Blue Mountain anyone?

I can't believe it's almost Christmas and I JUST finish having my last final exam today and I'm glad it's all over. Although it's been cold and snowing for a while now, it still felt to me like it was summer/fall because I was literally stuck at home studying or going to work once a week. Until my bf took me to Blue Mountain this past Saturday that I started feeling Christmas around the corner and realized that winter IS here already…

The village you can see the hills on the background =]

My bf and I and a couple of friends went to Blue Mountain to snowboard and I was so excited for this trip because it's my first time going to Blue Mountain although it was not my first time snowboarding nor skiing. I don't mind snowboarding/skiing anywhere but I really wanted to go to Blue Mountain for its scenery so I was glad my bf took me to Blue Mountain. What got me super excited was the night view at the village, I was expecting a ginormous village but it turned out that the village is quite small. Perhaps it’s because I was comparing it to the village at Mont Tremblant which is a lot bigger although Blue Mountain is not bad at all for its distance (1.5 to 2 hrs drive) from my house as well as the price for the rental and lift. I also thought the night light would be blue for some reason, perhaps from the name itself LOL. Aside from all of this, one thing I really liked about Blue Mountain are the lessons they had. They will teach you step by step first letting you get use to the board on a small hill on the side of the walk way before letting you go on the bunny hill. This ensures that you have a good base before heading to the steeper hills. Now, if I were to go snowboarding again at a more frequent rate I would much rather go somewhere closer rather than driving 1.5 hr. I’m so glad that my friend Jenny introduced me to that place because it is only 5-10 mins away from where my bf lives. Not bad right? Although I have to say the view is not nice at all and the hills are smaller but that’s okay because if not like I’m a pro at snowboard that would need those Black diamond hills =P

Mont Tremblant s2

Anywyas that’s all I have to say about my trip, I cant wait to go again soon. I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year/Feliz navidad y un prospero ano.

I need to fill this up soon ^^

Baked Fish and Chicken

The other day, my bf and I wanted to experiment with the oven for an alternative healthy cooking method because if you guys know us we eat pretty healthy or should I say ‘HE’ eats pretty healthy. For those who doesn't know us yet we used to steam everything and season before serving with pepper, garlic powder, mixed seasonings with no salt or sauces like BBQ or ketchup. I know this doesn't sound too appetizing but it’s really not THAT bad just not the best tasting thing in the world but it is somewhat the easiest and healthiest thing that I've ever eaten. So we wanted to change it up and add a tiny little bit of flavour into our usual. We searched a few video on youtube for the easiest and healthiest recipe out there that we can use to mass produce our meals because we eat at least 4 meals a day up to 6 meals a day and that’s a lot of cooking so we just cook up everything at once and just microwave it later =]. Alright about our usual, we always eat chicken breast or thighs(no bones and no skin),  fish fillets, sometimes shellfish scallops, shrimp but never pork (well I sometimes sneak in some homemade wontons made by my mom which is usually made out of pork and shrimp but what the heck a little bit of fat is alright =] ).

We experimented with chicken breast and fish fillet and find that fish fillet cook best under a 400 F oven for 10 min, and chicken breast under 350 F oven for 20 min but you know us we want something easy and fast so the second time we baked these we cooked double the amount a total of 4 trays full of fish and chicken under a 350 F oven for 20 min and the fish turned out find it didn’t over cook. This way, in 20 min we have cooked maybe about 2 day worth of food. By the way we buy everything at Costco so everything comes in big packages, great for this because we are trying to mass produce everything so it will last us for a longer time lol

Preparation and Cooking...
First preheat oven at 350 F then rinse chicken and fish and pat dry with paper towel. Coat baking sheet/dish coated with some kind of oil, we used coconut oil because it's healthier than conventional vegetable oils and extra virgin olive oil shouldn't be used either because in high heat olive oil looses its nutrients and benefits so it should always be consumed under low to no heat for example drizzling it on top of salad as a dressing =]. Anyways moving on, chicken breast should be slices in half if it’s too thick so it cooks more evenly, place them into one layer of the baking sheet/dish with minimal overlaps then lightly season with salt pepper and garlic powder then bake for 20 min. Note: Easy on the salt because most garlic powder already has salt in it or at least it has a salty taste to it. I just eyeball the seasonings but remember you should start with little seasonings and add to taste when it is served.

Here are some pictures of our first time baking I didn’t take any picture of the second time when we mass produced 4 tray of meat lol and I know these pictures don’t look too appetizing but is much better than steaming everything =P plus half the fault goes to my crappy photography skills =]

Excuse this, this was after poking it to make sure it was cooked and after serving out dinner so this is basically our leftovers

Chicken! all seasoned and ready for the oven

Fresh out of the oven, the ones on the edge is a bit more brown because we tried to cover the whole dish with aluminum foil but we ran out so the part that aren't covered will brown up more so if u guys like that then go ahead and bake it with nothing covering it.

Next stop I really want to try baking sweet potato chip/fries to substitute yummy, unhealthy french fries that I love oh so much, who doesn't? s2

I'm always sitting at the very back of the lecture hall!

A long wordy post again....... blah!

There are so many friends and classmates that ask why I'm always sitting in the back of the lecture hall and my answers correspond to what I experience at my school only and it also depends on self likings, type of classmates, architectures and designs of my school etc… You’ll know what I mean in a moment. Lecture halls in my school are medium in size, it can probably fits around 200-300 people? I’m not too sure but the rooms aren’t THAT big. Reasons provided below do not apply to large lecture halls because sitting in the back has way more disadvantages then advantages.

Here are some reasons why most of the time you’ll see me sitting at the very last row …

First of all in the back you have the entire view of the lecture hall, this is most important during the first couple weeks of school because you get to see whether or not your acquaintances or friends are in your class!!... I can practice my spying skills muahahah ok I’m just kidding!

Second of all you get to eat in class without having the professor stare you down during the entire lecture plus aside from that I don’t like anyone in class starring at me while I eat that’s just rude. But some ask why don’t you eat before u come to class or in your break? And I say I don’t have any breaks!!, I try to squeeze all the courses that I need, ideally all stuffed in 2 to 3 days of school per week and often time that just means there is no break in between not even to use the ladies washroom!.

Sitting in the back is great to avoid annoying people sitting behind you with their rotting shoes up on the back on MY chair! Just like people are in movie theatres, this is also why I dislike watching movies at a movie theatre

You can also avoid having splashed eraser bits as your hair accessories by the end of a lecture

You can also avoid having people kicking your chair or winter jackets that are hanging on the chair!

You can leave you class whenever without disrupting others

The best reason why I always sit in the very back row is because there are plenty of room so you never have to shuffle your chair to let someone who’s late for class walk by which totally ticks me off because I’m trying to concentrate here and little movements already interrupts me like crazy let alone shuffling chairs!! Lol

Potential disadvantages for sitting in the back…

You might not be able to hear your professor clearly although most of mine uses a mic.

You might not be able to see what it is written on the blackboard although I barely have any courses that teaches on the blackboard.

Lisa's Cosmetic Warehouse

So I don't know if you guys have heard about this warehouse called Lisa's Cosmetic but this is a warehouse that is currently happening in Markham at 1380 Rodick Road Suite 110 (Rear entrance). They carry products for both men and women so feel free to drag your other half with you. Lisa’s Cosmetic mainly have fragrances, skin care and cosmetic products but they also have purses, hair product, and much more. They have been opened for the 2 past weekends already (Nov 20-23, 26-29 and Dec 3-6) SO that means you guys still have a chance to go this coming up Friday to Monday Dec 3-6, 2010. Here’s the link to their online flyer and their website (http://lisascosmetics.com/htmlsite/flyer.htm) for any additional information that you guys may be looking for. You can check their brand selection in their website but just to name a few they have Elizabeth Arden, Red Earth, Annabelle, Marcelle and their new line this year is SMASHBOX cosmetics. This is why I’m so excited because Smashbox products are found at Lisa’s cosmetic at a very low price. I went this past Friday just before they closed so I didn’t have much time to pick the things I wanted I had like 15 min in the Smashbox section and I only bought one Smashbox powder foundation plus a few other things from other sections. I am planning to go back this weekend to grab some more gift sets for myself as well as for potential Christmas gifts? We’ll see whether I get too greedy and decides to keep everything to myself ;).

This is what I only got from the warehouse and the total was around $20!! not bad  right? I also bought some cologne but I didn't take a picture of them. They are not included in the $20 total lol

What I bought....

Smashbox -Function 5 self adjusting powder foundation in M3-M4(Medium) which is TOO DARK for me =[. I was once matched with L4 (Light) which I think its too light because it didn't match my neck so I think I should of bought M1-M2 instead but oh well I can always use this foundation as a bronzer or use it in the summer time when I'm darker. This was $11.50 + tax Canadian dollar.

Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-in 1, fight and fade gel for $4.99 or maybe it was $3.99 I forgot. I haven't tried this on any acne nor scars to notice whether this works but I do notice a strong alcohol scent to it which I don't like but I hope it works lol. Let me know if you guys have tried it and whether it worked for you or not =].

Goody- So Smart hair brush for minimizing fly away making your hair shinier while giving your hair volume I think i got this for $1.99 or maybe it was $2.99 I forgot sorry!!

NYC-Brow filler kit, it comes with a wax, powder in black, an angled mini brush and a mini tweezer for only $0.99!. The colour turned out quiet sheer which I like because the eye brow pencil that I have now is way too dark!

NYC- eyeliner pencil in black and white a set of 2 for only $0.99 as well. They go on pretty smoothly and pigmented plus it's only 50 cents per pencil...so I'm very happy with that!

Ok I feel this is post is getting too long again so I will end this with some swatches of all the products minus the brush duh! lol and I'll show you guys what the foundation looks like inside. BTW, I love the package of the foundation it almost feed like velvet or like leather-ly or like cotton lol I don't know how to describe it!!

From left to right, eye brow powder, eye brow powder with wax (it's lighter, weird), white eye liner, black eye liner, that space is where the foundation is!!!!!! it looks flawless! then a tiny dollop of the acne gel, it is super thick because it's not running down my hands but it applies smoothlyyyy

 

Love the packaging!!

 

nice but too dark =[

Shiny nails without the harsh chemicals!!

I have decided to make a post on something that I am currently in loveeee with and that is the Beautifying Nail Kit by Dead Sea Premier. This company is not too well known but their products are awesome, they carry a wide variety of skincare and natural spa products which has ingredients derived from the Dead Sea. Their line of products can do serious damage to your wallets but then I think it is totally worth it. You can visit their websites for more information on the company’s background and their products. Main Website: http://www.premier-deadsea.com/ and for the actual Canadian shopping site you will have to click this one instead http://www.premierspaboutique.com/product_p/n11.htm.

 

This is the packaging

This slides out of the packaging and it comes with (from left to right) a buffing block, hand/body cream, nail file, and cuticle oil

The nail kit that I have is in "herbal", which to me does not smell like any kind of herd out there but more like baby powder lol. The nail kit comes with a 4-sided buffing block, 125ml hand and body cream in “herbal”, a nail filer and 20ml cuticle therapy oil. First of all the main thing that gives you perfectly shiny nails is the buffing block, you can’t get the same result with the ones you find at a drugstore for a few buck. Although the drugstore buffing block can make your nails a little bit shiny at first but it will NOT make the shine last for 2-3 weeks like this kit does!!!! an added bonus isssssss that the buffing block has a LIFETIME warranty!!! just exchange your old one for a new one either by visiting them at their booth in a mall or probably by sending it back through mail but this I'm not too if the mailing option is accepted. The second most important thing from this kit is the cuticle oil, this will make your shine last longer extending it to merely 3 weeks. Although this is obvious I still have to note that when I say the shine can last 3 weeks, you have to keep in mind that at week 2-3 the shine level will not be the same as day 1 but still better then before you buffed your nails…Next is the nail file, this file is thick, harsh and durable, you need to file your nails with a light hand because this file is so efficient that it can literally take a chunk off your nail with a few move, so be careful!! Finally, it's the hand/body cream, it has a very thick consistency and it is very moisturizing but it does not look oily nor it is sticky after it absorbs in a few seconds.

here's the process of beautifying my nails =]...

My initial disgusting nail of different lengths because I'd always chipped them =[

This is what it looks like after buffing for 5 seconds on the blue side of the block to resurface and get rid of your ridges

After using the gray side to smooth away the excess nail dust and to further smooth the nail's surface

This is how shiny it looks after the final step on the buffing block (white side). Doesn't it look like have a clear coat of nail polish? Trust me it's a lot shinier in real life i just have a crappy camera lol

This is the final thing with added cuticle oil  =]

I love this nail kit because it gives my nail a healthy, natural look nails that are super shiny and smooth rather than dull and rough like it used to be. I bought this set at a booth located inside Toronto’s Scarborough Town Centre Shopping Mall for approximately $45 tax included. This was a great deal that my friend and I got because it was basically buy two for $90 but if you can see in their website the exact same nail kit is worth $59.98 plus tax and plus approximately $14 shipping to my area which adds up to be around $80 for one kit!!. Plus you can always bargain for more discounts at a booth and never online but unfortunately my friend and I were not skilled in that field but we did get a sample of a face mask and also a few eye cream samples!!! Plus a KitKat chocolate bar!! LMAO. That’s why if you see a booth at a nearby shopping mall make sure to try it out yourself to see the effect in real life before buying it. I know you guys will love it for sure!! Only a simple 3-step buffering system with their buffing block then adding a tiny bit of cuticle oil (optional although I think this is the step that makes the shine last an extra week) to make it super shiny without using any kind of chemicals like nail polish then use nail polish remover to remove the paint, this process can really damage your nails and turn them yellow!!

Eye Cream and face mask sample size, the size is comparable to a teaspoon

WOW blogging?

Oh my, I can't believe with my busy schedule that I decide to mess around with blogging but we'll see where this takes us. This is my first post and might be my last one as well. I'm primarily on blogger to support my dear friends know as The Red Bow here on blogger. Check them out if you have time =]