Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Glamour in Progress - Tyra vs. The Beauty Box

One of the things that I promised myself when I started losing weight was that I was going to start treating myself, taking a little bit more pride in my appearance, glamming myself up every now and then which is difficult for me since I consider myself traditional girl-next-door with major tomboy tendencies. I had been hearing a lot about the different Beauty Sample Subscription services… did some research and priced them and totally fell in love. I might actually be addicted to them. What I love about these services is that they make awesome gifts for Bridesmaids. Something you give your mom or your best friend, even the guy in your life. Or in my case a little treat that I give myself each month. The boxes range between $10-25

I got wind of Julep through the nail group that I'm apart of on Facebook. I love that group. It's a wealth of information about polishes and nail art all while staying on a budget... they inspire me to have super cute nails.. EVERYDAY! One of the things that I love about Julep is it's so flexible. If you don't like the polishes for that month you can choose a box from a different style profile, or if it's just not in your budget you can skip that month with no penalty what so ever... plus I got my very first box for a penny! (Use code mavenintro or color2012 to get your intro box) ... Who doesn't love that?!!! Your box is based on a profile that you pick out and based on your answers you will fall into the following style profiles: American Beauty, Boho Glam, Bombshell (I fall into that category... duh!!), Classic with a Twist and IT Girl. Each month I spend $19.99 for the box which is nice because Julep nail polish generally retails for $14 per bottle. Each month I either get 2-3 polishes and a goody.

Photo courtesy of www.pinchofpretty.com

This past month I forgot to take a picture of my Maven box ( I borrowed this from the website)...which had 2 polishes designed by Trina Turk and a full size mascara.

Click here to sign up

FINAL VERDICT 4.5/5

Monday, September 10, 2012

In: FMM

FMM: Have You Ever?

Have You Ever?

1. Jumped out of an airplane? No, but I plan to in the near future.

2. Lived alone? No

3. Met a celebrity? I have, and I wasn't all that impressed

4. Said something to someone that you immediately regret saying?Yes

5. Had a manicure/pedicure? Professionally....yes, but I find that I like to do it myself...

6. Gotten a hickey? Yep. Ha..

7. Owned a pet that was not a dog or a cat? Nope.

8. Been outside of your home country? Definitely. I love to travel, and I’d like to go back to soon!

9. Kissed your best friend? Seriously, I don't even know... maybe.. he get's handsy when he drinks...lol

10. Eaten food that fell on the floor? It was candy so it doesn't count

11. Met someone online? Yes.

12. Been on TV? Yep.

13. Had braces? No, but I've always wanted them.... I'm such a freak

14. Gone skinny dipping? Not yet

15. Been to the opera? Yes! And loved every minute of it (note to self: learn German)

16. Been caught making out by a policeman? No... and thank goodness for that!!!

17. Sung in public? I sang "The Greatest Love of All" in elementary school

18. Handed out candy on Halloween? Yes, I think that's the fun part of Halloween, seeing the little kiddos in their costumes, asking for candy.... it's my favorite holiday, and seeing the kids and passing out candy is a big part of it

19. Been snowed in? Two words.... Snowpocolypse (Chicago Blizzard of ) 2011

20. Fallen in front of other people? Yes, I think I'm only conditioned to fall in front of people, Picture this.... 2005, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, rainy day... me on the bus stop...once I got on the bus... two steps... and I bit it on a bus full of people...I had to fill out an accident report and everything, while trying not to cry in embarrassment.....soon after I moved to Las Vegas were once again I bit it on a wet patch out side of my job.... so clearly Tyra + Water = Super Embarrassing Falls in front of strangers

21. Cheated on a test? Nope. Never had the opportunity.... seriously in the end is it worth it?

22. Regretted saying “I love you” to someone? No, I love you is not a phrase that I take lightly. And I might be accused of not saying it enough

23. Finished a meal in a restaurant and realized that you didn’t have your wallet? No, I'm so paranoid about stuff like this, I'll check when I leave home, when I get into the restaurant, and again once I sat down... thank goodness for paranoia.

24. Shot a gun? No, and really that was the only reason I never got the job as a ranger with the National Park Service I couldn't get over my fear of guns

25. Heard a song that was written for (or about) you? No!! But allow me to go on a small tangent! I am so jealous of Rosanna Arquette...in the words of Foxy Brown this chick must have some ill na na 2 Songs...2!!! (1982) Rosanna -Toto, (1986) In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel (Which is really the most romantic song...EVER!!!)... STILL JEALOUS!!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

In: Beauty in Progress , Etsy , Haul , Nail Polish , Polish-Aholics Anonymous

Glamour in Progress - Tyra vs.The Nail Polish Haul

I ended with quite the nail polish haul this weekend....and I also did this to my nails... It's call galaxy nail art... little nebulae on your nails.

Before I continue this post let me simply say this. YES I am addicted to nail polish. I fully admit it, my family knows...and we are both fine with it. It doesn't impend on my ability to live my daily life or pay my bills. I simply like my nails to be sparkly and pretty.

Last night I was trolling on Etsy looking for some indy nail polishes and I ended up getting this great Green Bay Packers inspired polish from DandRApothecary for football game days. I'm excited about what manicures I can come up with. And I also purchased a really pretty blue polish from DIFFERENTdimensions that is inspired by Autism Speaks and World Autism Day, and 50% of the proceeds for directly to Autism Speaks. But my ultimate get is ..... FLOAM but it's so popular and it's ALWAYS out of stock, and I refuse to bite the bullet and spend $50 on Ebay to get it.

Green and Yellow- Packer's inspired

Light it Up- inspired by Autism Speaks

Thursday, August 30, 2012

In: 5 things.... , Dance , Snark

Dance Like Nobody is Watching!

Everyday I'm feeling better and stronger, but not quiet feeling like I'm ready to go back to my regular exercise regime. So I'm dancing... I LOVE to dance (when no one is watching me), so I thought that I would post the 5 songs that are the top five rotation in my dance play list...

1. My friend Marie and I were talking on Facebook about our mutual love of K-Dramas,. And she sent my this YouTube link. At first I thought it was a joke, I have NEVER laughed as hard as I did watching a video..there is a lot of questionable things in it (I'm just gonna say it's a cultural thing) But the truth is this song is super catchy, and I even know some of the words, although I'm not sure what I'm saying... AND I know the dance...I dare you not to watch this video at least twice...

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

In: 5 things.... , Blue Team , Food , Learning along the way , Mom's Wisdom , My Fitness Pal , Snark , Transplant , Wisdom

Expect the Unexpected

Last week Tuesday I went into the hospital to have an ERCP and have a stint placed in my bile duct. By all accounts I knew this was gonna block out an entire day for me and probably the day after. Who knew that an hour long procedure was gonna land me in the hospital with severe pancreatitis. I always tell people if there is a side effect, Tyra will get it... no exceptions.

Fast forward to a week later, I'm out of the hospital but still suffering from pancreatitis. Tramadol and Hydrocodone have become my very best friends. Needless to say, exercise has been the very last thing that I want to do. I have been trying to walk... but I can only do .5 mile before my stomach starts to hurt (and that really wears me out).

5 Things I Realized While in the Hospital

1. Nurses love me - Seriously they do, and I'll tell you why. After having two transplant and various other transplant related problems, I consider myself to be a seasoned patient... ~~a professional if you will~~ I don't call them, I don't bother them, and most importantly I remember that they are human, who have flaws and who work a very difficult job and the last thing they want to deal with is a patient who is annoying and crabby. As a patient I only want to do one thing... take my pain meds and go to sleep, okay so that was two; now if only the person that I shared the room gotten that memo. (This was the first time that I've ever had a hospital room mate so it was an adjustment for me too) My last hospital stay would have been much more pleasant. Not only did she annoy her nurses, she annoyed the nurse techs, the front desk people, the dietary folks, me I think she might have even annoyed my mother. Let me give you an example: if she need the nurse she would press the call button and ask for the nurse if she didn't come in two minutes she would call again... then again if she didn't show up... finally she would get up and go the nurses’ station and make a stink about it... she did this several times a day... thank goodness I had my iPod.

2. I love my family - My mom came and say me every day after work and we would have dinner together... okay I wasn't allowed to eat, so she would eat and I would sip water..AND she brought me panties...I don't know about you all but this was not a planned hospitalization, so I had nothing but what I came in with, so I was ever so grateful when she came with a brand new package of panties. My (sort-of) step-dad was awesome as well, he threatened to come and break me out of the hospital..when I started complaining about missing my cat.

3. They have some premo drugs at the hospital - Self explanatory!!

4. I missed the inter webs - Since my phone was dead and I didn't get my charger until the day I was discharged I wasn't about to get online. Which meant that I wasn't able to log into MyfitnessPal and after my streak of logging into for over 350 days in a row, I had to start over. Also I missed all of the awesomeness that was going on over at the Blue Team. Sunshine made me this for me... I love it!

5. Clearly I am hilarious when I'm high on pain medication - Apparently I told my doctor right when they gave me medication before my procedure that I needed more knock-out drugs than the average person cause I'm a ninja.... You heard it here first peeps..I'm a bloody ninja! I took this picture while on some heavy duty medication... so clearly my wicked sense of humor is still here

Monday, August 27, 2012

In: Alltheweigh.com , Bella on the Beach , FMM , Friend Making Monday

FMM: Tech Questions

After reading on of my favorite blogs Bella on the Beach, who participates in FMM(Friend Making Monday) faithfully I decided to take the plug and do it as well!

For those of you who aren't familiar with how this works take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

1. PC or Mac? I have always had a PC. I would love to own a Mac, and I always say that when I grow up I’ll get one… right now it’s simply a money thing… they are simply out of my price range

2. When did you get your first computer? The very first computer we had as a family was a Tandy computer. I didn't own my first computer until I went right before I went off to school.

3. Do you use cable, DSL or something else? I have cable internet. And our home is connected wirelessly. I find myself annoyed when I go to other people’s houses and they don’t have a wireless connection. I finally talked my parents into it….

4. When choosing a laptop, do you think it’s more important to choose the fastest one, or the lightest one? Weight never comes into consideration, because I rarely lug my laptop around. I always look for something that has the specific requirements that I need…also something that’s gonna be sturdy

5. What kind of cell phone do you own? I like my phone; it does what it needs to. I'm currently using a Samsung Gravity Smart. But I would trade this sucker in a heartbeat if T-Mobile had iPhones’. But alas T-Mobile and Apple have yet to come up with an agreement.

6. How do you carry your laptop when you travel? I still don't have a case, my newest laptop is a behemoth at 17.4 inches and it can't fit in any of my bags.. and just yesterday I needed to take it to a meeting so I warped her up in an old sweatshirt... nice and cozy (but ghetto)

7. How many e-mails do you send on an average day? I'm not sure, but I do know that I receive more emails that I send.

8. Do you ever blog using your iPad or similar tablet? Nope, seems too cumbersome for me...I want until I'm near a computer

9. What do you use more often – a desktop or a laptop? I use a combination of the two, but I typically use my laptop more often.

10. As a blogger, are there other gadgets that you need to get the job done? If so, what are they? My camera and my cellphone I like to add pictures (I think they make the blog more personable)

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