New Beginnings

Hello there! I feel a little guilty for not posting here in so long, but I have to admit something to you; Last year was one of the hardest years of my life. I'm not going to go into detail (after all, this is supposed to be my happy place!) but let's just say that between the last time I wrote and now, life has been crazy, and not in a great way. Loooooooong story short, all of the cruddiness from last year culminated in my husband B and I deciding our lives needed a change. We packed up the house and dogs and moved to the Midwest. There are a number of pros and cons to this big change, but let's focus on the positive, shall we?

Good Things About Moving to Indiana: 

• I am not contracting for the company I used to work for, so I am able to focus on getting back into doing hair full-time. I got a job at an upscale salon that also has an onsite division so I am able to take my talents in several directions while under the umbrella of the same company. Things are slow going right now, but the positive side of being slow, is that there's only room to speed up!
• We are closer to my step-son, which will hopefully lend to spring-break and/or winter-break visits from him. He is a light in my life that I could use a lot more of.
• Life moves at a much slower pace in the middle of the country than it does on either coast. Though it is not our ultimate goal to live and die here, it is probably good to take a break from the hustle and bustle for a minute.
• I am much closer to photographers I'd love to work with, and have already set things up with a few of them.
• We get to meet new people, experience different points of view, and share our stories with others. It's been a big hurdle for me to branch out and meet new people since I moved to the East Coast (I had my sister and husband to introduce me to people they knew I'd like, so I didn't have to do any of the legwork!) but here I HAVE to meet people both to grow my business and to keep me sane. We've already made a couple of friends!
• I have a bit more time to sort out my goals and passions, and to learn new things. Lately I've been teaching myself to code, keeping in touch with penpals, crocheting a scarf, working out more, and learning lots of new hair techniques and tricks. As well as brushing up on my oil knowledge!

I won't lie to you, this move has also been very difficult for me - We moved on Jan 1, in the middle of the coldest, snowiest winter this town has seen in recorded history. We are far away from all of my relatives and friends, and B has been gone for the majority of the time that we've lived here. BUT like I said, the good thing about stuff being bad, is that there's so much room for it to get good. Winter is almost over, the snow will melt and I'll get to see this new town blossom. I get to go home and see my little sister AND my best friends get married this spring. In a couple of weeks, B will come home and start his new job that I am positive he's going to LOVE, and I am determined to meet some new people and help them feel great about themselves. 

It may be off to a rough (and cold!) start, but I have a great feeling that 2014 is going to be my year. Now, I need your help! What sort of stuff would you like to see me write about? Hair tips? Oil info and tricks? My favorite songs to listen to while coding (spoiler alert, it's not techno) How to dig your car out of the snow in less than 20 minutes? Shoot me ideas, and I'll make it happen!

All of my love. Stay happy and warm, friends!

T