Summer What?

I didn't even realize that it had been months since I had posted on this blog. A lot has been going on in the past few months. First, we didn't end up moving but we did end up taking on another person in our house. Which I am not exactly thrilled about but at the same time I know that it is somebody that is responsible that will take care of the house once we are ready to leave.

I finished my licensing and passed my state board 2 weeks ago. Now I am licensed to rip out hair on all areas of the body. I am finishing my makeup program for the time being until the winter since I had to take time off from hurting my back.

There are some big news that need to be announced but I have to wait till we announce it on home front.

No Pictures included

I really got to start taking more pictures ad my days go by considering how crappy of a memory I have and I know everyone likes pictures. I've been spending the last 4 days in bed b/c I have been sick. I was supposed to be in Vegas this weekend but... too sick.

School is almost over which I am excited about. There are so many things changing around here that it makes my head spin. I don't know if I will still be qualifying for my school's honors program especially since my attendance has gone to hell from being sick.

The big news is that we have decided to get out of SoCal. We are moving to the pacific NW where LJ is from. There are a lot of little details that need to be covered like for 1 his business and 2 my schooling. Since we both have to wrap up here its more like early 2012 than anything else. Unfortunately, we will have to do a move prior to the "Big Move" since our landlord wants his house back and now only have less than 30 days to pack up our house.

My birthday is this month which I should be excited about but chances are I will be moving that weekend. I also realized that I will be going to school day and night for a month which I am not too excited about. I am happy because I will be going to make-up school but not excited that I will be in school for 10 hours a day with only a 2 hour break in between.

Life. It's busy.

New Year... just a little late

I am happy to report that instead of falling into the same old corporate trap I decided to go back to school which is the main reason I have been MIA. A few posts ago I mentioned wanting to be a make-up artist. Although I do love make-up I know that I just can't go out there and market myself as such with no formal training and not a lot of experience. I am in an esthetician program and I will be following it up with make-up school.

I am super excited about this change. LJ has been super supportive and although we are making some sacrifices for the ability for me not having to work, we both hope that it will all be worth it. I am in school almost 40 hours a week and am doing the honors program as well just to add to the fun.

Life is good.

Fall?

Time seems to be flying faster than I can remember. This lady of leisure business is harder than it looks. Not that I am really complaining life is overall good. I've been keeping socially active between Junior League and my Meetup group activities and I hired a personal trainer. I don't have much downtime especially since I am still working for LJ too. I am afraid of becoming "that girl."

You know the bosses wife/girlfriend/fiance/significant other/bitch. This week I told his employees that we were going to have a catered lunch on Friday because it was the end of the month. I didn't realize that it was only on days that guys did inventory. Oops. Some of them think I am the boss, some give me respect. I don't know exactly how to treat them all or how they are supposed to treat me but I am working on it. I also told if something didn't shipped out that same day I was going to chop him up feed him to the sharks open up the shark dig him out and feed him to another shark. Aggression much?

I am so looking forward to the Fall actually starting so I can wear all the warm clothes I bought that its been too freakin hot. On Tuesday it was 100+ and Saturday it was drizzling. I need to go through my closet and get rid of some of my shoes too. I finally got to wear my tall Cole Haan boots and my purple leather jacket. These items sold out at Nordstroms so no pictures available.

This is also the first weekend in at least 3 months that I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PLANNED. I think I might finally tackle that scary room that I call the closet. I've made tenative plans for Saturday with LJ but Sunday.... nothing.


Oh yeah and the worlds greatest meat lover... going 80% vegetarian... WTF!

Seriously... My brain could explode

With how many things I have going on.

I'll start off with that I am happier now than I have been in a long time. I am no longer working for the big place that I was working for for almost 7 years. The company has changed alot since when I started to what it is now. On top of that just the commuting, people and general economy made me a miserable hot mess. I am freelancing on my own for now working on 2 big projects and picking up odd jobs where I can to make ends meet. LJ is being supportive and is telling me if I want to make a career change right now is the the time to do it.

On the plus side of being home more often, my flowerbeds have never looked better and I will be home in a couple of hours to bake some cupcakes for a cupcake decorating party I am throwing. Everytime I have a bright idea I think how could I make a job out of that?


I love make up = makeup artist = starving artist = no
I love to bake= baker = fatter = no
I love the internet = internet stalker? = social networking?= web design = possibly
I love throwing parties = event planner = possibly.
I love to shop = personal shopper = amassing credit card debt = no


I am getting way more into my domesticated side although I am still not cooking. I am also planning on using this little break from work to start eating healthier and taking care of myself. I have some doctor appointments lined up for the next few weeks starting today. It's not that I don't like doctors its just that I didnt like taking time off of work to do them. Now that I am on my own schedule I can do them in the middle of the day no problem.

My mental health has definately improved since this change. I am def optimistic at this point.

Baco-Rama!

I should probably be saving this post for next week, but I wanted to share my excitement over the party we are having this weekend. One of our good friends is having his 31st birthday tomorrow and we are throwing him a bacon-themed birthday party.

Everyone is supposed to bring food with some sort of bacon incorporated into the dish. Since we are hosting I will be preparing bacon chocolate cupcakes and Coke floats and 50/50 floats. I am hoping they turn out alright but I am bit skeptical.

I am also going to attempt to make Bacon Churros as in mexican churros with sugar and cinnamon. This should be interesting. I will make sure to have pictures of the end products next week.

Oh yeah, I still need to clean up the closet/craft room. Anyone want to take care of that for me? I will pay you in bacon. Or bacon churros. Your preference.

I'm Still Alive...

So I haven't completely fallen off the internet but I am normally only commenting and not really writing on my own although I have 5 bajillion things I could be writing about. Here are a couple of updates just to show I haven't been holed up on my bed (although sometimes I wish I was):

1. I accepted a leadership position with Junior League that I am super excited about. Normally as a regular active you kind of get to take a break for the summer as someone in leadership, not so much.
2. I think I told everyone way back when that I am not commuting anymore. Well at least not the crazy commute I was doing before. So far that has made a super drastic change in my attitude and energy levels. I actually want to go out and do stuff! Although I still have to drive up to LA to do my Junior League stuff.
3. I have been getting more into crafting and turning my closet room to also be a craft room. Hopefully I will have that done sooner than later. Although for right now everytime I see the show "Hoarders" it freaks me out and makes me go clean up that room a little bit more. Anyone want to help me build a proper craft room? I will pay you in knitting and yummy food. And wine, of course!
4. LJ and I hit our 3 year anniversary last month which I am super happy about. Not to sound like an ungrateful wench but seriously? "Put a ring on it!" I think now I am starting to get a little antsy.
5. Having one of LJ's closest chick friends at our house this weekend made me feel a little better about #4 , but you know... still sucks.
6. I am loving babies currently. Not in the make my ovaries ache kind of way but in the yeah maybe I will babysit for my friends for a full day.
7. I am starting my little side business which I hope will take over our garage. Currently working on the computer part of it before I start searching for other things.
8. I will be starting a new blog. Already have the URL some of the software stuff done but not ready to go live yet but am getting pretty dang close. My new personal calling cards already have the url on it so now I have to make it happen. I think thats why I have been holding back on blogging for a while now since I knew I was going to be doing a switchover.

Anyone have any good news to tell me? What is going on with the 2 folks that maybe read my blog still?

I wish I could say that....

• Life is wonderful.
• I have achieved everything I have wanted to do in the time fram needed.
• All my family is doing well.
• That I was happy.
• I don't have a Sorority Life addiction.
• everything is in order.
• I know what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I don't. I can't. I will come back when I have happier things to say.

I didn't fall into the well...

Ya’ll I have an addiction. A Sorority Life addiction. I can’t say that that’s where I have been hiding for the last couple of weeks/months. To be honest just real life has gotten in the way.

A lot of things have changed mostly for the good. I am no longer commuting 100 miles a days – 6 hours round trip in the hell we call LA Freeways. I am actually closer to home and on a good day I can get to work in 25 minutes and a bad day I can get there in 45. I didn’t think I was that affected by it but those around me have noticed a change in my personality since the commute has stopped. I have noticed it myself too. I am grateful for those who helped make the change happen for me and I am upset at those who give me crap for making a “selfish” decision to get my life back. I don’t know what it means for my career with this change b/c I am basically taking a break but I don’t know if I really want to go back either. I like my regular job better but with my work life balance being shot to hell for half the money I was making a year ago I don’t think that it’s worth it. Who knows maybe in a year it won’t matter anyway.

Aside from the big work change I have just been involved in so many other projects socially that I sometimes get a chance to read everyone else’s blogs but I rarely have a chance to write my own. I am enjoying knitting, card-making, Junior League, re-organizing and decorating the house. I need to take pictures. I am going to get better at it I promise.

Headcase.

I wish I could tell ya'll that I have been having a fabulous time in the sunshine and playing with the imaginary puppy I've been begging my bf to get me.

Sometimes I wonder if I bite off more than I can chew. I have been having a feeling of overwhelm for the last couple of weeks to the point that I am just withdrawing from life a little bit. Not noticable to most but I know that I am letting things fall to the wayside that I really should be taking care of. Which is also why I have been semi-MIA on my blog. Oh and my reader? Almost to 1,000. Awesome.

I actually have some great posts floating in my head and some pictures I want to share for the OCD organized. I will get to it soon. I will at least try to catch up on commenting. If I am not here then I must be at your blog.

Talk to everyone soon.

P.S.S. For anyone doing the "Don't Go Over in October" Challenge.... I have only fallen off the wagon once. I had a credit at Ross and I ended up spending a little over my credit on shoes. But seriously? Can we ever have too many shoes?

Hand Me the Brown Paper Bag Now

Normally that would be meant for beer, but not for the month of October. I found this "Don't Go Over In October Challenge" while I was browsing Heidi's blog.

31 days. No Shopping. Just necessities. Thank God there are no Nordstrom sales that month and I just went there last week. No Old Navy or Target. I can't say I will be saving a lot of time since I generally hate the mall and do most of my shopping online. Maybe I will be a little more productive in front of the computer since I think it would be in my best interest not to be browsing so much. I don't want to be the hungry cat with tuna in my face.

2 days in yes I am having a little bit of lust. Currently it's being compensated by the fact that I have to buy things for my side job which is technology related. I love buying new toys and software. Even better when its billable!

As Good as Martha Stewart in Prison

This is what my bf thinks of crafts as a whole. Or this is what he thinks of my crafting as a whole. The last couple of weeks have been full of all things domesticated and to tell you the truth I am a bit exhausted. Not in a bad way just trying to put a house together and still have a life is a lot of work. Trying to come to work without looking like I just rolled out of bed is a lot of work.

I would say about 80% of the house is unpacked. The rest of it is still sitting in boxes in the garage. At least they are neatly stacked. I am waiting for a weekend that I am not working and not having company over to plow through it some more. Still have some painting to do and other little projects but not the end of the world.

I am also waiting for our semi-permanent house guest to find his own home. Nice guy but seriously? 2 going on 3 weeks? He's been doing this all summer at everyone else's house just because we have an actual spare bedroom doesn't mean we want you in it through the Fall. Plus, I am tired of Febreezing the bed. I miss having my closet and having to pick out my outfits the night before and having to get ready in our tiny master bath.

When I was in Idaho I relearned how to crochet and about to finish my first blanket which i pretty excited about. its a couch blanket. Long enough to cover all under my toes and wide enough to cover me side to side. Oh speaking of vacationing... Magda please e-mail me your pictures again because the link that you sent me didn't work. It's cool if you send them in separate e-mails. I will have a decision for the contest by the end of the week if anyone is still here listening. Thanks!

When I was up North i went on a crazy yarn binge and got some pretty nice stuff. A lot of people will be getting scarfs this year. I also met up with LJ's sister who is still in her Jerry Springer life. I think the reason her and I get along is because I am not negative towards her decisions. Do I agree with everything she does? Um, no. At the same time she is an adult and she is choosing her path and all you can do is be supportive as long as she is not hurting anyone (including herself). Along with that I think I am helping her make some positive choices in what she is doing with her life. I will get into more detail as our little project progresses.

Since I was on this yarn kick I started looking up local places when I got back and went to a place on my way home from work. I think it was a sign when I got there it was the first day of a knitting class. I signed up for the class and learned something the first day. Unfortunately, I had something conflicting on my schedule for the second meeting so I will be there for the 3rd meeting. Also when I was up North I met a girl who had a really cool necklace that I am attempting to reconstruct and those will also be Christmas gifts. I have a few projects between now and Christmas.

If crafting isn't enough to take up some time in the next few months Junior League is in full swing. I have been to at least 4 JL related things in the last month and I think I have another 7 more between now and the end of the year. So far it has been a lot of fun and the social aspect of it is one of the main reasons I joined. I have met a bunch of girls who are on the same boat as me in the respect of career and relationship status. I mean there are million girls who are married but a lot with long-term bfs as well. I still haven't made a real good friend but there are lot of prospects. The only thing that sucks is that I am out of the area on the weekends because I live so far out. Oh well. Willing to travel.

So I will be going back to my jail cell crafts. I will post some pictures once I have some finished projects done and more of the house as they come. I am still here even if I am not writing. I may actually be starting a new blog. I will have more details once I get things a little more together. For right now I a still reading even if I am not the best commenter.

A Contest!

Edit: Extended Contest to get some more entries, please tell your friends.

With my move from a small house to a really big house there has been a lot of decorating to do. Out of my garage came out a huge picture frame that holds 30 5x7 pics that has never been used. Originally I was thinking of doing a bunch of pics of my friends and family but I wanted something more interesting. This is where you come in.

For the contest I would like you and anyone else you know to send me pictures of random pretty/cute/funny things. Pics from a place you have visited or where you live. Your adorable dog. A picture of your awesome shoes! The only thing I don't think would work is people. It would be hard to explain to my friends and family why I have pictures of people I don't know on my wall. Unless I know you then that's cool too. These will all be printed and put in the frame in the living room. Please submit your own pictures and not something you found off the Internet.

To enter:

Send me a picture to starchase83(at)me.com. Multiple entries are accepted.

The prize for picture I like best: $50 Target Gift card.

To rally up some support:

1. Tell your friends about the contest via twitter and include my @starchase83 so I know. (1 entry).
2. Become a follower of my blog (1 entry).
3. Write a post about my contest on your blog and send me a link back via the comments or e-mail. (2 entries).

This winner will be picked at random. Prize for this is: $20 Starbucks gift card.

This contest ends August 31st at 10pm PST.

Like My Mom Says....

"Luz de la calle, escuridad de su casa"

which translates to:

"Light of street darkness of your own house."

I did my very first guest post over at http://www.lifeofabusywife.com/

come show some love!

See ya'll Monday!

The one where Janet Jackson is my drunken bff and Miley Cirus is a *#%W#()

You know you've been exposed to too much social media when you start dreaming about it. I can't remember the last time I dreamt about anyone outside of my immediate friends and family or even blogland people.

Over the weekend I had a dream about Janet Jackson. We were at a charity event together where I was supposed to bring a banana peel to honor the organization the charity was for. I was introduced to Janet and she all of a sudden became all BFF with me and was chugalluging her booze. And she was wearing that outfit where she had the "costume malfunction". There was another guy who introduced himself as Sam somethingoranother and I didn't know he was a celebrity rapper. Which isn't too surprising considering I listen to country. Miley Cirus was on the otherside screaming at an assistant to get her a latte and being a total bitch and giving us the stink-eye for no apparent reason.

The next scene is us sitting front row on a catwalk and Janet wont STFU. And then Sam's name is said by the MC and he starts mumbling that he is not going up there and he is definatetly not performing. Janet is starting to slide off her chair and is yelling something about "I want those kids. I don't know why my mom got those kids and the damn money! Those are my kids and my money!" The models start coming down the runway and one of them passes out in front of Janet from being so starved and instead of people helping the model they are all trying to calm down Janet. I am looking after the model and Janet is screaming at me that she wants me to take her to her moms to pick up the kids. I tell her she is out of her mind and I am not driving her out to LA from Newport and she can spend the night at my house to get her shit together.

Yeah, crazy dream. Anyone care to share?

I didn't know I was related to Jerry Springer

When a sibling of your significant other tells you they want to come visit its normally a good thing right? LJ's sister wants to come visit in a couple of weeks which I am totally cool with. Everyone in the family has given me prewarnings of not getting to close to her because she is crazy as hell. The handful of times I have met her she seems really nice and I don't see any reason why we should have her over.

I know that there is drama going on with her mom (whom I speak with) about her new bf (a guy twice her age), while I don't necessarily agree with her choice of bf, I do understand. I remember being 20 and doing dumb things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Not as far as she has gone but you know enough to understand. From everything I've heard from both sides of the fence the fued is getting pretty nasty and I said to both LJ's sis and mom that I am on the fence and I am not picking sides. I told LJ's sis that if I think her new bf is a douchebag, that's becuase I think he is a douchebag not because of what her mom said.

So lets hope for a happy home full of sunshine and puppies when the time comes.

LA you're not my home but a nice place to visit

When people outside of California ask me where I am from I always say LA. It's easier than explaining that I am from a small beach community 20-3o miles south of LA. I got transfered out to 90210 back in February and have been adjusting ever since. I now live in Orange County as most like to refer to "The OC" which is about 45 miles into LA. Most people tell me I am out of my mind to do the commute and I mostly agree. So I finally decided to catch the train into work.

Before taking the train I was really worried I would get really carsick. I am no good at being a passenger. I need to have the air on at all times. I have to stop and pullover on really curvy roads. Even on the train its still a 2 hour commute each way. What does a carsick girl do on a train? I can't read which would be the best thing for me. Any ideas besides the ipod?

It felt like it was the first day of school riding the train, because you know that its the same people that see each other everyday and can tell when there is a newbie in the mix. I met some nice people on the train and LJ always tells me I can make a brickwall talk and sure enough I did. I also made friends with the bus driver who gave me pointers to make my commute a little shorter.

The other thing that I noticed while I was on the train and generally notice when I take funky ways home to avoid traffic is that there are a lot of cool things going on in the city. I just found out that Legally Blonde has a musical! I am absolutely in love with Reese Witherspoon and although she is not the one doing the musical just because she is related to it is enough to make me go watch it. That and I love pink! There are interesting places to eat all over the city some I have heard of, some I have to Yelp to figure out if they are good and other places I am willing to try just to say I did. I don't think I could ever live in the actual city although I say I could live in San Francisco if given the chance. It's just too busy and crowded for me. I may not have the most interesting neighbors that I want to be BFF with but at least they have their space and I have mine.

Oh and in related LA news, I had my first Junior League social last week. It was a lot of fun. One of the girls I met mentioned that the place we had our meeting was kind of like a sorority house (name and all!) and if we had to pose to take a picture it was a soririty for women. Sure enough we had to pose! I ran into some of the same people i met at the open house and new faces too. A lot of the people who just joined are not from California and you can tell by the way they talk are how nice they are. Not saying us Californians or really Southern Californians aren't nice just different. I am so looking forward to getting to explore the city with all the JL girls and forging new friendships with like-minded women. Anyone else doing Junior League in your city?

P.S.: I want a puppy! Especially since I am living in a house that comes with a built in puppy door!

Loo

Where to begin.....



I haven't said this publicly in blogland but I am moving. Actually let me correct that.... WE ARE MOVING. Yes, you heard it here first (or secondly) LJ and I will be co-habitating. This has actaully been a long time coming but something have changed around here that gave us (me) the final kick to do it. *Edit: We moved, this post has been sitting in draft so long that the move happened Sunday last week!*



Last October I was actually looking to buy a home of my own. I had a real estate agent a pre-approval and MLS lists all over my desks at all times. Then there was an announcement of a merger for the company I work for and it scared me. This isn't my first time at the rodeo. Since I've been with the company I've gone through 5 mergers and 4 relocations (in less than 6 years). Whenever I hear merger my initial thought is "Oh crap, who's getting laid off?" In this case my initial thought was "Oh crap, I can't buy a house anymore!" And I was right. I could have... but it would have sucked and I would be broke with all the changes in income that came with the turn of the economy and merger. I think it worked out for the best because I would have been settling for what I could afford vs. what I wanted vs. what we could afford and vs. what we both wanted. My bf owns his own business and I didn't want to come with empty pockets to the table when we got married.


LJ is expanding his business (yes, even in this economy) and needs to be close to his office at all times because he runs the show. I currently live 15 miles from him and work an additional 35 miles the opposite way. So the compromise? I move closer to him/his office. Weird right? He moved the office to be close to train station for (for me) and all the house stuff will be taken care of. So dinner will be made when I get home, yay! The house cleaning stuff is already being taken care of except for certain things I like to do myself. I've made the drive already and its actually about 90 miles to work roundtrip because I take the least trafficy way. I will be on the train by next month at the latest.



About the house.... We are moving into a real house which is nice. I live in a duplex and having the adjoining wall is a bit much. The new house is a 3 bed, 2 bath with a pool, jacuzzi and a built-in bbq. There is also a flat-screen outside you can watch from the sitting area and the jacuzzi which I think is cool. We also purchased a projector for the family room this weekend and are looking for a 100" screen. The house is mostly unpacked except for the important things like the guest room. The guest room also doubles as my closet/craft area which I am super excited about (or will be at least once its all set up and have all the furniture in.) We have people coming out TOMORROW and I still haven't finished the room. Oops!

I will have pictures of the house up hopefully sometime next week once all the boxes are moved out of the way and I still need to buy a lot of decorating stuff. My walls are pretty barren at this point and the kitchen looks like Christmas sort of. We will be painting to say the least. Oh and of course I will show everyone the new home for the shoes!

So who's coming to visit me and the pool?

Oh and I keep running into Larry King in the parking lot next to work... is that weird?

Ketchup - Nose Job Edition

1. So next week I will be going under the knife to get my nose done. I am getting my deviated septum fixed. Wish me luck my surgery is Thursday so if anyone is on Gchat on Friday hit me up b/c I will be in bed and on my computer.
2. I started a sewing class this week and the hours are a bit brutal. It's almost 5 hours a day 2 days a week. It is fun though. 5 more weeks to go. The kicker is that my mom was a seamstress for almost 15 years and I never learned because she traumatized me as a kid. The Dentist's kids always have the ugliest teeth right?
3. I finally gave up and started reading Twilight now that the craziness has died down. I just finished the first book and so far... eh. I am going to finish the series just to say I did but I am not super excited about it. I am excited to read the Sookie Stackhouse series which True Blood is based off of.
4. 4th of July I will be in a cabin in Big Bear Lake which I am excited about but at the same time I am afraid I won't be fully recovered from my surgery. If all else fails I will just go out for a really good tan.
5. I am thinking of buying a street-legal scooter for my commute to work. I don't hate my commute so much but I think it would make it a little bit easier later this summer when the directions change.
6. One of my bff's adopted a baby last month and we are so excited. She is beautiful.
7. I want a puppy!
8. I need to stop shopping at Ebay, seriously its an addiction.
9. I need to post more pictures up. Is there an easy way to do this?
10. I got the new Palm Pre. Anyone who has one, wants one or wants to talk about it hit me up.
    

B/c I am horrible girlfriend and blogger

I finally got all the pictures back from my friends to do a legit birthday/anniversary/confirmation post.... but I don't have them with me. So real pictureless we go. Overall the whole 2 weeks have been awesome. Even with being sick. So sick that I had to go to the ER and get quarentined b/c I might have swine flu. Obvs I didn't. So where to begin....

Thursday the 30th was my actual birthday and LJ made me my favorite meal steak, asparagus and red potatoes followed by a tiny coconut cake.

My birthday and our anniversary is only 7 days apart so I only get 1 gift for both. I think this year I didn't make out too bad.

Friday I got sick all of a sudden made it to urgent care and was told I had a stomach flu. Which wasn't the case but I kept getting progressively worse. Saturday was my confirmation date. For those out of the loop its a Catholic thing where you are seen as an adult in the eyes of the church. Also if I ever want to get married in a catholic church I needed to do this.This is the real church where this all went down.

LJ and I have an ongoing joke about how white-washed I am even though I am actually still pretty close to my Mexican roots. Hell, my parents don't even speak English. I am fluent in Spanish although I do have a thick American accent. I was born in the States. So The weekend consisted of my birthday, my confirmation, a boxing match and Mexican Food. I told him we basically squeezed in all the Mexican for the year into one weekend. All we were missing was a baptism, a communion and a pinata.







Since I was still sick I didn't get to enjoy the festivities as much as I would have liked. I know the tequila flowing around helped get everyone loosened up and some even hooked up. I was dying by about 11 but I know people stayed up till 2AM.







To round up the weekend I ended up in the ER with a 101.6 fever and no real clue what was wrong with me. It ended up being some sort of virus that eventually ran its course.

This post has been sitting in my drafts too long. I will have real posts later this week.