Last weekend I had the great pleasure of having my momma in town for the Easter holiday. I started the weekend off right with a trip to Sioux Falls to stop by my favorite cupcakery. I can never leave with just a few so decided on an even dozen to ensure I had tried all the best flavors. You all know how much i LOVE cupcakes :) I've been dieting for a good 5 weeks so cupcakes were a great treat for all of my hard work and dedication!
I picked mom up at the airport on Friday a little after 5 and we were in a movie theater by 6 to see the great and wonderful Reese in Water for Elephants. If you haven't read the book, read it first, it was great! Movie was awesome as well! Its hard for me to go to Sioux Falls without a stop at my favorite target so I kept mom busy once we left the movie as we strolled through target and picked up some Easter goodies. Its nice having mom around to mosey through the isles. Its just not the same with Britton (no offense) but I prefer to take my time, walk down every isle and mom shares the sentiment.
Saturday morning was a little more stressful for mom as she was meeting the Walls for the first time! I think she spent 2 hours getting ready to ensure that she was at her best! So cute!! Lunch with the Walls was a huge success and both families enjoyed each other. My hope is that the Walls will be the winning in-laws when that day comes ;) Saturday was filled with excitement as we hopped into Britton's car and headed to Omaha for some shopping and fun. I think Britton had seriously underestimated my mother and I's ability to shop till we drop and he spent most of his time on his phone while we tried on loads of clothes! Nothing better than a day at the mall with my momma!
The second stop was to the Whole Foods to find some goodies for our Easter dinner. We didn't really plan ahead so we spent the better half of an hour roaming back and forth among the isles trying to pick some sides to go along with our predetermined dessert and main course. I think Britton thought we had lost our minds as we walked around aimlessly and ended up with only one grocery bag of food. We ended the night with some cheesecake factory as I was craving something familiar.
Sunday we spent the day being more or less... lazy. Doing our cooking and watching movies and tv. After dinner we literally spent 5 hours on the couch. We had become one with my couch for sure. Although throughout our hours of television mom and i continued to play each other in words with friends. Can't stop that even if we are face to face. Mom and Britton were impressed with my Easter basket making abilities and i made sure we had all of our favorites.... starburst jelly beans, peeps, reeses peanut butter eggs (the best) and some chocolate bunnies (dark and milk).
I was so lucky to have mom around through Monday and we spent some time apartment hunting. We decided it made the most sense to move me closer to the Walls so I could get out of Verm and we found some great places! I can't wait to see what will actually be available when I get to move July 31st! Always exciting!
I am so glad I was able to spend the holiday with my mom. It was great to have her around! Feels more like home... Love you momma!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
the....weather
I think I have been a good sport about all this cold weather out here. I have rarely complained and in fact, was quite fascinated with the snow... until now. Earlier this week and last we were still experiencing snow storms. Last Friday people were even calling it a blizzard. Wet, heavy snow that mostly melts when it hits the ground but clogs the streets with slush and covers the cars in white shit. Please excuse the fowl language but I have reached my wits end with this crappy weather! It is APRIL for goodness sakes and we're still experiencing temperatures in the 40's! Yes, that's right, today it hasn't gotten about 45 degrees. And its raining. At least it isn't snowing though, right?! Pray for my sanity because i don't know how much longer it will last. The wind, snow, rain and temperatures of South Dakota have me seriously wiggin out ;)
Monday, April 18, 2011
some real adventures
So it's been a while and i apologize. To start, let me tell you about some of my ACTUAL adventures. In the past month I have had many fun moments, some in the Midwest and some in the west. But the most interesting adventure was at the Sioux City ice skating center for a curling tournament.
Now, you all remember the curling teams in the last winter Olympics? Personally, I was a big fan of the Norwegian Olympic curling team and was absolutely in love with their attire (https://www.facebook.com/NOCTP). They even started a facebook group (as seen at left) and i am a follower! Now the sport itself is quite bizarre and reminds me of shuffle board on ice (and crack). You have to try and get a "stone" in the middle of the circle across the ice and there are sweepers that heat up the ice to make it go faster or change directions. I realize, my description of this event is really not going to help you get the picture but I am attempting!
Lucky for me, i was too busy to be a player but instead got to stand on the ice and cheer on the team for their last game. Britton's family were the key players while Janet (his mom) and I took pics and slid around on the ice. The best part of the whole event was definitely the the team uniforms. The competition seemed to have a "through the decades" theme so there were groups in mullet wigs, our team had on some stellar 80's styles and one whole team dressed up as the opposite sex! All in all it was a fun time and after watching this year, i hope to be more involved next year, maybe as a sweeper?
The same weekend was also Dance Marathon at USD. For those of you that read this and don't know about DM, its a 24 hour fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network. This year USD broke records and raised over $50,000 and brought over 200 students to the marathon. As a coadvisor of the group we were all proud to see what the students accomplished and none of us can wait to see what they do next year!
The following weekend I had the great pleasure to join my big sister from Delta Zeta in Vegas for some bachelorette party action! We spent 3 nights in the Venetian, gambling, eating good food and being lazy at the pool! Being the planner that I am (NOT!) I forgot to charge my camera before leaving so it was dead before I event left Omaha. I h ope to make up for that at the wedding next month in good 'ole Alabama!
And this past weekend I had the privilege to start the weekend off with my first ever experience of USD's Stroller's event. The event is a variety show where 5 teams compete. 4 teams consist of fraternity/sorority pairings and the last team is called the GDI's (gosh darn independents). In between the teams musical dance skits a group called the Strollers perform jokes and skits. I have heard of the obscene jokes this group has done in the past but 2011 Strollers seemed pretty tame to me. only a few jokes had me questioning their sanity. The performances were also quite entertaining, including made up lyrics to shows and interesting plot lines. I was glad to have the chance to watch the show and engage in some USD history. The strollers show started in 1923 and this year marked the 88th show.
This Friday I am lucky to have my momma coming to visit! I can't wait for her to get here to spend the Easter holiday in Vermtown. Hopefully we will have some adventures of our own that will be blog worthy!
Now, you all remember the curling teams in the last winter Olympics? Personally, I was a big fan of the Norwegian Olympic curling team and was absolutely in love with their attire (https://www.facebook.com/NOCTP). They even started a facebook group (as seen at left) and i am a follower! Now the sport itself is quite bizarre and reminds me of shuffle board on ice (and crack). You have to try and get a "stone" in the middle of the circle across the ice and there are sweepers that heat up the ice to make it go faster or change directions. I realize, my description of this event is really not going to help you get the picture but I am attempting!
Lucky for me, i was too busy to be a player but instead got to stand on the ice and cheer on the team for their last game. Britton's family were the key players while Janet (his mom) and I took pics and slid around on the ice. The best part of the whole event was definitely the the team uniforms. The competition seemed to have a "through the decades" theme so there were groups in mullet wigs, our team had on some stellar 80's styles and one whole team dressed up as the opposite sex! All in all it was a fun time and after watching this year, i hope to be more involved next year, maybe as a sweeper?
The same weekend was also Dance Marathon at USD. For those of you that read this and don't know about DM, its a 24 hour fundraiser for Children's Miracle Network. This year USD broke records and raised over $50,000 and brought over 200 students to the marathon. As a coadvisor of the group we were all proud to see what the students accomplished and none of us can wait to see what they do next year!
The following weekend I had the great pleasure to join my big sister from Delta Zeta in Vegas for some bachelorette party action! We spent 3 nights in the Venetian, gambling, eating good food and being lazy at the pool! Being the planner that I am (NOT!) I forgot to charge my camera before leaving so it was dead before I event left Omaha. I h ope to make up for that at the wedding next month in good 'ole Alabama!
And this past weekend I had the privilege to start the weekend off with my first ever experience of USD's Stroller's event. The event is a variety show where 5 teams compete. 4 teams consist of fraternity/sorority pairings and the last team is called the GDI's (gosh darn independents). In between the teams musical dance skits a group called the Strollers perform jokes and skits. I have heard of the obscene jokes this group has done in the past but 2011 Strollers seemed pretty tame to me. only a few jokes had me questioning their sanity. The performances were also quite entertaining, including made up lyrics to shows and interesting plot lines. I was glad to have the chance to watch the show and engage in some USD history. The strollers show started in 1923 and this year marked the 88th show.
This Friday I am lucky to have my momma coming to visit! I can't wait for her to get here to spend the Easter holiday in Vermtown. Hopefully we will have some adventures of our own that will be blog worthy!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
this is why i do what i do
Over the past few years I have built many relationships with students, faculty and staff alike on this adventure we call higher education. One memory stands out for me in my first year working at Rollins as a GA in Fraternity and Sorority Life. If you know anything about recruitment you know that it can be the most stressful and rewarding time of year for an advisor. My first recruitment I was asked to walk a student back to her dorm that was having a hard time with the bid she received as she knew it was not the place that she would call home for the next four years. Olivia declined her bid knowing she would not be able to go through recruitment again for a full calendar year. My supervisor asked me to walk her back and calm her nerves as she was visibly upset. I was worried about Olivia because recruitment is one of the most stressful times for a potential new member. I kept an eye on her and gave her my number so she could reach me at any time over the weekend if she was feeling too upset about her decision and the outcome of recruitment.
Over the next year I saw Olivia around campus engaging in various activities and getting involved in other student organizations. The next spring when she was eligible to go through recruitment she did and she joined our local sorority NCM. This time she had found her home and began going through the education process and getting involved in all that NCM had to offer. Towards the end of my second year as a GA the NCM chapter decided it was time to go national and merge with a national organization to gain the countless benefits that these organizations can provide to collegiate and alumni women. As their search for a national organization began Olivia was at the forefront of turning NCM into the best organization they could be.
My first year out of graduate school NCM began bringing national organizations on campus to present to Panhellenic and decide what would be the best fit for the campus. Lucky for me Delta Zeta was in the top three and they blew our women away in their excellent presentation with their attention to details and how they could fit the NCM values in with our own. Olivia had been pushing for DZ since they came on the table as an option and I worked with her to share my knowledge of the organization as I am also a member. I watched as Olivia took the lead and ultimately became the president of the new Delta Zeta chapter.
Over those four years I watched Olivia grow into an amazing and strong young woman and I am proud of who she has become. Just yesterday I was talking to Olivia about graduate school. She wants to go into higher ed and become a fraternity and sorority advisor just like I had 4 years ago. She has already been accepted at USC and is waiting to hear back from a few other schools. I had the pleasure today to send a few referrals out on Olivia's behalf in search of an assistantship for her. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to reach out to my colleagues to help her and I can't wait to see where she goes next.
I might not always love my day-to-day activities up here in good 'ole South Dakota but THIS is why I do it. I joined this professional to make a difference in the lives of college students. While I can't take all the credit on who Olivia has become, I can sleep at night knowing I helped her along this path.
Over the next year I saw Olivia around campus engaging in various activities and getting involved in other student organizations. The next spring when she was eligible to go through recruitment she did and she joined our local sorority NCM. This time she had found her home and began going through the education process and getting involved in all that NCM had to offer. Towards the end of my second year as a GA the NCM chapter decided it was time to go national and merge with a national organization to gain the countless benefits that these organizations can provide to collegiate and alumni women. As their search for a national organization began Olivia was at the forefront of turning NCM into the best organization they could be.
My first year out of graduate school NCM began bringing national organizations on campus to present to Panhellenic and decide what would be the best fit for the campus. Lucky for me Delta Zeta was in the top three and they blew our women away in their excellent presentation with their attention to details and how they could fit the NCM values in with our own. Olivia had been pushing for DZ since they came on the table as an option and I worked with her to share my knowledge of the organization as I am also a member. I watched as Olivia took the lead and ultimately became the president of the new Delta Zeta chapter.
Over those four years I watched Olivia grow into an amazing and strong young woman and I am proud of who she has become. Just yesterday I was talking to Olivia about graduate school. She wants to go into higher ed and become a fraternity and sorority advisor just like I had 4 years ago. She has already been accepted at USC and is waiting to hear back from a few other schools. I had the pleasure today to send a few referrals out on Olivia's behalf in search of an assistantship for her. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to reach out to my colleagues to help her and I can't wait to see where she goes next.
I might not always love my day-to-day activities up here in good 'ole South Dakota but THIS is why I do it. I joined this professional to make a difference in the lives of college students. While I can't take all the credit on who Olivia has become, I can sleep at night knowing I helped her along this path.
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Vacation
So let me start by apologizing for my long absence. I have not gotten used to this whole blogging thing...
Last Friday I had the wonderful pleasure of returning home for a mini vacation with my parents and new beau, Britton. It was his first time meeting my family and we got to do that in style with a trip to Key West. We arrived into MCO late that night and were early to bed to prepare for our weekend of "drunken debauchery" starting the next day. As a side note, mom has been calling it a weekend of drunken debauchery since the idea first came about in December over the holidays. I will admit as Britton has to my friends, i think i only finished 4 drinks the whole weekend...
Back to the trip, early Saturday morning Britton and I had plans to meet up with my bestie Amit and his gf at my fav Jewish deli, Bagel King. Now, bagels are something I have really grown to miss as Vermillion's only selection consists of those crap bagels in the bread aisle of Wal-Mart... So needless to say, I was pumped about some real bagels and cream cheese! I made sure to pack in the activities to ensure that Britt got to meet all of my closest buds while he was around so breakfast was planned for 7:30 am that morning.
After breakfast another bestie, Juli stopped by to say hi and then we were off to the airport again to catch that plane to the beautiful island of Key West.Our arrival in Key West was definitely an adventure, taking a van to the car rental place where we began our vacation waiting in the hot sun for an hour for a car. Apparently the place was not prepared for the customers that were arriving on the 12:30 flight from Orlando.
Once we were in our rental we headed straight for Publix to grab some provisions including my favorite lunch treat, a publix sub! With vanilla ice cream and pina colada mix we headed to the hotel only to find that our room was not ready. It was 2 pm by now and check in was 3 so we decided to wait by the pool for what felt like FOREVER! Dad checked in numerous times for a status update but we were stuck with the stray cats and spring breakers for another hour.
Once the room was finally ready we began the island vacation we had been hoping for set with beautiful sunsets, delicious meals and fun in the sun. Highlights include:
A sunset cruise on the catamaran with the Fury, tour inclucded free booze and gorgeous views!
A glorious meal on the secluded Little Palm Island, inhabitants on the island included little key deer!
The Hemingway house where we found some of the famous 6 toed cats!
A beautiful tour around the island, complete with stops at the Southernmost point, Submarine hiding spot during WW2, a dolphin playground and lots of time playing around in the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean!
And we can never forget about the reason we were there, the "drunken debauchery!" We had to hit up the local hot spots such as Hogs Breath Saloon and Sloppy Joe's (although we did avoid Fat Tuesday's since it was actually Fat Tuesday when we went out drinkin')!
There were, of course, many, many more sites we saw and restaurants we went to but if I were to show pics of all of it you'd be reading for days.
All in all, we had a wonderful time, and (thankfully) Britton impressed the parents. We've been invited back down in July for a fourth of July vacation in Anna Maria Island. I am already counting the days!
Last Friday I had the wonderful pleasure of returning home for a mini vacation with my parents and new beau, Britton. It was his first time meeting my family and we got to do that in style with a trip to Key West. We arrived into MCO late that night and were early to bed to prepare for our weekend of "drunken debauchery" starting the next day. As a side note, mom has been calling it a weekend of drunken debauchery since the idea first came about in December over the holidays. I will admit as Britton has to my friends, i think i only finished 4 drinks the whole weekend...
Back to the trip, early Saturday morning Britton and I had plans to meet up with my bestie Amit and his gf at my fav Jewish deli, Bagel King. Now, bagels are something I have really grown to miss as Vermillion's only selection consists of those crap bagels in the bread aisle of Wal-Mart... So needless to say, I was pumped about some real bagels and cream cheese! I made sure to pack in the activities to ensure that Britt got to meet all of my closest buds while he was around so breakfast was planned for 7:30 am that morning.
After breakfast another bestie, Juli stopped by to say hi and then we were off to the airport again to catch that plane to the beautiful island of Key West.Our arrival in Key West was definitely an adventure, taking a van to the car rental place where we began our vacation waiting in the hot sun for an hour for a car. Apparently the place was not prepared for the customers that were arriving on the 12:30 flight from Orlando.
Once we were in our rental we headed straight for Publix to grab some provisions including my favorite lunch treat, a publix sub! With vanilla ice cream and pina colada mix we headed to the hotel only to find that our room was not ready. It was 2 pm by now and check in was 3 so we decided to wait by the pool for what felt like FOREVER! Dad checked in numerous times for a status update but we were stuck with the stray cats and spring breakers for another hour.
Once the room was finally ready we began the island vacation we had been hoping for set with beautiful sunsets, delicious meals and fun in the sun. Highlights include:
A sunset cruise on the catamaran with the Fury, tour inclucded free booze and gorgeous views!
A glorious meal on the secluded Little Palm Island, inhabitants on the island included little key deer!
The Hemingway house where we found some of the famous 6 toed cats!
A beautiful tour around the island, complete with stops at the Southernmost point, Submarine hiding spot during WW2, a dolphin playground and lots of time playing around in the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean!
And we can never forget about the reason we were there, the "drunken debauchery!" We had to hit up the local hot spots such as Hogs Breath Saloon and Sloppy Joe's (although we did avoid Fat Tuesday's since it was actually Fat Tuesday when we went out drinkin')!
There were, of course, many, many more sites we saw and restaurants we went to but if I were to show pics of all of it you'd be reading for days.
All in all, we had a wonderful time, and (thankfully) Britton impressed the parents. We've been invited back down in July for a fourth of July vacation in Anna Maria Island. I am already counting the days!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Values and Leadership
This semester I have started a new program at USD titled Leadership U and we have had anywhere from 30-50 students show up to the workshops in the last two weeks (making this new program a HUGE success). This week we talked specifically about personal values and how they relate to leadership. It got me thinking about what I value most in life. I have done a values evaluation before and for the most part I can always remember my top 3 but the others on my list change based on life's changes. In the worksheet there are a list of 45 values and you are asked to put them into one of 5 categories, always value, often value, sometimes value, seldom value and never value. I found 6 values that have the most meaning in my life and they are:
I hope that by making this change in my life I can begin to find some peace in this move that has been a constant struggle for me. By focusing every day on a core value I hope that I will be able to live each day to the fullest and find the joy in all that I do!
If anyone would like a copy of the article on personal values please let me know and I will send it to you in an email!
Hope you have a great day! Ciao!
- Family
- Love
- Friendship
- Inner Harmony
- Helping Others
- Balance
I hope that by making this change in my life I can begin to find some peace in this move that has been a constant struggle for me. By focusing every day on a core value I hope that I will be able to live each day to the fullest and find the joy in all that I do!
If anyone would like a copy of the article on personal values please let me know and I will send it to you in an email!
Hope you have a great day! Ciao!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Heat WAVE!
Since I have been doing this whole blog thing the temperatures here in Verm have been plummeting. In fact, just last week we were experiencing wind chill in the -20 to -30 range! Completely unbearable, to say the least. The roads have been covered in ice and the snow is piled high in the parking lots all over town. However, late last week, a heat wave rolled in. As soon as it happened students all over campus were whipping out their shorts and t-shirts and yesterday I even saw a few pairs of open toe footwear! Now I realize, even I have felt warm in this beautiful weather, but still not warm enough for my favorite pair of rainbows. I called my mom last Friday and said "you know I've been in the north too long when I say 30 degree temperatures is warm!" And the amazing thing is, the temps didn't stop rising today's high is 47 and tomorrow's is 55!
With the sun beaming down on this small town the ice is melting and the snow is disappearing at a rapid pace. Where the roads have been lined for weeks with piles of snow, now all you see is dead grass and puddles. Yesterday I was even brave enough to go without a coat after lunch to bask in the glorious warmth! I never thought this Florida girl would be so excited to see temperatures in the 40s. Just last year I had to pull out my winter coat when the temperatures got that LOW!
I wish I could say that these warm temperatures would last forever but, sadly, by this weekend we should be getting more snow and cool temperatures once again. This spring time tease can't last forever so I suppose I will keep my winter wear handy. This weekend I will have the pleasure of heading up to the Twin Cities with the beau's family and I am sure the winter coat will be a must pack item. I will spend the next few says enjoying the beauty as I knew it couldn't last forever.
ta ta for now!
With the sun beaming down on this small town the ice is melting and the snow is disappearing at a rapid pace. Where the roads have been lined for weeks with piles of snow, now all you see is dead grass and puddles. Yesterday I was even brave enough to go without a coat after lunch to bask in the glorious warmth! I never thought this Florida girl would be so excited to see temperatures in the 40s. Just last year I had to pull out my winter coat when the temperatures got that LOW!
I wish I could say that these warm temperatures would last forever but, sadly, by this weekend we should be getting more snow and cool temperatures once again. This spring time tease can't last forever so I suppose I will keep my winter wear handy. This weekend I will have the pleasure of heading up to the Twin Cities with the beau's family and I am sure the winter coat will be a must pack item. I will spend the next few says enjoying the beauty as I knew it couldn't last forever.
ta ta for now!
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