With projects, midterms (or ugh! finals!!!), and plenty of studying, November can be a little exhausting–so why not loosen up with a little shindig with your nearest and dearest?  Snatch up these ideas for an evening with your closest gal pals or a smashing boys night.

For the Guys

• LAN Party. If you and your boys are true gamers, you already know what this is, but even casual gamers can simplify a LAN party. The basic idea? Get a bunch of your friends together for a BYOC (bring your own computer) evening (or all-nighter) featuring your fav multi-player game. Think the Call of Duty “team building” enjoyed by the Stamford branch in “The Office.”
• Pizza Hopping. Pizza is definitely a staple part of college life, so why not search out the best one–all in one evening? Whether you hop restaurants or go for delivery, make sure you branch out from the regular old Huts and Tables. Find the local dives, the quirky New York style pizza parlor in Portland, and the hole-in-the-wall deep dish place. (San Diegans, I have to recommend New York style at Bronx Pizza in Hillcrest–yum!)

For the Gals

• “Femme Nue” Party. The concept of a Femme Nue party (scandalously translated to “Naked Lady” party ) is simple and fun: you get a bunch of friends, grab all the clothes you never wear anymore and basically have a free-for-all clothing swap. Can’t slip into your former-favorite anymore? Trade them in for your BFF’s vintage cardigan. Add m&m’s and cupcakes and you’ve got yourself a party.
• Worst Date Party. Everybody has a bad date story: whether he brought his brother or forgot you at a hockey match, you’ve been there. The worst date party is a girly recompense for that worst-of-the-worst evening long (or not so long) ago. Gather your best friends and treat each other to a good date (read: swap corsages, get dressed up, and grab dinner somewhere you’re guaranteed a cute waiter) and swap your stories. Make sure you have a prize ready for the worst story! Go one better and write your stories down for posterity.

Oh good times. Don’t forget you can share your own party times in the comments!

photo: Disco LightBall by dsiis

It’s November, and that means crunch time before the wonderfulness of Thanksgiving and Winter breaks! Don’t let yourself get beaten down by your workload–prep now so you can relax later.

Break it Down

Okay first things first–mark all the dates of your upcoming projects, presentations, and tests on your calendar. It sounds simplistic but you’d be surprised how quickly things pile up when you’re not expecting them. Then make those days clearly visible on your calendar by making them a different, bright color.

…Red for doom seems appropriate.

“Guesstimate” Your Work Load

Did your middle school teachers use that word as much as mine did?

Sorry, off topic. What I mean is try to guess how much time it will take you to get your studying/work/research done for each of the items you just wrote down, add two to four hours for interruptions, and WRITE DOWN YOUR GUESSTIMATED TIME. Otherwise you will forget.

**TIP: If you’re doing a project with someone else, I would add a considerable amount of extra time, like a few hours, to your guesstimate. Group projects often put more weight on the hard workers, and if you’re making a study calendar, that means you’re it. So save your grade and give yourself some leeway.

Schedule Your Time

Now that you’ve got your time guesstimates and your due dates, it’s time to mark out your work time. If you start now you should be early enough to spread out study for finals and get projects done without a lot of cramming and brain-numbing textbook skimming.

Start by spreading out your subjects based on:

1.) What is due first, and
2.) Which will take the most work.

Obviously these two criteria will determine which things come first, but this is basically up to your discretion–you know how you work best and what takes you longest. Make sure you spread out your work, though, so you don’t end up cramming for any one thing at the end OR suffer from subject burnout.

**TIP: When you schedule your work blocks in each calendar square, schedule play blocks, too, and stick to both. You need both work and play to feel accomplished and human when life gets hectic!

REschedule Your Time

You might choose to do this every day or every week, but make a regular habit of sitting down and revising your calendar. Maybe you finish a project early–use the leftover time to get a jump on something else. Took longer than you thought to write that French paper? Better allot some extra study time to your Chem class in next week’s schedule.

Cross off Your Finished Work

You don’t have to do this, but I always find it cathartic to scribble out something I’ve finished and give it that final “Hasta La Vista!!!”

Good luck… Remember to hold on to that light at the end of the tunnel–Winter Break!!!

photo: calendar by lupy2002

Want to spice up your Halloween with a little do-it-yourself costuming this year?  Here are a few of my favorite fun (or ridiculous) costume tutorials from around the web…  (I think the Inanimate Objects may be my favs!)

Wings, Capes, and Tails

• Super Easy Capes and Super Capes (need to be scaled up)
• Rainbow Fairy Wings, and yes, Fairy Wings for Your Dog, too
• Angel Wings
• Mermaid Tail (this tutorial is for a doll costume, but why not size it up and leave a space for feet?)

Traditional Costumes

• Vampire Bite (this one should be a hit with the Twilight fans )
• Mummy Costume
• Pirate Costume for Ladies and for Guys

Movie/TV/Book Inspired

• Iron Man Helmet
• Harry Potter wands, the Monster Book of Monsters, and a Henna Dark Mark
• Yip Yip Alien Costume (from Sesame Street)
• Pucca Costume
• Bjork Swan Dress Tutorial
• Boba Fett Helmet
• Really Intense Jedi Costume

Inanimate Objects

• Giant Sandwich Costume
• Giant Sock Monkey Costume
• Sofa Costume
• Rubik’s Cube Head or Full-Body Rubik’s Cube Costumes

photo: Pumpkin Candle by somadjinn

I like to throw a party as much as the next girl, but living on a teeny tiny budget doesn’t exactly make that easy.  With my student loans in repayment and my husband applying for med school, we’ve got to be pretty creative to have anyone over (much less feed them).  That’s why Waffle Night, our semi-weekly Sunday night soiree, is so perfect.

The 10 Dollar Party

Waffles may be the perfect party food-everyone seems to like them, and they feed a lot of people for not a lot of money.  Basically you buy a ½ gallon carton of buttermilk, a bag of flour, and some vegetable oil, and you’re good to go. The other ingredients you’ll probably have on hand if you cook at all. Best of all, we’ve fed up to 20 people with just waffles-that’s 50 cents per person!

Making it Affordable

The waffles themselves may be reasonable, but the accessories and toppings can rack up your bill-so do what we do, and get your guests to bring stuff.  Here are a few things you may need to assign/borrow:

• Waffle iron
• Syrups (our favorites are maple, chocolate, and strawberry)
• Toppings (jam, candy, honey, peanut butter, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.)
• Paper cups, plates, and napkins + plastic utensils (if you don’t want to do dishes)
• Drinks (milk, orange/apple/grape juice, water, etc.)

The Waffle Recipe

So, our actual buttermilk waffle recipe is one of those top-secret family deals, but this waffle recipe looks pretty darn good. You can also mix it up and try having:

• A Pancake Party (check out these Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes!)
• A German Pancake Party (these are a.k.a. Dutch Babies-recipe here)

If you want to spend a little more, you could have everyone over for custom omelets or personal pizzas.

Do you have any cheap party ideas to share with the class?

photo: Waffles 4 by woodsy

By now you’ve probably had more than your fair share of slushy chicken fettuccini alfredo from the cafeteria-what would you give to have a Double-Double® or those awesome-looking chicken enchiladas you saw on Food Network?  Would you maybe consider… cooking for yourself?

If you’ve got a craving for some real home-cooked (or restaurant style) food at home, you’ll love these websites:

TopSecretRecipes.com

Every once in a while my sweetie and I get these amazing fried zucchini starters at a local restaurant.  We’ve tried to make them at home, but somehow they never come out quite right.  That’s why Top Recipe Secrets is a blast-this guy spends serious time figuring out how to get the exact almost-perfect taste of restaurant recipes. Not all of them are free, but some of the awesome freebie recipes include:

• Benihana® Japanese Fried Rice
• Carl’s Jr.® Six-Dollar Burger^TM
• Girl Scout Cookies® Thin Mints®
• In-N-Out® Double-Double®
• Mrs. Fields® Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Starbucks® Caramel Macchiato

FoodNetwork.com

Here’s my ridiculous confession: I watch Food Network while I work out. I can’t help it-I just love to see what amazing things these chefs show me in 30 minutes!  One of the best parts about watching Food Network is that you don’t have to sit there and copy down recipes-you can find recipes from most of the shows right on their website.  Here are a few that caught my eye today:

• Artichoke & Spinach Dip from Emeril Live
• Chicken Enchiladas from Food 911
• Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores from a Paula Deen Special
• Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• BBQ Pork Sandwich from Paula’s Home Cooking

CookingLight.com

I’m a picky eater, so eating healthy isn’t always an easy thing for me. But we stumbled across this magazine called “Cooking Light” at the grocery store a couple months ago and started flipping through it-amazingly they have healthy meals that look delicious!

They also have a great series called “Cooking Class” that teaches you cooking basics. Here are a couple of my faves of their “classes” & recipes:

• Arepas
• Cooking Class: Sautéing
• Semolina Lasagna
• Cooking Class: Grilling

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I stumbled across this blog through a lot of clicking around on other blogs one day.  This woman writes a super funny city-girl-on-a-ranch regular blog, but her cooking blog is pretty mouthwatering, too! Not healthy, usually, but they sure look yummy:

• Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich
• Farfalle with Zucchini
• Sleepin’ In Omelets

photo: Pizza by rrss

No matter how much you love Ramen noodles, I’m willing to bet that you don’t want to eat them every day of your life-or even every day for the next few years.

But food is expensive (and so is college!) so lots of students end up living on Ramen, cold pizza, and chips they found in the common room-not the healthiest diet. Here are some alternatives to the noodles-and-oatmeal diet…

Food Stamps

Did you know that you might be eligible for the U.S. government’s Food Stamp Program? I read an article about students using food banks in USA Today-apparently it’s becoming a trend. If you qualify, you could get funds from the state to help you pay your food bills.  Money is distributed on a card that works kind of like an ATM, and is accepted by most grocery stores.

See eligibility requirements here, or use their pre-screening eligibility tool. Then find out how to apply in your state-if you have questions, you can call your state’s Toll Free Food Stamp Information Hotline.

“Big Box” or 99¢ Shopping

One popular way to save on food at UCSD was to take a group to our local Costco, a bulk-buying store (like Sam’s Club, Smart & Final, etc.).  They sell everything from bulk bags of frozen chicken breasts to 18-count boxes of eggs, as well as fresh fruits and veggies, juices, and even huge boxes of oatmeal.

To keep costs down, simply go with a group who wants to split a majority of foods. Split the cost accordingly and then divvy up your shares of food. For frozen items, get a zipper locking plastic bag and split up the big bag and throw the little ones in the freezer (label them if you’re sharing with a roomie).

As to the 99¢ shopping, did you know that lots of dollar stores sell food?  You might think that’s kind of shady, but just be sure to check expiration dates. One of my friends finds name brand chocolate soy milk there, often for only $1 each. (Plus the 99¢ Chef can teach you how to make yummy dishes with this stuff!)

Free Samples

This isn’t a reliable shopping method, but it can be pretty fun. Search the websites of products you use a lot-from foods to shampoos-for free samples offers.

Try About.com’s Freebies page for a regularly updated list of free samples.

A couple sites I know of that usually offer no-cost goodies are Wal*Mart’s freebie page, and Dove’s free samples page.

Couponing & Rewards Clubs

The other day I saw a girl at the grocery store with a huge pile of coupons. I’ve been trying to use them more lately, but I know I could actually save a lot more if I’d put a little time into it.  If you’re a beginner at coupons, like me, you can start by finding them:

• In the Sunday newspaper
• In circulars (ads) that come in your mailbox
• On the websites of products (not just foods) you use a lot (lots of them have rewards clubs, too!)
• At coupon websites like RetailMeNot.com

If you’re a little more intense about coupons, you can really save big.  I’ve been fascinated by all the coupon moms that seem to be coming out of the woodworks lately-publicized in newspapers, TV news, and blogs.  These ladies really know how to work the system, sometimes using rewards clubs and coupons together to get lots of free stuff.  Want to know how it works?  Check out the guides and coupon tips at these blogs:

• Money Saving Mom
• Be Centsable
• A Full Cup
• Chief Family Officer

Remember to only use coupons for things you actually need!

Bonus…

I love this article, 15 Great Grocery Shopping Tips, from Get Rich Slowly. It covers all the basics of how to save on food-it’s definitely worth a look!

photo: Vegetables by MFinderup

Volunteering isn’t all soup kitchens and senior living centers-in fact I’m almost daring enough to propose that there is probably a nearly-perfect volunteer opportunity for everyone-but clearly there are probably a few exceptions. : )

Obviously you’ve already been accepted to college, so why should you keep volunteering after high school?  Well, if you think about it, it’s kind of a “Win-Win-Win” (to quote Michael Scott).

• Will it help me find my “niche” around here, and help me meet new people? Check.
• Will getting outside of myself and helping other people help me beat homesickness? Check.
• Will it look darn good on my résumé? Check.

See? Win-Win-Win. I’d actually like to throw some more “Win”s in there because there are many, many other benefits of volunteering.  Want to give it a shot?

If You Like to Read…

• Reading is Fundamental: Help select books for local programs, organize book events, read books aloud and/or tell stories, fundraise, and raise awareness about children’s literacy.
• LibriVox: Volunteer to read for LibriVox, which provides free downloadable audiobooks of books in the public domain. You can even get a group of people together to read play-style with different voices for each character.
• Read This to Me: Spend an hour or so a week reading things sent in by blind or low-vision people to them over the phone (hey, you’re on your phone all the time anyway, right?). This can be anything from a magazine article to a phone bill.
• Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic®: Record books and/or text books for the blind and dyslexic at one of the many RFBD centers nationwide.
• Local Library: Local libraries are always on the lookout for volunteers to help stock shelves, read at story time, or man summer reading program tables. Contact yours and see if they need any help.

If You Like Working (or Making Art) With Your Hands…

• Habitat for Humanity: Volunteer to help build homes for the needy, either in your own community or in more exotic locales!
• Play Music at a Hospital or Hospice: Many hospitals or hospices offer volunteers the opportunity to play either in their lobby or for their patients. It’s an easy way to share your talent and brighten a few people’s days.
• Be an Arts & Crafts Volunteer: Community, children’s, and elderly programs are a great place to share your love of an art or craft. Search your local area for volunteer opportunities to teach art, sewing, knitting, crochet, or any other art to those around you-and if you can’t find an opportunity, make one!
• Make Baby Blankets: If you like to knit, quilt, sew, or crochet, check with local hospitals and children’s hospitals to see if they accept donations of baby blankets. Many provide blankets to low-income families who may not have much for their babies.

If You’re a People Person (or an Animal Lover):

• Ronald McDonald House: Ronald McDonald houses are a haven for families whose children are in the hospital. You can help out by volunteering in a number of ways: planning events, fundraising, cleaning, hosting game or movie night for the families, or even bringing by treats, snacks, or dinner.
• Holding Babies: Did you know that many hospitals actually have a spot for volunteers who want to hold babies? Many babies born prematurely or abandoned need physical contact during their developmental stages. Contact your local hospital (or children’s hospital) to see if they have a spot for you. (This does tend to have a waiting list… The hospital near my apartment has a wait of 2 years!)
• Big Brothers & Big Sisters: Make a big impact by doing little things-hiking, cooking, playing basketball, or even just hanging out-with a kid who needs a friend. It can be as little as 4 hours a month.
• Animal Shelter/Veterinarian Office: Animal shelters and veterinarian offices are often glad of a helping hand washing and walking animals, cleaning, feeding, etc. Call around your area and see who needs you!

If You Want to Search for Yourself…

• Volunteer Match: Search out volunteer opportunities in your area from a huuuge list!

photo: Together 1 by  flaivoloka

Back in August reader Sangeeta suggested that I write an article about coping with a breakup in college.  I thought it was a great idea, especially because I still remember how much my own first breakup hurt

This is my personal advice (basically, this is what I tell my closest friends) about what helped me get through, so take it with a grain of salt and feel free to add your own thoughts & ideas in the comments.

Take Some Time Off.

Making the “just friends” thing work without taking a break from each other in between can be painful-and it can really mess with your head.  After my first boyfriend and I broke up, we kept in touch by email for quite a while-and both of us kept feeling like maybe we would get back together.  We never did, and it really prolonged the pain of the breakup to keep talking and hoping. Also-take off your promise ring or whatever little memento you keep on you all the time, and give back the box of his or her stuff you’ve got scattered around your place.

My Tip: Even if you plan to be friends, let them know you’re going to take some time-a GOOD amount of time, not just a couple days-in which you don’t interact with each other. If you have to, ignore your ex’s calls, block him or her from your IM, and filter his or her emails to go to your spam inbox-and don’t feel guilty about it.  You need this time to let yourself start healing. (P.S. The “just friends” thing is REALLY hard.)

Keep Your Brain Busy.

Why is it that just when you’re feeling okay the most random thing-a paperclip, the smell of a banana muffin, or commercial-suddenly reminds you of your ex?  Well, if you were together (or on the phone/IMing/emailing with each other) day in, day out, for months or years, your brain has naturally formed a lot of ties with him or her. And every time you remember that you can’t share the best joke or a story about your mom with your ex, it feels like you got sucker punched.

My Tip: To keep your mind from wandering back to painful places, try to keep as busy as possible.  Go out with friends, really dive in to your school work, and/or take on more hours at your job. Join a club. Meet new people. Explore your college town!  There are still going to be things that trigger that memory switch, but the distraction will help you in the long run.

Vent, but Don’t Wallow.

The first few days are really hard.  You probably want to just crawl under the covers and mope.  Feeling like that is okay, but wallowing in that feeling-basically sitting around feeling sorry for yourself-isn’t going to help.  Also, if all you talk to your friends (or dates) about is your ex boyfriend or girlfriend, you might notice that people don’t want to hang around you as much.

My Tip: Check in with friends about how you’re feeling-especially if you’re feeling particularly depressed-and let them help you out of it, but don’t let yourself go off on a rant or throw a pity party every time your BFF is around. If you’re having a lot of trouble coping, consider talking to a counselor about it.  Most colleges offer free psychological services to their students, from a psychologist to support groups, and they can be really helpful (and more anonymous, which often makes things more comfortable).

Wait it Out (and Be Open-minded)

Breakups are hard-there’s just no way around that-and the hardest part is that it takes a while to feel better. Wait it out, and be open to new experiences. Go on dates, hang out with friends, and try new things (in a healthy way).  Don’t sit around hoping you’ll get a phone call or an IM from your ex-after a while you really will start to feel better.

photo: Hole in the Heart by biewoef

Office hours-that little block of time during which your professor is actually available to talk to you, one-on-one, about (almost) anything you want.  Dropping in for just a few minutes could be the best use of your time this week (and next week… and the week after…).  Here’s why…

1. You Want an A. If you want to get an A in a course, attending your professor’s office hours can be one of the easiest ways to get there.  Here you finally have the time (and smaller group or even one-on-one setting) to ask the professor questions.  Discuss problems you are having in the class, get suggestions for how/where/what to study and hey, if you’re feeling brave, ask some questions about the upcoming test.
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2. You’re Applying for a Scholarship… or Med School. Guess what scholarships and med schools both want?  Letters of recommendation.  How can you get a good one if you’re sitting in a lecture-hall-sea of faces?  Well, you probably can’t.  Spending one-on-one time getting to know your professor will make him or her more likely to be comfortable writing you one of these letters at the end of the quarter or semester. They’ll know what kind of student you are, what kind of person you are, and hopefully feel a friendship towards you that makes them want to help.
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3. You Might Learn to Keep Your Eyes Open. If you’re having trouble staying awake in class, one sure-fire way to keep yourself alert is to make sure the professor knows your name.  You’re not going to want to doze off if there’s potential that your grade could suffer-or you could get called out in the middle of class. Not the most fun way, maybe, but certainly effective!
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4. You’ll Meet New People. You may be attending office hours for other reasons (like to get in the running for an internship, for example) but you could be surprised how enjoyable they can be.  You may find yourself enjoying your newfound friendship (or mentee-ship) with your professor, and if his/her office hours are popular, you’ll meet other like-minded people from similar courses. The conversations that break out during these more casual meetings can be a lot of fun.
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5. You… Um… Still Want an A. Let’s say you’ve been attending office hours for a few weeks, clearly making an effort in the class, and you mess up on a test.  Office hours are the perfect opportunity to discuss this discrepancy with your professor-whether you’re hoping for a curved grade or just need help figuring out what went wrong, this is the time and place to discuss it.

   Oh, and if you did something stupid like sleeping through a test, you’re more likely to get some kind of forgiveness from a professor you know than from one who’s never even noticed you in class.

photo: Lunch dreaming by qute

I always meant to be productive during finals week. Really. I scheduled, I planned, and then when it came down to it, I suddenly gave in to this incredible urge to write 6 blog posts and thoroughly clean my room. After all, cleaning my room was important, right?

Eliminating Distractions

A truly useful study hour (or week) means a lot of will power-and if you don’t have a lot, you have to make things a little easier on yourself.  Here are my top distraction factors of college life, and how to tackle them. Be warned-these are REALLY easy, and REALLY obvious. The hard part is following through!

• Problem: Studying is Boring. Compared to the party down the hall, the new Will game your roommate is playing, and all those DVDs stacked over your desk, studying is BORING.

  Solution: Change Venues. You know what makes studying seem more interesting? A silent school library. You’ll start studying just to escape the monotony of all that QUIET! So go somewhere quiet and subdued so you can focus in on your study material-and make sure you don’t enable yourself with other distractions like…

• Problem: The Internet. Talk about the biggest distraction ever. Aside from surfing, you have email, IM, MySpace/Facebook/etc., blogs (to write or read), YouTube, and millions of online games to distract you.

  Solution: Um… Turn Off the Internet. *GASP* Can you imagine being cut off from the net?!? It really is the easiest way to avoid distractions though–even if you put up an away message, you’re still going to be tempted to check people’s profile messages, scan through Facebook, and check your email every minute or so. So if you have wireless, turn off your card. If you’re plugged in, pull the Ethernet cable. You can do it!

• Problem: Sleepiness. If only you hadn’t stayed up all night watching Simpson’s reruns with your BFF! Maybe then you could focus on your OChem instead of cat napping face-down on one of the library computer keyboards!

  Solution: Sleep & Learning to Stay Awake (without Coffee). So, first and easiest solution, is to get a good night’s rest before you start studying. If it’s too late for that, then learn the secrets to staying awake while you’re studying (you can see more tips here, too). Remember, caffeine is a bad way to go because your body can get dependent on it.

• Problem: Cell Phones. Maybe you’re ignoring calls, but just one more text message wouldn’t hurt, right…?

  Solution: Again… Turn it Off. Sometimes the temptation is too strong-your crush is calling, your roommate is texting, you just want to download one more ringtone… So turn your phone off. I know it feels like severing a limb, but at least you can turn it back on when studying is over.

• Problem: Hunger. How are you supposed to study when your stomach is growling?

  Solution: Snacks & Food Breaks. College students are notorious for NOT eating during study time, but this is a BAD idea. Your brain needs fuel if you want it to work. If you’re in for the long haul, you have a couple of options. First, bring (healthy!) snacks like granola, nuts, fruit, etc. (cheese puffs aren’t going to give you the energy you need). Second, take a break and head over to the caf for a meal. That’s the time to turn on your cell, meet up with a friend, or pull out the Sudoku for a little break from study time.

• Problem: Music. Some people study better with music on, others just start lip-synching, head-bobbing, or buying more music on iTunes.

  Solution: Leave Your Headphones at Home. On purpose. When you head off to your quite study zone, you’re going to find yourself very unpopular if you try to listen to music without those babies-which is the perfect motivation to leave your tunes off.

Didn’t I say these were ridiculously easy? Think you can do it?

photo: Library of Light by  hhsara