Neutrogena Skin Clearing Makeup and Mineral Powder

I'm not sure if I should give Neutrogena Skin Clearing Blemish Treatment with Salicylic Acid (Soft Beige #50) a thumbs up or down. It definitely has it's pros and cons so I'm just going to express my experience with using it.

First of all, it's kind of expensive if it's not on sale, but then again all liquid makeup is. The #1 reason I decided to buy it was because of the salicylic acid in it. I haven't seen any other liquid makeup that has "pimple zapping" medicine in it. Have you? If so, please tell me! I use Proactiv from time to time (usually around that special time of the month when my skin breaks out) and I feel so horrible putting on liquid makeup or concealer on top of it because I think it will completely undo the good things that Proactiv does to my skin. (Proactiv review coming very soon fyi!)

I really don't think the Neutrogena alone will clean anyone's skin, but I believe it may give you an extra boost, when using a skin clearing product. If you think it's not giving you a boost, then it might just not be doing anything--which is a good thing, because other products will clog your pores and undo the healing that your acne ointments have done.

This product is pretty creamy and goes on smooth. The color is not quite right for me. I wish it was a little lighter, bu the next lightest color might be too light. It doesn't come with a sponge or anything, so I've taken a little sponge from another product that I don't use anymore. I don't think you should use your hands. It wont be smooth on your face, and it might streak. Also when using this, try to blend it in quickly, otherwise it might streak.

Sorry the Mineral Powder is kind of old

It say it is oil-free, but my nose becomes pretty oily during the day and I have to re-apply. I don't mind all that much because after I apply it, my face looks nice and fresh. I use Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation on top of the makeup and it really locks the liquid in place, and makes my face looks smooth and clean. I believe the color for that is Medium to Natural # 40 and it suits me.

So yeah, in conclusion, this makeup is nice because of the salicylic acid in it, but then again it's not really "oil-free". You will need to re-apply it a few time a day, or put on a bunch of powder.

TRESemmé Naturals Volume Shampoo & Conditioner

So I decided to give TRESemmé Naturals Shampoo a try. I've been using Head & Shoulders (Ocean lift or Silky and Smooth) for a few years because it's the only thing that didn't give me dandruff. I've tried many dandruff shampoos during high school but nothing worked. And I've also tried many brands of regular shampoos such as Garnier Fructis, Suave, Pantene, Aussie--and they all made my scalp full of dandruff, and the hair oily and gross after the second wash. I decided to give TRESemmé a try because now being 22, my puberty teenage days are over and maybe my scalp is not so sensitive anymore. After reading reviews on MakeupAlley I was a little disappointed in it already. I tend to read the worst and middle ground reviews on that site on basically anything from shampoos to makeup, and hair styling products. I recommend it! But make sure you don't just look at the rating or read the worst reviews because some people just try the products once and give up on them and jump online to comment on how awful it was.

I bought TRESemmé anyway (it was on sale for 2/$7 so I bought the conditioner too). The bottle is pretty big (but smaller then the non-natural--and costs more at regular price). Oh yeah, it's the "volume" version of the Naturals by the way. For the record I have long, dark, semi-thick hair which is pretty straight when blow-dried with a brush--otherwise it creates random waves and is a bit frizzy.
The reason the shampoo is called "natural" is because the use less sulfates then their regular shampoo. It is not sulfate free! Some girls reviewing this product on the mentioned web site didn't know this--I believe they say so in the commercials, and definitely on their bottles.

Anyway, the shampoo is clear and has a very pleasant smell. I don't recommend just using the shampoo without any conditioner if you have hair like mine or thicker. It surely gives you the "squeaky clean" feeling. I wasn't sure what that meant from the other reviews but after using it, I understand. It really cleans the hair, and because it doesn't have a lot of sulfates, it feels like your hair is um...kind of wiry, and tough. So using a bit of conditioner is necessary, at least of the ends.

I used the TRESemmé Naturals Volume conditioner that is paired with the shampoo. It is not as thick, and creamy as I would like, but again it has very nice smell and does the job well. I put a quarter size in my palms and run it through my hair from the middle to the ends. Whatever is left on my hands I put in on my roots (that's what the directions say). For my type of hair (it gets really greasy on the roots and dry at the ends) from now on I will put less on the roots, or none at all because the next day if I don't wash it (sometimes I just don't have time) it will seem a little greasy (but nothing compared to Pantene of Garnier).  After you use the conditioner, the hair is very soft and not tangled at all. That's another problem I have. If I don't use conditioner, or not enough I cannot comb my wet hair after I get out of the shower! I pull, and tug, until I pull a bunch of it out and my head hurts like hell! I have to use some kind of leave in conditioner, or smoothing serum just to comb it! It's really crazy, and I regret putting that stuff in because then it makes my hair too greasy and weighed down.
However, with this shampoo and conditioner, the comb magically runs through my hair with little problems! It's great not having to put other crap in my hair just to comp it. =)

I like washing my hair at night just because I don't want to wake up extra early in the morning--and drying my hair takes forever! So in the morning, after having slept on it wet, it's a bit messy, but I just brush it, and it's very soft and pretty straight and manageable! I really like this brand. I've used it for about 2 weeks now and no dandruff! I really hope it stays this way.

In conclusion--I recommend it!

Here are some photos. Sorry for the lack of face and artistry (I'm doing this at work since I don't have anything to do...I know I'm bad)

Ups and Downs of Diets

Staying on a healthy, balanced diet is so fricken hard when everyone around you is a stick figure who can eat anything they want. My best friend looks like a model (but of course she still complains that her tummy is too fat) and my boyfriend is thin and tall. Ugh! For the past two years since I started dating him I put on about 30 pounds! I told myself I'll never go back to this weight before...but I did. He has developed a little cute belly, but nothing close to 30 lbs.

I've gotten the text "Wanna go out to Applebees?" at 9 o'clock on a Friday or Saturday too many times. And of course I tell myself I won't eat much, just appetizers. Appetizers consist of deep fries mozzarella and juice boneless buffalo wings which I share with my boyfriend while my best friends get other cheesy dishes or burgers. God forbid we decided to go to T.G.I. Fridays! Recently they have a deal where you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert all for $12.99! How can you beat that? Being a college student I decide that's an awesome deal because if I would get all those 3 things at their regular price, it would come out to over $20! (don't forget the drink at average 3 bucks a pop) And of course we can't all decide on an appetizer to share if it's 3-4 of us, so we all get the same deal. At least half of the desert remains on the plate because we're too full to eat it. Also, good thing Fridays puts ice cream on most of their desserts so we can't take it in a doggy bag to eat at midnight as a snack. Thank you for that, thank you dearly.

A couple of days ago I went shopping for clothes since the new school year is approaching way too quickly (senior in college, yay!!!). Of course I realized that I need to buy a jeans in a bigger size and same for shirts. Hurray. I came home and hung out with my boyfriend that day. We finished Prison Break season 3! =) I told him about my shopping experience and we decided to make a change. Oh, I forgot to say that after shopping we went out to lunch at the local gelato place where we got a huge sandwich with mozzarella sticks, meatballs and chicken. Yeah....apparently that's how I make myself feel better after a horrible shopping experience where I barely found clothes that fit me well....I eat. Great. Anyway, so my boyfriend and I made a sort of pact about our eating habits. I told him that I've tried to eat right for years now. Let me get something straight first, I'm not a McDolands fanatic or anything like that. I love fruit and vegetables, and I don't go crazy with candy and chocolate. The only thing is that I eat late, and I eat a lot because I'm starving after work or school, and after that I'm tired to exercise. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get enough rest, to go work/school, study, go grocery shopping for something healthy, cook it, eat it, and then get another 8 hours of sleep. I'm sure there's plenty of you out there who do this on a day-to-day basis, but I haven't made a habit out of it yet. I hope I will soon. So to continue--I told my boyfriend that I can't do this alone. I need his support and I need him to stop eating crap in front of me. He's always been thin, but as I said since we started dating 2 years ago, he's developed a little belly which he really doesn't like. (I don't mind it, it's cute but he's too shy to go shirtless at the beach...so it's a problem).

We decided to drink water--no more Strawberry Banana Juicy Juice, or Cherry, or whatever else his mom always buys. No more eating after 7pm. This will be really hard because we do still live at home with the parents (we live 15 min from college so there's no point to pay for room and board), and they come home late also...by the time they cook something it's 8 or later. I really don't like that...but they insist on having "family dinners". Oh and they put butter on everything. Even broccoli. Oy. I always try to get whatever vegetables they have on the table before they put a spoon full of butter on it...but it's hard. So eating late is going to be tough...unless of course we buy groceries and cook ourselves, but having no money will make that pretty impossible. What we can do is not go out late on weekends with our friends. Everyone is busy with their seconds jobs and things like that, and most of the time that's the only time we have to hang out. So we're gonna have to either go out without eating late, or not go out at all. Something's gatta give.

I'm not saying either of us is going to be perfect. That's never going to happen. We're going to slip, but we have to start small, not drastic because then we wont stick with it. For example to day for lunch I packed some good chicken breast and potatoes that my mom cooked with salad instead of getting Quick Check hoggies. And I didn't put any chocolate or anything like that as a snack. Instead I got 2 peaches (which I always have) and a yogurt. Hopefully tonight when we go to the beach we won't pig out afterward. Keep your fingers crossed.

Nestea Iced Tea

This stuff if good. I drink the diet kind, but by mistake someone bought an entire case of regular iced tea! From the first sip I noticed something oddly different about it. To my surprise the regular is a lot more lemony and less sweet then the diet. What is up with that? I think the diet has a more pleasant taste and seems sweeter and definitely less lemon. The only thing I don't like about it is that on the diet Nutrition Facts, sugar isn't listed! I've never seen that before. It doesn't say it's sugar free either. I'm really suspicious because products are usually very proud to be sugar free, or light, or whatever. This one just says "diet" and underneath the nutrition facts they say: "Not a significant source of fat cal., sat. fat, trans fat, cholest., fiber, sugars.....etc."

Even if it has 0.0001 grams of sugar, they should put it because they would get more people to buy them. I didn't buy this personally so I didn't check...I usually do check since the regular has 20+ grams of sugar in it. Really odd....I don't like it. Really tired of it since I drink at least two 16.9 bottles each day at work. Gonna buy some crystal light packets, really like those. =)

Yoplait Whips Frozen!

Have you ever seen the Yoplait Whips yogurt commercials where they tell you to freeze the yogurt for a nice treat? (It's even on the package) Well it's a great idea! Not that the idea is very new and innovative (ever heard of frozen yogurt?). As I'm typing (well, in between breaks) I'm eating Peaches 'n Cream Whips Light & Fluffy yogurt. I put in the freezer yesterday and I brought it to work in my little lunchbox/cooler. It has partly thawed since this morning, but the texture is still really nice.


For breakfast I had a completely frozen one and it was also delicious.
I prefer it frozen, and suprisingly because of its fluffy texture, even if it's in the freezer over night it will still be easy to scoop it with a spoon. (Not suggested for those with sensitive teeth) :)

Yum! Bon appetit!

Because I'm a girl

I'm a girl, therefore I love jewelry. These following sets are from Amazon.com and they're gorgeous. They don't include rings which is what I was searching for when I found these, but oh my! Just take a look.

Wish list!!!!

I might just get these for myself. I know I have a boyfriend now and it's weird when I get jewelry for myself, but he's in college, and thus broke....so I might just order these and tell people he got it for me. =)

Look at that! It's beautiful!
It comes with a necklace and earrings for only $44.99 on Amazon! That London Blue Topaz is amazing. And it's my birthstone too! *drooling*










There's plenty other ones on Amazon that are Blue topaz and awesome!!! Here are a few:
(Click on the photos to go to the Amazon page)

Valentine's Day

Happy Love day for all you lovers out there.

Many guys (be it boy friends for years, husbands, friends) don't know what to do for their special girl on this special day. February 14 may mean absolutely nothing to a man because it's just not in your dna...but to girls, it's a pretty important day. Even if your girlfriend says:

"I hate Valentine's Day. It's stupid and pointless. I don't like teddy bears and chocolate."

She's just saying that so she wont seem like a total materialistic and hopeless romantic girl who just wants to be swept off her feet. But that's what all us girls are!!

Another myth that you boys out there might believe is that you should spend hundreds of dollars for your lady today. That's not the case. Believe me. It trully is the thought that counts.

If you're dating for more then a few months and this is your first Valentine's Day these are your essentials:

flowers
funny/romantic card: it's better if its made by hand or online (it's about $1 online and you can pick it up in 1 hour...what else can get easier?)
stuffed animal
candy

Don't spend a lot of any of these things. Don't go to the mall where you will find very overpriced teddy bears and chocolate. Hit your hometown Walmart, Kmart or even Shoprite or CVS. Be smart. It's not like you don't know this day is coming. It's always on February 14. Don't be a jerk and wait until the last possible moment to buy something. You'll just get stuck in traffic and in crowded stores trying to find something will all the other jack asses out there. And you'll end up getting something overprices and meaningless because of lack of time and frustration.

If you are dating for a longer time and this is not your first Valentine's Day then you should think more romantic and meaningful. We really don't ask for expensive jewels on this day. It's the day of love, so be thoughtful.

A nice dinner alone is very nice. This can be at your favorite restaurant or a new place you haven't tried out yet. Just make sure it's quiet enough to hear each other talk and share a bottle of wine or champagne. At the end of the night you can exchange hand made cards and also don't forget the roses.

What is even better then a restaurant is a quiet dinner at home. This can only be possible of course if there's nobody else at home. Cook dinner for once. If she comes home and sees that you have cooked an entire meal by yourself, she will love you forever. Set the table, turn the tv off, light candles, and put on some soft music. After dinner you can cuddle up on the couch and talk about old memories you've shared.

As for gifts...around Valentine's Day there are so many sales! You can't go wrong with a cute heartshape box of chococolates. And also, even if you're on a budget, you can afford jewelry. Department stores have major sales on jewerly! You can buy something that was originally 100 bucks, for maybe 40. And trust me, even something that is on sale for $15 dollars will make her smile. Every girl loves a new pair of earrings or a necklace, even if she has many of them. She will love the fact that you go into your car, drove to the store and picked it out without you having to tell her what to get.

That's another very important point. If she has to tell you what to get, or if she has to hint at something so much that it's getting annoying...even if you get it for her, it wont mean as much. If she has to point something out, then she'll be thinking about that fact until the day comes. She'll think "I do like that purse/necklace/whatever, but if I really want it I can get it myself. I wanted him to get it for me, but I told him soooo many times that even if he does, it'll be blah. I want him to come up with something. No matter what it is I'll love it. Even if it's the ugliest gold bracelet I've ever seen. I'll wear it always."

So please....please...all you guys out there, do yourself a favor this Valentine's Day and make your girlfriends/wives really love you and prove to them that you're a good guy. Make them want to brag to their girlfriends about you.

And remember, Valentine's Day is always on February 14. Every single year. There is absolutely no excuse for you not to do something special for your girl. You can't say that "I forgot." or "I was so busy for weeks. It didn't even cross my mind. I thought I'll have time yesterday, but things went out of hand."

No, sorry boys, but there are no excuses. You have to plan ahead for these things. No just Valentine's Day, but also her birthday, Christmas, and your anniversary. She will always remember those days, every year. She'll remember the excuses you used, the gifts you got, and how she felt that day. And also, if you do it right, she'll always remember how wonderful you made her feel, and how even more in love with you she fell.

Superbowl

Yay Superbowl commercials!
Commercials+tostito scoops+salsa+Mike's hard lemonade+Lost+Mikey=awesome night! =)

I don't understand why people get so crazy about this sport--to each his own--but still, come on! They only use their foot 1% of the time. Ugh.

All you football drones out there--live your life. There's more out there then sports.

I used to watch tennis a lot back in the days before college, but I still did other things with my time. I didn't obsess about it every day.

Anyway, today is a good day. We have Mike's Hard Pink Lemonade, and we have each other. We could gone to some stupid superbowl held by some old people yelling at the tv like we did last year--but this is way better.

Be kind, screw with their minds

An update on that party, plus realizations and lessons learned

An update on that party.

Well....she was there. It was very awkward. We left. The end.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Leaving the awkwardness of that night aside--I've learned something from this experience. Isn't that what life is all about anyway?

I've opened my mind, and my heart, and decided to leave all the bullshit aside, for now. Those things that were said and done in the past between me and my boyfriend, and his ex will never go away. That doesn't mean, however, that we cannot be civil in public.

Therefore, from now on I will be friendly to her. I've already started this and it has brought me joy and happiness. Most of all, it's giving me a way of playing with her mind. That's always a benefit.

I will waive to her when I see her from afar--I will say "hello, how are you"--all the good things that friends or acquaintances do. She will, of course, be very confused, and probably think I'm on drugs--but in any case, that will be my time of fun in between annoying pointless classes. =D

My boyfriend, who I will call Bf, has already seen this act of mine as rather amusing. If you can't make her jealous or kill her, what else but screwing with their minds would you do to an ex girlfriend?

Friends and enemies

Second week of classes awaits. The promise of new friends and loathed enemies feels good. This night will make me a leader or a follower.

Round 2 of classes started yesterday. I was fearful but foolish. I'm also trying to take it slow because I know that soon it will get harder, and I won't have time to relax or sleep.

Tonight, however, I will embrace my free time and enjoy life. By some unimaginable chance I was invited to a party. I know that for you other college students out there this isn't a big deal, but for me--it's different. I wasn't a "whooohooo party!" kind of girl in high school, and even if I thought college would be different, I haven't changed--my surroundings have. I want to be the kind of girl who can juggle partying and getting As, but unfortunately my idea of fun is hanging out with my boyfriend, watching Cash Cab or SVU marathons--and in the end, praying for Cs. I miss the simple high school times where As fell from trees.

In any case, tonight, even though it's a Tuesday, we're going to be celebrating a person's birthday. This person is an acquaintance of my boyfriends who I've had in a couple classes but we don't know each other. It's going to be awkward and I'm going to be self conscious about my hair, my clothes, my stature, and everything else under the sun--but overall I'm excited.

Tomorrow is another day of reading and research, but tonight I'm hoping to enjoy myself. Hopefully we wont forget to bring Apples to Apples and Mike's Hard Lemonade to lighten the mood and break the ice. I was told other nerds from the physics department will be there--so hopefully we wont be alone.

Socially retarded you say? In some ways. I'm pretty good at disguising it, but underneath it all I'm a shy little ducky.

One of the reasons I'm anxious about this little get-together is for the fact that a certain someone might make her appearance there. This someone and I have issues to say the least. She hurt the one person I love in this world. She hurt him many times, and he's too good of a person to hate her, ignore her, betray her, or simply tell her she's a whore. She, on the other hand, doesn't care about people's feelings. She hurt him with no mercy, and he did not deserve it.


I however, don't really care for her since we don't have a history--so if she is there tonight, and she manages to be civil and start a conversation--I might just tell her what I think of her. I wanted to do this for a while now. I had an email played in my mind...but I never wrote it, or sent it for that matter. Somehow I thought it would be a waste of my time since she wont ever read it. Face-to-face sounds much better. If I get the balls--I'll be sure to share it with you.

As for right now, homework is done, time to eat and get ready.

Peace.

What if?

Short story in progress. Maybe I'll never expand it, but I just had the urge to write it down. It's late, I can't sleep. I should try though, another week is ahead.

What if he never said anything? Most importantly, what if I didn't? We're all in control of our own destinies, our own decisions, right? If only it were that simple. Sometimes you make a decision without reason, without consideration, without thinking about the consequences. I couldn't stop him from saying it, that's just the way life works. What I could have done was take a moment and think about it. Why didn't I think about what the really meant? I'm not a spur of the moment person, that's just not me. I must admit, sometimes I wish I was. I wish I was the type of person that if I really had the urge to go to London and to Paris, and to Rome, that I would find a way to get that plane ticket and be gone in the next 24 hours. I want to be that adventurous, I want not to be afraid of what may happen--of the unknown. But let’s face it, I’m not that person. I’m that shy little girl in the back of the classroom, staring at the floor hoping the teacher wont pick on her for fear of being wrong. Then what happened that day? Let’s start at the beginning--lets start at hello.

“Hi”

“Hey”

Okay now that that’s settled. It was a special day--that day we made first contact. Not so much because we first talked, but because it was February 29th. It only comes around every four years so our society dubs it important--anything can happen day. Maybe if you believe that load of crap something special will happen to you that day, but any day can be special--be it February 29 or a Wednesday in August. After the first day, thinks changed slowly. They began to get more hectic, more stressful, more problematic. How could that be? Isn’t love supposed to make things better? Aren’t you supposed to be happy? But that’s brings on another important questions. What is love? Are you in love when you can’t think of anything else besides that other person? When you can’t live one day without hearing their voice or feeling their kiss?

To make a story a bit shorter--we met, we spent time together, we parted. Sometime in between is where I started this story. I don’t remember the exact date which means….actually I don’t really know what it means. In any regard, it started out much like any other day with him. Popcorn, movie, hugs and kisses. Then something new happened, something that I’ve never experienced before. That’s the moment I wish I could have back. That’s the moment I wish I could change. What would happen if I had thought about what I was really saying? Would we have ended the relationship then and there? Would he have been upset? Would I have been the one to say “Wait, no…this doesn’t feel right.”? I know it’s not healthy to have regrets, but I just wish I knew how different my life would have been if I just would have stopped and thought about my actions. Maybe I wouldn’t have met the person I was supposed to meet? Now there’s an idea. I’d like to think we would have met no matter what, but who really knows. You can’t live your life twice, which really sucks. Better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all? Well, with how things ended up I would have to say no, but then that wouldn’t be what I truly feel. I’m a hopeless romantic. That wont ever change.

He hurt me, that’s true. He made me follow his every word, and every action in a way in which I thought I was just being myself. Maybe he didn’t do it on purpose, maybe it’s just who he is. What I do know for sure is that he wasn’t for me. His way of thinking and mine--night and day. I should have seen it earlier, I should have left him alone, I should have done lots of things. The most important thing is what I shouldn’t have done. I shouldn’t have said “I love you, too.”

Strange Dreams

One of many more to come strange dreams of mine. I might actually use these dreams as inspiration for stories. If I have the time to actually finish one, I will let you guys know.

What is up with these dreams I'm having? Am I watching too many crazy movies? Last night I had a dream that I was undercover and a bit shot for some government people. While in Europe people started shooting at me and trying to get me killed. It was nuts.

But the dream the night before...well that was is sort of reoccurring. I'm always trying to get away from someone who's trying to hurt me, but the people and environments always change. The thing that doesn't change is the fact that I have magical powers! I know I've been watching the Harry Potter series all winter break...but come on!

If some bad guy is about to attack me I just yell "Break!" or "Fire!" and they either drop dead or catch on fire. I can even say "light" so I can see through the dark. It's pretty cool when you think about it...but I'm always almost on the brink of death!

WTF is that about? I'm a meaningless college student who's just trying to graduate on time. Ugh...

More to come on these strange dreams after I dream them.

Baked Ziti

Cooking should be pleasurable, not a chore. Here is one of hopefully many more ideas for cooking a great and easy meal which you can enjoy with family and friends. Leave your money in your wallet for better things like tuition.

So I'd love to say I'm a great cook...but that would be a lie. I do love to cook however. I love to put things together and see if they work. Most of all I love cooking for others and see them enjoy it. That's my favorite part.

I've really gotten into it for the past few months. One of my close friends says I'm going through a "phase" because it started out of nowhere. (Plus she's a good cook, and probably thinks I can't learn anything because I haven't been cooking since I was little...as she has)

Even since I starting dating my boyfriend (about 1 year and 3 months) I've had the opportunity to taste different kinds of foods. Maybe not that different from my own home cooking--but a different way of putting things together, and slightly different ingredients.

Ever since I had lunch at his step-mothers place about a month ago I starting loving baked ziti. I'm sure she's using some recipe that's been passed down in her family (being Italian and all).

I on the other hand, don't have time for recipes. They require going to the store to get ingredients you've maybe never heard of--plus gas is really expensive now-a-days.

I just put together whatever I had in the house, and to my amazement it came out great! I'm sure I used the wrong kind of cheese...not enough or too much, but that didn't matter.

For some reason I have a problem with eyeballing how much pasta is really going to be on the plate after it's boiled. So when I first made baked ziti I used an entire box. Putting it in a pan I realized that that's a huge amount of pasta. Adding an entire jar of sauce and a bag of mozzarella cheese, it was so heavy.
I thought we were going to have left-overs for 3 days--but guess what?

Me and my boyfriend loved it! We ate the entire fricken pan of ziti. What was wrong with us? It was 9 p.m. --- so much for my diet.

I advise anyone to try and make this. All of you college students out there who are tired of campus food, or if you live off-campus, if you hate take-out and ramen noodles---please try and cook. It's really not that hard. It's JUST food. It can't really come out wrong. If you don't like the taste, add something else. Just keep an eye on the oven or the stove (don't get lost in those video games) and you'll be just fine. Take-out, frozen pizza and Subway sandwiches are very expensive. You think its worth $5 but at the end of the month it really adds up.

So get your lazy butts off the couch, put that controller down, turn off the tv, get to ShopRite (not Acme, too expensive) and get a couple boxes of pasta, a jar or two of pasta, and some cheese, and you're all set. Cook with your family, or roommates, and you'll have a night to remember---even if it's just a Wednesday night.

Julie & Julia

A short review of the movie Julie & Julia as well as my thoughts and opinions based on it.

Julie & Julia is a cute little 2009 comedy/drama film . It shows the lives of two different women who are both saved by food. Julie is a young woman working for the government in New York City, answering phones all day and dealing with rude individuals. Julia however, is the beloved Julia Child who helped write Mastering the Art of French Cooking after her stay in France with her husband.

In New York, Julie wants basically...a hobby. She wants to do something that she enjoys day to day. Cooking maker her feel good about herself. She gives herself 1 year to cook every single recipe from Julia Child's book. With much agony and a messy kitchen--and not to forget the lack of intimacy with her husband--she manages to stick to her new project.

The other side of the story shows the early life of Julia Child. She tries to take up many different sort of classes to fill her days while her husband works. In the end, she comes to the conclusion that she loves to eat--thus takes cooking lessons. With some practice she becomes very good at it--she treats it like a science. Julia and her two other friends manage to publish their book after countless years of revisions.

Julia starts a blog, and gains many trusted fans. The New York Times finds her popularity a breath of fresh air and they write and article about her. With this door opened she receives book deals and also a movie deal.

This quaint story about 2 true stories makes for a cute and emotional movie which takes you from New York to Paris--and from meaningless lives to hope and happiness.

Spring Semester 2010

My anticipation on the upcoming semester. I'm sure you will hear more about my classes and professors, as well as complains about homework and meaningless projects.

A new beginning starts tomorrow.

I'm not ready. I don't think I'll ever be. I don't have all my books--I don't have an Independent Study book picked out--at least my hair is washed. Girls--always wash your hair. Even if you are having a bad day, and you have sudden breakouts, or you nails are chipped. If your hair feels flowy and clean--you will feel better about yourself.

I really pray to God that this semester will be okay. The last one was pretty bad--the one before was horrible. The summer--lets just not start that today. At least my boyfriend is in my toughest class this semester. I hope that's a good thing.

I hope my adviser emails me back. I hope she can help me with the Independent Study. I hope my children's lit class wont be a pain. I'm a Physics major for crying out loud! The b.s. class is supposed to be easy. I have 3 other classes that are do or die, and I don't need this one to take all of my time.

For those other college students out there that are going through the same thing--send me some hope please. Word of advise (I should listen to it too) don't stress. It's good to try and do your best--but when that ruins your health and peace of mind--it's not worth it. We'll all graduate sooner or later, and get some kind of job in which we will eventually advance and live comfortably.

Just don't regret this part of your life. Don't forget to live.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.

I know this might sound very silly, but I just finished watching a movie called Julie & Julia and it inspired me to start my own little blog. After a little over 2 hours of forcing my boyfriend to watch it with me I fell in love with it. I love cooking, and he loves writing...so I don't think he hated it.

I'm going to try write blogs often. I'm not sure what they will be about...but that's for another night.