The College Version of a Bucket List

I was browsing around on my school's website earlier, looking for a faculty member's email address. And I came across THIS. This, my friends, is called "100 Things to Do Before You Graduate". I did not make this list. My college's program council did. I thought it was pretty cool, though. Since I still have 2 years before graduation, I thought it would be fun to go through and see what I've done so far and what I still need to try. So I crossed off everything I did in the college version of a bucket list. What's on your bucket list, by the way?

100. Attend International Street Fair
99. Go ice-skating at Bird Arena
98. Meet with your advisor and declare a major
97. Slip on ice during winter quarter
96. Join a student organization
95. Play a game on an intramural sports team
94. Bowl at Rollerbowl Lanes
93. Dress up and attend OU Halloween
92. Participate in Homecoming Weekend
91. Walk into the wrong classroom on accident
90. Go to a UPC meeting on Tuesdays, at 7:30 p.m.
89. Cook and eat at a vegan workshop
88. Watch a UPCinema Movie
87. Become a member of O-Zone
86. Grab dinner at slice night at Courtside Pizza & Sports Bar
85. Find a seat at Shively Dining Hall … Good luck!
84. Go to an open mic night at Donkey Coffee & Espresso
83. Go to at least one event for each sports team
82. Experience Walmart late at night
81. Bring sibs for Sibs Weekend
80. Try Miller’s Chicken
79. Hang out on Radar Hill
78. Play golf at the OU golf course
77. Watch an independent film at the Athena Cinema
76. Get involved with the Campus Involvement Center
75. Create a resume
74. Find out about Greek Life and decide if it's for you
73. Play with puppies at Petland!
72. Sing your heart out at a late-night karaoke
71. Stand up and cheer with The Marching 110
70. Chow down on mango salsa from Big Mamma's Burritos
69. Network at a career fair
68. Ride a CATS bus
67. Order D.P. Dough
66. Be a participant in a psychology experiment
65. Attend a Performing Arts Series event
64. Wake up to early morning construction on ANY green
63. Get creative at Beads & Things
62. Do your laundry in one of the residence hall’s laundry facilities
61. Befriend your landlord and sign your lease early
60. Witness the pickle eating contest at Bagel Street Deli
59. Play in a sand volleyball game on South Beach
58. Climb the rock wall at Ping
57. Walk/run/rollerblade/bike on the bike path
56. Apply for an internship or a job!
55. Take a tumble down Morton Hill and count every step up Jeff Hill
54. Rock out at a school concert... For free!
53. Walk in the annual Mom’s Walk for a Cure
52. Experience a dining hall brunch and themed dinner
51. Pull an all-nighter at Alden Library
50. Get serenaded by Singing Men of Ohio and Woman’s Chorale at a concert
49. Be a pool shark at the bottom of Baker Center
48. Complete the crossword puzzle in Friday’s Post without cheating!
47. Find a mentor on the Bobcat Mentor Network
46. Eat Naan at Star of India
45. Read the wall under the art building
44. Check out Galbreath Chapel
43. Go to Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant
42. Smoke hookah at Athens Pyramids Café
41. Say hi to students and parents on a campus tour
40. Go to an art show in Baker Center and visit the art galleries
39. Go on a trip with Outdoor Pursuits
38. Eat lunch on the monument and on the Athens City Courthouse steps
37. Buy some fruits and vegetables at the farmers market
36. Do crafts at The Dairy Barn
35. Hear yourself echo in the middle of the 4th floor of Baker Center
34. Get a huge slice of Good Fellas Pizza
33. Go to Taco Tuesdays at Taco John’s
32. Swim laps in the Aquatic Center
31. Take pictures of the cherry blossoms during spring
30. Soak up the sun at Stroud’s Run
29. Read the literature on the Ellis lavatory walls
28. Kiss someone in the kissing circle
27. Sled down Jeff Hill
26. Experience the history of The Ridges and The Kennedy Art Museum
25. Spray paint the graffiti wall
24. Eat at all the uptown establishments
23. Choose to dance at Dance or Die
22. Visit the Athens Mall
21. Participate in a community service project
20. Explore Old Mans Cave in the Hocking Hills State Park
19. Play a game of putt-putt at The Ridges
18. Take a late-night trip to a buggy
17. Break a sweat in an exercise class at Ping
16. Revisit your younger years and check out 90’s Night on the Green
15. Rent a movie from the library
14. Go to the Fun Barn in Nelsonville
13. Utilize 594-RIDE
12. See a show at The Union Bar and Grill
11. Enjoy all of the Senior Week events
10. Relax during finals with a massage at Ping
9. Be amazed at the Senior Dance Concert
8. Leave with an Athens brick
7. Introduce yourself to President McDavis when you see him on campus
6. Walk through the College Green Campus Gate
5. Groove with the piano player on Court Street
4. Trip on the bricks
3. Make the Dean’s List
2. Visit your Alumni Association
1. DON'T STEP ON THE OHIO UNIVERSITY SEAL

Piece of Cake!

Between work and school, I'm usually really busy, but when I have some extra time, I like to decorate cakes. Today I'm going to share with you two cakes that I have made and how I did them.

The first cake is based on The Twilight Saga, one of my favorite book series. To make it, first I baked my favorite cake from a mix in a 9x13 cake pan. Then, I mixed vanilla icing with black icing color. This is different than regular food coloring. It comes in a tiny jar and is thicker. I get mine from Wilton. It took a good bit of coloring to get the shade I wanted. It kept coming out purple until I added enough. When I liked the color, I iced the entire cake (after it cooled completely, of course). Then, I piped on the details with icing bags. I tried to make my cake designs look like the images that are on the covers of the books. For the apple, I piped an apple shape and filled in the center with more red icing. Then I added red sprinkles to make it shiny. For the flower, I piped the main part with white icing. I found that the quicker I moved my hand, the more "real" the flower looked. It made it look more flowy, I think. Then, for the red tips, I hand placed red sprinkles where I wanted them. For the ribbon, I piped a squiggly line and filled it in until it was as thick as I wanted it. Don't forget the fringe on the ends! Finally, for the chess pieces, I piped the shapes (I practiced these ones on paper first) and filled them in with more red and white icing. Then, I wrote the word Twilight and added some stars. This was a very fun and simple cake to make and I couldn't believe it actually turned out!

The second cake I made was for a Christmas party that we had at work. This one was tougher to do because of the unique shape. First, I took a sheet of paper and drew with a pencil the areas that I wanted to be cut off of the cake. This helped me to get the proportions right. Then, I cut the actual cake. Let me tell you that when in doubt, cut less. You can always cut more off later if it is too large, but trying to add back more cake that has already been removed is so much harder. I cut out the shape of the sleigh first. The pieces that I cut off were put aside to be used later. Then I iced the sleigh. To get the red color, I used the same type of Wilton icing color that I mentioned using in the Twilight cake. Then, for the runner, I took the large piece that had originally been in the cake's top right corner and started cutitng. Getting the right shape was hard because I kept cutting too much and sometimes pieces just fell off or crumbled. Once I liked the shape, I attached it to the sleigh with more icing. Then, I iced the runner. That was incredibly hard because it made the runner crumble even more. I just kept adding more and more icing until it was basically like glue holding the crumbles together. It ended up looking ok after all. Then, I used squeze tube (not bags this time) icing with decorator tips. I used a thin line for the words, and a leaf shape for the holly leaves. Then, I thought my cake was done, but after looking at the amount of leftover cake I still had, I realized that the sleigh alone may not feed everyone. So I iced more cake to look like a gift and stuck it on. This cake is not the most attractive thing in the world, but I felt good about it considering it was the first "shaped" cake I did. Everyone at my work seemed to love it.

Have you made any cook cakes lately? Feel free to tell me about them in the comments section! Thanks for reading!



That's not a Teddy

So, there have been some bear sightings in my hometown.

I'm not talking about "the other side of town" either.

No way.

This bear (which I'm told is over 6 feet tall when it stands on its back legs) has been making appearances about 1/4 mile up the road from me.

Now, we do live close to the woods, but until now the only woodland critters that I've seen get close to houses have been deer, raccoons and the occasional coyote.

But now there's this bear.

I'm afraid to let my cat outside by herself now because I don't want her to get eaten or attacked. I heard from a friend of a friend that it ate someone's dog. I'm hoping positive that that is just a rumor.

It likes to walk around on porches though. That is not a rumor. My grandma's friend found bear tracks on her porch and the people from the forrest center confirmed that they were indeed bear tracks (duh! what else could they have been????)

I don't know what the forrest center/wildlife control is going to do about it right now. But if I see it, I will definately take a picture to share with you.

One thing is for sure... this is not a fluffy or cutsey teddy.

Wordless Wednesday

What's in YOUR bag? (Plus some other random thoughts).

What are the things that you NEVER leave the house without? The things that are always in your bag? Here's mine.

-money.
-cell.
-ID.
-camera.
-pencils or pens.

That's what I take now. Partly because I'm not one for being a "high maitenence" girl. But mostly just because after packing around my books for class, there's not much room left for anything else. Speaking of books, it's almost that time again. Yeah, THAT time. Next Monday is the first day of Spring Quarter for college, which means a new set of classes. Which means new books. Mind you most books are $100-$200 each. My piggy bank despises book buying day.

Back to the purse question. My purse contents haven't always been that simple, you know. In high school, I was featured in the yearbook for having one of the messiest purses in the school. That may be because I stocked it full of food and shared it with everyone. Or maybe they just liked the fact that my purse was organic cotton. Who knows.

What's in your bag?

It's Bracket Time!

So March Madness is here again. I will never forget last March when OU upset Georgetown, messing up brackets, exciting students and turning campus into one big party. Good times.

This year? I have OSU picked to win the tourney overall. I filled out my bracket tonight and for the most part I picked the "favorites" (dad said that's called a chalk). But I did throw some upsets in there. Like Michigan losing to Tenessee. I just couldn't bring myself to even write Michigan down for a win. Y-U-C-K!

Who do you think will come out on top? Are you in any pools? Rooting for any specific team?

Dreaming

I love Disney. I love everything about it. I love the timeless movies that I grew up with. I love the adorable shows they have on television. I love the theme parks. And I love the way they make dreams come true.

I have been to this beautiful place three times. The first, I was only 3. I don't remember much. I remember the sandy beach at the beautiful Yacht Club Resort. I remember the ice machine at said resort. I remember hugging Mickey Mouse for the first time. I remember the playground. And I remember the Castle.

The second time I went, I was a junior in high school. We drove down (18 hours on a bus!) for spring break. It was a trip for band. We actually got to march in one of the parades. We marched the day after Easter, which is one of the busiest weeks for the parks. The place was packed. That is the biggest crowd we have ever performed for. We got so much applause when we danced. People like seeing dancing bands. And we danced. A lot. I loved seeing people's faces when they saw us! The next day, we had a workshop with one of the music directors who helps put the music to the movies. That was really fun too. Then we had the rest of the week to just hang out at the parks. We scoped out the characters first, of course. Pocahontas has always been one of my favorites!

That was one of my favorite weeks of all time. I mean, we were in Orlando with the best friends anyone could ask for. We got out of school for it. What more could you want? ;)

I went back to Disney last summer, with my parents. Yes, I had just turned nineteen. Too old?! Ha, you're funny! Going back to Disney as an adult was one of the greatest experiences ever. I appriciated it all so much more than I ever had before. I appriciated One Man's Dream, a beautiful and inspiring mini-museum about the life of the man who started it all. I appriciated the many, many hours of work that go into building those classic rides. And I appriciated the dream behind it all.

The dream that you're never old to dream. The dream that doesn't die out when you board the plane back home. The dream that doesn't care where you're from or how old you are or how much money you have.

The dream that maybe, for just a little while, magic exists.

The dream that even if only for a week, your worries can be put aside.

To focus on nothing but family, fun and magic.

The dream that you're never too old to dream.

The dream that gives you a little slice of heaven, here on Earth.

Walt's only dream was to make dreams come true. That dream is realized every second of every day in every area of the world.

And I think that's pretty cool.

This fireworks show brought me to tears. No lie. Want to know why? Because it made me feel like I was part of that dream.

Call me childish, odd or just downright crazy, but I'm kind of Disney obsessed. I can't wait to take my kids there one day and see the World through their eyes.

To see them be part of that dream too.

Three Little Letters

First, I want to apologize for the lack of updates. It's the last week of winter quarter classes at school so I have been pretty busy with final projects, papers and exams. I have some extra time tonight though (yay!) so I wanted to update. Did you notice the support buttons on the left sidebar? I just added them. The first two are prayer buttons for two amazing children, and the second is a link to Free Kibble which is a charity that donates food to homeless animals. If you go to their website and answer their question, whether you get it right or wrong, dog and cat food will lbe donated to animal shelters across the country. Oh and it was started by a 14 year old girl. Pretty cool!

On to the post...

Three letters. I never knew that three letters (and Greek letters at that) would change my life in so many ways.

Let me back up a little bit.

When I started college last year, I swore that I would never get involved in anything that had to do with college Greek life. I had heard so many horror stories about frat parties gone wrong, clique-y girls and hazing filled iniations. I swore that it wasn't for me.

And my whole first year of college was really, really lonely.

So, this fall, when I got a letter inviting me to join Kappa Delta Pi, I almost didn't join, but after reading about it, I reconsidered.

Kappa Delta Pi is an honor society for education majors. We are not a sorority and we do not have a house on campus. Every stereotype that I had about all things Greek have been proven wrong. We don't throw trashy parties, either.

Wanna know what we DO do?

I'm so glad you asked.

We do a lot of community service in local schools (family fun night, anyone?) and we have frequent guest speakers who talk to us about job searcing, interviewing, professional interning and other professional development topics. I have gained so much knowledge about the field that I had no clue about before Kappa Delta Pi.

We get together after class too, for fun things like pizza nights and bowling. Last year I had NO social life. Seriously. When class was over, I came home. And I stayed home until the next day. It wasn't fun. This year, I actually feel like I have a circle of friends within my major. That makes me happy. I'm not lonely anymore.

Kappa Delta Pi makes me feel like I actually belong. I feel like I am part of somethign bigger than myself. I like that.

I swore when I started college that if an organization had Greek letters in its name, I would stay away. Little did I know that three little letters would change my life in so many ways.

KDP.