Currently (Vol. 8)

Reading.. I need a new book! I devoured the Selection Series from Kiera Cass, but just haven't found a new book. I am back to reading required books for school,  so hopefully I don't stop reading for fun. That would suck! 

Listening: Honestly right now some news braodcast about Obama going somewhere since I am sitting at the front desk for coverage. But as for Music, I am rocking out to this: 


Smelling.. Mike and Ikes! I just popped a whole handful into my mouth and can smell the flavors. Is that weird? 

Hoping.. I can recreate Megan's Ikea Hack for a stand up desk. 

Wearing.. The usual! Jeans, t-shirt, and a sweater. Though I should have brought a heavier jacket. 

Loving.. (yet hating) the rain!! People get stupid at driving when it rains in Phoenix, but it is definitely soothing to listen to. 

Thinking.. That I really need to de-clutter my desk at work. Almost 6 years at one job turns you into a little pack rat of sorts I guess.

Wanting.. to get all of the drafts for my blog finished. You guys there are SO MANY! I just get home and really don't want to look at a computer screen. 

Needing.. to clean my house. It's far too messy!! 

Feeling.. Overall, content. This week with work has been okay, not the best but not the worst, and my class on Monday was okay. I am super happy that it is Friday though.

Easy Peasy Popcorn Bar

So if you couldn't tell from my post about Waffle Day, let me confirm that my office loves when free food is served. Even if it is something as simple as Popcorn! About a week ago we had a full day filled with this salty treat. Here are the steps that you need to take to build your own popcorn bar for any occasion.

Step One: Pop Popcorn. 

We have roughly 40-45 people in my office so I had to do quite a bit of popcorn. I ended up using 6 packages of Salted Caramel Popcorn and 7 of Movie Theater Butter and we had just the right amount. I did individual bags because I didn't want too much left over, but you may be able to buy a really big bag at your local movie theater. Harkins Theaters sells their big party bags for just $10. 

 Step Two: Add Candy! 

Everyone needs a little sweet with the salty. I bought a few bags of the candy bites and M&M's so that they could mix them in with the popcorn but also put out some full size options for those in my office who just wanted sweet. 

Step 3: Add beverages and labels to the table. 

I did some basic soda's for our office, but I have seen some cuter displays with lemonade and punch. I also labeled the stations so that people knew what was what. Generally most people know what candy is, but we had seasoning salts that we used and little cupcake liners for individual samples.

Step Four: Give Directions! 

In my office they need some sort of directions. Granted most people won't read them and will just ask, but it's a nice touch that most will appreciate. 

Now I did not put out my favorite popcorn mixture, which is chocolate frosting. But this little event was a hit in my office and would be perfect for any movie night or party. 

Do you mix stuff into your popcorn or are you a plain kernal type of person? 

Tips for Your First Color Run

Over the weekend, I participated in what really was the funnest 5k around. I was so excited that I was wide awake at 4am putting on my snazzy new running pants, and trying to find a cute pair of matching socks.

Now lets get one thing straight, I don't run. I may be wearing running shoes, running pants, and the appropriate hair attire, but there is no way my short stubby legs will allow me to do a pace that is acceptable at the moment. I mean I tried, but by all means it did not last.

More or less, the point of a run like this is not to just run, but to have fun at the same time! So I paired up with my bestie and we hit the color run trail for the first time together. As we did so, I made a mental list of everything you would need to know for your first Color Run.

Cover your phone! I noticed a bunch of people with saran wrap or clear cases over their phone and was slightly confused; until after the first station and my phone was covered in pink dust. So cover your phone, or you will get color all over your face for the next two days.

Get Close! The closer you are to the people throwing the dust, the more color you get. But don't get too close or you only get one or two splotches. Some of them also appreciate horrible dance moves to T.Swifts Shake it Off, so have fun with it.

(What's not fun is having hair in your face for everything!)

Get there early! The bestie and I were a little late to the race area, so we had to stand in obnoxious lines to get checked in and get our shirts. The earlier you get there the better so that you can get ready and settled at the starting line. They release people in waves, so if you are looking to run then go in the earlier waves. If you are slower and want to walk do a later wave.

Always go to the Color Pit at the end! It was loads of fun and we even got to have a mini dance party after. Plus this is truly where you will get the most color because everyone around you will toss up their free packets and coat you in it.

Bring a Towel! This is mainly for your car seats. Because let me tell you that dust gets everywhere! I mean even places you don't think that it can get in, it's there! So if you have fabric seats definitely bring a towel to place on your seat after.

 

(or when you go to breakfast after and get the table and chairs coated.) 

Clean the color OFF when you get home! I know it is tons of fun seeing all of that color, but take a few selfies and then wash the color off of your body as soon as possible. Or you will have to take 4 showers like I did to get the color off. Not to mention the glitter, because those of us who are crafters know that glitter is the herpes of the crafting world, and it stays with you till the end of time. I am still finding glitter from Halloween.

There is more than one Color Run! They are labeled under different names and all go to different charities. The biggest thing that I look for is if the money is going to a local charity rather than a big name charity. If you still aren't sure double check to see if the name of the run has reviews on Yelp, because yes people do review them. They are all around the same price, but I want to make sure that I am not being scammed so I do a little research.

What are your tips on doing fun 5k runs like The Color Run?

Oh Hey! Friday Favorites from Photojojo

We made it folks! There were moments when my frail self thought that I would never see the daylight of Friday, but here it is! It's been a longer day than most, so sadly this is a little later in the day but I hope y'all enjoy it anyways.

One thing you may not have known about me, is that I am pretty serious when it comes to taxes. All of my brackets are put as high as I can and I keep track of everything that I spend for school. Plus I am always a head of schedule when it comes to filing. So it won't surprise you that this week the little tax fairies at Turbo Tax did their job and showed me what my return was going to be.

Increasing my taxes on my paycheck pays off, not by much, but it is a nice little kick back. Enough that I get to buy myself a little something every year. This year I am looking at some items that I have literally been drooling over for the past year on Photojojo. 

If you have never heard of Photojojo before, you are seriously missing out. They have an amazing newsletter with all of the best DIY tips, photography news, and more importantly some of the best photo gear.

When I need some photography items for my phone, they are the first place I look. 

 So while drooling over the amazingly insane products that they have, I decided to make my Oh Hey, Friday Favorites on my top 5 favorite products in their store. 

1.) The Photojojo Lens Set ($99) : To buy all of these beauties you are looking at $99 which includes a case to put them in. Now you can buy a basic pack at $49 or Individual lenses at $20. The best part is that they are easy to connect and remove from your phone because of the magnetic ring that goes around your normal lens and is magnetic.

2.) Muku Shutter Remote ($40) : This remote allows you to snap a pic without having to set a pesky timer on your phone or sit at an awkward angle. It's the perfect tool for any blogger really.

3.) The Foldio ($49): Don't want to DIY your own light box or backdrop to photograph your ultra cute craft or yummy treat? Well my fellow bloggies, these guys have the foldio for you. It is on the pricier side of the scale at $49 but it has built in LED Lights to give you just the right amount of light. 

**Cue the baby angel choir** 

4.) The Sony QX Smart Lens ($349.99) : I love Sony Camera's and this, well this my friends makes me wonder why anyone would ever need a DSLR. This amazing lens is detachable, you can snap the shutter from across the room using the Sony app, and has a 20x optical zoom. Basically it would be like using your big girl camera, on your iPhone, iPad, tablet, and or android phones. 

5.) Gorillapod Mobile ($15): Meet the little tripod that could! This little guy is mobile and bendy so that you can place it anywhere to take the perfect pic. Not near a flat surface? That's ok, because the legs bend to what you need in order to keep it stable. It even wraps around cords or ropes.

All in all my cart right now is totaling  $558.99 pre tax and before the secret store (because I seriously want a bag of just marshmallows from Lucky Charms, seriously). With this hefty price tag I will definitely have to buy them one at a time, but I can't wait to up my photography game. 

Do you have any cool tech gadgets that are screaming your name?

I was not asked, offered product or reimbursed for this post. I have only written it out of love for this site and their products.

Think About it Tursdays: Vol. 1 Introduction

About three years ago, I started a little thing I call Think About it Thursday at work. I came up with the idea to coincide with our Community Involvement Team and to get people thinking about other things besides work! Sometimes we get to wrapped up in work that we forget about everything else, and I wanted a way for people to break away and converse about something other than work.

Eventually Think About it Thursdays dissolved due to timing and we only had 9 people in both companies total. I am still infatuated with the idea of stepping out of the box, so I am bringing Think About it Thursday to the blogging world.

Today since the idea is still fresh, I think it is important to introduce who we are and what we love.  So I carefully created a list of Fabulous Questions for each of us to get to know each other, or so that you can get to know me a bit more.

So without further ado!

(Sometimes I miss my long hair.) 

What's your Name?
Simple Question! My name is Kylea (Ki-Lee). But I honestly respond to anything close to my name, or Ky. I guess it is a normal reaction of having it pronounced wrong for most of my life.

What is the #1 reason you get up every morning (or Evening) and blog?
For me, it's like I can find my little voice in the big world. I love getting to know people from all around the world and finding inspiration from someone else's adventures.

Do you have a favorite Vlogger?
Not as of yet. I am just now figuring out all of the wonderful people that do Vlogging, and I have not found a favorite Vlogger yet.

Favorite Book?
The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger

Do you watch documentary's? If so what is your favorite?
I do! I like Who Killed the Electric Car, because I do work in the automotive field and it is rather interesting. I also like Black Fish because I've always been one of those zoo goers that asks whether or not animals should really be caged like that. I know that in some cases it may be wise to prevent extinction but I still have a problem with it.

Do you support a Non-Profit Organization or Charity?
With work, I volunteer time to a local shelter here in Phoenix, but I do want to do more for equality rights and for the younger generations. Any suggestions on an Organization?

What are 3 words that you would use to describe yourself?
Introvert, Passionate, Sassy

******************

Every three Thursdays, we will link up with a new topic! The next Thursday will be February 12th and the topic will be LOVE! 

What does love look like to you? 

Grab a button and link up! I can't wait to see what everyone has to say!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.ky-n-co.com/" title="Kylea & Company"><img src="http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b623/kyleamjohnson/TAIT%20Button_zpsunv1s1io.jpg" alt="Kylea & Company" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

New Week, New Year, New You

If there's one thing that I try and remember at the beginning of every Monday, besides my coffee intake level; it's that the beginning of the week is the start of something new. It's a chance to make it a better week than  previous ones. After the past couple of weeks, I think that I am ready for a new week.

This is the start of a new year after all, so why not make it a new you.

To help make that happen the girls of The Blogging Elite want to giveaway some pretty cool stuff.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you ready to make it an amazing new week?

Oh hey, Friday Favorites!

We all know that Friday is probably the best day of the week. This week has been ESPECIALLY long, or at least for me it has been. You ever have one of those weeks where the days go by super fast but the rest of the week seems to go by extremely slow?

Favorites of the week!

1.) Dutch Brothers Coffee: If you live on the west coast or in Arizona, you know that Dutch Brothers beats Starbucks hands down. I don't have one close enough to my house or work to go every day, but when I do get to go I cherish every moment.

2.) This String Art DIY project, more particularly the Longhorns version in the bottom right corner.

3.) This cord organization hack. I seriously have a problem with cords being all wonky and messy, like it really bothers me. This hack would be perfect for my office at work and at home. 

4.) #linstead. Squealed in delight when Linstead happened on Chicago PD. I MEAN FINALLY!!! Plus Halstead is my favorite guy on there, so I am pretty happy when good things happen for him.

5.) Gold by Imagine Dragons. I have been listening to this non stop this week because I am madly in love with it.

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Blogging Goals 2015

As you may have noticed there is really only one Blogging Goal in my Resolutions Challenges. Up until a few days ago I hadn't even thought of goals for my blog. I don't know whether it was just something that slipped my mind, or something that I just haven't felt inspired to write. But in honor of today's link up with Tiffany and Nina, I created a few goals that I know I can accomplish. 

New blog design: And by new design I mean Hire someone to do it for me. And by blog design I mean new design and all of the matching social media, banners, and business cards. I have tried to get a lot of it done by myself and through self teaching, but I honestly don't have the patience to sit in front of a computer all weekend. I already have to stare at one for 45+ hours a day. 

Get business cards: It just makes the whole thing a little more serious. Plus I plan on going to a few conferences and it would be nice to exchange cards with other bloggers. 

Take more pictures: I love photography and somehow yet I don't actually take enough pictures. I do with my phone, but not with my big girl camera. I need to get back to that and Film. 

Get pictures taken of me: I noticed a while ago that I have a lot of pictures of other people but none actually of me. I have a few but they are silly and you can tell they are totally selfies. I know a friend of my moms that I want to hire to do a photo shoot with so that I have pictures for my blog and LinkedIn which I use for work. 

Make a blogging schedule: I need to get it down on when I blog. A lot of time there is no method to this madness, and that inconsistency is really not fair for you guys. I need to create a schedule and stick to it! It will be less worry on my part and a lot more fun on yours. 

No more COMPLAINING! I feel like I complain a lot on here, and a lot of it is simple stuff that I don't need to drag you guys down with. So from now on no more complaining! You guys are more than welcome to call me out on my shit too. 

Post more directionalized posts: I post a lot of random things, granted this is a lifestyle blog, and my lifestyle is random, but I need to be a little more focused on what I am posting and not so ADHD. 

Go to a conference: I know that I mentioned going to a couple of conferences previously, but I really need to be present. I need to step outside of my social anxiety self and actually be present physically and mentally. 

Go to a Phoenix Blogger Meetup/blate: It would be awesome to meet a few other bloggers in Phoenix and pick their brains for Ideas and just be able to meet them. I know there are a ton, but it seems like they are all hiding. 

Weekend Wrap Up

So I am preparing for Season 5 of Game of Thrones the only way I know how (at least this early in the game). 

Be prepared for me to start counting down the days until April 12th. But for now let's look at my oh so exciting weekend. 

Friday: 

There is a moment that past 3:55 pm on a Friday that unless you are my boss you probably shouldn't call me. I mean it is only common courtesy not to call someone before they are literally running away to have an amazing weekend. But nope a sales guy called to ask about rates because my boss didn't email him back right away. You would think that the President of a Company wouldn't have anything better to do, right? Well he called and I was stuck on the phone for 20 minutes trying to comprehend why he was asking stupid questions. Went home to talked to one best friend via Facebook, One via text, and then one on the phone. And then my butt didn't move from the surface known as my couch. 

Saturday: 

Also known as errand day. Because who likes doing anything on a Sunday? Not me! So I went to the grocery store and bought just enough food to last me until I house sit. I must say that it was a first. I also grabbed a two movies from RedBox. 

What If

Guy meets girl during what is probably the most simple, yet adorable meet cute I have seen. Both guy and girl, Wallace and Chantry, become friends. Just friends. Well about half way through Wallace, like any well rounded character, realizes that he has in fact grown feelings for Chantry, who has a boyfriend. Chantry and Wallace fall apart after he tries to confess his love by chasing after her, then come back together in an adorable way, and eventually ride off into the sunset together. 

There really is more to the story, and I would actually recommend this one. As it turns out Daniel Radcliffe is actually pretty funny. I know that the scripts are written for the witty banter but he actually sold all of it really well. Like he wasn't a I am going to roll on the floor dying of laughter funny; it was more of an awkward, sarcasm filled, type of funny. 

The Giver

Now I would be lying if I had said that I read the book before watching this. Because not only do I own it but it is free in Kindle unlimited. So needless to say I have little room to talk about the differences. But I will say that I feel like Rosemary was probably mentioned more in the book, or maybe not mentioned but twice. The way they played the difference between color and grayscale was amazing. Lastly, I felt terrible for Alexander Skarsgards character; out of any character I felt that his was quite compassionate, but I feel like he knew a little more than they let on. I enjoyed it, but feel I would have liked it more if I had read the book.  

Sunday: 

It was a Rainy Sunday in Phoenix!! And that meant that I got to sleep in and drink coffee well into the afternoon. That also meant that I spent the morning looking for a cabin for scrapbook camp. Do you know how hard it is to find a house to rent that you can fit several 6" tables in? Improbable that I will find the right one yes,  but not impossible. I managed to also read two books, because they sucked me in and I couldn't get out! Granted you get to a certain point at midnight where you have to decide to get some sleep or just not sleep. I like sleep and I ran out of coffee creamer.

So there you have it, a full detailed report on how I tried to do as little as possible this weekend. Now onto the fun trials of Monday.

Flashback to a Pinterest Perfect Life

On January 9, 2014 I posted on what it would be like if my life were Pinterest Perfect. Let's face it, Pinterest is still as popular as it was a year ago. But a few things would change in my perfect Pinterest Life. So what would my Pinterest Perfect Life look like now, one year later?

In my Pinterest Perfect Life, my hair would look like this! Short, sassy, and a little bit on the edgy side. I would also be able to actually style it to a T. 

In my Pinterest Perfect world I would still have adorable outfits like this, but now it would involve a few more pairs of jeans than anything else. I would also have a shoe closet that would be to die for and everything would be organized in that closet perfectly. Because who really wants a closet that is disorganized? And in a Pinterest Perfect world I would have skinny calfs so that I could wear boots. 

In my Pinterest Perfect world, I would still have a well designed apartment or condo, but it would also have the most perfect kitchen in the world. AND I would have someone to clean it and all of the dishes from the yummy food I made.

In my Pinterest Perfect world, my new work office/ area would look something like this. Organized, pretty, and the envy of the office world. I would be a marketing guru and my ideas for company culture would get recognized in numerous organizations around the world.  

And in a Pinterest Perfect world, I would be a crafting goddess. Everything I made would be the envy of all. I would get book deals, thousands of fans, and my own show on HGTV, TLC or DIY. (This chalkboard clipboard is adorable fyi.) 

If this were a Pinterest Perfect world I would be simply:

What would your Pinterest Perfect world look like?