beauty and the geek

Keeping it Real

2012-01-19T23:14:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm probably breaking some IP law, but I have no pictures. Read on.

When we lived in California, we loved In-N-Out. We also remember The Habit, of course, because it was delicious and a Santa Barbara local.

BUT, we have found our new favorite. B.Good. I first discovered it in April when I was trying to google some place that gave you free food for your birthday, as a birthday treat for Taylor. I put us both on their email list, and we have been in love ever since. Not only is the food awesome, but it's all local. The beef comes from a small farm in Maine (no antibiotics or hormones, grass fed), the potatoes are grown here in MA, the buns are from a Boston bakery, and the vegetables also come from a nearby farm.

We don't go there a lot because we are still poor church mice, and- a burger and fries is still a burger and fries, but we still get to go on occasion because they are constantly giving away free goods! Maybe we are taking advantage of them, but they know how to create loyal customers and if anyone asks where to find a good burger, we'll send them to B.Good. Now if you haven't gone, GO!

Bill Sparks, the original hipster

2012-01-19T10:57:00.003-05:00

my old man was absolutely the original hipster and now we have proof. Congrats dad! We miss you.

8 months

2012-01-13T20:48:00.003-05:00

Except now he is halfway to 9 months. You know I've really fallen from the blogging horse when I haven't actually written a blog post since November- which is long for me- and it was about my favorite bra. What's wrong with me?! I've let Taylor turn it into the nerd blog. I really don't feel like I have much to say. Maybe it's because I read so many awesome blogs, and then I think my life is pretty boring in comparison. Either that or I am no good at making something out of nothing.

I will tell you what though, I really love that baby. He squawks and squeals and sometimes makes me crazy, but I can never get enough of him. But I don't need to elaborate because every mother out there knows what I mean, and I don't think you are interested in hearing me gush over my own child.

Holiday Prank 2011

2011-12-27T23:13:00.003-05:00

By now you must know that I love a good prank. Need reminders? How about this, or this, or this, or this or this to name only a few.

Well, two years ago I turned our family picture into Sean Connery & Kim Basinger from 007. This year I was a little more subtle and increased the sizes of our heads by ~30%. NOBODY EVEN NOTICED! They all just thought we had humongous noggins!

Here it is at first glance...

take a closer look...

Feliz Navidad!

2011-12-25T23:37:00.002-05:00

2011 was an adventure! I can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

PS- if you didn't get this card (emailed) then we don't have your email !!

didn't get enough?? Here's a few more pics for the gramma's out there.

Star Wars Epic Duels

2011-12-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

There is nothing cooler than this game. Period. Hasbro inexplicably took it out of print in 2002 and ever since it's developed a cult following. Jodi gave me the best gift of my life back in 2008 when she bought a used version on ebay for me.

Ever since then my nerdy friends and I have enjoyed many a game of epic duels.

See what I mean? yes, that is a homemade map.

This year we are taking it to a whole new level though! We designed our own characters based on us now all old and married. It is gonna be wicked! Here's a sneak peak.

And yes, those are our costumes from Halloween years ago (Mr. Tumnus and the White Witch from Narnia)

Also, while the game itself has rules, we have introduced an additional 3 rules of etiquette.
1) Pass the dice when your turn is over, nobody likes to sit and wait.
2) It is considered highly inappropriate, after having killed a character, to then flick said character off the board. Seriously people, tables have been flipped over in rage. Ask if the character can be removed from the board.
3) Is terribly rude to pass the dice to a player who has been eliminated thus reminding them of their eliminated status.

7 months

2011-12-05T22:05:00.001-05:00

2nd Annual Clarke Group International Holiday Table Tennis Invitational

2011-12-02T11:44:00.001-05:00

Last year our group table tennis tournament was epic. (remember)

This year promises to be equally awesome. I'm coming home with the gold this year.

nuke em!

2011-11-19T18:28:00.001-05:00

time for something way less girly? The nuclear reactor in Grenoble, France.

And now an infomercial for the Ladies...

2011-11-19T10:56:00.003-05:00

Literally.
The Coobie Bra. Best. Bra. Ever.

I love it so much, I'm talking about underwear on my blog (I'm sure Taylor is not going to love this). I bought one while I was in Florida 2 months ago and I am ready to load up on more, just like the woman at the shop promised.

No seams.
No wires.
Just the right amount of removeable padding.
One size fits all (what!? No way, you are thinking), awesome for being pregnant and nursing.
The straps won't fall off, and they unhook so it can easily be used for nursing.
They come in a truck load of different colors, and the lacy kind looks like a camisole.
And the best part, they aren't expensive!
They even sell varieties of camisoles.

Now go, GO, get a Coobie ra right now!

the Coobie shop

Science Baby

2011-11-15T21:52:00.004-05:00

6 months old, and Atticus is already following his father's footsteps by making his first contribution to the world of research & science. Don't let his facial expression fool you, he loved having his brain read by an electronic shower cap. Plus he now has a cool Harvard shirt he can wear. By the way, check out his 2-toned right eye. Funky.

A little bit jittery

2011-11-13T12:46:00.001-05:00

So, there I was. Quietly working away on my samples in the nuclear reactor when I heard this alarm start going off insanely loud GAH GAH GAH GAH. I think to myself "Oh no!!! A leak in the reactor! I'm dead!" and right then my entire life flashed before my eyes. Kindergarten, my first dog, South Jordan, friends, moving, Layton, camp, the mission, Jodi, Santa Barbara, China, Boston, Atticus. My heart jumped up through my throat! Then it stops and the stupid crane above me starts moving. Turns out they are doing construction and have a giant crane that they are using. Before it moves it gives off a warning sound that unfortunately scared the pee out of me. I was literally shaking!

hiking in the Chartreuse mountains

2011-11-12T11:31:00.001-05:00

So our neutron diffraction beam time got cut short by 1 day because my colleagues had some sample impurities. Huge bummer, but we made the best of the bad situation and went hiking in the mountains surrounding Grenoble. The city is surrounded on all sides by 3 different mountain ranges, the Chartreuse, the Vercors and the Belledonne.

We started by climbing up the big castle on the hill called La Bastille. This fort goes back to the 16th century and was used heavily fortified during the French Revolution. The view of the city is absolutely breathtaking! There was a little bit of haze at first, but it improved as the day went on.

When we reached the Fort about halfway up the mountain we ate some lunch at a cafe. I speak no french - nothing - so I struggled with the menu and with some help I ordered steak tartin with salad and chips and this is what I got.

GROSS! What you see there is like a pound of raw ground up steak. It was really funny to see the chinese guy with us order his meat "80% cooked." The waiter laughed in his face, but he was dead serious. The request made perfect sense to his scientist brain.

After lunch we kept hiking to the top of the mountain and got completely lost trying to come back down the back side. It was awesome.

At one point we were trying to find somebody to ask how to get home (my buddy Maged speaks a little French) and we saw this little really, really old man holding a tennis racket/paddle thing and he starts yelling at us. I can tell something's up because Maged is acting really confused and the old man is saying/yelling the same thing over and over. Turns out the guy must have been crazy. Maged told us he kept asking over and over if we wanted to play tennis with him even when Maged was asking how to get back to Grenoble.

It was an awesome day and a killer hike, although far longer than we expected it to be when we set out. It was fun to see downtown during the day too. We saw a strike/protest of some sort happening. It wasn't nearly as romantic as Les Miserable had me thinking French protests were. No singing, strange cartoonish signs and about 30 kids with drums and face paint.

In the belly of the beast

2011-11-11T01:44:00.001-05:00

In case you were wondering where I have been, here's a few pics.
Im in Grenoble, France eating baguettes, wearing striped sweaters and jaunty scarfs and unleashing the power of the atom on my unsuspecting ceramic powders.
It is an amazing facility and I'm totally geeking out to see how it works inside.

No more computer before bed

2011-11-05T21:19:00.004-04:00

Atticus has always been a great sleeper, but he rocked my world at about 3.5 months when he started sleeping 12 hours at night and didn't wake a single time for over 2 months. It was fantastic. Then a few weeks ago, he did it. He woke up, crying and very unhappy. No! This isn't happening, I thought. Why isn't he stopping? Oh please, why?

Now we've been going back and forth. Some nights are perfect, and some nights he'll wake up once or twice. He would always go back to sleep easily with a bit of rocking, but a few nights ago he was -as Taylor says- a Terrorist Baby, and I only got 2 hours of sleep. This morning he woke at 5 and was being very difficult. As Taylor was trying to console him, I lay in bed thinking to myself in that very dreamy state that we are all familiar with,

If I just unfollow his Pinterest,
then I won't have to hear him cry anymore.

For reals. If only it were that easy.

6 months

2011-11-01T15:17:00.001-04:00

Boo!

2011-10-31T21:41:00.001-04:00

Like father like son

2011-10-30T17:44:00.002-04:00

When I was in 7th grade I wanted to wrestle on the school team like my dad did. I was so excited until the day I showed up and they split us up according to our weight. I headed over to the smallest weight class, 78 lbs, and found out that I was still 12 lbs too light!

(photo from 2001 up at Camp Loll, looking down from the top of the teepee we lived in all summer)

Undaunted I tried my hand at wrestling anyways and soon found that I was really bad. I was getting beat by Bill Nye the Science Guy's nephew. So bad, in fact, that the only kid I could pin was a down syndrome wrestler.

I come by it honestly, my Dad was a skinny guy too. Check him out!

So I guess it's no surprise that Atticus still weighs less than 14 lbs even though he just hit 6 months! That puts him in the under 3.5 weight percentile!!!

Better start eating a few extra PB&J's if you wanna make the wrestling team kiddo!

Oh Marketing...

2011-10-28T09:45:00.005-04:00

Taylor just showed me this from How To Be A Dad. I don't even know if it's real, but you must enlarge and read it. Of course we laugh and think it's ridiculous, but it still reminds me what crazy things we are being told today about healthy eating- babies & adults alike. Regardless, it gave me a good chuckle.

Be afraid banana, be very afraid

2011-10-25T12:28:00.000-04:00

There's nowhere to hide anymore.

Oh great, now we're gonna be haunted

2011-10-23T16:55:00.001-04:00

My dad was an avid falconer. We had tons of falcons and hawks growing up. Here's a picture

Well, apparently my mom was driving home from Trapper's Loop and hits what she thinks was a hawk with her car. This morning she tells my little brother and when he goes out to the car to investigate he finds this

Could our family get anymore hillbilly? Mom's got a good 4 pounder of hawk drumstick hanging off her headlight with it's talons outstretched and she doesn't even notice!

To quote my sister Alicia "Oh great! Thanks a lot mom. So much for the beautiful analogy that dad's spirit is soaring like a hawk now. I can never think of a bird of prey the same again."

Dad is totally haunting us now.

Pressing forward

2011-10-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

"I must inform you with regret that we cannot accept the paper for publication." That sentence in my email inbox this morning really cut to the bone. For the whole last year I've been working hard on a set of experiments. This was different from other experiments I've performed and papers I've written. This time it was a totally original idea that I came up with and I was really excited about our findings.
I guess I follow in the footsteps of one of my heroes, Dr. Henry Eyring, father of the apostle Henry B. Eyring, who in 1934 submitted a paper that radically challenged how chemists viewed kinetics of reactions.

The paper was rejected and when he submitted it a second time, it was rejected again! Finally, his paper on "Absolute Rate Theory" was published in 1935. The theory presented in that paper went on to revolutionize chemistry. It nearly won him the Nobel Prize (many say it was his outspoken defense of his faith that held him back). The Nobel Prize website admits that he should have won the prize but didn't because the Nobel Committee didn't understand his theory at the time.
As for me, I guess all I can do is frame this rejection letter and just keep going.

Atticus prepares for Movember

2011-10-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

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Also, 10 points to the first person who can spot when the store in front of our house got robbed last night.

5 months...a little late

2011-10-13T15:15:00.003-04:00

We've been in sunny Florida for 10 days (well, I did get back last Saturday...I'm just a little behind). We had a fantastic time taking care of my sister's kids in Jacksonville while they were away for a few days. Atticus loved all the attention. They were all pretty sad to see us go, but my 3 year old nephew said to Taylor, "I'll come drive up to see you. Don't worry, we have a GPS." Baby was a little peach the whole trip, this week he has decided he wants to do nothing but scream at me.

I'm pretty sure he still likes me.

silly facebook

2011-10-10T12:31:00.000-04:00

did you know that, under the Arts and Entertainment section, in the Books category of your Info page on Facebook, that if you had listed "The Book of Mormon" it automatically linked this to the page for "The Book of Mormon musical" rather than the scripture Book of Mormon? I don't know why Facebook would automatically default to that rather than the scriptures, especially since the musical makes fun of our religion.

I was annoyed, so I submitted a complaint, as follows:
"I have a complaint regarding Facebook automatically linking the book "The Book of Mormon" in the Arts and Entertainment section of a person's Info with the satirical Book of Mormon musical that mocks The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the mormons).

The vast majority of individuals who have "The Book of Mormon" listed as an interest under books are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and definitely do not support this bigoted musical. I have spoken to many mormon friends who had this automatically linked without telling them and they are very angry about it.

Facebook should not have automatically linked this sacred religious text with the musical that denigrates it. Please change this."

If you too would like to submit a complaint you can do so here
http://facebook-developer.net/contact/

it comes standard with every male firstborn

2011-09-16T11:52:00.003-04:00

sorry babe, we both knew it was only a matter of time.

Origami Cranes

2011-09-12T15:14:00.002-04:00

Atticus loves his mobile. Me too. He will just lay there and stare at it, then burst into exuberant shrieks. He does this back and forth until he quietly drifts off to sleep. It's quality entertainment.

I just really liked this picture...

2011-09-07T21:19:00.003-04:00

This is my life. Today I didn't get anything done because he just wanted to cry and be held ALL day. And at the end of the day, after a little chocolate, I decided that was okay.

4 months

2011-09-01T17:08:00.004-04:00

Recently I read the line "the days are long, but the years are short". So true. Some days I crash when it's over, but time goes too quickly.

Speaking of which, can you believe Summer is pretty much over? We've enjoyed ours, although we did much less than I had anticipated or imagined we would. Isn't that how it always goes? During the long winter months, you dream about summertime and all the wonderful things you are going to do. Then suddenly it's September and you realize you hardly did any of them.
When I was in high school, my friends would often ask, "Why would you want to waste your entire summer working at scout camp?!" When I would ask my friends what they did over their summer, I usually heard "I dunno...slept in...watched tv...nothing". Exactly.

And here's a couple pictures for memories sake...
Those summers were the best. The best!

Ward Campout 2011

2011-08-21T20:31:00.001-04:00

I used to love going on ward campouts. We would go every year when I was a kid. My dad and I would sneak out at night and scare people walking to the outhouse or we'd zip-tie people's tents shut once they'd fallen asleep.

Well, as I got older I attended ward campouts less and less because life got so busy. For the last 10 years or so over the summer I've either been at scout camp, in argentina, or in china. This was the first year since I was a kid that we could go!

So we packed up some food, a tent, sleeping bags etc and headed to Sharon Vermont, the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith (click here to learn more) It was totally car camping, but we didn't care. The grounds were beautiful! It had a big, grassy field with hills, trees all over, a pond for swimming, cabins or tent sites and showers.

We weren't sure how Atticus would do- he's only 4 months. But he was a champ! He was freezing to death the first night because he was basically just laying on a towel with nothing over him. Jodi ended up snuggling with him in her bag. The second night we put him in a deluxe baby car seat blanket fest and he slept through the night for the first time! Woohoo! 9 hours from 10:30pm-7:30am.

We headed over to the White River about a quarter mile north of the Vermont Law School and had a great day swimming. It's the perfect river for it. The water isn't cold, it's shallow and slow moving at the edge and drops off to swift current again. It has a great rope swing out of a tree too. It was great. Jodi was in heaven, she said it's the swimming hole she's been waiting for all year. Atticus slept happily on the shore the whole time!

We ate great food, played guitar, told my favorite scary poem and had a lot of fun with everybody. I can't wait to do it again next year.

And did Atticus enjoy himself? you watch this video and be the judge.

By the way, lately he rules our house with an iron fist sitting upon his icy blue throne.

talking baby!

2011-08-08T20:29:00.002-04:00

As you can see, Google Voice struggles to translate what the baby has to say when he leaves me voicemails.

3 months

2011-07-29T16:35:00.005-04:00

We're having a lot of fun around here. When everyone is happy, that is. It's been a month of many firsts, always exciting.

Can you believe it's already almost August? I'm afraid before I know it, the long and dreadful winter will be here.

It seems like just yesterday I was wishing it away.

Time goes too quickly.

I think tonight we should all eat our favorite treat, tell someone you love them, and go watch a movie. Or something fun like that.

The Fourth of July in Utah (2011)

2011-07-09T17:45:00.001-04:00

The promised pictures (with minimal typing, too tired)

dad's killer side smile

testing out the grass

1 baby built for science. 1 baby built for brute strength.

Baby blessing July 4th 2011

Simba!

HIS VERY FIRST CALCULATION!!!! (check out his tiny unstaged hand! he knows where the goods are)

up at the cabin with the Jeppy's and their jolly baby

hiking with dad

dominoes in the rain was never so fun. seriously.

grampa watching the babies- and popsicles

chelle and aaron + family

atticus can't be bothered on vacation

more up at the cabin

out on puffer lake

puffer lake landscape

this year is gonna be different!

2011-06-29T00:44:00.003-04:00

Every year the Applied Physics graduate students play the professors in a game of softball. The game is coming up soon (July 16th) and the students haven't won in recent memory. I know- that's just embarrassing. But this year we have a secret weapon.... me and Bill are playing. That's right. Mom and dad forced me to play baseball for like 5 years when I was a kid and even though I never technically hit the ball even once, I still managed to crowd the crap out of that plate and get walked on to base. Let's hope my technique works with the old timers.

Here's my t-shirt design for the event. I know- it's a wicked pissah!

Random Musings

2011-06-24T11:57:00.004-04:00

2 months

I've kind of lost my blogging energy.

Is anybody even reading this? Hello? Anybody out there?

Yes, I know there are loyal readers...just some days I feel like that. And I don't want this to be a mommy blog, but I'm sorry, that's all I've been doing lately. Unless I dig into the depths of my brain and soul and tell you everything else I've been thinking about. Ah, but I won't.

I love being a mom though. Even when it means looking frazzled every morning. Or missing the UPS man.

Twice.

Because the baby was naked in the bath, or I was naked in the shower, or whatever.

Speaking of which, I just had to go get him from his crib because he was screeching because lately he refuses to finish his nap unless he's being snuggled which is so nice, but so inconvenient. And I'm freaking out because I know that UPS man is going to show up any minute and press the buzzer and wake the baby back up, but I can't miss him again or Taylor will shoot me daggers from his eyes.

So I'm trapped here until he comes.

Did I mention I'm typing all of this with one hand?

Well, I guess that's really all I have to say.

Signing off.

tripod: check

2011-06-12T09:49:00.002-04:00

Atticus had just arrived at the witching hour- a nightly event around 8 or 9pm that Jodi and I dread. He was fussing and squawking when our Indian neighbors across the hall invited us to come over. Ashish showed us some of his baby whispering magic. Atticus was mesmerized and just kept staring up at him! Within 20 minutes he was fast asleep on Ashish's chest.

Meanwhile, Shithal, his wife made us these delicious little balls of, well, I don't know. I think she said they were filled with spicy peas, raisins and other stuff. We ate em with plain thick yogurt and they were really good!

They showed us their new lamp too that runs on cooking oil in a little pottery cruse. When we turned out the light it cast awesome shadows on the ceiling and walls.

We were all pretty mesmerized. I had to run and grab the camera and tripod.

With the baby fast asleep and the rain pitter-pattering on the window outside we all just sat there and chatted. Before we knew it Mr. Hyde-baby had transformed back into Dr. Jekyl and the oil in the lamp had run out.

Morning Baking

2011-06-08T12:07:00.003-04:00

Last week was Strawberry Rhubarb scones.
This week is Blueberry. Yum.
Thanks for the recipe Myca!

9 toed baby!

2011-06-05T16:50:00.000-04:00

baby wasn't quite sure what to think of Jodi painting his foot. check out his face- so funny.

he was downright resistant to do his hands. he balled those pudgy little sausage fingers together into a little fist and grabbed the brush when Jodi tried to paint them. We'll have to get them next time.

ps- he's so awesome! I love being a dad!

face shield demotivator

2011-06-02T14:57:00.008-04:00

I love a good demotivator (remember last time?) Well when Bill found a gem of a picture this week we had to do it again.

Here are Bill's entries (click to enlarge)

and Andy's

and Brett's

and Roger's (click to enlarge)

and Garrot's

and my own (click to enlarge)

Got a favorite? Vote!

We're Having a Heat Wave

2011-05-30T17:27:00.011-04:00

But nobody in this house likes it hot. We've all resorted to wearing the least amount of clothing possible when we're at home. Poor baby just can't handle it at times...he has remained mostly comatose in the afternoon heat, occasionally taking a peek to assess the situation. After a nursing session he comes away looking like he just came back from a swim.

It's been like 20 minutes since I wrote that last paragraph...I've sat here motionless without peeling my eyes from Scrubs...too hot to move.

dad-gineering

2011-05-25T23:20:00.002-04:00

that binky oughta stay put.

The Birth Story

2011-05-23T12:51:00.010-04:00

The announcement- if you didn't get one I probably don't have your email

I've fallen off the horse when it comes to anything on the computer these days, and with good reason that I don't regret. However, I really want to share my (long!) labor and delivery story with you before I forget all the wonderful details. I know, some people would rather die than read about such an experience, but I LOVE reading birth stories so I must share my own (while I have a minute to do so).

After two weeks of no work and plenty of nesting, I woke up early on Thursday morning, April 28th, to some icky feeling cramps. It took me a little while to come out of my sleepy state and realize that they were stronger than usual, and recurring regularly.

These are contractions for sure, I thought to myself as I rolled over to shake Taylor.

Something is happening, I think baby is coming! To which he replied with a very unresponsive grunt.

I let him keep sleeping, but I was too anxious to stay in bed. It was 6 am and I had lots to do! Make sure the hospital bag is fully packed, load up the ipod, take a shower...besides I was too uncomfortable to stay in bed. The contractions were already coming close to 5 minutes apart. My zombie husband rolled out of bed around 8, but quickly became alert at hearing the news. He immediately started timing my contractions which were definitely coming 5 minutes apart, and then closer to 3 minutes and lasting nearly a minute. At first I could tolerate them while on the couch, but I was soon on the floor in strange positions doing whatever was most comfortable, still able to laugh a bit at all the excitement. It was about 11:30 when I was given the green light to head to the hospital.

Taylor had visions of speeding through stop signs and red lights to make it there, but of course there was no hurry and I yelled at him to slow down and not to hit any bumps-I really had to go to the bathroom and that made the contractions even worse. We had to make a pit stop at his office in Harvard to grab the speakers for my ipod, then we were all set.

I didn't want to draw attention to myself as I hobbled into the hospital, so I waited for a contraction to pass, then bolted to the nearest bathroom where I made some poor women wait forever because I was working through another one- woman in labor here! I was unapologetic.
We made it upstairs and I approached the desk in Labor & Delivery- what does one normally do at this point? I said,

Hi. Umm, I'm having a baby.

Cue the part in the story where everyone and everything was so perfect. The nurses chuckled, welcomed me, and said You must be Jodi. My doctor then appeared behind me with a very cheery Hello! This is your nurse Kath, you'll go with her and I'll be right in.

Let me inform you that my doctor is superwoman and my nurse was my angel.

Kath stopped at the triage room and asked me if I might want to go back home, or if I preferred to stay at the hospital, to which I responded with an uncertain look on my face. She sweetly said, It's okay, you don't have to know. She showed me to my room, gave me my gown, asked what she could do for me, and said the doctor would be in to check me in a few minutes.

You're dilated to a 2 the Doc said. You can stay, or you can come back in a few hours if you'd like. I did not want to get back in the car, besides I had full room service with a killer view of the city and the Charles River. So I happily stayed. Kath gave us the menu to order lunch, pulled out the birthing ball, and offered plenty of other options to help make me comfortable. The contractions were growing increasingly uncomfortable but had slowed down quite a bit, but I kept myself moving around trying different things to pass the time. I bounced on the ball, laid on the bed, took a bath...my back really ached so my nurse brought in a rocking chair and heat pack. That was the best. I could relax to the rocking, and each time a contraction would come I would breathe deeply, focus on the view out my window and the sound of the air flowing in and out, and keep a steady rhythmic motion- back and forth, back and forth. Taylor was amazed at my immediate lack of modesty. That gown was flapping open and I didn't care who saw it.

We turned on my music once things really started getting rough. I had some great picks on the ipod, but I especially enjoyed this album. This song and this song in particular I found brought me much comfort. I had some very spiritual moments when I felt like I just wanted it all to end, and hearing the words brought me so much peace.

The Doctor was in and out regularly to check on me, just to ask how I was doing. She would sit with me and when I would get a contraction she would talk me through it saying all the right things. So empowering. She gave me so many options, always letting me decide the next step to take. She even apologized for not being able to make the sun shine- It was a cloudy day and starting to rain. She wanted to see how I was progressing, but I didn't want her to just yet because truly, that hurts, so I told her to come back in 30 minutes. She did just that, and I was still only 3 almost 4 cm. She suggested I try doing whatever made the contractions stronger-even though it was more uncomfortable- because it would likely help move things along. By this point they had gone back to coming every few minutes. So, because it was all I could do, I kept going, trying to get another hour under my belt, holding off as long as possible before taking medication.

Around 8:00, after a full day of strong contractions, groaning, bouncing, rocking, dropping to all fours, I decided to take a shower and freshen up before requesting an epidural. I was done and I was SO tired. It was at that point that my water broke, and I was so thrilled it had done so on it's own. I wanted to progress as far as possible on my own before getting the epidural so it wouldn't slow things down, and I didn't want to be strapped to the bed all day. This really revved things up and the contractions were horrible. 8:30 at my request, the nurse promptly put in the IV (and got it in quickly in one try-thank goodness) and said 20 minutes till they could administer anesthesia. Those 20 minutes were by far the worst. I started shaking uncontrollably and couldn't relax between contractions. At one point when it was just Taylor & I in the room I started sobbing because I was so exhausted. I had lost all my strength and control.

The anesthesiologist came in, and boy was I a mess. Taylor had to leave the room, and immediately Kath stepped in. She held both of my hands and said all the right things during the whole process. And then at 9 pm, the heavens opened up and I could hear the Hallelujah chorus when the nurse said you just had a big contraction and I couldn't feel it! Finally, after 16 painful hours I could rest and relax. In fact, because I could relax, I then progressed rather quickly. I was still only dilated to a 6 when I got the epidural.

After just a few hours it was time to start pushing. The medication was so perfect that I could still feel my lower half, I could still move my legs , and I could tell the nurse that a contraction was starting and it was time to push, but there was no pain. It only took about 4 contractions and at 2:55 am on his due date he was out! And would you believe it, Taylor didn't even faint! He even wanted to look when the baby's head made an appearance. He was my strength the whole day, and immediately turned into super dad, changing every single poopy diaper while at the hospital.

As hard as it all was, it was so amazing and I remember it all with such fondness. I wouldn't have changed a thing- expect for the 3 small stitches- and I couldn't have thanked my doctor and nurses enough. For days afterwards, I would cry every time I thought of them.

That final moment where they gave me this tiny person and said here is your baby made everything worth it and I would do it all over again.

4 years

2011-05-22T18:26:00.001-04:00

We love and miss you so much Dad. I can't believe it's been four years already. I'm so excited to be a father. You'd love snuggling with your grandson- he's wonderful.

"What exactly do you do anyways?"

2011-05-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

I've been asked that plenty of times. So I decided a more detailed explanation was worthwhile. check it out!

For Mother's Day

2011-05-08T11:06:00.004-04:00

Taylor has done a great job at keeping the blog updated, but now I'm ready to jump in again.

This first week of motherhood has been wonderful and hard- of course! I'm so excited to be a mother, but right now I am most grateful for my mom. So grateful she traveled so far just to clean and cook, run errands, put up with my immodesty and crying, and snuggle my baby. I can't imagine doing it without her. She had enough love for 9 babies (good thing since I'm #9!), and now for all of her babies' babies. I love my momma.

Also not to be forgotten is the other momma, who raised my good husband. She is superwoman and we are excited for her to come visit and love on baby.

And now it's my turn...

Shark Baby!!

2011-05-06T16:05:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be really sad when I have to go back to work next week.

Tuckermans Ravine 2011

2011-05-05T19:18:00.001-04:00

I turned to Jodi last night and said "You know my dear, I'm turning into a mom blogger!" You know, where all you blog about is to goo over your kids. Well, have no fear, we'll have a healthy mix of baby and other adventures.

Starting with my most recent adventure up to New Hampshire to Tuckermans Ravine. It was a hoot! They call it the birthplace of extreme skiing. It was great! My buddies Jack and Patrick went with me and boy was it a good time. Here's a few pics of the event.

We hiked from the very bottom all the way to the top of Mt. Washington and we skied the entire way back down all the way to the parking lot! What a great day!

Very steep climbing up! The snow was absolutely untouched though! You can see in the picture that people were afraid of avalanche danger in the center so people were avoiding it until the afternoon sun had a chance to heat it up a little bit.

The ravine is really, really steep. The easiest way down is 40 degrees and most routes are 50+ degrees. That's rough!

Bode Miller was there too! He was amazing!! He went STRAIGHT down the mountain (either route 4 or 5 in the picture below from timefortuckerman.com) with parallel skis only doing two tiny carves at the very very top (above what you can see in the picture) The whole portion of this picture he was just dive-bombing the mountain. Incredible.

Jack about died! He fell head first down a really steep slope for a long long ways. Probably 50 yards or so! Here he is lookin pretty frazzled. He's so lucky he didn't break his neck.

And, as many have already seen, I did in fact forget sun block and man did I get some raccoon sun burn lines!!

Lastly, were the crashes. Pure comedy! The slope is so incredibly steep that people were falling left and right and when they'd fall, they just kept going and going and going. Some people must have rolled 100+ yards! This one skier bombed it at the very top and toppled the whole way to the bottom and then just laid there arms and legs in every direction like a starfish. The crowd went silent instead of laughing like usual because it looked like it hurt so much. Then a pole stuck up from the seemingly lifeless body and everybody started cheering again. It was awesome. You're in constant fear of falling.

This video sums it up best. This amateur video was taken of his buddy and at exactly 39 seconds you see this person go flying past face first screaming "OH MY GOSH!!!" And they go flying all the way down the mountain! Super funny stuff.

he's awake!

2011-05-03T00:00:00.001-04:00

for those who enjoy a good video, here's Atticus at the witching hour when he decides to wake up.

Did I mention that somebody has a sweet mullet going on too? Just like his daddy. Hockey hair just in time for living in the northeast!

Atticus William Sparks

2011-04-29T09:48:00.004-04:00

sparky version 2.0 is here! He's perfect in every way

HERE'S some more pictures, by popular demand.

6.1 lbs

sleepy

barfs up everything he eats

he's adorable

looks like he got my nose. sorry buddy, it's only gonna keep growing!

snuggling with mom

Looks like somebody inherited his old man's Physicist Receding Hairline. sorry buddy. truly, I am.

Amanda came and held him- she looked a little tense, but she did great.

You'd better believe Bob and Bill were in on the action as honorary uncles too! Bill was insisting he had teeth in the back of his mouth!! Beth was there, but mysteriously absent from pictures. She was a baby handling pro.

First family pictures

Jodi always has the magic touch- she's the baby whisperer.

Cool Ranch Dorito Baby!!

What a view from our hospital!

I'm just excited to have somebody to share my adventures with! (good and bad! Story about my wicked raccoon eyes coming as soon as I can get the pictures from Patrick)

We've reached DEFCON 1

2011-04-28T09:27:00.001-04:00

Baby is coming! Impending fatherhood! Off to the hospital soon! Woohoo!

Applied Physics Fest

2011-04-26T22:31:00.003-04:00

leave it to Harvard to make an event called Applied Physics Fest 2011. We're at least getting nerdy t-shirts (as if I didn't have enough already that Jodi's always trying to get rid of). The shirt looks like this

and the poster I made has everything you ever wanted to know about thermopower of LiMn₂O₄ spinels (or didn't want to know!)

A Few Thoughts

2011-04-26T09:34:00.004-04:00

After my last downer post about Boston hating children, here's some better happier thoughts:

-Getting a letter from the IRS saying we actually paid more than was filed for, and they owe us money, almost doubling our tax return! Woohoo!

-A lovely Easter dinner with friends

-These beautiful pictures and this great blog post.

If you asked me today, I would tell you not to move to Boston

2011-04-23T15:28:00.006-04:00

We're on the apartment hunt. Having a meager income in an expensive city getting ready to have a baby motivates us to save some money, and since rent equals 63% or our income (yup, yup, uh huh...not that we will be able to save that much by moving) I have been searching craigslist for weeks and have contacted a long list of people, but here's the thing... What's wrong with realtors around here? If someone contacts you because they are interested in your apartment, shouldn't you anxiously jump on that ship and make some money? I've had approximately 3 people get back to me, and with a serious lack of energy or desire to sell.

Apartments around here are OLD, and therefore many are slathered in lead paint. The problem with this is lead paint + children= against the law. I swear every time I find the perfect apartment...it's not deleaded. S.O.L.

I've been turned down or ignored by multiple people specifically because we will have a baby. Here's the conversation that took place today while we were looking at a place and the landlord had been very friendly and telling us what a great apartment it was:

Landlord: Do you have any other questions?
Me: Do you know if it is deleaded?
Landlord: Hmm...I'm not sure, I'd have to check the books, you know?
Me: Sure yeah, we're having a baby so... (because you obviously didn't notice that)
Landlord: Oh....
...
Well this is not good place you know, there is no space for a child to play.
Me: Well yeah, we will be moving in a year so that doesn't matter (besides, does ANY apartment here have space for a child to play??)
Landlord: Ah, well, yes, I remember now...this apartment is not deleaded. No. Sorry. What can you do?

Hmm...okay.

The fruitless hunt continues.

As Easter approaches...

2011-04-22T12:40:00.002-04:00

I know Jesus Christ lives.
This is a wonderful season of new life in more ways than one,
and this makes me glad.

how to be a dad

2011-04-20T15:32:00.003-04:00

Nobody worry! I got things covered. Thanks to this handy-dandy website called How To Be A Dad I'm already on the fast-track to learning all the dad essentials like this helpful sleeping instructional diagram.

This informative zombie=baby chart.

and this super neat workout video.

On the home stretch

2011-04-17T17:11:00.002-04:00

2 weeks to the due date, done working, and still feeling great.

Baby found a comfortable position laying sideways, and coming out sideways just doesn't work. Since I could go into labor anytime now, the doc said I needed to come in very soon so we could turn him around. We spent half the day yesterday at the hospital, I got poked with needles 5 times (including once in the bum which was really terrible), but we got the job done without much trouble.

One year older & wiser too

2011-04-11T00:00:00.001-04:00

Here's to hoping each coming year doesn't bring us closer to this.

Happy 28th to my favorite person.

April Showers...

2011-04-08T22:11:00.003-04:00

I'm lucky to have wonderful friends to shower me with gifts and celebrate this special occasion with me. Everything was just perfect.

Time is slipping away quickly, and I feel like I still have so much to do. Shopping, cleaning, setting up, installing...as soon as I feel one step closer, something else comes to mind. I have to speak in church next Sunday, I'm trying to work out insurance plans, and find somewhere cheaper to live (so hard! and I don't even want to think about trying to move by May 31st), read lots of books... AND I'm just pooped. Which means not wanting to actually do any of those things. Or write a thrilling blog post. So it goes, right? Luckily, I still feel great. Just trying to build up motivation...

Most of the time I am saying only a few more weeks left rather than just a few weeks more, does that make sense? I'm absorbing everyday to feel ready, because this time will never come back to me, no hurry. But of course, ready to welcome the change with wide open arms.

Andy& Cara, Iron chef, shingles, Qual Exam

2011-04-03T16:57:00.000-04:00

The last three weeks had so much happening! Unfortunately, we didn't take as many pictures as we should have.
First off- Andy and Cara, his girlfriend came to visit. They drove all the way out here from Utah!! Cara is interviewing for grad school for art at Yale and RISD. We, of course, showed them around town, played Star Wars Epic Duels and watched tons of Battlestar Galactica.

Can you believe that 1990 Subaru Legacy made it across country with that massive trailer?

Andy's found shopping in our ghetto Market Basket pretty entertaining.

Jodi got a kick of all the people being around who'd never felt a baby moving around. (she's laughing, not unconscious in this picture)

Andy and Cara are amazing artists so they left some life-size art on an otherwise science filled whiteboard in the department whiteboard!

We participated in an Iron Chef competition held by my good friend Roger. Our team (Andy, Cara and me) took 1st place because we made goat fish ceviche in tomatillo lemon juice, lemon and poblano hummus with red pepper, toasted pita and spinach hammocks, leechy fruit stuffed with crushed pecan/honey/red peppers with honey yogurt dipping sauce and finally pecan breaded whitefish served with spinach over couscous. It was SUPER good! Our dishes are the white round plates on the left

I don't know what to do with my hands...

I went with Andy & Cara down to Providence, RI to help them load and unload their art for her RISD interview.

Andy and I had a nasty mustaches most of the time in honor of mustache march. Before shaving his, Andy turned it into a catfish mouth and even let Cara put eyeliner on.

We hung out with buddies and ate our favorite- bacon wrapped cheeze-whiz dogs!

I even found Andy and Cara side by side on a Second Life date.

They left just in time though because old man winter threw one more curveball at us. Somewhere around this point I also decided to go to the doctor because my back had really been hurting and a nasty blistery rash showed up all over the left side of my torso. It turns out I had SHINGLES!!! I thought only old people got that?! It hurt like crazy and came the same week of my qualifying exam. I survived though and even passed my Qual exam, a grueling 2 hour oral examination allowing me to officially advance to doctoral candidacy- meaning I'll be done next spring. My guess is the shingles gave me the sympathy vote!

When I got back to the office I found my office mates had covered it with Herpes pamphlets!! (Shingles is just the Chicken Pox virus recurring as an adult, but it's technical name is Herpes Zoster)

very funny guys.

Bill's webpage prank

2011-03-14T16:39:00.004-04:00

I am my father's son- so when my good friend Bill asked me to make a webpage for him because our advisor wanted everyone in the group to have one- well, I couldn't resist.

Behold the finished product.
http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~wdb/

yes, that is a mustache picture of him and yes, those are dancing alien gif's

The best part was that I showed him a "normal" version first and then uploaded the funny one after the links were sent to our advisor. Comedy ensued.

UPDATE: Our advisor busted Bill and told him it was unprofessional! Hilarious. However, as a result I've taken down the funny website and replaced it with a more professional one.

you can see how the website looked by going to the link I've backed up on my own site
http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~sparks/BillJoke/index.html

8 months and random thoughts

2011-03-13T21:42:00.007-04:00

I was bored, and decided to do a little photoshop on my monthly belly picture. Besides, I think the door in the apartment makes for an ugly background. Know that I shamelessly stole this idea from someone else (who was also more diligent and posted weekly pictures). So we are officially at 33 weeks, and however many more to go only this baby knows- we're hoping for 7.

With Spring feeling much closer these days, my mood has been lighter and with that comes imagining happy things. I was laying in bed the other night, and randomly thought to myself
If I had to sum up the best parts of life in a list of 5, what would they be?

So in no particular order, here's what I'm thinking:

-Enjoying really good food. I always think of the scene from Chocolat where they are at a dinner party, we hear slow and passionate symphony music...eyes are closed, mouths are chewing, all you hear is happy mmming.

-Warm, sunny mornings and perfectly pleasant evenings. Everyday on my morning bus ride to college, I would turn on my ipod, enjoy the sun on my face, and listen to this song. And almost everyday I dream of when I have my own porch to enjoy breakfasts and dinners on, and a garden to spend mornings and evenings in.

-Music, of most varieties

-Being with people I love

-Vast variety of culture all over the world

Share your happy thoughts...what is your list?

I spoke too soon...

2011-02-27T20:07:00.001-05:00

The rain turned into a weekend of more snow. Boo.

At least the rain today is melting the snow...

2011-02-25T10:18:00.006-05:00

I've had a bad case of the winter blues. This is why Santa Barbara and I got along so well. No real winter. No blues. I've spent too many days for too many months inside my small apartment doing the same sorts of things.

I have to get out, I say.

But I don't like going out. Not usually. Not here in this weather. It's cold and icky, and in my current state I usually have to go to the bathroom within like 5 minutes.

Work on your drawing, I hear Taylor repeat almost everyday.

I have this huge drawing of Santa Barbara I've been working on for probably about a year. Isn't that ridiculous? I need to just get it over with. Maybe I'm just afraid, because it makes me remember everything I miss about that time. I always remember riding our bikes together in the pleasant evenings down past the slough to the beach to watch the sunset. I'd have the perfect song playing on my ipod and the wind against my face and I would think
I am so happy. Right now.I am not a winter person. I don't appreciate having four distinct seasons. I just like the warm sun on my face. Is that so bad? The Sparks are all headed to Costa Rica tomorrow, and don't get me wrong, that's where I would love to be right now...unfortunately it's a little out of the budget, too much time off work, and 8 months pregnant isn't how I want to see Costa Rica.

Please Spring, come soon.

Here's a great video to warm the heart.

Birthing Class?

2011-02-15T11:37:00.002-05:00

The time has come and I must make a decision.

No fancy birthing plans- I'm planning to do an epidural, if everything works out of course. It would cost us about $90 for the class. I do read A LOT, so I'm not clueless.

Any advice from the moms out there?

Happy Day to You

2011-02-14T22:37:00.004-05:00

We're not big Valentine's Day people. I guess I used to be, but after too many upsets because of unmet expectations, I realized that what the world tells you should be expected is pretty ridiculous.

So I changed my mind on the matter. I stopped expecting.

And now it can just be a simple happy day. We don't buy gifts, we don't go out for an expensive dinner, and I don't even expect flowers. I like to recognize the holiday and dress appropriately, do an extra kind deed for my dearest, and just love each other and our friends.

Taylor cooked up a delicious pizza, and it was just a nice day.

I hope you all enjoyed yours.

a story

2011-02-06T16:26:00.005-05:00

I can't believe we're at 7 months already.

Here's the latest...we found a crib on sale at Target that came with a free mattress, but the sale was ending that day (yesterday).
We jump in the car and trek over to Target, but alas there are no cribs out on the shelf. Let's ask someone if they have one in the back I say. We are wandering around looking for someone when Taylor says Wait, why are we doing this, you said you could just buy it online.

OK. I say- that's fine. I think I was just desperate to get out of the house at least once. Check.

I'm finalizing my online purchase when I realize that this item doesn't qualify for free shipping, and with the extra charges, it won't be such a great deal. I see a button- Find this item at a store. I do a search, and discover that yes, the store we were just at does in fact have more available.

Once we finally have the crib in our hands and walk out of the store, it starts to rain. We quickly shove the mattress into the trunk and are pushing the crib box into the back seat- it doesn't fit. And within about 10 seconds the rain goes from bad to monsoon. I'm freaking out, Taylor is trying to figure out how to open up the back seat to the trunk, we're both yelling at each other, and everything is completely soaked.

That was really awful, I say as we finally pull out of the parking lot, and neither of us say anything the rest of the way home.

Crib...check. And it's lovely.

Snow Day #4

2011-01-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

Everyone talks about the storm of '78 that killed over a hundred people and made the easiest form of transportation skiing through the streets. It was the first week of February, and hopefully this year won't be a repeat. This is the 4th day school has been canceled within 3 weeks. I think that's more than I had in all of elementary school in Utah.

At this rate, said one of my 3rd graders at work, we'll be in school until August.

I'd like to say they are snow wimps (because 3 of those 4 days were quite lovely actually), but I can't deny the fact that I've been enjoying these days off.

Even Taylor got to stay home.

I gave him a haircut, we went on a walk (which is honestly the most frustrating these days because I can't go anywhere for too long because my bladder is the size of a peanut), we watched the documentary Food Inc., and a National Geographic series on prisons called Lockdown- so fascinating!

All of this fun still can't compete with some lovely spring weather, which I hope isn't too far away.

You know you're pregnant when...

2011-01-21T11:20:00.002-05:00

...The finale of Prison Break puts you into a sobbing fit.

The last couple weeks have consisted of 3 snow days (which means no work for me), one holiday, and a whole lot of online streaming of Prison Break through netflix. I'm trying to adjust back to my normal schedule, but I feel like I just broke up with all of my friends.

Time to start a new book and enjoy another snow day.

Halfway

2011-01-13T16:09:00.008-05:00

It always bugged me when friends wouldn't post pictures of their growing bellies because they didn't want anyone to see them in a plump state. I'm not really sure why I take such an interest in seeing pregnant bellies, but I suppose some part of me has a fondness for them.

Yet alas, I have failed to keep a regular update of the girth of my own tum. Honestly, there just hasn't been much to show.

On another note, we basically have bought nothing for this child, and the other night I had a dream that the baby came way early and I wasn't ready. Needless to say, it has gotten me thinking I should start figuring out what to purchase. One motto I live by is keep it simple...the less stuff I'm surrounded by the happier. I believe there are oodles of baby doo-dads I don't need.

So for all you pro moms out there, what stuff did you end up with that was just a waste of space and money?

I'm writing this post because I have to stop falling asleep...

2011-01-02T19:42:00.005-05:00

It's a new year, and it's too quiet in my tiny apartment. I flew back home from Utah on Friday, but Taylor won't be back until next week. I have to get back to work you see. Tomorrow. ugh. At least I didn't have to spend New Year's Eve alone, thanks to a friend who also filled my fridge with chocolate milk...yum.

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Ours was nice, not too eventful, but it's nice to see the family. I was absolutely a photo fail, but here's a few for your viewing pleasure...

Snowshoeing with my sister- I try to squeeze in a trip every winter

Taylor loved spending time with his nieces...she is looking rather sullen and subdued here.

German cousin and his girlfriend who came for a visit.

So it's back to reality. Here's to 2011, a new year with new adventures!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

If you didn't get this as an email, sorry! It means I probably don't have your email. Here's the card though (and message)

Another year flies by!
This one brought with it plenty of new adventures! In Boston we ice skated on frozen lakes, watched Revolutionary War reenactments and cooked lobster on windy beaches. For the summer we lived for 3 months together in Shanghai where Jodi learned to paint Chinese calligraphy and eat things she never dreamed of and Taylor did research at the Chinese Academy of Science for Ceramics. While we were there we hiked through the breathtaking Yellow Mountains, explored exciting Shanghai, survived the crowded 2010 World Expo and ate delicious food! On the way home from China we stopped in Utah to see Taylor's little brother's wedding and then traveled through Yellowstone and the Tetons with our new city slicker friends from Boston (stopping at every swimming hole we could find along the way).

We hope all this served as good training for life's next big adventure: Jodi is pregnant with a baby boy due in April!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic 2011,
Taylor & Jodi Sparks

Go Team AMERICA!!!

2010-12-17T18:35:00.000-05:00

Bill came through! It was a photo finish! Down to the wire! Bill devasted Team America (me and Roger) advancing to the semi-finals where he faced the brutal champion of Indonesia, Andi. Meanwhile, Xin was making mincemeat out of the Chinese delegation and proceeded to lay a whomping on poor Mor, from Israel.

And there we were. USA vs China for the finals. Xin was the most amazing ping pong player of all time. He struck with the deadly speed and grace of a mongoose. It was like watching a jedi-master of ping pong.

Somehow. SOMEHOW.... SOMEHOW... Bill managed to beat him though! Bill got in his head, capitalizing on the mental advantage and was soon 10-3 winning with game point. Then, Xin rallied and before we knew it, the score was 10-10!!! But Bill saved the day!

Team AMERICA 1st place (Bill)
Team China 2nd place (Xin)
Team Indonesia 3rd place (Andi)

Can't wait for three months when we have the next Clarke group games- BADMINTON! Enjoy that sweet, sweet trophy now Bill. In three months, I'm takin it home.

First Annual Clarke Holiday Table Tennis Invitational

2010-12-15T15:22:00.001-05:00

It took me and Bill a long time, but we finally put together a sweet ping-pong tournament for our lab group. Here's the email we sent out:
Fellow Clarkers:

Next Friday at 4pm we are hosting the first annual "Clarke Group Holiday Table Tennis Invitational." It took Bill 1.5 years to find a ping-pong ball, but we are finally ready to promote some group unity. We'll be competing for fabulous prizes including donuts, lab cabinet space and maybe we can even get a coveted "get-out-of-group-meeting-presentation-free" card! Please reply if you're up to the challenge so we can prepare the tournament bracket.

The Organizers

I thought was hilarious, especially because we have no lab cabinet space at all. We even sent it to the boss. Shortly thereafter he trumped our celebration by throwing a holiday open house the next day complete with this snazzy flier.

Bill couldn't stand our event getting shown up that way, so he made this flyer for it.

Now, our group is half Chinese and Bill and I were very worried about all the Americans getting eliminated in the first round, so we set up this bracket, which you'll notice has divisions from each country, thus guaranteeing at least one American makes it to the semifinals. (I feel like I could be an organizer for the BCS games!)

And do we have a trophy? You bet your sweet bippies we do. I found an awesome piece of science that I converted into a trophy with the judicious application of some gold spray paint. Tune in on Friday to see the trophy and pictures from the event!

Thoughts for Christmas

2010-12-12T23:16:00.006-05:00

It's already a couple weeks before Christmas, and I've found myself not thinking enough about what I should be, and worrying too much about the gifts I still have to buy. I'm pretty good about it, keeping Christmastime simple- I despise the hustle and bustle and materialism.

Taylor and I have our own tradition (which I stole from my sister) involving a small white stocking and some dedication. On Christmas we each decide individually what gift we can give to Christ this next year, anything we want to try to improve of ourselves. We write it down, and stick it into the stocking to reflect on and evaluate ourselves the next Christmas. I like this simple tradition, and it helps me remember what is most important.

So, I'm really trying to think about this and how I can improve myself.

Those are just some Christmas thoughts, and here's a wonderful message to go along:

Oh baby

2010-12-06T22:38:00.003-05:00

This baby business has been quite fun. Except for the hives, those weren't so fun. I know I'm slow at all of this, but Taylor has already announced to most of the world that he was right all along...

Meet the BOY who already likes to kick a lot

Taylor has learned something new. He said to me,

Geez, I didn't realize so many people would have opinions about my child.

HELLO.

Always. So I said You know, you don't have to tell people things.

So he doesn't anymore. Better that way.

But I do need some pictures of my growing belly...

She's a Winner!

2010-12-06T10:21:00.000-05:00

Jodi is awesome. Her picture won 3rd place! See the results here.

Physicists reading Vampire Novels

2010-12-03T20:35:00.001-05:00

So the other day I went to print some research papers and found that somebody had printed like 300 pages of a steamy vampire novel on the 5th floor Physics graduate students printer! Whatever scientist did that was an evil genius! I was so mad that I hadn't thought of a prank like that first that the next day when the stack of papers was still there, complete with a color photo cover I took them and went back to my office where I stapled them and left them on poor Kian's desk with a note that said "Kian, I need you to proofread this for me by Monday -Shriram" (his advisor)

It was hilarious. We are always leaving stuff on his desk. We left two big phones one day, somebody left a huge tiger woods poster and both Home Alone videos on VHS.

I'm not gonna lie, this mini prank got me in the mood for an even bigger office prank. Stay tuned, and watch your back. Bill, I'm lookin at you!

By the way, only in grad school will you find a white board in the lunchroom, and only at Harvard Physics will you find this diagram on it.

christmas season has arrived

2010-11-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

for you, Josh.

Argentine Food Night

2010-11-19T23:58:00.003-05:00

We were tempted to go to "Tango", an Argentine restaurant this week, but we decided instead to have friends over and make Argentina food! We made some espectacular empanadas, ensalada rusa, panqueques argentinos, and salad. Of course we didn't do it alone, we did have our very own Maestro of a chef, Mauricio Gatica who just got here from Argentina a few months ago.

Bill was fascinated with all the new people, he would be speaking his best spanish to Mauricio one minute, and then quizzing our friend Myca on her awesome flower business the next. When it came time to actually make the empanadas we all tried our hand at it. Everyone saw how hard those babies are to pinch together beautifully! Bill kept squashing his into mutilated shapes and then pretending I'd done it! No way Bill! And for the record, he still, could not beat a wolf in 1 on 1 combat, he would end up making more painful noises than this lady.

bizarro Jodi

2010-11-14T13:39:00.001-05:00

Check it!
Jodi's niece found this picture on the BYU nursing program website. I'm convinced Jodi has a twin.

And have I mentioned how much she looks like Renee Zellweger too?

great uncle Ossi

2010-11-05T00:25:00.000-04:00

We'll miss you great uncle Ossi. Now my Oma is the last Siegel left.

The truth is...

2010-11-01T18:13:00.001-04:00

We haven't blogged for 2 weeks. 2 weeks people! To be honest, we kind of got bored with this blogging thing. But here I am, eating my yogurt on a Monday morning , blogging at last.
It's a new month, fresh start.

But the truth is, I haven't just been lazy or bored (Taylor can't share my excuse),
I've been sick and tired.

I've been PREGNANT.

We're quite excited for mini Sparks to join us in April.

In the meantime, I've got wicked bad hives. I haven't figured out what they are from, but this is day 6 and I'm itching myself into oblivion. I had high hopes this morning that they were going away, but alas, as I type, red bumps are making their way up my legs and onto my bum.

But let's end on a more positive note, my lovely sisters came for a visit.

And I'm having a baby:)

Mom, Michelle, Squawkbox & Pumpkins

2010-10-16T11:43:00.000-04:00

We were super stoked to have Mom, Michelle, and Squawkbox to come visit this last week.

Gelatto was clearly more interesting than the Paul Revere statue.

At Walden Pond...

The Squawkbox had some pretty awesome morning hair.

Squawkbox wasn't entertained by pumpkins

Ipswitch at Crane Beach. Man was it windy!!

Mt. Auburn park is as awesome as ever.

The squawkbox flippin loved shoulder rides. She may have been filling her diaper while she was up there though.

Beth's pumpkin

Adam's pumpkin

Bob bought this mega crappy electric carver that didn't even work, but that didn't stop him from making a puking pumpkin.

Tory and Amanda's ultra rad white ghost pumpkin

Here's Bill's bumpkin pumpkin

I decided to make a wicked awesome chinese dragon complete with wings, chompers, loopdy-loop and tail.

Cabin in Vermont with Adam & Tory

2010-10-03T20:42:00.001-04:00

Jodi and I had two great friends invite us to their cabin in Vermont near the tiny town of Grafton. It was an amazing weekend! The little town has a famous "Old Tavern Inn" inside an old barn and only has some 600 people living there. Grafton is known for it's homemade cheeses and has an actual blacksmith still working too!

The woods were beautiful!

Here's the foundation stones of an old farmhouse on the property

The meadow in front of the house was gorgeous and they own a huge property so there isn't a soul anywhere nearby. The solitude was such a welcome change compared to the busy city in Boston.

The yard on the side complete with a homemade swing built into a tall tree.

"When within the shady woodland..." The changing leaves were so beautiful.

We of course made an awesome bonfire and had killer tinfoil dinners and cobbler.

cherry chocolate/peach vanilla

The inn at the town had the complete Dickens collection .

Some of the most fun we had was the four-wheeling in the nearby hills and forests.

We ended up going off the trail and over this big hill through the brush.

We can't wait to go back soon!

While you wait for us to stop slacking on the blog...

2010-10-01T09:29:00.003-04:00

Here is a great message about patience.

I'm looking forward to this over the weekend. You can watch it here.

And Happy October to you.

Conference in Chicago

2010-09-23T15:29:00.001-04:00

My summer long trip to China wouldn't be complete without a conference at the end to present my findings! I've had just enough time to finish my experimental measurements, analyze the data and whip up a poster. I followed the same template as last time and, happily, this time my advisor didn't tell me that it "needs more color."

Here it is:

And there's a "creative China photo contest" too, so I had a really hard time picking from all of Jodi's amazing photos from the summer. I settled on this one. Wish us luck!

Clambake 2010

2010-09-19T11:06:00.005-04:00

Our ward has an awesome tradition that has been ongoing since 1952 of doing a traditional New England Clambake. This year was #58 and it was a hoot! Like last year Jodi and I pretty much spent the whole time loading trailers, getting the place ready, cooking and cleaning up but we love it.

I'm an official lobster/clam cooking champion.
So many people came! My favorite was when people who weren't from our ward would come eat too, they were always so surprised at how welcoming us Mormons are. There was a group of 8 or so Chinese people that came through the line that were shocked when I started jibber jabberin with them in Mandarin.
The beaches in the northeast are beautiful.
The day was so warm and nice! The water wasn't even too cold to swim in, it was actually about the same temperature as Santa Barbara.

Happy 24th Birthday Jodi!

2010-09-10T21:08:00.004-04:00

watch it in HD at youtube if you'd prefer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCPKEA16omo

and the birthday dinner was pretty awesome too! Thanks for hanging out, friends!

And what was my gift to Jodi for her birthday? Oh, just me wearing my sweet jorts.

Dave's Hillbilly Wedding

2010-09-08T14:24:00.002-04:00

Ashley & Dave Reception Highlights! You must see this!! from Matthew Baker on Vimeo.

yup, we ended up in the pool, was there ever any doubt?

Listen

2010-09-03T14:12:00.002-04:00

Emerson

2010-08-29T20:39:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I took a solo trip to nearby Concord. I often find myself saying on a lazy afternoon, "Let's go to Concord." Taylor says WHY? and I say, "I don't know, I just like it."

I'm so amazed that such a small town could produce so many great minds. As my sister noted once, it was as if they all fed off of each others creativity. You can visit Walden Pond, the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where countless famous names are buried, Old North Bridge, the Louisa May Alcott house, Nathanial Hawthorne house, and on and on.

This time I visited the Ralph Waldo Emerson house. It was delightful and educational. We could disagree on a few things, but he was a great thinker and that's admirable. He also called his wife Queenie and she called him Mr. Emerson, and I think that's sweet.

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Food for Thought

2010-08-27T12:54:00.007-04:00

I knew that this August I would be starting all over again, just like last year. Fortunately, things went a little smoother, we stayed in our apartment and I actually got a real job. After spending the last year mostly sitting around and being bored, I get to feel productive again. I'll be working for the Boys & Girls Club, basically doing the same thing I've always done, but this time with more authority. That will be a nice change.

So I was thinking about some of those great things I learned this Summer. I was really thinking about how I must remember and not fall back into my old habits. Some of them are very small things, but some are very important. In no particular order:

1) Work harder and learn to like it, or just do it I can work hard when I want to, but I know I'm not the best when it comes to physical labor. Life has just been too easy. I would watch people there and know that I will never know work like they know it. I will never have to climb 6,000 stairs with a 200lb load on my shoulders. Working harder will make me stronger, bring patience, and greater endurance.
2) Try not to complain about hard things, recognize that it's hard and figure out how to make it work I sat and watched out my window one morning as the girl across the way was standing in her concrete kitchen scrubbing away at her laundry, then hanging it to dry, over and over again. No washing machine to just toss it in, no dryer to get it smooth and fluffy. Sometimes tasks, like laundry, feel hard because of the life I'm used to living. I have to remember that I'm very blessed and there's nothing to it but to do it.
3) Walk or bike more often Everyday when I would go out, there's one thing I always noticed, the Chinese have awesome legs! They are constantly moving. It might take me longer to run an errand or get somewhere fairly close if I don't drive, but I can do it. I can save gas money and be more fit. I just got so used to walking everywhere all Summer, even to haul all of my groceries home.

4) Eat Healthier When I first came back to America, something I noticed right away: There really are so many fat people. To our credit, I know we don't have the same genes that the Chinese have. But it doesn't matter, I want to stay healthy. I was able to get into a good habit of just eating until I was satisfied rather than stuffed, drinking lots of water, and eating less treats. Those are things I didn't think I could ever do because I love satisfying my taste buds, but I got into the habit and now it's just easy.

5) Consume and waste less When you live in a country with 1.3 billion people, they tend to be rather stingy. I learned that I can manage with just a couple napkins (most restaurants don't even have dispensers anywhere), one paper towel, or one package of ketchup instead of 20.

7) Treat foreigners with respect and patience It really made me frustrated when people would lie, trick, or just avoid clear communication to get more money just because we are foreigners. I swore to myself that I would never be that way, I don't think many people here are. I just want to make sure that if someone approaches me with a question I treat them with kindness and try my best to help them.

8) Think outwards more, inwards less I remember the day we were out walking and passed an area that was falling apart shanties, just a pile of rubble- but these were people's homes. Why was I was given such an easy life of rich abundance and comfort and not them? What I really learned was that I don't need to feel guilty, but recognize what I can do because of what I have. I don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat tomorrow, or where I'm going to sleep. I have the ability to not have to worry about myself, and focus on helping others in need. If I don't ever do this, I will feel guilty. This is the greatest thing I learned.Photo from LDS Newsroom

mumford and sons

2010-08-23T17:01:00.002-04:00

I can't get enough of this band lately.

listen to their whole album here

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/Sigh+No+More/3523110

Back to Reality

2010-08-20T17:35:00.005-04:00

Unlike the rest of the Chinese, Woody never smiles in pictures. This is a shame, because his smile could make the saddest heart glad.

I feel as if the last few months were all a dream. It's amazing how quickly your senses can forget- the smells and sights I took in everyday, the way it felt to walk on the bumpy sidewalks, or how my entire body rebelled against the heat (but also amazing at how quickly they can remember with just one sniff of a familiar scent!).

There's nothing left but the images in my head and on my computer.

2 1/2 months is such a short time. It felt like it would be an eternity, but it went by so quickly. Somedays were just as awful as I had thought they would be, but fortunately those were less often than expected. Sometimes I miss it, but I'm happier to be home.

Things worked out much too perfectly to be just good luck. The couple that lived in our apartment were saints, and I didn't worry about a thing all Summer. We could have ended up living in a nightmare from Craigslist, but lived better than I could have imagined and with a host who made me laugh even in the very worst of China Days. I met 3 beautiful girls whose life circumstances were so similar to my own, nothing could tear us apart as we braved a new world together. Summer in Shanghai was unusually mild this year, and the very worst of it was just beginning as I was leaving. I didn't get sick. Not once.

I learned a lot this summer, about life, people, and myself. Maybe later I will tell you what I've learned, so much so that I've already made changes.

Things always work out for our good- in the very end at least- don't they?

Dave's Wedding, Yellowstone, Tetons!

2010-08-16T19:49:00.019-04:00

(NOTE: click to make any of the following pictures bigger. I accidentally made them small)

We are home!!! After 3 amazing months in China our adventure has brought us back home. We got back just in time for my little brother's wedding. I was really excited to see my cute nieces.Here's Dave on his last night as a single man. Nice jams D.We got some good pictures taken
this is my favorite baby- The MEGABABY!!! That point means she loves ya.
The luncheon was pretty great. We took it easy on Dave and didn't embarrass him too badly.
This baby was wiggly and dangerous with her forks. Not as fun as the megababy.
The reception center was in gorgeous Wolf Creek. I love Utah!
the fam.
Dave had like 27 groomsmen. They were pretty entertaining. At the end of the night we all jumped in the pool and had a good ol' hillbilly time.
We got some great pictures taken.
Bill and Amanda, our super good friends from Boston even made it out for the trip.
The next morning we got up before 4am in the morning and drove up to Camp Loll, our favorite place on the planet. We explored this super awesome haunted house on the rollercoaster road.
Bill couldn't get enough of the wheat fields and beautiful scenery.
Amanda couldn't get enough of how ridiculously happy Bill was.
we got to camp in good time and started our 16 mile hike by 11am (kind of late) but we hiked fast and loved it when we finally arrived at Scout Pool and Union Falls. Scout Pool is a naturally warm river swimming hole where the water temperature, depth and speed is perfect for swimming. I'm convinced God must sneak there when nobody is around to take a dip himself.
Here's bill getting a sweet back massage from the waterfall.
We were sad to leave and start our 8 mile hike back.
Here we are after climbing up Cardiac Hill
The next day we woke up early again and headed into Yellowstone to see the wonders there. Bill was mega stoked.
and who wouldn't be?
Here we are at Artist Point overlooking the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Andy and his girlfriend Cara were always off smoochin.
here's a rare sighting of them not staring at each other.
We also went to the Dragon's mouth, Hayden's Valley, Firehole river and Old Faithful, but I didn't seem to get any pictures of those places. Oh well.

The next day we woke up early (again!) and sat in the freezing cold Polar Bear Spring.
it was a little too cold for Amanda.
Bill insisted the victorious picture was only for those who braved the cold.
We then headed for the Tetons. I saw a bear like 50 feet behind to fisherman crossing a creek and they didn't even see it behind them!
We stopped at Jenny Lake and we would have hiked Cascade Canyon but we were pretty cold.
I took the group to the uber beautiful and hard to find Tetons barn.
Ridiculous car games happened the whole time because Andy's dad was good enough to let us use his van, Tranny.
Jackson Hole was as fun as ever.
We checked out the Bar-J Wranglers that night and had a lot of fun even while we were waiting. This Indian had Andy hands. Bill had to put his up just to prove how normal hands should look.
Bill and the bear
Cara put the moves on the mountain man. He fled like Joseph with Potipher's wife...
...but then he got inappropriate with Andy who seemed concerned...
... and more interested in the bear.
Bill is just exactly like my Dad- he insisted on talking to everybody he met! It was really fun actually.
The show was really great, it was too dark for pictures though. That night we camped out and watched the meteor shower. I love all the stars you can see out west! We roasted marshmallows, had a campfire, talked and talked and right when we were about to fall asleep Bill decided to unleash hell fury and set off the car alarm! Andy couldn't find the keys forever and the other campers nearby were probably pretty mad.

The next morning we started our drive home. We stopped to get cheese and cheeseburgers from the Star Valley Cheese factory and then continued onto Lava Hot Springs where we floated the river and enjoyed the hot pools! Here's bill going over the falls.
it was really fun!
Jodi kept getting trapped in whirlpools and had to swim her way out.
This waterfal ate Andy for lunch! (and most everybody else)
Amanda definitely got it the worst though when she tried out the double tube.

Finally we got back home to Utah and I showed our boston friends the super awesome Utah past-time of iceblocking.
It was a wonderful welcome back home to America. We'll miss China, but I'm certain that wasn't the last time we'll live there. Now we just have to unpack all of our boxes and get back to school.

Epic Trip to Huang Shan

2010-08-03T10:26:00.014-04:00

Staring up at the huangshan mountain range. The tram's vertical ascent alone is over 3500 feet!
No worries, we took a tram up, the only problem was the roof of clouds that was waiting for us near the top.
Good times on the gondola
many, many steep steps awaited us upon getting off the tram.
and narrow!
Hiking among the clouds was pretty amazing! It gave everything a foggy mysterious affect. This was at the highest peak of the entire mountain range, Lotus Peak.
The wind would blow the clouds away for a few seconds and then return.
We got lost a little on the way back down and ended back up at the tram.

Frank and Tim came along for the fun.

The clouds started lifting slowly as the day wore on...

Chinese people love jumping in pictures
this lady couldn't resist jumping in.
By afternoon the clouds had almost entirely lifted

Finally we arrived at "the grand canyon of the west sea" it felt like something from Indiana Jones! These mountains had the majesty and height of the tetons, the jagged shear cliffs of Bryce Canyon and the lush vegetation of a rain forest. Truly the most amazing place I've ever seen.

incredible!

The gang at the grand canyon
trees somehow manage to grow in the most amazing places.
more and more stairs...
Walking Fairy bridge was like something out of The Lord of The Rings!
It was even more amazing from the sides. The chasm it spanned was something like 300-400 feet high!

we have no idea how somebody built this temple, it was surrounded by sheer cliffs.

We stayed the night up on the mountain in a little hotel and then woke up at 4:45AM and saw the most amazing sunrise ever.

then the clouds came back for a while spoiling what would be amazing views...
this rock was one of the coolest! It is called "flew from afar rock" because the rock looks like it must have flown there to arrive at the cliff's edge. It is pointing straight up!
more amazing cliffs!
ninja jodi and deb
epic crane!
at lover's point

people carve their names in locks and clip them to the chains that way if they ever get divorced they have to climb back up and cut it off.
jodi was totally shooing people away so we could get a good shot.
Finally we started the epic hike down the mountain instead of using the tram. These guys were absolutely amazing. They would carry 100+ pounds of gear all the way up the mountain (Over 6500 steps!) Their shoulders were misshapen and deformed from the weight.

they had mega calves though

the sight was even beautiful from the bottom. What an amazing trip!

Huang Shan

2010-08-01T11:16:00.003-04:00

Just got back from the most beautiful place on this planet where we've been these last few days. More pictures to come soon!

a very bad day for my face

2010-07-25T12:02:00.006-04:00

The day started out normal enough...then we found a sweet fountain area that was squirting water...
then I mangled my stomach...
and my face doing a wicked sweet penguin slide...
The gash was ~1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide. I was terrified of getting stitches in a chinese I hospital and I somehow thought that superglueing the wound together with a week's worth of stubble was a better idea... (note the tissue glued to my face as we ride the subway home)Turns out letting Steve use the superglue on the 1st attempt was a horrible idea! Steve's fingers got stuck to my face and when he pulled them off I think it tore the gash even bigger. Even worse, my entire chin and goatee was a mass of superglue, nasty half-beard and blood. This was after I shaved and scraped off as much as I could...
From here on out all I could do was pull massive amounts of beard out...
And I also had to pull the glue out of the wound from our failblog worthy first attempt at glueing the wound open. What you see here is a big chunk of Taylor meat. mmm....hmmmm... pain.
Ready for the final glueing (a 5 person job apparently)...
Massive scar waiting to happen or good as new? We shall see.

One thing I will miss...

2010-07-23T05:18:00.002-04:00

Good friends.

I'm sorry I haven't had much to say on here. I feel like I'm out of good stories.

Here's one for you...

I went to my painting class today. If you remember, it's held inside a fabulous Italian restaurant before opening time and the class is made up of ladies from all over the globe. Every week after the first hour, we take a break and everyone sits at the bar while the teacher takes orders and gets everybody coffees, cokes, and sparkling water- I'm the only one that always gets just plain old water.

Once everybody has their drinks, Mr. Chen always clangs on his glass to get everyone's attention to play his "games". Picture him- a tall rectangular shaped Chinese man, 45, fuzzy head, glasses, baggy polo shirt, shorts, stockings that come up to his knees, and great Engrish. His games have consisted of stating whether or not when you look at his glass you see it as half empty or half full, another time was telling each of our personalities according to the way we eat corn on the cob, and today it was even more in depth.

Imagine there are multiple things happening at once:
The baby is crying
The water is running in the kitchen sink
The phone is ringing
Someone is knocking on the door
and you are still not dressed for the day

which do you take care of first? second? and so forth...don't cheat by looking below

Want to know what your priorities are in life (according to Mr. Chen)?

The baby= family
The water running= finances and money
The phone ringing= work and business
The door= friends
getting dressed= your love life

Ridiculous? I'll let you decide;)