Learning for FREE via the Internet

For the past few semesters I have been a part-time student at my local community college, attempting to earn an Associates degree in Business while running a restaurant and maintaining a healthy social life. It was not easy, but the hardest part (aside from getting out of my warm comfy bed) has been paying for my classes and books. You see, I refuse to take out any student loans. I have a mortgage, a car payment, medical bills, blah blah blah... I'm not adding another creditor to the mix. So NO loans. When I last applied for financial aid, I was denied. I'm going to try again this year and hope for some help but as it stands, no aid. 
I paid cash, and this semester, due to all sorts of random expenses and circumstances, we were unable to swing the cost of my tuition and books. 
I am determined to keep learning and so I've been scouring the internet for good, reliable FREE sources of information. I'm tight with my money. I work very hard for it and therefore do not spend it on just anything. Anytime I get something for free or at a deep discount, I celebrate. Consider this post a celebration of the vast amount of information available to anyone with a thirst for knowledge and a stable internet connection. 
My two faves (in no particular order):

iTunesU

I love iTunesU, and I generally avoid all things Apple. I had to download iTunes so that I could use iTunesU but it was TOTALLY worth it. There are so many different subjects and contributors! So far I have taken the Understanding Happiness TED talk, the Leading Wisely TED talk, the Death course from Yale, and I've delved in a bit of Spanish with a few different courses, one from Arkansas University. You will never be bored once you have discovered iTunesU and all it has to offer. 

My favorite thing about iTunesU is that since it is free, I can explore things (like psychology) that maybe I would not have otherwise gotten to learn. I get to experiment and see what new things peak my interests. It's been a bit of a journey of self discovery, asking myself what would I learn about if I could do it for free on my own time schedule? I'm hopeful that by using iTunesU I can figure out a bit more about myself and maybe find something I am passionate about. 

Universal Class

Universal Class is a similar program to iTunesU that is offered for free by my local library.

I have not gotten into these classes much yet but there seems to be a more eclectic variety of classes here. For example, I am currently learning about Aromatherapy and after that I may learn about Bartending and Mixology or perhaps I will take a course on Novel writing. And it's all for free...I LOVE IT!

Check out your local library's website to see if you have free access to this or a similar website.

My local library also offers FREE e-books that you can download onto your Kindle and read for 7-14 days before it is automatically returned. Like me and don't own a Kindle? If you have a smartphone, tablet or computer you can download the Kindle app for free and read your free e-book on your free Kindle app from anywhere you can take your phone.

This has revolutionized my life.

Handy Links for people in the Lexington, KY area: 

Lexington Public Library homepage

Lexington Public Library E-Book Page

Honorable Mentions:

YouTube

Not just for cat videos, YouTube has tons of DIY tutorials, instrument lessons, makeup demonstrations, work out videos. If you want it to be, YouTube can be a great resource.

TED Talks

Half of the things I've watched on iTunesU have been from TED conferences so I feel like I'd be in the wrong if I didn't mention TED talks directly. TED gathers together experts on a particular subject from all over the world and gives them something like 15-20 minutes to explain what they and their subject are all about. It's really interesting and a great place to go if you want something to think about.

Coursera

Was just told about this one, have not checked it out yet but I'll get back to you on it. :)

Do you know of a great FREE educational website out there on the interwebs? Please share it in the comments, I'd love to explore something new. 

The Holidaze

This past week or so has been a whirlwind of food and fun with family and friends. Off work Christmas Eve Eve, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Day... yus! I totally won. I feel like I should stop and mention, for any managers out there, that it is a real employee morale booster to close on Christmas Day and New Years Day so that your people can be with their families. So keep that in mind if you ever run your own business.
So what did I do with all of my glorious time off?

Every Christmas Eve Eve my husband's friends have a traditional Eve Eve party. Last year was sort of a bust for me so I tried to be sure that this year would be awesome. And it was!

Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed my Monopoly Man Mustache.

Turned Douchebag Goatee...

Good times, good times. I got to try a new KY Bourbon- Angel's Envy. It's incredibly smooth and as an added bonus, the bottle has wings on it. If you haven't tried it yet, do so.

Christmas Eve I ran around Hamburg Pavilion getting last minute gifts for practically everyone using old gift cards from our wedding and other random holidays. Good news is with it being Christmas Eve (lots of half price sales) and with all of my gift cards I spent maybe $80 cash on at least $200 worth of stuff. Love Love LOVE saving money! After all that shopping I went home, wrapped gifts and spent the evening with my husband and our animals. 

Teila is not at all a fan of Santa hats and tried to destroy hers.

  

Ryli was more cooperative, but I think that may have been out of fear of the hat.

Christmas day we headed to Harrodsburg for an early dinner with my husband's family. 

From there it was off to Versailles to see my kin and then home again and in bed to be ready for work in the morning. (No pictures, I suck)

Fast forward to New Years Eve.

Literally no one had plans until the last minute so a friend of mine threw an impromptu NYE party at her house in Danville. 

 

My husband and I.

 

I tend to over dress. Fortunately I brought some sweats and the PJ NYE party commenced. 

Just for fun: Silly String at midnight!

 Yes, those are cheeseburger appetizers and yes I brought box wine. We keep it classy! 

Our lovely hostess complete with Thing 1 wig. 

2012 was a year full of realizations, change, fun times, old friends, new friends, a new family member and so much happiness.

2013 will be epic. I can feel it. 

Eve Eve party shirt from Goodwill. Pants from the Gap, 1969 Collection.

NYE Dress from Goodwill. Boots from Justfab.com

Pictures were taken by friends of mine and my husband. 

Poppin' Tags at Goodwill

I believe that in general when one is in public they should try to always look their best. I adore fashion and my tastes are very diverse. There are a lot of fashion blogs on the internet but one thing that I've noticed is that every time you click on a link to buy what you see, you (or at least I) end up with sticker shock. $200 for a pair of jeans? $50 for a shirt?? It's like they want you to believe you have to drop a car payment in order to dress well. 
I'm no fool.

Enter Goodwill. Goodwill is a thrift shop with locations nationwide. It is also hands down my favorite place to shop for clothes and other random goodies. If Goodwilling were a game, I'd be a champion. Practically all of my favorite outfits have come from Goodwill and for someone like me, to walk out of a store with multiple new outfits, knowing you only spent like $20 feels amazing. 

It is important to note that one must be careful when choosing clothing at a thrift store. I have the same standards for quality when I'm Goodwilling as I do at any other store. Fortunately, Goodwill has changing rooms and since I always try clothes on before buying them at a regular store, I do the same when I'm Goodwilling. Since the items are second hand, it's also important to inspect your finds for any stains or holes. 
Shirts are like $3, pants $3 (I think, maybe $5), dresses $5, winter coats $5... 
Macklemore says it best in his song Thrift Shop...

"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket. I-I-I'm huntin', looking for a come up, this is fucking awesome."  

Snickerdoodle Deliciousness

Nom Nom Nom Nom! 

When I decided that I wanted to bring the crew a special treat for the holidays, my mind immediately jumped to Snickerdoodles. They are easily one of my favorite cookies and the cinnamon-sugar combination always reminds me of the Holiday season. 

I have a recipe that I normally use for these, but since I'm trying to eat and live healthier I tweaked it a bit and the results were, in my opinion, better than the originals. So, without further ado, here's my recipe for Snickerdoodles.

Here's What You'll Need:

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup applesauce (Cinnamon, it was on hand)
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups Splenda
2 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Parchment Paper (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

In a large mixing bowl, add together your butter, applesauce, shortening, splenda, eggs, and vanilla.

After that's well mixed, go ahead and begin to blend in your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. 
My dough was a little too doughy so I stuck it in the fridge for about half an hour. 

While I was waiting for my dough to solidify I mixed together the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and got my cookie sheet ready with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, spray your cookie sheet with nonstick spray.

I also took a break to lick the beaters . Yum!

Once the dough is a good consistency, use a spoon to scoop out balls of dough.

Roll the dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture until your ball is completely covered and then place on the parchment paper. Continue to do this until your cookie sheet is full.

         

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Mine were ready at 8 minutes so keep an eye on them.

Let your cookies cool and then put them away. I used this festive Whitmans Tin! 

It Makes Me Smile.

Random Aside: Another reason that I wanted to make cookies to bring to work is because where I work we serve a Chocolate Chunk Cookie that is to die for. The problem is I recently found out that just one cookie has 568 calories and is worth 15 freaking Weight Watchers points, FOR ONE DAMNED COOKIE!! And I am addicted to these things and have been eating at least one or two a day almost everyday. No wonder I'm getting fat! 4 Weight Watchers points sounds much much better.

Nutritional Information: 1 cookie per serving. Values are Per Serving: 138 calories, 7 g Fat, 15 g Carbs, 2 g Protein, .1 g Fiber. 

4 Weight Watchers points.

Color Me Rad 5k

Color Me Rad 5k 

Color Me Rad is a 5k "color" race where you get doused with different colored paint while you run a 5k around a city near you! According to the website it is a "tsunami of color that'll make colored tears of joy run down your cheeks and will renew your will to live."

Intriguing.

Now, I am as unathletic as they come. In general my days consist of going to work and then coming home and sitting in front of the computer or in bed reading until it's time for bed. It's got to stop. To run a 5k is something I want to do before I die, as a test of will more than anything else. This color run thing sounds like a lot of fun tied in with a lot of running. I hate running, but I like fun so I figure if I'm ever going to run a 5k in my life, it'd probably be this one. And there's one in my hometown in less than 3 months. 

With that in mind, I'm going to begin to "train." The thought of that for real makes me laugh because it's completely out of character for me, but that's what this blog is all about! Perhaps I'll find out running helps me  relieve stress, or maybe I'll have more energy or maybe I'll hate every second of it. Who knows?
I'm going to document my "training" (lmao!) and whatever resources I use here, as it will be a trial and error type thing using the internet to get ideas.

A 5k = 3.1 miles. Holy shit.

Update 12-21-12:

After searching the internet for 5k training programs and weight loss programs (cuz if I'm gonna do this, I might as well do it right,) I decided that I'm going to go with the Couch-to-5k app for 5k training and a Weight Watchers app for the weight loss. The Weight Watchers app is called WWPoints and I think it's free (put it on my phone a long time ago, actually, so I can't exactly remember.) The Couch-to-5k app cost me a few bucks but I'm ok with it because I like the design of the app and I think it'll be easy to use. Went for my first run yesterday using the app in the freezing temperatures. December is a dumb time to start training for a 5k but the race is in March so I've got to do it. Dammit. I can do this. I can do this. 

Images from the Color Me Rad website. Can't wait to add my own!! 

Soda Pop Top Purse

My Inspiration:                                 

                         

This Pop Top Bag

My Creation:

                      

                                          Not too shabby!

You Will Need

Soda Pop Tops (alot!)        Ribbon         Hot Glue Gun                   Purse (from Goodwill, cost $1.50) 

(I thought I was going to need a needle, thread and safety pins too but as it turns out, I was over complicating things and hot glue works just fine!) 

Time to do: A few hours

How It's Done:

Cut a piece of your ribbon a couple of inches longer than the width of your purse. Thread a pop top onto the ribbon at the end and secure it with hot glue. 

Thread more pop tops, making sure that they are all facing the same way, until you have enough to cover the width of your bag. Secure the last pop top with hot glue, the same way you did the first. (I just wrapped the ribbon around the middle of the pop top and glued.)

 Space the pop tops how you want them, the tighter you pull the pop tops, the less ribbon will show.

I did each layer individually so once you've got your strand of threaded pop tops and both ends are secured, hot glue the strand to the purse. I started at the bottom and worked my way up and then around to the back.

Then you just repeat! Make lots of strands of pop tops and then glue them down, one layer at a time!I alternated the way the pop tops were facing and it created a cool zig-zag pattern that I totally dig!

I had a few blue Diet Redbull pop tops that my husband had saved for me along with the regular soda ones. I HAD to use them so I made this little flower by hot gluing the tips together in this flower pattern. I didn't like the center and I had some extra ribbon so I tied this little bow and hot glued it on top.

Voila! Pop-top flower.

 

Why oh Why I'm here...

Help!!!

I'm Trapped. Trapped in this life. Trapped in this body. Trapped by my choices. Trapped by my all consuming need for more.

More knowledge, more friends, more life experiences... Trapped by the thought (fear?) that my days are wasting away.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit there. Life is actually pretty good. I've got an amazing husband, 2 ridiculous dogs, a comfortable home, and a stable, marketable career. I can pay all my bills and still have a bit of money left over to catch a band at the bar on the weekend. But I've been feeling antsy lately and it's come to my attention that everything my husband and I have built for the past four years is holding us down from achieving what we ultimately want to achieve. That comfortable home equals a mortgage and an uphill battle whenever we do get in a position that we can sell. That good, stable career is in food service and while I am incredibly thankful for everything that I have and everyone who has helped me to get where I am, it's not my dream job. My life has expanded to a point where I should be somewhat content, and contentment scares the hell out of me. It makes you boring, your life routine. I have been stuck in the same routine for  4 years and I recently decided it's time to break free.

First Step: I quit my job as the GM of a fast food restaurant and got a new job. It's still in food, still a General Manager, but it's a fast casual restaurant and the food quality and atmosphere could not be more different from that which I came from. 

Second Step: Start this blog. I need inspiration. I need motivation. 

Yay for the internet! By using pinterest, stumbleupon, iTunesU, TED talks, and whatever else I can drum up on the internet as my inspiration I hope to challenge myself in new ways. By writing a blog I'll motivate myself to do more things so that I'll have more to write about. 

Third Step: Who effing knows? I doubt anyone has it all figured out. I don't. I'm just taking it one day at a time, trying to improve myself any way that I can to become the best me that I can be.

I'll keep ya posted.