Sangria!

As Friday edges closer, the only thing I can think of is sitting back and relaxing on a patio with a drink! One of the best drinks for warm days is Sangria! I fell in love with Sangria many summers ago in Germany.

For those who aren’t aware, Sangria is a type of wine punch native to Spain. It consists of a mixture of wine, juice, carbonated soda and various types of fruit!

I love, love, love sangria! It is so refreshing and delicious. I’ve made it at home many times myself and would like to share an easy recipe with you all so that you can enjoy a lovely glass of sangria on a warm day!

To make a classic Spanish sangria:

Ingredients (very simple):

• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 1 orange
• 1 1/2 cups rum
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
• 1 cup orange juice

I’m not even done my post and I’m craving a drink…

Make sure the fruit, wine, rum and orange juice are well chilled. Slice the lemon, lime and orange into thin rounds and place in a large glass pitcher. Add the rum and sugar. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours. When you’re ready to serve, crush the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon and stir in the wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness to taste if so desired!

I personally like to use fruit that really absorbs the alcohol such as apples, peaches, pears and raspberries!

ENJOY! YUM

Gitte

For all you shopaholics out there

Well, since we live in a technological world today and the internet is such an influence in our lives, it’s no doubt that some of us like to online shop…right? I know I do, though I’ve had to cut down on my online purchases since school started…

Anyways, here are  a few helpful pointers for you shoppers to take advantage of when online shopping for sample sales!

Hitting the sales online means you will avoid the long lines, YAY!

1. Save the date: find out about sales info on BLOGS such as Thebudgetfasionista.com. Around 10 sales launch every day.

2. Do the prep: a lot of sale don’t allow returns, so go into the actual store and try on the items you’re interested in and check the prices.

3. Shop bottom-up: scroll down to the bottom of the web page after logging in, since most shoppers start at the top.

Online sale shopping pays off…you’d be amazed at the sales you can find online and how much cheaper items are.

Give it a try!

Gitte

See the world

Visit Guadi's Sangrada di Familia in Barcelona

 

I hate to say it, but this is my last post. I wanted to leave you with an important message. 

Remember to enjoy life. 

As I mentioned in my rush hour post, it feels at times we are constantly going so often that we forget to stop and enjoy the gift that is our earth. 

In Canada, the workplace is a diverse place. In one office you may have one citizen born in Canada  working there and the rest from places like the Philippines, India, Mexico, Korea, etc. 

Now would you not agree that the best way to learn more about the people we live with is to visit the country they originated from? 

Maybe in some cases it may not be safe to visit, but in others you may be missing out on beautiful cultures and landscapes. 

Travelling will open up your world entirely. Once you start you can’t stop. 

Try to make yourself visit a new country or city every year if you can save the coin. Make the visit last two weeks so you can take it all in. 

Travelling abroad may not be for everyone. But who says you can’t experience cultures and beautiful landscapes in the safety of our own country, Canada. 

The Inuit, Metis, and First Nation cultures are facsinating and provide insight into environmental issues we have been faced with as of late. 

So, remember to take time for yourself and enjoy life. Whether it means travelling or sitting in the backyard with family. 

Being successful is important but shouldn’t come first. 

Thank you everyone for a great year and I will miss seeing you everyday. 

Take care of yourselves. 

Love always, 

Shaniquaa 

Biznewz4u Team 

Go for a Gondola ride in Venice

 

Help promote public participation

My sister currently sits on the board of Edmonton’s IAP2, the International Association of Public Participation.

IAP2 is dedicated to encourage and improve public participation in relation to individuals, governments, institutions, and other entities that affect the public interest in nations throughout the world.

Being a member of IAP2 enables you to network with like-minded professionals committed to promoting the practice of public participation.  IAP2 has groups and affliates all over the world including:

• France,
• United Kingdom,
• Ireland,
• United States of America,
• Australia, and
• Canada

The Wildrose is the IAP2 group in Alberta and is recruiting youth as members. Especially young professionals straight out of school.

Who are members of IAP2, you ask?

• policy makers
• facilitators
• multi-party mediators
• planning professionals
• project managers
• citizen activists
• public affairs and public relations professionals
• government agencies
• utilities and transit agencies
• environmental groups
• advocacy groups
• professional organizations

Becoming a member is beneficial for networking purposes and keeps you updated in the field of public participation.

For more information visit http://www.iap2wildrosechapter.org/

And it wouldn’t hurt to mention Teneya Holmberg’s name when signing up as a member, either. 😉

Happy networking

Shaniquaa

BizNewz4u

Rush Hour

As for many of you, this week has been one of the craziest, longest weeks I have ever experienced.

I feel like I rush rush rush through one project to the next, then study one subject, then work on a presentation, just to move on to the next thing.

To make things worse, I have been staying up all night which cause me to sleep in which in turn causes me to rush to school.

RUSH RUSH RUSH!

When will it end?????? WHEN???

Friday, I know!

But, sometimes I wonder if we keep rushing through life at this rate, will we have to time to smell the roses?

I’m glad universities incorporate breaks, but how many of us actually break?

Everyone goes out and parties, or has interviews, or has jobs.

Sigh.

Well, at least there’s a week without anything school related to look forward to.

What do you plan on doing during your week off?

Peace,

Shaniquaa

BizNewz4u Team

Bloodshot

Yes, my eyes are bloodshot.

And no it’s not from the famous 4/20.

My eyes have glared into a computer screen from 1:00 pm yesterday and here I am still staring into the monitor.

I’m turning into the hunchback of Notre Dame from horrible computer posture. All I need is a severe stye in my eye and my face would resemble him too.

With my body changing into a new life form, I wonder: What will happen to me when I start working in communications – FULL TIME?!?

Seriously?

So, I found some helpful tips for us future professionals.

For your posture – bring a Swiss ball or fitness ball with you to work. Sit on this instead of your chair. Not only will you correct your posture and alignment but you will also get a slight workout! BONUS!

Also take frequent breaks for 30- 60 second stretches.

For your eyes – Increase your ‘monitor refresh rate.’ Computer monitors flicker constantly which causes eye strain. By increasing the refresh rate, it will help reduce eye irritation and headaches.

For your hands – Take frequent breaks to stretch your hands, fingers, and wrists. These excercises will reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, ensure your hands are in a natural position when using your keyboard and mouse. If not, change the height of your chair to provide comfortable hand positioning.

These are only a few tips. I want to hear from you! What else can we do to help ourselves through nine hour desk jobs?

Stay cool,

Shaniquaa

BizNewz4u Team

Hang in there guys!

Dear PR students,

Just a quick short post, since I have copious amounts of internal communications to study! 😦

We are almost there! One exam down, another tomorrow, then presentation time! Since we are so busy, it will all be over before we know it. I wish you all luck and look forward to celebrating on Friday.

Happy studying!

-Leeza

My social media experience!

Social media is pretty much an inevitable part of our lives today…there’s no way to deny that! I will confess that I am somewhat addicted to Facebook, but my God, it’s so hard not to be.

Ugh…there should be a detox program for people who want to slowly weed out Facebook. It’d be a great money-maker! I could sure use it. Way too much of my precious time has been wasted on Facebook, and now that I’m entering the professional world, I feel as though I should refrain from using it so much.  If anyone has any helpful suggestions on how to lessen Facebook addictions, please let me know ASAP!

Only through school have I started to use Twitter and blogging as another social media tool, but they just don’t have the same appeal to me…Facebook will always be my one and only true social media love…sigh 🙂

I can see the practicality of using a blog and/or Twitter for business purposes, but I think it’ll take me a while before I start to use them for personal gain. Maybe once I quit my Facebook addication I’ll find a new one in Twitter or blogging…it’s pretty much a vicicious circle, I’m sure!

Well, I’ll leave it at that…I have to check my Facebook…

Cheers,

Gitte

This calls for a celebration!

So, we are down to the last week…can you believe it? Once again, I am amazed at how fast time flys. I can’t believe we are all graduating and moving on to bigger and better things!

This past year has had its ups and downs, but I surivived! In the end, this past school year has been a great experience. I met some great people and learned a great deal. I will always remember my Grant MacEwan experience.

So I’d like to know what everyone’s plans for the summer are…are any of you planning any exciting adventures to faraway places…? The thought of diving straight into a career is not overly appealing to me at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for my practicum, but would love the chance to take a vacation before I move into the career world.

I wish you all happy travels on your life’s adventures!!

Gitte

Dreadful Spring Allergies

Dear students,

Is anyone else suffering from spring allergies like I am? As soon as I woke up Saturday morning (my planned prime studying time) I sneezed about twenty times in five min. This has been continuing throughout the weekend. So, I decided to take a Benedril to ease the non-stop sneezing, and what does it do? Puts me to sleep for three hours! So much for my studying time!

Why couldn’t my allergies just wait until Friday, after the exams and presentations? That’s only five days away. Arggg… The worst is when you have the sniffles during exams… it drives me INSANE.

To those students who suffer from the same spring allergies, is there a type of medication that you can recommend, that actually works? That is NON drowsy?

Heeeeelp! haha.

-Sniffly Leeza