Product Review: 1:Face Watch

  How many of you have heard of the company 1:Face?  If you haven't, no need to feel worried about being out of the loop.  1:Face is a company based in Illinois that makes watches; the proceeds from these watches go towards a charity, which is dependent on the watch that you purchase.  I just recently heard about them, and based on one of the emails I had with one of their employees, they sound like they're an up-and-coming company.

  Some of the different watches you have a choice of include:

'Cancer' from 1face.com

Cancer: $40, proceeds go towards the American Cancer Society

'Environment' from 1:Face.com

Environment: $40, proceeds go towards The Adventure Project

'AIDS' from 1:Face.com

AIDS:  $40, proceeds to towards Keep A Child Alive

Plus several other options.

  The watch that I picked was the white one, which benefited Face of Change.  It took quite a while to arrive, since the particular watch that I chose was back-ordered and it took them a while to get them back in stock.  But once it arrived, I was satisfied.  In person, it looked great!  I loved the way the contrasting colored band works with the square face.  I also like how the screen doesn't stay lit up; the back light goes out and the screen becomes somewhat mirror-like.  I also love the square face of the watch.  Aesthetic-wise, I love this product!

My 'hunger' watch when it first arrived.

  The downside is how easily the time gets changed due to the easily-pushed buttons on either side of the watch's face.  Sometimes I would check the time and it'd say 4:30 p.m., which cause a moment of panic in me because I thought I was late for class.  Once I double-checked the time using my phone, my fears died down and I easily set the watch to the correct time.  This does become a bit bothersome if you use this as your "go-to" watch, since you have to constantly be careful.

  Overall, I was really excited for this product to arrive.  I mean, I get an awesome looking watch and am able to help a charity, too?  Sign me up!  Again, the only downsides were that it took quite a while to arrive (approximately a month, due to it being back-ordered) and that the time is easily changed by bending your wrist or daily activities.  Now, if you're looking for a watch for consistent functionality, you might be better getting something else.  However, if you're looking for a watch that looks great from casual to dressed-up occasions and want to help others at the same time, this is definitely a great product!  I would highly recommend this to anyone who is currently looking for holiday gifts for others or for a "treat yo' self" gift.

  If you happen to already have one of these, let me know your opinions in the comments below!

Making Your Way Through Finals

    I'm sure anyone who reads this and is a student already knows the number one thing that we experience during finals week: stress.  Everyone experiences this and I might even say that a moderate amount of this is good; it helps to motivate us to get everything done.  However, too much stress can cause us to forget some very important things, such as taking care of ourselves.  For me, the following things are vital in helping me to do well on finals:

    1) Getting enough sleep.

Cozy looking bed.  Picture from Here Comes the Sun.

    
          Now, I know pulling all-nighters are common in college, especially before test days, but in reality they may not be as helpful.  According to Brown University "It's well documented that sleep deprived students perform significantly worse than students who regularly get a good night's sleep. REM sleep is particularly important for consolidating newly learned information, and a large proportion of REM sleep occurs towards the end of the night. So studying most of the night for a test, and then sleeping only a few hours, decreases your ability to remember new information."  Rather than trying to study more the night before the exam, go to bed at a reasonable time.  Get a full eight hours of sleep in the night before the exam.

    2) Eating well and exercising.
          A lot of the time, stress makes me want to eat a bunch of junk food.  This is a little bit of a way of coping, but this can also be harmful towards my performance during finals week.  Rather than cope with my stress through eating cookies and other desserts, I go for a run.  Brown University also says that "general health and stress resistance can be enhanced by regular exercise, a diet rich in a variety of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, and by avoiding excessive alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco."  So if you want to feel balanced and in control during finals week, cut out a bit of time to break from your studies and go for a short jog--20 to 30 minutes.

3) Spending some of your time studying with friends/classmates.
          I know this specific one is not for everyone.  It doesn't work for every subject for me.  Sometimes I need to study by myself, but other times it's helpful to study with others and to help each other out.  It's also comforting sometimes to hear other individuals under-preparedness, so you know you're not alone in your nervousness about the upcoming exam.

    Here's a study checklist from my own school, Texas A&M:

Did You...	Yes	No	Points for a "Yes" Answer
1. Attend all classes			1
2. Review your notes daily			3
3. Read material prior to it being covered in class			1
4. Study daily			3
5. Have at least one conference with the professor			1
6. Develop and learn a word list for the course			2
7. Read materials to improve your background in the course (other than text)			1
8. Attend help session			1
9. Attend learning resource lab when available			1
10. Develop a list of possible questions			2
11. Ask questions in class			1
12. Study an old exam (when available)			1
13. Avoid a last minute cram session			1
14. Sleep at least 8 hours the night before			1
Add your total points, plus one point for each hour you spent in preparation over 20 hours; in other words if you spent 25 hours, add 5 points.

    Good luck to everyone on their finals!  Just remember that you can do it!  Just give it your all and once it's over, it's over.  Enjoy every step of the way.

Fun Thanksgiving-related video

My dad showed me this early this morning and I figured I'd share this with you guys.  I find it pretty darn true!  And quite funny, too.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

  It's that time of year again and we all know what that means--food, food, family, and more food!  I love that it's starting to get colder and the holidays are coming up.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorites.  For Thanksgiving this year, I'm thankful for quite a few things:

1) My wonderful companion animal, Crockett

Crockett relaxing on the couch with
me as soon as I took a break from
cooking

2) My absolutely wonderful boyfriend

3) My fabulous family and friends

4) Having the opportunity to attend Texas A&M University

5) The loft that my boyfriend and I share

6) Health and security

   Both last year and this year, I was able to prepare an all vegan Thanksgiving dinner for my family.  This year's dinner included Gardein's Holiday Roast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn, kale and navy beans, as well as 2 types of pie for dessert--chocolate and pumpkin.  I absolutely love being able to cook vegan food for my family and that they're so supportive of having an all-vegan Thanksgiving, especially since I'm the only one in my family who doesn't eat meat.

  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Enjoy your day and keep track of all of the wonderful things you have going for you.

Movie: Listen Up, Philip

  This weekend my boyfriend and I decided to enjoy a relaxing evening at home, complete with a homemade dinner and a movie.  It always takes us a while to decide on what we're going to watch, but eventually we picked Listen Up, Philip.

   I had been wanting to watch this movie for a while, both because I really like Jason Schwartzman and also because I thought the trailer looked interesting (which you can take a peek at here).  I knew this was going to be out in select theaters, but unfortunately College Station was not going to be one of them.  I figured I'd probably just have to wait until we went to visit Austin or another larger city before we were able to watch it.  But good news came when Schwartzman was on Sirius XMU Total Control.  He had mentioned that it would also be available on-demand.  So, of course my boyfriend and I rented it from Amazon.

  Upon starting the movie, I had high hopes for it.  I mean, I wasn't familiar with anything the director had done previously, but with Elizabeth Moss and Johnathan Pryce in it, I figured it'd be worth the $6.99.  Unfortunately, this was not so.

  The movie starts out like a typical melancholy film, but rather than take the audience on a roller coaster of a ride, it just stays that way.  For the entire movie.  Okay, sure, there are a few interesting parts, but for the majority of the movie it just wasn't innovative or enjoyable enough.  The actors gave a good performance, but the script just wasn't supportive of their capability.  The writing was sub-par throughout the duration of the film.

  It's one thing if you're Wes Anderson and have this style of movie (because he can pull it off), but Alex Ross Perry is not quite as good as Anderson at that style of film.  Perry has the cast he would need if he were to execute a film like this, but just can't seem to do it.  Maybe you'll have better luck next time.

Happy World Vegan Day!

  Let's celebrate with some vegan mac 'n' "cheese"!

  Now, who doesn't love mac 'n' cheese?  I mean, really.  People of all ages love it and it's a great go-to food.  Since it's starting to get a bit colder here, it's also a nice homey meal to make and eat together with your friends and family.

  I've used several recipes, some with different flavoring options (such as a roasted red pepper mac from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's newest cookbook, Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Recipes for Every Day of the Week) but you can never go wrong with some straight-up, plain and simple mac 'n' cheese.  The recipe I based my own off of can be found on Detoxinista's website here.  I make a few adjustments which are:

• add about 1 tsp. of margarine (Earth Balance is a great brand)

• replace 2/4th's of the water with vegetable broth

• add a few dashes of black pepper

• use 4-6 oz. more pasta, depending on how "saucy" you like your mac

  Both my boyfriend and I love this recipe and is definitely our go-to for when we both just really feel like having a quick but delicious meal for dinner.  The texture is great; just make sure to blend it for a long enough duration in your food processor.  I feel like the margarine helps add a bit more of the "creaminess" I remember in my mom's mac 'n' cheese, the vegetable broth and pepper give it a bit more flavor, and the additional pasta helps to make it not seem "soup-like."  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

  Halloween is finally here and I am definitely excited for this evening to arrive!  I remember when I was little, my favorite Halloween costume was either Barney or Woody (from Toy Story).  I even liked wearing my costumes before and after Halloween--my mom took "Barney" grocery shopping with her many times!  My favorite part, aside from getting to dress up, was the candy (duh!).

  Now, I haven't been vegan my whole life, but if you guys are wondering about what candy is vegan-friendly on this holiday, VegNews has a guide out for you!  From A to Z, they list out all of the candy you or your vegan friends can enjoy this evening!  You can never go wrong with Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Smarties, or Chick-O-Sticks, in my opinion!

Image from yummyplants.com

  If some of you feel like you're missing out on chocolate candy bars, do not worry!  Go Max Go is a brand that makes vegan candy bars!  Twilight is probably my favorite; it takes like a Milky Way.  Another chocolate-based candy to enjoy are the dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Justin's.  I think I like them better than I liked Reese's Cups as a kid!

Have fun this Halloween, readers!  Enjoy getting dressed up, going out, and eating candy!