Pity pot :(

[Lamu]

Guys I don't know if I can get any advice or If I simply need to get this out of my chest so that I can figure out for myself what to do, but here it goes:

I've been practicing my manicure and free hand nail designs for quite a while now. Bought everything I needed to make a little at home space to do nails. I'm taking a course at this academy for nail enhancements and trying to do everything in my power to make this dream of having my own business come true and providing a great unique service to my customers.

What's wrong with this picture? Several things. I'm not in my best emotional mood right now. My son's taking prozac because he's SO INCREDIBLY HYPER AND AGGRESSIVE he's driving himself along with everyone else at home to the edge. He's only 3. I know it sounds drastic for him to be taking such medication but trust me, his pediatrician and us have tried all there is and nothing has worked. How exactly am I going to be in the mood for confronting something new like opening up the nails salon and trying to make sure my son is acting normal while the customers are there and not storming into the place breaking everything in site? The thought just makes me panic

The more I practice the more frustrated I get with the nail designs. What is the trick???????? What exactly does it take for the nail polish to stay, for the dumb little circles to actually come out looking like dots and not blotches??? how come my brushes can never pick just the right amount of nail polish!!! what's the trick. I swear I sometimes catching myself laughing at the fact that I can't even do nail designs. I mean it shouldn't be that difficult to leave me crying on the practice table because no matter how hard I try, my designs basically suck.

Then to top of things....I go to my nails course the first lesson and everything seems good. The teacher is paying attention she's helping me out. Second lesson she leaves me on my own and when she sees I'm taking forever she starts doing the right hand on my customers so that she can make sure we'll leave there once the 2 hours of class are done. I am the one who should be practicing. But guess what? I'm too much of a chicken to tell her that. Then I go this past week to my usual wednesday lesson. Surprise. They're closed. Yesterday I found out they were having their party and not only no one told me but they did not even let me know the place was going to be closed. I don't care much for their party but I care about my classes which is what I was paying for. This is so frustrating I might as well lose my money and not even go there anymore. It's a new academy, they just opened up. How can they afford to lose customers like this??? Oh and the irony....the owner takes my payment yesterday and says "you haven't taken one class yet right?" ( I have taken already 2 classes and she should be aware of my progress yet, she doesn't know) I feel helpless. What do i do....Do I jump in and start my business, do I simply forget about the idea, do I hire someone else who's already experienced to use all the equipment I bought?

I know reading this whole thread must be not only tiring but frustrating. I feel the very same way. It just seems that my dream is fading away and the more I struggle to make things come true, my stuff doesn't come together.

Any, whatever type of advice, words of comfort or simply joining the pity party for New year (lol) will be appreciated!

Hugs,

Lamu

 

[dee]

aww you poor thing , i also have a 3 year old who is a bit on the hard to handle side, so i know how wound up you must be , but on the other hand where would you be without him !! ,
as for your training school why dont you go see the head educator and tell them all this , you dont have to shout just put it to them you expected to be getting more thorough training, if they are any good they should sort it out !!
as for nail art just keep practising i have been for ages and some of mine still are a load of poo lol dont get disheartened,
when your little one is playing up , get hubby to look after him , get a mp3 on and practice while listening to music this helps me ,calm down and i cant hear james carrying on for his dad lol,
hope some of this is helpful and if you ever wanna blow off steam, you are welcome to pm me , love dee

 

[geeg]

I read your thread and thought .... Oh this poor girl really has allot 'on her plate'!! I admire you for taking on this new, and not easy, profession while at the same time trying to contend and do your best for your son.

Your nail art might be much easier, if you paint with Acrylic paints instead of nail polish. It is really hard to paint with polish -- too sticky -- dries too fast etc. Acrylic paint (from any hobby store) does a much better job and flows easier and I'm sure you will be more successful with it.

For your school, I would make it clear, politely, that you would have appreciated some warning of the closure as you had to arrange for the family to be looked after while you were out and wouldn't have bothered to come if you had had prior warning. It has cost you in money and time and that is irresponsible of them. I would not be a shrinking violet but let them know who you are so they will remember you the next time.

If this is something you really want to do, then stick at it ... I'm sure it will pay off in the end. To me the biggest pressure in your life is your son and getting his problems sorted out ... then you will be able to relax and be more focused on the job you want to do.

I hope 2005 sees your life getting a bit easier and everything will fall into place. Best of luck and wishes for a happy New Year.

 

[Lamu]

Thank you guys. After writing the post ( I knew that would happen ) I started figuring out that the first thing I had to do was calm down. I will definitely go and speak to the lady at the academy: politely but firmly I'll let her know I'm worried about the seriousness of the education there and about them not really even trying to contact me to let me know it was going to be closed (like I said I'm really a chicken at confronting things so I don't know how am I going to do this without a paper bag covering my blushed face!!! LOL but I wil do it)
In regards to my son, yes I am deeply hurt and troubled by the situation. He acts horrible to me and there's nothing I can do besides loving him so it's a really trivial situation. He'll be going to a psychologist soon and I'll try to put him in summer school for a couple days so that he can release some energy.

Thanks once again for listening to me ramble....any other input from other members I'll trully appreciate too

 

[zaza]

have a look at some of christies tutorials on nail art they are great and really inspire me, i would be lost without them.
zoe. x

ps a new year ahead, keep your chin up chuck and good luck with your business.

 

[whackeykitten]

I really sympathise with you. My son was also very hyper, severe mood swings, aggresion, it was virtually like he was too different people, jekyl and hyde. Anyway, I decided I had to do something when he had gotten to the stage where he was giving himself asthma attacks. I went through my cupboards and basically threw everything out. This was on the friday. All weekend we just ate natural produce, no pop, crisps, nothing with artificial colourings, just all wholesome, natural food. The following Monday at mother and toddler group most of the other mothers thought he'd been given tranquillisers. His mood swings just stopped. No aggression, just a happy little boy. Might be worth giving it a go? Anyhow, I hope it all comes together for you. xxx

 

[dee]

yep i also think all the additives in food makes some kids worse , i cannot give james chocolate ,or cola coz he is just bouncing off the walls if i do ,
(bit of a hard task at xmas lol)

 

[Lamu]

Yes, I'll have to actually look more strictly into that. My mom's the one that takes care of him during the daytime while I'm at work and so we agreed she'd give him no sugar at all, but then she really doesn't realize some things still have sugar and other bad stuff even if it doesn't look like on the outside. I was following Atkins and have found that food is highly related to our moods, some can modify our behavior, or the wrong type of fodd can even trigger depression on some people who are "allergic". Now it's obviously hard when it comes to a kid but hey if it's for his health I'll do it.

On another update, (lol) I did buy this acrylic paint geeg advised me to for the free hand nail designs. I'm still trying here. Yes it's much easier than before but I think I'm the one lacking talent and it was becoming simply easier to blame it on the nail polish. I have decided I'm not giving up on this. Even if it takes me years to master the art of doing nails. Yes I must admit I first thought it was an easy way to make some money working at home and being able to make ends meet but I guess there's lots more to it and I'm now aware of the responsibility that involves calling myself a professional in the future. So...I'll keep practicing. I know one day things will have to get better.

 

[Christine G]

Dreams come true, don't forget that. It's very hard at times to remain calm and focussed, especially with your son who seems like REAL hard work, but bless him, he can't help it,,,,,,,maybe it's something he will grow out of?
When your'e feeling really stressed try to take just 5 minutes out for yourself to chill, it can make a world of difference. How about some really calming essential oils in a vapouriser, maybe lavender or chamomile?
Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, your'e doing a great job and you will succeed, sometimes the less effort and stress you put on yourself the easier things become, you are only human. Your hard work and determination will be rewarded eventually.
Let us all know what happens, and give your'e son, and yourself a HUGE cuddle from all of us.

Christine.

 

[Karen]

Hi ya Lamu,

You certainly seem to have a lot on your plate at the moment. I don't have any kids and still find it difficult to find time to practice new techniqes, so I can only imagine your frustration.

Have you thought of breaking everything down into small sections - kinda giving yourself lots of little goals rather than trying to do everything at once?

You say you've been practising manicures? Could you start to offer clients fantastic manicures and build up a client base you can handle and feel comfortable with and then maybe introduce the nail art at a later date???

Start off simple to gain confidence and then build up your nail art portfolio gradually.

Take the pressure off yourself hun, you have a lot to deal with.

I wish you all the best with your son and your nails too.

I'm sure you'll make it work.

Love,

Karen

 

[Bryony]

Hi Lamu,

Firstly, just want to say I admire your determination patience

Have no kids so can't help here, only to add what the others have said, you are doing all you can and giving him your love, don't beat yourself up about it.

You seem to be trying to do lots at once, sounds like you're putting added pressure on yourself that you don't need.

As previous post suggested, why not offer regular manicures, without the pressure of doing nail art? Do you have to dive in and do nails as a business, what about looking at it more as a hobby that you get paid for? That way you can earn a bit of money but not put yourself under so much pressure to succeed in business.

As for the nail art, do you have various brushes for the different techniques, e.g. long, thin brush for stripes, small brush for detail etc. You mention circles specifically, do you have, or can you get a dotting tool? It's the best, easiest way to do circles, and an excellent way to also create flowers.
I sometimes find the dotting tool picks up too much paint, so just put the first dot onto a bit of tissue, then dot it onto the nail.

Good luck with it all, ask away if you have any more problems, or post on chit chat if you just want to let off steam after a bad day

Let us know how things go,

xx

 

[princessmowgli]

Bless I do feel soo sorry for you. I have 4 children & 'touch wood' so far so good.

As for the nail art, acrylic paint is definately the way to go. They're very cheap & if you go wrong you can get a damp tissue/pad & wipe it off if you're quick & start again.
Get a few different sizes/types of brushes as said before.
Striper pens are good as they have a brush at one end for flicks & a dotting pen at the other for ....dots. Practice with the flow & pressure & voila.....PERFECT dote EVERY time.
What about using gems as the main art detail & a real cheat but never fail method is to use 3D nail stickers. Try www.nailtopia.co.uk. Julia is a geek & has some lovely designs. A few flicks/dots with a sticker placed just so NEVER fails. Even if it is simple often less is more & you will gain confidence as you progress.

Do let us know how you get on, cheer up & chill out. If it gets too bad have a break, take the little one to the park, ducks, on a bike ride, go fly a kite but just take care.

Sonia

 

[Lamu]

Thanks so much guys for all the great advice and for taking the time to listen to my rant and for joining my pity pot. All your responses to my post have been really comforting and have greatly motivated me to keep going. Wow if everyone around us knew what a world of difference it makes to simply tell someone in distress "I understand you" or "I feel for you" "I know what you're going through" we'd all feel a bit better. It has truly taken like a ton of weight off my back to simply know it's not all my fault and that I'm not simply weak but that this is indeed a tough situation to handle and that it is ok to feel exhausted every now and then. Your advice have made me also understand that no matter how many breaks I take to breath some air and get my stuff together, I still must keep going. I'm not giving up on this. I'm not a quitter. Someday I know I'll make it like many of you geeks have done besides limitations and obstacles in the way.

I will try to take things slower. Not stress so much over everything and overall not having deadlines as that can totally kill me. The idea of little goals instead of trying to reach it all at once totally makes sense to me as well as offering only manicures to begin with. That can be a little goal. I'll continue to practice nail art and will see If I can go shopping for brushes and stickers (these I know will make my life much easier LOL); The acrylic paint I already bought and yes it is great. As soon as I get a chance and get some more progress under my belt I'll try to post my nail art here and get y'all to review it. I promise I'll cheer up & chill out LOL ...my family and I are going on vacation for the first time in MANY MANY years all of us together and so that will be a couple of days to renew my energies, recharge my batteries and come back ready to face on my little challenges.

Thank you all once again and see ya soon.