I finally buckled down and registered my car in Pennsylvania. I cried a little tear when I had to take off my Texas license plate. I sure did like driving around with a cowboy on both bumpers.



WARNING: This next picture is just plain nasty. A squirrel died in mid-stride in our yard at some point during this past winter. We didn't move it because, well, it's disgusting, and it didn't stink or anything because it was too cold to rot. But the snow melted, the ground thawed, the birds had their day with the squirrel, and now all that's left is fur and bones. Children, cover both your eyes.


Alas, it's finals time and we're all a little kooky around here. Tonight, Allison decided that she wished she had a pair of purple sunglasses while I practiced my moonwalk. The latter is not pictured because it's so hot that it'd burn your eyes out (unless you're wearing protective purple eyewear, pictured below). Did I mention that we're all a little crazy these days?

Things that have transpired in the past two weeks:

• Mollie Orshansky, the woman resposible for our much debated measurement of poverty, passed away. She actually died in December, but her family didn't tell anyone until a couple weeks ago. Strange, you might say. And you would be right.
  
  
• I went to the Kost family reunion in Northern Virginia (that's my family, in case you're confused). We ate all the traditional Easter food - egg cheese, stuffed veal, kielbasa, fresh horseradish, fresh chicken soup, beer, champagne, and then beer again. I ate so much that I didn't even make it to the ham. It was great to see the cousins, of course. A photo of Mom and Dad Doyle with Luvy and her new boy Rocky:

• If you missed this story about the swarms of starlings in Italy, it's worth the read. Actually you don't even have to read - just click on the multimedia link and the author will read the article to you while you take in the striking photographs.
  
  
• We welcomed spring with open arms by having a Keys shin-dig. I made conch fritters, we wore beachy clothing, listened to Jimmy Buffett, and drank boat drinks. Not a bad way to spend an evening. Pictures below.

Prepping the conch fritters (which were actually corn fritters, on account of the fact that conch is a specialty food only found at Christmas in State College)...


Mmm, fritters!

Steph gives the fiesta a thumbs-up.


Lauren enjoys her yummer boat drink.

Steph, Heather, and Allison guard the table.

What fun is a party without piggyback rides?

All in all, a great couple of weeks. I'm swamped with work for the next week and a half, and then I'm off to visit the land of beer and bratwurst for the summer!

Check out these fascinating photos of surgery on peeps! I promise it's worth your time. My favorite is the peep CPR in Phase 5.

I saw a shirt the other day that said, "Meat is murder. Tasty, tasty murder."
Amen.

I had a grand trip to Boston last weekend for an SRCD conference (Society for Research in Child Development). The conference was a great learning experience (although quite overwhelming at first), Boston gave us her best, and both ends of the trip were padded with fun road trips. The first stop along the way: Milford, PA, home of wunderkind Steph Anzman, the tasty Milford Diner, shops that tout both beer and soda (what more could a girl want?), and the ubiquitous Mr. Goldstein.



The conference began on Thursday afternoon, and there was so much to see that 4 days was hardly enough to scratch the surface. My brain got a little overloaded and confused, much like the sensation I get when I look at the picture I took of the conference escalators. I'm kind of glad that Holly Riedelbach wasn't at the conference, she never would have made it into the building.


SRCD was fun and thought provoking, but the real gem of the trip was the city itself. I took plenty of time to roam around and see what Boston had to offer, and she didn't disappoint. The State Building:

Cool afternoon shadows:

Great architecture:

A stunning melding of old and new:

But perhaps the best part of the trip was reuniting with my Texas peeps, Kate and Michael. We partied with the Penn Staters at a few bars on Boyleston, one of which served beer in buckets. You couldn't get a beer in a glass even if you wanted (we asked). Don't question the Boston bar scene.



Kate and Michael became fast friends with my Penn State friends.... I know how to pick 'em!


Steph and Michelle yuk it up. Good times, good times.

When Michelle and I were in the Keys, we heard mention of Kewpie dolls, but for the life of us couldn't find anyone who could describe them to us. Little did we know, Boston is rife with Kewpie dolls. Michael demonstrates a Kewpie dance.

Yum, slurpees!

Don't mess with the Catholics in the North End. They know their Saints!

Boston has such great history. Check out this old cemetery.

A grocery in Beacon Hill:

The town certainly is not without its quirks. For instance, what is this item of clothing? Is it a dress? A quilt? A jacket? A robe? Perhaps a bathrobe? But what's with the pearls?


Kate, Michael, and I topped off a fun day of sightseeing with a delicious dinner in the North End and yummer desserts from Modern Pastries. Those Italians sure can cook!


The food was so good in the North End that I went back for dinner the next night with some Penn State gals. We ate a sublime meal at Monika's (26/27 stars from Zagat, wowzer!) before hopping in a Petty Cab to take us out for the evening. Here Michelle and Lauren flash their winning smiles:



Did I mention that we got to drink delicious margaritas? Cause we did. And they were delicious.

Sadly, the trip had to end and we drove the 7 long hours (in the rain) back to State College. The wanderlust has been satisfied for now, but no doubt it'll flare up again soon. A few final pics from the road: