Confession Session

-That is totally a picture of my white board standing desk. Because only 2 sticky notes have been murdered this week. I call that a small victory.

- It's a Thursday, and I really feel like it should be Monday. My brain is in a bit of a fog and just does not want to work properly today.

- Today I dislike everyone at work strongly. Not Everyone.... but specific people.

- I get my tax return back tomorrow (YAY!) but a good portion of it is already spent because the phone I sent back to Verizon for their edge program was shattered. And because I am a nice sister I am not making my brother pay for it.

- I have to create a new blog for my Marketing in Social Media Class. I asked if I could use mine, but my teacher was wary about it and wanted newer data. So I am all game with making a new one. While I have to do a bunch of it, because hello homework, I am thinking that it would be awesome and beneficial to have a co-author or two on it, and keep it going afterwards.

- I plan on giving my blog another face lift. But this time with professional help from my lovely friend Emily. So get ready for that! 

- I am so leaning against a stool today versus standing. I think it is because I really just want to take a nap, but I am so not up for this standing desk today. I love it, but don't have to like it. 

- This is going to be short and sweet, because I want it to be. 

My Ikea Hack: Stand Up Desk

If you didn't see it on instagram, I am testing out a new office lifestyle. Standing up while working! I got this simple hack from Megan and decided to put my own twist on it. Since I knew that I was going to be doing this project I traveled to the land of Ikea, at the beginning of what would be a really busy Saturday and bought all of the necessary supplies. Sunday morning when I woke up to the fog of terror, I knew that I was not going to do anything outside anytime soon. So what better time than that to put on a chick flick and use some power tools? 

Thanks Seattle for the crazy weather! 

What you need: 

2 Ikea Lack side tables (Mine)

1 set of two Wall Brackets (Mine)

1 Ekby Viktor wall shelf (Here)

Added: 

Bygel Rail (Here)

Bygel Containers (Here)

Essentials:

Screws: preferably a flat top screw. 

Drill : Fully Charged! 

First things first. Take the table that you are using for your keyboard stand, and attach the shelf brackets to the legs first. I did mine the shorter length side and placed them all the way at the bottom of the leg. If you are taller than 5'5" than you may want to put it a little higher. You should attach the legs to your table, and then attach the shelf to the brackets. 

** I put the shelf on my desk and then flipped my Ikea table over with the table upside down so that I could easily screw together the shelf. 

For the second table all I did was screw the railing into the top portion of the table using smaller screws. I got halfway through the last screw and then... my drill battery decided to die a slow and painful death. So there I was watching the last 5 minutes of Meet the Robinsons, waiting for just enough drill power to finish. 

  

Monday came along and I took it into work. The hardest part of this adventure was trying to get the tables to fit in my car! But, everyone in the office has since come up to my desk to see my crafty little DIY. And now I see the wheels turning on how they can do it for their desk. 

The differences from Megan's hack and mine were the actual tables. I used a high gloss white so that I could make the top into a white board. I wanted a way to stop using so many damn sticky notes, and this seemed like a reasonable solution. 

My overall cost ended up being $71 (rounded up) because I bought the high gloss tables, fancier brackets, the railing and buckets, screws, and a little lamp that clips onto surfaces. But if you did the basic tables and a basic bracket it should only cost you $30 total. 

What do you think? Would you be able to stand at work all day? 

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!

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