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Is this real life?

Posted by Anna Kate Thursday, July 21, 2011 0 comments

The past few days have been a total whirlwind. I pinch myself every morning thinking that this is all still a dream. But when I saw all of this on my first day of training at Executive Office, I knew it was officially official -


Nametag, business cards AND holder, a BlackBerry, office supplies galore, my very own ritual book, and the most ADPerfect LC notebook from my awesome Violet Sister! Oh, not to mention my iPad 2 - now known as the "Pi Pad" among my LC Sisters. Do I have the best job ever or what?!

I think it's still going to take some time for it all to sink in, but we haven't had time for that yet! Training has been keeping us busy, and we were fortunate enough to have a visit from the gentlemen of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity Wednesday afternoon. Twelve of their consultants plus three programming directors came to visit us on their way back to their headquarters in Charlotte, NC. We gave them a tour, exchanged business cards (I thought this was really cool - like trading cards for grown-ups), and of course we just had to make time for a little photo shoot before they left. Don't worry, a hug train picture with them was a must. Pictures to follow soon, I promise! They were priceless, to say the least. But they left us by dropping down to one knee and serenading us with their traditional PiKap song. These men were absolutely wonderful and we're so glad they stopped by!
PiKap Consultants showing some Pi love! <>
As if things couldn't get any better, we are headed to Macon today for a little ADPi history field trip! We were founded at Wesleyan College in 1851 and our founder, Mother Fitzgerald, has also been laid to rest in a local cemetery. This is not my first visit, but I am so excited to share this unbelievably special experience with my Consultant Sisters. Knowing that together we will walk the same paths our founders did over 160 years ago as we begin our new adventure is just another reminder of why we do what we do and what makes the lifetime bond we share as sisters unbreakable . . .

We live for each other.
And for Alpha Delta Pi.

 

LC survival kit.

Posted by Anna Kate Wednesday, July 20, 2011 1 comments

I know y’all are probably tired of hearing how excited I am to move to ADPi Memorial Headquarters and be reunited with my Consultant Sisters, BUT I was just so beside myself last week in anticipation that I decided to make a “Leadership Consultant Survival Kit” for each of them.  This wasn’t anything big, just a little something cute that I wanted to do.  Here are the essentials –

LC Survival Kit

SWEET & SOUR CANDY 
A reminder to appreciate
the difference in others.

TOOTSIE ROLL
To remind you not to
bite off more than
you can chew.

STARBURST
To give you a burst of
energy on the days you
don't have any.

PAPER CLIP
To help keep things together
when they seem to be getting
out of control. 

PENCIL & ERASER 
To remind you that you
can start every day
with a clean slate.

PIECE OF RIBBON
For when you reach the end of your rope –
tie a knot to this
and hang on.

HAPPY FACE
Smiling not only increases your face value,
it is contagious.

RUBBER (HAIR) BAND
To help you stretch yourself to new limits.

SNICKERS 
To remind you to
laugh at yourself.

GUM
Your LC Sisters will
“stick” by you.

LIFESAVERS
A reminder of the times we need others
help and they need ours.

LEMON DROP
If life gives you lemons,
make lemonade!

 

Big wheels keep on turning.

Posted by Anna Kate Monday, July 18, 2011 4 comments


On Saturday I finally got serious about packing for my LC travels (mostly because my Mom made me).  Luckily, we did have an awesome spreadsheet from the 2010-2011 LCs that made the packing process so much easier.  Thank you so much, sisters!  I don’t know what I would have done without it.

For my luggage, I have a three piece set of 360-degree rolling Heys Luggage.  With the help of the lovely Miss Ashlyn Stallings’ blog post that you can read here, I packed accordingly.  The largest piece of luggage is going to be my closet, the mid-sized one my powder room, and the smallest one my office.  The “closet” of course contains all of my clothes, undergarments, and shoes.  The “powder room” holds all of my shower supplies, hair products, make-up, etc.  And my “office” carries my books, laptop, digital camera, and medicine.

I have to give Ashlyn credit again for the advice on what I should take on the plane other than my rolling carry-on.  After talking with her (and asking her 1 of 1,000 questions) I invested in a briefcase bag that I absolutely love so far.  I obviously haven’t traveled with it yet, but it seems just perfect.

I guess I will find out soon enough how this little arrangement works because I leave for Atlanta TOMORROW to begin training at ADPi Executive Office!

 

Pecan pie cookies.

Posted by Anna Kate 5 comments

I mentioned yesterday on my post that I work at the Georgia Pecan Growers Association when I’m at home.  One of my “fun facts” that I shared with the other LCs was that I can rattle off lots of useless information about pecans.  (How many pecans are used to make a pecan pie?  About 78.)  I am always looking for recipes that use pecans for our magazine at work – The Pecan Grower.  I came across this recipe for Pecan Pie Cookies and they looked so delicious I just had to try it for myself!  I made this batch today as a yummy treat for my Consultant Sisters tomorrow when we move into ADPi Headquarters!

For the cookies, you will need –
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

 
Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in a large bowl.

Beat at medium speed until creamy.  Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder.  Beat until well mixed.


Shape dough into 1-1/4 inch balls and place 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.



 


Make indentation in each cookie with thumb;
rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.





Now, for the filling you will need –
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla




Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl;
fill each cookie with 1 rounded tsp.





Bake on 350-degrees for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.


Enjoy!

*You might enjoy them more if you DON’T look at the Nutrition Facts, but here they are –
(1 cookie): Calories: 130, Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 50mg,
Carbohydrates: 15g, Dietary Fiber: <1g, Protein: 1g

 

An appreciative mindset.

Posted by Anna Kate Sunday, July 17, 2011 0 comments

When I'm at home, I work here!
Last week at work, I spent two days writing thank you letters.  That was literally all I did for the entire day on Monday.  Writing these thank you letters was a priority, and expressing appreciation to our supporters is crucial to our business.

It made me stop and think – is showing appreciation a top priority in my own life?  As I sat there writing, I couldn’t help but to recall the two or three thank you notes that I had left unwritten.  Showing appreciation for others more was one of my New Year’s Resolutions, and although I have improved, I still have a long way to go.

It is so simple for me to sit down at work and write countless thank you notes, so why is it so difficult for me to do in my personal life?  It often seems like just another task I tack on the end of my to do list, but it should really be more of a way of life than a duty.

“Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.” -Gladys B. Stern
via
This quote by Gladys B. Stern is so true and it always reminds me of the importance to stop and repay kindness to others.  Two words that are so easy to stop and say, but are more often than not neglected.

THANK YOU.

Hopefully keeping a mental tally of how many times I use these two words in a week will help me move  towards a more appreciative mindset.

 

The countdown begins.

Posted by Anna Kate Friday, July 15, 2011 2 comments

There is nothing like getting an email update from our boss to brighten a LC’s day!

Included this time were details for our arrival, meals, dress, what to expect, etc.  While reading this email, it finally all started to seem real.  After coming to this realization, I immediately began doing laundry and packing.

Our arrival date at Memorial Headquarters is still set for Tuesday and we are to be there no later than 4:00.  Now that I know the definite time, I can start a day-hour-minute countdown instead of just a day-by-day one.  Just to give you an idea of how excited we really are to be back together, here is a picture of what fellow Consultant Sister, Sarah Steele, did while she was at work today –


We are going to be doing a little grocery shopping on our first day or two there because we will be responsible for making our own meals.  And this includes providing for International Officers and programming people who are there to train us.  We promise it will be delicious, ladies!  Luckily we have at least two Betty Crockers on staff – Brett and Haley.  One of my favorite “fun facts” that I learned about my Consultant Sisters was that Brett’s sister is actually a Cake Doctor and works to find the best ingredients suited for cake baking.  How neat is that?!  I’m pretty sure those cooking genes run in the family, so never fear – we will turn out some great dishes!

We will be training for three weeks in all of the programming areas, office areas, and much more!  I always felt like the LCs were an ADPi dictionary who somehow knew everything.  I am eager to learn lots of new information to help prepare me for this role and hope that it will benefit the women I visit this year!

 

Wear that diamond 'til we die.

Posted by Anna Kate Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3 comments

Recently I have been thinking a little (okay, a lot) about moving back into ADPi Headquarters.  Yes, moving back in.  This time last year I had the privilege of living and working at Executive Office for six weeks as a 2010 Summer Intern.
The experience I gained during my time there was invaluable.  I met many amazing women whose friendship remains very near and dear to my heart.  These women taught me a lot about Alpha Delta Pi and about myself.  I learned to appreciate so many different things about our organization.  I learned that there is a method to the madness behind the paperwork and specific rules that are set in place.  I learned a great deal about our history – all the way back to our founding in 1851.  I have a much greater appreciation for where we came from and a clearer view of why preserving our organization in the future is so crucial.  I learned about expansion and leadership services and the list could go on and on.

But what I learned about myself I owe to the other interns.  There were five of us, all from different chapters across the country.  Not only did we have Alpha Delta Pi in common, but we were also all serving as chapter President at the time.  Spending time sharing stories, concerns, worries, as well as achievements was really life-changing for me and my next semester as President.

Most importantly, living with these sisters helped me to appreciate the diversity of our sorority.  Prior to the internship, I had little experience with Alpha Delta Pi chapters outside of my own and none whatsoever outside of District I (the Southeast).  Our chapter experiences were all very different, but we were all sisters.  We all had the same foundation that was laid for us by our founders over 160 years ago.  So what I gained was this – to learn from one another, grow individually, and embrace the differences in others. 

I am so excited about meeting many different Alpha Delta Pi women this year.  I encourage all of you as well to take every opportunity to reach out, connect, and meet new sisters from other places.  With all of the social media outlets that are now available, the possibilities to do so are much greater than they have ever been before.  And just because someone may not appear to be your typical “your-chapter-name-here” girl, she is your sister and I guarantee that there is something you can learn from her.


“If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting and set out on a truth-seeking journey, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face some very difficult realities about yourself . . . then truth will not be withheld from you.”
-Eat, Pray, Love

 

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