Cultures and Traditions

Two weeks ago my department welcomed a visiting PhD student from Belgium to come study with us for the next 5 months. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know Laurence and I’ve already had the opportunity to help introduce her to two very American traditions: football and pumpkin carving*.

I have always love spending time with people from other countries and cultures, which is part of the reason why I love traveling so much. It makes me happy to know that there is this big world out there and that we’re all pretty special and unique. I love witnessing how people can live such different lives but how there are still some things that are common to the entire human race that bind us all together. Okay. I’m getting a little too kumbayah here so I’ll move on!     

Clay and I took Laurence to the Auburn vs. FAU game last weekend and it was super fun watching her enjoy all of the pregame festivities, sharing Auburn’s traditions with her, and trying to explain to her the rules of American football. Some of our traditions are so silly and ridiculous when you stop and think about them or try to explain them to an outsider. Take Boda Getta for instance. It’s a cheer full of made up words. I have no idea how it started or why we always yell it at the tops of our lungs but I also don’t really care. It’s a fun cheer that is uniquely Auburn and it plays an important part in bringing us all together to show support for our team.  

Side note: football is such a complicated sport and incredibly difficult to explain to someone without completely overwhelming them. No wonder the Europeans aren’t into it. But hey, I’ll still take football over soccer any day!

Anyway, last night (yes, November 1^st) some of my fellow doc students and I introduced Laurence to pumpkin carving. Better late than never, right? After a few scary encounters with the carving knife (we had to teach her that you always point the blade AWAY from your hand), we had a great time! I had bought my pumpkin several weeks ago when the pickin’s were still good, but the rest of the group had to settle for the leftover reject pumpkins and gourds.  I love a good, weird pumpkin though and thought everyone’s turned out great!

Yay, pumpkins! I think my pumpkin could eat those other shorties.

The artists! Please excuse me for looking like a hot mess. It was a long day.

Yep. I'm the weirdo who didn't have a pumpkin for the whole month of October but finally lit one up on November 2

Hopefully I’ll have some more opportunities to show Laurence some of the great things America has to offer. And don’t worry; we’ve already introduced her to Chick-Fil-A, which is one of the most awesome things American has to offer. She loved it!  

*I know pumpkin carving didn't originate in America but we're definitely the ones who carry on the tradition the strongest. Besides, Laurence had never herd of such a thing so it was still new to her.

Alumni Band

Yesterday I did something that I hadn’t done in 6 years. I woke up before the sun came up, fixed my hair and makeup, put on my jazz shoes, and headed to band field for Saturday morning practice. 

Every year, former members of the Auburn University Marching Band are invited out toThe Plains to participate in the halftime show of the homecoming game. This was the first year where scheduling and motivation collided for me to attend. So, with a little encouragement from my sweet friend, Dawn, I decided to stretch my legs and high kick (or not-so-high-kick) once more. 

I was pretty apprehensive about participating because I haven’t danced since I was a sophomore in college and I wasn’t sure I’d really know anybody there but it ended up being a great day! The thing I always loved most about Tiger Eyes and the AUMB was how warm, kind, and friendly all of the members were. When people ask me if I miss being a part of it all, I always say that I don’t miss the life-consuming schedule but that I miss all of those wonderful girls. I was so nice catching up with people I hadn’t seen in years and seeing what successful and loving women they have all turned out to be. It was a true joy. 

As for the life-consuming schedule part of the deal, yesterday was also a reminder of how challenging and exhausting my whole experience with the AUMB was. Those early morning practices are rough and sitting in the hot sun during a boring game is not super fun. I am no longer 18 and do not have the same energy I had in college. When all way said and done, I ended up going to bed at 8 o’clock with an incredibly sunburnt face and sore back muscles. It was definitely a reminder that I’m getting older! Overall though, it was a great day with great people and I’m already looking forward to going back next year!

Here are some of my pictures from the day. I'm still waiting on the big group shots to be emailed to me!

A few of the alumni dancers in the stands

This picture was on al.com, which is pretty awesome. I'm the one on the end who isn't kicking as high as everyone else. Oops. I told y'all I'm getting old! :)

Sweet Dawn. My favorite! Dawn stayed with us Friday night and helped me learn the routines. She's the best!

 

Some of my favorite flag girls!

These two ladies made my year on the flag line an absolute blast! Along with Emily, we called ourselves the fantastic four and got into all kinds of trouble. Emily didn't make it to alumni band this year so we posed with this flag in her place. We missed you lady! Please come next year!

Super Fun Weekend

Things have been pretty bananas at school lately and living the life of a doctoral student pretty much means I don’t have nights or weekends. It is definitely a job that I take home with me and have to devote hours to outside of the classroom. Even though I’m doing something I really like and I have insanely flexible hours, I get pretty darn jealous of people who get to enjoy their weekends without worrying about all of the papers they should be reading or the statistic homework they should be doing. All this is to say, I love it when I get to have a full weekend away from school and really get it enjoy myself and that’s what I did this past weekend. 

It started off Friday morning when I went to my 100^th Pure Barre class and got to join the 100 tuck club! It’s a pretty big accomplishment in the PB world and I’m proud of myself for sticking to something for so long. 

I even made it to Pure Barre Auburn's Facebook page!

My special 100 tuck club grippy socks

After PB I went to school to get some work done before driving up to Atlanta for the 2^nd annual Shoot the ‘Hooch weekend. This is a tradition some of my high school friends started last year as a way for everyone to get together for a little reunion once a year. We are all kind of all over the place right now in terms of both geographical distance and life stages, and that’s why it’s so nice to get together and enjoy each others company for a few days. We’re all incredibly silly and have a ridiculously fun time when we get together. To check out some pictures and a full recap of the weekend’s events, head on over the Caitlyn’s awesome blog.

I also got to meet up with my sis in Atlanta to attend a bridal show. The show was kind of a bust but we stumbled across a huge bridal store and she picked out our bridesmaids dresses! I’m definitely enjoying being on the MOH side of wedding planning more than the bride side. I get to tag along for all of the fun stuff without having to deal with the stress. It’s a pretty sweet gig!

I finished off the weekend by tuning in for the Emmy’s on Sunday night. I watched about half of the broadcast before switching over Breaking Bad but I did get to see one of my favorite actors, Tony Hale, win an Emmy for his role on Veep, which was awesome! I jumped up and down in my living room cheering for him. He’s such a gem! Check out these hilarious clips…

All in all, I would say it was a pretty fantastic weekend! Now back to work!

Football Season

Well kids, it’s that time of the year again! Football season is among us and I’ve been enjoying all of the pageantry, excitement, and heat exhaustion that come with it over the past 3 weekends. Clay and I have actually been to every game this season, which is incredibly rare for us. Clay usually prefers watching the games from the comfort of our living room and I’m usually doing school work during the games. Last year I went to exactly one half of a game and Clay was recovering from surgery so he made it to zero, which wasn’t such a bummer considering how poorly Auburn performed last season. 

Touchdown Auburn!

 This year it truly has been “a new day” for Auburn football and we’ve had a really great time getting into it all. For the first two games we didn’t tailgate but got to watch Tigerwalk then we headed into the stadium early to catch the band and pregame festivities. Last weekend my parents and their friends finally held their tailgate so we spent most of the day hanging out with friends, eating delicious food, and watching all of the other big games. We had some much fun a got to see some of our old friend, which is always awesome. Unfortunately my mom has all of the pictures on her phone and hasn’t sent them to me yet so I don’t really have any to share with you (story of my life, right?).  

My parents got to stand on the sideline during warmups last week. You can kind of see my dad in this picture. He's the white blobs in the middle of all the orange! It was pretty funny, I was taking pictures of them while they were taking pictures of us. Dad said he got some really cool photos. I can't wait to see them!

I’m not sure how many more games we’ll make it to this season but we’re really enjoying Coach Malzahn and we’ll be cheering on the Tigers from wherever we are!

In other news, Mom and I cleaned up MeMaw’s headboard and finally put it up in our guest bedroom. I think it looks great! I love the bow detail in the wood and little tiny beaded trim, which is incredibly hard to see in the picture. Also, part 2 of my Netflix picks are up on Nerd Soup so check it out if you feel so inclined! 

Pure Barre

For the past 7 months I’ve been going to this fitness class called Pure Barre. It has become a big part of my life since then and I wanted to tell you all a little bit about it and my experience!

  So what is Pure Barre?

From the website:  "Pure Barre is the fastest, most effective way to change the shape of your body. Using small isometric movements at the ballet barre set to motivating music, Pure Barre lifts your seat, tones your thighs, abs and arms and burns fat in record breaking time. Clients see results in just 10 classes, lose inches in weeks and have fun doing it!"

 

I started going to Pure Barre in February. I found out Auburn’s Pure Barre was having a 3 month special for brides to be and since I was getting married in 3 months I thought it would be a perfect way for me to get in shape for the big day (my fitness routine before PB consisted of me walking Reggie about once a month).  Although the first class was incredibly intimidating and I almost passed out (for real, I had to sit down on the floor in the middle of class for about 5 minutes!), I bought the package, stuck with it, and now I absolutely love it!

I’m the kind of person who needs a lot of motivation to work out. I enjoy exercising but there is no way I’m going to go to a gym by myself or force myself to walk or do fitness dvds (trust me, I’ve tried all of these methods with very little success). I really need something to hold me accountable and PB was/is the perfect option. I haven’t lost any weight since I started but that wasn’t really my goal. I just wanted something that would be challenging, firm me up a little, and would keep me active. I really love the difficulty level of Pure Barre. I have to concentrate so hard on every movement that I really can’t think about anything else, which is great because it gives me and hour where all I’m thinking about is what my body is doing. I don’t think about school, or my grocery list, or any think else that’s eating at me. PB gives me much needed time with myself and I’ve really learned a lot about how my muscles move and what my body can do and how strong I am. I know that sounds super weird and granola but it’s true! I’ve discovered muscles I didn’t know I had and regained so much of the flexibility I lost after I stopped dancing. 

 

The owners of my studio are awesome! They, along with all of the instructors, are incredibly encouraging and kind. There is a great atmosphere of positivity and I never feel like anyone is judging me, which I really appreciate.  

Anyway, this has been a sufficiently mushy love letter to Pure Barre. I just wanted to let y’all know what I’ve been up to and how great it’s made me feel. I encourage anyone who is thinking about hitting the Barre to give it a try! I bet you’ll like it. That is, after the soreness wears off ;)

In Nerd Soup news, my preview of fall TV is up on the site so check it out if you're looking for new shows to get into this fall! Also, I'll have part 2 of my Netflix picks up soon so stay tuned for that!