Happy Monday

I feel like working two jobs always means that the weekends go by so FAST! I'm usually trying to relax, spend time with my man, clean the house, catch up on emails, make shop orders or attend lots of crazy events!

Getting ready for the dreaded pub shift

But yesterday I really wanted to take a day off from everything and just have fun. So where to go in California for fun? Well Six Flags Magic Mountain of course!

We slept in till about 9am, grabbed delicious empanadas from Red Ribbon bakery (if you haven't had these an live close to one of these bakeries I highly recommend you get your booty there and eat some) and then headed out to the park.

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Now I'll admit, the park IS in the middle of the desert and I hadn't fully thought through exactly HOW hot it would be or that we'd literally have sweat dripping between our boobs (oh wait, that was probably just me) BUT nonetheless it felt great just to be outside and flying through the air on some pretty crazy coasters.

There's something I just adore about being at an amusement park. Feeling like a kid with no worries or fears and just feeling the adrenaline and excitement pump through you as you travel quickly through the air. It just makes me so happy.

Enjoying a frozen lemonade, soaking wet

AND to be there with my fella, NOT talking about work and hearing his laughs as we fly upside down… well that's just pure joy.

 And although we lost a pair of sunglasses on the rapid ride, couldn't stomach a FULL day of coasters like when we were younger and had to wait in some hot lines; it was TOTALLY worth it to just let go.

Oh and the sushi date we had when we got home was pretty amazing too! I just adore spending a day with my man, acting like a kid and not worrying about anything else.

Cause in the end, these are the days we'll remember and talk about.

Introducing..... Hoop Art

Owning an Etsy shop is quite an interesting experience. You pour your heart and soul into creating beautiful works of art to sell to others and hope they love them as greatly as you. As I say, "Do what you love, love what you do."

Well when I started my shop I was thrilled about the pieces I was creating. Beautiful hair clips and headbands for lovely ladies and children. And each one I made, I was so excited to list and send home to someone, for them to adore also.

But it doesn't always work that way. Items weren't selling like I had hoped and I lost my spirit for creating for a bit.

But then something happened. I started crafting again for fun. I did a few projects here and there for friends and even sold a couple pieces. Encouraging words were shared and I felt excited about creating pieces for others again.

So I'd like to introduce....


Beautiful Blendings Custom Hoop Art

Only $15 for a custom design

Only $20 for a custom design

Only $25 for a custom design

Only $30 for a custom design

I hope you are as excited about this new venture as I am. If you are interested in your own custom hoop design... just click on any of the pictures to be taken to listing for that size. Or just visit my shop.

I'd love it if you shared this with someone you love.  Thanks for your support friends!
Xo.

Rent your Books! Oh yes.

I have my Bachelor's degree. I don't really talk about that much here because quite frankly... I don't actually use my degree much. Ha. I have a B.A. in Human Development and Family Sciences: Early Childhood Education. Whoa.

Yes, the happy grad with crazy long locks.

Really what that means is that I spent WAY too much money in college. But I wouldn't be upset about it if it were just student loans that I were paying off now that I'm 26 and have been done with school for the past 4 years. I'm upset because I have credit card debt to still pay. And I have that debt because of BOOKS. College books (and the bookstores that sell them) are ridiculously, crazy, out of this world OVERPRICED. They know you need the book, nah.... are required to have the book.... therefore they charge up the whoo-ha for it. And every year there's a new edition to buy. Ugh.

So what to do about it? That's where the AMAZING site CampusBookRentals.com comes into play. Why oh why did this not come to my attention until I'm already finished with school and filled with the debts?

This site is awesome for a number of reasons but the best being that they do simply this: you need a book..... they rent you the book. No crazy purchasing, no trying to sell the book back for 1/3 the cost at the end of 3 months; just simple use it while you need it and then return it. Oh, and they send you a box to ship it back in for FREE. Y'all.... this is AWESOME. AND, if you need the book for longer (cause maybe you had to take your final a bit later than the rest).... no problem. They let you extend your rental period for a tiny cost.

Here's a quick example:

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Say you need this Comm book for your next class. The PRICE is over $100. Or, you can rent it (with a free return) for the entire class for just $15! Say what?!

All I'm saying is that I may not have been able to take advantage of this fabulous site but I know people who can and I'm sure you do too. So share the love. Share the greatness so that happy young people don't have to start their life off with HEAPS of credit card debt for BOOKS. 


**CampusBookRentals did offer me compensation for this review. But all opinions and words written are of my own accord and I review this site honestly and because I believe in the product/service provided. Rent your books, yo! 

About a Nanny

I do not have any kids. I am 26 years old and while many friends around me have already crossed that bridge; it's just not where I am yet.

But I know more about raising kids than most. Let me explain.

I don't say that to sound pompous or self-important. And I completely recognize that HAVING a child is much different than just taking care of one. But I also have a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, have taken Infant First Aid and CPR more times than I even remember anymore and I've spent longer days with kids than their parents.

I'm a nanny. And I've been in the 'business' of loving and caring for kids for about a decade. I've worked with many different families with many different styles of parenting and personalities of children. I've been a Childcare teacher, a babysitter and an at-home nanny. And I want to tell a bit about what it's like to not have a child of my own but to have extreme love and passion for a child LIKE it's my own.

The last family I worked for had a baby girl. Their first baby and they were working parents so they hired me when she was three months old to care for her during the day. I'll call her Emily.

Emily was a fantastic happy and intelligent baby with awesome parents. They were open to my suggestions and fully trusted that I was always acting in Emily's best interest. They were a loving, easy-going and amazingly kind family to work for.

I spent 8hr days with Emily 4-5 days a week. And once or twice I even had her overnight when her parents had to be out of town. I was the first person she threw up on, the person she had her first solid food with and the one who took the binky away.

As I said before her parents trusted me to make decisions with Emily and they were very comfortable letting me take the lead on issues they weren't fully sure about because they trusted my knowledge about such things (even though I didn't have my own child).

I could tell you so many stories about my time with Emily (and perhaps I will someday) but here's the main point I want you to understand; I love Emily with a kind of love that words cannot describe. It's a kind of love that is not the same as a parent's love but captures your heart in the same strong way.

After two and a half years with Emily I had to say goodbye when I moved to another state and I've honestly never felt so heartbroken or empty in my entire life. I felt like I was abandoning her without any explanation that she would understand. We went from togetherness everyday to not seeing each other at all anymore. It was wretched for me and everyday I feel sad missing out on her new words and her happy face.

I do still keep in touch with Emily (and I always will) but I can not explain to you what it's like to be away from her. She's not my child. But I will always love her like that. And I'm so thankful her parents let me be that piece in her life.

I completely understand how difficult it must be to trust another person to care for your child when you aren't there. But I want you to know, if you find someone with the right heart, they will love your child forever.