My New Curly Hair Product Invention!

I've tried a new concoction of products in my bathroom to get curly hair for the summer, and I'm so excited that it's working!

True ocean water has been the best "product" to give me natural waves. Ocean water brightens hair in the sun, and it coats it with salt to keep your hair in position. Not the John Frieda Ocean Water product, because that was a big disappointment. Not only did it not coat my hair in salt, but it smelled like coconut sunscreen, which is not how the ocean smells. In fact, it was sticky, and didn't even taste like salt. It curled my hair, but not in the true ocean water kind of way that leaves your locks thick, stiff and soft.

So, in my thoughts yesterday, I considered dissolving some sea salt from the kitchen in hot water, and sprinkling it on my hair. Then I considered using my Ameripure Crystal exfoliator because it does taste like salt, and it's basically salt and some kind of baking soda or something. Plus, one day when I was exfoliating my face, I got some of the product on my bangs, and it actually made them stiff yet soft, and they stayed right where I wanted them!

So this morning, I took a tiny dip of the AmeriPure exfoliator, mixed it with water, and scrunched my hair, which does have some natural wave to it, but it's all about capturing that wave. I did scrunch and blow dry, which maybe I should not have done, because my top pieces did get blown frizzy and straight. Otherwise, though, I am having curly hair!

Proof of Curly Hair From My Product Invention

One curly lock!

Natural curly waves!

FashionMista's Recipe for Curly Hair Product Combos

Products:
2 tiny dips of Ameripure Crystal Exfoliator
Splashes of water
Aveda's Smoothing Fluid
Redkin #2 Water Wax

Procedure: how to get curly hair from these products
Start with wet hair. Dip your finger into the Ameripure Crystol Exfoliator and mix it with some water from the faucet. Rub it on your hands and scrunch into your hair. Blow dry with scrunches if you wish, and if you have a round diffuser, that would be best. Otherwise, blow dry and scrunch lightly, then let the rest air dry. More curls will come. If you can get into the sun while the hair is still wet that would be fantastic.

Once suitably dry (maybe just the underneath is wet), squirt about 3-5 squirts of Aveda Smoothing Fluid onto your hands and lightly scrunch while smoothing over the top frizzy parts. To finish the curly ends, take a small dip of the Redkin #2 Water Wax and quickly pull at the ends of your hair. For extra hold, rub in some more Ameripure Crystol Exfoliator.

Comment below if you try it!

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Health Insurance for the Entrepreneur

Quick research this morning into how to get health insurance has led me to the following (new) list of things to do. I share this with you because it's good to have this in place when you set up shop for yourself, so that you can easily enroll in a group plan like with the Freelancers Union. This list is a result of the eligibility list at Freelancers Union:

• Submit your proof of incorporation. I do have LLC paperwork that I got last May, so that's good.
• I can show proof of pay from my last work in order to meet the 20 hours of pay for 8 weeks. So, I'll need to go online with the payroll company and print off some payment pages that show how many hours I worked.
• Freelance proof of payment. This is where I wish I had a better system (hello, admin whirlwind). I have not been making copies of checks, but really should have been. I had a copier/printer, but it sort of broke, so I need a copier. From now on, will copy all checks and staple them to invoices, like a good little accountant would. Now I have to go online and search for pictures, I think, of those checks.

Knowing this might take a little bit, I followed up with the Cobra notice I got in the mail, dated March 9, 2007. My last date of work was February 28th, 2007. Thanks for the late note. They say I can pay monthly for my insurance, but I need to pay for 2 months, which would be over $700. No way! Bad investment. I know it's a gamble, because I could get very sick or have a torn retina or something, but this is not an investment I want to make. So I need to move the above list up the master list of priorities and get it finalized with Freelancer's Union.

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Gmail is Down...And Subfolders

Gmail is down, and it's like I might as well be offline. You know when you're at work, and they lose the ability to be online, and you're like, well, we better go home! What else are we going to do? But I am home, and there is nowhere to go but the chair I am sitting in.

At least Blogger works.

Seriously, though. So I'm tacking projects that I've otherwise put off. Mind you, they are online, but because gmail is down, I feel like I might as well be offline. We have one website that is very close to launching, and I needed to put some creative brain power into it. So, to stay focused, I did not log into gmail, and only logged into her website to upload new files. I only logged into gmail after about an hour to retrieve a file that I needed to upload. An voila! Someone from gmail Contacts saw me log in and emailed me a job. Amazing.

But, as stated in the last post, I may need to move into my Mac Mail program. Not .mac, that could be even worse. It has sub folders, and I really like sub folders. I've been denying my obsession with subfolders in favor of just going to gmail for everything in my life (an avoiding Entourage), but to tell you the truth, gmail labels just aren't cutting it. They never cut it. I actually hate them.

Gasp! I said it! Owner of 2 shares of Google and I used the word hate and something Google in the same sentence! But seriously. They need to let us have subfolders, because we're not all geniuses, and we can't all remember terms from emails to look up. Like, I need to find receipts for my laser hair removal credit card. It's the GEOnline card, or way I pay that card. So I look it up in gmail - after not having created a label for it b/c it's so easy to "search" - but no. It's called GE.Online. Ah! Who can remember that? And I'm not going to label it "receipts" for all of those smarty pantses out there. "Receipts" is for business related things only. And laser hair removal does not qualify.

Subfolders.com.

But I will say this: I do like that one email can have more than one label. But I still like subfolders better.

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More Things I'm Noticing About Working For Myself

It's kind of busy here at Katie James Central, and I've been noticing a few more things about working for myself:

• I'm recycling! Never before have I printed on the back of scrap printing paper, but now that I'm paying the Staples bill, I'm flipping those pages and feeding them through the machine. Feels really good anyway, and I wish I had done this long ago. The recycling bug spread to my kitchen, where I will now be a willing New York recycler by putting two trash bags in my trash can. Normally I swear off recycling b/c of the extra effort involved in putting aside glass and cans, claiming that I had no extra room in my kitchen. But I really do. And that feels good, like I'm throwing away clean trash or something.
• I'm in an Admin Whirlwind. It's not quite a cyclone, but luckily, I have invoices to create, and I just WISH that QuickBooks would embed itself into my head and computer, so that I could just wake up and know it. I've started reading the manual so as to know what to expect, but have not made the time to install it. You see, I do keep record of my times on jobs and expenses, so all of this is in excel sheets from January at least. I'd love to have a complete 2007 in QuickBooks, so may hire my trusty dog walker to do admin over a nice cup of tea or something.
• Working with the cats and Gerdy and my iPod is fun, and emailing all day is fun. Phonecalls are fun. But it really does take me about 1 hour of direct communication with another person to get back into the swing of communicating to my fullest potential.
  
• Maybe it's not such a good idea to totally work in gmail! It's been down for 3 hours! Plus, I need to get in the habit of sending from my katie-james.com account anyway. It does make a person look more legit, even if I've had it for 2 years and it all just forwards into gmail. This was confirmed by someone who I know on the phone today when I told her to email me at katie-james.com. She was excited that I had my own katie-james.com email...but I've always had it! So, lesson learned: don't rely on gmail. Have addresses/phonenumbers in a backup program, and use the email from my actual work web address. For the most part I have contact info in my Address program for Mac, but there are new ones that have not made it in yet.
  
• Thank goodness I'm at home for when stoves get delivered. Sheesh. Didn't get a call about that delivery.
• Thank goodness I bought my HP Laserjet 1300. That's all I have to say.
• Also thank goodness I set up my merchant account long ago and ordered checks, so that check writing to people who need checks is simple from my business-only account. Also thank goodness I connected everything in my online banking.

Still on my list of things to do:

• Start the new Katie-James.com website that includes website design and SEO tips.
• Health insurance.
• Confirm with TIAACref that I filled out my IRA papers correctly, then mail them. Just took them over to my former employment to have the accountant fill out the Former Employer page.
• Get a fax machine.
  

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Benefits Mascara - Not So Beneficial

Hate to admit this, but I was wrong about Benefits Mascara. I was first warned by a friend that Benefits mascara smelled. Writing it off as peculiar PMS high-alert senses, I continued to use it. Then my sister complained after using it (attempted theft is more like it), saying that it went on super clumpy. I wrote that off as the hardships from having already long and thick lashes.

When I bought my second bottle from Sephora, I could not deny the smell, the lightness of the bottle, and the clumpiness on my own lashes. It could have been a bad bottle from Sephora, but I don't think so. First of all, any makeup bought from a Sephora store is suspect because of all of the unqualified, public hands that get all over it and mess it up. Yes, I have bought Benefits eyeshadow, that I love, but that had been dipped into. The shadow and lip gloss that also came with the shadow set were marked. I just don't like Sephora.

But the Benefit mascara was a disappointment. The next mascara to try on my list was Dior. I was in Saks with my Newly Engaged Mista friend, and while walking out, walked right past the Dior counter. I of course got a mini-makeover and bought the mascara, which I must say has a nicely perfumed smell. It also brings a very delicate look to my lash, which I like. But, I'm going to do an official post on it, because my Dental Mista friend said that she is married to Maybeline's mascara. So I will get it from Duanne Reade and compare. Stay tuned.

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Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #4

Alas! An update for my 4th laser hair removal appointment. It happened in February, which is just when I quit my day job and started working for The Woman (me!), so I've been in the exciting time suckage of entrepenuria. (see my first launched website, as my accessories business, Katie James, has expanded to include website design).

The most important answer of all: I am still shaving. Argh! It's true. The hair is going away, though. I can tell because there is an area that I've decided I want gone, and it's not as caught up as the other parts, so there is a visible difference. So at least it's working. And I'm finding solace in the fact that if after 6 appointments the hair is not totally dead and wiped off the planet, I can go back for 2 years.

I do still get a few ingrowns, but they are most likely last attempts at being totally annoying. I started lasering in the summer. July, actually. So I've spent most of the winter undergoing the laser hair removal treatments. The summer, I think, is when ingrowns come more often.

The fourth appointment, strangely, did hurt more than the others. I could feel the laser more. Mind you - I am fair skinned with dark leg hair. I'm an American Mut, so if I was Syrian, like my good friend Dental Mista, I might experience more pain. The estheticians have claimed to have turned the laser up to full blast in the past, but I'm thinking that they couldn't have, since this time was the strongest I had felt it.

Speaking of Dental Mista, she had her 4th, and last, appointment with her dermatologist. Dental Mista was in a lot of pain. She is Syrian, so while she is fair skinned (when not tan), her hair is pretty coarse. Her dermatologist's laser package was a pack of 4 appointments. Her hair is not gone, and she does need to go in for more. My hair is not gone, but I have 2 appointments left, plus this 2 year extension (providing they live up to their word). I do have a friend, we'll call her Dog Park Mista, who did have success in killing all of the hair follicals on her legs, but it did extend beyond 6 appointments. It was not with American Laser Centers.

I think it all has to do with the thickness of hair. My lighter pieces have been the first to go. And by lighter I mean not super coarse. For example, I do have lighter hairs on my love trial. Those are pretty much gone now. The fifth appointment is in April. I promise I will not wait so long to post!

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Deep Thoughts :: On Snoozing

I love snoozing. Snoozing is like having hors devours for breakfast.

If you have trouble snoozing, like if your snoozing is out of control, consider this mobile alarm clock named Clocky...how cute!? Clocky is available at Elsewares...where else? Haha, just got that. Wonder if that name is intentional.

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Thoughts on Jury Duty

Also not fashion related, but in the day of the life of an entrepreneur, one can get called to jury duty. Fortunately, during the waiting periods, which is basically like waiting for a delayed plane at the airport, I can park myself next to an outlet on the floor and work on my laptop. And the courthouse has wireless, so that's nice. But, I don't get paid by the young Katie James LLC for these days, which for others, could be a free pay day of reading a good book. I do get $40, I think, for my time since I am not being paid by an employer.

So. I've just come out of 4 rounds of a group of maybe 100 people being considered for a sexual abuse trial of a child. Being an honest, upstanding citizen, I resisted temptation to answer the questions in such a way that would have me not chosen. Like, I did not raise my hand when asked by the defending lawyer if we thought we could absolutely not respect the law and treat the defendant, seated in front of us, as Innocent, as is his right protected by law. Some people raised their hands right away - the golden ticket out of a potentially 2 week long trial. I also did not complain about my schedule. A cancer doctor tried to, stating his 120 patients a day (woa, is that right? Or was it a week. Kind of think it was a day...), but otherwise, I kept quiet.

I did, however, when asked directly by the defence lawyer, admit that I was on the fence about being able to be impartial towards the defendant seated in front of me, and presume him innoscent. This was after she stated loads of reasons why it would be hard for us to do so, like use of the graphic language that would be used, the child that could testify, the fact that an arrest was made, etc. The man seated next to me, a southern gentleman from Alabama, of course said that he would absolutely be able to be impartial. That made me feel great. Note sarcasm.

Two thoughts here: 1. As a victim of a crime, where 5 young thugs gathered round me and one had me in a bear hug for a while, I was thinking I could be viewed as sensitive. But in my case, the officers completely arrested the wrong people. They arrested girls based on another hunch they had regarding a stick-up of a delivery man (one of the most dangerous jobs in the city, imo, because of all of the cash they carry). 2. The defense lawyer was doing a great job making us all doubt our ability to not cast guilt on her defendant. Now I'm wondering, is this a stall tactic? What if you can't find a jury? Maybe a Lawyer Mista can chime in here.

When the lawyers were done asking their questions, injecting us with feelings about the case, the defendant, and the ADHD child, we were led into the hallway to wait. Ten minutes later, we were all dismissed, and here I sit now waiting to be called and placed in the middle of somebody else's upside down life. Next time, in the court of law, I will be sure that I will answer, and think, that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty, and that I can focus on the evidence.

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How to Start and Write a Good Blog

Starting a blog is very fun and easy. Maintaining a blog is very fun and easy. Keeping and finding readers, that is the challenge. And the playing field changes every day, so you've got to keep your ear to the ground, or your eyes on the screen, and keep experimenting with ideas that may work for your blog.

This blog was started by accident. In order to comment on a friend's blog in Blogger, I had to create a Blogger Account. Hers was mouse-themed, and I had just created a fashion mouse toy for cats called a "fashionmista," so I called this blog FashionMista. Then the blog became a publicity arm for my design business, Katie James to announce products and track the movements of an entrepreneur. That got a little slow/boring, as I'm not made of money, so I wasn't churning out products every month, so I started featuring other designers and curious products on the blog as well. And you can't have a blog without some kind of love interest, so my boyfriend gets to be featured (he has no choice in the matter), and of course the stars of the show, the cats Dinah and Oliver, and my dog Gerdy.

I took these questions came from an actual person who could potentially create a great blog, and I'm happy to link to her when she creates her blog. I'll give my take on them. If there are other bloggers reading this, please feel free to comment with your own advice/experience.

Is there a particular host that is better than another? (Blogger? Wordpress? Typepad?)

Depends what you mean by "better." I think this is answered in design templates (for those who do not want a custom design); user-friendly admin area for creating posts and editing the side panel of featured links; and who the company is behind the blogging software. If finance is a factor, Blogger and Wordpress offer free blogs with simple design templates. Typepad does charge a fee, but may have slightly better design templates to chose from.

Template Design
Design is pretty important. Currently, this blog uses a design template. I am a designer, but have not made the time to focus on my own blog to redesign it. Therefore, like non-designers, I am at the mercy of blog templates. Blogger's are pretty lame, to be honest (except for mine, of course). They are basically text and colors, which you can change whenever you like, which is a perk. Wordpress has a greater variety, but you cannot change link or text colors, etc. They are more image based, so they are less flexible to play with.

User Friendly Admin Area
Blogger and Wordpress: I'm partial to Blogger because I've been using it for so long, but it's just so darn easy. The Help is not so helpful, but there are plenty of others out there who can help. I like bloggerforum.com a lot. I've used Wordpress, and they have made up words for simple things like Link Lists on the side of the blog. Blogger calls a link list a "Link Lists." Wordpress might call them Wrtyesti or something unique to them. Then you have to go into their help section to see what the heck it means. There are also several main areas to go into in order to change components of your site. Blogger has 3, and then has sub areas. For example, Wordpress may have 7 main areas, and then several sub areas within that. It has a section for adding/editing static pages, or a section for dealing with posts, or a section for adding "widgets" to the side panel. It's just easier on Blogger, which offers many of the same thing, except the static pages feature. But even that isn't that big of a deal if you just create a main link for a post in your side bar. Look to the side of this blog and see a link for "Conversations for Emerging Designers." This is just a blog post, but I treat it like a "static page." Blogger just rolled out their new way of editing templates, which involves a lot of easy drag and drop features into the side panel. I love this, and am currently checking to see if the drag and drop features are still available if one uses a custom designed template, vs one of theirs. Bottom line: I was not impressed with the admin area at Wordpress.
Typepad: Typepad is ok...but I have not used the main functions of it. I have only created and edited posts for another blog, so I can't really give a good analysis here. But it is a very clean and crisp place.

Company Behind the Blogging Software
Blogger is owned by Google. As an owner of 2 shares, bought on the day they went public, I'm a little partial. ;) But, being that the service is free, changes are a little slow to happen. Wordpress and Typepad are fee based, so that kind of business model puts a little pressure on the company to grow and increase their features more quickly. That said, Google is Google, and they keep coming out with cool stuff that works with eachother. Many people love Wordpress, especially programmers because it is easy to customize IF you are hosting it yourself (this means you pay a hosting company to host your blog, and your files are kept on your server).

If you're going to host your blog yourself, using the above mentioned blogging platforms, I recommend Dotster. They have friendly customer service you can call over the phone, 24/7.

How do you build readership?

I read this quickly and at first thought it said "How do you build relationships" because that is what you are doing in the blogosphere in order to build readership: you build relationships. You can create a cute little graphic and advertise with it on other blogs or websites, but that requires random people to randomly click on it. A relationship with another blogger means you may be featured on their blog. A relationship with your readers is when they comment and you comment back. This does a few things for you:
A). people are following a conversation and are getting to know you.
B). people see that you are engaged and care about them
C). you are creating more searchable conent on your own blog, and making it appear active to the search engines that are "spidering" your blog. This may or may not be true, but when there are active comments being posted onto a blog, it is my theory that the blog stays active in a Google Blog search, or a list of most recently updated blogs.

How to best position/market the blog to drive traffic to my e-commerce website?

The blog can actually help your e-commerce website get found two ways: in search engines and in clicks from your site. So the approach here is a bit of the reverse. Gaining higher rankings in the search engines depends a lot on how many quality links point to the pages you want to come up. For example: I want my jewelry bags to appear in the search engines for searches for "jewelry bag." I wouldn't mind it also coming up for "travel jewelry pouch." So, I can polightly hound other bloggers for links and reviews, and I can create my own links on my blog. See, I've already done it twice here - one for "jewelry bag" and one for "travel jewelry pouch." There, I did it again. These are just a few more links in the world that are pointing directly to my jewelry bag page and helping it rank. If you google "cute jewelry pouch" it's no accident that my site came up. It took hard work of link building (but dang, it looks like someone from ebay is beating me...because ebay is so huge that it inherently has big linking power as a website)! And I have a lot of link building to go.

So that covered how to just help your ecommerce website get traffic without even going to your blog. From your blog, you can feature things on your site using your side panel, like I have. You can create internal links, like I just did in the above paragraph. These let you refer to something on your site in "conversation" so that people are already curious and might click to see what you are talking about.

How do you sell ad space on your blog?

You get readership and then you develop a line sheet that gives the numbers of how many unique visitors you get a day or month, and you scour your site stats for other demographic information to make your blog look good. You can sell ad space in your side column, or maybe by post. You'll see that I do not sell ads on this blog, but if I did, I would put them on the side column. Part of why I do not sell ad space is because I feel limited by the template design. I want a 3 column design, which is a column on the left, the main content in the center, and a column on the right.

Featuring pages inside of my blog is as important to me as selling that space. Why? Because it generates clicks. People see the side column and click on a page, thereby reading more FashionMista than just the front page. I could also sell ad space on relevant posts. One of my more popular pages is my landing page for my journey in laser hair removal, thanks in part to a link from American Laser Centers on their News page, which then boosted that page in the search engines, which then gets the page in front of more eyeballs, and I get more clicks. Now hopefully you see the importance of links from other websites. Links to your own pages from your own website are important as well for the same reasons.

Quick and easy ways include Google's Asense. You can put the text ads on the side, or in a specific post. I have them in specific post because that is where I get clicks. The ads are generated based on what content is on the page. FashionMista as a whole covers a lot of topics on the front page. The current page has a deep thought on rats in garbage bags, cheap makeup tips, how to write a good blog, etc. By having the google ads in each post, I get very targeted ads, which people are more likely to click on.

You can also try Amazon's Affiliate program, or any affiliate program. I do Amazon, where I recommend a book or camera and include a special link URL that lets Amazon know that FashionMista was the referral, and I get a small percentage if someone buys what I recommended. They can actually buy anything. I believe it's a 30 minute window of the user shopping, and FashionMista would get the credit for commission.

General dos and don’ts or other words of advice?

Blogger Do's

• Do use a good site stat program. I use StatCoutner.com and Google Analytics. StatCounter gives me live results, and formats it in such away that I can see the referral link and location in the same place. So I can see if I got someone searching for "do I have to be a good drawer to be a fashion designer"? (yes, someone actually typed that) and they maybe were in Miami, FL. To create/draw traffic, I wrote a blog post on it, hoping that others asked the same question. And they did, so that page sees some traffic. How do I know? Because I check my stats for popular pages in Google Analytics, and for a play by play, check in StatCounter.com for hints. StatCoutner.com is free and only keeps 100 at a time. They have paid versions, but I don't do that. Google Analytics is also free, but you have to sign up and they may have a waiting list.
  
• Do enable your comments for a post, but in your overall comment options, make it so you get to authorize each comment. Blogger and Typepad have this, and I'm sure Wordpress does to. It's a simple feature in a Settings area. Otherwise, you will have Comment Spam (see below)
• Do pay close attention to the keywords people are using to get to your blog. It will give you ideas of what to write about.
• Do collaborate with others on types of articles. It generates good will and ads more dimension to your blog.
• Do link to someone if you say you will. I am a bad example of this at the moment, because I get swamped and forget. So know your limitations when you say you are going to do something.
  

Blogger Don'ts

• Don't suggest people go to your blog for a certain page via forum or emails without letting them know what will be on there. It's like a tease but without the tease. True blogging is all about being helpful to the world.
  
• Don't comment drop aka Comment Spam. This is when you go on someone's blog and randomly comment in their comment area with a "Love your blog! Keep up the good work! For juicy poker tips, visit mysuckysite.com!"
• Don't buy links at link farms or directory sites. These links are worthless. You want quality links pointing to you.
  

I'm going to stop here because I have to work on other things. There could be more on how to start and write a good blog later, so keep your eyes here. Go ahead, bookmark the page. :) Oh, but most importantly, just start the blog!!

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Dayna's Cheap Beauty Tricks

David's twin sister, Dayna, entertained some friends on a boat. It was a Girl's Day on the boat, and she asked her girlfriends to bring one cheap beauty tip. Dana claims to not have her own beauty tips, but she seems to have quite a few...

1. Vaseline on your brows in the morning when you're doing your make-up to deepen your color and keep the flyaways or no-helpers in place. By no-helpers we mean stray long ones that you don't want to hit your eyes in an ungainly way.

2. Vaseline on your lips at night, just because Dana says so. She says:
"Don't most people?" Well, I didn't, but now I think I might.

3. Shave your legs with cheap hair conditioner (the kind that leaves residue on your hair). The cheapest your can find, like Suave, or something one sale. The conditioner is slippery so it won't clog the raiser like bar soap or regular shave jell. Personally, I use Oil of Olay bar soap, and have for years, to shave my legs, and it's just fine. But if you use shave jell, conditioner seems like a better idea.

4. For rough skin patches, there is a baby jell available in the baby section of the drug store. It is a combination, or something, of oil, and baby something. It might be Johnson and Johnson, but it is a jell-like-lotion that is great for very rough patches like elbows, the backs of arms, upper thighs. Available in the baby section of the drug store. We don't know what it's called, and we don't know how to Google it, but it's there.

5. Exfoliate your lips. That's right. Brush your lips while brushing your teeth. This clears the chapped, flaky pieces of skin that you just want to pick off.

6. Witch hazel. I've heard this one before, so it's confirmed. Buy witch hazel at the drug store for $2.99 instead of expensive toner. Personally, I use Clinique's number 2, but have been meaning to buy plain old witch hazel and have been forgetting.

Happy Beautifying.

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Deep Thoughts :: The Sound of Letters

Every letter in the English language ends with a hard vowel sound like "aaaaa" or "eeeee" or "uuuu" except:

F, H, L, M, N, R, S, X

Gas Leak - Con Ed - On It!

Grey's is too good to write this post! Christina! Cally! OMG!

But I could not not tell the world about a gas leak in the stove. Us city folk really forget how to do normal things like call the utility company when we small gas. Instead, we obsess on the landlord's refusal to acknowledge a gas smell and indulge him in his story of how his wife has to smell his cigars for him (the 12 he has a year). We indulge in the super and torture him at 11pm to unplug the gas stove yet again because of a mysterious smell that even he cannot smell. We pull out the Windex to spray all over the stove, searching in vain for little bubbles appearing where there might be a leak. And why would we do that? Because the "Appliance Doctors" sprayed the stove when they came to fix the first faulty gas valve. Yes, "first," as in there was a second valve that went bad (would not turn off, so neighbor burners would light it).

And then we finally call good old Dad, on Mom's phone because he doesn't answer his own, and he tells us to light a match and wave it around. "It's not a big leak!" That's when Mom seizes the phone back and tells us to call the utility company.

Con Ed. They are usually the bad guys. The guys who let Queens be out of power for...a week was it? last summer. But Con Ed. Their number is on the bill. 24/7. And people actually answer the phone, and two guys came over tonight to stick some machine down the throat of the stove I had just taken apart to spray more Windex on, and they dubbed it "defective."

Music to my ears: "Of course we smell gas!" But the machine with the long hose that went down the stove provided the proof. Earlier, if I left the bedroom, where there is a fan creating fresh air, I get in a bad mood. And you don't want me in a bad mood with a broken stove that all the men in my life are denying (except David...for the most part, he is smelling the gas...most of the time...but maybe not absolutely all of the time). When you get too much carbon monoxide in your head, you can get that headache and get irritable. Hungry and poisoned/irritable. Not a good combo!

The stove has gone down in Cod Ed paperwork as defective, and needs to be fixed or replaced (see red tag on gas stove in picture above). If not, the landlord is liable.

Liable. Love that word. When it comes to apartments. Con Ed. They were two more men in my kitchen, but they are my new heroes of the bunch. And good old Mom is the ultimate hero of all. She may throw crazy darts sometimes, but you want her on your side.

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Deep Thoughts :: Rats in Garbage Bags

If a rat was rummaging around in a garbage bag on the curb when the garbage truck came, that once paradise would be an awful place for a rat. Unless they survived the smush, which they very well likey could since their bodies are so smushy anyway, and then they could be taken away to a bigger paradise. Maybe this is the Rat Goal.

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Gladys on Ellen re Moving the Plant

OMG. PLEASE watch this. I'm just dying laughing. I've got things to do, but please watch Gladys talk to Ellen about the plant behind her head, and Gladys' drinking habits, or could we say, Listerine. And I've neer seen Ellen laugh so hard.



My friend sent me this, and she got it from a Ellen DeGeneres devoted blog.

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Working From Home vs an Office: Early Differences

People have asked: "So what is it like?"

David has stated: "You are wearing makeup...but you're not at the office!"

Here are some answers:

1. Looking good is feeling good. That is the motto at Katie James. So a girl's got to look her best, if not for the appliance man than for herself. I wear makeup to "the office" aka little room off the kitchen. Sometimes it includes eyeliner, sometimes just shadow.

2. Think I am actually getting sun. By not being under the florescents anymore, these windows, that can at times be enemies by letting in cold air, are letting in bright light and at the end of the day, I have slight freckles.

3. When it's cold outside, and you're on the 9th floor with windows all around, you are a bit jealous of distant co-workers who are snuggled in a sealed office with heat. In theory. Sometimes it can get cold in an office.

4. Don't see the FedEx man so much as I see the Appliance Man for the stove. It's been 2 weeks now with no stove, and I've seen him 3 times, and his buddy in training. Also I see the exterminator, who is affraid of dogs and insists Gerdy gets put into the back bedroom. Dumb on my part, as that is a perfect way to get rid of my protection, so next time, he's just not going to come in and spray I guess. Also I see and my crazy neighbor more often.

5. If you shower a bit late, say at 9:15am, after a run in the park, and are sweaty, your super can call and say that the hot water will be turned off, so take the last bit of water. This is included in this list because at 9:15am last month, I was on my subway commute. This way puts me with water cut off mid-shower, only to use remaining water trickling out of the faucet to rinse conditioner.

6. Blog and blowdry. You can blog and blowdry your hair. You can do this at anytime, but it feels worky to do.

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Working for the Woman!

And the woman is me! Me me me!

Katie James, LLC is very busy, so I've not had a minute to post, and am becoming quite a night owl. Before my first day hit on March 1st, I was up until about 3am for a week designing a website. Whew! Now that I'm a free bird, who can go to bed when I like, it's very easy to stay up all hours! I haven't done pay-per-view yet, because I'm on the computer trying to get things done. You'd think I'd have all of this free time to wash Gerdy, do laundry, post to FashionMista, but no! I have a long list! And here it is, a list of things to do for girls who quite their day jobs and break out on their dream jobs:

What to Do When You Quit Your Day Job

1. Get centered. Get a facial. You need to cleanse of your old life to prepare for your new. (check)

2. Get a pedicure. You might as well (check. i did this while i was overbooked and had to sketch a microscope, so i did it while getting a peppermint leg rub).

3. Get health insurance. I'm going to do it through the Freelancers Union. I had it through them 3 years ago, but for only one month because then I got a day job with health insurance. Now I can join as a company. I'll post as I learn more. (to-do still)

4. Roll over the 401K at TIAA Cref I was graciously able to save while at day job, and turn it into an IRA to be used as desperate backup liquid cash, that will be taxed. This may have a time limit, so I better hop to it. This is good to do because if your money stays in the 401K, you can't contribute much to it, and it's basically no fun. I'm no accountant, but the word is to move it out of the 401K, unless you are switching jobs. But that's not what this list is for. (to-do still, but need to hurry)

5. Get laser printer!! Can't live without the speed of a hot little laser printer. My favorite is the hp laserjet 1300 that I had at the office. So reliable and so fast. (done! got from craigslist from a grad student! i recommend a used one from Amazon - if you get from this link I get a tiny commission...).



6. Get QuickBooks!! So excited for this one. I actually got it already from Amazon. It was the cheapest price I found for Macs. Next step is to take it out of the box. QuickBooks will let me put all of my income into specific categories, so that I can see what is generating the most money (thanks, daisyhead!). Think it also has an inventory function, so that I can track things via inventory, which also is supposed to make my expensing easier at tax time, so that I do not expense something like fabric that was turned into a product and sold. (to-do still)


Ok, on with the to-do list!!

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He Should Be Jumping on Couches for You

Home alone, and I got the call I haven't gotten in a little while. The M-word call. The call that I usually get from my Mom, who usually pulls a fast one on a lazy Tuesday night right before Gilmore Girls when my guard is down, or on a Friday night when I'm totally wiped out from the week. That call usually goes like this:

Mom: "So I saw Mark XXX's sister tonight. You know, the guy you took to your Assembly Ball." (yes, I was a debutant...a begrudging debutant who got tricked into doing it b/c was told she could wear a big beautiful white dress that she could design).

Me: "That's good, Mom. How is he doing?"

Mom: "Well, I gave his sister your number because she said that Mark is single, and always said such wonderful things about you...! Was that ok?"

Me: "MOM! I'm dating someone! I'm living with that someone!"

Or, the conversation could go like this:

Mom: "I was talking to Grampa today."

Me: "Oh?"

Mom: "Well, Grampa was just wondering if I thought he would still be alive when you got married."

The best so far has been:

Mom: "Kate, have your childbirth people at work (now former work) read anything on how the older a man's things get, the higher the chances of having an autistic child? Don't those things get old?"

Me: " Mom, autistic children are very smart, and are usually very good at playing the piano. I wish I was that good."

Girlfriends know by now, with me, to refrain from these M-word questions. I didn't even notice, until a fellow Mista brought it up on Grays' Thursday night, that they had not "asked me about David" in some time. Even my friend who is usually the most understanding and supportive of my non-answers told me that I evaded the question well, after I had somehow turned it back on all of them.

As you know, my next post is really going to be about my now 5th day on the job for Katie James (and I'm really loving it!). But since I had this call tonight from my very dear Dental Mista in Chicago, who said the most funniest line about "He should be jumping on couches like Tom Cruise for you!!!" when she was wondering why 43 year old David has not asked my little almost 30 year old petunia the M-word, I had to write a post devoted to that line, I loved it so much. PS: My dear Dental Mista is admittingly marriage obsessed. She is very over dating and is really giving guys only 6 months to date her and make up their minds. At least she's direct about it. And PPS: I can't even spell "marriage" right. It's been the most commonly misspelled word in this post, before I spell checked.

So I'll try to create a poll. It's not an ultimatum poll, it's just a poll. Maybe I will create two polls and really get David into trouble. Before I do, let me state the following: I am not the marrying type. I have never daydreamed about a wedding dress. The only wedding dress I ever designed was in my college costuming class and it was big flouncy bloomers topped with a corset. I did think I would get married underneath a huge maple tree in my front yard because its boughs hung over ground, and it could look neat with the two of us coming out from under there with just the preacher man. But the maple tree is dying and thinning out, so the effect isn't quite as strong. Never thought my brother would get married before me, since I'm the first born on all sides, but that's ok. He's been dating his girl for 9 years, so, he's got me topped.

My first and biggest priority was securing myself financially and comfortably, so that I did not have to depend on my man. That plan had me supporting my man the first time I struck it out on my own, but that is not the case this time with David. Anyway, I digress. I had a secret fear I would get divorced because I would get bored in marriage. My palm when I was 14 said that I would either get divorced or almost get married and call it off, only to get married later. The latter happened (well, I'm not married yet, but I almost did one time). I also had a secret knowledge that I would be a single mom like Bette Midler in Beaches, except I would be cooler like Michelle Pheiffer in One Fine Day and more stable. I do have Gerdy, and that has made me feel like a single mom. So, I have shared with you my biggest reservations, and you see why now I have not been waiting around for 3 years to get married (see post on 3 year anniversary). But when you are almost turning 30, and have 3 new gray friends around your ears, I guess a girl gets to thinking. Oh, and my other secret fear is that a wedding ring will make me feel less sexy and more...old. So, there is that. David may feel the same, since he seems to be years younger than 43, but anyway.

So here is a poll. Kind of unrelated and could be its own post, but I'll put it here for now:
David has a friend X. X was not a friend with benefits, but just a friend with uncertainties who could not decide on our dear David. Let's put it this way: as soon as David and I officially started dating, he and X stopped talking. For 3 years. David just went out of town - on our anniversary - by accident b/c we both forgot we were in the actual weekend of our 3 year anniversary - and before going out of town, thought out loud that he might go visit X on the way back from seeing his sister. X was sort of on the way.




PPS: here is a tulip David just surprised me with before he left town:



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Love Those Ongoing LWL Incubator Meetings!

...originally posted on the Ladies Who Launch blog...

by, FashionMista

Brrr!!! (picture of cold nyc night from my window is below)

As usual, the Ongoing Incubator meeting for the month poured energy and confidence into every attendee pitching her ideas to traveling groups around a room. Yes, we traveled in groups, by color and number, and practiced pitching our companies to each other, but then there was a twist. At each destination, we had to answer a special question: what was your biggest accomplishment of 2007 (projecting); where will you be in 2012 (aka the dreaded 5 year plan question); how have you helped the world.

All such open ended questions we just made up answers to on the spot, or for some, the answers have seeded and it's a pleasure to express where we truly hope to be in a year or five. This form of networking, or group therapy, or whatever, is like AA but for launching ladies, like "I'm going to LWL" and instead of reaffirming how you won't drink, you're reaffirming how you will launch, and keep launching.

And then it was so fun catching up with everyone, like little Kayla Designs with her super special jewelry, Reel Invitations, and a few others who don't have websites yet. Then there was Kathlin Argiro who've I'd never met, but had referred another designer friend to from a design group in my life, who I have also never met, and the two were like long lost soles! Then I saw Alexandra the personal stylist, but how could I have missed her in her very designy/artistic dress from some fabulous designer?

Of course the evening left me so bubbly, that I had to type about it. And believe me, I've fallen off the blogging wagon because since I quit my job to expand and take Katie James full time (Yes! third day on the job for Katie James!) I've actually been quite busy launching the much needed beauty product review site, MyBeautyBeat.com (ps: she's got a great review on Fresh's rice face cream - love Fresh)!

So as the wind blows around and inside of my apartment, I've decidedly ignored gmail to go straight to the LWL blog, while under the covers of my velvet topped bed, dog curled up at the foot of it, with a hostess chocolate bad thing right next to me to take care of the persistent PMS craving.

Happy Launching!

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Happy Sunday and 3rd Anniversary

Oh my! Has it been since February 21st since I last posted?? That's because things have been mighty busy around here...

Before we get into that (next post), it has been three years since David held the elevator door open in our building before I went up to my apartment and he into his, and declared his feelings after a year and half of our neighborly friendship. I believe that the words "smitten" were used. That's that good old Kentucky charm that I had always found so cute.

Needless to say, with the business going on, we knew the anniversary was coming, and it was on my calendar, but it didn't occur to us that we were actually in the actual weekend. David had scheduled to go to North Carolina to visit his dad and sister's family, so we almost missed it! He stayed an extra night and we ate dinner at the very yummiddy Gennaro on 93rd and Amsterdam. So tasty, I cannot express to you. PS: if you go, note that there will always be a line, and the leaving of your name is completely worthless. You just have to be New Yorkish about it and stand as close to the front as possible and keep holding up the number of fingers in your party.

This morning I walked him to his car, helping to carry luggage, and we said goodbye. I went upstairs to take a shower for the day, and when I came out of the bathroom, saw these potted tulips (same angle to give you the effect)!

A little leprechaun came in and left them! Oliver of course wants to eat the leaves, but we won't let him.

So, Gerdy and I took our walk and stopped at Silver Moon Bakery to pick up this yummy chocolate chip brioche and coffee. Yum Yum. PS: if you like this place mat, it's actually a Katie James burp cloth...

Happy Sunday! May you all have chocolate chips and tulips. OMG. Just took my first bite of the brioche, and it is divine.

Update: the tulip has grown and is alive...



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