GUEST POST: Kylie Bollwitt

"Fashion is nothing but clothing and accessories until you place meaning to them. It is then that fashion will take its true form..."

I am so blessed and humbled and thrilled to have more than a handful of super-talented people willing to guest-post on my blog while we prepare for/adjust to life with our new little bundle of joy!  This week I’m super-stoked to introduce you to Kylie Bollwitt.  Kylie is a personal stylist from Omaha, Nebraska, with a heart of gold…as you’ll see in her post.  Today she’s talking about a recent project that was very dear to her.  Take it away, Kylie!

oOo

I have always had a love for fashion, but it was not until circustances that were presented this year that I truely found my passion for fashion.

A photographer and personal friend of mine was running a promotion on her Facebook page for a free session with her, all you had to do was write to her and tell her why you thought you deserved it. I saw her promo and instantly asked her if she wanted to incorporate my personal styling services into the package deal. I could help the winner choose their outfits as well as help style and pose them the day of the shoot. She WENT for it, so we RAN with it! Entries were coming in like crazy, but in the end we both felt emotionally connected to the same person’s response as to why they deserved a free photo shoot with a personal stylist.

Us with our GORGEOUS contest winner.

A mother had sent into the contest on behalf of her 14 year old daughter. This mother cared nothing of herself, only her daughter and trying to uplift her and make her feel beautiful. You see, her daughter was being bullied in school. She didn’t feel beautiful and was going through a dark stage of depression. She was carrying all of this extra weight on her shoulders from those hurtful words and gestures her peers would say and do to her as if that was what she was expected to do. I dont know about you, but that cut deep down in my soul. I hurt for her and so badly wanted to just run to her and comfort her; to tell her that I have been there and to hold on because she is so much more than what her peers want to think of her. My photographer friend and I didnt even hesitate; we both knew this young lady was our contest winner.

So as I’m in my room thinking about how we can possibly make this work… 2 college students, starving artists’ budgets already giving away services and materials for free… Thats when it hit me! We can take care of their hotel room cost from the help of my photographers mothers discount at a hotel in the city, can you say meant to be? I decided I wanted to take her shopping and help her pick out an outfit that I would then buy for her. Not only that, but I wanted to get a hair and makeup artist that would be willing to help us make this young lady feel strikingly beautiful.

The weekend quickly approached and eagerness and anxiousness quickly set in! Is she going to like me? Will I be able to help her break out of her shell? Will she hate every outfit I put her in? When we first met each other at the mall, it took everything I had to not bust into tears (in our family we claim to have a crying disease). I was overwhelmed with joy and instantly embraced all of them. Just as I had suspected she was very shy and reserved and it took a lot of me being a complete dork to get her to open up even the tiniest bit to me. After 3 stores of looking and trying we found some great pieces that she loved!

At the studio, we instantly started getting the young lady into photoshoot mode. She got her hair and makeup done by a professional and LOVED IT.  Then it was time to get into her new outfits and start rapid-fire picture taking. It was wonderful to finally see her open up and begin to break out of her shell. She looked stunning, we all had a blast and I really hope to have made a difference in her life. I hope that she can see that there is more to this life then bullies, that there are people who care about her… people who didn’t even know her until this promotion. I hope that she can be inspired by this expeirence and in turn inspire others with the amount of strength and integrity she posesses.

It’s not just those that are being bullied that struggle with self-worth and confidence within themselves… that happens to everyone at some point in life. Sometimes its hard when we hear people say things about us that arent true and present a negative outlook on our personality, ego, morals, and intergrity; but the only opinion that matters and that we should concern ourselves with, is God’s. I know all too well it’s easier said then done in that circumstance, but this adventure has proved to me time and time again to trust in God and everything else will fall into place.

oOo

For more information on Kylie and her services, check out her Facebook page here.

For more information on Chelsea Nielsen (photo-shoot photographer), check out C. Nielsen Photography’s Facebook page here.

For more information on Ashley Robinson (hair and makeup), check out Ashley J Studios Facebook page here.

And finally, for more information about Jim Lamb (behind-the-scenes photography), check out Blacksheep Photography’s Facebook page here.

Q&A: Alica McKenna Johnson

I am super-psyched to introduce you Alica McKenna Johnson today.  She’s not new to my blog – you can check out her guest post here – but she’s recently released her novel PHOENIX CHILD, which is super-exciting news, any way you slice it.  This seems like a fabulous time for you to get to know her a little better, don’tchya think?  Check out the little Q&A we had the other day…

ME:  Alica!  Your new book has just been published, which is so very cool.  The day after PHOENIX CHILD was available online, what was the first thing you did when you woke up?

ALICA: Great question!  Nothing too exciting.  I was working, so up at 5:20 AM, opened the computer and logged in.  Then I woke up the first child, checked email, squealed at seeing two more purchased from Smashwords, got kids to bus by 6AM, woke my two personal kids (hubby was also working), woke two more work kids, when they were done in the bathroom woke final two work kids, made breakfast and managed to get them all off to school while obsessively checking Amazon, Smashwords, Facebook, and Twitter.

ME: Holy cow, woman, you are busy!  Six kids, four of which are foster kids (is that the right term?)…it makes my head spin.

Quick, which do you relate most to?  Hamster in a wheel, kangaroo with a pouch full of rowdy joeys, or goddess divine who can breeze through anything life throws at her?

ALICA: It’s actually five kids, did I leave one out?  The term ‘foster’ works, but I’m technically a houseparent  in a group home.  

I like to imagine that I’m a divine goddess, but really I think I’m more a kangaroo desperately trying to keep everything together.  Hey, what happened to my opposable thumbs?  I need those!

ME: Okay, first of all, anybody who’s a houseparent immediately gets rockstar status in my book.  Secondly, opposable thumbs are an absolute necessity.  How else would I drag the offspring around by their ears all day long?  And thirdly, I clearly can’t count, because now I totally see that you listed five kiddos, not six.  Scary thing, isn’t it, to think that I’m responsible for teaching my kids math…

ALICA: Don’t worry, Myndi.  Your kids will help you learn math.  :)

As for rockstar status, I don’t know about that.  Most of the time I’m desperately trying not to lose my temper!  

ME: That’s okay – I’ve heard rockstars have been known to lose their tempers a time or two…

Hey, speaking of homeschooling, you’ve been down that path before, and are looking to start up again.  In the spirit of homeschooling camaraderie, riddle me this: What’s the silliest question you’ve had to fend from non-homeschooling folks?

ALICA: I loved homeschooling, and most of the people we hung out with either home-schooled, or were alternative thinking, so I didn’t get too much flack.  But while we were on vacation in Denver some guy in a shop asked my son some weird question about a quarter – it might have been who was on it, or what the newest state quarter was?  All I remember was thinking he was crazy and a regular school kid wouldn’t know the answer!

My mom used to worry that my son was ‘too smart and active’ to be home-schooled.  And of course, there’s the ‘but what if you don’t know it?’ question.  Umm…I look it up?  I learned a ton homeschooling my kids.

ME: As I’m sure you’re well aware (because I can’t seem to shut my yapper about it), I’m about ready to pop out my fourth child.  You’ve mentioned in passing that you’ve home-birthed more than once.  Again, rockstar status is in order here.  I kind-of dig the idea, but I’ve never been able to get the Hubster on board.  How did you convince your Hunny it was the thing to do?

ALICA: Well, with my first hubby – once I stopped crying, realizing I was unmarried, 19, and pregnant – I said, ‘By the way, you know I’m having this baby at home.’  He wasn’t sold on the idea, but once we went to Bradley Child Birthing Classes, he was good with it.  We felt very secure with the midwife I picked.  Good thing, too, because he almost delivered Logan by himself!

Hubby #2 is as alternative as I am and dislikes hospitals as much as I do, so that one was easy.

I was blessed with a midwife that I trusted, and easy, healthy pregnancies.  I’m so glad I had my babies at home, and have even been invited to attend a few births.  So amazing…and I always hold my breath until the baby cries.

ME: Isn’t that first cry of life the most amazing, relieving thing?

ALICA: It’s amazing.  I don’t think I can describe it.  Just thinking about it fills me with hope and joy.

ME:  How old are your kiddos now, and what’s the one thing that sticks out in your mind that motherhood has taught you?

ALICA: Let’s see…my kiddos are 17 and 12.  What has motherhood taught me?  That being a good parent is more than just how you raise your children, it’s also how much work you’re willing to do to become a better person so you can show your kids how they can be their best.  Does that make sense?

ME: Absolutely!  So much is taught through observation.  I don’t think we can underestimate how much they learn from us when we don’t realize they’re watching.  

Back to this book of yours.  What did it feel like when you got to the place with your manuscript and realized, “THIS IS DONE!”?

ALICA:  At first I was shocked.  I just stared at the computer screen.  Then I jumped for joy and told everyone I could think of.  Then I realized I still had to edit and revise, and then I wanted to cry just a little bit.  Okay, a lot.  But after some moral support and chocolate, I pulled myself together.

ME:  Mmmmm, chocolate.  Favorite kind?

ALICA:  Is there any bad chocolate?  LOL.  I do prefer dark chocolate, and I like quality chocolate.  No cheap stuff for me.

ME:  …can we still be friends if I admit I have a love affair with Hershey’s with almonds?

(silence)

ME: Um….back to PHOENIX CHILD, shall we?  *grins awkwardly and throws Hershey’s wrapper behind sofa*  Give me a fast run-down of what the book’s about.

ALICA:  PHOENIX CHILD is a Young Adult Urban Fantasy.  Sara lives in a group home and is trying to make the best of her life in the system.  Waking up the morning of her fourteenth birthday, she finds her appearance has changed, and she has powers – like bursting into flames – that she doesn’t want.  

Soon she finds a family.  Not only others like her, but an uncle she never knew existed shows up in her life.  Confronted by the evil that killed her parents, Sara has to decide if she will let her fears win, or find the courage to accept her destiny and save her people.

ME: Sounds totally fantastic!  Who do you think would most enjoy PHOENIX CHILD?

ALICA:  I hope I have written a book that will appeal to teens and adults.  I know so many adults who love YA that I didn’t want to focus on just one age group.  

ME:  Where can folks purchase your book?

ALICA:  You can purchase PHOENIX CHILD at Amazon and Smashwords.  Both places have a free preview – 30 pages, I think.  

ME: Lovely!  Thanks for stopping by Alica!

ALICA: Thanks for having me, Myndi.  I’ve had a great time.

QUICK GIGGLE: If Animals Could Talk

ROW80 Check-In

Hi happy Row-ers!

I’m keeping it short today.  Last week was up and down – lots of school demands, lots of preggers fatigue.  I think it’s time to re-evaluate what I can realistically get done in the months before and after Little Miss Took is born, and readjust my goals/schedule.

But I’m not going to do that today.  I’ll get it done by Wednesday, and post an update then.  Today, I’m spending time with the family, catching up on blog writing/reading, and working a little on the WIP.

Happy ROW-ing this week!

Big grins,
Myndi

ROW80 Check-In, Week…

Okay, I’m totally lost.  I have no idea what week it is.  Let’s just call it the 2-12 check in.  :)

Today has been such a lovey day.  Slept in LATE, enjoyed some vinyl and tea with the Hubster, went on a mini-lunch date while the kids chilled at home, and am now sitting down to get some work done.  If every day could be this low key, I’d be one breezy girl indeed!

This was the kind of week I can totally get on board with.  Productive, happy, and drama-free.  We had our 7 month doctor appointment for ‘Lil Miss Took, and she’s as healthy as a horse, apparently.  Somehow – and this is unfathomable to me – I’ve dropped three pounds.  What the what?  But the good doctor isn’t worried about it, so this is one momma who isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  :)

I also had a killer week, blog wise.  Highest hits in a week’s time since I started blogging seriously in October.  Participated in August McLaughlin’s Beauty of a Woman Blogfest, which churned out some of the most incredible posts I’ve read lately.  Such a cool thing to be a part of.

Goal wise, things are looking good – much, much better than they had the past couple weeks.  A little bit of productivity goes a long way for me.  It’s kinda like a drug.  The more productive I am, the happier I am, and the more I want to produce.  Writing, reading, taking care of myself, and eating well in the mornings – all that stuff I sailed through.  Mid-week I’m going to add in snacks/lunch to the eating well regimen.  Whole foods, no refined junk or preservatives.  I’m really confident on being able to nail it 90% of the time during the week, but weekends will be a little tougher.  Will have to work through a little trial/error there, I think.

Exercise has been a little hit and miss this week.  Not awful, but not the five days I was aiming for.  Even so, this week wasn’t a total wash, exercise wise, and with the progress I made everywhere else, I’m choosing not to beat myself up over it.

Well, friendlies, I’ve got a couple hours now to sit my butt in a chair and write, so I’m gonna take advantage.  I’ll try to get by several of your blogs sometime this evening to encourage you!  Please forgive me if I show up a little late (like tomorrow).  The Hubster and I were discussing the Big Picture of the series I’m working on this morning, and I’m itching to get to it.

Happy Rowing!

 

 

ROW80 Check-In: Week 4

Hey y’all!

Week four was satisfying. Reading, writing, exercising…all went well. There wasn’t a whole lot of overachieving going on, but I nailed each goal (except one), which is enough for me at the moment. The exception was the ‘do something good for myself’ goal (*scrunches up nose*), but I’ll do better this coming week, promise.

Hey, and you guys, I absolutely loved getting feedback on writing log-lines (and blurbs), and can’t wait to spend some time this week playing with your suggestions. Thanks – like, a ton!

The really, really good news is that I think we’re looking pretty darn good, homeschool-wise. If that aspect of my life is going smoothly, all the other pieces fall into place relatively easily.

Birthday boy!

Today marks my oldest child’s tenth birthday! We’re super pumped – at our house, we celebrate birthdays for a full week. Birthday weeks are everybody’s favorite because it’s a week chock-full of fun, fun, fun. So I might be a little more absent online than normal, partying my booty off to celebrate a decade with one of the coolest, most remarkable young men I’ve ever known. Go ahead and be jealous! Or, better yet, come over and join us in the fun. We know how to have a good time!

Wishing each of you a happy, productive week!

I Could Fly

When I was a little girl, I could fly.

Every recess you could find Little Jo Blu, as my grandfather called me, making a bee-line for the swings.  I would stay there for as long as I could, pumping my legs as hard as I could, soaring into the sky.  I could fly, and fly I did…usually donning an imaginary red cape very similar to the one Super-Woman wore.

I don’t really remember much about flying in the school-yard.  It seems like there must have been someone alongside me, but I can’t remember who.  The memory is isolated and foggy.  All I can really recall is the feeling I’d have in that achingly brief moment when my swing would reach as far as it could go, and for a instant – a fraction of a breath – I’d be suspended in air, weightless and free.  Then gravity would wrap its firm fingers around me – a reminder of just how earth-bound I was.

It never got old, that feeling of suspension.  The feeling that if I believed hard enough, I could become a bird, or at least fly like one.

Last week, as I was lying in bed wide-awake, trying to talk my frazzled mind into going to sleep, this memory (among others) careened into my brain.  I can’t figure out what prompted it, but I miss it.  Miss being so utterly lost in the feeling of swinging, in the power of imagination, that for the briefest of moments, you are what you dream you are.

These days my dreams are different.  I don’t daydream about flying.  I haven’t had an imaginary red cape in decades.  I dream about a house that cleans itself.  A dog that doesn’t shed, or eat poo.  Meals that make themselves.  Clocks that count seconds a little more slowly.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, I forgot about flying.  It left me.  No, that doesn’t sound right.  I think I left it.  At some point in my life I decided it was silly.  Too fanciful.  Unrealistic.

I think I need to go find a swing, and remember.

ROW80 Check-In: Week 3

First of all, let me say to all you who stopped by and left the sweetest, most encouraging words last week, THANK YOU.  I’ve gone back and re-read all your encouragement several times throughout the week – it’s meant so much to me.  If I could squeeze each and every one of you, I would.  Thanks, so much, from the bottom of my heart.

Last week’s check-in turned out to be the start of a week-long pit-stop for me.

With some carefully-worded guidance from my sweet, enduring husband (who knows full-well just how ugly my pregnancy listening filter can make any words, no matter how kind), I decided to all but cut myself off from the web, and focus on the most pressing issue at hand: our homeschool curriculum.

Thankfully, after two months of tears, tripping down the wrong paths, pulling out our hair, etc., I think we’ve finally got it figured out.  The week has been spent diving into this new curriculum, and I’m seeing all the signs that we’ve found one that works: the boys are happy and willing to do their work, sweetZ’s tickled to have her mommy-time back, and I’ve got a couple spare hours a day I can devote to writing/blogging/WANA-ing.  This coming week will really be the true test for all that, since I didn’t write a sentence – blogging or otherwise – last week.  Instead, I snuggled with my girl, napped when I was tired, and had fun helping my boys along.  I’ll add back in my writing responsibilities this week, and see how it goes.

Even though last week was less-than-stellar, goal wise (with the exception of the wholesome brekkie thing, and the reading thing), I’m satisfied.  Some problems, if you don’t stop everything to fix them, will grow into something wholly crippling.  This was one of those problems.  Any homeschooling parent lives with a constant nagging shadow following them around – the fear of somehow failing their kids in a way that will cripple their chances at becoming a successful adult.  It’s a powerful fear, one that will bring me to my knees faster than just about anything.  Last week was one of those weeks, but I’m finally feeling that burden beginning to lift.  Phew.

Hoping your week went well, sweet friendlies!  Sorry I’ve not been to any of your blogs over the past week, but I’ll get back into the swing of blog reading in the coming days.  Much love to you all!

In the Nick of Time…New Year’s Resolutions Unveiled

I’ve struggled whether or not to publicly declare my New Year’s resolutions.  I’m a giant commitment-phobe, and the thought of saying “Hey, look at what I’m gonna do!” to anybody other than my son’s stuffed whale (the only person I tell all my secrets, hopes, and dreams to), has me breaking out in a cold sweat.  Because if anybody besides me or Whale knows my intentions for the next year, I might actually have to follow through on them, or face the embarrassment of failure.

Blech.  Forget it.  I’m ending this post now, right now.  *runs from the room screaming* *trips on something in the hallway* (Whale is on the floor, staring up at me with his dark, soulful eyes) *sighs heavily, picks up Whale, and shuffles back to the computer*

Okay, I’m back.  So.  New Year’s resolutions.  Here they are:

(1) I’m not going to nit-pick my body.  I’ve been blessed with excellent health, am in the process of making my fourth child…this body has been good to me.  Do I have stretch-marks?  Yep.  Are my arms and tummy flabbier than I would like?  Yep.  Do I sometimes still get a zit or two?  Yep.  But this body has been good to me.  Time for me to return the favor.  I’m going to use it.  I’m going to sweat, and breathe deeply, and sometimes, I’m going to be sore.  But through the process of getting back into shape after this last baby, I’m not going to nit-pick my body.  I’m not going to imagine what it would look like without the battle-wounds childbearing often places on a woman’s body – instead, I’m going to cherish those reminders of the three (soon to be four) most amazing children any parent has ever been blessed with.  Children who exist because I’ve been blessed with a body that could carry and nurture them to term.

(2) I’m going to admit that I’m a writer.  This is a silly little thing that shouldn’t be difficult, but is.  There’s this little irritating voice in the back of my head that says I should wait until I’m published; but this little ‘pastime’ of mine has quickly evolved into something that’s no longer a hobby…no sane person would spend this much time, effort, emotion, tears, determination, and did I say time, on a hobby.  I’m a writer.  It’s what I do.  I may not be the best writer on the planet.  Heck, I may not even be a good writer, yet.  But I’m a writer, working hard every single day to be a little better at it than I was the day before.

(3) I will finish my first book this year.  I will allow myself to put an end to the edits, to the modifications, to the obsessive going over, and over, and over each page, and be done with it.  I will allow myself to finish working on it, and be proud of it.  I will set a deadline, and meet it.  Suck on that, commitment-phobia!

(4) I will play.  With my kids, with the hubster, with my friends.  I will make time to romp, to laugh, to be frivolous, to be loud and live with mirth.  I will not get so caught up in my own life that I forget to enjoy the lives of those I love.

That’s it.  That’s what I’m planning for this year.  The over-achiever in me says the list is too short.  The commitment-phobe says it’s too long.  The tiny little part of my brain that is actually sane says it’s just right.

How about you, dear friendlies?  Do you make New Year’s resolutions?  Or do they scare the shiza out of you?  Or both?

Quick Giggle: Birthday Ya-Ya’s

My daughter’s best friend had her fourth birthday recently.  From the day we got the invite to the party, excitement ensued.  This was our daily conversation (sometimes more than daily):

Sweet Z to me: Momma, E’s having a birthday!

Me: Yep.

Sweet Z: She’s having a birthday party!

Me: Yep.

Sweet Z: She’ll have presents, and cake, and candles….

Me: Yep.

Sweet Z: I bet she’ll share with me.

Me: I’m sure she will, honey.

I had no idea just how literally Sweet Z meant the word share.  See the picture below…you may have to click to make it big enough to read the words: