Oh. Hey Monday.

This week is going to be my week!!

Although it's not my first choice of how I want to spend my every day, I will be:
Getting the house clean and ready for our new roomie to move in.
I will be knocking out a fatty research paper.
I will be putting in extra hours at work. 
I will be studying for an exam for next week.
I will be starting on my Praxis practice book so that I can hopefully take in in January.

and

I will be dedicating much needed gym time to my body.  

Sounds so great, right? No.  But a positive attitude and a proactive mindset can make this work so much better.  
As I was, ahem, procrastinating this morning I found some helpful study tips posted by Nicole and Gypsy and Jasper that she plans on using to help her stay motivated while she works from home.  Maybe they can help all of us as well!

1. Boost productivity and focus by forcing yourself to have only ONE application open at a time on your computer when you’re working. Allow only a 10-minute window at the end of each hour to check email accounts and social media sites.  

2. The key to staying productive is recognizing the difference between using household chores to avoid work and taking a 3-minute mental break for laundry, a quick stretch or sprint up and down the steps to get your blood moving.  
I will always choose cleaning over working...and I loathe cleaning.  This is my studying downfall.

3. Although there are a lot of great informative, interesting and educational shows on television, the workday isn’t the time to be doing all that “learning.” Instead of frittering away hours in front of the tube (or the YouTube) turn that digital distraction into a reward for a good day’s work.

4. Simple awareness of your workday habits, bumping up your discipline and creating balance between work and leisure are your best weapons in the fight against wasted time and negative productivity.

Here are some of my go-to playlists if you are planning on having a week like mine!
For Homework 
For the Gym
For the Library
Good Mood Food

Happy Monday All!!

☮♡Nicole

        Louise☮♡

Ask and I shall receive!

Well that wasn't hard! Apparently the boyy was having second thoughts about sharing a desk too because he didn't even hesitate when I told him I was desk hunting!

Long story short, I went to every thrift and regular store (Target, Ross, Etc) and couldn't find anything that would fit in this little space so I went home wearing the saddest face that I could muster up and asked the boyfriend to build me a desk.  Honestly, I wasn't even expecting a 'yes', much less a 'Sure, let's go to Home Depot.'  But that's what happened! So off we went to that place that I loathed so much as a child and I picked out my $13 board that would soon make up an entire office.

He finds new ways to amaze me every day.  How lucky am I?
Anyway...want a tour of my new Cloffice?!
(Keep in mind people, my camera is the iphone 3)

How he did it!

See...perfect fit!

The Bentley Creature can't quite figure out why mom has so suddenly taken such a liking to the coat closet but he better get used to it because beside for work and maybe for sleep...this is where I will be 24/7. I am so in love!  

Thanks Jacob! 

☮♡Nicole 

     Louise☮♡

Closet Office Inspiration

I am one of those people who just has to have a space of my own.  A space where no one else's stuff is and a place where I can safely leave my stuff laying around.  
Jake doesn't really like this about me.  He wants everything to be shared, which is great until it comes to desks.  
He is a gamer and is constantly on his computer, at our desk, playing video games.  When school is in session, I am constantly at a desk doing schoolwork.  Because we have a roommate in the room that would be a shared office with two desks, Jake and I are currently sharing a single desk...its already not working and school hasn't even started yet.

This all said, we have a itsy bitsy teeny weeny coat closet downstairs that I am going to beg him to let me turn into a closet office of my own (This will be the hard part).  

Here is some of my inspiration.  And when I do get one because I will win this battle I shall call it my Cloffice.

Unfortunately, because we plan on renting out our condo in the future, I don't want to build anything so I will have to find a small enough desks and easy shelves but if there is a will, there is a way!

☮♡Nicole 

     Louise☮♡

Monday Morning Coffee

Ok.  I think that I finally have my blog the way I want it.  I may still make some minor changes but, for now, its good.

There is one thing that irks me a little and it is just that I feel like my posts are hard to read.  I can't figure out if it is size, color, font, or just the layout.  Any feedback would really be fabulous.  Also, to my fellow bloggers...how do you know what to write every day?  I want to post daily like so many of you do, but I do not know how to manipulate the mundane to be exciting.  How do you come up with enjoyable posts so often?

What do you think the colligate
world would say if I showed up this
year reppin' the old Lisa Frank?

As far as this week goes, its the last week of summer. How am I spending it, you ask? By working double shifts every single day!  It has always been said that I live on the edge! But really, I am okay with it...I am excited for school to start so that I can get back into a daily routine.  I am so bad at having free time.


I am also excited because Jake is working on transfering from our JC to the University and he has finally (the year before we were supposed to graduate) settled on a major and I think that his choice fits him perfectly.  Physics.  I sure am in love with a smarty pants.

Lastly, I just absolutely cannot wait to go spend a ridiculous amount of money on school supplies...for me, this is better than clothes/shoe shopping! You know you are meant to be a teacher when.....


Well, here is a happy little playlist of covers to listen to this week.  I had to pick something mellow so that I could listen to it at work all week without having to constantly fight the urge to boogie.  

I hope you all have a wonderful week...and if you got to start school this week, know that I am incredibly jelly of you!
                       ☮♡Nicole 

     Louise☮♡

Lately

This semester is kicking my booty.  I don't know why this one feels so much harder than my previous semesters.  Really it is probably just an overwhelming lack of motivation since the beginning.  

So I apologize for my lack of effort into this blog...as soon as Summer saves me, it shall flourish.  

I am in such a rut with school lately.  I go full time, I work full time, and I have an internship.  That literally leave zero time for anything else once you pile homework on top of that.  I have no time for my family, no time for my boyy, no time for my puppy, but most importantly..no time for me! Allllll I want is to have time to go to the gym and train in martial arts but I can't. Oh..and I would just love to have some time to clean my house, but out of all the things I could do at the end of my day, cleaning is bottom priority.  Am I just bad with time management?

Anywho...here is life lately through the eye of an iphone

Easter :) This Dress reminded me of Easter Eggs

Cake that my little sis made for Easter

Study, Study, Study your life away.

I sure do love this boy with all that I am

He hates pictures so I was really happy that he was willing to pose for one.

3 people, not of the same group, all wearing the same exact jeans on campus.

Hopefully sometime soon I won't feel so stressed out an I'll have time to get back to doing things for me! 

  ☮♡Nicole 

     Louise☮♡

Major Addition!

As you know (if you read my blog), I am an elementary and special education dual major.  You may also know that I plan on returning to school to get a physical anthropology degree that will allow, and encourage me, to travel.  But I decided that's too long to wait to travel so I went to my advisor today and added English as a second language to my degree plan.  So now I am a triple major with a full time job---luckily I came from a family of work-a-holics so I know I have it in me (unfortunately this also means no sympathy from the fam).  Anyway, I am really excited for the ESL portion of my major because it will allow me to be even more versatile in the US and, with my spanish knowledge, hopefully allow me to travel and teach english in other countries.  And that's my life update for the evening.  Back to studying I shall go!

☮♡Nicole

How to Survive a Tough Week

Oh my goodness, I cant believe its only Wednesday!  I feel like we should be into next week already with all the schoolwork I've been doing!  Thankfully, I'm pretty good at pushing through the stress and getting through.  Here are the ways I keep focused, calm(ish), and optimistic.


Focus!
Of course you should already have your week planned out but never pick up your calendar and look at the week as a whole.  If you do that, your bound to start pulling you hair out.  Plan out one night at a time and only think about that assignment or task.  This will help you feel like you have less to do.
Work Out!

If you don't know already, working out is one of the best stress relievers.  It helps you to feel more relaxed and it also gives your brain a break.  No matter what you have going on, you should find at least 30 minutes every day to dedicate to your headphones and a treadmill.  Even though it sounds like that piles more on your plate, you will be thankful that you did it.
Music!
Music Music Music.  For me, nothing is harder than staring at a book or computer screen for hours at a time however somehow music makes the time go by faster and it gives my brain something small to focus on without intruding on my concentration.  If your looking for some great songs to study to, go to 8tracks.com and type in homework or study.
Tea!
What is in tea that is so magical?  I don't know.  But I do know that drinking a cup of hot green tea can make any and every situation a little bit better.  First of all, it has a calming effect along with a bit of caffeine to keep your eyelids from closing...but not enough to make you jittery.  Secondly, its good for your you.  Stress takes a major toll on your body, weakening everything from your happiness to your immune system.  Drinking some green tea will help your body restore a bit of what its losing due to school.  Lastly, and this is solely my opinion...hot tea and reading/writing just go together.
Don't Forget Fun!
"Fun..what? Yeah right!"   Don't think like that!!  If you don't incorporate some excitement into your schedule, you could easily become somewhat depressed which in turn would actually make you lag on your homework.  Now I'm not saying that you should go out and party it up, but do something small.  Like talking your boyfriend into taking you to pizza/ icecream or going to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter!!!  Just remember that there is a world outside your dorm/apartment/library and you have the right to enjoy it!!!


Last but not least...here are some excuses if you do decide to party it up:
1.  I didn't do my history hw cause I don't believe in dwelling on the past.
2.  I have a solar powered calculator and it was cloudy.
3.  It was destroyed in a freak accident involving a hippo, a house, and a bag of peas.  You don't want to know the details.


☮♡Nicole