An interesting thought

I'm going through a lot right now admittedly. I won't divulge the details but life has been pretty rough these last couple of months. I have my bad days for sure. 

I try really hard to not let it get in the way of my daily life but sometimes it gets difficult. 

I was just sitting watching tv and I was listening to these people tell the stories of their own living hells and I realized:

Things can always be worse.

I don't know. I think it's important to realize that despite everything I can always make everyday a better day. It will not be easy. But I will make the best effort I can. I owe it to myself and others around me.

Nail polish swatch cards

My nail polish habit is out of control....again. The minute I took my acrylics off my obsession came back. With that being said, I actually don't have access to my whole entire collection :(. It is the worst thing ever. My poor babies are in a storage unit and I don't have a way to get to them. 

There's a happy ending to the story though! Despite not having my whole collection I've still racked up quite a few bottles of nail polish in the last six weeks and I chose to swatch them before it got out of hand. 

I love the idea of swatchicles and cute swatch binders and notebooks. However I can't afford the materials for swatchicles right now. I also really wanted to have something more portable then a binder. I had seen other bloggers use cute mini notebooks to swatch but I would feel restricted by that since I can't freely move the pages. 

Then I came up with the perfect solution (for me at least): Index cards! 

I had a pack lying around that I picked up at Walmart for like $0.48 or something ridiculous like that. Back to school supplies are awesome! 

It seemed a little daunting at first. I became aware of how much I acquired in a short amount of time because of this little project but it's totally fine. I work in a shoe store so most things that I own are stored in shoe boxes. By the looks of this box though I'll need new permanent storage once I get the rest of my polishes. 

(Random fact: the polishes in this picture are Maybelline's Color Show vintage leather collection! So cute!)

I sorted my polishes by brand. I wrote the brand on the top of the card then I wrote the nail of the polish, the number, then swatched after that. I also used different colored pens to keep it fun! 

One of the things I like about the index cards is that I can add to the list at any time and not be limited. I plan on writing my thoughts on the polishes on the back of each index card (i.e. texture, drying time, durability, etc). I also put a mark next to the ones I've already tried.

Waiting for them to dry!

Overall I'm happy with my idea! I like that I can carry them wherever I need to and add on to them as needed. I didn't finish my collection (I got bored haha) but I will soon! 

All dry and done! 

The winds of change

It's around 74 degrees and it's been getting progressively more overcast as the day goes on. The forecast says that there's a 10% chance of rain, but I'm pretty sure it'll rain despite the slim chances. 

Tomorrow marks my least favorite day of the year. It'll be the fifth year since the passing of my beloved uncle Kevy. And naturally Mikey will be preparing to leave for tour tomorrow. 

I've been feeling weird lately. Things are pretty weird in fact. Almost everyone is preparing to go to college and the ones who are going to be left here need to start preparing themselves for that. It's definitely not easy. 

Continuing the odd strange events, a weird string of occurrences happened and it basically led to me beginning the interview process for the possibility of a new job which came out of nowhere. Up until I was asked to submit a resume, I had not even given a second thought to finding another job or leaving DSW. With that being said if I don't get this potential position I won't be that upset because I still like my current job! 

Before I know it I'll be starting my third semester at Brookdale which is crazy! I was pretty heavily into using this blog at the beginning of last fall and I cannot believe that it's already been a year! I'm still not sure if this will be last year. I'm having a seriously hard time deciding if I should take winter/summer classes in order to graduate or just stay the extra semester. I still have some time to figure it all out I guess. 

Things are still really unsettled in my life and it still stresses me out on a daily basis. Here's to hoping the stirrings of the winds of change that I feel will continue.

An Absence

I guess I've almost forgotten about this blog. This always tends to happen. I want to turn that around. Today I'm going to see The Lion King on Broadway with Mikey and I'm very excited. 

Anyway, I've done lots of random stuff within the past six months worth mentioning such as:

-Turned 19
-Got my license
-Made the Dean's List twice
-Watched all of my friends and my beloved Mikey graduate high school
-Visited Massachusetts and New Hampshire
-Fell in love with the Game of Thrones/World of Fire and Ice book series
-Started cross stitching
-Went back to natural nails
-Saw the Lion King on Broadway (yes tonight is my second time seeing it)
-Got another tattoo
-Lost my auntie Kimi. RIP angel
-Survived another car accident
-Fell in love with the idea of teaching literature as a professor
-Started collecting vinyl
-Decided that I like the Beatles after all this time of not liking them

That's just what I can remember right now! 

So now that I'm back I hope I'll post more. This summer has been awesome so far, and it'll only get better.

730 days

That's two years. Two years that I have been lucky enough to spend with my best friend in the entire universe. We didn't do anything too crazy, with Christmas just passing and my birthday and Valentine's Day coming up. We had a delicious dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse, and in a week or two, we'll go on another date to the movies. I got him a drum key with the title of one of our favorite songs. It's French for "between us". We had a great day. Happy two year anniversary Mikey. I love you.

Hello 2013

I've already begun trying to fix all the 2012 dates that I've been writing on my papers. That's one of the worst things about the new year I feel!

I'm hoping that this year is going to be a good one. I think it will be. My overall wish is for things to become more financially stable. That is one worry that I would love to have lifted off my mind.

As far as resolutions go, I'm definitely not the only one to have them, but I really really want to try and stick to them (just like every other person who made them...)

I'm going to get into shape. In fact, I started working out today.
The best part is the epic playlist I made. Finding out how out of shape I am? Not so epic. I certainly won't be working out in a gym, so I'll be sticking to cardio and bodyweight training in the non-judgmental safety of my own home. As you can tell by the photo below, I like pretending I'm working out in a 1980's aerobic class.

I will write every single day this year. I got a lot better within the year of 2012, but there is always room for improvement. Besides keeping my trusty Moleskine, my mom got me a set of twelve tiny notebooks that have the month and year on the cover. I'm going to write down what happens each day in these notebooks, even if it's only a few sentences. I tried documenting my year through pictures last year, which didn't work out so well. So, writing might work this time around. 

I also hope to get three more 4.0 semesters at Brookdale this year. We'll see how that works out.

My New Year's Eve was actually so much fun. Definitely the best one I've ever had.

I hope everyone had a great New Year's, and I'm wishing everyone the best 2013!

2012 in review

I feel it's almost necessary to do this kind of blog post, even if it is rather cliche. It's good for me to reflect on the last year, and besides a little blast from the past is fun. Another reason it's good is because when I think of years, I think of it in school terms, so this will set me straight.

THIS YEAR.....

I lived in Belmar, NJ for about six months and had a great view of the ocean.

Spent another year with the best friend and best boyfriend a girl could ask for. I am so incredibly lucky. We've overcome a lot and every moment I spend with him is better than the last.

Took way too many pictures of my cats and other various animals. We also rescued Zazzy in October :)

Got my first job, at Stride Rite... then quit, and got my second job at DSW 

Went to more concerts than I ever had in such a short period of time:

-Rush

-The Offspring

-Green Day

-Lagwagon

-Sum 41 (x2)

Saw two Broadway shows:

-Newsies

-The Lion King!!!!!

Graduated high school

Made some of the best friends I could ever ask for

Was reunited with my best friend who lives way too freakin' far away from me

Attended my senior prom (which sucked, but at least we got nice pictures)

Got my nose pierced and got a new tattoo

There's also a lot that happened this year that can't be described in just a series of pictures. I learned a lot about who I am, and what I'm passionate for. I made a lot of mistakes but have grown from them. I've been trying to embrace a more positive outlook on life. I have learned that writing truly is my passion in life and that I've pursued the right degree for me. I may not know what I'm doing with it just yet, but in due time I'm sure I will. 

All in all, 2012 was a great year for the most part. Here's to hoping 2013 will be as well! :)