Cure 101: Laziness

Don't let laziness stop you!

Dearest readers,

Sorry I haven't been posting anything recently. I've been sick with a chest infection for a while and I'm finally getting better now! I've been nursing myself back to health for at least three weeks now. Ugh, and trust me it was not fun. Anyways, today's Cure 101 is going to be on laziness. I'm sure we've all been too lazy to do something before. Whether it be cleaning the dishes, maybe doing homework or even taking a shower. It's okay to be lazy sometimes BUT when it becomes a lifestyle thing, that's when you need to be cautious. 

Here is some effective ways to help cure laziness. Enjoy reading :)

 
1. Confusion and lack of clarity
When I have too many ideas rattling around in my head, fighting for my attention, I get overwhelmed and end up not wanting to do anything. In this instance, you have to be like a gardener with an overgrown garden and start pruning things back. The word 'decide' comes from a latin word meaning to cut away from -- meaning you have to cut away the alternatives and focus on the one thing you have decided to do, and do it.

2. Lack of perspective
Laziness often requires a shock to your awareness to break you out of the little trance you are in. You are in a comfortable place and you think all is well. But then someone you love dies, or you get a huge bill come in that you don't have money for, and then it's like having a cold shower of reality -- it wakes you up to what you should have been doing.

It's like at school or work where maybe you have a deadline to finish a project by. It's in 2 weeks time, so you think, 'I've got plenty of time' and you goof off playing. But then suddenly you get to the night before the deadline and you suddenly realise how much work you have to do, and the shock wakes you out of your trance, and gets you working flat out to try and get it done in time.

We lazy people have to create for ourselves the ability to think long term (because it doesn't come natural to us). We have to think about what we want, and realise that time is running out, and if we don't do it, we will never experience the things we want to achieve in life.

3. Power of momentum
When you are lazy, you have to get your energy going faster so that you can get into motion and then let the momentum of your speed keep you moving. If you feel sluggish and lazy, you just have to do something to get moving, like getting up out of the chair, changing your physiology, breathing and moving like someone who is full of energy and dynamism.
Laziness is just a habit, and habits take consistent effort to change for at least 30 days. Just keep moving and focusing on doing one thing after another. It's like stoking a fire, you have to poke the embers to get the flame going again. Or you can think of it like an ox or a donkey where you have to keep slapping it to get it to go faster and faster until it goes from a walk, to a trot, to a canter, to a gallop.
There is an old saying, 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' You have to be like the stone and get rolling, and keep yourself rolling. Avoid the actions or activities that lead to you feeling lazy: don't go to bed late and then sleep in till late in the morning. Stay away from the foods that make you feel sluggish and lethargic afterwards. Avoid the people that bring you down to their level. Make choices that support and enhance your life rather than dragging it down. Surely that is the intelligent way to live.
There is another saying, 'If you want something done, ask a busy man.' What that means is the busy man is in motion already, and he can quickly respond to your request and do the task quickly with little fuss. On the other hand the person who isn't busy and occupied makes a big deal out of simple tasks, and puts them off, or takes ages with them.
Become busy, keep your energy flowing, stay in motion through the day. The mind loves to be occupied, purposeful and focused -- these give it great energy and a sense of meaning.




Goodbye and Good luck 


x

Owl #1: His first photoshoot!

Dearest readers,

So today, I just gave Owl a photoshoot! Yes, he's becoming into a Hollywood star in guinea pig land! It took a while for me to get any good pictures because he kept moving around, wanting to explore the place! It was really frustrating to try and catch him when his little paws travel so fast!

So here is just a couple of the best photos of Owl and a short video of him trying to hide in his toy house!

All photos/videos taken with Canon EOS 60D camera.

It took me a long time to get Owl to balance on this toy tree log thingy...ugh, the effort all for this photo :p

After the first photo, he was rather well behaved and was 'exploring' the toy--and by exploring I mean trying to squeeze himself in, and then trying to push himself out...O.o

I couldn't help but throw a flower onto his head. Yes, yes, I know, he's a boy but it looked too cute!!! Besides, If I didn't tell you guys he was a boy, you'd probably assume he was a girl right?

More of Owl exploring the toy.

There's delicious chocolate inside that tin. Owl has this obsession with that tin...he always goes and sniffs it, nudges it whatever. I think he may want the chocolate, but of course guinea pigs can't eat chocolate so I'll have to be careful whenever he's around that tin...

And before I end this post , I've got a short video of Owl being stupid on set. Enjoy :)

Covering acne and acne scar foundation routine?

Dearest readers,

So having acne/blemishes or pimples, whatever you call it is really hard. After experimenting with lots of different routines, I've discovered one that covers my acne but at the same time help keep my skin luminating and glowing.

Now here are some common problems I came across with makeup due to my acne:

1. I used full coverage foundation and my skin dried out and looked cakey
2. My acne became more 3D and obvious due to heavy foundation
3. It wore off after half a day
4. foundation didn't blend out, looked dry and patchy, especially in photos.

If you've experienced any of the following, then you're probably going to benefit the most from this routine. It's really simple and doesn't require high end brands to accomplish it. I can't guarantee it'll cover all your acne, depending on the severity of it but being proud of your acne and not being afraid to show it makes you even more beautiful! So DON'T BE AFRAID TO LET THE WORLD SEE IT!

Step 1: Wash your face

Don't ignore this step because you think it's unnessicary. Having a clean canvas to begin with is more important than you think.

Step 2: Moisturize:

Yes, moisturize. Use any of your favourite moisturizer and genorously pat onto your face. The aim of this routine is to make your face look dewy and fresh before you apply anything--not dry and rough

Step 3: Prime:

This step is pretty self explaintory. Prime your face if you want the makeup to stay
longer. Skip this step if you wish.

Step 4: Apply BB Cream.

 This is the most important step in this routine. The BB cream will help seperate the foundation from your skin and help heal your acne at the same time. It will even out your skin tone and give it a dewy look. Apply a thin layer all over your face.

Step 5: DOT on foundation with ADDED MOISTURIZER (preferbly with SPF 15+):

You want to make sure the foundation isn't full coverage as that will most likely cake out your face. Your BB Cream will have hopefully covered 45% of your acne/scars by now. Dot the foundation on problem areas ONLY and leave it for a minute or so. Then proceed to blending it out using a brush, sponge or fingers (my personal favourite as brushs tend to leave strokes and sponge usually absorbs everything)

Step 6: Apply concealer:

Usually most people do this step before foundation but I prefer to do it after. Again, DOT on the concealer ontop of problem areas. Use a green concealer if your acne is still red, then apply foundation over the spot again. Generally, however, your acne should be about 75% covered with the foundation. Leave the concealer on for a minute and then proceed to blend it out.

Step 7: Using a powder brush, use translucent setting powder and set your face:

Lightly go over your problem areas which should be about 95% covered, but focus mainly on T-Zone and other parts which go oily quickly.

Step 8: Use a setting spray (mine is MAC Fix Plus spray) and set your face.

VOILA! You are now done! Hello beautiful face and goodbye cakey face!

xxx

Bear #1: The Introduction

Dearest readers,

So you might've remembered when I first got Bear, I named him Jaqqy. Well, after about a week or so, calling him Jaqqy got kind of tiresome and after a while, it became a pain to pronounce. Around the same time, I had noticed how he looked more and more like a bear. A small, brown forest bear. So thus, the name was born.

I haven't really told you guys his personality yet have I? Well, he's definitely a feisty little fellow. It was hard to know his personality when he first arrived because he was so shy and timid. But he's definitely flourished and blossomed over the course of this month. He use to be really reliant on Owl, but now since he's growing up, he's challenging Owl for leadership now.

He's very brave and stands his ground and even though he's such a wee little thing (600g as of last week), he challenges Socks and Oreo and they're double his size! And talking about Oreo, he doesn't get along with the rest of my piggies. He's very agressive towards the trio and I had to seperate them because of it. It's sad but it's the only way to avoid bloodshed.

The one problem I have with Bear is that he's not friendly towards humans. I've noticed both Owl and Bear exhibit this aloofness towards humans. They tend to run away, bite and stay away from humans as much as possible. I suppose it's because they're not use to being around humans but I'll give them another shot and see how things go.

So that's basically it for the introduction, here is a video and pic of Bear showing off his cuteness! Enjoy!

Bear, Owl and Socks having floortime eating some fresh grass

Bear(left) eating watermelon

Cure 101: Ingrown Hairs

Dearest readers,

Nobody likes ingrown hairs. Infact, it's downright gross and sometimes painful. I've had ingrown hair on my legs for years, causing these ugly little bumps that never seemed to go away. I never knew what some of the secrets to getting rid of them were...until now. So I thought I'd share with you these effective tips!

1. Exfoliating definitely helps with ingrown hairs. Essentially, you're removing the upper layers of dead skin which is blocking the hairs from coming out. Do this regularly (about three times a week is enough) but if you have severe in grown hairs, use a gentle face scrub with glycolic and salicylic acid daily.
2. Use a soft-bristle face brush and liquid cleanser in a circular motion on the area of ingrown ahirs to dislodge the tips of ingrown hairs, eliminate dead skin cells and clear follicles to allow hairs to surface unimpeded.

3. You could also try using tweezers instead. Though be careful on this one. Carefully lift the ingrown end out with tweezers, but don't pluck the hair out; this will only make the hair regrow deeper.
4. Try using products that contain azulene, allantoin and witch hazel can help reduce the redness and swelling.

5. I can't stress this one enough. Avoid pants and stockings if you haven't shaved. These may cause the hair to snap and curl in causing ingrowns.

6. You can use salt mixed with any moisturizer as an exfoliating solution to treat the affected area where the ingrown hair is located.

7. Your affected skin areas need to be silky smooth in order to remove the ingrown hairs. You can use sugar mixed with moisturizer creams and essential oils that specifically fight ingrown hairs in the skin.

8. The Ayate Washcloth cleanses any body part and acts as an exfoliating solution to intensify the process of softening. Its results become visible after its continuous daily use for a couple of weeks.

9. Another effective home remedy is to use an Aspirin Mask. This mask consists of the following ingredients and can applied to the affected area by following these steps:

• Crush three to four uncoated aspirin tablets and mix it in a bowl with hot water, 1 tablespoon of honey, and ½ tablespoon of jojoba oil.
• Thoroughly mix the solution so that the solution is well mixed in its own; the mixture is meant to be thin and not thick.
• Apply the mixture in the affected skin areas, gently scrub it and let it dry for about ten to fifteen minutes. Once it is completely dry you can remove it with warm water, making sure all the solution is completely removed and washed off with warm water and dried with a towel.

10. You can also try taping a potato peeling to infected hairs has been known to work. It is the starch from the potato skin that aids in the removal of pus and infection.

11. You could also try using paste created from clay and eucalyptus oil, which is used to draw out the hair. It also works well as a disinfectant for infected ingrown hairs. This mask should be worn overnight and washed off in the morning

12. When ingrown hairs become excessively infected, a visit to the dermatologist is recommended. I suggest visiting them before you go online for help.


Take Care,

Alley

Cool and Funny Facebook status

Dearest Readers,

So, most of you reading this will have facebook and are probably found this because they were trying to find some cool status's to post. Well, here is my complied list of statuses I've found from all over the net. Feel free to copy, paste and use these :)


To find your cool robot name, take the first 16 digits of your credit card and combine with the start/expiry dates and security code. What’s yours?

Some interesting stats... 3,190,374 people are having sex right now, 2,212,130 are kissing, and 1 poor person is reading this post. Sucks to be you!

Learn from Pandora's mistake - think outside of the box

If a mute person burps, does it make a sound?
To err is human. To arr is pirate

I was complimented on my driving today. Someone left a note on my windshield that said, "Parking Fine"

Finding a job in this economy is like playing "Where's Waldo?"... except that Waldo is looking for a job, too.

Scratch here ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ to reveal today’s status.

 My wife said I’m too immature and if I don’t grow up it’s going to erect a barrier between us. Ha ha ha, erect.

 If guys had periods, they’d brag about the size of their tampons.

Make love, not war. Hell, do both. Get married.

 ٩(•̮̮̃•̃)۶ ٩(-̮̮̃-̃)۶ ٩(●̮̮̃•̃)۶ ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ ٩(-̮̮̃•̃)۶

 _̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡

 if only life came with a ◄◄ REW ► PLAY ▌▌PAUSE █▌STOP

 scratch here ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ to reveal today’s status.

 ̿̿̿ ̿’ ̿’̵͇̿̿з=(•̪●)=ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ this is a stick-up… give me ALL yo [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅1̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]!

 Cut here —————–✄———————-

I speak my mind. I never mind what I speak.
 
Teacher: "I am beautiful. What tense is this?" Student: "Obviously past."


Take Care,

Alley

What is the difference between a tinted moisturizer and a BB cream?

Difference or no difference?

Dearest readers,

I want to talk to you today about the differences between a BB cream and a tinted moisturizer. I know for me, I didn't know the difference at first and thought they did exactly the same thing, so why bother buying both? That is a BIG mistake. They are not the same thing. I think they are both very important and a must have for every girl out there. You can check out my Garnier BB Cream review here

BB Cream/Blemish Balm Creams

• Has Soothing and Healing properties. It also promotes a healthy dewy glow.
• May have whitening benefits depending on the brand you purchase.
• Is suitable for most skin types (dry, oily, combination)
•  Usually comes in only one shade of colour
• Contains SPF
• Has anti-aging ingredients.
• Works as a foundation and concealer plus a moisturizer so no other base products are needed.
• Pigmented, Thick, Creamy yet lightweight and breathable are some characters of a good BB Cream
• Tends to not oxidize or fade away quickly

Tinted Moisturizer

• Normally a thin consistency compared to a thicker, creamy formula of a BB.
• Has a range of shades to choose from
• Available to purchase in chemists to high end stores.
• No anti-aging ingredients
• No whitening benefits.
• Lightweight formula but lacks pigmentation
• Normally have short wear times, 4 hours max.
•  More expensive than BB creams (although if you buy home branded ones, it's extremely cheap)
• Low SPF (SPF 15 is considered very high for a TM)

So to cut it short: Tinted Moisturizer is like a diluted version of traditional foundation, usually added with moisturizer to make more runny and easy to apply to the face. At the same time it offers less coverage and is no good on it's own on covering blemishes. BB Creams, on the other hand, generally offer a bit more coverage and loads more skincare multitasking which is what makes it a great ALL IN ONE.


Take Care,


Alley