This is possibly my all-time favorite roller coaster. I have ridden it 23 times, 18 of which have been in the past couple of months. It is Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, and Boy and I have a slight obsession with it.

We have season passes to Six Flags this year, and we went on Saturday from open to close, which is 11 hours. It was in celebration of the end of finals: possibly the worst finals week I've ever had. Ever. I had two rather lengthy research papers (one was 7 pages, the other was 10), as well as 4 finals... all in the same week.

However, I survived. I had my fun on roller coasters. On Sunday, Mother's Day, I saw Iron Man 2 with Mom, and then the family had a big dinner that night. On Monday, I did absolutely nothing--I got up at 9 (because Dad literally waved a plate of cinnamon rolls under my nose without telling me what time of day it was. Evil man.) and sat on the couch until 2. Then I had lunch and watched a movie with one of my best friends, and drove back to Athens.

A normal student would be on summer break after spring finals, no? However, I'm taking two Maymester classes, which is a whole classes jammed into three weeks. However, after last summer's debacle, I feel like nothing can phase me. One class is in the morning, and then one in the afternoon. I am currently waiting for class two to start.

Only two classes and one LSAT away from me and summer! I think I can do it.

This is usually the scene in my bathroom come morning. My routine: hit the snooze button 4 times. Roll out of bed. Stumble over to the bathroom. Use the bathroom. Brush my teeth. Turn on the shower. And, while I'm waiting for the water to heat up, I step on the scale. It's not a fun way to start the morning, by any means. But you know what was different this morning?...Drum Roll please.... I've lost 3 pounds!

Okay, so I know it's only 3 pounds. But this is the first time that I have actually lost weight while making an effort to exercise and eat better. I lost about 10 pounds this time last year, but that was because I was too lazy to walk down to the dining hall, so I only ate one meal a day. This year, I'm actually trying, and these are the first results that I've seen.

It's really nice to know I'm not doing all of this for nothing. This whole diet and exercise thing does not at all come to me naturally. I love to eat, and I love food. I'm a social eater--it's one of the few things in Athens to do. Want to hang out with someone? Go to dinner! Go get dessert! Already eaten? It's okay, eat again!

My other problem is, as I've said, carbs. I LOVE bread. It's that third roll at dinner, with real butter. Baked potatoes. Mashed potatoes. Scalloped potatoes. Fried potatoes. Rice. Any cake or pastry.

So even though it's hard to keep it up, for the first time I've motivated myself to get up off the couch and do something for once. Even though I would much rather go to the pool or take a nap, I walk on the treadmill for 40-50 minutes. Even though everyone around me (except my mother, who will perpetually eat healthier than me) is eating all the foods that I want to be, I'll go with the option that's better for me. Maybe one day, my scale will smile at me!

So I'm on this new health kick. Okay, it's actually an old health kick that I keep kicking to the curb when I get tired of it. But this time, I'm going to stick to it. My mother and I have made an agreement with each other that we'll do something good for ourselves physically at least once a day. In my case, I've started walking for an hour on the treadmill. She is walking on the track at the college she works for.

Another component to this is eating healthier. This part is hard for me in particular, because I'm really picky. I don't like vegetables, really, and the only fruits I like are peaches and apples. My biggest problem isn't sugar (although I do have a big sweet tooth), it's carbs. I LOVE bread. And potatoes. And pasta. Other than steak, which isn't the greatest for you, carbs encompass some of my most favorite dishes, and that's what I have issues controlling.

Since I know that I can't completely overhaul my eating habits--I've tried and failed many times--all I can do is try to scale them back some. Get something baked or grilled, instead of battered and deep-fried. So, I thought I would share one of my new foods with you.

It's nothing earth-shattering, and I'm sure many people have heard of it. I take low-carb cinnamon graham crackers and cool whip, and do one of two things:

1. Take two whole crackers and put cool whip in the middle. Freeze it overnight for a different version of the ice cream sandwich!
2. Take two graham crackers and break them in half. Take cool whip and spread it over each cracker half.

Is that not a rockin wedding cake? My friend, Ashley, made it. Okay, so it's not REAL cake--the part that would be the cake is actually styrofoam. However, the decorations on the outside are all real, and it took her two weeks to finish.

She did this for UGA's Relay for Life, which my sorority took part in this year. The theme was Change the Channel on Cancer, so each booth was supposed to pick a TV show. We did "Say Yes to the Dress", or, in our case, Say Sure to the Cure. Everything was wedding themed--we sold veils, wedding cookies, cupcakes and tiaras. People could also take pictures with this:



To pass the time, the Relay Exec ran a Relay-wide scavenger hunt that was hands down the best part of the whole night. We had to do lots of things, like....

Sumo Wrestle



Eat Puppy Chow like a dog



Drink a daiquiri



Throw popcorn in someone's mouth



This was a lot of fun, and encouraged spending money at the booths. We came in third place! The total raised throughout the UGA community was $306,561.62, with my own team raising a little over $2,000. Since Xi Delta has our own cancer survivor, and since I have both survivors and victims in my own family, I think Relay for Life is a particularly good cause. It's fun and it helps with cancer research! You should look into Relay in your own community--it's worth it!

Sometimes, you just have to be silly.

AHHHHH! SCHOOL!!

This is how I feel right about now. I'm slowly going insane. End of the semester is so close... and yet 4 papers, a speech, and 4 finals away.

Anyway, this is blog is less about me and more about this guy. My boyfriend is writing a blog for a class, and he needs to get as many people following it as possible. So, as a favor to me (since I'm so wonderful), it would be FANTASTIC if y'all could follow it! You don't actually have to read it, since it's about UGA football (which I don't expect many of you are interested in), and you can stop following it in a couple weeks, when the semester is over.

In the meantime... check it out! Please? The link:

The Bulldawg Blawg

Crab rangoon! This dish is one of my favorites at a Chinese restaurant, and I've come to judge the quality of the restaurant based on how good the crab rangoon is. Sadly, here in Athens... well, the restaurants all fail. I went to two or three different places (there aren't too many Chinese places to choose from, sadly), and none of them passed the test. So, I just focused on other cuisines--Japanese, Italian, or just plain American.

There's a place next to the East Side Walmart in Athens that I kept noticing--Golden Sun. It looked really sketchy, but I've learned that often the better Chinese restaurants are the ones that look a little dingy on the outside. (You always want to check the health inspection grade though, just to make sure). This Sunday, I decided to try Golden Sun, and... voila! Finally! Good crab rangoon. My Athens restaurant life is complete.