New Years Resolution ‘2013

I have been working on my new year’s resolution since last month and finalized it the first week of January (phewwww ). One of my resolutions is — to loose weight. Surprisingly, I have gained about 20 pounds since last January and I really want to drop those pounds. I know what you all are thinking; a lot of people make the same resolution and usually forget in few months into the year. But I am serious when I say I want to loose weight, I am definitely not joking.

As I recall from high school, our goals have to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed. So, let’s write it out in that manner:

SPECIFIC	I want to loose weight
MEASURABLE	I want to loose 30 pounds
ACHIEVABLE	I want to loose 30 pounds by regular exercising and proper diet
REALISTIC	I will exercise 3-5 times a week and cut down junk food
TIMED	I want to loose 30 pounds in 3 months

I ate well but had no activities in the past year that could keep me in good shape, so I had to research as to what will I do to loose it? I want to do this because health should be our number one priority, no matter what. I did not want to join a gym because of high fees and commitment of a year (at least); plus, we have one car and my partner comes late from work so it would not really work for me.

Then I thought of buying a DVD set so I could work out at home, i.e.,‘Insanity’ and ‘P90x’ came to my mind, but when I saw their YouTube videos, it looks hard (but not impossible) for me to do, especially 1 hour 6 times a week.

After a lot of research I decided to purchase ‘The Firm Express’ from Costco (for an amazing deal of $58.99). The phrases just jumped at me, “Get thin in 30 days” /“20 minutes only 3 times a week.” Now what more would I want? I know there are a lot of scams out there but I researched about this program before I made the purchase. So if you would like to learn more about the program and how I am progressing, stay tuned!

Prescription Glasses

Keep in mind, I do not work for either of the companies, I am sharing this info because I had an amazing experience with them. I do have a mild prescription (-0.5) and I do not really need to wear glasses but sometimes when I have headaches, the glasses help me to get rid of it. My partner, on the hand has to wear glasses since his prescription is really strong, plus his glasses usually cost about 400 dollars so after alot researching we found two really good websites to buy glasses for cheap.

1. http://www.zennioptical.com/

I have been ordering from this website for two years now and have always been satisfied with what I received. Just the first time, the prescriptions were messed up by my partner which we realized was his fault; he switched the right and left lenses prescription lol.

Zenni Opticals are based in Hong Kong and even though it says 1-2 weeks delivery, it’s usually here in 5 business days, very fast and reliable. Their glasses quality is really good, and they have some really nice selection, but keep in mind, they are not brand names. The cheapest glasses can cost you anywhere from $6.95 and above. I swear I bought some $8 glasses too which my co-workers could not believe. We got a lot of people hooked on to this website (especially our parents, aunts and uncles) and I tend to order couple of pairs every 6 months.

There is a cool feature where you can even upload your picture and see how certain glasses will look on you. Now I have glasses in every color and shape, and no one believes the price I pay for them. My partner on the other hand, has more glasses than me that includes sun glasses and ski goggles.

2. http://www.clearlycontacts.ca/

This website was given to me from my co-worker who has been purchasing from here for many years. Clearly Contacts carry the brand names and are a little pricey from the website above, but lower from outside sellers (in my opinion). So I recently got a Michael Kors pair which cost me about $140 including everything (from anti glare to delivery); the glasses arrived in 2 days, yes in two days. I am very satisfied with the glasses and would definitely recommend to people who prefer brand names.

Currently, there is an offer on this website: buy one and get the second one free. I also read some great reviews on their return policy as well.

Friendly Reminder:
– When you go to the optometrist, do ask them your Pupil distance (PD) which is important for websites above. It is really important, even though you can measure yourself by a ruler as well.
– Before ordering a whole bunch, maybe order one to first try it out.

Have a great day!

Artistic Nails

I am very big on nails and therefore get my mani & pedi every 5 weeks but this last month I was so sick – I decided to paint my nails instead. I have a good collection of nail polish and I decided to be a little creative (which was not really hard ha-ha). I would like to share some tips:

– Remember to always put the base coat, no matter what. Its important to have a good base coat. I realized when I don’t put base coat, my nails gets stained by the color and it doesn’t go away for few days. (I use the base coat from OPI).

– You also need a top coat if you want the nail polish to last you 5 days and up. Sometimes I have used the base coat as my top coat as well, and it totally worked for me. I recommend top coat from Sally Hansen which not only gives you a shiny look and hardens your nail.

– Make sure the nail polish are a good brand (not dollar store ones), I find that store brands have improved alot but sometimes  their color are so light. I prefer rich colors that come out well in the first coat, I don’t like putting more than two coats of nail polish. The brands I would vouch for are as follows: China Glaze, OPI, and  Sally Hansen — they last longer.

– I also have these thin brush nail polishes which you can do art with and I bought them from sally’s, I have four colors (white, black, silver glitter and golden glitter) for which I can put some pictures up if you guys want, and its not that hard to use. I usually do the thumbs or pinky fingers to be creative.

– I recently got a glitter nail polish from NYC brand for $1.25 (from Walmart), and wasn’t sure about this brand therefore only got one. I put a regular nail polish and a coat of this glitter and it turned out really festive and so many people complimented on the nails. I have attached few pictures below for you to see.

Winterlicious theme

Christmas theme

Also, I don’t spend more than $4 on a nail polish, I always grab when they are on sale, and I love trying out new colors, there are some nice art you can do on your nails with a sponge as well, and there are even stickers available at Sally’s (sorry forgot to take pictures when I did it).

– There are things that we believe are sometimes hard to do, but when you have time and patience, check out some  YouTube videos and you realize they are so easy to do (and your nails look professionally done). We should always take care of ourselves and it’s nice to keep your nails clean and filed. Even if you have no nail polish on, at least cut your nails regularly and maybe just put a clear nail polish on. In the professional world, it’s really important to keep yourself updated.

If there are other brands or colors you would like to share please do.

Happy New Year (belated)!!!

Hope the new years brings you lots of happiness and wealth. I cannot believe 2012 is over but am definitely looking forward to 2013, really looking forward to it. Year 2012 was not as great for me, and it will be funny if 2013 is worse, but let’s stay positive and since patience is the best virtue, we need to take one day at a time.

I know I have not written for a while but that’s what holidays do to you, LAZY plus I got acute bronchitis and lost my voice for four days which made December a write-off for me. I will be posting more blogs this week because I have lots to share with you all, so stay tune.

I had to cancel few parties over the holidays because I did not want to pass my bug around and I was sick like a dog recovering on bed, I had time to start and get all updated in 90210 and Vampire Diaries, which I have been wanting to for a while.

I have been watching 90210 for 2 years now which means I watched all the old and new episodes through Netflix and now I am on the newest season 5, and surprisingly Netflix updates it on a weekly basis. When the show comes on Monday, Netflix updates by Wednesday which I think is so convenient since whenever I am free there are never good shows playing on the TV.

So 90210 started with kids in high school which are now adults (maybe early 20’s), I find them still so young to go through so much in their lives and to me, its a little unrealistic, but if that’s the life with so much money, so be it. It’s a good show and has always so much going on, and is more of a chick flick series. In the end, you are not really learning anything but just acknowledging as to what is going around nowadays and definitely keeps you on the edge till the end of the show. You realize there are some really crazy people out there who are either obsessed or brats that could care less as to what is happening around them.

Then I began watching Vampire Diaries since I loved all the Twilight movies, and oh my, Damon and Stefan are really good looking, even the girl is pretty. I loved the first and second season, and am a little hurt by the third season since she is sort-of with Damon — they look AWESOME together but I still think that is wrong (morally). If you loved a guy at one point, DO NOT date his brother that is just weird and wrong at many levels. Maybe you all think differently, but I do not understand that. And I also think, its better than the Twilight version, since it keeps me on the edge and makes me want to watch more and more.

Currently, both seasons are on their winter break and should be starting back by the end of this month. I also recommend the following series: Drop Dead Diva and Gilmore Girls, which you can also get on Netflix. I totally find Netflix worth it!