Kindle Fire

Last year I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and lately I have been using it like crazy. With only two months left in the semester I've been finishing up a lot of my course work and have had some extra time on my hands. I've always loved reading and love that I can have new books at my fingertips.

You can look at all of the technical stuff about the Kindle Fire and the new Fire HD on Amazon, but these are my personal reasons for why a Kindle is great for a college student. 

• It's easier to carry around campus than a laptop, or multiple books. I still take my class notes by hand so I hate lugging around my heavy laptop just to use during a class or lunch break. The Kindle easily fits in my backpack and I don't have to wait for it to load every time I turn it on.
• Books on a college student's budget. Even though I love reading, I can't afford to buy a new book every week. The library at my school is an academic library so their "pleasure reading" section is limited. With my Kindle I can borrow books, get free books, and I always take advantage of the 100 books for under $3.99 that Amazon has each month. Plus, Amazon gift cards also make a great gift for book buying. 
• Textbooks. I have bought one of my books for school on the Kindle and loved that I didn't have to carry around another book and I could still highlight and take notes like I would with a regular book. Also, I loved being able to search for key words during a class discussion or when working on an assignment. 
• Easy to use. I have a basic knowledge of how to use computers but I am definitely not an expert. The Kindle is super easy to use and I've never had any problems trying to figure out how something works. For example, the Kindle Fire is integrated with Amazon so that all of your book, video, or app purchases are directly linked to your Kindle. You don't have to worry about downloading anything.
• Unlimited cloud storage. Don't worry about  running out of memory or space on your Kindle. All of your purchases are available and stored automatically.

Why did I choose a Kindle over an Ipad? The main reasons were cost and simplicity. I already have a laptop and I like to take my class notes by hand so I don't need the extra features of an Ipad. The Kindle has internet access, the ability to watch videos and download apps, as well as books. That was really all I needed and it comes at an affordable price.

I haven't had any problems with my Kindle Fire so far and I love using it. I think it would make a great gift for any college student that likes to read. I also looked a long time for a Kindle cover that I liked and I chose this one from Vera Bradley:

It would make a great gift as well. Like I said, these are just my personal reasons for why the Kindle is so great. Definitely check out Amazon's website to look at all of the features and check out the new Kindle Fire HD!



Service and Honor:Proud Greek

This past week has made me so proud to be a member of the Greek community!

First, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Spina Bifida Half-Marathon with my sisters. We were able to cheer on all of the participants and passed out water during the race.

 

Not only was it inspiring to see all of the runners, but I was proud to see my sisters volunteer through the pouring rain until the very last participants completed the half-marathon.

 

This week I also had the honor of being initiated into Order of Omega, an organization that recognizes the leadership and achievement of fraternity men and sorority women across the U.S. To be tapped for membership you must be a junior or senior who has exemplified high standards in the areas of scholarship, leadership and involvement.

 

 

I was welcomed into Order of Omega by several of my Delta Gamma sisters. This week has been one of those times when I look back and think, I am so happy that I went Greek! It has opened up so many opportunities for me and has only pushed me to be a better version of myself.

To learn more about Order of Omega you can visit their website:http://www.orderofomega.org/  

 

 



Trivia Night Fundraiser

These past few days I have been super busy with class and campus events. Just this past weekend one of the organizations that I am in hosted a trivia night on campus. As Norse Leadership Society we sponsor leadership development events throughout the year including a retreat to Gatlinburg, TN for upperclassmen and a white water rafting trip in West Virginia for freshmen. To raise money for these retreats we invited teams of up to eight people to compete in ten rounds of trivia. The trivia categories range from cats to football and boy bands.

 

 

I was able to get a beautiful team of Delta Gamma's to come out and support trivia night :)  They were very proud that they got all of the questions in the boy band category correct.

 

 

This is the second year that we have held this event and as you can see, we had a great turn out! Each person pays an entry fee and teams have the option of buying one answer per round. We offered the teams free food and prizes for the top two teams. At the end of the night we raised over $2,500 dollars.

 

Most importantly, it was fun for those that participated and worked the event. A little friendly competition gets stirred up and all of the teams cheer like crazy when they get an answer right.

 

This would be a great event to start on your campus. We came up with the categories, used a space on campus, and got most of the food donated so there was little money coming out of our pocket. The key to success is of course advertising and making sure your members get out and recruit teams. 

Fundraising Raffle Baskets

My apartment is currently being taken over by raffle baskets! I am in an organization called Norse Leadership Society and this week we are selling raffle tickets to raise money for care packages for our military.

Everyone got donations and I put them together into baskets. We are selling tickets for $1 or 6 tickets for $5. People can buy tickets for three days and then we are having the drawing at our trivia night event. This is a great way to fund raise for your organization or philanthropy.

Here are some basket ideas that we are using:

 

Men's Basket: Bottle opener, body wash, shampoo, movie, shooter set, coozies, croakies, golf balls, and snacks

 

Women's Basket: hair products, scent set, movie, manicure set, lotion, id holder, loofah, picture frame, journal, notecards, picture album, make-up bag, etc.

 

Dorm Basket: Blanket, dish rags and towels, school supplies, bathroom set, air freshener, snacks

 

Chocolate and Coffee Lovers: Variety of chocolates including Esther Price box, Lindt truffles, and Godiva, coffee mug, Starbuck's instant coffee, coffee creamer, Starbuck's gift card

 

School Spirit Starter Kit: banner, pom-poms, car decal, lanyard, Tervis tumbler, traveling mug, folder

 

We also have a carpet cleaning gift certificate and a  "Night Out" basket with zoo tickets and gift certificates to the movies and various restaurants.

To make the baskets look really nice I got cellophane and ribbon from the dollar store to dress them up.

Hope you enjoy these ideas!

 

 

 

 





Slow Cooker Hashbrown Casserole

Hashbrown casserole is one of my favorite comfort foods and I couldn't wait to try it in the slow cooker. It took me fifteen minutes to mix everything and put it in the slow cooker and all of the ingredients cost about eight dollars. This is super easy for college students to make for breakfast or dinner.

 

 

1 bag frozen hashbrowns

1 8oz container sour cream

1 can cream of chicken

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter melted

desired amount of sausage

 

 Make sure to spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick spray or you will be scrubbing the sides!

Mix everything together and put it in the slow cooker. Cut the amount of sausage you want to use into small pieces and mix it in as well.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

 





Sorority Big Little Reveal

My last post was about all of the cool gifts I made for my Little sister in Delta Gamma. Now on to the fun details about how they revealed who the Big sisters were.

The Littles recieved small gifts and clues about who their Big was for three days. On the night of the third day we had reveal. At reveal all of the Bigs hid pin boxes that we made with our Little's name on them. Once the Little found the pin box they had to put on the sock that was with it. All of the Bigs were behind a long line of blankets with our foot sticking out. The Little had to stand in front of the hidden person that had on a sock that matched their sock.

 

Me and my Big hiding from our new Littles!

Here is my Little and new Twiddle waiting to see who their Bigs are.

 

We counted to three and everyone dropped their sheets at the same time. Here is the big moment!

 

 

 

Then the Littles got the rest of their gifts and got to put on their family stich shirt.

My Family Tree

 

 

 My Little, Twiddle, and Me

 

 

I loved doing our reveal this way and am so happy to have added a Little, Twiddle, and Two cousins to my DG family!

 

 

 



Sorority Little Gifts

Last night was our Big/Little Reveal and I got my perfect Little :) I will share more about our actual reveal later, but first I wanted to share the gifts I made throughout the week. I know people are always looking for gift ideas for their sisters.

We do three days where the Littles get a small gift and a clue. On reveal night we give them the rest of their gifts.

Here are some of the crafts and gifts that I gave my Little.

 

 

If some of you Delta Gamma's are confused about the giraffe stuff, that is unique to our DG chapter. Before our chapter officially became Delta Gamma they formed and chose the giraffe as their symbol.

 

Here are all of our gifts together on Day 1 and 3.

 





Favorite Five Friday: Sorority Big Sister

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Finding out who my sorority big sister was last year has been one of my favorite college memories. I can't believe that day was a whole year ago and that I find out who my little is going to be tonight! The relationship between a big and little is like no other

Draft

 

 

Finding out who my sorority big sister was last year has been one of my favorite college memories. I can't believe that day was a whole year ago and that I find out who my little is going to be tonight! The relationship between a big and little is like no other and I am so excited about taking on this new responsibility.

My Big, Mollie, has been awesome and here are some of my favorite things about her. These are qualities that I am going to strive for as I become a big sister this year.

 

1. A good big encourages you to be your best self. Within your chapter, on your campus, and within life in general, my Big always encourages me to get involved on campus and be successful in my classes and all that I do.

2. A good big is always there for you. I don't know how many times a week I am texting and calling my Big with all of my questions or because I have yet again lost something. If I have a bad day she is always there to make me smile.

3. A good big can have fun doing anything. My big and I can have the best time looking at the humor board on Pinterest or at our sorority's formal. She shouldn't pressure you to do things you don't want to do.

4. A good big teaches you about your sorority. My big was there guiding me through my initiation process and is still teaching me things about our chapter and organization. She helped me learn the greek alphabet and quizzed me before I went through initiation.

5. A good big always shows you love. It doesn't have to be through presents, but it can simply be through a text or hug. Sometimes it might even be tough love.

I understand that not everyone has the most amazing relationships with their Big, but you shouldn't let it ruin your greek life experience. You have a whole chapter of women to support you. Work on building those other relationships and find an older member in your chapter that you can look up to.

 

To my future little: I can't wait to reveal who I am and spoil you! :)

DIY Dorm Paintings

I've been wanting to post pictures of my apartment but I am going to have to clean it first. In the meantime, here is a really easy project to decorate your dorm/apartment. I couldn't find that many posters that I loved and matched my color scheme so I painted my own.

 

These designs were really easy and are a mix between free hand and stencil.

After the paint dried, I also added a little glitter. The paintings have traveled with me since freshmen year and are currently in my apartment kitchen area.

 

Here are some looks at how I've used them over the years:

Freshmen year over the bed

 

 

Sophomore year above the TV.

 

 

Senior year in the kitchen nook.

 

Just a simple and cheap way to add a little personality to your dorm room :)

 

 

 



Sorority Recruitment Weekend

Sorority recruitment is over! It was a very long weekend but it was definitely worth it. We got an amazing pledge class and I can't wait to get to know all our new Hannah's.

This weekend made me realize just how proud I am of our chapter. Delta Gamma has made a huge difference in my college career and I had the privilege of making our awards and achievements port for the first night of recruitment.

The banner across the front of the table says "Sail with the Best"

 

The second night was all about our philanthropy, Service for Sight.

 

The last night was of course Pref Night and I don't think there was a dry eye in the room during each party. The strength of our sisterhood was so evident.

 

Bid Day was the most exciting! I loved welcoming our new members home!

 

Congratulations to all of the girls who accepted bids this weekend! I hope your greek life experience is as amazing as mine has been.

 

 

 

 



SMASH Your College Memories

 



One of my hobbies is scrapbooking, but when I came to college I realized that I didn't have as much time and sometimes I didn't end up with pictures to scrapbook. My sophomore year of college SMASH books by K&Company came into the scrapbooking world and my mom gave me one. Now you can even find them at Walmart and Target!

I found that this was a fun and easy way to document my college memories, even if you have never scrapbooked before. I've been using this one since my sophomore

year and I already have another book ready to go when I fill this one up.

 

The books come in all different styles and colors with a pen that has a glue stick on the other side. You also get to choose from their large line of cute accessories. Here are some of the accessories that I have acquired over the past year:

 

These are just a few of the pages that I have Smashed!

 

 

 

You can put anything in the book! In the top picture I included part of a tshirt I wore during a paint wars activity. In the bottom picture I included a nametag, receipts, quote from a magazine, and a card that my mom sent me.

 

 

For December I completed a page dedicated to my favorite holiday foods and used a Starbucks pastry bag. I also did my version of a "December Daily" page and documented all the fun stuff I did throughout the month.

 

 

This is a page I did after I went to two concerts. I just printed out the pictures I took in wallet size and included the tickets from the events.

 

College goes very fast so find a way to preserve all those memories!