January Favorites 2015

I hope you all had a great January and start to the new year! Can you believe that the first month of 2015 is already over with? I certainty can't! It feels like it just started! Anyway, today I will be sharing the things I have been loving during this month. Sorry about not having any pictures, but I did try to put a link to the websites of any products mentioned.

• Lush Rock Star Soap - This soap smells soooooo good! It has a very sweet scent and on the website they describe it as a bubble gum scent. 
• Sweet Mint EOS Lip Balm - Where I live it is freezing cold and snowy outside during this time of the year and my lips get super chapped! I've been using this all the time lately.
• Lazy Days, Ninja Nights Lounge Tank from David and Goliath Tees - I have been wearing this top to bed almost every night during this month.
• Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocoa Butter - Like I said before, my lips get really chapped during the winter, so this is very helpful for that. I also happen to get a lot of nose bleeds during the winter because of the dry air inside and out, and this definitely helps prevent that (and no, I do not pick my nose, I use a q-tip and never double dip in the container, that's just gross even if you are the only person that uses it). And as a bonus, it smells good too.
• Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez hat from Kmart - I think this hat is so cute, and it keeps my ears warm when I have to go out in that cold weather!
• Mako Mermaids:An H20 Adventure - I loved the H20 series when it was on TV and I recently discovered this series on Netflix. I also heard that a second season might be coming out soon. 
• Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead Audiobook - I got this audiobook with a free 30 day trial of audible. I have been enjoying listening to it, but I'm not sure if I will be keeping audible after the trial is up. It just doesn't seem worth it to me, and I already have so many books on my shelves that I haven't read yet that I don't think I need something else tempting me to buy more!

Ten Books I'd Love to Read If I Had A Book Club

1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares - I still haven't read these books, and I think it would be so much fun to get together with a group of people and talk about them, and what we think will happen. 
2. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - I haven't read it, but I've heard that if you like The Fault in our Stars that you will like this book, and we all know how much I love tfios.
3. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin - This book sounds interesting and seems like it could be a good one to discuss with other people.
4. Kalahari by Jessica Khoury - I read both of her other books and feel like they would have been great to talk to someone about and hear other's opinions. 
5. Just One Day by Gayle Foreman - Again, haven't read it yet but think it would be fun to talk about with others.
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I would love to read this with someone who hasn't read it yet and see what they think about it.
7. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - Still haven't read this one, but heard it's supposed to be good.
8. Dark Secrets series by Elizabeth Chandler - I think this one would be fun to discuss with others.
9. Frostfire by Amanda Hocking - I love Amanda Hockings books and think it could be fun.
10. Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier - Again, haven't read it yet and I think this one would be fun to read as a group.

Let's Talk About Mental Health: My Thoughts After Watching Jacksgap's video

Today Jack from the Jacksgap YouTube channel posted this video:

It is all about mental health and how people don't like to talk about it. Which is interesting because I have been thinking about this a lot lately too. So I'm going to talk about it...

I am a person who has a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. I had mentioned this briefly before in my book review of Girl Online by Zoe Sugg (which I highly recommend you read if you also suffer from panic attacks). And, despite being a very quite/shy/reserved person, it's not something that I'm shy about telling people anymore. Anymore is the key word in that sentence. Jack is right when he says that people don't like to talk about mental health because we feel like we are not in control. I know for me, that it what scares me the most, not being in control of my body and how I'm feeling.

When I have a panic attack, it feels like there is nothing I can do to prevent it or stop it from happening. I am not a person who has a specific thing that seems to trigger a panic attack. If I being honest, school and tests/quizes/exams are not things that tend to bother me. Socializing or just relaxing with friends seems to be the times when I tend to panic the most. Which seems strange. These are my friends, I can be completely honest with them and they wont judge me. They care about me a lot and I always have fun when I see them. So, why does that cause me to have a panic attack? The only logical explanation I have is that I get excited to see my friends. It's like when I was little and we would go on a long car ride and I would get carsick at first because I was so excited to go wherever it was we were going. It seems like I grew out of that and instead have gained anxiety, panic attacks, and cyclical vomiting syndrome. This has made things very difficult and has put me in the hospital on various occasions.

If you don't know what a panic attack is, the best way I can explain it is to tell you how I feel when it is happening. My heart starts pounding, I start to sweat, I feel like I can't breathe, I start hyperventilating, because of that my arms and legs start to tingle, and if it gets really bad I pass out.

But mental illness/health can effect your physical health too. Sometimes my panic attacks are so bad that they trigger the cyclical vomiting. This especially is something not many people have heard of and again, I will try to explain this the best way that I can (if you are very squeamish about bodily functions, you might want to skip to the last paragraph but I will try not to be too descriptive). Basically, something triggers you to vomit, and then you can't stop. For me it's usually about every 15 minutes and no matter what I try to put in my stomach, it comes out. It feels as if as soon as food or liquid hits my stomach, my stomach clenches up and rejects everything inside it. I have to admit, I would much rather just get carsick like I used to. So this is something that seems to baffle the doctors who try to treat me. Nausea medication doesn't help, because I  don't actually feel nauseous, I just feel whatever is in my stomach coming back up and know that I need to get a bucket, fast!

Sometimes it feels like you are the only person in the world with a problem like this, but I have found out that there are millions of people who experience the same things that I do. Just nobody is willing to talk about it. So if you have anxiety, or panic attacks like me, or a different mental illness like depression just know that you are not alone, there are people out there experiencing the same things as you and there are always people who are willing to listen.

<3 Rebecca

Top Ten Books I Plan To Read In 2015

Hello! Today's Top Ten Tuesday is a Freebie! So, since this year has just started, I have decided to do my top ten books that I plan to read in 2015. These are all books that I own, but haven't gotten to yet. So, in no particular order, here are the books I plan to read by the end of 2015.

1.  Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
2. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
3. Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler
4. Evermore by Alyson Noel
5. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
6. Finale by Becca Fitzparick
7. Kalahari by Jessica Khoury
8. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
10. Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Bout of Books 12 TBR, Goals, And Updates!

Hello everyone! I hope you will all be participating in this read-a-thon if you can. My goal for this read-a-thon is to read an average of 200 pages per day for a total of 1400 pages for the week. To do this I have selected several books that I hope to finish during the week. They are:

• Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 
• Dark Secrets 3&4: No Time to Die and The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler
• Dark Secrets 5: The Back Door of Midnight by Elizabeth Chandler

Yes, I am doing a series marathon! If I manage to finish all of these I will pick up another book to complete my goal of reading 1400 pages during the week. I will be updating my progress throughout the week here:

****Updates****

Monday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: None yet :)

Pages Read Today: 117

Total Pages Read: 117

Tuesday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: None yet :)

Pages Read Today: 88

Total Pages Read: 205

Wednesday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: None yet :)

Pages Read Today: 0 I had absolutely not time to read today, but I plan to make up for it tomorrow :)

Total Pages Read: 205

Thursday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: None yet :)

Pages Read Today: 118

Total Pages Read: 323

Friday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 3&4: No Time to Die and The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Pages Read Today:116

Total Pages Read: 439

Saturday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 3&4: No Time to Die and The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Pages Read Today: 0 :(

Total Pages Read: 439

Sunday: 

Currently Reading: Dark Secrets 3&4: No Time to Die and The Deep End of Fear by Elizabeth Chandler 

Books Completed: Dark Secrets 1&2: Legacy of Lies and Don't Tell by Elizabeth Chandler 

Pages Read Today: 143

Total Pages Read: 582

So, I didn't even come close to my goal because things ended up coming up that prevented me from reading as much as I would have liked. But that's okay, I still read a lot more than I usually do in a week and next time maybe I'll have more time for reading.

December Favorites 2014

December is over and January is here! These are the things I was loving during December and will probably be loving during January too!

• Girl Online by Zoe Sugg - I really enjoyed this book, it was such a fun holiday read. Click here to read my in dept review.
• Vanilla Bean Noel scent from Bath and Body Works - I have been burning the candle constantly and I always use the shower gel and lotion too. It is the perfect winter scent!
• So Fresh, So Clean make-up wipes - I've been wearing a lot more make-up during the holiday season and these remove make-up so easily and doesn't sting your eyes when removing eye make-up.
•  Red Nail Polish - I love the color red in nail polish, especially during the holidays! I have been loving the No Text Red from sinful colors as well as Essie's forever yummy.
• Taylor by Taylor Swift Perfume - This perfume isn't new, but I just got it in December and have been wearing it ever since! 
• Lastly, Fuzzy Socks - I love wearing comfy fuzzy socks during the cold winter months!

Let me know what you have been loving lately and I will write again soon.