Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Mail Call: Go Greek!

It is that time of year again!  Fall recruitment for Greek Life!  I am proud to be a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority http://www.alphadeltapi.org/.  It was one of the best decisions I made while I was in college.  I made life long friends, learned vital leadership skills, and have been able to network as we have moved around for my hubby's job. 

This time of year, the Greeks are getting ready for their annual membership drive.  As an alumna, I take great pride in writing letters of recommendation for membership into Alpha Delta Pi.

This year, I had the privilege of writing letters for young women entering the University of Georgia http://www.uga.edu/, Georgia College and State University http://www.gcsu.edu/ (my Alma Mater!), and Auburn University http://www.auburn.edu/ (War Eagle!). 

Greek life may not be for you, everyone has different experiences, but I would suggest to anyone entering college to at least check it out.  It is a great way to meet new people and helps with finding your place in your new surroundings.  Even 12 years later for me, I have found alumnae groups in the different cities that we have lived in.  I have an instant connection with these women, even though we had different experiences on different college campuses.  I have even kept up with people that went through recruitment at same time as I did, although they joined different organization.  Keep an open mind and have fun meeting new people!!

The following article is a great look at the benefits of Greek Life today that one of my ADPi sisters, shared on Facebook this morning.  Check it out!
Examining the benefits of Greek Life | USA TODAY College

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Anticipation

I am participating for the first time in Stream of Consciousness Sunday... check it out and feel free to join!  See the rules below :-)

 

Today’s (optional) prompt is: Anticipation.

Your five minutes starts now!
stream of consciousness sunday

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I feel like I live in a constant state of anticipation.  The most thing I am anticipating is my new life in Texas... I am just ready to be "HOME" already.  I don't like all the time I spend trying to figure out where to go, meet new people etc.  I mean it is good to think of the new life we are starting here, but it is also a little frightening.  So, far God has been so good as usual and has provided.  I have not been sleeping much lately, because I feel like everyday is a new adventure.  That is the fun part, taking the kids to new places that we have never seen before and trying new things.  My girls amaze me at how well they adapt to all types of new situations.  I think back when I was a child and I remember how I worried about everything... like my mom wasn't going to come back to pick me or something... LOL!  Although, sometime I think it must have been in the back of her mind, but knew, I would find my way back to her.  Haha!  Seriously though, I have been excited and we have met some great people here, it is just a whole new ballgame each day we get in the van!  Good times are ahead though, I can feel it!!  Wow!  Time is up already!  That was pretty fast!  What do you think?!

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From www.janasthinkingplace.com

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…
  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post (in the sidebar).
  • Got to www.janasthinkingplace.com and link up your post.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.


Monday, July 9, 2012

Pics, Postcards and Prizes...

This has been a great week for the girls.  They are still on the letter writing train...they have turned it into playing "office".  It is totally cute, until Trace comes in and tries to destroy all their precious work!  This week I got an email from a friend in Marietta with pictures attached of her girls reading their letters from my girls.  Here is Maggie reading her letter from Ann...


 and here is Maggie's sweet little sister, Charley, reading her letter from Kate...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      


Seeing these sweet girls has been a great motivation for us to continue our letter writing campaign.  How sweet are they!?!  Love and miss them tons! 

Mimi, Anma and Granddaddy have been out to visit us this month.  We were able to take them all to the Sixth Floor Museum (http://www.jfk.org/) in downtown Dallas.  I highly recommend this museum if you ever come to Dallas.  It is by far one of the best museums that I have ever visited.  I picked up a couple of postcards to send to one of my favorite young historians... Keaton!


The girls got a very special care package from their Aunt Channon, Uncle Lee, Emileigh, Sara and Garrett.  They were ecstatic!  I could barely get the box away from them to make a quick pic of all the goodies they received... it was like Christmas in July!!


There were goodies inside for all three kids...you would have thought that Aunt Channon had packed Disney World right into the box... they were enchanted by all of the contents.

I am so grateful for all the letters, postcards, stickers, goodies, everything that people have sent to the kids.  They love it all!  The girls are adjusting well, but there are times when the move is hard for them to understand.  Anyone who has moved across the street, across town, or across the country can understand that change can be difficult.

If you have new people moving into your neighborhood, visiting your church, or starting a new job at your office, make sure you welcome them... it makes you feel good and you have no idea the effect you have on the new people.  From kids to adults, it makes the transition a lot easier.  I would also suggest showing support to a friend or colleague that moves on to another place.  It speaks volumes.  I would go insane without the support of my family, friends, and most importantly knowing that this is all just another part of God's plan for us. 


We received this housewarming plant from some of our best friends, Molli and Kevin, the week after we moved.  It was such a great feeling to receive support from home... changed my whole outlook that week... it was exactly what I needed!!  Now, if I can only keep it alive :-) 


Who are you writing this week?!  Happy writing!!








Saturday, July 7, 2012

My trials with the DMV...

I have always had problems with the DMV.  I guess it is really a love/hate relationship.  I LOVE having my drivers license, but I hate going through the red tape to get the dang thing.  It started when I got my license for the first time.  I passed the driving test with a flat 70.  I was honestly pretty proud of my 70.  When I was 16, my mom drove a Cadillac, this is what I had to take my test in.  Let's just say I didn't do very well with parallel parking... or making a left turn, now that I think of it. 

My next run in with the DMV was when I got married.  My parents have always called me by middle name, Layne, so I thought I would just drop my first name and take on my husband's last name.  After a lot of arguing, I prevailed yet again.  The real problem came when we moved to Nashville, TN.  They informed me that I must change my name legally through the state.  They made me take my first name back and were not very nice about it.  One point for the DMV...

When we moved back to Georgia, I thought I could argue my first name back off of my license... no such luck... although they were very nice about it, even let me think that I had won the argument.  I realized the DMV had won again when I got my license back with ALL my names listed...

The Texas DMV has been the most trying.  First of all, the town we live in is over 100,000 people and the DMV here can only hold 50 at a time including their employees.  The rest of the people have to wait outside until someone leaves, although they do allow 3 people at a time to wait in the foyer of the building.  I went to this place twice and after being rejected both times, I drove 30 miles north to another town to finally get my license.  I can tell you it was totally worth it.  I was able to stand in line in the A/C, although I still have 4 names on my license.  Maybe one day I will get my name changed legally and save some time and trouble at the DMV. 

Monday, July 2, 2012

Monday Mail

This week has started off with a bang! The girls have continued with their writing fun time. A big thanks to Kristen and Jennifer who suggested I check out the dollar tree for cards.  I don't know why I had not thought about that before! We were even able to get Trace to add his own personal "touch" to some of the letters we sent out. He really enjoyed himself, especially having a little taste of crayon on occasion!
The girls received letters back from some of their friends this week. They were so excited to see an envelope addressed with their name. It made me think of a time when I wrote myself a letter. I was probably in the 3rd or 4th grade. I was so proud, rode my bike to the post office and dropped it in the big blue box. I believe that stamps were only like a quarter then. When the letter made it to me, I had forgotten (for some strange reason) that I had done this just a day or two before. I ran in the house with my letter only to be a little let down to realize it was from me. So, you can imagine my delight when my daughters actuallly received letters from "real" friends... LOL!


It really has been a blessing to recieve letters, stickers, postcards, care packages, or whatever :-) in the mail.  It is so funny to see how excited the girls get about mail.  I think that our routine of letter writing has also helped with our move.  It has become a contest everyday to see who gets to check the mailbox.  Kate was even a little sad on Sunday when I told her the mail did not run.  I hope that some of you are having as much fun as we are with this.  If your child wants a pen pal, email me your mailing address to laynegarrett@hotmail.com  my girls would love it!  Happy writing!!