hand to god, it's just eyeliner

a few days ago my mom posted a pic of me in a sock monkey hat and kiki declared my make-up looked amazing! on a normal day, that would have made me smile, but on that day i laughed out loud and felt a tad ridiculous.

why you ask? (or maybe you didn't). because i promise you all i had on was eyeliner and clear mascara. other than the possibility that paper source beverly hills has the most flattering light ever, the only thing i can figure is: that clarisonic mia is worth every penny i paid for it.

since mom was in town i took friday off of work and decided if my brain was gonna be off, so was my make up. hurray for naked day! usually i reserve sundays as the day of rest for my skin and only venture out of my apt to walk to tj's. friday i decided it was just me, mom and some sales people so why not go it naked a few days early. here's the result in case you missed it, no filter :)

friday morning face literally went like this:

1. cover face in facial cleanser & scrub with mia
2. eye cream, face serum, day cream
3. eyeshadow base (neutral color)
4. eye liner
5. clear mascara
6. clear sugar lip

here's how my morning usually goes:

1. shower / wash face (no mia)
2. eye cream, face serum, day cream
3. face primer
4. eye shadow base
5. tinted moisturizer
6. eye shadow (4 colors)
7. setting powder
8. mascara
9. blush
10. eyeliner
11. bronzer
12. clear sugar lip

so on a normal day i take 12 steps and the reaction "you don't really wear much make-up" and on naked day with half the steps the goddess kiki (and a few others) declared "you're make-up looks great!" color me confused (ha, b/c there's not color).

so i've made the decision to stop with the face paint. honestly, it's such a pain. it gets on you clothes, someone elses clothes when you hug/snuggle, on the office phone, cell phone and by the end of the day it's pretty much gone, no matter how good the primer. so, once this last little bit of tinted moisturizer is gone, i'm done. freedom!!!

my fav beauty blog is into the gloss. it's mainly just about beauty: cleaners, moisturizers, treatments, etc. there's very little about actual make up and when there is, it's all "less is more." nearly every week there's a series called "top shelf" where the editor interviews models, designers, actors, basically anyone "in the business" to find out their routine and favorite products. so, rounding the turn into 32 (agh!), it's all about making my actual skin look good.

that's the battle plan, now meet the troops:

clarisonic mia - seriously, spend the money, it's amazing!

cetaphil daily facial cleanser - i've been using this since high school and it's awesome. i was surprised how many people had it in their "top shelf"

bioderma crealine - sounds really technical but it's not. i use this to take my make-up off every night. btw: read an article the other day where a woman went a month w/o taking her make-up off before bed and it aged her skin like 10 years. not irreparable damage, but definitely enough to scare you into not passing out full faced.

no 7 protect & correct intense kit - i started using this line after reading in the daily mail uk that it actually works. science proved it and everything. it's available at ulta ($3.50 off, woot!) and tho the kit comes with the pump serum, i find the tube version to be easier to get all the product out.

no 7 protect & correct eye cream - right now i'm using a cream sample i got from birchbox ($95?!) but it doesn't work as well as this cream. i'll go back to it when i'm all out. i have smile lines and it totally smooths them out a bit.

multi-protect primer - i read about this on into the gloss and started using it when i ran out of my lm brand. it works really well to keep the make-up lasting longer but by itself it's amazing. it absorbs fast and balances out the skin tone so you don't really need the foundation, just a spot concealer here and there.

lm eye basics - i got this in an eye kit with the eye liner below. it's great as a base for eyeshadow but i also wear the wheat color it by itself and it brightens my eyes. i still have allergies so my eye lids get irritated and red, this stuff is my savior!

lm tightline cake eye liner - i mean, it has "cake" in the name, what's not to love. i have super thick, long, dark lashes on the top and bottom (poor me, right?**). i've found that lining my lower inner rim looks better than under the lashes. this eye liner is activated with water, goes on smooth and doesn't budge. none of that bleeding down my face to make dark circles. i go back and forth between lining just the top with this and bobbi brown cream liner, but this is hands down my fav.

clear mascara - i'll put on some brown or black if i'm going for drinks or somewhere special, but this is my everyday. it makes the lashes shiny so it looks like i'm wearing colored. it also hold the curl from the lash curler.

sugar lip - while i also try and remember to use their lip scrub once a week, i use this every day as i'm going to work and keep it in my purse when i'm out.

other lip - i know the word ointment kind of make you gag, but this is worth getting used to. i keep a jar on my desk and tubes stashed all over my apt and car. it's prob in every make-up persons kit and even drew barrymore raves about it. it's got a lot of uses but in the winter or a dry office, it's the new best friend.


i feel like that sounds like a lot but, i'd honestly rather spend the over time taking care of my skin rather than trying to cover it up. i'll still fall back on my lm tinted moisturizer when i need to, but i'm hoping the whole "less is more" thing works out.


** so here's my side story about my bitchin' lashes. when i was in 8th grade and did theatre my long lashes were not in proportion to my size, they looked super big. i actually had a judge in a theatre competition tell me to wear less mascara. i told him i wasn't wearing any, i'm not sure he believed me.

Sometimes I get a little behind...

Hey girls!! Yesterday I basically went off the grid (i.e. no Facebook and my phone was on silent). This wasn't intentional. These things just happen sometimes. Especially to me. And I kind of like it. :) Anyway, I came back to the world today and saw that I missed VMars making their movie goal, Jen's healthy snack blog, Leigh's Disney man and Kiki's TJ face wash. (On that note, lately I've just been straight up putting TJ vitamin E oil on my face.) Whew. You girls were busy yesterday. 

It's so funny that Jen has been posting all of these food blogs, as I was really thinking about doing the same thing. Great minds, Jen. But... I kinda want to do it on a larger scale.. so I'm playing with the idea of starting my own blog about the food I've been making lately. We'll see if that happens. 

As for now.. I'm just going to use this opportunity to catch up with my lovelies! (Fair warning. I did not plan this blog out ahead of time. There will probably be no central theme or narrative and therefore lots of rambling.) 

I feel like I've actually been doing a ton of little things lately. I know you are hanging in suspense about  this "food I've been making". Let's start at the beginning. In July, I will have been a vegetarian for two years. (Woot! That's for you, Piper!) In May, Chris will have been a vegan for a year. (Previous to that he was a vegetarian for... 5? 6 years?) While I would never call myself a vegan, I feel like an honorary one as Chris and I basically only eat out on special occasions. A normal week consists of us making every meal we eat and about half of the time I make a lunch to take with me to work. So while I'm not a vegan, I eat vegan a lot.

And Boogie... because she's cute and I miss her and my parents caught her in the drawer where they keep her treats. :)

Several weeks ago we saw that there was going to be a vegan cooking demonstration in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. (Kiki's hood!) She met us there and I don't know about Kiki, but I basically fell in love with the very nervous Annie Shannon and her very calm, cool and collected husband, Dan Shannon. They created a cookbook where they veganized Betty Crooker. It's called : Betty Goes Vegan. Kiki and I both took the bait and bought the cookbook (and got it autographed.) For a while now, my domestic side has been going into overdrive. (I think Piper kicked it off by triggering all of my maternal urges.) 

Therefore I've loosely decided to do what many women (and men) have done before me and cook my way through the cookbook. The first meal I made (on Valentine's Day no less) was... horrible. Sweet potato risotto something or another. Euch. However! Since then, everything has basically been delicious! Last night I made German Potato Salad and Maple Pecan "Chicken". Funnily enough, I wasn't crazy about the chicken because it was too.... chicken-y. I feel like I just passed some sort of vegetarian test I didn't even know I was facing. 

Maple Pecan "Chicken" with Goodfellas Crositini ... and I think the potato salad pictures are on C's camera.

Chris and I have been collaborating on a lot of projects lately. One of which is a documentary we're making on his old roommate, Camilla Ha. Camilla..... is basically one of the most fascinating and exciting people I've ever even heard of. She is and artist on every level: musician, drawer, painter, filmmaker, sculptor, installation. For the past several months, Chris has been working on a Mens Dance documentary to present to Rahm Emanuel about.. well, men's dance programs in high schools in Chicago. He recently wrapped it up and I could tell he was feeling really cagey to start a new project. I suggested Camilla because it just seemed like the obvious choice. Several weeks ago we filmed her dancing with drag queens. I made my first stop motion movie of a book of drawings she made and I think we've finally figured out how to put this puppy together. We didn't want it to be a straightforward documentary... more a piece of work in and of itself reflecting her. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to do more with it. 

Camilla, a very angsty blonde and Bobby... if he were a drag queen.

An awkward (yet in my opinion, awesome) photo of a queen durning a play Camilla was in.

....and. ya know. these guys. and yes. this was the middle of the afternoon.

http://camillaha.com/

For my dad's birthday, Chris and I covered one of his favorite songs. Chris did all of the music and I sang (yikes!!!!) and "engineered" the song. He's teaching me to use Pro Tools (and Final Cut) so I can be a sound engineer (or film editor) in my spare time. Singing, out loud, for real, for people to hear was a fear I wasn't even fully aware I had. I was trembling when I was holding the microphone. But. I did it. And it sounds... ok. :) One day when I'm feeling more confidant, maybe I'll let you guys have a listen. My dad loved it and immediately forwarded it to all of his friends, much to my mortification. 

Other things of note... I'm going to be taking ballet lessons at The Joffrey soon. I bought the lessons and my ballet shoes! Before Christmas, Chris's dad gave me some ballet lessons in our apartment and I really liked it. Seems like a nice, relaxing hobby. (Just kidding guys. I know ballet is super rigorous. But I've never had ballet lessons before!) C and I just found out yesterday one of his best friends got engaged. They live in London... so I desperately hope this means a trip to London is in my near future. (Or Indonesia!! The groom is Indonesian) I've been reading a lot of books about Paris during World War II lately. Also I want to read more about The Great Leap Forward in China. I read a book about that recently and all of the famine that ensued. It makes me very conscious about not wasting food...

And finally! I know you girls have  been bandying about a trip to Disney to run the marathon. I've been thinking about it, and I just don't think that's something I can do. I know you guys said we could just (basically) walk it, but I feel like if I did something like that, I would want to actually really attempt to do it. And I know I'm not going to train enough to even remotely be ready for that. I have my sights set on something more like the 5K color run. I hate to be a party pooper. And of course I think you girls should do it if you want to! But, if we want to go somewhere fun and do the color run, I'd be much more willing to do that. (I know the deadline has come and gone for the NYC one). Or if you guys even wanted to go somewhere and not run, I'd be cool with that too. We could go to Maine and visit Jean, or go west and do something in California - Jen if you wanted to get away from LA, we could go to Napa or something. Hell, perhaps we can stay at some crap-o hacienda in Mexico and just eat pudding and margaritas like Charlotte. I'd love to do something exciting, but I've been thinking about it and I know I can't commit to a marathon. 

Portland, Maine

Napa Valley

Not sure where... but somewhere in Mexico....

http://thecolorrun.com/

xoxo...

not a granola head just yet

so i've been here 3 years (in 20 days) and everyone tells me that's how long it takes to like la. tho my friend elizabeth has been here 13 years and still says she doesn't like it, but it's where the work is. i'm liking it better. getting out of the silna family routine was a sharp change but, i'm getting back to doing the things i like to do, like going outside to run rather than the gym.

i never thought i'd see the day when i was looking forward to daylight savings, losing that hour is so painful. on the bright side (get it?) it will finally be light enough for me to go running after work. this is good news for my lazy self since i absolutely cannot get up early enough to run before work. i've tried and failed, there's no getting around it. the past week i've been on a pinterest binge trying to motivate myself to get healthy after my lady doctor visit resulted in me needing to stock up on some vitamins. oh 31 25, how i loath what you're doing to me. in addition to vitamins and probiotics (thanks leigh), i decided i'd try making some healthy treats at home, smoothies, energy bars, pasta alternatives. if i'm going to start doing this on the regular, i should prob see where the stuff is the cheapest right?

this weekend i did a grocery crawl to see where the least expensive groceries were. the plan was to hit target, trader joe's, whole foods, ralphs (kroger) and alberstons (lowes) then compare with anything i could auto order thru amazon.

the grocery list

spinach

bananas

kiwi

almond milk

chia seeds

maca powder

goji berries

dried cranberries

walnuts

whole dates

quinoa

lentils

laziness + $4/gallon gas + reality = i only hit target, trader joe's and amazon. my reasoning being, i really only go to a standard grocery store if i see a sale on something i need and whole foods always costs more. i decided i'd only do whole foods if i absolutely couldn't find an item at tj's or target. i was pretty surprised by what i found out. on the average, trader joe's had the best deals, and they never even put anything on sale! the bonus, i can walk to trader joe's (usually on sundays while talking to mom). while everything is basically within a 0.05 difference, i was shocked that at both target and amazon, almond milk was twice as much per ounce. what?!

anyone who's read a celebrity health interview knows they're addicted to green drinks. wether it's the pressed cleanse or something whipped up at the gym, everyone's walking around with a green drink. i'm more on board with selena on these drinks.

that being said, my green smoothie this morning was amaze!!! last year, the same day unc kicks dooks ass at home, i bought this little mixer in green. it was def on sale. it's been nearly a year to the day and i still hadn't used it. inspired by leigh's juice post on facebook, this weekend i preped for a few smoothies: 1 banana sliced in a freezer bag, 1 kiwi cut up in a bag in the fridge, 1 cup spinach in a bag in the fridge, 1.5 cups almond milk in the fridge, 1 tbsp chia seeds in the pantry. this morning i just had to dump and blend.

voila!

it was super tastey! so these chia seeds are kind of a new craze. i read about them a while ago, but now they're popping up all over the place. they've got fiber, omega 3 and supposedly boost energy. i can't speak to the energy, altho i'm a little higher off my coffee than usual, but the fiber is def working. it's nearly lunch time and i'm not hungry at all, i'm usually starving by now.

this weekend i'll try out the energy bars and post on my blog. i'm thinking dates, cranberries and walnuts. we'll see how the first week back to running goes.

i'm gonna toss in this little gem of a video b/c it's so true. and b/c every time i think "goji berries" i can only hear it like this girl.

xoxo!

bite me, i'm an east coast girl

i bet y'all are super excited for me to move back east, if for no other reason than these damn east vs west blog entries will stop. i'm starting to understand why the rap rivalries of the 90's got so bloody.

last week i went to a screening of troop beverly hills, one of my fave childhood movies. kadi and a few of her work buddies from disney were going and allowed me to tag along. the screening space was cute, reminded me of a smaller jengo's playhouse. kadi said she hoped i wouldn't feel out of place as it was kind of a hipster. here comes the rant :)

the clear difference to me between hipsters here and the hipsters in wilmington (aka: everyone i worked with at cucalorus) is: i never felt out of place or judged in wilmington. seriously, even when i'd just met them. here, it's identity judgement police 24/7. i'm too poor to be preppy, too preppy to be hip, to cutesy to be a nerd and to southern east coast to really be "into" film. good lord, people have more than one side to the right? ha, not in la. the only dimensions here come from the plastic surgeon.

while there are not dimensions to personalities, there are varying degrees of one personality. i will address the hipsters. while at dinner kadi had assumed i'd click most with her "hipster chic" friend who says she watches nfl all day sunday. turns out she watches nfl b/c her roomates beau does and she's more a mature zooey deschanel than a sports fan like me. she was also super picky about how her food and drinks were prepared, not is a cute meg ryan circa when harry met sally way. then there was the "sci-fi hipster", she loves doctor who. i also love doctor who and the fact kadi didn't pair us two together has me questioning how good a friends we really are. however my iphone wallpaper is unc, not doctor who, and therefor i am not enough of a whovian for that hipster. kadi is the "mistaken for a lesbian hipster". she's athletic but in a running/hiking/yoga only way. she reads self "enlightenment" books and actively took 6 months off from boys after her last break up b/c she really needed to focus on her. i have far too little interest in the perceived "deeper meaning" in a sentence or action to be accepted there. then there was the "tofu hipster" who seemed to be equal parts of the others with out committing too strongly to one flavor or the other. la hipsters = pick an extreme and own it!

la identity is further defined by what neighborhood you live in. much like nyc is broken down into neighborhoods, los angeles, santa monica and hollywood collectively are as well. i refuse to be defined by my neighborhood, mainly b/c, i live in santa monica. yes, technically it is on the westside which would make me a "westsider" but so is west hollywood which is the hipster/gay man neighborhood. i clearly fit neither category. i ride my bike to the beach, buy my flannel at j crew and walk to starbucks if i'm too lazy to clean my coffee press. this dosen't make me a granola munching, lulu lemon wearing, prius driving tree hugger that is associated with the "westside." i swear i've walked into the rei sporting goods store and gotten a look of "ha, like you could climb a mountain." know what bitches, i have, i just own something other than cargo shorts and yoga pants.

* side bar: this place is the reason people feel they can wear full on yoga clothes as outfits. i find it really gross to see people out to brunch dressed like they're coming from a work out. cause you know they'er not on the way to the gym, after all that breakfast burrito, they are not going to attempt downward facing dog.*

i think the last time i complained so openly about a facet of my life, it was the film commission job. guess it's time to move back east. i have a plan in the works, more details at christmas i hope, slumber party anyone?

ok, someone else needs to blog about something fun. i feel my humor to negativity ratio is going toward a bad place.

xoxo

this is not my ocean

i've been doing a lot of complaining lately. i actually complained for nearly 5 hours on the phone with mamma on forth of july. i'll spare you all the details and just focus on that bizarre beach trip i recently went on.


i was invited to "hang at the beach" for my friend kadi's 32nd b-day. now y'all know what hanging at the beach is in nc. be it wrightsville or carolina, it's pretty much the same besides the parking. in ca i live close to the beach. if you walked 2 miles west of my front door, you'd be standing in the pacific ocean. it would be frigged, but you'd be there. i figure, great, i'll just ride my awesome new bike down to meet them. not so fast, we're going to a beach 20 miles nw of me, zuma beach. the traffic headed that direction on a saturday, it took 50 min just to get there, then look for parking.


i'm told we're going this far out because it's a better beach. we never go to the one at the end of my road is what i'm told. zuma beach is less sceney. i've discovered sceney is the word la people use to describe anything they don't enjoy, it's really lost all meaning. there is a parking lot and street parking at zuma. after several passes i decided to just pay to park. that is until i discovered it was $10 and i still had to walk a quarter mile down to the beach. no thank you, i'll find a spot along the highway.


i knew other people were coming so i asked what i should bring. i was told "what ever you bring to relax at the beach." booze? um, no. the beach patrol is pretty strict and they love writing tickets. seriously? i didn't go to the beach to study with out a beer or two in my bag. i grab a bag of cheddar goldfish, figuring everyone else will bring doritos and such, so this will be a nice change of pace. the food was like going to a gluten free, vegan picnic in the park. everything spread out in shallow containers and getting covered in sand. the doritos? not a one in sight. all chips were kettle cooked and made of veggies and flavored with curry or teriyaki. with the exception of one lone bag of salt and vinegar, i was confused.

they're good, but not beach good

the seating, not a beach chair in sight. it looked like someone had gone to a soccer game and put the ocean where the field should be. there was the occasional picnic blanket and even a couple laid out on their snuggies, hand to god. i put my beach towel down and wondered what was wrong with these people.

this is chair was actually in our group

other friends started to arrive and it became clear that this group gets together once a year so they had a lot of catching up to do. i talked a little, being the lone newbie. i zoned out for the most part because all film industry people in la seem to be able to talk about is work. i remember having great convos over lunch on set dec about different things the guys had cooked, documentaries they'd seen, even politics. not the case out here. it gets dull after a while. besides, i'm so annoyed with my work right now, it's the last thing i want to spend hours talking about. there was no music, no ipod dock boom box of any kind.


around 4pm the wind started to pick up, it got to be 65, windy and barely sunny. i'd only brought my cover up dress and had to wrap up in my towel. everyone else started pulling on pants and hoodies. really?!? there are 3 acceptable reasons to be on the beach when it's cold: 1. out of town visitor, 2. you're mad at someone and need the walk, 3. you're building a bond fire on carolina beach. we sat in the cold for a full 2 hours before everyone decided we should go and get some dinner. i actually turned the heat on in the jeep.

all bundled up, really?

i'll wrap this up because even i'm a bit board with myself right now. this weekend i'm gonna beach the way jen beaches. i'm gonna ride my bike down to the end of my street with some music and doritos and do the beach the right way!

My response to everyone's unanimous opinion.

Hi, all!  Sorry for the long delay between my last post and now.  I had to take some time to think about all of the emails I got from you girls.  You all said pretty much the same thing, and I have to admit I was super bummed.  I appreciate all of the "we'll support you no matter what" responses, though.  I have one friend that thinks I'm making a smart decision and it's Jeff, but you girls and Karen all think I'm making a big mistake.  So, I had to think, and then I felt like I needed to tell my dad what was going on.  I talked to him in depth about your emails, and about all of my fears about moving back to Hickory, about being close to the step-family, and about whether or not I'll even be any good at selling his product and after all of the unloading I did I felt much better.  In fact,  I had a really shitty day on this stupid, crappy horror film I'm on and it's official.  I'm moving home and working for my dad.  I cannot handle this industry any longer.

 

So, that being said, I think maybe I didn't do a good job of explaining myself on my first blog.  Besides better working conditions and benefits and all of that practical grown up shit that I'm excited about I'm also pretty excited about the responsibility.  I WANT to be a business owner.  I'll admit that my dad's business isn't what comes to mind first, but let's face it, I'm going to take what I'm given.  It could take me another 20 years of my life to start my own business; why not take the head start?  He's assured me that if I hate it I have an out.  And I believe him.  He told me he'd support me no matter what too, even if it means I can't handle his business and I want to do my own thing.  It would be lovely to open a little tea cafe or a plant nursery or even a doggie daycare and I can still do those things if I want to.  But I want to try his business out.  It's a legacy, you know?  My grandfather started it, passed it on to my dad and he's going to pass it on to me.  I'm proud of that and they think I'll be good at it.  It's so encouraging to hear someone say they honestly think I'll be good at something.

  

And I'm so frickin excited about living near my grandparents I can't even handle it.  It's been a little hidden desire of mine that my kids (if I ever have any) grow up knowing their grandparents and great grandparents.  I grew up so close to my grandparents and you girls know how important they are to me.  I want my child to have the same opportunity -- even if it does involve Mary. 

I've come to realize I'm one of those people that thinks they hate change, but when it happens it's devastating for a split second and then it's done.  I adapt, and I move on and I make the best of what's left.  I'm good at it. I'll make the best of that crappy little town I come from and who knows, maybe I'll be on some council or board and I can make some changes.  Or maybe I'll learn to love my stepfamily.  (right.) And maybe I'll be damn good at selling hollow metal industrial framing.  :)

XoX<3, L.

Movin' on UP!

Hi hi hi hi!  Hope you girls are doing well!  Welcome to my first blog.  This is exciting!  I apologize in advance for my run-on sentences and off the wall comments.  I started my day today on 5 hours of sleep and have now had like 3 cups of coffee.  WHOOOPEEEE!! 

I'm having one of those days that really aggravate me in the film industry.  I came in to work at 6:30 and have done no work since 11:30 this morning.  I have to sit here until 6:30 tonight.  With no work.  This is why I'm broke.  I turn to internet shopping in these dire times. 

I've recently gotten into the oil cleansing method.  (Look it up, its like a spa facial at home.)  I've bought castor oil, almond oil, jojoba, lavender and peppermint oil.  And that was right after I bought $85 worth of Murad cleanser and various potions for my adult acne.  That's right, folks.  It's back.  It's so unfair to get pimples AND wrinkles.  I mean, c'mon!  I would like all of you to take the time now to thank your parents, their genes, and the powers that be that you all have lovely skin.  I'm fighting a losing battle down here.  It makes me want to copy Kiki and detox my life.  I wish I could just start from scratch.  No caffeine addiction, no gluten, no dairy (no cellulite!), and taste buds that only crave fruits and leafy greens.

Now, on that note I will say that I'm quite happy about my overall health.  I went to the lady doctor last week and guess what!  I have gained 10 lbs in a year!  That's pretty good for me! I haven't gained 10 lbs since I was like 12.  I don't really know how it happened either.  I've outgrown 4 pairs of pants, and I couldn't be happier about it.  Maybe the puberty fairy finally found my home!!  (My boobs are bigger too!  YES.)  I'll be a totally different fat old hag by the time you girls see me again.  Ha!

Speaking of which, when will we all see each other again?  I miss you!  Do you girls feel like all of our lives are finally starting to shape into something?  Jen, you were the first to take the big step, and then Kiki and Haley... I just remember thinking how scary it seemed. I've thought about how brave you girls are quite a bit and also how unhappy I've been with my career choices, so I'm making the choice to do something different and maybe just plain crazy.  Big breath here.  I'm moving back home.  ......Not nearly as exciting as NYC or LA, but I don't think that big city life is for me.  My dad and I have been in serious talks since One Tree Hill ended about me moving home and working for him.  It started as a joke.  And then it just wasn't.  Recently, he's had some difficulty with his business plan for the future.  He had several different employees that were in the "plan" to take over when my dad retired, and gradually he lost one (that guy actually moved to Wilmington) and then slowly my dad realized that the dependable people that were left to take over are only 10 years younger than him!  So, when he retires, they would take over and then 10 years go by, and then what?  Then, there's me. 

So, I know you girls might think I've gone crazy.  But, when I really started to think it over it made sense.  I would work 40 hours/week instead of 60 and make around about the same money that I make doing this crap in the film industry just starting off and not have to worry about finding employment every few months and saving money vs. paying bills.  I keep getting stuck on these low budget shows where they don't pay enough and my living expenses just keep going up while I'm not making any more money.  I'm a ladder climber, people!  And I just cannot climb fast enough in this industry.  I should be making more money!  Maybe that sounds cocky, but I'm damn good at my job (I should be, I've done it long enough.) but I made the mistake of settling on that bottom rung on One Tree Hill for FAR too long.  I can't be 29 and still be a secretary.  I just won't do it. 

Whew.

SO, anyway, off my soap box.  I'm moving home.  To take over my dad's business in 20 years.  Ha!  I really do sound crazy.....  I'm trying to focus on the pros which are:

• Being closer to my family....my grandparents won't be around forever.
• More time for myself.  What will I do with 20 extra hours a week???  The real question is what WON'T I do with that extra time!?  (Gym, video games, more play time with Bailey, volunteering (eh?), gardening! It's so exciting!)
•  More money in a faster amount of time.  At least that's the plan....
• Stock options
• BENEFITS.  Sick days, paid days off, VACATION TIME, 401K, need I go on?
• My dad's office closes at noon on Fridays! 2 and a half day weekend every weekend....more time for trips to NY and LA!
• A chance to redo my living expenses.  Smaller house, smaller yard, less maintenance, more chances to save money.
• Working for my dad.  Cool. 

And now for the Cons:

•  Working for my dad.  Not always cool.
• I know next to no one under the age of 50 in Hickory, NC.  Hmmm...there are ways to remedy that.  I just have to talk to people.  Jen, where are you when I need you!?
•  The whole thing with Jeff is up in the air.  He graduates from SCAD in August, so his career might take him somewhere far far away,  and then again, maybe it won't.
• STEPFAMILY.  *groan*
• STEPFAMILY (hey, there are a LOT of them.  They deserve 2 bullet points.)
• I have to live in Hickory, NC.  Possibly until I'm 65.  This, to me, is the worst part of the whole deal.  If only I could work for my dad and live in.....well, anywhere but Hickory.  Port Isaac, for example.  I'm obsessed with this place, must take a trip there in the future!  Anyone in?

So, right now, I think the Pros outweigh the Cons.  There are a lot of things that are undecided.  Like I mentioned, I have no idea what Jeff and I are doing.  I don't know where I'll live, but that's fixable as soon as this show ends and I can make some trips home to look.  I don't know if I'll sell my house in Wilmington or try to rent it.  My dad wants me to sell, but I've always wanted to be a landlord.  (THE LAWD.) The plan is to move in July, so I'll get a little bit of a summer in Wilmington, and I'll have time to take a small vacation to Grand Cayman with Jeff from June 6-13th, hell yeah.  I should have enough time to look for a house in Hickory and manage to get my house on the market or find a rental company to look after it and get some tenants in place. 

All of that being unloaded, do you think I'm crazy?  It's ok, be honest.  I kind of think I'm crazy.  But, I'm so bored with Wilmington.  Don't get me wrong.  I love this place and I always will, but I've outgrown it, and I know you girls will understand that.  So, let me know what you think.  I really could use any advice you want to give. 

Love you! xoxo!

--Leigh