The Extra Mile

Hey all! I just wanted to quickly share this video that I found on my Facebook timeline today. This sweet little kid is giving guys a little "How to Get Girls 101" lesson and it is seriously the cutest thing ever! I'd have to say I agree with him, be kind. I know there are girls out there that like the "bad boy" type but I just can't stand them. Don't be a jerk...just be nice! Who wouldn't accept a rose from this adorable kid?

<3 Ashley

What do you think? Is kindness really the way to our hearts?

Book Club: French Women Don't Get Fat

Image: here

When I sold my algebra textbook on Amazon I got about $30 in site credit. Naturally, I blew that away in 10 minutes with five books that have been sitting on my wishlist forever. Needless to say, I have a much more full looking Kindle now.

The first book that I decided to dive into was "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano. The book basically details the differences between the French and American diets and explains where the fault in the American diet is: portions. There is indeed such a thing as too much of a good thing. Guiliano provides tips she learned growing up and during her own weight struggles after studying abroad in America. I found the information interesting and helpful and certainly attainable. These really aren't drastic changes, one just needs to be willing to make changes and trade up to quality. I definitely recommend giving this book a read! Maybe like me, you will be inspired to make even a small change to how you look at food and how you shop for it!

<3 Ashley

Have you/will you read "French Women Don't Get Fat"? What do you think of it?

Currently...

Happy Monday (sincerity here is questionable...it's been snowing for 3 solid days!)

In an attempt to blog more with my very awkward schedule this semester, I am keeping Monday posts short and sweet. I have been seeing a lot more posts like this one more where bloggers let their readers get to know them a little bit better by describing what they're doing at the moment. So that's what Mondays are going to be simply because I am too busy--4 classes until 8:30 pm and PR committee meetings.

Currently:

Listening to: "Fashion" Lady Gaga
Reading: My Twitter feed--everyone is talking about spending the night last night in the Pete for tonight's basketball game against Duke. H2P!
Eating: This pomegranate and blueberry cereal which I picked up last week during my very first trip to Trader Joe's...I love Trader Joe's!
Drinking: Coffee with a bit of almond milk
Wishing: The snow would melt and I will have a painless walk to classes
Feeling: Sluggish. Can I just stay home and watch the Carrie Diaries on Netflix?

<3 Ashley

How are you feeling this cold, snowy Monday?

Words of Wisdom

Well hello there! In case you've forgotten about me allow me to re-introduce myself! Hahaha! It's been quite a busy week for me. Classes have definitely geared up at this point and I have so much reading at this point that I'm actually starting to hate it a little bit. But that's not what the focus of today's post is...I'll save that for a day that I feel a little more bitter, deal?

Recently, my roommate and I have found ourselves horribly bored and desperate to find other things to do to keep us occupied while we are in our room--other than watching movies, which we are pretty much known for at this point. We found ourselves discussing our favorite quotes and our appreciation for the power of words. Then we got the idea: let's make a quote wall! So for the past few days we have been crafting little posters with some of our favorite quotes and hanging them at the entrance to our room. Once you walk in you meet power and inspiration! We plan on covering the entire wall so it is definitely still a work in progress.

<3 Ashley

What are some of your favorite quotes?

Winter Syndrome

Image: here

Well we’ve reached the halfway mark of January and I still don’t know what to think of this weather. We’re done with that disruptive polar vortex right? That was a nice gift on the second day of classes: temperatures in the negatives and no cancelled classes. Thanks for looking out for us students! It has warmed up since then--I find something wrong with referring to 45 degrees as “warm.” All I know is that this up and down (way down!) in the temperature is kind of exhausting me. Just pick one, Pittsburgh!

I refer to this yearly funk I’m in as winter syndrome. What are the symptoms of winter syndrome? Tiredness normally due to early sunsets and the perpetual cloud cover, lack of desire to venture outside due to bitter cold and wind, and the need to be constantly wrapped in a blanket in bed. During the winter I have no motivation to work. I wish to lay in bed all day, read and drink gallons of coffee through a straw leaving the sedentary comfort for only a little to seek social interaction with my neighbors.

But alas, I do not live in a dream world and I must zip up my winter coat and slide my feet into a pair of boots to venture out. I am putting it on the table now: I am ready for spring!

<3 Ashley

Do you have winter syndrome? Are you counting the days until spring too?

Lovely Ladies

 

Such a cute crew!

Happy Monday everyone! I'm not sure how much happier my Mondays are going to be between now and the end of April considering I have four classes from 11-8:30 with only enough time to eat between each one. But I reward myself on Tuesday when I only have one class at 2:30 and can sleep in!

For the first weekend back things were actually pretty tame (for me at least!) Saturday night my friends and I set up a girl's night out--a GNO, if you will--and left Oakland for dinner. As a college student I rely heavily on my meal plan, so dining out has become a rare and celebrated occasion. We decided to travel to our favorite restaurant in South Side Works, Claddagh. We went twice last year and made the promise to ourselves before break that we would definitely make the trip. The four of us always have such a great time talking, joking and poking fun at each other. We've even made plans to live together next year! I can't even express how grateful I am to have developed such a close and fun friendship with people when last year I didn't even know how I was going to make friends so far from home and the people I was already so comfortable with. So, shout-out to the lovely ladies who have agreed that I'm okay enough to be seen out in public with!

<3 Ashley

How was your weekend? Did you spend it with your friends? How do you do your GNOs? 

Early Thoughts on the Spring Semester

 

View of the Cathedral of Learning

 
Okay so I haven't pinned nearly enough this week to give you a nice TGIF Pins post...sorry. But I did want to do one more post this week because I cannot even deal with only having a two post week. This past weekend was the first week back for the spring semester and I thought I would just let you know how that went and how I feel about the last few months of my sophomore year.

I had every intention of pushing myself and taking 18 credits this semester. However, one of my classes is filled and I am still #4 on the waitlist. So if I am not in by next Friday I will be officially dropping it and sticking to 15 credits. I will have to wait until PR Writing is available again! My only night class of the week was cancelled this week so I have no idea what Interpersonal Communication is like. I have been having my public speaking class; I'm still not completely comfortable but I imagine I will loosen up once I actually start participating and giving speeches. I'm officially working toward a U.S. History minor and am very excited about my History of the American City class--so far it's very interesting and I adore my professor! I'm also taking astronomy and statistics to fulfill gen. eds. and so far am very confident about how I will do.

Overall, I'm very excited about this semester. I will also start researching studying abroad and decide if it's really something that I want to do. My friends and I also have some fun weekends planned to look forward to!

Here's to a great semester!
<3 Ashley