Tag Archives: happy

Jun7

Happy Birthday To Me!!

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Happy Birthday To Me!!

Hello and holy moly! Today is my 31st (…21st?) birthday!! When I started lifewithlilred in 2014, I never imagined writing a birthday post for myself eleven years later but here we are. And I wouldn’t want it any other way! As it’s mine and Johnny’s birthaversary, I have already had a wonderful celebration so far. A party at home, dinner with my in laws, and treating myself to a fresh new fill. I am also very much looking forward to a birthday FaceTime with my blogging bestie, a hang out with my other bestie, and a big family dinner at Hibachi Japan. Why celebrate for one day when you can celebrate all month, amiright?!

As I reflect on another year older (And hopefully wiser!), I can’t help but to think how lucky I am. Lucky to have an amazing family, friends, husband, bunnies, and the whole blogosphere in my corner. It is such a gift to be surrounded by so much love every day and no matter how much I wish I could slow the aging process down, it is a gift to be able to do so with the best company by my side. You know what? These past handful of years have been some of the best of my life so maybe getting older isn’t all that bad. Not that thirty-one is old (I’m trying to remind myself!), but you know what I mean lol. All I know is that I am in store for another great year and I can’t wait to share it with each and every one of you!

Happy birthday to me and thank you ALL for spending time with me on lifewithlilred every day. I love you!!!
Apr25

Back On The Ice!

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Back On The Ice!

Hello!! My childhood sport of choice was competitive figure skating and I stopped when I was about sixteen years old. After that, I would skate just for fun and coach for the Special Olympics a few years later. Prior to the pandemic starting, I thought it would be cool to try ice dancing and take lessons again and did just that. Cue pandemic, what felt like an indefinite hiatus, then I was back. Until I wasn’t lol. I had an extremely off putting encounter with a male coach and it instantly sucked all of the joy out of being on the ice again. So, I hung up my skates and never went since. Until this weekend!! Check it out and peep the videos on my TikTok @lilred6794 :

A month or so ago, I noticed one of my friends on social media had recently got back into skating after some time off too. I knew who she was but she skated in a different club than me and was a few years younger than me in high school. However, her decision to skate again inspired me and I thought that it couldn’t hurt to shoot her a message to see if she wanted to go together sometime. The answer was a resounding YES, we scheduled a skate date, and were both so eager to hit the ice together this past weekend.

I arrived at the rink a bit earlier than my friend so I started the open skate session solo. And omg I was feeling good as soon as my blades touched the ice. The open skate was blessedly not crowded at all so I basically had free reign to do anything and everything. I did a few warm up laps and like no time had passed at all, I was back to spins, jumps, and footwork. What’s that old saying about riding a bike? Granted, what I was doing wasn’t perfect and I felt straight up drunk after spinning but I was sure proud of everything that I could still do!

By the time I was nice and warmed up, my friend was ready to get her skate on too. I told Johnny it was like the equivalent of going hiking with a friend. We skated around, talked like we had known each other for years even though we just met, and just had fun skating for the joy of it. It was such a wonderful experience to skate with no pressure whatsoever and to encourage each other to keep trying all of our long lost tricks. Before I knew it, the hour and a half long session was over and we exited the rink exhausted but exhilarated. We are going to try and skate at least once a month and I am already chomping at the bit for our next skate date!

The moral of the story is to NEVER let anyone take the fun and joy out of something you love to do. I am so thankful to have found a friend that gave me the motivation to get back on the ice after swearing off of it and am still riding the high of how proud I feel of both of us!

What is your favorite sport to play? Which sports did you play when you were little? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb27

Spring Cleaning Surprise

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Spring Cleaning Surprise

Howdy! I got home from work way earlier than normal on Monday and had three or so hours to kill before Johnny’s shift was over. I’m not really sure why, but out of nowhere, I got a strong desire to clean. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, it can be very difficult for me to find the motivation to clean outside of necessary chores. Feeling mentally and physically exhausted just seems to be the norm for me as of late and it sucks. It’s not like I don’t want to clean but the energy to do so is nowhere to be found. So, when this overwhelming urge hit me to clean, I went for it!

I decided to tackle one room before clocking in again to work from home and that was mine and Johnny’s bedroom. I cleared up any trash, did several loads of laundry, and organized the closet. I also was able to put Johnny’s clothes in some semblance of order because he needs a freaking dresser lol. As I was doing that, I found an incredible surprise: One of my FAVORITE tank tops that I thought I left in the Poconos when we went on vacation a few years prior. I looked everywhere in my apartment for it and came up empty so leaving it behind seemed like the most reasonable explanation. I guess I didn’t look everywhere, though.

After finally having found my black Rachel Zoe tank top, I was elated. The motivation to clean was there and I was rewarded for it. In fact, after this find, I found myself looking forward to tackling my office next! I genuinely thought that the cherry on top was being reunited with my beloved tank top. However, the cherry on top came after the bedroom was clean as a whistle. I had open access to an outlet again and I was eager to put a new Bath & Body Works wallflower into my Halloween plugin. The room looked so fresh and good that I decided to accentuate it with a Fiji White Sands wallflower. The spotless room combined with the crisp, beachy scent made me so happy!

I guess the moral of the story is, that if you are lacking motivation for a deep cleaning session – it really is okay. However, my first hand experience is that you will start feeling fantastic as you go through the process. Even if it is one room or one task at a time, you are accomplishing something that needs to be done and that is rewarding. There is no need to beat yourself up if you don’t have the energy to clean. Do what you can, revel in your success, and you are on your way to forming a good habit.

I really am proud of myself for getting an early start on my spring cleaning and giving the apartment the love it deserves doesn’t feel nearly as overwhelming. In fact, it is a welcome change of pace!

What is on your spring cleaning agenda? Have you found anything recently that you thought you lost? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan18

Ladies Lunch

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Ladies Lunch

Hello!! I decided to actually make New Year’s Resolutions this year and I am pleased to report that I have been crushing. So much so, in fact, that I even added a new goal to achieve. My primary focuses are to continue going to the gym, firmly saying “no”, making more time for friends, and taking better care of my teeth. Every weekend since, I have had some type of outing with friends or family and I really do feel better for it. With a crazy demanding work schedule, it almost seemed impossible to make time for fun over the weekend because I was too dog tired. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still tired lol but now I feel like my weekends are a source of pleasure rather than counting down the minutes to my next shift.

This past weekend, my outing was to take my sister, Kristen, and three sweet nieces out for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Meson. It is the absolute best and a staple in my neck of the woods. I am always craving El Meson but the hankering was especially fierce as the Mexican restaurant we went to as a family for Christmas did nothing for me. So, I invited my girl squad to a “vanity lunch” so I could squash my cravings and get some quality time in with my four best girls.

Like myself, my girls live for Mexican food so our lunch was the perfect set up to eat, drink, and be merry – and did we ever! My eldest nieces went to town on queso and rice while Kristen and I opted for our usual vegetarian platters. We even toasted with her first drink since having my littlest niece in November and the Margaritas treated us just right! They always do, as did our favorite server who takes care of us every single time we have a lunch or dinner date. Dining at El Meson is forever fantastic, but he makes it that much better.

During the entirety of our Ladies Lunch, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was. This was my second weekend in a row that I got to spend time with the bestie squad! Prior to making my New Year’s Resolution, I honestly couldn’t tell you if I would have been up to those outings. And, I’m not going to lie, it is taking effort on my part to get myself out the door. However, once the plans are in action, it’s nonstop fun and that is exactly what I need. I even went out to lunch with a friend during my break on Tuesday!! Who am I and where is the normal, never does anything Lil Red?!

Ladies Lunch was a great success and I can’t wait to keep adding more plans to my agenda. It is making my life feel much more full and I am loving it!

What is your favorite local restaurant? What is your favorite kind of outing with friends? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec18

Making Music

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Making Music

Hello!! My Johnny is an incredibly skilled musician and it is one of my greatest joys to hear him play. He is skilled in several different instruments including guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and piano and it honestly blows my mind every time he creates a little music magic. Prior to the pandemic, Johnny was playing A LOT with the band he was in called The Outside Voices. It was freaking awesome. Unfortunately, like a lot of things during the pandemic, the band came to a grinding halt and hasn’t played since. That’s not to say that Johnny wasn’t still playing at home, but after a while, he kind of dropped off. Which is why I am SO happy that he has been picking up his guitar again for the past few weekends. Don’t mind the mess in Johnny’s record room lol:

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Every Saturday for the past month or so, Johnny has been back in the record room Making Music and it is music to my ears. He is so gifted and being able to hear him in his zone is just the coolest. Johnny really does play a MEAN electric guitar and I love to sit there and watch him. He makes everything he does look so effortless and I am always clapping and cheering away for these solo performances. And he claims that he is “rusty”. As if!!

This Saturday, I had an amazing three and a half hour chat-a-thon with my blogging bestie, Kate of Live In The Nautical. As we talked, and talked, and talked some more, Johnny was playing the entire time. And, by the time Kate and I said our goodbyes, he STILL kept playing! Not only was I impressed, but I was elated that the concert wasn’t over so I could rock out more to my all time favorite musician. How lucky am I that said musician is also my husband?!

I am so proud of Johnny for making an effort to get back into music again and I can’t wait to hear what he plays this upcoming weekend! ❤

Do you play any instruments? What was the last concert you saw? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec8

Best Job Ever!

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Best Job Ever!

Hello!! I have been working with people with special needs for a decade now and I simply could not imagine doing anything different. Don’t get me wrong, I love working on the blog and social media but my work community feels like home and it is a beautiful thing. Being able to help and work with so many amazing families is a gift and I don’t take it lightly. One of my greatest joys this year has been being reunited with my VERY FIRST client and her family. It has been like stepping into a time capsule from when I first started out and it feels like I never left. During our last session, my client presented me with this sweet gift and I will treasure it for forever:

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My client and I spent a snowy day inside completing household chores together. About halfway through, she said “Oh! I almost forgot. I wanted you to have this because you have always been there for me and I’m so happy you are able to work with me again”. Then, she handed me the little angel and I almost cried – not just because it was incredibly thoughtful, but because I feel the exact same way. I was ecstatic when her parents reached out to me and it feels so good to be back. It really is a high point of my week.

I love my job even on the most difficult days and it’s moments like these that always makes me eager for my next shift. I have received countless drawings, works of art, cards, and trinkets from my clients over my extensive tenure and I have kept them all. I have enjoyed my time with every family I have worked with and displaying these gifts where I can see them around my apartment is a constant reminder of that. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world as I placed my angel on my knick knack shelf directly across from my computer station. I see it every time I look up and I smile Every. Single. Time.

My work never feels like work because I am genuinely excited every time I hop into the car and venture to one of my clients. Here’s to ten more years in the best field EVER!

What do you love about your job? What would you change about your job? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov4

Johnny’s GREAT SUCCESS!!

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Johnny’s GREAT SUCCESS!!

Hello!! I wouldn’t consider the actual day of Halloween to be anything special to me. Thursdays are a very long, busy day for me at work. Johnny, however, had a banner day at his job! Normally, when I return home for the day, Johnny will greet me at the door looking just as exhausted as I feel. So, you could imagine my surprise when he opened the door bright eyed and bushy tailed! Clearly, he was in a good mood and I found out why when I sat down at my computer. There was a trophy on top of my laptop that he won from the costume contest his job hosted!!

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Every year, there is a Halloween costume contest at Johnny’s place of employment and he planned on reprising an oldie but goodie ensemble for the competition: AC/DC’s Angus Young. He was excited to rock that COTD again but a wrench was thrown into the mix when we couldn’t find the signature Angus Young shorts or hat anywhere. We must have turned over the entire apartment trying to find it! Begrudgingly, Johnny settled on being Lord Licorice for the event and got up extra early to get himself dressed to impress. And how he impressed!

Out of the three costume categories of Scariest, Funniest, and Most Creative, my main squeeze won Most Creative on his Lord Licorice look. Along with the trophy, he also received a Yeti tumbler as a prize and he was on cloud nine. I was so tired after work but this excellent news and seeing him so happy perked me right up! As he told me all about his big day, we were both grinning from ear to ear. Johnny and I both put a lot of effort into our costumes and it paid off in a major way. In fact, he ended up saying that he was glad we couldn’t find his Angus Young costume because he didn’t think it would make him a winner after all. It’s funny how things always have a way of getting sorted out. ❤

We are both absolutely elated over this costume contest win. It might not seem like much, but it is a huge deal for us. We thought our costumes were the best and this confirms it! 😀

Do you celebrate holidays at work? What are those events like? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov2

Happy Workiversary!!

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Happy Workiversary!!

Hello!! October 29th was an exciting day for me because it marked six whole months of being the social media manager for Tim Misny. For those of you who don’t know, Tim is one of the most prominent local celebrities in Ohio. He is a personal injury lawyer who achieved viral status thanks to his genius billboard marketing and signature catchphrase of “I’ll Make Them Pay”. Literally everyone in Ohio knows who this man is and it is honestly so crazy that I work for him. If someone would have told me six months ago that my days wouldn’t feel complete without talking to Tim, I would have asked if you were on drugs lol.

I met Tim back in November of 2023 as a contest winner to visit his property, Misnyland, for a picnic. The contest was for people to post pictures of themselves sporting Misny Merch for the chance to win. I hate to sound cocky, but I knew I had a victory in the bag with my Misny To The Max OOTD and I was on cloud nine when I got the call to confirm it. At the picnic, I asked Tim if I could conduct an interview and we could have talked and talked all day if he didn’t have to say goodbye to his guests. We kept in touch after the fact and began creating content together in the winter. Then, I attended a spring picnic as his guest in 2024 and got hired shortly after.

Every day since has been nothing short of an absolute blast. One of Tim’s phrases is “Who says we can’t have fun?” and we sure do! I love all aspects of my job and have made so many fond memories already. Some of my most favorites were visiting a Cleveland radio station, assisting with a talk at Kent State University, helping host picnics, and the most recent one of having one of the videos I shot air on CBS. I never know what is in store for me every day, but I always know it will be something fun, new, and exciting. I am such a lucky gal!

We have SO much cool content planned for the holiday season and I cannot wait to get started on it. I also cannot believe I am excited about Christmas when spooky season is barely over lol – I guess a great job will do that to you!

What is your favorite thing about your job? What was the worst job you had? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct13

Something Cool!!!

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Something Cool!!!

Hello!! I have been working as the social media manager for Tim Misny since the end of April. It has been the best experience and there is always something new and exciting to look forward to every day. While I love going to different events with Tim, one of my favorite things to do is simply shoot content. It is, after all, the cornerstone of my job and collaborating with Tim on what we should create next is SO much fun. This past week, I visited Misnyland to shoot three different videos. One was for a new Halloween themed contest, the other was a video with Tim and yours truly modeling some new Misny Merch, and the last one was Tim talking about the importance of voting.

I had absolutely no idea that Tim wanted to use the voting video to fill his regular Friday morning spot on CBS so it was a wonderful surprise. We recently received the final edit and I wanted to share it with all of you:

^^^ As always, I have no rights to this video!

When I saw Version 2.0 of my video, I was completely shook. What started out as a video that I assumed was strictly for social media became a newsworthy clip and it will be airing every Friday until the election. I am SO incredibly proud of this and thankful for each and every opportunity that this job has given me. Honestly, if you would have told me at the beginning of 2024 that I would be stepping into a full fledged social media career with Ohio’s biggest local celebrity – I would have asked you if you were high lol. Yet, here we are and even if I have been in this roll for almost half a year, every day still feels like a dream come true. ❤

I know that the vast majority of you have no idea who Tim Misny is when I reference him and that’s okay! Regardless, I would be so appreciative if you followed his pages anyways because they sure are fun. And, as a bonus, you get a peek into what little old me is up to for work in real time. You can give Tim’s Facebook page some love here, Instagram here, and TikTok here. Many thanks in advance and please make sure you rock the vote this election!

What is your favorite part about your job? If you could do any job in the world, what would it be? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep11

5 Years Strong

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5 Years Strong

Hello!! This past week Johnny and I reached the five year benchmark in our relationship and it has given me all of the warm fuzzies. I still get butterflies every time I see my main squeeze! I am always appreciative of how lucky I am to have my Johnny and this weekend hit different when he spent all day helping me at an event. It was a long day and he didn’t have to by any means, but he did anyway and that means so much. In honor of our five year anniversary, I thought it would be the perfect time to tell a little story about our first date…

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Five years ago, I was in bad relationship after bad relationship. When the last relationship ended, I had sworn off dating for a while. I deleted the apps and I was ready to do my thang as a single woman. That is, until Johnny messaged me on Facebook! Normally, the messages I received on Facebook went something like this: “Hey beautiful”, “Hey gorgeous”, and so on and so forth. Johnny’s message stood out from the crowd in the most amazing way: He complimented a pair of shoes I was wearing in a recent photo shoot and asked if they made them in a men’s Chelsea boot. It was so refreshing because he saw my style, appreciated it, and clearly had pretty great style himself.

As we chit chatted away, Johnny asked me if I would like to go for a drink sometime. At this point in my career, I was still working evenings but just so happened to have that night off. We ended up meeting at the Cashmere Cricket, our favorite bar, later that evening. When I arrived at the Cricket, I was SO nervous that I actually walked right past Johnny who was sitting outside. A moment later, he came into the bar and found me and the rest is history. Since our first date, we have pretty much been together every day since and I am the happiest girl in the world for it!

No matter where we are at or what we do, Johnny and I always have the absolute best time just being together. He makes me feel so spoiled and loved every day since we met because it truly was love at first sight. I feel like I can do anything and everything with him by my side and the past five years have been the most wonderful because of my Johnny. ❤

How long have you and your partner been together? How did you celebrate your last anniversary? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah