Catching Up

One thing that sucks about having your friends live far away is when they live in a different state. Luckily my friend Casey extended her visit here and I got to do some catching up with her in our old "stomping ground"...The Waffle House.

We spent basically all our time there when we were sixteen; talking, drinking coffee and eating hash browns. We all would load up in my tiny car and hang out for a while before going to the Good Will or the Habitat Store. 

We met some interesting people there and collected a bunch of interesting stories. Oh to be a teenager again!

As per usual we found an interesting pairing near the book section at Good Will and found a bunch of sequined sweater/cardigans. 

It was so nice to get to hang out with Casey again and get to just sit down an talk (which is why I didn't take so many photos). I hate she lives so far away but I'm so glad she likes her new home so I'm happy for her! 

A-Z of Me

I've seen this little tid-bit going around the blogesphere so I thought I'd join in on the fun and do one as well!


A. Age: 21
B. Bed size: queen but if I could have a king I'd love it...I tend to sleep in this weird stretch.
C. Chore that you hate: I think it'd would have to be folding laundry. I mean it's not hard but you spend so much time folding and putting them up and the next day it feels like everything is in the dirty clothes again.
D. Dogs: I would like to have a dog even though I'm more of a cat person.
E. Essential start to your day: Hitting the snooze button just for another 10 minutes. I set my alarm this way so I can wake up a little bit before having to actually get up.
F. Favorite color:  I tend to rotate on a few favorite colors. Right now I love olive green but I like burnt orange, mustard yellow, plum and light blue.
G. Gold or Silver:  I use to hate gold but I found out I do like it and now most of my necklaces are gold. I still love silver too.
H. Height: 5'1" I know I'm short.
I. Instruments you play: I don't play anything now but I played clarinet in middle school band.
J. Job title: server/waitress
K. Kids:  Not right now.
L. Live:  Denver, NC at the moment
M. Mother’s name:  Shannon
N. Nicknames: Some have been Ambear or Ber but I usually just go by Amber
O. Overnight hospital stays:  A few ER visits but never overnight stay
P. Pet peeves: People who pick or bite at their nails in public. And I don't mean the small, "Oh I noticed I have a little dirt on my nail let me clean it" but the full fist in their mouth or fingers digging in their nails..grosses me out thinking of it.
Q. Quote from a movie:  "The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of" ~Breakfast at Tiffany


I know so many people quote this movie but some days you do just get the mean reds.
R. Right or left handed: left
S. Siblings: I'm the oldest but have younger half-siblings: Chance 15, Kerri 8, Jonathan 6 and Judah 3
T. Time you wake up: School: 6am/8am Weekends: 9am-11am
U. Underwear: Hipsters are comforable.
V. Vegetable you hate: I despise cooked cabbage.
W. What makes you run late: setting the alarm clock wrong or thinking I have everything ready only to realize I'm missing half the stuff I need.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Only at the dentist.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Anything casserole form I make yummy squash, asparagus or broccoli casserole. I was thinking of putting this as a side dish option at the Cafe :)
Z. Zoo animal: There are so many cute creatures but honestly I love the frog,snake or lizard area.

21 Things- Thing 21

21. Tomorrow is my birthday!

Yep I'll be 21 tomorrow and I'm so excited! 

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 20

20. I have a southern accent.

Here is a little video so you hear my accent. I did it on my web cam so it isn't the greatest quality. Oh and ignore my dorkiness.

-Amber

21 Things-19

19. I take my peanut butter sandwich without the crust.

I always pick off the crust of my peanut butter sandwiches but only those. Make me a ham and cheese I'll leave it alone. I'm not sure why I guess to me peanut butter sandwiches taste better without the crust. 

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 18

18. I played clarinet in band.

Middle School band that is, not high school. I would have actually continued playing in high school but I wanted to do orchestra band rather than marching band and I wasn't sure how to sign up for just that. I still have the clarinet at my grandparents house but I don't play it anymore.

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 17

17. I still watch cartoons.

Not just the cartoons aimed for adults like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama or Family Guy, but also kids cartoons. I love catching up on some of the old classics from my childhood but also some of the newer ones. Sadly some of my favorites have come an gone like Invader Zim, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Chowder, and Misadventure of Flapjack. I have found some new silly favorites like Regular Show, and Adventure Time but I do miss new episodes of the other ones. I guess I'll always enjoy cartoons even when I'm old!

-Amber

Busy Busy Busy

I've been busy for the past week and half with all kinds of different things. First it was sanding my car down last Thursday to get it prepped for painting on Friday. Well that Friday it rained so I had to postpone it until Tuesday. I worked all that weekend then on Monday I went to get my car inspected and spend time with Dustin's grandparents to get The Beast into his name. That Tuesday I took my car to my Grandparents to get painted and helped sand some more (in the horrible heat) then left it there to dry for a few days. Wednesday I got up early and got my licenses renewed then worked. Finally yesterday Dustin and I got to have a date night, even thought my shoulders hurt, and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. I work all this weekend and next week is my birthday so after all this I'm hoping have more post aside from the normal scheduled ones. If anyone is interested in being a guest poster for next week I'd love to have you at The Owl's Den! Just send me an email at amberupbeat[at]aol[dot]com for more details. Well it's time for work! Have a great day :)

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 16

16. I don't do mornings.

I've never been one for mornings even though recently I've been waking up around 7:00 am on my own. If I don't have to get up every day it's easy for me to just set an alarm. On the other hand if I have to get up every day for like school I'm a cranky girl. I'm just going to have to learn to enjoy mornings especially if I want to run my own cafe!

-Amber 

21 Things- Thing 15

15. I don't like artificial grape flavor.

I would say I don't like grape but then again I'd be lying. I love grape juice and real grapes but when it comes to candies and sodas that are "flavored" grape I despise them *insert serious angry face*

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 14

14. I count in pairs.

When there is a large amount of individual items that I have to count I do it in pairs. For example there are eighteen items I pair the items by two and continue to count in twos to quickly get to eighteen. Another way I count in pairs is by finding a common number (lets say I notice things in pairs of five) I then use multiplication to quickly figure out how many pairs of five to get the product. It's an odd way to count but I find pairs (which I use more often) or common number pairing makes it a whole lot quicker than just counting 1..2...3..etc.

-Amber

Bright Future for Craft'n Bettie!

The shop isn't huge but it's been getting more sales lately (especially with the mini HP series jewelry) so I've wanted to improve the site some and bring in new items. It is still a work in progress but I'm first figuring out what items I'm going to remake and jewelry that I won't resale. I'm also bringing in new jewelry along with some up-cycled accessories from vintage items. I have little extras I was going to use to make one of a kind pieces for give-aways on here or other sites. Somethings I need to figure out are shipping the accessories and how much that will cost. Another big thing is figuring out if I want to keep taking photos of items like do now or create something like a stage box/area for pictures. Again these are things I still need to figure out but are part of my major main goals in improving the site.

21 Things- Thing 13

13. I'm an introvert

What exactly is an introvert? It's not simply having a shy personality but finding that being by yourself (or for me also being with few people) to be energizing than staying out and being around tons of people. While I enjoy being with my own thoughts I do like to get out but I tend to get drained, tired or bored I guess you can call it, when I'm around a crowd of people too long. When I'm around a few friends you wouldn't know any different but with a group I tend to keep to myself. Growing up a lot of people took this as being stuck up but if I didn't know you or feel comfortable then I kept quiet. Now once I do feel comfortable I can't shut up and I have friends that can vouch for me on that! Even though it isn't something I can completely change I do try to speak up more such as in class or social situations I do hesitate at times. I also use the blog to speak up and communicate more because it doesn't just pertain to my real life but online as well. So feel free to say hello I'm not being rude if I don't speak up I'm just an introvert. Here is a great article about how to be friends with an introvert.

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 11

11. I hate spiders 

When we first moved into the apartment I noticed these huge spiders trying to sneak around the corner and they scared the crap out of me. I'll see them occasionally but it doesn't make me feel any better when I do see them. I don't like spiders in the house..outside they can do whatever they please but when they're in my house they're in my territory!

21 Things- Thing 10

This thing is a little embarrassing but I'm probably not the only one that has done it.

10. I over-plucked my eyebrows as a teen.

I had people tell me I shouldn't over pluck them but I didn't care I was into styles of the 1920's and thought it was so vintage to have them thin and arched. Now as you can see I was so wrong.

I finally got my act straight and have these beautiful arches :)

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 9

9. I wear fake glasses

Before it was all the rage in fashion magazines I wore fake glasses. My mom had a pair and gave them to me when I was 13 and I've been wearing them ever since. I have a nice little collection of them and they're one of  my big go-to accessories.

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 8

8. I love short hair!

My hair was super long as a kid and I got it cut for real (not just trimmed) when I was six. Through the years I've let it grow out but for the most part I love it when it's short. Recently I let it grow out long enough to donate and sent it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Here are some of the different styles of short hair I've had.

Pixie cut when I was 16

Curly and short when I was 17

Short bob when I was a college freshman

Angled bob after I donated my hair

-Amber 

21 Things- Thing 7

7. I love coffee.

 I've always been a fan of coffee even when I was younger; though it was mostly milk and hardly coffee it was a "grown up" drink. When my friends and I would hang out we'd go to the local coffee shop and later in years we'd head over to the Waffle House for cheap coffee. Now I don't drink it like crazy (I don't want to get worn out on it) but it's really something I enjoy and brings me comfort. 

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 6

6. I use to design layouts.

Yep when Myspace was still popular I had a layout design page called Atomic Layouts. Now I didn't have any fancy photoshop so I used the paint program to make backgrounds. I got a couple of people to use my designs and I learned a lot from doing this little hobby. I did have Photoshop (this is after the layout designs) but it got erased and I really wish I had it back again. Until then I'll use my odd but useful method to edit my images.

-Amber

21 Things- Thing 4 & 5

I didn't forget about 21 Things I just wanted to find some pictures to put up here. I'm combining Things 4 and 5 together in one post so here it goes.

4. I don't like pink.

I didn't like wearing pink when I was younger and still not too fond of it. Even when the pink Power Ranger had brown hair like me I would always play the yellow one because I didn't like pink. I don't know why I didn't go for pink things I just didn't. Now I do wear pink here and there but it isn't my first color of choice. I think I own a total three pink shirts but I prefer patterns, teals, reds and yellows.

5. I had braces 

I had braces when I was nine years old. Luckily I only had to wear them for a little over a year and had them taken off right at the start of my 5th grade year. Though they were a pain at times I'm glad I got them and I'm proud of my pearly whites!

-Amber