End of the Semester

I survived my second semester of Grad School, and am heading home tomorrow, after stopping in PTC to visit a friend. I was hoping to be more productive during my week of freedom, but I ended up spending a lot more time with people, which is honestly more important. But here is an update, mainly so I don't lose track.

Progress

47. Try every cupcake listed on the menu from Silver Lining-  The Scarlett. I've had this one before, but not since beginning the list. It is a red velvet cake, with buttercream frosting, and it is one that they have every day. My friend Danielle brought me one while we were working on a group project for our Child and Adolescents class. It was much needed during our stressful week. 
I also bought a box of cupcakes for my roommates during finals week and treated myself to a Christmas Special- Chocolate Candy Cane. I also had half of the Sea Salt and Caramel one which was absolutely incredible. It honestly might be my new favorite one 8/30

69. Read at least 5 books I already own (physical copies- not on Kindle)-I read when Dreams Come True. It is written by the same people who did When God Writes Your Love Story, and yes it was as cheesy as I expected. I'm still not 100% sure if I actually liked it. It was somewhat thought provoking, so I guess that is a good thing  (2/5)

72. Mail 20 letters- I sent a "Good luck on finals" note to my best friend in Oregon. I get to see her in two weeks and I can't wait! It will have been over 6 months since she left. I also sent one to the boy in Kentucky who wanted to break the world record of most Christmas cards received. Here is the story.  (10/20)

79. Go to 5 concerts- I went to the cd release concert for Will Reagan and United Pursuit, who I saw for the first time in January of this year. They were awesome then because it was more of a worship service and not a performance. I did like all the music they played, but I only knew one of the songs prior, so it was hard to get into it. And I also realized how awkward he is as a person. He acted like he was trying too hard to be a performer, instead of playing music to glorify God like the last time.

80. Listen to every song on my computer- Amazon's Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals got the best of me, and I ended up downloading several new cds, all of which were awesome, but it made me listen to them, and not the ones I already had. I had to delete several of my old ones though, because I had way too many for my iPod. 2758/5019

90. Buy the book The One Hundred by Nina Garcia and own at least 50 of the items mentioned-On Black Friday I bought a pair of cowboy boots. They retailed at $80, but I ended up paying $20 for them. They aren't the fanciest ones, and I quickly discovered they have very little traction, but they still count in my book! Especially because the one other pair I've found that I like are close to $200 (22/50)

100. Save $5 for every task I complete- 60/505

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

I suck at updating

I've been keeping up with my progress, just not on the blog. But I've done two more things! And have made some other progress recently

Completed
77. Enter a photograph in a contest- I entered a picture I took in Australia to the Canon Project Imagination Contest. My submission is here. I probably won't even be a finalist, but that's okay. It was just something to say I've done it. The deadline was super close to when I found it, so I had to decide on a picture. 

81. Watch every episode of Friends- I can't believe it's over! I was so sad- I became so invested in the characters. I'm 100% Monica, and I'm completely okay with that. I really want to own them on dvd. Maybe later down the road, when I have the money. Good thing I have a friend with the whole set, so whenever I need a Friends fix, I know who to call.

Progress
60. Donate 101 things to charity- I took another bag of clothes that I missed the first time I cleaned out my closet 77/101

65. 15 Books of BBC Big Read- I finally finished Wind in the Willows. It was terrible. I struggled through it, but it's over. It took way longer than it should have. I don't know what my next book will be. Maybe Pride and Prejudice? It's number 2, and I've never read it (1/15)

79. Go to 5 concerts- I went to see my future husband, Ben Rector, at the Georgia Theatre for the UGA Miracle concert. He is always such a great performer! He played everything I wanted him to: The Beat, White Dress, She Is, etc, and a new song he hasn't released yet called Forever Like That.  I LOVE this song so much, and I can't wait for his new cd to come out.

3 Months In

I'm 3 months in, and I've already done so much!

In Progress: 22
Completed: 7



Progress
2. Get involved in some type of organization for Grad Students- I'm not quite sure what this is going to look like or what I am going to count. I've gone to the grad student sunday school class at my church once, but I definitely need to be more regular/intentional about going and actually get to know the people in the group, if this is what I decide to count. Also, we are trying to revive UGASCA (UGA School Counseling Association), and make it a more legitimate organization. I think that would be a great idea and would definitely count in marking this off.

37. Go to a new college football stadium (preferably SEC)- I got a ticket for the GA/Auburn game in November, which is in Auburn. I was supposed to go two different times during undergrad, both of which fell through. I'm so excited for it though. And I've heard Jordan-Hare is a beautiful (but nothing will hold a candle to Sanford)

42. Work my way through an entire cookbook- I decided to do the Prevention Healthy Favorites: Chicken Recipes, a cookbook I got for free on my Kindle. There are 48 different recipes, most of which look good. And some of my friends decided that we are going to have weekly dinners, which I can incorporate this, as well as goal #86 (Make 50 things from Pinterest). The first thing I made was the Chicken Spinach Parmesan, which was actually pretty good. I realized that I suck at cooking, so Stephen helped more than I would like to admit. But it was a success, and more progress is done! 1/48

43. Try 15 new restaurants- Senor Sol- this is a restaurant I have passed countless times, but I had never made it inside. My friend Alisha and I were craving Mexican on Sunday, and the place we wanted to go was closed, so I decided we would try it out. The salsa was a little spicy for me, and the cheese dip was super expensive ($5 for the cheapest one which was as much as my quesedilla) so I decided against it. But the food was really good. I had the chicken and vegetable quesedilla, and was even able to save half of it for lunch the next day.
The second restaurant I went to was the Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub in Atlanta. My mom was there for a conference, and I decided to meet her for dinner. We had no idea where to go, so we just pulled into a shopping center/little community called Brookhaven in Buckhead. It was a casual little place, but the food was great. My mom had a reuben and I had the chicken and vegetable pasta, which I was able to eat for dinner the next day. (I'm starting to see a trend in my food)  8/15


79. Go to 5 concerts- I went to Dierks Bentley on August 20. He came to UGA, and the concert was a lot of fun, despite not being able to see him all the time. I somehow always get stuck behind the tallest people at concerts/games/class etc. It was not the best concert ever- Luke Bryan last year was a lot more entertaining as a performer. But it was still worth it. I'm going to Ben Rector tomorrow at the Georgia Theater, which I know is going to be awesome. I love Ben, and I've been wanting to go to that venue ever since they said they were reopening it. I have a test, paper, and presentation due tomorrow, so it will be a great reward after a crazy week.  And it's for charity, so that makes it even better. 1/5

80. Listen to every song on my computer- 2161/5024

81. Watch every episode of Friends- I'm on Season Nine, and I'm so sad to know that it is ending soon! As cheesy as it sounds, I have become so attached to these characters, and I'm really tempted to buy the whole series (the $120+ price tag is definitely a hinderance). 215/238

100. Save $5 for every task I complete- 35/505

#7- Take the strengthsfinder 2.0 test

I first heard about this test my Junior year of college when the Wesley interns were required to take it. My discipler at the time told me about it and I thought it was so cool! But you had to buy the book with the access code, and I never got around to it. But as I was creating this list, I decided that it was something that I would benefit from, and I love taking personality tests, as well as finding out my strengths- hence the title of the book. Also it was mentioned a few times during my summer classes, which encouraged me to do it sooner, rather than later.

The book was about $15 on Amazon, and it came with the access code for the website. I took the test, and my top five strengths were Discipline, Empathy, Developer, Includer, Learner. Some of the questions were really difficult to answer because I felt that I was strong in both categories because the categories were so different, and like most tests with a ton of questions, I felt that I contradicted myself from time to time. But after reading the descriptions of each one, I think they are pretty accurate. Here's the brief version of my strengths.


1. Discipline- People who are especially talented in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create.

2. Empathy- People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.

3. Developer- People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these
improvements.

4. Includer- People who are especially talented in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.

5. Learner- People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

I think that these five strengths are vital for being a school counselor, which gives me some reassurance that I am in the right field. I think that this is something that is really good for all people to take, and if I was an employer, I would try and use it in my company for hiring purposes to make sure that we had a wide variety of people, or just make the employees take it, to have a better understanding of the people they are working with to create a more efficient environment.

#38- Try Zumba & Other Progress

This week at Ramsey was Free Week, so all the group fitness classes were available to try. I decided to take Zumba to see what it was all about. My friend Danielle from my cohort went with me, and a girl I knew, Nidia, actually taught half of the class. I thought the instructors were really good, but I realized how uncoordinated I was. It was difficult for me to keep up with the movements, especially when they added arms. Also, I think I may have pulled a muscle in my calf, because I'm still sore two days later. I probably won't be buying the pass that is necessary for the classes (at least not now- I need to stop spending money) but it definitely was a good workout. It made me really want to dance again since it is all Latin inspired moves, so I might try and go to some of the Ballroom Dance classes on Sunday night, or Swing Night at Dance FX this Tuesday.

Progress
60. Donate 101 things to charity- I took two other boxes to Goodwill last week with some household items and a few other clothes that I don't wear anymore after finally getting everything (for the most part) organized in my room. 67/101

80. Listen to every song on my computer- 2030/5026

81. Watch every episode of Friends- 190/238

86. Make 50 things from my Pinterest boards (crafts, food, clothes, jewelry, decorations, etc)- I made Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes for my friend's birthday, as well as for a dinner party hosted by one of my professors. They were super easy, delicious, and they only have 110 calories each! All you do is take the Funfetti Box, pour it into a bowl, and add 12 ounces of Sprite Zero. Mix it until it's smooth, and bake for 15ish minutes at 350 degrees. The frosting is just as easy- 1 packet of instant vanilla pudding, and a container of Fat Free Cool Whip mixed together. I don't really understand how the Sprite works instead of eggs, butter, oil, etc, but it does! Diet Coke can also be used with a chocolate cake mix. And the frosting is great- you can use any flavor of instant pudding for variety. I will definitely be making these (or some variation of these) in the future.   6/50

100. Save $5 for every task I complete- 25/505

2 More Tasks Down!

August 8, 2012 was a very productive day!

Completed
10. Do trivia at a bar/restaurant- Several years ago, I went to a trivia night for a friend of a friend's birthday. It was fun, but our group was really big, and because I didn't really know the people, they didn't trust my answers. And I've been wanting to go to another one ever since. So my friend Becca and I were talking, and did some research, and discovered that Blind Pig Tavern (a restaurant I had never been- progress on number 43!), had trivia on Wednesdays. A group of five (Baker, Merritt, Murray, Becca, and I) made up our team, which Baker dubbed 'Merica in honor of the fact that we are dominating the Olympics. There were no categories, but most were Pop Culture or Current Events. I knew several, but we only placed fourth, so no prizes. But I think everyone had a lot of fun, and hopefully we will do it another time!

76. Make a Photo Collage- I bought three collage frames two years ago with the intention of actually filing them up, and I finally did. I made one collage of my Australia pictures, and the other has random pictures with my friends. The third one is still in the works. It will be a collage of just football pictures, but I didn't develop enough, so I will have to postpone that one. And I'm going to wait to hang them up until they are all finished. But I get to cross this one off the list.

Progress

43. Try 15 new restaurants- Blind Pig Tavern. I had the swiss and mushroom burger. The food was pretty good, not amazing, but it was cheap. My whole meal, with a 20% tip, was about $8. 6/15

80. Listen to every song on my computer- I really need to start organizing all my music while I listen to it, but so far that hasn't happened. 1946/5041

81. Watch every episode of Friends- I'm almost finished with Season Seven. 169/238

100. Save $5 for every task I complete- I just transfered $10 more to my account for Europe! 20/505