Summatime!

Don't worry about  c l e a n i n g  your room during finals. There are more important things to be stressed about. . . until you find a cockroach crawling .a.r.o.u.n.d. the floor. Then maybe do a quick 

clean-up.

Finals week for a fashion student <//3

First year of college complete! Happy  s u m m e r !

Rush

I will never doubt my gender again.

I went on a white water rafting trip in Tennessee recently, and as the bus drove us to the beginning of the river, we passed all of the rapids... and they looked pretty messy. Okay, scary. I was so excited to go until I saw them, I became downright fearful. 

When we were introduced to our guide, and SHE turned around, not only was it a tiny woman, but she had to have been 60. Having   t e e n y , tiny, old Janet did not help to settle my nerves, as you can imagine. I was certain we'd all be .f.l.y.i.n.g. out of the raft. Plus, we'd have to do some serious rowing to make up for her tiny arms. How wrong I was!

Once we hit the first set of rapids, I realized it was just down right FUN, and also a bit of a  r u s h . 

Janet was an old pro at this. She has been a rafting guide for 25 .y.e.a.r.s. and knew the river backwards and forwards. She had the best techniques and some serious muscles too. Turns out, we were the only raft in our group that nobody fell out of. My homegirl Janet is a   b e a s t ! 

Don't doubt; just be fearless.

No Change of Heart, A Change In Me

People change during college. Some for the better and some for the worse. For those that have changed for the worse, it may be hard to .l.e.t. .g.o. , but everyone comes  i n  and  o u t  of your life for a reason. You can't keep every person you meet. You have to let them go and move on with your life. Surround .y.o.u.r.s.e.l.f. with the people that can help you change for the good. 

Sometimes it might seem like they aren't out there, but they are. They may just be  h i d i n g . There are good people everywhere. Make sure you are changing for the good. 

If you're having a hard time letting go, try a physical change to  h e l p  you move on.

Children Only Beyond This Point!

What is a grown up?

I have legally been an adult for over a year now. But I don't feel like a "grown up".

As a child, grown ups and adults were all the same thing. Parents, old people, big people. But when do you really become an adult?

- Is it when you turn 18? 

-Is it when you move out of your parents home?

-Is it when you graduate high school or get a job or start college?

-Or is it when you begin to pay your own bills?

I still rely on my parents for so much. A friend asked me to go with him to Atlanta next weekend on the back of his motorcycle. I was .a.l.l.  .o.v.e.r. the idea, but when I asked my parents they of course said no.

I told them I am an adult if if I really wanted to, I could go. 

They said they knew that, but they also knew me and they knew I wouldn't disrespect them or myself.

They were  r i g h t .

So am I a child for asking permission from my parents and then .l.i.s.t.e.n.i.n.g. to them?

I think it'd be more childish to disobey them. I might still be in my teens, but I'm not some rebellious teenager. 

So is becoming an adult a state of mind? Is it an actual day? I feel that one should know when they've reached that  s t a g e . So does that mean I'm still a kid because I don't know? I don't think I'm ready to be "old". I want to be young and .a.d.v.e.n.t.u.r.o.u.s. , to run and play stupid games and have fun. Can adults do that?

Maybe it's knowing when to act grown up. Like there's a time and a place to be a professional  adult  and a time to run free and act goofy, like a child. 

Be an adult but keep the heart of a child: pure and innocent and exciting.

Parking Frenzy

One thing I've had to learn quickly when coming to college is how to

parallel park.

Parking is  c r a z y  in a city, even a small one. 

And meters and parking tickets (not to mention gas) really add up.

If you don't really need a car, I suggest not bringing one. Plus, if you have a car you  w i l l  become everyone's chauffeur. Guaranteed. And people won't offer you gas money or say thank you. Rides will just be expected.

If it wasn't for my church being quite a ways away, I would gladly stick with a bike. Be sure and get one with a basket if you have lots of art supplies like me.

College Cupcakes!

I've learned that a cupcake can make 

anything  b e t t e r .

But three bucks a cupcake can get expensive, so check out what I found!

I bought this  c u p c a k e  maker for $15 at Wal-Mart in the Valentine's section. I've heard they sell them at Target also. It has mini heart shaped indents to bake cupcakes in and they are delishhhh.

PLUS! Thanks to the info-mercial for the Xpress Redi-Set-Go (don't buy, it's 60 dollars), I've learned many other things I can cook in this.

<3

-Brownies

-Cookies

-Cinnamon Rolls

-Pigs in a Blanket

-Eggs

-Crab Cakes

-Any frozen bite-sized foods you want oven heated!

or check out their website and steal recipes.

http://maryannsgtxpressrecipes.blogspot.com/

S e r i o u s l y , sooo ideal for a college student without a kitchen.

It's an excellent friend maker as well (so I'm learning)!

THE FRESHMAN FIFTEEN

Such a touchy subject.

I probably feared this  m o r e  than being alone on the East side of the country. My mom assured me I wouldn't gain any weight with how .l.i.t.t.l.e. I eat and all the walking I'd be doing.

The problem is, even though I was walking often, I began eating even more often. And there is a whole counter top full of desserts in the cafeteria... and I can go to the grocery store and buy all the snacks my parents wouldn't buy... and my meal card is good for buffet style meals when I normally wouldn't eat such a large meal at home.

Plus, I began pigging out at night. For no reason. Just because I could.

I didn't gain the freshman fifteen my first quarter, but I may have gained eight or so...

L u c k i l y  I've lost some of that.

I decided when I obsess over my weight and food, that I gain  m o r e  weight. If I just eat when I'm hungry and try to make a few .h.e.a.l.t.h.y. choices here and there, then my pants tend to fit okay.

Some people get so busy in college, that they FORGET to eat and then lose weight. Others are home sick so they take to eating. And then there's those of us who just love food and it's easily accessible on campus, so we just eat and  e a t .

Just try to be healthy and aware. 

:)

Birthdays Far from Home

I spent my first birthday away from home:  2 , 0 9 5  miles away from my family.

This is a .d.r.e.a.m. for some college students. For me, it was a little bit lonely. 

I'm not a big birthday celebrator. It's just another day; nobody did anything to deserve it. We all have one. It's not like MLK day, where he did something grand to earn a holiday.

But still. It's not cool to be lonely on your birthday.

If you're away from home for the first time on your birthday:

*Don't spend time alone. You'll get depressed and cry.

*Find a  g o o d  friend that makes sure to take you out and tells everyone it's your birthday.

*Don't spend all day doing homework or going to class make ups.

*If it's  r a i n i n g , put on some cheerful galoshes.

*Take an extra long birthday shower and nap.

*If your .f.a.m.i.l.y. hasn't called you, they probably think you're off having adventures and celebrating. 

Go ahead and call them.

*Go out to eat at any restaurant your little heart desires.

*Eat as much cake and chocolate as you want.

Happy Groundhog Day!

W e l c o m e  Spring! According to the groundhog.

Today has been a shopping by the river kind of day.

It was too beautiful out to stay in and .w.o.r.k. on projects and homework today. Seventy-five degrees, thanks to the little rodent. Sunny and  b r e e z y .

Some students may disagree with my theory of blowing off a little homework for a lovely day;

but I find to be a healthy person you have to give yourself a break.

S o  I  did.

I even bought a chocolate covered strawberry and a cookbook.

You Know You're at College When. . .

You know you're at college when...

-Your mini fridge primarily contains ice cream, chocolate milk, and other junk goodies.

And you know you're at art college when...

-You begin to love shopping for art supplies more than clothes.

You know you're at college when...

-Your weekly chores and laundry get pushed to the next week... and the next.

And you know you're at art college when...

-You have a layer of  a c r y l i c  paint stained on top of your nail polish.

You know you're at college when...

-You appreciate your loud and obnoxious family ten times more than when you lived at home.

And you know you're at art college when...

-You .e.n.j.o.y. trips to the Home Depot.

You know you're at college when...

-Skype and Facebook become the primary way you communicate.

And you know you're at art college when...

-Boots, the messy bun, leggings, vintage backpacks, and nose rings become the most common look.

You know you're at college when...

-You have to play on a sucky keyboard because there's no way a piano would fit into your dorm.

And you know you're at art college when...

-It's normal to see people in the hall with charcoal all over their  f a c e .

You know you're at college when...

-You have doubts about where you are and  w h a t  you want to do with your life.

And you know you're at art college when...

-Not getting enough  s l e e p  becomes routine.

<3

And it really hits you when you

m i s s  sleeping in the .s.a.m.e. bed

as your copy-cat little sister that 

rolled all over you in the night.

Here's Your Sign

Just a few signs around Georgia that h a p p i l y catch my attention. . .

My dad used to bring me chocolate chips and marshmallows in bed;; The epitome of happiness.

Oh, jeez.

So true! If you're in the South, hit it uppp.
The Zaxby Club is the best.

What's  n o t  to agree with?

So is your mom.

A n d  my personal favorite. . .

Remember Back in the Day?

I was reading this article with my roommates, and it actually really  d e p r e s s e d  me. Maybe I'm being an old lady or just a generation pack rat, but it's a little sad to see all these changes in the world. Some are exciting, but some are scary and make me .w.i.s.h. I lived in a simpler, technology free, time.

I'm sorry, but I will not give up video stores, handwritten letters, books, cd's, or film cameras.

Things Babies Born in 2011 Will NEVER Know


^Click for article link ^

Word to the Wise

Quick thoughts:

*In your dorm room, your bed and desk are your main work spaces for EVERYTHING. Get a dark colored bed spread that won't show stains.

*Professors will often e-mail you the syllabus before class starts, but wait until the first day of class to get supplies and books. Sometimes the teacher will  c h a n g e  their minds or have .s.u.p.p.l.i.e.s.  for you to use.
*Invest in some Tide to Go; you just never know when you'll need it.

*Make friends with people off campus that have a   k i t c h e n . 'Nuff said.

Movies with Insight

These are just a few of my favorite movies that I feel lack the credit they d e s e r v e .

Penelope:

I sit and watch this entire film just for this  b e a u t i f u l  final scene. One of the best on screen kisses and stunning background music.


Tuck Everlasting:

This is one of the most .a.m.a.z.i.n.g. love stories. It's honest and genuine. Everything isn't tied up in a perfect little bow at the end. Although the movie is mystical, the continuous  w a i t i n g and obstacles through love are very real.

Big Fish:

I named my car after this song and movie. It's such a unique way of viewing life's journeys. I love this summary of the movie. The ending always gives me  c h i l l s . 

So What Do You Do?

Those of you who are seniors in high school, and older, know that that most asked (and annoying, after a while,) question is: So what are you going to do? What's the plan for after graduation? What are you doing this fall? etc.

It's actually been nice to have the answer, "going to study f a s h i o n design at an art school in Georgia". When my original plan would have been more like, "living at home and going to community college". Not that there's anything wrong with that. My parents would appreciate me saving the money. And a lot of people find it weird that I'm going to an art school. Everyone assumes I'm at BYU in Utah or Idaho, because that is the norm in my culture. I guess I prefer to be one for surprising.

I've noticed this question hasn't gone away though, it merely adjusts to the .p.r.e.s.e.n.t. situation. It's changed from "What are you going to do?" in high school, to "What are you up to?" in college. And I've noticed even with my dad and adults, they all ask each other, "What do you do?" 

Although I've grown tired of being asked this question, it's hypocritical of me. I know I ask tons of other people my age this very thing; there's really no avoiding it when catching up or getting to know          s o m e o n e . Maybe facebook is a convenience so we can post all of our personal business and not have to ask one another and make small talk. Hey, why don't we all wear signs with a brief background history? 

Uhhh, y u c k .

I suppose this question isn't going anywhere, so it's time for me to get used to it.

Soooooo, what do YOU do?

Bye, Bye Beautiful

What I've learned about l o n g - d i s t a n c e relationships:

sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

Period.

(My sissy and her fianc'e)

A girl in my hall is from a town four hours away. She leaves school every weekend to go be with her boyfriend. I see good and bad points with this. Yes, it's sweet and romantic and they must really love each other to make that kind of effort. But at the same time, she is missing out on so much. She has no time to get involved in school clubs or go out with .f.r.i.e.n.d.s. from the dorms on the weekend. She also said she won't go out while she's at school because it'd make her boyfriend mad. Sounds a little controlling to me.

Another friend of mine had been with her boyfriend for three years before coming to college. They starting fighting because of the distance, and broke up a few weeks later. They continued to talk though, and mentioned possibly getting back together come Christmas break. A week before break, my friend received some .a.w.f.u.l. news from a friend back home. Her boyfriend (although technically ex) had been cheating with her best friend while she'd been at school.

As for myself, I had been dating someone around eight months before leaving for c o l l e g e. Even though I couldn't have imagined being with anyone else, we gradually broke up before I left. We decided if it's meant to be, than eventually it will be. But for now, we should live our separate lives and not hold each other back. It sounds like taking the easy way out, but my situation was a little different. First of all, his family had just moved to Utah while mine moved to Arizona. Therefore, even when I return home for breaks, I wouldn't be seeing him. Second of all, he's still in high school and he should finish his senior year having fun and getting the full experience. Likewise me experiencing college. 

We've stayed good friends throughout the months and talk every so often. But lately we haven't been as close. I blame myself for that. I have a tendency to get a n g r y with the people I care about most and .p.u.s.h. them away. I don't know why. I always regret it immediately. It sounds juvenile, which is probably a reason why I'm not ready for a long distance relationship.

The point is this: if it's meant to be it will find a way to be. Whether it's tomorrow or thirty years down the road.

Everything happens for a reason.

Martha Stewart Is My Homegirl.

I've been testing out cupcake recipes all month to decide the best ones to make for my sister's bridal shower. My family has gotten a little "cupcaked out", so they stopped eating them after a while and it was too depressing to see them go to waste, so. . . let's say I ate a few more than I normally would have (ughh, Freshmen Fifteen).

 Her shower was last week and I made about 200 cupcakes for it. The flavors I ended up going with were chocolate chip, devil's food, german chocolate, red velvet, white chocolate, and my personal favorite, boston creme. I used variations of chocolate mousse filling, vanilla custard filling, white chocolate cream cheese frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting, buttercream, and chocolate ganache. 

If you're interested in a recipe, let me know!

A Few Dorming Tid-Bits

1. Get a real broom. Swiffers  s u c k  in my personal opinion.

2. Meet your neighbors right away! I knocked on all the nearby rooms with cookies the first night, like a chipper woman in a welcoming gated community. Everyone remembered me as the cookie girl and it was an easy way to break the ice. If you wait too long you may never get to know your neighbors. Since I've moved rooms, I've never even seen the boys next door. It'd feel awkward to go over this late in the game.

3. Have a cleaning schedule with your roommates. Otherwise you'll either be living in a .p.i.g.s.t.y. or you'll end up cleaning everything on your own, like me.

4. If you don't have carpet in your room, get rugs to cover the floors. MUCH more home-y. 

5. Your school will probably tell you no nails in the walls. I g n o r e  them. Thumbtacks and nails are the most efficient way to hang things up. You WILL want to cover up that barren wall so it doesn't feel like you're walking into a jail cell. You can always use toothpaste to fill the holes at the end of the year.

I used tape to put my pictures up, but the humidity has been pulling them off.

I used a nail for my name plaque and tacks for the plastic black flowers and they've stayed perfectly!

6. If your roommates have memory loss whenever they use a dish and the dirty dishes pile up in the sink, get your own dishes and silverware. Keep it out of sight too, so they won't dirty all your dishes.

7. Don't keep too much junk food in your dorm room. Two words: FRESHMEN FIFTEEN. 

More on this important s u b j e c t  later. . .

Winter Break: Don't Become A Couch Potato

I had a countdown going at 58 days left til' Christmas Vacation and the end of my first college quarter. I would have made one of those fun little elementary school style chains where you pull a link off every day to count down, had I not been in such an artsy area where everyone is g o i n g green. 

My plans for Winter break consisted of sleeping and not doing homework (of course), spending time with my family, hanging with a few friends, reading, starting a blog, baking (primarily cupcakes for my sister's wedding shower, I want the perfect flavor and design), writing a song or two on the piano (ha... good luck to me), practicing the piano, helping with the wedding plans, and that's about it. 

I didn't realize how much .t.i.m.e. that would still leave me, and how ready I would be to return to Georgia! 

I was afraid once I got home, I'd never want to go back to school. Thankfully, that is not the case. Let's be honest (my dad hates when I say this lately, he says it sounds like I'm not normally honest), I love my family and it's great to be home, but I'd be such a loser if I stayed here too much longer. Blogging, baking, reading, and piano? Ideal to me, but it still sounds pretty lame. 

So many of my friends are still gone to school or on missions or who know what, since I just haven't kept in touch with many since moving to Texas and it'd be odd to call them up now.

Winter Break has been excellent and I am enjoying the lounging around and free time, but don't let yourself get too bored like I almost did.

I'm a person who can't stand to be too idle. Therefore, I got a part time job at the Gap, and I'm taking a cake decorating class twice a week. My break has felt so much better just by having a few planned things.

Happy Christmas vacationing! So pysched for the start of my second quarter of college :))

The Secret Behind the Dream

During Freshmen orientation I went to some comedian's, from LA, seminar. He went off on this huge kick about how lucky we all were because less than one percent of the earth's population gets to attend college. Therefore we are living the dream.

He also ranted about how laaaame it is when someone asks how you're doing and you reply, "Good". Which is true! Sure, some of the time we're good. But often we're amazing, horrendous, okay, tired, hungry, excellent, depressed, or sad. 

But we're in college! Living the dream! So let people know.

When someone asks how you're doing, don't say good. 

Say "LIVIN' THE DREAM, how are you?"