JINGLE BELLS BATMAN SMELLS....PART 1

Hello December!!
Ringing in the holiday month with an ugly sweater party~ John and I took it to a whole new level. We found these red blazers at the ARC store and decorated them with a Christmas Tree on the back and fuzzy balls as ornaments, little gingerbread men, and glitter for presents and Garland :o) I was told that I looked like a Christmas Realtor for the North Pole! YES!! next career move maybe?...haha I think my most favorite part was doing arts and crafts with my babe, good solid quality time together!! I had it planned to make "dirt cake' for dessert that night at the party but unfortunalty the recipe I was looking at gave inadequate information and I Fu&^ed it up royaly. Ooops! I think I was more irritated at all the ingredients that I wasted. However, I got over it and the night would not have been complete without playing Apples to Apples and watching Ally pass out on the floor :o)  This month I expect to be full of great social gatherings and good memories for sure!

Nothing makes the holidays more difficult then when work sloooows down. I am keeping my fingers crossed I can stay afloat with all the extra bills this month and trying to plan for gifts. Not really sure I can do many gifts this year at this point until I find out how much my plates for my car and a new lisence is going to cost me. My court date for my accident was today 12/5 and I was really nervous. After an hour 1/2 waiting to be seen by the judge, they reduced my ticket to 2 points, but had to pay the City of Aurora $180...partial sad day! Glad it is over with though and I can move on! After court, my boyfriend John sent me this crazy text message that was hilarious! we have some of the most out of left field conversations and I love it :o) We have so much fun together! I would totally post it however...good ol blogger only aloud me a certain amount of space for pictures for free and I have apparently used it all up. To get more I have to pay like $3 a month. I am a tad peeved by this, as I love pictures and they are a big part of my posts and I am actually pondering the $3 a month or finding a blog that allows for more space. Who knows what Ill do, but once I figure it out that conversation is being posted!

Yesterday,  I took my car in to my good friends Craig and Terrie who own Autovisions.(BTW- if you need a great mechanic these guys are the best!! I wont say the cheapest, but they are honest and take care of you). They have been so great to me over the years. Keeping in mind my dad had his own mechanic shop for years, thats were I normally took my car but since my dad is now a transmission builder I prefer to not bother him with my oil changes and basic mechanical stuff. My new car checks out great with the exception of this knocking you hear when you turn the steering wheel to the left. They are going to get back to me once they rule out a few options and let me know what its going to cost to fix it. He thinks it has something to do with the hydraulic system. I just hope its not going to cost me a ton to get fixed. Im done having to fork over an ass load of money right now to be quite honest. I hate the fact that money is such a big stresser in peoples lives. It should not be that way.

Since work is slow, I have been having an urge to take pictures...unfortunately no clientele yet this month :o(  I keep asking myself if it is something I eventually want to do full time and put more effort in and do away with kitchen and bath designing. Oh my what a thought!! right now though, there is not enough money coming in that I feel I could justify it...plus I do also love designing. My prices right now are low enough I hardly really make enough money to even have a profit after all the editing hours, drive time, buying props and camera equipment etc. I don't think people really realize how expensive it is to be a photographer and make it a living. I know my pictures aren't exactly where I would prefer them to be, but I learn more and more as I do more shoots that I am confident I will get to a place where I feel comfortable to charge more once I get a good client base going and as I grow my portfolio. Eventually I want my own website and Studio and be able to register as an actual business. Once I get to that point I can leave it up to the universe to let whichever career path take over and really become my calling. Love the fact I am able to satisfy my creative urges in life. I say this all the time but its true. If your work is your passion, you got it good and life will be fullfilling. It's your passions in life that drive you so do not ignore them!

So many people go to college and major in things their parents said is a good idea, or something that runs in the family, or an area where statistics say you make a lot when you get a job in it. So many people have basic jobs that have nothing to do with their college degrees that they really do not care for or relate to but they do it for....MONEY and the simple fact that its a job! I feel sorry for these people to be quite honest and I am extremely sorry if you are one of these people and are reading this. All I can say is its only YOU who can really change it, even in this economy but if you are scared to take the risk I guess you will never know what you are capable of. Im living proof you can do what you love and be successful and I know I am not the only one, my best friend as well is one and she struggled for awhile, but she is happier than she has ever been. It takes a lot of work dont get me wrong, but I would not want to be doing anything else.

My Babe was kind enough to get us tickets to go see the play "White Christmas" Friday 12/7 after work. The last play I think we saw together was "Shrek" over a year ago. I love the fact I can do all things with him and he enjoys them as much as I do. The play was pretty good, we had to sneak in some snacks since we didn't have time for dinner...thank goodness for Chex mix and gummy bears! Still...aside from a great play, I am still struggling with getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Or should I say every year since my grandmother passed away. Split families are never fun and I am seriously thinking a new tradition is in order to avoid going all over the place all the time. Buying gifts for people who have no idea what they want are even more of a challenge. Its mid December and I have yet to have my Christmas shopping done. I'd much rather be snuggled away on a beach with a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree at my side drinking my Moscato looking at the Sunset without a care in the world this Holiday Season. Screw the stress of it all. And I want to know who in the world makes Mexican food for Christmas? I even googled Christmas food and the only things that come up are Ham, Turkey, Veggies, Macaroni and Cheese, Cranberries etc....not Mexican food. It just seems strange to me and I do not like it one bit! Obviously I have to endure this now as a new tradition every year...Ugh! Its just not right! To each their own I guess, Ill get over it...eventually haha...If I have offended anyone with this comment, I apologize but I lay it out honest with how I feel so there you have it!

This month is getting crazier and crazier. 12-12-12 was one I must speak of because hey, this day will never happen again! plus it was my sisters birthday and we drove 45 minutes after work to our favorite Italian restaurant "Dino's" in Lakewood to meet my Mom and Mike. We got my sister a 1 hour massage and a 1 hour facial! hope she enjoys it :o) She so deserves a day to just relax and be stress free.

12-14-12 can go down as the day where 20 children were shot and killed in their own Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 26 total victims in this shooting. The deadliest school shooting in history. Just an awful tragedy and my heart goes out to those families. I cannot believe the amount of shootings that have been going on lately. I know many people constantly say "Guns are not the problem its the people". I can see this point but because guns are so easily accessable and people are not responsible enough to keep these weapons hidden or secure from family members and/or friends who may be mentally unstable, this is causing these individuals have an easy way to plan their murdurous intentions on innocent individuals. Sure...people can use any other weapon besides guns to murder people, but large groups are easier targeted and more easily killed when you have a gun. Even bombs are tricky to plant into places and be reliable if you dont plan it just right. Oh and most of these individuals are killing themselves after the act and its much easier to shoot a gun in your head then to try to kill yourself some other way. Mentally unstable individuals act on impulse, its easier to act on impulse with a gun around then any other weapon and accomplish what they are after. There needs to be tighter gun laws period...enough of all the violence. Yeah, its sucks for those who are responsible with guns to have more restrictions to carry one, but its not worth the risk anymore.

This weekend, my babe is gambling away in Vegas with some of his buddies and Im using this weekend to be with my sister and family, Christmas shopping....hopefully, finally being able to have a fire in our fireplace, and Cleaning lol. I was extremely proud of myself this morning as I put gas in Trinity (My new car) or as my sister likes to call her "Miss Bentley" lol ....and she got a nice bath! She is sparkly clean now! if only the rest of my day can be just as productive!

I have a feeling this weekend will go by very fast like they always do, but next week my bestie will be in town and all the festivities will be begin. Before I know it December will be over being that the world doesnt end on the 21st, Ill let you know and then begins the new year of 2013! This whole time flying by so fast is a bit scary to tell you the truth...yikes!

And that concludes this PART 1 of December so stay tuned for the second half!