Musica Monday

Moving is officially complete!! Well, minus the random three boxes sitting out my the washing machine...I should get rid of those in the morning... We have been settling in quite nicely, had the boys over to visit Sunday for spaghetti and to watch The Lorax (my first time, and it was so sad but soooo good!!! I love that book and the movie too!) and the girls came over Saturday night for a wine night, both nights were super fun! However, it has become a bit more apparent that we are out in the real world now and once you move out of your parents' basement, it is plain to see how much they do for you. Everything from laundry to food to shopping to locking the door at night, it's the little things that we find we miss the parentals for every so often. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been aching to move out ever since I moved back in, just because that's how I am, but it is nice to not ever be home alone or to know what is going around in the rooms surrounding you (I have no idea what the neighbors are doing for instance and they are just on the other side of my bedroom wall,  kinda weird now that I think about it....), or to know how loud you can blast your music before someone complains :P Then again, maybe it's just me. I understand that I am not the center of the world, but sometimes it's nice to pretend?
Our new adventure has reminded me of a song by a band that I really enjoy. They are a more well known band than some of the ones I've featured here before, but that doesn't really mean much now that I'm thinking on it :) Anyways, here is "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore.

What were some of your move-out experiences, when you were left without the help of your Mom and/or Dad for the first time?

Love,
Sara :)

How To Get Rid of Stuff

Through this process of moving, I've run into a bunch of stuff that I either don't need anymore or don't want. The question is now: what to do with it all? Well, for that I have a few ideas!
The largest amount of stuff that I'm getting rid of are cloths and books. Granted, I just went through my cloths when I moved back home after college, but even since then I've changed my collection enough that it matters and shows a bit. A new job with a different sort of wardrobe does that to a person.
Anyways, one of my favorite ways of getting 'rid' of stuff is donations. Around the area I live, we have Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul. Which are both second hand places that will take most everything, especially clothing. I know St. Vinnys will also take kitchen and other knick knacks. They always appreciate donations of any size and the people who use the stuff after you will also appreciate the things you drop off as much as you will appreciate being able to get rid of it.
If you have too many books, more if you ran out of room or are looking to share your books with other people, a great place to do that around us is Half-Price Books, which buys books, CDs, movies, games comics, manga (two separate things!!), and some audiobooks. Now, places like these are not a place to go if you are looking to make a boat-load of money, but Half-Price Books will purchase your things from you at a small rate. While this is no money-making business, it is a great way to get rid of extra things around your house.
A better money making way would be hosting a garage sale. The season for these seems to be early and late summer, at least by us. However, this really is a hit and miss type of endeavor, and is largely based on where your house/condo is located and how many people drive by looking for stuff.
A final way to change up your inventory is by having an exchange with friends. I know some of my cloths I have gotten as hand-me-downs from friends who never or hardly wore the item due to its style or some other aspect. Just spend a day going through each others closets and finding things that you are willing to part with and laying them out for others to browse through.
It is tough letting go of your belongings, especially cloths and books because so many of them have a special meaning to each of us. But what must be done, must be done if just for the sake of someone else enjoying them.
How do you get rid of the extra junk around your adobe?

Also, update: WE OFFICIALLY MOVED!!!! The new place looks great and I can't wait to share it with you al in pictures once it gets together :D Yay!!!

Love,
Sara :)

Something Funny

I've started writing a bit more lately after realizing that the only way to get better at something is to actually practice and keep practicing, no matter how tired or annoyed I am, or how much I just want to sit on the couch and watch Face Off or just go to bed. However, when I saw this quote, I just had to share! Every writer needs inspiration and honestly, we get inspiration from those around us. So, if I ever get around to getting my writing published (a definite dream), if I know you, well or not, chances are I am actually using you for a character reference!

If you are a particularly annoying person, I might even be trying to figure out how to kill you off or at the very least make you feel and look like a complete idiot :)

Love,

Sara :)

Taking A Deep Breath

There are many things in life that can seriously aggravate us. The hardest thing to do is to let things go and allow life to continue. We all have days when we want to just march into our boss' office and scream at them for being jerks or want to turn to that one person who is being really ridiculous in our car while driving and tell them to get out and walk. And for some of us, that really does seem like a stress relieving option, but what's something that can prevent us from actually reliving one of those close and effect commercials from Time Warner Cable (?) depicting the end of our lives as we know it.

Through research and self-observation, I have come up with several ways to get myself to take that 15 second pause that allows me to rethink what I am about to do and find a different answer. Disclaimer: these are things that work for me, but I will not guarantee their success for another human being or other such being since they/you are not me. I do encourage you to try and find some ways that help you rather than punching that alleged nincompoop in the face. Yes, I did just use the insult nincompoop :) I like that one, along with butt-faced miscreant (10 puts to whomever catches my reference here).

1. Take a deep breath. Sure this person is being annoying and/or immature, but that doesn't mean that you have to stoop to that level. Pausing a moment and taking a deep breath allows us to recollect our thoughts and rethink what is going on. Also, a calm look can help an aggressor calm down (or may not help depending on the person) or at least realize that you are listening but are not happy with their reaction.

2. Count to 10 slowly in your head. I'm sure everyone has heard this at least once in their lives, but honestly it works well for me. Remember, countingthose extra few seconds could really save a relationship.

3. Listen to some of your favorite music. Getting aggrivated is never a good thing, it's even worse when you have to hide your aggravation and annoyance until you are in a more private setting. This will happen more for staff with clients and parents with children. Keep a smile on, but when you're alone or at least more private, put on some music that can calm you or at least get you to take several deep breaths. While I listen to classical music and soundtracks, some people claim that heavy metal makes them feel better. To each their own!

4. Drink some tea. Coffee really isn't good while adrenaline is high and you need to calm down, not really its purpose, but some nice herbal tea is always good!!

5. Write out your feelings. For you creative types, this is an awesome way to get true feelings onto paper or in your paintings, or for the writers, want some true emotions expressed by your characters? As Robert Frost said: "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader." In order to allow your characters to sound legitimate in their feelings and emotions, you have to believe them yourself. What better way than to write out how you feel in that mindset?

6. Talk it out. Remember, life will continue after this incident. Is this incident worth loosing a friend or a client? I'm guessing it is not. Listen to their side of the story and try to understand then explain your side without pointing fingers (I understand how hard it is to do that) so that you both understand how yeach other were feeling and how you ca hopefully prevent this in the future. 

7. Take a 5+ minute cool off period. Go for a run, go at it with a punching bag, sing, write, whatever it is. Just take those five or more minutes to cool off and let your mind calm down enough for you to think clearly again. I've found this also works when I'm frustrated or on the verge of tears.

I know that these ideas do sound a lot like what a psychologist would say, and maybe I just missed my calling when I decided I didn't want more school, but these are things that help me. Why do you think some of my posts end up raw like this? I write when I have something to write about and the past week and a half have been hectic to say the least, at both jobs, and  today way just the icing on top of the cupcake of shitty weeks. Yet, I'm still here, no one is dead and no one is aggrivated due to the situation, and PianoGuys is playing very nicely in the background as I write this. Today will end up as a good day after all I think!

What do you guys do when you get aggrivated? What are some of your coping mechanisms?

Love,

Sara :)

Finished Chairs

We finished the chairs!!! These chairs have been a long time in the making, but finally Mom and I had enough time to get these done this past weekend and I think they look pretty awesome! Next to the table that Dad also made (he has a carpentry hobby that I have picked up one or two things on) for when we move in, I think they look pretty awesome! The top parts are actually curved, which don't show too well in the pictures, making them harder to do, but I think Mom did awesome with her old sewing machine!

These chairs are going to look awesome in our new place. I can't wait to give you guys a tour when we move in less than two weeks! The countdown starts!!!

We are getting all the rest of our stuff together and I may have more posts coming up with tips for moving and things that I realize along the way. More updates to come!!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Ever had one of those days when you just want to break into song and dance? Life should be a musical, several of my friends and I have shared this thought since we were in middle school! Last year, Pharrell Williams released his song "Happy". Not long after a website was released called 24 Hours of Happy. It is exactly what it sounds like, that song being played for 24 hours. While this may be too much of this happy song for some (most) people, it's awesome to find that people are that  determined to make us smile and dance throughout the day!

So, today both Matt and I want to share with you this song by Pharrell Williams in hopes that it makes you want to get up and dance!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Ever had one of those days when you realize that your entire lifestyle/well-being is being held up by the thin string of your job? I'm not sure if this makes sense, but to explain I work for a very small personal training company and we've been hitting some rough spots lately and it has become apparent to us that a small independent company is really always at some sort of risk for losing everything. In one moment that string that holds me up, this job and the fact that I make nearly my entire living at this job (which I am not complaining about, because it is fun and so rewarding) and would be in serious trouble without it, could be cut so simply. I guess it is a bit of a reality check. But I can't bring myself to want to leave this company. While sometimes we don't all get along, we all rely on each other to get everyday things done at the office.
The song I am sharing with you reminds me of all the different groups of people who work together and that it is how we treat each other that makes the biggest impact on our lives and defines us. We are how we treat each other, and nothing more.

Enjoy this song, "Nothing More" by The Alternate Routes

Love,
Sara :)

Half-Price Haul

I remember mentioning at some point that I was addicted to Half-Price Books. Well, I made a trip to said bookstore once again and have returned with more books! Yay!

I'm going to go through each of these books quickly, top to bottom, see what you think!

1. The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman

A historical fiction (always a hit and miss genre) set in England back in 1831. A single, teenaged mother, struggles to make ends meet, as a potter's assistant by day and a dress lodger by night. What caught my eye was that it was is supposedly set in a modern tone, which is very intriguing for a historical fiction. I'm interested to see how this one turns out!

2. Bone Man's Daughter by Ted Dekker

Kidnapping. Serial killer. Psychological puzzles. Need I say more for your curiosity concerning this book to skyrocket? Or is it just me?

3. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

Ever since taking that class in college on the Holocaust, I've been fascinated with so many different aspects of World War II and how it affected Europe. I'm not sure why, but when I say this book for $2, I really couldn't pass up another book to add to my growing collection concerning the Holocaust and Hitler.

4. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

A murder mystery set in the time of Henry II with a female detective who is suspicious of everyone and sounds like a version of Sherlock Holmes! I'm super excited!!!

5. Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas

I almost didn't buy this book. I think I passed it like three or four times...but the concept of spies is one that I'm not sure I'm capable of passing up. And so I didn't pass it up, I got the $2 book.

What are you guys looking at as far as books or your own entertainment?

Love,
Sara :)

Current Reads

I did manage to get started on a few of the books that I posted last week. Mainly, I'm reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer whenever I'm passing time outside of my house and My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman. So far, these two books are quite interesting, but let me start with Foer's book.

I can normally go through interesting non-fiction in not too long, however with Eating Animals, I've found that I need to put it down every so often and take a deep breath. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book, but what I got wasn't it. Don't get me wrong! It is a well written and interesting book, but it is hard to read at times and that makes the book itself difficult, but I also can't seem to just drop it. Like I said it is well written and Mr. Foer is a very smart man, so I find myself wanting to finish out this journey with him as he learns more about where our food comes from.

Michelle Goodman's book is the other end of the scale for me. Since I am reading it before bed, I don't go through it nearly as fast as some of my other books because I'm already tired when I'm starting to read it. But from what I've read so far, I really want to drop one of my day jobs and pick up some sort of art or freelance writing just because I love doing it so much and she is very much a follow your dreams kind of writer. I love that she never once says that following what you want to do is going to be easy, in fact it will probably be the opposite, with many hardships and 'doh' moments along the way, but if it means you get to do what you love, wouldn't it be worth it? I recognize some of her ideas as parts of my personal training job, my boss has even mentioned before that if she didn't have to make a living, she wouldn't charge people for personal training because it's just something she feels that passionate about! How cool is that?! I love talking to people who are that passionate about what they do! I hope to someday be as passionate as they are!

I've been writing a lot lately, but I hope you guys don't mind because I guess it's a sort of release for me as well. I'm working on a piece concerning why I blog and hopefully that should be out in not too long so you can understand a little more about me :)

Love,

Sara :)

Progress on Chairs

Remember me mentioning a few weeks ago that I started redoing some chairs that are going to be in the new apartment Morgan and I are moving into at the end of the month? Well, I finally got my act together and went out and bought fabric for the cushions! Not only that, but between me, mom, and dad (he supplied our staple gun) we figured out how to get the bottom cushions together. I even managed to make it into a one person job! As of now, all the bottom cushions are done, we are just trying to figure out how to do those pesky top cushions....especially since sewing really isn't one of my strong suits. I think I know how to use mom's sewing machine? (Yea, that bad!)

This is the finished product, what do you think of the print? I'm pretty excited! I can't wait to move and get things rolling! Although it is super nerve racking to go through all the financial stuff, it is entirely worth it in my opinion to get away from home and finally get the chance to do my own thing. What kinds of projects are you guys working on now?

Random fact: I'm dog-sitting this weekend!! Not only that, but I'm joining Matt and part of his family for an outing to an outdoor sports show for her birthday. I'm super excited and hopefully the weekend goes well!!

Love,

Sara :)

Setting A Healthy Example

How many of us hear that we are role models every day? Well, it's true. What we do really has a big impact on what the younger/next generation does. This is a lot of pressure on us to do well and to set good examples in any and all aspects of our lives. Yes, I mean all aspects of our lives. From the little things, like doing your homework and reading to looking for cars when crossing a busy street, to the big things like eating healthy and listening to what everyone has to say, the eyes of whoever admires you are following every move you make and every step you take.
I have a younger sister who I try and set a good example for by staying positive when things are getting rough and teasing her when she gets down. We love to do things together, and while our eight year age gap can be a barrier sometimes, it doesn't stop her from coming down to my room to watch our favorite scenes from Frozen or Rise of the Guardians or looking at Pinterest and listening to music. I've been thinking of even giving her a Musica Monday recently since she has some music in her arsenal that I have not yet heard.
One of the seemingly hardest ways to set an example, especially in our modern society, is to set a healthy example. I found a list at chosemyplate.gov that talked about being a healthy role model for children, and my list here will be loosely based off of that list.

1. Watch what you do. The eyes of your admirers are always watching you, be it fans or siblings or your employees, they look to you for what they should be doing and they will always follow your lead.

2. Have fun wherever you go. It's important to remember that life is not just about being serious, having fun is still a major part and if your siblings or employees see you relaxing and having fun with life, that positive energy is more likely to transfer to them. Even if it's in the kitchen, make food fun or make the workday enjoyable when you can! No one wants to be bored all day.

3. Listen to what they say. Make sure to understand when your sibling asks for your help, they are asking you instead of mommy or daddy. Remember, it might have taken that employee all day to get the courage up to ask you the question or tell you about something. Listen to what they have to say and really take it in, don't ever brush it off, it seems like you are just brushing them off as well.

4. Limit TV, encourage physical activity. There's more to do than watch TV! Get out and do stuff together, it encourages physical activity and is a great way for children to build their social skills. Not to mention, it's fun :)

5. Be a good food role model. Try new foods, and understand that not everyone will like every food (do you?). Don't make anything different for dinner for someone (unless dietary restrictions apply) just because they don't like the food you are serving. Tell them to either eat dinner or make their own (usually solves any sort of problems).

Alright, so this post was a bit different and still feels slightly sloppy, but I wanted to get this small list out there and see what the response was! I've got some things planned for this month and it is going to be a busy month! I'm moving on the 29th!!!!!! Signed the lease!!! So much stuff to get ready! Ahhhh!

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I really wanted to find a song that represented my life lately, but instead I found this version of The Ready Set's song Best Song Ever! I can't stop watching it! :P Enjoy friends!

Love,

Sara :)