I recently discovered the 'Comments' tab within blogger and realized I can view all my most recent comments (doesn't matter what post it was left on) without having to open up each post.  Many of you are probably saying, 'Duh!' right now, but I didn't know! 

Reading through your comments totally brighten my day and you, my lovely readers, are so sweet.  I am so grateful for each and every comment you leave.  Thank you for coming to my blog, commenting and interacting with me.  I love blogging and knowing you love my blogging too, makes it all the better.

I just wanted to mention that I have noticed (I have missed several) comments left where a question has been asked.  I typically don't respond in the comments section as I'm not one to go back to see if a blogger responded to me there.  I'll try to go to your blog and respond but often times the commenter doesn't have a blog.  I just wanted to remind you that you can always ask me (anonymously too, i$ you'd like) questions through my Formspring page.  It's easiest for me (and you) as all the Q's & A's are in one place.  So feel free to use that.

Thank you again for reading, it really means so so soo much to me.  xo

Negative qualities.  We all have them.  I prefer to focus on the positive, but hey, we all have a little something or another to work on to be, as I like to say, the best version of ourselves.  Sometimes our not-so-positive qualities are obvious to us and others need or will point them out.  Other times, we know exactly what they are, and how they come across to others.

I think in the world of blogging we often tend to portray a 'picture perfect' version of ourselves.  Why on earth would a blogger write something negative about themselves, or reveal something less than perfect?  However, I'm a real person, with real emotions and feelings and (gasp!) negative qualities.  There are the types of things I work on, on a daily basis.  Okay, sometimes I forget to work on them, and the bitch comes out, but I try, and that's what counts, right?  Sort of.

My negative qualities come out when things aren't going my way, when something is taking too long, when someone is asking too many questions.  In other words, I'm super impatient.  I get frustrated easily and have a hard time staying calm.  I am a big fan of yelling, and I honestly wish I could stop.  It's not fun, attractive, nor fair.  Why can't I speak out like a cool, calm and collected person?  As a self-proclaimed type-A personality, I have a hard time being easy-going, letting things go, and 'rolling with it'.  I try to fight it, but it's naturally me to be this way.  It's not an excuse, it's a fact, and it's something I try to fight against. 

I aim to be the best version of myself, all the time.  Sometimes I slip up, we all do, but I work on it.  I work to turn those negative qualities into something a little less negative, to be a little bit better (even if it's taking a deep breath or counting to three before totally losing my cool), and to be someone I would want to be friends with.

What are your negative qualities?  I dare you to comment, post, or discuss.  Not always easy, but certainly interesting.

PS - I'm always late.  Add that to the list.

I am really into sunscreen.  You are too?  Don't lie to me now, you'll get me all excited.  When I say really into sunscreen I mean I wear it everyday, preach it to anyone who will listen, and give my family and friends a hard time when they don't wear it.  I wasn't kidding you.

The only downfall to being 'really into sunscreen' is being really, really pale.  I am naturally fair skinned and if I wasn't really into sunscreen, it'd be a struggle to get colour on my body.  The sun and I don't mix super well and I could be out there all day long and get very minimal colour (or a lot of red colour).  It wasn't always like this.  You see, when I was younger (about seven years ago) I used to work at a tanning salon (this was somewhat before all the bad press tanning beds have gotten).  I would tan every three or four days and I was dark.  Super dark.  I'd never had such dark, tanned skin in my life.  It was amazing.  Amazing, but obviously very unhealthy.  I worked at that salon for about eight months and  to this day I cringe about how much damange I did to myself. 

After quitting the salon, I didn't stop there.  I continued to tan and keep that beautiful bronzed colour I'd 'worked' so hard for.  I remember going for a facial at an upscale spa and the estitician telling me I had sun damage around my hair line; but that didn't stop me.  I kept right on tanning because I wanted to look good (and I wasn't worried about wrinkles, fine lines and of course, cancer at that time). 

However, there came a time where I did stop, and it wasn't necessarily by choice, but I consider it a huge blessing in disguise.  In the spring of 2006 I had received a gift card for my birthday to a tanning salon I'd never been to before.  'Free tanning minutes!  Awesome!' I thought to myself.  Wrong.  Within the first visit, I developed really bad hives all over my body, specifically on my chest, arms and shoulders - it was ugly.  I was concerned about what kind of salon I was tanning at; was it clean? Was it the bed? Was I not acustom to their bulbs?  So in true smart fashion, I went back to try again.  Sure enough, I broke out in mad hives again, and not only was it ugly, they were super itchy too.  I stopped visiting that salon altogether and decided to go back to the place I used to work at, since I'd never had any issues there.  Sure enough, the hives appeared again and after some minor research, it looked like I had developed an allergy to the sun (or UV light for that matter).  I couldn't believe my misfortunate; would I have to go back to being pale?  I certainly hoped not, but my fortune didn't seem to change.  After spending a day at the beach with a girlfriend a few weeks later, the hives appeared yet again and it sealed the deal: no more sun for me.

From that day forward I vowed to take my sun protection seriously as (1) I didn't want to be covered in an ugly rash, and (2) I knew that I shouldn't be tanning anyways (the facts are out there people) and this was just the kick in the ass that I needed to stop.  The following week I went out and bought a moisturizing lotion that contained SPF that I would wear on my face and neck everyday.

Since then, I have worn an SPF 15 (or higher) on my face everyday, even in the winter.  It has become part of my daily morning routine and I have found a formula I really like.  Enter Equate Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15.  Yes, this is from Walmart, and it costs me about $7 a bottle.  The bottle lasts me about two months and the formula is non-greasy, light and absorbs quickly.  I have tried many other face lotions with SPF, but I always go back to this one because it's so light (I hate those thick formulas and will only wear them when I'm spending a full day outside or at the beach, versus commuting to work and eating lunch outdoors).

When I do spend the day outside or head to the beach or cottage, I like to wear an SPF 30 or higher.  My friends and family rouse me for this, but I don't care; I'm being proactive about my skin and trying to be as preventative as possible in reducing wrinkles and my risks of skin cancer.  I really love the Ocean Potion brand (sadly not available in Canada so I stock up when I'm in the US) despite the Creamsicle smell.  The formula goes on smooth and easily, it's not thick, it's not greasy and it covers well.  Their water/sweat proof one is great too as the formula doesn't change much and it works in the water (but of course you should always re-apply after swimming).

Lastly, for convienence, I picked up the Banana Boat Ultra Defence aerosole SPF 50 this year because as much as I want to be careful, I too get lazy and sometimes just don't feel like rubbing a lotion in.  The aerosole is a great alternative because it's super quick and easy (you can even chase your friends around with this and protect those, 'I-don't-wear-sunscreen' types).  I do find this formula slightly greasy (I've been trying to wear it consistently on the tops of my hands daily as part of my August Resolutions) and doesn't absorb really well, but it's convienent and sometimes that trumps greasiness.

Do you wear SPF?  Are you hard core about protecting your skin like me or more lax about it?

Don't forget your hat!

I started this blog over a year ago and it's become a crazy passion of mine.  Crazy as in I'll spend hours working on posts, perusing other blogs, thinking up ideas and taking photos and editing them to share with you all.  Blogging gives me a creative outlet and let's me express myself however I want all while keeping it in one handy little spot, and if other people enjoy it, bonus (and I obviously won't lie when I say your comments really bring a smile to my face).

That said, I'm not blogging expert and sometimes I do get discouraged, run out of time or get what I like to call, 'Bloggers Block' (kind of like writers block but when you don't know what to blog about).  I thought it would be helpful to put together a post about things I look for when coming across a new blog and what appeals to me (Tiffany wrote a great post about this and I read it when I first started blogging and it really helped me).  Everyone is different, hence why there are so many blog styles, but these are what really catches my eye and I strive to do:

1.  Write often.  

I love having blogs I can 'count on', and when I say that I mean I know that when I'm going through my daily blog route, those blogs will be updated daily and I can look forward to it.  I know we are all busy and blogging takes a lot of time and work, but posting frequently will up your readership because your readers can count on you.

2.  Use your own photos.  

Sure, every now and again I'll use a random photo I found on the web (like here), but that's not very often.  Readers come to your blog to read about you, what's going on in your life, what you're loving lately, etc. and that is easily demonstrated through your own photos.  If you are loving a new piece of make-up you just purchased, take a photo of it and use it instead of google-image-searching a photo of the product.  Even better: take a photo of you with the product.  People eat that shiz up.

3.  Install a stat tracker.  

Tiffany mentioned this in her post but I have to reiterate because it's extremely important.  It's very easy to get caught up in how many comments you are or are not getting, however, it really doesn't exemplify your readership or page hits.  Only a stat tracker can tell you this and you will be amazed to see where people come from, how your readership grows and the posts you write that get the most hits.  I would have never known how many people actually visit my blog per day, versus how many official follow (the numbers are surprisingly not comparable).  I use StatCounter and Google Analytics.

4.   Be honest. 

I love when bloggers are super honest and real, ...loveMaegan is an excellent example of this.. It turns a blogger into a real person and gives you a real taste of their personality and traits.  This certainly isn't always easy putting the true, real, raw version of yourself out there, but it makes you relatable, and really, how great is it when you come across someone who has similar problems or hurdles to overcome as you?  Super great.

5.  Link.  Link.  Link.  (and make it easy)

I always link to the items I'm wearing to when I last wore them, and if they are available for purchase online, I'll use that link as well.  As a reader, you want things to be easily accessible, and as a blogger, I should know that.  Personally, if I have to put in work to find something, it's not going to happen, I'll mostly just let it go.  Additionally, if your post pertains to another post you wrote, link to that.  There is a good chance a good chunk of people never saw that post, so make it easy for them.

6.  Make your own rules.  

This is your blog, your rules.  You can post about whatever you want.  If people don't like it, they don't have to read it.  Just be true to yourself and your readers will see that.

See what I packed for my holdiays here.

I have been blogging for close to one year and absolutely love it. It has become a fantastic hobby for me, something that I really enjoy and take great pride in.  Something that frustrates me, though, is learning HTML.  I know some basics (I am self-taught) however, this isn't something that seems to come too naturally to me... or perhaps I'm just not putting in enough time.  

When I see other girls' blogs, I can't help but wonder how they got their pictures positioned like that, how did they create such a cool collage or where on earth can I learn to do that.  I feel that since starting my blog, it has come a long way, and my layout is better than ever, I find it pleasing to the eye, etc.  However, there are certain things I want to do, things I want to learn, but it all seems so difficult.  I google HTML learning sites frequently, use other bloggers' 'Source' to try and teach myself how to do certain things, but it just doesn't always work out... or at least, it isn't as easy as I wish it was.

Like anything, a beautiful end result takes work, and effort, and that's something I'm willing to do but I'm somewhat at a loss of where to start, and how to get there.  So my fellow blogging friends, where did you learn your HTML?  Are you still learning?  Do you wish your skills were better or are you quite satisfied with what you know?  

Lastly, I'd love to hear your suggestions for my blog.  What could I do to make it more pleasing to the eye?  How can I make it easier to navigate?  And what do you personally like to see on a blog?