I feel I'm in such a grey area.

I'm not sure if it's because I just graduated, and this is the first January I haven't been in school since I was 5. I'm not sure if it's because I am at a job that I know isn't permanent, that could end any day. I'm not sure if it's because I'm kind of just sitting and waiting until I go to grad school...

...and I'm not sure if it's just because I'm bored. There's nothing new, nothing exciting...I go day to day talking to the same 10 people, looking at the same 10 websites, making the same drive (home --> daycare --> work --> daycare --> home). The most exciting part of my day is picking out my outfit or doing my makeup. 

I need adventure...and maybe there's one on the horizon; then again, maybe I am just hoping, because this adventure, I'm not in it alone. It's not my choice to make.

I should paint something, maybe that would excite me. I need a model though. Volunteers?

I've been a blogging slacker this week, but that's because I've actually had work to do! So many things going on:

Monday we took Branham for his 15 month well-check. He's perfect, still :)

I have been busting my butt with my Mary Kay business, working towards Director Qualification in February, so I've had appointments pretty much every day.

I'm still trying to get things with Childcare Assistance figured out.

And my big girl J-O-B is in rush period, so I've had tons to do here day to day. During any breaks I get, I've been catching up on MK filing and placing orders.

Rollers & Rouge (my sister and I started a business, check us out on facebook!) is well under way. We have our first big event booked (it's pro bono, but will get our name out there) and a Boudoir shoot booked (both in March)! We're working on bookings, logos, a real website, etc!

In other news:
You know what I find interesting? No matter how much I try to ignore what I am feeling or thinking, I can't manage to get my dreams to go along with me. I can push something down, out of my mind, as much as I want in my conscious hours...but, boy, my brain has a mind of it's own (hahahaha!). It replays, analyzes, and emphasizes things for me, in my dreams, that I just can't escape.

Okay, moms, I've got a question for you: Would you be comfortable leaving your kid with someone who you were never introduced to? Would you like leaving your baby with someone who you had never seen smile, or even look sort of happy? Would you like leaving your child with this same person if, every time you even ENTER the same ROOM as her, he clings to your neck and starts sobbing uncontrollably?

...yeah, I don't like it either. In fact, I am very, very annoyed by it. I am annoyed with all things childcare related right now:
1. The person I spoke of above.
2. The fact that I just had to write a $180 check to our center because our childcare assistance got cancelled because a stupid blonde desk worker failed to turn my paperwork in and now I am paying for it, literally.
3. The fact that I have to constantly make phone calls and leave voicemails with my case worker and everyone else with the Childcare Assistance Program, yet I never get return calls. EVER.

Ya know what else sucks? Dieting sucks. There are only so many things I know how to do with vegetables, turkey and chicken.

ANYWAY, today I complain. Sorry. BUT IN OTHER AWESOME NEWS...

From now until February 1st, I will be doing everything in my power to go into Director in Qualification (DIQ) with Mary Kay! It's going to be hard, and if i get there it will only get harder, but I am going to rock it!

Diet Day 1: Complete

Well, diet day 1 was a success; only 17 more to go! It was a hard day, because I left for work at 8:20, forgot all the food I prepared. Then had a "lunch" meeting that I couldn't eat lunch at. Then I had to go straight from work to my Mary Kay meeting...at which there were CHOCOLATE COVERED FREAKING STRAWBERRIES. And cupcakes and cookies! AND I managed to sit there and eat my lettuce/spinach/tomato/cucumber salad and not have any of the sweets! *pats self on back* ^.^
On today's menu:
Currently sipping on breakfast-- pumpkin pie smoothie
Lunch-- tuna salad wraps
Dinner-- eggplant lasanga
plus fruit and veggies and any lean protein in between that I want.

in other news

I managed to get myself into another "pay it forward craft" thing this year. So, I will be making 5 crafts/pieces of art for people, and you have to make me one in return.

1. Hilary Fiskeaux

2. Whitley Taylor (because I've been promising)

who will be #s 3, 4, and 5? Katie Klein? Brittany Jackson? Jessica Johnson?? Come on :D

________________________________________
Life analogy of the day: 
If you light a candle and it starts to smoke, you can put the lid on to contain it. Eventually, though, containing the smoke will snuff out the flame.

17

I hate the number 17. In fact, I really hate any number that's not nice and even. Multiples of 2 and 5 are usually good. (Read: I may actually have OCD). Why is 17 relevant today, though?

The 17-day Diet
I tried to find something online to show you, but I couldn't find one that's exactly like what I'm doing. To summarize:
You can eat as much lean protein as you like (chicken, turkey, eggs, etc)
You can eat as many veggies as you like
Yogurt, fruit and water are a big part of the diet.
Supposedly the average person can lose 20 pounds doing this for 17 days, and that's my goal. I am competing with a friend to keep us motivated, and if we both meet our goals, we're rewarding ourselves with pedicures! :)

Anyway, today is day one and it's already been hard...but not because I am hungry. First, I left my food at home :( and then I had a coffee date with someone, and it was hard not to get any of the delicious things they offered...BUT, I stuck with hot black tea sweetened with splenda, and a veggie and hummus plate. Plus, I only had just a wee bit of hummus, mostly veggies! So far, so good...tonight's Mary Kay meeting will probably be a challenge, too. But life is challenging, I've just got to be tough!
Head over here to check out my progress (the health tab, up top!)

In other news
I am happy to report that I am not a statistic! Derrick Riley, my printmaking prof. last semester, told us some crazy statistic about how (I am guessing here) 80% of art students never make work again after graduation. GASP  Don't worry, I don't have a masterpiece going or anything, but I did get out a sketchbook and do a little portrait for about an hour.

It's not great, and it's super rough, but that's not really what counts here anyway. Plus...it's hard to do portraits from pictures.

And!! From that came a bit of inspiration. Hopefully, you'll get to see that pretty soon. I am excited, as inspiration for me is sort of rare. The LAL show I went to on Friday, though, definitely helped in that department.

For now,

xoxo

Geek out

Pinterest causes this phenomenon a lot. Examples:

OMG TIGHTS.

Cute, half-naked chubby baby + Rainbow Cake = O.O

So obsessed with this.

BUT...she has purple hair! IT'S PURPLE! HAIR! AHHH!

...basically all I need in my life is a cute baby dressed as Dobby.

Jake Barnes was right, I am a baby nerd. But look at the cute!

Have I mentioned my obsession with rainbows? A few of you may understand.

Better

Today...today is much better. I've got lots to do at work, so I'm keeping busy. 

I made plans for Friday night with a friend to go to the Body | Figure | Nude exhibition opening at the Lexington Art League where I interned this summer.

I am SUPER excited about this opening! Why? It's all figurative, and that's the kind of art I love; that I am most drawn to. All of my work is figurative. Says LAL about the exhibition:

Works selected for the exhibition deal with the subject of the body, figure or nude or they use the body, figure or nude as a metaphor or allegorical vehicle.

"Beauty Mark" (detail) by Sondra Schwetm

Not only that, but two of my favorite people juried the show! Anna Brzyski was in my top 3 favorite professors, if not #1, in my time at UK. I took two of her Art History classes and...I was just enthralled in everything she said, taught, and had us read. Probably my favorite class of them all was one of the A-H courses I took with her called Studies in Art 1840-1914: Sex and Gender...it was fascinating!

Becky Alley, the other juror, is the Exhibitions and Programs Director at LAL and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. She curated the first show I worked on at LAL this summer, Love and Things Like Love; it is easily one of the best exhibitions I've ever seen. I was amazed with it. She has impeccable taste in art (and in hiring interns, if I do say so myself!).

Definitely make time to stop by and see it while it's up now through March 11th.

Friday's event is the QX.net Opening Preview Party, 6-10, $40. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

There is also a FREE Gallery Tour with the Jurors (eeek! must go!) on Jan. 24th at 7 pm.

And then the Fifth Third Bank 4th Friday event (monthly!) is on the 27th, 6-9 pm, $7 but FREE for members!

There's more I didn't mention, so make sure to head on over to their website and read up on it! I can't wait for Friday!!

First, I want to thank those of you who have already started helping me out from my last post! I've got so many books, I don't know what to do! Finishing up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (again) today and then starting Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd (thanks Brittany! :] )

My oatmeal today was gross, and there's lotsa drama at work today, but I had some caffeine this morning and a really good weekend, so I've got a pep in my step today! :)

On a down side, though, I am coming to realize just how hard it is to find a paid position in the arts community. So sad...the couple of inquires I was hopeful about turned out to be volunteer positions. Not really sure where to go from here or what to do after this temp job ends. Suggestions? I'm getting a little nervous and worried. Definitely need to look into doing art lessons full time or...something. AHHH...


it's officially been 6 hours since I started this blog post this morning at work and now it's almost quittin' time.


xoxoxox

Catching Up

Well, Ladies and Gents, I went through with it! I will post a better picture later, but this is right after I showered and got all the crusty blood out of my hair. Yum! :)

Yes, the process hurt. Having a needle shoved in your ear four times followed by jewelry isn't exactly pleasurable, but as soon as they aren't doing that, it doesn't hurt at all...until you bump into it with your phone. Ouch.

Anyway, over the past few days, I've been thinking of things I'd like to improve about myself.
1. I need new music. So badly. I have been listening to all the same stuff since, like, Senior year of high school. That said, I'd like to find one new artist a month that I really like. Even if I've heard of them before, I want to discover them. So, if you think you can contribute to that, I would love to hear your favorite band or artist. Email me at lauraburks1988@gmail.com for my address and you can mail me a burned CD. That would seriously make my life.

2. I need to read more. I SO enjoy reading, but who has time with school, 2 jobs and a baby? Well, not this year! I am aspiring to read 15 books this year. This really isn't very many. But I'm a slow reader and it's more than one a month. On my list thus far:
* Inheritance (the 4th book in the Inheritance Cycle)
*The Help
*The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy
*The Hunger Games trilogy
**Please, make suggestions! What's your favorite book? Also, I have a Nook...share your books with meee!

3. Cook more. My friend Amanda and I made dinner together last night (it seems that we're officially dating, now...haha!) and it was so delicious. I have a Crock Pot, so even on days when I don't want to cook, I will make breakfast for the next morning!

4. Hang out with friends more. This should be easier since Branham is getting older, but I miss being around people! I just made a facebook event for the 3rd Annual Pasta Party, so that should be one time I accomplish this! :D

That's all I have for now, but I'm sure there are more to come.

Overload

I need to take down, organize and put away my holiday decorations inside and out, to wash, dry fold and put away about 8 loads of laundry, to do at least 3 sinks-full of dishes, clean my whole house, purge Branham's toys and clothes, put away all of our gifts [a lot of which are still in the car along with a bottle of champagne, a bottle of Moscato and a bottle of sparkling Moscato], take out the trash, organize my MK inventory and paperwork (customer cards, receipts, etc.) AND most of this needs to be done by Friday night since I have my first MK party in a while at my house at 7 pm. AHHHHHHHH!

In other news, I am getting holes in my ear tonight and I am pretty stoked about it. Yes, it is the picture above. All three of them. I am super nervous because I have never had more than one hole done at a time, much less right next to each other! But how cute is this?! I can't wait to get it done :D I'll post a picture of mine sooooon.

Wish me luck on everything!

Resolution:
1. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
                 
2. mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

Synonyms: resolve, determination, perseverance, tenacity, strength, fortitude.


As a culture, we crave new beginnings: a chance to change, to start fresh, to put the past behind us, to become better people, yet we are afraid of change; if not, wouldn't we just change the instant we saw the need for one? We always wait for a "better time."
I am soooo guilty of this. "Oh, I'll start my new diet on Monday. I'll work out more next month. I'll make more art next year..." and so on.
And, as a culture, we are also never satisfied with ourselves. We feel the need to be more creative, more organized, healthier, skinnier, fitter, happier, less stressed, better with money...
The icing on this cake is that, although we expect much of ourselves, there are few people who really commit to a resolution and stick to it all year...or even all of January.


2011 was pretty big for me. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about my little family. As I type this, I can look to the right of my screen and see the sweetest little face, head covered in fuzzy curls, snoring because he fell asleep on the blanket while watching Toy Story 3. Does it get any better than that? And then, I still want more. More happiness this year and less fighting, less stress, less sadness. More time spent at the gym and in the kitchen cooking healthy meals and less time in the drive-thru, less animosity for my body.
Can't I just resolve to be healthy and happy?
A friend told me today that her resolution was to "do something I wouldn't normally," and I thought to myself It's not allowed to be that simple!! Cheater!


But, wait, hello!! That's exactly what I need: simple! How many changes do we go through in 365 days, anyway? Should we really expect ourselves to also lose 100 pounds, become as organized as Martha Stewart, cook like Emeril, and rear bilingual-organically-fed-never-sick-perfectly-scheduled children...and still want to sit on our couch and enjoy the delightful combination that is hot tea, tacky pajama pants and a sweet baby sleeping on the floor?


Anyway, with that said, I do still want to lose a bunch of weight, get rid of a lot of the crap and clutter in my life, and be a perfect mom. But...there's only so much time in the day. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes...

and there's the baby, awake now :)


Happy New Year to you and yours, and I hope 2012 brings us all tenfold the joy that 2011 did.


xo