Corn cob holders anyone?

So what have I been doing at work lately? I have been shelling corn. yes, corn. To pay for grad school and research expenses I had to keep my job as a research tech working in a plant molecular genetics lab. the lab plants specific maize plants with specific genes of interest during the spring and summer months. next week we have to plant and since it is spring break many of the undergraduates are gone. the only people here are myself and one of my co-workers (who is also a grad student). the only thing, we are both part-timers because of school and work. we have a lot of corn to shell. so what do i do? i have specific corn cobs (corn ears) in which the seeds must be removed, counted, and placed into a labeled envelope. doesn't sound hard right. it isn't. it's just boring. it also gets tedious when you have several different seed colors involved and they have to be separated. my eyes are red from seed strain. i am going home for a quick dinner and i am coming back and staying in the lab late. i will see how much more i can do. after all i have been waking up at 5am and was out doing my own research in the early hours.
some corn ears are fine, others have hundreds of seeds, but the worse ones are the ones like the picture. they are covered in mold. after removing the seeds and counting my hands are a greenish-black.gross.

Bad Days

It's been hectic the past few days. A roller coaster ride I really don't want to be on. Not very happy. Right now I have to say that I do envy singles. I am going to play with Hoju, run from Maggie, Mindy, Kodos, and Barney. That will cheer me up.
How can this not cheer you up?

Happy Birthday Hoju!

Yesterday was Hoju's 3rd birthday. I can't believe that our hoju-baby is already 3 years old. I remember when we first adopted him and he was able to sit on my lap. He still does, but he doesn't quite fit anymore. Ruben and I made a meaty cake with mash potato frosting and letters made from doggy treats. All the kids got a chunk of his birthday cake and we celebrated with singing and lots of pets and hugs.
Happy 3rd Birthday Hoju baby. We love you very much!!

Welcome home honey!

So it's been a while since my last blog. I've been incredibly busy studying for exams, reading, catching up with stuff at work, getting ready for my field season, and of course dogs. The past week went well and we all survived it. that is all that matters. Ruben got back this morning at 9am. I stayed home until he got in so Maggie could see her daddy before she went to daycare. they were so excited when they saw Ruben get out of the car. They really missed him. I really missed him. here are some pictures of Ruben at the orchards. he said it was beautiful out there, but he would rather of been with all of us instead. how sweet he is.
This is the picture I wanted to make sure he took. Ruben is in his bee suite and check out all the honeybees flying around. cool huh
Luckily he had Holly around. She is a former student who has been working with Ruben on his various crazy projects for the past 3 years. She is really sweet.
Today was just such a great day. Ruben gets home (for good), I found out I was awarded a small research grant, and I had ice-cream with some great people. Don't know if the day could have gotten any better. of yeah, it will because i have a great man and five awesome dogs waiting at home for me.

Confused dogs & grad student life

Why do you have to study mom? What about just staying home all day and playing fetch with me?
Tuesday was another good day. It was a long day for me. I had to stand with one of the students who works in the lab with me by his poster in the morning, then it was class all afternoon. I got home later that evening and nothing was destroyed. I was bad however...I didn't take Kids out for a walk. I have a lot of reading and studying for an exam I have next week. And I am still drying and drilling away at sticks for my artificial bee nests.
This was my rockin' night last night. Yes, I know it's just too nerdy but who cares.
So when is dad coming home?? tomorrow Kodos.

Plumbing problem's and monkey girl

The beginning of this week was not a good one. During these frustrating times I am glad to have a house full of furry love to help me cope (or at times contribute to my frustration). After Ruben left on Monday a water pipe in our backyard decided to pop open. First we need to turn the water to the house off so we don't become wasteful. I had to get back to work and figured by the time I got home the pseudo lake in the backyard would be dry and the pipes would be drained so I could cement them back together. Wrong. The water was still there. When I decided that water is important to have around, I went to the store and bought a turkey baster and sucked up all the water around the pipe and inside so I could get it cemented. Kodos, Maggie, and Mindy were kind enough to assist me during suctioning and drying.
After cementing the pipe things were starting to look up. Since Ruben is gone for a while my friend Sonia has volunteered to help me walk my posse of dogs. Not only has she volunteered her time, but she was nice enough to ask some of her friends to help out. Tuesday night Sonia, Alicia and I walked the dogs, except for Barney who needs to rest for another week before we can take him out.
The kids LOVE their auntie Sonia (as do I), so they were excited. I walked Kodos and Hoju, Sonia walked Maggie, and Mindy walked Alicia. Sorry, but the girls are not the best walkers yet and Sonia and Alicia didn't seem to mind. How cool are they. Thanks so much for your help...you guys were awesome and the pups love you to for the help.

On Tuesday I experienced my first heart attack. I got out of the shower and had Hoju rush into the bathroom barking like a crazy dog. I get clothes on and run outside...no Maggie to be found. My heart fell. I ran outside the front yelling her name like a mad woman. Here she comes running back to me with 2 other stray dogs. My neighbor was nice enough to help me get the 2 other dogs in the back of the truck so I could take them to the humane society. I put Maggie back into the house and what does the trouble maker do...she climbs up the chain-linked fence and gets back over. In case you don't know, Maggie is now a monkey. On the bright side, I figured out how she got out and she is currently on lock down. If I'm in the shower she is in the bathroom with me. This weekend Ruben and my dad will be coming over and we will be putting up the rest of the metal sheeting fence so monkey girl can't get out.

This is the face of a dog who is not happy with me since we did not get to go out for a night walk on Tuesday night. So sorry Kodos...mama loves you...she's was just too stressed that day.