Update!

Hi everyone!  Thanks for the continued support and the time that you all take to read my blog posts!  I appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

That being said, I'm doing Vlogsgiving over on my youtube channel, so be sure to check it out!  I'll be posting a video every day until Thanksgiving, and I hope you all get a chance to stop by the channel and watch the videos I'm creating.

In addition to Vlogsgiving, I'm also considering doing VlogYear for 2013.  This means I'd be filming a video each and every day next year.  What do you all think?  Is this something you would all like me to do?  Let me know in the comments below.  It would definitely be an interesting  year to do it sinceI'll be graduating school and moving on as an adult.  It's definitely a big time commitment but it could be a great thing to do.

In addition, Charlie is doing much better, and I hope I'll be able to bring him back to school with me soon!  He's been really sick for a long time now so I'm really relieved and grateful that he's doing well.

Well, that's all for today, thanks for reading! don't forget to comment and let me know if you'd like to see VlogYear happen.

Until next time,

Allison

New laptop, The Sandy Experience, and Buffy Obsession

Hey everyone!  I hope everyone that could have been affected by Sandy the hurricane has stayed safe and is doing well!

So, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I got a brand new laptop yesterday!  I’m super stoked about this since I’ve been having issues with my old one for quite awhile.  My old laptop was shutting down on me randomly even when charged and Microsoft office was doing the same thing.  I’d paid to have it fixed but it just wasn’t getting better, so it really was time to invest in a new one.  So far I’m loving the new computer, and I’m having a lot of fun with Windows 8.  Do any of you have Windows 8?  What do you think of it?

I’m also definitely lucky that I wasn’t hit to hard by the hurricane.  Luckily at school it didn’t flood anywhere and the wind and rain weren’t intense.  I also definitely feel blessed to not have lost power when so many others are without it.  And we had a university closing yesterday so I got out of my UPB office hours.  I really hope that everyone that has been affected by the storm is doing well!

Another thing that I wanted to address is my new obsession with the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I never got into the show when it was airing, but thanks to Shannon’s influence, I’m now hooked.  I’ve currently started watching season 6 and so far my favorite season is the fourth.  I know I’ve gone against the norm with that but I really like the whole concept of the initiative and I love the character of Riley and the relationship that develops.  One of the most famous episodes, the silent episode was so well done and it is definitely in my top 5 episodes from the show.  If you’ve never seen the show, I highly recommend it and you should all check it out!

Favorite iPod Touch Apps

Yup, I admit it – I’m an app junkie.  I love looking for new apps for my iPod and trying them out.  Here’s a list of some of my favorites.  And who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy some of them too.  And, if you have any recommendations for me, leave them in the comments below!  Happy reading!

Couch-to-5k: This app is great for beginning runners that want to get in shape, and do so in a non-harsh way.  Though I haven’t used this app as much as I would like, I really loved the way it was set up, and the way that the running programs work when you are actually working out.  The basic idea of the app is that it trains you for a 5k, but it’s also a great training tool if you just want to get into shape.

Mixology: This app, in case you can’t guess, pretty much lists any possible drink that you can imagine, along with the recipes to make them.  For someone that only recently turned 21, this app has been great (especially when I was out for my bday!) and has really given me ideas on what type of drinks I would like.  My personal favorite? The woo-woo!

MyFitnessPal: This app is great for those of us that want to keep track of the amount of calories we consume on a daily basis and how our own exercise affects it.  The app is really simple to use and figure out, and is highly beneficial if you are looking to watch your food intake without going on a super intense diet.

Instagram: This app is great for taking pictures and sharing them with friends.  I love using it to post pics to my twitter account to show my followers what is going on in my life in a way that is different than just tweeting it with words.  Plus, the variety of filters and effects that it comes with make it super fun to play around with!

Tiny Tower: A long-time favorite game, I figured I’d mention this app again (I did a full blog post on it a while ago).  I’m not quite as addicted to this game as I once was, but it still definitely falls under my top ten list of apps, if I were to make one.  Haven’t tried it out yet?  Give it a go, you don’t know what you’re missing!

25 Boredom Busters

1. Make a friendship bracelet

2. Watch an old movie like Casablanca

3. Go for a walk

4. Volunteer at the local animal shelter

5. Workout

6. Skype with a friend

7. Call home and tell your parents you love them

8. Create a new computer desktop using Picasa

9. Start a blog and get writing

10.  Read a classic piece of literature like Pride and Prejudice

11.  Write in a journal

12.  Make a scrapbook

13.  Go shopping

14.  Cook dinner for your family

15.  Bake cookies

16.  Write a letter

17.  Read the news and look for odd news articles

18.  Inspire someone

19.  Create a Pinterest account

20.  Create a Tumblr

21.  Search YouTube for videos of people falling down (sounds mean, but it’ll make you laugh!)

22.  Donate money to a charity

23.  Find a new music artist

24.  Go on Perez Hilton’s website and catch up on the latest gossip

25.  Write a short story

People I want to meet

Hey everyone!

Today I have a fun list of the people, dead or alive, that I would love to be lucky enough to get the chance to meet and have a conversation with.  I would love to read about your list of people, so let me know what your answers to the question are in the comments below!

J.K. Rowling: The creator of my favorite book series to date, I would absolutely love the chance to meet this iconic writer.  Not only is she a talented writer and a very creative one at that, but I just can’t help but admire her for overcoming all of the obstacles that she has in her life.  If you don’t know about her struggles and her life before Harry Potter, you should absolutely research it.  If after learning about her life you don’t respect her, then there is something wrong with you.

Miss Glamorazzi: My style and makeup inspiration, I would absolutely love the opportunity to get to meet this famous YouTuber.  Not only is she beautiful and makes incredible videos, but her bubbly and positive personality really shine through in her videos.

My Grandfather: A person that was unfortunately taken from me when I was very young, I would give almost anything to be able to have the experience of having an adult conversation with my paternal grandfather.  I don’t have too many memories of him, although I know I am lucky to have some- my cousins don’t have any- but he was taken from my life at such a young age that I never really got to know him as an adult. 

Emma Watson: No, I don’t want to meet her because she was in the Harry Potter movies.  I want to meet Emma Watson because she is an incredibly amazing role model for girls/women like myself, and because she seems like she has an incredible personality from what I have seen in interviews.  This girl is another style inspiration of mine, and I would love the chance to get to sit and talk with her!

Daniel Radcliffe:  Not only is he incredibly good looking (wink wink), but he also is quite hilarious with his sarcasm based humor.  I was lucky enough to see him on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business without really trying, and he was incredible – the amount of time and energy he put into preparing for that role really showed, but so did his own fun personality.  Daniel is an incredible person, his work with the Trevor Project is very inspiring and I know has affected millions of people.  Daniel is definitely another one of those famous actors that has done things right in his life.  While he did admit to a drinking problem a few years back, I have a high level of respect for him to admit that he had a problem and get the help that he needed all own his own, before his life became a train wreck.  And on a superficial note, without Dan, Harry Potter wouldn’t be what it was, and probably wouldn’t have meant the same thing that it does to me today.

Meet Tigger!

     This past Friday, my friend Brittany and I visited the local SPCA where I volunteer to look at the kittens that they had because my friend has been considering adopting one.  For those of you that don’t know, the SPCA is an animal shelter.  The first cat we saw – Kandy Korn – was an orange and white short hair that we both absolutely fell in love with.  We went into the playroom with him and he was so friendly!  He couldn’t stop climbing into our laps to cuddle and he was purring up a storm the entire time we were with him.

     We looked at other cats too while we were there and while we did find many kittens that Brittany liked, none of them compared to Kandy Korn.  We asked a few questions about him and about the adoption process in general, and the next thing we knew, Brittany was filling out an adoption application and we were approved right on the spot.  Brittany called her parents and they agreed to let her adopt the kitten, so the next thing we knew, Brittany became the owner of a kitten!

     On Monday we brought Tigger, the kitten’s new name, home to Brittany’s apartment after he was neutered at the vet. He was a little out of it because of the anesthesia, but overall he was doing great.  He was pretty playful considering what a rough morning he’s had, and we had a great time playing and cuddling with him all night.

     The next morning, Brittany said that he had been acting really strangely, so she ended up taking him to the vet again.  They found out that he had a mild respiratory infection – something that takes care of itself.  So, he’s been a little miserable and not as playful the past few days, but overall he’s doing well and we can already see that he’s recovering. 

     So meet Tigger! The newest animal in my life!  I hope everyone is doing well and that you all have fabulous days!

Inspiration Compilation

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” – J.K. Rowling

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle Onassis

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Nothing is impossible; the word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” – Audrey Hepburn

“With the new day comes new strengths and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt