This is actually not my first go at blogging. I have another blog (about agriculture) called Young McDonald but I have been somewhat sporadic about keeping up with it. Hopefully things will be different with this blog! I am a young woman from Indiana who will be entering college this fall. I am attending community college this fall to save a little money since I am paying my way through school. My tight budget will make things a little interesting, and I plan to post my budgeting, saving and couponing tips here! Although I am pursuing a career I also love homemaking, and one of the most exciting things for me about living on my own will be getting to cook, clean and entertain guests in my own home! I am living in an apartment with a few friends this fall and I am also decorating on a budget. I will post info about how I decorate as well! My goal is to prove that you can decorate tastefully without breaking the bank. I love crafting, especially sewing and scrapbooking, so you may see a few posts about that pop up as well. A little about my background: I have grown up in a rural area with 7 younger siblings. I was home-schooled, although I did attend public school for the last semester of high school just to see what it was like. I live on a farm and raise my own dairy cattle. I have been a member of 4-H for 9 years, an experience that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to give their kids a leg up in life by providing them with invaluable reasoning, public speaking, time management and leadership skills. I have participated in 4-H on a local level, where I have served as president of my 4-H club for 4 years, on a state level, where I have attended 4 national trips representing Indiana, and on a national level, where I served on the National 4-H Congress Design Team, the planning committee for the largest 4-H event in the country. I am currently performing research on the impact of 4-H on the self esteem of young girls. If you have any questions about the 4-H program or would like to know how to get involved I would be more than happy to assist in any way I can. I have been public speaking in 4-H for all 9 years of my involvement, and after I won the state 4-H speaking contest I felt like I needed to find a way to use my skill for the greater good. After all, that's what 4-H is all about: developing skills and then putting them to use in your community. After a little brainstorming I discovered that teen suicide is a big issue in my area and I am currently developing a community exercise plan that would help to eliminate depression in my community. Additionally, I am trying to develop a motivational speech about teen suicide and how we can all help to prevent it. I have recently discovered printables on Pinterest (I believe that Pinterest was the greatest gift of the Internet, you can follow me @ coleen_g) and I was delighted by the sermon notes ones. Unfortunately, most of them were for purchase and the ones that weren't were designed for youngsters! I will be implementing those for some of my younger siblings, but I was in the market for a notes outline for myself! I enjoy taking notes at church because it helps me to remember the sermons and come back to them when I'm reading later on. Anyhow, since I couldn't find one I decided to make my own and just go ahead and post it here. I hope you all find this helpful!
Until Next Time,
Coleen
