hot and the weahter in Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise & Jasper were simply perfect. It was a cool 65-70 degrees during the day, and chilly at night. Here's a map to give you an idea of where things are located



We stayed at the Delta Lodge at Kannanaksis ( I know...its a mouthful!) curtesy of my parents. The resort was amazing....our view out the back porch was breath-taking and I was able to drop the hint that we were on our honeymoon so they upgraded us to a loft suite for free:) Horray for perks! Hey...you only get to drop the honeymoon card once right?




Byron and I had several adventures in the canadian rockies...we saw bears crossing the roads, and climbing trees. We chased moose along the highway; and saw caribu, elk and mountain sheep all at a range of about 5 feet!







We climbed to the top of a mountain and hiked a glacier (which was on my bucket list!) The glaciers are so cool; its amazing how far they have receeded in 50 years, and how THICK those things are! We went to the center of the glacier on a specially designed ice crawler seen in the picture. they don't allow people to walk on the edges of the glacier because of hidden crevices. We went horseback riding around Lake Loise which was still 80% frozen, but the prettiest water I've ever seen. You It doesn't look real its so beautiful. The water is a carribean blue color and has something to do with the sediment the glaciers grind and how the light reflects off of it in the water. Its simply beautiful. Byron has most of those pictures on his camera so I'll have to pirate the good ones later, but you can get an idea with the picture below.







And...on the 2nd to last day my dad surprised us with a guided fly fishing trip with one of his friends there in Calgary. Since spring was just beginning the runoff made the river a little murky and very fast moving so the fish were a little harder to find. Guess what?!?! I caught the ONLY fish...and let me tell you- I have no idea how to fly fish. I almost hooked a rafting boat that floated behind us because I have no control over where that line went once I started waving it around in the air. But I really squeeled with joy when I caught one!







The entire landscape of the canadian rockies is simply breathtaking in its raw beauty. Everything is so crisp, and clear. Being in the valley and taking a panaramic view of the surroundings made me very aware of how awesome God is. I felt so tiny and insignificant compared to the majesty of those mountains. I highly recommend hitting this area of the world for a vacation.

Reception

Sorry I'm so slow in getting this thing up to date! Flashback in time again...to the reception. The reception was in the family center at the church and Jo Morris and her crew did an AMAZING job decorating it for the occassion! I mean...the room was totally transformed. Byron and I are so blessed to have such capable women that love us so much! The food was great...or so I hear:) The cake was amazing...the wedding cake was strawberry with cream cheese icing, and the groom's cake was Byron's favorite- Italian Creme cake. Gina Mauldin did an amazing job with the cakes! There was plenty to go around, and there was plenty enough leftover for several other church gatherings!






The church was gracious enough to allow me a dance with my dad, which was so emotional for me and him! Thank you Southfork; so much. We danced all three dances (father-daughter, mother-son, and bride-groom) to "Sarah Maria" by James Taylor. Its the song I was named after. The relationship between a daughter and father is just so special. Dad has done an amazing job with his kids. He's sacrificed a lot over the years to make sure we had everything we needed. I always said I didn't want daughters (I'm basing this off of my own childhood and teenage years), BUT I want at least one girl for Byron. There is just something about the daughters that brings out a side of the man that no one else can. Not the mother, not the wife... Only a baby girl. I want that for Byron.


We also did the Bouquet toss, but with a small twist (thanks Kiera for the idea). I threw the bouquet without it being held together so that all the flowers fall apart in the air. It wasn't exactly as I had planned (We had to use the ones I planned for this part in another part of the wedding), but it worked out perfectly. All the girls int he picture are going to be the 'next to marry'!:) My youngest brother 'caught' the garter, but the guys weren't too excited to get up there and do this wedding ritual. It fell to the ground first, and baby Jake picked it up:)



Before we headed out, Jennie R and her crew put together a song for us "The Lord Bless you and Keep You" out of the hymn book. Man was I crying then! It was just so touching, beautiful, and it really demonstrated how blessed we have been at Southfork. Thank you for loving us so much!




Bob Smith secured a antique pick up truck for us to ride away in! I was a little afraid I would fall off the back, but thankfully there were places to hold onto! And....since Byron was a firefighter in a previous life, we had a firetruck escort us to our car! people were coming out of their houses to see what was going on. I waved to everyone, like Miss America:) I can't find the picture of Byron's face when we got to our car, but let me just tell you...he was NOT happy. Some of our dearly loved friends trashed our car and it took us about 45 minutes to get it cleaned off enough to drive away. Turns out...the firetruck was a signal to them to finish up and get out of there. Siblings...just wait until you get married.