Skin Saver!

     My new skin superhero is a mixture of Castor Oil & Olive Oil. I use this little duo to cleanse my face and neck and my skin has never felt softer, been clearer PLUS I save money by not having to purchase those expensive cleansers & scrubs. I tend to have dry skin and always need a good moisturizer, especially because I am an avid retin-a user. I began noticing that using store bought face wash was leaving my skin even drier. So, I hit the web, researching ways to cleanse the skin without overdrying it. And, bam!, I found "The Oil Cleansing Method".

     This ancient method of cleaning the facial skin is exactly the cure to dull, dry, acne ridden skin. After just one use, I saw and felt the difference! My skin was soft, smooth and glowing! I've been using this method for two weeks now and haven't had even one breakout, my skin is supple and I don't even need a moisturizer during the day (though, I still use sunscreen for it's benefits). I'm screaming it from the rooftop's - "THIS CONCOCTION WORKS!". I mix 1 part Castor Oil with 2-3 parts Olive Oil and massage it over my entire face and neck. Then I'll take a warm/hot wash cloth and lay it over my face for about 20 seconds, then use it to rub the mixture off. Then I finish by splashing my face with cold water, in order to close my pores. I've even used Castor Oil with Almond Oil and found that it has the same excellent effects! :)

Try it - find out how amazingly cheap and simple beauty can truly be!

...In With The New.

Hey ya'll,

I'd say 2011 was quite a year for me. In the beginning of the year I was struggling with the decision to leave my boyfriend of 4 years and move to California. In May I made up my mind and trusted my intuition and headed west. The first month in California I was pretty depressed, as I was unable to find a job and I began second guessing my move. Soon though, I picked myself up by my bootstraps and put an ad up on Craigslist offering my services as a personal assistant. It read "I'm a college student willing to do anything you need, I'll clean your home, do your laundry, take your dog for a walk, babysit your kids, scrub your toilet, clip your toenails, basically do your dirty work for some cash!" AND it worked. I received several calls and began working as a personal assistant to several well-to-do people in San Francisco and the bay area! I was ecstatic that despite my inability to land a stable job, I had created one for myself, plus I was raking in the money as my clients paid me very well. Then in July I finally got a real job and continued to work for my clients. I met some friends and have had some wonderful times in the city, drinking, dancing and laughing. Spent time with friends going on runs, talking about life and just all around enjoying life.

In October I met a boy. He was the first guy I had developed strong feelings for since leaving my ex. Though it didn't work out, I learned a lot from our time together and really felt as though I was meant to meet him because I learned a lot from him and about myself. It didn't end badly, I think the universe knows that it's not my time to be involved in a serious relationship because it will only distract me from the dozens of things I should be focusing on. I want to be 100% before I become serious with another guy because my solid independent self is what was lacking in my last relationship. In November I spent a lot of time hanging out with people from work, including a boy. He was a friend who admitted his affection for me, I knew better than to get in too deep. He, however,  began acting like I was his girlfriend and unfortunately at the end of December I had to make things clear where I stood and stepped back a bit.

I focused a lot on developing relationships last year and longing for stability. This year, I am going to focus more on developing a stronger relationship with myself. I want to do things that I love, that I excel at. I want to try new things and learn new skills. I want to create the person I want to be by the time my 25th birthday rolls around in September. I am excited for the new year because it brings a feeling of new opportunities. I began working out in December and plan to be toned up with lean muscle by June 1st. I'm going to save as much money as possible without having to eat Top Ramen for every meal. That's probably my biggest goal this year, since there's a lot of things I'll need money for in 2012. Love is always appealing and I believe it is what we all crave, what keeps us all going. However, instead of focusing on romance this year, I want to find peace within myself. Truly, learning more about myself and creating the me I want to be will eventually lead me to the man I'm meant to be with.

I hope your new year was excellently superb and that all of your dreams come true in 2012! :)

Love & Piece,
Cake

Human Barbie - Zooey Deschanel

     Zooey Deschanel is beyond awesome. The first time I saw her she was playing Will Ferrell's love interest in Elf, which just so happens to be one of my favorite movies. She now has her very own series on FOX called "The New Girl", which just so happens to be one of my new favorite shows! She is quirky, awkward and a bit of a spaz but she offsets all that with a killer sense of humor, a sweet heart and a pretty face. I absolutely love Ms. Deschanel and I would probably pay to be her best friend. Not only can she make you laugh your face off but she can sing, too. Jeez, some people get all the luck...

A Story Of Devastation.

 the following is something that i wrote in my journal a little over three years ago:

     These past two years, or perhaps even longer, I have been waiting and searching. Unable to come up with reasons for all my trials or answers to all my questions. I'm not quite sure how it is possible to let go of the past. At least not completely and entirely. There's always this flicker in the back of my mind of what once was. It lingers in when it is most unwelcome. Then it carries me away to times that are so hopelessly gone. I cry sometimes because I'm not quite sure how I got to where I am today. It's like I was standing at the top of a mountain, and a swift landslide captured my balance and I was dragged to the bottom. Faster than any train could take me to a different destination. At the bottom of the mountain I can see the sky so far out of reach, so endlessly vast and consuming. I seem to have lost my determination to touch the clouds. I've lost what it means to live with ardor and passion. There seems to be no reasons for times like this, or feelings like this. I met a person on the street today that told me that everyone's lives are the same. I ran home right away, and knelt beside my bed to pray. I prayed that this was not true. I asked God to let me live a different life, to break the mold. He did not answer back. But I'm still waiting for his reply. 
     This could just as easily be you speaking. You could just as simply be standing in my shoes. And if you were, I would hope you could find it in you to run away. Claim that there's hope along the horizon. Then go out and take hold of it. There are times when people will ask "How did you get like this?". I'll tell them a story of what I believe is the reason. It's an old story, everyone has one like it. A story of being young and believing in endless possibilities. Enjoying every twist, every turn. Until one turn leads you to a hellish place, where dreams don't become a reality, but nightmares rip through your life. And I think back and I'm sitting in a truck and my charming father is crying. It's an aching cry, that makes my eyes squirm in my head as they are flooded with tears. In an parking lot, where trees actually take up more space than automobiles. His voice is loud but shaking. He struggles through the syllables. I never knew someone could cry so hard. I can actually see his pain. His profound sorrow has taken on a physical manifestation. It lingers in the truck. It's suffocating. My emotional agony is so overwhelming that my body begins to hurt. I don't want to make it worse for him. My criticism and blame turn to sympathy and pity. Out of the ordeal I just wanted to make sense of it all. A sense of abandonment had left me not only lonely, but angry. I never realized the pain my father kept locked in his heart.        
     This was the one time I can truly say I felt alive. It was the dramatic urgency of human emotions that made me realize that I was alive. I couldn't look away from all of the torment and anguish that swelled and surged all around me like a wave. This was what changed me. I quickly became an adult after this day. How could I go home and watch cartoon's. How could I live as a child should, when I now recognized the world as a dark hollow place. Toys now would not suffice, they would not and could not make me happy. After my realization that life was not a fairytale, and was indeed a heartbreaking journey, I tried anything to fill up the void. Moved far away. Lived a life that I considered worth living. But the many nights with different boys, intoxicated and blacked out, left me wasted and empty. I was at the bottom of the rock wall with no harness. And now I'm trying get a tight enough grip on the rocks so that I can pull myself back up the sky.

now: these words still hold some truth to how i feel about my parents divorce. i'm not sure it truly ever gets easier to deal with. i think the pain is still there, i'm still bleeding below the surface but i am able to think about it less. sometimes though, i realize that my mother still hasn't figured out life without my dad (though, i'm not sure that she ever had life figured out with him) and i feel sad and angry, both for her and at her. i still sink into depression sometimes when i think about my fractured family. i still tend to push away my stepmother because there are still issues i haven't sorted out with my own parents. i still have anger that my dad decided to move on, though, it is his right to be happy. My father and i do get along a lot better now, but i will always remember listening to my mother cry herself to sleep, nearly every night for two years. i guess, i will never understand divorce and hopefully, will never have to go through one. i'm sorry if i sound like i'm residing in self-pity land or if my rambling has begun to bore you...but i thought i would post something about an issue that still haunts me despite times promise to heal all wounds.


THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY READ THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING, I FEEL FOR YOU.


PIECE,
   CAKE

He Whispers "May I Steal Your Heart?"

     Despite his portrayal as a sinister, womanizing playboy...this man can saaaang! John Mayer is tall, dark and handsome. The typical type that has women and girls chasing him down in Whole Foods screaming "Oh my god, have my baby...ahhhhh!!!!" or something like that. However, after his bouts of dating some of Hollywood's most beloved women, allegedly breaking their hearts and exposing the details of their sex lives, people seemed to have turn against him. I have and always will love John Mayer. I could really care less what or who he does in his spare time. His music is what captured my heart.

Lovelies.

     I just adore beautiful photographs. Which reminds me, I need to look into purchasing a new camera, since mine has decided that it just doesn't want to live anymore. I hope these photo's brought you just as much serenity as they brought me! :)

XOXO

Across The Universe

     Wouldn't the world be so lovely if balloons fluttered around our skies daily, yet didn't harm the environment or animal life. Each of us could mark a piece of paper with a hopeful saying, a warm greeting or a silly joke, place it inside a balloon, step outside our front door and send that good little piece of us out into the world. That little balloon would then begin its journey. It would float and spin through the air above our heads, over our houses, down alley's and across lakes, eventually someone, a stranger, would feel a slight tickle on their shoulder and would turn to see that beautiful balloon. They would take it in their arms, hug it tightly till it popped and out would pour our little note. They would chuckle at our humor, smile at our salutation or be eased by our optimistic expression. That little balloon would make their day, and someone's little balloon would make our day. Imagine how happy everyone would be. The feeling of seeing those balloons would compare to how special we feel on our birthday's, except it would be like everyday was everyone's birthday. Oh, how my brain does wander through the clouds some days...