happy 23rd birthday, me :)

Happy.  A feeling I did feel today.  A lot :) 

Birthdays are my favorite!  I enjoy celebrating these special days for all of the wonderful people in my life.  And this year, for my own birthday, I was definitely sad knowing I'd be spending it without my favorite people.  But the chapter here at UTenn did such a wonderful job still making me feel special! 

I started my day with brunch with former Purdue Fraternity/Sorority adviser, Lindi Smedberg, who actually wrote one of my recommendations for this CDC job!  She now works for UT and was a sweetheart and took me to a yummy brunch at a local Knoxville restaurant.  The day was gorgeous here, 60 degrees and sunny!  The campus is near a river so I was able to go for a long run, something I miss a lot in this job.  It felt so good to exercise!!  I spent the most of my afternoon catching up with dear friends & family, I really had one phone call after another which made me feel very special.  I got lots of cards, packages, and even cupcakes from friends & family...I felt so spoiled!  It meant so much to me that these wonderful people sent these wishes all the way to TN just for me!

Cupcakes sent from Michelle and Lauren!

The chapter made reservations at a local restaurant, The Copper Cellar, and I had a great turkey burger!  Definitely not the same as my homemade birthday dinner I can always request at home, but still pretty good :)  Then, we went to the chapter suite for an officer meeting.  Much to my surprise, the chapter had decorated the room and brought out a cake with candles as they sang me "Happy Birthday".  I got a little teary eyed as I blew out the candles.  Sounds cheesy, but this truly is such a beautiful example of Delta Gamma sisterhood.  These women barely knew me, yet still made me feel so special on this day.  I will forever remember this group of women for their amazing hospitality and thoughtfulness on my birthday!

As I reflect on this day, I realize I am not officially 23 and have lots of changes coming in this year!  Thoughts of my next life phase consume me daily.  Not knowing what I will be doing when my travels end in May gives me anxiety...but it is also refreshing knowing I get a new start to life soon!  God brought me to this job and I know He will lead me to the next.  I have a good feeling about this year!  I pray its filled with more adventures, unknowns, new friends, challenges, hope and happiness :)  Thank you to all those who make this life so great! 

My cake and giant card!



At my birthday party!  With the president, Emily :)

back to my kentucky roots

Delta Beta house

Being in Lexington at the University of Kentucky was filled with so many wonderful things!  I arrived at UK the night after the Regional Training Day, so I was on a DG high!  The officers at Delta Beta are enthusiastic, organized and just plain fun!  The week I visited the women were practicing hard for an all campus event called GreekSing.  The chapter chose Monopoly as their theme and they rallied all 160 of them to choreograph a full dance...it was AWESOME!  I saw two of their practices, including a dress rehearsal, and according to my YouTube creeping...they rocked it! 

One of the most special parts about this visit was being reunited with our dear family friends, the Darsts!  Meghan, Kristen and Michael all attend(ed) UK and I got to see all three of them during my visit!  Most of my time I spent with Meghan, who truly was one of my best friends in elementary school.  We picked up right where we left off and I tried to spend a good amount of my free time with her since this really was such a wonderful coincidence that I could even see her!  We have already planned a family reunion this summer because of our great time we had together :)

Another highlight was being able to attend a UK Wildcats basketball game too!  It was SO lucky that I got a ticket considering the team is ranked #1 in the NCAA!  The game was such a cool experience..they have fireworks as the players enter...uh seriously!?  Even some DGs cheer for the team, which was so great to see them too. 

Ready for the game!!

There is just so much southern charm in Lexington and I truly enjoyed my visit.  The women were such great hostesses and I just loved the UK campus.  They are preparing for their 50th Anniversary weekend and I believe they should be so proud of their history and have much to celebrate :) 

happy thought

Something I've been playing on repeat and needed to be shared!  Another reason why I adore Ben Rector.  Always puts me in the best of moods :) 

happy thought

region 2 training: a perfect example of lifetime membership!

As a CDC, it is quite the opportunity to be a part of a Regional Training Day.  I was able to serve as a vp: programming and vp: member education facilitator for the Region 2 Training in between my Delta Omicron (MSU) and Delta Beta (UK) visits.  The other wonderful facilitators were Region 2 members, past CDCs, past Council members, and current Cabinet members.  It is days like these where I smile and think about all of the leadership possibilities I will continue to have when I'm surrounded by these inspiring leaders of all ages!  I enjoyed this day and learned so much from the other facilitators and chapter members.  I was very thankful to have been a part of such positive idea sharing, leadership training, and solidified even more what membership in Delta Gamma truly means!  It was awesome :)

Past and present CDCs, oldest to youngest!

Melissa Hansen, the wonderful Region 2 Director.  Her younger sister is a
Beta Iota and was in my new member class at Purdue! 
It's one small world :)

kentucky country

Heading back to the state of Kentucky was something I was really looking forward to.  My first of two visits in the state was Morehead.  I was welcomed with thick Kentucky accents, trucks, and cowboy boots...I was definitely in Kentucky country! 

The town of Morehead was very small, but had little pockets of charm.  I feel in love with a cute little coffe shop and bookstore called Fuzzy Duck.  They had the best iced Chai I've ever tasted and their little book shop was full of greeting cards, my favorite!  I got a campus tour at the beginning of my visit and a part of my tour was a drive up to Eagle Lake, a large lake near campus.  It was beautiful and the chapter is hoping to do a canoeing day there for their upcoming sisterhood retreat!

Morehead State campus

I stayed in the chapter apartment, called Gilley, which was near all of the athletic fields/buildings.  I got to catch a Women's basketball game, where two Delta Gammas were cheerleaders for the game!  COB events were going on during my visit, including a Cupcake night and dinner at Buffalo Wild Wing's. 

Gilley Apartment

It was a quick and jam packed visit because I drove with the women to Lexington for a Region Training Day the Saturday of my visit.  More on this fun day next!! 

MSU CMT members at the Region 2 Training Day! 

region 4 pride!



Beta Zeta chapter lodge

As CDCs, we tend to stay away from visiting chapters in our own regions, just to make sure we are gaining experiences in new areas and working with women from different Regional Teams.  But I was lucky to sneak back into Region 4 (Indiana, Ohio and Michigan) for Beta Zeta-Denison University Formal Recruitment! 

This chapter visit was just what I needed after my challenging visit prior.  From the minute I walked into the door I felt a sense of home...literally!  One of the first members was from St. Louis and was two years younger than me at Villa! I began to meet a few other members from St. Louis and Indiana and made lots of connections with mutual friends.  It really is one small world.

"Greek Values" Round was the first day of Formal Recruitment for the chapter.  They all wore the cutest shirts I had seen on the road thus far!  Long sleeved navy "frocket t's" that said "Keep Calm and Sail On", topped with an anchor of course.  The perfect blend of preppy and trendy!

My week in between recruitment weekends was filled with officer meetings, eating meals at the local Granville restaurants (which were all locally owned and very yummy!), and catching up on "Courtney" time.  I got to stay in the Granville Inn near campus...having a hotel is CDC heaven!  I was lucky to be near Executive Offices in Columbus, so I had some wonderful staff members who came to visit me.  It meant so much to me that they drove all the way to spend time with me.  No other job is like this! 

The Granville Inn

My wonderful visitors!  Erin Huffman and CDS's Kate and Liz!

The adorable Main Street!  Village Coffee Shop was a favorite :)

The second weekend brought Skit and Preference Rounds.  The chapter created an adorable skit, centered around a Candyland theme.  The main character was a PNM attending CLU (Candyland University...so creative!) and wanted to learn the benefits of membership.  All of the classic board game characters led her on the path to Delta Gamma..of course :)  Preference Round was yet another Lei Ceremony, which is always a classic DG ceremony.  The leis came from Hawaii just in time, after a panic because of an orchid shortage in Thailand....who knew?!

Learned how to make paper flowers!
These girls were crafty!

Singing "Sweet Delta G"...just like "Sweet Caroline"

Bid Day brought 29 new members into the Beta Zeta chapter, with two legacies!  The women were so excited for their new members and happy all their hard work paid off.  I truly enjoyed my visit to the quaint town of Granville, OH and the beautiful campus of Denison University! 

Welcoming the new members!