shit my mom tweets

Twitter. A couple of years ago, my mother wouldn't have stepped foot near it. Now she is obsessed with it! I can't go on the twitter home page anymore because there's usually four or five tweets (all from my mom), and two or three of these are yet another picture of my dogs. Oh, the hilarity doesn't end there. She then proceeds to paste comments for each picture, such as "Mitzi, Mandy and Molly are lazy right now", as if she really understands the dynamics of our dogs and feels they're necessary to share with the world. I swear, the dogs change position on the couch and she snaps a picture to commemorate the moment. And the best part is that when she snaps a pic, it's on her blackberry. Every freaking thing she ever does is captured on the blackberry, even when I have the nice Canon sitting right next to her. "Well the blackberry is easier and I can understand it" is really Jo-code for "I'm trying to put this on twitter". 

The absolute worst part? My mom has ten times the amount of followers that I do! Everyone apparently wants to read about the 20 big plays of the Indians game, or the line by line presentation of something happening at the Statehouse. I don't understand it! 

I guess the two best things about having my Mom on twitter is that at least one person responds to my tweets (my mom is usually the only person to @sarahingles) and I get more followers because people see she replied to me. People friend me because they know I am her daughter. Eh, I'll take it.

So, in honor of my technologically-savy mother, I have copied a few of my favorite tweets from her. Enjoy! 

(...for those of you less technologically-savy, click "Read More")

Organization Spotlight on Amnesty International

One organization I am proud to say I have worked with is Amnesty International. Growing up I always wanted to get to the point where I could do research for them and work toward Human Rights in all different parts of the world. Obviously I am most interested in Latin America, but I always try to take part in letter writing campaigns and "get out the information" campaigns wherever help may be needed. 

Amnesty International is one amazing organization. Their website states that they have over three million supporters, but I believe they hold the hearts of many many more. The work they do is truly incredible. Many lives have been saved or significantly bettered by the campaigns and actions taken by Amnesty International.

Some current issues that are being tackled by Amnesty International are: 

Forced virginity tests conducted by the Egyptian military

Anti-violence against Women campaigns; Cases are worldwide

 A large quantity of worldwide Death Penalty cases that occur each year, many without a fair trial

Numerous worldwide cases of peaceful journalists and Human Rights advocates jailed and often tortured without fair trials

...and many more issues

I attended the Amnesty International National (USA) Conference in Boston a few years ago, and my life has seriously been touched ever since. That year, the huge thing was immigrants rights, something that as many of you know I am deeply involved and interested in. I am proud of the actions taken by the many Amnesty workers, volunteers and supporters, and hope that you will peruse their website and consider donating and/or volunteering for this powerful and positively effective organization. Ten dollars will buy a pack of stamps, which could be used to send hundreds or thousands of letters; these letters could be anything from encouraging Human Rights supporters who are locked up abroad that hope is not lost, to asking governments to acknowledge and fix certain Human Rights violations. This is enough to save someones life!

Got the "Menchies"?!

So this past summer I discovered a little place called Menchies Frozen Yogurt over in nearby Dublin. Let me tell you, this place is absolutely delicious. I promise that if you discover it as well, you will love it too! It's even reasonably priced! As a lifetime ice cream lover, I have recently made the switch to frozen yogurt (or as many friends say, fro yo) in order to save some unnecessarily wasted calories (it actually saves a lot!). My parents turned me on to Menchies at the beginning of summer, and lately I have found myself absolutely craving it! My favorite flavors are pretty much everything Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, and the Cake Batter. I then load it up with tons and tons of raspberries, and a light layer of oreo crumbs. Delicious!

Has anyone else been there and fallen in love with fro yo? 

If you haven't, get your butt to Dublin and taste it! Find their website: here! 

This is for my Delta Gammas

When I look back on my college life and remember the good times (and yes, I realize it wasn't more than a couple of months ago), I notice that many of these good times happened while I was at a Delta Gamma event. Delta Gamma was such a positive experience for me in college, and I am sure that without it, my undergraduate career would have been completely different and probably not as exciting. There is so much to being a DG that goes beyond what other non-DG's can see; Delta Gamma is so much more than social events, chapter meetings, and available lunch dates. Thanks to Delta Gamma, I made many of my closest friends and was given many opportunities in my campus community and beyond that I can't even attempt to explain on this blog. Joining DG not only brought me closer to the people in my own house, but also provided opportunities to interact and make friendships with others within the Greek community. For that, I will be forever thankful.

My love for anchors started before I joined Delta Gamma (oh hey Alpha Rho!). In fact, I used to love watching the older DG's walking around campus sport their cute anchor t-shirts and pink and blue everything, even though I probably used to hate on them with my other non-Greek friends. When I finally pledged Delta Gamma, my love for anchors quickly developed into an obsession, and I found my dorm room changing from mostly purple (my favorite color), to mainly pink and blue everything. I think this happens to most college DG's, and for some (like me) even continues on past undergraduate life. I find myself gravitating toward anything with anchors on it, and have even recently purchased a pair of hot pink and blue running shoes (it was a totally subconscious decision, although when I wear them I get a lot of "you got those because they're DG colors, didn't you?"). I can even remember the day I sat by my computer, with my DG roommates, anxiously awaiting the announcement that Delta Gamma would get a Lilly Pulitzer print. This was probably my "most sorority moment" in all my time at school. Oh well, I'm not embarrassed!

Thus, I bring you my current anchor/pink-and-blue obsessions. Enjoy!

Anchors Away by sarahingles featuring anchor jewelry

Lilly Pulitzer cotton skirt
$59 - saksfifthavenue.com

Lilly Pulitzer tote handbag
$148 - lillypulitzer.com

Cuff bangle
$775 - tiffany.com

Zoe Morgan silver jewelry
$239 - superette.co.nz

Printed critter wellies Anchor- J.Crew
$100 - jcrew.com

H m bathing suit
shopping.louloumagazine.com

Zena anchor jewelry
queenofcharms.com

Lilly Pulitzer Anchor Sandals
life-love-laughter.tumblr.com

Pink Anchor Invitations from Zazzle.com
zazzle.com

it's July, which means it's almost August, which means it's almost August 31st

Which means my journey to Salamanca, Spain is coming up so fast! That also means I only have a little under two months to work, save, and get ready for a study abroad experience of a lifetime. For those of you who have no idea about the geography of Spain, I have pasted this map to help you out. Salamanca is located left of Madrid, which is located in the center-ish of Spain.

Salamanca is a true "University town". Located in the southwest corner of the Castile y Leon region of Spain, Salamanca has a population of (give or take) 363,000 people. The University of Salamanca, where I will be studying, is the oldest University in all of Spain.

For those of you thinking to yourselves, "Sarah, didn't you graduate already?", I respond that yes I did. But, I was given the most excellent opportunity to take a semester and explore Spanish culture before I step out into the real world. To do so, I had to drop a Spanish class in March, which I could have easily finished, in order to "remain a student" at my University and qualify for the Spanish visa. So technically I have only graduated with my Politics and Government and Latin American Studies majors, plus the History minor. The Spanish major will come after I complete a class in Spain.

My parents and brother are planning a trip over thanksgiving break to come out to Spain and visit. During this time we will be taking the tour of Southern Spain with my group. I anticipate this will be the vacation of a lifetime for them, and a good way to show them a little of what I've learned there. 

Look online, and there are hundreds of beautiful pictures of the city and people; While I could surf the web and show you pictures of the town that are photographed by other people, I'd rather wait and show you through my own lens.

There's still so much to do before I leave for Spain. Shopping for clothing and walking shoes is obviously at the top of this list, but so is finding a decent large size suitcase. I remember when I left from Mexico (although I had almost three more months to accumulate junk), I struggled to fit everything into two large suitcases and a giant (almost illegal) carry-on bag. This is also after I shipped a couple boxes of stuff home. Oops! 

I want to know who will be in Europe from August 31st - December 10th. Marisa will be in Italy, and a few friends will be in Spain with me, but who else?