Dec24

Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Posted on December 24, 2014 by lifewithlilred

Hello one and all!!!!! Happy happy holidays and Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate. I had a really beautiful visit today with one of my dear friends that I’d like to share with you. My spirits have been pretty low lately, but this afternoon definitely put me back into the holiday swing of things. Hopefully this story will do the same to you!

This will be the second Christmas that my beloved grandma (rest her soul) will not be with us. But it still feels like just yesterday when she passed. She used to live in an assisted living center ran by devout nuns. During the years that she was there I became quite familiar with the Sisters, the residents, and one lady in particular: Neva. If you recall, I’ve wrote about her and our visits before. To give you guys a little refresher, Neva is a Southern Belle with the most fantastic Kentucky accent I’ve ever heard. She’s known me for over ten years now, and we truly have a mother/daughter relationship. Although my grandma is no longer with us, I still very much like to go and visit Neva and everyone else in the home. So today, I filled a bag full of Miss Neva’s favorite candy (Hershey’s chocolate kisses!) and drove off for a Christmas visit. It always makes me so happy when Neva answers the door to the room and sees that it was me who was knocking. Her eyes light up and she always greets me with a warm “Hi, Honey!” After our hugs hello I presented her with her bag of goodies, and she handed me a bracelet that matches the one she has in green, as seen below:

I was so touched by this gesture and was smiling from ear to ear. It was just so thoughtful and now I feel close to her even when we’re apart. After we exchanged our gifts I asked her to show me around the residence hall, because it’s always decorated so beautifully for the holidays. We gazed upon tree after tree and admired all of the ornaments and lights displayed on them. We then walked into the Chapel where all of the Poinsettias that still needed to be put out around the building were kept. In the Chapel we ran into one of the Sisters who was a main care taker for my grandma when her health started declining. “You’re all grown up!” She said as she greeted me with a warm embrace. At this point I was getting incredibly emotional, and she held me tighter as tears fell from my eyes. “You miss grandma, don’t you?” She asked, and all I could do was nod into her shoulder. After we let go she told me that last weeks Masses were held in memory of my sweet grandma, which made me cry even harder…but they were happy tears, because I know that her memory is eternal in the halls of her home and the hearts of everyone. Sister and Neva both told me how proud they were that I’m now in school and it made me feel so good. After a long hug good bye from Sister she told me that myself and my family is welcome in the halls of the residence anytime. I will definitely be taking her up on that. After our visit with Sister, Neva and I headed back into her room for some girl talk. We gossiped about boys and her family and danced around her room to Christmas carols. While sitting on her bed with my head on my shoulder, she stroked my hair and told me that I’m just like a daughter to her. How can you not feel amazing after hearing that? It was an absolutely glorious afternoon that I needed more than I realized. Here’s a picture of me and my dear friend, Neva:

I am wishing everyone the happiest of holidays. Whatever you celebrate, spend it with loved ones (pets included!) and good cheer. Special thoughts are sent to anyone who will be celebrating the holiday season without a loved one – my heart goes out to you more than you know. Love and good tidings to all of you! -Sarah

PS: Happy holidays from my doggies Gem and Winston!!!!

Dec22

Christmas Craft Fun!

Posted on December 22, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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A few days ago I had one of the most fantastic times with my dear friend Kate. I’m sure you recall reading about her, as she’s the girl who I’m planning a trip to Europe with. She’s also my go to shopping partner!! A few weeks ago you might recall me posting about how Kate and I assembled a vintage Christmas tree together in her apartment. Unfortunately, we had no ornaments to decorate our tiny tree with, so we decided to make our own. During this fun filled evening we ate Taco Bell, drank our favorite Starbucks Peppermint Mochas, drank a bottle of wine, watched the live taping of Peter Pan that was released recently, and became the crafting queens. The night started with a trip to Patcatan’s which is a craft store, as you can guess. When we entered the store, we realized we didn’t exactly plan out what we needed very well. (The night that we assembled our tree, we had a Pinterest party to get some ideas for what ornaments to make.) So we made a quick verbal list of what we should get to at least get us started. We left the store with ornaments, black, silver, and pink glitter, a hot glue gun, black and yellow paint, paint brushes, and last but not least: googly eyes. After we finished up at Patcatans, we stopped at Giant Eagle so Kate could run in and get us a bottle of wine for the evening. A night with Miss Kate wouldn’t be complete without getting Taco Bell and Starbucks, so stops were made there as well and then we headed back to her apartment. If you take a look at my featured image, you’ll see our crafting table where all of the magic happened. Here’s a Pic Stitch collage of some of the ornaments that we made that night:

So I’m sure a lot of these ornaments are pretty self explanatory on what they are and how to make them, but here’s a little further detail on all of them:

Top left and bottom right Minion ornaments: If you’ve seen the movie Despicable Me, then you’ll know that these bulbs are supposed to be the Minions! Kate and I adore that movie, and when we saw this craft made on Pinterest, we knew that we had to give it a go. It’s as easy as it looks to make:

Step 1) Paint the ornament yellow
Step 2) Wait for the paint to dry and then paint a black band around the top of the ornament
Step 3) Wait for the black paint to dry and then hot glue the googly eyes on
Step 4) Complete your Minion by painting a little smile on it! 🙂

It’s up to you to decide whether your Minion ornament has one eye or two!!

Top right ornament: This was a really cool one that Kate made. She painted the outside of the ornament with a black paisley pattern and then she filled the bulb with red M&M’s. Super easy, super delicious.

Middle left and right ornament: At one point during our evening of crafting we both got quiet and were working intently on these ornaments for each other. When we both asked what the other was doing we each said something along the lines of “you can’t see it yet!” It turns out we were both making a name ornament for each other at the exact same time. If that isn’t best friend telepathy, then I don’t know what is!

I wrote Kate’s name with hot glue and then coated the glue in silver glitter. I then cut a red heart out of construction paper and put it inside the ornament. Viola!
Kate wrote my name in black paint and then put black glitter over top of it. She tore up red tissue paper and filled the inside of the bulb with it. Done.

Center candy cane reindeer: This is our beloved reindeer named Albert. Isn’t he the cutest?! Making this ornament is exactly how it looks like you would make it:

Step 1) Cut out antlers for the reindeer with brown foam paper and hot glue it onto the candy cane
Step 2) Cut out circles from the brown foam paper and hot glue googly eyes onto the circles. Then hot glue these onto the candy cane for the eyes
Step 3) Hot glue a red M&M onto the tip of the candy cane for the nose
Step 4) Wrap a ribbon around the neck of the candy cane and now you have your very own Albert!

Bottom left and center ornaments: These ornaments were made simply with paper and glitter.

On the bottom left ornament I drew the British flag, the German flag, and a tiny Eiffel Tower and then cut them out and stuck them in the inside of the ornament along with an ample amount of silver glitter. This little baby obviously symbolizes our European trip dream which will be happening in 2016!
The bottom center ornaments have the same “message in a bottle” idea as our dream ornament. They also have glitter….lots of glitter 🙂

So there you have it, some fun make shift crafts to get you in the holiday spirit!! Kate and I had such a blast making these. We also had an equally fun time drinking some delicious blackberry wine and enjoying Peter Pan Live. Here’s a little clip from it and if you haven’t seen the full movie, I can’t recommend it enough!!

Do you have any fun last minute holiday crafts to recommend? Did you make a seasonal craft that you were particularly proud of? I want to hear all about it, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Monday! -Sarah

PS: My brother is home for the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!! Lil Red is a happy camper :))))

Dec21

Bad Day :(

Posted on December 21, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Fair warning to any one reading this: This blog posts contains self harm references – if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free not to read. -Sarah

Lil Red had a bad day yesterday. Like a really bad day. I should have been happy….my brother finally arrived home from Madison, Wisconsin for the holidays and I was with my beau in the evening. That sounds like a perfect day to me! Unfortunately it didn’t play out like that. I was still feeling pretty under the weather yesterday from going through cigarette withdrawals and honestly I was just down right depressed. Not only were the withdrawals making me more upset than usual, but I was also out of my antidepressants for the past week, which are supposed to be taken daily. To go into further detail, it felt like getting thunder stormed on while already being soaking wet. I cut for the first time since I quit over a year ago yesterday night – and believe me I’m not happy about it. I’m not sure what made yesterday the day that I cracked. I’m not sure if it was just the shitty day in itself that I was having or if it was a pile up of stressers from the entire week. Let me say a little bit more about that, but not too much because I don’t really want my business from my work all out on the internet. Long story short, I felt that I was being harassed at my current now previous job because I quit. In the midst of one of my withdrawal crying fits at home I cracked and told my mom about it, and she straight up told me not to go back there anymore…so that’s what I did. Anyways, yesterday should have been a good day, like I said. I was at a get together with the boy and some people who attended our old high school. I really should have thought it through more before I drove over there though because high school wasn’t the best time of my life. Being surrounded by those people again made me feel like such a loser. Here all these kids are, at great colleges and working and being awesome…and here I am – freshly unemployed, attending a not so impressive school, and feeling low as can be. After about a half hour in that misery, I left the gathering with the excuse that my brother just arrived home. I know that I should be thinking more positively about myself, and I am proud of myself for attending a college in general, but it’s so hard to remain in good spirits when you feel like you’re doing absolutely nothing compared to some of the people who are the exact same age as you. So, I get home and I was so happy to see my brother, and my family had a really nice evening together. But even after that I couldn’t shake this overwhelming feeling of worthlessness. I was crying in hysterics in my bedroom and ALL I wanted to do at this point was cut or make myself throw up…since I didn’t have any food in my stomach, cutting was the go to option. I went into the bathroom, locked the door, and did the deed. In that ten minute span, I turned back into the depressed cutter of seven years and counting, which made me feel even worse because it was such a huge step backwards. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t feel better afterwards though, which really frightens me. I’m really hoping that this is just a minor misstep in the grand scheme of things. And now that I have my antidepressants back to give me an extra little boost in the morning, fingers crossed that my spirits will be lifted.

I’ve been super tore up and upset about this, but I know I can’t be too hard on myself or it’s just going to make things worse. In fact, I feel better already writing about it, and since this is my online journal, why not write it out on this? Now I just need to take a deep breath, shake it off, and keep moving forward.

Thank you so much for letting me vent on here, like I said – I feel better already. Please note that if you feel the need to comment on this and you have nothing nice to say, it will be deleted in a heart beat. You’ve been warned! What are you guys up to today? I think I’m going to go figure skating for the first time since I quit skating competitively about four years ago, so that should be fun!! My family might decorate our Christmas tree tonight too – we’re obviously running pretty late on that!! Have a great Sunday! -Sarah

^^^^ I had to!

Dec19

Mystery Solved!!!!

Posted on December 19, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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So Lil Red had been feeling under the weather since Sunday. My sister was sick with probably a mild flu and I’m sure that she handed it on to me. #bitter Since Sunday I’ve been absolutely miserable. I’ve been achey, tired, dizzy, hot and cold, nauseous, no appetite, and when I do eat I can’t taste anything. From Sunday till Wednesday I went with the safe assumption that I just have the flu. BUT today my perspective changed when I realized that I haven’t smoked a cigarette since Saturday night. I’m 100% sure that I’m experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not smoking. It all makes so much sense. I googled the symptoms of cigarette withdrawal and it added up perfectly. The website that I was on, http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/withdrawal1.htm shined a light on the reasons why I’ve been feeling completely awful. Every symptom that I’ve been feeling, they seemed to have an answer for. Like dizziness for example was explained by the body getting extra oxygen now that ciggie smoke isn’t being inhaled. Not only have I been feeling physically shitty, but I haven’t been feeling too hot mentally either. This week I’ve been so depressed. I’ve thought extensively about self harm which I haven’t done in over a year now, I’ve been irritable, lonely, and just straight up angry. As I continued to read through the quitsmokingsupport website, I was able to check off all of these emotions one by one on the list of symptoms. I’ll tell you what guys…this fucking sucks. Pardon my French, but seriously. I finally can understand now why people go back to smoking after a week or two of not doing it, because the withdrawal that I’m feeling is absolute torture. This entire week I’ve been bed ridden because it hurts to move. I’ve had crying fits for no reason whatsoever and I’ve been the biggest bitch in the world to my family. Quite frankly, I’m not sure how I’m going to not smoke once I feel good enough to leave the house. Now that I know that I’m feeling sick because of not smoking, it makes me want to go outside and light a cigarette up in the hopes of feeling better. Oh what a tangled web we weave. 😦

Does anyone have any suggestions on what they did to make their withdrawal symptoms more tolerable when they quit smoking? I’ve been taking aspirin through out the day to try and ease the aches and it hasn’t helped at all. I’ve also been drinking a lot of water and eating more than usual. I’ve been feeling SO hungry all the time these past few days, but I still can’t taste anything that I’ve been eating. If you have any tips or home remedies that were helpful to you, please let me know!!

How long did it take for your withdrawal symptoms to end? How long have you been a non smoker for and do you still crave cigarettes now? Please leave me a comment and let’s chat – I need all the help that I can get! Happy Friday! -Sarah

Dec17

American Horror Story – Episode 10

Posted on December 17, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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We learned a lot of really interesting stuff in episode ten of American Horror Story: Freak Show. Appropriately titled “Orphans” we finally learned the back story on season two favorite and returning character, Pepper. So let’s dive right in and talk more about it.

Pepper’s back story: We learn about Pepper’s traumatic past while Elsa is discussing how she accumulated some of her troupe members with Desiree. “I went to the place were people throw other people away…an orphanage.” This is where Elsa found Pepper, her first freak. Pepper never knew her father, her mother died, and her sister couldn’t handle the burden of caring for her, so even though Pepper was over eighteen she ended up at an orphanage since she had the mind of a child. Elsa befriended Pepper and wanted to adopt her, but since she was technically an adult, she was allowed to just walk out the door with Elsa. “I loved her. She was my first monster.” Pepper became a member of Elsa’s freak show troupe, where she was a hit after just one performance. Pepper was developing, and there were clear maternal needs that she was displaying that needed fulfilled. This desire was answered thanks to the arrival of Indian royalty, Ma Petite, who Elsa traded three cases of Dr. Pepper pop to get. “Sweet irony, no?” Shortly after the arrival of the tiny princess, Elsa could tell that Pepper wanted a life companion. She wrote to orphanages all over the country when finally a home for wayward boys in Cincinnati replied back. Salty was then introduced to the troupe. A lovely montage of the soulmate’s wedding was shown, and everyone looked so happy. “They raised Ma Petite as their own child and I was their fairy godmother,” Elsa said. All was going fine and dandy until tragedy continued to strike in Pepper’s life. First the murder of Ma Petite, and in tonight’s episode her partner, Salty died in his sleep. Elsa knew that the wise decision would be to get Pepper to live with her sister, because she didn’t know if she could handle another loss when she becomes a TV star in Hollywood and leaves the troupe. Unfortunately, living with her sister is the beginning of the end for sweet Pepper. Flash forward a few months later, and we see Pepper’s sister talking with Sister Mary Eunice of Briarcliffe asylum, the location of season two. We then learn a disgusting tale of how Pepper’s sister and husband framed her for the murder of their disabled son. A picture of Pepper being obsessed with her brother in law and slipping alcohol to the baby is painted for Sister Mary Eunice. However, this is far from true. Pepper’s sister wanted to have children, but she claims that her tubes were clogged. Then, surprise! At almost fifty years old, she goes into labor to deliver a baby boy, who you can assume has Down Syndrome thanks to her husbands use of the sickening term “mongoloid”. Both of them grow to hate their son and Pepper, who usually takes care of him. “It’s like living in a freak show,” spits the husband. So they concoct a plan to get rid of Pepper and the baby. The sister claims that she asked Pepper to give baby Lucas a bath after an afternoon of playing in the park, happily Pepper obliges. The husband then comes into the room yielding a knife and pushes Pepper out. Sister Mary Eunice states that the baby had his ears snipped off and was drowned in the bath tub, which was ultimately blamed on Pepper. And that is how Pepper ended up in the care of Elsa and the eventual care of Sister Mary Eunice at Briarcliffe. There were SO many scenes tonight with Pepper that made me cry hysterically, especially when Elsa left her to the care of her sister while Pepper begged her to stay. Lil Red was bawlin!!

Tonight’s episode was mainly about Pepper and her story, but a few more interesting twists took place that are worth noting.

Jimmy’s jail time: So Jimmy is still in jail for the murders of five housewives that he didn’t commit. He gets an unexpected visitor while he’s locked up, Mr. Spencer. When Jimmy is asked if he murdered those women, he can’t answer the question, because he was black out drunk when it happened. “I didn’t kill them, did I?” He asks. Spencer believes that Jimmy is innocent, and offers to get him a damn good lawyer, who happens to have a very hefty retainer. Jimmy tells Mr. Spencer that he has no money or valuables to give….but Spencer tells him that he’ll think of something. DUN DUN DUUUUUUN.

Mr. Spencer’s new addition to the American Morbidity Museum: After Salty’s passing, Mr. Spencer urges Elsa to let him handle the cremation of his body. He insists that Elsa needs her rest before she goes off to Hollywood. Reluctantly, Elsa agrees even though she knew Pepper would want a proper burial for her partner. We then see Mr. Spencer hacking away at Salty’s head with an axe, while ashing a cigarette into an urn. In case you can’t put two and two together, Salty’s sweet pin head is one of the newest displays at the museum.

Speaking of the American Morbidity Museum, it had some surprise guests in tonight’s episode…Maggie and Desiree. After a fake psychic reading gone wrong to Desi and her new beau Angus, a drunken Maggie confesses that her and Mr. Spencer are business partners, claiming that after the performances they pick the audience members’ pockets. Desi instantly calls bullshit, and threatens Maggie’s life if any of the murders that recently happened amongst the troupe had something to do with her. Guilt ridden, Maggie tells Desi that she has a plan to save Jimmy and the troupe from the real villain, Mr. Spencer. To prove her point, the gals head off to the museum to see the recent displays of Ma Petite and Salty. They came at just the right time, because right as they walked in, a new display is revealed to the public….lobster hands.

What did you guys think about tonight’s episode? How did you feel about Pepper’s back story? Are you excited for Neil Patrick Harris’ American Horror Story debut on the next episode on January seventh?! Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah

Dec17

The 1975 Concert!!!!

Posted on December 17, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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So last night I went to see The 1975 play in Cleveland with my dear friend Kyle, and it was absolutely amazing. It was everything I wanted it to be AND MORE. They were playing at the Masonic Auditorium in Cleveland which is a pretty average sized venue. Kyle and I opted for the general admission tickets and ended up in the first row on the balcony, which was actually really awesome because we could see everything perfectly. There were two opening acts before The 1975 went on around ten o’clock. I honestly forget both of their names already, but that’s okay because they weren’t very impressive. I definitely could have done without both of their performances, especially because they both played an ungodly long set. I’m usually not one to fan girl when I go see a concert, but right when The 1975 came on stage I couldn’t help but freak out. Matty looked drop dead gorgeous as usual. He seriously has the voice of an angel, and he looked like an angel in his white button down shirt with no shirt on underneath. #hubbahubba Before I elaborate on the show, here’s some pictures from last night. My iPod doesn’t take the best photos, but Kyle’s phone took some great ones, so I’ll post them on here when he emails them over to me!

The 1975 played an hour and a half long set, but it still felt like it wasn’t enough!! I wanted to hear them play for forever. They played their self titled debut album in it’s entirety and then performed a few lesser known songs and one from their second album which is in the works as we speak. Kyle and I were saying during our drive home that the band sounds just like they do live as they do on their recordings, so that’s how you know a band has talent! Matty very well could have been drunk during the show considering he was drinking on stage most of the night, but he still managed to pull off a hell of a performance. All of the little teeny bopper girls that were standing in the front of the stage kept on throwing paper on stage which I’m assuming was their numbers or love notes, and this irritated Matty quite a bit. “Seriously, quit fucking throwing rubbish on stage.” Twice during the show he pleaded with the audience to put their phones away while the songs were being performed so that he could see everyone’s faces. It kind of felt like he was falling apart in a way. I’ve heard that he’s had a few crying break downs on stage during recent concerts, which kind of makes me worry about him. He’s so passionate and emotionally attached to his music, so I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to handle the fame that I’m sure his band will continue to gain over the years. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing them perform once they get a few more albums under their belt. It was so fun being able to predict what songs they were going to play next, but they have so much more to them then their debut album which we will see when they release their sophomore album hopefully sooner than later! I was kind of shocked by just how many teenage girls that were in attendance at the show last night. I didn’t really realize that The 1975 had that much of a younger following…but then again all of those fourteen year old girls who were worried about breaking curfew probably only know the song “Chocolate” and only went to the show because they think Matty is super cute. (Who can blame them on that one though?) All in all it was a really fantastic experience seeing The 1975 live for the first time. They’re playing in Columbus tonight and Kyle and I actually heavily debated on going to see them again – unfortunately, we’re both very sick right now so we figured that that wasn’t the best idea when we’re in recovery mode.

What was your favorite concert you’ve ever been to? What was the first concert you’ve ever been to? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Also, make sure you check back in with me tonight for my review of episode ten of American Horror Story: Freak Show! Happy hump day. -Sarah

Dec15

Lil Red Recommends – Not Christmas Music!

Posted on December 15, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red Recommends – Not Christmas Music!

I hate Christmas music. Go ahead, call me a scrooge! I just can’t help it though, it’s all very annoying to me. Everyone thinks my hatred of holiday music stems from working at the mall for four holiday seasons straight, where the Christmas music was non stop, but that’s not true. I can remember disliking it long before my four year stint at PacSun. So I put together a list of music recommendations for the holiday music haters, to hopefully drone out a whole lot of fa la la’s!

Nick Jonas: Jealous – Pleeeease judge me for this one! I think this song is so catchy it hurts….it especially hurts my pride for enjoying it. I rarely play the radio, I opt for plugging in my iPod instead, but if I’m running errands that are within a five mile distance of my house I begrudgingly play the top forty hits. This is the one song on the radio that I can actually tolerate listening to…and by tolerate I mean singing poorly to it at the top of my lungs. Nick Jonas is all grown up and cute as can be, so now that the purity ring is off – holla atcha girl. 😉

The Wombats: Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) – Ohhh yes, this song is indeed a PacSun throwback. We played this song within my first year of working there four long years ago, and I still love it. I actually was playing this about ten minutes ago when I was painting my face for the day. I think that if you can hear a song that was played at your work and not wanna roll your eyes at it, then that means you really do enjoy the song. I quite like The Wombats too, the album that this song is off of “The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch” is simply delightful.

The 1975: Girls – I had to include The 1975 on this list considering I’m seeing them in concert in Cleveland tomorrow. I’M SO EXCITED!!!! First of all, Matt Healy is a babe with the voice of an angel. Having said that, I really adore this song. It reminds me of a more mature version of their fan favorite “Chocolate” especially when Healy uses the lyrics “I think you better go” which are used in “Chocolate” as well. I really enjoy the entirety of their self titled debut album, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. I can’t wait to tell you guys all about the concert tomorrow! Yippy hurray!

Usher ft. Juicy J: I Don’t Mind – I actually DO mind that I like this song…I mind it a lot actually. We play this raunchy jam at my current job, and it grew on me like a fungus. It’s a definite ear worm too considering I can never get it out of my head once I hear it. Juicy J’s verse absolutely cracks me up in this track, just like all of his songs do. He opens with “I’m just tryna cuddle up, tryna bust a nut” so be prepared for the feeling of “what did he just say?!” My mom loves her some Usher, but she refuses to listen to this song because of the suggestive content. Lucky for her, this song can definitely be classified as one of my funky time jams, so we balance each other out.

Phantogram: When I’m Small – This song is good for more than just being featured in the commercials for Gilette razors. I love this song. I’ve had Phantogram on my iPod for a while now, but have never really chosen to listen to them avidly until my beau played them in the car a few nights ago. I always wondered what the song they were using in the razor commercials were, so I was shocked to find out that it’s been on my iPod for months now and I haven’t even realized it. I love the lead singers vocals, they remind me of an extremely indie version of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, and considering the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s are one of my favorites, I can definitely get down to some Phantogram.

Mona: Teenager – I forgot how much I liked this song until I had it playing in the Little Red Love Machine yesterday. This track is a PacSun classic, and I am SO not mad about it. Mona is a SEVERELY underrated band, so hopefully this will shine a light on just how fantastic they are. Do yourselves a favor and listen to their self titled album and their newest one “Torches & Pitchforks”. You’ll be glad you did.

Ed Sheeran: Don’t – This song plays at Next on occasion and I hate myself for liking it. BUT WHATEVER. This is definitely another tolerable song that’s playing on the radio, along with “Animals” by Maroon 5, which I mentioned a few posts ago. Anyways, I can’t tell if I’m attracted to Ed Sheeran’s leprechaun looking self, but I have no problem listening to this sexy track until I figure it out. Don’t even get me started on his accent. Lord have mercy on me.

The Killers: Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine – I’ve been on a HUGE The Killers kick lately, and if you say that you dislike the album “Hot Fuss” – then you’re a liar…plain and simple. This is the opening track on the album and it really is the perfect opener. I know too many people that think that “Hot Fuss” is only good for the crowd pleasers like “Somebody Told Me”, “Mr. Brightside”, and “All These Things That I’ve Done” but that is far from the case. I enjoy literally every song on this album, therefore, I think that it’s brilliant. “Hot Fuss” is ten years old now, and it’s still insanely relevant to this day.

Modest Mouse: March Into The Sea – Modest Mouse is one of my all time favorites, and they always will be. I wrote a paper on them recently in one of my college classes on their effects on indie rock over the years, so I’ve been listening to them more than usual. Isaac Brock’s vocals on this song are just INSANE. The things that this man can do with his voice is truly a gift from above. And that’s something that you will rarely hear me say about anyone. The fact that he can go from this amazing stylized screaming to gorgeous crooning in this song at the drop of a hat makes my heart flutter. My heart is also VERY warm at the news that they confirmed the release of a new album in the future!!!!

American Authors: Luck – I’ve been listening to a lot of these guys lately, and I really really enjoy them. This song touches my soul in the sense that I can relate to it so purely that it has moved me to tears multiple times. So many lyrics in this song are so relevant to the way that I’ve been feeling lately such as “I’m sorry mother (father, brother, ect) – I know I let you down” and ESPECIALLY “How can I set us free? I’m what you taught me to be – shouldn’t that be enough?” So needless to say, if you’re ever in the Ohio area, and see a little red headed girl in a little red car with her red lipstick on and crying hysterically into a cup of coffee…you’ll know that I’m listening to this song.

So there you have it, my latest funky time jams. Hopefully some of these tracks will get you through the annoyance of hearing holiday music day in and day out if you’re anything like me and can’t stand it. Sorry that I’ve been MIA over the weekend, by the way. My beau is home from college for the holidays so I’ve been spending a lot of time with him! It’s been fantastic 🙂

What have you guys been listening to lately? Leave me a comment with your music suggestions and let’s chat! Have a lovely Monday! -Sarah

Dec12

#Overit

Posted on December 12, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Alright, mama needs a good venting session, so here we go. Within literally TWO days of having my septum pierced asides from the other four nose piercings I have, I’ve already had multiple instances of people being rude to me because of them. There were two examples that really got me down, and one of them actually just happened about five minutes ago. I’ve been feeling really shitty about it, so I need to tell someone about it. So why not tell all of my readers?

Example One: I was at the dentist yesterday and had to get X-rays taken just like any standard dental check up. The X-ray technician asked me to take my earrings out, and I happily obliged. She then asked if I could take my nose piercings out, and I explained to her that my septum was brand new, and my four nose piercings cause me legitimate physical pain when I take them out, so unfortunately I can’t. I was extremely polite and was in no way rude to her. After I told her my facial piercings couldn’t be removed she gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever received and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the process of getting my X-rays taken. When I wished her holiday greetings she replied with “mhm”. I was appalled. For one: the X-ray technician was at least forty years old or older – does it really make you feel that good to show such hostility to someone twice as young as you? For two: the least you can do when someone wishes you seasons greetings is smile back and say “you too”. Is uttering TWO WORDS really that difficult??? Sorry I’m not sorry that the way I look offends you, but you shouldn’t treat me any different than any of your other patients. This experience happened yesterday morning and it put a tangible damper on the rest of my day.

Example Two: Like I said, this instance happened about five minutes ago when I was running an errand. I was waiting in the customer service line at Marc’s to pick up an item that my mother had left earlier in the day. While I was in line minding my own business, a fifty something year old lady walked past me and said “Woah! Look at those piercings!” The lady standing behind me in line chuckled at this comment. I could feel myself sinking lower and lower. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her to say anything back. What am I? A fucking member of a freak show? Since when did someone’s personal appearance become a laughing stock to someone? I wouldn’t have gone up to this woman and say
“Woah! Look at those wrinkles!” at her expense, so why would someone not show me that same respect? I honestly thought that I was going to cry.

I am not someone to be gawked at. I am not someone to be laughed at. I am not someone to receive dirty looks while walking around or waiting in line and minding my own business. I am not going to be made to feel like I’m a low life human being for the way that I choose to look. People always think that I’m over reacting or over exaggerating when I talk about how much all of this upsets me. But why shouldn’t it? I’m entitled to my emotions, especially when someone is treating me as less than a human being. I am a good person. I am beautiful. I am not unapproachable because of the way I look.

I can’t wait for the day that I can walk around in public without being stared or snickered at. But until that day happens, please PLEASE treat everyone with respect. Black, white, purple, polka dot, covered in tattoos, or covered in piercings we are ALL humans who deserve to be treated with dignity.

Alright, rant over. I can’t say that I feel completely better, but this helped. Thanks for reading and listening to my sob story. It’s hard not to feel bad about it though. Have a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend! Spend it with someone you love! -Sarah

Dec11

American Horror Story – Episode 9

Posted on December 11, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyyyyyyy. Alright. So I had a beautiful post that I was almost done typing about tonight’s episode of American Horror Story: Freak Show “Tupperware Party Massacre” BUT, unfortunately my dumb ass didn’t save the draft, I accidentally hit the back space button and my post basically got deleted. I really don’t have the time to retype it because I’m super tired and have to be up early tomorrow to go to the dentist. #fml BUT I will do my best to give you guys a super brief over view of what happened tonight:

Dandy murders an Avon lady: He then sews her head onto the body of his mother’s corpse and pretends that they’re the conjoined twins, Bette and Dotte. #weird
A police man kills Regina: Regina shows up at Dandy’s house with the fuzz. Dandy doesn’t confirm or deny that he’s killed anyone, but he does talk a lot about how much money his family has, considering they own the country’s biggest frozen food company. He tells the police man if he kills Regina and works for him, that he’ll pay him a million dollars. Cash. Without a moments hesitation, the cop shoots Regina. #corruptcops
Drunk Jimmy shacks up with Imma: Uhhhh…sure? I guess he just likes something soft to rub his face in. To each their own!
Bette and Dotte return to the freak show: Elsa finds the twins in a motel that Ethel set them up in, and tells them that her and Stanley have arranged for the separation surgery to happen. (no surgery is going to happen, of course. Stanley’s a con artist, remember?!) Dotte, as we know is all for it. Sweet Bette? Not so much. But in a very touching scene, Bette tells her sister that if one of them were to live during the surgery, then she would want the new life to go to her. This apparently touches Dotte deeply, because she decides that she doesn’t want the surgery to happen anymore.
Dotte confesses her love for Jimmy: So once the twins are back in the troupe, they have a talking to with Jimmy. Well…more like Dotte has a talking to with Jimmy. She tells him that she’s loved him ever since she saw him for the first time, and drops her dress. “Not many men can boast of having a blonde and a brunette,” she says. Unfortunately, Jimmy tells both of the girls that he cares about them a lot, but that he’s in love with someone else. He puts the dress back on the twins, and they exit, holding each others hand (which was so cute!!!).
A Tupperware party gone wrong: So, if you guys recall from the season premiere, Jimmy gets hired to provide pleasure from his lobster claws at parties usually ran by housewives. During this particular Tupperware party, Jimmy gets kicked out for being drunk. “He kept missing,” scoffed Sylvia, the hostess. After Jimmy stumbles out of the house, who else should knock at the door other than Dandy? He puts on his most charming face and tells Sylvia that his car broke down and inquires if he could use her phone. She invites him into her home with pleasure. You can do the math on what happens next. We don’t see Dandy kill the ladies, but we do see the aftermath of what happened. Sylvia’s husband walks into the house calling her name, he walks into the room with the in ground pool to see his wife and her friend’s bodies floating in the water turned red with blood. Luckily, someone got use of the Tupperware tonight, considering Dandy stored their fresh blood in them. #yum
Jimmy’s arrest: Tonight’s episode ends with Jimmy getting arrested for the housewife murders because his gloves were left at the crime scene. If it doesn’t fit he must have quit…right?

I’m super sorry that this post isn’t very lengthy and detail oriented, but I really need to get to bed. If you have any questions on tonight’s episode, pleeeease leave me a comment so we can talk about stuff in further detail! What did you guys like about tonight’s episode? What did you hate? I want to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah

Dec10

New Piercing!!!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Soooo I got a new piercing today! I’ve been wanting my septum pierced for quite some time now, so I decided that today was a good day to get it done. No better time like the present, and whatever. For all of my tattoo needs I go to my boy Travis at Odd Fellows who you might have read about in my previous Body Mods articles, but for piercings I like to hit up Defiance in Kent, Ohio. My featured image is part of the layout in the shop, and the guy on the left with the dreads, Mike actually pierced me today. He was absolutely fantastic. Let me tell you guys a little about my piercing experience today…

I’m a piercing junkie. I’ve gotten so many that I’ve lost count honestly, and in all of those piercings I’ve never once cried or felt intense pain. Well unfortunately that streak was ruined today. Ha! The clamps used to hold the area being pierced hurt so incredibly badly!! All of the pressure and pain piled on top of each other made me start crying…I felt like such a bitch! After the clamps were on initially, I just couldn’t handle it, so Mike took out the four piercings I already have on my nostrils to give the clamps some more room. He legit had to talk me into getting the clamps put back on, but it worked. I asked him if the piercing was going to hurt as bad as what I was already going through, and he looked right at me and said that the piercing doesn’t hurt at all. I thought he was kidding or just saying it to make me feel better, but he was right. “In and out, right?” I asked. And with that, the clamps were back on and I was ready to go. He gave me to the count of three and pushed the needle through, and I didn’t feel a thing. It was crazy!!! Mike put the horse shoe jewelry in and then put my four studs back into my nostrils. My nose was so sore!!! I bled like a faucet too, which was weird because usually I never bleed an excessive amount during piercings. I’m being dead serious when I say that this piercing experience was probably the most painful one that I’ve ever been through. The clamps felt like they were cutting through my cartilage and my skin felt like it was burning. It was AWFUL. And this is coming from the girl who’s gotten four dermals done at one time, four nose piercings at one time, a six hour tattoo at once, and so much more. I’m really happy with how my piercing turned out, I think it looks super cute. Mike did a great job. However, I don’t really recommend anyone with a low pain tolerance getting their septum pierced…I like to think that my pain tolerance is incredibly high and I could barely handle this one. Here’s a picture of the end result:

If you’re ever in Kent, Ohio and are in the mood to get a piercing, definitely hit up Mike at Defiance. Here’s their Facebook page as well, so make sure you give it a like!! https://www.facebook.com/DefianceEmpire It’s a fantastic shop with extremely talented artists!

What was the most painful piercing you’ve ever got? What was your favorite piercing you’ve ever got? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Also, make sure you stop by lifewithlilred tonight for my review on episode nine of American Horror Story: Freak Show! Have a fabulous hump day night! -Sarah

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