2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show- A Recap

You know it's the beginning of the holiday season when the Victoria's Secret Fashion show airs on television. This is the only fashion show that I make sure I catch every year and this year's show did not disappoint!!! As much as I would love to feature every single outfit, that would make this blog so freaking long. I will feature the outfits that I loved the most from the show.

Before the models, I will review the performers, which were Katy Perry and Akon.



Katy Perry looked and sounded gorgeous!!! I loved the blend of blue and pink in her first outfit, when she performed "Firework." Then, when she performed during the Pink collection presentation, the yellow dress contrasted beautifully with her black hair and black boots. I loved that she did a medley of "Teenage Dream/ Hot N Cold/ California Girls." Her music is very appropriate for the youthful, colorful Pink collection!



Akon performed his single "Angel"... talk about a perfect song to feature on the show!!! It was very classy to have him in a suit while the girls walked down the runway in contrasting white outfits. It was a beautiful segment of the show and it added a classy touch!

And now.... onto the beautiful models!!!!!



I've always liked the Rocker Angel look. To have the corset shaped like a heart is way too cool and cute! I would so buy that! I also liked the dark teal wings... a bit of light and dark to the ensemble!!!



The whole segment where the models were dressed in random sports clothing... cuteness. I don't think I will ever see this colorful of a lacrosse outfit anywhere else!



Okay, my favorite flowers are roses... so when I saw this I instantly loved it! I wouldn't hesitate to wear my black bra and panties and wrap this floral arrangement around my body.



Simple lingerie and fluffy wings.... classy and elegant!



I missed this portion of the show (hey, I'm a Mom and the kiddo needed to be tucked into bed). My favorite is the pink lingerie with the pink, red, and orange wings.... what can I say? I'm a sucker for color!



These wings were just amazing.... so much that I forgot to look at the lingerie! When this model walked onstage surrounded by orange-ish trees... she looked absolutely amazing. You could tell she loved wearing this outfit; she always had a smile on her face!



A few of the ladies wore peacock themed outfits and wings... this one is my favorite. Not only did this model have beautiful wings, but to have the feathers around her waist added to the beautiful dark blue bra and panties.



Onto the best part of the show... the Pink Collection! This outfit was my FAVORITE of the night!!! It was a lot of fun, flirty, and very Rainbow Brite chic!!! It makes me want to go back to Halloween and update my costume with all the cuteness. Oh well, maybe I will repeat my costume next year and incorporate the fun and flirty side that Victoria's Secret showed off, LOL.



And that's a wrap! It was overall a very beautiful show and all of the models were absolutely gorgeous. I know what I'll be looking for the next time I go to Victoria's Secret!!!

Day 30- A Letter to Yourself, Tell Yourself EVERYTHING You Love About Yourself

Dear Casey,

You have spent many weeks working on this blog challenge, and here you are... at the final one. You've had an interesting journey writing all of these. Some days you wrote two or three of them, others took two to three days to write. But, through all of that, you have 30 pieces to look at and cherish in the future. In a way, you have gained some extra tidbits of self discovery and even surprised yourself with whom or what you ended up writing about. Please note how creative and imaginative you are, especially when you blogged about Batman letting you down... you thought outside the box with that one, and it was very entertaining!

Aside from your talents as a writer and your creativity, you have a lot of qualities about you that make you unique and loved. You blogged about your kind heart, your open mindedness, and your ability to seek out the good in people. You are very smart AND you have common sense. Many people have one or the other, but you have learned to develop both, and that's something that isn't as common as you would like to believe.

You discovered your photographic memory as a young teenager. You can recall certain events from your past and go into detail about them (like clothing certain people wore and what random conversation tidbits you talked about). This has been proven useful many times, whether it was friends from high school asking to recall certain people or figuring out how long it has been since you saw your best friend (which it's been almost 5 years since you last saw Brandon).

Your passion for life is extremely high. You have so many aspirations for the future and are always seeking out new activities and interests. When you grow old, you are going to have so many things to do to keep yourself entertained... and that's not a bad thing at all! Never forget that you are a very unique individual. You were never a follower, even though there are many things you enjoy that others do as well. There is nothing wrong with discovering something new through someone else; if you like it, then that's all that matters.

Stay true to yourself and remain the happy, optimistic person that you are!

Love,

Casey Leigh (aka. YOU!)

Day 29- Something You Hope to Change About Yourself and Why

I wrote this blog a couple weeks ago thinking I had a really great topic. It was about how I need to let go of what others think about choices in my life and do what makes me happy (with an example of what happened when I tried to get a job at Cirilla's- an adult novelty store for those that don't know). But then the holiday weekend happened. Between Thanksgiving dinner with the family, work, two baby showers, and cancelling my own birthday celebration with friends, something became very apparent to me.

I feel pretty damned lonely.



One of my newest acquaintances, whom I found on Twitter a few weeks ago, made a comment on one of Saturday's blogs about how the holidays are particularly hard when not in a relationship. He's right, especially since there are so many events, parties, family gatherings and such that bring relationship statuses to light. It's been a little over three years since my last relationship ended (yes my marriage) so the desire to be in a new one is very high for me. I've had a couple opportunities for relationships, but I've turned them down because I don't want a relationship for the sake of just being in one. That's not my style.

Now, the loneliness isn't just about the lack of a significant other in my life. I'm not one of those people who NEEDS a relationship to make my life seem meaningful (although it would be nice to have that special someone). There's my current lifestyle that gets me that way too. I sometimes feel isolated from my close friends. Some of them are married with kids and some are single with no kids. I'm the divorced one with a kid. Yes, that was my choice and I don't regret it at all, but sometimes it's difficult to be with my married friends while they are with their spouses. Or "guy hunting" with the single friends. Those friends will hook up with someone just for the "high" of momentarily attention from a stranger. I'm not one to pick up guys at bars/clubs (and vice versa) so maybe that is more of a contributing factor that watching my girl friends attempt to hook up.

My job is another example of my loneliness. I am happy to have a job and I love the people I work with, but sometimes I feel like the oddball because my coworkers are either 3-6 years younger than me or a couple decades older. There is a little bit of a generation gap with me and the younger crowd (and that became very apparent when most of them saw my Halloween costume and had NO CLUE who Rainbow Brite was). My job also has me working every Friday and Saturday night, which can be crazy as hell, dead, or a slow, steady flow of customers. Whenever I am done early on those nights and want to do something socially... I usually have a difficult time finding anyone or anything to do. So I go home and play on the Internet for the night (sometimes watching a movie or two).

So, the loneliness.... that's what I want to change about myself. I hope that decorating my house with Christmas goodness will help snap me out of it, since it always puts me in the spirit of the season. That, and I have a few upcoming social events that I'm looking forward to. Here's hoping for a merry December!

Day 28- If You Were Pregnant or Got Someone Pregnant, What Would You Do?

*Rereads the topic of this blog*

Well, I've already made that decision!!! And his name is Truman :-)

Anyway, since I am single, dating, and am sexually active... there is the possibility that this could happen to me again. I say possibility because birth control is not 100% guaranteed to keep you from getting pregnant (abstinence is what always works). So, with that said, what would I do if I found out I was pregnant?



The first thing I would do is tell the father of the child. I am a firm believer that the man has a right to know and will never hide that from anyone. Then I would explain my intentions for the pregnancy, which is that if I choose to have sex, then I accept all responsibilities that come with it (In English: I keep the baby).

Now, depending on the relationship between the father of the child and myself will determine how involved he will be with the baby. Just because I choose to be responsible doesn't mean that he will be... and I know this through personal experience (*cough* Brian *cough*). But to dive into the "what if" scenarios will steer me away from the blog topic.

So, if I find myself needing to pee on a stick... then rest assured that I won't be walking into an abortion clinic or filling out paperwork for adoption. I love being a mother so why would I want to give up a child just because I didn't plan to have one? I mean, Truman wasn't planned and that worked out wonderfully :-)

Dream Interpretations

I woke up this morning recalling a very disturbing sex dream. You know, one of those dreams you remember in vivid detail, but you wish that you didn't??? Yea, I shuddered when I woke up this morning. Well, it got me thinking...

I have a photographic memory (obviously). So when I recall dreams, I write them down in a journal. I figure that some of the dreams may prove useful to me someday, like when I'm writing a novel. I also like to take these dreams and use a dream interpretation website ( http://www.dreammoods.com/ ) to see what my subconscious is trying to tell me.



For example, the dream I had last night was about a male from the Rocky Horror Fishnets and Floorshows cast. I have made small talk with him but I wouldn't say I know him personally. When I looked up "sex" on the dream moods website, they had several different scenarios about sex dreams. This is what I felt that was the most appropriate for my particular dream:

To dream about sex, refers to the integration and merging of contrasting aspects of yourself. It represents psychological completion. It may indicate repressed sexual desires and your needs for physical and emotional love.

To dream that you are having sex with a stranger, represents uncertainty about what is ahead. Alternatively, the dream allows you to experiment freely without having any hang ups, emotional baggage or preconceived notions associated with a person you would know. In such a scenario, you are able to let loose and express your desires, passions and emotions.

The part that refers to my needs for physical and emotional love.... completely dead on. I haven't been in a relationship for over three years, and given the holiday weekend going on right now, it's made me really miss having that kind of connection with somebody. I know I will get there someday, with someone, I just need to learn to be patient and enjoy the time that I have now.

Dreaming about having sex with a stranger, represents uncertainty about what is ahead... another dead on statement. The cast member is considered a stranger to me, and my uncertainties about the future are on my mind a lot... not just for the interest in starting a new relationship, but where I am going to be financially, career-wise, furthering my education, and if my living situation will change. 

The part that says the dream allows you to experiment freely without having any hang ups, only about half true. As enjoyable that it is to dream about someone that you are not involved with, I am not interested AT ALL in the guy (since I would rather forget the dream altogether).

I've always found it interesting to see how certain aspects of my life reflect in my dreams. I am glad I found this particular dream interpretation website. Not only does it give me some insight, but as I mentioned before I can use it as a resource for a future novel.  For my readers, you may see more random dreams of mine, except that I will actually write down the details of those dreams. I figured that going in detail about the sex dream would be too much information to share.... LOL.

Day 27- What's the Best Thing Going for You Right Now?

The best thing that's going for me right now.... oh jeez. I have a lot of good things going on in my life: my son Truman, my close circle of friends, and my determination to get my life back on track (with school and a great job). I'd have to say what the BEST thing is right now is... my blog.



When I was in first grade,  I discovered my talent for storytelling. I was able to clearly express what was on my mind, whether I was presenting it orally or by writing it down on paper. One of my first real accomplishments was in the second grade. One of my short stories was featured in the school district's annual Young Writer's Conference. It made me happy that my story was published in the book.

My writing progressed through my grade school years, leading all the way through high school. When I was a freshman, my English teacher recommended me to the yearbook advisor to join the staff the following school year. I had never given it much thought, but once the idea was presented to me, I knew that's what I wanted to do. By the end of that school year, I had already decided that journalism was going to be my major in college.



When I was in college from 2002-2004, I had taken several classes that were writing intensive, including a Film as Literature class. The class consisted of watching movies and writing papers about them. Yes, this was the perfect class for me. It helped me realize that I could combine both passions for writing and movies into a career, like a movie columnist. Well, as life goes, I had a few curve balls thrown at me that veered me away from achieving my goals. As I have mentioned before, I am working toward getting my life back that direction.

Back in July, I had noticed a few of my friends with their own blogs. Each of them had a unique voice and after mulling over the idea for 48 hours, I found myself setting up my own blog. Wow... this is something that I should have started doing years ago! I'm glad I did it though. I am amazed at how many blogs I have written in the past four months... and how many more I have to come.  It has already opened my creativity back up, and (hopefully) soon, I will be writing my first novel and hoping that it gets published someday. My blog has helped me rediscover myself more than anything else that I've done in the past three years, especially this 30 Days of Truth blog challenge. I hope that someday, someone out there will notice my voice and possibly lead me toward achieving some of my goals. Yea, that would be awesome :-)

Day 26- Have You Ever Thought About Giving Up on Life? If So, When and Why?

Life can throw a lot of unexpected things at you. Life can also give you choices on what to do in certain situations. When it comes down to it, you as a person are the only one to make these decisions. Sometimes it's hard to do... especially when life throws you stressful situations or bad experiences. I have had to make some really difficult decisions in my life, but in the end I felt that I made the right ones and moved forward with my life.

Now, this blog topic is asking if I ever thought about giving up on life. No, I have never done that. There are way too may people and things that I care about to throw in the towel. However... I have imagined the "what if's" and came up with a very plausible scenario.



If I was still married to Brian, I could see that I would fall into a deep depression. The longer I would stay with him, the deeper it would get. I wouldn't feel motivated to do anything. I would slack off at work and eventually get fired, then not even attempt to look for a new job. I would stop trying to fight with Brian; I would lose the motivation to get fired up over an argument. The only things I would do during the day would be to either sit on a couch and sort of watch television or to just lay in bed all day. This would not be a good atmosphere for my son. My family and friends would try to help me out, but I would avoid them and reject their advice. I would cry a lot.

Then, I would think of ways to end all my pain, my suffering. But how??? Would I fill up the tub and use a razor on my wrists? Would I drink a bunch of alcohol and swallow whatever pills I could have access to? Would I take a knife to my heart? Would I even succeed in doing this???



It's a very scary thought that, given time, it could have happened. It's something that once you do it, you don't get to go back and change things. It's permanent. I may not be alive right now. My family could be completely torn apart. A lot of my friends would be in complete shock that I was the type of person to do that to myself.

Writing this blog made me a little sick to my stomach, especially when imagining the amount of pain I would be in if I cut my wrists. Life is way too precious to lose.... which is why I am happy that I appreciate life too much to consider the "easy way out."

Day 25- The Reason You Believe You're Still Alive Today

I intend to live forever... so far, so good. Okay, I know I won't live forever... that's the sucky part about not having Greek Gods for parents. I just have to deal with mortality. *shrugs*

All joking aside, I am definately alive and kicking. I mean, I've been in a couple car accidents and walked away with some bumps and bruises. I'm not some thrill seeking daredevil that puts my life at risk for an adrenaline rush nor am I an extra cautious person that doesn't take a chance at anything exciting at life. I've been through some serious trials in life... and I couldn't have done it without certain people.

1. My Family: I can pinpoint my optimistic personality to the environment that I was raised. My family (parents, grandparents, and extended family) showed my sister and I tons of happiness. Other than when a family member passed away, I do not recall any sadness, hurt, anger, or tragedy growing up. I'm not saying those things didn't exist; I just believe that my family was very good at protecting my sister, cousins, and myself from harmful exposure.

When I was a teenager and in my twenties, my family, especially my parents, were there for me in my darkest times. My parents let my ex-husband and myself live with them for a while, rent free, to help us out with our debt. Then, when I left Brian, my son and I immediately had a home and the support we needed at that time, not to mention that they basically paid for my divorce. My family is very important to me and I know they will continue to support me in the future.

2. My Friends: What would I do without my friends? We've grown up together, experienced a lot of life's trials and tribulations, and for some of us, moved onto marriage and families. My closest girlfriends, Maria, Katrina, Jaymie, and Robin, have all been there for me, and I felt like I almost lost them all as friends when I was with my ex-husband. They all, in their own ways, tried to get me to see Brian for who he was and I wasn't listening. They stayed with me though, and were some of the first people to know when I made that choice to leave him.

My closest guy friends, Matt, TJ, Ben, Doug, and Patrick, have all contributed in their own ways to be considered some of my closest friends (all whom I knew before Brian and I have reconnected with all of them through Facebook.. except Ben. He and I always stayed connected). I am also happy that I have spent time with each of them this year, and enjoyed the company with all of them!

Then, there's my best friend, Brandon. He is the one person that helped me the most in getting myself back to the cheery, optimistic, geeky person that I am. He and I have logged hundreds of hours talking online about everything, which helped strengthen our bond tenfold in the past three years. He and I can talk about anything and everything and look out for each other, and I love that about us. Love ya Brandon :-)

3. My Son: Having a child has, in part, helped me see my life in a new way. Watching Truman accomplish certain rites of passage in his life remind me of my childhood. Whenever he accomplishes something, I can't help but smile. It's also scary, in a good way, how much he is just like me. I have mentioned in previous blogs about what Truman and I went through in my marriage to his father. If Truman wasn't in my life when all of that was going on, who knows where I would be today... or if I would even be alive?? I am happy to be his mother and cannot wait to be there for him in the future, no matter what life decides to throw at us.

4. Myself: This one is the most important. I CHOOSE to be alive for all the reasons listed above, and then some. There are so many good things out there in the world that I want to experience... and that's hard to do if you are dead. I have too many things I am passionate about. I want to live life to the fullest and am driven to live until my body breaks down of old age (even when I get there, I'm still going to be determined as hell to be as active as I can, with a variety of activities). Here's hoping for a long, happy, fulfilled life!!!

Day 24- Make a Playlist to Someone and Explain Why You Chose All the Songs

To anyone who was recently heartbroken,



I know you are an emotional mess right now, and you have every right to be. Your friends are going to try to cheer you up, say you are better off without the person you are no longer attached to, and push you to get out in the dating world before you are ready. I would like to offer you something when you are having those moments of solitude.

Music is a great source of therapy. Finding the right songs to help you through the many phases post-breakup will make you feel better as time goes on. I have compiled a playlist just for you to enjoy, no matter how you are feeling about your ex. Some of these songs you may feel belong in a different category, which might be true. I just know that's where I would personally place them, but feel free to arrange this for your personal listening pleasure.

The "Sad" Breakup Songs:
1. Poison "Every Rose Has It's Thorns"
2. Boyz II Men "End of the Road"
3. No Doubt "Don't Speak"
4. Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"

The "Angry" Breakup Songs:
5. Kelly Clarkson "My December"
6. Limp Bizkit "Nookie"
7. Puddle of Mudd "She Hates Me"
8. Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know"
9. Eamon "(Fuck It) I Don't Want You Back"
10. Cee Lo Green "Fuck You"

The "I Have No Sympathy For You" Songs:
11. Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats"
12. Justin Timberlake "Cry Me a River"
13. Bon Jovi "You Give Love a Bad Name"
14. All American Rejects "Gives You Hell"
15. Backstreet Boys "Don't Want You Back"
16. Beyonce "Irreplaceable"
17. Justin Timberlake "What Goes Around Comes Around"

The "I'm Over You and Moving On" Songs:
18. Pink "So What"
19. Kelly Clarkson "Since You've Been Gone"
20. Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow "Picture"
21. Christina Aguilera "Fighter"
22. Britney Spears "Stronger"

Now, I know it will take some time to get over your ex, but at least you know exactly what you need to listen to to help you out. I hope this helps give you a little bit of closure, maybe even introduce you to a few new songs. Oh, and if you need anything (a hug, more song suggestions, a place where you can go to break stuff), please don't hesitate to ask. I am pretty resourceful.

Take care of yourself,

Casey Leigh  :^D

Day 23- Something You Wish You Had Done with Your Life

Having just turned 27 a few days ago, I've been reflecting on what I've done with my life. There are so many things that I thought I would have done by now: graduated college, started my adult career, and be a homeowner. Those things I can still do, and plan to, but there is something that I should have done years ago.

I wish that I would have taken a year off between high school and college.

You see, my first year of college was dismal. I was burned out from high school and I wasn't putting in the effort. I failed a few classes and was close to failing others. I prioritized social activities over everything else, especially my first semester. Being in St. Louis on my own was extremely exciting; I couldn't help but getting out to Cardinals games, Union Station, and the unforgettable Halloween Masquerade party inside one of the haunted houses. Then, when I came back home to KC, I was hanging out with my friends. I actually did better that semester, but I should have made the effort since I was paying them for my education.

If I had taken that year off, I would have done a couple things. First, I would have spent a half year working at a job and saving most of the money in a bank account. Then, I would have planned out an amazing vacation where I would have traveled to several places. I would have either stayed in the United States and visited all the major cities that I wanted to go to or I would have flown over to Europe and traveled through many countries. Just writing about this makes me want to do this now, but since I have a kid to take care of, I would probably only be able to do a vacation for a week (maybe two if I am lucky).

I think taking that year off would have significantly changed my attitude toward college and improved my grades. I may even already be a college graduate by now. It's a good thing that I'm still young and extremely goal-oriented so I can get back on track. Then, I could celebrate that with the big vacation I should have taken 8 years ago.