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I went to my parents house 2 weeks ago and did some major cleaning out…

THREE huge black garbage bags are going to Goodwill!!
I also recycled a huge bag of paper.

I am so proud of myself.

The organizing I did:

-I put my Disney VHS tapes, Barbie dolls and clothes, and some other random games in a big plastic box. My mother doesn’t want me to get rid of them, so hopefully I have a little girl one day and the VHS player still works :)

-I have a Ukranian doll that my aunt and uncle gave me, which I put in her own separate plastic box along with her beautiful clothes. That is one unique gift that I will not part with.

-I went through all the boxes under my bed, recycled papers, got rid of junk, and found a few fun things that I had forgotten about.

-I made categories for my craft things and put them in boxes by category: Painting, Drawing, Beads/Jewelry Making, and Fabric/Ribbons.

-I took apart an old art project that I was not too fond of. At least, I didn’t like the whole thing. I plan to fix up parts of it and make it new. It was fairly large, so doing this cleared out my floor a little bit.

-I had a huge stack of newspaper and magazine articles to go through, so I took those back with me in my car to go through while I am in Tuscaloosa. Also, this was to get it out of my room, so I don’t have to deal with it next time I go home.

That’s all I can remember right now, but I think I did pretty well! :)

See more progress on: clean my room

How to do something new every month

"Having this as a goal made me more aware of the fact that I was already trying new things all the time and how much fun I was having!"

How I did it: I kept my eyes open for opportunities, which often came about through my fiance, who likes to take me to new places and show me new things! After a few months I realized it was something I did not have to push myself to do, since trying new things is something that I strive to do in my everyday life anyway. Once I realized that, I decided that I could check this goal off my list!

Lessons & tips: Even the simplest thing can be something new! Go to a free exercise class or play, or take a trip to the next town and see what you can find. Look in your local newspaper for things to do around town. As long as you keep looking there will be opportunities for you. To get inspired, take a look at my past entries to see some of the things that I did!

Resources: My friends and fiance

Local newspapers - Tuscaloosa News and Crimson White

University of Alabama

It took me 6 months.

It made me happy!

See more progress on: Do something new every month

Girl's don't get it. Boys do.

I across a great ad in SHAPE magazine tonight. The headline caught my eye, then the picture and of course the great design. I read on an discovered that it was for Charley's Fund, a charity specifically created for research on cures for Duchenne Muscular Dystophy. Charley is pictured above and he was diagnosed with this disease in 2004. My brother was diagnosed with this disease as well and I am excited to find a philanthropy specifically for research of this kind of MD. Immediately I was filled with ideas of how to spread the word about this wonderful charity. First I wanted to publish it in my blog to share the word and my feelings about it. I am also going to purchase a tank top or sweatshirt to support this cause. They also have jewelry, hats, tshirts and purses. They are very cute designs and a worthy fashion statement.

Smile Clutch $165

Tank Top $25

Sterling Silver Believe Bracelet $135 Youth $150 Adult

I want to share this with everyone I know and hopefully find my own way to sell things to support it as well. I am planning to get my sorority involved by shopping on the site and more. Everyone who knows my brother, or any other boy with DMD would be thrilled to find a cure! There are now three promising therapies that possibly cure it, so they need all the money they can get to make a cure a reality. I would love to see my brother healed and able to walk again and live a full life.

If you are reading this, please take the time to visit charleysfund.org to learn more and shop or give a donation. Your contribution would be appreciated by many friends and family of those with Duchenne MD. Plus, the merchandise is so cute and worth every penny because of the cause!

How to produce my own radio spot for class

"It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and I'm glad I learned a new skill."

How I did it: I already had the script written for a previous assignment, so all I needed were music, sound effects, and voice. I opened GarageBand on my computer and used it for the first time. Since I have experience with Photoshop, the concept of layers was not new to me. I went to soundsnap.com and downloaded 5 free sound effects. Used some appropriate music from my Apple Loops folder. Then I convinced my fiance to be the announcer. I was worried it would be cheesy but I think it turned out great!

Lessons & tips: Making your own radio spot may sound daunting, but if you write your script and you know what sound effects you want to use its not that hard from there. Find a mac computer that has GarageBand and mix your audio in that. If possible use a Macbook, because the microphone is already built in.

Resources:

•     GarageBand


•     http://www.soundsnap.com - for sound effects


•     Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. A Guide to Creating Great Advertising by Luke Sullivan

It took me 2 weeks.

It made me laugh

See more progress on: produce my own radio spot for class

I'm Engaged!!

My boyfriend, Will asked me to marry him this past Friday! I've been so busy since then that I haven't had time to write. I'm so excited!!! This means that I'll be planning a wedding for the next year. We think it will be on June 5, 2010. So here's the story:

Will works in Cincinnati right now and after work on Thursday he immediately started driving down to Alabama. Well, he told me that he was driving home to Michigan and then driving another hour past his parents house to where his sister lives to hang out with her for the night. So I had no idea that he was even coming to visit! I talked to him a couple of times that night and he was always in the car. I thought he was driving home after a long night out with his sister and I didn't hear from him again until 3am. "Mare' I'm sooo tired! I'm going to bed now." He was not in bed in Michigan however, but he was about to go to sleep at his friend's house where he used to live when he was in Alabama. 

Little did I know, he woke up in the morning, drove out to rural Alabama to my parents' house, gets lost on the way, and when he finally gets there has a two hour conversation with my dad. Ultimately my dad gives him his permission and tells him welcome to the family! He was soo nervous!

He drove back to Tuscaloosa to find me. My roommate had set it up with him so that I would be spending the day with her and he would know exactly where to find me. She took me to get my nails done, saying that she had a big date and wanted me to go with her. Then we went shopping at Plato's Closet to look for an outfit for her big date. While we are there, Will comes in to surprise me but he can't find us because we are in the dressing rooms. I happened to come out of the room once to see him walk by quickly with a grin on his face. It was surreal to me because I had no idea he was in town and since I never see him, I am always taunted by guys who look like him for a split second but aren't him. I was a little weirded out then brushed it off. But a minute later there was knocking on my door and when I opened it there he was looking adorable with that big grin!

He told me that I had to hurry because we had dinner reservations in an hour at Cypress Inn and they had made special arrangements just for him because he had driven so far. This restaurant in right by the river and he had asked me to be his girlfriend on the pier by the river almost 2 years before. We hurried to my apartment where I took the fastest shower of my life, threw on a dress and jewelry, touched up my makeup and was ready to go. When we got to Cypress Inn, we walked down to the river and the pier was flooded because it had rained the night before. Will got all upset and I was like "We don't have to go on the pier, its ok." He was thinking, "We have to go on the pier!" But we sat on a rock ledge by the river and looked at a scrapbook that I had made for him about our relationship. At the end I had written a note that said, "These are some of the best times of my life and the best is yet to come!" He asked me if I believed that and I said yes. Then he said, "Well, I do too and I have something for you!" He made me stand up and he got down on one knee and said, "Mary, will you marry me?" I was so happy and I cried so I could hardly see anything! I knew it was coming when he said he believed that too, but it all happened so fast that I could hardly believe it was happening. I was almost in denial that I had been lied to all week and I couldn't comprehend that he had talked to my dad. But it all made sense after that. It finally made sense why he was able to get special arrangements at the restaurant and why he didn't surprise me until late afternoon instead of showing up first thing in the morning.

I'm so excited for so many reasons. I get to go dress shopping. I get to have fun planning a wedding. I'm going to be a part of a new family and have sisters and an older brother, neither of which I had before. But most importantly, I get to spend my life with my best friend and my love. The weekend was so special and I am happy to say that I am marrying the man that I always dreamed of. 

dreams

Ever since I can remember, I thought that I could be an actress. It’s not something that I later pursued as my career, but I still have this dream. I learned to focus on an art-related career as that is my greatest talent, but I still want to be in a movie. I am one of those people that itches to be on stage and in the limelight. As a dancer and cheerleader in high school, I got to do that a lot. However there were not a lot of plays at my school so I only got to practice acting skills in 2 of them. One was a play that my 8th grade class wrote called “Elvis is Alive.” Since my English teacher was obsessed with Elvis, I played a Bachelorette in a game show with the same obsession. All of the bachelors were Elvis in his different life stages. Senior year, I was a Palace Designer for a modern Cinderella story called “If the Shoe Fits.” I don’t have a lot of experience, but every time I see a play or movie, I want to be in one.

I’m taking my first step to this goal now. I learned about a low-budget film that will be filmed nearby in Mississippi. It’s called Butterfly Rising. I don’t fit any of the demographics for the characters, as most of the roles call for actors that are either in their late 20s and older or black. Since I am neither, I was a little discouraged, but I may be able to be an extra. I just sent an email to find out more information! I usually would have left it alone since I don’t fit the part. However, I am determined to cross this one off my list and I’m going to take every opportunity I have to do so!

See more progress on: Be in a Movie

How to take a Ferguson Discovery class

"It was a great crash course on wedding planning and I learned some valuable information that I will be sure to use in planning my wedding or helping with others!"

How I did it: I finally decided that since I had been seeing fliers around campus advertising these classes, that I should just sign up for one. So I went to the Ferguson Center website, looked at the class offerings and picked one that looked interesting. It was only $5 so it was definitely affordable! I filled out the registration form online and all I had to do was show up at the time and place and pay when I walked in the door! It took two hours of my time, but I enjoyed myself and learned a lot. I'll be taking Yoga Basics next!

Lessons & tips: I have been wanting to take one of these classes since I was a freshman. I am a junior now. Take opportunities when you see them and don't wait as long as I did to take the steps to do it. Even if you have to go to a class or workshop by yourself, it is worth it!

Resources: Look on your local college or university student union website. They may have a hobby series like dance lessons, yoga, etc that you can take, even if you are not a student. If you go to the University of Alabama, go to ferguson.ua.edu and click on the Discovery Classes link. If you want ideas for a 2 hour crash course series, take a look at this website because they have some great offerings. 

It took me 2 days.

It made me happy!

See more progress on: take a Ferguson Discovery class