It's Official!

Hey peeps! Guess what I finally did???

That's right! I got my very own site, it's up and running, and has a post all ready to be read right now!

Check it out HERE!

Sorry to move you over to another site, but this one is cooler because it's also my professional site. I hope to write more posts focused on assisting all you freelancer writers, entertain you with stories, and inspire fellow creatives. So add me to your Bloglovin lineup, here's the link to it in case it doesn't pop up in your search.

See you on the other site!

xoHM

Brithday and Love Notes

This sounds cheesy for sure, but I never thought I'd be a gal who got love notes.

But my sweet hubs continues to surprise me with them. It's just, it's the best you guys. Yes they are corny but damn are they sweet.

I probably should say something about my previous year, and how I want to change for the next one. Or some hopes and dreams, blah blah blah. But you  know what? Life has a way of always derailing my plans in the best possible way. So this time around, I'm just going to enjoy the route, no matter where it goes. I'll see where it takes me. I hope somewhere cool, or at least Paris.

I should probably watch the movie I was named after this year though, Hannah And Her Sisters. Besides that, I'm not planning anything.

Happy birthday to all the March babies out there.

The View From Up Here

moon picture source

I'm going to the moon.

Let me be clear:

I plan on stepping foot on the moon in my lifetime. I know that sounds crazy, but it's going to happen. This is my dream, my passion. I am going to be in space one day.

On day I'll place my foot on the dusty surface of the moon, hop around in the atmosphere, and wander around the terrain. I'm going to explore the craters carved out by angry meteors, enjoy the view of Earth from my perch, and revel in the vast expanse of space itself. I'll walk over the whole surface, map out each square inch. I'll set up a moon town, made of moon rocks, and visit each shop. Gotta support local businesses.

I want so badly to be up past the clouds, past the life giving atmosphere down on Earth. I want to break through the barrier of this planet, and journey farther than my relatives ever have. How amazing would my stories be, if I go to the moon? I could captivate children of the future with my moon adventures. How their eyes would widen in awe and amazement. To be up on the moon, they would get the craving to venture up there one day too. They would ask me many questions regarding my adventures. Like how my town is doing, what my moon home looks like. How they can also go to the moon, one day.

But I'm not going to the moon to impress anyone.

I don't need to tell stories of my grand adventures to anyone. I just want to go there to feel it. To have the experience of weightlessness, and absolute silence. To see what the stars look like from a different vantage point. Will I still be able to see Orion's belt all the way up here on the moon? Do shooting stars whiz closer? Can I still wish upon one?

Once I get to the moon, my trip won't be a short one. No, I'm going to camp here for a long while. I'll have my little space pod set up on the best plot of moon land. I'll have a view that will capture my attention for hours, gazing lovingly outside my space pod's windows. I'll build a city, with tall buildings that reach towards the black sky above. I'll take my moon car on road trips, and stay in moon hotels and eat at moon diners. I'll even cut down my own moon Christmas tree from the moon tree lot, and haul it back to my space pod for decorating.

But eventually, I might miss the sunsets back here on Earth. And the sweet smelling flowers, and the calming ocean breeze. I might miss the people too, and the animals. And maybe TV...

I'm going to the moon. I will walk on its surface, dance in it's atmosphere, and collect a few rock souvenirs. But don't worry, I'll come back, eventually.

Or maybe I'll just keep going farther out into space...Mars anyone?


xoHM

On living with a significant other who has a rare brain disease

The subtitle should be: ...and when he has a bad reaction to his medication and has seizures in the middle of the night.

But that's too long, obviously.

I haven't mentioned it before, maybe just in passing, but my husband has a rare brain disease that requires regular medication to ease the pain. It's usually not something we talk about a lot, the two of us, but sometimes it requires us to confront it face to face. Like this weekend, when it had a temper tantrum and wanted us to pay it our full attention.

At almost 6am, I woke up from a terrible sound. One that I dread all the time. I thought it was the hubs falling down our stairs. He's tripped down them before, and it's always been my worst fear.

Until this night, when my worst fear was one-upped.

I run to the hallway to find my husband convulsing, stuttering, and unable to take a deep breath. Next to him is his fallen glass of water, with his tablet floating in the puddle that has formed.

He ended up being okay, once I got him downstairs and onto the couch. Carrying a 6', 165+ pound man down a flight of stairs is something I never thought I would be able to write on a resume, but surprisingly under such conditions I can lift quite a bit. He slowly started calming down, his jitters subsided, and he was able to relax his stiff limbs. But that is a night that I will never forget, and never want to repeat again.

Of course, it's a total accident that it happened. How was he supposed to know that his meds would turn against him? They are supposed to help him, right?...

I don't know why I've never talked about this part of my life before, maybe I don't want to give it the attention. I also don't want people to pity me, or think I'm relying on it to be noticed. Believe me, I wish he never had this disease. But, he does, so I move on. Nothing I can do to change the past. And I knew what I was getting into when I married him.

So, it's just a thing we deal with. Sometimes it can be forgotten for a few hours, other times it can be overwhelming. But what I've learned is that no matter what, I'll always wake up in the night to take care of him, in case he needs me to carry him down a flight of stairs again.

Here's exactly what he has (HERE), he's the first person to have it as a child.

xoHM

Perseverance, character, hope

Recently I've been doing a She Reads Truth series, the "give thanks" 12 day one, and it's been such a refreshing experience. You know when you just need a boost? I never buy in app stuff either, but this one sounded like the perfect fit, so I bit the bullet and paid the $1.99. High roller, I know. 

Today's reading covered giving thanks while suffering, and everything clicked. Especially Romans 1:1-5. In it a sentence read: 

Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. 

Or something like that. 

Right before reading this, I was driving home from work. I had stayed late because I was helping my dad (who's also my boss) with my grandpa's trust account (he passed away recently with 4 other family members, 2014 wasn't a great year), and I was a bit out of it. As I drove through an intersection, a white truck ran the red and sped towards me. I was inches from crashing, and all I could do was thank God my brakes worked. I was close, and it reminded me of my crash in 2005.

I call it THE CRASH. I should of been crushed in my car. After all, a truck had just rammed it, pushing it 20 feet. The driver was 3x over the legal limit. But I was fine. After being jaws-of-life pried out of that car, I walked away unhurt, for the most part. Minor damages from a total wreckage. 

That's why I give thanks in those situations. This series is amazing, I think you all should give it a shot. 

Til next time peeps,

xoHM

Backstreet's Back, Alright!

I'm sitting here watching Dual Survivor and I got the overwhelming urge to blog. I have no idea why, but I really needed to get back to it, so here I am. (Also, this show is dope, if you are looking for a good one to get hooked on). 

I bought a URL, and totally planned on creating an awesome, beautiful, and super fun site, but then...

I got busy. Really busy. 

Which is good news, except I kind of lost some of myself in all that work. Has that ever happened to you? It's annoying. All I wanted was to sit down and relax, but I had a deadline every single day. Freelancing on top of working full time is a lot to do. And after writing articles for a company that is currently not even paying me has diminished most of my drive to continue to work with them. 

That's not to say my other clients aren't cool. I have some really sweet clients! I think this whole freelancing journey is teaching me so much, and while some lessons are harder than others, it's all for the betterment of my overall experience. 

So, now that I have some free time, (and now that I'm not super sick, this week was tough!), I'm going to be back on my blogging game. Get ready peeps! 

I want to keep it simple, and only blog about my life and writing. Hopefully that'll entertain a few of you to keep reading. I would really love for you to have a good time reading these posts :) If not, no worries, it was great of you to follow me this far. 

This past weekend I went to my future sister-in-law's bachelorette party in San Diego. It was so much fun, even though I had no idea who was going to be there! Her friends are the best, and that really taught me to be open to accepting new people in my life. I am usually the outgoing, social person anyway, but I hold back sometimes when there are too many new people. I'm better with one on one situations, you know? But each lady was so accomplished and smart, it made me want to start up my professionals group again. I loved every minute of that trip, even the 9 hour train ride each way (don't worry, I made friends as usual. Gawd I can't help but talk to strangers!). 

So much dancing, and plastic pink penises! Love this lady :)

Makeup Capsule Wrap-Up

Well it's been well over 3 months, and I've been done with this makeup capsule for a while now. But, as tired as I was of only one eyeshadow palette, (and as happy as I am with some new stuff from the holidays), I did learn a lot from this mini experiment, so I thought I'd list form it up for ya:

PROS

1. I love that I have a great go-to day wear makeup style that's easy and neutral for every single occasion. I used to take forever coming up with the right look with what I was wearing, but now I just do my basic makeup for work and it's so much easier. Plus, I can do a cat eye crazy fast now, which leads me to...

2. I got really good at doing a cat eye! Man, they were right when they say practice makes perfect.

3. I started doing my hair more for work, which I never did before. I would just straighten it and go, or wake up and go, if I was being super lazy (so like half the time). Now I do a different style every other day, so that's be a lot of fun to get into.

CONS

1. I was kinda bored of this capsule after month one. I guess I need some variety in my life!

2. Stuff wears out fast. Like mascara, eyeliner, concealer. Maybe I should stock up more, or buy larger products? I don't know, I was just kinda annoyed with how little makeup I got per purchase. Even though I don't get too fancy with my brands, I still would expect it to last at least close to three months. Maybe that's just me though.

3. Every palette has it's limits. I would try to do a fun, new, inspired look for the blog, but found out that it all kinda looked the same. Or that I didn't have all the elements that I needed. Not a huge deal just annoying.

So I would say that this was a great experiment in the fact that I learned a lot, went out of my comfort zone, and grew from the experience. I don't think I'll do anything as extreme as this again (not that it was hard core or anything, I mean, it's makeup for cryin out loud), but I do really appreciate getting my makeup slapped on my face faster now in the mornings!

Also, I got a bunch of Stila for the holidays, and you guys, I think I might of found THE BEST EYELINER CRAYON IN THE WORLD! No but seriously, I know that sounds dramatic but I'm pretty sure the search is over. We've got a winner folks! Come on down! It even lasts after 16+ hours of wear including a gym workout! Crazy shit I tell ya! Here's the link (I have it in Damsel which is a very dark brown).

xoHM