Nails Magazine called me!

Yesterday, the phone rang at work and my coworker said, "It's an editor from Nails Magazine for you."  ????  Why would they call me?  They wanted permission to use pictures of some of my 3d nail art roses.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Nail Technicians Networking Group

ATTN Nail Technicians and Students!

The INDUSTRY NEEDS YOU!!!

Are you a new graduate?  Looking to learn new methods and techniques?  Want to refine the skills you currently use?

Are you a seasoned Nail Technician?  Ready to begin mentoring and sharing your experience with those just starting out?

Please join the Nail Technician Networking Group hosted at California Nail & Spa Supply.

The 1st Nail Technician Networking Group meeting will be held:

Monday, January 14th

10:00 a.m.

7971 Auburn Boulevard

Citrus Heights, CA 95610

916-725-7010

All future meetings will be held on the 1st Monday of the month at California Nail & Spa Supply.

Please bring your enthusiasm and products and questions.  The group will work together in troubleshooting technical problem areas, discussing industry issues and events, and exploring business promotion and resources.

For more information, contact Sarah Hallford at 916-662-6761 or via email at sarah@calnails.com.

13 minute mile

I ran three miles today.  Without stopping.  It was fabulous.

Ho ho ho!

J and I spent 5 hours chasing around stores for the Lego set our dear son has his heart set on.  We finally gave up when we realized that it simply hasn't been put on the market yet.  Two more days to Christmas!!!!

3d Roses: a Pictorial

Step one:  Pat out a medium sized dryish bead on the back of a sculpting form paper.

Step Two:  As the bead enters the molding stage, gently pick up one end of the bead with tweezers and roll it around itself to form the bud.

Step Three:  Pat out your desired number of petals.

Step Four:  Add the petals to the base of the bud while petals are in the molding stage.  You can also do this with adhesive or a bead of liquid and powder.

Step Five:  Sit back and admire your handiwork.

Mama liked the roses

Never in a million years did I think I'd be able to do these.  The top one is the first one I tried and the bottom was after a few practice roses.

Today, I became a runner

This year, I walked 4 miles a day.  Last year, I walked 3 miles a day.  Today, I ran one mile and walked 3 more.  I'm working up to running all 4 since I have got to carve some extra time out of my days.

Even more nail art!

Recent nail art

Toenail Makeover

These snowflakes were a lot of fun.  Next time, more rhinestones!

Christmas Nail Makeover

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here. 

Nail Makeover

Looking for a few good nails?

The nail industry is a really interesting place.  You can catch some pretty scary stuff in a salon that isn't following the sanitation guidelines.  As a consumer, it's pretty tough to know exactly what you'll find when you walk into a new shop.  I want to change that.  Everyone who comes to me is going to know how and what they need to do protect themselves.

Blog Therapy

I'm a little depressed.  

Last week was crazy busy. The kids were baptized, we had the kids' birthday party, Uncle Ray came to town to visit, there was another party for the great grandparents 63rd wedding anniversary. When my brother left, my mom went with him back to North Carolina to visit with him for a week.  

So, now I'm lonely and in need of some blog therapy.  

I'm on this grand adventure to become an educator for Creative.  I may actually be crazy to think that I can do this.  Technically, getting all the education and practice in this year in time to qualify for my Grand Master status is possible.  Then, all I have to do is learn every nuance of every product Creative makes and then be invited after another year to attend training bootcamp. After that, I have to wait for a spot to open up.  If I'm going to aim anywhere, I might as well aim high, right?

J has been having a trying time at work so there's some strain there.  Mostly, because there isn't really anything I can do to help with that.  But, he's unhappy and that spills over into everything else.

I think what is so hard for me is that I need to commit more resources to my work but I don't feel like I can without sacrificing something else.  I tried putting Lily into preschool half a day, three days a week.  That was a DISASTER.  She's much like her dad.  Large groups of people she doesn't know really freaks her out.  She turned into a quivering, screaming mess.  It would start at 7 a.m. and go on until I took her to school where it would escalate into something even worse.  So we gave that up.  I stuck it out for 3 weeks, but it just wasn't getting any better.  My mother and MIL have really stepped up to watch Lily for me and she's happy to go with them.  The thing is, I have a really hard time relying on other people.  I need to take clients, but I'm afraid to commit.  

That's probably the real issue.  I might fail.  I might not be able to pull this off.  I won't know until I commit.  If I don't commit, I won't succeed, but if I don't commit, I won't fail either.

Leanne wants an update.

It's been kind of busy.

I graduated and was hired by the company that I externed for in school. It's a distributor of nail products with a salon attached to it. I've done some advanced training and am working towards becoming an educator for the best of the best. I'm the Education Coordinator for California Nail & Spa Supply which means I get to attend all the training I can stand and that the rest of the time I'm recruiting for classes and learning myself. It's part time and I can work from home when I'm not in the salon. I never thought I would find something so flexible and rewarding. I LOVE IT.

Nails Nails Nails!

I love it. LOVE IT! I'm so glad I decided to go through with it. The eight hour days are just flying by.

I never thought I'd enjoy it so much. The amazing change in a client's demeanor and body language is so wonderful.

School starts tomorrow

OMG. I haven't been in school for ANYTHING in 13 years. What was I thinking?!

Ian is concerned that the routine will be changing. He's never had me unavailable before. J's afraid that all my carefully laid childcare plans will come crumbling down into a pile of rubble. Lily, well, she's just Lily.

Wish me luck.