Winter Finally Came!

So the snow has been falling non-stop for the past few days. And two days ago it finally started to stick! Here are some shots I grabbed earlier, although we've added another inch maybe two by now. Enjoy, and those of you in warmer climates... please pray that God would either strengthen or move me. By the way, I just posted yesterday, I might just be getting into this blog thing.

Black and White Ball

So this past Friday, my staff along with our sister staff McKee Hall put on quite the program! We had our first ever Black and White Ball. It was fantastic. There were about 200 people in attendance, and they were all dressed to impress.

We decided to hold the event in our newly rennovated Brig, we moved a lot of furniture out and created a sweet little venue that really can best be described as "swanky".

As you can see we had a lot of fun. Every thing was black and white except our Red Roses, which was a really nice touch! We had great food with a decadent chocolate fountain, and we also had four dealers running poker tables.

But my favorite part of the night was our Mocktail bar. Sam, one of my RA's had great time mixing up tasty drinks for everyone. See...

The one of the four of us is me, Kristin my sister RD, Mike her fiance, and Rachel my former sister RD and good friend. You can also see a great shot of Sam and I shaking not stirring drinks. But my favorite of all is the sketch of me from one our students.

A New Year and Great Start

Hey Guys! I've settled back into work and life in Western PA, or at least as settled as I can be here. Things are going really well! Last week we had Winter training for the RA's and I was on the committee of RDs that helped plan the events. We decided to try a different approach this year and made training more like a conference with seminars the students could choose. It was a great success and just plain fun! After training was over my guys and I decided to have a movie marathon with a snack fest. It was great and there more than enough pizza roles to go around. I wish I had photos for yeah, but right now I can't quite place my camera... And I'm not sure how to get my pictures from my phone to my computer. Still workin' on that one. Hopefully I'll find things soon, because right now we're working on the Memorial McKee Black and White Ball. This is going to be a sweet event with semi-formal dress (in black and white of course), live music, classy horderves, a mocktail bar, and casino style activities. I'll be sure to post pics of that! Until then you'll just have to wait with anticipation for the magical festivities.

A Much Needed Break

Hey Guys,
I am finally back home in Charleston, SC... and absolutely loving it! What have I been up to? A lot of resting, which can be hard work for me since I don't like to rest. Things have been really good though. I am having a great time hanging out with my family and now some of my friends are coming back into town too, so it's been great to see them as well. I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas yourselves and be on the look out for pics of the York (and extended families) Christmas.

Thanksgiving with the FAM...

Thanksgiving is unfortunately over and I will be returning to Geneva soon to get back to work; but the time spent with my family has been fantastic! Sometimes we get so busy in our day to day lives with deadlines, work, projects: life-- that we forget to enjoy our life. I know that I do this all the time, and it's usually when I am with my family that I remember how good things are. I remember what I work so hard for and I think about the things in life that I hold most dear. So I hope you guys enjoy the following pictures from our gathering... I know that I have loved the time spent with everyone. And I hope that you have all had equally wonderful holidays.

Chilling @ Rockin' Chair Farm

It was T- 4 hours and counting when my Staff meeting ended yesterday afternoon. I headed back to the dorm after making a few quick good byes. Once there, I immediately began dropping hints: "So, when are you heading out?" "Need any help packing?" " Have a great break!" I decorated the white board outside of my apartment with those wonderful words "Have a good Thanksgiving Break', and they headed straight to the laundry room. I finished up my laundry, packed it and a ton of books and papers into my duffel bag and hit the road as soon as most of the guys were out of my building.
I actually made the best time I have yet, racing through the hills of Western PA westward into the smooth countryside of Ohio. Oh, the lovely state of Ohio! So many of my friends speak so derogatory about this place. I love it, maybe that's because of the many fond memories of horseback ridding, playing in the mountain streams, or those lovely county fair weeks where everyone seemed to enjoy life. It's the place of my mother's ancestors and it just seems comfortable. I arrived last night to find my mother (she had flown in on Sunday) and my grandparents just getting dessert ready! What a treat. This morning my uncle, Christian, arrived and we enjoyed a nice lunch in town before we headed back to the house. Tonight was or turn to make and authentic Italian Dinner. I guess since we have both spend significant time in the country, but let's face it: it's my uncle that really almost lives there. So we made a fantastico dinner, full of antipasto and homemade spaghetti sauce! MMMM, it was tasty. Now we are just anticipating the big feast and fun for tomorrow. My great aunt Edie and her son, Doug, and his wife, Dee, are headed over. They are tons of fun, and I can't wait to spend some time with them. I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to view so soon!

The Official Start

THE FEAST

My friends Taylor and Joanna told me that my under construction message was as long as an actual construction crew, and that it was time to get crackin'. They are right. I am excited about today's post because Kristin, my sister staff RD, and I have been cooking all day for our Building Team Meeting tonight. We are doing a combined meeting to celebrate the upcoming holliday which will include a full Thanksgiving Feast followed by Christmas decorating.

The menu includes everything from a 21 lbs. turkey(maple roasted with a butter sage sauce and bacon) to sausage balls and untraditional wantons for appitizers. In short, it is a true feast! And I have the pictures to prove it:

Here I am carving up the huge beast... This is after everyone had gone through once. Can you believe that spread?

My Guys were very happy with the food, and after the dinner they ended up laying around because they were soooo full!

Below is my sister RD Kristin, from Messiah... we did good work!

All in All We Fed A Lot Of Happy People!

To the left is both of our Building Teams (most of them anyway). We were planning on hanging lights for our buildings aftewards but it was too rainy. There's always next week. This was great but I can't wait to head to my grandparents to meet my family for the actual holliday!

Under Construction

OKAY I FINALLY GAVE IN>>> Here is the start of my blog. If you are reading this it means you've found my blog probably by accident. I will be working on it for a while before I release it to my friends and family.