ABC's of Thanks

So, I have seen this going around on Facebook and decided it will keep me motivated to write here a little more often.  I know I fell off the wagon with my weekly random act of kindness, which I hope to bring back in the future, but this seems a little less active (and less expensive, too!).

So, this Sunday marks day 3, so we'll start with A, B, and C.

A - I am thankful for autumn because it all feels new and motivating.
B - I am thankful for my brother-in-law (and sister) for giving me a place to live for a while.
C - I am thankful for coworkers for being so supportive and helpful through a not-so-smooth transition into moving away.

Next Sunday I will be going through the next 7 letters (up to J!) and hopefully before then I'll give you guys an update on what I've been up to.  I have a lot of pictures, and even more to come this coming week!  I also have a lot of plans coming up that I'm excited to tell you about and hopefully you'll be able to help me out with even more ideas.  Happy Sunday!

Silver Lining

This past wee has been nothing short of exhausting.  While I love my job, I've found myself just wanting to stay in bed all week instead of getting up and being productive.  I have a lot to do in my last month living in Connecticut, but I don't really want to do any of them.

Today was especially lazy.  It's the first real day off I've had in a while, meaning I didn't have anything I really had to do, I didn't have to be anywhere at any time, I just got to sit on the couch and watch some t.v. and watch the trains pass the apartment I'm staying in for the next couple of weeks.  It was a gloomy, rainy day, so I stayed in my pajamas and ate ramen.  This is going to be a "Today, I believe..." list.

Today, I Believe...

•  showering, getting back into pajamas and watching BBC can make for a great day off in the middle of chaos.
• train rides really are amazing and beautiful.
• barely using your phone all day can help to clear your head and keep from stressful conversations.
• everything happens for a reason, even if it isn't clear why everything is falling apart around you right now.
• "You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, you have a shot at a silver lining..."  is probably one of the most accurate and hard-hitting messages for me right now.

Happy Sunday, everyone.  Hopefully the coming weeks will be better.

Delayed Update

Hey everyone, I know I have been MIA since about a week after my sister's wedding but things have been so crazy in my life right now.  Working two jobs is so stressful and the last week has just made everything seem like it's 10 times more difficult.  On Friday this past week, I was told that I have until October 1st to find a new place to live because there are problems with the house I've been living in since May. Long story short, the house will no longer be ours... So I've been doing some apartment hunting and everything is going to get really intense soon.

Hopefully I will get back on schedule with all of the things that I had planned for you guys, especially now that we're going into fall.  I have so many awesome plans for this fall that I'm really really hoping to show you guys and also do for myself.  I love fall and usually I feel like I have more energy around this time of year so that's a good indication of how much I will actually get done.

I'm so sorry about the absence for the past almost two months.  That's crazy, I can't believe it's been that long.  Time flies when you're stressed and having some fun on the side, right?

Here's a small update on what I've been up to in July and August, just so that we don't completely miss out on that time.

Kaeley and I set the grill on fire...

I made this!

I decided to play with some makeup and came up with an Emcee look from Cabaret.

Went to Savers and found this awesome kitty/puppy sweater. (Still sad I didn't buy it, along with the Reindeer poncho below.)

Went to Lyman Orchards and picked way more peaches than I knew what to do with.

Finally dip dyed my hair!  I've been saying I was going to do it for over a year, but wanted to wait until after the wedding.

Lastly, I skewered more grapes than I ever thought I'd have to...

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Purple!

I decided that I'm going to start posting makeup looks that I do here.  I work at Sephora now, so I have to wear makeup every day that I work.  Hopefully I can come up with some cool ideas to show you guys!  Here's the first one that I did yesterday =)

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry..

Grow All The Things!

Hi!  I'm a slacker and I know it.  I've started my new job at Sephora full time now, which has been really fun and extremely exhausting at the same time so I haven't done much besides work and sleep for the last week. However, last week on Sunday I planted a bunch of seeds that my roommate, Kaeley, bought.  A week and a thunderstorm or two later, some of them started sprouting!

 The red background is radishes and the yellow is sunflowers!  We also have peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, basil and thyme planted, but they haven't really started besides a tiny leaf or two.  I'm so excited!  We have a little raspberry planter too, but we haven't quite gotten to it yet.  I can't wait to have big sunflowers and home-grown peppers for the summer.

This is the first time I've really tried to grown things and luckily it's looking like it will work out.  Let me know if you have any gardens growing or any other suggestions for growing your own food at home!  I'll eep you posted about our little sprouts!  I'm counting this as my Random Act of Kindness to plant/grow something.  Happy Monday, everyone!

Growing Out Short Hair

As some of you know, I've never really had long hair in my life.  The longest it ever was is pictured here in this embarrassingly old picture when I thought black hair and blue eye shadow were good for me...

March 9, 2010

I first chopped off all my hair in November 2011, which I had done at SuperCuts.  The woman who cut my hair absolutely refused to cut my hair as short as I had asked for so, after a frustrated drive home, I cut some of it off myself.  Since I am not a hairdresser, it was a huge fail.  However, I have some great friends who fixed it for me.

November 29, 2011

December 2011 - June 2012

After almost a full year of having super short hair, I realized how much maintenance it really is to keep it up.  If you got too long without a trim, it turns into a mullet.  If you have medium-thickness hair that has a slight wave and is prone to frizz (like me), the constant product-straightening-rewashing regimen really takes a toll on the ends of your hair.

August 28, 2012

I decided to grow it out in June 2012.  By August, I could twist and pin back the majority of my hair, which I did after dying it bright-ass red for a Poison Ivy costume at ComiConn.

September 20, 2012 - Color fading out, getting longer!

Growing hair out also takes a lot of maintenance and patience.  Trims and reshaping is unavoidable, unless you're really into having a mullet for something like six to eight months.  Luckily, the awkward length phases can be dealt with.

Before I could get it into that mini bun, I would french braid the two sides and just pin it back.  

I would also curl it and take the front sections of each side, twist them, and pin them in the back.  Curls are great at hiding different lengths in your hair and makes any awkward pieces blend in with the rest of your hair.

Now, I can get all of my hair up into a (tiny) ponytail, which is exciting for me because it's been so long since I could get all of my hair out of my face.  I want to get back to the length I had in the first picture, if not longer (without the harsh color) so I can do more of the cute things I saw on Pinterest.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for hair growth or keeping your hair healthy while heat styling (without greasy residue, I'm prone to greasy hair and it drives me crazy), or if you've also been trying to grow your hair out!

Please excuse my face, I just got home from work.

Week 15 and Life Update

Hi!  I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with my blog posts lately...  As I mentioned, I'm in the process of getting ready to move, finding a new job and still working the last one, and was trying to buy a car (which went well!) so needless to say I was really super busy.  Hopefully after April everything will get back to their usual level of crazy and not be the super-high anxiety and rushed level they're at now.

First off, I bought a car!!  It's 2000 Dodge Neon and although the paint is missing in some places, almost everything else about it near-perfect.

My dad hates that he's in this picture =P

Secondly, I've been looking for a new job where I'm moving to, which is an hour away from where I am now.  After filling out five or six online applications (which are horrible), I made my way down to southern Connecticut on Sunday to do actual job hunting.  That was entirely exhausting and took just about the entire day.  BUT!  The second place I went to apply to gave me an application AND scheduled me for an interview so I'm really excited!  Potential dream job, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Between that ordeal, the car and packing, I haven't exactly had much time to do anything but shower and sleep...

What a mess...

I'm both happy and sad that this is my last week at the daycare I work at.  I feel like it's time for me to get out of there, but I've been realizing more and more lately all the things I'm going to miss about it.  There will be a post about it tomorrow if you want to know more about that.

NOW!  The random act of kindness of the week was #48: Make a treat for coworkers.  This past Friday was a coworker's last day at the daycare and she had started this thing called Chocolate Friday when she first came to work with us.  In her honor, my room co-worker (Shannon) and I celebrated her last day with one last Chocolate Friday hoorah.  Shannon bought some chocolate and chocolate glazed donuts and I made brownies for everyone to kick off her last day (and the start of another weekend).

I will be back tomorrow with another Things I've Learned post (I promise!)