Vanity.

I'm vain. I know it. And I'm not afraid to say so and shout it out, I like to feel sexy and fun and I wanna be the hottest looking b**** in the joint. This may be my youth speaking, as lately I've realized I care more and more about how I look. I used to call myself ugly, fat, disgusting, oily, but lately I've realized....you don't care how I look, so why should I care about what others think? So Im starting a quest for myself. I want to put my body up to its full potential. I feel like if i can look the way I feel on the inside, then i may finally see the beautiful woman I was raised to be. My family has always had weight problems, and it hasn't helped that my mother cooks the most amazing southern food I've ever known.....I'm only writing this right now, b/c I'm hoping that writing every day will help keep me motivated to stay on the right track. It's important for me to get to a point where I feel great inside and out. I wanna look like a pop star....Call me vain, but guess what, those people arent dying of heart attacks and high blood pressure at young ages (though they may die of other things....lol). So excuse my vanity for a while at least, but I'm ready to look like i wanna!

Back to Basics

The past year I've felt creatively-depleted. I used to draw, paint, write, and basically any other creative thinking you can think of ALL the time. My time has been spent working for "the man" the past couple of years, and now I'm ready to work for me. I feel like the creative juices are flowing again, and i am making plans to get more organized and get on the track to go back to school so that I may achieve what I want outta life. I plan on being a wedding planner/cosmetologist with my own bridal boutique. That's going to take a lot of steps, but I feel ready. I would think that judged on my makeup in these trade shoots the past couple months, I'm climbing back up to that place of serenity in my artistic mind:

Let your creative juices flow!!!

Helping you to help yourself

Since the restaurant I served at for almost two years closed late March, I've become one of the thousands of unemployed people in the US. I admit, I've only been semi-unemployed with the 2 small jobs I've had ending in my quitting due to trying to move on. I don't think it's so bad that I want to keep getting better and better! Ive had to sit back and watch many of my friends and family struggle with the poverty, the never-ending job searches. It breaks my heart and all I want to do is help, so hopefully with this blog, I can give just a little assistance to those in desperate need. Here are some links to articles Ive really enjoyed on job searches and staying happy in this economy:

How to find a job in any economy:
http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/05/how-to-find-job-in-any-economy.html

A great Twitter account for job searches and ideas in Los Angeles:
http://twitter.com/CEGJobs

Tips for following up on your resume:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107633/six-tips-for-following-up-on-your-resume.html?mod=career-selfemployment

Being your own worst enemy:
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/gabbyguide/5221/stop-being-your-own-worst-enemy/

"I admit it's tempting to wish for the perfect boss, the perfect parent, or the perfect outfit. But maybe the best any of us can do it not quit, play the hand we've been dealt, and accessorize what we've got."

The famous words of a once original and fictitious "blogger," Carrie Bradshaw, from my forever favorite show, Sex and the City. The New York City writer makes a valid point which has been ringing in my ears for the past 5 months. Only now do I take the advice and give it much more thought than simply "living in the moment."

I sit here in the valley, writing from a $1500 small 2 bedroom apartment with two cats and too many people. Certainly not the idea living arrangement for a 20-something with goals of making 6 figures as a jack-of-all trades. But I've once and for all decided to not let the hard times get me down. With unemployment at a whopping 12.1% here in California, about 2% above the US rate, I've come to the conclusion that I can only play the hand I've been dealt, and do what I love best. And that is to share my dreams and hope to inspire others to not give up and grab life by the balls to for what they want...and giving little tips of my general knowledge along the way.

I'm a 20-something who came from Missouri to Los Angeles to become a Makeup Artist...and/or wedding planner, hairstylist, future-wife, teacher, student, and hopefully come out a well-rounded woman. I may not have any Monolo Blahniks, but you can sure as hell bet that I'll put on my Nine West pumps with my Wal-Mart skinny jeans and strut what I've got. I'm ready to get out there and do what I love!! And I hope you as my readers, enjoy a little of the adventure along the way. You should expect a future of work postings, hair and makeup tips with professional advice, and other ramblings of a girl with too many thoughts in her head. I promise in the future that blogs will be much shorter, or have links to topics of interest.

Here's to playing the hand we've been dealt.