Pandsyear4

  Paul and I felt a little low after such a fun weekend with Paul's parents.  We had to go back to lab and work.  Paul worked from home this week and got our apartment super clean.  It was a relaxed week leading up to his first week with Dr. Nam.   Saturday we did a lot of chores (laundry, got the cars cleaned, groceries, etc.) but luckily we didn't have to clean the apartment since Paul kept it nice and tidy.  That was really nice because we were really tired by Saturday afternoon.  Sunday was the first time meeting with our new ward.  They combined two wards in a special Easter meeting the week before conference.  It is a big ward now with almost 500 adult members.  I am not sure why they combined the wards but I am actually excited because we are going back to normal church next week (2 hour block).  I am excited to get to know more people.  This week I did a bit of sewing on a skirt Wendy and I got fabric for last week...

This week was stressful with work and school.  We went for a drive early in the week and when we were coming home the moon was just over the horizon and it looked huge and so bright.  I tried to get a picture of it but it was incredible.   I got my first vaccine shot this week! I got Pfizer and only had a little muscle soreness in my left shoulder.  Mike and Wendy came down to see us from Thursday - Sunday.  Over those four days we checked out Bucc-ee's twice. It is the Costco of gas stations and is a big thing in Texas.  We all got t shirts and enjoyed exploring this Texan cultural center.  We also explored downtown Dallas, both at ground level and from a birdseye view.  We wandered around Plano and tried a few restaurants there and found a neat antique store where we got a couple steals. We got this cool, tribal zebra mask and Mike got this skull cane that has green gem stone eyes. We got this yummy pie from the arts district and looke...

Paul met with Dr. Nam this week and they discussed the project he will be working on for his thesis project.  He is going to work on RNA chemistry and how its processing affects gene expression.  This is a project he is very interested in and we are excited for him to get started on April 12th.  We went to a tex-mex place for our date night and I got a haircut!  We hope you all had a good week.

Not a lot has happened this week. After St. Patrick's Day, I put up our Easter decorations.  I switched desks at work, which was nice.  I have a nice window instead of being squished by the door and the wall.  I got a nice raincoat this week too, which is very timely because it is supposed to rain a lot next week. Paul is half way through his current rotation but we feel pretty confident about joining Dr. Nam's lab in April.

We did well with our goals this week and were productive at work and school.  We had a lazy weekend.  We attended Stake Conference through zoom and our favorite talks were the recent converts who spoke during the Saturday General Session.  Their stories were heartfelt and their testimonies communicated the Spirit powerfully.  The first speaker was especially good.  He was a young man from France and his father was Muslim and his mother was catholic but he did not grow up going to church.  They moved to the U.S. when he was a teenager and he moved to Texas as an adult.  His parents got a divorce and that made him want a change in his life.  His cousin also lived in Dallas and is a member of our church and he invited him to come to church with him.  The recent convert suddenly experienced serious health issues and had to stay home a lot.  He read the Book of Mormon and received many priesthood blessings for his health.  He w...

  This week was pretty long.  We finally got hot water back on Wednesday afternoon.  Paul finished his tests this week and gets a little break before his next classes start.  It'll be nice to have some devoted time to the new lab between courses.  We celebrated finishing his test on Saturday by walking around downtown, historical Dallas.  We saw some cool sculptures, fountains, and found some cool parks. It was a beautiful day. It was 70 and not a cloud in the sky. I got Mom's package on Thursday.  We got easter candy and 6 sets of festive pillow cases.  The St. Patrick's day ones are currently being used.  They are all so cute! We got Wendy's package on Saturday with Terry's yummy sweets and a take home package from the Roberts girls weekend from the week before.  For my scripture study this week, I studied the word abhor.  Abhor means to regard with disgust or hatred.  Alma teaches in chapters 13 and 36 how we can humble...

  This week was okay.  Paul worked 12 hour days all week this week so he could take Saturday off and spend the day with me for my birthday.  Thank you for all the birthday cards, gifts, and well wishes I received.  We went to breakfast then to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.  We went to dinner then relaxed at home.   On Sunday, church was cancelled due to the storm warning.  We made waffles with the heart shaped waffle iron Wendy sent me for my birthday.  Paul led the discussion for the Christensen zoom on Sunday night. We talked about Elder Packer's talk "The Mediator" and Paul taught about our individual need for the atonement.  This week I studied about the Aaronic Priesthood and read a couple of talks about it. The Aaronic priesthood was established as a preparatory priesthood that was given to Aaron, Moses brother, who was of the tribe of Levi. Brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood can bless and pass the sacrament, collec...

This week was crazy.  Monday - Thursday work was cancelled and so were classes and lab.  Monday we had 30 minutes of power during the middle of the day and 15 minutes of power at 8 pm. We had no hot water but we did have cold water.  There was no heat so we huddled under a mound of blankets trying to keep warm all day.  It snowed 6 inches.  Not only is it rare to snow at all in Dallas but it never snows like this.  People who have lived here their whole lives have never seen this kind of weather. Tuesday we had about 2 hours of power spread throughout the day.  We walked to Target to get our blood moving and just for something to do. We also went to the only place open within walking distance, Pizza Hut, to get a hot meal.  The streets were still icy and very snowy and we live on a major road.  Nothing had been done to clear them.  Wednesday we got more snow and stayed inside.  We had power most of the day with a couple of outa...