An inspiring little girl...

First and foremost... CONGRATS to Hannah Wright, my dressing room pal, for placing 2nd runner up at the National Sweetheart pageant!!!! Love her!

I apologize for my dwindling blog posts... it is busy tax season once again (corporate returns due 9/15) and I have been working 13 hour days..boo!!! However... I am still finding time to volunteer!!! This past week I organized a dinner to be made for the Ronald McDonald house for the 1st year class at PwC (that includes me... I am no longer an intern!!!!). As always, it was a blast and a really great way to get to know my new co-workers. After we cooked for approximately 45 people, I had my first tour of the Ronald McDonald House! I don't know how I volunteer there so much and have never gotten the tour. It was more than a house... it was a home. Each room had individual touches to make the visitors feel more comfortable. There were multiple family type rooms, board games, and much more to keep everyone in a positive mind set. It really blew me away how much detail and time was spent making the facility into a warm environment.

Can you find Ronald?

This Saturday, I hosted the Teen Miss Finger Lakes Pageant! I was joined by my pageant pal, Vicky Ripple! Thank you so much for helping us out! The day was really fun, esp since a lot of the girls competing also competed for the Miss Colonial Days title and I was able to see their improvement already! Although all of the girls did great, one of the new titleholders really stuck out in my mind. Lauren Randall, the new Little Miss Finger Lakes, competed for Miss Little Colonial Days this past summer. Her sister, Maryn, also competed. While both young ladies did a phenomenal job, Maryn took home the title. When this happened, I must say that I got a bit nervous wondering how Lauren was going to take the news of her sister winning. I have never seen such grace and sincere pride between sisters. Lauren was so happy for Maryn and held her head high. I must say that I grinned when I looked down at my index card that was handed to me by the auditor when it said that Lauren had taken the title, she is extremely deserving and I could not be more proud of her!

Lauren when her name was called :)

Things start to get a bit crazy soon, I leave for Pittsburgh on Tuesday and will be there for two weeks. I will return to Rochester for a few weeks then will be off to California for two weeks (work not play :( ) I will sure to keep you posted on any events coming up!




Move it and Lose it Challenge #6: I challenge you to not eat two hours before you go to sleep! While you are sleeping, your metabolism slows down quite a bit, so if you absolutely have to eat before you go to bed, try something light like watermelon :)

This Just In.....

PASSED MY FIRST CPA EXAM WITH AN 84!!!!!!!!!! One down, three to go!!!

Ahh so excited right now that I figured I would let you all know what I have been up to. Life has been crazy hectic. I am currently studying for the next section of my CPA, working, moving (which has been quite the disaster), and of course, representing the Finger Lakes Region :)

Last week, Stacey Minchin and I volunteered at the CMN Golf Tournament held at the country club. Our job was to see if anyone made a hole in one and if they did the would win a new jeep! Well, that Jeep is back on the lot because no one got a hole in one, but hey, we saw some pretty awesome shots! After the tournament there was a fundraiser dinner that we attended. We also had a pretty fun photo shoot in the rain on one of the greens, compliments of my dad! I will post some pictures on here and the remainder of the pictures on facebook once I find my camera cord that is somewhere between my new apartment and my old apartment.

This week was also my last Get in the Game Monday :( Surprise surprise, it was raining all day so we couldn't go outside. But, we took advantage of the youth center and tried to stay away from the video games! A big thank you to the Youth Center for allowing me to come and volunteer! It was been a great couple of months :)

The week ahead:

Volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House on Thursday!

Move it and Lose it Challenge #5: Break up your meals into smaller meals throughout the day. Currently, I eat 5 small meals everyday instead of 3 big meals. This allows your metabolism to work constantly and at an even pace instead of trying to break down huge amounts of food.

Move it and Lose it Challenge #4

I was so caught up in the commotion of this week that I forgot to give you your next Move it and Lose it Challenge!

I Challenge you to eat breakfast! It's as simple as that! A lot of people are under the misconception that eat more = gain more. However, a healthy breakfast has quite the opposite effect. Eating breakfast gets your metabolism going early, which means you will be burning more calories throughout the day (not to mention that you will most likely be taking in more vitamins and minerals)! So instead of waiting til 11 to jump start your metabolism, eat breakfast and start it at 8!

Check out this article from the Mayo Clinic for more breakfast tips!


Until next time :)

A Different Perspective

This weekend was the Miss Thousand Islands pageant, it was the first time in five years that I was not looking down at the audience.This time, instead, I was looking up at the girls. I am not going to lie, this was very difficult for me. The volunteers of the Miss Thousand Islands Organization have become family to me and their pageant is always one that I look forward to.

SO the results!

Community Service - Victoria Ripple

Congeniality - Corri Dartnell

CMN Award - Alli Sun

3rd RU - Abagail Turner

2nd RU - Angela Galasso

1st RU - Corri Dartnell

Miss TI 2010.....

With Miss TI 2010, Morgan Bocciolatt

MORGAN BOCCIOLATT! P.S. Morgan, I am sorry my camera messed up so I didn't get your crowning moment. My dad is going to try to see if he can recover it off my camera for you :( Congratulations sweetie, so proud of you! Enjoy your year!!!

Corri and I

This was also a special day for Corri Dartnell, who has been competing with the Miss America Organization since the age of 17 and was Miss Thousand Islands 2008. Saturday was Corri's last MAO local pageant and I am so proud of her. I have had the opportunity to watch her grow through this organization and I am so thankful to be able to call her my friend.

Miss NYOT, Allison Stroming, Miss NY, Claire Buffie, and myself

When I returned home it was time for another Get in the Game Monday! We had a really fun day and a record amount of kids!

The week ahead:

MOVING APARTMENTS!

Sunday: Volunteering at the CMN Golf Tournament at the Corning Country Club

Monday: Get in the Game

"Kick it to Amy...She can't throw it"

The EXACT words of the boys on the opposing team of Kickball today during a Get in the Game Activity.... HARSH (although, sadly true)!! I am more than half way through my Get in the Game summer program and I must say, I am having a blast with it. I cannot determine for certain that the kids are participating in the different activities because they want to or because they earn points for a Sea Breeze trip with their activity hours... I am going to have to say it's a bit of both :)

Taking a step back now to Thursday! Thursday was a LOOONG day for me. It started at 5:45 (yes a.m.) when I got out of bed so that I could get into the office early. Getting in early = Getting out early. At 4:30, I kicked off my heels and slid on the flip flops as I got into my car for a very familiar drive. For anyone that does not know, I live in Rochester... I could easily do community service here, but I wanted to make sure this year that I am representing the area that believed in me and named me as its title holder. So every weekend I drive one hour and forty-seven minutes to the Finger Lakes! When I arrived I found myself surrounded by a bunch of cars, people, and vendors.. that's right.. RACE FEVER! At the event, I sold tickets to help support Meals on Wheels! Each ticket purchased bought you a duck. Yeap, that is right, a duck. It wasn't real of course, although that would have been AWESOME (I used to have three ducks.. Huey, Duey, and Louie... Duey got hit by a car, it was traumatizing). At the end of Race Fever, all of the ducks were thrown into the river, like so....

... and the person's duck that made it to the finish line first won a trip to Hawaii! Unfortunately, my duck must have got lost on the 50 foot path the finish because I never received that phone call welcoming me aboard to the Aloha State. :( oh well.

I was quite the Salesperson :)

Friday morning I woke up and drove back to Rochester for the PwC picnic, which was followed by the Park Ave Arts Festival on Saturday. What did I do on Sunday morning you ask? I got back in the car and drove to Elmira, NY! It was time for another Wal Mart fundraiser. This was my first time doing a fund raiser at this particular Wal Mart. Unfortunately, I was double booked with another organization, so I was a little nervous of how the day would turn out, but my two little helpers seemed to win over the customers! In total, we raised $172 in four hours! A big thank you Walmart, Jaida, Mini Miss Colonial Days 2010 and Nayanna, Mini Miss Congeniality 2010.










The week ahead:

Saturday: Miss Thousand Islands 2011 Pageant!!
Monday: Get in the Game Monday at Family Services


Move it and Lose it Challenge #3: Pre-package your daily snacks! I have often fallen victim to the vending machine. On Thursday, I took an inventory of it (aka checked out the snacks) to see if there was anything healthy in there. Surprise surprise, there wasn't. Before you go to sleep, pre-package any grapes, granola bars, yogurt, strawberries, etc. that you will need to quench your hunger for the following day. That way you will be less likely to be searching for that 75 cents and more likely to fit into those goal jeans that you have been saving!

Learn and Burn!

Tomorrow is big day 1 out of 4 (I hope only 4)!! I have been studying since May for the Regulation section of the CPA exam. I have been on the edge the last few weeks because I have been impatiently waiting for my NTS, which allows me to schedule my exam. It is supposed to take 6 weeks... mine took 8. I FINALLY received it on Friday and was able to schedule my exam for tomorrow. So, unfortunately, I had to cancel Get in the Game Monday.

I have been studying non stop for the past 48 hours and finally decided at 8:47 p.m. that it was time to call it quits. I cannot possibly cram anything else into my brain. So tonight, I am going to paint my toes, eat some strawberries, watch Licensed to Wed, and give you some fun info on being healthy that I learned in the PwC monthly newsletter!

Since I am a numbers person, I like to know the how many calories you burn for each activity that you partake in. Here are the facts...

If you....Then you Burn
Play with your dog... 75 Calories/Hour
Take a Walk in the park... 115 Calories/Hour
Weed the Garden... 230 Calories/Hour
Play Golf (with a cart!)... 250 Calories/Hour
Play Softball... 260 Calories/Hour
Play Doubles Tennis... 350 Calories/Hour
Exercise using an elliptical... 850 Calories/Hour


So, like I said last week, I am not getting a gym membership until I am finished with my exams, so until then, I can use some of the things on the list above to make sure that I am staying in good physical shape!


Alright I hope everyone took on the Move it and Lose it challenge last week by parking in the back of parking lot, but it is time for a new challenge!

Move it and Lose it Challenge #2: Take the stairs! I know how tempting it is to take the elevator, trust me, there is one in my parking garage and I park on the top floor. But taking the stairs, esp in the morning, is a good way to get your heart pumping early!

Move it and Lose it!

I am very excited about a couple of ideas that I have recently brainstormed with the help of Calista. So on this Wednesday evening, instead of studying like I should be, I am going to share!

Program #1: What Moves You?

This program is for Elementary aged kids. When I was in 4th grade, we participated in a reading competition. Whichever class room had the highest total of after school reading hours, won a party. Sounds simple enough... so why not gear this idea towards physical fitness! According to experts, Kids only need one hour of physical activity a day! This can definitely be accomplished, especially if the kids are in a competition. The program would last for about a month and by the end, the hope would be that the children would turn the competition into a lifestyle. I have pitched this idea to a local elementary school (I even made a fun activity tracking sheet!) and am anxiously waiting to hear back. I will keep you posted!

Program #2: Move it and Lose it!

This program is going to be geared towards teens and adults. My platform is actually for kids, but I got in a heated debate with myself... (yeah it's possible to debate with yourself) over the idea of joining a gym right now and when the debate did not end how I wanted it to, I decided that I needed to come up with a plan. As much as I would LOVE to join a gym, I knew that my CPA studying schedule would cause this to be an unwise economical decision...aka I wouldn't have time to go to the gym. Now, I am ready to attack my critics that believe that I am already a small person and that I do not need to go to the gym. Here's the thing, being small means just that... you are small. By no means does that suggest that you are necessarily healthy or fit. So this program can be for EVERYONE!

Here is the deal. All you have to do is one small challenge every week. I will announce these challenges both on my facebook and through my blog. Some will be geared towards physical fitness, others will be geared towards nutrition, and maybe I can even throw in a few mental fitness challenges! I am going to do every single one of them, so if you feel like you are doing them alone, I can promise you that you are not! So here it goes... Move it and Lose it Challenge #1...

I Challenge You to: Pass up that close parking spot at the store/work/etc. Leave it for someone that actually needs it. Pretend like your car is a gem and park that baby in the back row!

P.S. this challenge can be altered for my city folks who use public transportation. Skip your usual entrance to the subway and walk to the next one. We all know it's only a few extra blocks! (Do not do this, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS if you are alone at night -- this is a day time activity only :) I am a stage 4 worrier)