Jenny Craig ~ Meals for Monday

 I just got back from a trip, and I went off my diet, so today I am home and back on my Jenny Craig plan.  

This is what I ate today...

Breakfast: JC Farmhouse Breakfast Bowl which is eggs, potatoes, and a little bit of sausage. 1 cups of cherries, and an anytime bar which is a little chocolate and peanut butter bar with a glass of 2% milk

Lunch: JC Chicken Burrito, 1 cup of baby carrots, light lite house ranch, and a 1/2 cup of Bolthouse green smoothie (I would have had more, but I ran out). 

Around 3 pm I got really hungry, and I wasn't at home. I was visiting my mom. She lives in a nursing home because she has alzheimer's/dementia. I should have brought a Jenny Craig snack, but I didn't think about it. Instead, I got a bag of chips and a soda from the vending machine. I didn't take a picture of it.

Dinner: JC Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Potato, and 3 cups of green beans. I put regular butter on it and salt.

Nightime Snack: JC Chocolate Cake and a cup of 2% milk.

I liked all my meals I had today. I didn't exercise. I'm just going to focus on eating healthy and writing down everything I eat before I add in a new habit. I'm going to be slow with exercise because swim aerobics 3 times a week for an hour each time, was too much for me. 

I found this cool wellness planner on etsy I printed out tonight. It has a bunch of pages. I will show you a few.

I bought it from KellyONeillDesigns on etsy. It was $5.99. Hopefully, it will help me with losing weight. 

I hope you found this post helpful or interesting. Please leave me a comment if you want. Are you trying to lose weight? Have you ever been on Jenny Craig?

Pictures of the Fair and my Jenny Craig Dinner

 I keep forgetting to take pictures of what I'm eating. Last night I took a picture of my dinner. 

I had Jenny Craig Spaghetti and Meatballs with cheese sprinkled on top, and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots with cheese sprinkled on top of that. It was so good! I also had Jenny Craig for breakfast, but for lunch I ate at the fair. 

I didn't take any pictures of what I ate. I ate a corn dog, curly fries, and an elephant ear. I felt like I had over indulged. I think I would have been happy if I had only gotten an elephant ear. 

Last week I swam 3 times, for an hour each is the class. I am so sore! 

I plan on taking more pictures of my Jenny Craig meals and posting them here. Thank you for reading my post. I hope you have a good weekend! 

Starting New Diet & Exercise Program

 

I am doing Jenny Craig now. And I will see how it goes. I'm trying it out for a month, and see how I do. See if I can do the program and lose weight. I have done Jenny Craig off and on for many years. It is the only thing that seems to be what I can do to help me lose weight. It just works the best for me. 

And for exercise I am going to do swim aerobics three times a week. If there is a time, I don't want to do that I will go for a walk. If the weather is bad outside, I will do a Sharona's Hill walking video on Youtube. 

I thought it might be fun to take pictures of what I eat on Jenny Craig, and post it on my blog. Tomorrow I am going to the fair, so I won't be posting everything Jenny tomorrow. I am allowing myself to go off my diet since it's not everyday I get to go to the fair. Maybe I will post fair food plus Jenny food tomorrow.

I hope whoever is reading this blog post is doing well. Please leave a comment letting me know what you think about this little series I am doing. 

Books I Plan on Reading This Summer

 Hi! It's been awhile since I wrote on my blog. I wanted to share what I have been reading. I have been posting videos, but when I try to make a book video I am too negative in my head, and it is hard for me to say what I would like to say. I think sometimes it is easier for me to write.

This year I have been finding myself wanting to finish reading the Anne of Green Gables series, which is eight books. I got trapped by the 5th book when something very tragic happens in Anne's life that had me putting the book down for I think was over a year. It was very sad, and I had thought maybe I wouldn't finish the series because of it. But after finishing Little Women, which had a very sad part in it, I got through, and found the book to be a five star read. I felt glad I had read it. I thought maybe I should get through the sad part of Anne's book. The series has a high rating on Goodreads. So now I am back reading this series. 

I am finishing up Anne of Ingleside. It's the sixth book in the series. The books read old fashioned, but that doesn't bother me. Anne is married and has five children in this book. She's a good mom, and her children are just as imaginative and funny as she was. They all have funny stories about each one. Each chapter is basically a different story of their lives. The characters we've met in earlier books sometimes make an appearance. 

In July I plan to read the 7th book from the Anne of Green Gables series, called Rainbow Valley. They have a great big yard, and the children have named a section Rainbow Valley, so I think this book will be focused on Anne's children, and all the mischief they get up to. The back of the book says there are six children in the family now. They make other friends and like Anne help people in their neighborhood. These are really sweet books. They make you feel good inside. 

In August, I plan on finishing the Anne of Green Gables Series with Rilla of Ingleside. I think Rilla is the youngest of Anne's children. In this book she is a teenager, and I think it will be focused on her and a romance? The back says her brothers go off to fight in a war, and Rilla brings home a baby! These books are very well written. I have the Emily books as well. I would like to keep reading L. M. Montgomery this year.

I have been reading children books I read as a child. I finished Winne-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner this Spring. It made me want to reread other books that I remember laughing and reading with my mom. I want to read the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary.

The first book is Beezus and Ramona. This is about two sisters. It is so funny! Little sister Ramona is always getting into mischief and being a pest for her older sister to deal with. There are quite a few books in this series. I haven't read all of them because I stopped reading them in the 80's when I was a child. A couple more have been written since then. 

I like to watch Darling Desi on Youtube and she has a ton of books she has recommended. Often time she makes a seasonal video recommending books for that season. So these are the books I am going to read based on her recommendations.

This book I am finishing up. I don't know if I recommend it, but I just want to find out how it ends. It's about a girl who has magical powers, and in her village, it is considered evil to have magic, so she runs away into the enchanted forest and seeks to find a magical wishing flower that will grant her a wish. She wants to wish away all her magic powers. The demon of the forest stops her and says if she agrees to be his servant for a year, he will grant her wish. So she agrees. And that is how the story begins. She moves into this enchanted cottage in the magical forest with a demon, and it is sort of like a mystery because she wants to learn more about the demon and how he became what he is. She makes friends with other spirits and demons. It is a young adult fantasy novel.

I started to read this book this month (June). The book goes back and forth between the present time where the main character Persephone is an adult, 30 years old, editor of a magazine and she finds out the mother of her two childhood friends has passed away and she is called to come to the memorial service or funeral. She had a falling out the last time she saw them, and we don't know yet what happened. The book flashes back to when she was thirteen years old and coming to the cabin at the lake with her family and meeting the two boys who she becomes friends with. I think she falls in love with one of them. I don't want to read the back because I don't want it to be spoiled. So far, it is an interesting read. 

I'd like to read this book in July. It is another "summery" book. The main character's sister has passed away and they always loved to play a squirt gun fight, but an elaborate one with a large family. I think this will be funny and there may be a romance involved. I also wonder if it wont also be sad since the sister passed away, if there may be grief involved? But Darling Desi didn't mention that part. I haven't read the back of this one either. When I got these three books at the bookstore the girl at the cash register said she read all of them and loved them. She especially loves this last one.

I have heard many people talk of this author and this book, as being people's favorite romance novel. The girl at the bookstore said, after she read this one she had to run out and buy all the other books written by Abby Jimenez! So this book has looked interesting to me for awhile now. I hope I like it. All I really know about it is that it may be a Little Mermaid retelling? And the love interest is a man with a pet pigmy goat he dresses in pajamas. That is all I need to know.

I hope you found this interesting. What books are you reading this summer? Please let me know! 

Day 5: Thistle Eating Plan

 Yesterday, I started to feel craving for food but then I counted my calories and realized I was under the appropriate amount of calories for me, so I had a yogurt with granola. And that really helped me. Also, I was tired and I might have confused feeling tired with being hungry. 

Today my total calories from Thistle will be about 1500, so I plan on eating some additional snacks today.

Here is my day of eating today: 

Breakfast

Black Bean & Plantain Tofu Scramble: Chipotle spiced black beans mixed with crumbled tofu, plantains, onions & peppers. 370 cal

My Thoughts: This was really good! The tofu was like scrambled eggs, and I have not had plantains before. They were sweet and good. This tasted like a scrambled eggs with veggie dish to me. 10/10

Lunch

Blueberry Sorghum Salad with 'Feta': A beautiful blueberry vinaigrette is the star of this seasonal salad and is perfectly balanced by our crunchy chickpeas and fresh sorghum pilaf. 480 calories

My Thoughts: I give this 9/10 stars. I didn't like the sorghum pilaf. I have never heard of that before. I didn't like the taste of it raw, but it might be good cooked. This is a meal that I could have heated up. I chose to eat it like a regular salad. It tasted good, but I just picked off the sorghum.

Snack:

Okinawa Sweet Potato Bar: The gorgeously pigmented, okinawan root vegetable makes a good (and good-looking) substitute for a traditional sweet potato pie. Simple ingredients, a purple hue, all on top of a cassava shortbread crust. 330 calories

My Thoughts: 10/10 I liked it! At first I wasn't sure I would. I guess I can be a picky eater. This tasted like a cake. 

Dinner:

Crunchy Thai Peanut Bowl with Sesame Pea Protein Crumbles: A veggie & shirataki noodle bowl with cabbage, carrots, baby corn & mushrooms. Served with our creamy coconut-peanut sauce. 400 calories. 

My Review: I don't like it. It just doesn't have the flavors I like. Maybe I would like it better with chicken? I'm not going to get this again. 2/10 stars.

Thanks for checking out my blog! I recommend Thistle if you haven't tried it yet. For the most part I have liked all the meals. And the ones I didn't like, I don't need to get again. They have new dishes for the summertime.

Day 4: Eating Plan w/Thistle and healthy snacks

 Here is day 4, and I am happy with myself that I've been sticking to my eating plan. The food is good, and I feel motivated. This week the meal plan from Thistle is low in calories for what is healthy for me, so I plan on having a 300 calorie snack in the evening. 

Breakfast:

Chunky Monkey Smoothie: Sweet, crunchy, chocolatey, creamy, and slightly salty. Is there anything better? It has granola on top. 490 calories.

My Review: The taste was good, but it was just ok to me. I give it 5/10 stars. I liked some of the other breakfast meals better.

Lunch:

Loaded Baked Potato Salad with Paprika Chicken: A loaded baked potato you can feel good about eating! Made extra special with hickory veggie bacon & creamy ranch dressing. 480 calories

My Review: This was 10/10. I loved it! I don't feel hungry after eating it.

Snack:

Pacific Hummus with Puffed Kelp Chips: This savory, umami-packed hummus is packed with nutrient-rich seaweed and served with crisp veggies and puffed kelp chips. 220 calories

My thoughts: I give it 2/10 stars. I didn't like it very much to be honest. I won't be getting this again.

Dinner:

Chimichurri Pasta Bowl with Herb Ground Turkey: A bright and tangy chimichurri sauce top artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes to give this pasta dish all the flavors of spring. 560 calories

My Review: This was 10/10! So delicious. Afterwards, I was hungry so I made myself a 300 calorie snack - tuna fish on bread. 

Overall: Today was good. I felt like I had energy all day from the meals. The food was good except I didn't really care for the snack. 

I am going to blog one more day of Thistle eating (tomorrow), and then I don't think I will eat Thistle for the whole day on Saturday because it is Memorial Day Weekend and I have plans with friends. 

Thank you for reading my blog post! I hope you have a good day. 

Day 3: Trying Thistle Meals & Meeting My Nutritionist

 Okay, so far so good. I've been eating the meals each day, and I've also been exercising. This morning I did not wake up early to exercise, so hopefully I will fit it into my day today.

Breakfast:

Sweet Potato Hash: Sweet potato hash with scrambled tofu, sauteed onions, bell peppers and longeve protein crumbles seasoned with a breakfast sausage spice blend. Served with a roasted tomato salsa: 420 calories.

My Review: This is so delicious! It is like eggs and potato except it is sweet potato, and it is a little bit spicy from the salsa and spices. I give it 10/10 stars! It is a nice size portion too. I'm also drinking a glass of milk with it.

Lunch:

Crunchy Broccoli & Creamy Poppy Seed Salad with Herb Kidney Beans: Enjoy a broccoli slaw with herb kidney beans, a smoky-sweet crunchy topping, and creamy poppy seed dressing. 460 calories

My Review: This salad is so good! Who knew salads could be this good? I'm not someone who normally gets a salad because i feel like they are so plain usually. But the Thistle salads have been the best salads I have ever eaten! 10/10 stars I give this.

Snack:

Peanut Butter Ganache Bar: These dense peanut butter bars are topped with a creamy coconut-chocolate ganache. 420 cal

My Review: This tasted like a really rich chocolate with peanut butter. I thought it was just ok. I give it 2/5 stars. It's not the type of thing I normally like, so it isn't that Thistle did a bad job making it, I just personally did not prefer it.

Dinner:

Adobo Rice & Veg Bowl with Adobo Pinto Beans: We've balanced the powerful adobo flavors with red rice, roasted veggies & a cooling chipotle ranch dressing. 750 cal

My Review: I really liked it! I have never had this before. It was very filling too. I give it 10/10 stars.

Today, was a really filling day. My total calories was 2,050 which is the amount I need for someone my size to lose weight. Yesterday, at night I felt hungry because I had eaten 1,705 calories that day. 

I met with a nutritionist today, and she said to add a 300 calorie protein snack to my day if the calories are on the low side. These are the snacks she recommended if you are curious:

1. 2 hard boiled eggs, string cheese

2. 3 turkey roll ups, string cheese, carrots and ranch

3. Yoplait with granola

4. 1/4 cup peanuts with string cheese

5. 1/2 a can of tuna with mayo on bread

6. banana with peanut butter or 2 string cheeses

Day 2: In My Week Trying Out Thistle Meals

 Yesterday, I really enjoyed trying out the new meals and writing my post about it, so I'm looking forward to doing it today.

Breakfast:

Dirty Chai Oats w/ Oat Latte Cream: Oaktown Spice Shop's chai masala tea is steeped into our rolled oats and paired with an oat latte cream for a dirty chai oatmeal. It was 325 calories. 

Ingredients: water, rolled oats, hemp seeds, chai masala, puffed quinoa, pumpkin seed, date sugar, dried blueberries, maple syrup, rice bran oil, and sea salt

My Review: This was 9/10 for me. It tasted like a really good oatmeal. It was sweet, and I liked the dried blueberries too. I thought there would be a coffee taste to it (and I don't like coffee), but it didn't taste like that. I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 because there was something in it that I didn't really care for, but not a big deal. I would have this again. I don't think I liked the pumpkin seeds.

Lunch

Caterpillar Sushi Salad with Sesame Edamame: This sushi salad unrolls all of the primary flavors of an uramaki "inside-out" caterpillar roll with crunchy red cabbage, cucumber, carrot and short-grain rice. It has chili miso dressing on the side. Total calories is 520.

My Review: I give this 10/10 stars! I loved it. I feel like my body is really craving salads and vegetables. 

Snack

24 Carrot Gold Muffin: This moist carrot muffin is loaded with applesauce, flax seeds, almonds, and plump raisins, and is spiced with cinnamon and ginger. 310 calories

My Review: I think it is 6/10 stars. It tastes like a carrot muffin, a healthy one. I would like it more if it was sweeter, but yet it is not a cake it is a muffin.

I wanted to say also the meals are really filling. I don't feel hungry. Yesterday in between breakfast and lunch i was hungry after exercising. Today I have felt good. With the muffin I had nonfat milk.

Dinner

Panang Peanut Stir-Fry Bowl with Sesame Pea Protein Crumbles: A creamy, nutty peanut sauce coats a stir-fry of fresh mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper & carrots. 550 calories

My Review: 5/10 stars. It was just okay. It would taste better to me if there was chicken in it. They do offer a version of this with sesame roasted chicken. The food was fresh and everything was fine, it was just the taste to me. I'm not used to eating vegetables to be honest. So I know this is really good for my body.

Overall, today my favorites were the breakfast and the lunch was so good! I never thought I would like salads so much. The muffin and stir-fry were just ok to me, not because the food wasn't made well or anything like that, it is just my personal taste and what I am used to eating.

Day 1: First Day Trying Out Thistle

 I am excited to start my first week on Thistle! I plan on making a post each day for a week, sharing what I ate for each meal of the day. I hope this will be interesting and helpful.

Breakfast: 

Matcha Chi Smoothie: Green tea meets toasted pepitas and brown rice to create a rich and creamy smoothie reminiscent of genmaicha green tea. Served with a ginger-spiced granola. There is gingerbread granola on top. 370 calories

It has oats, mango, peaches, chia seeds, bananas, maple syrup, spinach, brown rice, pumpin seeds, vanilla extract, green tea matcha powder and sea salt.

My Review: I have never had anything like this before. It sort of tastes like a tea yogurt with granola on top. I can taste the spinach. It seems and tastes like something that is really good for me, so that is why I'm eating the whole thing. It's not terrible tasting. It's just not something I would naturally get at the grocery store. I would probably choose a blueberry yogurt with granola on top, which is also healthy but doesn't have all the vitamins that are in this smoothie. I think I will give this 4/10 stars, not because it doesn't have good things in it, that is just my honest reaction to the taste.

Lunch:

Greek Salad with Crispy Chickpeas: Our spin on a Greek salad, complete with our house made "feta," crispy Biena chickpeas, fresh red pepper and cucumber. It comes with a red wine vinaigrette. 460 calories. My Review: This was so tasty! I think it was the best salad I have ever had! 10/10 It filled me up too. The chickpeas were like croutons to me, and the "feta" tasted like real feta. 

Snack:

Spinach Artichoke Dip: Creamy, crunchy and protein-packed! Served with wholesome seed crackers and crisp veggies for an extra crunch. 360 calories. My Review: This is okay to me. I'd say it is better than the breakfast, and less than the lunch I had. I'd give it a 6/10 for how much I like it.

Dinner

Lemon Pea Pesto Pasta with Roasted Yellow Squash: Chickpea pasta tossed with roasted seasonal squash and our cashew-pea pesto for an extra creamy bite. 640 calories 

My Review: This was 10/10! So delicious! I love it. It tasted so comforting. This was so much better than anything I had on Jenny Craig.

Overall: Day 1 was really good! I loved the lunch and dinner, the snack was ok, the breakfast wasn't something I'm used to. I really am happy with Thistle so far! 

Healthy Eating and Exercise

 Hi! I'm back to make another post on my blog! It's been awhile since I have written anything here. I just wanted to share my thoughts and plans on what I want to do to lose weight and become a healthier version of me. 

For food I was doing Jenny Craig, and it has closed, so I needed to find something new. I'm trying out Thistle Meal Delivery Service and seeing how that goes. It is a Mediterranean Diet. It is mainly plant diet, but you can add meat to it if you would like. I decided I would try both all plant meals and the ones with meat. I was thinking it might be fun to every day take a picture of what I am eating and post it onto my blog. My first day is Monday, May 22, 2023. The food looks really good, but unlike the food I normally eat. I'm really hoping this works out for me. My Jenny Craig consultant is perhaps going to work as a life coach, and I can always turn to her if Thistle doesn't work out.

For exercise, I was thinking of doing yoga challenges with Adriene on Youtube. Her youtube channel is "Yoga with Adriene." I used to do yoga a long time ago when i was like 18-19 years old. I would watch Denise Austin on Lifetime and there was a show called "Fit and Lite." I learned some yoga from that show, and I had a yoga dvd by Denise Austin I would do. Then when I went to college, I remember taking a yoga class, and I loved it. It was my first time experience PE class as being fun. Then I like to take walks on nice days through my neighborhood. My Jenny Craig consultant said "After I brush my teeth, I should go for a walk!" So I thought that is something I could do. I also like doing swim aerobics. 

What do you like to do for eating healthy and exercise? Please write in the comments! 

Books I Read in May and Books I Plan to Read in June 2021

 Hi! I don't always write on my blog, but I got a comment on one of my videos today of someone wanting to know about my blog, and I realized I hadn't written in it since March. I was going to make a video today, but I felt much more like writing in my blog. I feel more comfortable writing than talking on my videos. I am really a shy person, so I sort of fumble to think of words when I am speaking. I do better if I just write out what I would like to say. 

So these are the books I read this month! 

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I give this a 5 star rating. It is very easy to read even though it was originally published in 1865. It read like a fairy tale to me. I love the Disney movie and there are some scenes I remember that were like the book, but there is also a lot in the two books that were not in the movie. I think if you like the movie, you will love these two books. It is very whimsical and actually pretty hilarious if you enjoy silly humor and puns. I thought it funny how each character Alice meets is on the verge of losing their temper it seems. She tries to be polite and not upset anyone, yet they get irritated at her just the same. I also enjoy the illustrations of John Tenniel. He was the original illustrator for both books, so if you get the books I encourage you to find them with the original illustrations.

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I give this book 5/5 stars as well. It was written in 1907. I think this is my all time favorite book. I read it last year, and loved it. I bought all the books in the series. I plan on reading all of them this year. Actually, because I've seen videos of other books written by L.M. Montgomery where people recommended her other books it makes me feel like I probably would love all of them. I follow Darling Desi on Youtube, and I am one of her patrons on her Patreon page. She plans out "buddy reads" where we vote on what book we want to read for the month and then she makes a live video where we can talk about it. So for the month of May we voted for Anne of Green Gables to be the "buddy read". So I'm so excited for the video to come out. I think it will be out in July for the two books we read for May and June. 

This book is so sweet and special. I love the way the author describes things. From the story, to the characters, to the natural setting of Prince Edward Island. It is a beautiful story! I grew up watching the tv series with Megan Follows starring as Anne. I watched it over and over again. It's about an orphan girl that goes to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. They are expecting to adopt an 11 year old boy to help Matthew with his farming, but there is a mistake and Anne shows up! She is an imaginative, talkative, wonderful personality. I just love her! I wish she was real and that she was my friend. So the book shows her grow up to be 16 years old. And she has adventures and it follows her life. It is a sweet story. 

3. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

I also give this book 5/5 stars. I really love Nicholas Sparks books. When I got this book I was wandering around Barnes and Noble looking for some books I had on my list, but I couldn't find them and I decided to go to somewhere familiar so I found where the Nicholas Sparks books were kept. I feel like if you have read his books than you would like this book. It is very dramatic actually. I was expecting it to be a love story that might end up sad or there may be some sad bits in it. So I was prepared to cry. I didn't mind if I did cry actually. There is also a bit of a supernatural element to the book. You don't know if the main character is seeing a ghost or if he is hallucinating. I know that happens sometimes in Nicholas Sparks books where there is an other worldly element to his stories. And I like that. There are also a couple of really evil characters in here that you just can't help but hate. Sparks is really good at creating characters. I just think his books are excellent. They are not difficult to read at all. They are sweet love stories. Sometimes bitter sweet. Because of the evil characters I felt worried for the safety of the other characters in the book, which created an element of suspense and made you want to keep turning the pages. There is also sad life moments in the story that keep it dramatic and you feel sad for the main characters. I think this was made into a movie actually. I am going to need to watch the movie now. 

These are the books I plan to read in June:

1. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

This is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series. In this book she is going off to college. I don't think I've ever read this one. I started reading it last year, but I didn't get into it so I put it down. I'm going to try to read it again because I have a renewed interest in books this season. In this book it says on the back that Anne's friends are all getting married. I wonder if she will have romance in this book.

2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I've read this book before, but I decided I wanted to reread it. It is one of the books that might be a "Buddy Read" for the month of June on Darling Desi's Patreon Page. I decided whether it will win or not, I want to reread this book. I really enjoyed it the first time I read it, and I also enjoyed the movies. It is the book that comes before the Lord of the Ring books. It is a classic fantasy book. It was written in 1932. There is magic, elves, hobbits, dwarves, wizards, and dragons in this book! It definitely appeals to the imagination. I think J.R.R. Tolkien was the one who started the whole different type of character like an elf, a man, a dwarf, a wizard, a hobbit, etc. from different races and they all come together and go on a quest. I think a lot of fantasy writers have copied him and video game writers. 

3. Pages and Co. The Bookwanderers by Anna James

This is a series of Middle Grade books where the characters wander out of the books they are in and meet the main character, Tilly! In this book she meets Anne of Green Gables and Alice of Wonderland! I heard about this book this month and I thought this is the perfect book for me to read since I just finished reading those two books! And then when I was looking at Darling Desi's Patreon page, I realized it was actually picked as a buddy read this year, and I missed it. I think I just saw they were reading a book for young readers and I wasn't interested to know more about it. Then I have been watching Alexandra Roselyn's youtube videos. She is a booktuber and reviews books on her channel. She talked about this book and it sounded perfect for me. I heard this whole series is really good, so I might have a new series I will want to read. It sounds fun and imaginative. 

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog! Feel free to leave a comment. I rarely get comments on my blog. My youtube channel is Dream Cat, and my instagram is Seaside653.

Beauty Empties and Candles I've Used Up

 These are mini reviews of beauty products plus candles I've used up. I also will say if I would repurchase them.

1. Bath and Body Works Linen & Lavender Candle. The notes are crisp linen, lavender sea salt, and fresh air breeze. If you like lavender, I think you would like this smell. It smells like a nice soap to me. It isn't a bad smell, but it isn't one of my favorites. My dad likes it.

2. Bath and Body Works Aloha Kiwi Passionfruit Candle. The notes are tropical passionfruit, radiant kiwi, and juicy pineapple. I like this one! It is a nice fresh scent. I recommend it!

3. Bath and Body Works Fall Farmhouse Candle. The notes are spiced pumpkin, forest pine branch, and fresh fall air. This is my favorite of these three candles. It smells like pumpkin to me. I like the spicy and tree scented candles that come out in the fall and wintertime. 

4. Bath and Body Works Bahamas Passionfruit & Banana Flower Shower Gel. It is a nice smelling shower gel, and it is good for your skin. It has aloe, shea butter, and vitamin E. The notes are passionfruit, pineapple leaves, and banana flower. It smells tropical to me. It is a good shower gel. I would wait to buy it when there is a sale going on. I like the smell, but I think I got tired of it. It isn't a bad smell though. 

5. Roux Shampoo for Dry, Damaged Hair. This has a lot of good ingredients in it. It says 8 precious oils: argan, olive, avocado, coconut, sunflower, castor, sweet almond, and jojoba oils plus vitamins. I got this in the How To Be A Redhead subscription box. It was a nice shampoo, but I don't think I will buy it. I normally get shampoo from the drugstore. I don't have anything bad to say about this shampoo. I think it is good. I am using the conditioner too. 

6. Dove Dry Spray Deodorant in Coconut. This is my favorite deodorant. I get it every time. It smells good and it doesn't leave any white residue on your clothes.

7. Radha Beauty Retinol Moisturizer. This has 2.5% active Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and Green Tea. I got this from the How To Be A Redhead Box too. I liked it, but I don't think I will repurchase it. I use Cerave Moisturizing Cream normally. It is a good lotion. It doesn't smell bad or have anything in it that irritated my skin. 

8. Elf Mineral Infused Face Primer. I like this primer. You can get it at the drugstore. I would repurchase it. I don't remember what minerals are in this primer. It doesn't say on the jar or on the website. Right now I'm using Benefit Porefessional which is another really good face primer. It makes your foundation go on well and last longer. 

9. Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara: This was a little sample I got somewhere. I don't remember where I got it. It was really nice! I loved it, but I don't think I would buy it because it is too expensive. I normally use L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara. I really like that one.

10. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion. This is a really great black eye liner. I recommend it. It is more expensive than the eye liners you can get at the drugstore. It works well and it is easy to smudge it out. This time I got the Covergirl Black Eye Liner because I really like the Covergirl Liner in Espresso. 

So those are the products I've used up! I hope you guys are doing well. My video is still not working when I try to record. I like making blog posts though.