Hangovers

So, you went out last night and now you hate yourself. You feel sick, your head is pounding and you just can't get out of bed. You are now hungover.

Hangovers come in many different severities. Let me break it down for you.

Stage 0

This is where you wake up the next day and feel just fine. Be happy, you got out of this one a lucky duck. Normally, this is where I am at. When I go work the front desk on Friday mornings, I see a lot of "Walk-of-shames" of people sporting the horrible hangover.

Stage 1

You may be extra thirsty today. May feel a little "off." But mainly, you are still feeling okay. Drink some extra water and go about your day.

Stage 2

You may feel extra thirsty and may have a bit of a headache. These effects don't really cause an issue on your day. You can take a couple Tylenol and may need some coffee. Make sure you drink some water too throughout the day!

Stage 3

 Your head hurts a little more today. Your stomach may be a little queasy. You are feeling extra tired and don't really want to get out of bed. But, you are able to drag yourself out, drink some coffee, take some Tylenol and get through your day...waiting for the moment you can get to bed when you get home.

Stage 4

This is the worst. In this hangover you have a migraine, can't get out of bed, even the mention of food makes you want to throw up. You may have even woken up next to the toilet after a rough late night. Nothing is going to get you out of bed this morning. If you need to work, you probably will end up calling in, citing a bad case of food poisoning. You may be sensitive to light, sound and smell. It may be worth staying in bed and trying to block our everything you can. Take some Pepto Bismol and sleep it off.

If you are the benefactor of a horrific hangover, stay home. Get rest. Drink LOTS of water. And maybe next time, drink a little less!

Spring Name Tags (or in my case door decs!)

These cute little door decorations and name tags don't take too long to do and actually turn out quite awesome. If you have a couple hours, they will be great for your students or residents!

Materials

• Foam Egg cutouts
• Yellow Construction paper
• Tape (or glue)
• Exacto Knife
• Scissors
• Markers

Directions

1. Use the exacto knife to cut the eggs in half much like a half hatched egg. You can actually make 2 name tags per egg using both sides. The foam is easier to cut with the knife than with normal scissors.

2. Cut a body shape out of the yellow paper. Make it so that it is no wider than the egg cutout.

3. Cut some wing shapes out of the paper. Make them all different for some variety.

4. Tape the body part the way down the back of the egg (so that it doesn't go out the bottom but has enough body and head sticking out the top.)

5. Then tape the wings on the back. Draw some eyes (switch those up for cuteness factor) and add a beak. Write the name on the tag and voila!

Sugar And Spice...And Everything Nice!

Earlier this week I received my 2nd Voxbox from Influenster. If you don't know what that website is, check it out and get back to me if you want an invite! Anyway, a voxbox is basically a box of free products that companies give Influenster to send out to some of their users. And they aren't just sample size...they are full sized bottles and boxes of these products...free!

This box has some amazing products that I am currently trying out. Let's check them out:

BelVita breakfast biscuits are a yummy on the go breakfast idea for the person who doesn't have the time to eat. They come in several different flavors, including: Golden Oat, Blueberry and the kind I tried, Cinnamon. The Cinnamon ones taste just like a graham cracker. Now, it doesn't seem like much with these 4 little crackers, but after eating a pack they really are just enough for the morning. Full of whole grains, these crackers have some staying power. They are great with your morning coffee.

You can find them at your local supermarket for about $3.99 a box!

This next products wasn't one...but three! That's right, I got the whole set of toothbrush, paste and mouthwash to try out the Colgate Optic White System. This system is supposed to start whitening your teeth in as little as 5 days. I am on day two...so I'll let you know if I notice anything later.

Anyway, the toothbrush has nice soft bristles which make brushing not that bad. It also has the cheek and tongue cleaning side which is nice to have around to get those nasty germs off those areas too. The toothpaste does have a minty flavor but it isn't the same minty that most give you...the too much mint type (which for those who know me, know that I HATE mint!) This toothpaste does foam a lot though so if you don't like that, then you may have an issue. I don't mind it too much. As for the mouthwash, it is also another one of those not to minty types. It is a peroxide mouthwash...not alcohol...so the burning sensation isn't there (which is a relief). Because it is peroxide, it foams a lot too so you actually don't need as much of it to get the job done (or you will be literally foaming like crazy from the mouth!)

You can find these products at your local supermarket/pharmacy for about $3.99 each.

I know...this seems a little odd and maybe too good to be true. We all know those sunscreens that are just like this and run out in about 3 uses (I don't know how many bottles of those that I went through last summer!) Influenster included the middle bottle...total moisture for me to try and I was pleasantly surprised. With most of the spray sunscreens, you have to wait to go in the water, put on clothing, etc. This is different. Basically you just spray about 4" from the skin, rub in (which actually is just wiping once over the spray to spread it out) and voila! It doesn't spray too much lotion on the skin so you don't get greasy and it soaks in really fast. (I applied it to all my extremeties after a shower last night and could get into my clothing in less than a minute with no issues). It is super fast and leaves my skin feeling wonderfully soft. And it didn't feel like I depleted half the bottle in one use, so I have hopes that it lasts awhile. Once again, I will update after I know more!

You can find this at your local supermarket/pharmacy for $3.99 a bottle.

I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners. Those after tastes just gross me out. I don't drink diet pop (really I don't drink any pop much anymore) and I try to stay away from things with the Splenda logo. I just don't like the taste and it gives me a funny feeling in my stomach. But this sweetener is different. I made Tanisha try it first in her tea the other day before I would give it a try. I have a box of 20 packets so I knew it wasn't going anywhere. I put some in my tea later and there was no aftertaste and it was a really concentrated sweetener. My box came with a recipe book for this sweetener and I may try to make some of my own. Warning: As it is really sweet, you do not need as much of this sweetener as you do regular sugar. If using in recipes, you may need to recalculate the wet/dry ratio. 

Give this a try though, it is a wonderful sweetener for those who can't use sugar. Find it for $3.99 for a box of 20 packets.

Last but not least, I got a box of 20 of the Dickinson's Witch Hazel wipes. I have used Witch Hazel before on my face as a cleaner and I always liked the pleasant tingle that it gave me. I sometimes forget it as a facial cleaner that is not as stinging and strong as other astringents. These wipes are a wonderful version of witch hazel...and convenient. They come in 20 individually packed pouches and the towelettes are quite a bit larger that I expected once unfolded. They give that wonderful tingle of witch hazel and later leave your face feeling clean and soft due to the added aloe. I looked down and saw the amount of dirt and oil it cleaned from my face and was a little surprised. They really clean quite well! Influenster gave me five $2.00 coupons off my next purchase. 

You can find them for $5.99 a box at your local supermarket or pharmacy.

Happy Spring!

Spring is here, but Mother Nature hasn't figured out how to turn the AC off. I am so ready to be able to just not wear my coat anymore (it needs a good cleaning but I don't have a back up coat at the moment so I can send it off to get cleaned), so I wait for the warmth. 

Life is going just as crazy as normal. I have begun my psych research so lately I have spent many hours in the psychology lab at UM-Flint. Its not too bad, just another thing to add on top of the heap. I am ready for this semester to be over and to finally graduate. I have been actively fighting senioritis for several weeks now and I won't let it win. I MUST finish strong.

It's been awhile since I have been on here so I'll give you some pictures of what I have been up to lately:

Riverfront had a Valentine's dance in February. Kevin and I were looking sharp ;)

I went to a leadership conference at the end of February and literally took one of my favorite pictures of myself!

I finished my month of letters strong and had a lot of fun. I also sent some letters that just needed to be sent.

I spent some nights with friends that I may have lost some sleep but had some amazing moments and made some amazing memories.

Spring Break was the beginning of March and Kevin and I went to Chicago. Nick and his boyfriend Matt also went and our trip overlapped so we travelled the city together a couple days.

It was really a fun trip and one that I am so glad that we made! We stayed in the city (Sheraton Hotel and Towers...so beautiful) and we could see Navy Pier from our window! On Monday we got some pizza, checked in, went to Navy Pier, ate at Ed Debevic's and visited the Hancock Observatory. On Tuesday it snowed, so we spent most of the day at The Field Museum and then ate up in Andersonville at Hamburger Mary's before seeing an Improv Show at The Annoyance Theater in Uptown. Wednesday we went to Millenium Park, got some yummy sushi, visited a Comic shop, Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and had a chill night back at the hotel. Thursday we headed to the Aquarium and then went to the Art Museum after lunch. We grabbed some cheap dinner and then went back to the hotel for some swimming. Friday was our last day and after checking out we went to The Cheesecake Factory, visited the Skydeck in the Willis Tower and headed home.

The day after we got back, I went to see my friends David and Helen who I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a wonderful visit (but NOT LONG ENOUGH!)

Now I am looking towards the future. I graduate in less than 45 days. I will be moving out of Riverfront at that same time. I just had an interview with one of the companies I applied to yesterday, here's to hoping something comes from that. It's all changing, so so fast. But I am so ready for the change. I am ready to open the next chapter of my life!