Dan May concert

Saturday, Brad and I went with our friends Rachel and Jim to Dan May's concert in Maumee. He is a friend of mine from high school. Brad's niece's husband David played percussion for the band. We had a great time and there were a lot of people there from Sandusky and St. Mary's.

Hope College visit

We took Caitlin and her friend Colleen to visit Hope College Friday. It was a fun day, and really reaffirmed Caitlin's plan to apply to Hope next year. Sue and Craig invited us to dinner afterwards and it was delicious.
The night before, Caitlin had Dutch Dance practice and costume inspection. We then picked up Colleen and she stayed at the hotel with us because the college visit started at 8AM the following morning.

American Idol

I know I don't usually comment on my blog about television shows, but watching American Idol is one of my guilty pleasures.
I don't really have a clear favorite, but I kind of like Blake. I don't think he will win, but he may get as far as third.
Brad is totally enamored of Jordin Sparks and thinks she is going to win it all. Ask him about her and he will go on for fifteen minutes about her talent, stage presence, etc...
I sure hope that Haley goes home this week. She looked like a prostitute last night, and I am afraid she might do a pole dance next week to get votes.
Sanjaya was surprisingly good last night. I could have done without his deep, soulful gazes directly into the camera, though. That was kind of creepy.
My choice for the bottom three this week: Haley, Phil and LaKisha. I think LaKisha may be going home in a surprise elimination.

Easter

Easter morning, we discovered that the Easter bunny had stopped by our house and left some treats. We still have fun with this, even though there are no little ones in the house any more. Caitlin and Buddy had fun finding them, but we are all looking forward to next year, when Jillian and Brit's little one will be here. Hopefully, he will be old enough to enjoy the hunt. Caitlin really liked the bendy bunny we found, it reminded her of "Tom the giraffe" she got at the San Diego zoo when she was four. She named him "Phil the bunny" :) Brad had fun hunting, too, and also found a little time to relax afterwards, before we got ready for Mass.



Brad, Caitlin and I then drove to Sandusky to eat Easter dinner at Roadhouse with Jillian and Brit, my brother Joe, my Dad and Rita, and some of her kids and their families. It was good to see everyone, and the food was good. We did not need to spend the money, though. We are trying to cut down on our unnecessary spending, but something always seems to come up.

Afterwards, we went to Jillian and Brit's to play with our Wii game the rest of the afternoon before heading home.

Jillian's baby shower

Jillian's in-laws had a baby shower for her and Brit on Sunday afternoon. It was a lot of fun, the food was delicious, and they got some great gifts to help them welcome their new baby in style. Jillian's college roommate Shannon was also able to make it, even though it was a long drive for her that day. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Jillian and Brit's visit

Last weekend, Jillian and Brit came to visit, and we had a great time. Jillian was able to see my new lab space while Brad and Brit cooked lunch :)
Doesn't Jillian look radiant, and the two of them look so happy? Only a little over a month left...

First flower 2007

Here is a picture of the first flower that bloomed in our yard this year-a purple crocus!

Wii had fun

The other day, Brad and I had our friends Melissa, Todd and Henry, and Rachel and Jim over for dinner, followed by playing with our new Wii. It was lots of fun, I think Wii boxing and bowling were the winners of the evening. Henry had fun playing with Buddy-he kept calling him "cat", though, because they have cats. Buddy enjoyed following Henry around, because Henry was shaking Buddy's treat container and treats kept falling out.
Brad just found the cord to connect the camera to the computer, so I can now post some pictures :) Brit's family threw Jillian a baby shower yesterday, so later I will upload the pictures I took and post them.

Groove

Brad and I went to see "Groove" perform at the Michigan Theater last night. Groove is a group of U-M students that "performs using traditional and non-traditional instruments (garbage cans, brooms, toothbrushes...you name it)", similar to Stomp or Blue Man group. The beginning and the end were the best, but the middle had too many long pauses, and "guest" dancers and musicians that took away from the percussion we came to hear. It was a lot of fun, but last year's show was much better, when an undergrad in my lab, George Mike, was in Groove. He graduated last year with a degree in Computer Science Engineering, I think. Not every undergrad who does work-study in our lab has been a science major. He is a great guy-very nice and funny, too, as well as smart. Anyway, we didn't realize Groove played more than one show a year, so next year we will have to check out some other performances. The tickets were only $7 adults and $5 students. It can be embarrassing to show my student ID, but what can I say-we're cheap and like a bargain :)

Looking forward to Spring

I am still waiting for the early Spring that Punxsutawney Phil promised us this year. I guess pictures of flowers will have to carry me over until we can see the real thing. Click on the flower below to see a few more pictures I took, mostly last summer...


by tmroth

Christmas pictures (VERY belated)

I just remembered I never posted any pictures from Christmas at Jillian and Brit's or Jacki and John's...or from our trip to Florida and the world of Coca Cola in Atlanta-guess whose idea that was ;) At Brad's urging, we also passed through Mt. Airy (Mayberry) NC :) Here are a couple pix. Click on a small picture below to see more Christmas or vacation pix.

by tmroth

by tmroth

BioArt 2007

"Windy starry night"










"Solar flares"












"Secret love"



















"Reach toward the light"












"Dark and stormy night"











"Cauda celeri"










I am preparing my submissions to be considered for this year's BioArt exhibit. I hope that one or two may be accepted. They are having an additional competition this year in which some graduate students or postdocs could win $250-$500 in travel funds, but only one picture can be submitted for consideration per entrant. Here are some low resolution versions of the pictures I am considering. Please comment on which of them you like best. I really hope to attend a meeting this summer and I could use the funding (wish me luck). The deadline for submission is not until March 31, so I do have some time yet to decide. Also let me know if you are interested in knowing more about the science behind the pictures. These are all cells that I have cultured and stained with various fluorescent colors as part of my research.

Beating cells

In my lab this week I had quite a surprise! I have been differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells into Schwann Cell-like cells. Schwann Cells insulate nerves in the peripheral nervous system. I tried a new experiment this week using different media components-imagine my surprise when some of the cell colonies on the plate started to spontaneously beat in rhythm. They may have differentiated into heart muscle cells! I am planning on testing them to see what is happening and if I can repeat these results. Usually cells are not visibly moving, so to see this is definitely eerie. Also click this link to another cluster with four sequential groups of beating cells.

Happy 50th BDay, Brad

Brad turned the big 5-0 on January 18th. I hope he had a great birthday. Caitlin made him dinner (it was delicious!) and I made scotcheroos.

I bought him an iPod that is capable of showing podcasts and pictures as well as playing music, and emailed all of the friends and family I could find addresses for- many of them responded with well wishes for him throughout the day. Jacki, John, and Jillian also helped me to put a picture of him in the paper and make a slideshow of pictures throughout his life so far. Check out a link to the slideshow and the newspaper picture on Jacki and John's blog

Oh, boy!

Jillian had an ultrasound Monday, and it's a boy! We are all excited that everything is progressing normally and she is feeling great. We can't wait to meet our new grandson.