On Monday I had a photo-shoot with Inez Lewis of http://www.inezlewis.com

She and the make-up artist were right on time and we chatted while Tanya did her magic of keeping me looking like me while applying make-up. This is something I can’t tell you how much I appreciate. We started the shoot, and I was a little nervous as always and then something great happened. I just felt completely at ease. I admit after hundreds of photo-shoots, being in front of the camera is not a new thing for me but being at ease with someone I had never met before certainly is. I guess I have a little of that old Midwest modesty that tends to haunt me. Anyway, Inez is very easy to pose for and professional. We were able to get 3 setups done very quickly, all the while having a fantastic time. We laughed and joked and I couldn’t wait to shoot again on Thursday. I received my pics on Thursday after our second shoot and WOW, she captured the real me. I’m convinced that she is the photographer that I have been searching for and I’m really looking forward to working with her again next month.

Here is one of the pics and as you can see, Inez captured real emotion and I think this may be one of the best pictures ever taken of me! Some other pics from this shoot will be posted in the gallery soon:)

I was in LA and by myself for the last remaining hours of the evening after a long photo shoot. I decided to settle in and have room service and a movie. I thought about the movies I hadn’t seen yet or wanted to see but probably wouldn’t watch at home. Then I saw a sequel to a very scary film that I had seen last year. So I ordered a steak and after it came I curled up on the couch and pushed play on . . .  Read the rest here!

So I made it to LA without a hitch this time, no crazy drivers, mad honking trucks or or little old ladies blocking my journey. It was just a beautiful drive through all the mountains and desert. There is even a rock station to listen to. I got to my condo for my appointment with a Realtor to discuss selling it. I really have no need to keep it now that I’m in Las Vegas and not really in LA often enough to utilize it. She was very informative and helped me decide what the game plan is. It looks like I’ll be coming back to LA 2-3 more times this year to get things done with it and while I’m here I might as well stay a few extra days:) I’m going to miss my condo even though I didn’t live in it that long. It’s the first place I owned, I guess I got attached. The good news is that . . . Read the rest of this blog entry here!

I was extremely inquisitive and pretty much a run-of-the-mill dork. Yeah, I said it and I’m still a dork. I was painfully shy. I was always the smallest kid in class.I probably read every sci-fi book in my little hometown library. I didn’t play dungeons and dragons but I loved to read (still do) One of my favorites is Dean Koontz. I love his sarcasm and the way his stories weave around and suck you in. I would check out at least 4 books at a time and preferred reading to watching TV. I played video games and computer games with my brothers, still do when they are visiting me.

I grew up poor and wore goodwill clothes and hand-me-downs from my mom and brothers. We didn’t have a lot but we always had food and a safe place to sleep. We moved a lot and I attribute that to my versatility, adaptability and the need to find a better way to do just about everything. I learned how to repair, fix, mend and build many things growing up. I was the child that was good with her hands and could take things apart and put them back together the next day, still working. I believe there is always room for improvement but it’s ok to be content with your present situation. Contentment is a commodity that I rarely feel. Yup, I’m a workaholic, overachiever, overly ambitious. When I was 5 years old, in kindergarten, the teacher asked all the children to draw what they wanted to be when we grew up. I froze, I couldn’t picture what I wanted to me because it was more of a concept than an actual person. All the other kids were drawing firemen, policemen, doctors, ect. The teacher noticed that I wasn’t drawing anything and she come over and asked me what was wrong. I told her that I didn’t know how to draw what I wanted to be. She looked puzzled and asked me to describe who. I immediately looked up at her, directly in her eyes,”I want to be the boss.” She asked of what…”Everything!” was my reply.

My average grade was a 3.8 and I was bored out of my mind. I really enjoyed biology because I able to dissect and actually see what I only read about. I was disappointed that the section on evolution could not be taught but we could read it. We weren’t even allowed to discuss it. Yup, bible-belt America. Land of the corn and as creepy as the movie at times. I was not religious but enjoyed learning about every religion. I was always attempting to learn the answers to all of life’s questions. I asked many many questions until right when someone was about to get annoyed then I stopped. Its was a pretty good system really:)

I was good at sports and liked to play basketball, volleyball, tennis, and floor hockey, but I never played for any teams. I loved floor hockey because I was small, fast and I could carry a big stick. I was pretty aggressive during games and I still love to watch ice hockey. My mom took us kids to games and we never had a favorite team. I also loved watching boxing. When I was 2 years old I learned how to curse at the TV like a champ while sitting on my grandpa’s knee. I never got into much trouble and was basically a good kid. I never went to jail or had to be driven home in a police car. Actually, I just never got caught but never you mind about that.

I was quiet most of the time, kinda mousy with long hair that fell in my face. I wore big over sized shirts with skulls on them and boy’s Levi jeans. Luckily, I was short so I didn’t have to worry about high-waters. I was pretty much a loner/outsider. I did not let people intimidate me though and would stand up to the biggest bully even though I wasn’t even 100 lbs until I was 19. Most of my friends were guys and I was one of the guys being such a tomboy. Moving every year made it difficult to make friends and keep them. Some became pen pals but we eventually grew apart after a few months.

I learned many great lessons from my upbringing in the “heartland” of America. I’ve also had to relearn a few things too:)

What am I like now?

Meet me and find out!

After a few rounds of distributing medication, cooking lunch and dinner I had had about enough with a certain company that keeps calling me non-stop 4-6 times a day. Its an 800 number and no one ever says anything. So today I lost my temper a little after saying “hello” a couple times and . . . Read the rest of this blog entry here!

Laughing has to be one of the most healthy things that you can do. I was reminded of that today after an argument that really stressed me out. My little dogs started to play and Loco started to look around like the crazy thing she is and started to chase her tail. I had just hung up the phone, blood pressure up and glanced over just in time to see her decide her tail had irritated her for the last time . . . Read the rest of this blog entry here!

Caring for my mom in the past couple of years on my own has been the most challenging experience of my life. I am a care-taker by nature and I always strive to improve upon everything. I even made arrangements so that my mom is taken care of in the event of my death or some other unfortunate event that leaves me unable to care for her. The really difficult part is not the rehab after the stroke, the fighting with her to take her medication or even seeing to everything all on my own. The difficult part is . . . Read the rest of this blog entry here!