What's up?

DISCLAIMER: I have a bunch of new friends on social media and if you dont know what this is about click here for and explanation.

   So it's been a few months hasn't it? What have I been up to? What have you been up to? Oh really? Well let me catch you up on going on over here. 

Let's be real and say what I was avoiding saying since June. I was laid off. Whew. Since being laid off I've felt I've lost direction, and with a loss of direction, I've had a loss of inspiration to write. I thought I would have all this time to write and it's been the opposite. I've been an anxious stress ball and the want to write about anything other than how much I want to cry has escaped me. So let's catch you up on what I have been doing. 

- We moved! Literally 5 minutes or less down the road but to a bigger apartment.  I love this apartment. 

- Makeup. I have been super into makeup, costume and aesthetic. 

I've felt like I should see getting laid off as a new start and do something I really want to do. So the last few months have been a discovery on what that is. Is that makeup? I dont know but I love doing makeup. I love experimenting and trying new techniques. I looooving making people look beautiful but more importantly I love making people feel beautiful. 

- Also I've been hooping. I've been hooping for 6 months now! Whoa! 

- I did get a seasonal job at Scarowinds doing costuming. For those of you who don't know Scarowinds is a haunt at the amusement park here. I actually, brace yourself, enjoyed this job. Like actually. Weird right enjoying work? Ha ha who does that!? 

It's truly been a great experience. It's reminded me that it is possible to find a job you don't hate. And it's possible work being creative. I was surrounded by people I not only respected personally but creatively also. It was great to feel like what I want out of life is possible. 

- I've also gone to the Renaissance Festival twice. It was fun as always. 

I even made a little Ren fest vlog! You can find it here.

All in all it hasn't been terrible. I've been good at hiding how stressed I am about not having a real steady income. I feel like my next move and my next job or break through is right at my finger tips I just need to keep reaching. 

As for this blog. I truly am sorry I have been MIA. And to Mocha I made this for you and I am sorry I haven't been posting. I don't know that I will keep up with every Monday posts like I used to. But I will keep posting. I might do like end of the week, what I've been up to if I don't post anything. I'll probably do more beauty stuff since it's easier to be inspired that way then life advice. But I'm still here. I'm back.

Getting Wax Out of a Candle

I love candles so I have a few around the house. Most of them are currently packed up except for the Rio Grande candle from bath and body works because it smells fresh and pretty but also because it's almost done and I want the glass container. Candles smell nice but also they usually come in a pretty glass votives or containers that could serve a purpose after it's candle life. Oh candles I feel you, switching careers can be tough but sometimes necessary.

Anyways I did some experimenting with how to get the little bit of useless wax out of the glass container. First I tried adding boiling water. 

And it did work.. Kinda. You could see the wax was lifting and moving to the top of the water. It just wasn't enough, it didn't free all of the wax before the water started to return to room temperature. 

So I tried another method. I put the candle in the freezer for an hour and a half or two hours I can't really remember and this worked much better. When I removed the candle from the freezer the wax had shrunk in size. Just enough so it wasn't touching the sides of the glass any more. 

So I took a knife and ran it around the outside of the wax to make sure the sides were free and the started to chop the wax into pieces so it would detach from the glass completely.

Once I got all the wax free from the glass I threw the wax away and cleaned the glass.

Yay!

Now I have the perfect glass container to put my makeup brushes in! 

I'm excited that I figured this out, I have a bunch of things I could use this for. And it gives me yet another excuse to burn more candles!

Edit: I wrote this awhile ago and I finished the Rio Grande candle. It was a little more difficult to get the wax out but when I did the end of the wicks were glued onto the bottom. I just wanted to show you in chase you stumbled on this because I was able to get them out just a little more work. 

So You're a Senior

Dear Mocha and Any New High School Seniors,

 

Today was your last first day of school. Whoa. I can't say I remember mine but I remember the feeling. Feeling like my youth was fleeting, in just a few months I'll be an "adult", and like I was one of the big dogs in the halls. I was in a hurry to grow up and get out. My advice to you this year is to savor and hold on to your senior year. Make the absolute best of this year. Take advantage of every opportunity even if it's out of your comfort zone. This is your last year in high school which means you're closer to getting out but it also means you'll never be here and at this point in your life again. Enjoy it. Work hard and remember there is a light at the end of the dark confusing tunnel that is high school. 

Ps. Leave the freshman alone you were once those bright eyed newbies 

Displaced Anger

Dear Mocha, 

Hello after yet another break I'm back. The past couple weeks we have packed up all of our things and moved to another apartment. Technically we are all moved in now and we are almost all unpacked. Still finding new homes for some old belongings. Maybe I'll do another post with not really a tour but snap shots of my favorite parts of our new home. But for now back to business. 

Something has been on my mind lately. Displaced anger. Getting mad and frustrated is part of being human but sometimes we take our anger out on the wrong place or person. Maybe it's because it's something or someone we are more comfortable with or easier than focusing our anger where it belongs or would be useful. I am most definitely guilty of this. It's something that I don't always realize imidiately. Usually it takes until I'm calm and level headed to understand and sometimes it takes someone else pointing it out. I've been thinking about what the best approach to solving this issue is and the best way to advise you. A good way to start is to recognize that you're doing it or did it. Once you have, a good way to clear the air or attempt to mend a situation is to apologize and explain. The hardest part really is recognizing that you did it. Most of the time we are so caught up in anger we lose focus of what really made us feel that way. But once you realize that you are, know that you are never too big or too good to apologize.

Video #2 Home Haul

Hey guys my second video is live right now!! I did a Home Haul. What's home haul? Watch the video to find out!

Be Unapologetically You

Dear Mocha,

Last week one day late, this week two days. Ugh I know.

I was reminded a couple days ago how often when I was younger I would try to be someone I'm not. I think most people go through this one time or another in their life especially in high school or maybe in college while you're trying to figure yourself out. Or maybe you just have someone in your life you want to impress and you abandon who you are to be who you think they would like you to be, it's happened to the best of us. Watch any high school drama type movie you'll know what I'm talking about {hello Breakfast Club}. You create this facade of who you'd like to be seen as. As I've gotten older experiences and people have left an impact on me to help mold my opinions and ideas. Who I am hasn't changed and it's who I'll always be. And I realize how silly I was to try to be someone I'm not. 

My advice to you is to be unapologetically you. Even if you don't see it now the person you are is awesome. If there is anyone in your life who makes you feel like you aren't good enough or cool enough, one day you'll realize you don't need them. Because anyone who makes you feel like who you are is lesser than anyone else, doesn't deserve to be in your life. Don't try to change who you are to fit in or impress anyone. I can confidently say I'm much happier being me than trying to be anyone else. 

Ps. New video will go up sometime this week! :) 

Changes and a Youtube channel

Hello welcome back.

 If you are here via your computer or even your phone there have been some changes. Cha-cha-cha-changes. This has been a long time coming. I have been wanting to change the look of this blog for awhile now and I finally got the time to do it. So new background, new colors, and a new logo/header. Hooray for changes! I hope you like it! If you like how it was before.. WELL TOO BAD. Haha jk. But seriously.

Now on to the good stuff. I have been talking about starting a YouTube channel forever. And I do have one which can be found here but it only had vlogs on it until now! 

My first real YouTube video is now live. And you can watch it below. I plan on making more videos about things and well its kinda explained in the video. Just check it out.