I thought it would be nice to post a post on what it is I have been doing with my life for my last 6 years in school... Then I realized I hadn't really done much, but some of the stuff I have done in my last semester is interesting, to me at least.

All students who want to graduate from WSU with a BS in Material Science and Engineering MUST complete a Senior Thesis project. We get to chose and advisor, a project, and then are let loose to figure it out on our own. I choose to work for my current advisor, and he asked if I was interesting in participating in the new big thing with Magnesium. Now, you all think Magnesium (Mg) is a highly volatile metal, and well it is. I caught some on fire, which is actually hard to do when it is solid....

My research goal was to increase the ductility, or to make it more malleable. I did not achieve that goal. It is the big new thing people want to replace Aluminum with Mg because it will decrease weight, and save fuel, and use consumers money! It is really hard to improve the ductility of Mg, which why it is the bug deal it is.

I though I would include some of the images and tell you about them. I like to talk about what I do, but it is a specific thing and I have a hard time explain it.

This image above is the internal structure of the as-received magnesium specimen I was working with. The different colors correspond to different grains, kind of like the grains in a piece of wood. The colors also signify which way the grain is oriented.

 This image is of one of the specimens after I completed my experiment. You can see that it looks very different from the previous one. There are different grains but they are all oriented the same way, and the grains are a lot smaller here. The orientation of this piece is good and bad. My experiment failed to do what I had planned but interesting phenomena was recorded, and new things about magnesium was learned.

How I save money at the co-op! (Part Two)

Part Two: How to ‘Shop the Co-op’

For this post I did some research so click on links for more information!

There are so MANY ways to saving time, money, and energy grocery shopping. Some of them are just basics like what I posted in PART ONE. This post, part two, is more specific. This is about how to save at a Co-op. Some of these tips can be used at other local food retailers (farmers markets for example). Many of these examples/tips are for my local co-op the Moscow food Co-op.

a) INVEST in those reusable shopping bags. They are a buck at most places, and are WASHABLE!!! The co-op gives members a 10 CENT discount for each bag you bring, and use! They will ask you if you want to use or donate the discount. Do not feel guilty about taking it, you are on a budget and are trying SAVE while shopping locally!!!

b) JOIN the co-op! The Moscow co-op has the LOWEST membership dues! $10 A YEAR!! If you shopped every week there it would be just under 20 cents a week! Plus being a member gives you access to great saving opportunities! The 10 cent bag credit, a bi-monthly coupon book, and their monthly in-store member only discounts. You can even get a discount on ordering bulk items (not the bulk bins). Here is a website that will help you find your local food co-op!

c) CHECK the in store sales. The Moscow Food Co-op posts their bi-weekly specials online. Just follow the link and from their website you will see the flyers! It is amazing! I love their Bionaturae Whole Wheat Pasta, but I don’t want to pay 3 bucks for a pound of pasta, we stock up on it when it is on sale for $1.99! Which then comes out to a buck a meal for pasta for us. Checking the sales before you go is helpful because if you are low on pasta, like we are, you can know if it is on sale and stock up! *To find the ad, go to the website, scroll down a little it is a link titled something like "Download CO+OP Month A Deals" A and B denote the time the flyer is good.*

d) LEARN basic math. Alright this is where my training as a Material Science Engineer comes in, but I know you people out there can relate. These are things you MUST know to shop at any local food place, Co-ops, Farmers markets you name! I hate the ‘standard system’ and will argue that metric is way better, but until the government gets off its lazy bum, we have to know both! Here are some basics to get you through shopping produce: Peppers DO NOT WEIGH MORE THAN A POUND! I know that the co-op places the price of peppers as $2.50 a pound, but seriously, have you ever held a pepper people? I am so tired of hearing “$2.50 a pound that is ridiculous!” Guess what?! Different sized peppers for $0.76 each is RIDCULOUS!  Most produce is priced per pound at the co-op. It is more fair to the consumer and the farmer. So, with that little digression… 16 oz =1 pound, 32 oz = 2 pounds, 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 128 fluid ounces (that is what fl. oz on juice and milk containers stand for, it is different than the mass measurement ounces). Grams, not many things in the US are labeled with just grams, but some recipes are written that way, invest in a kitchen scale with multiple units.

e) BULK foods. I love to make lasagna, but lasagna noodles are prices when they are boxed, plus half are always broken. When you get them from the bulk section you get you pick HOW MANY you want/need and nice long un broken ones (just be careful on the way home not to break your precious noodles!) The co-op posted on their website this handy 8 Ways to Save article. Number 3 is to shop Bulk, here is what they say about buying bulk “Buying in bulk saves you money, plus it saves packaging and allows you to buy only as much as you want. The Moscow Food Co-op has over 500 items in bulk, including grains, beans, snacks, baking supplies, coffee, herbs, & body care items.” I never was a fan of the bulk bins until I recently discovered their wonderful saving capacity. If you haven’t tried them, DO IT!

f) SEASON Shopping! Seasonal shopping will add so much flavor and diversity to your foods! The NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) has a GREAT website for finding local farmers markets and you can search by state what produce is in season when! It is a great guide bookmark it, or print it out and tape it you’re your fridge!

g) STOP buying prepared/ processed food and BUY ingredients. I said in the first post that making bread saves money, well so does making your own pasta sauce. I have recently started to even make our own Alfredo sauce! It is surprisingly easy and super yummy! Making things like bread or your own pizzas are fun, cheap and can involve the whole family. Plus when you make your own food, you know exactly what went into it!

While I was doing the ‘research’ for this I found a few good sites with lists of ways to save, check them out if you like!

32 Ways to Save

The Frugal Law Student

WebMD 

I know these are long posts but it takes work to save your money! Good Luck to you shoppers out there!

Complaints

I just want to complain for a moment about the stupid crap people do. It first starts with people who invite themselves over a day early.

Seriously! I know you are family and all, but Brody and I have a life too! We both go to school, we both work, and the little time we do have, we like to spend it alone or with close friends. Not with my brother who told me he will never like Brody or his new wife, whom I have yet to have a longer that 5 minute conversation with. It is ok, I can forgive you wanting to come over earlier in case the roads get bad, but ANNOUNCING that you are going to take a shower TOGETHER in MY SHOWER in MY HOUSE is not! To top it off, you made me so disgusted and aggravated that I forgot to get you towels so instead of saying anything you just used our towels that we had hanging up in our bathroom.

Maybe you just hate me, but since you were staying in my home I tried to give you comforts. I invited you to eat our food, and enjoy meals with us, but you just wanted to eat out and spend as much time as possible away. This was insulting, and I called you on it. What did you do? Nothing. I guess this is what Husky fans are like. Lesson learn, never invite a husky to your home.

The next is Group Project. Now I have experienced multiple kind of group projects: The kinds where one person does all the work, and kind where everything is done last minute, the kind where one person drops off the face of the planet, and the kind where you are working with a giant corporation and 5 guys...

I have always disliked group projects, and so I will admit to it, I have been that person who drops off the face of the planet, just because I hate them so much. Well with this project, I knew I couldn't do that because if I do not participate I do not graduate. So I chose the group where I know people would do the work, and not wait last minute. This is why I am in Seattle Sunday before dead week, because we have a presentation with a large company on Monday! (I signed some discloser form so I can't say what we did, who we did it for, or why, but think about it, you can guess which large company in Seattle would need engineers to work for them...)

I thought that engineers do not have lives which means that those welders in the group would be able have finished this project so we could have been done right before Thanksgiving. Nope. We actually finished the prototype this morning before we left for Seattle. To top it all off we a presentation in front of managers and possible a CEO tomorrow at 2 PM and the presentation is not done! And I do not care. I have my reasons why, but that would take another super long post. Mainly it is that I have another presentation I need to work on for my personal Senior thesis and paper to write, and three finals to prepare for.

Ah, the life of an Engineer. Good thing I graduate in May!!

Babe, Babies Now!

I can not WAIT to have babies!! I am crazy about them all! Fat ones small ones, funny looking ones, hair no hair!!! School, Babies and Jewelry is what I think about almost all the time everyday! One day a few weeks ago Brody sent me an email to this link... The Ritmo

Since then I have been thinking about the playlist for that nine months it takes a bun to bake...

1. Classical Era--including and not limited to: Motzart, Schubert, Bach, Hayden, Beethoven
2. Baroque Era--also including and not limited to: Bach, Handel, Schultz
3. Romantic Era--Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Strauss I and II, Wagner, Tchaikovsky
4. Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd--I know they are quite a difference from the above genres, and some might be thinking we will be having drugie kids, BUT, I always have enjoyed the bluesy guitar.
5. Queen, AC DC, and other classic rock--enough said
6. various Jazz composers-- Duke, Ray Charles, Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Barry White--I second what my dear friend Lynsi says here... My children will more than likely be conceived to the wonderful big band jazz composers of the dawn of jazz.
7. The Beatle's-- I sometimes wonder if I was born in the wrong time period...

Brody has his own list of what he wants the fetus to listen to... They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, The Verve Pipe, Collective Soul and he says no Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or AC DC...

What nerds!

Brody is taking a pre-calculus class this semester and is currently studying the famed Unit Circle!!! If you have never heard of or don't remember this most integral part of your math studies, SHAME ON YOU! No really! Tisk tisk! Now go here and learn all about it! This will change EVERY thing!!!

Now that you have learned and been enlightened. You will share our joy in the desire for:

Yes, we are crazy, but we love it all!! I am totally getting one for the office and the far in the future baby's room!