BirchBox Review! (Sep. 2012)

A wise reminder:

Ten Things Thursday

1. Yesterday I had to go to the dentist (second one this week; the first one was so horrid I left) to get a broken crown fixed. 6 injections and a ton of nitrous later, I was still out of it until late last night! (My body metabolizes anestetics/things like that really fast, so she kept having to give me more to make sure my mouth was numb enough to work on...NOT fun!).

2. Currently burning "Autumn" from Bath & Body Works.

3. Comcast finally came out today to fix my phone line and Internet. Yay!

4. I'm working on my fourth load of laundry or today.

5. I started making homemade bolognese sauce this morning around 9ish, and it's been simmering ever since. Can't wait until dinner time!

6. I still need to pick up my comforter from the dry cleaners....I keep forgetting! (This is more of a note to myself!) Also, if you're in the market for a new comforter set, make sure the one you get doesn't say, "dry clean only" like the one I unknowingly grabbed did.

7. I'm planning to paint my nails in a little while, so I should have a new "nail of the day" post coming soon! Stay tuned!

8. I REALLY want to see "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"!

9. Yesterday I picked up some new cushions for my couch...what a difference it made!!

10. My favorite lip gloss at the moment is Bath & Body Work's "Honey Autumn Apple". It is amazing!

Eye-Mazing Products!!! My top picks for eye care!

Reminder...

Nail of the Day!

Today's nail of the day look features "Radium" by Illamasqua. 

This was my first time trying out an Illamasqua polish, and I'm in love! I received this in my September GlossyBox and loved the color so much that I painted my nails that same day! It's the most perfect "granny smith apple" green color! (It's just a tad darker in person) The website describes it as an acidic lime color with a shimmer finish; I concur. I'm really enjoying this color; it's unlike any other nail polish that I own. It also preforms well, and applies opaque after two coats. I wasn't a big fan of the brush; it's a bit small and one of the hairs shed while I was trying to paint my nails. Other than that, I have zero complaints. This was the ONLY product I used on my nails that day, so that's why there's only one photo. I didn't use a base or top coat...frankly, I was sick and couldn't be bothered to use one. I have to say, I'm several days in now and don't have a single chip yet. This polish is good! 

If you want to try out an Illamasqua polish, check Sephora in store or online. They are around $14 each. 

Court Yard Hounds - See You In The Spring ft. Jakob Dylan

I love this song.

Book Review: The Hunger Games trilogy!

Behold: The BEST trilogy ever!

I purchased "The Hunger Games" trilogy back before the first movie ever came out, with the intention of reading them all and then seeing the movie. Unfortunately, life got in the way a bit and I didn't actually start reading the books until this week. I did however see the movie when it first came out and I personally thought that the movie was terrific. That being said, it doesn't even hold a candle in comparison to the books! (Which is typically true of many movie vs. book scenarios in my opinion.) So, if you've held off on reading the books because you weren't in love with the movie, definitely remember to not judge a book by it's movie! 

Once I picked up the first book, "The Hunger Games" I could not break away from it until I finished the entire thing. It was very well written, and the pace of the story line was pure perfection! I finished the first book in under a day, and immediately started in on "Catching Fire." The story line was equally gripping and just as riveting! I also finished that book within a day. The last book in the trilogy, "Mockingjay" was just as incredible as the first two. When I finished it up tonight, I found myself thinking, "NOOOOOO! Now what am I going to read?!" 

The trilogy was so incredible that I literally finished all three books within three days. I just could not tear myself away from them! Lets just say that it takes a VERY riveting book to get me to that point of intense reading...to maintain my interest with an entire trilogy is an even larger challenge! In general, I can be a bit of a "distracted" type reader. I often alternate between multiple books when I get bored with one. This was not the case at all with this trilogy; I never wanted to set them down!  "The Hunger Games" trilogy lives up to the hype! None of the other books I currently own are up to the challenge of rivaling this series, so now my new mission in life is to find another trilogy that MIGHT be able to rival The Hunger Games trilogy in it's fantastic splendor. This website seems to have a pretty good list of suggestions, so I might give one of these a try.

If any of you lovelies enjoy reading and have yet to check out "The Hunger Games" trilogy, do yourself a favor and pick up the books; they're amazing! 

Box Puppy!

Box Puppy, Mykelti is very pleased with her new hangout!

Today we received a shipment of dog food in the mail, so I thought I would put the leftover box out for the cats to play in before I toss it out for pickup on Friday. The cats wanted nothing to do with the box, but a certain little Aussie sure did! Mykelti hopped right in, and has been sitting in it all day long lol! 

Look how happy she is!

Never Forget...

Please take time out of your day to remember all of the precious lives that were lost, and those that were forever changed on today's 11 year anniversary of 9/11. ♥

While we are remembering those precious lives today, lets also not forget the bravery of the men and women who helped others during our nation's darkest time, the soldiers who volunteered their lives and service to defend our country, the Search & Rescue animal/handlers who worked around the clock to pull bodies out of the rubble, or the therapy/handler teams who counseled the grieving. They all taught us that EVERYONE can do something to help. Even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.

Below is a link of the 12 living SAR dogs that were at Ground Zero on 9/11. 

9/11 SAR dogs today: http://grendelreport.posterous.com/911-dogs-today

World Suicide Prevention Day

Yesterday Was World Suicide Prevention Day. 

(I'm a little late posting this)

Some call it National Suicide Awareness Day,etc. Whatever you might call it, it is an important day to acknowledge and support. My father is a survivor, by the grace of God, of multiple attempts. I have known others in my life who did not survive however. People who felt hopeless enough to end their lives, rather than to find hope; it really breaks my heart. The first time I learned about what suicide was, I was a small child. The hairdresser that my mom always took my sister and I to ended his life one day. My mom had to sit us down and explain what happened to him. (And to her credit, she told me exactly what a child my age needed to hear, and nothing that went over my head.). Years later, my mom and I both woke up in the middle of the night to screaming police and ambulance sirens in the neighborhood we lived in. One of our neighbors had shot himself to end his own life. He had a wife and a newborn child. I'll never forget the sight of paramedics putting him into the ambulance (he passed away en route to the hospital, so when they wheeled him out on the gurney, you could see everything.) It was horrible.

I remember working for animal control and having a precious volunteer I had the pleasure of getting to work around confide in me one day. She told that her father had ended his life when she was younger. She lived with that memory and heartbreak every single day because of the decision he made to end his life. I'll never forget the words she spoke to me, or the way my heart ached for her family's loss. No family should ever have to bury their loved ones, and certainly not at the hand of suicide.

My most recent memory of someone taking their life occurred over a year and a half ago when I lived at my old apartment complex. My neighbor on the floor above me took his life. Once again, I saw another neighbor being wheeled away on a gurney...only this time in a body bag. It was so somber and numbing to watch that unfold, knowing that only the day before we had spoken in the hallway. Sometimes, you just never know how much a person is struggling or hurting because they camouflage their pain and hurt so well with a fake smile.

It breaks my heart that one of the most precious people in my life, my father, tried to take his own life twice. (We were estranged at that point and he didn't enter into my life until I was older. Now we have an amazing relationship.) He is doing well now, and will talk candidly and openly about what he did and why he felt that was the answer to his problems. Thankfully, he knows it's not the answer now. Nonetheless, I still talk to him on a regular basis and go out of my way to make it known to him just how much he is loved and needed in my life and the lives of those around us. I think it's also a positive step that he recognizes he has PTSD now and doesn't feel shame in talking to someone when he has bad thoughts. (He witnessed some pretty awful things during the Vietnam War.). I am so proud of him for sharing his story with others, and continuing to chose hope each day that he wakes up! I am so blessed that he was not "successful" in his suicide attempts and that he is in my life. I don't know what I'd do without him around!

 Suicide not only takes the lives of those who commit it, it takes the life right out of those they leave behind. Please, if you're thinking about hurting yourself or just feeling blue, don't be afraid to talk to someone. Silence is the true beginning to the downward spiral. If you don't feel that you can talk to someone in your family, school, or circle of friends, then there is a fantastic number that you can call: The National Suicide Prevention Life Line: 1 (800) 273-8255. I've personally called that number before out of concern for a loved one that I thought was going to harm themselves. They gave me some great advice on ways that I could show support and love to try and make sure my loved one did not try to harm themselves. Those hot lines are also for concerned families and friends too, so if you are concerned about someone like I was, they are a great resource for you too. They can teach you what to say and how to try and make a positive difference. You never know just how much your words might impact someone...please try to make sure that you always leave them with words of hope...

Today, people across the world sported "Love" writings on their wrists in support for those who have struggled with thoughts, committed, or thought about ending their lives. It is also a day to remember how important it is to rally around the families of those who have lost loved ones to such a terrible tragedy.

Life is precious. Life is a gift. Life is worth living.

Below are some links with info that might be helpful to you or a loved one in your life:

Out of the Darkness by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

http://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/un/world-suicide-prevention-day

http://www.national-awareness-days.com/world-suicide-prevention-day.html

Clumsiness

Do you ever have a day when things just are not going your way? Not so much a bad day, but just one of those days when you should really stay in bed...for your own safety! This has been my day today.

Everything was going terrifically well until lunch time. After Ranger and I got back home from the park, I decided to feed the animals and fix some lunch for myself. Suffice it to say, I should have gone out for lunch!

So today's menu included a turkey burger, sweet peas, and a few sweet potato fries. Sounds like a pretty safe lunch, right? Not if you're a klutz!

While I let my grill heat up (one of those knock-off George Foreman grills; I think mine is by HG. I use mine almost daily and LOVE it!) I decided to separate the turkey burger patties from one another. (I like to keep a box of the Jenni-O ones in my freezer because they're super quick to make, and are a lot healthier than running out to grab fast food. After today though, I might switch brands! My gripe about the Jenni-O burgers is that you can not let them thaw before you cook them on the grill, otherwise they'll fall apart. So, you have to quickly get them on there so they cook well (I season once I place them on the grill). They are packaged in sets of two with a little white piece of paper between the two patties. Today, they were frozen so badly that no matter how much I tried to pry them apart, they wouldn't budge! In the midst of my frustration, I thought it would be a fanfreakingtastic idea to grab one of my Cold Steel steak knives to separate them. I've done this so many times before and have never cut myself. (As a florist, you learn REALLY quickly about the safe way to use a knife for cutting.) Today, I was not so lucky though. My fingers slipped a bit while I was separating the patties, and my right hand that was holding the knife slammed the knife right into my left thumb (at the cuticle line). OUCH!!! Needless to say a lot of cursing ensued! I grabbed a paper towel and put pressure on my thumb quickly. Then, like a moron who was still in pain, I hopped and danced around my kitchen a bit while cursing in an attempt to distract myself. (Don't judge me, my thumb HURT!!!)

While I was running around the kitchen like a mad woman, I somehow managed to stub my right big toe into the oven! OUCH!!! Double the pain, double the fun...right??? No!

It was at that point I decided to take a cooking break and bandage my finger up. (Thankfully, once I looked at it, I decided that it just HURT a lot worse than it really looked. For a brief moment there though, I really thought I might need stitches, but once I cleaned it up and got a better look, that wasn't the case! It doesn't look bad at all really. It definitely hurts though!)

So, once my finger was all bandaged up, I decided to return back to cooking. It was at that point I realized I had scorched the sweet potato fries. (Once again, I should have gone out today!). While taking them out to toss them and put in another small batch, I somehow managed to burn myself. Yes, burn myself.

At that point, I decided that tonight I should definitely go out for dinner if I value my life!

Once I finished cooking lunch, I sat down to eat (new batch of sweet potato fries on my plate) and took a bite into one of the fries....not cooked all the way through! Ugg! (I HATE soggy fries, so those went right back into the toaster oven!) Once they were finally crispy, I took them out and enjoyed the rest of my hard-earned lunch! I literally worked, slaved, and even bled for that meal hahaha! Once I finished eating lunch, I went to toss the rest of my scraps into the trash...and somehow managed to throw away my spoon as well, which unfortunately was not of the disposable variety. So, I had to conclude everything by digging in the trash can to salvage my spoon. (I only have four teaspoons, so leaving it in the trash was definitely not an option!) Once I got the spoon out of there, I decided to call it a day with my kitchen. I will do the dishes AFTER I get a nap. I have a feeling if I attempted them right now, I would probably harm myself again.

So to recap: today I have: stabbed my thumb, stubbed my toe, burnt my arm, and had to conclude the fun by trash can diving for a lost spoon...

Tonight, I will be eating out! (If it doesn't storm! Looks like we might have a third night in the row of stormy weather.) 

Things Girls Lie About

Ten Things Tuesday

1. I have a doctor's appointment in a little while. Let's hope I'm finally over this pneumonia crud once and for all! 

2. I need a better organization system for all of my mail, papers, etc.

3. I like to drink my orange juice with ice cubes and a straw. I think it tastes better that way! Also, I may be the only person left on the planet that prefers the "high pulp" orange juice! (Simply Orange is the best!)

4. I can't wait to start decorating for Fall soon!

5. I've been out of milk for the past few days. For the last two days I've woken up, poured a bowl of cereal and chopped up fresh fruit into it... only to remember that I'm out of milk. (I really should go to the grocery store lol).

6. My dogs are getting SO fluffy right now! (Their winter coats are coming in.) Ranger is especially fluffy since he's from bench (show) lines, although males in general tend to have a more showy coat to attract the females. (Mykelti is a mixture of bench/field lines, so her coat is much shorter). Even little Rosie who is a different breed, is getting more fluff to her coat and her tail.

Look at how fluffy Ranger's butt is; this cracks me up lol! 

(You can see Mykelti in the background for comparison).

7. I'm really enjoying the Boots no.7 line of beauty products that Target is currently selling! (Boots is a UK drugstore that puts out really nice products). I plan to do a review on the items I have from this line soon!

8. For those of you who follow my YouTube channel that are wondering why I haven't made an August review for GlossyBox, BirchBox, or EcoEmi: I never received them! I have gone through about five different departments to try and address this issue and have filed a complaint with the Office of Inspector General. (I suspect my postal carrier has sticky hands!)

9. My cats like bologna. Yesterday I was making a sandwich when I noticed ALL of the dogs and cats starting at me in the hopes of having a little bite. I still find it funny the cats actually like bologna! (No worries only had a minuscule bite).

10. Last night my best friend and I decided to enjoy a Labor Day dinner at The Melting Pot. It was more like a melting pot of disaster! I'm not sure either of us will be going back there anytime soon! There was a bug in Renae's menu when she opened it up, they sat us in a very awkward booth so the pot was blowing smoke into our faces the entire time; the waitress ignored our request to be moved to a more open table (even though there were  plenty open.) We got no silverware or drinks despite sitting at the table for an eternity, and finally the waitress was even so incredibly rude that we had to ask for the manager! (We've never complained in a restaurant before, so you KNOW it was bad if we spoke up!). Thankfully, the manager was awesome and got us a new waitress who was super sweet! They comped our food without us even asking for it, so we thought that was nice.(We left the sweet waitress a good tip, since our dinner wound up being comped by the manager). The food was delicious, but the ambiance and the atmosphere was a bit of a disaster to start off with. Even the ladies room wasn't well kept; there weren't even paper towels to dry your hands on, or a blow dryer. (I expect better from a nicer restaurant!)  I was happy the manager and the new waitress were so kind and resolved everything, but I don't plan to go back there anytime soon. It's honestly just not worth it! There are much better restaurants out there with a less expensive menu.  We thought the whole fondue thing would be fun, but when we got there we found out that we essentially had to order the exact same for everything since there was only one pot at our table that we had to share out of (we wanted to try different items so we could mix/match.) So I also thought that was a bit weird. I noticed them sitting other people at different tables that were able to order the exact things they wanted when we first arrived, so I think part of it was we just had a horrible waitress to begin with. Also, those fondue pots are NOT for short people! I could hardly reach the thing to dip my food into the sauce without being burned, even with the long fork. (I think part of it may have been that were at a table that was in a weird corner booth, but it was still pretty awkward!) I think Renae and I will stick to normal restaurants next time we're out, and we'll and leave the fondue for a girls night in when we cook it ourselves! Oh well, live and learn!

Renae and I still had a good time though, and took a few pictures while we were there. :)

The Script - If You Ever Come Back