Tag Archives: weekend

Dec14

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

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

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

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

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

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

90s2

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

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

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

Dec7

Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

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Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I had a sub par weekend due to some unfortunate family falling outs BUT I did have an awesome Saturday morning! I coach figure skating for the Special Olympics and at the Lock 3 skating rink in downtown Akron a winter fest was held through the Summit Developmental Disabilities Board. I had such a blast with my skaters and their families and my mom joined us as well which made the outing even better! Let’s discuss:

Lock 3, as pictured in my featured image photo, is a fantastic landmark in Akron. There are concerts there during the summer and a lot of great winter activities as the weather gets colder. It was a frigid morning on Saturday but when my mom and I arrived at the rink, I was happy to see a lot of my skaters already there chatting, skating, and tying up their skates.

I was excited for my mom to meet everyone and I was also pretty pumped to have some Sarah skating time, too. When I’m coaching, I rarely have time on the ice to do any of my old jumps or spins so it felt SO good to be able to break out some of the tricks up my sleeve, even though my skates are dull as dish water…They need sharpened so bad! After some time to myself on the rink, more of my skaters showed up, so I got off to assist in tying up skates, helping with stretches, and introducing my mom!

After everyone was geared up and ready to go, we all got on the ice together along with the members of the community who were there. I was under the impression that my skaters were going to be able to perform their routines that they’ve been working on as their showcase for the morning, but I was in for a pleasant surprise once the ice was cleared and my skaters began to line up.

I got off the ice and put my blade guards on then took my spot by the side of the rink to watch the show. But because the event was thrown together pretty last minute, it turns out that my skaters were just going to have the ice to themselves for five or so minutes to show off a little. I then got called over from my spot by my students and the organizers of the event because they wanted me to join the skaters on the ice!

I haven’t been on the ice to “perform” in years and it felt great to share the rink with such wonderful skaters. All of my students got to share some of their moves with the crowd as I skated back and forth between them to check up on them, offer words of encouragement, or give suggestions. The exhibition was a hit, and the Akron Beacon Journal was even there taking pictures! All of my skaters did so well with their laps, spins, and gliding and I was so proud.

After our five minutes of fame, the doors to the rink opened and the community members were able to join us. I got off of the rink and was greeted by the crowd who was so kind and a big hug from my mom. She told me that “every second spent on skating was worth it to watch you just now” and it warmed my bitter and cold heart.

I spent a little more time on the ice with my students and then my mom and I hit the road. I didn’t exactly want to go but it was SO cold and my mom didn’t dress accordingly! The winter fest was a huge success and it was one of the best times I’ve had in ages. I was so happy that my mom, my skaters and their families, and the community was able to share in such a special event!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition! I hope all of you had a great weekend! Do you have something similar to Lock 3 in your neck of the woods? Who has gone ice skating this winter? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec5

Weekend Off

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Weekend Off

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

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

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

sweet

^^^ Thanks, Sweet Brown. ❤

Dec4

Twistfire Media

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Twistfire Media

Heyyy everyone and TGIF!! This past week I started working for a new advertising company called Twistfire Media. I got invited to work for the company by a friend of my sister’s because she knows that I have a pretty strong social media presence and I am so glad that she did! Basically, I run different ads on my personal Facebook page as well as on my page for lifewithlilred and I get paid per click on each ad. Take a look:

If you like the way that the ads look on my pages and would like to become a member of Twistfire, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com. These ads can run on your Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest accounts and they’re pretty cool! You can pick which campaigns to feature and you can run as many as your little heart desires. If you’re a prominent player in the world of social media then Twistfire is the perfect company for you!

Once again, if you’re interested in becoming a member of Twistfire Media, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com or shoot me a message on either of my Facebook pages. While you’re at it PLEASE like my Facebook page!! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov21

Everyday Granola Recipe

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Everyday Granola Recipe

Helloooo everyone and happy weekend! My recent food obsession as of late has been all things granola. I love it plain, with yogurt, or with milk and thanks to my mom finding this delightful little recipe on http://www.thekitchn.com, I’m able to enjoy it every day.

The recipe for Everyday Granola is the perfect combination of sweet and salty and I feel so energized after I eat it thanks to all of the protein packed in through seeds and nuts. Here’s the recipe if you would like to make your own Everyday Granola:

   Ingredients:

  • 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 cup chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans (I use pecans)
  • 1 cup dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional)
  • 1/2 cup seeds, such as sesame or pumpkin (I use pumpkin)
  • 1/2 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup oil, such as olive or walnut (I use olive)
  • 1/2 cup sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup (I use honey)
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup chopped dried fruits, such as cherries or apricots, or whole currants or blueberries (I use raisins)

   Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
  • In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, coconut, seeds, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, liquid sweetener, and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg whites and combine thoroughly.
  • Scrape the mixture out onto a half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches) and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture is light brown and toasty. Stir after 20 minutes, moving the crispy bits from the perimeter into the center and distributing the granola in the center out toward the edge of the pan.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and add the dried fruit. Using a spatula, stir to combine the mixture and let the granola cool. The mixture may be sticky, but it will harden as it cools. Transfer to an airtight container.

If you have never checked out http://www.thekitchn.com, then both my mom and I encourage you to do so! It’s filled with simple and delicious recipes, like their Everyday Granola, for you to enjoy. This granola is seriously to die for and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do! What is your favorite healthy snack? What is your favorite junk food snack? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov14

Letgo App

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Letgo App

Heyy everyone and happy Saturday! Usually I’m not big on “apps” or technology in general (ha!) but I found a handy little download for smartphones or iPods that has proven to be very beneficial in my effort to clear up some closet clutter. I decided to give the app, Letgo, a try after my semi annual closet clean out. The app is basically like an online garage sale where you can post pictures of your items, a brief description, and price, then whomever is interested in buying it can message you to make an offer.

I’m not really keen to going to resale shops like Plato’s Closet because I feel like you never get enough money for your items and they often pass on some really nice pieces. I also felt like I wanted to give making some money off of my more used items a shot because despite their wear they were still in fairly good condition. I like that this app lets you control how much you would like for each product you list and gives your not so “next to new” pieces a chance at going to another owner.

Thanks to the Letgo app, I was able to get rid of five pairs of shoes yesterday that have been sitting in my closet for months waiting to go to a new home. I had a brief meeting with my customer in Starbucks where she looked at the shoes that she was interested in from my listings, picked the ones that she wanted, and paid me the price that I determined. I made some quick cash (much more than I would ever get if I brought them to Plato’s), eliminated some clutter, and met someone who wanted to meet up again to look at more of my items. Score!

I’ve always toyed around with the idea of selling items online but I never knew how to go about doing it. Letgo makes the selling process so simple because your listings are shown to people who are within a 15 or so mile radius from you so it’s easy to find a good public meeting spot that is within a short driving distance for the seller and customer. I drove about seven minutes to meet with the darling lady and her daughter that I sold to yesterday and made enough money that the trip was worthwhile twenty fold. You can’t beat that!

I can’t recommend Letgo enough and you can download the app on their website at: http://us.letgo.com/en !

^^^ It seemed appropriate!

I hope all of you are having a great start to your weekend so far! Has anyone used the Letgo app or anything similar? What was your best purchase or sale story from a resale shop or app? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov9

Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition

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Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! Unfortunately, I didn’t have the best of weekends because Lil Red suffered from a concussion on Thursday night. Homegirl was not feeling too hot thanks to the most random head injury of all time and now I’m here to tell you all about it! Let’s discuss:

One thing about me is that I sleep like the dead. I usually stay in the same position all night and am completely out like a light once I’m asleep. But on Thursday night, my body decided to do a switch up on me and make me the biggest roley poley of all time in my sleep. I think it might have had something to do with the dream that I was having…

I dreamt that I was in an enchanted Walmart where everything in the store was HUGE – we’re talking gigantic! I was running around throughout the store trying to rescue all of the silly minions from Despicable Me who were captured by Kathy Bates? Haha, yeah, Kathy made a cameo in my dream, too. She was in character as Iris from American Horror Story: Hotel and she was some sort of evil sorceress who kidnapped all of the minions, so it was up to me to return them to Gru, their rightful owner. Things were intense in my dream – I did more physical activity in it than I’ve ever done in my entire life! I was starting to get the hang of it until…

SMACK! CRACK! POW!

I woke up from my head whacking the arm rest of my bedside chair while I was rolling off of my bed. (I must have been rolling under an obstacle in my dream!) The chair by my bed is nice and comfy in the middle but the arm rests are hard as hell and once my head smacked it at full force I was jolted awake. I found myself on my bedroom floor in a sea of blankets and a world of pain. I got myself up to go to the bathroom and assess the situation and as soon as I started walking I knew that something was wrong because I was so dizzy I could barely make my way down the hall. I vividly remember thinking to myself “I wonder if I have a concussion” and then I found my way back to my bed and fell asleep.

On Friday morning I woke up with a pounding in my head that felt like I was getting hit with a hammer. I went to the bathroom and from just the short walk to the loo and back to my room I felt so faint and lightheaded that I had to get myself back in bed. My vision was blurred and it kept going dark and hazy and my stomach felt nauseous. I called my mom who is a doctor to tell her what happened as well as my suspicions that it was a concussion and she told me that I was probably right. Then I consulted Dr. Web MD and my symptoms matched a lot of the ones that were listed as well. Great. -__-

I was officially concussed and was ordered by my mom and Web MD to stay in bed because rest is the best thing that you can do for a concussion. Most of my weekend was spent laying around feeling like ass and also feeling sorry for myself. I got my injury in the strangest way and it left me with symptoms that felt almost flu-like. It was the antithesis of fun and head injuries are NO JOKE. I was so shocked by how awful one blow to the head left me feeling. I guess I’m going to start sleeping in a crib from now on to prevent any further instances of rolling off of my bed! Haha, #FML.

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition. Thankfully, I’m feeling much better, but Lil Red was definitely hurtin’ these past few days! What was everyone up to this weekend? Anything exciting? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

minions!

Nov7

Website Reconstruction

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Website Reconstruction

Hellooo everyone and happy Saturday! You guys may have noticed that http://www.lifewithlilred.com is looking a bit different now and I’m here to tell you why: I got accepted for WordAds!!!! Because I got accepted for ads to run on my site, I had to select a new theme that was more compatible with the positions and amount of the ads that will be featured on lifewithlilred. I’m going to miss my old Reddle theme because I’ve had it ever since I started blogging over a year ago but in these next few weeks, I’ll be doing everything I can to get lifewithlilred back to looking semi-normal again!

Until I can figure out how I want my blog arranged, all I ask is that you be patient with me because lifewithlilred is officially being reconstructed. If you have any suggestions on ways to improve the appearance of my site, PLEASE let me know! I’m currently using the theme Matala but I’m open to any suggestions on what WordAds compatible theme you might recommend! What theme does your site use? Who else is a member of the WordAds team? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

evermore

^^^ I miss my header photo so much! 😦

Nov2

Monday Update: Look Out Edition

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Monday Update: Look Out Edition

Howdy everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fantastic Halloween weekend, I sure did! You know why I had a great weekend? Because for the most part I did absolutely nothing for the first time in weeks and it was AWESOME! Now that I’m all relaxed and ready to go, I’m here to bring you the Monday Update for the week so you guys can be on the Look Out for some exciting posts coming up in the near future!

Trades Of Hope: I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of my dear friends, Sarah White, to chat about the company that she works for, Trades Of Hope. TOH employs female artisans in third world countries and pays them a fair living wage for the creation of their beautiful accessories, home decor, and beauty items. On Tuesday, you can tune into http://www.lifewithlilred.com for the full article and the link to Sarah’s site where she’ll be hosting a TOH party for the next few weeks. When you make purchases through the party you have the opportunity to win free or discounted items and I strongly urge you to take advantage of it because everything is gorgeous! I was gifted with the Kala Necklace from Sarah and I’m obsessed! Take a look:

kala

My necklace was made by artisans in India and I love it so much! Once again, I’ll be posting the article this Tuesday and the links for the party will be provided in the post!

John Patrick Halling: This past Thursday I was so excited to sit down and chat with an extremely talented musician fresh out of Kent, Ohio, John Patrick Halling. John Patrick is a blues/folk/country hybrid artist and he is simply fantastic. During our meeting we chatted about everything from his most recent tour (the Boy in the Water US tour), his style on stage, and what influences him as an artist and musician. Everything during our get together was just swell, until…..

Until I made the biggest fool of myself of all time!! When I meet with new clients, our talks usually happen interview style and I record everything on a Word document on my laptop. Basically, they talk and I type. John Patrick and I chatted for a solid thirty-five to forty minutes and once I had everything I needed, I told him he was good to go. We packed up our belongings and I said something along the lines of “let me save and exit” the document. Unfortunately, a classic case of “I shouldn’t have clicked that” happened because instead of saving and exiting, I accidentally just clicked exit. It was one of those things where you do what you were saying because you were saying it and since I had “exit” on my mind and tongue, it just kind of happened…It. Was. AWFUL.

Thankfully, John Patrick was SO nice about it and I was able to recall almost everything we talked about from memory. I stayed at the Starbucks we met at after he left and retyped everything and ended up with more than I started with. As soon as I got home, I got a draft of the article ready to go and the only things that needed corrected were the brand name of a hat, the location of a venue that he played a show at, and the name of a city. Since those were the only things that didn’t ring true, I’d say I did pretty well!

I’m so happy that the article is looking good so far but you guys have no idea how embarrassing it was! My best friend, Lea, and I have discussed how difficult it is to think of a moment that was truly cringe worthy but I think I found it with that unfortunate incident. But fear not! The article is almost done and is set to publish mid-November when John Patrick releases his music video for “If I Would’ve Known”. Until then, you can check out his music at: http://johnpatrickhalling.com/#/ and make sure you give his Facebook page a like at: https://www.facebook.com/JPHallingMusic/?fref=ts ! Seriously guys, make sure you give his music a listen because it really is wonderful and stay tuned for the article on Mister Halling which will be coming out soon!

embarrassing

^^^ My life.

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Look Out Edition! I’m so excited to share these upcoming posts with you and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did working on them! How was everyone’s Halloween weekend? What did you do to celebrate? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov1

Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween!

Helloooo everyone and happy late Halloween from lifewithlilred! I hope all of you guys had a fun time celebrating! My Halloween was awesome because I did absolutely nothing. These past few weeks I’ve been so busy every day with something or another. From college classes to running my siblings around to meeting with clients to write for and coaching figure skating for the Special Olympics, I’ve barely had time to breathe! It felt so good to finally have a day to myself to binge watch the Botched marathon on E! and lay in my jammies all day with no makeup and a big ol’ bowl of ice cream. Life was good yesterday, that’s for sure!

Despite my laid back Saturday, I had a busy friend-filled Friday which made up for it. I met up with my friend and client, Britta Michele, for breakfast (You can check her work out on my article “Daffodil Blue Photography”), I had some best friend time with Lea in the afternoon and then to top it off my boyfriend, Kyle, swooped me up for a Hallows Eve evening together! It was a typical but fantastic night of watching Dexter, playing The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and drinking my girly wine while Kyle drinks his nasty IPA beer.

Although I didn’t get to turn up this Halloween, my sister, Kristen, did enough of that for the both of us! Kristen traveled to New York via mega bus to celebrate Halloween with some of her friends and she looked so fabulous I just have to share a picture:

sista

^^^ Wa wa woo we wa and hubba hubba! My sister is smokin!

Whether you got white girl wasted or stayed home watching shitty reality TV all day, I hope you had a great Halloween doing whatever it is that you do! What did you dress up as? What was the craziest costume that you saw? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah