Surprise!!

For the last few months, my sisters and I have been plotting and scheming about throwing our mom a surprise party. Now normally this would happen at a land mark birthday, but keeping with the tradition of being non-traditional - we opted for a "hooray for you" birthday party.  We were able to pull it off and have a great time AND biggest score...No leaks and she didn't know a thing!

Of course this party was very inspired by crafting, Pinterest, and the need for tons of color!

The decorations are so cute, I believe they will be remaining for Spring; it was a like a 2-4-1. 

This cake was amazing! A complete diet buster, but completely worth it. 

The Birthday girl and I 

My sister wrangling the Balloons! She eventually won.

So with the big party, today has been a very lazy, lazy day of pure relaxation. 

Sex and the City Marathon, thank you HBOgo - don't judge me. I'm on Season 2, episode 11

I hope that your weekend was fabulous! Be on the look out for a giveaway starting tomorrow :)


Much Love,

Confessions of a slack ass blogger

Forgive me blog world for I have sinned, it has been 10 days since my last post...Yeah, it has been over ten days, oppsie. I mean seriously, how is a girl supposed to work, keep up a house, write a dissertation all the while remaining socially in touch with friends and family AND maintaining fabulous status? #thestruggleisreal

So when I signed into Bloglovin to just read a little this evening, I immediately felt super guilty. Not because I have all these followers that are depending on my next written word {bless your heart if you are..} but because I really want to blog for me. Annnnddddd... I've done some cool stuff the past 10 days. So I'll cover some of those events in my confessions for the week. 

:: yeah, the gym... Wtf is that? I am not sure what my issue is, I was so pumped before. But I did commit with my girl to get my ass there everyone morning at 5a.m. {kill me} starting April 1. So for now, bring me another cappuccino!

           

:: I am so over this dissertation bullshit. I feel like if I'm not being jerked around by some facet of this god forsaken process, my day just isn't complete. I mean hell, I am paying for this crap... WHO DOES THIS?!?!?  Dear sweet baby Jesus, please let me make it to the end... 

                                

:: I need a blog redesign, but I am lacking time and creative abilities -- any suggestions?

:: My dogs have been a special kind of pain in the asses lately, it's like they are conspiring against me to see who can make me crack my head open first in this house by constantly being under me feet. #furmommaslosetheirshittoo

:: I am currently trying to plan out blog post for future ideas and such, what are your creative inspirations? 

:: I am SUPER excited about my upcoming giveaway, so be sure to check back! 

:: I did the Electrodash 5K last Friday night. Ok, it was more of 3.8K because me and my friend may have taken one {or 2} short cuts. The 5K itself was ok, very Rave oriented, with everything glowing, loud electronic music, etc. But it was on a Friday night, after my first week back to work after spring break. Yeah, I probably should have consulted my calendar before booking that baby.

                                        

         

:: my hubs and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on the 24th! We had a fabulous dinner at Flemings, aka The more $$ than sense restaurant. While the food was amazing, and we received some $$ off due to my husband working for the same overall company, it was just SO over priced. That Chocolate Lava Cake though....

:: I have started my Spring cleaning!! YES! And it will be almost alllllll done by this Friday! Yes, be jealous. 

Ok, so this is 10 days in a small little nutshell with a cute little link up. I found the blog Vodka & Soda through my reading, clicking & Blog surfing. I love when that happens!  Don't forget to link up :)

                                             

What can a Krewe do for you?

Ahhh, St. Patrick's day. Or as most of us Tampa Folks observe, St. Patrick's Day weekend. No matter if this green explosion happens on Monday, Wednesday, or Sunday - it is a weekend affair no matter what. See being part of Krewe World there are certain expectations placed upon different events throughout the year. Most of those events occurring between January and March. Gasprilla parades and the St. Patrick's Day parade. I would have to say after partaking in these Shenanigans for the last three years, the St. Pat's day celebratory weekend is my absolute favorite. Am I Irish? Nope. Can I pull of the Irish cheer and have a wicked good time as if I am Irish? You bet your Shamrocks I can.

Friday Night we start with the Rough Riders Trolley Hop.  Best event of the year in my opinion. Some of the girls had a great idea to kilt it up this year. So when in Rome..

I was a little concerned at first because this is totally out of my comfort zone but I think the outfit turned out awesome. Extreme comfort - I could wear a kilt everyday. I recommend for your future St. Pat's day adventures. 

So the Trolley Hop is the basic bar crawl through Ybor City (yes, you've seen Ybor City in Magic Mike). It is a great time. Lots of singing (not done by me) dancing (most definitely done by me) and of course some drinking (no fireball for me for a while, thank you). 

 

Welcome to Coyote Ugly

About a quarter of the gang in Coyote Ugly

My Love, Lora and I at Bad Monkey

Great time had by all. Worst fail of the night - I didn't pack Tylenol to ensure no headache the next day. #partyfail

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous out. The girls and I had some lunch on the patio at Gaspars Grotto

The have a mean cuban sandwich. 

After lunch we hopped on the Trolley back to the hotel so I could take a nap and get ready for the parade. After about an hour of shut eye, my littlest sis came to partake in the festivities with my Krewe so we got her all pirated up and away to the float. 

How cute is she? She will make a fabulous Pirate wench next season!

My hubs does security for the float so it is always nice to have him there to make sure myself and my fellow wenches stay safe and he is also great for an awesome photobomb :) 

Myself, Carroll, Leann & Kim - some of my great friends.

As I am posting this and looking at the pictures this gives me a different spin for this post. This was going to be a this is what I did this weekend post but I think it allows for something a little more. You know, being in a krewe comes with a lot of pre-conceived ideas about the people that actually partake in the krewes. Automatically, the naysayers label every one of us as alcoholics, people who are unfaithful to our spouses, and sometimes just downright trouble. 

I have to say that while there are some people who drink too much, party too much, and may even stray from those they are married to it is like every single thing in life - there are always going to be those few that ruin it it for everyone. While I have grown up in Tampa and I ALWAYS knew I wanted to be part of a krewe, I never imaged getting out of a social organization what I have from this Krewe. The girls and guys that I have met through my krewe have become some of my best friends; my support system for when life gets tough, and my constant source of laughter because we get each other and we love to laugh and have ridiculous moments. I have participated in more volunteering and community outreach than I would have ever been able to had I not joined. 

Is there drama? Damn right there is. However, when you try to have 55-60 women in the same room that all HAVE to agree on the same things, yea that shit is never going to be easy. It is the same thing as my sorority when I was in college; now the girls are older, we have jobs, some have kids, some own businesses, some are married, some go through divorce. You just never know what an organization holds for you until you let go and decide to join. I will forever be grateful for being invited to join. Charlotte de Berry has given me an outlet, a venue to be creative, a fun way to interact, and it has made me look inside my own self to determine what kind of person I am, and how can I grow. Those are hard conversations to have with yourself but this group of women has given me that. 

Until next year St. Pat's, I may not be Irish but us Charlottes sure can make your Sham's rock!

Link up Fun

Hey loves... been a crazy busy ending to last week and this week started Spring Break which was OH.SO.NEEDED!  So I'm back and it is always a fabulous day to do some linking up and make some new friends :)

Today I am saying so what to several things such as

= So what if I am still in my pajamas at 2:28pm, its Spring Break Beeetoches!!
= So what if I plan on staying in my house a llllllllllll Spring Break, or at least until maybe Friday, then the Shenanigans for the weekend begin.

 = So what if I just totally screwed myself by calling out my dissertation chair for her inadequacies. I mean how are you going to tell me on the deadline day (TODAY) that oh by the way, you were in the wrong unit for 15 weeks...whoopise!!  Um, no... #lostmyshit All I know, someone better make it right because I have a very extensive repertoire of complaining, whining, and writing seething emails. 

= So what if I am between about 5 sites I may want to use to redesign this bloggy blog. I like what I did here, but I am thinking that I might want a different, more polished look. Read: I need this shit to look professional. 

= So what if I am ready to throw this iPhone across the room. It won't send any messages through iMessage. It goes to send, then says unsent and I have to send it as a text. Isn't this shit bag phone smart enough to just send it as a text...

= So what if maybe I am annoyed and need to take a nap. I can't sleep Spring Break away.. I mean I might miss something on Pinterest or Facebook

Speaking of Facebook, I posted this little Ad on my Jamberry Facebook page. Check if out and if you are interested, hit me up! It might make my mood a little bit better. 

For more info, shoot me an email justcallmesparkles at gmail :)

Don't forget to show some love to me and to my linky friends! 

Laters,

Wednesday Link up

So I'm pretty proud of my new commitment to blogging. I have really found that this is a great outlet and I am starting to connect with some great ladies. #bloggingFTW

I found these link ups as I was puruising my bloglovin list of my favs so I figured why not! I am always down for a little confession action. So make sure you read, link up, and show these gals some love. Hey, you might even make a few new friends!

My Confessions:
1. I am in a strange place professionally. I love my job & I love the kids. I have worked pretty hard to get to where I am and being that I am the youngest in the office of administration (I do love being the baby, it gives me freedom to act a fool sometimes) I pride myself on my accomplishments. SO why the hell am I feeling this need to keep moving up or on... or up.. or is it on?  #thestruggleisreal

2. I have not been to the gym in a week. I don't really have a reason - I could actually be there right now.

3. I sometimes wish that I didn't have such a job that required me to keep my thoughts, beliefs, and personal opinions out of public arenas. I would hate to lose my job because I say something incorrect, but is it really okay to censor myself? Do all professionals have to do this to some degree? I just want to voice my frustrations, my applause, and my thoughts on many things. But alas, I sit quietly and bite the heck out of my tongue A LOT.



4. I still have my "Diva" Christmas tree up. It is March 5. The shame...

* Confession 4.2 -- I LOVE the Goonies!


5. I spent entirely too much time on my phone, iPad, or my fancy new iMac computer. I know that I do but I just can't seem to not have SOMETHING to do that is internet related. Does anyone else have this? What do you do to curb it? I was told to give it up for Lent (totally not Catholic) but I really can't because I do business on the computer and social networking sites.  And by business I mean Facebook, Instagram, and that time-sucker Pinterest.

Don't forget to link up!!

Finding Nemo?

Who in the hell steals a fish? I mean what kind of twisted sick individual has those sorts of stones...

No, I am not crazy nor have I lost my mind. Here's the 411 on operation "I need to find Nemo". So my Marine Science teacher sets up a salt water tank in my office at work. Apparently, I give off the I'm angry and need serenity vibe. So I get my tank and I want an eel, a ribbon eel to be precise. Not that I have ever had an eel, cared for an eel or the like. Yes, pet owner of the year nominee right here. So enter Trina, my ribbon eel. She is cool but then I decide she needs a friend. Clearly, the best friend for her is something bigger than her that she cannot devour, so a clown fish is suggested. So enter, Yeezus the maroon clown fish. Since everything in my tank needs a gangsta name, he is named after Kayne who is a clown. See what was done there? A big thanks to my girl, Hollo for the great play on words name.

 

See the similarities?! 

Anywho - so its Yeezus and Trina living a nice happy life and today I come in to see my aqua friends and Yeezus is missing. I mean I looked all through the tank because how in the hell does a fish disappear from a tank? You're right, they DON'T. Trina is not big enough to eat him. Hell, she cannot even see to eat her own little ghost shrimp. I mean after all they sit on her head and back as she swims around.Luckily we have surveillance cameras in the school {yea, it is a safe place} so I watched but not everyone would use the entrance door since there is a backdoor to enter and exit as well. So bottom line, my gangsta fish was jacked.

Clearly, this is a big deal to me. It is not so much about the fish but the invasion of personal space and the ultimate lack of respect for another persons possessions. I just have a hard time knowing that someone came into my LOCKED office after I left school yesterday and blatantly stole a fish. For the love of God, a FISH! not a pen off my desk, not my beloved K-Cup coffee maker, not my stash of candy... but a fish. What in the world is wrong with these people? So for now... my awesome secretary made me reward signs and they are posted. One of which is posted right on the tank. I want the culprit to know that I am aware of the shenanigans. For now... back to my all-day tantrum of "I can't believe someone stole my fish".

Oh yeah.. don't forget the giveaway that ends shortly!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mistie 1, Monday 0

Hey hey.

So Monday, we meet again.

Before I curse you I am reminded that I automatically win. Why you ask? 

Ahhh yes, only a few more days and then a fabulous week off :) I am stoked! The little break is quite welcome and I have a lot of things going on so it will be nice to concentrate on something other than work. However, with this break we (those in the school district) are totally getting screwed because we have a looooooonnnggggg haul till summer. 

So a quick post and I'll be back later for a weekend recap as some fun definitely went down. As I was looking through my 4,295 most favoritest blogs to read I found a cute little link up with a Cosmo-mag style quiz, very Myspace circa 2004.  Erin at Two Thirds Hazel

posted as a little link up and it has some serious love so make sure you stop in and post!  Also, don't forget about the drawing.. Enter! Enter! Enter!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is my Cosmo Quiz :)