Yo Soy Yo.

#3: I love helping and serving others!!

Life is Calling.

When I first found out about Peace Corp I knew it was something I was definitely interested in!! Now entering the time in my life when I would be actually applying to go, it seems unreal.

Tonight I went to an informational meeting with other people who really want to volunteer. Someone had even drove down from Wyoming just for this meeting. But there I was 20 mins late after the split minute decision to even go at all, and I'm so glad I did.

The story we heard tonight was about a woman who went to Vanuatu, a little collection of islands off of Australia. She had so much to tell us and her story was truly amazing. Imagine being stationed on an island where they speak hundreds of different languages and they are still under the government of a chief. Not to mention in a location where 8 active volcanoes surround you and there is a high chance of a cyclone talking out your power for weeks.

Anyway, I think the best part of the night was after when I talked to her about how I didn't know I I would qualify because I am studying theatre. She told me that if anything I would be more desirable and relatable because i could teach English with theatre, which almost every culture can have some tie too. Whether it be dance, music, art, or theatre performances performing arts can be very versatile!

After all was said and done, I was ready to fill out the application and go! Alas, I have to have a bachelors degree to teach English. But when I do... You better look out world!! ;)

Life According to my iPhone Pictures...

Goodbye, Bald Soprano... Whoever you are!!

So this weekend was the official last cast activity we would have for The Bald Soprano. It's hard for me to say that it's over :'(

After every show there is always this feeling of bittersweet because you get your life back, but you don't get to see the same faces every night at rehearsal. I don't know it's not always a bad or a sad thing, but this time it was a little sad. It was my first ever theatre performance as a college student. I think that deserves some sort of acknowledgement, so it's getting its own post!!

I truly am so blessed to have such a great cast and crew... And not to mention all the people who came to support me. The show might have not made any sense, but friends, family, and sisters still came out anyway and I love them for it. It was a combination of everyone that made this show so great, because I know it wasn't the script!! ;)

So goodbye Mr./Mrs. Bald Soprano it was nice to know you!!

A Preview ;)

This is a short (but epic!) preview to the slideshow I am going to make about our travels to Europe this summer. I can't wait to finish the video, but fitting 10 cities into an under 20min video is proving to be difficult... especially because of the amount of pictures I took (i think I ended with over a 1000). But it will get done!!! I hope you enjoy :)

A Girls Weekend.

Because my life has been COMPLETELY CRAZY as of late, I decided to travel with my mom to a weekend in Cedar Rapids for some much needed R&R. I finished my show Saturday night, had time to Halloween party it up, then left for the airport early Sunday morning. Since then I have done nothing but bake goodies, eat goodies, hang out with family, and antique shop (in that order!!). I don't think I could have chosen a better way to spend these last couple of days.

Happy Monday everyone!! :)

Yo Soy Yo.

#2: I stay up way to late. I'm a complete night owl.

A Rushed Weekend.

I found myself at something i thought I would never, ever, be at this weekend. As we were rushed around from event to event I couldn't help but ask myself I was in the right place... I am sad to say even now I still don't know.

I am talking about Rush for Greek Life here on Campus. For four days you go through this system of "mutual selection" in order to find your house. It went kinda like this:

Day one: All six houses, 30 min. each.
Day two: Called back to four houses, 45 min. each.
Day three: Called back to two, one hour each.
Bid Day: Get an invitation to a chapter!

I had NO prior knowledge about sororities or Greek life at all. If fact the closest I came was working at a Greek restaurant. Haha.

Anywho, I went through with an original 18 girls in my Rho Gamma group (only to end with 7), and became a pledge for Chi Omega. At first ChiO was my third choice, but it quickly became my number one!! I am so happy to spend time with these girls. It seems that this organization shares my core beliefs and morals, and therefore I just made about a hundred friends that share them too!

The moral of the story is this; I might not know for sure that I want to be Greek, but I am happy to be a Chi Omega Pledge. What a crazy weekend it was to decide that. Phew.

A Tour of Our Dorm :)

Welcome to our b-e-a-utiful dorm room!! Tori and I have been thinking about and planning our room for a looong time. Probably longer than I would like to admit (We bought our comforters over a year ago...haha). I love our room and I wouldn't change anything about it!! We are lucky and have one of the only air-conditioned halls in the whole university. Plus! we get our own bathroom instead of the grody community bathrooms... I think we got pretty spoiled.

So we start the tour with the bathroom:

It is British themed!! Tori painted our lovely shower curtain, and I provided the trash can and towels :)

We tried to stay as organized as possible with all of the toiletry junk we have... it can only be so organized :/ haha. We tried!!

This is the assortment of the whole right side of the room.... from closet space to above Tori's desk! (Look at the cool tree decal she made by painting on contact paper and sticking it to the wall!!) 

Just some of my favorite elements of ze room!! ( The clock might be my favorite... even if it does keep me up all night.)

Just some over all views of the room.

It is amazing how much space you end up having when you set your room up like this! Our hall mates must be jealous ;) I couldn't be more pleased now we finally have all of the finally pieces moved in. I am happy that we have gotten to spend a whole month in this little place, I'm loving every moment :)

Lefse with the Fam.

For those of you that don't know what lefse is... You are missing out!! It is a warm bready, buttery, sugary concoction of deliciousness :))

So this weekend when we had all the family over for the wedding (seriously we had 12 people sleeping in the house! Only 6 beds too mind you!) we decided to make some lefse. It seems like whenever we get the Hansen side together this has to happen... And I'm not complaining!!

Lefse is a Norwegian type of tortilla that you make out of mashed potatoes (I know it keeps getting better... Butter, sugar, mashed potatoes...yum).

Lefse how to:

1: make mashed potatoes without putting a bunch of salt or anything in them.

2: add flour until is becomes like a dough.

3: separate them into biscuit sized balls and role them out in flat circles.

4: just set the biggest griddle/flat pan you have and cook them until they are browned on either side. (like tortillas)

P.s. You should definitely fold it as shown in the picture... It is the only way to insure that none of you sugar escapes you!!

5: butter them up, sprinkle sugar on top, and eat up!!

A September Wedding!

Though it looks like it came out of a magazine, I promise you this was just my cousin's wedding. I guess I don't mean "just"... a wedding is a big deal and all :P

I spent the morning by helping setting up the backyard where the reception would be. It was oodles of fun!! Really, most people might be stressing about time and things that won't get done, but it always works out in the end. Make sure you have your bride and your groom... And you can fake the rest ;)

Anywho, their reception was BEAUTIFUL!! And I'm not just saying that because I helped set it up. The backyard backs up to a lake, the space was huge, and the lights made it magical. I hope someday my wedding can look as great as that one did. I really wouldn't change a lot about it; from the outdoors to the rope lights it was truly breath taking.

Yo Soy Yo.

So I received this invitation on Facebook a few years ago that said something like "Go into your notes, copy this message, and write 25 random things about yourself". Of course it then went on to say "if you don't pass this on... Bla bla bla" you know, THOSE kind of things. Now usually I steer clear of those messages because I think they are just really annoying, but for whatever reason... I did this one.

I ended up really enjoying it. Not because you are sharing it with others, but just because I found it really interesting to dig around within yourself and produce 25 facts. It's kinda more difficult than you would think.

So! Because I have just found this note... I am going to redo my "25 random things". Some might stay the same, but I bet a lot will change.

Today I am starting with this:

#1: I like the smell of old books.

Like I said, random things :)

Vegetarian for a YEAR?!

That's right. 365 days might seem like a short commitment to some, but for me... Well we will see how this goes. I will give you the brief story. Once upon a time a few years ago I decided to add "be vegetarian for a year" on my bucket list.

Why?

For a number of reasons. To prove it to myself that I can, maybe a little bit of bragging rights, and most importantly I want to see how this change will affect my body.

When you are not eating meat you have to think about what you are putting into your body. You can't just grab fast food and go. I'm hoping that I will learn how to think about what I am putting into my body, learn what I'm putting into my body, and from there hopefully reap the rewards of this knowledge for the rest of my life.

It sounds good on paper anyway. So, this is day 2. 363 to go. We are off to a good start :)

My dinner of champions tonight. Who knew veggie burgers actually taste like burgers!?!

P.S. If y'all haven't seen "Forks over Knives" I would recommend it! It is very informing and has some interesting perspectives on food that you don't hear everyday.

I Saw the President!!

That's right! After dealing with the crazy commotion all day, I finally decided that I was just going to hangout and see if anyone happened to have an extra ticket. Turns out they someone did! The nicest lady actually came up to me and said "You're not looking for a ticket, are you?". Why yes, that is exactly what I was looking for! So I went in, found some friends, and enjoined listing to our president. Mighty fine way to spend my Tuesday afternoon I'd say :)

Something Called College.

Today marked the first day of my second week of College. I remember when people would tell me that the transition to Middle School was hard, or to High School even... But nothing can compare with the change to College. It is completely different. Not only do you have to adopt a new town, new roommates, a new school, but you also have to balance just plain taking care of yourself. (which sometimes can be harder than all that other stuff put together!). Well here I am a week later, still living and breathing (just a little sick!), and I even had my first theatre audition today!!

By the way, I have almost completely become addicted to Peace Tea. Just one of the many habits I will probably pick up from college...  I hope my habits aren't all food related though, I'm trying to avoid that "Freshman 15".