Milking a Sea Urchin For Its Jizz & Halloween Things

October 31, 2013 by Christine Skari

Happy Halloween to all of my lovely readers!

I hope you guys have some fun plans for today/the weekend- I know I do! The college I go to (UCSB) is known for it’s absolutely huge Halloween celebrations and things get crazy over here this time of year. Chaos!

The next couple of days will be a whirlwind of activities, including a Halloween party that my housemates and I will be throwing! Pictures to come when we get all the decorations up :). Let’s just say that we’re going to be going crazy with recipes and decorations from Pinterest.

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Oh, and some more fun things that have been going on lately, like me forcing a sea urchin to jizz all over itself, then sucking it up with a pipette. Yup, you heard me correctly. The things I do in my biology lab.

The purpose of the experiment was to study the fertilization and early development in echinoderms, which was incredibly interesting and fascinating to see under a microscope. Let’s be honest, though, the main thing I took away from it was that I sexually assaulted a sea urchin with a pipette and potassium chloride.

And with that on your mind, have a safe Halloween!

MIMM: Work Hard, Play Hard

October 27, 2013 by Christine Skari

I have to say, Monday is a bit of a jerk. Here I am, minding my own business and having a wonderful weekend and Monday always comes along to ruin all my fun. Boo!

Good thing I have some Marvelous in My Monday reflections to help remind me that working hard correlates to playing hard and hopefully that will give me the motivation I need to make it till Thursday (Halloween shenanigans)!

Off we go!

Marvelous is a fun night out!

On Friday a few of my closest friends and I headed out for a great night of dancing, laughter, and fun! We ended up not getting to sleep till 4 in the morning, but it was completely worth the great time!

Marvelous is coffee dates with my handsome guy!

Coffee+Kyle=LOVE!

Marvelous is new foreign friends!

A few weeks ago we met a group of foreign boys who are currently studying abroad at my college from England, Scotland, and Ireland and have been having a blast hanging out with them and comparing our cultures. Our hearts melt when they call us “lassies”! (SO cute!!)

Marvelous is fun fitness!

Being pretty sick for two weeks and having zero time for sleep/working out has really taken a toll on my overall fitness. Not only was I basically stationary for half a month, I lost a sizable amount of weight from having no appetite and have been feeling pretty feeble and weak (something I hate- I love being a strong girl!). It’s a bit irritating to me how quickly you can become out of shape, but I’m working on getting myself back to my previous fitness levels now that I have a bit more time for myself. I’m a huge fan of fun exercise, so tennis with Tiana and our foreign boys is a great way to get my heart rate up and get some conditioning in!

Annnddd that’s all folks! Hope you have some Marvelous In Your Monday as well!

Oh, and one quick thing before I sign off!

I’d love to feature some recipes/workouts from you guys on my Facebook page, so let me know via the comments or shoot me an email/tweet if you have anything in particular you’d like to share!

Still Alive

October 24, 2013 by Christine Skari

It feels like forever and a day since I lasted posted, and, even if it’s only been a little over a week, I’ve missed blogging like crazy!

I can’t even begin to express how hectic things have been in my life lately and I’ve almost felt as if I’m drowning under all the work and studying that college has been throwing at me. I’m talking waking up at 6 and not ending till 1-2 in the morning and repeating that for almost two weeks. That, coupled with getting pretty sick (almost better!), has left me feeling worn to the bone and uninspired in terms of cooking, exercise, and incorporating “fun” into my life.

The life of a Biology major, man!

Anyways, enough complaining. Long story short, I’m ridiculously happy and relieved to have time to blog again and am really looking forward to catching up with all of you crazy kids as well! Expect some new recipes soon and my regular posting to return!

Some other random things:

These new boots that I just ordered at a steal price. Obsessed. Hautelook is amazing!
I’ve been thinking about rewarding myself with a fitness treat! I’m thinking either a garmin or tennis racket. Thoughts?
Pretty sure I’ve overdosed on coffee. I never thought I’d reach that point, but I’ve been inhaling it like it was liquid gold for the last couple of weeks. Pray that it wears off!
This guy is my rock. Honestly, I’m not even sure how he puts up with me when I get stressed out and hormonal haha, sometimes I can’t even stand myself ;). The other day, we had a delicious lunch date at a quaint Italian restaurant in Santa Barbara.

This post has been a little all over the place, but it’s great to be back!

Weekend Things: Adam Reaches Eagle!

October 15, 2013 by Christine Skari

Hello all you beautiful people! Sorry for the lack of posting these past couple of days, my weekend was a whirlwind of activities and, coupled with being sick and upcoming midterms, I haven’t had much time to collect my thoughts and write them down in a coherent fashion.

Anyways, here’s a recap!

On Friday, Kyle and I drove back to our hometown for the Eagle Scout ceremony for Kyle’s little brother, Adam. We stopped at a local shopping center to grab some much needed coffee for Kyle and a delicious red orange smoothie for me. If you have a Blenders in the Grass near you, you really need to try it!

The drive went by relatively quickly for me since I slept for half of it, and before I knew it, we were pulling up to Kyle’s driveway. He hadn’t told his mom that we were coming up that day and she started crying when she saw him (which of course sets me off crying as well, damn hormones). One thing I really love about Kyle is how family-oriented he is and how close he is to his brother, parents, and grandma. You’ll never find a guy that does more for his friends or family without hesitation or complaining and who never asks for anything in return. He’s a saint.

The ceremony took place on Saturday and I headed over a few hours early to help set up and take some pictures. It’s hard to believe that Adam is only 15, he’s so big!

I had no idea how huge of a deal reaching Eagle Scout status is, and was shocked to learn that only 2/100 boy scouts ever achieve it. It’s equally incredible that Adam is getting his when he’s only 15 years old! Most of the time, boys don’t reach Eagle status till 17 or 18, and he was also president of his middle school, president of his freshman high school class, is the vice president of his sophomore class, and has never gotten anything less than straight As. You can bet that all of us were extremely proud of Adam’s accomplishments.

The whole shebang was pretty huge and there were over 150 people who had RSVP’d to the event.

I started tear-session numero dos when Adam suprised Kyle by giving him the mentorship award, which the new Eagle Scout gives to the person in his life that he looks up to the most and considers his biggest role model. It was such a tender moment between the two of them and I couldn’t help but sniffle!

After the ceremony was over, we feasted on delicious pulled-pork sandwiches, baked beans, salad, fruit, and cake. There were tons of leftovers, so Kyle and I were sent home with a mountain of food. No complaints there!

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend and I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of such a special occasion!

Other than that, my time has been spent studying like a madwoman for my upcoming Physics midterm this Thursday and a few more that aren’t till next week.

Wish me luck!

First Rainy Day

October 9, 2013 by Christine Skari

Today started off on a panicked note when I woke up late at 7:35 for an 8 a.m biochemistry class. I swear, sometimes my alarm turns itself off! I rushed to get dressed and decided to throw on workout clothes so I would be able to hit up the gym right after class.

After a fast-paced lecture, I biked the 1 minute route to my campus gym. I wasn’t in the mood to do too much after a late night of studying, so I stuck to 20 minutes on the elliptical and an ab workout. When I think about it, though, I get a ton of cardio through all the biking I do. Biking is huge at UCSB and I’m usually going at a fast pace for around 35 minutes a day.

After the gym, I had an hour and half before my 3 hour biology lab. I worked on reviewing the lab, showered, and got dressed for my first rainy day in months! The weather in California is awesome, but sometimes a bit of cold is a welcomed change. I love being able to snuggle up in my pjs with a warm cup of cocoa or coffee and spend time reading blogs or my latest book.

Anyways, while it only rained for a little bit, it completely made my day! I got to wear my new boots that I snagged for only $30. Oh happy day!

Before I knew it, it was time to get back to campus and start working again. Lab was exhausting and involved a huge amount of concentration (like usual), so I had to refuel my brain with a pumpkin spice donut and coffee. HEAVEN!

I worked on some organic chemistry reading before heading out to the class at 6 p.m. Right after it ended, I biked straight over to my tutoring class (my school offers free tutoring classes and the teaching assistants usually are MUCH better at explaining material). By the time I got out at 8:30, I was starving! Kyle and I met up at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and ordered our usual.