You Are the Result of Yourself

You Are The Result Of Yourself

Don’t blame anyone, never complain of anyone or anything

Because basically you have made of your life what you wanted.

Accept the difficulties of edifying yourself

And the worth of starting to correct your character.

The triumph of the true man arises from the ashes of his mistakes.

Never complain of your loneliness or your luck.

Face it with courage and accept it.

Somehow, they are the result of your acts and

It shows that you’ll always win.

Don’t feel frustrated of your own failures, neither unload them to someone else.

Accept yourself now or you’ll go on justifying yourself like a child.

Remember that any time is good to start

And that no time is so good to give up.

Don’t forget that the cause of your present is your past,

As the cause of your future will be your present.

Learn from the brave, from the strong,

From who doesn’t accept situations

From who will live in spite of everything.

Think less of your problems and more of your work.

Learn to arise from your pain,

And to be greater than the greatest of your obstacles.

Look at the mirror of yourself and you’ll be free and strong

And you’ll stop being a puppet of circumstances.

For you yourself are your destiny.

Wake up and stare at the sun in the mornings and breathe the sun of dawn.

You’re part of the strength of your life now,

Rise up, fight, walk, be sure and you’ll win in life.

Don’t ever think of ‘fate’

For fate is the excuse of failures.

— Attributed to Pablo Neruda (Chilean Writer)

I had forgotten about this poem for a long time. I hope you take something from it like I have.

E

Christmas is quite plentiful this year...

So, officially it is Christmas. I am home at my mom's in Massillon sitting on the couch surrounded by presents. And a cat who wants to play with a ribbon but jumping isn't her strong suit anymore (sorry Lily, lay off the cat food!) I am warm, with a roof over my head, there will be plenty of food for me tomorrow to eat, let alone now in this house. I have this over whelming feeling of gratefulness, of being so lucky, so blessed and yet so overwhelmed.

For most people know that this past year or more like year and a half has been really tough. Parents went through a fairly nasty divorce, one of my sisters went down a nasty hole and thankfully came out of it so much stronger, I have been dealing with my completely screwy finances and my boyfriend's family went through their own hell but, yet, as I sit here I can't help but feel so fucking lucky that I have what I have. I am still a slightly angry, bitter 5 year old who feels like her world crumbled when her parents stopped loving one another and I know I am allowed to feel that way for a good long while. Even as an adult child I am still going to be that sad little one on the inside. But they both still love me. My sister is so much better. Both are going through life at such a wonderful, exciting pace getting ready to become adults. And we have pretty decent relationships! I am gone 75% of the year and yet we still get along and I know they love me.

I have gotten so many great things, literally, this past year. Lots of opportunities to eat at great places, so many presents and new things to try! For someone on a limited budget of sorts I have a lot of stuff! Holy crap! I fucking got a car this year thanks to my future mother-in-law! I have never been more grateful for a gift before of this magnitude and I should know because I essentially threw away the first car ever given to me from my aunt because I was an idiot! I am so lucky! Hell, she even put me on her AAA membership! High end make up from my boyfriend and holy hell this Christmas already!

Ok, I know I have rambled a bit. I am just feeling overwhelmed by what I have, what I have gotten, what I'll end up getting. To me, this next year will be better. Not necessarily easier, but a lot better than it has been. Both my parents love me, plus my biological father. My extended family and my sisters love me. I have wonderful friends, new and old. My boyfriend of over 3 years! I am rich in items and in people in my life. To know that there is so much support, so much love, so much giving of everything they can just lets me know it is time to stop pouting and move on. Life will get better, with work and time and with me having the right mind set. I just know it. And it won't be easy either but I can deal.

If you take away anything from my jumble of thoughts, take this: that you should consider yourself so lucky and blessed for what you have. There are going to be so many more moments in life that knock you on your ass and make you want to stay there but keep moving. Look around you and take in all you have and just remind yourself it could be so much worse. That those who love you will be there no matter what. To shower you with love and kindness and help, among other things. You won't always be happy, but always feel blessed.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday season, whatever they celebrate!

E

Extinct whale found

I love how the world can still amaze us and it stills shows us we do not know it all. I love it! Here is an article about an "extinct whale" that washed up on shore. Almost nothing is known about this creature and its lineage is traced back to animal that lived 2 million years ago. Now that is awesome!

Starting to exercise....

Tonight was my first workout at Planet Fitness. Oh my lord! Rode on the bike for 17 minutes and then did stretches, lifting and abs for 13 minutes. I do not feel it yet! I honestly figure that if I do 30 minutes of varied exercises for the first 2-3 weeks 3-4 times a week that is a really good start. I do have decent stamina but damn, that bike ride. My thighs are going to screaming in the morning!

Burned around 110 calories which, hey, isn't bad in my book! Gonna shower now to get this stink off me! Good night all!





E

My cat

This is Penguin. Isn't he adorable :)

Forever Red

For the holiday season Bath and Body Works has introduced a new scent, Forever Red. It is divine. 

One of my absolutely favorite scents from Bath and Body Works is Midnight Pomegranate and this one may have taken its place! The sample shown above is .25 fl oz/7 ml and retails for $10. Normally, I am allergic to an type of perfume. And I mean any!!! I become itchy, hives appear the whole shebang but this, amazingly, does not trouble me. 

The scent is light and crisp but it has some warm undertones which I feel makes it suitable for the colder months. According the product page on Bath and Body Works website it has top notes, mild notes and dry notes. Tops notes are fiery pomegranate, rare french peach and luminous apple. Mild notes are red peony, night marigold, red osmanthus. Dry notes are rich vanilla rum, velvety marshmallow, oak wood. 

When I first apply this after I shower or right before I leave for work the smell is just intoxicating! I can smell the apple and pomegranate hit me and envelop me and then the marshmallow and rum linger. At least to me, I cannot distinguish the flowery scents. Maybe too mild for my nose? The one thing I did find with this is that it does not last with me. With some scents and perfumes, they can last up to 4 and even 5 hours on me, especially in my hair. But with this, it doesn't linger long and doesn't leave a lasting impression on me for many to notice which is kind of saddening because I want to share this smell with the world and not like a crazy perfume person in the mall asking if you want to "try a sample" as they aim for your mouth!

Overall, I am kind of in love with this because I try not to spray it so much because it is so expensive. A full size bottle of the Eau de Parfum is $44.50! I am not sure I am willing to shell out that kind of cash. Maybe I'll try the lotion next and see how that fairs. This gets 4.5 out of 5 stars for me. I just wish it would last longer!  


Let me know what you think or if there is any other scent out there worth discussing!

Thanks! 

E











Disclaimer: I received this free as a PR sample from Influenster.com as part of their CosmoVoxBox 2012. All my opinions are honest and my own and I was not paid to write this review.

HIATUS

YES! I have been on hiatus! When life gets stressful I tend to forget about little extras like, oh, MY BLOG! But I'm back! Yes, to all my 2 followers I am back! Hopefully with some new fun things like possibly an article on what may have killed the dinosaurs and some fun product reviews because I am just like that! Of course some recipes of deliciousness and maybe some posts on the fact that it is right around Christmas and I am making a trek back home to Massillon twice in a month! Wooooooo....

First Impression of Revlon Colorstay Creme Gel Eyeliner

Now some people know or don't know I am kind of obsessed with make-up. I love playing dress up. Have since I was a kid and even though I may not wear a much make-up or any at all, it is so much fun to play with. Today I purchased Revlon Colorstay Creme Gel Eyeliner in 001 Black. It is my first encounter with a creme gel liner and with a coupon I figured, eh, why not. At CVS, the price is $9.99 USD and if you purchase $10 or more of Revlon products, you receive a $4 extra bucks coupon. Apparently tax counts with this too and it is calculated before coupons so WOO!

It comes with the gel creme in a pot which is 0.08 oz, a lid and a brush attached to the lid that hides in it. Now at 0.08, that is not a lot of product. Looking at other pots of creme gel liner, there is more than double that. Some at the drugstore for the same price, even. So the amount is a con for me. The quality though is quite decent, in my opinion. It glided on fairly smoothly and the brush, for me, did the job quite nicely. I am still new to using brushes so it took a few attempts to get a straight line on my eye. 

Overall, with this first impression, I give this a 3.5/5. The color pay off was nice, it went on smoothly, the brush is nice but the amount of product you get is so minimal compared to most brands. I plan on purchasing a creme gel liner from L'Oreal here soon. And possibly even trying out ELF if I can find it. Hopefully, with more time and use, the score will go up. Thanks for reading. Any suggestions on what I should try next? Let me know in the comments!

Emily

Vegetable Spaghetti

This is a recipe I came up with the other day. I have been trying to eat better and I love pasta so I had to figure out something that combined both of those. And I did! Also, one of the reasons I came up with this is because I wanted to treat my boyfriend. I have a bad knee and sometimes it acts up and walking for me becomes really hard. For 3 out of the 5 nights at work recently, he picked me up without question, even when he had to be up at 6am and I wasn't off work each night until 1130pm. He's a keeper! :)

Anyways, this recipe is so simple! I did use ground sweet sausage in this but it can be easily left out if you don't eat or want meat in this. You just throw it all together in a pot!

Vegetable Spaghetti
1/2 pound ground sweet sausage or beef (optional)
1 box Pictsweet Tuscan Vegetable Medley -You can also use Birds Eye Tuscan Vegetables in Herbed Tomato Sauce. Both are delicious for something like this-
1/2 can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (any brand will do)
1/2-4 tablespoons of minced garlic -You can use the stuff in the jar with oil and as much as you want. I love garlic-
1/4-1/2 medium red onion, diced
2/3-1 jar of garden style pasta sauce -Use any that you like. I would even say use other flavors if you are feeling creative-
1/2 box or 8oz of whole wheat pasta of your liking
seasoning of your liking -Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning-

Start by cooking your meat, if you choose to use any. I added garlic and Italian seasoning to it while it cooked. Drain off the grease and set it aside. Boil the water and cook the pasta as directed. Drain and set aside. Now for the veggies! Since there are frozen boxed veggies, follow the directions on the package to heat them up and then, with all the other veggies, meat and seasonings, throw them in the pot you cooked the pasta in. Use medium heat to cook and thoroughly heat through the canned and raw veggies. Cook them too your liking. I prefer mine to still have crunch to them so mine don't cook that long. Once heated add the sauce and heat some more! I usually wait until everything starts to simmer and the sauce starts to constantly bubble. Toss in the pasta and make sure everything is heated through thoroughly!! At this point you can heat it quickly or turn the heat down and let everything melt together till the pasta is swollen from the sauce and everything is one.... I couldn't wait. Was hungry :)

Serve with bread sticks and enjoy! This recipe had 6-8 servings in it so even with just 2 people we had leftovers! I hope you enjoy this. I'm sorry I don't have pictures. Next recipe will definitely have photos!

Emily

Quick odd post

If I seem to post a lot this week it is because I am on vacation and other than cleaning around my apartment, running errands and reading, this will cover most of my down time.

Emily

Pegomastax africanus

New fanged dwarf dinosaur

I was incredibly pleased when I first read this article. It is such an astonishingly weird looking crazy angry beast. I think it is adorable. Then again, I think anything part of the dromeaosauridae family is absolutely stunning to me, which everyone finds weird. This isn't part of that family but I think it looks like one of my angry cats. Another story for another day. 

A heterodontosaur with vampire like fangs on the lower jaw. Not what you would expect out of a herbivore, right?  Well there is the therizinosaurus. Check that one out to see out out of the ordinary it is. Speculated to have used those tiny fangs for digging for roots, gathering fruit and, of course, sparring for a mate. Not one to be cuddle with porcupine-like spikes all along its back, the term "punk sized" seems to fit quite nicely. In modern times, don't you think this would be a great guard dog? 

Emily

Male Beluga whale mimics human voice - Yahoo

"In 1984, scientists at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego began noticing unusual noises emanating from where they kept the whales and dolphins. These resembled two people conversing in the distance, just beyond the range of the understanding of listeners.

Researchers traced these sounds back to one male white whale, Noc, when a diver surfaced from the whale enclosure to ask his colleagues an odd question: "Who told me to get out?" The investigators concluded sounds resembling "out" came from Noc. [Listen to Noc Speak Human]" 

This is by far one of the coolest things I have read in a long time!

Books I have recently read

Hello all! I decided to start this out with books I have recently read and finished and what I am working on now. As a kid, I was not a avid reader. It just wasn't my thing. I would have rather been outside or hanging with my friends. And with all the reading assigned in school, it just felt overwhelming and, well, annoying. But recently my mom helped me out by giving me some money to buy a Kindle. It is my baby. Oh my god, if I had this as a kid, I may have never left the house!

Books read:

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

-The Hunger Games

- Catching Fire 

- Mockingjay 

Summary on Wikipedia (spoiler alert) 

Overall, I give this series a 5/5. It was compelling, nerve racking, fairly quick paced. I quickly became attached to the characters. I find it i enjoy and really sink myself into a book or series, I feel like the characters are people I know. This dystopian tale really sunk into me. Yes, it may be catered to young adults but that shouldn't take away from the majesty of the book. I don't want to say much more because I do not want to give away anything. Worth the time to sit and read. And if you're like me, reading these books won't take long

The Frankenstein Series by Dean Koontz

-Prodigal Son

- City of Night

- Dead and Alive

- Lost Souls

- The Dead Town

Summary on Wikipedia (spoiler alert)

Overall, if I was just considering the first 3 books, I would give this a 4/5. But since there are 5 books in this series the whole thing barely gets a 3/5. I almost feel like I should knock it down a tenth or two. The first 3, may have felt too long at points and I feel could have been 2 books easily, were a quick, entertaining read. Learning about the monster, what he had become. I won't say anymore! And the other characters, delving into their minds. I enjoyed this take on an old classic tale bringing it into modern times. But the last 2 were such a let down. It felt like he wrote 2 more books to extend the series either to satisfy the publishers or to make more money off the fairly successful series. Such a let down. And Dean Koontz is one of my favorite fiction authors. My advice, read the first 3 and stop there and then read the summary for the last 2. They are not worth it! 

Right now I am on the A Game of Thrones Series by George R.R. Martin. On book one, A Song of Ice and Fire. I started 2 weeks ago and I think I am 20-30 pages in. This will be a challenge for me. I am not really a fan of wordy authors. To just sit there and describe a tree in the wind and use one whole page for it...yeah. But I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something different. I really feel I can do this and maybe, after attempting the Hobbit 5 times now, I can conquer it! I am also reading Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley. I love science and am trying my best to get in as many science based, non-fiction books as I can on different subjects. HPB (Half Price Books)  and I are such good friends!

In the comments, let me know if you have any suggestions for me or what you think of the books I have talked about. I would love to hear other thoughts an opinions since I am now just discovering my love for the written word. 

Til next time! 

Emily