My 2016 New Years Resolutions

Study Tips

I don't know about you, but I have a stressful semester going on! I feel like I'm constantly doing homework or am in class or work, I hardly see my husband anymore with how busy I am! So I've done a lot to get myself organized this semester. I've been keeping up perfectly with my homework and readings and even though it's only the fourth week, this is the best college semester I think I've ever had! 

I am not an expert on college study tips, not even close, but these are just things that work for me. The majority of these tips will also apply for any school grade. And before we begin, I apologize for the suckiness of my camera. Sorry!

What I Keep In My Backpack

I have a really awesome Transformers backpack! It looks like this: 

It's about two years old, so I don't think you could find it, but I got it at Walmart. What I like is that it's not ginormous. It just has that front zipper pocket and the main pocket, but it is able to hold all my stuff, including my many textbooks for class. It's important to get a sturdy backpack and make sure it's something you like, like how I like Transformers.

Tip #1: Get a sturdy backpack that won't put too much pressure on your back and shoulders. 

Inside my backpack I have my main binder:

...which I decorated with a sharpie, and if you want to do this, I HIGHLY advise doing it outside or in a well ventilated area, because doing this I got a horrible headache... and got a little high off the fumes. I'll explain what's in my binder later.

I also have my four folders, one for each class:

These are not labeled, but I remember which is which. The one with the circles is for my "World Writers" class, because the world is round. The one with the flowers is for "Human Development" because flowers and humans both grow and develop. The chevron one is for "Elementary Education" because elementary school is fun and exciting and they have slides. The plain boring black one is for "Teaching Writing" because she's an environmentalist and everything is online so she doesn't give us any papers so it's empty except for my class syllabus. I'll explain what's in these later.

I also keep a pencil case in my backpack in the front pocket:

Summer Classes

So I haven't written in forever and it's because I am so terribly busy and stressed that I just can't force myself to write on this blog in the rare bits of free time that I do have. One more month till my wedding! ... and we've been having complications with the invitations and trying to get them sent out this week. So I'm sorry I haven't written. Blame Chris for proposing to me. :)

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Today I registered for classes at Utah State University for summer semester. I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!! I love USU! I've been a student there for three year, then took a year off, and now I'm going back! I'm so happy! I'm taking Human Anatomy and Introduction to Technical Communication, both of which are classes required for my major/minor (English teaching with a minor in physical education coaching and an ESL endorsement).

But why does school have to be so darn expensive??? And weddings for that matter!! I stopped going to school so I could save up money to go back to school. But then the government got angry and made me start repaying my loans, I had to pay for parts of my wedding (my parents are very generous and have helped out so much (I love you mom and dad!!!)) and all the money I was "saving up" is now mysteriously disappeared. All that's in my bank account is enough to pay for summer semester.

I'm going to have to take out another loan. I already have two out, Chris has one out, we aren't married yet and we're already very much in debt.

But for some reason, I'm very calm about the whole thing. Sure in one month I'll go from having two jobs to being job-less. I'll be moving back to Logan and have to pay rent on a beautiful apartment that I'm in love with. Tuition is due the 24th of April. I still have wedding expenses to pay for...

... but the fact is, I'm so happy to be going back to school, I can't really complain! I'll be married to the most wonderful man who ever lived and I'll be continuing my education. How could I ask for anything more?

I'm so happy that I've had the opportunity to go to college and that I get to continue and work hard till I can finally graduate! :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!

Hey blogging world! I hope you're as excited for 2013 as I am... because I'M GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR!!! :)

Anyways, as is customary, I have a few New Years Resolutions to start out 2013. I hope you have all thought up so new resolutions, and if not, (if you're in Utah like me) then you still have a couple hours. And actually, I think it's acceptable to still be thinking of resolution on New Years Day. I'll allow it.

So, without any further ado, here are my 2013 New Years Resolutions:

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (when I die, they doctors will say "Woah!! She ate way too much salt!" because I do, daily. I just eat it. It's delicious and a horrible addiction. So my goal is to stop that and only use it when necessary (like on everything... just kidding))

2. To learn to love cooking. (I'm getting married this year and for Christmas this year I got a binder to hold recipes (that is adorable!) so I really want to start cooking more. Besides, I have a million recipes on my Pinterest page just waiting to be tried!!)

3. To become more flexible. (I've been taking a flexibility class... so here's hoping!)

4. To become a better friend. (Yeah... I don't have a lot of friends it seems so I figure if I work harder to be a better friend it will help. But, the friends I do have are the greatest in the world! I love them all so much!!)

5. To work harder for my education. (The past three years I've been in college feel like a waste considering I have to retake like 4 or 5 classes. I need to push myself harder! This is my year to be a better student!!)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (I've been a little addicted to Extreme Couponing lately. They spend like $8 on $500 worth of groceries!! It's ridiculous! I don't want to be quite that extreme, but I do want to save money anyway I can. Money will be really tight once I get married in May, but Chris and I are both willing to work hard and save wherever we can.)

7. To (finally) get my six-pack. (I know I can do it!!! For Christmas I got Jillian Michaels' Six Weeks to Six Pack workout video and I fully intend to make it work. I will have a six-pack by May for my wedding. I will!!!)

8. To be more organized and clean. (It's not that I'm a terribly messy person, and I do like this organized, but if anyone were to walk in my room right now... it's kind of impossible to walk in my room right now. I just have too much stuff! I need to de-clutter and organize what I have so that when I move in with Chris he isn't appalled by my mass amount of junk (yes I have a very large collection of clothes, but that is not going out... ever))

9. To blog more!!! (I really love writing on this blog! It makes me happy and I love sharing my thoughts and ideas with you! I also really want this blog to be helpful for others. So please leave your comments and tell me what you think. Also, remember that any proceeds I get from this blog go to charity, so spread the word. The more followers I get, the more money I'll have to send to charities! (by way of Charity of the Month, which doesn't currently exist because I don't have enough followers, please share this page with others!))

10. To love Chris more each and every day! (I'm so excited to get married this year!! Chris really is my soulmate, and he deserves for me to show it to him every single day! Love you Christopher!)

Other Blogs I Feel You Should Check Out

I love blogging! That might explain why my dashboard says I have four blogs (this one, my personal one, a wedding planner one, and a story one that hasn't fully developed yet (no peeking!!)). Beyond doing my own blogging, I like to look at blogs of other people. So I'm here to share a couple of my favorite blogs that I feel are worth checking out.

http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/ This one is probably my favorite. It's like the blog that I wish mine was. This woman is funny and writes about normal everyday life. She goes to blogging conventions and such because her blog is so popular. Wish I was her. Check out her blog!

http://diaframpton.blogspot.com/ Does anyone else watch The Voice? If not, check it out, if yes then you may recognize Dia Frampton from season 1. I absolutely LOVE Dia Frampton, as does my boyfriend Chris. For Christmas this last year I gave him tickets to her concert and I got him her CD. She's very talented and has a very unique voice. Here, check out her music video:

I love this song! So good! But I vote you also check out her version of Heartless by Kanye West. This song really boosted her place on the show. I tried to find the actual video, but it's a little difficult.

Well anyways, the above link takes you to her blog, which I recommend checking out simply because she is just the kindest, sweetest person. She's incredibly talented and humble about it. Her concert was incredible. 

http://imprimeleopard.com/ This one is cool because I grew up with this girl! This is a fashion blog and it's really cute. Kalee is a really nice, sweet, funny person and her blog is something that is very important to her. So definitely check it out! 

http://www.iheartsaltlake.com/ This blog is way cool. You may have noticed I have their logo on the side of my blog as well! So I'm currently living in the Salt Lake area and this blog is fantastic for anyone in Salt Lake or Utah or anyone wanting to visit Salt Lake or Utah. I'm still trying to get on their "Local Blogs" page, but currently I'm happy just exploring their site. 

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/ I found this blog just this week and what I've seen, I've liked. This blog has a lot of great craft and home decorating ideas, which I personally don't need right now, but I will in the future (nine months till my planned wedding!). 

http://imalivewithnoregrets.blogspot.com/ She might not love me broadcasting her blog, but this is my old roommate and one of my best friends (and bridesmaid, she set me up with Chris, I owe her). She always makes me laugh and her blog is just fantastic. She hasn't written on it in a while and it's really just her personal life, but she always makes me laugh. So read it for a laugh or some fun. She's a really great person!

http://teachertakers.blogspot.com/ This blog is a lot of fantastic teaching tools! While I'm going into secondary education and this is for kindergarten, it does have a few things I can steal, and I find it great to hear her experiences with teaching. Hopefully when I get into teaching I can add my own teaching tips to this blog!

Well that's it for now. I know of more but they aren't very prominent in my life right now. Thanks for reading! I love my followers!!

--Kaylee

Organizing

So unpacking all my things is proving to be much more difficult than I originally imagined. It doesn't help that I can't fit anything into my bedroom because there is already way too much junk in my bedroom (some of which doesn't even belong to me). So while this is a short post, all I really wanted to say was that I'll have photos of the full organization and clean project once its been finished (could be a week).