Love, Honor, Truth: November 2012

Hey y'all! Since my last blog I have been in the state of Louisiana. First, I visited Louisiana Tech and then University of Louisiana Monroe!

Louisiana Tech is in a small town known as Ruston! I was very excited about visiting this chapter because it was the first time I had ever been in the state of Louisiana! The girls were super sweet, and they took great care of me! I was able to stay in one of their houses, and when I arrived they had me a goodie bag of snacks and things that I had said I liked. They also had a specific chair in their chapter known as the concierge chair that made sure my stay was enjoyable!

The highlight of my trip was probably getting to use the super nice fitness center they have. It is BRAND new. There are brand new machines, and the cardio room has glad walls, and it overlooks the beautiful campus! I really enjoyed visiting this campus because it is so similar in size to TTU that I felt like I could really relate to the girls.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention that I had my first Cane's experience. It is very similar to Zaxby's, but huge in Louisiana, and boy oh boy was it good! The girls also introduced me to Tony's seasoning, and bought me a can to take back home with me. Apparently it goes on basically everything down here and is very spicy! It sits at restaurants just like the salt and pepper does on the table! I'm taking some back to good ole TN with me!

The girls from Louisiana Tech were able to drive me over to ULM on Wednesday! I am staying in a very nice Marriott here, and the hotel is absolutely beautiful! I have been able to have most of my meetings here, and they took me on a campus tour during my stay as well.

Today I wrapped up the last of my meetings, and I found out that I will be traveling again next semester. I am SOOOOOOO excited to travel in the spring as well, especially after what a great experience this has been. Tomorrow I head home for ten days for Thanksgiving break, and I am very excited to have some r&r time with the family. We are even traveling down to Alabama to see my sister Deanna and her family the day before Thanksgiving. I have so many things in my life to be thankful for, and my family is definitely number one on that list!

That's all for now y'all! I better get off here and get to packin'! Can't wait to be back in God's country tomorrow (aka TN)!!

Of course I have to include the campus pics I took at these two schools... ULM's is kinda goofy considering I had to hold the flag out or it looked like I was just visiting the University of Louisiana! HA!

Hey y'all! So since the last time I posted, I was able to travel all around the state of Arkansas. Before I got the opportunity to travel as a chapter consultant, I had only been through Arkansas traveling. It was along the way to Dallas/Fort Worth where my sister used to live. The area we drove through looked fairly flat and honestly, it did not look very spectacular. However, after getting to travel to our chapters in Arkansas, I have a COMPLETELY different outlook. I would have to say it is now my favorite state, besides Tennessee! ;)

First, I traveled to our Epsilon Lambda Chapter at Arkansas Tech. I was able to stay in the sorority house on campus, and I had a great visit. Arkansas Tech reminds me a lot of Tennessee Tech, where I attended my undergraduate. It is similar in size, and the campus is also very similar. My sisters at Arkansas Tech were so kind to me, and they even cooked me a home cooked dinner one night while I was there. They made me Mexican, and boy was it yummy! I stayed at Tech from November 5th through November 8th!

On November 8th, I traveled from Arkansas Tech to the University of Arkansas. I was SO excited to go back and see all the women I had helped recruit during extension earlier this semester. Not to mention I was also VERY excited to see some of my very best friends, April, Shelby, and Hanna, who are resident consultants in Arkansas. I arrived on Thursday, and we went to a nice dinner at Olive Garden, and then we got all ready for the "Don't Worry, Be Hippie" mixer! We all dressed up as hippies, and it was a great time, not to mention Hanna got me a t-shirt from the event that I am obsessed with!

After the mixer, we went back home for a good night's rest, or so I thought. However, the box spring to the guest bed was broken, and I woke up at 4 am sitting straight up! For those of you who know how I sleep though, you wouldn't be surprised when I tell you I was able to just stretch right back out and go back to sleep no problem at all. :) Ha!!

Friday, I got to attend Chicken Finger Friday with all of the members of the Alpha Beta Chapter! Oh boy was it yummy! Friday night we got to meet with the chapter and also attend dinner at a nice local restaurant called Bordinos! I was more excited to see our friends who flew in for initiation and installation than the actual dinner. Christa, colony director, Jess Winkes, extension director, Donna Stallard, VP of Panhellenic, and Ashley Forscher, VP of Alumnae were all able to join us! After a great dinner, we headed off to bed for the long and exciting Saturday ahead!

Saturday was Instillation and Initiation! Our Phi Mu National President, Kris Bridges, and Executive Director, Darlene Reyes, were able to fly in for this special event! The Arkansas Tech Chapter I had just visited was also able to come and help out! It was so neat to get to see them again so soon. It was such a sweet, sweet time to see 200 new sisters be initiated as founding members of our Alpha Beta chapter of Phi Mu. Saturday night we held a big celebration for these women and their chapter known as the Instillation Banquet. It was held in a huge conference center, and everyone was dressed in their finest! The founding members were able to sign their chapter charter, and share some of their favorite times so far as members of Alpha Beta! I absolutely loved this!! The whole day was such a reminder of how special it is to be a Phi Mu. I couldn't be more proud of our organization than I was during this time!

Today, I headed out from Arkansas to Louisiana, and I am now at Louisiana Tech! I had a long travel day with storms and delays. I was originally supposed to arrive at around 5:00, and I did not make it to my room tonight until nearly 9! My flight from Fayetteville was delayed an hour, then my flight from Dallas/Fort Worth was delayed as well. During the flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Monroe, we had to re-route due to awful weather. The whole plane was shaking in turbulence, and I could see lightning right outside the window! It was SO scary!!! However, I am just thankful to have made it here safely and with no missing luggage! I already love the girls here, and they have been so sweet to me! They had me a treat bag waiting when I got here, and they took me to a nice dinner before dropping me off for the night! I can't wait to see the campus and meet more of my sisters tomorrow! That's all for now!! :)

Just a few pictures from the past week....