The Time I Got Punk'D by Pinterest

Hello again friends!

So. I decided to end my semester long hiatus on this blog and begin afresh for two reasons. I guess the first is simply that I actually have way more time than I know what to do with, given the start of summer. And, I'm living and working in Seaside, FL this summer so hopefully some adventures will happen upon my way and you'll enjoy reading about those! 

Well, the other reason is that something so typical happened to me tonight that I actually rolled my eyes and thought, "I should blog about this". This blog post is actually more of a warning so count yourself lucky. 

While watching a movie with my brother, I was scanning Pinterest and stumbled upon a pin titled, "Suffering from dead ends? DONT cut them off yet! Do this instead!" Welp, I looked at the estimated seven inches off dead ends on my pony tail and instantly reasoned this might be the one way I could save my locks from the unforgiving snipping scissors that belong to my Italian hairstylist. He pretends to not speak English the second I tell him how I ONLY want two inches off. Brings chills to think about the hairstyles Ive endured from him.

But anyways, all this hair mask recipe called for was a cup of warm olive oil. The instructions read, "Simply, dip your ends in the oil and then massage the rest of the oil into your hair. Leave for fifteen minutes, and then shampoo as normal. Your hair will have a envious luster and your ends will be good as new." HAHAHAHA. Yeah OKAY...

So, I thought heating up the oil in a pan would be the quickest way to get it warm. Rookie mistake as the oil appeared warm after pouring it into a container, but when I cautiously dipped my fingers in to test I seared them to possible second degree burns. Should have stopped there, but I was stubborn to make this a success. 

I then put my ponytail ends into the 1839 degree oil and then had to walk slowly to my sink. I burned myself again on the container and some oil went flying everywhere. Classic clumsiness. By now the oil had probably warmed to what it should have been originally. So, I frustratingly just poured the rest of my head with a terrifying thought that I might burn myself to death...trying to "slick back dead ends".  The oil instantly greased over my entire head and it felt way too think and all wrong. 

Yet, somehow I quickly slicked my hair into a bun with the skill of a hair gel master. 

After the uncomfortable fifteen minutes of patting back oily weave and slewing oil everywhere including my bathtub, I hopped into the shower. Only to slip on the oil and almost die again. "The price of beauty," I sighed. 

Three shampoos again, all I was left with was a clogged bathtub and an empty shampoo bottle. Oh, and a (permanent?) hair styler that rivals John Travolta circa 1978. Are those slicked back Kardashian style ponytails still in? Hope so. 



















Anyways, I'm assuming the pinner of that problematic pin had a twisted sense of humor and thought it would be just hilarious to pin an absurd "hair mask" with an irresistible caption. Well done, Pinterest pranker! 

At least it makes for a good blog post? Maybe I'll wake up with silky locks? Ha! Who knows. 

To be honest, I probably clumsily screwed up some of this hair mask BUT be warned, pictures are always deceiving, and that should have been a no brainer on Pinterest! Good grief. I'll make sure too find an incredible and usable hair mask that I can share to ya'll, and the other users on Pintrest who endures this same fate! 

LiVe LaRgE uNtIl nExT tImE,
Marge

Just gotta end with the "expectation" and the "reality".

If you dont have a personal assistant to drizzle oil on your forehead like the first photo, you can just boil your own dead ends in your own measuring glass like this. 

And TA-DA, oily hair for days! Guess you can buy a wig with the money you save not buying hair gel. 

The Little Things

     The holidays have me thinking that sometimes it really is the simple things that really matter the most. 
Bonfires. Old Friends. Family traditions. Fresh Coffee. Rainy days. 
     When my family gets together for the Thanksgiving holidays we always share something that we have been most thankful for the past year. I shared that I was thankful for supportive parents in college, when so many of my friends have predestined plans that their parents have for them. My parents have guided me in the right step but also not forgotten to enjoy the simple things.

Anyways, that’s what got me thinking about a few of my favorite simple memories.

     I was six years old and all my way older and cooler cousins had mastered the iconic Charlie Brown skiis before me. This was my third attempt to get up and I was getting quite discouraged. My last try had my little body getting dragged underwater as I refused to get let go of the rope. Swimming back again to the handlebars, I heard my cousin yell “Stand up Margaret! C'mon! You just have to stand up!” My uncle hit the boat motor and we were off and once I found my feet on the water I focused and hit the correct skiing position. Suddenly I was really up on the waves - and I sure felt like I was on top of the world! I’ll never forget that feeling as my whole family had turned around and was whooping and hollering and passing out high fives because of me!

     One of my other favorite memories was when I bought my first coffee maker. Growing up, parents were fearful of coffee, thinking it to be a toxic and chemically off-balence addicitve. They have also never tried a Starbucks hazenlut latte or any brewed beverage in their 50 years. So I don't put it too far past them. Anyways, when I went off to college, the first stop I made after moving in was to purchase my very own Kurig coffee maker. I was finally able to become the coffee connoisseur I had dreamed of becoming - that first cup of coffee couldn’t have tasted better! Now, a cup of freshly brewed light roast coffee is truly one of the simple day to to day matters that still makes me smile. 

     

Check this happy website for more simple wonders.   http://justlittlethings.net/page/7

    

Multitasking Media Mayhem

Upon watching a video of ongoing research on students who believe the can multitask with all their electronics, I really began to question how often I do the same. I realized that I literally cannot sit still and must have constant access to my phone, the computer or the television at some point in the day. When I recorded the hours one day as a semi-experiment I realized this further. In one 24 hour day I spent around six hours exposed to the media. Some days were longer and some days were shorter but that was around the average. I realized I am trying to multitask my electronics. On the certain day I monitored my media use, I would be typing a paper on the computer but keeping my iPhone right next to me in order to check constantly. Then later on into the evening I would watch TV, while trying to read a book or study for an exam. But the worst was the instant access to Facebook, Twitter and other entertaining websites that easily toke over my homework and study time. I was on Facebook constantly. I often get on Facebook the most and spend an hour easily, afterward forgetting why I opened my computer in the first place. Interestingly enough, this social website blocks true social skills as it prevents me from communicating and interacting with other people throughout the day. Therefore this media isolates me from me and I am usually using media alone. Given the expanse of the Internet, there is so many more valuable website I could be visiting and learning from instead of email and Facebook. Facebook provides a great way to share pictures and friends but the constant use of my time on it shows that I am addicted to being updated to minute matters. Honestly, the results of this log didn't surprise me because I knew that I was attached to the media in multiple forms. Just walking around my eyes are instantly drawn to newspaper and magazines being sold or to large billboard advertisements overhead. The majority of my thought process spring forth from the media I see around me and I am wrapped up in the latest ideas. I believe that media is accomplishing some great advances but in order to fully enjoy it we need to take steps back and balance the intake of the necessary and the unnecessary. 

Life Through Death

     When I woke up on the morning of my birthday last week, I eagerly checked my phone to see all the birthday texts that I had received. It’s secretly everyone favorite part of their birthday- looking at all the wall posts and shout outs from various people and feeling like the most popular person of the moment. But in the midst of the “HAAPPPPPYYY BIIIRTHHDAAY OMGGG” texts I got a very saddening and disheartening one that simply said, “Did you hear about Garrett?”

     Flash back to Garrett Luce, a one of kind talented high school friend of mine with a huge smile that could positively draw others to him. He was Troy Bolton when our middle school performed High School Musical, and then every lead in the school plays after that. He was the starting catcher on the Second Baptist School baseball team from freshman year on. He was and is one of the best gentlemen to every girl he met and was definitely valued by both boys and girls as a great friend. He would sit in yearbook class with my friend Brooke and I, and just talk to us because he wanted to know about our lives. He was a goober but we loved it.

     I spent the day between tears and laughter as I was with friends who didn’t know Garrett but when I would think of him and tear up they would comfort me. I kept thinking about his parents who lost the only child they had, and the brightest light in their lives. I had never lost a friend before and simply couldn’t wrap my head around it.

     Coming home for the funeral, I was surrounded by classmates I hadn’t seen since graduation. A majority of my friends were even closer to him than I was and it was heart sickening to see them shudder with sobs as we watched a video slideshow of Garrett. The funeral was a beautiful time of celebrating his life and sharing hilarious stories of Garrett as well.

     But afterwards, when our friends parted and came home and we each sat by ourselves and processed everything, we began to come to grasp by ourselves how death affects us personally.

     Being a strong believer in the Lord, I took utmost comfort in knowing that Garrett’s strong faith secured him in the presence of Jesus the moment he was taken from us. I want to live the way he did, carefree and joyful.

     That being said, I encourage each of you to embrace life for the very essence that it is life. Our days that are most filled with love of life is what makes our life our own. Wake up every morning thankful to have another day of life and constantly remind yourself of that throughout the day. If Garrett can have such an impact on people in his 19 short years than we can seek to live each day the fullest.

    

Pumpkins A Plenty

     The season of fall wouldn’t be quite complete without a trip to the local patch. The pumpkin patch offers a great photo backdrop as well as a great selection of pumpkins to adorn the front porch or carve into an assortment of faces. Sculpting the pumpkin aside though, the round orange squash actually does have a variety of other options.

Hair Mask/Face Mask: The high amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc in the pumpkin can do wonders for dry and damaged skin or hair.

For the face mask:

Mix 2 tsps. of purred pumpkin, either from a can or cooked fresh from the pumpkin with a touch of honey and milk.

Apply to your face for fifteen minuets and relax. Scrub you face off and enjoy a fresh glow!

For the hair mask:

In a food processor, mix one cup of fresh pumpkin and four tablespoons of coconut oil together. Spread the smooth mixture throughout wet or dry hair and let sit for 30 minuets. Wash out the mixture thoroughly from your hair and enjoy a new shine!

Pumpkin Pinata: What better way to smash a pumpkin? Carve out a pumpkin and fill it with candy. Then hang the pumpkin by a string. Blindfold players one at a time and let everyone have a turn smashing the pumpkin. Perfect idea for a Halloween party!

Pumpkin Seeds: A favorite of our families, this recipe is easy and the pumpkin seeds last a long time.

Ingredients:

One medium sized pumpkin

Salt

Olive Oil

1.  First pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Scoop out pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin and separate the seeds from the rest of the pumpkin mass. Measure the pumpkin seeds in a cup measure and them dump them in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pot for every half-cup of pumpkin seeds. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minuets.  

3.  After draining the seeds, coat the bottom of a tray with olive oil and spread the seeds out on the tray. Bake the seeds in the oven until they begin to brown, probably about 5-20 minuets. When the seeds begin to brown, take out the tray and let the seeds cool. Once the seeds are cool, they are good to eat!

Since everyone has their own family traditions with pumpkins, let me know yours and I’ll feature it on this blog! Happy Fall, ya’ll!

   

Sinister, It Is.

     Not many movies are able to incorporate all aspects of horror in a scary movie as well as a recent movie, Sinister. The plot incorporates elements of mystery, horror, and suspense to give you the perfect nightmare. With mysterious serial killings, creepy little children who “shush” the audience, and a haunted house I was hooked the entire movie. I’m a Halloween fanatic and live for scary movies to get me in the mood. The freakier the better, and Sinister definitely delivered.

     The movie starts off simply enough, as a normal family moves into a house, so that the father Ellison, (Ethan Hawke) can write his second true crime novel. Little does the family know, but they have actually moved into the house in which one of the grisly family killings took place. Ellison discovers a box of Super 8 films that date back to the 60s. Each film depicts a normal family gathering and then switches to the next scene in which an unknown killer murders the family.

Ellison works the plot well as the frustrated writer who works relentlessly to solve the mystery and write the book that will seemingly fix all his families problems. He refuses to believe that something to starting to seem paranormal. But as Ellison’s children begin to act more and more strange; he and the audience feel a gripping sense of dread and terror.

With each new discovery of a film, I felt more and more unsettled. When Ellison finally believes something is wrong and decided to move his family back, I couldn’t even breathe. I knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape. The final end to the movie was horrifically disturbing and even if you could predict it, it would cause many a sleepless night.

While doing some research on the film, I came across an article about how this film uses the “found footage” idea in a new way. Usually, the “found footage” is anonymous and edited by an unknown source. Here, the horror lies in how the “found footage” is fragmented throughout the movie. You shiver and cover your eyes every time a film is shown and the short clips continue to haunt you the rest of the movie.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie and if you’re not big on horror than make this the one horror movie you see all year. 

Reason Why OU Does It Better OU/TX Weekend

        As I start the drive down I-35 to the city of the moment, Dallas, TX for OU/TX weekend I can’t help but think about the gravity of this weekend and how much both teams/fans prepare for the next few days. Coming from Texas myself I am well aware of the traditions that go on from the UT side. Texas prides itself on the preparation of this weekend and the customs but I personally enjoy celebrating with the Sooners more!

1.     OU doesn’t chain link to a date all weekend: The Greek life at the University of Texas has the long lasting tradition in which a boy asks a girl to OU/TX weekend and they are stuck as dates the whole weekend. That’s a long time especially since it’s almost required that the dates get a hotel room together. So if your date turns out to be a scoob, your weekend might be an interesting maze of escape routes! OU’s Greek life throws just one

2.     Hotel rooms > staying at someone’s parents house: What’s better than cramming 14 of your best friends in a really nice hotel room and having a weekend long hotel party? Free breakfast, everything gets cleaned up and all of your friends are just a room away. All the OU fans congregate in the same hotel and the spirit is contagious as everyone yells Boomer Sooner all the time!

3.     OU Always Goes for the Win: Texas fans pride themselves on banking on a victory every year and don’t get near into the spirit as much as OU. But, OU gets pumped up the whole week before and still manages to pull the win a good majority of the time! OU fans get show their spirit more!