No more snow globes!

I was in Hawaii several years back for work and as I was leaving I realized I had not picked Colton up anything. I always try to bring something home as my " I love and missed you gift". This particular time I found a very cute snow globe that read.. It doesn't snow in Hawaii silly!" I called and told him what I had found and he replies, " Did you know I collect snow globes?" He was only 4 or so and this was the first I had heard of the collection but I thought it was a great time to start. From that day forward any time I went out of town I would pick him up one. So now on to today~
Colton is now 10 and you know the saying," the only difference between a boy and a man is the price of their toys." I find this statement true. As I was leaving for this trip I find the following note in my bag. He has moved up from the $10.00 snow globe to,well let's just say,the more expensive basketball jersey. He wants basketball jerseys from all over the U.S. Today was the first purchase. I have no idea who Mr.Anthony is but I know my son is going to trip out when I show him his present. Oh and.. I got the basketball shooting sleeve too( point mom)!
I can't wait to get home and see his sweet happy face.

Thank God.. She had cookies

Fashion week diet..or lack of..is what is going down as we speak. This tray of cookies is the highlight of my day so far. See the pic of green sprigs( I think they are called pea shoots)..they are not my highlight..EVER! Who can eat this and sincerely be happy? Day 5 and this is my first visual of anything over 1 carb at a show. Thank you Karen Walker for hooking me up. I love you and have now put you at my number one spot of designers.

Traveling Nail Tech: The little things

Traveling Nail Tech: The little things: The S tandard hotel is off the charts cool. It's in the meat packing district ( one of my favorite places in NYC). I was only working the...

The little things

  The Standard hotel is off the charts cool. It's in the meat packing district( one of my favorite places in NYC). I was only working there..not staying. As I was walking back to get set up for the show I was pretending that I was staying there for the weekend (this was all in my head and it played out quite nice). One thing I love about my job is seeing new places, places I would not normally see.

Now I am eating brunch at " The Shop" This joint is swanky as well and I find myself perpetrating once again. I love coffee cups with out handles. Holding it with both hands as I talk to my friend relaxes me.The restaurant has great art and soft lounge style music is playing in the back ground. What I really love the most is the comfortable silence I share with my friend.

And now the day has come to a close..I am sitting in a room full of girls painting nails. These girls have become like family over the last several years. So rather it's seeing really cool places or eating in great restaurants I do believe it's the little things that stick out to me more than anything else.

I enjoyed this day~

My daddy sleeps naked!

My son,Colton, has made my life complete and I have a love for him that words can not describe. I am sure most mothers feel the same. All I asked God for when I was pregnant was for him to be healthy, have long eyelashes, have a conscience that would guide him in this life and if he saw fit.. lots of personality.. and lots of personality he has. This is were I know God has a sense of humor. He gives us traits in our children that we often don't see in ourselves until it seems that you are looking in the mirror. My son is honest to a fault..much like myself. I say what I mean and mean what I say. I have a hard time understanding why people just don't ask for what they want and passive aggressive behavior drives me nuts. Colton has the same feelings which has helped me mature and hopefully has helped me guide him in realizing not everyone thinks the way we do nor should we expect them to. His wit and charm are one of the things I like best about him. Although sometimes I could die by what comes out of his mouth most of the time it leaves me laughing.

I am writing this blog so that one day, when I am older, I can turn it into a book. It would not be complete with out one of my all time favorite "colton stories". If you know me well you already know this...heck, the entire community knows it!

Colton starts preschool at the sweet age of 4. It is a private Christan school with most of the people attending my church. Although Colton is in preschool the entire group of children (ranging from 4-15 or so) gather together for morning devotion. The lady in charge stands in front and starts reading from the bible and starts talking about Love. "What do you do to show love?", she ask.  Several kids spoke up with replies like, " I help my mom do the dishes, etc".  Sweet Colton raises his hand and she finally calls on him. "Colton..what do you do to show love?" And Colton replies the following..."MY DADDY SLEEPS NAKED".

I am in Alabama working at this particular time but my phone starts blowing up..you are not going to believe what Colton said at school today. I hear the story and I am thinking, "no he doesn't..where did that come from and why would he reply that to that question?" It really would never matter what either of us said at that point. Calvin, my husband is on the reserved side so his friends thought this was great. He was getting ready to go on a golf trip with several friends from church so this gave them the leverage they needed for many many jokes. We did ask Colton later that night why he said it and he responded, "Oh..I thought you did". From that point on the teachers knew to be on high alert. We have a rule that if they don't believe everything they hear we won't believe everything we hear.

I have 1,000 more funny things that he has said and done over the last ten years but I will wait to share those for when he starts dating..I think it would only be fair:).

My first fashion week Feb 2007

 Feb 16, 2007 was the day Britney Spears shaved her head. It's funny how certain things stick in your mind but oddly enough this is how I remember my first time to New York Fashion Week. This pic was taken the night before she did that. Some other things that stick out to me... LuLu  walking down the street in her floor length red fur. All I could think about is Samuel L. Jackson for some reason. It was so cold that season..bitter cold. I also think about how I wanted to go to an "after party". I was from a small town, married young and had only traveled a few times before this. When someone back stage told me he could get me and my friends into one of the designers after parties I was in. I did not, however, realize that these events start around 12 to 1:00 a.m.~who leaves the house to go out at that time? Any way..my friends went with me..not because they wanted to but I think they thought I would be on the morning news if they didn't. I walked in the door and the first thing I see was a man with head gear on (like an Indian) and all he was wearing was a green sequence thong... Oh and moccasins! I would hate to leave that part out. I really can't explain what all was going through my mind but I do believe I was speechless. I watched him for about 5 minutes dance with his air guitar (thinking he has to be on drugs) and decided this wasn't really my scene. Now let me clarify..I am not for sure if he was on drugs..I am just assuming but still felt pretty confident that I didn't want to hang around to see what 3a.m. would bring. This image still burns in my minds eye. You would think I would know better but I seem to only learn the hard way. Please don't judge me...I have to include this story so I can share it with my grandchildren one day.

On to less scandalous events of that week... It was the first time I had really been around celebrities. They were every where and I was really having fun seeing them. Pink, for example, looks so pretty in person. Some however..not so much. This is the moment I stopped buying tabloid magazines. Once you meet someone and realize they may or may not be anything like how they are depicted by the Media it just isn't the same. I watched one girl cry because she was on the worst dress list. The magazine did not say that the outfit she had on was from a photo shoot. I came back home feeling a little sad for them actually..or maybe it was just that I felt really fortunate that I could drive to Kroger in my PINK pajamas and no one would care.

I also laughed that week probably more than I have in my life time. We are all in groups when we work. Two to three teams are at the shows working while a group stays behind in "THE HOLE" to work on nails. We stay at the Marriott on 3East and 40th and have the top floor to ourselves. We usually eat out in the hall, wear our house shoes to get coffee in the lobby and call the bellmen by name. LuLu and Angie were on my team. Apollo armature hour had nothing on these two. Next week will be my 10th season at Fashion week. I am no longer the girl who wants to go to after parties..but it still one of the most fun times I have every year. We work very hard and I have become very proud of what we, as a team, are doing. NYC Fashion Week 2012..I can't wait to see what you have in store this season. See you Wednesday.

This is a pic of me backstage with one of the models. Skinny girls like to have fun too!

The bottom pic is of LuLu and Angie (AKA..two of the funniest girls in the world). Team A.

The tools we use..

This post is going to be very short but informative. If you are not a nail professional you may find this one of no use. But if you are an educator, do nail design or want to WOW your customers this is a must read.

  I don't want to call it nail art because that sounds so 1988 to me. I picture heart shaped stickers and rhinestones along the free edge. If you are still doing that..rock on but I am looking at it now more like fashion. If you want to" up your game" then listen closely. You need tools. Go to Kami or  http://www.nailsuppliesdirect.com/shop/index. You are going to get everything you need to hook your clients up with the latest styles and trends. This entire kit is about $20.
You also need foil. I know you can get this at various places but Dollarnailart.com  has the best bargain. You get a ton so it will allow you to "peacock" until your hands fall off.

Now..where to go to get the latest trends..www.cnd.com ~This is our site. Go to spot light videos and  watch some of the girls in action. It's a step by step guide. You can also check us out on Youtube.  Here are a few other sites I recommend you follow..The Fingernailfixer on Facebook. Holly is one of my fellow comrades and is always keeping peeps up to speed. Sam , total nail geek, at http://kookynails.tripod.com/id36.html

Here is what I am doing for Spring 2012..

• The mood ring with our color and effects. My friend and coworker Candice made this up. You may want to follow her blog as well.Nails And Lipstick
• The mood ring with shellac colors.
• Peacock the nails with foil
• Marbleizing with Shellac
• Glitter, or Rock star , with shellac

You can always contact me at jennifer.harrison@cndeducation.com if you need help.

p.s. I am not creative. I am not the girl who comes up with new concepts. If you feel your clients are not up for this or you can't do it..think again. I promise..they will love it and you can do it!

#15 marked off the bucket list!

Welcome to Hollywood!

In my first post for the new year I wrote my bucket list. It always amazes me how the things on it come in to reach with out me really trying to go there or do it. How # 15 came to pass...

I.S.S.E is the first show of what we, at CND, call show season. It is the beginning of a love/hate relationship that is a total blast but leaves us all very tired with little time to do much else. It usually goes from set up on Friday (9-5) to show (Sat-Mon..8-5). This was my first time working the Long Beach show so when I got the invite I said," yes". If I would have realized that Long Beach was just  an hour from L.A. I would have planned on coming in a day early to site see. I am not geographically challenged for the most part (just saying). Any way..I realized that I was too close to marking something off my list not to make it happen. My friend, Barb, and I went to the Derby last year together. She has a bucket list too (very swanky one at that). When I found out Barb was going to be in Long Beach I told her I had to find a way to see the Stinking sign so this is what we did...

She gets up at 5:15 to come get me. I am going to add that she was on the tail end of a 14 day work trip. I am also going to add that she has been tour guide barbie to her family and friends when it comes to L.A. about 10-15 times. In another words..she loves me! I am waiting on the steps of my hotel, like a 5 year old the night before they leave for DISNEY WORLD, when she arrives. Off we go. I have heard horror stories about L.A. traffic (one reason we leave so early Friday morning) but we have to be back for set up by 10:00. I would NEVER be late to set up. You will only get that part if you have worked a show. Surprisingly there is very little traffic and we get there close to sun rise.

Here is what you may or may not know about the Hollywood sign..I did not until Tour Guide Barbie told me. It originally said HOLLYWOOD HILLS but the Hills either fell off or was taken off. It was a realastate sign wanting people to know about the property. Hollywood Hills is a neighborhood. A very cool one at that. Adam Lavine from Maroon Five lives there( or did when Barb did his nails several years back).  We finally get to the top and I take the pic! Mission accomplished.

We had a little bit of time left so we went to see the Gaurman Chinese theater. This was cool as well. You would be surprised at how small some of these people are. There hands look like they belong to my 10 year old son. It puts another prospective on who you think may be handsome when their feet are smaller than yours. Boo!  We decided to go with Sandra Bullock. I love her..so does my husband:).

We got back in the car and headed to set up..ON TIME, actually early! This was such a fun day and another memory from this job that I will take with me forever. Barb..If you are reading this please know that I can't thank you enough. You are an awesome friend. xo

 

  July 3, 2011 I am at Whiskey Kitchen having dinner with a girlfriend. 10:30 comes around and I decided that I wanted to run my first 5k..the next day. I thought I may need to wrap things up if I was going to be running at 7:00 a.m so I ended my night and headed home. On my way home I called my life long friend,Jen. She is the friend, who lets just say, has let me talk her into pretty much everything and anything over the last 30 years. She answered the phone so that was all I needed. "Hey Jen, let's do the July 4th 5k in the morning."..and Jen replies, "O.K." Easy enough.

  When we arrived we were both a little nervous. We had not trained (obviously) and were rethinking our decision. Who cares, I thought. This is usually my motto. So off we go. We ran for the most part and finished the race in 35 minutes. We stayed to see who won. Some skinny girl won our age division but she wasn't much faster than we were. Now the competitiveness sets in..We both know that if we trained we could come back and win this local race next July. So at that moment the "RUN ONE A MONTH FOR A YEAR" goal was born. July 4th was our first and today's race will be our seventh. We have kept to our word but some things have evolved in this process. We now try to run on a Holiday ,like the one we did for Halloween. We decided to dress up as the Harlem Globetrotters. In my opinion one should dress up for any event; it makes it so much more fun. The next one was on Thanksgiving morning and then New Years Eve. Today we are running the Zoo run run at the Nashville Zoo.

 This is how this noramlly plays out..Jen is faster than me (her legs are longer:). She says she will stay with me but I always end up behind her. I don't mind this because it's a race and everyone should do their personal best. I have been training like a crazy person over the last few weeks, the race started later in day and I was feeling it(things are looking good). Jen stayed with me...or should I say..I stayed with Jen! And then we picked up the bff,Kel last month. She just wanted to walk last month and planned on doing the same today. She was a little under the weather but you would have never known..she was running like the wind. We ran our booties off. Jen finished at 33,I finished at 34 and Kel 35.

 It was a great day spent with great friends..It doesn't get any better than that!

~Jen



Until next time~
Jen

My top 5

  I have been very fortunate with my job and had the opportunity to see many things I otherwise would not have. If we went on vacation we were not staying at the Ritz..but let me tell you..once you do, it's hard to go back to the Marriott. I have traveled to over 8 countries in the last 7 years and  I have seen some amazing places. People often ask me, "Where was your favorite?" so I thought I would put together a list. These are my top 5 but in no particular order.

1. The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia (I am not sure if it's the men in knickers,that park my car,that I love, or the fact that they make smores every night by the camp fire.)
2. The Four Seasons Nevis, West Indies (there is no airport so you have to take a boat in from the neighboring island, St.Kitts. The customer service here is out of this world!)
3. Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina ( there are no street lamps, well..no lights period. When the darkness falls that is all she wrote. They want to keep it as natural as possible for the wildlife. People ride their bikes everywhere and it's probably one of the quietest places on earth).
4. The Ritz -Carlton ,Kapalua in Maui (It's Maui..enough said!)
5. One&Only Ocean Club,Bahamas (this place is$1,000- 10,000 a night for a suite. You get your own butler, who will run your bath and iron your clothes. I felt a little bad but let him do it any way.. Heck, why not!

Needless to say...these are some awesome perks to a very cool job.

 p.s. Before you hate me please read my next post..."All the airports I have slept in, there is no 8 hour work day, and being alone at a singles resort makes you look like you were left standing at the alter!"

The preacher or in prison

The preacher or in prison...that about sums it up.

 

 I am the girl who has trained for a marathon without missing a day and finished all 26.2 miles. I am also the girl who, on day three of her diet, will rummage through the cabinets at 3a.m. to find the one chocolate chip that I know got lose. I look for it like I need a 12 step program (true story).

 

I wish I loved eating my 1/2 cup of oatmeal with three egg whites but I am not..I want to go to Starbucks every morning and get a cream cheese danish with a large white mocha. I want to be naturally fit and never see cellulite. I would also like to have a tan..all year long. I am tired of shaving,waxing, hair, nails and makeup..it's a full time job just trying to look half way presentable. But here is the deal..I am 35. I want to be and feel my personal best so there has to be effort made. I want to be the most positive person anyone meets and if I have "muffin top" I am not as positive as I am when I don't..just saying. In life there are those who provoke change in others, make others reach for things they may not have thought they could. I hope that I am that person,even if it's just to my close friends and family. So..in the spirit of extreme..I have committed to the following challenges:

 

 

1. 5k in Jan

2. 5k in Feb

3. 5k in March

4. 1/2 Marathon in April

5. 5k in May

6. 90 day Beach body Challenge

7. Do 100 Push ups by the end of March ( girl style..this will be videoed and put on youtube).

 

I am doing a 5k every month for a year with my childhood friend, Jen.

Kellye,my bff, has got on board (Anna Kate is now 6 months so I get her back:)

Several of my other friends are setting new goals and checking stuff off their bucket list as well. Heather and Sandi will be doing their first 1/2 marathon with the rest of us. We are all getting cute shirts made for this event( photo ops and t-shirts are huge for me).

 

I am probably always going to be extreme..maybe one day I will find balance. But for today..I am going to do it all, be every where and do everything I can!