this is me {right now}


I'm happy.
and BUSY
but, good busy.

I have been a business owner for 5yrs now
I own a salon, a photography company and my accessories line.
I recently sold my salon to a friend and now I rent my space from her
{i wont lie its weird!}
But to go from 7 days a week doing hair, booked weeks to months in advance
and not having a life what so ever.. to do anything else.
To doing hair just 3 days a week and taking photos on the weekends, well its heaven!

I haven't had a "regular job" since I was 24 (I'm now 30, shhh!)
so I don't remember what its like to have a boss, to have a schedule or to clock in.
I don't know what its like to have a paycheck or to call in sick (and get paid for it haha)
But I do know that I cant work like that, it just doesn't do it for me.
(not that anything is wrong with it!!!)

I would call myself an artist and I need freedom, so being my own boss is really the only thing I know.

But I also know that being my own boss can be stressful,
 so one morning I woke up and decided to make a few changes. 

So instead of working 7days a week and being a roommate to my husband
(yes it did practically get to that point, but don't worry we are great now!)
I have decided to get a life!

So this is me..right this second.



I get to be nerdy and do lots of self cell phone portraits since I have more time on my hands!


I get to do different things different days.
So when I'm not in the salon I can work on {just.lovely.things}
or spend time at the studio for House of James



I get invited into peoples lives and get to capture it for them to keep forever.
(2 weddings from the last year)


I can volunteer my time for friends (and their special causes) by offering my photography in different ways!
(yep I shot the cover for this years calender, how cool is that??)




I get to be home more, and I love every.minute.of.it!


I have time to do something so simple like hike with the hubs on the weekends.
And although we have been trying for 5 years to make a family (yes, I did just say 5yrs!!)
I enjoy all the new time I get to have with him.. and to me, that's worth more then any job I could have!

I'm not the kind of person to toot my own horn (ever)
and I realize that although I have worked very, very hard to be where I am..
I am still most certainly blessed!

I don't have many friends (wow that sounds pathetic) but I like to think of myself as a nice person
and I hope that just a few of these things make you feel like you know me a bit better..

So here are some random facts for you:

-I talk fast and sometimes drop a few cuss words in between (just for fun)-
-although I do cuss, I have insanely great manners.. I swear!-
-I would rather go to sleep early to hit up a weekend garage sale then stay up late to party-
-I hate hate hate when people want to talk to me about "tats"
-oh hate the word tat .. its tattoo people!-
 -hate onions love funyons-
-I have a lot of phobias-like too many to even list-
-firmly believe that calling pjs "workout clothes" makes you not look lazy-
-in my wedding vows I told my husband he was the peanut butter to my jelly-
-I'm super self conscious about my skin issues that are a result of my fertility issues-
-fertility issues can suck it-
-I don't have any childhood friends (I'm super jealous of people that do)
-ok this is a downer, but my real dad killed himself when I was 18..
but I consider my step dad to be the best thing ever!-
-I'm messy, have too much stuff and I'm busy.. so I hire my mom to clean for me-
-I'm not lazy, I just hate laundry ok!!-
-although we drive eachother crazy sometimes, my mom and I are totally bffs!-
-I currently have 16 bottles of shampoo & conditioner in my shower because I cant make up my mind-
(yes, I just ran and counted)
-I like helping and teaching people how to do things-
-but hate when they don't want to learn with good intentions-
-I get really pissed off about people who copy cat.. but I never call them out on it-
-I cant do a cartwheel-
-I play Call of Duty with my husband and I'm better then him, no lie-
-Ive never watched Dancing with the Stars or those bachelor shows-
-I firmly believe that the cast of How I Met Your Mother, should be my best friends-
-In another life I would be an indie folk singer-
-I'm happy about 98% of the time and like to laugh and be silly lots-
-I don't like to make plans because I dont like to cancel and then seem like a flake-

-I'm a big mash up of lots of things, and I wouldn't have it any other way!-





30 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your life! I'm jealous of the fact that you don't have a boss or a time clock-- someday I dream to have that freedom! :) And I LOVE the fact that you get up early for garage sales-- I'm not alone! wooo! Finally, that Pin Ups and Pound Pups is pure genius!!

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  2. Great post! :) I talk fast too lol. I hate the word tats too, my goodness I think some people say it just because they think it makes them sound cool haha. I feel the same way about dishes as you do laundry! I am the same way with the whole copy cat thing lol. It's good to know a little more about you :).

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  3. super cute pictures of you !! tats..that is funny. you seem to have alot in common with my sweet friend Meranda.

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  4. I love that you opened up a little, sorry about your dad but it looks like you came out as a super person regardless of tragedy. I think you're awesome!

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  5. Carrie Aalfs02 May, 2011

    You sound alot like me :) Guess thats why I Love your blog!!!

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  6. I adore you, and this post, and your new pictures! :) Oh, and I'm super jealous that you've been going on lots of amazing hikes!

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  7. alex.. seriously we go every sunday plus we walk a few miles 3 nights a week.. you and the fam are totally invited!

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  8. Love the random facts!
    I play COD with my hubby, too...but I just started, so I suck pretty bad.

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  9. Love everything about this post - particularly the image and quote at the bottom :)
    The changes you made in your life sound like the perfect balance :) Hope everything continues to make you happy
    Cheray x

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  11. Beautiful Photography (I envy you) I have been trying to practice taking pictures with my family LOL!

    I love this post, Love hearing about people who work for themselves I want to do that one day (whether its crafting or not and I love crafting). Love the random facts too I can relate to quite a few of them but the biggest one is not liking to make plans cause I don't like to cancel (seriously thought I was the only one!).

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  12. You are so pretty. Congrats on all your success girly! You deserve every minute of it :)

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  13. Just hopped over from Pamplemousse and I'm so glad to have found your blog! Thanks for the honest look at your life--very refreshing :)

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  14. I just love your blog!!! you are such an amazing person!! :)

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  15. i LOVE this post! i've been meaning to do something similar to this on my own blog... 25 random facts or something. LOVED it!

    "tats" hahaha! it's funny to me because i have one, my hubs has a handful and my older brother just got his 2nd that's pretty big - we're the outlaws in the fam considering that we're all lds AND plan to get more. :) the looks i get in church are AWESOME. some people aren't good at being subtle. i think it's funny. :)

    good on ya for being able to cut back on things and really love it! not everyone can do that but SOOOO many people need to. sometimes when i'm "working" a lot, sewing up stuff for the shop, it's like i'm not even there with my family. i kind of am (i sew in the kitchen right now) but if i ever get a craft room - forget it! i haven't quite figured out the happy medium balance thing but it's close. i think. ;)

    anyway, you're amazing (hello, you're a MCMANUS!) ;) and i love your blog!

    ohlittlemookie.blogspot.com
    littlemookie.etsy.com

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  16. I <3 you! I love, love, love this post. You rock. Tattoos rock. PB & J rocks. Like you I added a tiny "quirk" to my wedding day, the song my husband and I chose for our song was "Grow Old With You" by Adam Sandler. Our favorite lines being "I'll miss you. Kiss you. Give you my coat when you are cold. Need you. Feed you. Even let ya hold the remote control."
    Reading this blog is inspiring, comforting, and so much more. Thank you for sharing. I would love to be blog friends!

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  17. Wow! We have a lot in common...like the shampoo and conditioner bottle, that totally cracked me up...and I HATE committing to plans cause I don't wanna cancel and look like a flake, I would rather make plans last minute....and on a more serious note, I totally feel for you with the fertility issues. My husband and I are a year and a half into our fertility problems and THEY SUCK! I have PCOS too, and I have only one working falopian tube, I want nothing more than to be a mom which I'm sure you can understand, but I know God must just have a better plan for me than I have for myself. I just have a hard time trusting in him and his timing sometimes. I will be praying for you, thanks for opening up about your life today. If you ever need to vent to someone contact me, I kind of get what you are going through (at least a little bit, I'm sure its way harder for you 5 years into this).

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  18. Loved this post! I have to say my favorite is "-I'm not lazy, I just hate laundry ok!!" That is totally me! lol. I agree with "tats". I once had a girl I didn't know as me out of nowhere, "What do you think about girls with tats?" I was like, "Huh? What? Where did that come from? And what's a tat? Did you mean tattoo?" :)

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  19. I also wanted to add, your pictures are absolutely beautiful. If I lived in your area, I would totally hire you for family photos! I think half the people that call themselves photographers shouldn't.

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  20. Thanks so much for sharing. I just want you to know that you have been an inspiration to me as I start up my own business. Your blog and products are amazing and I love your honesty. I relate with so much of what you posted. If I could, I'd totally pay someone to clean my house. I'm a SAHM, but I HATE doing the dishes. While it wasn't as overt as suicide, my real father drank himself to death when I was 18, but my step-dad, too, is awesome. I promise to be inspired by, but never copy you :) as the copy cat in my life drives me nuts.

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  21. love the beautiful photos!

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  22. Working for yourself sounds so amazing!! I can't stand working for a boss. It's so soul-sucking and non-creative. Sigh... I'm hoping to make the transition to entrepreneur soon!!

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  23. I absolutely adore your craft room because I want built-in bookshelves SO badly! Our home in TX is big, but a big basic box with so little character! I am jealous of anyone with a hint of Craftsman architecture! :)

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  24. I liked this post :) It made me happy..

    Alison - aka.."thesnootiepig" ;)

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  25. Girl you are a true inspiration! I think you have quite an impressive list of accomplishments and you had the good sense to keep your career(s) from taking over your life. The Pin-ups Love Pound Pups Calendar is just brilliant. Keep sharing your many talents with us! : )

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  26. oh my gosh, we sound so much alike! i also occasionally curse, but i too have great manners! i just like to express myself, and sometimes a four letter word is whats needed. haha. i always tell my mom i'm going to hire her to clean for me! she's so good at it and i'm so not. i could stay here all day and write you an essay but i'll stop. i absolutely love coming to your blog! thanks for all your great posts, especially this one! :)

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  27. I loved reading about you! I can relate to a lot of what you said. I love the photo of you with the glasses. So cute!

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  28. Soo glad i found your blog this morning thru little miss momma! The whole time i was reading this, i was thinking wow its scary how much this sounds like me!! :)
    Thank you for sharing!!

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