Happy New Year Sisters!

Wishing each and every one of you and your families the happiest of New Years! Here's hoping 2009 is a great year for all of us!!!!!

Heather

Weekend Update

Initiation weekend was a blast with a downside. Upon waking up at our hotel in Greenville on Saturday morning, Deb received a phone call from Kara telling us that one of our sisters had been in a car accident on the way to initiation the night before. Here we were singing and humming and one of our sisters was in distress. She was so very close to the Phi house when a truck t-boned her vehicle. Please keep the Blalock family in your prayers (Leann is Scott's sister and Nicole's sister in law).

I have not heard an update on Leann this week but I think she was having surgery yesterday in Tyler?

There were so many alums at Initiation this year. We initiated 15 (included 5 alum initiates). The chapter is at quota and the house is currently full but all rooms are single occupancy. It is my understanding that is about to change and they will double up next semester. The house looks good. If you haven't been back since the 80's - it is so worth the trip. The bones are the same but that is about all that hasn't changed. The Mexican fiesta went well. Thanks to all the alums that brought something or contributed toward the food. Except for using toilet paper as paper towels - the meal was a success (someone needs to put Paper Towels on the "needs" list for the house). Seven of us stayed at the Quality Inn in Greenville afterwards (some of you may remember this place as the old Holiday Inn famous for hot tubbing in 90's- it is where we found the tiny kittens one night). We planned to party at the hotel bar but it closed at midnight so we just hung out in one of the rooms and talked til 2am. Saturday, some of the group parted and the rest of us checked into another hotel (in Irving). The five of us met up with Chele, Dawn, Felicia (all the way from CA) and her friend at Lone Star Park for a few hours of very cold horse racing. When the air was visibly cold, it was off to get some Hot Hooters for dinner. When the five of us got back to the hotel, it was obvious that everyone was ready to get some rest so the conversations ended well before midnight (did I mention Deb was the first to bed both nights just like at camp?). We got up Sunday morning and had breakfast together at the hotel, packed up and headed our separate ways.

I think having a long initiation weekend together was a hit so look for an evite next October when we do it again!

My Blog

I am attempting to create a blog.. its still a work in progress, but here in the link.
http://spotformandm.blogspot.com/

Pictures

Has everyone posted their pics from CampAPhi 2008 yet???

Initiation and GNO

In case you have not read the evites yet......Friday November 7th is Initiation at the Delta Beta house in Commerce. We will be doing a mexican potluck dinner for the chapter so if you can attend, please check out the evite and sign up to bring something. A bunch of us are planning to make a weekend of it and you are welcome to join us. Friday night, we will be staying in the Commerce vicinity (University Inn as of now, possibly to change). Saturday morning, we are going to get up and tour campus, raid the KA house and have lunch together. Saturday afternoon/evening we are going to Lone Star Park to watch the ponies race. Afterwards, we are going to get a hotel room in the area and catch up/veg/rest.

There are two evites - one for Initiation and one for Saturday's activities. Please be sure to view them both and let us know if you can join us.

Simply Fondue

We finally pulled off a successful dinner club after almost a year of trying. Eight Delta Beta Phis gathered at Simply Fondue on Lower Greenville Ave. in Dallas for a fondue cooking lesson (thanks Candace!!). Although seven of us were fondue beginners, we still managed to cook some really good food. Candace, Heather, Kara, Hewette, Rachel, Stephanie and Kim made quite a long night out of it (by our old lady standards) and left Dallas at about 11:15. There were talks of going dancing or getting tattoos afterward but I think once all the food hit our bellys and we realized how late it was - it was decided we would save our energy for Initiation and look for a good tattoo artist in Commerce in November! See you there!!

Simply Fondue

Hey all - just a reminder that we are doing Dinner Club at Simply Fondue in Dallas on Friday, September 5th at 7pm. Any of you "Dallas" gals will need to help the rest of us figure out the best way to get there and where to park. I know the lower Greenville area gets pretty lively on the weekends so I'm hoping we can park easily.

Right now, we have 11 signed up for dinner so hopefully we will have a nice sized group. I'd like to make reservations so if you have said you are coming and change those plans - please let me know so I can reserve the right sized table(s).

Outing Update

The Blalock, Cermak and Wunsch families had a great time this past Saturday at the Dallas World Aquarium. We experienced lunch at Cafe Maya (including turkey watching or watching turkeys), giant alligators, penguins, SHARKS and so much more! Being a novice to the DWA, I was surprised to discover that Dallas even had an aquarium and that it was so full of such great creatures and educational opportunities. It was super crowded which was the only downfall of the day - I guess everyone was trying to find things to do indoors since it was 105 outside! The kids really seemed to enjoy each other's company and all the sites. Evan had such a full day, he managed to stay awake for a total of 3 minutes once we were in the car! I really wanted to nap with him but figured I should do the driving.

I am totally open to suggestions as to where our next outing should be. I'm all for 'girls only' or 'family' outings - just need some ideas. Any excuse to 'gather' is a good one! Don't forget, Kris is having a Southern Living party at her house this Saturday so if you can get away from it all for a few hours - head to the Plano area!!

Aquarium

Due to lack of interest - the time for the gathing at the Dallas Aquarium is being moved back to 11am (instead of 1pm) to better fit the schedule of those planning to attend. If this fits your schedule and you can join us on Saturday, please let me know so we know to look for you and your family at the entrance.

FYI - for future gatherings: Dates and times are always negotiable so please let me know, when you get an evite, if another day or time would better suit your schedule. It does not always mean the date or time will be changed, but I do try to take the majority into consideration at all of the functions I plan. Camp is the only thing with a set weekend and that is because it allows us all to plan our year around that 3rd weekend in June every year!! :-)

The past two Dinner Clubs have been cancelled due to lack of interest and the Aquarium trip is down to 3 families at the moment so I'd rather move these events to get better (or any) attendance if I know ahead of time that they don't work for you. I know things come up last minute and none of us can control that - I'm just talking about the things we can control.

New addition to Cristy Coffman Lovick family - Matthew Evan Schmalzried

Hello girls!!

First of all a quick apology for not updating you all sooner. Things have been a bit hectic, and we had a major computer issue.. but we're settling down and the computer disaster was resolved. (I almost lost all of our pictures from the hospital.)

I hope everyone is doing well.. and will someone please forward this email to everyone else also who I didn't include. Kara, I saw where your husband had to have surgery, so I was thinking of you and hope he's okay.

Matthew Evan arrived Tuesday, July 15th at 12:30pm. Weighed in at only 7lbs 2oz, and 19" long. I have to say he must be the cutest baby in the world. He's absolutely perfect.

I couldn't believe how tiny he was, we were expecting an 8-9lb baby. Even the few newborn clothes we have for him are too small.

After he was born, I saw him briefly, then they ended up having to send him to the NICU because his oxygen levels were too low. He was breathing fine, but not getting enough oxygen. So he spent 6-7 hours in an oxygen tent. They let the rest of my family in to see him briefly, so everyone else got to meet him before I did. :O)
I finally got to hold him about 9pm and give him his first bottle.

We came home on Thursday night. Matthew is doing great, I have had some trouble with pain from the surgery. So I've been pretty groggy from taking pain meds. I'm hoping to try to take less today, I'd love to feel awake for a little while.

My Mom has been staying here, but I've insisted on getting up with Matthew and feeding him, etc.. but he's been sleeping sometimes for 5 hours at a stretch so its working out fine. I'm just waiting to start feeling better myself.

I just don't want to put him down for even a minute.. I'm probably spoiling him already.

I will attach a couple of pictures here, I promise to get more hopefully soon, but they're unorganized right now because of the computer problem.


Love you all!! Cristy Lovick

Dinner Club update

Well, it was a small group last night and a change of location. Since most of you had other plans, we moved dinner to Hurst at a place called RJ Gators. Debi and her daughter, Chele and her family met me there and we had a great time celebrating Chele's birthday!! We even had the waiters sing to her and bring her dessert!

If you didn't get a chance to join us last night, good news - Dinner Club Part Deux is next Thursday at 6:30pm in Grapevine. The place is called Flips Patio Grill and my daughter raves that they have the best food EVER! Please check out the evite and hope you can join us!!

Dinner Club Update

DFW Dinner Club - Thursday, July 17th at Uncle Julio's in Grapevine (Hwy 114 and William D. Tate) 7 ish. If no one is coming in from a long distance, we can move the time back to 6 or 6:30 if that works best for those coming in. Just email me: heatherwunsch@gmail.com

Hope to see you there.

who's out there?

Not sure who all is on this... not sure if most of you remember me... Leanne Knowles. I ran into Kim Nixon and she kinda passed on my info. Would love to hear from those I know. Send me your emails... Also, when is the dinner club? I can't find an evite. Thanks! Look forward to talking to some of you! :)

Dinner Club

Don't forget to check out the evite for Dinner Club next Thursday night. Hope you can make it!

Update for Everyone!

Hey everyone!!
I'm so sorry I missed everyone at camp. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it.. but I am HUGE and pregnant and about to burst. The heat is definitely no good for me.

I am doing okay though, trying not to complain too much(OH my aching back!!!), and staying off my feet and indoors.

The big news- I am scheduled to go in for my C-section on Tuesday, JULY 15th!
So, (unless something happens before then)- Matthew will be born sometime shortly after noon that day.
I am really excited to have a date now and have been doing any last-minute things I think has to be done. I am nervous, too, though.. surgery is always scary.
I'm just praying that everything goes smoothly and mostly that Matthew is healthy and perfect.

I'm sure I'll be in the hospital for at least 2 days, anyone is welcome to come by of course.
I'll be at Presbyterian Hospital in Allen- its located at 75/ Exchange pkwy in Allen, right on the highway there.

Lots and LOTS of pictures....

Do you know we now have 200+ pictures of camp posted now?! I think Steph still has hers to post (since she has been out of town at Alpha Phi convention most of the week). Who else hasn't posted????

My blog

Ok, I posted my own summary of the weekend at camp on my blog so if you get a chance - check it out! You should all have read access.

Heather

Katie's pics added to group photo album

Katie is the FIRST (besides my piddly few) to post photos to the 2008 Camp APhi album!! WOO HOO Katie!! And just where are YOURS??? LOL

Remember I am here to help (or even post for you). Just let me know if you need assistance. :)

Camp, Pics, and addresses

Hey girls! Thanks for another great camp, to all the girls that are a fixture in my life and the new ones that have joined/rejoined us this year. Other than almost sinking the boat, I think this is the best camp ever and everything else was PERFECT! The accommodations were more than enough space for the HUGE gathering that we have become, the food was FABULOUS, and the company was beyond words!

I would like to post all/as many of the photos to the group album as we can. I think posting to the new photo album I set up recently has more storage than the area on the Yahoo group and I think I got an email that they were thinking of taking that part off the group area anyway. I think I have transferred most of the pictures to the new album, but will double check. SO PLEASE post to the new album and not Yahoo. The link for the photo album is: http://aphi4ever.photoalbum.com. If you want me to post your pictures for you, then email them to me and I will gladly do so. If you would like to post them yourselves (or any others in the future to share) then the login information is as follows - LOGIN: aphi4ever, PASSWORD: bear. I have several albums already set up and most with sub-albums so we can keep all the pictures in the correct area/timeframe. I have already set up an album for Camp Aphi with a sub album for Camp Sink or Swim (not sure yet if that was decided on as the "official" name, but figured it would do for now. Please use this folder to post to. I have already added the few (all of 3...heck, I had intentions of taking more but with all the shutterbugs in the group I figured everything got covered). The main link for the photo album is also a link on our blog. I am still trying to post the video of Deb doing YMCA with her feet!! LMAO!!

I am also going to be looking for a database product that we can incorporate as an add-on to the blog as well. We have a small address list on the current Yahoo group, but would like something with a little more functionality. So, anyone that isn't a member of the Yahoo group, that might not have given me their current contact info (address, hm/cell/wk phone, home/work emails, etc), or that might have moved recently or changed phone #'s..... please REPLY with that information so that we can have an updated list.

Lastly, Shannon and I talked for a bit about Alpha Phi history and what becoming a member means on the ride home. She is very excited to make her addition to the group "official". I am going to give her the link to the international site and try to find my pledge book for her to look at before the ceremony. I think if she knows more of where we came from and what we stand for then initiation will just be that much more special to her. I am so excited to have her as not only my biological sister, but also take that oath that she become part of a much larger sisterhood and share her with all of you as well.

Anyway.....love to you all! Hope to see you all soon and lets not wait a YEAR! Dinner club... I see many emails in the future for you!!! :)

Love in AOE and MUCH MUCH more of mine!
Kara

testing?

Ok, I'm gonna figure this out if it kills me... I CANNOT wait for camp. Once I get the hang of posting on here I'm gonna be DANGEROUS! :)

Did we really look like this?

Sexy Phi's at a Pike Toga. Can you remember a better party each semester than the Pike Toga? Not me!! Don't we all look happy?

I think the picture says it all!!!

Hopefully I'll get the hang of this blogging business before I'm old and gray. Oh wait... I already have to color my gray .
Thanks Kara for all your help. I look forward to seeing you all at camp!

Blogs - Saving vs. Publishing....

Just a quick note (and NO I have no idea why I am still up at 330am!!). Thank you to all the ladies that have written blog material and/or posted comments. For those of you that are writing blogs, make sure to PUBLISH when you are done writing and not just save. If you only save then your blog doesn't actually go public on the site... it sits in a DRAFT state and no one will ever get to see it. LOL

Mattie, you have a draft from 5-16 and Nicole, you have one from 5-26. You can still PUBLISH if you want to. I am sure everyone would love to share. Just go into the "dashboard" and over to posting and you will see a list of what you have written. Those blogs that still show draft....you can open them back up and hit the publish button (I think the actual button is orange). Please let me know if you need any help.

Changes in PHOTOS!!

Hey ladies,
In order to make the blog more efficient and keep the photo viewing updated easier, I have MERGED all the photos that I have to date and made a PHOTO ALBUM to replace the SLIDESHOW feature that I had originally put in the blog. I have also taken the few photos that were shown on the right to save a little space (but I may put a few photos in that area from time to time just to spruce things up).

Click here or note the photo album link to the top right of the screen. I have made separate albums for College Days, Dinner Club, Weddings, Baby Shower, and Camp and will be adding more categories as we go along. If you have photos that you want to add to the online album, let me know and I will give you the login information OR you can send the photos to me and I will make sure they get loaded. So... ENJOY!!!

Activities for the summer as posted by the Far North Dallas Alum Chapter

Although our little group isn't directly involved with the Far North Dallas Alumnae group, I thought I would post a few of their upcoming events in case anyone is interested.....

Race For the Cure in honor of sister Kim Neal Harlow.... Join the fight by registering as part of our team or by supporting our efforts with a pledge contribution. The money raised through the Race will fund vital education, screening and treatment programs for underserved women in our own community and support the national search for a cure. Kim and her family are so blessed to have so many friends coming together to show our love and support for the fight against cancer. Most importantly to show Madeline and Bryan that we are still here to support and honor Kim in everything we do. This is a time to reflect and show how strong our bond was with Kim, and always will be, and the organizations she cared about. On her Caring Bridge website she proudly noted membership in 3 communities, her PTA, her sorority Alpha Phi/Panhellenic and her church. We would like to band those 3 communities together to walk in her honor.Please visit my personal page at the bottom! Thank you for all of your support in this wonderful cause. We need your support because together, we can save lives! Click here to learn more.


ALPHA PHI SUMMER - You are invited to spend some quality sister time withyour alumnae of the Far North Dallas Alumnae Group!

Date: Saturday, June 7th Time: 7:30 PM - SEX AND THE CITY Movie watching party @ Studio Movie Grill in Plano - Everyone is welcome! $8.75 per person + food

Date: Saturday, June 21st Time: 7:30 PM - WINE TASTING AND DINNER - Raise money for cardiac care and be good to your heart with wine! Progressive dinner and wine tasting. Everyone is welcome! $25 per person.

Date: Friday, August 1st Time: 7:05 PM - TEXAS RANGERS - Group picnic at the Texas Rangers game! Families are welcome! $20 per person includes game, food & soft drinks.

Date: Thursday, August 7th to Sunday, August 10th - LAS VEGAS - Viva Las Vegas Alpha Phi style! A weekend getaway to fabulous Las Vegas. Alpha Phi’s and female friends only. Budget $700 for flight, hotel and car. *Must be 21 for this trip. Please see our myspace page for more information!

My ticket is purchased and I'm coming to camp!!

Thank you to Kara for the crash course on blogging. Crazy me found the place the first time and then couldn't remember - my contagious brain injury. (That's only funny if you know I work for the Brain Injury Association of Arizona).

Although I'm far away (it seriously feels like a continent) I am so excited that I get plenty of sister time in the next few months.

So, I had the wonderful privilege of seeing Suzanne this past weekend. She looks beautiful and is the same wonderful Suzanne. Yes, I know, you're jealous she got to see me. :)

Then, off to camp and it's certainly not enough time but it is wonderful and helps me get my Texas and sisterly fix. I know you guys are excited but I am giddy - it's like coming home for me (don't tell my Mom).

The week after camp, Steph gets to see me again. Yes, I know you're jealous of her too. :) She'll be here in the Phoenix area when it's 1000 degrees and it doesn't matter if it's dry heat!

Then in July, my husband Kyle and I will be headed back to Texas. We're making a pit stop in Dallas overnight.

Thank you again to Heather and Kara for making the world seem smaller.

Love to everyone from Arizona.

Thought for the day.....

Having trouble getting started on YOUR first blog???

If this is your first time in the blogging world and you don't know where to start, here is a little bit of assistance (on the technical side):

When you go to the blog - http://aphi4ever.blogspot.com/ at the top of the screen on the right side you should see “Sign-In”. From there it will take you to the Blogger page and ask you to sign in using your Google account. If you don’t have one, then just click on “Sign-in” button and it will take you to another page which gives you the option again to “sign-in” or to CREATE a google account. I created my google account with my normal email as my username and a password that is pretty standard for me and easy to remember. Once you have a google account set up then you should be able to “sign-in” and post a blog onto this forum.

Once you write a blog there are options to download a photo into the post in several ways. You can transfer the picture into the blog using the download option OR you can find a photo you like on a service like http://www.photobucket.com/ and grab its code and paste it into the blog. When writing your blog, you also have the option of making the type different colors, inserting a hyperlink (which is a clickable word or image that will take you to another webpage or email), etc.

Please let me know if you have any problems. I will be hosting a How to Blog session at camp (for a small fee of course….LOL) and a I Use a Computer for Email and Stuff But Don’t Really Know Much Else crash course (just kidding!!!). You have to remember, I was a computer science major and this stuff just comes 2nd nature to me without really trying most of the time.

Call me or email if needed. I am happy to be of service!!

22 and counting

22 days to CampAPhi...do dah...do dah....

This is YOUR blog ladies...

Hey girls! Just wanted to announce that we now have 15 glorious members / authors of this blog! REMEMBER this is YOUR blog, for you to read/write/post whatever you would like to. Whether it be memories from college, an update on your life that you want to share with the rest of us, any announcements, ideas for future activities, WHATEVER you want it to be. Have fun!

Awesome!

I just wanted to say that I love this blog!! I love going back and looking at the slideshows and reading the blog entries. Kara - you are an amazing computer geek to put all of this together and I love ya for it.

Hey!! Nicole finally walked me through how to do this. It only took a small army and a beverage on Nicole's part!!!--Tonya

MORE Blast from the Past thanks to Katie!

A busy day for the Phis

Well yesterday was jam packed with Alpha Phi activities for some of us.

The day began with an appreciation luncheon for Dr. Ingram. She was one of the founding members of our chapter (Delta Beta) and a long time advisor. From what I hear there were about 20-25 ladies that were able to make it to the event to include a few of our own. Robyn, Kim and Steph all were able to make an appearance and stated that Dr. Ingram looked great and was still quite the spitfire! Hopefully we can get some pictures posted of that event for everyone to see.

And later in the day, a baby shower was held for Cristy Coffman Lovick. Cristy currently has a 12 year old daughter, but is expecting a son in late July. The shower was attended by Heather A, Chele, Kris, Rachel, Robyn, Kim, Steph, myself and of course the mom to be. As in all of our events there was much catching up to do and a little remember the old days. Slideshow below includes pictures of our gathering. ENJOY!!

In other news, Suzanne was in TX for a wedding and stayed a few days with Robyn. And Robyn is currently helping Cindy (her younger sister as well as an APhi) plan her upcoming wedding scheduled for August.

The next event currently on the calendar is CAMP! The list right now is between 13-20 girls! We are very excited for the new additions to the group and their possible attendance at camp and other events in the future. Looking forward to seeing each of you soon!! XOXO

College Picture Collage.....

Here is a slide show of the pics from college that everyone has been passing around via email so far for those of you that might not have seen them. Please feel free to email any others to me at etxgal@hotmail.com and I will burn them all on a disk for Mattie's presentation at camp. I still have to load mine...but I can't find my darn photo album (its the only one I haven't scanned yet!!). GRRRRRR.....

Hello

Just sending a quick note to test this out.
:O)

Dates to Remember

I have added an important date section to the right of the screen. Its lists all the birthdates (including husbands and children) and anniversaries in our group that I have on record. With as many in our group as there is, I figured it was best to have everyone's info in one place.

Please check your info and let me know if it is incorrect. If I don't have yours, please comment here or send me an email to etxgal@hotmail.com and I will add your information to the list.

Welcome Sisters and Kuddos to Kara

First of all, a big kuddos to Kara for working so hard to find our missing or mislocated sisters recently. It is such a thrill to get a chance to reconnect with some of you gals that made my last few years in Commerce such a hoot!! Kara is quite the computer know it all and she's proven that this week!!

Secondly, welcome back to the sisters we've recently reconnected with and hello to those of you that have been such an important part of the recent years!!! As I've mushed to you guys before, you really are my sanity. Knowing I have you all out there to count on whenever I need you - means the world to me. We are a small but very strong group of women from a variety of backgrounds, lifestyles, etc. but we are bonded by sisterhood. It's a strong bond that seems to be growing every day with each sister we make a connection with.

Love to you all! Heather Ashton Wunsch '87

Through the years and growing stronger....

Who would have thought that over the last 20 years of my life that I would keep in such close contact with a bunch of girls I met in college? When they said during pledgeship and initiation that sisterhood was for life and was something that would be there ALWAYS.....weren't we all thinking "Yeah, OK"? It was a sweet thing to hear and a wonderful thing to believe in, but never in a million years did I expect to be in contact with more than a handful of you as I inch my way into my 40's! BUT.....I am so glad that mere uttering of words has rang true! Some of us see each other on a monthly basis. Some more and some ALOT less. Some come into the fold and some go their own way from time to time. No matter where we all are in this life, no matter what life throws at us, I am happy that I can call you a sister! Thanks for being there for me and thanks for letting me be there for you! Growing stronger with time like the ivy that twines..... we ARE Alpha Phi!!

Phi-nominal sisters

Join me in a group blog to connect us all.....