Softlips Cube and Raising Cane's review and some babbling...

Sunday, 19th of April, 2015

So, I shall begin this log entry with my opinion of the Pomegranate Blueberry Softlips Cube that influenster sent me to review. Since I received my Campus VoxBox, I have not used any other lip products until today, with the exception of an overnight application of my C. O. Bigelow Rose Salve for testing purposes which I will later explain.

First off: flavor. Amazing. If it was meant to be eaten, I'd happily have gotten through it in one sitting. As I said in my youtube unboxing, I love fruity flavors. And I ESPECIALLY love pomegranate. It's got a lovely tartness to it, and paired with a blueberry's pure sweetness is just a perfect kind of pairing of flavor. And then to top it all off with a bit of menthol? Genius.
Scent: also amazing. I can't say much more than what I just said about flavor, so just reread that last paragraph; but think of it in reference to scent, rather than flavor.
Feel of it on my lips: It feels kind of like rubbing a hard stick of butter across your lips. Only, a stick of butter that wouldn't melt or soften and doesn't taste like butter. That's the feel of applying it. The feel of it once it's on your lips though, is not much different than the feel off a fresh application of any other chapstick. I like the thick and hard (That's what she said) lip products, but my personal preference is the softer lotion-/gel- like lip moisturizers. But if it takes good care of my lips, I push preferences aside and don't really care.
Moisturization: Not gonna lie, Softlips, ya'll kinda let me down here. This is where I explain my one application of something else during the six days I used the Cube. The first day that I got the package, I immediately started using the Softlips Cube. My lips had already been very dry and cracked and peeling, as I often focus on other things rather than whether or not my lips are ok. I sometimes don't apply something until I crack my lip and bleed and feel the stinging. I just forget to put stuff on, ok? Anyways, so, dry lips, I think, "Hey, what a better time to see what the Cube can do than now?" I immediately start using it. I smear some on, and constantly applied it anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour between applications. The peeling didn't go away. I'd remove as much of the dead skin as possible and just continue using it. My lips just kept peeling and drying out. That was two days. And overnight, I applied a nice thick layer in hopes of waking to luscious moisturized plump lips, only to wake to my usual parched lips. So, day two ends, and I decide to use my absolute favorite lip product, C. O. Bigelow's Rose Salve... (which I have no idea where to buy. My big sister gifts it to me from time to time because she knows how much I love it. I fell in love with it when she let me use some of hers a few years ago when my lips were very dry, as they often are. That sentence is horrible. Allow me to rephrase: A few years ago, my big sister offered me some of her rose salve when she noticed how dry my lips were. I don't usually accept, but that day something compelled me to. I applied some of the rose salve she carried with her and fell in love with it. Ok, I'm somewhat satisfied, very sleepy, and still have stuff to say. And forgot where I was. Lemme re-read really quick and get back to what I was saying... Got it.) ... just overnight because it's amazing and I want to try the Cube when my lips are at their best. If it can't stop the peeling and cracking, maybe it can at least keep them from peeling and cracking? Just barely. I think I had an average thirty-five minutes between applications just to keep the dry feeling away.

Basically, what my Rose Salve can do with one application every few hours, the Softlips Cube can't do with applications every half hour or so.
But those are just my lips. Maybe it works much better for someone else. You never know. ^_^
And my top three favorite and the most effective lip products I've every tried are the C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine, and Korres Lip Butter. The third is great for adding a bit of color, which I rarely ever am in the mood for, but it also does a fantastic job healing and protecting lips from drying out.

And now for the babbles:
I just posted episode two of my comic, Unfortunately Unfiltered, to tapastic.com! It's not the best- I was falling asleep while making it- but I'm gonna try and make each comic better than the last.
Ooh! Another restaurant review! Raising Cane's. Ever heard of it? It's like a cross between chick-fil-a and Church's or KFC. I personally love it. So much. Instead of chick-fil-a's ripply grid cut fries, or other fast food joint stick fries, they have the ripply stick fries. And they're perfectly salted. Not too much or too little. They also serve cole slaw like KFC, but it's not as good as the obviously very unhealthy but amazing coleslaw from KFC. Now, the main part of the meal: the chicken tenders. Piping hot. (which always makes a customer feel special because it's like they fresh-made that meal especially for you. They went out of their way to start cookin' a new few tenders JUST for you.) Real chicken. (Not like that mushy weirdness at other joints. *AHEM!* McDonalds... Burger King... etc...) Fantastic crispy breading. (Like KFC or Church's where you feel guilty about eating it but push the feeling aside because it tastes and crunches sooooooo gooooooood!!!!) That's five star fast food right there. Not gonna lie. And if any Cane's employees read this blog, tell your bosses ya'll deserve a raise. I had a FANTASTIC drive-through experience with you guys this past Friday. I have never been treated so friendly at a fast food place, or been served so quickly and efficiently. I'm a VERY happy customer. You have added yourselves to my list of favorite eateries, and have earned a special place in my chubby little heart. Expect another visit from me soon. Very soon.
And I describe my heart as chubby because I REALLY love food. If my stomach was bigger, I'd eat a LOT more...
Anyways, moving on!
Actually, nah, I'm good for the night. I've already said more than I expected to, and I'm falling asleep now haha.
Take care, God bless, and go try something new! I love you all! G'nite!

~Captain Polar Bear

P.S.
My top three favorite and effective lip products are the C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine, and Korres Lip Butter. The third is great for adding a bit of color, which I rarely ever am in the mood for, but it also does a fantastic job healing and protecting lips from drying out.
Also, I am not supported by any brand or company mentioned in this or any of my posts. C.O. Bigelow product photos courtesy of C.O. Bigelow.

Campus VoxBox

Monday, 13th of April, 2015

I received my campus VoxBox in the mail todaaaaay!!! :D So excited. I filmed the unboxing and posted the video to youtube, and I am gonna try and embed it here. Let's see if it works...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ftlc4nRjExE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

If the doesn't show up, you can use this web address: https://youtu.be/Ftlc4nRjExE and watch it there.
The Campus VoxBox comes with Sour Punch Punchies and Rainbow straws; a Softlips Cube in Pomegranate Blueberry; Jergens Sunless Tanning Mousse in Deep Bronze; St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub; L'oréal Paris Ultimate Straight Shampoo Pre-Conditioner and Conditioner samples; and a chance to earn $25 to use on ebay for writing two guides. I'm excited to try everything out and write the reviews and post some pictures! :D
Also, I recently enrolled in some online Master Tailor courses so I can learn how to design and create clothing on my own! I have always loved designing and have been so lucky that I had a mom who could sew, so she's been able to make me some of the things I've designed, but she wants to learn more, and I want to learn. Period. I'll post my creations as I go. Right now I'm just learning sewing machine basics. Can't use a sewing machine if you don't know anything about one, right? :D
Short, sweet and simple because I have a lot to do; take care, God bless and I love you all! And as always, go try something new!

-Captain Polar Bear

P.S. I'll be uploading episode two of Unfortunately Unfiltered on Tapastic soon! Keep an eye out for it! :D

Catchin' Up

Wednesday, 8th of April, 2015

So I figure now's a pretty good time to fill you guys in on what happened in that long-ish span of time when I stopped postin' for a while.
I failed my calculus class last semester for reasons I shan't divulge because of the shame it has caused me, so I'm taking it again. It's the only class I'm taking this semester, so with just that and work, I don't have much to do. Perfectly fine with me though, because there's so much I've been able to start working on. Like picking up where I left off with my Captain's log, enrolling in a course to learn sewing from a man with a funny accent and starting a comic!!! (The comic is called "Unfortunately Unfiltered" and you can find it on tapastic.com in case you're interested.) :D Speaking of which, I also came across that website for Tapastic. It's an amazing site where comic readers and creators can connect and creators can publish their comics on the site and some people even make money off their comics. There are a lot of great comics out there and I am dangerously close to becoming addicted to the website.
As for work, I'm still working with the most awesome people ever doing the most amazing thing ever. Teaching about SCIENCE!!! (My two favorite subjects have always been science and art.) It's a really fun job.
I still love daydreaming about all the things I hope to someday do in the future, both near and distant; however, not having told you about that, this must be news to ya...
OOH! When Valentine's day came around, I had an AMAZING date with my future hubby! We went to Caracol. It's "Mexican Coastal Cuisine" and I had such a delicious cheesy buttery lobster. The food presentation was gorgeous, but I don't really understand serving refried beans and rice as a side for lobster. But hey, it was good, so no complaints here! :D

Hmmm... what else?... Umm.... Ooh! My cousin has moved in with my family and I which is awesome 'cause he's my favorite cousin; and yes, before you ask, I DO feel bad for having favorite family members, but hey, why lie to myself, right? And my birthday is coming up this month. (hint, hint) ;) Ah, and for those of you who read because of Influenster, I'm going to get another VoxBox soon! I'm kinda really excited, 'cause who doesn't love free stuff? It's called the Campus VoxBox. 

There's a lot but my brain is a bit fried. I have to do homework and start on the next episode of my comic, as well as start some sketches for a possible artistic commission. Maybe next episode I'll start telling you guys the epic and awesome embellished tale of Outlaw Tiger and Captain Polar Bear! Haha, I'll think about it. For now, take care, God bless, go try something new (like reading comics or eating at a Caracol Mexican Coastal Cuisine restaurant near you!), and I love you all! I appreciate all the views and finding that I also have readers in Russia and other parts of Europe! I hope to see some comments some time! I'm curious what some of you are like, if I have any constant readers, and to hear of some of the new things you guys have tried. Maybe I'll go and try some of it out myself! :D Until next time! G'night! ^_^

-Captain Polar Bear

UTI Home Remedy

Tuesday, 7th of October, 2014

It turns out that I have a sensitive urinary tract. And when I say sensitive, I mean even the wrong body wash can set off a urinary tract infection. I'll just say uti from here on. I have had quite a few uti's within the past couple years. And I've taken the antibiotic courses twice to get rid of 'em. Those work just fine and dandy, but if you forget to take your pill once or twice, you run the risk of creating an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that will just make things worse and lead to more problems. However, I may have found a cure that will not mess with healthy bacteria levels, does not have the risk of creating stronger bacteria (so far as I know), and can be bought at any of a bazillion stores.
So you know cranberry pills promote a healthy urinary tract, right? You take 'em daily, sometimes with every meal. They come as softgels, tablets and chews. Well, they appear to also get rid of uti's! (I have yet to confirm with a doctor, but I doubt I'll have a chance to. I try taking them regularly and haven't gotten another uti in a good, nice, long while. If I ever do get another, I'll try this again and go to the doc once it feels like it's gone.) For me, the uti is gone in less than a day if you take a few extra pills early enough. Various sites explain that something in the vaccinium oxycoccos, or vaccinium macrocarpon, or just cranberry, if you will, prevents the E. Coli bacteria (Cause of uti's) from sticking to the walls of your urinary tract; so I assume it all just gets flushed out before it can cause any more problems. (WARNING: CHECK WITH A DOCTOR BEFORE, OR AFTER, LEAVING YOUR URINARY TRACT IN THE CARE OF FRUIT AND/OR PILLS.) This is what goes through my mind, "It's just cranberry. I doubt taking double the recommended dose will have any negative effects on me." So far, they haven't, so I don't worry. At the first sign of the uti, I take a couple extra caplets, wash 'em down with a nice big glass of water, and try avoiding sugar till it feels like i'm good again. From there, I'm good with going back down to the recommended 1 pill a day. And since the pills don't work on the bacteria, but rather the environment, I doubt resistant bacteria can come of simply taking a few extra cranberry pills. AGAIN, I REITERATE, I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I HAVE NOT CONDUCTED PROPER TRIALS. AND I AM ONE PERSON OUT OF BILLIONS. Maybe it won't work for you? Maybe it'll work BETTER for you? Who knows? If you do try it, like I said, go get yourself checked with the doc again to be sure.
I do prefer the "one a day" cranberry caplets to the six a day softgels. And so far, the most effective brand for me is Spring Valley, which I buy at Walmart.

So, as always, take care, God bless, and I love you all! 

-Captain Polar Bear

 P.S.
Image courtesy of onetreebrands.com.

Woopsies!

Sunday, 29th of March, 2015

I do apologize for the long respite, I've gotten so caught up in life that I forgot all about this little log of my voyages. On the bright side, I have much to talk about!
SPRING BREAK!!! I love road trips. And a road trip is JUST what my family and I did for Spring Break. We drove from Houston, TX to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon where I fell in love with the small town of Williams, Arizona. I was ecstatic to find that you can be in 60, almost 70 degree weather and still have plenty of snow to make a snowman with.

They say when you see the Grand Canyon, you have one of two reactions. 1- It's an awe-inspiring, sometimes life-changing or life-questioning event. OR 2- It's a big hole in the ground. My reaction was something of a combination, but with more of 2 than 1. It's a big hole in the ground. Albeit and big BEAUTIFUL hole in the ground, but still, one they don't let you climb freely. Especially when you're with your overprotective father. It's gorgeous, the landscape begs for photographs; but you have to stay on paths. And I've never been a big fan of perfectly safe and manicured paths. I wanna climb here and there, stand on that precarious ledge, leave my mark (by mark, I mean this polar bear paw print that I draw just about everywhere), etc.  Other than that, the grand canyon is awesome. :)

Sunset somewhere on the way to Arizona --->

 <--- SQUIRREL! :D

 Native American snowman. Made him on the side of one of the paths at the Grand Canyon. :D

My mark is there by the drawing of the polar bear. Kinda haha ^__^

FOUR CORNERS!

 Standing in four states at once. Oh yeah.

 Me (the one in the neon backback) and my little sister.

 Williams, AZ. Such an adorable little town. <3

Me workin' on that first snowman with the alien bug eyes and stick antennae haha.

After two days of the Grand Canyon and cute souvenir shopping and three snowmen, we moved along to Durango, Colorado. There we did a little more souvenir shopping and I got hit on by a man that was high and spoke in a different language. It was completely awkward and I had never felt my knees and shins sweat before. The rest of me kept its cool though, thank God.
After Durango, we moved on to see Silverton, Colorado which turned out to be a ghost town when it's not tourist season,

 and then to the city that stole even more of my heart than Williams, AZ; Ouray, Colorado. That city is a dream for me. Great food, cute buildings, and SO MUCH TO EXPLORE IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS!!!! And did I ever mention that I love snow? They don't call me polar bear for nothin'. ;D There was SOOOOO MUCH SNOW!!! And I made more snowmen there. But I only have pictures of the best one I made. The polar bear! All he needs is a little captain's hat. XD

His little snout...

In the process. (I made him while walking.)

His cute little bear tail.

MY MARK AGAIN! My paw print in Colorado. :D

SNOW ANGEEEEELLLL!!!! (Imagine I sang that haha)

We also ate at this fantastic burger joint in Ouray called Maggie's Kitchen, where I left my paw print among all the signatures and messages from travelers in sharpie all along the tables and chairs and walls, doors, windows, ceilings and even the bathroom. Speaking of which, I'd like to give a shout out to KayaBear12 and arlen_ny from instagram who left their signatures in the bathroom there at Maggie's!

My mark again. I will cover the world in my paw prints. 

AND AGAIN! Somewhere else in Colorado haha

Landscape near Silverton. Or was it near Ouray?... It was near both technically, when you think about it...

Ok, so that was a quick run-through of my spring break. What'd you guys do? :D Leave a comment below, go try something new, take care, God bless, and I love you all!

-Captain Polar Bear

P.S. Whaddaya think of the new paw print? Better? I lost the old one, so if you liked that one better, oh well. We're stuck with this one for now haha :D

Time's A-Wastin'...

Thursday, 25th of September, 2014

Much has changed since my last post. I'm coming to realize that as much as I want to be involved in and do all these different things, I must prioritize. I cannot do all at once. There's just no way. School has to be done. Work has to be done. Chores have to be done. My responsibilities with the audiovisual stuff for church has to be done. With just that, my mind can barely keep up. And still I daydream of learning four more languages, a wedding, opening an art gallery, doing carpentry, learning metalsmithing and glassworking, learning to drive standard, exercising with my future sister-in-law, volunteering with all these different organizations, the list goes on and on. There is SO much that I would love to do. I'm gonna drive myself crazy. I can see that happening.
This semester, I am taking two classes only. Just these two and I get my associates degree in science. I am feeling like I have progressed to a brick wall. Climbed a ladder to find a greased pole to climb. What now? What college do I transfer to? How am I gonna make it? I have no financial aid, no scholarships, and I am unwilling to take out a loan. Community college tuition and book costs have been nice. Just the hundreds. Everywhere else: thousands. My head spins. My fiance and family tell me not to worry. It's just money. We can figure it out. I have such amazing people pushing me forward. I worry the load may become too heavy for them to keep pushing. I am unable to relax about this. How does anyone suck it up and just push forward with it?
On the bright side, I'm getting better at getting rid of distractions. I've removed all the social media apps from my phone. I only have access to email on there now. And internet. Next step: get rid of this game that I have become addicted to. One that requires your full attention for about three two-hour periods every single day. Clash of Clans. Dear lord, I pay as much attention to that game as if I was living there as well. It's one of the only two "customize your own place" games that I've ever been able to enjoy. The other one: YoVille by Zynga. THAT game. Wow. I was SO addicted to it. It was like THAT became real life for me, while the real world became imaginary.
I can't keep wasting time. It passes faster than you expect. I gotta keep trying for scholarships. I have to start looking into colleges. I have to get some homework done. I've gotta exercise and eat better. I've gotta help out around the house and spend time with the people who matter most to me.
That's it for tonight. I'm nodding off here at the computer. I need sleep. G'nite everyone!

~Captain Polar Bear

Change, SurfsUp VoxBox, and Torchy's Tacos

Wednesday, 6th of August, 2014

First off, my apologies for not having posted in a while. You'd think you'd have more free time on vacation, but I've had so much to do. Matter of fact, I'm not sure how I even have time for this post right now. But anyways, I'm back. :)
I have just enrolled in my classes for this fall semester. I'm FINALLY gonna get my associates degree. And I'm actually excited for my Calculus class. Everyone says it's such a hard subject, so I'm really excited to give this class a go. I love challenges. I admit, I can be pretty lazy, but I've been trying to change that. Lately I've been trying to become a better person. I've started exercising, trying to eat healthier, trying to become a more disciplined and responsible person, and trying to better my relationship with God. I know it's possible, I see so many others doing it, but I can't figure out how they find the time to work on everything! Work has me out of the house a lot, I'm becoming more motivated to be healthier (because I can finally see my abs a little when I flex), and I have the desire to work on myself, but there's also chores at home, church and other activities, I'm gonna have school going on, I want to spend time with my boyfriend and time with my family, I occasionally watch movies and shows with my siblings here at home... I'm not giving up. I'm not getting lazy. I just have no idea how to juggle this schedule haha :D But like I said, I love challenges. I'll figure this out, I know.
Anyways, as for this SurfsUpVoxBox, I haven't had any reason to try the pain relief shot, no headaches lately, no menstrual cramps, nothin'. So I have no review for that. The Tropicana After Sun lotion with aloe vera gel hasn't been used either because despite this being summer and there being a lot of sun, I haven't gotten much. When I go out to exercise and run with my brother, it's usually late at night. During the day, I'm indoors. Working, drawing, on the computer, etc. What else was there? Oh yeah! I used the coupon for a free package of Jamba Juice smoothie mix, tried the smoothie, and loved it. Heaven in a glass. Did I already tell you guys about that? Can't remember... Anyways, so that was awesome. Really sweet, which I loved, but some of you out there are probably gonna want to water it down a lot. Ah, the Sinful Colors nail polish in "Anchors Away" (orange). Beautiful gloss, glides on easy, lasts a good couple days without a top coat. Not my favorite color, but it still looked good. Pretty good nail polish for its price. :D And finally, the waterproof Bombshell Curvaceous 2-step mascara from Covergirl. Beautiful stuff. However (maybe I'm putting it on wrong or something) it does flake a little bit and you have to keep checking and wiping the little black specks off your face. Also, even the waterproof makeup remover sometimes won't take it off completely and you'll have to put more remover on once or twice.
Ok! New restaurant! Name: Torchy's Tacos. Location: La Centerra in Cinco Ranch, just west of Houston, TX. Story: started out as a Taco Truck and made it big. My opinion: awesome food, the prices are like 3-5$ a taco (a whole bunch of awesomeness in about a 6 inch diameter corn or flour tortilla), great flavors, good sauces, and they have their own sodas, which I have yet to try. The decor in the place is cool. This place is awesome if you want some flavorful tacos that you can't get at your local Stripes or mexican restaurant. My favorites: The Crossroads and Mr. Orange. Try those two tacos.

Anyways, I have to go get ready for work, it was an absolute pleasure spilling my mind to you, world. Have an awesome day, go try something new, God bless, and all that good stuff!

~Captain Polar Bear