Phew...

Wow.

What a week. Actually scratch that. Three weeks. This semester has been beyond hectic and its still not over! I spent the last week working on finishing my short film, learning theatre lines, working on another film for a doomed group project, going to classes every day, and trying to fit a billion other things into my days.

Good news, my film is finished! And I'm very happy with it! I may début it here later on in the week if you guys are interested...

Also it is officially spring here in New Zealand, the sun is shining and the days are longer which is fantastic! I wore a dress with no tights for the first time in ages. I'm also weaning myself off using my hot water bottle, which I love even when its hot.

Bad news. I'm exhausted. I keep sleeping through my alarms because it has just been non-stop around here. That being said, there is only three weeks of uni left for me (EVER) and I cannot wait! I'm also slightly terrified, real world and all that. But if I had to do this for any longer I would drop. So "three more weeks, three more weeks" has been my mantra lately, and I'm on constant countdown mode.

via

(This? YES!)

via

So if I'm a tiny bit absent around here (as in not posting every day) this is why. 3 more weeks people!
I'm off to re-read Harry Potter for the billionth time (not exaggerating) and have a cup of tea or twelve. Here's to the new week loves, enjoy it for me!
xx

The Little Lost Duck...

Hello to all you lovelies! This post is filled with warm fuzzies! Trust me.

I can't believe how many new readers I have gained recently! You guys are the best and I am loving reading all your sweet comments! Thank you so much much for taking the time to visit me and leave your thoughts!

I also want to thank all the awesome bloggers who have contacted me about doing their blog designs! Way to make a girl feel loved! I have a list with eight fab bloggers waiting for me to get my photoshop on, which I am doing (often instead of my school work) and I am loving it. SineadElle Designs is officially up and running! I just need to set up an official site or something. After I get the hang of things I will start charging for my services, but don't worry, I plan to have super cheap rates! (like ridiculously cheap!)

Now for a story...

My mum, nana, and aunty visited my cousin and I this Sunday and we all went for a walk around the Hamilton lake. It was a gorgeous day (for Hamilton) with only a bit of wind, so it was perfect for a stroll. As it is now spring in New Zealand there were baby ducklings EVERYWHERE. It was cuteness overload!

And this poor little duckling was my favourite. He was lost, somehow separated from his mummy and he could not stop cheeping and crying for her. It was so sad to see, poor little duckie! All I wanted to do was pick him up and find the mother duck, but obviously I couldn't. But as we continued walking around we saw a mother duck with some ducklings them same size, and she was quacking away as though looking for something. So I like to think she found her little duckling. He really was the cutest thing...

How adorable right?! Hope you are all feeling the warm fuzzies now, I certainly am! Have a fab week guys! I will be back on Friday ( I have a lot of work to do tomorrow :( boo!) with something awesome (aren't I always?!)
xx

It's Tuesday AND...

{Hey ladies! I'm sure you have all seen this bloggy hop around! Its pretty huge now! This week I have the privilege to co-host with Melissa and I am super stoked! Read on and enjoy my loves. I will be spending the rest of my day and night reading all your delightful blogs!}

It's Tuesday again which means it's time for the GFC Blog Hop!

When I want to follow a blog the first thing I look for is GFC (Google Friend Connect), it's so easy and  nice to be able to go and see all of the blogs you follow in one spot. It's really a great tool to have. 

One side note- Did you know you can follow through GFC using your Twitter Account? TRUE, it's definitely an option!

If you are interested in co-hosting the next GFC Blog Hop send me an email at melissa@thelifeofanotsoordinarywife.com

Ok, so let's get to the party, shall we?

RULES are simple:

1. Follow your host via GFC

The First link below

2. Follow your co-hosts via GFC

The Next 8 links below

3. Link up below using your main blog url not a specific post.

4. Make sure to visit some of the blogs in the link up and follow them via GFC 

and if you want to leave them a comment, I'm sure they'd appreciate that as well.

5. Tweet about this blog hop

Tweet

6. Share about this blog hop by grabbing a button and putting it on your sidebar!

<a href="http://www.thelifeofanotsoordinarywife.com/search/label/gfcbloghop"> <img src="http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z237/melissaenault/gfcbloghop-1.gif" border="0" /></a>

Design Creations

First off I want to say thanks to everyone who left me a sweet comment and good luck about my interview with Disney! You guys are so fantastic and definitely made me feel better :)

So now onto today's post. I have been on a designing mission lately. I spend all my free time, and some of my study time, with Photoshop open, creating different Blog Designs. Mostly I have just done premade headers and things like that, but I am super excited about them, and I think its time to expand my horizons a little and offer my services.

Obviously I designed my own layout, old and the current one. And I have designed a few of my friends layouts as well. So here we go!

Old Design

Current Deisgn

Rachel at Yellow Brick Road

Abbie at Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust

and my most recent design... Lauren at Here I Am

I highly suggest you visit each blog live, not only do the designs look better that way, but these girls are my real life friends and their blogs are great! Go say hi!

If you are interested in getting a blog revamp, and have been looking around for a cheap designer... Let me do you one better. How about free? Yes? Good. At the moment I am testing the waters. I would love to work with you and help you get the look for your blog that you want, and for a little while I am going to do it for free :D And becuase its free, if you change your mind, you do not have to keep it! I can even design a few headers just for you to have a look at before you decide. Its entirely flexible at this stage.

You can either get bits and pieces or a full design that includes:

• Header
• Side Intro
• Tab Buttons
• Social Media Buttons
• Blog Buttons in Multiple Sizes
• Cohesive Colour Scheme and Fonts

I usually start with the header, and I have a few pre-made ones that, if you like one, can be changed and adapted to fit your wants, then will no longer be available for anyone else. Just for you! Here are a few I have right now...

So if you are interested, send me an email at sinead (dot) elle (at) hotmail.com and I will get to work designing my lil butt off for you ladies!

xx

all designs are property of

Friday Chaos!

Eeep! I am so excited to be co-hosting another blog hop! I made so many new friends last time and I think hopping is one of the best ways of connecting with other bloggers and forming friendships! Hello to all you knew visitors :) I so hope you stick around for a while, I have some big things coming up!

It's that time again! Another week of the Friday Social Networking hop called the FRIDAY CHAOS!

Last week we had over 100 link ups! Lets see if we can grow the hop this time round.

**If you would like us to follow you back please leave a comment & we will do so!**

This week we have 5 co-hosters! Be sure the check them all out, follow via GFC and leave a comment! 

This is a link up for bloggers who want to increase traffic to their blogs and meet new friends!

1. Follow both hosts (The first two links below) via GFC, Facebook & Twitter and any other one's you fancy.

2. Follow all of the co-hosts(the next 5 links) 

3. Grab the button and put it on your blog somewhere to be seen.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.ohsoamelia.com" title="ohsoamelia"><img src="http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj578/BericeBaby/Untitled7.jpg" alt="Ohsoamelia" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

4. Don't just add your blog hoping to get followers, join in the fun and visit a few blogs.

5. Tweet about this hop

Tweet

 If you would like to co-host one of the weeks let us know.

Okay, Lets get this chaos started!

BLOG

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

YOUTUBE

PINTEREST

INSTAGRAM

A Turning Point in Life

Last night I may have had one of the biggest moments of my life so far.

Last night I drove with two friends, two hours up to Auckland, to interview for a position I have been excited about for months now.

Last night I interviewed for a position that will take me out of my country, away from my family, and on the biggest adventure of my life so far.

Last night I interviewed for an intern-ship at DisneyWorld, Florida.


And now I am freaking out. And will be for the next two weeks until I hear from them.
If I get in, I will be working at DisneyWorld for an entire year. Living in America, in Disney housing, meeting people from all around the world, and experiencing things I have never experienced before.
And I'm terrified. I'm scared to open my email and find out I didn't get in, which is extremely possible, as they don't take many applicants. But I am also scared to open my email and find out I did get in, I'm terrified about what that means, the huge steps I will have to take, the amount of money I will have to somehow save, and currently the role that I will be offered.


When I filled out my application forms I got to choose the roles I was most interested in. I chose Character Attendant, Merchandise, and Operations. However, during my interview, the Disney representative (who was beyond lovely) informed me those roles had already been filled. So she told me which I could end up doing if I get in. These included Life Guard, Character Performer, and Food Services. At the time I told her I could do any and all of them. I was so keen to prove myself and come across enthusiastic and helpful. But now I have had time to think it through, I really don't want to do life guarding. I'm scared at the thought of it, it has never been something I wanted to do, and I don't know if I would want to do it for an entire year. She measured me for Character Performer, in case they offer me that position, and I got told I was Pluto height. So you never know, if you visit DisneyWorld after August next year, this may be me...


So I'm excited but apprehensive for two weeks to end. Your good luck wishes and prayers are very welcome. Because I need to put these thoughts out of my mind, as I have a ton of work to do for my classes. I cannot believe how busy I am currently. Only 5 more weeks until I am freeeeee!

xx

The YouTube Vortex

I accidentally stayed up until 2am last night. And I say accidentally because it was, I fell into a YouTube vortex. You guys know the ones. You bring up YouTube, watch a funny or exciting clip, then the sidebar brings up another one. You think ooh that looks interesting... BAM 3 hours later and you have watched around 30 clips. That happened to me last night.

It started off with watching auditions from the X Factors, Got Talents and Idols... then progressed to a Real Life Mentalist (which totally blew my mind) then I ended up watching the new episodes of my latest obsession...

This web series is, obviously, based on the Lizzie Bennet from Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, which I love. And now I can't get enough of this modern adaptation. Its witty and charming, and the actors are all fantastic. It can get a little cheesy, but sometimes life needs a little cheese. If you are a fan of the novel or films you should definitely have a look. It does stray from the storyline a little, but overall its a great modern twist on the classic tale. And I definitely enjoy it (not too mention George Wickham is seriously hot! be sure to stick around until episode 40-something! Its worth it!) The thing that I love is these guys are so immersed into being the characters. They have twitter handles for each of them, a blog where they write as the heroines (Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia) its pretty much amazeballs.

Here is the first episode for you to enjoy!

xx

If I Were...

If I were a gemstone, I'd be a Amethyst or Lapis Lazuli.

If I were a scent, I'd be Coffee Beans.

If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be a pair of Black and White Converse.

If I were the weather, I'd be a Thunderstorm

If I were a facial expression, I'd be a Cheesy Smile.

If I were a car, I'd be a Black 67 Chevy Impala. (100 points if you know why!)

If I were a time of day, I'd be Midnight.

If I were a month, I'd be February.

If I were a place, I'd be a Cinema.

If I were a liquid, I'd be Hot Coffee.

If I were a taste, I'd be Something Sweet. 

If I were a sea animal, I'd be a Dolphin.

If I were a food, I'd be a Cupcake.

If I were a colour, I'd be a Powder Blue.

If I were a musical instrument, I'd be an Acoustic Guitar.

If I were a flower, I'd be a Cherry Blossom.

If I were a planet, I'd be Pluto. (Poor Pluto! I still consider you a planet!) 

If I were an object, I'd be a Book. 

If I were a fruit, I'd be a Blueberry.

If I were a sound, I'd be a Page Turning. 

If I were a day of the week, I'd be a Friday Night.

I found this adorable Tag post on Charlotte's blog, Charlotte's Web and I thought it was super cute, so those are my answers... What are yours?

If you fill it out, leave me a link in the comments
xx

Sunday Social

I decided to link up with Ashley and Neely this week for Sunday Social, this weeks topic is blogging, which obviously I am a fan of! And I thought it would be a great time to shout out to all my new followers! 

Hey guys! You have no idea how excited I am! Thanks so much for all your sweet comments and thoughts x

1. What is the name of your blog and how did you come up with it??

I used to blog under the name Life As I Know It... but I knew it was very generic and wasn't "me" enough. So I changed to Sinead in the Sun, very me (obviously, cause its my name) and it has the vibe I want for my blog, happy and hopeful and warm!

2. What do you love the most about blogging??

I love the idea of keeping an online journal, something I can look back on a say "remember when..." but I also love the community, obviously not all my posts are a life scrapbook, some are for the connections with other bloggers. I love how sweet everyone is, how willing they are to help, and how many fantastic connections are formed other the internet!

3. What are your 2 favorite posts you've written?

Ok I can't help it, I have to pick 3!

Fan-Girling into Geekdom

That Time I Momentarily Stole a Cat
If You Really Knew Me

4. What is something you'd want to tell someone just starting out in blog world?

Definitely fix the "no-reply blogger" issue! It makes me sad when I get an awesome comment, write an awesome reply, and it goes nowhere! And it will hinder your connections in the bloggy world. Also be sincere. Be you. No one wants to read a blog that almost the same as another blog, but less genuine. And we bloggers can tell!

To fix the annoying "no-reply" issue do this:

Click "edit Blogger profile"

Check "Show my email address"

5. Biggest blogging learning experience you've had?

I think blog design, I have always like design, but never really got into it this much! But now I'm designing pre-made blog designs every other week. I'm thinking of starting to sell them, but I'm not sure...

6. Give us 3 blogs we NEED to be following that you love. 

Ok I'm gonna have to do more than 3! I will split them into categories!

My IRL friends that are now brand new bloggers and are super fantastic:

Rachel @ Yellow Brick Road 

Lauren @ Here I Am

 

Abbie @ Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust

p.s I designed their blog designs! go visit!

Bloggers that I get excited about when a new post pops up:

Alyx @ Every Day is a New Adventure

Miki @ Becoming What I Always Was

Erin @ Living in Yellow

Enjoy my darlings

xx

A Day on the Farm

I visited my Dad this weekend, and he lives on a small farm just out of town. He told me they had picked up a few new animals recently so I was quite excited to see them! In addition to two new cows (who were unfortunately hiding while I was out with my camera) there were four teenage (not baby lambs, but not quite sheep) lambs for me to visit!

My favourite of all the lambs was Sparky...

He used to be someone elses pet lamb before we got him, so he was quite friendly. It took him a little while to warm up to me but once he did, we were besties! Look at that face! (not mine, his!)

Unfortunately Sparky probably wont be with us long, you can probably guess what will happen, I'm going to choose to ignore it! But it was a lot of fun hanging in the paddocks over the weekend, though I'm a city girl at heart, I do love me some country living!

And just to end the post on an adorable note and hopefully make you all go "naaaaaaw"...

Big hello to all my new followers! I can't wait to get to know you guys :)

Until next time

xx

Return The Favour...

Hey guys! I am so excited about todays post! I have been following Chelsea from Yours Truly for quite a while now, she is living in New Zealand, which of course makes us automatic bloggy friends. I am co-hosting her Return The Favour Hop this week and its my first time ever co-hosting a link-up!! Squeeee! 

If you are visiting from the hop, head over to my About tab and get to know me, I would love to see you around here! I love meeting all my new readers : D

Last Wednesday was the fifth week of the Return The Favor hop, and it's proving to be a success week after week! Please spread the word so this second round of GFC is just as successful! I look forward to you all linking up and finding some new blogs to follow!

If you would like to be a co-host in the future, please send an email to chelsea@yourstrulyblog.com and let me know what type of hop {Twitter, Facebook, GFC, Bloglovin'} you'd most like to co-host!

<center> <a href="http://www.yourstrulyblog.com/search/label/hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img15/7789/returnthefavorhop.png" /></a></center>

Follow your host & co-hosts

Share the hop with others, whether it be via Twitter, Facebook, your blog, etc!
Come link up with @chelseaoliviaxo for the GFC hop to find new blogs to follow!  http://www.yourstrulyblog.com/2012/09/GFCbloghop.html
Feel free to copy the code for the button from above and put it up on your blog.

Take a couple minutes to visit some other people who have linked up and let them know you stopped by from the Return The Favor hop - and hopefully they will return the favor!

Chelsea from Yours Truly
Dalayna from Pointing Up

Rosie from Craftbotic
Sinead from Sinead in the Sun
Alyssa from Impractical Composition

Ashley from The Sweet Ashley Life
Kara from Making The Most of Life
Misty from Monkeys and Tutus