Songs that make me feel good

I have mentioned E.F. Fitness's blog before in a post, and today I'm talking about music.
Emilie did a great blog on music for workouts, stuff that helps you get pumped for a run. I enjoyed reading through it and, incidentally, it inspired this blog post, which will be about songs that I listen to in the morning to get me ready for the day.
Yes, I am one of those people who can't get up and get ready without blasting my Spotify play list I created especially for getting dressed on a school day. Actually I am one of those people who has a Spotify play list for every occasion; car rides, working on school assignments, sleeping. You name it, I have it. And if I haven't created it myself, chances are it available in the browse section of the app.
I do tend to go in spurts of what I listen to, what artists I am "in love with," which is one of the main reasons I shell out $10 each month on my Spotify subscription. Its not worth it for me to pay for music on iTunes because I cycle through what I listen to so quickly. I can download the music i want at the time, and then when I'm done, delete it, all for only $10. Now I'm not trying to sell you on Spotify, although I have converted my of my friends and family members. But it is a great tool for discovering new music.
In the morning I tend to go for up beat indie and pop songs to get me in a good mood.
I have a few songs from the new One Direction album, even though at first I wasn't a fan, it's growing on me. They are up beat and fun to jam to in the morning. Classic 21st century pop.
I have a few today's hits type songs like Stolen dance by Milky Chance and some 5SOS, although I tend to stay away from songs I typically hear on the radio on the drive to school because I don't enjoy hearing the same music over and over, no matter how good it is.
I recently discovered a group called Branches, which is a more mellow type of (I would classify as folk rock) music. Good for morning tunes, but not something I would listen to all the time.
I also have been loving a song by Blind Melon called No Rain. Kind of a throw back, something my dad would listen to, but I have no shame.

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How I avoid dry skin around the holidays (and all the time)

It's the best time of the year, family gets together and lots of gifts are exchanged. But most of all when I think of the holidays, I think of pictures. Family photos where everyone gathers around the tree. The "I just unwrapped a gift we have to document the moment" pictures. And I hate looking back at old photos and thinking "Wow I look awful." Especially since I tend to have dry and sometimes problematic skin when winter rolls around.
I have a few key go to's to make sure my skin is photo ready during the holidays.
The first thing I do is exfoliate, but not too much. I use a simple apricot scrub that has large particles to help get the dead skin off of the first layer on my face. I generally do this in the morning when I shower around 2 to 3 times a week. If I do it more than that, it's going to hurt me more than help me because it will dry out my skin even more.
I like to do this because it gets rid of the dead skin cells so my skin can breathe and it makes my skin much smoother so I don't have to apply as much makeup and my makeup goes on smoother, looking more natural.
The next thing I do is use a daily moisturizer every time I expose my skin to water. Water dries out your skin because it strips away your natural oils your skin posses so replacing these with those from a moisturizer will help avoid flakiness and feeling like your skin is stiff, tight, and vulnerable.
I use a moisturizer from Clean And Clear that you can pick up at Wal-Mart for $6. It also contains salicylic acid to help control acne. Any drug store moisturizer works pretty well, it really comes down to personal preference and your personal skin type. :)
I hope these tips will help you out with keeping your skin photo ready during the holidays.

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