It’s official – as of 11:45 this morning, I’ve been on summer break for one week. And what have I been doing? Working. But not in a bad way. I’ve been having a lot of fun working on projects that I’ve put aside during the school year. I guess it would be better to give a visual…

I’ve been doing a lot of work in my garden! In this photo, you can see some of my new plants, as well as my all-time favorite plant off to the left, my miniature papyrus! (And yes, it’s a relative of the plant that ancient Egyptians used to make paper!)

And in this picture, you can see my view from my seat at Busch Stadium. “And how exactly does an outing to a Cardinals game relate to work?” you may ask. Well, I was working on my baseball score keeping skills, of course! (And yes, I really do keep score for each and every game I attend. It keeps me focused.)

And this final picture was taken in the microbiology lab where I’m interning. I absolutely love this lab and everyone in it. I’m learning a lot of invaluable skills there, and it’s a nice atmosphere. Plus, we have a lot of fun and laughs. Last week, for instance, a few of us went out to see the new “Iron Man” movie.

So, as you can see, I’ve been “working” a lot since school let out for the summer!!

Well, that’s it. My sophomore year of college at Fontbonne University is over. Grades have been submitted and there is nothing more I can do. I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with how this year went.

Packing up was an ordeal to say the least. The weekend before I moved out of the dorms, I loaded everything of my closet I possibly could into my VW Beetle. When I came back to Fontbonne I brought a larger vehicle, thinking I could handle the rest of my stuff on my own. My family was all busy that day with work or something like it, so I wanted to handle everything on my own. Independence! Last Tuesday morning I began packing everything into the car loading the biggest items first. Right away Carly and I knew we had a problem. My mini fridge and winter shoes were put into her car, and because of time we had to load the rest of my things into the hallway so I could “check out” on time. It was then that I realized there was absolutely NO WAY that the rest of my things were going to make it back in my car. I called my sister, who was with my Grandfather (Papa), and told them to come on over to STL when they were finished with whatever they were doing. Thankfully, the rest did fit in his truck and everything made it back safely. My anxiety was eased while waiting on the truck when Carly so thoughtfully went to Trader Joe’s and grabbed lunch for the both of us. I would not have made it out of there that day were it not for her! Procrastination caught the best of me, because after unloading everything back home into the early evening I still had to write a paper for one of my classes due by midnight. Let’s just say I emailed that paper around 11:40 that night, but hey, I got it done right?

Coming back home to small town Southern Illinois is a big change from St. Louis, but nice all the same. With the corn fields, barns, and neighborly “charm”, it’s a great place to be in the summer months. As of right now I’ll be nannying and reconnecting with family and friends. I was able to just this past weekend when I went to my little brother’s last baseball game of his school’s season, where I received quite the sunburn. Ouch! Later that evening I went back to my high school to see one of my dearest friends graduate. She makes me feel so old!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

Once upon a time, a few mistakes (or summers) ago I dated a man who I can’t find nice adjectives to describe.

His texts have become frequent again, and it’s entertaining. But, the other night, he made a statement that really struck a cord:

“I’ll talk to you when you’re done being on a female supremacy kick.”

It was a Saturday night, after bar closing-time, and I knew he’d be awake. I had just experienced a typical night where a man seemed oh-so-charming, but turned out to be a well-polished, taller version of a filthy, snorting pig. Aggravated that I had worn heels and a silk top (which made driving even more difficult than usual) to listen to someone spit lines, I was eager for some attention. So, like a typical girl, I texted the man I knew I’d get a reply from.

I wanted affirmation that I “deserve the world”, am “too sweet to be treated like that”, and am “too smart to settle.” He’d reminded me of these things a thousand times since the summer we dated, so I assumed he could do it again.

This was NOT the case this time around.

I texted him: “Men are pigs.”

He replied: “What happened?”

I responded: “Nothing. Just annoyed. I’m too smart to let anyone treat me like I’m less than wonderful.”

He asked: “Who?”

I answered: “Doesn’t matter. Just aggravated with myself. I have a lot going for me, so I shouldn’t let anyone make me question that.”

This is when he threw his sexist sentence my way: “I’ll talk to you when you’re done being on a female supremacy kick.”

Excuse me?

First off, I’m not a female supremacist. My dream has been to be a loving wife and mother for as long as I can remember. I like the idea of the man being the bread winner, and I’m comfortable serving dinner and folding laundry.

Secondly, saying I’m too smart to let a drunk pervert knock my confidence is not being feminist.

Thirdly, what did I do to bring about such a rude response?

Then it hit me: for the first time in my late-night conversations with him, I wasn’t playing the victim card. I wasn’t asking him to tell me anything. I just wanted him to agree with me. And that was the problem. I was recognizing my worth and recognizing how I was supposed to be treated and he didn’t know how to respond because he likes his women weak and vulnerable. He doesn’t know his role when someone isn’t dependent on him.

I barely recognize that girl now.

The summer that sparks flew between me and Tweedle-Dumb was my second summer of dating a guy who was no good for me. The summer before him I was wrapped up in a washed-up quarterback who was way too old for me, and the summer after I spent hours in my car going to see someone who I had to keep a secret.

Each one of these summer flings were the after-effects of a traumatic event. Tweedle-Dumb was comforting after I moved out of my mom’s and into my dad’s, and Secret-Boy was there for me when I hated living alone.

I’m thankful for these men because they were charming, comforting, and had me captivated. But, I was drawn to them because I was needy and naive.

Now, I’m happy and healthy…. And a new summer is approaching.

Well, my sophomore year of college is almost over. I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. This time next week I’ll only have one more final to go, but there is still plenty to do before then, including “Fun Week”.

Fun Week is the finals week of Fontbonne where my roommate and I incorporate something fun to do each day. We’re pretty busy with finals and projects and other school work, but we’re still going to fit some fun things in! We’re planning on checking out a lot of retail places we’ve never been before. Soft Surroundings, CLR MSTR, ReFresh, and The Limited are on the list. We even have coupons for a couple places. A little retail therapy between tests will be nice! We’re also planning on going to a burger place downtown called Bailey’s Range for dinner. It was highly recommended by a friend. There’s a fashion exhibition in the Loop we’re going to look at one day. For an afternoon snack we’re taking a trip to Trader Joe’s. I’ve never been. There’s lots of fun happening during fun week!

On a side note, last Friday’s Springfest concert was a great time. Fontbonne isn’t as boring as you might think on the weekend!

Thanks for reading..

Time flies. It’s the time for Spring Clearance Season, which means you can clear out your old stuff and get the new stuff from big sales. This is one of the reasons I’m excited to welcome spring season.

Last weekend, my friend and I went to a big sale in Ladue. This big sale was inside a private school. Most of the stuff is donated from students’ parents, and money will be raised for the school. This annual spring clearance event started at 7:30am, but believe it or not, you have to be there around 6 am if you want to get good stuff.  My friend and I arrived there around 6:30am, but there were over 200 people in the line already. Can you imagine it? Although we need to sacrifice our sleep time, it’s worthwhile to get there early because there are many high items and most of the items are under 3 dollars. For example, I got a pair of Ann Taylor pants for 2 dollars, and it looks so pretty. Moreover, I also found a brand new Fontbonne pack of playing cards for 50 cents.

On the same day, we drove to West County because there was a book sale in the parking lot of West County Center, which is the largest book sale in the Midwest area. The book sale was so huge that my friend and I couldn’t find each other. Actually, we planned to have a quick shop for this big sale, because we already had a big sale in the morning; however, there were too many good books in this big sale, so we spent 3 hours there. All the books there are so useful, and most of them are just one buck. I got 9 cookbooks for $10. Isn’t that a good deal? I also got some inspirational books and health-related books. It only cost me $14 for 20 books. I love reading, and I believe all the books I got will be useful for me. I am so happy that there is a spring clearance season in the United States, which is very beneficial for students, at least for me.

I also did some clearing out in my house, of course, and I’m going to donate items to needy people.

Have you joined the spring clear or clear out your house? If you haven’t, you still have time. Good luck for your spring clearance season. Hoping you will have fun for this spring clearance season.

Wow! It’s hard to believe that I am already writing the final blog for this semester. While these past 16 weeks of school have been amazing, I am really looking forward to this summer. I guess you could say pretty much everyone is, but I personally have never been this excited. I’m pretty sure this is going to be the best summer of my life thus far. Allow me to explain. First of all, I will be studying abroad in London for five weeks. I have never been out of the country before or traveled alone. This will be an entirely new experience for me that will help me grow tremendously. I have been making a long list of the things I want to do while I am in Europe.

Secondly, as soon as I get back from London, I am driving to Kansas City to go to the One Direction concert! I bought these tickets 13 months in advance, so this event has obviously been a long time coming. I love these guys beyond belief and couldn’t be happier that I get to see them live. Besides these two major events, I will also be attending a team bonding/leadership development retreat in Lake of the Ozarks with my fellow Fontbonne Activities Board officers. Any other time that I have will be spent working at Gordmans, babysitting, visiting with friends, and seeing Muny shows. My family gets season tickets to the Muny every summer. I will be missing most of them this year due to my numerous other plans. I am okay with this though considering I will be in one of the major fashion capitals of the world. I am convinced that summer 2013 will be one to go down in my personal record book. I will be sure to return next semester with many fabulous stories.

I love it when the sun is shining, faces are smiling, and good vibes are all around.

Here are some events/activities that happened recently that fulfilled those requirements:

I explored Creve Coeur Park with these lovely people (Iris, Carlos, Ben, and Bryar who isn't pictured).

Fontbonne Current Students and Alumni got together to volunteer at City Seeds Urban Farm with Gateway Greening.

I got to visit Grant's Farm for the first time with a group of Students and Residence Hall Association.

We even got to feed baby goats at Grant's Farm!

Enjoying a spur of the moment picnic at Oak Knoll Park!

Having some picture-taking fun in Medaille Meadow on campus.

Peace, Love, & Beautiful Weather.

Today is Springfest at Fontbonne. I spent most of today helping the fashion merchandising promotions class with their fashion show. I did odd jobs and helped dress models. Although I was backstage for most of the show, I think it was pretty amazing! I know I have a lot to live up to when I’m in the class next year!

After the fashion show I went and mingled with some of the incoming freshman for next year, and watched the Live Band Karaoke. After a brief dinner break, I’m about to go back for the concert tonight. Ryan Cabrera and Tyler Hilton are performing. I have never heard any of their music, but it will still be an experience!

It’s hard to believe that there’s only a couple more weeks left until summer. I have so much to do until then. It’s a little overwhelming. It will sure be nice when summer arrives and I don’t have to worry about homework or studying! I’m hoping for warm summer weather soon. I just have to make it until May 13th!

Thanks for reading..

I’m very excited for this Friday, because it is the annual Springfest at Fontbonne. This is a day full of performances and activities, which changes a little year to year. This is one of the biggest, most talked about events of the year, which I have been looking forward to for a long time. It is always a great way to celebrate the end of the school year and end it with a bang. This year, Springfest starts out with a performance by indie folk artist Owen Pye. He was on campus earlier this semester during the coffee house night, where he played guitar and sang his own songs. I am glad to have him back.

After that, there is going to be a fashion show, which is produced by the Fashion Promotions class in my beloved Fashion Merchandising department. I am thrilled to say that I am a model in the show. During my first two years at Fontbonne, I have helped dress models and worked behind the scenes for a couple shows, which was a lot of fun. But, I thought I’d try something different and participate as a model. I was a little nervous at first, but I am proud to say that the rehearsals have been going well.

Next, there will be a live-band karaoke in the late afternoon. I am a huge fan of karaoke, so you can count on me to be there the whole time hogging the microphone. How awesome will it be to perform with a live band?! Following this, dinner will be served while the next performers set up for their show. These musicians include Tyler Hilton from the show One Tree Hill and Ryan Cabrera from the show The Hills. These guys were big when I was in middle school, so it will be fun to take a little trip down memory lane. After the show, I am hoping to get pictures with them and have my CD’s signed. Being a huge fan of pop culture, all the events at Springfest this year are right up my alley. The performances will take place outside Medaille Hall in the meadow, so let’s pray for good weather! Regardless, Springfest 2013 is sure to be a hit. I know I’m ready for it!

I don’t have pictures from Fontbonne’s Environmental Fair yet, but to tide you over until I do – here’s some from the Forest Park Earth Day Festival I went to on Sunday!!

STL BikeWorks! Where we bought some of the Environmental Club bikes.

Free sample of eco-friendly, toxin-free, nail polish!

You know you want some alpaca socks.

Love me some upcycled art!

Petting a puppy in the Peace Garden!

Electric car display!

Sorting trash/recycling/compost!

Veggies!

Overview of the Fair tents, on the Muny grounds of Forest Park!

I had a great time at the festival this year, and it’s definitely something to check out if you can! But no worries if you missed it, because Forest Park is always beautiful and you can celebrate Earth Day EVERY DAY.