Thursday, November 26, 2009

TURKEY DAY


Three towns in the U.S. take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird, including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (pop. 363); and Turkey, North Carolina (pop. 270).

Macy's Christmas Parade— signifies the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy's employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Today, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on television. Tony Sarg, a children's book illustrator and puppeteer, designed the first giant hot air balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927. He later created the elaborate mechanically animated window displays that grace the façade of the New York store from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history. As the Flying Ace, Snoopy made his sixth appearance in the 2006 parade.

The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when they hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country--the first national Thanksgiving football broadcast. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944); in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time.

Of course, in keeping with the spirit, we must take a moment to reflect on all we have to be THANKFUL for... and especially this year, as again we wish to thank those 37 women that took on the challenge... 25 years ago and made Tau Lambda possible... we are lucky to be a part of AOII at Shippensburg... and thank YOU for continuing to check in with us... enjoy your day!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Words to Live By

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Congratulations to our newly initiated sisters!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Lobby for Greek Life

Alpha Omicron Pi is sponsoring two collegiate members to attend the annual NIC/NPC Congressional Visits April 17-21, 2010, to help gain support for the Collegiate Housing Infrastructure Act (CHIA). For the past few years, the North-American Interfraternity Conference and the National Panhellenic Conference have been working on an effort to make Greek housing safer and more affordable through this legislation.

These Congressional Visits allow Greek students and Alumni to visit Washington, DC and to lobby on behalf of issues facing collegiate members. Past participants have found this to be a great opportunity for networking and enhancing their knowledge of the current political environment in our nation’s Capitol and legislative affairs more broadly. Student participation is perhaps the biggest factor helping us to gain recent support in Congress for legislation important to the success of our organizations. The CHIA currently has 166 sponsors in the House of Representatives and 24 sponsors in the Senate. While this is great progress, we are still behind in making our bill a major priority for the committees of jurisdiction.

If selected, you will be asked to participate in preparation work leading up to the Congressional Visits. Click here for an application.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Jingle Bell Run - Malvern

Be there with bells on!
Jingle Bell Run
2009 Jingle Bell Run/Walk®
Malvern, PA
Sunday, December 13, 2009, Day of Registration begins at 8:00 am, Race begins at 10:00 am, General Wayne Elementary School

Get in the spirit this holiday season at the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis®. Be one of the thousands of runners and walkers who hit the nation’s pavements, pathways and parks this winter to fight arthritis, the nation’s most common cause of disability.

Jingle Bell Run/Walk® is a fun and festive way to kick off your holidays by helping others! Wear a holiday themed costume. Tie jingle bells to your shoelaces. Run or walk a 5 kilometer route with your team members and celebrate the season by giving.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

CSP update

Taken from Charlotte Smarty Pants:
I am happy to introduce you to this week's Smarty Dad, Boris Bunich. And the timing couldn't be more perfect. Today, Charlotte Smarty Pants celebrates its second anniversary. And we wouldn't be here today, without Boris' wife and co-founding smarty, Jennifer Bunich. We are saddened by the lost of this wonderful mother, wife, friend and daughter, but her legacy lives on in Charlotte Smarty Pants, her gorgeous daughter Claire and wonderful husband Boris. We hope that you enjoy getting to know this special and oh so Smarty Dad, Boris.

What has been the most rewarding part of being a dad?
I don’t know if I can pick out just one part, so I’ll cheat and say everything. I love going into her room every morning and watching her wake up and enjoying how warm and snuggly she is when she’s still half-asleep. I love it when I go to pick her up from daycare and how she drops everything and runs toward me at full speed screaming “Daddy…Daddy… Daddy” at the top of her voice when she sees me come in. I continue to be amazed at the healing power of a kiss when she gets a “boo-boo” and I love that every time I ask her what she dreamed about when she wakes up, her answer is always “flowers, butterflies, rainbows and daddy”. I laugh when she’s telling me a story and all of a sudden pauses and says “Daddy, I lost my words” and I am astonished at how quickly all the stress and pressure of being completely responsible for her 100% of the time disappears when she sighs, thinks for a moment and says, “Daddy… I love you”.

To read more about this "Smarty Interview" please check in with CSP.

Friday, November 13, 2009

friday the 13th

Henry Ford would have hated 2009, and not just because it's been a tough year to sell cars. Ford, as the story goes, refused to do business on Friday the 13th, and this week marks the third time this year that the 13th will fall on a Friday — the most times it can happen in one year. In 2009 this applies to the months of February, March, and November. The next year to have three Friday the 13th dates will be 2015.

Fears surrounding the number 13 are as ancient as the act of counting. Primitive man had only his 10 fingers and two feet to represent units, this explanation goes, so he could count no higher than 12. What lay beyond that — 13 — was an impenetrable mystery to our prehistoric forebears, hence an object of superstition. In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in 12 months of the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 hours of the clock, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 Apostles of Jesus, 12 gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper that having 13 people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

Friday's bad reputation goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit, ejecting them from Paradise. Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday; God tongue-tied the builders of the Tower of Babel on a Friday; the Temple of Solomon was destroyed on a Friday; and, of course, Friday was the day of the week on which Christ was crucified. It is therefore a day of penance for Christians.

But don't spend the day in the grips of paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th): If Wall Street is any indication, Friday the 13th may actually be a lucky day. The stock market, it turns out, tends to do better on Friday the 13th, rising by an average of .04 percent on each of the past 185 Friday the 13ths, according to the Bespoke Investment Group.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

honor our veterans

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

The Veterans Day National Ceremony (pictured) is held on November 11th at Arlington National Cemetery. At 11:00 a.m., a color guard, made up of members from each of the military services, renders honors to America's war dead during a tradition-rich ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Take a minute today and think of our veterans...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

sesame street celebrates 40

11.10.09: Today marks the beginning of Sesame Street's 40th season... that's right, old favorites like the lady bug picnic, Mr Hooper's store, Elmo and Zoe, Maria & Gordon, Oscar the Grouch... today's special episode features first lady Michelle Obama. Take a "trip down memory lane" or catch a season preview.
40 years and still chasin' the clouds away...

Monday, November 9, 2009

news & noteworthy: ship football

The Shippensburg University football team has advanced to the Division II Football Championships for the first time in five years, earning the No. 2 seed in the Super Region One standings. The Red Raiders earned a bye and will host a game at Seth Grove Stadium on November 21.

way to go, raiders!!!
Click here to vote Rocky Rees Liberty Mutual's 2009 Coach of the Year.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Shippensburg Turkey Trot

Spending Thanksgiving in Shippensburg?
Come and be part of something NEW & EXCITING!
Thursday, November 26, 8:00AM
Memorial Park/SAMS & SAHS campus
Shippensburg, PA 17257 US

The 1st Annual Shippensburg Turkey Trot
Check-in: 8:00-8:20 a.m.
Race Time: 8:30 a.m.
Course: 5K in the area of Memorial Park, Middle School & High School.

Registration: $15 with long sleeve T or $10 race only.
To request registration form: shbgturkeytrot@gmail.com

All proceeds benefit The King's Kettle of Shippensburg

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
~Johannes A. Gaertner

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Hungry for Lunch?

Today is the anniversary of John Montagu's birthday. It's believed that this 18th-century English noble, better known as the fourth Earl of Sandwich, wanted to eat with one hand during a 24-hour gambling bender. So, he instructed his servants to serve him his lunch meat between two pieces of bread. To celebrate the occasion, November 3 is "National Sandwich Day."

People everywhere enjoy sandwiches daily. The NRA (no, not that one--we mean the National Restaurant Association) says that after fruit, the hamburger is the second most popular lunch choice by full-time employees; 15% typically choose a hamburger for lunch. They claim it is the most popular type of sandwich in America and is offered on 75% of menus listing sandwiches, as well as being the most popular carry-out item in America. Second most popular is the chicken sandwich.

And of course, don't forget to order a Coca-Cola with that sandwich!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Founding SISTER PROFILE: Karen Allen Anthony

KAREN ALLEN ANTHONY
Please share a little about yourself: I am completely blessed to be happily married to my college sweetheart (literally…he was AOII Sweetheart the year after I graduated) John. Our two children, Jonathan (14) and Maggie (13), continue to be the lights of our lives and we live in Mechanicsburg, PA. I enjoy teaching 5th grade in the Camp Hill School District.

What was SHIP like? A fantastic, college 45 minutes from my home which was just the right amount of distance to come home when I needed but far enough to feel like I was on my own.

What differences have you seen? I’m sad to say that although I don’t visit as often as I’d like, I was fortunate to return to earn my teaching certificate in 1993. When I do visit, the new buildings and traffic patterns continue to blow me away!

What is your favorite AOII memory? My favorite collegiate memory was when John’s fraternity (Kappa Sigma) invited the sorority over for an impromptu mixer because classes had been cancelled due to snow. After we danced together the entire night, we’ve been together ever since. (Unless you count that time that he stupidly broke up with me while in the library for a 12-hour period)

My favorite alumnae memory was and still is being able to still participate in events with the wonderful members of the Harrisburg Alumnae chapter…. what an amazing group of women ranging in age from their early 20’s to their early 90’s!! Although returning to a career after being a stay-at-home mom for 10 years has interrupted my ability to join them for their monthly events, it is truly heart-warming that I can participate when I am able!

What is your most meaningful AOII moment? Having the most beautiful inside and out woman, Rosamond Bratton, be my sponsor at our founding chapter initiation performed by then international president, Ginger Banks, along side of my real life sister, Deb (Allen) Wirth ’85. It doesn’t get any more meaningful than that!!!

What were the challenges for AOII in the beginning? It was really tough standing up for our beliefs with regards to hazing and the other groups on campus weren’t very receptive to these convictions. We just kept plugging away knowing full well that as long as we stood together as one unit, we’d knock all their socks off…and we did!

What was your vision for this new sorority? Forming an involved/philanthropic organization with lasting friendships with the bonus of passing on the legacy of a fraternity/sorority that would last for years to come…thanks to the countless people who have worked so hard to keep that idea alive!

What do you remember most about your SHIP days? All the fun moments (and yes an education) with such wonderful friends and of course my early days with John. It’s amazing how songs from the 80’s can bring memories flooding back!

What funny story can you share with us? Hhmmmm…since having children, all my funny memories are about them. (Some professionals refer to it as Maternal Brain Cell Loss) I’m sure that when I read other’s stories, a whole bunch of memories will come rushing back!

What is your most proud accomplishment since college? Raising happy, healthy, responsible, caring and spirited children in a home environment that I am proud of.

What advice can you give our current sisters? Try to think of the bigger picture of life being more than just yourselves…practice random acts of kindness…remember to feed your soul….stay active and involved in all aspects of your life!

Other comments? Thanks to all those sisters who pledged after the original 36…it’s because of all of you that Tau Lambda is alive and well!!