Holiday Recovery

Hello All,

Can we take a second to talk about how great the holidays were? They were so great.

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Now, can we think about all the recovery that needs to be done after such splendid times? Unfortunately for me, I slept in A LOT, spent way too much on my credit card, didn't exactly eat well, enjoyed lazy days and did not work out (ever). So, let the recovery begin!


STEP 1: Fix the sleep cycle

If you are a smart person, you might consider altering the sleep cycle an hour at a time.

If you're like me, you'll wake up ridiculously early one day, hate yourself all day whist trying desperately not to nap (and potentially sneaking a short nap), having lots of caffeine and going to sleep at a normal person time. One day of this torture and you'll be a normal morning-hating person that is capable of functioning at 8am.

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STEP 2: That credit card bill

Holidays can be a tough time on the credit card. I ended up going over my budget on Christmas gifts. Also, during exams I was too lazy to cook so there was a lot of eating at restaurants or ordering food.

Let's start with something really basic. Pay off the bill as soon as possible.

Additionally, consider re-evaluating your budget. If your bank account has taken a hit from the holidays stop spending. It's much easier said than done, but try only purchasing essential items until your bank account recovers. Between Christmas over-expenditure and my upcoming travel expenses, I need to limit my shopping. One of the easiest ways to save is to start making your own food and packing lunches or snacks (you'd be surprised how fast it can add up!).

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STEP 3: Food

Holiday detox. Stop with the chocolate and cookies. Drink lots of water and eat healthy. Eating food you prepare yourself will also help with the credit card recovery. 

word: moderation.



STEP 4: Fitness

I need to get back into pilates. Or yoga. Even though I hate doing it at the beginning, at the end of the work out I really enjoy it and feel good. Not only is it good for your health, but it gives you down time to think and meditate. It also improves your focus and over time improves your energy levels.

Have you ever tried hot yoga? It feels a little bit like doing yoga in an oven. You will sweat buckets. But you will leave feeling like a goddess. (When I go to hot yoga I spend 60% of the time in savasana).

http://yogaworkflow.com/balance/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/yoga.jpg

Please share anything exciting about your holidays, any tips or thoughts you might have, or make requests for us to cover other topics!

Thoughtfully yours,
Addie

Trip Planning: Check your devices

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If you're like me and haven't been on a real trip in a while (I blame summer courses and work -_-), you might be a bit out of the loop on the best ways to travel. A key part of travel is making sure you can use your electronics in other countries without causing fires, or electrocuting yourself, or breaking your stuff....

https://store02.prostores.com/lumiascience/images/european_adapter.jpg

Something I recently found out (thanks, mom) is that I actually don't need a converter with my electronics. I can just use an adapter. Also an adapter is not a converter for those of you who are tech challenged. Many electronics that have been manufactured recently are multi-voltage. That is, they can deal with the different  voltages and therefore will not explode. This means my camera, tablet, and phone will be safe. Also my travel will be less bulky. Note: if you are staying in an older building your electronics may still be at risk.

I look for this on my devices:

Multi-voltage device: INPUT AC100 — 240V 50-60Hz 14W OUTPUT DC 1.2V 2.3A

For more information check out this  electricity guide for travellers. As someone that's not an electrical genius, I found it very helpful and easy to understand.

Thoughtfully yours,

Addie

Trip Planning: Learn the Language

Since C.C. and I decided to make this trip to Europe, we decided to get back into our language studies so we can ask the important questions (where is the bathroom? Do you speak English?) and can enjoy our travel experience. 

source: http://www.golearnto.com/travelblog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/lg_language_a.jpg

To start with, I am working on Italian and C.C. is working on German. (C.C. is already fluent in French and, I can speak French proficiently with a bit of German). We use Duolingo, a FREE interactive language learning website. Warning: It is highly addicting and may or may not cause you to learn Spanish instead of study for exams. 

source: http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/2472977/duolingo2_large_PNG_verge_medium_landscape.png

It's also great if you like to see instant progress. It allows you to track the words you learn and measures your learning in different levels. Additionally, if you sign up with facebook, you can follow your friends' progress and language levels. This means I can see when C.C. is procrastinating. 

My overall review is that it's a nice way to learn. Instead of learning grammar based on rules, you learn how to speak based on context and repetition. There are also a variety of languages to choose from to keep things interesting. However, you have to move through some seldom used phrases to get to the useful phrases. For example, you will learn how to say " I eat an apple" in every language to start with.

source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Red_Apple.jpg

I eat an apple.

Je mange une pomme.

Yo como una manzana.

Ich esse einen Apfel.

Io mangio una mela. 

Try it. Let us know what you think. Are there any other resources you recommend to learn languages? We'll keep you posted on our progess :)

Thoughtfully yours,

Addie

Quick Tips for Travel Photography

Hi ! I'm Kay, guest blogger on 18nineteen...twentysomething. I went to Vancouver with my boyfriend this past summer, and Addie and CC asked me to write a blog about how to take really great photos. I like to consider myself to be an amateur photographer because I've never really had any professional training, but it's something I LOVE to do. So here we go! Kay's photography tips:

source: http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/1/15111/18_2007/fab_10_0.jpg

1. Protect your camera!
When you're in a foreign country, you will automatically look like a tourist. Think about it, big backpack, tour book in hand, camera around your neck. You're bound to stick out like a sore thumb! That makes you a target for thieves, because they know you'll be too distracted with looking around that you won't notice if they sneakily take your wallet or camera. SO first rule of thumb is to keep your camera either around your neck if you have a DSLR, or around your wrist if you have a point and shoot! 

source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMSOtn8uqAeLL7q6gL8KMCEeM_kuhR-cDLMvXoTar77hWyWWFqxx2TuPHzS7YeltpUH-09FkffyF2eLcWNuO-Y4ncOUXvCAka7_AjWVuQyp3GxuER5o7nw6XkFwDB3v2xv5Bpo2TxaiGh/s1600/camera.jpg

2. Keep your camera on you at ALL times!
You never know when you'll see something that you want to take a picture of. If you always keep your camera in your bag, then you'll be wasting time trying to find it, and the really cool thing you just saw may have just disappeared around the corner. You'll regret it later on, so don't do it!

source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/SDHC_memory_card_-_8GB.jpeg

3. Memory cards.
You will end up taking hundreds, if not thousands, of photos while on your trip. So it is very key to either have many memory cards, or to always save the photos on your laptop at the end of the day, and clear the memory card before you head out the next day. Buying memory cards with lots of storage is preferable. A 2GB card will only get you so far. Having at least 4GB is ideal. It is VERY important that you format your memory cards before you even start your trip. This will get rid of anything taking up space on your card, leaving more room for photos! To format the card, put it into your camera, go to the menu, and there should be a format option somewhere. 

source: http://www.psdgraphics.com/file/battery-energy-icon.jpg

4. CHARGE THE BATTERY EVERY NIGHT.
 Self-explanatory.

source: http://plazakamera.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/jual-gorilla-pods-03.jpg

5. Taking pictures with you in it.
It's nice to take pictures of your surroundings, but every so often you'll want to be in one of those pictures too. It's great to show your family and friends pictures with you in it when you get back home. Even if you're travelling with friends, you'll want to take some pictures with all of you in it at the same time, so here are some ways to take those pictures:

- ask someone else to take the picture. It's hard to trust anyone else with your camera, they could just take it and run. But just make sure you don't ask anyone who looks 'sketchy'. I know that's a bit judgemental, but you don't want to lose your camera in the middle of your trip. Try asking other tourists, particularly ones who also have a camera, because then they'll know how to use it. Tourists know that if they were in your shoes, they wouldn't want anyone taking their camera, so they're less likely to take yours. If there are no tourists around, try old people (although they may not know how to use a camera), and parents with children. ALSO, if someone else asks you to take a photo for them, ask them to take one of you after, they owe you a favour ;) 

- use the timer function on your camera. If you can find a nice flat surface to set your camera on, get your friend to stand where you want to take the photo while you adjust the angle of the camera. Set the timer up, 5 seconds should be enough. Run beside your friend and smile for the camera :) Just be aware that if you do leave your camera out there, it's more vulnerable to people running by a taking it, so check your surroundings before you take the photo.

- SELFIES. I know its not the best option, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. If you're using a point a shoot, make sure you stand on the left of your friends when you take the photo, because they button is on the left. If you're using a DSLR then hold it with two hands to avoid dropping it. This may take a couple of shots, and you may end up cutting off some heads and arms, but it will work eventually haha. Note that if you are taking a selfie photo, you won't capture as much of the background as you'd like to!

source:  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Macro_symbol.svg/354px-Macro_symbol.svg.png

6. Artistic photos.
It's hard to say how to take an 'artistic' photo. The key things are lighting, focus, and perspective:

- Make sure that you have good lighting. You don't want it to be so dark that you can't see anything, and you don't want it to be so bright that it overpowers the photo. It takes practice, but eventually you'll get it. Don't forget you can always edit the photo on your laptop after to adjust the exposure. 

- You don't want your photos to focus on the wrong things. One trick I use with point and shoot cameras is to put the thing you want to focus on in the middle of the frame first, hold the button down half way until it focuses, while keeping the button held halfway you can now adjust your camera and place the object where you want to, then push the button down the rest of the way to take the photo! When taking close-up photos, I like to use the macro mode (that's the mode with the flower symbol). It's great at making one thing in focus, and blurring out the rest of the background to make it look really professional.

- Be creative with the camera angles that you use. Straight on shots can be super boring. Try bending down lower and pointing your camera upward. Sometimes I even lie down on the ground (if it's clean enough) and take the shot from there. Experiment yourself with angles you like and don't be afraid to push the boundaries!

So those are all the tips I could think of! Just have fun with it and make sure you put the camera down every once in a while so you can take everything in with your own eyes :) 

Thoughtfully yours
Kay

Editors' note: Comment or like if you want to hear more from Kay. :)

20 Twenty-something Essentials

Being a twenty-something means growing up. Although you don't have to be a full adult, there are some essentials you will need. Here's our list...

1. post-its 



2. A good face wash (Invest in your skin)

3. Interview clothes

4. An organizer

5. A kettle

6. A good loofah


7. Cup(s) of tea

8. A quality bra

9. LBD (little black dress)

10. A reliable friend 

11. A cookbook or two

12. A grown-up email address

13. Tampons

14. White T-shirt

15. A savings account

16. A reliable water bottle (preferably one that can hold hot and cold drinks)

17. A nice tote bag

18. A simply, comfy pair of heels

19. Nice leggings

20. Health awareness (physical, mental etc.)


Thoughtfully yours,

Addie

sources: 
http://www.shespeaks.com/pages/img/review/U-by-Kotex-Register-Rewards-Deal_08292010175728.jpg
http://static.tumblr.com/5434033e88d852c7148cf2940887626a/4lcmunt/QKNmfqzgv/tumblr_static_loofah-a.jpg
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http://www.shopaholicgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/longchamp.jpg

Life Tips: Balancing School, Schedules and Life

Making the most of a university experience is hard when you need to balance so many life things. To balance everything, it's really important to develop strategies and keep on top of your work. Of course this advice can be applied to other projects and aspects of your life.

1. Find what works for you

This is easier said than done, but it's definitely worth it once you find what works best. Facing a problem and investing time to develop a strategy will ensure the remainder of the work goes smoothly. Part of this may include understanding your learning style. For instance, if you like experience-based learning (like C.C.) try a hands on approach.

source: http://wallpaperswide.com/girl_studying-wallpapers.html

2. Schedule

Scheduling is a fundamental part of balance. Setting aside specific times to complete tasks will help build a routine and ensure you can manage your time effectively. It's also a good idea to keep lists organized by priority and deadlines. (Read: say no if you don't have time for it. And don't forget to schedule in some "me time".)

source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S7r5E4eax9EPJaVCofmOsNlbm_RJQD8EqMxE0RAtqUjmE1NfZeIVNykwe-IhXdtMOIgq_W24YnsHEglMeWHqjuDAXr2RQJ7kcWLHB7exr2KjR57Oe7qPKMvil0OhSFkBuzETxrPkJIZK/s1600/to+do+list.png

3. Look ahead

Knowing your upcoming projects is important to stay sharp with your work. There's nothing worse than realizing you have several ongoing projects at the same time and there are others being added on top of your workload. Looking ahead allows you to use your time more effectively and budget your resources accordingly.

source: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/baz777/baz7771108/baz777110800008/10346423-2012-calendar-on-pink-hand-written-memo-pads.jpg

4. Don't stress

Okay, maybe stress a little. Stress can be a great motivator, however if it begins to interfere with your life (ie: instead of studying for an exam, you spend your time freaking out about not knowing anything), you need to calm down. Simply put, stress is a waste of time and energy. Instead of worrying about the things you have to do, you should use that energy to do them. This will decrease the energy waste and it's also far better for your health! You'll be able to enjoy the moment rather than worry about tomorrow.

source: http://noliesradio.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Green-Tea.jpg

5. Consider mental health a priority

People generally accept that physical health is more important than work, but mental health is often overlooked. Taking care of your mental health is the foundation for your life. Not only will you feel better, but you'll also perform better on daily tasks. It's a great idea to develop a good support system, stress coping strategies or even to check in with a counsellor from time to time. Also, remember to ask for help when you need it. You don't have to do it all.

source: http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16000000/Beautiful-Cat-cats-16096437-1280-800.jpg

Do you have any other tips to balancing the craziness of everyday life? Or any great stress relief tips? Let me know!

Thoughtfully yours,

Addie