I. LOVE. FLANNELS. Maybe it’s the comfort-ability, maybe it’s the versatility… but regardless, who doesn’t love a good ol’ flannel. The coolest thing about flannel is that you can wear it so many different ways!
1) As a leadership consultant , I love to wear my favorite pieces of clothing in a business casual way! I can’t wait to pull off this look as soon as I travel somewhere the weather permits!
2) Huge fan of buttoning the flannel all the way up! Pair it with a statement necklace, and there you have it!
3) Boom.
4) The west coast favorite… around the waist! This is perfect for the hot Arizona days and cool nights. It looks great on and off!
5) And my personal favorite… flannel, down vest, leggings & L.L. Bean boots! Expect to see me rocking this look for my time off of work this winter!
I am excited to spend my break thrifting for my new favorite flannels of the seasons. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.
Madison Weissinger, Theta Omicron, Arizona State University
Well friends, I love Christmas and I don’t care who knows it! It is by far the happiest, prettiest and coldest time of the year. I could do without the cold but you take what you can get. I truly believe that Christmas starts the day after Halloween. You may be thinking that is crazy, Thanksgiving has not even hit us yet…well if I could the tree would already be up first thing the day after Halloween.
Since I have started Christmas a little earlier than most, I am doing some trial and error on DIY gifts. Check out below the ones I have fallen in love with:
One of my favorite yet simple gifts for friends or children in the family. Just get plastic bags with Swiss Miss Cocoa, mini marshmallows and have yourself some fun making reindeer!I have made these for many occasions because they are so FUN to make. Just draw whatever Christmas theme you want…tree, lights, snowman, the list goes on with permanent markers. Then place your ceramic cup, bowl or plate (dollar store purchases work great) in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees!52 reasons why I love you deck of cards. These are just a small way to show your love for someone. Great for a significant other, best friend, parents or sibling! Just get a deck of cards and your favorite paper to write your reasons on them glue them to the deck! EASY!Just get a large cut out letter from any craft store (get the app on your smartphone for coupons) modge podge, and black and white photos to put on the letter. First paint the letter a background color, then modge podge the back of the photos onto the large letter then modge podge over the photos to give it a gloss finish and to seal the paper down!I am a BIG Frozen fan so this is something I will be making this holiday season once I arrive back in Arizona to spend the holidays with family. There are some people who are worth melting for.
Julia Lapham, Kappa Xi, University of Nevada, Reno
Happy early Thanksgiving, everyone! For this blog post, I wanted to give thanks for all of the adorable kittens in the world now that the semester is winding down, and I couldn’t help but think that y’all would love to see some precious pictures of them dressed up as pilgrims and turkeys! To kick off this adorable gobble-fest, here is an hilarious video of other tiny creatures enjoying their very own Thanksgiving feast.
Now, on to the gobbling kittens…
Let’s all make sure to give thanks for the furry creatures we have in our lives, and enjoy a wonderful feast with family and friends! Thanks for reading!
Cossette Powley, Zeta Omicron, University of Arizona
I can’t believe that I am already done with my first semester as a Sigma Kappa Leadership Consultant! I want to share some of my favorite moments that I have experienced on the road!
1. While facilitating a workshop during a pre-recruitment visit, a woman’s cell phone went off and for anyone that knows how awkward it is…trust me, this is the ideal. Anyways, her text tone was none other than the Hunger Games tune…and, as if it was practiced, the entire chapter lifted up their fingers in perfect Katniss fashion. It was hilarious and unforgettable.
2. I learned new phrases!! For example: oh, it’s so close I could throw a rock and hit it (in reference to a GPS mapping) or QUIT!! (in reference to the infamous consultant Lauren Kelly)
3. My collection of coffee mugs is actually getting out of control, and I can’t wait to return home to see them all in one spot! I promise to post an insane Instagram.
4. I have a fear of squirrels…thank you to “Chubs” at Gamma Alpha for the horrifying experience when I was trapped outside because of the very nosey squirrel.
5. My personal trips, from falling in love with downtown Denver, Walt Disney World, reunions with my adorable poops (puppies) and Homecoming at my alma mater…I definitely spent my time wisely.
6. Experiencing a town’s first snow, on HALLOWEEN…in Muncie, Ind. This was actually life-changing.
7. I have really improved on my hashtagging for example…#mems #cozytober #sklc #SKRMU #SKCoastal
8. Colonization at Robert Morris University: this was a wonderful experience that I didn’t expect to fall absolutely in love with! I learned that I am also a very strange person…so many fun facts.
9. All the food that I have been able to try thanks to all my sugar mamas that I am so blessed to work with! Who knew that there were still so many places that I had yet to experience in even the smallest of towns.
10. I love being a leadership consultant…like a lot! I have grown so much in my leadership skills, communication and organization. I am so proud to be serving my organization and to continue to give back to Sigma Kappa.
Proof I was destined to be a leadership consultant…me at 2 years old.
To be able to really understand who I am, and the beautiful family that has shaped me into the woman I am, you would need to come by for a Sunday dinner. They are a very big deal and everyone in the family attends: grandparents, cousins, godparents, even dogs. Growing up every Sunday dinner was the whole kit and caboodle. Pasta, meatballs, sausage, pork, mozzarella, manicotti, melon, prosciutto, figs; the whole nine. Sadly, as we have all gotten older and moved away, Sunday dinners don’t happen as often, but for holidays things get even crazier. So in order to understand it, I am going to try to paint a picture for you because I am so excited to return home to my fabulous family and our perfect dinners. Disclaimer: I am lucky enough to share rituals with both sides of my family, which usually take place one day after another so essentially it turns into a two-day feast; here we go!
Dinner #1:
Sundays always start off with my mom saying “dinner’s at 3, were leaving at 2:45 p.m, be ready.” Without fail, I come back with the question, “why must we leave 15 minutes early when grandma lives a quarter of a mile away?” Well I will tell you, because being late to Sunday dinner is pretty much a cardinal sin. Has never happened, never will. When we arrive, it is a toss-up who will answer, grandma or grandpa, sometimes both. Andrea Boccelli is playing on the surround sound and after grandpa kisses us all hello on the forehead, he continues singing where he left off before we rang. As we walk into the kitchen, grandma resumes her spot at the stove and throws the macaroni in the pot. Grandpa gives us each a taste of his newest cannoli recipe, he’s only on the 679th one at this point, so what’s tasting one more? The recipe may be from Lidia, may be from Emeril; regardless, he saw it on some cooking show and we are all going to try it and give honest feedback because he has been working at this ever since retirement. In the corner of our eye we see grandma lifting the pot of macaroni, bigger and heavier than she is and somehow she manages to bring it to the sink and pour it over the strainer, as all of us watch and get excited that the first course, pasta, is done and it is almost time to eat.
Dinner #2:
As Joey Tribbiani from Friends says, “Let me explain to you how the human body works. I have to warm my stomach first.” That makes day one a perfect day for stretching. Now this time when my brother, sister and I ring the doorbell we are greeted by Bella, my grandpa’s Yorkie; who I could almost guarantee is the first heir in his will. Grandpa follows behind and we can hear through the locked door “Bella quit hollarin’.” Grandma is about 100 feet back in the kitchen swinging her dish towel in front of the faulty smoke detector that undoubtedly goes off every time the exhaust fan is turned on. We walk in to say hello and as always there is a smorgasbord filling the kitchen counter. It is always at the point where dishes turn into puzzle like pieces so strategically put together so all 23 serving platters can fit in one space and only some, ever-so-slightly are peaking off the marble countertop.
During Dinner:
After we nudge each other and fight over who gets the biggest piece of sausage bread, the most black olives out of the salad, the last of the leeks and pancetta, and the biggest meatball, we all settle down around the table and feast on the meal grandma and grandpa spent the last week preparing for. The table is filled with loud conversation, we’ll go around the table poking and prodding to see who we can make fun of for having a new crush, to which you can never win. If you stay silent, you are the next target and if you say too much, oh you are going to get it too. Once we have caught up on what we have missed in each other’s lives, we will begin our descent to the living room to sleep off our food coma.
Although walking into both of my grandparents’ houses is thoroughly predictable, and comical to some extent, it is certainly what I am looking forward to most about being home. I don’t know if my grandparents know how much I love spending time with them, and all of their cooking, but being that they are my biggest fans, I think I owe them some recognition! I couldn’t do it without them and I am so grateful for all that they selflessly do for the huge, beautiful family they have created. So thank you, I love you and I am so looking forward to sitting around your dinner table and making more memories!
When did we lose the carefree, ‘I don’t care what you think about me,’ attitude? When did we start caring so much what others think?
I recently saw this Vine of this spunky little girl who is confident in herself and, as she says, “I just don’t care what people think.” As kids, most of us said whatever we wanted without fear of being judged or ridiculed. We wore silly outfits if we felt like it. We raised our hands in class and boldly gave answers, even if we had no idea whether they were correct or not. We sang goofy songs at the top of our lungs for all to hear. Where did those bold, carefree, silly kids go?
Self-confidence is such an issue among college women, and I think the answer lies within our inner child. Just think if each of us took a moment to forget about the pressures on us to act a certain way and instead remembered the times where we shed all inhibitions and just did whatever we wanted. Let’s remember our carefree kid-selves, because those kid-selves were pretty awesome.
Gabriela Rodiles, Theta Omicron, Arizona State University
One of my favorite hats (of the many I get to wear as a colony consultant for the University of Houston) is being the new member educator during our weekly Promise program meetings. It has been about three years since I have gone through the new member program, so hearing this information all over again has been refreshing. It’s really unique to be reminded of it again after being a member for some time.
Having fun at new member meetings!
The colony has been fortunate enough to utilize our pilot Promise for New Members program, which includes online elements and a rewritten Promise book. Here are a few of the sections I’ve loved re-learning about the most.
The Founders. Okay, holy smokes, you guys. Every time I read or hear about the founders again I am continuously amazed by them. These women were the trailblazers, the brave leaders that went out of their comfort zone to create something they believed in. I love asking the new members which founder they identify with the most because I love seeing the ah-ha moments when the women realize they too can blaze trails and create an amazing legacy within the organization or with their personal goals.
The Values and Leadership. When you think of a leader, the words authoritative, command, confident and loud may come to mind. However, the Promise book redefines leadership as simply living out your values every day. I have challenged myself to think of the ways I can lead by example in my daily life, even if that doesn’t include wearing my Leadership Consultant name tag everywhere I go.
Personal Wellness.
The new section about personal wellness made me really stop and think. While posing questions to the new members about how they are taking care of themselves mentally, physically and emotionally in college, I had to ask the same question of myself? Sigma Kappa encourages us to be well-rounded in college, however we must continue those habits after graduation. I can’t preach to new members to take breaks from work, make time for exercise, and nourish their bodies if I’m not actually living out that message.
I hope these few topics inspire you to think back to your days of the Promise program and remember the ah-ha moments you had with Sigma Kappa. Whether it’s been two years or 22 years, we can still live out these promises every day.
Sigma Kappa Leadership Consultants 