Love Freely, Love Deeply : January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Gives me goosebumps every time...

February Workout Challenge!

I'm definitely doing this for February, starting tomorrow!

So this past week, I reached my breaking point.

This constant guilt/nagging/anxiety I've been feeling lately isn't new. I've been feeling it for weeks - months, even. I'm not going to go terribly into my personal life, but suffice it to say I've always felt like I didn't deserve the things I have. And when I say the things I have, I mean the life I've been given. I don't mean to say that my life is far better than others, I just feel like I haven't deserved any of the blessings that have been sent my way, either from my family, or the universe in general. Why I've been feeling like this, I haven't got a clue - but it's been heavily weighing on my mind.

Ever since last summer, I've been job hunting. But as embarrassing as it is to admit as a 20 year old, I've never had a job before. Therefore a lot of places aren't willing to hire someone who doesn't have any experience. I scored an unpaid internship at a local venue in the fall and started volunteering at a local museum, too.

And while those were fun experiences, they weren't enough.

I needed an actual job - where I felt like I was doing something my life and earning my own pay check. Job application after job application kept rolling by, and last week, on Monday, I finally broke down.

I'm a Christian, but I'm not a regular church goer - I consider myself more spiritual than religious. And I do pray to myself throughout my day, but I rarely stop everything that I'm doing to do so.

But that Monday, I broke down and spent hours in my room, weeping, praying - begging God to show me what to do with my life. To point me where to get a job, to give me the courage to go out and find that opportunity. And strange enough, the very next morning, as I went to the library after class to work on a project, I received an email from a a fast food restaurant requesting applicants to stop by a job fair for an on-the-spot interview.

It was random, unexpected, and my immediate response was no - I've never been interviewed, and I couldn't go to that career fair - I was far from prepared. I'd just have to wait for them to call me in for my own interview.

But the more I sat there, the more that weighing, nagging feeling returned. A voice inside me urged me, you need to go. Get off your butt and get your business outfit on - you have one. Use it! And you can score that interview, you just have to get there!

And then it was decided. I went to that interview with 20 minutes left to spare and got the job. And now, I feel like I have worth - that constant heavy, weighing feeling is gone, and more structure has come to my life. To me, of course, this experience has been labelled as a God thing, something my mother and I always refer to when God has reached into our lives.

But you don't have to be spiritual or religious to have reached your breaking point, like I did. And mine isn't radical or heart-wrenching - it's an ordinary moment belonging to an ordinary person, but to me, it was everything. We all will reach moments like that, where we feel lost and confused, where we want someone to just tell us where to go, or what we need to do to become who we want to be. But no matter how futile or bleak your situation may be, it will always turn around - usually when we least expect it. But the point is to never give up, never stop chasing your dreams in search of that gold at the end of the rainbow. To get where you want to be may require you to do things out of your comfort - to try new things, but reaching out in ways such as this are not always bad - more often they're for the better! Don't be afraid of taking chances, and when you get an opportunity to get a step closer to where you want to be, don't let fear keep you from trying!

Sunday, January 24, 2016

5 Ways To Make Your Makeup Last All Day!

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

I'm definitely going to try this!

Source: http://carbswitch.com/2014/03/13/coconut-flour-tortillas-gluten-free-healthy-recipes/

Monday, January 11, 2016

Eating Healthy...

So, the holidays are over, I'm not even sure of how much weight I've gained, but I regret nothing! It's always great to enjoy the holidays - and what better way of doing that than eating delicious foods?

But, as I said, the holidays are over, so it's time to get back to reality. When I entered my first semester of college, I lost weight, going from 160 to 130, by following a low-carb diet. It was with a medical dietary clinic in town, so I had my blood drawn and checked in twice a week to see how much fat my body was losing and whatnot. Essentially, I was losing 2 pounds per week. Crazy, right?

Now that diet was pretty radical. But a common misconception of diets if the sole difference between eating healthy, and dieting. For one, dieting is not meant to last forever. It shouldn't. You're purposely trying to lose weight. On the other hand, eating healthy, is meant to, well, eat healthy and NOT lose weight. The diet I went on called for little to no carbs, and you also had to take lots of vitamins. This time around, I'm not going to go that hardcore because I'm just planning to lose weight - I don't need to lose it fast. I want to have fun with it. I'm really looking to find cool, low-carb , low-sugar recipes. Sure I hate saying goodbye to some of my favorite foods for a while, but since I'm doing it, I may as well have fun with it, right?

Plus it's always nice to know you're doing something good for your body. Carbs aren't bad at all, it's just the amount you eat that can make them unhealthy to your body. And my favorite food is bread (and pasta), and I don't have a sense of limitation when it comes to eating them. If only I could stick within the serving size, my life would be so much easier.

But anyhow, here are some helpful tips/ideas if you're also looking to eat healthier. I'd keep an open mind with it; like anything, it's how you approach it.

Spring's Coming!

My Foundation

So, when thinking of which foundation you should use, keep in mind what kind of skin you have. For instance, I have oily, acne-prone skin that is also very sensitive and can dry very easily. I've gone through many brands of foundations and have found the one that works so perfectly for my skin, so obviously, it's my favorite so far.

NARS all day luminous weightless foundation is so light but has amazing coverage. Most of the time, it makes my skin not only look clear and smooth, but it FEELS clear and smooth. It's light, so it doesn't weigh down on my skin, and the color of it gives my skin a certain glow - it just enhances everything, and I love it so much. I use a pro full coverage airbrush to, well, apply the product evenly and with an airbrush effect (hence the name of the brush).

However, I've recently started using the L'Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation and just take a dab of it and mix it with the NARS foundation. Together they work really well with my skin, I figured combining them would be more effective than simply using the matte foundation because though I like matte looks, I don't like my foundation caking and whatnot, so combining them really fixed that.

So yeah, I definitely suggest trying these products if your skin is like mine. I've tried so many different foundations, and some of them either made my skin break out (ugh) or just caked or shone really early on when wearing it. Also, another thing is that when it comes to things like mascara or eyeliner, I personally always go for the drug store products because they're fairly cheap, but my golden rule is that with foundation, quality does matter. There are some awesome brands you can find in drugstores (just like the L'Oreal Infallible) but they're typically more expensive than others. I never feel bad for paying a little extra for foundation because like I said, it makes one hell of a difference in the overall product.

Products mentioned:

All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation: