central state and magnolias

Brad and I recently toured the campus of Central State Hospital. I wish I had taken more pictures. This place is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Most of the buildings are crumbling and condemned. However, this one is still in use today. Come on down to Millegeville and we'll take you on a tour! If that wasn't inticing, I don't know what is!

But, here is probably the number one thing to really love about Georgia. The magnolia trees in bloom. They smell so good!

Sweetwater Festival

Hey everyone, it's been a couple of months since we last posted here. Brad and I are on our way to finishing out the semester. It could not get here soon enough! We have been able to get out of Milledgeville a couple times this past month. Just this weekend, we attended the Sweetwater festival in Atlanta sponsored by the Sweetwater Brewery. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Here's some pictures we wanted to share.

A machine to tell you how intoxicated you are.

No, driving was not a good idea -- we had too much fun!

Look, it's snowing in Milledgeville!

It just started snowing today around 3pm, to my amazement. For the past couple days they have been reporting about this winter storm that would include some kind of unusual white, fluffy matter. It's been big news here. Last night schools were already making decisions to close for today. I was proud of GCSU for not closing and I headed out to my 10am class only hear a voicemail an hour later telling me that they were closing campus at noon. So, I headed home laughing about the crazy southerners for all their hysteria. Have they seen all the snow up north? But, let's be serious, people here don't own snow shovels, ice scrapers, or even winter gloves for that matter. They are totally and utterly helpless! I have already been hearing about the mass chaos at Kroger.

Here's a picture to give you an idea of what southern winter storm looks like. And, that is definitely snow (mixed with rain).

Back to the grind

The holidays are over and, like everyone else, we are back and at it. No more vacation. No more travelling. No more obligations besides what our day-to-days lives require. Just the two of us again.

I added some pictures of our holidays spent with family. We had a great time seeing everyone!


We were so happy to have been able to go out to Los Angeles and spend time with the Koch family. Kari and Ryan were super hosts! It was a quick 5 days in the balmy 60 degree weather. However, we didn't have a problem filling our days. It's pretty easy to do when you live in a place like L.A. Back home in Indiana, we were able to spend a little bit of time with friends. But, we tried to reserve most of our time to see family. It is crazy how big our nieces and nephew are getting. It makes me sad to be away. However, my sister got us Skyping and now we can see my niece, Cori, whenever we want.

Could these two get any cuter?

This week, Brad started back with teaching. GCSU allows new faculty to teach only 3 sections/classes the first semester. But, don't expect that to ever happen again. Most professors are required to teach 4 sections and that is what Brad is now doing. He added his Sociology of Religion course to his load. Of course, that is his most preferred class to teach so he wasn't concerned about the added responsibility. However, last week a colleague in his department was involved in a terrible car accident. She is OK and, we believe, is now home but she will not be returning to teaching for the spring semester. Therefore, a few people (including Brad) were asked to take on some of her responsibilities.

For me, I started back as a student at GCSU. It is incredibly strange to be taking undergraduate classes. Though I realize I'm still in my 20's, the age difference is clear to me. In 3 of my 4 classes, I don't think there is a single student who is of drinking age. I really think that's where the division happens. I was talking to my mom the other day and she said, "they always say it's harder the longer you wait to go back." The hard part for me is just feeling out of place and different from my peers. Though, without all the distractions I dealt with at IU, my study habits have turned around and I've found myself studying more this week then I probably did in one month at IU. I'm exhausted. Additionally, I applied for and was granted a job at the GCSU library as a student assistant. I will only work about 10-12 hours a week, but that may be all I can handle anyway. I will start in another week or so.

This weekend we have a round of visitors coming to town. Our friends, Brent and Kyle, who were both in Brad's cohort in graduate school will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. We are so happy to have visitors. I hope many of you are thinking about travelling down to see us, as well. We aren't sure when the next time will be that we can get back north. We do have a spring break in March, but as of yet we aren't planning a trip home. It might not be until the summer that we get back. So, it's up to all of you to come here if you want to see our lovely faces. Our door is open and the weather is warming!

With love,

Lauren and Brad

A December walk though Memory Hill Cemetery

Tonight we took a walk around town and made our way to the local cemetery. Brad and I both share an odd interest in spending time in graveyards. To some, that may seem creepy but we appreciate the calmness and beauty that surrounds us.

We came across a map of all the local (past) celebs of Milledgeville and decided to take the self-guided walking tour. One of the most famous people of our area is Flannery O'Connor, "Milledgeville's most famous daughter" who was a well-known author of novels about the South. Beyond O'Connor, the cemetery included many confederate soldiers, college presidents, governers, state legislators, plantation owners, murderers, and even dogs. In addition to this, it should be noted that many Southerners do not acknowledge that Confederate soldiers fought in the Civil War, but rather the "War Between the States" or even more notably, the "War of Northern Aggression."

Even in death Flannery O'Connor still gets paid.

My attempt to show off the Magnolia trees.

The monument of a local plantation owner. It cost a measly $20,000 to design and erect for this wealthy individual who died in 1858. It stands at 37 feet tall.

OK, now for the weird and unusual...

The story goes that the man buried under this tree had actually hung himself and was directly buried beneath the very branch to which he tied the noose. Supposedly, he had pronounced his love to local woman before he travelled to Florida for business matters. When he returned months later she declared she was in love with another gentleman. His heart was so broken that he couldn't bear to go on with his life.

Tallulah-- it doesn't get more Georgian than that name. Actually, I think it's kind of pretty.

I can't say the same about this person's given name. Moodie? You can only wonder what her parents first impression could have been as she was delivered. Unfortunately, she doesn't come with a story.

Now I know that people have a devoted love for their dogs, but this goes beyond devotion. But, you know that saying, "All dogs go to Heaven?" This person really believed it to be true. Oh, it wasn't just Bruno that buried, but he also buried his other dog, Nick.
This was a fun one! This vault contained 6 family members of the Fish family. It is said that if you knock on the door and ask Mr. Fish what he is doing in there, you will get an answer. I knocked and politely asked, but I did not get a reply. (Later, we realized that hearing nothing was probably the answer.) However, kitty-corner from this grave lay the family of Brown-Butts (not pictured). This provided some comic relief for Brad, but I maintained respect for the family. Well...until now.

If you're at all familiar with Georgia (or the South), you've heard at one time or another of Milledgeville's finest Central State Hospital which was formally known as the "State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum." By the 1960s it was considered the largest mental hospital in the world, which lead to the phrase "Gone to Milledgeville" to indicate insanity.

The rest are just photos of different areas and headstones placed throughout the cemetery.

Wedding Pictures

Brad and I finally finished uploading and organizing all of our wedding pictures. It was a pretty time-consuming task and I don't know where the patience came from, but we did it with very few disagreements. Out of approximately 5,000 pictures located on 6 different CD's we narrowed it down to a mere 1,000 pics for all your viewing pleasures.

http://bradandlaurenswedding.shutterfly.com/

ENJOY!

Good news! Just what I've needed

So, most of you know that I applied to GCSU early last month to begin taking classes this spring semester. The ball got rolling when I first talked with an advisor in the nursing department. I was attempting to find more out about the program and instead was surprised to hear about how I could begin sooner then later. One thing led to the other and I was quickly applying to the school and filling out my FAFSA. It all happened in a weeks time and before I knew it, I was waiting to hear some good news that I was going back to school.

Today, I found out some excellent news. I'm officially a college student again! This coming semester, I will hopefully be taking Chemistry II(plus lab), Anatomy, Politics & Society, and a Psychology class. That's hoping there are open seats in all of these classes. My fingers are crossed. I will, then, be taking a few more classes either this summer or fall.

It is all very exciting right now!

My nursing program courses will begin starting January '11 (a year from now). That's also assuming I will be admitted into the program. I'm staying positive! From there, I have two years of intensive classes and clinicals. So, in approximately three years, I will rejoin the real-world once again. It will all be worth it.

I hope everyone is well. We will be in Los Angeles from December 23- December 29 to see the Koch's. We will all be staying at Kari and Ryan's place. We'll fly back and from there we will drive up to Indiana to stay with my family until January 3 or 4. We have a wedding to attend on January 2, but other then that we are open to see everyone.

One last thing, don't forget to congratulate Brad on completing his first semester as Prof Koch. I'm very proud of him. I can tell he is exhausted so we're looking forward to our winter break before the next semester begins.

Love, Lauren