30 by 30: My 27th Birthday Update

Earlier this year I made a post listing 30 things I wanted to do by the time I turned 30. With the recent passing of my 27th birthday, I thought it'd be a good idea to update the list, seeing what I've accomplished in the last few months...

1. Participate in 6 craft fairs with my crochet stuff
   I've done one craft fair. It wasn't very successful, but I did manage to come out in the green.
2. Don't let others get me down and remember this every day, "You is kind, You is smart, You is important"
   This one is still hard, but I'm working on it every day.
3. Read 30 new books (yes Sabrina I stole this)
   I've read 4 new books so far, and I've got 2 others started. (Damn you Harry Potter for trapping me in and making me want to reread you. You don't count!)
4. Remember the little things and don't fight over money
   Another continuous effort, but significantly easier than #2.
5. Learn Italian or Spanish
6. Get 10,000 fans on my Facebook model page
   I haven't worked on this much, seeing as my modeling is at a hiatus, but I am up to a little over 1200 fans.
7. Run a marathon
   I was halfway through training last spring and had to quit. A later blog post will reveal those details.
8. Remember to send out birthday/anniversary cards to my family/closest friends without them being late
   I've actually done a pretty good job of this one. I've sent out more than I ever have, and only one or two have actually been late.
9. Join a crochet/scrapbook/women's group (or 2) here in PA
10. Continue learning how to fix my '71 Camaro by myself
    I learned how to fix the secondary fan attached to my radiator and I will soon be learning how to touch up small paint chips and surface rust.
11. Reach 300 blog followers
    So far I have increased my followers from 3 to a whopping 8, but with so little blog activity, that's not surprising.
12. Have an official date night at least twice a month
    We have an official date night once a week!
13. Fill the 4 journals I have sitting on my bookcase
    I'm half way through the first one; my journaling took a vacation around the same time my blogging did.
14. Crochet 4 afghans
    I've finished two afghans, and am over halfway through with my third. I've also done a 3x3 baby blanket.
15. Be old fashioned "pen pals" with my Grandma and Sabrina
    I continue to do this.
16. Build a clientel for my hair styling work
    Still working on this one, but as long as I'm a stylist, there's always room for my book to grow. I'm off to a good start.
17. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or nursing home
18. Take enough pictures to fill my two Christmas/Winter scrapbooks
19. Finish Grandma Molly's memorial scrapbook album
20. Remember to take photos with Nate, friends and family year round so I can scrapbook our memories
    Got my camera charger back from Oklahoma, and have been doing better for vacations, but not smaller events. Of course this means I need to pull my scrapbook stuff out of the closet...
21. Start my own racing scrapbook
22. Reread Writing Down the Bones and follow her suggestions for writing topics in my journals
    I've got my own copy, and started...
23. Remember to share good news, not just the bad news
    This I've gotten much, much better at doing.
24. Get some legitimate, paid modeling work
    I've had a several offers for around Christmas!
25. Sign up for 30 modeling contests
    I signed up for three. I didn't win them, but on a different note,  I have been published in a magazine! That is definitely better than a contest :)
26. Attend pilates or yoga classes
27. Run the NYC marathon
    Maybe in 2014?
28. Take a cake decorating class
    Honestly not sure if I still want to do this one. I might need to come up with something new.
29. Take up ballroom dance lessons again
30. Visit the top 10 places to go in Pennsylvania as listed here: http://midatlantic.choicehotels.com/pennsylvania-hotels/top10attractions
    I've only hit one place on this list: Falling Water, but I've also been to Kentuck Knob (Frank Lloyd Wright's second house in the same area). While I didn't get to Kennywood, I was able to make a trip over to Sandcastle, the water couterpart.

Of course some of these things will never be finished. They are continuous works in progress, but everyone should have a few guidelines in their life. What are some of your goals? Are they bucket lists or things to do before a certain milestone?

Lee Baxley Photos.

Well I've finally been going through more of the photos from my shoot over at Bernard's Auto in Norman, OK right before I left to move up to Pennsylvania. I was given so many photos from the shoot that I decided to release them a few at a time, but then with my move across the country, getting settled in, finding a job, etc...I've let a lot of them slip through the cracks. So here we are with the first installment of previously unreleased photos from the shoot...

Those two were outside the shop with an actual Delorean! How neat is that?! As always, these photos can be viewed  in various places on the world wide interweb: Facebook, Model Mayhem, fellow model and photographer websites...you just never know where I'll pop up!


So while everyone is hopefully patiently waiting for me to find photographers to work with in the Pittsburgh area, I'll let a few of these trickle out over the next several weeks to try and keep you entertained.


Of course you can tell this last one doesn't have me in it at all, but instead my friends Pamela Harjo and Rachael Callaway. The reason I included the photo, other than they are two gorgeous friends of mine? That's my Camaro they're sitting on!

30 Goals by 30 Years

I've been trying to think of how to pick my blog back up. My main problem is that I want it to be more focused. I follow blogs that are all about cupcakes, writing a book, wedding ideas, etc. and their entries are nice and focused. I've come up with a few ideas and think I have it narrowed down, but for now I thought I'd try this...

I completely stole this idea from my bestie over at Sabrina's Writing Reflections who is turning 30 in the fall, but I thought it was such a great one. Lately I've been so focused on all the things I can't do, when what I need is to focus on all the things I can do. My 30th birthday will be October 12, 2015, so I've definitely got a little bit of time. Maybe I'll finish early and have a whole new set in a year or two...but for now, here's my list and I'll probably repost it with stuff crossed off every 6 months in order to see how I'm doing. In no particular order:

1. Participate in 6 craft fairs with my crochet stuff
2. Don't let others get me down and remember this every day, "You is kind, You is smart, You is important"
3. Read 30 new books (yes Sabrina I stole this)
4. Remember the little things and don't fight over money
5. Learn Italian or Spanish
6. Get 10,000 fans on my Facebook model page
7. Run a marathon
8. Remember to send out birthday/anniversary cards to my family/closest friends without them being late
9. Join a crochet/scrapbook/women's group (or 2) here in PA
10. Continue learning how to fix my '71 Camaro by myself
11. Reach 300 blog followers
12. Have an official date night at least twice a month
13. Fill the 4 journals I have sitting on my bookcase
14. Crochet 4 afghans
15. Be old fashioned "pen pals" with my Grandma and Sabrina
16. Build a clientel for my hair styling work
17. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or nursing home
18. Take enough pictures to fill my two Christmas/Winter scrapbooks
19. Finish Grandma Molly's memorial scrapbook album
20. Remember to take photos with Nate, friends and family year round so I can scrapbook our memories
21. Start my own racing scrapbook
22. Reread Writing Down the Bones and follow her suggestions for writing topics in my journals
23. Remember to share good news, not just the bad news
24. Get some legitimate, paid modeling work
25. Sign up for 30 modeling contests
26. Attend pilates or yoga classes
27. Run the NYC marathon
28. Take a cake decorating class
29. Take up ballroom dance lessons again
30. Visit the top 10 places to go in Pennsylvania as listed here: http://midatlantic.choicehotels.com/pennsylvania-hotels/top10attractions

Okie dokie, now I've got 3 years and 7 months to get it all accomplished!

Green Grass Photography and Photo Contests

My photoshoot out at Lake Hefner with John Cooper of Green Grass Photography was a blast. We shot a bunch of photos with my Camaro, Astrid. I always love pictures of my car, but it's hard to get something new. We definitely achieved it though with a simple outfit and switching to black and white. I was incredibly pleased with those results. It always helps to have someone that loves the car!

We just kept it nice and simple for our first photoshoot together. We stuck to two outfits. Of course changing clothes in a sportscar in triple digit heat is no easy task...We headed over to the shore for a couple of classic pinup shots and just some good fun bikini shots. I was pretty impressed with both of us as we got the following picture down on the very first try!

I'm still expanding my portfolio, since I haven't really done much since the move back from Texas. I've entered a couple of contests lately. One is for Retro Lovely's Star Maker Supreme. So far I've had 5 photos be accepted into the contest, and I've still got a chance to submit 4 more photos before the cutoff. The other contest is to be a cover model for GlamModelz Magazine. You can actually vote for me here. I was in the lead for a really long time, but now I've fallen to second place, so you should go vote!

One Jumbled Week, Marley and Me Style

Slow times at the Salon. Got discouraged. Ate dinner with the new neighbors. Stayed home watching TV, unpacking and doing chores. Really like my neighbors upstairs. Did a photoshoot at Lake Hefner with Cooper of GreenGrass Photography. Had a blast doing said photoshoot. Tried booking photoshoots in Tulsa. Worried about how I'm going to pay my bills. Missed Nate. Went to the gym by myself. Found out some surprising information. Realized I was actually ok with that information. Watched too much Grey's Anatomy. Missed Nate some more. Got an apology swirl. Had a second swirl just because I could. Found out more truths. Scrapbooked with my best friend Sabrina. Ate more food than we actually scrapbooked. Was surprised to see Nate come home early. Was even more surprised to know where he went. Worried about money more. Got a photo from the shoot. Loved it. Worried about my parents and their money. Edited playlists. Went to the gym with Nate. Watched documentary on where our food comes from. Drank wine. Listened to old playlists. A lot. Made plans for the future. Played Words with Friends. Played with Eddie. Found out crazy ex-boyfriend still isn't done being crazy. Thought about it and don't give a damn. Made more playlists. Did bridal hair. Did bridal hair again. Loved it again. Talked about how I love my job. Unpacked boxes. Bought groceries. Ate said groceries. Waited on photos from shoot. Took Edward outside. Played with Edward. Ignored money problems and had good cheap fun at the lake with awesome people. Went tubeing at the lake. Woke up ridiculously sore two days later from tubing at the lake. Went to my second summer scrapbook retreat of Vicki's. Worked on Grandma's memorial album. Caught up with old friends. Had an amazing money day at the salon. Waited for more photos. Spoke with more photographers. Thought Edward was crazy for wanting to lay in the hot hot sun. Let him anyway. Missed Nate more. Did laundry. Almost survived another deployment. Worked on two lists of fifty. Watched Easy A. Thought it was pretty dumb but liked the end. Realized maybe I don't want a fairytale but want a cheese 80's ending. Listened to more playlists. Snuggled with little Eddie. Agreed to take new neighbor to the airport at 530 am. Got pictures from the lake. Posted said pictures. Felt really lucky. Played Words with Friends. Started a playlist for my 80's ending ;)

The Social Event of July

Well I attended the Sparkdaddy.net meet and great last night over at the Speakeasy in OKC. It was definitely a good time. There were so many photographers I hadn't met and several I'd heard of/talked to, but hadn't seen face to face. We all exchanged business cards with our FB and Model Mayhem accounts. I think Chuck from ePhoto and I are FINALLY going to get our butts in gear and collaborate. I'm really stoked about that. I've admired his work for a long time now, and when I walked in the door and he insisted we talk before I leave, I got pretty excited.

It's an odd feeling having people know your name without knowing theirs. I think sometimes it's easier for the photographers. They go home with a handfull of cards with our faces and names, but we as models go home with cards saying their names and have other people's faces. So over the next days when you're trying to book shoots from the business cards, there's always that mystery of, 'was that the really cool one with lots of ideas, or was that the sort of creepy dude that asked what lingerie I own?' With my experience so far, it always works out, but it's definitely an interesting situation.

I remember going to a few mixers while I was down in Texas, booking a shoot from a name on a postcard after the fact, showing up and being relieved that I was wrong about who I thought it was actually with. It's interesting that some photographers don't have a picture of themselves anywhere on their sites. As a model, especially if you haven't met before, it's always nice to be able to match a face to a name BEFORE showing up at a shoot. I know it always relaxes me a little bit.

Anyway, it was cool having a few beers and eating french fries with new and old models, fresh and also experienced photographers. Lee Baxley, from Tulsa, and I finally met. We've been trying to schedule something for a while. Now that I'm finally out of hair school and in a salon, my schedule is super flexible and will allow me to make that trip up to Tulsa for a couple days. I'm planning a trip up sometime the second week of August, so all you Tulsa photogs get ready!

As one final note, if you weren't able to get out to the meet and great, beer social, you definitely need to next time! AND all those models and photogs and not a single picture? What were we thinking?

It's Been Forever.

A lot has happened in 2010. A lot of bad and a lot of good, but it all has just been a growing learning experience. In the spring I moved back to Norman after almost two full years of living in the DFW area. Since I still wasn't finding a job of interest (gotta love that economy!), I started hair school at Duncan Brothers at the beginning of August. I'm absolutely loving it. I've met some really awesome girls in such a short period of time. I've also had the pleasure of doing several photoshoots with Bill Richards of Okie Studios, as well as several other photographers. I've just started a page on the new social network for models, photographers, and artists of other types, SparkDaddy. Check me out! Anyway back to watching Castle and searching for casting calls...