Passion project

It's that time of year again, when we celebrate letting that special someone in. Happy Arizona Statehood Day! Oh? Valentine's Day? Uh, yeah, that too! Whether you're head over heels or if you've lost that lovin' feelin', I've got just the Dollecule for you... Dopamine!

Dopamine

Name: Dopamine
Other names: 4-(2-Aminoethyl)benzene-1,2-diol
Chemical formula: C₈H₁₁NO₂
Found in: Central nervous system, reward pathways, that lovin' feelin', heart medication
Key: Red=C, Pink=H, White=N, Maroon=O

Hormonal balance

If you're here just for the dolls, feel free to skip this next little bit.

For those still with me, I'd like to celebrate this most amorous of days with a story of love at first sight. One June morning, my girlfriend and I saw a 3-D movie and we may-or-may-not-have-but-definitely-did eat a giant bag of gummy bears. Between the graphics, the glasses, and the gummies, after the movie we were not quite up for lunch yet. We decided to buy our stomachs some settling time by visiting the local Humane Society.

That's where we met Obi. Or "Myles" if you go by his nomme de shelter. A scruffy little Jack Russell mix with a spotted belly and ears that flopped for days—we instantly fell in love with him. We asked to see him in one of the meet-and-greet rooms, and it was around the time he rolled over our feet for a belly rub that we knew we had a new family member.

Here we are almost three years later, never once regretting our decision. And we owe it all to 3-D animation and high fructose corn syrup molded into anthropomorphic bears (we really should send thank you's to Disney and Haribo). Say hello to my other long distance relationship:

Obi dropping some sign language

Right back at you buddy

Cutest tangent ever, right? Crochet stuff resume!

I think Obi does it better

Love actually

Happy Valentine's Day to all the couples out there. And if you're single and looking to brew up some love, a bag of gummy bears is a pretty good start to any love potion.