Music Monday- MUMFORD & SONS: Hopeless Wanderer

I love this song!

Katie Couric Show

I went to the Katie Couric Show with my Mom on Wednesday of Spring Break. Third live show in NYC=Exciting!

The nice thing about this show was I didn't have to get up at the crack up dawn like for the Live with Kelly and Michael. The taping started at 2 pm and last about 2 hours. We were advised to arrive at 12:30, so we did and waited for a little bit. A lot of waiting, but totally worth it. We were seated in the front row, but all the way to the right. Who knows if we will be on TV, but it would be pretty cool if we were. The angle wasn't best because we saw the backs of the guests and also the giant screen in the back of the stage.

The episode was all about adoption. I definite pro-life theme which I was happy about :). Here is how the show flowed and who the guests were:

1. Of course, Kate Couric came out and introduced herself. She also revealed the theme of the show
2. Nia Vardolos (the lady from My Big Fat Greek Wedding) came out and she was the co-host for the show. She shared her story about adopting her daughter.
3. Kim Whitley, a comedian, came on stage and shared her adoption story as well. She will have a show on OWN Network called Raising Whitley about raising her son by herself and with the help from her family and friends.
4. Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser shared her story about adopting a child and having a baby at the same time too. It was so cool to see her!
5. A family struggled with adopting one of their children for 5 1/2 years. They have adopted three kids and they are the cutest. This family will be featured in People magazine once this show recording is released.

Katie Couric

The taping lasted 2 hours, which was long considering the show on TV is only 1 hour. They must be cutting a lot? I'm not sure.

The set

Also, in the audience was Caroline Rhea,the former Biggest Loser host. She was also in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It was awesome to see some many famous people! Pretty Cool! The show will be aired on April 2 at 3pm ET. You should watch! We weren't allowed to take pictures until after the show, so that's why I don't have any pictures of the guests. 

Outside The Cloisters

After the show my Mom and and I went to The Cloisters. It is located off of 190th street and the Katie Couric show was at 67th- so we took a long subway ride. The Cloisters are beautiful and we were there on a nice day so it was perfect. Since it closed early we only got to walk around for 30 minutes. I will definitely have to visit again another time to see it all. The Cloisters on are on hill so there is a beautiful view of the Hudson River and George Washington Bridge.
A little info about The Cloisters:

The Cloisters museum and gardens, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, was assembled from architectural elements, both domestic and religious, that date from the twelfth through the fifteenth century.

The building and its cloistered gardens—located in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan—are treasures in themselves, effectively part of the collection housed there. The Cloisters' collection comprises approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from about the ninth to the sixteenth century. 

One of the many gardens in The Cloisters

After, we headed back south and ate dinner at a hole in the wall pizza place which was delicious. Across the street was an Italian bakery called Bomboloni and we got 4 bombolonis which are Italian donuts. I tried the Latte one and it was yummy!

Bombolonis (we bought them at a shop, not the parking garage ;) )

Time to head back home after a fun day in the city! 

The Cards in NYC

How lucky am I that I go to visit NYC two days in a row while I was in home for Spring Break?! (Post about the Katie Couric Show coming soon :) ). 

Last night my Dad and I went to the UofL vs. Villanova Big East Tournament game at Madison Square Garden. Before, we went to Stout's a bar/restaurant where they had a pregame party with lots of UofL fans, cheerleaders, etc. It was really busy, but there was a lot of energy in the room. Denny Crum, the former UofL coach and Darrell Griffith, a former 1980 championship player were there. I got pictures with both of them! 

The game was exciting with a mix of of Card, Villanova, and no one's fans there. Our tickets were in the very back row, but luckily we moved a lot closer and had some good seats. Madison Square Garden is where the Knicks and Rangers play. It was quite a facility. It was a close game at the beginning, but the Cards pulled through and won. It was a fun night!

Denny Crum and I 

Kate Bryan from Live Action

This was first posted on my pro-life group's blog (hilltoppersforlife.wordpress.com). I wrote it and thought I would share on my blog as well! 

Kate Bryan came to Western Kentucky University on March 7, 2013. Kate Bryan is in charge of media relations for Live Action. Because of traveling difficulties she arrived late so a few members of Hilltoppers for Life prepared a presentation. At the beginning, John Sohl, the president introduced the group. Erin Ruppelt, the secretary introduced Live Action. Alaina Mikulcik, the tresurer, asked the students questions. According to their website Live Action, "are a youth led movement dedicated to building a culture of life and ending abortion, the greatest human rights injustice of our time. We use new media to educate the public about the humanity of the unborn and investigative journalism to expose threats against the vulnerable and defenseless." Live Action was started by Lila Rosa. She was only 15 when she started this pro-life group in 2003. At the age of 18 she did her first undercover investigation at a Planned Parenthood. In 2008, Live Action became an official non-profit organization.

Materials

To give some examples of some of Live Action's investigations HFL showed several videos before Kate Bryan arrived. Below are the projects they have started. Each has several videos that demonstrate the unmoral acts of Planned Parenthood.

Projects:

1. Protect our Girls

- An investigation into sex-selection abortion at Planned Parenthood (http://www.liveaction.org/gendercide/texas/)

2. Exposing Planned Parenthood’s Cover-up of Child sex-trafficking 

- Pimps will bring in their prostitutes for abortions or ask for birth control for underage females (http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-aids-sex-ring/)

3. The Rosa Acuna Project

- Video investigation documents PP giving women medically inaccurate counseling. (http://www.liveaction.org/rosaacuna/appleton-wi-the-rosa-acuna-project/)

4. The Advocate

- Pro-Life Campus Magazine. Distributed to hundreds of high schools and college campuses.

5. Project Truth

- Answering PP’s Media deceptions(http://liveaction.org/blog/planned-parenthood-ceos-false-mammogram-claim/)

6. Investigation: Racism Project 

- Undercover calls show PP gladly accepting funds earmarked  for race-based abortions (http://www.liveaction.org/the-planned-parenthood-racism-project/)

7. Herestheblood.com

- Educating the world about the reality of abortion using graphic images.

Kate Bryan and President, John Sohl

After several of these videos were shown and some discussions were brought up, Kate Bryan arrived and began her presentation.

Kate Bryan wanted to emphasize that the reason Live Action exists is to get people talking. All of these videos show realities that happen in the abortion industry that many people don't know. It is good to get discussion going so maybe the hearts and minds of people will be changed in a positive light that supports the pro-life movement. Kate shared her history and how she became involved in the pro-life movement. She lived and worked in Ireland for 2 1/2 years. Youth Defence is a pro-life group that works hard to maintain the illegality of abortion in Ireland. She has done some amazing pro-life works during her life and she shared some inspiring stories.

Several questions and topics were brought up during the night. There was a healthy discussion flowing in the room about how money is spent in a Planned Parenthood facility, are mammograms preformed there (no they are not), what women feel when they step into an abortion clinic, what other resources PP offers to women, are women happy when they receive an abortion, treatment of women in society, etc. There were a mix of pro-life and pro-choice students in the room which made it quite a discussion.

Overall, the event was successful and if you asked anybody that attended they would probably say they learned something new about the culture of life and love and the realities of Planned Parenthood.

Hilltoppers for Life and Kate Bryan (middle)

For more information about Live Action visit:

http://www.liveaction.org/

http://www.facebook.com/liveaction?fref=ts

Curly-Yea or Nay?

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm home right now for my Spring Break. I'm so happy to be home. I love spending time with my family and also spending time with the couch too ;) This morning before Mass I decided to curl my hair. I've always worn my hair straight so I wanted to switch it up. It definitely looks different than how it normally does. What do you think? When my brothers first saw it they said "What's wrong with your hair! It looks like you have bedhead." Gee thanks Nick and Chris! 

I had fun editing these and adding some colors to them. 

Happy Birthday 3rd Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my blog! 
It turns three today. I can't believe it's that old already! I hope that my blog will at least double those years. I have enjoyed blogging about my life and interests. I love to share my experiences and thoughts. Thanks for following :)

New Recipes: Pancakes + Tea

I don't why I was feeling creative this week with trying new recipes considering my pantry and refrigerator were empty. I refused to go grocery shopping right before Spring Break. But, what do you know, two recipes to share with you! 

First I found an easy Greek Yogurt Pancakes recipe. It was perfect because I had all the ingredients plus blueberries!

Ingredients:

6 oz Greek Yogurt (I used Plain Chobani, but I bet flavored would taste even better)

1 egg

1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat, but any works)

1 tsp baking soda

Fruit and toppings to add 

Directions:

 1. Open the yogurt container and stir the yogurt until it’s smooth and creamy. Crack an egg over the yogurt and stir to combine. The resulting mixture should be pale yellow in color and have a few lumps here and there

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda

3. Pour yogurt/egg mixture into the bowl with the flour and baking soda. Stir to combine. The batter will be extremely thick

4. Spoon the batter onto a sprayed griddle or pan heated to medium-high. I usually make four big pancakes, but you could also make 8 smaller ones

5. Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble a bit on the surface. Cook until golden brown on both sides 

Serve with butter, syrup, fruit, Nutella, PB, whatever you would like!

I personally ate my plain and my second one pancake I added honey. DELICIOUS! 

Adapted from: Everyday Belle

Second thing of the week I made was Chai Tea Latte. This was a total experiment, but it turned out great!

Ingredients:

Milk

Water

Chai Tea Bag

2 TB Honey (or agave nectar)

Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice)

Directions:

Fill a mug with half milk and half water. Add two tablespoons of honey. Stir and microwave until hot. Add the spices and tea bag. Enjoy :) Just about as good as Starbucks! 

I Got Accepted!

I GOT ACCEPTED TO UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE'S Speech Language Pathology Graduate Program! YAYAYAY!

I received an email on Friday and couldn't stop smiling for hours after that! When I checked my email I think I kept saying "Oh my gosh!" and I was able to share with some other girls in my class. And of course I called my Mom right away to tell her too! I was in shock because I wasn't sure if I was going to be accepted. I'm so happy that I will be going to my number one choice. My family has been very supportive and happy for me. My Aunt and Uncle sent me flowers with a congrats balloon which made my day!

Another exciting piece of news is I received this in the mail on Saturday....

I didn't even apply for an award/scholarship and I got this. Honestly, I don't even know what this award is "awarding." I think it may be senior Spanish student or something like that, but who knows. All my hard work has paid off and I'm proud that I was nominated for this. Now, how should I spend that $200?!?

Thank You Note

Last week I received a thank you in the mail from Pantene Beautiful Lengths for donating my hair back in January. It sure made me feel good for what I did! I'm still loving my short hair!