I live, I eat

Here I am again at Yamaya.  One of my favorite japanese restaurants in Alaska. This place is run by Sam and Kay, and sometimes their grand daughter Jada is working there.  This is some really great food in a very small restaurant.  If you have a party of 3 or more people, I suggest you call ahead and reserve a table.  Otherwise, when it's busy, you may be turned away.  When it's slow, there are sometimes only one or two people in here.  If you are by yourself, you can sit up at the bar (not drinking bar) which is quite popular.  They open at 5 pm and close around 9, Monday through Saturday.  Closed Sunday. When you walk in you may not think much of the place.  In fact I see a lot of people open the door, look in really quick, and go back out.  98% of those people are off of the cruise ships.  Which is fine by me that they do not find this hidden gem.   When you come here, the menu is on two walls.  There's is also a drink list on the cabinets by the sushi bar.  

I've never been able to give up my coffee.  I like it strong, black, and sweet.  I grew up using sugar, then under my moms influence, I switched to Equal.  When Splenda came out, we both switched.  I had been using Splenda ever since. As I became a bit more health oriented, I looked into how healthy Splenda was for you.  Granted if you are counting calories, awesome, but it is still a form of sugar and sugar spikes insulin.  Insulin makes you fat.  So it really seemed like a shot in the foot. I fooled around with different sweeteners.  I really didn't care for Xylitol, not to mention it could kill my counter surfing dog.  Truvia and Stevia in the Raw came out.  I really like Truvia.  I did not care for the price.  I would wait until they came out with their 2 dollar coupons and then order a bunch from Coupons Clipped Cheap.  Also, Truvia has Erythritol.  It states on it web site: Erythritol Erythritol is a sugar alcohol found naturally in various fruits such as grapes

I have seen the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask everywhere and saw all the rave reviews on it, so I decided to go ahead and splurge.  I tried it every other day in the morning. This mask is super easy to use.  It says to use a generous layer.  I used four pumps.  I tried five once and felt it was too much.  The mask fizzes up immediately and you can feel it tingle.  Not a bad tingle, but just a bunch of bubbles.  The fizz disappeared fairly quickly, and a couple of times I was completely dried out before the five minutes was up, and my face was not thrilled.  It was much better after I took a wet washcloth to it.  Generally I would put this on and iron my clothes for the day to pass the time. My face felt a bit firmer, but it was the same hydration look that I get after I wash my face in the morning.  By the afternoon, it looked like I needed another mask.  I would really prefer to see some long lasting results. This is also a bit on the pricey side for a mask with so

UPDATE:  I have been using this product for about a month and a half.  I have noticed beyond what I initially put below that my face seems firmer now, and my fine lines are not as noticeable.  I still use this on my hands as well as my face and neck, and of all things my husband mentioned to me how youthful my hands looked.  He is usually not a very observant person, so when he remarked on that, I thought it was worth the update.  I will also say that I believe this product has been helping my moisturizer work, as my usual dry skin has been looking fresher longer. My original review is as follows: Another beauty product! Can a person have too many?  It seemed for a while that every time I was at Nordstrom or Sephora I was getting a sample or two of this product. It's a two step micro peel system.  There are premoistened towelettes in each side.  The first side you swipe over you face, neck, and decollete in circular motions until the pad goes dry on you.  I have been adding t