My Easter Centerpieces

Happy Easter!

NOM NOM NOM!

These are plum candy apples from eatingthescreen.com. They are amazing and they make me happy! In fact, I intend to eat one later. The blog posts about food and film, this one being about the Hunger Games. Check it out!

tattoos

I love my tattoos! 2 I got this year so far are these ones:

I plan on getting at least one more this year. Or 3....... :)

The question of the day!

Guilty Pleasure Songs

I'm starting to plan my new workout and I'm putting together a workout song list. These two are somewhat recent songs that came out in 2011 and they make me so happy. I need to listen to songs like this when I work out because working out makes me so miserable that I could use all the excitement I can get :)

The First one is Glad You Came by The Wanted. Its cheesy, its classically boybandish, and some of the members look like they shouldn't be in a club late at night, but still getting brought milk by their mamas. But I don't care. When this songs plays, I dance like a mental patient with gerbils in her pants hit up a Jersey Shore club. And that's the point of a guilty pleasure song anyways right?
Here is a link to the video, enjoy!

BABA BADA DA BABA BADA DA BABA!

My second song is Good Feeling by Flo Rida. The title says it all. When this comes on the radio, I turn it up so loud that I'm just yelling the lyrics. If there is anything that will get me to do push-ups, its this. :)
Here is the link to this video, too.

10 great health benefits of olive oil

I LOVE LOVE LOVE olive oil! And not just for dipping some delicious bread in (though that is fantastic), but for other things, too. I posted earlier that I was going to start applying olive oil to my face to help with my bad skin. So far, its been a week and it already looks and feels a whole lot better. I thought that since its working so well for my skin, it probably helps a lot of other stuff, too. So I did some research and experimented, and this is what I found:


1) FOR EATING. You really cant beat it. On bread, salad, pasta, and in cooking in replacement of butter. Although it is high in calories, studies have shown that when used in moderation, there are many health benefits. The monounsaturated fatty acids found in olive oil may help lower your risk of hearth disease. This is because it helps lower your cholesterol, reduce blood clotting, and can even can help your insulin levels. Yay for a healthy heart! (side note: it also helps curb your appetite).

2) FOR FACE. No joke, this really works! I have rosacea and acne and its humiliating. I have tried so many different skin products from Proactive to some organic foofy hippie face wash with little to no results. So why does olive oil work? According to oliveoilcource.com, in addition to being a natural, hypoallergenic way to moisturize skin, extra virgin olive oil has the added advantage of providing strong antioxidants, like Vitamins A and E that help repair and renew skin that has been damaged from overexposure to sun, air pollution, and other modern-day environmental hazards – like cigarette smoke and fast food. These antioxidants have the natural ability to stimulate cells and return skin to a firmer, smoother, and healthier state. Ta-da! (side note: you can also use it to remove makeup).

3) FOR LIPS. Use it like chap stick. Not only will it taste yummy, but it will work like it does on your skin and repair dry and cracked surfaces- returning them to kissable awesomeness.

4) FOR HAIR. I was reading oliveoilonly.org, and they said olive oil makes a great hair conditioner. It leaves your hair soft with a radiant shine. It ends frizzy hair and heals split ends. You can warm the olive oil and massage it into your hair, especially at the roots. You can do this in the shower. After wetting your hair, leave the olive oil on for a few minutes and then shampoo to remove the residual. Or you can apply it to moist hair and then sit in the sun or a warm spot for a while to let it absorb into the hair. Some have suggested covering your hair with a bathing cap for 30 minutes. Then wash out the extra olive oil with shampoo. The amount of olive oil needed will depend on the how dry your hair is and your hair length. Some people prefer to apply a small amount of olive oil just after a shower and leave it in. Extra virgin olive oil is preferable for this.

5) FOR SUNBURNS. Apply the oil after tanning or sun bathing. Oleuropein (derived from olive oil & olive oil leaves) reduces redness, water loss from the skin and blood flow after a sunburn. The extra blood flow causes swelling which is one of the causes of sunburn pain. Also, you can then go down a water slide and you will move faster!

6) FOR PREVENTING DRUNKEN ILLNESS. A Greek man once told me to take a shot of olive oil before consuming alcohol to help settle my tummy. In other words, "please weird American lady, drink this before you throw up in my restaurant".

7) FOR EARS. Take a Q-tip, dip it in olive oil, then coat the inside of your ear. This will reduce earwax buildup and in return, prevent earaches. I've also used this during an earache and it helps get everything out. Gross? Yes. Works? Yes.

8) FOR SHAVING. Olive oil can provide a safe and natural lubricant for a close shave.

9) FOR NAILS. Use a bit of olive oil to moisturize cuticles, or mix oil and water and soak your hands before a manicure.

10) FOR THROAT. Got a throat tickle you can't get rid of? Sipping olive oil lubricates your throat muscles and releaves them of irritation. Some studdies also say it might help with snoring but Im not so sure about that one.

Quote of the day

I'm in a book club with women from my church community group and right now, we are reading: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. This quote jumped out at me:

"Life works better when we know how to glance at things but gaze at God"

I'm going to try and live by these words and spend more time with Him.