Holiday gifts to yourself!

Today I splurged with a Mani/pedi just in time for Christmas weekend. Of course, my toes are red for the holiday, but I went with a more natural creamy light pink for my hands for a more professional and simple look. They say to always match your polish on your fingers and toes, but, I'm not walking around in flip-flops on the streets of NYC when it's 35 degrees out.
Two weeks ago I bought a Groupon deal on an hour long massage at a spa in the city. I haven't made my appointment yet, but after the holidays are over, I'll be laying face down for some much needed relaxation.
The next gift I am shopping for myself will be a sexy New Year's Eve dress. Originally I was going to go for a classic gold sequined glitz dress, but I might stand out more in another color. What are your thoughts? I was thinking about blue sequins instead? Let's see what I can find in the stores after Christmas.
Did you forget to buy a gift for yourself this year? I am all for giving gifts to your friends and family, but don't forget to give yourself a gift as well. After all, you may not receive everything you had on your list for Santa, so if there is anything left you're craving, spoil yourself!
A little retail therapy only hurt those with credit cards in their freezers. If you can't afford to spend any extra money on yourself, spend some time to yourself. Take a day off of work, send the kids to their grandparents, put your school books away, sleep in, light candles, give yourself a facial, and take a bath. How often do we actually get to take a bath anymore instead of a shower?
This fast-paced 21st century is so focused on fast food, fast travel, immediate satisfaction, that we forget how enjoyable it can be to do nothing.
Happy holidays! I hope you all get what you wished for Christmas this year and get to spend some quality time with your family and friends eating lots of home cooked food!
Xoxo

Best holiday gifts for your girlfriend

Every girl is different but this is my generic list of what to give and what to avoid.

1. Perfume. Pick out something she doesn't already have, but that is in a similar scent category. You can do this online by searching what notes are in the fragrance she currently wears and then seeing what other fragrances have similar notes. Also, at Sephora they have a computer that takes the guess work out of it. If you know one fragrance she likes, they can tell you a variety of others she'll enjoy as well.
My top picks for best-sellers this Christmas will be, Dior Addict to Life, Bulgari Omnia Crystalline, Vera Wang Love Stuck, all of the Juicy Couture, all of the Marc Jacobs.

2. Jewelry. You have to be very careful with this one. If you've been with your girlfriend for a long time, and there is any inclination that she may be anticipating an engagement ring, do not get her any other type of jewelry. Jewelry is a great gift for your wife, or your new, or relatively new girlfriend, but any girl in between will be disappointed in any type of jewelry you get her other than that rock.

3. Watches, purses, sunglasses, shoes, other accessories. These are specific to the girl. Listen for clues. She will likely want some type of accessory for Christmas so find out what specifically she'd like and double check on that with her friends or family. Most girls have a purse, or other accessory in mind that they'd like to have, figure out what it is!

4. Bath & Body stuff. It's not a good idea to get just any bath and body stuff for your girlfriend. She wants to know you've been listening to her and you know her. If she mentions liking a certain scent and that she just ran out, then she'll appreciate that you were listening, but other than that she will just feel like you don't know her. It is great to give to family members who you may be stumped on what to get them, or friends who are just exchanging simple gifts, but it doesn't read intimate and thoughtful. It is more of a friend gift than a girlfriend gift.

5. Clothing. Again, this can be tough. First step is to notice colors, styles, and stores she likes to shop in. The simplest thing to do is check the size on a dress of hers, and buy a nice cocktail dress in a color she likes to wear, and a style similar to what she wears. You can ask her friends for help with this as well. When giving a girl clothes, you need to have a reason behind it. Say, I bought you this dress to wear on our next date and I plan on taking you out to dinner at "such and such" and then going to see "this show, movie, concert, etc." It is okay to include dates as gifts, if it is something a bit out of the ordinary. In my opinion, a slice of pizza, is not a substitute for a Christmas present, or any other holiday for that matter. which brings me to...

6. Tickets. Planning a romantic date is a great gift. Taking her to see a show she's been talking about, taking her on a mini-vacation, planning a day-trip, all of these show her that you thought about the gift and took the extra steps to plan something special that she will remember. Christmas time is full of romantic activities, from ice skating, to sledding, renting a log cabin, watching Christmas light displays, going to see the Nutcracker or another Christmas show. Any of these things will score you big points.

7. Spa Day. Just as you want to have your guy-time, football games with the boys, boys night out for billiards, etc, girls like to have girl-time. We want to be pampered and relax. A spa package with a massage will tell your girl that you want her to enjoy herself and take some of the stress off after the holidays. Some girls don't like getting pedicures, due to ticklish feet, so find out if she does before ordering.

8. Candy, food. There are some cute candies that would be nice as stocking stuffers, and cute sets like heart shaped pancake making kits. Don't buy your girlfriend a cookbook unless she specifically asks for a certain type of book. Otherwise, she'll think you're trying to insult her cooking. Also, if you know your girlfriend is trying to stay away from sweets, respect that, since there are plenty of other things you can get her.

9. Appliances, electronics. Again, this is something tricky. Do not buy her any appliance that has to do with cleaning as a gift. Vacuums are not gifts, they are necessities. Cooking appliances can be good gifts if it is something she enjoys doing and something she has said she needs or wants. If she doesn't like to cook, you may be again, insulting her cooking. Electronics are typically what we buy for you guys. Your girlfriend might really enjoy a new camera, computer, or sewing machine, but these are things that she'd tell you she wanted or needed. If you know she likes taking photos but has a older camera, getting her a newer, more updated one can be a great gift. Especially if you add a personal touch like buying her a gift card to have 100 photos printed, or a photo album to put the pictures in.

10. Pets. First thing is to find out what type of animal and be sure she wants a pet. Is she or anyone she lives with allergic? If she lives in an apartment, can she have animals? Does her lifestyle allow her to take care of a pet? Would she want to pick it out herself? You can buy her a gift card for the humane society and then go a day or two before Christmas with her to let her choose.

That is my list for you! I hope the guidelines help you to pick a great gift for your lady!
xoxo

Worst time to be an atheist

The holiday season is upon us; Christmas lights on every street, snow in the forecast, presents being crossed off the list, smell of pine in the air, great food in the ovens.
Now, doesn't it suck to be an atheist? What can I say to you? I can't wish you a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or any of that. You believe in nothing. I might as well wish you a splendid four months of freezing cold and snow. If you claim to be an atheist and yet still celebrate Christmas with the rest of your non-atheist family and friends, that is even worse. Don't be a liar on top of it all. Don't forget the reason for the season. The reason for Christmas is to celebrate Jesus' life and what he gave up for us to live and for us to be forgiven so that we may one day join him in heaven instead of being damned to hell after the first sin we commit.
So, if you don't believe in him, don't hum along to any Christmas carols while in the shopping malls or restaurants. Don't exchange presents with your friends and family that represent the gifts God has given us. Don't eat the Shepherd's candy canes. Don't place a star atop your Christmas tree to represent the star of Bethlehem. Don't be a hypocrite. Believe what you believe.
We so easily get wrapped up in the commercialism of this holiday season, that we forget the original reason. We forget to give thanks. We forget what the season is all about and who it is all about. Even though Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, this is the day we choose to celebrate it. Why do we limit it to one day out of the whole year? Why don't we celebrate him year-round?
You don't need to go to church every Sunday to have a relationship with God, but going twice a year on Christmas and Easter, will not get you into heaven. You can have a great relationship with God without ever stepping foot into a church. It is all up to you and where you put your priorities. Only you know with whom your faith lays.
If you are of another faith, I am not trying to shove my religion down your throat. Honestly, you could've stopped reading this blog entry a few paragraphs ago had you wanted to. Everyone must decide with their own heart what religion to follow, if any at all. God didn't send Jesus to Earth for us to have a religion to follow. He sent him to give us a free pass and an open relationship to God whenever we want or need him. Whatever your belief is, follow it! If you haven't figured out what you believe yet, look to those who have strong faith and look inside yourself to decide. Nobody can decide for you. I believe it is better to believe in something than nothing, even if you decide for yourself that you believe something different than I do.
I offer you this, a merry, merry Christmas. I do not wish you to have a lovely blizzard-season, or a food-induced hibernation. I wish you to have a happy, healthy, and truly blessed Christmas with you and your family. Happy Holidays!
xoxo

1st deadly sin: Vanity

I previously posted that I would be researching more into each of the seven deadly sins. The first is very relevant in my current career, in the makeup and modeling industry. Vanity. Pride. Ego. Narcissism. Conceit. 

Here is the dictionary's definition:

van·i·ty

   [van-i-tee]  Show IPA noun, plural -ties,adjective

noun

1.

excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities,achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity.

2.

an instance or display of this quality or feeling.

3.

something about which one is vain.

4.

lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.

5.

something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

I have always been interested in the seven deadly sins. In high school I took AP Art with a concentration in 3D design and sculpture. My thesis was discovering the consequences of the choices we make. One piece, I made was somewhat inartistically titled, "Seven Deadly Sins" and consisted of seven ceramic masks shaped and glazed to represent each of the sins. My mask for vanity had high cheekbones, blonde curly hair, full red lips, and tan skin, no other details. Everyone associates vanity with appearance, but you can have excessive pride in a variety of things other than your image. You can have conceit over the car you drive, the job you hold, your degree, your lack of education, your children, your food consumption skills, the color of your nail polish, anything really.

Vanity is stereotyped as something that all model's have. It is a makeup artist's job to make a model look as beautiful and confident as possible, which often gets manipulated and transformed into a type of vanity. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of vain models, just as there are plenty of vain athletes, lawyers, doctors, garbage men. Any profession can yield prideful participants. I happen to be in the business of beauty, which is often compared to vanity. Heck, the mirrors we use to apply makeup and prep for shoots or shows are called vanities. 

Clearly, this is because we use the mirrors to adore ourselves. But, are we guilty of the deathly sin of vanity every time we ponder over our reflection in a mirror with good thoughts? Are there varying levels of vanity, such as stage 1, thinking fondly of yourself, stage 2, telling your boss you deserve a raise, stage 3, tweeting how good you look in your new business dress, stage 4, telling your boss he should've gave you the promotion, not Susie-What's-Her-Face, stage 5, telling Susie-What's-Her-Face that you'd be better at her job than she is, stage 6, tweeting the entire office, and the entire world, that you are better than Susie-What's-Her-Face?

Would you say that an act of stage 6 caliber is worthy of death? Does God think in levels or are all sins counted as the same? We know that God says his ways are not our ways, that man cannot begin to understand his ways and that we should not try and test God. 

So, why is holding such a high regard for one's self a bad thing? After all, we were made by the Creator! And he placed us above all other things on Earth. That surely means we are something special and should look at ourselves as such.

Why not be vain? You can find the answer in humility. Being humble makes you relatable. Humility makes you human. When you put yourself above others, it makes them not like you. Do you like people who act like they are better than you? Who are constantly tooting their own horn? Do you appreciate them? We are told to strive to be Jesus-like. I know Jesus was not going around from town to town lifting his nose and turning his cheek at the poor because, hey, he is the son of God.

I want to put a clear difference between confidence and vanity. Confidence is having courage. Vanity is being a coward. Those who display the largest egos typically have the lowest self-confidence. They use excessive pride as a cover up for their low self-worth. Having confidence means you are a go getter and you are sure of yourself and what you can accomplish. Truly confident people, know what they want to achieve, and then they actually achieve it! Simply having vanity does not make moves, it does not create progress. Actually, you're likely to turn off everyone around you and regress. Having such high pride creates distain for you in others. Think of how many people hated Kanye West after he stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift in the most widely talked about cowardly, vain, acts of 2009.

As far as your soul is concerned, being vain from time to time may not make you a terrible person, but it doesn't make you a good one either. Strive for greatness, but earn it. You will shoot yourself in the foot if you are too prideful on your journey to the top, and your visit will be brief if you are too prideful once you're there. Give thanks to those around you and always believe that there is someone better than yourself out there. This will not only keep you humble, but keep you striving to achieve more.

xoxo

Secrets men won't tell you

Here's a great article on 20 things that men think but will never tell you.

http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/advice/men-dating-secrets

xoxo

7, not 9, deadly sins

Yesterday I posted the Wikipedia explanation of the seven deadly sins. I was rereading and realized, that Wikipedia can't count, and included 9 deadly sins. Here is a quick breakdown I found online of the seven that I'll be exploring.

Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.

Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

xoxo

seven deadly sins

Here is your very obviously copied and pasted Wikipedia explanation of all seven deadly sins. I will be blogging about each one in the coming weeks, so catch up on the basics for now, and you'll be reading from me soon!

Historical and modern definitions of the deadly sins

[edit]Lust

Main article: Lust

Lust or lechery (carnal "luxuria") is usually thought of as excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature. In Dante's Purgatorio, the penitent walks within flames to purge himself of lustful/sexual thoughts and feelings. In Dante's "Inferno", unforgiven souls of the sin of lust are blown about in restless hurricane-like winds symbolic of their own lack of self control to their lustful passions in earthly life.

[edit]Gluttony

Main article: Gluttony

"Excess"
(Albert Anker, 1896)

Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony (Latin, gula) is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In the Christian religions, it is considered a sin because of the excessive desire for food or its withholding from the needy.^[13]

Depending on the culture, it can be seen as either a vice or a sign of status. Where food is relatively scarce, being able to eat well might be something to take pride in. But in an area where food is routinely plentiful, it may be considered a sign of self-control to resist the temptation to over-indulge.

Medieval church leaders (e.g., Thomas Aquinas) took a more expansive view of gluttony,^[13] arguing that it could also include an obsessive anticipation of meals, and the constant eating of delicacies and excessively costly foods.^[14] Aquinas went so far as to prepare a list of six ways to commit gluttony, including:

• Praepropere - eating too soon.
• Laute - eating too expensively.
• Nimis - eating too much.
• Ardenter - eating too eagerly (burningly).
• Studiose - eating too daintily (keenly).
• Forente - eating wildly (boringly).

[edit]Greed

Main article: Greed

1909 painting The Worship ofMammon by Evelyn De Morgan.

Greed (Latin, avaritia), also known as avarice or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to a very excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was "a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." In Dante's Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts. "Avarice" is more of a blanket term that can describe many other examples of greedy behavior. These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason,^{[citation needed]}especially for personal gain, for example through bribery. Scavenging^{[citation needed]} and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds can includesimony, where one profits from soliciting goods within the actual confines of a church.

As defined outside of Christian writings, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs, especially with respect tomaterial wealth.^[15]

[edit]Sloth

Main article: Sloth (deadly sin)

Over time, the "acedia" in Pope Gregory's order has come to be closer in meaning to sloth (Latin, Socordia). The focus came to be on the consequences of acedia rather than the cause, and so, by the 17th century, the exact deadly sin referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts.^{[citation needed]} Even in Dante's time there were signs of this change; in his Purgatorio he had portrayed the penance for acedia as running continuously at top speed.

The modern view goes further, regarding laziness and indifference as the sin at the heart of the matter. Since this contrasts with a more willful failure to, for example, love God and his works, sloth is often seen as being considerably less serious than the other sins, more a sin of omission than of commission.

[edit]Acedia

Main article: Acedia

Acedia (Latin, acedia) (from Greek ακηδία) is the neglect to take care of something that one should do. It is translated to apathetic listlessness; depression without joy. It is similar to melancholy, although acedia describes the behaviour, while melancholy suggests the emotion producing it. In early Christian thought, the lack of joy was regarded as a willful refusal to enjoy the goodness of God and the world God created; by contrast, apathy was considered a refusal to help others in time of need.

When Thomas Aquinas described acedia in his interpretation of the list, he described it as an uneasiness of the mind, being a progenitor for lesser sins such as restlessness and instability. Dante refined this definition further, describing acedia as the failure to love God with all one's heart, all one's mind and all one's soul; to him it was the middle sin, the only one characterised by an absence or insufficiency of love. Some scholars^[who?] have said that the ultimate form of acedia was despair which leads to suicide.

[edit]Wrath

Main article: Wrath

Wrath (Latin, ira), also known as "rage", may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. Wrath, in its purest form, presents with self-destructiveness, violence, and hate that may provoke feuds that can go on for centuries. Wrath may persist long after the person who did another a grievous wrong is dead. Feelings of anger can manifest in different ways, including impatience, revenge, and vigilantism.

Wrath is the only sin not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest (although one can of course be wrathful for selfish reasons, such as jealousy, closely related to the sin of envy). Dante described vengeance as "love of justice perverted to revenge and spite". In its original form, the sin of anger also encompassed anger pointed internally rather than externally. Thus suicide was deemed as the ultimate, albeit tragic, expression of hatred directed inwardly, a final rejection of God's gifts.^{[citation needed]}

[edit]Envy

Main article: Envy

Like greed, Envy (Latin, invidia) may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons:

• First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally.
• Second, those who commit the sin of envy not only resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, but also wish the other person to be deprived of it.

Dante defined this as "a desire to deprive other men of theirs." Envy can be directly related to the Ten Commandments, specifically "Neither shall you desire... anything that belongs to your neighbour". In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow for another's good".^[16]

[edit]Pride

Main article: Pride

Building the Tower of Babel was, for Dante, an example of pride. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

In almost every list pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris, is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce feelings of humility.

[edit]Vainglory

Main article: Vanity

Vainglory (Latin, vanagloria) is unjustified boasting. Pope Gregory viewed it as a form of pride, so he folded vainglory into pride for his listing of sins.^{[citation needed]}

The Latin term gloria roughly means boasting, although its English cognate - glory - has come to have an exclusively positive meaning; historically, vain roughly meant futile, but by the 14th century had come to have the strong narcissistic undertones, of irrelevant accuracy, that it retains today.^[17] As a result of these semantic changes, vainglory has become a rarely used word in itself, and is now commonly interpreted as referring to vanity (in its modern narcissistic sense).

[edit]

xoxo