Joy, Life and More

A few months ago, I started getting interested in planners (yes those paper and pen ones) and the whole phenomenon of decorating them! I don't exactly know what piqued my interest but I'm sure something about them was fascinating enough for me to consider purchasing one, and I finally did a few weeks ago. It doesn't start until July 2016, so it gives me a few weeks to prepare and get started working on mine. I learned in my education of planners and planning that the right kind of pen really makes a difference when writing in whatever you plan to write in your planner. There seems to be a consensus that gel pens are the way to go. There are many kinds to choose from and many ranges of prices. And the colors... well I could on and on about the array of colors they span. What I discovered is that people who use planners and like to write in them want a pen which is reasonably priced and works well. I haven't tried many gel pens but my current favorite are these medium p

Life sometimes happens when you least need it to happen. In my case, toward the end of January, my knee started swelling one afternoon to the point it hurt to touch it and I couldn't even walk on it. Initially the doctors thought it might be gout, which the doctor explained to me that when people lose a large amount of weight and are taking certain blood pressure medications, can happen. I was assured I could resume normal activities in a week. I got some anti-inflammatory medication and took a blood test to confirm findings and was on my way. Well, things got better after I started taking the medication, and after two days, I could actually walk on my leg again. But then, it started to get a little worse and my whole leg started swelling. I was also told that the blood test results were negative regarding gout and referred to an orthopedic doctor. Before I could go in to see the orthopedic doctor, my knee was hurting badly and I was getting worried about the inflammation in my

Target has been coming out with a beauty box every month so far this year. This is great but what would be greater is if they just offered a subscription! Sadly, if you want this box, you need to be on your toes. Stalk beauty forums or in my case, get lucky enough to find an email in my inbox from Target letting me know their new beauty box was available! The May 2016 Target Beauty Box  was themed Spring Fling and sold out pretty quickly! The link I provided is just to let you see the page and the products included in the box. This was one of the better beauty boxes at least for me. It cost a little more than some of the boxes they offered earlier this year but many of the items seemed higher end in price, so having a deluxe size sample before spending the money on purchasing a full-size product is helpful. This month's box cost $10 but the overall value I calculated came out to $40.15. Here are the products included: The first sample was Hair Food Dry Shampoo infuse

Target seems to be coming out with these beauty boxes every other month or so now. There were two in January and now another one this month. I'm not complaining but I wish Target would just come up with a subscription so that we wouldn't all have to fight to get one of these. To be honest, this wasn't the greatest box but for the price of $5, it wasn't all that bad. I really wanted the box for a couple of items. The theme of the box was Vacay Vibes , so all the items were related to products you might need on vacation! (Bottom Row L-R: SinfulColors Professional Nail Color, you are AMAZING Juicy Grapefruit Body Lotion and Laneige Water Sleeping Mask. Top Row L-R: Not Your Mother's Texturizing Sea Salt Spray, Caress Adore Forever Body Wash, Banana Boat Sun Comfort SPF 30 Lotion and Hair Food Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner) I'll start off by saying I wasn't very happy with the Caress body wash. It seems like this is in every sample box I get.

Occasionally, if I'm lucky, I will receive a box from Influenster . If I'm super lucky, I will get a box with a variety of items. If you don't know what Influenster is, it is a website where you can learn about products and even get a few for free to try out and submit a review. There are also other activities you do to earn more free products to review. And who doesn't love something for nothing. You also might get super lucky and receive one of their boxes with a variety of items to try. But I've only been lucky lately from Influenster and received two items from them. One was the Dove Men+Care Extra Fresh Dry Spray Antiperspirant  for my husband to try out and the other was Dove Cool Essentials Dry Spray for me to review. In this post, I will only be reviewing the Dove Cool Essentials Dry Spray since I have used this product. The Dove Cool Essentials Dry Spray comes in a cool and simply decorated canister. The fragrance is called "cool essentials.

In my previous post  I reviewed the first to two beauty boxes Target came out with earlier this month. Target does not offer a beauty box subscription so you need to subscribe to beauty blogs or groups to find out when these come out and grab them as fast as you can since they sell out quickly! This beauty box, the Target Refresh Beauty Box (please note this box is sold out but I provided a link in case you were curious), came with nine items total and cost $7. The box also included a card with a description of each item and a coupon to use in-store or online for $3 off of a $15 beauty purchase. I love when they provide a coupon but it usually expires within a short amount of time, in this case by February 14, 2016. Here are the items I received in the box (front row, L-R): Simple Micellar Wipes (full size!!!!) - Retail price: $6.99; Clear Men Scalp Therapy2-1 Complete Care Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (sample size) - Cost: 71 cents; Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Total Care Nou

I got my January 2016 Birchbox before I even got my notice it shipped! Maybe it was because I opted for the guest editor's box instead of the regular Birchbox . I really didn't like any of the choice samples offered, so I decided I'd go for the Korean beauty box since I have tried some Korean products in the past. This month's box was put together by Charlotte Cho, founder of Soko Glam and a skincare guru. It came in a bright yellow box (sorry but my camera made it look green) with cute little drawings on the cover. There were six items in this box, which was nice since some boxes only come with five products total. Here are the items I got (clockwise starting left): Goodal Waterest First Essence, RE:P Bio Fresh Mask with Real Calming Herb, IPKN Flash Cream Radiant Primer and TONYMOLY Delight Tony Tint. I also got the Manefit Beauty Planner Cucumber (left) and Goodal Phytowash Yerba Mate Bubble Peeling. I haven't tried any of these item

Target came out with two beauty boxes this month, and I jumped on both of them as soon as they came out. I missed the last beauty box and seeing what items it contained, I was bummed. Target does not offer a beauty box subscription, so it can be hit or miss getting one. They generally tend to be better than other beauty boxes and sometimes are more expensive but never more than $10 so far. I received one of the two beauty boxes offered in the mail within a few days after ordering (the other is on the way). I got the Target Renewal Beaty Box  (please note this box is sold out but I provided a link in case you were curious) first. The box cost just $7 and was a great value for the items it contained. The box comes wrapped in clear plastic with a mailing label on the side. It fits nicely in my mailbox, so there was no need for the mail carrier to leave it on my doorstep. It was quite heavy, and I was excited to open it. As soon as I took the cover off, there was a card wh

Most people find the holidays daunting, and why not? It seems like the fall and winter brings the best eating holidays:  Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie and Christmas dinner, chocolates and desserts plus so much more! Having diabetes during this time of the year is no fun! I have Type 2 diabetes and thankfully I can control my diabetes through diet and exercise. I can only speak from my perspective, so if you take medications or insulin, there may be different restrictions. To be completely honest, I didn't overthink too much about the upcoming holidays. With children in the house, it would be hard to completely avoid candy and other goodies, and I did not want to deprive my family or even myself! I also wanted to enjoy the holidays and not make anyone uncomfortable especially since we were spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with relatives (side note: my relatives knew about my diabetes diagnosis and was very mindful of asking me how they could accommo