I've been E.l.f.d!

Remember what a raving lunatic  I was about E.l.f last time? Well, E.l.f. saw my tweets and was fascinated with my story that they asked me to further review their products! I was ecstatic of course and while doing the happy dance, I said "yes!" right away!  

Now you know I'm a working gal and much as I try to overcome my "ugly Betty" self most days, it just doesn't seem to happen! Lucky me after discovering  E.l.f, I am now inspired to un-frump myself each day! Now I always like the "natural look" because it's simple and easy to manage. The Au Naturale' look of E.l.f. seem to be the perfect choice! AND that is what I went for! You be the judge if I achieved the Look!

Here is a rundown of the collection:
1- Mineral Booster (sheer)
2- Mineral Foundation (light)
3- Mineral Concealer (light)
4- Duo Eye Shadow Cream (Olive)
5- Regular and Waterproof Mascara Duo
6- Luscious Liquid Lipstick ( Pink Lemonade)
7- Mineral Eye Shadow Primer
8- Blush (Candid Coral)

The straightforward instructions online for the look were pretty simple and in no time I was putting on the make-up like a beauty expert myself. I was loving it! I tried the Look several times and experimented with different revisions each day and all those times my hubby couldn't even tell I was actually wearing a make-up. All he know was that I look different. "Men!" Then Thanksgiving day, I wore the Look again and I received countless wonderful compliments from all the ladies in the party I attended! I really think I made them jealous! See if you agree with them.

I'm definitely in love with this Look! The mineral powders are awesome. They're light and easy to apply compared to a liquid or cream foundation and feel weightless. Best of all, they are 100% natural and chemical free! Something I wouldn't mind putting on my face all the time. The concealer partnered with the foundation covers minor blemishes and the booster does gives your face a matte and polish look!

My favorite is the liquid lipstick. I use it everyday! The subtle tint is enough to give my lips a hint of color with a touch of shimmery glaze. I can wear it alone or over a regular lipstick. I'd say versatile! But what impressed me the most is the Mineral Eye Shadow Primer. I didn't like it the first time because it was a little messy to use and feels like your applying a blob of paste on your eyelids yet once I got the hang of it, I loved it. Though it's meant to work for mineral eye shadows, it works great with powdered eye shadows too! What I love about it is that enhances the color of the eye shadows to it's full potential.

I'm a big fan of waterproof Mascaras and one thing I love about the E.l.f waterproof mascara is that it doesn't flake. And though it is waterproof, it is easy to remove even with soap and water. Now that is fabulous! The Duo Eye Shadow Cream was also impressive, it retained its' color and is long-wearing. I didn't retouched even once for the entire day! Unfortunately, the blush did not give me the "blush" I needed but it is sheer enough that it blends in and doesn't give you that "clown look".

Overall, I like all of it! I'm officially hooked on E.l.f. and to prove that true, I was just at Super Target this week to get more E.l.f stuffs for myself and threw out all my other make-ups in place of E.l.f.! If you're looking for quality make-ups that doesn't put a hole on your budget, E.L.F. is the best choice! They're now available at Target / Super Targets and at Zellers in Canada.

So what's your verdict, do you think I achieved THE LOOK?

Top 7 Things I'm Grateful For

I have so much to be thankful for but I chose the top 7 on my list since they're closest to my heart and narrated them in no particular order: (warning long post)

1. My Mother

Like any mom-daughter relationships, ours is typically not as perfect either yet to me she's the greatest! She taught me the real meaning of the word "mother" beyond it's superficial representation. In the middle of last year, Mr. unpredictable fate decided to throw my family onto the road less traveled and she, from day 1 was unceasing! She was with me and mostly during the toughest times. She became my beacon of light at the end of the dark tunnel. I can't say enough how much I'm thankful for her. She's done so much for me and my family and still is.

2. My Husband

Who after the sad fate that befell him last year, graciously took on the role of a stay-at-home "houseband" and transformed himself as a motherling to my 5 year old as I took on a different role as a working mother. He became my personal chef, my chauffeur (as to why, the book is on the works), laundry keeper, dishwasher...the list goes on. And in spite of my biatchness at various times, he is so giving. I can't ask for a better husband. He loves me the way a husband loves his wife and beyond- and that I'm so grateful about! I wish him all success on his new Tai Chi School.

3. My Daughter

Will it be overrated if I say she's my life? She's my child, she's wonderful and I love her to pieces. She is the inspiration in everything I do and I hope that someday she'll appreciate this. She's only 5 years old but think like 35. One time I was ticked off with my husband and I said something about going away and this is what she told me:  "Mama, you can't leave Papa. You are married to him. Being married means that you stay together!" Seriously.

4. My Blog

If it wasn't for my blog, I would not discover that another world exists out there that's filled with wonderful people and endless possibilities! It has brought me countless blessings and great online friends that extended offline. I know it needs more work but as of right now, I'm utterly pleased of the success it has attained so far. It's evolving and growing! Most of all, it has helped me discover my passion for charitable works and my love for networking and socializing!

5. My Online and Offline Friends

If you personally know me, you'd know that we don't have family close by in Charlotte. Mine is all over the world and the closest to me is my mom who is in California. Hubby's side of the family is all in New York. Thus, beside my offline friends, You my online friends are now considered "my extended family"! You who I spend countless hours with and who I hang out with seamlessly online or offline. Thank you! You've open a whole new world for me and welcomed me with arms wide open! So grateful to be a part of this awesome community!

6. My Golden Flower Creations

My little altered ego which has been my therapy during stressful times and of which has also brought some much-needed profits online and offline. My long term goal is to grow it and at the same time have fun doing it. If you are a purveyor of handmade creations, then please support my handmade jewelry and craft business. It's made with love. Guaranteed!

7. Finally, ALL the blessings I recently received online. Here are some to name a few:

a) Won 2 tickets to Beauty and The Beast at the Children's Theater Charlotte which became a daughter and mother nite out for me.
b) Won 5 Tickets to Southern Christmas Show and gave three to friends.
c) Free 6 Tickets to Disney on Ice and fun packs for the kids - took friends along to see the show.
d) Personalized Autographed Nike Basketball by Grant Hill

e) Review products from E.l.f (watch out for the review)

f) Featured on WCNC 36 Follow Friday TV twice : @MaricrisG

g) Won Build-a-bear $10 GC and Holly Moose during the 2-part build-a-bear Twitter Party that my daughter and I attended.

Holly Moose™ - Photo courtesy of buildabear.com

I'm blessed. And I'm so grateful. Life is good... Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Remember all your wonderful blessings no matter how small they are and be thankful for it. Enjoy!

So Glad I'm Not a Turkey!

"Glad I'm not a turkey on thanksgiving day..."

The Kindergarten Choir

Today was the Thanksgiving program presented by the Kindergartens at my daughters' school where she is a kindergartener. She has been happily practicing their songs at home since last week for this big day. It almost brought tears to my eyes when I finally saw her on stage and performing with her fellow classmates. I can't help but say "my baby really is a big girl now!" and choking back tears. So proud of her. I was almost a sentimental blob until I eyed this pajammy-bunny-slippers-toting-one-heck-of-a-woman in the crowd!

What the heck was she thinking? Why is she wearing a Pajammy?!

Well, she asked for it. I went Paparazzi on her. 

Down the hallway I saw this wall of art and melted my heart...

The Turkey project that my daughter & I did.

Displayed on the hallway.

The perk of the day is that, though I have to miss work today, our daughter got to go home after the show and I got to spend the rest of the day with her. We even partied on Twitter together and won a fabulous prize! But that of course is a story for next time... 

Welcome to my world Wednesday!

Hope you enjoyed it.

Oh if you must know, that Pajammy lady? I found out she was a teacher! Yessirree!Gawk if you must...

Fall Frolics

A newly-built 24/7 highly-equipped Urgent Care Pavilion provided by Carolinas Health Care System in my neighborhood recently had an open house and we of course went to check it out! As it turned out, it was loaded with so much fun! We ran into familiar folks like my daughter's teacher while we were lining up to get free food and Oh Scrap! The beautiful Jen was there too!

Me and @JensOhScrap

I hooked up with Jen via Twitter and became offline buddies. She owns Oh Scrap! Paper Boutique located in Rivergate Shopping Center.

From free food to huge inflatable fun and the educational tour of the facility, it was a great start to our busy day brewing with excitement that day! See where our next stop took us: The fabulous Southern Christmas Show!

Follow Friday TV - I did it again!

Follow Friday TV via WCNC 36 by Brad Panovich

One thing I love about Follow Fridays on Twitter  is the rare opportunity of being featured on TV. As you can see I made it on TV again! There I am @MaricrisG broadcasted on TV! Ok I know it is quite unclassy, unglamorous and un-lady-like to brag but please this is TV people! and it is one of those moments wherein you'll just have to let me! Even my 5 year old was jumping for joy for me when she saw my name on TV. Things like this don't happen all the time. (yeah I know you think I'm shallow but hey TV is TV - nothing can beat that!). Ok I'm off to bask in the glow of my mini-fame while it lasts...

"In retrospect, sometimes it pays off when you truly connect with utmost sincerity even if it's just virtually." I really value the friendships I make online for there's always that fat chance it will extend offline. And yes, they do!

Taste of Christmas Southern Style

If you're from the South you'll know well that the "Southern Shows" are a huge deal out this way! Yessireee! The first offering was the Southern Women's Show in September where the infamous Kate Gosselin was the main "attraction". Yup her. As to date the Southern Christmas Show is currently on exhibit. I'm very fortunate to see both the shows this year - for the first time - and actually enjoyed it in spite of the narrow, crowded hallways, overwhelming number of vendors and the long trek on all 3 building halls!

I was thrilled to see the Carolina Classic Cloggers. I finally understood what clogging means! But my greatest find at the Southern Christmas Show was discovering the National Gourd Lady!  She is the un-hidden treasure of Conover, NC who have been featured on The Jay Leno Show three years ago and on WCNC 36's Carolina Traveler to name a few! She's a very remarkable lady and I tell you she is hard to miss when she walks around the show area! Upon talking to her I found out that she have been carving gourds into unique decorative items for 48 years! For a crafter like me, that is phenomenal!

All Gourd up!

Planning on visiting? here are 5 tips to help you enjoy the show:

1- Wear comfy shoes (sneakers preferably - think half-marathon walks) and make sure to be on the lookout for shops offering Holiday Morsel samples! They're oh so yummy!

2- Check the display wall on the way to the check-in lane before you go into the show - The decors' are winning pieces. You don't want to miss those. They're fabulous!

3- Take a little detour on the Enchanted Village as you go in. Miniature scenes are displayed here and get a chance to oogle at the winning pieces.

4- Get a toot of fun at the Tiny Train Station! -  A whole miniature village filled with fully functional mechanical trains. I had to extract my daughter from this exhibit area!

5- Lastly, be prepared to have lots of cash handy in your wallets or pockets. Some of the stores only accepts cash including the ladies who sells the in-house shopping bags imprinted with the Southern Christmas Show logo and costs $8.00! - Better yet, bring your own bags and shopping bag Strollers!

And oh, don't you forget to visit the Gourd Lady! Who knows, you might never get the privilege to meet her around this way again! She's on booth #2010 in Independence Hall and she's offering this coupon! Grab it!

3 O'Clock Prayer for Anissa

Picture courtesy of CaringBridge.org

11/20/09 UPDATE from Peter (Anissa's Husband which has really brought tears to my eyes) :

At this point, mostly what we need is prayer. To my knowledge, I know of prayer chains in Europe, Africa, and North America. Several small towns are praying. Friends old and new, and complete strangers are praying. That’s exactly what we need now. Pray for her to make it through one more night with no more bleeding. Pray for the blood in her head to recede. Pray for her to come out of this.

Please pray for our family. I’m going to need to lean on you all. I’m not as strong as she is.

–Peter

Who is Anissa? Well, you may not personally know her. I don't. But we all know what happened to her on Tuesday which shocked and moved the whole blogosphere and twitterworld #prayersforanissa. I've always been a firm believer in the power of prayer and what opportune time to come together as one praying for her! It don't matter if you do know her or don't. What matters is you're here to pray for her. Community of bloggers coming together for one sole purpose and that is to pray for her safe recovery. We owe it to her as a bloggy sister.

I will start this prayer vigil for Anissa at 3 O'clock. Please join me every day at 3 O'clock to pray for her until she recovers. Just a minute of your time is required. Let's all go down on our knees and pray for Anissa.

And if your heart moves you to help out in the form of donation, all you need to do is click on her badge on my side bar. Grab it too and post it in your blog if you would. You can also follow updates on her condition at this page dedicated to her.

Pray with me! Pledge your time below:

Zen Blogging: Are You FTC Ready?

 A video excerpt from FTC Endorsement Guides for Bloggers

If you have been following the previous hullabaloo created by FTC this April in connection with mommy bloggers then you know that the effective date of the revised  FTC guidelines for bloggers on December 1st is fast approaching! The noise it created has put an ugly stigma on most mommy bloggers which was evident in an advise given to another mom who wanted to start momblogging in one of the local mom sites I actively belong to. Deep within me, I was hurt but I did not take offense since a lot of them out there are so misinformed and don't have a clue what negates to be a true mommy blogger!

On this note, I decided to create these 3 Sets of buttons based on what FTC outlined in the video above. I made them to share with you in a hope that you can use them to provide proper disclosure labels for your review posts and badges to put on your blogs come December 1st. Did I say it was free? You betcha! Just right click on each button and grab it! You can re-size them according to your preference. If you like them then I encourage you to please share them and point them this way to grab them. 

On a final note, I've still got so much to learn as a blogger, my blog needs lots of work but choosing the right path always is the key to blogging success!

If  you liked the free buttons but want a customized version, let me know and I'll whip up one (or two) for you. I promise it won't cost you a leg and an arm! Or you can try and whip up some yourself via Gimp where I created the buttons above.

Zen Recycling: Cash For Old Electronics

Photo courtesy of Target

If you know me, you'd know that I'm all for recycling and helping preserve the only planet we'll ever have. While shopping browsing Target online, I came across their Electronics Recycling Program. I thought it was an innovative idea to help Mother Earth and getting paid for it in return! A program definitely worth sharing. And looks so simple too!

All you do is trade-in your new or used iPod, iPhone, video games, GPS system or camera and you get a Target Gift Card for the trade-in value of your item which is made accessible via the calculator provided on site. The shipping label is also provided! How cool is that?! So similar with the Terracycle program of which I'm a trash brigade for Kashi. I say, get in to the program! Every little thing we do counts... And in this economy, every extra cash means a lot...

Moms Nite out with CharlotteMomsLikeMe.com

If there is one thing that blogging has given me that I cherish greatly it would be the relationships I have found online which has seamlessly extended offline. On this note, CharlotteMomsLikeMe.com is one classic example. Last weekend, we got together for a Mom's Nite Out Swap Party and had the time of my life! It was hosted by the lovely and comical Karen Rinehart! Now meeting these wonderful women that I only talk to online to in-person and building a solid connection is definitely akin to breaking through beyond the matrix of a heavily encrypted firewall with great success and ease!

 With Karen and her beloved Sorority Book

And if the world could not be smaller, I found out that Karen who is also a renowned author of this popularly acclaimed funny and fantastic book below: 

and featured during 2009 National Moms Nite Out is the sorority sister of another great friend, the fabulous and influential Maria who I recently met in person during the Logitech Mom Mixer Event in Cary NC just this summer! Talk about coincidence OR the world I exist in is just small? Isn't it wild?

Logitech Ladies with Maria Bailey

On the aside, it's official! National Moms Nite Out will commence on Thursday, May 6, 2010. Mark your calendars and start planning for it.  As for me, I can't wait!  Who knows who I'll meet this time...It could be you. Who knows...All I know is that it's all good!

So, what about you, any similarly quaint story to share connected to your virtual life? Let's hear it!

Zen Moment: Remembering the Brave Men & Women of our Country

For my Niece.

Little Trivia:

Did you know that Armistice Day was the old name
for Veterans Day?

It was. Thank you to our brave men and women

who defended and are still defending our Country today!

Let us all remember them with prayers...

A Blessed Veterans Day to all!

Window to My World Wednesday - My Joy!

And my source of happyness...

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