Be SUMthing Different

I did a guest post on Dim Sum and Doughnuts! This is something that I struggle with and learning to deal with it.

http://www.dimsumanddoughnuts.com/be-sumthing-different/

Blog update

(picture from Google)

Hello to all! I am back at blogging and I'm sorry for my absence in the past few months.  There was a lot of things going on in my life and I needed to take a break from writing. Recently, I have slowly started writing again and realized that I missed blogging. Here are some updates :

- I will post twice a month.Topics include: food, college, fashion, and adoption.

- I am a sophomore in college. this semester is going so fast. I am a biology major and minor in Spanish.

- I will use Instagram in order to connect with readers and other bloggers.

- Motivational Mondays will be a new thing on  Instagram 

- Welcoming Guest posts on the blog.

Remember to check awordwithlm on Instagram to receive posts about the blog and to see a glimpse into my life. A word with Liu Miao is also on Google plus and contact liuliumiao@gmail.com for any questions about the blog or guest posts.

Online college classes

I took two online classes during the spring 2016 semester and I was a little nervous taking online classes . I took Spanish 2 and art appreciation online. Each class was set up differently. The art class was more relaxed and the Spanish class was more structured. Since art had two weeks for each section, I could work on art anytime during the two weeks. Spanish had deadlines every week on specific days for daily class work. Both classes took a lot of work. I made As in the classes. Here are my tips for online classes.

-      Schedule a time for your online class. It is easy to put off your class since you do not have to be physically in a class room. If your class is more relaxed, try to work on the class a little bit each day. Thus you will not have a ton to do before the deadline.

-      Put reminders about homework and quizzes/exams. I love to use sticky notes in pretty colors. You can buy big quantities of sticky notes and they will last you for a while. I also put reminders in my planner. Writing helps me remember things better. Putting reminders on your phone or tablet is another great option. It all depends on your preferences.

-      This tip applies for other classes. Do the small assignments.  It is great to do extra credit assignments. All the points will add from the small assignments and extra credit assignments. These points could determine if one gets a B or an A in a class. One does not need to spend hours on these small assignments/ extra credit assignments because one needs to spend plenty of time on the big assignments. This is where time management comes in.

Hope you guys are having a great weekend! What do you like to do for your online classes? I can’t believe school starts in less than a month. Don’t forget to check @awordwithlm on Instagram for updates about the blog and to get a glimpse into  my life.

Adoption: Looking on both sides of the coin

I did a guest post on No Hands But Ours

http://www.nohandsbutours.com/2016/07/23/adoption-looking-sides-coin/

Outfit ideas for college classes

Hey guys!!! I apologize for not posting in awhile. How has your summer been? I wanted to share some outfits ideas for college campus. If you aren't in college yet, you may wonder what people wear at college. People wear a variety of outfits ranging from professional to casual. I will give you simple outfit ideas. Outfit will vary depending on your location and weather.

1. Casual Chic~ Take a nice dressy shirt and pair it with denim jeans/jeans or casual skirt. Colored jeans that match the top will look great. Casual dresses are good options for campus because they aren't too fancy for class. Simple flats or sneakers are good options for shoes. I discovered comfy shoes are best when you are at campus all day.

2. Casual ~ This outfit is when you don't have a lot of time to get ready or you don't feel that great. I would wear sweatpants or exercise pants with a t shirt. This outfit is when you want to be super comfy and lazy. I would suggest sneakers or running shoes. This outfit is great if you do athletics at college.

3. Presentation day. This outfit is great when you have to present in class, research symposium, debate. I would wear a dress shirt with dress pants/dress skirt. The color choice will depend on the event. Some events prefer certain colors.

Inexpensive Summer Activities

I am so happy that it is summer. Summer usually means that we have more time to do fun activities. Even though you might have a summer job, you can still have a little fun. Summer can make a college student broke. There are many expensive activities in the summer. You may be tempted to do these activities. I have thought of several inexpensive activities to do with family, friends or by yourself.

- Go to the park. You can take a walk or have a picnic. Play a game with your friends in the park. 

- Have a movie marathon at home. Have some popcorn and other snacks.

- Have a game night. This can be a real fun time with friends. I suggest having snacks too. I get hungry when playing games.

- Read a book series. It can be relaxing to read a book that is not a textbook.

- Make S'mores in the microwave or an outdoor fire. This is a simple yummy snack. S'more make me think of summer. There are so many ingredients that you can add to s'mores to make it your own. I like to add peanut butter to my s'mores.

- Coloring books. It has been proven that coloring can relax people. Coloring brings back childhood memories. There are so many coloring books to choose from. There are even coloring book apps. Tip: I use coloring books that I already owned so it was cheap.

- Go swimming. 

- Have some girls over and do a home spa. paint your nails and do facials.

Frappuccinos

I love coffee!!! I do not drink my coffee black in case you were wondering. I love Starbucks frappuccinos. They are expensive and I decided to start making my own frappuccinos.

Frappuccino Recipe 

(I adapted a recipe from allrecipes.com because I didn't have all the ingredients they called for.) I wanted to share my version of the recipe to all COFFEE LOVERS. You can change the ingredients to fit your preference and still end up with a good drink! Making your own coffee drinks will help you save money.

1 cup of brewed coffee. I chilled the coffee in the refrigerator for about two hours.

3 tablespoons of white sugar.

At least 2 cups of ice. I used ice cubes not crushed ice. you may add more ice.

1/2 cup of 2% milk.

about 1/2 of caramel macchiato liquid creamer. ( caramel drizzle would be a good substitute. this is what the original recipe called for)

Put all the ingredients in a blender. I blended the mixture until it was at an ice cream texture. Make sure the lid is on tight!

I topped the drinks with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Caramel drizzle would be good too.

 this recipe makes about two 16oz servings. I also had about 8oz left over

I hope you enjoy your frappuccinos. I would love to hear how it turn out making them. Do you cook or bake?