Summer Job

I was asked to teach as an adjunct instructor at Western Oklahoma State College here in Altus for the summer. Of course I agreed. I will be teaching the biology class on Monday and Wednesday nights. I also applied for a full-time biology instructor position starting this fall. I hope I get the job.

Ryan Joseph Starkey

In Loving Memory of Ryan Joseph Starkey, January 31, 2006 -- May 10, 2006.

"Ryan Joseph Starkey was born January 31, 2006 in Altus, OK to Ron and Kimberly (Strickland) Starkey. He was loved and cherished by his family and friends. He blessed all that knew him in his short time here. His smile could melt anyone's heart, his laugh washed away any grief the world supplied and his eyes told the story of a brave young man made in the perfect image of his heavenly and worldly father. He will be greatly missed and extravangantly remembered."

"Ryan leaves behind his parents, Ron and Kimberly Starkey of the home; two sisters, six year old Taylor Cheree and three year old Kourtney Nichole; grandparents, Richard and Toni Starkey of Altus, OK, Leonard Strickland of Ft. Worth, TX and Teresa Strickland and Jerry Wilson of Perrin, TX; uncles Ryland Starkey of Altus, OK and Troy Strickland of Breckenridge, TX; a cousin Rachelle and many loving friends of the family."

Ryan was a beautiful baby, and I can't even really imagine what Kim and Ron are going through right now. This was their little boy, and they did every thing they could do. It was his time to go home to Jesus. I know they are comforted by the fact that one day when they are in heaven they will be reunited with Ryan. It's so hard to know that a baby can be gone so quickly. The funeral service today was nice, but the hardest part was when they took that small, baby-sized casket away. I cried as I watched the mother, Kim, weep loudly. She cried out his name and reached her arms toward the casket for her little boy. She could barely stand on her own, and Ron had to hold her up. Every time I think about it tears come to my eyes, and I will say a prayer for this family every time tears come to my eyes.

Ron and Kim Starkey

This morning sometime after 5:30 am, we found out that Ron and Kim Starkey, our friends, lost their baby. They rushed him into the ER around 5:15 because he was not breathing. I think he was about 3 months old. He was very cute with large, beautiful eyes. Ron and Kim also have two other girls, Taylor and Kourtney. If you pray, please remember this family in your prayers. This was their little boy and they are hurting very much.

TA of the Year!

On Friday, the 21st, I received an award--I am the Teacher's Assistant of the Year for the biology department. I am very happy about this because it is awarded by student votes. So I guess my students decided they like me this semester! I was also happy because this was my last chance to get the award because I will graduate before the next spring semester. Yay!

The Results, Finally!

On Wednesday I finally got the results I have been hoping for and looking for. The frog skin I'm researching shows that it inhibits the growth of bacteria! Yay!
I was so happy that I started doing a little dance in the lab. Now I am going to write a paper on my preliminary results and try to get that published. Then it's on to the next phase in my research.
One step closer to being done!!!

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a good time. Brian took off work just to spend the day with me! Wasn't that nice of him!?

He took me out to breakfast. Then we spent the day together doing things around the house. His family and some of our friends came over. We had cake and ice cream. My friend Valerie actually made my cake for me. It was a yellow cake with chocolate icing. It was supposed to be a surprise but I found out. I was out with Brian's mother after dinner. We went to the store to get food for grilling today. We stopped by her house and picked up Brian's dad. Brian's mother, Jill, asked Alan if he wanted to stop anywhere to get his dinner. (We had already eaten earlier.) He mentioned that he didn't need to because we were going to have cake and ice cream at my house. Well, Alan gave the secret away! Jill tried to play it off, but it was too late. I figured it out!

After cake, ice cream, and presents we watched a movie and talked. I had a great birthday. I got lots of cards from my friends and family (Thanks to everyone!).

Today I grilled lots of food for us and Brian's family. We ate and then had more cake and ice cream. I'm going to have to roll into bed tonight!

Driving---Music

Hey, when I'm on the road I have to listen to music. I like to listen to different kinds of music. Most of the time I listen to christian radio, like K-LOVE. Or I listen to my cd's.

Here's some music that I like to listen to:
I like to listen to KJ-52. It's pronounced five-two... KJ is a Christian hip-hop music artist that I love listening to. He's got such wonderful messages to his songs, although some of his songs are just silly. I've been a fan for a while and have all four of his cd's. I like singing along or just bobbing my head to the sounds. Even if you don't like hip-hop, check out his website by clicking on the link I've added to this page. His name stands for "King Jonah" and the 52 stands for the story in the Bible about the five loaves and two fish. I went to one of his concerts and afterwards I got my picture with him. The picture was taken by someone else on their camera, so it didn't come out well. But I still look at this picture and remember the fun time I had at the concert.

I also like Michael W. Smith, Bethany Dillon, Toby Mac, Jars of Clay...to name a few. These are also Christian music artists. They are not hip-hop because I just like a variety of music. I also put a link for Bethany Dillon.

I like Carrie Underwood. She's last year's American Idol winner. She sings country music, and normally I don't like country music, but hey, she's from Checotah, Oklahoma! (That's where Brian's mom's side of the family lives.)

And to make things interesting I also listen to bird sounds and frog sounds! I have some cd's to help me identify their calls. My mom also gave me something that plays bird and frog sounds when I put a certain card in it. (But I don't use this when I'm driving!)

Oh, just a warning: if you go to the music links I put on the side, music will start playing when the page comes up.

Driving--Roadkill

Okay, now you knew that this subject had to come up at some time when it comes to driving. Anyone who drives has seen roadkill at some time. Even if it is in town, there are birds, dogs, and cats. I have been driving for several years and have seen a lot of different roadkill. I thought I would try to make a list of all the animals I've seen dead on the road: coyotes, birds of all kinds (pigeons, doves, turkeys, vultures, hawks, etc.), bobcats, 2 mountain lions, porcupines, skunks, armadillos, dogs, cats, cows, racoons, foxes, turtles, toads, snakes, and deer. Well, that's the list I can think of for now. Remember, I have to make driving interesting. So identifying roadkill at 70 mph is a skill I've gained. I've imagined before a world where the animals are driving and the humans are running around. Mr. Racoon has to get to work that morning. As he's driving down the road, a big human runs out in the street. The human turns and looks at the approaching car with a surprised look on his face. The human stops and starts to run back to the side of the road. Oops! Too late, Mr. Racoon accidently hit the human. There it is, lying on the side of the road. The human was trying to get home, find food, or escape a predator, but Mr. Racoon doesn't think about that. Of course I know this is a weird thought, but I'm kind of a weird person! I thought I'd post pictures of roadkill but I didn't think you would want to see that. And yes, I actually do have some pictures....Being in all types of zoology classes where we went on lots of field trips got me some roadkill pictures! Besides seeing roadkill, I have also seen lots of live animals. I've actually seen a mountain lion twice, which is rare around here. All the animals that I've seen dead, I have seen alive too.

Valdez Family

Toby and Brenda Valdez are two very good friends of ours. At one time we were going to the same church and working with the youth group together. That's actually how our friendship started. They have two wonderful kids, Drayton and Kanzy. Brian and I love these kids. We like to hang out with all of them. Brian, Toby, and Drayton usually like to play video games. Sometimes the kids like to color or watch movies. Brenda and I like to talk. I'm really glad they're friends with us.

ReThink

ReThink is a blog by Toby Valdez, a good friend of Brian and me. He mostly writes about his thoughts and experiences in church. There's a link to his blog. Check out what he's got to say.

Spring Break '06

This past week was spring break for me and Brian. I have been looking forward to this week because I feel like I've been driving all the time and working so hard. We went to Brian's grandparents' house in Checotah. While we were there we went frog hunting. Brian's grandparents live outside of Checotah and they have four ponds on their land. In the past I might get a good catch of six, but this time I caught 25! Brian helped me spot them and then I would catch them with my net. I really needed to collect more frogs because my procedures messed up the frog skin I already had.
We had a good time and I don't want to go back to school on Monday!

Driving--Roadside Memorials

I thought I could write about something that I do often--driving. This semester I am driving almost every school day to Wichita Falls. This is about 3 hours out of my day. In previous semesters I was usually driving between 2-4 days a week. Then before going to Wichita Falls, I was attending Cameron University in Lawton. This is about an hour drive. So I've been driving a lot for the last 6 years. At one time I thought I might just quit school and become a truck driver!
Driving is not so interesting most of the time, so I try to make it interesting. I listen to music, talk radio (usually preachers), look around at different things and do a lot of thinking. I thought maybe I will show things I see while I'm driving and tell you what I think about it. Then you all can let me know what you think.
First I want to talk about "roadside memorials." These are the crosses and such that you might see on the side of the road that show someone died at that spot. Sometimes the crosses have names on them and/or pictures, and sometimes they don't have anything. At times someone puts flowers, wreaths, or ribbons on the cross. I suppose this happens around the time of the anniversary of the person's death.
On the way to Beaumont, Texas I saw two large crosses with a smaller one in front. I felt a little squeeze on my heart when I saw that.
I wondered before if these roadside memorials were something that only Oklahomans and Texans do, but recently I heard a Christian song that mentions these types of crosses. I call them "roadside memorials." I don't know if this is the proper wording, but I've never heard anyone else talk about them.
I've often wondered when I see them as I'm driving, "Why are they there?" I guess they are there for the loved ones left behind, sort of like a grave marker. A place to go visit where it's okay to cry and talk to the deceased person and remember them.
Or could they be also for other people that pass by on the highway? Maybe they show us how fragile life is, and the crosses are there to remind those of us driving on the road that life is so important. Although sometimes they remind me of living, most times they remind me of death. I remember those loved ones I've lost. Especially I think of my friend Amber who died in a car accident on the highway to Altus back from Lawton. I think about her other times, and honestly I don't like being reminded of her death when I'm driving down the road.
I've also thought of the roadside memorials as warnings crying out to me, "Be careful! Don't add your cross to this highway!"
Well, I guess I may be a sad type, or realist type, of person, and I've thought, "What if I did get into an accident and die on the highway? Would I want a roadside memorial?" The answer is a certain "No." I don't want a cross on the side of the road so that people can wonder, "Who died there?" I don't want anyone to put flowers and ribbons on it. (That's littering!!) And I especially wouldn't want anyone to forget about my cross...let it fall down and become faded like the cross that I took a picture of on the side of the road by the Red River. The cross has fallen over, and it has no name... just a picture of a rainbow with a white dove and what looks like a bundle of wheat. It has been lying over on its side since I've been driving by it for the past 3 years.
Well, are there these kinds of roadside memorials anywhere else? Have you seen any? What do you think about them?

Armadillo

The other day we had an armadillo come to our backyard. It walked around our car and tried to even get under our fence. I had never seen one this close up before. I thought it was cute in the face with its beady little eyes and cute ears. It's ears looked like a little rabbit's ears, only not as fuzzy.
FYI, armadillos are mammals even though they look a little scaly. If you have ever seen one dead with its feet sticking up in the air, then you probably saw the hair on its belly--Yep, it's a mammal! They do have small eyes with poor eyesight. They rely on their great sense of smell. They dig in the ground for their food. Their body temperature is lower than ours so they can carry leprosy. They get it from digging because leprosy is found in the soil.
Another interesting fact about armadillos is that they recently migrated up from South/Central America. The first armadillo in southwest Oklahoma was seen sometime around 1970. They do not like cold weather and are able to live here because our winters have been getting milder through the years.
Something kind of funny about armadillos: Since armadillos don't like cold weather, they are not usually seen in the winter and come back out in the spring. Most people don't see armadillos except as roadkill. Instead of watching the groundhog and his shadow to find out if winter will stay or spring will come, Oklahomans watch for the first roadkill armadillo. This is a sure sign that spring is on the way!

TAS Meeting

This past weekend I went to a Texas Academy of Science (TAS) meeting in Beaumont, TX. As you can see we had a good time. At this meeting I go to several research presentations. I hear about the research other scientists are doing and I keep up with new things. Next year I will be presenting my research.
The first picture shows (left to right) Karen (a former graduate of MSU), Dr. Scales (professor), Dr. Cook (professor and chair of the biology department), Dr. Rincon (professor and graduate coordinator), and Dr. Horner (professor and dean of college of science and math). This picture was taken the first night we arrived. There is a social mixer to meet other people who came to the meeting. The second picture is of Dr. Scales and me at the awards banquet on Friday night.
The third picture is of Bikash and Clinton. Bikash is another graduate student and he works with me in the Botany labs. Clinton is an undergraduate and he also works in Dr. Rincon's lab.
the next picture is Sam and me enjoying ourselves before the banquet. Then you can see me with the other girls that went on the trip. From left to right is Deyo, Junie, Jendayi, me, and Sam. All of these girls are graduate students and TA's.
The last picture is of Lance, another graduate student and TA.

Results

Yesterday I checked my research and I did not get the results I hoped for. But that's okay. Now I have to repeat what I've done to see if I keep getting the same results. Back to work!

Whoops!

"Whoops!" is one of my favorite words to say at school, especially in the lab! My friend Sam laughs at me every time she hears me say it. Well, today I said it! I forgot a step in my method yesterday so today I had no results! I had to do everything over again today. I will check tomorrow even though it's Saturday. Brian will come with me and we will have a good time.
I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Anticipating Results

Tonight I am anticipating tomorrow when I will see the results for the first phase of my research. It took me a month and a half to get the methods down on my "practice" frog skin. This Tuesday I started on the "real" frog skin. In what took a month and a half with the practice will be at an end tomorrow with my real frog skin. I guess all of the practice paid off! But I'm worried about the results. Tomorrow I found out if I have been wasting my time. I found out if my hypothesis will not be supported. I found out if maybe I messed up. There are a lot of "if's" about tomorrow. I may also found out something exciting: that my efforts have not been in vain; that this frog skin does have antimicrobial peptides; that I will be able to move on to the next phase in my research; that a new species of frog will be added to the short, but growing, list of frogs with antimicrobial peptides...
If I do not get the results I hope for, then I feel like I have failed. Not just that I failed, but that maybe I am a failure. I know that I am making a big deal of this, but it's hard not to. I feel like science is not just something I do but a large part of who I am. It is easy for me to get disappointed and discouraged about my research. But it doesn't stop there. Then I feel like...I'm not sure. I don't know exactly how to describe it. If I do get good results then I will feel very excited. It is like a rush and I will be walking on clouds for a while. I will feel so important; like I did something very important. But again, I think I am making a bigger deal of this than I should. Right now it seems very important to me, but when I stop to think about it, there are things that are much more important. And I am not out to change the world with my research, so it is not the end of the world if my research doesn't go just the way I think it should.
Well, I know I've just been rambling on and just trying to put my feelings out there. Now I feel a little better.

Hear Cricket Frogs

I added a link "Cricket Frog" so that you can see pics, read about, and even hear cricket frogs. My mom found this website for me. Thanks, Mom!

Radagast

Here is my dog Radagast. For those of you who don't recognize this name, it is the name of Radagast the Brown wizard from the Lord of the Rings books. For short we sometimes just call him Raddy. He usually likes to have his picture taken. One of his hobbies is sleeping, which you can see him doing here. I got Raddy back in April 2003 and I like to say that he was my birthday present from God. I had wanted an Australian Terrier, which is a small brown terrier. We were going to get one for my birthday, but then this stray came in our yard. He was a cute older puppy. No one claimed him and I wanted to keep him. I knew I wanted him when he tried to follow me to work one day. I left him in the backyard and he squeezed between the gate and fence and started chasing my car down the street! I pulled over, opened the door, and he jumped right in my lap. I knew I was going to keep him. He's been a good little dog ever since.

Cricket Frog

I found this picture that I took years back while I was still going to Cameron University. I used to have time to go out looking for herps and on one of my trips I took a picture of this guy. Cricket frogs are small; about 1 inch or less. In our area they are usually a dark or light brown color. They can be found on the shores of ponds and lakes. Whereas most frogs have smooth, slimy skin, these cricket frogs have more warty skin similar to a toad. Cricket frogs sound similar to the sound of glass marbles being rubbed against each other. So even if you haven't seen one, maybe you have heard them before. The scientific name for cricket frogs is Acris crepitans.
To catch the cricket frogs there is no special method. I carry a medium-sized net and walk around the edge of the pond or lake while I look for the frogs on the ground. If they don't jump in the water right away, I chase them around. Many of them get away but I have managed to catch some. Dr. Scales has even helped me on a few occasions.
Because these frogs are so small, I don't get much skin from them. This is why the skin I have already collected is so important to me. This is why I am practicing right now on different frog skin.