Tag Archives: Breanna Maruszak

Striking Odds

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Have you ever looked up the odds of a person playing baseball at the professional level? Let alone the odds of making it to Major League Baseball? WHEW, those numbers are insane. I read that a high school baseball player has about .5% chance of playing pro baseball – and that does not mean making it to the bigs. Of course the percentage of college ballplayers who go on to play pro is much higher (around 10%), but only because the pool of college players is a lot smaller than the pool of high school players. With each level advanced in the minor leagues these men are defying incredible odds, although, some do have better odds than others. I found an interesting article by Mike Rosenbaum from 2012 that looks at percentages of players who make it to MLB based on what round they were drafted in. First round draft picks reach the big leagues at a whopping 66%, and as you might have guessed the percentage drops rapidly from there. Addison was drafted in the 17th round, where only about 11% make it to the show.  Any normal person would look at these numbers and feel defeated just seeing how unlikely it is to fulfill their lifelong dream, but if there is one thing I have learned in this whole baseball process it’s that these athletes are some of the most resilient and determined people on the planet.

Thinking about all these numbers doesn’t scare me one bit, they actually give me hope. Addison has already overcome tremendous odds to get to where he is at this very moment. I can’t even express the amount of pride I have for him every single day he goes out on that field and literally battles to make that childhood dream of his a reality. Only God knows where we are going to land in our baseball journey. Maybe it’s MLB, maybe it’s not. Truthfully it doesn’t even matter, because we will always know that he gave it his all.

Cruelty Free Beauty on a Budget

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It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of animals. I don’t eat them and I love to snuggle with them every chance I get. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I am against the testing of products on animals…especially beauty products. That being said I do my absolute best to research brands before I buy them to determine whether they are cruelty free or not, because it’s not always as easy as looking for the little white bunny on the back of packaging (If you do see that little cruelty free bunny on the packaging, it means that the product you are buying was not tested on animals. Yay!). One of my very favorite resources for determining whether or not a product is “safe” is a website, My Beauty Bunny. On the site there is a huge list of brands that are cruelty free, and it also has indications whether the brands are owned by larger companies who do still test on animals. In the recent past, many companies have lost their cruelty free title in search of more money. You see, in China the products they sell are REQUIRED to be tested on animals. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!  These once applauded companies are ditching their “morals” so they can sell their products in this (sadly enough) rapidly growing market. My Beauty Bunny keeps the public up to date with these companies, because they obviously try to be as discreet about these changes as they possibly can be. Seriously though, it is not one bit necessary to test my favorite lip color or mascara on a sad, scared little bunny rabbit. *Steps down from soapbox.* I’ve tried tons and tons of products, but these are just some of my currently owned items that happen to be cruelty free and budget friendly. This isn’t an all inclusive list by any means!

photo photo45_zps8c85e090.jpgMilani is one of my very favorite drugstore brands, they have quality products that aren’t expensive at all.

1.  Easybrow – probably my favorite product right now (introduced to me by my favorite beauty blogger, Glow of Grace). It makes eyebrow defining super easy, and looks really natural.

2.  Easyliner for Eyes – another staple for my makeup bag. A perfect retractable eye liner pencil.

ELF is probably the biggest rockstar in the cruelty free budget beauty industry. Cheap, kind, and 100% awesome!

3.  Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter – the concealer works great and the highlighter adds just a bit of sparkle.

4.  Eyelid Primer – if I’m wearing eyeshadow, this eyelid primer is a MUST.

5.  High Definition Powder – I don’t use this every day, but is a cheap and fabulous alternative to the Makeup Forever HD Powder (which isn’t cruelty free!!!).

6.  Brightening Eye Color – these aren’t my favorite, because they aren’t very pigmented and take a lot of build intense color. But the colors are pretty, there are a lot to choose from and they are small and travel friendly.

 7.  Makeup Mist & Set – just did your makeup and it’s looking kind of cakey? Give it a mist of this stuff and magic will happen.

NYX is fairly new to me, but I’ve got a few of their products on my wish list for my next trip to ULTA (a trip I am purposely avoiding).

8.  HD Photogenic Concealer – the coverage and blendability of this stuff is perfect. I bought green to try to battle some redness but I haven’t quite figured out how to not look green when I use it. Next time I will just stick to skin tones ;-) .

Physicians Formula has been a part of my beauty routine for YEARS, even before I knew they were cruelty free. So it was great to not have to change at least one staple in my makeup bag.

9.  Mineral Wear Loose Powder – has enough coverage that I will usually wear this alone, no foundation needed!

10. Mineral Airbrushing Bronzer – I love this bronzer. It looks really natural and has SPF 30.

NYC was a last thought addition in here. There are a lot of mixed reviews out there on whether or not they are cruelty free, so that’s probably not a good sign but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt here and add in the one product of theirs I own.

11.  Individual Eyes created for Blue Eyes – these colors are surprisingly pigmented and really make blue eyes pop. They have similar sets for all eye colors.

I wasn’t going to include this but I couldn’t resist. This particular product is definitely not a “budget” buy, but it is made by my favorite makeup brand… Urban Decay!!! photo photo46_zpsf8a6704a.jpg

BONUS!  Naked Palette – so many colors, so little time! There are endless options to mix and match with these shadows and they are all so beautiful on. If you have a little extra to invest in a palette I highly recommend buying one from Urban Decay, because they rock!

I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. My main goal here is for everyone to understand that there is great affordable makeup brands out there that don’t test on animals. If you have makeup in your bag that’s been tested on animals, I’m not going to hold it against you because I do too! But I am consciously making the effort to get away from all of those items because I do not want to support those companies anymore unless they make a change. How about you? Does the testing of your beauty products on animals bother you enough to make a change? What are some of your favorite cruelty free products?

 

***Disclaimer: All of the mentioned products were purchased by myself and these are all my own opinions. I am by no means a beauty blogger or expert, just a girl who appreciates animals and makeup!***

Back in Action

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It’s been a while. Too long really. I’ve been caught up in the new season and a little off on my writing with all the craziness that has been going on in this country of ours as of late. But I’m back! We are currently in Scranton, PA playing for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (AAA). The team has newly renovated stadium that is absolutely beautiful. If you live in the area and haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do so. Addison is doing his usual, super utility thing. Already this season he’s made appearances at 3rd base, 1st base, short stop and right field. That really keeps things exciting for me, never knowing where he might be playing next! The only thing that I haven’t been enjoying here is the cold weather that doesn’t seem to ever want to leave. Yesterday was the first warm day we have had since we’ve been here, but it rained and brought in another little cold front. My fingers are crossed that it just gets warmer and warmer from here.

I’m not sure if it’s typical for AAA baseball, but the team makes some long away trips. They just got back from an eight day road trip and are about to leave again in a few days for a NINE day trip! I didn’t go on the last one and unfortunately I will be staying behind again. So I’ll hopefully get to venture out and explore the area some while I have lots of free time! If anyone has any ideas on how to fill my time, send them my way! I’ll be forever grateful.

I’ll be back soon, promise!

Writer’s Block and Beautiful Music

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Writer’s block is the pits (especially when you are trying to be a good blogger and post more often). But I have another very special feature on one of those super talented blogging baseball wives that I started to tell you all about last month coming up soon, so get excited! Spring Training is going really well, and I can’t believe that we are only two weeks away from real live baseball season.

Nope, I haven’t started packing yet.

Nope, I don’t have a clue where we might be starting the season yet.

Nope, I’m not concerned at all. :-)

So that’s really it for now, just one last thing…I heard this song after dropping Addison off at the field this morning and it really spoke to my heart. I just wanted to share it with you all because I love everything about it.

Searching for Solitude

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God works in mysterious ways. There is no doubt in my mind about that. This whole morning I have felt restless and a little bit uneasy. Could it be the fact that today is the first “official” day of Spring Training for Addison, heralding the beginning of a very long baseball season? Why yes, I think so. It’s not that I’m NOT ready for it, I really am and I’m even excited to start going to games again. But way down deep I feel a pull at my heart. It is an all too familiar feeling that I get a lot during baseball season. Since I’ve been feeling this I’ve worked hard to keep myself busy in an effort to avoid it. I’ve already cleaned, paid bills, organized some stuff, and checked my twitter feed a zillion times. If you know me, you know I’m not all about the cleaning and organizing thing…so what gives? Well, I finally sat down and read today’s women’s devotional from Baseball Chapel and it all kind of clicked.

I’m feeling lonely.

Ugh. It’s not even like it’s been that long since I’ve been alone. Addison has just been at camp for a few hours and he will be home again in a few hours. I really don’t even think that it’s a present loneliness that I’m feeling. It’s like I’m prepping for loneliness to come.  With baseball season comes moving to an unknown place, spending most of the day by myself, and being left alone on long away trips. Anyways that really isn’t the point here. The devotional talked about the differences between loneliness and solitude. I have always viewed my aloneness as loneliness, and I would constantly try to fill it with fluff…TV, internet, shopping, etc. But I don’t have to be lonely. I don’t have to seek out ways to cure myself of that loneliness. I just need a new perspective.

SOLITUDE.

I can enjoy my aloneness by seeking ways to better myself and further my relationship with Christ. There is no reason to feel lonely when I’m alone, because I’m never really “alone”. My goal for this season is to seek out times of solitude, enjoy them, and make the most of them. I know I was meant to read that particular devotional today of all days, and I’m thankful for the comfort only the Lord can provide me.