a thin line

i just completed summer semester
last friday and i had a terrifying
brush with failing. failing
was what got me into this position
in the first place and it really
threw me off and stressed me out.
i'm telling myself there are always
going to be these kinds of roadblocks
in life and in general.
i just have to move on and learn from it.
and that's what i'm going to try to do.

i was so close to just giving
up, but thankfully i did
pass the class, but there was
a thin line between passing and
failing. i think it's hitting
me so hard because i gave it
as much as i could have and it still
was just barely good enough.
i know it wasn't my all,
but with work and trying to
have a social life, i was
driving myself insane.

i have 1.5 days until fall
semester begins. i'm ready to
kick it's ass, but yet... i'm more
ready and willing to wave the
white flag. crazy though, if
i make it to the holidays, i'll
have finished my first 'redo'
year back at college! that's something
to keep me focused!

update 1.6

hello everyone! sorry
again that this blog post is
going to be short and sweet.
like me!

some updates for august:
it's chris' birthday [august 7th]
and my birthday [august 31st]
this month! party time!
we are going to try to workout as
much as we can this month!
i'm finishing summer semester
and starting fall semester,
and we are going to try to really
save some money this month and
stick to our goals!

the next few posts will be updating
you on how well i will do with sticking
to the goals and how i did for
the semester... never goes smoothly lol

stay with me! it's going to be a bumpy ride!

product review: 7th heaven peel off mask

i wanted to review the 7th heaven
peel off masks by montagne jeunesse.
because this is a product i enjoy using.

i've wanted to try a peel off mask
for some time now and after looking and
looking for something on the cheaper
side, i found this product at ulta.

here's a picture of the product:

it's just a small pouch that you
squeeze the product out of.

i really like the product although
it is a little bit messy to handle. so
far, i haven't found any simpler
way besides squeezing all the product
out into my palm and working quickly to
apply it on my face.
just one down side, the product is
so strong that when i apply around my eyes,
they will start to water for a few seconds
but luckily it goes away.

i use the product once every two weeks
as it really dries your face, well mine anyway.
i think i've tried all of the scents except
the dead sea mask as they aren't ever in
stock at the stores.

looking on their website they have the peel
off mask in a tube! i might look for
that the next time i'm at ulta! it's so
much simpler and probably mess-free!
i also saw that they have fabric masks, too!
i tried some before from various brands, but not
this brand. i might try some and
review for you if time is alotted.

if you try any, tell me what you think!
and no, i'm not endorsed nor do i
work for this complany or ulta.

here is the website for the masks: 7th heaven

one step forward

you know that saying,
'one step forward, two steps back'

i've always been familiar with the
quote, but i've never really felt a
connection with it before... until now. and oh
boy, it is one of thee most
frustrating feelings ever in life.
[aside from an itch you can't reach]!

sometimes i feel like i'm progressing
at a good pace, not as fast as i want, but
as we know all good things take time.
but once i'm thinking, 'yeah! go me!
moving in the right direction!'
some life force has to happen and i'm being
set back a few paces.

i want to feel like i'm going somewhere
in life, you know? but most days i feel like
i'm running around and around chasing my tail
and not realizing that it will get me nowhere.
it's not that i'm not trying,
i'm looking for ways to improve in every
aspect that i deem needs improvement.
but still it's to no avail.

i'm trying to be positive, though it
has really tested me. i lost a lot
of hope and a lot faith in myself and some
of the peers i work with. [it's a really long
story]. but again, i'm hoping. and trying
to keep my head above the water.

soon i'll be saying, 'i made it one step forward.'

everyday_spidey on instagram

hello! hello!
i wanted to change things up a
little and talk about that
handsome guy dressed as spider-man
in the previous post about comic-con.

he has an awesome instagram page
where he posts a photo, well,
everyday, with spidey doing all sorts
of random, you guessed it, everyday things!

do me a favor and search for him
and show him some love, what would
be even better? follow him!
in the words of schmidt: go double
tap those insta-g's!

here's a sneak at some of his pics:


some show spidey playing games,
breakdancing, going to the pool,
and reading comics to name a few!
such a fun concept!



sadly, it doesn't show some of the
fun captions that go with the pics, but
it works out for me because i don't want to
spoil the fun for you to see it for yourself!

til we meet again, xoxo!

comic con 2016

hello again!
sorry i haven't been blogging!
summer school is a real kick
in the ass! and i can hardly keep up!
so as you know blogging is
not really a priority these days. sorry!

but as promised, i was going
to show you pictures of my hubs and i
dressed up as spider-gwen and spider-man!

here it is:


sadly, we didn't get a whole lot of
pictures of us, instead everyone
wanted to take a picture with us!
so that's all we did, really.

we also bought some cool art
that were spider-gwen and
spider-man of course! and i even
had an artist >draw in my
personal art journal!

it was the 2nd comic con
we've been to. and the first one
i didn't wear a costume because
i didn't know what i wanted
to be and i didn't have enough time
to pick one. so i did this time.
it was chris' idea to be spider-gwen.

it was really fun except not a whole
lot of people knew who i was. :[

so here's a picture of who i was:


my hubs wants to go to the
comic con in denver... we'll see if
we make an appearance *wink wink*
see you guys soon!

update 1.5

hi everyone! this is a short
and sweet [like me!] update on some
of the blogs coming up!

i start summer school next monday!
yikes! i'm not ready to give up the
little bit of free time i had.

comic con is coming back!
the hubs and i are dressing up!
as what you ask? wait and see!

the hubs and i also started 21 day
fix extreme. i don't feel different
but i guess we shall see when the program
is over [which is soon] and
what i thought about the program!

there could or could not be
more i hope you stay tuned to find out!

earth day terrariums [diy]

for earth day this year, my
husband and i decided to make
terrariums. i have wanted to for
some time now and figured earth day
was the best day for it!

below are pictures on how my husband and i did it.
but here's the webpage that i used
for reference: real simple

you will need:
*any glass container of your choice
*pebbles
*soil made for succulents and cacti
*fun figurines [optional]
*succulents and cacti

we purchased at our local earl may
the ornament vessels are from michaels




chris and i chose ornament vessels:




first lay down some pebbles
and then some soil:




then, the fun begins!
adding succulents and cacti!



and yes, it was a little harder
than we thought to try to
plant such big plants in a small
little ornament!


my husband and i added little
figurines, too!




he put a sabertooth tiger for a jungle
theme and i put a tokidoki
cactus pup in mine-- how fitting right?!

such a simple and fun diy!


my two faves! lol

full speed ahead

i'm sure i've said this many times,
but i swear everything that
could possibly happen to me, always
happens all at one time.
let me breath, darn you!

right now, i'm sitting on two
presentations and a job interview
currently. with the end of the semester nearing
i swear that life is
trying to give me a panic attack!
and i just might get one because good god!
i can't handle it all!

i'm trying to take things one step at
a time. as my wonderful husband
says to me more times than i
can count on my fingers and toes,
one. step. at. a. time.
or can i say one moment at a time?
it's the best worse advice ever. lol.

i started this morning with as
much happiness as i could muster, driving to work,
a song that i love came on-- and that
just changed my mood.
i know i've been upset and moody lately.
i know i need to change something.
i'm going to try to keep my head up.
it's really all i have let to give a try.
and something like that isn't that hard.

today, i walked through campus
and this time, i took my time and i
looked at everything around me.
i didn't rush home like i usually do.
it was a beautiful, sunny, day. it was
a great small piece of therapy/victory for me.

i need to go for it all full speed ahead.

balance

i'm struggling with finding the
right balance in my life.

i am honestly starting to feel
beaten down and discouraged about it.

i know that i shouldn't complain
because i don't have it as bad
as some people probably do.
but, there comes a time when a
girl just can't deal.

i just feel like that one saying,
"one step forward, two steps back."
i want to move forward, is that too much?
am i jumping ahead?
but when i finally feel certain
and finally feel i'm moving forward,
i end up few few paces behind instead.

my husband always says that i
need to take it one day at a time
and yes, i wish i could, because that
is probably the best thing i can do.
but, i can't. i'm a worrier.

i can't seem to pinpoint the issue.
it's probably me.
should i take a step back?
i can't live minute by minute.
i don't know what to do.
i'm off balance.

chasing dreams

i have some sad, sad news to bear.
and i have so many mixed emotions about it.
i wasn't sure if i wanted to
write about it, but i figured i should.
to help me cope. i won't get into
detail because it's my personal issue,
but it cut pretty deep, given the circumstances.
i just wanted it so bad. and now a
new obstacle has risen.

i found out about two weeks ago...
my job will not allow me to
flex to go to school, as i have been doing.
i leave during the day to go to
school and make up the time throughout the
week, so as to not burn up all my pto.
this has thrown my whole
graduation schedule off course.

i don't want to prolong something
that needed to be done awhile ago. it was
my time to really put my best
foot forward and kick school in the ass.
i was already very hesitant to go back
because of the full time job and
being married. this news just doesn't help that :[

everyone is telling me, it'll
work out for the best. and i'm sure
it will, but it's still hurt a little
to know that the place i
chose for employment is technically
not backing me up. i mean, i
get it, there are hr issues and bleh,
blah, bleh. not getting into it again.
but, it makes me feel
very unappreciated. and they always say how
great of a worker i am. i don't need
bad news to be sugar coated, thank you.

i worked my tailfin off to get
back into that school.
and i'm so close to being done that it
just stings that much more.
i cried uncontrollably at work for an
hour after i heard the news.
because as much as i would love to,
quitting irrationally isn't very smart.
as a "great worker" i will try to work with it

i understand that this is partially
my own fault because i didn't
succeed the first time at school.
but i was on the road to recovery. redemption.
maybe that's why it's so upsetting.
because it feels like another failure.
like it's not meant to be or i don't know.
things keep falling in my path.
and i just don't know how much strength
i have in me to push those boulders
out of my way to clear it so i can walk through.

i feel like i'm chasing fireflies.
they're right there. glowing, beautiful,
and within reach. but when i reach
for it... i come out empty-handed and
it flies away. my
dreams are the same. i reach for
them, stretch out as far as
i can, and only graze the edges.
i only get a sensation, not the whole experience.

"location, location, location"

this is the third chapter in
the wedding keepsake book.
stay with me everyone! lol!
i know it's a lot of jumping around!



the chapter consists of a pros and cons list
for the type of wedding you want, such
as: outside, destination, or even at your home!

there are also questions to guide you
through choosing a ceremony and
reception site, as well as
a walk-through checklist for jotting notes.


ceremony

it was very easy for me to decide.
i had always known i wanted to get
married outdoors and lucky me, my hubs agreed.
but this was probably the most stress
i had on the planning front. because the ceremony
site i had my sights on was already booked.
my husband and i scoured the city for a place
that was something i would love and was outdoors.

we got lucky and my husband found that
the place literally across from the
original spot was available. so we
booked it quick! and it was perfect-o!

it rained the morning of our wedding
and i'm not going to lie, i freaked!
but when it came time to say
our vows, the clouds parted and the sun came
out to say hello! i'm so thankful!
lol! [read my older blog about rain
on wedding days: candy-rella blog


reception

it was also very easy for me to
decide on the reception site, in the town
we live in, weddings are typically
held in the same place. i knew i
wanted to break that 'tradition'. mind
you, we don't even live in a
very small town...

i don't remember how many venues
we looked at, but i knew i
found the right one when i saw it.
it was very pricey and my
husband's mom was telling us that
she didn't think it was attainable.
everyone was shooting us down
about the place, my dream place, which is ironic
considering chris and i did book the
venue and paid for it ourselves!

i only hope to get married once
in life. so, this wedding was the big one.
told my hubs, go big or go home. lol!

product review: roux fanci-full - silver lining #42

as most readers know, silver/gray
hair color is the 'it' style right now.
so, as i do naturally, i wanted it bad!

i tried to do it
professionally first. i can't
be super mad that it didn't take,
because my hair was black [natural color]
and now it's blonde/yellowish. which
is easier for silver/gray to hold onto,
thanks to my stylist for that!

since that way didn't work i
decided to try some at home dyeing.

i found this youtube video from tashaleelyn:

the video :

she's the main reason
i decided to buy the product.

product: roux fanci-full - silver lining #42
i got it at sally beauty, but
i'm sure there are other places to purchase it.
here's a link to buy it: sally beauty

i do like the product, but i don't love it.
it's just a rinse, so it comes out
after a shampoo.

to obtain the color, you have to
repeatedly put the rinse in your hair
after a shower. it's hard to disperse
evenly as well because it's really liquid-y.

it gives me a dingy dirty gray color,
not exactly the "silver" i wanted.
but my hair was a yellowish/white color before dyeing.
but i think i'll continue to use
it until i get sick of applying it. lol

here's my hair!
it looks different shades under certain
lights. 50 shades of gray! ha!
[here looks more white, but i swear
that it's gray! lol]

"pretty bows" and arrows [diy]

hello all!
sorry i didn't get a
chance to blog last week
i was super busy and actually
lost track of the days passing.

hope you can forgive me,
and enjoy this valentine's
themed tutorial, too!

here are the materials needed:


scissors
glue, i use aleene's tacky glue
templates for bows and arrows
i found the bow template here: paper bow template
various valentine's paper
string or twine
paper straws [i found those at target]


to make the paper bows:

cut the template out and use it
to trace on the valentine paper.


once cut, the biggest template needs
to be glued together. grab one end of
the paper and glue it to the middle.


do the same to the other side.
it should look like it the picture below.


the small rectangle you cut should
be used as the middle piece. to help
keep everything together, i used a
clothespin until it dried.


once you just glue it to the
bottom piece, it's done!


i made a bow garland
with the bows! i love it!



to make the arrows:

use the template to trace on the paper.
[i drew the tail and point of the
arrows on my own. there are templates
online ready to download.]


so easy! all that's next is gluing
the two pieces to the paper straw!


i chose to hang them!
so cute! i'm ready for the party!

valentine's housewarming

hello lovebirds!
it's been almost 6 months
living in our new place.
and no, chris and i still aren't
fully settled in. lol. but we
decided that we are going to host
a valentine's day themed
housewarming party on the 20th! woohoo!

today we started some of the decorations
for the party--

here's a teaser picture:


[i'll go into more detail with the
things i made for the party in
other blog posts. i'll even do tutorials!]

as adults with no children,
we thought it would be fun to hand
out fun treats and valentine's
cards, like we did in elementary school.

we are also having every guest bring
decorated valentine's boxes and
giving out a prize for the best box.
that's the main part of the party!

we also have games lined up to win prizes.
one of the games is to fill out a worksheet with
'valentine's' related words for all the
letters in the alphabet. i found it on pinterest.
find it here: a-z party game

stay tuned for more pictures of the
decor and from the party!

state of mind

hello everyone!
yes, yes, i know...
i'm getting off track again!
i should work on that! but
i warned you all that i
was random and all over the place
with my thoughts. yippee! lol!

i don't think by now it's
a surprise to anyone that i'm still in
school. bleh. i have been attending
a community college and
going to school online until i
knew i could transfer back to
university.

it's been about 9 years
since i've last attended the university.
it's crazy! why i took so
long to go back? i honestly don't
have a legitimate excuse.
i just don't know.
i could say it's because of my full-time job,
but i don't think it was that, either.

but here i am, physically back
in a classroom. i felt so strange.
not happy, not mad.
more like a mindset of "let me do what i
need to to get out of here faster."

i admit that i was afraid. and still am.
afraid of failing like the first time
i was there. i am still afraid of
possibly giving up again.
i never thought i would make it
this far. back to a place that i
just talked about out loud.
and here it is. put right in front of me.

maybe i'm just putting a lot of pressure
on myself to be successful and
to not give up again.
but that's all i know so far.
this is just the beginning of what
could be. i hope there's some fight left in me.
i'm trying and that's good enough for now.

"budget"

hello lovelies!

i'm finally going to be right
back on subject with the wedding
keepsake book!
[i'm never able to stay on track, oy!]

the next chapter in the book
is: the wedding budget!


the book features a tidy spreadsheet
to track your expenses
and tips on how to tip some
of the people such as: the coat check,
the chef, the waiter, etc., etc.

although the spreadsheet in the book
was nice, i did make my own from
excel since it has the sum function.
which was super convenient for me!

here's a picture of one of the spreadsheets:


they even split up different topics
for you to record the expenses:
from decor to honeymoon and
stationery to ceremony. genius!

i also found that
keeping invoices and receipts
in the same binder was a great way
to stay organized. i just punched holes
in the paper and them to
the other stuff in the binder!

talking to your future husband/wife
about the budget and where you two are
comfortable is a major key to being
happy, too. my husband wanted
this amount and i wanted that, we met in
the middle and went only about $1000.00 over budget
which i am very proud of. i didn't even
have to cut out a whole lot to
stay within the budget! go us!

check back soon for the next chapter to come!

happy 2016

hello and happy new year everyone!
this year chris and i decided
to stay in with our pup, charlee
and throw our own new year's party!

we played games like uno and another
a game called the last word,
which we agreed was pretty hard to play!
[click the game name to see more about it]

we made little finger foods
like popcorn chicken and smokies
in a blanket and stuck
tiny fancy forks in them.
we also bought party hats,
horns, and sparkling juice [because
i was sick :( and didn't feel good]


and of course!
on the bright side i decorated the mantel:
if you can believe it
the gold and white striped stars
are made from tissue paper i got on clearance!


hope you all have a great 2016!
i sure will be blogging about my adventures!
stay tuned!