Miss Smiley Face

Well friends,

I had this brilliantly amazing blog post (okay that is a slight exaggeration, but I was a bit excited about it)....until I started studying for the Math Praxis.

P-R-A-X-I-S

I HATE that word and I hate that test. I missed passing the first one by 6 points. 6 lousy points, people. So, in 1 week and 1 day I will embark on yet another Praxis adventure.

And you know what else makes me grumpy? The lady smiling up at me from the Praxis study book. Why is she so smiley anyway?? I mean, if she really spent 3 hours of her early Saturday morning life bent over a test that will determine her future career as a teacher, she would NOT be smiling. At least it is just an hour this time around.

So, as you can see, I am not Miss Smiley Face on the cover of the Praxis book.

And thanks to Miss Smiley Face, I am now Miss Grumpy Pants and have quit studying for the evening and am now watching a lame-o Lifetime Movie and planning a birthday weekend in New York.

So faithful readers, you will have to wait to read my fabulous post until tomorrow....

Happy Thursday Evening!

Indiana Jones

As I sit here wondering what to write for my blog post, I am watching White Collar with Tyler on USA.  If you are unfamiliar with the TV show White Collar, a con-artist has partnered with the FBI to help solve crime in NYC. It's a smart drama-dy with great style (and Tiffany Amber Thiesen aka. Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell! She's actually aged in TV years!). Neil, the main character wears various types of fedoras- it's his thing...his MO. 

So as I sit here I realize more and more how much I love fedoras. LOVE them. They are the perfect hide away for a bad hair day, unwashed hair (let's be real those days happen), a straight hair day, a curly hair day...anything! They're great for spring, summer, fall AND winter

So what about for Y_O_U? Different story right? Super easy- just throw one on!

So where to get one of these beauties? I found mine at Target and the other at Francesca's....affordable and definitely worth the purchase.

Love this beauty!

and of course, you can't mess with Indie...him and  his little fedora are classic right?

Happy Wednesday!

Burn Notice

When the weather man gives the local forecast in the morning when you are at the beach, he should probably warn you of three things:

1. The sand is like walking on a bed of molten lava- your feet will be very unhappy.

2. The sun is HOT. Reapply sunscreen every 10 minutes.

3. If you are planning on laying out in the sun, make sure you rotate from laying on your back to your stomach every hour on the hour....if not you will look like a lobster with a nice tan line down your side.


Well, unfortunately the weather man in Rehobeth Beach failed to mention any of the above three weather warnings. So, I'm sure you can all guess what happened this weekend.

BURN, baby BURN.

And you know what? Whenever you are on the beach, for some reason the burn is never noticeable. It's true hue only appears when you step in doors and are illuminated by light bulbs. Why is that? Is it because of the poor, natural lighting that the sun gives?? Or is it because the mixture of sun and sand blind you from anything red on your body? 

Here is the outcome of my impromptu beach trip with Sara, Kelsey and Tyler:

Husband fell asleep laying on his stomach. No big deal right? You reapply multiple layers of sunscreen you are sure to be protected. WRONG. The minute we walked in doors and turned on the bathroom light, Tyler's back lit up like a crab and continued to get redder and redder as the evening progressed.

Sara, got out of the sun to find that her face had a lovely rosey tint to it....ouch.

And then Kels- well, Kels has skin like fine porcelain, so you can only imagine her outcome (love you, girl).
And me, I've got a nice little tan going on (thanks to my Asian skin tone), but am even feeling a little tenderness around my shoulders...tolerable.

All in all, it was a fantastic, impromptu weekend at the beach. Wouldn't it be lovely if you could just uproot your house and plant it right by the ocean and you were forced to live there? I think I would be willing to make that sacrifice.

Happy Monday!

Dont'cha just love?

Well lookee here... 3 blog posts in a row!! I could get used to this!


You know what one of my favorite things about being married to Tyler is? The fact that even though he is SO busy at work doing his fun little math equations and designing important tanks and nuclear power plants (yes that's right- NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS), he is willing to take the time out of his busy day to listen to me complain about my awful summer cold. He is also amazing because he tells me to stay home from work and rest, although I keep pushing myself to go hang out with the kiddos. Dont'cha just love him?

I realized that I never filled you in on whether or not I found my perfect shade of lipstick and if I ever mastered the high bun. Well (drum roll please) I achieved both!

After searching high and low for an affordable nude lipstick, I finally stumbled over this amazing stuff:

I found this beauty at Sephora- it is the Sephora brand and its called Lip Attitude G19. Its not only the shade I was looking for, but it also stays on for quite a long time too, and doesn't leave my lips dry and pasty (I think I found a new word to hate). Pretty fantastic stuff! Now if only it wouldn't attempt to melt in my bag on these hot summer days....


Now for the bun.....

Ta da!

It was super easy to do, and with just the right amount of grease in your hair (yup, it is recommended to not wash your hair the day that you want to do it), the right amount of tease, the right amount of bobby pins, the right amount of hair spray, and the right amount of pizazz you've got yourself a pretty little bun. 

Now grant it, my pretty little bun doesn't always look this pretty- usually it's too high or too low or too small or too big- but it usually depends on my attitude for the day! Hey it's your bun- you can do whatever you want with it!

Wanna learn how to do it? Check out Sydney's tutorial here!

And while we're talking about buns.....is your dad a baker, because you've got nice buns! (couldn't help myself).

Well thats the good word for today. Time to take me and my sick, stuffy-nosed self to the couch for some Lifetime Movie watching.

Happy Friday!

Compromise

What do you think about the word compromise?

com·pro·mise/ˈkämprəˌmīz/

Noun: An agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

To me compromise means choosing between the $17.95 dress and the $24.95 gorgeous pair of shorts. 

Compromise means choosing the cheaper dinner entree versus the more expensive one.

It means purchasing a $5.00 bike at a yard sale versus purchasing a $150 schwinn.

It means not buying a house or a dog until life settles, I finish school and get a job. 

It means watching White Collar on Wednesday nights and Ben 10 on Saturday mornings, instead of other shows of my choosing. 

It means picking up after the male that I share a roof with, and wash his baseball pants.

It means not going to California for our one year anniversary and instead spending the weekend in Chincotequea, Va.

It means husband and I sacrificing financially for 2 years while I pursue God's plan for me.

Compromise is not confined to just the above examples in my life, but on other major issues as well. Compromise is an amazing thing that can strengthen a marriage, friendship or any relationship for that matter. It is a selfish person laying down his or her pride, wants, hopes and sometimes even dreams for the other persons comfort.

What confuses me about compromise is when those "easy" issues (like the ones above) are resolved and you are faced with the harder, relational issues- like when husband is annoyed with you (for like the first time ever), voices his opinion, and you are truly at fault. Do you compromise and concede that he was right (when he really was, and you are just too stubborn to admit it), or do you get upset, annoyed back at him and shut down- which is what I tend to do. 

*sigh* Friends, compromise on the easy stuff is good, but compromise on the hard stuff is even better....although it doesn't make it any easier. Compromising on the hard stuff is the stuff they don't tell you about while you are dating, or in marriage counseling. That is where the real learning begins.

 I'm stubborn, prideful and have a bit of the only-child syndrome in me, but this time I am choosing to back down and let the husband win this battle. I think that (hopefully) it will get easier and easier as time moves on.

Just some thoughts that have been rolling around my head lately...

Happy Thursday!

Welcome Summer!

Here I sit, on my couch watching a Lifetime Movie and enjoying a summer afternoon thunderstorm.

Friends, summer is officially here for me.

Yup, it's taken me almost two months to get there, but I am finally there.

No more summer classes (at least for 2 weeks).

No more homework (at least for 2 weeks).

No more working 8:45-4:30 and then going to class from 5:30-8:30 Mon-Thurs.

Officially welcoming summer means...

It means more time to spend blogging...woot.

It means dinner with my husband.

It means watching the Nightly News with Brian Williams.

It means being able to catch up with friends over dinner.

It means being able to talk and see my best friend.

It means seeing my family and in-laws more often.

It means watching Lifetime Movie Network.

It means staying up late and enjoying the summer evenings.

It is a glorious day.

So welcome summer! I'm raisin' the roof in celebration. 

March 25th

Um, hi.

Faithful readers, I am back. Almost two months later and I have finally returned. Sorry for the extended hiatus (I love using that word)...and I really don't have any other excuse other than the fact that life just got in the way and kept me from updating my blog! The business of school happened, and happened, and h-a-p-p-e-n-ed and bam, it turned out to be May 5th, and school was over and I had a week of freedom....until today, where I start  my crazy summer schedule of classes.

Today, and for the next month, I will be in class for 6 hours straight Mon.-Wed.

Bah.

But anyway, on a more happier school note, I got straight A's!! And the only reason I wanted to share that bit of information is because, well, I never got straight A's before. Not ever. Not once. Never happened. *cue me doing a victory dance and raisin' the roof* 

Now, over the past almost-2 months, I came to a few conclusions. Well, actually it's really been the past week, but same difference....

1. I have decided to make a blanket

Yes friends, I am going to s-e-w. Now the funny story is, I DON'T sew. Let me rephrase that, I've never sewed (is that a word?!?!?) with a sewing machine. And the funny thing is, I have a sewing machine! I got one as a wedding gift and just never broke it out of the box! So, as I stumbled across my sewing machine, I thought wouldn't it be nice to make something fabulous. And what is more fabulous than a blanket?? (don't answer that) Well I decided on a blanket because blankets are pretty easy to make (so I'm told). So today, I am visiting the Sassy Tassel to pick out my fabric, and off we go. I'll let you know how this works out....especially because I have no idea how to even thread my sewing machine.... 

*ps. if you have any tips, they would be MUCH appreciated

2. I will master the art of the high bun

My beautiful friend Aimee Weaver inspired me to wear this hair style, since she's been rockin' it lately. And when she said "it's so easy to do!" I had to believe her. So, I watched Sydney, from The Daybook's tutorial on how to do it, and Wa-La I had a bun....be it messy and weird looking, I had it! 

3. I will find the perfect shade of lipstick

For those of you that know me, I am a chapstick FIEND. I have to have it on my person AT ALL TIMES. If I don't have it, my lips kind of shrivel up like a raisin. Okay they don't actually shrivel up, but they FEEL like they do! My whole life, I have always worn either chapstick or chapstick and lipgloss. Never lipstick. Well, since I'm 24 and on my way to....whatever, I have decided to like lipstick. It's like a womanly right of passage or something. 

So the issue is, what shade? I want to be able to rock the fire engine red lipstick, but am thinking that is probably not the shade to start out with... no matter how glamorous it is...

I am a minimalist, nude tone kind-of a girl...

So, as I am graduating to womanly lipstick- I am off to find the right shade... any one have any suggestions??

4. I am once again, remixing my closet 

On my March 25th post I wrote about the 30/30 challenge where I was going to totally remix my closet and not shop for a month. Well, that didn't happen and I was not motivated enough to continue it. But, I now have a renewed pep in my step and am determined to achieve this (especially this month since I have to be a bit more budget minded). So it's back on. Remixing the ol' closet. No pressure to come up with new and exciting outfits every day, I'm simply doing it to save money and retrain my mind that I have TONS of options in my closet, and I don't need to run out and buy a new something when I'm bored with what I have.