Finals Weekend

Alright, I know that I haven't written in a VERY long time, so I thought I'd take a break from studying and write a little.  It always seems as if the second you get back to school after Thanksgiving break, you go on auto-pilot.  Believe me, I loved being home for 4 nights, but at the same time, I was ready to get back to school so I could finish the semester and put it behind me.

My parents and I at my 20th Birthday Party!

Here's a little rundown of why my life has been crazy the past two weeks.
When I get back to school late on Sunday night after a wonderful few days at home, I had to hurry and finish my bibliography for a huge paper and submit it that night, before 11:59pm.  Luckily I had finished the paper a few days before it was due.  Even if that meant I worked on it for a few hours while at home.

That Monday began the craziness of "Celebrate Christmas".  My school's School of Music puts on this huge production with many of the ensembles and it runs for a whole weekend.  Well, we had crazy rehearsals starting Monday, and Wednesday and Thursday were the long ones, where we would be at the church where we were performing for 5-6 hours, both days.  Friday was the night of the first concert. We had a total of 3.
That concert my whole family was there.  They took up the first two rows in one of the front sections.  It made me so happy that my family had come out for it. Some had traveled about an hour (okay, maybe two with this LA traffic. And the rain.) and some had traveled six plus hours!  It was great to just spend that weekend with my family going to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. And if you haven't been there, you NEED to go.

My roommates & friends celebrating my birthday with me!
So blessed by them all!

The following day was my 20th BIRTHDAY! Weird, I know. I'm very young for my grade. Aside from wandering Downtown Pasadena while the Apple store worked on my computer, it was one of the best birthdays ever.  My parents treated my whole family, my roommates, and a few other friends to the Universal Hilton Buffet. I don't think I've eaten that much in such a long time. In fact, right now I wish I had that food in front of me.  It was a wonderful evening, having my friends and family surrounding me.





Of course, Sunday was a very long day, since we had two concerts and we were at the church from 12:30pm-8:30pm.  However, although it was a long time just sitting and performing, I did get the opportunity to talk with people I haven't talked to in a long time.

My awesome D-Group and I at
Celebrate Christmas rehearsal.

Well, after that crazy weekend, it began the final week of classes. And let me tell you, I am exhausted already.  Yesterday, I studied for 13 hours. With maybe a few occasional food breaks. I honestly am very ready for the semester to end and start a new semester.  I'm excited for new classes, and new schedule, and of course, new school supplies!  I love that it's like the beginning of the school year, without having to move into a new apartment or adjust to anything.  It's a new fresh start, and of course, by the end of the semester, we'll determine if it was a good semester or not.

Alright, enough procrastinating from me. Good luck to everyone else out there who is busy studying for finals! Let me know if you have any tips to surviving the week of finals... I need it!

Week Before Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving always seem to be so crazy. It seems as if all the professors cram all our work into the last week and a half before Thanksgiving break.  Everyone I know barely gets any sleep, and they're living class to class, just trying to get everything done right on time.

As crazy as this last week and a half will be, I know that I will be so grateful when I get on my plane to fly home for Thanksgiving break.  I honestly will probably not be thinking about school at all while I'm home, even though I know that I really should because once we get back to school, it'll be non-stop go-go-go!

I do love the holiday season though. I love that the leaves are changing (barely!) and that it is much colder. I also love all the family time I get to have and of course, all of the good food. I'm pretty sure I will be in food coma for the rest of the semester starting with Thanksgiving dinner.

I think one thing I love about the holidays is giving gifts. I love making cute little things or finding that perfect thing (that I can afford) for my friends and family.  Although, it does take me a really long time to figure out what to give to people. I honestly spend a lot of my free time on Pinterest, and I just love finding cute gift ideas. Well, everything on Pinterest is really cute... It's probably the most addicting website I've ever found.  Facebook and Pinterest are the two websites that I am on the most.

So, I really need help here. I need good gift ideas. So if you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know!

UGGs??

I will admit, I am a fan of Uggs, no matter what people say about them being ugly. They are so comfy, and they definitely keep my feet nice and warm. However, I am only a fan of the classic Uggs, as well as the ones with the buttons. I was on the website this morning, and realized they have some crazy looking Uggs that I just really don't like.

So what's your thought on Uggs??

Crock Pot Meals

As a college student, I find it so hard to find time to go to the grocery store and actually cook my own meals.  I would eat on campus, but I don't have a big meal plan and after awhile, I get tired of eating the same food, over and over again.

My mom has always made crock pot meals, and I think they're perfect on cold nights! Today, I had a good amount of homework to do and I also had a choir concert this evening.  That makes it hard for me to prepare dinner for my friends who come over every Sunday night for dinner. So, tonight I made one of my mom's crock pot meals. It's super easy to prepare too!

What you need:
1 Chuck Roast
1 bag of mini carrots
3 sticks of celery
1 package of French Onion Dry Soup Mix
2 Large cans and 1 Small can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (More or less depending on the size of your crock pot)

Preparing it:

1. Place the chuck roast flat on the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Sprinkle the French Onion Dry Soup Mix on top of the chuck roast.
3. Thinly slice the celery and throw it into the crock pot.
4. Add half of the bag of mini carrots, or enough to cover the majority of the meat.
5. Put the Cream of Mushroom soup to the top of the crock pot. 
6. Set to cook for 6 hours

I personally like eating this stew over white rice.  Here's a picture tos how what it looks like. It tastes better than it looks.

The Patch: Season One

If I had to pick a season that is my favorite, I would have to say that Fall is my favorite time of the year.  Of course, I love winter because that's when Christmas is, but there is just something special about the fall time.  I feel that Fall is wonderful because it is when school starts and so you can get all your school supplies.  The weather is just cooling off, but it's still warm. Fall slowly starts to lead us into the "Holiday Season".  The leaves start to change (Well... in other parts of the country. Not in LA.). You can pull out the boots and scarves. You can go to Pumpkin Patches. Thanksgiving comes and you can eat as much turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy as you can fit in your stomach. And then once that is over, the Christmas season has arrived!

Well, yesterday, my friends and I decided to go to a pumpkin patch and all get pumpkins! There was just something about being able to go out with friends and dress up in boots and scarves and enjoy the fact that fall was here.

Doesn't this kind of look like a "How I Met Your Mother"/"Friends" type photo? 

Couldn't resist to not put this photo up of the two couples. Aren't we just adorable?!
Oh, here's a little side note. Kelley and I have been friends since the first day of Freshman year at choir camp!
We still remain great friends and we're even roommates!

We found our "perfect pumpkin"!

We took over the hay stack.

So what are all of your favorite fall activities? And your favorite parts about fall?

Planning

I know in one of my previous posts, I posted about how I am a planner. I seriously have 5 different planners. I love knowing what is going on and I like being able to see what is coming up. Well for this post, I decided to share about how I plan out everything going on in my life.  Who knows, maybe you could get a few tips and incorporate/modify for your own life.

iCal: I love iCal because it syncs up to my phone so if I'm out and about and I need to see if I am busy on a certain day, I can just pull it up on my phone.  In iCal, I also have the times of every class as well as major events, such as flights home, choir concerts, and things like that.  Each section is color coded, as you can see.  That way, I know if it's light blue, it's just a class, but if it is something important, it is in a different color.

Wall Calendar: I also have a wall calendar, which I made on Shutterfly.  I love how I can add my own photos to my calendar, and it adds some nice decoration to my walls in my room.  I am also able to add my friends and families birthday on my calendar.  (If I wanted, I could even put their picture on their birthday!) On this calendar, I mainly just have all my major projects and papers written out on here.  Everything class is color coded and if it is just a reminder such as days off of school, it's in black.

May Book: I seriously love my May Book! On the left side, I have birthdays, and again, major things that are coming up.  That way, when I'm in class, I can see what is coming up.  On the right side, I have my "Things to Do" list, which I put down major homework assignments, as well as little things that I just need to do, such as sending an email to someone.  Under it, is my "Errands to Run".  This past week, there were no errands that I needed to run, however occasionally there are a few written down under that section.  Lastly, is my "Oh, and Can't Forget!"section.  This section is just for my little reminders that I can jot down when I think of them during class or something like that.

Homework List: This homework list is a place where I can not only decorate and doodle on every week when I make it, but it's also a place where I can see which class I need to focus on the most.   I used to use a planner, but I liked writing everything out and just having to carry one sheet of paper in my notebook.  This homework list has all of the details for everything, such as materials I need to study for a test or quiz.  

To Do List: Lastly, is my very detailed to do list.  I can't remember when or where I got it, I actually think my mom may have gotten it for me, but it's a notepad.  I love it because I use it for my mouse pad as well.  This one has the break down of everything I am going to do for that day for every class, from starting papers to reminding myself to send an email, this notepad has it all. 

So yes, many people may think I'm crazy for having this many planners, but it's the only way I can be focused and on top of what needs to be done.  I'm always interested to hear how other people stay organized, so if you have any tips, ideas, or suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them! 

#FirstWorldProblems

APU has chapel, three times a week.  The other day in chapel, we watched a video of people living in Third World Countries, reading tweets with the hashtag, First World Problems.  This video really makes me take a step back and think about how fortunate I am. So take a minute and watch the video and I encourage you to think about how much we all have that we take for granted.