What's Up Blogger!

Whelp! I am the worst blogger in the world. It's been almost A MONTH since I posted. Go figure, right? I actually wrote a blog post the other day, went to post it and it froze and I lost everything. Needless to say, I didn't feel like rewriting it so I just canned the idea of writing a post. I think this is more of a "What's been going on in my life" type of post more than anything else. Life has been nutso for the last month, so to fill you guys in, here's what's happened...

*I've been going to church every Sunday and LOVING it! I feel just amazing inside since going. God is beautiful!
*I got a new job and LOVVVVVVVVVVEEEEE it!!! Seriously, me loving a job??? When does that happen. I literally have been waking up BEFORE my alarm clock because I can't wait to go every day. That's just sick...
*I've been reading again. I just picked up some more books at Goodwill the other night, too, which I'm pretty stoked about!
*I just got new windshield wipers for my car. Yeah, this makes me happy, how sad. But it's the little things, right?
*My brother and his family (and my newborn nephew) came down last weekend from Minnesota. That baby is SO DARN CUTE! I'll post pics of him very soon!
*My nail polish collection has grown (severely) since the last time I posted. I had to buy a big three drawer container tonight to fit it all in one place instead of 3...
*I dyed my hair. It didn't turn out too well. My goal was a dark blonde (going back to a blonde for summer, woot) and it dyed my roots blonde and kept everything else dark brown. Gross. It's finally lightening up!
*My niece recently celebrated her 1st Birthday and her big brother Miles celebrated his 9th (God I'm getting old) Birthday last weekend. I love those kids so darn much! Miles got an XBOX for his Birthday. Yeah, I was (and still am) jealous...
*I just got the new Florence + the Machine cd. It's epic. Listen to it!!
*Today I have decided to make a change to lose some weight. I'll get into more of it soon, but I think it's for the best. More on that later!


And that's all I can think of for now. I just have been so incredibly blessed lately and have been taking my life day by day. I used to be a planner and tried to predict the future, but I know now that you cannot live life that way. God has changed me and I never understood what that meant when I heard others say that. But now I know. It's an amazing thing and I couldn't be happier. I really need to elaborate on what I mean! :p I'm going to close with a song that I've been playing non-stop lately (and it's really been hitting a cord with me, too. It's so good though, despite the bad memories it brings to mind, but I can deal). Have a good one everyone <3

Well I Suppose...

source

I wasn't going to post today. Why? I dunno. I'm not a fan of the whole "Valentine's Day" craze. No, I'm not bitter because I'm single on this day (although, last year was a different story). I'm just not a fan of a day that expects you to pour your love over someone, when it should be done everyday. But there is a deeper reason as to why I'm not like everyone else today. Let me elaborate.

Here's Rachel, circa 1994. It was the first year our class (I was in 1st grade) was able to share our valentines with whomever we wanted, not the whole class like they made us do the year before. I was SO excited. I made a valentine for everyone I could think of. So it was time for us to exchange valentines and place them in our handmade valentine lunch bags on our desk. Guess how many I got? Just guess....one. One pathetic valentine. I was completely devistated. I knew pretty much the whole class didn't like me (I talked WAY too much and was really annoying), but I didn't expect that. So I crossed this day off my list forever, even at the ripe age of 6.

The only times that I liked about this day was when my dad used to give me a small box of chocolates. It really made me feel loved and appreiciated. My dad was good like that. But otherwise, it's just another day. Even when I was dating someone during this day, I just was bored by it. Can't blame me, can you? But I always try to make the best of it. So tonight, I will be spending my night with me mum and we will be watching Drive (heard wonderful things about it, mmm, Ryan Gosling) and eating pizza. Perfect. night. ever.

So happy...nevermind.

=]

Julep

So lately, I've been searching high and low for the perfect beauty package. I've been pretty obsessed with Youtube lately (never ever thought I would actually use that website for things other than music videos..) and found a few really great beauty bloggers. 

One of my favorite channels and bloggers would be MissJenFABULOUS. She does great beauty and nail related vlogs that I cannot stop watching. I noticed on her channel something called Birchbox. This is something I've been dying to get my hands on. It's a box that is sent to you every month that costs only $10 bucks! It's filled with 4-5 deluxe beauty products from high end brands (eep). I love makeup, a lot, and when I heard this, I about gasped. Buuuut there is a wait list (I of course signed up for). Bummer, right? So then I searched again for something very similar, but in the world of nail polish instead of only beauty samples. Have you guys ever heard of the brand Julep? I just recently heard and seen samples of them and pretty much fell in love. They even have a nail polish with my name literally on it:

Now the prices for their special monthly box is ten dollars more than the Birchbox I mentioned. But here's the great thing about that, there is NO wait list, and you are saving a huge amount of money on products by purchasing it this way. I just bought my first box tonight for ONE DOLLAR. Hello! I was checking out some nail blogs and I seen that in the last couple months, Julep had a promotion going on to get your first Maven Box for a penny. I tried the code but it didn't work. So then I randomly (cause I'm weird like that) typed in "February" in their coupon area, and it literally took off the whole price of the box, and only charged me ONE DOLLAR. Holla! So I totally recommend you ladies checking this out! You take a style quiz and it will set you up with your perfect box. If you don't like it, you can always swap it out for something else. I swapped mine for something different...

I opted for the February "It Girl" box! I had to choose this one because I've been really wanting the first polish in the photo. What I love about this is that you get way more product for 20 bucks and get almost triple the items that you would pay for just one. Their polishes retail for $14 bucks, so I can't wait to see how their formula is and see if I will be purchasing any others in the future. They are a 4 Free company, which is pretty darn awesome, and I've heard nothing but great things! They do have some other beauty products you can get, in addition to polish, but hey, when I see a great deal for polish, I always get it! I'll most certainly will be doing a post on their product once I get it! 

xo. 

Just a side note. I was NOT contacted by anyone to do this post. This is something I wanted to share with you all because I think it's too good to keep to myself. All the views I shared in this post are all my own. 

Where Do I Begin?

Hey guys. Sorry for the huge absence as of late. I'm just trying to get certain things on track right now. For instance, I got a new job!! I know a few weeks back I said I got a new job, but this is a new one! I will be working at a hospital in the medical records department, which is what I used to do before I resigned at my old company. I am incredibly excited. Life has been so busy since my interview a week ago. I get so stressed out when I go for an interview and I always seem to mess them up. I think it's nerves. So I had my interview and was on pins and needles. This was something I needed so bad right now and it came at the perfect time, but I was so worried I was going to mess it up and miss a wonderful opportunity. But I got lucky and got hired the same day as my interview (when does that ever happen anymore, I'm so grateful!!).

I was making good money at my prior job but decided to quit because I couldn't move up anymore and essentially wasn't happy with the company. I liked what I did but the company was so ass backwards and I didn't want to be associated with a place that only cared about money and not their patients. But anyways, I had a few months off and worked at my old job at the grocery store. I finally just got comfortable, even with having literally no money to spare, and I got this call for a job I applied to back in December. I was (and still am) so stoked that something so great was in store for me! I'm really excited, but I can't help but to feel sad about changing my life around. I'm not a fan of change. I seem to always take it hard, no matter if it's good or bad. I wish I wasn't like this!

Since my interview, I had to take a drug test (totally freaked me out, never took one before. I knew I had nothing to worry about, but man, it so makes you feel like a criminal), and I had to take a TB test. I hate hate hate needles. I would panic when I was a kid when I had to go get shots. This time it actually wasn't that bad (thanks to my cats for scratching me pretty bad with their nails I got used to pain haha). I passed that and all seems like smooth sailing from here on out. I can't wait to get back to my old job at a new company where their views are very much the same as mine. I can't wait to work with the people I used to work with (I used to work there and got transferred not long after I was there to a new location) and get back into a good routine. It'll be really nice to have money again and to be able to afford the things life throws at you.

But here's my problem. I'm not good with money. At all. Both my parent's aren't good with it and I guess I followed suit. The first time I had this job, I said I was going to do all this stuff with the money (buy a car, which I did, pay off my loans - still doing that, travel, save save save and so on) and I really can't tell you where it all went. I managed it so poorly and never saved a dime. Well, I take that back, I did save some money to visit my boyfriend (at the time) who lived in CO, but we broke up and I used it for a new camera instead. I wish I would have kept saving it, but what can you do. So since quitting that job, I went to having a good chunk of money a month to maybe a couple hundred, if that. Yeah, totally not easy when you have rent and a car payment and student loans. I think God is finally giving me an opportunity to reinstate my good intentions and put them into reality. Which I am intending to do FOR REAL this time. Needs come first, wants come later. This is going to be a huge step for me and something I know I HAVE to do. No questions asked. In church, we've been learning how to manage our finances, and this is shedding a whole new perspective for me. I don't think this job could have came at a better time. But I tell you, making no money really helps you not to spend a dime. I really liked that actually. I didn't have to think about anything and I knew where my money was going, without having the temptation to spend it. I'm just scared that I will not be able to handle myself this time around. But I am determined and damn willing to do what I need to do to save towards my future. I am responsible, but I need to be MORE responsible. At this point, it's just me, myself and I, and I have to support myself and that's what I intend to do!

Wow, this post hit a lot of topics. What I really came here to say is that I'm hoping my mini hiatus will be done rather soon, it's just that life is quite busy and I have to make sure I am keeping all my beans in one basket. I just hope you guys understand! I also need to buy a ton of supplies for my shop and will be doing that soon after I get paid. I'm thinking about changing some things up with my shop because I'm not happy with some of the formulas and packaging. But that's a different story for a different day! Well I suppose it's off to bed for me, tomorrow is my last day (sort of) at my grocery job, so sleep awaits! If you read through this whole thing, you are a serious trooper and I will love you forever, haha :o) Sorry if this didn't make much sense, I'm tired out of my mind...

xo.

Finally!!

Remember that post about my antiquing trip with my mom a few weeks back? One of the few things I found that day was an old vintage record player. My mouth just about fell off my face when my eyes laid across this beauty. It's everything I could have ever dreamed of in a little record player. I've been wanting one for years (I did have one but it was far too big for my tiny little space, so I had to give it to my brother). And I wanted it to be vintage, if possible! And I finally got my wish! 

Pardon all the junk in the back, but I wanted to show you guys a side view of this tiny baby! I simply adore the coloring of this particular player. The polkadots are what drew me in :)

Bogart checking it out. 

I was messing with the settings on my camera. I thought some of these shots turned out pretty cool. 

I've been dying to listen to my Pink Floyd albums since I got them two summers ago. Finally I can listen to them all I want. The only downside to this player is that it's not that loud, but honestly, I can deal. I know most players don't get loud, so it's a total win win for me. And she was under 20 bucks, too! 

xo.

I'm an Auntie!!!!

Meet baby Liam Nicholas <3 He was born yesterday 2/4/12 at 3:16pm and weighed 8lbs 13oz and was 21 inches long. This little guy has made me an auntie for the FIFTH time!! Wahoo! I love my brother's kids SO much. This is my oldest brother's first child. My mom and I had heard all the time over the years that he's NEVER going to have children. Ha, I knew that wasn't going to last! 

This baby is so darn cute. He looks just like his parents. It pains me a lot not to be there for my brother though, seeing he lives in Minnesota and I'm here in Wisconsin. I was given the greatest gift to see my niece born last year, and it was so magical, I hate it so much not to be there for my oldest brother. Every time I think about not being there to hold this baby, I just want to break down and cry. But I'll know I'll see this cute guy real soon, so I'll hold the tears in until then! 

I can honestly say, I can't wait to have kids one day. I want them so much. I mean, I do have those times where I say I'll never have them, but deep down, I want them more than anything. Being surrounded by family is my ultimate goal in life, not having a career or loads of money, but just being there with my family until I'm old and gray. Sadly it's never that easy. But anyways, I just wanted to share this new joy with you guys! My other brother and his girlfriend have their second child together on the way and should be here in a couple months!! I'm beyond excited for him as well. I'm the only one without kids now, I feel so left out haha. I know I'm not missing much. I still have a lot of life left in me until I settle down! 

Have a good Sunday all! 

xo, 

Rachel.