Sales Call Stress

So, tomorrow's the big day. At noon I will get braces for the third time. Feel free to drive to my house with sympathy cards, homemade soup (I'm always a sucker for some creamy chicken wild rice), or DQ S'mores Blizzards, because those things are so amazing I'm sure someday they'll solve world peace.

Close B&J's but DQ's got you beat. 

The downside of having my appointment in the middle of the day is that it doesn't make sense to drive all the way to Minneapolis (where I work) and back to Hastings twice in one day. So I have to work from home. Some of you might be thinking, "You HAVE to work from home?? I would love to work from home!" Well my friends, you must have never made sales calls before.

This summer I have a sales and marketing internship (no that's not my major, but at least I have an internship!) at PreciouStatus, a childcare software that provides parents with instant status updates and photos of their children throughout the day. My job as an Entrepreneurial, Sales, and Marketing Research Specialist (one of the other interns made that up as our title - fancy, right?) is to conduct regional research to create a massive database of all the childcares in the area along with the directors' contact information. Then, we call the centers and try to set up a free trial of the software. PS IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO OWNS A CHILDCARE HIT ME UP!

I really lucked out on my region. (Sarcasm.) I got New Jersey.  I'm just going to say it straight out: those people are mean. Seriously. I have never had so many angry women yell at me. Like honestly, someone needs to go bake them some cookies or something. Needless to say, these sales calls are not my favorite. Ok, that's putting it mildly.

Let me set the scene. It's 9:30 a.m. I've procrastinated long enough. I should probably start making calls. So, I check my email. Maybe do a little more research. Check my email again. Still no new emails. Oh look, my research list is looking a little short, maybe I should do some more. Haven't checked my email in at least two minutes, should probably get on that. Ok it's 10:00 now, I really should start calling. I stare at my phone (I have a work phone and it's an indestructible brick.) It seems to be taunting me. I start to get a queasy feeling in my stomach. Are my hands shaking? Oh look, there's my email, haven't checked that in the last 30 seconds. Stop putting it off; MAKE THE CALL ALEXIS!!

                        The devil in disguise. . . as a brick.

Ok, I'm really gonna do it now. I type in the number and hit the green call button. (Voicemail, voicemail, voicemail, please God just give me a voicemail) "Hello, Little Learners Child Care, Paula speaking" (Nooooooooooooo.) My stomach drops. I give my PreciouStatus spiel and pray for a kind rejection. Maybe she won't yell. Just let it end soon.

And that is the art of the sales call. I've found it's much easier to do in the office where the other interns and I can joke about our nervous stomach aches and sweaty palms. Not a joke though, I'll probably have stomach ulcers from anxiety after this summer.

Tomorrow, I'll have to make the calls all by myself. No support system. No nervous laughter. Just me and Jersey. So, if you feel yourself having a bad day, just picture me staring at my phone about to throw up from nervousness and have a little chuckle. Life is good people. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Lake Life and Girls Nights

So my brother is pretty involved in baseball. This may be the understatement of the century millenium. This weekend, as usual, my entire family was out of town for a tournament. It's not that I don't like watching my brother play, it's just that the tournaments are a little much for me. Usually, I sit at home babysitting my dog, catching up on Pretty Little Liars, painting my nails, and eating way too much junk food. Though I do enjoy my alone time, I was feeling pretty lame. This weekend I decided to change it up.

Friday night after work I headed over to my girl Megan's house to do some grocery shopping for our Saturday on the lake and our dinner for that night. Let's just say that I spent more money on ice cream than on food for the actual meal, but what's new?

After finishing up the shopping, we headed back to my house and whipped up some delicious chicken stir fry. Megan's quite the chef!

Once we devoured our dinner, it was time to get down to the main event of the night: Sitting on the couch and doing absolutely nothing. We watched whatever was on TV and dug into a few pints of Ben & Jerry's.

Filled up with ice cream and tuckered out from the past week, we headed to bed to get some sleep for our big day on Saturday.

We woke up on Saturday, packed up the cars, made a much-needed Starbucks stop, and drove out to Megan's grandparents' house on White Bear Lake. Erin arrived a little later and we sauntered down to the dock for some sun and shenanigans. Luckily, Erin had brought her new hula hoop which was a huge hit!

We took some cute pics in the sun while we waited for Megan's friends from college to arrive.

Once Michaela and all of Erin and I's new St. Olaf friends arrived, we hopped in the boat for some classic tubing antics. Lots of screaming, giggles, and general happiness ensued. I woke up Sunday morning with all the signs that the previous day's tubing had been a success: sore arms, popped blood vessels, and scabbed elbows. Two thumbs up to the boat drivers!

                                      A little YMCA action!

Exhausted after tubing, we boated back to the house and started grilling up some dinner to feed the hungry troops!

                  Erin proves herself to be quite the grilling goddess.

Full and exhausted from a day on the lake, Erin and I thanked Megan and her grandparents for a wonderful day and headed home for another great girl's night. We whipped through a ton of board games, and the Sesame Street Memory Game proved to be the winner of the night. Erin and I would highly recommend it. Very challenging. We ended the night with some excellent quizzes from Seventeen magazine and lazy-person-s'mores roasted on the stove.

I had a wonderful weekend with some of my favorite people. Now for another week of work before the next MN summer adventure!

Bad Day Beauty Fix

Well, as the title of this post suggests, I did not receive happy news at the ortho yesterday. Next week I get braces on for the THIRD time. Luckily (though there's absolutely nothing lucky about getting braces on 3 times), I only have to have them for a month and a half. Yay. Thank you Dad and orthodontist for being obsessive perfectionists.

After locking myself in my room and mourning the coming loss of my metal-less smile and second onset of tween awkwardness for a few hours, I proceeded to carry out the only tried-and-true, physician-approved method of curing that down-in-the-dumps feeling: retail therapy. Whoever claims this method doesn't work, you're wrong.  A nice sized dent was made in my bank account after making mood-improving purchases from various online cosmetic stores.

Feeling much better, my mom and I made a bonfire, whipped up some delicious s'mores (also guaranteed to make you feel better) and went to bed.

Whenever I have a bad day, I wake up the next morning determined to make it a good day. So this morning, I put on a nicer outfit than usual, slipped on some heels, and headed off to work. I decided that today, because makeup makes me happy, I would post about some of my favorite beauty products at the moment. Enjoy!

 This is what is currently in my makeup bag. Starting from the left (just had to make an L with my hands to determine the correct side...) and going clockwise:

1. Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream for Combination to Oily Skin: This stuff is pretty great. It doesn't get all cakey like some foundations and also doesn't make me break out. However, now that I am getting more tan, I wish I would have gotten a darker shade.

2. Elf Studio Blush in Twinkle Pink: Obsessed with this. See below for a closer up picture. This blush was only $3 at Target and it's amazing. It's a light peach color with a little shimmer and is perfect for everyday wear.

3. Covergirl Perfect Blend Eye Pencil in Basic Black: I've bought a ton of eyeliners and just keep going back to this one. It goes on smoothly and stays on.

4. NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny: Lots of beauty bloggers rave about this bronzer for its great quality for an affordable price. So I picked it up for $3 at CVS. It does go on pretty smoothly and is great for contouring. See closer up picture below.

5. Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder: Cheap and very effective. I would definitely recommend this.

6. Tweezerman mini tweezers: It took me awhile to finally listen to everyone going on about these tweezers and spend the $13 on them. Should have done it a long time ago. Seriously, throw away your crappy tweezers and go buy this. It's amazing.

7. Elf Studio Blush Brush: I have other, more expensive blush brushes and use this one because I like it better. It has super soft bristles. $3 at Target.

8. Wet and Wild MegaLiner Liquid Eye Liner: Bought this on a whim for $3 at Walgreens and literally use it so much. The brush allows for clear, precise application. Best liquid liner I've tried yet.

9. Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Pink Punch: I am completely obsessed with Baby Lips. I have way too many of them. This pink one gives a nice bright pink sheer color that's not too overwhelming and keeps your lips moisturized too! LOVE THESE.

These are the two mascaras I'm currently using. The green tube is Covergirl Clump Crusher by Lashblast and the orange tube is Covergirl LashBlast Volume. I've used the orange one for a few years now and can't find anything better. Best mascara ever. I bought the green one because I'm a sucker for advertising and like it but prefer the orange one.

Elf Studio Blush in Tickled Pink

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder in Sunny

These are my ultimate favorite hair products. From left to right:

1. Moroccanoil. Addicted. It's expensive but the bottle literally lasts forever. It will make your hair so so soft. 

2. Batiste Dry Shampoo: Lifesaver. Not kidding. If you are one of those people who washes your hair everyday (we probably aren't friends. kidding. but not really.), stop. Seriously, this dry shampoo can will change your life. I mean why waste time washing and drying your hair when you can just spray this amazing stuff in?? You can find it here.

3. Tresemmé Tres Two Hair Spray: Best bang for your buck. My mom and I go through cans and cans of this stuff. 

4. Suave Sleek Anti-Frizz Cream: My hair has been a little frizzy lately. So I went to Target, searched around and picked out this Garnier serum spray. Big mistake. One spray of that stuff and my hair looked like I hadn't showered in a month. DO NOT BUY. Returned that right away and switched it out for this Suave product. Usually I don't buy Suave because I'm too much of a hair product snob. This cream may convert me. It makes your hair look so sleek and soft but not greasy.  And under 3 bucks! 

Hopefully this post will help someone spend money on some random stuff they don't really need. Always a good thing. Hope you all are having a great Thursday! 

Woes of a Dentist's Daughter

Do you remember the day you got your braces off? That glorious, glorious day. You could hear the birds singing and the sun came out from behind the clouds as you walked into school after that oh-so-special ortho appointment. Your friends ran up to you, fawning over the beauty of your new, straight, perfect smile. People who didn't even know you commented on your lovely white teeth. You went home and uploaded the classic "I just got my braces off" selfie as your profile pic. You were untouchable and the world was a happier place. (If you never had to have braces, well I don't like you anymore, you lucky duck.)

As a dentist's daughter, I personally had this experience twice. Yep, I had braces for a total of 5 terrible years ending just in time to debut my new smile for eighth grade graduation.

               A classic pic from eighth grade. Sorry guys. I know its bad.

Fast forward 5 years... I'm sitting in a restaurant for dinner with my family when my dad brings up that the orthodontist called him. About me. I had had an appointment to get a new retainer a few weeks ago, and the orthodontist had concluded that "some adjustments had to be made to my teeth." Gulp. My dad indicated that I would probably have to had braces put back on for a few months.

So, naturally, I burst into tears at the dinner table. For those of you who don't know me very well, I am a retainer Nazi. Not kidding. One time at college I forgot to wear my retainer and woke up in the middle of the night having a nightmare that my teeth had moved. This is serious stuff. SO HOW DID MY TEETH MOVE?????

Today's the dreaded ortho appointment. I mean hopefully they can fix this thing with some kind of magical retainer or something. Just don't fill my mouth with metal. I refuse to revert back to my adolescent awkward stage. It was traumatic. No one needs that again. So, if you are reading this, say a quick prayer (or a few hundred decades of the rosary) or if you aren't religious, do a rain dance or something, that the orthodontist can fix my horrible, crooked teeth (sarcasm, I can't even see anything wrong with them) WITHOUT BRACES. Because no one wants to look like this again:

Fourth of July in Michigan

This past weekend, I went to Michigan with my boyfriend, Schae, and his family to celebrate the 4th of July with his extended family. Schae's grandparents live in a small town called Saugatuck on Lake Michigan about 40 minutes SW of Grand Rapids. Saugatuck is an adorable little town full of unique boutiques (ooh it rhymes!),  candy shops where you can watch delicious fudge and caramel apples being made in the window, and plenty of ice cream shops to keep you satisfied on those hot summer days.

Though the town is fun, we spent most of our time where any good Midwesterner should spend their Fourth of July weekend: on the lake. The beach was full of families sitting in circles, talking and laughing. Unfortunately, the water was cold. No, I'm not a wimp; I love swimming every summer in Lake Superior, known for its cold water. This was a new level of cold. As Schae's younger brother pointed out, "This must have been what it was like when the Titanic was sinking!" (Wow, what a great reference to my favorite historical event and movie of all time!!!) However, the hot sun got the better of me, and I was forced to go in. Brrrrrrr!!

One of Schae and his cousins' favorite things to do in Michigan is to climb the sand dunes near the beach. Although the climb to the top is treacherous (I had to take more than a few breaks-don't tell anyone!), the view more than makes up for it.

Schae has recently decided to apply to be a Chubbies College Ambassador. For those of you who don't know what Chubbies are, they advertise as "the most radical shorts known to mankind." In non-Chubster speak, they are men's shorts which are slightly shorter than normal. Check them out here. To put it lightly, Schae is obsessed. 

For his application to be a college ambassador, Schae has to submit a sick picture of himself wearing the Chubbies (American flag print of course!) As self-appointed photographer, I was in charge of taking this picture. Check out the results:

I know, I know. I should switch my major to photography. After a long and strenuous voting process, we picked the third picture. Looking good Schae.
For the rest of the 4th, we put on our best 'Merica apparel and celebrated! (And I maybe ate so much BBQ that I went into a food coma and had to take a nap but no big deal or anything, I just like ribs.)

We finished out the weekend with a stunning sunset and general silliness on the beach before we said goodbye for now, Saugatuck!

The Beginning

When I told my younger brother I wanted to start a blog, he responded, "Alexis, the only people who have good blogs are in their 20s." He was shocked to find out that I turn 20 this fall. Almost as shocked as I am! So I guess now, on the verge of turning 20, is the best time to start writing things down.