+1

i gained a pound. womp womp.

no worries... i'm going to keep my head up and continue the work out schedule! up to 6 days of cardio a week now.

i'm off to the pool. it's supposed to be 100 degrees all weekend.

jimbo and...

jim's in d.c. right now... working his butt off. he's taking two classes at GW and working on the hill. in his free time, he's meeting VIPs.

Remember him?


He's also met tons of Republicans, but I'm not going to support THAT endeavor by posting pics of it here.

training session #3

So last night, we did our workout with half of a deck of cards. (I think eventually we'll build up to a full deck.) For every black card flipped over, I would do an exercise on my lower body. For every red card, an exercise on my upper body. We did abs at the beginning, middle, and end. I could play either of my two jokers at any point in the 40 minutes to get a 2 minute break. As you probably guessed, the value of the card equaled the number of reps completed. But, if the trainer wasn't happy with the number she'd multiply it, or double it, etc. It was intense!

The greatest feeling came at the end, though. I had done it! I was so proud of myself for completing whatever she threw at me. I know that two weeks ago there's no way I could have done it.

This week I'm going to concentrate on cardio. Hopefully I'll begin jogging. Oooooh man.

Thanks for the support!

quote

"This isn't the elevator to the skinny floor, there are ups and downs."

Today I'm feeling a little more down than up but I'm still going to make good choices (even if those choices are made at Inoko Express.)

week 2 of training

So my second training session was last night. Let me just say, I was feeling so good going into this session because my workouts had been really great last week and I could already feel a difference in my flexibility and in my strength. That said, Rena (my trainer) took me and my confidence down a notch.

The workout started with me running up and down a flight of 40 stairs 5 times. By the end my legs were shaking and as a result the rest of the workout was kind of shaky. I think the steps combined with the fact that I hadn't eaten much that day sort of hindered the work out. That's okay, though, I still think I made progress.

I'm sore today, but I know it will be worse tomorrow. I worked out again tonight but I'll be taking tomorrow OFF so that my muscles can recover.

I just need to remember that this whole journey is a marathon... not a sprint.

weight loss

So, as most of you know I've been trying to lose weight since early December of this year (but let's be honest... the holidays are awful for life changes like this one so it really got going in the new year.)

Before I went home in May I had lost 27.5 lbs with the goal of losing 50 before Jessie's wedding on August 1. I gained a little while I was home but I've been really serious about it again since I've been back since it's crunch time.

SO! This past week has been serious. I had my first session with my trainer on Tuesday and was pretty sore Wednesday and couldn't walk on Thursday. Awesome. It hurts so good. :)

I'm supposed to be doing between 30-60 mins of cardio 5 days a week and a full body strength training routine three times a week. I'm also supposed to stretch twice a day. So far so good.

Combine this new routine with my ongoing weight watchers points, and I'm hoping to see great results really fast. I can already tell that my flexibility is much more pronounced and I feel much better since I've been back on the WW path.

The biggest change that I've noticed in myself, though, is my attitude towards the whole thing. I had really gotten to a place where my weight overwhelmed me and just the thought of beginning the process of losing it was too much. Now that I've started, I can't see myself stopping. It's addicting to feel good and see the change.

So I'll keep you all up to date on how fast (or slow) the change happens.

summer

so far this summer has been pretty amazing. i spent 3 weeks in OH and now i'm back in ATH. i started my new job last week in which i'll be creating first year connection programs for a small community college near ATH. i spent most of my first week doing research on what other schools do for first year experience (FYE) and this week i'll be putting together a more concrete schedule, etc.

the best part of the summer has got to be the time i spend at the pool. i layed out most of the friday and spent a good part of saturday out too. i was going to lay out today but i was feeling a little crispy after the first two so i sat today out.

in short, i'm working for the weekend.

j & k plus 8

so... i've always been a big jon and kate plus 8 fan. especially after last summer when i had zero job and zero school... i spent a good portion of the summer watching the show. i LOVED it. but then they moved into a new big house, and now with these CRAZY rumors running amuck on the internet and in the gossip mags (both of which i read pretty religiously) it has really gotten me into a tizzy. i mean it's not even genuine anymore to me. instead of being a normal family, they're living in a mansion and they're celebrities. i find myself feeling genuinely sad about the whole debacle.

i think i need to stop reading all of the gossip. maybe i shouldn't dvr the show either.

ugh.

i'm still here

I'm alive. :)

I've been super busy with...

traveling back to OH for several weeks.

being a maid of honor.

getting back on track weight wise after aforementioned trip to OH.

starting a new j-o-b.

planning my summer travel.

more on all of this later.

xoxoxo.

personal shower

So I'm back in OH for a few weeks and one of the things I'm most excited about is throwing Jessie's Personal Bridal Shower. Anyone have suggestions for gifts?

I'm thinking I'm going to put together a wedding day survival kit. This one looked pretty complete. Any suggestions on things to add?

Next I need to find options for a cake...

I love being a MOH!

today

instead of me trying to write about what happened in athens today... i will instead forward you to a blog written by my friend and co-worker, Kat. She participated in the local theatre with all of those who were sadly taken from the Athens community today. She has written beautifully about all three of them. www.tumultuouslove.blogspot.com

april

april has been... busy. a lot of ups. a lot of downs. but mostly i'm looking forward to may.

1. i found an INTERNSHIP! i'll be working at gainesville state college- oconee campus. i'll be creating an entirely new first year experience program for both traditional and non traditional students. i'm really excited to get a new experience (different type of school, different functional area, etc.) i'll also be working here at uga for a few hours a week to make some extra cash. woot.

2. i'm still holding at 25 lbs. i got that low, then gained a few pounds (thanks to ben's bday extravaganza) took two weeks to get back to 25, and now i haven't moved from there. in order to not lose my mind i'm going to tell myself that it's because i've been working out a lot more (4 times/week for 40 mins) and the while i'm losing fat i may be gaining muscle. oh man. that better be what's going on.

3. i come home in ELEVEN days. i will be done with finals and turn 23 in TEN days. i just can't get over it. year one? check.

a lot is going on in athens and at uga today. we're in the news for all the wrong reasons. maybe i'll blog about that later.

easter

two weekends ago (i know... i'm REALY behind on blogging) i had friends from my cohort over for easter dinner. it was so much fun. i even made a ham (which officially makes me an adult) and a strawberry cake from scratch! here are some pics from our delish dinner.

benji's bday

A few weeks ago was my friend Ben's bday. We celebrated in ATL with dinner at Marlow's Tavern and drinks and dancing at Halo. The music could have been better but there was definitely no shortage of entertainment. hahaha.

Some pics of the extravaganza...

Abby even came down for the weekend of festivities.


I tried to upload other pics from the weekend but photobucket is being RIDICULOUS.

(Sorry for all of you who got this in your google reader 75 times while I tried to fix the formatting of the pics.)

relay for life!

If you're reading this, then you've probably been bombarded by my e-mails to give to a great cause: Relay for Life. About a month back, our wonderful, 34 year old (too young) professor told us that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. To say that we were taken by surprise is the understatement of the year.

This wasn't the first time someone in my life had been diagnosed. In fact, it's happened all too often to our family and great friends of our family. My dad lost two of his best friends to cancer in less than two years. It's not fair to them. It's not fair to their families. And it's not fair for my dad to lose two friends before they were able to move past age 55.

In short: It's heartbreaking.

SO... enough with the sad part of it (because we all know it could go on for days...) Our program decided to rise up and do something about it. We formed a Relay for Life Team and set a goal for ourselves ($2000.) We ended up exceeding our goal and raising $2290. yay!

The event was last Friday. We had the greatest time. Even if people weren't able to attend the event, people participated in other ways (Bonnie of course made a TONS of food, Margaret donated a tent, etc.) It was so nice to be able to spend time with one another outside of class, and to band together to support the cause, instead of wallowing in our sorrows. It gave us a way to act.

Also, Christy and Kevin were able to pull together t-shirts to wear to the events. They had a cartoon drawing of Dr. Espino on them and they said "Dr. Espino is my homegirl." It is my new favorite shirt by FAR.

Check out the pics below. :)

Sam, Caleb, and Larry


Christy


Our Team (well.. part of it.)


The tent (note the sweet balloons my mom sent dr. espino and our team! I wish I had thought to get a better picture of them. THANKS, MOM!)

33 days

until I am d-o-n-e. Done. With my first year of grad school.

Unreal.

I can't wait to see all of you in 34 days.

witness.

I've recently become obsessed (or actually came to terms with my obsession, as some may argue) with the state of OH.

My newest interest? Lebron. Check out this Nike commercial.



Love it. He throws chalk into the air at the beginning of every game. It sounds ridiculous and if any other player from any other team did it I would think so too.

Just another great OHIOAN giving back to the great state of OHIO.

balance

This one goes out to all of my over achieving friends.

updates updates UPDATES

still no internship. womp womp. but other GREAT things are going on.

1. i'm down TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS. so excited!

2. i've had a slew (sp?) of visitors. Amanda and her bf Jamie were here last weekend. We started in ATL with dinner with Meg and Brendan and then explored Athens for a few days. Here's a pic to document that it actually happened.






3. This weekend Abby is hanging out and we're going to ATL to celebrate Ben's birthday! We're so excited to go to dinner and go out and spend time with some of our fav people.

4. I'm doing RELAY FOR LIFE! After hearing about one of my professor's breast cancer diagnosis at age 34, I have been called to act. Donate to my relay team at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/daphneeverhart.

More later about Relay especially.

xoxoxo.

in august

The four people in this picture will be reunited.

(Please note the fact that my eye is so irritated that it felt like it was going to fall out.)

In this place.


And we're going to this place.


And this one.


And maybe even this one.



I CANNOT WAIT.

i take it all back.

i take back everything i've said lately about the weather in GA. check out the forecast:

Tue
Mar 17

Partly Cloudy

73°
46°

10%

73°F

Wed
Mar 18

Mostly Sunny

73°
48°

0%

73°F

Thu
Mar 19

Partly Cloudy

74°
44°

10%

74°F

Fri
Mar 20

Partly Cloudy

63°
41°

10%

63°F

Sat
Mar 21

Mostly Sunny

63°
42°

10%

63°F

Sun
Mar 22

Partly Cloudy

69°
44°

10%

69°F

Mon
Mar 23

Partly Cloudy

74°
46°

10%

74°F

brian fellow's safari planet

a few LA summers ago my friend erin introduced me to Brian Fellow's Safari Planet... we spent all summer quoting it.

anyway... this weekend Tracy Morgan hosted SNL and he reprised the Brian Fellow character. Oh. em. geeee.

here is one of the old skits:
Saturday Night Live - Brian Fellow's Safari Planet



and the new one!
Saturday Night Live - Safari Planet

i thought i left this back in OH.

t-4 until OH. t-5 until cbus.

i wish i had a time machine.

couldn't have said it better myself...

new blog

so over the summer i found all of these blogs i read on a usual basis... but since beginning grad school i hadn't found anything really interesting that could keep me involved... until THIS. it's a blog about a man from minneapolis that lives in LA. he moved there with his h.s. sweetheart, built a life, got married and she got pregnant a few years later. last march, she was put on bedrest and then finally gave birth to the baby prematurely. baby was great and the next day the mom got up to go see the baby for the first time and ended up collapsing. pulminary embolism. died that day. so here this man is... raising an infant while also grieving for his wife. sad? obviously. but he's really funny and artistic too. and has a good outlook. and the story is uplifting. if you get a chance... read a little bit of it. he writes like james frey writes in a million little pieces.

lots going on

it's funny to me that grad school is a constant roller coaster. with work, emotions, etc. one minute i'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and other times i feel so overwhelmed. oh well... such is life.

so a few things going on right now...
1. i interviewed with BYU yesterday. it went really really well. i'm hoping that the opportunity for me to work with them is granted to me. the position is a pretty general SA position, but that's great because it gives me the opportunity to work in various functional areas. love that.

2. my first professional conference begins tonight! GCPA (georgia college personnel association) is having its 40th conference right here in Athens, GA. tonight there is a gala. it will be good to get dressed up, spend some time with my professors and classmates outside of the classroom, and get that great perspective that comes with being around people who all have a common purpose.

3. i'm thinking about incorporating video into my blog... not sure how to do this yet but once i do i think it would be fun to allow you guys to see things about athens. i usually do a poor job describing things.

visitors

So I've been thinking lately... a lot of my favorite people have been showing up here in Athens, GA for a variety of reasons... but one of them has just been to visit me!  How awesome is that?  I have the best family and friends.  Here are pics of my visitors so far this year...

Mark and Abby! Mark was interviewing for the CSAA program (of which I am a part of) and Abby came along for the ride. We had a ton of fun while they were here... minus the day I had the stomach flu and Abby had to take care of both Mark and I!


And my wonderful Aunt Kaye and Uncle Steve. They were a sight for sore eyes after a particularly rough week. They make me feel so special when I see them. I can only hope that one day Seth and I will be as good to each other's kids as they have been to us!


Maggie came too! She interviewed for the CSAA program as well but we forgot to take a pic. Boo.

More to come tomorrow but right now I NEED to sleep.

xoxo.

updates

Hi, friends! I hope that all of your weeks have been fun and exciting. I know that mine hasn't exactly met those requirements... but at least the weather in GA was gorgeous. That makes a lot of impact on life for sure.

A few updates on my life...
1. I have lost 18 pounds on WW!  I am so excited about it. No one has said much about it here in GA but I think that's because I see the same people every day so they don't notice the difference.

2.  I've developed an addiction to going to movies in the theatre lately.  In the past month I've seen:  Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, He's Just Not That Into You, and Confessions of a Shopaholic (which my mom thinks was written about me.  False.)  Of all of these my favorite was Slumdog!  It is unreal.  Life changing.  You must see it!

3.  I still have no internship.  I didn't get any interviews through NODA (orientation directors' association.)  I've applied and interviewed with Baylor University a few weeks ago.  They're checking one of my references but we'll see.  I also applied to one at Brigham Young University which would provide a seriously different perspective on student affairs.  We'll see.  I'm just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Ok... I'll post more later.  Promise.

xoxo.

fran and freeba

we all know i love a good snl skit. this was my faaaav from a few weeks ago.

philadelphia

have you seen this movie? if not.. RUN do not WALK to the nearest blockbuster/hollywood movie. i had to watch it for a disabilities class (next week i have to lead a discussion about the implications it could have for students and disability resource centers) and i had zero idea what it was about. to tell you the truth i thought it was about a man with mental health issues. i was clearly confused.

anyway... watch the trailer. it's a perspective changer for sure.

this is not a test.

So lately, as I've been reflecting on grad school, I've come to a few conclusions:

1. I've never worked this hard on academics in my entire life. While I knew that grad school was going to be difficult, I thought it would be difficult because I would be working so much at my assistantship and practicum that school would take the backseat. Reverse that and you've got what my life has come to.

2. My social life has become the exception, not the rule. I used to go out all of the time as an undergrad... just to be social. These days it rarely happens. If I do go out it's to see a movie or maybe to get dinner. What happened to all of those fun crazy memories? They're just that... memories.

3. Put 1 and 2 together and you've got a recipe for "all work and no play makes daph a dull girl." This is true. I have been going a little stir crazy. But the great thing about living in GA is that in February, it can be 65 and sunny most days. And your windows can be open. And while this may make your internal clock think that it's spring and that school's almost over... it also makes being my dull self down here a little easier.

inauguration

Inquiring minds want to know... how was Inauguration?

Only a life changing experience.

I am so incredibly proud to be part of such an amazing day in such an amazing place with such amazing people. I am so proud of our country!

A few of my fav pics:

Circa 5:30 a.m.


Julie and I giving an O-H!


The sun (finally) coming up!


So proud. :)

i'm baaaaaack.

this is all i can give for now... but i promise i'll write a longer post later this week. (dad- you'll even like it so watch it... it features your girl, faith!)

where am i?

right now i'm in d.c.

i'm about to witness one of the "top 10 moments in american history. ever." (as described by one of the higher ups in the company.)

oh... you didn't know what was going on next tuesday?

have you been living under a ROCK?

it has something to do with this.

so excuse me for being m.i.a.

postsecret

a few of my favorite postsecrets from this week...









***note: just because i love these doesn't necessarily mean they pertain to my life.

the devil went down to georgia...

ok, i'm not the devil.  but i am back in georgia.  (sidenote:  seth used to hear this song or sing it to me throughout the summer.)

things i like about being back in georgia:

1.  catching up with CSAA.  i've missed my cohort a lot and it's been great to see how their breaks went.  it's so weird to think that i didn't know them 6 months ago.  

2.  the feeling of productivity.  i've gotten a lot done over the past few days.  much more than i got done while i was home.

3.  THE WEATHER.  georgia weather is always my fav (minus the monsoons that usually happen on my days off.)  but this week it's been especially great since i know the weather back in OH isn't so hot (or... warm at all, actually.)

4.  Gymdogs!  uga has back to back to back to back national champions in their women's gymnastic team.  lori, christy, and i bought season tickets for this year (for a whopping $10) and went to the first meet tonight.  we had so much fun!  

things i don't like about being back in georgia:

1.  i'm not so sure about my practicum... we'll see how it goes.  so far it's been a little slow (but to be fair i've only worked there for a day.)

2.  stress.  i already feel overwhelmed!  mostly by the idea of finding an internship this summer but after my meeting with a professor today i feel a little bit better.  

3.  being away from OH and all that entails.  i miss my family.  i miss my friends.  i miss all things OH (buckeyes, skyline, etc.)

this weekend i need to complete a project and also finish operation clean up the crib.  maybe after i clean my apt i'll take pics and show an update on what it looks like these days.

Happy Birthday, Setharoo!

This is my brother.  Today he turns 16.

Can you believe how tall and good looking he is?

Things that are little known about my brother:

He is tall.  Really tall.  Like... "where did he grow up?  the giant factory?" tall.  (and yes... 135 Baker Ln. is the giant factory.)

He knows all of the words to every country song known to man.  He sings them at the top of his lungs and bobs his head. 

He can dance.  But only in our kitchen.

He can do dead on impersonations of anything funny... the Blue Collar Comedy Tour is his fav, though.

He explains football really well to people who don't get it.

He gets really good grades.

He helps out the fam with handy things (he gets it from Dad.)

Speaking of Dad... Seth is his clone.

He's going to drive a big red truck when he gets his license.

He loves every type of music just like me.

He's a good guy.

Happy Birthday, Setharoo!  

New Years Resolutions

We all have them... here are mine:

1. Lose 50 pounds. Preferably by the time Jess gets married (August 1st... but who's keeping track? ha.)
In order to make this happen I'm going to continue with WW. Before I came home for winter break I had lost 9 lbs but since my return my goals have really taken a nose dive. That's ok, though. As long as I'm ready to be back at it as soon as I get back to Athens.

2. Work out 4-5 times per week. This will begin happening as soon as I get back from D.C. I think to start off I'm going to get a personal trainer so I can get some ideas on how to get this weight loss thing going. It's important for me to be well and to know that I will live a long life... Without exercising that won't be possible.

3. Open my brain (and heart I guess) to the idea of actually dating someone in GA. I've kind of cut off all possibilities that it would happen because thus far I have zero desire to stay in GA past graduation in 18 months (again... who's counting? ME!) Hopefully once I open myself to the possibility some tall funny guy will just find his way to me! haha.

4. Start a more comprehensive approach to school. While I did very well my first semester in grad school, it really would be beneficial for me to start taking better notes and to start preparing for ::gulp:: Comps. Not in any formal way... but to just realize that they will inevitably be coming some time around the corner so it would be better to prepare a little along the way instead of killing yourself over it for the month beforehand.

That's all I think... We'll see how all of this goes.

bad blogger.

I know. I know. I've been a bad blogger. But you see... I've had a LOT going on as of late.

1. I've been home for two and a half weeks. I came back to OH with my good CSAA friend Kevin. Ever since crossing the bridge into OH I've been spending time with the fam, burning up the highways going to see friends, and re-decorating my bedroom (pics to come.)

2. I've been trying to get some school stuff done so that I'm not totally out of it when I get back to GA. When I say getting things done... I mean just making sure things are in order for me to go to D.C. in a few weeks for the Inauguration.

3. Advancing with SPHINX. SPHINX doesn't retreat... we only advance. So we spent NYE together and it was SO FUN. It truly is unreal that all of us can go 6 months without seeing one another and we come together to truly become closer. (pics to come.)

Well that's all for now... The rest I will post in some organized fashion so that it's not TOTALLY random.

xoxo.