Life Overload.

Have you ever noticed how hardly anyone ever does just one thing at a time anymore? Sit down and try to name 5 times you've recently only concentrated on JUST ONE thing at a time. Personally, I myself can't think of too many times. With the fast paced world we live in now, almost anything is literally a click of a mouse away. It's made it so its literally impossible for me to just sit down and veg in front of the TV. My mind just doesn't seem to be occupied enough. No wonder I'm always so tired, life overload on the brain!

Right now, for instance, I'm watching Say Yes to the Dress, writing this blog post, playing Candy Crush (gosh darn I finally fell victim to this stupid game…) and texting Stephen. That's A LOT of things going on in mah noggin'.

I just always think of Finding Nemo when I say noggin'

Anyways, I feel like that's so counterproductive. Not that I'm really doing anything productive, but the whole point of multi-tasking is to be more efficient am I right? And doing 7 million things at once for me is so not efficient. Why? I'm not totally paying attention to anything right now. I'm watching Say Yes to the Dress but as soon as I get an idea of something to write or a commercial comes on I'm onto the next thing. If I have a brain fart I go to send Stephen a text. If nothing else is going on, I continue trying to beat level 44 of Candy Crush. Have I beat level 44 yet? Have I finished this blog post? Have I payed any attention to the 58 dresses the girls have tried on? Have I been timely in answering my messages?

We have a unanimous… NO.

Oops I just wasted 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back

When I'm at school, I'm pretty nerdy, I like to try and get my homework done pretty much when it's assigned and keep up with it. I don't know how everyone else can stay up 'til 3 am writing a paper in one night multiple times a week and go out every night. This girl right here cherishes her sleep. Anywho, I digress.

So, since most of my homework is now online, or internet based what do I do with my homework? Pop open a Facebook window, open up Twitter, check the bloglovin' page. Do you know how long my homework takes me? Hours!! I read somewhere that every time you switch away from your work to check Twitter or Facebook it takes your brain 20 minutes to re-focus on the task at hand. Aside from the time you're actually reading tweets or scrolling your newsfeed, that's 3 checks to an extra hour of work for me! I could use that for something I need time for, like a nap!

For those readers who may not be in school here's my last example of why multi-tasking is (usually) one giant fail (or maybe I'm just a giant fail but who's checking right?). One time I was making myself dinner while reading something online, and had some movie I wanted to watch on in the background. (Side note… by making dinner I mean putting an easy mac in the microwave). You're thinking: Easy Mac is pretty hard to mess up, right? Ohhhh noooo how wrong you can be. Because my focus was elsewhere I simply pulled the plastic top off the Easy Mac and stuck it in the microwave. Weellll, little 'ol me forgot the only step of Easy Mac AKA--> Put water in the cup…. Moral of the story: pay attention when making easy mac or you will have a pile of poop-like looking goop in your microwave, a smoke-filled kitchen, and a loud fire alarm annoying your neighbors.

I couldn't find the picture I took of the mess but you get the point...

So, do you buy into my theory? Or am I just doing this multi-tasking thing all wrong?

The Sunday of Summer

August.. it's here and actually it's almost gone…AHH! And for myself unlike everyone on my Twitter or Facebook feed, I am so not ready for summer to come to an end. For me the entire month of August is like one long Sunday. I don't like Sunday's. They have never been the "day of rest" they were meant to be. For myself, Sunday's have always been a day full of homework or studying or work and dreading the coming week and I have always hated them. It's just one loooooong day of anticipating the equally as dreaded… Monday.

Meep not Monday!

August is the same thing to me. The only difference being I like Autumn much more than I enjoy Monday's. I'm looking forward to pumpkin coffee, and I'm looking forward to seeing my sisters again. I'm even looking forward to the beautiful fall days where I appreciate the changing leaves and weather of New England. BUT I am absolutely not looking forward to the school part of school. NO. N-O. All I see on my timeline is like "OH EM GEE can't wait to go back to school!!" "PUMPKIN LATTE #score" "YAY cooler weather!"

no.

I like the hot weather. You will never find me complaining about the heat and wishing it was colder. Want to know why? Because when I'm standing at the bus stop in February and its -2 outside, I will be infinitely more miserable (and cursing PVTA) than I am in the heat right now. ALWAYS. I have a pool that I can jump in and AC and I can cool down fairly easily. Cue the rebuttal: "but you can't keep taking more layers off but you can always add more." B-S. I can walk around in a bathing suit in the summer and it's normal(ish). If I just keep adding layers I have to waddle around like a chubby puffy penguin with Frankenstein arms because once you put enough layers on you can't move! Not fun. Plus I hate the process of suiting up for class and then having to take all of that crap off to fit in those itty-bitty lecture hall seats. And then putting it back on for the trek across campus to my next class. BLEH.

I didn't even have to make this meme… someone gets me.

More Ali beef with the colds months…

I like pumpkin flavored drinks as much as the next #commonwhitegirl but I don't love them enough to wish away all the fruity happy goodness of summer.

I like UMass and I love my sisters and my other school friends but I'm not one of those people that hates my hometown and dreads going back to my roots. I love and appreciate my family. I like where I live at home much more than I like Amherst. The mall near Amherst stinks, at home I can go to a multitude with ease. I can go to 2 cities in under and hour. I can go to the beach in less than 45 minutes. And I live right next to a major concert venue (hometown win).



BUT I know I love fall for some reasons too.

I love wearing sweaters and boots. The outfits are just so much cuter in the fall than most things you can wear in the summer.

I love pumpkin flavored drinks. (I know I used that for both arguments.)

I love living with my best friends.

I love not sweating at least once a day (TMI?)

I also love apple flavored things and all of the fall food.

Fall = Thanksgiving approaching.

Mostly, though, I'll keep my summer and you can keep your colder weather.


Trump card: Fall means I have to leave Cooper and that cancels out any goodness fall can bring, my dog is just too cute.

Gah how can you resist that face??

So which would you choose- Summer or Fall?

Why I'm Not Defending My College of Choice Anymore

I work on the beverage cart at a golf course during the summer aka I sell booze to rich guys who can afford to golf instead of work every day. So lots of the golfers make conversation with me while I'm preparing their morning Bloody Mary. This is a normal encounter…

Rich Golfer: "So, honey, what do you do for school?"
Me:"I'm going to be a junior at UMass Amherst this fall."
Cue the looks and the snickers.
Rich Golfer:"Ooooohh, I get it, I had some wild times there back when I went there in the [insert some time period 20+ years ago]. You must get pretty crazy up there."

This is when I usually defend my school and say how good UMass is academically and how it totally can be a party school if that's what you want, but it doesn't have to be. And they laugh me off give me a few bucks tip and continue their game. 

This is my least favorite kind of encounter.

Yes, UMass is known as "The Zoo," or "ZOOmass-SLAMherst,"and I even have a t-shirt that says Zoomass on it. Yes, if I want to go to a party on any given night of the week I probably could find one without too much trouble. But it drives me absolutely nuts when people only know UMass for partying or for the riots that happen after Super Bowls, World Series or terrorists being caught, and shove me in some category of being that wild girl. I'm not.

I enjoy the weekends just as much as the next girl at any college but I didn't go to UMass because it had the representation as a party school. And if that's all you think about the school then you're kind of behind the times. School is hard, I study, a lot. I stay in on weekends sometimes, and I don't have a fake ID (mostly because it wouldn't work for me even if I did because I'm forever 12 years old). 

Ask most of the student at UMass and they would tell you it's not the party school it used to be anyways. It's hard to get into bars, the cops have cracked down a lot, and Hobart Hoedown unfortunately isn't really a thing anymore. We can't even have tailgates because our football team doesn't play at UMass anymore! Whenever something happens that could potentially turn into a crazy weekend, like a sporting event, a snowstorm on Halloweekend or even a presidential election, we get an email from the Dean of Students reminding us how not to behave and how many repercussions there will be if something goes wrong. UMass has totally tried to change it's image, and to be honest campus is totally different than it was even 10 years ago, but I think the representation of it is here to stay.

So heres to you UMass I'm not defending you anymore, and I'm even going to try to embrace the image because everyone is going to think what they want anyways.

I found love in a hopeless place

Okay no, I didn't... But if this isn't the greatest thing you've seen all week you need to re-evaluate your life and/or check if you have a soul.

Enjoy and happy laughing!

Harry Potter / Mean Girls Mashup

Via favim.com

#WILDWOMANWEDNESDAY

Contrary to the title of this post, I am not going to post a picture of some celeb I think is deserving of me posting her picture because she's hot and/or my "woman crush." Why would I mislead you with that title then you ask? Because I don't understand the point of all these crazy hashtag Twitter/Instagram trends. When they first started I was like, "okay, that's kind of cool, I get to see pictures of things other than your daily selfie, your night out, your drink in front of the pool captioned 'this is the life', or your dog." (Just kidding about the dog, I love the pictures people post of their pets and I will shamelessly show Cooper off at every given chance, he's the cutest dog you've ever seen just admit it.) But now this hashtag trend depending on what day of the week it is has gotten OUT OF CONTROL. These hashtags and accompanying pictures fill my social media day in and day out and I think it's time for these to stop being a thing…

• #mancandymonday and/or #mancrushmonday
• #transformationtuesday
• #wildwomanwednesday, #womancrushwednesday, #wastedpicwednesday
• #throwbackthursday (this one I'm okay with, unless your picture is from two weeks ago, in which case you might want to look up the definition of a "throw back")
• #failfriday, #flashbackfriday (Why? Isn't that what throwbackthursday was for? Overkill, don't ya think.) #freakyfriday
• #selfiesunday

I appreciate a little man candy on my Monday morning as much as the next girl but when you've posted  Justin Beiber for the 2nd time that morning and the for the 23rd week in a row, GIVE IT A REST. For one, Justin Beiber is a child, and not at all attractive to look at, and number 2 don't you think the world has seen enough of him by your 4th post? 

Transformation Tuesday also can be good or bad depending how it's done. For example, if you've turned your life around and love your body now I say good for you girl (or boy?) show it off, you have every right to be proud of your progress, and I would totally rock that too. If you're using it to post a selfie of how "hot" you've gotten compared to your middle school days, not so much into it. We were all awkward back then, embrace it.

Wild Woman Wednesday… see my feelings toward man candy monday.

Wasted Pic Wednesday… If you really do this, you're silly, I hope your future employer never stumbles upon your Instagram.

Throwback Thursday I love you, I love reflecting on great memories with great friends. Throwback to last Tuesday Tuesday… not so much. You look the same.

Senior Cruise was rockstar themed, 3 years ago now!!

Alright I kind of made up the Friday ones aside from Flashback Friday but you get the picture, hashtags are all good when used in moderation, and I love reflecting on hot celebs and my younger years as much as the next person, but not when that's all you post about, in my opinion.

How do you feel about hashtags? Any I missed? What are your favorites/least favorites to post and look at?

Dog Lessons

Cooper is a lot to handle. I think having him may really prepare me for parenthood someday because he's my child. My 125 pound 1-year-old child. When I got him last summer, it was a huge wakeup call to me life because he needed me ALL THE TIME. To feed him, to play with him, to remind him that the kitchen floor is not your potty. Gosh, I was a mess. I hardly slept, I got frustrated, and to top it off my older dog and Cooper stopped getting along! Can you say zoo? That's what it was at my household. Despite the roughness of last summer, I would never want to get rid of Cooper, he is my best friend. I've learned a lot from the little (ahem *big*) bugger.

1. When you're happy, show it! Wag that tail, people love to know that they've made you happy.

2. Sometime all anyone needs is someone to sit next to them and snuggle with your head on them.

3. When you gotta go, you gotta go, ain't nobody benefiting from you holding it. (I already knew this one, #smallbladderproblems)

4. The best way to get to know someone is to sniff them. (Okay, don't do that, but you know right away that you don't wanna be around someone who stinks.)

5. Greet people with enthusiasm, it will make their day.

6. Going for a walk can make your whole day better. *Exercise is good!

7. Jumping up and down whenever you please can get you hurt or cause you to fall on the stairs.

8. Nipping people makes them not want to be around you.

9. Not all roommates get along, but it's easier when they do. (ahem Cooper and Mac.)

10. Sometimes, all someone needs is someone to listen to them without talking back.

"Look how good I sit, Mom"

Joined Bloglovin'

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10191055/?claim=t2j2a65wqns">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Hopefully this will make me be a more avid blogger and post more! I'm still obsessed with reading others blogs but after being away and immediately jumping back into work I've been without inspiration to keep up with my own. Whoops!

Holding myself to posting now in hopes of making new bloggie friends :).

Counting Down The Days

Some of my favorite lists to make are countdown lists. From something as simple as "2 days to the weekend" to "214 days to vacation!"(I seriously did that before I went to Atlantis). I'm a countdown-er. As well as a worms maker upper now apparently. But really, I countdown everything, I'm fairly certain it's a trait that I got from my mom…

see? proof.

Recently I realized how often I do that, and since I live paycheck to paycheck pretty much (thank you college payments…) I've been counting down to the next one all summer long. Which means I have been wishing away my 2nd to last "summer vacation" EVER! And that makes for a very sad Ali.

I've never really been able to appreciate the moment and it's something I'm really trying to work on. 2012 and so far 2013 too have been years of big change and some hard times for me so I'm really trying to figure out how to be happy in the present and not be constantly looking forward to the next thing. One of my biggest regrets is not spending more time with Sydne before I lost her last year. She's the reason why I realized that I truly need to appreciate life.

Since I turned 20 this year, my countdown problem also fueled my "quarter-life crisis."  I'm so afraid of wishing away the end of my youth and carefree days. During the school year especially I'm always pushing for the next 3 day weekend of break because of how much stress my work causes. I forget to appreciate how great of an experience college is outside of the homework and the exams.

So this post is where I'm holding myself to this. I need to appreciate today, right now while I'm living it & not in 10 years when I'm looking back at pictures of these moments.

Also, today is my parents 24th wedding anniversary!! I hope that me and whoever I marry someday can make such a happy life as my parents have.

Pinterest: Am I Doing It Wrong?

I love everything social media.
Twitter- that's my shit (except for the time I deleted it all last summer).
I still don't hate Facebook even though most people seem to be leaving it (where else can I look back at my HS freshman self and cry laugh from embarrassment?)
Instagram- I have to actively stop myself from posting too many pictures.
I haven't totally jumped on the vine train yet, I'm never ready to record the funny parts of my life.
So my love for social media is why I got this blog. YAY!

But my biggest downfall is Pinterest…

I myself don't even understand it. Being the self proclaimed sap that I am… I should love it, but I don't. I can plan my future wedding by stealing ideas from all the pretty pictures posted. I can re-pin (<-- is that what it's called?) adorable animals for hours. I can look up craft ideas for my future grand-little. I'm looking at you little mermaid. I can find DIY projects for around the house. I can find a quote for any occasion. I can find any dessert to bake that my hungry tummy desires. Work out ideas galore. All with just one website and a search bar. ALL OF THIS IS SO ME. It should be my calling right? Wrong.

Most other girls I know love this crap, they are always on Pinterest. I hear, "I found this awesome recipe on Pinterest, it came out so good!" "Look at this idea for my little that I saw from the Chi O board on Pinterest!"You get my drift right?

So I made one. I enjoyed it for a few minutes. I made my boards. I pinned some stuff. But then I was over it. I missed the fairy who blessed every other girl with her magical Pinterest loving dust. Don't get me wrong when I got my little I scoured Pinterest for crafting ideas and it was pure gold. But other than that, I get bored looking at Pinterest in 30 seconds flat. Maybe it's cause I suck at organizing myself on it. Maybe it's because I can't really have anything that's on my screen. It's all my wishes. And I hate that.

I am an instant gratification kinda gal. If I want something I go and get it. Can I have those abs from that 10 step work out in a half hour? Can you mail me those beautiful cookies I see right there? If not, I don't want to stare at it wishing it was in my mouth. I get it, it's for future reference.. I can go and bake them... yada yada yada... too bad.

I guess I should be happy, I far from need another social network to obsess over. Am I the only one like this? Is there any social media or websites in general that you just don't get?

So… I Made A Blog!

I'm so excited this is my first blog post! I hope I don't make an absolute fool out of myself on this thing. It's going to take me a while to figure this out, and make everything easy to find and look nice so bear(sp?) with me here.

So, this morning I stumbled upon this girl's blog, and I had so much fun reading that it inspired me to create my very own! I hope that mine doesn't seem lamer than lame now, or I will be so disappointed.

Since I am definitely going to be dedicating a good portion of this blog to the (mis)adventures of my dog, Cooper, I think I will make my very first post about him! I took Cooper for a walk a little while ago and if you know him you're aware that sometimes that is rather difficult… not today though! Yippee! Cooper was a wonderful little (or not so little) angel who walked right next to me, and stopped every so often to smell the flowers (literally). It had been quite a while since he had been on a walk because of the heat wave and Swissy's tendency to over heat very quickly. But he seemed to enjoy it now that it's cooled off and he is konked out on the floor next to me now.

Here are some photos from our walk!

And here is a video of Cooper being a goofball after our walk, what a nut…

Thanks for reading my first post! Ta Ta for Now!