9 Fun Summer Past-Times

Hey guys! Summer is quickly approaching and school is almost over! Everyone loves the fact that we have a bunch a spare time but as soon as school is out, we seem to get bored and lay around watching TV and surfing the web. Then it turns out to be not as fun and exciting as we expected. So my brother and I have decided to come up with a few ideas to keep you busy during the summer.

1. Make a Reading List. This is always a good way to keep your brain agile so that when school starts up, your brain will not have to catch up so quickly. I always like to buy books and then say "I can't read it YET! I still need to finish the books that I just got from the library!" And then they get forgotten and land up gathering dust. So the first books on my list are from my own house. But if your library is within reasonable walking distance, you could also get moving and borrow books from there instead.
• My choices include many classics I have never read such as Little Women by Louise May Alcott, many books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and more current books like the Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
2. Buy a Sketchbook. I am an artist and I love to draw, but I think that everyone should at least try to do some art and sketchbooks are actually really inexpensive. You don't need the fancy special paper or binding; just a spiral bound normal paper book would work great! If you do want to get one for Multi Media, then you could use wet mediums too instead of only dry.
3. Square-a-Day Challenge. You know how you always buy lots of graph paper at the beginning of the year and then have some left over? Well now you can put some creativity into it! Now a regular piece of 1/4 inch square graph paper has 1299 entire squares...It would take 3 and a half years to fill it out with only one square a day (a cool challenge but WAY too long for summer). So here is my advice: cut one piece of graph paper into fourths (20x15 not including the border) and then you only to 3 squares a day. Then you can do one pattern, one object, and one letter everyday and you will have such a wonderful piece of art to put in a scrapbook or memory box! And you can share!
4. Make the Stuff You Pin on Pinterest. Face it girls. We don't do that. So this summer, how about we all make the stuff on our boards! It would be so fun to see what could happen and what holy grail recipes or creations we will find!
• I found one recipe for grain free pancakes that are the best things I have ever tasted! I eat it most days! I can do a post on how I cook them if you want!
5. Re-Do Your Closet. I don't know about you guys but I am always so busy in spring (or if spring is really a 2 week period between freezing winter and boiling summer) that I can never rearrange my closet. So summertime is the best time because it is completely different from winter and fall so no warm clothes or pajamas would be needed!
• It is also great to remake some stuff. Add embellishment to things or add some flair! I am turning some torn up jeans into shorts and making them gorgeous!!!
6. Go Through Your Makeup Collection. So this is a good time to go through your cosmetics and hair collection to see if anything has expired or if you don't like something anymore. This is also part of the spring cleaning in summertime. You could even reorganize or relocate your collection to change stuff up!
7. Take Summer Classes or Workshops. Lots of art schools, dance companies, and other things have summer workshops  that are really fun and definitely worth it! You could even take a school class but if that is not exactly your picture for summer, there are so many other options!
• I am actually taking a school class (Algebra 2) so that I don't need to next school year. I am half a year through and I don't want to have separate subject in the same year (I am taking AP Pre Calculus next year). I am also doing lots of dance intensives and maybe an art workshop in there!
8. Start a Blog. If you don't have a blog and you are passionate about something (or multiple things) then a blog is a great idea! I started mine for a past time one summer and I have enjoyed it immensely!
9. Get in Shape. Because there is no school to worry about, we can think about how to improve our lives. One way that makes life easier is to get in shape and be healthier. you are at home so you can think about what you are eating most of the time. And whenever you think of it, you can go exercise! I personally wear less makeup in the summer since so much of it just melts off...that also allows me to not worry about exercising with makeup on.

Well those are my ideas! What are your ideas/plans for summertime?

100 Crunches/Weights/Jumping Jacks

  So last night I did 100 crunches, 100 jumping jacks, and 100 reps with 8 lbs. weights...ow. My abs are sore, my legs are sore ( but not too much) and my arms are sore...

  I did arm lifts which are lifting the arms to the side to about an 85 degree angle while keeping the arms straight. I did 15 palms up and 15 palms down. Then I did 15 bicep curls, 15 arm sling backs, and 25 vertical arm lifts which are taking one weight in both hands behind your head (elbows up) and straightening your arms. The arms should be a little bit behind your ears for maximum effect! The last 15 reps I did were lying down arm lifts. I lied down and took my arms side and lifted them up till they were right above my chest ( but my arms were straight).

  The crunches and jumping jacks were all normal, same ol' same ol'...I am trying to do 100 abdominal exercises every night so that I can get stronger or pointe. I am also watching my diet and opting for fruit and veggies.

  My favorite meal for fast food (because I eat that a lot...) is at Chick-fil-a. I get their number 9 (chicken salad sandwich) which is only 500 calories. I eat half and then get a diet lemonade which I am guessing is maybe 50? So sometimes I get a yogurt parfait with cookie crumbs which is 350 calories so... not the best decision but honestly, they are so good! With the other half of my sandwich I eat it for lunch the next day and pair it with some water and usually sugar snap peas (one of my favorites) for a healthy lunch.

  I am pretty much the odd one out of my family in the way that everyone has very fast metabolism and I don't :( so at night I get the veggies before they are drowned in butter and only get a real serving of meat (size of a deck cards) instead of the rest of them. I've tried to get them to eat better and I have succeeded at some things but they are all a very stubborn but I love them :)

  What do you do for exercise and diet?

May '13 Glam Bag from Ipsy

Hey! I just got my Glam bag for this month!

The first thing in here was the Pacifica Roll On Perfume in Island Vanilla! I was actually going to buy this! It is so yummy!

The next thing is the Zoya brand Nail Polish in Julie! I could never find this brand anywhere! And the color is a lilac with silver pearlescent finish.

Then there is a concealer in the pan to put in the magnetic pallet that was given in the last glam bag. It is in Honey and is from Yaby. It is a cream to powder finish and it matches my skin tone pretty well!

Then there is a Mirabella lipstick in Posy which it fairly sheer but is buildable! It is a nice rose pink color.

Lastly I have the Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl bronzing body butter. It smells amazing and adds a nice amount of shimmer!

Did you like the Glam bag You got?

May '13 Hair Care Routine

I just wanted to share what I use on my hair every time I wash or don't wash it!

• Whenever I wash my hair, I use the L'Oreal Ever Crème Shampoo and Conditioner that don't have sulfates, salts, and nasty chemicals like that! I love the smell and they are very inexpensive for such a great product! After that and when I get out, I put in an anti=frizz treatment. I use the Healthy Sexy Hair Treatment with Argon Oil. This helps my hair dry faster and shinier,
• When I do not wash my hair, I use any dry shampoo but what I am using now the by Batiste. Then I put in a slit ends protector so that they don't get all frizzy.
• Sometimes I replace my conditioner with Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge 1-Minute Treatment. It is so nice and light but really does help moisturize.

That is everything! What do you use?

Burt's Bee Toes and Tips Sample Kit

  Hey! I know I am not posting a lot but that is because I don't really like posting...So, from now on I am going to post just about life and only for myself. I made a mistake and did what I thought would get me followers. I am not going to worry about anyone and make this a place to help me! I hope that if you like it, you will follow me! I will be doing requests so go ahead and leave them!
  So today I bought this Burt's Bees kit today for $13 and I already love it! It has 6 items that are for hands, feet, and lips. Here are my first impressions:

• Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream: This smells A-MA-ZING!!! It's mildly like almond milk but it is a lot sweeter smelling. It also melts really nicely into the skin and definitely does wonders for dry skin!
• Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil: This is so great! It is very smooth, like all their lip balms, but it doesn't have the tingling minty feeling. I don't always like this so this is amazing. It also has a beautiful pink tint that is very natural but perfect for every day!
• Hand Salve: My mom swears by this stuff! My dog even likes it. She will eat it any time she can...It smells peppermint and it does hurt on open wounds :( It helps for almost open wounds.
• Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream: This smells great! Lemons!!! and it really softens the cuticles!
• Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey and Grapeseed Oil Hand Cream: OMG that is a long name...but this soaks into the skin so quickly! So it is great for hands since no one likes that yucky slippery feeling after lotion and then everything slicks out of your hands! It smells ok but I probably wouldn't buy the full size.
• Coconut Foot Cream: This I would buy the full size! even after trying it (well my mom did...My feet already have lotion but it was gushing out so I put some on my hands) once! It smells great and melts really well! It soaks in pretty well but I would wear socks at night so it doesn't get all over my sheets...

That is everything! I am really excited for this "new era" of blogging for me! I hope you guys like it too!