Rimmel London Retro Glam Mascara ~Review~

Its been a while, but I got another Influenster box! This one was the Rose VoxBox for fall and had many products in it. One of my absolute favorites was the Rimmel London Retro Glam Mascara.

When I first opened it I was really surprised at how large the tube was. It is very very wide. I opened it to see that the brush is a soft brisstle brush and kind of curved, where it flares out some at either end and is skinny in the middle. The first time I used it it was really ackward and cumbersome trying to figure out how to hold such a large handle, but after that first time I've had no issues.

I have to say that I'm in love with this mascara! Its given me great coverage, and umph to my lashes that many others don't. It goes on smoothly and in one coat, and I've not had any issues with clumping! It stays on all day, even when I accidentally rub my eye, I barely get flakes! It washes off pretty easily at night though which is another thing I love about this. Once this runs out I will be buying more! This mascara will be coming out in stores in the US this November 2013!!

Before

After

ABOUT THIS PRODUCT

The 60s are back in full swing with a thicker, fuller, wide-eyed look!

• A wide-eyed false lash look
• Fanned out volume
• No clumps
• Lashes up, out and over the top

Check out Rimmel London US's website

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Disclaimer:  I received the Rimmel London Retro Glam Mascara complimentary from Influenster, however, these opinions are 100% my own.

Finding Family

The last few years of dealing with medical things has been met with ups and downs. One of the biggest pieces to the puzzle we are still struggling with to this day. My Nana was adopted, we have her original birth certificate and know her biological parents names. My mom wrote to the adoption agency (its one of the largest, Children's Home Society, and still around) and all they would give us is 'non discript' information on my Nana's biological family. Thankfully we have the original birth certificate, and the information the agency did provide let us know how many siblings that the bio parents had, and that my Nana's maternal grandma died at only 47 of a broken hip.

We are 99.9% sure we found my Nana's bio dad's family on Ancestry.com. I've even emailed who we assume to be the niece of my 'greatgrandpa' and she said she' would look for more information...that was over a year ago now. We found out that my Nana's biological father had two other children the first born 12 years after my Nana was born. My mom found an old address for one of the children and wrote a letter...that was over a year ago and no reply. We are now at a dead end with this side of the family.

On my Nana's bio mothers side we haven't gotten anywhere, it seems her biological mother's name may not be accurate on the birth certificate. The last couple years spent digging on Ancestry.com has turned up nothing. We do know that 'greatgrandma' had 4 older brothers and one younger sister, and that her mother died at age 47. According to the birth certificate my Nana's bio mom was 24 years old in 1934, putting her born around 1910 and it says she was born in Nebraska. We also know that Nana's bio mom had one child born before Nana. Nana has siblings out there still, from what we've seen the two her bio dad had years later are still alive as there are no death certificates on Ancestry.com (like there is for my Nana).

We really want to get into contact with this side of the family to figure out more about my medical issues. I'm taking to my blog, and hoping that I can get the word spread. We are looking for any relatives of my Nana.

Some pictures of my Nana

Feel like a breakdown

I've been in college since last summer, so I now have 3 semesters under my belt and 22 credits to my name. I have an awesome 3.75 GPA, but it feels like its all for not. I've been sitting here the last 3 days trying to decide what to get my degree in. Its crunch time and I need to figure it out. I started with the intentions of getting an AAS in IT but it turned out that they had specific classes at specific times a day, and that just wouldn't work due to having Kieran at home all day still (and daycare would cost more then what I'd get in FinAid a semester). When I found out about that in Feb I was pretty irked, I'd already spent 2 semesters working towards the prereq's for that, and was almost in the middle of the 3rd semester. I then decided to do Medical Admin Assistant, and recently thought harder about that and its just not for me, one I'm worried about the possibility of constant movement with that job or lifting.

I got to looking at the degrees and what I've completed and saw that I could get an AS in Secondary Education and have it done by Fall of 2014, which is a semester sooner then what the MAA would've been. I stupidly dropped all my classes I was registered with and signed up for the Edu ones, now I'm back to not knowing what to do. Going the teaching route, while it may work for my physical limitations it will take another 4-5yrs to be done and thousands of more dollars since I'm almost out of pell grant.

Having a physical disability is making this harder then it should be. Every time I think "Ok I'm going to get this degree," a few days later I realize the physical limitations that come with me and wont work. I also have a huge fear of graduating and not being able to find a decent paying job (that covers daycare + health insurance + student loan payments) and being completely screwed. Wish this was all easier.

Question time

Today I blog a question in hopes someone out there reading has an answer! (hehe) I used to find and post giveaways on Prizey, but earlier this year (or end of last year?) they shut down. I've been looking for months, and finally gave up, on finding some place similar to them. I recently found a small blog hop but each of the giveaways had thousands of entrants, so I figured there has to be a giveaway listing site like Prizey out there. Now my question to anyone out there...

Do you know of any site/s like Prizey to list and find giveaways? Leave me a comment if you do!

The housing game

So last February we moved into our current home. Our 4th townhome duplex...as you can imagine with legs like mine thats not a good mixture. So again last Feb (2012) we moved in here with a 6mo lease thinking that when it was up we'd sign one more 6mo lease and move in Feb 2013 into a house or one floor duplex. Our plans didn't work out, in July of last year they sent us a letter raising our rent by $30/mo and we either had to sign a 1yr lease or move out then, moving wasn't an option at the time so we were stuck. Now fast forward to July of this year and our lease is up on the 31st. So I've been looking the last month for a place.

I cannot believe the rent prices now, everything seems to have gone up at least $100-200/mo its crazy! On top of the rent increases more then 75% of the things in our price range (which is comparable to the price of a mortgage most my friends have)  are all townhouses or apartments, neither of which we can or will do. I've found a handful of houses or one floor duplexes in our price range...the catch they almost all want First, Last and Deposit ....just to move in it would cost us $2625 that ain't gonna happen! A friend of mine was shocked to hear that the deposits are the same as a months rent everywhere she's rented its been half a months rent (not for us, in the 8yrs hubby and I have been together every place we've lived has been a full months amount deposit).

I did find one place that seemed nice and a fit, but the catch we have is that we can only pay the deposit on July 5th and then give a 30 day notice (the deposit would be paid with what we would've paid for July rent here, but wouldn't have to because we paid last months rent when we moved in here) and then not move in or pay first months rent till August and the management company said the owner wouldn't go for it since the place had been vacant for a month already he wouldn't let to go another month. UGH. I'm stressed with this and at this point we're going to be stuck signing another year lease (only option they'll give us) in a townhouse thats not safe for me. Not only is there the issue of the stairs for me but our back yard isn't fenced. We live in a town house condo track and all the backyards run together. We have random kids running and playing behind our house at 9am (and our kids are in bed by pm) or later, and they all seem to think that our toys are free range, tired of it. The house hunt game SUCKS!

A quick look at me

I don't think I've gone into much detail (I'd have to go back and look) about my issues. Honestly its taken me quite a while to not be embarresed that at 24 I had to start using a cane (well actually I'm SUPPOSED to use a walker) and leg braces. Finally 2yrs later I'm in a little better place in my head about it. Theres nothing I can do, no cures, and its just how I am and I have to learn to accept it even more then where I'm at today. Anyway I want to share two video's with my readers.

This first one was done in July of 2011 so basically 2yrs ago

This one was done tonight. I've been in quite a bit of pain lately, especially in my shoulder and neck as well.

Where I've Been

Its been a few months since my last blog post (the one before the most recent review that is). Its been hectic dealing with the kids and myself lately. Firstly Seamus has not been his normal self at all and we've been having to go to the doctor once a month just to do more checks and med checks and trying to figure things out. He also lost his IBI therapy because he's not considered disabled by the federal government (i.e. he doesn't qualify for SSI so he's not disabled :/) and we've been having to figure all that out and find a way to get it back for him.

On top of Seamus' stuff I had another appt with the MDA and she still doesn't agree with the NeuroMuscular SPECIALIST that I saw in December. At first she agreed but then because I don't have scapular winging she said she doesn't think I have FSHD, but everything fits other then that (again :/). So now she wants me getting a DNA test done to see what it says, thing is its over $1500 for it and even with the financial assistance from Athena Diagnostics it will cost me basically $400 that I don't have and can't come up with, so that test is out the window and I'm in diagnosis limbo yet again. Right now I'm sticking with the FSHD diagnosis that I got back in December (not sure if I posted about that, one day I may).

I'm also starting to have more troubles with my shoulder and its becoming worrisome. To top it all off my leg braces broke back in April. I took a step off my front porch (about 2" high) I heard a snap and my knee gave out and next thing I knew I was on the ground. I narrowly missed hitting my head on my car. My left leg brace completely snapped in half and I have no way to get another (as they're $250 each through the local orthipedists office, but I have to see a doctor (more $$, yay being insuranceless!) to get a new script since mine is 2yrs old), and of course the one that broke is the one for the leg that has the worse complete paralysis foot drop (not that the right is much better at a 1/5 score 0 being completely not functional).

So thats a rundown of whats been going on here! Hopefully some better updates soon. And lets cross fingers that Idaho steps up and extends medicaid so maybe I can actually see the doctors I need! (cause no way we can afford hubbys work insurance that with premiums and deductibles costs about half his  yearly income!)