Stressed (as per usual)

Hi hi everyone.

I'm blogging from the Barnes and Noble at my local mall today with my new favorite drink, Grande Matcha Latte, in hand.
I needed it because today is hectic.

Class from 7:45am-10:45am

Lunch Break 10:34-1:20pm

Work 1:30pm-5:30pm
Possible work call-in 5:30pm-7:00pm

Class from 8:00pm-9:55pm

Drive home takes 15 minutes...

Then I have a homework assignment due at 12am.
Then sleep...until 6am tomorrow morning.

Then I have an exam tomorrow and the next day. A homework assignment due tomorrow.
Two chapters to read by Wednesday.
Who knows how many by tomorrow?
It is only 1:09pm, but I feel so worn out already.

I also just found out by my cousin in Ohio that the the last of my four cats is dying.
Very complicated story, but to summarize: My family had 4 cats and a dog and lived in Arizona. Then my dad & brother moved to Ohio and took the pets with them, Mom and I moved to Texas. Brother moved to Texas to be with me. One cat ran away, dog killed one cat, one cat disappeared after a burglary, and the last cat is sick. :(
Before Angel came into my life, I was always a cat person since before I could even speak! (I'll have to show off my baby pictures someday.)
It is heartbreaking, but the worst part is this: I don't know how to break the news to my brother. Tiger is HIS cat. :( So depressing.

I'm trying to keep in good spirits, because i have a 5 (maybe more) hour shift of work ahead of me in...10 minutes.

So I guess I should go.
I was supposed to be doing homework right now, but for some reason, B&N's shoddy internet won't let me log onto the finance lab website I need (all homework is online because professor and TAs are too busy [read: lazy] to grade)...

I'll be back with some substantial blogging material sometime. But for now, I felt like I should just vent a little and get some frustration out there.

-Sarah

My first gig: The results!

Hey everyone!

So here are the pictures of the girls with their makeup!

I had to take them as soon as possible, because they had to rush out the door and get to the wedding!

Nonetheless, I will be using these shots as the first in my portfolio, so I'm very happy about that!

These pictures haven't been retouched or color corrected in any way. I literally just uploaded them asap to share with everyone because I'm so happy with the results and wanted to share with you all.

Now keep in mind, I understand that for photographable makeup, everything should be matte...But these girls LOVE shimmer and glitter. And while I gave my recommendations and advice, my bottom line is to make everyone happy and feel beautiful! So shimmer it was! ^^;;;;

For each girl, I did the full-face application, eyeshadow, and false lashes. I did the lips and eyebrows of a few of the girls. Others had their own personal lipstick/gloss preferences, or didn't want their brows filled in.

Click on the photos to expand! WOOT for a good camera! :P

Karen is half-Korean like me, and we have a very similar eye shape and the same skin tone! I thought that was really interesting :P
So Karen loves shimmer, and she really likes her shadows dark. So I opted for a neutral-ish eye, using colors from the Naked Palette. I also used a tiny bit of black for the outer corner, and a touch of pink on the lid (as per her request after she saw the bride's pink shadow). Don't mind her tan line! She said she's been getting tons of sun lately. :)

 Oh gosh...I forgot her name, but her makeup turned out the best of the bunch in my opinion! She has naturally amazing skin, so I barely used anything to even out her skin tone, and thank GOODNESS my MAC NW20 concealer was the perfect match for her! I just used a tad on her barely there under eye circles. Besides that, I used a tiny bit of blush and bronzer and the Naked Palette on her eyes.

I never got this girl's name either. :( But she came to me with her Bare Minerals Foundation and Warmth bronzer (she mixes the 2 together for her perfect foundation shade). She wanted no shadow on the lids and blue on the lower lashline (like Amanda's below), and false lashes and really pink blush. I think it turned out great as well! I had to talk her into putting a nude shade (MAC Ricepaper, to be exact) on her lid and lining her eyes, but it was definitely worth it in the end. :) She has the prettiest eye shape!

 This is my lovely Amanda! She wanted a pop of color on the lower lashline, so I did her eyes very neutral and light, but used turquoise liner and blue shadows. She also wanted lashes, but wanted the emphasis to be on the outer corners, so I used half-lashes on her. Since she's not used to wearing heavy  makeup, she was really self-conscious about the lashes and blue liner, but once she put her royal blue dress on, she loved it.

 Last but not least, here is the beautiful bride, Crystal!!! She LOVES MAC, and came to me with ALL of her makeup: eyeshadow, liner, foundation, and blush! I just applied her favorite things for her and filled in her brows. Isn't she beautiful?!?! The only thing is that she LOVES super thick eyeliner, and I don't think the eyeliner I did for her was thick enough, because she made it thicker and darker later. :P

I wish her (and all of the lovely ladies I worked with today) happiness! I'm so happy I got this great opportunity to do a bridal party's makeup for the first time, and I learned so much and had so much fun in the process.
It was tiring and hard work, but so worth it in the end to see them camwhoring because they loved their makeup so much! hehehee!


Hope you all enjoy the pics! Let me know what you think!

My Thoughts While a New Video is Uploading!

Hello hello...


I've been meaning to blog on a daily basis, but that hasn't been happening because I've been plain lazy. -___-
I also started working again, which is both a blessing and a curse.


The only reason I decided to stay and not quit was because over the past 2.5 years, I met so many friends who I really care about...But the reason I really wanted to quit was because of many instances of work drama, and one person who had made a few months of my life very miserable. 
I won't go into detail, but sometimes, it is SO nice to vent and let it all out...


Which is what I did with my friend Marisa! We hung out for HOURS, ate cookies, and decided to make a video! But this video was meant to happen for almost a year now, and it finally came to fruition due to some unfortunate circumstances that gave us a desperate need for a girl's night. lolol Sounds so serious, huh? But at any rate, I'm so happy this video (and girl's night) finally happened!


Also, I've started a new Korean Drama called Mary Stayed Out All Night, or 매리는 외박중...
And to be honest, I don't like it!

I really HATE love triangles...I have no idea why...I think because I always feel sorry for the "other guy..." I don't know.

They just frustrate me!

I finished episode 9 (of 16), and I don't think I want to watch anymore. So I think I'm just going to read the synopses (plural for synopsis?) for the rest of the series and tell my friend Jessica no to recommend anymore love triangle story lines!!! D:< lol!

But I absolutely love the main character's hair...It is so curly and she always has it in the cutest braided/curly styles!

It is already 12:35am here, and I really need to sleep early, because I want to cook 떡국 (dduk gook = rice cake soup)....So I should probably cut this post short. v____v

I will try to be more diligent in blogging in the future, even if nobody reads it. At least for my own peace of mind, I'll do my best! ><

My Weekend in Dallas

Hi everyone! I know its been a bit since I've blogged last, but that's because i didn't have anything to show you guys!

So here's a new post for you :P


My boyfriend and I went to Dallas for the weekend. We had SO much fun! Here are some pictures I took with my new camera.

 Downtown Dallas is really pretty, especially at night!

In-N-Out Burger

2800 Preston Road, Frisco, TX

Our first food stop was In-N-Out Burger. I saw on my facebook newsfeed that a friend of mine had gone to In-N-Out, and I got SOOO jealous! And then I read that there were 2 new locations open in Dallas! Well...Frisco. lol.

 Their milkshakes are SO thick, the straw was useless!!!

 Perci got a Double-Double, and I got the regular cheeseburger.

 NOM NOM NOM

We basically inhaled everything, and decided to get one more Double-Double to share. :P Although since I had 75% of the milkshake and fries (beside my own burger), I got full after the second bite!

 Also, I had no idea that Dallas has a rail system! And a bus transit system! So cool! If I knew how to navigate my way around in them, I'd totally take the railway instead of being stuck in traffic for hours and hours like we did -_____-;

We also visited the North Park Mall, but I didn't take any pictures at that mall. ^^; But it was soooo nice! They had EVERY designer store I could think of!

Anyway, the next stop was the A-Kon, one of the largest anime conventions in Texas. My friends and I were going to go dressed as Sailor Scouts (anyone remember these?), but I had no way of making the costume (and if I wanted to stay with them, it would have costed me almost 200 dollars!!!), so I had to back out of dressing up and staying with them :(

But at any rate, Perci and I wanted to come visit anyway to see them and to visit all of our food destinations, so we came anyway. :P

 Perci demanded that he get a picture with Master Roshi...but Master Roshi said he'd only take a picture with Perci if he could get a picture with me. -___-;

Maybe its just me, but I feel like I look extra plump in this picture :P Maybe its all the sodium and fat from In-N-Out? Hee hee.

On the first day of the convention, I met Phi!!! :D (Photo stolen from her blog here, because she was wearing this Rilakuma outfit when I met her. Where can I get one of these?! :P ) And she's just as pretty and soft-spoken in person as she is on her blog and YouTube!

Thank you for talking to me, Phi! :P We should have taken pictures together! And sorry if I'm a total fangirl. Hope I didn't freak you out!

On Saturday, Perci and I went to H-Mart, and ate like piggies!

We ordered these meat buns first, which came with a REEEAALLLY good jalapeno soy sauce mixture and some radish (I don't like the radish unless it is in kimbap). I'm definitely going to have to try to make that jalapeno soy sauce at home though.

I ordered a Char Siu ramen...and to be honest, the meat and the broth tasted sooooo good...but the whole package wasn't really all that great. I like Pho much better than I liked this ramen.

The side dishes (panchans) that came with our meals were these: 2 meatballs, 2 battered fish cakes, and kimchee. The kimchee was really good, but the other 2 sides I could do without. 

Perci ordered the curry rice, because he was craving it I guess? It was good, but could definitely be replicated at home.

We also got a crap ton of groceries and some pastry deserts from Tous Les Jous, but I didn't take any pictures of them.

After H-Mart, we met up with my friends again.
they weren't in costume on Friday, but they were on Saturday.

Here are my buddies teaming up to remove those ridiculously tall boots. They were 7 inches tall I think?!?!

I won't post up all of the pictures here, because I'm not sure how they'd feel about that yet. =/ But here's a teaser! Aren't they so cute??? Ugh now if only I could find a way to get my costume made...I'll have to talk to my mom lol!

 After my friends and I parted ways on Saturday, Perci and I hung out around the downtown area and snapped a few pictures at the convention venue. Everything was really really pretty there, but we had a really hard time keeping those creepy anime people from finding their way in the frame. :P

You can even see some of them strolling along across the street! But these were the more normal-dressed people.

This is my favorite picture from the set we took. And while I'm at it:

OOTD:

Shirt: Aerie by American Eagle (plain white v-neck)

Shorts: American Eagle (distressed light wash denim)

Scarf: Express

Shoes: from Target

Jewelry: Jade bracelet with pandas (made myself forever ago),

Fake(?) Jade cuff was gifted by my mother,

Michael Kors Midsize Rose Gold Watch,

Earrings were simple topaz-colored studs from American Eagle.

Oh, and that's second-day hair! Not bad, considering my hair always dies just after day 1!

I'm making the most awkward face in this picture, and the pose sucks. But I loooove how hazy it looks, and how vibrant green the trees are.

Anyway, that's all of the pictures from my trip!

I made a video for YouTube that I'm in the process of importing and editing. :)

Thanks for reading!

Update, Juicing/Juicer Review, New Camera!

Hello hello everyone...Once again, it has been forever and a year since I've posted!!! :P But I have an explanation this time!

So I took a mini-hiatus because I was waiting for...

THIS! (photo taken with ipod touch 4)

Meet my new baby, Grendel (the second)!!! He is a Nikon D5100...And I love him!

He is Grendel the second because Grendel the first, his predecessor, was mine for about 2 weeks...It was the Nikon D5000, and while he was simply amazing, I just had the worst buyers remorse of my life, and couldn't justify having the camera in my current stage of life.

But this....THIS...is different. lolol Different because he was a present this time! It is my birthday/graduation/Christmas present for the next 5 years from my mom and stepfather. And while I'm not going to be receiving anything from thing as far as presents go for the next five years, I am totally okay with that!!!

Plus, I've got loads of projects this year (I'm taking my own graduation portraits, and my oldest brother has a baby on the way, to name a few).

But anyway, I'll stop rambling. Onto the post!

My mom gave me this Jack Lalane Power Juicer almost a year ago because she had put the attachments on wrong and rendered the machine unusable. So she said I could have it if I could fix it! So even though I didn't have a plan, that juicer was now mine!

So anyway, the reason I decided to pull it out and put it to use was because Perci (the boyfriend) and I have been super obsessed with getting fruit/veggie juice at our local Whole Foods Market...but it can get very expensive (around $4 for a small cup?!?!)...

So on our last visit to the grocery store, we decided to try out the juicer that we've been neglecting for months!

We made some juice earlier in the day, and LOVED it.  So this time, I decided to document the process. :P

My mom didn't give me the attachment that catches and contains all of the pulp, (and the first time we tried using the juicer, the pulp was EVERYWHERE....so messy), so this time, we got creative...

Well, not that creative. We just tied a plastic bag around the pulp spout...nothing fancy really. lol

Here are our juice ingredients:

• 3 Bananas
• 2 large kale leaves
• 1 lemon
• 1 apple
• 1 beet
• 1 carrot
• a handful of blueberries

We just used a measuring cup with a spout to catch all of the liquid, so that we could divide the juice evenly amongst the two of us. If you're making juice for yourself, you could just use a cup.

All of the fruits and veggies cut up

Lots of blueberries

Banana juice

Then apple and lemon

Kale

Carrot juice

Beet juice

The blueberries went in last!

Our bag trick worked! No need to spend $20+ on an attachment when we can just use a bag. :P

To clean the juicer:

First, remove the spout part. Then you're left with this:

 Take a screwdriver and remove the three screws holding the blade:

Look how colorful the juice is!

 Remove the screws and the blade.

 Then, remove the orange peice holding the other metal attachment...Don't know the name for all these parts <__<

Spout attachment

 Dump as much juice as possible into the cup before cleaning everything up.

 Then you're left with this gross looking mess...Its much more vibrant in person!

Yielded around 4 cups of juice

Looks like paint!

 We stuck the cup into the freezer while we cleaned up. I will admit, cleaning the juicer can be a bother, especially since you have to unscrew the blade and take the whole thing apart. But with that said, it really isn't a tough job. Supposedly, the parts are dishwasher safe, but I'd suggest hand washing everything just so that you can guarantee that you got all of the pulp out of the whole juicer, as well as removing any stains (beet juice stains are unforgiving!!!) before they set in.

 And here we are, left with 2 full cups of juice!

I look so high in this picture...but pay no mind! And I'm not wearing makeup, either. And my hair is a mess. But pay no mind!!!! lolol

The verdict:

 YUM! It was awesome! I was really iffy about the lemon, but I can't even taste it!

I will definitely be drinking a LOT more juice from here on out (Perci wants to go on an all-juice diet/detox), and I do recommend this juicer for anyone who loves fresh juice, but hates spending too much money on having it made.

Also, like I said, cleanup can be cumbersome, but it goes by much faster with help :)

I give the Jack Lalane Juicer ★★★★☆

I feel like this was such a random post. But I like it. :) I will try to upload much more often, and have a few makeup videos on the way! Stay tuned!

-Sarah