Dec18

A Letter To A Friend

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A Letter To A Friend

Hello all and happy Friday! I had a long day in Columbus yesterday for work but it was definitely worth it! Stay tuned for the Monday Update to hear more on that. ANYWAYS, If there’s one thing that Lil Red loves, it’s letting close friends borrow books from my extensive collection. What I love the most though, is when I find a book that I think one of my friends would respond really well to and personally give it to them with a hand written message explaining why the book reminded me of them. Recently a very dear friend of mine had to go away for a spell so I made a special care package just for her with books and of course, a letter. This very well may be one of my favorite things that I ever wrote, so I thought that I would share it with all of you. Take a look:

Hello, you. I brought you some of my favorite books and I hope you find as much comfort in their pages as I do. You’ll meet girls who are brave like Coraline and Liesel. You’ll come to fall in love with a boy who never grows up and a Little Prince from a planet far away from here. In The Little Prince, the fox teaches the little boy a lesson: “One sees clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Well, I see you so clearly in my heart and eyes, for that matter, and I think it’s important for you to know what I see.

I see a beautiful young woman who is working so hard to better herself and I admire you very much for it. G.K. Chesterton states that “fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. You have a big obstacle to face during your time away but I trust that you will be able to beat it and come out victorious on the other end. Please treat my books with care because they hold some of my dearest friends but don’t be afraid to let them help you on the way. All my love, Sarah

I dunno, I kinda liked it! 😉 I always enjoy sharing my personal writings with my readers so I figured “why not”, especially because I like this letter a whole lot – and maybe it might just help one of you! I hope you’re all having a great day and I’ll talk to you all soon! Until then, what is your favorite book? What book inspires you when you need encouragement? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: The books that I referenced in my letter were in order: Coraline, The Book Thief, Peter Pan, and The Little Prince – all of which are some of my favorites!

Dec17

See You Friday!

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See You Friday!

Helloooo everyone! Just so you know, I will be out of office today because I’ll be working in Columbus for my job with the National Core Indicator research project. It’s going to be a two or so hour drive to get there so I’ll be leaving pretty early in the morning to get there in time to find the building and check in. I’ll be back with you on Friday for the latest and greatest so until then feel free to reach out to me via:

^^^ AHMED, THERE’S SO MANY PRESENTS!!!!!!!

Have a fabulous day today and I’ll See You Friday! What is everyone’s plans for the weekend? Who still has some holiday shopping to do? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec15

Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

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Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

Helloooo everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a fantastic week so far. So usually I’m not a big beer drinker, I’m definitely more of a wine kind of gal. But over the weekend I just had to pick up a special alcoholic treat from the grocery store, Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer. It was one of the first drinks that I had at the bar when I turned 21 this past summer and it’s remained one of my favorites ever since. Let’s discuss:

Right now the weather in Akron, Ohio has been insane. It’s the middle of December and we’ve had temperatures in the high 60s, which is completely unheard of in our neck of the woods. Last year around this time, I can vividly remember brutal snowfalls and way below freezing temperatures. With the warm winter time weather, I developed a taste for summer over the weekend that I just couldn’t shake.

While grocery shopping with my mom at the local Giant Eagle, I swung by the alcohol department to pick up some Christmas gifts. As I browsed through the different seasonal beers, a four can pack of the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer caught my eye. I had no intention of picking anything up for myself but I just couldn’t help it! I had summer on my mind and my favorite summer time drink was calling my name.

When I saw the beer I was taken back to this past summer – my first summer of being 21. I was a big fan of ordering the tasty grapefruit flavored wheat beer at the bars, compliments of the suggestion from my sister. I love all things fruity and sweet so it was the perfect beer for me to sip on during summer nights out. What I love about Schofferhofer is that it tastes carbonated, to the point that it feels like drinking a soda. It’s SO good. After the montage of sweet summer time played through my head, I couldn’t not grab a pack of Schofferhofer from the shelf!

Over the weekend I enjoyed two cans of my favorite beer per night and it was just the little Treat Yoself pick me up that I needed. The best thing about being 21 isn’t going out to the bars to get completely white girl wasted – it’s being able to have a nice casual drink at home without having your parents jump down your throat about it! If you’re of legal drinking age and are looking for a new (super girly) beer to try, I can’t recommend Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer enough! It’s delicious!

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So there you have it, this week’s Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition. Every once in a while you need to get a little something special for yourself and that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. Who has tried my favorite beer before? Are there any super fruity beers that you recommend? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec14

Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid Edition

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Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid Edition

Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend – I know I did! I got to sleep in every day this weekend which was awesome and I also volunteered for Canine Lifeline with my mom to help some pups in need this holiday season. You can check out their website at: http://caninelifeline.org/ ! ANYWHO, on today’s Monday Update I have a bone to pick with the world in regards to the phrase “90’s kid”, so let’s discuss:

Yesterday, as I was scrolling through my newsfeed on WordPress I came across a girl who was born in 1999 claim that she was a “90’s kid” and I rolled my eyes SO hard. Once my eyeballs returned to their normal place in their sockets, I decided that it was time for a Lil Red PSA, so here it goes:

*Clears throat* If you were born in the latter half of the 1990’s (1995-on) then you are NOT a 90’s kid. You spent a majority of the 90’s in diapers and eating dirt. You were not enjoying the cartoons, toys, and pop culture related to the time period. The thing is, I was born in 1994 and I don’t even consider myself a 90’s kid because I can barely remember anything about it. I truly am a child of the 2000’s because I can vividly remember everything from it – and so is every teenybopper kid claiming 90’s status.

Because the last part of Section B Paragraph A is so important, let me reiterate it further. Yes, if you were born in the late 90’s, you are indeed a 90’s baby – barely. But are you a 90’s kid? No. You’re a child of the following decade. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING more annoying than people born in the late 90’s claiming that it was the best times of their lives. There is nothing awesome about eating baby food, shitting your pants, and not being able to talk! Jesus!

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I have discussed my frustration of the phrase “90’s kid” being used willy nilly with countless friends as well as on Facebook last night. Literally every time the subject has come up, I’ve received responses similar to what was stated above the highly accurate Batman Slap meme. If you learn nothing else from my blog other than when it’s appropriate to give yourself the title of a “90’s kid”, then I have done my job. It is so incredibly annoying and must be stopped!!!

I spent six years in the 90’s but as I mentioned earlier, I don’t call myself a 90’s kid. I have literally a 1% recollection of 90’s pop culture and do you know how I know that? I watched a marathon of Vh1’s “I Love The 90’s” and I had no idea what they were talking about in almost every episode. However, in all of their “I Love The 2000’s” episodes, I could remember every single thing that was mentioned for the decade. So if you’re struggling with whether you’re a 90’s kid or not, give the old Vh1 test a try. ***Results may vary.

After years of irritation over the loosely used phrase, “90’s kid”, I felt that today’s Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid was very necessary. How does everyone feel about this phrase? How do you know whether you are or not a 90’s kid? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec11

So Long, Fall Semester

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So Long, Fall Semester

Hellooo everyone and TGIF! This week marks the end of my fall semester at Tri-C and I am SO relieved to be done! I took all of my exams within these last few days and passed with flying colors, of course. This semester I took French I, Comparative World Religions, Intro to Civilizations, and Ethics and for the most part really enjoyed all of my classes. After my winter break, I’ll be taking French II, Abnormal Psychology, and Intro to Criminology – but I have an entire month until I have to start thinking about that!

I’m looking forward to having some downtime for once in my life during my winter break but not too much because I’ll be starting my new work opportunity this upcoming Saturday! As I mentioned in my previous post Exciting Announcements, I’ll be taking part in a research project as an interviewer for families effected by developmental disabilities. I’m so excited to get started and the beauty of the project is that I can make my own schedule for it so I can interview people whenever I want during my break. This is great for the days where I feel like lounging on the couch and watching America’s Next Top Model marathons!

I have a lot of friends returning to Ohio for the holidays so my winter break provides me with a lot of much needed catch up time with some of my dear friends. My brother and his wife will be coming home for Christmas. A pal of mine in LA will be returning to the home front AND my beloved best friend in the army, Tyler, will be making an appearance, as well! I’M SO HAPPY!!!

In the last couple of weeks of my fall semester, all I could think about was winter break…But that didn’t stop me from fully enjoying all of my classes! I learned so much in each of my courses and rocked straight A’s for days in all of them. Not only did I excel in my coursework but I also got accepted into two different advertising companies, Wordads and Twistfire Media, which I am SO thrilled about. Everything seems to be falling into place very nicely so with a happy heart, I can say So Long to my Fall Semester!

I hope all of you are having a fantastic start to your weekend! Where are all of my college kids at? Has your winter break started yet? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec10

American Horror Story: Hotel “Lil Red’s Farewell”

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American Horror Story: Hotel “Lil Red’s Farewell”

Helloo everyone and a very happy evening to all of you! Alright, guys. No one can say I didn’t try. NO ONE. But, on this ninth episode of American Horror Story: Hotel, “She Wants Revenge”, I am throwing in the towel. I refuse to spend any more time on this season. Therefore, I’m renaming tonight’s episode, “Lil Red’s Farewell”.

boohoo

Week after week you guys have tuned in for my reviews and opinions on the new episodes of AHS and I am so humbled and appreciate it greatly. However, it doesn’t feel right putting aside an hour for a television show that’s below sub par. During tonight’s new episode, all I could think of was how much I wanted to crawl into bed and crack open Stephen King’s “Cell”, which I began rereading yesterday. I was craving genuine horror as opposed to the soap opera dramatics that AHS has been delivering every week with episodes that have consistently disappointed.

Not only has this season bored me to tears BUT these posts have been boring me as well. Don’t get me wrong, if I was loving the season it would be different – but it’s so hard to crank out similar posts for every episode when nothing exciting is really happening. During Freak Show, I lived for my Wednesday night articles on the new episodes…So you know something is wrong when I dread firing up the ol’ laptop after epis of Hotel!

I gave this season my best shot and the benefit of the doubt for nine weeks, but enough is enough. I now plan on spending my Wednesday nights tucked in with a good book or perhaps watching some old slasher films. I have an insatiable urge to absorb entertainment of quality and Hotel has done nothing to satisfy this. So, that’s that. I bid you farewell, American Horror Story: Hotel because I’m breaking up with you for good this time. Better luck on season six! Now cue the music!

So there you have it, the final post on American Horror Story: Hotel, “Lil Red’s Farewell”. Now if you’ll excuse me, Cell and a midnight snack is calling my name! What are your opinions on this season of AHS? Who has given up on the show? Who is a die hard Hotel fan? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Don’t you worry about what I’ll be filling the Thursday and Friday slots on lifewithlilred with! I have some very fun upcoming posts up my sleeve! ❤ 🙂

Dec9

Exciting Announcements!

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Exciting Announcements!

Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! A few weeks ago I applied for an interviewing position for families effected by developmental disabilities. I would get to chat with the family for a half hour or so and report my findings so that they can be provided with the best services possible for them. Well, yesterday I received an email that I was one of the fifty applicants accepted out of over five hundred for the position!!

Next weekend I’ll be making a two hour trek to Columbus for a day of paid training and then I can be on my merry way with the program. It promises to be a great opportunity and I’m so excited to get started! I was so happy to have heard back from the company because I had given up hope on earning a position with them! The timing couldn’t be better, either, considering my winter break from Tri-C starts next week! It looks like homegirl won’t have to scrounge around for a short lived retail job for my month off! 🙂

You’ll notice in the title of this post that Announcement was plural, so yes, I have one more cool happenstance to share with you guys. As you know if you follow lifewithlilred, I started working for Twistfire Media last week. Things are going fantastic as you might have read from my post about it! Someone pretty special to the company also happened to stumble upon the article, as well…The president of Twistfire!!

Yesterday when I was with Kyle, I checked my email and saw that I had a new message with the subject “Blog Post”. I opened the email and saw the sweetest memo from Twistfire’s very own president thanking me for my post and also giving a shout out as a fellow redhead. I was SO surprised and proud as I read through the email and it made me even happier to start working for a media company where the founders have a genuine interest in you and your work. Thanks again, Mr. President! (And if you’d like to know more about working for Twistfire Media, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com)

So there you have it, this week’s Exciting Announcements compliments of Lil Red! Who else has some exciting news to share? What was the best news that you’ve received this month? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

^^^ That pretty much sums up how I’m feeling! 🙂

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

Dec5

Weekend Off

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Weekend Off

Hiii everyone and happy weekend! I hope all of you are having a wonderful and relaxing time and are up to a lot of fun. Unfortunately, things in the world of Lil Red are not going so hot right now so I’ll be MIA for the weekend to be depressed and miserable. -__-

I do have one nice thing to look forward to today though! My Special Olympic figure skaters who I’ve been coaching are having a performance at a skating rink in my neck of the woods this morning. A sensory friendly winter fest will be happening and it should be a lot of fun! I can’t wait to have some proud mama moments when I see my skaters perform their routines that we’ve been working so hard on! So there’s that. 🙂

Asides from that, I’m just really not feeling my life right now. So, if you need me you know where to find me via comments, email, or Facebook. But fear not, I’ll be back with you for the Monday Update soon! Does anyone participate in any winter sports? Who has some big weekend plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

sweet

^^^ Thanks, Sweet Brown. ❤