Pros and Cons of Being the Oldest Child

Being the oldest child has a lot of perks, but it also has a lot of downfalls. Having conversations with my friends who aren't the oldest don't seem to quite grasp what being the oldest child means. Here is my take on what being the oldest means.

Pros:

• You get ALL the new clothing! You have no one older than you to get hand-me-downs from.
• You get to embarrass them from memories of them being younger. You seriously remember most everything and they hate you for it.
• You get to help be the leader/teacher. Most older siblings tend to have more leadership skills and trust me, it's in the oldest's blood to be a bit more bossy.
• You have someone to blame things on. I got in trouble by myself for three years before my sister showed up. They always think the youngest at the time is always the angel so they deserve some of the blame too.
• You get to watch them grow. I love thinking back to when my brother and sister were cute little toddlers and when they used to be nice and super cute with all that adorable baby fat. My youngest sibling is now a freshman in high school and I still picture him as a two-year-old carrying around his Blue's Clue's notebook.
• They look up to you. It's a nice feeling to know that they will, do, or have looked up to you.

Cons:

• You automatically get blamed for everything. I don't know if this is true in every household, but every other oldest child I've asked will say the same thing. Parents go out and house isn't clean when they get back, they blame the oldest. You aren't just accountable for your actions while they're gone, but your siblings as well. Even if they are old enough to stay home by themselves. It's still your fault.
• You have to be more responsible. This one goes hand-in-hand with the "blamed for everything" one. The oldest is automatically presumed to be more responsible and because there's that pressure to be more responsible since your the oldest, it can get pretty stressful.
• They look up to you. This one has it's cons too. Knowing that someone is looking up to you is a lot of pressure. They are pretty much your shadow, so one mistake could cost them as well as yourself.

So there you have it. I love being the oldest, but at the same time, it's one of the most stressful positions you will ever be in. Are you the oldest? Youngest? Middle child? Let me know!

Much love, laughter, and happiness,

           Kristina

5 Happy Thoughts for Monday | Week Four

I've come to love making these posts. Listing things that makes me happy helps me to reflect on when times weren't so crazy and hectic and help me be a whole lot more thankful for what I have.

1. Space Heater.
With the colder months being right around the corner, I am thankful for this nifty item to make sure my hedgie is always warm and not on the brink of death from being too cold. Thank you, space heater. You will be saving my exotic animal from hibernation for yet another year.

2. Fall.
Fall is my runner-up favorite season, coming in close on spring. I love the deeper colors, feeling all snuggly, the lovely feeling of switching from iced coffee to warm coffee, and of course, playing in the crunchy leaves.

3. High School Friends.
Over the weekend, my best friend from technically middle school came into town. It was so wonderful to see her. With most of my friends not being home and being alone most of the time, I've come to re-appreciate my friends. Especially the ones that have been around for a long time.

4. Mini M&M's.
I've been obsessed with these things for months now. I bought a tube of them awhile ago and rekindled my love for them. I like to buy the large bags of them so they are always handy if I'm feeling slightly munchy for something sweet. I kept the tube and use that to serve up my serving size. Without that tube, I'd demolish half of the bag in one sitting.

5. My daddy.
Tomorrow, on September 23, this man will be aging another year. He's always been a fun-loving, rather involved parent and always has your best intentions in his mind and heart. It only seemed fitting to mention him this week. Happy birthday, Daddy. I love you.

Circa 1993. One of my favorite pictures ever.

Proud to be a Hufflepuff.

CAUTION: MAJOR HARRY POTTER NERD ALERT BELOW! This post is also in honor of Hufflepuff Pride Day on September 18th.

Hello. My name is Kristina and I'm proud to be a Hufflepuff.

Now some of you you may ask, "A WHAT?!" No, you heard me correctly. A Hufflepuff. If for some odd reason that I won't be able to comprehend you don't know what a Hufflepuff is, let me enlighten you. "Harry Potter" is a 7 book series about a boy, Harry Potter, finding out he's a wizard and makes super awesome friends, learns about magic as well as his past, fights the forces of evil, and is sarcastic along the way. If you haven't read any of the books or seen any of the 8 movies, I encourage you to do so because quite frankly, your missing out.

Anyway, in "Harry Potter," there are four houses in the magical school of Hogwarts that you are sorted into and is more or less your school family for the next 7 years: Gryffindor (the brave-hearted), Hufflepuff (the kind-hearted), Ravenclaw (the smart-minded), and Slytherin (the cunning ones). Like everyone first obsessed with the series, I wanted to be in Gryffindor, where all the main characters were sorted. It wasn't until after the last movie that I realized that I belonged to Hufflepuff more than any other house. At first, I didn't want to be because everyone thought it was the lame house. As I further searched the meanings and values of Hufflepuff house, I couldn't imagine belonging anywhere else.

You may belong in Hufflepuff,

 Where they are just and loyal.

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,

 and unafraid of toil.

For a little insight as to why Hufflepuff is quite possibly the best house, Hufflepuffs are fair, kind, patient, and hard-working. We love feeling cozy in our environments and have a little more appreciation to the earth, as our dormitory has many windows and tons of greenery, almost like a Hobbit Hole.

If that's not enough convincing on why Hufflepuffs are amazing, our house is right next to the kitchen and in the video below, J.K. Rowling herself explains why Hufflepuff is your favorite.

Which house are you proud to belong to?

Much love, laughter, and happiness,

                 Kristina

To read more on Hufflepuff or other Hogwarts houses, visit: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hufflepuff

DISCLAIMER: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions stated are honest with no intent to infringe on copyright with Warner Brothers or J.K. Rowling. Strictly a fan post.

5 Favorites YouTubers.

If anyone truly knows me, then they'll know that I love YouTube. I'm obsessed with watching videos, have made a few myself, and am subscribed to almost 200 people. This past year to six months is really when I got super hooked. Since YouTube and Bloglovin' take up most of my free time, I thought it'd only be fit to share with you my top 5 favorites of all the favorites when it comes to YouTubers.

1. Zoella.
I only discovered Zoella about 6 months ago. I was instantly hooked. She's an honest, silly, gorgeous, british person that I can connect with and relate to on so many levels. Zoella makes beauty, fashion, and lifestyle videos and also blogs. She makes videos that I genuinely enjoy and always look forward to her uploading whether it be on her main channel or her blog channel. She's so lovely. She also has the cutest little guinea pigs.

2. Shaytards.
There are so many things I can say that I love about the Shaytards. Shay, his wife Colette, and their 5 children make vlogs Monday-Friday. There's just something about their family that is funny and amazing to watch. Shay has this very outgoing and creative personality so it's always exciting to see what kind of content he'll put out. FUN FACT! Shay and Colette have been making daily vlogs going on 6 years!

3. Meghan Rienks "Meghan Rosette."
I've found Meghan through a collab that she did with Eleventh Gorgeous about a year ago and honestly, I like her more than them. She's only a couple months older than I am. She's got this hippy-esque, free spirit vibe and is super down-to-earth and silly that it would just seem absolutely wrong not love her, so she definitely deserves her spot in my top 5. She makes beauty and fashion videos and has helped me to understand makeup so much more. Thank you, Meghan.

4. Aspyn Ovard.
Aspyn is a YouTuber that I found through Meghan, funnily enough. She makes beauty, fashion, and DIY videos. I love her sense of fashion and how she edits and puts her videos together. Like Zoella, Aspyn is a person who I can relate to in a lot of aspects and since I can relate, it makes her videos that much more enjoyable for me.

5. Brittney Lee Saunders.
Most of the other YouTubers that I mentioned are quite mellow compared to Brittney. I enjoy her videos for their hilarity and her 'tell it like it is and I don't care what you think' personality. She is so spunky and outgoing and I just love her. I found her only 3 months ago and I'm so happy I did.

So there you have it. My 5 favorites. Quite frankly, I don't see this list changing much soon. These guys are much too fantastic. I love you all.

Much love, laughter, and happiness,
                 Kristina

5 Positive Things for Mondays | September Week 1

Mondays. Everyone seems to hate Mondays. Something I want to and will. I will guys, I will. Is to write down 5 positive things on Mondays to start the week off right. The positive things will consist of anything that makes me happy or things I'm looking forward to. Personally, I absolutely love Mondays. Monday is my favorite day of the week. So I guess we better get to it.

1. My dog, Carter.

Seriously, I love this dog. He is my first dog and the biggest sweetheart. Not only do I love him unconditionally, but today is his 13th birthday. Happy birthday, my beautiful boy. I love you.

2. My job. The new one.

Usually, my job kind of sucks. I work at a Hy-Vee in the gas station in my hometown before I move. A couple days ago while at work, I got a call from a Hy-Vee in Sioux Falls that I applied at so I could try to transfer. The scheduled an interview for today, September 1st. 15 minutes later, they called back and told me that I didn't have to come for the interview and they were just going to go ahead and hire me. I'm so thankful for not having to travel and having a job for when I move.

3. Living at home.

When I decided to move home from being in Ames, I was scared for how it was gonna go. I was sacrificing a lot of my freedom and it made me uncomfortable to do so. Now that I've been home for 3 months, I've come to appreciate a lot of things back home such as free food, free rent and utilities, and being around my family, childhood friends, and my family pets. I'm going to miss it all when I leave again.

4. My job. The older one.

I've worked at Hy-Vee for 3 years. I've worked at 2 stores: my home store and Ames #1 C-Store. Right now, I'm back at my home store since I'm currently living back home. I'm loving seeing all the familiar faces of my managers, coworkers, and fellow town folk. I'm definitely soaking it all up.

5. My hometown.

Growing up, I hated how small my hometown was. Not even kidding, I grew up in a town of less than 10,000 people with surrounding towns with much less people. It was beyond boring in my middle school to high school years not having much to do besides go to Wal*Mart and driving around since we were obviously "too mature for the park." Now, after living and travelling to much bigger places, I've come to appreciate the small-ness, the safeness, and the friendliness and the citizens. Hospitality is becoming much harder to come by and I'm glad to be living in a place where most people still have it.

So there you have it. Take a moment to think about 5 positive things in your life. I challenge you. Start your week off right.

Much love, laughter, and happiness,

            Kristina.