Seriously:
One of these things is not like the others, and it's not the one it's supposed to be.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Airbrush Overload!
Ok so I was going for a walk tonight, and I went by a video store and saw a poster for the video release of Sex and the City 2. I don't know how I NEVER noticed this before, but while they're all heavily edited, Kim Cattrall doesn't even look like herself. In fact, when I saw the poster from the corner of my eye, I thought I was looking at the poster for a new Rachel McAdams movie.
Seriously:
One of these things is not like the others, and it's not the one it's supposed to be.
Seriously:
One of these things is not like the others, and it's not the one it's supposed to be.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Beauty tips I thought of just now because I'm bored...
1) MAC eye primer....not just a useless product.
When I was first introduced to this product buying eyeshadow at MAC several years ago, my first instinct was to think that this was the most bullshit product I've ever heard of. True, when they used it, it did make my eyeshadow last longer and the colours were more brilliant, but I chalked that up to the fact that MAC hires people that can actually do makeup properly. A few years ago though, I was somehow compelled to try the product at home, and this resulted in a fact that MAC does NOT want you to know. Their seemingly-pointless 17 Euro product works, but it also has the same result on cheap 3 Euro eye-shadow. So basically, you can get the "MAC" effect with a lot less money. MAC would want you to think that you need their full range of eye products to complete that look, but the primer alone will accomplish this.
I'd also like to note that I tried the cheaper Art Deco primer, and while it was decent, it's a smaller size and not that much cheaper, and it totally dried out halfway through use. So don't bother. I haven't seen any cheaper companies make something similar, maybe because people that want to save money on cosmetics don't buy seemingly retarded products like eye-shadow primer.
2) Olive oil is the best moisturizer ever invented.
Normally if someone would suggest beauty tips from the ancient world, I'd flinch. I mean, this was the days before washing machines and shampoo. BUT, regular bathing was a popular social event amongst the ancient Romans, and the ancients managed such feats as astronomy, paved roads and breeding cats to control mice populations. So when I read that ancient Romans cleansed by applying oil to the skin and scraping it off, I was kind of intrigued. This was supplimented by the fact that olive oil is still regularly used in cosmetics throughout the mediterranean (seriously, don't even BUY tanning oil....just use scented olive oil). I was curious how I could turn this ancient technique into a modern beauty practice. Before I go further, I'd like to mention that 1) it doesn't make a good cleanser, so I think that the Romans weren't really on the ball with that one, and 2) if you have oily skin, using olive oil as a moisturizer makes about as much sense as eating butter to lose weight. But it's wonderful for very dry skin like mine. While the Romans applied it to their skin and used scrapers to take it off, I did the following: I used scented olive oil (which means, I poured some normal olive oil into a bottle, and added a few drops of lavender and rose essential oil), applying it to my face and leaving it on for about 30 minutes (too long will result in a break out, even for the dry skinned). I then used an exfoliant to remove it. It cost next to nothing, and left my skin smoother than any product I've ever purchased. EVER.
3) Salmon Oil. Take it, seriously. Make sure it's good quality and actually rich in Omega-3. Some farmed salmon are fed poor diets and are actually lacking in this, but anything quality should be high in Omega-3 oil. Take it regularly, and watch your skin get awesome. And your hair. And you'll burn less in the sun. And apparently all sorts of health and brain benefits....
When I was first introduced to this product buying eyeshadow at MAC several years ago, my first instinct was to think that this was the most bullshit product I've ever heard of. True, when they used it, it did make my eyeshadow last longer and the colours were more brilliant, but I chalked that up to the fact that MAC hires people that can actually do makeup properly. A few years ago though, I was somehow compelled to try the product at home, and this resulted in a fact that MAC does NOT want you to know. Their seemingly-pointless 17 Euro product works, but it also has the same result on cheap 3 Euro eye-shadow. So basically, you can get the "MAC" effect with a lot less money. MAC would want you to think that you need their full range of eye products to complete that look, but the primer alone will accomplish this.
I'd also like to note that I tried the cheaper Art Deco primer, and while it was decent, it's a smaller size and not that much cheaper, and it totally dried out halfway through use. So don't bother. I haven't seen any cheaper companies make something similar, maybe because people that want to save money on cosmetics don't buy seemingly retarded products like eye-shadow primer.
2) Olive oil is the best moisturizer ever invented.
Normally if someone would suggest beauty tips from the ancient world, I'd flinch. I mean, this was the days before washing machines and shampoo. BUT, regular bathing was a popular social event amongst the ancient Romans, and the ancients managed such feats as astronomy, paved roads and breeding cats to control mice populations. So when I read that ancient Romans cleansed by applying oil to the skin and scraping it off, I was kind of intrigued. This was supplimented by the fact that olive oil is still regularly used in cosmetics throughout the mediterranean (seriously, don't even BUY tanning oil....just use scented olive oil). I was curious how I could turn this ancient technique into a modern beauty practice. Before I go further, I'd like to mention that 1) it doesn't make a good cleanser, so I think that the Romans weren't really on the ball with that one, and 2) if you have oily skin, using olive oil as a moisturizer makes about as much sense as eating butter to lose weight. But it's wonderful for very dry skin like mine. While the Romans applied it to their skin and used scrapers to take it off, I did the following: I used scented olive oil (which means, I poured some normal olive oil into a bottle, and added a few drops of lavender and rose essential oil), applying it to my face and leaving it on for about 30 minutes (too long will result in a break out, even for the dry skinned). I then used an exfoliant to remove it. It cost next to nothing, and left my skin smoother than any product I've ever purchased. EVER.
3) Salmon Oil. Take it, seriously. Make sure it's good quality and actually rich in Omega-3. Some farmed salmon are fed poor diets and are actually lacking in this, but anything quality should be high in Omega-3 oil. Take it regularly, and watch your skin get awesome. And your hair. And you'll burn less in the sun. And apparently all sorts of health and brain benefits....
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Healing
I haven't written in a long time....life got busy, and then BAM I got sick for almost 3 weeks. It was pretty bad...probably the sickest I've ever been in my life. It was really more one thing after another rather than one big thing. I got a mild allergy attack on Monday a few weeks ago that left me feeling weak and cranky for a few days. Then I got my period early. I've struggled with really, really bad cramps my whole life, and the pill took care of it for a long time, but lately they've been coming back. I changed my prescription to a new pill, but I had to wait until my next cycle to start it. So I wasn't on the pill for a month, and I got HORRIBLE cramps. Like so bad that I didn't even want to move. For those that aren't in the know about this sort of thing, advil does NOT help with this kind of pain. In my teens I was even on some pretty hardcore anti-inflammatory meds to help it and they didn't help either. Anyway, it was bad. Saturday (this was 2 weeks ago) rolled around, and I started feeling really nauseous. Sunday nausea was gone but I couldn't stop sneezing. Monday I started to have a killer sore throat, and it didn't go away, so Friday I went to the doctor. She told me I had strep and likely also a bit of a viral infection, so basically I had 2 sicknesses at once. I got put on antibiotics and was told to rest up. I thought that would be the end of it, except Saturday I decided to go out to a birthday dinner. Didn't seem strenuous, and I planned on going home early and going to bed. Just a bit of food, no alcohol, no harm right? Probably, except on the way I stopped to get a gift, and I got pretty hungry. I'd barely eaten all week (I was pretty nauseous from the strep). I got a turkey sandwich at Kamps to tide me over, since by the time I got there, decided and ordered it would probably be a couple of hours until I ate. BAD CHOICE. Turns out the "turkey" was mixed with soy (I'm going to bet that's what it was anyway) and I went into anaphylactic shock on my way there. I'd run into Dave, Mark and Darina in the train station on the way there and they saw me progress from sneezing a bit to almost passing out. I ended up getting a cab home with Darina (I can't be alone if I'm having an allergy attack...I can actually die and someone has to be there to call an ambulance if something goes wrong). Anyway it was pretty hard on my body, especially since I was recovering from the other stuff and my body had been through stress even before I got sick. I felt HORRIBLE the next day and it was a slow recovery during the past week. Usually when I get sick, my immune system kicks in pretty fast and I get healthy quickly, but I think my body was just under too much stress at once. Anyway, I'm still getting better but I'm almost 100% now....just coughing up some stuff still and slightly stuffy, but otherwise good. The only other problem is that all my muscles hurt, and not in an achy flu sort of way. I suspect it's from lying in bed and on the couch for 3 weeks. I've had this before when I didn't exercise. My body likes to move and I get sore when no movement happens. Plus neither my bed nor my couch are good for back support, and if I get bad back pain my whole body tends to get sore as well. I'm a bit too weak to do full on workouts still, but I've been easing myself back in by doing yoga. I started with 20 minutes, then 30, then an hour today and in a couple of days I'm going to try a more intense yoga workout, then maybe move onto dance and then my regular stationary bike routine. The exercise also helps my breathing and clears out my sinuses a bit, ups my appetite (which is still pretty low) and keeps my energy up in the day. Hopefully I'll be 100% back to normal by next week!
Anyway, sorry if that was long and a bit too much information!
Anyway, sorry if that was long and a bit too much information!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
FML
I'm in SUCH a bad mood this week. Like worse than I've been in the last few years. I just want to break something, or scream, or break something while screaming. It's times like this that I wish I had a punching bag that I could just go postal on. I hate everything right now. I hate it outside. I hate my apartment. I hate me, I hate everyone else, I hate it here and I hate the world.
It's just a series of little things really. I had an allergic reaction, I broke my iPhone, I've been sleeping terribly and despite working out for an hour a day, almost every day, I STILL don't fit into most of my autumn clothes, and it's getting cold out. I feel like a WHALE. And I have RAGING PMS, a week early and starting to get pretty painful cramps to match (thanks pill switch! Thanks for making a WONDERFUL week just THAT much better!) JOY.
What I REALLY REALLY want, is to just pass out, and wake up on Monday. Fuck this week. FML.
It's just a series of little things really. I had an allergic reaction, I broke my iPhone, I've been sleeping terribly and despite working out for an hour a day, almost every day, I STILL don't fit into most of my autumn clothes, and it's getting cold out. I feel like a WHALE. And I have RAGING PMS, a week early and starting to get pretty painful cramps to match (thanks pill switch! Thanks for making a WONDERFUL week just THAT much better!) JOY.
What I REALLY REALLY want, is to just pass out, and wake up on Monday. Fuck this week. FML.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Creatively lackluster
I'm going through the creative 'blahs' the past few weeks. I keep starting things and then not knowing how to finish them, and I find most of my ideas a little bland. I keep trucking through things, just in the name of keeping up the habit and hoping something pops up (in music, writing, fashion...ANYTHING) but so far little luck. I thought I got a good guitar riff going the other day, but it didn't really turn into much, so I just tried to remember it and put it on the back burner.
I suppose we all go through this, right?
In the mean time, I'm going through a re-found love of exercise. I hope this leads to my body's re-found love of fitting into a size 0. My clothing is still a little tight after a year of being a bit lazy (in the exercise department.)
I suppose we all go through this, right?
In the mean time, I'm going through a re-found love of exercise. I hope this leads to my body's re-found love of fitting into a size 0. My clothing is still a little tight after a year of being a bit lazy (in the exercise department.)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Last Couple of Weeks
I've been quite busy. Too busy to blog! So bear with me, this is going to be a very long entry. But there will be some pictures! I'll go through day by day.
Monday, June 14th
I woke up after slipping into a sort-of jet lag coma on Sunday night. I got up fairly early, at 6-ish. I lounged around for a while until Jess woke up, then we had breakfast and went through a walk through James Bay. It's a beautiful neighbourhood, and it's cleaned up a lot since I was last there (years ago, before I left Canada.) I met Corrine for coffee at Ogden's Point Cafe, which is a lovely cafe right on the point, overlooking the breakwater. Afterward, we walked all the way down the Breakwater. It was quite windy; I felt like I was going to blow away! Great views though. In the evening I ate sockeye salmon with Jess, then Jen came over to watch DVDs (Center Stage and Down With Love.)
Tuesday June 15
We got up early-ish to go wine tasting. Only two wineries were open, but both were well worth it. Church & State was a bit more "commercial" but they had a couple of wines I really loved (I bought a bottle of the rose, which surprised me because it was quite dry.) Muse was eclectic and there were some interesting notes in the wine (the bottle of Pinot Gris had distinctive apple notes.) You don't think of wine when you think of BC, especially coastal BC, but Island wines are actually wonderful. They're very artful. I think they have to put the effort in because they don't have the large productions and reputations that more well-known wine regions have. People who open wineries over here are also extremely dedicated to wine-making and know a LOT about wine!
We went to Red Barn (a farm market) and got some fruits and veggies for dinner, and Jess hosted Jen and Ryan, and Eric (as well as myself of course) for appys. We chatted, had wine, and some great food!
Wednesday, June 16
I spent the day with Matt, which was really awesome. I bussed over to his place, and then we went over to Sooke Potholes, which is a place in the Sooke River that has these deep spots and is great for swimming (http://www.sookepotholes.com/) We didn't swim, because even though it was warm weather, it wasn't super hot, and the water was still freezing cold. Also, I forgot my bathing suit in Berlin :( We had some junk food, and basically hung around in the sun. Then we went back into Victoria and cooked me an awesome steak dinner and we played Trivial Pursuit, which is the awesomest game ever.
Thursday, June 17
Headed over to French Beach. On the way, we stopped at the Meadery, which was interesting because I found the mead a lot different than the mead I've had in Europe. It was a lot drier. It was really cloudy and windy, but we had a nice picnic and goofed around on the beach and playground (there were no children there.) That evening, we ate at Ferris's Oyster Bar, which has amazing food and drinks. If you're there, the downstairs is more of a pub style, but if you go to the second door (on the outside), which leads up some stairs, that's where the actual oyster bar is, and the space is AMAZING. I really can't describe it because in words it doesn't sound all that cool, but I'll upload my pictures later.
Friday, June 18
We had a fun day of shopping, then went back to town for some gelato and salt water taffy (my HUGE guilty pleasure. I love it so much!) That evening, I went to my aunt and uncles house for dinner, which was really nice because I haven't seen them in years. My cousins, Louis and Colin, are SO much older than I remembered! I couldn't believe it...nothing will make you feel old than family members you remember as children suddenly popping up as teens.
After dinner, I met up with Jen, Ryan, Jess and Mandy at the Sticky Wicket, and we had some nachos, which I barely touched, but BC has this stupid law that EVERYONE in the food area of a pub MUST be eating, or else you can't sit there, and it was too crowded in the rest of the bar to sit there, and Jen and Ryan really did want food. Afterwards, we were going to go out dancing, but everywhere in the area was SO incredibly crowded, and waiting in the long lines really killed the mood, so we just went home.
To be continued....
Monday, June 14th
I woke up after slipping into a sort-of jet lag coma on Sunday night. I got up fairly early, at 6-ish. I lounged around for a while until Jess woke up, then we had breakfast and went through a walk through James Bay. It's a beautiful neighbourhood, and it's cleaned up a lot since I was last there (years ago, before I left Canada.) I met Corrine for coffee at Ogden's Point Cafe, which is a lovely cafe right on the point, overlooking the breakwater. Afterward, we walked all the way down the Breakwater. It was quite windy; I felt like I was going to blow away! Great views though. In the evening I ate sockeye salmon with Jess, then Jen came over to watch DVDs (Center Stage and Down With Love.)
Tuesday June 15
We got up early-ish to go wine tasting. Only two wineries were open, but both were well worth it. Church & State was a bit more "commercial" but they had a couple of wines I really loved (I bought a bottle of the rose, which surprised me because it was quite dry.) Muse was eclectic and there were some interesting notes in the wine (the bottle of Pinot Gris had distinctive apple notes.) You don't think of wine when you think of BC, especially coastal BC, but Island wines are actually wonderful. They're very artful. I think they have to put the effort in because they don't have the large productions and reputations that more well-known wine regions have. People who open wineries over here are also extremely dedicated to wine-making and know a LOT about wine!
We went to Red Barn (a farm market) and got some fruits and veggies for dinner, and Jess hosted Jen and Ryan, and Eric (as well as myself of course) for appys. We chatted, had wine, and some great food!
Wednesday, June 16
I spent the day with Matt, which was really awesome. I bussed over to his place, and then we went over to Sooke Potholes, which is a place in the Sooke River that has these deep spots and is great for swimming (http://www.sookepotholes.com/) We didn't swim, because even though it was warm weather, it wasn't super hot, and the water was still freezing cold. Also, I forgot my bathing suit in Berlin :( We had some junk food, and basically hung around in the sun. Then we went back into Victoria and cooked me an awesome steak dinner and we played Trivial Pursuit, which is the awesomest game ever.
Thursday, June 17
Headed over to French Beach. On the way, we stopped at the Meadery, which was interesting because I found the mead a lot different than the mead I've had in Europe. It was a lot drier. It was really cloudy and windy, but we had a nice picnic and goofed around on the beach and playground (there were no children there.) That evening, we ate at Ferris's Oyster Bar, which has amazing food and drinks. If you're there, the downstairs is more of a pub style, but if you go to the second door (on the outside), which leads up some stairs, that's where the actual oyster bar is, and the space is AMAZING. I really can't describe it because in words it doesn't sound all that cool, but I'll upload my pictures later.
Friday, June 18
We had a fun day of shopping, then went back to town for some gelato and salt water taffy (my HUGE guilty pleasure. I love it so much!) That evening, I went to my aunt and uncles house for dinner, which was really nice because I haven't seen them in years. My cousins, Louis and Colin, are SO much older than I remembered! I couldn't believe it...nothing will make you feel old than family members you remember as children suddenly popping up as teens.
After dinner, I met up with Jen, Ryan, Jess and Mandy at the Sticky Wicket, and we had some nachos, which I barely touched, but BC has this stupid law that EVERYONE in the food area of a pub MUST be eating, or else you can't sit there, and it was too crowded in the rest of the bar to sit there, and Jen and Ryan really did want food. Afterwards, we were going to go out dancing, but everywhere in the area was SO incredibly crowded, and waiting in the long lines really killed the mood, so we just went home.
To be continued....
Monday, June 14, 2010
Canadiana
I'm in Victoria!
My trip was long. It was a 15 hour plane ride all together, with two stopovers. The guy sitting next to me on my flight from Amsterdam to Calgary was hot, and I found it really distracting. At moments, I found myself talking way too much, which is what I tend to do when I'm really nervous. It was also really unfortunate to be sitting next to a hot guy on a plane, because I always feel really gross when I fly. Something about the recycled air for several hours. In Calgary I thought they lost my luggage and almost missed my next plane as I tried to find it. Turns out they put it in oversized luggage, but never told me. Luckily the long security line moved quickly, because I -just- caught the plane to Vancouver. I was really tired by the time I got to Vancouver, and I fell asleep waiting for the ferry to Victoria. I also slept through half the ferry ride, which is too bad because that route is really beautiful. I caught some of it though! The girls were waiting for me at the terminal in Victoria, but I was pretty beat by then!
The biggest thing that hit me right away about Canada is how incredibly friendly people are! Everyone says how nice Canadians are and it's really true. I didn't notice it when I lived here, but after living in Berlin, which has that big city brutality (like most other big cities), it's really obvious and welcome. A guy offered to help me with my bags when I was getting off the bus, and when you bump into people, they apologize, even if it's totally your fault. On the downside, Victoria is INCREDIBLY expensive. Like one of the most expensive places I've ever been actually.
I've had a great time so far though! Saturday I shopped a bit with Jen, then she made this awesome basalmic barbeque chicken, and we went to the Mint for drinks. Sunday I was pretty dead, but we went to see Jen dance and I met Matt for dinner. I passed out at 8 pm though. I woke up this morning just before 7 am, and went for a walk around James Bay, then met Corrine at Ogden's Point, which I haven't really been to since I was a kid, and it was really cool (but INSANELY windy...I felt like I was going to blow away!) The cafe there was nice too...it overlooks the water.
Pics to follow!
My trip was long. It was a 15 hour plane ride all together, with two stopovers. The guy sitting next to me on my flight from Amsterdam to Calgary was hot, and I found it really distracting. At moments, I found myself talking way too much, which is what I tend to do when I'm really nervous. It was also really unfortunate to be sitting next to a hot guy on a plane, because I always feel really gross when I fly. Something about the recycled air for several hours. In Calgary I thought they lost my luggage and almost missed my next plane as I tried to find it. Turns out they put it in oversized luggage, but never told me. Luckily the long security line moved quickly, because I -just- caught the plane to Vancouver. I was really tired by the time I got to Vancouver, and I fell asleep waiting for the ferry to Victoria. I also slept through half the ferry ride, which is too bad because that route is really beautiful. I caught some of it though! The girls were waiting for me at the terminal in Victoria, but I was pretty beat by then!
The biggest thing that hit me right away about Canada is how incredibly friendly people are! Everyone says how nice Canadians are and it's really true. I didn't notice it when I lived here, but after living in Berlin, which has that big city brutality (like most other big cities), it's really obvious and welcome. A guy offered to help me with my bags when I was getting off the bus, and when you bump into people, they apologize, even if it's totally your fault. On the downside, Victoria is INCREDIBLY expensive. Like one of the most expensive places I've ever been actually.
I've had a great time so far though! Saturday I shopped a bit with Jen, then she made this awesome basalmic barbeque chicken, and we went to the Mint for drinks. Sunday I was pretty dead, but we went to see Jen dance and I met Matt for dinner. I passed out at 8 pm though. I woke up this morning just before 7 am, and went for a walk around James Bay, then met Corrine at Ogden's Point, which I haven't really been to since I was a kid, and it was really cool (but INSANELY windy...I felt like I was going to blow away!) The cafe there was nice too...it overlooks the water.
Pics to follow!
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