heaven.

today i found out an old friend of mine from college died after a long battle with cancer. 

he was my age. 

and he was one of the greatest, kindest, friendliest guys i have ever known. 

im not just saying that because he's passed, it's the actual truth.

i've been crying all day. 

these last few years since college we haven't been in touch except for the random comments and quick catch up messages on facebook, but it never failed that whenever i heard from him, it brought a smile to my face.

he was eternally optimistic about his future, and never gave up hope of a recovery. 

today, as the news of his death reached our college network, and people who knew him back home, near my own hometown, the sadness everyone felt about losing him was evident. 

so tonight i'd like to ask you all to do this...

be thankful for your lives, for your health, and for the possibilities of the future ahead of you. 

do not take one second of it for granted, live your life to the fullest, enjoy every second of it.

 reach out to people you may have lost touch with, let them know youre thinking of them, let the people in your life know you love them and appreciate them. 

...appreciate everything.

everyone who had the privilege of knowing you was the better for it James. 

may you rest peacefully now and watch over us, xo

thank you for entertaining my constant ramblings lovebugs!

ok way back when i only had twenty or so followers 
(and was so very happy to have you!) 

Christy  from Sunshine & Pickles approached me about hosting a giveaway

me? host a giveaway? on my little old blog? 

sure why not. 

i'm a sucker for giveaways. i want to win every single one of them. no matter what the prize is i just want to win. when i was little i used to dutifully write out my index cards to send in to teen beat to win whatever random thing they were giving away..

once i won a neutrogena moisturizer and a jonathan taylor thomas tshirt...

highlight of my life. 

it was a sad day when i left it in my gym locker only to discover it was stolen two days later. 

anyway, i digress...now here i am with 60+ followers and it's time to say thank you to you lovebugs!

 for coming back and reading my ramblings day after day, and thinking i was worth getting to know 
{ too bad i can't find some cute guy to feel the same way }:) 

i started blogging, just to get my thoughts out of my own head and now here i am, happily typing away and considering the time i get to sit down and blog my little heart out one of the best parts of my day 

so without furth ado: i give youuuuuu

my very first giveaway!! 

brought to you by the lovely Christy

have any of you heard of Scentsy?


Scentsy is a safe wickless alternative to scented candles which i love because i live in fear that i will burn my house down when i have regular candles lit


i was skeptical about it after having not so much luck with both yankee candle air freshners and bath & body works..BUT now i have been converted!


Christy let me pick a warmer and scent of my choice to try out and get an idea of what Scentsy was all about


i chose the Crinkle full size warmer

and the My Wish Scentsy Bar
  I am SO pleased with my picks! the warmer is gorgeous and looks lovely in my room.Within seconds ( i kid you not) the entire smell and mood of my apartment changed. My home smelled homey, my warmer gives off an welcoming glow and random bonus --it doubles as a night light!! ( because yes, i am 26 and afraid of the dark) 
ok so here's the scoop: Christy offered to give one lucky follower of mine a plug in warmer and scent bar of their choice!
Here are some of my would be picks: 
The Zebra plug in i can think of one..(or ten) ladies i know who would love this one

The Shasta Daisy plug in


Flutter Scent bar Any of the Seven Seas line like Coconut Lemongrass
or Amalfi Coast
anddd pretty much every other scent and warmer there is! 
Wanna win? you know you do!!
Here's what you have to do:
{ Mandatory }
You MUST be a follower of mine on Google Friend Connect ...
i know a whole lot of people read my blog on their own and then let me know through facebook or text which i love, be here look it's easy to follow me on the reg, just click on the button somewhere on that side of my page -------->and leave me a comment letting me know, i love getting comments :) (1 entry)
Head on over to Christy's Scentsy page and look over all the goodies, then leave me a comment telling me which plug in and scent bar you would want if you won (1 entry) 
 Extra Entries:
Go show Christy some blog love over at Sunshine & Pickles! Everyone loves to get support from new smiling faces so follow her, then leave me a comment telling me you did ( 1 Entry)
Follow me on twitter (1 Entry)
Tweet, tweet about it! i even already wrote it out for you :)  and then let me know (1 entry) " check out the @scentsy giveaway @_sarahhelena_ is having onhttp://shadesforeveryadventure.blogspot.com :) gotta be in it to win it! "
This giveaway will be open until next Friday 1/20 then i'll choose a random winner ( with a random # generator) and announce it!
{ Leave each comment separately pleaseso you can get as many entries as possible }

Remember lovebugs, you've gotta be in it to win it :)
this one's worth it, promise anddd you might get a little extra surprise with yours!and if you're like me, youll end up being hooked and send lots of business Christy's way pretty soon, haha
Thanks again Christy!!
with a heart full of hope & a mind full of dreams

Sarah

i'll spread my wings and i'll learn how to fly

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I love
I'll take a risk
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway

It's moving day, it's moving day!!! After a slight change of plans in which I was supposed to move yesterday, I'm moving today!

i'm a whole mix of emotions, but that's to be expected. i'm worried, excited, sad, happy, unsure, intrigued....tons of things.  i don't know what will happen from here on out, but it's a chance im taking. and i wouldn't be able to take it if it wasnt for the three people who know me best and who i will miss the most...so here is my open letter to them:

Dear Moommy,

I love you. I know you're worried that I'm going to be sitting alone eating dinner. I know you're afraid about me getting sick and being too far away from you. I know you seem to think i am moving to antartica and will not survive the cold weather (that is not so unlike the one i am leaving). I know you are worried about me not using all my potential, that I don't believe in myself enough, that I don't give myself enough credit and don't want me working waiting on tables just to get by. I promise I will be ok. I promise I'll call you and I won't get annoyed when you send me bbm messages filled with all sorts of smiley faces. I actually get a kick out of it when you do. They make me giggle, no matter what I'm doing. I know you wish I could live with you forever, but we both know I had to go sooner or later. You've given me so much, it's about time I go and go do something to deserve it all. I will miss you trying to high five me or give me a fist pump when you crack yourself up at dinner, I will miss you taking care of me when im sick, and even will miss you coming into my room and offering to help me clean up the chaos i like to live in, or wanting to shop around in my stuff to see what you can use. I know you're worried Moommy, but you don't have to be (but I also know telling you you don't have to be is silly, because you wouldn't be you if you didn't worry about me) You taught me how to be a take charge kind of lady moommy, how to not let being a little lady let people take advantage of me, how to work hard, and make a difference in the world. because that's what you do moomy. and I want to be just like you when i grow up, because youre my hero. You work hard for us, and it's time for me to do the same. I know you're proud of me moomy, but it's time i start being proud of myself too. don't worry moomy, i'm just a short drive away, and you know I can't stay away from home for too long. i miss you already.

love,
sarita


Dear Daddy,

I love you. I know you're worried too, even though you haven't said it. I think it's because you know i'll be brave, and probably because you know this is a lesson i'll have to learn on my own. Even though i'll never really be on my own will i?  because I can always count on you to help me when i need it. You listen when i need to talk and you don't judge me. you tell me your secrets because you know i'll keep them. i'll miss sitting quietly at the table with you reading the paper, and getting in each others way in the kitchen. ill have to buy the paper and do the crosswords on my own, but ill probably end up calling you for the clues that stump me since you always seem to know the answer, kind of like you do for every other question i ever have. I'm gonna get it together daddy, im going to figure out a budget and save my money. it's about time for it. i count on you for everything, but i have to learn to do it on my own. it's way past time for it, and i'm lucky you've let me have this long to figure it out. when you were my age you lived a whole lifetime of things i can't even imagine having to do, and i'm lucky for all the things you've given me. one of my most favorite days with you was when we flew to miami to tour that awful campus, ditched in the middle of the tour to go eat, and then spent the rest of the day at the beach swimming in our clothes because we didnt pack..well anything especially not bathing suits, and then we flew back home slightly soggy. when i couldn't sleep and moved to the living room last night because i didnt feel well, i cried all night after you tucked me in. i may be a grown up, but im still really just a little girl who loves her daddy. i promise i'll still talk to you twenty times a day, i'll never be too busy for that. i miss you already. you're my hero too.

love,
your little palomita

Dear Binkaroo,

i love you. I wish we could live together forever, but you already shot down my plan to live next door to each other and build an underground tunnel to connect our houses. you can come visit me whenever you want, even though you think youre only going to see me on holidays. you're my best friend, what will i do without you around every single second? who will watch tv with me and ask me a hundred questions about the shows i watch and then make fun of them the whole time? i'm sorry i'm leaving you to handle dinner time questions on your own, but be patient with mom and dad, they love you so much-- they just want to spend time with you and stay a part of your life, even if they do make you crazy when they're asking a hundred questions. keep working hard in school, but don't stress yourself out so much over it, youre the smarty pants and you know you'll do well no matter what. be careful in the choices you make, and be good and kind like the binkaroo i love. keep your good friends close and always remember how valuable it is to have them when things get tough. don't forget you have me too. leaving you is probably the hardest for me, because I worry you'll forget about me, and won't talk to me so much when i'm not close by. we can still talk every single day and send lots of funny madeup bbmfaces to each other. you can let moomy and daddy read my blog now, they'd probably like it if you showed them how to see it. you're the first friend i ever had and my hero. and i miss you already.

love,
sissy

you three are my most favorite people in the world, and i wish we could stay together forever. i know things will be different now, but we're still a family and im grateful for you,

 and love you every single day.

Source: beyondtherack.com via Denise on Pinterest

ok, sadfaces, sadfaces, i made myself cry writing this one, so off i go.

wish me luck lovebugs, i'm headed off on my adventure. my posts may be here and there until i get my internet situation figured out...but stay tuned to see how my adventure turns out :)

with a heart full of hope & a mind full of dreams

Sarah

today i had a thought..what if i had never met you?

today i had a thought...what if i had never met you?

on wednesday it was the seven year anniversary of my sorority initiation.

seven years?!

time flies when you're busy being awesome.

anyway, I had two pledge sisters, we started out with way more but i ended up with just two at the end.

i thought we would be best friends forever, not out of obligation or anything

but genuinely because i loved them both like sisters, and they were my best friends by choice.

now seven years later, two of us don't speak to the third.

we had a falling out and she basically broke up with us.

anyway that's not my point here.

neither is the whole sorority aspect of where my story came from...

my point is this..seven years is a crazy long time, but in the grand scheme of things it's really not.

it's just a few years of your life.

but for me, in those seven years i've met some of the greatest friends i've ever known.

friends who come and go in my life, but always pick up again like time hasn't passed.

friends who know me better than people i've known my entire life.

friends that i can't imagine never having met.

these last seven years have been the years that shaped the life i have now, the person i am now.

and i tend to think that my life would be so very different had i chosen to go left instead of right,

stayed home for school instead of going away, go to bed early instead of staying out late, so many other factors.

every choice i made in the last seven years led me to people who have changed my life.

so thank you lovebugs, if you have been a part of my life these last few years, big or small.

if youre still here, or have left my life for whatever reason.

and here's hoping these next seven years bring even more wonderful people into my life--

 to change me for the better, help me grow and continue to push and inspire me to achieve every dream i've ever had

with a heart full of hope & a mind full of dreams

Sarah

thankful thursday



i've been seeing this prompt about being thankful floating around on a bunch of blogs I read so I thought i'd give it a chance myself since really you shouldn't wait until thanksgiving to recognize the things you are thankful for

What I'm  t h a n k f u l  for {thursday edition}:

Today I'm t h a n k f u l for...

this girl.

may 2005

meet my best friend missy. this is the first picture we ever took together ohhh about six years ago. weird how time flies. random fact: this was at a graduation party in may. please take note of the winter coats we're wearing...freak weather for real. good thing i happened to move my stuff into the house across the street from this one the day before and was able to dig out sweatshirts and coats for us.

she notices when a day goes by and i don't talk to her. she dosen't mind that i text her about six times in the middle of the night about pure nonsense. she also dosent mind that  post inappropriate "texts from last night", someecards, and plain ridiculousness on her fb for all to see. she is never mean to me & even if she is i tell her so and she does the same to me and then we get over it. she lets me believe in hope, true love and a future where we both find our soulmates, and she dosent fill me up with cliches about how it'll happen when we least expect it because she knows how much i hate that and knows it makes it that much worse. she texts me when she sees a boy wearing plaid bc she knows i love them. she has dreams & hopes and is one of those people that i think deserves more credit than she gets, and deserves to have all her dreams come true and as soon as possible. rarely does a day go by that we don't talk, and when something awful, ridiculous, wonderful, important,unimportant or completely irrelevant happens shes one of the first people i immediately need to share with. hi stell, if youre reading this!

july 2011

today i'm  t h a n k f u l  for...

my health.

Source: confident-beautiful-motivated.tumblr.com via Jami on Pinterest

yes, i am not fit by any means. yes, i definitely need to lose weight...but only for my own well being, not to fit into a size 2. i was born premature. so many things could have been affected by that and my life could have been so much different. do i get sick entirely too often? yes. but i have seen children suffering from malnutrition, neglect, and sickness. i have known people who have died unexpectedly and entirely too soon because of health issues. i have two legs and two arms and a mind and body that can take me from point a to b. they let me hug my parents, and throw a ball. they help me climb flights of stairs without struggling and swim, run, and play.


today i am t h a n k f u l for:

modern medicine

Source: bhg.com via Betty on Pinterest

no joke. i was miserable and sick for days before i could go to the doctor. within an hour of taking the medicine he prescribed me I was 80% better. unbelievable. what did people do before they discovered penicillin....and how is it possible that there are people in countries all over the world suffering because they don't have access to such things and die from a simple cold? how is that ok to have so much and for others to have so little?  its not. so definitely not.

today i am t h a n k f u l for :

my parents

meet rudy & lucy. i may be a little biased in saying theyre the best parents ever. they totally could have kicked me out by now, sent me out into to the world and told me to survive on my own, or made me keep a job i hated just to teach me a lesson. and yet they haven't. they apparently love having me at home, ask me if im coming back yet the day after i go away, and answer the phone to me at all hours of they day and night. yesterday my mom asked me if i would meet someone she wanted to set me up with...and that she was going to start finding me dates on her commute home. my dad calls me when i'm out at the bar to ask me if im going to be bringing anyone home with me, and to let him know so he can distract my mom so i can sneak that person into the house. mind you, i've yet to actually bring someone home with me from the bar, but good to know.

they didnt kill me when i told them after four years in college, a move and two jobs- that i in fact hated what i was doing and wanted to go back to school. they think im funny, beautiful, smart and that i can be a lawyer, teacher, doctor, baker, actress, comedian, party planner, writer, anything i want to be on, any given day.

i count the days until they go away on vacation, but as soon as they leave i always want them to hurry up and come back home. i may pretend to be an adult, but im really just a kid that thinks her parents hung the moon.

today i'm t h a n k f u l for

books. libraries. & my love of reading

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

some people play video games. i read. and read. and read. when i have to stop reading in the middle of a good part i feel like i paused a movie at the moment of a cliffhanger. i had to start wearing glasses when i was little because i used to read books in the dark with only my nightlight, i just couldnt put the books down. while others take weeks to finish a book, i take ten out at a time from the library. i carry one with me all the time, and never understand how people buy magazines to read on a trip, because a book is so much better. the stories become real to me, the characters are real people. the places, cultures, jobs and situations open up worlds for me that I imagine experiencing myself some day.

today i'm t h a n k f u l for:

 facebook

Source: someecards.com via nash on Pinterest

i dont care what anyone says, i love facebook. all stalker tendencies aside, this thing legit helps me keep track of everyone i know, ever. yes, people take the importance of facebook to a whole other level..you know, if it's on facebook it must be true...orrrr the oh so coveted facebook official relationship status.
but think of all the good things facebook does? promotes causes, small businesses, and community appreciation. it helps you stay in touch with all those people you meet in college who moved all over the world after graduation. it helps older generations connect with the younger generations in their families. my dad who moved here from uruguay over 30 years ago, got a friend request from the girl who played the role opposite him in a play in second grade. i mean really? tell me that's not awesome. and let's be honest here, tell me that when you get a friend request from someone who you seriously dislike (a bully, an ex, an old boss, or family member) you don't feel a little bit of joy when you click the decline option. i know i do. you made my life hell, or walk out of it without a single bit of remorse...why would i want to let you know anything about what im doing with my life now? nope, noo thanks.

today i am t h a n k f u l for:

being a girl in this day & age

Source: weheartit.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via snowsocks on Pinterest

Source: historicalfashion.tumblr.com via Amie on Pinterest

Source: adore-vintage.blogspot.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

Source: forgottenantiquities.tumblr.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Jayne on Pinterest

Source: aroomsomewhere.net via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Holly on Pinterest

while i do love the fashions throughout the ages, i can't help but think we ladies have it pretty good right now. we can vote, we can wear skirts or pants, we can speak our minds, become ceos of companies, freely have access to birth control, become doctors, and pilots, presidents of universities or supermodels, walk any career path you can imagine. we can change our hair color, the length, change our looks every single day. we can express ourselves, walk freely, date who we want, be friends with who we want, and make the choices we want to make. we can run our households and run a company. today, women can do anything they want to do. we have evolved and have opportunities available to us that were unimaginable just a few generations ago. be grateful ladies, and don't take your freedoms for granted.

today i'm t h a n k f u l for:

my life.

Source: Uploaded by user via Casey on Pinterest

i've said it before and i'll say it again. enjoy your life. you think yours sucks? then change it. do something about it. fix it. you can't just wait for things to happen. live every single moment of your life. treat every day as a gift and as if it might be your last. make it count. don't be afraid of getting older, rather..enjoy it. it's a privilege denied to many. could my life be better? sure it could. but it also could be a hell of a lot worse. so im thankful for the one i have.

that's all. i could go on and on because really there are so many more people & things i am grateful for, but i don't want to burn you guys out on an overload of things...the month is still new, and it's a good time to be thankful for things in your life.

so...what are you all thankful for?

with a heart full of hope & a mind full of dreams

Sarah