Renée's World

As most of you know, being a full-time university student can sure consume most of one's time. Balancing classes, projects, study time and the part time job takes up most of my time, and I am pretty much left with the most boring life ever right now. Sure, the classes and the job balance is okay. What is the crisis, then?

I don't have the time to read anymore. I read tons for class, but reading for fun, that, I don't do so much anymore. I really LOVE to read, but my time always has to be spent doing something else for university, or working at the part-time job.

Isn't it sad that I'm only half-way into a book that I started reading during summer?? Usually, I can easily finish a book in a week or two, and now it's been like 4 months, and I've still not completed Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Don't get me wrong, the book is great. I just don't have the time!

Most of you have surely noticed that I barely blogged during October. That's another thing that was set aside because of a lack of time. I feel like a prisoner of things I need to do. There's a big difference between the things I need to do and the things I want to do. If I could always do the things I wanted, I would read for the fun of it every day, and definitely blog a lot more often. But that's not how life works, does it? We always do things because we have to, and not because we want to.

I am trying to blog more often though, because I really feel like I've left you all somewhat in the dark last month. I just find it very difficult to find the time. And when I do find the time, it's at times like these where I do blog and read. At 10:36 at night when I should be in bed, sleeping. I am so pressed for time, that my apartment is in need for a  much needed cleanup as well. If only we had all the time in the world. But that's not the case, is it?

There will never be enough time.

I know these last few posts have been about exciting new things that I got. This one is just the same because I cannot not tell you about it!

These past few weeks, I've been wanting a digital camera to take better pictures, especially for my blog. The only things I had were my camera phone and webcam, so as you all know, picture quality on these is very limited. I did some research online for brands and models and finally decided on the specific model that I wanted. So yesterday afternoon, I went in town on the hunt for the Fujifilm Finepix Z35. Easy task, right? Not so much. Here were all the stores I went to, in order.

That's 8 stores right there that I went through looking for it. I guess it's a very popular camera... much more than I expected anyway! So after I got out of Staples, I went to the Atlantic Superstore because I remembered that they had a photo lab/electronics department. I went there, and believe it or not, they actually had it in stock! It was the last place I planned on checking and the place I least expected to find it! I was sooo excited!! And the best part is that it was on sale for $148!! I also bought a 4GB SD memory card on sale for about $8 off as well. What a bargain!!

So the camera has two colors: White and hot pink. It's really cute, the white has sparkles in it. It really takes good pictures, too! Here are a few pictures I took with it last night. I am totally in love with it! ♥

Close-up of the camera box

Another close-up shot

 Love ♥

For the past five years, these eyes of mine have been looking through the same pair of glasses. Last week, I went to the optometrist and I finally got myself a brand new frame! I chose them on Oct. 27th, and got them two days later. The fastest I've gotten a new pair of glasses. Ever. I was so excited when they told me they could get them ready in just a couple days. Usually it takes like a week.

I'm so happy because I was long overdue for a new pair! Anyway, now for the good part. What they look like. It's a frame by Mizyake. They are in two tones of brown, have rectangle lenses, and have a lot of detailing on the arms. I find that they really flatter my face soooo much better than my previous frame! I just can't stop looking at myself in the mirror now! Hahaha... I love them!! ♥

Old pair

**Last photo taken with my new Fujifilm Finepix Z35!! Read about it here!**

After a day-and-a-half of heavy rain and strong winds, the city of Moncton (and most of New Brunswick, for that matter) was left pretty flooded on Sunday. This is the biggest flood I've seen in the city yet that is solely caused by rainfall.

In total, the city received 49 millimeters of rain in less than 24 hours, during which the water was left with nowhere to go other than in the streets and in the basements of many homes and buildings. Some drains were clogged due to fallen leaves, while others could just not take in any more water. Many roads were even closed due to severe flooding. It did not help that the Petitcodiac River was at high tide when the rain came, so water intake in the river was restricted, and it over-flooded in some areas. It was nothing like I had ever seen, and I captured a lot of pictures on my camera phone while going through the city on Sunday.

The street beside my apartment building was completely flooded on Sunday morning from sidewalk to sidewalk. The water reached the bumpers of cars, and was very deep, considering this was just a normal city street. This was caused by clogged drains from all the leaves that had fallen because of heavy winds. Fortunately, the water cleared up after city workers came and unclogged them around noon.

The Petitcodiac River over-flooded alongside university campus, and in other areas in town I'm sure.

The water flooded all along highway 15, that goes through the city. There was even an exit that was closed to traffic because it was underwater (the exit on the right). All the water you see here should not be there.

Pretty lake, right? Wrong. This is no lake at all. This is usually nothing but tall grass that goes all along the highway. Unreal, isn't it?

My camera phone is better than I thought, because these last pictures were taken while going 100 km/h on the highway! Surprised me as heck how good my camera is. They didn't turn out fuzzy at all!

These past few weeks, I've developed a new obsession: painting my nails. I don't know why, but nowadays I always have to have them painted! I just love to have pretty nails, and I love having them painted in all sorts of colors!

So I did a bit of research online for brands of nail polishes, and I came across a brand called Zoya. This particular brand of polish has a formula that is totally free of toxic ingredients, such as toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate, which actually makes them safe for pregnant women to use. The company also had a promotion for Earth Day, where you could send in all of your old polishes to them, no matter what the brand, and they would send you the same amount of brand new polishes, for only the cost of shipping. Imagine all of that old, toxic nail polishes that were sent to them, and disposed of properly, instead of being thrown out in our regular trash.

Anyway, I had a look online at their collections and stumbled upon their Fall 2009 collections. They have two fall collections : Truth and Dare. Both collections are sets of six polishes each. Truth is a set of warmer, shimmery golds, oranges and reds, whereas Dare is a set of cooler blues, greens, and purples.

 Truth collection

Dare collection

Both collections are really nice, but I couldn't help myself from ordering the Truth collection. The colors are so beautiful and amazing that I wanted it as soon as my eyes set on it!

Zoya is a professional brand of nail polish that you cannot just buy from any drugstore. You gotta order them online. Unfortunately, the Zoya Website does not ship to Canada. However, I found a website called eNailSupply where you can shop for all kinds of nail polishes and whatnot, and they carried Zoya. The best part about this website is that they ship internationally! So I ordered my Truth collection through them, and I received it about a week later (in business days, of course). The collection cost me $36 + shipping, so these polishes are very affordable; about $6-7 per bottle. I was sooo excited when the parcel arrived this Tuesday. I have to say, that the colors in person are even prettier than they are on the internet. They are so shimmery, and vibrant!

Penny

A beautiful, shimmery coppery gold which resembles exactly the color of a bright shiny new penny.

Kalmia

A gorgeous deep orange with a nice golden shimmer.

Salma

Bright shimmery red, which is actually the brightest red in the collection. It's gorgeous! This is actually the one I have on my nails right now.

Isla

A beautiful classic wine red with lots of shimmer in a brighter shade of red. Very pretty.

Anaka

This color is very unique. It's the most shimmery out of the bunch. This color has a red base color with lots of purple shimmer and even has a hint of orange shimmer. Absolutely stunning.

Drew

This is the most subtle color in the collection. A beautiful mauvy pink color. At first glance, it looks pretty matte, but don't be fooled; it has lots of shimmer in it. It's a very pretty color.

So far, I am very very pleased with the Zoya polishes and I really think that from now on I will be purchasing my polishes from them. They have a lot of colors (300+), and they are absolutely stunning. Plus, they don't have those toxic ingredients in them, which is a good thing not only for us, but better for the environment as well.

What do you think? Truth or Dare?

Wow. It sure has been a while! School and work have been keeping me pretty busy, especially since I had a bunch of exams this week to prepare and study for! Fortunately, they're all done and over with and next week I have off since it's our reading week! It's going to be great to relax and to go home to see the family and also to visit some friends. I'm working tomorrow and Saturday, going home Sunday, and returning to Moncton on Friday, in time to attend the Halloween Party on the 31st. It's going to be fun, but it's about time I find myself a costume before I'm stuck wearing the same costume two years in a row! That would not be fun! Any ideas for costumes? Let me know!!

So what are my plans for my week off? Visit friends, hang out with the family, write my English essay that is due in a couple weeks, research for my projects, and definitely relax and take it easy. Since all my exams were this week, I only have the more laid back stuff to do for uni, which is great. I was really starting to get sick of studying all the time! I also have an eye exam next week, and I'm going to get a new pair of glasses! Finally!! It's about time! I've had this pair for about 5 years now, and let's just say... it's a bit out-dated, and the paint all around the frame is starting to chip off. I can't wait until I get them! I'm so excited about that! I'll definitely let you know when I get them, and post some pics!

Anyway, I'll try to post a few times this week, since I'll have a bit more time on my hands!

Take care!