Family obligations are over (phew) and your resolution/diet technically doesn’t start ’til January 2nd (when you’ve fully recovered from all the binging). So it’s time to cut loose and ring in 2007 with a bang.

After all, you’ve been looking forward to an occasion to show off your slinky new holiday garb.But remember that New Year’s Eve is notorious in every locale for record breaking injury, crime and carelessness. Take the time a few days in advance to ensure you have a blast.

After all, who wants to start off 2008 in detox, jail or the hospital?

1) Make a plan. NYE is not the night to bar-hop. With ridiculous cover charges, overpriced drinks and drunk drivers on the roads it’s best to pick a place, get all of your buds to head there and rock the night away.

This also decreases the chance of getting split up. With the disorienting effects of alcohol you want to keep your crew intact to minimize the odds of anyone stumbling into a sticky situation solo.

2) Transportation is HUGE: no drinking and driving. If you all must drink you all must stay put. Period. Do some research: many cities offer free buses and cab rides on NYE. Or, bring a pillow and crash with a local friend. Read More »

How fantabulous is that special time of the month when Auntie Flo comes to town? You know, the time where we cry over nothing, breakout like we are in 9th grade, look like we just got breast implants, and want to remove our uterus ourselves with the sharpest untensil we can find because it hurts so badly.

Oh, and we proceed to eat every fatty, salty, chocolaty, everything that is in our path no matter how hard we were working out the week before.

So, when searching for this week’s recipes- I thought, “IDEA! Why not give our faithful CC readers some easy recipes that will satisfy your PMS cravings and not pack on the pounds?”

So sit back with some Midol, a heating pad, a good ‘ol sappy movie and a big, huge fork and indulge — sans guilt!

Oven Baked French Fries

(with ketchup, and a little salt they will taste like the real deal- try sweet potatoes if your feeling crazy!)

What you need:
6 lg. russet or other baking potatoes, scrubbed
Vegetable spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch strips or leave thicker if you prefer more of a potato wedge. Lightly spray baking pan with vegetable spray. Lay potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet.

Spray strips with vegetable spray before placing pan in oven. Bake 15-20 minutes, turn them and continue baking until crisp and browned, approximately 15-20 minutes more. Read More »

I don’t have many regrets from college.

I don’t regret that “B” I got in English my sophomore year because I opted to go to a date party instead of the library. I don’t regret hooking up with a good friend, even if it turned out horribly ugly in the end. I don’t even regret catching a terrible cold that lasted 3 weeks after wrestling in Jell-O in the middle of October…in Michigan.

But if there is one thing I do regret from my years of undergrad it is that I never went abroad.

When my friends first started discussing going abroad for Junior year I was wary. Living in another country sounded interesting, but I was worried about being half way around the world for such a long time. I would miss my family. I would miss my friends. I would definitely miss late night pizza in Ann Arbor.

My friends moved forward, signed up to study in Australia and I opted out in favor of more time in good ole’ Michigan.

And I didn’t regret my decision…then. I had a great time! While it seemed like everyone I knew was going to be abroad, I ended up having tons of friends stick around Michigan with me. We all got a ton closer, I got more active in things around campus, I had an awesome spring break and it was a really fun semester (turning 21 helped, obviously). So what if my friends were off in Australia learning how to surf, camping in the rainforest or travelling through East Asia on their way home? Ann Arbor was just as great.

Then I graduated, got a job and realized that I only get 2 weeks of vacation time a year. Not nearly enough time for me to settle into another country, experience other cultures or see the world.

And the regret sunk in. Read More »