Showing my Kindle some love

Last year, one of my resolutions was to read a book a month which would mean that I would've read 12 books at least in 2009. How many did I read? Well, I just checked my Kindle history & it turns out that I read more than 30 books last year. Three were vampire series - Twilight (4 books), Sookie Stackhouse (9 books) and the Black Dagger Brotherhood (7 books) but I did read some other books with more substance to them. And I bought it in June so most of my reading was done in the second part of 2009.

When I first bought my Kindle, I was 99% pleased with it. I thought that it was a bit too expensive but I really wanted it so I got it during my birthday month which is when I buy whatever I want with no remorse. I bought it when it was $299 and then 3 weeks later, Amazon lowered the price to $259. I immediately emailed Amazon and they credited the difference to my account. I felt a bit better after that. But after using it for 8 months, I am really pleased with my decision to get it. If you are a book reader at all, you will enjoy the Kindle. Anyone who has it loves it.

Just like any gadget, there are accessories for it. When I purchased it, I got the Amazon Kindle Leather Cover which is just a black cover for it. It's ok but I really don't like it. I am going to sound so girly saying this but the cover isn't pretty enough. Just like with my iPhone, I go through cases like no other. Here are some that I like:

I like the damask print but since it's cloth, there is virtually no protection for it in case I drop it.

I like the concept of the strap, but just like the case above it, it doesn't have a hard cover to protect it. Can you tell that I like the damask print?This skin is also cute & girlie but it's just for decoration.This one is probably my best bet & I may be purchasing it in the near future.

Do you have a Kindle? Any book recommendations? I just finished reading L.A. Candy by LC which, if you like chick lit, you will enjoy it. Her second book Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel will be released on the Kindle next week & I've already pre-ordered it. It's $7.99 for the Kindle & if I were to buy it on hardback it would be $17. The paperback won't be available until August. As you can see, you do save money with it. But in the meantime, I want something with more substance to it. I may start to read the Help by Katherine Stockett.

This is me lately

Via Makeup & Beauty Blog

Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

Off to make a cup of tea. . .

49 days down...

But 316 to go! That's how many days are left for my no buy to end. What was I thinking in committing to not buying any unnecessary make up for a whole year? There are so many great collections coming out this year and it's so hard to resist such pretty make up especially when there have been some enablers (ahem I am talking to you Karen, Lilan & Kelly).

I have purchased 5 things & two of them are kind of an exception:

TheBalm TimeBalm Concealer in Light/Medium - I ran out of my Make Up Forever under eye concealer and read on Karen's blog how much she liked it. I've been using it for 3 weeks and it's a great product. Lasts all day, conceals my dark circles and doesn't crease.

Studio Fix Lash - read some great reviews and so far, I really like this mascara.

Nars Sheer Glow foundation in Barcelona - I ran out of my MAC Studio Fix Fluid which was my holy grail foundation. I wanted to try something new and I am pleased with the coverage I get from Nars.

Viva Glam Gaga & Viva Glam Cyndi lipsticks - now these weren't a necessity but they are limited edition. I didn't want to buy them on Ebay next year at a higher price. Later I found out that while these were limited edition, they will have them available for a year until the next spokesperson for MAC. Ooopppsss! All the proceeds go to the MAC AIDS fund so at least it's going to a good cause, right? Don't judge me.

I am also excited that I get buy two new Zoya polishes without breaking my no buy. How will I do that? I got an email from Zoya that I can get two free polishes with a $10 purchase using the code NYFW in honor of Fashion Week. The coupon is good through tomorrow at 5 PM. I'm in need of nail polish remover & actually had the Zoya one in my Amazon cart. Now I will just order it from them directly and get my two goodies for free. Woot woot! I know that I am getting Adina but I am not sure what other color to get. Any suggestions?

Can I really do this?

For the past couple of years, for some reason I have been following Lent. I say for some reason because I am not a devout Catholic. I was baptized & had my first communion but ever since I was 15, I sort of stopped going to church. I have a lot of issues with Catholicism and I haven't studied other religions to know whether or not I want to remain a Catholic.

I only follow one facet of Lent which is fasting or rather giving up something for the 40 days. Last year I gave up soda. I used to drink a lot of Diet Coke and diet Dr. Pepper and know that it wasn't good for me. I lasted all through Lent and continued to do so until I was in Mexico in December. Bottled water isn't as available in some places so I did drink some sodas but I did limit my intake. After all, I had a lot of tequila to drink... ha! I feel comfortable saying that I am no longer a soda drinker which is HUGE for me. I've also given up caffeine several times.

This time around I wasn't sure what I could give up. I am not much of a coffee drinker anymore, I haven't had a cigarette in almost 3 years, and soft drinks are no longer a part of my life. I may sound like a lush but I don't want to give up alcohol. It's something social that I enjoy. I am already on a make-up no buy for the remainder of the year, so I can't use that. I decided to be adult about it & do something that would be not be as easy. So here it goes... no junk food for the next 40 days. Basically any food that is high in calories but of little nutritional value (I looked up the exact definition in the dictionary) such as chips, ice cream, candy, pizza, etc is out of reach from today until Easter which this year falls on April 4th.



I may become a raging beotch but I think I can make it. It will be a sort of a detox and it will force me to eat healthier during this time. I am hoping that the same thing that happened with my soda addiction will happen with eating food that is craptacular.

I better go & eat the last of my Popchips :)

Picture source

Are you ready to get "Carried" away?

I consider myself a hardcore Sex & The City fan. I have all the seasons on DVD and have watched it multiple times. If I could, I would put myself into the show somehow just to be around these amazing characters. When I heard that they were making a movie, I was really looking forward to it. I think I saw it about 4 times in the movie theater and I own the DVD. But when I heard that they were making a second movie due to the success of the first, I was sort of weary. I know that they movie was a hit and they are trying to capitalize on that but I feel as though there isn't much of a story left to tell.

I went to see Valentine's Day this weekend (in my opinion, it was ok & is probably a rental). Before the movie, they showed the trailer for the second SATC movie. I hope that this second movie does the show justice. Here is the trailer for those who may not have seen it yet.



The trailer starts at the 30 second mark. I will probably go see the movie. I just hope it doesn't disappoint & become a joke.

Fun in the Snow

Last weekend I spent 48 hours in Reno/Lake Tahoe area. My cousin from Mexico was in town with family and they wanted to go snowmobiling. We had done this trip before and it was a lot of fun. We drove up Saturday morning up to Reno and we had a few stops along the way. I drove up my own car since I was coming back on Monday morning. They wanted to shop so we did a bit of shopping in Sacramento & Reno. Saturday morning we got up early and drove down to south Lake Tahoe to go to Zephyr Cove to go snowmobiling.

We ended up getting 7 snowmobiles and had a two hour tour. It wasn't snowing but there was plenty of snow on the mountains and it was freaking cold. But the view from 8,700 feet on the mountain of the lake was amazing. This is something that everyone should do.

I left Monday morning at 5am from Reno to make it to work by 9am. Let me tell you, that was not a fun drive at all but I had a lot of fun in Reno with the family. Good thing I had my new under eye concealer. That magical product helped me look like I had gotten a good 8 hours of sleep when in reality I got about 4.