My New Bundle of Love

So coming to college was the first time I ever lived without any pets. Fish are they only thing allowed in the residence halls, so in my third term, I invested in my first beta fish.

Over the next few months my tank grew and so did my population-- I had guppies, sharks, plecos, and I even grew my own plants. But, fish just weren't doing it for me. I grew up with dogs, which are pretty much the antithesis of fish.

So this year when I moved out of the res hall, I was determined to get something warm and fuzzy. Most Philadelphia housing doesn't allow dogs, so my options were limited to those animals smaller than a cat. So what could I get that was as fun as a dog but smaller than a cat?

This past weekend I got my very own ferret : ) His name is Kiko and he's a 6 month old baby. He's very adorable, is quite the snuggler, and loves to explore. Most people think ferrets are just bundles of trouble, but they are actually very intelligent and very trainable. I mean, he's already learned how to open his cage in a few short days : )

I'm very excited to have him and it's nice to have a new face around my apartment.

A lesson in College 101

Before you get to college, there is an important skill you must learn-- how to do laundry! I know, it may be scary to think that you won't have mom or dad there to wash your clothes, but learning how to get the job done now is better tan waiting until you run out of clean underwear!

So, some basic laundry tips:

Things You’ll Need:

• Washing machine (Provided by your lovely residence hall)
  
• Stain removers
• Anti-static sheet
• Liquid fabric softeners
• Liquid bleach
• Laundry detergents
• Clothes dryer ( also can be found in your Res Hall)
  
• Laundry baskets

Step1

To do laundry, first sort your dirty clothes, making separate piles for whites, bright colors and darks. If you mix whites with colors in the wash, the colors may bleed onto and ruin your whites. Also separate clothes that tend to produce lint (towels, sweatshirts, chenille and flannel) from clothes that tend to attract lint (corduroy, velvets and permanent-press clothes).

Step2

As you sort, close zippers to prevent snagging, and empty pockets (you don't want soggy shreds of facial tissue all over your clothes!).

Step3

Pre-treat heavy stains with laundry detergent or stain remover, heeding instructions on the product label.

Step4

Use the measuring cap of the detergent bottle or the cup found in detergent boxes to measure out the right amount of laundry soap according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Step5

Pour the soap into your washer or its detergent dispenser. Add liquid fabric softener, if desired, according to the product instructions.

Step6

Choose the water temperature for the wash cycle:hot, warm or cold; save on energy and opt for a cold rinse cycle for any load. Consult the labels on your clothes, your washing machine's instruction manual or the detergent container for recommendations on washing temperature. In general, use cold water to protect colors and darks from bleeding or fading, and to avoid shrinkage. Use warm or hot water for durable fabrics like cotton (make sure they're preshrunk), and to ensure that your whites stay white.

Step7

Start the washer before adding clothes, if you have time, to allow the detergent to dissolve in the water. The regular cycle suffices for most laundry, but use the gentle cycle for sheer or delicate fabrics. Adjust the water level to the size of your load.

Step8

If you need to add bleach, allow the machine to run for a few minutes to mix the detergent and water, then add about a cup of bleach to the washer or the bleach dispenser.

Step9

Add your clothes, close the lid and let the machine do its dirty work. Washing takes approximately 45 minutes.

Step10

Put the clothes (and an anti-static sheet, if desired) in the dryer after the wash is complete. Hang delicates (such as bras and certain sweaters) to air dry on a clothing rack or hanger. Check tags if in doubt.

Step11

Remove lint from the dryer's lint tray.

Step12

Select the correct drying temperature for your laundry load: low for delicates, medium for most fabrics and high for cotton. When in doubt, low or medium is the safest bet.

Step13

Close and turn on the dryer. Expect the drying cycle to take an hour or more for a full load.

Step14

Once the clothes are completely dry, remove them from the dryer or drying rack and fold your clean laundry.

Remember:

• Do not put anything in the dryer that you feel may shrink. Let it air-dry, to be safe.
• If you don't fold clothes right away, they tend to become wrinkled.
• If you have an extremely large wash load, make sure you set the washer to its heaviest setting.
• Establish a weekly plan so that you don't have a huge load of laundry & maintain the amount of clothes you wash at one time:
  • Choose the clothes you will wear during the week.
  • Make sure that they can all go together. For example, don't wear tie-dye one day then a white shirt another day because when you wash them together, the white shirt may get ruined.
  • On Saturday, do the load of laundry, put it away, and be done with it.
  • Do whites first

If you're more of a visual person, check out this how-to video

http://www.howcast.com/videos/176-How-To-Do-Laundry

ICE CREAM SOCIALS!!!

New Buildings Coming to Campus!

Fourth of July Festivities

So tomorrow is the fourth of July and I couldn't be more excited. This year, instead of doing the typical backyard BBQ and fireworks, I'm working at the parade in Philly. This year, a major sponsor of the parade is Southwest Airlines. My job parade day is to be their assistant and take them anywhere in the city they want to go. That's right-- if they want to go to Wawa, my little golf cart will be shuttling them there.

As fun as it's going to be to drive around the high profiles of the day, it's also great experience and a resume builder. You'll find a lot of opportunities such as this in Philly-- one of the great perks of living in a metropolitan area. It's also an opportunity to make connections-- how many people can say they've met the top executives of a major company?

Hopefully I'll have time to relax a bit though and check out the fireworks. This will be my first 4th of July in Philly experiencing the festivities. If the fireworks are anything like the ones I saw on New Years, the show tomorrow night is sure to be phenomenal!

Check out all of the festivities here: http://www.americasbirthday.com/