Tag: Lifestyle

February in Review, March Goals

On By SaraIn Self Improvement, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Ever have one of those months where nothing goes as planned? That was definitely February for me. It can be really rough to go through the month knowing you’re not making the progress you hoped you would.

I did get a lot done though, just not the things that I had planned on. I made a lot of progress on my jewelry and a few new DIY projects. I had a wonderful last couple weeks and I’m really looking forward to seeing how March goes!

February Goals

  • Keep working at that morning routine – Up no later than 6:30 all days except Saturday (This will start once my back is feeling better…my neck hurts too much to work out for at least a few hours after waking up. Hopefully next week.)

This did not happen. But it was not for lack of trying. As I said at the beginning of last month and in my fitness update, my back was hurting. Then I got sick. Then my back (but a different part!) was hurting again. Then I got sick again, but worse. Yeah…the first 1/2 of February was not very nice to me. But now I’m doing better and I am getting up on time, so yay!!

  • Keep active 6 days a week – Until my back heals up, LISS. After that, it’s back to Kayla Itsines’ BBG for round 2!

Yeah…for the same reasons as above, it was pretty much LISS for most of the month. But I am now starting Week 2 of my second round of BBG and so happy for it! (Very, very sore…but happy!) I didn’t make it 6 days a week when I was sick, but I did push myself to be as active as possible.

  • Spend at least 30 minutes a day working on either the blog or my art.

Yes! I actually manage to do this almost entirely. I’m sure I missed a day or two, but for the most part I have actually done very well on this one!

Favorite Pictures from February

Sweet Potato Banana Bites
Chocolate Cookie Dough Protein Bites
“Thaw” Winter in Iowa
Monthly Photo Project – Ada Hayden
Wall Art – playing with my camera
A very sad rottweiler pup
One of my favorite jewelry pieces so far: fused glass, white with blue dichroic and black, wrapped in silver-coated wire
Another new piece: fused glass, white with red and black dichroic, wrapped in copper
My first time building something with tools in a very long time! I can’t wait to show you all this new project once it’s done!

March Goals

  1. Keep working towards establishing that morning routine! – I’ve done okay this last week, but I really need to make it through at least a whole month. I know I feel better when I get up early, get my workout in (with time to warm up and stretch) and get ready at an easy pace. I just need to stay focused on those positives and make sure I get to bed at a decent time!
  2. Add yoga into routine at least 3 days a week – During workouts and yoga is about the only time right now that my mind quiets down. I think this will help my productivity and overall mental state
  3. Add guided meditation to routine at least 3 days a week – This goes along with my second goal and I think will achieve the same ends. Plus it’s just a good practice anyways.

That’s it for this month! Do you set goals for yourself each month? How do you deal if the month doesn’t go as planned? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below!

Sara (1)

Want to start setting goals but aren’t sure how to go about it? Check out my Top 5 Planning Tips!

 

The Importance of Meal Prep: The Week I Skipped…And Why I Won’t Be Doing That Again

On By SaraIn Meal Prep, Uncategorized2 Comments

Ok, so I didn’t entirely skip meal prep. But compared to what I normally cook every week, I did. If you saw this post, you know I was on vacation from work for most of this week. Well, a staycation. So I figured, why not?! I will be home for most of the week, I will have plenty of time. How about I don’t do meal prepping this week?!

Bad. Idea.

Thankfully, none of the meals I planned went bad or anything. But I did delay cooking the casserole I had planned by 2 days, which did make me a little worried for our ingredients initially.

But mostly, it was the stress and lack of options. When time should I make dinner for? What is Draz taking for lunch today? (He only had 3 days off to my 5)

Some of you might think this is a little crazy. It was only a couple of days, right? It shouldn’t make that big of a difference!

It did. Some of it might just be the routine. We’ve been meal prepping for over a year now and we are used to how that works. This was out of routine, so it was a little disorienting. But some of it was that, for us, it truly is easier to have all the food for the week made in advance.

So, all in all, I don’t think I will be skipping any more meal preps anytime soon! While it may not make that big of a difference to some, it makes a huge difference to us.

But wait! I did say I didn’t entirely skip prepping, didn’t I? Well, that’s true, so here is what I made!

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Mason Jar Salads, Snacks and Treats

 

I don’t want to even imagine how much more stressful things would have been if I had skipped making our salads and snacks along with everything else!  At least I thought ahead well enough to know that would be a bad idea, right?

Have you ever skipped a meal prep? Did it make things harder the following week, or was it not too noticeable? Or do you think I’m just crazy? 😛 I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below!

Sara (1)

Want to get started meal prepping yourself? Check out these posts for my top tips and my staple recipes!

Need some extra inspiration? Check out last week’s meal prep for other recipes and ideas!

Weekly food prep

Sunday Meal Prep: February 21, 2016

On By SaraIn Meal Prep, Uncategorized5 Comments

Hey everyone! This week’s meal prep is all about keepin’ things simple 🙂 I was still not feeling all that great when I was planning for this prep (prep posts are staggered by one week, so this was last week) so I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to spend much time in the kitchen. I would say it was a success!

This prep took around 3 – 3.5 hrs of active cooking, so not too bad at all 🙂

Meal Prep

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Our main meals
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Snacks and treats

 

Two main dishes for this week, other than more Pulled Pork for Draz: Slow Simmered Curried Chicken and Skillet Sausage and Veggies. Both of these turned out delicious!

The Curried Chicken is from the Easy Asian Recipes cookbook. I love this book! (Not an affiliate link)

The Skillet Sausage and Veggies is from the Taste of Home Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes 2008 cookbook, another cookbook I really love! (Again, not an affiliate link) However, the recipe below is based on the recipe I used this week. Enjoy!

SausagePepperCabbage

I did also spend a little bit of time this week playing around with styling for food photography. What do you think?

Cookie Dough Protein Bites
Sweet Potato Banana Bites

That’s it for this week! What did you prep this week? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below!

Sara (1)

Want to get started meal prepping yourself? Check out these posts for my top tips and my staple recipes!

Need some extra inspiration? Check out last week’s meal prep for other recipes and ideas!

Fitness Mini-Update

On By SaraIn Self Improvement, Uncategorized2 Comments

It’s been one month since I finished Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide! Sadly, I can’t tell you that I’ve been doing much since then 😕 My body seems to have turned on me (again). It does that a lot, doesn’t it?

That is not saying I haven’t been able to work out some…it’s just been limited to mostly treadmill and exercises they gave me in Physical Therapy.

Setbacks can be difficult to deal with. I know I’ve had some ups and downs over the last month. Times where I felt like I was never going to get back into my fitness routine. Heck, there were times it felt like I was never going to feel well again at all!

Of course, that was (mostly) in my head! I am feeling better now, though I have come to the realization that the PT exercises for my back have to become a part of my daily life.

I am hoping to start BBG1 round 2 next week and can’t wait to get going again…hopefully with less injuries this time! 😀

How have your workouts been going? Have you been struggling this winter with your routine or had any setbacks? How have you dealt with them? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Sara (1)

29th Birthday

Life Lessons: The 29 Things I’ve Learned in 29 Years

On By SaraIn Self Improvement, Uncategorized3 Comments

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It’s my birthday! I might be freaking out a little! But…honestly not as much as I thought I would be. 🙂

Ok, this is something I’ve actually given a lot of thought to the past month or so. I turn 29 today….I think back to when I was 20 and what I thought life would be like in 9 years and this isn’t it. In fact, it’s not even close.

That’s not a complaint. I love my life! My family, Draz, my dogs, my home, this blog and all of the awesomeness related to that and so much more! Instead, it’s more of a realization that life takes some crazy and unexpected turns. Twists and turns that put me in a wonderful place in life that I could never have imagined at 20!

I’ve learned a lot along the way and still have so much left to learn! But here are 29 things that I have learned so far! So serious, so not quite so, and in no particular order, but I hope you enjoy all of them 🙂

29 Life Lessons I’ve Learned So Far

  1. I don’t know what it means to actually feel like an adult. I’m still waiting for that one.
  2. Parents are people too and pretty awesome to hang out with!
  3. No one actually has life all figured out.
  4. Not everyone will like you or needs to…and you don’t have to understand why.
  5. Be present for the moments of everyday life. It’s amazing.
  6. Reach out to those that you care about, even if you’ve lost touch.
  7. Drive slower!
  8. Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish, it’s necessary.
  9. You can like who you are while still trying to improve yourself.
  10. Push your comfort zone!
  11. Don’t expect life to follow your plan.
  12. Be unapologetically you – be honest about who you are and what you enjoy in life.
  13. Try to put a positive “spin” on things when you are having a bad day/interaction/moment/whatever.
  14. Be silly!
  15. Take care of your body – it’s worth the time.
  16. Take care of your mental health too – it’s just as important as your physical health.
  17. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
  18. Find things you truly enjoy instead of things that just fill time.
  19. The best dates and/or moments don’t have to cost much, if anything.
  20. Quality over quantity – applies to much of life!
  21. Don’t procrastinate – it NEVER helps.
  22. Be spontaneous (at least occasionally).
  23. Smile often.
  24. Be kind to others, even when you don’t feel like it.
  25. Make sure you sleep enough.
  26. Try new things often!
  27. Give yourself a break – you can’t do everything.
  28. Always make goals and strive towards meeting them.
  29. Cut the negative thoughts and self-talk.

So that’s some of the things I’ve learned over the years. So aren’t surprising and a few took me a long time to learn. Some I still have to remind myself of. But either way, I am so excited to see how this year goes! I think that 29 is going to be an amazing and transformative year for me! (And I am so excited to share it with all of you!)

What are some of the things that you have learned over the years that have surprised you or been harder to learn? I would love to hear your thoughts!

And don’t forget that the Jewelry Giveaway ends today at 8 pm CT, so if you haven’t entered yet, hop over and get your entry in!

Giveaway

Sara (1)

 

Weekly Food Prep

Sunday Meal Prep: February 14, 2016

On By SaraIn Meal Prep, Uncategorized1 Comment

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I am super excited to share this week’s meal prep with you!

You ever have those weeks where you are trying to plan out your prep and it just isn’t coming to you? That was me planning out this week. But in the end it all fell together! It didn’t take me as long to cook as some weeks, but that definitely doesn’t mean it was lacking in taste!

Enjoy!

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As you can see, we have more Island Pulled Pork for this week. Draz seems to be on a new kick! 😛 Along with that, we have one old favorite, one that we’ve had once and a new recipe as well!

I am always happy when we add Jambalaya on to the menu. It’s been one of my favorites for over 10 years! The repeat recipe was Slowcooker Beef and Broccoli and I love how this one turned out 🙂 I do think I used a different cut of beef than last time though. It didn’t fall apart in quite the same way that it did the first time I made it. But that doesn’t really matter, because either way it was really tasty!

This Tortellini Chicken Noodle Soup was delicious! The one thing that I will say is that I wish I would have increased the broth some…It ended up a little thicker than I would prefer for soup. But it was still wonderful and I love the addition of the tortellini!

Not pictured: my grapes and cheese snacks and one batch of our breakfast burritos.

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A little peak behind the scenes…my photography “helper”!

Jambalaya

How was your prep this week? Do you ever have difficulty picking meals when planning out your prep? What do you do if/when you do? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below!

Also, don’t forget that the Jewelry Giveaway ends on Tuesday! So if you haven’t entered yet, head over and let me know which one you want!

Giveaway

Sara (1)

Want to get started meal prepping yourself? Check out these posts for my top tips and my staple recipes!

Need some extra inspiration? Check out last week’s meal prep for other recipes and ideas!

Bingeable Media: The Books & Podcasts I’m Loving Right Now

On By SaraIn Self Improvement, Uncategorized9 Comments

 

I have always had a love of music and books. More times than I can count I was reprimanded in school for reading when I wasn’t supposed to be…and I can remember more than a few nights that I read for hours longer than I meant to. However, up to the last month or so, I had never listened to an audiobook!

Now, while I am still very attached to physical books, I am quickly falling in love with audiobooks. I have a lot of time at work that I am able to listen to my headphones, so I go through a lot of material. While I still listen to many podcasts, I’m having fun switching it up with books, both fiction and nonfiction.

Audiobooks:

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I started off with the Hunger Games Series. I had never gotten to finish reading them before and have actually been waiting to watch the movies until I finished the books!

 

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, read by Stephen Fry. This was fantastic and so much fun to listen to!

 

 

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The Phantom of the Opera. This one is not new to me, but I loved listening to it. I also love the movie and the play. I may also have the soundtrack. Obsessed, me? 

 

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What The Most Successful People do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam: I really enjoyed this quick listen 🙂 I have been working (on-and-off) on revitalizing my wake-up routine and this gave me some motivation and some great ideas!

 

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Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Series: I had read the first book once, but now I’m on the 3rd one and loving it! Sadly I currently only have up to that one. The last two aren’t available 😦

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Harry Potter: I am really enjoying listening to the audiobooks of this series! This is one of my fav series of all-time! I will admit, I was a little worried that the narrator would throw me off, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far 🙂

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Anita Blake Series: This is another one of my favorite series. Unlike the Harry Potter series, one of the voices of the narrator did throw me off for a bit, but as I listened to it longer it didn’t anymore. Though I’m not sure if that won’t happen again as the series progresses. Also, if you are familiar with the series at all, you might understand why I’m not sure if I will continue listening at work!

Podcasts:

Along with all of the podcasts listed in this post, I have added quite a few more to my regular listening line-up! Here are just a few of the ones I am enjoying!

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Entrepreneurs and Coffee with Brendan Hufford: One of my favorites for entrepreneurship! Brendan is great to listen to! His interviews are always interesting and engaging, plus he is quick to respond to emails and tweets from his listeners!

 

 

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This American Life hosted by Ira Glass: I can’t say enough about This American Life. This show has made me laugh out loud (while working by myself, so I get to sound a little crazy too), tear up and gets me thinking about all sorts of topics I’ve not thought much about before.

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The Art of Charm with AJ and Jordan Harbinger: While this show is meant for and geared towards men, I have found so many episodes useful and interesting. I love the wide range of topics and guests that come on!

 

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The Fizzle Show with Corbet Barr, Chase Reeves, Barrett Brooks & Steph Crowder: Oh, what to say about The Fizzle Show…not only is this show entertaining and informative, it has lead me to so many other podcasts and people! I can’t wait until I can actually join The Fizzle Community online!

Do you listen to audiobooks and/or podcasts? I am always looking for new ones, so let me know your favorites in the comments below!

Also, if you didn’t see it yet, be sure to check out the Jewelry Giveaway I am running Feb 9-16th!

Giveaway

Sara (1)

Weekly Food Prep

Sunday Meal Prep: February 7, 2016

On By SaraIn Meal Prep, Uncategorized3 Comments

(Note: Sorry for the delay. I had some technical difficulties. Hopefully we have gotten them solved.)

Hey everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! Things are going pretty well here, except for my body seeming to turn on me 😦 My back is doing quite a bit better (yay!!) but now I’m fighting a rather nasty sore throat. So since I’m not feeling all that great, today’s post is going to get right to the point.

Enjoy!

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Spicy Chicken in Tomatoes 

Red Curry Lentils 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork: Island Style

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Sunflower and Oat Energy Balls

Sorry for the short (and late) post today! But keep an eye out for a post later this week…I have something exciting for you guys!

Did you do meal prep today? What did you cook? I would love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment below!

Sara (1)

Want to get started meal prepping yourself? Check out these posts for my top tips and my staple recipes!

Need some extra inspiration? Check out last week’s meal prep for other recipes and ideas!

 

metal sculpture ames iowa

Friday Favs: February 5, 2016

On By SaraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week! Here’s the awesome links I found this week! 🙂 Enjoy!

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Playing with angles – my favorite picture from this week of a sculpture in downtown Ames, IA

Recipes

Homemade Spicy Ramen with Tofu from Pinch of Yum – This sounds freakin’ delicious! I actually haven’t cooked with tofu yet and this recipe might be changing that.

Spinach Chana Dal from 100 Days of Real Food – So you might have noticed that I have started really getting into cooking Indian food lately…like all the others, this one sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to give it a try!

Teriyaki Grilled Chicken and Veggie Rice Bowls from Cooking Classy – This sounds so tasty! I’ve never made my own teriyaki sauce before and I really love her point about food in bowls just being awesome in general 🙂

Shrimp Summer Rolls with Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce from Skinnytaste – These sound delicious! I’ve never cooked with shrimp…honestly it makes me kinda nervous. But these sound like a great introduction to them!

Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers {Lightened Up} from Organize Yourself Skinny – Slow cooker and tasty sandwich?! This sounds perfect to me! We are definitely going to make this in the future!

Sriracha Buffalo Cauliflower Bites from Half Baked Harvest – I have heard of of using cauliflower as a substitute for chicken for buffalo “wings” but haven’t really looked up any recipes. Well that is different now! I can’t wait to try these!

Game Day White Chicken Chili from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen – I have plenty of chili recipes, but no good chicken chili ones. This sounds super tasty!

Breakfast Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Sauce from Pinch of Yum – As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we have a bit of an enchilada obsession over here…And I love any and all breakfast foods! This combination sounds just about perfect for us!

Peanut Butter Flourless Chocolate Cake from Gimme Some Oven – Ahhh…Peanut butter and chocolate. The perfect match. With my birthday coming up, this beautiful cake needs to be made!

Home and Decor

On Starting a Garden from The Small Things Blog – I love reading about new gardeners! You may remember that I did a small gardening experiment last spring/summer. What she is talking about doing for her garden sounds like what I would like to try this year!

Art and DIY

Personalized Gift Wrap from A Thoughtful Place –

Fitness

3 Shoulder & Back Strengthening Exercises I Learned in PT from Working Out and Eating In – Ok, so those of you who have been following me for a while might remember that I have a lot of problems with my back, even ending up in PT myself a few months ago. However, these 3 exercises are ones I didn’t learn in my PT and are definitely ones I am going to try out!

Blogging and Business

How to Make Your Blog Posts Stand Out from A Girl, Obsessed – This article has some great tips, including two that I really want to work on!

Ten Tips for Flay Lay Photography from A Girl, Obsessed – She is just killin’ these articles this week! (As she is most weeks) Photography is something I am really trying to work on and I hope to try out some of the tips in this article.

5 Best Pieces of Advice When Starting a Business from Goodbeads – I love this! As someone who is working towards launching a business soon (more on that to come), she has some great pieces of advice…the first and last ones I will probably have to remind myself on a regular basis!

The Blogger’s Guide to Networking from damask love – As something I have a hard time with and not many opportunities to practice, this is a great read!

Life

10 Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming An Adult from Dizzybrunette3 – With my birthday coming up later this month, this so hits close to home! (Plus, keep an eye out for a post I have planned that is similar to this on my birthday!)

5 Ways to Make Sure You Have a Good Day from Barefoot Blonde – Amber’s post is too cute and I love the idea of the 30 min power clean!

What to do After You Pay Off Debt from Making Sense of Cents – I’m not even close to paying off my debt, but this is a great article on what to do if I ever do!

This is 29 from Racing Bananas – Another post that really hits home with my 29th birthday coming up! I love how they had a pretty low key and relaxing celebration. Plus I’m kinda envious of that dog park!

5 Things I Do to Keep Meal Prep Simple from Organize Yourself Skinny – I love the tips she puts here, many of which I do myself! If you are looking at starting or simplifying your meal prep, this is a great read!

Cooking Date Night from Cupcakes & Cashmere – Draz and I work together, so this article has a particular draw for me. Creating a dedicated “date time” on a regular basis is something we could probably work on and this is a great idea for one type of date night!

I would love to hear what fun articles you found this week, so leave a link to one below! Or from an article from your blog from this week! I would love to hear from you and check out what you think and like!

Sara (1)

 

sunrise over lake

January in Review, February Goals

On By SaraIn Self Improvement, UncategorizedLeave a comment

January Goals

  1. Start establishing a morning routine – Ummm….50/50? I kept making progress with this and then my back injury acting up again plus getting sick, setting me back again
  2. Start at least one art project – Does my jewelry count? I did not start on mosaic like I had hoped to, but I got quite a few pieces of jewelry made! I’m also starting to feel a little more comfortable with my wire wrapping, though I still have a LONG way to go in that department!
  3. Active rest days – 50/50 success. During the time periods I was working out I did manage active rest days, but when I was sick and injured every day kinda became a rest day (outside of physical therapy exercises)
  4. Less TV time, especially while writing! – Again, 50/50 success. I did okay with this at the beginning of the month. Not so much the second half of the month.

January Favorites 

You guys have to be getting sick of seeing the same photos over an over…can you tell I was a little focused on my jewelry this month?! I promise that I will be working on my photography in more areas in February, so it will not be the same jewelry again. Also, I am working on some new pieces, so it will be new jewelry too! 🙂

I really am excited to be able to share these with you though. I’ve been dreaming of being able to make new pieces for months and now I finally can! I would love to hear your thoughts on the jewelry I’ve shared so far. Are there any styles or pieces that you really like or dislike?

winter sunrise over Ada Hayden Park in Ames, Ia
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2016 Plum Paper Planner
Path through park
winter morning at Ada Hayden
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glass fusion jewelry
yellow and gold glass fusion jewelry
fused glass jewelry
glass fusion jewelry
yellow and blue glass fusion jewelry
glass fusion jewelry with red dichroic
glass fusion pendant
glass fusion pendant
glass fusion pendant
fused glass pendant
copper wire wrapped glass fusion pendant
brown and green fused glass jewelry
Wire wrapped fused glass pendant

February Goals

  1. Keep working at that morning routine – Up no later than 6:30 all days except Saturday (This will start once my back is feeling better…my neck hurts too much to work out for at least a few hours after waking up. Hopefully next week.)
  2. Keep active 6 days a week – Until my back heals up, LISS. After that, it’s back to Kayla Itsines’ BBG for round 2!
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes a day working on either the blog or my art.

How did your goals for the first month of 2016 go? Are you setting goals for February? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below!

Sara (1)