​My Top 10 Favorite Jokes
By Elizabeth Dubos
 
Recently, I been through numerous unplanned, stressful situations and started to notice that it was taking a toll on my overall sleep. I wasn’t sleeping, eating, and I started to feel sick. The stress started to compromise my immune system and I was stuck with a fierce cold for two unfortunate weeks. During my sick time, I decided to put research more about stress management because I am not a person that can de-stress by one simply saying, “chill out” or “calm down.” During my research, I stumbled across a Mayo Clinic healthy lifestyle article about stress management. The article was titled, “Stress relief from laughter? It’s no joke,” The article listed the short- and long-term benefits from laughter to relieve stress. According to the article a short-term benefit would be to stimulate your organs to release endorphins. A long-term effect would be to improve your immune system. The Mayo Clinic Staff stated, “Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.” After reading this article, I decided to give laughter as a stress management tool a shot. This lead me on a journey to find jokes that made me laugh. I ended up printing up some jokes and placed them around the house. Every time I saw and read one, it made me giggle. Here is a list of my top ten favorite jokes. If you want to read more about the benefits of laughter as a stress relief tool, I will leave a link below. Maybe laughter could be a stress management tool for you too?
 
Mayo Clinic Laughter Article Link: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456
 
1. Question: What bow can’t be tied? Answer: A rainbow!
2. Question: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Answer: Frostbite!
3. Question: Why couldn’t Dracula’s wife get to sleep? Answer: Because of his coffin.
4. Question: What kind of cereal do they serve at Hogwarts? Answer: Hufflepuffs!
5. Question:  Why did the Death Eaters cross the road? Answer: The Dark Lord ordered it.
6. Question: What kind of vehicles do Disney characters drive? Answer: Minnie vans.
7. Question: Why do people go to Disneyland? Answer: So, they can get Goofy!
8. Question: What does Mickey Mouse use to browse the web? Answer: An iPad Minnie!
9. Question: What was Grumpy’s favorite fruit? Answer: Sour grapes.
10. Question: What do you call a low-fat Pokémon? Answer: Butterfree.
 
Here is a link to where I found the jokes: https://www.quickfunnyjokes.com
 
Edited by: Emily Chance
 

​Jeffree Star Valentine’s Day Mystery Box Review
By Elizabeth Dubos
 
Before: I don’t own any of Jeffree Star’s merchandise and very little of his cosmetics. I currently own the Mini Nudes Lip Bundle: Volume 1 and the Mini Red & Pink Lip Bundle. Additionally, I own the Conspiracy & Mini Controversies palette. I have been wanting to buy more of his products, but didn’t know where to start, furthermore, I wanted to purchase a mystery box because then I would be surprised. According to Jeffree Star, the 2019 Holiday Mystery boxes were problematic, and he wanted to make up for it with the 2020 Valentine’s Day Mystery boxes. He claimed that these boxes would be the best ones yet. I was very intrigued and decided to look at the prices.  The Premium box contained 4 items (3 exclusive) and cost $60 (value $105). The Deluxe box contained 8 items (3 exclusives) and cost $100 (value $199). The Supreme box contained 12 items (5 exclusive) and cost $145 (value $285). When I bought the Conspiracy palette in November 2019, I figured out that between shipping and taxes cost an additional $20; Therefore, it would be a better deal to purchase something over $100 because then you get free shipping. I didn’t mind spending the extra money because I wanted the money to spend on products rather than shipping and taxes. In the end, I ended up selecting the Deluxe. The mystery boxes launched on January 31, 10 a.m. PST.
 
During: It was officially January 31, 12:58 p.m. and I was almost done getting my nails done. DARN NAILS, DRY FASTER! It was 1:08 p.m. when I had access to my hands and phone again. I immediately logged onto the website. When I got to the mystery box page the drop-down button wouldn’t work, so I couldn’t select which size box I wanted. I tried to maintain my cool in public, so I looked on Twitter to see if anyone else was having this issue. They were; Other Twitter users suggested switching the phone to “Desktop Mode.” This immediately fixed the issue, however, due to the technical difficulties I had missed out on getting the Supreme box. I didn’t feel too bad because it was too much money. At 10:31 a.m. I successfully purchased my first Jeffree Star Mystery Box! I purchased the Deluxe Edition; Only the Deluxe boxes featured a t-shirt, so I selected a medium size.
 
After: I received my Jeffree Star Mystery box on February 6. I didn’t even know it was coming on that day because I didn’t receive any shipping information. On February 5, the tracking number informed me that a label was created and was currently at the California warehouse. I was pulling onto my road from work when my neighbors stopped me, they informed me that a new mailperson was looking for my house because they had to deliver a package. She verified my address and put the package into my Jeep. I was ecstatic to have received it! It came in a red mailer box with hearts and the Jeffree Star logo. As soon as I got home, I opened it up. I thought the inside packaging was gorgeous because everything was individually wrapped, so it looked like a present! I carefully unwrapped all of my 8 products and was pleasantly surprised to see what I received. I received a t-shirt with hearts on it, a pink baseball cap, metal green straws, the Mini Breaker Palette, the 24 Karate Highlighter Palette, a white star mirror, a mystery velour liquid lipstick, and the Legends Only lip gloss. Since I never purchased a Jeffree Star shirt before, I was a bit nervous to see how the sizing would work. Of course, I measured myself and used the sizing chart, but I always air on the side of caution. I was impressed that the shirt fit my waistline and was long enough to cover my butt; The shirt wasn’t baggy and was rather flattering; I am excited to wear it!  The only one I am weary about is the 24 Karat Highlighter Palette because they are a bit dark for my very fair-pale skin. However, I watched other Beauty YouTubers with fair skin use the highlighter palette as eyeshadow. I think I am going to experiment with it rather than sell it because it was still an exciting item to receive in the mystery box. Overall, I am extremely happy with the items I received because I can, and will, use most of them. My shipping experience was a bit harrowing. It wasn’t until February 8 that I received an email stating that my mystery box was delivered. This made me apprehensive about purchasing future mystery boxes. What if I wasn’t home in time to receive the delivery? What if another neighbor took it instead? I am very grateful that I received it at all! I would give my experience 8/10 stars. I would highly recommend buying a Jeffree Star Mystery box if you don’t know what to buy from his cosmetics line.
 
Edited by: Emily Chance

​Valentine’s Day Gift Recommendations
By Elizabeth Dubos
 
Disclaimer: This blog post is not sponsored and these recommendations are my own. Additionally, I have not tried all of these products.
 
It’s officially the season of love, romance, and heart-shaped everything. Every time you visit the drugstore or major retailer, it’s overflowing with chocolate boxes and giant pink stuffed animals. Has the book lover in your life not requested chocolates, flowers, or giant stuffed teddy bears? Instead they stated they would like a more intimate and unique gift. It’s okay to be perplexed because you’re venturing outside the Valentine’s Day gift norm. You may be thinking, “they love books, why not more?” Books would make excellent gifts, but unless you truly know what kind of book they want; you would have to ask, and you would risk taking out the surprise of your Valentine’s Day gift. Here is a list of recommendations for bookish themed gifts that you can purchase for them for Valentine’s Day.
 
1. A literary themed candle. Frost Beard Studio: Their soy candles come in different scents, colors, themes, and genres. The candles range from $6.00 ­ – $18.00. If you’ve never shopped with them before you can sign up and receive a 10% coupon off your first order.
https://www.frostbeardstudio.com/collections/book-lovers-soy-candles
 
2. Bookish themed earrings. Maybe your book lover already has too many necklaces and you’d like to get them something different. Why not try these stack of books earrings from the Literary Gift Company? They’re lightweight and beautiful!
https://us.theliterarygiftcompany.com/collections/jewelry/products/blue-and-green-stack-of-books-earrings
 
3. A literary themed case for their Kindle e-reader. Does your book lover prefer to read with a Kindle e-Reader? Why not spice it up and protect it with a book themed case? I like the bookshelf-library theme one because it will fit a Kindle Paperwhite and its water safe too! Plus, it’s available on Amazon Prime, so it’s a great option for Valentine’s Day procrastinators.
https://www.amazon.com/Huasiru-Water-Safe-All-New-Paperwhite-Generation-2018/dp/B07MBXMDG7/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=book+theme+kindle+case&qid=1578925460&sr=8-4
 
4. A Valentine’s Day literary subscription box. Fairy Loot is the #1 fantasy book subscription box. You can select a 3- or 6-month subscription or a single purchase box. The Fairy Loot boxes include 1 hardcover book and 5-6 unique bookish themed goodies. https://www.fairyloot.com/subscription/
*I personally get the Fairy Loot subscription, so I can attest that the products are high quality, unique, and excellent.
 
5. Bookish themed socks. Keep your book lover’s feet warm and comfy. Out of Print: This company offers socks for all types of bookworms. They feature Harry Potter, Star Wars, typewriter, cats, classics, library cards, and more!
https://outofprint.com/collections/socks
 
6. Bookish themed bath bombs. Bath bombs are excellent if your bookworm is stressed and you want to help them relax. Head on over to Etsy because they have custom literary themed bath bombs.
https://www.etsy.com/market/book_bath_bomb
 
7. A literary themed tote bag. Bookworms will always be carrying books around whether they’re traveling or coming home from the bookstore or library. A literary themed tote bag will make it easier for them to transport the books. Here is a link to tote bag options that you can purchase online or in stores from Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/gift-home-office/bags-totes/totes/_/N-8qgZ1h3b
 
8. DIY a romantic bookmark. Who says you have to buy them a gift; why not make one yourself? Bookmarks are excellent gifts to make because it offers the ability to be romantic and creative. Why not print out a favorite picture of you two and make it into a bookmark? Also, you can print out a template online and color it. I would recommend checking out Canva because they have creative options for you to easily customize for Valentine’s Day.
https://www.canva.com/templates/search/bookmarks/
 
Edited by Emily Chance