Makeup is Art

My life has been so incredibly busy and wonderful, so I haven't had time to stop everything and post about it. My wedding is 58 days away! I haven't hit panic mode yet though. I will though. I promise you that. Don't worry, I won't become a bridezilla. However, I will be prone to panic attacks and crying I'm sure. My first bridal shower was this past Sunday and although not many people showed up, the shower was really nice and we got some very thoughtful gifts. Including a red Keurig! WOOT!

My new job is wonderful. I LOVE IT! My coworkers are wonderful, and everyone is so friendly and helpful. I did my first Brazilian wax yesterday and it went great. They told me I was a natural and that I was going to do great at this job. It makes me feel good to be good at something and take pride in my work. A woman asked me to put makeup on her because she noticed my makeup was so pretty. I finished her makeup, then she bought everything I used on her. I love my job! The best part about this job is that I get to experiment with different makeup styles and create a new look every day. My current obsession is bold lips. I have very full lips so it makes quite the statement. 

Last Monday Brian and I went apartment hunting and we found the place we're moving into. It's address is Fort Worth but it's really closer to Crowley and Burleson. It is only about 25-30 minutes away from my work and it's perfect. Built in 2011, so it's fairly new. It also has a leashless dog park, so it's perfect for Buddy! I'm so excited to move in, I've already started packing some of my things. Life has been so good. God has been good to us.

Nobody's perfect, and I stand accused

For those of you who don't really know me on a personal, life story level, this is one of my childhood best friends, Morgan. Now, throughout our lives our friendship has had it's ups and downs. While her sister Kella will always be my best friend at heart, it was Morgan that started it all. It was third grade, and her first day at school. Alone, and scared. At lunch time I came up and sat next to her. I introduced myself and shared my fruit gummies with her, and the rest is history. Now let me begin by saying that me and her family have a long, dramatic, and at times heartbreaking history. I wont get into that, but just take note. Since Kella had become my partner in crime Morgan and I were not as close, still friends at heart but not close. After school I pretty much lost touch with both of them for a while. We all had our own lives to move on with. Recently I got back in touch with Kella and she is now a bridesmaid in my wedding. Even more recently, as in today, I have contacted Morgan.

I have had this urge recently to reach out to her. Not just her but a lot of friends I've lost contact with including Katie and Jennifer. I'm pretty lonely if that isn't apparent. Anyway, I wont go into details about her life and I'm sure she will appreciate that. The point is I've had the urge, and I gave into that urge today to reach out and help people.

People make mistakes. That is something that just happens. We are all flawed in some way. Some make more mistakes than others, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve a friend. I have to get over it and love people no matter what. I have lived so selfishly up to this point and it's time for a change. I need to be the one to reach out and be there. I can't do much for someone, but I can be a friend. No one is perfect and people will let you down. Get used to it. I know that reaching out to old friends can turn around and bite me in the butt, but I'm prepared for that. I'm prepared to forgive and to make forgiveness a habit. Oh and if you need any more persuasion than that, remember than only 25% of the human population have a close friend they can confide in. Think about that next time you decide whether or not to reach out to someone.

Thank you for reading, and I hope that I can help someone with this. Maybe you can relate to it? I start my new job tomorrow and I will give an update.

Movin' on up

So let me begin by saying that the Tarte foundation did in fact disappoint. It was the perfect color, but after the first few hours it became splotchy. So that was a bust. I'm wearing makeup forever's HD liquid foundation today and am IN LOVE!

So this is taken with flash, which is amazing because my skin normally looks terrible when I use flash. I used flash because that will be used during my wedding. So far so good, it just has to pass the sunlight test. It seems to match my color well. I love that it still looks like skin, but it looks like PERFECT skin. Which no one has. The color blended perfectly, and everything looks even. This will be perfect for hi-res photos. I'm pretty much sold already, but again, it has to pass the sunlight test. And excuse my lazy eyelid. It always makes that eye look smaller. I hate it.

Anyway, things are still moving forward. I only have two more days at ECYC. Thank the Lord, because a lot of people at work haven't been showing up, which puts a major burden on everyone else. I'm so tired of it. I'm ready to start my career! Have I said that enough?

The shower is about 2.5 weeks away, and it's getting pretty frustrating. I'm getting EXTREMELY excited for the shower my mom and I are throwing. It's all the way in September though. Today I will be shopping for the dress I will be wearing to the shower in September. Yes I have already planned  my outfit, and my coupon wasn't active until today, so there you go. I also have to shop for more black tops for my new job. All black. Except on Thursdays. Have I mentioned how excited I am? Okay, I'll stop.

The hunt for pale foundation...

Okay, as I'm anxiously awaiting my new job and wedding, I have many things to do. One of which is finding a new foundation. I currently use MAC foundation, the lightest one they make, mind you. It is a few shades too dark, and it has pink undertones which is a no-no for anyone. So I went into sephora, and I was just going to go and look at foundations myself, when an associate insisted she help me. I didn't want to be rude, since I am in fact a licensed esthetician and all, so I humored her.

She sent me home with three samples of foundation. Two shades of Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hr foundation, and the lightest shade of Makeupforever's HD foundation. I am wearing the Tarte foundation in "fair" today. Here is a picture of it in daylight, no flash:

Okay, so my first impressions of this foundation are not good. It CLAIMS to be full coverage, but it isn't. Buildable, maybe. However in my dictionary "buildable coverage" does not mean "full coverage" It has a matte finish, which is nice. It is a creamy, mousse-like texture. I was nervous that it would feel thick and heavy on my face, but it doesn't at all. I barely feel it. Now, the color  match seems to be perfect, which has been difficult for me to find. That's definitely my color. Pale as snow white. It retails for $38 dollars. This is kind of expensive. I probably wont end up buying this foundation, and I wouldn't recommend it to my friends. I just feel like foundation needs to do more for you. Especially when you are going to spend close to $40 dollars. It's an investment. You should never take risks when it comes to investments. This is my face we're talking about. And I'm an esthetician. C'mon people.

I also bought a gluten-free cookbook yesterday, along with Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual. I'm excited to read both. I need to stock up on cookbooks since I'm going to have to start cooking in about 3 months. We'll see how that goes ;)

I will probably start my job at Shelton's next Monday/Tuesday. Which means this is my last week at ECYC. THANK YOU LORD!!! The class I have is driving me insane! I'm ready to start my career and be away from kids for a while. Not that I don't like kids. Just try doing my job for a day, then ask yourself if you wouldn't want a vacation.

Anyway, I'm off to go grocery shopping. I'll let you guys know how the foundation end up working out.

Coming Together (as stressful as everything is)

At this very point in time, whilst writing this, I am updating our gift registries. I have two showers total, and one coming up VERY soon. Also I just got a confirmation e-mail that my wedding invitations have shipped! This is awesome, because I was worried they wouldn't come in time. Sandy and I also got my flowers figured out. We found this hole in the wall silk flower shop in Korea Town of Dallas. It was a friggin gold mine. This way, all the flowers are done, and I don't have to worry about it one bit. So overall, everything on the wedding front is coming together. This is good. This is very good.

This week was awful. By awful, I mean it was jam packed with anxiety, nail, biting, and panic attacks. For the past few days I've been so anxious that I couldn't eat. Did you know that high stress levels can induce your period? I found that out this week. That was totally not supposed to happen, but it did. I had lovely bloated goodness for my interview Wednesday.

Oh yeah, you're probably wondering about that interview I had. Well, let me tell you. It went really well! And when I left I was so confident that I got the job, that when I walked back into ECYC I gave my notice. Now, I realize now that that was a really dumb thing to do. The following two days I kept second guessing what she said to me, and was waiting anxiously for her phone call. That was when the lack of eating occurred. Yesterday, just as I was about to pull into my drive way, Michelle called! I did in fact get the job I have been dreaming about.

I am now the newest estheician at Shelton's Salon and Spa in Arlington Texas! The base pay is GREAT! I also get commission and tips! I also get benefits...and a 401K!!!!! WOOOO!!! *happy dance* Seriously, I don't think I could be any happier right now. The best part? They were 100% okay with my wedding coming up! YESSSSS!!! I'm so happy. This means Brian and I will actually be able to live on our own. Sweet, awesomejobwitha401kplan, goodness.

Anyway, my laptop is about to die, and I need to go get some groceries. I will shower you with updates later!

I GOT AN INTERVIEW!!!

Before I get to the title content of this post, I'll fill you in on some nonsense first. Right at this moment I am watching Katy Perry's docufilm "Part of Me". Don't judge me. I adore her, and everything she stands for. And honestly, sometimes songs can be placed at just the right time so you don't give up hope. That might sound really lame and cliche, but moments like those are the reason I haven't completely given up on myself or my dreams of success.

It's no secret to my family, friends, and even some of my coworkers that I am very discontented with my current situation. I hate my job. Sometimes I even LOATHE it. However, when I feel that way my father's words come to mind, "We should all be thankful for our jobs, no matter how crappy they may be." UGH! And I hate that he is right. Let's be blunt here. The economy sucks, and it isn't going to get better any time soon. So yes, my job does suck, but at least I have one. I also completely underestimated how difficult it is to find a job. Kudos to anyone that can even find a decent job these days. I can't even count how many resumes I've sent out. Ridiculous.

So today for the upteenth time, I started searching for more jobs. I also have started to check back to previous places for any new openings. One of those openings was a spot at Shelton's Salon and Spa. Yes. The Shelton Ogle Spa. So I immediately called after seeing the new post and got an interview. For tomorrow! I'm so excited, but so nervous. I know it's a long shot, it's a pretty nice spa, but at least I have the chance to make a good impression. Hopefully the interviewer can see my passion and take a chance on me. That's all I need. The chance.

While I was at work today I got a call, that I couldn't take of course. After I clocked out I called my voicemail. It was the European Wax Center wanting me to call back to schedule an interview. Pretty cool to get two interviews in one day! I would MUCH rather work for Shelton's than EWC, but it's still an option. Most likely EWC will pay me minimum wage, and I can't afford that right now. I don't know how people live off minimum wage. Kudos to you guys who do that.

Anyway, I'll be back with details about the interviews soon. Fingers crossed Shelton's will be my ticket out of my current hole.

Under Water

I've been way too busy to try and post something, so I'm going to take a few minutes out of this busy weekend to post an update about how things are going.

I had my last appointment with my therapist this week. We didn't really get anywhere, all we did was talk about my job search and the wedding. The job search is going horribly. I've sent applications everywhere, including those not in my field and have got exactly ZERO callbacks. How discouraging. I honestly don't believe we will be able to afford to move out on our own by the wedding date.

It honestly feels like I'm drowning sometimes. I'm under water and have no where to go. I keep trying to fight myself upward but the waves keep pushing me back. The wedding date isn't getting any further away either. I have exactly 91 days until our wedding. I'm excited, but at the same time I feel like breaking down and crying. Our new life together is something to look forward to, but what if we can't afford a life together? I spent thousands of dollars on trade school and I can't even snag a job. How can I pay those loans back? How can I afford the bills I have now making $7.75/hr for less than 30 hours a week?

If I wasn't already medicated, I'd be in serious distress. They would have to institutionalize me I'm sure.

However, aside from not finding a job, I have accomplished quite a bit lately. My dress is paid off, I have my shoes and jewelry picked out, we found my flowers and made my bouquet, and I finally got my cake ribbon. Right now I'm just trying to get a hold of my out of town officiant and bridesmaid so I can schedule a rehearsal. Planning a wedding is so stressful. Especially when you add finding a job on top of it all. Oh, and I'm really starting to hate my job. My neighbor at work started her 3 week vacation this week and it's been giving me hell. Some of those kids are very very very difficult. I feel like crying sometimes. I hate it.

This fourth of july weekend went by really fast. My sister FINALLY left yesterday morning. I though I would lose my mind if they stayed any longer. They take over my room, and with the kids here it is impossible to get any peace and quiet. So I pretty much stayed secluded in the GUEST bedroom all weekend. Yes that's right, while she and her husband stunk up my room with their e-cigs and body odor, I was given the GUEST bedroom. GUEST. Have I made my point pretty clear? I'm so ready to move out. If only a job would fall out of the sky and into my lap.