Lacquered Me Giveaway

Since I haven't had much time to post, here's something fun to try. My friend Ju Juba through her blog Lacquered Me, is giving away a cool threesome of awesome Revlon Polishes. Check it out! The giveaway ends October 2nd.

Here's the link:

http://lacqueredme.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-because-i-love-you-guys-d.html

Sign Up and enjoy!

On New Life in Utah and Grad Schoo'

Well, as you readers may have noticed, I haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to my blog. In fact, I should be doing some reading for tomorrow's class but I am kinda sick of looking through theory and research books, and decided to take a little break to report a little about what has been going on with me.

I left Recife on August 15 and spent a whole week in Florida visiting my aunt. I had a blast! She is super fun to be with and I also got to go to the beach a couple of times and work on my tan :) In Brazil it was hard, because it rained a lot during the time I was there. So Florida helped me :)

I arrived in Utah a week later and stayed for almost two weeks at my friend Camila's house. I was in the process of finding a place to live and was still debating whether I should move to Provo or if I should stay in Draper. It looks like the Lord wanted me in Provo and I found a great deal at a cute house! It's just me and two other roommates and they are super laid back and cool. Also, the house is VERY CUTE and newly remodeled, which gives me motivation to stay organized and also to cook rather than going out to eat every single time. It will also save me some gas and it's been nice to be in a calmer place.

I started Grad School as well and this is my third week. There is a lot of reading involved and I am still trying to catch up with so much information at once, but I am excited and happy. We have an excellent group (only 10 people) and everybody seems to get along pretty well. There are also a lot of new things that I am learning. The Grad School language/jargon/whatever you wanna call it, is completely different from the Undergrad. So, yes, I am having a hard time adapting.

In the meantime I just want to express my gratitude for all the blessings that I have received. I love this life and also my Savior, for providing me with such blessings.

I'll be posting more soon!

xoxo

Under Construction & Other Stuff

I have been looking at the design of my blog page lately and I must confess that I haven't been very happy with the way it looked. I spent a lot of time without blogging and I've noticed some changes on blogspot as I came back, and to be honest I haven't had a lot of patience to explore and deal with it lately.

Yesterday I decided that was ENOUGH, and will be making some gradual changes to it. Right now, you can't see the header, but I am brainstorming a new blog header that hopefully will work with what I want. I also want to make font changes and layout as well, so be on the outlook for those changes as they come. In the meantime I ask you for your patience :)

As for the other business I mentioned on the post title, I was reading Kevin and Amanda's blog this morning and came across her post for today, which talks about an EASY website for photo editing and posting. It's called PicNik. It's FREE and super easy to use. I picked the picture below and played with it, and that's what came out. Cool, eh? So if you're tired of just posting pictures with no effects or extra cuteness added, I recommend you access that website and see what it can do :)

And here's one of my favorite Brazil shots so far - my dasch Willie, with his face in focus, sepia toned .

Carpe Diem!

Simone Barros

My friend Karina - some of the people who read this blog know her - has been one of my constant companions during my three month vacation here in Brazil. We grew up together and have been best friends for a long time, which made me realize "Holy Smokes, I have a TON of best friends!":) She's a doctor and her schedule is very crazy, but we've been making an effort to hang out a ton.

Right before she traveled to Cuiabá to spend a couple of weeks with her parents, she took me to this place in Olinda called Simone Barros. This lady is famous for the sweet treats she makes and pretty much EVERYONE who gets married or has a huge party going on hires her literally "sweet"services.

So here is a hundredth of what that lady can make:

Here's a picture I took of the Logo on the door, so she can be recognized for her amazing talent

"Crocante Branco"

The plate just looked amazed and no - I did NOT want to eat them!

Another view of the plate [clockwise]:

Brigadeiro colorido, bombom de amêndoa, moranguinho,

brigadeiro preto, white cherry cordial, surpresa de uva, and crocante branco in the center

DE-LI-SH! Yes, I plan to go back there before going back to the U.S.

As soon as Karina gets back from Cuiabá - which should be TODAY, I will schedule another visit to Simone Barros with her. It's worth the trip and the prices are super affordable :)

Enjoy!!!

"The Surgery"

I've been owing this post for a while, so here it is :)

In August 2009 I started an acne treatment with Accutane (Roacutan in Brazil). The treatment took about a year and about six months into the treatment I noticed that a "zit" started to develop on my face, but it would never come out. I decided not to bug it and by December 2010 I had a hard, fibrotic cyst on my face. I'd feel like the cyst was pulling my skin and it'd also itch. So I decided to look for a doctor to refer me to a surgeon that could remove it with minimal scarring.

I went to the "plastic" surgeon and he said that this was a simple procedure that could be done in the office, so I scheduled the surgery for January 19, 2011. Got the surgery done and he said that in about 3 months it should look normal. However, 6 months after I had two little things sticking out (one on each end of the incision), and the place of the cut looked like a huge dimple. Here is the picture that kinda shows it:

Close look at the scar, you can kinda notice

For some stupid code error I couldn't write anything right before the three pictures above but this is how my face looks after the procedure done by Dr. Ivo Salgado, the plastic surgeon.

Of course this is only two weeks after the new procedure. There's still a long way for me to go through, but I believe that the final results will be good. :) What is it with me and doctors in America? I was treated for Tuberculosis when I am autoimmune, hahaha :) What will be next?

Oh, and I will post some new adventures here in Brazil soon :) More pictures to come.

Carpe Diem!

Coming Back to Blogging

I guess trends are usually set by someone... I'm not sure about who it was this time, but a bunch of my friends decided to blog again... so here I AM! It's been over a year since I last posted on this blog. To be honest, I didn't even remember what it looked like, and had forgotten all the tricks to make the blog look cuter, so yes, this blog will be under gradual construction/improvements.

Since I am in Brazil and life is a little less boring than it was while I was in Idaho and Utah, I will be trying to post more and give some updates. I also have some ideas in mind for a new blog (this one will NOT be a personal one), so as soon as I get it going I will ask for some support to get traffic coming (that means people visiting the new blog). :)

I'm excited to see all the new looks and layouts on my friends' blogs and I promise I'll try to be a better friend and learn more of what's going on with each and every one of them!

As for news with me, I am undergoing another surgical procedure today. For those of you who had NO IDEA, I underwent surgery in January to remove a cyst that was on my face due to the usage of Accutane (Roacutan). The surgery went well but there is a scar on my face that insists on being there, and there are two little pouches of skin that look like zits and didn't come out. So I'm going to get them removed today by a plastic surgeon here in Brazil - I don't know why, but plastic surgeons are MUCH better here! So please keep me in your prayers so I will regain my original face back. It's not a big surgery but it is surely noticeable and I want it to go away.

I will be taking a before picture today before the procedure, so I can take it back to the American surgeon and HOPEFULLY get my money back. And yes, I will also post the post op picture, and hopefully a BEAUTIFUL after picture ;)

Carpe Diem!

After a long time...

I had put some themes on the "Upcoming Posts" and I never got to post them! hahaha... Well, life has been a little crazy and, honestly, I don't feel like blogging about it. But here's a little of what happened in my life in the last 2 months.

1) I GRADUATED!!! With a Business Management Bachelor Degree from BYU-Idaho. It has been a blast studying there and I'll be FOREVER grateful for that opportunity. I WILL post about BYU-Idaho sometime...

2) I went to Brazil for 3 weeks and stayed with my family there right after graduation. It was great! Except for the weather that was SO nasty that I didn't have the willingness to leave the house UNLESS it was to go to an Air-Conditioned place... Yes, it was THAT hot!

3) I came back from Brazil and now am in Utah. Hopefully I'll be able to get my professional life on track and find a job soon. In the meantime I have devoted myself to healthier cooking, and got a sewing machine! I bought some fabric and need to cut it to make a cute skirt for myself (first project with my OWN machine - yay!). Oh, and watching TONS of HGTV... That channel is ADDICTING! :)

So this is a VERY brief summary of what I've been up to... Hopefully I'll be blogging a little more these next days, we'll see.

To all of you who still come here, Have a WONDERFUL week!

Beijos ;*

The Road is Rough...

Dear Blogger Friends:

I know I was supposed to post something about spelling, but instead I decided to post about something else... Lately I've had the chance to talk to a few friends about some choices that they made and are thinking about making, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of my cents with all of you. Here it goes.

So we all know that being LDS implies that we have to do (abide) with a lot of "laws" that normally we wouldn't worry about were we in another situation. The beauty of it though, is that we have the fullness of the Gospel in our lives. When we agreed to the Plan of Salvation, we received a mortal body and the chance to go through the plan here on Earth, to grow and evolve into perfect beings eventually. When we agreed to it, we also agreed that we would have to go through trials in order to achieve that perfection...

What happens however, is that we forget about it and start complaining about life over and over. That is also my case, I am not excluding myself from the situation, but for these past couple of weeks I have apparently come to think a lot about it. Anyways... One of my friends is seriously thinking about "taking some time off" from Church. My dear friends, there is no such thing as "time off" from Church. Does Heavenly Father take vacation from listening to the prayers of His sons and daughters? I DON'T THINK SO! What happens is that WE are the ones who FORGET that HE IS RIGHT THERE, waiting for us to be humble enough to kneel down in prayer and ASK HIM for the blessings that we need.

I many times forget that when I need something, all I have to do is ask. And people still think this is the hard way... Oh, yeah, I can find a guy outside of the church because he is cute, he compliments me and makes me feel beautiful about myself, and yes, I can take some time off the church because the mentality of many of the members is very limited and they lack vision, they have prejudice against me, yada, yada, yada... But are those really the easiest ways? What if I decide to take some time off and go have a drink, or (pardon the language ) hook up with some cute guy I met at a club? That might bring me instant pleasure, but what about my ETERNAL happiness? Am I willing to sacrifice that for a MOMENT? I'd rather just kneel down...

... There's always a way back, but it is hard. It is painful, it brings a lot of sadness, but yet this process is necessary in order for the person to feel TRUE joy. Another friend is going through that process right now and I heard from him that he had no idea how he could remain in denial for such a long time, when all he really wanted was to go back to the fold of the Shepherd. Pride is a very serious barrier to that. It takes guts to be humble and to do what is right, knowing that you are going to be judged for what you have done... But he did it! And I sincerely hope he is coming back for good.

As for my other friend with whom I talked today, I told him/her that even though they might be frustrated with their current situation - having to deal with depression and telling me "I don't want to date LDS people anymore" - this is no excuse. The person contradicted him/herself saying that... and I was like "Then how do you expect to marry in the Temple one day?"

To me it sounds like the person is lacking Eternal perspective, and honestly my friends, the enemy takes advantage of those situations to make you feel the worst person in the world. To make you think that you are worthless and that exaltation is not achievable.

To all you my friends out there, who are somehow struggling, please listen to my plead and pour your heart to the Lord. I've done that before and He has done wonders for me! Be worthy to attend the Temple and set a regular schedule to do so. You will bless your life and the life of others as well. Have faith! Things might seem to be hard but trust me, they will get better. :)

Birthday Bash

It's been a long time since it actually happened but I thought it was worth it to share it here. :) My birthday was on February 12, and long before I was trying to plan what to do for that date, I guess because I really was missing home and all the good stuff that comes on your birthday when you are at home :) I should have posted the pics but I don't like the ones that I'm in a lot... I look kinda weird hahaahha

After a lot of thinking and little money, I decided to bake a cake and sing "Happy Birthday" at my apartment. Turns out that when I invited the people, EVERYONE volunteered to bring something to the party. At first I was hesitating, but then I realized that it was very nice of them to offer that, so I accepted it.

I baked the cake - German Chocolate with Cashew Pralines and Brigadeiro filling and Chocolate Buttercream and Cashew Pralines Frosting). De-Lish!!! :) Luciane helped me assemble the cake, which was probably 8 inches tall. So Yummy!

Cefas and Paulinha brought 50 coxinhas that we fried (yes, deep-fried - it's once in a life time anyways, right?), Ana made the meat for the hot dogs, Carol brought the Guarana, Barbara made a delicious Pave, and Anna and Johan brought Thomas (He was the entertainer of the party).

It was so fun, and I want to thank ALL my friends who were able to make it! It was good to celebrate birthday at my house, and it will be in my memory forever!

The Article on the Scroll

Since it was one of my upcoming posts, I better post about it before I forget it. BYU-Idaho has a newspaper that comes out every week called "The Scroll". That newspaper is actually a way for me to keep myself informed about what's going on in Rexburg and in the world. Time is always an issue for me but I am getting better at sitting down and reading newspapers online... Anyways.

Last week, when I was browsing through the Scroll to find the coupon section, I encountered an article that gave people tips on how to pass clean checks. For those who are not familiar with it, clean checks are performed in student housing here at BYU-I every month, to make sure tenants are keeping the house clean, and also to teach many of them how to take care of a house - trust me, that is SO NEEDED on this campus.

As I read the article I come across a statement - well, a "tip" - from one of the people that were interviewed that said something like: "If your sink is full of dirty dishes just throw them in the cabinets and you will pass because usually they don't check the cabinets." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I guess I shouldn't be so offended at such a statement but I was. I guess because I always make so much effort to keep the house that I live clean, while one of my roommates is such a pig!!! It's disgusting! To me, it sounds like hiding dirty dishes in the cupboards is not honest, and that really bothers me! In a university where you have to sign an Honor Code to live honestly, doesn't that sound bad? Maybe I'm making too big of a deal...

I want to hear from you. What do you think?

Parking on Campus

I've been thinking about this post for a very long time, but for some reason I always forgot to do so.

Recently, parking at the BYU-Idaho Campus has become an issue. Due to the rapid increase in the number of students, Rexburg seems to be getting populated with more and more cars every day. Since last Fall, the City of Rexburg decided turn all street parking that used to be available into permit parking. In order for you to park on the street, you need to have some kind of permit. I am not familiar with the kinds of permit because I haven't bought one :)

BYU-Idaho turned some of its street parking into B permit parking. B permits are issued to students - so I guess that's a good thing. But since Winter started it has been a nightmare to try to park on campus, and many times I've had to walk to and from home. Not that I don't like walking but walking for 20 minutes in -12 degree weather (that's in Fahrenheit) or -20 Celsius weather is not the most pleasant thing. Because my school schedule has changed and now I go to school a little later, I always had to park far away, and one day - even trying to park far away - it was impossible. I spent a whole hour looking for parking... Boy was I frustrated!

So I had an idea and it works! I have to leave the house within a certain time range - and I'm not gonna publish it here for the sake of MY parking spot - in order to get to the parking lot that I want and get a spot! Since I started doing it, I've been successful. Sometimes within the first 2 minutes, other times within 5 to 10 minutes.

What is even better about this is observing how people go crazy over those "premium" parking spots. It's always fun to watch them getting all mad and speeding in the parking lot in order to get a spot. I believe in the theory slow and steady. :) So sometimes, I end up getting someone else's parking spot because the person didn't realize that THAT spot was going to get vacant in a matter of 30 seconds :D

Oh, the joys of parking at BYU-Idaho!

Starting Fresh :)

Since I have decided to open a new blog, maybe I will find more time to post some of the things that have been going on with me lately... Life hasn't been too exciting, but I guess I can do some reporting here :)

I am on my LAST SEMESTER of college... I can't believe it! Honestly I've never thought that I would get to this point, but here I am! Graduation is scheduled for April 9 and 10, and I am excited about it. The semester has been crazy, however. I have been working on my "capstone" project, which is a requirement for graduation here at BYU-Idaho.

The Capstone Project is an actual consulting project that we develop for a client. I am working on Palacio Magazine, a bi-lingual magazine that is distributed for FREE among many places in America. I have been working on that project with one other girl and so far we are doing good. Our project is organizing an internship open house at BYU-Idaho, and our guest speaker will be the Prudential CEO. So we are going about getting the event ready and advertised so we can attract a good crowd.

Aside from that, I am also taking a Web Business class, which has been a bit of a challenge for me, but I like it; a New Venture Creation Class, where I am learning some of the essential steps to start a new business; and the most fun of all: Clothing Construction (fancy name for sewing). I love that class! I always wanted to take a class that had NOTHING to do with my major and that's the one I picked. I was afraid at first, because it is a time-consuming class and also I wasn't sure whether I would be able to learn all the techniques, but I am loving it! It works like therapy for me and I can always use some therapy, right? ;)

The quest for finding a job is on. I am a little scared of the market right now, because unemployment rates have increased in the past couple years, as we are aware of, but I have faith that everything will work out for the best.

Life is good. I have been able to juggle school, work, and some social life as well. Nothing too exciting but I am trying not to be at home all the time like a vegetable. I have been sick for the past few weeks but I hope it will get better with some changes I am planning to make.

Well, I better save some stuff (not that I have that much anyways) for later :) In the meantime I better organize myself and get the last part of my midterm (yes, the midterm was divided in FOUR parts), ready for Wednesday :)

Happy Blogging!

Welcome to My New Blog

Because of all the trouble I've had with the background of my other blog, and also because I was a little sick of my old URL, I decided to move everything to this new space.

Please make sure you update your list with the new blog address so you can at least try to know what's going on in Helgaland :)

This is under construction and I am planning on improving the look of the blog gradually.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Week & Black Weekend

I believe I should be more consistent and try to write on this blog a little more. For those who know me well, you know that I'm not very fond of journal writing... I guess because it was so reinforced when I was on YW I never really bothered about it.

I do have a journal that I bought at the Bookstore, and it's pretty, and on each of the days it has a scripture or an inspiring quote... Guess I need to inspire myself some more! hahhahah

But, nothing very interesting has happened since the last time I posted something here. Well, ok, some stuff actually happened. So, for the facts!

Thanksgiving was really good! I was grateful that it didn't snow the whole week after the storm we had on Sunday, November 22. On Monday (when I took the pictures that are posted on the previous one) it stopped snowing but there was a lot of it on the streets, so I didn't dare taking my car anywhere... It would either get stuck on some snowbank OR it would "skate" all over town :) I spent Thanksgiving week working, organizing my room and my life, and spent Thanksgiving day at my friend's in-laws, and then got together with the Brazilians, ate dessert and watched "Angels and Demons".

Black Friday? Oh, yeah! I had to take advantage of a good sale! Got an external hard drive (portable) for my computer :) And on Saturday, girls morning out with Barbara and Carol. We went to Idaho Falls and shopped around there :) I got my Christmas PJ's! It's my personal tradition. Every year I go to Old Navy and get Christmas themed pajama pants :) The one I got matches my bedroom's new color scheme and I love it. Haven't worn it yet, though.

On Sunday it was great to go to church and learn a bunch of cool stuff. I really enjoyed it. Took a nap in the afternoon and basically RESTED. It was great!!! But I better get going, get homework done, so I can post about THIS week later :)

There's more I'm Thankful for

For my sanctuary. My bedroom :)

For my BED!!!

For the Temple on an after-snow day :)

And for having legs to walk across Campus, and for my eyes to enjoy that wonderful view.

Happy Thanksgiving in Advance! I'll post some other things I'm grateful for this Thursday :)

I'm Thankful For...

"Rexburg Sunsets"

That's one thing that I can't complain about living far far away: The sunsets I am able to enjoy every day when I'm coming back from a long work day are PRICELESS, and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to enjoy them.

Forgotten Tradition

Last year I tried to put one thing that I was grateful for during the month of November... Guess what? I FORGOT about it! It is probably due to the stress that I'm going through right now... In one of my counseling sessions, my therapist told me that it is normal for my memory to shut down, and I do forget stuff, such as the section on a final project. The result? A "B" instead of an "A". Yes, I completely forgot to report on one section of the project. How DUMB is that? Or the 80-point project that was due Monday night for my Marketing Law class, and I FORGOT about it!!! :) Now I can only get 40 points because the teacher was nice enough to let me hand it in later...

Well, how about being grateful for something? At least for a week I can be grateful for stuff, if I don't forget, right? Here it goes:

I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY BRAIN, even though it is not functioning at it's normal rate, and even though ALL my grades are going down no matter how hard I study. At least I have a brain, right? ;)

The Inner Vase

This year has been really hard for me so far. I guess because I am on the verge of graduation (April 2010), and because I am almost 28 years old, and basically since February 12 I have been considered "a menace to society" - wise words of Brigham Young referring to the 27 and older MALES that were not married - I do think I fit in though... Even being a female! :)

But there are many things that happened, and I mentioned them here. But for some reason I have been feeling like I need to clean my Inner Vase in order to feel better about myself. I have been through a lot of discouraging situations. I am currently having to deal with constant fatigue, with an acne treatment that is lasting forever with a very strong medicine that's bringing my cholesterol and my triglycerides up, and bringing my mood down - it can cause depression, especially in people who already suffered from it *hint*hint*, and far away with my parents, overwhelmed with school and work, lonely, and single.

Sometimes I feel I am "entitled" to complain about my life. But as I was looking back on it a few weeks ago I realized that probably most of the problem was caused by myself. I then decided to take a few steps to "clean my inner vase" and I have been able to see some results. There are some things that still discourage me - I'm scared of what the near future holds. I'm afraid I won't be able to find a decent job, I'm afraid of staying in Idaho or going down to Utah - I am craving a change! Some people know that I LOVE CHANGES!!! And I think it's about time... Am I ever going to settle down? I hope so!

But going back to the inner vase thing, it's working. Slowly but surely! I never lost hope that eventually my life will get better. I have all the reasons to be grateful right now: my health is hanging in there, I feel the love that my parents have for me, I have a job that helps me get by, I get help from my school in pretty much whatever I need (except for finding a date), and I have my TV :) I still need to work on my anger management - note that I am not a violent person but I do get pretty upset about some stuff and basically I refuse to talk to the person until be anger goes down. This has been an issue. But I'm getting there.

Going to the Temple has helped me a bunch. I love being there, even though most of the times I'll be sleepy, but it's good to go there and meditate upon the things that I need to improve on and the things that I'm grateful for.

Today I literally cleaned my room, and that helped me feel a little more spiritual peace. I'm hoping this week will get better and that by the end of it I will be smiling more :)

To all of you who might be in a similar situation, I encourage you to try to do the same. Again it can be a slow process as trials will keep coming, but at least you'll feel more prepared to face them.

P.S. I mentioned that trials keep coming. I just burned a Kettle (forgot it on the stove - I was planning to make some Peppermint tea - and completely forgot about it. The fire alarm went off and now the house stinks). And life is good! *sarcasm*

Giveaway at Kevinandamanda.com

So, I had to post it so I can get my chance as well :)

Check it out, girls!!!

Kevin & Amanda

Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit??? I want it!

First Item of the Christmas List

So, since I've been here in the US, Christmas hasn't been too much fun. It's hard to be far away from my family, and even harder to have to deal with snow storms at Christmas time... NO FUN! That was my experience last year. I couldn't even go down to Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with my friends because the roads were just SO bad...

Since I don't know what this Christmas reserves for me, I believe I deserve AT LEAST a nice gift...

This is what is item number 1 on my Personal Christmas List:

Reebok EasyTone

I watched a commercial this week and that sparked my interest. Since then I've been researching about it and reading reviews, which appear to be very helpful. And since I am becoming a "Gym Freak" those shoes might boost my workouts. The cool thing about them is that they are supposed to work your hamstrings, your calves (that's my biggest interest at the moment), and the butt.

With the workouts themselves I have been able to see results on the other 2 parts, but I've always had big calves, and to be honest, I'm not a big fan of them. I should be grateful though, at least I have calves!!! :) But anyways... I might try it on next time I go to the mall. NOTE: I might TRY THEM ON, not buy them... Because in order to buy them, I'll need to save up, and that might take me a little time... Maybe that will be my gift to my wonderful self for Christmas :)