“God gave me you for the ups and downs. God gave me you for the days of doubt. For when I think I’ve lost my way, there are no words here left to say, it’s true…God gave me you.” – Dave Barnes/Blake Shelton
Let the Dave Barnes vs. Blake Shelton argument over which one is better begin! Yeah, it’s cheesey, and yeah, it’s more of a love song, but I am so grateful for the people that God has placed in my life right now. More on that later!
The day had finally arrived…last Friday all of the consultants (minus 1 L) flew back to Atlanta for our Mid-Semester Training at HQ. That whole morning I was like a little kid on Christmas morning just waiting to open my presents. We all were so excited – as I’m sure you could tell on facebook and twitter.
I couldn’t sleep at all on my flight and that NEVER happens. I first spotted Lauren E and Jillian at baggage claim #9 and ran over to them once I got my luggage. Kaitlyn picked us up at the airport since we were the last ones to arrive and we headed straight to the Dolce. To say that the 9 of us created a scene in the hallway once we were all together would be an understatement. Screaming, cheering, squealing…you name it. I’m pretty sure our neighbors HATED us. Oh well. The party moved to my room and we spent a good hour just catching up on everything!
Julie, Hanna, and I headed over to HQ to return the van and to say hi to everyone. We should’ve been on our best behavior, but once we arrived, we were just too excited to see everyone. It’s just nice to finally get to see all of the people in person that I talk to on the phone on a weekly basis!
That night we headed into Atlanta for dinner once Cindy finally arrived (I created another scene at the airport when we picked her up J). Jamie and Hara joined us at Tin Lizzy’s and it was just so much fun. Sitting by Jamie at this dinner was much more exciting than sitting by her at the first dinner back in July J
Friday was a pretty chill night for us since we had to head to HQ early-ish the next day for training. The National Council and Foundation Trustees were also in town for the weekend, so that made training even more fun. Hara had been in and out of where we were training the entire day, so when she came in around 6:30pm and asked if we were ready to go, we didn’t think anything of it, and simply answered yes. She then said, “No, I mean, are you ready to GO?!” Hara, what are you talking about? is what I’m sure our faces all looked like. Then, Hara pulled 11 pieces of paper out of her purse – “what is THAT?!” we all asked. “Sugarland tickets, ARE YOU READY TO GO?! The concert starts in an hour!” WHAAAAAAAT?! We were all SO surprised – Julie even started crying! We have the best boss ever and work for the best sorority ever. I know I’m biased, but seriously – I’ll save the sentimental stuff for later.
So we headed to the concert where Sara Bareilles opened for Sugarland. It was such a good concert! Country concerts are one of my favorite things in the world, and we all had a blast that night. We were normal 22-23 year olds just hanging out together. SO. MUCH. FUN.
ledman and moilar
GATOR CHOMP
Who Says You Can't Go Home?
"I was playing country music all day in the van to give you guys clues." - Hara
trust me, we had absolutely no idea.
We headed back to HQ on Sunday morning to do some more training through presentations that we had each prepared. I, of course, wore my Colts blue that day since they were playing the Saints that night. I was sad I wasn’t in New Orleans for the game, but seeing as they got massacred, it’s probably best that I was in Atlanta. We went to our favorite place in Peachtree City – Taco Mac – that night and had the best time. We also had the brilliant idea to buy matching t-shirts there. And don’t worry, we topped that brilliant idea with an even better one as we wore those shirts to work on Monday since we were allowed to dress down.
we were a walking advertisement for Taco Mac.
"excuse me ma'am, you can't do that."
On Tuesday, Kerri came over to the Dolce to have breakfast with us. We love Kerri’s Korner, and it’s even better when it’s over breakfast. Nothing better than starting your day with a good laugh J
Only because of how awful my photo shoot was during training in July, I have to mention that we had another mini-photo shoot Tuesday morning. I only had to take 2 pictures and there were no special poses, so I survived…barely.
Tuesday afternoon we did something that I’ve wanted to do for so long. We headed to Macon, GA to do a heritage tour and to see where Phi Mu was founded! We first went to Mercer University to meet up with our tour guides, who were two current members from our Phi Mu chapter there! Then we headed over to Wesleyan, where Phi Mu was founded. We went to an archives room in the library to see old Phi Mu composites, pictures, and even the diploma from one of our founders! We walked around campus a little bit and saw some other Phi Mu historical places.
such a pretty Greek Village on this campus!
Then we headed over to the Cannonball House, which is a historical landmark that houses the Philomathean Room. The Philomathean Room has so many old artifacts and is set up just like the chapter room was at Wesleyan when there was still a Phi Mu chapter there. So much history, so cool to be there.
part of the Philomathean Room and our sweet/funny/awesome tour guides for the afternoon!
Finally, we headed over to the gravesite of one of our founders, Martha Bibb Hardaway Redding. Very cool and a little creepy at the same time.
hard to believe I was actually at the gravesite of one of the FOUNDERS of Phi Mu!
After that we headed back to Peachtree City and had to face the inevitable…it was time for us all to part ways again. A few of us woke up early on Wednesday to have one more breakfast at the Dolce before everyone left. For us being so excited to meet up just a few short days ago, we were all so depressed to be leaving each other again! It really was sad to say goodbye to everyone because we probably won’t be reunited again until the beginning of January. They have literally become my best friends and I couldn’t do this without them. Not going to lie, there were definitely some tears that morning! We just had so much fun during training. And like I said earlier, I talk to these girls all the time, so it’s nice to actually get to spend time with them in person instead of only talking to them on my cell phone.
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalm 100
I cannot even begin to describe how thankful I am for where I’m at in my life right now. Among so many other things, at this moment, I’m most thankful for the people who I never in a million years would have thought I’d be friends with, but God has a way of knowing just who to place in your life at the right time. I honestly could not have asked for a better group of people to work with and thank God everyday for bringing these women into my life J
