Relay For Life 2013

Relay For Life 2013 was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Those 24 hours were filled with hard work, tears, laughter, paint, a significant loss of hair (I donated 8'' to locks of love), and circles around the track; all of which are memories I will never forget. Exceeding my goal and raising $530 makes me so happy, and I could not have done it without the support of my wonderful friends and family. I appreciate all the money everyone has donated to help fight cancer. I'm so glad I got to experience this event with my teammates , friends, and wonderful committee they all mean so much to me. Thanks to all of you, we are that much closer to kissing cancer goodbye!

My lovely field hockey team. Four of us donated our hair!

The event was incredible! I can't even to begin to put words to the feelings that relay gives you.  The event was so meaningful and touched my heart.  The Remembering ceremony was emotional. We turn the lights out in the gym so it is pitch black.  One of the student's at my school read a touching story of how she remembers losing her father.  Next, somebody spoke and said if you are fighting for a parent light your candle now, for a grand parent light your candle now, for a friend light your candle now, etc.  As each was announced a different set of lights turned on around the track, lighting up all of the luminaries.  Then everyone took about three- five silent laps around the track to remember those who we have lost to cancer.  This was really emotional, walking around the track reading the luminaries and remember those who I have lost. 

This was the luminary I made in memory of my best friend's (mIr) father. He lost his battle to cancer in April of 2007

Before this, was the locks of love donations.  We had over 50 females donate at least 8" of their hair.  For those of you who know me, know that I am incredibly attached to my hair. I used to practically cry when I got three inches cut off.  Well, I decided that since I surpassed my goal it would be nice to donate my hair. Yes, I got 8" cut off and yes I did cry in shock that my long locks were no longer mine. Donating my hair is something that is on my bucket list, so it is kind of cool to be able to check it off.  jHg did it with me.  Since we both had really long hair we thought it would be easiest to deal with if we both go it cut.

My face during this was priceless!

I am still adjusting to my new hair, but it isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I don't like it yet but in time I will come to terms with it. After all it is just hair and it will grow back eventually.  I'm lucky to even have hair.  Cancer patients lose their hair during treatment.

This is my before and after picture

Throughout the night we had numerous events and themed laps.  Some of these include: pizza, breakfast, messy twister, a burrito eating contest, survivors lap, caregivers lap, 90s TV show theme contest, trivia contests, a cheeto toss, and many others. 

2:30 a.m. rave

Goofy pictures in the photo booth

Messy Twister was definitely messy!

Overall, the event was a huge success.  My small school of less than 1,500 students raised over $52,000.  That is a pretty large sum of money.  I intend to keep relay in my life in the future.  It is an opportunity I suggest everyone becomes involved in if they aren't already.

xoxo

-mQs-

Random Friday Lunch

Today the dining hall at our college has closed, they sent all the student and faculty and invitation to a lights out lunch.  This was a push to go green.  They brought in local venues to produce lunches from purely organic ingredients and hand these out in recyclable containers.  Initially, I was not very fond of this concept but after picking up and eating my lunch I was thrilled.  I am all about eating healthy, and eating in the college dining hall often limits my choices for doing so.  But today this was not the case, my lunch was healthy, had variety, and was delicious! 

I had a salad with fresh greens, blueberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, grilled chicken, and blue cheese crumbles topped with a homemade lemon vinaigrette dressing. On the side I had a vegetable medley with zucchini and red peppers.  

The lunch also included a fresh bread stick, but this wasn't just your classic olive garden bread stick.  It was like a mini baguette.  I love fresh bread, so obviously this was my favorite part of the lunch.  To finish up my meal, I had two double chocolate chip cookies.  Drinks were given out in mason jars.  I opted for fresh brewed iced tea, it tasted just like the kind my mom makes so I was thrilled.  I plan on keeping my jar to use for flowers or something later on. 

 The only downside to this "lights out" lunch was that because the upper dining hall was closed, there was limited seating.  Since 12:30 is a common lunch time all of the tables were taken.  It rained this morning so the grass was damp. We were not about to sit on wet grass and lunch, so my roommate and I took our food to our room to eat. 

I know it is a Friday afternoon, but I am off to do some homework since I am going to be too tired to do so Sunday after our relay event. 

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

-mQs-

Relay Week post #3

Two more days until my Relay For Life event! 

Goal: $500

Money raised: $457

One of the fun things about Relay For Life is that it has added a decent number of shirts to my t-shirt collection.  For those of you who know me, know that I am all about tee shirts.  I have a huge collection of them.  

This was the first shirt to be added to my relay for life tee shirt collection.  We have been giving these shirts out all year.  Technically they are "free".  Once you raise $20 you get one of these shirts.  I think the reasons to relay are pretty comical.

This shirt was from the PINK OUT we had this fall.  The relay committee teamed up with the men's and women's soccer teams to raise money for breast cancer awareness.  Before the games we hosted a tailgate for parents and students by supplying them with pink lemonade and fun games like bra pong.  The players all wore these shirts for warm ups.  Parents of the two teams and members of the relay committee bought this shirts for $5.  This was one of the first fundraisers we did this year to kick off relay.

 Dining services, at the college, has a relay team.  They sold these purple shirts for $10.  I couldn't resist buying one.  After all it does go towards a great cause and the saying on it is just so clever.

 This blue shirt is what my relay/field hockey team will be wearing the night of the event.  One of the upperclassmen on the team designed it, and coach bought them for all of us. Score- another free shirt! 

 I love the color of this tangerine shirt.  This is the shirt that every committee member got this year.  Our whole committee wore them all day yesterday. It was a great publicity push to get people to ask us questions about the details for the event this Saturday!

This is the newest shirt that I had added to my collection. I got it last night, for free! We have a huge rivalry with Salisbury University.  Each year there is a big event, War On The Shore, where our lacrosse team plays SU.  This year we hosted the game.  (More details to come in a later post) All of the students go to the game, so we used it as a push for publicity for Relay.  We asked students questions about Relay For Life and if they answered correctly they got one of these shirts.

xoxo

-mQs-

Words of Wisdom (seven)

Relay Week Post #2

Countdown: 3 days left

Money raised: $57

Goal:$500

Each week this semester every person on the committee has made 2-3 posters.  The posters are going to be hung up all around the track that we will be walking around on Saturday night.  Pictured above  are some of the posters I have made throughout the semester.  My favorite one is the pink and leopard one. I felt that this post was appropriate for words of wisdom Wednesday.

xoxo

-mQs-

Acts of Kindness

This morning while looking online I came across this article.  It talks about kind acts that people are doing to help those in despair due to yesterday's tragedy. It is nice to know that there are still good people in the world, especially at times like these. 

Click here to read! 

Volunteer More:

With the busy lifestyles that everybody is living right now, I feel that people are getting to caught up in themselves and forget to donate some time to helping others (volunteering).   Since coming to college, I have become incredibly involved with my campus' college kids against cancer group, also known as the relay for life committee.  Cancer has impacted my life greatly.  I, like most people, have lost numerous loved ones to cancer.  It is an awful medical condition with no cure.  The non profit organization, Relay For Life, works to raise funds to support cancer research and funds other resources to help patients that are fighting the battle.  

Relay Week:

This week is "Relay Week" at my college.  It is the week leading up to our Relay For Life event.  The event is on Saturday from 6 pm until Sunday at 6am.  Our goal is to raise $65,000 as a school.  My personal goal is to raise $500.  Right now I have $402, so I only need $98 to reach my goal.  I am so excited for the actual event I think it is going to be emotional but also a ton of fun too.  I am participating with my field hockey team. If you want to make a donation to my fund, Click here!

In honor of relay week, my blog posts are going to be a bit different this week.  I am going to post something relay related each day.  I hope you all don't mind!

Paint it Purple:

This past Sunday we painted the campus "purple" with relay decor. Here are a few pictures of what the campus looks like now.

Outside of the dining hall we placed 1,500 small purple flags in the grass to represent the 1,500 Americans that die each day from cancer. 

Even George is ready for relay!

Stay tuned for more relay updates this week.

xoxo

-mQs-

Why?

People absolutely disgust me.  My prayers go out to those injured or effected by the explosion at the Boston Marathon and their families.  I seriously don't understand why people do such awful things.  It really scares.  Why can't everybody just be full of love and compassion.

It puts life into perspective.  We must live everyday to the fullest and appreciate what we have and the people in our lives. Life is short and nothing is guaranteed.  

xoxo

-mQs-

The Scary Trend

It's that time of the year where everyone is itching for summer.  And of course with this awkward time of year comes the craving to have a sun kissed look, tan.  For some reason most people just are not content with the natural pale look.  Because of this, a lot of people resort to using tanning beds or laying out excessively on these random 80 degree days in April. 

This weekend while picking a few things up at the grocery store I decided to treat myself to a magazine, Glamour. One of the article squeezed between the mass amounts of advertisements was about skin Cancer. You can find the article here, but in this post I summarized most of what it said.

Facts:

• one fake bake tanning session increases your risk of getting melanoma skin cancer by 20%
• A first degree relative with melanoma is a risk factor to you getting it too
• In 2007- 59,940 people were diagnosed with the deadliest form of skin cancer
• In 2013 it is projected that 76, 690 people will be diagnosed

Tips for Preventing skin cancer...

• Where a hat while outside.  There are tons of cute ones out there.
• When buying sunscreen look for the words: water-resistant, broad spectrum, SPF 30 or more
• Make an annual appointment with a dermatologist
• Re-apply sunscreen

What I do...

• I have never been tanning at a tanning salon.
• I have yearly appointments with my dermatologist.
• I am working to be better at wearing a hat, this past summer I opted quite frequently for a white baseball style cap with my college's name on it.  I used to have a straw hat, but it broke.  I am search of a new one!
• I always wear sunscreen, but I'm not the best at remembering to re-apply.
• My daily face moisturizer contains SPF 15, so on a daily basis I at least have this on at all times of the year.

This is my favorite sunscreen.  It smells good and it moisturizes your skin while protecting it.

This is what I use on my face for sunscreen.  It is less oily, and feels like you are wearing moisturizer rather than sunscreen.

xoxo

-mQs-

Beach Bag

I know it is only mid April but I am in the process of searching for a new beach bag.  Where I go to the beach, our walk from the house to the actual beach is about one mile.  So I am looking for a bag with big straps that will be comfortable on my shoulder for walking.  I like a bigger sized bag so that I can put my towel snacks, a book, magazine, cosmetic bag, etc in it to take with me on the beach. 

I have created a board on pinterest with all of the options I have found so far.  It's easier to just compile them all into one place so that I am able to look at them and compare them simultaneously.

Get Carried Away Tote ($79.99) by Vera Bradley

Color: Rosy Posies

Weekender Scout Bag ($50 + $12 if monogrammed)

Canvas Tote ($33) from Etsy

I don't want this bag as my beach tote, but I thought the saying on it was funny.

Striped Rope Tote ($99) by Vineyard vines

I am not sure if the rope handles would be the best for carrying for such a long walk.

Monogrammed Canvas Beach Tote ($35)

Ballard Tote Bags ($25)

I like the aqua or the light pink colored one.

Chevron Tote ($35) from Etsy

Extra Large Chevron Monogrammed Tote ($43) from Etsy

Shoreline Tote ($78) by Lilly

Coral and White Tote ($35) from Etsy

Aqua Tote ($17) from Etsy

I know I chose a lot of these but I like to have choices.  Help me decide which bag I should make my summer beach bag.  Comment and let me know!

Happy Saturday!

xoxo

-mQs-

Transferring

Before you read this post I just want to apologize for my rambling and poor writing.  I know I change verb tenses and much of what I say probably makes no sense.

Choosing the right college is one of the most challenging things.  At the age of 18 who really knows what the best choice is.  At the time you may think the school you choose is best for what you think you want to do, but sometimes you change your mind about what you want to do.  Today I am going to tell you a story.  The school I am currently at is the only one I applied to when I was a senior in high school. Sure, I had toured about seven other schools, but this was the one for me ...so I thought.  I originally wanted to major in biology and obtain a minor in secondary education.  This school would have been great for that because I could play field hockey (Division III) and they have a magnificent biology program.  

I came to this school in August 2012, a week earlier than the rest of campus, filled with excitement in anticipation of the next four years I would be spending here. Being a Fall athlete means that you have to come early for preseason.  I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect.  As that week went on the freshman class moved in for orientation and I was able to meet my roommate!  Playing a fall sport helped me acclimate to college life rather quickly.  After all, I was practically given 21 friends the day I moved in.  Within the first several weeks of classes, I quickly became overwhelmed with the pace of the biology class and I decided to drop the class.  I did this in fear of getting a poor grade.  At the time I didn't know the option to withdrawal later in the semester existed. Looking back, I wish I would have stayed in the class to give it a longer chance and then withdrew later on if needed.  I'm not really sure now if I dropped this class because it was difficult, I was intimidated, or the work load combined with being in season. 

Dropping this class meant that biology would no longer be my major...now what? Well, I was loving my intro to sociology class and considered this as a new major.  However, the jobs available with this major are limited or were not of interest to me.  So I did some serious thinking and researching about jobs, majors, and career paths.  I finally figured it out.. elementary education!  I have always wanted to be a teacher and then I would discover something new that changed my mind for a short period of time, but education was something that I have consistently gone back to when considering a major.  This makes sense because it is similar to my original plan of action just different aged students. 

Great now that I had my major figured out I decided to take an education class second semester.  So far, this has been my favorite class. Well, at the beginning of this semester there was a meeting for freshman looking to pursue elementary education so naturally I attended.  After asking the department head numerous questions I was quickly beginning to realize this school does not have the best elementary education department for me personally.  

Reason #1: Going to school in Maryland would mean that I would be certified grades 1-6 in Maryland.  I would most likely get a job after college in this rural county that my school is in.  Yes that's great that I would have a job, but staying here in Maryland is not what I want.  There are no universities close to this area where I could obtain my masters degree, which would not be okay if I wanted to keep my salary increasing in the future.

Reason #2: The Maryland certification isn't accepted in Pennsylvania.  This is where I am from and where I want to teach post graduation from this college.  Well that is an issue.  

Reason #3:  Graduating from her and teaching in Maryland would be I would be living here.  I would be getting a low salary to live off of. I would be paying high loans from college, gas money, car loans, groceries, an apartment utilities, etc.  This was by no means enticing to me.

Reason #4: This school does not offer special education.  Most states require teachers to be certified in special education in addition to elementary education when teaching the lower grades.  

Reason #5: This school technically doesn't have an elementary education major, it is called a human development major.  So you are a human development major who goes through the teacher certification process, and you must obtain at least one minor.  When telling people you are a human development major teaching is not what comes to mind.

That was the basic reasoning behind why the program here was not the best fit for me. 

 Well this meant two things either change my major or transfer.  I was pretty set on becoming a teacher, so changing my major was pretty much out of the question.  This means transferring.  This choice was not an easy one but with the help of my mom I did a significant amount of research to reach this decision.  We called the PA state department of education, principals, Human resources at numerous school districts, the department of education at my current college, and several others.  I decided that I needed to go to a school in PA.  The state schools in PA are well known for their education programs, so it makes the most sense to attend one of them.  During my spring break we toured two schools, and I applied to three schools.  

 During this process, I only told my roommate.  Nobody else at my college knew I was transferring. I finally told my field hockey coach the day I came back from spring break. It was really tough, I cried.  Transferring meant no spring season for me.  After telling my coach, I sent my team a long email and I told several other of my friends on campus. My team has been very supportive of me transferring, which makes the process a little bit easier knowing that they have my back.  Going to college with only 1,500 students word spreads fast.  Within a week just about everybody knew I was leaving.  It was kind of nice because I no longer had to hide this big secret or lie when people asked me what classes or where I'm living next year.

I have heard back from one school, and I am waiting to hear back from the other two.  I hate waiting the longer it takes the more anxious I become. I have no idea where I will be this time next year or who I will be living with, so weird to think about.  

This process has made this semester very overwhelming for me.  Making these decisions impact so much of life.  I think this is what is going to be best for me and I just have to make the most of my time left here.

What is meant to be will be.  Everything happens for a reason.

xoxo

-mQs-

Shore Life Playlist No. 2

The warm weather I have long been waiting for is finally here.  Right now it is 89 degrees outside, and I am loving it!  You better believe I have been spending as much time possible outside.  This weather makes me want to get in the car and take a drive to the beach.  To bad I don't have a car here at school to do that and the beach is like two hours away, minor details right.  I don't know about you but I love driving in this weather with the windows down with my music turned up.   I decided to make a play list of what I would listen to if I could take a car ride to the beach right now.

Click here to listen!

Macklemore::Can't Hold us

The XX-::intro

Maroon 5:: Beautiful Goodbye

One Republic:: If I lose Myself

Darius Rucker:: Wagon Wheel

Imagine Dragons:: Radioactive

Olly Murs:: Troublemaker

Train:: Drops of Jupiter

Walk Off the Earth:: Red Hands

Florence + the machine:: Shake it Out

Jack Johnson:: Upside down

Con Bro Chill:: Dance Thief

The Killers:: Smile Like You Mean it

Carly Rae Jepson::  This Kiss

AER:: Few times

The Goo Goo Dolls:: Slide

Will.I.Am:: Scream & Shout

Kenny Chesney:: How Forever Feels

Passion Pit:: Take a walk

Walk Off the Earth:: Summer Vibe

One Direction:: Kiss You

What are some of your favorite songs right now?

I am in the process of making a huge summer play list for myself that I can listen to at the beach, while I am driving, etc.

xoxo

-mQs-

Vera Bradley Favorites

Like most brands, people are obsessive over Vera Bradley.  They have every imaginable item in matching prints. I, on the hand, do like some items but I am not a fanatic.  In case you were wondering, nothing I have from vera bradley is the same print with the exception of my lanyard and i.d. case.  I think the quality of most vera bradley products is pretty good.  I mean obviously things get worn out over time, for example key chains break, lanyards fade, etc. Some of the products are over priced but usually you can find a good deal.  From receiving coupons in the mail, receiving free shipping online, or purchasing items in sale colors.  

The Laptop Backpack ($109) This is the backpack I use for school.  My bag is not this jazzy blooms color, but if I were to get a new one, today, this would be the pattern I would purchase.  I love that it has a back padded pocket just for my laptop.  It allows me to carry everything in one bag rather than having my bag with books and a lap top bag as well.  I have had this for two years and it has yet to fail me.  My only complaint about this is that I wish it had a side pocket big enough to fit a water bottle.  I highly recommend this for anyone who is looking for a school bag.  It is a little pricey but if you buy a sale color the price drops significantly.

Large Duffel ($85) My mom and I each bought this bag a few years ago and we love it!  The different patterns it comes in are adorable, it folds up easily when your not using it, and the size is perfect.  This bag is great for traveling.  A good size for a carry on for flying.  I use this when I go home from college for the weekend.  Fun fact: when I went on vacation with my boyfriend and his family last July, to the beach for one week, I was told I have to pack light because there was limited space in the car.  For those of you who know me, know that packing lightly is just not in my vocabulary. Well, I somehow managed to pack my entire week's worth of clothes in here.  Needless to say, this bag can fit a decent amount.  It also comes in a medium and extra large as well.

The Weekender ($98)  I love the shape of this bag. I personally do not own this, but I know people who do and they love it.  This would be great for taking an overnight trip somewhere.  If I were to purchase this I would buy this pattern, sun valley.

Large Cosmetic ($30)  I have this cosmetic case in a different color.  I do not regret this purchase at all. In fact, I would buy another one.  I use this as my cosmetic bag when I go away.  When I go to the beach I put this in my bag, and inside of it I put my money, phone, ear buds, chap stick,and such.  I have a medium sized one of these as well that I keep in my backpack and tote bag. I really want this cosmetic bag in this pattern to use for my beach bag this summer!

Currently my favorite pattern is Jazzy Blooms.  

Some patterns I own include: Rosy posies, Night & day, Sittin' in a Tree, paprika, cupcakes green, and peacock

What are some of your favorite vera bradley patterns and styles?

xoxo

-mQs-

Weekend Recap

This weekend was nothing out of the ordinary but I thought a weekend recap would be something fun to break out from my ordinary posts.  The weather was fantastic, a foreshadowing for the great weather that is about to come. 

Today, like most Sundays, has been rather laid back.  I talked to my mom for awhile on the phone.  She reminded me how nice the weather is going to be this week (mid seventies- flip flop weather) and that I should probably paint my toes.  Thanks mom! I went with a nice bright pink color it's called "Purple Crush" by ORLY.  Obnoxiously bright colors are in this spring, so I thought this would be a fitting color for my toes.  I can not wait to get an actual pedicure, it has been quite some time since I've had one.  I still am searching for a cute color to paint my finger nails, any suggestions?

I also worked on mastering my fish tail braid.  It is a constant work in progress, but this is one my best one's yet.  Eventually I would like to be able to fish tail in other hairstyles not just the side braid version.

 I like to keep our door decorated, so I took down our Valentine's day decorations and replaced them with these.  It has a cute spring preppy look with the color schemes, hearts, quote, and monograms.

Saturday I spent the day with my friend being a sports fan.  We went to our school's baseball, men's lacrosse, and softball games.  It was great to spend the day outside in the sunshine.  The one side of my face actually got a little burnt because of where I was sitting in the stands.

This morning the famous designer who we all love, Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau, passed away at the age of 81.  You can find an article on her here.  

Fun Fact: she first got the idea for her line filled with prints and bright colors when she spilled orange juice on one of here dresses.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

xoxo

-mQs-

Dressing for Spring and Wishing for Summer

Happy Friday!

Let me tell you how this weather just has me so confused.  One day it is warm and the next it is rather chilly.  I never know how to dress appropriately for these varying temperatures.  It's that awkward time of year when I'm sitting in class and a girl to the left of me has flip flops on while the girl to the right has uggs and her north face on.  Like seriously not okay.  

Personally I feel the appropriate shoe choice for this time of year are flats, sperrys, and toms.  You just can't go wrong with either of those three shoes.  Below are some of my favorite shoe choices for this time of year.  I obviously don't own all of these.  I have the navy TOMS and the completely tan Sperry topsiders.  

On a different note: I survived my paper writing stress filled week! 

And...

The weather today was gorgeous, so I went for a run this afternoon.  I don't remember the last time I went running outside, so I really enjoyed being outside in the fresh air.  The nice thing about my college is that it is located on the eastern shore of Maryland, which means we have a beautiful river front.  I ran about two and a quarter miles total.  I ran through campus, into town, down to the river, and  back.   I haven't been running much lately so my time was not what I would have liked it be, but at least I was out doing something fitness related.  You have to start somewhere.  This winter most of my fitness was focused primarily on lifting because I was training with my team, mandatory workouts with our personal trainer.  In becoming acquainted with the gym this winter, I discovered my love for the stationary bike.  I biked just about every day so my legs are strong, yeah! Anyways... I'm glad it is finally getting to be running weather, though, because I was starting to get bored with my same view from the bike every day. 

This is the water front I ran past while I was out enjoying this, long awaited, Spring day!

xoxo

-mQs-

Words of Wisdom (six)

Good news! I finished the larger one of my two papers with over and hour to spare before it is due.  So I thought it would be acceptable to take a short break from school work to write today's blog post.

I find any quote from Eleanor Roosevelt to be incredibly inspiring.  From a young age I have always found this woman to be incredible.

Fun Fact: When I was in fourth grade I had to write an essay about her for school.  My teacher entered the entire class' essays in a county wide contest, and I was the winner!

Well, now I am back to more school work. Have a great day!

xoxo

-mQs-

Gone for the day

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Due to my extreme procrastination, I have a hefty load of school work to do this week.  Since I have two papers to write this week, I have decided to take a few days of from blogging.  I will return later this week on Thursday or Friday.

This is where I plan on spending the next two days, in my study cubby in the library.

In the mean time, I thought I would leave you all with some blogs that I recently discovered:

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Stripes and Sprinkles

A Sweet Georgia Peach

Adored By Alex

xoxo

-mQs-