This is Snoopy. He is my dog, and I love him.

I got him in 7th grade. My dad told me that if I were to join a sports team for a year, he would get me a dog. I don't think he actually thought I would do it, but I joined my school kayak team. Hey, that's an Olympic sport, it counts. On January 14, 2003, we brought Snoopy home from the humane society, and we've had him ever since.

Now, fast forward to 2010. Dad hates this dog. He claims that if Snoop even touches the carpet, he'll pee on it. It's true that he's had accidents in the kitchen before. Dad claims that the dog has forgotten that he isn't allowed to go to the bathroom in the house. What I don't understand, though, is that when I had him at my apartment, he didn't go to the bathroom on the floor once. He went to the door when he needed to go out, just like he's supposed to. To me, this means that he isn't taken out enough here, and if you have to go, well, you have to go. You can't fault an animal for that.

So, now, he keeps Snoopy locked up all the time. He's either out on the deck, in his bed, but attached to his leash, or in his kennel. ALL THE TIME. I personally think that's cruel, to keep him like that. And then Dad gets mad if Snoopy barks, but he's gonna bark if he's locked up all the time. Dad told me my job this summer is to get rid of him. Me. My job. Get rid of the dog that I love. I offered earlier, in the spring, to find an apartment that would allow pets, and I would take him with me. Dad told me no. Now I'm supposed to get rid of him? I told Dad that I would take him. Now I've signed a lease in a place that won't even allow goldfish.

What an asshole.

Does anyone else have a problem with spam? Not the food--which I'm sure is disgusting, even though I've never eaten it--but in reference to the internet?

I've been getting a lot of spam comments on my blog posts lately. Usually about fake James Bond watches, Chinese dresses, etc. It's irritating and I don't know how to stop it.

Any suggestions?

· Thoughts during my Maymester class:

o I swear the clock moves slower in class. Do professors have the ability to bend time? I’m sure they do. It’s the only way this class could possibly take this long. It’s only been 45 minutes… two hours to go.

o My Lord I’m hungry. I don’t get it. I ate breakfast this morning, but I think breakfast only makes me hungrier. I wish we could take a break so I could eat a cereal bar or something.

o I have a headache right in the middle of my forehead and around my ears. How random is that?

o The girl in front of me is really tan. I wish I was really tan. Not so orange-y, like her though. I’m pretty sure her color comes from fake n’ bake. She’ll probably get skin cancer one day.

o I wonder if the guy next to me is gay. Not that I have anything against him, I’m just wondering. Sometimes he comes in looking straight. Today, however, he does not. I need better gaydar.

o I would like some yellow Gatorade.

o How does one get up to leave the classroom gracefully and unnoticed to go to the bathroom when you sit across the room from the door?

o All desks should come with a footrest.

o Why is it so cold in here?

o I’m so glad college doesn’t have a dress code. It would be really obnoxious to have to wear either jeans or shorts that came to my knees. Here’s to Soffees and a t-shirt!

o Man, I’m hungry…

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!