photo credit fit fab cities

Like I said earlier this week, my athletic career began and ended in the outfield of 6-year-old t-ball. (there was one year of ballet thrown into the mix, but yet again, I was put in the back of the recital). But that doesn't mean that there is nothing to be learned from Olympians.

1. We all have different talents. The Olympics are the epitome of niche skills. Some athletes are only there to compete in one event in one sport. Find what it is you excel at and focus your energy on being the best you can be. And yes, even sliding a hunk of quartz down ice with brooms is a talent; so go find yours.

2. Willpower to step away from the jar of cookie butter. When your body is your job, you have to learn self-discipline when staring into the depths of the pantry, fridge and freezer. Thankfully, my body is not my job, so bring on the Biscoff.

3. If at first you don't succeed, try again in four years. Unless you are a gymnast because then, chances are, you will be too old to try again in four years. But for the rest of us, failure is not an ending. Often, you learn more from your failures than you learn from your successes and come back stronger than before.

4. Even when you compete individually, you can still be proud of your teammates. You are a part of something bigger than yourself. It may be every athlete for themselves in may events, but they are also members of a team. Olympians are thrilled (at least on the outside) when Team USA wins medals. You, too, can cheer on your friends and coworkers when they succeed and win awards.

5. Being young can work to your advantage. Often I think that I have to wait until I'm older and more experienced to achieve great things. But that is no excuse to wait around to begin. When you are young you believe that the world is yours for the taking and are more likely to take big risks that bring big rewards.

6. It takes 10,000 of hours of practice to become an expert. Ok, so Malcolm Gladwell actually said this. But I can only imagine that Olympians have put in well over 10,000 hours of practice and competition to be where they are today. Success does not happen overnight.

7. Know where you want to be and then determine the steps it will take to get you there. It's important to have an end game in mind first. Set your sights high, make lofty goals. Later, you can figure out just how you will achieve it.

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Megan of The Artistic Brunette

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I'm a lover of music, coffee, seeing beautiful places and life! Visit my blog to learn more about amazing places to get a bite to eat, countries and places to explore, my latest life endeavors and tips on navigating a career as a 20something. Come join the music over at The Artistic Brunette and let's be friends!

If you could have dinner with one person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

I would love to have dinner with Gustavo Dudamel. Do you know who he is? He is the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Geeky I know, but that is the music side of me coming through. When you see his curly black hair and pure passion for music, you will agree. 

What you should be reading: 

A Nontraditional Vegas Vacation  

6 Travel Plans for 2014  

Circle of Change Leadership Conference

Kym of Travel Babbles

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My name is Kym and I blog over at Travel Babbles. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, and I currently live in Denver, Colorado with my husband TJ and our tubby English Bulldog, Brutus. You can learn more about all of us here. 

I started blogging back in 2010 when we moved to Germany for the first time because my husband signed a contract to play hockey over there, and since then I've documented our travels between Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Texas, and a second stop in Germany. 

While Travel Babbles simply started out as a personal blog for my dad and grandmother, it's slowly evolved into my creative outlet, my diary, my recipe book, my photo album, and my travel journal. It's become a collection of my favorite things, pieces of my heart, our hockey life, our loss, our fertility journey, what inspires me, and the many things that make me smile. 

If you could have dinner with one person (living or dead) who would it be and why?

I would love to have dinner with Mila Kunis because she's my current girl crush :)

What you should be reading: 

8 reasons why I'm shitastic

I'm four months hysterically pregnant 

Because this blogging thing I do here is weird

18 things I've been too afraid to publish here

I've always believed that the money I put towards studying abroad was an investment in my future. The independence, global awareness and problem-solving skills that I learned will help me no matter what career I decide to pursue. 

It's important to know how and where to place your study abroad experience on your resume. Only listing the program and years will not cut it. Explain to future employers exactly why your semester or year abroad makes you perfect for this position. Highlight keywords and skills listed in the job description and work those into your summary of the program.

The number one skill learned during study abroad programs is a second (or third) language. Especially if you studied in a Spanish-speaking country, this skill alone can mean the difference between you and someone else landing the job. I, unfortunately, left France knowing only the most basic of French phrases...and every possible term on a menu. Don't think about lying and saying that you are fluent in a language if you are not. Avoid that awkward moment when a hiring manager asks you a question in the language you claim to be fluent in and you are left with the most blank and confused look on your face.

Other common skills learned include:
1//Adaptability: One of my favorite stories from the semester was trying to travel from Paris to London as cheaply as possible. The best flight was on RyanAir out of Tours, which is a two hour train ride out of town. Obviously we wanted to make sure we arrived in plenty of time for our flight only to find out that our flight was the only one that day and the airport was closed until then. As our taxi driver drove off with a smirk on his face, we were stranded at the Tours airport for three hours. But we made the most of the time, caught up on back episodes of Downton Abbey and made a very interesting friend, who we called Al.

And then there was the time that one of our trains broke down and we were shuffled to a bus that took us to another station that would ultimately connect us to our destination. This occurred on the Italian-Swiss border so all of the information was given in a number of languages, none of which I spoke, so when in doubt, follow the masses and try not to get left behind.

2//Problem-Solving: When you don't splurge for an international data plan, you become an expert at either a) finding free wifi or b) reading a map and asking for directions. Also, navigating the Paris metro system for the first time is a giant, tangled problem unto itself.

3//Decision-Making: Before the trip, I had never planned more than a weekend trip by myself, let alone a weeklong country-hopping extravaganza. Yes, my travel bucket list was a mile long, but the logistics of getting there and where to stay was daunting.

4//Intercultural Communication Skills: While I may only be fluent in French cuisine, I did learn to understand and appreciate their communication styles. Compared to the American South, the French seem cold and indifferent. However, if you had to deal with thousands of thousands of foreign tourists gawking at your hometown while you are trying to go about your daily life would be frustrating.

Get the most out of your semester abroad, even after you have returned home and make your best vacation work for you.

For more advice on including study abroad experience on a resume, read here.

I am somewhere in the middle of my culinary journey. Gone are the days of being ok with living off Ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, but I lack the funds to cook full meals all week.

Enter the $5, fully cooked whole rotisserie chicken. I don't know why I have been paying the same amount for a few chicken breasts that I would still have to take the time to cook. What was I thinking? I shredded that bad boy up and had two meals of chicken with broccoli and rice, added chipotle mayo and pecans for chicken salad and also made the best pasta salad. Since it is sans mayo, it is perfect for picnics and bbqs.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and you can view the original here.

Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar
1 Shallot, chopped
1/ 2 clove Garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Lots of fresh ground black pepper to taste

Puree the ingredients together in a small processor or blender. Set aside.

Tomato Zucchini Pasta1 pound riccioli shaped pasta, or any favorite shape
2 medium sized zucchini, or 1 large thinly sliced into half moons
1 cup chopped scallions
3-4 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 recipe Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the pasta according to the package directions in heavily salted water. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette.

3. Toss the pasta together in a large bowl with the dressing and the rest of the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or store covered in the refrigerator until chilled.

I cut the pasta recipe in half, but used the whole dressing recipe. Also, I used red wine vinegar because my grocery store was severely lacking in their vinegar selection and I thought it was the closest thing to sherry vinegar. It still tasted good, and is perfect to make if you have a cold because smelling the vinegar will immediately open your sinuses up. 

Enjoy!

Let's talk about being productive. Because as I am typing this post there are about five other homework assignments that I could and maybe should be working on, but I'm not because they aren't due within the next 12 hours.

I've noticed that I am most productive when under a time crunch and deadline. My extremely organized side recognizes upcoming projects and assignments weeks in advance and I know that I should start working on them, and many times I do. But it's not until I get down to the wire that I focus and check items off my to-do list faster than New Yorkers lined up for the cronut.

Does this describe you, too?

If there is one thing that school has taught me, it is how to procrastinate. The problem is some of my best work comes when I do it in a hurry. When looking too far in advance on my calendar, I become bogged down with how much needs to get done. Instead of prioritizing, I do nothing at all and scroll through my twitter feed for the twentieth time that hour.

I was reading an article yesterday about the two-minute rule of productivity. If it is a task you can accomplish in under two minutes like emptying the dishwasher or cleaning your email inbox, get it done right away. If the task at hand will take longer than two minutes, then spend at least two minutes getting started. If your goal is to go to the gym more often, then at least put on your tennis shoes and walk out the door. Once you have made that initial action, you are more likely to finish out the task. Want to start reading the book for book club instead of just skimming reviews? Spend two minutes reading the first few pages. Chances are you will get hooked and won't want to put the book down.

So the next time, your to-do list is a mile long, just take two minutes to start tackling those items because don't we all know that crossing several items off quickly makes us feel more productive? Just two minutes. What could you have accomplished in the time it took you to read this post? (Although I am glad you read to the end.)

Have you heard about the new band of thieves that is coming to a gas station near you, sliders? While you are pumping gas, trying not to spend more than $30, street youths are silently opening your passenger door and swiping your purses that are more than likely sitting in the passenger seat. And all of this in a matter of seconds. What can you do to prevent becoming the next victim of "sliders"? Lock your car door while pumping gas. It's a simple enough solution. If someone is willing to take the time to jimmy open the locked door while you are standing two feet away deserves to be apprehended and taken to jail. This new trend is something to be aware of, especially if you are past the age of having your dad pump your gas.

I also want to address the other misconstrued slider in your life: the extra-small hamburger that have been taking burger joints by storm. As per my cupcake rant, I just see sliders as a small, and not better, version of a regular-sized hamburger. I mean really...less meat and more bread makes for an unhappy Jess. I feel like I am getting ripped off. Even though they make you feel like you are getting more for your money by giving you three for the price of one. I'm calling your bluff, sliders.

In conclusion, always be on your guard when it comes to sliders, whether they are the next pump over or at Chili's.

You can read my first "Life Lesson" post here.

As I slowly transition to the real world, I thought it might be helpful to share a few wise words along the way. Because surely I'm not the only one faking it until I make it, right?

So for the first life lesson: monitor your bank account on a regular basis. And by regular basis I don't mean only before major shopping trips like I did. I thought I was being responsible checking it before major purchases to make sure that I don't overdraft for the third time. Oops.

Last week on a whim I decided to make sure things were spick and span before going to bed and what do I see but a pending transaction for $1.43 to NBE donations. What is NBE you ask? Well after googling it I found out that it is either the National Bank of Egypt or the National Board of Echocardiography. Neither of which I would support with my hard-earned dollars. So obviously I spend the next hour convinced that any minute now the Egyptians or echocardiographers were going to drain the rest of my checking account, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Anyways, after a trip to the bank I found out that someone in California had been swiping my account for the past month to see if it was valid but not charging money to it, so I had no idea things were about to get serious. And if this transaction had gone through they would have moved on to a larger amount. Well DAR EL ORMAN, you messed with one smart cookie who foiled your financial plan. After cancelling the card and ordering a new one and filing a dispute with Regions, all is well.

Moral of this story: monitor your bank account every day or every other day or else the Egyptians or echocardiographers will steal all your money.