ERIN CONDREN STICKERS!

Good Afternoon friends!

In anticipation of the arrival of my Erin Condren (EC) Life Planner, I have been busy wearing my fingers down to nubs making stickers. Stickers galore! So many stickers! I love deep quotes over semi-transparent images - you know, the tumblr kind... So I have made 50 of those images into stickers perfectly formatted to fit your in your EC!

These stickers are 25 per an 8.5 x 11 page, with narrow margins of 0.5 in. around all the edges. Each sticker is 1.5 x 1.9 in. Print these out on a full page of label or sticker paper from any office supply store or print them out on plain printer paper and use however you would like, some cutting required ;)

ENJOY!

Page 1 - download here (Microsoft Publisher file)




















Page 2 - download here ( Microsoft Publisher file)

I DID IT!

Okay, so I did it - I ordered an Erin Condren Life Planner!

I have been swooning over these planners for as long as I can remember, I think they are absolutely gorgeous and so much thought and planning goes into each one. I am a member of multiple Facebook groups:

We Love EC 

Erin Condren Planner Junkies

Erin Condren Fans

Lastly, not directly related to Erin Condren, but still my absolute favorite group:
Kate Spade Planners Club

Check out these FB groups to see how others are decorating their planners, find free goodies to print and use, and inspire others with your own planner!

Here are a few photos of my planner I just ordered this morning, these photos are directly from the Erin Condren website, and if you would like $10 off of your first order, click here!

The floral design really appealed to me, I love the vibrancy!

Of course I had to snag a Halloween cover, it is my favorite holiday, after all!

A few coil clips, just in case I want to add some of my own pages or items to my planner!

Here is a helpful chart for anyone who has ordered, it details what each status update means!

Keep an eye peeled for my free Erin Condren daily square templates, coming soon! 

ek tools flag punch from Walmart, a new Nintendo DS and Target sadness

Good morning everyone! It is barely noon here in Austin but I have already been to three different Targets and a Walmart. 

Last night on Instagram I saw that a few Target stores had released their Sugar Paper planners early! They are supposed to come out October 28, 2014, but when I saw some people already cleaned out the displays, I panicked and decided I needed to be at my local Target as soon as they opened! 

Cut to this morning: I went to my Target, nothing. I went to a Target in the next town over, nothing. I went to one other Target before I decided I should start calling around before I waste an entire tank of gas. The stores I called said they had them but they weren't setting up the display until Tuesday. 

Crisis averted, I would not be missing out on a "secret early release".

I went over to Walmart and picked up the ek tools mini flag punch. Score!

I was just kind of walking around aimlessly and thought "let's go check out the gaming section" er mah gerd!! They had one Nintendo 3DS XL Mickey edition system left on the shelf. Now, unless you are a nerd like me you probably don't know how huge of an accomplishment this is. This system was released in April alongside the Disney Magical World game. They sold out really quickly and now you have to find them on eBay for around $300! Another score! 

It is very pretty and very heavy, but then again it is an XL! I love the white with the gold accents! 

Now that I am back home from my shopping highs and lows, I immediately got to work making a billion teeny tiny flags with my new mini punch. These really are tiny- definitely can only fit one letter per flag but I think that makes it fun! 

Here is my temporary holding zone for the flags I've punched, inside my A&M mug (gig em!):

All these flags are from just two pieces of 8.5x11 scrapbook paper that I bought at Michael's in the Amy Tangerine set, I believe. 

Lastly, I found out that I got a perfect score on my paper and presentation that I gave over miscommunication between Toyota and the consumer during the 2009-2010 recalls. Yay, go me! So to celebrate with my new teeny tiny flags, I made a little banner in my planner! 

Alrighty peeps, that's all for now. We are going to run back out and grab some lunch, then I'll be studying for the rest of the day. Once Upon a Time is on tonight! Who else will be watching!? 

Week 10 Journal PSYC 1300-004

Why do people drop out of college? Why would anyone sacrifice their education and their future? Why, why, why?

This question has been pondered, discussed, and dissected over the years by counselors, educators, and parents alike. There really is not a single, concrete answer.

Life happens, things happen, plans (however well constructed) change. Sometimes things are just out of our control. Sometimes things become too much to bear.

No, this is not a cry for help, I am most definitely not considering dropping out of school, but I have been there before, I have made these tough decisions and I am hoping to shed some light on the reasons why students drop out.

I see it everyday at my desk, a student comes in and says they want to drop all their classes, we are trained to talk them through their options, not ask why or tell them that it is a terrible idea. We are there for support, to help them realize the resources available to them, and to help them understand the future repercussions of dropping their classes (financial aid, completion rate, etc).

In that moment, I wonder what could be happening in this persons life to make them feel like they cannot succeed in their classes, are they overwhelmed by the course load? Perhaps they have had a change in their work schedule, or family structure. Maybe they just don't think college is for them. The makeup of this population is also interesting, it is either very young, first time in college students, or the middle aged population who are trying to balance full time work, family, and school. I rarely see people my age (mid-late twenties) dropping out.

My dorm room!

Personally, I was there. I was that student who feels like they cannot succeed and they have no options left. My first experience in college, I was living in a dorm room, far from home, with no roommate and a bad, bad case of stomach issues and anxiety to boot. I lasted 3 days, I never even made it to my Thursday Algebra class. I was ashamed and upset that I couldn't last. To be fair, I did have a debilitating stomach problem that made it very difficult to eat the food on campus and sit in the classroom. But I also felt as though I had not been adequately prepared for this massive upheaval in my life, which I'm sure only accelerated my sickness. Everything I had known for 18 years changed over the course of a weekend and I found myself standing in the doorway of an unfamiliar building waving goodbye as my family drove away. I felt sad, helpless, and alone. I did not yearn for the experience of being away from my family, partying, and living it up at college, as many of my peers did, I just wanted to stay the same.

Looking back, as a student about to graduate, while I am still slightly embarrassed by my "college sleepover" as I will call it, I feel as though it made me a better student in the long run and helped me realize that I would rather live at home and commute than be on my own. I have a lot of friends who loved their college experience, I love my experience too, but in a different way. But hey, that's okay.

Week 8 Journal PSYC 1300-004

Standing up for yourself in academics is similar to standing up for yourself in a workplace environment. If you've never had a job, perhaps you can compare it to standing up for yourself in a large group of people whom you don't know very well.

Standing up for yourself can be pretty terrifying, especially if you are not the confrontational type. HOWEVER, this is my plea to you: learn how to speak up and say how you feel. Here and now is the time to do so because once you get into the "real world" this particular skill can be invaluable.

It took me a few years to realize how important it was to ask questions and demand answers, to not just slink back into the corner and accept what I got. People value my opinion and look to me for answers because they know that I am straight forward and honest.

When I get an exam back and I see a question that I was marked incorrect on but feel as though I should have been right, I will talk to the professor and explain why I answered that way. I have found that most times I will be given partial credit because I was able to say, "Hey look, I was marked incorrect but can I explain why I answered like this?"

I have had the same thing occur with papers, presentations, group projects, and even in my job. Never think that your question is stupid because it's NOT. The only stupid question is the one that you didn't give a chance to be answered.

If you have received a lower grade than you thought was fair, you should always talk to your professor, but remember to keep a level head and hold back your emotions. The same rules apply in the workplace. I had a coworker once tell me, "When you're here working, you are business, you are the face of this office. If you need to, go out to your car and let it all out, scream and cry. But never allow yourself to show emotion in front of others at work because they feed on it, like a cancer." She was absolutely right.


Even though you may be upset and frustrated, never let that emotion rule you, especially if you are meeting with a professor or a boss. Personally, I find that if I am having to make a point and if it is a touchy subject, one that is sure to make me emotional, I will go into the situation with an actual list of bullet pointed reasons behind why I am there in the first place.

You really only get one life and one chance to make it count. Don't ever discount yourself, your ideas, beliefs, hopes, wants, dreams, or work. If you feel as though you aren't being given a fair shot, SAY SO, no one else is going to stand up for you in the real world.

-Kelly

Unrelated to School

This is my first post that I have done that is unrelated to the original purpose that this blog was meant to serve.

I think over the past week or so, since my birthday, I have really begun to realize how quickly time seems to pass.

For example, I was just looking at facebook and stumbled across the profile of a girl I used to babysit while in high school and she is now about to graduate high school herself. I flipped through her photos and saw her younger brother and sisters and realized that the youngest is now TEN YEARS OLD! Wow, time certainly has FLOWN by.

I look back on the last ten years of my own life and struggle to think of moments that stand out to me as  substantial and life-changing. I cannot come up with more than three.

I promised myself on my birthday that I would live this life with more freedom and say yes to things I normally would not. I live my life in a bubble and my hope is to bring myself out of my comfort zone.

I had this plan for what I call "My Great Adventure." Where I was to take Christmas Break and drive across the country. Those plans were cut down though when I learned that I was going to be working until December 20th and I have orientation for Southwestern on January 10th.

I was hoping to drive from Austin to Baton Rouge and stay a night with a friend who goes to LSU Law School then make it to Gainesville, FL to be with my family for a weekend or so to celebrate my Uncle George and his life after his recent passing. After that my plan was to drive up the East Coast and to see my grandparents in Maryland then make my way to my parents house in New Jersey.

I wanted to make the trip to prove to myself that I am capable of doing things on my own. I have always been a homebody and I am sad to say that I regret not going out more and having more friends throughout college. Sure, it has paid off in the way of grades, but when I look back, that is all I can say I have achieved. Do I want my life to be like a corny coming of age movie? No, but I do spend a lot of time thinking about what could have been.

From here on out, this blog as my witness, I hereby swear to put myself out there more. Say yes to the opportunities that come my way, especially if they put me outside of my comfort zone. And most importantly, live my life like I have been afraid to live it.


-Kelly out!

Week 5 Journal PSYC 1300-004

Sorry I have been M.I.A. for the past week, when the wi-fi goes down it a foreign country, it is not apparently a simple fix. However, I am back now! This week, we are going to talk about social media, ironic.

Envision a world where you can log into your virtual classroom without leaving your bed, where you can work in real time with fellow classmates; posting information and collaborating on projects. What if you could take exams from your kitchen table, and never have to waste money and gas driving to campus.

Oh, wait. That’s already happening. I am doing it right now!

Regardless of how you attend class, do your assignments, or work with classmates, we all use social media. Don’t think of yourself as the social media “type?” Well, you are reading this, aren’t you? Yeah that’s what I thought…

Personally, I have a private Facebook account, Twitter account, multiple Gmail accounts, this blog, Instagram, and even a really old Neopets account. Social Media takes up a good portion of my downtime, and I bet it does yours too. These days it is hard to ignore social media, everyone wants you to “friend them” on (insert media site name here), and believe me, it gets awkward when you tell someone you don’t use social media. In this day and age, most people my age thinks it’s strange and that you must have something to hide if you don’t use social media.

In higher ed, social media is playing an increasingly important and potentially dangerous role.

Potentially dangerous, you say? We will get to that in a bit…

Most of us that are in college and possibly even high school use some form of online communication to work with professors and classmates between class meetings. My school personally uses Blackboard. This technology enables us to communicate quickly and effectively, work on assignments, and collaborate with each other. This is one of the definite up-sides to social media.

Dangerous, oh yes. Potentially, that is. With social media becoming the centerpiece for many debates, especially surrounding bullying online and suicide, it is important to use it for good, not evil and that can be difficult to do without breaching someone else’s privacy. Also, we all know it is important to keep work and home lives separate. I personally feel the same about school.

While there are many advantages to being so connected to others in this day and age, there are also disadvantages as well as I’m sure many of us know. How many times have you been sitting at dinner with friends and all they do is play with their phones? How many times have you made this offense yourself? I worry about how we continue to rely on technology in both personal and educational settings. Have you ever seen Wall-E? I worry we will all become the zombified humans in the hover-chairs with tv screens glued to our faces.

Until next time,

Kelly