A Quick Visit to Longwood

A couple weeks ago, we made a last minute decision to head up to Longwood for the Friday of Spring Weekend.  So last minute that I didn't even know until I was on the way home from work! haha.  (We talked about it on Thursday and I thought we were talking about the NEXT Friday, not the very next day, lol.) We'd been wanting to go to see all of the construction progress that's been going on since we were there, so it was a perfect time to go.  We knew we'd be able to see a few people we knew, which is always nice!

This may have already been changed for past Spring Weekends/Oktoberfests, but this was the first time we'd seen the stage set up here, in front of Stubbs.  While I'm normally one to say keep things the way they are, I really liked this new set up!

This is the first residence hall I lived in, ARC.  During my freshman year, there were trailers about where I was standing to take this picture.  Those were the athletic offices.

NOW. There are 2 new residence halls and a courtyard in front of ARC! It's so awesome looking.

This building was our home-away-from-home, as the majority of both of our classes were held here in Willett.  Also the location of the Vice Presidential Debate!

Marshall, you're our "and Guest." ;)

Longwood started this cool tradition during Abby's senior year, I believe.  There's a fence where you can sign/decorate a lock and add to the collection.  As alumni go back to visit, they also add their locks.  It was neat to see the wide range of graduating classes.  Abby was one of the first people to put a lock on, and I was determined to find hers!  I need to remember to take locks for us next time we go.
 

Last time we visited Longwood, I don't believe there was any structure built yet. Just grass/dirt.  This is so crazy to see a new building being built where the last residence hall I lived in was.  This is going to be the new Student Center, and I really do think it's going to be awesome! I can't wait to see it finished!

Abby, your old room used to be somewhere here....haha...

Marshall was either
a) tired
b) cold
c) not impressed
d) all of the above

He did enjoy watching Oozeball though! :)

It's always nice to go back and visit Longwood.  As cliche as it may sound, those 4 years at Longwood were some of the best years ever.  Met some great people and made lots of memories!!

Longwood's Making Headlines!

The Longwood love I see all over Facebook today makes me so happy!

Everyone is SO excited about everything going on at Longwood and in Farmville today/this week, and it’s so fun seeing the pictures everyone is sharing.

Finding out that Longwood would be hosting the VP Debate today was awesome news!! Not many people know about Longwood, and how great of a school it is. You always hear the jokes about Longwood being in Farmville, VA. Yes, FARMVILLE. Don’t even try to make a joke about the Facebook game when you’re talking to a student, alum, faculty member or even Farmville resident, because trust me, we’ve heard them all! Ha! You can check out this article here or this article there to hear how Longwood was chosen to host this historical event. I’m so glad to that more people will know about Longwood now after this debate!

The Longwood University Facebook page has been sharing pictures of all of the set-up that’s leading up to tonight’s event. Campus looks INCREDIBLE. The same gym we'd watch LU basketball games in has been transformed into an amazing debate space. I would love to see it all in person! Back in August, Matt and I stopped by Longwood for a quick walk around campus, and we couldn’t believe the construction that was already in the works. It must be such a cool experience for those that are there to see everything and participate in all of the fun events they have planned.  And come on, who DOESN’T want a Longwood Debate Scarf?! The Longwood scarves will always be fun and special to Matt & me, as we used one in our engagement pictures, another in our wedding pictures, and even in pictures on our honeymoon! I hope they’re still making these scarves when Marshall is a Lancer ;)

I'm sure I've said this many times before, and I'll say it plenty more times in the future: I'm proud to be a Longwood alum!

Students Today. Alumni Tomorrow. Lancers Forever.

A Big Catch-Up!

Oh my, where has the time gone?! I didn't know so much had happened that I actually FORGOT about blogging.  Not even joking.  The past month has gone by so fast, but so much has happened!  (And, I've had several people tell me that I need a new blog post up, so hopefully this will get you through! :)

For those that haven't heard, I actually started a new job a little over a month ago.  I'm still at Varina, just in a new position.  I'm now over in the School Counseling Office and it has been great! Everyone has made the transition very easy!  However, the first couple weeks were nuts because I was out some days for training, out for snow..I think by the third week I was finally there all five days! haha.

Matt was out of town for a few days for work, and Maple was NOT happy about it.  She sure did miss him.  This is when she found her new favorite sleeping spot.  We don't use our comforter, so it's usually folded up in the floor.  Well, Maple has found that to be quite comfortable and would prefer to sleep there. One night when Matt was gone, she wouldn't even stay in the den with me...she would just stay in there!  Then, there was the day I came home and found one of Matt's socks on the floor by his side of the bed, that Maple pulled out of the hamper...it was both sad and cute.

A couple weekends ago, we headed down to Eden, NC, where we usually go for the family reunion on my dad's side, known as just "The Reunion" with no explanation needed.  This time, although we did get to see a lot of family, it was for a funeral.  My Memaw was one of thirteen and one of her brothers, Uncle Troy, passed away earlier this month.  There was no question as to whether or not we'd go, so we headed on down.  Also, Uncle Troy and I have the same birthday, so I always thought that was cool!

Matt and I stopped at Longwood first to pick up Abby...when we stopped for snacks, Abby introduced me to these tall cans of Coke and I couldn't pass it up, haha.  Then Abby and I found it funny (almost too funny) that all of the snacks and drinks she, Matt and I got were all round or cylindrical.  Clearly, we had a lot to think about. haha.

We kept on driving and after lots of confustion, we met up with Mom, Dad and Vickie.

After going to the visitation, we headed out to dinner at the Mexican restaurant right by our hotel.  This Hampton Inn really is our home away from home every August!

I was so amused with the new coffee cups they have!

These were pretty appropriate for Matt and me!

On the way back home, we stopped back at Longwood to drop Abby off.  Matt suggested that we go walk around campus, and we're both glad he did!

As soon as we got out of the car, Matt noticed that something was going on in the Student Union rooms, so we joked that we should post on Facebook and ask if any RAs were having programs and we'd stop by.  As we walked down Brock Commons and got closer to the Student Union, the front doors were open so we could see.  Matt pointed out the huge gaming screens and I said, "Isn't that usually Phi Mu Delta's event...?!" and we slowed down.  Matt kept looking and said, "yep, I see our letters."  We didn't say anything, just walked in, and one of Matt's brothers jumped up to see him immediately!  It was GREAT seeing everyone's reactions to seeing Matt (not many of them know me anymore; it's sad we've been gone so long!)!  

We did run into a few Longwood grads and RAs, too! Jesse (left) and I worked on the same RA staff in The Hams my senior year, and he was also one of Matt's groomsmen. Danny (right) also worked on The Hams staff with Jesse and me.

P.S. Like my Pi Day shirt? It was, indeed, Pi Day :)

Last week, we tried a new recipe, found on Pinterest: Jerk Chicken Tacos!  When we were in Jamaica, the jerk chicken and jerk steak were AMAZING!!  This jerk chicken was quite the same, but it'll definitely do!  Also, if you go to the original link, you'll see that we did ours slightly differently.

Ingredients:

chicken

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

mayonnaise

tortillas

taco toppings (we only had lettuce, cheese and cilantro, but Matt did add salsa on his, too!)

The recipe was super simple:

1. Cover your chicken in jerk seasoning and grill it.

2. While this is cooking, make the jerk mayo: mix 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons of Jerk seasoning.  Top your tacos with this!

3. When your chicken is done, cut into strips or bite sized pieces.

4. Assemble your tacos and ENJOY!!

Saturday, in the windy cold morning, we saw all the fun sights along Monument Ave in the Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K! We do this every year, but this year wasn't like all the others.  We weren't trying to beat a time.....we didn't even RUN.  It was weird and I really did miss running it, but I know we would've been disappointed with our time if we ran anyway.  Matt hasn't been feeling well, and my feet have been hurting a lot lately, so we walked with Mom and some family friends!  Walking definitely made the 6.2 miles feel TWICE as long, and the cold didn't make it that much better, either!  Either way, that's another 10K in the books for us!  And, there's always next year!

Waiting to start:

We passed Ronald McDonald..

and this was one of the most creative costumes we saw! (I was bummed I couldn't get the whole DreamWorks sign...)

Now that I've done a pretty much month-long catch-up, I will TRY to be better about blogging! This month clearly got away from me!

The Cunninghams

When we went to Longwood last weekend for Abby's birthday, we also drove to campus so we could see some of the changes that are being made on campus.

If you don't know, The Cunninghams are (were?) a residence hall in the middle of campus..the perfect distance to anything you need on campus.  This is where I was a RA my senior year at Longwood...right inside the two sets of front doors was my room.  All of my years at Longwood were great, but the year I lived in the Hams was probably the best!  I LOVED the picnic tables out front, overlooking part of Brock Commons, and I loved when the weather was perfect and I could study outside. It was fantastic!!  I loved being on duty with awesome staff members, and doing rounds at 7...9...12...and sometimes 2.  Our staff was so much like a family.  Speaking of family, Abby actually lived in the Cunninghams this year, as well.  I thought it was so great that her first year there and my last year there we ended up living in the same resident hall--that wasn't planned!

When I graduated and it was time to head home for good, the Cunninghams was the last place I was. On May 12, 2012, when I left Longwood, I left from the Cunninghams.  (Yes, this is turning into a sappy post, but oh well.)

But, with time comes renovations and progress.  This year, the Cunninghams were torn down to create a space for the new Student Union. 

Luckily, with the construction going on, there have been opportunities to get your own personal piece of the Cunninghams.  Abby so wonderfully got two bricks for Matt and me.  Even though they look like just bricks to anyone else, we know what they really are!  Also, Abby's senior class is doing a fundraiser where you can purchase a piece of the hardwood floor from inside the Cunninghams with an engraved plaque on it (which reminds me...I need to purchase mine ASAP!).  Who knows, the piece I end up with could have been the floor in my bedroom.  It probably won't be, but you never know.

Here are a couple pictures of the Cunninghams from August 2012.

In the picture on the right, you can see the picnic tables I mentioned.

And now, there isn't much left!

This is how the lack of my last Longwood home made me feel..

 

This sign was hanging on one of the fences, of what the new Student Union will look like from the parking lot we were in.

I know we'll be going back at least once this Spring, but I'm looking forward to going more in the future to see the progress of this building, and then of course, the final product!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 10

Today, Mom and I drove out to Farmville to see Abby and the Christmas tree that's put up every year in Ruffner.  Every year, Longwood puts up pretty much the same decorations, but they look more beautiful each time you go see it!

When I was a student at Longwood, one of my favorite things that I looked forward to at the end of fall semester was the Tree Lighting in Ruffner.  Abby actually sent us a video this year of the countdown and the lights coming on...still beautiful to watch on the phone!!

Not only was Longwood decorated for the holidays, but Farmville was too: the street lights were wrapped in garland and lights, there were a couple light up trees...it was all so festive!

If you ever get the chance to do so, I would definitely recommend riding out to Longwood at Christmas to see the tree! So pretty!

Before going to see the decorations, we went to dinner at The Fishin' Pig.

And we did a little coloring..

 (Abby's drawing of Chesnut is in the top left.)

I really should've found out who was in that ONE ROOM and ask them to turn their light out for a second, haha. The OCD in me is really hating that part of this picture!!

This tree goes up all through Ruffner--all three stories!

Haha, I'm really not sure what she was doing here....but I love this picture. haha

Abs and Joanie

Even though this is the last year that one of us will be a student at Longwood during Christmas time, I'm sure it won't be the last time we go to see the tree and decorations!