Fenway has a tough day:(

Parker and I have been letting Fenway explore the outside world (while tethered to a leash, of course). While Parker had him out today, something tragic must have occurred because Fenway freaked out and begged to be let in. As Fenway was panting, Parker moved his water bowl to be near him (yes, we use a pyrex pie dish for the cats). Whatever happened out side must have been terrible as evident by this photo......

Mr and Mrs Andrews go to Washington

ParkAna went to DC this past weekend for a bit of history, culture and FOOD!

We arrived Friday afternoon and immediately went to Ben's Chili Bowl, a DC institution (Obama went there for lunch recently). We both tried their half-smokes with chili with eager anticipation. Unfortunately, we both thought the food was a bust. I have been since told that the Chili Bowl is "drunk food." Next, we spend the rest of the afternoon looking at the memorials and monuments in the National Mall.

After walking for miles (the Mall is much bigger than we anticipated), we walked another mile to dinner at Policy. The atmosphere was a bit odd--black tiles all over with splashes of red, but the food was delightful. We dined on braised short ribs, lamb burgers, bison, lobster rellenos, fries with truffle mayo, and scallops--don't worry they were little plates. Dessert was truly a delight--white chocolate shortbread topped with strawberries and rhubarb and chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse. We rolled home and into bed.

Saturday, we visited the Museum of Natural History to see the Hope Diamond and all the dinosaurs. To top it all off, we watched an 3D underwater IMAX movie narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. We walked around the Mall a bit more stopping in the botanical gardens for a little rest among the plants. Along the way, we saw tons of Bostonians on "April vacation" aka spring break.

That night was the BIG event...dinner at Jaleo, a restaurant owned by Jose Andres. I had hyped this tapas restaurant in my mind so much.....The food was pretty good--we had shrimp with garlic oil (so dissapointing), chorizo wrapped in a potato chip, gazpacho (unbelievable, I need to learn to make this), sea urchin, braised short ribs (awesome), piquillo pepper stuffed with manchego, scallops and a lovely bottle of wine. We skipped dessert there opting for cupcakes from Red Velvet (1/2 dozen!). While walking back to our hotel, Parker asked me to briefly hold our box of untouched cupcakes. Just as he warned me not to drop them, the box fell right out of my hands (shocking). Thankfully, only the aesthetics of the cupcakes were ruined!

Sunday we left DC stopping on the way home at Ikea for some Swedish meatballs and Lingonberry Soda...yummy!



Flag at Washington Monument



Ana at WWII Memorial




Parker at Lincoln Memorial



Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument



Jefferson Memorial across the Potomac

Thoughts from a Scientist

I just read this great article about science and science policy:

The "war on science" is over

The most astonishing fact in this article is that only 18% of people know a scientist personally! I have been thinking a bit about science and communication lately, and have decided to share a bit of what it is that I do everyday:

As a fifth-year Immunology PhD student, I am completely done with my classes and have been since my second year at Duke. For the last 4.5 years, I have gone into the same laboratory everyday and done experiments for several projects. All of my work focuses on a special type of T lymphocyte called a "regulatory T cell." Their role in the immune system is to suppress other immune cells, thereby, acting as a balance. Most days I do several experiments (and nearly all of these involve mice) and no day is ever the same. I enjoy the variety of being a scientist, but at times find it frustrating because experiments rarely work the way you want them to (this is especially hard b/c I don't know the results of many of my experiments for 6 weeks) and it can take months (or years) to make significant progress towards proving a hypothesis.

By the end of 2009, I expect that I will complete my projects and be given permission to write my thesis. Once my thesis is written, I will "defend" it and then become a PhD. This past year has been overall quite successful--I expect to publish my first scientific article in the next several months, and actually feel like I am becoming a PhD-worthy scientist.

Any questions?

New Beginnings with SNOW!

Yesterday, I was supposed to have my committee meeting. As a PhD student, we have to meet with our committee once a year to update them on our research progress. Last week, I sent them two 20+page documents with all my data (sadly this accounts for 4 years of work). At the meeting, I would present this same data (because they usually don't read the written documents). I was all prepared to go (I even dressed like an adult), but Durham had a "snow storm".

In Durham, a major snow storm equals about 3 inches of snow. While in many places this amount of snow would do nothing, it basically shut the whole city down. My committee chair and I decided it was probably best to postpone my meeting.... It is a pain to have to reschedule my meeting, but this meant I got to go home and watch the inauguration!

Parker, the cats and I really enjoyed all the festivities. We are really excited to see what this new administration can do especially because of his emphasis on science and technology. We hope that the unity the country felt yesterday will continue long into the year.

I am back at work today as the snow is melting, but will try to post a picture before it is all gone!

PS--Last week, I helped host a Women's Networking event in Durham. We had nearly 200 women scientists attend and listened to an awesome talk by Rebecca Skloot--check out her website http://www.rebeccaskloot.com/

Best Holiday Moments

Parker and I returned from our New Mexico/AZ stay on Friday. We had a wonderful holiday (although we certainly missed the Andrews clan). Here are the best holiday moments:

10. Realizing my high school friend Erin assisted in the birth on my new niece.
9. Misadventures on the golf course--I didn't see any but heard about them
8. Finding out that Parker is not the dog-whisperer (at least with chihuahuas) and that I am the child-whisperer (not quite sure if I have the magic with Riley). It was great to spend time with Nico, Christian, Aidan, Reyna, Riley, Andre, Jordan and Isabella.
7. Spending New Year's Eve with David Hernandez and Jared "Ugly" Dudley (and really great friends)
6. A tour of the olive mill--which is really just an excuse to eat all things olive
5. Related to 6--salami from the pork shop while drawing with Reyna and watching Napoleon Dynamite
4. Watching endless hours of infomercials--must buy the snuggie and shamWOW!
3. The food in New Mexico, and the view from Sandia peak. And the wonderful family, of course!
2. Playing Wii fit in-between bits of tamale and posole. At least we went to the gym....
1. The birth of Riley Allison Sanchez! Parker, Christian and I had just finished watching Benjamin Button and were glad she wasn't born an old woman!

We are both looking forward to a great 2009--Parker and I have resolved to eat better (and locally if we can) and workout more--how cliche! I hope to graduate in 2009 and get my first "real" job. Should be exciting!