SHUT YOUR FACES

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/

Scientific Studies Aspartame has been found to be safe for human consumption by the regulatory agencies of more than ninety countries worldwide, with FDA officials describing aspartame as “one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved” and its safety as “clear cut.”
When the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food evaluated aspartame (pdf) they found over 500 papers on aspartame published between 1988 and 2001. It has been studied in animals, in various human populations including infants, children, women, obese adults, diabetics, and lactating women. Numerous studies have ruled out any association with headaches, seizures, behavior, cognition, mood, allergic reactions, and other conditions. It has been evaluated far more extensively than any other food additive.

When new rat studies by the Ramazzini Foundation in Italy (link) appeared to show an association with tumors, the European Food Safety Authority examined Ramazzini’s raw data and found errors that made them discredit the studies. Their updated opinion based on all the data available in 2009 said there was no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic potential of aspartame and that there was no reason to revise their previously established ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) for aspartame of 40 mg/kg/day. (You would have to drink over 8 liters of Diet Pepsi in one day to go over the ADI.) Studies have shown that actual consumption is well below that limit.

People who are absolutely convinced they get adverse effects from aspartame have been proven wrong. For instance, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study (link) of people who reported having headaches repeatedly after consuming aspartame. When they knew what they were consuming, 100% of them had headaches. In a double blind crossover trial, when they didn’t know what they were getting, 35% had headaches after aspartame, and 45% had headaches after placebo.

Also sacchrine:

Saccharin (Sweet n' Low) was on California's list of chemicals known to cause cancer for several years. The label was added to comply with CA law. Saccharin was removed from the list in 2001[link] because the few studies that showed a link to cancer had been disproved. I do not know of any other artificial sweeteners that were on the list at any time.


In the case of Saccharin, the biochemical pathway that turns it into a potential carcinogen, only exists in rats.

Whether or not artificial sweeteners lead to diabetes or weight gain isn't the issue here. The issue is that artificial sweeteners have not been shown to be carcinogens. So lay off. I am going to drink my Diet Dr. Pepper and you can enjoy your high fructose corn syrup.


SOURCE

eShakiti dresses

I was doing my blog roundup today, skimming over the many fashion and style blogs I follow, and I read about this company where you can order and customize their clothing. Welp, that's pretty cool. Bright Side Dweller -- who I love because it's just lots of pictures, minimal text, and her photos are always in the bathroom, like mine :) (See my instagram for many photos of me in the office bathroom. Our mirror is smaller than hers. Oh and I like filters. Sue me.) -- was asked to review an eShakiti dress. Love the dress on her, and the customization got me curious. So, I decided to check out the eShakiti website.


I selected the collared poplin dress and the keyhole front knit dress.

I provided my size and height and customized both dresses to be above the knee length (not short, but just above the knee) and gave the poplin dress short sleeves with tie-ups and I gave the keyhole dress cap sleeves. I love cap sleeves.

But I was just messing around. I wasn't actually going to buy these. Get to check out. Turns out that right now they are having a BOGO 50%. Sweet. With shipping and the BOGO, it was around $102. Huh. Not that bad actually.

In addition, you can ask for a $25 gift coupon for your first purchase. Grabbed that. And a quick google search provided another blogger review with a promo code. Nabbed that. Total purchase? $58.90. About $30 for each dress, and each dress is customized. Really not a bad deal. So, I bought them.

So much for frugal march, but I've been wanting more work dresses. Okay I'm not sure they keyhole one will be work appropriate, we'll have to see how that falls, but the other one with the friggin' collar. Love that.

I'll update when I get them in. I had thought about adding a few pictures of other dresses I like, but there are just too many. So here is the link. You check it out. Oh they also have skirts and tops, but I was just too enamored with the dresses.

March Resolution

I actually wrote down these March resolutions at the end of February, I just haven’t put them on my blog until now. I haven't modified any of the stars or the goals to fit more in line with how I've done so far this month. And let me tell you, things aren't going so well. In fact, I think I deserve a negative star for the first resolution. I think I might be able to scrape by with a D at this point…

March Resolutions

*** - $0.00 discretionary spending – The exception: I’ll give myself a $5 buffer for when I use my Kohl’s cash

* - Make a large salad at least 1x/week - No croutons. No ranch dressing.

** - Eat more fruit and less sweets - Mmm, pears. Mmm cookies. 

** - Unpack and arrange books/bookshelves - Yes, we've lived here since October and our bookshelves are all still pathetically empty.

*** - Go one whole week without being a minute late for work - I tend to slip in at 5 minutes past. I'd very much like to break myself of that habit

** - Dress more professionally - I tend to get away with dressing creatively at work, I'd like to reserve my creative outfits for causal Fridays

* - Bring lunch 1x/week - I prefer to grab something, or drive home for lunch. This is not very cost effective!

* - Vacuum entire apartment - we're very bad at keeping up with this

* - Finish “Clash of Kings” - The first couple chapters are NOT gripping me and I'm having trouble getting through them. I just get distracted and do something else, but I really want to see what's going on so I've got to power through

* - Spend less than $75 on dining - I like to go out to lunch, but that get's pricy

* - Wash and moisturize 2x daily - I just got a Clarisonic Mia, so hopefully that will help

And because I’m a little nerdy, here is my rubric:

20 *’s = A+

18 *’s = A

16 *’s = B

14 *’s = C

12 *’s = D

As far as rewards go, I wanted to have a non-monetary “punishment” for failure. I think I came up with a pretty good one. I also wanted to have a reward for getting a passing grade, but I wanted the reward to pale in comparison to the passing grade for an A+.

If I earn less than twelve stars, I have to volunteer to take cat box duty for all of April

If I earn all twenty stars, I get to put $50 in the OCC Lip Tar kitty

If I earn between twelve and twenty stars, I get to put $5 in the OCC Lip Tar kitty.

31 Day Blog Challenge

Stolen from Inspired by Tiffasaurus Rex.

Photos taken today with my iPhone. See my awesome crimpy, frizzy, bed braid hair and my favoritest outfit evar.

(Pinstriped vest, Express (thrifted); Paisley Dress, Target; Boots, Target; Bracelets, Philippines)

1. I wish the chipped nail trend were more popular because I'm way lazy, dudes.

2. I create detailed back stories for my characters in non-linear RPGs. Let me tell you all about Darethys Mora (YES I KNOW HOUSE MORA DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE SHUT UP leave me alone), the runaway Dunmer noble. Compassion for the poor and for slaves. Despises Aedra and defiles their shrines. Gets her ass kicked a lot. I have several paragraphs on her. And on Brynhildur Bjornsdottir, the nord from Rorikstead. Very prejudiced against magic. Charges in to situations without thinking. Umm, I could go on. But I'll stop. Unless you'd like to hear about the unscrupulous Dr. Libby Lexor 

3. I'm basically the worst gift giver ever. I like it when people tell me EXACTLY what they want or else, guess what? You're getting socks.

4. I love tea. Mostly black tea, but the occasional green tea. I'm not sure I've ever waxed poetic about tea on my blog, but I've got a beautiful bright orange brown betty style teapot that makes me smile. I really do not like tisanes though. Many of them are pretty but the flavor does nothing. And no freaking caffeine!

5. I can solve a Rubik's cube using the Fridrich method, but I can't do it very quickly.

Backfire!

My plan to go window shopping and forget about it backfired. I was logged into Sephora while window shopping.

"Come back," says Sephora. "Gimme yo monnayyy!"

Black and tan

Striped cardigan, Target.

Black dress, Filene's Basement

Taupe booties, Target

Plush tights, Ross

Necklace, Grandma Carol

Sunglasses, Walmart

 

Window Shopping

Yesterday's gift card shopping has made my money start burning holes in my purse/wallet/bank account. I've got this sudden urge to BUY STUFF. So today I'm "window shopping" at a few websites.

Forever 21 total: $92.52

The China Glaze Dress Me Up and Sugar pallette are gifts for Tiffasaurs. Yes, I'm buying gifts while window shopping. Sue me.
Cherry Culture total: $150.69

OCC total: $160. I really want these! I think it'd be so much fun to experiment and make my own color combos.


Grand Total: $403.21

Of all of the above, the one that I'm most likely to do is the OCC purchase. I will likely purchase all of those except the pinks... NSFW, Triptych, Feathered, Clear, Tarred, RX, Traffic and Iced, (in that order) With those I can make pretty much any color. If I'm unable to make a perfect Anime, though I'll purchase that. I think if I add a drop of RX to anime, I could make Pretty Boy. And a drop of Iced might make Yaoi. (LOVE those name btw)... I think half of the fun of Lip tars are mixing up your own combinations.

Anyway, that's my window shopping haul! (I'm so pathetic)

Kohl's Haul!

This is how I started out the day. Levi skinnies, plain black tee, furry vest, and OTK boots.

I saw this Vera Wang Princess skirt and snapped it up immediately, even though I'm not quite sure how I'll style it yet. I just threw together a couple outfits with a few things I had in the fitting room.

This IZ Byer top (pictured above, tucked) seemed a little boring at first, but I'm a big fan. The loose waistline, banded at the hips, and sparkles! Who doesn't love a little shine?

This top... it was hard to decide what to do with it. I love the high low hemline, I love the color, I love the studded collar, and I love that it's sheer. But it just felt a little too billowy. I may go back and try it on again.

.  .

I love the neck detail on this top, but it just did not work out. The back was all weird, couldn't get a pic :(

Love this sweater! It's perfectly simple except for the studded skull on the front. Which, interestingly enough, matched the earrings that I was wearing! :)

.

My favorite of all tops I tried on! This one needs to be seen in person! I will, of course, be wearing a tank top underneath (see exhibit B)

. .

Because, you know, I need ANOTHER light weight jacket... But this pink boucle moto reminded me of Angie's blush moto jacket. The cut is edgy but the color is soft. Such a nice contrast.

You know, I wanted to like this top. The sleeves were a vivid neon yellow and it just looked cozy. But it was too long and just fit kinda weird. Bummer

 

I also tried on some corduroy and velveteen skinnies in blue, teal and red. I didn't get them, but I'm regretting it a little.

So, what did I end up with? The white skirt, gray blouse, skull sweater, black and lace dolman top, and pink moto jacket. Total came to $60.42 (with tax), minus a $50 gift card = $10.42! I also ended up getting $10 in Kohl

Janis Joplin Earrings

Black babydoll dress that ties around back, Forever 21 (thrifted)

Patterned button up blouse, Target (Fraukuech)

Black awesome suedette wedge boots, Target

Tall cable knit gray socks, Target

Black polka-dot watch, Target

Dual strand vintage-y looking faux pearls, yard sale

Axe and heart earrings, Hot Topic

Black tights, wherever

I used flash below to show off my black boots and the reflection off of my tights. Wow. Just wow. 

Stargirl's Adventures in Hair Color, part 72

I actually had a very decent hair day today despite a terrible start. I arrive at work with wet hair (had some smoothing product already in it) under a beanie and huge sunglasses on to obscure my makeup less face. I did my makeup and left my hair in a beanie for a couple hours. The ends of my hair, all scrunched up in the bottom of the beanie, ended up curling. I didn't toss it in a pony tail until I got home, though.

 My sick, sad attempt at foiling. For my bangs I just clipped them and vowed to avoid them with the hair dye.

 

K-Swiss said I look scary. I made him take a couple pictures while I finished up.


Everything rinsed out! I wasn't sure about the bangs until this moment. After I rinsed it out and combed my hair, I already loved the look.


The ends are pretty dry now, no surprise. I need a trim anyway. There are four small chunks of red hair through my hair, not including the bangs.



The bangs. The pièce de résistance. I LOVE them! They were a spur of the moment idea and I had no idea how they would turn out. How to: I pinned aside my red bangs, about an inch back. Then, when dry, I went about 1.5 inches back with the bangs, so the black would sweet over the red.


I will be brightening the red this weekend. I have a jar of Manic Panic Pillarbox Red that has been sitting around doing nothing. I have great great plans for it.