Starting F~R~E~S~H

Every January I tend to re-evaluate my life. Something about staring down the barrel of a calendar year does that to me. I don't make resolutions per se, but I do make changes (same thing I guess, though resolutions seem temporary and trivial) or at least try and seek out what changes would make my life better.

Lately (after going to Disneyland, actually), I started examining what really makes me happy. The truth is, I don't really know half the time. Clothes and buying them make me happy, as does new makeup and skin products (more on that later) but it's rare that I truly L O V E something. It does happen but not as often as I would like.

Disneyland made me happy - how could it not? But what was it about Disneyland that did? The weather, the freedom, the excitement, the change.

And so I surmise that my life is lacking sunshine, freedom, excitement and change.

The sun is shining - for once - outside my window as I write this but I know it's temporary. It will cloud-over tomorrow. But I have a plan for that.

This week I am injecting COLOUR into my wardrobe. Inspired by Spring and Sunshine and Flowers, I am shedding my all grey/black/navy wardrobe (I just can't get enough grey, sorry) and incorporating one HAPPY piece into each day's outfit, hoping to bring some more light into my life.

That aside though, how can I get more freedom, excitement and change?

Change is easiest - I've already started running more and am now officially training for the Vancouver Sun Run 10K marathon in April, something I have never done before, and considering my feet, something I never thought I could do. Along with my incresed fitness (oh the freedom of just being able to run), I will also be shedding the pounds.

Yes, go big or go home only works for me. Screw 5 pounds, I'm going for 15. I want changes, big changes and seeing those come to fruition will be exciting in itself. And bring a little bit of freedom along for the ride as well.

But in all honesty, freedom is what I crave most. And though I have generously been given three weeks vacation time from work, I only have one week left. And with my boyfriend's family reunion in July in Toronto, I have to save at least half of those days. Which means my dreams of jetting off to Palm Springs to join my parents or San Francisco to join my friend are dashed...as was my other plan to go to Paris in May.

See, what really makes me happy, what incorporates freedom, excitement and change, is travel. And if you've read my slightly defunct travel blog, you know how much traveling means to me.

Hell, my name is WANDERLUST after all, and I'm sad to say that the wanderlusting gene that was mostly dormant last year is back in full-swing and torturing me.

I need to get away. But I work and can not. I dream of throwing the job to the wind and taking off but I've never stayed with a job for more than 6 months and I finally have a good job (on paper) and feel I must stay for as long as I can...especially with this turbulent market out there.

Sigh. I guess there are worse problems to have, I just sometimes wish I was back in school where I could slack my way through the year and then travel all summer. All that freedom.

In the meantime though, I will work and calculate plans that would somehow bring freedom, change and excitement into my life. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet, but there is some creative force inside my soul that I can feel churning away and an impulsiveness that is distracting me from the mundane.

I've even brought out my journal, big blank pages, knowing that soon I will be writing in it, figuring out how to get the most from my life right now and how to make me the happiest I can be.

That's what I am doing for 2009.

******
In Disneyland I hit up the Sephora in Downtown Disney and spent a bundle on a few brilliant products. Normally I walk out of Sephora with a lot of hastly-chosen junk (but let's face it, nothing in Sephora is actually junk) but this time I was impressed:

-Gold Sephora Eyelash Curler
I used Shu Umera for years and it was starting to lose it's hold. I plucked this up thinking it was Shu Umera but didn't realize it was Sephora brand until later. Doesn't matter, this is the best eyelash curler I have ever had, hands down! Believe me, I have spindly, thin, pale lashes and this curled them so well that I didn't even have to heat it with a blowdryer (as I always do).

-Too Faced Mineral Eye Pencil
Another product to help my consistently tired eyes. This putty-toned pencil contains actualy mineral water so when you line the inside of your lash line, it not only cancels all redness but soothes your eyes as well. brilliant.

-Fresh Strawberry Flowers Perfume
So sweet and beautiful - spring in a bottle. Refreshingly authentic

-Korres Wild Rose Moisturizer
I have the Wild Rose Serum which lightens spots and dark circles so I was overjoyed to get this as a free sample. Though I have oily skin that doesn't need moisturizer, this one somehow makes my face feel soft and luxurious, without causing unusual breakouts.

-Tarte Cheek Stain in Tipsy
Again, this has a fresh, invigorating feel and is enhanced with vitamins and minerals. Water-based and oil-free too! Perfect coral flush with a slight sheen, going to look amazing with a tan come Spring and Summer...plus that apricot smell gives you a hankering for cool sorbet.

-Korres Pomengranate Lip Butter
An impulse grab but so glad I did it. A light coral-ish sheen, soft creamy feel - literally like rubbing a fruity butter on your lips.

-Benefit Erase Paste
Another weapon against my unyielding and horrendous under-eye circles. This thick brightening concealer really works. I apply it with a concealer brush before or after I put on my dermablend under-eye concealer for extra camo. It's quite wet and thick so you will have to powder it well so it doesn't rub off but this is quite a miracle-worker. Somedays it works better than others (somedays my circles are unmaskable) but I still recommend this to anyone who has struggled with covering those tired areas up. I think the slightly peachy tone really counteracts the blue\purple areas.