May 18: 2048

My sister introduced me to this game called 2048, you move around number tiles until they combine to get larger numbers.  It's been a race to see who can get a 2048 tile first.  My sister won.  But I just got a new high score!

May 12: Mama's Boy

Before my mom and sister headed out of town, I took them to Mama's Boy for breakfast.  They really enjoyed the foot.  I am going to miss this place when I leave.  however, I'm sure Austin will provide me with a wonderful local breakfast place as well.  I could eat breakfast for every meal!  It was sad to see my sister and mom go, but I know I'll see them in a month for my mom's wedding.

May 11: Mother's Day

We surprised my mom for mother's day and took her to Chateau Elan for a spa day.  It was a beautiful day of laying around, reading, sitting in saunas, and getting a massage.  It was the first time my mom ever had a massage and she loved it.  It was such a nice day a great way to celebrate her!

December 28: Beauty & the Beast

Today was wonderful! Mom made Sweedish pancakes for breakfast, we played games, and went to Beauty & the Beast in the evening.

We had an absolutley fantastic view of the 'Portland' sign.  When we walked up to the window, unfortunatley, it wasn't lit up.  My sister, being funny (and obeying a Quelf card) waved her hands and said abracadabra.  Well, about 3 seconds later, bam.  The lights came on.  It only would have been better if it had happened exactly when she said abracadabra...but it was close. :)

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.

PhD Process

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

Christmas 2010 (part II)

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.

30 Years Young

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!

9 To Go!

I love traveling.

I want to visit all 50 states, I'd like to see them all before I'm 30. However, since I'm knocking on that door and still have nine to go, that may be a bit unrealistic.

When my mom was in town, we decided to head to Louisiana in order to cross a state off my list. After entertaining varying ideas, we decided to head to New Orleans (where else would you visit in LA?). In looking up New Orleans, I saw that it appeared to be a quick jaunt over to Mississippi (specifically, where my grandpa was raised) and only a hop skip and a jump to Alabama.

My mom arrived on Thursday late afternoon, and Friday morning we were off and running (or rather driving). With my handy new toy (iPhone) and some directions we were heading to New Orleans. After hours of driving (it only takes 8 if you don't get lost or miss a direction or two), we arrived at our hotel. Deciding we would rather sleep and then get up early the next day, we hit the hay.

Saturday morning, we awoke and hit the road early. The plan was to drive to Picayune, Mississippi first and visit where my grandpa was born and raised. However, after missing another turn off, we kept going straight and headed toward a famous garden in Alabama with a pit stop at the Gulf along the way. Mid afternoon we headed toward Picayune (only about an hour drive from Alabama and 50 minutes from New Orleans). Even though much of what my grandpa remembers from his childhood is no longer in Picayune, it was neat to drive around and find the locations of places he used to play and visit.

That night we headed into New Orleans. What a neat city! The architecture is beautiful, the music is contagious (well, some of it), and the city was 'alive'. I couldn't believe how many boas, masks, beads, and other costume jewelry we saw in OCTOBER. Oh...and Bourbon street. Crazy. At one point, we were driving around and I got caught in a long line of traffic. Not fully realizing what was going on, I kept inching my way to the front. Upon reaching the front of the line, I realized, I was going to have to drive across Bourbon street, and a particularly busy portion of it! I felt mostly confident that I could get through, after all, I learned how to agressively drive in southern California, I just hoped it would not be at the cost of any body parts. However, a nice man decided to try and help the traffic stop so that I could cross.

Bourbon street...not my favorite.

Sunday morning, before leaving New Orleans, we wanted to experience Cafe De Monde (sp?) and the famous beignets (ben-yays). Unfortunately, the line for CDM was ridiculous, so having looked up additional places the night before, we headed to a local favorite, Morning Call. Although it was more difficult to find then the website foretold, it was a great experience one I am glad we partook in! Walking into the restaurant, it looked like an old dinner with the servers wearing matching attire. The coffee and beignets were wonderful...especially considering they bring you a powdered sugar shaker so you can powder your beignets to your liking.

Even the trip was short, it was a great time visiting with my mom, seeing new states, and experiencing some pieces of my families history. :)

Three more down, nine to go!

Believe it or not, it says welcome to Louisiana or something of the sort (this is an action shot) although it apparently looks like there would have been plenty of road to pull over...or maybe that was an on-ramp.

This was the first time my mom had been to the Gulf. It was a beautiful day outside! And NO humidity, which is a GREAT day in my book!

These were the beautiful gardens we stopped at. One of my favorite things about this place was the automated tour guide. You could call a number and they would give you more information than you could ever hope for about the gardens. I am a nerd and just love that kind of random information. For example, on the great lawn, they have over 4,000 flowers planted along the edge. Every season (4 times a year) they completely replace all 4,000 flowers with some sort of seasonal selection. Wow.

It was a beautiful day!

My mom is an avid photographer and she enjoyed taking pictures of all sorts of flora and fauna. Oh, and she's got a really great eye for finding a shot. Me, I'm more of a people picture person. Say that three times fast. :)

There was a sign as we entered picayune that said something funny and it related to Jesus. I wish I could remember what it said, and better yet, I wish I had gotten a picture. It cracked us up!

So my first experience with Waffle House was in Picayune, Mississippi. I suppose I will never forget it for multiple reasons. The cheesy eggs, the strawberry waffles, or maybe the people. It was a unique experience and I would be interested to know how much of it was because we were eating at a waffle house and how much of it was because we were in Picayune.

Does this place not scream cute and quaint?! It was wonderful! And oh yummm, the coffee and beignets were wonderful (did I mention I like powdered sugar?!).

So that's our little adventure that we took. Crazy quick, but so enjoyable. Here are the nine states that I have still to cross off the list. Some of them, I hope/plan to cross off soon, others are going to take some time. :)

Connecticut

Rhode Island

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Kentucky

Missouri

Hawaii

Alaska

Cards from Jesus

When my mom first moved to Portland, she began getting cards from Jesus. These letters came from all over the country and were a source of encouragement for my mom as she transitioned to a new place. When I was home, I scrapbooked the cards into frames. These frames will be hung by ribbon in her hallway as a reminder.

It was a fun project, and I was VERY pleased with the way they turned out! :) I cannot wait to see them hanging on the wall!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Fondu

On Wednesday night we celebrated my mom's birthday in downtown Portland. After walking around for awhile (and taking some touristy photos) we headed to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was a new experience for all three of us. After choosing a type of cheese, they bring out apples, bread, chips, and veggies for dipping. We choose a fiesta dip and a spinach artichoke dip. From there we headed to see a movie of my mom's choosing. It was a fun time celebrating my mom's birthday!

Doing the touristy thing in downtown. This sign is so fun! It shows you all sorts of places and how far away they are from where you are. :)

Bagby Hot Springs

On Thursday, my sister and I headed out to Mt. Hood and toward Bagby Hot Springs. After a small 1.5 mile hike, you arrive at the hot springs. What the park has done is found a way to funnel the hot springs into tubs (both private and corporate). What we didn't expect was ... quite so many nudies. Yep, that's right...there were all sorts of nude people in the hot springs. We had looked the place up online and there was a 'clothing optional' information section, however, neither of us expected people to take that too seriously. We were wrong. So after our 1.5 mile hike, we kept hiking, in hopes that upon our return back to the hot springs, the nudies would be gone. And we were right...we found ourselves a group tub that was unoccupied. However, after a 2 + mile hike, 97 degree weather, and in a tub that had questionable contents...we only got in up to our knees.

Here's a picture of Mt. Hood, it's not very clear, but the mountain is gorgeous.
My sister and I woke up early to take my mom to work in order to have use of her car. When we went to pick her up, we were pooped, so we took naps in the car. Oh, I forgot to mention, we took a little nap before we hiked as well. ;)

So this tree was neat. I thought, 'how fun, I can get inside it.' As I begin to pose for the picture by putting my hands on the inside of the tree, I hear a noise...oh yes, the tree was already occupied by hundreds if not thousands of some sort of large ugly insects. I jumped, let out a noise that could have resembled a scream, and ran from the tree. It was a close call. My sister rolled in laughter.
The actual hot spring that gets funneled to the tubs.

It was a fun experience and a great little hike. Still, I'd like to go back in the winter when I would actually enjoy the 137 degree water. :)