AHA Heart Mini Year 2...

This is the second year I've been able to participate in the AHA heart mini to raise money for heart disease research/treatment and run a fun race through Cincinnati.

We were blessed with AMAZING weather this year.  Last year amid the drizzle then down pour of rain I was able to enjoy the event.  However, with a great weather the event was so much more enjoyable.  The race started bright and early (7:45am) for the half-marathon.  The course was the same as last year, which is good and bad since I knew where to expect the horribly steep hill.  Although it wasn't my best time, and I felt like puking for at least a mile I still enjoyed myself.  I knew I was running for a great cause and that PB and J sandwiches were waiting for me at the finish!

What added to the event was seeing fellow developmental biology students participating!  The race raises money for such a great cause, not only is heart disease the #1 killer of people in the US, but the American Heart Association provides opportunities for students, like me, and others to receive funding for our research.

A few scenes from our Singapore and Thailand vacation...

The last few weeks I was fortunate enough to slightly detach from the world, electronically, and travel half way across the world.  For our vacation this year, Jonah and I visited Singapore and Phuket, Thailand.  We left a cold and blustery Cincinnati and landed in muggy Singapore.  It seems like we've brought a good dose of the warm weather back with us, 80s in March!!!  We got a little shock upon arrival since we didn't realize that driving in Sinapore is on the opposite side that the US drives on.  It should have been obvious, but arriving at 2 am put us out of sorts and we thought we were going to be hit by cars several times until we adjusted to the driving patterns.

Here are a few scenes from our traveling adventures...

This is the DNA bridge.  Tiles on the bridges had the DNA bases, ATGC! I had a science geek out moment.

Baby Manatee  at the Singapore Zoo.  

We experienced the whole island of Singapore and took in every tourist attraction.  After a hard day of sight seeing we indulged in tea time with yummy coffee at cute cafe which I think was alice in wonderland inspired. 

Phuket

Chinese temple in Phuket

The highlight of all the places we visited was the Singapore Zoo.  The animals are very accessible and you can literally interact with them since much of them are just wandering around, the orangutans are free-range.  At the Zoo, Jonah was able to feed a little baby sloth and we rode an elephant!  

Admittedly, I don't think I could handle the 87F high humidity weather year round, but it was a great place to visit.

Newport aquarium......again.

This little guy was saying hi to us!

We love the aquarium.  So, last weekend when some friends from Lexington suggested a visit to the Newport aquarium, of course we were in.  It's been less then a year since we visited last, but things have already changed (for the better) at the aquarium.  The river otters were out playing, but it was hard to get a good image of them.  They are seriously the cutest critters I've ever seen in my life! 

Clearly, I get excited about seeing all the exhibits at the aquarium, but seeing all the kids and their enthusiasm and pure joy is refreshing.  

Here are a few of the images I took while there!   

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Today is the day to celebrate love and eat loads of sugar :).  Pictured on the left are the cupcakes I made for work, devil's food cake with pink vanilla icing.  I ended up drizzling a little bit of dark chocolate over the top of them.  YUMMM!!

To celebrate valentine's day, Jonah and I spent a quiet evening together this weekend.  He made a fabulous dinner with wine and chocolate brownies.

I realize that this holiday is commercialized to the max. However, it's always a nice reminder to spread love to those around us whether it's by telling them or making sugary food.

Don't forget to take a moment to show yourself love....this evening I'm planning on showing my muscles some love and attend a pure barre class.  Maybe I'll sneak in a bubble bath afterwards.

Personal Challenge...

Earlier this week I had a rough day.  It started out rushed and busy and just continued, so I decided to go to yoga.  What I figured was I could take a few moments to center myself and calm my nerves.  Unfortunately or fortunately, it seems the universe chose to use this yoga class as a teaching moment.

During a yoga class the goal is to turn your thoughts inward to forget about the outside world and those around you.  This is hard enough for me since my mind is always crazy busy, but I'm working on it.  This week the person on the mat beside me was very disruptive.  They kept stopping during class not really trying the poses and fanning themselves (it's hot yoga....it's going to be hot).  To add to the frustration they had a plastic disposable water bottle that was really crinkly.  

None of these offenses are particularly bad, and essentially this person was not enjoying the yoga class.  However, since this person was beside me and I had a frustrating day already, I starting getting irritated.  The whole class was a practice in how to refocus my mind inwardly.  It's such a challenge to forget about what is going on around you and just focus on your breathe and body movements only.  

That whole class was a personal challenge both physically and mentally.  The positive thing is that I made it through and got practice re-centering to try and not acknowledge distractions that take me out of the yoga practice.  

Hunger games are just around the corner...

The hunger games book series written by Suzanne Collins is a dark, emotional young adult series.  In all actuality it's a wonderful series whose characters happen to be young adults, and it's written very well.  The scary part of the whole story is that I could image this future.  I enjoyed so much about this series and it's going to be a movie released on March 23rd!

During the super bowl yesterday they released a new trailer.  It's a short one but it touches on so many aspects of the story.

Just wanted to share my excitement for this movie!

New Mexico Wrap-up...

One final post about New Mexico.  I really enjoyed my time in New Mexico.  Although the temperatures were relatively similar to that of Cincinnati, the surroundings were so much more beautiful.  The mountains were always in view!

We visited the bridge overlooking the Rio Grande Gorge outside of Taos, New Mexico.  The dizzying several thousand feet from from the bridge was amazing and terrifying at the same time.  There's a giant gorge and in the distance is a mountain.  The earth in this area is all kinds of inverted.  

View from Rio Grande Gorge bridge overlook

bridge overlook

Last image of the bridge overlook of Rio Grande Gorge

We ventured in the town of Taos several days to visit shops, cafes, and restaurants.  On the last day we visited the local toy store, Twirl.  The decor is adorable and the toys are unique.  I may have squealed when I walked in.

Twirl, mustache with mustache

Fountain at Twirl

Art on the outside railing of World Cup Coffee

We went for a hike in another part of the Rio Grande Gorge, and it was simply beautiful.  I was astonished by the scenery all around us.  We saw 3 bald eagles, a large group of big horn sheep, and petroglyphs! Here are some images from our hike.  

Following our hike we toured the Black Mesa Winery and sampled the fruit of their labors (the wine, not the grapes).  

 Mixed into all these adventures were scientific sessions filled with significant discoveries and new impressive data.  I also got a few new ideas for my own project, and I'm re-energized.  

Taos....

Taos, New Mexico is an adorable little artists town.  Yesterday we hit up Moby Dickens bookstore, world cup coffee shop, doc marten's restaurant in historic taos inn, and many other little shops.  

I'm looking forward to visiting the pueblos and the town many times and getting some great images since I was having so much fun yesterday I didn't snap a single shot.  

Last night was the first night of the official keystone symposia.  Our keynote speaker was Dr. Yamanaka, as in the scientist who discovered induced pluripotent cells.  Bascially, his lab took adult skin cells and made them into cells that are almost identical to embryonic stem cells.  It was an amazing discovery and has been a great tool for developing cell therapies. Seeing such an accomplished scientist who was very personable and modest was such an encouraging experience.  

Let the conference fun begin...

I'm in New Mexico for a conference and I'm excited to explore the cities we are traveling through and hear some new science.

Here are a couple picks from Albuquerque.

Disney/Universal ...

I wanted to share some pics from our trip to disney and universal. 

Cinderella's castle at night with holiday lights!

Ducks visited our patio and were greeted by the boys and french fries.  They then brought friends.....we had a total of 5 kinds of birds on the patio by the last day including wild turkeys. 

ca-chow...lightening mcqueen at disney stunt show!

universal jurassic park...watch out for the T-rex!

Hogwarts express

Hogsmeade at night

Suess world at universal

Disney was amazing, but I was most impressed by the detail at the wizarding world of Harry Potter.  I felt like I was living the books!  I'm so happy to be able to experience these parks before having children so that I could embrace my inner child, and I look forward to visiting again in the future with children to experience these parks in a whole new way.