More fun, courtesy of JLC!

1. What were you doing before you started this post?
Watching Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice and (already) getting nervous about my interview.

2. What is the last thing you read/are currently reading?
A book that one of my bloggie friends wrote :)

3. Do you nap a lot?
No way....my job doesn't pay me for that! 

4. Who was the last person you hugged?
Does Sammy count?

5. What is your favorite TV series?
Right now I'd say The Bachelor or Desperate Housewives. It use to be Grey's hands down, but I've been disappointed these past two seasons.

6. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"I love you. 'Bye" (Talking to husband on the phone).

7. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Work email, Gmail, Blogger, Facebook lately.

8. What was the last item you bought?
Some macaw feather earrings with Peruvian seeds from etsy.

9. What is your most challenging goal?
Getting through my interview and getting into nursing school!

10. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished- anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I can't answer that question right now....I haven't traveled enough :) I guess I'd move back to Seattle.

11. Favorite Vacation spot?
Anywhere tropical with nice warm water to swim in!

12. Say something to the person who tagged you:
JLC, you're always so upbeat and cute! You are my motivation to keep a sunnier outlook in life! I also love whatever you're wearing in the pictures you post on your blog! :)

13. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you:
French fries!

14. What is your favorite item of clothing?
All my boots! 

15. What would your American Gladiator name be and why?
OMG I don't know...

16. Name one thing you can not live with out:
Moisturizer!

17. Has a celebrity's haircut ever influenced you on your own hairstyle?
I love a particular picture of Lucy Liu's hair.

18. What is your drink of choice.
Water! Can't get by without it here! Almond mochas if I want something warm, and I've been obsessed with Three Olives cherry vodka lately.

19. What would you eat for one meal, if you could eat anything and not gain the calories or fat grams, etc?
Plain ol' spaghetti and meatballs at the awesome local restaurant, Mamma Louisa's (it's all homemade)! 

20. What are you wearing right now?
My whale t-shirt and grey leggings (dressed for bed!)

21. What's your favorite room in your house?
The bedroom....I don't get as much sleep as I want!

22. If you were to have a baby boy and girl tomorrow, what would you name them?
So easy since I've had them picked out for a while now: boy would be Samuel and girl would be Amelie...like the movie <3>

Now for the 8 tags:

Navalgazing

R&R Adventures

Afloat in a Lonely Sound

The Ever-Changing Life of a Military Wife

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

The Life of the Wife

Lovely Yellow Ribbons

When in Rome

What I did on a Friday night

Thanks for the comments on the previous post girlies! DAR, I can't believe you didn't get numbed up first! Ouch! And yes, that's a huge needle! I couldn't help but wonder how big the needle would be for an epidural! You still amaze me with how much you run what with all the injuries you had to endure in the past! That's part of the reason I'm so stubborn with keeping up with running--you still manage to keep up with it even after the setbacks. Tough girl!

Well, I still haven't picked up those darn knitting needles. I was half watching 20/20 and was intrigued by anthropologist, Helen Fisher and her theory of why we pick the people we do for our life mates. She attributes it to certain "chemical factors" that are distinct among four different personality types: the Explorer, the Builder, the Negotiator, and the Director. Naturally, after the show, I immediately went this website to take her test. (Warning: it's a pretty long test, but hey, I had nothing better to do!) Here are my results.

 

I had to take screen shots, hence the little print. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it did a fair job in describing me. Now if only I could get Jon to take the test!

To be honest....

Sara tagged me to dish 10 honest things about myself. These are getting harder and harder to do! What more do you all want to know? :P

I'm not going to tag anybody because everyone has done this already!

So here goes!

1. I've been insecure with my body ever since the fourth grade. A little Mexican boy, Sergio, and his friend whom I ended up graduating with made fun of me at recess one day. They were laughing and pointing at me, saying "Panzona!", which quite literally means "large-bellied girl." I vaguely remember looking down at my stomach and thinking to myself, Hmm....I guess I do have a big stomach. Starting then, I started to suck my stomach in. I did it for years so I have some pretty strong abs now! :) I don't suck it in anymore, but for the most part I'm always contracting those muscles when I'm upright, or riding in a car (for balance). Is that weird? Oh yeah, Sergio's friend confessed to me our senior year that Sergio had a huge crush on me back then, hence the teasing.
2. I have a horrible memory when it comes to movies. Somebody will ask me if I saw X movie and most of the time my answer is no. They go on to describe the movie to me, and sometimes somewhere during their description I'll realize that I did, in fact, see the movie.
3. The furthest distance I've run is 13 miles (that close to half marathon distance). I have yet to run a half or full marathon, although it is one of my goals.
4. I understand a lot of Spanish, but have a hard time speaking it. The words just get stuck in my head! My vocabulary is mainly limited to that of my parents. They also threw in a little vocabulary in Quechua so I grew up thinking words such as chuma and karkas (sp?), were Spanish. I found out later they weren't. My aunt can speak Quechua and goes off if I ask her to. :)
5. Milky Way Midnights are my favorite chocolate candy. I usually buy the bag of fun size and can be satisfied eating 2-4 of those for dessert.
6. I'm a contributing author of four scientific articles. If you knew my last name you could look me up on PubMed.
7. I played the flute in high school. I picked it back up my senior year in college to play in the SU orchestra. I was a little rusty!
8. I have super dry skin so living in the desert can be torture. Lotion is a must after every shower. If I do a lot of cleaning with hot water, the skin on the palms of my hands will start to flake, but not all the way off. I have to use a pumice stone to slough it all off. Yuck!
9. I only call Sammy by his name when I want his attention. His more often used nicknames include Babe, Cham Cham, Sam-mutt, Chammy, Chamo, and Bubbo.
10. I'm so excited to see what our kids are going to look like. They will be half-Peruvian, one quarter Thai, and one quarter Caucasian. Well, almost. My grandmother on my mom's side was (?)% Japanese. Half of Jon's lineage is Jewish. That's about all I know. We're all mutts, right? I'm hoping for some blue eyes in the mix: Jon is definitely a carrier because his dad has blue eyes and my grandfather had blue eyes. Hopefully my mom passed that on to me and we'll get a surprise.

It's all about me!

When isn't it? Just kidding! Lindsay over at And we'll just laugh along the way... tagged me!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Ahhh! This is going to be hard, especially since I have a whole list on the sidebar. I want to try to list out some different ones. Oh well, here goes!

1. I'm in the process of applying to nursing school right now. The fact that I can complete a BSN in 14 months and that it's free are large motivators! That being said, I'm scared I won't like my career choice when I finally get into it. I am a person who gets bored by routine. I can't listen to the same type of music for so long, I don't order the same things off of a menu like my husband always does, and I hate relying on only a few techniques that my focus of research relies on. I'm afraid that it will be the same way with my career. I've also looked into pastry school since I've discovered a new love of baking. I love creating pretty things for people (not me) to eat. The more challenging, all the more fun for me as I try to figure it out! I'm afraid that a degree in this field would be far too much money out of pocket--money I don't have.
2. I am working on being a more laid-back person. I am easily flustered, am impatient, and get worked up easily. I'm happy to say that I've made significant progress in this area. Although you can't exactly call me laid back now, I'm scores better than I use to be. I give credit to my regular workouts and, surprisingly, my dog, Sammy, who happens to be the most high-strung, un-confident dog I've ever encountered! He taught me patience--A LOT of patience. When Jon first left, I would call him (back when I could) in tears and at one point I seriously considered getting rid of the poor baby. I couldn't bring myself to do it, knowing that he would probably be put down because he is so fear-aggressive to all strangers. I took Cesar Milan's advice and demonstrated calm and assertive leadership and found that this worked way better than yelling at the top of my lungs. Sammy respects me now, but I'm still working on the fear-aggression.
3. I'm obsessed with The Bachelor right now and even before it started! I think it has more to do with the fact that he is from Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. Once hating reality TV, I find myself watching more of it. I think I can blame the writers strike for this one.
4. I want to do something like the Peace Corps, preferably in a South American village somewhere. I don't see this happening anytime soon. I'm almost 28 years old, still wanting to go back to school and switch careers while still wanting children before I get too old. I would want to take Jon with me, of course, but he has zero interest in going abroad again after his two tours in Iraq.
5. I get irritated when the phone rings too much, especially at work and I'm the only one in the lab to answer it and I'm in the middle of something. It's more annoying than a buzzing alarm clock.
6. I like to scratch raised letters and smell books, magazines, newspaper....any paper products really. I'm glad to say I'm not the only weirdo that likes to do these things! I have a friend that once scratched the letters off of a page and my sister shares my love of smelling books. I got her the second and third books in the Twilight series for Christmas and her boyfriend got her the second book as well. She decided on which book to keep by smelling them and keeping the best-smelling one!

So there you have it! I maybe included facts that weren't non-important and I have a repeat from my perma-list, but it was hard!

Now for people to tag. I'm trying not to re-tag anyone who's done this recently.

Rebecca at [Almost] A Designer

Loqui at Loquita's Blog

Sara at When in Rome

Melissa at New Girl on Post 

Miss Rae at Raecatherine Almost on the Water

Oops that's only five! I think everyone's done this already! Oh well, looking forward to reading responses!

About me, according to Flickr

Saw Loquita's last post and wanted to make my own mosaic! Here are the 12 questions and my answers that I typed into the search field on flickr to get the mosaic tiles:

1. First name? Tania
2. What is your favorite food? Pasta with white wine sauce
3. What high school did you attend? DeSales Catholic School
4. What is your favorite color? Cadet blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt (I really don't have one so I typed the most generic thing. The picture isn't of him, but I love it!)
6. Favorite drink? Agua
7. Dream vacation? Tahiti
8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate truffles
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Pastry chef
10. What do you love most in life? Learning
11. One word to describe you. Dreamer
12. Favorite interest? Knitting

Trying to give credit where credit is due, but most of them aren't available

1. Not available, 2. Not available, 3. Not available, 4. Not available, 5. Not available, 6. Not available, 7. Floating in paradise8. Not available9. Not available10. Not available11. Not available12. Not available

Oops...sorry about the image not showing up. It showed up on the Mac when I first posted!

Friday Fun Questions

Fun brought to you buy New Girl On Post, one of my newer blog reads. OK, this is my first time posting answers to these questions and I know it's not Friday anymore but here they are. I will try to get it on the right day next time!

1. Three websites you frequent the most?
   
   Hmmm...I'd have to say Gmail, my work email, and ravelry. That, of course, is all aside from the various blogs I read, but it just asks for just 3, right?
   
   
2. What's one thing you really want for Christmas?
   
   This is going to sound really cheesy, but the only thing I really, really want for Christmas would be my husband at home. We'll be missing our first 2 Chrismases as a married couple and I really want to start our own traditions for the holidays and feel like a real family! Other than that, I'd like various kitchen utensils or appliances, such as a marble slab, a nice set of knives that actually cut my food without smashing it, maybe some money to go to pastry school (it's expensive!)
   
   
3. Any shows this season you are already addicted to?
   
   I've been a loyal Grey's Anatomy viewer since it first aired. I still can't stand to miss it. Other shows I like are Dancing with the Stars, Biggest Loser, Medium, House, Desperate Housewives, Army Wives. Some shows I'd like to get into are the Sarah Conner Chronicles, Ace of Cakes, and others I can't think of at the moment. Wow, that looks like a lot.
   
   
4. Are there any foods that you were hesitant about trying, but then did and loved them?
   
   Oysters in a half shell, but they are sooo good!
   
   
5. What room in your house is your favorite and why?
   
   Kitchen, hands down. I love to bake (and cook sometimes). I found it to be very therapeutic and it's a great way to kill time while waiting for husbands to come back home, while at the same time learning how to make delicious creations for said husband to enjoy when he finally comes home!

Well, there you have it. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

I'm in the blogging mood right now

Lucky readers! I've been neglecting my blog for so long, I have a lot to catch up on! I'll try to keep it organized here, hence the second post tonight. 

I didn't have the chance to mention that I've been taking a cake decorating class at Michaels for three weeks now. I'm enrolled in the first course of the series and will "graduate" next weekend! I've learned how to work with basic buttercream, making those cutesy shapes you see on any grocery store cake. A couple things I learned are that there are proper angles to make these shapes and you have to watch the pressure with which you push the icing out of the pastry bag. I'm proud to say that I now know how to make the famous Wilton rose! I'll be practicing that this week with a batch of cupcakes and my leftover icing from my last class (co-workers are going to get a treat!) We voted on not making a cake for the last class just so we could focus more on the rose, but the week before I made a cake, which conveniently went to my neighbors' daughter who was celebrating her 5th birthday!

This cake is just decorated with a lot of stars and dots...that's it! It looks really complicated, but it was super easy. I can't wait to get to the more challenging shapes! I've already signed up for the second course, where we learn more flowers and fun borders. With the 50% off promotion they have going on right now plus the $5.00 off coupon my cake decorating instructor gave me, the class only totaled $12.50! September is a good time to sign up for any of Michaels cake decorating classes, because no matter where you are, it is 50% off! I promise you, I will make it up to wedding cakes. In fact, I was looking at the cake at the wedding I attended the past weekend and I totally could have decorated it! Just a series of dots and shells.....so simple!

As an aside, I really really want to attend pastry school. Baking is a very new hobby to me, and had it not been for this deployment, I might not have discovered this new passion of mine. It sometimes trumps knitting--especially at these times when my poor wrists and forearms can't take any more (ouch!) It all started out with me wanting to take better care of my husband when he got home. We spend little time together, and the times we do share together, I just want to spoil him. And all us women know that the quickest way to a man's heart is his stomach! Good thing mine loves sweet, decadent desserts! I've been pretty obsessed with baking lately (look at my frequently read blogs!), sometimes baking goodies for my lab mates twice in one week. We have weekly lab meetings and last Friday was my turn. Usually the person presenting brings in something small for the others to munch on whilst listening to them drone on and on about dry science. Usually I just stop by the store and pick up something on the way, but this time I baked some blueberry muffins and coffee banana muffins--they were much appreciated (sorry, no pics!) I love trying out new recipes, although I still don't have to confidence to experiment that much yet. But the more challenging the recipe the better! It all makes the end product that much more worth it! 

Well, as impractical as it may seem, I hope to eventually make it to pastry school. I've done a little research and it looks like it's going to be really expensive (the Art Institute of Seattle charges about $50,000 for an AA or $16,000 for a diploma!) I know I need to lean on a more practical, solid job, like nursing, but I'm halfway tempted to ditch those previous aspirations and go for these new ones. 

What's purple and blue and brown all over?

Me! I bruise so easily and I hate it. It doesn't help that I'm such a klutz. I'm constantly running into things. As a result, my legs and hips always have those telltale blue splotches somewhere or other. I swear if people didn't know any better they'd think my husband was beating me (kind of hard from over 7000 miles away)! Well, Sammy helped me out in that department last weekend. I signed us up for some behavior classes. You see, Sammy is very intimidated by everyone except for Jon and I. This dog goes through life thinking everyone is out to get him. He acts very aggressively towards all strangers, barking nonstop complete with standing hair and even activated anal gland (yuck!). The result is a lonely me, wishing I could have people over for dinner or drinks or whatever. I'm a recluse because of this dog.

Well I say, "No more!" and hopefully Sammy gets better, but if he keeps up the way he's going now, I'm going to have permanent bruising all over my legs. When the trainer is working with him, he is wearing a cage muzzle, made out of plastic. When I'm walking him with this thing on, Sammy likes to rub his snout against my left leg to try to get the damned thing off, resulting in black and blue legs for Tania. See the following picture below

And that's just a couple of bruises. The others were too green to show up on camera. But seriously, my lower left leg was a canvas of Sammy's abuse. I was pissed, considering I had a wedding to attend the next day. Now I was limited to a long dress to cover all his work!  I have to admit, I unknowingly added a lot more purple and blue myself. When I got home from the wedding I gasped as I took my shoes off. On my left foot right at the knuckle of my big toe was a big splotch of purple that didn't belong, accented by a black horizontal line. I thought that black line was dirt at first and I tried rubbing it clean in vain. When I felt a dull pain in that spot, I realized it was another bruise! The camera wouldn't capture this, but it is ugly! The shoes I wore aren't painful unless I stand in them too long, but that pain is targeted at my arches and back, never so visible like now!

They're a little outdated, but I still love wedges! Oh well, I'm not giving them up, bruises or not!

Your opinion please

I had too much fun tonight uploading my picture and "test driving" various haircuts. The resulting haircuts are what I narrowed my choices down to. Unfortunately, with the website I was using, I was limited to celebrity cuts, but I love these nonetheless! I'm just having a hard time deciding what I like better! I've been wanting to try bangs out for a while now, but have been scared to take the plunge considering they would take a while to grow out if I hated them. I actually like the way they look though! I'm so sick of my current haircut and miss pulling all my hair back into a ponytail without the aid of bobby pins or headbands. Plus the last "real" haircut I got, the hairstylist done f%#ked it up and I'm in the process of growing it out--the result is a shaggy nasty mess. I feel so ugly right now!

Anyways, please vote for your favorite!

Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging

That's me! I've been curious about my personality type since one of my friends back home revealed her results after taking a test. Semper Fi Wife posted a link to a Myers-Briggs personality test on SpouseBuzz and I was inclined to take it! I looked up the definition of an ESFJ here. 

ESFJs at their best are warm, sympathetic, helpful, cooperative, tactful, down-to-earth, practical, thorough, consistent, organized, enthusiastic, and energetic. They enjoy tradition and security, and will seek stable lives that are rich in contact with friends and family.

One interesting point that I find to be true in my case, and that made me feel so flaky and indecisive

The ESFJ's value system is defined externally. They usually have very well-formed ideas about the way things should be, and are not shy about expressing these opinions. However, they weigh their values and morals against the world around them, rather than against an internal value system. They may have a strong moral code, but it is defined by the community that they live in, rather than by any strongly felt internal values.

For the most part, my values have remained unchanged, but there is a different emphasis on certain issues here in this "red" state than I experienced in the "blue" state of Washington. I feel like I've seen perspectives of both "liberals" and "conservatives" and seen both extremes, and I'm confused about where I stand more than ever. But I'm still pretty much moderate.

As I was reading the profile of an ESFJ, I was floored by how true the characteristics were to myself. I usually take these tests with a grain of salt, but then again if I read about this particular profile on a different website it might say something different. One thing that worried me, however

An ESFJ who has developed in a less than ideal way may be prone to being quite insecure, and focus all of their attention on pleasing others. He or she might also be very controlling, or overly sensitive, imagining bad intentions when there weren't any.

I'm not controlling, but I can be overly sensitive about things. I haven't gone as far as imagining bad intentions, but sometimes I have a hard time accepting that people genuinely like me and like being around me. I can get in the mindset that they're just acting out of pity. And really I just want people to like me so maybe sometimes I can get a little caught up on pleasing others due to my insecurity. The more I make them happy, the better they will like me, right? 

So, what personality type are you? Take the test and post your results in the comments!

Not the (nowadays) usual mope-y post...

I couldn't resist--I love stuff like this! Taken from Jaime at Mom Around the Clock....finish the sentence!

Maybe I should...finally register for that remedial chem class at UA.

I love the smell of...a lot of things you wouldn't associate with good smells--newspapers, magazines, old books, TriZol, gasoline, ethanol, isopropanol, DEPC...

People would say that...I'm really weird for liking the smell of above-mentioned things.

I don’t understand why...I can't get into UA's accelerated nursing program.

I lost...3 pounds in the last 3 weeks!

Life is...not always easy, but I love it!

My past...is something I cannot change and something I've learned from.

I get annoyed...driving amongst these idiot drivers in Arizona.

My idea of a good time...would be getting together with my hubby and friends.

I wish...Jon would surprise me and walk through that door right now.

Twins...are what I've always wanted!

Dust Bunnies...tell me it's time to sweep and vacuum!

Tomorrow I’m...going to manage to get through another day!

I have low tolerance for...idiots of all kinds.

I’m totally terrified of...spiders!

I wonder why...my dog hates people so much--I can't have anybody over!

Never in my life have I...been pregnant--I've been bit by the baby bug!

High school...was full of gossipy backstabbers and I hated it!

When I’m nervous...I play with my hair a lot and talk really fast.

One time at a family gathering...I met all my extended family in Perú.

Take my advice...don't run or play through an injury because it will take way longer for it to heal!

Taking a good picture...is something I strive for. I've got the nice camera, now on how to use it to its maximum potential....

I’m almost always...knitting or on the computer.

I’m addicted to...food!

I want someone to...give me a hug!

Now you have a go.....let's see what you come up with!

I think I found a new hobby...

I've been obsessed with dance for a while now. I only regret that when I was younger and quicker to learn I had taken dance classes. But I had grown up a shy and quiet child....barely voicing my desires to my parents (I would have taken dance, gymnastics, ice skating...) I took one hip hop class in Seattle at the ASUW and I loved it! Granted, I wasn't very good. People who know me probably can't picture me moving like this:

First of all, I love this song by Madonna. I thought it was a Timbaland song until I saw it on the Ellen Degeneres show (of course she was dancing to it!) So now it's on my myspace profile! One of my goals in life, however unattainable, is to be able to move like the girl in the video above. I don't quite have that pop and lock down! My gym has a hip hop exercise class on Friday evenings--maybe I'll start off there!

Embarrassing confession of the moment

I love Miley Cyrus's song "See You Again." I was just looking at my sister Diana's myspace profile and she has it on there as her song, hence reminding me of this embarrassing fact about myself. I loathed it when it first came out, but it grew on me and I find myself humming it from time to time and blasting it when it comes on the radio. Anyone else have a song they wouldn't go around telling people that they like?

Things about me

Ok, Miss Rae tagged me for a me-me so I just have to post something here. Actually, I was going to do something like this anyways, if I could just pull myself away from my knitting! (You were right Rae--I haven't so much as turned my computer on for a while!) I actually pulled this list from my myspace blog back in the day before this one. So here it is, updated life and all. Be prepared...it's a long very random list!

1. I am the oldest of four children (3 girls and 1 boy...poor brother!)
2. As a result, I had a lot of responsibility pushed on me growing up.
3. My psychology professor said that we eldest children always say that, but that we actually asked for those responsibilities to please the parents, turning bossy to declare dominance over the next younger sibling. I disagree.
4. One thing I really hate about being the oldest is that I had to fight for everything I wanted. The younger ones are just handed these privileges and don’t do half as many chores!
5. As a child, I've always had long hair down to my waist, at least.
6. This was not my choice as my dad didn’t let me cut my hair. I had my brother cut it for me several times.
7. I got my first real haircut in the tenth grade. I chopped it off shoulder-length.
8. My younger sisters got to cut their hair in the fifth grade. Of course they didn't have to fight for that!
9. As a child, I used to sneak reading by nightlight when I was supposed to be sleeping. If my mom caught me, she would spank me (yes, I was that big of a nerd...maybe still am)
10. I am a neat freak, yet hate to clean.
11. I am stubborn.
12. I am afraid of heights.
13. I can be a really aggressive driver.
14. Especially now that I moved to Arizona. I find myself flying down a street at 60 mph in a 45 zone (I’m just following traffic!)
15. I definitely don’t miss the constant Seattle winter rain...so cold and wet!
16. But I miss running in it. I love the way it sounds falling onto the leaves overhead and underneath me while I go on my trail runs.
17. . I have found the perfect climate for me. Being chronically cold (we’re talking blue fingernails here!) I have discovered that Arizona winters are awesome!
18. I don't tolerate close-minded people very well.
19. I love to work out. I finally got rid of the arm wave and my triceps are STRONG.
20. My alarm is set for 5:15 every Monday and Wednesday morning so I can lift weights before my 6:30 a.m. cardio kickboxing class.
21. I'm an extremely competitive person, although I don’t let this openly show.
22. I recently incorporated running back into my workout regimen after a two year hiatus.
23. It’s still hard for me to run for very long (6 miles max), but I just blame the elevation here.
24. I’m horrible at knowing when to stop when I injure myself and usually will run through the pain. I told you I’m stubborn!
25. Four years ago I strained a tendon while training for the Vancouver marathon. It happened during PT (ironic, I know) and I limped the entire day. I still planned on running 12 miles the next morning, but had to stop after only six because my ankle was so sore. Stubbornness prevails! (Or maybe it was stupidity that time...)
26. It took almost two years to completely recover from that injury.
27. Eventually, I want to own my very own single-person crew boat so I can escape to the water whenever I feel the need (this will be when I move back to the water).
28. This idea was inspired by my runs to Gasworks Park. I used to stretch by the water and watch the early morning rowers go by.
29. I also need a bike so I can go along the whole length of the Burke-Gilman trail because I don't have the endurance to run it.
30. I love snow...so bright and it muffles everything around you so there is almost complete silence.
31. I've been cross-country skiing once and I loved it. I need my own skis so I can go whenever I want.
32. I have a horrible singing voice.
33. But I like to pretend that I don't by singing along to really loud music when I'm by myself in the car.
34. The only drugs I've touched are alcohol and caffeine.
35. I love animals. According to Jon, I love anything that has fur. I would like to add that I ALSO love animals without fur.
36. I'm allergic to cats (but I still love them!)
37. After having my dog, Sammy, for almost two years, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not much of a dog person anymore. What a little pain in the ass!
38. I get embarrassed really easily.
39. I don’t believe in love at first sight. Lust or like at first sight, yes.
40. Sometime in my life I plan to volunteer abroad in a third world Spanish-speaking country.
41. I WILL learn to speak Spanish fluently!
42. I also want to learn to speak Quechua, Portuguese, Italian, French...
43. I'm afraid of the dark. I do a good job of freaking myself out now that I live alone.
44. I love to knit. Sometimes I will start a project in the evening and stay up until 3 a.m. knitting. During these times I don't eat or drink water, so I end up a little dehydrated the next morning.
45. I love salsa dancing, but my husband has about as much rhythm as a one-year-old.
46. One of my goals in life is to be able to dance like a professional—they need to make a version of Dancing with the Stars for normal people like me!
47. My favorite T.V. show is Grey's Anatomy (damn writer’s strike kept me from my show!)
48. I actually was going towards medical school while in college, but now I figure all that hard work isn't worth it. There are so many people out there that are smarter than me and yet THEY don't even get in! The whole process is just too frustrating to me.
49. If I had gone to medical school, I would have wanted to be a surgeon of some sort.
50. I miss being in college: having your friends right next door or down the hall, late night talks with your roommate, numerous bus trips all over the place because we didn't have a car.
51. I played the flute in high school and in the SU orchestra. I want to learn how to play the viola and/or the cello.
52. I was baptized Catholic. My mom tells me that I should go to church to be closer to God. Why should I feel closer to Him in a manmade building? I feel closer to God when I am outside in nature. What better way to be close to God than enjoying and appreciating what He created?
53. Most of my morals, I feel, come from being raised Catholic. Respect for all life, feeling responsible to protect our environment, and being generous and compassionate are just some things I attribute to my faith.
54. Although I know that being raised Catholic is not the only way to have good morals.
55. I think it bugs my parents a little that Jon is Jewish. They don't say anything to me, but a little birdie told me.
56. I married Jon on May 5, 2007. I got a beautiful engagement ring, but never got a proposal!
57. We have been together for four years now, but after this tour we will have been apart more than we have been together.
58. I’m trying to be a better wife and have been training myself to do more baking and cleaning. I am obsessed with baking now! Too bad I can't say the same about cleaning!
59. Jon told me he wanted to raise the kids Jewish. I don't have a problem with that because it's not just his religion; it is part of his culture. I have a feeling my parents aren’t going to like that very much either.
60. I can’t wait to have babies! I bet you all didn’t know that I have all the names picked out already. Now about getting Jon to agree on them…..
61. My babies will hopefully have unique names. No vanill-y boring ones!
62. Favorite girl names: Aurelia, Catalina, Serena, Amelie (yes, I got this one from the movie!)--Serafina and Raina as middle names.
63. Favorite boy names: Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah (see the theme here?)
64. I was painfully shy as a kindergartner and I don’t remember ever talking.
65. I am an introverted person, but I feel like a loud extroverted person trapped in a restricting box. One of these days I'm going to break through!
66. Maybe I just need to get over my self-consciousness to achieve that. Any suggestions?
67. I ate guinea pig (cuy) while I was in Peru.
68. I am an honest person.
69. I'm a girly girl.
70. I hate drama. I thought I had escaped it when I got out of high school, but college had its share as well and now I realize that it will always be around.
71. I have good skin and don't really get pimples
72. As a result I don't wear much makeup...just eyeliner and mascara.
73. One of my pet peeves is stepping on wet carpet (or wet anything) with socks on...I hate wet socks!
74. I have a really sensitive nose and can pick up smells before others can. Unfortunately, these smells are most always bad ones. I can't stand bad smells!
75. I’m 5'4", but I wish I were taller...or at least a little narrower.
76. I used to obsess over pictures of thin models.
77. I gained 25 pounds my freshman year in college (thank you Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!) One day I just realized that my pants weren’t fitting anymore!
78. I lost a lot of that weight junior year running on the treadmill every morning before class.
79. I gained a lot of that weight back when I started dating Jon. Many meals out and sitting around with him were my demise.
80. Again, I've worked that weight off, and then some (but I'm still not back to my pre-college weight). I am determined to keep it off even when Jon comes back. Maybe I can rub off better eating and exercise habits on him
81. I hate when people blame their decisions/mistakes on being drunk.
82. I can be a very jealous person.
83. I have the habit of smelling books when I open them; I also like to smell freshly photocopied paper, newspapers, pamphlets, and, I’ve discovered, other lab chemicals not good for you ( I don’t sniff them, I just like the smell of them)…..
84. I also like to scratch the words on laser-printed/photocopied papers (the letters are raised!)
85. Believe it or not, I know a few other people who like to do 83 and 84 as well.
86. I've spent way too much time on this list.

As for the tags, I've got nothing! I don't read very many blogs and the ones I do have already been tagged! Sorry for breaking it here!

My so-called life

Forgive me, but I don't lead a very exciting life. Therefore, my blog posts may not be too interesting. This would explain the infrequent posts (although I've been doing pretty good lately). My life is a routine, and as much I normally despise routine, it is what is getting me through this deployment. It allows me to take things one day at a time. It would be much too overwhelming to take on the whole 15 months every day.

So I can count on waking up super early on Mondays and Wednesdays to go to my gym to lift weights and go to my cardio kickboxing class. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to Reid Park after work for a 3-6 mile run/jog. I get to work around 9 every day and leave around 5 every day. I try to give Sammy a walk every day, even after my nightly runs. That is, unless I have to go to the DM commissary or take care of another random errand. I somewhat dread the weekends, as I have to spend them alone, and don't really do much talking in those two days. My socializing time is during work, with my co-workers. And so goes my life--temporarily, thank god.

So I try to fill my days as best I can and focus on the good things in my life right now (kind of hard, considering it's not going how I want it to). I appreciate the simple pleasures in life, and the natural beauty of the desert is one of those things. Being able to go for a run in shorts and a tank top in the middle of February is something I appreciate. Eventhough it is only early March, spring is already in the air. The smell of sweet acacia is in the air, the wildflowers are blooming, and the ocotillo are shooting leaves. The sun rises earlier and sets later, and those desert sunrises and sunsets never fail to draw a gasp from me (they are very distracting when I'm driving to the gym/home from work). Every day I try to park alongside the Arizona Inn so that I can start my morning off with this vision.

They're just beautiful aren't they? They never fail to cheer me up. They just up and decided to bloom one day in February and have been very attention-grabbing since that day. I hope they survive this weird near-freezing night (why after a week of 80 degree weather? and I was going to wear a skirt tomorrow--even shaved my legs!)

Evenings you will find me on the couch in front of the TV, knitting needles clicking as I torture my poor hands whilst trying to finish a sweater before it really gets too hot to wear it. Here is my progress thus far, minus the sleeve I just finished tonight.

And also a little baking. These are the almond white chocolate chunk cookies I just baked last night. Delicious!

Things to look forward to this month: (1) getting drunk with friends after I get my nursing school rejection letter and another gets his rejection letter for his grant proposal and (2) my sisters' visit during their spring break. That is all for now

Waiting for my acrylamide gels to polymerize

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	Tania Melton
Birthday:	July 26 1981
Birthplace:	Walla Walla, WA
Current Location:	Tucson, AZ
Eye Color:	brown
Hair Color:	brown
Height:	5'4"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	righty
Your Heritage:	Peruvian
The Shoes You Wore Today:	my grey ballet flat Clarks
Your Weakness:	anything pretty
Your Fears:	drowning, spiders, the dark
Your Perfect Pizza:	margherita
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	nursing school, but that looks like a no as of now
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	i don't IM
Thoughts First Waking Up:	already?! SNOOZE!!!
Your Best Physical Feature:	IDK....my arms now I think
Your Bedtime:	10:30 on nights before early morning kickboxing, an hour later other days, 2 am weekends
Your Most Missed Memory:	being with Jon
Pepsi or Coke:	diet coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	yuck! If I need fast food it's Chick-fil-a or In n Out for this girl
Single or Group Dates:	either
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	bleh! Give me some unsweetened jasmine green tea
Chocolate or Vanilla:	lately, CHOCOLATE!!!
Cappuccino or Coffee:	frappuccino or mocha
Do you Smoke:	nope
Do you Swear:	alot when I'm driving, and other times...sometimes
Do you Sing:	in the car when I'm alone
Do you Shower Daily:	of course! twice on Tues and Thurs b/c I run after work
Have you Been in Love:	still am
Do you want to go to College:	done that, but want to go back for BSN
Do you want to get Married:	check that one off the list
Do you belive in yourself:	not really...didn't have too much confidence my whole life
Do you get Motion Sickness:	still haven't found a rollercoaster too extreme for me!
Do you think you are Attractive:	I can be if I put some effort into it
Are you a Health Freak:	YES!!! I'm such a label reader! I drive ppl crazy!
Do you get along with your Parents:	for the most part, but distance is key
Do you like Thunderstorms:	yes! I really miss the rain!
Do you play an Instrument:	flute in HS and SU orchestra, but I want to learn viola and/or cello
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	no....sad
In the past month have you Smoked:	nope
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	just caffeine...it makes me happy!
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	no =*(
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	retail therapy gets me through the weekends during deployments
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	yuck! how about never! I prefer homebaked anyways...
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	no....I miss Seattle for their awesome sushi. Not the same quality here
In the past month have you been on Stage:	nope
In the past month have you been Dumped:	nah....it's a little more complicated to have that happen now that I'm married. More paperwork you know.
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	yeah...sure...by myself
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	i'm a good girl
Ever been Drunk:	of course!
Ever been called a Tease:	nope
Ever been Beaten up:	no....try it...i'll kick your ass
Ever Shoplifted:	nope....i was taught better
How do you want to Die:	never
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	nurse or nurse practitioner
What country would you most like to Visit:	not going to get a one-word answer on this one
In a Boy/Girl..
Favorite Eye Color:	doesn't matter
Favorite Hair Color:	doesn't matter
Short or Long Hair:	well my husband has really short hair
Height:	taller than me
Weight:	not obese
Best Clothing Style:	really don't care, but he's gotta put on more than jeans and a T-shirt once in a while
Number of Drugs I have taken:	just caffeine
Number of CDs I own:	idk
Number of Piercings:	3
Number of Tattoos:	none...still want one on my hip or neck but probably not going to happen
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	none....every experience is a learning one

Viva Peru!

In honor of the Peruvian Independence day, which was this past Saturday, I wanted to post some videos showing a little of the Peruvian culture, namely of the music and traditional dance.

This video is a showcase of a dance called "huayno." I love this kind of music. As I was growing up, my mom would throw her tapes on and clean house to them, all the while singing along. So I have some fond memories that go along with this video. Especially of this particular song, because it was a favorite in the family. My dad would always whistle this song and make up his own lyrics about us!

This next video is of a rendition of "El Condor Pasa," an old Peruvian song. I also grew up hearing this song, and to me, it represents Peruvian music. It is by far my favorite Peruvian song--beautiful and sad in the beginning, then happy and upbeat in the end. I didn't know Simon and Garfunkel had their own version. The instrumentation in their song sounds more like the original than the video below, but not so sure about their lyrics!



Another one (kinda cheesy) showing the traditional garb:

Here is a video of Quichua Mashis. They can always be seen at NW Folk Life in Seattle. In fact, I think this video is shot at Folk Life! Although they are not Peruvian (they are Ecuadorian) they play traditional Andean music that is also prevalent in Peru.



All these memories make me crave Peruvian food. I could use some of my mom's home cooking right about now. Peruvian food in Seattle can be enjoyed at El Chalan.