Freshman Year Recap

Wow! I cannot believe Freshman Year is 34 days away from being complete. 

     This year has been filled with ups and downs, but I can truly say I know myself better than ever. Over the last 9 months I have learned so much about friendships, relationships, education, roommates, nutrition, hair color, naps, sharing of a bathroom that I haven't even decided where to begin.  

     When I moved into my dorm I was more excited than ever to begin this adventure. I had all new stuff, a new town to explore, new friends to make, and a new roommate. I thought my past would truly be left in my past, but I was wrong. No my roommate didn't end up being my best friend. We are "friends" you could say, but definitely not spending every waking minute together. She loves to share clothes, and I had never really shared clothes before. My roommate and I came from two incredibly different households and backgrounds, so while experiencing the traditional culture shock we experienced the shock of each other. Looking back would I change it for the world? No, not at all. I believe we both helped each other grow as people and experience something out of our normal. The biggest thing I learned, I really don't like sharing clothes, especially my favorite clothes. 

     Moving two hours from home, and not living within a 20 mile radius of all your best friends anymore is enough change in itself. I was used to living around all of my favorite people and spending as much time with them as possible. This year challenged a couple of my friendships, and I had to find a way to show that even though I was not 20 minutes away anymore it didn't mean I didn't want to be friends. Having one of your closest friends move to Arizona? Well that sucked, but thanks to the wonderful world of social media we were able to keep in touch and I cannot wait to be reunited with her in just a couple of weeks! I am truly blessed with the friendships I've made at college and I know some of them will be life long. I have become friends with people I never expected to be friends with, but in the end we have had some of the best adventures. 

Even after moving two hours away, and living in a town with all new boys, I am still single. The funny thing is, I thought all my high school boys would go away, but I was wrong. They still stuck around. In fact, I tried to make it work with one of them, like really tried, but I don't know if it is going to work out. I have come back in contact with people from my childhood, who I never expected to. I've gone on a handful of dates, but not one has stuck yet. The biggest thing I learned about relationships is that if you are trying to get one, it isn't going to work. Let things work out how they are meant to be and something good will eventually come of it. 

     For the first time in my life I have had to try at school/ study for a test. I've taken classes that I have loved and some I have dreaded going to. Psychology is really not my thing. Even in college, I still LOVE, LOVE, History! You will take classes you'll forget about as soon as the final is turned in, but then you'll have classes that will stick with you for a long time. Winter Quarter I took my first business class and it honestly changed my life. I met my roomie for next year in this class, got to look at some great eye candy, had to step out of my comfort zone, but it taught me so much more than the textbook. 

The most important things you'll learn in college: 

~ If you have time to take a nap, take one

~ True friends stay friends no matter the distance 

~ Boys are still dumb 

~ Roommates don't have to be your new BFF

~ You'll appreciate your bedroom & bathroom at home 

Until Next Time

XOXO

The Hacks & Facts of College

No matter how good of a child you were while living at home, you're going to change some. Below I have included the Facts & Hacks of College!

Hack #303- If you have an .edu email address, you can get an Amazon Prime Account. This lets you watch unlimited TV& Movies through Amazon, as well as having Free 2- Day Shipping. 

Hack- Get the wi-fi password to most establishments by checking the comments on Foursquare.

Hack #66- When shopping, the cheapest items will be on the top and bottom shelves; not eye level. 

Quick Facts 

1. No matter how late your first class is, your gonna sleep in it. 

2. Every clock in a building will show a different time. 

3- Now you're as dumb as a box of rocks. 

4- You might know all the subject and still fail the test. 

5- You might know all the subject and ace the test. 

6- If you never drank, you will. 

7- If you never had sex, you will. 

8- You develop the ability to sleep anywhere, at any time, in any position.

Facts of College

- Take notes using different colored pens

- Build your gap in easier classes

- When you're too lazy to do dishes, use a tortilla as a plate or bowl 

- Invest in a laptop lock 

- Use visa gift cards to get free trials

Until Next Time, xoxo

Back to College: How to Plan Your Busy Life

     The next four years of life are going to be the best, yet most crazy. You'll be going to school, studying, involved in clubs and organizations, possibly working a part time job while still trying to enjoy life as much as possible!

Use a Planner

      The biggest thing about managing these hectic, never stop going weeks is to use your planner. Don't miss anything! I organize everything into categories; must do's, should do's, could do's.

Must Do's: Eat, Sleep, Go to Class, Study, Complete Assignments

Should Do's: Ride my Horses, Work Out, Attend meetings and appointments

Could Do's: Daytime Nap, Watch TV (Netflix), Social Media

Make Additional Lists

     I make additional lists of things to do when life gets ahead of me. Makes it things so much easier. I make lists of everything to do on big sticky notes and put those in my planner to keep it all in one place. Put everything in order of priority of what needs to be done first.

Plan Ahead

     The most important thing to do is plan ahead; make meals, do your laundry the weekend before, pre make smoothie packets (for those smoothie addicts). The most important thing for me to do is clean my entire place but most importantly my workspace. The clean environment really helps me to get motivated. I always make sure my fridge is stocked up with all my favorite snacks and easy meals because I know I won't have time to cook. 

Until Next Time xoxo 

Lyndsey's College Guide 101

     Included in this post is a bunch of the most important stuff from Lyndsey's College Guide that every college freshman needs to know! Some of my favorite products are in this post so I have attached the links to all of them.

Backpack Essentials

- Pencil Case with pens, pencils, highlighters, paperclips & post it notes

- Binder with dividers & paper

- Makeup bag with lip balm, mascara, gum, moisturizer & eyeliner

- Water Bottle

- Calculator

- Planner 

- Wallet with connection card, license, cash & credit card

College Girl Grocery List 

- apples

- bananas

- brown rice (often times you can get microwavable)

- cinnamon

- coffee & creamer

- frozen berries (smoothie products)

- greek yogurt

- popcorn

- luna bars

- mixed nuts

- peanut butter

- rice cakes

- rice crackers

- whole grain cereal 

- almond milk

Quick Facts
- No matter how late your first class is your gonna want to sleep in it
- Every clock in a building will show a different time
- Now you're dumb as a rock no matter how smart you were in high school
- You might know all the subject and still fail the test

Hack 1:
Get the wi-fi password to most establishments by checking the comments on Foursquare.

xoxo Until Next Time

Smoothies 101

     Earlier I talked about my most favorite purchase recently my Magic Bullet. It has opened up an entire new world for me, in my effort to get super healthy this summer I now have a smoothie everyday for breakfast and it is keeping me much fuller than food ever did. I did a lot of research on which system to choose and for my next four years as a college student, the Magic Bullet seemed the most practical. I love that it came with cups you mix the smoothie in for less hassle and cleanup and is portable enough to take anywhere with you.

I have a million smoothie recipes, but I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorites and these all fit in the large Magic Bullet cup.

Black Raspberry- Vanilla

1 cup of blackberries

1/2 cup of raspberries

1 cup of vanilla yogurt (this is one of the greek yogurt cups)

1 tbsp of honey

handful of raw oats

* I use frozen berries because they make the smoothie thicker and then you don't have to use ice
* They will stay thick all night if you pre make one the night before and leave it in the fridge
* After I put everything in the cup I fill it up halfway with almond milk

Berry- Vanilla

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

3/4 cup pineapple juice

1 cup fat free vanilla yogurt

* you can add ground flax, raw oats, or protein powder of your choice

enjoy! xoxo

Back to College Day 1

Afternoon Everyone,

I have been planning and planning how I am going to put all this together, just in time to make sure everything gets done and nobody forgets anything before we all head off over the next couple months. 

     I am a huge notecard, sticky note, planner lover! Over the last 3 years I have been pinning everything and anything to do with college on Pinterest and I finally decided to organize it all. Because space is limited in the dorms I didn't want to have to take too many binders filled with life information so I found an even simpler way to do things. 

     All of my simple college girl recipes are on notecards and I put a ring through them. This way they are easy to keep track of all being in one place without taking up a ton of room. (Watch tomorrow for smoothie making 101) This way I can keep all my smoothie recipes in one place and have them handy for using with my Magic Bullet. For the next year we will only need those simple recipes because at some point we will become sick of eating dorm food and want something that reminds us of home even if its that smoothie mom made us as kids.

     My best friend is going all the way to Arizona for school next year and I am scared out of my mind to loose her. So what do I do to make myself feel better? Help her organize her life! Over the last three months I have been making her a set of notecards with everything she will ever need to know for her next four years. They include everything from how to build your credit to how to make a grilled cheese in a dorm room. Watch for upcoming post that include what is in Lyndsey's College Guide 101! 

     Sticky notes basically keep me running most days. I have so much going on all the time that I often forget what the heck I am doing. I got sticky notes to match my new planner and when I need to remember something really important I write it down and stick it somewhere on my laptop because then I will remember to do whatever is so important. 

I've gotta get working on these next posts, so order your magic bullet while you wait!

Until Next Time xoxo

College Freshman Series

Welcome Back Everyone,

     My time has finally come after many years on anticipation and I am finally a college freshman. After a crazy and hectic senior year, I never thought this day would come! Over the next two weeks I am going to work really hard at designing the best possible guide to heading off to college whether you're a freshman heading into the dorms or a senior veteran. Because organization is my thing!

Some of our topics are:
- Dorm Room 101
- Electronics/ Apps
- Care Packages
- Organization
- Check Lists
- DIY
- Mini Fridge/ Snacking
- Planners/ Class Organization

     Watch soon for the first post!

xoxo Until Next Time