March madness

Although I may not be a busy Betty with an extra stressful life; anytime I have anything even semi big coming up, I become an anxious mess. I'm the first to say that I don't do well under pressure and I never bite off more than I can chew if I don't have to. But with that being said, I do have a semi busy Betty month and a half ahead of me. Which means planning the heck out of the next 45 days (which won't actually happen bc I'm a procrastinator but it makes me feel better  to think I've tried). 

So a few weeks ago, my parents sprung on my sister and I that we're going to Disney for spring break! Not only Disney (if that weren't enough) but Universal Studios, thus (yeah I'm getting there) HARRY POTTER WORLD; excuse my fangirling but I'm more or less obsessed with the books and movies.

But Orlando is kind of in Florida which kind of means we're also going to the beach, which kind of means I'm absolutely not bikini ready. Weight has always been something I've struggled with and once again, less than a month out from vacay and I've yet to even come close to an ideal weight. 

The main staple, and less exciting event of this month, will be trying to lose as much weight as possible before I step foot on FL soil. Eating healthy will be the death of me. But I can't disappoint myself again. OH. And not only am I working toward an ideal bod for the  beach but on April 11, I'll be attending prom in the most breathtaking dress I've ever seen (in person at least). My dress fits and that's all fine but I'd love to really feel comfortable in my own skin on prom night. For the amount of pounds I wanna shed, I'm really gonna need to hit it hard; which is something I've obviously never accomplished or I wouldn't be here right now. 

Along with what I've said above, my junior year of high school has proved to be the hardest year yet. From school work to relationships and friendships, 11th grade has really taken a toll on me. I'm hoping that maybe planning everything out will give me at least a little control of all of the craziness. 

I realize this post has been very about myself, and possibly very boring to some people who live far more extravagant lives than I do. But I'm really laid back and I get squirly over the smallest thing, so I couldn't help but share. 

Thank you so much for reading! 

Sincerely, Erin 

Bubble Bath Ritual

For the past week Ashland, KY has been snowed in; leaving all schools in our area closed. Giving me loads of free time while being cooped up in the house. So for the last week I've lived a no makeup, natural hair, all day PJ's, Netflix enthusiast kind of lifestyle. But after sitting in one place, and doing a whole bunch of nothing gets boring, I take on something actually productive: a bubble bath. 

First off, I run about half a bath full of steaming-hot, hot tub type of water. After I get in the tub, I'll pop in a bath bomb, this time I used Butter Bear by LUSH. And once the fizz has completely dissolved into creamy heaven, I'll add a few dollops of The Body Shop's Honey Bubble Melt. When I get in the bath, my makeups normally off so I just go ahead with an Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleansing Pad. These pads are great for the bath because they're easy but effective to help you feel clean. To channel my inner tween I used one of those generic face mask packets from Walmart; the one I just used was a coconut moisturizing mask. After letting my mask harden and rinsing it off I'm done with my bath. As soon as I get out of the tub I'll moisturizer with some sort of lotion, I'm currently using Forever Midnight Lotion by Bath and Body Works. I'm not one of those people who wash their hair in the bath tub, it's just gross to me. So I'll just put my head over the edge of the tub and wash it under the faucet. After shampooing & conditioning I'll put in some sort of leave-in spray; I'm running out of my That's a 10 spray so I used Tresemme Keratin Smooth Serum. Honestly I've found that it can be super heavy on the ends of my hair but with a light hand it's not too bad. 

But that's it! Pretty simple and straight forward but it's a system that seems to work well for me. Comment with your bath time favorites! 

Sincerely, Erin 

Story time & belated resolutions

  2014 was almost a predictable, average year. Until about October-November when my life started turning upside down. The constants of my world weren't so constant anymore. I had lost one of the most precious people in my life. A complete culture-shock awaited me, with no signs of going back. 

  My boyfriend and I of almost 3 years had yuckily broken up. I was always one of those girls who thought it was really pathetic when other people acted so dramatic and desperate over a relationship; but now that was me. I was the girl who was heart broken and miserable like never before. 

  But without my boyfriend, I turned to some of my friends that I may have neglected during the time I was in my relationship. We became so incredibly close. Even though I was in terrible pain, they were right there to see me through it. 

  A few months later, my ex and I patched things up and we began talking again, which turned into hanging out again, which turned into dating once again. Things still aren't the same and may never really be in the sense that we once knew. But there's a chance we could grow to become better than ever before. 

  After the obvious problems the breakup first caused me, I realized all the beautiful things that had blossomed from such an awful situation. My friends and I were closer than I'd ever thought possible, even new friendships had grown.             

  I learned more in the past few months than I had maybe in my whole life. One of them being: when people say "something good will come out of this", they're telling the truth. It's a completely true statement that I realize now.  

  Last new year, I couldn't imagine the person I am today; and doing the things I've done thoughtout the year, with the people I have, and all that's happened to me. Then I wouldn't believe the fact that I've gotten through it all, that I've overcome the obstacles. So, I'm inspired to truly make resolutions and stick to them, because there's no telling what all can happen in one year. 

Forgive and forget 

Just because you've "moved on" from the original problem, doesn't mean you've completely forgotten the things people have done to you. But carrying that baggage doesn't hurt anyone but yourself, and this year I'll be trying to let it all go. 

Live for today

Be courageous, and daring in your decisions as well as your attitude. Focus on making the moment instead of looking forward. 

Be healthy in all forms of the word

I've never been a fit type of person, ever. It's in my blood to eat the whole pizza, or all of the cupcakes on the table. And I've always hated my weight and the way I feel after constantly over-indulging. As well as being healthy looking, I wanna be a healthy person all around. I wanna live a long and happy life, and I don't want my habits to get in the way. Andddd, I wanna have a healthy outlook on life; a positive person with goals and aspirations that I'm willing to work for.

Come back to Jesus

My relationship with God has slowly been slipping away and I'm so ready for it to return. I'm going to start doing devotions and praying not only with my problems but with my praise towards Him. 

Have a happy YEAR! 

Sincerely, Erin 

For a girl who doesn't cry

Today we're getting a bit more personal. But don't worry this won't be a rant post I promise. Two weeks ago was the first time I had actually cried in school, and that's the weirdest thing in the world for me. I'm not emotional about a lot of things, especially in front of people that I don't exactly bond with to say the least. Some things were happening in my relationship that threw me into a T-TOTAL wreck. And I thought, well I'm never gonna let that happen again. I felt completely exposed.

Today in first period, that rule about no more crying at school went out the window. For about the same reason as before, I was a bawling mess before 8:45 AM. And it wasn't soft tears, it was like a I can feel my stomach jiggling waterfall. I stayed emotionally unstable the whole entire day long. 

Like I literally turned on Say Yes to the Dress and it was the worst mistake. I had to turn it off. 

Regardless of how on display and vulnerable I felt, after the fact I realized that it was okay. Sometimes you just have to cry. I think I've never cried all that much because it felt more safe to hold it in until you explode. Now I'm not going to that that anymore, of course I'm not gonna tear up everytime I hear wedding bells but I gonna let myself let it go. And you should do the same, I'm sure you've been strong way too long too.

Xoxo

Sincerely, Erin

Late night thoughts

Here I am at 12:32 in the morning scanning the blogging world for ideas to blog about. And so many times I've done this because I can't think of anything to write cause I feel like my life isn't interesting enough for a blog and I'm probably right. I've only had a couple posts and honestly none of them gave me a heaping amount of confidence. I just wonder how people do it. How they come up with ideas and seamless plans. I understand it takes time and effort, things don't happen overnight I get it. But where do you find inspiration? Where do you find the confidence to move forward in blogging or life itself? I applaud people who run successful blogs, people whose blog IS their job. I feel like it's immensingly harder than a 9-5 that's for sure. Hopefully I'll gain some inspiration cause I love to write and even though this has been a somewhat meaningless post, I feel good having posted it. 

Have a great Wednesday! 

Sincerely, Erin

Week of Hope 2014 || This Girl is On Fire

Last year, my church went on a mission trip to Cincinnati, Ohio through Group Mission’s Week of Hope. And I had a fantastic time. To those of you who don’t know, Week of Hope is a time for Christians from across the U.S. to fellowship and serve the community.

It’s pretty weird to be stuck living somewhere where you only know the select few that came with you. You’re forced to get out of your comfort zone and completely desert your fears. As I may have let on before, I’m a very backward person when it comes to socializing and pretty much everything else.

But to my surprise, I had an especially liberating experience this past summer; I rededicated my life to Christ. I thought it’d change my life like crazy and at first it did. Until the fire within me soon became extinguished.

A year later and it was time to head back to Cincy where my spiritual journey with God had refreshed and then burnt out all over again. I had high hopes that He’d work on my heart again and give me the strength to stay on track this time but boy did I have no idea.

Everything that had broke me down and built me back up again within this past year gave me this courage to open up like never before. There’s something about being in an atmosphere full of believers that honestly recharges every single part of you possible. There’s no worries. No shame. No boundaries (in a good way). You’re not afraid to cry and pray and take your sorrows to the altar cause that’s exactly what everyone else is doing. You’re all there for the same reason; you’re at the battle front of God’s army, and you’re prepped & ready to go.

Being back in my hometown for a couple of days now makes me realize just how much I miss it; how different the superficial world is from the Godly one I’d much rather have. These people I met were from all over, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Massachusetts. The chances I’ll see them face to face again are slim to none. But there’s power in knowing we’re still brothers and sisters in Christ and we’re all united no matter how far away we live from each other.

Summing up this week is an impossible feat. But there was a lot of love, a lot of people and a whole lot of Jesus.

Some Pinterest Pins That Are the Real MVP

I remember being in like 7th grade and we had a family dinner at the house and all of my first cousins were in town, I kept seeing them over at the computer looking at about seven pictures a second and being in complete awe. They then explained the amazing world of Pinterest to me and I understood that they were wise beyond their years. Being a weird little middle-schooler, the concept seemed to confusing. Nonetheless I LOVE do it yourself projects (crafty little booger) and Pinterest held the key. I joined the club two years ago and now have 4,526 pins and 24 boards.

 

 

There’s honestly something for everyone. The inspiration is endless.

• http://www.pinterest.com/pin/95983035783137124/ This really did change my life. Or my hair anyways. This picture inspired me to get my bangs chopped off. It started this whole frenzy in which I researched all things bangs. This is also the picture I showed to my cousin (who cut my hair herself and who’s got more beauty sense in her pinky that I do in my whole body.) I also get hair color and highlight inspo when I’m all out of ideas.
• http://www.youbeauty.com/skin/how-to-contour-your-body-with-self-tanner I myself am not the chiseled goddess I wish I was. But this quick trick does wonders! Especially during bikini & sundress season. This pin shows you where to strategically self spray tan yourself where it gives you more defined and more appealing muscles and features. Some might say this is somewhat superficial but what’s the harm? I’ve also found you can do the same thing with your makeup bronzer; something you can control a bit more and much easier to wash off if it goes bad.
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/unexpected-uses-for-your-beauty-products When I first opened this link, I admit I was expecting all the things I’ve already heard of and the thing’s I’ve already tried. But to my surprise most of them I’d never even considered before! Great, great beauty and random lifestyle DIY fixes for everyday problems.
• http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Connie43/media/Pins34/75eAU1.jpg.html?sort=2&o=47 THIS THOUGH. This puts the little book case I have in my room to shame. This is what dreams are made of; my dreams at least.

As you can see I’m finding more pros to pinning everyday.

xoxo, Erin