Me from A-Z!

I'm bored at home.

Already ate, showered, watched my shows, did a mud masque, and painted my nails.

Now what?

Steal ideas from my fellow bloggers and do a fun A-Z post

I saw on Tricia Nae's post.
I think yes :)

{a} age... 23.

{b} bed size... full.

{c} chore you hate... laundry.

{d} dogs... one fur baby.

{e} essential start to your day... brush teeth, wash face, stretch.

{f} favorite color... pink!

{g} gold or silver... silver.

{h} height... 5'6"

{i} instruments you play... used to play clarinet and violin.

{j} job title... nanny.

{k} kids... in the next few years.

{l} live... in a cute little apartment.

{m} maiden name... not married...yet.

{n} nicknames... panda. 

{o} overnight hospital stays... never.

{p} pet peeve... people who don't clean up after themselves.

{q} quote... live laugh love.

{r} righty or lefty... righty.

{s} siblings... four sisters. one brother.

{t} time you wake up... (work days)6:50am. (non-work days)9:30am.

{u} university attended... University of Phoenix.

{v} vegetables you dislike... peas and celery.

{w} what makes you run late... deciding what to wear.

{x} x-rays you've had... teeth, knees, and chest.

{y} yummy food... sushi and ribs.

{z} zoo animal favorite... pandas!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Wow, it's been a very long time since I've linked up for WILW @ This Kind of Love, or any link up really.  Sad, I know...  Lets just say it has been very stressful the last few weeks.  Very.  But here are a few things that have made me smile...

I'm loving... that I get paid tomorrow.

(because we're broke)

I'm loving... that I'll actually have time to paint my nails tonight.

(and use my new crackle nail polish!)

I'm loving... my new job.

(the girls are freaking adorable!)

I'm loving... my favorite shows.

(Awkward. The New Adventures of Old Christine. Dance Moms. Teen Mom.)

And as always, I'm loving... my super handsome, amazing boyfriend <3

60 Day Challenge: Day 46, 47, & 48

With all the stress from the last two weeks and getting the new job, I've been slacking big time on blogging and keeping up with the 60 Day Challenge, so I'll make it up by doing a few days in one.  I can do this!  I'm almost to day 60!

Day 46 - A picture of where you wish you were right now

I will be there in a few hours though with Super Mom 
for some delicious happy hour sushi!

Day 47 - A picture of your favorite place to shop

Day 48 - A picture of your favorite actress/actor

sandra bullock <3

Pretend City

There is this place where I live that I have never heard of until I started working for these families in my town: Pretend City.  I have only ever heard great things about it and that it is actually an entire city made just for little kids.  Sounds interesting, huh?  I thought so.

Well, today I got the privilege of touring the little pretend city, and I have to say, it wasn't as totally awesome as I had pictured in my head, but it was up there.  It had little grocery store, a post office, an art place, a fire station, gas station, movie theatre, and much more.  They even give the kids "time cards" and ATMs to get fake money.  We were there for two hours today and the kids loved it - they didn't want to leave.

This idea of creating a little pretend city was such a great idea!  I only wish they had something like this when I was a kid.  Kids these days are so spoiled!  I'm just saying...

Stressed Out!: UPDATE

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging much lately :(  These last two weeks have been crazy hectic and I'm so tired!

Well, after that horrible day of back and forth 'yelling' text messages and screaming phone calls to the new family saying that they stole me, I was treated with a cold shoulder for the rest of the week and let go last Friday.  I continued to work for the new family this week, but I was told that they were interviewing new nannies because they still hadn't gotten a 'blessing' from the previous family I worked for.  I was really bummed about it, especially the fact that I had to look for a new job.

I applied to about 15-20 jobs, had two callbacks, and one interview.  The whole time though, I was secretly hoping wishing that the new family would just get over the whole 'blessing' thing and keep me as their nanny.

Well...after working the last two weeks with them, I guess I really impressed them, because today when the mom came home to relieve me, she said the words I've been longing to hear, "Sarah, would you like to continue working for us?"  Umm..YES PLEASE!  I'm so glad I don't have to go through anymore awkward interviews or send out my resume anymore.  To me, that is the worst thing about jobs: finding one.

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and the knot is finally out of my stomach.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers :)  I really appreciate it!

************
Sidenote:   Sometime next week (I believe next Thursday the 1st), 

I will be guest posting on Casey's blog over at Stress Case while she is on vacation.

If you have a chance, please go over there and take a look!

Thank you!

E.L.F. Review

In my last weeks post, I finally received my products from e.l.f. that Super Mom got me for my birthday.  Since then, I have gotten a few requests to do a review on the products I got.  So here you go...

At the end of my review for each item, 

I will give a rating out of five ♥s.

One being the lowest - Five being the highest.

1.  I love how the face primer makes my foundation look, but if I sweat (which is most likely with the heat we're having here), it makes my face look a little shiny.  When putting it on, only squirt out about a 'pea size' amount, and that will cover your whole face fairly well.  Anymore and it will make your face feel too oily.  

Rating: ♥♥♥♥
2.  The pressed powder is great.  It covers my face well and does a wonderful job covering up my face when I need a quick touch up.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
3.  I unfortunately haven't had a chance to try the false lashes yet, but I would assume they are like any basic lash kit.
Rating: unavailable
4.  The concealer stick is pretty descent.  I keep it in my purse and use it whenever I have a blemish that needs some covering up.  Just apply over area and rub in a little, and done!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

5.  Like I said in my post last week, I swear by this stuff.  I have been using it for years.  When regular concealer doesn't do the job, the all over stick covers it up!  You can use a brush, but I prefer to just use my finger.  I love it!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
6.  I've never used bronzing powder before, but I thought I'd give it a try, and I love it.  It makes my cheek bones really stand out, which I like.  But be care not to put too much on your brush because even a little does a lot.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
7.  Their lipgloss is ok.  When first opening it, you have to twist the bottom a bunch of times before the gloss actually comes out.  But be careful when twisting, because if you twist one too many times it comes out real fast.  I personally don't like how the applicator part is like a brush; I prefer the stick kind or the squeeze kind.  And the gloss itself is kind of sticky.
Rating: ♥♥
8.  Not much to say about toe separators.  They pretty much do what they say they do - separate your toes!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

9.  I've only ever used liquid eyeliner once before in my life, so I don't have much to go off, but it's ok.  The actually applicator is like a plastic point, not a brush, so when trying to apply in a sweeping motion, it doesn't work very well.  It does the job, but not as well as I'd like.
Rating: ♥♥♥
10.  I like LOVE the eye widener A LOT!  I just love how it makes my eyes look.  I used to occasionally put black eyeliner all over my eyes, but using the black on my upper lid and then white on the bottom, gives me a more classier/prettier look.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
11.  The eye smudger sponge works pretty good, I just wish the sponge was a little more squishier.
Rating: ♥♥♥
12.  I didn't find the blending brush necessary.  Just a regular eye shadow brush does the job.
Rating: ♥♥
13.  I never knew what the fan brush was for, until I was looking through all the brushes, and discovered it was for wiping your face after applying eye shadow.  I always used to wipe it with my fingers and the eye shadow that fell down would just get all smudged under my eyes, but now, I can wistfully wipe it away! Yay!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
14.  The bronzing brush is pretty much the same as a blush brush, but it's nice to have two different ones so the colors don't mix.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

15.  I love that I got 100 eye shadow colors for only $10, but some of the colors aren't as dark as they look once you apply it on your eye.  So I have to go over it a few times to get the actual color.
Rating: ♥♥♥
____________________________________________

I hope all that helped and you'll try a new e.l.f. product!
Enjoy!

Sally's Beauty

Yesterday, I went over to Sally's because I've been wanting to try the mud mask treatment that Lindsey over @ The Bargain Blonde tried HERE.  While I was there, I also picked up a few other things that I've been wanting...

Biotera Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner

(2 for $14!)

[buy]

 Rattail Comb

(only 29 cents!)

[buy]

China Glaze Crackle Collection: Lightning Bolt

(only $5.99!)

[buy]

Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque

(only $4.49!)

[buy]

________________________________________________

I'll give an update on how I review these items in a later post.

Let me know if you have tried any of these products.

I'd love to hear from you!

60 Day Challenge: Day 45

Day 45 - A picture of your room

check out more here.

60 Day Challenge: Day 42, 43, & 44

I'm slacking a little...I know.

Day 42 - A picture of your dream house

I love wrap around porch houses, with a big yard!

Day 43 - A picture of something you can't function without

my phone.

my macbook.

and of course, amazing boyfriend ;)

Day 44 - A picture of someone you're told you look like

I've gotten this a few times, but I don't know if I see it.

Stressed Out!

As most of you know, I nanny two of the cutest girls during the week.  Well, since they are back in school now, my hours and paycheck have been cut in half, and I'm barely surviving money-wise.  I've been searching for either another part-time job to go along with my current job or find a full-time job to replace my current one, but it's been rough.

My prayers were answered when sadly, another nanny friend had an emergency and had to leave her full-time nanny job, and she called and asked me if I would like to take over her job.  Without hesitating, of course I said yes.  The mom she worked for called me the next day, and we worked it out for me to just work in the mornings until school gets out, so I can still work for my current family until we figure out other arrangements (either combining all the kids together for after school or they find another nanny).

I talked a bit with the current mom I work for about the situation, because she told me if I found another family that goes to the same school as her kids we could work something out if needed.  Well, she totally took what she said back!  She kept coming up with excuses like Miss Lazy-Know-It-All would get too distracted while doing homework and five kids is too many kids for me to watch.  Um, I'm sorry, but those are lame excuses.  I've worked with kids for over eight years and I'm the oldest of six kids...I think I can keep a girl focused enough to finish her homework and be able to watch 5 kids.  So we kind of just left it at that I will continue to watch the new family in the morning and watch their kids in the afternoon for this week and then go from there.

Welllll...things are about to turn for the worst!  Ugh :(

I go into work this morning to watch the other family's kids and I get a text from the current mom I work for saying that she wants to know what my plan is about my job, and that the girls love me, blah blah blah, and really just wants to know what my plan is.  It didn't sound to mean or anything, just sounded like she just wanted to know.  Now, I was planning on talking to her about it tonight when she came to pick up the girls, since I would have a chance to talk to her alone without the girls around, but since she asked, I figured it would only be polite to answer instead of leaving her hanging all day.

Here's what I wrote:
"I love watching the girls, however I'm put in a predicament because I've been offered a full time job and I really need the hours to help pay for bills, rent, and groceries. You guys have been so good to me, but since I can't afford to live on a 20/hr work week and I can't find a compatible morning job to work with it, I feel I have to consider my means of living and take the full time job. I really wished I could've watched all the girls after school, so I wouldn't have to leave you guys. I'm sorry and I'm so sad to leave. I hope that I can watch the girls the rest of this week, and maybe next week with all of them combined since its all short days and they have Thursday off. Let me know if that works. I've also been trying to find someone to take my place for you." 
--- I thought that was pretty nice and sweet, don't you think?


Well, I guess she didn't.  She came back at me full force.  You could feel the anger through the text message.  She said things like:
"But when were you going to discuss this with me?" Um, tonight when we had a chance to talk alone, away from the kids.
"Do you think it's fair for them (the new family) to do this to us?" It's not the family's fault that their nanny left abruptly and she gave them my name.
and
"You had enough time to find a new job." Um, but you do know that the job market is at an all time low and it is very hard to find a job in, I'd say, less than two months.


And to top it all off, her husband called the dad from the new family (while I was there watching his kids) and yelled at him.  I mean, seriously!?  This has all been blown way extremely out of proportion and it's making me feel sick, stressed out, and sad.  And the new family says that if they don't get "the blessing" from my current family, I'm out of a job (with them).  Can I go scream in a pillow now?


So, in about half an hour, I will have to confront the current mom I work for when she comes to pick up the girls.  My stomach is in one huge knot and I've been on the verge of tears all day.  If you have a moment, please keep me in your thoughts and say a little prayer for me that this all works out.  Thank you.

Thanks for listening to me vent :)

Anyone else ever been in the same situation?

Whether working for a family or with an employer?

20 Something Bloggers - Blog Swap #9

It's blog swap day over at 20 Something Bloggers!
So, today, Nicole is taking over my blog!
Enjoy :)

______________________________________

Hi!  I'm Nicole from Busy Girl and I'm so excited to be guest posting here on Sarah's blog today :)  I'm a twenty-something newlywed, mom to one spoiled dog and lover of coffee, laughter and photography.  And summer...sunshine and warm weather will always put me in a good mood.  I thought I'd share my favorite things about summer with you today:

1)  My husband and I recently went on vacation to the Outer Banks and I have to say, it's pretty much my favorite place on earth to be during the summer.  Between the ocean, the weather and the relaxed vibe of the island, it's perfect.

2) We're a boating family  I actually just earned my boating license, although truth be told, I have no idea how to even turn the boat on!  So I just enjoy the weekends out on the lake...and let someone else drive :)

3) Five nights a week you can find me barefoot in sand.  But not on a beach.  My husband taught me how to play volleyball last summer and now I cannot get enough.

4) Flowers, oh the flowers.  I love the surprises that keep blooming in our backyard.

5) The smell.  You know, that fresh-cut, clean air smell that wafts through your windows during the day?  I love that.  And watching my dog enjoy every moment outdoors.

Thanks for having me Sarah!  xoxo Nicole

Music Monday - LINK UP!!

Music is part of our every day lives.

Whether we are listening to the radio in our car, 

have our headphones plugged into our iPod,

or going to a concert.

Each of us have our own style of music we like.

Whether it is hip-hop,

country,

R&B,

classical,

or rap.

I always love it when I'm introduced to new music.

So I came up with Music Monday

to give my fellow bloggers a chance to see what everyone else is in to.

Share lyrics or a video.

Share a song that expresses how you're feeling,

what is stuck in your head,

or a song that other people just need to hear.

Sometimes listening to music can make your day that much better.

Or it can change your way of life.

__________________________________________

A song that brings me to tears every time I hear it

is "A Groovy Kind of Love"

by Phil Collins

My mom told me she would always sing me 

this song to me while rocking me to sleep

when I was little.

My mom is still very much alive,

but we have been through so much together

and I love her so much,

that whenever this song comes on,

it reminds me of all our good times and bad times,

and knowing that she will always be there for me.

I love you Super Mom!

What song has a lot of memories behind it for you?
Link up and share.

60 Day Challenge: Day 41

Day 41 - A picture of your pet

 my fur baby Turbo.

60 Day Challenge: Day 40

Day 40 - A picture of your favorite Disney character

the little mermaid.

Super Mom says I would watch this like 5 times a day when I was a little girl.

Homemade Dinners

Well, I was supposed to have a new friend over tonight for dinner and a movie, but I guess bailing on me and not answering her texts or calls is more important :(

So since I was starving and couldn't wait for amazing boyfriend to get home from work (he gets off after 11pm), I made my pre-planned dinner and ate by myself.

This morning I thawed out some chicken I had in the freezer and put it in a ziploc with some marinade I put together.  It sat in the fridge all day....marinading!  First time I've ever done that, I was kind of totally excited!  I put a slice in the George Foreman Grill and listened to it sizzle.

Then got a pot boiling with some milk, water, and butter.  Added some noodles and seasoning, and wah-lah!

(I took the picture after I already ate some,
there was a lot more than that haha.)

Popped open a bottle of wine.

And enjoy!