Ok Beauties, Lets Get Logical!!!

Hola Bellas! Como estas? Bien?! Great, so I have been perusing the beauty blogs for quite some time. Most give great little tid bits here and there, but a select few are my go to blogs for all things beauty! One of my absolute favorites is Dominican Enigma's BeautyLogic! DE (what we BeautyLogic Beauties call her) is possibly the most gorgeous woman I have her seen! Seriously, if it weren't for the fact that she is just as beautiful inside as she is out, I might be tempted to pick up my haterade drinking habit again ;-P.

So the first time I stumbled upon BeautyLogic, I spent hours reading and digesting all of her posts! DE has an uncanny knack for suggesting exactly what I need at the time! Its almost scary! As soon as I finished I ran out and bought 3 products that she had suggested and I was not disappointed! I love and am grateful for the fact that DE suggests products that are not only of great quality, but also affordable. In fact, she has started a new post series called "Recession Replacement Thursdays", in which she spotlights suggestions from her faithful readers on how they are replacing some of their high-end beauty items with more affordable options that give comparable results. Loving this! But, because DE is the professional that she is...she also indulges our luxe side with reviews on more expensive products that she feels warrant a shout out...and often times she does giveaways for these higher end products so that her readers can try out these products for themselves! I was actually the lucky winner of one of these giveaways and, once again, I was not disappointed!

Anyone who has read BeautyLogic knows that DE is all about the hair! With her long, flowing, shiny, thick, jet black, gorgeous hair, I have dubbed DE the "Hair Queen". So when, the Hair Queen speaks, you listen! Now, I have been frustrated for years with the fact that my hair would not grow! I mean its as if my hair gets to a certain length and says, "NO, I cannot...I will not go on!" Then one day, as if it were meant to be, I came across this post from DE that has literally changed my hair! Suddenly, my defiant hair that would put on the breaks after reaching a certain length, is GROWING! I could not be more excited! And, DE was kind enough to let us in on a little bit of her hair routine...



The thing I love most about DE and her BeautyLogic Blog, though, is her spirit! DE not only wants you to be beautiful outside, but inside as well! She believes in empowering women, and encourages us to never stop learning and to never give up on our dreams! DE is an aspiring reporter and I have no doubt that she will accomplish her goals! Check her out in action! Look out for this bella on a television near you!

Today I am grateful for the inspiration to follow my dreams and the helpful hints to look fab while doing it!

Close Your Eyes and Envision Beauty!!!

Hello ALL! I am super excited to kick off my "Favorite Health and Beauty Blog" series with none other than Kimberly Snyder's Envision Beauty Blog! Kimberly Snyder is an entrepreneur, raw foodist, yoga instructor, world traveler, charity promoter, free thinker, do gooder, super woman, and your all around rockstar! Ok ok, I'll admit, I have a bit of girl crush, but seriously this lady is worth the admiration!

I was first introduced to Kimberly through Dominican Enigma of BeautyLogic (more on her in a later post). DE had done a youtube video interview that left me chomping at the bit to check out Kimberly's site...and I was not disappointed. I spent the next three days reading every post Kimberly had written and I was inspired! I have been looking for a way to get my weight under control for years. Not only do I want to look better, but I want to feel better! I want to have the energy to go and pursue my dreams! After, reading I closed my eyes and envisioned beauty! I envisioned myself at my perfect weight, and accomplishing all of my goals with energy to spare. Suddenly, I was introduced to a way of eating that did not seem like a gimmick. No counting calories, no points, no high protein/low carb or morning banana fad diets...just natural, whole, raw foods. Kimberly took the guess work out of eating healthy and made it simple.

Now, I won't lie and say that I am now a 100% raw foodist. Heck, I'm not even a vegetarian, but I have been incorporating a lot of raw healthy vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts into my diet and I have never felt better! And that is what is so great about Kimberly's blog. There is no agenda pushing...just sound advice on how to eat and live a healthier life! There are tons of delicious looking recipes to get you started...her Ultimate Green Smoothie being one of my favorites! Kimberly has also developed her very own skin care product called The Solution, which is fabulous (be on the look out for a youtube review of The Solution very soon)! It is her flagship product which is a host of skin care products in one! AND, 10% of the proceeds from The Solution goes to Project Concern International (PCI) which organizes clean water initiatives, micro enterprise, agricultural education, and life-saving medical relief in Africa, the Americas, and in Asia.

In addition, Kimberly is working on a skin brightening cleanser to be released later on this year and her very own Yoga Video, which was shot on location in Bora Bora (also being released later on this year)!


Yes, Ms. Snyder is living her life like its GOLDEN and I have mad respect for her! If you have not done so already, go to her blog and be enlightened!

Today I am thankful for sound advice and robust inspiration!

Giving Up The Haterade!!!

Ok ladies, I know I said my next few posts would be about my favorite health blogs, but I feel compelled to speak on something else that has been holding me back and is bad for my health (huh, I guess this post is sorta health related! ;-). Yes ladies, I am guilty of drinking the Haterade! For my readers who may not have heard of this term, please click here for a definition. The rest of you know what I'm talking about! Can I get an AMEN?!

So it seems that when things are not going so well, I indulge in a big, heaping glass of Haterade. Ladies please tell me I'm not alone in this. You know what I'm talking about right?! You know that girl that, upon sight of her, actually insights a physical response in you?! You see her and all of her "perfectness" and your upper lip starts to curl up in an expression that can only be described as the "I'm so freakin' jealous of you I could spit" look?! C'mon, don't lie...don't leave me out here on this limb by myself! ;-)

This is no new phenomenon. Women have been doing it forever. It sucks, cause when that green eyed monster that lives in the depths of my psyche pops out and rears it's ugly head, I find myself wallowing in a sea of negativity and comparisons! And if your comparing yourself to someone else, you will never win! TRUST ME!!! You'll start comparing everything! She has hair like yours, only longer and less frizzy. She has skin that is clear and as smooth as butter. You both have a great education, only she now has a fabulous career that she loves and is making a truck load of money! And, she has the perfect body! Not a dimple in sight....meanwhile your butt looks like a golf ball! I know what your thinking...there has to be some consolation right? She must have a horrible personality and be dreadfully boring...right?! So you wait for it...and then she opens her mouth and she is nothing less than delightful! She is sweet as apple pie and everybody LOVES HER! Yep, there goes that lip again!

You see what I mean ladies? This is not healthy!!!! If there is one thing that I have realized its that no matter how great you are...there is always someone out there that does it better than you! This is not to discourage you, but to let you know that you don't have to be perfect! We have been beautifully and wonderfully made....Each and every one of us! We have all been given unique and wonderful gifts that make us the outstanding women that we are! It is time that we stopped coveting the lives of others and start being thankful for the blessings that we have been given! Besides, "Covet" is the name of my eyeliner and that is the only green that looks good on me!

Today I am thankful for the realization that what God has for me is for ME...and nobody can take that away! Ladies, love yourselves!!!

CHANGES....

Wow! So it has been a while since I posted and there have been a lot of changes in my life! As you all know, I had been applying to grad school. Well, things happened...money issues...time sensitive situations...and going to grad school this year just did not work out. Needless to say, this did not do much for my mood. School was the one thing that I had been looking forward to. It was kind of the light at the end of the tunnel for me, so when I realized it was not going to happen I became depressed. It seemed like things just kept getting worse!

Finally, I got a ray of sunshine....I got a job! After months and months and months of searching, I finally got hired...making slightly more than minimum wage! I must admit that it is a bit humbling to be a college graduate making minimum wage, but it is certainly better than nothing! I guess I can't complain.

So there's more! Around the time that I got the job, I decided to go to massage therapy school! Literally, it JUST happened! I came across this article about jobs that are actually prospering even in the recession and Massage Therapist just jumped out at me! I mean I couldn't get it out of my head! So, I started doing some research and requested some info from a few different schools. Within 2 days I had gotten an email from a school in Dallas requesting that I join them for an open house the very next day and they would waive the $75 application fee for attending (great..cause I'm broke)! So, I went and was completely impressed with the campus and the teachers and the people. I applied that night and in the next 2 days I found out that my tuition and fees would pretty much be completely covered! Great!!!

And then the ball dropped! It turns out that the financial aid package I had expected to get was not set in stone. So, when I got my official financial aid award letter it was minus the grant I was told I was getting. I found out that since I already had a Bachelors degree that I was not eligible for the grant . Unfortunately, that meant that I was short a considerable amount and could not afford to go. As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed. I decided, though, that I would not let it get me down. I would just work and save up as much as I could to be able to attend the class starting in September. Considering how little I am making, I am not sure that it will happen..but I'm gonna try.

The job is going pretty good though! I have a front desk position at a very well known gym and I'm really excited about that because I am a person who is very influenced by her surroundings. I have found that being in an environment that is health conscious has caused me to pay more attention to how I treat my body and I have been making much better choices lately. Plus, I have a free membership so now I have absolutely no excuse not to work out! Not one! Having this job has also led me to start researching health and healthy eating etc and I have come across many exciting blogs that have inspired me! So much so that I have decided that I want to share this news with you all. So, the next few posts will be reviews of blogs that I have really come to love to read. Most are health related, some are beauty related...but its all related! So, stay tuned!

After being on a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows for the past few months, I am grateful today, to just be on a more even keel. I'm gonna make it...and you will too!