Merry Christmas

Christmas in Rosenberg

I'm joining late...

<center>
<a href="http://storyofmylifetheblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/blogtember-september-blog-challenge.html">
<img src="http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m553/jennilu07/Blogtember200_zps4672ae9b.png" border="0"/>
</a></center>

This is my first post in the Blogtember: A September Blog Challenge. I took this short personality test. My outcome: ESFJ. It's amazing how just a small amount of questions can size a person up. I actually agree with the analysis! I especially agree with the career choices for my type. Apparently, I would be great at management, healthcare, or social services. Good thing I've spent the last few years in healthcare. More specifically, the last threeish years in healthcare management. I recently left my job pretty much running a doctor's office because I wasn't being recognized or appreciated for my hard work. I am going to finish school to get a degree in what I've already been doing so future employers will actually be willing to pay me more and give me a title instead of doing the work without any reward. I do love to help patients and be responsible for so much, but it really makes it all worth it if I am truly appreciated. As soon as I can save up some money and get a couple more basics out of the way I'll move forward to pursue a degree in healthcare administration instead of continuing with psychology.

Some fun facts! -- Famous ESFJ: Rachel McAdams. I like her :) A famous fictional ESFJ is Monica from Friends. I must say though, I am nowhere near as enthusiastic as Monica from Friends is about cleaning at home! You should see my desk at work though. It is always beautifully organized :D

Want to take the test too? I'd love for you to share your results!

Coming soon!

 The shop is sooo empty! I wanted to give y'all a peek at what will be listed soon! I am super excited for fall. It is my absolute favorite time of the year. I am so over the Texas heat. It really is awful. I've spent the last couple of days inside enjoying the air condition :) are you ready for Halloween? I sure am! I've got a few fluffies returning to the shop as well as a new super cute fluffy turkey! Along with the turkey, I've got a couple other new designs I hope to reveal to y'all soon! 

Are you excited for fall?

 

My New Office Space

This is my new little desk! I've been at my new job for three weeks. It has been pretty great :) I've picked up everything pretty quick. My supervisor and manager are awesome! My coworkers have been very helpful. I'm surpassing expectations and being told almost daily what a great job I've been doing. It is such a huge change from my last job. I was at my last job for almost four years and it was just so stressful to work so hard without much appreciation. 

I decorated and everyone at work loves my little space :) I like to be very organized and a cute space makes me work better. I saw this on Pinterest and decided to make my own version. All you need is some cork tiles and paint. I used a glue stick because I forgot to buy the little circle sponge paint brushes. 

Just lay out the tiles how you want them to hang. Use whatever you'd like to paint them. I did polka dots because that is my favorite. Another option would be to use tape and paint some fun stripes or chevron. Obviously, you should let it dry before hanging but you could always be a rebel. 

Once you hang the tiles up you can put pictures, notes, or even some awesome art from Yellow Heart Art on them! 

What DIY projects have you done to pretty up your office space?

 

 

 

 

Shop

Shop

Have you stopped by the shop lately? I've added a couple new fluffy owls! More will be added soon!

Don't forget to follow on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, or like on Facebook to keep up with all the fluffy cuteness :)

 

 

Happy Father's Day

Disney World 2012

Happy Fathers Day to all the great dads out there!

I came around when my dad was just 18 years old. That's why people always have a hard time believing he has a 25 year old daughter. I was the teeny baby he was holding in his high school graduation pictures. I know it was tough and scary. Not many 18 year old guys can handle that. Not many 18 year old girls can handle it either. I'm so happy my dad wanted me so bad because my mom didn't. She left us.

With the help of my amazing Gma and close family, my dad raised me by himself. 11 years later my lil brother, Noah was born. A couple years after that, Jake was born. My dad didn't choose a great woman the second time around either so he does so much for my brothers on his own. Even though he sure can drive me crazy, I know I am a a strong person because of him. 

He is actually making me and my brothers breakfast as I'm typing this haha pretty sure we should be doing that for him. Oh well. He loves to cook! We've always been grateful for that :) We are going to see Man of Steel this afternoon! Then we're going out to eat. Should be a nice day!

Are you doing anything special for Father's Day?

 

 

 

Yay!!!!

via

My last post mentioned how much stress I've been dealing with at my job. Well, a few days ago I got a great job offer! I'll be getting paid the same to do WAY less work! AND I'll have benefits!! AND it is FIVE minutes from my house! FIVE MINUTES!!!! I'm currently driving an hour each way to work in the lovely Houston traffic. 

I was invited to interview for a scheduling position. I went in and totally loved the managers. They are so nice! I followed up with a nice email (which you should always do after an interview) thanking them for meeting with me and letting them know I am really interested in the position. The super awesome manager said she loved meeting me too and if I was interested, there was even another position available at their other closest location (ten minutes away from my house). She said I didn't have to say yes, but if I would like to interview for it she would get me in. I was like um YES please. I went in for that interview, and the job was okay but I really preferred the scheduling position. Basically, I would get to talk to people on the phone all day :) I wouldn't have to see patients. I wouldn't have to deal with insurance companies. I wouldn't have to do payroll. I wouldn't have to hire/fire people. I wouldn't have to ... well, I wouldn't have to run a freakin office and not get paid enough for it. After the second interview, I emailed the super awesome manager again saying thank you. I couldn't believe how helpful she was being. A few days later, my boss told me he couldn't believe I hadn't found a new job yet. He said I should have been hired for five different jobs already. This rubbed me the wrong way. He always manages to talk down to you. So I emailed the super awesome manager asking how the search was going and reminding her how much I loved the position and how I would love to be a part of her team. She replied quickly letting me know they should have a decision in a few days. The next day I got a call from HR letting me know how much the manager loved me and would like to offer me the position. WOO!

I'll be working for an office owned by a major hospital system, so I have to go through a lot before my first day: background check, drug testing, physical, orientation, etc. So my last day at my current job will be June 26th! I'm super excited about this new opportunity. My current job requires way too much of my time and energy with basically no reward. I LOVE helping my patients. Most of them are so wonderful. I was packing up some of my stuff in the office yesterday and the lil gifts from patients make me smile :) I'll miss that. Some patients are sad that I am leaving. So many reps are upset that I'm leaving too. They even tried to talk my boss into giving me more money! ha. The new job will open so many doors. It is so easy to move up when you're already in the system of a big hospital. It will be so much better for me in the long run. 

I'm so glad I kept reminding that manager how much I wanted the job. :)

Long Weekend

I was so happy when I saw this long weekend on the work calendar! It has been so crazy at work. I've decided I need to leave the doctor's office I've been working at for almost four years. My boss has become ridiculous, I deserve to get paid more, I need benefits soon, and I don't want the long commute every freakin day. I'm looking for a new position AND hiring/training someone to take over my position when I leave. I hired someone that I knew wasn't good enough to take over my position, but my boss was so in love with her. He made me hire her. After interviewing her, I made a list of all the stuff she doesn't know and I would have to teach her. He still thought she was the best candidate. Well, turns out she really couldn't handle it. She yelled at me and argued with me a few times. Some people can't handle working under a younger person, and I am not sure if that was her problem. She did not like taking direction from me. It was a little ridiculous, but I was just trying to prepare her. I was never mean or nagging. She just couldn't handle it. My boss made me fire her on Friday. I knew she wasn't a good fit, but it still makes my stomach hurt when I have to fire someone. Now I have to start all over...

Then I went to dinner with my Gma. She fixes everything :) Yesterday we did some shopping. See the awesome top and sandals I got from Charming Charlie?! I actually got free sandals and a tote bag because I spent a certain amount! Then got my little brother's birthday present AND my dad's Father's Day present! Very productive day!

Today we will do some grocery shopping to BBQ tomorrow! What have you been up to this weekend?

 

 

Ikea Wishlist

Do you love Ikea as much as I do? It's been such a long time since I've been! I finally went this weekend and loved so much stuff! I swear when I have a house I'm going to want 8 bedrooms and 4 kitchens because it is so difficult to pick just one. I fell in love with this bed. Pretty sure I want to go ahead and buy it this summer. My current bed is from Ikea and I've had it for about 5 years. I also really love the shelf that would go really great with it. I've really gotten into the industrial look, so I'm a fan of all things metal. Oh! And that little mint cart is too cute isn't it!? It was in a craft room set up even though it is a kitchen cart. I think it's awesome no matter which room it's in. There's so many cute jars and bins that would go perfectly on each of it's shelves! Even though that white coffee table isn't metal like the rest, it is so freakin awesome because of its drawer and glass top so you can see the awesomeness you decide to put inside. However, I think it is overpriced so it will just be on my wishlist and not in my house anytime soon. Haha

The cool furniture and room setups are fun, but I really enjoy all the little stuff downstairs. The teeny cups and vases make me happy :) Oh! The pillows! There were so many cute pillows! What is your favorite part of Ikea?

 

Don't forget to follow on Bloglovin :)

 

My weekend

Happy Sunday! 

Summer weather has finally hit Houston and I hate it! Friday after work, Selina and I went to Rice Village to eat and see some shops. Man was it gross outside! I don't mind heat as long as it is dry. Of course here in Houston it is pretty much never that way. It was sooo muggy! We ended up going to the Galleria just so we could be indoors. Saturday we went to Ikea! I haven't been in forever, so I was very excited :) I love looking at all the design ideas. I only bought a super cute vase. Also got a can opener per my Dad's request (apparently can openers break easily in his house). After Ikea we went to an awesome cupcake boutique in Town and Country Village. After more browsing, we came to my Gma's and had yummy chicken tortilla soup for dinner! I did some sewing (check out this guy in the shop) and watched movies while my Dad cooked. Today is pretty lazy. Just gave the pup a bath that he was not in the mood for haha Brave just came on TV. It is sucha CUTE movie! 

Here's some pictures from this weekend. You can follow me on Instagram to see more :)

How was your weekend?

Don't forget to follow on Bloglovin!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Shop News - The Tinderbox

Exciting news!

 It's Sooo Fluffy is now available at The Tinderbox! It is a sweet shop full of amazing works of art all handmade in Texas. You can even sign up to participate in workshops to make your own jewelry, soap, kids crafts, and so much more! If you're in the Houston area, you should definitely stop by Midtown to see this great place. You can now purchase my fluffies there! 

 

 

I got a baby iPad yesterday! I am sooo in love! I can finally use awesome apps like the BlogGo app by Dana from The Wonderforest and the super fun photo app by the lovely ladies at A Beautiful Mess. Do you have any suggestions for must have apps for the iPad mini?

 

 

 

Roundtable Goods - Pop Up Shop

This weekend I participated in Pop Up Shop Saturdays at Roundtable Goods. The weather was AWFUL. I didn't even realize just how awful it was. It took us THREE HOURS to get home (usually would take about 30 minutes) due to flooding. Thank goodness my hamster mobile (Kia Soul) got us through it all. We basically got to sit on a freeway for a couple hours because people were scared of the water. Some cars did get stuck and do some floating. Other than the awful weather, it was a pretty nice day :) haha I made a couple sales, met some super awesome people and got some sewing done.

There were some beautiful products there. My favorites were Surfer Bunny and Busy Bonnie Bee! Beautiful jewelry and super cute children's clothing and toys! Turns out Bonnie lives about 15 minutes away from me! It's so nice getting to know other artists. We plan on getting together to do a booth at another show toward the end of the year. Yay new friends :)

There's some changes going on over at Roundtable Goods. I'm excited to see what awesome opportunities come up in the future! I also may have some super exciting news about It's Sooo Fluffy! Be sure to check back soon to find out. Remember you can follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Bloglovin to keep up with all the fluffy awesomeness!

How was your weekend?

Etsy Favorites - Arrow Love

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I made my first Etsy Treasury! These are my favorites of the items listed in the treasury. You can see the full list here. I've noticed the coolness of arrows lately, and I've fallen in love. They're so sweet and simple. I tend to hate things that EVERYONE likes just for the fact that everyone likes them. haha Trends and fads usually annoy me. So I really annoy myself when I like popular things : /

I want all of these things BADLY. Anyone feel like buying me some presents?

Pop Up Shop Saturdays - Roundtable Goods

It's official! It's Sooo Fluffy will be participating in a local shop's event. The sweet shop Roundtable Goods is hosting Pop Up Shop Saturdays through May. I was so excited to receive the invitation! I'm not at the point where I can pay monthly rent to have my items in the shop, so I was thrilled when Juanita contacted me about this great opportunity. Instead of committing to an entire month or period of months to have my inventory in her shop, I get to set up a booth on April 27 and work all my own sales. 

I'm currently working on lots of spring colored fluffies for the Pop Up Shop event. I also am setting aside a few fluffies because It's Sooo Fluffy is coming to a Midtown shop in Houston, TX! More details on that later :)

Any tips or advice for pop up shops? 

Craft Show Display Inspiration

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

I've only done one craft show so far and I absolutely loved it. My setup was pretty simple. I have a long table, some cute little wire baskets I painted silver and I even made some of those cake pan tier things (that totally broke and fell apart when I was packing up my display to go home). I've been invited to do Pop Up Shop Saturdays at Roundtable Goods here in Houston! I was so happy to receive that email! I only have a couple weeks to prepare. This time around I am really thinking of doing small crates painted in white with my wire baskets. I want to keep it simple so my colorful fluffies really pop. The ideal setup with be like #3 but it seems that would be pretty difficult to load in my car and setup at an indoor shop haha I'll keep it sweet and simple :)

Have you done craft shows or pop up shops? Any tips?

Happy Friday

via

I wish I could write like that. Do you have fancy handwriting? Mine is never the same. It's so weird. My handwriting depends on what type of pen I'm using, the mood I'm in, and how fast my boss is talking to me and I have to write every freaking thing down because I KNOW I won't remember 10 seconds later. 

Speaking of my crazy boss...WE HAVE NO PATIENTS TODAY! I love when he goes out of town! It is pretty rare, so I cherish these days. I'm usually pretty productive when we don't have patients to see, but it is Friday and I'm ready to get the hell out of here. 

Speaking of getting the hell out of here...I'm getting off work EARLY to drive over to Austin to see my favorites!! It has been way too long since I've visited. We will be celebrating my 25th birthday (even though I turned 25 last week) by hanging out, playing putt putt and drinking A LOT on 6th street. Can't wait :)

What are your weekend plans?

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3702637/?claim=ndgadmf2knc">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

My Birthday Wishlist

 

Happy March people!

Thanks to Pinterest I have a wishlist titled : Gifts for ME. If you’re ever in the mood to buy me presents, I suggest you go there for ideas. OR come up with something awesome all on your own. Surprises are so fun! I never really intended that board to be used by others for inspiration on what to buy me haha It’s just for me. I guess for times when I have extra monies to throw around (which is NEVER). A girl can dream.

Just for fun, I decided to put together a few items together and call that a Birthday Wishlist. I guess I’d say they’re my most favorite things lately. Here it goes…

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

 

Oh goodness I love shoes. If I ever win the lottery, I plan on buying every chucks and vans in every color. I’d say the same about nail polish. I LOVE nail polish. I’m currently wearing a coral nail polish that makes me smile when I check out my fingernails :) Another thing that makes me smile ALWAYS: Friends. It’s my favorite TV show EVER. I’ve been asking for the complete dvd set since I was aware it existed. Since it’s roughly $200 – no one ever buys it for me. Those things along with the other awesomeness I listed would be super awesome gifts. Just keep them in mind for future reference ;)

When is your birthday? Do you have an awesome birthday wishlist too?

Zoo trip!

I posted recently about how badly I’ve wanted to go to the zoo…AND I FINALLY GOT TO GO! It is more than a little ridiculous that I haven’t been to the zoo in a few years because I live roughly two blocks away from it. Maybe it is because every freakin year our school took us to the Houston Zoo because it was the cheapest thing to do? Well, a few months ago I learned they made some changes. SUPER awesome changes. Sooo, I decided I REALLY wanted to go. BAD. But of course, lack of time or $$ or not being able to schedule a time with someone to go…ya know how it goes. Well, my dad texted me around 6:30 am one morning asking if I wanted to go to the zoo that weekend. Um YES. Throughout the day we made plans, I invited people, blah blah blah…then my dad cancels on me that afternoon. Not a big surprise at all. BUT I said screw it. I’m still going to the damn zoo!
Luckily, my super awesome aunt/mom wanted to go! Her grandson, Ethan had never been. Why in the world hasn’t this kid gone to the zoo at least fifteen times like I had by that age?! Let me tell you, it was hilarious when we brought that kid into the zoo. He was freaking out. FREAKING OUT. So bad that while I was carrying him and showing him the fish can’t jump out the giant water bowls they are in, I put my hands in the air and this kid was holding onto me so tight he stayed there. Like a monkey clinging to a tree. He’d say NO TOUCH! haha I was putting my hands all over the glass to show him they weren’t going to get me or come out. I even pointed out some wimpy looking kids and how they weren’t scared. He didn’t buy it. After a while, he got the hang of it. He realized those animals weren’t out to get him.
He saw a turkey and thought it was pretty cool. At least that is what I’m assuming because he stared at it for a while. The meerkats were pretty darn cute. Oh! The giraffes! I loved them. Ethan did too. He was pretty excited when we saw them. He also really liked all the fake animals way more than the real animals. He got a kick out of the buttons you push that made the animal sounds. Crazy kid.
As you can see in the last picture, he was worn out. It was great. He’s nice when he’s sleeping!

When is the last time you’ve been to the zoo?