Day 5 foods - 10 Day You Challenge

Food... really, who doesn't love it? That satisfaction in grants a full belly and the happiness it gives at every meal. There are so many to choose from that Is difficult to settle on just 5. Rather than individually picking 5 foods, I'll take the liberty to choose in large scales and inside this I'll choose one top favorite plate.

1. Korean cuisine has been part of my life ever since I was born because of my moms heritage. One of my favorite plates would have to be Bibimbap. Always reminds me of how fun it is to eat it at home and with my Korean family because it was like: "Okay, let's get everything out of the fridge and mix it with some rice, sesame seed oil, (some red paste, maybe red hot pepper), a fried egg and just dig in everyone!"

2. Puerto Rican cuisine together with Korean cuisine are the basic components of my diet. There is nothing more pleasant than a nice hot plate of home made white rice with red stewed beans, after days of having to eat at fast foods. This makes my mouth water every time I eat it.

3. Desert is a luxury I do not take for granted. Although I do not make this a habit, but whenever rarely possible I would have a nice serving of a creamy snickers cheesecake my sister and brother in law used to make. It has been over a year since I ate this, but it has been by far the best flavor cheesecake I've had. I wish I'd had a picture of it, but this is the closest look alike I could find.

4. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And for me the yummiest of all. I am constantly changing it weekly, always getting tired of everything, but the one meal that I would never ever get tired of and always found it amazingly refreshing and satisfying would be plain yogurt with fresh fruits, pecans and honey.

5. Snacks are what keep me in balance in between meals. There are so many to choose from, but I always try and reach for one that is rich in fiber to keep that hungry at bay. Although my goal is to make my own granola fiber bars, for now I have to settle on this one which tastes similar to ferrero chocolates.

Scentsational Soaps Skincare Review

I have recently become obsessed with finding natural hand made soaps. To my surprise, it has been extremely difficult for me to find quality soaps in Puerto Rico, so I began my research online.

 And as I went through dozens of stores  (Lush, Cookiefortune, belle ame, bath and body works, the body shop, and so on), I stumbled upon one called Scentsational Soaps Skincare. Sarah and her son Chad are the owners of this business based in Florida.

Here is the link to her website: http://scentsationalsoapsskincare.com/Default.aspx

What captured my attention the most about them was their extremely affordable prices (compared to Lush) and all of the healing properties on all of their products! They offer a large variate of products such as soap bars, body butters, lotions, scrubs, whipped parfait soaps, even shampoos and much more. They're all natural and have different lines with goat milk, organic glycerin, shea butter, whipped parfait, honey bee, etc.

I must admit that I am very picky when it comes to scents, and I am always hesitant on buying online anything that depends mostly on this, but after watching many positive reviews on this company, and without trying out any samples, I decided to take the plunge and made a big purchase (at least, for me it was big).

They came through extremely fast. It took exactly 5 days to get to Puerto Rico. And before I talk about their products, I have to point out their amazing customer service. I had trouble with my address through PAY PAL, but Sarah handled the situation beautifully and was so kind and extremely generous as to send me 6 free samples and one free regular size soap bar!!

Really lovely person, I am very grateful for her patience and care.

I must say that I have loved every product so far to the point where I have replaced all of my soap bars and shower gels with theirs! Personally, I am not going back to commercial soaps, ever. I fully recommend them, specially for people who have very sensitive skin, and have skin conditions and complications such as eczema, acne, herpes, burns, wounds, dry itchy skin, and much more. 

So I purchased the following products:

• 1 Royal Jelly soap bar  (4.5 oz.) (fights depression +more!)
• 1 Long Island Beach House sea salt soap bar  (4.5 oz.) (gently exfoliates the skin!)
• 1 Eucalyptus soap bar (great for reducing stress!)
• 1 Peppermint soap bar (So refreshing and great for tired muscles, migraines and much more! I use it in the morning)
• 1 Chocolate Honey Decadence (4.5 oz.) soap bar (amazing moisturizer + more!)
• 1 Chocolate Honey Decadence lip balm (this is extremely moisturizing!)

I have tried all of them and overall I have to say that they are AMAZING. 

• The scents are wonderful and have a large variate from unscented, to frutty, to clean fresh, to floral, to herbal and others.
• They're moisturizing
• The Chocolate Honey Decadence soap and lip balm smells like genuine chocolate!!
• Their line of Goats milk lathers up the most with a very creamy texture

I will definitively be repurchasing very soon the lip balm and the Long Island soap (because will use them the most). The others will hold on for special occasions to relax, get rid of headaches, hot days, itchy days, and so on.

Freebies:

• French Kiss soap
• Strawberry Honey soap
• Midnight Safari soap
• Lemon Cookie body scrub
• Lime Margarita body butter
• Honey soap
• Propolis soap (full size bar)

My favorite out of these ones and will definitively buy full size are the

• Strawberry Honey soap, which smells amazing, I can pick up the strawberry scent
• Body butter, which is extremely moisturizing. The smell is very strong which for me is good because I like that the scent will last me quite a while.
• Body scrub's scent was the longest that lingered in my skin, out of all the products. Love to use it on my hands, feet and dry areas. 

Go to her website at: http://scentsationalsoapsskincare.com/Default.aspx and see for yourself!

Day 4 books - 10 Day You Challenge

Today is book day! It has been a while since I've read books other than school related type and also am more of a movie type gal, but a couple of the ones I have enjoyed reading are:

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

My dad recommended this book to me. Initially I found it very amusing reading about a bunch of farm animals talking and plotting against their master and then against themselves, but as I went through it and reading about the author, found it is really about corrupt leaders.

"Vampire Hunter D" by Hideyuki Kikuchi

First I saw the movie and enjoyed it so much that I went out and bought the book. Which also enjoyed equally, the story is very entertaining and dark, so if you are a supernatural tale lover like I am, this one is for you.

"The Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Although this one is so well known, I was never a fan until I was assigned to read it for a Humanities class in college, from which I just could not get enough of. Really well written science fiction tale.

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" by Ann Brashares

Another one that first saw the movie and then read the book, although did enjoyed more the movie.

Day 3 Films - 10 day you challenge

I don't know about you, but I could spend an entire day watching movies. I am a very versatile person. I watch from action, to drama, to war, to foreign genres. Anything that has either a good story, a good laugh, or a good move.

The Last Samurai has become one of my most resent favorites. I am sure many of you have seen it, and would love to read your thoughts on it. This is a film where every little detail of it was built with passion and strength. The story captivated my attention from the very beginning, and watching how hope, determination and discipline freed one lost man and an entire civilization from the tyranny of  a "better world" vision, did put me on the edge of my seat. This movie has it all, drama, suspense, romance, action, and an amazing story behind it. I definitively cried at the end. Loved it.

The Notebook is definitively my most favorite love story of all. It has this amazing story about how love can conquer all and live past the roughness of time. Also, Rachel McAdams is one of my fav. actresses, I've seen almost all of her films and have enjoyed her performance.

Inception (2010) is one of those movies that really captured my complete and total attention from the very beggining. The directors idea is a completely fresh view on the topic. I remember "Being John Malkovich" about a puppeteer finding a portal into J.M. mind. That was very interesting yet limited, but Inception has unlimited possibilities of evolving into something much bigger. Now, the question to those of you that have seen this movie (and those who have not I really truly recommend you watch it), please tell me what do you think happened to Cobb, was he stuck in limbo? Or did he go back home?

In addition to this, I find that Leo has come so far since the making of Titanic. He has grown from a teen heart-throb into a leading man, because of this he has won over my admiration for his current work.

Day 2 Songs - 10 Day You Challenge

Today is music day. When I was a child, I sang through every song in the radio, clueless of what music really was. It was only recent, about a year or two ago, that I began to search for my music soul. And as I pushed myself through today's popular music fest of pop, rock, reggeaton (Puerto Rico), balads, salsa, merengue... I just found myself lost in the loneliness of time, always feeling out of place because I never fitted in with most of today's music. Until suddenly I  found myself in the past. Yes, I fell absolutely in love with the oldies of the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. But as I am still a newbie in this world of what I like to call REAL music, the origin of today's, I will choose 1 song from my current oldie love, and choose one from one of the few bands I truely love and admire from today.

The first would have to be "Somebody to love" by Queen

The second song "Somewhere only we know" by Keane

These were my very two first songs of each band that connected with every part of my being that I simply fell in love with their music. I find myself searching back through the past and finding me in these beautiful songs, originally written and sang with the heart.

Day 1 Photo - 10 Day You Challenge

So I was over at my pals Christina's blog and read about how she is following this 10 day challenge and decided to give it a go. This is a fun way for you to know me a bit more, and for the next 10 days I will be writing 10 different things about myself, but with a little twist of focusing it more to be review type answers more than personal  ones.  I hope you don't get bored, so let's go!

here is a big picture in case you're interested in doing it. If it's the case, please let me know so I can follow!

And the link to Christina's blog: http://gettingitrightat30.blogspot.com/ in case you'd like to know her as well!

1one picture of myself

That is me with my son Denzol, a couple weeks ago on a local park. My boyfriend and Denzol are two of the most precious ones in my life. Especially on this day, we had so many happy moments and a lot of fun. This park used to be one of those extremely popular ones, a place to gather round with friends and family, bring the young ones to play with other children and spend some quality time. But as time passed, families (including mine) suddenly stopped going. Partially because the town was losing its popularity, charm and security. The streets were abandoned, stores closing like crazy and people moving out into the capital. But after years of falling, it has began to gain a little bit back, or at least as I am grown up I see more than the eye can see. 

I see a small children park where I can go with my family and be in peace with nature, watch my son run around, sit down at the grass with my b-friend and look out at the marvelous sea and stare at the sky. The little wondrous in this World that are taken for granted are the ones that really make me happy. Specially when shared with the right person.

Outdated before it came out?!

Yesterday my father told me something that really did not make sense to me at that time.



Father: "Tammy, your Kindle is outdated"

Tammy: "What are you talking about?"










Father: "You bought something that was outdated even before it came out"
...

Yeah, that was me after a 15 minute discussion.

So, because I could not win the argument stating how wrong he was, I had to find out for myself, and after reading about a couple dozen articles on how the Kindle has practically become obsolete, I mean with all those Tablets coming out every six months and new Android phones coming in every 3, with their nifty new technology advances, why of course it is outdated!.

But to me, the Kindle is just Packed with the necessarily tools to be used as an E-READER. Why would I spend $800 in a tablet that will do just the same, in addition to playing movies, music, web surfing, game playing and 10,000 other fun things. Which all would simply distract me from the one small reason why I decided to buy this $79 gadget, instead of the $199 Kindle Fire... to READ. Plain and simple. I wanted free from all distracting activities (for that, I have my Android!) that would interfere with this little hobby that I've decided to pick up. 

So having said that, to me the Kindle is just right the way it is.

Don't forget to follow and I'll be sure to follow back!! Please comment bellow with your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, and experiences!!

AVON nailwear pro - fabulous or disastrous?

Many months ago, AVON launched a new set of colors in their NAILWEAR PRO line called Carnival of color. 

The selection of colors caught my attention so I decided to go ahead and try out four of them.

*Sweet Mint, **Fuchsia Fun ***Blue Escape ****Orange Creamsicle

I have read many positive reviews on how girls love them and so on, but I've also happen to stumble upon many others who have been disappointed. So let us take a look at some small details that could either make them fabulous or disastrous.

First it is their main attraction, the price where 2.99 would make them rather inexpensive, is that it says they can last UP TO 10 days. At first I thought: "Wow, 10 days I've got to have them", but what they are really saying is that they could last 10 days or less, depending on so many variables.

Then it suddenly caught my eye the * next to the LASTS UP TO 10 DAYS* and see that bellow it says "With normal touch up" meaning that in order to make them last at least 10 days, one must touch them up every so often.

Experience:

So having all of that in mind, I will share with you my experience with them and show some pictures of the sweet mint, which I am currently wearing.

This is my fourth day. Its difficult to notice, but all of my fingers have started to chip off at the end of the nails. I just applied one coat and a top coat to touch up. Initially I thought what a great product this was, the second coat applies smoothly and the color selection is fantastic.

Pros:

• Inexpensive (when on sale, $2.99)
• Good variety of colors (at least 28)
• Smooth even finish
• Somewhat thick consistency (not watery, but not thick. More in between)
• Can last up to 10 days***

***How to make them last:

1. Do a manicure (a properly buffed nail will make the color last even longer)
2. Turn off any fan (the breeze will ruin the smoothness and dry off the brush applier)
3. Apply base coat (wait 1 minute)
4. Apply 1st coat of enamel
5. Wait 10-15 minutes (make sure to put your favorite tv show)
6. Apply 2nd coat of enamel
7. Wait another 10-15 minutes
8. Apply a top coat
9. Touch up every 3-4 days (with 1 coat of color and 1 top coat)

So this is what I basically do every time I paint my nails with any brand. And I find that each step is essential to making them last those promised 10 days. I have skipped at least 1 step some other times and believe me, the quality will be much less. The color would start to chip in a day or two. 

Cons:

• They take forever to dry, even after 20 minutes of patience and watching Vampire Diaries, they could still get ruined if you rub them against fabric.
• They chip off at the end of the nail probably by the second day

Overall, I find that for the price, these enamels provide a decent quality finished "look". But they do require the nail to be prepped. It is important to follow the steps on How to make them last, otherwise you'll simply end up with a disappointment. On the downside, and this part is very upsetting, they take way too long to dry up. So I am giving them 2 out of 5** (1 for color selection, 1 for smooth even finish) (-1 for difficulty of use, -1 for dry time, -1 for easy chip)

If you are one of the lovers out there, I'd suggest you follow the before mentioned steps to make your nails last longer with this brand.

 

 

Good for:

• People who want quality look for less, but
• Are willing to invest time or have lots of free time for prepping their nails, and
• Touching up every 3-4 days
• Girls that have the patience to wait at least 20 minutes to dry up in between coats and 1+ for the nails to fully dry)

Bad for:

• People who want good results in less time
• Those that do not like to prep their nails
• When looking for enamels that dry fast

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Easy breeze

Product details:

• Retail price: $34.99 (at Walgreens)
• 1875 watt
• AC Motor – delivers more powerful, fast air-flow and up to 3x longer life
• Ceramic technology – safely dries and promotes healthy hair
• Ionic technology – to reduce frizz and enhance shine
• 2 concentrator attachments - for achieving different styles
• Removable filter – prevents damaging lint build-up and extends motor life
• True cold shot botton- to lock in styles

My thoughts:

As I searched through Walgreen’s selection of hair dryers I stumbled across this little beauty and immediately fell in love with it. But of course, I had to google it before making my final decision, and read all its little wonders. What attracted me at first sight was its color and design, very slik and to me looked as something a proffesional hair salon would use. Then it came to my attention two features my older hairdryer did not have: his AC motor, which promised me a fast drying result; and a removable filter, which promises to extend its life. Two things I always look for in hair products: fast results and long durability. Oh, and that it had a 25% discount!

Results:

After using it twice, I have to admit that I have found a new love in my life. It complements me in so many ways: it never complains, doesn’t make me wait and makes me feel more beautiful. And yes, I am talking about a hairdryer… I do not enjoy spending 45 minutes drying and styling my hair and having a sore arm afterwards, so I opted to always air dry my hair. I have straight, thick, dark hair. And living on a Caribbean Island, where most days are hot and humid, my hair somedays would have lots of volume and shine, others it would be very dried and a bit frizzy, and some days it would be static free and dull. Its like a pandora box, you never know what you might get. But with this it only took me about 5-10 minutes to dry it. Afterwards, my hair felt softer and smoother (even more after the 2^nd and 3^rd day). This product has worked really well for me and it delivered its promise of “styling easy, healthy hair, and frizz reduction”. Now I actually enjoy it. I am giving it a 5***** stars.

Pros:

• Sleek
• Attractive
• Dries fast (5-8 minutes on long thick hair)
• Gives shine
• Diminishes static
• Sound and looks professional

Cons: still searching

Useful for:

• Those of you who would like to spend 8 minutes tops drying your hair (without dividing)
• Those of you who are looking for something that looks professional and does the job for less money
• Those of you who want shine back
• Those of you who want do minimize the static

    

     Don't forget to follow! Please comment bellow with your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and experiences!!

The Aussie Miracle

Product description:

Ø  Shampoo & Conditioner

·        Price (at Walgreens, but could vary) $5.79

·        Contains natural aloe accents to hydrate dry hair

·        13.5 fluid ounze liquid/400 mL

Ø  3 minute miracle

·        Price is same as other two products

·        Contains australian sea kelpt to deep condition damaged hair

·        8 fluid ounze liquid/236 ml

My thoughts:

After so much raving and ranting, and contemplating the idea of trying this out, I finally gave in. As I’ve mentioned in my last review, I have long straight thick dark hair (woooh that was a mouthful), that its mood depended much upon the weather. So living in a Caribbean Island, the Sun can get reasonably hot on its good (by good I mean breazy, less humid than normal) days and steaming hot on bad (and bad I mean completely dry and humid, can’t take a walk out at 10am) days. So for the most part we have bad days. And it’s because of this that my hair gets dry and puffy, so it pleads for hydration and care. Which for the most part of my life, I’ve neglected to properly care for it. But now I have come to my senses and purchased the kangaroo life saver. It is time to say goodbye to bad hair days!

Results:

It has a creamy consistancy which appeals to my likings. Right after my first use, I thought: “Mmhh my hair feels smoother and soft, but nothing other drugstore brands (Pantene, Garnier, VO5…) haven’t also done before (giving me a good first impression and then not having long lasting results). So I decided to give it a few more days to see how my hair would react to it. And there it was, the day after (and having used my new InfinitiPro by Conhair hairdryer), the softness of it and how much shine it had that I got hooked on it. But still, I thought it still hasn’t proved much so I’ll wait until the 2^nd try. And there it was yet again soft, shinny, free from most tangles, no-more-dried hair. I am in love again. This three products combined have literaly nourished my hair and dried ends back to health in less than a week!.  This is by far the best results I’ve had with drugstore brands with only two washes.

Pros:

•  Smells like coconut paradise (soft smell, not overpowering at all)
• My hair continues to get even smoother and shinier with each day that passes (other brands lose it at the third)
• Reasonable price (even better when buying the large size, simply pay around $2 more for double the size)
• Attractive design and color of the containers
• (As for the deep conditioner) it has a comfortable grip which you simply take in your hands and squeeze the product out, no need to lift a lid

Cons: yet to be discovered

Unless you dislike coconut smell, this shouldn’t count as one

Useful for:

• Slightly - very damaged hair
• Dried hair
• Puffy hair
• Winter time

Bonus Info on Sea Kelp Benefits:

• Kelp is a type of seaweed
• It contains zinc, b vitamins and magnesium
• When you see thin hair it could be due to zinc deficiency. Zinc promotes protein synthesis, which is what hair is made of (proteins).
• B vitamins promotes hair growth
• Magnesium reduces hair loss and can even prevent it

I guess this explains why my hair continues looking healthier every day!

Please comment bellow with your thoughts, opinions, suggestions and experiences!!!