Florida Vacation (Part 1)

The day after Christmas my mom, dad and I (and Roxy) headed off to Florida- which took two full days of travel. The first day of traveling was completely awful! I would never recommend that anyone travels on December 26th! It took far too long to get from Rhode Island into Virginia. We had planned on stopping for the night in North Carolina but we ended up pulling off the highway around 8:30 because the traffic was too awful to go any further. 

I would like to point out that I traveled the entire trip in the backseat of a Ford truck. Have you ever sat in the backseat of a truck for 20+ hours? It sucks!

Guess who had a better seat than me....yup Roxy of course- she got to sit in the front seat!

On day number two- I had a bit of an issue ordering lunch in Subway while at a gas station in Georgia... I ordered a "chicken parm grinder" and the girl behind the counter went to ask her manager what a grinder was....

This got me thinking about all the things that I say in Rhode Island that are not understood elsewhere in the United States, or anywhere else in the world for that matter!

1. Grinder = a sandwich! What you order at a sandwich shop like Subway.
2. Bubbler (also pronounced "bubblah") = a water fountain you drink from.
3. Wicked= awesome
4. Dells = Dell's Lemonade, the best drink in the entire world, especially the watermelon one!
5. Idear = Idea. We like to add an R to this word =)
6. Jimmies = sprinkles on a sundae or ice cream!

Do you have any sayings from your area that aren't common in other areas of the world??

If you have ever watched Family Guy, you will hear a bunch of Rhode Island sayings- however there is no place called Quahog in Rhode Island. (I say this because I have been asked MANY times.....)

After the Georgia-Subway-Grinder incident, we drove the rest of the way to Vero Beach, FL and arrived in the late evening. We had a nice relaxing evening and were able to sleep in late on Friday. 

We spent Friday relaxing and just getting a few errands done because my Uncle Craig and cousins Annabel and Cailean arrived on Friday night....

(to be continued!)

I'm baaack!

So did you happen to know that I've been on vacation since the day after Christmas? No?! Well I guess I was a little secretive about it- for personal safety and all. 

I've spent the last couple weeks in Florida at my parents house relaxing and having a great time! I didn't mention it here on the blog for my own personal safety- but I'm back and ready to get you guys caught up on what I've been doing! 

Expect some posts on all the fun I had over the next few days...

<3

November and December Birchbox Review

A little late- but I have finally gotten around to reviewing the items in my November and December Birchboxes. 

Lets start with November shall we?

Soy joy bar- I didn't actually use this item- I ended up sending it to my penpal Nicole in Madagascar. I wasn't interested in eating it and since she is a vegetarian living in a country where it may be difficult for her to get things like this- I figured she would be more appreciative of it then I was!

Stila all over shimmer liquid luminizer- I really like this product. I like to put this on if I'm heading out at night because it gives a nice shimmer. I haven't used too much of it yet so it will definitely last awhile. 

ModelCo Fibre LashExtend Lengthening Mascara- I am still currently using this mascara and I absolutely LOVE it. It works so well and definitely doesn't clump which is amazing!

Lulu Organics Lavendar + Clary Sage Hair Powder- I didn't really care for this at all. I don't have oily hair- in fact my hair is more often really dry so this item didn't work for me at all.

Joeur Fragrance Cornucopia-  This wasn't something I was really into either- I definitely was not a huge fan of this fragrance. It just wasn't my style at all!

Now onto the December box!

Amika Nourishing Hair Mask- I really liked this hair mask! It was really nourishing and definitely helped my dry hair get a little extra conditioned.

Mary Lou Manizer- This highlighter works so well- I really like it! I like to use it to buff out eyeshadow so it doesn't look too dark. I also use it on my cheekbones and under my eyebrows.

Rent the Runway Giftcard- I haven't used this yet, and I also have no plans of using it in the immediate future but it's definitely nice to have in case I do decide to rent a dress!

Chauao Chocolate Treat- As with the soyjoy bar, I sent this to my penpal Nicole who will hopefully enjoy it!

Shimmer by Aerie- I love Aerie for scents and this was no exception- I may have to buy the full size fragrance!

Lashem Lash Serum- I like this sample- but not enough to buy a full size version. I don't really have any issues with my lashes so I don't really have a need to use this very often. 

Has anyone out there tried these or different products through Birchbox or another beauty box subscription? 

Harry Potter Workout

Have you seen this??

I pinned this workout awhile back and wanted to share it with you guys- it's a workout to do while watching the Harry Potter movies... can you imagine doing this workout during a Harry Potter marathon?

source

How awesome is that? I honestly think I might use this workout sometime soon! What a fun motivation to work out!

Have a great day everybody!

Runs in 2013

Of course I included running in my New Years Resolution post but I want to talk a little bit today about  specific runs or races I want to complete in 2013.

1. I want to run in a memorial race for the Sandy Hook victims. I think that not only would it be an amazing thing to do in memory of the children and teachers who lost their lives but I think there's a good chance that they will offer a 5K and a 10K and it would be great to have an option (and possibly chose the 10K??)
2. Speaking of which- I would like to run a 10K this year. I want to complete it on a high note and go into it knowing that I can complete it! Hello training runs!
3. I would like to *begin* training for a half marathon. Very early for this one- but in 2014 I would like to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon- so by the end of the year I would like to be starting the training for that race.

I know it doesn't seem like too much- but I don't want to overwhelm myself with too many goals and not be able to complete them. I will definitely be doing a lot more races- I want to run the Turkey Trot again this year but since it will not be a new race for me I didn't include it in the above list! =)

What races do you want to do this year?

Christmas Cleanup: Part 2

Ah, I always feel like The Grinch putting away the Christmas Decor, but certainly it has to get done! I hate pulling down each ornament off the tree knowing that I won't see it again until after Thanksgiving.  However, it is definitely nice to get things back to normal. Suddenly there is a lot more space where the tree was and there are empty places on all the shelves around the house.

I start off by walking around, picking up any decoration items that are not ornaments. They all have their own bin. In that bin there are wooden figurines, stuffed animals, candle holders, etc. I try to keep all these items contained to one bin since I don't have a whole house to decorate yet. I'm sure someday when I have my own place it will grow to be a bunch of bins!

Then I take all the ornaments off the tree and place them back in their bin. Some get put back into the containers they were purchased in. For example this Swarovski snowflake ornament was my grandmothers and I want to make sure it stays in perfect condition so I always place it back inside its packaging.

As you can see inside the bin- some ornaments get placed back inside the bin without a wrapping. Ornaments like wooden ones or paper homemade ornaments aren't necessarily fragile so they don't need special wrapping. Any glass ornaments I don't have a box or packaging for- I wrap inside of tissue paper so they will stay safe in storage throughout the year. 

All ready to get put away till next year!

Then of course I take apart my artificial tree and box it up for attic storage. It looks so sad with nothing on it!

I hope to make a new ornament storing system at some point this year so it will look like this.

I hope I can get some plastic cups couponing for very very cheap or perhaps free. Once I find a great deal I will of course be completing that project! =)

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Years everyone! Welcome to 2013! It's very nice to be here, a new year, a new start.

This is what I have for my resolutions for 2013.

1. Travel more. I want to get out there more, take time off of work and travel! I hope that I will be able to accomplish this one.
2. Run a 10K, run a 10 miler. Think about starting to train for a half marathon (scary!)
3. Go back to school and start working on my medical billing certificate.
4. Get back into taking more pictures with an actual camera- not my iPhone! 
5. Get caught up with my scrapbooks!!!
6. Make a budget and stick to it!!!
7. Actually complete some projects off of pinterest that I want to complete!
8. Volunteer and do more for other people.
9. Make time to read every day. I love to read but have not had as much time lately and should make more time to read on a daily basis.
10. Take time enjoy life. I often find myself looking into the future and not thinking about the now. I need to just enjoy what's happening right now. 

Those are my 10 new years resolutions, what are yours?