2014BloggerChallenge | New Beginnings

The past couple of weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me.  Mostly in that I still feel 'stuck' in life and how badly I wanted to move out.  I found it rather odd that I still feel 'stuck' even after taking the risk and getting a new job and I'm wondering if it's because I want a completely new environment in a new city (possibly in another state), where I really could have a 'new beginning'.

When I start feeling this way, I tend to go through my things and purge stuff out.  The last time, I went through my bath, makeup, and nail polish collection and cleaned out anything old or gave away things that weren't getting enough love.  This time around, it's clothes and accessories. I thought it was appropriate to tackle this section since I've been needing to update my wardrobe - not only do I need more clothes for work (I think I've been coordinating looks with the same 10 pieces), but I really want to start dressing up on my days off instead of just throwing on some pants and a shirt. 

However, if I want to make room for new stuff, I need to get rid of some things I already have.  Even though I find going through and choosing stuff to donate or throw away rather therapeutic, I tend to drag it out and hold off on doing it.  I'm very guilty of connecting 'things' with memories and feel reluctant to part with it (or feeling guilty if it was a gift).  It's something I really need to work, because it really is just stuff that (for the most part) is easily replaced and there are more important things in life than owning as much as you can.

2014BloggerChallenge | B Movies

Even having a whole month to write this post, I'm still waiting last minute to tackle the latest topic of the #2014Blogger Challenge (which is about movies).  I love going to the movie theatres, and I'm all about action, science fiction, and horror (I also love fantasy, but that seems to be a genre that doesn't seem to get a lot of love at the moment).  I also really enjoy bad movies: the so-bad-it's-good, why-are-we-even-watching-this kind of film. 

Growing up, I loved staying up late on Friday or Saturday nights to watch the old horror or science fiction movies that would play on AMC.  Before today's trend of almost showing only slasher films, Halloween was always the best time because they would show a lot of the classic monster movies (The Wolf Man is probably my favorite classic).  My appreciation for B movies was also cultivated by watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 - it also cultivated the joy of making commentary when watching B movies.

The SyFy channel (or back when it was better spelled SciFi) shows quite a lot of made for TV B movies. It's always funny to see the commercials for the newest Saturday night movie that will be shown, whether it's a disaster film or a monster/creature movie. And bad monster movies have become an art form for the channel. Some (or a lot) of people may scoff and make fun of movies like Snakes on a Plane or lower quality films like Sharknado, but movies aren't always about making a deep moral point or to make you think about the big questions.  Sometimes, you just want to watch something mindless that can make you laugh - whether from ridiculous plot points, bad acting/animation, or being really happy when the character you hate bites it.

Are there any 'quality' films that you get a laugh out of?

Topic #13: Summer To-Do List

I was bad and didn't complete topic #12 for the #2014BC, but I couldn't make anything I wrote sound right. This was a fun topic to think about - I tend to not do much during the summer, and it's a bit difficult to plan something when I've started a new job. But, here's what I'd like to get around to doing this summer

Go back to EXP - I really loved this restaurant. I want all my friends to try it out.

Go to another derby meet - I really enjoyed my first time and would like to see another.

To not spend all my money on eating out for lunch - Not really a to-do, but something I really need to keep in mind. I now have an hour lunch break, which makes it easier to actually go somewhere to sit down and eat. There are also food trucks that park in the parking lot next door, and I love food trucks.

Visit my sister in Portland - My sister just got her own place, and while she's coming home to visit, I'd love to go back down to do some more exploring.

Sort Through Stuff - The more I think about it, the more I really grow attach to the idea of moving down to LA.  However, I really need to go through my things and decide what I really need or want.  It's something I've been putting off for a while, but needs to be done.

I'm hoping that I get a weekend day off so I could plan something with friends, but since I'm one of the new kids, I'll be working the weekends for the most part.  I'm really very sad that I wasn't able to visit my friend in California this weekend as originally planned, but I didn't think it would be smart to ask for time off so soon after getting hired.  I was really looking forward to the Moon Crisis art show and very sad about missing Anime Expo.  What do you guys plan on doing this summer?

Topic #11: Collections - Sihaya Designs Jewelry

So collections was our next topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge.  I love to collecting a various number of things, but I thought I would share my Sihaya Designs collection.  Sihaya Designs is handmade artisan jewelry by Christina Allen Page which I found through the BPAL forums.  I've been buying pieces since 2010, and it's always exciting when she updates her Etsy store. 


My collection

Topic #10: Hair - Bar Shampoo

I was a bit stumped on what I was going to talk about when I read that the next topic for #2014BC was going to be on hair.  I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.  It's rather fine (which I love) but I'm hopeless when it comes to styling.  I love curls but unless it's a perm, curls don't last very long.  I let my hair air dry and almost never use styling products.  So I thought I would talk about the current shampoo and conditioner that I'm using.

In January, I bought a couple of of bar shampoo and conditioner from Basin White during my Disney trip.  I've been a fan of bar shampoo since trying Lush's Jumping Juniper bar shampoo but since I was almost finished with the current bar I had, I thought I'd try something new.  I got the bars in Iced Cherries and Oatmeal Honey.

Topic #9: Music - Opening Themes

Getting back on track with the #2014BloggerChallenge.  I missed the last one due to being way to stressed from work to really put energy into it. However, I'm determined that that will be the only one that gets skipped.  I also love that music is the latest topic.  Since Sakura-Con has inspired me to get back into watching anime again, I though I would share some of my favorite opening theme songs.  Opening and closing themes are a great way to discover new artists and what really got me into jpop and jrock.

First song is [crossing field] by LISA, the first opening to Sword Art Online.  I just marathoned all 25 episodes of the series in two days and plan on ordering the first volume of the light novel.  I discovered the show thanks to an AMV shown at the contest at con, and would highly recommend it (though I personally enjoy the first half of the series more than the second).

Next is Connect by ClariS for the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica.  Another series I marathoned after watching the first couple of episodes with a friend; a really fantastic, darker take on the magical girl genre. All of the music in the show is great and I would love to get my hands on the OST. You also should definitely check out Magia by Kalafina, one of the shows closing themes. Sorry for no video, couldn't find one that I liked.

One of my favorite openings for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is Again by YUI.  I first learned about her from her song Rolling Star that was used as an opening for Bleach.  She's currently still on hiatus, so there's been nothing new from her in over a year, but a good singer to check out.

So, there's a very small selection of some great songs that came to mind.  Generally, the longer the anime, the more opening and closing themes there are. Opening themes also tend to be more energetic than the closing themes.  If you have any suggestions on anime I need to check out, please let me know! I'm fairly behind on the newer stuff that has come out in past the past couple of years.

Topic #7: Photo Challenge - Day Off

Our next topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge was a photo challenge, a 'Day/Week in Photos' kind of deal.  Nothing really exciting has been happening, and I got sick at the beginning of last week, so I wasn't too enthusiastic about blogging (and I was doing so good at posting stuff).  So, I just decided to detail what I did yesterday on my day off. My days off of work tend to be all about being lazy, but still try to accomplish small things.

I try not to sleep in too late on my days off so my schedule isn't completely thrown off since I get up at 4 the rest of the week.  So I usually set my alarm for 7 but always seem to actually really wake up around 10.  First thing I do is wash my face, followed by eating breakfast if I feel like it.

Current morning skincare products

Topic #5: Nails - My Favs

Really late with this post - rough two weeks at work which left me not so motivated to write.  But here we have the next topic for the #2014BloggerChallenge: nails.  I used to bite my nails all the time, at times to the point where I was bleeding.  I started to make a real effort to stop around high school and when I started going to college, I began to paint my nails on a regular basis.  This really helped me get over the nail biting habit.  In the span of a couple of years, my collection of polish grew from 10 to over 200 bottles.  However, my 'obsession' has died down which does help my wallet and while I have still have a long wishlist of the polishes I want to buy, most are on the pricier side of the spectrum and those purchases need to be planned out.

But today, I thought I would so you some of my favorite polishes that I have in my collection. It's a bit random but these would be counted in my top choices.

 CND Stickey base coat.  This has been my go-to base coat for years now.  The brush isn't the best but I can deal with it.  I really believe that the tacky finish it has does help the staying power of my manicures.

Topic #4: High End vs High Street

As much as I enjoy reading reviews and looking up swatches of various high end brands, I'm always wary of buying it.  I hardly ever go to makeup counters (a lot of sales associates that man the counters that I've been to tend to be a bit too aggressive in their pitch to make me buy something and can get rather offended if I don't).  My first experience with brands that weren't drugstore was during my first trip to Sephora; Urban Decay really caught my eye, but I also really liked Benefit and Stila.  UD is still a top favorite while I've drifted away from the other two. I know some consider these high end brands, but I tend to view them (and a lot of brands available at Sephora) as being in the middle: quite a bit more expensive than drugstore, but something I'm comfortable with spending.

However, I still would love to start owning more high end makeup. I tend to follow Lancome and Guerlain releases more than others (and are the brands that I actually own pieces from), but Chanel and Dior have a few items that I love to try.  Here are the two high end products I do have:

Lancome Color Design palette in Teal Fury. I'd been eyeing the palettes for a while and wanted one of the more colorful ones as I have plenty of palettes with a neutral focus. Overall, I think it's really nice.  The lid and highlight colors are very pretty; the majority of the shadows are very smooth and not that difficult to work with (for more color payoff, I use my fingers to apply the lid color).  The only problem shadow is the the crease shade for the fact that I hardly get anything on the brush and I feel that I need to apply quite a bit of it to have any impact.

Topic #3: Once Upon a Time...

So for the third topic we were tasked with writing about a book.  I tend to read series more often than stand alone books, so I thought I would talk about the current series that I've been reading: The Last Apprentice (or the Wardstone Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney .

I got into the series because the movie Seventh Son is loosely based on it and wanted to get some background knowledge of it. After reading the first book and comparing it to the movie trailer, it's already going to be a vast different story I think. This young adult dark fantasy series is about Tom Ward (who is the seventh son of a seventh son) and his apprenticeship to Master Gregory to become a Spook, someone who goes about dealing with 'the dark' in the County.  There is a total of 13 books in the series (I'm currently on book 5), with a few additional books that expand on the world.

(Everything else under a cut, because this could be taken as being a bit spoilery)

Topic #2: Skincare

Today I have the second topic of the #2014BloggerChallenge which was skincare.  This is going up a little late as I was gone on vacation this past week and didn't really have much access to internet while I was gone.  It was a family trip to Disney World and very enjoyable but my skin is hating me right now.  Between getting a little sunburned, not having all of my skincare items, and how hard the water was, my skin is feeling really coarse and dry and needs some serious TLC.

But to start, here's a rundown of my current night routine:

On the days I wear makeup, I first use the Neutragena make up remover wipes. Out of all the makeup wipes I've used, these are the best.  I then follow this by using Villainess Datura Slick, which is an oil cleanser good for removing eye makeup and helping with congested skin (this was the main cleanser I used on my trip as I could not find my travel size bottles to bring my usual cleanser).

During my shower I wash my face using The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam in Acerola. I also have the same cleanser in lemon waiting to be tried.  My toner is Etude House Skin [Mal:Gem] Smoother.  I finally used up all my moisturizer samples that I have and recently bought Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. This I took with me on the trip, which on top of not having my cleanser and toner was probably not a great choice.  I don't think it's moisturizing enough for my skin but I have to wait to decide that once I incorporate with my full skincare routine.

I exfoliate twice a week using The Face Shop Smart Peeling White Jewel Peeling.  Using exfoliators that beed up are the most gentle on my sensitive skin.  When I want to pamper my skin a bit, I use a sheet mask (my current stash is all from The Face Shop).

Since my skin is not in the greatest condition right now, I thought it would be appropriate to share my bad habits in regards to skincare.

• I tend to not wash my face in the morning on the days that I work. My shift usually starts at 5:30 in the morning, so I tend to stay in bed til the last possible moment before getting dress and leaving.  So usually, I only wash my face once a day.
• This is more make up related but it does impact my skin - I'm awful at cleaning my brushes (which seems to be a pretty common vice).  I really should probably wash my brushes once a week or even every other week, so less bacteria grows and probably transfers to my face.
• I think I tend to overestimate how oily my skin is. I know I have combination but am always hesitant on a heavy moisturizer even though it helps the dry skin I do have immensely.
• I am willing and happy to buy a lot of new skincare products all at once.  I sometimes can get a little carried away with trying multiple new products at a time, being too impatient to wait to ease them in my routine to make sure I don't have any bad reactions.

I could probably go on about this topic but I think I'll stop here.  Just saw the third topic which ties in nicely with another post I was planning on doing.  But for today I'm going to just read and catch up with everything while I was gone. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

New Years Inspiration

Happy New Year, everyone!!  For my first post of 2014, I'll be tackling the first topic of the #2014BloggerChallenge.  The Challenge has over 400 participants so it'll be fun to see everyone's take on everything.  The first topic is to share a quote or picture that inspires us and what could inspire others in the New Year.

When I got the e-mail telling us what the topic was, I immediately knew what I was choosing.  I saw it a few weeks ago on tumblr and it really got my attention.

I really need to keep this in mind this year.  I want to make some big changes but I always think of everything that could possible go wrong and/or things that should be taken care of first.  I keep justifying staying at a job I hate, out of a sense of responsibility to my managers and possibly being a little bit afraid of change.  I feel that I'm wasting time that I won't get back and letting myself be miserable - I need to take a more positive approach at life in general and gather the courage to go after what I want, even if it seems impossible.

Good luck to everyone this year!

#2014BloggerChallenge

Lately, I've been trying to think of ways add more content to my blog and went on the search for a blogging challenge.  I found a lot of writing challenges (mostly dealing with creative writing) but that wasn't really what I was looking for.  I discovered the #2014BloggerChallenge while browsing through Twitter (thanks to Amicia Rai) and it aligned more with what I wanted to go for.

The challenge was created by Gaby of AnotherGirlyBlog.  The idea is to write two posts a month based on the prompts sent to us before hand. The posts for the challenge would go up during the 1st and 3rd week of the month so there's plenty of time to think and write. It doesn't matter what kind of blog you run - the topics are there to inspire and give you the push to write things you wouldn't normally write about.

If you would like to join in on the fun, all you need to do is email your name, blog URL, and email to anothergirlyblg@gmail.com. You can also take a look at the original post about the challenge here.

I'm really looking forward to receiving the first prompts. I will have been blogging for two years at the start of the new year and it would be nice to see my blog grow a bit. Can't wait to start!