Hair Love

I can't believe I'm still gaining followers, even though I've been absent from the blogging world for AT LEAST a month. I'll be posting a weight loss update soon. I'm just sitting in the library taking a break from my calc 2 homework & wanted to share my new hair routine love.

Lately I've been in to not using any heated styling tools to my hair. My hair is naturally curly so you can imagine how dry it is since I usually like to either make pretty curls with a curling iron or flat iron it.

I like to sleep with my hair wet the night before and put it into one braid, to help tame the frizzies and curls. I don't want my hair to be curly when I wake up, just wavy. When I wake up, I take the braid out and spray with some sea-salt spray. Tease a little at the roots & I'm out the door! I got this idea from belledujour on youtube.

Bad Blogger!

Ugh, I know! I am SUCH a bad blogger! I suck! I wish I could be like all the good bloggers and post daily, the way I used to be back in xanga days! Lately I've just been lurking pages not even leaving comments!!! *Shock horror** So let's recap

1) I haven't posted in about 3 weeks

2) I lurk other people's blogs & don't even leave comments

If that doesn't equal bad blogger I don't know what does!

Lately, I've lost interest in the makeup community *even bigger shock horror* & have moved on to blogs such as The fitnessista, biochemista, and pbfingers (to name a few of my FAVES) Would you totally stop following me if I did posts like those?

Let's see, last time I weighed in I was 113.4 this morning I weighed in at 110.0! Amazeballs! I haven't been losing the weight as fast as I originally wanted to, but I really don't have a problem with that. I will post a picture next week. If you don't remember I was originally trying to lose the weight for my cousin's wedding, so I'll post a picture of what I'll be looking like for the wedding.

Even after the wedding I will continue to live out my healthy eating/living. Better believe I WILL be eating In-N-Out, Yoshinoya, and El Pollo Loco (all in moderation of course) in Cali. Oh how I've missed Cali food!

I'll leave you with a creation I found while lurking other blogs. It looks like a disaster but I SWEAR it is serious good eats!

Overnight OIAJ (oats in a jar)

1/2 c. greek yogurt

1/2 c. oats

Splash unsweetened vanilla almond milk

5 frozen strawberries

1/2 frozen banana

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

Mixed together in an almost empty peanut butter jar and placed in the fridge overnight. Wake up in the morning, stir it all together and enjoy! :)

Ok so Teen Mom is on right now so I really must go! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! Is everyone ready for school to start back up? My university starts back up on Monday! Eeek!

Ditching the Skinny Bitch (Diet day 7)

It's been a whole week. And to be honest, I couldn't even follow the Skinny Bitch way of living for the whole 7 days. The book has it's points, but I just can't be convinced to become vegan. For me it's an expensive inconvenience.

I mean I do love me some BOCA meatless chicken patties, but dang I am a college student here!

One of my FAVORITE meals on the Skinny Bitch meal plan:

(Strawberry soy yogurt, 1/2 banana, 1/2 mango, 3 strawberries, handful of blueberries & blackberries) Definitely a breakfast I will continue to eat.

I have taken a lot of other stuff from the book, though, that I will continue to practice. Mainly, eating more towards raw or natural, minimal processing for my foods please!

I found these girls on youtube, they are REALLY inspirational. I'm trying out their protein pancakes later this week. If you want a review let me know! Well even if you don't, I probably will post a review anyway!

I have been keeping a food journal to help keep me on track. I also write down the exercise I did for the day. I was thinking about transferring the info to my blog, but thought it might be too boring.

So Day 7 of project lose 10lbs, I am down 2.8 lbs from last week. So this morning I weighed in at 113.4 :)

Thank you to everyone who has wished me good luck on my journey! It means the world to have such a nice group of supporting followers :D

Pudgy Pics (Project Skinny Bitch Day 1)

Some of you doubt that I need to lose weight. So I have (hesitantly) decided to post some "before" pictures of me. As you can tell I can easily stand to lose at least 10 lbs.

Starting weight: 116.2

Today started day 1 of project Skinny Bitch. The book is really based on turning you vegan, and although they make some good points, I'm not sure the vegan lifestyle is for me. I'm sticking to the diet plan as close as I can though.

Breakfast:

1/2 of a 170 gram container of soy yogurt

1/2 mango

1/2 banana

1 honeycot (had no idea what this was, decided to try it out, I could do without this fruit in my life)

Snack:

1/2 Peanut Butter Cookie LARA Bar

Lunch:

1 BOCA meatless chicken patty between

Orowheat sandwich thins (whole grain)

and a tablespoon of Dijonaise

Vidatea

Dinner:

Baby green salad with:

egg (not recommended in the book)

tomato

red onion

2 TBSP of Olive oil & vinegar dressing with a squeeze of lemon juice

2nd Snack:

3 Dates

I didn't make it to the gym today [insert excuse about being in summer school and working]. Really though there should be NO EXCUSE. Tomorrow I plan to wake up early and hit the gym, instead of trying to go after work.

&& Also I'd like to say, although I'm giving myself 30 days to lose weight, I will continue to learn from this new diet and apply to my lifestyle. I want to make this a lifestyle change.

No Excuses

Monday I'm going to attempt the "Skinny Bitch" diet for AT LEAST 30 days. My friend went on a modified version of it and lost 10 lbs in 4 weeks. I have a wedding to attend in about that time & I REFUSE to be THAT cousin. You know, the one that used to be stick thin & is not so much anymore...

I will be keeping track of what I ate each day, and if I exercised what type of exercise I did. Me and my sister recently renewed our personal training appointments & extended it for another 12 months. We WERE paying $160 ($80 each) for once a week training sessions, 4 times a month. Since they had a special going on yesterday we are now paying $104 ($52 each) for the same thing. Yay for "saving" $30 a month. I mean I guess technically if we didn't choose to renew we would be saving a lot more, but I think it's completely worth it. And plus, for the next 4 weeks we have twice a week sessions! So if nothing else, I will have AT LEAST 1 day of working out (2 in the next 4 weeks). But of course, I know I need to be at the gym more than that.

ROMP this!

During the summer, I always stock up on cute summer dresses. But last week at Target while I was looking for some cute sun dresses, all I could hear were these ROMPERS screaming at me! I bought 2, and next thing you know this week I'm back for more! I can't get enough of them!

Here I'm wearing one of the rompers I bought last week from Target ($19.99! -- hello great deal!). I paired it with a cardigan just incase I got cold indoors. We went to an outdoor church bazaar afterwards & so the cardigan got stuffed into the car & hello shoulders!

Don't mind the messy room, it's my sisters. She has a bigger mirror than I do (probably a bigger mirror than most do! What can I say, she loves herself haha). What do you guys think of rompers yay or nay?

ps- my old time childhood bff has a blogger now! She is amazing at makeup go and check her out!! Link here *hearts*

ppss- Thanks for all the suggestions on my comment etiquette question I asked in my last post. For now, I think it will be easier to respond on the other person's blog. I think for people with a lot more followers it's just easier to respond to their blog post since they have many more people to respond to :P

OH AND also, don't think I forgot the awards & tags I've been nominated for Mimi, Grace, and PinkOrchids Those posts are coming soon to a blog (well mine) near you!

Happy Memorial Day

I've been absent for what feels like waay too long!

Memorial Day was a success. I didn't have the WHOLE weekend off, but I did have today off. Me & the fam bam had breakfast at Denny's (french toast ftw!)

then to Galveston for some fun in the sun! I definitely chose the wrong bathing suit to wear! I got weirdo tan lines! I wasn't thinking about how that was going to play out, only that my bathing suit was cute! haha

I don't wear any foundation or face products to the beach, but I do wear some eyeliner & mascara, is that weird? I just can't bear the way I look without AT least mascara on.

What did you all do for Memorial Day? I'm very thankful for the men & women who have died fighting for our freedom :)

&& Also a blog comment etiquette question!!

• Do most people subscribe to the comments on the blog post they leave comments on?
• I'm not sure if I should comment people back on the post they commented on, or if I should go to their page & comment back ( I know... I've been gone from the blogging world for a while & it has changed!)

1st Ever Award!

I've been tagged by the lovely Ariel for this blog award :) Thank you so much for my first ever award! If you don't already follow her, what are you waiting for? Now time for the award part!

The Rules

Give this award to 10 sweet bloggers.

Make a post about the award including the picture, & mention the person who gave it to you.

Put the award on your blog.

Let your nominated 10 know you've awarded them by leaving a comment

TAG!

naturalNchicmakeup

Leenda (Ramblings of a Numbers Nerd)

Stacy (In the Name of Beauty for Mochi Ice Cream)

Bailey (Black and White Collage)

PinkOrchids

Jenny (The Skinnies)

LipstickRules

FabulousFlare

Marie (***All Things Marie***)

OverThinkingMama

Tag ladies you're all it!!

FOTD (kinda)

Okay so here's my 1st ever FOTD. I used Urban Decay's Summer of Love palette. I don't know if you can tell, but I did use the purple eyeshadow "Flash" on my bottom lash line. I think I will buy the eyeliner to up the amp. I used "Maui Wowie" as the all over lid color on top of the UDPP in Sin. I used "Chopper" on the outer 3rd of my eye & then "Smog" in the outer V to add some drama.

Face:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid foundation in Warm Beige

Cheeks:

MAC blush in fashion frenzy -- I know you can't tell :( the webcam totally washed me out

Lips:

MAC Creme Cup (thanks to skinnyfatstacy for recommending!)

I know the quality isn't so great, I just took it on my webcam in a hurry. Next FOTD or EOTD or any other OTD thing will be better, I'll take on my nice camera promise ;)

Twenty One

My sister turned the big 2-1 on Thursday. Crazy how time flies, it seems like just yesterday I was turning 21 (of course, that was only 2 years ago). We always go out for dinner on someone's birthday, so my sister opted for Cafe Adobe. They boast the "best margaritas in town". If by "best" they mean "strongest", then yes, they have the "best" margaritas in town haha.

Michael Kors shoes she got from my mom. All she wanted was money for her birthday, so everyone gave her at least $100 to spend. Mom also got her flowers & these shoes that I will most definitely be borrowing!

For some reason, when I drink I transform into some ugly beasty looking thing... But of course I had to for her 21st birthday. We ordered the "Perfect Margaritas". For a $9.50 price tag they sure as heck better be perfect. I can't say they were all that bad, but personally I am not a tequila fan to begin with. :X

What a HOT MESS I turned into that night. Here I am explaining how earlier that day I accidently ran over a small, maybe even baby, bird on my way home from work. As you can see, I became very emotional, & all my sister could do was laugh at me! Evil. lol Look at the pleasure she takes in my pain.

Brother, Mom, Dad, Sister, Me. So that concludes sister's 21st birthday family dinner outing. Afterwards she made me bake her brownies & dad & mom took a couple more tequila shots at home. Probably to help them forget that their babies are getting older, which in turn means they are too. Haha

Mother's Day & Perfume Review

I know it's late, but Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there! Better late than never, huh? I used to be so good at this blogging thing, bringing my camera with me AT ALL TIMES. It's been a while, so I need to get used to that again. I meant to take a picture of the breakfast me and the siblings made her. I used this recipe to make her french toast. It was perfect. Crunchy on the outside, yet the custard was so creamy on the inside! The only frustrating part was cutting the challah bread. Sister was in charge of bacon & eggs, and since we're Filipino, brother was in charge of SPAM (yes SPAM lol) and rice.

For Mother's Day me & my sister decided to go in on a bottle of perfume for my mom. She has been eyeing Gucci Flora & I was content on buying it. I really love the softness of this one. But then a few weeks before Mother's Day she went on a perfume smelling spree & started raving about the Coach perfume. It's not the Legacy one, just the original Coach perfume in the white bottle.

I personally love this classic looking bottle, so pretty :) Of course I had to try the perfume myself before buying it for her. I mean if she was going to be wearing it around me, I want to like it too!

When it first hits your skin it is very floral. I really liked the Gucci Flora one much better! I am not really a floral fan to begin with. To give you a sense of what I like, I have Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy & Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue. I also love the scent of DKNY Be Delicious.

Ah enough about ME. As I said, in my taste, the perfume was a bit strong on the floral. BUT it dies down to a nice soft sweetness in time. And I should also add, this is not your grandma's stuffy floral, it's actually quite fresh smelling. It takes a while for the scent to die down (which is not a bad thing of course). So if you're a floral lover I would recommend spraying this one on yourself, or even if you don't love florals but like to change it up every once in a while because the floral doesn't stick all day (or shall I say the strong floral). It really is a nice perfume :)

Here's a description of the scent according to FragranceX :

Coach Perfume by Coach, Top notes of tart green mandarin, guava, violet petals and water lily; a heart of genet flower, honey, orange flower, mimosa and jasmine, and a drydown of sandalwood, amberwood and vanilla

Hmm.. I didn't get any of that green mandarin scent or guava -- no fruity tones at all to me. Although, I really am no expert in scents at all haha! What my nose likes, my nose likes, and what it doesn't like, it just doesn't.

What did you all do for Mother's Day??

Fizzy Skittles?

True story. I came across these as I was doing my Cinco de Mayo shopping at my local Kroger. They so conveniently placed the skittles right in front of the check out line. Fizzl'd Fruits... I just HAD to try it. I didn't even wait 'til I got home. As soon I pulled out I opened the box and reluctantly tried one.

At first glance it reminds me of my fave kind of Skittles. Sour Skittles! Don't let this coating fool you though! As soon as it hits your tongue it starts fizzing! I was expecting a Pop Rock sort of fizz, but it was like the bubbles in your carbonated beverage fizz! Weird sensation.

If you're one of those people [like me] who likes to suck on their Skittles and wait 'til they get soft to chomp down on them, then this isn't for you. The fizzing sensation is interesting, but tasteless. So the 1st couple of seconds it's on your tongue it's just plain weird. BUT if you just like to pop 'em in and chew 'em right up these could be your kind of candy since you'll get the flavor and fizz at the same time :)

Flavors: Berry Punch, Melon Berry, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Wild Cherry

Have any of y'all tried this? What do you think?

Free Product Alert

Just a quick blog post for my lovely followers :)

Free mini perfumes on sephora.com

Not as big as a full sized bottle, but bigger than a sample size!

Fitness Failure

This weekend I gave in to the evil they call fast food. UGH. I've been trying so hard to be good, but for some reason this weekend (or Friday rather) I couldn't resist. Let me introduce you to Sonic's EXTREME TOTS: tots w/chili, cheese, ranch, onions, and jalapenos. Eating that monstrosity felt so good at the time! Add to it a Dr. Pepper -- not even diet! UGH It's not even that time of the month for me!

Since February, my sister and I signed up for a gym membership at LA Fitness (LOVE that gym!). We even took it a step further and signed up for a personal trainer once

a week. Umm hello that is $160 a month for the trainer alone! So, I vowed in February that I would not let my money go to waste!

I'm only 4'11" and when I started this program I was at 122 lbs. My goal weight is 100 lbs. It's been about 3 months, and I've only lost 3 lbs. This is a s l o w process for me. I'm trying to do it the right way though. I've struggled with yo-yo dieting since I got out of high school. I want to make a lifestyle change.

I think God is punishing me for steering away from my goals. Saturday morning we met with our trainer, and of course I picked the core workout ---->

Since after the workout I've had this horrible cough. Did you

know when you cough, your core muscles contract? Oh yeah they do! It is so painful to be coughing after an intense core workout & when your core muscles are oh-so-sore the next couple of days after!

Lesson learned! [Of course, junk food is allowed during that time of the month right?]

5 Random Facts

I guess the 1st few posts should tell a little about me.

So here are 5 random facts about me:

1. I love the smell of Vicks
When browsing candle websites for their "relaxing" scents, they usually have eucalyptus & mint,
but they're always sure to add without the vicks smell.
BUT I LIKE the Vicks smell!!

2. I don't leave the gas pump unless the $ amount ends in a 5 or 0

3. I love to read -- I can't stop reading in the middle of a chapter though, and I won't put down the book unless I end on an even chapter number.

4. I would consider myself to have ranidaphobia and achluophobia

5. When I get nervous, I bite the skin between my thumb & index finger (you know, the webbed part?)

So, there it is. 5 Random Facts About Me.

1st Blog Post!

Okay, so I've decided to venture back into the world of blogging.
My blogging ways date back to 2002 on my beloved xanga :')

This time around, aside from posts just about my everyday life,
I think it would be fun to post my reviews & opinions on all things that interest me,
i.e., FOOD, makeup, hair (& hair products), fitness, etc, etc