New Discoveries

Day 87: Monday April 26

Improvement: Discovering New Music. I'm youtubing (yes this is a verb, its 2010) new artists and loving every minute of it. Check out Pete Murray. He is great. I first found the song "Opportunity" from Pandora. This song great. The video is incredible and inspirational. Check him out. He's form Australia. Who doesn't love an Aussie man?? This song is about "your exit" and with finals 13 days away, the exit is near! I see hope. I see 'Opportunity.'

Also, thanks to Brad Rector, I am looking to another foreigner for some good tunage. You must listen to Coeur de Pirate, yes she is French. Meaning her website is in french. She has some amazing songs. This song, Ouvre du bonheur, has some English in it, for those of you easing yourself to the french music scene. Check out Brad's favorite, Comme Des Enfants (I think it's mine, too). Please do NOT stop at these songs. She has some amazing work! Happy listening (especially you Sam Spurlock).

Less Than Twenty Days Left

Day 86: Sunday April 25

Improvement: Theta Love. It's 11am, I'm laying in bed telling myself to get up for the day because we have Theta Business all day and Greek Awards tonight. Well, as they always say... "If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, be a little girl that flies a kite." Very true. Theta Love.

Day 85: Sat April 24

Improvement: Bowling skills. This is a lie. I'm a horrible bowler, but I did get a strike! I'm so thankful to a have a fun group of friends who randomly go bowling at 11pm and play Pictionary on table clothes and dance around the alley with me.

Day 84: Friday April 23

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Improvement: Dress Up. With so many fun places to shop in Lawrence, it was awesome looking for outfits for my Viva Las Vegas party (which, yes was later that evening). Alex was a true sport and let me pick whatever I wanted for him to try on at Wild Man, a vintage store on Mass.

Alex ended up with a cut-off t-shirt with Dolphins on it, short shorts, a denim fanny-pack, mullet wig with a red, white and blue sweatband- making him the not only the best boyfriend ever and the best date ever, but the best looking guy at Viva (my opinion being biased, of course, but most likely the best opinion).

I went to Viva dressed as Kesha, while Alex was the guy from one of Kesha's music videos. (Watch this and check out the guy in the car - yup, that's my boyfriend). Not only did we look good, but we had a good time. I am so glad we went all out with our costumes. I couldn't have asked for a party date party.

Day 83: Thurs April 22

Improvement: My Love for Lawrence. Tonight I went on one of the best dates. We ate at the delectable Paisanos and then Alex surprised me with an adventure out to Wells Lookout. I didn't know this even existed. You could see all of Lawrence from this 20-something feet tall tower. It was wonderful. Although I often wish my life would have taken me to some exotic destination for university, tonight I was thankful to be right where I am right now.

Day 82: Wed April 21

Improvement: My art gallery. Tonight I printed off one my favorite New Zealand photos, a view of Lake Wanaka that makes me wish I could dive into the photo Mary Poppins- style and be right back to where I once was. In my photoshop class, I printed off a 17-by-13-inch print of it. I can't wait to get it framed.

Day 81: Tuesday April 20

Improvement: Final Cut skills. Thanks to Mike Lavieri, I learned something new about the wonderful world of Final Cut.

Day 80: Monday April 19

Improvement: Enjoy the Outdoors. Spring time is here and I love it. Today I sat outside and did homework.

Day 79: Sunday April 18

Improvement: My wardrobe. Materialism is something that has come and gone in my life. After backpacking Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, I found myself with little to no clothes (Europe will do that to ya). Instead of rushing to the Gap and J.Crew when I returned home, I felt as though I didn't need "things" as much anymore. This is true. However, in the world we live in today and the fact that I'm not only a college girl but yes a sorority girl, I was in major need of some clothes. Thankfully, my mother loves me and took me shopping. We did a great job. I now have clothes and can attempt to look like I care again.

Day 78: Saturday April 17

Improvement: Relationship with my Mom. Every year Mid-April the shops of Lawrence are filled with beautiful young people accompanied by their lovely mothers. Later in the day, the bars are then filled with these same beautiful young people and what some may call "cougars" but what whom we call "Mom." It's that time of year again, MOM'S DAY!!! This year was especially great. My Mom has always been a big part of my life, but lately she has become something more than a mother, a dear friend. I am thankful to have her around, especially so close. Yes, I like that I go to college less than an hour away from my Mom. Love you, Mom.

Day 77: Friday April 16

Improvement: Hosting a friend. The lovely Madeline Rivard flew in from Milwaukee. Her visit was incredible. It proved that friendship can stand the test of time and fly thousands of miles to prove it. Maddie and I met nearly three years ago in Summer of 2007 at Castaway Young Life Camp in Minnesota. I showed her around KU and as I did I remembered why I love it here so much. Thank you Maddie, I hope you loved it as much as I do.

Day 76: Thursday April 15

Improvement: Accomplishing Something. Success. I won my Senate Seat today after an all-nighter, a sun burn and a serious case of dehydration. It was worth every ounce of sleep deprivation and minor break down. I realize I haven't ever really ran for anything this out of my control. Usually if I compete for something it is up to my ability, not depending on others to vote for me. This was a hard week and such a rewarding end to it. Plus, the best part of the end of the evening... Maddie Rivard arrived!!!

Day 75: Wednesday April 14

Improvement: My Tan. I was on campus from 7am to at least 7pm. I got a killer tan and locked in a good number of votes for myself and KUnited. From this one day, I have a dramatic Rainbow tan (a flip flop tan on my feet) - my first of the semester. Hello Summer... Only 25 days.

Day 74: Tuesday April 13

Improvement: Fullest Day Ever. I can't believe I survived. Tuesdays always have five classes but today I had class, homework assignments and elections starting tomorrow. I spent my evening at Phi Psi for our KUnited Work Night preparing for campaigning the next two days. I pulled an all-nighter - my first of the semester.

Taking a Step Back on Day 73

Day 73: Mon. March 12

Improvement: Put Things Into Perspective. When living life, it is easy to forget what it important( and what is not). Lately, I have been so caught up with how I look that I have forgotten that loving how I look is more important. My looks, amongst other things 20-year-old girls worry about, have sometimes seemed like a bigger issue (no pun intended) than they really are. Today I remembered to take a step back and remember the important things in life - true happiness, family and friends.

Less than 30 days left!

Day 72: Sunday March 11

Improvement: Enjoying the moment. Today was a beautiful day spent making breakfast, ("Toast Toast Toast Toast Toast, Ever'Body!!! Toast...") then going out to lunch with Theta Sisters, Elizabeth Werner, Sam Spurlock and Julia Valentine. Sam and I stopped by Alex's softball game to cheer him on- kind of. Then I had a lovely Theta dinner at Debbie's house. This evening was spent running between Theta and Sigma Chi between KUnited Meetings and a candle lighting ceremony.

For those of you that don't know, KUnited is a collision running for student senate. Elections are THIS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY and I am running for Freshman/Sophomore College of Liberal Arts and Science Representative (long title that simply means - I rock). And for those of you that don't know about a candle lighting ceremony, it is a celebration of engagement. Meaning someone in my house is now engaged. A candle is lit and passed around the circle a couple of times and the person that is now engaged blows it out. It is a precious way to find out a sister is not engaged. Congratulations!

Ah, love is in the air...

Day 71: Saturday March 10

Improvement: Laundry Skills. I did laundry at Theta for the first time. There's a first time for everything... even laundry. Big Day.

Day 70: Friday March 9

Improvement: Showing up. I had told my T.A. that I was coming in to see him Friday at one. I was there promptly on time and he was not. Moral of the story: don't say you will be somewhere and not be there.

Day 69: Thurs. March 8

Improvement: Classes Cancelled. This may not be a personal improvement, but having two of my three classes cancelled definitely improved my day. I spent more time watching little Livia and less time sitting in class. I even volunteered some time at the KUnited table on the hill. It was a beautiful day.

Day 68: Wednesday March 7

Improvement: Study Study Study . I studied so incredibly hard for my Comparative politics midterm today. Studying paid off because I got an A!!!! I couldn't be more proud of myself.

Day 67: Tuesday March 6

Improvement: Sticking to my word. I signed up to table for KUnited and even though I wanted to spend my one free hour during the day doing other things, I tabled because that's what I said I would do. As a busy college student, it is easy to sign up for things and then not show up, but it is important to me a woman of my word. I did just that today.

Where did time go?

Day 66: Monday April 5

Improvement: No tears. Today has been super rough academically. I have papers I'm avoiding and tests to study for. Instead of putting things off and being upset about it, I will be positive and finish everything I need to do. Plus, I enrolled for next fall and as of now, don't have class on Thursdays or Fridays! Things are looking up already.

Day 65: Sunday April 4

Improvement: My Love for Jesus. Easter Sunday was full of family fun. Church service was really great. We even had an adult Easter egg hunt (me being the youngest cousin in attendance) ! I realized how lucky I am to have such a fun family. I enjoyed the weekend a lot!

Day 64: Saturday April 3

Improvement: Plate making. My cousin's bridal shower was today and we made plates at Ceramics Cafe. Usually when it comes to arts and crafts I stress out and worry it won't look good. From all this worrying, it does just that - doesn't look good. Today I went in with a different attitude - try hard but worry much less. My plate was a work of art if I can say so myself. I can't wait to see the final project.

Day 63: Friday April 2

Improvement: My relationship with my Grandma. My Grandma Ruth came up to Lawrence today. It was a blast! We shopped and went out to eat. I had such a nice time with her. I'm so glad she made the trip out to Lawrence. Nothing quite like family.

Day 62: Thursday April 1

Improvement: Kept my Chin Up. I thought I would never get through this week. It was full of late nights of studying and early mornings full of classes and to-do's. But I made it. Plus, I did something fun every night this week and Easter is this weekend!

Day 61: Wednesday March 31

Improvement: Learning that donating can be fun. KU Dance Marathon had a Benefit Concert at the Granada. Although I was tired from my late nights before, I decided to listen to my say-yes mentality and attend the concert. The money went to kids with cancer and I had a great time.

Day 60: Tuesday March 30

Improvement: H2O. Today I made a point to drink lots and lots of water. Be Hydrated.

Day 59: Monday March 29

Improvement: Vocabulary. In a society full of texting and facebook messages, our vocabulary has gone out the window. Today I made a point to widen my vocabulary and to not use slang. It is as important to sound smart as it is to be smart.

Day 58: Sunday March 28

Improvement: Acting like a 'real' college student. Late night studying. Coffee shops at 3am. Procrastinating. Fun dates. These are all things I find a part of the 'real' college experience and I love it. After two cups of coffee and some flirting with a cute boy at a local coffee shop, I knocked out an awesome paper Sunday night/Monday morning. Sometimes there's nothing like the college life.