This is the End

So here it is. My last post of the year. As a whole I'd say 2014 was a dang good year, in fact, I'd go as far as to say it's been one of my best years on this planet. This year I got to spread my wings and finally see the world. I got to meet my bestest friend face to face and spend 3 unforgettable weeks together touring Europe. My business continued to grow and I sold more art than any other year and doubled my revenue from last years numbers. One thing that also happened this year that is very important and that I'm very proud of is that I truly started to love myself and my body. For years I've struggled with insecurities (the majority of my anxiety stems from being insecure and worrying about how I'm perceived by others). But this year with a lot of encouragement from positivity blogs on Tumblr  and some very dear friends I finally was able to see myself clearly. I may not be perfect (and honestly, who is?) but I'm a smokin' hot babe and I'm proud of my body and the way I look. For the longest time if I were to see or meet a girl who I felt was prettier than me I would get so down on myself and feel inferior to them. But now I'm able to see a cutie and be like, "Wow she's pretty but I'm pretty too. We can be pretty together!" Just this simple thing has helped me so much. The media and the fashion industry have such a limited view on what beauty is and it's pretty messed up. Beauty comes in all shades and sizes! I wish I could go back and hug my past self sometimes and tell her how lovely and perfect she is exactly the way she is.

So yeah, many good things happened in 2014 and it makes me hopeful for things to come in 2015. Already, my life is starting to change. My job at the retirement community recently became full time so that's going to be an adjustment. I got kind of used to only working part time and having the rest of my time free to work on my crafts. But I knew that that was only temporary until I could find a full time position. Now I'll have to work on my time management skills and find time to make art after work. Ideally, I'd like to get one hoop done a week but we'll see how it goes.

My dad plans on retiring sometime next year or possibly early 2016 so I'll most likely be living with them until then to help take care of my mom. By living at home another year I'll be able to save more money that I would like to put towards my first home in 2016. I've tried living with roommates but it's just not for me and I don't have any plans to move out of state in the near future so I'd like to buy a condo. My original life plan was to move in with my future life partner but since I'm starting to realize that that may not ever happen for me, it's time for me to start planning for my own future and how I'm going to take care of myself. I don't want anything large, just a cute 2 bedroom condo with a small yard big enough for a pug or two. And it'll be so great to be able to decorate and paint the place how I want to and not have to ask anyone for permission. So I just need to make it one more year and not let my parents drive me completely insane.

What I'm most excited about in 2015, though, is getting to travel more. In just 4 weeks I'll be leaving for Thailand and getting to see Asia for the first time. Then in October I plan on visiting London for a week to celebrate Melissa's 23rd birthday. Originally, we weren't going to see each other again until summer 2016 but since I'm only visiting Thailand for a week and get 2 weeks of vacation time from work, I might as well use that time to get to see my favorite human on her birthday. We only got to see London for 2 days this past spring and that just wasn't enough time so it'll be awesome to have a full week to explore.

Alright, well, I wish all of you a very happy and healthy New Year and I'd also like to thank you for reading this blog and supporting me. It truly means a lot! Mwah!

Duchess Gummybuns
9 inches
*SOLD*

Your friend,
Courtney

Things have been going pretty good lately. Last month I sold more art than any other month before and this month seems to be following suit. I've gotten lots of new fans from Tumblr, Instagram, and DeviantART recently and am so happy to see my art getting more exposure. Speaking of exposure, I also recently got scouted by a show director at the Monarch Gallery and got asked to join RAW Artists. The director saw my embroideries on Etsy and now I have my first show post graduation this March! I'm so so excited! I have to sell 20 tickets to friends/well-wishers but then I get to show my work at the gallery for free, they'll put my profile on their website (and my interview), I get to keep 100% of the profits I bring in AND I get to show my work at several other RAW events around the country if I want to. Pretty sweet deal! I'm so jazzed about this show that I already bought the perfect dress for it (a velvet green dress from Forever21). I don't know how much space I'm going to be allowed but I want to have at least 10 hoops as well as some felt brooches and prints of my animal illustrations. I might even do a raffle for a free hoop!

Some more exciting news is that I managed to score front row tickets to see my favorite comedian, Aziz Ansari, next month!  He posted on Facebook that he was doing a show in Phoenix in January and that if you wanted to be notified for pre-sale tickets to sign up for his text alerts. Naturally, I signed up because I've been waiting forever to see him live again (I first saw him in Central Park in 2006) and on Monday around 11pm I got the text. I only have a flip phone though so I wasn't able to click on the link to buy the tickets so I texted my friend Rosalynn to see if she could buy us our tickets. Luckily, she was still awake and I about lost my mind when she told us we got in the front row! I've never been in the front row for ANYTHING so I'm beyond thrilled for this show! He might even talk to us since he usually talks to people in the front row! :D

Another bit of good news is that my older brother (the bane of my existence) finally got a real grown-up job and is MOVING OUT! Christmas has come early for the Doom family this year! For anyone who knows me irl, you can understand what a huge relief this is. I couldn't have asked the gods for a better gift this year. Peace and lovely lovely quiet. I'm hoping to land myself a real grown-up job in the not too distant future as well but I'm not in a huge hurry. Living with my family allows me to concentrate on my art and building my business as well as giving me the opportunity to save money for travelling. There are some downsides of course to living at home but it's only temporary and soon enough I'll be working 40 hours a week and making house payments along with all the other smallfolk out there. Being a grown up isn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Let that be a lesson to all you kiddos out there, enjoy being a kid AS LONG AS YOU CAN! Or if you absolutely have to grow up, don't let anyone tell you you're not allowed to enjoy the things you did as a kid. I'm going to play video games and watch cartoons for as long as I live. FTW!

Alright, my lovelies, thank you for reading! And I hope y'all are enjoying this holiday season!