I've Been Published!

The day has finally come!! (ok, 5 days ago, but whatevs!)

The Summer issue of Art Doll Quarterly, in which my lovely circus girls are published, has hit newsstands everywhere!

When I first opened up this beauty, I saw that I was in the Table of Contents! Holy moley, are you freaking kidding me?! So, eager to see my simple little photo and brief story in amongst other crazy talented folks, I flipped to page 117, the page the table of contents told me to flip to, because yea, I was in the table of contents!! Remember? Remember how I mentioned that like 2 seconds ago? Still true!!

Ok, before you run off, terrified of my ridiculous ramblings, here's the rest of the story... I flipped to page 117 and BAM! A full, and I mean FULL page photo of my beautiful girls just exploded in my face! A whole page? For reals? I was fully expecting to be a little half-page spot, but no, they wanted to showcase these girls in all of their glory and I was so incredibly excited! I was home alone at the time that I opened up my issue, so I just grabbed the cat (poor thing, she should think twice before hanging out with me!) and gave her a squeeze and screeched incoherently for a few minutes. I am sure my neighbors thought really weird things were happening next door, but oh well!!

So there they are..... I am really still so crazy jazzed every time I look at this thing! I am going to buy a back up copy of the magazine, just in case. :D

And if you would like to purchase a copy but don't want to brave the crazy public, you can clicky on the badge on the right side of the screen.

Until next time! Oh yea, and happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Friday Faves!

I have no theme for this week, just a collection of some of my favorite things! :)

To start with, I wanted to express the joy I find in using Sally Hansen nail polishes. They always have the greatest shades, and for something as commonly found as they are, they are of quite good quality! My FAVORITES at the moment are these:

The silver, Celeb City, was the first one of the three that I bought, and I was instantly smitten. I picked up the gold, Golden-I, around my birthday last year, and the copper one, Coin Flip, just a couple of nights ago. They have a subtle metallic quality, almost glittery. It only takes about 2 coats of any of these colors to be completely solid on my nails. They are definitely glam, but it is easy to keep it classy!

Continuing on this vein of nail care (and no, I swear this is not the theme!), I am anxiously awaiting the time when I can try out this little goodie:

Lemony Flutter by LUSH Cosmetics

I first saw it blogged about over at The Dainty Squid (and you should definitely check out her blog, it is amazing!) and I had to check it out. My cuticles are a hot mess, and I am always wanting to do more for them. The reviews on their site all make it sound fantabulous, so I have bookmarked it for a future purchase!

iPhone 4S cases at zazzle.com

In precisely 23 days, I will be saying, "Sayonara!!" to T-Mobile and my stank myTouch and FINALLY trading up to an iPhone!!! I cannot wait! And to celebrate, I have been drooling over the cases over at Zazzle. There are literally thousands of designs!

My birthday is fast approaching, and for said birthday, I want to get away to this little slice of heaven on the Washington coast:

This unbelievably charming little place is called Seabrook, and it is located between Ocean Shores and Moclips. It was established in 2006 (if I remember correctly) and literally looks like it is a movie set. It feels like time just stops when you are there. I have only had the pleasure of driving through the town, but I am hoping that soon my dream of actually staying here will come true. I am a little obsessed with the idea at the moment, actually! :)

That's all I've got for you today folks, it was a much-too-long day at work today, and I am a little tapped out! :) But I hope I have given you some new things to fall in love with!

As always, I love to hear what some of YOUR favorite things are! Tata-roonie!!

New Year's Goals

I know what you are thinking.... a post about New Year's Goals, a whole month into 2013? Get with the program lady!! :)

But I can assure you, I have had these goals in place since the beginning of the year, I just didn't have a public outlet for them yet. So, now that I have that, I would like to share with all of you my goals for the year of 2013.

• Get Healthy! This goal not only encompasses my strong desire to lose weight (by creating a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise), but to also do things for my health that I have been avoiding for my whole adult life. This includes things such as going to the doctor for a simple check-up. I am a complete wimp when it comes to anything having to do with doctors, so I do my best to avoid them at all costs. But, I realized I need to grow up and just get a freaking check up! That way, I can have a base-line and work from there to feel and look the best I can.
• Participate in AT LEAST 3 craft shows! Last year, I hopped back in the saddle and was part of 2 local craft shows. One was a pretty resounding failure, money wise, and the other was much more successful! I do have to say though, I do not regret participating in the summer show because I met some really great people who have helped open glorious doors I never knew existed! I learned a lot from my experiences last year, and I want to use what I learned and take part in at least 3 shows that will be appropriate venues for my art. One of the 3 will be the holiday show (the success) I was in last year, so I am looking to add 2 new ones to my repertoire! 
• Write, market, and sell my first eBook! This one is kind of an exciting one that I have been thinking about for some time. The first step is going to be to learn how to format the book to be sold in the electronic form, and then I will be on my way! I don't want to give away anything right now, but I do have a fun topic in mind. Stay tuned for more info at a later date. ;)
• Completely pay off debt! I have had a black cloud of debt floating over me for several years now, and I am plum-tired of it! I am sure I am not alone in that feeling, and I am finally in a place where I really think I can do something about it. Most of it is medical bills that I incurred from a dog bite/broken hand sitch a couple of years ago, 2 freakin' weeks before my fantastic medical benefits kicked in! So, needless to say, it created a burden I couldn't afford back then. My mini-goal with this one is to have this completed by the end of March!
• Begin preparing for 1st home purchase! This goal can really only be achieved if the one before this is crossed off, so they kind of go hand-in-hand. Mik and I aren't necessarily looking to actually PURCHASE something this year, but we want to put a plan in motion! This includes repairing and re-building our credit, and of course socking some money away!
• Move towards promotion at work! This one is not 100% in my control I suppose, but I plan on taking any and all training that will prepare for the responsibilities of being a community manager. I also want to continue to show initiative in my current position and continue to make a name for myself, without looking like a kiss-ass! :)
• Go live with KaeleighBee blog! Ok, so obviously this one can now be checked off, but I swear, this was on my list of goals from Jan 1st!
• Give attention to Etsy shop! I have had an Etsy shop for a number of years, but it was always just kind of chilling there in the background. At the end of the year last year, I actually closed the virtual doors of my first shop, and opened KaeleighBee. I had done a re-vamp on my name and branding and wanted to make sure my online presence matched. This year, I want to make sure I am making a conscious effort to update the shop and keep it stocked and fresh! I would like for the world to experience a little of the joy that I do when I create!

Well, that is it for now I suppose! We still have 11 months of what I feel will be an exciting year for all, so there is plenty of time to accomplish, edit, and add to this list!

What are some of YOUR goals for this year? Let's DREAM BIG together!