Hello World!

Goodness gracious! It has been a LONG time since I have posted.  I didn't mean to be so MIA, but the Griffiths have been BUSY!!!!
Let's see....
Since my last post I have graduated with my Master's degree, taken a girl's trip to the beach, taken a girl's trip to NYC, traveled to China for two weeks for my job, celebrated my 2nd anniversary, taken a week-long course at Harvard for my job, vacationed in the Dominican Republic, began my 3rd year at PDS, turned 25, spent the holidays with our amazing families, traveled to L.A. for Christmas with Alex's family, traveled to Las Vegas for a flooring convention, and so much more! Whew! I'm tired just recapping it all!
I am so thankful that I was able to finish my Master's degree, especially is such a short time.  Let me tell ya, folks, working full-time and going to school full-time is not easy (and is for the birds!).  For the majority of my graduate school experience, I was working from 7:30-4:00 each day, then going to class at night from 5:00-10:00, three nights a week.  It was a lot, and at times I wanted to slow down my pace and not take so many classes at once, but I am SO happy that I kept going.  What a relief to be completely finished with everything!
My trip to China was truly an amazing experience.  I traveled with 6 other people from the United States, but I did not know any of them! This was only my SECOND time to fly anywhere alone (with my first being just two weeks before this trip), and I felt like it went extremely well.  I was definitely way more adventurous with the food than I had anticipated, but I am so glad I tried everything I did! I ate some crazy things, but most of it was absolutely delicious! I kept telling myself... you are probably only going to be in China one time in your lifetime... enjoy it while you can! And I did! I loved every minute of my trip! I wish that Alex could have gone with me..... I know he would have loved the history in China, but maybe someday we can return together for a leisure trip.
Our trip to the Dominican Republic was so relaxing and much-needed.  Alex had such a busy summer with Carpet Tech and I had been gone so much that we barely even saw each other.  It was so nice to have a week with no internet, TV, work, distractions, etc. to just enjoy each other.  It didn't hurt that the Dominican was insanely beautiful.... literally the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen!
We have had some wonderful times these past few months and look forward to an even greater 2013! I will do my best to keep the blog more up-to-date.

---KPG

Hello Bloggers!

It's been a while! Finishing my last semester of grad school and last few weeks of teaching has kept me super busy! Good thing I reaaaaaally enjoy being super busy. :)
Since I haven't posted a picture of my husband and I in about 6 months, I thought I was way overdue.  So here you go! One from a date night a couple of months ago and the other from Easter Sunday.

We have another busy month ahead of us in May.  Let's just face it... this summer is cram-packed with fun events, travels, and activities.  August will be here before I even know it! But I know, without a single doubt, that this summer will be much better than the last.  I cannot wait!
First up, a girl's trip to the beach.  From the beach, I head to NYC for a few days.  In the middle of June, I will be traveling to China for work.  In July, I will spend a week in Boston doing a work study program at Harvard, and then a week with my hubs in the Dominican Republic.  A little 2nd anniversary/end of summer/congrats on grad school vacay for the both of us! :)
In between all of those trips, we have weddings, showers, and birthdays galore! I love it!  So hopefully,  I will be much better about taking pictures and posting.  Hopefully! :)

---KPG

China Bound!

To say that I am on cloud nine is an absolute understatement. Why? Because this girl is going to China!

That's right. I have been selected to represent my school on a 15 day journey across China. I will be visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Xian, and Shenzen. At those stops, my group will be visiting and touring independent schools, meeting with school administrators, and touring the cities.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I simply work at the most fabulous school in the world. This place rocks my socks right off my feet. Just when I think I have them figured out, they amaze me with something new! So anyway, we have started focusing on teaching with a global purpose. This trip will further that purpose and allow us to have some new teaching opportunities. I AM SO EXCITED to be a part of this and to come back and share what I learn with my fellow teachers!

There is a small group from the United States participating in this amazing journey. I am the only one from my school going. This is a big step for me since I have never even flown by myself! :)

I will keep you posted on this as the times draws nearer! :)

---KPG

And the Biggest Loser (Round 2) is......

ME!!! Again!

I absolutely cannot believe it! For the second month in a row, I have been the biggest loser! This month I lost 3.48% body fat. Extremely low compared to last month's loss, but I'm back to where I want to be.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and motivation.... it really does encourage me to keep going and to PUT DOWN THAT DOUGHNUT!!!! :)

---KPG

In 3 short days....

I will be a NEW and IMPROVED woman! Yes, that's right. No more night classes. EVER. I have a final on Wednesday night, and two finals on Thursday night, then it's smooooooth sailing from there! I do have one more class to take during the next eight week session, but it only meets one day a week for an hour and a half. So I can go to class, work out, and still beat my husband home. AMAZING!

I am looking forward to eating dinner together every night, actually cooking some new recipes, having minimal homework, being able to attend dinner parties with my friends and coworkers, work out whenever I want to, and actually breathe at night with less stress!

I am also looking forward to my upcoming trips. Last summer, I took 13 hours and was in class four nights a week, 5 hours a night. We also bought a new house, moved, and sold our old house. So therefore, we didn't have much downtime and fun time. We barely even got to celebrate our one year anniversary. But not this summer! We are going all out! First up: girls' trip to the beach for Spring Break!

Tonight, Alex and I stayed home due to our furry child having to be put asleep at the vet. Bless his heart, he is so pitiful. He got stung by a wasp on his paw a few days ago and it ended up getting infected. Charlie picked at until it was raw. They have to get him anesthesia, shave his paw, and give him lots of pain meds. He is knocked out cold! If I am this upset about my puppy, I hope my children never ever get hurt! :(

---KPG

And the Biggest Loser is....

ME!!!!!!

That's right, folks. I lost the biggest percentage of body weight for the month of January. My total percentage lost was 8.35%. I am beyond thrilled with my results. Now I just need to keep up the good work!

---KPG

Vegas Baby!

Alex and I just got back from a short (but sweet!) trip to Las Vegas. He had a carpet convention for a few days, and I just got to tag along! It was a very low-key, stress-free trip. Alex and I ate alot, shopped a little, and spent some much-needed time together! We have not been able to have a ton of quality time together lately, due to family illnesses, grad classes, and crazy days at work. I think we will both be in celebration mode on March 1st when I NEVER have a night class ever again!

Anyway, the main thing about this trip was the food. I have been on a crazy fun-sucker diet, and it was so nice to let it go for a few days. As great as turkey slices, almonds, and sugar-free jello are, they get old very very very quickly! Soooo what did I eat on this trip!? Lots and lots of surf and turf! That's right, steak and lobster for every meal at dinner! It was delicious!

Another highlight of this trip was running into Michael Jackson's dad, Joe. It was hilarious! Alex recognized him right away, so we stood around watching for a minute. Then all of a sudden, he started approaching us! We ended up speaking to him for a few moments and I got my picture taken with him. So cool!

So that's a wrap on our Vegas Vacation!

---KPG