HOPE Is In the Air...

Ahhhh, I finally have a minute to relax and catch my breath. Life just keeps getting busier and busier. Spent 8 hours at a funeral today for my great grandma Lil who passed away last week. I'm glad I was able to get Dominic over to meet her a couple weeks ago before she passed away. It was sad to see her go, but she lived a long happy life. If all good people were lucky enough to live to be 88 years old, then maybe life would make a little more sense. But, when does life ever make sense?

Things sure are turning around though. Thanks to my interns, my 14 hour work days and networking with some amazing people I am starting to see a huge difference in my businesses. Especially TT's Attic. Things are far from perfect or where I envision them to be, but I'm proud of how far I've come thus far. Less than a month now until my "HOPE Is In The Air" fashion show/fundraiser, and I received amazing news yesterday that The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is going to support my event and send the CNY chapter board members to set up a table! I'm beyond excited. After I got off the phone with the area director for AFSP, I literally got the chills - I had a sudden feeling that things were exactly the way they are supposed to be, all thanks to my beautiful best friend. Talese has been my inspiration from day one and always will be. It's easy to get caught up in life sometimes but I try to take at least 5 minutes everyday and think about the reason behind why I do what I do, and think about all the ways she has changed me. If I can make a difference in at least one persons life the way she has mine, all the hard work will be worth it. I hope the show has a good turn out so we can raise money for a great cause. I really feel like this will be the beginning of a great relationship with the AFSP members in the CNY area.  "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

In other great news, two of my good friends from Utah are coming to visit me at the end of the month and they will be here for the fashion show! I couldn't be more excited. Sometimes I don't feel like me without my entourage around, and it will be nice to have a little bit of "home" around for awhile. This will be their first time meeting Dominic or seeing me with a baby, so it should be interesting!

Dominic keeps getting cuter and smarter everyday - no surprise there. He can hold a bottle (yes, I was just as surprised), grab a rattle, pull on his toys hanging from his carseat, and talk up a storm. I still standby the fact that he's a baby genius. And I can't take him anywhere without random people approaching me and telling me how gorgeous he is, (hey what can I say, he's got a hot mama!) Everyone tells me he's starting to look more like me. I can see it a little, but I'd say overall he's a pretty good combination. But yes, I'm aware he's quite a bit tanner than me. Sometimes I feel like it's the elephant in the room. Yeah, my kid is tan. Yeah, his father is tan. Big deal. To be honest I'm a little jealous ha ha! His new favorite thing is pulling my hair when I hold him and listening to me read him Dr. Seuss stories before bedtime. Sometimes it's hard to pull myself away from him to get my work done. Suffice it to say, I love that little man more than I ever thought I was capable of loving anyone. 

Ms. Feisty Is Back!

I really wish I had more time to post regularly on here. If I wasn't working until 1 AM every day I would be all over it. I realize most people have absolutely no idea what I do on a daily basis so I figured I would elaborate. Now of course it depends on the day, but a "typical" day consists of; managing my businesses and clients social media pages, optimizing my web sites for SEO, working on building up my sales teams, managing my interns, revising my training process, promoting my upcoming fashion show/fundraiser, writing press releases, doing e-mail marketing, researching/buying new inventory, and working on new designs for the boutique, just to name a few. It makes me cringe every time people ask me when I'm going to "start looking for a job". Yes, there are actually ignorant people out there who assume I do nothing just because THEY don't understand what I do. No, I'm not sitting home in my pajamas watching TV all day. No, I'm not trying to do a "get rich quick scheme." Yes, I run two legitimate businesses. Yes, I work 8 - 12 hours on an average day. Yes, I do make money. And yes, both of my businesses are absolutely still works in progress with a lot of room left to grow. Just thought I would clear that up for a few folks. Hopefully getting that off my chest will ward off an impending meltdown next time someone makes the assumption that because I am "self employed" that means I am "unemployed". I am in fact very much employed, thank you very much.

It's been a long time coming but the feisty Blair everyone knows and loves is back. Watch out world! I've said it before and I'll say it again, my motto for 2012 is "Go big or go home!" I've got some great things in progress, and I just can't wait to prove a few people wrong once they come to fruition. Those of you who doubt me only motivate me more so, by all means,  keep the condescension coming. Not sure where the sudden pent up aggression has come from, but I like it. I think it's just what I needed to light a fire under my ass (in case I wasn't motivated enough already). I refuse to accept anything less than the best from this point forward. Word to the wise - I won't forgot those of you who believed in me or those of you who tried to bring me down. End of story. "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but true friends will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."

On another note, Dominic has gone through a sudden "growth spurt" for lack of better terminology. He can hold his head up quite well, he can roll from his belly to his back, he can prop himself up on his elbows, he can hold a rattle, he can make the "g" and "b" sounds, and follow a voice when someone enters a room. My kid is a genius, that's all there is to it. And he just keeps getting cuter everyday. His new favorite thing is batting his eyelashes at me. It amazes me how I love him more every single second I'm with him. He truly is the best part of my day every single day. It's difficult for me to fathom how such an amazing, perfect, sweet little person came from such a complete and utter ignoramus of a sperm donor (see previous paragraph about sudden pent up aggression). I know this much - Dominic is going to by 100 times the man Steve is (yeah the cat's out of the bag, baby daddy's name is Steve). I'm breaking the "dead beat dad" cycle or I'll die trying.

Yep, We're Still Kickin...

No I didn't fall off the face of the earth or quit blogging. Just been too damn busy to post lately. As you can imagine, watching an (almost) 3 month old baby full time, working (more than) full time and planning two very stressful (but lucrative and GENIUS) events is quite time consuming. Business expansion is still going in the right direction and things just keep getting busier. At this rate, I'll have to bring on some full time employees in the near future. "There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days before Saturday."

Once things slow down a wee bit, I'm taking a damn vacation! Although I can think of about a billion places that would be more fun or relaxing, my first stop is Salt Lake City. I have too many people I want to see, and a few that I feel like I NEED to see sooner than later. I miss my people, my entourage, my groupies. Sometimes I don't feel like me without having my people around. I've done a lot of changing since I landed in NY last May, and I'm anxious to see if/how this will change any of my relationships. Only time will tell...

I took an impromptu and much needed break on Sunday and went to the casino with my cousin. It wasn't planned, but I was long overdue for some "me" time. It was nice to get away and go do something I have fun with (I just love my blackjack!) Even tried my hand in the poker room. But after about an hour I started missing my little man. I was gone for about 6 hours and that's the longest I've been away from him in one sitting. Coming home and giving him a big hug and kiss made my entire day!

I just can't believe my little man will be 3 months old in a couple weeks. Seems like just yesterday I was being induced. And he just keeps getting cuter and smarter everyday. He has such a sweet little personality. I already find myself looking at pictures of him from when he was "little" aka first born, and missing him being so tiny  His new favorite thing is sticking out his bottom lip when he doesn't get his way. I can't imagine where he learned that from ha ha!  The kid already knows how to make me laugh. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!