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4/9/2013

2 Comments

 
What a few weeks it's been! My mom was in town last week and we had an absolute blast.  I love my mom so very much and it was great to see her again, especially in MY town :)  We walked, shopped, saw 3 Broadway shows, and ate. A lot.  Seriously, we spent so much time eating.  It was glorious.  I took her to my favorite little groceries and specialty shops and went to new restaurants I've been wanting to try for ages (La Masseria and Bourbon St. to name but two that were truly outstanding).  We stumbled across the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (a place I'd wanted to take her, but completely forgot about - but God had things handled :P), toured around Greenwich Village, and Chinatown.  We even traipsed all the way out to Brooklyn for The Chocolate Room and ended up having some of the best ice cream I've ever tasted.  We took in the Macy's Flower Show, Union Square, and copious amounts of wine. She met some of my friends and we stayed up to extreme hours of the morning laying on the couch just talking (and laughing - there was a serious amount of giggling going one). The trip was over all too soon, but I am so very glad she was able to visit for even this short amount of time. 
Things have been slowly gearing up on the face painting front.  The table, bag, and tent arrived.  How I'm going to get everything to the festivals is beyond me - I'm not sure I'll even be able to get the tent down the five flights! No one in NYC I know seems to have a car/truck - guess I'll call a cab service and tell them to send one of their van cabs.  Still no word yet on the Clearview front - the guy I'm supposed to talk to about getting the Artist/Crafter rate booth fee ($55-$85, instead of the Merchandise vendor rate of up to $200!!) isn't in the office until the end of the month.  I may just go in and make my case to whoever is there.  Why they classify Facepainting as Merchandise and not Art is beyond me.  Sigh. 

I did a Frankenstein photoshoot yesterday with my friend Michelle from Michelle Lucille Photography for one of her clients in Central Park.  I'd never done a Frankenstein face before, but I looked at the pictures the client wanted to go by, then at a ton of pictures and tutorials of other face painter's work.  Here's the end result:

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Before juicing in the morning...
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After juicing! Still pretty scary stuff.
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And on the actual client. Even though I'd done it on my pasty white girl skin, it turned out quite nicely on his black man hue :) Yaa greatly pigmented makeup!!

On a slightly less terryfing note, my new Breville Juicer arrived!!!!  Allow me to introduce you to: Cranston the Pulverizer.
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I have not been more excited about finally receiving a package in the mail.  There was a good 5-7minutes of me whooping and hollering (ok, let's just call it what it was - I was screaming with excitement and some dancing around like an idiot). 
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Just look how freaking excited I am. Yes, I know that table is really gross - it's always been gross, and I have yet to paint it pretty colors. But now that the weather is nice...
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Cranston makes a TON of juice! And his feed chute is so big I can fit things in without cutting them so freaking small.  Oranges, carrots, strawberries all fit in whole, and small apples and grapefruits can also fit in whole - I just happened to have some massive specimens so I cut them in half.
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Me in disbelieving shock/awe/wonder at how freaking fantastic Cranston is.
Cranston is a bit more labor intensive to clean - you can't just put a plastic bag in the "pulp garbage", and you really need to clean the fine mesh separator with the handy little brush they provide.  But he's about the same size as Juicey (ie - he fits in the same place, not taking up a lot of room), super powerful (yet quieter than Juicey), and did I mention makes a TON of juice?!  Definitely the best kitchen gadget I've purchased for myself.  And I think it's fitting that as I type this, the song Smart Women is playing on my computer.  I know, Itunes, I am a smart woman :D 
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Cranston's initiation juice :)

And did I mention he comes with a de-frother?!  No more straining for This girl!


There is so much to learn about building a business.  When I start to get overwhelmed with everything I need to know/learn/do (can we take a second and acknowledge if it wasn't for my mother I'd totally be one of those people who knows nothing about taxes so never does them), I think about something my sister said to me and realize how awesome this actually is.  I'm 22 years old, didn't go to college, and I'm creating My Own Business!!! How cool is that?!  Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's also very exciting and worthwhile to pursue another love of mine and have it be self sustaining so I don't need to work other jobs for other people (I've realized I really don't like having a boss other than myself). 

I read a lot of blogs (let's be honest here, they're all about cooking), but I recently came across this nifty little site which is all about travel and life.  I'm excited to delve further into the archives, but here's a great article I read this morning which really spoke to me since I've been dwelling on "business sense" and whatnot lately.  Check it out!

I also just finished reading Eat Pray Love and quite enjoyed it.  It re-invigorated my deep desire to travel - back to Italy, and to Bali (which I fell in love with when my sister told me about her trip and showed me pictures and videos she'd taken.  Also nice that it's super cheap and tragically beautiful).  I'm not quite sure what I'm waiting for/what the deciding factor for me to go traveling is.  I've always felt one day I'll just pick up and go, and I'm yearning for that day to arrive, but I'm really not sure when it will.  Am I making excuses or valid reasons for not taking off right now?  Who knows.

I used to be a voracious reader until I moved to New York and became too busy to spend all day reading fantasy novels.  I'm discovering another facet of myself - that I enjoy great little biographies like this - sort of memoir-y, but also with great ideas and lessons and exotic locales. Before Eat Pray Love, I read Tina Fey's book Bossypants and loved it.  Any suggestions on what I should start reading next?


Benedizioni
2 Comments
Bill
4/10/2013 01:36:54 am

Aren't Mom's GREAT and they pick up the tab at the fancy meals you pick but you might want to start doing that tax thing. IRS do not read this.
So excited to see how you do with your new business. So much to learn but you are right it is great to be your own boss.
Hope this finds you well. Hope you can make a stop over and visit your next trip home.
Best Love to you,
Billy Jack

Reply
Nancy Menn
4/12/2013 06:34:14 am

You are so sweet and kind to your mom. I love that! I love your photos as well and all that you are doing. You're terrific.

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    Actress, Singer, Dancer, Food Enthusiast, Animal Lover, Writer.

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