{Sunday Social}

Linking up with the lovely Ashley & Neely for this week's Sunday Social. It is all about makeup!

{1} How old were you when you started wearing makeup?

Well, I always had to wear makeup for dance for the recitals. But I think I started wearing it daily when I was in 10th or 11th grade.

{2} What are your top 3 favorite beauty products?

Recently, I discovered my love for Urban Decay's Naked Palettes. I bought 3, loved it so much I bought 2 and now need the first one. I have come over to the dark side!

Neutrogena eye liner...the only kind that works for me and goes on with ease.

Neutrogena mascara...doesn't clump a lot as some of the other brands do. 

{3} What is one makeup product you don't leave home without?

Cover up...it covers up my blemishes!

{4} What is your daily beauty routine?

Get up in the morning, wash my face, put my contacts in (unless I am feeling lazy and I just wear my glasses) and then apply my foundation. I use liquid Neutrogena. Then I use Neutrogena cover up (a powdered kind). Then I apply my eye shadow, eye liner, use my eye lash curler and then put on my mascara. In all, it takes me a good 10 minutes if I am not distracted. I tend to shower at night during the week because I value that extra sleep time so I don't worry about blow drying my hair.

{5} What is your favorite hair/makeup product you've discovered in the last year?

Honestly, the Naked palettes. I was kind of shocked I even spent that much $$ on makeup because I am more of a drugstore brand type girl but everyone kept raving about it. So worth the $$$ I want to get rid of all my other eye shadows!! I love the sample primers that come with it and how it stays on perfectly ALL day! 

The Golden Mile

I cannot believe it has taken me TWO MONTHS to write this recap of celebrating my 27th birthday with two of my best friends! Seriously, was I just that lazy? Nah, just too busy. But hey, better late than nevaaaa!

My birthday was on a Monday (11/18) and I was going to be stuck at school for Parent Teacher conferences. I couldn't think of a better way to have spent it, ha ha. Back in September, two of my girlfriends, Olivia & Shannon, were hanging out over Labor Day weekend when I was stuck working. They came up with the great idea to go to New Paltz (where we went to college) for the weekend of my birthday and do a bar crawl, aka the Golden Mile of drinks in New Paltz.

We ended up only doing Saturday night and coming home Sunday but that was probably for the better.

We ended up starting the night at The Gilded Otter Brewing Company for dinner and our first drink. I had a pumpkin beer. This place has the best fries!

Had to take a picture of this...anyone want a 50 Shades of Grey (Goose) Martini?!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hung out, getting ready before we went out. 

Our first stop of the night was this new place, Shea O'Briens. It was DEFINITELY called something else 5 years ago when we were seniors in college but we really liked the environment of it. 

After this, the next stop was P&G's. We should have gone to Murphy's but you need more than 1 drink to go there. P&G's was ALWAYS packed when we were out in college but it was pretty dead for a Saturday night (at least when we were there)

 

We then made our merry way to Snugs, a place I would have never chosen to go to in college. It always REEKED of weed or body odor but we had to check it off the "list"!

The next stop was Bacchus. We ended up running into a girl we went to New Paltz with, Shauna. What a blast from the past! 

Me, Shannon, Olivia.
I am so thankful I met these crazy girls at New Paltz! 

 Shauna, Me, Shannon, Olivia

We ended our night at McGillicuddy's and the fact that I was still standing by then was a miracle. It wasn't a pleasant ending to the evening with me getting sick (guess I am not 21 anymore and I am old!) but honestly, I am glad I spent the weekend with my two girlies having a blast. It was fun going back to our old stomping grounds because if it was not for tiny New Paltz, I wouldn't have met two of my best friends!!!

{Friday's Five}

Happy Friday everyone!! I am so thankful that it is the weekend!

{1}
It's okay that I took a sick day from work because I had an interview for a leave replacement. And then I got my nails done, and took a nap before the dog trainer came. Priorities, people. Some me time was needed. Earlier this week was mentally taxing so I needed the day off! Let's hope they liked me in the interview....why is it that you always think of how you could have answered a question differently AFTER the interview is over? Oh well..someone will be smart enough soon to snap me up as a full time teacher.

{2}
I am SO EXCITED that I am going to Disney when I see my bestie April in April on my Spring Break!! I wish I could stay for longer but I fly there April 17th (Thursday) and fly home on Easter Sunday. I have the two days after Easter off from school but I wanted to be with my family for Easter. We are only going to Disney for a day (her uncle lives 40 minutes from the parks) but I am SO EXCITED!!! I am going to Magic Kingdom!

{3}
Maybe it is the romantic in me or the fact that I have been watching Say Yes to the Dress today..but I am SUPER excited for Sean & Catherine's Bachelor wedding on Sunday night. Pathetic? Yes. Go ahead and judge me. I had a THING for Sean ever since he was on Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette. He is just my kind of dream guy. Plus, his smoking body is something to look at! I am working at night so I need to free up some space on my DVR for this shindig!

{4}
I am loved my Naked 3 and Naked 2 palettes. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine spending that much $$ on makeup (I usually go to Target or the drug store for my makeup). But seriously, SO WORTH THE $$$. When I put my makeup on at 5:30am when getting ready for school, it still looks great at 8pm at night! I love the sample eye shadow primers they gave (Eden is my fav) so I plan on buying the Naked basics and the primer. Urban Decay, you have brought me over to the dark side!

{5}
Last week I had to go to the outlets to return something that I got my mom for Christmas & exchange something that I got my brother. I was leaving and noticed the new Walmart was open (plus how convenient...I needed to get dog food and the soft food my dog eats is ONLY sold at Walmart or Kmart...how hard is it to find Pedigree puppy?!) This can be dangerous because I just throw random things in my cart I don't need (I am more guilty of this in Target than Walmart). But this was the best $20 I have spent in a LONG time at Walmart. Makes me really excited for the Luke Bryan concert in September!!

Link up with the lovely hostesses April of A. Liz Adventures, Christina of Carolina Charm, Darci of The Good Life, and Natasha of Hello Happiness.

Sunday Social

Back for another round of Sunday Social with Ashley & Neely. I love their new button! If I could only figure out how to put it in my posts without having to save it as an image and upload it. Apparently my computer only wants me to do it that way...help?!

1. Top 3 kinds of food?

Italian, Mexican and anything with chicken!!

2. First 3 things you do in the morning?

Turn off my gazillion alarms (I use an actual alarm clock & about 8 on my phone)

Go pee

Wash my face

3. Last 3 things you do at night

Plug in my phone to charge

Set my alarms

Brush my teeth

4. 3 TV Shows you NEVER miss

Law & Order SVU (I so miss it with Stabler on it!!)

Grey's Anatomy

Dance Moms (haha go ahead and judge!)

5. 3 places you want to visit
Paris
Italy
Hawaii (I am dying to go here eventually!)

6. 3 people you can always count on
My mom
April
Amanda

{Sunday Social - It's all about the blog}

It's Sunday Already! I still have posts in my mind I want to write (like my birthday weekend trip to New Paltz and Christmas! so overdue). Maybe I will get to it...one of these days.

Link up with Ashley & Neely to participate in Sunday Social.


1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging?
My blog is called Live Laugh Love. It has been my life's motto and I like it...except I have been toying with the idea of changing it. I have been blogging for about three years!

2. Why do you blog?
I blog because I enjoy being able to connect with other bloggers. I like having a space to collect my thoughts and be a virtual scrapbook.

3. What is the first blog you ever followed?
I'm pretty sure the first blog I followed was Everything is Beautiful .


4. What was your favorite post you wrote in 2013?
Common Core woes was probably my favorite. They had a common core forum at my school and it was interesting to see how people felt. I feel like it is ruining the education system and making little kids hate school.

5. What are your blogging goals for 2014?
I would like to blog for a month every single day and be intentional. Do some fun things like link ups but also be meaningful. I would like to host a giveaway! I would also love to be part of a series. Not sure what kind but I think it would be great to do something new and exciting.


6. Top 3 blogs to follow?? 
Everything is Beautiful
I love this family's passion for life and adoption!!

Southern Simplicity
I have a fondness for all things Southern. I forget how I stumbled upon Jamie's blog but I love what she writes about!

Bloom
Nicole is a person whose passion for God, her family and life just pours out. It's soooo refreshing to read it. Her posts make me take a step back and look at things in a different light.


I love meeting new people and finding those who I can connect with in the blog world. I hope to find some new friends throughout 2014 by blog hopping.

{Five on Friday!}

Happy Friday everyone! I am SO thankful that today is FRIDAY because this has been ONE long week back to school. Granted we had a 2 hour delay on Tuesday because of ice and I had a day off yesterday for personal reasons and I had a half day today because I had a workshop in the morning, it was rough. 

Back at it this week for another round of 5 on Friday with Christina @ Carolina Charm,  April from A. Liz Adventures, Natasha from Hello Happiness, and Darci from The Good Life. 

{1}

I am SOOOOO excited my Naked 3 Palette arrived from Urban Decay!! I have been wanting it for about 2 weeks and everywhere was sold out. I ordered it last Friday from the website, it shipped Tuesday and I got it today. HAPPINESS!! Now, to trying it out. I don't have any of the other Naked Palettes (maybe I should have gotten those before this) but hopefully I will fall in love!

{2} 

Next week is quarterlies. Instead of doing midterms, the school where I work does one test a quarter (with the 4th quarter quarterly as the final). You're not suppose to give tests on those days (each subject has 2 days to give it) so it'll be a breeze, hopefully, with 2 days of me doing the tests read. It always helps when you boss tells you how much she appreciates you organizing it for the ENTIRE department because it makes her life easier. 

{3}

Ladies, it is #Juanuary! aka The Bachelor with Juan Pablo is on! Now, I have been suckered into watching these shows since way back way (side note: they are in their 18th season!) I was a fan ever since Trista was the 1st Bachelorette and she married Ryan (I had such faith when they got married they would last and they're going strong). I have no idea why he picked the free spirit girl (her in her barefeet was SO GROSS). I really liked the girl who was the pediatric nurse, I think that's Nikki.

{4}

It has been on my bucket list of life and also on my 101 in 1001 list (post to come soon!) to do The Color Run. I had various friends do it last summer and they had a blast. After all, why wouldn't they call it the Happiest 5K on Earth? Two of my friends, Sarah and Skye, who did it said they weren't hardcore running it. They did it at a leisurely pace and had so much fun. That's what I want to do! But in order to build up some endurance and not keel over and die at the starting line, I need to start working out more. So I guess I am going to have to SUCK IT UP with this cold weather and go outside because Shannon & I (and whoever else wants to!) are going to do it this summer!!

{5}

I have had my iPhone 5s for about two months and my chord started fraying. WHAT?! I sent my friend Mike who works for Apple a text and he told me to come in. He got me in and out with a new chord in under 5 minutes! Perks for having a tech savvy friend!

 

 

17 Signs You Were Meant To Be a Teacher

So, I happened to stumble upon this link tonight. "17 Signs You Were Meant to be a Teacher" and I honestly could not agree more with the writer!! I had the same thoughts about every single thing she posted! It is so true. I wanted to share it with my thoughts in a different color below:

17 Signs You Were Meant to be a Teacher

Original Article by Kate Bailey 

1. When people comment that the job is “so easy,” you immediately raise an eyebrow and ask them how they’d feel about wrangling 20-30 kids on a daily basis, and not even just keep them under control, but actually teach them something.

I could not agree more. Sometimes people think teaching is just glorified babysitting and those are the people I would like to lock in a room with 25-30 teenagers hyped up on sugar for a day and see how they make it out alive! You're responsible for shaping their future in a subject matter but also helping themselves shape to be well-rounded individuals.

2. Your version of “playing pretend” when you were a kid was setting up a classroom somewhere in your house and making your stuffed animals/friends/parents/neighbors come and be your students.

I totally had a table & chairs set up in our family room when I was little and played school. It was my #1 favorite thing to do!

3. You still walk around and see cute things and think “that will go in my classroom.”

Or stuff I find on Pinterest/Teachers Pay Teachers. I have so many ideas of WHAT I want to do that I can't WAIT to actually be able to do it in my own classroom!! 

4. You know it’s a tough job, and you know it’s a dirty job (sometimes literally) but you also know that the satisfaction of walking away having honestly changed a kid’s life is more than worth it.

The best moment of being a teacher is being able to see that light bulb go off in the child's head. The moment they FINALLY realize something. The moment when they were struggling for so long and get an awesome test score...THOSE are the moments I love. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

5. You kind of don’t think you’d be able to function without a summer vacation, so.

Or any vacation from school. It's time to recharge and relax. Teachers are human...we need breaks just like any other profession.

6. You’ve always lost your mind over “teacher stores” and other craft places, and are stocking up on scented markers and stickers and pencils and things.

Yes...especially teachers pay teachers, pinterest, and amazon! So many things I want for my classroom!! Who else would get excited over a laminating machine?!

7. You’ve been practicing “grading” things for years, polishing your star-making abilities, because for some unbeknownst reason, there are few joys greater than excessively marking up a paper.

Call me crazy but I LOVE grading papers. All the teachers I work with think its nuts but love giving me stuff to grade. :)

8. You actually do care about those little shit head kids, no matter how frustrating they can be.

Absolutely. We all have those kids that tick us off to NO end or won't stop talking or make you want to rip the hair on your head out. But honestly, when you see them visibly upset about something, the heartstrings tug. We care so much as teachers because we want what is BEST for them!

 9. You have an affinity for blue fun tack, laminating things and Mr. Sketch markers.

I was super excited to get my laminating machine for Christmas!!! I cannot wait to use it. :)

10. You almost don’t know how to read something without needing to turn it around so everyone else can see it or pause and say “what do we think is going to happen next?” Let’s predict, boys and girls.”

Totally true.

11. You’ve perfected your “I’ll wait” facial expression.

Ha! My students know this!! The classic "I'll just wait until you're done talking and we can sit & you'll be late to your next class" phrase that gets them antsy. Or just this:

 

12. You’ve always know you were going to be a teacher, there were no other plausible options.

I wanted to be a pediatrician. My middle school guidance counselor told me I was too stupid to be one. So I put my heart into teaching. I probably would have been a kick-ass pediatrician...if I was actually good at science and liked it! 

13. You’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time wondering how your last name would sound as a teacher name, if you’d be Ms. or Miss if you’re a woman, if you’d take your married name if and when the day comes, etc.

My last name now is so hard for most kids to say so they just call me Ms.J or Senorita J or Senorita Jota (how you say J in Spanish). I REALLY hope I don't get a difficult or weird last name when I am married! 

14. If you ever got the chance to student teach, you were grateful for the experience, but kind of spent the whole time like “let… me….. do…….. MORE.”

In a way, yes. I had two student teaching experiences that were totally different for different reasons. One let me do whatever I want and the other gave me constructive criticism. I feel that it really NO WAY prepares you for your own classroom and you really fly by the seat of your pants the first year. 

15. You have, by demand, had every social media account on public lockdown, have used your first and middle name as your profile name and know that no photo is safe in the world of education.

Yeah...that awkward moment when the kids go "You have facebook?!" I know they can't find me because I have made myself unsearchable! 

16. You’ve been stocking up on “teacher clothes” and no vest or holiday brooch is off-limits.

90% of the clothes I buy now is related to school. The days of shopping at Forever 21 are over.

17. You understand that there is loving kids and then there is loving kids so much that you honestly want to be around them all day and deal with their issues and teach them things and watch them grow. You are the latter. You are a teacher.

There are some days when I just want to jump out the window because it is so frustrating that you explain something 239580934624 times and you still get that one kid that goes "WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO?" Or the psycho parent that contacts you. Or the kid that constantly cries. Then, you have the days when you crack open a bottle of wine when you get home. Or take a nap because of a long day. There are some days that are just not worth reliving. But honestly, as whiny as it sounds, teaching is hands down a truly rewarding profession. I don't think there is any other job I would rather do (other than trophy wife maybe haha!). My students may have interesting issues (like kneeling every time he has to ask me a question) or just need someone to be there for them and it's satisfying to watch them grow as individuals and learners. 

 

    

 

{Sunday Social}

Is anyone else still like me and in disbelief that it is 2014? I honestly want to know where 2013 went! Holy cow! I still need to recap Christmas (hey, better late than never!)

Gearing up for the first Sunday Social Link up of 2014 with Ashley & Neely.


{1} Do you plan to change any of your eating habits in the new year?
I really want to try to eat breakfast every day. I know it is bad for you to start your day without eating breakfast but sometimes I am just not HUNGRY when I wake up (coffee is another story). So I want to try and eat something, whether it be a bowl of cereal at home or oatmeal or cereal bars at work. I eat lunch at school so early (11:15) so I need to make sure I eat something in the morning. I also want to try and eat more fruits & veggies.

{2} Any workout tips to get us back in shape after the holidays?
Take it slow and easy. With every new year, the gym is always packed with people doing their new resolution to workout more and go hardcore. Take it easy. My goal is to be able to do the Color Run this summer but I know I won't last if I don't build up endurance. So I am not going hardcore when I go running...I am going to work towards it!

{3} What is your favorite  thing you did over the holidays?
You mean besides work? Because I did that EVERY SINGLE DAY except for the day before Christmas Eve, Christmas and this past Friday. Ha! I would say it was spending time with the family at Christmas and also hanging out with my friends on NYE! I went to my friend Olivia's apartment and a bunch of us rang in the new year. This is the crowd that went to New Paltz (minus Shannon who was sick!)

{4} What is something you hope to accomplish in 2014 that you did not do in 2013?
Find a full time teaching job. It is going to take a lot of work, dedication, preparing for interviews and the possibility of up & moving but I gotta do it!

{5} Name 3 things that are happening this year that you are excited about and why:
1. Girl's weekend in Atlantic City again
2. Seeing Luke Bryan in concert in September!
3. My niece Emma starts kindergarten!

I am super excited for all that 2014 has to offer and I know the best is yet to come! :)

A smidge of this, a smidge of that

I am probably one of the most technologically challenged people EVER sometimes. I have mastered the art of using my iPhone 5s and honestly love having a smart phone. I have wanted an iPad for awhile now and took it upon myself to splurge this week by getting the iPad mini. I have spent the majority of my afternoon trying to get it to connect to the Wi-Fi in my house. NOTHING IS WORKING!!! I am super frustrated. This does not make sense to me since my mom has her iPad in the house as does my brother Eric and they both can use them!!

I am tempted to turn the router off downstairs tomorrow morning and wait a few minutes before turning it back on. From what I have googled, that can seem to help it. Otherwise, I am going to be either bugging my friend Mike that works for Apple or going to the Apple store (shouldn't make a difference since I bought it at Target.) I checked that my "preferred networks" on my laptop and it says that my house's wi-fi has a WPA2 Personal password and that is not an option on the iPad. Again, frustrated! My options are WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA Enterprise and WPA2 Enterprise. I am not even sure what the last two are. I need to find my mom's iPad and play around with it. There HAS  to be a way for me to connect. Otherwise this is going to be a GIANT issue and I am going to be one, mad girl. If you have any suggestions, have at it!! I am open to trying everything.

Next week, I am taking a day from school because I have an interview. I had applied for it on a whim because I thought "Yeah, they'll never call me". Only because I have applied for 30 something jobs before on that site and never got a call. Low and behold, they did. It is for a leave replacement in a neighboring district, but for what levels, I have no idea. I am almost petrified of it because I am not sure what my answer is to "What is your best common core lesson?" because it's really hard to say that in Spanish! At least I have the rest of the day as a "personal" day (I would like to only take a half day but my interview is at 9:45, a half day would be 10:20 and why go to school when I will be going home 4 hours later.)

I am currently working on a list of 101 things I hope to accomplish within 1001 days and to tell you the truth, IT IS DIFFICULT!! Some bloggers have broken it up into categories but I think that would make it even more difficult for me. Hopefully I will be sharing my list with you soon! :)

{five on friday}

Happy 2014, everyone!! I can't believe I have to go back to school on Monday...boo!! In a way, I am ready to be back into a routine (10 days of school and then we're off for MLK!) but in other ways, I am no where caught up on my sleep. #firstworldproblems.

You can join in on this fun link up with Christina @ Carolina Charm,  Natasha @ Hello Happiness, April @ A Liz Adventures, and Darci @ The Good Life.

{one}
I have been wanting an iPad of some sorts for about 1.5 years-2 years. I literally work 7 days a week between all my jobs anf have made decent money this break serving to pay for it. Therefore, on Wednesday night, I went and treated myself to the iPad mini. I am so excited to use it. I hopefully won't make any other big purchases like this (other then spending $800 on my car last week) to save some $$!

{two}
I was suppose to babysit my nieces and nephew today (like I did yesterday) because my brother & SIL had to go back to school and their kids were off til Monday like me. However, we got hit with the winter storm Hercules and school is cancelled! I was excited to have a day off (I need to finish organizing my closet) and really excited because I am not working tonight. :) Happy snow day to me!

{three}
 With it being a new year, I like to start it off on a bang! Haha. I am currently bored with the color of my hair. I had bright blonde hair as a child and as I got older, it got progressively darker. When I was in college, I dyed it for the first time. I have done all forms of brown but this time I am going a reddish brown tint. I am excited to see how it comes out and of course, I will share on the blog.

{four}
Everyone and their mother is talking about the Naked 3 Palette. I am the type of girl who usually buys her eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, etc at CVS or Target (usually Target because the drugstore is more expensive!). But I have seen so many people raving about the Naked 3 Palette. Every store I have gone to has been sold out of it (it's a hot ticket item!) so I am ordering it for myself.

{five}
I haven't seen my best friend April since she was home in August. She moved last April to Ocala, FL to work a new job as a court reporter for the paper. I wanted to visit her on my Christmas break but she ended up getting sick and February wasn't looking too promising because she has trials she has to cover. So looks like I will be spending a few days in April in the Sunshine State!! Can't wait!!

Since it is my puppy Lily's first snow storm, I am off to play with her in it. She LOVES the snow!! Happy weekend!