2015 Goals Wrap-Up

Hello All,

Happy last day of 2015! This year as been crazy and I honestly didn't pay much attention to my goals over the past year. But it was a good year and I proud of all the person I became over the last 12 months. If you are interested in where this and would like see where it all started you can see the first post here, you can also see the check-ins by clicking on the following months: March 2015 and September 2015. 

Not Even Attempted

In Progress

Completed

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

I did a get job for about the first three months and then it completely fell off the track

2. Cross 3 Things Off My Bucket List

I crossed nothing off my bucket list this year. I focused on school this year and didn't do anything huge, bucket list worthy. Although I have decided to add 1 thing to my bucket list, I have decided that I would like to take a tour at all 7 Ivy League schools. I was able to take a tour at Harvard this past summer, so I am 1/7 of my ways through crossing that off my list.

3. Finish 2 Blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days

I started a blanket but haven't finished it yet. Although I'm thinking about working on it some over this break.

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't For School

I read 5 books this year. I would say that its pretty damn close to perfect. I'm also about a quarter of the way through the current book I'm reading so I would say that its about 95.25% of this goal could be crossed out. You can read the book reviews by clicking on the following links: Six Months Later, Gone Too Far, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, PS I Still Love You and The Third Twin.

5. Blog Twice A Week

I worked really hard on keeping up with this for the first month of the year. And then I realized that I didn't like working on schedule. I have found that when I try and force myself to get two blog posts out a week they aren't as good as they should be. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

This year I found a template I liked but wasn't good about keeping up with it.

7. Stop Procrastinating

I was awesome at not procrastinating this past semester. I got most of my work done before schedule. Most nights I didn't have to do homework after about 4:30 PM so I had my nights off and I was a lot happier that way. Although at times that meant spending hours in the library.

8. Become a Neater Person

I'm actually pretty proud to say that I have become a neater person. This semester I have found that most nights before I go to bed I'm putting things away  and making sure that most things are in its place. I have found that this has made me less stressed.

9. Go On 4 Blog Worthy Adventures 

I went on so many fun and exciting adventures this year and it was awesome! You can read about the adventures by clicking on the following links: Disney with my friends, Tori visiting me at school, Hiking with my Roommate, Boston Day 1 & Day 2, Pumpkin Picking.

10. Work on my Novel More

I haven't worked on my novel at all. I actually started working on different writing project and I'm pretty happy about the work I've gotten done on it. 

And those were my 10 goals of 2015. I only crossed one thing off my list but I made head ways on a lot of my goals. Things haven't been perfect but I'm happy about the headway I made and I can't wait to see where 2016 takes me.

What I Want to See in the Gilmore Girl Revial

Hello All,

A few months ago I saw the article circulating about the Netflix Gilmore Girls Revival. And I'll be honest at first I was very skeptical because there had been the rumors in the past but nothing ever came of them. But then I saw this and I knew it was most likely true.

Paste

All of that it was many months ago and now we all know that its true! The Gilmore Girls are coming back! I have had sometime to think about what I want to see in the revival and like many fans I dreamed that this day would come but I never actually believed that it would happen. But that didn't stop me from day dreaming about the idea that my favorite Mother/Daughter duo would be gracing my television (or computer, since its coming to Netflix) again. 

I feel like no matter what we see, whether its what I've dreamed up or what any fan has dreamed up over the last 8 years, this revival is going to be nothing short of amazing. And that is because 1. Unlike the seventh and final season the revival is going to be written by Amy Sherman Pallidino who created the show and was a one of the writer up until season seven. 2. Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson and Kelly Bishop have all signed on to be a part of it. 3. Its Gilmore Girls, its going to be amazing no matter what!

And now on to the things I hope to see in the revival.

1. I hope to see Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelai (Lauren Graham) married

LtoR: Luke (Patterson) & Lorelai (Graham)
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 I have seen many fans state that they hope we see their wedding. And I wouldn't mind seeing their wedding in flashbacks. But it has been 8 years since Luke and Lorelai presumably got back to together at Rory's graduation party. I find it hard to believe that they waited eight years to tie the knot.

2. I hope that Rory (Alex Bledel) is not married

Rory (Bledel)
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I feel this way for a couple of reasons. 1 I feel like it would be realistic that Rory isn't married at 30. Mainly because Rory was a very adventurous and career driven girl. I feel like there is a good chance that she explored the world and got her career stable before settling down. But also I have read articles that all three of major love interest are coming back to reprise their roles as well.

3. I hope they find a good way to honor Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann)

Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann)
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As most of the fans know Edward Herrmann passed away just about a year ago (wow the time as flown). I find it hard to believe that Amy Sherman Pallidino would glaze over the topic and/or recast the role. And even if she tried I'm guessing the cast would not be appreciative of that idea at all. In all honesty, as sad and as heartbreaking as it would be it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the first of the 90-minute specials opens at his funeral. It would be a good way to bring the characters back together and give the fans closure. 

4. I hope that Luke still has a good relationship with his daughter, April (Vanessa Marano) .

LtoR: April (Marano) and Luke (Patterson)
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Many fans seem to believe that April was one of the worse plot devise in the show's history. I on the other hand liked their relationship. I never thought Luke and Lorelai would have a kid but its awesome that he did eventually get a kid who he could bond with, plus she was past the jam hands phase.

(Also I learned a fun fact today. Amy's plan for the character of Anna (April's mom) was for to be "competition" for Lorelai. But after Amy left/was kicked off the show in season seven they decided to make Anna attempt to take Luke's custody away.)

5. I want to know what Sookie named her third baby

LtoR: Lorelai (Graham) & Sookie (Melissa McCarthy)
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One of the things that never really sat right with me in the 7th season was Sookie's unexpected pregnancy and the fact we never knew more than the fact that she was pregnant. It made it hard for me to feel like the show was truly over.

6. I hope that Melissa McCarthy returns

Sookie (McCarthy)
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We all know since Gilmore Girls Melissa McCarthy's career has taken off. From Bridesmaid, to Spy, to Identity thief to Mike and Molly, Melissa McCarthy has been one busy lady. But I hope that we will see some Sookie in the revival because she was always one of my favorite characters.

7. I hope we see Lane and what her life is like

LtoR: Lane (Keiko Agena) & Rory (Bledel)
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For the majority of the series Lane lived a double life. And towards the end we saw her start to balance it out slightly. I want to know if its balanced out now, as well as what her twin boys are like.

8. I want to see Paris and Doyle still married

LtoR: Doyle (Danny Strong) & Paris (Liza Weil)
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Paris always brought so much quirkiness to a show that was already filled with quirk. But I need to know where she and Doyle are now. Have they had children? What kind of medicine does she practice? Are her and Rory still friends? Do they still dance like that?

9. I hope they make some jokes about the actor's careers now

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So many members of the cast has gone to have some amazing careers. Some of which can be used to make some awesome jokes. Like was is Dean really doing for career? Is he hunting demons under a fake name? Or does Paris have a crazy (murdering) boss? I don't know maybe those joke would be corny but I still want to see what types of pop culture references the writers can make with what the actors are doing now.

10. I want to see the townspeople

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I need to know where all of the other townspeople are now.

11. I need to know what Amy Sherman Pallidino planned final words were going to be.

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She was very clear that she didn't approve of how the writers of season 7 ended the show. She also said that she had always known the final four words. I'm hoping that the final four words of the final 90 minute special will be the four words that Amy always dreamt of.


And those are the 11 things I want to see in the Gilmore Girls revival. If your a Gilmore Girls fan, what do you want to see in the revival episodes? Let me know in the comments below.

-P.S. Make sure you stay tuned because the next Where in the World... feature which is featuring Gilmore Girls. So, you can know where I think they all are today before the revival hits Netflix.

Happy!

Hello All,

Before I start I would just like today say that this post is a one hit wonder meaning that I'm writing this post, schedule it to post and then not looking at it again until I tweet the link. This is because I have been editing like a mad women between school and all the blog posts that I have been working on. And when I edited a blog post I normally wait 24 hours to edit because if I edited right away I feel like I miss so many typos because its so fresh on my mind. But that's not what I'm here to talk about so so let's just move on to what I came on here to talk about.

So, I'm going to start by telling you a story. Today is Tuesday (probably about two weeks before you're seeing this) and it was raining. When I was leaving my building this morning I forgot that it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. Most people would be sprinting across campus so that they don't get soaking wet. But I was walking across at pretty normal pace and was listening to music. And while I was walking I was just overcome with this feeling of happiness. I don't really know where it came from. In all honesty I have been kind of stressed lately so I was shocked when all the sudden I was swept over with happy.

But it wasn't only happiness that came over me. It was this feeling of I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Not only in location but in every aspect of my life. I have always been a firm believer in the idea of fate. But at times I still wonder if I'm making the right choices and if everything is going to be okay. But while I was walking back from the dorm I got the idea that everything was going tokay and that I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. 

And I was kind of surprised to be feeling this way because I had a lot of thing that just kind of went wrong today. Not that today was a bad day but it wasn't a day that would typically have me walking across campus smiling to myself. 

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is even on days that are uber stressful finding something as simple as walking in the rain can make you happy. And even when everything seems to be going wrong that everything is going to be okay!

And now I have decided spur of the momently (<--- Is that a word? If it is am I using it correctly?) that this post is going to go live on the first day of finals at my school because it seems like a positive note to start the final period with. 

And on that note I would like to wish everyone who is taking finals good luck!

MOVIE REVIEW: Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 2

Hello All,

I have been cranking out blog post recently like its nobody's business. Even so, I'm still behind on getting out all the post I have on my written on my to do list. But I'm going to try and get a lot of them out so we can be all even stevens when the new years roles around. Which brings me to this post.

Do you when the last time I wrote a movie review was? It was in July! That was the last time I went to a movie! For anyone whose wondering that movie was Trainwreck and you can read the review right here.

So, for any of you who haven't been living under rock for the past 3 and half almost four years then you've probably heard about The Hunger Games. I was stubborn and refused to read or watch them movies for the longest time because I thought they'd be lame. But last year I watched the first one one night when it was playing on ABC Family and I was confused. So then I watched again with my roommate and she helped explain it to me. At that time Hunger Games - Catching Fire was on Netflix so we watched that one. And then we went and saw Mockingjay part 1 and I was hooked. 

Well a couple of weeks ago I went and saw the most recent one. If you haven't seen the trailer well here it is.

Normally when I write reviews I give you a summary of the movie but I don't know how to do that without giving away the other 3 movies. But one thing I can say about the plot is that it picks up exactly where the 3rd one left off. Almost perfectly! I actually think that they did a better time picking up where they left off then Harry Potter did between the two Deathly Hollow movies.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawerence)
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One thing that always leaves me in awe about these movies (or just about any movie she's in) is how amazing Jennifer Lawrence is. She honestly can play any part. And of course this movie is no different. Katniss, Jennifer Lawerence's character, has a lot of emotions and rebellious attitudes in this movie.  And J-Law pulled it off amazingly well. She made me want to stand up and fight for their cause. I don't think there is any other actress on the face of this earth who could play Katniss in such a way.

LtoR: Katniss (Lawerence), Boggs (Mahereshala Ali) & Gale (Liam Hemsworth)
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Of course there is also the amazing chemistry between Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hunterson). I'll be honest, I never read the books but never once in the movies did I ever see how the character Gale (Liam Hemsworth) was ever even a possible match for Katniss. Lawerence and Hutchernson have such undeniable chemistry that every time  Peeta tried to attack or Katniss showed that she remembered who he really and truly was my heart melted and I got butterflies. 

LtoR: Katniss (Lawerence) & Gale (Hemsworth
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And then there was the end. I'm not going to give it away but it was the perfect ending for the movie.  They wrapped it up in a way that you knew what had happened to all the characters that you loved but remained very focused on Katniss and her life. I will be honest my favorite sense in the whole movie was in the last five minutes. It was a moment between Katniss and Peeta that was so sweet and so innocent and so beautiful. 

Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)
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After finishing the movie I left the theatre feeling three different ways. One happy because the movie was amazing (possibly my favorite). But it also made me want to turn around and go watch that one or any of the Hunger Games movies again.  But it also made me want to actually read the series. Which I'll be honest I have said multiple times because. And this year winter break might actually be the year that I do it. 

LtoR: Gale (Hemsworth) & Katniss (Lawerence
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So,  incase this glowing review didn't make it obvious I would recommend this movie to just about anyone.  I don't think you need to have watch the third one recently to be able to see this one but I do think that you need at least seen it once so you know what it is going on.

LtoR: Peeta (Hutcherson) & Katniss (Lawerence
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Have you seen the Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2? If you did what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments so we can chat!

Where In The World Are They Now? {Friends}

Hello All,

The Other day I was reading an article all about where the characters of the hit show, Friends (1994-2004), are now in 2015 and was appalled by where the writer of the article thought they'd be today. But it inspired me for a new series on my blog about where some of my favorite TV characters are now. You can read the post that inspired the post here!

Obviously because an article about Friends inspired this series they are where I'm going to start!

At the end of season 10, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) is starting his career in advertising as well as the adventure in parenthood to his and Monica's twins, Erica and Jack, who would now be eleven. I think that Chandler made it big in advertisement and would have created a commercial series like the popular ones today of Flo and Jake from State farm.  I believe that Chandler is super involved in life his children life. I think that he's probably coached at least one sports team that his kids played and never misses a big event. I also believe that he still happily married to Monica and besties with Joey, because who could break up that bromance.

(Before I start Joey I want to say that I never saw the spin off Joey so I don't know where he was during that series)

I like to believe that Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) acting career eventually did take off. He starred in his first rom com and the ladies of the world fell in love with him and he became the go-to leading man in many rom coms. He now lives in LA in giant house with his real life white dog and of course the chick and the duck. He never got married but has been in some serious relationships over the last eleven years. Multiple times a year Joey goes back to New York City and visit his Friends. 

Monica Geller- Bing (Courteney Cox) has loved being a mom of twins and a homeowner. About six months after the twins were born Monica decided to become a stay at home and absolutely loved it. When the twins started school she started an organization business out of her home. Now she spends her days keeping her house perfectly in place as well as helping others to get their homes in order. She spends her nights making healthy and delicious meals for her family and keeping her kids on schedule.

Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) is still married to Mike. After the series ended they had three boys now ages 10, 8 and 5. They are raising their children in the city and love bring them to Central Park. They also encourage all of their children to get involved in music. Between having her first and second son Phoebe started volunteering for a youth center and has since started mentoring children who have had a hard up-bring. Phoebe has remained super close with the rest of the Friends but is super close with Joey, they facetime at least 1 time a week and even named one of her boys after him.

After Rachel famously "Got off the plane" she and Ross got back together. Although Rachel made the decision that she didn't want to marry Ross, instead she believed that they should be together without having to sign a piece of paper. They also went on to have another baby girl. Rachel has loved having little girls in her life. She and Monica stay extremely close and she visits the Bings regularly.

And finally there's Ross. After Rachel got off the plane he attempted to propose many times but ultimately gave up and went along with Rachel's no marriage rule. Ross and Emma have a very strong bond and Emma has become quiet the Daddy's Girl. When Ross' oldest child Ben went away to college he wanted to study literature instead of science. Ross was a little disappoint but has since convinced Ben to write more then one paper about whether or not the book Jurassic Park is realistic. Ross is still teaching at NYU as well as trying (not very successfully) to get more papers published.

And that's where I see the six main characters of Friends being in 2015. If you were a big Friends fan where to do you see them being now? I'm really interested to know so let me know in the comments below, or write your post about it!

Be sure to come back some time in January 2016 when I discuss where I think the character of Gilmore Girls are before the revile happens sometime in 2016!

Thanksgiving Break 2015

Hello All,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving this year and that your holiday season is off to a great start. The next few weeks in my world are going to be crazy! But I also have a lot of blog post ideas so I hopefully I crank some of those out over the next few weeks. With that being said let's talk about Thanksgiving Break.

Tuesday:

My Thanksgiving break started Tuesday afternoon after class. As soon as that class ended I pretty much ran to my car. At this time I had only spent one night off campus all semester and that one day was back in September, meaning that it had been about 60 days since I had spent a night off campus and had been home. So, you could say I was a little excited. When I got home I spent a little while with Mama J before retreating to my bed (where I spent most of break). For dinner Mama J and I went to my favorite restaurant at home.  When we got home I jumped in the shower and I'm pretty sure I was out like a light but 10:30/11 and I'm not even a little sorry.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday I woke up at about 9:15 but didn't get out of bed until like 11:30. Once I got out of bed I ran to the grocery store to get some food and came home. I had some homework that was due at 4 PM so I did that assignment and sent it in. Once I finished with my responsibilities I decided to do some baking and I made a cake (I didn't take a picture though because it wasn't that pretty). While things were baking I worked on one of my writing projects and just chilled out. 

Thursday (Thanksgiving):

Originally my plan was to wake up at 8:45 so I would be upstairs for the beginning of the parade. But that didn't happen. I woke up about an hour later and went up stairs. I watched bits and pieces of the parade while I curled my hair and did my make-up. Mama J and I made our way down to my Uncle's house for Thanksgiving itself. For our Thanksgiving it was a smaller group this year then it normally is but it was actually a lot of fun. My younger cousin pointed out to me later in the night that we had been sitting at the dinning room table for about 4 hours! It was crazy. When Mama J and I got home I was again retreated to my bedroom and worked on one of my writing projects again. All and all it was a great Thanksgiving.

My Thanksgiving selfie as seen on Instagram

 Also if you are interested in seeing my annual Thanksgiving post you can see it here.

Friday:

I slept in for quiet while. When I woke up Mama J and I got ready to leave the house because we were going Black Friday shopping! We left the house around noon and our first stop was getting lunch at Friendly's and although we would both probably return in the future our experience this time was not good! After lunch we headed over to Bath and Body Works where I picked up my winter scents as well as some Christmas presents. This was probably the craziest store we went to. It was so jammed packed but we got so much stuff from there. Our next stop was Kohls where I hit the mother load! I was so impressed with all the deals I got. Before applying coupons I had already saved $100! Plus a lot of the stuff I got were really cute! My last stop of the day was Ulta where I treated myself to some cute make-up as well as some base products. Mama J had to work that night so I went home and vegged. At around 8 PM I decided to get up and make cinnamon rolls. They were delicious. 

Saturday:

I slept in super later because it was rainy and gross. After I woke up I spent the better part of the day in bed because why not. Later that night Mama J decided she wanted to join team iphone. We went to Verizon where she was helped my an awesome worker. Although there was a slight mess up with the sims cards that got our phones sort of messed up. But they were able to fix it. When I got home I windowed shopped on Etsy for hours. And then crashed.

Sunday:

I slept until about 11:15 and as soon as I woke up I knew I would regret sleeping that late because I have to go to bed early because I work super early on Monday mornings. Once I got up I got ready to film because I was filming my Black Friday Haul (which you can watch by clicking here). Once I finished I packed up my car and headed back to school for the last 19 days before winter break!

And that was my Thanksgiving break. How did you guys spend your Thanksgiving? Let me know in the comments below.

What I'm Thankful For 2015 {Thanksgiving Post}

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I love all the food and the Macy's Parade and the family and the fact that Christmas pretty much starts the next day. Thanksgiving just makes me so happy. Every year (2013 & 2014) I like to share all the things I am grateful for, like...

...Mama Judy

...my family in general

...my friends

Mandi & I

Tori & I

Sonja, Megan & I

Amelia & I

...the ability to go to school...even when it stresses me out

A snap from my least favorite class in Spring '15 semester

...the ability to eat 3 meals a day

...the fact that I can write this blog

...the ability to travel

From my March 2015 trip

...the amazing men and women who risk their lives everyday for our freedom.

...people who donate their organs so that people like my cousin can continue to enjoy their lives.

And those are all the things I'm grateful this year and everyday. What are you grateful for? Let me know in the comments below. 

Homecoming 2015

Hello All,

In October my college had its homecoming weekend. Homecoming at my school is a big deal but its not as big as it at other schools. But its still a lot of fun to go to and the traditions are pretty cool too. And since I did it of course I need to blog about it.

Homecoming was on Saturday, which meant that I had to work from midnight to 4 AM the day of homecoming. Luckily this year it was a night game which means I got to sleep until a pretty decent time of about 11:30. When I got up I did my make up and got ready for the game.

The first tradition my school as is the annual homecoming parade where the different halls, clubs and organization create skits to share on homecoming day.  On most of the posters around campus said that the parade was starting at 1:30 but they changed it to 2 meaning we were super early. My roommate Sonja knows some of the girls on the soccer team and we went and watched a little of it.

Sonja ended up watching the rest of the game while Megan and I went to watch the parade. I always love going to parade one because the different groups are super creative but also because one of my good friends, Mandi's (you may recognize her from my Disney 2015 Spring Break Trip) sorority always does a skit and I love to see what they come up with. All the clubs and organization did a great job and to be honest it is always one of my favorite parts of the parade.

After the parade we went to lunch at our dinning hall and then hung out at our room for a little while. But soon it was time for the game. It was a night game and the first one I had ever gone to (at night at least). It was a lot of fun but I only made it to about half time because I got too cold. Unfortunately our team lost but they did a really good job in the part that I saw.

The field

The snapchat showing how cold it was

2/3 of my roommate (LtoR: Sonja, Megan and me)

And that was my senior year homecoming!

When Life Gets Stressful

Hello All,

Recently my life has been crazy busy. You probably noticed because I'm rarely writing on here and even my social medias aren't updated as often as they used to be. (Find me by searching @judy_judy94 on any social media) Being busy has left me majorly stressed. There are some things that I found that really help when I'm stressed.

1. Venting

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Sometimes you just need to get things off your chest. Especially when it feels like everything is going wrong. And sometimes if your lucky and you have friends like my friend Mandi they'll send you little pep talk text messages to help get you through the day. 

2. Binge Watching Some Netflix

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Sometimes you just need to disappear into a world of make believe. Or a world that has more drama then your own life and you don't have to personally deal with the aftermath. Plus when your binge watching you don't really have to think about all the poop hitting the fan which is a nice little vacation for your brain.

3. Call Your Mom

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Somehow no matter what the problem or situation is moms always have the answer. Even if you don't want to hear that advice. Plus moms are pre-programmed to love you even when you go on ranting about the same stupid thing for hours on end.

4. Work Out

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Okay I'll be honest I'm not following my own advice on this one but I know from the past  working out does help when your stressed and having a bad day.

5. Treat Yo Self

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Whether your buy yourself a new shirt or eat an extra cookie with your dinner every once in a while its good to treat yourself every once in awhile.

6. Sleep

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Sometimes your body needs to sleep and it needs to sleep good. Don't feel bad when your friends want to go out one night and you chose to sleep. Also don't feel bad if you crash out at 9 PM and sleep until 9 AM the next morning because sometimes that is well needed.

7. Make Yourself Feel Good

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I find the days that I get ready for school and make myself feel pretty that I have more productive and happier on those days. Some days this doesn't work but most days it does.

8. Find a mantra

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This particular mantra has been this recently. I wrote it down on index card and have it clipped in my planner. Everyday I read it and remind myself that sometimes your going to have a rough couple of days but then you fake it and you're eventually going to make it.

Whether your you need to chill on the couch get up and be active or just remind yourself that your worth it there are so many ways to de-stress yourself and take a mini life vacation.

How do you de-stress? Tell me about it in the comments below.