April 30: Grad Hats

I have an idea. I'm going to try and make a bunch of these little grad hats to go on top of cupcakes for my graduation party.  However, these little suckers aren't as easy to make as you would think.  And, it is really hard to find an edible candy that can be used as a tassel.

April 28: Spa Day

The spa day in celebration of graduation is booked!

April 26: Insomnia

It is absolutely no fun when you are awake at 5am...and you just cannot sleep.

April 25: Last Coffee Hour

It was the last coffee hour of the year!

I love when the flags are hung like this!

April 24: CSAA Banquet

The annual CSAA banquet was a wonderful time of celebration.  I was asked to give the doctoral student speech.  For the presentation, I did a modified version of pecha kucha which is a form of presentation with 20 pictures for 20 seconds each.  I was honored to be asked.  I was even more honored to win the outstanding doctoral student of the year.

Dr. Cooper awarded me this outstanding doctoral student of the year award.

The three speakers (doctoral student, faculty, & master's student).

April 17: Curly Hair

My hair is getting so long and heavy.  I'm thinking I might have 8 inches to donate.  Luckily, it's 8 straight inches.  It might be a little short, but my hair grows fast and I'm tired of it taking so long to do in the mornings!

April 16: Colleague BDay

A colleague who works in another office on campus brought in a cake today in celebration.  Oh.My.Goodness.  The cake was six layers of dark chocolate goodness with caramel in the middle and drizzled over the top.  Surprisngly it wasn't too sweet but rather the perfect chocolate cake!

April 15: Cold Front

This must mean summer is going to be cool and wonderful, right?!

April 13: Nothingness

It's nice to have days where you have absolutely nothing on the calendar.  Although I've been working on edits myself, and sending them to an editor, today was a major catch up day on editing.  My dissertation is due to the graduate school by April 28th, so I need to get a move on and turn around the edits from my advisor, committee, and editor quickly.

April 14: Dr. Mullendore's Farewell

Today we celebrated Dr. Mullendore's farewell to the profession and to CSAA faculty.  He has been counting down the days to retirement since I started ;)  Unfortunately, the cake from publix didn't turn out quite like a golf course. Ha!

Dr. Mullendore right before he was the VP for Student Affairs at UGA.

Shannon R. Dean

April 12: Blisters & Beauty

It was a beautiful day for a run; until I got a blister.

April 11: LAST Tax Workshop

Today is our LAST tax assistance workshop! WOOHOO! This is Wendy our volunteer intern this semester.  She's funny, and has been learning more and more about US sarcasm this semester.  She always pulls something out that seems to make us laugh.

April 10: VITA Certification

Today the IRS acknowledged (via the mail) my VITA tax volunteer status.

April 9: Post Defense Celebration

Today the staff celebrated my accomplishment (successful defense) during staff meeting.  Leslie got me those gorgeous flowers and pulled together the cupcake and other congrats stuff for my door! I am so grateful for this group of people I get to work alongside.  They are good people and I will miss them when I leave UGA and ISL.

April 8: Petting Zoo

Yes, this is a college campus, and yes, they had a petting zoo in the student union quad.  Just another day at UGA. :)

April 7: Dissertation Defense

Today I successfully defended my dissertation and became Dr. Dean.  It's strange, but glorious.  It's been a long four years filled with a lot of fun and learning, but also a lot of tears and grief.  Today was a good day.  My defense went well, obviously, and my committee offered great feedback into ways I can strengthen some sections of my dissertation (read: more edits) and publications that can come out of my dissertation.  Dr. Cooper was really proud of the work I did, and I could not have made it through this process without her!

She also really, really loved the gift of a Texas State University mug and the tea from South Africa.  After the defense, I celebrated with some friends at the capital room with drinks and appetizers.

April 6: Recuperating

I haven't been doing much today but recuperating from Street Fest and planning and preparing for tomorrow.  I took a break to play rummikub on my phone.  I never win against the computer! :)

April 5: International Street Festival

International Street Festival is a wonderful event held in downtown Athens.  Faculty, staff, students, and the community come out to celebrate a variety of cultures.  There are performances and musical acts, and 30 tables with international activities to try.  We had approximately 5000 people show up, and stay for the day.  It was a huge success and I'm excited to have been a part of it!

We couldn't have done it without an amazing group of volunteers!

April 4: Street Fest Loading

Tomorrow is our big event in downtown Athens and we are loading up all the vans with the materials...including a helium tank! Cory had to roll that thing slowly as it was heavy and awkward.

April 3: Surprises

Today is my sister's birthday and she's traveling.  However, I got a fun surprise in the mail from my mom and sister in celebration of almost being done! I got a couple of different things including a book for my upcoming trip to Hawaii!  Thanks mom & CJ!

April 2: Baxter

Baxter really likes to cuddle up and always be touching you! Sweet pup.