Thanksgiving Break, by Jesse Frank

So, Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Hip Hip Hooray! In an attempt to procrastinate studying for my exams, I decided to plan out what I am going to do over Thanksgiving break. Having not been home in three months there are a lot of people I want to see. My goal for this break: Never stop moving. I learned last year that a college student over break is like a shark, it must keep moving to survive.

Now I love my family, I really do. But I swear, as soon as I step inside my childhood home I go from 19-year old (semi) mature college student Jesse, to 15 year old totally immature Jesse. I know my mom, dad, and sister can attest to this. I mean how often do I run around college making fart noises using the age-old “hand-under-the-armpit” trick? Never… well maybe once or twice. And how often do I do that when I am home over breaks? At least once a day, if not more. I’m pretty sure my parents think college has not done much for me, but I swear it has (I can do calculus!)

Anyways, I decided I need to “keep moving” so I don’t revert back to 15-year old totally immature Jesse. Essentially, I cannot spend all 10 days of my Turkey Day Break in my house. Since I have a super-long break I can go visit my high-school and camp friends at their respective universities! Hooray for friends!

So less than 10 hours after landing in Michigan I will head to the University of Michigan (sorry family) for football and friends. The next day I’ll continue my journey to see more friends at Michigan State University. Maybe I’ll even get a little studying done with them. Then, like any return trip home, there must be a day chalked up for appointment and errands. That is my Tuesday. Wednesday I’ll finally spend some time with my family and make lots of farting noises. Thursday will be more football and food! I’m calling it now: Lions will beat the Packers (solely because I will be in attendance). Obviously, I will be with my family since it is Turkey Day. In honor of this family-oriented holiday I will (attempt) to withhold any “immature” jokes, acts, etc. from the day. I will most likely fail at this. The chance for a “That’s What She Said” joke will be too enticing.

From this informal schedule of “Jesse’s Thanksgiving Break Plans” you can see I will be at my house for three straight days! Woah! Looks like I need to leave again! Off to Ann Arbor to watch the greatest rivalry in all of college sports: Michigan-Ohio State football. Sidenote: While I do attend the University of Colorado, and am a huge, huge Buff fan, there is something special about UofM-OSU. After the game I get one more day with the fam and then it’s back to Boulder to resume college-like things (aka studying for finals).

Now, I’m sure some (read: all) of you are reading this asking yourself “Why do I care about what Jesse is doing over Thanksgiving break?” Quite honestly I really don’t know why you care about what I’m doing. In fact, you probably don’t give 2 craps about what I’m doing. So, to give this post some meaning, here is what all the above blabbing was about:

Thanksgiving is a time to be with friends and family. So take advantage of your time off from school and work and see as many people as you can! Be with the people you (hopefully) love and care about! But remember, too much of a good thing is still too much. So make like a shark and keep moving!

-Jesse

Is That For The Tacky Sweater Party? It's Not? My Bad. By Elizabeth Hernandez

While we have still been getting lucky with mid-60 degree weather in early November, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. And while Thanksgiving may bring lots of food, fall colors and families together, one thing it also brings is colder weather. I am still having a hard time parting with my wedges, bikinis and sundresses but I am looking forward to new winter boots, trendy new hats, and of course pumpkin spiced lattes from Starbucks.

Much like many fashion trends, everything at one point in time comes back around. For example; holiday sweaters. Oh yes, the ones that your parents made you wear, that not only were itchy and matched your younger siblings, but had a giant reindeer or snowman plastered on the front. Here, let me remind you.

Do I even need to tell you how awful that is? This is one trend I never thought would come back around, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything. I mean, how are you supposed to have a tacky sweater themed party when someone isn't showing up in these things on a regular basis? And not only are these sweaters a popular trend, the price of a piece of clothing you thought escaped from your past is even more ridiculous in some cases. Take a look.

Moncler Shawl Collar Reindeer Cardigan featured at Nordstrom.com $600.00 $600.00?!!! I know you gasped for air just like I did when I saw that. I honestly don't think I would be able to take my guy seriously or any other guy for that matter in this reindeer infested cardigan. Could you? No. Next up is a holiday sweater from American Eagle.

AE Reindeer Sweater $49.50

Not nearly as expensive, but almost equally as awful. I really think if my mom had kept my clothes from when I was little, a smaller version of this sweater would be discovered.

Now what kind of fashion blogger would I be if I didn't offer a more socially acceptable alternative? Certainly not a good one. But luckily I am here to help you around the holidays to pick a sweater that someone is not going to think you are on a dare to wear.

Acceptable printed sweaters- So you want to be a little bit festive with your choice of sweater picking this season? You don't have to have little snowmen covering your sleeves or reindeer flying from left to right to get the point across that you dressed for the holidays. There are several prints that will still do the job.

MALACHITE SWEATER $69.50 ROXY.COM

The colors in this sweater pretty much cover all of the holiday colors without all the tackiness. It is also available in many other color combinations.

ALPINE SWEATER $59.50 ROXY.COM

What is that? Oh why yes it is a snowflake, but notice that it is the center of the sweater and it doesn't look like you just walked through a blizzard.

Holiday Hues-The colors red, green, black and winter white are very festive colors that winter brings.

Off-the-shoulder Tunic Sweater $49.50

Angel Bouclé Cowlneck Sweater $59.50

The Flirty Cardi Sweater $39.50

All sweaters available at www.victoriassecret.com

Glitz and Glam- The big trend this season is bling, and lots of it, but sometimes people tend to get carried away covering themselves in sequin dresses, matching sequin shoes and a sequin hat. Way overboard. Here are some cardigans and sweaters that dress up the holiday season with a littleglitz.

Miss Me V-Neck Wool Blend Sweater $88.00 www.buckle.com

Long Sleeve Sequin Sweater $59.50 www.express.com

Some more helpful sweater tips? Certainly.

1. My biggest fear when trying on sweaters is that I think they make me look bigger than I really am. But if you pair your bulky sweater with some skinny leg pants and some trendy boots you will be sure to make a positive fashion statement.

2. You don't have to look like a trashbag that just stepped out of your mom's closet. Throw on some accessories to give your solid color sweater some personality. Try a sparkly chunky bracelet or even a headband to make your outfit more girly.

3. Try a sweater over top of a dress for a different style than just pants. If it is too cold out throw on a pair of tights.

4. If you are wearing a printed sweater make sure you wear a solid color bottom. You don't want to look like an explosion of textures and prints.

5. Scarves and hats can be your best friends when trying to accessorize your sweater.

Hope this helps this holiday season when you venture out to go sweater shopping.

Stay classy,
<3 Elizabeth

NaNoWriMo - Anne Wrobetz

Ah, the month of October. Fall leaves crunch underfoot, frost graces the windows in the early mornings, snow cakes into the holes that developed in your snowboots during the summer, leaving an unpleasant dampness that lasts all day. Lovely.

Halloween is almost over and the entire campus mourns its death. I am sitting at home watching a Korean horror movie with a group of friends that also happen to be the members of my creative writing club. Yes, the end of October ushers in the beginning of November (in exactly 35 minutes). Not only are we celebrating Halloween with this badly-translated film; we are also celebrating the beginning of NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. Any person interested in creative writing must understand this momentous occasion. During the month of November, writers are challenged to write 50,000 words toward a novel, ideally finishing the novel by midnight on November 30th. Being a college student, it’s difficult enough to read a novel outside of class, let alone write one. So why not take on the challenge!

Homework, a job, friends, exercise, family, and now a burgeoning writing career? Yes, I am a sucker for my own painful sleep deprivation. But college really is the time to explore who and what you are, what you like to do, what you’re going to be for the rest of your life. Take this time to explore all you interests. Not only will you refine valuable skills (believe me, writing is valuable for almost any career you could possibly yearn for), you will also form wonderful friendships. Being a member of creative writing club gives me a chance to distress from engineering calculations. And who knows, this might be my award-winning novel!

So yes, I have to go to work at nine in the morning. And yes, I have an economics midterm on Wednesday. But in seven minutes, I will begin working on my novel. I might actually finish this time.