I want to lose 25% of myself

To myself in 6 months,

I promise to work hard. I promise to put good stuff into you. I promise that the creaking and pain will slowly go away and I promise that we can do this. It will hurt, it will suck and it will be hard but dammit, it will be worth it. When you look down and see that beautiful ink and are proud to show it off, that will be your reward. 

You can do this. You are strong and You can fight through the pain.

Love Me.



Today is a hard day. It is the day that I finally get off my ass and commit to lose it. I do not have any more excuses and reason why I cannot do it. All I have is my own fear, my own insecurities and my own self destruction keeping it from happening. I may feel beautiful some times right now but I need to imagine and hold on to how happy I will be when I can run a mile in 9 minutes and when I can fit into clothing from all the expensive brands I love. I need to remind myself of how beautiful the pawn belt tattoo will look across my stomach and hips and how utterly amazing the marigolds, peonies and other flowers will look scattered around my body.

Starting tonight I will be going to my local recreation center and spending enough time to totally kick my ass on the cardio machines. It may start out as 5 minutes but dammit, tomorrow I will make it to 6 and then Wednesday I will make it to 7.

I know I will have days where everything seems easy and that I can keep this up forever but I also know I will have days where the thought of watching what I eat will suck and the thought of working out one more time will make me cringe but I promise myself that I will shake those bad days off and will climb back on the machine the next day. If I eat something horrible for me I will not give up hope and take another swan dive off the healthy wagon. I will just admit that I am human and will do better the next day. I will not deprive myself so much that this is yet another failed attempt and rapid weight loss.

I only have to push it until it is a habit. I can do this one day at a time. I can lose 2-3# a week for the first 8 then 1-2# a week for the rest of the week.

It really is UnReal - Unreal Candy Review

So as many of you know, I participate in BzzAgent campaigns from time to time and the one I am in now is for a new candy called Unreal. It is a wonderful new product makes extra care to not have any of those nasty chemicals and no hydrogenated oils and no corn syrups. The candy is also gluten free for those of you with allergies/Celiac.

The only downside is if you are allergic to nuts, most, if not all, come with  "Shared equipment" or "contains tree/peanuts." so watch out for that!

That being said those in my house and my family LOVE the candy. They say it is really yummy and does not taste "earthy" or "hippy." I love the funky names (Un 54 is my favorite) and the fact the company is making just a small number of really good items instead of a lot of just ok candies.

Review of Covergirl+Olay make-up

After receiving my (free) sample from BzzAgent I worked this wonderful make up into my daily routine. The first thing I noticed was its sweet smell and super silky texture. The second thing was the generous pump size each "squirt" gave me made it easy to cover my whole face in one pump which not only keeps things cleaner but the bottle being sealed keeps your make-up usable for much longer.
Over the past few weeks I have noticed a change in not only how moisturized my skin is but have seen some acne scars fading as well as some of the crepe"y' texture on my eyelids becoming smoother.

The pressed powder is what gives this whole line a 4 star instead of 5. It is a little too light for me since I would like to be able to use it in lieu of the liquid on  "good skin" days and it just did not allow for build-able coverage. Overall, it is great as a setting power but I would not use it as a touch-up powder due to a bit of cakey-ness that the mix of shine and the powder create.

Overall I really liked the liquid make up and it will get a place in my daily routine but the powder is  not a must have for me.

Pets owners beware

DO NOT ALLOW YOUR DOG TO PLAY WITH CHILDREN'S STUFFED TOYS! (Permisson to cross post given on ShowPemL where this was posted today) .....A veterinarian was talking about a case she had this week. The dog ate a child's teddy bear and was very sick. When she opened the dog up to remove what she thought was an intestinal obstruction she fou nd a huge gelatin type mess inside and the dogs intestines were black and the tissue dead. The dog will die no surgery can fix him up there was no living intestine left from stomach to colon. This was not an obstruction. .... so she called the manufacturer of the Teddy Bear on a quest to find out what the gel was and what killed the dog. Turns out the stuffing in children's toys contains ingredients for flame retardants and mite control! It is designed to be come a gel. It is highly toxic. Now you would think a child's toy would be safe because it is for children, but they don't expect a child to eat the stuffing of the toys...hummmm that seems a bit scary too. But we all know dogs demolish stuffed toys. So do not give or buy your dog any children's stuffed animals... some people get them at goodwill etc. The vet will be posting a warning and story and I will send any other facts as needed and as I learn more. Maybe some children's toys do not have this ingredient, but better to be safe then sorry. So meanwhile, make sure all your dog toys are for dogs. Please pass this on... it is a horrible death she described and one that can be avoided.

NOTD - Monday 8/27

Top color is "Want My Bawdy" by China Glaze and the bottom color is "Plum Startled" by Finger Paints.

Sally Beauty Haul

I to my local Sally beauty yesterday looking for the new China Glaze Bohemian luster polishes. Even though they did not have the color I was looking for (Want My Bawdy) I found two lovely colors in the clearance bin which just happened to be be 50% off of the red sticker price.  I got a really pretty metallic dark bronze by Orly called "Buried Alive" and a shiny copper by China Glaze called Harvest Moon. I also picked up (the full price) FingerPaints shiny purple "Plum Startled" which is from their Fall line. 











From left to right Plum Started, Buried Alive and Harvest Moon


All three colors are beautiful but my favorite is Plum Startled which comes out as a shiny purple with lots of metallic flake. 
I am hoping to find Want My Bawdy at a different Sally location on Sunday.  I am utterly in love with the current trend of deep, lustrous duo-chrome colors. 

Sorry it has been so long...

With so much happening in my market garden in the past month I have had almost no time to update my little ol blog here.

The good - I have had a massive crop of lemon cucumbers and 5 different types of peppers. I have everything from long sweet Italian peppers to tiny (and HOT) habenaros.

The bad - My tomatoes are not doing so well. Between the too cool nights and a nasty case of tomato blight I have not been able to take many to market but the good part is I get to eat (and can) all the ones that remain edible.

The pretty - I have received the new 2012 MASH set of nail stampers and have been changing my nail polish daily to try them all out. Some of the images ROCK and some just suck ass and are not engraved deep enough. I will post pictures when I get a manicure I love. Until then here is a favorite recent manicure I did

The Fun - I have been enjoying my weekly dates with a wonderful Lady and her utterly adorable son. I am pretty sure my nail polish obsession makes her eyes roll but that is fine by me, I won't have to share!

The shopping - CVS has an amazing sale through 7/25 on all Revlon products. You can get 3$ in CVS bucks for each item you purchase and all of their nail polishes are on sale for 4.99. That means you can get their amazing colorstay base and top coats for 1.99$ each after all discounts applied. I am going to hit CVS up as well as Sally Beauty for the new China Glaze Luster Chrome set. The China Glaze is limited addition so pic up one of these amazing colors before they are gone.

The BZZ - I am eagerly awaiting my Unreal Candy from BzzAgent. I cannot wait to try something that is not $$$$ and does not have all those nasty chemicals in it.

My first BzzAgent Campaign!!!!

I am totally excited to start my first campaign. I get to try a product I have been rather curious about since I first saw it. It is for the new Covergirl/Olay foundation and pressed powders. I cannot wait to see how it helps even out my tone and gets rid of those stubborn dark spots that even the Clinique Even Better did not get rid of.

I will be back to update you once I receive the product and have given it a fair trial period.

Shear Coverage Concealer

My favorite thing out of this box was the Shear Coverage Concealer. It is a light and creamy formula that has two colors in one small and functional package. I love how well it goes on and how well you can build your coverage with it. I love it so much that it has replaced my MAC concealer in my every day routine.


Below is a quick blurb from their website....

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer

Sheer Cover® Concealer is perfect for all skin types and tones.  Our concealer is a customer favorite offering a custom blend for the various shades on your face and covers up imperfections.  It not only covers up the look of dark circles, blemishes, redness and age spots, it also moisturizes with Jojoba and Allantoin.

It instantly conceals blemishes, dark spots, hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone – we’ve got life’s little imperfections covered!

KEY BENEFITS:
Instantly covers skin imperfections for a flawless, natural look
Variable coverage – sheer and creamy perfect for under eye circles or more opaque for blemishes, dark spots and hyperpigmentation
Easy application  – glides on, won’t pull or tug at fragile skin
Enriched with natural, moisturizing Jojoba to help nourish and restore the skins’ natural moisture balance
Allantoin helps calm and soothe sensitive, irritated skin
Provides antioxidant protection from free-radical scavengers
Dermatologist-tested
 

Influenster - The Beauty VoxBox

What is a VoxBox you say? Well it is one of the most coveted sample boxes out there. It comes from a great review site Influenster.com and is sent out to certain people selected for each type of box. Each VoxBox has a theme such as Beauty, Love, or Mom and comes with free samples, which are often full sized or half sized, from a variety of products. These are 100% free and all that is asked is that you will fairly review each product and answer an in-depth survey.

I was lucky enough to be selected for the recent Beauty VoxBox and got a lovely selection of items to try. Some I loved and some I truly loathed. In my next few posts I will go over each item and what I liked and what i did not like.

Welcome and come on in......

Welcome to the world of a nail polish addict, a make up junkie and a total label whore. After a lot of time, thought and badgering from friends I have decided to share my nail art, my weird makeup tips and let the whole world take a peak at my insane life. 


About me - I am 29.2 and live on my own 22 acre slice of heaven. I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and spend most of my time working outside or pursuing some artistic endeavor. I love color and playing with texture and creating something new and unusual. Flowers are a huge inspiration and are a main theme in a lot of the work I do.


Currently I get a handful of special boxes with free (or small $) and will spend a bit of time each month reviewing and showing what I got. Heck, one day I may even be brave enough to do all this on video but don't hold your breath, I am highly un-photogenic.