Chili, everywhere

(I am using PW-style writing for this post.)
I made chili for dinner yesterday.  It had been in the crockpot all day long and the house smelled so good when we got home.  Josh wanted to get a few things done outside before it got too dark so our meal was delayed a bit and I was really hungry.  As I picked up our bowls of hot chili to take them to the dining room, I dropped one of the bowls.  Chili. Went. EVERYWHERE!  Of course Titus was at my feet so he had one entire side of his body covered as well.  I dropped the bowl right by the sink, and chili made it all the way across the room to the opposite wall.  Josh ate by himself as Titus and I cleaned the kitchen.  Yes, I let the dog help me clean.
Then I cleaned him.
Then I got my carpet cleaner out.
Then I realized just how much I hate the fact that we have carpet in our kitchen.
Then I ate.
Then I cleaned some more.
I was in a really bad mood all night long.  I thought a cookie dough truffle would help.  It was delicious, but I was still grumpy.
Then I went to bed.
Then I woke up and found even more chili on the wall that I missed last night.
Then I ate another cookie dough truffle.
Titus loves chili.
The end.

Yum, yum, and yum

If you don't have time to bake a ton of holiday goodies, these tasty little morsels will fill in just fine.
Nutter Butter Balls
Oreo truffles
Cookie dough truffles
(side note- I used almond bark to coat all 3 types)

More holiday questions to answer

Time for you to answer some more questions about your holiday strategies.  By the way, if you did not read my Mom's 3 comments on the gift wrapping post, you need to go do that right now.  Her packages always look so pretty!  One little clarification on her comment- the stick-on tags she uses are not the plain little stickers that you buy by the sheet at Walmart.  They are the kind that fold in half and are decorated on the front.  They always coordinate with the rest of the package of course.  She also always puts a jingle bell on gifts for Titus.  He knows which boxes are his and I have saved all of his bells over the years.

Ok, here we go on round 2.  I want to know...
1.  Do you shop early or wait til the last minute?  Do you find gifts all year round and have a special place set aside for them in a closet?
2.  Do you participate in Black Friday shopping?
3.  Do you stick to a budget for your family or just buy a certain # of gifts?
4.  Do you shop in stores or mostly online?
5.  If you have kids, what are some of your favorite hiding spots for gifts?  (Don't worry, we won't tell them!)
6.  How do you open gifts?  Do you tear into them or try to unwrap with the paper perfectly intact?
7.  Do you save and reuse bows, tissue paper, wrapping paper, tags, etc.?
8.  How does your family open gifts?  Does each person get a gift and everyone opens at the same time?  Do you take turns?  Who passes out gifts?
9.  When do you put up and take down your Christmas tree?
10.  How/when did you discover the truth about Santa?

Here are my answers.
1.  I try to shop all year round, but I get most of my shopping done in November or early December.  I use my craft room closet to collect items bought early.  If I hid them, I would totally forget about them!
2.  Every year without fail.  It's much more fun if my Mom is with me, but I've done it alone too.  It's just tradition for us!  I could do a whole other post on Black Friday strategies!
3.  We have a budget with a little flexibility built in.
4.  This year I'd say 25% stores, 75% online.
5.  No kids, does not apply.
6.  I'm somewhere in between on this one.  Gifts from my Mom can slide perfectly out of their wrapping.  If you ever receive a gift from me, you don't have any options.  You must tear it off because of the amount of tape used.
7.  We definitely save bows (see my Mom's comment from yesterday's post.)  I like to reuse tissue paper if it's in good shape, and I will occasionally save paper if I really love it. 
8.  In general, we tend to each get a gift and then open them kind of together.  We're pretty flexible on this one.  Each year we pick one person that passes out gifts and plays "Santa."
9.  Tree goes up sometime after Thanksgiving and comes down around New Year's.
10.  I don't remember how old I was, but I remember my brother telling me, "I found our Santa gifts in the garage!"

Please comment here or on facebook.  I love learning about your holiday traditions!

What kind of gift wrapper are you?

As I was wrapping some Christmas gifts last weekend I began to wonder what all of my friends thought of gift wrapping.  So this is your time to shine or confess, maybe a little of both.  Here's what I want to know:
1.  Do you love or hate wrapping gifts?
2.  What kind of wrapping do you use?  Do you like regular paper, foil gift wrap, kraft paper, fabric, newspaper, etc?
3.  Do you coordinate the gifts under your tree (use all the same wrapping paper or a few that coordinate) or is everything just mixed?
4.  Do you love ribbons and bows?  Do you make your own?
5.  What about gift tags?  Do you use the stick-on ones, use a scrap piece of wrapping paper, make your own?
6.  How much tape does it take for you to wrap a gift?  Do you use tons or can you wrap an entire box with only 3 pieces?  Do you use stickers as tape sometimes?
7.  How do you feel about gift bags?
8.  What do you do for the gifts you have to ship?
9.  Are you a skilled wrapper or do your gifts look like a 2 year old wrapped them?
10.  How do you prep the gift inside the box?  Do you use fancy tissue paper to pre-wrap the item or do you just stick it in there and call it good?

I'm really very curious about how each of you wrap.  I guess I should confess my techniques as well.  Please don't think less of me after this post.
1.  I do not particularly enjoy wrapping gifts, but I don't hate it either.  It's just something that has to be done.
2.  I usually buy my wrapping paper on clearance after Christmas.  I have way too much and could probably last 10 more years without buying more.  I can't pass up a bargain.  Foil wrap frustrates me even though it is so pretty.  I should confess that I sometimes use those boxes that have pictures on them and don't use any wrapping.  Yes, I'm that lazy.  For small items, I like those pretty little boxes that are printed on the outside and inside.  I think they're cute.  I would like to use something more creative like fabric but I never have.  Maybe someday...
3.  My gifts are totally uncoordinated.  I do however try to use more masculine paper for the guys and girly stuff for the girls. 
4.  Please don't hate me... I kinda gave up on ribbons and bows years ago.  I have a big box of bows, but I rarely use them (except for kids' gifts because sometimes the bow is better than the gift.)  We usually travel for Christmas and it is just too much trouble to deal with squashed bows.  Presents stack better in the car and under the tree if you don't have to worry about bows.  Without bows, ribbon seems silly to me.  There is one exception to this- see #5.
5.  Gift tags- I can go 2 ways on this one.  I like to cut up Christmas cards and use them as gift tags.  If I do this, I punch a hole in the top and then use curly ribbon on the present to attach the tag.  My other option (again, don't hate me) is the stick-on kind.  They're cheap and easy.
6.  I probably use a lot more tape than the average person.  I'd say about 8 pieces per box.  I don't tape the boxes shut unless they are busting open (due to me choosing a box that is too small.)  If the box requires packing tape to stay shut, I try to remember to fold one end of the tape as a "courtesy tab" so it can be easily opened.  
7.  I use bags for odd shaped gifts mostly.  I'm not the best with making tissue paper look pretty and again, they don't travel very well.
8.  Gifts that ship are pretty much like all my other gifts.
9.  My gifts probably look like a 12 year old wrapped them.  It could be worse, but it could definitely be better.  I did not inherit my Mom's skills at making packages look beautiful.  I hope she comments and tells you all about how she wraps (hint, hint.) 
10.  I usually pre-wrap the item in tissue paper.  If the tissue paper is patterned or colored, it's probably been recycled from a gift that we received.  Occasionally I will buy colored tissue paper, but only if it's a good deal.

So that's my confession for the day.  Basically I'm cheap and lazy when it comes to wrapping gifts.  Thank you to those of you who get gifts from me and love me anyway.  Please share your approach to gift wrapping.  If you don't comment for yourself, I may feel compelled to do a separate post on how you wrap based on gifts we receive.   
Stay tuned for confessions on Christmas shopping and gift OPENING.  

"Honor thy Father..."

This past summer in Bible class, our church studied the 10 commandments.  Josh volunteered to teach command #5 on June 20th.  Significance?  "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."  Ex. 20:12  and June 20th was Father's Day.
So why do I bring this up nearly 6 months later?  Well, tomorrow marks 2 years since my sweet Daddy passed away.  When Josh was preparing to teach back in June, it really made me think about this verse in a whole new way.  I think it's safe to say that God expects us to honor our parents regardless of whether or not they are still living.  Honoring those who are still living seems pretty easy and straightforward to me.  Bringing honor to those who have left us is not quite the same.  I guess I'm at the stage where keeping Dad's memory alive is the best way I can find to honor him.  Here are some examples:
1.  Using Dad's stuff- On Father's Day weekend, we set up Dad's horseshoe set in our yard in honor of him.  Josh has many of Dad's clothes and wears them regularly.  Sometimes I cry when doing the laundry because I miss seeing Dad in those clothes so much.  In the near future I plan on using some of Dad's other clothes for some sentimental craft projects.  Mom has given us a few of Dad's tools to use at our house too.
2.  Enjoy activities that Dad enjoyed- working on the cars, playing horseshoes, watching old TV shows like Little House on the Prairie and Andy Griffith, yard work, etc.
3.  Cooking recipes that were Dad's specialties or favorites- I had this great plan to fix several of Dad's recipes this week for dinner, but holiday parties and other activities got in the way.  I'll try again next week.  I did manage to make his waffles last night (recipe to follow).  I also have great memories of Dad's meatloaf, taco night, "Dad's stuff" sandwiches (I'll share that one soon too), and egg and bacon sandwiches.  Some of Dad's favorite foods included Grandma's cinnamon rolls, homemade ice cream, chicken and dumplings, and DQ blizzards.  His favorite restaurants were Cracker Barrel and Papa Felipe's (in ABQ). 
4.  Photos- of course we keep pictures of Dad around.  Here is the one that I keep in my office.  I think it's from Christmas 1997.

My Dad was truly a wonderful man deserving of all the honor I can possibly give him.  I miss him terribly and still cry nearly every time I think of him.  I know that he would prefer that we all laugh every time we think of him, but I'm just not to that point yet.  I rarely make it through a Sunday church service without crying because of some song or scripture that is used.  If there is a prayer for someone with cancer or mention of someone passing away, I can't hold back the tears.  Dad is still in my dreams quite often and so many little things throughout my day remind me of him.  I can't even drive to work without thinking about him because back in 1999 he installed that great little cruise control in my car that we still use everyday.  He really did have a gift for fixing anything and everything. 
For those of you who have lost one or both of your parents, what do you do to bring them honor? 
For those of you who have not experienced this kind of loss, please cherish every minute you have with your parents and give them as much honor as you possibly can.

Here's Dad's waffle recipe as promised.  Make it in honor of my Dad tomorrow morning if you don't already have breakfast plans.  Remember, you MUST eat them with peanut butter if you want to do it right! 

2 1/2 c. flour
3 T. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
Sift these ingredients together

2 cups of milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix these ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix well with a hand mixer.  Cook in a lightly greased waffle iron.  Serve with butter, peanut butter, and maple syrup. 

Random leftover pictures

Just a quick post with a few fall pictures that don't really deserve an entire post of their own.
Back in October, Titus (which by default also includes me) was asked to walk in the ACU homecoming parade alongside the Chemistry Club float.  This was Titus' second ever parade appearance- his first was a St. Patrick's Day parade in WA (pictures here).  He really thought the whole crowd was there to see him.  Several faculty and students cheered for him as we passed by, other dogs barked at him, and he tried to eat candy off the ground that the kids missed.  It was hilarious.  For those of you who care, the chemistry float was a huge benzene ring made of PVC pipe and a hula hoop.  It fell apart 10 minutes before the parade began, but the students managed to fix it well enough to make it through the end.  Notice the lab coats and goggles- love it!  The theme was "Connecting across the long purple line."  The Chemistry Club signs read "Bonded together."  So nerdy!

These are just a few pictures from around our property as the oak trees welcome fall.  The colors are much better in person, but you get the idea.

That's it.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Colorado Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Colorado at my brother's house.  Wednesday we drove the 12.5 windy hours and made it just in time for dinner- Mom's green chile chicken soup, mmm mmm!  All of Thursday was spent cooking and eating of course.  My brother made an amazing turkey completely on his own.  He used a brine made of apple juice and other good stuff and then smoked it all day.  It turned out soooo good!

We had the traditional dinner- mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, rolls, gravy, etc.  For desert we had chocolate cream pie, banana cream pie, apple-cranberry pie, pumpkin roll, no-bake cookies and cinnamon rolls.  Dessert also became breakfast for the next several days!

The pies

Titus could be found in his usual spot waiting for any scraps that might come his way.

My brother's new table all set for dinner

Cooking, eating, and football pretty much sums up Thursday.  SHOPPING sums up Friday!  Mom and I headed out at 2:30am to be at Kohl's at 3am.  We spent about 9 hours hitting Black Friday sales, a tradition that I look forward to every year. 
Saturday we did a little more shopping and went to see my brother's office.  He has an amazing view of the Rockies out his office window- rough, I know.  I didn't take a picture because mountain range pictures never seem to do justice to the real thing.  You'll just have to use your imagination.
Sunday we hit the road again dropping Mom off at the airport as we left Denver.  Another 12 windy hours later, we were back home soon to be back at work.  The time went by way too quickly as usual, but we had a great time.
Oh, you haven't seen a good Titus video lately?  We can fix that!  My brother is a Florida Gators fan, so he collects some gator stuff.  One thing he has is this real baby alligator head.  Titus didn't like it too much...
Titus vs. Gator, take 1
Titus vs. Gator, take 2

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Some favorite websites

Today I just felt like sharing my top 10 favorite websites (other than the blogs listed to the right) with you and the reasons why I love them.  I'm sure you know about most of them, but maybe I'll get you hooked on something new.  Please feel free to share your favorites with me too!
1.  The Pioneer Woman- hilarious stories of ranch life, great recipes, fun photo contests, gift ideas, decorating ideas (also homeschooling ideas for those of you who are so brave)
2.  Tasty Kitchen- An extension of #1, tons of amazing recipes from PW and all of her followers
3.  Young House Love-  A young couple (and their baby and dog) who DIY everything, fun house ideas and all kinds of tips and instructions for all the projects they tackle.
4.  Sew4home-  A sewing site full of tips, techniques, projects, and product reviews.
5.  Knock-off Wood-  Project ideas and detailed plans for all kinds of furniture.  I've never made any items from this site, but everything looks amazing and the directions are super easy.  If you don't want to spend tons of money on kids furniture (or adult furniture) check this stuff out!  This lady does everything from shelves and chairs to beds and armoires, even doll furniture.  You might find some easy Christmas projects here.  The plans are all FREE too!
6. Ruffwear-  Of course there has to be a dog site.  This site has some fun ideas for dog activities and tips for making things safe.
7.  BibleGateway-  My go-to website for finding Bible passages quickly.
8.  Better Homes and Gardens-  Exactly what you would expect: ideas for your home and garden.  I get tons of inspiration from this site.  Definitely worth exploring for easy decorating and organizing ideas, also tons of recipes.
9.  New Dress A Day-  This girl has taken $1 thrift store tragedies and turned them into decent clothes.  She challenged herself to do this everyday for a year.  She only has a few days left, but you might enjoy looking back over some of the things she has created.  This site definitely makes you rethink the clothes you get rid of.
10.  Amazon-  No explanation needed I'm sure.  I shop for everything here and buy lots of gifts on this site.

So there you have it.  In looking back over this list, the dominant theme seems to be DIY projects.  I wish I had more time to tackle all the ideas that I love from these talented people.  Maybe someday...

Family gathering at the farm

Every November for the past several years, Josh's Mom's side of the family gets together somewhere in TX.  This year was our first year that we were able to attend, and we met at Uncle Joe and Aunt Susan's farm.  We were able to camp and bring Titus which was really nice.  Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Josh playing with our nephew Benjamin

Boys and tractor- enough said

Some of the Brahman and their calves

This was the head momma Brahman.  Everyone followed her lead.  She was friendly to people but not to Titus.  I love her huge ears!

Titus hanging out with the lone Hereford on the farm

This young Brahman wanted to check Titus out more closely.

A bright, sunny shot of the family

The close-up interactions with cows were new to Titus.  The Hereford couldn't care less if Titus was around.  They shared the water trough and got along swell.  The Brahman were a different story.  They were very curious about Titus and didn't like him in their pasture.  The head momma chased him out several times.  Here are some cow videos for those of you with any interest.
Video 1- The cows see Titus in their pasture.  Head momma heads for Titus and the others slowly follow.  Does Titus escape?  You have to watch to find out.
Video 2- Who doesn't love a cute little calf?
Video 3- Head momma checks out the camera.  Shelly, this snoot is totally for you!

Family recipe

Warning:  You are not going to like me very much by the end of this post.  You can't get too mad- you've been warned.
A few weeks ago, my Mom and I got to make a quick visit to my grandparent's house.  One of the main goals of this trip was to make cinnamon rolls with my Grandma.  My Dad's side of the family has this recipe that goes back 5 generations (including mine) that we know of.  I know nearly every family has a version of cinnamon rolls that is special, but this one is the yummiest EVER!  I don't think anybody in my Dad's generation is making this recipe, so it is even more important that I carry it forward.
Anyway, I made these cinnamon rolls a couple of times while we lived in WA, but something just wasn't right.  I vowed not to make them again until I could make them with my Grandma, the pro.  She agreed to make them with me but wanted to wait until the weather was cooler so the kitchen wouldn't seem so hot.  We had a great time baking together and the results were wonderful.  I learned a few tricks and realized a few things I was doing wrong.  I'll give them another try on my own soon to make sure I have improved.  Thanks to my Mom for taking pictures.
I need to apologize ahead of time for my appearance in the photos.  We started baking at 6:30am and finished about 9 hours later.  I stayed in my pjs all day long, didn't do my hair, didn't put my contacts in, no make-up, etc.  Don't you just love days like that (unless a camera is present)?

Making the dough

Getting messy is half the fun!

Grandma being goofy

The dough is starting to come together

Kneading...

Rolling out 1/3 of the dough

Smearing on the wonderful filling

You can also spell out words with the filling.  You'll see why I spelled FISHER in a minute.

Rolling up the dough

Slicing the dough- I'm not very good at this step, it's very messy!  Grandma just laughed at me when I tried.

This is when you start getting hungry

We also made a small pan of regular dinner rolls

After the rolls rise and bake, you thin the filling and drizzle more on top and bake a few more minutes.

The finished product- YUMMO!

So here's where you're going to get mad.  I'm not going to share the recipe with you, well, not all of it anyway.  I will make them for you if you come to see me though!  I will leave you with this- my Grandma gave me the handwritten copy that my Great-grandma Fisher wrote many years ago (this is where the FISHER comes in).  My version of this recipe is 2 pages, typed, so I don't mind sharing the shortened version.  I dare you to make the recipe from these instructions.  Never mind that several ingredients and amounts are missing and there is never any mention of oven temperature or baking time.  I plan on framing this recipe and hanging it in my kitchen.  It is one of those family treasures that I will cherish forever.   

Great-grandma Fisher's handwritten recipe

Thanks, Grandma, for a great day of baking!

Lab Quote Friday #10

I can't believe we've actually been doing this for 10 weeks now!  This semester has just zipped by!  I think this will be the last Lab Quote Friday of the year unless something totally hilarious happens in the 1 lab that meets next week :(
So there are many, many reasons why I'm a lab rat and not a professor.  One of those reasons has to do with stupid questions- YES, there IS such a thing as a stupid question.  You want proof?  You got it-

"What is the difference between water and H2O?"  (The lab manual uses the terms interchangeably, but some people cannot adapt so easily)

"What should we do for the experiment that we are supposed to design ourselves?"  (Um, perhaps, design it yourself?)

"Will this (chemical) kill me if it gets on my skin?" or "I accidentally touched that (chemical)- am I going to die?" (Do they really think we would use deadly chemicals in a lab full of freshmen?)
"Can I eat this?"  (We don't even let you drink water in here and you think we'll let you eat the experiment?)

Thanks for following me through Lab Quotes Fall 2010!  It's been fun making fun of students laughing about my job with you.  I've enjoyed all of your comments both here and on facebook.  Stayed tuned for Lab Quotes Spring 2011...

First Fire

No, it's not actually cold enough to need a fire yet.  The new insert said to leave windows and doors open during the first fire because the paint would be "curing" and would produce fumes (and it did).  We figured we better do this before it gets too cold.  The day after this, we had 90 degree weather!  Now we're 20 degrees cooler again.  Maybe we'll actually need the fireplace in the next month sometime, but for now we'll just enjoy the beautiful fall weather here in TX.

Enjoying the first fire in our new fireplace.

Lab Quote Friday #9

This week in lab the students were making alum from coke cans.  Alum is pronounced al-um, but students continually pronounced it like the shortened version of alumni.  Let's review:

YES

NO!!

Alum has some great uses.  You can read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum

The importance of reading directions CAREFULLY:
The first step in the experiment is dissolving little aluminum pieces in boiling potassium hydroxide.  One group had a solution that was a different color than all the others.  The professor inquired about what they had used/done, but they claimed they had followed the directions.  Not long after, people in the lab started coughing a lot.  Turns out the group used concentrated sulfuric acid instead of potassium hydroxide.  Note: boiling concentrated sulfuric acid is NOT a good idea, reading directions carefully IS a good idea.

Later in the process, students get crystals to form by cooling their solution in an ice water bath.  If they have added too much liquid in earlier steps, they need to boil off some of the water or crystals will not form.  Here's a conversation I had:

Me:  You'll need to boil off some of your water before you move on to the next step.

Lab Girl:  Ok. 

  - She then proceeds to turn down the flame on her bunsen burner which causes it to go out. -

Lab Boy:  What did you do that for?

Lab Girl:  She told me to. 

Me:  I said you'll need to boil off some of your liquid, not turn off your burner.  "Boil off" means letting the solution boil so that the water evaporates and your volume decreases.

Lab Girl:  Oooooh, I get it.  I'm not too good with these scientific chemistry terms. 

Me (thinking only, of course):  You're probably not too good with simple cooking terms either!

Just a heads up- labs will be winding down over the next couple of weeks.  There will only be a one or two more lab quote Fridays before I take a break.  Labs will start up again mid-January.

Lab Quote Friday #8

This is going to be a short, early post this week because I'll be out of town tomorrow.

1.  Lab Girl:  Don't touch my funnel!!  Get your own funnel!

2.  Lab Boy:  We got 78% error.  That's not too bad is it?

3.  Lab Boy to TA:  What's your name?

     Me:  It's the 9th week of lab, and you don't know your TA's name yet?

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my wonderful Mom's birthday.  It seems that as we grow older, birthdays seem less and less important.  I'm not sure why that is because it seems like we value life more as we grow up.  Through hard situations and times of loss, we realize how precious our loved ones are and should celebrate those relationships as much as we can. 
I thought about making a list of all the things I love about my Mom.  Then I realized that the list would never end and I would probably be sitting here in a pool of tears.  I love my Mom more than words could ever express anyway.  She is the dearest friend, best shopping companion, and most enjoyable cooking/baking partner that a girl could ask for. 
I love you, Mom, and hope you had a wonderful birthday.  See you in a few days!

Me and Mom at Josh's graduation- May 2009

Fireplace in progress

Our fireplace has been through some changes since we moved into our house in Aug '09.  Last Friday, we had a fireplace insert installed that will hopefully be our main source of heat for many years to come.  Here's a look at what our fireplace has gone through...

Fireplace before we moved into our house- 6/24/09 
(Yes, that is a safe above the mantle.)

Fireplace at Christmas before safe was hidden- 12/5/09

Fireplace at Christmas with safe hidden- 12/6/09

Fireplace at Christmas with Mom's handmade stockings- 12/27/10

Fireplace during remodel- 3/24/10

Fireplace before insert was installed- 10/14/10

Fireplace with new insert and some accessories- 10/16/10

Lab Quote Friday #7- Mispronunciations

Since our labs didn't really meet this week, I thought I'd devote this post to mispronunciations we commonly hear throughout the lab.  For those of you who aren't familiar with lab equipment, I'll include pictures as well.  Feel free to comment and add your own favorites too!

#1  Buret (or burette) often pronounced "barrette" or "beret"

YES

                

NO

#2-  Crucible- often pronounced "cubicle" 

YES

NO

#3  Graduated cylinder- a past coworker of mine called them "granulated cylinders"

YES

NO (granulated sugar is the closest I could get!)

#4-  Coplin jar-  another past coworker of mine called these "copper jars" in all of her written documents- it took me quite a while to figure out what in the world she was using in her procedures!

YES

NO

#5-  Pipet (pipette or pipetter)-  often pronounced "pipe-it" or "pip-it" or "pip-ette"

YES

 NO

 #6-  Assay- students pronounce it anyway they can to avoid saying a--

 YES (assay plate)

YES!!

And just in case you haven't seen enough pictures in this post, here's our lab cowboy:

Oooh- flame test!

Lab cowboy has a problem with goggles staying on- they are big on some people and slip off easily.  Someone suggested that he wear the kind with a strap across the back.  He replied, "But then I would have to take my hat off."  (That made me chuckle.)