New Year, New Resolutions

Here is my list of resolutions for the New Year. Anyone want to share theirs?

More on Military Wives

Okay, for my New Years Resolution, I am going to try to avoid all the military wives that I can, haha. I mean, seriously, they stand outside of the schools on post and trash talk each other like they aren't all standing four inches apart. It's a disgusting display of being perpetually jealous and petty.

So here is a slew of new posts pertaining to military wives:

Teen Mom (the show)

I have a deep, dark secret that I'm afraid to let my friends know. I can't stop watching Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, or 16 & Pregnant. Posting this video, I know it loses me all respect in their eyes. haha.

Happy Xmas!

Merry Xmas and much love to all of my readers. Here's a special song dedicated to J Walker Photography.

Hearts.



So what's your favorite Xmas song?

Xmas Time

Some fun, light videos for the holidays.

Are You Cold Too?

My daughter, Kai, is doing her own vlogging project now by hijacking (or Kaijacking) my computer from time-to-time. This is her bundling up for the winter, very slowly!

Anti-Bullying Campaign

Lets face it, we all get bullied at some point or another. But, it seems that bullying has gotten out of control in the United States, and people hate out of fear, ignorance, and general intolerance for anyone even slightly different. So, this is my campaign of videos against bullying.

This is for the It Gets Better Project:


Stand Together video:




Having said all of this though, there IS a difference between being bullied and getting a critique. We're in a day where every participant gets a trophy, no one is allowed to lose, and so, everyone thinks they're perfect and no one really seems to know how to handle criticisms any more. So, I also many a video about the difference:

See, the Military is Full of Criminals!

True story that happened yesterday: My dad comes here to visit, loses his iPhone between the PX and getting into the vehicle to leave (not sure if it was dropped or if he was pick pocketed - we'll use the benefit of the doubt and say it was dropped on the ground or fell in a chair at the food court). He realizes 10-15 minutes later that the phone is gone, and goes back to search. I call the phone - it's off. Since they don't find shattered pieces anywhere, I assume it was taken. So I leave a message on the phone.

Another 10-15 minutes later, we get a call saying that the caller's buddy gave him to phone to return. He was an MP that found it, erased everything on the phone, and was going to resell it. That is, until he heard my message! Apparently, that scared the crap out of him, so he handed the phone to a friend and bolted.

Now, finding a phone in the PX area, you can guess it belongs to a soldier. Not only do you attempt to flat out steal it, but you're an MP??? The guy that's supposed to be UPHOLDING the law on post???? If you didn't see my post on the military being full of convicts, go check it out, this is a perfect follow up post!



And yes, it was my dad's fault for dropping the phone (if he did in fact drop it), but come on, where is the decency of people? Especially around Christmas time. Why should I have to threaten to get the real police involved to get back what's already mine? And deleting the pictures and apps, that was just evil. This reminds me of last year, when my mom placed an order on toysrus.com, accidentally switched two of the numbers on our address, and I had to threaten to call the police to get a package back from our neighbors when the box had our fricken name on it! I hate everything about the military at this point...

Military House = Convict Housing?

No offense to any ex-cons who are trying to turn their lives around, but I don't want you in my military. I'm sorry, but, if a teacher has to have a superb background in order to be around children, why can a criminal join the military and move into housing with hundreds of military children? Heck, how can you even be trusted to defend and serve as required if you couldn't do it in the day-to-day life?

Am I the only one that thinks this way? I mean, the military is at capacity and trying to get rid of soldiers to lower their budget, so why aren't the standards for becoming a soldier drastically rising as a result?

I Am a Japthenopian Princess

Wannan know a secret? Promise not to tell?




HAHAHAHA! Weebo desu ne?

The Military Would Be Awesome Without the Wives...

Okay, I am tired and more than fed up with seeing Enlisted military spouses going around and acting like trash! I don't care who you are, if you're old enough to get married, you're old enough to at least pretend like you have some sense in your head.

Now, I recorded this when I was very angry, so there is an extreme amount of profanity, but I just can't take these little girls who are absolute idiots making military life intolerable!

Blockbuster Online Rental Reviews

This is kind of self-explanatory, but after three months of having Blockbuster online, I have canceled my account. Here's why:

Chit Chat on Skype

So, my vlogging friend and I have come up with an unusual concept. Or, we think it's unusual at least.

You know how you can sit down at a restaurant, bus stop, or other public place and pick out bits and pieces of a conversation that catches your attention? For instance, a very masculine voice saying, "I love satin panties." Even if you're in a conversation, you suddenly go into spy mode and start trying to pick up clues about the rest of that conversation.

Well, we have created such an avant-garde production, themed as "Girl Talk." It's just me and Dani Quin going editing our Skype-versations. We've actually known each other since 2003, and have pretty much been BFFs since that moment. Now we live about 3,000 miles apart, and, since we're both vloggers, we started a vlog crossover project in this production as well.

Enjoy the insanity! And please visit youtube.com/daniquinnzel to get more of Dani. :)






And an updated bonus!

Ego Trip

Okay, lately I am getting a little self-obsessed with my modeling photos, so much so, in fact, that I've been making them into videos. I stole the idea from youtube.com/daniquinnzel (I'm sure she's not the first person to do this, but it was the first time I saw a Model Mayhem and Youtube crossover). All of these were done in the past, and I am sad to report I no longer live there *thanks military!* so I won't be updating with new photos any time soon. But, that being said, I still have lots of old ones to go through at this point!

I guess I'll do anything for the fan count these days, haha.

I'll start with the House of Nightmares group shoot from May 2009. I have Cinderella, zombie, and a few other outfits in here.


Then on to Princeton, the swingers club, from June of 2009. These photos are more PG-13.


And, finally (for now), the Walker-Vision set. The first is the True Blood costume, the second video is using a neat shower door to shoot through.





Enjoy, and don't laugh at my jiggly deliciousness too hard!

Snowman Treats Activity

Kids getting bored over Xmas break and you're looking for something fun and creative for them to do other than watch TV or play games? Try this no-baking food activity of making snowman goodies!

Designer Disney Princesses

So, I got these beautiful note cards from the Disney Store, and I just have to share them because they are drop dead gorgeous.

Within the Consumer Maddness - Black Friday 2011

Oh my, I am so exhausted after on-again-off-again shopping insanity since 10pm Thursday, when Wal-Mart kicked off Black Thursday. I'll post my video commentary, then follow it up with our shopping spree items and prices so that people learning how to work great deals can get an idea on what goes on sale and the price differences (the benefits of being patient in a bad economy basically).



Unfortunately, and as a lesson to everyone, I did get a little panicked and rushed to buy a Zelda 3DS bundle online, only to have my husband get a second one the next morning, along with a Mario 3DS bundle. He bought the second Zelda bundle because the manager at GameStop told him that the online store does not track stock and will often over sell items, then delay or cancel orders because of that. So, they scared him into grabbing one while he could, then we got a shipment confirmation for the online purchased one a few hours later (I actually tried to cancel the order, but the site messed up and customer service wouldn't answer the phone and didn't get my email in time, obviously), followed by finding the bundles all over town, much cheaper, later in the day. So now we have three 3DS bundles, when the goal was to only get the one - and that is exactly why I never let my husband do any shopping!

Here is my physical haul for the day:


3DS bundles. The Zelda set was $130 at GameStop with the trade-in of a DS Lite system ($70 store credit, much higher than normal). The Mario bundle was a full $199. I wouldn't have paid full price for that one, but, like I said, my husband went out alone and doesn't care about the price of anything!


The top two puppy pajamas were $7 shirt, pants, and slipper sets from Target. The rest are two girls PJs and a boys lightweight hoodie, each under $5.


Skylanders XBox 360 Starter Kit, $50 at Target (reg. $80), Skylanders individual figures, buy 1 get 1 from Toys R' Us (making them about $4 each, regular $8), and the Skylanders packs, also part of the Toys R' Us deal for $20 total (reg. $40).


Sonic Generations 360 game, $30 at GameStop (just released for $60 a few weeks ago), Ninjago DS game, $10 at GameStop (reg. $30), and Zhu Zhu Pets: Quest for Zhu DVD $5 from Wal-Mart (reg. $13). The PS3 Rio and Rango were $12.xx each from the PX with their 50% off all clearance games special (normally $30/ea). Walking Dead Season 1 Blu-Ray, The Community Season 1 DVD, and X-Men: First Class Blu-Ray combo pack were all actually free for me, because I used my Amazon credit card points - but the total was under $50 with their flash deals and the shipping was free. I can't remember what each cost individually, and Amazon is no longer listing the prices, but you can't beat that!


SpongeBob Yahtzee Jr. $4 at Target. Squinkies deluxe cupcake playset $10 at Wal-Mart (reg $20-ish).


Blu-Ray Player, $50. Ninja blender $18.xx (reg. $25-50, depending on where you find it). Both from Wal-Mart.


Gorgeous Disney Store ornaments, 2/$18 (reg. $10.50/ea). WARNING: I would NOT recommend these for houses with young children or active pets. They are all EXTREMELY delicate and fragile, with many of the ones in the store being already broken.


Bath & Body Works VIP 2011 bag, $20 w/$40 purchase (valued at $103.xx). It included the black bag with a zebra print interior, 2 cosmetic pouches (1 zebra, 1 giraffe print), Be Enchanted shower gel, lotion, and shimmering mist, lipgloss, Mistletoe Kiss foaming hand soap, Sleep tea lotion, a lovely pink loofah, pocket hand sanitizer w/holder, and a new lotion pump! I love the pump idea, because I'm always balancing bottles up-side-down when they start running low, and then they topple over.


My entire BBW purchase, including the VIP bag, 6 bottles of soap for $20 total, and buy 3 get 3 free Signature Collection items for $36 total.



I also got some online deals that I may post later on. But, for now, happy shopping, happy holidays, and everyone eat left overs and relax for the rest of the week.

My Kid

My daughter cracks me up and makes me laugh (she comes with many headaches and frustrations as well, so keep that in mind any young women watching and getting the baby itch). She made this video for her Papal, but then started going off on her own rant, and it was hilarious! She's going to punch the fictional fish, and her tongue keeps getting turned into background image and freaking her out, haha!

What I don't get is why Photo Booth on my Mac lit her so well at 10pm, but when I recorded a video at 4pm it was so dark half of my face was gone even though I was using three light sources! I'm going to have to think of a better solution for recording if I can't figure this out.

Happy Ham Day!

Happy Holidays!

This marks my official start of the X-Mas season! I put up my tree tomorrow (after shopping), start shopping at 10pm tonight for early Black Friday sales, and for the rest of the day, we will be munching away on this spread:

from bottom to top, left to right we have:
Cinnamon Baked Apples, Sweet Potato Suffle, noodles w/scampi dressing, chicken rice, Jell-O cheesecake, crescent rolls, mashed potatoes, bacon mac and cheese, pineapples, corn, peas, green beans, gravy, cornbread stuffing, and ham.




It's my first year making Thanksgiving, and even though most of it was microwaved, I think it's the thought and effort that counts more than precisely where the food comes from.

And special love to our HoneyBaked Ham. Delicious, but very expensive (it's been 20 years since my last taste of HBH, so don't think I indulge like this too often, haha).


Be happy, be safe, be thankful, and be full of food today. <3

YouTube Monetization

Anyone else notice how YouTube has spread out a partnership program to most users through Google AdSense? Confused on how to check your earnings balance? See video:


And, not using Royalty Free music (or not giving the proper credits)? Watch my frustration here:

Moxie the Corgi

Well, long story short, after a lot of protest, my husband basically ignored me and got a dog anyways. But, I do have to say that she is the cutest dog in the universe. This is Moxie, and she's a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Very smart, trainable, agreeable dogs, and she has really been a big change of pace to our last dog, who hated kids and was afraid of everybody.


Moxie is going to branch out into her own blog at followthatcorgi.blogspot.com

The Epic Dreams of a Black Friday

So, 2011 is winding down, almost time to cut the Turkey (or Honey Baked Ham if you're at my house), and that means we are in countdown mode to Black Friday savings. If you are like me, retail price is a dirty word for most items. I buy my Blu-Rays for $20 on the date of release at Wal-Mart, or for $13 at Blockbuster (great deal, but no DVD copy if you store does this offer), I see two values for everything - the worth-my-time price, and the pass-it-up price. Usually, anything less than 20% off is a pass for me, as 15% or less barely covers the taxes and is not worth my time.

You would probably think that I am Black Friday crazy then, getting in line for the mega deals at midnight the night before. Alas, I am not. I have learned that, all too often, a mega deal (like a $2,000 TV for $500) is not going to last and be in extremely short supply. So, odds are, I will not get one, even if I did wait in line all night. Secondly, I hate waiting in line, and after 10am, most stores have almost no line, but most of their specials still going on. For example, last year I bought my daughter a 7 piece Disney doll set, $50 blu-ray player, and even the on sale cookware at 7pm on Black Friday. There were pallets full of most of the specials, enough so that many items were still available on Saturday and Sunday.

In short, if you're after televisions and computers - come early and wait if you think you have good odds to get the item you're after. If you are looking for toys, Blu-Rays, DVDs, games, and smaller-scale items - they will likely be waiting long after midnight/5am (except for the hot toys, but again, they usually only get in a few units per store, so odds are not favorable).

My strategy this year is a little different, because I have some particular items that I am after, and I'm not sure what the supply will look like. As such, I will be there at midnight (when the stores open this year, instead of when the lines start at Wal-Mart as it was in the past) and fight through the crowds to capture an illusive 3DS holiday bundle pack. I'm hoping that there won't be such a rush for that smaller item, and that people fight over laptops while I sneak to the cashier with a X-mas victory for my son. :)

Here is what is, or will hopefully be, under my tree this year:


And don't forget about the lesser-publicized Cyber Monday on the 28th! Check Amazon and other online shops for specials or items that you missed over the weekend.

Foster Care Update

After much silence, here is our disappointing update on foster care adoption. This will likely be our last update unless we either move to a new area and decide to put ourselves through the ringer again.

11-11-11: Make a Wish!

First of all, Happy Veterans Day!

Secondly, this is possibly the luckiest day of the century. 11-11-11 - that date only happens once every hundred years, so even if you think it's silly and supersticious, make a wish just in case! My daughter's wish is to become a pop star mermaid, so she made this video:

Military Coin in Batman Arkham City - Geek Girl Post

Since the vlog part pretty much sums it all up, I'll just add in these photos for your extended fanboy/fangirl enjoyment. The coin is still in the sleeve with the Batman information printed on top of it - because I'm a good little collector like that.

I tried to edit these to fit nicely within the blogging area, but Photobucket or Blogger, whichever, decided to spit on that plan and ignore my cropped and rotated photos. At least that's how it shows up for me, hopefully you all see them beautifully displayed:









And, yes, before anyone freaks out, I admit that I took this item away from my son. BUT I did buy it from him, and for a lot more than he wanted, so at least I didn't rob him. And, in the end, I'll die and he'll get it back either way, I just don't want him to demolish it or lose it in his room, so there you go.

Happy Halloween and Finally a Diet Update!

Alright my la-la-la-la-lovelies, I have a 2 month 65 Gram Diet update. :)

Snaps to Jenn

I hear from quite a few people interested in alumnae initiation now, and I love to read and respond as much as I can. It just so happens that I've heard about the first one of the ladies writing me got green lit to initiate, and it also happens to be with the very sorority that I'm a member of - right down to the same alumnae chapter/association!

I don't want to post her full name so I'll just abbreviate her as Jenn and say congratulations!

Zombie Fasion Blog

I Googled my blog, to see what would happen and I was so excited to see that I got used as a referral video on quite a lot of other pages. One that really made me smile was a fashion blog post about zombie make up! That's not exactly what I intended the smokey eye video for, but, hey, I LOVE ZOMBIES so I'll take it! :D

So I wanted to send some love and smile back to the post at http://www.famous-flowers.com/?tag=zombie

And if you missed one of my first post on making the quick and easy smokey eye look, here it is for you.


I also noticed that I'm showing up a lot in hair bow and adoption pages, which is very cool too. In fact, I'm dumbfounded to find 19 pages that return on Google with my exact url to this blog. But then I found my vlogs on a site in India and I'm not sure what to think of that one. It's neat to have an international audience, but at the same time, who in India would care what I have to say? Most Americans don't and I would imagine I have less commonality with the people of India - but I still welcome you all and thanks for watching!

I Have to Chuckle

I know I just made a post, but this situation happened since then and I had to make commentary.

You know you're on your way to being a person in the public eye when the haters come out. As some of you may have seen, I did a video on alumnae initiation a few months ago, and I flat out said that if you want to do AI, don't use the forum GreekChat, because they are insanely nasty there. I've even had friends in a local sorority that was turning into a national sorority, they went to GC for advice and got torn to shreds and told they had no business becoming a national group.

Instead I recommend the forum GreekFriends.freeforums.org. I don't get paid to say that, this is my personal opinion after witnessing and experiencing so many users getting attacked on GreekChat for asking simple, valid questions. The bullies are just crazy tolls there, and my stance is that they are the worst thing on the internet to ever happen to Greek Leadership Organizations. They have so much useless, unjustified hostility there that it's inexcusable - especially when a lot of their targets are likely teenagers, and this country has lost enough of them due to bullying. I will say that not every user is like a "meanie," but the negativity far out shadows the validity of the forum for me, and many other users/former-users.

Now I assumed that sooner or later someone on GreekChat would complain to me about this video. It just seemed impossible to avoid, as it's like a fight club over there and they live for drama. I anticipated a user or admin from there contacting me, trying to make me change my mind, or just flat out insult me. But what happened was far more poetic.

A big draw in for people to join GC is that if you search for something fraternity related on Google, the forum and its archives show up many, many times over. GreekFriends won't show up unless you search specifically for it my name, spelled as all one word, so it can be much harder to find. So, GC gets lots of attention, has lots of users, and it's like a Wild West of a forum there; you may strike the right place and fit right in, or you may ask some innocent question and get your head handed to you. I experienced the head-handing, and was told via private messages to look at GreekFriend for a less evil alternative - which I did, joined, loved, and still adore.

I also don't really blog about which sorority I'm in, because, for one reason, I don't want people to think that I can automatically write them recommendations, or help them become alumnae initiates or anything like that. That's mostly stuff done on a local level that I can't always do much about, or have the time to devote to. My sorority is out there if you want to follow the clues and connect the dots, but I also don't find it appropriate to potentially make money by singing the praises of my specific sisterhood. That's something I do privately for free, and I'm a member of several Greek organizations with the academics. It's not my intention to influence anyone to be swayed to want to join my sorority just because I love it so much, I want to help you to get thinking and make the right choice for yourself.

Back to blogging, I'm not shy to say that I keep an eye on my hit counts, and I am able to see the link that refers the hits to my page. This helps me decide what new videos to make and who to market to. My alumnae initiation video is my most popular Greek Life piece, and it's slowly worked its way to over 100 views as of last week.

I happened to get busy and stopped watching my stats, and just logged in to check on them for the first time in at least 8 days, hoping to get a new video idea. I noticed that I suddenly had 308 views on my AI video. I saw right beside it that there were 8 "dislikes" that weren't there previously, so without even having to check I knew exactly where all these viewers came from. I did check my stats to see that I was correct, and GreekChat has sent me over 200 new viewers. My AI blog post is now my most popular at 228 views (usually I can't beg people to come to the blog, they just want the videos as they search on YouTube and subscribe that way).

The funny part is that I also found a few dozen new private messages thanking me, asking me for advice, and telling me their AI stories. No one has commented or said anything negative to me other than the 8 who disliked the video (I don't even care about it, so I just turned the comment voting off so that some poor girl looking into AI doesn't see that and think everyone hates alumnae initiates). But this really shows the power of bullies, and how they unintentionally end up helping people in an instance like this. They brought some people to me who were truly grateful to learn about AI, and that's what I wanted from this video. So whatever slamming or negativity they may be ranting about on their forum (I won't go there ever again, but I can see the thread name from my stats page) it's fine with me because I'm helping people get where they want to be.

I just really have to chuckle at people who think that their negativity, or clicking a thumbs down icon, is really going to hurt me or stop me from doing something that I find to be positive. I seriously consider warning people not to use that forum as a positive too, because it would be like seeing Jedi's and only witnessing the dark side - it serves the good Jedi's no help at all and makes the entire population look bad.

But I always appreciate a viewer, no matter where they're from, so keep up with being haters GC, because you're helping me help people in the long run. For the people just viewing to complain and spread your negativity, do you not see how that is a perfect example of what sad, busy bodies you all are? "Love me or hate me, it's still an obsession." ^_~




Just to share my current stats with everyone, the first two posts listed had about 2-3 hits on them before October 8th, where I had a surge of 94 hits in one day:

Posts

More About Alumnae Initiation
Jun 13, 2011
229 Pageviews


A Bit More on Sorority Recruitment
Aug 23, 2011
52 Pageviews

Adoption Update - Hearing Back
Apr 20, 2011
8 Pageviews

The Photos I Use
Mar 15, 2011
5 Pageviews


Traffic Sources
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php
178 Clicks
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php
30 Clicks
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php
9 Clicks

And it goes on and on, but it's not worth all the copy/pasting. This is hilarious to me as they trash talk GreekFriends all the time but can't stand anyone speaking out against their bullying. No H8. :)

I Need to Update!

Wow it's been three weeks since my last update on this blog! I've gotten to overwhelmed with school and birthday season that I'm starting to slip and run out of ideas about what to post.

Anything anyone is interested in? Product reviews, greek life questions, details about me, anything?

If you are interested in things more along the creative side of animation, photography, and so on, I'm working a lot more in my other blog animatimon.blogspot.com with tutorials and art and things of that nature.

65 Gram Diet Update

So I did an update on my diet program, the 65 Gram Diet. I've lost six pounds so far doing nothing extra (no pills, no exercise routines, just budgeting my grams of fat).



Anyone hearing about this diet for the first time, the diet is very simple to follow. You just look at the fat content on everything before you eat it (if it's at a restaurant the information is typically online or available from the staff upon request). You can have whatever you want, as long as you budget your entire day's intake to be 65 grams of fat or less. I posted a different vlog that goes into more detail about the 65 Gram Diet here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjZP433CWc

Here's how my fat count went yesterday:
Otis Spunkmeyer Chocolate Chip Muffin - 11 Grams of Fat (GoF)
Small Whopper Value Meal at Burger King with no Mayo - 39 GOF according to BK.com
= 50 Grams of Fat for the day.


If you're friend's with me on Facebook, you guys might also notice a lot of animation posts coming up. I decided to split and make a separate vlog for my grad school postings, which is animatimon.blogspot.com. So I'm not trying to shove someone elses blog down your throat out of the blue, but any actual blog only subscribers are welcome to check me work out over there. Thanks! :)

Review of PixieKids Toys

I love their Food of the Month program, and you can find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PixiekidsToys If you have kids from 1-10 they will love these cool eco-felt food items.

Review/Warning: Greek Avenue aka Elite Greek

As a part of my review videos I thought I would look back on a terrible experience I had with a shop called GreekAvenue, also known as Spiritwear, GreekClothing, and Elite Greek(s). They have great looking deals, but once you pay that's the end of the customer service. I placed an order almost a year ago and never got a thing, and never even heard back from a representative. Thankfully my credit card reversed the charge, but you can see more negative reviews of this company on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=298660091724



Now that you know, don't throw your money away!

65 Gram Diet

Since I gave out a litter teaser in my last post, here is the diet that I pulled together myself using ideas and systems that worked for me in the past.

It's really nothing spectacular or new, but I haven't found anything exactly like this described anywhere without making the diet/lifestyle extremely more complicated. This is easy, free, and not particularly restricting, so I hope a few people might try it and tell me what they think.

When I originally did this diet plan in 1998, and coupled it with exercise Monday-Friday, I lost 100 lbs between January and December. So, there are some long term advantages without having to give up your sweets or carbs or dairy. :)

Dieting Update

Like I said I got too busy last week to post on the blog, but here is my 17 Day Diet update:



I will say that this is not an easy diet to follow if you are not already eating healthy. I don't know that I would recommend it for most people, because it does not address cravings in your system, which I would imagine creates a very high failure rate. I mean, if it was that easy to beat your cravings, we would all be a lot thinner and healthier, right?

That being said, I am not giving up on "dieting" I just think I need to get the idea of a diet out of the picture. A diet is a temporary routine to help you lose weight, but the real key to long term success and weight loss is to change your eating habits permanently. It's not easy to break your cycles, but I am not giving up yet!

I'm going back to my old system of eating that worked very well for me in the past, but then I decided that all of these media hyped books and strategies on weight loss were surely a lot better and smarter than what I was coming up with. The problem is, none of these experts have found anything that works for me, and I've found these diet plans too difficult to stick with. So, I am initiating the "65 Gram Diet" which is really a lifestyle, and I'll post up a video with more details on that shortly.

Thanks so much for reading!

Loris' Lovables Customized Hats Review

I have gotten so busy sending my kids to school this past week, and gearing up to start grad school, I forgot to make this a public video!

This is my review of my order from Loris' Lovables, a super cute hat making place where this lady makes them all by hand and out of yarn. She has tons and tons of samples on her Facebook page that you can get to by clicking HERE.




I've also decided that I will start doing more reviews on a more regular basis from smaller companies and home businesses. So, if anyone out there would like me to review your product, get in touch with me and I will give you more details on that. I will note that, at this point, I won't be reviewing items from direct sells companies like Avon or Scentsy, because there are usually compliance issues with me doing that. So small companies and businesses making their own products, I'm looking for you! :)

A Bit More on Sorority Recruitment

Since college season is coming up for thousands of people, and a lot of ladies will rush sororities, I thought I'd get these videos up (hopefully) in time for that season.

As a little disclaimer, I am speaking primarily from the perspective of the NPC sorority organization, but I am not endorsed, paid, or in any other way affiliated to any college or sorority (other than being a member of one, of course). I also catch myself using some terminology that's not really accurate any longer, like "rush" which is now preferred to be called "recruitment," and "pledge" versus "new member," "pledge sister," or other terms. I have studied Greek organizations for years, and those are the terms that are sort of stuck in my head, and also the same terms a lot of people still use and think of outside of the Greek system. However, I mean no disrespect to any organization, this is just my way of speaking combined with my own experiences.

So take care and I hope these are helpful to someone out there. There are a lot of misconceptions about what Greek life is, how recruitment works, and what's important, so please do your homework on the different groups.

How Formal Recruitment Works at Some Sororities:


Thinking about what sororities to look into, recommendations, and other bits:

^ It's in a roller coaster background because that's how recruitment can feel, lol!

17 Day Deit - Day 4 w/Cheats and Changes

My last blog for the day I promise! lol

I'm a little behind with posting these 17 Day Diet updates, but this is where I was on day 4. I'm going to try to catch up tomorrow and have it all current. But I made the decision to add in some changes to the diet plan, because it just wasn't working for me. Is it an excuse? Yes. Is it genuinely difficult to reprogram your body and not get any cheese, carbs, sugar, and other foods that were staples in your body? YES!

So, I'm trying to find a happy medium where I'm not starving and unhappy, but also working towards a goal. Honestly, I think if the 17 Day Diet was formatted in reverse, so that you did the third cycle first, then worked food out of your diet (instead of starting on a very restricted plan and adding things in every 17 days) it would be much easier for a lot of people to follow. But not getting any carbs or very many sugars doesn't feel like a realistic plan for me at this point. And without further excuses, here are my cheats and changes to the 17 Day Diet:

What Do I Wear to Sorority Recruitment?

Just as a general disclaimer - this is my own impressions/opinions/etc on Greek life, this is not endorsed by any organization. Also please overlook any place where I say things like "pledge," "rush," or other terms that many sororities do not like to use any longer.

But, if you are going into college and plan on going through a sorority recruitment process, here is my personal advice on how to dress and what not to wear:

Any Renters?

My friend said that I should upload a video like this to my blog/vlog because I've had a really long run of getting 100% of my security deposits back over the years from video recording/uploading my houses. The only time I didn't get a full return was on the first apartment I rented, where the landlord nickel and dimed me for everything (even light bulb replacement for WORKING light bulbs!). Damages already in the house became my fault because I didn't know to document them and the landlord didn't tell me to, suddenly my professional carpet cleaning wasn't good enough so I had to pay for someone else to do it again, and a lot of other things. I didn't have enough proof to take it to court, because I trusted the landlord.

What I learned from that was that you never trust someone trying to make money off of you. So, ever since then, I have taken a video of all of the house before I unloaded the moving truck, posted the video on YouTube within a few days of moving in, and then did the same thing after I had all the boxes on a moving truck a year or so later. Ever since doing that, I have not lost one penny to landlords!

So, this is an extremely boring video, but if you are renting, it is a good example to have. I believe I even cut this video short and didn't include the outside or a few of the areas in the house because it was already running long. Another tip too - this video was done in a hurry as a sample, so it's not in HD. If you can upload an HD video, that is even better for you!

This is really important for college students to do as well, because the worst landlords I ever experienced were ones who primarily rented to college kids! There are many who will try to bully, intimidate, and push you around because they expect you not to know the laws (or even tell you that their "lawyer" says this or that, when they are making it all up as they go along). In their defense though, these landlords also get so many irresponsible kids renting that they treat you all like morons that will wreck their property or stop paying the rent. My last landlord like that went so far as to tell us that we couldn't break our lease with a military PCS, and that we were trying to con him. He even tried to call the recruiter's office to say that we trashed his house when this landlord had never once even showed up to mow the lawn as our lease said he would!

Also please note that the house in this video is NOT military housing. This is the house we left military housing for (foolishly left in hindsight, as we couldn't see the house we're in now before we moved in, and it is a cracker box, filthy, broken down nightmare!). I don't want to mislead anyone, and if you are military, I would strongly recommend to try renting off base if it's a realistic option for you. They charge us a lot of money here to live in a slum-like neighborhood.

Rebel T2i and Movie Mode Issues

I think I've mentioned before that I consider myself a professional photographer at this stage of my progress (9 years of study/training/work).

I recently got a Canon Rebel T2i, which I love working with. However, the Movie Function wasn't working right. First I had trouble figuring out how to record, then when I could record the movie would stop after a few seconds. So here is how you can fix those issues:

Foster Care Nothing

I'm highly annoyed. Has anyone else dealt with CPS to share their own stories on how this nightmare works? I would love some honesty at this point. :P

Are You Dieting?

I feel so bloated with weight since leaving vacation that I wanted to do something. So, here goes nothing I guess!

Direct Marketing Upline Blow Up

This is a video I recorded prior to going on vacation and didn't have the time to upload. To update, there has been no progress, and I'm no longer in contact with my crazy upline as she continually got more and more nasty at me. She began to send me unprovoked, mean little messages about how she wanted to throw me out of her group, so we exchanged some very intense words and blocked her ability to contact me again.

I LOVE Crabby Candle Co. Just Sayin' :)

Let me clarify a few things in the video. I realized I kept saying "former military spouse" when a better choice of words would have been "wife of a veteran." Sorry about that, it didn't occur to me that it sounded weird until hours after I uploaded the video.

CrabbyCandleCo.com also has other products, so if you like good scents and not so much tarts, they still have some goodies you'll love, I'm sure. I just personally love the tarts. <3 And I apologize for the lighting and background for this next series of videos. My husband packed everything up while I was away, and I can't quite get to most of it on my own with the way he stored it. :-/

I have a big stock pile of videos to get uploaded, so I'll have a ton of new posts, and then probably nothing for a while once school starts, lol.

Color Jamz Hair Dye Review

I really wanted to have some fun hair for the Summer and to celebrate my acceptance into art school, so I thought I would try out this hair coloring on a whim.



As promised here is my hair during dying:


I loved how vibrant the colors were, and my hair is very light due to constant bleaching, so I really hoped it would stick to my hair with colors as poppy. However, the dye stuck to my skin a lot better than my hair, and the end result was this:


Even my daughter tried it out to get pink bangs (and of course I didn't bleach her hair first because she's too little), and not a drop of color stuck except for on her forehead.


I reapplied the dye a few days later and it was somewhat thicker. My buddy J Walker took some neat photos where the colors looked amazing, but sadly, that was mostly a lighting and photo editing trick over the dye looking that good on its own.

Love, Sex, and the IRS

Here's some fun for the day (if you have a LOT of time to kill). This is a piece of community theatre that I was a part of back in 2002. I'm the blond one in the show, which was many, many pounds ago, haha. There are so many things I would change about my performance today (like the volume!), but it was my first show so cut me a little bit of slack, okay? :)


This is about an hour and a half long, and has the oldie situation comedy feel to it. Basically, one roommate does the taxes for both himself and his male friend, but he's been lying to the government to get special tax breaks. They get audited and comedy breaks out!

So sorry for the abrupt transition cuts between the videos, I've never worked with VOB files before and they were unfriendly!

My Long Overdue Post on Disneyland

Back in June I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with my husband and kids, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am an animation nut, so I have always been in love with Disney's work, and I was really amazed with all of theJune I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with my husband and kids, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am an animation nut, so I have always been in love with Disney's work, and I was really amazed with all of the activities the park had to offer. I've been joking with everyone that the staff there was so nice and overly friendly that I can't be happy anywhere else that I go.

The only complaint I have are the crowds. From 11am - 9pm the parks are very packed, and it gets to be a pain to get in line for anything. Keep in mind though, this was June, I'm sure in the off season it's much easier to go through the lines.

Here is a little photo journey through the parks ~ my camera died as soon as we got there, so most of these are kind of blurry from my camera phone.





These cookies were amazing and only $3.50, which is pretty good for Disney prices!




I love that they have Rapunzel's tower complete with hair wrapping around the park!


ASIMO was a cool little robot - I can't wait to have a robotic helper in my home, lol!


Minnie Mouse was the ONLY character that my daughter cared about seeing, but her reaction is priceless!








Jim Henson was such an amazing creative mind, I have been looking forward to seeing this show for decades! :)


Woody in the It's a Small World ride.




You know your husband rocks if he'll wear your hearts and fruit styled 31 bag around! haha. And I love the Tron stuff they had (you can see it in the background).


Beautiful new restaurant in California Adventure. Too bad they couldn't seat us, I was really hoping for some sit down dining.


I couldn't believe how big this ferris wheel was - and some of the carts swung while it moved! We got on it, but I was so terrified the entire time that I had tears coming out.




Radiator Springs section coming in June 2012!


For the record, and as per usual, I am NOT being paid, endorsed, or otherwise compensated by the Disney people. Maybe someday when I finished my animation degree, but not at this time. activities the park had to offer. I've been joking with everyone that the staff there was so nice and overly friendly that I can't be happy anywhere else that I go.

BUT, I will say that the staff was extremely amazing. We bought tickets on Orbitz for $188 per person, but then when we went to the desk to turn our computer print out into tickets, the manager walked by and said there was a military discount going on. So, we got a gift card for $300+ dollars back as a refund for not getting the discount on Orbitz! I don't know many other places that would go out of their way to do something like that, and it covered all of our expenses in the park, and made it so that we could afford some souvenirs. We will definitely be back, hopefully next year after the Cars park opens! <3

Photos of Me Done by Friends

So, since I can't quite vlog while I'm on my extended vacation, I thought I would share some photographs that some of my amazing friends took of me here in my vacation area. :)

I've mentioned in previous blogs/vlogs that I am an avid Model Mayhem user, so if I refer to myself as a model at any time, that is what I'm talking about. I know I am NOT a fashion model by any means - but I am wonderfully flawed.


Before going into make-up.


Loved the blue eye shadow look!


Totally one of my favorite pictures ever taken.


Beautiful downtown area with a fountain.




I like this one, but I think it makes me look so much older!


I was really impressed with the shading here.


I adore working with this photographer, we always have fun and I got to get my geek on! haha!

I was bummed that one of the shoots I was supposed to be photographing at got canceled, but it's still fun to be the center of attention in a photo shoot every now and then.

I'm also on Networked Blogs on Facebook, so you can subscribe to us there as well if you're interested.

Thanks so much for reading and looking today - I don't say it often enough, but I appreciate you all!

Wishful Thinking

Well today I've been doing something that I do a lot, which is go online and look at houses for rent and sale. I live in military housing right now, and I hate it. The property management is terrible, we're packing in like rats, there's bugs in everything, and large, loose dogs ready to attack at every corner. Now when I mention bugs, I mean serious bug problems, no matter how much you spray or complain to management. I have never had a roach in my home in my life before moving onto post, and now I have to put a net over my bed so that I can sleep without worrying about one crawling into my mouth! *GAG* Needless to say, it's not the picture of standard and regulations that I expected out of military housing - it's, without a doubt, the worst place I have ever lived in my decade of renting.

As a result, I'm often searching online looking at my dream homes, or at least places to rent that can't be any worse than where I live now. I know I can't really up and leave, but I can still feel pro-active by making an escape route (just in case!). So today, while I'm day dreaming about living near my new university, I found this apartment listing http://www.vacancy.com/california/san-francisco-apartments/the-lofts-at-one-powell/photos/

Va-va-voom! All I can say is wow, this place looks incredible! I live in a three bedroom unit now, and it's smaller than the two bedroom at this place. And I love the way it looks, the building itself reminds me of a mix between New York City and Rome. It has an interesting geometric shape too that you don't see around here.

I love the photo with the giant arch window too! I've never been to San Francisco and it looks like the most gorgeous city in the world from the photos in the listing. Their kitchen photo is also twice as big as my own kitchen now, haha. And I wish I had the 15' ceilings now!

I may be biased though, because I am obsessed with California. Beautiful area, loads of things to do, extreme diversity, and wonderful weather. So what if the state itself is losing people left and right because it's going bankrupt? lol

I know I'll probably never get to live there, but it's still fun to dream. Am I the only one that looks at places online to fantasize about? I'm a big fan of geography and architecture, so I guess fantasy housing is kind of my hobby these days. A little escapism is good for us I suppose. :)

Grad School Again

Wow what a quick turn around!

Well, I've already heard back from the university about my portfolio and it looks like I'm in! I've registered for classes, and never having taken graduate level courses before I'm not sure what to expect. But, it looks like I am on my way to being in the career that I've always wanted, animation! :)

I've also been browsing animation job listings, and the locations look phenomenal. They have major companies set up from California to London, England, and tons of places in between!

I promise to post an actual vlog soon, I'm still out on vacation without my regular computer.

Graduate School

Well, tonight I stress out and grit my teeth, because very soon I'll be sending in my digital portfolio and completing my art school application! Wish me luck, I think I might need it!

Just a Little Update

Well, I had recorded a few vlogs and didn't have a change to edit and upload them before I left for a long vacation. I always have it in my head that I have to have a video to go with a post, but why is that? I can do an update without a vlog to match it. :)

I just recently got a stronger YouTube account that will allow me to upload videos that are as long as I want, so I will apologize now for my rambling and rantings in the future (I have a very long one on direct sales waiting to be editing whenever I get home!).

My next update is that I've decided to apply for graduate school to get a Masters Degree in Fine Art for 3D Character Animation. I'd got no experience with 3D animation, so I'm not sure how this will work out, but I do have a short stop motion video that I can share with you all! Hey, I guess I did make this part vlog after all! I'll post it at the bottom of this blog, but I do want to state upfront that it is supposed to look that bad, repeat itself, etc. I was being avant garde, haha.

Lastly, I'm going to have my YouTube videos on unlisted for a while, because the video I'm about to share is being sent to the admissions office for review, and you never know how someone in that position might take something you talk openly about. The videos should still work in this vlog, they just won't be searchable for a bit (if I figured out the security settings right that is).

Tattoo Documentary Preview

So, we finished up the Tattoo Documentary, but it didn't go as planned. Between my husband and myself we had over a dozen people scheduled to come and interview for the film, and pretty much no one showed up for their appointment.

That was very annoying, but we got to the time limit required for the project. My hope is to take it and continue to add more interviews to it until we get a feature length project completed. :)

I'm Making a 'Lil Film

Just thought I would share that I am working with my husband on a class project to make a mini-documentary on tattoo culture. I'm super excited to help work on it!



I have a little background in film. It was my major in college, but not what I got to graduate in. I had finished all of my classes for the major, but then the university decided to stop counting some of my transfer credits (after already accepting them!) for foreign language, which would have forced me to spend another two years to rebuild those courses (and, just in case you're wondering, the university refused to work with me at all to graduate!). I always consider myself as having graduated in film, but technically that's not accurate. I ended up transferring to another school to graduate in a generalized program, even though I have 60+ credits just in film.

More About Alumnae Initiation

As I mentioned in a previous video, Alumnae Initiation in the Greek Life world is a an open possibility for many people. If you never joined a greek group in college, this is an opportunity to become a part of the alumnae end of things. You won't really have anything to do with the college groups, but greek leadership organizations are excellent alumnae groups to work with as a post-collegiate, and they are a fantastic system of support, activities, and philanthropy.

You do not have to be from a particular college to join most alumnae chapters. To become an alumnae initiate, there will be guidelines and requirements, but you are usually also able to select where you wish to initiate at. So, if you went to college in Montana and now live in Florida, you don't need to worry that you have to go to your alma mater to accomplish anything. Each greek organization has different rules though, so check with the one you are interested in for their most current set of requirements (and be prepared that some will not accept alumnae initiates at all).

For some more details on Alumnae Initiation in the Nation Panhellenic Conference, please refer to the site http://alumnaeinitiate.110mb.com/ to get an overall feel of what may be available to you.

And, if you are like me and HATE Greek Chat, because the users are unjustifiably vicious and turn people away from wanting to go greek, there is an alternative available to you. Greek Friends, http://greekfriends.freeforums.org/, is a great forum with lots of Alumnae Initiates who will answer your questions and not just say derogatory things and/or tell you to do a search to find the answer yourself. While Greek Chat is full of negativity, that is just a very small, selective, narrow minded group of people that in way represents the real sentiment towards Alumnae Initiates.

Network Marketing Stress!

My goodness, I am having a frustrating time with my direct sells business right now!

First, I get into it with my upline because I feel like she's ignoring problems and over saturating this area for her own personal benefit (which is mostly what my video is about).

Then today, I found out that my commission is going to be short $100 from last month when I sold roughly the same amount! It is maddening right now. I think moving hurt my business in May, but I'm not seeing how getting almost identical sales despite of the move somehow ended up with me being shorted by so much.

I tell you I am just so frustrated and struggling right now I could just scream! I don't want to say that I'm going to throw in the towel, but gesh, this is actually one of the few things where it's alright to say that I'm in it for the money. :-/

Foster Care Adoption - Rejection

It has been just shy of a month since we got to speak to the girl we were wanting to get matched with on the phone. I know for a fact that we were the only home she spoke to, and that she was very excited about us, but we've never heard back and are at a point where we assume that we are no longer being considered. Rejection hurts, and not knowing for sure is very difficult to process and makes it even more difficult to move forward with our search for a match.

I suppose it is a painful reality that rejection works both ways. Even though we started out by setting up ground rules for what children we would and wouldn't consider, I never thought I would be picky in the adoption process. However, the now that we're at this stage, it seems like we go over every child with a fine tooth comb to decide if we're right for them, and if they're right for us. I get filled with these horrified thoughts of my kids being hurt or molested by a child that we chose to bring into the home, and that has brought a great sense of gravity to every profile we look at. Where do you decide that you don't want to chance certain things instead of jumping in and hoping for the best?

While we have no expectations of finding a "perfect" child, we do want to find a match with someone that my husband and I are both really confident about. Unfortunately, we've recently rejected a profile that could have been a potential match, because we felt that the special needs were too severe for what we could handle. It makes me feel terrible to look at someone wanting a family so badly and say "no," but I feel like it's more important for us to be realistic about what we can and cannot handle rather than bring a child into our home only to confirm that it won't work and uproot them again. All the same, I do find some comfort in knowing that the child has had no idea that we looked at his information and passed, and I hope he finds the right home for him.

You can't force things or make them fit, it has to be right or you can very easily set yourself up for major problems.

Going Greek

I know there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there about Sororities and Fraternities, but a lot of those are just myths and things blown way out of proportion. Perhaps, long, long ago, a lot of hazing did exist within some groups, but that is really far from the truth in sororities as they exist today. The world changed and most of the Greek lettered organizations adapted. Hazing is illegal and wrong, period, and the Greek world of today is a plethora of positive experiences and life long connections that you shouldn't miss out on. The goal these days are to build people up to be strong leaders that know how to work and manage a team.

I am such a proud sorority girl, and my sisters have done a lot for me, so I hope this might help one or two people seriously considering going Greek in college.

If you are outside of your college years, there are still options available to you! The alumnae end of things is a lot larger than the collegiate, and it can be a perfect group to become involved in. I'll do another vlog on that topic later on, but you can check out this website in the mean time! :) http://alumnaeinitiate.110mb.com/

"From the outside you can't understand it, from the inside you can't explain it" - unknown

If You Don't Fit In

I have to say I am feeling frustrated today. I had volunteered to do an adoption blog for no payment, but was rejected after a three month wait to hear back from Adoptive Families. I hate when people won't even give you suggestions or corrections that would get you approved, but instead just throw you away (especially when it's something you're offering to do for free!).

I'd already figured out that they didn't want me to blog for them based on the fact that I was only supposed to wait 30 days to hear a response and it took them from January 19th until today to say no thank you.

While I hate rejection, I am somewhat relieved, because I don't think I could keep up with it, this vlog/blog, and everything else. I don't think I could do a blog that just dealt with one topic because I am such a multi-dimensional person. Take for instance my most poplar vlog by far - the ribbon making tutorials - that's something I would have never made if I pin holed myself into just doing one topic, because I don't craft enough these days to come up with enough ideas to blog consistently like that.

Part of my reasons for starting this blog was because I have such a difficult time fitting myself inside of a mold. I have a few things I'm very good at, or knowledgeable about, and a lot of other things that I have a few things to say, am dabbling in, or have some thoughts about. Being all over the place is part of what I consider my gift and curse in life; to go out and enjoy learning and finding new challenges. Some things stick with me for life, other things I learn and move on, but I never feel like I have any one direction to go in, which can make it hard to find a successful career in life.

The tag line I came up with for this blog is "weird, random, wonderful" which is what my life is. So, friends, as many great people have learned throughout time, if you can't fit into the mold you want, that's alright, you don't have to compare yourself to anyone else. I can't be the best Martha Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Aeon Flux (I know that's not a real person, but she does kick butt all the same), or anyone else, because I am already rocking at being me, and for all my flaws and faults, I like myself.

So keep your eyes peeled for some future vlogs that have nothing to do with one another, such as:
how to spread your business with Facebook,
dealing with constant moves and kids,
learning extreme couponing (which I'm trying out right now!),
why you should go Greek during or after college,
and loving you for you.

If you don't fit in, just break the mold :)

Direct Selling

Ever look at the direct sells businesses and think "this is a pyramid scheme?" Well, just about any business layout, religious organizations, and even clubs have a pyramid structure, but that doesn't mean that direct marketing is always a scam!

Take it from me, I have done a lot of different ones, and they are not all created equally, but they can be an amazing source of income for anyone wanting to put some effort in. Just like everything else in life, you get out what you put in! :)

I have more vlogs to edit, including an adoption update. So sorry not to post in so long, but we're getting ready to move.

Adoption Update - Hearing Back

I have an adoption update! I am not looking my best today but I wanted to share the feeling I had for getting to another stage in the process.

Make Your Own Curly Bow/Ribbon

Thank you all so much for tuning in for my first ribbon making video, it's been my most popular by a landslide! Here is another guide on how to make curly ribbons. It's not hard at all, but you do need Fabric Stiffener which has to sit overnight, so be prepared for that!

Adoption Vlog Part II

Wow I posted this up on YouTube and completely forgot to make a post about this video! If you saw my last Adoption Vlog, this is the continuation that I had to chop up due to the length. I primarily talk about subsidies and why you shouldn't be ashamed of them.

Have a new ribbon video that I'm editing as we speak, so check back soon! :)

Adoptoin Vlog Part I

Wow I have gotten really behind on my blogging. Well, we have been working on adopting from foster care for almost a year now, and we've finally gone through all the hoops to get approved, and now we're on the inquiry search. So here is the first of a two part video (it was too long for YouTube so I suddenly had to splice it), it deals with training and getting approved.

Ribbons and Bows

For this vlog I wanted to share my newest obsession of the moment, which is making hair bows for my daughter. The video angle isn't the greatest because my work space was so small, but you should be able to see enough to follow along. I'll be doing another ribbon video in the near future. :)

The Photos I Use

Wondering where I get all of the photos I use in my intro? I have loads of friends in the industry, and I thought I would make a little video to talk about that, "modeling," and finding the same for yourself!

On all of my videos I do list the name of the photographer/studio at the end, so you can look them up on Model Mayhem, Facebook, or where ever else. I don't know where all the photographers post but I know they all are (or at least were) on Model Mayhem!

Quick and Easy Smokey Eye from a Non Make Up Artist

Do you love the smokey eye look but hate all the time it takes to make it? I cheat a bit and get my smokey eyes done in about 5 minuets! It's not the best make up job in the world, but unless you walk around with your eyes closed I think it looks just as good for the day-to-day. Hope you like it :)

A Bigger Introduction

Well, I made another little intro video to tell give you a little better idea of who I am. I'm complicated with a lot of interests in all different ends of the spectrum though, so to really get to know me will probably take weeks or months of random thoughts being put down in video form.




After I made this vlog it became a frustrating day! I packed up my little distributor kit, table, and other goodies, drove 30 miles to the other side of town for a home business expo in someone's house, and when I got there I was told that it was actually next weekend! That's not what I was told, but what can be done? Just ugh!

If there was any confusion in the last vlog, I did get in a bit of trouble with the company I work with over a compliance misunderstanding, but I didn't get fired or quit - I am still HAPPILY with them, just frustrated that someone went behind my back instead of helping me to my face. I don't disagree that I was non-compliant, but I honestly didn't know I was saying anything in the "wrong" way (again, because everyone else says it that way). But if someone knew who I was, they should have said something to me first. I mean, if you work in an office and you know the rule is no food in your cubicle, then a new guy gets hired and you see him eating at his desk, would you let him know he could get in trouble for that or just go rat him out to the boss and laugh in the background? It's really just made me uncomfortable and untrusting of others right now.

But with the little expo being off of my plate, I thought I would go with my family to my son's friend's birthday party. The mom was supposed to call me with finalized details, but didn't, so I went by what she told me yesterday after school, which was that the party would be at "x" place at 3:30. We searched all over and his friend was nowhere to be found (and an identical thing happened with a different classmate last weekend, and we even had the invitation in hand!). I think I might be done with birthday parties for strangers for a while now, maybe I'll just limit RSVP'ing "yes" to things in the neighborhood so we don't waste so much time and money driving around for nothing.

No-shows and people blowing you off has been a constant problem around here that I'm not really used to or fond of. People here are just rude in general, and there are so many flakes that it's hard to make many friends.

Then somehow, my Facebook page for the vlog got deleted or removed or something, so I had to redo setting that up (http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Megan-Vlog/148686335194737). It really wasn't a huge deal, but I just can't seem to win for losing today! I'm ready for bed at 7pm here, hahaha!

Awakening

So I've been super down lately.  I'm really not in love with where we live right now. My husband is in the military, so we didn't get a choice. I hate going out alone around here because we're close to Mexico, which I thought would be awesome and a cultural experience, but we're next to a really dangerous place, and I am becoming a complete shut in.  I thought I was having a turn around over the last few weeks when I got involved as an independent agent for a distribution company, but then I had a set back that's really got me down twice as much the past few days. 

I've been following Kandee Johnson's blogs for a while now.  I love her, she is just my little bright spot when I'm trying to get motivated, and I've bookmarked her "I love you" video from Valentine's Day to watch all the time.  So I actually want to try to take a page from her and start attempting to be a positive force.  Maybe someone watching my videos can relate, or find some kind of encouragement to make changes in their lives to make themselves happier.  Making little videos makes me happy, so that's what I want to try to do for a while.  :) 

So without further ado:


You can also find me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=10381469571&topic=9555#!/pages/Megan-Vlog/200206303340021