Christmas Gift Ideas

Picking out the perfect Christmas Gifts can be a painful process.  The following is a list of Christmas gifts that are not only creative ideas, but also very cheap!

 

 

Dad:

1.    Personalized Golf Drivers and Putters:

-Find It here:

http://www.collegegolfstore.com/General/Golf/GolfDrivers.htm

2.    Golf balls for the occasion:

-Find it here:

http://www.enjoylifeinc.com/asp/default.asp

 

Mom:

1.    Sweater from J. Crew:

-Find it here:

www.jcrew.com

2.    Books:

-Find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Earth-Awakening-Lifes-Purpose/dp/0525948023

Brother:

 

Older:

1.    New Akon Cd:  

-Find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Akon/dp/B001IBCSGY

2.    New Kayne West Cd:

-Find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/808s-Heartbreak-Kanye-West/dp/B001FBIPFA

 

Younger:  Kick it, Stick it:

            -Find it here:

http://www.zerotoys.com/newsite/products/AirPuck.htm

 

Sister:

 

Older: Scarf:

            -Find it here:

http://www.thepashminastore.com/?Click=26

 

Younger:  The book Twilight:

            -Find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Book-1-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0316160172

 

Best Friend:

 

            (Boy): Flag of his favorite sports team:

                        -Find it here:

http://www.sportsteamflags.com/

 

            (Girl): I’ve Never Game:

                        -Find it here:

http://www.homewetbar.com/Ive-Never-Game-p-770.html

 

Boyfriend:

1. Personalized Picture Frame:

-Find it here:             http://www.giftsforyounow.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=911541#campaign=findgift1108

2. Designated Driver Kooler Klub

-Find it here:

http://www.after5catalog.com/designated-driver-kooler-klub-p-420.html?cPath=1_4&utm_term=Designated+Driver+Kooler+Klub&utm_source=FindGift&utm_medium=Shopping+Portal&utm_campaign=A5C

 

Girlfriend:

1.    Heart Necklace:

-Find it here:

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?sku=GRP00548&mcat=148204&cid=563629&search_params=s+5-p+2-c+563629-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+

 

Roommate:

            (girl):

1.    Sephora monopoly:

-Find it here:

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P168712

 

            (Boy):

1. Funny Poster:

-Find it here:

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=1677567&CID=B140F51434E34E0EAC9CA3F272840023&PPID=1&search=18926&f=c&FindID=18926&P=1&PP=3&sortby=PD&cname=Family+Guy&SearchID=

 

 

 

 

Goose's Three Tips to Thin

Want to lose those five extra pounds before heading home to Christmas break?  I have three easy steps that, if you follow them correctly, you will be looking fabulous in no time!

1.     Eat Properly:

-Don’t stuff your face with those unhealthy foods.  Avoid greasy foods- they’re bad for you and you don’t ever feel satisfied.  Make sure you have sufficient bread, rice, and pasta servings.  Even though candy is delicious, eat more vegetable, fruit, and meat servings (especially fish, chicken, salmon, and tuna).

-If you eat healthy meals for the next week, you will not only feel better, but look fabulous.

-Places/Food to avoid: Any food from the grill at Macs Place, Pizza Hut, and Sandwiches on bagels from Einstein’s (did you know that there are 570 calories in a Tasty Turkey sandwich, and 15g of fat?)

-Most restaurants give you large enough portions of food to feed two people, so eat in consideration.

-Cut back on those soft drinks for the next week.  Water is your new best friend- drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.  If you don’t have enough water, you tend to lack energy and will have a slower metabolism.

2.      Exercise:

-Sorry, you can’t avoid this step. Put down the TV remote, get off your lazy butt, and enjoy the fresh air outside.

-You don’t have to run 5 miles a day to get in great shape, you just need to get any type of exercise you can.  Walking on the treadmill for thirty minutes is much better then watching an episode of TV.

-Plus, you feel a lot better when you work out.  As Elle Woods says in Legally blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins, and makes you happy”.

3.     Be realistic:

-Just because you are doing all of these things, doesn’t mean you’re going to see results immediately.  Losing weight is a hard task, but you cannot give up.  Just because you don’t see results quickly, doesn’t meant that you’re doing it wrong- just give it time.

-Don’t give up.  Once you’ve reached your perfect weight, it is very hard to keep that weight.  Did you know that an average person gains 8 lbs over Christmas and Thanksgiving break combined?  So during the break, make sure you continue to follow these tips!

 

comment

I commented on Alexandra's Blog "Transition of BFFs"

 http://justblogit7.blogspot.com/2008/11/transition-of-bffs.html

Change is good.

For all of us college students, Thanksgiving break was a time to spend time with family members, see high school friends, and eat a lot of food!  I noticed a couple of interesting things about the changes from high school to college that I never thought would change.

For the few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break I remember thinking thoughts such as “I can not wait to take a shower without shower shoes” and “YES! This is my last cafeteria meal for a whole week”.  I never thought I’d actually come home to think I would be missing the little things at SMU, such as my mattress.  At home, it honestly was hard to fall asleep in a bed that I have slept in for 18 years.  And yes, I was upset that I couldn’t have my Wednesday Mac’s place chicken fingers.  I guess what I am trying to say is that even though I was very ready to go back home for the break, I am very happy to be back seeing my friends, eating in Mac’s place, and, of course, sleeping in my bed.

I also noticed how much songs play an important part in our lives.  Songs defined my weekends in high school.  Whenever I listened to songs getting ready for school, driving with my friends, or before a cross-country meet, I always associated that song with that time period.  When I went home for the break, the song “whatever you like” by T.I. started to play when I was at a party.  I realized that this song was very out of place-it only reminded me of my friends from SMU.  As my friends and I danced to this song, I realized that this song defined my freshman year; it didn’t define my reunion with my friends.  I never really thought that any of my friends ever moved on from our lives at home, until I heard that song. 

Don't take things for granted.

I found out some pretty shocking news today.  I wish I could talk to someone about my issue, but this information is not something that I want my close friends to know.  My friends will take this information as gossip and judge a girl who made a big mistake.  But I need to let my feelings out, and blogging is the perfect way to do it.

So here it is: A girl my age from my town just found out she is pregnant.

As children, we were very close.  Once we enrolled in different schools, we somewhat stopped talking.  Of course, we occasionally instant messaged each other about our lives or sent each other “happy birthday” text, but we were not really friends again.  During high school, I didn’t mind that; she had her group of friends and I had mine.

She had a pretty difficult four years in high school: her parents got divorced, she moved houses three times, she got very involved with drugs, and she got kicked out of two high schools.  This past year, she had been taking classes and got her GED last month.  I was so proud that she got clean and her GED.  I thought everything finally was going to work out for her… until I found out that she’s pregnant.

When I found out what had happened, I was in the middle of getting ready to get in the shower.  I said goodbye to my mom on the phone and walked to the bathroom.  So many different things were racing through my head.  I turned on the water and sat on the wooden bench outside the shower and starred at the tile in front of me.   I sat on the bench for about thirty minutes thinking about so many different things.

It is so hard for me to even imagine what she must be going through.  I know she is very scared and unsure of what to do.  Even though we’re not friends anymore, I still sympathize with her because of what we had.   If I could tell her anything now I would tell her that no matter what I will always be there for her.  

In the bathroom I thought to myself that it could happen to anyone, and she does not deserve this pain.  I couldn’t help but wonder what if was my best friend? My sister? Or even me?  After thinking about everything over and over in my mind, I know that I can’t ever take anything for granted-how matter how big or small.

Comment

I commented on Alexandra's Blog on the thread "Heat-Moon and Miz Alice's View on Education" on November 9th, 2008.

Blue Highways

Alice Middleton says, “Learning the rules is useful but it isn’t education.  Education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what’s there, not what you got told was there.”  Do you think that Heat-Moon will successfully educate himself through his journey to find himself?

I completely agree with Alice’s statement.  Education is not limited to the work inside the classroom.  In order to truly grow, one must step outside the classroom boundaries and explore the world.   I believe that today’s education puts too much emphasis on the normal subjects in life.  We gain “book smarts”, but not “street smarts”.

Alice’s quote “learning the rules is useful but isn’t education” directly relates to Heat Moon’s life.  He had to deal with his divorce and the loss of his job.  Instead of sulking to his friends, he made a bold decision to get over his hardships by traveling.  He stepped outside of the box and pulled himself back together by exploring unknown lands.  Heat Moon learned valuable lessons in life that helped him put his life back together by “seeing what’s there, not what you got told was there” (390).  Through his journey, he opens up his eyes to see what exactly is out there.  He gains strength and wisdom through his real-life experiences.

 

Nick Hogan Released

This Tuesday morning, Nick Hogan was release from Pinellas County jail in Clearwater, Florida, after serving 166 days of his 8-month sentence for his serious car crash that paralyzed the passenger. 

For those of you who do not know about this car crash it took place August 26^th, 2007.  Nick Hogan, the driver of the vehicle, was speeding down a four-lane highway when his tires hit the raised median.  Eventually the car to crashed into a 25-foot tall palm tree.  In this accident, Nick paralyzed the passenger, John Graziano.  Currently Granziano is considered a “vegetable” and is still on life support.

 

Immediately after Nick’s accident, his parents, Linda and Hulk Hogan, filed for divorce.  Shocking?  I don’t think so.  The couple seemed perfectly happy during their seasons filming VH1’s “Hogan Knows Best”.  To me, it seemed somewhat ironic that they immediately divorced.  I think that the reason why they filed for divorce is because if the Graziano family sued the Hogan family that they would lose everything.  If Linda divorced Hulk and took all of their family’s assets then the Hogan family would have a chance at not losing everything in a trial.

 

Now that that Nick is out of jail do you think that the Hogans will end their charade and reunite?

I commented on Northern Girl in the South's blog "Campus food on the weekends"

I commented on Britney Spears' blog "Roommate?"

Juicy Campus: Is it really necessary?

Last night my roommate came into my room with a very sad look on her face.  She told me that she had just spent the last 45 minutes comforting one of my friends.  My roommate said that our friend had been a thread on the website Juicycampus.com.  After hearing those words, I knew it could not be a good thread.  Our friend was listed under the “fattest girls on SMU campus for 2008”.  After reading the horrible and degrading comments that people posted for this thread, I thought to myself: “What if I was in that situation?  What if I had read those mean comments about my?”  My friend who was blogged about on juicycampus.com is a very strong person for hearing those mean comments.  I could never be that strong; I would have been an emotional wreck for weeks.

Threads on juicycampus.com are sometimes things that people wouldn’t even dream of sharing with their best friend behind a closed door.  Do you think people would post information on the website if they knew it would be traced back to them?  Liability is a term that is inexistent in the realm of anonymous threads.  A moral compass is completely disregarded once a person knows there will be no repercussions for whatever they want to say about another.  Do college students really need an anonymous website to trash talk each other?  Apparently we do. 

While writing this blog, I was reminded of a quote from Mean Girls.  After Cady Heron spent months of sabotaging her friends, she had a revelation and said: “Calling someone fat won’t make you skinner.  Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter.  And ruining Regina George’s life definitely didn’t make me any happier.   All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.”  I completely agree with that statement.  Do people really need to bash another to feel better about themselves?

Help wanted.

I have somewhat of a problem and I would love your opinion on my situation.  We have been here for almost a month now and my roommate already believes she wants to transfer to another school.  She says she is not only homesick, but she also is not having fun at SMU.  I know I am a bit homesick, but I am making the best of my situation.  I somewhat feel responsible that she is not having fun, because I am her roommate.  But I believe that I have tried everything.

In my opinion, SMU has been a lot of fun for me because I love going out and meeting new people.  But, my roommate does not like going out.  She said she does not like “standing in the crowded fraternity hallways” or “the smell of the bars”.  My roommate does not drink alcohol, and I don’t think that someone has to drink to have fun.  But whenever we went out, I could tell that she felt uncomfortable when people would offer her drinks.  She seems like the girl that does not like to go out, so I knew I didn’t want to pressure her.  Instead of having fun going out, I knew that I had to try something else.

I thought that we could go out to dinner somewhere nice, instead of the routinely trip to Umphree Lee.  But she always seems to make excuses such as, “I have too much homework” or “I can’t find a restaurant that I want to go to”.  I feel responsible that she is not having fun, so I thought we could see a movie.  We watched TV for a while, but I knew that the movie would sometime be over and I would be stuck back in the same situation.

I talked to her about it and asked her if I could do anything to make her feel less homesick.  She gave me no feedback.  I thought that instead of getting involved in the social scene, she should get involved in the programs SMU offers.  She applied for a community service chair through the school and did not get it.  I encourage her to still try to get involved, but I think her confidence dropped after she did not get other position.

I don’t want her to transfer because I know it will slowly get better for her.  I try to include her in everything I do, but we prefer to things differently.  I know that once she joins a sorority she can get involved and make a lot of friends.  Until then, I don’t know how I can help her.  I believe I have tried all I can do.  Maybe I have not.  Any suggestions? 

I commented on Genesis' "To Go or Not To Go, That is the Question"

The Appeal of Gossip Girl

Tuesday night over 2,600,000 people watched the highly anticipated second season premiere of Gossip Girl.  For those who do not know of the scandalous show, Gossip Girl revolves around the socialites of New York City.  The show resembles the television show, The O.C., except the setting is the east coast.  So what makes Gossip Girl better than similar shows? Why is it so compelling to watch?

In my opinion, Gossip Girl allows us to partake in our superficial fantasies.  The show appeals to teenagers; it touches subjects such as sex, money, fashion, and drinking.  In the first season, some issues the producers crammed in include an attempted rape, a pregnancy scare, a drug addiction, an eating disorder, a suicide attempt, a lost virginity, and lots of blackmail.  Surprisingly enough, the characters involved in these situations were between the ages of 14 to 18. 

The producers casted attractive new stars that represent archetypal characters with classic story lines.  The teenagers are like celebrities; their lives are public to everyone.  They live in a world where their lives are broadcasted online, like celebrities are gossiped about in magazines.  The show pulls you into a world with fabulous parities, unlimited credit cards, personal chauffeurs, and gorgeous friends.  In my opinion, the most addictive aspect of Gossip Girl is the reoccurring delicious web of friendship, jealousy, scandal, and distrust that entangles the teenagers.