Exploring Kansas Avenue

     My sister is visiting me this weekend and we decided to check out Kansas Avenue this evening.  I guess that this is considered "downtown", so I was shocked to find that there isn't much going on.  Several business have closed down and it looks just plain empty.

     This being said, I did locate a few businesses that have promise.  I do love my lists so here it goes:

• Maricel's Closet - I was unable to find a website for this shop but based on what I could see from the store front it is a clothing store.  Here is a link to its Yellow Pages information: http://www.yellowpages.com/topeka-ks/mip/maricels-closet-467106887

• Hazel Hill - Looks like a fabulous chocolate shop. Their website states that everything is handmade and it appears to be locally owned. http://www.hazelhillchocolate.com/

• Blended - I am not entirely sure what all this store has to offer because they were closed.  I have gathered that they offer nutritional drinks from tea to chocolate.  They seem worth checking out though: http://www.blendedforbetterhealth.com/ 

• Marion Lane Candles - This place looked awesome, they had a sign inside saying that you can make your own candles for $5.  They sell soy candles.  http://marionlanecandles.com/ 

     I hope that this information will help remind you that we need to support our local businesses :)

Visit the Shawnee County Public Library

      If you are a student in Topeka I suggest making your way to the Shawnee County Public Library in the near future.  I have been using the library for my movie, game and book (is it sad that books come in last place in that list?) needs for the past six months.  It is...wait for it...free!

•      The library has a large DVD and video game section as well as a machine that is similar to redbox (but it's free)

http://dvd.tscpl.org/    - view what DVDs and video games they have after you get a library card

• Many events are hosted by the library

http://calendar.tscpl.org/MasterCalendar.aspx   - view the event calendar

• There is an art gallery within the libray

http://tscpl.org/gallery/  -  view the schedule for exhibits

• Here is the link to the main page.  Please explore, there is so much information on this site!

http://tscpl.org/

Fighting the Freshman 15

     We have all heard about the Freshman 15.  Gaining weight in the first year of college is a fear for many new students.  Is this a legitimate fear?  Teenshealth.org (link below) suggests that it is, but not necessarily for freshmen.  According to them college students gain three to ten pounds in the first two years of college.

http://teenshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/college/freshman_15.html
   
     The Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Washburn University offers many fun ways to fight college weight gain.  Membership is included in your tuition which is a pretty sweet deal!  There is a gymnasium, fitness loft, rock climbing wall, track, wellness suite, and a multi-purpose room.

     Many group exercise programs are offered by the SRWC such as cycling, yoga and Gleek riders (they get together and cycle while watching Glee each week).  Fitness Assessments are available for beginning an exercise program and you can receive an individual consultation to design an exercise program just for you.  In addition to these great services the SRWC offers a nutritional analysis where you can get pointers on what to change in your diet.

     Here is the link for the SRWC:  http://www.washburn.edu/main/studentlife/SRWC/index.html

Mental and Physical Health Services at Washburn

     College is a time of change and figuring out who you are.  We are pushed and our time management skills are tested, right along with our level of patience.  I have cried over frustrating assignments many nights and continue to struggle with proper stress relief.  It's just a fact of life - college is hard because it is so much more than just classes and grades.

     What I'm trying to get at is that you are not alone, you are not weird and there is help!  Washburn University offers counseling as well as a health center.  Counseling Services is located in Morgan Hall, room 123.  The cost is included in your tuition so you may as well utilize the services.  Everything is confidential and appointments can be made by phone: 670-1450.  Students may seek guidance here for any reason.  I have visited them before to discuss my time management issues and homesickness.  I have included a link for the website below.

     The student health center is in Morgan Hall, room 170.  They offer immunizations, physicals, STD testing and even have a patient assistance program for prescriptions.  All services are once again free to students and there are several more services offered than I have mentioned.  The phone number for the student health center is: 670-1470  and a link is included below.

     I can't stress enough the importance of taking care of your mental and physical health.  We are in college and free is important as well.  Please take the time to help yourself by utilizing these services that our school offers.

 http://www.washburn.edu/main/studentlife/counseling-services/index.html

http://www.washburn.edu/main/studentlife/student-health/index.html

The Healing Power of Pets

     If you live on campus this information will probably be of no use to you, although I bed you could get away with owning a fish.  If you live on your own I would suggest getting a pet.  It doesn't have to be a dog or a cat, even guinea pigs and rabbits can help battle stress and loneliness. Having a pet can really help to manage depression.

Benefits of owning a pet:

• You are no longer talking to yourself...you're simply talking to your pet.
• You can go crazy on toys and treats and it will still be cheaper than having a child ;)
• You have just signed up for constant companionship
• It is a great feeling to know someone misses you while you're away

     I have included a few links that expand on this. I have also embedded a photo of my cat, George, just because he is...you know...the love of my life and all.

• Some information on how pets help with depression.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/depression/pet-therapy-and-depression.aspx 

• A WebMD article on the subject

http://www.webmd.com/depression/recognizing-depression-symptoms/pets-depression

     In this post I have embedded a podcast that I created for a Mass Media class.  I made sure that the content related to my blog topic so that you could get a taste of my poor podcasting skills :)

     Aside from my sincere lack of radio presence I hope that you will benefit from some of the tips in my podcast.

 
Podcast Powered By Podbean

Lake Shawnee

     In my last post I mentioned that cheap entertainment is pretty important to us college kids and that Lake Shawnee is a good place achieve this.  I wanted to explore the lake myself so here are photos I took of my visit.  There are tons of fat geese and ducks that will walk right up to you, begging for bread.  There are beautiful gardens and plenty of trails. I really enjoyed my trip to the lake!

Cheap Entertainment

As we all know, summer is coming up! This means more free time as well as more stuff to do! However, if you're anything like me then your budget doesn't just disappear in the summertime. I've done a little research on cheap or free activities in Topeka that will be open soon if they aren't already. To keep this post short I have links for everything that I looked up. Enjoy!

 1. Aquatic Centers (fancy name for pool)  http://parks.snco.us/facilities.aspx?pagenum=1

2. The swim beach at Lake Shawnee (has a water slide) http://www.snco.us/parksandrec/lake_shawnee.asp

3. Jackson Spray Park (no pool--lots of fun spray stuff) http://parks.snco.us/Facilities.aspx?Page=detail&RID=32

4. Farmer's Market (for morning people) http://topekafarmersmarket.com/site/ --you can also sell items here


5. Great Overland Station/Veterans Memorial http://www.greatoverlandstation.com/

6. Old Prairie Town http://www.topeka.org/parksrec/ward_meade.shtml

7. Hill's Bark Park (open 6am-11pm!)  http://www.hillsbarkpark.org/

8. Nature Areas and Trails  http://www.topeka.org/parksrec/trails_and_nature_areas.shtml

9. Here is a link to even more things to do in Topeka (that are generally affordable) http://www.topeka.org/thingstodo.shtml


Also, Lake Shawnee has paddle boats and canoes available for rental.  Paddle boats are $3 for every half hour.

Cleaning Schedule

     I just got back from Spring Break and my place was a wreck! I guess that the entire week before break I was so excited about going home for a week that I did nothing productive around my apartment. 

     I just created a basic cleaning schedule for myself and thought I would share it with you all.  I had a very bad experience with a dorm that was dimly lit, humid, stinky and cluttered…cleaning was my only hope to make it feel ‘cozy’.

Daily 

•  Dishes before evening T.V.
• Wipe down counters and stove after cooking dinner
• While watching T.V. I pick up random trash or papers and put them all where they belong

      Monday

•      Sweep all rooms (I have wood floors in every room) 
•      Vacuum stairs (stairs are carpeted for some odd reason)

Wednesday

•      Clean up bathroom area (wash tub, mirror, grab towels for laundry)
•      Clean out fridge (I’m the queen of putting things in Tupperware and leaving them forever)

Friday

•          Gather up all trash and take it out
•      Wash all laundry
•       Dust (every other Friday)

Google Map of Wanamaker Drive

View Larger Map

This is the best map I could get that was available to embed.  It's a map of Wanamaker Drive in Topeka, which is a street that all incoming students should be made aware of. It has EVERYTHING you will ever need (probably). Walmart, Westridge Mall, Target, tons of restaurants and much more.

Chloe's Kitchen Slideshow

So I realize that these photos are quite random but please forgive me.
I was seriously lacking creativity for this assignment haha.
I figured I would just give an example of what my 'college-kid kitchen' is like.
The order is a bit odd, but I couldn't figure out how to change it up.
I hope it is at least slightly amusing...and maybe even helpful? A little? :)

Ideas: Saving Money

Every college student will struggle financially at some point, if not for the entire four years straight. There are a couple things that I do to save money and I figured that it wouldn't hurt to share what has worked for me.  I live off campus, so I guess that some of this may not apply to those living in residence halls (not easy to fit decent groceries in a mini-fridge, huh?).

Get your cleaning supplies and laundry soap from a dollar store.  They will be far from fancy, but will get the job done and maybe you'll have enough money left over to...who are we kidding? We're always broke.

Here is a link to Family Dollar coupons:  http://www.familydollar.com/pages/allcoupons.aspx

I got the majority of my cooking supplies from Dollar General.  I bought:  a non-stick cookie sheet, some mixing bowls and a matching strainer, spatulas, big mixing spoons and silverware, along with kitchen rugs and towels.  All of this was incredibly affordable and has lasted me over a year now.  To do this though, you can't be extremely picky because I can assure you, they will not have a spatula in your favorite color or a nifty design on their kitchen towels.

Here is a link to Dollar General's kitchen products:  http://www.dollargeneral.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=11666274&cp=11640641.11655081

As for grocery shopping?  My biggest suggestion would be to sign up with every store possible for their reward programs or coupons.

Here in Topeka I have found:

     - Sam's club: $40 to join and you get two cards so...join with a roommate and split the cost.
     - Dillon's:  FREE to join and they have wonderful promotions such as buying a certain candy bar to get ten cents off each gallon of gas the next time you fill up.
     - Walgreens:  They will e-mail you coupons left and right.  I get all of my toilet paper and paper towels from Walgreens, it is the cheapest I've found.
     - Check out all of the organic food stores around Topeka and check out their specials often.  Fresh produce is typically cheaper than frozen foods.

When you head out to shop for groceries, have a list and actually stick with it.  This may seem quite obvious, but it is so ridiculously hard not to buy the toaster pastries and ice cream and bacon and chocolate milk!  Um, at least those are my weaknesses.  I like to go shopping every Wednesday and only grab the things I will need for that week.  If I have money left over towards Monday or Tuesday I can then grab things that I want on my next shopping trip, or treat myself to some McDonalds.

Awesome: Free Food Samples

I have signed up for free samples several times and when it actually works, it's pretty nifty. Sometimes the companies forget to take down their promotions when they are over, so you may not receive some of the samples you sign up for. However, the majority of samples come with one or more coupons so it is worth it to sign up. I'm not talking fifty cent coupons either, they're typically a decent amount.

Surviving College

My name is Chloe Majors.  I will be using this blog to meet a class requirement and in doing so hope to learn more about myself (as a college student).  I'm not entirely sure what direction my blog will be headed, I hope to play around with a few ideas and see what works the best. 

I hope this will wind up being interesting and educational at the same time!