Where are my hummingbirds??

It is a stunningly gorgeous day out and chickadees are hopping all over the spruce tree by our balcony.

It's been a frantic few weeks, from utter terror in making heavy life decisions to stressed-induced thesis deadlines.

And now I am happy, relaxed, and recovering from a lovely birthday dinner.

My first news to report: I've discovered my utmost, favorite drink. I hereby claim Le Bourget as my perfect cocktail. It's incredible, and this is coming from someone who isn't keen on mixed drinks. I only wonder if I can recreate the wonderfulness of this at home?

Next to report: I made a last-minute decision to stay at the University of Washington. I was quite surprised on how tore up I was in making a decision. Three weeks later and I'm still second-guessing myself, but that's starting to curb I think?

Did I mention there's a Northern Flickr that keeps banging on the neighbor's roof? It's great, especially since I get to watch the neighbors' antics in trying to get rid of the cheeky thing. People are funny.

Other news: I think I may get to go on the Healy. It's a Coast Guard icebreaker, and the research cruise is based on sea ice (what else?). I need to figure out how to use my camera again so I can bring back some new photos to post.

I have 3 weeks until my next Norwegian adventure. This time, Tromsø for a week, Oslo for half a week, Stavanger into the unknown for a week, England for a week, and some layovers that probably amount to a few days. This should be really, really fun and I haven't quite registered that I'm going somewhere exciting soon. All I can see in front of me is school.

More wonderful things to look forward to involve the rest of this summer. I do NOT have to take any classes AND I get to research. Research is one of the greatest things that I could ever do with my free time and to top it off, I get paid for it! This, in combination with free time outside of it, will make for an incredibly relaxing and happy summer.

Now, time to try another bike ride.


Here's my mum with her brothers, sisters, and mum. She's the one in the middle, laughing hysterically. She's pretty cool. She has nice photos too. See them here. Happy Mother's day.