Lush Bath Bomb Dragon's Egg

Wheeeeeeee lookie I finally got a Lush Bath Bomb!!! So exciting!

Some college friends were back to visit for Thanksgiving break, so a few other friends and I went with them to the mall to watch a movie and just hang out. We watched Big Hero 6, a Disney movie (plot: no, feels: yes) and then went shopping for a whole bunch of random things. One friend wanted to test out some concealer so we hit Sephora, which is right across from Lush.

Now, I've always always always wanted to try a bath bomb from Lush. Whenever I go into that store I get so excited I start shaking (the employees always get very nervous and ask if I'm ok). I first learned about their products from blogger and Youtuber Zoella (my blogging inspiration!), who has done tons of Lush hauls, so I really wanted to experience them for myself. The last time I was there, they demonstrated the So White bath bomb, and I was hooked. On previous visits, I ran out of money and couldn't get anything, and right now my bathtub is broken, but I did not care – I was going to get a bath bomb even if would be weeks before I actually got to use it.

There were so many to choose from, but I decided on the Dragon's Egg bath bomb. It's one of the larger bath bombs and it costs $6.25. I think the website creates such an amazing description of it:

"Unleash fire and bathe in a whirlpool of magnificently vibrant, sizzling color and a spectacular explosion of sights, sounds, and scents. Inhale the refreshing sherbet-y citrus scent of lemon and bergamot; you'll feel like you're up and away on the back of your own dragon. This mystical Bath Bomb fizzles, crackles, curls, and ends with a glitter explosion."

It just sounds so magical! It has a very strong citrus scent, which can be a bit overpowering right out of the bag, but in a bath I expect that the smell would be more diffused. I did not know it at the time, but it also has glitter, which I hear can be quite annoying, but I'm excited to try it. When I do, I want to record a video of how it works, just so I can share it on here, and maybe I'll have someone else to share my Lush obsession with. It probably won't be for a while though, because the bathtub is broken and I actually kind of want to save it for a treat after college apps, so maybe in January. Toodley-pip! (I don't know why I said that, maybe I'm feeling British.) ◊

Food Friday #010 – Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, but I've actually been having really great food all week. Happy stomach = happy body, but I should probably start exercising again to stay in shape. The holidays are a dangerous time for the waistline.

»Smoked Salmon on Plain Bagel with Cream Cheese
I love salmon in any form, but the smooth smoked kind from Costco is my favorite by far. I like to put it on half a plain bagel with cream cheese for a light, delicious after school snack.

»Nutella
Need I say more? Nutella is my fave.
»Pumpkin Pie
I went to Diana's house for Thanksgiving and they had so much great food! Rolls, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, chocolates, and even turducken (quite an interesting experience). This is the first year I've had a fully classic All-American Thanksgiving meal, and oh my god it was so good. The best part was the pumpkin pie with tons of whipped cream (because no one else wanted whipped cream for some reason). I was already full, but I managed to squeeze in an entire slice. I did get a pretty bad stomachache later that night from eating so much, but I think it was worth it. I still have some more pie at home, but there's no whipped cream to go with it, so I don't know what to do.


I hope you've all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots and lots of yummy food! ◊

Keira Knightly and Kim Kardashian Kontroversy

With the current state of digital media, news is old after not even a few days. College apps and homework take up a lot of time, so many of the issues I want to blog about have come and gone too fast for me to write on while they're still in the public eye. A lot of the time, even if I have a post done, I might already have a whole bunch of posts scheduled, and I don't want to post multiple posts in one day. With unimportant things, I'll do something I call "unscheduling," where I schedule it to be posted in the past, so it only appears in the blog archive, and not on the main posts stream. That way, I have it as a record/diary entry, but it's not up where everyone can see (because quite frankly, a lot of the things that happen in my life are pretty boring). However, for certain issues that I think are more important, I still want to post them where they can be seen, even if it's a bit behind the times.

This post is about the perception of the female body – specifically the naked female body – in society, an issue that is critiqued quite hypocritically in general by the established media and social media. It bothers me that there are all these problems in the world, and lately it's been something that has really been weighing on my conscience. On one hand, the world's problems are so large and complex that an individual's opinion simply doesn't have much of an effect at all, but on the other hand, silence means acceptance, and I can't stay quiet accepting the things I don't agree with. I can't change the world, but things must constantly be spoken about, or else no further change can take place.

Warning: "NSFW" images.

#obsessed: Guts Over Fear – Eminem ft. Sia

I don't know how I really feel about Eminem; on one hand some of his lyrics are quite violent and offensive, but on the other hand his music really expresses a lot of anger and emotion that can be relatable to a certain degree. With music, I focus less on the brand/artist loyalty than I do on listening to individual songs that I like, but once again, Eminem and Sia both have outdone themselves in this song from his new album. The girl singing Sia's parts is a model named Chantelle Brown-Young, also known as Winnie Harlow. She has a skin condition called vitiligo, which destroys pigments in the skin causing different colored patches. In a society which judges people so harshly for their physical appearance, it's inspiring to see someone who embodies the meaning of the lyrics and puts her passion and pursuit of her dreams above her fear, something I'm in the process of learning as well. ◊

Taylor Swift and Spotify

I remember seeing Taylor Swift for the first time on a magazine cover and thinking that she was oh-so beautiful. I've always been a big fan or hers because I loved her music and personality. Lately, however, with her position on Spotify, I have to say that I admire her less.

To be clear, I still like her music, but "Just because we like something doesn’t mean it’s above reproach. We should practice turning a critical eye on the media we consume, as it gives us a chance to view our own thoughts through the lens of pop culture." This is from a Jenny Trout blog post about Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass, and I think it's important to apply to all issues in social media.

Food Friday #009 – California Pizza Kitchen Fundraiser

Sharks in the Pool

I've been dreaming of lots of sharks. It's not the first time it's happened, in fact it's the third time this month. I can remember having a similar dream once a long time ago, maybe when I was around eight years old. In these dreams, I'm in a deep pool. It's about the same size as a standard swimming pool, but extremely deep, like a diving well. I can still see the bottom, but it's usually pretty dark. Under me, and a little distance away next to me, are a few individual sharks. There are large sharks like great whites, sleek sharks like makos and lemon sharks, and even a few goblin sharks in the deeper parts, but they are not attacking.

I'm not scared, but for some reason I just really want to get out of the pool. The water is comfortably cool, and the sharks are just swimming around in the deep. Sometimes they'll chase after some other people, but those people dissolve into smoke when the shark catches them. I'm swimming across, but I never make it to the other side. When I'm almost there, everything blacks out, and I wake up.

This time, the sharks appeared with tattered black cloth wrapped around and hanging off of their heads and bodies and tails. This made me curious, so I looked it up on Google, and of course someone on Yahoo Answers had already asked this question. Apparently,

"To see a shark in your dream indicates feelings of anger, hostility, and fierceness. You are undergoing a long and difficult emotional period and may be an emotional threat to yourself or to others. Perhaps, you are struggling with your individuality and independence, especially in some aspect of your relationship. Alternatively, a shark represents a person in your life who is greedy and unscrupulous. This person goes after what he or she wants with no regards to the well-being and sensitivity of others. The shark may also be an aspect of your own personality with these qualities. To see a swimming pool in your dream symbolizes relaxation, calmness, luxury and ease. You need to take a break. Alternatively, a swimming pool suggests that you need to acknowledge and understand your feelings. It is time to dive in and deal with those emotions. You need to cleanse yourself and wash away past hurts. Consider the depth of the pool. If you were swimming on the deep end, then it means that those emotions are deeply seeded and may be harder to confront. You will need to work through it, no more matter how difficult. If you are swimming on the shallow end, then it implies that you should be able to easily deal with your feelings."

Somehow, this seems pretty accurate. I've bolded some of the key words in that answer, so I can read this later on and reflect on it in context for myself. I'm normally a very logical and rational person, but I do have an affinity for dream interpretations and horoscopes. They're not always precise, but they are quite interesting.

I am going through a "long and difficult emotional period" right now, and through this blog and talking to friends and counselors and teachers, I am trying to work through all of those feelings. Maybe these dreams are telling me that I'm on the right track and I'm almost there.

Sometimes I have multiple dreams in a row. After this particular one, I had one about how my blog got noticed, and I became famous. It's probably not going to happen, but I can still dream. ◊

Update: College Apps and Family Stress

Life feels like crap right now, and I feel like I can't talk about it with any of my close friends because I think they're getting annoyed at the fact that all I do is complain. It's not too far of an unfounded accusation, because I'm noticing that they're not really replying to my messages at all. They have their own stuff going on, and I don't blame them. They're still fun to hang out with when I can pretend that there's nothing wrong. I feel petty for complaining about this though.

Luckily, I can rant all I want right here. This is my personal blog, and as of now, I'm not really obligated to post cool, fun stuff all the time. I don't feel obligated to hide my struggles anymore, because I don't feel that it's shameful to have feelings and have a need to express them. I don't have to explicitly tell other people how I feel and expect them to understand; I can be my own validation.

Food Friday #008 – BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse (Again)

On Tuesday, Veteran's Day, there was no school, so a couple of friends and I went to BJ's for lunch. It happened to be one of my friends' birthday during the weekend, so we surprised her with balloons and a card. She doesn't want her picture online though, so here's the burger that I had instead. It was scrumptious and a lot of fun!

Kind of a boring post, but I just really love food. I don't have an Instagram so I'm just going to post the pictures here. ◊

#obsessed: That's Christmas to Me – Pentatonix

It's only November, but it's never too early for Christmas music (I will literally listen to it in March, if need be.) I have to say, one of the best things the universe has ever done is bring together Pentatonix. If anyone can sing with the "voice of an angel" it's these people. It's such happy music, and it really helps me calm down when I get anxious.

Recently, they came out with their second Christmas album, where they arrange and sing covers to popular classic and new Christmas songs. Here is the album, from Spotify. I honestly can't pick a favorite because they are all so incredible. It's so addicting, and I don't know when I'll ever stop listening.

It certainly is the most wonderful time time of the year! ◊

Update: I love their cover of White Winter Hymnal, but SLEIGH RIDE WILL ALWAYS BE MY FAVORITE!
THIS SONG MAKES ME RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY ^_^
LOOK AT THESE AWESOME REINDEER GIFS THAT GO WITH THE SONG.

ALL THE REINDEER!

Buying Books at the Library

This post is from a long time ago, so I don't have much to say about some of the notes I put down. Basically what happened is that I noticed a lot of fines on my account even though I had just paid off everything and returned the books on time. I went to the library to check out another book and see if I could get the fines removed from my account, but when I went to ask about the fines at the help desk, the attendant just brushed me off and said that I should just pay. I demanded to see a manager and got the fines checked out, and he was very understanding. Moral of the story: when a service person is unnecessarily rude, don't try to argue with them, just ask to see another person, preferably someone higher up on the food chain. It saves you a lot of frustration, and you don't have the guilty conscience of being rude to staff members.

I went in to read my books and happened to bump into my friend Rachel. We had a discussion of a long of things, most notably people going overboard in issues such as racism and feminism. There's a lot to say about those topics, so I want to do a lengthy post on that once I have time, maybe second semester. She had to leave, so I sat there for a while, "stewing in my own disappointment" as she so eloquently put it. It was a very satisfying feeling working out some of that angst.

Anyhow, there is a section of the Almaden Library out in the front, off towards the side near the little cafe, with all kinds of used books for sale. I remember going there from a much earlier time, when the library was just newly remodeled. I bought a mini Chicken Soup for the Soul book for just a quarter. The prices now are only 50¢ for paperbacks and $1 for hardbacks. I got these two because they're apparently very popular and I hear they were pretty good. Two books for only $1.50! Whenever I have the time and money, I go there to look for the occasional good book. They have all kinds of books, from preschooler to adult, fiction and nonfiction. There's a copy of Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer and Bill Clinton's autobiography there for $1 each if you want (just kidding). I strongly encourage you to check it out.

I have so many good books to read now, and once college apps are finished, I want to start doing book reviews here. I really can't wait until second semester! ◊

#obsessed: Shower – Becky G

This song has been around since at least mid-summer, and I found it quite annoying at first, but it's actually quite catchy now that I listen to it again. It's the epitome of teenage love "bubblegum" pop, but sometimes you just need that little shot of happiness in your life to keep your spirits up. The "la da dee, la da da, la da daaaaa" is especially ebullient, and I've found it running through my head constantly.

I have a lot of interesting posts lined up and I just need the time to do them, but unfortunately, college apps and other school work takes precedence. I feel like I'm at least better at getting myself to do things, now that I've found some good methods to become more productive. Maybe I'll do a post on that as well. ◊