End of Summer BBQ

In order to celebrate the end of the summer and say goodbye to family before I leave once again for school, my family had a BBQ on Saturday. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and even second cousins came over to enjoy yummy food and good company.

There was a wide variety of typical summer BBQ foods: hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta and potato salads. For dessert there were warm, gooey brownies, delicious cookies, and creme puffs.

It was so great to see my family one last time before heading back to UNH, but it was so bittersweet. I can't believe the summer is coming to a close and I won't be seeing them until maybe October.

Spending the afternoon laughing about childhood and past family vacations and discussing future plans, I was reminded of how much I love and appreciate their presence in my life.

The men being men (notice they're all scowling... typical).

Becca, my little sister, being silly.

My older sister, Megan, and me

Becca and me

And of course...

Sarge, my basset hound, providing the majority of the entertainment.

DIY weekend!

So this past weekend I decided to channel my inner Martha Stewart and embark on some crafting projects. I really want my new room at school to be cute and actually themed this year since last year all my stuff seemed to be different colors. My roommate and I painted our room a pale blue and we're decorating it with lots of black and white things.

I found these old mirrors my grandmother had given me ages ago. They were really pretty, with a gold frame. The frame was very detailed, but the gold did make it obvious it once was in a grandmother's home. So, I decided it would be perfect if it were black. I went Home Depot and bought some black spray paint, and it was as simple as that!!

The finished product!!

(Sorry some of the pictures aren't rotated correctly, my computer is being fussy.) But the mirror goes the long way.

While cruising through some blogs, I found this awesome idea for making your own earring hanger. All you do is find an old picture frame, take out the glass and the backing and staple on some wiring. I had the perfect one sitting on a shelf. Then I went to Michael's and bought flower wrapping. It was plastic-y so it was sturdy enough to hold earrings and it had gold detail to it too, so it gave it a little extra something.

I cut two pieces of the wrapping then taped it to the back of the frame with painter's tape ( I didn't have any masking tape at home.) I then stapled it down over the painter's tape. The tape prevented it fraying. 

To add a last touch, I tied a bow out of some white ribbon I had laying around. I then stapled the ends of the bow to the frame as a hanger.

(Again, sorry about the pictures! It looks so silly like this!)

Any more ideas for DIY projects? I'm addicted!

Happy Weekend!

I've been slacking lately ever since my internship was over, but I'm gonna get back into the routine of updating my blog more frequently! I'm doing a bunch of DIY projects this weekend that I can't wait share with the blog world. And my main editor at the Sentinel asked me to continue with my Sentinel blog so take a look for that too on SentinelSource.com.

Now I have to go do yard work with my family in order to "earn" my tuition. Yeah, I'm grateful, but there's gotta be a better way to pay them back.

Preparing myself for a dirt filled day.

Happy Weekend everybody!

Last Day At the Sentinel

 

I can't believe my internship is coming to an end! I feel so blessed to have gotten this opportunity, and I had the best time. Working at the Sentinel really taught me the in's and out's of how the reporting process works, but also the process of the newsroom as a whole. It's reassured me that this is, without a doubt, what I would like to do as a career.

I found that the writing and reporting came natural to me, and I enjoyed it. Seeing my name on the front page of the paper was the biggest thrill, one that I want to feel again and again.

I met so many interesting people and was able to tell their stories, something I would love to continue to do. That's the reason I got into journalism in the first place. I want to be able to be the voice for those who can't tell their own stories.

I got to talk with people who recently started their own businesses, an eagle scout, town officials, rodeo performers, a student who was scammed, attend a junior solar car race, see baby bison, go to court, and shadow editors. I even got to interview Mitzi Perdue, the heir to the Sheraton hotel and chain and widow to Frank Perdue, the founder of Perdue Chicken! 

I really want to thank Paul, Cecily, and everyone else for taking a chance on me and teaching me so much. This was such an amazing process and words can't describe how grateful I am for it.

I can't wait to see what other opportunities this leads me to.

Check out some of the articles I wrote this summer:

http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/peterborough-students-put-cars-to-test-under-perfect-solar/article_520b80a7-06f1-5c93-bbdf-548728e77d42.html

http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/hotel-heiress-perdue-widow-recalls-dublin-summers/article_0e2a633c-f5b4-5b1d-b707-31d46e23031a.html

 http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/light-hearted/article_2fc2a772-72e9-59c5-9315-1dc0cf323d7e.html

or just visit the Keene Sentinel website!

Happy Friday!