The Graduate

Some things are just so worth it.... 

Case and point: 4 years of devotion to school, late nights pouring over homework, early mornings up studying, weekends spent building dune buggy projects, days and days spent writing term papers, and oh... while you're at it why don't you tutor the underling engineers in their Statics, Dynamics, and Thermodynamics that you passed, and can now pass on your supreme knowledge to the fledgling aspiring graduates. 


Well, this weekend marked the end of a season for me. As far as the foreseeable future goes I am no longer a student. Not enrolled in classes, no teachers, no campus, no homohomework, and NO papers!! Oww oww!!! 

Peace OUT Tech, it's been real... 

Nothing is more fulfilling than graduating with honors; from the very same school my dear papa graduated from many years ago :) I am so proud and honored and blessed and just- relieved! 

Alumni <3 

I received the General Engineering Department's
Student Award for Outstanding Achievement. Booyah!! 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

What does "The Graduate" do with her copious free time and lack of classes to attend? Ha, a whole lot less! 


So far I've been waking up far too late in the "morning," spending 3+ hours in the gym per day, and practicing walking/posng till my toes are numb. 

Practice makes perfect....
Just put one foot in front of the other! 

My friend, and an international beauty pageant queen ;) - Melissa - has been teaching me sooooooo many things I didnt know about how to place my feet/hands/hips/shoulders... heck, BODY, when I present for prejudging. Why didn't I ask her to coach me sooner!? All I can say is ya'll Bikini gurls betta watch out, there's a new fitness diva in town ;) 

I'm channeling Victoria's Secret catwalk
attitude for my walk and posing ;) 

I got some new kicks with ankle straps (vital for getting the right leg extension and stride for walking) and they're also a good inch taller- ya know, cuz I'm kinda short.. LOL. 

These babies are gonna carry me to my Pro card, you KNOW
the reason women accomplish great things is because of the shoes! 

So, besides all that walkin' stuff I am also tweaking my posing, most notably my back pose. You'll just have to wait and see the differences in that though... 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

In other news, I am off to Seattle this weekend for my friend Leeza's bachelorette party. It's gonna be a BLAST and I can't wait. 


I attended my beautiful friend Staci's bachelorette party last weekend here in Butte. She's a Bikini competitior too, can you tell? 

Staci with herself as a Bikni-Staci cake :) 

That's all for now folks! I'll be out of town until Monday with Leeza's partay. Have a great weekend yourselves and enjoy all this nice summer weather!! 




Blessings, 


~ Ruthie

In Print

Hey guys!

As of recently, I officially no longer blog for Montana Tech as a student life blogger. However, I still work for the school...but i an exciting new position: I am a health and fitness lifestyle writer for the school's paper, the Technocrat.

Read my latest work at the links below :)

• Avoiding the Freshman 15
• 5 Frugal, Healthy Tips

I apologize for not getting a "Sunday Share" up yesterday. It was a crazy weekend at the Olympia Expo filled with amazing memories, new experiences and new friends. BUT.. when it came time to leave Vegas had a different plan for me...

Take it from me, DON'T "Go green" at the airport. I thought I was being all eco-friendly by using mobile check-in, but it sure wasn't good for my world. My mobile check in code worked at the Delta check-in counter and to check my bag but NOT for the TSA security checkpoint. It took so long to sort it out I missed my flight home.

Not such a great idea...

Word to the wise: Print ALL boarding documents. Even in you want to use mobile check-in, use the paper ticket as a backup in case things don't go as planned. I got stuck in Vegas an extra night, had to get a hotel, missed class, and even got airsick on the connection flight from SLC to Butte on the way back!! The moral of the story is to never only have "Plan A."

Goodnight all + blessings,

~ Ruthie
    xoxo

Required Reading

And we're back...

If you're reading this then you survived what was the first two days of classes for Montana Tech students. How alive are you really? Did your soul die a little knowing you'd be doing homework and tests for the next couple months? Are you dead tired? OR Are you lively and loving being back? (kudos to you if you're the latter!)

I am trying with every fiber of my being to be happy to back. And I am... really I am. What I DEFINITELY am doing is reading a book my mom gave me for my birthday, it is titled, "Power Thoughts" by Joyce Meyer.

The introduction reads:

"Does your mind wander? Do you have trouble trying to get something out of your mind? You may be stuck in a mental rut. Well, it’s time to get out!

In her bestselling book, Joyce will help you…

• Take principles from Battlefield of the Mind to the next level
• Learn 12 specific thoughts to positively affect every area of your life
• Learn how to think right thoughts on purpose
• Become decisive, confident and productive
• Enjoy the powerful life God intended for you"

Sign me up!
The jist of the book is 12 Strategies to WIN the BATTLE of the MIND. Each strategy is covered in a chapter, and there are four 'ground work' chapters at the begining to lay a solid foundation of the desirable outcomes, the common struggles, and the main power concepts. I am on Chapter 3 now, but I can't wait to get to the strategies :)

You can read a sample chapter online, just click the link. Here's a little sample section that proves the power of positive thinking it an amusing little tale :)

A Positive You Is a Powerful You

An organization once offered a bounty of five thousand dollars

apiece for wolves that were captured alive. Enticed by the idea of

such money, Sam and Jed eagerly set out through the forests and

into the mountains in search of the animals that could secure their

fortune.

They fell asleep under the stars one night, exhausted after days

of enthusiastic hunting. Sam awoke in the middle of the night and

saw about fifty wolves surrounding him and Jed—hungry wolves,

baring their teeth, with their eyes glistening at the thought of easy human prey.

Realizing what was going on, Sam nudged his friend and said

eagerly, “Jed, wake up! We’re rich!”

A positive attitude enables you to make the best of every situation,

and that gives you power over your circumstances instead

of allowing your circumstances to have power over you.


In case you were wondering I did follow up on my friend Kim's advice and start the reading and DVD 6 week plan for "Made to Crave." I am only on week #1, but this book has helped me immensely already.

I knew I had a problem with food... I thought about it ALL the time, I obsessed over when I could get my "cheat meal" or eat my favorite foods like oatmeal and peanut butter or protein powder, and celebrated like I won a car when Shannon put PB &J on rice cakes on my meal plan. It is 100% OK to enjoy food, love food, and desire food. God made our sense of taste and he knows how it works! He knows we will seek foods that taste good. The problem comes in when you seek food for pleasure, comfort, security above and beyond God. I shutter to admit it, but was in that place. I mean gees, I even wrote a post fantasizing about deserts! That should have been a red light right there. There is great irony in the fact that I knew I was "Purely Indulging" in food when I wrote the post because I even titled it that; but what I didn't realize was that that I was waging war on my soul by putting something above God.

But I am on the road to recovery! The first "Power Word" of the book is "EMPOWERMENT" (funny how the power thinking idea just keeps coming up huh? Maybe God really is trying to tell me something!) Lysa writes that we can make the mental choice to be empowered by our healthy eating choices, not feeling deprived by them. And I have found this to be absolutely true! When I overcome a craving and stick to my diet plan I am proud of myself, I feel empowered, I feel free, and I feel completely full!

I am happy to report I have not had a food binge or purge since starting the reading plan, which I had been struggling with under the strictness of my Bombshell diet plan, and the stress of moving, starting school, competing, and funding it all ($!). It's a dark and embarrassing struggle, but I am overcoming it and that's what counts! I have had the revelation that I don't need the things I crave to feel full and satisfied, I actually need to resist them to feel that fullness and satisfaction! ... and by "full" I mean the inner feeling of satisfaction and peace, not only the literal physical feeling of fullness after eating. I enjoy eating the right food and making the right choice to resist my cravings much more than the fleeting pleasure of messing up my plan and eating that scoop of peanut butter. I'll keep you updated on my progress as I continue to read both "Power Thoughts" and "Made to Crave."

Other books on my reading list this Fall include "Mechanical Vibrations," "Machine Design," "Process Control Instrumentation Technology," and "Energy Conversion" ... Courtesy of my professors. Yahoo, I am going to be so smart and so efficient at reading! Positive thinking, positive thinking ;)

I hope your return to school has been going smoothly!



Ruthie xoxo

Multi-Faceted

Yesterday I interrupted our regularly scheduled programming to post about my birthday and the tragedy of my teacher's death, so here's the picture post I promised...

Actually I'll start off with a video! Here's a behind the scenes video of my photo shoot with April Greer. She made it for my birthday. Isn't she just too sweet :) ?

I on the other hand am quite the piece of work... I guess I AM blonde ;p How many blondes does it take to get your name and state right? Find the answer below.

And here we have some of the fruits of my labor as a model. I only say "labor" because the cool shots always are the most painful to hold. All the flattering poses are extremely uncomfortable; which is definitely true for Bikini competition as well! I love modeling and competing though so it's no biggie :) April made the whole shoot really fun by having a great attitude and playing rockin' music.

"April Greer Photoshoot"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

On Monday, my fellow Techies and I start back at school. It's time to finish my quest to be a Mechanical Engineer!! I like how I ended my summer posts on this modeling shoot, because many people have only one perception of me...

Either they met me as an "engineer" and see me as scholarly, hard-working, perfectionist, home-work queen, study-maniac, sleep deprived. With the summer version of this being about the same minus the homework and studying.... OR... they met me at a Bikini competition, through Team Bombshell, or via modeling. To them I am a "bombshell" (at least I flatter myself as such he-he). They see me as competitive, gym-rat, skinny girl, weights and StairMaster queen, food-prep maniac....and again ,sleep deprived and perfectionist. Both "engineer" and "bombshell" are the same girl, but only a select few people know both sides of me.

Turns out, I'm multi-faceted. I'm just now finally exploring more than one side, and it's been overwhelmingly amazing. I encourage you to try taking charge of your joy and spending more time pursing that little thing you that makes you happy instead of just the things you are good at. You can always fall back on what you're good at if it doesn't work out, but what if you're actually really good at what makes you happy!? Only one way to find out...

Now that school is starting again you'll be seeing a lot more of the "engineer" side, and posts will probably be more of a mix of school, Team bombshell, God and scriptures (always!), and random life happenings. If you're headed back to school soon, good luck! Let's have a great year :)

I'm off to do workout #3 for today.... lifting back and biceps! I am stoked to use my new Versa Gripps lifting grips that my parents got me for my birthday (in pink :D)

Good night friends,
~ Ruthie xoxo


PS - I updated the "Competition History" page on my blog.

Congrats Graduates!!

Shout out to all my awesome friends who graduated this past weekend from Montana Tech (and various other schools :p)

However, I am especially proud of my girls:
Miranda Dunkel, Kaci Hockaday, Jerika Allick, and Rachel Costin...

~~ YOU GO GIRLS!! ~~

Rachel looking beautiful @ Commencement

Jerika got a hard earned Engineering degree,
someday I will follow in your footsteps girl ;)

Rachel spoke at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony and did great!
Her speech was really funny and honest :)

Miranda getting pinned at Nursing Pinning

Graduation is always so bittersweet... I hate seeing my friends go, but I am so proud of them for making it through college. I know this means new adventures and an exciting new life for them :)

Tech's grads before getting turned loose on the world...

Kaci, oh the times we had at Overflow. I still remember your smiling face from the first time Cameron twisted my arm into going to church (on a Friday night!?) but it turned out to be the biggest blessing for my life because I met such genuinely beautiful people like you. I know you will go far in your career and will be an incredible dentist to those in need overseas. I know God goes with you where ever you go...

Kaci and I taking a break together at a church service project

Miranda, oh how I'll miss you! I know you'll have a great time with your hubby far far away (where ever the Marine Core takes you!) but it was a pleasure and an honor to have you as my roommate for the last three years :) I love you and may God bless all your efforts!

Miranda and I on an infamous "Missoula Shopping Day!"

Jerika, even though we have only known each other for a short time, I cannot even express how much I value your friendship. You reached out to me and gave me that little push I needed to find a sport I really really love, who knows if I would have ever found out about the 2011 NPC Big Sky Classic and placed 4th, joined Team Bombshell, and taken off on a new passion and competition if it weren't for you! For that I am forever thankful :) And ever since you have been an incredible motivator and so supportive, with those qualities any employer would be NUTS not to keep you around! Love you girl and I'm still prayin' for your success in your new job and engineering career.

Rachel, where to start :) We go waaaayyyy back and all I can say is it is jaw dropping to see the mature, beautiful, spiritual, and loving and caring young woman you have grown to be. You were always the sweetest thing and I know any man, any patient, and any new friends you meet as you enter your new life as a nurse will be SO lucky to have you. Continue to trust and follow in Jesus in all your ways and there is no limit to the impact you will have on the lives of others. I thank God for you and I thank YOU for being such a good friend for so long!

Oh I still remember the days :p
(Can you spot me and Rachel?)

 

So go get em' girls, let the world have it, don't take no for an answer, make your mark, all the above :p. I think these verses apply to the challenging world ahead of you all (hopefully not too challenging) ...

"Rejoice in the Lord always; anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:4-7

"I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. "  - Philippians 4:11-13

PO-TA-TOES!!

Let me just say if you have never seen the original Lord of the Rings spoof video this will make no sense to you... but I can't have you not getting in on the joke so here it is :)

Boil em', mash em' stick em' in a stew!!




Oh yeah :p.. Ok, so the reason I'm turning your brain to mashed "taters" with random you-tube videos is I want to share with you my latest creation. For Strengths Lab this semester for some reason our final project was a potato gun :).... Ah yes, I sometimes wonder what is at work in some of our professor's minds. Check out our spiffy spud-gun we made My team was Andy Mill, Devin Lake, and Mike Baldwin (not pictured), and yours truly of course :)

Lock...

Load...

Fire!

Devin and Andy were really good
 at sizing the "bullets" aka taters

Here it is in action - our own tater videos :)

Well I hope you enjoyed learning all the great things you can do with spuds, I bet Idaho is proud.

Till next time !  Ruthie



There's A Point

Happy Friday everyone,

This time around I couldn't be more looking forward to getting home and throwing off my backpack for a couple days. I'm so sick of hauling around books and filling pages and pages of  engineering paper with calculations, free body diagrams, graphs of heat flux as a function of film thickness, and Pro-E drawings. My mind will explode if I see another integral form of fluid or heat flow. The only fluid/heat flow I wanna study is filling my tub for a nice relaxing bubble bath. T minus 8 hours :)

Do you ever need to remind yourself why you're putting yourself through the stress and mental drain of going to college for a hard degree? I sure do. Sometimes I think it'd just be so much simpler to join the military or live with my parents for the rest of my life... just kidding on that last one... In case you need reminding too, I found some sweet reasons to get that hard-earned a college degree, especially in the field of engineering, technology, or health care.

    >>Fastest Growing Job Fields in 2011       
                               - (According to TopColleges.com)

1. Scientific and technical consulting, including all engineers, especially industrial engineers; and financial analysts
2. Computer systems design and related fields- again including engineers of the computer software engineer variety, network and computer systems administrators; accountants and auditors; and computer support specialists
3. Software publishers- Hottest jobs in this field: network and computer systems administrators; computer systems analysts; computer support specialists; market research analysts; and customer service representatives
4. Scientific research and development services- You guessed it, engineers! biomedical engineers; and biochemists, biophysicists and medical scientists.
5. Health Care- Shout out to South Campus! The list included: physician assistants; physical therapist aides; speech-language pathologists; physical therapist assistants; and physical therapists
6. Construction- The best outlook is for the heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers; septic; telecommunications equipment installers and repairers.

If case you didn't notice, Tech offers degrees in most if not all of these general fields. Not too shabby! Ok, so I guess I am still glad I go to engineering school. For many of us the starting point to getting a job upon graduation will be an internship, so here's a a few good links: 

• The Internships That Pay Best
• Worst Interview Question (And how to answer it)
• Student Blogger: How to start finding an internship
  

 

On a final note, Happy Birthday and thank you to Thomas Edison for sticking with it after countless failed filaments to finally patent the first "Incandescent Light Bulb." He spent years trying to get it roight, but he never gave up. In his words:

"Have faith and go forward." 

All my best, and if I don't talk to you guys before Monday... Have a Happy Valentines Day!

<3 Ruthie

Coo-Coo for Coconut

Hi guys- Happy Weekend :)
I'm sure I'll see alot of you up on the slopes tomorrow at TECH day up at Discovery Ski area. I hope all the snow hasn't melted up there. While I'm on the subject of snowboarding, below are a few pictures from the last time I was up at Discovery with some friends. 

Leeza and I in the locker room gettin ready to shred...

And we're off: Into the mist!

 

Almost to the top, and the rest is history :)


This weekend has been great so far. I reffed a few basketball games, went to my friend Ashley's Halfa Belly Dancing Party, wrote up my pre-lab for Strengths Lad and did my Fluids homework. Our first test is next week on Friday, I plan to be a buoyancy expert by then :)

I did BodyRock everyday this weekend, and I want to really encourage you to try one of the workouts. If you never have tried High Intensity Interval Training: HIIT, just give it a go and you'll experience the post-workout euphoria that I can't even describe. If you don't kow where to start, try this one: Bikini Beach Workout, I did it this morning and it's amazing. (And your butt will thank me later haha). I am especially motivated because I have a tropical destination in my future and I want to be completely confident in my bikini. More on this later though...

Today I want to share a healthy and delicious recipe for Coconut Pistachio Bars. I made this today, after being inspired by Angela @ OhSheGlows recipe for Tropical Lemon Cranberry Coconut Chia Bars. Here's the recipe, I posted it on SparkRecipes and calculated the nutrition facts there aswell.

~~~~       Coconut Pistachio Bars       ~~~~

 Nutritional Info:

Fat: 7.2g
Carbohydrates: 24.1g
Calories: 105.2
Protein: 5.2g





 Ingredients:
Vanilla Protein Powder, 1 cup
Coconut, raw unsweetened, 0.75 cup
Bob's Red Mill High Fiber Pancake and Waffle Mix, 1/3 cup
Quaker Oatmeal, 1/3 cup
Stevia Powder, 1.5 cup
Hazelnuts, 0.25 cup, chopped
Baking Soda, 1 tsp
Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp
Fat Free Sugar Free Pistachio pudding DRY mix, 3 tbsp
Chia Seeds, 3 tbsp
Coconut Oil, 4 tbsp
Almond Milk, Unsweetened Vanilla, 5oz (about a half cup)
Water, 1/2 - 1 cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
You will need two bowls, one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients.

1. In the wet bowl add: pistachio pudding DRY mix, Chia Seeds, Coconut Oil, and Almond Milk. Add about 1/2 cup of water so it's pudding consistency. Set aside.
2. In the dry bowl combine: Vanilla Protein Powder, shredded UNsweetened coconut (I used Bob's Red Mill), the High Fiber Pancake Mix, Oatmeal, Baking Soda, and Baking Powder. Mix until combine evenly.
3. Add the dry bowl to the wet bowl and then add the Stevia Powder and Hazelnuts. Mix until combined, it should be about the consistency of pancake mix. (if not, add more water)
4. Line a 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and pour the mix into the center. Spread evenly.
5. Bake for 20min on center rack. Remove from oven when the top is set and rises slightly when you press. Cool for 10 min in pan then lift out by parchment paper and cool on counter. Cut into 16 squares. Then enjoy! :)

Makes: 16 servings (squares)

Can you DIG it?

As you well know, Montana Tech is pretty awesome. Oh wait I'm sorry, do you need convincing? You do go to school here don't you? At some point in your past you thought it was a good idea to come to Butte, hike up and down the hills of the "mile high city" in blowing snow, live in perilous danger of slipping and falling on the iced steps (yes, someone saw you), and get schooled on all that is Oredigger.

Maybe you aren't actually a student here. If not, you at least know someone who is (perhaps your truly), you work here (shout out to the profs! I'll see you in a week), or you're just bored enough to read some college kid's blog (in which case I'm worried about your social life. At least you aren't playing Farmville). However, this is all "Erroneous! Erroneous! Erroneous on both counts!" Allow me to let someone else do the talking, besides (my comments) of course. Hey, it is my blog. This is from a Montana Tech email, but shortened:

MONTANA TECH RECOGNIZED BY THE PRINCETON REVIEW

Butte, MT – Montana Tech is in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 373 Colleges" and one of “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region.” Now on the 19th edition of the book, Montana Tech has been on the list 11 consecutive times. (Booyah! 11 out of 19 ain't bad) 

Montana Tech is a "BEST IN THE WEST” College (again according to the Princeton Review). The 120 colleges that The Princeton Review chose for its "Best in the West" list are located in fifteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. U of M is the only other Montana university listed. (This is the cool part-->) For this project, The Princeton Review asked students attending the schools to rate their schools on several issues--from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food -- and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life. (So some Techie out there said they like it here, proving my point of Tech's awesomeness) However, The Princeton Review doesn't rank colleges, it just lists them. (which insults the competitive parts of me, I mean come on: If you aren't first you're last!)

Tech's true merit as an educational facility is not a measure of educational quality at all, but of the "coolness" of our mascot. I'm kidding of course, but again, the competitive side of me is glad to be on this list:

THE 20 COOLEST-NAMED COLLEGE SPORTS TEAMS YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF (NAIA EDITION)

We came in at  #8:

I recommend reading the whole list, it's quite entertaining to see what crazy mascots some schools have. Who thought of these!? Poor, poor Southwestern College Moundbuilders. There's no recovering from that one.

Drum roll please! Number one goes to: EVERGREEN STATE GEODUCKS

Hmmm, wonder why. Actually this is weird for me because I was born in Olympia, WA. So two schools I'm associated are on this list. What a proud moment! :D Although,

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about our school's acclaim. I sure feel all warm and fuzzy... can't wait to go back... :/ Go Diggers!