Personal Sunday #2: Weeks

It is currently 4 o'clock in the morning, and I have been up far too long putting together a travel book.  This travel book is a collection of places I need to see and things I need to do.  While I was doing that, I decided to do some math.

WARNING- You’ll probably judge me for this post.

ADDITIONAL WARNING- I won’t care in the least.  I am who I am(:

According to disabled-world.com, I am roughly 1,000 weeks old.

And, according to gosset.wharton.upenn.edu, I will live to be about 85.67. (This estimate angers me because I don’t drink or smoke; I eat healthy and I exercise regularly…I digress.)

That leaves me roughly 3,000 weeks left to live.

There are, debatably, 196 countries in the world, and we all know the US has 50 states.  I have already been to 11 countries and 10 states.

That leaves 186 countries and 40 states for me to see.

If I stay in these 226 places for two weeks each, it will take up 452 weeks of my life. That is about 9 years of travel.

That leaves 2,548 weeks left to finish school, get a job, save my money, make friends, fall in love, get sick, get healthy, eat, sleep, exercise…

2,548 weeks left over AFTER traveling to all of these places.  And, may I remind you, I have only lived about 1,000 weeks already.  2,548 weeks is a lot of time.

The reason I did all this research is to prove to myself that I have time to, literally, see the ENTIRE world.  So, next time you think that you are "too old" to do something that you really want to do, you may want to rethink your statement.

Much Love,

Me

Hard Candy Lash Ink Review

The claims as stated on hardcandy.com:

Mascara that won’t quit until you do. Our innovative four day lash stain coats every lash.  Layer on mascara and at the end of the day, Lash Ink will stay put.  Go ahead and swim, sweat, shower or cry (happy tears) – lashes will look flawless no matter what the circumstance.

The price: around $7

I'll be the first to admit it- I love gimmicks.  Products that claim to do what others can't intrigues me.  So, when I heard about Hard Candy Lash Ink in August 2013's Seventeen Magazine, I was really interested.  I told myself to finish off some other mascaras before buying it, but once I did, I was all over it!

Initial Impressions: 

First and foremost, this brush is very long and skinny.  It is a little difficult getting as close to the base of the lashes as possible with this brush.  This is a stain, so expect a very wet application.

I am happy with how my lashes looked with this product on- very black, separated (read: not clumpy  at all), with decent length.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture after I first applied it, but I almost think that they stayed looking the same throughout the four days.  However, I am getting ahead of myself.

Test One: Swimming

So a few hours after applying this mascara, my family went to a water park.  To me, the water park was the ultimate test of this mascara.  We played HARD.  If you need proof, check out this picture of me and my tan sunburn lines:

BY THE WAY!  This would be an EXCELLENT time to tell you...

 REAPPLY THAT SUNSCREEN!

Anyway, my lashes are still separated, dark, and long.  I was very pleased.

Day Two

My lashes still looked really good the second day.  By now I had noticed a little flaking.  Also, I just want to through this out there- yes, my eyebrows are atrocious and, yes,  I have no make-up on except for mascara in any of these pictures.  And, no, I don't care.

Day Three

Today, I really put this product to the test.  I worked out.  I went for a walk/run; I also tried racing a train, but that didn't go very well.

My lashes could stand a retouch, but they are still stained.  I took a bath and washed my face (avoiding my eyes) afterward as well.  The product continued to flake, but not in crazy amounts.

Day Four

I'd say that by day four, the product really had disappeared.

All-in-all:

I really am happy with this product.  It lasted three days through swimming, washing, sweating, and eyes watering.  For $7, I would buy it again; I liked the way it made my lashes look.  I'd venture to say that this would be the perfect summer mascara stain!

Additional thoughts:

This stain doesn't play nice layered with other mascaras.

Layering two coats of the stain on top of each other makes my lashes stick together.

Make-up wipes don't make this stain budge.  

Make-up remover won't take this stuff off either. 

So, tell me.  Are you interested in Hard Candy Lash Ink?  Let me know!

Until Later, Lovelies!

Me

Personal Sunday #1: My Magazine Obsession

Hey guys!  I know that lately I have only been posting on Wednesdays.  However, I want to introduce  something I'd like to call "Personal Sundays."  Every once in a while, I want to share something about myself with the world.  Today, I'd like to show you my magazine obsession.

This is my magazine collection:

As of today, June 22nd, 2014, I have:

2 InStyle

1 Rolling Stone

(All three of which have Taylor Swift on the cover.)

1 Popstar!

2 J-14

2 M

1 Tigerbeat

(Popstar!, J-14, M, and Tigerbeat are from my middle school days.)

1 Allure

2 Lucky

1 Self 

3 Cosmopolitan

2 GL

2 CosmoGirl

1 Sports Illustrated

1 Health

1 Woman’s Health (which is different than regular “Health,” I guess.)

1 Women’s Running

1 Woman’s Triathlon

1 Shape

2 Fitness

2 Redbook

1 Bazar

12 Self

18 Glamour

26 Teen Vogue

60 Seventeen

...147 magazines in all.  

That does count the two years of Cosmopolitan I stole from my friend (and gave back) or all the old lady magazines I read at my Granny’s beauty parlor.   I did not count all the magazines I probably threw away because I spill things more often than a normal human being.  The magazines I read over the shoulder of the person in front of me during middle school choir were also not counted.

The fact of the matter is that I’m obsessed.  I feel like I should follow my obsession and try become a magazine writer.

My tip for success: 

Listen to your healthy obsessions.  Those passions will lead you to lifelong happiness.

Much Love,

Me

Fashion, Modeling, and Me...Just Being Me

I have a friend that wants to become a photographer, and I just so happen have spent many a-night binge watching America's Next Top Model.  A few days ago we set out to practice both of our skill sets.  Fifteen ticks later, here are some super cute outfits in semi-awkward poses.

Let's Get Down To Business

This outfit features some adorable suede wedges from Rue21, a thick chain necklace from Vanity, a blazer from Maurice's, and a dark wash chambray shirt.  I layered the blazer and chambray shirt over a plain v-neck tee from Wetseal.  And the skinny jeans?  The ones that hung my body in all the right places?  They were a glorious gift from Santa.  Who knew he could be so stylish?

 Summer Lovin'

These are darker pictures.  The sun was going down at this point. None the less, I find this a cute outfit.  The blue lace dress and belt are from Amazon.  I threw on a cream cardigan that I got from a foreign land (a Belgium boutique to be exact...but don't rush to Belgium on my account.  The shopping isn't that good.).  I paired that with nude heels from Shoe Dazzle that make my legs look like they go on for miles.  And lastly, I have a gold "LOVE" bracelet on a coral band.  I'm not sure if the bracelet goes with the outfit, but I've seen weirder things done in fashion.

Giddy On Up

This is the last outfit I will share with you today.  I stole this dress and belt from my photographer friend, but she didn't seem to mind.  I have amazing, $20 Kmart boots on and an owl necklace, coincidentally, also from Santa.  My photographer friend (who does have a name, but I enjoy an air of mystery) also did my hair all pretty.  Check it out:

Me...Just Being Me

Sophistication at its finest.

Later Lovelies,

Me

The Destination

I do a lot of internet surfing.  It is currently 2:30am, and I just caught up with a month of blogs that I have missed, researched careers, and imagined where I want to move to when I graduate college.  After that, I happened upon a website that lists inspirational quotes.  It was then when I found this gold nugget for thought:

The journey is more important than the destination.

This quote is very similar to the tattoo I got a few months ago. “Life is the journey.” Like most anyone’s tattoos, mine means so much to me.  However, by the slight adjustment of wording, it got me to thinking about my tattoo in a different way.

The only place we are all heading toward is death.  I know, I know- that is an extremely depressing thought, but hear me out.  If you ask people where they would rather be right now they would list destinations.  Some examples of “destinations” in this context include, but are not limited to,

Getting in shape
Becoming happy
Having a lot of money
Or, in my case, becoming successful.

But if we wait for that exact moment- that exact section of our lives- that we define as our “destination,” who is to say that we won’t miss it?  Who is to say that we will be able to detect exactly when we are at the peak, the pinpoint, of getting in shape?  How do we know that we are as happy as we are ever going to get?  Will there will be a big neon sign or blow horn saying you just reached the peak amount of income you will ever receive?  No.

The only thing that we know is going to happen is death.  Which is actually kind of beautiful if you think about it.  We have a finite amount of time on this earth.  It is that deadline that makes people move and take action.  I know that for me, knowing that I don’t have all the time in the world makes me extremely motivated to leave it better than I came into it.

Knowing that the only thing certain in life is death is important when trying to figure out the time between now and our REAL destination.  Steve Jobs once spoke at a college graduation about how on a tomb stone there is the year you were born and the year you died with a dash in between.  The year you were born doesn’t matter- you are already alive.  The year you die doesn’t matter because none of us know when that day will come.  It is the dash in between that matters.  "What will you do with your dash?” he asks.

I will use my dash the best I can.  I will follow my heart and create the career that I want.  Along the way, I will help others.  I will make them feel beautiful and appreciated.  I will make them feel like they matter.  Because, you know what?  They do.

Much Love,

Me

A Gratitude Letter- What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid?

To Who It May Concern,

I traveled with People to People twice.  Once as a fifth grader in 2005, then as a sixth grader in 2006.  I was just a doe-eyed twelve year old looking for something to feed her adventurous spirit.

I remember snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I recall memories of standing in line in London when the last Harry Potter book came out, and trying authentic vegemite at an Australian ranch.  I played Cricket, took the 30-minute London Eye ride, and boarded numerous planes.  In those two trips- four weeks combined- I learned more about myself and the world than I believe some people ever learn in their lives.

Eight years later, here I am.  Almost twenty years old and I just got done traveling with a college friend of mine through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, and Southern California.  In all, I have been to ten different countries including Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Austria.  With all that said, it makes me wonder- who would I be if not for People to People?  Would I so easily push myself out of my comfort zone?  Would I be afraid of the world only knowing small-town South Dakota life?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that going on those trips with People to People was life-altering even if I didn’t realize it back then.

I guess the purpose of this letter was to thank you for allowing me to have had those opportunities.  I am not sure where I am going from here.  Maybe I will be a writer for a travel magazine in four years.  Maybe I’ll own my own.  Or maybe I’ll break into the advertising industry and take the world by storm there.  People to People brought me courage.  So wherever I’m going, I promise you, it will be anything but ordinary.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Sincerely,

Me