Being Tested

Hey Lovelies!

So as my usual readers know this weekend Boomer and I moved into a new apartment.

That kind of things is stressful, add to that the separation and you have a recipe for an emotional meltdown.

Which definitely happened in a closet while eating a Reese's cup.

Then I actually got sick, which happens to me in times of high stress.

Then I was charged for two days of the rental trucks use for turning it in an hour late.

Then I realized that my phone was not downloading my new voicemails. So I checked them. The bank had called me several times.

Turns out there were fraudulent charges made on my account this weekend. 

Then my new apartment complex called to let me know that there was water leaking into the apartment below me.

*WHOA*

I vented my frustrations to a a friend who said 'Maybe God is testing you.'

This friend isn't exactly a believer, so the comment was made in jest. It got me thinking however. So many times people say God is testing us. Or we call things acts of God. Its so easy to forget that God really only wants the best for us. There is someone else here who taunts and torments and wants bad things and he is not of God.

So I'm putting it in God's hands. I've informed the bank the charges were fraudulent and now all I can do is wait. When I got home I saw that nothing was flooded or damaged. So I'm going to take a deep breath, pray, and let God.

Weekend Update Vol 3

 

Hey Lovelies!

Linking up with Sami and the crew for another weekend update!

 

I'm all moved....ish. Well all my stuff is moved, but I'm definitely not settled in yet.

I also don't have Internet. Eeeeep.

So we'll have to content ourselves to scheduled posts, or lunch hour posts.

So this weekend my bestie from college drove SEVEN HOURS from Tennessee to help me move. Her BF also came along with her and earned major brownie points because he doesn't know me from Adam. He also let Boomer play with his ears, which is this weird thing she does....

Me circa 1991

 My mom found this gem of a picture this weekend and shared it with Boomer. I'm the same age as Boomer is now in this picture. My daughter's main comments 'Why was mommy's hair so long? Mine isn't that long!'

My response: 'I ate the food my mother gave me!'

Boomer: 'Ooooooh.'

Boomer has this idea that she should be able to eat McDonalds everyday....ugh.

Moving this weekend was super stressful and emotional for me. Which called for silly impromptu photo shoots with Boomer. You're welcome.

The current state of my new living room....does anyone have any suggestions on how to repair my bookshelf? It got a boo boo in the move

The keys to our new place!!!!

So yep that's my weekend. Just so you feel informed as shiz...I'm going to bum my mom's wi-fi for tomorrow and Wednesdays post. (I'm doing a tutorial on Jack-O-Lantern nails....you know you want to see it!!)

Are you a Bully?

Hey Lovelies!

Earlier this week Lindsay who writes From Nanny to Family wrote this post. I was bothered and upset for her. You see I had the pleasure of meeting Lindsay at the Ohio Blogger Meet up this summer. We actually sat together so I talked to her more than many of the other ladies there. She is an absolutely sweet genuine person, and she lays it out there just like it is, much like I do. I was immediately drawn to her. When I made my little announcement she was one of the first people to reach out to me with kind words and sympathy. So it irked me a bit that she was being talked about in such a way.

That being said I've been on GOMI too. I've read the mean spirited threads about some of my other favorites too. The Bargain Blonde, Pink Lou Lou, Raven, Sydney from the Daybook, all of these women are talked about and judged by other women who don't really know them.

It brings to mind a song that was out a few years ago, 'High School Never Ends.'

See I was bullied in high school, badly. Not only at school, but at my church as well. People try and justify things by saying oh well that kid is weird, or their over-weight, or socially awkward. That's not the case. I was athletic, I had plenty of friends, guys liked me. I was still bullied. There were vicious rumors spread at my church about me being promiscuous. (My personal favorite was that I had slept with someone in the baptismal pool.)  I was teased for wanting to be a white girl because I didn't act or talk in a certain way. I was teased for being smart. I was teased about my body shape. I was teased because my hair was curly, I was also teased for wearing it straight and 'thinking I was all that'. I was teased for being dressed conservatively by my mom, but at the same time vilified for being a flirt. (Because I figured out the boys didn't have cooties before the rest of the girls did.) I was bullied to the point that I tearfully confessed to one of my teachers that I wanted it all to end. I told her I wanted to go to sleep one night and never wake up. And that is how it happens. That's how a seemingly happy person, with everything going for them can be pushed to the point of wanting their life to end. I'd like to say that it got better from there. It didn't. That teacher confronted the girls at school and they got WORSE. The bullying at church went from just my peers, to grown adults being involved as well. Thankfully it was my senior year and I was soon 500 miles away at college with an entirely new group of people.

I tell that story, because when I see people bullying it makes me so ANGRY. The thing is though, it's learned. Granted its human nature to be selfish, and not always nice. But we LEARN to bully. These GROWN WOMEN and MEN that spend their days in GOMI and the forum that was bashing Lindsay? They have children, they have nieces and nephews. There are people in their lives that look up to them. And they see EVERYTHING we do and say. Then they go to school and they do it to their peers. 

I have developed a very thick skin. You can pretty much say anything to me at this point in my life and it will roll of my back. At the end of the day I know who I am and the people that really matter know who I am. It breaks my heart though, to think that some girl or boy in the future will make Boomer feel as awful as I did the last two years of high school. It makes me angry to think that someone will hurt her like that. I know that those girls that teased me at school and church....they're starting to have kids too. I pray that they grew out of what they did. That they won't pass those lessons onto their children.

This post is long and rambling, but I say it all for one reason. If you see something on some one's blog you don't like, tell the writer of the blog. Send them an email. We open up our lives on the Internet for the world to see yes, but don't secretly write anonymous threads about it. If I write something you don't like tell me directly. OR JUST DON'T READ MY BLOG ANYMORE. It's so easy to be a mean girl. Imagine how much better it could be though if we taught our girls to be nice. To uplift. Or at the very least live by what our mother's told us many years ago: 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'

MMM: Vol 13 Candy Corn Nails

Hey Lovelies!

I finally decided to revive MMM....of course now its Mid-Week Mani and a Movie...and not Monday, but whatever right?

So this week I decided in theme with October and fall to do a Candy Corn Mani.

This has got to be the easiest manicure ever! Anyone could do this :)

These are the colors I used.

Color Club Sparkle and Soar, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and I'm not sure what the yellow is.

So first paint your nails white....

Then go back in with your orange shade.....

Then paint your yellow. Side note: I ended up using a lighter shade of yellow than pictured here.(OPI Banana Bandanna, a pastel yellow and it showed up better over the orange.)

Tada!!!! Candy corn nails! See told you this was super easy.

So because it's Halloween season...I thought for the movie portion I'd tell you about some of my favorite Halloween movies. Starting with Hocus Pocus of course. 

Because what kid growing up in the 90s didn't LOVE that movie. (Although I was also terrified of it at the same time.) I didn't even realize that the 'hot' sister witch was Sarah Jessica Parker until YEARS later. (I can be a little slow sometimes.)

What are some of your favorite Halloween movies?

Weekend Update Vol2

Hey ya'll...

Yes I'm doing a weekend update on a Tuesday at 4pm....but hey let's all just take a collective moment to be like 'Hey, Whitney blogged...in a semi consistent manner.'

Small victories people...small victories.

So this is what I did this weekend...

I told you guys about Ally's passing last year. Well Saturday some of my high school buddies got together for a little memorial. We ended up going for a walk/hike and then explored some little caves at a local park. It was a lot of fun and Boomer had a BLAST!

Boomer and her 'boo thang'...who happens to be engaged.

One of my friends handed Boomer chalk to write her name in the cave.

Boomer's fashion activities.

Boxes...and more boxes.

Then I packed and packed and packed. If you follow me on Instagram you saw the gem of a fashion experiment Boomer created for her doll. I've told you guys before that I work in corporate retail/fashion. To hear my six year old tell me 'Momma I didn't destroy her dress, its a hi-lo hem. Its really popular right now!'

......

Guys I about lost it laughing, because yes it is a hi-lo hem.....and yes it was pretty big this summer....but WHY do you know this child?

Anywho...two more blessed days until I get my keys to the new place. I'm sooooo excited. JJ moved out last Friday and so the house is in this weird half empty space. Boomer seems to be doing ok with it so far...and I'm dealin'. Just ready for the next chapter. My bestie is coming all the way from TENNESSEE to help me move on Friday and I can't wait to see her. I haven't since Easter. 

See you tomorrow for the first Halloween Mid-week Mani and Movie. Yep MMM is back!

A little more about me

Hi Lovelies!

Hello to my regular readers and if you're visiting from Sophistifunk then welcome.

I thought I'd put together something of a 'best of' today for new and old readers alike. So here goes....

Hi I"m Whitney and this is Boomer!

If you'd like to learn a little bit more about Boomer and I and my adventures in parenting read HERE, HERE, and HERE.

A Summer outfit. Photo by Boomer

If you'd like to learn a little more about my love of beauty products and fashion read HERE, and HERE.

If you'd like to know just a little about the random stuff that swirls in my head then by all means check out THIS, THIS, and oh yes.... THIS.

I'd like to tell you a little bit about what I have in store for the rest of October. MMM is coming back! Except now it will be on Wednesdays. I'm planning to do Halloween nail tutorials for the rest of this month! Of course I'm moving so I'll let you know how all that fun stuff is going. I'll of course talk about my team, (Go Bucks!), and fall food (yum). So I hope you'll come back for more goodies this month.

Cinderella last Halloween!

Thanks for reading and see you soon.

One Year

Hi guys!

Another deep post, so apologies in advance.

A year ago today, my high school classmate Ally passed away. A little background on my high school. There were 19 students in my graduating class. When we graduated I had been with my class mates since 3rd grade, some had been together since pre-school. We were a very tight nit community.

We had received word that Ally, who was living in Italy at the time, was missing. I was a few years ahead of Ally, but some of my closest friends were in her class. My heart ached for them not knowing where their friend was. As a mother, my heart ached for her parents. It had to be the worst kind of fear not knowing where your daughter was or what had happened to her.

It wasn't until a few days later that we learned Ally was not missing, but gone. She was the victim of a hit and run accident while she had been out running. It was an absolutely devastating blow. See Ally always had a smile for everyone. She was always this bright, shining, happy force. Someone that truly lived their life. She was an amazing girl that I was absolutely in awe of.

However, Ally's death did something interesting. In life she always brought people together and in her passing she did as well. We all gathered at our high school at the memorial rock that was put together. Flowers and messages appeared. People who hadn't spoken in years hugged, cried together, and shared stories and memories. And then we all started to catch up. Beyond our Facebook wall posts we became involved in each others lives again. For me personally it made me really take stock of my own life. I had waited and put off so much 'until another day'. Ally's death really drove home that tomorrow is not promised to anyone. 

It's now a year later. I see my friends much more regularly now, even with my crazy Mommy life. They are now a part of Boomer's life as well. Its a comfort to know that if anything ever happened to me, these wonderful people would be there for her like we were all there for each other a year ago.

Ally, you and your beautiful smile are missed. I wish you could see us all now, and I know we will see you again. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who love you today.