Christmas shizz

So...a lot of people have been asking me what to get me for Christmas and I don't expect much from anyone because I know it's been a hard year for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. Still, I think it is just easier to post this than to keep not remembering things. So here.

First off, I made an amazon.com wish list, but a lot of things I need aren't on there. Here's the link, anyways:
CLICK HERE
I mainly need clothes....because I don't have any nice clothes for job interviews/internships and all.
I also need face wash, because I am almost out:
CLICK HERE

Gift cards are also always welcome.

Any practical gift is awesome, too. Like advil, make up wipes, coffee, and chap stick...yadda yadda.

I hate making Christmas lists. It feels like I'm telling everyone to get me things, when I really don't care if they do or not lol. Basically, these are things I need but don't feel like buying. The one thing I really want, and don't really need...and don't really expect anyone to get for me is:
CLICK HERE

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll add things to the amazon wish list but eh. Christmas has just been beaten out of me this year lol.

Apple Nachossss! :O

These things....are.....holy good god.
Never did I think apples, which I already love, could be any better.
The original recipe, I found HERE.

I did an alternative version of these, just going off of what I like and what I had in my house. Meaning, I don't really like coconut or pecans and I didn't want to go to the store to waste money on those.
Anyway....

For my version, you'll need:

• One apple (red, green, any you like)
• A tablespoon or so of natural or organic peanut butter (just make sure it's not packed with preservatives)
• About a small handful of chocolate chips
• A few sprinkles of cinnamon
• About a tablespoon or so of walnuts
• Lemon juice (optional. It's just to keep the apples from turning brown and I left it out)

So all I did was slice my apple and arrange it on a plate. I then melted my peanut butter in the microwave, keeping it to about 5 seconds at a time so I didn't burn it. Burned peanut butter is revolting, trust me. Next, I drizzled the melted peanut butter on the nachos, sprinkled it with cinnamon, added the chocolate chips and walnuts....BAM. Party in my mouth hole. 

Healthy burrito!

So I know tacos/burritos (unless from tacobell) aren't usually SUPER unhealthy, but the ones I made tonight are bangin'....and healthier.

So you'll need:

• Whole wheat or regular tortillas (I used flour ones because no way I was going to pay 5 bucks for whole wheat)
• Hummus (I made my own)
• Shredded chicken breast
• Lettuce or spinach (any green you like, really)
• Brown rice (I added broccoli to mine)
• Salsa and or hot sauce
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• Cheese-optional (I didn't use any)

So all you so is:
First, microwave the tortillas with a damp paper towel over top to soften 'em (I think two is a serving for a really hungry person). Then, lay down the hummus so that everything else has something to stick to. Think of it as the re-fried beans on a burrito. You can add as little or as much as you'd like. Next, add your lettuce, chicken and other things. You can add cheese, hot sauce, anything you want...but I only added about half a tablespoon of salsa to each of mine. All that's left is to roll 'em up and you're done :D.

Tips:

• You can add beans to this if you'd like, instead of chicken, as your protein.
• You could use huge lettuce leaves as your burrito's shell instead of the tortillas.
• You can add anything at all to these, but make sure it's healthy! Things like bean sprouts, tomatoes, etc!
• If you prepare all of your ingredients before hand, like I did, it's super quick and easy and it makes you want to eat the healthy version more. Just because it's as simple as going to the drive through.

Smoothies! :D

So, I've been doing pretty good on my healthy-thing...yes that's what I'm calling it! And I've come up with some smoothies that are super good :) here we go!

One:
Banana, kiwi, and blueberry smoothie.
For this you'll need:
One ripe banana
One ripe kiwi
A small handful of blueberries (or as many as you want)
Naked Green juice (or any other juice you like)
Plain or vanilla low fat yogurt
Ice

So I have this amazing little blender that my sister, Kelly, got me for my birthday and I absolutely love it. It's supposed to be for a single serving smoothie, meaning one person. Easy peasy to use and easy to clean too! I think THIS is the one I have? Mine's pink, though :)



Anyway, all you do is pour in a little green juice (sometimes I add some water, too,  to thin the smoothie out a bit.) Then about two tablespoons of yogurt, add in your fruit in small chunks and then pulse until it's blended. Then I add about two ice cubes at a time and blend those as well. I'll admit the blender isn't all too great at completely crushing ice, but for me, it gets the job done okay enough.

Two:
Banana, mango, cinnamon.
For this one you'll need:
One ripe banana
One ripe mango (you'll use about half of it)
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Naked Green juice (or any other juice you like)
Plain or vanilla low fat yogurt
Ice


Okay, so this one is my new favorite. I recently read somewhere that if you take in about 1/4 teaspoon to a full teaspoon of cinnamon a day, it really helps rev up your metabolism. So...I already love cinnamon and I cannot wait for the Fall so...this works for me lol. Again, follow directions above, making sure you keep the fruit smallish so the blender can really get everything well combined.

Bam. You, sir, now have deliciousness.

Three:
Green Juice and Banana
Pretty self explanatory, I think.Plus yogurt, ice, and a splash of cold water.

A little tip:
I find that if you chill the fruit in the fridge and make the smoothie with cold fruit as apposed to room temperature ones, the smoothies just come out better.

All of these, of course, can be tweaked according to preference and all. I absolutely love the Naked brand of real fruit smoothies! Of course they're good on their own, but it makes it so easy to cut out a sugary drink you may have used in place of the Naked juice when making a smoothie. I'm currently running low on green juice so the next trip to the store will be to try out new combos :)

I drink these smoothies sometimes for breakfast, but more than that I drink them before and after work outs. Sometimes I'm just not 'hungry' before a work out so I won't eat which is a no-no. Instead, I'll drink half a smoothie and work out, then drink the other half afterwards and most likely eat then. I find that if I eat or drink too much right before a work out, I feel sick and need to stop sooner so half a smoothie about 15 minutes beforehand is working for me so far.

My next smoothie, I'm thinking, is going to have avocado in it, somehow....we'll see how that works!
Anyway, I hope some of you out there will try one of these :)

Bored. So....HAUL.

I see a lot of people on youtube make 'haul' videos...so I'm going to make a 'haul' blog. Because I'm bored. Here we go!

So, today I went food shopping and only spent about 30-40 dollars so whoo! Here's what I got:

• A bunch of bananas
• 4 huge mangos
• 3 medium avacodos
• Whole wheat pasta
• Naked green juice
• A huge container of plain yogurt
• 10 luna bars
• Three boxes of poptarts
• Two boxes of pita chips
• One huge bag of pretzels
• Raisin bran cereal 
• Box of 6 cliff bars
• Cat litter
• Dishwasher soap

Annnnnnnd I got a few other miscellaneous things like floss and crap but that's boring so I won't go into it lol
Wow. I'm finished and still bored. Whomp.
Ganna go make a smoothie and eat a luna bar. Bam.

Holy healthy pancakes, Batman!

So, I've really been trying with this whole healthy lifestyle thing and although I wouldn't call myself a health-freak, I do feel as though I'm much healthier than I was a few months ago....which makes me happy!

Anyway, I've really been into Casey Ho on tumblr/youtube.
Here's her links:
Clickity-Click
Clickity-Click

This morning I made banana pancakes from a recipe I found on her tumblr and HOLY. GOOD. LORD. They're amazing. At first I was kind of weary to try them because it's only two ingredients and how the hell is something supposed to taste as amazing as she claims with only two ingredients, right? I was soooooo wrong.

All you need:
Two eggs
One large banana
 THAT'S. IT!

You can find the video of how she makes them here, but basically: Mash everything in a bowl until frothy(I used a whisk), spray some non-stick cooking spray on a pan/griddle, wait until pan is hot (medium heat), and pour little sand-dollar looking things. They literally take no time at all to cook and just flip them when they're brown on one side.

Two keys, I found, is to make sure your pan is hot! I was hungry and poured the batter in the pan with it still heating up and it was quite the mess lol. The other key thing is to use a large banana as opposed to a small one. I used a pretty smallish one and I found some of my pancakes were more egg than anything else. Also, if you are super hungry, double the recipe!


Anyway, I hope some of you try this recipe and like it as much as I do. Of course they don't taste as good as the heavy ihop pancakes, BUT these give you so much more than those do!
They're all natural, no gluten or processed flour/sugar! Also, they give you a lot of energy so it's great to eat before you go and workout. Added bonus= They're flipping cheap as hell to make as well! A bunch of bananas is, what? 2 bucks at the most? Same  amount about for a carton of eggs!

These are the nutritional facts according to Casey Ho, the brilliant mind behind these things:

I seriously suggest you try these, even if you're on the fence about it. I know what you're probably thinking, "Those aren't banana pancakes, those are egg omelets with banana in them. Gross." I thought the exact same thing, but I was completely wrong! Do it!

Also, side note...in my last blog I said I was going to do the 30 day blogilates challenge, starting September first. I lied. I started yesterday :P. Putting more thought into it, I'd say it's more of a 30 day fitness challenge. I say this because I would love to go outside and go for a run sometimes, too. I'm thinking of keeping an online log of my workouts to keep track on here so keep an eye out for that, too. Now I'm just thinking out loud. Anyway, thanks for reading! :D

Challenge

So....Lately I've been into healthy stuff and things and all that. I've been doing reasonably well with eating not as much crap (ie soda, fast food, so on). However, I haven't really gotten into the exercising aspect of it as of yet. I just...I'll plan out to work out or go for a jog or what not and then, for what ever reason, I lose interest/motivation and don't do it....so....I think I am going to do this:

I found this really cute, admittedly sometimes a bit annoying, person on youtube who does work out videos. She combines pilates with a whole bunch of other good stuff (I'm tired and not good at words at the moment, but you catch my drift, right?). So, I think for thirty days, I'm going to try and do at least one to two of her videos each day, giving myself one to two days of a break so my body can recover....because I hear you're supposed to do that. I want to start this September 1st just because it'll be easier for me to keep track of the thirty days.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to sit on my ass and do nothing until then. It just won't be every single day for now. I have a lot of knee and lower back problems and I'm not used to working out, especially doing pilates, so I think before I do this challenge of mine I had better get comfortable in some of the moves and so on. So...until September first, I'll be taking things slow and basically just familiarizing myself with her workouts.

I don't even know if any of this makes sense. Anyway.

My plan is to combine her videos, both pilates workouts and cardio, as well as going for jogs once the Fall weather really comes in. I don't think I'd mind that at all, actually.

So, here is the person I've been rambling about:
http://blogilates.tumblr.com/

She makes it as easy as it possibly can be as far as what to eat, what moves to do and so on, as well.
So...Tomorrow I'm planning on doing this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r_z7DUpjH8&feature=player_embedded

We shall see what happens :)

Healthy stuff and things :D!

So...I didn't really plan this or anything, but I went to the store and got a ton of healthy things! Well...not a ton, but a lot? Enough? Whatever, healthy things! And I made some healthy recipes today so...here you go :)

Here's what I got today :)

Blueberries (a package)
Strawberries (a package)
Mangos (3)
Wheat thins (whole grain)
Whole wheat bagels
Eggs
Turkey bacon
Three cans of chick peas/garbanzo beans (for hummus)
Two large bags of carrots (cheaper than baby carrots)

Green juice
One large cucumber
Two large bags of 'veggie lovers' salad (they have snap peas and stuff in them)
Cheese (reduced fat)
Two packages of whole grain popcorn (one kettle one butter flavor)
One package of frozen edamame
....And I'm sure I'm leaving things out...but that's all I can remember

Surprisingly, I didn't really spend as much as I thought I would! And...I feel really proud of myself for not buying anything 'bad' for you at the supermarket....even when I saw the lady before me at the check out line getting snickers and chips. I resisted....and it was hard lol

Anyway...Here's what I did when I got home from the store.

I immediately made myself a turkey bacon (2 slices), egg (one, sunny side up) and cheese sammich on a whole wheat bagel. I was starving and hadn't had anything besides a cup of coffee this morning. Granted, I did over sleep 'till about 12 and I went to the store and got home around 2ish....But I really need to get better about eating breakfast every single day. Again, hard.

Anyway, turkey bacon doesn't taste anything like real bacon, and I'm not sure if I like it yet or not...but I'll keep trying to eat it and see if it grows on me.

Oh! And with my sammich I had four strawberries and a half of a glass of green juice. What is green juice? This stuff:

I'm sure you may have seen the Naked brand before and although they're a little pricey, I think they're worth it if you buy the bigger bottle rather than the single serving size. These are REAL smoothies with out additives so of course they're a bit expensive. The green one, 'Green Machine' has:

• 2 3/4 Apples
• 1/2 Banana
• 1/3 Kiwi
• 1/3 Mango
• a hint of Pineapple
•  1,300 mg Spirulina
• 400 mg Chlorella
• 100 mg Broccoli
• 100 mg Spinach
• 50 mg Blue Green Algae
• 50 mg Garlic
• 75 mg Barley Grass
• 75 mg Wheatgrass
• 50 mg Ginger
• 50 mg Parsley (this is all from the Naked website)

On to the amazing hummus I made today....holy crap. It's....okay listen.
I've tried hummus before and I wasn't really a big fan of the brand...I don't really remember which one it was, but I got it at my college and it was just plain nasty. So, I decided to try and make my own. After researching a few recipes online, I made it my own and here's what I did.

Ingredients:

• One (15 oz) can of chick/garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• One teaspoon of hot, Hungarian, paprika. (or any paprika, really)
• One table spoon of lemon juice
• One teaspoon of salt
• Three small cloves of garlic, crushed
• One half tablespoon of sesame seeds

So, all you do is combine everything in a food processor/blender until it's smooth. Add a bit of the bean's liquid at a time until you get the consistency you want. Taste as you go so you can see if you need to add more lemon or anything. The sesame seeds, I feel, are optional and I only used them because I had a tiny bit left in the jar. The results....A-Flipping-Mazing hummus. I like it on whole wheat, wheat thins...or carrot sticks. Oh yeah. And it makes a lot, this recipe. Also, I think you're supposed to add olive oil...but I forgot lol and it came out really good, anyway. Seriously, I could have eaten it all off a spoon, plain.

So, I feel a lot better about eating/being healthy this week than I did last week, or even a few days ago. I feel like it's still going to be a challenge but I feel I'm more determined to be healthy now more than ever.

Favorite Products And Things!

I wanted to make a blog about this for a long while and so some products and things listed may have been used on other blogs, but tough cookies! Anyway, this is basically a listing of products...and things...that...I like. God. The words today. These are just a few and they are all my personal opinion, feel free to disagree as it is an opinion :). Anyway, before I babble some more, here you go:

 

Makeup

 Revlon Grow Lucious Mascara *****
I just started using this mascara about a month ago and I flipping love it. It's waterproof, stays put all day, and it makes your lashes grow! I've seen a pretty big difference in the amount of lashes I have/how full they are since I started to use this mascara. Even when I don't wear it, my lashes are longer :). Anyway, besides making my lashes grow, I really like the brush and formula to this mascara. It doesn't clump unless you purposely do so by globbing it on.Although it doesn't stay on my bottom lashes as long as it does the top, it doesn't flake and it does stay on pretty well. I give it 4 out of 5 stars because of the lower lashes thing. I didn't buy this item so I have no idea how much it is. Probably less than 10 bucks.

ELF (Eyes, lips, face) Liquid Eyeliner *****

I've been using this stuff for a long time, now. I've bought...three or four of them? I love it because it stays put all day (as long as I use an eyelid primer) and it doesn't flake like some other liquid eyeliners I've used in the past. I gave it four out of five stars because I don't really like the applicator. I mostly use it with a small eyeliner brush I have and then it works and looks it's best :) OH! And it's only a flipping dollar!

 ELF Studio Tone-Correcting Powder *****
I lovvvvvveeeeeeeee this stuff. Now, it doesn't say non-comedegenic, non-acneagenic, or hypoallergenic so be careful if you have sensitive or acne-prone skin. However, I have both sensitive and acne-prone skin and I've never had an issue with this product. It's probably the best face powder I've ever used. The four different colors are scary, but don't be put off. You swirl them together with your powder brush and they help correct dark spots, redness, and other flaws :) It lasts pretty much all day, too which is amazing. Also, ONLY THREE BUCKS.

ELF Eyelid Primer *****
This stuff I could not live without. I don't normally wear all too much eye shadow in the summer because it creases and melts and just doesn't look great. However, I do wear eyeliner a lot and this stuff helps keep it on until I remove it, myself, at the end of the day. Also, when I do wear eye shadow, it keeps it on ALL DAY and no creasing! The only thing you have to do is apply a small amount, blend it in to your eyelid/where ever your putting eyeliner/eye shadow, and then wait for it to dry. Bam, good to go. Also, only a dollar!

 MAC Russian Red Lipstick *****
I absolutely love this color for my skin tone and how it completes any makeup look I have. However, it's really expensive (18 bucks or there about) and it is really drying to my lips. Also, it's a lot harder than other lipsticks I have and therefore, hard to blend/apply. I only gave it three out of five stars for those reasons. However, when you combine it with the product below, it's amazing. All I do is apply the lip balm, give it a second or two to sink into my lips, then apply the lipstick like a stain and it lasts all day :)

EOS Smooth Lip Balm Sphere, Sweet Mint *****

This is pretty much the best chap stick/lip balm thing out there. It lasts for a while on your lips and tastes amazing. I only have the sweet mint one, because I happen to like minty chap sticks, but they have loads of other flavors you can buy. I think they're around 3-4 dollars? I know it's a bit pricey for chap stick, but it lasts you a good long while. I've had mine for at least 5 months and it looks about the same as the day I bought it. I wear it alone or, as I wrote above, with other lipsticks.

Skincare

LUSH Fresh Farmacy Facial Cleanser *****
I know I wrote a blog about this before, but I really can't say enough about it. It's the best face wash I've ever bought, and believe me that's saying something. Having acne and acne-prone skin is a really frustrating thing and to find something that actually works and stays working? It's nothing short of a mircale, in my own opinion. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. It's all natural, vegan, no strong chemicals or smells, doesn't over dry and doesn't over moisturize. It's just....yeah. Can't say enough. I buy mine online and get 3.5 ounces of it for 9.50 plus 6.00 shipping in handling...which is kind of expensive for face wash but because it works so well, it's worth it. Also, it lasts for at least 4-5 months at a time. Besides being a little expensive with shipping for me, the only other draw back is that it can be a bit messy. I kept mine in a plastic container and it kind of turned to more a clay like consistency when I got down to a small amount left of the bar. However, with my new bar (that I just got!) I'm going to cut off a medium piece, keep it in the container and store the remainder in a cool, dry place. This way I waste less of it and hopefully it's less messy.

 St Ives Soothing Oatmeal and Shea Butter Body Moisturizer *****
I've been looking for a body lotion for a really long time that doesn't irritate my skin and also smells okay-ish. Again, I have very sensitive skin and especially my legs when I shave them, it's so hard to apply body lotion with out getting razor burn or some kind of irritation. However, the St Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter one? Amazing. Now, I still don't apply it directly after or even the day I shave my legs, but the day after? No irritation, no razor burn, nada. It's incredible. Not only this, but it moisturizes my skin so nicely. I apply it at bedtime so that it soaks into my skin over night and in the morning my skin is all soft and stuff. Also, it's only about 5 bucks, maybe less, and you get a decent sized pump bottle of it.

Aveeno Ultra Calming Daily Moisturizer *****
I think I posted a blog about this too...oh well. I gave it four out of five stars because it's 15 flipping dollars. However, it's the best facial moisturizer I've ever used. My skin can be red sometimes because it's sensitive (count how many times I've typed that lol) and what not, and this does help to calm it down. Before I found this, all the other moisturizers either didn't moisturize enough or made my skin oily and thus, broke me out. This stuff? Its the shizz.

Say Yes To Tomatoes Roller Ball Spot Stick *****
Again, wrote about this in another blog...but since I wrote that blog, I've purchased another one lol. The new one I bought has different packaging and I really like the new one better than the old one. The labeling is still the same, but the roller ball is just different and I feel like the product is more easily applied/comes out better with the new version. I gave this five out of five stars because it's the best dang acne spot treatment I've ever used. Although some zits just are stubborn and are ganna do what they want, 'cause that's how my face rolls, most of the time this does the trick. It's about 10 bucks and again, lasts forever.

 

 

 

 

Let's get real.

Soooooooo the whole making changes to my diet thing? Yeah hasn't been working as of now. I've been super stressed out lately and even though I really could blame my terrible eating habits solely on this fact, I won't. Honestly, it's for a lot of reasons, really. No time, the stress thing, no money to buy healthy food or food in general, and so on. Truthfully, those are all excuses. I mean, the real reason it hasn't worked out for me so far is that well, I'm kind of lazy, or I have been, when it comes to eating well and exercising. It's sooooo much easier to make a McDonalds run than it is to cook something I may have in my house already. It's also a lot cheaper. However, McDonalds food isn't as satisfying, at least for me, as a good and healthy cooked meal. It doesn't keep me full and I really feel like shit after I eat it, mentally and physically.

The food journal idea was good in theory, that is when I was eating things that were semi-healthy. However, after about a week of doing it, I gave up. I was finding that it was just a hassle and that it really wasn't helping me feel anything but ashamed of eating that taco bell three or four times in a week....which in turn, only stressed me out more, and only made me turn to bad food again. Gahd. As you can probably tell, it's been really frustrating for me. I mean, it's summer, people. There's a ton of BBQ's and other situations with friends and family that food is involved in. Most of the time there aren't healthy options available and if they are,you tend to feel left out because everyone else is eating the stuff you want.

Over the last few weeks I've been eating even worse than ever, I feel. After going nearly 7 months with out coke a cola, I went off the wagon :/ it SUCKS. In this past week I've had at least 3 large sodas and I'm really mad at myself about it. I hate feeling like crapola all the time and getting headaches and breaking out from drinking it and yet, there I go, drinking it lol. I really do want to eat and be a healthier person, it's just a lot harder than I ever imagined. I mean, when you think about it, it's not too hard to believe. You're brought up with all these unhealthy foods that you love and then during college you eat mostly bad things because, well it's college. Coffee and soda also come in because you have to stay awake somehow!

Anyway, babbling done for now. Basically, I'm going to re-start this healthy-eating thing. I'm going to take baby steps, again, but in a different direction. The number one thing is going to be cutting out all soda again, all over again, ugh. That's probably going to be the hardest. Then, I want to make small changes to my diet on a day to day basis, using things I can afford. I figure if I don't go to a fast food place or just grab something because it's quick and easy, I can put that money towards buying ingredients for a REAL meal. The thing is, I really do love healthy food and I love EATING healthy more than I love to eat the bad stuff. So yeah, frustrating and challenging as it is, I'm not giving up just yet :)

Updateeeeeee

....On my 'story'....which has yet to have a title, setting, climax, or anything lol

 I haven't really had the time/been in the mood to write lately, but I think I am going to get back into that (mostly because my hours got cut at work and I'll have some time on my hands lol). Also, I miss writing fiction...it's so much fun! Anyway, I took down the blog about it because I made a tumblr and linked it to this page and tumblr isn't as private as blogger is...so If any of you want to read it, comment me on here or on facebook or something :)

Awh, yeah...here we go. New stuff.

Alright...so it's come to my attention that....I EAT LIKE CRAP.
Seriously.
Even with cutting out soda, (unless I go to taco bell because all they offer is soda....and Baha Blast is awesome) I still eat mostly bad stuff. I mean, it's just sort of the lazy and easy way out, really. Here's some pros and cons of eating badness.
Pros:

• Eating your feelings feels much better with cheese fries than it does a salad.
• It's usually cheaper.
• It usually is more quick than anything healthy.
• No need to worry about reading ingredients!
• Organic, what?
• If most of your friends do it, it's easier to do it yourself, too.
• And so on.

Cons:

• You feel like crap. 
• Always tired.
• You get sick more often because your immune system is shot (I think).
• No energy and you feel like doing nothing.
• Gaining weight in all the wrong places.
• Improved self-esteem/body image.
• More motivated to do other things, such as going to the beach (not me lol) or doing more physical activities because it isn't as straining as it was before.
• All those other health risks and such that come with eating bad things.
• And blah, blah, blah.

So...pretty much the last few weeks I've been thinking about making a change in my diet/exercise routine(s)...but I haven't actually put those thoughts into action...And just talking about something you want to do without actually doing it? Well, is suckish.  So I've decided to keep a food journal for now, and eventually keep an exercise journal as well. I'm trying to take baby steps at first so that I don't get discouraged and dive head first into a vat of cheese fries (god I love those). Anyway, I'm not saying I'm totally changing my eating habits today...but making small changes every day and being more aware of what I'm putting into my body-is my goal :)

For example, this morning I've eaten:
An egg with cheese sandwich on rye bread,a fruit salad with one kiwi and two small handfuls of blueberries, and a glass of water.

I had white bread to eat it on, but I chose the rye over it because...well it's better than white bread, right?

Small changes like this is what I am aiming for, for now. Eventually, I hope to increase those changes more and more until I only eat healthy things. I get sick a lot, have no energy, and I just feel bloated and blah most of the time. I just want to feel better on a day to day basis...the losing weight thing will come later. I don't even need to lose weight, I just want to not get winded when I walk from my car into the house....which happens and is scary.....

 The problem isn't because I don't know what to eat/buy, or that I don't like healthy food. In fact I love healthy foods. However, I know it's going to be a challenge mostly because I am financially strapped for money...but I think I can manage 20 bucks every one to two weeks to buy some fruit and veggies, you know? I mean, thinking about it, that money was most likely going to go to taco bell or a wawa something or other, anyway. May as well spend it on something good. The other thing I'm finding out is that, when I have time, I really like to cook and I like to cook healthier things more than not so healthy things. I joined tumblr a month or so ago and a lot of pages on there are devoted to healthy eating/recipes/exercise and it's been more helpful than anything else.

Anyway, I may put my food journal on here every day or on my tumblr, but I think it may be too much with work and everything, but I'll see. I also am really interested in making healthy drinks/smoothies and so I really want a ninja blender for that or a juicer (hint hint, birthday gift :P).

I just figure that if I don't want to feel like crap, I shouldn't eat crap. Of course I am not saying I'll become one of those health freaks or anything like that, but I do want to feel better and feel better about myself.  There ya go...my two and twenty cents on the matter.

I've finished another book!

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.
Holy.....Holy-goshish-amazing-......stuffness!

This book has everything any reader could ever want.  It's well written, VERY much so.  There's humor, there's things every reader of every age can relate to, there's romance, and sadness.  It's just one of those books that you can't put down once you start reading it. 

I love the way John Green writes.  He has a great way of connecting to the reader and just pulling them inside of the story, even if the story has nothing to do with the reader's life-there's still a strong connection.  I won't go too, too much into the plot because YOU WILL read this book and I don't want to get into spoiling it for you, but it's basically about this girl named Hazel (Hazel Grace) and a boy named Augustus (Gus).  They both have had or currently have cancer and are high school-ish aged, I know sounds way depressing but it really isn't.  Hazel, in the beginning of the book is content to stay in her room and read one book for the rest of her life, but her mom sort of forces her to get out and meet new people.  What better way to do that than at a cancer support group, right?

There, she meets Issac and Augustus, two best friends.  The three of them and their families go through ups and downs of having cancer and all, but the way it's written is just beautiful.  It's not this depressing, sad, pitying story about kids with cancer.  There's so much humor and other good things in this book that half the time, you forget the main characters even are sick.  These cancer ridden kids have their own inner circle of lingo and every thing, too which is just hilarious.  Things like 'cancer perks' and such. 

The book is nothing but amazing and funny and touching and yah...everything.  I'm gushing now. 

READ IT NOW. It's only sad towards the end of the book, maybe the last 5 chapters or so, and it NEEDS to be sad at that point in the book and with the plot and everything.  I feel like if it weren't sad towards the end, the book wouldn't be as great as it is.  Also, John Green, have I mentioned how amazing a writer he is?! Just go to the library and read it...or borrow mine which I've borrowed from my sister. We can 'pay it forward' with The Fault In Our Stars! :D

Holy clear skin!

A while ago I posted a blog about acne/skin care and so on and I had mentioned a product I had been meaning to try for a while...Lush's 'Fresh Farmacy.'  This is perhaps the best acne product I have ever spent money on, holy crapola.   I've only been using it for about a month, month and a half and my skin is pretty much acne-free.  There's only one or two tiny bumps and I know they'll be gone tomorrow.

HOLY. SHIT. THIS. SHIT. IS. AMAZING!

Okay so it looks like this (3.5 oz):

And here's the video that is on the website when you look up the product:

Seriously, this shit is THE shit. After struggling for years and years and YEARS with acne, it's maybe the one product I've ever tried that has not made me break out even more, has not made my skin dry or crackly, and it has only improved the way my skin looks and feels. I can't even say enough about this product.  The only draw back is the price, perhaps.

It's about 10 bucks, which was about what I was paying for my previous face wash. But because I don't have a Lush store close to me, I have to have it shipped...so it costs about 16-17 bucks every time I run out, which I have yet to do.  However, I think it will last a while.

When I first got it, I sliced off a few chunks with a butter knife before realizing you don't really have to do that.  All I do is wet my face after I take my make up off, pinch of a pea sized little bit of the bar and rub it between my hands until it lathers up.  It's AMAZING. It doesn't have a harsh smell, but you can certainly smell the good stuff in this.  It kind of smells like chamomile tea with some coalmine lotion mixed in...sort of. Scents....

I use a lot less make up, a lot less moisturizer, and almost no concealer (except for acne marks that haven't faded enough yet).  Today, seriously, I went out of the house and contemplated wearing any make up at all. THAT'S HOW GOOD IT IS. If you know me, you know what a big deal this is. I haven't left the house with out at least foundation and concealer and powder since...well since before I had acne.

In the end, I wound up wearing only a small amount of my loreal true match foundation and NO concealer. NO concealer?!?!?!?! I haven't done that since....since....EVERDOM! Okay, what else did I want to say?

I wanted to say how much I love Lush's website.  For every product on there, they list (and most of the time will have a picture) of all the ingredients in the soap/lotion/etc that they are selling.  Most of their products are 100% vegan,which is good ( I eat animal products and by-products but when it comes to soap/beauty things its nice to know there's no animal 'parts' or testing). Also, if you click on any ingredient, it gives you a description of what it is and how it benefits your skin : ) .

I also wanted to say how I store the face wash.  Since it's a bar-formed type of face wash, it's a little messier than just having a bottle that you can keep on your bathroom sink.  However, I've found the easiest way to store it is in a Tupperware container by the sink.  You can also save the wrapper it comes with and store it in there, which I wish I would have done...but didn't...'cause I suck lol.

OH! And when you order online, not sure about the store, but when you order online, they give you free samples of things! :) Since I only spent a small amount of money, getting just one product, I only got one free sample but they do give you a good-sample size.  This time I got 'Bohemian' soap and there's literally lemon slices in it :) It smells amazing.  I would definitely recommend Lush for any one of their products.  You can tell they really care about what goes into them and they're made with love, not in some factory.

(All videos, pictures, etc. were found at Lushusa.com)

My to do list for today!

Usually I write to do lists on sticky notes or my wipe board, 'cause I'm OCD like that.  But, today I wanted to write it on my blog so it will remind me to come back and write a blog later today...again, I have OCD...probably.  Anyway, on to the list!

1.) Apply for two-three more jobs.

2.) Call back places that I have applied to for jobs and follow up.

3.) See about selling some of my text books on Amazon.com.

4.) Clean out my closet, majorly.

5.) Post some blogs.  I have a lot of ideas!

6.) Finish The Fault In Our Stars and start Will Grayson, Will Grayson (both by John Green :D ).

7.) Pray my mother doesn't come home so I can relax.  And when I say pray, I mean me going around and pacing saying, "Please don't come home. Please don't come home..." Yup.

8.) Find some kind of food to eat...probably the hardest of all the things I have to do today.

These really should be in some kind of order, but eh, they're really not.  And I probably won't even get to them all...soooooo it's really a to do list for the next two days lol. Hopefully I'll get something done and not just lay on the couch watching HBO movies all day...there's some good ones on right now lol. Okay.  Peace out.

First impressions and some more books on my list.

Okay so a while ago I made a post about some books I wanted to read.  I left off one book that I REALLY wanted to read, because I couldn't remember the name of the book.  Well, I have since started to read that book and let me tell you, it's amazing.  Honestly, I shouldn't even buy books online or in a bookstore any more.  I should just go to my sister's house and borrow books from her. I don't know how, but she always knows which books are amazing.  Anyway, enough babbling.

The Fault In Our Stars, written by John Green:

Okay, so this book is amazing. I can't even say it enough times.  However, I won't post a synopsis along with it, just because you'll do what I did when I read it: "That sounds like a sad book, I'm not going to read it." JUST. READ. IT. John Green is an amazing writer and also has a very successful youtube channel with his brother called, 'The Vlog Brothers.'  Besides being talented in his writing and all of that, he's pretty hilarious, both in this book and on youtube.  Okay, I'll give in and tell you a little bit about the book.

It's about this teenage girl who has cancer. Uh oh, see? Now you don't want to read it. Hang on!  This girl, Hazel, is amazing and funny and she meets a few more cancer patients who become her friends.  She meets Augustus, another cancer patient, well survivor, who immediately likes her and a sort of romance happens, I think (I haven't gotten that far yet).  He does amazing things for her and it is just so sweet and funny and gah. Just READ IT. 

Hazel isn't this 'sick, depressed, stay indoors, feel sorry for herself' person...although there are moments she thinks she's a 'grenade.'  She's just an amazing character and John Green really knows how to just get into his character's heads and make them not only relate-able, but entirely realistic.  It really has not been a very sad book so far.  I'm more than half way done and all I've done is laughed and not been able to put it down. So....once again, I say...READ. THIS. BOOK.


In addition to being almost finished with The Fault In Our Stars, I noticed that on Amazon.com you can read the first chapter of Fifty Shades of Grey, and I did just that. 

First off, it's not the ENTIRE chapter.  They leave out a good chunk.  However, whatever that 'chunk' is, I don't think the reader even needs it.  It's basically the two main characters talking-the woman (Amelia?) interviewing the man (Christian Grey)- and the interview is LONG....kind of boring. Also, I'm not grammar or punctuation person, (as one can see by my horrible-ness of it in my blog posts) but even only into the book a few pages there's a ton of errors.  I don't know if this book had an editor, even, because it was an online book first and they basically just published it out of it being popular and all...but come on.

Also, the way it's written is pretty amateurish.  You can tell that a person was writing it online for fun in his...her? Whatever, in their spare time.  I've been told this book is 'mommy porn' which is why I'm not actually going to BUY a copy...even more so now that I read how poorly it's written on amazon.  Still, I want to read it just for shits and giggles and I am on a waiting list at the library, thanks to my boyfriend who knows how to work library things.  So, I'll post a blog whenever I finally read it...which probably won't be for a long while since the last time I checked, I was number four hundred and something on the waiting list haha.

Now on to a few books I've added to my reading list...I have so many and I realllllllly hope I can get to them all this summer.

Another book by John Green (and David Levithan). Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  I seriously will read any book he writes, honest. Here's the synopsis Amazon.com gives:
"One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of fans.:"

Again, I love amazon for the 'look inside this book' thingie-ma-bob. Again, it is a just amazingly written book and although it's written by two people, I really do think it's going to be a good book. Also, I think this is John Green's newest book so that'll be nice to see how his writing has changed, if it's changed at all.


Also, I want to read, you guessed it, another John  Green book, Looking for Alaska

This book won John Green tons of awards! (Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, a Los Angeles Times 2005 Book Prize Finalist,and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.) So, I know a book obtaining a shit ton of awards doesn't make it a 'good' book, necessarily, but this one I know will be...it's John Green. Come on.  The snyopsis I found online is this:
"Miles Halter, a sixteen-year-old with a fascination for last words, begins his scholastic adventure at Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama with an introduction to his roommate Chip "Colonel" Martin, a trailer-bred genius. Chip nicknames the skinny Miles "Pudge" and introduces him to Alaska Young, a beautiful, literate and intellectually gifted teenager with a head full of elaborate pranks. Under the tutelage of his new (and real) friends, Miles learns to drink, smoke, escape punishment, and understand people. A few days following a major, adrenaline-pumping prank, Alaska drives insanely drunk, crashes her car and dies instantly.

Miles and Chip, both grieving for their lost friend, wondering if she committed suicide or was killed accidentally, search for evidence of the reasons behind her death. They also feel guilty because they were the last people to see her alive and did not stop her from driving drunk. From his experiences with this loss, Miles learns valuable lessons about loyalty, friendship, and life.

The novel is divided into two sections: "before" and "after". Miles' school year is comprised of exactly 136 days before and after Alaska's death."


Annnnddd....Damn. I did it again. I have all these books in my head I want to read and when I sit down to actually write them out? Poof. Gone. Damn it. Anyway, I guess that's all for now and as more books are read and more books are added to my mental list, I'll try to blog about them. Done. Peace, yo.

Random post!

I'm starving right now sooooo it's probably why I'm posting this blog.  I was looking up images to put as a picture above my 'archive' thingie-ma-bob on my layout for this blog, and I googled 'cute food'....and found some adorable things. Yup, dork...but I'm a hungry dork. Here we go.

It's Hello Kitty inside of a salad...or I guess Hello Kitty is the salad, actually. SO CUTE!

 Pac Man sammich!

Hot dog octopi!

Kitteh bento box. Oh man.

Cute grilled cheese lookin' thing!

More kittehs! Just in pizza form!

Pirate sushi!

Ahhh, cute toast XD!

 

Annnnnnd I guess that's it. I need to stop LOOKING at food and actually make some lol. But, before I go, I also got this image when I typed in 'cute food' to bing.com.

 

Ohhhhhhh, bing.com.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Alright so I wrote a blog a while ago, listing books I wanted to read. Well I actually finished one! The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is one of the better books I've read in a very long time.  It's got everything, really.  Romance, suspense, action, mystery, supernatural-yet-human, and ohhhhh so very addicting.  Honestly, the only reason I ever put the book down was to stretch it out so I would buy myself some time until the sequel comes out.  Michelle Hodkin is an amazing writer, judging by this book.  It's just one of those books that really sucks you in and one that just about any audience can relate to, which I think is important when you write characters in a book.  

I won't go too much into the plot of the book because YOU WILL read it or face my wrath lol, but just as a brief thingie-ma-bob: Mara Dyer moves to Florida because she has recently suffered a truama in her life.  The plan was to move her away from her old life and start new, sort of.  Through out the book, the author describes Mara as not being mentally stable because of the truama she has suffered; PTSD, to let you know.

Anyway, she meets a boy of course because that is how all young adult novels tend to go, but it isn't AT ALL like the Twilight Saga where Bella falls in love with a guy she meets once and barely speaks two words to.  In fact, I love that Mara hates Noah for the most part.  Even when she starts to like him, she hates him, and I thought that was interesting.  Another thing I really liked, partly because I love psychology and all, was that the author seems to have really researched Mara's mental health state after she moves to Florida. I've taken more than my fair share of psych courses, including abnormal psych, and the author is dead on when she describes Mara's mental state. I sort of geeked out, really.

One thing that I didn't like about this book was that sometimes the punctuation or spelling/capitalization would be off.  It was barely noticeable, but when I did notice it, it irked me a little.  I'm no grammar nazi, but nonetheless it did make me sigh a little.  Something else is that you have to read past the first few chapters to really get into this book.  I mean, that's how I read most books, anyway-needing to get a feel for the writer and the book's characters and all.  

However, once you get past getting to know the characters, so to speak, the book is SO HARD TO PUT DOWN.  Literally, I would stay up pretty late to read it and even read it during class sometimes. It was down right addicting.  I would definitely recommend and BEG someone to read this book, because it really is THAT  good...Amazing.

The sequel is called, "The Evolution of Mara Dyer" and it isn't set to be released until flipping OCTOBER. Gahhhhd! This makes me hurt in all the wrong ways lol. I want to read it noooowwww. However, I love the title and the cover.  The title is genius when you know what happens in the first book, especially the ending of the first book. So yes, go out and buy/rent this book from the library. In all honesty, you may want to buy it so you have a copy forever and ever. I know I plan on reading it again and again until the sequel comes out. Damn October. 

Here's the author's blog: http://www.michellehodkin.blogspot.com/ 

And here's The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Website:http://maradyer.com/

Looking for a job and being broke. Tips and...stuff.

Lately, I have been scouring the earth for a flipping job....or that's how it feels to me, anyway.  In reality, I have been applying online and in person for job opportunities for a REALLY long time, now.  I do not even remember when I first started looking for a new job.  Anyyyyyyway, it can be extremely frustrating and depressing trying to find a new job. 

 There are times I cry in the corner and find I am pulling out all of my hair.  Most of the time, I just settle on eating my feelings....again in a corner (There's less balding that way). However, I feel I have come up with a few things that may (or may not) help you all out there in trying to find a job. 

Now, in my case I currently have a job...just one that gives me literally 4-8 hours every week. I am looking for a job to be a second job, or to replace my current one.

Tip Number One: Know what you are willing and not willing to do, as well as know what your work availability is.
You cannot usually afford to be picky when it comes to finding a job.  However, if there are limitations to what you can do physically, mentally, or experience-wise, you should probably be aware of all of that.  For example, I will not work a job that is manual labor.  I have a bad back and bad knees, and basically the body of an 80 year old.  BUT, if it paid a lot, I would re-consider.  Hell, with more money I could afford a chiropractor. In my job quest, I have found that if you are picky about which jobs you apply for, you have even less of chance to actually obtain a job.  Common sense, peeps.

Tip Number One And A Half: Know your work availability.
Most jobs are looking for as open availability as possible.  I know now when I apply online for any kind of job, no matter the field, there is always a section with the days of the week and times of each day you can or cannot work.  If you have a current job, like I do, I usually just put a general idea of my availability.  For instance 7am-7pm or 10am-10pm every day of the week.  It is not what you are 'promising' your potential employer, but just a general idea of what days/times you can and cannot work.  If you happen to get a phone call or interview, you can always negotiate your availability.  Mainly, just try to be as open as possible when it comes to availability. Whoo, that was a long rant.

Tip Number Two: Have a current and up to date resume and cover letter.
It does not matter if you are applying to clean poop from the elephant enclosures at a circus, HAVE. A. RESUME. It looks like you are an able-bodied and willing, professional person.  Now, of course you can get a job with out a resume and cover letter, in fact some places do not require one.  However, required or not, I always try to include one if I can.  It just looks better, basically.  Now, I am not going to post my resume since it has all my info on it and I do not need any more creepers in my life, but this is a general idea of what a resume should include

 

Now, this is just an example resume I found online, but it looks very similar to my own.  There are all different kinds of formats, fonts, spacing, and so on you could use but just try to make it as simple and straight forward as possible.  You always want references and multiple ways to contact you.  Also, you should tweaky-tweak your resume to fit the particular job you are applying for, including the position you want and the company's name at the top.  However, I have a general copy of my resume that I leave blank where I have 'position desired'.  This way, I can hand out the resume to anyone and they can immediately see my skills, education, work experience, and so on.  

*You do not necessarily HAVE to fill out an application.  If someone has your resume and really wants you to work for them, they'll usually call and ask you to fill out an application before they interview you.

As for a cover letter...

Mine is only about a paragraph long and it nearly summarizes my resume.  The cover letter is a brief introduction of yourself, why you want to work for the potential employer, and your assets to the potential job. I always include my email and best time to call me, as well as a 'looking forward to hearing from you!' at the end. Suck up to your potential employer. They like that.

Tip Number Three: What to ask for as compensation.

Now, this can vary by your experience in the field you are applying for, how much education you have, and what the company or place that could be hiring you--what they are willing to pay you.  Most of the time the wages go by the hour and I usually ask for 8-9 bucks an hour...which is depressing.  However, I have always made 8 dollars and change an hour at any job I have had, AND I have an associate degree.  If you have an associate degree, you can ask for more than minimum wage on a job application. NOW, this does not mean that your potential employer has to pay you that amount.  If I can, I always put on my applications that I would prefer 8-9 dollars an hour, but I am negotiable.  This way, your potential employer does not feel as though you are set in your ways about your hourly wage.
*I also check off BOTH full time AND part time, even if I am looking for mainly full time.  This is because every place has a different measurement for each.  Once place may consider 30-35 hours a week part time, and another may consider that full time.

Tip Number Four: Don't limit yourself to applying to jobs that have the 'now hiring' sign in their window or online. I can tell you from experience, especially with online applications, a job does not have to be 'now hiring' in order to hire you.  Sometimes they do not advertise that they are, indeed, hiring.  Other times, people quit at a job and they need to hire someone immediately to fill that position.  Most of the time, jobs will hire you if they see you are professional, have a resume/cover letter, and are highly or at least minimally qualified. Knowing someone in the higher-ups always helps, but how many of us have that advantage? I mean come on.  My advice is to apply for as many jobs as possible in as many locations as possible.  Which leads me to tip number five.

Tip Number Five: Be willing to travel.

I am not saying leave the state or anything, lord knows I wish I could leave New Jersey.  Rather, be willing to drive a bit of a distance for a job.  Gas prices suck, so this is the one area I do not like when I apply for jobs, but I figure if a job is going to give me loads of hours, I can afford to travel a little bit.  If you do not want to waste gas, you can usually take a bus or train-- that usually can be cheaper than all that gas money.  For me, I am willing to travel 30 minutes to 45 minutes away for a job.  I live in a small town....like cute-little-duckling-small, so I know for any kind of real job opportunities I need to be willing to travel a bit.

Tip Number Six: Try not to freak out. Emotional eating, stressing out, and/or staying in your PJ's all day, is not going to help you find a job, yo! I find that if I allow myself an hour to cry, scream, eat nom-nommy cheese fries, and freak the hell out, saying,"What is my LYYFFFEEE!?" .....Then move on, I feel better.  Of course no one is perfect and everyone has their moments of feeling hopeless, but buck up buttercup-cupcake, something is bound to happen. If you are motivated and determined to find a job, you will sooner or later....most likely later in my case.  Just try to stay positive and surround yourself with people who are going to help you, not tear you down and make you feel like a bum....which is what you will eventually become if you don't find a job. 

*Also, FOLLOW UP on your applications and resumes/cover letters turned in.  Just because they don't call you back, doesn't mean you can't call them!

 Here are some websites I use to look for jobs:

Indeed.com 

Snagajob.com 

Care.com

Nj.com/jobs

Craigslist.org

In addition to online job search engines, I apply to particular businesses and companies I know of in my area, and get the local news paper for job listings.