It’s that time of the year again! The Lindenwood University ladies softball team are kicking off the new school year with many new faces on the field. Not only did the team earn six incoming freshman, but they also landed a senior transfer as well! Although the Fall is not softball season, the Lindenwood Softball team competed in a “scrimmage” against Iowa Central College last Friday night. The Lady Lions took the victory against the junior college with a ending score of 9-2.
After reading and rereading the article “Is Independence the Key to Happiness” I began to think about the rhetorical question to myself. The article made some very good points about how relationships most of the time change people and lose confidence in their decisions. Being the fairytale lover I am, I like to believe that everyone has somebody out there though that would change them for the better. Why does change necessarily have to be bad? Maybe, he wasn’t the right man for her, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she should just give up on love all together. Of course, I am a huge fan of being independent and finding some alone time to yourself, but having a significant other doesn’t make you a dependent person all together.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/19/living/independence-linked-to-happiness/index.html?hpt=li_c2
This article discussed the stereotypes of sports fans and how they are typically looked at as being overweight, beer drinking couch potatoes. However, really this is not the case as this article points out. “Sports fans are quite active physically, politically, and socially,” Daniel Wann, a psychology professor said. Being a sports fan can be good for your emotional, psychological, and social health as well. Most sports fans contain a higher self-esteem and are no more aggressive than non sport fans. I thought this article was very interesting because most people tend to think that the average sports fan is a lot more over weight and aggressive than the average being. However, according to this article, that assumption is untrue. A lot of the sports fans do not really think about what they are consuming during the ball game because they believe what they do after the ball game weigh everything out. It also gives people a common interest and something to belong to. Being a sports fan can bring communities, families, and friends together as well.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/health/side-effects-sports-fan/index.html?hpt=he_c2
alright… here’s a few of my new crochet projects that i just recently finished!
This past week, the Lindenwood Legacy posted an article about how ACB is bullying people who do not join their group or have left their group in the past. I personally feel like this group is a almost a cult from all that I have seen and heard. It’s crazy to see the constant manipulation of people in the group. Also, when reading about how people are treated when leaving the group is just as ridiculous and unnecessary. The Lindenwood Legacy was forced to deliver their newspapers to the men’s and women’s housing because ACB members were taking the stacks around school and throwing them away. Clearly, there is something wrong with this picture. I also chose to read some of the comments under the article and it kept saying how this group “saved” some people. I personally believe their are other ways to turn your life around besides joining a group that almost brainwashes you to believe their beliefs.
http://lindenlink.com/news/accusations-arise-acb-crosses-the-line#/comments
It’s that time of the year again for all college basketball lovers. March Madness means that the brackets are back and it is important to bet on your favorite basketball team to win the tournament. What I enjoy most about March Madness is the fact that there is always an upset of some sort. In most cases, the favorites go kind of far, but end up getting beat by a lower ranked team. That is what makes this tournament so fun and interesting to watch. You really do not know the outcome. Most people submitting brackets are of course college basketball fans, but there are also some random people who just complete a bracket randomly. I know my mom really enjoys putting in a bracket because she likes to pick the team with the “prettier color.” Sadly, she usually goes the farthest in our family for this bracket because of all the upsets. The main thing to remember when filling out your bracket though is that there is no correct method when filling out a bracket. Let the games begin!
http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/en/frontpage
Over Jterm I was forced to get a Twitter and use it on a daily basis in order to receive points for my class. I didn’t really understand the concept of Twitter because everybody could follow me without my permission. One of the twitter names that ended up following me was LindenLeaks. I was kind of pissed cause I thought Lindenwood was trying to track down my daily tweets to make sure they were appropriate. Little did I know, LindenLeaks retweeted everything that anybody wrote that was bad about Lindenwood. LindenLeaks was recently removed from Twitter because they were caught exposing personal, private information about former students that attended Lindenwood University. I personally think the entire Twitter page was stupid. If you really hate Lindenwood that much to make a Twitter page about it then go somewhere else. Why would you continue to stay at a school that you bash every hour of the day? The author of this Twitter page clearly had to attend this school, whether as a faculty or as a student. It just makes me angry that somebody would spend so much time bashing on a school that gives students an opportunity to learn.
Continuing to Learn
Wow, I learned so much new information this week and this January term it’s not even funny! I learned so much useful information that I can now use in my everyday life about personal branding. In the beginning of the term, I was not really sure what to expect from this class. I was a little nervous I did not know enough about my personal brand to even take this class in the first place! Throughout this course I have learned so much and engaged with so many new people that I now would consider my friends… AND IT’S ONLY BEEN THREE WEEKS! How crazy is it to think of how close we all have become. Anyways, back on topic…
Lets Talk Derek Mabie
In the beginning of this week we had so many visitors come in and talk to us about their personal brand. Derek Mabie was the first to come. Let me tell you, if you need to know absolutely anything about SEO, personal branding, or social media this is definitely your go to guy! He is probably the easiest person you could possibly talk to on the face of the earth. He informed our class that a paper resume alone is not going to get you anywhere in life. In fact, he looks for different blogs, videos, anything besides that when he hires. I found that information to be kind of shocking since you are always trying to spice up your resume somehow. “”If you want to build a personal brand, you have to be willing to publish,” Mabie said.
City in a Jar
The next few days we had more and more visitors come in and talk to us a little more about building personal brands and how they became successful in doing so. Maddie and Jess came in to talk to us about their successful blog that they created less than a year ago called City in a Jar. They were so comfortable speaking to the class about anything under the sun about their blog. They showed us examples from their Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. on how to get more and more readers to follow your blog. They were very inspiring and I definitely learned a lot from them.
Final Time to Shine
For our final, we were required to post three different types of blogs that had to do with something about our niche. I was honestly stuck when I found out we had to write in different forms. I didn’t know how I was possibly going to pull this off giving out step by step instructions on how to create a craft. However, after looking at the list of 20 types of Blog Posts, I started to brainstorm a little more. I still ended up giving out step by step instructions, but each post had it’s own little twist to it to determine the type. I came out to be pretty successful after all.
A little something extra…
After searching the web a little I found some articles that have even more types of blogs posts that can keep your posts nice and fresh every post! The one that I found myself looking at the most was an article written by Mike Sansone called 64 Different Kinds of Blog Posts to Keep Your Writing Fresh. I found this article to be very helpful for me for my future in blogging. There are SOOO many different types of blogs that you can post so be sure not that make all of your posts the exact same style! Spice them up a bit! Use Sansone’s article to trigger your thought of style and form! Hopefully you find it just as interesting and helpful as I did!
Sometimes I like to think of myself as an old retired lady and sit around all day crocheting. I originally taught myself how to crochet this past Christmas break thanks to some online resources who took me through step by step. Truth is I’m a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff. It takes some patience of course, but once you get the hang of it you cannot stop! You just want to keep learning more and more! It’s seriously so much fun doing it and when you are all finish you feel so accomplished! Plus you never know- you might be just as amazing of a housewife as I will be thanks to now knowing the tricks to crochet! There are some videos I provided under each process that helped me when I first taught myself crochet! I personally think Lion Brand is the best site to teach absolutely anybody how to crochet. HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS LESSON!!!
Basic Crochet Stitch: Single Crochet
Materials needed:
Learning the slip knot
Tip: This does not count as a stitch
Learning the chain stitch
Step one: Hold the hook in your right hand – in your left hand loop the yarn over your index finger- hold the slip knot between your middle finger and thumb of your left hand
Step two: Wrap yarn from left to right over the crochet hook
Step three: Grab the yarn with the hook to pull through the loop
CHAIN ONE IS COMPLETE!
Step four: Repeat steps 1-4 until you have as many chains as your pattern requires.
Tip: it’s important to make the chain stitches kind of loose when crocheting!
Here’s a video from Lion Brand Yarn teaching us how to chain stitch!
Learning the single crochet
Step one: Make one more chain at the end of the chain row to be able to turn the stitch
Step two: Insert hook front to back in the center of the second change from the hook (there should now be two loops on the hook)
Step three: Wrap the yarn from front to back over the hook, hook it and pull it through the two loops (this process is called “yarn over”)
Step four: Insert the hook into the middle of the next change stitch and repeat the process again until done with the row.
Step five: To begin the second row turn your work, chain one stitch and start again with the steps 1-4
WHOO HOO!!! YOU HAVE JUST LEARNED HOW TO SINGLE CROCHET!!!
Here’s a video from Lion Brand Yarn teaching us how to single crochet!
So I totally understand when it comes to interior decorating, things get a little pricy. This takes place everywhere! You don’t even need to go to an expensive decorating place to spend hundreds of dollars on things that you could probably make yourself if you had the time… Well lucky for you there are three different crafts to interior decorating that are UNBELIEVABLY CHEAP and do not take longer than twenty minutes to complete. These are some tricks to the trade that look amazing and cost you barely anything! These are all items that are so simple and so beautiful when done… you just cannot say no to trying them! Provided below are three simple CHEAP decorations for around the house that can spice up a room instantly! Prices of each decoration/ craft are at the bottom of each! ENJOY! Check out my very own DIY & Crafts Website!
Craft One: Wall Decor
Materials needed:
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: $20.07
Instructions:
Step one: Cut the Styrofoam sheets to make three 12” x 12” sheets (use ruler to measure exact)
Step two: Use Tacky Glue to glue on a sheet of 12”x12” scrapbook paper to the 12″ x 12″ Styrofoam sheet
Step three: Glue ribbon around the perimeter of the Styrofoam
Step four: Attach wall hanger to back of craft to hang on the walls
Step five: Repeat steps 1-2 for the rest of the wall decorations until having NINE completed wall decorations
Craft Two: Earring Holder
Materials needed:
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: $9.34
Instructions:
Step one: Take off the back of the frame and the glass. You only need the actual frame.
Step two: Cut strips of fabric to the length of the picture frame.
Step three: Use Mod Podge to glue on the fabric to the picture frame.
Step four: Use scissors to cut the canvas to a likable size that fits perfectly in the back of the picture frame.
Step five: Use Hot Glue Gun to glue the perimeter of the canvas to back of the picture frame.
Step six: Use Hot Glue Gun to glue the flower onto the front corner of the frame.
Craft Three: Designed Outlet Plates
Materials needed:
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: $5.83
Instructions:
Step one: Trace the part of the Scrapbook paper that you want with your outlet.
Step two: Cut out the selected part of the Scrapbook paper using scissors.
Step three: Use a sponge brush to brush on Mod Podge on the front side of the outlet plate
Step four: Smooth the cut out piece of scrapbook paper onto the plate
Step five: Put a couple of coats of Mod Podge over the scrapbook paper on the outlet plate
Step six: Let it dry.
