Shannon's Randomness!

Anderson, SC

2012-01-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Sarah lives in Anderson, SC, which is conveniently only an hour (ish) away from me! Before the semester break, I drove up there to watch the Heisman trophy presentation.

We decided to watch the presentation while eating delicious pizza at mellow mushroom. Only after 40 minutes of them trying to turn the tv subtitles on, we decided to finish eating, pay, and (quickly) drive back to her apartment to not miss the presentation. We arrived at her place about three minutes before they announced the winner (phew, that was a close one!).

We waited.

And then, they announced Robert Griffin III, Baylor University's quarterback as the WINNER!

We screamed and cheered...and then got on facebook to see what others from Baylor (particularly those who were @Baylor) were posting.

After that excitement, we went and drove through downtown listening to music as the lights danced to the beat. We ended up at a light village area that had santa's house, a fire pit, and other fun things for adults and kids alike.

Here are some random pictures, enjoy.

Smores in a bag...yumm!

The fire left something to be desired. Or maybe it was the extra large marshmallows and the tiny flames that made it difficult to 'roast' the marshmallows.

I guess I didn't realize the north pole was in Anderson, SC.

It was a random place, but we had fun!

D-O

2012-01-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

Give me a D-D-you got your D-you got your D
Give me an O-O-you got your O-you got your O

On December 13, 2011, I received my O (toward DOCTOR). As a reminder, each letter represents a significant accomplishment (i.e. requirement or hurdle) in this PhD process.

D-publishable paper prospectus defense (check! April 8, 2011)
O-publishable paper defense (check! December 13, 2011)
C-prelims (May 2011)
T-oral defense
O-dissertation prospectus defense
R-dissertation defense

So let me give you a little run down of what this defense looks (or is suppose to look) like.

After having done the prospectus defense, your committee gives you permission to actually do your research. Then, when you've finished the research and written it up, you go back to your committee to defend your findings. Normally, when you enter the room, the committee asks you to leave to discuss their initial thoughts. You then return and defend your findings, and then leave again so that the committee can again discuss...and determine if you 'pass' (e.g. your study is solid enough to pass the requirement). They then invite you back in and (hopefully) say, congrats, you passed. Mine, however, went a little differently. After we all got in the room, they just asked that I start (no leaving the room). Then after I was finished and we had a discussion about my paper and ways to improve it (mainly for publication purposes), Dr. Cooper (my advisor) said to my committee, 'so are you all okay with Shannon and I continuing to work on this'. They said yes, and then it was over. No leaving the room, no official congrats...I was confused. You see, there are three levels of responses you can get...pass, pass with revisions, and fail. I was certain I had not failed, but not certain I had passed without revisions. Obviously, I knew I needed some revisions for publication purposes...but for the program requirement, I wasn't sure. Needless to say, when I saw Dr. Cooper later, I asked her about my confusion. She affirmed for me that I had indeed passed!

Woohoo, I got my O!

This publishable paper process has been a learning experience. Hopefully, I will take many of those lessons learned into the dissertation process. So what's next?! Prelims will happen in May, and I am beginning my first few chapters of my dissertation.

Thanksgiving

2012-01-21T14:03:00.001-05:00

The weekend before Thanksgiving I went to the Association for the Study of Higher Education. It was the first time I had gone to this conference and it was a-maz-ing. I LOVED it. I walked away with lots of things to think about, things to read, and a slew of ideas for research topics. Yes, it's a conference for nerds. :)

The conference was out in North Carolina and since Kristin was going to the conference, it only made sense for her to drive back from the conference with me and stay for Thanksgiving. We had a good time! A few days were spent writing, reading, and doing other homeworky sorts of things (since we are both in PhD programs). But we also took a trip to Atlanta, rummaged around Athens, and had Thanksgiving dinner with friends here. What a good time with a great friend...here are some highlights from Kristin's visit!

I usually set up my Christmas tree fairly early so as to enjoy it before I leave for break. This year it didn't go up until Thanksgiving (like normal people).

On our trip to ATL we stopped at Olympic park.

And checked out the gigantic Christmas tree.

And who doesn't love CNN? (rhetorical question)

Kristin's cousin lived out in ATL, so we visited with her; she's a hoot and took us to a wonderful place for dinner (it was yummy!) AND their menu was on a wine bag. So trendy.

While in ATL, we also stopped at the botanical gardens light show. What a fun light display!

We look ghostly.

The tree didn't hug me back. :(

Beautiful lights!

Random frog

The arch (not arches, just the arch)

I've been wanting to make an advent calendar for some time, so after searching pinterest for ideas, we discovered this fun little one with cookie sheets and magnets. We were up late (til 3am) the night before Kristin flew out make these little gems. I was a fun project, fun memories, and I enjoyed having it this holiday season!

Here we are with my table in the middle of my living room! I love crafts!

Here's the final product!

And to keep with tradition, we got a picture with a bulldawg. (yes, I look tired, I was, it was early in the morning before Kristin's flight back to Colorado...and we were up late making advent calendars).

Promised!

2012-01-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

My sister has been hounding me for the ... oh since before Christmas to update my blog. She didn't like that I changed the theme of my blog to look Christmasy, with no posts about Christmas. Thus, I promised her that I would post some updates this weekend.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Because...hey, there's a wonderful thunderstorm outside, a Baylor basketball game (soon) on inside, and...because I promised her I would.

CJ Visits!

2011-12-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

My sister came for a visit in late October, really late October...but just in time to make the last day of Six Flags. She loves roller coasters and there aren't any in the Pacific northwest. If you ask me, that's more reason for her to move closer this direction ;) She flew in on a Saturday, we stayed overnight in Atlanta and went to Six Flags on Sunday.

See it in the background?

We rode the swings, I had never ridden this ride.

After returning home, we did other things around Athens while she was here for a week. One of the fun things was going to the botanical gardens. It was beautiful weather and we had a lovely walk through the area.

Isn't she cute?!

Oh yes, it's a plane.

There was a wonderfully smelling tree, we had to find the tag to note which kind it was!

The day before she headed back to PNW, we drove up through the mountains at which time my car (who is almost 11 years old) turned 100k miles :) It was fun, we honked, took pictures, and celebrated! It was also fun to be on a trip up to the mountains with my sister, instead of say, on the way to the grocery store by myself.

On the way home we stopped for Starbucks...yay red cups, they make me so happy!

On Saturday before we headed to the airport, I took my sister around town to experience SEC football and tailgating. She was in for quite the experience. The football stadium seats approximately 90k and they say 20-30k show up just for tailgating. These individuals set up camp, bring out their flat screens, and watch the game from their tents with their alcohol.

She was...amazed. She took a video to prove the madness.

People, people, everywhere.

And on the way out of town we found a bulldog in order to continue to the tradition :)

If you don't remember, I'm starting a tradition of taking pictures with bulldogs and friends and family who visit...so come visit and we'll take a picture with a bulldog too!

Disney World: Magic Kingdom

2011-12-15T23:27:00.000-05:00

To me, magic kingdom is synonymous with disney world...apparently they aren't the same thing. :) While down for Stace & Andre's wedding, Jennifer and I went to disney. It was a funfilled day. I loved comparing it to disney land. Here is my list of comparissions

Disney World's Cinderella's castle is much bigger, and much better
Small world at Disneyland has a better storefront. When you walk up to it at Disneyland it's a sight, but at World, it looks like any other random ride.
Disneyland has all the best rides in one park
If I had kids, I'd choose Disneyland over world (because you can walk out of the park, across the street to a hotel, take naps, etc) but Disney World you have to take the monorail, or boat, drive, etc, OR pay lots to stay closeby.

There are many other small differences, both are great experiences and now I can say I've been to both, woohoo. Here are some fun pictures from the experience!

On our way to the Magic Kingdom!

Cinderella's castle.

We thought we were in line for the people mover, oops.

I LOVE the toy story ride! Ps. I beat Jennifer :)

We met up with Stace & Andre later in the day!

The castle lit up at night! It changed all sorts of colors!

Oh I forgot, they STILL do the electrical light parade, it was AWESOME!

I thought they would be all decorated for halloween, not really.

Had a blast with Jennifer and so excited to experience Disney World for the first time! I cannot wait to return and try some of the other worlds. I do have a few years left here, so hopefully I can make it down there again before I'm done with this PhD in Georgia!

Stacie & Andre's Wedding

2011-12-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

I met Stacie back at Baylor, many many years ago. And it was a joy to see her walk down the isle and marry Andre. The weather in Florida was perfect, and the ceremony was wonderful. I pray they honor each other and bring glory to God through their union. Many blessings hoped for them!

Here are some pictures from the wedding. I love watching the groom when the bride walks in, he had tears in his eyes :).

The ceremony was officiated by Stacie's friend Kelly. "Out of 7billion people in this world, you two chose each other." Chose, I love the purposefulness of the statement, of love, and of the ceremony.

I LOVE this picture as they walked down the isle as husband and wife. :)

The first official announcement as they entered the reception.

Some of you may have known, but just a two weeks before the wedding, Stacie's dad was hospitalized and in lots of pain. After loads of tests, they didn't think he would be healthy enough to travel from Pennsylvania to the wedding in Florida. Prayers went up around the country, and the world. Just a few days before the wedding he was cleared to attend, and although he was in pain, he was determined to walk her down the isle and dance with her. Even now, my eyes are filling with tears thinking about this. As I was taking pictures as the wedding I began crying while they were dancing. Her family are very precious people and I know how much it meant to Stacie to dance with her daddy.

Below is a picture of Christy, me, and Amy; all Baylor folk who were able to make it to the wedding. Christy, Larry, and I actually drove down to the wedding together and stayed in a wonderful condo while in Florida. Amy and her husband live on the other side of Atlanta, although I don't see them as often as I wished. We had wonderful times laughing at the wedding and enjoying each others company. What a great reason to all get together...only miles and miles away from home.

The Tietjen's with Stacie.

Love my friend Stace!

And last, but not least, the Correll-Hughes'

Again, the wedding was lovely and I pray their marriage will overflow with love, joy, and laughter!

While we were down in Florida, I also got a chance to visit with Jennifer. We went to Disney World, yep that's right. And by Disney World, I mean Magic Kingdom

More to come.

Grandpa's Memorial

2011-12-03T18:09:00.000-05:00

Ten days after surgery, I was on a plane to California for my grandpa's memorial service. It was a lovely event with family and friends remembering my grandpa's life. Here are some pictures from the event.

A memory table was created with all sorts of favorite things or found memories of (Wilbur) Paul Rhymes' life on earth. What a blessing he was to his family and to others. It was neat to explain all the items to various family and friends. He was deeply loved.

For those who know my sister, she doesn't cry very often. Thus, when it happens, I tried to catch it on film. :) Love her.

Our dear family friends Deana and Jessica came up from Stockton for the memorial service. Love these people, they really are like family! My mom and Deana have been friends since they were pregnant with my sister and Jessica.

Look, you can't even tell that I had surgery 10 days ago. I was exhausted but so grateful for the time with my family.

On my dad's side, my sister is the youngest cousin, on my mom's side, I'm the oldest...although not hard when there are only four on my mom's side ;)

It was neat to see how many of my grandma's family came for the service, they loved Paul as much as any of us. My grandma is the one in purple. LOVE her and can't wait to see her at Christmas!

Post Op

2011-12-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

I realize it's been awhile since I posted...too long. Yes I've recovered from surgery, thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. The worst parts were the first week, truly. Between the gas they pumped into my body, and not really being able to sleep well...those were the worst. However, full recovery did take quite some time.

I could give you the nitty gritty of the surgery, what they found, etc. But instead, I'll say that it wasn't cancer (praise the Lord) and that my community really came around me in amazing ways! Here's the rundown of the ways that God blessed me!

My friend Mallory took me to the hospital the morning of, and stayed with me all day and all night. Two of my cohort members, Christa and Tiffany visited in the hospital that night. Then Christy Correll-Hughes met me that morning, walked the halls with me trying to get the gas from surgery out from my shoulder blades (yeah, it's painful and odd), when I was released drove me home VERY carefully (you feel every bump and thump), and made sure I was set until Sarah came over. Sarah Mudd, friend from Baylor who now lives in South Carolina drove down and spent the weekend with me! Friends then brought me food every evening. My cohort and advisor signed up for meals (sometimes twice a day). The love and care I was shown was humbling. I am blessed and so grateful!

My sister joked that I was an office supply store after surgery. At first I was stapled, then after they were removed it was replaced with glue and tape. Here's a picture below of my staples.

Updates Coming!

2011-12-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

Okay friends and family, for those of you who read my blog, I realize it's been WAY overdue for an update. So I'm working on it today. Be ready. Lots of little updates... coming.your.way.

Pre-Op Regimen

2011-09-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

At noon today I began the pre-op regimen...I'm not sure what stinks more, the thought of surgery & recovery or all the pre-op stuff they're making me do (blood work, flushing my system, etc).

Kidding, I realize surgery will be worse, but still today's regimen is not pleasant either.

Interviews for Publishable Paper

2011-09-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

I have now completed the six interviews needed for my publishable paper requirement. I believe I have reached saturation (I'm hearing the same things over & over again). Once they've been transcribed I can begin coding them and finding themes...from there I will write up my paper, defend it, and then begin working on the other little project (the dissertation).

Woohoo!

Research Progress!

2011-09-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

Today was beautiful! The temperature was 80 degrees and a light breeze. Just wonderful.

On top of that, I have been working on my research (faculty-student interaction) since I started this PhD process. However, since the end of January, I began trying to make significant progress. I was using one woman to try and solicit participants...and after months of trying...I decided to change my targeted population. After working with one of the student workers in my office, she gave me names of students who would fit my new criteria.

Since my research project is qualitative, I only need six to eight students to interview. Well...after today, I have four of the six completed...and another scheduled for Monday afternoon. I am really hoping that I can find and squeeze another in before surgery (it would be ideal).

So today, after months and moths of standstill, I made a gigantic leap forward!

Coupled with the beautiful weather and getting to walk a dog (pets are great therapy), today was a good day!

Major Life Change #3.2

2011-09-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday I had a pre-op appointment for my upcoming surgery. Yes folks, it's official. September 14th at 10:30am (EST) I will be having surgery to remove my left ovary. The pre-op appointment lasted four hours (yes, I typed that right). During that FOUR hour appointment I had my finger pricked for iron, peed in a cup (twice), had three viles of blood drawn, a chest x-ray, and an EKG. They also had a nice woman (Maggie) come in and present me with a goodie bag. The goodie bag is filled with four different types of things to 'flush' my system the day before...fun. :/ The highlight of the appointment was the anesthesiologist...he was cute. But not cute enough to discount all the other discomfort I went through ;) But gotta look on the bright side, right?!

So I will go into the hospital at 9am on Wednesday morning...oh and I can't get sick between now and then (and everyone seems to be getting sick). From there they'll prep me for surgery. The anesthesiologist said I may be under general anesthesia or maybe a spinal (like an epidural), but that will be decided on Wednesday between me and the dr.'s. I will stay overnight in the hospital at least one night, maybe two.

The doctor seems to think I will be just fine to travel 10 days later for my grandpa's memorial service. I am hoping and praying he's right. The doctor said that part of recovery is mental and that I need to prepare myself for the pain. To be honest, I don't know that I have much mental capacity right now. Thus, this is a great opportunity for God to show up in a big way :) Here is my list of prayer requests:

Wisdom for the doctors during the surgery
That my other ovary is perfectly healthy (no cysts, no nothing)
Pleading with God for strength (mental & physical) to make it through this
That I will feel peace leading up to the surgery

I am sure there are others too, and I covet your prayers during this time. I know I serve a God who is bigger than all of this (death, grief, surgery).

Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 22:24
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from her but has listened to her cry for help.

Matthew 6:25-34
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Major Life Change #2.2

2011-09-05T12:30:00.000-04:00

So after almost six months of grieving the loss of my relationship with Shelton, with lots of prayer, love, and support, I felt like I was in a decent place...and then I got a call from a dear friend. She started asking unusual questions about where I was, who I was with, how long I'd be there...you know the kind; the kind that mean something has happened and your friend wants to know that you're in a place to hear it.

Well, I finally made her spit it out. My gut blurted out, "does it have something to do with Shelton, is he dating someone?" She paused and then replied, "well, he's engaged."

My heart sank. What? Really? There weren't many other details she knew other than he had been dating her 'on and off' for seven years. Questions filled my mind and my heart hurt. I was confused, a bit angry, but really more hurt than anything else. Hurt because the timeline seemed so quick, hurt because he didn't have the decency to tell me, and really hurt because in the back of my heart, I had secretly hoped after some time, he would realized what a great thing he had lost in me.

Ironically enough, the morning before I got the news I was in the shower crying and pleading God to take away my desire for him. Not that I believe God orchestrated this (fill in the expletive) situation, but I do believe (and cling to) that he works all things together for good (hopefully my good included). Additionally, I just heard a MercyMe song, that is now on repeat. The lyrics are my prayer. Please continue to pray for me as I wrestle with so many emotions (hurt, doubt, fear, frustration) and also as I seek to find closure and healing.

Move by MercyMe
I'm not about to give up
Because I heard you say
There's gonna be brighter days
There's gonna be brighter days
I wont stop, Ill keep my head up
No, I'm not here to stay
There's gonna be brighter days
There's gonna be brighter days

I just might bend but wont break
As long as I can see your face

[Chorus]
When life wont play along
And right keeps going wrong
And I cant seem to find my way
I know where I am found
So I wont let it drag me down
Oh, I'll keep dancing anyway

I'm gonna move (move)
I'm gonna move (move)
I'm gonna move

Ive got to hold 'er steady
Keep my head in the cage
Everything is about to change
Everything is about to change

This hurt is getting heavy
But I'm not about to cave
Everything's about to change
There's gonna be brighter days

I just might bend but wont break
As long as I can see your face

[Chorus]

No matter what may come
Gotta move to a different drum
No matter what life brings
Gotta move gotta move to a different beat [x2]

I just might bend but wont break
As long as I can see your face

Major Life Changes #1-3

2011-09-03T11:42:00.000-04:00

Lord, help me to believe in beginnings.

The last 416 days have been a struggle. Although there have been some high moments, they have often been accompanied by sadness, grief, loss, and pain. I know this PhD journey is a long and treacherous path, but if the next two years are anything like this last one...with all the major life changes (MLC), I think I may throw in the towel.

And yet, most of this pain, sadness, grief, and loss have nothing to do with the PhD program. When I first moved here, I went through the normal transitional issues (loosing professional identity, making new friends, becoming a student) not to mention the struggle to simply get out here (remember this?). From there, my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer in early August. (MLC #1) This was hard for me to reconcile. I was angry and frustrated with doctors who didn't find the cancer earlier. The Lord, however, was gracious and gave many opportunities to visit with my grandpa before he went to be with Jesus in July.

As I mentioned earlier, there were also joys throughout this last year. I moved to Athens in a committed relationship to someone I worked with and had been seeing during my last semester at Baylor. During that time of transition he was extremely gracious and supporting. Although we knew distance would be a struggle, we were both committed to the relationship. However, in November, I felt like our communication began to suffer. It was difficult to connect, but when we did, it was good! The holidays brought more challenges as he was in Texas and I was in California and Oregon. Shortly into the spring semester, we had some good conversations about the direction of our relationship. Although I was feeling the stress of distance and other factors, he was quick to affirm me and the priority that both I and our relationship held....then February came and things crumbled very quickly. I wanted so desperately to believe his intentions, but his actions and words didn't align. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, but I broke up with him while he was out in Atlanta for a conference (MLC#2). The months after were somewhat disastrous. It was hard to focus, hard to concentrate, and hard to grieve the loss of a long-term relationship that had marriage potential.

Then a few weeks ago, after my tests to determine my tailbone pain, they discovered a dermoid cyst. The cyst (most likely) has nothing to do with my tailbone, but is serious enough to put the tailbone pain on the back burner. The cyst is about the size of an egg and resides in my ovary. The most recently doctor I saw wants to remove my entire ovary (MCL #3). At word of this, I began to cry. I asked him about chances for getting pregnant in the future. The conversation went like this:

Me:What does this mean for having kids?
Dr: Are you trying to get pregnant?
Me: No
Dr: Are you married?
Me: No
Dr: Are you just thinking long term?
Me: I just wanna keep my options open

Although this conversation makes the Dr. out to sound insensitive, I think he was actually trying to be understanding. From here, he said that my other ovary should kick in and I should still have no problem getting pregnant (minus other factors; thyroid, age, etc). We talked about lots of other medical type things and scheduled the surgery for September 14th (as of now). This may change as I am suppose to be on a plane 10 days later for my grandpa's memorial service...I should know more after my Tuesday appointment.

All this to say, this year has been rough and filled with many major life changing moments. And through it all, there are many songs and verses that have been reminders of God's faithfulness to me throughout this extremely trying year. I know and believe God will work all things together for his good, and yet...I am SO ready for this year to be behind me and to welcome in a new one.

Lord, help me to believe in beginnings.

Quick Update & Prayer Request

2011-08-19T08:44:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday, I went to the doctor to have the MRI read. To my surprise, the MRI revealed a cyst. It's pretty amazing they found the cyst before it began causing me any pain (it's about 2.3 inches around) and a little shocking. From there the doctors worked with me to scheduled ultrasounds and other appoitments to determine additional information. After meeting with the obgyn, and after having the radiologist read the ultrasounds, they recommended I see a surgeon to have the cyst removed.

Again, a bit of a shock.

But since Tuesday, I've had lots of people praying and I've had peace. The doctors are pretty confident it's benign, although it is an unusual type of cyst. I have an appointment scheduled for the 30th with a surgeon. Depending on the type of surgery it's a 2-4 week recovery. It's very inconvinient, but what a blessing that it was found before it caused pain or worse...burst.

Please pray for my appointment on the 30th, that the less invasive procedure is an option or surgery, that it can be done quickly (as the semester will get more complicated), and that God will use this to bring him glory in some way.

There are so many ways I've seen God go ahead of me in this situation already. This is no surprise to Him even if it was to me!

Magnificent Massage

2011-08-19T00:09:00.001-04:00

After a long academic year, I knew I needed a break, and I had been talking about getting a massage for awhile. I looked into many places. The health center would do an hour massage for $50...great price, but not the experience. For my first massage, I wanted the experience! So then I began looking for day spas. These massages began to run $90-100. The price made me more convinced that I wanted my money's worth. I found the Chateau Elan. It's a local winery with a hotel and separate spa. I was sold when I found out that when you get a service there, you can use any of the facility for free.

The options included:

a workout facility

fitness classes

hot tub

robes & sandals

pool with jets for swimming

steamroom

sauna

afternoon tea and snacks

showers with all the necessities

lockers

and all the little extras that made it special

The massage itself was wonderful...although with the way my back was hurting she could have spent the entire time on my back and I would have been a happy camper. The room was softly lit, quiet instrumental music, the bed heated from beneath me, and after the massage I sat in a quiet reflection room with dim lighting, flickering candles, wonderful lounge chairs and warm blankets.

I made a day of the experience and it was lovely. AND just what I needed, a day of quiet relaxation and pampering. I wanted to go around and take pictures of the place but thought it would be odd, so I took a few when I could. ;)

The grounds were beautiful and overlooking a small lake. It was a much needed day. Although I will probably supplement my experience with some trips to the health center, I will return and treat myself to another day of pampering!

MRI

2011-08-12T01:12:00.000-04:00

Back in October, my mom came to visit. On a three hour car ride, I noticed my bum began hurting. Figuring it was probably just from spending too much time in the car I paid little attention. As the month went on, and the pain continued, I scheduled an appointment with the doctor. The woman said there wasn't much they could do and sent me home with some drugs.

Skip forward to June when my bum was still hurting. Yeah, pain in the butt...literally.

So my new doctor at the University Health Center (Joy Ford...who is awesome!) recommended I see a specialist. Of course, nothing is just that easy...right?! Unfortunately, Joy recommended I see a specific doctor and the administrative woman made the appointment...with the WRONG doctor. But I didn't realize that, until I was back in Joy's office for a torn ligament in my toe. Yes friends, I tore a ligament in my toe by tripping on my pajama bottoms. But that's another story. Back to the bum. After seeing the wrong doctor (a physical therapist), Joy set up an appointment for me with Dr. Doerr, a back, spine, and neck specialist.

I saw him a couple weeks ago. He is...quirky, but thorough. After looking at the xrays, he decided we needed more information. The exam revealed my tailbone is sensitive, and the xrays show my lowest disk may be smaller than should be. Either may be causing my pain, thus he scheduled me for a pelvic MRI. Its kind of like a buy one MRI get one free...we'll get more detailed pictures of both my lowest disk and my tailbone.

So the MRI.

I have had lots of friends who've had MRI's before and everything they told me was...not like my experience. They took me to a private dressing area and handed me a set of scrubs (much nicer than the hospital gown). Additionally, I was allowed to keep on any clothing that didn't have metal. Honestly, getting my cartilage piercing out may have been the worst part of the whole thing. :) That or just trying to remain still through the loud clicking and beeping. But really, they did everything to make the experience comfortable. They allowed me to keep all my things in the room (locked with my own key), gave me ear plugs, offered me a blanket, gave me a pillow for under my head and knees...during one of the tests, the sound was kind of white noise like...and I could have probably gone to sleep if that test hadn't been one of the shortest.

The whole thing lasted about 45 minutes and I'll go back to Dr. Doerr next week to have the MRI read and discuss options.

Until the next update.

September Plane Ticket

2011-07-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

I just purchased my plane ticket for my grandpa's memorial service at the end of September. :) It will be a time of celebration and remembrance. I am glad I'll be out in California with family for a special time to celebrate a wonderful man's life.

Writing Retreat

2011-07-29T21:58:00.001-04:00

I spent the last week up in the Georgia mountains on a writing retreat. It was lovely! We spent all day, every day, for a week, in cabins writing. In the evenings everyone would get together and talk about our progress for the day...successes, challenges, etc. Then various people would share snippets of their work and ask for a press, express, address, or bless. Here are some highlights...

Revised my publishable paper prospectus (my population and methodology changed)
Fun memories with my cabinmates
Walks around the lake
Hike up to the waterfall
Wrote up a book review (hopefully for publication)
Lots of laughter about bugs and 'camping'
Learned more about qualitative research
Meaningful conversations around higher education & life
Wrote my way into my dissertation (I think I have a topic, pending advisor approval ;)

It was a wonderful retreat...although I am extremely happy to be sleeping in my own bed again! Here are a few pictures from the writing retreat (mostly our trip up Anna Ruby falls).

Devotional for the first day of the writing retreat. I thought it was fitting.

From my morning walks around the lake

We each kind of staked out spaces. Some of the rooms had desks, mine didn't, thus I took one half of the kitchen table. We also rearranged furniture that first night to make more conducive writing spaces

On the deck watching the sunset

We had all sorts of bug friends that decided to visit

We were given stickers to wear for our hike

LaQuesha and my cabinmate Carla

It was a beautiful day. I love the mountains, cool(er) days and less humidity!

Danny & LaQuesha are in my program & made the trek (.4 mile hike, ha)

The group of us that treated ourselves to a break and a hike.

Carla, Katy, Jung-chi, Danny, LaQuesha, Josh, and me

My cabinmates, Carla, Katy, and Carolina

Precious Memories

2011-07-08T22:06:00.001-04:00

Early Wednesday morning (July 6th), my grandpa went to be with Jesus. Although I know he's no longer in pain and with his savior...my heart aches.

Frolicking in Florida

2011-07-07T20:19:00.004-04:00

This forth of July I decided to head down to Florida for some R&R and for a weekend of catching up with my friend Jennifer. She and I worked at Baylor together and she & her husband recently moved to Florida...conveniently between Tampa and Orlando. The weekend was packed with all sorts of fun with good friends.

I drove down on Friday and met up with Jennifer at University of South Florida, where she works now. After getting the tour of campus, we headed to her home to meet up with Stephen for dinner and fireworks in their town. The fireworks over the lake on the dark night sky were fantastic!

After the fireworks display we headed to downtown Disney to walk around and peruse the Disney Resorts. A-maze-ing. Each resort is themed, detailed, and ... magical.

Saturday was open to the possibilities. We talked about Disney, we talked about Universal Studios, the ocean and the gulf were also options. The possibilities seemed endless. After discussion, we headed for Universal Studios-Islands of Adventure.

Why?

Mainly one reason.

Or maybe seven.

It doesn't require a train, although possible.

Maybe it's the butterbeer?

Which is neither butter nor beer. :)

The reason?

It's magical.

...

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

What a fun experience, truly. After having read and watched all the movies the wizarding world was quite like I imagined (and kind of like the movies). It was fun to experience it with Jennifer too as she hadn't read or seen the movies, thus I was able to explain some of the intricacies. However, before heading straight to the Harry Potter world...we did visit a couple other parts of the park. I mean, you can't spend the whole day just at the WWofHP.

The Hogwarts train & platform 9 & 3/4

Hogsmead

The three broomsticks

Butterbeer-delicious! I've already looked up recipes.

Olivander's wand shop-no I didn't purchase a wand, but watched a wizard & wand matching. :)

This picture cracks me up. Jennifer took it while we were standing in line for the Harry Potter ride. A wonderful experience through the world of Harry Pottery (some virtual & some through the castle). It was obviously hot outside (FL in the summer) but they had misters and fans...a little piece of heaven.

After HP we walked around the rest of the park and rode some great rides. The one above was a bit of a shock! I thought we'd ride up nicely to the top and then drop. This was not that ride. This one shot straight up at lightening speeds and then slowly lowered back down. Really fun, but was completely unprepared for the experience. :)

After riding Jurassic Park, Jennifer suggested we ride it again. In the front. The front row. Yes friends, we rode the water ride with the giant TRex in the front row. Contrary to popular belief we didn't...oh wait, we did get soaked but it was fun.

The spiderman 3D ride. Really cool.

The park was really neat at night...the lights, the sounds, the cool breeze.

Of course I couldn't pass up seeing HP at night. :)

The Atlantic Ocean
Sunday, Jennifer and I went to the ocean via South Beach (not Miami South Beach...another one). :) It was a beautiful day spent lounging (literally) by the water. The breeze was delightful and the sound of the waves was memorizing.

And I didn't even burn :)

The Gulf Coast
Monday, Stephen, Jennifer, and I went to Clearwater Beach on the gulf side. Although there were more people, it was still manageable. I was so surprised that for the holiday weekend we never really waited in lines or traffic. The gulf water is a little warmer than the Atlantic (and yes the Atlantic is warmer than the Pacific) and the sand is much whiter. As the three of us were in the water, Stephen made some comment about the water being so clear...to which a little girl nearby replied, well it is called Clearwater. Schooled by an 11 year old. :) I could have stayed in the water all day, only I was beginning to burn, and I planned to return home that evening...thus I had a long drive in front of me.

Lunch at Frenchy's on the water. Yumm.

The drive home was filled with more Harry Potter on tape (yes, I listened to it on the way down and no, it wasn't actually on tap, iPod actually, but it doesn't sound the same) AND a magnificent sunset. The time with friends was dear and although I was happy after many hours to no longer be in the car, I was glad I made the trip!

Excited Face!

2011-06-15T23:33:00.001-04:00

Last weekend was exactly what I needed for my spirit! My friend Tiffanie had been at a new professionals conference in Atlanta at Emory and planned to stay through the weekend and visit me in Athens! We had a good time roaming through Atlanta, walking around Emory's campus (beautiful), driving through four other colleges (some accidental and some on purpose), touring UGA, watching a movie, introducing Tiff to FRINGE, enjoying a leisurely Saturday morning which involved favorite coffee (from Common Grounds) and chocolate chip pancakes. Leisurely mornings are my favorite, especially with a favorite friend!

Here are some pictures from Tiff's visit!

Tiff LOVES the Olympics so we visited centennial park. Below are the Olympic rings that shoot up water. The kids were having a BLAST. Tiff was not so sure about it. :) I tried to convince her to join in in the fun. Ha.

Tiff next to the torch! They're huge! She kept asking if I could get someone to turn them on for her. Oh how I missed Tiff's face! :)

Tiff could total be in the Olympics. Maybe for long distance running?

So centennial park had all sorts of 'quilts' in remembrance of the Olympics. This one was definitely the most, unique. Can you pick out Tiff?

After visiting centennial park we headed to CNN.

We found Kenn Star on the CNN highlights board.

Tiff with her President (of Baylor).

Some nice lady asked if we wanted a picture together! Yay!

We just had to find a picture of Anderson Cooper, Tiff's favorite. Here she is imitating his face in the picture. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

This is as close as we got to seeing a flame.

The next two pictures are random! As we were walking around downtown Athens, we stumbled across this...the spirit of Athens. Just so strange and very random.

When we were walking around UGA and downtown, I had a brilliant idea. Well...I think it's brilliant. Uga's are present all over town, some have glasses, others are painted with outfits, etc. I've thought it would be fun to get some pictures (at some point) with some of these clever little uga's. (this is where my brilliant idea comes in) I've decided that when people come to visit, we find a uga dawg and get a picture. This also means that my dad, sister, mom, and Megan will need to come back for another visit so we can grab a pic with an uga. :)

Tiff humoring me! :)

I was so grateful for the time with Tiffanie! This year has been full of transitions and it was so nice to spend the weekend with a dear friend! I miss her face!

Ps. for those of you who don't know Tiff, first, you're missing out, and second, she loves and frequently uses the word face!

Nashville, TN

2011-06-14T16:18:00.000-04:00

During Easter weekend...I know, I know, that was awhile ago, Megan and I met up in Nashville, TN to explore the wonders of the city. So what was the first thing two student affairs people do when they meet up in Nashville? Head to Vanderbilt! Upon arriving, we found parking in the admissions lot. In order to park there, we needed a pass. So it was off to the admissions office. After talking with the admissions people about my interest in a PhD in higher education...we received our parking pass. :) Here are some pictures of the campus, it's beautiful.

Megan and I with our parking pass, yes, we were a little sneaky.

Our hotel was across the street from the Gaylord Opryland Resort, so we decided to walk on over after our tour of Vanderbilt.

I could not have imagined what the inside of this hotel would look like, absolutely magnificent!

Here is the map, yes, you need a map to find your way around all the gardens. If you haven't been there, it's incredible.

Many water falls inside the gardens.

The next morning, Mega and I got up and visited the Pancake Pantry. I had sweet potato pancake. Absolutely fabulous!

We then hit up the city, a park, and a green festival.

Just taking a break and enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Megan doesn't get much in Ohio (warmth).

Oh, and it was windy.

We also visited the Grand Ole Opry. How can one visit Nashville and not go to the opry house.

Yep, we're that cool...or we just bought tickets for the tour. :)

The floodline for the May 2010 flood in Nashville. I realized it was bad, however, this was a implausible. The picture below this one is Megan standing next to the line, just for context.

As part of the tour, we got to stand on the stage and the tour guide took our picture! The circle on the ground is from the original opry when it first began...kind of a neat piece of history (even for this non-country fan).

That night Megan and I went country line dancing. We left our purses in the car, thus, no pictures. However, this was taken before we left. Oh how I miss country line dancing. Yes, this non-country loving music girl does love line dancing...or any other kind of dancing!

As usual, Megan and I found a fun coffee shop, ugly mugs. We had coffee there before heading back to our perspective homes. And if you are asking the question I was...yes, they do serve the coffee in ugly mugs!

As we headed home, gotta get some coffee to go!

Not sure where we'll meet up next as we've now explored Knoxville and Nashville. Maybe we'll actually have to make visits to each others homes (Oxford, Ohio & Athens, Georgia). :)

Putting Teeth to Sleep

2011-05-30T15:01:00.001-04:00

I remember when people asked me about what I'd miss most leaving Waco my standard response was always:

The people
My church
My doctors

Although I have missed my friends, that was absolutely no surprise. However, I have missed my doctors, truly. And even though I have a wonderful experience thus far with the University Health Center, I still miss my primary care doctor and my eye doctor. However, I have found one of the best dentists on the planet! No really. It was unlike any dentist experience I've had. If you wanna check out the website (for kicks and giggles) its www.glennalex.com. Be prepared, you'll be jealous!

Let me brag about him, for a minute. The initial visit, his administrative assistant sat me down in a conference room (after offering me coffee, tea, and all sorts of other special drinks) to ask about my past dentist experiences, what kinds of things I wanted from a dentist, and things I was nervous about. The doctor then came into the conference room we had a brief overview of my previous extras, and then we went to check out my teeth. He was calming and explained what he was doing throughout the exam. We then went back into the conference room to talk about my cavities. He explained in great detail how the cavities formed, why, and even drew pictures. He wanted to make sure I felt completely comfortable and knowledgable about my teeth.

When I showed up to have my cavities filled I was anxious, however, they had explained to me that they have 'the wand' which makes dentistry pain-free. Apparently, the most pain comes from the injection of novocaine. He did the topical numbing, and I didn't feel a thing, from start to finish. I didn't even realize he had already put the needle in (it was apparently so small with a tube attached). But the computer started beeping, which he said was slowly administering the novocaine which he controlled with a foot pump. It was unbelievable. Truly. I asked how he knew how much novocaine to administer and he said, he'd been putting teeth to sleep for a long time and that it was a calculated amount. Before he began drilling, he let me know I could put in my headphones and blast them as loud as I wanted. The whole process was ... almost enjoyable. He is a gifted dentist (both in trade and manner).

Anyway, during a sermon the other day, the woman was talking about how God healed the blind man in three ways, 1st through direct means (the first time), 2nd through direct means (but through repeat measures and petition), and 3rd through spitting in the dirt and rubbing it on the blind mans eyes. She spoke about how the dirt can symbolize humanity and that God can use humanity to heal the body.

Although they were just cavities, if you remember back to a previous post (extra expenses), I was worried about having them filled. After 29 years of no cavities...I had multiple and was nervous. A friend reminded me that God is concerned about all the things in my life, big and small. And God provided! He provided a truly phenomenal doctor (and a completely pain-free experience) and although I prayed my cavities would disappear, God worked in another way and am I thankful for all the ways God cares for me!

PhD Process

2011-05-05T09:32:00.001-04:00

There are many major hurdles in this pursuit of a PhD (doctorate). On April 8th, I jumped the first hurdle. After talking with my mom she asked, or suggested, if I could make the hurdles a round number like...six.

Why? D-O-C-T-O-R

So here's the deal:

D: Defend prospectus for publishable paper
O: Defend publishable paper
C: Pass prelims (exams)
T: Pass orals
O: Defend prospectus for the dissertation
R: Defend the dissertation

So that my friends is it in a nutshell. Clearly, I also have to pass all my classes, but those are the major hurdles. So on April 8th, I successfully defended my prospectus for the publishable paper. Essentially it's a mini dissertation process. By defending, I got my committee together, explained my research and they gave me the 'go'. From there, I submitted my IRB form (internal review board, who evaluates that your research is not harmful, etc), and received the 'go' from them as well.

Now it's officially, I'm free to do research around faculty-student interactions.

Step one complete: D...now working on the O

All Around Athens

2011-05-04T00:31:00.000-04:00

Athens offers lots and lots of free and almost free things to do...almost every weekend. Here are some of the highlights from the last few months.

Gym Dawgs Meet with Mallory (and others not listed & free t-shirts)

During the Gym Dawgs meet, we create our own score sheet and attempt to guess the score for each of the gymnastics events. If you guess closest, you win that round. I smoked the competition! Call it beginners luck, but I had about 11 wins and each of the rest of the group had about 4 each. :)

Another Gym Dawgs Meet: Mallory & Jeremy (and another free t-shirt)

Danny & me (Danny is a 2nd year in my program)

Megan (another cohortee) & me at a baseball game. Georgia almost won, but it was a good game! Oh, and they gave out free t-shirts too (the best of the bunch thus far!)

Intercultural affairs (ICA) sponsored an Indian cultural extravaganza (food, fashion, music...). It was a wonderful experience and the Indian food was amazing! Below is me, Tiffany, and Ashley. Ashley works for ICA and Tiffany is in my cohort.

So there is a much longer story associated with the next two pictures, but I'll try to keep it succinct. Ginny (below) is training for a 1/2 marathon in the fall. Thinking that I may be training for one in October as well (another long story) I thought I'd start by running a 5k. Having trained and feeling comfortable running 3-4 miles, I decided to give it a go. This run was through the junkyard. It was actually beautiful, but more like trail running. I was more concerned about my feet and tripping than focusing on running and breathing. Speaking of, that's been hard for me recently, breathing. I'm not sure if it's the pollen or asthma. Anyway, I didn't run it in the time I had hoped, but I did get a wonderful opportunity to run/talk with a woman for about a mile.

Additionally, my friend Suzie does geocaching (sp?). And her most recent trinket was this tortoise. Apparently it's in a race with a hare, and it runs races. You take a picture with your bib, she enters the miles and it attempts to beat the hare. Kind of a fun idea, maybe something to try in the future.

ICA hosted an international street festival where five thousand people line the streets of downtown Athens to visit the various booths and stations...and all free to anyone and everyone.

Zoe and I work together and I thoroughly enjoy her company. We roamed the festival, got snow cones, she got a Germany flag on her cheek, and participated in other international street festival activities.

Zoe was born and raised in Germany. Apparently, this toy brought back found memories.

She made me try. I at least got it off the ground, but failed in comparison to her skills!

And who doesn't love icecream, not free, but from Dryers. We couldn't resist, it was on the same street as the street fesitival. Yummmy coffee chocolate chunk!

This last weekend was Twilight Criterion (sp?). Basically, it's a big bike race and it's a qualifying race for the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong has apparently competed in this race in previous years. Downtown shuts down, and the streets are roped off for these hundreds of bikers. Tons of people come out to watch. It was a very interesting experience. I was cheering for #14. He took 5th.

The women go first, then the men. It's crazy fast and when you're watching from a corner, such as we were, things can get a little harry (not for us of course)...notice the hay bails?!

The pace car. The man in the passengers seat was hilarious. Every time, I mean every time he went around it looked as though he was holding on for dear life!

Pour number 104, his chain came off with one lap to go.

So there are some long awaited updates on my happenings. Obviously, I've been studying and doing other school sorts of things, but these were some of the things that were fun all around Athens!

February & March

2011-05-03T19:32:00.000-04:00

Although February is the shortest month of the calendar year, it felt like a small eternity. Unfortunately, March felt like a ground hogs day movie to February. They were rough months, and although I'm glad they're behind me, the reminiscence of the months will linger with me.

Another one bites the dust

2011-01-31T23:40:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Knoxville, Tennessee is about half way between Athens, Georgia and Oxford, Ohio? I did. Megan did.

A few weekends ago, Megan and I decided to meet up in Knoxville. Megan's my favorite coffee Friday friend. Fortunately, even though there are many miles between us, we still manage (most Friday's) to skype a coffee date. She's doing her Master's out at Miami and I'm so glad to be a part of her life and her journey into student affairs!

Anyway, here are some pictures (and stories) from the trip!

Friday=Meet up, eat dinner, a visit to the hot tub at the hotel, and quality catch up time.

Saturday morning we went to the Knoxville Zoo. Despite it being cold and some of the animals being taken inside for winter, we still saw tons of fun creatures. It's official, I now want to own a red panda.

Umm do you blame me? Look at how cute he is!

So whenever we could, we attempted to find 'indoor' animals. Although we found few inside, we did find a couple kids areas. Here is me attempting to go down the slide. It was too small, or I was too big. :)

I love this sign. Don't want to make the animals sick now, do we.

Not only is Knoxville, TN halfway between the two of us, but it also gave each of us the chance to cross off another state. For me, Kentucky was the kicker. Saturday night, we drove up to Kentucky to check out the Cumberland Falls.

Apparently, on a full moon, you can see a moonbow from the mist. The moonbow is the only one in the western hemisphere, and the waterfall is said to be the mini niagra falls (125 feet wide). Although the full moon was 3 days later, we were hopeful. After all, the website did say it can sometimes been seen 2-3 days before and after a full moon.

Aside from it being beautiful, I also learned how to use the slow shutter on my camera. The waterfall was amazing. Unfortunately, we didn't see the moonbow. Maybe next time.

Sunday we tackled a new state for Megan, North Carolina. We headed to an Appalachian trailhead on the Tennesse/North Carolina border. The drive was magnificent, the views were breathtaking, and the snow was white.

North Carolina must be known for their tunnels. When my mom and I visited in October, there were beautiful tunnels all throughout the mountain. Different part of the mountain, different type of tunnel, but amazing nonetheless.

Megan and I decided we would hike part of the trail. We tried to find the official markers on the trail, we did not succeed. Either we didn't hike far enough, or maybe they were all buried in the many feet of snow.

Ooops, Megan fell. Oh, right after she said, I think this is where I ... slipped last time.

Sunday night Megan and I ate at this place called, the Old Mill. Need I say that the bread was delicious? Three baskets.

Sunday night, Megan and I went to this place called Wonderworks. It was actually more of an accident. While driving through Pigeon Forge, we saw this wacky building that looked upsidedown. After hiking, we decided we were heading back to the hotel and would finish the evening by relaxing in the hot tub. We were both fairly exhausted. We did, however, agree to stop at this strange building to see what it was before heading back to the hotel.

Upon entering and seeing the staircase built on the ceiling, we were intrigued. Apparently, the building is a sort of exploritory learning museum with over 120 exhibits and the largest indoor ropes course. After some debate, we were sold. Literally, they sold us two tickets. :) It was such a blast. I am glad we did it. Here are a couple pictures from some of the exhibits.

Megan in the hurricane simulator

The earthquake simulator

The ropes course.so.cool!

Smart glass bathroom (frosts the glass when locked)

And this would be the building with us outside. So glad we went!

The weekend with Megan was fun! It's always nice to be with people who really, really know you...and still like you anyway. :)

Ps. If you are wondering, I now have Connecticut, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Alaska left...woohoo, only four more to go!

Snowpocalypse

2011-01-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

On Sunday night and into Monday (January 9th & 10th), we here in the south had a dumping of snow thrust upon us and some have called it the snowpocalypse or the weather or northern aggression.

For those of you from the south, you may have heard this before. For me, I've always referred to the war between the north and the south as...the civil war...shocking, I know. Here, many southerns refer to it as 'the war of northern aggression.' No I'm not kidding. Thus the weather of northern aggression. Wow. Anyway, I'm digressing.

Sunday night, the school announced its closure on Monday. So on Monday, Mallory and I trekked out to Larry & Christy's for lunch. It really was a bit of a trek, lots of snow, and a layer of ice upon the snow. In the afternoon, we went sledding. Tuesday, another snow day. So I did some stuff around my house and in the afternoon, went out for another sledding day. Wednesday, another snow day. So I did some stuff around my house and... you get the point. :)

The school opened late on Thursday and late on Friday. It was quite the week and although the snow days were wonderful, I was looking forward to getting back into a routine.

Here are some pictures. We got approximately 6-8.2 inches of snow. Clearly, Georgia is unprepared for that amount of snow.

Monday after the trek to Larry & Christy's

The people (and kids) in H-105 made this huge, and lovely, snowman! :)

The hill by the intramural field, awesome for sledding. Ps. a trash bag covered pillow is an amazing sled!

My dead plants. However, I thought it was symbolic, the snow did make me happy!

Christmas 2010 (part III)

2011-01-11T14:54:00.000-05:00

After leaving California, I was headed to Oregon to spend time with my mom and sister. Now that I'm a student again, I had 3 weeks off and spent almost 2 of them in Oregon. Here's the list, pictures, and recap of my time in Oregon.

Fringe.

My sister got me hooked on fringe this season. So I caught up on seasons 1 & 2. Yes friends, that's about 26 hours of TV watching. Yikes, but soooo good. :)

Christmas Eve.

My sister's church held a Christmas Eve service at the Portland theatre downtown. It was a wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus, very authentic, very real worship. I also enjoyed the hot drinks and cookies provided in the lobby. :)

Christmas.

Christmas is no longer a wake up early, run downstairs event. In part, we don't have stairs. After a slow moving morning, we opened presents, had two lovely breakfasts, and hung out around the house. One of my favorite gifts, that I accidentally left in Oregon but should be on it's way back to me is a necklace my sister got me. There's a long back story which I will save you all from (this post is already going to be long). But the necklace is this cute little heart and on the front it says, 'I love that we're sisters'. Ahhhh. Sweet. Right. On the back it says, "And I love that there is nothing you can do about it'. Now that's more like my sister. Ha.

Reading.

I got a couple great books for Christmas. I enjoy reading, but frankly with school I haven't done much fictional reading. Well, I made up for that this break. A friend in Athens recommended the 'hunger games'. The book, which turns out to be a trilogy, is young adult fiction about...well, the premise makes the books sound awful, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I read the first on Christmas day and had to run out and get the second and third...which of course I read in two subsequent days. Best piece of fiction since Harry Potter. Amazing.

New Years Eve.

I think New Years Eve is kind of a bust of a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I stay up til midnight and 'celebrate', but I've never really understood why such celebration occurs over the flipping of a calendar page. If you actually still use a paper calendar, it happens every midnight. It is however an excuse to get people together. My mom, sister, and her roommate spent the night playing games. It was a relaxed and enjoyable time! Oh...and I made a new settlers convert. ;)

McMenamins.

The McMenamins are a family who take local historic or old buildings and convert them into hotels, movie theaters, breweries, and restaurants. Not having ever experienced one, we went to see the movie Red. The theater has all couches and tables, and you can order food, beer, or snacks while the movie plays. It was a fun experience. Next time, I'll make sure it's a movie I really want to see.

Home videos.

One night my sister, being her sneaky self, brought out some old home videos. Of course, she primarily brought out the old videos of me singing. Oh yes, all my grade school performances were taped. Watching these videos brought back wonderful memories and tons of laughter. Here is one of my favorites of my sister in a Christmas musical from church.

Snowshoeing.

I love hiking. I love snow. So why not love snowshoeing?! Well, since I had never been, I couldn't have an informed opinion. But now, I know I love it. My sister and I went up to the foot of Mt. Hood on some 'trail'. It was a beautiful trek with the view of Mt. Hood ahead of us. The trail was about 3 miles long and many miles wide. The snow covered trees were a sight! I enjoyed the time with my sister AND the time in the snow!

We're excited about being in the snow!

My 'trek' picture was actually taken on the way down, but the view this way was much better!

Yay for snow!

There were many more highlights from the trip including my sister discovering the brand of her favorite bed at Macy's (after practically climbing under the bed to find the name plate) and dessert at Papa Haydn's; the time was precious and I returned to Athens rested, rejuventated, and ready for the next semester!

End of Book.

Christmas 2010 (part II)

2011-01-04T02:03:00.001-05:00

After celebrating Christmas with my dad and the extended family, I spent the next few days with my mom's side. Since my grandpa has yet to make a miraculous recovery, I treasure the times I get to spend with them. Additionally, for Christmas, my mom's siblings chipped in to buy her a flight down for Christmas for which she was able to take family and medical leave. So Sunday, I did family Christmas with my grandparents, aunt, uncle, mom, sister, and cousins. It was such a special time.

I don't remember what was so funny, but I love this picture.

Aunt Sherry and Wayne

My aunt and cousin make wrap with beautiful bows, however, sometimes they're hard to undo. My sister to the rescue with the scissors!

Cousins

My grandma got a blanket and a Bible with large size print for Christmas. Both of which my grandpa tried (successfully) to borrow. He read some out of her Bible that night, it was a precious moment with his insertions of 'yes Jesus and you know it Lord' after passages about strength or such. It was funny enough to keep us all from sobbing as he read.

A little later, I reminded my grandpa that if he was going to borrow grandma's gifts, he should let her borrow his. (Only he got gloves, which wouldn't fit her, and a shirt, same problem.) He responds with, "I'll let her borrow my shirt...when she washes it...cause I'm a good husband." He's obviously being a ham, and now has us cracking up with his sarcasm. I later point out to him that I've obviously been looking for the wrong qualities in a guy...clearly I need to find one who will let me do his laundry. ;)

Sunday night, my cousin Jonathan stayed around and we played Settlers...and my mom won?! Not quiet sure how that happened. ;)

My mom and sister went back to Oregon on Monday and I stayed around until Tuesday afternoon. Monday night, my grandma and I went on a date to see Tangled. Cute movie, and it was fun to spend some quality time with just her! After we had a snack before bed. Hot chocolate and cinnamon and sugar toast will ALWAYS remind me of my grandma and grandpa Rhymes.

Tuesday morning, I made breakfast for my grandparents and for my uncle (he's staying with them to help out around the house, etc). Swedish pancakes have been a family favorite for years, and I thought I'd find the recipe and whip some up that morning. I feel a little tricked as the recipe was under Norwegian, which referenced French pancakes...but, my grandma had added her own writing into the cookbook making them 'Swedish'. :) I also thought the cookbook was too funny not to include a picture.

Tuesday afternoon, my friend Kristel, former roommate, picked me up so we could hang out until my flight on Wednesday morning. And where did we stop for lunch?! In-N-Out! Yumm!

We had a wonderful visit, even though it was short. I miss my southern California friends, Kristel being one of them! I was bummed I couldn't get down there this year, however, grateful I was able to spend some quality time with Kristel (as her family lives in northern California).

In other news...I began to panic on Tuesday when I hadn't received email check in information for my Wednesday flight. Long story short, apparently I didn't book the flight. Which is odd, because I remember exactly where I was when I bought it. In case you wanted to know, I was sitting at Common Ground parking lot on Wednesday (before Thanksgiving) in the Tiff-terra, as CG was actually closed, but their free wi-fi still worked. I remember purchasing it before going to dinner with my friend Kelley. I remember. I remember. Only, they don't. And there was no record. And it wasn't on my credit card. So Tuesday night, I frantically called Alaska Airlines to double check, and to repurchase, or purchase for the first time, my flight from California to Oregon.

It was a close call, the flight was overbooked by one, me. But thankfully, and with much prayer, I was able to get on the flight!

Oregon, here I come.

End of part two.

Christmas 2010 (part I)

2011-01-01T14:32:00.006-05:00

Christmas is usually crazy. Ever since I left California, Christmas has been a bit of a fiasco. I have many friends who live in southern California; my dad lives outside of Sacramento and my grandparents on my mom's side live near my dad (a random coincidence). Additionally, my dad's extended family does a Christmas celebration the Saturday before Christmas. It's a lot of Christmas, a lot of people to see, and a lot of time traveling. This is before I usually head to Oregon to visit my mom and sister.

Are you tired yet?

I have grown to appreciate Thanksgiving more and more these last few years. Partly because it's a time to pause and reflect on my many blessings, and partly because it's too short of a holiday to do too much.

However, this post is about Christmas :)

This year, my sister and I decided to try and make it to my dad's extended family Christmas. We hadn't been there in three or four years, and since I had a longer break (an advantage of being a student again), we decided this would be a good year to do it.

On Friday morning, I woke up at 5:30am and Mallory and I headed to the airport. Her flight left at noon and mine at 3pm. Upon arriving in Houston, Texas, I awaited my next flight to California. A few delays, 5 hours worth of a layover, and a 4.5 hour flight, I was finally landing in California. My Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to pick me up from the airport ... late. We arrived at their home at 1:30am (PST) ie. 3:30am EST...almost 24 hours worth of travel. Phew.

Saturday morning came, and my body woke up as if it were on the east coast. Boo. However, we went to work peeling potatoes and preparing for the party. I had a wonderful time visiting with the two of them before everyone else joined!

Dad's family Christmas is a tradition that's gone on for roughly 30 years, nearly all my life. Every year we play Christmas bingo, sing the 12 days of Christmas, and have some sort of gift exchange.

Here are some pictures from the day!

I won! Don't worry, we play enough rounds so that everyone can win! My half brother Joey is next to me.

Below is a picture of Joey, me, my sister, and my dad. We're only missing Kevin, my other half brother. That, however, is a long story...and one I'm not even sure I know all the details to.

Aren't we cute?! Do you see the resemblance?

We have two cousins closest in age to us, Lauren and Scott. They are wonderful people and truly make these family get togethers a blast. Anyway, Scott is now engaged to Lauren (who is featured on the left) and that's his sister Lauren in the middle. Guess what his mom (my aunts) name is? No, it's not Lauren, but it is Laura.

Here's my sister, AJ (cousin Lauren's husband), and Scott. Like I said, they were cracking me up...and apparently themselves as well.

Since there were 29 of us this Christmas, we had to partner up for the 12 days of Christmas. My sister and I were ... yes, eleven pipers piping.

After the singing, we did a closet item gift exchange. I'm not even sure I want to explain how it was played this year, but I'll say it involved my uncle and cousin playing the bongos. Here is what we won! :)

I think, no, I know there was some tampering with the outcome...in our favor. All this to say, the day was extremely enjoyable. I had a good time catching up with family I hadn't seen in a long time.

That night, my sister and I celebrated Christmas with our dad. As part of our family tradition, we exchange Hallmark ornaments. I have a collection of puppy dogs, my sister has gingerbread houses, and my dad collects football players. This tradition started when I was born. I've gone through one other collection, rocking horses. My sister, however, has gone through multiple collections. Anyway, it's a fun tradition that has continued even into our adult lives, and I love that! It was a nice ending to a nice day.

End of part one.

T is for Thankfulness

2010-11-30T12:50:00.006-05:00

And T is for Texas. I spent a wonderful week in Texas for Thanksgiving this year. I could have never imagined five years ago, that I would be happy, even excited to return to Texas...but that's another blog post.

I arrived in Texas early Saturday morning (almost a week before Thanksgiving). A few of my former students were up in Dallas celebrating a birthday, and offered to pick me up. It was such a blast to hang out with them all day!

Gretchen, Allison, and Kalie...the three musketeers. Their friendship began last year on staff and I was not only excited to see them, but to experience their craziness again! LOVE them!

We had a wonderful time in Dallas, until a few of us got sick from lunch. It was less than pleasant. That night I met up with more Baylor friends at the football game. Unfortunatetly, I am beginning to think I'm the bad luck charm. Baylor football began winning when I left, and UGA football began loosing when I came. :/

Anyway, it was a great time to catch up with some of my Baylor peeps.

Lisa, Ryn, and me

Sunday was church with Lisa, and then Cafe Cappuccino with Sarah and Tiffanie. I LOVE the two of them, and LOVE Cafe Cap! My favorite, banana pecan pancake, yumm.

Sunday, was fairly low key and spent time hanging out with friends, watching movies, and just being in the presence of people who really, really know me. What a wonderful thing for my spirit!

On Monday and Tuesday (day) I spent time at my favorite coffee shop, visiting with friends over Common Grounds coffee. :)

Monday & Tuesday (night) I went to the Baylor Basketball games (men & women).

Sarah and me at the women's game.

Shelton and me at the men's game.

I spent Thanksgiving day with my favorite Ecklund family! I have missed this family and their friendship, tremendously!

Selah (above) enjoyed her frosting covered cookie! And as an early Christmas gift, Gianna and Selah got pink, glitter, Toms from their grandparents.

They are growing up so fast, but it was such a delight to spend Thanksgiving with this wonderful family!

Friday morning, Ryn and I decided to tackle black Friday (again). We arrived five minutes before Target opened (similiar to last year), however, this time the line wrapped around the building and snaked back and forth. It was almost twice as long, and Target opened an hour earlier this year. We hit a few other stores after Target, then breakfast, then nap time. It was fun to share this memory with Ryn again!

Ryn and I braving the cold. When I arrived in Waco it was almost 80 degrees. Then Thursday, a cold front came in...just in time for Thanksgiving. It actually made it feel a bit more like a true November.

Friday night I was on the plane headed back to Georgia. Although there was part of me that was ready to leave (simply ready to be sleeping in my own bed), all of me was thankful for the amazing time I got to spend with such dear friends!

Ghost Tour

2010-10-28T22:22:00.000-04:00

UGA does a ghost tour near halloween around the campus. Mallory told me about it. Wednesday night, she ditched class a bit early and we headed over to the arch in order to start the tour. Earlier in the night, it had begun pouring, however, by 8pm, it was only a drizzle. Rain gear in hand, we waited in eager anticipation for the tour to start.

5 minutes later, we figured being late must be part of the 'act'.

10 minutes later, we figured they may be late.

15 minutes later, we about gave up hope.

Even as we walked away 20 minutes later, we kept looking back in hope that someone would appear to give the tour.

Here's a pic of us waiting with excited anticipation! :)

Maybe next year...right?! :/ But who knows, maybe I'll be the one having to ditch class early to try and attend the ghost tour ;)

Washington Farms Corn Maze

2010-10-28T21:57:00.000-04:00

So I'm trying not to bury myself in school work. This will be harder and harder the next fews weeks as projects are due, and I'm trying to prepare for hurdle #1 of 11 of the PhD process (oh, and passing every class, but I'm not adding those to the list).

Last Saturday, I was invited to a corn maze. I enjoy mazes, and it was a good chance to get out of the house and interact with some other doc students.

Here are some pics from the night. Below is Nikki, she's a first year doc student in the same program.

The group of us ready to tackle the maze. Well, errr, the picture was actually taken after, so more appropriately...the group of us that survived the maze.

This particular field had two mazes, a short and a long. One way to enter the long maze was via a homemade pipe slide. Don't be fooled, it was a beast. We watched little children slide down and they barely made it off the end. Well, with a little extra weight (compared to a 10 year old) I slide down in a hurry...and laughed the entire way down. Here's a pic of Jen (a doc student currently in dissertation phase; and look if she can walk away from writing and studying...so.can.I.) :)

(Below) they had a pumpkin you could stand next to to measure your height. This just proves that I am taller than my sister :) Or rather that I'm clever enough to stand on some hay to make myself appear to be 6ft. tall.

Overall the maze was fun and the company was nice. I'm guessing that I'll make another trip back to Washington Farms multiple times in the next three years as they have all sorts of seasonal festivities.

30 Years Young

2010-10-18T20:33:00.031-04:00

October 16th marked my 30th birthday. In some ways, I already felt 30. In other ways, I still feel like a kid in grown up clothes waiting for someone to discover the magic fortune machine I made a wish on. Either way, I didn't panic about turning 30. No pleas were made. No tears were shed. To be honest, 29 felt more odd than turning 30.

I am excited about my thirties. I believe there are lots of things to look forward to.

For the last few years, my mom and dad have swapped coming into town for my birthday. Since my dad and sister came out to Georgia to help me move, it was fitting that mom came for my birthday.

She flew in early Thursday morning and out early Monday morning. We had a nice time celebrating!

Friday we toured UGA and all the important places in Athens...like Hobby Lobby ;)

Saturday at midnight, I opened my gift from my sister. It had come a few days earlier from Target...tempting me to open it.

I was super excited about the espresso machine. I had mentioned wanting one awhile ago, but my sister threw me off by asking me about everything else but the espresso machine on my list. :) I LOVE it!

Saturday morning my mom made me breakfast, I opened some other lovely gifts and then we headed for the mountains of North Carolina! Last year for my birthday, I crossed off a few states and this year...I crossed off a few more.

As a side note, I'm down to ONE hand! Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut, Road Island, and Kentucky are the only states left on the list.

Here are some pictures from our trip through North Carolina. We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville. It was beautiful. I would like to go back for an entire weekend. :)

There were numerous tunnels. They were a wonderful addition to the drive, minus driving out of the dark into the bright light...little hard on the eyes.

I love fall colors! I love brisk weather.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Atlanta. We were going to try and see Olympic park and the MLK museum. Unfortunately, the MLK museum closed early AND Olympic park was kind of a bust. I mean, it's a water fountain and a grassy area.

However, I had been craving some Panda Express and fortunately, Atlanta (unlike Athens) has one! Get excited, it's the little things in life. ;)

Sunday night was finished off with an ice cream cake. I love ice cream cake. It's the best of both worlds. The selection was slim, but we found a supposedly delicious flavor. However, when we cut into it, we were deceived. White cake. Boo. It still tasted good, just not what we had anticipated! We had the ice cream cake while sipping on lattes. It was a wonderful ending to a fantastic birthday weekend! I was glad my mom was able to celebrate the weekend with me and see my new home!

Celebration

2010-10-11T20:44:00.001-04:00

My grandpa's 82nd birthday is Monday, October 11th.

A couple months ago, when he was diagnosed with cancer my family talked about doing a living memorial in celebration of his life. Often times, at funerals, people say such lovely things about the person who has passed. Unfortunately, many times those wonderful things aren't said to the person while alive.

Today my family is celebrating my grandpa's birthday and life in a sort of living memorial sort of way. They've invited people from all over. Family, friends, friends of family, even some of his doctors and hospice nurses are planning to attend.

I wish I was able to attend, unfortunately, living on the other side of the world (sometimes it feels that way), and school prevent me from being there. However, I was able to participate in the event through the creation of a video that will be played during the party.

Paul Rhymes, you are loved!

(since the video won't post...here is the YouTube link)
Happy Birthday Video!

Sweet Surprise

2010-09-19T20:07:00.006-04:00

Friday evening, I hung out with the Correll-Hughes'. Not only are they great people, it just nice to feel as though you are known. I enjoyed getting to know new people and making new friendships, but every now and again it's nice to go...where everybody knows your name.

Anyway.

When I arrived at the CH home, Larry mentioned that his friend Megan who worked in Housing at UGA would be joining us but that she was late and we should start eating. After dinner, we sat out on the porch chatting. There was a knock at the door and Larry went to answer it. As two women entered the house, I thought, wow, his friend Megan looks a lot like my friend Megan.

Then it hit me. It WAS my friend Megan. Ha.

Rewind to earlier in the day. I was hanging out with Laura. Laura is a 2nd year in the Masters program and did her summer internship at Baylor. I was using her ticket into the game, as she wasn't going to be going. When she gave me her ID (how the student tickets are issued) she also gave me another ticket. She said this was in case I couldn't get in on her ID. I laughed and asked if she remembered Megan from Baylor. I made some sort of comment that Megan was going to be upset because I had an extra ticket to the Arkansas v. Georgia game (Meg is Arkansas alum).

Fast forward. I was surprised to see Megan, I even asked...what are you doing here? Then I laughed and told her she was in luck, that I 'randomly' had an extra ticket to the game. Oh yeah, not random.

Megan had planned it. All very last minute of course. Her friend Alicia had posted on facebook that she wanted to go to the Arkansas Georgia game. Megan asked her if she was serious, since Alicia currently resides in the state of Arkansas. She was. So they began trying to make plans. It wasn't until Wednesday that things looked like a go. Megan had called Laura, secured a ticket, talked with Larry and Christy to make sure I was around. And the rest...history.

It was a nice visit. Quick, but nice.

Saturday we went to the game. Saturday night we hung out with some of Megan's Arkansas people. Sunday (today) she left to go back to Little Rock (drop off Alicia) then head back to Waco.

What a fun surprise!

Megan and I on the bus to the game

Noon kick off, it was hot!

SEC football! WOOHOO!

Goooooo Dawgs, Sic Em, woof, woof, woof, woof

Sorry for the whistler, and yes, she was just as annoying in person. SEC football is something to marvel at. We were in the 'overflow' student section as the first was filled AND we figured it may be safer for Megan as an Arkansas fan. I was excited to experience my first game with Megan. Again, what a fun surprise!

101 things to do in 1001 days

2010-09-11T19:44:00.002-04:00

A friend, and member of my cohort, introduced me to a website called Day Zero Project. It's a site that lets you create a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. Interestingly enough, if I had started this on the first day of class (Aug 16th), 1001 days later would be the day after graduation, May 13th.

Although I'm a month behind, I thought it would be fun to create a list of things I wanted to do & accomplish during these next three years.

Here is the beginning of the list

Walk across the stage (one final time)

Visit the Georgia Coast

Visit North Carolina

Visit South Carolina

Visit Kentucky

Be the first author on a published paper

See the Appalachian trail head (GA)

Purchase sweat pants

Run a 5k

Go to Disney World

Create a list of 101 things to do

Get contacts

Go to a planetarium

Go to a drive in movie theater

Run warrior dash

Run the Nike Women's marathon

Participate in the urban adventure race

Visit the Florida keys

Send a note via balloon

Write a letter to my future self

Learn to water ski

Road trip back to Texas

Pictures with the uga mascot around Athens

Attend a SEC football game

A one month photo journal

Watch the sunrise over the Atlantic ocean

Apply to be a court appointed special advocate (CASA)

Go to a UGA gymnastics match

Obviously I need to put this list together quickly as I'm already behind. Thus I'm soliciting you for suggestions. :) Thoughts?

California Dreaming

2010-09-08T20:49:00.006-04:00

This weekend, I flew out to California to spend some time with my grandparents. Additionally, my sister found a flight and was able to join the party. We had a wonderful visit with our grandparents.

Here are some pictures from the (quick) wonderful trip.
On Sunday, my aunt, uncles, and cousins also joined for lunch. While my cousin was there, she fashioned her new work outfit. After she left, my grandma fashioned the jacket she got when she was up in Portland last time visiting my mom & sister. She needed a little coaxing, but came out parading the coat. :)
While sitting around eating dessert, my grandpa was looking at pictures on my sisters iPhone, amazed by all the things it could do.
We had to leave early Monday morning in order for my sister to catch her flight out of San Francisco. Unfortunately, both grandma & grandpa were in bed, which we thought might be the case, so we said goodbyes Sunday evening.

My dad took us to the airport on Monday. Since there was a bit of time between my sisters flight and mine, we went to Pier 39, ate sea food, visited with my Aunt Laura & Uncle Robert, and of course made a stop at In-N-Out before heading to the airport.

Although the trip was quick, I know I was extremely blessed to have been able to spend the weekend with my grandparents. Not only was the timing perfect, I was able to find a flight for around $350 with a weeks notice. Amazing. I know I am blessed to have almost 30 years of memories with my grandparents, and call me selfish, but I hope and pray that I have many many more to come!

Labor Day 2010

2010-09-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

Since I don't work Friday's, I've been trying to determine what to do with my four day weekend. Many ideas came to mind. Visit friends in Texas. Visit friends in South Carolina. Read, study, and feel accomplished. Stay at home and veg. Or book a plane ticket at the last minute to see my grandparents on the other side of the country.

Guess which won?

In addition to seeing my grandparents this weekend, I will also get to visit with my sister! We found her a flight too (thank you Continental frequent flyer miles)! She'll be flying in on Friday evening and I'll be flying in Saturday morning (which also leaves Friday for me to bust my butt reading and such).

I am so grateful to be able to spend this time with my family, and I'm thrilled I found a flight for a decent amount of money on such short notice.

There are many other things to update on, but this was the most pressing for the moment. Thank you to those of you who continue to keep my family in your prayers during this time!

Questions

2010-08-24T13:37:00.003-04:00

Sometimes this life just isn't fair.

I just received word that upon doing the scope, they found the cancer has spread throughout my grandpa's body.

I don't know much more than that at this point. They're going to try and make him as comfortable as possible.

This just sucks, I really didn't expect this would be the outcome.

Grandpa's Surgery

2010-08-22T22:55:00.002-04:00

Thank you to those of you who have asked and been praying for my family. I just spoke with my grandparents and my grandpa's surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday, August 24th at 8am (pst).

The surgery will go as follows:

They'll open him up and use a camera to survey the cancerous tumor.

If they find other places where the cancer has spread, they'll close him up and make him comfortable until he leaves this earth.

If they only find the one cancerous tumor (which is what they're expecting to find) then they'll remove it, do some other work, and then patch him up.

My grandparents are in good spirits and trust that God will use whatever outcome for his glory. My grandpa finds every opportunity to share his story of God's love; this is just another opportunity to do that.

I'm obviously praying it's just a cancerous tumor, that it can be removed with ease, for a quick recovery, and to restore my grandpa to full health.

I (and my family) would appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Mysterious Ways

2010-08-20T15:57:00.001-04:00

God works in mysterious ways sometimes.

There are many times I sit in awe of what God is doing. There are other times where I throw my hands up in the air and think, 'what are you doing?'

When I was interviewing for assistantships, I spoke with this woman, Jan. She had an assistantship in her office of assessment. Although I wasn't too thrilled about the position itself (not that the job was bad, just very removed from students, and lots of assessment (which I already knew I'd be doing in the program)) BUT I was extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Jan. For whatever reason, I knew she valued people, would help create the experiences I desired, and would be a wonderful supervisor.

Well, I didn't get that assistantship.

Instead, I have an assistantship working in the student center. Having never worked with any sort of student union, it'll be a good opportunity to learn. Additionally, my office is just down from the dean, I have interaction with some students, and there's the ability to create my own job description (all wonderful things).

So I started on a Tuesday. My supervisor left (I mean left left) on Friday. The next Tuesday, my new supervisor was announced. On Friday, she moved in.

If you haven't guessed it yet...Jan is the interim...and my temporary supervisory. I couldn't have been more thrilled when they announced it!

...

So...God story number 2.

When I was looking for places to live, you may remember I decided to live on campus and the whole hoopla of securing my spot. Well, I had been in contact with this woman Mallory. A friend of mine in the program (Larry-2nd year) had someone in his cohort (Danny) that knew someone (Mallory) who was looking for a roommate too. Random, I know. So Larry put me in contact with Mallory. After a few emails back and forth, it seemed as though we may get along, although how much can you truly know through email. Well, after I had decided to go with on campus housing (and secured a place), I get an email from Mallory saying she's decided to go solo this year (phew). But we agree to meet up for coffee after we're both moved in.

A few weeks ago, Mallory shoots me an email saying she's moving in and that she'd like to schedule coffee. She informs me that she is living in on campus housing. (Insert random laugh here ps she didn't know I was also living on campus) Then she tells me that she's in the building next to mine (Insert confused look and thoughts of where her apartment is)

Literally, I can see her apartment door from mine (when the tree in the courtyard is trimmed).

Mallory and I soon meet up for dinner. Here are some of the things we talk about.

We both like the outdoors
She has her master's degree in higher education from UGA so she knows all my program faculty
She's been working in a leadership development program
We both finished our masters in 2005
She's not married and about the same age
She's a Christian

And the list goes on and on. We joked that we lived parallel lives. But really, it's just another reminder of God's provision for me along this journey.

I was reflecting the other day about this transition as opposed to the last, and surprisingly this one has been smoother. This may be in part because I'm not deathly ill three weeks into moving, but for whatever reason, I'm grateful. I know this journey to PhD will be a tough and long (roughly over 1000 days) road, but I'm so thankful for reminders that God is with me and watching out for all the details.

Firsts

2010-08-09T19:29:00.002-04:00

Last week was filled with firsts and these next couple weeks promise the same. Here are some that top the list.

Started my assistantship on Tuesday.

Had a boss for three days.

Have no boss now (Wednesday they should announce an interim)

Received a study guide for prelims (yeah, those are still 2 years away)

Was completely overwhelmed with the thought of starting school

Was completely underwhelmed because I was 'working' with no work to be done...yet.

I've seen three confederate flags in three days (I can't get used to that, nor do I want to)

And I visited my third official city in Georgia....Commerce, GA (it's where the outlets are)

And this week should be filled with more firsts...

Graduate Assistant orientation (tomorrow)

Grad school orientation (Wednesday)

Program orientation (Friday)

That's a lot of orientating. Anyway, just wanted to let the world...or my little world know that I'm enjoying my time in Georgia thus far!

Oh...yeah...and school starts with 16th. :)

With all these firsts, and of this new beginning, it reminds me of a poem that my friend Kristin shared awhile back. Enjoy.

Help Me to Believe in Beginnings
God of history and of my heart,
so much has happened to me during these whirlwind days:
I've known death and birth;
I've been brave and scared;
I've hurt, I've helped;
I've been honest, I've lied;
I've destroyed, I've created;
I've been with people, I've been lonely;
I've been loyal, I've betrayed;
I've decided, I've waffled;
I've laughed and I've cried.
You know my frail heart and my frayed history -
and now another day begins.

O God, help me to believe in beginnings
and in my beginning again,
no matter how often I've failed before.

Help me to make beginnings:
to begin going out of my weary mind
into fresh dreams,
daring to make my own bold tracks
in the land of now;
to begin forgiving
that I may experience mercy;
to begin questioning the unquestionable
that I may know truth
to begin disciplining
that I may create beauty;
to begin sacrificing
that I may make peace;
to begin loving
that I may realize joy.

Help me to be a beginning to others,
to be a singer to the songless,
a storyteller to the aimless,
a befriender of the friendless;
to become a beginning of hope for the despairing,
of assurance for the doubting,
of reconciliation for the divided;
to become a beginning of freedom for the oppressed,
of comfort for the sorrowing,
of friendship for the forgotten;
to become a beginning of beauty for the forlorn,
of sweetness for the soured,
of gentleness for the angry,
of wholeness for the broken,
of peace for the frightened and violent of the earth.

Help me to believe in beginnings,
to make a beginning,
to be a beginning,
so that I may not just grow old,
but grow new
each day of this wild, amazing life
you call me to live
with the passion of Jesus Christ.

Jackson, MS

2010-08-08T22:26:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I headed to Jackson, MS to exchange cars with Shelton. Although I could write in extreme detail about the weekend, I'll refrain and limit it to the highlights (or lowlights).

While in Jackson, we tried to do something 'fun'. Well, we failed. Again. And again. And again.

Tried to eat lunch 'downtown' 4 out of 4 places were closed.

The state park closed at 5pm, on a Saturday?!

The Arboretum was closed for a wedding.

The Art Museum closed at 6, early... for a wedding.

Walked around two college campuses, only after driving back to where we had come from.

Got lost trying to find the reservoir.

Tried to get an icee. Key word, tried.

When we were about to give up, we found a 'park' (which was more of a grassy null) and the reservoir (which was actually huge and worth seeing) :)

I was ecstatic to finally find the reservoir. Shelton was just happy to not be driving around Jackson anymore.

Before heading out of town, my overhead light got stuck in the 'on' position. Can't make the trip across the country without something happening to all vehicles involved.

On Sunday, we ate lunch (at a place we knew was open), said our goodbyes, and drove 7.5 hours in our prospective directions.

Jackson, MS left much to be desired, and honestly, not much to write home about (another than the big FLOP of a weekend). But the trip reminded me how blessed I am! I had multiple people offer to help me move, people who helped me move into my temporary place in Texas, out of my temporary place into a Uhaul, people helped me move across the country, people helped me unload in Georgia...I am blessed. Thank you, to each of you who helped in both big and small ways!

My little honda and I are back in Georgia; it too seems to be adjusting well.

Until next time!

Check List Bust

2010-07-23T17:15:00.000-04:00

After getting (mostly) settled in my apartment, and the fam is gone, I have a hefty checklist to accomplish. Today, I decided to:

*tackle the bus system

*turn in my HR forms: so that I can begin my assistantship

*get the ISBNs for my fall books (from the bookstore): so that I can purchase them cheaper elsewhere

*get my ID card

*enroll for my health insurance: needed to talk with HR about this

Now, before I get to the checklist, let me say I am loving my apartment location. It is within walking distance to my classes and literally 30 feet away from the bus line I will take to my assistantship. Con. ven. ient. Another blessing!

I did my research on the bus schedule. Planned my route. Got off where I thought I was suppose to be. Wrong.

Walked around, waited in the heat, and got back on the bus.

Upon arriving at the bookstore (and right across the way from my assistantship), I tried to get my ID card. Apparently, I can't get one until August 2nd. Bust.

Then I went to the bookstore and tried to find my books. Many of them weren't there, so I was only able to get the ISBNs for a couple of them. Bust.

I got back on the bus and headed to HR to turn in my paperwork. When I arrived I found out the system is now online and I have to contact the grad office for some number to register with. Bust.

And last, but definitely not least, I talked with the woman about enrolling for student insurance. I apparently can't do that until I have an ID card...but I think I may be able to find my way around this one. But for today...bust.

I did, however, find the bus ride around the campus enjoyable, found myself laughing at myself on more than one occasion, and I learned a bit more about the routes I should and should not be taking. :)

I am grateful I have another whole week before I have to start work.

Weeks of Whirlwinds

2010-07-22T23:43:00.000-04:00

It's crazy to think that two weeks ago tomorrow (Friday) my sister flew into Austin to begin the adventure to Georgia.

I went down to Austin a little before her plane was to arrive in order to meet up with Trey (former colleague) and Dave (former supervisor). It was great to visit with them and I can't wait to fly into Austin for my Waco visit and (hopefully) get to see them.

There isn't a trip planned yet, but probably sometime this semester.

Anyway...after visiting with the two of them and finding out my sister wasn't going to get in until later than expected, I headed to my favorite coffee shop. A few hours later, we were headed back to Waco.

Saturday we hung around the house during the day and went tortilla tossing that evening; yes it's true, I had not yet been tortilla tossing (final thing to check off the list)

I had mixed feelings about tortilla tossing. 1. it's a tradition, so you must do it. 2. it's a waste of food. 3. the ducks will at least benefit. 4. it's a tradition, right?!

Anyway, my feelings of my own wastefulness (and our bag of 10) were soon out-shadowed by a group of 10 young women. They each came out with a bag of 50 (one or two each). This was the display from their tortilla tossing experience, and by the time I snapped this, there were already an equal number in the water on the other side of the bridge.

Sunday we went to church, then met up with Sarah for some cafe cappuccino action. Sarah had already met my sister when Sarah and I made a trip down to Portland after NASPA last year :)

My sister is a tea snob. She LOVES tea, and well...they gave her a gallon of it at cafe cap! None of us had seen it come in this fashion before.

Sunday afternoon we went to the pool. It was a wonderfully relaxing time! My sister hadn't seen the sun in ages (as she's from the pacific northwest).

Sunday night we met up with Megan for some dinner and dessert. We went to a few places looking for starbucks ice cream...no luck. But we did find some fantastic alternatives.

Monday, we packed the uhaul with the help of some peeps (Thank you Tim, David, and Megan; we couldn't have done it without you!). Then off to the airport to pick up my dad.

Side note: I have been so blessed during this move. Many people have helped in some way or fashion. For example, I had TWO people offer me their cars to tow the uhaul. Since one car already had a tow-hitch, it was the winner of the trip to GA. Thank you Shelton! That alone saved me about $800. Again, amazing. God provides in big and small ways!

Monday night we had dinner at my favorite Mexican food place, altos de jalisco and coffee at CG. This was a wonderful time for my family to interact a few of my friends...and for me to say goodbyes.

Thus far everything seems to be going as planned.

But what's a move without some drama, right?!

Well, Monday night, we go to hitch everything back up and notice that the running lights on the uhaul aren't working. Great. So I call the uhaul emergency number and they send someone out. It was actually pretty quick, however, at almost 10pm when you have to be on the road by 4am, nothing is ever 'that quick'. At a little after midnight, the uhaul mechanic had gone through a few cigarettes, a trip to Wal-Mart for a tool, had redone the wiring, and finally had the running lights working.

We were off to take naps (as you can't truly constitute a few hours of sleep as anything more) for the 3am wake up. We were up at 3ish and packing the final items by 3:45. At 4:30am, we were pulling out of the parking lot.

But again, things can't be that easy. As I drove out of the lot, there was a sound.

Oh it was a bad sound. Like metal on metal.

Thinking it was the uhaul again, I began to mentally curse the uhaul shop that rented me this POJ (piece of junk). As we pulled into the gas station, my dad decided to run alongside the uhaul and listen for the noise.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the uhaul but rather the vehicle. Knowing that Shelton had recently replaced his front breaks, and not knowing what was wrong, we headed to his house to see if we could figure out what was wrong.

So at almost 5am, we were knocking on his door.

After a few trips around the block with the uhaul, it was certain it was the back passenger side and that something was rubbing. They (my dad and Shelton) unhitched the uhaul and raised the vehicle to look at the back breaks. After comparing both sides they realized that whoever did the breaks last (prior to Shelton owning the car) had not replaced the bolt that held the caliber in place, thus when I stepped on the breaks (with all the extra tow weight) the caliber would get thrown forward and rub against the inside rim.

Wow.

Easy fix, right? Just go get another bolt.

So we hung around until 7:30 when auto places opened. Had some breakfast, and waited more. At 7:25, they headed off to get the bolt. At 8, they were back, but unfortunately, with the wrong bolt. So they were off, again. At 9:30, I called my dad to see what was taking so long. Apparently, neither auto place had the right bolt, they tried an auto pull place with no luck, the chevy dealership could get the part in 4 days, so headed back to the auto place to get the most similar size bolt. Nervous.

But it worked, and at 10:30am, we were on the road and headed for Georgia. Only a six hour (ish) delay.

Tuesday we drove to Moody, AL and arrived in Georgia on Wednesday around lunch. WOOHOO!

All in all, once we were on the road, we had no hiccups. And besides, what's a good moving story without some drama. Ha.

More updates to come!

Grandpa Update

2010-07-10T11:10:00.000-04:00

Last Friday my grandpa went in for a PET scan to determine if the cancer had spread. If it had they were going to cancel the surgery scheduled for this coming Monday. The doctors said if they didn't hear anything, that it meant the surgery was a go.

On Thursday, my grandpa went in for a blood transfusion as the cancer is causing him to loose blood. Still no word on canceling the surgery. No news is good news.

Well, yesterday they let him know that there was something unusual about the scan and that they want to do a biopsy of his lymph nodes before they remove the cancer.

So on Thursday, they will do a biopsy and then determining a course of action.

I'm not even sure how to pray. Selfishly I want him around for many more years, healthy years. So I pray for healing and wisdom for the doctors. But I don't want him in pain. And I know that this is part of life. No one lives forever. So I just pray that God uses any outcome.

It just sucks.

100th Post!

2010-07-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

I thought about posting 100 random quotes, nah. I thought about posting 100 facts about myself, nah, too narcissistic.

So how am I going to commemorate this?! ...

Coincidentally, I've been sending out Hello & Goodbye emails for a portion of my day today. Letting people know that I'm leaving (in case they didn't) and giving them my contact information.

In doing that, a former CL had emailed about something else...and we are trying to reconnect before I leave. She didn't realize I was leaving and it made me realize that without facebook, I have lost touch with some people. Again (as in my previous post on facebook thoughts) this is okay, but I realize that as I approach this transition, I'm going to get back on facebook for the purpose of keeping in touch (and letting others know about my whereabouts/happenings).

So for my 100th post...I'm letting you, my little world know that I'm rejoining the world of the web (it sounded better than facebook). :)

Waco Water Park

2010-07-01T10:39:00.000-04:00

Waco has a water park, that's right folks. It's not much to write home about.

2 slides (1 good one, 1 dud)

lazy river

toilet bowl

spray things

lap pool

It was, however, something on my bucket list for Waco. So last Saturday, Meg and I headed to the park for a fun-filled afternoon. It was fun, in part because of the one good slide, in part because I LOVE water, and mostly because I got to spend an afternoon with Meg.

Perspective

2010-06-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

After writing my previous post, I got in the car and headed to pick up a friend for dinner. A song was playing on the radio. Frankly, I don't remember which one. However, it put things in perspective for me.

My grandpa had a massive heart 'something' (not a stroke and not an attack) my senior year of college, right before graduation. The paramedics spent the entire way to the hospital trying to revive him. The doctors at the hospital continued to try to resuscitate him. After awhile, the head doctor said, let's give it one more try. Miraculously, my grandpa was revived.

He spent the next couple of weeks in the hospital undergoing tests, etc. When my grandpa came to he wasn't very pleased to be here on earth. He told an amazing story about his journey to heaven. Honestly, if it wasn't coming from my grandpa, I'm not sure I'd believe he made a trip to heaven and came back. After moving through frustration and realizing God must have a purpose for bringing him back, he's been a faithful witness of his experience and of God to everyone he comes in contact with.

A couple weeks ago, my grandpa found out he had a mass in his abdomen. After running tests, they found it to be cancerous. The doctors at his hospital don't want to do surgery because of his heart, however, they informed him of a doctor who might be willing at UCDavis.

On Monday, he met with the UCDavis doctor. The prognosis is hopeful. On Friday, they will run a test to see if the cancer has spread. If it has not, then the doctor will preform the surgery to remove the cancer on July 12th. If it has spread, they will try and make him comfortable the remainder of his days on earth.

When my grandpa made a comment about wanting to live, but being content with also meeting Jesus again, the doctor replied, "don't you think God has enough people in heaven and could use you here on earth a little longer?"

My grandpa loves God, but I'm not sure I'm ready to let Him take him yet :)

So listening to the song this evening made me stop and pray for my grandpa. Additionally, the song made me think of the ridiculousness of my last post. I'm not sure God really cares about my teeth or my immunizations, but I do believe he cares because his child cares/worries about those little insignificant details of life.

But even more-so, I care about my grandpa and as I stop to pray for him, I'm reminded that life is a gift, even the seemingly insignificant, frustrating, and stressful parts. :)

Extra Expenses

2010-06-29T16:35:00.001-04:00

Moving is expensive. There are direct moving costs, Uhaul trailer, gas, hotel, etc. There are also indirect moving expenses like new cleaning products that you got rid of to make space, or a behind the toilet space saver because your new bathroom is going to be 2x2. Undoubtably there are also the fees for school, which is understandable. However, there are also hidden fees and expenses that one doesn't budget into their plan.

Now, I have been blessed. I have only had to purchase 2 boxes, wardrobe boxes to use in my transitional home. Otherwise, I would have been completely supplied with all the boxes I needed (I've accumulated them over the years).

So what are these unexpected fees, you might ask?!

Well.

Oil Change

Tire Rotation

Other car related concerns

Dentist Appointment**

Dr. Visit***

Parking Permit

And other miniscule costs that add up

**Today I went to the dentist. Afraid I may have a cavity in my front lower tooth, I scheduled an appointment before I headed out to Georgia (and lost my dental insurance). So today, she did a cleaning (yay) and even deep cleaned with a waterpik. This of course...not in the budget. AND...after 29.8 years of a clean bill of health, I mean, teeth, she found...cavities. I was in shock. AND, none of the cavities were in the place I thought. :/ She tried to comfort me by saying these are small cavities, the kind little kids get, they aren't really a big deal. No comfort.

On top of that, in talking with a friend who also has thyroid issues, she says her doctor told her to talk a calcium supplement because 1. people with thyroid problems don't metabolize calicum as well and 2. your thyroid can decrease your amount of saliva resulting in less ability to fight cavities...grrr...dentist agreed.

And, to make matters worse, the dentist can't get me in before I leave. So, I'm stuck. My options are...

1. Try and find another dentist here (in the next two weeks) that will fill the cavities

2. Cobra for a couple months so I can get them filled in GA

3. The University has a dental office on campus, after calling them, I found out student insurance doesn't cover basics. However, they said they would work with me to make it as affordable as possible (ie: small cavity may be able to be cleaned & sealed, which is cheaper).

4. Pay out the wazoo for dental care. Boo.

None of these options are great. Anyone have any other suggestions that I haven't thought of?

***Tomorrow I'll be heading to my general practitioner to get immunized. Fun. After thinking I was in the clear, I took a closer look and realized that I need a TB test (for sure) and maybe a tetanus (10 years is up in Aug 2011).

Additionally, if you were born in 1980 or later (great...just make the cut) you have to have a chicken pox vaccine. WHAT?! Well, fortunately, I've had the chicken pox...right, so no vaccine. Not totally...instead, I get to go in for a titer, where they test to see if I've had chicken pox. In some cases, if the chicken pox weren't severe enough, you have to get the vaccine. Crazy.

So all this to say, my indirect expenses for moving & starting school have increased. Not to mention the stress of trying to get all these things done in the next week and a half is adding unwanted stress.

Deep breaths.

Yes, sometimes I talk to myself :)

Harry Potter

2010-06-25T10:28:00.000-04:00

I began the Harry Potter saga last Spring when I borrowed the beginning of the series from one of my CLs girlfriends.

Now...It is finished.

Last night at 1:24am, I finished reading the Deathly Hallows (book 7).

Good books! I'm glad I finally got around to reading (and finishing) them. Do I get my, "I read Harry Potter button now"?!

Goodbyes

2010-06-24T01:37:00.001-04:00

I've always known it's harder to leave than to be left. I said my first goodbye tonight.

Goodbyes suck.

Gut Paks & Gorillas

2010-06-12T15:38:00.000-04:00

At 12:29pm there was a knock at my door. The day had come. It was time to go. After locking my door and situating myself in the vehicle, we were off.

Crazy.

The car ride wasn't as long as I had anticipated. The conversation was good. We talked about life, anticipation, friends...and before I knew it, we had arrived at our destination.

Vitek's.

Yes, that's right, today...for the first time ever in my life, I ate...a...gut pak.

After having made my bucket list of things to do before I leave Texas, the Smart's offered to help me cross a few things off my list. Originally, the plan was to help me document some of the uniqueness of this city (the catfish truck, the gorilla). But on Thursday, I received a disturbing email from Beth stating that the catfish truck was no more. Apparently, it got tired of sitting on land in a giant ugly truck and found it's way back home into the Brazos....Okay, I really have no idea where it is now, but doesn't that make for a much happier story?! Ps the catfish is a fake catfish so it really can't find it's way back anywhere.

Wow. Detour.

So, Peter, Beth, AJ, and I ate at Vitek's for lunch (another item on my bucket list). It was...actually really good. Beth and I split a small order while Peter and AJ tackled the normal sized order. :)

What's in a Gut Pak? I know you're asking yourself this...well, here's the sign. Classy. :)

Peter and AJ with their Gut Pak.
And Beth and me with our small order to split. :)
Aside from the fact that I wasn't able to get AJ's cutie face in the picture...I did pretty good.

After getting our fill, we headed to Austin Ave in order to take pictures with the gorilla. For those of you who don't know, this giant gorilla lives in someone's yard and is repainted every so often. Today, the gorilla was outfitted in some blue pants a white and red button up with a I (heart) MOM tattoo on its shoulder.

Yay for checking another item off the Texas bucket list...but even more importantly, I had a good time with the time with the Smart's! I thoroughly enjoy their family and it was neat to share these memories with them!

Facebook Hiatus Over?

2010-06-11T18:01:00.000-04:00

I've been without facebook for awhile, over a year. And to be honest, I've enjoyed my life without it. However, I also realize it's a good way to keep in contact with my friends and family, especially as I transition to a new place.

As I've contemplated reactivating my account, I had a friend who challenged me to write about some of the things I've learned this year w/o facebook.

Strange as it may sound, I have learned quite a few things about myself and the use of this social networking site.

*I like simplicity.

*I like technology.

*Nothing replaces face to face interactions, not snail mail, not email, not a facebook message, not a phone call, and not a text.

*I am thankful for my friendships.

*I am lucky, I have friends...true, deep friendships!

*I think we as humans crave deep friendship and for some, they desire it so badly that they seek to find it on facebook (or other social networking sites).

*Facebook sometimes made me feel like a stalker. Like I was privy to parts of peoples lives that weren't meant for the whole world.

*Technology is suppose to improve our lives and make us more productive, yet, we work later and often bring our work home?!

*I am a skeptic; all the information people make available about themselves on the internet makes me nervous.

*I don't like the pressure to reactivate my facebook.

*I just don't like societal norms. But let's not get carried away and throw out all societal norms, especially ones like bathing and deodorant.

*I don't like feeling like an outsider.

*If you don't have facebook you miss out on things. Most of the time, I don't care, but sometimes, it sucks.

And here are few things I learned that I want to unpack a bit more...

*I believe in levels of friendship.

*On facebook, I feel I can maintain closer (fictitious) levels of friendship than I would in real life.

*I'm afraid I don't know how to be disciplined when it comes to facebook.

These three things I've learned have a lot in common. A long time ago, in a philosophy class far far away, we learned about Aristotle and his thoughts on friendship. He describes three types of friendship; a friendship of utility, a friendship based around pleasure, and a complete friendship. For me, I believe there are these types of friendship, but I also think there are friendships for a lifetime, a season, and a circumstance. Aristotle would probably argue that mine are intwined and embedded in his, however, he can't argue, because he's dead...and that's not the point. For me, facebook allows me to take friendships that were for a season or a circumstance and give me the facade that they're for a lifetime. I can maintain a false sense of relationship. Meaning, I can look at someone's photos, see their updates, and in some way feel connected to them, more than I actually am. Thus creating a false sense of friendship...redefining friendship. Now, I'm not one to have many friends on facebook. So the friends I have, were/are at one time...friends. But many have simply become acquaintances or friendships that were intended for a season. Now hear me too when I say that some of the friendships I have are for a lifetime and with that, facebook is a superb tool in allowing them (and me) a glimpse into each others lives in ways that only technology can allow (without being in person, obviously). That being said, I also have a hard time being disciplined in the area of facebook. I know this sounds funny and some would say, just limit yourself per week or so many minutes per day. Well, I get sucked in. I know it has something to do with my longing for friendship and the mentioned above.

I'm sure I will think about these things and more as I continue to contemplate my facebook hiatus.

But one this is sure, as I think about these things, I'm reminded how grateful I am for friendship and community. I have been privileged in this life to experience true community and for that, facebook can aid but never compare.

New Template Design

2010-06-10T23:54:00.001-04:00

Blogger just updated their template designs...yay, it's about time! I'm sure I'll be playing around with this in the next few days. :)

I'm so excited!

Ps. It's the simple things in life; like new design templates.

Triathlon Training

2010-06-09T22:51:00.000-04:00

A few years ago I began training for a triathlon. Unfortunately, two months before race day I had surgery to remove half my thyroid. Needless to say, the triathlon was put on hold.

I enjoy working out. I enjoy sweating (when you're suppose to be sweating ie. working out; not ie. b/c it's 103 and humid outside and you're simply walking 20 feet at a leisurely pace). I enjoy the feeling after a good work out, when you're tired but energized. AND I do much better about motivating myself when I'm working toward a goal.

Recently, I decided to look up triathlons in Texas with hope for some motivation. With triathlon season coming to an end, I'm pushed to find times/days/places that would work with my transition from here to Georgia. I found one the weekend before I leave. That may be pushing it. So I started looking for some in Georgia. There IS one at the end of August. After getting super excited and mentally preparing for training, I realized that's the day of our doctoral retreat. Bummer.

All this to say, I've begun training anyway. I'm following some sort of schedule from beginnertriathlete.com. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a race this season or not, but if not, I'll just be ubber prepared for next season (if I keep it up). ;)

I'm going to do a sprint... someday. Although distances varying, the general milage is as follows (usually no more than):

800 meters (.5 miles) swim

18 mile bike

10k (6.2 mile) run

For me, the sports get progressively harder. Swimming is my most comfortable, then biking, and then...running. I want to be a runner. But I don't love it. Anyway, I swam a couple of days ago (I'm out of swimming routine/shape), ran 5 miles yesterday (I didn't know I could run that long), and biked 12 miles today. I think I can do all three individually just fine. It would be a matter of putting the three together, yikes.

Anyone who has ever done a triathlon, any tips? Or anyone who wants to train for one, feel free to join in the fun! :)

Precious Moments

2010-06-09T18:32:00.000-04:00

I've called this place home for five years. Wow. In a little over a month I will be leaving. It's going to be hard to leave.

I have been nostalgic recently; and these moments are blissful :)

Today, I had lunch with Beth, AJ, Em, G, and Selah. So fun! We made mini pizza's (great idea Beth)!

G likes to make funny faces, so I taught her the game that Meg taught us in Cabo. You blink your eyes and move your face around in all sorts of contorted ways and then snap a pic. You never know what it will look like. Here is G's.

As I played along, I took the picture below (very flattering). However, I love that G clearly finds it amusing. :)
I took some fun pics of the girls. AJ and Selah are very close and age and all three of the girls enjoyed playing with one another!

Trying to get three little girls to pause let alone pose for a picture was tricky. They're hilarious and so much fun! I enjoyed my lunch outing with all these women! Ps. How did Beth not manage to make it into one of my pictures?! Next time! :)

Thoughts!

2010-06-06T22:00:00.003-04:00

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going! I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will doesn't mean I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you! And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always, though I may seem lost, and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone!

Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Cabo

2010-06-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

I go through spurts. Sometimes, I blog often. Other times, I go weeks without a post. In reading a friends recent post, she made mention that it's often harder to post about bigger life events such as travel, vacation, or holidays. I'd agree. I'm not sure why this is exactly, but it seems to be true for me.

So here is a picture diary of our Cabo trip.

Sunday.

In order to save over $150 dollars on a plane ticket, Sarah, Karen, and I flew from Austin airport to DFW. There we had a 6 hour layover.

After closedown, moving, and everything else involved at the end of an academic year...we were tired. We spent part of our 6 hours taking naps :)

We also spent part of our 6 hours walking around the airport looking for dunkin' donuts and developing new forms of exercise.

This was the view from the plane as we began to land in Los Cabos. It was a beautiful sunset!

Monday.

We woke up Monday morning, leisurely, and thought we'd just hang out by the pools and scope out the resort. However, Meg's family decided to go into town...so we scurried and hurried and joined them. Additionally, we decided to take a self take each day. We, however, have MORE than one self take from each day ;) We've gotten pretty good at them.

The sunset view from our balcony. Beautiful.

So Meg and I shared a room, and Karen and Sarah shared another. After a long day of walking around, we decided to use the jet tub to relax our feet. We had some bubble bath supplied by the hotel and little did we know...you only needed half a cap full. And even that with the jets was...ummm a picture's worth a thousand words. Needless to say, we also had bubbles in the tub the next day.

Tuesday.

We had a leisurely day hanging out by the pools! I could have probably spent all day in the pools!

The resort had a free appitizer dinner sort of gathering for all the guests. We got dressed up and enjoyed all the freebies...especially the guacamole!

That night, I decided to set on the 'beach' and watch the sunset. Pure. Bliss.

Wednesday.

More pool time at the resort. Lovely.

Thursday.

We headed into town for breakfast, then 'lunch' at Senior Sweets, then a few hours at the beach.

It's a pastry, with coconut gelato inside, and chocolate drizzled over the top. Yumm.

After time at the beach we met up with Meg's family for a sunset dinner cruise.

Friday.

More pool time. Did I mention I brought Harry Potter audio books?! I made it through half of number 6 while laying out! :) In the morning, Meg and I learned how to make mojitos and chiliquiles.

That night, after dinner, the four of us and Meg's family headed to the file pit for smores. After taking a few self pics, we look over to Meg's mom, dad, and aunt to see this...oh the mockery ;) LOVE it!

Saturday.

We hung out at the pools during the day, took a little walk on our private beach, and more hanging out at the pools :)

That night we headed into town to check out Cabo Wabo! It was a hilarious experience! We watched some overly confident, fully independent, interpretive dancers...and so many more!

Sunday.

We planned to have a leisurely morning. However, after receiving a phone call from Meg's dad at 9 that check out was at 10...we scurried. But seeing as how our shuttle to the airport wasn't until 1pm, we had breakfast at the resort and then hung around until it was time to go home.

I took advantage of the few extra hours and went back to the beach, listened to Harry Potter, and waded through one of the pools while the others took naps in cabanas ;)

We were sad to leave...but happy to have experienced Cabo together!

The End.

Baylor Memories...

2010-05-10T04:21:00.000-04:00

Office Hours

2010-05-06T23:19:00.000-04:00

It's hard to hold normal office hours when your office looks like
this. I can't take much more of the chaos. I don't know about you, but
I'm one that if my home (and preferably also my office) are organized
and clean, I can take on the world. But right now, I'm fighting the
disaster...and it's winning.

Praise!

2010-05-05T13:59:00.000-04:00

Moving across the country (or world) can be a stressful ordeal. There is usually a laundry list of things to do prior to moving. Here are some of the things on my list, in no particular order.

Get boxes

Sort through everything I own!

Pack

Move (to another apt on campus)

Look for roommate

Find apartment

Choose which large items go to Athens with me

Have a garage sale (this Saturday!)

Plan move

Rent moving trailer

...and another laundry list of things to get ready for school. Anyway, I had been looking for a roommate for awhile with little success. I had even become started looking online for a roommate. Yes, it's probably a bit like online dating only MORE commitment. If you agree to 'be with them' you're committed to a lease...for a year. There were plenty of 19 year old females who wanted to be my roommate and even a 46 year old male. He didn't make the cut, he's a smoker.

After lots of thought and prayers I decided to look into on-campus housing, at least for my first year. The prices were decent enough but come with the perks of proximity to campus, cable (although I don't want much TV), internet, water, garbage, etc. Although it doesn't include electricity, they own their own meters and so electric is a reduced rate.

However, after calling UGA they seemed to think all their apartments had already come available and been spoken for. They simply told me to watch, wait, and stalk the site for openings. As luck would have it, an apartment became available later that day...but alas, when I went to claim it, the site said no records found.

So I did what any sane individual would do, I kept refreshing the page over and over again in hopes that my fate would change. It didn't.

The next morning, I called UGA at 7:07 my time. After stating my plight, the man on the other end said that the system only refreshes itself so often and someone must have snuck in and nabbed it before I did. Okay, well, he didn't say it quite like that but close.

After going about my morning and talking with a colleague about it, we devised a plan. I was going to ask my family to stalk the site as well as have some of my students keep an eye out.

Unfortunately, my plan did not get implemented.

An hour and half after having the conversation with my colleague I was online and securing my spot in UGA campus housing. Thank you Lord! It was the price I was looking for, has carpet, and is on the first floor.

Again, thank the Lord! What a blessing to have this item off my checklist.

I will be moving into my new home on July 14th.

Bucket List...of sorts

2010-04-29T19:03:00.000-04:00

Awhile ago I began thinking about what all I wanted to do, or things I hand't done before I left Texas. A couple weeks ago during a candidate dinner, a few of us were chatting about the list. They began deeming the list...the bucket list. Someone kindly reminded them I wasn't dying, but rather leaving Texas. I suppose some die hard Texans would equate those two. Anyway, here is a list things I want to do before I leave this grand state.

Take pictures in the blue bonnets (check)

Take pictures around Baylor (I really want to create the word remember from pictures of things around Baylor that will remind me of these last 5 years...if you've ever seen these done, they're pretty neat)

Tortilla tossing

Visit Independence, Texas

Eat in Brooks College Dinning Hall (I haven't done that this entire year)

Visit Mozarts...again

Picture with the random gorilla on Austin Ave

Picture with the catfish truck on MLK

Eat at Viteks, although I don't know that I can do a gut pack...eeeewww

Kayak the brazos

Paint a coffee mug at practically pikaso

But I'm also taking suggestions...anything else I should add to my list?

Blue Bonnets

2010-04-28T19:51:00.000-04:00

Blue bonnets are Texas State flower and every spring they pop up in patches. They can be found on the side of the highway, in front yards, almost anywhere there is grass. These flowers are so prized that if they grown in your front yard, you have to mow around them. They are beautiful flowers, but frankly, I think they are a bit over dramatized.

However, taking pictures in blue bonnets is the thing to do. And so, after living in Texas for almost five whole years, I finally took some pictures in these lovely flower beds. It was a bit awkward, especially as a grown adult, but fortunately, I made my friend Megan Baldree go too. Okay...truth...we stumbled upon them going to the lake and I coerced her into stopping to take pictures :)

This patch was right near the lake entrance. Strangely enough, this couple pulled off to the side of the road to ask if we wanted a picture together (picture above). It was nice. I do enjoy the hospitality of the south, especially in small towns. I also enjoy self portrait pictures and have become fairly good at taking them (below).

As we were getting ready to enter the freeway to head home, we found another large patch of blue bonnets and couldn't resist taking yet another self portrait. In this bunch were also Indian paintbrushes...I know, not culturally sensitive, but that's what they're called.

Packing (stage I)

2010-04-25T19:10:00.001-04:00

Well, it's begun. In July I will transition to Georgia to begin my PhD (stage III (ish)). But for now I begin stage I, packing to move to my temporary Baylor apartment. On May 16th I will be moving I to a temp spot until I leave in July. This is necessary in order to start construction for the new faculty in residence apartment and other renovations. So why am I starting to pak already, you might be asking?! Here is a run down of events leading up to the end of the school year.

May 11th: end of year celebration that my committee has programmed
May 12th: building closes at 6pm for student not graduating
May 13th-16th: perform end of year closedown responsibilities
May 16th: move with assistance from Baylor movers hopefully :) and
make sure all closedown items are done!
May 17th: leave for Cabo!

And no I'm no joking about Cabo. :) it's going to be great. However,
there are so many things o do in closing down a building AND
additional things to do because of the construction that I'd like to
have all my personal packing done by May 10th.

Anyway...here's a picture from the beginnings of stage I.

Two Less States

2010-03-27T00:26:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of March, the 3rd to be exact, I left Waco, Texas and flew to Atlanta, Georgia. It was the first time I had been to the state of Georgia, minus an occasional layover. One more state down. I was headed to Georgia for a conference that a colleague and I were presenting at. I was also there for a doctoral interview. Both went well, the presentation and the interview. Here are a few pictures from Georgia.

This is the Georgia arch on the University of Georgia's campus (in Athens). A few weeks after my interview, I found out I was accepted and offered an assistantship. After contemplation, I accepted! :) Georgia will be my new home come mid July...crazy!
Larry (above) and Christy (below) are married and used to work at Baylor with me. They moved to Georgia last year so that Larry could start the program I will be starting in the fall. It has and will be such a blessing to have people in Athens that I know, and that know me!
After Georgia, I headed to Chicago for the NASPA (National Association for Student Personnel Administrators) conference. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with colleagues from all over the country.

So prior to all the traveling, when I was trying to buy plane tickets, I was stressing out a bit about arriving in the airport and using public transit to get to my hotel by myself. I found out when Tiffanie, a colleague, was arriving and tried to plan around her arrival time. My hope to was have someone to navigate Chicago with. Well, when I arrived, there were 7 other colleagues there. They were ALL staying at another hotel and said they had made other arrangements for transportation...I figured I was out of luck. Well, Peter, the ring leader thought we could squeeze me in the shuttle and see if they could drop me off at my hotel. Additionally, we knew the hotels were close, so I figured I could just walk from theirs to mine if the shuttle couldn't drop me off at my hotel.

Well, as we walked outside, David joked about going in a limo to our hotel...and...well...sure enough, Peter had indeed booked a limo. It was cheaper than all of us paying for a cab AND it was even cheaper per person then the hotel shuttle.

Here are some other fun pictures from the trip :)This is actually a picture of me and one of my current Community Leaders (CL...like RA) Gretchen. She lives in the Chicago area and was home for spring break. She came into the city one day to hang out with me for a few hours. LOVE her! Ps this is a giant silver bean in the city that reflects the downtown area. Strange, but neat!
Drew and I went and ate breakfast at one of the most amazing breakfast places I've eaten at! Yolk...yumm. It was great food and great company.
Stacie now works at Penn State and we were able to reconnect at the conference! :) She worked in CL&L my first year. We still keep in touch and still have a deep friendship! I miss her terribly!

Dave (former supervisor), Tim, and Megan, all ate crab at this great restaurant we went to. We convinced them to wear the bibs :)
A picture of the Baylor peeps at the dinner...I had flounder. Yumm. Most expensive dinner I have ever personally purchased. Yikes.

After Chicago, me and a few friends went down to St. Louis for a few days. I had never been to Missouri...check another state off the list. Woohoo. It was a great few days of touring and just hanging out with friends. Here are a few photos from that trip.

Washington University (WashU) is a beautiful campus. We had wonderful weather and spent an afternoon walking the campus and a large park across from campus. (Me and Tiffani above)

The background is a magnificent fountain/pool and an art museum (free) all located within the giant park. St. Louis seems to have lots of free things to do...and a fairly outdoorsy feel, despite the fact that they are located in the midwest ;)

The Arch. You cannot go to St. Louis and NOT see the arch. It was cloudy out and we got some neat shots of the shadow of the arch in the clouds.

The arch is actually a lot larger than I thought. Although you first think it'll be HUGE, you drive by and think...umm...kinda small. But then you get up close and it again becomes an optical illusion. I'm not sure how big it actually is, but one square is obviously bigger than me...and there were hundreds of thousands of these to create the arch.

Tiffani, Candice, and me at the arch. Brrr. It was cold, we grabbed our pictures, took in the moment, and ran back to the car where Matt was waiting for us.

The four of us went on the Budweiser tour. And by went on the tour, I mean, we went and saw the show room, saw the clydesdales, and then headed to the hospitality room. It was wet and cold out and none of us brought suitable jackets for the excursion.

The other notable thing would be karaoke. Tiffani and I sang...the other two watched. :) It was fun and a wonderful memory.

I was very happy to see my own bed after 10 days of traveling. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the time with friends, presenting, seeing new places, and learning how to be a better educator.

Recent Update

2010-03-13T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well friends, I cannot believe it's already the middle of March. Where did January go? Where did February go? For me, I spent a week in 'training' with my community leaders (who are amazing!), a week opening up the building again, teaching a class, and other job related activities. Although January seemed to fly by, February did so just as quickly.

For those of you who don't know, I submitted my letter or resignation at the end of January (effective in July sometime). This was harder than I thought it was going to be. I cried, and contrary to my sister's belief, it takes a lot to make me cry. I anticipate, however, that there will be more tears ahead in the months to come.

So although I'm trying to cherish every moment of my final days at Baylor, the time continues to fly by.

With all that said, I applied for PhD programs back in December and have been waiting patiently (truly) to hear something. Surprisingly, I've had a peace about the experience. I'm not confident that I will get into a program, but I am confident that God is in control of my life and my circumstances.

And...a couple weeks ago, I received both some exciting and disappointing news. The University of Georgia emailed me to offer me an interview for their program. This email was followed the next day by one from UCLA politely denying me a spot in their program.

So last week, I went out to Georgia. The interview went well and I should hear something in the next couple of weeks (hopefully).

Exciting times! Additionally, after Georgia I went to Chicago for a national conference and then to St. Louis for some fun with friends.

I will blog later about those trips, including pictures! :)

It's been a whirlwind week and a half, but full of great memories and I checked two more states off the list! Woohoo!

Until the next update...