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1. Dresden, Germany


2. Norwich, UK


3. Rome, Italy


4. Chicago, IL, USA

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A Natural Moisturizer and Makeup Remover for Very Dry Skin

[[I found this image at: http://www.thenewbatavia.com/page13304648.aspx. This is the first olive oil I tried, and it works well, too.]]
You guys are going to think I'm crazy. I've discovered a natural moisturizer: olive oil! I had extremely dry skin about two weeks ago. I went out and bought some Biore moisturizer (it's a new one that also has sunscreen), and that didn't help. I was constantly reapplying it throughout Thanksgiving's Day, and I still looked all dried up. I looked gross! And my skin felt uncomfortable, like my whole face was brittle. When I got home, I was desperate to try anything. I put some Vaseline on my nose and some on the skin around it, and then I put some olive oil (it was the extra light Bertolli kind, I believe), and lo and behold, the next day my skin was so different! It was still a little dry, but it was much more supple and less flaky. I used the olive oil again on my face after I washed it with Proactive. I also put some chapstick on the skin around my nostrils because that skin was REALLY bad (sounds weird, I know, but it works). Now, my skin is barely dry at all. I usually make sure my skin is a little wet to soak up the olive oil better before I put it on. Now, I'm using some organic extra virgin olive oil. I have acne, but this, surprisingly, doesn't make me break out! I think it's because it's more natural than the moisturizers you buy in the stores. And, I think my skin likes to break out more when it's dry. I think it's even help my acne get better! It's also great to put some around my eyes (careful not to get it IN your eyes!). Another great thing about olive oil is that it is a natural makeup remover! It works great to get off stubborn mascara and eyeliner. I heard that dry skin can lead to wrinkles, so drink plenty of water and use olive oil! Also, be sure to apply some sort of facial sunscreen every day--you'd be surprised how easily it is for your skin to get sundamaged. I have to be especially careful with this because using all my acne products makes my skin more susceptible to the sun. I hope this was helpful for someone!

Hello My Pretty

Hello My Pretty

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Hah! I love it when I find new, weird websites. Here's a great one. Go to awkwardfamilyphotos.com for a good laugh. It is exactly what it sounds like. :P

World AIDS Day

Hey everyone.

It's World AIDS Day. Show your support by wearing a red ribbon! Starbucks is also donating money to the AIDS fund (I believe) if you buy a drink from them today. I hope one day this horrible disease will be defeated. It's ruined so many lives. :(

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

Turbo Scratcher

Review on: The Turbo Scratcher cat toy.


The Upside:

Cats can be pretty picky about their toys. Some of them are satisfied with a simple laser pointer or a crumpled piece of paper, others prefer fake mice and other store-bought toys. I've found that almost all cats love the Turbo Scratcher. Not only is it a simple, fun toy, but it also contains a cardboard pad in the center that can be used to trim those claws down. It is a simple concept: the cat swipes the ball, and it spins around in the plastic circle.

I have found that when I have the Turbo Scratcher out, the cats flock to it. They are less inclined to use the furniture to sharpen their claws. I've tried other cat scratching posts, and, most times, they just don't want to use them. The toy + scratcher is such a winning combo. Also, it is possible to replace the ball. It comes with a ball (at least when I purchased it), but stores like Petco also sell ones that light up. It isn't difficult to replace the ball, or the cardboard pad for that matter. Another way to make your cats love/use this toy and scratcher even more is to sprinkle some catnip on the cardboard. My cats really do go crazy for this thing.

The Downside:

It's a bit pricey for a cat toy (around twenty dollars after tax and whatnot). Also, you have to replace the cardboard scratching pads after a while, and those cost about eight dollars. There's also the price of catnip, if you want to use that. In addition, it was a little difficult for me to find a place that sold Turbo Scratchers, but that could be because of the area I live in. I found the Turbo Scratcher, as well as replacement pads and the light-up balls, at a Petco. Despite how much it costs, it really is worth it. I didn't think my cats would use the cardboard pad, but they do! In all, you are are getting a toy that your cat will love, as well as something that is way more practical than a scratching post. The Turbo Scratcher may seem a bit large, but it's pretty easy to store away (a lot easier than a scratching post).

The Random Reviewer gives the Turbo Scratcher a 4/5 because of the cost!

If you'd like to watch a video of my cat playing with this toy, please click on the link below, and skip to the :50 (fifty seconds) mark if you want to go straight to the toy part.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T62NqSPimaY

Youtube Review: helpmefindparents's Channel

Review on: helpmefindparents's Channel on youtube.com

The Upside:

If you are like me, you have spent a lot of time watching silly videos on websites like youtube.com. A while back, I somehow stumbled onto helpmefindparents's channel, which includes the journeys of Ken Tenaka. Ken Tenaka, as described on his profile, was born in the United States, and then was adopted by Japanese parents. He is currently on the search for his birth parents, Jonathan and Linda Smith. There are some channels on youtube that just epically suck. This one, however, is quite awesome and funny. Mr. Tenaka's channel includes videos depicting his journey to find his birth parents, along with videos about his time in Hawaii and Japan. One reason why I like this channel is that I can learn and experience other places that I've never been to.

Some things that I've learned through Mr. Tenaka's channel:
1. What natto is,
2. How to speak Japanese without speaking a single word,
3. What a maid cafe is like,
4. A song about Mr. Tenaka's favorite bean,
5. Some terrible Japanese puns,
6. What it is like to live a day (or two) in the life of Jacob the Happy Rabbit,
7. Some Pidgin words,
And so much more!

Also, Mr. Tenaka's channel has introduced to me to several interesting artists that I never would have known about, had I not discovered this channel.

If there is going to be one channel on youtube that you check out, it should be Ken Tenaka's. It is funny, touching at times, and you even learn things along the way. :) Plus, Mr. Tenaka is a very nice man.

The Downside:

It's hard for me to think of a downside of this, except possibly that I wish there were more videos out.

The Random Reviewer gives this youtube channel a 5/5! Check it out now:
http://www.youtube.com/user/helpmefindparents#play/all
Also, Mr. Tenaka has a blog that you can follow:
http://kentanakalovesyou.blogspot.com/

Tamales in a Can

(Image taken from the following website: http://evilwarpingkitty.com/food2.htm)

I've decided to go with The Downside first for this one:

I have never been a big fan of canned meat products. Vienna sausages, spam, chili, whatever, the fact that there is some sort of ambiguous meat floating in a metal can sounds absolutely disgusting to me. And, go figure, whenever I'm adventurous enough to try a canned meat product, I am usually let down. Hormel's tamales in a can is no exception to this rule.
This Hormel product was an unfortunate staple of my childhood meals. I would cringe every time I asked my mom what was for dinner, and the reply was "tamales." I absolutely love Mexican food, but Hormel's version of a tamale (and pretty much every canned tamale I've ever had) is a pathetic excuse for food.
When you open the can, you have to fish out a slimy tamale out of some sort of meaty juice. After you slap one of these beasts onto a plate or a tray (depending on how exactly you plan on cooking them), you have to pry it from its wax paper covering. As if it wasn't nasty enough, you have to free your so-called tamale from its waxy skin. What you are left with is a some sort of soggy, sad-looking tortilla with the best mystery meat Hormel has to offer. No matter how this has been cooked, I have always noticed that it keeps its soggy disposition, and the taste is incredibly bland.

The Upside:
I suppose if you covered it with tons of salsa and pico de gallo and whatnot, you could pretend you were eating a real tamale. But you'd known deep down you would know what you were really eating--a slimy thing you pulled out of a can.

Rating: 1/5. I really should give it a zero. But, my little sister loves these things, so maybe someone out there will, too.

Russell Stover at 320 E 51st St, Kansas City, MO

The Goodside:
Let me start off by saying that I love sweets. I love chocolate, caramel, sugar, whatever. I am addicted, but I'm okay with that. When I saw this Russell Stover store, I knew I would have to stop in sometime. And today I did!
I didn't expect this store to have as much as it did when I first looked at it. It looks tiny from the outside, but as soon as I stepped in, I noticed they had a pretty large selection. I had never been in a Russell Stover store before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pretty surprised! They had everything from cookies to ice cream to their prepackaged chocolates and so on. There were a couple tables with free samples as well. I didn't know where to start, but I knew I wanted to get something.
There was a man mopping the floor when I came in. He didn't say hi to me, but that might have been because he was busy cleaning the floor. Eventually, he asked if he could help me, and I said I wanted to try some of the cookies. He put his mop up, cleaned his hands, and picked out my cookies for me. As he was ringing me up, he talked to me about the weather, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. He also told me that they had just made these cookies so they were very fresh. I mentioned that the caramel covered apples looked really good, and he said people buy those all the time. I wanted to get one, but they were five dollars, and that was a lot to me. Eventually, we were all finished, and he told me to have a nice day.
The cookies I got:
*Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts
*Chocolate chunk full of chocolate with a piece of a chocolate bar on top
*They were both a bit bigger than a Subway cookie
*They were both very soft and tasted homemade
*They cost $1.09 a piece for a total of $2.28

The Downside:
To me, this store was a little expensive. Paying about $5.00 for a caramel apple (although they weren't just plain caramel apples; there were different kinds of nuts as well as white chocolate on some of them) was too much for me. I also thought the cookies were overpriced. They were good and big, but $1.09 is a bit much for a single cookie whenever you can literally walk a couple of feet to Subway and get several cookies for cheaper.

The Random Reviewer's Rating:
3.5/5 Good enough to try.