Teacher Appreciation Week!!

It was my first! :) I love it! I also didn't know I counted as a teacher. I got a goodie bag with a poem which was adorable!!!! I also got a bookmark with my name on it that the kids colored. My favorite part of the day was one of the kids coming up and saying, " Miss Shantel, I colored this picture for you." Just about melted my heart!! Oh my goodness it was the sweetest! It was my first picture from a student! :)

Have I mentioned how much I love my job.....?!?!?! It's a ton! :)

Little girls + Frozen = non stop!

Haha. I totally get this! At the Childcare/ Preschool that I work at, you hear "Let It Go" non stop! Or you get the girls playing Anna and Elsa all day.. It's just a way of life. This will always stay at 0.. Haha.

A million times yes!

Don't get me started on this subject but isn't this just awesome? Love it!!!!!

This will be my mother.

You think in kidding don't you? It's the truth.

Um.. yes!

This is so the truth.. What would I do without her??

Repay the kindness!

Jumanji!

I wasn't a fan of the movie but thought this was hilarious. This would be a picture to take with your window up for sure.. How scary is that??

I can vouch for that.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be older. I now want to take that back... Being a grown up is not as much fun as you think..

I truly believe this.

Truer words were never spoken. Ok maybe. But I love this!

Be happy.

Another reason I'm not a fan.

Ugh. Taylor swift. Bleh. Not a fan. I have a post about the 2 songs I hate the most and why. You should go read it. Anyway, I'm not a fan. This however, makes me laugh. She's so ridiculous. Ya Taylor, it's a rare thing... Sure.......

Yep.

I'm not all hippie-ish and a save the world kind of person. But I read this and it was so true. What is with people these days?

Electric Avenue!

Oh man. Do you know this song? We have an Electric Ave in Bham and every time I pass it, I sing this song. When I saw this, all I could think was yes! I'm not alone! :)

April 25th.. The perfect day!

I meant to post this on the actual day, but you know how things are. This part in the movie is hilarious. They all look so confused. Great movie!! And let me tell you, April 25th did have that kind of weather. It was great! So to my friend who shared this on Facebook, thank you. It brought a smile to my face! :)

In a parallel universe somewhere..

I saw this on Facebook with that caption^ and thought it was hilarious!!! You might not have the same sense of humor as me, but I find it funny. If you don't, then look away...

Popeye's wearing a cone..

His eye is not getting better and now it has a scratch so he gets to wear the cone of shame.. He's had it for a week now and we go in tomorrow to get it checked out again. Hopefully they can figure out what is wrong with him! He doesn't get that he has this new giant thing around his head though so it's hilarious to watch him try to get around with that thing on! :)

I care too much.

So one thing in my life I've realized is that I care too much. I care about other people and want to help them as much as possible. I always hope that they would do the same for me in return but that rarely happens.. Most of the time, people take advantage of me, or try to at least. I've learned this and stop it from getting too far. I'm just too nice and really, it's a pain. But my mother raised me that way. She raised me to be a kind person and a helpful person. I also realized I feel too much. Whether it be a lot of anger, a lot of compassion or a lot of happiness. I'm very compassionate and that is what makes me want to help everybody. You don't have a place to stay? Come stay with me. You don't have a car? Let me give you a ride. Well, none of these people do things in return for me when I need it. So I have learned to be very careful in who I decide to offer things to. I wish I could offer things like this to everyone and just know that they will take it kindly and repay me someday by doing the same back, but it just doesn't happen that way.. 

So be kind. But be cautious..

We're all a bunch of sickies..

Well, we're a fun bunch here..

I took Popeye to the vet a few days ago and he has Conjuctivitis. That's pink eye for dogs.. He has drops that need to be placed in his eye every 8 hours. He's not a fan. I also can't explain to him that it will help him like I could with a human.. 

Today I went to the doctor because I think I have another sinus infection. She sent me home with a nasal spray, nasal mist (as opposed to the neti pot because I am not doing that!!) and suggested I start on the generic of Claritin. I already did start the generic of Claritin so I'm glad she suggested that. She's not sure why I keep getting sinus infections but it might start out as allergies and just go to that.. I've been getting one about every 2 months for like... a year and a half now.. It's quite a long time. I'm tired of getting them. She also sent me home with a prescription for an antibiotic if it doesn't get better with all the sprays. She also suggested that I see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor to get a CT of my nasal cavity to see why I'm getting so many sinus infections.. Nobody has ever suggested that before so that was nice. She also said that they like to do that before surgery... So that got me a little worried..

I just tried the nose spray stuff and let me first say, I don't like things up my nose. I was really scared to just shoot liquid up there.. It was weird. I'm not a fan either... I get where Popeye is coming from now.... 

Pineapple Pepperoni Pizza!!

I made this pizza last night and it was amazing!!! I had a Pillsbury thin crust dough so I used that. For the sauce, I used spaghetti sauce on half of it and BBQ sauce on the other half.. Then I added lots of mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and pineapple. I love the combo of pepperoni and pineapple because I'm not really a fan of Canadian bacon. The pizza turned out delicious!!! The BBQ sauce was my favorite so I will definitely have to make it again with just that! Yum!! Doesn't this look delicious????

Happy Easter!!!

This just made me crack up. Crack up... Get it? Because they're eggs? Hahaha. Anyway. I thought this was hilarious and had to share!! :)

Once Upon A Time

Have you ever seen that show? Oh my gosh!!  LOVE IT!!! If you've never seen it, you should go catch up on Netflix for sure! I don't currently have cable so I can't watch the show live and ABC did this weird thing on their app where you have to put in a service provider to watch the newest season and it's a lot of work.. So I couldn't watch it for a while. BUT, I found it on the ABC website and I've been watching it there. You have to wait for the episodes to be a couple weeks old before you can watch them but still! The last one I watched I was like... Woah, What!?!? It's just a good show.. Go watch it!!

100 Days of Happy.

So on Facebook I've seen somebody do something called "100 Days of Happy". Pretty much you have to post a picture everyday of something that made you happy that day. With all the sucky stuff going on lately, I decided that I should try this. It might be great idea. So pretty soon, I will be posting 1 picture of what made me happy that day. I'll also be posting my other random posts mixed in with that. The way to tell the difference is that I'll make the title "Day 1- 100 Days of Happy". The number at the beginning will be the day that we're on, so that will change but it will always have the 100 days of happy in the title. I think it will be a great thing to capture. I decided to do it on my blog and not on  Facebook because I don't want to post a picture on Facebook every day. I don't like to post that often...

"Happy" By Pharrell

So this song seems to be popping up everywhere. I don't really listen to the radio so I don't hear it that often. They played it as the kickoff song for Pretty in Pink and everybody seems to be sharing it on Facebook. 

The reason I'm sharing it is because Cheyenne's mom told me that when she hears this song she sings... Because I'm PUPPY! PUPPY, PUPPY, PUPPY, PUPPY. Because I'm PUPPY! So stinking cute! So now every time you hear this song, I hope you hear puppy instead of happy. :)

Here's the video if you want to check out the song. By the way, super adorable video. Way to go Pharrell!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM

Hilarious Kid Notes

Someone shared this on Facebook and some of them are hilarious. To be honest though, some of them remind me of notes I've written as a child. Read through and get some good laughs. Like the one that says "I'm running away because you think I farted when I didn't. P.S. Youaremean" haha. This makes me think of Cheyenne because she wouldn't run away. She pretends to fart all the time and talks about it all the time.. You can tell she's surrounded by boys... 

Anyway, enjoy.... :)

http://news.distractify.com/fun/fails/the-30-funniest-notes-from-kids-struggling-to-express-their-emotions/?v=1

Blackfish.

Have you seen this documentary? It's about Orcas aka Killer Whales at Sea World. Their lives are so sad.. How would you like to be taken away from your mother and kept in a bathtub your whole life? It was heartbreaking to hear about the guys capturing the whales in the wild and having the whole pod scream! So sad!! I have never wanted to visit sea world and now have even less of an interest.. The zoo is similar though. But they don't go in the cages and snuggle with the animals and demand them to perform certain acts... Therefore, less people are killed. Keep your distance. They are still wild animals with wild animal instincts. If anyone is interested, you should watch it. It's available on Netflix. It's called Blackfish.

TMNT Easter Eggs!

My brother will have to try these. They look pretty complicated but they are worth a try...

Fork Dandelions!

Are these not the cutest?? I can't wait to try them with Chey!! So simple! :)

More Tulips!

I love tulips!! They are so pretty!! I can't wait until we go to the Tulip Festival with the kids. Oh the pictures!!!!!! <3 So excited!!! I will post some after I take them!

It's almost 70!

The temp was 69 degrees today when I got off work. Woah! That's really hot!! I got to open the sun roof in my mom's car (because I still don't have mine) and it was nice! :) As long as it doesn't get too much hotter, I should be good! :)

Check out my new socks!

I got new super hero socks because I need to wear socks in the baby room at work. I wore some today and aren't they adorable???? :)

Spring has Sprung!

These flowers are outside my work and they are so pretty and so spring-y! With the sub shining today and the flowers looking beautiful, it's officially spring! :)

I've gotta say... I'm a great gift giver.

I love giving people gifts. I feel like I know exactly what to get them. I love seeing their reaction when they open it- that's the best part about Christmas! Anyway, I found an amazing idea for my brother and Jessica for Easter. We try not to do too much candy because everyone is trying to eat somewhat healthy-ish, so I was looking at my email and saw this idea and BAM! I knew that this would be a great idea for them. I can't say what it is right now because my brother might read it. Jessica already knows what it is because I had to call her and see if they'd really be interested in it. But I am super excited and can't wait to give it to them for Easter. It will be a fun adventure for them! :) Yay!!!

She made it!!!

My grandma made it through surgery!! She is doing well and healing up nicely. She's eating lots and getting strong!! So glad she made it through! Yesterday I worked at the daycare which is actually right across the street from the hospital so I got to visit her on my lunch break and just walk over there. Very handy! :)

My Favorite Grandma!

This post is about my favorite grandma. It's also my one and only grandma, but she's my favorite. She's having a big surgery tomorrow and I just wanted to share some memories about her.

She has dementia, macular degeneration, and a broken hip (which they're fixing tomorrow). Even though she has dementia, I'm the one person she seems to remember always. She's always delighted to see me. She loves it when I call and always says thank you so much for calling and she loves to hear my voice. She thoroughly enjoys my company more than anyone I know. You know what else? I love spending time with her too. She makes me laugh with some of the things she says. Even when she can't remember who she is, she always makes me smile. She's made me realize you have to enjoy the little things. I will always remember her love for onion rings, milkshakes, avocado, and artichokes. That grandma of mine would eat those anytime! Sometimes we had to get her to eat something after not eating for a few days. A milkshake would be the thing! She would say... Well where would you even get one of those? I knew we had her hooked! Or she would say... I'll take just a small one, then she would finish a medium shake. We had our tricks to get her to eat. :)

She has the cutest little smile and laugh. It would make you feel so happy inside.

She is an amazing person. And so is my grandpa. I pray that she makes it out of this surgery- and I don't ever pray. We had the Mormon missionaries come over today and do a blessing because I know it's something that she would love.

I'm not 100% sure that she'll make it out if this surgery alive. She's 89 years old and she's had a tough road. But I know that either wag, she'll be ok.

It's ok, we still love you Jessica! :)

I saw this and could not stop laughing. My brother's girlfriend is a vegetarian so this made me think of her. She would totally bring hummus to the party and I think that guy is just adorable. It's ok, we still love you Jessica! :)

The real power of a man

I thought this was adorable!

Ridiculous!

So I saw this on Facebook and was like... Really?! The part that gets me the most is that the teacher used the knife first and THEN called the cops. Really? And it's a 3rd grade girl. She didn't know. Her Gma didn't know if they had knives at school to cut the cake. She was just being prepared. Don't call the cops!! Just tell her next time that she should bring the knife because the have some. Some teachers these days... Ugh!

Father's Day Idea?

I'm thinking this would be ADORABLE for Dave for Father's Day. But should I have my mom make it or should I buy it? Hmmm...

I've been searching Pinterest.

My mom and Dave are finally getting a real house! Yay!!!! Anyway, that means that they get to decorate with real things. They currently live in a 5th wheel now. So this is very exciting. I've been looking on Pinterest for ideas to make. I love these wood signs! My mom is super crafty and can make anything!!! This will be her project! :)

You can check out my Pinterest board at: www.Pinterest.com/shantelstrom

It just blooms.

Don't compare yourself to others- just live your life and grow your own way!

Angel Pennies.

Love this! Better than the old rhyme of having good luck because I never did..

Oh how I miss Hawaii!!!

I tell everybody about this when they go there but they never believe me. Why would I lie about something as amazing as this?? WA needs to catch onto this trend because yum!! Oh Hawaii!!!!! <3

21 Smells '90s Girls Will Never Forget

Cucumber melon.... Oh yes.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/smells-90s-girls-will-never-forget?bffb&s=mobile

The 38 Best Disney Channel Original Movies

Oh the memories!
Johnny Tsunami.
Zenon.
Luck of the Irish!!
All of the Halloweentown movies!!!


Loved these movies!!!!!


http://www.buzzfeed.com/simplysinova/the-38-best-disney-channel-original-movies-k808?s=mobile

I'm thankful for my struggle.

I talked about this a little bit a while who but this pretty much explains it. I had to be tough and advocate for myself because people didn't understand. I had to be strong. When no one knew or no one understood- whether that be my bipolar, sleep disorder, etc- I had to be strong because no "outsiders" believed us. I now know how strong I can be when I need to be.

High standards.

Yep. That about sums it up.

What is it with people hitting my parked car?

Someone hit my mom's car today. In a parking lot. Turns out we've known her forever. She's never been a nice lady. She's trying to blame it on me and say that I parked in the wrong spot so people can't get out. Well I've seen people park there a ton. You can get out, you obviously got in. She also said she couldn't see my car. But it's huge, you can't miss it.

One of the many things I didn't appreciate was her saying, "You're young. I guess you've learned your lesson today. You should only park in parking spots." She was also putting words into my mouth when my mom got there. She's like.. "Your daughter said she didn't want to park over there because it was too cold to walk over here." After she said that, I said no! I said I didn't know you could park over there. Then she added, " Well then you said it was too cold." Again I said, "No I never said that."

There are zero "No Parking" signs there and I see people park there all the time. Even the people that work there said that she was in the wrong.

We're sending it to insurance but there's a lot more damage on my mom's car than on her car.. That's for sure.

Very interesting facts...

Someone posted this on Facebook the other day so I went through and read all of these. I knew some of them but was also shocked by some of them. 

Did you know Hippo Milk is PINK?????- that was my favorite fact!

Go read these and learn all the interesting facts you might not want to know...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/77-facts-that-sound-like-huge-lies-but-are-completely-true?s=mobile

Things to know about Bellingham.

I found this list online. Some things are interesting. Some things are weird. Take a look and tell me what you think. Does this represent Bellingham well? 

http://www.movoto.com/bellingham-wa/move-to-bellingham/

Has it only been a week?

Yep.. It's only been a week since my grandma fell and hurt herself. A lot has happened since then. We've also learned a lot about people... But she us currently in the hospital to be watched because it's better for her so she doesn't get out if bed. We still go over and visit, take shifts, bring lunch, etc. If we didn't go give my grandpa a break, he would sit there ALL day. My butt was hurting after 5 hours last night. But I gave him the night off and he said he would be back in the morning.. He loved having that freedom!! :)


Also, 2 more days and it will be 2 weeks that I haven't had my car. Not sure what the update is with it. I want my car back. My mom wants her car back. This is taking forever. Hopefully something will happen soon.

It's been busy around here.

Today is the first day I've gotten home before 11pm this week. Between having 2 jobs (although the retail one doesn't keep me that busy) and taking care of my Gma, we sure have been busy. My Gma needs 24/7 care and my mom has been living on the couch over there trying to help. My Gma can't put any weight on her left leg and needs help to do almost everything. My Gpa doesn't like to help her go to the bathroom and stuff like that because of privacy so we are there to take the stress off of him. I go over to give my mom a few hours off and help out when I can. We are the only 2 helping. Dave is helpful but can't help take her to the bathroom because he's not a girl.

Since I've been spending so much time over there before and after work, Popeye had been spending a lot of time at home by himself. I know this. Yes, I feel bad for him but sometimes this happens. I'm not going to take him over to my Gma and Gpa's because he might jump on my Gma and hurt her leg. Or he might run around on the floor while we're trying to move her. There are lots of things that could happen and I'm responsible enough to know that it's not a smart idea to being him over there... Unlike some people apparently.

I've just gotta say this:

How dare you say you feel bad for my dog because he's home alone all the time now. Don't you realize that I'm over here trying to save your mother's life? Isn't that more important than spending time with my dog right now? You're not helping out with anything so we have to spend MORE time here. We ask you to help out with 1 thing and you say you're sick so we should find someone else. First- you never get sick. Second- if we had someone else, we wouldn't have asked you. Also, don't bring your dumb wanna-be Popeye dog over anymore. He BIT my grandmother. I know you think it's cute and all that your dog bites people but it could break her brittle skin and she could bleed to death. If it happens in front of me, your dog will be kicked out. Oh and I find it hilarious that you are so desperate to know what's going on with me so you can report it back to your little spy who "doesn't like me" (who's causing drama now?) and yet, you won't spend more than 2 minutes in a room with me. Get over yourself.. You used to be my dad... What happened?

I'm ready for some good news!

>
> So far I need a new transmission. That is a crap ton of money. My grandma fell and injured herself yesterday (she's doing a little bit better now). She has to have surgery though and I'm not optimistic about that.
> My rental company is trying to charge me for being late on rent... In August. So that's an extra $65 to pay. You really couldn't tell me back in August?? This is ridiculous! And I know that I didn't pay it on the 7th!!! I called last Wed and said that I dropped it off on the 2nd before they opened and called to see if it was considered late. The lady said no since it was the first time. I know what day it is because I went to pick up Kuma that day. She said they received a cash payment on the 7th so it's considered late. Um.. No. Get your freaking facts straight lady. Sorry if you didn't get it out of the box til the 7th but that is not my fault! By the way, your voicemail says you'll get back to someone within 24 hours... Do you not understand what that means?? I called you last Wed. You called me today and it's Monday. Landmark is awful!!! To top it all off, I think I'm getting sick- again. This can't happen because I'm starting my new job and I have to work everyday for 2 weeks. Trying to find the silver lining but it's really hard right now.

Moms and Daughters!

Someone shared this on Facebook and I just had to share it! The person who shared it actually just found out that they're having a girl- yay!! She has 2 boys so this is super exciting!! But, I thought this picture was great because its true. I did grow up to be my mom's best friend. I'm not sure if that happens for everyone but maybe we're just lucky!! :)

How About..... Not.

So I saw this on Facebook and almost commented on it but didn't want to sound like a total jerk. So I will share it here and I can say what I want! Oh, the joys of having your own blog! :)

I'll admit, I'm awful at keeping in touch with people. Like I totally suck. I try but it just doesn't work. I'm not good at having friends. If it wasn't for Facebook, I would never talk to anyone. On Facebook, I always try to comment to people once in a while it something to keep in touch but still it's hard.

Anyway, back to my point and this picture. If someone only remembers me when they need me, I will not feel "privileged". I will be super mad and be like.. Thanks for using me, go away.
That's called using people. Not being a candle in their darkness. This picture is just ridiculous!

Two Words: That's Crazy.

Yep. This little phrase is one I catch a lot from my brother. Not an "uh huh". Or a "oh cool." It's a "that's crazy". If you every hear him say it..... You'll know.


Although, I do catch myself saying it at work sometimes though. But hey, I work in retail and talk to at least 50 complete strangers daily. What else am I supposed to say???

Just Say No!

I have to agree very much with this photo. You can clearly see that this child has 3 cars already but he wants the fancy new one. 3 is not good enough. Well even though your child is screaming and you might be embarrassed in the store when people are looking at you, just say no. Don't give into every toy they want or every demand they give. Kids need boundaries. They need to hear NO once in a while. Believe me, they will appreciate it later on in life, and so will everyone else!

Feel free to share this picture with anyone you feel needs it...

I Hate Trends.

So just so you know, I'm not saying these things to sound "cool". It's just a fact. I don't follow trends. I did things that are now considered cool, way before they were considered cool. In middle school, I wore my neon orange high tops and everyone looked at me like I was strange. They're like- why can't you just wear normal ones like everyone else? Why would I? My orange ones were (and still are) awesome! Now you see people wearing bright shoes all the time. It's the cool thing to do now. I almost don't want to wear them now because I don't want to follow the trend. I also have some that are tennis ball material and let me tell you, people always want to touch them. Those are a rare find. So glad I got those. I proudly wear those because who else would? Haha. 

I was listening to Pandora last night and the song "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore came on. Let me just start out with... I'm not a fan of Macklemore. Ya, he's from Seattle, blah blah blah. Still not really a fan. But people say he "promotes" going to thrift stores or Goodwill because he sings about it. This is just people following trends.. They heard a song about going to Goodwill so they're gonna do it so they can go brag to their friends. It's stupid. Some people have had to shop there their whole lives because that's all they can afford. Some people probably thought it was a gross store and they would never go in there. But now it's a "trend". I think people should make up their own minds. Do I use a certain shampoo just because a certain celebrity uses it? No. Well, I'm a bargainer so I always go for the cheapest one. But still, do I do certain activities because celebrities do them or I hear them in a song?? No. I think up my own ideas and make up my own mind about what I want in life. Look how far it's gotten me..

Would I Be Different....?

Sometimes I think about random things. Like why I was chosen to have this sleep disorder and go through all of that, along with having adolescent bipolar. But then again, I wasn't there for most of it. With my bipolar, I would have blackout rage. With my sleep disorder, I was sleeping most of the time. So then it makes me ask, why was my mom chosen to deal with all of this? She was the one who had to go to all of the doctors appointments and worry about me while I just went on my merry little way. I don't think that we would have the same bond if we didn't go through what we did. But was it really necessary? Could we just go back and form this bond without me beating her up and going into a blind rage? I don't know if I would be the same person if I hadn't gone through that. Would I be as strong? Would I be this opinionated? Would I be like everyone else? Would I be this proud to have accomplished this much? What would I be like? Without this sleep disorder, I could have been popular or been into sports. Ok, I know that even if I wasn't sleeping I wouldn't be into sports. Haha. I tried that and didn't like it. But it's interesting to think about.. Maybe I wouldn't have lost all my friends. But would I still want those friends? Would I still want that life? Hmm..

I think my life right now is pretty amazing. So I'll just stick with that right now. I do have days where I hate everything and want to re do my past but at this moment, I'm ok. So I'll stick with that. I'm also thankful to have the relationship that I do with my mom! :)

Just be you.

I'm hoping I'll find this... One day.

Give A Stranger A Smile!

So I love how simple this saying is. But you never know how much of an impact it could make. Maybe someone is having a bad day or has given up hope and your smile could restore their faith in humanity. You are a total stranger and yet, you smiled. It is that simple.

I read a story on Facebook about a boy who was walking home from school his freshman year. He was a little bit nerdy you could say or an outcast. Some kids were picking on him and pushed his books out of his hands. All of a sudden, this popular boy came to help him clean up his books. Then the popular boy asked if they could walk home together or if he wanted to hang out or something. (I read it a while ago) Anyway, they became best friends and the "nerdy" one was valedictorian at their high school graduation and gave a speech explaining that his life was miserable. He was on his way home to kill himself that day when those kids spilled his books. But because the popular boy was decent enough to help him out and try to become friends, it restored his faith in humanity, he didn't kill himself, and now has an awesome best friend. The popular boy knew nothing about this so he was as stunned as everyone else to hear this story. If I can find it again, I'll post it. If you can find it, read it. It truly is an amazing story!

Let me just finish it off with this-
It's the little things in life that count. If you can so something small- like helping someone pick something up, holding a door open, or simply smiling at a stranger- why not take the time to do that? Spread the kindness. Spread the smiles. Spread the sunshine. :)

Isuzu Troopers Last Forever ... Just Not Mine

So, whenever I make a big purchase, I do a lot of research. Same thing happened when I switched from a little car to a big car. I used to have a '92 Nissan Sentra but sold it and got a '95 Isuzu Trooper. I had done a TON of research to figure out which SUV would be the best option for me. It had to be reasonably priced, decent gas mileage, hold kids plus my junk, and last a while. I had read a bunch of reviews for the Isuzu Trooper. People had said that they last forever. And I mean forever. Like 300,000+ miles and beyond. Even people I know said that they used to have them but traded for other cars and wish they hadn't. The only downfall was that they go through a lot of oil. If you get newer than '99, it's A LOT of oil. So I didn't want that.

Maybe I just have really bad luck with Troopers or something. My first one was perfect. It was in amazing shape! Needed new tires so we did that but other than that, amazing. Nothing was wrong with it and it was the perfect car!!! <3 I bought it at the car auction here in Bellingham. Buying it there means there is no warranty so you are stuck with what you get. But I got lucky! I had found it the weekend if my mom's birthday. It might have even been on my mom's birthday but she stuck it out and went because she knew I needed a car. I got a great deal even! Her birthday is my good luck charm!

I had just celebrated the 1 year anniversary of having my perfect car and then a few weeks later....

A drunk driver hit and totaled my car.
I was crushed. She had hit my parked car, in the middle of the night, and I could do nothing. I guess I could be glad nobody was injured but I was heartbroken that she had ruined my first car.

This was a bigger deal to me than just my first SUV. This was MY first car. My first car that had not belonged to any other siblings or anyone else I had known. My first car that I was paying off. My first car that I got to decide that I should I get. It was mine. And she had ruined it....

Fast forward to a few weeks later:
She bought me a new car. A '96 Isuzu Trooper that we had found at a mini dealership type thing. It needed tires, a new antenna, and a few other things. It was a lot more than my first car. It took all the money from everything we had put into my first car, plus we still had to put those things in this car. There's strike 1. It didn't drive the same, it just wasn't the same. It was definitely weird to have the same car but so different. A few months later, the check engine light came on. Then again and again and again. Strike 2. We made an appt to get that fixed- turned out it was the O2 sensor or something? So we were going to get that fixed along with a new antenna put on and my window put back in it's track (yes, that fell off too). Right after we made the appt, my transmission started acting weird. Strike 3. So I'm waiting to hear back but we took it in last night and it's now 3:00 pm. I'm not thinking it's good news. My brain keeps thinking of the worst possibly outcome and that isn't helping. I can't drive anywhere to keep myself busy.. Hmm..
I'm hoping it's something cheap and easy to fix but I doubt it. With all the luck I've had thus far- or lack there of- I wouldn't be surprised if I had to look for a new car.. Ugh.

I'll update when I know something.

You Wake Em, You Take Em!

This sign is adorable! I have dealt with this before because when I was a nanny, there was a sign that said "Please Do Not ring doorbell, there is a child sleeping!" Well, I've seen delivery people stop to look and read that sign, and then read the doorbell. I'm like... Really guy? Thanks a bunch.
This sign puts a hilarious spin on it and would be a perfect gift for any new parents you know! :)

Perhaps They Are Not Stars In The Sky...

I loved this saying when I saw it. It just immediately made me smile. <3

I know when to distance myself.

So I know myself pretty well.. I know certain dumb things bother me.. They shouldn't but they do. One of my friends on Facebook has been getting on my nerves lately. It's just everything they say makes me think- Really? Are you kidding me right now? I'm not gonna name names or say what they said. I'm just gonna leave it at that. But, I decided that I need to distance myself from this person on Facebook because it's their profile, they can post whatever they want. I'm not gonna to un friend them because I'm not 12. I don't see them that much in "real life" so I decided that when I saw things this person posted in Facebook, I would just keep scrolling. Don't stop to look or like or anything. Just keep scrolling and not pay attention. To be honest, it's made me want to punch them in the face less. So that's a plus. So I just have to keep scrolling... But I know myself, and I knew I needed to take that break from reading those posts.
Hopefully I'll just get past it one day and say- hey you go be an idiot on your own time. I don't want to read your Facebook posts.. Not to them, but to myself. Then it hopefully won't bother me. Haha

We all know someone like this..

When I saw this I literally LOL-Ed. Lets not name names but when you read this you know exactly who comes to mind... Hahahaha I can't help but just laugh because this is so the truth. Wow! Whoever made this card, I thank you. You have clearly read my mind!

Happy Birthday Popeye!!

Happy Golden to my sweet old man puppy. Sometimes you may get on my nerves but I love you so much. You have taught me so much and have been there for me when all I needed was someone to listen. You've been with me for 10 years now and I can't imagine the day you'll leave me.. Hopefully it won't be soon!