Tag Archives: hurray!

Feb6

Hurray! 100 Day Duolingo Streak

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Hurray! 100 Day Duolingo Streak

Hello! One of my favorite hobbies is learning new languages and I practice French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Czech on Duolingo. Pre-pandemic, I was lucky if I could get a four or five day streak of practice going with a busy work and social schedule. Now, I am proud to say that I am on an over ONE HUNDRED day streak of practicing all five languages and I am honestly blown away by it. I also don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

For the past one hundred plus days, I have been dedicated to doing one to two lessons per language daily with Duo and it’s exciting for me because I can definitely tell that I have made great improvements. I consider myself to be quite fluent in French (I took it throughout high school and college) and I think I have made huge gains, as I can understand a majority of the French shows and movies I watch without subtitles now. I have found that my Spanish and Italian is much smoother and my vocabulary in both German and Czech has made good progress too.

I know people have talked about their hobbies to NO END during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is just so cool to me to notice substantial gains from just one hundred days of practicing for a half hour. Everything from work to social lives seems to be on a stand still right now with not much to look forward to. However, I look forward to working on my languages every day now so my skill set can continue to blossom.

Learning a different language opens up a whole new world. New friendships, new skills, new entertainment, new dream locations to travel to. Duolingo is a free app and if you find yourself overwhelmed by all of the free time we now have, then I highly recommend giving it a download. You can even treat yourself to Duolingo Plus, which will give you unlimited hearts! Learning something new is exhilarating and incorporating Duolingo into your life could be just what you need to shake some blahs away until things get back to normal. ❤

Do you know a different language? How do you practice? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep24

Auntie Announcement!

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Auntie Announcement!

Hey everyone and happy Monday! As you can tell by the post title, I’M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!! That’s right! My sister, Kristen, and her long term boyfriend, Ramon, are with child and we are all so excited. The baby is due on March 22nd, which just so happens to be my mom’s birthday! Kristen and the bambino are doing awesome, according to the doctor at her twelve week ultrasound and we got to see a picture of the wee babe. LOOK AT IT!!!!

baby1

Baby! :*) ❤

I dare say that no one is more excited about the baby than me, because I finally get to be an auntie! And, trust and believe, I am going to be the funnest, coolest one on the planet. Your auntie loves you, Baby Big Head! ❤

Are you an aunt or uncle? What is your favorite thing about having nieces and nephews? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Vimeo

Jun7

Happy 24th Birthday To Me!!

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Happy 24th Birthday To Me!!

Hello!!! Today is a wonderful day for planet Earth, because it’s my 24th birthday! Although I’m not too keen on getting older, birthdays are still a time for celebration – and I do love celebrating myself. 😀 These past few years have been a royal shit show for yours truly so, even though going into a new year is scary, I am looking forward to things *hopefully* going up from here!

Thanks again to all of my wonderful readers for all of the love and I hope you guys have an amazing day – I’m sure going to try to!

Happy birthday to meeeeee!!!!!!!!

Jan25

7,000+ Followers!!!

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7,000+ Followers!!!

Woohoo!!! I just had to write a quick post to thank all of my readers, because I now have over 7,000 followers!! This is a gigantic landmark and I am so proud to be on the better half to 10,000 lifewithlilred followers – so here’s to making that happen. 😀 Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my friends and followers of lifewithlilred, because this achievement is compliments of each and every one of you!

I’M SO HAPPPPPPPPPPY!!!!!

Nov19

Special Olympics 2017 Banquet

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Special Olympics 2017 Banquet

Hi everyone! This past week, the Special Olympics hosted their yearly banquet to celebrate the athletes, coaches, volunteers, and families that dedicate themselves to such an incredible organization. I have been coaching Special Olympics figure skating for three years now and every practice, competition, and event is such a joy to be a part of. This year, I was honored as the Volunteer Of The Year for my involvement as a coach. It was such an amazing surprise and I have my award displayed proudly already! Check it out:

awardd

^^^ Isn’t that cute?!

I know that I used this word already, but “honored” really describes how I feel about receiving this award. Out of all of the incredible coaches that volunteer their time to the cause, yours truly was chosen, and that is such an indescribable feeling. I am so proud to have been celebrated by my beloved athletes and their families, and I am looking forward to working with my skaters to be the best that they can be, on and off the ice, at our next lesson. ❤

What is something that you are proud of? Which organizations do you volunteer for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: CBS DFW

Nov12

All Done Holiday Shopping!!

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All Done Holiday Shopping!!

HURRAY HURRAY! As of this week, I am officially all done holiday shopping and I seriously could not be happier. Being finished with gift buying less than halfway through November might seem obscenely early to some but, for me, it is just right. For as long as I can remember, I have never been one that enjoys last minute shopping or even going to the shops as Christmas draws closer. Don’t get me wrong, I love holiday set ups in stores and magnificent window displays just as much as the next person but, my god, the stress can be unbearable.

What if I can’t find just the right present in store? What if the gift arrives broken or the shipment gets delayed? What if the present is out of stock by the time I get to buying it? What if, what if, what if. AHHH! Just typing this out gives me anxiety!! I am far from the home stretch, just because Amazon packages still have to arrive, but the fact that I’m ninety-nine percent done makes me breathe easier.

Not only the aforementioned, but I’m happy to get one big bill out of the way now, rather than have it broken up into December when I’ll be trying to save moolah again. Hello, holiday cash! This is the earliest that I’ve ever completed my holiday shopping before, and I find myself wondering why I haven’t done it like this every year. The major stress of the season is gone and now I can sit back, relax, and sip my hot chocolate while the rest of my family and friends do the December Dash to get all of their shopping done in time! But that’s none of my business. 😉 😉 😉

Who else is all done holiday shopping? Who is a last minute gift buyer? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep28

THANKS!!!

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THANKS!!!

Hello everyone! Okay, so recently I’ve gotten many a comment from readers saying that lifewithlilred is one of their FAVORITE blogs, and I do not take this lightly. That is SUCH an amazing compliment and honor that I had to take the time to say something on here. I am just so thrilled that I even have people reading my page, let alone saying that they genuinely enjoy it. It instantly gives me the warm fuzzies thinking about it and I just wanted to say that…

YOU ARE ALL MY FAVORITES!

Lifewithlilred would be a very lonely place without each and every one of you, so a million thanks. It’s so nice to feel validated on my blog baby, that is over three years old now, and I’m definitely having a “you like me, you really like me” moment, so a million thanks again! Much love. -Sarah

Sep15

Happy Three Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!

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Happy Three Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!

Hi everyone and TGIF! Today is a very exciting day because it’s lifewithlilred’s three year Blogiversary! Three years ago to the day (Or yesterday, actually, lol – you can never be sure!), my blog baby was conceived. And now, three years later, lifewithlilred continues to go strong with readers in over one hundred and seventy different countries. Wow!

Lifewithlilred came into being when I made the decision to go to college. I needed a change from feeling like I was going nowhere, thanks to spending four years working retail in the mall (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it was my time to go.). During my time selling clothing, I began growing what is now the black abyss that is my wardrobe and my peers and strangers, alike, agreed that I was fashionable and somewhat funny. At least once per week, I was told that if I began a blog, that I would have a reader in the person making the suggestion.

After enough positive prodding from the general public, I rolled my eyes and said, “fine”. I was making big and exciting changes in my life, so I figured “what’s one more?”. Thus, lifewithlilred was born. My blog name sprouted from the nickname, “Lil Red”, that was lovingly given to me by one of my favorite coworkers. And, Lil Red, obviously sprouted from my trademark red hair and red lipstick. Lifewithlilred just rolled off the tongue, so it stuck.

In my three years on the blogosphere, I have made so many amazing friends and wrote for companies that I admired from afar, like Adore Me and Warby Parker. My writing skills have improved a thousand fold, thanks to trying to post daily, and my confidence has skyrocketed from putting myself out there in the public eye. Lifewithlilred gives me a place where I feel like I am being heard, which is something that I used to want so desperately when I was feeling at my lowest. My blog truly feels like my little slice of internet paradise, and I am so proud of building that for myself and my readers.

Speaking of my readers! Here’s to all of you. Although I would love lifewithlilred even if I was the only person reading it, it would be a pretty lonely place without all of my friends and fans tuning in. To those of you who have been on my page since the beginning, thank you for your endless support. And to those of you who just discovered lifewithlilred, welcome aboard and I so hope that you will stick with me as my page continues to grow.

Thank you to everyone reading this. Thank you to anyone who has so graciously given my page a like, follow, comment, and the time of day. Lifewithlilred would be nothing without all of you!

Happy Three Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!!! ❤

What inspired you to start blogging? How long have you been on the blogosphere for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Clean Eats, Fast Feets

Jun2

300th Post Extravaganza!!!!!!!

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300th Post Extravaganza!!!!!!!

Hellooooo everyone and happy Tuesday! Welcome to my 300th post on lifewithlilred! It’s pretty exciting stuff…I mean I for one am excited BUT you guys should be too! This means that some of my most faithful readers have been with me for THREE HUNDRED articles and that’s kind of a lot when you think about it! So shout out to all of my tried and true readers who have been here since the beginning because lifewithlilred probably wouldn’t still be going on today without you! But this is also a shout out to my new readers as well! Welcome aboard the Lil Red Express – I promise that you’re in for quite a ride filled with sarcasm, trips to Taco Bell, and booze filled adventures of an almost twenty-one year old! CHOO CHOO! All of these shout outs are just a big roundabout way of saying THANK YOU! Thank you to all of my readers – old, new, halfway across the world, or one state away – I appreciate each and every one of you! Thank you for the views, shares, likes, follows, comments, and a whole lot of love! Everyone in the lifewithlilred world has been SO supportive and encouraging and I really can’t even begin to express my gratitude to you guys. All I can really say is thanks again and all of you have the Lil Red Guarantee that I’ll continue to deliver tons of fun on the daily for your viewing pleasure! ❤

Speaking of all of the support – I have one super special reader named Donovan who I happen to be Facebook friends with and as I was scrolling through my news feed today I saw this post by him which warmed my little heart:

love

^^^ So sweet! Here’s to you Donovan – thanks for all of the love!! You da best, you da best, you da best! This post wouldn’t be considered an “extravaganza” without some music, so enjoy this celebratory track to commemorate my 300th post on my blog child!

^^^ AYYYYYYYY!!!! Mwahaha, I had to!

I hope all of you are having a fabulous day so far! What’s your favorite celebratory song to listen to? Is anyone celebrating a special occasion soon? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jun1

Monday Update: Birthday Countdown Edition!

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Monday Update: Birthday Countdown Edition!

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday!! I hope all of you are having a fabulous day so far! I’m currently taking a break after a four hour homework binge, so I thought that now would be the perfect time to let all of you know that my 21st birthday countdown has begun! There are officially only SIX DAYS left until my June 7th birthday. I repeat SIX DAYS! S-I-X D-A-Y-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you can’t tell….I’m beyond excited! I have lots of fun stuff planned for a week full of birthday celebrations, so I’m trying to finish as much homework as I can now so that I don’t have anything school related to worry about for my special week – because let’s be real, turning the big 2-1 definitely calls for a weeks worth of tomfoolery! Yesterday my sister and I went shopping at my favorite mall, Belden Village in Canton where I treated myself to some new additions to my wardrobe…A jacket that I’ve had my eye on for forever at American Eagle that FINALLY went on clearance and a super cool and edgy black crop top with two floor length black sheer panels of material hanging from the front and back from Forever 21. I was soooo excited about my new jacket from AEO, because not only did I get it for half off which was a total steal BUT they only had my size (small) and an extra large left – so it was definitely meant to be! I would post pictures of these new pieces to show you guys, but my beloved best friend Kate is going to be doing that for me on our hang out evening this Wednesday, so be on the look out for some pretty new modeling pics of yours truly! I’m seriously so obsessed with both of these new wardrobe editions so I can’t wait for you guys to see them! As I mentioned earlier, I have a full birthday week of plans, so here’s a tentative outline of what my schedule will be looking like until my big day:

  • Monday: Finish my school work for a stress free birthday week! I have just a few more things to do and then I’ll be done already – hurray!
  • Tuesday: Get my hair cut so it’s nice and fierce for all of my festivities and then join my sister for an evening of pampering at a fancy salon while she gets her hair dyed.
  • Wednesday: A lovely hang out with Kate that will be filled with booze, crafting, and photography!
  • Thursday: An afternoon at the nail salon where my beloved nail tech Vinny will be giving me the princess treatment with a brand new set of nails! My talons take FOREVER to create, so it should be a pretty lengthy salon hang out with Vinny and the rest of the fabulous employees at Empress Nails!
  • Friday: A trip to the Toledo Zoo with my darling little BFF Lea for my birthday day trip! It’s our best friend tradition to take a day trip for each of our birthdays.
  • Saturday: My first night out at the bars with all of my friends! The white girl wastedness will be SO real!!!
  • Sunday: MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! This will probably be my day with my family unless Kate and I aren’t too hung over to have our individual celebration together. I’m not sure what she has planned but she told me that I need to be twenty-one for it – so maybe we’ll be going to a winery or something?! I have no idea, but I’m so excited to see what she has planned!!!

^^^ I LOVE MINIONS!! And speaking of those silly little yellow guys – at Build A Bear you can make a minion (as you can see by my featured image photo) and I want to make one so desperately it hurts! I swear I’m turning twenty-one and not five!!! So if someone could take me to make a minion of my own to hug and love on that would be great! 😉

Alright guys, I must be getting back to work on that Tri-C grind but I will talk to you all later! What does everyone have going on this week? Anything exciting? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: 6 DAYS LEFT