Jumping on the 4 Bandwagon

I had an awesome sleep last night (only had to get up and pee twice = winning!) so one would think that I might wake up all bright eyed and bushy tailed but no such like. Hubby had to call upstairs 3 times for me to actually get out of bed (and that really only happened because I had to pee). A few hours later now and I still feel half asleep. So happy it's Thursday and beyond thrilled that tomorrow is Friday. I really need to win the lottery. Although at this point I would probably spend about 23 hours per day in bed and that's gross. So I promise that if I win the lottery I will only let myself spend up to 12 hours in bed. 
Because I am too sleepy to think for myself right now I am following Jessa's cue and jumping on the '4' blogger bandwagon. Let's see if I can remember that much about myself...

4 Jobs I've Had

1. Server

2. Seamstress for West Virginia Power

3. Beer Girl at West Virginia Power 

4. Bank Teller 

4 Movies I've Watched More Than Once

1. Pitch Perfect

2. The Notebook

3. The Heartbreak Kid

4. Beaches 

4 Books I would Recommend

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2. You by Caroline Kepnes

3. Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin

4. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

4 Books I want to Read

1. You Before My by JoJo Moyes

2. War Brides

3. On Beauty by Zadie Smith

4. Beyond Belief by Jenna Hill

4 Places that I Have Been 

1. Macchu Pichu (after hiking the Inca Trail, when we lived in Peru)

2. Bolivia and Lake Titicaca (on a school field trip)

3. France

4. Amsterdam

4 TV Shows I Watch

1. The Big Bang Theory

2. Big Brother

3. Vanderpump Rules

3. Nashville

4 Things I'm Looking Forward to This Year (2015)

1. Baby P!

2. Getaways to the cabin

3. My sister B's wedding

4. 

4 Things About My Appearance

1. I'm 5'4"

2. Brown eyes

3. Long hair that I never do anything with but refuse to chop any time soon

4. Never in heels

4 Things In My Purse

1. Aquaphor

2. Wallet

3. Candies

4. Cell phone

4 Things I Can't Live Without

1. Chapstick

2. iPad

3. Cell phone

4. Comfy clothes (pajama pants, etc.)

I'm Sorry I'm So Boring

I miss this blog but lately I haven't really had much desire to write anything. My mind is constantly on the move but right now, I feel like I have nothing interesting to say. I have a list of topics I want to write about but when it comes down to it, I'm just too damn lazy to type. To take pictures. I just want to read and be entertained. 
I'm so tired at the end of the day that if it's my night to cook dinner (thank the Lord my husband shares this chore with me) I am not trying anything new, I am doing the fastest easiest thing I already know how to do. So no new recipes are happening at our house. And sometimes I really wish my hubby was ok with a box of kraft dinner or something but he needs so. much. food. He is a real meat and potatoes kind of guy plus he has a very physical job so dinner is big for him. I could have a bowl of shreddies and go to sleep happy.
I'm kind of bored of TV. I finished binge-watching Friends on Netflix and now I'm not really loving anything on Netflix or even on actual TV. I want to watch a mindless comedy that makes me laugh... I hate that the Mindy show is already on summer hiatus. Big Brother Canada is on 3 times a week but I'm still getting into it and don't have a solid pick yet. Plus some of the effects they added this season are supremely annoying - and if the producers are reading this right now - I am talking about the hand crack to show nominations. Stupid. 
I leave this coming Saturday for a conference in Southampton, UK and unlike previous companies I actually arrive two days before it starts so I won't be a zombie. And then I fly home on Friday at 11:30am and arrive at 2:30pm so will get to enjoy (read: sleep and recover from jetlag) the weekend. I have no clue what to pack for this conference, wealso have a uniform of 'black bottoms and corporate shirt'. The corporate button down shirts will be distributed when we get there I'm not sure my signature black leggings will work with it. Tonight should be fun times raiding my closet. 
Anyone know of anything fun to do in Southampton?
My girlfriend had a baby last night! It's a book club baby and we have all been on pins and needles for two reasons:
1) she was supposed to be induced last Thursday and after getting bumped a couple times was finally admitted but no medicine would work so she ended up with a c-section last night. The hospital was understaffed and it sounded like a nightmare.
2) we had no idea what she was having!!! 
It's a boy and mom and baby are happy and healthy.
My sister and nephews are visiting my mom for a few days and last night we took Milo out for a walk by the water. It was awesome spring weather and so fun to see the boys, they are growing up so fast! In my head the baby is still more of a baby but no, he starts kindergarten in September.
And there you have it, some random thoughts from Sarah today. I'm sorry I'm so boring.
Oh and of course - the obligatory cute photo:

Because everyone loves puppies
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Currently: March Edition

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed February's Currently post because I was days away from heading on vacation with my hubby, and now I am back in the real world with no vacations planned until the end of July and that's only a long weekend. Booo,

 

BUT the sun is shining, flowers are already blooming and Big Brother Canada starts soon, holding me over until the summer when the real Big Brother returns.

 

So let's get on with linking up to Jenna and Anne.

Currently...
 

dreaming | In the literal sense I'm not really dreaming anything I am aware of. I am sleeping so soundly lately that I have no clue what is going on in this head of mine. Desire-wise I am contemplating an iPad mini 2 because my 2nd generation iPad is acting up and I think it's time to put it out of its misery. I am worried about going to a smaller screen but everyone I have asked says they don't even notice it. Thoughts?
 

planning | Because Spring basically arrived last month, I am feeling really behind on our veggie garden. So this weekend I am going to figure out what I want and get the seeds planted in those little pucks. I also have to look into whether or not any veggies can grow in the shade... we have a basically untouched strip beside the house and as is it's pretty ugly so if we can just rip it out and plant something I would be thrilled.
 

making | I plan on making this chicken dish for dinner tonight. I only have one of the ingredients so will have to grocery shop but I should be able to make that happen. Otherwise it's frozen pizza.
 

baking | I love to bake but I also love to eat said baking so this is dangerous at our house. That being said, I saw a super easy way to make chocolate croissants on instagram and I want to try it this weekend - if it works I will definitely post!

 

watching | I just finished seasons 2 and 3 of Vanderpump Rules and have 4 episodes of season 4 to catch up on... plus I am only 2 episodes away from being caught up on Scandal. And I have been saving the series finale episode of Parenthood (not sure why) but I think I'm going to break down and watch it this weekend... I am already mentally preparing to cry.

  And because every post needs a little action:  

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Curently | February Edition

Oh hey there friends, it’s Radio-Silence-Sarah stopping in! Annoyed at my randomness yet?  Yeah me too… let’s call it a work in progress shall we?  K, thanks.  Thankfully Jenna and Anne are making life easy on my with the February edition of Currently – thanks ladies, if I still have any readers left they will appreciate this.
 

I am currently...

hearting | I love love love my sleep tee, the fabric is so soft and amazing that it’s the only thing I want to sleep in but I don’t want to wash it too much in case the softness doesn’t last.  The colour is gorgeous and the fit is very flattering but it’s the fabric that really grabs me, it’s awesome!  And I am picking up one (or two…) of the summer tees ASAP.

reading | I just finished Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald for book club (review coming tomorrow) and am picking up our next book The Girl on the Train to read on vacation next week.  Ahhh vacation next week…

 pinning | Most of my pins are recipes… after my Pinterest fails a couple weeks ago I have taken a break but plan to try this chicken recipe as soon as we get home. It looks amazeballs and someone else blogged about it so it has to be good.
 

eating | I am a big snacker (hence my attempt at healthy nibblies) and we randomly picked up these fruit yogurt snacks from Walmart last week (those register displays get me every. time.) and I can’t stop eating the blueberry flavour!  I have no illusions that these are healthy by any means so I might try making my own one day. Ha, yeah right. 

 

anticipating | Vacation!!  Fun in the sun with my hubby :)

 

 

 

 

Only two more sleeps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Currently

You may recall that one of my resolutions in giving this little space of mine a bit more attention and in helping me keep that resolution, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and join in on my first ever Currently linkup… let’s see how 2015 is working out for me so far.
 

planning: one work trip next week (not far, I am heading to one of our sister company offices in Washington for a couple days) and also a vacation!  Hubby and I are doing another Las Vegas/Palm Springs trip at the beginning of February before his works gets busy again.  From March through October I will only be able to get him away on short cabin trips (not that I’m complaining in any way about cabin trips).
 

hoping: to get a new blog design by the spring. I want to make a couple changes and I might as well do a complete overhaul... including pictures because I'm pretty sure I'm no longer a newlywed. 
 

baking: I have been on a bit of a baking hiatus since I finished Christmas baking but just found this recipe on Pinterest and really want to try it out.  I made a pinwheel cookie before and I loved the fact that it turned out and looked really cool… and the bonus is I can bring the cookies to work and they will disappear in minutes!
 

wearing: I have been living in leggings… I tell myself it’s because they are so comfortable but it’s really because nothing else fits me.
 

resolving: see above re. leggings… I have no choice but to lose some weight because my clothes literally don't fit. How do people stay on track??

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  Linking up with Anne and Jenna.   

2015 Resolutions

Better late than never right?  I had this post written last night but the Blogger iPad app sucks and won't let me format anything. There must be a better app so please enlighten me if you can.  Hubby and I got up at the crack of dawn (actually a couple hours before that even) at 5:30am and headed south across the border for some shopping.  They have opened Target here in Canada but it's not the same at all.  It's the product selection people!!  Anyway, I got my fix today and we made a few other stops (hello Trader Joes when are you heading up here??) and hence the late publish.
Enjoy your Friday friends! 
1. Better Health. I will get the obvious one out of the way first (show me someone who makes resolutions that doesn't have this on their list!), I need to get my shit together. Or rather I need to get off my fat ass (actually I have no ass because I carry my weight in my stomach and it would be nice if people didn't think I was 4 months preggo) and lose some weight. I also need to eat much healthier. But I am doing something different this year! I need to accept the fact that I am lazy and addicted to Netflix so we are getting a treadmill. This way I will literally have no excuse but to get moving and I will be able to lose myself in a show for the duration. I know myself and I need to make it easy beavered I am lazy. Acceptance is half the battle right?
Pssst... @Netflix, this is perfect time to put me on the #StreamTeam!!
2. Meal Plans. This goes with better health above... We were killing it with the meal plans and life was good and then all of a sudden we stopped. I guess I stopped. The usual excuses, basically life got in the way. But it makes life EASIER. And healthier. So meal plans are back starting this Sunday.    3. Read More Books. I love being in a book club because I have always loved reading but when I discovered Netflix I basically stopped reading except for when I was at the lake or by the pool. When I was a kid I used to hide under the covers with a flashlight and devour a book when I was supposed to be sleeping. So not only is the book club awesome because I have met amazing women, but I have also read some really great books. And I really want to read more. I love getting lost in a book. My favourite book in 2014 was the Night Circus - if you haven't read it, do it.

4. 365 Day Picture Project. I can't even count how many times I whine on Instagram or this blog that I don't know how to use my DSLR or even apologize for the fuzzy iPhone pics I post, and then yesterday I came across this post and it sounded like such a cool idea!  I can't imagine that there are many days when I don't take a photo but the thought of turning it into an actual project makes me excited.  And maybe I will finally learn how to use my camera.  Oh and does this officially give me an excuse to buy a selfie stick??

 

5. Baby Dreams.  I wish and hope and pray that we get pregnant this year. I am terrified to actually write this down because it's now officially out there, we are officially trying and not just the two of us know and I am scared. I'm terrified. I have no clue why but I am so scared that it's not going to happen and admitting this here makes me worry that I have just jinxed it.  It's true, we just started trying only a few months ago after receiving news we had been waiting for but every month that goes by aches just a little bit more. Fingers crossed that 2015 is our year! 

How do you stick to your resolutions?

 

First Friday linkups of 2015!

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Currently {December Edition}

I’m a little bit late the monthly ‘Currently’ game but it just feels so dang right that how can it be wrong?

 

EATING DRINKING: Currently I am double-fisting chocolate Carnation instant breakfast and coffee.  I much prefer to drink my morning calories.

 

LISTENING: My hubby surprised me with Glee’s Christmas Albums #1 and #2 and I am obsessed.  Fun fact: I use my car’s cd player so rarely that they are always loaded… and we may or may not have listened to them in August on a road trip because that was all we had.

 

READING: I need to pick up our next book club read, Z: a Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and get reading… has anyone else read it?  A couple of the girls are finished and said it’s great!  Any other reviews out there?

 

LOVING: Our outside Christmas lights, they look better every year!  I really want to learn how to photograph them with my DSLR and might actually try this weekend.

 

WATCHING: All the cheesy Lifetime Christmas movies I can, I love them.  And Vanderpump Rules. 

 

DESIRING: A hangover free weekend – this might actually happen!  Not that there won’t be wine or spiked eggnog, just smarter decisions while drinking it ;)

 

WRAPPING: Nothing yet, I usually wrap the weekend before Christmas while watching Love Actually and drinking wine.  It’s funny and also pretty cool how something so mundane becomes a tradition I look forward to every year.

 

MAKING: Christmas treats!  Well I will be this weekend… Sunday is cookie baking day plus I have some other treats I am trying out.  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Friday 5 to see what is on the menu.

 

ANTICIPATING: A visit with my nephews… my sister and the boys are in town for a couple days to do everything Christmas and I am excited to spend some time with them.

 

#tbt to my nephews at our wedding xxo

   

#Blogtober14: Childhood Memories



Hello!  I managed to drag my butt out of bed this morning after an amazing long weekend with my hubby, the fur babies and our families… I love Thanksgiving!  Ours may be earlier than our friends south of the border but that just means we get to consume ourselves with all things Christmas a little bit earlier and that is totally ok with me.

We did some work around the house, slept in, watched movies, ate too much turkey with all the fixings and indulged in baking galore.  My hubby had to work yesterday so I indulged in a lazy morning/early afternoon before I started to feel yucky.  I kept trying to sit down and write today’s post (and even had dreams of working on some for the whole week) but my head was pounding and my thoughts were spinning.  Add a runny nose and a general feeling of blah-ness and you have what my husband had the pleasure of hanging out with last night.  Needless to say I crawled into bed early and knocked myself out with cold medicine.  I woke up this morning feeling groggy but better than I did yesterday so hopefully I managed to knock whatever it was out of my system.

I love short work weeks.

And I am now getting back on the #Blogtober14 bandwagon…



 

It is so hard to single out one memory from when I was a kid but I decided to help narrow it down by going through the photos that have actually been scanned.  There are 4 so that helps.  Oh and I’m old.

When we were living in Peru, my dad’s friend/colleague had a lovely dog named Natasha and she had puppies.  I fell in love with said puppies and would cuddle them every chance I got.  I begged for a puppy and I even had mine picked out and had named him Tigger.  Oh how I wanted my puppy and how sad was I when my mom kept refusing.  There was no way she was letting me take Tigger home and I just didn’t understand why not.  Tigger was SO cute… he was a snowy white with a couple of dark gray spots on his back and the biggest blue eyes you had ever seen.  He had the most adorable floppy ears and big paws… who couldn’t love him??  Oh, Tigger was also a Great Dane.

I understand now why my mom was so hesitant but back then I was devastated.

Until one evening when I went with my dad to his friend’s house and I’m not sure if it was the adorable scene of his daughter playing with “her” puppy or the beer that was consumed (who am I kidding, it was totally the beer) but I got to run home that night and tell my mom that Tigger was coming home to live with us!

Pretty sure my dad got in trouble that night.

But the next day Tigger came home to live with us and it was kind of like I got two for one - I got Tigger and I had always wanted a horse.  Tigger grew to the size of a pony.

 

Taking my puppy out for a walk... don't you love my rolls and slouch slock? 
Oh and the bang, I had killer bangs...

 



 

Friday Love and #Blogtober14

You should see the happy dance in my pants right now (sorry it just worked)... I have been up at 4:50am yesterday and today and while it's totally worth it, I am counting down the hours until I crawl into bed tonight knowing that I can sleep until whenever I want tomorrow.  Which means that I'll be wide awake at 6am. Le sigh.

Today's #Blogtober14 prompt:

 

 

1.  Give me butterfly joy! Every time I get a comment I get so giddy.  If I could survive off comments alone I would in a heartbeat.

2.  Introduce me to people with LCHAD... I have had messages from two people now who have kids with LCHAD and they are doing really well.  It's great to find other people in the world when previously we didn't know anyone else dealing with it. You can read our story here.

 

3.   Get free clothes! When I was contacted by a company and asked to pick an outfit for a review I had to pinch myself. I get free clothes just for giving my opinion? Works for me!

4.   Consume me... I constantly think about blog posts and photos I need to take, this little space means so much to me that I want to out so much effort in. It's hard at this point in my life because I am juggling so many things right now but it's worth it (see numbers 1-2 above).

 

5.   Swap buttons... when I started this blog I never imagined that someone would want to swap buttons and advertise their blog on mine, more butterflies!  Speaking of, if anyone else would like to swap please click here.  I have met some awesome women already, check out my sidebar!

 

 

Happy Friday Friends!  Throw on your happy pants and bust out a dance... or a cocktail... or both! 

I am also linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition, plus the original 5 on Friday ladies are back and I would love to win the sweet giveaway they have to celebrate their return.  Fingers crossed Darci, Christina, Natasha and Liz!

 

 



 

 

 

 

#Blogtober14: Letter to Yourself in 10 Years

Dear Sarah,

Is it true what they say, that the 40’s are the new 30’s?  Do you still mentally feel like a 16 year old?

How is the lip balm situation?  Right now you are way too addicted for your own good and I’m hoping you managed to quit cold turkey or at least developed your own brand to capitalize on the habit.

Have you found your passion in life?  This is something you wonder about a lot as you dip your toes into a few different things… I’m sure the meditation you finally started doing was a huge help.

How is the Bailey’s investment doing for the bank account?  You were so smart to get jump on the IPO because you have obviously made millions.  And now that you finally have your driver you can enjoy it EVERY MORNING!

Now let’s get serious for a moment.   How amazing is having your very own cook?? Talk about living stress-free!  Hubby must be floating on cloud 9 as well.

You have had 10 years and I know you hit the ground running with these words guiding you (thanks Whitney!):

There is freedom waiting for you,

On the breezes of the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-Erin Hansen 

 

And most of all, I hope you’re happy.

 

   

#Blogtober14: Best Vacation

My title is a bit misleading here because I'm not sure this was my best vacation ever but it was pretty amazing. In 1991 I hiked the Inca Trail with my parents to Machu Picchu.  It was incredible.
 



A brief back story for you: in 1989 my family moved to Peru. My dad was a mining engineer and had always wanted to move us abroad so when he got the opportunity to work at copper mine he couldn't be happier. Me and my two sisters? We were devastated. Horrified. Inconsolable. Until they promised us a shopping spree and then miraculously we were... less devastated.

Looking back it could not have been a more amazing place to live.

Seriously... Facebook is essentially a support group where the now grown expats share memories and blurry scans of old photos. We would all return in a heartbeat.

Back to the Inca Trail. In June of 1991 my parents took me on an amazing adventure.  There were twelve of us in the group (plus 1 dog, a great dane)  and we met in Cuzco, my all-time favorite city in Peru (we lived in mining camps so a trip to any city was exciting but Cuzco is especially beautiful), and the closest city to Machu Picchu. We were in Cuzco for a couple days and then we jumped on a packed train full of people and headed to the beginning of the trail.

 

Side note: at the train station I was left in charge of our bags, including my dad's daypack with his beloved Kodak camera. I have no idea how or when it happened but the pack disappeared. And wow was my dad pissed (I'm still sorry about that Dad). He got over it but as you can see we don't have the best photos.  And the he had an excuse to buy a fancy new camera that summer.

I also have to mention that we had two bodyguards, complete with guns and other weapons, hiking with us.  As a group of white foreigners that included the vice-president of the company and his wife during the height of the terrorist group Shining Path's existence, heightened protection was apparently a necessity.  But I never once felt like I was in any danger and actually got along really well with the guards (it probably helped that one of them carried my daypack so it was quite an enjoyable trek).

We hired locals to carry our packs and these tiny men would throw a pack on their back and set off, with a bag of coca leaves in their pockets to chew on for energy. I got altitude sickness one night so the packers boiled some of their leaves in water and gave it to me like a tea and it did the trick, I felt great for the rest of the trip.

 

A very young me hiking with my Dad behind me

Taking a break... love my outfit, especially the bandana around my neck...

MACHU PICCHU (and my Mom)



 

We hiked for four days, camped three nights, and on the fourth day I remember reaching The Doorway of the Sun and after stepping through, Machu Picchu in all its glory was in front of us.  For a kid it was pretty amazing.

I have so many memories from this trip (and other things I think are memories but need to check details with my mom) and it was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done.  I am also glad that I made the trip back in 1991 because from what I hear know, the area has changed completely due to tourism.  I stood on train platform with a couple shacks and people selling glass bottles of pop (that you had to drink right there because they kept the bottle) and children selling crafts.  I think it has grown exponentially since I was there and while the change is good for the area and hopefully providing more income, I will always cherish what is was like when I was there first.  And yes, I do plan to go back one day and I'm sure I will love it, just in a different way.

 

Have you ever been an expat?  I love comparing stories!

 



 

#Blogtober14: One Thing I Can't Live Without AND a Friday Happy Dance

Ok before I get into my #Blogtober14 post of the day I have to tell you guys about something that happened this morning that was SO EXCITING!!  Seriously, I’m still on cloud 9(999999…)…

I got a notification on twitter and saw this:

 

 

And I was like huh?  (side note: I’m not all that great of a tweeter and if you follow me than you have likely noticed that all my tweets come from Instagram… but that’s kind of cool because you see photos right?)… so I clicked on the link and Amanda had included one of my posts in a list of her favourite posts from the past two weeks!  How cool is that??  Coming from this little blogger right here, pretty dang cool.  Insert an immediate happy dance!!  Thank you for making my day Amanda!

 

So I’m only 3 posts into #Blogtober14 and this one is so. freaking. hard.  Nice work Helene and Taylor, really making us work for it.  One thing I can’t live without?  I thought about asking my husband but I knew immediately what his answer would be so there was no need.  And I immediately had the same answer.  And I was totally kind of ashamed.  So to help reduce my shame I am breaking the rules and listing five.  Oh and I’m not including people, pets, etc. 

 

 

1.  The one thing that I definitely could not live without…  at this point in my life… and I desperately hope this changes but I don’t think it’s going to… is my phone.  Ugh.  How gross is that?  But alas, it’s true, and if I’m not on my phone I am on my iPad.  I need a life.

 

2.  The second thing that instantly came to mind (thankfully) were my wedding and engagement rings.  I have literally turned around and drove home to get them one morning that I forgot to put them on.  I hate leaving the house without them because of what they symbolize for me and my husband (apologies for the cheese).

 

3.   I can legitimately not function without lip balm.  And actually, I am now so addicted that Aquaphor is pretty much the only thing that gives me relief.  I have to limit how often I use it because I don’t think there is anything else that would work.  And I always put it on before I use a coloured gloss.  It’s a legit #firstworldproblem.

 

4.   I need my car. I might hate driving but I have a lot of places I need to be and I’m all for public transit but we don’t have a good public transit system.  I looked into taking the bus to work and it would take 1.5 hours of transit time each way – 3+ hours of travel time five days a week??  He!! no!  Plus I just need to be able to go where I want when I want to, immediate gratification and all that.

 

5.   Last but not least, I am going with my morning protein shake.  This is because I am too lazy to eat breakfast and I just wouldn’t if I didn’t have a shake.  And then I would eat like crap for the rest of the day because I would be starving and shove anything and everything into my face.  Seriously, that’s what I did before I discovered protein shakes. 

I am also linking up  with Karli and Amy, and Leslie from A Blonde Ambition!