welcome to the ivy league

On Sunday, Alpha Phi welcomed 51 new members to the ivy league! We are so lucky to have this beautiful Spring 12 pledge class. ZIM ZAM!

Hopefully my blogging will pick back up now that recruitment season is over.

wild winter wonderland

So sorry for my absence from the CAT's meow lately. With recruitment in full swing, classes starting on Tuesday, a retreat to Wilderness Adventure (aka Wild Winter Wonderland) for Orientation, and meetings galore...I have found little time to breathe, let alone sit down and blog!

However, there have been some notable (blog-worthy) things going on in my life over the past few weeks, so I will start by telling you about Wilderness Adventure.

On Sunday afternoon the Orientation Assistants, Transfer Orientation Guide Leaders, and Hokie Camp Student Directors and Exec piled into vans and road-tripped to New Castle, VA for a leadership retreat. We stayed in a beautiful cabin and did lots of team-building, goal-setting, planning, and bonding. 

Every time I do anything with New Student Programs it's like I am in an ideal world. I love the student leaders and staff I get to work with, and am so lucky to have the best "job" in the world as an OA this year!

Tonight was our first training session for OL12. I am so excited for all of the new Orientation Leaders! I can already tell we are going to have an awesome team and I can't wait to help the 24 of them prepare for the summer with my awesome OAs. The energy and passion in our training room tonight was amazing! The Class of 2016 doesn't know what's coming.

blacksburg bound

Although I am still not packed and my "before I go back to school to-do list" continues to grow, I am heading back to Blacksburg in the morning. Ready or not, here I come!! I will most likely be absent from the CAT's meow for a week or two due to sorority recruitment. Don't miss me too much!

oh, how they come and go

Over the course of my three-week long winter break not only did I get to see my friends from high school and friends from VT whom I typically see on a trip back to NOVA. But it had been TWO YEARS since I had seen some particular friends. These particular friends served missions for the past two years: Ryan was in Australia, Josh was in Utah, and Roy was in South Africa.

two years ago

two years later

While Deebz was here we went to Ryan's welcome back party at his house to see all the boys for the first time in quite some time. I guess it's easy to talk to people you have barely spoken (or written) to for a few years because that night we ended up at Roy's house playing poker and chatting until about 4am! And the best part was...it was like they never left!

On Deebz' last night in NOVA we went on what Roy called a "farewell tour". First we went to Tesla's, then Erin's, then back to my house, then Taco Bell, and finally Roy's to hang out with him and Tanner. Together, we successfully stayed out until 6am...definitely felt that one in the morning! Oh well, these are the times we will always remember.

And then it came time for all the boys to head back to BYU. Luckily, Erin and I got to see Roy and Tanner one last time before they left, and Ryan is still around so I got smoothies with him the today! It all happens so fast. They leave for 2 years (which fly by), come home and we play catch-up, and before we know it we all go back to school. Luckily it will be easier to keep in touch now, and that's 3 less pen-pals for me!

SIDE NOTE: I received an amazing surprise on my doorstep on New Years Eve. My Mom texted me while I was at work saying I got a package in the mail...from JAMES!! I was seriously in shock and couldn't wait to get home. I had yet to receive a package from Elder Wheatley since he's been in Portugal.

I got an authentic Portugal scarf, a half-mug to put on my desk, a Chinese calendar in Portuguese (so I can "cross off the days" until he returns in December), and tons of precious pictures with a letter to top it off. I don't think I could have asked for a better ending to 2011. Thank you James, only one more year until we can play catch-up like I did with the 3 boys this winter break!

shear madness

One of my favorite parts of coming home to Northern Virginia for breaks is taking advantage of all that the area has to offer. Now that my friends and I are "older" we have greater appreciation for our hometown. I love discovering fun and exciting things to do! It is so hard to believe that all we did in high school was complain that "there is nothing to do here".

The other night, Katie, Kelsey, and I went to the Kennedy Center to see "Shear Madness". It was a comedy whodunit where the audience gets to catch the killer. None of us had ever seen a show like this, so we drove out to DC for the evening. It was a blast!

After the show we came back to my house to enjoy homemade ice cream cone cannolis (found the recipe off pinterest). Delicious. What a fabulous evening with fabulous friends!

with sugar on top

Although I have lots to say regarding the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl, I am going to try to keep my commentary short and sweet. Here we go...

Knowing I am an extremely competitive person and an avid Hokie football fan, you might imagine that last night's Sugar Bowl was "disappointing" for me. However, that is not at all how I look at it. The way I see it is the best team can't ALWAYS win. 

The Hokies dominated the game last night in the Superdome. There were a few mistakes and poorly called plays on our part, but overall we stopped Denard Robinson and the entire Michigan team offensively and defensively. I would like to congratulate the entire Virginia Tech Football team for an outstanding performance, proving we deserved to play in this bowl game despite all the negative hype. 

At the end of the day, I am ALWAYS proud to be a Hokie. The true 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl Champions will always be Virginia Tech in my heart. 

hello 2012

Well here we are. 2012! With each new year comes plenty of opportunities, friendships, successes, heartaches, and of course, resolutions. I, for one, do not usually set my New Years Resolutions right at the start of the new year. These goals and aspirations usually develop with time, which is why I think I tend to be better at sticking to my "resolutions". However, since I cannot yet justify what my resolutions are for this year, I do know that with whatever this new year brings I will live by this motto...

Happy New Year everyone!