I woke up this morning feeling extremely.... productive. First, I'm going to try my yoga dvd (after this blog post!), next I am going jogging with my friend Crystal, and THEN going to do my lemon-face wash. :) I just feel like doing a lot with my day today, so there will probably be more to that little to-do list, but that's just the basics.
I also had a little realization this morning as I was thinking and walking my dog. MONEY. I've always been one to love to go shopping, and have everything she wants. But as I'm working to save up for a car/NYC/Grad/University/Portugal, I realized that money is alot. I'm turning 17 in October, and I don't feel it's right for my parents to pay for everything I do, buy or use. In one year, I'll probably have my own place and going to school, and if I don't learn how to manage and save my money, when will I? I'm not 5 years old anymore, and I just feel horrible when my mom or dad spend alot of money on me, or even some at that. I always offer to pay back, but they almost always refuse. But still. These next few years are going to be financially difficult, because I go into University next fall, and that in itself is a ton of money. I also would like a cheap, used car which I would pay 2/3 of it myself, plus pay for my own gas and hopefully insurance depending on how much it is. Then there's the New York trip Spring Break, AND the Portugal trip next summer. All that takes alot of money, and I don't want my parents to keep spending on me, but rather save up, while I do the same thing.
I've decided that next year, I won't go back to dancing. Doing one dance alone, almost added up to 2,000. I don't want to be a dancer, or anything in the dancing feild, so 2,000 is a bunch of money. Instead I'm thinking of maybe g a gym membership. I can take classes at the gym, work out, AND it saves my parents 500-600 dollars in a year, or more I haven't crunched numbers yet. My shopping and make-up addiction can be put on pause. I just need a few fall/winter iteams, and I'll be good. I'm also thinking of getting a second job, just kind of on the side on days I have off.
This year I have to focus on money saving, and school. Hopefully I can score some scholarships to help out for post-secondary. I'm not slacking anymore. I'm going to study for my tests, do my homework, and pay attention in class. I'm going to try my hardest, and be the best I can be in courses. Relaxation is over, and I need to get into routine and good habits for university.
Anyway, that's my two-cents in a tangent today. :) Hope it made sense!
be productive,
little jay
August 9, 2010
August 2, 2010
when life gives you lemons...
Hey lovelies, :)
So, the other day I came across this amazing skin idea. I kind of have tempermental skin. Sometimes it decides to love me, and other times it just decides to venture into pimplezit-land. If we're being honest, most of the time I am way too lazy to stick to a skin routine (although I do have clinique and proactiv).
Then another thing, alot of skin cleansers have sulfates in them. Only recently did it come to my attention that in literally 99% of my skin products had "sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate" or parabens, or just things that in the long run are harmful to my skin. For those of you who don't know, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a cleaner that's used to clean car engines. Yup. So unless we've turn into automotives, I really don't think it's necessary to put that on my skin! Even my "organic" apricot scrub had it! I was completely shocked at the amount of products I use contain it! So I began my search for a simple, easy way to clean my skin.
Lemon Juice, Sugar & a Cotton pad. That's what my skin regime has become. It's so easy, and it makes your skin feel craaaazy soft. Lemons have BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and AHA (alpha dyroxy acid) which both do wonders for your skin, especially AHA which is basically a skin improver that unclogs pores, enhances skin cell renewal and makes it appear more glowy and beautiful. So here's the steps I do!
So, the other day I came across this amazing skin idea. I kind of have tempermental skin. Sometimes it decides to love me, and other times it just decides to venture into pimplezit-land. If we're being honest, most of the time I am way too lazy to stick to a skin routine (although I do have clinique and proactiv).
Then another thing, alot of skin cleansers have sulfates in them. Only recently did it come to my attention that in literally 99% of my skin products had "sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate" or parabens, or just things that in the long run are harmful to my skin. For those of you who don't know, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a cleaner that's used to clean car engines. Yup. So unless we've turn into automotives, I really don't think it's necessary to put that on my skin! Even my "organic" apricot scrub had it! I was completely shocked at the amount of products I use contain it! So I began my search for a simple, easy way to clean my skin.
Lemon Juice, Sugar & a Cotton pad. That's what my skin regime has become. It's so easy, and it makes your skin feel craaaazy soft. Lemons have BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and AHA (alpha dyroxy acid) which both do wonders for your skin, especially AHA which is basically a skin improver that unclogs pores, enhances skin cell renewal and makes it appear more glowy and beautiful. So here's the steps I do!
- have a clean, make up-less fresh face and wash it with warm water so it opens up your pores
- take your cotton pad, and soak it in lemon juice, preferably organic since your skin does absorb whatever you clean it with. Or you can even just squeeze fresh lemons onto the pad
- take about a teaspoon of sugar and put it on the pad
- start scrubbing around your face, and let the lemon-y goodness work its' magic!
- if the stinging is too much for your face, you can dilute the lemon juice with some water.
- after you've scrubbed scrubbed scrubbed, wash it off with warm water and feel how soft your skin is!
Remember, this isn't a full proof process and even I still have broken out afterwards but in my case it's been noticiably less. But it's been a great skin routine for the past few days. :) Definately reccommed to try it out!
love and lemons,
littel jay.
July 29, 2010
hey jude - the beatles
If you're wondering about the title, it was during this song I had my little trip realizations. :) I have a new found passion and love for The Beatles and they've quickly taken the spot as my favorite band. Anyway, now to the real blog post!
It's been awhile since I added a number to the list of things to do (that I'm doing) to change my outlook of life. I think it's because these changes don't happen all over night, and it's a process in itself. Well, today that wait is over!
Our list so far consists of:
It's been awhile since I added a number to the list of things to do (that I'm doing) to change my outlook of life. I think it's because these changes don't happen all over night, and it's a process in itself. Well, today that wait is over!
Our list so far consists of:
- De-Clutter your life
- Apologize for mistakes
Today I'm going to be adding two more "steps" I guess you could call them, to the little check list. I'll write them down, then explain.
- Take a break
- Test your limits
Before I left for vacation, I was competely sick of this city. I absolutely hated it with an unexplainable passion. I was pretty much just smiling because I had to, laughing because someone expected me too, and just not being myself. I wasn't really getting anywhere with changing my outlook other than the two steps I had done, and was clenching my teeth and biting my tongue on a regular basis. I needed a mental break, and just a period of time to chill out.
BC was good to me, gave me a breath of fresh air. Sometimes all people need is just a break. I know you can't always just be like "peace, I'm going on vacation" but taking a break, doesnt mean you have to physically leave your town or city. Taking a break can simply mean, giving yourself some "me" time. Instead of going out somewhere where you know someone will piss you off, opt to stay home and just lounge around watching a movie or something. If you're having a tough time with someone at work or school, just focus on what tasks you have to do rather than getting all riled up, the reward you get feels amazing. Trust me, I put alot of my energy into my summer math course, and I loved the results. Give yourself a break; sit down, close your eyes and just clear your head, even if it's only for a few minutes those minutes do add up!
People live their lives so fast paced, that before you know it time has gone and the things you want to do can't be done anymore. This is why I put testing your limits after take a break. If we're going to be honest, I don't know how this would work for other people, but thinking about it now "trying something new" can go hand in hand with it. So I'm re-making this last one:
- Test your limits, try something new
While on my break, I did both of these. I tested one of my fears and went head to head against it; my fear of heights. I also tied it with trying something new, and challenged parasailing. Being catapulted 200 ft in the air was not something old me would really enjoy or do.
Testing your limits doesn't have to be something huge, and you can easily hit that and trying something new on the same try. It could be something like, strike up a conversation with someone at the new coffee shop you tried out. Break away from your daily routine for one day, and see how it treats you. If it goes badly, start with something smaller like for example, if you usually wear nude lipstick, try a bold color! You'll undoubtedly get tons of compliments, and a little boost to your self esteem. There's tons of little ways to try something new and step out of your box alittle bit.
If we only have one life to live, why should we live it in the same routine everyday? Hope this helped, :) and if anyone has any questions don't hesitate to comment or email!
don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better, :)
little jay
July 26, 2010
out of hiding: my trip to BC!
Hello hello beautiful people!
Wow, it's been quite some time since I wrote a legit blog hey? I had that little "I-don't-know-what-to-write" phase, then I had mini vacation to British Columbia for a week. :) But now I am back, and completely ready to go! This post will mostly be about what went down on the trip, so prepare for a long one. I did have some little realizations throughout the 7 days, but I'll post those in a later blog.
Here we go. :)
So, since I live in Alberta, the drive to where I was camping in BC, Osoyoos, is only about a 10 hour car ride. Such. A. Lie. Brittany's dad decided to be Mr. Speedy McSpeederton and cut off cars to the point that we lost him on the highway. Since there was no reception in the mountains, we just went the way we THOUGHT he would go. Turns out, my dad decided to take the way that left us in the car for around 16-18 hours! Normally, I wouldn't mind this since annually my family drives from Switzerland to Portugal which is a 24 hour drive, but the view this whole roadtrip was freaking pine trees. EVERYWHERE. This is no joke, I have never seen so many pine trees in my life. In Prince George, we saw a man dressed as Elvis rocking out on the sidewalk, and that was about the only interesting scenery along this little car ride.
When my family got to our campsite, it was late so we set up our tent, filled up our air mattresses and slept. I was sleep deprived, and proceeded to cry when my dad began snoring like a rhino which lead to the purpose of my handy-dandy ear plugs the next day! :)
Anyway, the next morning we hit the local beach in Osoyoos. It was great, the sun was shining, blue sky and water. I love love love the heat, I guess that's the Portugese side of me, but I absolutely adore it. Brittany and I went for a walk along the beach, and discovered a place where they had parasailing! Of course with the excitment of being on vacation, we signed ourselves up. Surprisingly our parents agreed it would be a fun experience, and on we went to get a little lecture on what to do. Right before being catapulted into the air, I stupidly turn to the guy helping us and ask "what happens, if a bird flys into our parachute?" He looked at me like that was the craziest thing ever, and said it had never happened. But how did I know that?! We might as well could've been the first. The second we were lifted into the air, I screamed like a 4 year old. But as soon as that shock of being up 200 ft in the air was over, it was completely amazing and I never wanted it to end.
Sadly, the geese arn't afraid of swimming up to you aswell. I was so afraid they were going to attack us, that I ducked into my floaty boat until they passed. On our little canal float, it started to rain and the wind picked up. Really, it was getting freezing and we were just chilling in our little bikinis. We proceeded to paddle and paddle and paddle and paddle for what seemed like forever until we reached the end of the canal. That night we went to a family friend's house in the town of Oliver, and went to Tickleberry's! Which has 72 different flavours of ice cream, and even ice cream for dogs. It was absolutely ridiculous, and absolutely delicious!
On Friday, the last day, we stuck around in Osoyoos and hit the beach there again. That night there was going to be a "street-dance" thing that they hold semi-annually in the summer. We showed up, and literally it was all country music. Brittany and I were completely out of our element, LOL until we just decided "who cares?!" and danced. After awhile, we made some friends and went for a walk. Brittany and her friend, well, thats a story in itself and not mine to tell! But mine, Jessy, was completely awkward. LOL. We talked about how my school has 1500 kids, and his has 240, and basically I just texted the whole time. Ultimately, it was a fun last night.
Saturday morning we left, and did a 13 hour trip back home. I really didn't want to leave, and I still don't want to be here and would go back in a heartbeat. I loved it that much. But anyway, that was a massive ramble, but it was the highlight of my summer vacation so far. :)
Stay tuned for more blogs!
Hope you're having a safe summer,
little jay.
Wow, it's been quite some time since I wrote a legit blog hey? I had that little "I-don't-know-what-to-write" phase, then I had mini vacation to British Columbia for a week. :) But now I am back, and completely ready to go! This post will mostly be about what went down on the trip, so prepare for a long one. I did have some little realizations throughout the 7 days, but I'll post those in a later blog.
Here we go. :)
So, since I live in Alberta, the drive to where I was camping in BC, Osoyoos, is only about a 10 hour car ride. Such. A. Lie. Brittany's dad decided to be Mr. Speedy McSpeederton and cut off cars to the point that we lost him on the highway. Since there was no reception in the mountains, we just went the way we THOUGHT he would go. Turns out, my dad decided to take the way that left us in the car for around 16-18 hours! Normally, I wouldn't mind this since annually my family drives from Switzerland to Portugal which is a 24 hour drive, but the view this whole roadtrip was freaking pine trees. EVERYWHERE. This is no joke, I have never seen so many pine trees in my life. In Prince George, we saw a man dressed as Elvis rocking out on the sidewalk, and that was about the only interesting scenery along this little car ride.
When my family got to our campsite, it was late so we set up our tent, filled up our air mattresses and slept. I was sleep deprived, and proceeded to cry when my dad began snoring like a rhino which lead to the purpose of my handy-dandy ear plugs the next day! :)Anyway, the next morning we hit the local beach in Osoyoos. It was great, the sun was shining, blue sky and water. I love love love the heat, I guess that's the Portugese side of me, but I absolutely adore it. Brittany and I went for a walk along the beach, and discovered a place where they had parasailing! Of course with the excitment of being on vacation, we signed ourselves up. Surprisingly our parents agreed it would be a fun experience, and on we went to get a little lecture on what to do. Right before being catapulted into the air, I stupidly turn to the guy helping us and ask "what happens, if a bird flys into our parachute?" He looked at me like that was the craziest thing ever, and said it had never happened. But how did I know that?! We might as well could've been the first. The second we were lifted into the air, I screamed like a 4 year old. But as soon as that shock of being up 200 ft in the air was over, it was completely amazing and I never wanted it to end.
When we went to land, the guy had told us that you had to keep walking on the ground when you hit, and that there would be alot of impact. Brittany failed at this. When we landed, the impact was so much Brittany tripped over her own feet, causing me to trip over her, which resulted in both of us dragging along the sand as the crew of people tried to steady us. Of course, I was too busy peeing my pants laughing at the fact we had just had a crash landing to pay attention to anything they were saying.
After our parasailing adventure, we laid on the beach a little bit. Later on, we decided to be daredevils again (LOL) and went banana boating! Again, as the guy was telling us the "procedure", I turn and ask "So basically, what you're trying to say is don't let go, and hold on for your life." I think those workers thought I was an idiot, but whaaatever. On our little banana boat adventure, I kept telling the guy to go faster and it was super fun. :) We got alot of air when he would do turns, but I'm dumb and didn't know how to lean on the turns. LOL.
That was day one, the most jam-packed day ever. To think of it, this vacation was jam-packed.
The second day, we went to a beach that allowed dogs, since Daisy & Snoopy came along. This beach, I have no words to describe it. The water had seaweed beyond belief, just growing at the bottom. Brittany and I went floating, and we ended up stranded among them because neither of us wanted the seaweed getting stuck between our fingers and toes as we paddled away! Atleast I learned my dog loves to swim, he's going to be the next Michael Phelps (dog form.)
On the Tuesday, which was the third day, our families went to Penticton. Since it was cloudy that day, Brittany, My mom, Brittany's mom, and I all decided to go shopping since their was a little street that resembled Whyte Ave. Everything is ridiculously expensive. I found this adorable strapless floral dress, for like $60. I know for some people that's cheap, but I don't see the justification of spending that much on a dress I can get cheaper somewhere else!
On Wednesday, we hit up Penticton again, but this time for the beach. On the drive there, Brittany's dad decided to take a detour into the mountains. Basically, we ended up finding this astrological institute with tons of telescopes and stuff. After the little detour, we got to the beach and I met up with one of my friend's from Vancouver, Triza. :) It was cool, we went swimming and walked around for a bit until she had to leave. I also almost drowned swimming to a slide that seemed much much muuuuch closer than it really was. =.
Thursday, we hit up Penticton, AGAIN. But this time it was to float down the river canal. It was so cute, the little ducks arn't afraid to swim up to the floaties! I wanted to steal them all.
Sadly, the geese arn't afraid of swimming up to you aswell. I was so afraid they were going to attack us, that I ducked into my floaty boat until they passed. On our little canal float, it started to rain and the wind picked up. Really, it was getting freezing and we were just chilling in our little bikinis. We proceeded to paddle and paddle and paddle and paddle for what seemed like forever until we reached the end of the canal. That night we went to a family friend's house in the town of Oliver, and went to Tickleberry's! Which has 72 different flavours of ice cream, and even ice cream for dogs. It was absolutely ridiculous, and absolutely delicious!On Friday, the last day, we stuck around in Osoyoos and hit the beach there again. That night there was going to be a "street-dance" thing that they hold semi-annually in the summer. We showed up, and literally it was all country music. Brittany and I were completely out of our element, LOL until we just decided "who cares?!" and danced. After awhile, we made some friends and went for a walk. Brittany and her friend, well, thats a story in itself and not mine to tell! But mine, Jessy, was completely awkward. LOL. We talked about how my school has 1500 kids, and his has 240, and basically I just texted the whole time. Ultimately, it was a fun last night.
Saturday morning we left, and did a 13 hour trip back home. I really didn't want to leave, and I still don't want to be here and would go back in a heartbeat. I loved it that much. But anyway, that was a massive ramble, but it was the highlight of my summer vacation so far. :)
Stay tuned for more blogs!
Hope you're having a safe summer,
little jay.
July 13, 2010
Poll Result & Update.
So today the poll for the interactive story page closed,
and the results are a definate yes. :) I'm excited to start it, and after I blog I'll go start up the page, put down the things I've written for the story so far.
I'm still not really in "my zone" I guess you could call it for blogging, but I think it'll be good to start up again. I took a little break, focused on some other things and we'll see how this goes from here.
What have I been up tooo...
Well, First the job. I love it. It's so unpredictable with the variety of people that work there and the people that go eat there. It's a completely different atmosphere than my old job, and the leaders (managers) are really understanding and lenient. It's really fast paced which ironically I love. I go there and just focus on the task given to me and it completely takes my mind off things. I've had two shifts so far and I can't wait to work more.
Secondly, Summer Schoooool. Booo. No one likes to have to wake up early during their summer vacation and go work through some school modules. I've come to learn I work pretty well under pressure, considering I'm standing at a mark above an 85. Compared to the 4 month earned 63, I think it's quite the improvement. But we never know how the last few modules, midterm and final are going to be, so fingers crossed. I figured out that I actually need to ask questions, something I never do in class.
Also, in 4 days I'll be going to the lovely and warm British Columbia for a week of camping with my family, and second family. :) I'm super duper excited considering right now, Edmonton weather is being bipolar. It'll be all sunny and pretty one minute, then the next its like torrential rainfall and depressing gray skies. It'll be good to get away from everything for a few days, especially with my best friend. If I was to be stuck in a 10 hour car-ride with my brother who whistles like its going out of style, I think I would end up in a mental hospital. So I'm super glad her family is coming along.
You should check out her blog too peoples.
I must be off though, math is calling my name sadly.
little jay
Brittany's Blog: http://www.projectbeexoxo.blogspot.com/
and the results are a definate yes. :) I'm excited to start it, and after I blog I'll go start up the page, put down the things I've written for the story so far.
I'm still not really in "my zone" I guess you could call it for blogging, but I think it'll be good to start up again. I took a little break, focused on some other things and we'll see how this goes from here.
What have I been up tooo...
Well, First the job. I love it. It's so unpredictable with the variety of people that work there and the people that go eat there. It's a completely different atmosphere than my old job, and the leaders (managers) are really understanding and lenient. It's really fast paced which ironically I love. I go there and just focus on the task given to me and it completely takes my mind off things. I've had two shifts so far and I can't wait to work more.
Secondly, Summer Schoooool. Booo. No one likes to have to wake up early during their summer vacation and go work through some school modules. I've come to learn I work pretty well under pressure, considering I'm standing at a mark above an 85. Compared to the 4 month earned 63, I think it's quite the improvement. But we never know how the last few modules, midterm and final are going to be, so fingers crossed. I figured out that I actually need to ask questions, something I never do in class.
Also, in 4 days I'll be going to the lovely and warm British Columbia for a week of camping with my family, and second family. :) I'm super duper excited considering right now, Edmonton weather is being bipolar. It'll be all sunny and pretty one minute, then the next its like torrential rainfall and depressing gray skies. It'll be good to get away from everything for a few days, especially with my best friend. If I was to be stuck in a 10 hour car-ride with my brother who whistles like its going out of style, I think I would end up in a mental hospital. So I'm super glad her family is coming along.
You should check out her blog too peoples.
I must be off though, math is calling my name sadly.
little jay
Brittany's Blog: http://www.projectbeexoxo.blogspot.com/
July 6, 2010
update.
So, clearly as you see. I haven't been in the mood to blog the past few days.
There has been some hectic stuff going on, some mentioned in my previous posts.
For one, I'm in summer school. I'm re-taking Math 30 since I didn't get the mark I was aiming for the first time.
Secondly, as you all know, I got a job! This week has been training week, so my schedule has been off the wall. Here's a little look into my day:
6:30 am: wake up
8:30 am: Summer School!
9:30 or 10:30 am: leave to go to job training
10 or 11 am: Job training starts!
2 or 3: Job training ends
3-9: completely do modules, study training stuff for a big employee test.
Although it doesn't look like alot, it can get quite overwhelming. Especially with how intense this training is, literally you cover every single aspect of being a hostess. (For those of you not knowing, I got the job at Earl's Restraunt as a hostess/ assistant server)
I don't really know when I'll be in the mood to blog, to be honest. I don't want to just write down complete bull in this blog, and actually want to mean what I say and make it mean something. I'll come back with fresh ideas, and blog more than ever!
until further notice,
little jay.
There has been some hectic stuff going on, some mentioned in my previous posts.
For one, I'm in summer school. I'm re-taking Math 30 since I didn't get the mark I was aiming for the first time.
Secondly, as you all know, I got a job! This week has been training week, so my schedule has been off the wall. Here's a little look into my day:
6:30 am: wake up
8:30 am: Summer School!
9:30 or 10:30 am: leave to go to job training
10 or 11 am: Job training starts!
2 or 3: Job training ends
3-9: completely do modules, study training stuff for a big employee test.
Although it doesn't look like alot, it can get quite overwhelming. Especially with how intense this training is, literally you cover every single aspect of being a hostess. (For those of you not knowing, I got the job at Earl's Restraunt as a hostess/ assistant server)
I don't really know when I'll be in the mood to blog, to be honest. I don't want to just write down complete bull in this blog, and actually want to mean what I say and make it mean something. I'll come back with fresh ideas, and blog more than ever!
until further notice,
little jay.
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