Hey guys!
So getting ready for Rome was very intense and took up much more of my time than I thought…
Rome itself is amazing and I can’t wait to post all about it!!
I also got an internship blogging for this cool website Sorority Fashion and my first post just went live. It’s not quite #stylesaturdays but check it out!!
I probably won’t be blogging more except for them while I’m here in Rome just because we’re so busy. (It’s amazing, I love it) but I’ll be back in a couple weeks!!
My new goodies!
When I was planning my blog posts I titled this one with the idea that sun = summer. It’s my second full day at home and there has been no sun at all. Cloudy and overcast since I woke up.
This summer, I’m back home for the purposes of saving money and I had no real reason (re: job/internship) to stay in NYC. Highly disappointing, but I’m trying my hardest to look on the bright side of life!
Summer means more time for myself, and I plan on doing so immensely in the health and fitness world. Once I get back from Rome I have major plans for making my life healthier! (I also plan on running in Rome, probably not as much as once I get home, but gotta stay active! I wonder if they have good yoga studios in Rome…)
I didn’t reach my goals that I set in the middle of the semester. While I’m a little disappointed, I’m not being hard on myself about because I accomplished so many other things. So this summer I want to be able to run a 5K (or more) and I just want to further my yoga practice (and hopefully get a handstand/headstand/forearm stand). I know it takes some yogis more than a year to master those kind of moves so I’m not putting too much pressure on myself.
I plan on holding a job or two (or three) to help save up money, so most likely my only chance to run will be in the morning. 1. It’s cooler (temp wise) and 2. It’ll put me in a routine, and I like routine. I think I’m committed to going to bed early/getting up early. I don’t have much else to do here, so I think it’s possible for me. Especially if I give myself one or two “fun” nights when I’m out with one of two of my friends who are home, or anyone from my dance family. I think it’s all manageable. I also bought an arm band and some Yurbuds (Inspire 400 – thanks CHAARG girls for the recommendations!) and new accessories always make things more exciting!!
I also eventually want to find a running store here in the ROC and get fitted for running shoes. But I’ll have to recover financially from Rome before I do that!
As far as yoga goes, I’m having trouble locating a good studio here in Fairport/Rochester that offers non-hot yoga. While hot yoga is good, I prefer a non-heated room for most of my classes because I do take it so frequently. For me, hot yoga is a once in a while supplement to my practice. But we’ll see, beggars can’t be choosers.
I also am really excited to have a kitchen complete with the works regarding ingredients and machinery. I can’t wait to test out the dozens of healthy recipes I’ve been saving, and giving my favorite non-healthy ones better-for-you counterparts.
I also want to take probably the last two weeks of June and cut sugar out of my diet. I’ve become far too addicted to it, and while I still plan on enjoying it after, I just want to detox a bit and be able to not need it anymore.
Summer is all about relaxing and being care free and I definitely plan on creating a stress free workout routine for myself that I will hopefully be able to carry into the coming semester.
If you’ve never experienced it for yourself and all you know is what you hear in the media, then you probably don’t have a favorable outlook on Greek Life. Yes, I’ll admit there have been some pretty crazy/scary stories floating about, and I’m sure there are even more and even worse that will never be told.
What’s sad is how much these stories and perceptions take away from the numerous positive aspects about sororities and fraternities. I was never someone who had their heart set on joining a sorority. It wasn’t a big thing in my family. I never thought they were bad or anything, it just wasn’t something I was really exposed to. Fun fact: The summer after my senior year I did a local production of Legally Blonde the Musical and I was one of the Delta Nus. Foreshadowing?
Flash forward about 2 years to Fall 2014. Still reeling from the break up I was searching for something, anything that would make me feel less alone. Something that would add to my life. Lights up on the end of the semester in my English class where we all had to give presentations on our topics for our final papers. One girl from my class talked about the discourse of her sorority. I don’t really know what it was but in that moment, something just clicked and I knew that that’s what I needed in my life.
By that point I had missed Fall recruitment, so I waited, anxiously, for Spring recruitment to roll around. After about a month of being incredibly bored (aside from the yoga I had taken up), it was finally here. The invitation said to dress nicely. So I wore a nice t-shirt and cardigan and jeans and riding boots. All the freshman looked like they were going out out and I immediately felt out of place.
That immediately subsided (and I stepped up my other game for the rest of the nights!). I don’t know how much I’m allowed to share, so most of the details of any of the processes will be not be covered, out of courtesy for the sorority, and my sisters. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the wonderful girls from both possible sororities. It was crazy how many girls were feeling just like me, and if I hadn’t gone out for recruitment I never would have known.
Flash forward to Bid Day. I was waiting on pins and needles with about 50 other girls to find out which sorority we would be in. Finally, we got to open our envelopes and I was thrilled to be a potential new member for Sigma Delta Tau – Delta Theta! The cool thing was that some of the girls I had gotten to knew during recruitment would also be going with me, which made it all the better.
Long story short, I wanted SDT because it was so apparent how close they all were (also, they have their own nail polish color!). That was exactly what I had been looking for and I had finally found it. The process was long and intense, but worth every minute because now I have 75+ sisters that will always be there for me. And the best part is, I know at least a little bit about every single one of them. I went from being able to count my good friends at Pace on one hand to needing lots of hands.
My amazing Rho class and New Member Educators ❤
So forget about all the drunken nightmare cases you read about. In case you need more convincing on why sororities are a good thing, here’s a list I’ve put together about all the great things that have happened since I made that decision. I’ve also only been an official sister for a few weeks now, so the fact that I already have all these things is amazing!
1. A diverse group of friends. Sometimes when you are only involved in activities based on your interests you loose out on meeting people with different interests who might really enrich your life. A sorority is filled with girls who come from so many different backgrounds, cultures, and interests. You learn so much from talking to them. I know I have been introduced
2. You always know someone everywhere on campus. Between the small size of my school and being in a dorm, I am always running into one or more of my sisters. This is great whether you need someone to talk to (because you’re sad or happy or excited or confused) or just to see a friendly face. Just one smile from a friendly face can seriously turn your day around. I actually even ran into a sister on the subway, which was just incredibly cool.
3. You have someone to eat with. Gone are the days where you have to sit in the cafeteria alone, or always bring food back to your room. You are bound to see at least one sister in the caf or the fishbowl (a glass room with tables at Pace) so, someone will always be around to keep you company and make sure no one creepy comes to sit next to you.
4. You have someone to just chill when you don’t want to be alone. With 75 girls to text, there is always someone to come hang out with you when your anxiety is really bad or you got some disappointing news and just really don’t want to be alone. Sisters can make all the difference between a night filled with tears and a night filled with laughter.
5. You learn how to respect everyone. It’s impossible to be BFFs with 75 girls. It’s impossible to even get along with 75 people all at once. We all have different ideals and make different life choices. We don’t have to agree with them all, but we do have to respect that our sisters are making choices that they want to. Unless it’s life-threatening, it’s not our place to judge them or anything like that. Everyone is so different, and you learn to celebrate the differences instead of let them come between you.
6. You learn how to manage time. Like I said before, the new member process is time consuming, and when you’re officially a member there are so many events to juggle. If you have a position then that’s more work, as well. Having fun and getting your work done is a delicate balance that every college student struggles with. It’s not perfect all the time, but the more you work on it, the better it gets. And then you can have great grades and great fun!
7. You make a lot of connections. One perk of being in a sorority is that there are a handful of people with the same major or similar career goals as you. More than likely, the older sisters have already had internships and know people that they can connect you with so that your future gets a jump start. They say it’s all about who you know and who you network with, and sorority is just one of those places. It’s also not a fake connection. Your sisters genuinely care about you and want you to succeed and will do anything to help you out.
8. If you’re shy, you become more outgoing. I am a very shy, quiet person. However, starting with recruitment, I’ve had to put myself out there more so than I usually am comfortable with. While I still need my time to myself, I’ve become more accustomed to social settings and have become more outgoing in general. I’ve taken a leadership position for the following semester in the sorority, and in another organization that I’m in. I speak up more in class. I even was completely forward about how I felt about a guy and asked him out. What? Who is this new Liz?
9. You gain leadership skills. As I mentioned above, there are numerous leadership positions in the sorority. From President to Sisterhood Chair, there is something for everyone. It’s a great experience to have and flexes your leadership muscles. It’s fin for natural born leaders, and a perfect way for those who are more inclined to follow to see what leading is like.
10. There are numerous opportunities to give back. Sororities are heavily involved in philanthropy and community service. It’s something we all say we wish we did more of, so being in a sorority is a fail-safe way to keep up with that. We don’t just hold bake sales either, we plan really cool events that would actually entice people to come and end up with a great amount to donate at the end of the night.
11. You get a sense of a community. Pace University does not have a great community, asked from certain majors or groups. That’s just the truth. So if you’re in a more basic major (hello Communications!) you’re bound to feel no community. A sorority is the perfect combat to that. You are automatically welcomed into a group of people that become your new community. It makes you feel much more secure at school, and in life.
12. You finally feel at home. I have always loved NYC and knew I would live here. However, the idea of home is something I’ve been struggling with for the past two years. Neither Fairport nor NYC felt completely like home. Now that I have 75 sisters, this city and this campus feel so much more like home. For the first time, I don’t want to spend the summer back in Fairport. Yes, I miss my family, my dance family, and a couple of friends from work/high school, but my life is here in the city now. There will be more on this in next week’s post, so I’ll leave it at this: Sigma Delta Tau has given me a home.
Bonus: Aside from all your sisters, you also get a perfect Big and Family Tree. I am blessed to have so much of my family line still at Pace. I love them all and I’m so glad my Big picked me to add to the family!
My amazing Big ❤
Family Time!
I can’t wait to revisit this post in 2 years when I graduate and see just how much more I can add!
So this is how I wanted to do my nails for formal last week.
But I ran out of time and literally swiped one coat of the mint color and one coat of matte 20 mins before we left. I had bought a Revlon nail polish the night before and planned on doing it then, but when I went to use it it came out all watery and gross.
So the morning of I ran to the nearby e.l.f. store and got one of their 3-Free nail polishes in Mint Cream. (Side note, mint is my color of the season, apparently. Everything I end up picking out is that color.) e.l.f. makes amazing nail polish! It cost me $2.18 with tax and has the quality ad lasting power of Essie and OPI. So good.
I wanted to actually execute my original plan so a few days later I got to work. Along with the e.l.f. polish I also used:
Essie Ridge Filling base coat
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Essie Matte About You Top Coat
I also used some striping tape to get the negative space.
So the second thing I did was cut striping tape and place it onto my base coat prepped nails. This took awhile because I kept playing perfectionist so it’s best to give the base coat time to dry properly.
Then I slathered on the Mint Cream polish (2 coats) and let it sit for a few minutes before carefully lifting up the tape.
After cleaning up the edges and the chevrons with a small brush and nail polish remover, I put on a coat of Seche Vite. So this is what they look like shiny, and the matte ones are the first picture. I can’t decide if I like it better shiny (is the term actually glossy?) or matte. What do you think?
So as I’ve said multiple times now, the past two months have kept me super busy. From school work to going through a new member process to day-to-day challenges I had considerably less time for staying active than I did before. Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for everything that kept me busy. I just found myself getting discouraged and mad at myself when I would choose to sleep in and skip running, or had to miss yoga because of a social engagement I couldn’t get out of.
As the weeks went on I realized that it wasn’t about the workouts I missed, but about the ones I did get in. So I could only get to yoga twice that week (instead of the eight classes I had been doing prior to March)? Well, each time I go to yoga I walk the almost mile to the studio and back again. Part of it is to save money on subway fares, but I also usually really enjoy my walks, and it adds in 2 miles of exercise.
Speaking of walking, NYC is for sure a walking city. Cabs and the subway are expensive, so if it’s within a mile or two and the weather isn’t bad out, then I will be walking there. (Two notes: I don’t walk far by myself late at night and I actually walked to yoga when the snow was really bad!). Anyways, all the walking around the city I do adds up. So maybe I didn’t run two miles, but if I walked that much or more than that’s perfectly fine.
I choose to celebrate the little things. Took the stairs to class instead of the elevator? Great! Got a wrap instead of pizza? Nice choice! It’s finally sunny out? Perfect for a walk along Hudson River Park (my fav place to be)!
If you’re hard on yourself when you miss a workout (or anything really), you’ll only feel worse. You are your biggest critic and if you can let the bad little things slide while focusing on the good little things, then you will find yourself much happier. Obviously, if you let everything slide, that’s a different problem, but now and then, especially when you’re so busy, it’s okay. Just smile and look forward to the next day’s workout. And maybe just walk a little more.
So I saw Something Rotten a few weeks ago and it was the funniest musical I’ve ever seen!
Something Rotten: The Most Misleading Title of Broadway’s Love Letter
by Liz Lombardi
I don’t think I’ve ever smiled and laughed as much during a musical or play than I did when watching “Something Rotten.” I swear I’m not eggaggerating (see the musical and this makes sense).
I absolutely love musicals. It’s hard for me to say I don’t like a show. I will if I have to, though. But there usually comes a time in every performance when the plot gets a little slow and I start to think “Wow I’ve been in this seat for awhile. I wonder how much is left?” I know, it sounds terrible, but it’s the truth. I never once thought this during “Something Rotten.” I was so caught up in everything that I couldn’t believe when the curtain when down for intermission, and again for the finale. What went through my head this time was, “How has it been two and a half hours already?”
The show is set during the Renaissance, a time when art and culture were the most important things, as reinforced by the catchy opening number “Welcome to the Renaissance” and lead by the very talented and sassy Michael James Scott. It focuses on the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, and their quest to write a play that outshines those of fellow bard, Mr. William Shakespeare. Through crazy turns of events, Nick gets Nigel to help him write what will be the first musical ever, a song and dance filled show called “Omelette.” Yes, there are dancing eggs on stage and if that doesn’t entice you to go, I don’t know what else will.
Probably the best part about this show is the dozens of hidden (and not-so-hidden) references to Shakespeare’s works and numerous other musicals. In a real-life parallel to the show, the book, music, lyrics, and idea were conceived and written by two brothers, Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick. I’m calling it now folks, this show will win Best Book of a Musical at the Tony Awards this year. The references weren’t painstakingly obvious and the humor was incredibly witty and refined. If you’re someone who isn’t a musical theatre nerd, you’ll get a lot of the references, and if you really have no idea about musicals, you’ll still be able to laugh along just as much.
Brian D’Arcy James (Next to Normal, Shrek, Smash) has a voice that so perfectly reflects Nick Bottom’s strong desire to beat out his nemesis Shakespeare. James’ acting is sublime – it takes a lot of concentration to hide said concentration while delivering and receiving such hilarious lines.
John Cariani (Fiddler on the Roof) plays Nick’s little brother Nigel, someone who turns from boy to man throughout the course of the musical because of his writing and his love-struck heart. Cariani plays the transition well, making young Nigel an instant crowd favorite simply because they feel for him.
Heidi Blickenstaff (The Addams Family, [title of show], The Little Mermaid) has taken the character of Bea and turned her into a role model for women of any time period. Her anthem “Right Hand Man,” as well as her actions throughout the show, proves that women are just as capable as men, something that is being debated as recently as this year.
While every one does a spectacular job fulfilling the story line, no one stands out more than William Shakespeare, portrayed by Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher, Legally Blonde, Smash). Borle has crafted Shakespeare to be akin to a modern day rock or pop star. Think Beyonce in the sense that everyone goes crazy in her presence and they think she can do no wrong. The Bard puts on many faces in order to get what he wants, and Borle makes each transition humorous, yet incredibly smooth.
The lastest development in ticket sales has been online lotteries, and “Something Rotten” is no exception. Thanks to technology this makes it even easier to win (usually front row) tickets for a decent price ($35). By going to lottery.rottenbroadway.com and filling out the form, you’ll be entered to be one fo the lucky winners for the day!
“Something Rotten” opened on April 22nd and is sure to last a long time, especially with it’s 10 Tony Nominations, including Best Musical and Best Book. It’s refreshing to see original material on a Broadway stage amongst the revivals and shows based off movies, and I think much of the theater community agrees with me. I can only say so much about it, but you’ll have to take my word that this is one show that will cheer you up no matter what you’re feeling. With a cast album releasing this summer, we will finally be able to relive the humor day after day.
Heidi Blickenstaff!
Christian Borle aka Rockstar Will Shakespeare!
Cause the haters gonna hate, hate, hate
Don’t worry, I didn’t disappear! I was just super busy with school and lining up some exciting opportunities for myself!
Classes are almost over and it finally feels like the start of summer. I am so excited to get back to blogging more consistently, and I have a lot to tell you all!
So what have I been up to besides classes and yoga-ing?
Well here is just a little bit of an insight of what I’ve been doing and what I’ll be blogging about in the next few weeks!
That’s just a little insight as I’m just coming down from a busy past months. The next couple weeks aren’t as bad so I can’t wait to post more!
Until next time!
Liz
Working on my headstand AND my photography skills. Not sure which needs more work at the moment…
So after I wrote last weeks post, I realized that even my more immediate goals were still too vague. I came up with both a cardio/CHAARG related goal and a yoga related goal.
So by the end of the semester (about 10 weeks) I want to:
Dorm room vibes
I’ve added a bunch of new commitments in the past couple of weeks, so I’ve suddenly found myself busier than I’ve been in a long time. But I’ve made a commitment to my mental and physical health and I haven’t let that get in the way of being active every day. Even though I’ve had to cut back on the amount of time I spend each day, I know that if I let it go completely, my mind would not be in a place to focus on all the awesome new things in my life.
A great thing that a Virtual Chaarg membership has is Accountability Buds. Each month you’re assigned a VirtChaarg member to get know and keep in touch with to make sure you’re each working towards your goals. It’s really awesome and this is the first month I’m doing it and I can’t wait to see how this makes being a Chaarg girl even better!
Photo Creds: Me
Have you ever had so much free time that you start something creative (like a blog)? And then you realize you still have too much time on your hands plus you need things to blog about? So then you look into all these opportunities and start adding them to your schedule so that suddenly you have a whole lot on your plate?
Well that’s me, and why I haven’t posted as frequently as I would like to. It’s all super exciting stuff that I can’t necessarily talk about right now. The next two months or so are going to be super packed, but also super exciting and worth all the added stress. I’m going to blog as much as I can, and definitely about my fitness journey! (#fitnessfriday) I’m just in the phase where I have to figure out how to balance all my new opportunities, but don’t worry I will!
So as I mentioned last week, I recently purchased nail striping tape from Amazon. This week I used it for the first time. And…. I’m not super impressed. 😦 Hours after I put it on, many of them started peeling off. I’m really glad I took that picture right away, or I wouldn’t have any proof. I even redid some of the nails and the same thing happened. So I would love suggestions as to how to help them stick for more than a few hours.
I also think I need to get a tool like cuticle clippers to use to trim the ends to fit my nails perfectly. That may help. I was in CVS yesterday, though, and those things are expensive!! Some were close to $15! I may have to wait until I go home, I’m pretty sure I have a pair from an old manicure kit. FYI never use them to actually cut your cuticles! So bad for your nails!!
Anyways, for the nail design, I saw a similar version on one of the nail Instagram accounts I follow, @valleynyc. If you love nail art definitely follow them! I really want to go visit them and get something cool done by them, but a college girl’s gotta save money by doing her nails herself! Maybe when I’m rolling in the dough….
So this time I took step by step pictures this time!
First, I cleaned my nails and shaped them and everything and put on my Essie Ridge Filling base coat. Then I used a color striping tape that I got multiples of and probably wouldn’t use much anyway. I put it on my ring fingers because that’s where I wanted the negative space.
Sorry it’s a little blurry…
Then I used Covergirl’s Give ‘Em the Greenlight and painted two coats on every nail. I waited just a few seconds before pulling off the striping tape and got pretty clean lines and….
Again, apologies…
So then I put this coppery/rose gold color striping tape on the other 8 nails so it would line up with the negative space. I also outlined that space on my ring fingers. This can be seen in the first photo.
I sealed everything with that Seche Vite top coat and got better results polish wise this time. It didn’t really help with the tape no matter how many times I tried to “glue” down the edges. But second chances, people. 🙂
I love how it turned out, I just wish there was a way for them to consistently last longer. Otherwise I’d only be able to use the tape for special events and not just everyday which would be supper disappointing.
What’s not disappointing is when I walked into CVS I saw this new nail polish brand pop-arazzi. Of course I’m attracted to new nail polish. I’m also attracted to their 2 for $5 price. CVS also had a deal where you buy 2 cosmetic items and get 1 free. So I got these 3 lovely colors (L-R Toes in the Sand, So Cheeky, I Want to Be Royale) for 5 bucks. That’s a deal for me! It was so hard to choose just three from the roughly 30 colors. I can’t wait to try them out and let you know how they hold up! Plus the bottles are super cute, no?!
Photo Creds: All me! (And I’m working on it…)
Blank Space 