Inspiration

With the New Year arriving quickly, I become inspired to change something or start doing something. I think nearly everyone has a New Year's Resolution. I don't want a resolution this year. I want a lifestyle change. This isn't a diet or some goal to save money. (Which I am already doing.) This is more than just that.
This is choosing to be happy.
One sick day I was browsing youtube when I came across a video by a woman name Kandee Johnson. Her look was intriguing so I had to watch. She had many tips and hints for becoming a makeup artist, which I had never really considered being as I am not very good at art. She made it simple and I couldn't stop watching her teach.
I'll take inspiration from Kandee Johnson, make up artist to the stars. She has worked on many sets and has a ton of professional experience with big time stars. She is an AMAZING artist with lots of ideas that would change your opinion of makeup and art. She has more than just experience. She has ability and she uses that to teach women and men who to change the world around them with art.
She has a youtube channel and releases many new videos monthly and sometimes even weekly. Kandee blogs on a near daily basis even though she is about to have another baby. *Congrats by the way* In her post "Don't Let the Storms of Your Past, Cloud Your Future"she writes, "I love you all so much...and I don't care what storms you have in your past...THEY WILL NOT CLOUD YOUR FUTURE....the storms only watered the blossoms in your life....and will make your future that much more beautiful with "watered" flowers!"
Her positivity is addictive, encouraging, and down right lovable.She has been criticized for every small decision that she makes, things she shares, and imperfections that she cannot control, but like the little-engine-that-could she keeps trucking on.
My New Year's lifestyle change is to be more positive like Kandee.
What's yours?


Check out Kandee Johnson on her blog: http://www.kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com/

Redefining my life

There is more to me than just a new appearance or attitude. I am not what you would expect to have turned out to be after a situation sh*ts on a person. I am more than just a scorned female.
As a new life begins, I begin to redefine what the words living, loving, and working mean. For me, living is now just making it through the day to the final goal of my head on the pillow. This may sound simple, but taking it one day at a time or one bite at a time is the only way for me. I am not looking at tomorrow, just focusing on today.Love is the opposite. I am not working on it or even considering it as an option right now. I work too much to make love happen. I do not have time for love or even for a cup of coffee some days. I have taken on more than I can chew, but somehow I am making it work. I show up and do what needs to be done no matter how tired, pissed off, or bored I am. Believe me, in this field boredom plays a HUGE role. Working nights can become irritating, but the more the money the faster my tomorrows will be easier to look at.
Sometimes you just have to hide, get away from it all, and nurse your wounds. For me this is not an option. When children are involved, hiding is the opposite of what you need to do. Just live, love, and work.

Not Just Another Brunette

It's been a while...

With life, comes changes and some of those changes do not seem like the best end to each scenario. In this case, it definitely didn't seem like a wonderful ending, but I am back on my feet and blogging for you right now. I must apologize for the lengthy bit of time that has passed during my sabbatical. I am working 2 jobs and attempting to support myself and my son while continuing my education. Please do not take this as an excuse. I took time off to heal. In this time, I have moved everything I own into a storage unit and have taken up at a family member's house. So here we go with the "scorned female" bit. You knew it was coming. I am no longer in a relationship with Mr. Perfect. Want to guess why? I'll leave that up to speculation and just say, "He's gone". Miss him, love him, but time to get over it. ;) What's new in life? Not quite sure yet, but I'll keep you posted. Until next time.

Not Just Another Brunette

Back to School Time

I don't know about you, but this is the *best* part of the year for me. I love back to school! My son gets to meet new friend, a new teacher, and lots of back to school shopping. I la-la-la-la-love buying new crayons, pencils, binders, composition notebooks, etc. My son loves getting new clothes and a super awesome backpack. I thoroughly enjoy back to school time. Maybe this is odd. Most parents like back to school because it is essentially free daycare. I like that too, but this is more to me. I have always loved back to school. It is a new beginning like the first page of a new spiral notebook. So many new things that you can try or create. So many options. A chance to make a change. So why not take this time to start fresh? Whatever it could be your relationship, passion for work, or taking care of yourself. Take this time to start over!! I sure am.

How to Ruin Someone's Life

This topic may not be my typical blog, but it has been on my mind. Think about someone that you do not like. Well for this a person that you hate. You have to hate them with a passion enough to ruin their entire life. Now every one makes mistakes, but this is no mistake. Let's say this person has children. We will name them. How about Michael and Nicholas? Sounds good to me. OK, so you hate this person with a passion. How will you ruin their life? You could pop their tires, break a window, or steal their mail. No that's not good enough. Let's say that there is a crime committed in your neighborhood. How about a robbery? You are at home no where near the scene of the crime and you have no idea where your mortal enemy is. So, why not accuse them of doing it? You weren't there and have not seen this person in a few weeks. But falsely accuse them and they go to jail. Michael and Nicholas lose their father. Even if it is just for the time that he is held because he cannot make bond. You have officially ruined their life.

My question is why would anyone be this cruel? What could make them hate a person so much that they would try to take a FATHER from his CHILDREN? Even if this guy did commit the crime YOU were not there. You should stay out of it. End of story.

Anger and Resentment

I will be the first person to say not to blog when you are angry, but right now I am breaking that rule. I am not here to "hate" on anyone. This has been building up for quite a while. I am sick and tired of holding my tongue. So here we go.

Sometimes you just do not know a person, no matter how long you know them or even if you have lived with them. You do not know how they will react to happiness or depression. But one thing that you never expect, is for someone who you love not to have your back. This could be anyone a family member, friend, or significant other. When your back is against the wall and they don't support you. I am stressed out and pissed off. I work hard at everything I do. I may not be as successful as the next person, but I try da*n hard to make things work. No one ever has the right to call me lazy. Who takes care of my son, house, car? Not you and certainly not anyone, but me. I am hurt and disappointed that anyone would even suggest this. I feel like I am being kicked when I am down. I have been on many interviews and applied for MANY positions. I do NOT like being pushed around when I am feeling like sh*t already and I do not need this drama. I have my own. And another thing do not put your issues on me. I am not the reason you do what you do. I don't sit around and judge you for what you do, but you feel like it's ok to talk sh*t about me. Wow buddy...

What the f@*# happened to politeness?

Just the other day I was walking around in Wal-mart and passed a heavy set woman. I walk a few more steps and nearly have a collision with a man and his cart. I say, "Excuse me." and then the woman turns around a says, "What the f***! You can't say "excuse me" to me, but you can to him!?!? B*tch!" I left required to educate the woman on manners. So I tell her, "Etiquette says that if you nearly bump into a person you need to say "excuse me", but if you just walk past a person you do not need to say anything." She makes a racial comment and I walk away.

Why did that situation need to occur? Was she never taught any form of manners? These incidents happen all of the time where I live. Let us take a moment to remember the last time someone cut you off while driving. How simple would it have been for them to put their blinker on and ask to come over? This could be very easily done. Simple changes to your daily routine can make your community a better place to be.

Remember what your parents taught you! I can still hear my mom saying, "Your p's and q's." Please and thank you can change your day. When you are feeling rather melancholy try smiling at someone else. When they give you a big grin back, you will catch your self in a better mood. If you continue to have a sour day, then keep it to yourself! And watch your mouth you never know who is listening and who might be learning from your behavior.

Why celebrate?

As another birthday comes and goes, I am left with the question, "Why should I celebrate getting old?" Now to most people, the young ones, this seems just silly to ask. There are many reasons to want to not take part in a celebration of arthritis, age spots, and the dreaded bladder problems. For many people, it is simply the spotlight that they cannot handle. Imagine being shy with this scenario playing out. You are sitting at nice restaurant, eating with family and friends, and then out of no where comes a gaggle of servers singing loudly. They rush towards you with big, dopey grins singing with their terrible voices "Happy birthday to you..." Everyone in the restaurant joins in and it becomes overwhelmingly loud. All eyes are on you. This is terrifying to some, to others this is just a birthday dinner.

I know this seems extreme, but for many people this is reality. This blog is not about those people. There are many reasons to want to celebrate a birthday. It is a celebration of you and what the past year has made you into. Every year on my birthday, I sit down and think about the past 365 days and the events they held. Every trial and tribulation that has occurred has molded me into the person I am today. For me that is a reason to celebrate, but if you are not the kind of person that likes to celebrate you, then find another reason. Even if it is going out dancing just because. This day many years ago brought much love and happiness to someone. Be thankful for this day even if it is hard to do. You never know when you will not see another birthday. So enjoy it while it lasts!

Hello April!

I don't know about you, but I love April! The snow has melted and spring is finally here. I get so excited when the weather turns warm. What do you like to do in spring? I enjoy bringing my son to the park to fly kites, play soccer, and blow bubbles. This is a great time of year to get outside before the mosquitoes eat me alive. We love to make lemonade and barbecue. It's time for spring cleaning and getting the dust off of those shorts. The weather puts me in such a fantastic mood.

We make salads and eat plenty of fresh fruit. Get outside this month! I hate when I hear about people being stuck at work on a beautiful day. At least get outside on your lunch break. This weather can really change your perspective. If you are having a bad day, then go take a walk and smell the flowers. I know this helps shake the frustration of everyday life for me. It's hard to stay in a foul mood when you hear the birds chirping and the children playing.

There is so much to do in April. Here's a short list of just the holidays that we celebrate in the US in April.

1. April Fool's Day
2. Arbor Day
3. Good Friday
4. Easter

With so much to do in this wonderful month, let's not forget to be thankful for our families and friends. For me, this month is really "made" by my friends and family. Their presence is enough to get me out of a crappy mood. Take some extra time this month to show your appreciation for them.

Guilty or Innocent: Everyone has them.

I know that most people have more than 5 guilty pleasures and trying to narrow them down to under 10 has been rather difficult. I didn't realize how many guilty pleasures I had. So here we go. Brace yourself.

#1 Yelling at random cars because I feel like they are going to slow. By slow I mean the speed limit. No cursing involved, if my son is in the car. I can get pretty intense behind the wheel. I go from sweet-edgy Betty Crocker to racing demon as soon as I turn the key. This is a serious matter for me. Just stay out of my way and we are good.

#2 My Blackberry 8900. This shouldn't be guilty except for my excessive use. I facebook, tweet, and text all day long. I feel lost without my phone. I take it in the bathroom with me. I have been known to shower with it too. Eck! (embarrassing)

#3 McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffee. I am obsessed with these. Last week I was cleaning out my car and found 5, count them, 5 large empty cups. God help me they are so delicious. I can blind taste test each flavor. I could drink them instead of anything else.

#4 Miley Cyrus's music specifically Party in the USA. I know you're sitting there puzzled. I know so many people who hate Miley's music, but honestly it makes me want to act stupid and dance around like a big dork.

#5 Taking an excessive amount of pictures. I'm talking about 1,000's. I live by my mom's slogan "always take two, just in case." I have so many pictures on my laptops that I have to have flash drives to keep them all. I'm way too sentimental. I don't want to delete any of them "just in case". I justify this by saying that I love photography.

Wow I didn't realize how much of a dork I am. In the end, we all have guilty pleasures and without them our lives would be rather dull. Let me leave you with something to chew on, what are your guilty pleasures?

Who's health do they really care for?

March 22nd, 2010 Congress passed this new healthcare reform. In layman's terms, this bill will require everyone to purchase healthcare. Some people will be qualified for a hardship plan. This bill will cover all people and will create other taxes. A 10% increase for indoor tanning booths, big companies will have a 40% tax on higher-end insurances, and a 3.8% investment tax on families with an income over $250,000. Abortion from rape, incest, and/or the health of the mother, will be partially covered by the new reform, but this is only per state.

So what does this mean to us? If you are currently uninsured by 2016 you will be fined $695.00 for not having insurance. Virginia's attorney general Ken Cuccinelli said, "Congress lacks authority to force people to buy health insurance."

I personally do not agree with this bill. One great thing about America is our democracy. Other countries look up to us just based off of that fact. If we take away our citizen's right to choose, then we are falling back into a monarchy. We came to America for the rights of Americans. What's next a forcing everyone to own a Ford?

W 1 L 3

I heard this reference in a movie once, I believe it was A Series of Unfortunate Events with Jim Carey that explained death as; "It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. It's like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down through the air and there's a sickly moment of dark surprise." This quote embodies exactly how I feel today. The worst part of this whole predicament is that I wasn't even that close to him. I attended middle and high school with him. I remember his smile and demeanor. He was a sweet person, fun loving, and after all rather attractive (honestly). Kind of Owen Wilson-esk. (laughing at myself) But the real question today is how much loss can one person take? I know that many people have lost their children, parents, and best friends, but when is it decided that it is enough for them? My sister-in-law lost her son, Jamie, at age 16. I can only imagine losing a child. I hope I will never see that day. I am only left with the question "Why?". I guess we will have to wait to find the answer, but until then, have a great night.

Welcome to my blog!

Wow, I've thought about how I wanted to start off my blog and without further ado...

WELCOME TO MY BLOGGITY-BLOG!

I'll start off with saying that I have absolutely nothing interesting to say. I am a 23 year old mother of 1. I am currently hunting for a job and a good sale. I spend entirely too much time at home. Cooking and cleaning mostly. I live in Virginia and enjoy our (mostly) beautiful weather. I do not get out much. Not because I don't want to, but mainly because that means I have to get dressed, do my makeup, and drive there. By the time I'm ready I have no energy left. Oh by-the-way, I have Lupus, which aids in me being tired a lot.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! My family is mostly Irish and we celebrate by making a traditional dinner. Boiled cabbage with potatoes and some polish kielbasa. Yum yum...

I watch entirely too many youtube videos. I enjoy the beauty gurus, geeks, and the SHAYTARDS!