YouTube Discoveries

In this last year, I (along with my sister, Hannah) have made some major steps in the world of YouTube.  At least that's what I think about the work we've done.  In the past 10 months, we have made a total of 47 videos, gained 84 subscribers, and have racked up an impressive 12.461 views as of this morning at 9 AM.

It's crazy to think that this all started out as just one video I made to entertain myself when I was living with a roommate who worked constantly.  This, so far, has been a rewarding and really fun and exciting side project for me, and I always find myself wishing that I had more time or better equipment to work and experiment with.

In the coming year, I'm looking forward to discovering more methods and creative ideas to enhance the channel and the content we come up with, and I already have a huge list of ideas to accomplish this coming year.  Here are some videos that have done the best this year, and I really hope to get some feedback from everyone so we can further improve our videos!

The Walking Dead, Mid-Season Finale (Season 5)

Sugar Skull Face Painting

The video that started it all: Emcee Inspired Makeup from Cabaret

Hope you enjoy these as much as I've enjoyed making them!  Happy Holidays!

Today, I Believe...

• That sometimes all you need is time, space, and coffee to power through the days ahead.
• Relationships are amazing and worth a lot of your attention, but never lose your head in them.  They may be the person you end up spending your life with, but your true friends will be there even longer.
• Endings are sad and scary, but there's always hope to fall back on.  It's never too late for a new beginning.
• Finding new music that you instantly love is one of the greatest pick-me-ups in rough times.
• It really is okay to eat an entire half of a cake while you're mentally unstable.  Just make sure, when you come back around, you do an extra lap or so around the track.

Happy Monday, everyone.  I hope you've all been well! (Or are getting well after the onset of seasonal allergies have kicked in).

Starting Over Part 2

So, it's been decided that I'm off to Oklahoma after all.

There are a lot of reasons for me to go there at this point in my life, but the biggest factor (besides the potential of being homeless) is my soon-to-be nephew, Tyler!

He will be arriving in late February if all goes according to plan, and I am so insanely excited to be there when he arrives.

I'm excited and depressed about this whole moving thing, though.  Packing is a pain, but Kaeley and I are having a tag sale this Saturday and need to be out the following Tuesday.  Everything came up so fast!  Luckily, so long as I get all of the packing and organizing I need done tomorrow after work and on my day off Tuesday, I plan to spend (Monday the 30th) in New York after work as a personal moment and as some fun learning for work at a Makeup Forever class.

I plan on making a post or two about the packing experience and the process of selling everything and starting over.  I'll also definitely make a video of the travel day for you guys here.  Leave comments of any advice or suggestions if you want to!

My Sister's Wedding

Father and daughter <3

My sister got married!  The whole day was absolutely beautiful and so perfect and I'm so incredibly happy for her and her husband.  They're off in Disney for the week and having a blast until sometime this coming weekend, then back to OKC for a while.  Here are some of the pictures I got from the wedding!

Fixing our brother's bow tie

Can you tell this one if my favorite?

Grow All The Things!

Hi!  I'm a slacker and I know it.  I've started my new job at Sephora full time now, which has been really fun and extremely exhausting at the same time so I haven't done much besides work and sleep for the last week. However, last week on Sunday I planted a bunch of seeds that my roommate, Kaeley, bought.  A week and a thunderstorm or two later, some of them started sprouting!

 The red background is radishes and the yellow is sunflowers!  We also have peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, basil and thyme planted, but they haven't really started besides a tiny leaf or two.  I'm so excited!  We have a little raspberry planter too, but we haven't quite gotten to it yet.  I can't wait to have big sunflowers and home-grown peppers for the summer.

This is the first time I've really tried to grown things and luckily it's looking like it will work out.  Let me know if you have any gardens growing or any other suggestions for growing your own food at home!  I'll eep you posted about our little sprouts!  I'm counting this as my Random Act of Kindness to plant/grow something.  Happy Monday, everyone!

Things I've Learned From My Brother

As some of you may already know, I come from a fairly large family (3 sisters and a brother) which rarely leaves room for dull moments.






My brother, Brandon, is turning 18 tomorrow!  I am so proud of him for sticking it through high school and getting everything into place so he can graduate in a month and he's become such a great guy because of all of the work he's done.  Congratulations, little brother, on everything you've accomplished and I couldn't be happier for you.  I know this is a big year for you and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Things I've Learned from Brandon:

• Music is sometimes the only way to explain how you feel and can often explain it better than you can.
• Being a peacemaker is hard, so when in doubt, make them laugh.
• There's a lot to be said about the value of hard work.  There's also something to be said about sleeping until 5 PM.
• Don't be afraid to be goofy.  You can be your own best joke. But don't worry, people will still take you seriously.
• Homemade costumes can be just as great as store-bought.  However, homemade costumes are easier to fit over casts due to over-confidence in your Spidey Senses.
• Be interesting. Be amazing. Be a super hero.

Growing Out Short Hair

As some of you know, I've never really had long hair in my life.  The longest it ever was is pictured here in this embarrassingly old picture when I thought black hair and blue eye shadow were good for me...

March 9, 2010

I first chopped off all my hair in November 2011, which I had done at SuperCuts.  The woman who cut my hair absolutely refused to cut my hair as short as I had asked for so, after a frustrated drive home, I cut some of it off myself.  Since I am not a hairdresser, it was a huge fail.  However, I have some great friends who fixed it for me.

November 29, 2011

December 2011 - June 2012

After almost a full year of having super short hair, I realized how much maintenance it really is to keep it up.  If you got too long without a trim, it turns into a mullet.  If you have medium-thickness hair that has a slight wave and is prone to frizz (like me), the constant product-straightening-rewashing regimen really takes a toll on the ends of your hair.

August 28, 2012

I decided to grow it out in June 2012.  By August, I could twist and pin back the majority of my hair, which I did after dying it bright-ass red for a Poison Ivy costume at ComiConn.

September 20, 2012 - Color fading out, getting longer!

Growing hair out also takes a lot of maintenance and patience.  Trims and reshaping is unavoidable, unless you're really into having a mullet for something like six to eight months.  Luckily, the awkward length phases can be dealt with.

Before I could get it into that mini bun, I would french braid the two sides and just pin it back.  

I would also curl it and take the front sections of each side, twist them, and pin them in the back.  Curls are great at hiding different lengths in your hair and makes any awkward pieces blend in with the rest of your hair.

Now, I can get all of my hair up into a (tiny) ponytail, which is exciting for me because it's been so long since I could get all of my hair out of my face.  I want to get back to the length I had in the first picture, if not longer (without the harsh color) so I can do more of the cute things I saw on Pinterest.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for hair growth or keeping your hair healthy while heat styling (without greasy residue, I'm prone to greasy hair and it drives me crazy), or if you've also been trying to grow your hair out!

Please excuse my face, I just got home from work.