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.

Can we talk for a sec about how Ryan Cabrera and Tyler Hilton came to Fontbonne Springfest this year? Don’t worry, I have proof.

I mean, I was never a super huge fan of either (The Hills? What?), but still… pretty cool. And Ryan Cabrera played my favorite song/only song I know of his, so that was really enough for me.

Other highlights of Springfest include raffles and prizes at the campus BBQ, a very solid fashion show put on by the fashion students, and LIVE BAND KARAOKE, which I dominated at. Good thing I didn’t have anything to do last Friday, because NONE OF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. Another awesome Springfest in the books!

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.

Here at Fontbonne, we have a “Fontbonne Day” devoted to service. It’s a day where classes are cancelled and students have the opportunity to volunteer for numerous community service activities. I did not get involved with “Fontbonne Day” last year, but I was quick to register for a activity this year and volunteer last Friday.

The day began early for me (8 am) with coffee and a quest speaker. After about an hour each group broke off and went to their volunteer site. There was everything from gardening, cleaning, preparing for events, and washing dogs. I volunteered for something near and dear to my heart: animals. My group went to Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs, MO. It is a no kill shelter that is the home or temporary home of more than 300 cats and 100 dogs.

While at Open Door, I loved and comforted the new-born kittens, as well as groomed some of the older cats in their “Cat Heaven”. All the cats were really inviting, frequently brushing up against my leg or meowing for attention. The dogs were housed in kennels, and we had the opportunity to give them their exercise and take them for a walk. Although it was more of a glamorous volunteer opportunity, I still felt good giving attention and love to the animals that need it most.

After visiting Open Door, I think I’m going to go back a few times this summer to volunteer and donate. They are in need of food and other supplies for the animals. I might even make a cat blanket or two! I will definitely be participating in Fontbonne day again next year. A day devoted to service is truly a good day!

Thanks for reading..

Good afternoon!

I figured I should post a blog since I’ve been slacking off..I apologize for that!

I hope everyone had a good weekend. If you ask me, I think it was in-between. First, everyone know Friday, April 12, was Fontbonne Service Day, right? Of course you do. And my accomplishment for that day was being the team captain for my group! That was a huge step for me.

My group went to the Shalom House for our service site. Shalom House is a shelter for homeless women who needs help to rebuild their lives. It’s a really great place because the women receive services and support for as long as they need until they’re able to live on their own, and they don’t have to pay anything until then. Classes are also provided for them, such as communications and skills. Rebecca Tucker was our volunteer coordinator and we communicated really well.

Our duties were to prepare and cook for our women. Our menu included spaghetti, garlic bread, corn, fruit salad, lemonade, brownies and hummingbird muffins for dessert. Yummm. The women really enjoyed it! Our group did an amazing job together. Our next assignment was helping Janette with sorting out things in their sanctuary area. There were so many new/old things in there! From what I remember, there were clothes, shoes, bags/purses, etc. Even boxes of Oreo cookies! Anthony Hall and Erica Garcia were definitely busy taking those away. They did great!

It was definitely a great service day. Rebecca really, really, really appreciated us, and I was so happy to hear that. I may come back next year!

Friday was also one of my cousins’ birthday. She’s 16 now! Man, the years really flew by. It was a pretty fun night with family, karaoke, Vietnamese pancakes (banh xeo) and a random game! I guess we could call it Name that Name in ABC order. Something like that.

Saturday was just work day. The usual. Then Sunday, I also went to work but afterwards, my sister and I went to Fontbonne to pick up friends to go for some Ted Drewes! Our fellow friends were Sem, Carlos, Erica, and Ahmed. If I was able to pick them up earlier, Izzy could’ve made it too. There’s always next time!

So yeah, that’s all I wanted to say about my recent weekend. Be safe, and take care!

To begin with, I’d like to offer my readers an explanation as to why my blog last week was so short. As you may have read, I had my third test within the timespan of a week coming up, and I was trying to learn all about photosynthesis and the citric acid cycle and glycolysis regulation. I took a break to write my blog, but while typing, I accidentally hit a wrong button, therefore deleting all of my words except for those in my first paragraph. If you return to my previous blog and look at the comments, I’ve commented on my own blog and filled in some details.

Okay, now on to this week. Once again, I’ve miscounted the weeks until the end of school.  I thought we had four weeks of classes left. Oh, no – we have 2.5 weeks of classes left, and then a week of exams. (I don’t know how I always miscount.  I’m really not that terribly bad at counting…) Anyways, I feel like I still have a lot to do for school and otherwise. This past Friday, a few of my friends from the Biological Sciences Organization (BSO) and I went to the Science Center to celebrate DNA with Science Center visitors. Next week, on April 25, it will have been 60 years since Watson and Crick published their groundbreaking paper in the scientific journal “Nature” that described the structure of DNA. That determination has literally changed and affected all areas of biological sciences, ranging from cell biology to molecular biology to biochemistry to biotechnology to genetics. At the Science Center, we had a big DNA birthday card for visitors to sign, and we had spin-the-wheel trivia. We also had a fun craft activity that allowed visitors to make-and-take their own DNA strand, which they made using two different colors of pipe cleaners. (And boy, was I exhausted afterward. That night, when I was explaining to my mom what we had done, I said that we used “pipettes” to make DNA strands. True story.)

Next week, the BSO will be celebrating that monumental day in style with a party for biology majors on campus. Be sure to look for us, as we’ll be wearing our “DNA Is Life. Everything Else? Just Details.” shirts around campus. And the week after, BSO will have a very big Wednesday. We will be having our annual seniors’ graduation party in the morning and then going on an Owl Prowl in Forest Park that night. (Our new librarian, Mark Glenshaw, works in conjunction with Forest Park Forever and the World Bird Sanctuary, and he offered to take a few of us to Forest Park to show us owls’ nesting and habitat. We’re all really excited about it.)

So, for once, my social calendar is actually full. What about my school calendar, you may ask? Well, yes, my planner is chock full of due dates and the like. However, for the first time ever, I don’t feel like I’m completely panicking about finishing all of my work. Just give me a couple more days, though, and I’ll assure you that the panic will have begun…

~ With Carly and Kaniz at the BSO table at the Science Center! ~

April in general tends to be an eventful month, so here are some snapshots from recent events:

Dueling Pianos, an Event Sponsored by FAB (Fontbonne Activities Board) for Spirit Week

People in the Fontbonne Community gathered for Fontbonne Day (a day that we have off of school so that Students, Faculty, and Staff can go out into the community and do service projects). Fontbonne Day is one of my favorite things about Fontbonne.

This is my Fontbonne Day service group at the Shalom House!

For more information about the Shalom House: http://www.shalomhousestl.org/

A picture from the Mr. Fontbonne Contest. The contestants are getting ready to perform an opening dance number.

Even though he didn't win Mr. Fontbonne, I was proud of my boyfriend Shea for winning the title Mr. Congeniality!

NSSLHA (National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association) had a Field Day on Campus!

One of the many photos taken at the Spring Dance.

Peace, Love, and April!!!!