Your question

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:44:41 -0400

I just moved into my dorm as a college freshman. I'm going through a lot of emotions right now. I am nervous, excited, and sad. Mostly, I miss my parents. But I'm also very confused. I have been dating this really amazing guy for almost two months. He buys me flowers, makes me mix CD's, buys me dinner and opens car doors for me. He is so sweet and he makes me laugh. I know it was fast, but I've fallen in love with him. But the thing is, I HATE long-distance relationships. He goes to college two hours away. I almost feel like it would be less painful to break up. How can I make this transition easier for both him and myself?

Your question

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:30:51 -0400

I'm getting ready to start choosing universities, big problem is, I have never had any dream job or job in mind, even from as young as I can remember. I've tried looking in to the subject I'm okay in, and nothing seems to click, and there are no Universities near me locally. My parents want me to go to Uni, regardless of if I have a job in mind or not. Another big problem is the boyfriend. I have done long distance before, and the guy cheated. I don't think he would do that, but he isn't going to a Uni and would be stuck in my home town. I would love to go to Uni and study something i would love doing, but I have no idea what to study, even though I've considered all my strengths and weaknesses. And even if I get to that stage, I'd have to make the Uni leap alone. Where do I even start?

Grocery Shopping 101

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:27:41 -0400

Are you intimidated by the grocery store? Do you get lost in those long aisles? Have you ever spent $60 on groceries and find you have nothing to eat? No need to fear, I have the solution! Planning ahead!

Preparation
It's a good idea to write a list. The best way that I can think of is to plan out some meals that you would like to eat through out the week(s). Don't be afraid of lists, they're your friend. Here is an example, feel free to do this with your favorite meals.

Tacos

Shells
Ground beef (or turkey)
Re-fried Beans
Taco cheese
Lettuce
Onion
Tomato

This is food for just one meal, however you're probably not going to use the whole head of lettuce, the whole onion, and all of the ground beef. Lets see if we can find another meal which uses all of these things?

Cheeseburgers

Ground beef(or turkey)
Lettuce
Onion
Condiments ( You probably already have these)
Veggies (Frozen or canned) I like prefer frozen, but canned is cheaper.
Buns

See, this is easy. If you can find meals that have ingredients in common, you can save by buying larger quantities. Vegetables will be a good side for most meals.

Breakfast
The most important meal of the day! Don't skip it, studies show that people who eat breakfast are thinner.
Buy gallons instead of half-gallons. You get more for your money. Milk is good for you anyway, plus it is a popular ingredient for all meals.
Cereal is one of my favorite breakfast foods, its fast and delicious. Be sure that you are checking the nutrition values and serving sizes.
Yogurt and fruit, simple and healthy.
Bagels are a great breakfast food. They're relatively cheap. Try to stick with whole wheat, and try peanut butter as a topping.
Eggs. they're versatile and inexpensive.
Alternatively, there are microwavable options for those who are always running late. Watch the sodium content on these.

Lunch
Sandwich meats, salads, and left overs are always good for lunch. Top Ramen are also popular and cheap. However, I personally do not care for these because they are very high in sodium. In case you can't tell, I do my part to watch my salt intake. Make a list of a few items that you think you would want for lunch.

Example List
Now, I can't do ALL the work for you. But I did make an example grocery list for dinners.
This uses 5 lbs of beef. Buying in bulk saves you $.

Sunday
Spaghetti and Garlic Bread

Ground beef or turkey
Spaghetti sauce
Diced onion
Spaghetti noodles
Pre-made garlic bread OR make your own

Garlic Bread

split french or Italian loaf
butter
Fresh garlic or garlic powder

Monday
Chili

Tomato sauce
Chili powder
1 lb of beef or turkey
Kidney beans
Onion

Wednesday
Cheeseburgers

Onion
Beef
Lettuce
Cheese
Tomato
Buns
Fries or vegetable

Thursday
Tacos

Shells or tortillas
Taco cheese
Onion
Lettuce
Tomato
Salsa

Friday
Taco salad
Left overs from last night!

Getting the best deal
Have you ever been shopping and was unsure of whether or not you should buy the 12 pack or the 24 pack? Unsure if those instant potatoes are worth it?
Here is a quick way to find out.

Best price

1 large box of cereal vs. 8 individual boxes of cereal sold in a package

Large box $4.50
Individual box package $5.25

Obviously the large box is cheaper, but which one will give you the best value?
Find out the amount of food in each (Volume, weight, amount)

The large box has about 6 cups.
The individual boxes hold 1 /2 cup in each box.

You following me?
Large box
6 cups/$4.5 = $1.33 per cup
individual boxes
8 cups/.5 = 4 cups of cereal for the individual boxes
5.25/4= $1.31 per cup.

So the individual sized boxes are slightly less expensive. Usually you will find the difference can vary from a few cents up to more significant savings. You can sub out almost anything.

I really hope that this helps! Don't fear the grocery!

To stay on track with your diet, avoid the inner aisles altogether. Everything on the outer walls in the grocery store is likely to be healthier and unprocessed.

Your question

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:02:35 -0500

My parents just told me they are refusing to help me out with college. Besides the obvious what do I do? Has anyone else had to go through college all alone?

College Diaries

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:53:04 -0500

I've been reading about what most people wonder about college today, and a lot of the questions circulate about what they should wear or if making friends is going to be a problem for them. So, this article, I plan on explaining them in detail to the fullest extent that I can.

Most people worry about what to wear every year before they go to school. Well, college is about the same idea. It's the time where you finally don't have a dress code to go to class anymore. Most people take advantage of that, I live in Texas, the heat is unbearable, and girls always wear tank tops, tube tops, you name it, to start off the year. It's perfectly normal. Basically, you wear what you wore all summer long. There's no need to change it. By the time we're at right now here in November, school has really kicked in, and the eight am class syndrome starts to kick in.. The easiest thing is to wear a sweatshirt and sweatpants(I've always done jeans as I've never felt comfortable out in sweatpants). You'll understand why, everyone does it. But when you have normal time classes or you just go to hang out, wear what's in your style. Between the 3 of us in my room, we all have completely different styles. My brother would say I have a "hipster attitude/" I can agree with the attitude, not so much the style of dress. On a normal day, I wear jeans, a long sleeve fitted t-shirt, some accessories(Mostly my very loving roommate's jewelry), and Chuck Taylors. Taylor has a very cute style. She used to work at Old Navy, so she has an awesome discount there, so her closet is full. Her style is very casual dressy. Today I believe she left wearing jeans, and a nice shirt, with her hair done nice. Laura's style is my favorite, she's got nice expensive taste. Usually pairing tops together, a nice pair of jeans and she has the most wonderful shoe collection ever, she always looks put together. But Laura has one signature look, she sports the poof. I thought I have seen a poof before, but hers is at a-whole-nother level. I love her pouf. It's so well fitting for her. I'll give it a whole 3-4 inches off her head pouf. Very Laura. Taylor sports a very put together bob, with usually a braid or pouf herself. Mine likes to change, a lot. Out of the 3 of us, my hair is the most changing. I want to ultimately do hair and makeup, so mine is always doing something. It alters from being curled, to straight, to pinned, to everything, although, unlike my roommates, the pouf doesn't look quite right on me. I believe the biggest thing about college wear is to really know that it doesn't really matter what you wear, as long as it's well fitting, and you feel comfortable in it.

Friendmaking. Such a common problem for so many people. My best advice, you aren't going to make all of your friends in the first month of school. I got lucky and met Taylor and Laura early out in the year and we live together. However I also made friends with some girls that I thought I would stay friends with, we didn't. One of the girl's "S.M." and I were really good friends, until we met my now really good friend, "T.F." We all went to a local hookah bar, and saw these guys walking buy, and I called them over. After a few hours, we make friends. "T" and "S" had a thing for a while, but then he decided that he wasn't really into her. Long story short, I got blamed for this for encouraging her when she asked my advice, like I knew that he wouldn't like her(?). It was too much drama for my taste, and I said "No Thanks," and that was the end of that. At least for me. As for "T.F" she text's him everyday, and well, he finds it kinda freaky and oddly clingy. So girls, take my advice, if he wants you, he'll pursue you! Prime example right here. Don't become and "S." From the guy's perspective, it's freaky as hell. The moral of the story, is you won't always be friends with the first people you meet. Most of us are used to not being the new kid and not going out of our way to meet people. We expect everyone to come to us. I hate to break it, but you really have to know before hang that you have to go out of your way to make friends in college. If it's your thing, rush for a fraternity or sorority. My ex and my best friend both did it. Basically you go through a week of looking all of the different societies, and then you and they eliminate the ones that don't work well. I think that a lot of people benefit from them, and they are a great social experience. I've never been a girl that would work well in a sorority, and a lot of times for those who aren't Greek, you will get called a GDI(God Damn Independent). It's a really derogatory phrase if a fraternity guy is using it, but the best way to deal with it, is to just ignore it, and not hang around the people that will call you one. I've got plenty of Greek friends, and they're great people, just because someone is Greek, doesn't make them a stereotype, keep that in mind.

As for anyone who decides that they want to hook up with someone in college, it's a normal experience, people do it, but you have to be smart about it. First, find out that they don't have a crazy significant other, or one in general. Obviously if they are with someone and are pursuing you, they aren't a good person to be around. Also, you have to remember, that if a guy is hooking up with you, chances are you are nothing more than a booty call to him. Don't expect a relationship and don't expect him to leave someone for you. A one night stand for you is a one night stand for him. Leave it at that. You won't want that drama later. Second, don't exchange numbers, there is no reason that he will have to contact you later, and no reason you should have to contact him. Oh, and don't hook up with a good friend, no matter how drunk and how good of an idea it sounds like at the time. Third, don't stay the whole night with them, the next morning isn't pleasant, and you have to be really cool about leaving no matter how awkward it is. Fourth, I can't stress this more, USE PROTECTION. I have way too many pregnant friends who have told me that they can't believe that something like this happened to them. But when I ask them if they use protection, let me explain to you, pulling out is not a proper form of it. Are you really going to trust someone else with your future? I doubt it. Be smart here. You're in college for a reason, and that is not to have a baby.

If you have a question and you want to know my opinion of it, don't be afraid to ask. I love giving advice to those who want it. xo!

Your question

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 13:16:26 -0400

Could you tell me some colleges for a fashion design degree?

Your question

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:15:39 -0400

I leave for college next week. For any of you who are in school or have already graduated, what are the things I can't leave home without or that I should purchase before I go? I guess the things that only someone who's already been there would be able to suggest because I feel like I'm going to get there and not have something essential. Thanks so much!

Your question

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:07:19 -0400

My roommate is already annoying and we have not even made it on campus yet!!! First she tells me she cannot sleep by the window because she had bad allergies in the past, I said me too, only I have them now. Then she said not only allergies, but she also gets cold really easily under windows. Next she said, bad allergies, that all of a sudden she has again, gets cold and that she is scared of thunderstorms, and has a fear that lighting might strike the window and break. Then she sent me like 3 designs SHE thinks we should set up the room without ever asking ME to do the same. Monday is move in day and she said she was going to move in a few days after me like... Wednesday I think? But would it be rude to take the bed, closet and sink I want? Or should I let Carmen (my roommate) get her way? Even though it's likely, I don't think a 17 year old would really be SCARED of thunderstorms, she's just trying to win me with sympathy. Plus I am bring EVERYTHING for the room, MY TV, MY PS3, I bought all the cleaning supplies, and when I asked her if she'd pay half, she never replied, my Dirt Devil vacuum, haha seriously, EVERYTHING. What do you think I should do?

Your question

Wed, 26 May 2010 16:53:08 -0400

This is SO lame, but I am 20 years old and leaving school for the first time. I went to community college for the past 3 years and this is my first time REALLY leaving home. I was wondering if I should bring my baby blanket... yes I am a loser, but that thing comforted me as a child and even got me through my first bad break up at 19. Should I leave it home because I know the first few days home blues will go away? Or take it with me and give it to my mom when she leaves a week after school starts or keep it for more "bad times"?

Your question

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:43:26 -0400

What is a priority deadline for college?