Just Jot It January: Black, White, and Green With Envy, #JusJoJan

How do they do it? They make it look so effortless, so seamless, and so perfectible.

#JusJoJan

I live in a black and white world, greys and colourless views, but I know very few things are black and white in reality. Why then do I stare and stare at other people and buy into the idea that their lives are the essence of perfect?

They make it seem so effortless and I feel the effort in everything I do, every day.

I feel like if I am not better, if I can’t figure out how to be better than I currently am that I will lose the attention of anyone at all. I fear losing people, but I try to push back my feelings of jealousy and envy at all they have, or all I perceive them to have.

I know envy is a sin. I know it is frowned upon. It certainly isn’t attractive, by any stretch of the imagination.

There’s the woman with the perfect sense of style, perfectly put-together outfits, making being a woman appear so effortless. She has the perfect life, with the best friendships, the most wonderful career, and the love of a partner who is her equal and her world. Effortless.

I never had anything. I never will. Nothing is effortless for me or ever will be.

There it is…all the negativity I usually keep pent up inside, but letting it out won’t help. Stop it anyway, I tell myself, over and over again.

The negative talk started young, when I felt I was fighting so hard for all I could get my hands on – everything it seemed everyone else already had and might currently be taking for granted. I couldn’t quite live up to the image I saw of other girls. I could see through a very narrow field of vision, tunnel vision, as my visual ability allowed, but this didn’t let me see the truth as it actually stood.

What reality was I seeing when it came to others and then how did I fit into the picture?

How brutally would I end up disappointing them all, when they saw how bad I was failing? How could I allow anyone to see this? Better that I hide away from them all, quick before I was revealed and I could not hide one second more.

Black and White – Sarah McLachlan

Truth is is nobody has it all figured out, at all times. No one. How can I get that through my thick skull?

Linda explains how in life, with age, some things become harder and others aren’t so bad:

Just Jot It January 11th – Effortless

Check out the

No Facilities

blog, host of today’s

Just Jot It January.

Small Business Saturday: Keep Calm and Get Your Hair Done, #SmallBizSat

This is a re-blog of sorts, with an emphasis on local business, small businesses.

Most people reading this won’t likely be able to just pop by for a colour or cut, but maybe not enough of you were following this blog last March, when this interview was originally posted:

My Interview With Alaina From Glow Hair Studio

The Saturday after Black Friday is Small Business Saturday. I’d wanted to have the interview with my cousin, owner of Glow, ready for this day because I believe it’s important to highlight the work of successful business women, females who play a vital role in their local communities.

Unfortunately, it took me a year to finish this interview, and it wasn’t ready for last year’s Small Business Saturday.

Although this hair salon is too far for most of you to make the trip (although I think it’s totally worth it), I must disclose I am family, but still give it a read anyway.

I wanted to speak to a woman who is a success in her chosen field, one I admire and respect, and to show what women are capable of when they work hard and the example they can set for the rest of the world.

I was also interested in the psychology of why people like to visit a salon and get their hair done:

What does hair mean to people?

Why does it matter so much?

What does a particular style do to boost one’s confidence?

And I tried to answer the question: to get to the bottom of why this salon owner thinks these things might be tied up with self esteem and self image.

In addition, feel free to check out the styles and cuts these ladies like best. Lots can be discovered on their Facebook page:

Glow Hair Studio

If you enjoy art, check out another small business:

Julie Hawkins Original Art

Don’t forget to shop local and support local and small business. It’s just a good thing to do.

Spotlight: Mamarazzi

Mamarazzi

By Brooke Williams

Release Date: September 11, 2015 from Prism Book Group

Order

HERE.

Danica Bennett isn’t sure what she hates more…her job or the fact that she’s good at it.  As one of the many Hollywood paparazzi, she lives her life incognito and sneaks around trying to get the best shot of the latest star.  When she is mistaken for an extra on a new, up and coming TV show, her own star rises and she becomes the one being photographed.  Add that to the fact that she’s falling for her co-star, Eliot Lane, and Danica is in a whole heap of trouble.

My Review:

Who is The Mamarazzi?

Who is the one behind the disguise?

Danica is doing what she can, taking pictures of celebrities, to make a living. Her first love is photography and she has big plans and dreams, but must support her sick mother. How can she come out from behind her disguise and be the daughter any mother would be proud of?

Eliot is the big star and he has his eyes on Danica, from the first moment she works as an extra on set of his new hit show.

Heat, sparks, and water. She is nervous to be around him and is pleased to find out he is a complete catch, unlike his co-star.

The two of them are powerless to fight their mutual attraction, as Eliot shows her the acting ropes, but her secret threatens to blow it all apart.

She must get the perfect shot. What is she willing to risk for that?

She discovers someone else’s secret and there is someone out to destroy any chance she might have for happiness with Eliot.

I read this story, in nearly one sitting. It is a sweet read and William’s writing style makes you route for Danica and Eliot, from that first connection on set.

Hollywood chews and spits out many, and it’s due to William’s writing and her love story, given to two deserving characters, that makes Mamarazzi stand out.

It’s a fabulous reveal of the hidden world of Hollywood paparazzi and with the twists and turns of a love story, put to the test.

Note from the Author on the book’s inspiration:

I’ve always been fascinated by the Hollywood life and the idea that “they” are different from “us.” The idea for Mamarazzi has been with me for a long time. I’m not even exactly sure when I came up with it, but in college, I had a screenwriting class and I had to write a portion of a screenplay. I wrote “Paparazzi,” which was the same general idea only with a male lead character. When I began writing romantic comedy, the idea came back to me and I decided to chance the main character to a female and call it “Mamarazzi.” I even had a naming contest so that facebook fans and blog readers could name the characters in the book. Every character in the novel is reader named and approved!

Overall, I wanted to examine what happens when you take someone from one side of the fence and plop them on the other side. In the end, famous or not, we’re all just people. And in this book, they all have secrets…

About the Author

Brooke Williams writes in a sleep-deprived state while her daughters nap. Her romantic comedy is best read in the same state. Brooke has twelve years of radio in her background, both behind the scenes and on the air. She was also a television traffic reporter for a short time despite the fact that she could care less about hair and make-up. Today, Brooke stays at home with her daughters and works as a freelance writer for a variety of companies. When she isn’t working for paying clients, she makes things up, which results in books like “Accept this Dandelion.”  Brooke is also the author of “Accept this Dandelion,” “Wrong Place, Right Time,” “Someone Always Loved You,”  “Beyond the Bars.” She plans to continue the Dandelion story into a series and looks forward to her first children’s book release “Baby Sheep Gets a Haircut” in June 2016. Brooke and her husband Sean have been married since 2002 and have two beautiful daughters, Kaelyn (5) and Sadie (nearly 2).

You can find her over at her website:

http://www.authorbrookewilliams.com/