I'm telling you what; few things make me stalk the poor postman more than knowing I have a box from Influenster on the way. Since I received notification that I was picked for this round, I kept a close eye on both my mailbox and my inbox to make sure I didn't miss a thing.

I don't know how, but this box is was literally made with my needs in mind - not kidding! Check it out!

 VoxBoxes are like a mini Christmas morning for me! I avoid spoilers as to whats in the box like the plague!

First, we have the Rimmel Stay Matte foundation in Light Porcelain. Now, I've already purchased this and have been testing it, so if I end up really loving it then I won't have to repurchase as soon. I'm pleased to see that they sent me my exact shade thanks to their pre-survey!

This is the Red Rose Real Tea  Premium Water Enhancer. I may or may not be sippin' on this right now...and its actually really good! I'm definitely a tea snob, so I was a little iffy about the whole "water enhancer" aspect of this but I'm finding it quite enjoying. My favorite part about it is that it is only lightly sweetened, and there are only 5 calories per serving (which is great since I'm on quite a strict diet nowadays!). There are no dyes or coloring and a very short ingredients list. I like the sound of that! This also came with a $1 off coupon.

NYC is a brand that I've never really dabbled in. I've picked up a few pieces here or there, but I've never sought it out on purpose. From the swatch of this one, it actually has really good color payoff and doesn't have a fragrance to it. Not to mention, the color is right up my alley. This is part of the Expert Last Lip Color range and the shade is Forever Fuchsia. If I like this one, I might try out some more from the line.

I'm not all too sure how well I'm going to be able to keep track of this one to be honest. I lose pens like it's my job. I forget them in my hair, my car, at work, the grocery store - anywhere. I thought this one was cute though, as the color is inspired by Pantone's picks for the best colors of spring. The first time I wrote with it, it didn't take any warming up and wrote immediately. This also has a coupon for $1.50 for a 3, 4 or 5 pack of these.

Lets see how long these stay up to my job - I work in backroom stock, so its a lot of carrying things, opening boxes, etc. so you can imagine that my nails aren't always too great looking. The last press on nails I used were from a different brand and didn't last all too ridiculously long, so I'm hoping I'll have better luck with these. The design on their website is called Chic Mystique and it is the short length (thank goodness). They're definitely really cute for spring!

Okay, okay. I'm going to blog about tampons now - All I'm saying is...good timing! TMI alert! I've actually not tried Playtex in a very long time, so we'll see!

Allrighty then! I'm pretty excited about this box being one half makeup and the other half super useful. Expect to see in depth reviews for the makeup products and some updates on the others in the near future!

Begging the Obvious Question - Where Have I Been?

I would like to start this blog post by taking a moment to apologize for my sporadic posting schedule leading up to my complete absence recently. There were times where I would come back to writing and posting and promise over and over again "I'm back! Don't worry!" and fall off the grid again. Given the lack of consistency, I'm very thankful for my readers whom have stuck around during my absence as well as the new ones gained during said hiatus - Welcome! Its not always like this!

I figured due to a hefty mix of wanting my readers to understand why I fell off the radar for a while as well as a good amount of catharsis for myself, I would share what has been going on with me.

Before anyone begins to worry - nothing lifechanging or terrible happened, just my own personal problems I had to deal with.

If I'm going to give you the short story, its this; I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression - I have for the better part of 10 years now. It normally does not have drastic effects on my day to day life, but is more something I can live with.

This is where the story gets a little bit longer. The ending part of last year was actually quite positive for me, in hindsight, but the excitement of it was kind of lost in translation for me. It wasn't that I lacked the passion for things I normally enjoy, but rather I lacked the motivation. November through January became work, eat, sleep, repeat for me with little time on the things that I enjoyed outside of work. I felt like I was in a rut, and you know what? That's okay. Its normal and it happens to me every once in a while. I'm accustomed to that being part of my life.  February is when things started getting really difficult. Around the second or third week of February, I had a massive panic attack on a Wednesday morning out of the blue. No trigger, just woke up and could hardly get the words out to my mother (who has been my biggest supporter though this) that I thought I might be having one between hyperventilating. These giant panic attacks don't happen often - there will be years in between them sometimes - but they are a pain in the royal rear end to shake. Taking into account how much love and dedication I have to my job - I was out of work for a week. Better yet, I couldn't get myself out of bed for a week. When I have these "episodes" (as I refer to them), they throw my life for a loop. I couldn't sleep, but I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I lost five pounds in a week simply because I could not eat. It made normal tasks into mountains for me.

So I went back to my doctor, and we changed my medication. I'm very blessed to have a doctor who not only understands my condition, but has it herself! She doesn't make me feel like a crazy person, which was the fear that kept me away from getting my initial help until 2010 (when I had my first "episode" in 2005...)

How am I doing now? I would say if before November was a 10 (10 being my "normal")  and February being a 1, I'd probably be somewhere between 7 and 8. Almost back to my normal self. I've come to terms that this is something I may have to deal with for the length of my life, and I'm okay with it. We all have struggles and illnesses and what have you, and this one is is mine. I'm very blessed to be surrounded by such a great "support group" of my family and friends and doctor.

So this is a good enough time as any to say, I'm back! I wanted to wait until I felt that I could be consistent and I feel like I'm in that spot again. I have a lot of great new ideas too!

Again, I want to extend thanks to all of you for staying with me - it means the world to me.

I'm going to leave you with a song today. This was written and recorded by one of my nearest and dearest friends who is a very talented musician. Out of all of his songs, this one is my all time favorite and it really speaks to my heart, especially now, so I wanted to share it with you all. Have a wonderful night/day and you'll hear from me very soon!

Travis Mashburn - Faith (Demo)