some stuff and some grrrrs

• My friend, Emily, came up for the weekend and we spent most of the time up in Jackson, seeing as how there's pretty much nothing to do where I live. Jackson was fun, though. We ate some good food and did some good shopping. At one store we did both. There's this cool new place called Vom Fass that sells flavored vinegars, oils, and spices. Jars with spigots line the walls, and you can taste whatever you want in cute little miniature Asian soup spoons. I bought several vinegars and have spent the last couple days dipping lettuce leaves in vinegar. It makes me feel very cool to have specialty vinegars. It's the little things.
• I just colored my hair again. The color I used is Chocolate Cherry, which sounds like an African-American-themed porn to me. Bow chicka bow wow!
  
• I'm getting a little tired of picking up extra shifts at work. I had a date tentatively lined up for Saturday, but because we are neverendingly short staffed, guess who has to work on Saturday! My boss keeps saying we have to make do until we can find a new employee. I didn't realize that making do was secret code for "You are a peon and as such, you have to work everything that no one else will work, which, by the way, is everything involving a weekend. So pretty much say good-bye to any little shred of hope you had left of having a social life." At least I'm the lead peon, though, right?!? I can't decide if that makes it better or worse. Oh, and all of those people in my company who complain all the time about wanting extra hours, but then will never work extra hours if it's a weekend, are little bitches. (I would apologize for the unladylike language, but I feel no remorse whatsoever.)
  
• I'm off the meat again. I am now taking spirulina for protein. It's algae and it's 60-70% protein, verses the 22% protein content in meat. It comes in powder form and is a gorgeous dark green color. Unfortunately it smells like pond scum. Fortunately, it doesn't taste like pond scum if you add it to carrot juice or Vitamin Water. Unfortunately, it does taste like pond scum if you burp within a couple hours of drinking it.
• I swore I would never be the kind of person that wears Uggs. They're far too trendy and really, they're pretty unattractive. I've been sucked into their web of fugly comfiness, though, and they're all I wear now. My reasoning for succumbing is threefold: 1. They're really comfy, obvs. 2. They're really warm, which is of the utmost importance, here in the frozen tundra of Wyoming. 3. If I wear them under my pant legs instead of having the pants tucked into them, then you can't really see them. Oh wait, there are actually four reasons: 4. As long as I don't wear them with cut-off jean shorts to the gas station to buy Cheetos (with my nasty weave showing, btw), then I feel as though I'm rocking a much classier Ugg-look than Britney Spears, which is who I think of when I think of Uggs.
• I got an AeroGarden for Christmas. I like it a lot. I want like five more of them with which to grow other things since the growing season in Wyoming is about 3 days long.

what I've been up to

Um . . . not much. Here are some tidbits; some exciting, most not:

• We're doing a Thanksgiving dinner this weekend for the clients and their families. And when I say "we're doing a Thanksgiving dinner," I mean I'm coming in on my day off and will probably end up cooking most of it.
• The weather here has been crazy. Yesterday morning, I was awoken at 6:30 am by what sounded like someone in my attic. Turns out it was super windy and really warm (relatively speaking), so the snow was sliding off the roof. Then, like two hours later, there were blizzard-like conditions. You could only see a couple feet in front of you. Then it got warm again and most of the snow melted. Then it got super cold and all my car doors and windows froze shut.
• I just read sTORI Telling by Tori Spelling and it was so enjoyable that I read it in one evening whilst ignoring my clients.
• Did you guys watch the Sarah Palin Alaska extravaganza on TLC last Sunday? What were your thoughts? I liked it, other than the fact that I felt like she was turning every single thing she said into a sound bite. Like the part when she was talking about the mama bear fighting for the future generation, or whatever. I think I would have liked the show better if it had just been about Alaska, and not the Palins. :)
• I'm going to Ireland (and possibly England) next summer. I'm more excited for this trip than any other trip I've been on.
  
• I have become obsessed with cereal. It is delicious.
• I had an Aha Moment the other day when watching Oprah. It was the reunion show with the cast of The Color Purple, and as I was watching it I realized that my favorite color is purple and I was like holy crap! O.k., I didn't say it was a good Aha Moment, just that it was one!
• Have you tried the new Suave Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner? It's amazing. It was on sale at Smith's the other day for $1.33 and I bought like twelve of them. (In case you were wondering, no, we don't have a Smith's here. I got them when I was in Idaho Falls, which is possibly my least favorite city on earth.)
  

some stuff

• 27 days from now I will be on my way to Georgia.
• I'm still obsessed with Veronica Mars and still plan on telling you exactly why you should watch this show. In the meantime, I am getting people hooked on it one person at a time.
  
• In the case of my sister in-law, I'm getting her hooked, then taking the DVD's with me when I return to Utah. Sorry about that and I hope you found them at the library.
• I have discovered the joys of Luxe Lavender nail polish.
• I have also discovered the joys of coconut M&M's. In addition to being delicious, they also have a lovely color scheme of brown, green and white. They make me want to decorate something in those colors.
• Some friends are throwing a going away party for me and I am extremely concerned that no one is going to show up.
• Did you hear about the two-legged lamb?
• I'm sad that I only get to hang out with my co-workers (the ones that don't irritate me) for a few more weeks.
  
• "Cold Hearted Snake" by Paula Abdul is playing in my iTunes. I love shuffle.
• I just bought this and this.
• I'm selling my freezer. It's a 21.1 cubic feet Gibson. Any takers?
• I'm also willing to sell just about anything I own because I don't want to haul it with me across the country. Email me if you want something, anything.
• It has been brought to my attention that no one has heard of any of my songs of the day, except for when I'm all excited about discovering a new song that everyone else has apparently already heard and loved. Sorry about that. It's because I choose to educate myself musically instead of allowing myself to be force fed music by the radio stations. No, not really. I just hate having to switch stations all the time to avoid listening to commercials. So basically, it's because I'm lazy and would rather just push play on my iPod.
  

stuff I'm enjoying at the moment

The soundtrack to Spring Awakening. So good.












Whale Wars



"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright




any book by Susan Jane Gilman


baby bok choy



eos smooth sphere in sweet mint

miracle workers

Here's what I bought to tame the humidity-induced frizzies while I was in Georgia:

Garnier Fructis Style Sleek and Shine Anti-Humidity Hairspray

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Weather Works Weather-Proofing Style Sealant Creme (that's a mouthful!!!)


These products were miracle workers. I highly recommend them if you're going anywhere that's humid. I only wish I had found them earlier than our last day in Georgia.

Georgia Day 2

Yesterday we all went to get our nails did and . . . AND . . . I got my very first pedicure! I know, you would think that with my obsession with all things beauty related, this would have happened a long time ago. I now plan on making this a regular occurrence. Well, as regular as my budget will allow.

Later we did the wedding rehearsal and I'm happy to report that my whole lighting the memory candle thing is not quite as scary as I had thought, and fortunately, there will be someone there to supervise all flame-related activities, so if I do manage to burn down the church, it won't be solely my fault. After the rehearsal, we went to the rehearsal dinner out at Jon's (Erin's fiance) property. They had it catered by The Varsity and it was delicious. I've gone off of my vegan healthy lifestyle for the weekend because really, I don't think it's possible to be vegan in the south. Or at least it isn't if you're just visiting and aren't cooking for yourself. Anyway, at the rehearsal dinner I had chili dogs and onion rings. Best chili dogs and onion rings ever. During the dinner I hung out with my cousin, Jenny, who I don't think I had ever really talked to much before. Erin and Lindsay are more my age, so I've always hung out with them. It was nice to visit with Jenny and get to know her a little bit better.

After the dinner I went with Erin, Lindsay and several of her friends to a hotel bar for drinks, then we went back to the hotel room and hung out for a little while. It's been nice getting to know some of Erin's friends. I always see their names on email forwards and their pictures on Facebook, so I was excited to get to actually meet them.

Being here has actually made me think about moving down here. I have this itch to do something and move somewhere when I'm done with school in August. I think the only thing stopping me would be having to find new products for the whole hair/humidity issue. Well, that and finding a job and a place to live, I guess. We'll see what happens. I do really like it down here. Maybe I'll do it for like a year and just see how things go.

Best news ever!

My prayers have been answered! A Sephora will be opening at the Fashion Place mall in June!!! No more having to wait until I go to Vegas! A little danger warning is going off in the recesses of my mind. I have a feeling this could be a slightly bad thing for my bank account. Maybe I'll have to get a part-time job there, just so I can get a discount.

Do I smell funny?

I read somewhere that you can wash and condition your hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, so I've been doing that the last couple days. I'm a little concerned that I smell funny though. You dilute them, so it's not like I'm putting straight vinegar on my hair or anything, but I'm still a little paranoid. Has anyone else tried this?

If you're wondering, you combine a tablespoon of baking soda with a cup of water for the shampoo and the same measurements of vinegar and water for your conditioner. I just put them in empty shampoo and conditioner bottles and kind of sprinkle it on. It works better than I thought it would and I'm pretty sure you can't get any cheaper.

cheap makeup finds

I've tried tons of mascaras from Dior to that new vibrating mascara (a very odd sensation, BTW) to the tried and true Great Lash mascara. I have to say, though, that I'm really liking this NYC Thickening Mascara and bonus! it's less than two bucks. I think I got it at Target for like $1.79. So if you're looking for a new mascara or, if you're poor like me, I highly recommend this stuff. It goes on clump free, doesn't flake, and pretty much just all around rocks.



I also really like this e.l.f. Plumping Lip Glaze. The color I have isn't sold anymore, which really sucks because it's the perfect nude shade. It doesn't come with a ton of product, and it's kind of hard to get out (maybe that's just me), but the one dollar price tag more than makes up for that. I got mine at KMart, but this brand is also sold at Big Lots.

I have several of their other products that I'm still testing out. They have another lip goop that's a knock-off of my favorite Stila lip gloss, but I don't like it as much. I'll discuss it later when I talk about cheap products that didn't work so well.

Olay Definity Pore Redefining Scrub

The other day my mom kindly commented that I needed some pore minimizer. I, of course, responded with "Yeah, well you need a wrinkle reducer." I did some research, checked out what Sephora had, but couldn't settle on anything that I felt good about spending a lot of (my mom's) money on. Then my mom gave me this stuff. I love it. I noticed a difference after a couple days of using it. And it's 10ish dollars (even cheaper on sale!), compared to the 40 dollar stuff I was debating purchasing. If you have pore issues, I would highly recommend that you get yourself some of this.


Also, since I'm so poor and can only manipulate my mom into buying me so many things, I'm trying to find cheap substitutes for my normal products. I've already found a 2 dollar mascara that I like just as much as the 30 or even 12 dollar stuff, so be watching for that.

some good news

There is still justice in this world.

my new favorite thing

I love this thing. I would marry it if I could. It's Tarte's Eye Couture Day-to-Night Eye Palette. It has ten eyeshadows that are unbelievably pigmented. It may not surprise you to learn that I own a plethora of eyeshadows, and I can definitively say that these have the best color I've ever seen. Because they're highly pigmented, a little goes a long way (thus justifying the price). My only complaint is that they're all shimmers-no mattes. The palette also includes a double ended eyeliner (bronze and charcoal-both of which look awesome) that stays on like nothing else I've ever tried. It also includes a double ended brush that somehow works magic. It blends like it's nobody's business.
Tarte has a couple other palettes like this one that I'm going to need to possess.

Gorgeousness

I've been trying to look a little less scummy lately, but since I'm beautificationally challenged, I've had to watch videos on YouTube to show me how to do my hair and make-up. I know, I'm lame, but I don't have a big sister to show me how to do this crap. The best I could ever manage was in sixth grade when I would wear a ponytail and slap a giant bow on it. And when I say giant, I'm talking like half the size of my head. I remember my BFF at the time, Brittinee, also had an affinity for large hairbows and she actually had a bow that was made of some kind of mesh and it had little multi-colored balls inside that shook around when you moved. I was beyond jealous. Those were the days. But anyway, back to the videos. I found a great channel on YouTube called PurseBuzz. There's also a website. Here are some of my favorite videos:

• How to thread your eyebrows. This is addictive. I love it.
• How to do milkmaid braids, part 1 and part 2. I haven't quite mastered this enough to wear it out in public yet, but it's pretty cool looking.
• Cute waves.
• Purple eyeshadow. Not scary like it sounds-I wear purple eyeshadow all the time because it goes really well with my green eyes.

Those are just a few of the many, many videos on this channel. I also subscribe to the blog Bellasugar, which is where I found this cute hairstyle. I did this yesterday and got tons of compliments. Well, o.k., not really, but it did make me feel extra confident. :)

The fam is back!

My parents and brother got back from Spain last week. They had been running BYU's Study Abroad program in Madrid (Mark was actually there as a student) and had been gone since the end of December. I never really talked about this on my blog because I'm a baby and didn't want just anyone who might happen to read this to know that my roommate and I were alone in the house for four months.

While my family was gone, Lorri (the roommate) and I did some redecorating around the house. I have pictures, but they're on a different computer, so you'll get 'em when you get 'em.

As soon as the fam got back, we went to Vegas to see the nieces/grandkids (and their parents, but that's not what matters). It wouldn't be a trip to Vegas without gracing Sephora with my presence. Don't laugh, but I bought this:

It's a mini heated eyelash curler. I love it. If I get around to it, I'll post before and after pics because I know you're that interested.

Ch-check it out!

I got a haircut over the weekend and for the first time since about 1991, I have bangs! O.k., admittedly they're longer, swoopy bangs that may not fully count as bangs, but still. This is the most bangs I have had in the last 18ish years, so they must count for something.

And I'm sorry I cut the top of my head off so you can't get the full effect. It was the best I could do. And hey, look at that! There's my super cute, new purse sitting on the table behind me.

new must-have product

Perhaps I'm behind the times (as in a couple thousand years), or just too much of a snob to use something not from Sephora, but I have just discovered that you can use olive oil as a deep conditioner for your hair. Some cute little co-eds were talking about it in one of my classes today, so I rushed right home to try it out. Because only the best is good enough for my hair (and because it's all we had in the house), I used extra-virgin olive oil, or as Satan's Spawn calls it, EVOO. I'm sure you could use the cheaper kind if you wanted. You basically just slop some of it on your hair while it's dry (I used like 1/3 of a cup), then either put a shower cap on and sit under a dryer cap thingy (because we all have one of those at home, right?), or do what I did, and clip your hair up out of the way, and take a long, hot shower. The steam will help the oily, juiciness work its magic better. After you've let it sit on your hair for a while, you just shampoo it out. You have to shampoo a couple times, though, to get it all out. Also, this was kind of fun and it may have just been my imagination, but I swear to you the oil made my shampoo like fifty times foamier. So while you're shampooing, feel free to make shampoo mohawks and assorted fun shapes with the extra foam. Or not, if you prefer to act like an adult. Oh, and another sidenote, the oil will make the floor very slippy. Fortunately I was in a shower stall and you can only do the splits so far in a shower stall. I'm sure if I had been in an actual bathtub, bad things would have happened. So please, be careful! Obviously, after you shampoo, there is no need to condition as that's kinda the point of the oil. I am happy to report that my hair does appear to be much more shiny and healthy looking AND this was accomplished with stuff out of my parent's kitchen cupboard, so it was totally free (for me).

Possibly sacreligious afterthought: Ladies, I think we need to push for our own keychain oil vials, but for haircare instead of anointing purposes.

Some stuff

• Went to lunch with Ashlee today at the Brick Oven. I forgot about that place. I used to live across the street from it and went there a lot. It was delicious, especially the apple beer.
• Been listening to the new NKOTB album. MUCH more adult than 15 years ago. I like it. A lot.
• This stuff is magic. Really, it is. I'm pretty sure they make it with the dust of fairy wings and a drop of unicorn tears to really give it staying power. You must have it. For reals.

• Going to Wyoming for Thanksgiving. I can't wait to get out of Utah. No offense, Utahns, but it's better for all of us if I leave the state every once in a while. I think everyone is much safer that way. My guess is most of you feel the same way.
  
• I am now the proud owner of an original Nintendo, along with the first and greatest Mario Bros. and Zelda. You should probably come over and play Nintendo with me. One of the best things about it is the simplified controller. I can't play any of these new game systems because there are too many buttons and crap for my elderly mind.

new favorite perfume

Lorri has been telling me for months that I have to smell Bobbi Brown's "Beach" perfume. Actually, the first time she told me this I thought she was talking about Bobby Brown, and I asked her if it smelled like crack. Anyway, I finally smelled it and at first I didn't like it, but then I let it settle and completely fell in love with it. I now have to spray myself every time I go by the bathroom. As I mentioned in my last post, I have found ways to get people to buy me things, and this was one of those things last week. Just remember, it's this:


Not this: