Goals for 2012

I have been MIA from my blog for pretty much ALL of 2011, but I am back. I have major goals for this year, but before I get into those I want to update you on what has happened since my last blog post.

So in January 2011 I passed my CNA exam, but unfortunately I was unable to start working as a CNA until August 2011. :/

In May 2011 I graduated with my BSN degree! This was probably the most bittersweet moment of my life. I was overjoyed with the accomplishment because it was truly a HARD road to get through. But at the same time I was fully aware of the hard road ahead of me. The job market in my location for my particular profession is rough for new grads. So I was thrilled to have gotten through one journey, but I was aware of the beginning of the next. That following weekend, two of my sisters, my niece, and I went to LA to celebrate...that was a lot of fun!

June 2011, I got my driver's license FINALLY! This is something I have been putting off for SO long. I had a fear of driving and I finally overcame it. Not having my driver's license is the reason I couldn't get a job as a CNA.

August 2011, as previously mentioned, I started working as a CNA through an agency.

October 2011, I passed NCLEX and officially became an RN! *toots own horn* The experience of taking that exam will probably never be matched, let's just say I just KNEW I had to have failed when I finished the exam. Luckily, that was not the case. The job hunting officially began at this point.

So that brings everything pretty much up to speed...so I'll move on to my 2012 goals.

1. Obtain a new grad RN position. This is my main focus and will open the opportunity for me to do the other things I am interested in.

2. Pay down my credit card and student loan balances. Also, I want to improve my credit score...it's not bad, but I want it to be excellent

3. Get involved in the community...

4. Save up for a car and my first apartment ( these two are major, for me)

5. Travel and get out more

6. Put more effort into myself. By that I mean, I want to take better care of myself, put more effort into how I present myself (i.e. the way I dress, how I do my hair and makeup)

7. Get back into the things I am interested in. I have always loved fashion, photography, painting and writing, but I had to put them aside for school and work. I want to reacquaint myself with my interests and I plan to use my blog to document them. I am really excited about this and can't wait to share :).

Well that's it for now, if you have any advice or tips you can provide in relation to my goals, feel free to leave a comment! :)

Nelli

Not Spending Money on Clothes Until May 1st

First off I just want to say happy Martin Luther King, Jr Day!!

So I joined a challenge on LHCF: No spending money on clothes until May 1st. When I first joined I doubted the possibility of me actually going through with this. But after taking the time to really consider what the challenge could mean for me, I changed my mind. I have more than enough clothes for winter. I planned to start my spring/summer shopping in March, but now it's like WHY? April's weather is usually mild and tends to have quite a bit of rain mixed into the forecast. I believe using a lighter jacket will suffice for that. I also am on a quest to lose 5-8 lbs and to tone up with the pilates class that I am taking this semester. So WHO KNOWS what I will look like once I am done with the course. Buying clothes sooner than May, may not fit me once it's warm enough to wear them.

So all in all, I am glad I stumbled upon this challenge and joined it. I will save money and have more to spend once it's time to actually to buy spring/summer clothes. And hey, I will actually use the clothes I already have. :)

If you want to do a similar challenge, I say go for it!

*Off Topic*
I just wanted to say that I went to a consigment store on Saturday after taking an exam. This particular consignment store had clothes and is considered high-end without high prices. i am so happy my mom talked me into going to it. They had a lot of nice items and I got 3 blazers for 30 dollars total. I may do some OOTD when I finally get around to wearing them! I definitely plan to go back in May.

Heres a DAB of fashion

So I was looking through lookbook.nu and I saw a lot of cute looks I liked that I might remake into my own. :)

**Note: I am no fashion know-it-all, in fact, I know very little. I just know what I like and I follow trends to a very minimum. But I will say I am learning more and more as I get more involved with what I want my own look to be.**

I typically go for simple, easy going looks, but I also want to get into more fun colors and risque pieces, but thats more for Spring and Summer.

^^I love the simplicity in this look. I've been wanting a bag like that for a long time as well.

*Hair Status*

This is going to be the 1st of many Hair Status posts. I plan to do one every week or every other week. So here's a little background on my hair. I was natural until the age of 11. I got my last relaxer when I was 16, which was in 2003. I have been completely natural since 2005. After becoming natural I replaced my relaxers with flat ironing and as a result I suffered a lot of heat damage. At the beginning of 2009 I decided I would begin to take care of my hair on my own (no more going to the salon). I began to utilize twistouts and braidouts in between flat iron sessions, which I only did 5 times last year. So that's a brief summery of my hair. I still have a lot of heat damage left mainly in the front and middle of my hair.

*Hair Status*
So, New Years day I got the itch to cut. I cut about 2-3 inches of my heat damaged ends off. I currently have my hair in a bunch of braids, which I did after I did the Aphogee 2- step protein treatment. I do this often, but this time I made the braids smaller. I have to say I LOVE the smaller braids, they look muchhh better on me and I can style them more easily. I plan to keep my hair in the braids for a couple weeks and then rock a braid out. After the braidout I plan to flat iron my hair. I'll post pictures of the flat iron for sure and do a length check then. I know I am currently in between SL and APL.
My daily regimen is just spraying It's A 10 on my hair and putting coconut oil on my ends.

These Boots!

I got these BCBGGeneration Adrice Boots in black for Christmas. I wore them to work once so far and I got so many compliments, possibly, the most compliments I ever got for something I was wearing. So I may have liked these boots before, but I really like them now lol. What I like most about them is the fact that they come to about an inch above my knee and the corset tie in the back. They are very comfortable and can go well with a variety of looks. I wore them with black pants because I was at work, but I also plan to wear them with skirts and denim.

The Boots (mine are in black):