Lost

Sometimes life hits you like a ton of bricks. You don't know what to do or where to turn. How to handle things as they occur. Should you laugh or cry? Think of the good times or dwell on the bad. Hoping that you could have done something to change the terrible outcome. But there is only so much you can do. Sometimes you sit and wonder, why. Why does this happen? Why does it happen to us? Why does it happen so often? What do you do?

They say that we all live to die. But what if we're not ready yet? What if there were so many more things we were supposed to accomplish...to get married, have kids, build that house you always dreamed of, tell the love of your life you're sorry for everything, breathe, cry, set goals for yourself and accomplish them. Sometimes death intervine's and takes all the things we wanted to do with our lives prematurely. You're finally not suffering, but who's left to suffer? Your family, your friends. It's not fair to us, and it's not fair to you.

This was the last thing I wanted to hear today, the last thing I ever expected. The last person who I would have thought would have been next. I'm so crushed. Hurt and heartbroken. I seen people cry today that I never thought I would. I know how they feel, but that doesn't matter. There's no way to ease their pain. I wish I could. I wish I could heal the hurt, bring you back and make life better again. But I'm not God. If only life played out just as we wanted them to, we'd have no complaints, we'd be happy and that's all that would matter.

I just wish you lived your life to the fullest potential. I wish you got to experience those things that you had planned for your future. I wish I would have said more to you the other day than I did. It's like a knew, and I had my chance and blew it. But it's okay, because we all love you and miss you dearly and you know that. I now have another person waiting for me in heaven, one more person to make me not fear death, but almost to welcome it with open arms. I know you're watching down on us and I will look back up at you with a smile. I miss you Nick, you were so great and a brother to me. May your soul rest in peace with God, and please give my father a huge hug for me. I love you cuz. xo.

My cousin Nick passed away today. I'm not asking for sympathy, and that's not why I posted this. I needed to get my thoughts out somewhere and I needed to ease some of the hurt. And this is where I turned to. 

Friday Fancy

Horray for it being Friday!! Today hasn't been the greatest day, by far. But I am going to try to make the best out of it. We took Bernard (our newest addition) to the vet today because he's being going diarrhea and vomiting. We were pretty darn worried about him and knew that it wasn't something to take lightly. He ended up having a bacterial infection. I feel sooo bad for that little guy. Even more power to reporting those terrible people. We spoke to the vet about it and told us it was a great idea. I hope our voice does something to save all those precious animal's lives! Now onto the FF!

WoolWench

I totally adore this orange yarn. I really want to grab a skein of this! 

Bamilla

I think this hoodie is awesome. I always had a linking for grizzly's. 

OrangeOptimist

Cuuuute owls <3

Glamsquared

These gorgeous plugs!!! I can't wait to wear some like these one day!

Obsequies

And last but not least, this awesome pumpkin skirt! I wish I had one!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!!

ps. Bookworm Thursday will be back next week!

Wennnnnailsdayyyy.

Ohhh I've been so excited to show you all this fun nail design I came up with over the weekend. I had gone to Sally Beauty Supply and snagged quite a few awesome shades of nail polish. I promised you last week that I would show you my nail routine. Here's the supplies I use to do my nails:

I remove any prior polish with nail polish remover. Then I clip my nails to my desired length. I file them so there aren't any sharp edges. I have to say, I think the cuticle clipper is the best invention, ever! This thing comes in handy for sooo many things. I'm not one to clip my cuticles. I use this primarily for hangnails and any little skin slivers I have hanging around. Then lastly, I buff my nail to take the ridges away. This really makes such a difference for me. My nails are so much stronger since I've been doing this. 

Next I pick out my polish of choice.

Now, to keep my nails and cuticles perfect, I keep up on them every day. I use my Cocoa Salve every time I wash my hands. I apply it to every nail, and then I put on lotion after that. Using that on my nails has done a world of difference.  My cuticles have no cuts anywhere on them. They've never been this healthy, I use my cuticle clipper as needed. 

Say hello to my fun Halloween inspired nails! I seen both these orange shades and knew exactly what I was going to do with them!! I wasn't able to draw the pumpkin face on my right hand (I'm not coordinated enough) so I just did dots on that hand. 

Revlon in Tangerine. 

I got this one on clearance at Sally's and it was 50% off of the reduced price. WIN! 

I looove this shade. 

Now I mentioned yesterday that I got my hair cut. I did get the bangs. I was pretty hesitant on doing those (flashbacks to my childhood - eek), but I wanted them to be a little different. I didn't want straight across bangs, I opted for a gradual angle.

I simply LOVE them! I can't believe I waited so long to do something semi-drastic to my hair. I always was so self conscious about a lot of things about my body, especially having short hair (since I gained a ton of weight). But now, I feel comfortable being me. I can really care less about other people and what they think. Hey, it's the 21st century, right?

\

xo.

Weekend Recap and 10 Facts Tuesday!!

Oooh boy what a weekend! Saturday I managed to get my gauges in. They are now at a 12g :) See!!

They're just itty bitty babies as of now. I ordered cute plugs, I can't wait to get them and put them in (once they're healed of course)! I can't wait to go bigger, and post that video, too ;) I'm getting my hair cut tonight (getting bangs if I'm tough enough to do it), so you all will get to see that soon. 

So onto the weekend...a huge group of friends and I drove down to Round Lake Beach, IL to go to a haunted house...The Realm of Terror! (check out the video, it's awesome). 

I wish we could have gotten pics on the inside. If you know me, I LOVE anything scary. This was apparently the scariest haunted house in IL two years running. Yeup, sure didn't scare this girl! I had lots of fun though. We hung out in the parking lot after (so high school, I know I know) to talk (and in my case, gaze) at some of the actors. 

Pizza? That's all this lovely burnt up nurse would say. I lovvve her hair color. Of couse I'm the weirdo who looks at details like that. 

Pizza?

She was having fun with Johnny. 

Then there was this guy. He was my FAVORITE. We seen him in the parking lot when we came in. He scared the crap out of us, the way he was walking and looking at us....then he would run then sliiiide on his knee pads. It was fun to watch people jump when he did that :) He was sooo cool, this guy had the best personality ever. The stuff that came out of his mouth was just hilarious and shocking. It was great. 

Photo's courtesy of Grace Bae, edited by Moi.

Ash and I were cracccking up talking to him. He pulled out a chest hair and gave it to her. Too darn funny. Good times indeed. Now onto 10 facts.

\\ 10 Facts About Yours Truly //

I am absolutely, positively, incredibly scared of spiders. I hyperventilate, get sweaty and can't hardly talk when I see one. It's terrible. I can't kill one to save my life. Last time I tried, it feel on my pants. Um, ew right? My future husband HAS to have magical spider killing properties, otherwise it's a no go. 

I'm extremely impatient. I hate waiting on people or red lights. I'm trying my oh so hardest to stop being this way. It's no way to live to be impatient about things all the time and to get mad if they don't go your way. I think I'm doing pretty well as of late :)

My best friend Ashlee and I have been besties since I was born. Yeup, 23 long years. Her mom and my mom were besties when they were 16, and stayed friends ever since. Ash and I always remained close. If anyone was ever my other half, it's for sure that girl! <3 

Sometimes I'm psychic. Yeup, you heard it. I can predict stuff before they happen. This little gift comes at random. When my dad was still alive, I knew exactly what day he would call me. I was right nearly every single time. And if I called him he'd say "Rachel, I was just going to call you, how'd you know?" Oh Dad... :) Sometimes I still have those same feelings, that lets me know he's still with me no matter where I am <3

I adore fishing like nobody's business. Last year was the first time I ever really fished. I was hooked (ha ha) right away. I've only managed to catch 2 fish in my lifetime (well, 3, but I don't count that one. Story for another time). It's the most epic crazy feeling ever. I'm not sure why I like it, cause I do find it to be rather mean, but I always let them go after. I like holding them and talking to them before I let them swim back. They're too cute. 

I sing to my animals. Each pet has their own song. Yeahhhh, I swear I'm not crazy. They love it tho. The kit cats sing along with me. They lloooovvvee it. Lady on the other hand, not so much. She's a crank. 

I used to have reallly long hair when I was little. Down to my butt. I loved it, but wanted it cut off. I chopped off all my hair when I was 7, and been doing so almost every summer since. 

I love going to the museum. I can't even count how many times I've been there my whole life. It's magical every time I go. 

I've always been fascinated with boats ever since I was reaaaallly little. My dad always had a boat. Sometimes he'd let me drive it through the Milwaukee river. We'd always pass a sunken wooden fishing boat. I always though it was sooo cool. I have a pic of that boat somewhere. I'll have to post it for you all to see :)

I'm pretty outgoing when I want to be. I usually am shy when I'm around a ton of people I don't know. I find it hard to strike up a conversation with people I feel that I may or may not have something in common with. 

I can't wait for tomorrow's post, I just love how my nails turned out, stay tuned! 

xo

52 Weeks - Week 4

I apologize ahead of time on the quality of this photo. This is our newest edition, Bernard...aka Berny (subject to change). He is a 7 week old Bangal who has a loud mouth! I never heard such meows come out of a cat before. One second it sounds like he's barking, the next it sounds like he's cawing. No cute kitten meows out of this little guy. 

He is unlike any kitten we've ever had. He's so different. Strange even. We found an ad in the paper for him. He was located in the middle of no where (literally) on a farm. We were so excited to see the kittens when we pulled in. We seen Peacocks roaming around, ducks, geese and a lot of other animals. I thought it was sooo neat to see all these different types of animals....until they showed us where the cats were. 

These kittens (and TONS more) were located in a shed next to their house. It was the most disgusting, terrible, inhumaine place I've EVER seen in my life. We've had a lot of pets throughout our lifetime, and we've rescued many from all over the place, but this is thee WORST place I've ever seen. There were cats, dogs, puppies, kittens, ducks and others in cages. They were dirty, smelly, unkept and flea riden. I almost cried, really. I am SO SO SO SO SO against animal cruelty, keeping animals in cages (other than gerbils, you get the idea). It was everything I never stood for. These cats never knew real household sounds. This cat has been nothing but terrified since we've brought him home. Everything scares him and it really hurts to see that. We are planning on turning these people in. And I know you're probably thinking, why would you buy from these people? To get an innocent animal out, that's why. I wish we could have taken all the animals they had stuffed in those disgustingly dirty cages. It breaks my heart. They were all calling out for attention, love. Something it seems they've never had. It was like a factory. Animals mate, punch out a litter, and BAM, they make money. So sick. 

If you ever see a situation like this, don't be afraid to CALL and report them. Animals should never be in cages and treated like a business deal.

xo.

Etsy Favorites!

Hello loves! Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend, lots of things happening! This post I wanted to have on Friday, but never late than never, right? Here are some Etsy favorites I've been drooling over....Halloween Edition!

KMKostumes

How awesome is this! I love the look.

KasketKustoms

Day of the Dead <3

JanineBasil

Alice in Wonderland anyone?

AmandaClose80

I loooove these. I wish I could get them!

Heartygift

These are sooo flippin' adorable <3

These are just a few things I adore as of late. I have some fun posts coming up these week! I can't wait :)