Body Image and Weight

Hello All!

It has been a while since I have done a "deep thinking" type post. This one is about body image and weight.

To start off, I want to state a few facts about myself. I'm 5' 9" . I weigh 270 pounds . I have been dancing since I was four. I am very comfortable with how my body looks.

I have had people tell me that I need to cover my arms because people don't want to see them.

Let's take a step back here... OTHER PEOPLE want ME to cover my arms because OTHER PEOPLE are offended by their appearance. I think my arms look fine.  I get hot easily, so I wear sleeveless shirts . I don't wear skin-tight clothing (actually I prefer loose clothing because it Keeps me cool), I don't wear terribly revealing clothing either, SO what's the problem.

I would say that I have a good body image, meaning I can accurately see how I appear . I Know that I am overweight. I know that I need to lose about 100 Pounds. I also Know that I can still dance circles around many people out there.

This doesn't mean that other people should be able to dictate how I should feel about what I wear. I wear things that make me feel good. End of story.

One of the most insulting backhanded compliments I have received is: You are too good a dancer (singer, actress , etc.) to look the way you do.

What does my appearance have to do with how I sound, or how I comunicate an emotion to an audience ? It shouldn't matter. But it does.

Thanks for that, by the way. I'm glad you think I am better than my appearance led you to believe.

I guess my point is that I'm tired of other people assuming I have a warped body image because I am fat. My body Image is fine. Thank you for your concern.

Talk at y'all later!

Vegan Food is yummy!

Yummy vegan food pictures

Here are more pictures of food I ate way back in October.  I hope you enjoy!

I came, I cooked, I ate

It was tasty!

Hi all! this is a post I meant to post 2 months ago but never did. I can't remember exactly what all of these foods are, but they are all vegan and they were all very tasty. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Stay tuned for some more posts in the next few days of beauty favorites and empties.

October Empties Part Three

Part these of October Empties

147. Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Glossing Olive Oil Conditioner 2 FL oz 

I absolutely love this conditioner. I have used several sample sizes of different products from this brand. This is one of my favorite products from this brand. The smell is amazing. It makes my hair super soft and very shiny and doesn't leave it way down. However this company is owned by Procter and Gamble and is therefore not cruelty free. It is also ridiculously expensive and doesn't last very long on my long hair. I will not be repurchasing.

148. CH Facial Soap (sample size)

I got this facial soap from a hotel (I think in Chicago) several years ago. The soap how Has a citrus scent and cleansed my face and hands very well. I'm not sure the brand or the ingredients but I do not believe it is cruelty free.

149. Elf Shine Eraser Oil Blotting Sheets (50 count)*v

this is one of my favorite products from ELF. I believe I have bought about ten of these so far. I keep one in my purse, one in my car, one by my bed, and a couple in my bathroom. I use these mostly in the summer when it is very hot and I tend to get oily. It takes one or two sheets to do my whole face, but it really does get rid of the oil that breaks down my facial makeup. This extends my makeup from 2 o'clock in the afternoon until about eight at night. I will keep buying these as they are the cheapest and best working well blotting sheets I have been able to find. I also love the elf website because most of their products are vegan (except for their $1 makeup brushes) almost all their tools are vegan. Also, these cost $1. Nothing beats that!

150. Harajuku Lovers Lil' Angel Eau de Toilette  (coty inc) 10 ml (.3 fl oz )

Lil' Angel reminds me of coconut and fruit. It's a very summery perfume and very girly and fun. It also has a little bit of a hard edge to it, but nothing that is musky. its still a bright and light sent. I absolutely adore the Harajuku Lovers line because they look like little dolls. Each outfit is different and each little girl is different. I only own one other, G, but I will not be repurchasing any others. Coty inc. is the company that produces these perfumes. Because of their products being sold in China, they must have their products tested on animals. Therefore even though they wish to be a cruelty free company, they are selling their products in China where their products have to be tested on animals and are no longer cruelty free. Until they refused to sell in China I will not be purchasing this product again. If that doesn't bother you however, this is a wonderful perfume and a highly recommended on scent alone.

151. Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator. 5 oz

I have used this product before. While it hydrates quite well, the smell is offensive on my face. I don't like the way it makes my face feel when I first put it on. After it is soaked into my skin and makes my skin feel wonderful though. Clinique is not a cruelty free company and I will not be purchasing this product.

152. Desert Essence Organics Red Raspberry Conditioner 8 fl oz  (237 ml) * v

This is one of those products that I really loved when I first started using it. It made my hair smell really great and conditioned my hair quite well. After I had been using it for several weeks I noticed that my hair began to get tangled more and was becoming weighed down. This conditioner makes my hair knot horribly and look dirty. When I bought it they were buy one get one half off so I bought two. I won't use the second one until I run out of all of my good conditioners. The good thing about this product is that it is cruelty free and vegan. And I can find you at my local grocery store. I will not be repurchasing this product.

153. Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Glossing Olive Oil Shampoo 59 ml (2 FL oz)

Like the conditioner at the top of this post, this shampoo is amazing. It makes my hair smell wonderful and it makes it shiny and brilliant. However it is not cruelty free and I will not be repurchasing it.

October Empties Part Two

This is a continuation of my October Empties

The next six products are all cleansing cosmetics. The soaps are all from hotels.

141. Jāsön Color Protect Henna Pure Natural Conditioner 16 oz (454 grams) * v
This is one of those products I really wanted to like, but ended up absolutely hating. When I first put Henna in my hair in January, the color faded completely within a few weeks. In October, I re-henna-ed my hair and it has lasted much longer, partly because of this conditioner. I think this product was key in Keeping my henna from fading , However, the smell of this product is One of the most disgusting smells I've ever had in my hair. I have really long hair, so I use a LOT of Conditioner. I've used the Jāsön brand in the past and always found the scents of their products to be overwhelming , yet pleasurable. this one was overwhelming and made me want to gag. So, even though this is a natural and Cruelty free product, I will not be repurchasing this because it smelled terrible.


142. Holiday Collection Moisturizing Facial Soap (Jergens Mild) sample size
this is one of those products that I got from hotel when I was staying there several years ago. I'm not sure which hotel it was from and I'm not sure exactly what was in it but it cleaned well. Jergens is Not a cruelty free company, so I will not be purchasing from them in the future.

143. purity Basics French Milled facial Soap sample size

This was another Hotel soap. I do not believe that is cruelty free. It cleaned well but was very small so it only lasted 3 or 4 washes. Will not purchase In the future.

144. Bausch & Lomb Bio True Multi-Purpose Solution 10 Fl oz (296 ml)

another contact solution bottle. I will not be repurchasing this in the future as I have found a vegan replacement for my contact solution.

145. Tom's of Maine simply while fluoride Toothpaste in Clean Mint , 9 oz (25g) **v

So this is one of those products that's kind of conflicting. Tom's of Maine is a cruelty free brand and this toothpaste is vegan. But, they were bought out by Colgate-Palmolive a couple of years ago. I don't feel completely right buying from a company that's money is going directly to one of the largest companies in the world that tests on animals. However, this was a free sample of toothpaste my mom  got with a magazine. My mom didn't want it so she gave it to me. I took it with me a few times on trips because it was a sample size. I loved this toothpaste. The whitening effect was subtle but bright, and the taste was wonderful. It wasn't an overpowering mint taste but it was still clean feeling afterwards. I will not be repurchasing this product because it is not ethical in my opinion of what is actually cruelty free.

146, Proterra Marine refreshing bath and body bar

this is one of those products that I've never been able to find the information for. This whole line of bath products is made specifically for hotels and bed and breakfasts and cruise lines. All I know is that I cannot find the information for ingredients. I do not believe this is cruelty free.

* denotes cruelty free 

** denotes cruelty free with a non cruelty free parent company 

v denotes vegan product

BOLD denotes a product i would repurchase. 

My October Empties. See the previous post for the first six and the next post for the last seven. 

New Years Resolutions 2015

Hey everyone! I hope you are all having a fantastic start to the year 2015!

Every year I come up with some resolutions, but I don't usually stick to them. This year is going to be different because I will have people holding me accountable.

1. #handstand365
This is a challenge to do a handstand every day for the entirety of the year 2015. I can't do a handstand at all really, so I'm starting out by doing them against the wall until I can build up enough strength to do them on my own. I am posting my progress pictures on instagram  (I am @knittingopera ) if you want to follow my progress.

2. Eat one completely raw meal every day
I have not been eating enough fruits and vegetables.  This would ensure I would without too much trouble. I didn't do it yesterday or today... but I will tomorrow!

3. Lose 25 lbs/ weigh < 250 lbs
I didn't lose any weight last year. I didn't gain any either. This year I want to change that. Hopefully the first two will help me achieve this.

4. Write in my journal every day
Instead of only writing once every few weeks, I wish to get back into the practice of writing every single day. No matter what.

That's it for my resolutions this year. What are yours?

Last Day of 2014

Hello all! This is my last post for the year 2014. How exciting is that?!

It has been a rather tough year and I hope next year will be much better. I have some ideas for Upcoming posts, but mostly it will be more Empties posts and reviews of products. I really hope the coming year is better than the last.

Watch out for My New Years Resolutions post tomorrow.

October Empties 2014 Part One

Wow. this is super late. Be ready for a whole bunch of Empties posts coming your way!

It seems like October just came and went. I used a bunch more products this month than I thought I would. I have split the post into 3 parts so they aren't ridiculously long and take forever to load.

My October Empties! I used 19 products this month!

135. Paul Mitchell Original Awapuhi Shampoo .7 fl oz
(see # 128in September post)

136. Facial Bar in Citrus Sage by Marietta Corp. 19 grams / .67 oz
This is such a wonderful smelling soap. I picked it up at a hotel on one of my trips to Birmingham for a family wedding. It doesn't smell like citrus or sage that much. It just smells clean. I used this in the shower as a facial and body bar. I know next to nothing about the Marietta corporation, but they are not cruelty free.

137. Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara 01 Extreme Black (1oz)  

My grandmother gave me this sample mascara a while ago and I just got around to using it. The good things first: It was very black. A lot of times black mascaras tend to look grey on my lashes because they are light colored on the tips. I did not find that to be the case with this product. I loved the Volumizing effect this had on my lashes. It made them look full and thick without making clumps or creating spider leg lashes. The cons: It is not cruelty free and I did not like the smell. I will not repurchase.

The first six products are all sample or travel size.

138. Bodycology Enchanted Forest Fragrance Mist 2 FL oz
I picked this perfume up while in college. It was one of those fragrances that smells fantastic in the store, but smells horrible once you have been wearing it for an hour or two. I ended up combining the scent with rose water body creme and it toned it down to the point where I began so like the scent. I did some research about the company that owns Bodycology, Advanced Beauty Systems Inc, and could not find an animal testing statement anywhere. The phrase "This finished product is not tested on animals " is placed on the packaging of this product. This tends to imply that the individual products are tested on animals  (which is usually the case when this sentence is used). I will not repurchase from this company.

139. Harvey Prince Ageless Body Creme 15 ml (cruelty free and vegan! )
I got this sample in one of my birchboxes (maybe September?) This is hands down my favorite bodes creme I have ever tried. I don't use lotion or creme much now that I'm back in Louisiana where it is humid year-round. I do use it occasionally though: after I shave my legs or exfoliate. The scent is "pink grapefruit and Vanilla" , but to me it mostly smells of a general sweet fruitiness. It isn't your typical citrus scent. this is more fun and bouncy than lemon or orange would be. the Shea butter in the formula makes my skin soak up moisture, but doesn't leave a greasy residue. I absolutely love the smell of this product and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves light fruity Scents. I won't be repurchasing this as a lotion, but I did buy the companion perfume: AGELESS.

140. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion + 1 fl oz
I've used many of the lotions and gels in the Clinique Skincare line, but this is a reformulated version for very dry skin. I don't like the reformulation at all. the smell is more chemical and the lotion leaves a residue on the skin. I used this as a deep conditioner at night only. I Know my mom has also used this new reformer lotion and not liked it as well. I do not recommend this product. Clinique is not a cruelty free company.

Stay tuned for Part 2, Coming soon!

Nature Pics

 Hey y'all! This is another post i never uploaded from the beginning of October. I took some pictures in the yard. Here they are :) I hope you enjoy!

Sweet Olive in the front yard. I love the smell of sweet olive. They are planted all over New Orleans and Metaire and they smell fantastic. Whenever I smell them, I think of home and late summer/autumn.  

I have no idea what these are, but they are all over my front yard and by our front porch. I love that they look furry. AND THEY ARE PURPLE! I love purple flowers. 

These are another plant of unknown species. It is like a pod/berry thing. I love it! 

Live Oak in the front yard! With purple and yellow flowers. 

Yellow flowers of awesomeness!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures!  I'm working on my empties posts and they should be ready I the next few days! 

Anything you can eat, I can eat vegan

Anything you can eat, I can eat vegan. I can eat anything vegan-er than you!

So this was a post I wrote wayback in October . Because I never posted it, I am posting it now. Enjoy the pictures.

For my mom's birthday we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. I really love their create-your-own pastas. This was Cappelini with an Olive Oil Garlic sauce. It contained broccolini, mushroons, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and asparagus. It was really tasty!

And this is the drawing I made on the table cloth for my mom... I love drawing on the paper table coverings when they leave crayons. 

And this is probably the most basic thing I have eaten in a while. It's tofu cooked in Soy Sauce and sesame oil on top of rosemary sea salt bread. 

Hey look! Another stir fry! This one is with Tofu, bok choy, watercress, mushrooms, and jasmine rice cooked in soy sauce and sesame oil.

And here are the leftovers that I ate at the next meal. I love leftovers because the flavors really merge together when they have all been sitting there marinating for a few hours. 

This is a new kind of chocolate I tried at the store. It even says vegan on the back of the package (love it when they do that!). This chocolate is super rich and really satisfies any chocolate craving with just one square.

Quinoa burgers on rosemary sea salt bread with ketchup, mustard, and vegenaise. Pickles on the side! 

Ramen with tofu, watercress, baby corn, mung bean sprouts, soy sauce, and sesame oil. This was very tasty and filling. I used to eat ramen every day in my latter years of college. This was the first time in a while that I had bought some. A splurge treat instead of regular noodles or rice.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Stay tuned for more to come!

Merry Christmas

Hello all! Merry Christmas!
I know it has been a long time since I posted, but I promise to post new material soon. I've been very active on my other social media platforms recently, so if you want to hear more about what I've been doing in my day to day of, follow my on instagram  (KnittingOpera ).
It was a pretty good Christmas, even though I didn't get to see my grandmother. I did get to see my aunt and cook some wonderful vegan food, so life is good.
Talk at you later!

Quick Update

Hello All!

I haven't posted in over a month. Real life got in the way. I did about a week of NaNoWriMo before I had to stop, but I did get a chunk of writing done on my story and fleshed out some of the background information. Maybe when I have more written I'll start posting it on FictionPress.

I've been pretty busy with ballet, church, and Christmas Caroling. I am not ready for it to be December. When did this happen?!

It's been a really hard time for me lately with several church members passing away and having to sing at a few funerals. I actually have to sing at one today. It's always really hard trying not to cry. I have a hard time singing while crying, so I have to be extra careful with my tears.

I have finally gotten a Twitter. You can follow me @darksunnygirl. I've been using it and tumblr more and more because it is easier to update from my phone.

Sometime in the next few weeks I will be posting lots of empties posts and reviews of products. Be ready for them!

Until next time!

I eat vegan food and love it

Vegan Food For The Win!

Hey Everyone! I'm back with another food post. I have a lot of posts that I'm working on (Mordor Updates, Makeup Reviews, and more...) but none of them are ready. So... you are getting more food pictures! I hope you like it!
 

Garden Herb vegan burger on olive bread with garlic dill pickles, vegenaise, ketchup, mustard, and Zapp's BBQ chips. 

 

Quinoa Burgers on Olive Bread. Ketchup, mustard, and vegenaise on the burgers and Zapp's BBQ chips on the side. 

 

Angel Hair with soy sauce, liquid aminos, and sesame oil. 

 

Leftover Lasagna (remember that post from last week? That lasagna!) 

My mom and I stopped by the Fresh Market and I picked up some vegan sushi. This is a really fantastic spring roll! (I didn't eat the white sauce.) 

Here we have vegan sushi made with brown rice. I try to et brown rice when I can to get that little bit extra nutrition that white rice lacks. 

 

Here you can see the wonderful spring rolls dipped in the sweet chili dipping sauce. 

And here is a close up of the vegan sushi. I drizzled soy sauce on top of the whole package since I was planning on eating the whole thing. The only downside to eating vegan at a sushi restaurant is that you have to order about twice as much food to stay full. Eating one pack of sushi will only keep me from being hungry for an hour or so (the avocado adds another hour), so I have to either eat more sushi, or eat a snack later.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this post. Check out my next food post! 

NaNoWriMo and More

So, you might be able to tell from the title, I'm going to be doing National Novel Writing Month in November. It is a challenge to write a small novel (50,000 words) in 30 days. I haven't actually written any stories since 2009/2010, so I'm pretty nervous about just starting to write a book. I am hoping that this will get me out of the writing slump I have been in for a while.

Because I will be attempting to write ~2000 words a day, I will be only posting one blog per week in November. I will be using all my writing abilities for my story and not for my blog... so what can you expect for November?

1. October Makeup Empties... this will probably come later in the month because I think I will have a ton of products to discuss and it will take some time for me to do all the research I need for the post.

2. Walk to Mordor Large Update: weeks 44 through 50 or so. I'll also talk about my first year doing Walk to Mordor and how much longer I believe it will take for me to complete the walk.

3. a huge food pictures post... this won't be too difficult, so I might do a few of these.

4. an update on my NaNoWriMo at the end of the month.

So... that's it for now... look out tomorrow for another food post!

I ate stuff

I ate stuff. What a shocker! Here are some things I ate recently.

Zapp's are local kettle style chips that come in a huge variety of flavors. This was a flavor they had at the store that didn't contain dairy (why must salt and vinegar have milk in it, why!?!), so I got Cajun Dill Gator-Tators. OMG! These are amazing! They are pretty salty, but really great.

Sesame garlic noodles in a box from the store. I keep buying these for days when I have no time to cook. They are really great. 

 

One of my favorite salads ever. This is Coffee Raini's Curry Chicken Salad (without the chicken). It is a mix of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, raisings, apples, grapes, and coconut flakes all mixed with a sweet curry dressing. So yummy! 

Earth Balance White Cheddar Mac n Cheese with Steamed Broccoli.  

Leftover Homemade Lasagna. 

Garden Herb vegan burger with pickles, mustard, ketchup, vegenaise, on olive bread!

 

This is the last of my Teese Cheddar vegan cheese on olive bread that I nuked in the microwave. It doesn't microwave very well, but it still tasted ok. 

 

And last, but not least, we have BBQ flavored Zapp's Potato chips. I liked these almost as much as the dill gator-tators.

 

Have any of you tried Zapp's? What are your favorite flavors?