Great Work if you can Get it

I got mail last week that reminded me of something that was kind of a big deal for me but that never made it on the blog.

Back in April I got an e mail from my agent about a casting for a catalog shoot for a company that makes baby toys and products.  I'm still listed with an agent even though I haven't done any modeling in a long time. She's really cool about the fact that 99% of the time I have to say no because most castings and jobs are during the work week.  This time however, I was able to say yes.  It was going to be a quick one because they were only asking  a limited number to come in and I could get it done on my lunch break.  I don't like to bother with a casting if I already know I probably can't make the shoot, but she already knew the week the shoot would be on so I had time to wrap my head around juggling it with work. 
On Set // I got to work with those adorable babies
At the casting the person in charge said the client really liked me.  That should have made me confident but instead it made me even more nervous.  What if they liked my agency photos but HATE my casting pics?  Well, they didn't and I got an e mail that I had been booked for the job.  I was so excited because booking a job is practically a miracle.  That's how I see it anyways.  It's just such a crap shoot because there are so many variables that go into it.  Either it's a giant casting with a million girls that all look a like and you wonder how they ever choose one or everyone is so different that you have no clue what they are looking for.
Hair & Make up // Wardrobe // Display monitor while shooting // Beach Shoot Day 2
The shoot was at Groovy Like a Movie Studios.  It had been so long since I'd been able to do this that I was soaking everything up from the moment I got there.  I was so early they were still setting up.  You NEVER want to be late for a shoot.  It's unacceptable.  It happened to me once for my very first shoot ever.  It was at the beach and I got lost.  It was awful and my agent forgave me but I never wanted that to happen again.  The make up and hair person showed up and the fun began.  I went from the make up chair to the hair chair.  The client kept asking if we were almost done so they were rushing.  As soon as they finished I quickly changed into the outfit they had ready for me.  It was a basic top, sweater and capri's from Target.  In commercial print it's not about the clothes it's about the product.  Most of the shoot clothing comes from places like Target, JC Penny's or Marshall's.  And some of them like you to leave the tags on in case they want to return it.  I rushed over to the set to meet my son.  He was an adorable 5 month old baby boy and the next few hours were spent cuddling him while they took pictures.  It was really tricky.  You can't always get babies to do what you want them to do when you want them to do it but this baby was such a little pro.  He never cried even though he got passed around from person to person for hours.  Then my fake husband did some shots with our fake son and then all three of us did shots as a fake family.  The idea of course is that it look convincingly real.  There is a lot more acting in modeling then people may think.  And it's a painstaking process.  The baby's diaper is showing in one shot and my sweater is falling open in another.  It was always something and yet everything has to be perfect.

There is always a little bit of pressure because there is a room full of people watching.  This project is important to the client and I'm being paid to get good shots for them.  I want to do a good job.  It was a little confusing because the client told me to show more expression when the photographer had just told me not five minutes earlier to tone down the smile.  The monitor where the pictures pop up was actually facing towards me which I found unusual.  I'd never been on a set where I could actually see how the pictures were turning out so that was kind of helpful.  The hair stylist was obsessed with my pony tail.  She kept popping up next to me with her brush and hair spray.  My hair was basically shellacked by the time I was done.  The make up person was always right there checking out my face and giving it a swipe here and there.  I had one outfit change and a hair change throughout the shoot. 

Day 2 was at the beach.  I'm not the biggest fan of outdoor shoots because you have to deal with the elements and logistically it can be a pain in the butt.  I'm usually either too hot or too cold.  There might be dirt or itchy grass.  I just don't like it.  My call time was 7:30am.  The hair and make up station was a park bench and wardrobe was under a tree.  Once the clouds burned off it was a perfect day.  It was exhausting because I had to smile while lifting and carrying the 5 month old from yesterday all over the playground. My arms felt like noodles by the time we were done.  Then I worked with a toddler and they are even more unpredictable then babies.  We sat in the sand and tried to get this kid from dumping out all the sand onto his pants.  My fake husband was late.  I felt really bad for him because he showed up all flustered and the client was obviously mad.  Apparently there was a mix up with his agency about what his call time was.  I did some shots with him and another toddler on a play mat and then it was over.

In the grand scheme of things this gig was small potatoes but modeling opportunities for me are few and far between so any chance I get means a lot to me.  Even if it rarely happens I always feel lucky that  I've been able to do it at all.  There is a lot of waiting around and it can be really hard work but it's so much fun.

That was five months ago and what I got in the mail reminding me that I hadn't blogged about it was a fat paycheck.  It's real nice to get paid generously for doing something I actually enjoy.  What a concept!  It would take a 40 hour work week at my day job to get paid what I did for just 6 1/2 hours of modeling.  Don't even get me started on how depressing that thought is.  If modeling could be my real full time job we'd be rich.  It's pity I can't do it more often.  It really is great work if you can get it.
Throwback modeling pic

More about my illustrious modeling career here.

Kate Spade Giveaway

Jackie from Jade and Oak organized this lovely giveaway for you all.  I have to be honest here.  I know nothing about Kate Spade except that the designer is well known and that I can't afford it.  I've never even checked out the website until I became a part of this giveaway because I already know it's out of my budget.  So why would I be part of a giveaway for a brand I know nothing about?  I personally would love to win free money towards a designer brand that I would never buy for myself so I figured you might too.  If you are like me and have never shopped Kate Spade before this is your chance.   

 Kelly - Curated by Kelly / Rachel - With Love, Rachel / Cece - Pink Sunshine / Jules - Canines & Couture

 Belinda - Found Love Now What / Kelsey - Ladies in Navy / Alesha - Lifeology / Catherine - Bailey Dailies

Kelly - Petite Ramblings / Sarah - Venus Trapped in Mars / Tara - Starletta Designs / Jackie - Jade and Oak

Gift Card + Ad Space:  2 months Big Ben ad space from Belinda at Found Love Now What and 1 month of Flavor of the Month ad space from Catherine at Bailey Dailies.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway is limited to entrants 18 years and older. All entries will be verified. The giveaway will end on September 13, 2013 at 11:29 p.m. EST. The winner will be selected at random by Rafflecopter. The winner will be notified within 48 hours of the end of the giveaway. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I Don't Use Coupons

I confess that I left for work and forgot to turn off my flatiron.  I wasn't totally sure it was on but I had this nagging feeling as I pulled into 7-11 to get my coffee.  I'd rather be late then have my house burn down; although I don't really know for sure if that would happen so I went back.  Better safe then sorry.  Lucky I hadn't gotten that far.  Good thing I did because it was still on.  Don't you hate that?  

I confess that the REAL reason I was late to work is because I really liked my outfit and spent about 10 minutes with Timer Cam trying to get a picture.  It's on Instagram. I'm embracing colored denim; GREEN! Something I would have never done before.   And I've been shopping a lot lately.  Might as well show some of it off.

I confess that my husband is a computer nerd now.  He got a hot new Computer Network Engineering job and then he brought home a PC.  We are Apple people.  We  have Mac laptops, i Phones and he has an i Pad.  I know.  Scandalous.  Apparently when you are a computer nerd you want a PC to "play around with" whatever that means.  And sometimes you even buy odd computer game controllers called Thrustmaster.  My computer nerd is smart AND sexy so I'm not bothered by this one bit.

I cut out coupons but they rarely make it to the store before they expire.  I want to use them.  I try, but nine times out of ten it just doesn't happen.  Whatever I save is chump change so it just doesn't seem like it's worth the effort.  It's either things I don't use, they want you to buy multiples or I don't have it with me.  I kind of wish I had the time and know how to be an extreme couponer but I don't have the storage for it anyways.  I'm much more likely to use restaurant or clothing coupons.   I will go out of my way to make sure that the $10 off at Kohl's doesn't expire on me.  I finally put an envelope in my car.  Let's see if that helps. 
Linking up with Leslie @ A Blonde Ambition

Sometimes the only thing that keeps me from using that rusty razor in the shower is that one episode I saw on 1,000 Ways to Die about the stripper with the looooong luxurious legs who used a rusty razor, went into sepsis and died.  I'll grab my razor when I'm in the shower.  Look at it.  See rust.  Think about how I'm already wet and don't want to drip water everywhere reaching into the drawer to grab a new one.  I think about that damn show and how a tiny nick could potentially be the death of me.  Then I do it anyways.  Or let my legs stay hairy and skip it altogether.

I confess that I keep deodorant in the center console of my car. One day on the way to work I realized I'd forgotten to put some on so I rushed to the drug store, bought some and kept it in the car. It's come in handy on more then one occasion.

I confess that I live in pajamas when I'm at home. I get home from work and the first thing I do is trade day clothes for pajamas. When I'm at home and have to go somewhere getting dressed is done right before I have to leave. I just can't be in my home in clothes.  I feel like I can't relax.  Don't worry, I'm not hanging around in rags.   I have a ton of jammies and most of them are really cute ones from Victoria's Secret.  

It's going to be another hot weekend for us in So Cal.  It was 83 degrees on my way to work at 7:30am this morning.  HOT!  But I really love it.  If I didn't have Air Conditioning at home I might be complaining but I am a California girl and I love the heat so I'll take it while it lasts.  Have a great weekend everyone!!!

My Weekend in Manual Mode

This weekend update is brought to you by: I Finally Understand Manual Mode Productions. 

Mj has been out of the country for two weeks so my social calendar has slowed down significantly.  Apparently I have no life without him.  I only had two things planned.  I went to a fight party at a friends house on Saturday night.  I still have no idea who was fighting or who won because I'm not really that interested in MMA.  I only went to see my friend and hang out.  And eat the pizza.  And drink her Light Raspberry Smirnoff Vodka.  Good stuff.  My parents came down to see me on Sunday and we had a really nice day together going out to lunch and hanging out.    

Mom and Dad
It's been an entire year since Mj brought home the Canon Rebel DSLR camera.  I don't know what my problem is but I've been really lazy about figuring out how to use the thing.  I had no clue what I was doing in manual mode.   My primary technique was to switch the settings around haphazardly until the image stopped being black.  I didn't understand why the image was black, too bright or blurry.  Without understanding what each setting actually does it's kind of impossible to know that so it took me forever to get a decent shot.  I found a great website and finally took the time sit down and read up on Shutter, ISO and Aperture.  It finally clicked for me what each setting does and what effect they have on images.  It was so exciting to be able to apply the information and make somewhat educated decisions about my settings rather then blindly guessing.  It took a while but I think I'm finally starting to understand this fancy camera.




Still working on that novel.  Sigh.  It is such a work in progress.  I really need to figure out where this story is going.  I put on my Pandora Classical Music for Studying station and sat my butt down at the dining room table for hours on Saturday and Sunday.  With the house all to myself and nothing but time there were no distractions and no excuses.


After doing the 30 day shred at home going to the gym just feels like the biggest pain in the butt ever.  That's okay because I'm still getting my fitness on.  Saturday was Power Yoga with Rodney Yee, Sunday was Element Ballet Conditioning and Monday was 30 Day Shred Level 3. I was planning to schlep myself to the gym today after work but I left my gym bag at home.  I swear it was an accident.  I may or may not go but either way I'll still work out.


I drank more coffee then usual.  After my work out on Monday I busted out my tiny little old school Mr. Coffee machine.  I rarely drink coffee on weekends when I'm away from work and I pretty much never make it myself.  My favorite go to spot for coffee is 7-11.  I went there on Saturday so I saved myself the $1.25 and made it myself.  It's no Keurig but it works.  Breakfast was Ezekial Bread toast with yummy melty Peanut Butter on top.  I sat my tired legs down to watch Breaking Amish.  

There was  a lot of TV and movie watching and wine drinking.  Just a glass or two every day.  Does that make me an alcoholic?  I'm hoping not.  The movies were Open Road, Admissions and Warm Bodies.   Open Road was just okay but I really liked the other two.  I found a really good TV show from some foreign film channel on You Tube called The Model Scouts and got hooked.  It was so good.  I stayed up to the wee hours of the night on Friday and Saturday watching it.  What is it with Lifetime movie network?  They are off the chain with all their movies and TV shows about murder.  I had it on in the background half watching but mostly not.  On Saturday it was back to back episodes of I Killed My BFF and Killer Kids.  Then on Monday in honor of Labor Day (get it? Labor) there was back to back movies about women so obsessed with having a baby that they lie, cheat, steal and kill in order to get one.  What are they trying to tell us?

It was a great weekend.  I'm no pro with the camera but at least I'm finally learning.