January Goals

Hello lovelies,
I hope your first weekend of 2015 was a great success! I spent the weekend doing Chemistry, Geometry, and English homework. I also spent some time scheduling some blog posts for this month!

Last week I shared with you my goals for 2015, and today I'm going to share with you my goals for January! Honestly, I didn't even realize till after I had typed out all of my goals and goal explanations that I had picked 15 goals, I think that's very fitting considering it's the first month of 2015!

Here's my January goals!

New Blog Header

Finish Chemistry Part 1. 

Finish Geometry Part 2.
Finish English 2 Part 2.
Start Spanish 2 Part 1.

Try to go take my permit test.
Work out twice a week.
Get more sleep.
Find a new neurologist.
Finish Belmont University application.
Finish WKU application.

Use Instagram more.
Read three books.

File the FAFSA.
Find out when RoadTrip is for UE.

New Blog Header.

I need a new blog header because last month I made a themed one with a Santa hat. After Christmas I changed it to a plain white with black text header and now I'm thinking it needs something more. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I need something more, I might just make it bigger, I really don't know, we'll see how it goes!

Finish Chemistry Part 1.
I started this on January 2 and so far I'm really loving it, I've already finished one lesson and I'm almost finished with my second lesson, so only five more to go after that!

Finish Geometry Part 2

I should be finished with this in about a week, I don't have much left, but since I took a two week break for the holidays I didn't finish it last month like I'd planned.

Finish English Part 2.
All I have to do in this is write two papers and read one full book and excerpts from two other books. I'll definitely have it done by the end of the month.

Start Spanish 2 Part 1.
I can start this either later this week or early next week, my Spanish classes really aren't that hard, I should definitely be done by the second week of February.

Try to go take my permit test.
I've talked about this before, but basically because I'm not enrolled in school in the county I live in the I haven't been able to get my permit. I'm going to try again and if I can't get it this time then I guess I'll just wait till my 18th birthday in March and then there's nothing they can do about it to stop me.

Work out twice a week.
It might not seem like much, but I'm starting out slow, I don't want to get burnt out and give up. So I'm starting with twice a week and then I'll work my way up!

Get more sleep.
I have the weirdest sleeping schedule and being an online student doesn't help any. I usually stay up till 3am, then sleep till 7am, eat breakfast, then go back to sleep for a few more hours. I'm a nigh-towl and I love staying up late, but I also love to sleep, and I get my best sleep at night when it's dark outside. So this month I'm going to work on getting more sleep and trying to get into bed before 3am.

Find a new neurologist.
I haven't seen a neurologist since 2011 and I really need a checkup. I never was a fan of my old neurologist and sadly he died last year, so I can't see him anymore, to be honest I don't even know how I'm going to get my medical records since he run a private practice and it's now closed. Anyway I think I'm going to look in Nashville and get a doctor down there, Vanderbilt is the best, so we'll see how that goes!

Finish Belmont University application.
Speaking of Nashville, I decided on New Years eve that I was going to go ahead and apply to Belmont. I can't put my application in till Friday when my mom gets paid and has the money for the app fee, but thankfully I was able to get my essay done, and hopefully I'll have an admissions decision by the middle of next month!

Finish WKU application.
This is another one I have to wait till Friday on, but honestly I haven't even started it, thankfully there's no essay or else I would be in big trouble!

Use Instagram more.
Last month I didn't really use Instagram all that much. I want to try to use it more this month because I love discovering new people and because it's pretty much an essential for every blogger.

Read three books.
This should be pretty easy to accomplish, I finished book number one over the weekend, and I have to read Ethan Frome for English class this week, so then I'll only have one more left and my goal for the month will be complete!

File the FAFSA.
Every high school senior and every college students nightmare come January 1st! I'll be doing this one day this week probably tomorrow or Wednesday, it just depends on what day my mom gets off work.

Find out when RoadTrip is for UE.
Road Trip is something that the University of Evansville does every year for high school seniors who have been accepted. We get to spend the weekend in the dorms and experience college life for the weekend!

Whew! That's a lot to do this month, but I can do it! I've made a plan on how I plan to get it all done this month and hopefully I can stick to that plan!

What are your goals for January? Let me know in the comments below!

XoXo,

Lori

November Goals

Hello lovelies, Happy November!!!! Can you believe that there's less than 60 days till 2015? I'm freaking out, I'm happy because it's now socially acceptable to watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas carols loudly, but I'm also kinda scared. I have so much to get done over the next two months, and I'm not ready, I'm really not.

Finish English 2 Part 1 & Part 2

Finish Geometry Part 1 & Part 2

Make final college app decisions

Finish college app essays.
Finish all college apps.

Read six books.

Try to start exercising again.

Use MyFitnessPal for 15 days.

Write at least 5,000 for NaNoWriMo.

Finish English 2 Part 1 & Part 2
I have to read one book, do roughly ten writing assignments, and take seven quizzes, it's not going to be easy but I can do it, I've already started two of the writing assignments, and I'll take one quiz tonight, so I'm off to a great start.

Finish Geometry Part 1 & Part 2
I have eleven quizzes and one big test to finish and then I'll be done, it'll be pretty easy all I have left to do are the quizzes so not much else other than review.

Make final college app decisions
For the most past I've made most of my decisions, however I do have three schools that I'm still unsure of, so I'm going to give it a few more weeks then make my mind up.

Finish college app essays.
I think I'm pretty lucky, only three or four of my colleges require an essay, so compared to others I'm definitely lucky.

Finish all college apps.
I have two full college applications to finish and half of four that need to be finished. One of those I have short answer questions and a few other details to finish and the other two I just have the essay and then they'll be complete.

Read six books.
I think I'm a little in over my head, I requested a lot of Christmas-y books from Netgalley and I have 18 books that I need to read and review that will be releasing over the next month and a half.

Try to start exercising again.
My ankle still isn't completely healed, but it's getting better everyday and most days I hardly feel any pain at all, so this month I'm going to try to get back into a workout routine!

Use MyFitnessPal for 15 days.
I've noticed that when I use MyFitnessPal I do better with my diet and I lose more weight, so this month I want to try to get back into the habit of using it.

Write at least 5,000 for NaNoWriMo.
I WANT to write 50,000 words and win NaNoWriMo, but I know I have so much to do this month that it's not likely that I'll reach 50,000, so I'm setting a personal goal of 5,000, last month I managed 4,000 words, so I'm hoping I can write more than that!

Well that's all for today! What goals have you set for yourself this month? Let me know below or leave a link to your blog post!
XoXo,
Lori

October Goals Update

Hello lovelies, I hope you're having a great day! This month has been absolutely crazy! I've accomplished so much and at the same time so little!

When I look back at this month I'm really proud of everything I've accomplished, sure there's a lot I wanted to do that I didn't, but I prefer to look at it in a positive note rather than be disappointed. 

Overall it was a great month, I didn't do so well with my goals, but so what, I still had a great month.

Lose weight.

Keep up with blogging.

Finish five college applications.

Get my laptop fixed.

Read five books

Finish Geometry Part 1

Start and finish English 2

Try to start or be close to starting Spanish 2

Take the ACT for the last time and try not to freak out.

Find a photographer and schedule an appointment to finally get my senior pictures taken.

4 of 10 goals accomplished this month.

Lose Weight.
- Since I'm still recovering from my sprained ankle I haven;t been exercising much, but I've been trying to walk a little each day. So far it's not showing anything on the scale, but it is showing in my clothes, my jeans are starting to get a little baggier and I don't look as bloated.

Finish Geometry Part 1
- I hate math. I hate math. I hate math. Do I need to say more?

Start and finish English 2
- This was wishful thinking on my part, I thought I could start and finish an entire course in a month based on how quickly I finished English 1, but that's because I wasn't expecting as many writing assignments, so I'm still working on it.

Try to start or be close to starting Spanish 2
I'm only allowed to have four classes open at once, I was counting on finishing Geometry Part 1 and being able to start Spanish 2, but that didn't happen.

Take the ACT for the last time and try not to freak out.
Originally I was planning on taking the October 25 ACT, but then I decided not to. I hate taking tests, it gives me terrible anxiety, so I decided to just deal with the fact that I didn't score as high as I wanted to the first two times I took it.

Find a photographer and schedule an appointment to finally get my senior pictures taken.

This one is kind of half-way done. So far I've narrowed it down to two photographers, now I'm just trying to book an appointment.

So that's all for today, I hope you liked my update! Make sure you check back next week, I'll be throwing in an extra post on Thursday!

XoXo,

Lori

October Goals

Hey Y'all, I still can't believe we're already in October, it's hard to believe we have less than 3 months till we're in 2015!

This month is going to be my busiest month so far, I have so much to do and not enough time to do it in, but I'm up for the challenge! This month I'm focused on keeping up with my blog and school, I also have a lot of college prep stuff  to do, so let's get started!

So there's my goals, what are your goals for this month? Let me know below, or leave a link to your goals, I'd love to see them!

XoXo,

Lori

How To: Write A Paper

Hey y'all, since the new school year has started in most places by now, I thought I'd share some of my tips for writing papers this semester! In school my favorite subjects have always been History and English, I've passed all of my English classes with no less than a final grade of 97 and in one class my final grade was a 100, so I'd say writing papers are definitely one of my strong suits.

Below I've listed the process I go through when I'm writing a paper and I also included some links to help you out!

1. Write a good thesis statement. 

2. Outline. Write one sentence for each paragraph.

3. Research. Find evidence to support your thesis.

4. Add some fluff. Add information and facts to support your thesis.

5. Proofread.

6. Edit. 

7. Ask a friend or teacher to read it and make suggestions. 

8.  Let it sit for a few hours, then go back and re-read it with a clear mind.

9. Make final edits.

10. Turn it in, sacrifice a chicken and hope for the best!

If you're still having trouble writing your paper here are some links to help you out!

How to Write A Research Paper
When to Cite
Paper Rater-Paper Grader
How to write a kickass essay with 1/2 the stress
Guide to Writing Thesis Statements

Well that's all for today, I hope this helps you this year! If you wanna see more posts like this or similar to this, let me know below, I'm open to any suggestions or requests!

XoXo,
Lori

August Goals

Hello lovelies, I hope the new month is off to a great start for you! This month for me is going to be very busy! Starting this week I'm moving, signing up to take the ACT again, planning my trip to Nashville next month, and so much more!

Via

Sign up for the September 13 ACT test date.

Review Algebra 1 Part 1 & Part 2 and take final exam!

Start working on admissions essays.

Plan Nashville trip.

Start and finish English 2 Part 1 & Part 2

Clean out my closet before moving!

Read 3 books.

Finish new blog design!

Find a Neurologist and schedule an appointment.

Lose 5 pounds!

I know it sounds like a lot, and it is, but I'm ready for it! I'm really happy, and I have a lot of motivation!

XoXo,
Lori

July Goals Update

Hey y'all! Can you believe tomorrow is August? I can't believe it, I wish we could freeze time for a week so I can get everything done that I need to do!

 Honestly, I'm actually starting to panic, I have so much to do, and I feel like I'm running out of time. One of the reasons I've been so stressed is because I decided a few weeks ago that I won't be using the CommonApp when it becomes available tomorrow, so that means I have to do all of my college applications separately, and I have to write essays for all the schools I apply to!

So, if over the next few months I don't post as often you know why!
But for now here's an update for my goals this month!

Read 2 Books

Lose Weight

Be a Better Blogger

Finish College Prep US History Part 2

Start and Finish English 2 Part 1

Start Geometry Part 1

Visit UE campus

 Send in UE college app

Write 10,000 words for Camp NaNoWriMo.
Order ACT study books.

5 out of 5!

Lose Weight
If you read Monday's Weight Loss Update, then you already know everything there is to know.

Start and Finish English 2 Part 1
Finishing my history course took way longer than I had planned, but I did finish it, now I'm just waiting for my teacher to close my course so I can get English 2 opened and I'm not sure how long that will take, usually 7-10 days but sometimes it can take longer.

Visit UE campus.
I had an appointment to tour the campus on Monday, but unfortunately I had to cancel it due to bad timing and health issues. But I did send in my application and hopefully soon I'll get to re-schedule!

Write 10,000 words for Camp NaNoWriMo
I made it to just over 7,000 words this month, I didn't write as much this month as I did last month, but considering everything that happened this month I'm happy with my results.

Order ACT study books.
Oops, I kinda forgot about this. I'll try to remember to order them tomorrow!


So that's all for this month! Did you accomplish your goals this month?

XoXo,
Lori