Tag: 2018

18 things I learned in 2018

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Hi all, if you couldn’t tell, 2018 was a pretty eye-opening year for me. I learned a ton, so I wanted to make another year-end post about what this year specifically taught me. Here are 18 things that I learned in the year 2018.

  1. There are not enough hours in the day – Use them wisely.
  2. Sometimes professors are nice enough to bump up your grade by .75% to get you a 4.0
  3. Knowing how to cook at least 5 things and having those ingredients readily available is vitally important to keep you from eating out every night
  4. Sometimes a night out with friends is the only thing you need.
  5. Other times, a night in with a bath and a good book is what you need
  6. While face masks and bath bombs aren’t the epitomai of self-care… they definitely make you feel like you have your life together
  7. Use your planner! Unless you want to schedule 4747 things in the same 45 minute period.
  8. There are few things better than baking on a Sunday morning while drinking coffee.
  9. Cold brew coffee is a gift from the Heavens
  10. Coffee from a coffee pot at home is also a gift because you are still caffeinated and $4 richer.
  11. A hike is never a bad idea
  12. Neither is yoga
  13. You may never know what happened between you and that person you were once so close with. Accept that fact and move on.
  14. Harry Potter World is 10x cooler than you’d expect it to be.
  15. Always choose comfort when wearing shoes for over 12 hours. Those blisters you have for the next week are NEVER worth all that pain
  16. No chip manicures always seem nice BUT they’re $40+, always chip AND one nice bottle of nail polish is less than $10. So, treat yourself for special occasions but a DIY manicure will, in the end, make you and your wallet feel much better.
  17. Your dog can never have too many toys.
  18. Put your phone down and be in the moment. You can answer those texts or play that game in a few hours.

What did you all learn in 2018?

Much love,
Alicia

2019 intentions

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In one of my previous posts, I remarked at how I was not going to be making a huge list of resolutions, which I’m not. I am however going to be creating intentions as I did last year. These are different than goals [thanks to CHAARG for introducing these to me] in the sense that they aren’t necessarily accomplished. Instead of “Don’t use my phone when I’m with friends” I would say something along the lines of “Try to live in the moment when with others.” It’s more ambiguous and less strict because odds are, I’m going to use my phone when I’m with others to text someone back, take a picture, check the weather etc. However, by saying to live in the moment, I know I mean to not have my eyes glued to my phone and be refreshing twitter and Instagram when I don’t need to be. These intentions are also usually not something you do once like “Get a 4.0” but more like “Never put your grades on the back burner and remember to always be learning.” These are obviously 2 completely different things but if I were to put “Get a 4.0” and I got one A-, I would beat myself up about it for weeks. Whereas, with the latter, I know that even if I get an A- or two, I put my all into my learning. So, now that the resolution vs intention lesson is over; here are my intentions for the year 2019.

  • Follow through on things I begin.
  • Get stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally.
  • Never put my grades on the back burner and remember to always be learning.
  • Try to live in the moment when with others.
  • Pour my heart into the things I am passionate about.
  • Write; as much as I can, when I can.
  • Read; as much as I can, when I can.
  • Don’t be afraid to try new things – foods, cultures, ways of living, etc.
  • Put effort into all of my current and future relationships.
  • Make an effort to use less screen time, especially during the week.

These are my 10 intentions for 2019 and always. What are yours?

Much love,

Alicia

2018 year in review

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Hi everyone and happy last day of 2018. This year absolutely flew by + It’s a little bittersweet that it’s ending, however, I’m hoping 2019 is everyone’s best year yet! Just like last year, I wanted to make a little year in review to showcase my 2018 [especially these past few months with no posts]. Here was my 2018!

In January, I headed back to Athens to begin my second semester at Ohio University. Nothing significant happened to me, but my roommate got a boyfriend (sort of…) so go her!

Me and some friends from high school
My roommate and some friends

I met some amazing people through CHAARG in February and worked out with 2 of my best friends for the first time! Crazy how time flies. OU also flooded and we got a 3 day weekend because of it! February consisted of a lot of interviews, a lot of rejection, and a lot of teaching myself how to handle it. It was rough during the time but I’ve learned so much because of it. Rejection is never easy but sometimes those things just weren’t meant to be.

Fest season began in March. I’d never experienced a “darty” quick like OU in my life. It’s very crazy and hectic but with the right people can be fun! I also headed home for Spring break in which I did pretty much nothing besides catch up on homework and hang out with my dog. It ended with the CHAARG formal [in which I was given the award of “Boss A$$ Bitch”] and me being chosen to be on CHAARG’s exec team.


With mom’s weekend, finals prep, and CHAARG coming to a close, April was a whirlwind. Trying to squeeze as much time in with my friends before heading home for the summer, more fests, and simultaneously trying to not fail all my classes was rough but I conquered. I ended the semester with all As [one A- but who’s counting?] for my best semester [grade wise and others] yet!

Upon returning home on May 1st, I had a whole lot of nothing to do. The lady I nannied for the summer before, who ensured I’d have a job this summer, didn’t get a job herself so my service to them was unneeded. I applied for a few jobs that were close by but none of them wanted a college kid who would only be there for a summer or two. So, I was left jobless and bored counting floor tiles in my kitchen. Nevertheless. I spent May catching up with high school friends, celebrating my dog’s 2nd birthday + 1st gotcha day and reacclimating to my life at home.

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Did somebody say road trip? In June, my family + I took a road trip to Orlando Florida to visit Universal studios for the first time! We stopped in Chatanooga TN to see Ruby Falls, St. Augustine Florida to see one of the oldest colonial cities in the USA, hit Universal for 3 days, and then back up to Sarasota Florida, to visit some family friends. I was able to live out my dream of being a witch in Harry Potter World, turn 21 + enjoy my first few legal drinks poolside, and get some much needed Vitamin D. I was able to finish off the month with some FREE tickets to see Harry Styles [the love of my life] on tour with a good friend of mine!

Back to school already? Nope! In July I did make a trip to Ohio, but for reasons besides school. I visited my friend Olivia + her friend Kennedy in their hometowns for an early birthday celebration for Olivia. It was cool to see where they are from, spend more time with their dogs than with them and meet their families.

I headed back to school 2 weeks early in August. It was nice to be back in Athens when there’s no one else around. It’s peaceful and the feel, in general, is much different than the following 8 months. I was able to bike a lot, go to the gym a lot, see my school friends, do CHAARG stuff, and then also do early move in for my work. Finally, school started. I had a whole one day with my business classes, realized it wasn’t for me, headed right back to the education building, switched my major back and it was as if my business career had never happened.

Once I was back in the swing of things with all of my education classes, my education friends, etc. I was able to focus on working hard in all aspects of my life. On September 11th I did a stair challenge with some CHAARG girls. We ran the number of stairs that were in a twin tower building to remember the lives lost on 9/11. It was HARD but I’m so glad I did it because it was SO motivating doing that with other CHAARG girls. That following Tuesday, I broke my pinkie finger, I was lifting an 85 pound ball of cement, picked it up wring, and then it landed on my pinkie. 6 weeks in a splint, a lot of pictures, and some makeshift physical therapy to learn how to bend it again, + I was healed.

 

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I began my student teaching in October. The school was 50 miles away and I had to get 40 hours there, so 8 or so time throughout the remainder of the semester, my friend Sara and I would drive there, grab coffee, and then do some student teaching to get ourselves one step closer to an education degree. Also in October, I participated in the NEDA walk, where I was a top overall donor and helped CHAARG become the highest group donor.

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November started out strong with Dad’s weekend, in which my dad and I drank a lot of coffee, watched a lot of movies, and just hung out for three days. The following weekend was the CHAARG retreat which was just as magical as I imagined. I put SO much effort into that retreat + everyone loved it! The month ended with my being home for Thanksgiving, dying my hair again, and catching up on sleep

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The semester ended just as every other one does; my orgs ending, an ungodly amount of group projects, and a lot of work. I got promoted at work so I am now a Student Manager which is very cool. I ended the semester with a 4.0 and then I headed home for the rest of December which is where I am now, surrounded by a lot of good people and a lot of good food.

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I hope your 2018 was even better than mine!

Much love,

Alicia

Long time, no write

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Hi all, I hope you all haven’t forgotten about me. The last time I wrote [besides essays for class] was 138 days ago. August 14th to be precise. I hadn’t started my junior year of college, I hadn’t started my first semester on CHAARG exec, I hadn’t been promoted at work, I hadn’t dyed my hair, I hadn’t changed my major [more on that later]. I hadn’t done so many things 136 days ago.

I’ve been sitting at my computer over the past few days, pondering on what to say. Why haven’t I written anything in 136 days? Why have I rarely even logged onto WordPress in these last 136 days? Why haven’t I had any motivation or longing to write?

While I don’t know the answers to those questions, I do know I’ve been pretty miserable this semester. From school, to CHAARG, to my other orgs on campus, to work, to pretty much every other aspect of my life, has been miserable.

As I’m sure you all know by now, I put far too much on my plate. I take on every activity, every class, every extracurricular, every new position that I can. I try to do it all. I’ve exhausted myself. I could not find time to write this past semester because I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. When I wasn’t at school, a student org meeting, or work, I was studying, eating, showering, or sleeping.

This semester was rough, I’ll give myself that, but next semester with a new promotion at work, and more classes, along with all of my previous commitments… how am I to handle it? Over the past few months, I’ve realized on very large thing: there aren’t enough hours in a day.

I pride myself on being busy, on filling up my planner so I have to allocate time for working out, eating, showering, etc. Why do I do this? I can’t do everything in the world and still have time for my absolute favorite thing in the world: curling up in my bed at night and doing nothing; ie. staring at my phone or reading a good book. I need to start prioritizing my time and prioritizing what I do with my time and I need to do it fast before I exhaust myself next semester as well.

2019 is in two days. I don’t want to set a million resolutions for 2019. I want to set one: follow through. I am notorious for starting things. A new school, a new major, a new job, a new application, a new blog, a new journal, etc. Yet, I can never seem to finish these things I start. I love doing SO many things but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do everything. In 2019 I want to follow through. I want to start [or continue] things that I am passionate about and I want to follow through with those things. I need to leave things less important to me in 2018 and bring what is vital to me into 2019.

I’ve got a few more posts of life updates, year wrap-ups, etc. on my to do list before the year’s end. I just wanted to make this to show you guys I’m not done with my blog, I’m not done with my writing. I just had to take a few months to really realize what was important to me and how to keep it in my life.

Much love,

Alicia

Back to school series: apartment packing list

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Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday! If you’ve been a follower for the last year or so, you may remember that I made a Back to School series last August. I got really positive feedback from it so I’ve decided to do it again this year!!! Let’s get started with it!

I am officially moved into my apartment at school + I’m very excited! Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I am living with 3 girls I do not know, all from other countries. One of them has brought her dad to stay for about 2 weeks + removed the furniture last night (unsure why) so I’m just trying to stick to my own schedule and live my own life until school starts.

So, from the title of this post you know I’m not sharing a tour of my apartment today (if I do one it will probably just be of my room) because it’s not fully finished, but it is a packing list for apartments! I definitely forgot some things and I brought things I for sure don’t need. Also, a ton of girls (freshmen) have no clue what to pack but with 22938 different packing lists available for freshmen, I figured I would make one for people in apartments because there are far fewer lists to get inspiration from but a lot more things to get! So, here is this artsy list of what to pack for an apartment (or at least what’s working for me).

Is there anything I’m forgetting or anything on this list that doesn’t need to be?

❤ Alicia ❤

August intentions

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Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday!! I wrote this post last week and totally forgot about it! I head back to school in 3 days + I’m SO excited!!! As I prepare for the school year to begin, I have a lot to do + I’m putting everything on my intentions list for August. Here they are!

  1. Pack for school // I’m about half way done with this and after another load of laundry or two + some final purchases, I should be done soon!
  2. Make my apartment homey // I have been doing a bit of DIY (+ buying cute things) to get my apartment feeling like it’s all mine
  3. Prep my planner // I just got new pens + markers yesterday so I’M PUMPED to get my planner ready for this semester
  4. Develop my school routine // I’m getting back to school 2 weeks before school starts so I have plenty of time to get my workout, work, school, sleep, etc. schedules down pact.
  5. Work out 5-6 days a week // This is part of my school routine + 2 of those are already covered with CHAARG!!!
  6. Eat only things that make my body feel good // I’ve been having more stomach problems lately so I’m going to be doing a sort of experiment with foods I eat to see what is bothering my stomach
  7. Conquer my first week of school // Junior year here I come!
  8. Make some new recipes // I actually just tried a new one today (Chocolate Cherry energy bites… SO MUCH YUM) so I’m definitely ahead of the game!
  9. Start meal planning + prepping // With 6 classes MWF, eating good foods is going to take some prepping so every weekend I’m going to prep + plan my meals so I am eating healthy foods ++ enough of them

What are your intentions for the month?

❤ Alicia ❤

July wrap up

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Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! Somehow July is already over!!?!?!? I’m not sure how that is! I head back to school in 11 days and I’m so excited but also so shocked that it’s time already! In typical Alicia fashion, let’s check out how my month of July went for me, goals-wise.

  1. Finish CHAARG Bootycamp // re: my last post
  2. 120 oz of water daily// Almost every single day!!
  3. Organize everything I own // Not nearly as far along with this as I’d like because of how overwhelming it is. But slow and steady wins the race!
  4. Keep planning for CHAARG // I’ve planned every social,  welcome party + end of semester party so I just have our retreat which is going not as planned because the camp has stopped responding to my emails and calls. So.. we’ll see.
  5. Get everything for my apartment bought + ready // A few things have been bought but I do have everything I still need on a list ready to go!
  6. Start DIYing // Yikes I haven’t done anything :(( I actually forgot I wanted to! I’ll have to start soon!
  7. Work on training my dog // We’ve been working daily and I see improvements in her behavior on walks daily so let’s see!

How did you do on your goals for July?

❤ Alicia ❤

CHAARG “Bootycamp” reflection

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Happy Monday everyone! Friday was the last day of CHAARG’s summer fitness plan “CHAARG Bootycamp” and I had the opportunity to be involved with it this summer. I wanted to reflect on my experience in this fitplan as I gear up for another in October (which I get to help lead as an exec member) so why not do it here for the whole world to see?

I am and have always been very black or white. I either love you or can’t stand you (if I know you that is… if I don’t I can be indifferent), all in or all out, I work out every single day or not at all, etc. and that can be good and bad. With fitness plans, however, it’s usually pretty bad.

I’m not sure why I’m like this // how I can change this about me, but the day I take a day off (that isn’t already listed in the actual plan) I just stop with it completely. I feel like a failure even if I’m not (it’s one day, not every day haha) and can’t bring myself to get back in the swing of things.

I was doing SOOO good the first 2 weeks of the plan… and then I went to Ohio to visit some friends. While I was there I didn’t workout, I drank a lot, ate a lot, etc. and when I got home the last thing I wanted to do was workout, let alone make up the workouts I missed. So, I didn’t workout for a week-ish (seems pretty backward I know). Then I made up a few workouts, got overwhelmed, + took another break. I did, however, get back on track for the last week + did all 3 strength workouts but I still didn’t feel that great about not really finishing the fitplan, especially because I spent money on it.

I think this is mainly due to my planning, or lack thereof. The fitplan started the day after I returned from Florida so I didn’t really have time or energy to plan the next 6 weeks of my life when I had been in a car for 10 ish hours. I had one thing on my mind, sleep, and the last thing I wanted to think about was planning the next 6 weeks.

Due to this, I was off on the wrong foot to begin with and I did persevere through my unplanned workout routine for a week and a half but I desperately needed to and should have planned out my workouts. Until I have written down a time or carved it into my planner, nothing is going to happen and that’s exactly what I didn’t do. I knew this would happen and it did, so I can’t really be mad about it now. This is definitely my major takeaway from this fitplan going into my next. I need to spend a few hours of my life the days before the fitplan starts planning my workouts, my foods, etc. if I want to get it done. It’s not that fitplans don’t work // it’s that you don’t make yourself work + I know that in order to build muscle (I have the upper body strength of a newborn baby) I need to plan and stick to that plan to see the results I want.

I do want to share a positive thing about this fitplan! There was a 10 day meal plan included and it was so useful! I didn’t follow the meal plan but I did love trying new recipes that I’m definitely going to incorporate into my faily life!!

So, while this may seem like a “wow Alicia you suck” sort of post, it definitely helped me realize my faults + how I can improve them for the fall! I also will say that this week I am sort of starting fresh with these workouts and doing the ones I like the most so that I can say I did not waste my money!

Are you as black + white like me? Or is there gray area for you?

❤ Alicia ❤

Homemade ‘Nice Cream’

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Hi all and Happy Thursday! I leave for school in 2 weeks so I’m taking full advantage of all the higher quality kitchen appliances that I won’t have in my apartment! One of those is my food processor. I’ve been making protein balls (expect a recipe on these too because they are DELICIOUS), hummus, and this week nice cream!

I’ve been vegan for 2 and a half-ish years and I’ve never made quite possibly the easiest (and most delicious) vegan dessert to exist. I started googling nice cream + when I saw the bananas that I had planned on making banana bread with (overripe bananas are the best for nice cream),  I chopped them up, froze them, and then made some tasty chocolate nice cream. I love making my non vegan family members try my creations because if they love them anyone will (my sister says my taste buds have definitely changed because I find weird vegan foods tasty that she claims she wants to vomit at merely the sight or smell of), however, I ate all of it (about 3 bananas worth) right after making it so I knew I had to make it again and soon.

So, when my 2 bunches of bananas were 100% overripe 3 days after I bought them, my opportunity arose. I chopped up all 8 bananas, tossed them in a plastic bag, and plopped them into the freezer while I headed to Target to get ingredients for all my potential flavor combinations

One flavor I was DYING to make was mint chocolate chip. I am a mint chocolate chip lover from way back and have yet to find a vegan option. So with peppermint extract and chocolate chips in hand, I kept searching for other flavor ideas. I also wanted to make a  strawberry flavor too, so I scooped up a bag of frozen strawberries (which were ridiculously overpriced in my opinion) and headed home since I already had mixed berries and cocoa powder for my very berry and chocolate flavors.

As I arrived back home, I set up my food processor and placed ¼ of my bananas in it, blended them up, and then added my first flavor ingredients, strawberries. I started by adding a half cup to the mixture, however, when it tasted like a frozen strawberry banana smoothie, I added another half cup of strawberries and I could not tell there were bananas in it at all.

I repeated the same process for each of my flavors, about ¼ of my bananas, and then adding cocoa powder, peppermint extract, berries, etc. to taste until I would be comfortable eating these and serving them to my family.

For those of you who want to make these yourselves

Strawberry Nice Cream

Place 2 frozen bananas + 1 cup of strawberries into a food processor and blend until creamy

Chocolate Nice Cream

Place 2 frozen bananas, 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder (to taste), 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blend until creamy.

Very Berry Nice Cream

Place 2 frozen bananas + 1 cup of frozen mixed berries into a food processor and blend until creamy

Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream

Place 2 frozen bananas, ⅛ tsp peppermint extract (or more depending on taste preference), and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blend until creamy.To achieve the green color you can add a handful of spinach or some green food coloring ( I did both)

*If the fruit isn’t blending, add a splash of almond milk to help*

Have you made nice cream? If so, what flavors did you make?

❤ Alicia ❤

Review: The Happiness Project

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Hi everyone and Happy Tuesday! As I mentioned in one of my last posts, I recently finished Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, and I decided to share my review with you all!

This book shows Rubin’s journey through her 12 month-long Happiness project. After realizing that she isn’t as happy as she wanted to be, she set intentions, created secrets of adulthood, paradoxes of happiness, and set off on a journey of being happier. She deals with family frustrations, work frustrations, and more but she always remembers her goals and tries her hardest to not be set off her path and be the happiest she can be.

First off, I should say that I loved this book. I found myself, multiple times, thinking “Wow I do that and I want to stop.” or “Wow, I’ve never thought about doing that but I should.” and also “I love doing this so why don’t I do it already?”

There were 2 chapters of the book I didn’t really care for, April “Parenthood” and August “Contemplate the Heavens” were the two. I’m 21 so I don’t plan on having kids anytime soon (if at all) which is why the parenthood chapter I didn’t resonate with. Also, the Heavens chapter I didn’t care for because I’m not religious or care to learn about religion so while I liked reading about the comical life of Saint Therese in the convent, I wasn’t really feeling the rest of the chapter.

However, all 10 of the other chapters I absolutely loved. March, July, September, and October’s chapters about work, money, books, and mindfulness were my absolute favorites in the whole book. I have so many pages folded over in the book of quotes, ideas, and inspiration for my own happiness project (look for a future post about this soon)

My absolute favorite part of this book, however, is the extra material section at the end of the book. Throughout the book, Rubin mentions her secrets of adulthood and paradoxes of happiness and at the end, she adds a list of them all so that the reader doesn’t have to go back and find them one by one. She also adds tips and tricks for life and a little guide on how to start your own Happiness Project which I will definitely be utilizing sometime soon.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book. I now want to read another one of her books, Better Than Before because I’ve heard rave reviews on that one as well. I also highly recommend her podcast “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” as I am learning a lot from that podcast just as I’d learned from her book.

What book(s) // podcast(s) would you recommend to me?

❤ Alicia ❤