Pierce the Haze

Hola mi amigas!! How do you girlies fare this fine Thursday afternoon? I am fine...still a bit weak, but recovering, not nearly as bad as yesterday, when my fever was 102 degrees...and I still got a blogpost in...that's how much I love you guys:)
But I figure since yesterday's post was so picture laden, you'll be fine with a bit of a novel from me now won't you? Sure you will:)
So. (Haha I do that alot huh? The whole So. thing--baha I'm so silleh :P )
Anyways, the burning topic at hand (well, at least the FIRST burning topic at hand), is of course, a skin update.
I'm kinda astounded. My face is almost totally clear. Only three zits on my cheeks that are fading every day. What is this madness? I haven't even been using the green tea that much..I felt bad about using up so many teabags...*blushes*
I've just been using my normal routine (Again, if you want to know what my normal routine is for skincare, check out my January post titled 'Could It Be Magic'..that'll let you know) and the zits have been dissapearing, and I'm like WHAT?
My ideas for why this flabbergasting experience has happened in such a flabbergasting manner:
-I haven't picked my face in a little bit. Could this be my face's way of saying "THANK GOD, she's not torturing me anymore!!"
-I have been sick, and therefore, holed up all week, unable to exercise like I normally do. Is there a connection between my running and my acne? (NOO!! I hope not :( I LOVE running)
-I have been using the routine for maybe a month now...did it just take a little bit to work?

I'm REALLY hoping its not the running, because no matter if I get zits or not, I can't stop running. I'm going nutso just this week because I can't run. Quitting isn't even an option. So I really hope that isn't it.
So I'm really hoping its the first and third idea..that way the clearness will continue...please?
I haven't been totally clear for SO long. I do have scars, but those will fade with time, and are easily covered up.
Well. That's my skin update...here's hoping that it continues to be favorable news.

Other things that have managed to pierce the fog of my sick haze:
The fact that

Cascadian farms organic oats and honey granola is the most awesome cereal I have tasted as of now.
Random factiod:)

That

Aussie hair products are pretty awesome :) I have the moisture shampoo and condish and it makes my hair sooo soft and shiny:)

That

this picture of demi lovato

and this picture of me with straight hair are a "*little* similar. Of course she is wayyyy more gorgeous than me, but you know, the expressions are somewhat the same.
She is one of my favorite actresses, at least on Disney. I love how she has a small chest (like me) curvier, muscley thighs (like me) and looks on the random side of things (like me).

Anyways. That is my shooorrtt postypost for today:) Enjoy, my lovely readers!

Looooove,
Ari

Winter In the Snowless South

Hey girls...well, I hate to be brief today, but I am horribly sick, fever and whatnot, so I'll let the photos speak for themselves because I do not have the energy to write a highly interesting novel..my apologies ladies :)

Isn't that cool? I love walking through the forest..it's amazing what you may find.

Isn't it just beautiful? A marvel of God's creation .

And the first few breaths of spring..in February no less.

That's winter in Florida...alot of dead and dormant things, but if you look with the right eye, there can still be beauty.

Sorry the photos aren't TOO spectacular..I was having a rough time with my camera that day. I was like "FOCUS" and it was like "NO!!". So if you lived in northern  Florida, and you were riding through the UWF bike trails, you may have heard a girl yelling, "If ONE MORE PICTURE turns out blurry I am going to lose my mind!!"

If you had stopped to look, you would have seen a girl with curly reddish hair scowling at her black camera.

In other words,

Me.

But I have to go now and sleep off the sickness. Have a great rest of the week girls!

Love,

Ari

Hey, Hey, Hey it's....not Fat Albert.

Hey girls!!

How was y’alls weekend? Did you guys enjoy the superbowl? I sure did, being that I was rooting for the awesome cheese-team :) I was also surrounded by a bunch of Steelers’ fans who were very humbled by the end of the game…actually they lost interest once they figured out Pittsburg wasn’t going to win and played basketball outside in freezing cold…and made me ref. Figures! But it was a lot of fun, just hanging out with my friends and laughing hysterically at nothing (or at the guys arguing violently about what was a foul and what wasn’t. As far as I could see there was a technical foul every ten seconds…but who am I to judge?).
I thought the commercials were pretty lame, except for the Doritos ones, that one with the bulldog was so hysterical! The YouTube clip:



Isn’t that just so funny? But most of the other commercials were lame and over-sexed, like those go daddy.com commercials…yuck. It’s awkward for the guys and girls watching, why do they play them? It’s like, okay these guys already have enough to deal with, why do you have to throw this porn-style stuff in their faces? Stupid media.
As for an update on my life…it’s basically been like this:



MATH.

PHYSICS.


Wonderful, right? Ugh, I got a B- on my last Physics test, after a whole bunch of A’s…so depressing, but it was a super hard chapter, with like five concepts going on at once and SO much trig it was nutty. I’m hoping to better on the next test; so far the chapter has been going pretty well, so I’m more confident 
I’m trying to prep for the SAT as far as math goes…I’m trying really hard, but it seems my brain is math-impaired. I’m hoping I get a better score this time, so I can get into a decent college.
Then into estheticians’ school  it is now one of my ambitions, because literally, I am all over the skincare.
Speaking of skincare, I’ll give you a green tea and skincare routine update.
It’s been working okay, one thing I’ve been noticing is I do get some zits…but only in the places where I had popped a zit a few days before. I’m not getting NEW zits, just what I deserve for popping the other zits. So I’m waiting for those to fade away, and it’s teaching me a lesson about not popping zits, which was one I really needed to learn.
It’s weird, but it’s almost like an OCD thing, if you do it long enough.
It’s like you HAVE to do it…you know you shouldn’t but you can’t help yourself.
So it’s really a big relief to me, to have some major motivation to stop picking.
I’ve been trying to wear as little makeup as possible, but right now I only have like three zits I’m slightly worried about…the rest are just really small ones that you can barely see.

I don’t want to try too many remedies at once, just gonna stick with the green tea and my routine, (see post Could It Be Magic? In January, that describes my regular routine), but one that other girls who are fighting acne may want to try is an aspirin mask.
It was even recommended in the Susie Magazine, for Christian girls (link: http://www.susiemag.com/ ) as a treatment for acne, I’m looking at reviews at acne.com, and so far people have liked it, just don’t use it every day, as your skin will become immune to it.
Just crush up or dissolve a couple aspirin, mix it with honey or something to make the mask stick, and apply it to the zit. As is the case with any acne remedy, it will take a little while to work, so be patient…and if it doesn’t work, let me know, I’m trying to learn as much as I can about this stuff!

Sorry about the lack of photography posts…there just hasn’t been much to take pictures of. Every thing outside is dead, and we don’t have any pretty snow to take pictures of…plus I’ve been super busy with school, sports, and work. So forgive my lack of photoness…as soon as something note worthy comes up to take a picture of, I will, and post it too.

So that’s my newsy news for today Darlins…have an awesome week, and work hard!
Love,
Ari

My happy collage of happiness :P

This, right hee, is a collage of things that make me very happy :) It was so much fun making it at http://www.photovisi.com/ you should definitely go there are make one of your own..about any topic really.

You will notice there is cantaloupe up there...I literally could eat that stuff all day long. My mom has to hide it from me. I am SO not joking...I love that stuff more than any person ever should.

The photo under the cantaloupe is an estheticin givin a lady a mask treatment :) Ahhhhh so excited! :P

The of course, my beautiful camera of beauty, my dog, my piano, my friend shannon and I making our "obese faces"...we had "anorexic faces" too..but I forgot to edit it! Mannn we have fun :)

Anyways, those are just some of the things that make me super happeh..in collage form!

*awesome*

The only drawback of blogging alot of posts is after a while...you run out of news about yourself. Nothing really new, just doin the same old stuff and really enjoying my Saturday, got a great bible study in last night, so that made me happy :)

Enjoy your weekend girlies!

Love,

Ari

Oh, the little sparklies in life :)

Hey girlies!
First of all..thankyou so much for the response to my last post..you guys have no idea how much that encouraged me :) I know I shouldn't be looking to other people's approval and affirmation for my self esteem, or to decided what I should or shouldn't do, but sometimes it really helps to get a pick-me-up, and you girls did a beautiful job at that, so thankyou!
So. My sparklies today? (What is a sparkly you may ask? Something that makes your day a little more twinkly and happy of course!!)
So. Twinkly sparkly thing number one?
The fact that I found my dream phone..and I can afford it.
*hallelujah*

Behold...the beauty.

It's the Samsung Intercept, and I would be buying it from Virgin mobile...but oh my lands, isn't it beautiful?
It's got everything I want. A touch screen, slide out keyboard, access to google, facebook, email, everything, plus unlimited text. It's an unbelievable package...unlimited text, web, email, and data, plus 300 minutes for only $25 a month. Which is awesome cuz I almost never talk on my cell, I always text, so it's amaaaazing.
I am sold, and in love :) So if you're lookin for a new phone that's pretty high tech (It has android!) for a quite modest price...check out the Samsung Intercept from Virgin Mobile..I can't wait to get it!!

Second sparkly:
The green tea method I mentioned yesterday, is still pretty awesome. It's been only two days, and around five uses of the green tea, and some of the redness has gone down, along with the swelling of the "papules" as my derm calls them :) I can't wait to see what'll happen after a week..two weeks...a month? I shall keep you guys posted!
Who knew this: and this:
Could help with acne? A quite well kept natural secret. I thought I had tried everything (honey, which made me break out more) baking soda (which smelled nasty and didn't really work) lemon juice (which irritated my pretty sensitive skin)...but green tea? Never heard of it before now. But I definitely think it's worth continuing, because it's so healthy, not only for your face, but for every part of your body.

Third twinkly sparkly thingie:

The very real possibility of maybe being able to pursue esthetics as a career. I've got kind of a rough plan..first go to a college, maybe U of Florida, or UCF or something, and major in something useful, like business, then go to a skincare\cosmetology school and get my become a licensed esthetician. I've heard the job market out there is touch for that kind of business, so I'll use my degree from college to get another job until I get my esthetics work going :)
It's just an idea, but a happy idea, and to me, really inspiring.

Fourth sparkly:

My friends, and a special somebody :) Their enough to make me sparkle ANY day.

Something I could ask your prayer for?
My prayer life. It is ironic, but lately I find myself drifting farther and farther away, and its scaring me. I don't want to become one of those materialistic christian-in-name only people. I want to be DEEP in the Lord, on fire for God. And right now, I'm kind of an ember...anyways, I need prayer for that girls...it's been hard.

Have an AMAZZZZING weekend!!
All my love and God's blessings,
Ari

Reaching Out

Hey girls,
I know, two posts to one day, that's pretty extravagant.
But something is really on my mind. Am I doing something wrong as a blogger? I haven't gotten a comment in like two weeks, maybe more. Am I boring? I try really hard not to be, I try to post often too, but it's hard. Is it because I don't dont focus on photography?
Because I never said this was going to be a photography blog, I said from the beginning that it would be a hodgepodge of different things. If you guys want to see more of one topic than another, please tell me! I'll be happy to write on whatever interests you guys.
It's just that I try really hard to be a good blogger and when I seem to lose readers and no one comments on the posts I work hard on, its really discouraging
You may not think about it, but the only way a blogger knows you read and enjoyed her post is by commenting.
I've tried to do my best, obviously I can' t please everybody, but unless you girls tell me what to change or what I'm doing wrong, I can't grow as a blogger.
If you guys are dissatisfied, please tell me why, because silence isn't telling me anything.
And because not everybody that reads me, follows me, so I have no idea how big my readerships. Could all those who can follow me, do so, so I can know what wonderful girls I am writin to?
That would mean alot to me.
I'm sorry if this sounds whiny..but I've been at this blogging business for around six months and I only have twelve followers. I try not to let it get me down, but it's really discouraging as a writer. I don't know if anyone's reading or if anyone care.

Anyways, thats just something that's been weighing on my mind lately.
The other thing I wanted to write about is in my previous blogpost, I mentioned my idea of maybe wanting to become a dermotologist, however, as I thought about it, I half interested in science and biology enough to go to med school.
However, I still am passionate about skin care and helping people look and feel their best. From the time when I was little I have been fascinated with skin and makeup, stuff like that. I have loved doing makeovers and stuff on my friends and family, my grandmother loves it when I do her makeup, she says I have an instinct for it.
Well, as I was researching careers in skin care, I came across the job esthetician
A fancy sounding name, but essentially, it means a skin care technician, who helps others with thier skin, and might also so makeup jobs, massage therapy, and that kind of thing.
Now I don't plan working full time my whole life. I do want to get married and have children, but being an esthetician is a quite flexible job, you can either work fro
home or find a spa or some other place to work.
I'm not saying this is definitely what I have decided to do, but
skin care is something I am extremely passionate about...why not pursue it as a career?
I know, I'm kind of belting out a novel here. But these are the things on my mind, PLEASE let me know what you think. It would mean the world to me.

Maybe I'm finally going Green...

Hey girls!


A quick update on my ongoing acne\skincare log and some new info that could help 
Well, this past week, it’s been pretty darn rough. It was “that week of the month” so my face was all like “gahhhh I hate you!!” plus, due to circumstances beyond my control, I wasn’t able to eat the healthiest either, including the dreaded pizza, which, at least to me, is almost as notorious as ice cream when it comes to causing zits.
I don’t care what experts say about food not causing acne…every, and I mean EVERY, time I eat ice cream I break out.
So it’s been painful, but I have avoided it like the black plague.

Anyways *offtopic* so, yeah, this week was pretty rough acne wise.
And Daggonit…I picked. I know, I know, I’m HATING myself for it right now, but I hate looking at pimples...I would rather look at a scab, I really would.
Hypocritical of me, I know. It’s a well known fact that the more you pick, the worse it is, and I agree with that. It’s just a bad habit that I have to break. Ugh.
But I continued with my routine, using cetaphil daily moisturizer when I get dry as a supplement, and of course I’m always researching different things that work, and what the majority of people like.
I have been mainly focusing on natural supplements, I really don’t want to put any more chemicals on my face.

One thing I came across last night that I hadn’t heard before was green tea as an acne aide. There were many extremely positive reviews for green tea as an aide on acne.com, both as a drink, to help acne from the inside out, and applied topically.
Basically, many people have said that green tea is extremely good for you, filled with vitamins and antioxidants that help flush out impurities, aide bodily functions, and even help you lose weight, and many people have found it really helps skin problems too.
Most people have said that the most effective way of using green tea to help your acne is to drink, 1-3 cups a day on DECAF green tea. Caffeine is bad for your skin, and will make you break out more, so be sure it is decaffeinated green tea. Now green tea has a pretty strong and kind of unpleasant taste, so I add a couple spoonfuls of honey, and then it tastes really good 

Also, the tea can be applied topically, kind of like a toner, either by rubbing the tea bag, wet, of course, on your face, or even splashing your face with the tea.
It sounded easy, we had green tea in the house, so last night and this morning I decided to try it.
I made a cup of green tea this morning, then used the bag and rubbed it on my face, and let it air dry. It felt a bit tight at first, but after a while it calms down and makes your skin feel soft.
I kept a applying a bit of the tea throughout the morning to certain parts of my face, and was pleasantly surprised.
I was fully prepared for it not to work, so I was pretty happy when I looked in the mirror and saw that it had helped a lot with the swelling of the ones on my forehead, chin, and the one on my cheek.
While, of course they are not gone completely, I mean, this is my first try using it, there was a decreasing in swelling, and it didn’t dry my face out, plus it felt good to put something so natural on my face.
I’ll do another update in a week, and tell you guys how the tea is working 


I’m not sure if I can drink 1-3 cups of that stuff a day…I am not really much of a drinker, which probably isn’t a good thing, but it’s how I am.
I hate the sloshy feeling of having so much water inside of you. I drink..just definitely not as much as I am supposed to. Maybe I’ll try to work on that 
So that’s something new I came across, and I’m excited that it is so easy, cheap, and all natural. I hope it keeps working, an I will definitely keep you guys posted.

All my love, and God's blessings, Ari <3