wise words wednesday {16.}...

I feel like my 'Wise Words Wednesday' posts can be a little redundant. I feel like they are always related to my job, and sometimes they are kind of depressing. I then go and try to look for more cheerful quotes, words and whatnot. Then I realize that my job and what I do is becoming a big part of who I am. This job is molding me into a better person. This job is teaching me that there is SO much more to life then I ever thought possible.

I am learning to not be so judgemental, and that every single person is full of their own complexities. It is showing me that I am compassionate and empathetic. It is showing me that I am not heartless and cold like I have always presented myself to be. I am beginning to think that I will make a great counselor. That I really am making a difference. There are days where I despise my job, but for the most part, I really enjoy what I do, and that is a blessing.

{16.} Wise Words...

Everyday I go to work I work with people who have nothing. When I say nothing, I literally mean NOTHING. Some sleep under trees. Some eat out of garbage cans in order to buy formula and food for their children. Some have been beaten and assaulted. Some have sold their bodies for money or drugs. Some have lost everything except for their lives. Yet they are trying. Most people look down upon them. They think of them as useless druggies, or even worse they don't think of them at all. I think of them all day, everyday. Some of their situations haunt me. They are so much stronger than I will ever be. I look up to them. They teach me. They show me how blessed I am. I hope by me sharing these stories they open your eyes a little as well.

xoxo

must have monday {4.}...

So, yesterday was my birthday. I am officially 25...which is super close to 30. Anywho, my wonderful mother gifted me with a Nook! At first I was super skeptical about e-readers. I wanted nothing to do with a Kindle or a Nook, but then I heard more and more about them and of course I had to have one.

I basically love it. Will I give up buying actual books? Never. Will I take The Nookster with me everywhere? You best believe I will. And yes, I did name it 'The Nookster'. This little contraption is A.Maz.Ing. It is for sure a must have item.

The front:I photographed The Nookster in my favorite reading corner. How cute and happy does he look in his new home? Please note the ADORABLE Jonathan Adler cover that I purchased to safely carry The Nookster in. It is presh.

The Inside:Once again I adore my happy little Nook case. It has pockets and a place to store my ID/debit card. Oh how I love thee.

The Back:I am in looooove. My mom is a excellent gift giver. Pat yourself on the back mother, you did good! My first e-book purchase was 'Bright Lights, Big Ass' by Jen Lancaster. If you haven't read her books...get right with God and run out to purchase them. They are laugh out loud hilarious.

Do yourself a favor and gift yourself with a Nook...or ask for one for Christmas/your birthday. You will NOT regret it.

Also, I moved my mom's shop from Big Cartel over to Etsy this weekend. It is a more user friendly site. Please, go and check out The Mama Made Shoppe!

xoxo

things i am bitter about...

I know I like to keep things happy/uplifting/funny on this blog. Normally every Wednesday I find some wise words to share with all of you. Well, not today. Today I am tired, grouchy, and pretty darn bitter. So, this post is a total bitchfest. Love me through it folks...

Things I am Bitter About...

{1.} I am still bitter about my flight from Salt Lake City to Sacramento being seriously delayed on Sunday evening. This resulted in me not getting home until the next morning instead of at 10:35pm as was originally scheduled. This also resulted in me missing work on Monday...and having to cancel three appointments with new clients. This made me look unprofessional and like a slacker. It also caused me to have some SERIOUSLY intense dark circles under my eyes. Way to suck Delta Airlines....way to suck.

{2.} I am completely bitter about being denied time off from work on the 29th. This is the story my friends: I bust my booty at work. My department head always tells me I do the work of about three employees (yes, I am patting myself on the back. deal.) I work really hard...as we all should when we are at our jobs...the 'work' part is implied. Or so I would think. Some of my coworkers have the crappiest work ethics I have ever seen in my life. They come late, leave early, call in sick ALL THE TIME, do personal stuff at work, and are sometimes completely unprofessional (yes this is coming from the chick who threw someones briefcase into the hallway, moving on). Point being, I totally should have been able to leave early on this day. What was my direct supervisors response to my request? "Nope. That is the day court reports have to be faxed to probation. You have to fax them since you are taking over the program when I retire." Um. What? I have to be the one who faxes the reports? Does no one else in this office know how to operate a fax machine? As long as MY clients reports are completed why do I have to press the 'send' button? Anyways...this means that the super-awesome-birthday-surprise-that was supposed to be a secret but I figured it out-from Bff Jil is cancelled. What was said surprise of awesome? Tickets to see Lady Antebellum LIVE. I am supremely bitter about this. Okay, I lied. I am effing pissed about it.

{3.} I am totally jealous and bitter that my eldest brother took his annual trip to Southern California to hit up Universal Studios/Warner Brothers Studio last week. He came over last night and told me he met, "That kid from the singing show." I said, "Glee?! You met someone from GLEEEE?!" He replied, "Yeah. The one who has glasses." Me, "ARTIE?! Shut up!" Him, "Seriously. Who even likes that show?" What a complete waste. I want to meet Artie. I love that kid. It so should have been me...or Amanda.

{4.} I am slightly bitter that I work with a bunch of reformed criminals (who i love, mind you) Since I work in a drug and alcohol program, most of the other counselors are former addicts/alcoholics/criminals. I am the only 'normal' one...they like to call me 'The Normi'. So, the only other employee who does NOT have a criminal record is the daycare worker. Since I do not have a criminal past I passed the Live Scan fingerprint thing when I began work there. This means I can help in the daycare and look after the children. This also means I got puked on yesterday by a 6 month old. Yep...all down the front of my blouse/jeans/arm. Sick.

{5.} I am bitter that Glee was not on this week. I mean REALLY? My week is incomplete without Glee. It needs to be next Tuesday to cheer my life up.

So, I started the bitchfest...feel free to join in! What are YOU bitter about at the moment? Am I justified in all of my pissed off glory? Let me know. Thanks for reading the rants of a crazy person!

xoxo

broken record...

I have had a super busy week, this is why there has not been a post since Monday. Oh well. So, I am heading out of town this evening and will not be back until Monday.

I am just going to do a half-ass post and refer you once more to my mama's new shoppe! She has already sold two scarves and is SO excited about it, she even went and finally bought a super high quality sewing machine that she has been coveting for like ever. I am so excited for her. There are only a few selections of materials and prints on the actual store, the rest are in my last post.

Please go and check it out! Also, please hit the 'contact' button, on the Mama Made Shoppe homepage, if there is a certain color/pattern/fabric that you would like to have crafted into a scarf. My mama has no problem with making custom orders with no extra charge!

Support my mom! She is amazing, and makes fabulous stuff!

Have amazing weekends my friends!

xoxo

must have monday {4.}...

I am super excited about this week's 'Must Have Monday'! Why? Because I spent the better part of the weekend setting up a little Big Cartel shoppe for my mama.

My mom is all kinds of fantastic. She is pretty much the queen of sewing things. Seriously. She makes me tops, skirts, purses, and most importantly scarves! I am obsessed with scarves, I wear them all year round. I am majorly swooning over the heaven that is the infinity scarf. There is only ONE thing I hate about these scarves, the price. I mean I am all about you get what you pay for, but come freaking on. When I shell out $40.00 bones for a scarf...that is unacceptable.

So, what did I do to fix this little dilemma? I went to the motherly one and pouted until she took me to the fabric store and made me a scarf. I then immediately told her she needs to start a little online store and make these for all of the interwebs to enjoy. I now present you with things YOU must have.

A 'Mama Made' infinity scarf!

Dude. I am SO not a model, but I did the best I could. Make sure to go and check out the shoppe, 'Mama Made'. There are pre-made scarves, and fabric that can be made to order. Since Big Cartel only allows you to post five items; I am cheating and throwing up some more fabric choices on my blog. If you want to order a different print just click the 'contact' button on the shoppe and tell her which one you must have!

{1.} 'Animalistic'

{2.} 'Back to Basics'

{3.} 'Black Tie'

{4.} 'Nature Girl'All of these fabrics can be whipped into a fabulous scarf in no time! Hopefully the shoppe will have something for everyone. There are animal prints, florals, neutrals, and a little bit of funk. If you prefer one of these fabrics over what is currently in the shoppe, just say so in the contact email. Let her know which one you like and *bam*! It will be heading your way shortly.

I am so excited for my mama. I hope that you all love her pretty little creations. Please, email her or comment here if there is something you would love to have but isn't available. Do you want a damask print? Some hounds tooth? Maybe some fun stripes? Or a hot pink solid? Mama will go out of her way to customize a creation to your specific taste! Don't forget to head over to Big Cartel to see her shoppe!

xoxo

i challenge you {4.}...

Well, I pretty much failed in the whole '30 Day/Post Challenge'. I honestly forgot all about it. Here is a little reminder about what exactly this little challenge is all about. I am going to just pick up where I left off. Post #4 of the challenge...

Day 4-Your Siblings...

This picture slays me every time I look at it (yes it is taken in line for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland). See that girl in the middle with the pissedspice look on her face? Yep, that is yours truly. See that guy with the stubble who is very authoritatively telling us something? That is the eldest brother Jason. See the one with the hat that is permanently attached to his head, who is clearly not listening to his big brother? That is the second oldest in our clan, Jon-than.

These two have the powers to piss me off more than anyone else on the planet. They are pretty damn obnoxious at times, but they are pretty damn awesome at other times. They are my over-protective, loveable big brothers. They make me glad I do NOT have any sisters. Seriously. Sisters sound like they suck. Brothers are for sure the way to roll.

And yes. I am the baby of the clan. Which means I pretty much always whine and get my way. I am pretty sure this pisses off both of the brotherly ones.

xoxo

wise words wednesday {15.}...

I love these posts so much. I have so much fun going through images and quotes to save and use at just the right time. I love this quote. I hope to take it with me everywhere all the time, just as a little reminder. I am sick of waiting. I am ready to start living MY life.

{15.} Wise Words...

I am not going to even try to elaborate on this quote. The meaning is quite clear. All we have is now.

xoxo

must have monday {3.}...

It is Monday, which means while you are reading this I am sitting at my desk, buried under a stack of paperwork trying to catch up. It also means that it is time for me to swoon over all things pretty that I will consider spending my paycheck on. On we go...

{1.} 'Multi-Task Set'-Anthropologie

Okay, so it may seem a little odd to be posting items such as this for the world to see, but it isn't like we don't all wear underwear...so just deal. How cute and comfy does this little set look? I honestly like to sleep in the littlest amount of clothes humanly possible. This would be perfect for comfy sleepwear. Plus I adore the purple. This lovely item hails from the mothership also known as Anthropologie. It sells for $80.00 bucks.

{2.} 'Just Around The Block Coat'-ModCloth

Die. Dying. Dead. Oh em gee this freaking coat was made for ME. I love coats so much, I am obsessed with gray and black houndstooth, I love the belted look, and the scarf-like neckline slays me. Me likey. I want this in a really bad way. It is from ModCloth and retails for $229.99 bones.

{3.} 'Thundershowers Felt Bib Necklace'-Fable & Lore

This is SO cute. I love this statement necklace. It would totally liven up a really simple top. You all MUST go check out this Etsy shoppe because all of her items are adorable. This bib necklace is currently on sale for only $26.00.

{4.} 'Leather Floral Blossoms'-Leather Blossoms

This is another super cute Etsy shoppe find. I love the floral headband, I especially love that the flowers are made of leather, which means they should be more durable than a fabric. The only thing I don't love about this headband? The creepy mannequin models that the seller uses. This beauty will set you back $40.00 bucks.

{5.} 'Mr. Schuster'-Glee

Wait. What? How did this get here?! Oh well he is always on my must have lists. I would wear him all day everyday...*ahem*. How much does he retail for? Well pretty sure he is priceless. I am going to go an re-watch the 'Toxic' cover from last weeks episode. I want to be his hat. Word.

Happy Monday everyone! What is currently on YOUR 'Must Have' list? Please share!

xoxo