Newman

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays season! I know I am :)

Newman's Christmas dinner was last night. A parishioner puts together a whole meal for the students who participate in events at the NW Newman Catholic Center. At the Newman Center, we are fortunate to have seminary students from Conception Abbey assist us with Bible study. Meet the future priests of America...

Did you know that 25% of the student body at NW are Catholic? Did you know that only a handful participate in events at Newman?

It is unfortunate how many people are Catholic, but do not practice Catholicism. I am by far not the strongest Catholic, but I am striving to improve my relationship with Christ. In conclusion, keep in mind that CHRISTmas is about CHRIST's birth. Without Christ we would be nothing.

Kara and I. She is such a sweet girl with a strong faith in Christ.

(Make sure to check out my necklace. A good family friend's mother-in-law made it out of a special yarn. It is really neat!)

It's Friday I'm in Love! :) (Click on the link)

Inspiration

"life gives to all the choice. you can satisfy yourself with mediocrity if you wish. you can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless; or you can channel your life so that it will be clean,vibrant, progressive, useful, colorful, rich. you can soil your record, defile your soul, trample underfoot virtue, honor, and goodness, and thus forfeit an exaltation in the kingdom of God. or you can be righteous, commanding the respect and admiration of your associates in all walks of life, and enjoying the love of the Lord. your destiny is in your hands and your all-important decisions are your own to make."

Shawn Johnson

Remember the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China? Remember watching “Iowa’s Golden Girl” compete in gymnastics? Remember how she brought home one gold and three silver medals?

Her name is Shawn Johnson and she was one of the lectures that I brought in this year for SAC Speaks.

She arrived in Maryville around 5:00 PM and then had dinner with myself and a few other members of SAC. We then went to NW and she had a quick press conference followed by her lecture.

She talked about her experiences in gymnastics, with the highlight being the Olympics. She also talked about her experiences on “Dancing with the Stars.”

If you want to meet a sweet and humble girl, it is Shawn. She greeted everyone with a smile and introduced herself as if she was just a normal person. Her parents traveled with her and they are your normal family from the Midwest. I was highly impressed by Shawn and so was the crowd. Over 700 people were in attendance ranging from three year olds in gymnastics who idolize Shawn to college students to elderly couples.

It was a HUGE success and I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful SAC team! Thank you all!

Surprise!

Last night was a surprise 21st birthday for my friend, Jenny. She was completely shocked and not exactly ecstatic to see 20 of her friends sitting in the dark waiting for her. I made the cake and Natalie made cupcakes for everyone to enjoy.

I have a load of homework to do today and my friend Danielle is coming to visit! I haven't seen her in 7 months. She has been studying abroad in Costa Rica. Can't wait! Should I be excited first and then cry? Or cry and then be excited?? :)

Happy Sunday! Happy Advent!

For those of you who don't know what Advent is...

"The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power."

Amen.

Semi-Formal

My friend Rob is in a fraternity here on campus. He invited Abby and I to be his 'dates' to his semi-formal on Thursday. The rule is that you dress 5/8 up. So, most of the guys wear suits with tennis shoes and the girls wear dresses with high tops.

Abby and I learned that we were going to semi-formal about three hours before it began...so we didn't do anything to exciting for our apparel. I wore rain boots. I decided to grab the umbrella and rain jacket to add to the picture (didn't bring those along though)

Isn't he cute? Too bad he is gay...

BEARCATS play today UCM today! My friend, Ashley, who transferred from NW to UCM is here for the weekend. We went out last night to the OB. Ashley is honestly the sweetest girl in the world. Freshman year we would see each other in mass sitting alone and then decided we should start going together! I miss Sunday mornings with this girl, her funny bubbly personality, and her outlook on life. She is amazing. We are both 21 now. Here we are showing off our 'Legal Age Wristbands' ... whats funny is we didn't even drink last night. :)

Ran into the guys I went to the Dominican Republic with.

Well, I have about four loads of laundry to do. Better get to work. Happy Saturday!

LETS GO BEARCATS!

Mug Night

There is this thing in Maryville called ‘Mug Night’ at The Palms on Wednesdays.

College students bring in their own personal mug to have it filled up with beer. The earlier you get to mug night, the cheaper the beer is. It goes up a quarter every hour. So…if you get there early, you can get a whole mug of Natty Light for around $1.25. It is a bargain…if you drink beer.

Unfortunately, I am not a beer drinker. I know, I know, it is an ‘acquired’ taste…however I don’t think I will every acquire it. Abby and I got mixed drinks instead. They were delicious and LARGE.

Come to Maryville on a Wednesday night and I will take you out for a beer, my treat. :)

For the old people

Yesterday, in my Principles of Public Relations class we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about “PR & Old People” It was a fascinating presentation that discussed how we need to create/invent things/be in the business for ‘old people.’ The first baby boomer will turn 65 on January 1st, 2011 and they need a wide variety of services.

The presenter talked about memory recollection.

Get this. Ask someone to tell you about the ‘good ole days’ …more than likely they will tell you about a memory from when they were between the ages of 10-25. Why? This is a time frame that the mind can recall easily. More specifically, you can recall events that happened to you when you were between the ages of 16-18.

So, what does this tell us? If you open up a new assisted living center and want to create a print ad, it needs to be relatable to the time frame of your target market. If your target market is people who were born in the 50’s, your ad needs a picture that incorporates something from that time frame such as drive-in movie theatres, poodle skirts, cars, etc. This brings back ‘happy’ memories rather than negative connotations about moving into an ‘old people home.’


(How cute is this ad?)
The whole presentation was really intriguing and got me thinking…I only have 4 years left until I am 25! That means I need to be doing A LOT in these next four years. I am looking for something REALLY crazy and unpredictable to do! I don’t know what yet, but if you have any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

I love women's style in the 50's!