I went snowboarding with Scott and Michelle a few weeks ago. It's been about 5 years since I went the last time and I was surprised to see that this fashion statement of a hat is still on the slopes.

All the way to the right. The jester of the slopes. oh my, you're so goofy and funny.

I hated this when it first came out. To me it's the equivalent of wearing a goofy hat...when you're not at disneyland. Wearing it at disneyland is bad enough. I'm sorry if this is a habit of yours. You look stupid. I said it. That goes for all of the eye patch, jack sparrow braided, hook wearers too.

xo peace and love

Olivia Newton-John - Physical

Let's Get Physical!!

Isagenix

I've heard of it--my cousins and friends have done it and had great results. It wasn't until my sister Michelle tried it that I decided that I needed to do it too. I have an inferiority complex when it comes to my sisters but that's another story. Isagenix is basically a weight loss system. I did the 9 day cleanse and fat burning system. I thought, it's only 9 days. I can do anything for 9 days! I was really limited to what I could eat in those 9 days and I had to drink this crazy liquid and drink a lot of water. At the end of day two I thought those little 9 days would never end! I have never thought about food so much in my life. I was really really choosy with what I was going to eat and I did my best to eat as much as I could and still stay in my calorie limits. There was a lot of celery involved. I never knew how tasty fresh raw celery could be. I need more raw vegetables in my life. Anyway...

I lost 8 pounds!!!

I know...what?? Thank you to all of those who said I didn't need to lose weight in the first place! It was nice to hear! I was only in it to lose a few but now I'm going to keep going just a few more. This system was a great jump start. My stomach is smaller and I can't eat as much. I don't crave any sweets or crappy food...although I ate pizza, a hotdog, and nachos today...oops! But I only had small portions and kept it within my calorie limits.

To all of those who said, "Oh that won't work, why are you doing that?" or "That's not healthy" or "Oh we'll see what you'll weigh in a week after you've gone off the diet." You can all SUCK IT. What ever happened to the phrase, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything"?

I am happy with my results and am super excited to use my new APP: Lose it. My cousin Sharon told me about it and then I remembered that my cousin in law used an APP to lose weight a while ago. So I guess it works! Check it out! I mean hello! it's free! winning! It tracks your calories and puts you on a schedule with a weight loss plan or just a weight maintaining plan.

So now I have to leave you with a video from my idol...enjoy...

Glamourpuss: The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs!

Wigs for cats. I don't know what's better, that someone came up with a line of wigs for cats or that the video promoting the wigs looks like a fashion photo shoot and the cats are being treated like human models. a-m-a-z-i-n-g

31 and up

31 and up

Get your wheelchair, walker, oxygen tank, and/or IV bag all shined up and ready to go because it's time for a 31+ Single Adult activity! I'm not sure as to why I attend these things other than nothing better to do and it's been long enough that I've forgotten how lame the last one was. It is the closest thing I can think of to child birth. A pregnancy can be really uncomfortable, the actual birth very painful (or so I'm told) and once enough time passes it's a good idea to go through it again. Single Adult activities are in that same category for me only I don't ever receive any kind of reward like a baby. I go through the pain and discomfort over and over and instead of a baby I get creepy, old, or awkward men staring at me and asking me to dance. They small talk me to death trying to find something in common with me but all that is going through my mind is "I think that's the same year my dad graduated from high school" or "It rubs the lotions on it's skin" or "Run, Forest! Ruuuuun!"

I'm glad I have friends that I can have fun with no matter where we are. We really make the best of our situations. At this last activity or "Jungle Jam" there were actually a handful of normal dudes there close to my age. I also got to dance it up to Rihanna --Only Girl-- which is my favorite dance party song right now...I might have sang it at the top of my lungs too.

I had a rough day. I was attacked at work. Have you ever been hit in the back of the head with a board? Yes? No? Now I can say yes! I suppose I am making it out to be a little more dramatic than it is. I was washing my client's hair so she had her head back, eyes closed, and she was relaxing to her little scalp massage. After I finished I turned and slid the cupboard door open, got a towel out and turned to dry her hair. All of a sudden the cupboard door slammed down on my head, bounced off and smacked my client, still lying back with her eyes closed, right on the face. Somehow that little door fell of the track and it is the real deal, heavy duty wood so I was seeing stars for a moment. The adrenaline kicked in pretty quick though so that I could attend to my client who was forming a nice red mark on her forehead. Hey have you ever tried to use sharp scissors after an adrenaline rush? I had to concentrate on keeping my hands still. It was like trying to put tiny clothes on an ant. (what? I have an ant problem in my house) I made it through the haircut and the rest of my day although I was totally spacey but even now, almost twelve hours later, my head hurts and I feel slightly dizzy. I'm just glad my head broke the fall of that stupid door. I really think it would have caused some serious damage to my client's face otherwise. As is, she is doing great! Now we'll see if I fall in to a deep coma tonight...

Has anyone seen the new movie out, Just Go With It? I laughed through pretty much the whole thing so I kinda loved it. I decided that Jennifer Aniston has a smokin hot body and I want to look like her. The woman is like 42 and there isn't an ounce of fat on her. I have to give her props because she was up next to Brooklyn Decker in a bikini who is only 22 years old and a swimsuit cover model for Sports Illustrated. Jennifer Aniston definitely held her own. I had to see if there was something online detailing JA's work out regime. I knew she did Yoga a few times a week but I was thinking there had to be more. There isn't...well not much more. She does 22 minutes of cardio before yoga three times a week and she's on the zone diet. So I decided to try it out today. I did 30 min of cardio and then started the yoga. I got through about 15 minutes of it and I was done. I totally get why JA looks the way she does! I'm on a mission though to get through the session. I don't know what I'm going to do about the diet part. Yesterday I had two gigantic sugar cookies for lunch and today I had a cherry coke and a BRC burrito from Miguel's JR...again...just went there on Saturday. I keep hoping that if I work out more, I can eat whatever I want...within reason of course.

sigh

I found a mask that I really love. It's from h2t(head to toe) dermAstage and it's a 'natural pumpkin and multi fruit complex peel'. Erin, my lovely esthetician, has been using this mask in her facials on me for a while now. The one she uses has 30% glycolic acid so it's major. The one I got to use at home in between facials has 15% glycolic acid. It gently gets rid of the dead skin cells that tend to build up on your face and it calms down inflammation from 'spots'. I just put it on and was debating on taking a picture but it kinda looks like someone puked all over my face so I'm going to go ahead and be picture free for this post. (If you really want to see me in a mask look here) In case you are wondering, it really has pumpkin in it. It smells like Halloween! It's so yummy that you almost want to taste it BUT believe me it tastes bad... I might have accidentally tasted it when I rinsed it off my face once. I highly recommend it so long as you do a few things along with it.

1. scrub your face for at least a full minute first. It doesn't sound like a long time but you try it and then you'll see.

2. dry your face with a fresh and clean towel and make sure it's totally dry.

3. leave it on for the recommended time. do not leave it on longer or it will wreak havoc on your face.

4. rinse and dry with a clean towel.

5. moisturize. if you don't, your skin will fight back and it will win.

Ok so maybe I couldn't help myself and had to take a picture of the mask.

Don't mind the hair color stains on my fingers!

The stars at night! Are big and bright! Deep in the heart of Texas!

I've always been obsessed with Texas. Was it because of Peewee's Big Adventure? I have no idea. I have always thought it would be awesome to live there...and I had never been there until last week. So here are some highlights from the week.

I'm so lucky because I had someone with all of the Texas pride you could ask for, touring me around Dallas. (And he's totally hot. Bonus!) Even though it was the coldest it's been in 30 years, complete with iced over roads and then seven inches of snow, we had a marvelous time.

I wanted to see the famous grassy knoll and the street where JFK was shot. We took on the 19 degree weather and walked the streets of Dallas.

Nate trying to keep his face warm...

I decided it would be a good idea to take a walking tour of the public works of art. (Yeah Tracy, let's go walk around in ice cold weather to look at art. Good one!)

The only maps they had left were in spanish so...

"Escultura Flotante"

"The Trail Boss", "The Cutter", "The Vaquero"

We saw a few others but my hands froze every time I would get them out of my pockets--taking pictures became painful.

cold hands!

The day turned out to be really fun! I was excited to get back in doors though so we headed to the mall where I bought my favorite mascara from MAC. It's a newer mascara that they came out with around May last year. I bought it then and have really liked it.

Opulash

We went to some really great places to eat, one of which was called Dickey's. Had to get me some Texas BBQ! Oh and thanks to Nate, I have the cup to prove it. Good stuff!

I loved Texas--even though it was cold and the water tastes like metal and dirt mixed together. I can't wait to go back someday!

On New Years Eve I was feeling a little sad. So I attempted to do things that I know I wouldn't be able to do if my circumstances were different--say I was married with five kids. I took a bubble bath, worked on my puzzle, watched Bridget Jones Diary, and ate Truffles. If I would have had 12 cats to feed, my night would have been complete.

There was a reason I didn't go out and do something totally awesome. I spent the day doing hair and make up for a wedding in San Diego. My cousin Andrea's really good friend Brittany Pierce got married in the temple down there at 10am so it was an early morning! It didn't help that my sweet insomnia kicked in and I was awake at 4:25am. Suck! So after the initial hair and make up application, there were a couple of touch ups plus 8 bridesmaids to fix up. That was not a typo. EIGHT. haha it was fine though! The theme was kind of nautical so I did some fun braids on everyone. They all seemed to like it and it didn't take me too long!

This is Brittany and Scott outside of the temple--totally stole this picture from someone on facebook...

The reception was at the Admiral Kidd Club,right on the water. The San Diego skyline was right across the bay and the buildings were glimmering in the afternoon sun. There were also a ton of sailboats cruising by, one of which the bride and groom went for a ride on! After the guests had arrived, they came riding up for a grand entrance. It was so cool!

I can't wait to see the photographer's work on this shot below. This was from someone standing there and once again, stole it from facebook... The photographer was showing me a few of the shots he got though and they were pretty sweet!

Gina took me on a walk in Balboa right before Christmas so that we could look at all of the Clark Grizwald houses. I'm not kidding, it was Christmas Vacation at every house! It was so fun!

These people had reindeer and a santa spinning on something on the roof. How freakin sweet is that?

These people loved Bears. There were literally bears filling every window. It kinda creeped me out.

Here is Gina and I!

After the long walk, Gina decided to go for a horsey ride...

I guess I kinda did a lot of Christmas stuff this year--I also went to the LA temple to look at the lights and see the new visitor center. I, along with a bunch of leaders, took the young men/women. We had Tito's Tacos before so it was kind of the best night ever.

My friend Kathy decorates a Christmas tree every year and displays it along side many other trees at the Riverside Convention Center. She's so creative so I had to go and check it out. Michelle, Zoe, Kya, and Jada came along with me.

This is Kathy's tree!

This one was called To Infinity and Beyond!

I loved the ornaments on this one...

Zoe petting the reindeer...

This has to be my favorite picture.

Jada was being a total nut. She saw a lady handing out those reindeer hats and ran over to see if she could get one too. She didn't say anything and just looked up at the lady. This lady was a dr or a nurse from a local hospital and when she looked down and saw Jada standing there she totally melted. She asked Jada if she wanted a hat and Jada nodded her head and jumped up and down saying Ya! Ya! Ya! She then asked Michelle if she could take a picture with Jada for the hospital and Michelle said it was ok. All of a sudden there were 4 other ladies from the hospital lined up in a half circle taking pictures. Jada was quiet and smiled all through it. Then the lady looked over at Jada and said something like, Aren't you just the cutest thing?! To this, Jada screamed/growled like a deranged lion child, scaring the crap out of all of them. They literally jumped!

This is a video I filmed and edited for one of my young women, Jenae, for her personal progress project. Good times!

I love my job so much that if I met someone that wanted me to move away and marry him, I would be at an impasse. Getting married and having children has always been my first priority however I have come to love this so much that I would have a hard time letting it go. Sure, I could get a job doing this elsewhere but I wouldn't be in this salon, working with the same stylists, and doing the same patrons hair. Out of all of the jobs I have had, I have never settled in to one like I have in this one. Not once have I thought about leaving and finding another job or another type of work. I am constantly being challenged, finding ways to be creative, and socializing in a positive atmosphere.

So with that being said, there are some days when I come home from work where I don't want to talk to anybody. I have been talking all day long and I do not want to speak anymore. I am tired and talked out. I just want to stare into the oblivion of the TV. I want to watch other people talk to each other and not have to participate in the conversation. Tonight I just want to cry because I'm so tired and I still have to go out and be social. I have one hour of solitude and I can only hope it's enough.

.....sigh......

I made a little video to introduce people to the salon....

Australia, Australia I can't get you off of my mind.

I have a secret obsession with a little country known as Australia.I have some friends that are going in January and I am invited however I cannot find an affordable airline ticket for the time frame that they will be there. I have beenlamenting over this for the last week. I have called a travel agent, searched everywhere you can search for cheap tickets on line.

....nothing....

My mom asked me the other night why I want to go to Australia. I told her that I have been wanting to go for the last three years but on the real, it's more like the last thirty years. I couldn't bring myself to tell her where it all began but somehow I can write it here and totally risk humiliating myself.

It all started with Olivia Newton John. Physical was the first record album I ever owned and I was probably about 4 years old.

I remember getting this very clearly--my parents were both there and we were in the living room and my dad handed the record over to me. I didn't really know what I was in for but I will tell you that I must have listened to that album as many times as I could convince my mom to put it on for me.

I loved Olivia.

My parents knew this and sat me down to watch Grease.

So then I loved Olivia and John. I think I was obsessed with her accent because I remember imitating it while playing in the back yard. When we went to the Worlds Fair in Canada in 1986, guess what exhibition I had to see. Yep, Australia. It was the lamest exhibition there but I enjoyed every second of it. Of course my dad somehow got a bunch of Koala bears to hand out at his business. Little did he know the seed he was planting.

I think my obsession with this place was put on hold for a long time because the next Australia moment I had was just three years ago. My roommate Danielle had been there and she had a few Australian friends in town so we hung out with them. I said to myself, I need to meet more people like them.

I

am

moving!

Of course I haven't moved, but I've been trying to plan trips there ever since. I keep telling myself, this will be the year. In the meantime, I'm obsessed with Australians. Simon Baker, Tabitha Coffey, Olivia on Fringe...isn't it ironic that her name is Olivia??? It's like the country is calling my name.

VOTING DAY--it's so not anything to do with beauty

It's time to vote and I hope you're all taking it seriously. This is my attempt at swaying your votes at the last minute. This is of course if you live in Southern CA and in my same district. You might have noticed a couple of years ago that I voted yes on proposition 8. It's kind of a taboo thing to discuss because by saying that I don't believe in gay marriage, to some I'm suddenly just like the people who would burn crosses and run around in white hoods, holding a rope, looking for the nearest tree. To those that feel that way, I'm sorry but I have a right to my beliefs. If you feel differently, agree to disagree ok? Anyway, there are certain individuals that are threatening to overturn proposition 8 which is ridiculous to me because why do we vote if one or two people are going to just change it to how they want it? So a lot of my votes are going to people who I feel are supportive of proposition 8 or um let's see THE LAW.

Meg Whitman

Abel Maldonado

Mimi Walters

Steve Cooley

Carly Fiorina--ugh but she's republican

Ken Calvert--love this guy!

Brian Nestande

Damon Dunn

Tony Strickland

Mike Villines

Michelle Steel

Tani Cantil Sakauye--NO

Ming W Chin--YES

Carlos Moreno--NO

Judith McConnell--NO

Manuel Ramirez--YES

Carol D Codrington--YES

David G Sills--NO

William W Bedsworth--YES he's kind of a wild card for me. I figure, let's see how he does for a while. We can always vote him out later.

Eileen C Moore--NO

Larry Aceves

Virginia M Blumenthal

Paul Angulo

Tom Evans

I was flipping through the channels on TV last night and there was a commercial for Ghetto City Ho's. Yep, Ghetto City Ho's. There were a bunch of black girls in lingerie and I'm guessing it was a phone sex commercial. I don't think I've ever seen one like that--not that I regularly watch these commercials. The best part is that I had a dream about it. But first let me say that a friend from church called me yesterday and invited me to this Halloween dance party for single adults on Saturday. So in my dream, there was a flyer for this dance but it had the Ghetto City Ho's on it. How awesome is that?

Amie, one of my fellow hair dressers, got married this last weekend! All of the girls from the salon were invited. One thing that Amie and Josh wanted at their wedding reception was a photo booth. It was budgeted in and scheduled before they had even booked a venue. We had a lot of fun taking pictures in it. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we didn't know when it was taking the picture. This is why I am standing there looking like a fool at the end.

(Tracy, Lorraine, Erin, Vikki, Priscilla, Kathy)

It makes me wonder, do I really look that ridiculous? Do people glance over in my direction and see that? If so, I am going to invest in a burka or two.

We did a little better the second round (below).

(Lorraine, me, Erin, Brittney, Kathy)

I love these chicks. I don't know how I could ever leave this salon and work anywhere else. I have it so good right now. I really hope it stays this way for many years to come!

I went to Happy Nails in Huntington on Saturday and had a pedicure. Those ladies really lived up to the name Happy. The whole time we were there, those Asian ladies were giggling and laughing on the floor and in the back room. I began to wonder if they were getting high off of the acrylic. I mentioned to Gina that I was tired and the back of my chair began to recline. I look over and the lady working on me was pushing a button so that I could lay down. She was telling me in her broken English to take a nap. When she finished she patted me on the shoulder and said to come back tomorrow because she would miss me. I laughed and said ok. Gina's lady hugged her and there were at least five ladies that caught our eye to smile and say goodbye. It was crazy and awesome. I wish that everyone could be that happy all of the time. Of course, then we wouldn't appreciate it.

Happy Nail of Huntington Beach

19051 Goldenwest St # 101, Huntington Beach, CA 92648-2156(714) 536-3552