New addition to the family!

Our niece Madalyn Noel Hiley was finally born today! She is the cutest thing ever! Mommy (Kiley) and baby are doing great. I can't wait to pinch her chubby cheeks!

Coating Ceremony

Last weekend I finally experienced the graduate student "right of passage" by receiving my lab coat. For those of you not familiar, students who are graduating in the upcoming year receive a lab coat with their name and and "PhD" embroidered. I guess maybe I will graduate after all! Here are some pictures from the Biochemistry Christmas Party. I'm not sure why my face is so red in the pictures. It might be from all the excitement.......or it could be from the wine. :)

Me and Mr. Mountain Man

Klinge Lab members: Tissa, Susan, Dr. Klinge and me

Abdullah and me (we are the only students graduating this year)

Our First Snow.....sort of

It's been over a year since Dan and I have seen any significant accumulation of snow. We left upstate NY before they got their massive snow fall last winter and there has been NOTHING in Kentuckiana. I was hoping old man winter would obliqe me with some safe and fun snowfall (of course clearing up before we have to make the drive home). We did get a little something today, but I can't help think I'm being mocked. None the less, this was Daisy's first rain/sleet/snow mix. Ice cubes are her favorite treat so she L-O-V-E-S it! Here is a video of her adventures.

We've Been Elfed!

Had to join in all the fun! Click here

Christmas Card Photoshoot Part I

First, let me say that I acknowledge I am one of the crazy "dog people" now. I really want Daisy to participate in a "Christmas card photoshoot" and she won't! She just wants to eat the bows and ribbons...and the camera. I just want her to wear a cute doggie sweater and smile for the picture. Is that so much to ask? So this was the best I could get from our practice from tonight. Maybe we will have better luck this weekend?

Light at the end of the tunnel

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would update on what's new with the Riggs duo. I met with my committee and mentor a couple of weeks ago and was awared the "green light" to write my dissertation, and to finish my experiments in preparation to officially graduate in May! Hurray! With that said, I have two papers to write and tons of experiments to complete before that. The clock is ticking people! I'm hoping for a defense date in early to mid-April. Dan has been busy exploring a career in biostatistics. He's sticking with his mathy-nerd rep. So that is my excuse for lazy blogging and I'm sticking to it. The truth is, Dan and I are pretty boring these days! We did have a great weekend with friends this week including a vegetarian party at Susan's and a yummmmy dinner with the Maxfields.

Recipe blog "outed" by Anne!

Okay, so I totally jumped on the band wagon with Heidi and Anne and started working on a recipe blog. I was keeping it a secret for a little while since Anne just launched hers and I planned on stealing some of her and Heidi's recipes for my own (jk!). I made the mistake of telling "private eye Anne" about my secret blog and she found it on blogger!! What a minx! So I am going to put a link to my delishhhious dishes as they are no longer in the closet. :)

"will work for treats"

After treating daisy everytime we put her in her cage, she now will voluntarily jump in. However, don't cross her. Dan tried this and didn't give her a treat and she barked all night long! No treat = No sleep. Sorry, the video is a little dark.

20 pound ball of fire!

Well, our "minature" labradoodle has reached 20 pounds. That is 8 pounds heavier than the breeder said she would weigh as a full grown dog! She will be 6 months next week. We have even been told that we can calculate her full grown weight by multiplying her weight at 6 months by 2 and then adding 5 more pounds. Hmm. Lets see (20lb x 2) + 5 = 45 pounds. I'm thinking that dog breeder laughed all the way to the bank! Because of her poor health when we got her, she has been to the vet at least once a month. They have recorded her weight each time. Here are some photos that mark her growth spurts with her weights.

July 19, 2007 (2.75lbs) ~11 weeks

August 2, 2007 (5 lbs)

August 30, 2007 (9.25lbs)

October 18, 2007 (19.00lbs)

ResearchLouisville!

Last week was ResearchLouisville! For those of you not familiar it is a week long event dedicated to supporting UofL research, and most widely known for FREE FOOD! Anyway, every year I begrudgingly design a poster presenting my recent experiments to be mercilessly judged. Usually I complain for weeks because of the time it takes to make the poster, how the judges don't fully appreciate my work, and more importantly, how I always lose. Well not this year b/c I was third place in the Ph.D. students! This is a picture of me and friend (another grad student) Sara in front of my poster. Overall, it was worth the $100 I won (oh, and the acknowledgment of my intellectual genius :). Now that Dan knows there are cash prizes, I am being encouraged to try harder to win in the future :)

You'll never eat cupcakes again!

For lack of anything exciting happening in my life, I've turned to You Tube for my entertainment. I found this and thought it was too funny not to share. At the very least it may help you avoid eating cupcakes. Inappropriate, Yes. Hilarious, Very. Please proceed with a sense of humor ;-)
Pillsbury Doughboy

Back to Reality

We had a great time at the beach this week! I know there is "no place like home" but I disagree. There is no place like a beach rental! We stayed at a friend's house with my mom and Mike. We relaxed on the beach, ate tons of seafood, went golfing and lounged around. The weather was great, in the mid 80s and sunny. It took us about 12 hours to get there (with just one potty break). The drive through West Virginia was so beautiful. Here are some pics from our journey. I'm awaiting the beach pics of my mom to post :)

The House The Neighborhood (I think it looks like Wisteria Lane)
Walking on the Beach at Sunrise (and lots of clouds)
Crab holes (they don't like to pose for pics)
The View

Candidate Future Riggs Homes :)

The Driving Views

Corolla Here We Come!!

We have the map, a furbaby sitter for Daisy, and a desire for sand between our toes! We are so excited to be going to the beach for a little R&R! We are meeting my mom next week in Corolla, NC, part of the Outer Banks (the northern most town on this map). Dan and I have both been there before and love it! Susan and I took a "girls vacation" there a few years ago and drove through all the Outer Banks to tour all the lighthouses. It was so much fun! The hard part will be coming back!

Happy Birthday Dan!!

So with about 15 minutes to spare, I post this message. I wanted to post some really cute baby pics of Dan but I was afraid that might fall into the "this blog is not a platform for you to embarrass me" category. However, I am still very tempted. In honor of the old guy I thought I would post a couple random things about Dan you might not already know.

1. He makes the BEST breakfast!

2. Although he is now 27, he still wears his paper thin t-shirt from the 8th grade. He refuses to throw it away. It is his favorite. And just in case it finally rips, he has another one just like it.

3. He is an eternal optimist!

4. He doesn't believe in buying lottery tickets but gets up before me and checks the numbers before I wake up....just in case. I'm not sure just how long this was going on before I caught him.

5. (my personal favorite) He laughs (very loudly) at his own jokes in the shower. The shower is his stage and he is the comedian. I am his audience...who hears him from the bedroom...every morning. I never actually hear the joke, just the laughter.

Some pics of the birthday boy. Sorry they are blurry. They are pictures of pictures.

Alabama Slammer!

Yes, it is a drink named after the great state! However, the whirlwind Labor day weekend moving trip qualifies for the same name! Friday, Dan and I drove to Birmingham with close friends Brad, Anne and baby Lincoln. While we went under the disguise of helping them move to their new home, it ended up being great fun vacation time for us. A surprise to everyone, our carnival that consisted of a 5 hour drive, 4 drivers, 3 cars plus a very large Uhaul truck, 2 doggies and 1 baby arrived in Birmingham without a hitch! Dan and Brad proved to their little ladies what manly men they are by moving the entire contents of the Uhaul into the apartment alone. You should see their big muscles :wink: Brad&Anne's new apartment is so cute and very spacious with room for Lincoln to romp. While we already miss them, we are planning a beach vacation in the near future. Here are some pics from our trip that capture just a fraction of our fun!

Moving is Hard Work.....

(Dan and Lincoln, both very tired and refusing to smile)

Even for Super Dog.....

(Gracie in her Halloween costume)

But After Some ZZZZZs...

The Fun Began...

(Lincoln celebrating the move)

New Friendships Were Forged..

(Daisy and Gracey)

A "Home Alone" understudy was discovered...

And after 38 Wild Hours, We Were Headed Home.. What Will Happen Next Time?

Who Nose?

Fun Summer Days!

Remember the days of catching bugs and climbing trees? Before any fear of heights or thoughts of West Nile virus entered into your mind? My mom took this picture of our niece Isabelle and her friend Marshall last weekend. I can't believe Isabelle starts kindergarden next month! I thought I would post this picture in honor of her last homework-free days. Hopefully, she will be smarter than her aunt Krista and chose a career that doesn't involve 5 and 1/2 years of graduate school!! :)

New Template!

It was time for a change in scenery so I've change our blog template. If you like it or would like to browse other free blog templates click here.

Before and After...

...a couple of weeks with good food! I wanted to post a new picture of Daisy since she is growing so fast. The first is of her just under 2 months and the second is her at 3 months. She is starting to look more like her poodle mommy these days. She spins when she thinks she is getting food or treats. Unfortunately, she isn't very graceful and sometimes spins into the walls. There is a clip of her in action at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations Matt & Leslie Houck!! 8/11/07

This weekend we drove to Syracuse with Daisy in tow. We were in town to visit Dan's family and to attend Matt & Leslie's wedding in Rochester on Saturday. The wedding was beautiful! Matt&Leslie make such a cute couple. It was a great chance for Dan to catch up with lots of old friends. On Sunday, Dan's parents hosted a picnic so we could catch up with the family. Dan's dad took me for a spin on his Harley! I must say after all of my opinions about the dangers of motorcyles, IT WAS GREAT!!!! Despite my best efforts, Dan refused to call in sick for a few more days of R&R. At least one of us has a grain of work ethic. So now we are back home and looking forward to our next trip home. Here are some more pictures from the wedding!


Dan and Matt

Dan and Jim

Jim and Rochelle

Me & Dan

Doug & Karen

Tim

Dan's friends can boogey!

My Guitar Hero!

Just because we have no musical talent between the two of us doesn't mean we can't pretend! After playing this ridiculously fun game at a friend's over the weekend, Dan rushed out Saturday morning and picked up "Guitar Hero II." I have to say, the fun this game provides makes up for any shame associated with playing with a pretend guitar at the ages of 27 and 26! Of course my competitive nature has taken control of me and I now only live for beating Dan's scores. This also gives us a lot to talk about. We actually talk about our "Guitar Hero strategies" in the car. Yes, I did actually just write that.....don't judge us! This picture does not do this game justice. Specifically, you can't see Dan using the whammy bar or tilting the guitar for extra points. Give us a call if you want to the pros to school you with a little Free Bird!