Home for the Holidays

What a great Christmas vacation we had with our families! Not only did we get to see our loved ones, we also saw a "winter wonderland!" I had a shot at riding in the snow plow with Dan's dad Doug, but missed out. Next year is my year! We also got to snuggle with our nieces Isabelle and baby Maddy. We caught up with friends we haven't seen in a while and had some great R&R. Santa Dan gave me Dance Dance Revolution for Christmas. Sadly, he is a lot better than I am. I'm not exaggerating. I have witnesses. I gave Dan a beer making kit which he has already started prepping for. Overall, it was wonderful as always. We are always sad to leave. We are happy to say that Daisy slept the entire 12 hours home.

Top 10 Christmas Delights
1. Santa and his presents (I would put this as last, but we all know I'd be lying)
2. Being with family
3. Catching up with friends
4. Going to bed early, sleeping in and the many naps in between
5. Home cooked meals by Dan's mom and new recipes to try
6. SNOW!!
7. Holidays cookies, cakes and pies
8. Christmas music
9. Christmas cards

Worst Holiday Hangovers
1. Missing family & friends we missed
2. Going back to work
3. Shedding all of the unwanted pounds
4. The wait for next year

Dan, Krista, Isabelle and Madalyn

Isabelle lovin' her new sister

Dan's cousin and Daisy's favorite human, Sam Our Christmas retreat at the Riggs' in Cleveland, NY

Winter Wonderland

Daisy before the snow...

Daisy after snow :)

Sam and Daisy playing in the snow

Swans fishing on Oneida Lake

And finally a video of snow fun!

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.