It's Been Forever Since My Last Update

I can't believe it's already Winter! I'm finished with my first semester of internship. The school year is halfway over and it has been flying by. The move has been a difficult adjustment, but I'm finally finding a rhythm and beginning to make new friends through The Gathering at Perimeter Church. I realized some of my goals were not updated correctly last time, and my paper records didn't line up with the blog and my word documents, but hopefully this is now correct for all goals. 

Completed: 26
In Progress: 20


Completed
4. Attend a lecture on an interesting subject (one not required for school)- I went to the GSCA conference at Jekyll Island and heard several lectures on different school counseling topics. There were some that were required for my Special Education class, but a few others weren't and they were so informative. I received lots of hands-on worksheets and even an entire group counseling lesson. 

34. Go to a NHL game- I went to Nashville for part of Thanksgiving Break and my friend and I went to a Predators game. This was really one of the only chances to go to a hockey game, since Atlanta lost their team to Canada, for the second time. 

57. Leave a 100% tip (not at a bar)- I went to get my hair cut from a local cosmetology school, where the students cut hair. The students don't get paid for their work, but they are able to receive tips. The girl who cut my hair was really great and she spent almost an hour on it. We talked and I was able to get to know her better. Through that conversation, I could tell that being in school was financially difficult, but she knew it was necessary if she wanted to be a cosmetologist. The hair cut (straightening included) was only $10. That would have cost close to $50 at other places. I handed her a $20 and told her to have a Merry Christmas. 

Progress
3. Finish Graduate School- I finished my first semester of internship, and I passed COMPS! So close to the end!

19. Go to 10 new college campuses- When I went to Nashville, I got to see Belmont. It was such a cute little campus with these gazebos and the Belmont Mansion was so pretty. We didn't go inside it, but just seeing the outside, with it all decorated for Christmas (6/10)

31. Go to 3 new museums- While in Nashville, my friend and I went to the Frist Art Museum.  They had a Norman Rockwell exhibit, as well as a modern art exhibit on Black Culture. It was really interesting and fun. I forgot how much I enjoy art museums. It made me really want to go to the High more often (2/3)

53. Try 25 New Cocktails- I am terrible of keeping up with the different drinks I've tried, but I know I had a Bubblegum Martini at Hop Alley in Alpharetta. It was a martini made with vodka infused with Double Bubble Bubblegum I should have cut it with something, because it was really strong. The last time I was in Athens, I got the Pacific Cooler at Transmet. It was made with Pearl pomegranate vodka, peach schnapps, sprite and soda. Very yummy, even though it took forever for our service. While in Nashville, I went to a bar called The Flying Saucer. They only had beer, which I normally don't like, but they had a bear cocktail that was some kind of Pear Cider, mixed with something with Raspberry and peach I think, and it was really good. It was called Hummingbird Water, and even though it wasn't a typical cocktail, it still counts since it was a mixed alcohol drink. (17/25)

55. Do 100 hours of volunteer work- I volunteered with the Road to College 5K from 7 to 10am back in August.  (5.5/100)

65. 15 Books of BBC Big Read- After almost a year, I finally finished Anna Karenina. That book was so ridiculous and I'm glad it's over. I'm taking a break from the list to read books that I actually want to read, but will try and pick one up in January. I'll be strategic this time though and pick a short one that I can easily breeze through  (3/15)

68. Type up all my journals- I've typed up a few recently, while watching tv. It's going a lot quicker now that I'm not typing every quote or Bible verse out, only my own prayers/journals or responses to readings (12/20)

80. Listen to every song on my computer- (3801/5162)

86. Make 50 things from my Pinterest boards (crafts, food, clothes, jewelry, decorations, etc)- For a UGA game, I made Pepperoni Cheese Roll Ups and Peanut Butter Cup S'moreo Bars. Both were super easy, and delicious.
For a Christmas party, I tried to make these Salted Caramel Cookies. I had never baked with this oven in my new house, and it turns out, gas is way different from electric. The cookies baked in half the time, meaning they were burned when I checked on them. Also, the recipe said to flatten the cookies, but they actually all merged into one cookie. The cookies that were salvageable were very brittle, and when I put the glaze on them, they crumbled. I am determined to make these cookies again though, because the batter was delicious as were the crumbs I tasted with the glaze.  (16/50)

100. Save $5 for every task I complete- I realized I was behind, but now I've caught up. (130/505)

3 More Completions and Lots of Progress!

I'm about 5 months into this journey, and have actually made a decent amount of progress, given the circumstances. This semester has been a lot busier than I was expecting between school, work, and family stuff, so I haven't updated hardly at all, at least not on the blog. I've been keeping up with the list though on my print outs, so I'm going to transfer it over here now.


Completed: 12
Progress: 22


Completed
2. Get involved in some type of organization for Grad Students- One person in my program decided to revive UGASCA, which is the University of Georgia School Counseling Association, and I decided to become more involved with that. I am on the retreat committee, as well as the graduation committee, and will be in charge of advertising for the first annual 5k race that we will be holding in April. 

5. Go to a conference for school counseling- The Georgia School Counseling Association (GSCA) had a school counseling conference last week in Athens. We were required to go to the conference for our Seminar class, but it was actually really interesting. I went to several sessions including No Place for Hate, Girl Talk (led by Haley Kilpatrick), one with several different new techniques for high school counseling, and a session on individual advisement. For the most part, the sessions had helpful information, and I definitely think I will be going again next year. It will be on Jekyll Island, so we can go to the beach :)

37. Go to a new college football stadium (preferably SEC)- This past weekend, I went to Auburn University and went to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game was a blowout, and we ended up leaving at halftime. It reminded me a little of South Carolina because it had the ramps all the way to the upper deck. The coolest part was when they released the eagle- I was about 5 people away from it, so I got to see it leave the cage. 

Progress

19. Go to 10 new college campuses- I went to Auburn this weekend for the UGA/Auburn game. It was a really pretty campus, and had some cool bars, but it was nothing compared to UGA.  (3/10)

43. Try 15 new restaurants- I've been to a bunch of new restaurants recently: two new Mexican restaurants- La Parilla and Fuzzy's Tacos. La Parilla was really good. I had been wanting to go for a while, but I never got around to it. I judge Mexican restaurants by their cheese dip, and Fuzzy's was not good at all, so I will not be returning. While in Auburn, I went to Moe's Barbecue, which was great, and Momma Goldberg's which is an Auburn staple. 12/15

53. Try 25 new cocktails- I had a Bellini Martini (Orange) one night at Copper Creek, which was pretty good, a Bushwacker in Auburn, which is like an alcoholic frosty, and a Grateful Dead, which is a version of a Long Island at my friend's comedy show (4/25)

55. Do 100 hours of volunteer work- Abby and I went to the Humane Society a few weeks ago and played with puppies and kitties. It was so much fun! I will definitely be going back. It was great therapy to make me happy (1.5/100)

68. Type up all my journals (2/20)

69. Read at least 5 books I already own (physical copies- not on Kindle)-I read When God Winks at You. I found it on my bookshelf the last time I was at home. (1/5)

80. Listen to every song on my computer- A little over halfway! 2557/5054