May 20: The Beginnings

And so the process of moving back to Texas begins.  My goodness...there are so many decisions to make.  Where to live, how to move, what to keep, what to sell, and the list goes on. 

 

May 8: International Graduation

Today was international student life gradation. It's a nice celebration for our international students, friends, and families, to participate in a smaller graduation.  The VP for student affairs and the Assistant VP help participate in the event.  We give away some awards and students are allowed to speak if they desire.  However, I don't have any pictures from the event as I was the one helping facilitate it.  However, my mom, sister, and dad did join and I think my sister got a few photos (although she hasn't sent them to me).  So instead, you get a picture of the delicious meal at Taqueria del Sol.  My family also thoroughly enjoyed it!

April 12: Blisters & Beauty

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

April 5: International Street Festival

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

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

February 13: Snowshoeing

...not really.  There isn't actually enough snow to snowshoe.  This morning, however, I convinced Tiffanie to go for a walk.  Since yesterday, we've probably had 2 inches of ice and another 1-2 inches of snow.  It looks beautiful, although slick.  The sun is warming up and the roads will get clearer, however, it may not happen in time to open for tomorrow.  Only time will tell.

February 12: Snow Day

Tiffanie and I spent part of the day watching movies and working on school and work stuff all while watching the snow fall.  Much of what fell today, however, was freezing ice.  This picture was taken early and as I prepare for bed, more has fallen.  Hopefully even more falls tonight and Tiffanie and I can play in it tomorrow!

January 30: Traveling

Since there were so many of us flying back into Atlanta at the same time, we were trying to coordinate rides.  Kara's husband Clayton was flying back in from a business conference in Florida about the same time I was, so instead of him having to wait hours for Kara's plane, we rode back to Athens together.  When I got to my car, there was still a good amount of snow on it.  Unfortunately, I took this picture too late and Clayton had already scrapped off all the snow on the window.  Anyway, the roads were much better than anticipated.  However, I am really glad I flew in Thursday afternoon as it was the first time the temps had reached above freezing (so the ice was finally melting).  I am sad, however, that I missed the snow in Athens.  I hope it happens again this year.  I do love snow.  Do you wanna build a snowman?  I do.

 

Back in Athens there was still some snow on the ground :)

January 3: Brrr

This morning on the way to work, I was freezing.  In part because I wasn't adequately dressed (maybe that had a lot to do with it).  The temps for the upcoming days are suppose to be colder.  Time to pull out the peacoat!

December 5: Athens Christmas Parade

Today I had a phone interview for a faculty position at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.  The position would involved teaching (and research) in their master's program.  Phone interviews are always awkward (and it was my first for a faculty position)...especially when they start by asking you if they can record it.  What?! Yikes?! Ummm, okay.  Here are my notes, curriculum vita (CV), and cover letter.  Having notes helps me feel like I'm prepared...although can you ever really be?! 

Tonight we also had our annual UGAspa (masters & phd) holiday potluck dinner followed by the Athens parade.  Here are some pictures from the parade and some highlights of the event.

Yep, those are storm troopers.

Yep, and a REAL camel.

Tiphaine and I...and last but not least, Santa.

November 10: Boybutante Brunch

Today I attended the Boybutante brunch as a fundraiser for Aids Athens.  It's a lovely lunch at The National and a drag show.  The brunch was a-ma-zing and I laughed a lot during the 'show'.  The drag queens and kings lip-synced and danced…and some did so in 6 inch heels (that's impressive).

October 18: Corn Maze

Washington Farms has a wonderful corn maze.  More than that, they have other seasonal things such as strawberries, blackberries, a pumpkin patch, and more.  My sister and I along with some friends went out to the maze for a post birthday party.  We went through the vortex, slid down the rolly slide, went through the maze, and jumped on the giant bouncy pillow.  There was lots of laughter involved.  Thanks Alex, Mallory, Tiffanie, Kara, Nikki, and Phil for playing along with my 7-year old d self.  It was fun!

October 17: Taqueria Del Sol

I love Mexican food. And I love all kinds of Mexican food, real authentic and less authentic like Taqueria Del Sol. Their food is yummy but far from authentic Mexican.  However, they have this absolutely delicious shrimp corn chowder.  Thursday was rainy and the perfect day for some chowder.  CJ and I met up with Ginny for dinner & drinks.  We had a nice time visiting and I'm glad they got to meet each other as they both play significant roles in my life. 

October 16: Favorite Things

I don't want to go into a picture a day post thinking I'll fail, but it is hard to think about a picture to represent my day. I may be over thinking this. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, so maybe this will get easier as it goes.

Anyway, I'm going to attempt this picture a day thing... on October 16, 2013, I turned 33. The day was filled with lots of reminders that I'm loved. Moreover, my sister also came into town (both for work and for play). After picking her up in Atlanta, we went to dinner and then headed back to Athens where we picked up some ice cream cake bites for dessert! I do LOVE ice cream cake. Having her in town until Sunday is also a special treat.

Back to Life

...back to reality.

Reality is...
It's the beginning of July (yikes!)
Today is my mom's birthday, happy birthday mom!
I take preliminary exams in ONE month (August 1st-4th)
I will be writing the first three chapters of my dissertation this summer
June 29th was the hottest day in history (107)
I got too much sun at the pool today

That's all for now.

Back to life, back to the present time.

Thanksgiving

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). 

 

Excited Face!

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!