Inspired

Inspiration- n. - Something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create; a force or influence that inspires someone ~Merriam-Webster Dictionary

As of late, I've been feeling inspired to do a lot of things.

I am trying to peel my eyes away from the social media that I spend countless hours staring at like a zombie. Hence my deleting the Twitter and Facebook apps from my phone. (I still get on both of them from my laptop though... baby steps people!!) I do still frequent Instagram and Snapchat because I still like to see what people are doing with their lives and I don't get as sucked into those social media outlets.
{This is about to get real ironic because I'm about to talk about all my fave social media people, but whatever}

In the act of being inspired to do and be more, I have really been thinking about my current likes and talents and hobbies and all the talents and hobbies I'd like to have and develop. I've been looking to some of my personal "Instagram Celebrities".

Here is a list of my favorites for your own personal enjoyment: **

• @mrsbrijenkins - She is life goals and all of her posts about her kids make me laugh and seriously make me excited to be a mom! She is also a proud supporter in lifelong learning which I think is the coolest. 
• @thealisonshow - I mean come on. Does this even need an explanation? She is hilarious and someone I wish I could be. Her latest blog post "Done is Fun" is what really inspired this post of my own! Thanks Alison!
• @amandaarneill - She is AMAZING at handlettering (something I am working on) and I can honestly spend hours looking at all of her pictures and videos!
• @seekingalexi - Lexi is actually my cousin (well second cousin but is that really important?) She is amazing! She is constantly making me want to be a graphic designer and professional DIY-er just like she is! She is also one of the most beautiful humans inside and out! Overall just the best human. 
• @sariahwarner - So funny! Most of the things she tweets are exactly how I feel! Also our names rhyme so that's pretty cool. 

** I realize that this may be mildly creepy since I don't know all of these people super well in real life! I just think they're awesome and my dream is to be a little of each of them!

I am frequently checking their instagram feeds to see what they are posting and just to learn more about them. I love reading the blogs (of those who have them) and feeling that they are all genuine people with genuine lives, trucking through life just like I am. 

Back to @thealisonshow's blog post! Which I have provided for reference Here! Alison talks about how she is not going to worry so much about looking the best or being perfect and just getting things done! Which is something I really needed to hear (if you saw my last post you will understand) to push me forward and get me going! 

A few things that this has helped push me to do are:

• Make more blog posts. They do not have to be perfect. They don't have to be so interesting or pull in a lot of readers. If I want to blog, I should just blog for heaven's sake!
• Continuing to learn to hand letter! Looking like a bandwagoner and not being good enough are no longer the excuses that are going to hold me back! 
• Opening up an etsy shop for my prints! (Which is what I did today! Go me!) My shop is SoundsGtoMe if you'd like to take a peek!
• And mostly just continuing to explore my artsy crafty side even if I'm not the best or if I have no idea what I'm really doing! The only opinion I really need to worry about is my own. I can no longer let the opinions of others hold me back! 

Thankful for the cute ladies above who have helped inspire me to try and be my genuine self and enjoy it! Excited to see what the near future has to offer me! 

Hashtag stuck

hello. it's been a while... a really long while! sorrz! 

Lately I've been struggling with an idea I have. I really am  interested in handlettering, brush lettering, and the things of that sort. 

I've been into what I call "doodling" for as long as I can remember. I used to get in trouble in school for drawing little pictures all over my homework assignments. I never thought of it as a talent until recently. It has become a very popular skill amongst white girls worldwide. 

There was a stretch of time when I thought I'd go into graphic design (see previous post)  and do it for a living. I realized though that I didn't want what I did for fun, or when I was bored or stressed to become something that I HAD to do. Cause let's face it, sometimes I'm not in the mood, or my designs aren't flowing from my pen as I would hope they would. I abandoned the graphic design train REAl quick after that realization. 

So now I just do it when I'm feeling it. Which is basically daily lately, as I try to find my place in this ever changing world. 

I want people to see what I do, but I don't want to look like that Hashtag Typical White Girl who just hopped on the bandwagon. So instead of opening up an etsy shop**, like I really really want to, I'll just keep doing my thing and posting here. To my own little corner of the internet. 

If you, my loyal fans (gag)  would like to purchase or have something designed for your own personal enjoyment (and to boost my ego) please shoot me an email! riahgaines(at)gmail(dot)com

P.s. I'm a novice! I'm just looking to do what I enjoy and learn skills as I keep "doodling" 

** Also it really shouldn't matter that I make an etsy site, I'm just worried about being judged and I honestly shouldn't worry about that but I do. 

When I grow up (I wanna be famous, I wanna be a star.... No? Alright.)

Ever since I was born, it has felt like people have  been asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" or "What are you going to do with your life?" or "What's next?" or "What are you doing after high school?" The variety of questions all similar that adults ask people younger than them to try to feel connected and then open up their own can on opinion and pour it all over your dreams. 

I've answered in various ways:

• A Cowgirl (I was in preschool-lay off)
• A Mom  (My number 1 choice) 
• A Teacher
• A Beautician 
• A Graphic Designer 
• A Dental Assistant (Currently pursuing)
• An Entrepreneur & own my own business (Pursing in my free time)

Lately, I've come to realize it doesn't matter what I do career wise, but more the kind of person I become, 

When I grow up I want to be:

• Kind. I never want people to feel hurt by me or the words I say or how I act. 
• Friendly & Outgoing. I want people to feel comfortable  around me and especially I want them to feel important when they are in my presence. 
• Someone who serves. I want to put others before myself and be willing to go out of my way to help people. I want to be able to see the needs of others and be there to lend a helping hand whenever possible. If it be convenient or not. I know that service brings you the biggest sense of accomplishment and happiness. I always feel happier when I am serving others. 
• I want to be mentally and emotionally strong. I want to be able to be strong for others as well as for myself. The world can be cruel sometimes and so can life and when life hits me to the ground I want to feel like I am able to overcome any and all obstacles. 
• Respected. I want to respect others and have the same respect I have given be returned to me. 
• A Leader. I want to be able to use my talent as a leader for good and as often as I can. 
• Organized. The more organized you are the more prepared you are for the curveballs of life. When you are organized you can fell relaxed and others are drawn to you more. 
• Happy. I want to feel so content in all areas of my life. I want to feel content in my family life, my spiritual life, my career, my home, my hobbies and my accomplishments. There is no better feeling than pure joy and contentment. I also want to have no regrets. All the trials turn into lessons and strength and I am ready- no matter the difficulty. 
• Confident. I want to exude confidence, but not in a cocky way. I want to be happy with myself. I want to be happy with the way I look and my flaws and my other qualities that make me, well me! I want to have high self esteem and self confidence. 
• Spiritual. I want to gather all the knowledge of this perfect gospel that I can in my time here on earth. I want to be knowledgeable on the scriptures, the commandments, and other sacred things this gospel has to offer. (If you are confused and not sure what I am talking about check out This! )
• Obedient. I want to be obedient to all the rules and laws of the land, the gospel and such.
• An Example. I want people to learn from my example and I want people to be like me when they "grow up". 

I am sure there are millions of more things I would like to be when I grow up. These are just a few of the ones closest to my heart. It doesn't matter what I become- it matters more who I become. 

Old Yeller (lol pun central)

Okay. So. I never thought I was going to be a yeller, but as it turns out... I am a yeller! Who would of thought! When I was younger ( and still to this day) I hate(d) when people (would) yell. It seriously gives me anxiety and it really hurts my ears because I have tiny baby sensitive ears.

Anyway, I didn't think I would turn out to be someone who causes a ruckus. Although, in the last couple of years, I've noticed that when things don't go my way (I'm kind of a control freak and I hate when things don't go exactly how I plan... even though that's life) or something annoys me I just freak out all dramatic & teenager like and complain loudly about how everything sucks and blah blah blah you know the drill. I'm basically the real life version of any teenage girl  movie character. Yuck!

As I've realized.. I've become sort of a hypocrite. I hate hate hate hate hate HATE when other people yell (or even talk loudly for that matter) yet, I find myself doing it constantly. Especially when I am upset in any sort of way.

Why is it that we always promise ourselves that we'll never do a certain thing, and then when we find ourselves doing that thing we are mortified?  Why do we set ourselves up for that kind of failure?  It is human nature to say one thing and do another but why? Because if you're around that behavior (i.e. Yelling) you usually tend to adopt it into your own daily life. Which is what has caused me to incorporate yelling and sometimes being a jerk to people who don't deserve it, into my life. I really never wanted to turn into this person.

So basically I wrote this whole thing to tell you ( yes you.) that I am horribly ashamed of myself for turning into a yeller which I swore on my life that I never would be.

Faafing. It's not for the weak.

I really had this fantastic topic to blog about... But every time I attempted (okay, only twice) it came out wrong. Soooooo I guess I'll scratch that and maybe I'll try again later! 

Anyway if you've seen my Twitter that I share with my sister (@gsquaredsisters) or my snapchat story, you know that tonight we "faaffed".

Basically it's this thing that my dad came up with and he thinks it is genius. Faaf stands for fitness as a family. He is obsessed with just saying the word faaf. He also made faaf into a verb and always says "We're going faaffing" or "Just faaffed". 

At first I thought it was pretty dumb, but the more you say it the funnier it gets! Allyson and I make it our goal to make fun of faafing as much as humanly possible. That's what we did the entire whole time on our walk around the block. 

Anyways, Thanks dad, for creating such an entertaining thing to my life! 

Practice makes perfect!

So lately I have been trying to be more active and live an overall healthier lifestyle. I go on family walks and hikes and I occasionally go to the gym but that is about it. I also have been trying to read my scriptures every day. I already read pretty regularly, but I am in no way perfect. *If you would like to know more about my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or have questions about the scriptures check out lds.org {or here's a direct link to Scripture Information}*
I figured there must be a way to combine these two things in a way to help me remember and achieve both goals in one step. To help motivate myself I scoured pinterest for ways to form habits the fastest and easiest with a busy schedule (since I work 40 hours a week and I have my own small business on the side, and I have a social life, and other things that need to be taken care of).
The article that was the most helpful talked about how it takes 21 days to form a habit. I really liked how relatively short 21 days can be and it seems like a good achievable goal unlike other lengthy goals that I had read about.
My biggest problem with starting a new goal is I miss a day and then it all goes down hill from there and I never get back on the bike and keep trucking. To help avoid any forgetful or laziness mishap, I made a visual to help me.

This little idea that I got off of pinterest is, as you can see on the frame to my door. Where I will see it frequently and it can constantly remind me to be active and read out of my scriptures. 

I am hoping to go through these next 21 days and then continue out of habit for the rest of my life. 

(I definitely am not even a tiny bit close to perfect, so that probably won't happen... but if this turns into the habit that I want it to, it will naturally continue.)

So we'll see where this next 21 day leads me to and I will update you as time goes on! 

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday! xo

"We've only been camping 2 minutes and I've already seen 3 earwigs" -Allyson

(she is terrified of earwigs)
Basically last Monday I moved out. It may have only been to the tent in my backyard, but it still counts right??
I decided since it is summer and I graduated highschool I wanted to move out... but I am really poor and My mom told me if I live at home she'll pay for me to go to school sooooo really living at home is the best choice.
But, as of lately my family has been on my nerves and I needed some space so I marched out to the garage drug the tent out of the clutter and called Tanner to set it up for me.
Tent living has seriously been the best idea Allyson and I (Okay, so I didn't "move out" by myself Allyson has been here the whole time with me) have ever had. 

Reasons to support last bold statement:

• Not only have I been able to sleep better, but I've been able to wake up well rested and with more energy. 
• It's been nice to be outside more and it has been 50x more relaxing.
• Cots are surprisingly comf.
• I've gotten the space that I desperately needed so I didn't murder my whole entire family in psychotic break/mass murder and go to prison for the rest of my life. 
• I get to do whatever I want in my new house.
• My new house is always clean and tidy and perfect.
• Sister bonding time
• Tons of laughs with my sister and we stay up til the wee hours of the morning chatting about life which is the best. (basically this and the last bullet are the same-who cares, my blog I do what I want).
• I didn't really move out so I don't have bills to pay or have to have freaky roommates.
• My mom can still cook dinner for me.
• I still don't have to fully be an adult with adult problems and 5 million bills to pay- but I do have more freedom. 
• Practice for when I really do live away from home, I will be more used to sleeping in a house alone.

Pretty much this has been such a great experience (thus far) that I plan to just live in the tent in my backyard for the duration of the summer. So if you need me, that's where I will be.