2013 Check In #3

I have been wanting to update this blog for the longest time - hell, I've got 3-4 hauls I've been wanting to post about among other posts that are already drafted, but life has just been busy! Clearly, blogging took a back seat, despite the best of intentions.

A whopping 3 months later, I've got enough work accomplished to justify a break. Mind's still a bit preoccupied with everything else, so I'll just do a run through of my resolutions and general check in.

1. Blogging, as previously mentioned, took a hit post August. Reasons to follow.

2. Per force I've kept up with the reading - 4 English courses in one semester is no joke. Lots of diverse reading - from 20th century Irish literature to short stories by fellow classmates in a writing workshop class.

3. Four or more photo challenges!? Who was I kidding! What I have done, instead, is started an Instagram account. This is a much easier way of making sure I'm doing some photography throughout the year. I've also half-assed my way through 3 photo months, and there's still December to come, so I'll consider this fait accompli. Note to self: don't set yourself up for more photo challenges in 2014!

4. Get a job. Well, wouldn't you know it - I ended up with TWO jobs this year. AND two internships (not all simultaneously, though it was a close thing). Hurray! First job was the freelance writing, which I had to forego because my schedule got insane (full time student in my last semester, an internship and a job with the state didn't leave much room for homework and sleep, let alone interviewing and writing up articles).

5. Learn a new skill - I am a recent "graduate" of Project Management training. I'm also learning SO MANY new things on the job with Business Analysis.

7. Vacation with Mishal didn't happen this year - but plans for next year have started! Legit plans! March is happening!!! I could really use the time off.

8. Move to Atlanta - now did I really think I'd be moving to Atlanta? Move somewhere, someday, yes. Move to Atlanta in 2013, not so much. Silly me!

9. Mission get back in touch with Caitlin is a success - now to actually meet her in person again. I've got a giant hug lined up :)

10. Help Mom out more - was derailed because the focus was to finish strong in undergrad. December 10th evening onward, I'll be helping more around the house with everything.

11. Do at least one crafty project. Well, I spray painted a couple of things and did rice rangoli. Other than that, I've just pinned many, many more ideas to pursue "some" day.

12. Get healthier. yes. Lost some weight in the process. Certainly not "done" with this goal though.

13. For some reason, luck #13 - make myself priority 1 - always take a bit of a beating. Slow steps.

Having gone through the list, I'm surprised and pleased at how much more I have accomplished than I gave myself credit for. It's been a hectic year, but well spent.

One more month to go (okay, one and a half). I intend to get more blog posts up, so keep an eye out :)

Crafty Projects: DIY Solutions

The bedroom needed some TLC this weekend, and since I was in the mood, I started rearranging furniture and reorganizing everything that caught my eye.

As I dug through my half-forgotten to-do bits of projects that were scattered around the room, I was "inspired" to finally sort through what was doable and what could be shelved indefinitely.

Can you guess what sort of crafty things I might be up to with these things? ;)

Hopefully this will break me out of my work and school rut and get the creativity flowing again ;)

So, what are you guesses? Your ideas just might spark a new project :D

10+ Blog Post Ideas for the Busy Bee

Can you believe half a year has finished? Where did 2013 go!? And what happened to summer? Thankfully I'm usually indoors courtesy internship, so I've missed most of the shit weather. But would it kill the weather gods to give us a sunny day or two?

Since I can't seen to find the time to finish a blog post (I've got 7 in various draft stages), I'll just give you a list of posts you can expect in the second half of 2013. You can let me know what you're really looking forward to reading about or suggest other post ideas.

1. Internship experience and Johari Window
2. Recommend people from _____? (insert category)
3. Clothes haul
4. Respond to madame noir article (first verify)
5. List 10 writing prompts
6. The benefits of workshopping
7. My writing "process"
8. Review an ipsy product
9. Finish "writer/label" post
10. Finish/post $ store decorating post
11. Finish/post "handy resources" post
12. My beauty/skin care routine
13. Bubble bath post
14. $ store craft ideas
15. My dream shoe at a dream cost
16. This to that

I do love my lists ;)

My Summer Days 2013

My holidays somehow end up being busier than regular "working" semesters. Go figure.

I had just about one free week, and then all this started:

1) Two online classes - both four weeks long, both reading intensive. Past experience with summer classes did not prepare me for this!

2) Summer internship - Unpaid summer internship. My last internship was more work oriented, but it was a paid internship. Since this is for college credit, so far it's been more classes and more READING!

This is not the sort of reading I had planned on doing this summer. At least I get college credit at the end of it all (hopefully) ...?

3) Freelance writing job - (thank you craigslist.) I get to interview local business people and do write-ups. My first article just published ... SUPER excited to join a family history of published writing.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle. When I'd started majoring in English I'd been warned to avoid journalism because it was not lucrative or glamorous. Well, this isn't glamorous, but it's my only source of money for the time being.

There are other things that keep me busy. Searching for, applying for, and praying for another (unpaid!) internship for the fall. This will be a guaranteed 3 credits towards my major. All this unpaid business ... I'm consoling myself with a) I'll be learning new skills and exploring something new b) It'll be a good experience to put on the resume and c) The networking possibilities are fantastic. Somewhere between 8 hours of internship, 6 hours of class work, 6 hours of sleep, 2 hours of getting ready/eating/taking a breath, I'm squeezing in chores like sorting through years worth of memories and junk in order to clear up space in the house, contacting people for regular communications, showering, searching for a real paying job, reading for pleasure, blogging, establishing a professional net-presence, catching up on shows/youtube, learning new things, and spending quality time with the family. (If you do the math, the last litany of things is accomplished in a 2 hour window.)

Plans Are For Amateurs

What I'd intended to do this summer:

1) Get through my mom's recipe diary - it's got well over 100 recipes and I wanted to make as many as possible.

2) Try a new recipe a week from the myriad of cookbooks we've collected over the years, but never actually used.

3) Read. Specifically, FREE read things that have been sitting on my to-read and to-re-read list for ages!

4) Take up a photo-project.

5) Digitize all the old print photos.

6) Clean and organize various parts of the house because they need an overhaul.

7) Write! I really wanted to get into the habit of writing on a daily basis, but I'm lucky if I catch a proper sleep on a daily basis.

8) Pick up a new skill/learn something new. This will happen by the way at the internship, but I'd been thinking of something a little less work-oriented.

9) Paint ... I'd finally gotten some surge of inspiration. Now I have a muse running lose in my head and no time to let her express herself on canvas.

10) Travel. This would have been a great time to do a family trip, but now even the weekends are booked with papers for these stupid classes.

What's that saying? We plan and God laughs...

Revlon Lip Butter Review - Loving it!

I blame MissBudgetBeauty (in the best of ways) for the following:

Also, I lucked out on a killer sale at CVS a couple of weeks back. Don't know why the Revlon Lip Butters were marked down by 75%, but I'm not one to question a good deal.

Yes, I'm late to the party. I haven't been a big lipstick person. I've always preferred lip glosses, but the latest trend of sticky lip glosses has had me searching for alternatives.

At $2.12 I said why the heck not to the Revlon Lip Butters. These had received good reviews from people I trust and I'd been wanting to try one out for some time. Well one became eight because I couldn't decide on a color. Oodles of swatches online, including a mega swatch here.

In current rotation are Peach Parfait and Sugar Plum. I stuck to my safe palette and am already regretting I didn't include something more daring like Lollipop.

I like that it goes on smooth and starts off a bit sheer, playing up my natural color. 1-2 coats is almost like a stain, but they are buildable so you can get really good pigmentation. I've stayed away from lipsticks because they tend to be drying or wear off really fast, but I haven't had either of those problems with the Lip Butters. In fact, if anything, they have worked like a balm on my lips, leaving me softer even on days I don't use them.

The only negative I have for this is the tube design. The base to cap ratio is 10% to 90% and that makes getting the cap off a little tricky. After the first couple of times you get the hang of it and the cap pops off easy (and clicks back into place securely). But the design might have been better balanced at 25% to 75%. Anyway, it's a minor thing, considering the actual product is really good.

If $8 works for you, or you find Lip Butters on sale, I'd say definitely snag one (2, 3, 4...).

Thank you Mikhila!

2013 Check In #2

*waves* Hi there!

You had a burst of updates from me in the beginning of April, so I don't feel too badly about having skived off since. Don't mind the slew of product reviews, but since Influenster did send them to me for free, because I'm socially active, it was my duty to oblige. I hope somebody out there read them and got something out of it. I'm still completely loving Olay's Fresh Effects system - wakes me up in the morning with a lovely massage.

Since I'm completing an English major, "keep up with reading" has been a cinch! I'm taking a sci-fi English class and just re-read Hunger Games. Re-loved it! I've self-imposed a library-ban so I don't get distracted by Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The next three weeks are going to be looooong!

Photo challenges are on hold. I was going to do a winter into spring into summer kind of thing, but the weather was crappy up until last week, then overnight we fell into spring. Go figure! I'm planning on doing a portrait series over the summer. My cousin's getting married, so maybe I'll do a "little moments" kind of challenge/series as well. Any other ideas?

"Get a job" is in progress. Anyone? Anything? I really want to get some experience in the PR/Publishing/Editing fields to see what's a good fit. Or get a state job, because I'm about age out of my mom's health insurance. Eeks!

Does rediscovering writing count? Or writing a sci-fi piece, because it'd be my first. We're done with 1/3 of the year (yes, gasp!), so I'm holding out hope for the remaining 2/3.

I'm getting better at dealing with PersonX, but it gets tricky every now and then. Relationships are complicated and messy. Pity complete avoidance isn't an option.

I don't see myself moving to Atlanta, since I'm working on graduating in December 2013, but hopefully a vacation with Mishal happens. It has to! The question is, when?

I'm being utter crap at getting back in touch with Caitlin. I've tried, but could have tried harder. Shame on me!

Helping Mom is happening, as is getting healthier and making myself priority. Now for that craft project...I first need to sort out my crafts boxes. Is a mess!

Meanwhile, the Jar O' Good Stuff and the To-Do/Memory Board have both filled up more since the first of the year:

In news that doesn't quite fit into resolutions update: I'm participating in TWO Research Conferences. It's the same sci-fi piece for both, but I haven't done something like this since 10th grade, so the experience and exposure will be great. Now, here's hoping my piece is substantial if not good (great might be asking for too much of a WIP). Squee/oh shit! 

Not Your Mother's Hair...

...except that the whole teased, textured style was definite in through the 80s and early 90s. Looks like bigger is better, again. Good thing my hair is naturally frizzy ;)

Influenster sent me a SweetHeart VoxBox (so sweet!) and in it was a Not Your Mother's product. I'm not big on putting too many chemicals and such in my hair, so it was nice to see something where the first couple of ingredients are pronounceable everyday things.

Courtesy soap.com

I didn't know what to expect. I was worried the salt would dry out my hair. I've used it a few times now (not daily), and can happily report no drying of hair. I have naturally curly hair so the waves don't actually show. BUT this is the first product that has left my hair frizz-free all day and hasn't made it CRUNCHY! Phew! So, instead, I have pretty, soft curls that I can actually leave open (more like half-pin since I'm not used to having my hair down haha).

sorry for the out-of-focusness

At only $5 at walmart, I would definitely repurchase this. HUGE thanks to Influenster for bringing this brand to my attention. Even at the trial size, there's a lot of product (oh yeah, you don't need to spray a whole lot for it to work), so I get to try it for a good amount instead of just once like when you get samples from other places. Sweet deal!

a bit leaked in the box, but still plenty to use and try out

Side note: The brand is huge. They've got a vast variety of products, something for all hair types and needs. At $5 I think they're definitely worth checking out.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

I glisten..kinda

Because women supposedly don't ever sweat. Well, clearly enough women sweat a whole lot that Secret went and made Clinical Strength Stress Sweat Protection.

Courtesy Pinterest and someecards

I'm not going to gross you out by talking about sweating. I'll just do a quick product review and recommend you try it out yourself to see if it works for you (because everyone's body chemistry is different, etc. etc.)

It goes on smooth, has a pleasant smell (serene citrus, though there are other options) and is REALLY good at keeping you dry. Those are the three things I look for in a deodorant, so points to Secret for each of those. Other brand deodorants, including other Secret products, do a good enough job neutralizing odors and keeping the sweat to a minimum.

The Stress Sweat Protection, though, is like a Tony Stark-grade deodorant. This baby will keep you dry and fresh all day long (maybe not all day at the gym though). Yes, it's still cold out, so how can I really claim that. But see some of the buildings I go to classes in keep it super hot, and I glisten a whole lot. It's also useful against a stressful gym session - once in a while there's a non-stressful gym session. Go figure. So yeah, I've had opportunity to sweat it out.

My own...hence the sub-par quality.

If you're someone who needs to change her shirt after a trip down the driveway to get your mail ... you might want to see a doctor. In the meantime, this is worth trying out.

The only con I have for this deodorant is it's price. It costs something like $8, which is high for a store deodorant. But keep in mind it's prescription strength, so it's worth it. Of course, I'd never have picked it up myself, so thank you Influenster for sending it to me to try out. But I really think it's very helpful for my fellow "glistening" ladies (okay, fine. We have a sweating problem, in that we could sweat in an air-conditioned room).

Courtesy Google and Sunday Comics Debt

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Inner skinny girl: Sorry, but no thanks.

The SkinnyGirl Daily On-the-Go Greek Yogurt and Blueberry Bar didn't do it for me. If you've ever had any Nutrisystem food, it tasted sort of like that. I think whatever they use as substitute for gluten to make it healthier is programmed to come out tasting like cardboard, which is where health foods lose me.

I'm down for making better choices and eating healthier, but at least make it taste good. I'm doing the gluten-free thing (more on that later), but haven't tried any of the gluten-free bread or pasta stuff. After trying the On-the-Go Bar, I'm not so keen.

On the positive side, the Greek yogurt and blueberry (honest to goodness, real blueberries!) bit was good. If they can up the appeal for the base, SkinnyGirl's got a fantastic product.

I will say, it was good to have the bar on hand. I happened to have it on a day when I was actually "on-the-go" and it helped quiet my growling tummy. None of it got sticky or messy, despite having made its way to the bottom of my backpack.

So, over all, points for concept, convenience and real blueberries (this, coming from a girl who doesn't like blueberries), but it's not something I would buy at the store because of the taste, "cardboard" and price factors.


"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Va-Va-WOW!!!

I'd like you to meet my new best friend, the Olay Fresh Effects Va-Va-Vivid system.

It's really va-va-WOW!

It's a portable mini-massager-cum-cleanser for your face. I always feel refreshed and awake after using this, even without the accompanying Shine Shine Go Away Cleanser. 

My skin feels softer, lighter, tighter and smoother after one use - all excellent reasons for making this part of the daily routine. I like that I can use it with other face washes as well. Or, just with a bit of water for a wake-me-up massage.

Here's what makes it a stand out product:

1) It's compact and light, therefore portable. It's roughly the size of a disposable razor, though a negligible bit bulkier. Heck, it made it into my travel kit within a week of receiving it.
2) It works off 1 AAA battery (first one comes pre-loaded), which minimizes the need for multiple charging accessories.
3) It's not harsh. The rubber tips are gentle, do not irritate the skin, and provide a firm massage & cleaning.
4) Easy maintenance - again, it's basically rubber and plastic, so this pocket-sized powerhouse is easy to clean and use.

Verdict: Buy it! I was lucky enough to get this in a Influenster VoxBox. Now that I've tried it out (and had the rest of my family try it out), I can say this is something I would definitely spend $15 on. In fact, I've got my sister asking for one, and she's not super into beauty maintenance routines. In case mine ever dies, it's one of those things I would re-purchase, and I don't say that about many products. The Fresh Effects system isn't a gimmick, it really is that awesome.

(ps - for the few reviewers who've noticed an increase in breakouts, keep in  mind everyone reacts differently to different products. Try the va-va-Vivid with your regular face wash and see if that makes a difference)

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."