June Favorites

Because sometimes I like to be a normal teenage girl, I'd like to do something a little more girly.

I've always wanted to showcase my favorite products. As a girl, I've spent mindless hours browsing through rows of nail polish at Target, tried thirty million shades of lipstick, and used every product to ever hit the shelf that claims to prevent split ends. It's like nobody has ever bothered to say to me, "Oh yea. This product works really good."

I mean don't get me wrong. I've got friends, that are girls, that do girly things. So obviously, we've exchanged a few beauty secrets in our time, but some things you just don't want to ask. Some things you just feel stupid about asking, as if it's some sort of common sense information that every girl is born with.

I'd like to start making a list of my favorite products every month. What I found looks really cute. Or works like freaking amazing. Or I just absolutely love.

So at the end of every month I'd like to showcase my top five products of the month with a picture and a couple sentences. 

{And no, I was not endorsed by any of these companies, but if any of the said companies are reading this, an endorsement wouldn't hurt.}

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1. Moroccan Argan Oil Penetrating Oil for Dry & Coarse Hair {basically any store that sells hair products} {$8.49}

Walgreens

I would SWEAR by this stuff. I use it basically anytime I straighten/curl/ or blow dry my hair and it is definately worth every penny. Thanks to this magic in a bottle, I rarely get split ends which is great as, like every girl on this planet, I'm trying to grow out my hair. I buy mine at Walgreens and a lot of times they have a buy one get one free on their Moroccan Argan Oil products so I'll buy two bottles,  basically getting it for $4 a piece! Also the bottle doesn't look very big, but this stuff lasts me nearly six months at a time (although I only use it about two-three times a week).

2. Mossimo Supply Sandals {Target} {less than $20}

(Sadly, I wasn't able to find these on the Target website to check the price as I am unable to remember or get a better picture, although I just purchased these shoes a couple of weeks ago.)

I am a sandle-aholic. I LOVE LOVE LOVE me a good pair of sandals and these definately top my list as my favorite pair to wear, which if you've seen my shoe collection, that is a BIG compliment. Although I love color in my sandals, these are great as they go with almost everything (except black of course!) and as with most sandals, I can wear them with dresses, shorts, and practically any pair of jeans.

3. Aviator Sunglasses {??} {Varies}

Target

This one is a tad misleading as it isn't a certain pair of aviator glasses, but the style in general. I've basically spent my whole summer in these rad shades. I got mine at Target for $12.99. They have a splash of turquoise in them, which I love as they make them a little different from the basic gold/brown color scheme.

4. Faux Traingle Studs {Forever 21} {$1.80}

Forever 21

I'll start this one out with the statement that FOREVER 21 IS MY FAVORITE CLOTHING STORE EVER. And I say clothing store because if I said it was my favorite store then I'd be lying because it's a tie with Target. Anyways. If I had to choose one pair of earrings to be superglued to my ears, these would be my choice. They're so simple yet go with almost everything and I just love them. Enough said.

5. Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation {Mary Kay Consultant} {$18.00}

Mary Kay

If you would've told me last year that I'd be spending nearly $20 on just foundation in the future, I would've thought you were crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love me some makeup but $20? HELL NO. But it's happened and I love this stuff. Mine lasts me about 5 months, although I follow the "less is more" logic in terms of makeup so you may use it up quicker. I've suffered from acne ever since middle school and I'm still trying to get rid of that shit, but this stuff is a LIFE SAVER. My face has been clearing up in the past year but this stuff seriously covers up my acne better than any foundation I've ever used.

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This post is more of a trial run in terms of pictures. I tried taking pictures of the products against the carpet, wall, a piece of paper, everything I could think of, but nothing really suited me. So right now, I'm just using pictures from their websites but hopefully I'll start taking my own.

Fingers crossed that I remember to do this monthly too.

And remember, make tomorrow fabulous.

Beach Trip 2013

What seems like ages ago (or maybe a week ago) I went to the beach on a family vacation. Unfortunately, not many pictures were taken but I do have a few that need to be shared.

This is like one of my favorite pictures EVER

There's not much that needs to be said about my trip. I soaked it up like the beach girl that I am. I played in the ocean like a little kid, running in until I was so deep that I would run out in fear, trying to make it to shore before a wave would wash over my legs. I built sand castles like a little kid. I rode my bike like a little kid. I relished in the seaside town like a little kid in an unfamiliar city. Let's just say I reconnected with my childhood, which is something we all disconnect with for far too long.

So mend the chord between yourself and your inner kid and give your childhood a call.

Have a fabulous day.

Ugh. High School. Post #5

OMG IT'S BEEN LIKE A MONTH SINCE I'VE DONE A HIGH SCHOOL POST. Needless to say, I'm sorry for my procrastination and it'll probably happen again.

New?
Introduction
Ugh. High School. Post #1
Ugh. High School. Post #2
Ugh. High School. Post #3
Ugh. High School. Post #4

This is the fifth and final post of my fabulous series. I hope I've provided insight and clarity to the jumbled up mess of high school and high schoolers and teenagers in general.

This last post is a letter. A letter to principals, teachers, superintendents, governors, the president himself, all those who take part in piecing together our schools and education system. It's not like any of them are probably going to read this, but it's sort of nice to actually get these things off my chest and who knows? Maybe someday they will see this or maybe they won't, it's just nice to put this out there.

***A forewarning, this letter is probably going to be lengthy and there are no pictures. Don't say I didn't warn you.***

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Dear Whomever It May Concern,

I'm a young girl, living my life in what you've created or in some way helped create. I'd like to give you some feedback, if you may, on what you've made. All I ask for is an open mind, open ears, and that you perhaps put some thought into what I have to say.

First of all, I'd like to throw out there that I truly do love school. I'm not some crazed student who loathes learning and would like to bash out on our system, I truly care.

On that note, I'd like to address something, in our country we have this, "one size fits all" mentality. We're constantly being shoved down our throats that we are college bound when some of us aren't. All kids are taught the same thing when truly not all students are ready/able to grasp the concept being taught. When I entered high school, I, like others, was given the opportunity to take honors classes. I took the challenge willingly, no forcing needed. Upon entering though, I encountered numerous students who honestly shouldn't have been there. They struggled, made failing grades, and cursed themselves as to why they were having such a hard time. Some, but not all, were encouraged, forced, shoved, however you want to put it into take these classes. Most of the time, they weren't even recommended for an honors class by their teacher, but the parent felt so strongly that their kid was smart enough to go ahead with it. You can't change parent's minds, but I almost feel as if parent's shouldn't be allowed to "re-recommend" their child.

Our education system should be thought of as an investment and in my opinion, an investment that can't go wrong. If you knew that you were putting money into something that would most likely produce a good outcome, wouldn't you put more money into it? Makes sense and yet the budget for our education system has been cut and refigured and cut some more. We're putting less and less of our tax dollars into what is practically an investment for the future of our country. Granted, money can't fix everything and there are truly some things in our system that can't be fixed no matter the billions of dollars we put in, but some things can. As a child of a teacher, I know that they do no get paid enough. As a child who's spent way more than half her life in the education system, I know that we need new textbooks (or at least enough so every child is allowed their own during that class period and not having to share). Our teachers need to have more access to school supplies instead of dipping into their own personal savings for something as simple as construction paper. We need new library books, more access to technology, better lab equipment in our science classrooms, and overall a better education. So invest in the lives that will someday be leading your country.

We also must learn from other countries. There's a reason why we're so low in the rankings for math and science, we just have to learn this reasoning. We should travel to other countries and see what's working for them, see how they're encouraging their students, see how they're running their education system. I feel as an American, we have this preconceived thought that we're the best. That we are doing everything the right way and that we're the almighty of countries. But we're not. We have to get over ourselves and take interest into what other countries are doing.

As a high schooler I feel like my teachers and superiors are treating me like a child at times. Now, there's a time and place for the treatment that we sometimes receive (like elementary school or when we act like a child), but I feel that I shouldn't receive it 24/7 (or maybe that should be 7/5 since it's seven hours a day five days a week haha). Some high schoolers are as old as 18, where they are legally considered an adult, but yet they go to a school where they are consistently being treated as a 10 year old. Granted, we are given more freedom as we progress through are schooling years, but I still feel like I'm not treated the way I should be. One of my biggest pet peeves of this year is how they're controlling me in the lunch line. Yes. The lunch line. They're changing all the food into some healthy shit that makes me not even want to eat lunch. I know we're fighting an "obesity epidemic" (insert sarcasm here), but if you're trying to fix it by changing all the good food that I've known since kindergarten and changing it into some nasty shit that makes me not want to eat lunch therefore lose weight, congrats. You've succeeded. Also I'm being told that I have to get one entree and two side items either two fruits, two vegetables, or one fruit one vegetable, but in reality the fruit isn't fresh and the vegetables are either frozen or over cooked making them not very edible. So it's either pay extra money to get just an entree (yes, it's more money to get a milk and an entree than a milk, entree, and two fruits/vegetables) or pay less money and just throw all that food away. I mean I'm in high school for God's sake, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of choosing my own lunch. (Granted that last one was more of a gripe than something that is really wrong with our education system, but I've been holding that one in for a while.)

Also when I say we're treated like kids, I don't always mean they don't give us enough freedom. For example, if a student doesn't turn in their school work on time, they often get the "Oh, it's alright. Turn it in tomorrow." treatment, but what is that really teaching them? This response is adequate for children who are much younger and don't know any better. If we continually are not held responsible for our actions, then what kind of adults are being created? Our education needs to have more a of a solid foundation, something that starts with our teachers. And don't get me wrong. I've had teachers who laid down the law and had a no nonsense way of teaching, but I've also had teachers who were as lenient as a rubber band and allowed us to do as we please.

One final statement to all those who work in the higher positions in our government and education system. It astounds me that people in our government make so many important decisions for our education system yet MANY MANY MANY of them, were never teachers and haven't set foot in a public school essentially since high school. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they are able to make many good decisions in regards to education but because of their lack of experience and knowledge in that department, many of their decisions are not the right fit. Even those who work for the Department of Education for North Carolina (my home state) who were actually once teachers and principals have made decisions that are totally bogus. Isn't it time that we consult the teachers? Ask them what they would like to see. Ask them what isn't working for their students. Ask them what ideas they have. By God, they work in the system every day, so why do we make so many important and monumental decisions without at least consulting a few teachers about it first? I'm not saying we have to run every decision about education by every teacher in the country, but at least utilize them in some way in the bigger decisions that would most certainly affect our schools.

So thank you to those who have listened to what I have to say and a second thanks for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

A young girl in your education system

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I'd also like to send a big thank you to the readers who actually took the time to read this and the entire series itself. As it was my first series, the post were few and far between (sometimes REALLY far between), but as most things that you try for the first time it doesn't exactly go as you plan. I hope to start a new series very soon and thank you once again.

Have a fabulous day.

Oops.

I was totally going to come up with a new Poetry Monday but after a long weekend getaway which provided me no free time and basically no internet access, I was unable to post anything up until today.

So yeah.

My apologies.

Again.

Have a fabulous day.

Oh. And before I forget.

A forewarning- don't expect too much posting next week. I'm making another (and final) big trip for the summer. So another my apologies. Summer's crazy, but hopefully after all this vacationing I can actually spend a little TLC on this blog I've got going here.

Once again, have a fabulous day.

{Swing Set}

Remember this? Well today I am FINALLY starting it.

The word I received today was swing set. Ahh, the childhood memories.

First let me give you some quick background information.

Growing up, all my cousins were a lot older than me. It was basically like having a ton of older siblings who would pick on you haha. So anytime I'd go to my grandparents house, my cousins weren't exactly the right age to be someone who could play with me, so I'd often be left to my own devices.

As I've grown up though, I feel that that really benefited me as it truly made me more imaginative. And imagination is a fabulous thing.

So my grandparents had this swing set in their backyard. It had been through the wear and tear of four other grandchildren, but it was still in a great condition in spite of this. There were two swings, a tire swing and a regular swing, although the tire swing broke and was never fixed around the time I was 9 or so.

One of my favorite games to play on the swing set was a pirate game. The entire set was the ship and anything else was either land or water, depending on whether I had already "set sail" or not.

I would always start the game by gathering grass and acorns and weeds and pretending I had to gather all the food possible to accompany me on my trip. I would then hop on the swing and get higher and higher pretending we were setting sail. I had an imaginary crew, although contrary to popular belief, all my pirate shipmates were girls.

We would dock our "ship" at all sorts of places. I had already visited the entire coast of Europe by the time I was 7 and I sailed the entire perimeter of North America in only two hours. I got around, let me tell you.

Me and my crew would attack other ships and gain prisoners (which always ended up being boys) and do all sorts of pirate-y things. I would cup my hands together and squint through my make shift telescope with one eye and truly see the ocean, not a sea of grass or my grandparent's house or the trees scattered along their yard. I would see other ships and pirate flags and real pirates.

Imagination was a big part of my childhood. And I had quite the fabulous childhood.

Have a fabulous Wednesday.

My Apologies

I've been putting off writing this post for some reason, even though it's nothing bad. I've been at the beach for the past week and between the rush to get packed and the not so rush to get unpacked and the whole beach trip itself, I've found no time to write a post, yet alone tell you I am going/am at/was at the beach.

My apologies.

I hope to resume normal posting come tomorrow.

Have a fabulous day.

A New Idea

Recently a new idea sprung onto me. It's sort of like a writing game, but so much more. It will help me get more posts written. It will help me expand the topics that I talk about. It will help me grow as a writer.

But let's get down to it.

Basically, I'm going to use a random word generator and once a week, I'll take whatever word is generated and try my best to construct a post about it. It'll help me when I'm short on ideas or I'm not liking the ideas that are swimming through my head.

I'm not really sure if it's a stupid idea or not, but if I continue to do it, then we'll know it's the latter.

So anyways, starting tomorrow, I'll commence my first post.

Let the games begin.

Have a fabulous Tuesday.

Plans for the Future {and Some Black and White Photos}

If you've been around for a while then you know about my growing love for black and white pictures. I was originally going to save these photos for a Wordless Wednesday as I've felt that if I talked anymore about black and white pictures then it would be like beating a dead horse if ya know what I'm sayin', but I'm in the post writing mood.

This week I've had a lot of opportunities to write and I've definitely taken advantage of it. I love being able to sit and write out post after post after post and knowing that I'm actually pretty proud of what I'm writing. I'm by no means an excellent writer, but as I've read older posts I can tell that I'm growing as a writer and a photographer.

And I've loved watching my blog grow as well. I remember when I first got my blog and I would get excited anytime I would get a single view and now I'm getting 20 or 30 views at a time. I'm still in the beginning stages though believe it or not, but I hope to someday reach the point where I consistently get a hundred or two hundred or three hundred new views at a time.

I've also been thinking more and more about the future of my blog and where I'm headed as a writer. I'm constantly writing which explains the spike in recent blog posts. I've also been devoting more time to my blog and trying to "tidy" things up around here. I've been completing blog posts that have been sitting as a draft since as late as February. (February!!) I've also been trying to change things up around here in terms of my header, background, etc.

Also since summer has started I've began to think of new ways to help my blog grow. I've been Googling like a mad woman on how to get more views and more blog traffic and have been putting more effort than ever into getting my blog out there. Nothing makes me more happy than to see that people have been searching for my blog or that people have typed something into Google, and my blog was one of the choices that popped up as a result of their search. It's a rewarding feeling that I wouldn't have expected to get. It's like all those months of writing and those feelings of "why did I ever do this" are turning into something that other people are seeing.

So help a girl out. Comment. Share. Spread the word. Let me know you're reading. Tell me what you love. Tell me what you enjoy. Tell me what you dislike. Tell me what you think I should change. Email me. Hit me up on Instagram. I'm all ears.

I don't have many photos to share and I'm not necessarily in love with all these pictures, but I've figured I kind of have to let go of that. I'm sure there have been pictures that I've loved, but others haven't. I've just been stuck in this place where I haven't really liked the outcome of my pictures recently. In all honesty, if I only shared the pictures that I really liked then there wouldn't be that many pictures posted on this blog. I just wish I had a better camera than an iPhone, but a girl can only dream....

Have a fabulous day.

P.S. Anybody remember that high school series I started ages ago? Well I've been in the process of finishing up the final post for the past few days. This post has probably taken the most amount of time/effort/energy, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it. It's coming, I swear.

Poetry Mondays: See the World Through Your Own Eyes

The sun descends below the Earth
every single night.

The moon welcomes himself into the sky,
by shining just as bright.

Sometimes I wonder;

do they ever meet?

Do the sun and the moon

pass each other as they go to their job 

or is that an impossible feat?

Do they come from different places?

Do they sleep when they're not in the sky?

Are they ever in the atmosphere at the same time?

Do they watch us with their eyes?

I'm sure there are simple scientific answers

but where's the fun in that?

Science is for those,

who still see the world as flat. 

They have no imagination,

no sense of humor, a real stick in the mud. 

They believe in science

which is never any fun.  

So make your own crazy answers, 

make the inanimate come alive. 

Believe what you want

and see the world through your own eyes. 

Writer's Block

For once in my life I have time to write a post. Like I actually have time to sit down and think up and produce a well thought out post that might actually be longer than four paragraphs.

But here's the irony. I have nothing to write. I'm still waiting on some big epiphany that usually precedes a majority of my posts. I never have to sit and come up with an idea, they come to me. Like what is this madness?

I actually have pictures on my phone that have already been edited too. I just need a post that can join them. I have the perfect combination of things going on that should result in a good post. The stars have aligned. Everything should be falling into place. 

But no. 

I don't even believe in writer's block. Everybody can write something. If I really had writer's block, I wouldn't have been able to come up with the sentences above. It's just an excuse. An element that writer's use to explain their lack of good material. I feel if you can get past the thought that your inability to write a good piece is coming from some made up shit called "writer's block" then you can actually come up with a pretty decent story. Like don't chalk up your moment of unsureness to some fictional principle. 

Just start writing.

See what I did there? Even rambling is a good way to get a post going. I just started talking and I already had a post started, which in my opinion is always the hardest thing to do. I never know where to begin. I can know exactly what I want to talk about, I can know exactly the things I want to cover, and I can know exactly the things that need to be addressed, but for crying out loud I can't get the damn thing started.

 So like the name of my blog is Sunsets and Sundays for God's sake, but how long has it been since I've had a picture of a Sunset on here? Like for-freaking-ever. So soak up this beauty.

Anyways. Get over your little "writer's block" and start writing. Get outside and live a little. Read a book. Watch some TV. Check your twitter. Get inspired.

Have a fabulous day.