Random Tuesdays 10/16/2012

Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 2009.

Mabel Strickland sure was one tough lady!

Lip Balms

I have superdry lips and have to constantly apply lip balm, if I want my lips to look like less like the Grand Canyon. Needless to say I've gone through quite the array of different lip balms and am always looking for new ones.

Here's my current collection:

From the left:  Rosebud Perfume Co's Brambleberry Rose, Rosebud Salve and Strawberry Lip Balm with Rose & Co's Zam-Buk Herbal Balm. Weleda's Everon Lip Balm, Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter and The Body's Shop's Vitamin E Lip Care. On the right Fig & Rouge's Sweet Geranium, Aloe & Mint, Rambling Rose and Coco Vanilla Organic Balms. 

Rosebud's balms are all pretty much the same, with just different flavors and scents. The original Rosebud Salve might be a bit more vaseline-like than the others. Brambleberry Rose's scent is my favorite of these. Zam-Buk is also similar, but it's green and has a herbal/pine scent. All of these work in pretty much same way, since they're petroleum jelly based.

The Body Shop's Vitamin E Lip Care is my oldest favorite, I've used it for I don't know how long! I love it, it fixes irritated lips and gives them a subtle shine. It's also easy to use, since it's in a stick form. I've also used a ton of different lip butters and sticks from The Body Shop, but Vitamin E remains my favorite. My other favorite is Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter and I also like their Honey Lip Balm. I'm not so much a fan of their original Beeswax Lip Balm, it's bit too minty for me. Weleda's Everon Lip Balm was an emergency purchase once, and while it does it's job just fine, if not great. I'm just not a big fan of the scent.

The Fig & Rouge's Organic Balms are a new acquisition. I ordered them from Lookfantastic.com, since they had 4 for the price of 3 deal. I'd never before ordered from Lookfantastic, but decided to give it a try since they do offer free shipping to Finland. Everything went well and I think their prizes are pretty reasonable. The balms themselves are definitely different from my other lip balms. They are petroleum jelly free and have a grainy texture that melts on your skin, leaving just a hint of shine. Worth trying!

After taking the first photo I realized I had forgotten (at least) one lip balm that's currently in use:

C.O Bigelow's Lavender Salve, which is another petroleum jelly based balm. Works the same way as the others, but has a subtle lavender scent to it.

Besides these balms I've also tried a bunch of other lip balms and vaselines, but I'm always up for trying new ones. Does anyone have any good suggestions for lip balms to moisturize extra dry lips?

Perpetual Student Ponderings

Perpetual student. Yup, that's me. I have two bachelor's degrees under my belt (three bachelor's theses written) and two master's degrees on the way. I have a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degrees and I'm working on Master of Arts (only thesis left, yay) and Master of Business Administration (lots left) degrees. I love to learn, life without learning would be boring.

Last week during my Research Tools class (part of my Master of Business Administration degree) I talked to one of my classmates. Actually we did an assignment together through email and finally met up face to face in class. He is originally from Egypt and this is his second Master's degree he's working on, so we had something in common. He is working full time for a large tech company, but decided to start a second Master's degree, since going to school in Finland is for free. Also, he wants to have an advantage in the job market, since he already considers himself having one disadvantage, being foreign. Now, I'm not foreign in Finland, and I never felt foreign in the U.S job market (or in the country itself, until I got pregnant), but I see his point. But what I can really relate to is why he is studying as much as he can, while he can. That's basically the biggest reason why I'm still studying; because I have the opportunity and because I can afford to. Talking to my classmate made me, once again, realize what a privilege it is to be able to study whatever you like, as much as you like.

Campus bus at the University of Vermont

Having/working on so many degrees raises a few eyebrows though. In Finland I've heard that I'm wasting tax payers' money and taking away a study place from someone else. In the U.S I've heard I'm just wasting time, I'm lazy for not making money and weird for not obsessing about my career. I do feel slightly guilty about using (not wasting!) tax payers' money, but I do hope I can return the favor when I head back to working life. As for taking someone else's study place, well, perhaps I was a better candidate for the spot? They can apply next year anyways. I definitely don't feel like I'm wasting time, and being a stay-at-home mom and a graduate student in two different universities can hardly be called lazy! As for not obsessing about my career, guilty as charged. I proudly admit my child/family comes before my career and I have confidence that despite not obsessing about it, I should be able to make a career for myself just fine.

I love the academia, but I also understand studying isn't for everyone. I do believe though, that high school diplomas are no longer enough, some sort of college or vocational education is needed, unless your career aspirations are to be a cashier or such. If, for example, my child turns out to be the non-studious type, I will urge him to get a degree of some (perhaps general) sort and then be done with school. I don't expect him to gain several degrees, I don't expect anyone else to either. I've only done so, because I really wanted to, had the time to and I've loved all the studying I've done. I don't plan on applying to any new schools though. If I will continue my studies again at some point, it'll be for a PhD. Hopefully I'll end up working in a learning environment, where I can use all these abilities.

I'm really curious what people think about education. Do you think everyone should aim to get a college degree? Do degrees in general matter? Should education be tuition free like it is in Finland? Are perpetual students like me annoying (wasting money/time etc.)?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Random Tuesdays 10/09/2012

North Central Nebraska in 2011. 

Our lil man wandering on mother-in-law's backyard. One of the things that I miss about Nebraska are the the vast open spaces. Behind the few (planted) trees, there is almost nothing but cornfields as far as the eye can see.

How to fight fall gloom?

This is my second fall in Finland after a long absence and I'm once again feeling a bit gloomy. It's not just that the days are getting shorter, it's more of the fact that sun doesn't even make a quick appearance. It's just rain, rain and some more rain. The darkness never used to bother me before I moved to the U.S, it only started affecting me after I returned to Finland, so this gloom is a relatively new phenomena for me.

Do you experience fall gloom and how do you fight it?

I know some people travel elsewhere for the weekend, go to spas, watch movies, meet up with friends. Some resort to more home-y things like cooking yummy foods, burning candles or just plain sleeping more. I've resorted to online shopping, which always makes me a bit happier, to the dismay of my husband, I'm sure. This time the antidote was a lovely Disney (I know haha) bag and, surprise surprise, a pair of Rieker heels!

Rieker Raffaela heels, the correct color is somewhere in between these two pics

I think this might be my last pair of Riekers this fall, unless of course I find a nice pair of ankle boots from them, must keep my options open! I ordered the heels through Javari.de, which I highly recommend to my Finnish readers. Free shipping to Finland and very competitive (although ever changing) prices! The site is in German though and I couldn't find a way to change the language, but even with my very modest German skills (acquired when living in Germany), I managed to make an order just fine.

I also ordered the cutest bag ever from Javari: 

Minnie Mouse Zip Bow Bag (in the catalog and real life), which I think looks rather snazzy. 

I don't know if you can tell right away that it is a Disney bag, but I was a bit worried it would be like a kid's bag. No worries though, I think a grown up person like me (some might beg to differ that that's not an accurate description of this blogger) can use it just fine. Love it!

My darling husband had also noticed that I'm suffering from the gloom, so when I got home from class yesterday, these were waiting for me:

Love him!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

When I grow old, I'd like to be...

... a motel/inn keeper. 

I know it doesn't make much sense, since I've spent years educating myself and certainly have never enjoyed working in the service sector. But when I'm older, probably closer to retirement age, I'd like to buy a small inn or a motel somewhere in the countryside and start managing it. I'd obviously hire people to do the cleaning/night shifts and I could also raise puppies on my spare time ;) I know I have way too romantic of an idea of inn/motel keeping, but a girl can dream, right? :)

photos from google

Do you have any equally weird dreams/plans that you'd like to share? :) 

Is there something you'd like to do when you grow old, after your initial career?

Random Tuesdays 10/02/2012

Homecoming Parade in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2008. 

University of Nebraska had their annual Homecoming Parade last weekend, so here's a photo of the parade taken a few years back.

Féerie Rose des Neiges

I wrote about celebrity scents a while back and decided it was time I got myself a new one with the birthday money I got. This time I didn't venture to the celebrity scent isle. Instead I decided to do a "blind buy" based on fragrantica.com suggestions. I wanted something rosy, but not too little girly or grandma-ish, and I wanted something that I could use this fall and winter. I chose the notes on fragrantica note search and bought this through Amazon.co.uk for £14 + shipping:

Van Cleef & Arpels' Féerie Rose des Neiges

I wasn't disappointed, it was exactly what I hoped for. A sweet rosy scent without being too sweet or too rosy :) Fragrantica describes the scent, which was launched last year: "Feerie Rose des Neiges is a clean, pure and delicate fragrance of floral - fruity composition. Top notes of pink pepper and litchi bring icy freshness, while the heart of rose and magnolia provides refinement. The final trail consists of cedar wood and tonka bean.", which is pretty much accurate. Although I don't normally buy scents without trying, this blind buy was a success!

Have you bought scents without trying? Was the scent what you hoped for?