Senior Reflections

Spring 2013 is finally here... which means I am finally entering my last semester of my undergraduate degree!

This has certainly been a long time coming. I have been on college since 2008!! I cannot believe I am finally on the home stretch, I literally could not be any more excited. It's amazing to think back to the beginning of my college career and see how in just 5 short years how much I have changed as a person, and how my outlook on life/the world has changed... I can only imagine what is in store!

Of course, with graduation comes some very real fears; for me, my main fear can be summed up in one, short question: What am I going to do now? I have always maintained that I will move back to Austin, Texas after graduation, but as I move closer to graduation I am beginning to realize that right now, that is not a financial possibility.

So yes, I am so excited about graduating and taking that next step into "the real world" but with that excitement is definitely some very real fear and uncertainty.

What about you? Are you graduating high school or college soon? Do you have any big fears, or are you just excited?! Tell me your reactions to this huge life step, and let me know what your plans are moving forward!

Dogsitting 101

Linc, the Boxer

As a broke college student, I am always up for making a little extra cash; just recently an opportunity presented itself in the form of dogsitting! My co-worker at Whitney Management had to go visit her daughter who was having her second child (a beautiful baby girl!). Because my co-worker and her husband were both going to see their new grandchild, someone had to stay home and take care of Linc... and that's where I come in :) ! As you know, if you've read my "About Me" section, I love dogs; so I was more then happy to lend a helping hand, and earn some extra cash while doing it!

Though I have dog-sat in the past, I guess I forgot that dogsitting is not all fun and games. By dogsitting for my co-worker, I have agreed to live at her house for the next week. This has proven to be really inconvenient; I have to pack up all my clothes for the next week, their house is farther from my work then usual so I have to adjust my schedule accordingly, I had to buy extra groceries so I would have food to eat, and worst of all.... they don't have wi-fi. Scratch that, they don't have internet at all! I didn't know that there were still places without internet... but apparently there are... and I happen to be living in it for a week - yikes!

In addition to all of the logistical issues that come along with living in someone else's house... the actual dogsitting is not as much fun as I thought it would be. Please remember, I love dogs and Patch (my pup) is literally the light of my life; however when you live in someone else's house taking care of their dog, that dog is used to how their owner does things... and just because I'm there doesn't mean he's going to automatically adjust to my schedule or behavioral preferences. For example: my co-worker is one of those people who rises with the sun 7 days a week - needless to say, I am not. The fact that I like to sleep in on Saturdays & Sundays doesn't stop Linc from whining at 7:00 am in the morning because his parents normally would have fed him hours ago and he's hungry.

There are also behavioral issues with Linc that I am simply not used to and could really do without. Linc is a Boxer, and for those of you who are familiar with dogs or Boxers know that Boxers as a breed are very energetic and play a bit differently then other dogs. The reason Boxers were named as such, is because when they play they like to get up on their hind legs and "punch" with their front paws. This is how they play with other dogs, and unless trained otherwise, will play with humans. Also, because Linc is only 2 and still has some puppy-characteristics, he cannot control his excitement. When I show Linc even the slightest amount of attention he goes bezerk and starts jumping up and down and trying to lick my face. Not only is that completely GROSS, but Linc is about 20 pounds heavier then the dogs I'm used to playing with, and incredibly strong - and I have no doubt that he, in his excited stupor, he could definitely hurt me without meaning to.

After the first night with Linc, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do the whole week; however, the next day I decided to go buy some healthy dog treats to reward Linc when he's being very good, a marrow-bone to distract him when I just need him to leave me alone so I can concentrate on something, and a spray bottle for when he gets too excited and wont listen to me when I say "NO!"

So far those three tools have done wonders and it's only been two days. Linc is a really good dog, he is just easily excited and used to his parent's way of doing things. I hope he continues to get better over the upcoming week! I'll let you guys know of any other tips/tricks I come up with for dogsitting, so keep posted!

Have you ever dog-sat before? Do you have any tips or best practices to share with me? Let me know, I'm always open to new suggestions!

Christmas Morning

As I've said before... I love Christmas! This Christmas was no exception. I was so lucky to be able to split the day between my boyfriend's and my family. We started the day off at my boyfriend's house where we woke up to the whole family enjoying a very relaxing morning. 

Zairis, Zairalis, and me Christmas morning

My boyfriend's sister has a baby daughter named Zairalis, and she is the apple of the whole family's eye; she is the first grandchild in the family, so she is definitely doted on! We spent the morning giving presents and helping Zairalis play with her new presents (because she is only 9 months old). She is definitely a cutie and it was so much fun to be surrounded by family on Christmas morning.

After the morning festivities, Zairis and I packed up our bags and made the 30-minute drive to my mom's house to spend the rest of Christmas Day with her, her boyfriend of 12 years, and my grandparents. Because none of my older sisters were able to make the trip home, it was an unusually small get-together at my mom's house of only 6 people. We had some very traditional German dishes for our Christmas dinner including Potato Pancakes (which I made!) and Chicken Paprikash. We also started the meal off with some bacon-wrapped scallops and kale salad (I made that, too!). We ended the meal with a delicious gluten-free apple pie, because my mother's boyfriend is gluten-intolerant. 

After the meal, we exchanged presents; this was perhaps my favorite part of the day! I got some clay bowls for my apartment and a yummy vegetarian cook book from my mom (so I'll be able to make her some food when she visits!), a lotion set from my grandmother, and a hot-shot tea maker from my mom's boyfriend.

It was such a fantastic Christmas and I am so very thankful that I had not one, but TWO families to celebrate with! How was your Christmas? Did you spend it with friends and/or family? Did your family drive you nuts, or did the day go off without a hitch? Did you have Christmas meal, if so... what? Did you even celebrate Christmas, if not... what holiday did you celebrate?

Hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are gearing up for a FANTASTIC 2013!

lia sophia

As I have mentioned in a few of my previous blogs, in addition to working at the Financial Aid Office and Whitney Management, I am also a lia sophia Advisor. Lia sophia is a direct sales company that specialized in jewelry - think of Mary Kay, only it's jewelry instead of makeup. As an Advisor, I have had so many fun experiences and met a bunch of really cool people - and I only started a few months ago!

A cool perk of being an Advisor is that I get to attend monthly chapter meetings. At these meetings I get to meet other Advisors and share tips about what works and may not work with our business. These meetings are also where Advisors get recognized for any accomplishments or milestones they may have achieved. This last meeting, I was recognized for becoming a qualified Advisor, which means that in my first month of business I made at least $1,500 in sales and have at least 3 parties. I was so excited to receive the award and it made me even more motivated to take my business to the next level!

I am really glad that I decided to become a lia sophia Advisor and find it to be a really cool, fun way to earn extra cash. If you have any questions about lia sophia or other ways to earn extra cash while in school (such as jobs on campus, or local businesses) let me know! I am more then happy to answer all of your questions!

If you'd like to learn more about my lia sophia business, you can like my page on Facebook!

Family Visit

As you may have gathered from reading my previous blogs, I absolutely LOVE when people come to visit me in New Haven! This time, it was my future sister-in-law Zaimaris, and her 9-month-old daughter, Zairalis.

Zairalis was very taken with the ornaments on the tree!

Zaimaris and Zairalis came to visit for the entire weekend, which was a ton of fun. We had a great, relaxing time and it was such a treat to be able to spend a whole weekend with the baby! 

Because Zairis (my boyfriend) and I live in New Haven, we don't get to drive the 45 minutes home to Zairalis very often, which means our visits have been very few and far between. It has been such an experience to watch Zairalis grow up so fast between our visits, and it is amazing to see how big and smart she is for only 9 months old! 

Though the visit was so much fun, it was also a very good reminder to wait until I/we are absolutely ready to have children. Having a baby in the house for only a short two days was enough to make me realize that when a baby enters a family, everything changes. While this is how it should be, and I hope to one day to have children of my own; right now, as a 22-year-old college student, I am nowhere near prepared to have a child! 

How about you, do you want kids? Do you already have kids? Do you have any nieces or nephews that you absolutely LOVE to spoil?

Dentists, Dentists Are No Fun :(

One requirement when coming to Albertus is that you are covered under a health insurance plan. Albertus offers the option for you to stay on your parents' health insurance or join the school's plan (which is simply added into your tuition; this year it was about $1,000... give or take a few hundred). Because I was not on my mom's health insurance plan I gladly accepted the school's insurance plan. So far, I have found it to be a quite a help when I get my annual Winter Cold (which always seems to last the ENTIRE winter.. uhg!) and in treating the allergies I seemed to have developed since moving back from Texas.

My Dental X-Rays

One thing to keep in mind when making the decision of which health insurance plan to use is that the school's insurance plan does not include vision or dental. Because dental is not included, I pounced on a deal I saw at a local dentist office: $57 for a cleaning, x-rays, and dental-work plan (no insurance required. 

It wasn't too bad, actually. I had made an appointment on Saturday and the cleaning was very quick. It was kind've funky to see my x-rays (so I took a picture, naturally!)... and I was very happy to find out that I still don't have any cavities (woo-hoo!!)

The actual cleaning was a little painful. I absolutely hate having a dentist poke around my mouth with a drill and suction wand. Not only is it incredibly awkward, but sometimes it really is painful and felt a little bit like they were drilling right through my gums & teeth! 

The end product was good though - my mouth felt completely refreshed. I would recommend them to a friend... so I suppose I will recommend them to you! I went to Dr. Dental which is located on Amity Rd, heading from New Haven to Woodbridge.

Winter Wonder!

This past Friday, the Student Government Association (SGA) held an awesome Winter Wonder dance! This is an annual, semi-formal dance that Albertus puts on every year towards the end of the Fall semester. This year, SGA really outdid themselves! The decorations were beautiful, food delicious, music was"hopping" and it was a great turn out.

I attended the dance with my boyfriend, and we had a really great time. Probably my favorite part of the dance was the Photo Booth that SGA had set up. The photo booth printed your pictures out automatically, and there were tons of fun props to wear while taking the pictures! 

They also had a backdrop with city-related props... I had a lot of fun posing for pictures!

All in all, it was a great night full of fun, music, and dancing. I really enjoyed my time and am looking forward to next year's :)