Tag Archives: love

Monday Update: Birthday Blues Edition -__-

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Monday Update: Birthday Blues Edition -__-

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! So it was my 21st birthday yesterday and unfortunately I spent most of the day in bed crying. Despite having the worst birthday ever, there were still some really fun parts of my birthday week that deserve some recognition. On Thursday my beloved nail tech Vinny treated me to a beautiful new set of talons and a beyond generous Starbucks gift card. He also plans on taking me out for dinner and drinks sometime this week which is so sweet of him. My trip to the Toledo Zoo on Friday with my precious Lea was also a really wonderful way to celebrate – I just love her! We’re going out this evening for a night on the town too, so that should definitely help shake away the birthday blues of the major disappointment that was Saturday night and Sunday. The entire situation was just stupid as fuck and I’m not about to go into major details about it, but my night out left me feeling like I got a million birthday slaps in the face so it’s no wonder I spent most of my actual birthday bawling my eyes out. Whatever. Lots of my friends have texted and called me so they can take me out to dinner or drinks this week, so I guess that’s nice. Nothing is going to make my birthday night out any better but at least I’ll have a bunch of other plans to somewhat make up for it. And even though the night out and actual birthday was complete shit, I did get some totally gorgeous birthday gifts from my family and friends which was so sweet! Take a look at some of my fabulous new goodies:

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^^^ So sweet!!! There’s actually a really adorable story behind my Lil Red birdhouse decorated by my darling Lea: So one night during a crafting extravaganza, we thought that it would be super fun to paint some birdhouses as a switch up from our usual canvas art. We were both SO excited about this idea but as the night of painting continued we both became more and more disappointed with how our birdhouses were turning out. Lea’s looked really cute – mine looked like complete ASS, so I didn’t even bother taking it home. I told her the only way that my birdhouse would be acceptable was if it was black, red, and covered in glitter…and lo and behold, that was exactly how Lea decorated it as part of my gift. Not only did she craft me a birdhouse that’s perfect for Lil Red, but she also gave me a plethora of other thoughtful presents as well – a new Starbucks mug, a 21 drinking goblet, a minion shot glass, wine, and much more! Our entire day at the zoo was seriously a gift in itself, but my sweet girl went above and beyond in the gift giving department and It really did warm my heart! Do I have an amazing best friend or what?! My sister also got me a real winner of a gift as well – Carlos Santana lace up, knee high, wedged gladiator sandals. I’ve legitimately wanted a pair for over a year now and the pair Kristen picked out for me are simply perfect. I can’t wait to wear these bad boys all summer long with everything from dresses and maxi skirts to sassy little short shorts! So fierce. My one older brother Andrew gave me some cash money, which is great because I need to go renew my license which I know for a fact isn’t free! And then my other brother, Peter got me two tickets to see AWOLNATION on June 30th when they play at the House Of Blues in Cleveland! I CAN’T WAIT!!! It was exactly what I wanted, so mad props to him! I got a cornucopia of goodies from my parents – my Betsey Johnson telephone purse, a new dress from Urban Outfitters, moolah, and they restocked all of my makeup and skin care products that I use from The Body Shop. Everyone was so generous and I’m beyond thankful for all of the wonderful and thoughtful gifts – all of them are perfect!

When I think about all of the lovely individual hang outs I’ve had with my friends and family and all of the gorgeous 21st birthday gifts that I received it kind of makes up for the completely awful weekend I had – but only kind of. All of the gifts in the world doesn’t make my hurt feelings feel better and it definitely doesn’t take away any of the disappointment that I’m still feeling, but what can you do? I’m looking forward to all of the dinners and drinks this week with some of my favorite people, so hopefully after all of that merriment I’ll start getting over the literal worst birthday outing I’ve ever had in my life. #overdramatic #dontcare

I hope all of you are having a fabulous Monday so far! I regrettably must be off to go get some school work done and possibly take a nap! I’m so tired! But until then, how was everyone’s weekend? What are your plans for the week? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Toledo Zoo Birthday Fun!

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Toledo Zoo Birthday Fun!

Heyy everyone and happy Saturday! And most importantly, happy one day until my 21st birthday!!! I had a beautiful day yesterday with my darling little BFF Lea at the Toledo Zoo for my birthday day trip celebration, so let me tell you all about it! WELL, we left Cuyahoga Falls yesterday around 9:30 and arrived at the zoo a little before twelve after an over two hour drive. We had to stop one time in Sandusky so I could go to the bathroom and we ran into quite a few characters before we even got to the zoo in the McDonald’s facilities…There was a lady with the longest pee Lea and I have ever heard that prevented both of us from going, which was AWFUL because I could barely walk from having to pee so bad. And then we can’t forget the girl who we ran into as we were washing our hands who was dressed up as a cat – face paint, tails, ears, the whole shebang. But hey, to each their own! After we relieved ourselves we made it to the zoo after another hour or so and unfortunately I had to pee AGAIN once we got there! This time it was even more urgent than the first which I didn’t even think was humanly possible! SO after another pee, we purchased our tickets from two evil, unhelpful, rude, rude, rude ladies and entered the Toledo Zoo! We explored the first half of the zoo which had elephants, penguins, primates, alligators, crocodiles, birds, reptiles, bears, tigers, and a gorgeous brand new aquarium. Unfortunately after we finished up at the elephant exhibit at the very end of the first half of the Toledo Zoo it began to rain really hard. But luckily, I packed my emergency beanie (the “E-Beanie”) to protect my red locks from the rain and Lea and I found shelter under the roof of a building. After surviving the downpour in Naked & Afraid: Toledo Zoo Edition, the sun came out and we were ready for some snacks and to get to the next half of the zoo that we still had to explore. We got some super delicious French fries that we finished before we even paid for them (whoops!) and of course some Dippin’ Dots because it’s our zoo tradition! YUM! We didn’t have much time to explore the second half of the zoo because we were unaware that they closed at four on weekdays rather than five – actually we didn’t find this out until about ten minutes before they closed because I consulted the map for some reason or another. As luck would have it though, the second half of the zoo was smaller than the first half so despite the speedy walk through of it we still got to see almost everything – rhinos, wolves, hippos, polar bears, sea lions, eagles, and a bunch of African Savannah animals including our all time favorite, GIRAFFES! They were so glorious!!!! We finished our zoo adventure by watching the majestic giraffes walk around their vast Savannah-esque habitat which was shared with other species of animals like ostriches, gazelles, antelopes, and more. It was a completely perfect day! Here’s a few of the pictures that I took during our Toledo Zoo visit:

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^^^ WTF is that fish? Hahaha! I’m so sad that I can’t upload videos on here because I have the cutest video of my favorite part of exploring the zoo…While watching the sweet gorillas in their exhibit with another family the gorgeous creatures were just kind of hanging out and lounging and eventually the family by us left. As soon as this family made their exit one of the gorillas decided to show off for me and Lea by rolling up and down the hill like a little kid. He went back and forth again and again until he tired himself out and it was seriously the most precious thing ever! He could probably sense that it was a special day for Lea and I and wanted to give us a little pre-birthday performance!

Yesterday was such a blast and I seriously had the best time with my darling Lea! We had so much fun during everything – the car rides, the zoo, the stormy weather (Lea and I are great at making not so good stuff enjoyable – one of the many reasons why I love our friendship!), and of course the Dippin’ Dots! What a fabulous birthday day trip extravaganza! Tonight I’ll be going out to dinner and the bars with my friends so you probably won’t hear from me tomorrow on my birthday due to a very probable hangover. SO that means I’ll be officially twenty-one the next time you talk to me on the usual Monday Update segment! AHHHH! I hope all of you are having a terrific day so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: ONE DAY LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^^ Lololol this classic one hit wonder was our driving theme song yesterday! #love

Some Food For Thought

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Some Food For Thought

Hey there everyone and happy Thursday. So I’ve recently been on the biggest Neil Gaiman kick ever and have been completely devouring his graphic novel series Sandman. I just finished volume five entitled A Game Of You, in which one of the main characters is a young man named Alvin transitioning into the gorgeous and sassy Wanda. Wanna know the best part about this story….it was published in 1993. While reading this twenty-two year old graphic novel this afternoon I couldn’t help but be amazed that I was reading such a relevant tale especially now in the light of the metamorphosis of Caitlyn Jenner. It made me so incredibly happy to be reading Wanda’s story and I couldn’t help but smile over the similarities between a fictional red headed transitioning male and the newly transitioned Jenner. It touched my soul to know that there are people in this world – such as Neil Gaiman and the Sandman creators who are accepting and loving of everything and everyone. But it also completely broke my heart that there are still people in the world who are degrading and insulting to such a beautiful and vulnerable group that is the LBGT community. It saddened me that some of the people in Wanda’s made up world still called her Alvin and referred to her as a “him”. It made my heart hurt for Caitlyn Jenner and any person being ridiculed and shunned just for being who they are. As I hungrily read through Wanda’s story this afternoon she became more and more real to me. She felt like me. She felt like a friend. And she could very well feel a lot like you. Unfortunately in A Game Of You, Miss Wanda had an untimely death but there were some really powerful scenes that took place at her funeral. There was one particular image that really stuck out to me in the graphic novel that I felt a strong desire to share with you guys. Take a look:

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^^^ Isn’t that amazing? This picture literally sent chills down my spine and filled my eyes with tears. So the point of this post? Wanda is real. Caitlyn Jenner is real. The struggle that people have with gender identity, their sexuality, an addiction, ect is real. The point of this post? I guess it’s me telling you guys to open your eyes and open your hearts just a little bit more to these struggles if you have your hesitations. Neil Gaiman created Wanda in 1993 and it’s now 2015. In A Game Of You there were those who loved and accepted Wanda and those who were adamant in voicing their disgust about her. Sadly, twenty-two years later there are still those who are close minded enough to call our Wanda’s, our Caitlyn’s, and our dear friends in the LBGT community names that I can’t even bring myself to type. There are those who still spit their poison and hope that their venom will begin to wither away the gorgeous spirits of such an amazing group of individuals. But luckily, there are those (like myself) who will offer their support and a kind word every step of the way to those who need it. This is a Lil Red PSA letting anyone who is struggling with anything at all know that I love you, I’m here for you, and your triumphs and success means the world to me. The end.

I hope all of you guys are having a wonderful day so far! Mine is alright, thanks for asking! 😉 I’m actually pretty excited because tonight I get the princess treatment at the nail salon for my birthday! BTW – I’ll be out of office tomorrow because I’ll be going to the Toledo Zoo with my best friend Lea for my birthday day trip! I’m so excited! But as always, you know how to reach me via the comment section or my email! And please know, that I will not tolerate any negativity on this post and your comments will be deleted point blank period. Questions? Concerns? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: 3 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Build A Bear Birthday Fun!

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Build A Bear Birthday Fun!

Heyyyy everyone and happy Hump Day! As you can see by the title of my post and my featured image photo, my sister Kristen treated me to some Build A Bear birthday fun last night! (More like Build A Minion fun!) After seeing the Build A Bear window display of the silly yellow Despicable Me minions at Belden Village mall on Sunday, I was smitten. My sister recognized the burning desire in my loins to build a minion of my very own, so last night we went to Summit Mall which is closer to us so we could create some new stuffed animal friends. Unfortunately when we got to the mall we found out that they closed down the Build A Bear about two weeks ago. According to a kiosk employee everyone was “heartbroken” by it, which Kristen and I found absolutely hysterical. I was SO disappointed by this shocking discovery (one might even say heartbroken) and because my sister is amazing she said we were going to go back to the car and return to Belden Village in Canton. SHE’S SO SWEET! Thankfully within the two days of going to Belden Village the Build A Bear there didn’t close down so we were in business! As we entered the store we were surrounded by a plethora of toddlers and their parents – we looked severely out of place but that didn’t stop us from picking out a minion for me and a My Little Pony for Kristen. I was so happy that Kristen was going to make an animal with me because she’s had her eye on the My Little Pony stuffies for forever…and the fact that we were both making a creature gave us equal opportunity to make fun of each other! We got our minion and pony stuffed to perfection and bestowed them with the names “Kevin” the minion and “Frank” the pony on their birth certificates. Needless to say, we totally love them and I had the best time last night creating Kevin as an early birthday treat. It was seriously so sweet and thoughtful of Kristen and it made our outing even more fun since she participated in the Build A Bear experience as well! Now I understand why children like that place so much! Here’s some pics of us and our new best friends:

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^^^ SO MUCH FUN!!!! I swear that we’re both in our twenties!! Haha thanks again for such a fabulous evening, sis! I love you and I love KEVIN! ❤

^^^ Oh my goodness I just can’t get enough of these cuties. I’m so excited for the minion movie to come out this July – I really just can’t even!

So there you have it my Build A Bear birthday extravaganza with my super cool sister! I hope all of you are having a great day so far! Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday? Do you love the goofy little minions as much as I do? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

SARAH’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: 4 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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:

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^^^ 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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool Decorating Ideas

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Cool Decorating Ideas

Heyyy everyone and happy Sunday! So every once in a while my parents and I like to hit up Tuesday Morning, which is a lot like TJMaxx minus the clothing. The store has a lot of cool home decor pieces including everything from furniture, mirrors, artwork, and any knick knack you can imagine in one convenient location. Every time I go to Tuesday Morning I tell myself that when the time comes for me to decorate my own apartment I will most definitely be shopping there. I took some pictures of some pieces that I thought were fun and unique to share with you guys and maybe give you some ideas of your own for decorating! Take a look:

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^^^^ Rad, right??

I’m a really big fan of the antique-y vibe that I get from all of these cool little odds and ends. My absolute favorite thing pictured above is the step ladder shelf. I admire that baby every time I go to Tuesday Morning and I would love to have it in my room to house my beloved shoes on. I also really like all of the floral painted wall hooks – I can picture a plethora of those hanging up on the walls in my room to display all of my hats and scarves. I get happy just thinking about it! One item in particular that I’m not sure that I would put in my apartment would be the bust statue – but I guess it would be a pretty good conversation piece! What I was instantly drawn to today when I entered the store was the mini pedestals with the glass container covers. Those are absolutely gorgeous, and my first thought when I saw them was that I would love to display all of my jewelry in them. I imagined a row of the containers going across my desk with each of them holding a necklace or bracelet. So cute! It’s always so fun going into Tuesday Morning to see what’s new and exciting, and I can’t wait for the day that I can go there and fill up a shopping cart with all of the decorations that my little heart desires! Until the fateful day that I move out, I’ll just be admiring all of these items from afar!

I hope these pictures inspired all of the decorators out there to get to work on a new project! Where is your favorite place to buy home decor at? What is your favorite decorative piece in your living quarters? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great day! -Sarah

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!!!

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Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!!!

So today is my mom and dad’s 34th wedding anniversary! Hurray! Congratulations to my wonderful parent’s for being able to put up with each other for thirty-four whole years and are STILL going strong! I honestly think that’s such an amazing accomplishment considering we live in a world where long standing marriages are becoming increasingly rare. I genuinely believe that I have the best parents that a gal could ask for, so I for one am so thankful that their marriage has been so successful! Thirty-four years is a long time, but here’s to a million more happy years together in a perfect, blissful, and slightly annoying union! Last night my family went out to dinner to celebrate my mom and dad and as their anniversary treat to themselves they both ordered a drink that wasn’t water! Big spenders! Both of my parents are the farthest thing from lavish when it comes to celebrating the milestones of their marriage, so a nice and low key dinner was the perfect way to celebrate their special day. It was a really beautiful time. Happy, happy anniversary mom and dad! Good job!! I love you both so much! ❤ ❤ ❤

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^^^ Cutest. Couple. EVER!

I hope all of you wonderful readers continue to enjoy your weekend! Does anyone have a special occasion that they’re celebrating this weekend? Does anyone have a birthday or an anniversary coming up? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Super Silly Fun Night

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Super Silly Fun Night

Howdy everyone and TGIF!! Omg guys I had the most fabulous night with my sweet best friend Lea yesterday! It was a terrific evening of crafting, eating hella Cheez-Its, and being straight up silly – it was perfection. The last time we hung out we tried making a canvas art craft of a night sky over looking a city silhouette….unfortunately we couldn’t get past painting our canvas black and dousing it with glitter so we called it a night. But last evening we were dedicated to making something pretty out of our black canvas, and this was our final result:

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^^^ So adorable! Mine is the one on the left and Lea’s is obviously the one on the right! Here’s the step by step guide on how we made our cute canvas craft: #ohyoucraftyhuh

  • Step 1) Paint your canvas black. (Optional)
  • Step 2) Pour glitter all over your freshly painted canvas. (Optional)
  • Step 3) Cry. (Optional)
  • Step 4) Give up. (Optional)
  • Step 5) Try again! Lea and I decided to go balls to the wall with this craft so we just started painting over our glittery black canvas however we pleased. I was trying to go for a more sunset-y vibe…and I’m honestly not sure what vibe Lea was going for – but it turned out great!
  • Step 6) Find a silhouette picture on the computer of whatever you like and cut it out. Or if you’re an overachiever and can draw well, feel free to draw out a silhouette. Lea and I are both a big fan of the cutesy couple images, so that’s what we both opted for. But it really can be anything – a giraffe, a toilet, a bomb…it’s up to you!
  • Step 7) Glue on your silhouette and bask in the glory of your craftiness!

Throughout our evening Lea and I basically annihilated a bag of Cheez-Its – as you can see by my featured image photo, and it was the most fulfilling snacking experience I’ve ever had. So the answer is yes, there probably is Cheez-It residue all over my canvas. After we completed our craft, we spent the rest of our time together creeping on people on Facebook, laying in bed being silly, and making up quotes that historical figures and celebrities definitely didn’t say. For example, when we posted our picture of our craftiness on Facebook we captioned it with “A steady hand and a calm heart” – Elenore Roosevelt…..Okay – maybe it’s not that funny BUT it was SO funny to us!! I’m so happy that I got to have an evening off from drowning in homework to have some much needed girl time with my darling. We had such a blast and by the time I got home I felt rejuvenated enough to complete the rest of my work at the prime time of 11:30 at night! #dedication

I hope all of you guys are having an awesome day so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? What have you been crafting recently? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

^^^^^ CHEEEEEEEEZ-ITS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheez-Its. Cheez-Its. Cheez-Its.

Nail Tech Love Is The Best Love!

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Nail Tech Love Is The Best Love!

Hi hi hi everyone! So my summer classes started today and everything is good so far, but I decided to take a quick break to tell you guys a super sweet story about my beloved nail tech Vinny! I was having a not so hot day yesterday, which I mentioned while Vinny and I were texting. After flourishing me with compliments, Vinny sent me a link to his favorite classical song to help me relax:

The song was absolutely gorgeous and as you guys know I fucking love U2, so I texted Vinny to thank him for sharing his favorite song with me. He then texted me back telling me to check the comments on the video, so I got back on YouTube and found the video again. As I looked through the comment section, this is what I found:

vinny!

^^^ SO sweet. Once I saw this comment I immediately started ugly crying, but it was a happy ugly cry if that makes sense – Haha I was seriously so touched by my dear friend’s gesture that I just couldn’t help it! I texted Vinny to let him know my current crying situation and then he told me that the song he sent me should be played at my wedding. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and laugh mid cry at such a classic Vinny statement. I then sent him a correction to his previous text, telling him that the song can be playing at *OUR* wedding! Vinny and I have a very special friendship and we both love each other very much, but there was something so special to me about our exchange last night that I just had to share it. It was just so damn sweet and it was exactly what I needed after a not so great day. So here’s to you Vinny – you’re more than just my nail tech, you’re seriously one of my best friends. Thank you for being you and thank you for always treating me like your princess. I LOVE YOU! #teamvinny

I hope everyone is having an absolutely fabulous day so far! Does anyone else have a special relationship with their hair dresser, nail tech, ect? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dear Old Dad

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Dear Old Dad

So I know I talk about my mom frequently on here, but I feel like I rarely mention my dad. I figured now would be a great time to introduce him to all of my fabulous readers considering an incident occurred with him today that paints a perfect picture of who he is as a person. Before you read this little story, there’s a few things that you should know about my dad…He’s a quiet man who rarely shows any type of emotion. Despite his stoic facade, his love for his family is so evident. This afternoon I was outside reading on the deck, which is so gorgeous because my pops has planted countless flowers, vegetables, and other plants in pots on the deck or in the soil surrounding it. While I was reading, my dad came out to water all of his plant children because it’s been super dry in my neck of the woods this past week. After he was done watering his plants, he sat down on the stairs of our deck that overlook our spacious backyard. Something told me that I really needed to sit down beside him and talk – or if anything just enjoy the beauty of all of the plants that he brought life to. I’m not gonna lie – I’m in a mood today. I had a not so ideal time on a date yesterday, and I’m SO hungry (which you guys know all about if you read my last post “Monday Update: Mehhh Edition”). Because of my lack of eating, I’ve been having dizzy spells and a pounding headache all day, so it felt so good to just sit down and rest my head on my dad’s shoulder. Usually with my dad I have to initiate the conversation to get him talking, but he said the first word which was kind of shocking. After my dad nonchalantly brought up his pure hatred for our neighbors, who we’ve had an ongoing feud with since we moved into my neighborhood, we discussed this further for a solid fifteen minutes. (Our neighbors despise us enough that they planted a line of evergreen trees on our property line to block their view of our home.) My dad then proceeded to tell me this story about how him and the patriarch of the household were talking shit to each other and my dad straight up told the guy “you’ll be dead before the trees are big enough to block your view”. Hahahaha! I’ve never heard this story before and it was SO funny to me. After we had our ice breaker conversation of thoroughly putting down our neighbors, I told him that my hang out with this one guy didn’t go so hot yesterday. I felt like it would be better to discuss this with my dad, who doesn’t have an emotional bone in his body as opposed to my mom who would drown me with a million questions about the day. I’m glad I followed my instinct to tell my dad, because he literally said one thing about my confession and it was “You should really join farmersonly.com”. He then told me to get up so I could test out the hammock that he put out over the weekend. Baffled by his last ridiculous comment about me finding a nice “country boy” on a dating site for “good ol’ country folk” (as their commercial boasts), what else could I do? I got up and followed him to the hammock which he helped me on so my clumsy self wouldn’t fall off. Once I was on, I laid down and my dad pushed the hammock back and forth and let me be a whiny twenty year old girl until I felt like going inside. I’m so glad that I had my sunglasses on so he wouldn’t see me crying, but I just couldn’t help it – that’s how much that moment with my dad meant to me.

There was something so incredible to me about this exchange that I had with my dad. I really can’t recall the last time that I had a real “father/daughter” moment with him and I was so surprised that I didn’t have to prompt him to show me affection. Seriously as soon as I mentioned my not so good day yesterday it was like something clicked inside of him. I could feel him wanting to give me a special experience after a not so good one – and thanks to my dad, I immediately felt better. I know my dad doesn’t read my blog, but if he just happens to stumble upon this post – then this is me telling him that I love him so much and that I’ll never ever forget our afternoon together on the deck…And yes, I’m absolutely crying as I type this. ❤

^^^ I feel like I post this video a lot, but it’s my favorite song in the world so I don’t care. My dad was the one who introduced me to U2 when I was a little girl and they remain my favorite band to this day. “Beautiful Day” truly emanates pure joy and with a few simple but powerful gestures my dad got me feeling happy again – so this ones for you dad. Thank you.

I hope all of you are having a terrific Memorial Day! Fair warning, my summer classes start tomorrow so you probably won’t be hearing from me. But as always, you know how to get a hold of me through my comment section or via email! Questions? Concerns? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah