amazing fruit dip

Have you ever had to write a research paper all in one day?

I hope not; I would never wish that on anyone!

BUT just in case you do...you should make gourmet snack plates to get through life as you sit at your computer for hours and watch the sunny day go by outside your window.

If you're sick of peanut butter and apples, this fruit dip is a fun alternative. 

I adapted the recipe off the fruit to-go trays I used to get at the cafeteria at college.

(If you went to Augustana, you will know what I'm talking about. Unless you are my boyfriend and never got a fruit tray. !!! I know. Blasphemy.)

Plus, if you use fat free cream cheese, your snack will be an optimally healthy and satisfying protein/carb ratio.

Which will make you feel better as you can't stop eating the dip out of the container with a spoon.

Amazing Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

-one container cream cheese (reduced fat or fat free...the kind in the tub is convenient because you can keep the dip in it)

-1/4 c. brown sugar for a big cream cheese tub, 2 T for a little tub.

Or heck, as much sugar as you want.

-1 t. vanilla

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined and smooth. Transfer back into the cream cheese container or a tupperware with lid. Eat with cinnamon fruit, bagels, oatmeal....or just with a spoon.

we can't burn our forests but we will burn our oceans

Okay here is my political rant for the day:

Picture from the New York Times 

Forest managers face so many hurdles and hassles to implement prescribed burning in forests (especially here in the east) that have been completely altered by fire suppression.

But we lose no time in burning our oceans.

Sometimes I hate living in our globalized, free trade, capitalist economy but I can't help being an oil-dependent consumer just like every other entitled member of the most developed nation in the world, watching helplessly as our addiction to black gold destroys the environment.

Oil FAIL

make way for ducklings

There is a gorgeous garden behind the Alumni building on campus (...because that is where all the $$ comes from...)

including a little duck pond.

And there are TWO families of little baby ducklings this spring!

They are beyond adorable and hilarious.

Little duck family

Crossing guard

Oh my gosh so cute.

I WANT ONE!

They dart around in a single group and when one straggler wanders off and then realizes he's left behind he'll run SO FAST to catch up.

I don't know what's going to happen to all these ducks when they grow up...I mean, 45 ducks is a lot. I'd use my biology degree to say that it would exceed carrying capacity.  I guess they'll fly away to an amazing pond in the forest and live happily ever after ??  Yes, of course.

In other news, I have two papers down and two to go! I've been pretty successful so far at sanity maintenance so hopefully I can keep the motivation going...

I can't wait until Wednesday when I will be "done". Ohhh my gosh it cannot come soon enough. 

Although I am still working in the lab and have to finish and defend my thesis proposal.

It's hard to believe I'm almost done with my first year of grad school !!

It has definitely been a crazy intense but happy year.