Monday, September 30, 2013

It's Monday!

I love that every Monday +Lindsey Mart motivates me to get my weekly goals together. It's like starting off the week with a purpose. We evaluate last weeks goals, set new ones for this week. And throw in any helpful information, or ask for some! EVERYONE should do this, bloggers or non-bloggers!
Last week....
1. Dinner with Dad. No excuses. OHMYGOD no.
2. Pack lunches. not really...
3. Get transmission fluid changed. nope.
4. Write a good article for Sorority Stylista complete with photos YES
5. Pack up a fair amount of clothes to keep at Yorktown house so I don't keep driving back and forth for clothes and donate what I don't need at all YES
2/5 COME ON ASH, GET IT TOGETHER!

1. Begin outlining my thesis paper and draft questions for the interviews. {20 days to COSTA RICA!}
2. Spend 2 nights at home in Williamsburg to manage stress appropriately
3. Start a journal
4. Repeat goals 1 & 3 of last week....
5. Clean out room in Yorktown...it has become family storage AGAIN.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Budget Management

Hey y'all! I've been promising to post about how I have started keeping my budget in line, and it has really worked for me.
I am terrible with money. I swear every single month I say the same thing "Where did all my money go??" After a few really scary credit card bills, my mom says to me: "Just make a budget and stick to it."
So I did. I went to www.abowlfulloflemons.net and read what Toni had to say about budgeting. She is the organizing, budgeting, cleaning, and blogging queen, so I trust her advice implicitly. Follow her blog, follow her pinterest, like her on facebook, I promise you won't regret it.
I had an extra binder laying around the house because I found one at Big Lots for $3 with the zipper pouch already included!

Then I bought $.97 dividers from Walmart and labeled each section. The first is Monthly Budget, then Monthly Expenses, then Weekly Expenses. This way I am not only adding up how much I spend per month, but also per week easily.


So I planned out a budget. This is my FIRST one, so there's a lot of notes on it of what did work and didn't.



 Next I record every expense onto the Monthly Expenses sheet
And then Weekly Expenses. A $0 day is a GOOD day.


And last but not least, SAVE ALL RECEIPTS. Gas receipts for commuter students are tax write-offs, so are school supplies. Clothing receipts are always good to have in case something gets messed up or needs to be returned.

This whole binder cost about $5 to make and has been a lifesaver in organizing my life. Once I see all my silly expenses on paper, I realize how much I would have if I didn't buy stupid things. My Target trips are usually my weakness.
Next month I may take another tip from ABFOL (A bowl full of lemons) and color code with highlights or colored pens so it will be less writing. All green is gas, all blue is food, all pink is spending money, and all orange is bills or something like that.
How do you keep your budget?
*figures based off of an income of approximately $250 per week with the hopes of having savings*


Monday, September 23, 2013

5 for 5

Progress Report! Old goals.
1. Pack my lunch 3 out of 5 days this week. It's not realistic to think that I can actually do it all 5 days. um no.
2. Re-do 3, 4, 5 from last week.
         YES to one. I took hearing loss documentation to the office.
3. Order my face lotion and new coat (Mom's treat) new coat check. face lotion is coming.
4. Record every expense in my new handy-dandy budget binder! (new blog on that to come with FREE printables) YES!
5. Clean out fall/winter wardrobe and remnants of summer and take donations to Goodwill no.

Well. I managed one and 1/3 goal. That's SAD. Might be my worst week yet.
1. Dinner with Dad. No excuses.
2. Pack lunches.
3. Get transmission fluid changed.
4. Write a good article for Sorority Stylista complete with photos
5. Pack up a fair amount of clothes to keep at Yorktown house so I don't keep driving back and forth for clothes and donate what I don't need at all

Confessions
1. I am stupidly stressed, and I really do have enough time to get it all done...just keep wasting it.
2. I'm incredibly excited for the season premiere of NCIS, but insanely bummed that Cote de Pablo left the show
3. I'm spreading out the watching of Downton Abbey as much as possible so that I am not on a Downton Hangover for a month out of sadness for the loss of the two characters I know are going to die.
4. I still haven't read most of the books I'm using for senior sem paper.
5. I haven't written a good article YET for sorority stylista :(

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Preppy 101: USG Style

All right ladies and gents, I grew up with the ORIGINAL prepsters. My grandfather was King Prep in his KA days. (That's the Kappa Alpha Order, also known as "The Order.") And my grandma was a Tri-Delt. These were the top houses on campus. Legendary for their parties and overall prepping.
My mom tended to have a bit more edge to her style, but everyone needs the fashion-forward mind.
One day, I discovered this little gem in my family's library.
When I was a teenager, I decided that this would be my life. And for years, I spent a great deal of time trying to perfect my prepster lifestyle. The first step was to master the preppy wardrobe. With my grandfather's careful guidance, I was able to learn the ways of the classic prep. He was careful to distinguish which is the "classic" prep style, and which is the "faking it" prep style. 
He went on to explain that at any informal gathering, Top Siders are the shoe of choice. Sandals could be worn by women depending on the occasion. That is how we discovered "Jacks" aka Jack Rogers Navajo Sandals
He also went on to explain the polo shirt or golf shirt. He had more golf shirts than the average Vineyard Vines store. His favorite were the "Crab" shirt aka Jimmy and Sook Pique Crab Polo Shirt. My favorites will always be Vineyard Vines or Ralph Lauren. Same for button downs.
Every man should own several pair of well-fitting chinos. Khaki and Navy. Depending on your specific style, Black is also useful.
NEVER wear a polo tucked in unless you're wearing a belt. Big preppy-no-no.
Ladies. A good baseball cap can hide many a bad hair day. My favorite happens to be the one I'm planning on sporting all fall/winter long. The Plaid Frat Hat. +Lindsey Mart and I are obsessed after seeing it on College Prepster. 
Boots. NECESSARY objects. My personal favorite are Frye or Ariat.
The book goes on to talk about preppy activities such as golf, tennis, tailgating, and also..how to drink like a classy prepster. G&T's without getting...what is it they call it now..."white girl wasted." That's gin and tonic by the way. 
If anyone has ever wondered why I march to my own drum, it's because no one seems to follow the rules set forth in this book by the letter anymore. My grandfather taught me at a young age what it means to be a classic prep.
So now I've ordered the sequel to this book, True Prep. But if you haven't read this one...READ it! The Official Preppy Handbook. My style guide at ALL time.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Balancing the work-flow/fun-flow during senior year

If I were to make a meme about my current life it would look something like... 
What I think senior year should look like: (show pictures of sisters hanging out having lunch, girls out living it up at our last few frat parties before graduating into the real world, and tons of photo ops) 
What senior year actually looks like: (show me hidden behind a stack of books, my hair up in a messy bun, and yoga pants for days)
That's about what this semester is shaping up to be like. And I this research assignment is no great shock to me. I have dreaded and anticipated it for 4 years, but for some reason once it's upon you it's a whole knew feeling. First, if you're anything like me, you feel compelled to not only do well but knock it out of the park. In fact, you want to knock it into the next county. I have this romanticized view in my mind of when I finish my thesis (or as CNU calls it, senior seminar) I will be recognized for my insight and dedication as well as invited to present at our annual research panel in the Spring. I've never been satisfied with "good enough" which is not as great of an attribute as it sounds.
My challenge is not missing out on those moments that I will remember for a lifetime, only for a few more sources that I may end up tossing out anyways. This coming weekend is Fall Fest presented by CNU's Campus Activities Board. There are typically inflatable amusement things (whatever they're called) and all of the Student Organizations set up a table and feature a game or give out information about their organization in some fun way.  These are moments to bond with your sisters or teammates or with whomever you share your fraternal bonds. This is a time for which you should prepare by completing your library hours or any work ahead of time and focusing on unforgettable memories.
The PR photo ops, the funzies photo ops, and the silly laughs playing with all of the new puppies that seem to be joining the Greek family at CNU, are almost just as important. I have learned the hard lesson of placing enough value in sisterhood time as well as academic time when budgeting my time. We will sleep when we are dead. (Just kidding...6-8 hours of sleep per night and plenty of Vitamin C, it is cold and flu season after all.)
I just encourage all students, seniors or freshmen, to place enough value in time with sisters as well as academic success. This balance is vital in order to lead a healthy and successful college life. Learn when it is OK to put down the books and go run around like a crazy person on an inflatable moon bounce at Fall Fest, or go to a festival in town,I personally REALLY want a sisterhood lazer tag outing. 
The only way this thesis thing will kill me, is if I let it take all of the fun out of my senior year. Sisterhood may be for life, but the 4 years you are together lays the foundation for those lifelong bonds.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

5 for 5 plus confessions!

I call it "5 for 5" because of +Lindsey Mart and The Sticky Note Addict, but it always ends up that I do these every Saturday so...5 for 7...?

Progress Report: old goals!
1. Most important: develop a topic for my senior seminar paper. (Other schools may call that your senior "thesis") YES! It's on the hybrid culture of nicaraguan immigrants in costa rica and the changes in costa rican society as they have "welcomed" the nicas. :) so excited.
2. Pay credit card bill. I CAN I just haven't. YES! finally!
3. Watch 2 movies on the list for my Hispanic Visual Arts paper. NO... i haven't been home near my Roku... i need to bring the wii to my parent's house so we have netflix...
4. Take hearing loss documentation to disabilities office at school! NO... omg. Get. It. Together.
5. Make an effort to have lunch/dinner with my Dad who I haven't seen in weeks. Effort made, success, no.

New goals!
1. Pack my lunch 3 out of 5 days this week. It's not realistic to think that I can actually do it all 5 days.
2. Re-do 3, 4, 5 from last week.
3. Order my face lotion and new coat (Mom's treat)
4. Record every expense in my new handy-dandy budget binder! (new blog on that to come with FREE printables)
5. Clean out fall/winter wardrobe and remnants of summer and take donations to Goodwill

Confessions
1. I have no social skills thanks to homework. All I seem to have time to do is work.
2. I'm obsessed with +College Prepster
3. I've been seeing a school therapist to deal with stress at home and at school.
4. The crazier my life gets, the more organized I become.
5. Retail therapy seems to be the BEST medicine :)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Blogtember Day 6

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

My favorite online shops...hm...do I really want to share my secrets?? 

1. http://www.6pm.com/ is one of my absolute favorites. I find just about all of my favorite brands and labels at great prices. OR those moments where you say: I really need navy wedges for this dress! You can go on and select Women's>Shoes>Wedges>Navy>7.5 and have a nice selection of only shoes in your size that you like!!

2. Ruelala, Gilt, Hautelook are also definite faves but they are really hit and miss. Some days you go on and everything is BARELY discounted from retailer prices so it isn't worth it.

3. And last but never, ever least is my true standby: eBay. I can find almost anything that I want on eBay and with eBay Buyer Protection, if it isn't the real thing, then send it back!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Blogtember Day 6

 
Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.
I suppose this pays homage to the saying "life isn't about the destination, it's about the journey."
My life has taken countless unexpected turns. The most powerful, because of the effect it had on me emotionally as well as my worldview following it, was losing my grandfather. I completely changed everything about my life. I broke up with the boyfriend he had hated. I quit the job he felt I was wasting my life with, joined a sorority and raised my GPA from a 2.7 to a 2.94 in two semesters. I realized that since he wasn't here to tell me what I was doing wrong, that I should follow the advice and criticisms he had been giving me for years that I hadn't taken. I managed to take it all within the span of about 6 months. I realized I had to turn one of the worst experiences in my life into the catalyst for the best change of my life.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Blogtember day 5



Monday, September 9: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

This was fantastic because I have taken a similar test before and both times I'm ENFJ. Extroverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging. I believe in following your intuition 100% because it so rarely steers you wrong. Extroversion usually gets me into WAY more issues than out of them. But my boyfriend can get OUT of any issues with his extroversion... Feelings also get you in lots of trouble. 

What's yours?

Saturday, September 7, 2013

5 for 5 plus confessions!

Old goals!
1. Color code closet. I didn't get that far, and it's an involved process with a tiny closet. Still has not happened. We've been staying at my grandmother's house so pretty much nothing has been done at my house.
2. Limit my grocery trips to once per week. This means making a real list, not a "this is what I'm in the mood for right now" list. I feel like I'm always at a grocery store. I actually made it a whole 5 days without going to a grocery store. Granted, I probably REALLY need to.
3. Gym 3x a week. I was out of town for 2 days, so that didn't work out.
4. Come up with a thesis/annotated bibliography for my Hispanic Visual Arts class. HAH. I have gotten some sources, but that's about it.
5. Go an entire week without a hitting snooze on my alarm. I think I actually have done this...

New goals!
1. Most important: develop a topic for my senior seminar paper. (Other schools may call that your senior "thesis")
2. Pay credit card bill. I CAN I just haven't.
3. Watch 2 movies on the list for my Hispanic Visual Arts paper.
4. Take hearing loss documentation to disabilities office at school!
5. Make an effort to have lunch/dinner with my Dad who I haven't seen in weeks.

Confessions:
1. I don't really want to have dinner with my Dad. We never have anything to talk about except how well he is going to "start" doing at work.
2. I'm TERRIFIED of this senior sem paper.
3. Sophie and I tried to stay in bed ALL DAY today, but it didn't work. (Sophie is my dachshund snuggle buddy)
4. The only thing that has really helped me improve my mood amidst all this stress is shopping.
5. I find myself wishing I didn't have to speak English...ever. Spanish is so much easier.

Day 5: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Technically this is not a day late since there are no blog assignments on weekends for the blogtember challenge!!
Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.
I can tell you I have a lot of quirks and a few of them are odd fears. It isn't so odd to be afraid of spiders, so I'm allowed that one as a freebie. If the spider is big enough, I'm paralyzed with fear completely.
I have always had a fear of the house catching fire because you always hear about people who are trapped saving their family members (that includes pets.) I could never live with myself if I survived because I didn't try to save them. Plus being burned alive is a rational fear.
Nothing to me matches the absolutely awful fear of almost getting into a car accident. Luckily, I've only had one while I was driving and two when I was a passenger. But everything flashes before your eyes when you think you're about to hit something. What if I hurt someone? What if I'm hurt? What if we involve other cars? And of course, my mom is going to kill me! That is a fear I've never been able to get over. That second in which you truly think that you are going to wreck and wonder what damage would ensue upon yourself and others.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Blogtember day 3 Advice!


Day
3: Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 




I get and give a lot of advice. But I think my #1 hands down best advice I've ever heard was from Sweet Home Alabama (the movie) when Reese Witherspoon's father said: "You can't ride two horses with one ass." While he was referring to her predicament of inadvertently having two husbands, it is simply a more crass approach to "you can't have your cake and eat it too." I love this expression. Life truly isn't fair, and while I'm all for living it to the fullest...it is impossible to have it all. It's not fair to yourself to assume that you can have it all, so prioritize! 
I tried for a long time to have my cake and eat it too, and let me tell you it is EXHAUSTING. Pick a horse, decide whether or not to eat the cake or keep it...but don't torture yourself!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Blogtember Day 2: 3 months off from your current life

Day 2: Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? 
Three months off of my current life would give me plenty of time to travel. I want to go to Peru, Costa Rica, back to Mexico and to Argentina. These travels would greatly help my current life as I am studying Latin American culture and arts in college. I would see as many plays in Costa Rica as I could, as I have studied Costa Rican emergent theatre in detail. I would see the Incan ruins in Peru. I would visit Mayan and Aztec ruins in Mexico. I would spend time on the Gulf of Mexico beaches in Mexico as that is my FAVORITE place in the world. I would learn more about Argentinian culture and take advantage of the beautiful sights to see in Buenos Aires. I do believe if done right, those four locations would take 3 months.

If only time would continue when I take those 3 months off so I would be that much closer to graduation...

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

5 for 5!

5 Confessions
1. I have been having video game withdrawals from being so busy.
2. The more stressed I get, the less I actually want to get done.
3. I frequently have dreams that I am Ziva from NCIS.
4. Sometimes I'm equally as excited to see my boyfriend's roommate's dog as I am to see the boyfriend.
5. Lately, all I really want to do is crawl into my bed with a book that isn't school related and hide.

How did I do on my goals?
1. Remember hearing aids every day. This is ridiculous. They are expensive and necessary, stop forgetting!!! Not so much.
2. Don't fall behind in any class. YAY! So far so good.
3. Try to write one blog article every day (this is a try not...definite) Hasn't really worked out. But the Blogtember challenge might.
4. Organize closet. When I have extra time. DID IT TODAY!
5. Make a study schedule that is realistic and easy to follow. Haven't made a schedule, but the studying has worked out ok.

New goals!
1. Color code closet. I didn't get that far, and it's an involved process with a tiny closet.
2. Limit my grocery trips to once per week. This means making a real list, not a "this is what I'm in the mood for right now" list. I feel like I'm always at a grocery store.
3. Gym 3x a week.
4. Come up with a thesis/annotated bibliography for my Hispanic Visual Arts class.
5. Go an entire week without a hitting snooze on my alarm.

Blogtember: Day 1

Day 1: Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

I grew up in Yorktown, Virginia in the heart of the Historic Triangle. For 20 years, I've told people who have asked that I am from Yorktown. They actually ask me if I mean Pennsylvania. I have to fight the urge to say "Did you FAIL US history?" When I was 8, my mom got married and we moved to Alexandria, Virginia just outside of DC. After two years there, we moved to Williamsburg, Virginia which is the other leg of the Historic Triangle. I went to High School in Yorktown though because my family wasn't excited about Williamsburg Public Schools. 
I didn't go beyond Newport News (30min away from my Williamsburg home) for college because not only was I blessed with a very good local school, but my very small and very close family was hard to leave.
My heart is in our summer house though in Anna Maria, Florida. We spend holidays there because it was my grandfather's favorite place too. When people ask, I always tell them I'm a Florida girl because that island made the greatest impact on my life. 
I have lived all over the socio-economic spectrum. My mom has never wanted me to be sheltered or intolerant of others. 
Now I'm itching to start the next chapter in my life away from Historic Virginia and move on to bigger and brighter things such as Nashville (Vanderbilt) or Maryland (College Park.)