One last day

Quick! Today is the last day to enter our contest! You have until midnight tonight to send in your entry!
Check the left side panel for the details of the contest!

Its super duper awesome so quick and tell us your most awkward/embarrasing gift youve ever gotten!

Favorite Things Friday: Randi

It's Friiiiiday! AND, two days till Christmas! I love Christmas a whole lot, the tree, the treats, the parties, but I definitely love the music. So this Friday, I'll share some of my favorite Christmas songs! It was hard, but I think I got most of them...

#1: O Come All Ye Faithful

This is my all time favorite Christmas carol. I think I love pretty much every version of it.

#2: A Baby Changes Everything
I know this isn't a traditional Christmas carol, but PLEASE LISTEN TO IT. It's amazing and gives me chills everytime.

#3: I'll Be Home For Christmas
This song is pretty classic, especially with Bing. This is my mom's favorite Christmas song, and after moving away from home, it became one of my favorites too.

#4: Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Joooooooy.

#5: O Holy Night
We like David at my apartment. A whole lot.

What are your favorites? Link them to me at the bottom so we can all share in the last days of this Christmas goodness. Two days!

O Holy Night?

Can you believe Christmas is on Sunday?! I feel like I had all this Christmas spirit after Thanksgiving and then it all died when I got to finals week. No worries, I survived and am now home for the holidays! But here's a nice little awkward video that gets me and my dad and younger brother laughing like nobody's business...

You got whaaaat for Christmas?!

Yup I said contest!

Heres how it goes down and guys, this is super duper easy!
We want to see/hear who has ever gotten the most embarrasing/funny/awkward gift ever! So heres what you do!
1. 'Like' Its only Awkward if you make it on facebook
2. Become a follower
3. Share with us through facebook or email or comment or whatever your most awkward gift youve ever gotten. How did you react? What did you do with it? Upload pictures if you can.

What happens if you win?
You get another present! From us!
But Im not going to tell you what it is because your not supposed to know what your getting for Christmas. But we promise it wont be as awkward as yours, so dont be scared.

But hurry. Contest ends December 31 at midnight so get the ball rollin now and get your stories in.

Need inspiration? Scroll down to read what Chelsie got at her family Christmas party and check out how awkward that can be.

So go now! Its gonna be alot of fun! We cant wait to hear your stories!


(ps to send an email scroll up and click on the 'contact us' tab for the info)

The joy of Holiday giving

Merry Christmas to all!
I love this time of year. I am lucky enough to have all my family relatively close. Theres a few members who live pretty far away, the farthest in New Jersey and we sure do miss them, especially around this time of year.

So you ever go to those fun and awkward family Chrismas parties? Where Grandma is cooking up a storm, uncle is telling his cheesy jokes, kids are playing in the snow, and everyone seems to break out their ugly sweaters? Its loud and smells like cookies and ham? Its just utter chaos but that's the holidays right?

(I know everyone looks so enthused in this picture but I promise we know how to have a good time).

Well since the majority of my family live so close we get together every year and have a big Christmas party. Its always so fun. We make lots of food and catch up on missed events in life. Games galore and then the presents get brought out. So here's how this works with the Nields:

Everyone brings a 'dollar store' gift that they wrap up and throw in a pile in the middle of the room. then a pan with two dice gets passed around and everyone rolls.

(we play the fast way) so if you roll a 1 or 6 or doubles you get to pick a present from the middle or someone else's.

 If you rolled one of those lucky numbers but already have a present you can keep yours or trade with someone else.

If someone steals your present and leaves you empty handed (meaning no trade) then you get to pick a new present from the pile.

This goes on until everybody has a gift. Once everyone has theirs we set a timer for one minute and go as fast as we can.

Its alot of fun and sometimes you get stuck with a present you love or something like ....

Opened em in front of my WHOLE family haha.

Was it awkward?

Potentially yes.

But I survived. Why?

Because Its only Awkward if you make it

and I did my best not to.

So we all just laughed really really hard.

What is awkward?

They don't fit

Why is that awkward?

Because I just made it........

Favorite Things Friday: Chelsie

Its soooo close to Christmas! Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done? I am so incredibly behind its not even funny. But no need to fret we have a week left! So instead of worrying about what presents to give, try and enjoy the other wonders of christmas. These are my favorites:

#1 Candy Canes

Who doesnt love candy canes, and if you dont like the traditional they come in all sorts of flavors now. They are fantastic! Nothing makes christmas taste like christmas like a candy cane, yumm.

#2 Christmas Lights

What really brings the spirit of Christmas, the lights. I love driving around and finding the musical houses that have music to go with their lights. Its so fun and suprisingly entertaining haha. They can be so pretty everywhere! In the house, on the house, on the tree. I love how pretty and how much joy they can bring people. (can you tell Im like 5 when it comes to Christmas).

#3 Christmas music

'The best way to spred Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear'

As said best by buddy the elf.

But isnt it true! The best way to spred so much cheer is to play all the Christmas music as loud as you can. I love it! Bing Crosby is one of my favorites ever! He is such a charming and talented man, haha. Its quite before my time, but if I was a young girl when he was in his prime, Id be all gaga over him haha. Have you heard the new Michael Buble album? OH SO WONDERFUL. Ive heard a few of his songs and its enough to make me want the entired album. Im so close to getting it for myself but maybe Ill get lucky and Santa will provide heehee.

#4 Stories

This is one thing that as a little kid I loved. My mom collected some books as we all grew up and I loved flipping through them throughout the holiday. The nutcracker was one of my favorites. I saw the ballet a few weeks ago and it really brought in some Christmas magic.

#5 Family/Friends

This is one thing that Christmas has always been about for me. We get together with our family and friends every year. Every year we get together with our family on Christmas eve and play games, eat food, and Santa comes! It helps me to remember what this holiday is all about. So go get together with your closest friends and family and enjoy all the things you love about the holidays with them.

Happy Holidays!



Tips and Tricks to sneaky exams

If your a college student then you know that finals are among us if not already endured. My final week was last week and it feels so super good to be done. Randis is this week so send her lots of good thoughts and love wishing her luck and we will be doing the same for any of you who are going through this nightmare.

Well even though it is really really easy to put off studying and I will admit I am guilty of it as well but I don't recommend it. Here is my strategy. I actually do well if I cram the night before but I try not to do that very much. So this is my game plan:

This was Thursday night. Looks scary right?

I try to take a little bit of time each day to simply read over notes and material. Then the night before the test I plan on really hitting the books hard. I mostly prepare for this night rather than the test day. If I slowly prepare myself for the study night and when I test myself if I do well I feel more confident for the test that's coming up.

This study pattern works for me, but it might not work for you. To be successful you have to figure out what works for you. Maybe you need to hit the books hard for an hour every day or 2 hours, or one of those who really don't need to study at all. The point is you've gotta figure out whats best for you. Try a few study strategies and find out what you like best, works best with your schedule, and helps you pass that evil, ugly exam. 

This is one thing that I do recommend that helps me study.

The note card.

These can get to be pretty scary but to me they are a lifesaver. Yes, these are all my note cards for one class. It makes studying so much easier and faster, which means I can study them more often and be better prepared for the exam. Haven't ever tried the note card game? Try it, and see if its something that works for you like it works for me.

Something else you can do to prepare for exams:

Make sure you get a good night sleep. Not just the night before the test but the week before as well. Get your brain in that pattern of going to bed at a decent hour (which isn't midnight) and getting up earlier in the day. Doing this will get your brain up and awake earlier in the day and revved up and ready to go for any school work.

Get a good healthy breakfast. The trend these days is to skip breakfast, and why? To lose weight? Wrong. I can honestly say breakfast is good because Ive never been very big breakfast eater. I get up in the morning and am not hungry and have no appetite. I usually have to force myself to eat in the mornings cause I just cant stand it. So I quit for awhile, it was easier for me and I noticed a change in my body. So after several months of eating like this I put myself on a pattern and slept regularly and ate breakfast and Ive actually lost weight.

So lesson: Eat your breakfast and make it good so that you can give your brain the boost it needs to help you make it through exams. Trust me, your brain, your metabolism and your test scores will thank me later:]

Drink lots of water. Water helps flush out your body constantly. I call it the nectar of the gods. Its a staple to life. Your brain is made of water so keep giving it what it needs. Becoming dehydrated can counter attack all of the above suggestions so stay hydrated. I carry a bottle of water with me all the time. Its a smart and healthy choice to make and also can have affects on your metabolism to keep it going and working quick.

So take some advice and good luck with the next few weeks and your finals coming up or whatever kind of event you have coming up.

Take luck! 

Favorite Things Friday: Randi

'Ello readers. It's 16 days till Christmas! Christmas time is a special time for me, and even more so now that I'm away from home for the first few weeks of December. Strangely, it makes me even more excited for Christmas knowing that I get to travel home after the hustle and bustle of finals and the end of the semester. So here's some of my favorite things during the holiday season...

#1: The Forgotten Carols

{via}
I love this production to eternity and beyond. It's the perfect way to start off the Christmas season, and this year I nabbed my roommates and we went to the performance here in Logan. It's amazing. The music brings me to tears every time and I get the chills. This is one of my favorite songs from the production.

#2: Josh Groban's Noel CD{via}
Oh, this man's voice. We've had this playing on and off in my apartment over the past week and it's been just like I'm at home. The Grob has a voice like no other.

#3: Christmas Decorations
My apartment is homey and wonderful and lovely and Christmas-y and I'm in love. I sorta hate that we only have a few weeks to enjoy our Christmas decorations...but that just means that I get to go home to this...

#4: Land O' Lakes Hot Chocolate{via}
Last year, my grandma gave me a 42 pack thing of Land O' Lakes Hot Chocolate Assorted Flavors. Best pre-Christmas gift I've ever been given. This stuff is amaaaaazing, especially if you're a hot chocolate lover like myself. The Raspberry and White Chocolate are my favorites.

#5: Christmas Check Lists
The roommates and I have made a check list of everything we want to get done before Christmas Break. It's kinda my favorite. We're coming along pretty good!
[X] See The Forgotten Carols
[ ] Temple Square
[X] Walk Downtown Logan
[X] Roommate Dinner
[X] Decorate
[ ] Get Steamed Milk
[X] Roommate Pictures
[X] Roommate Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning Sleepover

Here's to having another wonderful holiday seasoned weekend and here's to me and my finals next week! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Breath War

Ok let me start off by saying that I love Pickles! Dill pickles. They are seriously like my favorite. I dont know why but sometime I crave them, sometimes I cant stop eating them, sometimes my mouth waters when I just think about them. Ya, I like pickles...alot.
Weird I know.

Well my mom doesnt buy em too much cause at my house they go fast. If we bought a new jar of pickles everytime the old one was gone, we'd be poor from buying so many pickle jars. Anyways, I woke up this morning to see a new jar in the fridge.

OH BOY!

So as I did laundry, studied, cleaned house and got ready for the day I snacked on pickles here and there. It was yummy. Thing about pickles though is they make your breath smell pretty gnarly. So its time for me to go to class (second to last one of this semester by the way) and I realize my breath is gonna smell like the garbage pile from the pits of hell or something (I imagine that to be pretty bad).

So I tried to mask it with some mint gum and just planned not to talk to anyone face to face today.

Then I ran into an old classmate I hadnt seen in awhile.

We chatted...

...face to face

And it was awkward cause I was afraid I smelled like a gallon of pickles.

Lesson: Dont eat alot of pickles and if you do, brush your teeth...twice...and chew gum.

Oh man, how awkward.

DEAD WEEK

Here at USU, the week before finals is affectionately known as "Dead Week".
I am in the midst of studying for finals, finishing my homework, and feeling like crying/watching my roommate pack up her things since she's getting married in 19 days. Also, don't you wish you could be in more than one place at once? I sure do.
In other words, here's a funny video some students from USU made and it's gone viral on Facebook for me this week. Yep, that's my library that they're doing all the interviews at...p.s. the guy with the sandwich is so funny to me, I don't know why.
Let's all pray for my sanity this week and that I don't have too many more break downs, alright?

Do's and Don'ts for Cold Weather

I have a love-hate relationship with winter. Wonderful things come along with winter, like snowmen, hot chocolate, CHRISTMAS, lights, delicious goodies, CHRISTMAS, warm scarves and gloves, time off from school, and CHRISTMAS. But there is a dark side to winter..... cold and ice. Ice and cold can be the best nemesis for a college student who gets up before the sun rises and walks around campus all day. Basically, this morning I thought I was going to lose my ears, nose, and chin. Here's a few do's and don'ts to survive cold in college or just cold, period.

Do invest in good snow boots. Yes, boots with the fur are cute and all, but unless they have good tread, they will let you down. Literally.
Do have no less than a billion pairs of gloves and stash them in your pockets, your backpack, your purse, your car, and anywhere else you can think of. Your fingers will thank me.
Do buy those hand and foot warmers that you can get anywhere. Also stash these in multiple places for those cold mornings walking to campus.
Do stock up on hot chocolate. Lots and lots of hot chocolate.

Don't go up to class in the mornings without a hat. We should all be thankful I still have my ears after this morning. I was a fool and thought I'd be fine....I wasn't.
Don't be embarrassed of your big puffy coat. Because those girls with the thin, stylish coats that are looking at you? They're probably in sheer envy of your marshmallowy, warm, down coat goodness.
Don't misjudge an ice patch. Because they will teach you a lesson. Also, don't think that the packed down shiny snow is safe. It will also teach you a lesson. These lessons usually come around when one is running to the shuttle because one is late. Not only will you hurt your behind, you will also hurt your pride.
Don't get embarrassed too easily. Now is the season for flailing around like a helpless ninja when you hit a patch of ice or slick snow. It happens to the best of us....

Coworkers or not?

I love running into people you know (because you work with them) and they dont even recognize you.

and we work together.

Awkward 'reunion'?

Just plain awkward.

Favorite Things Friday: Chelsie

December 2! Its already December?! Where did summer and fall go? Haha, just joking Im excited for Christmas to come! Just a few more weeks, so hows your holidays comin along?

If your a college student you know that finals week is comin up pretty soon as well too. So here are a few of my favorite things that help me get through finals week and get ready for the upcoming holidays.

#1 Daily Planner

Ok hear me out on this. I have come very close to mastering the art of procrastinating. So if Im so good at procrastinating why do I need a planner? Those two dont get together. On the contrary, I use my planner to help me procrastinate.

Heres the trick. Plan out your weeks in advance. You know you have a test coming up? So this way you can plan to procrastinate until the day before to study. Trust me this works. There are other ways to successfully procrastinate but we will get into that later.

#2 Good Antivirus protection

School is almost out and you have a big report due on the last day. Or, theres a big family party comin up and youve spent the last 6 months preparing a slide show for everyone. What a shame it would be if your computer got hit with a virus or something and just died.

So make sure youve got some good protection. I use Norton 360 antivirus. Keeps my laptop running clean and smooth. The only thing with these are that they can get pricey so make sure you shop around and talk with lots of technical geeks to make sure your getting the best deal and the best protection. Youll also have to renew now and then so be aware of that. I need to renew mine.

#3 Back ups

Make sure to back up all of your important files from your computer. Sometimes your computer software will give you the option of doing an online backup. I use an external hard drive. Whenever I get some new music or new pictures or a new document or whatever that I really cant afford to lose, I back it up on my external hard drive. It works just like a flash drive but with alot more storage available.

I highly recommend getting one of these. They are small and compact. Easy to carry around if you need to. Theyve got all different kinds. My brother has one that is also compatible with his xbox so that he can plug it in and listen to his music or watch a movie from his hard drive through the xbox. They can be life savers.

#4 Christmas Music

Maybe your not into Christmas music, but around this time of year when the decorations go up, cookies are baking, snow is falling and Im in my room studying, holiday tunes help me keep my sanity.

I grew up listening to Bing Crosby and he is my favorite. I love the old time artists (theyre old to me). This new modern crap ruins Christmas in my opinion (just my own opinion). Christmas music needs to be sung by the classics. It really gets me excited for Christmas.

#5 Sleep

With all the business thats goin on sleep is key. Your studying your brains out, or shopping like a madman or whatever it may be, you need to let the lovely brain of your take a break and get some sleep!

And I dont just mean a quick cat-nap, I mean a full 8 hours of blissful rest. Im sure no one is going to argue with me on this haha. I love my bed thats for sure.

So good luck with finals coming up and getting ready for Christmas or whatever holiday your celebrating. Both can be very hectic, so good luck!

 And Happy Holidays.

Dreams arent always wishes my heart makes

For the sake of protecting peoples identity and my pride Im going to leave out names and only put first name initials.

Real life: So a few nights ago I had this really weird dream. Sometimes I have very pleasent dreams, ya know the ones that make you not want to wake up but to just keep dreaming it. Others you are so glad to wake up from because who knows what wouldve happened if you stayed asleep. Well this was one of those dreams.

Dream: It started out with me and an old friend from highschool that I still keep in touch with but hadnt seen in quite a while. We were sitting at my Grandmas house, only this time I dont think she was my grandma. So we are sitting there watching tv when another friend, T, comes in- a male.

Real Life: T is more of an acqaintance to me. We hang out every now and then but more rarely. To be honest he's kind of a nasty dude. He's covered from head to toe in tattoos (not baggin on tatoos, just sayin for this guy they dont look so nice) and Im not sure how his personal hygiene is...ya ewe.

Dream: Anyways we are sitting there and he tells me to come over to the side of the room hes on. So I walk over and he stands up and kinda starts talking to me but also starts putting on some moves.

WHAT!

He tries to kiss me and as he does so I gently/ yet forcefully push him back into his chair and walk away into the living room.

Here is where one of my closest friends is sitting, K

Real Life: K and I grew up together. He honestly is more like a brother to me, so to have him in a dream of mine just isnt very weird too me. Its just like dreaming about a family member.

Dream: So we sit chatting when yet again, another friend shows up, M. Apparently M is the one that lives here with my grandma who isnt really my grandma. We start talking about setting up a projector in the front yard and watching a movie.

Real Life: No my grandma does not have this kind of technology in her home so that part was kinda weird too haha.

Dream: Well at this point theres alot of people in the room now but I cant remember everyone. So K and I sit contemplating the idea. He thinks it would be fun but for some reason Im getting the vibe that  M only wants to do this so we can cuddle, which Im not ok with.

Real Life: So then I wake up!

Weird because a nasty guy I hardly know kissed me and another kinda nasty guy I hardly know wanted to cuddle with me.

I woke up feelin kinda grossed out and very awkward.