Life Update

I've taken off nearly two months from blogging.  At first, it wasn't intentional, in fact...blogging had slipped my mind entirely.  For the last two weeks or so, I've heard the nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me of the blog I so horribly abandoned.

So what has happened in my life these past two months?  A lot.

• I had a vintage/antique sale
• Mike and I bought a house!
• I started what could be my last semester at UND before student teaching
• I started a new job

If I complained of stress and being busy earlier in the history of this blog.  Let me apologize now.  I did what know what stress was; I did not understand being busy.  Some days, I wake up at 6a and do not get home until 2:30/3a.  Oh yeah, that new job is just an additional one serving at a bar, not one that replaces my current job.  The hard part is my schedule can be work 8-12, class 12:30-1:45, work 2-5:30, 2nd job 6-2a.  There is no free time in that day.  There is no time for homework.  There is no time.

So I'm trying to get better at planning and doing a bunch of homework before due dates so that if I fall asleep in class, at least I have a completed assignment to save a little face!

Theoretically, I'll be posting pictures of my vintage/antique sale before the end of September as well as pictures of the new, empty house (we close on the 17th).  I need to finish planning the big-life things before turning my attention back to this poor, neglected blog.  Soon.  I hope.

Photography Attempt V.3

A few weeks ago, Mike and I ventured to Peoria, Illinois for an Avett Brothers concert.  While out an about, aka walking to and from the car, I snapped a few pictures.

 I think the thing that I'm learning from taking photos on a semi-regular basis is that taking pictures, at least for me, isn't really about the shot so much as the story behind it.  For example, what do you see when you see this picture of Mike?  Not the same thing as me.  I see the clothes he's wearing and remember telling him they were fine when he picked them out at the store.  I see him putting the shirt and shorts together and wondering if it went together.  I see a hot day and a short walk to a short drive that would end in maybe the best sushi I'd ever have and a stop at a clothing store, where Mike sits comfortably and uncomplaining while I spend too much time browsing racks.

This photo is obviously the most out of place, but it's my favorite of the bunch because it's my favorite story.  After the show, Mike and I decided to find a gas station to grab some late-night treats and we managed to get ourselves lost.  While being lost, I noticed a casino...on a boat!  I'm not a gambler, by any means, but it was on a boat!  Mike and I made a deal to spend no more than $20.  I was frugal and used my dollars in several penny slots where Mike blew all of his in the first ten minutes on one machine.  Since I still had parts of my pre-approved cash available, Mike decided to spend another $20.  And then he won $500 on a penny slot machine.  It was a pretty fun thing to experience, if only because we were in such disbelief.

Animal Instinct

This summer has been one of the most difficult and rewarding of my life.  Working fulltime, taking two online classes, and trying to grow my brand "The Tattooed Moon" has really taken a toll on me.  Next week Mike and I are going on vacation, camping for a few days, and I am more than ready to take a few unplugged days.

Luckily, I've been able to sneak in some fun things between all of the work.  I've been fortunate enough to spend the last three weekends at the lake with my family, reading for enjoyment, going on pontoon and ranger rides, as well as hitting up some amazing garage sales.

This week finds me: working my last full week before vacation, finishing Chapter 11 of Spanish and taking the test, taking a midterm for my walking class, cleaning out my parents garage and shed to bring the best of the best for the flea market on Saturday, pricing like crazy for the Saturday flea market, cheating on my diet by going out to eat with my man friend on Friday, and doing my second flea market.  So there is a lot of craziness going on, but a lot of fun towards the end of the week once work is over and homework is completed.

Rawr

Monday was a pretty monumental day in my life.  Many things happened, but the most notable would be completing the Whole30 challenge, taking my first outfit pictures in public, and having my man friend take the photos.  We'll tackle each of these things in a separate paragraph.

First and most exciting would be completing the Whole30.  The man friend and I decided it was time to tackle our horrible eating habits and after reading Elsie's blog post here, we (okay, not we so much as I) decided to give it a go.  Part of the reason I think that I had so much success is because it's a pretty rigid plan and I'm the kind of gal who will find every possible loophole when it comes to dieting.  I'm so happy to report that I lost 18.5 pounds during my month and now Mike and I are following the plan 5 days a week with 2 "cheat days" where we can have grains, or pasta, or dairy.

The other cool thing about Monday was the it was the first time I've taken photos at a location other than my apartment or parents' house.  Mike and I were driving around after dinner (first dinner in a month and sushi is just as amazing as I remembered) and I decided that I was overdue for an outfit post so when we drove past this spot, I knew that it's where I wanted to take my pictures.  After just one day, and several stares from cars, I do not know how bloggers are able to take photos in such public places, but maybe you eventually get used to it.  

The last monumental part about Monday was it was the first time Mike has taken photos of me for my blog.  Having Mike take pictures was a little weirder than the whole photos in public part.  I'm so used to my timer and taking a million photos, so when Mike got behind the camera, I got a little stiff and weird.  I loved the outfit so much that I decided to post three (of only four) photos.  Maybe I'll eventually get used to Mike taking photos, though chances are, he'd probably prefer I use the timer and leave him out of it.

26 before 27 (June Review)

1. Read 50+ books, 4 that are religious/spiritual in manner

Officially at 16 books.  According to Goodreads, I am 9 books behind schedule, but with a few lake weekends ahead of me, I think that I'm in a better place that Goodreads believe.

2. Visit someplace new

Done! (6/4/15)   There will be a blog with a few pictures from that trip.

3.  Make a quilt

I bought an old quilt that needs to be fixed, so this goal may be revised to pretend that fixing the quilt counts.

4.  Work out 26 times

I worked out once!  Only 25 more to go!

5.  Take more photos

I should have at least two photo posts this month if everything goes as planed.

6.  Settle into the apartment (and maybe do a photo tour when it's complete)

In my head, I would like to pretend this will happen by the end of August, just before school begins...if only because I hate the idea of possibly moving out of our apartment in the winter and not being settled in.

7.  Blog at least 4 times monthly

If you read my sad attempt at a fourth post (here) in June, you would know that so far (after beginning on a bad note), I've been succeeding at goal 7.

8.  Write two new short stories

Soonish.  

9.  Get my passport

Mike told me this past week that I need to get my passport because one of my favorite bands is going to be in Canada in the beginning of August, so this is officially top priority, especially since I'm not entirely sure how long it takes to get a passport....

10.  Create and follow a budget

I said June, but I must have meant July with all of the success I had.

11.  Send more mail than last year

Still haven't sent any mail!!

12.  Learn to crochet

Jenna came over to my apartment the other day and taught me, but that was honestly about two weeks ago and I do not remember what we did.  I'll have to have her over another time or two before I really feel like I know what to do.

13.  Go to a winery

Nothing set in the future.

14.  Date-night with Mike monthly, at-home dates count, too!

This one was harder in June because Mike and I participated in the Whole30 challenge and that meant more staying at home, however we did go out for a movie!  We couldn't have popcorn at the theater, which was the pits, but it was a date!

15.  Take a yoga class

Hot Yoga, if I used the term properly, is coming to Grand Forks and I think I would like to imagine that I'll try it once they officially open.

16.  Have my parents over for dinner

Future!

17.  Create a blog feature
Photography Attempt and Instagram Stories, are the two that are currently in the works.

18.  Finish my volunteering requirement for school

This needs to be done before December...maybe even a little sooner.  This month I should just look up the places that are approved as volunteer locations.

19.  Get a new bed

Done! (4/15)

20.  Go to a play at Red River's "new" theater
This one has slipped my mind more than any of the other goals...oops.

21.  Have a "no spend" week in April
Fail

22.  Have a "no spend" month in September

Thinking ahead, I don't know if this is going to happen.

23.  Study for and take my Praxis tests

Halfway done!  My next test is next Tuesday and then this one will be completed.

24.  Pay off one big credit card

I need to go through and write everything down so I can make sure that this goal happens.

25.  Create my "space"

I have my space.  I have stuff in my space.  Now I need to get the crap organized or out of my space.

26.  And one to grow.

Still a little unsure on this one.

Four

This post may be cheating, but as a part of my 26 before 27 one of my goals included blogging at least four times a month (after falling off the blogging train at the beginning of the year), so when I saw that today was the last day of June and I only had three posts, I decided to throw this cheater of a post in.

So what does one ramble about when she needs a post an hour before the month changes?  Life, I suppose.  This is going to be one of those "currently posts" that I occasionally see floating around the interweb.

Reading:  This weekend at the lake, I was lucky to have enough time to finish two and a half books, young adult books, but still.  Honestly, if I were to be 100% honest, I'm mostly reading my Spanish book (I'm in an online class this summer) and books for my Praxis and PLT tests.  For fun, I'm in the middle of about a million books, but the ones I plan to finish next (hopefully this weekend) are: Four; A Divergent Story, Shiver, Bossypants, and Bad Feminist.

Thinking About:  Stress.  Lately, most about everything in my life has been causing me a bit of anxiety.  Spanish is becoming a bit overwhelming.  I recently found out that we'll be having a store visit at work, so that means I've got to be firing on all cylinders.  My real life is lacking, as well as the cleanliness of my apartment, because work and school is where most of my energy and effort goes so it feels like there is not much left.  That makes me sound very sad, but honestly, everything is great other than my lack of energy for personal life...especially eating as Mike and I are about halfway through our last week of Whole30.

Listening:  I never know what to put for this.  I want to say Grey's Anatomy, but if you look down, I have to write what I'm watching, which probably means that I'm supposed to talk about music.  The only music that I've really been listening to since October has been Life 97.9, our local Christian radio station.

Watching:  Orange is the New Black, Season 3. Check.  Once that was done, I went back and finished Drop Dead Diva, a show that Mike and I were surprised to get sucked into despite poor acting and no lost legal cases.  So currently, I'm onto Grey's Anatomy, Season 11.  It was very lucky for me that once I finished the other two listed shows, that the eleventh season of Grey's came onto Netflix, especially because I stopped watching the show on cable about five or six seasons ago.

Loving: My dog, Crookston.  My apartment and the great guy I share it with...again, that'd be Crookston, ha ha.  Mike, too.  Also, loving the fact that I passed the English component of my Praxis, and that Whole30 is coming to an end, and that I have an amazing family, and my health, and all of that other amazing stuff that I take for granted all of the time.

So here's my cheater post.  Feel free to comment with your "currently" choices!  I'd love to hear them :)

Junking Love

As I've shared numerous times on this blog, I love junking.  Recently I've purchased many items and have managed to sell a good chunk of those pieces.  The thing that stinks is that unless I'm doing a flea market, I'm usually only selling one piece at a time which takes a lot of time and work.  So I've been doing a lot of thinking about what the best way is to sell my vintage pieces without a shop.

I wrote a few weeks ago about wanting a camper to redo, and I thought that might be the answer to my problems.  While I keep hoping that I'll find the perfect little camper, it's time for Plan B.

In a small town about an hour away, there are two sisters who run a sale with vintage, antiques, and other cute things.  While I'm not fortunate enough to have a farmstead where I can host sales, I do think I can pull inspiration from their passion.


So right now, I'm brainstorming places where I could do pop-up shops. places to set up and display my vintage and craft goods.  Currently I'm only in the dreaming stage, but I always find that dreaming is the best first step of any plan.

Instagram Stories V.2

Here we are with (mostly) May's instagram pictures.  These are my top 5 and they may be a little repetitive or redundant, but that's life sometimes.


May marked the month where I decided to officially brand myself as "The Tattooed Moon."  This may seem a little late, as this blog has operated for over a year under that name and I've had the Facebook and (very neglected) Twitter for about that long, but my Instagram was still personal.  I made the jump and decided to be "The Tattooed Moon" on all of my social media.  I'm happy to say that I've had a much stronger Facebook presence, selling my vintage goods.


I wrote about my first flea market sale here.  This photo was snapped by my little sister and makes me look like I'm very hard at work.  It's a farce.  This is what a girl looks like when she realizes some of her items don't have price tags and the sale starts in less than an hour...you focus!


I don't remember exactly how I convinced Mike to try on this outfit, but that doesn't really matter, because I have this awesome reminder.  I think the best part of this was that it almost backfired.  Mike thought the shirt fit very well and that the pants were pretty cool, as far as red pants go.  I maybe tried to convince him to get the pants as I myself had red pants and the couple that matches together, stays together.  They sadly stayed on the clearance rack, probably where they belonged.


I haven't been crafting as much lately as I would like, but I did make this cool Sioux head.  I've sold a few, but they take HOURS to make and are very tedious.  They do not bring me joy the way my other crafts do, but if they make me a little bit of money, I'm not willing to complain...too much.


This last photo is from the beginning of June.  Mike and I took a mini-vacation to Illinois for an Avett Brothers concert.  When I learned that the American Pickers' shop was a 5-minute detour, I begged Mike to let us stop.  I was pretty jacked to be there and as you can see by Mike's face, he was much more nonchalant.  The trip was definitely one for the books and it's always fun to look back on photos and remember all of the fun times that were had.

This month was a lot easier to narrow down than April.  It could be because I didn't take nearly as many photos, but these five are still the ones most telling.  It's kind of crazy how I wrote such short captions on Instagram and once I chose my five to blog about, it was so easy to write longer paragraphs.

26 before 27 (May Review)

1. Read 50+ books, 4 that are religious/spiritual in manner

I'm currently at book 11, though I have a few other books half done or more.

2. Visit someplace new

Done! (6/4/15)  Mike and I visited Illinois and also spent a hot second in Iowa, visiting the American Pickers' shop.

3.  Make a quilt

Still no progress, but this summer should allow more time for fun hobbies and free time.

4.  Work out 26 times

Mike and I are starting a diet this month, so, theoretically, working out will follow.

5.  Take more photos

So far, so good.  I've been bringing my camera more and more places and trying to remember to take at least a few photos with it.  Re-seeing these goals makes me think that I'll try to bring it out sometime this weekend.

6.  Settle into the apartment (and maybe do a photo tour when it's complete)

This is slowly becoming a reality as all major furniture pieces seem to be purchased and now it's just a matter of moving out some of the crappy old and replacing with the cool, vintage old.

7.  Blog at least 4 times monthly

April was a success with just 4.  May...a repeat.  4 posts a month seems to be my sweet spot.

8.  Write two new short stories

Soonish.  

9.  Get my passport

Maybe I can get my passport and venture up to Canada...that's one of the perks of being so far up north, I could literally day trip to a foreign country.  Sure, it'd only be Canada, but a stamp in a passport is a stamp.

10.  Create and follow a budget

June.  June I will get back in the swing of organizing my life.

11.  Send more mail than last year

Last year, this was such an easy goal and  I had so much fun doing it.  I'm honestly surprised that I haven't done anything with it.  Maybe the end of the year will see a crazy revival of mail.

12.  Learn to crochet

Again...summer is the magic land of opportunity.

13.  Go to a winery

Mike and I talked about this the other day.  I know that I can rope Mike into it if need be, but I really think it'd be a fun girl's day activity.  On a side note, I need girlfriends who live a lot closer.

14.  Date-night with Mike monthly, at-home dates count, too!

So far, so good.

15.  Take a yoga class

I may need a friend to bring with me.  Lots of people seem to be into yoga, so I'm sure it won't be too hard to find a friend.

16.  Have my parents over for dinner

Once the apartment is "complete"....

17.  Create a blog feature

I'm currently testing two out.  Photography Attempt and Instagram Stories,  We'll see if either stick or if a dark horse appears.  Also, if you read this blog closely, you'll realize that I took this first line from last month's 26 before 27.  Good enough then, good enough for now.

18.  Finish my volunteering requirement for school

Last month I had all of this ambition.  This month...maybe ambition?

19.  Get a new bed

Done! (4/15)

20.  Go to a play at Red River's "new" theater

Hoping for a SPA performance this summer.

21.  Have a "no spend" week in April

Should I just cross this off because I suck, pretended to move it to May, and then still forgot it?

22.  Have a "no spend" month in September

Something for future Sara to worry about.

23.  Study for and take my Praxis tests

A few friends and I are talking about getting together for a group study date.  I have the tests scheduled, so studying needs to happen.

24.  Pay off one big credit card

I actually feel like this could happen by September.  Fingers crossed and pennies pinched.

25.  Create my "space"

I have the furniture.  Now I need to remove the excess crap that has no home and maybe figure out how to connect my small tv to a DVD player so that I have something to listen to while crafting.

26.  And one to grow.

Still a little unsure on this one.

Flea Market

This past Saturday, I had my first real sale as a vendor.  It was a very fun, and educating, experience.

I was fortunate enough to have my dad help me pack two trucks to their maximum capacity.  He and I spent part of the night before the sale cleaning out the shed, pricing items, and packing both his vehicle and my man friend's.

My help didn't end there.  The day of, Mike and I took his truck, while my dad and sister drove my dad's, and we went to the Grand Cities Mall.  After a quick unloading, Mike went back home to catch a few more Zs before work.  The rest of us...our work was just beginning.

We made sure everything was set up and priced (I used vintage postcards as pricetags, some in the shape of North Dakota).  Before the sale started, I sold a few items to another vendor which was a nerve-racking experience.  My fear was that I must be very underpriced to already be moving furniture.

My fears were quickly dashed as we did a quick round and found that my items were priced comparably to other vendors...and many other vendors came by to see what I, the newbie, had to sell.

Overall, it was a great experience.  I met some very amazing people, both vendors and shoppers.  I was happy to move some of my larger pieces because that meant I had that much more room in the shed for new items.

I think that I will do the Flea Market again, this time with a little bit more knowledge.  I never could have done it without my family.  My dad and sister stayed with me for the entire duration of the day.  And once the sale was over, my mom helped us pack up the trucks.  Who would have thought selling vintage and antique goods would be a family-bonding experience?

Call to Arms

I've been dreaming a lot lately.  Dreaming instead of blogging.  Dreaming instead of studying for finals.  And do you know what's been on my brain, friends?  A camper.

I want a camper.  I want a small, older camper that is no newer than the 1970s because I have big plans.  I have exciting plans.  Do you know what I don't have?  A camper.

So that's the point of this post.  To ask you to rack your brains dear readers and friends and think of your life, and your neighbors' lives.  Do you know of a camper for sale?

I've looked on Craigslist and l've looked on Facebook "For Sale" sites and I'm coming up empty.  Anything that fits my wish list is either too expensive or is snapped up within minutes.  I'm a dreamer though and an optimist, so I decided to post a little plea along with some adorable camper photos.

Don't let the pictures fool you though, because I know with my budget that I'm going to DIY 99% of the camper.  I'm just hoping to find a camper with good bones.

Now it's time to put my wish list out into the universe:
Pre-1980 Camper or Travel Trailer
No driving or pop-up campers
Good wheels
Good roof

Photography Attempt V.2

A few weekends back, my mom and I, along with my friend Kallie, went to Bemidji for what I refer to as a Jesus-cation.  A Jesus-cation is just a mini vaca that's centered around Christian music.  Our Jesus-cation brought us to Bemidji, MN for the Newsboys.

Our hotel was beautiful and right on the water, so I popped out before we left to take a few photos.  I tried to take photos right after we checked in, but actually ended up getting locked out of the hotel building.  The second day went a little better for my second photography attempt.  You can see the first attempt here!

Here's just a little peak at the hotel from the lake.  There was a trail that ran between the hotel and the lake, so it was cool to see everyone running and biking outside.  They may not have realized that I was cheering them on from my seat inside the hotel, eating mini chocolate donuts.

Before we left town, we had to stopped and Paul Bunyan and Babe, because we were tourists after all.  The picture below is one of the reasons I love my mom so much; she honestly finds joy and happiness in everything that she does.

Luckily a lot of people decide to do the tourist thing, so we found someone to do a "photo swap."  My favorite thing about this photo is that I feel like Babe is really posing.  Paul doesn't look too bad himself.

Obviously we weren't in Chicago, but I convinced my mom to touch Babe's butt with me...even though she had no idea why were doing it and kept asking "But why?"

All in all, I had just a great Jesus-cation with my mom and Kallie.  I can't imagine a better group of people to adventure around Bemidji with.  We laughed so many times that tears often came with laughter and it was great to have someone to witness the ridiculousness that MK can bring to the table.