Playing catch up

The number one thing I have learned in the last four months since I've blogged? I am terrible with keeping up with a blog. Perhaps I will be better in the New Year?

How have I been in the last four months? What have I been up to? Let's see...

• In the last four months, I have visited 12 states: Alabama, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Georgia, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey.
• I lived out of a suitcase, took over 20 planes, and interacted with thousands of collegians as a CDC for Delta Gamma
• Despite eating out for nearly every meal and working out sporadically, I magically lost 15 pounds
• I saw two different college football games at Penn State and Michigan, and watched the SEC championship in the mountains of Georgia
• I learned a lot about myself. Things like: I should have tried eggplant a lot sooner, Mexican food is my weakness, sometimes I need alone time, I am always more capable than I think I am, and even though I thought I would hate it, I really love yoga

It's a little over a week until the New Year, and I've already come up with a few resolutions. I admit, I am typically pretty subpar at keeping up with my resolutions. Perhaps writing about them will help me hold myself accountable? Especially since I have some pretty BIG plans for this year, and I plan on using this blog as a way to monitor my progress :)

1. Run my first marathon - my goal is to run the Marine Corps Marathon with my dad on October 30th, 2012.
2. Run at least two half marathons, including the US Half Marathon in San Francisco on April 8th, 2012.
3. Get hired! I plan on moving back to Athens, GA at the end of my term as a CDC, and I need to find a job that I enjoy doing.
4. Visit so many places that I've never been as I complete my year as a CDC -- I'll be going to Montana, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, and New Mexico! Not to mention my plans to travel to San Francisco for a weekend by myself to explore the city!
5. Be better with keeping up with friends while on the road - whether it is calling, skyping, emailing, or snail mail, I want to work on maintaining the relationships in my life.

I think that's all for now. Thanks for keeping up with me, and Happy Christmas Eve!

Sweet Home Alabama

picture: pinterest

Long time no blog! Sorry about that. We’ve been so busy here in Tuscaloosa, trying to recruit a brand new colony of enthusiastic, dynamic, beautiful, and talented new Delta Gammas. How exciting is that?

Things that I love about Tuscaloosa: Chick-Fil-A; This beautiful campus; Meeting women from all over the country; Talking about Delta Gamma; Warm southern weather; Big t-shirts; Coming across all sorts of things that remind me of Athens, GA.

Can we talk about the campus for a second? Seriously. The University of Alabama is so beautiful with the historic brick buildings, scenic quads, and massive Greek houses. Hello, Alpha Tau Omega looks like a library!

Now that we’re about a week and a half into the colonization process, I am finding myself falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and waking up WITHOUT an alarm, by myself, at 7:50. If you know me, you know that I’m the girl who purposely scheduled her classes after 10 am so that I could sleep in on a regular basis, and the one who couldn’t fall asleep at night until nearly 2 am. It’s crazy how a real job can change that!

Despite the turning into an adult, I’m loving being able to share Delta Gamma with women at Alabama, and seeing them develop a passion for the organization that I care so much about. And I know that feeling will only be amplified when we have preference on Saturday and bid day on Sunday.

Roll Tide!

Headin' Down South to the Land of the TIDE

After almost four weeks at the Martin Center in Columbus, it's time. We're headed out on the road! Well, kind of. Tomorrow, seven of us will fly down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to help recolonize the Beta Psi chapter of Delta Gamma at the University of Alabama. We'll be meeting CDCs Erica and Kerry who flew down today, and CDCs Nikki and Stephanie will be heading out on their first recruitment visits!

I'll be in Tuscaloosa for about 2.5 weeks before I head to State College to work with the Alpha Chi chapter at Penn State. And let me tell you, I am so excited to be headed back down south for an SEC recruitment!! I have been following recruitment at UGA with so much jealousy -- 1500 PNMs... wow! And Alabama? Alabama has 1700. SEVENTEEN HUNDRED.

Quick shout out to all of the Delta Gammas at UGA. I love you girls, and I know you are kicking butt during recruitment this year. I can't wait to see all of the wonderful, talented, smart, and beautiful new members that join DG on bid day.

Anyways, the past four weeks have been full of learning, growing, and fun, and I am eager to put my new skills to the test. And being a part of the biggest sorority colonization in history? That's definitely the way to test those skills.

Next time I blog, I'll be back south of the Mason-Dixon line.

ROLL TIDE.

song credit: an edited version of Wagon Wheel

You can waste your life drawing lines or you can live your life crossing them

One thing you should know about me: I am absolutely terrified of heights.

One thing you should know about Monday: I climbed up a telephone pole, stood on top, and jumped.

Monday was our day at the ropes course. We started the morning with team building activities, then spent the afternoon on the high ropes, and then ended the day with what is called the “pamper pole.”

Essentially, you get strapped into a harness, then are attached to a rope anchored by two people, and then climb up to the top of the pole. Once at the top, the challenge is to stand up and then jump off towards a hanging soccer ball.

So why would a person who is terrified of heights put themselves through this? Simply put, this year is about testing my limits.

Borrowing a line from Grey’s Anatomy, “(Boundaries) fence you in.” This year is not about fencing myself in. It’s about pushing myself outside of my comfort zone so that I can grow as an individual and experience things that I never would have tried in the past.

Monday, I started with the pamper pole. And you know what? Free-falling and knowing that I had faced my fears was pretty darn exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going and signing up to go skydiving. But baby steps? Baby steps are pretty awesome.

Title: Grey’s Anatomy

Ready to run.

Okay, so the title is slightly deceptive. I’m not ready to run yet, but I will be!

On October 23rd, the Athens Half Marathon will become the third half marathon I’ve run this year. I ran Disney in early January and then the Marine Corps Historic Half with my dad in May, just two days after I graduated college.

The Disney Half was my first ever, and it was most definitely a turning point in my life.

Running that race gave me this incredible feeling of being able to achieve pretty much anything I set my mind to. Finishing left me feeling unstoppable: if I’m able to run 13.1 miles non-stop, I can do anything. I had that same feeling following the Historic Half in May.

Now, I’m turning to running and to this training to help me keep myself on track and balanced for this year on the road. My training plan begins in mid-August, and I know that having that piece of running that I’ve gotta do four days a week will ensure that I keep my health a priority and give me something to shoot for.

Looking for a new goal? Sign up to run it with me!

It’s amazing how far one can come in a year – last year, at this time, I was on my way back from Fairbanks, Alaska. Now, I’m in Columbus, I’m graduated, and I’m training for both my first real job and my third half marathon of the year.

Crazy.

title: Ready to Run/Dixie Chicks

Leave a legacy, not a history

It's official -- the 2011-2012 CDCs have hit Columbus! We got in yesterday, and have spent the last 24 hours unpacking, trying fried pickles, laughing, and learning. The Martin Center is just as beautiful as I remember it being when we interviewed back in February, and it is still surreal that I'll be living here with 10 other girls for the next 3.5 weeks.

Today we talked about financial budgeting (definitely going to be trying to save a lot this year) and about our expectations for the upcoming year. It's finally starting to sink in that I'm going to be visiting all of these different chapters and meeting an incredible group of women each place I travel all over the country.

Speaking of traveling all over the country, have you checked out the latest addition to the sidebar of my blog? After OTS, I posted my tentative schedule. Tentative being the key word, as I'll probably have a chapter visit added and there's definitely a chance that my visits will change.

So where am I going? All over!

Alabama, Penn State, Michigan

Break in Athens

UC San Diego, Arizona, Texas Tech

Break in Athens

South Florida, Tampa, and the U (Miami)

How exciting is that? I can't wait to see places I've never seen and meet people who will most certainly teach me a whole lot. And this is only a half year!

If you haven't already, check the sidebar and read blogs from some of the other CDCs from this year. All of them are wonderful, and I know it will be so fun to read about where they are going!

On packing - part two.

How do you get all of this:

(pictured are: a fleece, a sweatshirt, a rain jacket, a blazer, workout pants, 2 pairs of leggings, 5 pairs of nike shorts, running tights, 4 short sleeve workout tops, 2 long sleeve workout tops, 5 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shorts, 4 skirts, 7 dresses, a romper, 13 short sleeve tops, 5 long sleeve tops, toiletries, blowdrier, and 6 pairs of shoes)  

into one suitcase and one carry on?

The answer: Hefty zip top bags!

As it turns out, the zip-top bags help to organize and create a vaccuum effect -- meaning you can fit more into less space!

Here's the finished product:

And look, still fifteen pounds to spare!



I'm considering that expert packer title earned.