Everyday is Saturday

Today was my first day of unemployment and so far this is the best weekday I have had in quite some time. I didn’t fight with the alarm clock this morning. I did hit the snooze out of habit, but then I realized that I didn’t want to go back to sleep. For the first time in more time than I can remember, I did not dread where I had to go and what I had to do today.

For over a month, I have been under constant threat of layoff due to lack of billable work but also complete lack of good business practice. There are ways to weather the storm when facing a downturn in work, but not everyone has the presence of mind in a crisis to fall back onto these methods and not be thrown into chaos. The atmosphere at the company was that of fear and chaos and I could not take it anymore. I decided the best thing to do for me and my growing family (okay it’s just +1 but that counts) was to walk away and start anew.

So my next few weeks will be spent looking for a new job, but also doing all the things that I enjoy. I will read, I will write, I will blog, I will knit and crochet, I will make jewelry and use the rhinestones I have left to bling all the tech in my path. Okay, I’ll try not to get to crazy with it. I’ll experiment a little with my hair since I don’t have to be in an office and I will finally, FINALLY, make a little progress with the wedding planning.

Don’t get me wrong, even though I’m happy as can be to be out of such a stressful situation, I am still quite nervous and apprehensive about what is to come. My poor fiancé has bought into this crazy lifestyle of mine and no part of that included me being without a job. We’ve got a long road ahead of us, but we are together and we are forever prayerful.



I got something new. Can you guess what it is?

Blissdom Surprises

I came home to a FedEx message in my mailbox that a box was left at my front door. I thought it was something wedding related because I am waiting for a custom address stamp that I ordered. But I was surprised when I opened the box and instead of a stamp, I was faced with this.



It’s a prep kit for the upcoming Blissdom Conference in Nashville. Just a few essentials goodies.

1. When I snapped this picture, I thought it was just a package of coupons from ConAgra foods, but there is also a music CD included (see photo below). Jewel and ConAgra have teamed up in the fight against child hunger. Visit www.blissdomconference.com/childhungerendshere for more information. I’m looking forward to using the coupons as well!
2. This pamphlet has a lot of information including packing list and class schedule information. I will be going through this soon to make sure am ready.
3. Business card case from the One2One Network…another reminder that I really do need to get my cards ordered.
4. Johnson and Johnson had the best idea in putting together this little book of sticky notes (additional photos below). This will be a staple in my purse to keep my notes from getting all dirty and torn.
5. My name tag with my blog name and web address.

This is such a fantastic way to get everyone ready for the conference. BRAVO to the Blissdom team and their sponsors. This is great!

Hair Inspiration-Updo

I am a big fan of Naptural85 on YouTube and she has some really nice hair styles that she showcases on her channel. The biggest problem for me is that her hair is very long and luscious and I’m not quite there yet. But my hair is not so short that I couldn’t do a variation. So, today I decided to try her Casual & Classic “Natural Hair” Style.



This is my version. I’m working with a braid-out that I was too lazy to reset last night.The back of my hair is not long enough to bun like she did so I put it in ponytail holder until I finished securing the pieces from the front. Afterwards, I removed the ponytail holder and folded the bottom up and pinned in place.



I finished it off with a purple fabric head band after making a bit of a pompadour with the front section. It was not long enough to sweep to the side like I would have liked.



You can see my grays a bit in this one. I’m way over due for a henna treatment.



I absolutely love this as a quick and easy up-do and the boy liked it as well. He tells me my up-dos give me that school teacher look. I love styles that show the texture of the hair and that’s one of the reasons I like watching Naptural85. She really loves her hair texture and she loves showcasing styles that show off that texture. I’m not a big fan of loading down my hair and edges with gel to get it all perfect and slick. I like the more natural and slightly messy look of our hair.

I will be revisiting this style in a few months when I get a bit more growth. For now, my modified version will work just fine.

What do you think?