Book Review: One Blink At A Time

I think that everyone on social media became aware of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this past summer.  If you haven't heard of it, it was a viral sensation where people filmed themselves being doused in ice water in order to raise awareness for ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).  If you were challenged by someone, you had 24 hours to film yourself being doused in ice, or you could choose to make a donation to ALS research.

I'll admit that when the whole craze was going on I thought it was a bit silly.  I thought, "What does pouring ice on yourself have to do with ALS?  Why not just make a donation?"  I figured that a monetary donation would surely do more in the end for those living with ALS than filming a video and posting it online.

But then I read One Blink At A Time by Ismail and Cheryl Tsieprati.  Ismail has been living with ALS for 30 years, and in his book he talked about what an amazing thing the Ice Bucket Challenge has been for ALS research.  Regardless of whether people donated or filmed a video, the fact that so many people participated really helped to spread awareness of the disease.  I was aware of ALS before I read the book, but Ismail pointed out that many people weren't until the Ice Bucket Challenge happened.  Many celebrities participated as well, which of course provided tons of exposure for the cause.  Ismail, Cheryl, and their friends Phil and Jane even filmed their own video, which you can view here!

Cheryl and Ismail with their friends Phil and Jane in January of 2014

I learned a lot about ALS through reading One Blink At A Time, and I even found an answer to my earlier question about what pouring cold water on yourself had to do with ALS.  Since ALS is a neurodegenerative disease, those afflicted lose control of the motor neurons in the brain.  Without the use of the motor neurons, the brain can no longer control the muscles, thus leading to muscle atrophy.  Ismail explains that he is always cold, even in 70 degree (Fahrenheit) weather because he does not have the muscle mass that a person without ALS has to keep him warm.  So, dumping cold water on yourself for just a few minutes creates a feeling that Ismail lives with constantly.

Ismail with his team of nurses and the Ismail's Supporters team mascot, "Lou"

Although one might be inclined to feel bad for someone living with a degenerative disease, Ismail and Cheryl don't want anyone to feel that way.  Ismail doesn't want people to feel bad for him because he says he has so much to live for.  Many people with ALS don't live long after their diagnosis, but Ismail has beat the odds and has been living with the disease for 30 years!  Cheryl, their doctors, and team of nurses provide excellent care for Ismail.  I could never imagine what it would be like to have ALS or care for someone who does, but I'm thankful I was able to read their stories because they taught me so much.

I think it's also important to realize that people with ALS do not lose control of their minds.  Their motor neurons aren't firing anymore, but that doesn't mean they aren't as intelligent as they were before their diagnosis.  In one of the chapters Cheryl tells of a time when a doctor kept asking her questions about Ismail and his medical history, even though Ismail was fully capable of answering them himself.  He told the doctor, "I am not stupid. You are stupid."  It can be awkward or uncomfortable to be around someone in a wheelchair or otherwise, but it goes a long way to treat them as you would like to be treated, regardless of their condition.

Cheryl and Ismail

Cheryl and Ismail developed an "eye blink" system that allows Ismail to communicate with her and his nurses even though he has become paralyzed, hence the title of the book.  He blinks once for "yes," twice for "no," and they also have a letter chart he uses to spell out words.  He wrote his chapters of the book using this system.  I can imagine that using this system takes a lot of dedication and patience for everyone involved.  I'm thankful that Cheryl and Ismail developed it, otherwise this book may not exist otherwise!

• Learn more about Ismail and Cheryl and purchase a copy of their book at OneBlinkAtATime.com
• Follow Ismail on Facebook and read more at their blog

Bottom Line: I don't want to give away too much of the book because I think everyone should read it.  Ismail and Cheryl are doing great work in spreading the word about ALS, and profits from each sale of the book will be donated to ALS research.  Even though they don't like to be called heroes, I think Ismail and Cheryl are just that because of all of the work they do to spread awareness about ALS, and the fact that they cherish what's important in life.  Luckily they have an amazing support system, and I hope that this blog post will encourage some people to purchase the book!  Not only is it a great read, but you'll help fund ALS research through your purchase as well!

*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Blue Point Books. Press sample received for review purposes.

Memebox Superbox 80 - Pumpkin Pie Cosmetics Review

I purchased Memebox Superbox #80 back in October, and it's also the last one I've purchased since then.  I love the smell of pumpkin pie, and pumpkin itself is also a great ingredient in skincare products.  Since the name of the box was "Pumpkin Pie Cosmetics," I was curious to see if they'd include more skincare or color products.

This box cost $23 plus shipping, and I'm pretty sure I used Memepoints to pay for most of it.  Since Memeboxes ship so late after you initially pay for them, I don't always remember what they actually cost me.  Either way, $23 is a good price for a Superbox, which contains only full-sized items.

There were five items total, but I forgot that I hadn't taken pictures of the box yet and I swapped one of the items away.  Oops!  I didn't really love this box overall.  There was really only one product that had anything to do with pumpkin which was disappointing because I was looking forward to a lot of pumpkin-scented products.  The other products aren't bad, they just don't fit the theme to me.

• Dearberry Coco's Secret Recipe Pumpkin ($16 for 100 mL) - I love the packaging on this, it's so cute!  It's a pumpkin wash-off pack made from real pumpkin extracts, but it doesn't smell like pumpkin or pumpkin pie to me.  It just smells like "clean," which I know isn't very descriptive, but that tells me that it was artificially scented after the fact because "real pumpkin extracts" don't smell like cotton.  I'm still probably going to give this a try, and I'm glad to have it simply because of the cute packaging (I know, I'm weird like that).

• Tonymoly Gold Black Sugar Mask ($7 for 100 mL) - Tonymoly is a really popular brand so I generally trust the efficacy of their products.  This is an exfoliator made with black sugar, gold, and honey extracts.  What's interesting to me is that it's a mask, not a standard face scrub, so you put it on your skin for 10-15 minutes then rinse it off.

• Enesti Shea Butter Hand Cream in Lemon & Verbena ($5 for 50 g) - I can always use more hand creams, and this one has a nice, silky formula.  It also smells really good.  It has a blend of lemon and verbena extracts that gently soothe the skin.  My only complaint is that it doesn't squeeze out of the tube very easily, you really have to bunch up the packaging to get any product out.

• Enesti Day to Day Rice & Milk Foam Cleansing ($14 for 160 g) - I posted this for swap as well because I already have a ton of cleansers to use.  This is made with milk protein and rice extracts to cleanse away makeup and skin impurities.

The box also came with an Insobeau Multi Complex V-Line Repair Sleeping Mask ($42 for 80 mL), the highest valued item in the box.  I've never used a sleeping mask before and I don't like the idea of them, so I swapped it.  My skin is oily and sensitive, so I don't think that applying a mask that's geared towards dry skin overnight would be of much help to me.

Bottom Line: This was not my favorite Memebox.  I felt that the name was a misnomer, considering it only contained one pumpkin item and no cosmetics.  The total retail value was $84, but the Insobeau item made up half of the value.  I probably won't be buying any more Memeboxes for a while because I have noticed that their curation has been slipping.

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Post contains affiliate links.

Saturday Thoughts: NYC Edition Part II

It's been a week since I got back from New York City and I'm finally catching up on sleep.  I really enjoyed my time there and I wish I could live there.  Maybe someday.  Anyway, here is what we did on the second day of our trip!

The main goal for Saturday was to go to the American Museum of Natural History.  We considered going to a Broadway show for our main "thing," but they are expensive and there wasn't anything I was dying to see, but I definitely wanted to see the museum.  It's located in Central Park West and was only about a 10 minute train ride from our hotel.

As soon as we walked in I was in awe of how big it was.  I knew it was a giant museum, but I'd never been to one as large as this one.  The line for tickets was surprisingly short, considering the crowd inside of the lobby.  The museum has "suggested" admission prices and we paid the full $27 suggested price for adults (it's normally $22, but we also opted to see one of the special exhibits) because it must cost a ton to keep a museum like this running.

I feel like I need to reiterate how enormous this museum is for anyone who has never been!  There are four floors and tons of different wings.  The first one we walked through was the Akeley Hall of African Mammals, which seemed to the first one everyone walked through because it was closest to the admission gates.  It was incredibly warm inside, so we walked through quickly and went to the upper level, which was a bit less crowded.  Two of the animals were donated by George Eastman, who lived here in Rochester and started the Kodak company.

Here's a photo of Eastman's donated Klipspringers.  He was a big game hunter, so I wouldn't be surprised if he killed these himself (not that they're big game, but he did go to Africa on hunting trips).  He also donated a Water Buffalo.

I loved looking through all of the animal exhibits because they were all put together really nicely.  Each animal was set in their natural habitat and there were tons of little details included to make it just right.  We also walked through the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, the Hall of Asian Mammals, the Hall of New York State Mammals, the Hall of Primates, and the Hall of Small Mammals.

We paid $5 extra each to see the Nature's Fury: The Science of Natural Disasters exhibition.  It was really interesting and I liked it because it's not a topic I know a lot about.  They had displays for hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.  The photo above is of real wreckage from the first-ever recorded EF5 tornado that ripped through Greensburg, Kansas in 2007.  The whole town was leveled, and it was kind of eerie to see the items from the wreckage.

One of my favorite exhibits was the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples.  We only ended up walking through this and the Hall of Eastern Woodland Indians from the "Human Origins and Culture Halls" collection because after three hours of walking around we were tired!  This hall was so cool, though, and I loved seeing all of the masks and other cultural artifacts from these peoples.

Then, of course, we had to see the dinosaurs!  There are two dinosaur halls: the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs, and the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs.  We almost missed the Saurischian ones!  These were two of the busiest halls, as you can imagine, but it was well worth battling the crowds.  I also liked that the rooms were well-lit with natural light, since the animal exhibits were all dark.

We also walked through the Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals and the Hall of Primitive Mammals.  These were interesting, but not as exciting to me as the dinosaurs.  Since all of the displays are fossils and skeletons, it was hard for me to imagine what the animals looked like (even though they had drawings of them near the displays).  I preferred seeing the taxidermy animals in the other halls.

The other halls we looked at were the Hall of Birds of the World, Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds, Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians, David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, Harriet and Robert Helibrunn Cosmic Pathway, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Hall of the Universe.  Pete really enjoyed the space parts because he's into physics and astronomy.  I wanted to see the Hall of North American Forests and the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, but there was a huge line for the ocean life room and we didn't feel like walking to the forests one.  You can learn about all of the permanent halls here.

After being on our feet for three hours we were tired and hungry!  There were a few food carts lined up outside of the museum, but we weren't in the mood for fried food.  We walked a few feet into Central Park to explore that but then we realized we didn't want to walk anymore, either, so we took the train to one of the places I really wanted to try: Momofuku Milk Bar!  We went to their Upper West Side location and got some cookies and cookie mix.  I had gotten their Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow Cookie Mix in my Home Sweet Homespun Birchbox and they were so good that I wanted to visit the shop in person and get more.  They actually had only one tin of the Cornflake mix left (thankfully!), and I also picked up a Confetti Cookie Mix.  The shop itself was small, but they had a bunch of desserts in the window for you to choose from.

I considered trying the B'Day Truffle, and the Birthday Cake in the upper-right hand corner of the photo was calling my name, too.  Their cakes cost something like $40 though (I think), so we decided on some cookies instead.

Pete got a Chocolate Chocolate Cookie and I wanted to try their Compost Cookie; it has tons of stuff in it like potato chips and pretzels and butterscotch chips.  The woman at the counter told us that it would be a better deal if we got three, so I got a Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow one as well.  All three were really delicious, but I preferred the Cornflake over the Compost.

I know this is a long post, but we managed to pack a lot of things into our second day!  Thanks for bearing with me.  After the museum and Milk Bar we headed back to the hotel to get off of our feet and to just relax.  ABC Family was showing the Harry Potter movies so I watched one of those while Pete took a nap.  After relaxing for a while, we headed out to The Smith for dinner.  You can find a restaurant on every corner in New York, but I had a specific type in mind.  I wanted something that wasn't too fancy but that was still nice and had delicious comfort food.  I stumbled upon The Smith while doing some online research before the trip, and I'm so glad I found it!  The food was fantastic and the ambiance was nice but relaxed.  We ordered the mac and cheese for an appetizer, but it very well could have just been an entree on its own.  As you can see from the photo above, it was so cheesy and delicious!  I also ordered the Cavatelli, which came in a 10-hour short rib ragu sauce with mascarpone cheese, and Pete ordered a steak.  Both of us were very pleased with our dishes.

Can you tell that we love food?  I knew going into the trip that I would be spending most of my money on meals and snacks.  My friend Linze told me that I had to try pinkberry, and there was one a few blocks from The Smith so we walked down to it.  There are plenty of frozen yogurt places here in Rochester, too, but I know pinkberry is very famous for their yogurt.

I got the Salted Caramel and Pete got Cookies and Cream and both were fantastic.  I loved how full of flavor mine was, and the toppings were perfect.  I'm glad we got to try it!

Since this was our last night in the city, we really wanted to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center lit up.  It was about a 15 minute walk, but it made more sense to just walk than to get on the subway again.  I loved seeing all of the buildings lit up.  Unfortunately, once we got to Fifth Ave it was crazy busy.  I guess I should have assumed it would be, but I was taken aback by how many people there were.  We had to just hold hands so we didn't lose each other and push through the crowds!

A lot of people were lined up to see the light show at Saks Fifth Ave.  I had known about it but forgot that it existed until we got here and I realized what was going on.  It was cute and fun, but not worth almost getting trampled for.  In the photo above the show isn't playing yet, but you can see it in this YouTube video.

Finally, the tree!  It really is a huge tree, and it looked so cool in front of the Rockefeller Center building.  We weren't able to get super close to it, but considering the crowds I wasn't that interested in pushing through people just to get that close.  We were able to admire it from a decent distance.  After we saw it I wanted to go inside of Saks, knowing full well I was just browsing.  They had 60% off sales going on, but even with the discount it was way more expensive than anything I could afford.  It was fun looking through, though.

Originally we had planned on heading back to the hotel after seeing the tree, but Pete looked up FAO Schwarz and it was just a little bit further down Fifth Ave, so we decided to go.  I liked it a lot better than the Toys R Us!  They had a huge floor of candy so I filled up a Chinese take-out style container for $20, and Pete got giant Reese's Cups for his friend.  All together the candy cost us $58 (I know, we are ridiculous!).  But hey, it's New York!

There was a really cute Bunnies By the Bay display, which is a brand I know of through social media.  I don't have any kids so I don't have a reason to buy anything from their line, but if I have the need in the future I'll definitely be getting some things from their online store!

There was also this enormous Pinkie Pie My Little Pony.  It didn't have a price tag on it, but I'm guessing it cost at least $200.

Oy, so that's pretty much everything we did during our second day and night in NYC.  Our flight left at noon the next day, so we were up and out and at LaGuardia at around 9:30 the next morning.  I'm kind of tired all over again just thinking about everything we crammed into those two days, but I'm glad we did it.  It was a ton of fun and I got to see pretty much everything I had wanted to see.  The next time we go I think I want to hit up some of the more "tourist-y" places, like Central Park.  I had wanted to see the High Line and the World Trade Center memorial, but we just didn't have time.  But there will be a next time!  Thanks for reading!

December Arcade Block Review

December's Arcade Block was one of the best yet!  My boyfriend, Pete, subscribes and he texted me when he got it saying it was his favorite box so far.

Arcade Block costs $19.99 a month plus shipping, which brings it to about $30 if you live in the U.S. (it ships from Canada).  It's part of the Nerd Block family, and the items inside are all from different video games.  Like the original Nerd Block subscription, there is a t-shirt in every box.

• Portal Scarf ($19.99) - I don't know a lot about video games, but I do know that Aperture Laboratories is from Portal.  This was Pete's favorite item in the box.  Even if you're not a Portal fan, this scarf is really nice for winter; it's warm and well-made.
• Asobu Touch Control ($9.99) - This attaches to your smartphone so that you can play games with an arcade-style joystick.  It works with all touchscreen phones and tablets.  I think this is such a cool idea!
• The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass Figure ($4.99) - This is a blind box item with a Zelda character inside.  I didn't take a picture of the figurine we got, but Pete didn't even know who/what it was and he knows Zelda pretty well. I was able to find it just now through a Google search, I guess his name is Linebeck.  The figurine inside can be found here, it's the one on the left in the second photo.

• Sonic the Hedgehog Fridge Magnets ($6.95) - I love these magnets!  You can arrange them on your fridge to create a scene from the game.
• Halo Lanyard ($5.95) - This has an attachment you can add your ID too, which is nice if you work at a place like I do that requires you to badge in through every door.

• Super Smash Bros: Brawl City T-Shirt ($20?) - Pete really liked this shirt, and I think it's pretty clever, too.  It's a play on the Grand Theft Auto logos, except for Super Smash Brothers.

Bottom Line: This box had a good assortment of things from games that Pete likes, so this was a great box for him!  It's a little difficult to place value on these items because I often have to go to Amazon or eBay (and I can never find the actual t-shirts, either), but I think with boxes like this one the value is more in finding items that match up with your interests.  Either way, I approximate the value of this box to be about $67.87, which is well worth the $30 price!

*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

My Favorites For 2014

I've had this blog since 2011, but I think this year was the year that I had the most fun with it.  A full-time job and higher income meant I had more money to try new subscriptions and other products, even though that also meant I sometimes had less time to devote to blogging.  I've always wanted to keep this blog strictly as a hobby, and I have no intention of changing that for 2015.  In regards to the year ahead, I just want to keep trying new things and having fun with it!

Like I said, I got to try a lot of new subscriptions this year, and most of them were really great!  There were a few not-so-great experiences (actually, I can only think of one off of the top of my head), but that's bound to happen.  Read ahead for my favorite subscriptions and products from this year!

Favorite Makeup Product - Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
Okay, this was technically released in 2013, but I got it as a gift for my birthday on December 28th and I posted the review in January of 2014.  I am the biggest fan of neutral eyeshadows, and my friend Linze picked out the perfect gift when she gave this to me!  It has more shimmers than mattes, but I prefer shimmery shadows so I don't mind the imbalance.  Too Faced is my favorite cosmetics brand overall because they're cruelty-free, and they didn't disappoint with this palette!

Favorite Subscription Service (Overall) - Birchbox
I think Birchbox is the most-well known of all of the beauty subscriptions (and maybe of ALL subscriptions, period), but I'm choosing it as my favorite for this year because I think it's the only one I stayed subscribed to for the entire year.  When I first joined back in 2012 I took a few breaks from it because the products weren't too exciting.  I signed back up in June of 2013 and have stayed ever since.  They really improved their user profile, and since then I've had great luck with my boxes.  Also, you can't beat the $10 price.  I guess it's kind of fitting that I ended the year by visiting their standalone store in NYC!

Favorite Beauty Subscription - BoxyCharm
I only purchased two BoxyCharm boxes this year, but I kept up on the reviews from other blogs and was consistently impressed by what they included.  I like this subscription because they send all full-sized products for a reasonable price of $21 per month.  They featured a lot of great brands, too, like tarte, ncLA, and Tarina Tarantino.

Favorite Snack/Food Subscription - Love With Food
There's a lot to love about Love With Food: they're affordable ($10 a month), they feature only natural and organic foods, and they donate a meal to a child in need for every box purchased!  I bought a three-month subscription from Rue La La, but I've enjoyed it so much thus far that I'm definitely going to stay subscribed once my initial three months are over.

Favorite Green/Eco-Friendly Subscription - Vegan Cuts
Vegan Cuts offers two great subscriptions, and I was lucky to try both this year.  They have a Snack Box and a Beauty Box.  I'm not sure which one I prefer more, it's hard to choose because they're both fantastic!  I love that they make vegan and cruelty-free products accessible to everyone, and that they feature so many great brands.  I was especially excited to receive a full-sized LUSH soap in the box above (November's Beauty Box).

Favorite Geek/Gamer Subscription - Arcade Block
Geek and gamer boxes definitely increased in popularity this year!  I tried a few, but when my boyfriend subscribed to Arcade Block in October we both liked it quite a bit.  It's a little bit more expensive than some others because it ships from Canada and we're in the U.S., but it's worth it (especially for Pete) because it features all video game products.

Favorite New Subscription - Harry Shum, Jr. and My Subscription Addiction Quarterly Co.
I tried Quarterly for the first time ever this year when Harry Shum, Jr. became a curator and I thought his first box was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, that was his one and only box.  Luckily, Liz from My Subscription Addiction launched her own box around the same time, so I signed up to receive her second shipment.  I was bummed that I missed the first one, but it was my own fault for not subscribing.  I'm glad to be a subscriber now, though!

Favorite Box (Overall) - PopSugar Must Have Special Edition Holiday For Her
I. LOVED. THIS. BOX!  I never would have thought that I would spend $100 on a subscription box, but the reviews for this one were so great that I had to have it.  I have no buyer's remorse!  Everything inside was so wonderful and well worth the price tag.  I think this is the best curated box I've ever received!  It was also a great deal because I used a coupon code that allowed me to get the December PopSugar Must Have box for free.

So there they are, my favorite things from 2014.  I'd love to hear what your favorite boxes and purchases were, feel free to tell me in the comments!