Five Fast...Things I Love

1. Argan oil. My hair is blonde, (naturally brown, so very bleached) AND I live in a very, very windy area. Argan oil is SAVING it from being totally dry and destroyed! I use 100% pure argan oil from Julep, and it is excellent. I just towel-dry my hair so it's damp, then pour a SMALL amount (less than dime-sized) into my hand, rub my hands together, and finger it through my hair, especially on the ends. If you put a bit too much on your roots, just lightly dust them with translucent facial powder. BUT the argan oil absorbs nicely overnight, so wait til morning to see if you added too much. It's a very forgiving oil, and is wonderful to massage into your nails and hands when you're done!

2. doTERRA diffuser (you put water with a few drops of essential oils in it, then it diffuses the water into the room!) http://www.doterra.myvoffice.com/janetcarpenter1/

3. American Eagle jeans. After 2 months of Nutrisystem, I've dropped 2 pant sizes, so...oh darn, I have to buy more. American Eagle jeans are ALL I wear, I love them, they are so consistent in their sizing, and they last for soo long. And they're cheap!! $40 for jeans that will literally last me years if I stay the same size? Yes please! And there's always clearance sales online. If I wait for a percentage-off coupon, I can usually get jeans for $20 with free shipping.

4. My roommates! They're awesome, nice AND clean!

5. The psychology major! While cognition is more science-oriented (and thus, more difficult for ADD me to concentrate), it's still interesting. I love my History of psych class though and ethics because the discussion is so thought-provoking. I'm finally developing a proper vocabulary for psychological processes and situations that I've been thinking about for years!

First Day Lessons at BYU-Idaho

Here's what I learned in my first day attending BYU-Idaho in Rexburg.

1. Guys who wear v-neck t-shirts ought to be treated with caution. Especially if their shirt is a size too small.

2. They weren't kidding about the wind. Wind makes ears hurt.

3. There's an orchard, like, with trees, on the south end of campus.

4. People are really smiley here.

5. It's a much more pleasant walk to campus than BYU-Provo. No massive hill to scale by south-of-campus residents.

6. The Ricks building pathways are hidden. HIDDEN. You can see the building, but you can't get there quite so easily. There's a shortcut across the grass next to a greenhouse. But I don't think it's a real shortcut cause everyone who took it glanced around furtively. There's a hidden path from the back of a parking lot next to it though.

7. You can park anywhere that normally requires a permit after 4pm, which is nice for evening classes. I took advantage.

8. An excellent way to spend the time with new roommates is swapping old roommate horror stories.

9. The Dollar Tree (next to Kmart) has wall decals. Perfect for a white, unblemished apartment room.

10. I'm now one of those people who change their outfit 3 times a day. It's fun, no complaints.

Julep Spring Mystery Box!

Okay, so I love doing my nails, and my new vice is Julep, basically a monthly nail color club. They are super nice, and while the website is confusing sometimes, customer service is fantastic. It's a subscription service like ShoeDazzle or JewelMint, and is $19.99 for 2 nail polishes+a personal care product, or there's one box that offers 3 nail polishes and no product. I've only done one monthly thing, but they have an excellent deal called "mystery boxes" quite often, and they are SO WORTH IT. The mystery boxes cost $19.99 if you have the email code (they show up as $60 in the cart), with free shipping if you're already a "maven," or monthly subscriber, and are guaranteed to be worth at least $60. Why WOULDN'T you do these? I love being surprised, and I rarely NEED a specific nail color, so this is a great way to build up my collection. I did the St. Patrick's Day one last month, and I forgot to take a picture but I got 5 nail polishes, a base coat, hand & nail scrub, an anti-aging cream, and I think a few more things. It was awesome, and I thought I'd really scored.

Then......

I got the Spring Mystery Box.

It arrived today, fast. Julep is based in Seattle, and I live in Spokane, so it only too 2 days to arrive. The first thing I pulled out was...a $120 gift certificate. O.MG. I heard the Price Is Right crowd cheering in my head as I stared at it. It was pretty freakin awesome. After that, I was pretty okay with WHATEVER ELSE was in the box, but kept getting better. I got the top coat, which was sweet, since I love having matching top and base coats (did I mention I like doing my nails?). I also got the argan oil elixir, and the nail growth revitalizing serum, both of which I was hoping I would get! The nail polish colors I got are Melissa, Blake (so pretty), January (I needed a new red!) and Alicia (which I think I might already have, but I'm not complaining!)

Overall, this was an INCREDIBLE mystery box, let alone that it was only $19.99! I'm definitely doing these regularly. Plus, it's so fun wondering what I'll get! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to spend my $120!!!