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)

New Year and New Progress

Progress


43. Try 15 new restaurants- I met up with a friend in Buckhead over Christmas and ate at this Tapas restaurant called Eclipse de Luna. Everything I tried was really good, especially the zucchini and shrimp. 13/15

53. Try 25 new cocktails- I had a Blueberry Mojito, at Eclipse de Luna, and it was so good. I have no idea what all was in it, but it was wonderful (5/25)

65. 15 Books of BBC Big Read- I finished Pride and Prejudice over the break, and am now reading Anna Karenina. A friend of mine who doesn't like reading is actually reading it voluntarily, and said it was good, so I decided I would read as well. I'm about 450 pages in, but it has 1140, so I still have quite a bit. I heard the movie was wonderful, and it will be playing at the movie theater at school in mid-February, so I'm hoping to finished by then. (2/15)

70. Pick an author and read everything he/she has written- Also over the break, I read Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner. It was so good! I really like the way she writes, and I'm excited to be able to read more of her. I'll use her as a break from the classics for goal 65. 2/12

72. Mail 20 letters- I sent a thank you note to my friend Nick's parents after letting me crash at their house last minute in Atlanta. And I sent one with a package to my best friend who just moved to Orlando to begin her job at Disney  (12/20)

2 weeks in

I can't believe it's already been two weeks since I started Graduate School and a new Day Zero Project. Classes are really time consuming, but I can tell I've already learned so much! I'm being challenged to think in new ways and I am learning all sorts of roles that school counselors have, especially in terms of social justice and advocacy. Despite all this school work, I have still managed to work on several of my goals. So far 9 of them are underway. Here are some updates on my progress!

In Progress
43. Try 20 new restaurants- This past Friday I went to Taqueria Del Sol with several members of my cohort. I've passed by it several times, and have even attempted to go there are multiple occasions, but the line was always out the door. I ordered the chicken tender taco per Nick's suggestion, with a side of queso, and it was so good! Especially when you put the queso on the taco. It was also very affordable. One to definitely try again. Then later that night, I hung out with Brandon and Jaques and they wanted to go to a late dinner. We went to The Globe downtown and I ordered the Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Frosting- it was a little dry, but the flavor was amazing. I looked through the menu at their  entrees, and I want to go back and eat a real meal. But I get to count it since I actually ordered a food item. 2/20

47. Try every cupcake from Silver Lining- see post here  1/30

65. Read 15 of BBC's Big Read- I started The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I'm only a few chapters in since I have so much school work to read, but it's something to take with me when I go to the gym since I got it for free on my Kindle.

71. Read through an entire letter in my topical Bible- I choose the letter P, because out of the longer letters, it had the most categories that I wanted to study- Patience, Peace, Perseverance, Power, Praise, Prayer, Predestination, Pride, Prophecy, Purification, among others

72. Mail 20 letters- I wrote two thank you notes to members of my family for graduation cards and sent one to my friend Neal working at camp 3/20

80. Listen to every song on my computer- this has been quite an adventure, listening to songs that I haven't heard in years. I've already deleted many, but I still have so much to go through. My current strategy is just to put it on shuffle (sometimes within an artist or genre) and if I can't listen to the song the entire way through, I have to delete it. The only time I can skip is if I've already listened to it once. Sometimes I will deliberately choose a song though, but it's more entertaining when I leave it up to shuffle.  625/5056

81. Watch every episode of Friends- I borrowed all ten seasons from Stephen and am going through all the episodes in order. I'm on the second disc of Season One but I'm counting the ones I've already seen prior to starting this list. Needless to say, I still have a lot left 42/238