Category Archives: Family

Feb21

Hello, It’s Me!

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Hello, It’s Me!

Hey there everyone and happy Sunday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I’ve noticed that I haven’t put up a whole lot of pictures of me on the ol’ blog lately. To remedy that, I had my dad break out his prized camera and snap some pictures of me during this past week. We shot some pictures outside and as you can see, Ohio got quite a bit of snow! (So much so that I was snowed in at home for an afternoon!) We also took some pics on our cool, color blocked hallway for your viewing pleasure. Take a look:

^^^ Thanks, dad! ❤

What I Wore:

  • Featured Image Jacket: This was one of my Christmas gifts, compliments of Target. You can read all about it in my post, New Coat Heaven.
  • Killin’ It Hoodie: My hoodie dress is one of my all time favorite Forever 21 finds which you can read about in my Monday Update: Forever 21 Haul Edition.
  • Black Skinnies: I got these from Express about a year or so ago. They used to have the coolest snakeskin pattern printed on them but unfortunately it faded away after over a year of washing. -_-
  • Zipper Front Heels: These babies are one of my steals that I got from Kohl’s a while back ago which you can read about in, If The Shoe Fits – Apt. 9 Edition.
  • Teal Fingerless Gloves: My glovies are one of my favorite accessories that I own. My mom got these for me from TJMaxx when I was in high school. It was on a day that I didn’t feel like going to school so we went shopping instead! I love them just as much now as I did when I first got them.

It was so nice to be able to spend the afternoon being photographed by my dear old dad. He definitely shot some winners and it was a great way to spend time together! How has everyone’s weekend been? What kind of weather are you having in your neck of the woods right now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb19

Hi! My Name Is…

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Hi! My Name Is…

Hiii everyone and TGIF! Okay, so if you read one of my previous posts, It’s A Boy!, you’ll know that my family recently just adopted a new sweet addition to our home. We finally have decided on a name for our little pup…and “Ollie” stuck! From the very beginning, my mom and I were very pro Ollie but my dad unfortunately was not on board. BUT after almost an entire week of my mom and I calling him Ollie, my dad finally came around! Is he happy about it? I don’t know. But I knew my mom and I had this small victory in the bag when I heard my dad calling him Ollie last night! Score!

My dad snapped some pictures of our little peanut bear and his Golden Retriever big sister, Gem, yesterday so take a look at our dog children:

^^^ Lol, that second picture kills me! #selfie

We are so happy to have our Ollie Bear and Gem and we are extremely thankful to the rescue group, Canine Lifeline, for helping to make them part of the Mushenheim family! Be sure to check out their website and give their Facebook page a like as well! 🙂

Oh, by the way, Ollie says “thank you” to everyone for all of the sweet compliments on my previous post about him! He was so flattered! Happy Friday! Much love. -Sarah

Feb17

It’s A Boy!

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It’s A Boy!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I hope the week is going fabulously so far for all of you. On Valentine’s Day my family said “yes” to opening our home to a sweet baby boy. His name is…Well, he doesn’t have a name yet but he’s the cutest little stinker on the planet. He has four legs, soft fur, a tail, and ears that stand up like a bunny. He’s not a cat, he’s not a tiger, nor an armadillo. Baby No Name is a dog! Take a look at the newest edition to the Mushenheim family:

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^^^ It’s A Boy…Dog!! ❤

My family works closely with the amazing rescue group, Canine Lifeline, so of course we adopted baby bear through them! Our Golden Retriever and peanut’s big sister, Gem, was also adopted through CLL two years ago. Both pups came from a rural shelter in Kentucky and ended up being taken in by CLL a few states away in Ohio. My family has been thinking of adopting a new dog for quite some time and this feeling was intensified when my sister moved to her own apartment, taking her rescue pup, Winston, with her.

After looking through the dogs available for adoption on CLL’s website daily, we finally came across our peanut. On February thirteenth, we took him home for the day and over night to see how he would interact with Gem. We bathed him, cuddled him, and played our time away and by Valentine’s Day, we were smitten. Not only did we adore him but Gem got along with him just fine and is very excited about her new little brother!

Peanut is the most precious little pup and he’s definitely a change of pace from all of the other sweet dogs that we’ve had throughout the ages. We’ve never had a dog as small as him before so it’s been fun being able to pick him up and hold him like the baby he is! The only problem we’ve had thus far is that we can’t come up with a name for the life of us!

From the moment my mom and I picked peanut up on the thirteenth, we’ve been spit balling names like nobody’s business. We are both dead set on his name being “Oliver” but calling him “Ollie” for short. Unfortunately, my dad isn’t quite sold on that idea yet. So now, I need everyone’s help! Asides from doing me a solid and visiting CLL’s website and giving their Facebook page a like, I want your suggestions on what to name peanut! In case you forgot what he looks like, here’s another darling pic of our baby:

olly

^^^ I LOVE THIS DOG!!!!

My family is so proud to have our household be little peanut’s “forever home” and we can’t wait to begin making memories with him! What do you think we should name our baby boy? Do you have a pet adoption story to share? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb8

Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

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Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! This past week, my Special Olympic ice skaters competed in the winter games and it was totally awesome. The events took place on Wednesday and Thursday and they were single handedly some of the best days of my life. On Wednesday my sister, Kristen, joined me at the competition and the banquet that followed later in the evening. It was so nice to have her keeping me company and all of my skaters and their families just loved her! The days of the competitions were long but they were so worth it, so let’s discuss:

Wednesday’s competitions were the races for the speed skaters and then the figure skaters would compete in their skills and compulsorary events. On Thursday, the figure skaters would perform their music routines. Wednesday started out much too early for my liking because I had to get up, get ready, pick Kristen up, and then make the twenty minute drive to the rink so I could prepare my skaters for the events an hour or so beforehand. I felt like a zombie but god knows I looked fabulous! 😉

Once we arrived at the rink, my tiredness was a thing of the past because seeing all of the athletes and their families was so energizing! Everyone was so excited and I couldn’t wait to soak up all of the positivity and happiness that everyone was exuding. It was so much fun to make my rounds to all of the athletes upon our arrival and introduce my sister to all of my friends. I was so touched by the warm greetings I got from all of my skaters and their families. I think the athletes were more excited about Kristen being there than me though because they got a brand new person to show off to!

The events started promptly at ten with the speed skaters on the hockey rink and the figure skaters on the practice rink. I had athletes competing on both rinks so I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I had skaters to give pep talks to, athletes to cheer for, and competitors that I had to track down that were going to be competing next. I didn’t mind the fast pace though and thanks to my time management skills, I was able to watch almost all of the skaters that are in my group compete.

Saying that I was proud of all of the athletes was a severe understatement and before I knew it, the events were over for the day. After all of the events were complete, we made our way to the hockey rink for the award ceremony. It was so special to be able to watch the athletes and my students receiving their medals on the podium. I loved seeing the big smiles, surprised faces, and arms raised in victory of all of the competitors. One of my students, Rick, ran to his family after he received his medals and went in for a big hug from his aunt. During the hug he kept saying “I’m so happy, I’m so happy” and I started bawling my eyes out! I was so proud of everyone and being able to see them celebrate and know that they did a fantastic job was the cherry on top of a perfect morning.

After the award ceremony, Kristen and I stuck around for a little bit while everyone had lunch and then we rolled out. Kristen treated me to lunch and then we went back to her apartment to rest and watch Netflix until the banquet in the evening. The banquet for the Special Olympics winter games was held at the Clarion Hotel. There was going to be speeches, dinner, and some good old fashioned tom foolery.

Kristen and I got to the hotel around six and made it right in the nick of time because shortly after we got there it was time to eat. Dinner was served buffet style followed by a huge piece of chocolate cake. Once everyone finished eating, there was a bit of a lull so we could all chat and digest while the dance floor got cleared off. Before we knew it, the dance floor was cleared, a DJ was playing, and disco lights were flashing. That’s when the real fun began!

As soon as the music started playing, Kristen and I ran to the dance floor with our friends so we could get our groove on. We were all dancing and singing along to songs from Grease and the Top 40 hits. My sister and I had such a blast dancing the night away. We were on the dance floor for over an hour and by the time we left, everyone was still dancing and jumping around! Clearly, all of the athletes have far more energy than I! Take a look at some of my pictures from the banquet:

^^^ I love us!!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million more times, I am so unbelievably proud of all of my students and the athletes who competed at the Special Olympics winter games. I’m so thankful for all of my new friends and I’m so happy that my sister got to share in the fun with us. It has been such a privilege to be able to coach such a talented group of athletes and I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had for anything! Coach Sarah loves you guys! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition! The winter games were a great success and I’m so grateful that I could be a part of it. What is your favorite winter sport? What sports did you used to compete in or are competing in now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan26

My Detroit Trip

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My Detroit Trip

Hi everyone and a very happy Tuesday to you! Last Friday I took a little road trip to Detroit, Michigan with my Uncle Ray as a favor to him. My uncle is a total car guy and he needed a wing girl so he could drop his car off at Monkey Wrench Racing to get some work done on his whip. I told him I was up for the journey and even though my day was filled with a lot of driving, it was still a lot of fun!

My uncle and I departed for our adventure around ten on Friday morning to begin the three and a half hour drive from Mentor, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan. The plan was to follow my uncle in the Little Red Love Machine for the trip there and then we would travel back to Ohio together. The drive to Michigan was relatively easy and we luckily had really good weather for the trip. The only snowfall we experienced was this random little flurry once we got into Michigan and that was it. I was really happy about that because the last thing I wanted to do was drive in unfamiliar territory in the snow.

I don’t really mind driving if I have things to keep me occupied so the trek wasn’t too bad thanks to my iPod, phone calls from my boyfriend, and occasionally waving to my uncle as I followed him. I was telling my boyfriend while we were chatting that the Detroit drive was an emotional rollar coaster because I had my iPod on shuffle. During the drive I was hearing everything from pop to screamo to rap and R&B so needless to say, I was an emotional wreck during some of the trip…Thanks a lot, Hawthorne Heights. -_-

Before I knew it, we finally arrived at Monkey Wrench Racing to drop Uncle Ray’s car off. We stuck around and chatted for a half hour or so and let me tell you, hearing all of the gents in the shop engaging in car talk with my uncle was like hearing an entirely different language. I didn’t understand one word of what they were saying but I’m glad my uncle had a good time with it! We also both got a free Monkey Wrench Racing t-shirt compliments of the crew so that was really nice. It’s in my color palette of black and white so I’m sure I’ll make use of it some day!

What killed me about my Detroit adventure was that once my uncle was done at the shop, we started making our journey back home. Haha, the break at Monkey Wrench Racing was much needed because I was essentially driving seven hours straight. -_- At least this time around, I was in good company because my Uncle Ray is one of my favorites! We’re very similar to each other so it was easy to fill our journey home with good conversation and laughter.

My Uncle Ray and I made a stop in Lakewood, Ohio to meet some of his friends for dinner. We went to a little Greek place called Our Friends and enjoyed a nice meal with my uncle’s comrades. It was so great to meet them and we all ended up having a really good time. My uncle ended up staying in Lakewood for a little while so I drove back to Mentor solo to have some quality time with my Aunt Mary Ellen before I made my way back to Akron.

I was so happy to spend some time with my Aunt Mary Ellen because I don’t get to see her as often as I would like. It was really nice to sit down, relax, and have a chat with her before I began my journey back home. My aunt and uncle are seriously the most perfect couple ever so any time with either of them is time well spent!

I would make the journey back to Detroit again for my uncle in a heartbeat because I’m one of the best people that I know of…But lucky for me, my uncle and his friends will be traveling back to Michigan to pick up his car once it’s done being worked on. I’m not complaining! All in all, it was definitely an adventure of a day and I’m so happy that I was in such fantastic company for it! ❤

My Detroit Trip was one of the best most random ways to spend a Friday that I can think of but I wouldn’t have it any other way! How was everyone’s weekend? Who has been on a road trip recently? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Interested in making a road trip to Cleveland? Let these videos inspire you to take the plunge and DO IT! #werenotdetroit 😉

Jan5

Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style!

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Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style!

Hellooo everyone and happy Tuesday! This Saturday I was surprised with the literal best Christmas gift ever…Two tickets to see Elf the musical with my beloved big sister, Kristen! My sister purchased us two tickets for a night on the town to see one of our favorite movies turned into a musical at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio. Take a look at us being pretty (!!) and then let’s discuss:

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Last Friday night when Kristen asked me if I had plans for the following evening, I didn’t think anything of it. But when Saturday came around the next day and she texted me with meticulous plans for when to pick her up, I started to get suspicious. When I called her to ask her where we were going for our hang out she told me it was for my Christmas gift and asked if I wanted to know what it was. The thing about me, though, is that I HATE surprises with a capital H and a capital ATE – so of course I wanted to know! That’s when she told me that she got us two tickets to see Elf the musical at 7:15 sharp this evening! I was blown away!!!

After I came out of my happiness coma we began to make plans for when I could pick her up and where we would go for dinner. We settled on our favorite…Taco Bell! Afterwards, she treated me to a full tank of gas and we went on our merry way to Playhouse Square in Cleveland. The drive was easy peasy and once we were in the downtown Cleveland area we got to enjoy seeing all of the buildings lit up beautifully for the holidays – it was awesome!

We arrived at the theater in perfect timing and Kristen managed to get amazing tickets for our date night. We were about twelve rows away from the stage and smack dab in the middle so our view was spectacular. While we waited for the show to begin, we took lots of sister pictures and I also took a picture of the stage, which is my featured image photo. I couldn’t take any pictures during the show, of course, but rest assured that it was incredible!

Elf the musical was simply fantastic. The actors were sublime, the music was catchy, the set was darling (it was storybook themed), and the choreography was superb. Kristen and I had a blast watching one of our favorite films come to life on the stage. The story from the movie was modified a little but all of the changes were clever and made perfect sense. We were in stitches the entire show and spent the whole car ride back to  her apartment quoting the musical.

Before we returned to Kristen’s place, we stopped at Giant Eagle to pick up some holiday gifts for her coworkers. The Giant Eagle that I live by is open twenty four hours and I found so much joy in just roaming the aisles with her at ten o’clock at night. We found gifts that suited our needs, as well as some treats for ourselves, and then headed back to her apartment.

Once we arrived at her place we crawled into our pajamas ASAP. As soon as we were comfy we made further preparations for our sister sleepover because this was the first night that I spent the night in her new apartment. Afterwards, I drove back to my house quickly to grab my sleeping pills and morning medication. It was no biggie, though, because we live a whole three minutes away from each other!

By the time I arrived back at her place, we were both beyond ready to hit the hay. We got tucked into her super comfy queen size bed and turned on the tube to fall asleep to. It was the absolute perfect ending to a perfect sister Christmas date night.

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I had on Saturday night with my big sister. She completely surprised me with my Christmas gift and it will be a memory that I’ll cherish for forever. Everything that we did from our dinner and the show to even just driving around to our locations was a blast and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our Christmas Gift Night with each other. I love you, Kristen! Thank you for treating me to an amazing evening – Sister Style!

So there you have it, my Saturday Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style! Kristen and I had a glorious time wrapping up the holiday season together and starting 2016 on a wonderful note. Have any of you seen a musical lately? What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec28

Monday Update: Holiday Haul Edition

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Monday Update: Holiday Haul Edition

Hello everyone and happy Monday! Welcome to this week’s Update: Holiday Haul Edition! Lil Red made out like a bandit this Christmas and it’s still not over! I still have presents to receive from my sister and my best friend later this week. But so far, the loot has been fantastic. I feel so spoiled because I’ve never had a boyfriend during the holiday season and Kyle and his mom were nice enough to give me some amazing presents. Take a look at what I received on Christmas according to each person:

My parents:

I am SO in love with the gorgeous coat that my mom and dad got me. I’ve been eyeing this jacket from Target for over two months now and I’m so happy that it’s finally mine! My mom got it for me the day after I tried it on in front of her in October and has been hiding it for my surprise ever since. What a lady! I also received a generous donation to the Lil Red Foundation as well as a fresh supply of my favorite beauty products from The Body Shop and Trader Joe’s. Thanks, mom and dad!

My brother and sister-in-law:

From Peter and Megan I received my first Adult Coloring Book, complete with colored pencils and a sharpener. My sister and I have been interested in these for a while so I’m so excited to unleash my inner child and crack open the coloring book with her. I also got a Groupon for two free admissions to a Paint Nite. In Ohio, there are certain bars that offer a night of drinking and canvas painting and I’ve heard that they’re so much fun! It will be the perfect date night for me and Kyle!

The most special gift I got this Christmas, however, was the rosary that Peter and Megan brought home for me from their honeymoon in Italy. It’s my favorite color and it is also blessed by Pope Francis from when they had the honor of meeting him. How cool is that?!

My other brother:

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From my second oldest brother, Andrew, I received another generous donation to the Lil Red Foundation. You can’t go wrong with cold hard cash!

My boyfriend:

My darling Kyle spoiled me rotten this year with some of the most fantastic gifts ever!! He gave me an entire family of stuffed animals from Despicable Me – one of our favorite movies. I also got a stuffed Moogle from Final Fantasy, which I’m pretty stoked about! To continue with the Minion theme, Kyle got me the most comfy pair of Minion patterned fleece pajama pants, which were unfortunately in the washing machine while I was taking my haul photos! Rest assured, they’re cute. 🙂

Kyle did a wonderful job of picking me out some beautiful accessories as well. I was so surprised when I opened the boxes of gorgeous jewelry, which included two stunning bracelets and a necklace. Kyle also knocked it out of the park with a burgundy and grey infinity scarf (Which I’m wearing right now!) and burgundy and black trimmed gloves. I can’t wait to wear my new scarf with all of my favorite sweaters and pair my gloves with my new coat from my parents! Thanks, babe – I love you! ❤

My boyfriend’s mom:

I was so humbled by the lovely gifts that my boyfriend’s mom treated me to. She got me the absolute cutest ornament for my tree of a little penguin ice skating. I made sure to put it right by my human skater, which I got at a figure skating competition in New York. Mrs. Kyle’s Mom also gifted me with some luscious bath and body products from Philosophy. I’ve never used their products before but have always wanted to so I was SO excited to try both of them out! Spoiler alert: They’re amazing and they smell heavenly!

As much as I enjoyed receiving all of these beautiful presents, I enjoyed giving everyone the gifts I picked out special for them even more! I am so thankful for all of the goodies that I was gifted with but would have been just fine with only having the quality time with my family and loved ones. My Christmas this year was one of the best ever and I can’t wait to continue the celebrations this week with my sister and darling best friend!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Holiday Haul Edition! How was everyone’s holiday? What was your favorite gift that you received or gave? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec8

All Done Christmas Shopping!

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All Done Christmas Shopping!

Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! This past weekend I was SO happy to finally finish my Christmas shopping! I got a vast majority of my shopping done at Kohl’s, TJMaxx, and some local shops in downtown Kent. But this weekend, I broke out the big guns and let Amazon take care of the rest. I ended up saving a lot of precious time and moolah this year thanks to smart shopping and all I can say is…I’m glad it’s over. Let’s discuss:

I was really pleased with all of the items that I bought in person and because I had lots of great coupons and gift cards, I was able to save a lot of money, too! But after spreading the wealth in stores, I knew that there were things that would just be simply easier to buy online. That’s when Amazon and a beautiful gift card that my mom got from work came in.

I affectionately call myself the “Queen of the Amazon” because I really am. Give me an hour on that site and I’ll have a shopping cart full of the perfect gifts for everyone on my list. I spent some time writing out ideas of what to get everyone who I still needed to shop for and then I logged on to Amazon to browse what might work for each of them.

When I’m doing a big online shopping haul, I have a tried and true technique that I return to year after year:

  • Step 1) Make a handwritten list of gift ideas.
  • Step 2) Browse the ideas on Amazon and bookmark anything that might work.
  • Step 3) Mull it over.
  • Step 4) Return to the site a few days later to make your final decisions.

I bookmarked so many items on Amazon that I lost count and ended up forgetting a lot of the things that I had saved. But that’s the beauty of expanding your options far and wide. Because I picked out so many possibilities, there were only a chosen few items that I really remembered and those were the ones that I ended up going with each time. I’m all about picking items that are memorable, useful, and relevant to the person that I’m shopping for.

After I had time to think of each gift, I returned to Amazon one last time to make my final decisions. This is when I start the nitpicking. I look for the best price on the product, an item that will ship for free, and the one with the best reviews and ratings. My rating rule of thumb is that if it has less than four stars overall, then I don’t even consider it.

Once I’m 150% sure that I have the perfect gift for the best price, I add the item to the cart and repeat the process for the next product. Thanks to this ballin on a budget method, I ended up spending under one hundred dollars for SEVEN items and still had cash to spare on the gift card! Nice!

Thanks to smart shopping, coupons, gift cards, and having a keen eye for the best deal, I ended up spending a grand total of…Eighty dollars of my own money for multiple gifts for seven people! Not bad, not bad at all!

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I can’t say what I got for everyone because you never know who’s tuning in to lifewithlilred! BUT, I know for a fact that my dad doesn’t read my blog so I can say that I’m pretty excited for what I got him! My dad loves to travel and plans fantastic vacations so one of the gifts that I got him will definitely come in handy…A brand new atlas for 2016, which will be a vast improvement of his torn and used 2005 atlas that has never been updated. I think that after eleven years an upgrade was much needed! 🙂

I’m All Done Christmas Shopping and I couldn’t be happier! Now it’s time to sit back and relax until it’s time to start wrapping all of the presents up! Who is all done with their holiday shopping? Where do you usually do all of your shopping at? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec7

Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

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Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I had a sub par weekend due to some unfortunate family falling outs BUT I did have an awesome Saturday morning! I coach figure skating for the Special Olympics and at the Lock 3 skating rink in downtown Akron a winter fest was held through the Summit Developmental Disabilities Board. I had such a blast with my skaters and their families and my mom joined us as well which made the outing even better! Let’s discuss:

Lock 3, as pictured in my featured image photo, is a fantastic landmark in Akron. There are concerts there during the summer and a lot of great winter activities as the weather gets colder. It was a frigid morning on Saturday but when my mom and I arrived at the rink, I was happy to see a lot of my skaters already there chatting, skating, and tying up their skates.

I was excited for my mom to meet everyone and I was also pretty pumped to have some Sarah skating time, too. When I’m coaching, I rarely have time on the ice to do any of my old jumps or spins so it felt SO good to be able to break out some of the tricks up my sleeve, even though my skates are dull as dish water…They need sharpened so bad! After some time to myself on the rink, more of my skaters showed up, so I got off to assist in tying up skates, helping with stretches, and introducing my mom!

After everyone was geared up and ready to go, we all got on the ice together along with the members of the community who were there. I was under the impression that my skaters were going to be able to perform their routines that they’ve been working on as their showcase for the morning, but I was in for a pleasant surprise once the ice was cleared and my skaters began to line up.

I got off the ice and put my blade guards on then took my spot by the side of the rink to watch the show. But because the event was thrown together pretty last minute, it turns out that my skaters were just going to have the ice to themselves for five or so minutes to show off a little. I then got called over from my spot by my students and the organizers of the event because they wanted me to join the skaters on the ice!

I haven’t been on the ice to “perform” in years and it felt great to share the rink with such wonderful skaters. All of my students got to share some of their moves with the crowd as I skated back and forth between them to check up on them, offer words of encouragement, or give suggestions. The exhibition was a hit, and the Akron Beacon Journal was even there taking pictures! All of my skaters did so well with their laps, spins, and gliding and I was so proud.

After our five minutes of fame, the doors to the rink opened and the community members were able to join us. I got off of the rink and was greeted by the crowd who was so kind and a big hug from my mom. She told me that “every second spent on skating was worth it to watch you just now” and it warmed my bitter and cold heart.

I spent a little more time on the ice with my students and then my mom and I hit the road. I didn’t exactly want to go but it was SO cold and my mom didn’t dress accordingly! The winter fest was a huge success and it was one of the best times I’ve had in ages. I was so happy that my mom, my skaters and their families, and the community was able to share in such a special event!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition! I hope all of you had a great weekend! Do you have something similar to Lock 3 in your neck of the woods? Who has gone ice skating this winter? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov28

Thanksgiving Fun

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Thanksgiving Fun

Helloooo everyone and happy Saturday! I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and Black Friday if you participated in the madness! I had a great holiday in my neck of the woods. I got to spend it with my crazy family and handsome boyfriend and it was a blast!

I woke up bright and early to help my mom cook our Thanksgiving meal. I hate to brag but I made a pretty mean stuffing and green bean casserole! The morning went by quick and then by the time I knew it my sister, Kristen, was ready to get picked up to join in on the festivities. As you can see by this picture, I was having a ton of fun:

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Kristen and I spent the afternoon finishing some cooking, snuggling, having girl talk, and watching season four of American Horror Story. I had the best time being able to spend the afternoon with her back at the home front because she moved into her own apartment recently and I miss her like crazy! Thankfully, we took enough sister pictures with each other to last a life time so I’ll have a lot of pics to look through and smile/laugh at.

My boyfriend, Kyle, spent the afternoon with his family and joined us for dinner at five. By four thirty the countdown began and we were all checking out the window and staring at the food we were about to devour for a solid half hour or so. Finally, my sweet Kyle came rolling in but rolling was more like hobbling because he sprained his ankle really badly last week and is on crutches. So once Kyle was safely inside my house and seated it. was. ON!

Our Thanksgiving feast at casa de la Mushenheim was delicious! There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and green beans for days. There was also turkey for the non-vegetarians in the household, AKA Kyle, my dad, and my brother. I annihilated two extremely large plate fulls of side dishes and was about ready to burst at my seams afterwards…So worth it.

After dinner, we lazed around the house and enjoyed some coffee and pie for those who could handle eating another bite. We then decided on going to see Mockingjay Pt. 2 in theaters which was a lot of fun. Or as much fun as it can possibly be, considering I’ve never read the books or seen any of the movies. But Kyle, my mom, and Kristen are big fans of The Hunger Games series so it was nice to see all of them have a cute little holiday outing even if that meant just sitting along for the ride. The movie theater was pretty empty too so we got awesome seats and were able to put our feet up and comment on the film without annoying the other moviegoers too much!

Once we returned home from our movie excursion, Kyle and I headed back to his place and went right to bed. I ended up sleeping in until noon yesterday which seriously never happens anymore – it was great! I had such a nice time on Thanksgiving and I was so happy that my boyfriend was able to be there to join us. ❤

So there you have it, all of my Thanksgiving Fun from this past Thursday! How was everyone’s holiday? Who scored some amazing Black Friday deals? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah