5 Things I'm Loving

Listening to Crazy by Britney Spears
Loving ALL THE THINGS (They probably have a meme for that already)
    So I realize I don't normally post listy-type posts. And I'm not saying that's good or bad - I really love all the listy posts from the blogs I follow - I'm just saying this is out of the ordinary for me. I just got this fabulous package from e.l.f. last night and had to share my loot.

Thing #1: e.l.f. Mineral Moisturizing Lip Tint (SPF 8) in Guava. 

So the first time I bought this, I looked at Guava, but I went with Natural. It has the color and opacity of a lipstick, but the lightweight feel of  gloss without being sticky at all. It goes on super smooth and feels great on. The problem was that Natural was pretty much nude, and at the time in January, I desperately needed color. I thought about Guava again, but it just seemed too coral-y, too bright for winter. These babies are only $3 a pop, so next time I ordered make-up a few weeks later, I got Rose. Unfortunately it turned out almost fuchsia, which on my mother and I (because of our weird undertones) just looks way wrong. I had to wait a bit to order more make-up because I got sick and my paychecks were small from missing work, but when I ordered again last week, I finally caved and got Guava, and I totally should have gotten it from the beginning. It's absolutely perfect. Thing is, though, with the right make-up, I can make the other two work, so I highly recommend this to anyone. 

Thing #2: e.l.f. Mineral Foundation (SPF 15) in Fair

I cannot believe the incredible deal this stuff is. First off, it's super cheap for how awesome it is - mineral foundation for only $5. I've bought the same stuff from many other cosmetic companies, and it's normally three or four times more than that price. Albeit the e.l.f. is only .1 oz. and the competitors are about twice that, but if I buy two of the e.l.f. foundations, it's still half the price of the competitors! They even have a set that has the same foundation here, and a foundation powder brush for the same price - only $5! Plus the coverage is perfect, and it blends so well. I'm in absolute love. How do you do it??

Thing #3: e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow in Elegant

 Now I've already told y'all how much I love this stuff. I even wrote a letter to it. But I still love it, so I thought I should just talk it up a little more. First off, it's only $3, for mineral eyeshadow, which is just awesome. e.l.f. is always having great sales on it, too. Because it's awesome, so why wouldn't they? I really love all the colors I have - which is almost half of the 28 shades - and I'm sure if I bought more, I'd love them, too. The color is so rich and eye-catching (see what I did there?). Just, please. Buy one and see for yourself. Elegant is a great champagne color, and Smoldering is a nice smokey gray with a little shimmer. They're probably my favorites and would look great with any eye color. 

Thing #4: Honey Mangoes

About four years ago I had the Summer of the Mango. Through a series of events involving a bicycle and the owner of an Asian restaurant near the square, my mom ended up with a huge box of mangoes. Like twenty-five of them. And I ate one every day for like about a month. I discovered that mangoes are the greatest things on earth (except for people who are allergic to them - I pity you folks). So this summer, mangoes are my thing. Specifically honey mangoes. Because I can't tell when the other ones are ripe since their colors are different. Me and honey mangoes - we get each other. They may be messy and sticky, and juicy, but I could eat eight in one sitting. I just can't afford to buy that many. 

Thing #5: Britney Spears (old school)

Blame my sister, Maggs. She's been listening to some serious B.Spears lately, and got me feeling it again. It happens every summer. Not Britney specifically, but old nineties stuff I used to listen to when I was a kid. *NSync, Backstreet Boys, you know what I'm talking about. Nineties Pop. I never had any Britney CDs, but that doesn't mean I didn't know every word to the vast majority of her songs. And may have wished my school would erupt into a music video of Baby One More Time. We already wore uniforms, we were halfway there. 

What are you guys feeling this summer?

Wordy Wednesdays: Asperse

Listening to Outrageous by Britney Spears (judge me all you want)
About to go tan with Suzanne - that rhymed!

    It was slightly difficult to choose today's word. I was stuck between two equally awesome words - one which has almost no use except in insulting someone, which is always fun, and the other could be used more frequently but there are other words that have the same meaning. I ended up going with option two, just because it's easier to incorporate into everyday conversation.

 (uh-SPURS) v. to sprinkle; bespatter. to attack with false, malicious, and damaging charges or insinuations; slander.

    Let no man write my epitaph; for as no man knows my motives dares now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse them. 
James Joyce, Ulysses

In case anyone was curious, the runner up was the word varlet. Which sounds like harlot, so I liked it. :) 

Wordy Wednesday!

Listening to Caminos Cruzados (Malaguena) by Oscar Aleman 
Excited about dinner at Jerebear's and my writing group tonight!
    I've decided to add a few new features to the blog to get it a little more centered. I figure, it's summer - I have time to do this now. Things need to be more focused, something I'm not exactly good at, but I'm working on it. So. Introducing...

    Every Wednesday, I'll look through the dictionary and find a cool word that is maybe a bit more obsolete, or just so big that it's seldom used, and feature it on the blog! I used to do this in seventh grade, but I had a "Word of the Month" that I found in my Thesaurus. I'd choose a cool word and use it as often as I could. The problem was, I got stuck on the word "flabbergasting" for like four months... I promise that won't happen here. 
    So without further ado, this week's word is: 

(bih-LEY-ber) v. to explain, worry about, or work more than is necessary. to assail persistently, as with scorn or ridicule. to beat vigorously; ply with heavy blows. (obsolete) to labor at.
    Neither of them possessed energy or wit to belabor me soundly; but they insulted me as coarsely as they could in their little way. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

I'm Back!

from here

Listening to Clopin Clopant by Django Reinhardt. I'm learning to love this guy. Reminds me of the music from this Pixar short.
Contemplating what to make for dinner. Veggie Pizza? Chicken with goat cheese and lemon butter herb sauce? The possibilities are endless! Actually the possibilities sort of end there... I need to expand my cooking abilities.
    Hey, peeps! I'm back! I think life has officially calmed down enough for me to begin blogging semi-consistently again. Stop laughing. I'm going to get better at it. So, an update, yes?
     Finally reached the end of the semester, and got my grades back - two As, a B, and a C. I know, I'm not super happy about the C either, but the class was difficult, and I didn't enjoy it even though I worked hard for it, so I'll live with it. I'm pretty sure one of the Bs was borderline C, but my final project really made the difference in my grade. And the As were in my two favorite classes, so they were expected.
    Back in the last week of April, Coco was deployed. I'm not sure I'm allowed to say exactly where he is, but I'll just say middle east. I get to hear from him once a day if I'm lucky - a little facebook message if he can get access to the internet - and yes, it does suck. He could be there anywhere from seven to nine months. So if y'all could keep him in your prayers, that would be delightful.
    On Saturday night, my sister and I took my mom out to the Cheesecake Factory for Mother's Day. It's a tradition because Maggs and my mom love cheesecake. (My dad was out of state visiting his mother.) The dinner was absolutely delicious, as per usual, but I got the wrong dessert. I ordered the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake, which is not in fact a cheesecake, but chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse. I got it last year and only had three bites the first night then put it in the fridge at home, and by day two, everyone else in my family had eaten it for me. Even though they had their own cheesecakes to eat. So I didn't get to eat my own cake. This year, they gave me a truffle cheesecake instead. I hate cheesecake. So I didn't get to eat my cake this year either. Sadface.
    On a brighter note, I started a writing group with some friends this summer. We're meeting every other Wednesday to discuss what we're working on and critique each others' writing. Four of us are actually working on novels, and then the other one is doing short stories. For the sake of their privacy, I'll use the following nicknames: Kelly Kapowski, Moose, GI Bob, and This Friend. I'm pretty psyched about it. Finally letting people read the book I've been working on for the past four years - it's been four years now, guys!
    So yeah. Gonna be a fun summer. Gird your loins. Ha.