College Dinner

Since moving away from home, 

the key to my survival has been

Smart Ones 

(more commonly known as Lean Cuisines, but they're different).

Smart Ones are made by Weight Watchers which my mom swears by so I go for the red box!

I cook sometimes, but Lean Cuisines are so much cheaper, easier, and quicker when it's just me eating.

For my college student budget and schedule, they're perfect.

Let me tell you how to cook one to PERFECTION

no matter which one it is...

Put it in the microwave for the whole time. No taking out and stirring nonsense.

When the time is up, leave it in the microwave for at least two minutes.

Then, take it out, stir it up, put it in another bowl, and enjoy!

These are my two favorites!

Trust me, I think I've tried them all and these are pretty noteworthy.

Try them...if you want. 

I, personally, think they're pretty tasty!

Ready in less than 2 minutes total and super yummy!!

Ignore the "stir it up" step for this one.

Usually, I don't eat the pasta ones with meat, but this one is so good. 

Find them in the frozen food section.

Healthy. Cheap. Quick. Tasty.

What could be better?

Tri Omega Formal 2011

After the A Day game and a long nap, I headed over to the

 4th Annual Tri Omega Spring Formal. 

Tri Omega, as the brothers say, is "everyone's favorite non-philanthropic egalitarian brotherhood." Basically what that means is a bunch of goofy boys who know how to have a good time made up a fraternity. You better believe that they go all out with it, too. They have the stickers on their cars and everything. It's hilarious!

I was so happy to get to see so many people that I haven't seen since high school. Allow me to share a few pictures...

Well, I may have seen Sean a few times since high school. Weren't we spiffy?

This is Trey Murphy. He used to live beside me at home. Love this boy!

Allison Davis is the most adorable, gorgeous girl ever. Seeing her made me miss Snead.

Chelci, Allison, Me, and Perry!

Girls just wanna have fun!

We may not always be classy, maybe we like to be trashy sometimes, but at least we know how to have a good time!

You're only young once so have fun!!

A Day

Yesterday was yet another Saturday consisting of sun burn, and I loved every second of it. Sun burn means warm weather and SUMMER so I'll take it!

Yesterday was A Day. 

It was almost as cool as an Alabama Saturday in Tuscaloosa in the fall but not quite. Ok, I won't lie. It was extremely boring. The excitement of football comes from having that undying passion for Crimson Tide football and wanting nothing more than for them to get out on the field and beat the ever loving stew out of the opponent. When they're playing against themselves, what are the fans supposed to do? Cheer against their own team?

 No. Notta gonna happen. Sorry, budreaux. 

Yes, I understand that here at the University of Alabama, we may take football a little too seriously. Just as the motto says, 

"At some places they play football, at Alabama, we live it."

My boyfriend, Sean, his roommate, Matt, and I had a wonderful time at the game despite the hot weather and boring game. It got us excited for fall 2011 football in Bryant Denny Stadium!

Sean and I went to the stadium today to just look around and enjoy the gorgeous weather. We had a conversation about how being on campus and at Bryant Denny Stadium makes us feel. It went a little something like this:

"I can not wait for football." -Sean

"Oh, I know. Something about being here just gives me chills. We're so blessed to get to go to school here." -Me

"Anyone who doesn't get chills when they see this stadium is messed up. I hope no one ever takes being here for granted." -Sean

"It is so incredible." Me while standing, amazed by the unbelievable size of the stadium and dreaming of the loudness and excitement of being at games. 

Oh! I can't wait!!!

Also, the new statue of Coach Nick Saban was unveiled before the A Day game. Here is what we've got here on campus now. It's MASSIVE. Compared to all of the other statues of National Championship coaches, it looks like Saban is of utmost importance. Saban is even bigger than the Bear...please explain that one to me.

Roll Tide Roll!!

It's Rodeo, Y'all!

As many of you may know, last weekend was the famous Alpha Psi Rodeo in Auburn. This 65 year tradition has become somewhat of a Southeastern holiday. People from colleges and universities all over the Southeast make their way into Auburn, Alabama for a weekend of calf ropin', sangin', dancin', drankin', and gettin' a good ol' sunburn. I've wondered for years how in the world something so "redneck" could be so much fun. Well, now I know. I experienced the rodeo and I had a blast. If you like to have a good time, go ahead and mark your calendars for next year's rodeo. Plan to take off work and skip class. I promise you won't regret it.

The rodeo is a lot like Halloween, but every one is a redneck. 

It's easy, I tell ya. Just go on down to that there thrift store, pick ye up the best racing t-shirt they've got, cut the sleeves out, cut ye old jeans up, and pack ye sh** kickin' boots. Throw it all on and hop 'bout 15 deep in the back of ye pick 'em up truck.

Hang out with ye best friends

and

 have ye a good ol' time with ye ol' high school buddies.

When the sun goes down, head on over to the stage and move ye boots to a little Blake Shelton. 

The rodeo is a place for makin' new memories ye ain't never gonna remember (uhoh, Mom's looking) forget. 

War Damn Rodeo (as them Auburn folks say).

Hey! It's Me, Down Here

I'm in over my head. 

As of right now, that's about all I know. 

Wait! I may see a little glimpse of light up there!

I'm slowly but surely climbing my way up to the top of this mountain of papers.

Hopefully by May, I'll have a wonderful view from the top.

Today has been quite a day. 

It was soooo much fun; I wish you could have been there with me. I went shopping, ate dinner at Chuck's, then went to Yogurt Mountain with my best girlfriends. Bahaha, JOKE! 

It wasn't the least bit exciting, eventful, or fun. It was filled with homework and that's all. Homework, homework, homework, blah, blah, blah, yuck, yuck, yuck, help, help, help!!!!!!!!

After class at 1, I stopped by Ulta and Target to quickly pick up a few things. I got back to my apartment about 2 and I have just stopped doing homework for the night. FYI, it's two minutes until midnight. Yeah, I'm being serious right now.

College is no joke. I wish I could count how many times I was told, "College is going to be the time of your life." Ok, so...being swamped with 4 tests in one week is "the time of my life"? I think not. I'd like to know where all of those people went to college; it obviously wasn't anywhere real. Can I please just have a real job soon?

Update: 

Spanish- LOST. Entrevista Oral Numero Dos es Lunes y Examen Dos es Viernes. SOCORRO, por favor y gracias. 

Textiles- Spent 3 hours preparing a study guide today. Let's not even talking about knits and weaves, k? K. Thanks.

Drafting- If only every class were as easy and enjoyable as drafting. I have that class at 9:30 in the morning and I can't wait. I really love that class.

Art History- Who cares? Paleolithic cave scratchings from 9,000,000 BCE just aren't my thing.

Guys and gals, please wish me luck. I'm approaching finals in less than 3 weeks and I have a lot standing between here and there. School is getting the best of me at this moment.

Until next time, y'all enjoy life and think about me down in Tuscaloosa studying my life away. 

Let's Run Away...

My life-saver, ahem, planner.

      
        Let me tell you a little something about me. 

        I am an extremely organized person.

        That may even be and understatement. 

           I am an obsessive compulsive person.

   Maybe I just got a little carried away. It's normal.

I am an organized person on the verge of compulsion.

There we go. Perfect.

                                                                                                                               

Finals are in THREE (3), as in 1,2,3, weeks. Yeah, that's all. I know my parents are saying,  "Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday that we wrote a check for all of our arms and legs with 'The University of Alabama' in the recipient line." I am feeling the exact same way right now (minus the check writing nonsense, that's for the birds). 

When the word "finals" is said around me, that's a far cry from what I hear. It sounds more like "stress, cram, insomnia, tears, confusion, caffeine, Gorgas, Rodgers, Gorgas, Starbucks, Java City, GORGASSSSSS, midnight, three in the morning, all nighter, notes, study guides, GORGASSSSSS, give me some coffee!!!!" to me! Go ahead and install the image of me with hair into your brains because in three weeks, I probably won't have any.

Now back to positivity..."Oh, yeah, hey! It's optimistic Jessica back with you. Sorry, I just went on that little rant about stress. What? What's stress? No stress here." JOKE!

Fall 2010 Finals Week.
NEVER AGAIN will my planner have this
much on one week. That's why I'm starting now!

Ok, so truth be told, I'm a little lot more stressed than I'd like to be. In attempt to prevent it being as bad as I had imagined above, I've already begun making study guides for every exam. They're coming along quite well, actually. EXCEPT SPANISH aka THE DEVIL. Avoid Spanish at all costs, that's my advice to you.

I'm going to stay optimistic about all of this final nonsense and rely on my to do lists, yes! I said listS with an "s." I have one that is labeled "To Do Today" and one that is simply "To Do." I don't think I need to go into further detail on that one, do I?

It's quickly approaching midnight and I am looking at my list called "To Do Today" and there is still something on there so I better get back to that. Guess what the ONE thing is? Oh yeah, tough one...it's STUDY SPANISH. Learning another language is no fun and it's HARD. 

Adios amigos. I meant, "See y'all!"

Until next time, stay organized and avoid foreign languages.

P.S. College is impossible without a great planner. Get one. Get one with many, many, many lines for each day. You'll need them.






Also, I finally received the awaited e-mail on Monday morning. Unfortunately, I was not chosen as a CHES ambassador for next year. I question if any interior design majors were added to the group. I believe that all of the representatives from my major are upcoming seniors which means they are either returning or were chosen due to their experience with the college. I intend to reapply next year after I have had more time to form relationships within the college. As of now, I have only completed one semester here at the University so I haven't met many instructors yet. Over the next year, I will do my best to shine and show my abilities so that I can have a better recommendation for the next application process. Wish me luck, once again! Thank you so much for all of your support.

Movin' On Up

Nerve racking. When I think of the interview I endured today, those are the only two words that come to mind. 

First, let me tell you about the position for which I was interviewed today. My college here at the University of Alabama is the College of Human Environmental Science, which I will refer to as "CHES." CHES has a group of 25 ambassadors who are considered the public relations representatives and tour guides for the college. Ambassadors are responsible for attending all University Days, BamaBound sessions, and Homecoming events along with giving tours when needed. Since the first time I visited Doster Hall and saw the pictures of the ambassadors on the wall, I knew I wanted to be involved with ambassadors one day.

The Spring 2011 semester came very quickly and ambassador applications were available. I completed my application about a month ago and today was the BIG day, the interview. 

I arrived at Doster Hall along with 27 other students being interviewed during the same session. We were all equally as nervous, shaking, wondering how the interview session would be set up and the questions the judging panel would ask. 

The director of the interviews came out of the Alumni Room to tell us about the procedure that we were about to all face. She announced that there would be a panel of 8 judges and one interviewee at a time. Each interviewee would enter the room and STAND, let me repeat...STAND, at the end of a table and we would be asked one question and have 2 minutes to answer it to the best of our ability. Then, she decided to add to our nervousness by telling us that 20 of 58 applicants would be serving as a CHES ambassador following the selection.

I was the fifth person to face the panel of judges. I will not share with you the question that I was asked, but I will tell you that I feel that I did well answering. I was given the opportunity to express why I chose to enroll in the CHES and not only how I feel that I would benefit from being an ambassador, but how I could benefit the college as an ambassador. Yes, I know you're thinking "that's so typical", but I did my best to think outside of the box and show my personality, knowledge, and interviewing skills when answering.

Results of the interviews should be posted in a few days and I'll let you know if I will be representing CHES in the Fall 2011 semester. Wish me luck :))

Now to my favorite part...MY OUTFIT!

I got this Judith March dress at an adorable boutique in Panama City called DeJaVu! Don't you love it?

These are my favorite, most worn shoes. They go with practically everything. I would suggest you hit up Charlotte Russe for their trendy, affordable heels soon. 

Remember: ALWAYS DRESS TO IMPRESS  and smile!

Welcome Home

In my last post, I mentioned the fact that each person needs and deserves to live in a comfortable environment. We all find comfort and happiness in different atmospheres. When I lived back at home with my parents, my room seemed quite childish to me, and I couldn't wait to move to Tuscaloosa just so I could have a new room! Little did I know, I would miss that "childish" room quickly after moving. I am going to refrain from going on my "I Miss Home" rant right now simply to save myself a few tears. At home, I had white wicker furniture, seafoam green and brown accents, and boocoodles of pictures. When I moved, I got new furniture, bedding, and accessories.  My goal was to refrain from creating what seemed like a shrine to my friends and family. I wanted it to seem more "grown up." After all, moving off to college is "grown up," right? Yeah, whatever, if you say so. I still miss my parents and Winston, of course.

I have lived here in my apartment for 7 months now. Lots of things have been moved and changed since I first got here. I've learned that you must live in a space for a little while to learn where things are most aesthetically pleasing and most useful. I took a few snapshots of my apartment this morning and I'd like to share them with you. 

Note: This is how it looks at this moment, not how it looked yesterday, or how it will look tomorrow. Boredom leads me to redecorating.

Welcome to my apartment. 

I recently purchased these chairs not only to add a little something to my patio, but to sit outside on gorgeous days like today and do my homework.

In attempt to escape homework, I painted this one night a few weeks ago. Need I say more? ROLL TIDE.

This is my living room, obviously. You don't have to tell me how atrocious my sofa is; I know. At first, I had a sofa cover on it and let me tell you, that thing was the biggest pain in the rump EVER. I took it off a few weeks ago and it is what it is. I like to call it my "Broyhill Santa Fe 1990 Sofa." It was in my Nanny's house and is now a hand-me-down. Hey! I'm a college kid, I take what I can get. Money isn't as plentiful as I'd like these days. 

I wish I had more time to watch that TV, but school seems to take over my life.

This is one of my favorite parts in my apartment, the dining area. Isn't it adorable?

I love my cutesy little Alabama kitchen!

My bedroom, oh, my bedroom. These pieces of furniture are my children. Don't believe me? Just ask my friends what happens if they sit a water bottle on my dresser. 

After searching for bedroom furniture for what seemed like forever, I finally found this and I absolutely love it. It's a Broyhill collection and I can't think of the name of it for the life of me!! The pictures on the walls are all from Kirkland's and the bedding came as a set from Target. 

This upcoming summer, I am going to add a desk to the left corner. I'm sure I'll make a few other changes and you'll be sure to be updated.

I love my walk-in closet. Not many college students have those, right? I only posted one side because I highly doubt you care anything about seeing a picture of my coats, jackets, blazers, shoes, and pillows. I realize that this is in desperate need of organization. I just swapped all of my winter clothes for summer clothes (YAY!!!) and I haven't quite gotten around to organizing it all, but no worries, it's on my to do list!

SANDALS make me happy :)) That's all there is to it. This is only a portion, the rest are on the floor not looking too cute at this moment. I'm working on it, geez!

BATHROOM. Notice: Philosophy Amazing Grace lotion and my green Clarisonic Mia

Every girl needs both of those so hop on that.

Everyone Has a Story and This is Mine

Throughout my entire childhood, I never questioned what I would be when I “grew up”; I was going to be a pharmacist from the word “go!”

As high school graduation approached in the spring of 2009, I suddenly had a change of heart. I was preparing to start college and was totally clueless as to where I wanted to study. Since I had all of a sudden decided that I was going into civil engineering, it seemed as though Auburn University would be the perfect place for me. As a typical confused senior, I had no clue where I truly wanted to be for the next 4-8 years of my life. My parents and I spent many long hours discussing the pros and cons of different majors and different schools trying to decide where I would best fit.

We came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to stay at home and go to Snead State for at least one year and so I did.  I started Snead State in the fall of 2009 and enjoyed every minute of the community college experience. I got involved in so many ways and made friends that will last a lifetime.

By the spring of 2010, I knew that I wanted to be a civil engineer and design roadways and bridges. I also knew that I wanted to attend the University of Alabama. I applied, got accepted, met with advisors, went through Bama Bound, and had a full schedule of engineering courses planned for my first semester in August. You know…the whole nine yards. July quickly approached and I was beginning to pack my things to move to Tuscaloosa.

One summer night driving home from physics class at Gadsden State, I drove in silence, with the exception of me sobbing, and thought very deeply about what I truly wanted for myself. I decided right then and there that I wanted to change my major to interior design. So here I go walking into the kitchen a nervous wreck ready to spill the news to my parents. I explained to them that I could not see myself sitting at a desk doing physics for the rest of my life then going out to job sites wearing a hard hat. That simply is not who I am. Of course they were surprised, upset, and had what seemed like a million questions to ask. Several days later, we all came down and met with the dean of interior design and changed my entire schedule for the fall. I instantly had a new outlook on life; I was happy.

I began my classes and fell in love with my new major. I am now a very busy interior design major. I truly enjoy every second I spend on the campus of UA and I am always so giddy when I go into my design classes. Being eager to learn always makes life more enjoyable. I have had such an incredible experience thus far here at the Capstone and look forward to my future not only as a student but also as a professional designer.

Now that I go back and think about what I have always enjoyed in life, I see that has been design since I was very young. I was always a girly girl who loved clothes, purses, make up, drawing, coloring, and painting. Yes, it may have taken me longer than most but I have found my niche.