Half Man, Half Tree

Warning: Post contains graphic video and pictures.

I'm watching this documentary on TLC about an Indonesian fisherman named Dede with an unusual skin disorder. His body is covered with warts and his hands and feet are covered with so many warts that they are starting to look like branches. Hence, the nickname "Tree Man" that Dede is usually called. I had read an article about him a couple of months ago and was shocked by the pictures but, watching this documentary really made an impression on me.

Watching him trying to live a normal life with hands and feet so weighed down by warts makes me feel so shallow. I worry about trying to get rid of a couple pimples on my face or why my hair is limp and not curly from the curly girl method. His number one worry is providing for his family including his son and daughter. He provides for his family by participating in a freak show with others that have similar skin disorders.

Another man in Romania named Ion had the same condition. He underwent surgery to remove a layer of warts on his hand and skin was taken from his thigh for his hand. One of the first things he said after recovering from surgery was that he couldn't wait to shake his friends' hands. I'm always self-conscious of my sweaty palms, especially during the Lord's Prayer at Church when everyone holds hands, and here's this man who can't wait to shake people's hands because his fingers finally look like fingers even though the surgery damaged numerous nerves and his sense of touch is barely there. He also couldn't wait to return to work as a tractor driver. He was so excited he could finally drive a tractor again. Me - I'm disappointed when the weekend goes by too fast and Monday is right around the corner. I should be excited like Ion to be returning to a great job, especially in comparison to his, and working for a strong and wonderful company.

There's a scene in the documentary where Dede, the Indonesian fisherman, and his other friends that perform in the freak show, are eating lunch. They have a discussion about how hard it is to even split a boiled egg because they can't really use their hands for anything. Then they talk about how God made them like that so God will know what to do. So many other people in their situation would be angry with God. Then they talk about how it seems like all of them are always calm and never get mad. I know if I'm already having a bad day, one more bad thing would just ruin the rest of day or week for me. These people have been having bad decades and they can still laugh and joke around. You don't get the feeling either that they're hopeless or that they've given up on life.

Whenever I see or hear about situations like this, it always brings me back to reality and what SHOULD be in important in life. Being healthy is one of things I easily take for granted. I should be thankful I can get up in the morning by myself, brush my own teeth, leave my home and drive my own car to work. I should be thankful I'm strong enough to finish a step or weight lifting class at the gym. I shouldn't be focusing on the extra pounds that I've gained because of all the food I easily have access to, which is a blessing in itself. I should be thankful that there's a Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and shopping mall all within 5 minutes of me and not be all sad if they don't have my leave-in conditioner or limited edition MAC lipstick in stock. Dede didn't have a hospital closer to him than the one located four hours away.

Even though I should be packing for my upcoming trip, I don't feel like this time was wasted. This reminds me of what's important but, easily taken for granted. A lot of the things I worry about now probably won't even matter to me in a year. I should have that hunger for life like Dede and his friends and Ion. I was worried earlier about obtaining travel size products for my trip like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. Instead I should have been packing with no worries and just be happy that in the next few days I'll be reunited with my family for the New Year. When I look back at this time, I won't be thinking about that great travel size lotion I bought, but the time I was blessed to spend with my family.

Video from mrblogged on You Tube and picture from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1foyZFQbPzjh-o0hFG_EgB9T0FI_lqIJSqErV5f8pkUBOB2gLSesg8csGn27DID8TXLeyNsvjaruH8qBb9YKf9VeeykwWU45jxqRcZL5S1M-1rGQgaF3nu-i81V3ziUWBna7IIiruyMk/s1600-h/20071121_treeman.jpg

Going out vs. Staying home products

I have a ton of beauty products at my house. I have an assortment of shampoos, conditioners, body washes, lotions, moisturizers, styling products, lip balm - the list could go on and on. I have a shower stand that's overflowing with stuff. It's so full I've started putting products on the sides of the tub, which is the whole reason why the shower stand was installed in the first place.

All the products get used eventually. I use them according to what I've categorized them as. I have separate "Going Out" products and "Staying Home" products. We'll refer to them as GO and SH products from now on. GO products aren't necessarily more expensive than SH products but, they are more effective. It's kind of like you reserve your best stuff for when you're actually leaving the house and other human beings are going to see you. The SH products you'll use and won't really care the outcome of it too much. I've never had my dog say anything about the way I look when I use my SH stuff. Some of the products are both GO and SH. Am I making sense?

My hair product inventory used to be a lot worse. It used to be broken up into 3 categories - straight hair, curly hair and staying home. (I'm getting Monica - from Friends - flashbacks right now.) Now it's only the two categories GO and SH.

My Current Going Out (GO) Products:

Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo
Giovanni 50/50 Balancing Conditioner
St. Ives Elements Microdermabrasion face scrub
Sephora Birthday Cake bodywash (Remember that one I got for free? It smells so good.)
Dove Soap
Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Dual Action Toner
Aveeno Daily Moisturizer with SPF15
Blistex Lip Balm
Giovanni Direct Leave-In Conditioner
Herbal Essences Set Me Up gel


My Current Staying Home (SH) Products

Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo
Nexxus Humectress Moisturizing Conditioner (more expensive than the Giovanni 50/50 balancing conditioner but, I think the Giovanni conditioner works better)
St. Ives Apricot Cleanser/Mask
Caress Bodywash
Dove Soap
Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Dual Action Toner
Oil of Olay moisturizer with SPF15 (I need to pick up another one of these. I just ran out the other day)
Blistex Lip Balm
Giovanni VitaPro Fusion Leave-in Hair Treatment


So folks, is this normal behaviour?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (for those who don't celebrate Christmas). I hope everyone spends time with their loved ones and receives everything they could ever need and some of the things you want.






I love when dogs are dressed up for holidays like Christmas and Halloween. I always like that Halloween email entitled "Why Pets hate Halloween."


Happy Holidays!










Images courtesy of:
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cm/goodhousekeeping/images/FX/hercules-santaclaus-de.jpg
http://www.anniemayhem.com/blog%20pics/ChristmasPuppy.jpg

I modifed my Modifed Curly Girl Method

Curly Girl Method isn't perfect, at least not for me, so I ended up having to change my already modified Curly Girl method. My hair is wavy not really curly. I'm guessing conditioner washing AND using a leave-in conditioner was starting to weigh my hair down.

This weekend I decided to try using a sulfate/silicone free shampoo- Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo. I then carried on with my normal shower routine using Giovanni 50/50 Balanced conditioner for my rinse out conditioner. After my shower, I did not use any leave-in conditioner. Just skipped that step entirely. Then I just continued on with scrunching and applying gel to my hair.



I plopped for about 15 minutes. I think I get better results when I diffuse my hair with a blow dryer instead of letting it air dry but, sometimes I'm just in a rush that I don't have time to blow dry all my hair. I think I'll be sticking with my new routine for a little bit.


This was by the end of the day. I can't wait for the products that I have now to run out so I can try some new products.







Trying to take this picture really reminded me of the infamous Myspace bathroom picture. You know what I'm talking about. You've posted up at least one bathroom pic.

I'm going to be a Jabbawockee!

Orrrrr maybe I'm trying to clear up my skin with Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. I've never tried a mask before. I'm starting to have a couple problem areas in between the middle of my eyebrows and near the right side of my chin. I've been using Mario Badescu drying lotion but, I want something to work STAT.

After reading Ailene's post about skin care, I decided to try a mask and Clean&Clear Persa-gel 10. I'll let you know if it works. I won't gross you guys out buy posting a before picture with pimples galore. I'll definitely post an after picture if my skin clears up.

By the way, that picture above was my best attempt at smiling. Those masks harden up quick. I feel like this mask makes my lips look bigger and really enhance (might not be the right word for what I'm about to say) the unevenness of my eyes. My left eye looks bigger than my right eye. This is not a spot the stuff wrong with Marjorie's face game either, haha. I'll be getting comments like it's not JUST your eyes that look crazy but also your (insert other facial feature here)....

Season for Giving

Today I had the opportunity to volunteer for the Salvation Army. First off I would like to thank everyone who participated. I will definitely have a team name made up for us next year.

You've probably seen the Salvation Army in collaboration with the Marines collecting items for Toys for Tots and the Angel Tree. Our task today was to help the families who qualified "shop" for these items. The toys were set up in this huge warehouse. It used to be a store called HQ, a store similar to Lowes and Home Depot.
My job was to be a "shopper". Basically, I would have a cart, usually with some extra toys already in it, then I would be assigned a person, who would be picking out gifts for their children. The aisles were divided by gender and age groups. As we would go down the aisle, volunteers and Marines would be putting in freebie gifts into the cart. By the time we got to the end of the aisle, the car would usually be stuffed full. Then if they had an Angel Tree gift available we would pick it up before we checked out. After checking out, they even received canned goods and other food. Then I would assist another person with picking out gifts all over again.

Most of the others in my group were shoppers but, some had to also assist families to their cars and call out the numbers for people waiting in line to pick out toys (and there were a lot).

Even though the Holidays may be a hard time for the individuals that came today, seeing them leave with carts full of toys made me hope that the Toys for Tots and Angel Tree program brightened their Christmas season at least a little. I wish I could have taken a picture of how many toys there were. Every toy you could imagine was in there including nice bikes. They were quality toys too, not just toys you can purchase at the Dollar Tree.

A million thanks to my group! Thank you for coming out and giving up your Saturday afternoon.

Thank you Josh #1, Marie, Jenessa, Megan, Josh #2, Tin, Suzie, Christle, Danielle, (not pictured) Andrew, Andrew's sister and friend, Rosalee, JR, Norma, Tarsha, Jovie, Darlene, Morgan, and Marivic.

Birds Are Kinda Scary

Does anyone else get freaked out when they see hoards of birds together? I don't know what it is but, when I see a lot of birds hanging out, like 100 or more, it kind of creeps me out. I'm not scared of birds either, just a large population of them all in one spot.

Christmas Shopping

This past weekend I bought gifts for almost everyone on my Christmas list. I have a couple people left to buy gifts for. I was proud of myself too because I didn't spend money on myself. Well except for food but I had to eat. Even though I didn't spend money on myself doesn't mean I went home empty handed.

The Queen of coupons used her skills. I was able to get two items - Very Sexy makeup remover and Sephora Happy Birthday Bath and Shower Bubbles (basically body wash). I used a $10 coupon certificate at Victoria's Secret to get my Very Sexy makeup remover which was priced at $10 - you do the math. I actually prefer Clinique Take the Day off makeup remover and had run out but, I really didn't feel like spending $17.50 on makeup remover while I was trying to budget for Christmas presents.

The Sephora Happy Birthday Bath and Shower Bubbles is actually a gift that all the Sephora Beauty Insiders receive on their birthday. When I had tried to redeem mine at a Sephora located in a JC Penney (this is when I didn't have a real Sephora store near me yet) they told me that only the actual stores carried the body wash. Sephora sent me an email reminder this past weekend to pick up my birthday gift since I couldn't get it before. Well I finally got my hands on it and it smells YUMMY..like cake!

My wimpy lashes

I only recently (within a year) started using mascara. I never used to bother with mascara before because my lashes were nonexistent. I felt like I had to start wearing mascara since I was doing a full face worth of makeup anyways. When I did start curling my lashes and using mascara, I did notice a difference.

Currently, I use (from left to right), Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Waterproof Microfiber Mascara, L'oreal Full Definition Voluminous Mascara and Shu Uemura eyelash curler.I always heard good things about the Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I ended up getting it with my $15 Sephora coupon. I haven't had the chance to try the Shieseido mascara base but, wanted to purchase a mascara base for my work Christmas party. I ended up getting the Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Waterproof Microfiber Mascara. It's a two-sided mascara. One side is a white base and the other side is black mascara. I think the base works well. I haven't tried other mascara bases so I can't truly compare but, compared to my lashes without a base I notice a difference.

I didn't particularly like the black mascara side of Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Waterproof Microfiber Mascara. The black mascara side didn't do anything for my lashes which is why I had to buy a separate black mascara.


My wimpy lashes. There's nothing on my lashes in this picture. You can see I'm wearing a Turbie-twist too. I like to multitask.







After curling my lashes with the Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I'm sorry this picture is kind of blurry.


After two coats of the white base side of Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Waterproof Microfiber Mascara.







The next pictures are the final pictures including two coats of L'oreal Full Definition Voluminous Mascara. These pictures may freak out people who are grossed out by eyes. The angle is kind of weird too but, I couldn't get a good eyelash shot.



I like the length that these products give my lashes. Not bad for the price either. Both products were about $6 each. The Shu Uemura eyelash curler was $19. I like the length that I get with these two prodcuts, but I wish they made my lashes appear thicker. I know DiorShow mascara has received good reviews for making your lashes thicker. I had also purchased that with my $15 Sephora coupon but, returned it because it really irritated my eyes. Any other suggestions for mascara besides DiorShow that would make my lashes thicker?

Proof Curly Girl method works

This post should have been the second entry of my blog, following my introduction. I did an experiment this weekend. I wanted to see if the curly girl method really does make a difference. In one of my earlier posts, I discussed why sulfates and silicones were so bad and not CG method approved. Chemically, it made sense. Silicones that were not water soluble prevented conditioner from penetrating your hair and silicones could only be removed by sulfates which were too harsh for your hair so sulfates and certain silicones should be eliminated from your hair routine.

This weekend, I did my hair as usual, EXCEPT I used products with sulfates and silicones. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that using CG method approved products DO indeed make a difference. When I used products with sulfates and silicones, my hair did have a slight wave to it but, nothing like the results I got from the CG method. Products with sulfates and silicones weighed my hair done and my curl didn't hold. My hair was limp and by the end of the day I barely had any curl definition.

Day 1 - I used Pantene Hydrating Curls Shampoo and Pantene Hydrating Curls Condtioner. For my leave-in conditioner I used Frederic Fekkai Glossing Creme. Frederic Fekkai Glossing creme is a more high-end product. It's usually found at salons, Sephora and Ulta. For my gel, I used my usual Herbal Essences Set Me up gel.
These two pictures were taken right after I was done fixing my hair. My hair looks a little weighed down. This was right before I left to go Christmas gift shopping.

The next two pictures are after I got home from the mall. I barely have any curl left and I feel like my hair looks drier.


Day 2 - I used Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Shampoo and Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Conditioner. I used the same leave-in conditioner and gel - Frederic Fekkai glossing creme and Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel.

Before I took a shower, I noticed my hair felt drier. It took me forever to comb my hair after I put conditioner in it during my shower. It was actually hurting me to comb through it because my hair was so dry, tangled and knotty. Another thing I noticed is my body felt waxy by the end of my shower. I'm guessing the waxiness is from the Herbal Essences Totally Twisted conditioner which contains silicones that are not water soluble. Even when I rinsed my self really well, I could still feel the waxiness. I never noticed that waxiness before I started doing the CG method.

These pictures were taken at the end of the night. I had just come back from eating at a Mexican restaurant. My hair was limp and some parts weren't even curly.


Conclusion: Curly Girl method definitely works. You don't even have to do the CG method step by step either. I mentioned before that I actually do a modified version of it. A plus side to the CG method is that a lot of CG method approved products are easy to find and cheap. Even when I used the more expensive Frederic Fekkai glossing creme (which has silicones that are not water soluble), it was no competition for my $7 Giovanni Direct Leave-in Conditioner.

I was going to do this experiment for a week but, I really disliked how my hair looked and felt. I will be starting CG method over again, getting rid of the silicones with a clarifying shampoo, the next time I wash my hair.

I've been tagged!

"Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with sixteen random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end choose ten people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment (“you’re it”) and to read your blog. You can’t tag the person who tagged you. Since you can’t tag me, let me know when you’ve posted your blog, so i can see your weirdness."

Janelle and Ailene have both tagged me. I think I'll have to steal something similar like this that I already had on Myspace. I now tag Christle.

If you're reading this and you haven't been tagged, feel free to fill it out - I tag YOU!

1. I love eating. I mean really love eating. Especially cheeseburgers, ice cream, chicken - just as long as it's not too healthy. At work, everyone sends food my way like I'm a garbage disposal. One of my good friends always says that I say everything is the best - I just had the best cheeseburger, the best ice cream cone, the best chinese buffet (props to Red City), the best pizza - no matter where I eat. I don't pick up on it but, she even noticed it on my Hibachi (boyfriend work Christmas party) entry. I talked about how good the food was. I can't help it. I LOVE food. I don't think I could ever be a food critic.

2. I used to be obsessed with changing my hair color ALOT. It would keep going back and forth between light and dark, many times within a week. And now I'm trying to go more natural. Not so much color and embrace the curl more.

3. I really do consider my dog to be my daughter. I even like to dress her up with coordinating top and hair bows. I even hold her like a baby and try to put her to sleep like one. I've had her since August 2004. My grandmother named her after Korina Sanchez who's famous in the Philippines.

4. I love makeup, hair, or anything to do with beauty products and had dreams of working for a makeup company (hence the Chemical Engineering degree). I was allergic to MAC at one point then tried it again and wasn't so I started buying MAC once a week. You can find me at your local Sephora, Ulta, MAC counter, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, Walmart - anywhere they have makeup and hair products.

5. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that God has everything planned out for me. When I miss out on something that I really wanted, I try to reassure myself that God doesn't want me to have it now because it is not the right time or He has something better in store for me. Or if I happen to be in a bad situation, I try to go with the flow and know that God is planning something great for me even if I don't understand the way He's doing it. Or something has to be taken away from me to benefit someone else, someone who is in more dire circumstances than myself but, God would never put me through anything I can't handle.

6. I miss playing sports especially tennis and volleyball. Going to the gym isn't the same as being on a team.

7. Some people tell me I have an accent but, they can never tell me what kind of accent it is. Maybe you can decipher it from my hair tutorial.

8. When I get out of the shower, I walk on my tippy toes because I don't like my feet touching the floor when they're damp. My old roomates will agree and called me a name when I would do it.

9. My grandmother, mom and me all do this twirly thing with our thumbs when we're sitting down. I don't even notice when we're all doing it at the same time. When we used to all go to Church together, you could see us in a row twirling our thumbs simultaneously.

10. I am a sister of the finest Multicultural Sorority in existence. ONE love! I was the deuce of my line - so 2's represent. I pledged Fall 2001. I am very much into diversity and meeting people of various ethnic backgrounds. I'm not into the whole I don't see color - I don't care if you're white, black, brown, green, blue blah blah blah. I recognize that everyone is different but, I choose instead to embrace all those differences. What is so wrong with being different? The world would be a very boring place if everyone was the same. I went to this one "Improving Relationships in the Work Place" kind of seminar. The only thing I remember from it was that diversity was necessary in the world. If two people were exactly alike, there would be a need for only one of those two people to exist.

11. This is hard. Finding 16 interesting facts. My all time favorite TV show is Friends. Right now I also currently like Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of Atlanta (dang it Bravo, got me hooked on all your shows), and What Not to Wear. I also like the Saved by the Bell and Wings reruns.

12. I get kinda cranky if I'm tired AND hungry. I think it's the hunger part that makes me more crankier. I think I get cranky because I get nauseous and have a headache when I'm hungry. My dad's the same way.

13. I have unusually large, muscular calves. I even had to get boots from this one website that made boots for huge calves. Us big calved girls want to be cute and tuck our pants and tree trunks into boots too you know. I used to be very self conscious about my calves but, now I've learned to accept and appreciate them 100%. Fashion-wise sometimes it is difficult. I really liked this past summer's look of gladiator sandals but I just couldn't pull it off.

The look I was going forHow I ended up lookingPicture courtesy of https://www.alexanderscostumes.com/store/images/Roman%20Gladiator%20Costume%2015007.jpg

14. I'm weird about sleeping in beds not my own. I can't sleep right - at other people's houses or hotels. Even if the hotel is a nice, 5 star hotel. I'm always relieved to get back to my own bed. There's no place like home. (The tag said interesting facts right. Can you tell I'm struggling?)

15. I dislike running but, this year I started running in races as a challenge to myself. So far I have done a 5K, 8K and 10K. I would like to do a 1/2 marathon and full marathon before I turn 30. I *dream* of doing a triathlon except I'm not that strong of a swimmer unless I swim on my back. Does anyone know if official triathlon rules will allow me to swim on my back? As you can tell from the picture on the right, I've modeled my running form after Phoebe from Friends.










Team Spice Girls

16. Last fact. I love bargains, coupons and sales. I even have a coupon organizer that takes up a lot of room in my purse. I'm always clipping out coupons. Some of my favorites websites are blogs dedicated to coupons and bargains. I have to get a new Entertainment book. You know what book I'm talking about right? It's usually sold as a fundraiser and it's a book of good coupons. They were selling it at Bed, Bath and Beyond, where I purchased mine, so I used my 20% off coupon to purchase that. Smart, ehh? I think my blog can be used as a drinking game. Take a shot everytime I mention Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Curly Girl Method tutorial

I never knew video tutorials were so hard. (I'm actually waiting for the video to upload on youtube right now and that's taking forever. I'm definitely doing pictures from now on. It is taking soooo long. And I didn't even do any kind of editing or adding music.) I have new respect for the bloggers out there who do video tutorials. I was about to give up and just do pictures. My boyfriend was the one taking the video so of course he made me laugh a couple times.

Remember this video is not professional i.e., it's shot in my bathroom and it got accidentally cut off at the end when my boyfriend pressed the stop button. I made the video because the written instructions just seem a lot more complicated. I wanted to show people how easy it was so they wouldn't be discouraged about trying the curly girl method.

Video 1 - Applying products and plopping



Video 2 - Diffusing my hair




I didn't diffuse my hair all the way. I got lazy. That's the beauty of curly hair though. Air drying is just as good. Even if you think your hair is straight, try it. You might be pleasantly surprised. Keep in mind two important things: use a clarifying shampoo to rid your hair of buildup and apply the leave-in conditioner and gel when your hair is soaking wet. Don't even towel dry a little bit after you wash your hair.

Do not read if you LIKE pimples!

Now that I'm older I seem to be breaking out more. I thought you were supposed to have your acne issues during puberty. I seem to break out in the worst places too. The other day, I started getting this big pimple right between the middle of my eyes, prompting my coworker to ask if I was transforming into a unicorn.

Seems like I always break out anywhere up and down the middle of my face. It's weird. Maybe my pimples think it would be unfair to my face to stay just on the left or right side of my face so it chooses the middle.

Anyways, what seems to really be helping me is toner that I've added to my usual skincare routine. Currently I'm using Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Dual Action toner. Now I wash my face, use toner, then use a moisturizer. You'd be amazed how dirty that cotton ball is when you use toner after washing your face. Don't judge until you've tried it. Makes me wonder what I'm actually doing when I wash my face.






The other product that is helping me out a lot is Mario Badescu drying lotion. You apply this on your pimples when you know you won't be going out because it's definitely not clear. The lotion kind of reminds me of calamine lotion and has a slight but bearable scent. I usually apply it before I go to bed and I always notice a difference the next day. The only con is the price. It's $17.00 for a 1 oz. bottle. This 1 oz bottle has lasted me (and my boyfriend, but you didn't hear that from me) for 3 months so not too shabby even if the quantity is small. I don't see having to buy another bottle anytime soon either.





I started using St. Ives Elements Microdermabrasion face soap. I was a big fan of the original St. Ives Invigorating Apricot scrub so I figured newer is better right? Incorrect. I prefer the original Apricot scrub. The Apricot scrub was a bit rougher but, I liked that because it seemed to get my face cleaner and softer. The Microdermabrasion face soap has "fine mineral crystals". The fine mineral crystals are a little too fine though. They somehow get into my eyes even when they're closed and my face doesn't seem as soft after. Lesson for the day folks - newer is not always better.


Ehhhh?? Oooohhh!!!

Busted Tees - Funny T-Shirts

If you're into witty or funny t-shirts definitely check out the site Busted Tees.

http://www.bustedtees.com/?utm_medium=Affilaite&utm_source=CJ

Some of the shirts are on sale for $7.77 until midnight tonight. I'm sure there's at least one person on your Christmas list that would like these shirts.

Here are some of my favorites (I think I'll be getting the Hungry Hippo one):




I know no one can forget that episode of Saved by the Bell when Jesse had her breakdown. Balancing school and being in a singing group as prestigious as Hot Sundaes can make anyone turn to caffeine pills. I can't laugh though because I can recall some "I'm so excited, I'm so scared moments" while I was in college. Actually yeah I can laugh, that's one of the most memorable episodes of Saved by the bell.





For this next shirt you definitely have to watch these youtube videos first. The words are hard to read but, the shirt is a pageant sash and the words written on the sash are Miss South Carolina's answer.



Then watch this funny paraody.



Happy Shopping!

15% off at Sephora

Thanks to a member of the Purse Forum.

15% off at Sephora

Enter the code FYP96 when you checkout.

Offer is valid through December 14, 2008, at 11:59 pm PST/PDT on online merchandise orders only (excluding tax and shipping) - not available on gift cards. Not valid in Canada, retail stores, Sephora inside JCPenney stores, or on previous purchases. Cannot be used in conjunction with other promotion codes.

I really wonder if this is a sign of bad times for the economy. I've never known Sephora to give such good discounts. First the $15 off certificate and now 15% off.

In other news...

A couple nights ago, I heard this scratching noise in the middle of the night. I figured it was my dog because sometimes my dog will get up in the middle of the night and scratch the door so that I can let her out into the kitchen. I was a little surprised to see my dog knocked out next to me under the covers with her teddy bear like usual. So I investigated and found the noise coming from inside the wall. Eeekkk..it could only mean one thing. It's winter time and the mice are coming inside to the warm houses. My boyfriend and I left the house ASAP and got a variety of mouse traps.





For the next week or so, I didn't see or hear anything so I was relieved that the mouse hadn't broke into the house. Until today. The mousetrap like the one on the right where the sticky part is on the inside was next to the dryer. This morning I hear all this flapping. I'm thinking again that it's my dog except my dog is asleep next to me.


I get up and go to where I hear the flapping. Lo and behold - a mouse stuck on the glue trap. It was actually kind of cute. It stayed real still. I didn't want to just grab it so I got some tongs out of the kitchen. I looked at the mouse. The mouse lifted his head and looked at me and I swear it looked like this.
For one second I was hypnotized but, fear makes you do some crazy stuff. I took the tongs and closed up the glue trap into a box again. The whole time the mouse is still moving a lot because only its tail was stuck on the glue trap. My heart was pounding so fast. I stuff it into a Walmart plastic bag. Then another plastic bag. Then a box. Then another plastic bag. And then another plastic bag. I placed it outside while I took a shower just in case it gnawed itself free before I was finished taking my shower and could dispose of it properly.

I will be replenishing my stock of mouse glue traps tonight. So you if you see a crazy lady acting like it's supermarket sweep in the mouse trap aisle. Don't be afraid.

Boyfriend's Work Christmas Party

My boyfriend's work Christmas party was at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. The food was so good. They gave everyone the best entree. It included shrimp, salmon, lobster and steak. It was open bar too.



I tried to take some pictures of my hair. I didn't get to blowdry my hair that long with a diffuser because we were rushing to leave so it was mostly air dried. All the drinks looked so pretty. I had a Pina Colada and mudslide - very tasty.






I took pictures of me getting ready yesterday and showing how I fix my hair but, I look a little scary in the pictures. I'm not that brave. Hair not done and no makeup at all in shapeless, baggy bathrobe = hot mess. I'll try to take pictures of my routine except it will be done after I'm dressed and have at least some makeup on.