Sunday, August 25, 2013

Very Inspiring Blogger Award & Versatile Blogger Award


First of all, I am SO thankful for two more awards from bloggers whom I admire!  Second, I want to say sorry that it took me nearly 3 months to get this post up.  Okay...here we go!

Big Thanks:
Thank you Mayra from SimplyyMayra for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Award! It means so much. I really hope to be relatable or inspiring through this piece of cyberspace which I call my own. :)

Big hug to Donna from A Not So Secret Life for nominating me for yet Another award! Oh goodness, I am so honored! ^_^



THE RULES:
Very Inspiring Blogger Award 
  1. Display the award logo
  2. Link back to the person that gave it to you
  3. State 7 things about yourself
  4. Nominate 15 bloggers for this award with their links.
Versatile Blogger Award
  1. Thank the person who nominated you
  2. Include a link to their blog on your post
  3. Select 15 blogs you've recently discovered or follow regularlly
  4. Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile Award! Leave a link on their page and comment on their last post to let them know they've been nominated. (No back nominations)
  5. Share 7 things about yourself

7 Things About Me:
1) I get bored easily
2) Either I try really hard or I don't try at all
3) I like the color pink
4) Twitter is AMAZING...but I use to dislike even saying it's name
5) I have been blogging for 17 months now! WOAH!
6) My blog use to be lifestyle, then changed to a fashion blog and is going back to being a lifestyle blog
7) Everyday I learn more I realize how little I know

Blogs That Are "Keeping The Blogsphere a Beautiful Place":
These blogs have things here and there that have inspired me at one point. I like that not all of these bloggers dress or think like me, they all bring in new points of view, at one point each of these blogs has brightened my day! 
http://anotsosecretlife2011.blogspot.com/ --> Very Inspiring Award
http://cassiecadiz.blogspot.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://shineonbyandrea.blogspot.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://www.projectinspired.com/ --> Very Inspiring Award
http://listengirlfriends.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://backtofive.blogspot.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://fashionbaubles.blogspot.com/ --> Very Inspiring Award
http://you-are-not-invisible.blogspot.com/ --> Very Inspiring Award
http://haleyhere.blogspot.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://www.rubygirlblog.com/ --> Very Inspiring Award
http://stay-strong-beyoutiful.tumblr.com/  --> Very Inspiring Award
http://www.projectbeyoutiful.com/ --> Versatile Blogger Award
http://closetofwords.blogspot.com/ --> Very Inspiring Blogger Award
http://jopesisays.wordpress.com/ --> Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Thank you Dearies,
Christine

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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Presidential Status #POTUS




President Barack Obama Comes to the University at Buffalo
"Waking up at 4am to see the president? No biggie!" 
#POTUSbuffalo





Waking up at 4am to be among the first in line to hear the president speak at the Univeristy at Buffalo is not something I do everyday, and definitely not every summer.  Did you know the sun isn't up at 4am? haha.  After grabbing breakfast, my friends and I got in line to wait (and wait and wait) in line for the president.  Passing by the secret service and heavy security made me feel a bit official.  (On A Separate Note: I spy an attractive secret service man).  The seating was first come first serve, which means that the closer you are to the door, the closer you can be to the president!  Remember how I spent Tuesday waiting 7 hours in line from 10:30am-5:30pm to obtain a general admission ticket? Well, come to find out, the students who won the ticket giveaway, which I did not win, had assigned seating on the bleachers behind the president.  
I am glad I did not win the student ticket giveaway but instead waited for a general admissions ticket with Jas  for those hot 7 hours of summer because the general admissions tickets were the best in the house!  I was eye level to President Obama's podium and almost directly in front of Mr. President.  This was much more exciting for Jas than me, because she loves politics, but I was glad to be there to support her interests and hear our president.  
President Obama spoke about the importance of keeping college tuition low.   The video clip above summarizes his points, and below that is his full speech.  His proposal regarding "college affordability" includes creating a new college ranking system which takes into consideration the price of colleges. I wasn't overwhelmingly impressed by the content of his speech, however, he is a very vibrant speaker! But don't take my word for it, you can listen to the speech yourself. = )

Shoutout to David!  I wish you were there with me, I know you would have really enjoyed the experience! 

Successfully a Beta Today,
Christine




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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

7 hours for President Obama Tickets


10:30am to 5:30pm.  This is how long we waited in line to get our tickets to see President Obama's speech at our University.  Apparently, the guy at the front of the line, who looked like a high school student, was waiting outside the ticket building since 1:30am!  Can you say dedication... and lack of obligations? haha.

The waiting experience was great!  I was #95 in line. I made friends with the people in front of us in line, and we got smoothies and pretty much did nothing for those 7 hours.  Do you know about Black Friday "camp-outs"?  Well, I have never actually waited outside of a store for Black Friday sales, but this seems like it would have been a good comparison.  I felt so American! ^_^  I also got a bit sun burnt, however, my skin isn't burnt enough to peel so I am not upset.

My best friend, Jas wanted to make sure she obtained the free tickets to see President Obama, because unlike myself, she is very into politics.  Gladly for her, our waiting paid off.  I actually attended President Obama's first inauguration back in high school, but I am not as interested in politics as Jas, so she is VERY pumped.  Because the seats for his speech are general admission, first-come-first-serve, the next thing on our list is waiting outside the arena the day of his speech.  That will be interesting.  I'm feeling totally beta right now.

"Beta"ing it out,
Christine

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Dear New York City,



Dear New York City,

Oh how nice it was to get away!  Although both my Amtrack trains were both over an hour late upon arrival, it was worth it.  That two day vacation felt like a week.  I enjoyed the time reading Crazy Love on the way to visit you.  You should totally read Crazy Love!  For real, I knew that believing in God and Jesus Christ was so much more than knowledge, but action because of the love for God, but now I know how to put it in words. READ THE BOOK!

When I got to New York City, I was able to meet up with 5 of my friends, and my other friend allowed me to couch surf at her casa. ;)  I'm glad you didn't let me get lost while visiting you.  You have so many distractions.  Although, they are mostly all based on commerce, which I'm not a total fan of.  If I had gotten lost in the "commerce and concrete jungle central," 
we both know how that would 
have ended...frustration omega.  
Although, I would have made it into an adventure.  In case you forget the people that I met up while visiting you, I made a little spread below!  There are also a lot of exciting photos from the M&M store, the Sanrio store, the bamboo weaver, and playing dress-up at the Disney store in Time Square. I am laughing just thinking about it!  Oh how fun dress up is. I had so much fun in that sparkly, poofy, yellow dress and tiara.  *Momentary Daydream Occurrence* Moving on, I do recall that there was a free activity playing mini golf, even though I didn't participate.  Oh yes, there was also Empire Cakes, where I bought a minion cupcake.  That was the cutest thing ever.  I felt so fancy buying that minion cupcake and the macaroons I bought earlier from Macaron. hehe. 

Even though one of the main purposes of me visiting you was to have a reunion with my Truman Finalist friends, I think playing dress up with my McNair conference friends completely overshadowed that great reunion!  
I suppose I just can't tell myself 
"no" to that dream of auditioning 
to being a Disney Princess. 
*COMPLETELY DRAMATIC SIGH* Well New York City, overall I would give this trip an 8.5 out of 10.  That's pretty stinkin' good!  Oh yes, one last thing- I will never not laugh when I recall that moment when Susan was taking a photo of me and a random guy asked if he could join me in my photo. For some reason I said "yes" then after the photo, taken with my camera, he looked at Susan then walked away as he said "thank you."  INTERESTING! Okiedokie, check out the photos below now.


M&M World

Sanrio (AKA Hello Kitty Shopping)
Bamboo Weaving (they take 1-5 hours!)
The Disney Store
Toys "R" Us
Mini-Golf
Book Browsing
Empire Cakes
New York 2013 Truman Finalist Reunion

What a blast!  And below is the book I brought to read on my train ride home.  Although, much of that ride was spent taking care of the young woman next to me that got really drunk on the train ride.  I have absolutely no idea how the bar tender on the train couldn't tell that she was at her limit before her last drink, but let me tell you, SHE WAS AT HER LIMIT two drinks ago!  
I didn't mind cleaning her off, 
I actually felt like a total mama hen 
with a grown up baby chick. 
Following her between train cars to make sure she didn't like walk out of the train did not bother me.  Cleaning up the wine she pilled didn't upset me either.  However, I was upset and mostly saddened that the bartender had a lapse of judgement. Someone my size should not have 4-6 cups of wine continuously! HELLO OBVIOUSNESS!  I know that families in our train car were upset by her drunken profanity.  I heard some of them snickering at her, but in her defense it wasn't completely her fault.  This may sound unbelievable to you, but this would be the second time that I ever witnessed/interacted with drunk people, and each time I do, I am reminded what I do not want to act like.  

Oh yes, if that wasn't enough commotion for the train ride, I got up to use the restroom and when I opened the door I was face to face with a teenage boy who forgot to lock the door as he used the restroom. 
THEN, when I went to close the 
door it bounced back 
open... THREE TIMES!  
So, in complete embarrassment for him, I went back to my seat with a full bladder and a bit frazzled.  *Fun trips riding the train, no?*  I think next time, I'll consider riding a bus or flying. Collectively, aside from the ride home, which makes for good storytelling, this mini vacation was a fun and blithe (GRE word) trip!


Dreaming of Playing Dress Up,
Christine

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