Category Archives: Random Thoughts

May5

Friday Q & A

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Friday Q & A

Hi everyone and TGIF!! I have seen so many fun Q & A posts lately and I WANT IN! It’s Friday, which usually means having some fun at one point or another and I thought there’s no better place to do that than on my little ol’ blog. Not only do I think that Q & A’s are an enjoyable past time, but they are also a great way to get to know each other better so LET’S DO THIS:

Lil Red’s Q & A:

Age? I am 22 and am going to be 23 on June 7th. I am SO not excited. -_-

Favorite food? I’m all about that Taco Bell, darling. And as a vegetarian, I always get the most confused looks when I say that but you can get beans on everything there instead of meat! #protip

Last thing watched on Netflix? A movie called We Need To Talk About Kevin, which I’ve seen like a million times but I still love.

Current series I’m watching? I am keeping up with both the new seasons of Fargo and Wentworth at the moment. I would consider both of them two of my favorite shows. And I’m super looking forward to the new season of Orange Is The New Black!

Favorite candy? Anything sour.

Favorite ice cream flavor? Mint chocolate chip but only the green kind!!!!

Favorite store to shop at? TJMaxx is my number one favorite, but I also love Target, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, and H&M.

Last movie seen in theaters? I saw Beauty & The Beast with my mom and sister for my mom’s birthday and I freaking loved it.

Last YouTube video watched? One of my ex boyfriends showed me this and it’s the first thing that I think of when I think of questions, lol.

Last song listened to? Basically an ode to my talons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeuwm864K7w

Last book read? I just finished rereading the Sandman graphic novel series by my author crush, Neil Gaiman. ❤

Alcohol of choice? MOSCATO, lol so girly.

Beverage of choice? I am a Diet Coke fiend and yes, I know it’s super bad for me!!

Weekend plans? I make it up as I go along!

So there you have it, a little Friday Q & A here on lifewithlilred! How would you answer some of my questions? What are some of your questions for me? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr13

To The Man At Oil Change Place

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To The Man At Oil Change Place

Okay, so if you’re following me on Facebook, then I’m sure you have seen some of my posts regarding Man At Oil Change Place – AKA, Don. This guy is awesome. He’s so funny and kind and his first words to me were “you could scratch my back from across the street with those nails” because of my long ass talons, lol. Not only is he someone who makes killing time at the auto body shop enjoyable, but he is also my windshield wiper guardian angel because he gave me free windshield wipers after I told him that my torn and old as dirt wipers were okay. He had them installed without me knowing and it was only when I was driving home in the rain that I realized what he did (and you better believe I called him to thank him!).

Anyways, my dad just got off the phone with the shop to schedule an oil change for my mom and apparently he spoke with Don. Their conversation went as follows:

  • Don: Is this Sarah with an H’s dad?
  • Dad: Yeah.
  • Don: You have some daughter.
  • Dad: Yeah, she’s something!

And I’m not sure why but as soon as my dad told me about this, I started to cry. The thing is, is that this man who works at the shop has literally only seen me looking a hot mess. The three times that I’ve been in the shop have been no makeup days and I essentially look like I’ve just rolled out of bed. So, to me, this means that this employee genuinely enjoys my company and conversation rather than just the way I look.

I know it sounds cocky, but sometimes I feel like the only reason why people even give me the time of day is because of my outer appearance. Sometimes, I feel like no one ever cares to get to know the actual person behind the red hair, red lips, talon nails, and piercings. So, to have someone compliment my father on who his daughter is as a person and not an object felt really good because that’s something that just never happens.

Don took what little information he knows about my life, job, etc. and pieced together that I was somebody worth getting to know even though he has never seen me looking dolled up before. He used our witty banter and chats that had nothing to do with anything, like trading in the waiting room Keurig for a margarita machine as grounds for reason that I’m an okay person. Like I said, this rarely happens and, for once, somebody gave me the time of day without any alterations to my outer appearance and they liked what they saw. I can’t get over how good this made me feel and all I want to do is drive to the shop and hug the guy and he would probably have no idea how happy his remarks made me feel.

Yes, it’s a little thing, but Don remembered me enough to point out to my dad that he has a cool daughter. And after the week that I’ve been having, I really really needed that. So, here’s to you, Don. Can’t wait to see you next time the Little Red Love Machine needs some work done! I LOVE YOU!

Has anyone ever had their day turned around by a kind word? What would you say to the person who helped make you feel better? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar24

Creep

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Creep

Okay, let’s all be honest here. We’ve all social media creeped before. Whether it’s on your ex’s new girlfriend or one of your coworkers, social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have given us free range to snoop to our heart’s content. My girlfriends and I have had many a conversation about our in depth creeping sessions and it always provides us with a laugh fest or heart wrenching girl talks about our findings. But what happens when you feel a little too creeped out by someone’s Facebook creeping?

So, on Wednesday my dad and I went to Dairy Queen to get an ice cream cake for my mom’s birthday. The same Dairy Queen that my best friend worked at well over a year ago. It’s not somewhere that I actively frequent except for the handful of times that I’ve stopped in to see her or went with her to pick up her paychecks. And by a handful of times, I mean like three. My dad and I chose the cake that we wanted and probably exchanged a total of twenty words with the employee who was helping us.

Frankly, I was not trying to socialize with anyone because I was totally bumming it that day. Leggings, hoodie, no makeup, and a beanie was my outfit of choice. All I wanted was to get the cake and go and within five minutes we were in and out. BUT, despite my disheveled outer appearance, I could feel the employee looking at me just a little too closely for my liking. Especially since I was basically in my pajamas. Whatever. We left and I didn’t think anything of it until twenty minutes ago.

Today while I was hanging out, I saw that I had a notification from Facebook messenger and it was a message request. Normally, I don’t look through those but I knew the red message circle wouldn’t disappear if I didn’t so I took a peek. And, guess who it was from? None other than the Dairy Queen employee from two days ago with a message reading “I hope you enjoyed the cake. Facebook creeping at its finest.” Ugh. What?

Don’t get me wrong. I am well aware that I am an easily recognizable person. With bright red hair, pasty pale skin, and five nose piercings it’s hard not to be. But really? You’re going to use the five words that I exchanged with you at your place of employment as an excuse to hunt me down on Facebook and shoot me a message? That’s just so unprofessional, inappropriate, and (to be frank) weird in my opinion.

Believe me. I am used to the odd messages, emails, and comments. And I get that I am recognizable enough and somewhat relevant enough on social media to get unwanted attention in my inboxes. But, I don’t know. There was something about this experience that made me feel weird because the person is in such close proximity to me and because our exchange was so incredibly brief.

I’ve never had anyone actively try and find me on social media like that and I didn’t like it. Am I looking too much into this? Probably. But I still have such an initial grimy feeling that I just had to blog it out. I am not trying to put anyone “on blast”, I’m just trying to not feel weird about this! Is it ever appropriate to try and find someone you met while on the job? How would you react to this situation? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

(And, as always, I have no rights to this video, song, or featured image photo!)

Mar12

I’m NOT Lonely

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I’m NOT Lonely

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! So, I’m not sure if those of you who aren’t my friends on Facebook are aware but my year and a half long relationship ended (by me) a few months ago. And, believe me, I’m fine. Even if I wasn’t the one doing the dumping, I think that I would be fine. But, the absence of someone who you used to talk to every day for the past year and a half is a little bit difficult to deal with.

I was having this conversation over drinks with my sister last night and I swear, I must have emphasized to her that “I’m NOT Lonely” at least five times. Because I’m not. Really. However, a void has definitely now been made in my life from the time that I used to spend hanging out with and talking to my former significant other. It’s not a feeling of loneliness but I’m more left with the feeling of “what do I do now?”.

It’s just freaking annoying. Like, when you have a boy or girlfriend, you have a built in social life from it. Dinners, movies, drinks, or just simply hanging out. But, once the break up happens, you are left to your own devices. I guess this wouldn’t be a problem if I had a buttload of friends but, in all reality, I have like three people that doesn’t include my sister that I like to spend time with.

It’s weird, because everyone thinks I’m this little social butterfly – but I’m so not. I’m actually quite shy when it comes to new people. I’m not the girl who’s going to go strike up a conversation with a stranger and I’m definitely not the girl who’s good at making friends. So, that kind of leaves me floundering around trying to figure out what to do next.

The way I’m feeling right now is really conflicting because I am totally content with my social life. I am able to see my girlfriends at least weekly, which is super nice. I love going to the bar, the mall, movies, or whatever with them and we always end up having a lot of fun. So why do I all of a sudden feel like I need a brand new friend group? After typing this out, I guess I am trying to “fill the void”, so to speak. It seems that now, it’s more of a matter of finding productive things to do to help use up some of this newly gained free time. Blogging, planning my Europe travels, et cetera.

Wow. Okay. Good one sided talk, everyone! Glad we had it. So, to emphasize again, I’M NOT LONELY:

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Lolol, JK. I just need to focus on doing some things that make me happy rather than focusing on such an apparent loss of someone’s company. Yeah? Yeah. How have you dealt with the post break up void? Has anyone ever felt similarly to what was described in this post? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar6

My Unhealthy Obsession With Social Media!? Likes & Dislikes

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My Unhealthy Obsession With Social Media!? Likes & Dislikes
Hi everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful start to your week and are not suffering from the Monday blahs too much! If there’s one thing that’s important to me, it’s featuring guest bloggers on my page. I want lifewithlilred to be a place for everyone. Whether it be via random articles or a full on guest bloggers series, if someone feels so inclined to want to be on my page, who am I to deny them that?
The article below is written by a young lady who’s new to the blogging world, Janicia. Please be sure to check out her page and give it some love and encouragement because even the most experienced bloggers were new once, too!

My Unhealthy Obsession With Social Media!? Likes & Dislikes

There is this constant battle and argument on whether social media has enhanced our lives or totally hindered our mental state. The question is. Where do you stand? Are you that person who is constantly switched on to the latest celebrity gossip and social media trends? Or are you someone that has the capability to put their phone down without having FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)? Unfortunately, I fall under the FOMO side of things!
The unfortunate truth is that social media isn’t all glitz and glam. The divide between reality and fiction is often blurred. There is another universe within our devises which exists and it’s kind of scary! We’ve been given an illusion, a distorted vision of what is true and what is false. Why is it, that we always chose to follow people who portray a perfect life? Is it because we’re envious or is it a form of encouragement? Perhaps they are just GOALS. As soon as we come across an attractive picture or person, the first thing we do is stalk their page and one hour later we’ve traveled ten accounts too deep! Are you lost? Or do you follow my gist? It gets to a point where you’ve pretty much found your future husband, met your in-laws, his relatives, and his two best friends John and Matthew! We’ve all been, there, right? Right? (I totes have…multiple times! -Sarah)
There comes a point, after having seen so many pictures of perfection on various profiles, that we begin to analyze our own lives and current situations. “How did they acquire all this success”, we ask. “She looks amazing! I wonder how much it would cost to get that body sculpture”. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it! It is a new phenomenon in our society, especially in the entertainment industry, where women are paying for the perfect body. If you had the money, time, and energy to do so, wouldn’t you do it too?
That said, social media has narrowed the borders of our vast world significantly. You’re now able to connect with people all over the world who have similar interests as yourself, which is fantastic! All you do is click follow and you are friends…well, virtual friends! You now have access to private and intimate images and videos of people you would never have seen otherwise. If you are an entrepreneur, you have direct contact and access to your target audience by sending out tweets, Instagram pics, and Facebook posts to the world at no cost of your own. The uses of social media are endless, it is how you exploit it that will either hinder or better your agenda.
I, like most, will continue to spend 50% of my day glued to my phone, computer screen, or tablet while surfing on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and my favorite: Google! The struggle continues and hopefully one day we (and I!) can find a healthy balance. A happy medium that gives us the opportunity to spend a lot more time away from our screens and more time living and enjoying our actual lives!

^^^ Thank you so much to Janicia for her insightful and humorous guest post! Who suffers from FOMO without being glued to their smart phone? How has social media impacted your life? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Interested in guest blogging for lifewithlilred? Shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com! ❤

Jan29

I Still Get Jealous

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I Still Get Jealous

Heyy everyone and TGIF! Have any of you ever gone through your social media pages and have just felt insanely jealous of people? This happens to Lil Red on occasion and it really grinds my gears. It’s one of those things where you see everyone and their brother on your friends list being happier, better, prettier, etc than you and it can really get a gal down. So what brings on these feelings? What can you do to remedy them? Take a listen to an ironic choice in music and then let’s discuss:

^^^ I had to!

This past week I saw that a girl who I went to high school with was studying abroad in France and Italy and it made me SO insanely jealous. That’s one thing that I would love to do and that I have mentioned frequently on the ol’ blog and to basically anyone who will listen. A thing about me is that when I want things, I want them ASAP. So to see someone who is my age essentially living my dream kind of killed me. It can be hard to see people doing something that you want so desperately while you’re sitting in Akron, Ohio being miserable. -__-

As soon as I became green with envy over this, I began to evaluate my life and what I was doing wrong. I was turning the pages in my mind of everything that I could be doing and that just made me feel even worse. I then made a mental list of everything that I do and all of the responsibilities I have and it felt like a slap in the face. I was doing what felt like a lot but I still couldn’t have this one thing that I really want.

My mental list ended up looking something like this:

  • Attending school full time at Tri-C.
  • Coaching figure skating for the Special Olympics.
  • Transporting both of my siblings who can’t drive multiple times per week.
  • Working as a freelance writer for different companies, artists, and musicians.
  • Doing consultations for individuals who would like to start their own blog.
  • Working for two different media companies on my social media pages.
  • Working for the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities to make sure that everyone is receiving the best care possible.

With all of these things stacking up in my day, I barely have time to breathe but it still didn’t seem good enough. But then I started to think about how I work my ass off every day and am doing so much to improve the lives of others. I reminded myself that it will be my turn to travel soon enough and that it would be all the more sweeter when it finally does happen. Then the mental list began to shift and it looked more like this:

Mental list take two:

  • I work hard at school and have gotten all A’s since I began college last year.
  • I bring joy into the lives of my skaters and their families.
  • I help improve the quality of life for others.
  • I get both of my siblings to where they need to be when they need it.
  • My freelance work has been really taking off and I have the articles, followers, and media companies that I work through to prove it.

Yes, it does suck when you want something that you simply can’t have. It also sucks even more when you see someone with what you desire so much. However, all I can do is keep on going because I am making great strides on my own even if I don’t feel that way sometimes. It can be hard to remember that at times but when I do it definitely helps easy my jealousy!

In the words of Nick Jonas, “I Still Get Jealous”, but that won’t stop me from continuing to keep on trucking and working hard! What is something that makes you jealous? What do you do to help with those feelings? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct1

Bedtime Musings

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Bedtime Musings

Hello! First of all, I hope you guys had a fantastic Tuesday. I actually had a great day, so expect a post about my first good day in a long time tomorrow. Second of all, thank you all again so much for the outpouring of likes, follows, and love. It’s much appreciated. I believe in this blog. I believe in myself. I believe that someone is going to read my posts and feel like they can relate to me. It’s so important to me to keep on writing, not only for me, but for someone who might need a smile or laugh for the day. It encourages me so very much to see that people are reading my blog and responding well to my posts. This isn’t an “I’m trying to become a world famous blogger post”. This is my online and real life journal, that I’m finally comfortable enough to share with anyone and everyone. If you would have asked me before to read my hand written journals, I would have laughed in your face and said “no way”. (But with a lot more profanity 😉 ) I’ve grown secure enough in myself and my own feelings that I’m 200% cool with anyone in the world reading lifewithlilred. It’s an awesome feeling. Thank you guys again so much for the love. Have sweet dreams and a happy hump day to you! -Sarah

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Sep19

ANNOYED!

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You know what REALLY grinds my gears? When different places of work are cool with tattoos showing but not piercings. In all reality it’s all the same. They’re both a body modification. I just had an interview for a hostess position at TGI Fridays, and the guy told me my nose piercings would have to be covered up or taken out. And when I worked at The Body Shop I had to take all of my piercings out. (The funny thing about that company is that tattoos were allowed to show!) Honestly I find this issue a form of discrimination on its own. And I really don’t think I’m taking it too far by saying that. How are my piercings affecting my ability to do a job? My piercings have nothing to do with my personality. My piercings don’t make me a bad person. As far as I’m concerned if tattoos can show, then why must piercings be insisted on being covered up? Are they offending anyone? No. Then why is it a problem? We’re in 2014. Why is something so minuscule still such a big deal? Aren’t there more important things to worry about in the hiring process than a few facial piercings? It’s absurd. Rant over. -Sarah

Sep18

THANK YOU!

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Guys! I appreciate your love and follows and likes and comments so very much! Thank you thank you thank you! Back in the day I used to write in my journal every night, and I always mused with the thought of trying to get my journal published. This blog is sort of like my way of doing that now, and it feels GREAT. Writing about anything from silly stuff, to sad stuff, to fashion, to makeup, to crafts, and to everything in between makes me feel so good and I’m so happy that I can share all of these musings with all of you! Have sweet dreams tonight and we’ll touch base again tomorrow with whatever is going on in my little red head! -Sarah

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My readers are BALLIN!!!! ;))))

Sep16

Exhaustion.

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Ohhhhh my goodness. Lil’ Red is TIRED. I’m tired physically. I’m tired mentally. Everything aches. These past few weeks man, they were a killer. I’m ready for my stress levels to go down so I can finally rest easy at night. I really need some me time. I’m long over do for spending some quality time with me, myself, and I. I feel like it’s SO important to take a break from everything and get back in touch with yourself. Sometimes when you’re just going, going, going all the time you loose track of who you are. I need to be on my team. I need to be a friend to myself. I’ve been pretty shitty to myself lately, and it’s really catching up to me. I suppose that means I’m gonna have to wine and dine myself. Maybe fix up a nice bubble bath, play some Enya, get a little wierd 😉 . Have sweet dreams tonight guys! -Sarah

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