Officially an Archaeologist!

Before you freak out – yes I am still in grad school haha. Thanks to my amazing professor and friend Duke, I lined up a job with a CRM firm out of Huntsville! They wanted me to be able to jump on board and get started right away – so I am working for spring break!

I’m in Tupelo, Mississippi to work on a large phase I survey – and I am so psyched! We start bright and early tomorrow morning – as all good archaeology projects should – and I can’t wait to meet everyone and get involved. So far, I’ve been reading the articles they sent us and exploring town a bit to find some good food – ate at the mall food court today and have a bbq place in mind for tomorrow, depending on what time we get back. If not, there are several places pretty close so I’m sure I’ll find somewhere good.

What are my pups doing while I’m away? They are being puppy-sat by my amazing friends Chuck and Liz 😀 (Don’t worry, the humans will be getting presents when I get back). They’re staying at the apartment, along with their little pup Pepper, all week so I didn’t have to board the pups – which is amazing because boarding all three would potentially cost my entire paycheck for this week (It is EXPENSIVE in T-Town). I’ll be watching Pepper and walking/feeding their roommate’s dogs the weekend I get back – it’s so nice to be in a place with such a great group of friends! We help each other out and it’s amazing. I love my support group :D.

Welp, tomorrow is coming earllyyyyyyy, and I have already done my workout for the day, so I’m about to finish up the last of these articles and hit the hey. There will be as many posts as I can work up this week to keep y’all updated! So psyched for my first real job as an archaeologist! Goodnight.

Back from Hiatus

Well, unintentional hiatus. Grad school keeps you busy :p

So, what have I been up to lately? Finishing drafts for the first two chapters of my thesis, finished the first draft of a book chapter I’m a co-author on, finding an ever increasing amount of sources for said thesis, came up with a proposal for my CRM class, grading quizzes/coming up with quiz and exam questions for the class I’m a GTA for, working my way through the endings of Fallout 4, and just starting Farcry Primal…. oh! and now coming up with survey questions for some more tattoo research focusing on the military. And waiting to hear back on job applications and one more PhD application.

Also, coaching, working out, loving the new cafe latte shakes, taking care of my three crazy pups, and trying to grow my team and my business!  I recently shared some progress photos on fb and instagram, and I’m excited to say that since I started coaching with Beachbody in June, I’ve lost about 35 pounds! I’m excited to continue coaching and working on my own health and fitness.

This week, I was also able to start volunteering with the department’s Anthropology is Elementary program! It’s also a class – for both undergrad and grad students – but we added a second school so they needed some volunteers. Once a week, we go to one of the city elementary schools and teach kids about Anthropology as part of a partnership program! This semester we’re teaching the kids about the anthropology of West Africa – they learn about all four subfields while learning about the cultures in a specific region. They’re most excited about eating bugs, near the end haha. Today we taught them about ethnography – the class is separated into “clan” groups, where they have to create a mythic ancestor, a clan dance, pick a leader, and something they wear. Then each group sends one “ethnographer” to the other clans to learn about them and report back. It worked out pretty well, and our major point to get across to them today was that even though their clan cultures were very different, all of them were equally important (none were better than the others). I’m really excited about this program, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester goes :D.

Other than that, it’s just the usual school, GTA, thesis, and coaching schedule here. I’ve got a few posts in the works about some political stuff and just grad student/job hunt stuff that I’ll be posting soon!

How Coaching and 21 Day Fix Extreme Changed My Life

Well, it has been a very leisurely hiatus – but I’m working on publishing posts again! I will do a major update one, probably tomorrow or Wednesday, but be prepared because it’s coming! I’m getting into the swing of things (this has been the craziest semester!) and decided that a good way to break the hiatus from posting was to talk about my other job – the one that has nothing to do with schoolwork haha. I also thought it would be a good one to share while people are worrying about their holiday weight gain and struggling to keep on track and motivated! So, here goes nothing: this is the basic breakdown of how being a Beachbody Coach and doing 21 Day Fix Extreme in August changed my life.

I started my Beachbody obsession (let’s just call it what it is, right people?) with Insanity two summers ago – right after I graduated William & Mary and before moving down here to Alabama. I LOVED IT! And it really gave me awesome results. So a little later that year – around Christmas time, I tried PiYo in another challenge group, and also tried Shakeology shakes. PiYo gave me very different results than Insanity (OBVIOUSLY, because they’re very different programs), but they were still great, and the shakes made me feel so much better in the mornings – I am definitely not a morning person haha. I kept up with the shakes for awhile, but let it slide a bit and eventually cancelled the monthly order until this summer.

As y’all all know, this summer was a bit of a bad one for me. A relationship I thought was really solid ended fairly badly (at the time – we’re friends now and I’m in an amazing relationship and things are going really well now, so no worries about the sad stuff), I was worried about potentially not having funding – which thankfully didn’t happen, I ended up with full funding!! Because UA is an awesome place and the Anthro dept is great – and found myself with three dogs, two of which are fairly substantial in size, when I had only had one about 8 months before. I was depressed, in a very big funk, and extremely stressed studying for comps and worrying about everything else – basic every day life stuff for most people my age, especially in grad school. Cue my coach, Amanda, messaging me about potentially becoming a coach myself. I hadn’t thought about that at all, but I had nothing else to do besides read books about physical anthropology and worry, so I thought I’d take a shot at it.

As it turns out, coaching is amazing. I love helping people find their perfect program, workout a plan, and reach the results and goals that they want. I love organizing and running challenge groups, and the extra money has helped out A TON. It’s bought my dogs’ food for the past 4 months, left me some extra to put in my savings account, and gives me a little room to buy really silly things for myself every once in awhile – mostly a ps4 haha. My next step, or goal really, for the business is to start working on building a coaching team! I’m so excited to see just what Beachbody coaching can help me accomplish!

Now – what does 21 Day Fix Extreme have to do with all of this? That is the program I chose for the first challenge group I led, back in August. Not only did it give me some amazing results – I lost 9 lbs in a month – but it changed the way I eat! I’m not sticking COMPLETELY to the 21 DF plan – mostly because I don’t have time for meal prep and eating that much all the time (That’s something I’m going to work on for next semester!) – but I base the meals and snacks I eat on the color containers and I’ve actually started craving salads and healthier foods rather than junk! Not only have I continued losing weight (I AM DOWN 30 LBS SINCE JUNE AND I FREAKING LOVE IT), but I’ve maintained the new milestones I reach and kept from gaining any back or going on crazy junk food binges. I’m more confident in myself and my ability to talk to people – which led to me meeting and starting a relationship with my wonderful boyfriend, Marc. Things are not always super easy and peachy of course – especially as a grad student, with a research job, a teaching job, and this coaching job, and three crazy pups. But coaching, working out, and the support I have from Marc, my friends, my family, and the awesome people I’ve met through Beachbody make everything not only easier to deal with and handle, but also more enjoyable!

Basically – things right now are great, and Beachbody is a huge reason for that. 😀

Alright – that’s all I’ve got for now, expect a huge update post soon!!

Business-ing

So, as I mentioned in the Etsy post – I’ve been starting some new things this summer. Chuck and I are working through some problems, and I’m trying to do some things that are just for me. Because, let’s be honest – everyone needs some me time. To quote a fellow grad student here at UA – “If you don’t question you’re abilities, everything you want to do, and why you’re even in grad school at least once, then you aren’t doing grad school right.” This is, somewhat unfortunately, an extremely true statement. Graduate school is supposed to be a learning experience – and part of that experience is learning more about yourself, what you really want to do, and what qualifies you to be here. For some people, that may be too hard, or they may not really belong in graduate school – which is a reality many people must face. For me, graduate school has been hard, but it’s something that I do actually enjoy – I enjoy my research, the courses, the relationships I’m building with professors and fellow students, and in teaching (something I never thought I would enjoy). The important thing to remember is that you have support – your advisers, your cohort mates, friends, family, significant others, children (if you have them) – and that your support network is there to support you! Sometimes, that means admitting that you’re having a hard time and utilizing that network to get some advice or just have a friend to talk to.

Now, onto what I’ve been doing this summer to focus on me. There are small and large things that you can do – some of them seem superficial, but that shouldn’t be as big of a concern. Do things that make you happy. I’ve been deep cleaning, organizing, and rearranging my apartment – I moved the bed to a different wall, got some cheesy string lights in two different colors (they match my bedding) hung up over the head board, and cleaned out my closet. I took the clothes I was getting rid of to Plato’s Closet – great idea if you are in need of some cash and have a lot of things you don’t wear or just want to get rid of – and I’m going to donate the ones they didn’t take to Goodwill. I also got a haircut yesterday – went back to the undercut but left one side and most of the back long, so it’s more me than just growing it out all the same length. I’m going home for a week and getting another tattoo while I’m there. These are all the small (and superficial seeming, to an extent) things I’m doing just for me.

The bigger things include starting my own business, changing up my fitness plan, and starting a new product from It Works!. As I already posted, I have an Etsy shop that I’m slowly stocking with all kinds of cute gifts ideas. I’ve had my first order too – a custom dish cloth order from one of my sorority sisters (see, I told you the support network is there for you!), which is really exciting. I’ve also decided to become a Beachbody Coach! I’ve been using shakeology, PiYo, and Insanity for awhile now, and I decided that I want to try and help people the way my coach (another one of my sorority sisters, and my phi director adviser) has inspired me. I’m having my “Getting Started Right” interview with her tonight and hopefully will be getting started selling products and starting my first challenge group soon! If you’re interested in learning more about the company, send me a message or an email! I’ve also signed up to be a street rep for Fresh Junky Clothing company – if you check out their website you can use my code MNSHN363 to get a discount! (Yes, I know, I’m a bit moonshine obsessed, hehe) Finally, I have a friend that sells It Works! products, and she needed a product tester for Confianza – an anti anxiety/greater focus supplement. Since I’m really not interested in prescription anti anxiety meds, I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it goes – so I’ll be letting all of you know as well, since I’m sure there are people out there in the wide world of the internet who might be interested in using it!

That’s pretty much all I’ve got for this post – I have a few more update posts in the works ;). I’ve also started contacting PhD programs (yikes!), so I’ll have a post about that once I’ve contacted them all and narrowed down the list a little bit. Stay happy and healthy, dear readers!

Etsy Shop!

Well, I have re-opened my Etsy shop and had my first sale! I’m also preparing a post overload of sorts for your (hopeful) reading pleasure, so stay tuned for that! Eventually I want to have all kinds of fun gift ideas in the shop, but for right now it’s hand crocheted dishcloths and potholders, some hand stamped cards, and a few candles. I’m working on some metal stamped jewelry, that I’ll hopefully be able to have out soon! Check out the shop and if you have any custom orders, please feel free to message me about it!

 

Spring Semester

Well, it’s already Week 3 of the Spring semester, and all I can really say to sum everything up since my last update is one word: busy. So much has happened that I don’t even know where to begin! So, I guess I’ll just try and fit everything in and hope I don’t miss any of the details :p.

First off, I finished my first semester of grad school in December! Classes all went well, if a little stressful with finals and papers there at the end. This semester I’m registered for three classes and teaching two lab sections of Ant 100, so things are moving along pretty steadily! I’m in Culture, History of Archaeology, and GIS. So far GIS is probably my favorite – but since I’ve worked with the program before I kind of expected it to be that way.

Now, for the two biggest pieces of news! The first, and most important, is that I have a boyfriend! I met him at the end of November, right before my birthday, and we have now been officially dating for a little over two months. He’s so amazing – he even came to visit me in Virginia over Christmas break and met my whole family. It’s also nice to be in a really serious relationship – we are still taking things slowly and just enjoying how things are now, but the expectation is that it will be leading to more serious steps. It’s a little terrifying but also incredible that I have found someone like him, who I want to be with really for the foreseeable future and beyond.

Chuck and I at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, VA

Second big news: We got a puppy!! Her name is Princess Buttercup, and she is a pit bull/lab mix. Currently she is about 2 months old and is getting along pretty well with Sammy and Jackson. Her crate and house training are also going pretty well, with some minor accidents of course. If it isn’t obvious, I am loving the life I’m building in Alabama! I have a good job, I’m going to school, I’ve got a wonderful boyfriend and three adorable fur babies. I can’t wait to see what else this year will bring!

The Long and the Short of It

So, the title is a (potentially terrible) pun, but y’all will see why soon!

Dear internet, meet Jackson! He’s a 6 mo. old basset hound/lab mix that I adopted from the shelter two weeks ago!!! I know, things have been very busy and I still suck at updating – but I’m working on it, still hahaha.

 He and Sammy are getting along really well, and I think he’s going to be a great addition to the family! He looks very much like a lab in the pics, but he’s not much taller than sammy, and they’re both very long – hence the title of the post! See, I warned you that it was potentially terrible. His first ever park visit is to the left, and he and Sammy just hanging out is on the right.

Well, for a few more updates, things here have been moving along, and staying very busy. I volunteered at the Mounville Native American Festival this weekend, and it was really cool! I was in the Children’s Area making necklaces all day yesterday, which was very busy but still fun. I’ve finally settled into my new office hours schedule, and I’ve just been focusing on getting a lot of work done as fast as I can so I have plenty of time to hang out with the dogs. Newsletter work has been going pretty well, my first article for it was published (find it on the Anth Dept. blog), I’ve got two in draft stage for Dr. Lynn to edit, and I have two outlined to post this week! Yes, I do realize the irony that I post more there and more regularly than I do on my own blog, BUT I am being paid to help with it, so… I have deadlines to stick with there :p.

Data collection for my methods project has officially started! And I have my first midterm of grad school on Thursday… eek! Haha. Other than that, my second ethnohistory paper is coming up soon, started research for my physical anth paper, I’m helping with an ethnohistory article about tattoos, and TAing has been pretty fun lately. We’ve moved on to the archaeology section, so it’s great for me :p haha.

Homecoming is this coming weekend!!!! I can’t wait to go back to the Burg and see everyone again!!!

Well, I think that’s all the updates I have. I’ve been using this post as my study break, so I’ve gotta get back to it. 🙂

I Completely Suck At Updating

So, I let things get away from me a little bit, and have been insanely busy lately. I realize it’s been quite a while since updating, and I’m planning to remedy that with what may possibly be an overload of updates. Unfortunately, it will be later today and part of tomorrow before I can post those, because I’m in my office hours and really should be doing readings for one of my classes tomorrow. So, for those of you still following my journey through grad school/life in general, thanks for sticking around! I promise there will be much more to come once I get home later today!! 😀 I have lots of big news to update you all on, as well as some preliminaries and some book reviews I think, so… yeah, watch this space closely for the next few days!

DIY Projects!

I’ve been doing a ton of DIY projects lately – some of which with the help of supplies from Darby Smart. A lot of them have been for my new apartment: frames, bulletin boards, painting my table and chairs, making my tv stand, and things like that. I’ve also started doing some to sell at the antique shop (we have some local craft items, so I count! haha) to help save up some more money. So, here are a few pics of the potholders and candles I’ve been making!

I’ll have more photos and complete project updates once I get started on the tv stand and everything, but I’ll take some more pics of the small frames and things I’m making in the next few days! Things here are moving pretty fast – which is good! – so I’ve had less time to update, but I’m working on it!

In terms of grad school updates, today I ordered some of my textbooks – not all my classes have them listed – talked to someone from my cohort and found out she’s in the apartment complex next to mine and we have the same classes, and signed up for a Milk Paint class tomorrow! I’ve also been keeping up with my Insanity challenge group, it’s still kicking my butt, but I keep working at it ;). Well, tomorrow is turning out to be a fairly busy day, so I’m gonna finish up this post, do some more work on my planner, and head to bed! Goodnight all!