Tuesday, December 10, 2013

For a dear friend.

Hello!

So, I had planned on this post being all about me going and seeing the Mythbusters, and the crazy world of retail I worked this weekend. But, it's not. 

Last week, my friend David messaged me on Facebook about how we go to the same school, yet we haven't seen each other in a long time! I agreed with him, and we proceeded to make future plans for next semester and hopefully over winter break. 

During the week, Dave had some dental issues. Wisdom teeth. Something most of us have had to deal with. He went ahead and got his removed like anyone would. I'm sure anyone can recognize this pain.

On Friday, I logged on and saw a troubling post that he was in our local hospital. I was in absolute shock since barely 12 hours before we were having a conversation and it seemed like nothing was wrong. My first assumption was that maybe he had a bad reaction to an antibiotic he was put on, or maybe a horrible side effect to the surgery. I asked what was going on.

I found out my answer later on that day. He had blood clots in his lungs and legs. Yesterday, he was diagnosed with Pleurisy ( A very painful inflammation of membrane around your lungs) . I feel so bad for him. From what I've heard so far, they haven't been able to figure out what caused everything. Like everyone, Dave needs his lungs to be working. However, Dave is also a trumpet player, and a damn good one. You could hear him playing and think that he was already out of school and professional. So you can see how having something wrong with your lungs when you play an instrument could be so devastating.

What I'm asking of everyone is to send their best wishes and prayers that he gets better soon. I'd also like a list of ideas to put a little kit together for him since he'll be in the hospital for a little bit longer.

If you are feeling really generous and have a couple dollars to spare this winter, my friend Karen started a little charity to help with the cost of his medical bills. We're aiming for 500 dollars to begin with. 







David was one of the first people that outreached and met me before I worked at Cedar Point since we lived in the same town. He remained one of the first people I met there and one of the first friends I made there. He is a great person who doesn't deserve any of what is happening to him. I really just would love everyone to keep him in your thoughts.


Thursday, December 5, 2013

So, I wore a tutu.

Oh, hi there!

I had my second final today! It was in my ballet class! We all wore tutus and skirts and it was totally cute! We obviously took a bunch of pictures, because what else were we about to do after the final was over? 


Tutus!!!!!! I honestly was so excited to wear one! My teacher and the adjudicator thought it was so cute and so funny we all insisted on putting them on! I actually borrowed that one from one of the girls in my class since my tutu is somewhere hiding in my parents house (and is probably going on 8 years old...) 


My lovely barre partners, Taylor and Khrissy!  We pretty much spent all semester at the same barre. It felt weird whenever they made us move them around to split the class! I don't think this class would have been as much fun with out them! I'm so glad I'm making friends that I'll be taking my future dance classes with! 


My not-so-perfect arabesque, but whatevs, it's all about the TUTU!!!!! I can't wait til next semester so I can improve this right here. I can't wait to make this picture my #tbt when I improve on my arabesque. But AHHH, I love this tutu color! I think I'm going to follow this tutorial and try to make my own ( Don't worry, I'll post it on here when I'm done!)


Khrissy totally had the best tutu! It was so fluffy and pretty! We all ended up taking pictures of us wearing it! MMM look at that pointed foot! lol


Different angles, yeahhhhh.

I'm just so happy I joined dance again. I'm thrilled for my classes next semester! I really hope to start auditioning for productions we have soon! 

So anyways, tonight I get to go see the Mythbusters! Yes, the ones on TV! They're doing a live tour and stopping at my school! It's going to be so awesome. The boy and I are hoping there is some kind of meet and greet after because it would be awesome to meet these guys. I'm sure it'll all I'll talk about when I post tomorrow!








Wednesday, December 4, 2013

I wanted that iced- #exbaristaprobs

OH MY GOSH. HI.

Happy Hump Day Y'all! I just finished my Tap Final, and I have to say it went pretty great! We got extra credit for dressing up winter-y, so I dressed up like a snowflake!

Yup, typical ballet pose for tap class. What can you expect from me though?!

I wanted to wear a white leotard and a tutu as well, but lets get real, last time I had a white leotard was the last time I actually was a Snowflake in a production (I was in 8th grade back then!) Let's not act like that would still fit me lol.

So, I'm still at school -yawn- waiting to meet one of the girls that is going to be moving into my house soon. I'm excited for that, but I'm just super tired and wanna eat and wanna take a nap. Ugh. #mylife (edit: meeting went great! made a new friend!)

Anyways, so I'm sitting at Starbucks. I used to work at Starbucks. I kinda sorta miss it sometimes, but not gonna lie, I'm glad I left. So, one of the most annoying things about being a barista was obviously ridiculous stuff customers say and order. Lots of great twitters capture these moments so well. So anyways, the most annoying things ever are:


Ordering from the "Secret Menu" and getting mad when we have no idea what you are talking about!


The "Captain Crunch" Frappuccino. AKA Toffenut Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino.


Here's a secret... We don't really have a secret menu. Those are drinks that are just made up by customers and other baristas that Starbucks doesnt put in our menu cards. 

Okay, let me explain. I like some of the secret menu drinks just as much as y'all do, however, I do not know what is in a "Pixie" or a "Cotton Candy Frappuccino" I will be more than happy to help you if you can tell me what is in the drink though! I mean obviously, there are some we know off the top of our head like "Captain Crunch" and "Cookies and Creme" but just be prepared to tell us what you want and we will do our best!


YOU MISSPELLED MY NAME!!!!!!! SHAME ON YOUUUUUU!



Okay, I try my best, but when you are mumbling I'm clearly not going to get the right name. Don't expect me to automatically know what spelling of Bryan/Brian your name is! It honestly doesn't matter! You're still getting the drink you ordered either way, and now have a funny instagram picture. I had a girl come up to me and bitch me out because someone had spelled her name wrong the other day, and how it was insulting because she was an international student.

Listen, I'm sorry. However, whoever is marking cups probably is trying to get it done in a hurry. We don't intend to insult you, we honestly just write what you hear. Sometimes it's very hard to know how some international names are spelled, or its hard to hear what they're saying if they have an accent. We mean no disrespect, however please don't get mad about it. My name is Katrina, and I even get that spelled wrong! 

Also, not gonna lie. Sometimes we spell simple names wrong on purpose. Sorry, not sorry.

"I wanted that iced"

THEN SAY IT WHEN YOUR ORDERED IT. I'm not a psychic. I'm not sorry that  you failed to mention you wanted an iced drink while you saw the barista writing your order on a hot cup! Like really? We are very happy to make iced beverages. They're easier. I don't have to steam milk for it. Just say so!!!! Don't yell and make a scene when you're handed a hot drink because that is the standard if you don't specify.

People being all forms of terrible because they haven't had their coffee yet.


Guess what? I'm not a total raging bitch when I haven't had my coffee yet. Just because you're the one with the credit card paying for it doesn't mean that you get a free pass to be a horrible human being to me because I'm standing behind this counter. Be kind to your barista, or anyone actually that has to serve you. It's common decency. 

-You finish making a drink- "Oh can you make that soy"

Yes, I can make that soy if you march your self over to the cash register and pay 60 cents for said soy. I'm lactose intolerant myself and I ALWAYS pay for my soy, and I never "forget" it until the drink is being made. I understand there are mistakes, however most of the people that would do this were regulars that would do it every time.

People trying to order skinny drinks with whipped cream and made with soy

Okay, incase most people didn't know.. Soy is fattening. Whipped cream is fattening. A skinny drink standard is non-fat milk, no whip, and sugar free syrup. I get that people don't know this but you look kind of ridiculous ordering a skinny latte that is anything but skinny. A lot of baristas would bitch about people ordering soy drinks with whipped cream. I don't really care much about that because soy tastes amazing and is so much better than regular milk. Go ahead get whipped cream on it. I personally don't because of lactose intolerance. 

People ordering too many frappuccinos.



May the odds be ever in your favor to whoever ends up working cold bar to make all of those frappuccinos. It sucks. Most common when you see a large group of teenagers enter the coffee shop and study the frappuccino menu. You'll probably cry if you work cold bar. Also, it's so entertaining to hear people say how they need a caffeine fix and order a vanilla bean frappuccino. Jokes on you, no caffeine in that! 


All in all, the majority of customers are not terrible. I really don't hate any of them. It's just awful to be working and have people be mean to you about these certain things. There are really good and polite customers out there! Again, I urge EVERYONE to be nice to anyone who works in food, retail or customer service. People are awful to these people because they think they just can be. Don't be that person at Starbucks! Even if you are, be nice to the barista and you won't fall into the mean customer category!





Tuesday, December 3, 2013

I obviously really like food.

bonjour.

So, I feel like Tuesdays are just equally as bad as Mondays. They're always super boring, and the only good thing about them are 70 cent wings at Buffalo Wild Wings (Which, I can't even get since I'm so broke!!!!). I guess I don't have a whole lot to complain about today though. My dad gave me money for Subway, I got a 91 on my psych paper, and I don't work tonight (even though, I totally want to. #workaholicproblems). It's just so BORING.


I'm basically drooling right now.. SO HUNGRY.

So anyways, a quick update from yesterday. My meeting with the choir director went so well! He had me sing (which, I thought was rough because I've been sick for the last couple of weeks), and said I had a lovely voice and I would love to have me in his group. Awwww yeah. Kat is back.

So, next week is finals week, except.... I only have to show up to take one final on campus! Thank goodness! I have the rest of mine this week, and two of those are actually finals for my dance classes, so those will be a piece of cake. I'm kinda worried about my stats final, not gonna lie, but I think I can do it. Psych will be easy too, hopefully!


So this Tuesday, I will show you all of my favorite foods. I'm really hungry right now, so enjoy looking at yummy foods!!!


French Fries. Do I really need to explain why French Fries are great? No, I dont think I do. It's just common knowledge. They come in so many different kinds! Curly, Regular, Skinny, Steak, Waffle, Wedges... MMMMMMMMM. 




Cheese Ravioli. It's so good! I made my own once and it was to die for! Making your own pasta is super fun, and highly reccomend it to anyone out there who cooks! You can totally tell the difference between a fresh pasta, and store bought. You can also make raviolis into cute shapes like hearts and that's pretty cool.




Pizza is also amazing. My mom makes excellent homemade pizza, and I just started making my own dough to do my own as well. Of course, nothing wrong with delivery, but when you live in Ohio, you aren't going to get that family owned pizzeria taste like you would from a different place. Make your own pizza some day! It's so easy you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it for years!



Tacos. You can't go wrong with tacos. I love them from pretty much everywhere. Whenever I go out west, I go to Jack-In-The-Box and pretty much devour the ones the sell there. I'm so obsessed! I also make my own Tacos. I slow cook the beef with a great blend of seasoning, then I use corn tortillas and I actually fry tacos. Not super healthy, but who's really complaining?


BUFFALO CHICKEN TENDERS! These are so delicious. I actually haven't really made my own yet, but I'll find a good recipe some day. I always order these at places. You just can't mess up chicken tenders so it's always a safe bet!


Chicken Stew. Basically the most perfect cold-weather food to make. I also make my own which I have to say is pretty amazing. The cool thing about stew is you can put what you like in it. I use chicken, corn, carrots, peas, rice, and potatoes, which cook in a tomato and chicken broth with a variety of spices. 


Fajitas! While, I only eat the chicken, these are so fun to make! I've made them in a skillet, and I was also lazy one day and just made them in a crock pot, which turned out really well! MMMMMM.


Chicken Parmesan and Pasta. AHHH, I just want it now! I always experiment with this. You can pan fry the chicken and then melt the cheese on top, or you can just bake it. I also like eating it with herb pasta. I do have a confession to make and that is, I don't actually like Olive Gardens chicken parm. It's just not. Homemade or Bravo's is the way to go!


ORANGE CHICKEN. Orange chicken is just delicious. I pretty much love it everywhere I go. Especially Panda Express and PF Changs. I've never tried to make it before, and I think I'm going to try someday. It's too good for me not to know how to make it!


Well, thats about it for my food obsession. I hope someone out there likes something I posted (and should totally bring me some! I'm starving over here!)








Monday, December 2, 2013

Mond-ehhhhhhh.

HEYYYY.

Happy Monday everyone! 

I had a pretty great holiday weekend I must say, I survived working Black Friday at Macy's, I got to see some of my closest friends and go to Melt, I finally saw Catching Fire, and I got trained at my new job!


So, I'm going to talk about what I'm doing today, that is going to scare me. 

Tuesday night, I got an e-mail from my school choir director. He saw that I went to the high school I went to, which is known for its performing arts programs and wanted to know if I was interested in singing for my college. He arranged for me to meet with him and discuss the different groups we have.

I had been involved in Choir all throughout middle school and loved it. I felt that I finally found something that I was good at and I was never nervous to sing in front of anyone. When I got to high school, I was so excited to be a part of Womens Chorus. Everything leading up to the first concert we had was great. I loved being in it, and singing with people a passionate about their voice as I was. However, it was my Freshmen year and at that time in my life I was kind of a hot mess ( like most people!) I had also been involved in dance my whole life and had injured my knee which led to me having to quit which was breaking my heart because I had worked so hard to get to where I was in the dance world. 

So, back to Choir. My choir director was exactly sympathetic and thought I didn't care about singing and took it out on myself and my friends. She would always make an example out of us for stupid things. She claimed we were disruptive in class and didn't want to be there. Trust me, we weren't. I was just having a hard time, and really didn't need my choir director to be bitching at me for things I didn't even do. She ended up contact my mom and my friend parents about us basically doing nothing. I though it was stupid beyond belief, but I tried to listen to what she had to say and followed her rules. 

Throughout this whole thing, I became so insecure about actually singing by myself in front of people because she made me feel like an idiot for singing a phrase slightly wrong. Instead of helping me, like I had asked she would ridicule me instead. So I ended up being super embarrassed to even want to be a part of the organization. She wouldn't even let me try out to be a part of any groups for the next year.

So I quit. I'm glad I did. I ended up joining band and having a good time and meeting most of my friends I have today. Despite the issues I would have with my band director, he would NEVER make me feel like I was worthless and didn't belong in the music program. I knew I wasn't good at playing the flute, but he never made fun of me for it. He actually helped me become a better player. Obviously, I wasn't meant to play flute professionally, but at least I was welcome to learn.


This is why I am so nervous to even meet with this director. I want to get back into singing but I dont want the same experience I had my freshmen year. I'm  finally getting back into dance and I would love to include choir in that. I'm so nervous to even audition because of the experience I had. So, wish me the best of luck, please.

I feel that this whole thing falling on Monday is interesting. My friend Rachael at Pretty in Pink is co-hosting something called Monthly Motivational Monday, and I could use some motivation.


"It's better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness" 

What this means to me is that, instead of sitting and complaining about everything going wrong in your life, go out there and do one thing to change it for the better. I think a lot of people could benefit from this saying, including my self. 



Every Girl Like Me

I hope I somewhat inspired you! Click that and it should give you more information about this than I could tell you lol! 






Sunday, December 1, 2013

November 2013 Birchbox Review!

Hi.

Today I will present you with my November 2013 Birchbox Review!

So.. whats a Birchbox?

Birchbox is a monthly box sent to your house that includes samples and sometimes full size beauty products! It only costs 10 dollars a month and its a great way to try out different products!

The box! I also cant flip it but oh well, #yolo.
If you're interested, go ahead and click on this. That will take you to a place where you can sign up and fill out your profile! That link is my refferal link, and will earn 50 points to use in their shop ( Another great bonus of Birchbox! You earn points for reffering, ordering boxes, and reviewing the products you receive to spend in their shop!) I'll love you forever if you use my link, but if you wish to not, this is the main link to their site!






Walter couldn't wait for me to open the box!








I was actually shocked at how small the box was! All the reviews pictures I saw made it look bigger! But regardless, I was excited!


This tells you everything I got!









I already previewed my box online, but I still liked how they gave a description of everything I was getting! 




All opened! So far it looked pretty awesome!
I honestly was pretty excited about the chocolate at the time! Typical, right?

Everything looked so pretty and nice! :)







Full Size Ghiradelli Mint Cookie Chocolate

Mini Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Black

Mini Color Club  Nailpolish 

Mini Tocca Crema de Mano Luxe in Cleopatra

 TINY Atelier Colonge Vanille Insenesee Colonge Absolue (AKA Vanilla Perfume)

Derma E Evenly Radiant Samples


I thought it was a pretty good assortment! 


 I LOVED this Chocolate Bar! It was so amazing!!!! I tried looking for one when I was out shopping today, but I couldnt find one :( 


I'm a nail polish addict, so I welcomed this mini with welcoming arms! I really like the color, but the name sticker fell off so it is nameless at the moment.. I haven't tried it out yet, but I will soon! 

Eyeliner is probably my favorite eye make up thing to try out. This is a liquid eye marker. It's pretty neat to use, but I'm not sure if I would buy it for my self. I'm just not a big liquid person. The sample should last me awhile though.

I really like Tocca products, so I was happy to see this in my box! The scent was grapefruit and cucumber and was lovely! 

I'm gonna be honest, I hated that I got this. I dont use any face stuff except face wash so it was pretty pointless for me to get this. I gave it to my mom and am yet to hear how she feels about it.

This scent just wasnt for me. I really dont like vanilla scented body sprays. I prefer fruity and fresh ones! I did really like the postcard they included with the sample, though. 


So far, I was impressed with my first Birchbox! I look forward to what this month brings!