Thankful

I’m thankful for…

Family

This guy

Old Friends

New Friends

Health

Travel

And so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cake batter cookies

=

Exciting and random ingredients + eggs and canola oil= totally very not healthy exciting cake batter cookies.

 

I actually had more of a post typed but somehow it got deleted.

These are more exciting anyway and are my contribution to a holiday cocktail game night I’m attending tomorrow! Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!! Time to move on to Thanksgiving celebrations!

For Every Excuse a New Strategy

Lately, I’ve noticed my lack of productivity when it comes to school. Sure, I’m making more of an effort than ever to keep my apartment neat and clean. I’m definitely asserting more energy when it comes to cooking and making an effort to eat out less (maybe my boyfriend would say I should try harder to make what he likes? 😉 ) BUT….when it comes to my Master’s program–my main responsibility right now–I’m not 100%. What gives?

There are a few reasons I think it’s been difficult to dive in to work. New city, new friends, new types of classes (more research-focused), and the (fun) distraction of having my boyfriend around all the time (as opposed to 1.5 hrs away as it was last year). But are these really excuses now that it’s almost November? yikes…

So. New Strategies for productivity. I’ve been reading some blogs and doing some thinking about what has worked in the past for me. A few things I’m going to try:

• Excuse 1: I don’t know where to start!
• Strategy: Set one big goal and two small goals each morning or night before. For example, today my goals are: Finish take-home research methodology midterm (big). Write blog post (small). Mail letters (small). This may seem like I’m shooting low, but these are just reminders for me when I have downtime or am not in class so that I end up doing something that is more important to me than watching TV or reading random blogs/wasting time on the internet. When I think I don’t know where to start and become paralyzed by this, I have daily goals.

• Excuse 2:I’m tired and I could be doing housework, lounging, or cooking in my comfortable apartment. 
• Strategy: Go to coffee shops or the library to do schoolwork. This works for me because when I get home, I want to cook, read for fun, watch the news, and sleep. No matter how much I try to set up a “workspace” at home (no room for an office), work just doesn’t get done. Strategy: get out of the house.

• Excuse 3: This research paper/reading/exam/etc is until next week or several weeks from now. 
• Strategy: Self guilt-trip. Remember how terrible I feel about my work when I put it off till the last minute or when I spend all afternoon and evening (on a school night) wasting time watching television shows on Netflix without one productive minute. Maybe some people feel uncomfortable about the guilt trip or advocate more self-forgiveness here, but guilt is motivating and in this case, I deserve to feel bad for being lazy about schoolwork. I’m lucky to be here. Why wouldn’t I show them I’m worth my fellowship?

And a final tip for myself: Remember why I’m here. Graduate school is not mandatory(unless we are talking professional school). For me, this is what I love to study. I love school (truly), and I plan on getting a PhD after my Master’s, so why all the procrastination and complaining?

And now, a fun Halloween picture of our jack o’lantern!

Love.

Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, this may seem like it’s going to be a post about mushy stuff. However, as much lurve I have for various people in my life, I’m going to be selfish and talk about the things, activities, and places I’m loving instead!

Stuff I love lately:

-My scarves (the only clothing accessory I enjoy wearing in the winter)

-My Ole Miss ID (Because it magically buys me Starbucks lattes and gets me into the gym to get rid of school-induced stress)

-My new laptop I got for Christmas

-The aforementioned Starbucks lattes

Activities:

-Wrapping up thesis work. (this may seem strange on a love list, but there is nothing better than realizing you will actually finish this on time)

-Working and reading at coffee shops (Best switch I’ve ever made is from studying and writing papers at home to working at coffee shops. I’m more productive AND I have coffee. Win-win.)

-Swimming (I had an unwanted hiatus of sorts due to weird pool schedules during Xmas break.)

-Reading non-academic books (recent loves: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and The Help)

Places:

-Clarksdale, MS (specifically, Ground Zero Blues Club. Go here now.)

-Bottletree Bakery and Big Bad Breakfast  (breakfast restaurants/bakeries in Oxford, MS. I think I just love going out for breakfast).

– New Orleans, LA (I haven’t been since before Christmas break, but I can’t wait till the next trip.)

-Athens, GA (I visited UGA to discuss Graduate School opportunities and fell in loooovvvveee).

-Maben, MS (This is mostly a joke because my boyfriend lives as far away from civilization as possible, but it’s not so bad for a peaceful weekend.)

Pictures I love from recently:

The second one was stolen borrowed from Emilie’s album, but it is a great photo of all of us at her birthday dinner party.

Update on November goals and upcoming events

So a few weeks ago, I wrote about my November goals in this post: https://thescarlettletter.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/november-goals/

It was a great exercise for me to put my goals out there. Here’s how I’ve been doing.

1. Get up early(er) most days of the week. I’ve been getting up around 6-7:30 most days. I am NOT trying to get up earlier than that. However, I’ve found my main problem is being productive on school before the afternoon. You may ask, what do I do with all this time?? I usually exercise (run or swim usually) then spend a leisurely morning reading, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, doing laundry, and cleaning/straightening the house. At least this is what I do on days I don’t have class at 9:30. I know, I know. JUST DO SCHOOL WORK!! I think I terribly dread starting school work so I often end up wasting time. If I would just work for an hour or two during those mornings I don’t have class early, it would help my load at night.

2. Pay attention to upcoming dates and deadlines on syllabi and planner. I think I might be doing a better job at this lately, or maybe it’s just because all my classes are winding down, and there aren’t a lot of deadlines left. Either way, I haven’t been having as many issues.

3. Go to campus or a coffee shop to do homework. I’ve done this several times. It has been working well, especially on weekends when it seems like I have all the time in the world to do work, but usually waste time. Again, just an hour or two of productivity can go a LONG way, which leads me to my next goal…

4. Do work in short spurts of time. I’ve been using this method so I don’t get so burnt out or cram so much. It’s going very well. I just work in hour to two hour spurts then take a break for an hour or two to do other activities. I think I’m more productive doing it this way than I would be trying to slave over schoolwork for 5-6 hours and getting distracted every 10 minutes by Facebook, social activities, etc.

5. Focus on what’s important to me. This was just a reminder to myself to not get distracted by other peoples’ goals and accomplishments and how difficult is seems to attain my own objectives. Of course it will be difficult, but I have to take it one day at a time. I think at least mentally I’m doing better at that.

Other goals included: Study for GRE, READ and WRITE on thesis, Eat well, sleep enough, and de-stress, Take time to be social, and  Read a book for fun. I am doing pretty well on these. I’ve begun real writing for my thesis, taken care of myself physically pretty well, been very social, and STARTED to read a book for fun. Well, it actually kind of relates to my thesis, but it’s still fun! I have made a plan to start studying for and retake the GRE during Christmas break. I think this is a reasonable goal considering I will have much more free time during break than I do now at the end of the semester.

Overall, not bad so far. I think I needed to get out of a funk, and these goals are helping me out.

 

Upcoming events:

Thanksgiving break!!! This is always a great relief. Since we don’t have a fall break at Ole Miss, we get a full week for Thanksgiving. Plenty of time to gain 10 pounds eating the Thanksgiving spread with multiple sides of your family and your boyfriend’s.

FINALS. These won’t be terrible for me this time is because I only have two real tests,then a project done with a partner, and a research paper I am finishing this week.

Thesis 1st semester work. I must turn in my 1st semester work during exam week. I have to have at least a chapter done. I have maybe 1/4-1/3 chapter done right now, so I have some work cut out for me.

Christmas break! We have about 6 weeks of break. This sounds like I’ll have ample time to laze around, but I’ve actually got some goals and plans. I’ll let you know soon.

 

That’s all for now! I apologize for lack of posting. I really want to get a camera soon, so these can be more interesting…. 🙂

 

25 Days of Thanksgiving

I’ve decided that Thanksgiving not only gets somewhat overlooked by the whole consumer frenzies that are Halloween and Christmas, but also that it’s overlooked by most everyone I know. I mean, besides being a time we look forward to being as gluttonous as possible, when was the last time we actually thought about the “thanksgiving” part of the holiday?

Ok, so maybe you have, but I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten it for the last few years. Not to mention, I was in Ecuador last year and I didn’t celebrate. So this year, in honor of the 25 days we have until Thanksgiving,  I’m going to go ahead and list 25 things for which I should be thankful.

1. Family

2. Friends + Boyfriend

3. Ability to do well in school

4. Ability to READ

5. Ability to run and swim and be active

6. The wonderful trips I’ve been on and places I’ve seen

7. Plenty of food

8. The South 🙂 —>more specifically, Oxford, MS

9. Great roommates

10. Washing machines and dishwashers

11. Growing up on a farm

12. My dog, Colin

13. My Spanish abilities

14. The amazing people I’ve met through being able to speak Spanish

15. Having options for post-graduation (even though I haven’t figured out which I’ll choose)

16. Great restaurants in Oxford

17. Square Books (bookstore in Oxford)

18. The Grove (part of Ole Miss campus)

19. My religious background

20. The little money I have + my scholarships

21. Physical capabilities

22. Warm bed

23. Nice clothes

24. Health of my family and friends

25. No school for a full week for Thanksgiving!!

This was actually really, really easy. I’m sure I could have thought of 50 things, but it’s stuff I don’t think about everyday.

I’m not sure how much I believe about the whole First Thanksgiving. More of a media/consumer story if you ask me, but the central premise of Thanksgiving is pretty special. 🙂

Pensamientos

This is my first post. Obviously.

I’m not sure what this blog is going to focus on yet, but I have a few hunches: My college experiences and plans for the future, my adventures in exercise and cooking/baking, and my ideas about life and love.

My life lately revolves around figuring out what’s next, but I’d like to just step back a few minutes a few times a week and focus on what I love about now. My life dreams are diverse to say the least and include everything from earning a PhD and traveling to Latin America at least once a year to living in the South for the rest of my life and raising beautiful children. If I achieve even a few of my goals, my life will be wonderful.

So, my thoughts for today: I need to buy a new camera. I need to get ready for a Halloween party tonight that I’m attending with my boyfriend, Rhodestar (pseudonym/nickname). And finally, happy Halloween!

http://www.atrandomcomics.com/Holiday%20-%20halloween07.jpg