Save Gus

You guys know Mary Rebecca, right? Well if you don't, you should. Because she is awesome. 


Anyways, she has a friend who has a pup named Gus. Gus is adorable. (By the way all the pictures on this post were taken by and *stolen* from Mary Rebecca) Gus (and his parents) are going through some rough times right now. After a bad accident and some bad luck, Gus needs a very, VERY expensive surgery to fix BOTH of his hind legs/hips. (Click here to donate to Gus' cause!) This pulled at my heart strings because one of the many obstacles he/they are facing, Legg Calve Perthes Disease, is the same thing Guillermo went through. Remember?


This is Gus:

Here is Gus' story as taken from the "Save Gus" Facebook page. 


"Our dog, Colonel Augustus "The Shadow of Death" Fink-Nottle (or Gus for short) sustained an injury while doing battle with a Honda Element; his hind right leg was broken transversely, making it difficult to mend. The medic put a metal pin through his leg for three months in an attempt to let his leg knit itself back together, but unfortunately that just wasn't enough, and now he'll require an extensive medical procedure involving a permanent metal plate and a bone graft in order to be able to use that leg. His left hind leg, unfortunately, also suffers from a condition called Legg-Calve-Perthes Syndrome, in which the part of his left femur that connects to his hip has disintegrated, so his need for a working hind right leg is quite high or else we would consider a battlefield amputation.

This is where you come in! The surgery is about $3,000, and his commanding officers just don't have that kind of money. If you could pitch in some money for his surgery, you would be honoring a war hero and helping one of the sweetest, cuddliest (and most merciless) dogs out there."

Please consider donating... Every bit helps!"

I donated some of the money from my Etsy sales. What better use is there than that? I urge you guys to check out their page, donate if you can, but for sure send your thoughts and prayers their way. They need it! 

Click HERE to donate.

Click HERE to visit their Facebook page.

Click HERE to read Mary Rebecca's post about cute little Gus.

Happy Saturday!

S

Today was a great day.

For the following reasons:

1. I shipped my first ever orders from my first every Etsy store.
2. I went through boxes that have been packed up in my parents basement for a year and a half and clothes that I haven't worn since I was a freshman in college fit me. All of them. This is an incredible feeling. My wardrobe has suddenly tripled.
3. I got to take Guillermo to work with me. I love that little boy. <3
4. I taught the second week of my first puppy class tonight and it went amazingly.
5. This happened:

She has been coming out of hiding so much lately.

Overall, it's been a really great week. Despite working so much, I am really happy with how things are going. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway. It's been pretty quiet over there for some reason! 

Happy Friday! :) 

GIVEAWAY!

The shop had a really great first day, yesterday. I made 10 sales, which was many more than I expected on the first day, or even the first week! To celebrate my shop opening, I am giving away a 'Red With Envy' ring, because, duh, red is my favorite color. There are seven ways to enter with a possibility of twelve chances to win for each person. Good luck!

To Enter:

(leave a separate comment for each!)

1. Visit the shop and leave a comment with your email and the name of your favorite item.

2. You must be a follower of Femmena Mala blog!

Extra Entries:

1. Visit and 'like' the Femmena Mala Facebook page.

2. Follow @FemmenaMala on Twitter.

3. Favorite the shop.

4. Tweet about this giveaway and link the tweet in the comments. To do this, just click on the time stamp of your tweet and paste it into a comment. Be sure to mention me (@FemmenaMala) in the tweet!

5. Blog about this giveaway and link back in the comments!

6. For FIVE extra entries, purchase something from the shop!

xo,

Stephanie

THE SHOP IS OPEN!

It's finally open! I'm really excited to share this with you guys!! CLICK HERE to visit/shop. And for the first month, type the coupon code WELLHELLO to get 20% off your order :) ALSO, if you see a print that you like and you'd like it on a different piece of jewelry, just email me or convo me and I would be happy to make it for you :) Happy shopping!! <3 <3

I'll let you in on a little secret.

So, I have decided. To go with Etsy for my shop! I can't wait to open it (should be in about two days). I already have two things listed, and plan to have many more things up by the time the shop opens. This is the post where I tell you what I'll be selling... fabric button rings, hair pins, and necklaces! I'm really excited about this because I have always coveted handmade jewelry like this, but could never find something that was "my style." So now I make it! And hopefully you guys like it enough to buy it :) If not, that's okay, too. We can still be friends ;)

Here's a sneak peak of what's going up first thing on Tuesday:

I got the idea for this basically by shopping around on Etsy. I love the style, so I took that and ran with it. I went to the local thrift store, found some vintage scarves, pillow cases, dresses, and shirts, and used the fabric to create some pretty awesome ornaments for your hands, hair and neck :) As soon as I get the shop up and running, I PROMISE to link it up here! Unfortunately, first, I have to take care of getting a vendors license, of course Ohio has to be difficult and require it for sales tax. Poo! 

Keep your eyes peeled for shop updates! 

<3 Stephanie

On thinking and isolation.

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Lately I have been thinking a lot about isolation. As in, I tend to isolate myself a lot. In general, I don't have a LOT of friends, but I do have a few really close friends. Probably about ten girls and guys that I talk to on a regular basis outside of Nick. But I rarely see them. Besides friends from school (then) and work who I see on a regular basis, I really don't do much with other people (besides Nick, but he doesn't count much, as much as I love him). I've been thinking about this a lot since Buffalo, and before that even. Since Lauren moved to Lexington for her new nursing job, and since Nicole moved to Buffalo to live near her family, I have really been secluding myself. Besides the occasional get together with Chelsey, Lori, and Kristin from cohort (the education program at UC) and hanging out with my friend Kyle or family members, I pretty much tend to stay home, read a book, watch a movie, craft, or clean. Honestly, besides work and Nick, I spend most of my time with my furry babies.

This trend started when Nick lived in his last apartment. For some reason, we started going out a lot less, and hung out at home a lot more. And this was great when he worked a normal 9-5 schedule, and there were roommates for company. Then student teaching happened, and we moved into an apartment of our own. During student teaching, I basically had no energy or desire to do anything. Ever. I really just wanted to hang out in the apartment, sleep, read, or lounge all the time. I was always exhausted and didn't care much to spend time with other people after spending 7 hours a day with high school kids. That translated to weekend nights and going out. Since we live above friends, we were still invited places, but I never wanted to go. And not being a huge drinker, I usually just stayed home while Nick went since bars never really entertained me much. Even sometimes when I come home to stay at my parents house (about once a week or every other) I go straight to my room and blog (like I am now) or watch a movie. So it's obviously not because I don't like people. I do! I really do! Especially my own family.

This post is turning in to a huge rambling session, but I promise, there is a direction. I am not sure when or why it happened, but I have developed anxiety about getting together with people that I am not extremely close to, or can guarantee good conversation and fun with. For some reason, making plans with someone I don't know extremely well overwhelms me, and I find a reason not to do it. OR, I make plans, look forward to them, and then the night or day before suddenly get very anxious and call it off. Why do I do this?!?!

I isolate myself from so many possibly awesome relationships with people, and spend a lot of time alone and often bored. I can definitely say that it's not depression. I'm not sad when I spend my off days alone or just with Guillermo. I do go out and do a lot of things. Like shopping, and taking G to the park, but I prefer to do them alone. I want to want to pack my weekends and off days with friends and fun, but mostly I let Nick do the planning and follow along. Unless it's with my family or my close friends, or a group of people, I don't usually participate. This even translates into seeing people I know who come into work, or at the grocery, or at a roller derby match. I avoid at all costs running into them or having a conversation because I hate awkward hellos and goodbyes. And the weird thing is? Usually when I find myself in a situation like this, it's not even that awkward. I am a chatty, friendly person, and am easy to talk to. I find things to talk about, and can often end a conversation smoothly.

This, in turn, leads to friendships that fizzle and a lack of new friends. Unless there is more than one other person that I am going to hang out with (and this doesn't include those close friends that I have mentioned above and some lovely ladies that I talk to on a regular basis, but don't get to see much) that can occasionally take the attention off of me, I am most likely going to cancel or not make plans to begin with.

SIGH. Does anyone else have this issue?! I feel like I used to be extremely outgoing and easy to talk to, and in the last couple of years, I have sort of closed in on myself. I make it really hard for people to get to know me. Am I just a loner? Any tips on how I can branch out and make myself more comfortable around new people/friends??

If you've gotten to the bottom of this post, I appreciate you. !! <3 <3 Sorry for such a (kinda) downer post, but this is something I've needed to get off my chest for a while!

Soon you can SHOP Femmena Mala....!

You heard me correctly. Unless you skipped the title and went straight for the post. In which case, just shift you attention back up there for one or two quick seconds. Because yes, I AM opening an online store! I haven't yet decided which platform I'll use, but I can't wait to share with you guys what I'll be making and selling. I spent all day yesterday (between work shifts) making some prototypes, and everyone that I've showed thinks they are good. Thanks to Nick, and my friend Jackie, I should have some awesome stuff to put out there. Next in the planning is to photograph what I'm making (and make more of them, which means I need more supplies) and to decide on a site to host my store.

I know there are a few out there, Etsy, Big Cartel, etc.... I've only had experience with Etsy on the customer service end of things, so I don't feel like I can make an informed decision, and this is where I could use your help!

Do you have experience with these sites? What do you think?

Happy Friday :)

Wednesday Wonders v.15

It's been a long while since I have written one of these posts! By the time you all are seeing this, I'll be on the way home to Cincinnati. It's supposed to thunderstorm all day tomorrow, so please think good thoughts about us getting home safely! I cannot wait to see Nick and Guillermo, but I am going to miss Nicole, Cecelia and Russ SO much. 

Also, did you notice the new blog deisgn? Mustaches are in now, apparently, so I thought I would hop on the bandwagon. For those of you on email or Google Reader or Bloglovin', you'll have to come check it out! I've changed the sidebar, as well, AND there are some new share buttons on the bottom right, so feel free to switch them with the one you may already have! Also, I have been seeing this font EVERYwhere, and I love it. So, now I will use it for everything. Muaha. 

1. Lynzie drew this picture of Guillermo, and his new friend, the rooster who lives around the corner. Did I ever tell you guys about this? I don't think so. There's a rooster (and some hens) that live around the corner from our apartment! I convinced myself that I wasn't hearing it every morning when taking Guillermo out, but alas, we saw him on our walk one day.

2. DELICIOUS. Amirite?

3. I used to really want a peacock tattoo. This one is beautiful.

4. Duh. Need I say more? Probably not because I just read back through a ton of

posts and I talk about Harry Potter WAY too much.

5. This is courtesy of Morgan. Nick and I are getting a pug puppy in the next few months and you guys know I am a pug girl at heart, right? Well, I am. And this baby is ADORABLE.

6. WAHAHA. Oh, George.

7. I think I might start making Mittens wear glasses.

8. I have been wishing for a twin lately and these two are super cute together. Did anyone else watch

their movies as a kid? I know I did! 

9. This drawing is GORGEOUS. If I didn't already have anchor tattoos, I would want something like

this. It's so pretty and feminine.

10. One. More. HP. Picture. HAHAH. There should be more HP jokes. I promise I'll try to keep it to a minimum from now on. 

Happy Wednesday :)

Hello from Buffalo!

Hi, from Buffalo! Still here, just hanging out with the girls and this little guy. His name is Mack, and he's basically been Guillermo's stand in for the last couple of days. Cute, right?

Hope everyone is having a great week! 

xo

Kreativ Blogger Award

GUYS! You know Janna, right? If you don't, you should. This sweet little lady nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger Award last night, and I had to comply! These things are so fun :)

Rules Of The Award:

List 10 facts about yourself

Tag 10 other bloggers

Tell them about the award!

10 facts about me...

1. I HATE black licorice. DESPISE it. Blech.

2. Besides Guillermo, I have two pugs, Sheila and Jazz, who live with my parents. :) 

3. I am a huge germaphobe. I have anxiety, and this is where I harbor it. In cleanliness. It could be worse, right?

3. I can read an entire book in one day and not be able to tell you a single thing about the plot a week later. In one ear and out the other.

4. I can't remember the last time I wore heels. Or a fancy dress.

5. I went to an all-girls, Catholic high school. I loved it and I want to go back.

6. I can't force myself to drink a single beer. Unless it's something garbage like Nati Light or Bud Light.

7. I can't type in the dark. Even though I don't look at my hands when I type, for some reason, a lack of light hinders my abilities. 

8. I HATE smelling like campfire. BLECH! 

9. I can't draw. Not even a straight line. 

10. The first time my mom plucked my eyebrows, I nearly passed out. Seriously, I saw spots. I've only ever had them waxed since.

Now it's your turn..! 

1. Chelsea at Love, Chealsea Lauren

2. Jackie at TravelGIrl

3. Nova at Might as Rella

4. Zoe at A Giraffe in a Scarf

5. Amy at Strataflora

6. Amy at Amyshmamey

7. Jamie at Fill my heart up.

8. Tara at This Military Mama

9. Jen at Life Spelled J-E-N

10. Stephanie at The Loudmouth.Com

Happy blogging!! 

Books!

Remember when I told you guys about that awesome trip to the thrift store where I only spent $16 and got tons of awesome stuff? Well, these two books were in that mix, and I can't wait to start reading them. I have read Jane Eyre before, and loved it, but I have never read Anna Karenina . These are two classics that I could probably get on my Kindle for free, but even when I do read books on my Kindle that I like, I usually want them physically for my bookshelf as well. I can't wait to get started :)

In other news... Mittens and Guillermo are getting along better and better each day. She is now venturing into other parts of the apartment, and even coming up to smell Guillermo. :) I'm hoping by the end of the weekend, we don't have to keep them separated when we're gone anymore.

Speaking of the weekend, I have work tonight and work all day tomorrow, and then my mini vacation starts. I can't wait :)

Hope all of you have a great weekend! Hopefully I'll be back once more before I leave for Buffalo!

xo S

Crickets.

Hey, guys! The above photo was taken on one of the first warm days in Cincinnati, and it's been pretty up and down since then. I've been away from the blog for a while, hence the title of today's post. Between work and... well... work, I just haven't had much inspiration for blogging. I'm back, today, though!

Sunday, I am leaving for Buffalo with Jamie to see Nicole. Remember her? Anyhow, I CANNOT wait. Admittedly, I am having some anxiety about traveling essentially by myself. I have never done this before, and although Jamie will be there, it's not the same as having Nick around to ask what I should do when I feel awkward about sleeping on someone's couch. Especially in the morning time when the fiance wakes up for work and I am there on the couch and he's all trying to be quiet so I don't wake up, but I'm really awake and trying to pretend I'm still sleeping. See? This is what goes through my mind.

Four days isn't long, but I'm definitely going to miss my handsome boy and the fur babies. Yes. That's right, I said babies. As in plural. As in two. Meet Mittens:

This is my grandmother's cat whom we have recently taken in. She and my grandfather have moved into assisted living, and she needed a home. Nick is allergic to cats, so we are tentatively keeping her. She is doing great for only having been here for three days! At first she wouldn't come out of her carrier, and now she mostly stays in the kitchen where her food and litter is, and where there are many many hiding spots. She was terrified of Guillermo at first, but now she is letting him get close enough to sniff her, although still hissing at him :) She's so sweet and lovable, but still very nervous!! 

Speaking of Guillermo, he and I did a little photo shoot this afternoon because I got my hair cut and did something a little different than last time :) 

Sorry for the graininess of photobooth ;)

Anyways, after Buffalo, I have plans on heading south to Lexington, KY to see my best friend, Lauren, and to have a Harry Potter movie marathon. Speeeeaaakinggg of Harry Potter (are you tired of hearing about that yet?), my family, Nick, and I are planning a trip to NYC to see the Harry Potter exhibition that is going on in Times Square. Originally, I had planned on using my tax return money to get myself there and back, but my dad offered to make a trip out of it and I. Cannot. Wait. My dad and I started sort of a yearly tradition for the last two years, and have spent a couple of days in NYC together. This year I am SO thankful that we will have the entire family AND Nick there!

AHH this was an extremely long post. I hope all of you are having a great spring so far, and I'll be back in the next couple of days with a book post and some more thoughts about vet tech school :) 

Happy Thursday!! 

Oh, hai, survey! =]

Nerd alert: Throwback to the myspace days. This is a pretty conceited post, so if you're not interested in learning about me in an awkwardly personal way, you should stop here. Otherwise, happy reading! <3  {props to Amy and Janna Lynn for this little baby.}

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A= Available - For coffee dates? For chipotle dates? Yes. But, I do have a boyfriend. So these dates must remain platonic.

B= Best Friend - I have lots of best friends. Laure, Nicole, Christa (happy birthday!), Kyle... just to name a few! 

C= Cake or pie - DEFINITELY pie. I have never been much of a cake girl.

D= Drink of choice - Tea (with lemon) or water. YUM! 

E= Essential item you use everyday - cell phone, MacBook, car keys, planner

F= Favorite color - Red is my favorite color! 

G= Gummy bears or worms - Ew. Neither. Nine times out of ten, they have gelatin in them, anyways. But really, they are just gross. Bleh.

H= Hometown - Cincinnati, OH

I= Indulgences - Tattoos, TV, books, chocolate, puppies!

J= January or February - I'm indifferent about this one. I suppose if I had to pick it would be January.

K= Kids and Names - I don't see kids in my near future, but I have some names picked out. That I will not be sharing on this blog. Because every time I tell someone, they go and get pregnant, or get a dog and use my name! But you all know my little fur baby's name is Guillermo Garcia Gomez :) 

L= Life is incomplete without? - This question is just asking for a cheesy, cliche answer. I REFUSE! 

M= Marriage date - Answering this would be knowing the future. Sure, I'll take a stab at it. July 2, 2015. Hopefully. Or maybe never. 

N= Number of siblings - 1 brother, Tony, who is 17; and one little sister/mini-me, Cate, who is 4! 

O= Oranges or apples - Oranges. All varieties. No doubt about it. 

P= Phobias or Fears - Hmmm. I am worried I'll never actually figure out what I want to do with my life?

Q= Favorite Quote - "Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences." - Sylvia Plath

R= Reason to smile - Tons of reasons..but we shall start with all of you.

S= Season - Autumn, for sure! 

T= Tag 3 or 4 people - This one is dumb. You should do this if you want to, and link back here, otherwise, you're off the hook. :) 

U= Unknown fact about me - I'm allergic to Sudafed. Sorry if that was anticlimactic! 

V= Vegetable you don't like - I don't discriminate! 

W= Worst habit - Biting my nails. Yes, I know this is gross, and yes, I know that as an almost 23-year-old, I should be over this by now, but I just. Can't. Stop.

X= X-rays - I'm not sure what this is referring to. I get regular x-rays of my teeth. At the dentist. I have seen x-rays of Guillermo's hips. I had one once of my back because my pediatrician thought I had scoliosis. I'm still not sure if I've fulfilled this letter of the alphabet's requirements?

Y= Your favorite food - It's safe to say that I <3 cheese the most. The only thing holding me back from being vegan.

Z= Zodiac Sign - Leo! Rawr. 

Also, bunnies are cute.

TV Junkie

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I'm going to admit it publicly: I'm a TV junkie. I'm pretty sure you guys have heard me blog about it before, but I really love getting into a series of something and watching the entire thing. Granted, I usually have it on while I am doing homework (not anymore!), cleaning, crafting, etc etc etc. And the thing is, I can't watch something that is on the air right now, because if I have to wait a week between episodes, I lose interest.

Over the summer I watched all of the seasons of Sex and the City (love) while Nick and I were watching all of the seasons of Seinfeld. Then I took a break while student teaching and mostly read a whole lot. Most recently, I watched all 7 seasons of Grey's Anatomy (which got really old after a while, and then I started to hate it, and now I don't watch it on TV anymore. Lame.) Then I moved onto Gilmore Girls. I always loved this when it was on TV, but I never watched it faithfully. I just finished it, and while watching something like this in it's entirety can point out many of its flaws and such, it was really good! And I find myself wishing there were more seasons to watch :)

That being said, I am pretty picky about something I can watch by myself. If I didn't have Nick to be a couch potato with on a regular basis, I probably would never have watched Weeds or Dexter, and that would have been sad since they are awesomeeee. If I can't get into it, basically, I just turn it off after the first 20 minutes of the first episode.

THAT being said, I was always SO against Glee. Why? No reason. I just felt like being picky and judgmental, probably. Then I ran out of things to watch, so I gave it a shot (Netflix) and hello? Love. I am in love. LOVE. Not to mention, when they sing? Guillermo perks up his little ears and watches the TV intently. SO CUTE. I am addicted. To Glee. There. I said it. (P.s. I know infidelity is wrong. Very wrong. But when are Ms. Pillsbury and Mr. Schuester going to get together??? Don't tell me.)

What are you guys addicted to? I need some ideas to add to my list!!

Happy TV watching :)

<3 S

Thank you!

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who helped me out with the last post :) I got TONS of feedback and actually ended up changing my mind about a few things with the tattoo based on your guys' insight, so I really appreciate it! I think it's going to be fantastic, and I can't wait to get it!! You guys are awesome. Per usual.

This weekend was fairly uneventful. I was off work on Thursday and Friday, and spent most of it with Guillermo. On Friday, I got to have lunch with two [awesome] friends from school, and go thrifting. I found an awesome purse, a GAP dress, and The Game of LIFE and two Pyrex bowls :) Saturday, I was supposed to work my first day as a trainer by myself, but with no classes to teach. Thankfully someone called off in the groom shop, and I had to fill in ;) The day ended kind of crappy with a stupid fight with the boyf. [No worries, things are fine, now!!] Today I worked as a trainer again, and sold my first classes on my own! I was so proud of myself.

Nick and I went out on a date tonight. We went to a local Italian[ish] restaurant and then went to see Limitless. I thought the movie was pretty decent and it was a really nice night out :) 

Hope everyone had a happy weekend!! <3