Here's one of my reviews from Possession Obsession!

PINK SOLES MODEL RECEPTION WITH NAIMA MORA

We had the honor of attending and helping with the set up of the Pink Soles Model Reception with NAIMA MORA  , popularly identified as the winner of "America's Next Top Model - cycle 4," the night before the Pink Soles 2nd Annual Ultimate Fall Fashion Event.

  This exclusive reception was held at Chima Brazilian Steak House, in uptown Charlotte, which holds private reception rooms above a lavish dining hall.  We reserved the best seat in the house - the balcony bar which boasts a wide street view of the city through the two story windows, as seen when standing  at the railing overlooking the restaurants entry...or if your back is turned to that view, your eyes may take in the scene of the bar itself, utterly chic and elegant with its low lighting, stone touches and modern seating.  The perfect spot for an intimate evening with a supermodel.

The anticipation was high when the whisper of Naima and miss Ivey Moore's (founder ofPink Soles) arrival was announced. Dozens of young models were in attendance, anxious to hear the words of wisdom from someone who started with the same dream - and made it. 

As "ticket girls" we had the pleasure of being the first to greet Naima as she ascended the stairs, looking rocker chic (which comes as no surprise given her musical endeavors with her band GALAXY OF TAR) in black leather shorts, a black jacket, and with her hair pinned up to just one side.  For fear of being a total fan girl, I avoided jumping her with the millions of questions floating through my head and went with a simple "How was your flight?"  To which she smiled politely and responded in a down-to-earth sort of way how it was okay, if not a little tiring, and also how she was excited to be there. 

Christie stuck with me a little longer, but couldn't resist hearing Naima speak, so while I guarded the money box, Christie left for a while to hear her story.  When she came back she told me how Naima told the girls that the most important thing that a model could do was to stay healthy and have good nutrition.  One of Naima's constant worries was the needs of her many jobs for her to look thin - but that when you are eating right and exercising often, you have more energy on set - and that energy reflects in your work, and shows in your photos, so more people want to work for you.

The other main takeaway was to stay humble, and stay true to yourself.  Offer to help clean up. Hang up your garments after you wear them.  These small acts of kindness leave a lasting impression and word will spread that you are fun and easy to work with.  Don't ever compromise what you are comfortable with.  You need to feel at ease on set to capture a good image - this means that if you are asked to take your top off for a photo and you don't want to - don't do it!

I also had the chance to speak with a few models after the event to see what they thought.  One aspiring model, miss Andrea Jackson  had this to say..."Naima really inspired me - I remember watching her on America's Next Top Model, but beyond that I didn't know much about her... but seeing her in person was an amazing experience...just getting to know her spirit, and seeing how real she was... Another interesting thing to learn was that she is now 28 years old.  Being 29 myself has been a struggle, constantly hearing that I'm 'old in the modeling world,' yet always knowing that I can do anything through Christ, whom I have the strongest faith in.  Being able to hear her story, and relating to her in that way has only inspired me more."

Naima ended her speech and graciously offered to pose for multiple photo's for the rest of the night with all of the attendee's, who by this point were full of direction and determination to share similar success stories of their own in the future.  All in all, it was an evening of fun, fashion, and amazing new friends in uptown Charlotte, building to the main event - the 2nd Annual Ultimate Fall Fashion Event that is ...stay tuned for that review!

~ashley-jane

Giggly Girl

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shared words of wisdom

If you can influence the outcome, do the work. If you cannot, ignore the possibilities - its merely a distraction.

Words of wisdom

When designing your life, are you filing it with jobs & tasks that you "have" to do? Or jobs that you get to do!?

punk rock!

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Inspiration

To have a strong business you must strengthen your people. Never give answers, just ask questions.

Short Story for NPR

"Decisions"

Joseph McIntyre was an optimist. The glass was always half full and there was always a silver lining.  However his career path required that he also be a realist. Make hard decisions for the greater good. After all, he had a lot of influence towards the nations good.

“Mr. President” called out one of his staff members, accompanied by a soft knock at the door.  “We’re ready for you.” 

“Yes, one second.” the President replied, slowly rising from his chair.  As he stood, he slid his hand across his desk in the oval office, where he sat and made decisions which would impact the world forever. 

He crossed to one of the large windows in the room to watch the sun arc across the horizon and bleed its way into the night. Normally around this time, he was anxious to be with his family.  To re-count his day, and count his blessings. To prepare for another big decision.

But not today. Today, he had to own all of his decisions since entering the office.

When he was elected, there was little room for optimism.  The economy was still recovering, and the population was rising exponentially, leaving hunger in its wake.  Yet, optimism was just what America needed. A light in the Darkness.  Hope for the hopeless.  And Joseph McIntyre possessed promise.

He built his campaign around promises. Promises of fighting hunger - not just hunger in America, but the whole world.  He won the election by a landslide, and sought about fulfilling those promises as quickly as possible. 

His first decision was to pair with researchers who had been developing certain bio-foods.  Crops bred to specifically access genes which have natural pest defenses to eliminate the use of pesticides and other toxins. 

His second decision pushed the research further.   He wanted to find a way to amplify cell reproduction in a way that would not cause any harm or ill effects.  To naturally breed crops which would be large enough to feed 4 times their normal amount through the use of biotechnology. 

Upon initial success the President made the decision to broadcast the results of animal testing.  Within months the population accepted the safety of this new BioFood, and within a year demanded that it be available to the public. 

And so, when the barrage of images of hollowed youth became too much to stand, the President made the decision to accept the demand.  BioFood was accessible with less than a year of proper testing.  Yet as the years went on, that fact seemed to matter less and less.  Stomachs were full, and no one could stop singing the President’s praise until now.

“Mr. President. Is everything alright?”  Came the now tentative voice of the staff member, pulling Joseph McIntyre from his thoughts from the last 3 ½ years of his term. 

“Yes. I’m coming,” he sighed reluctantly tearing himself from the window and towards the Press Conference which awaited him…

 “In my first year as your President, I encouraged BioFoods to produce an answer to hunger.  And it seemed we succeeded.  And so, we shared the fruits of our success…prematurely.  We are now discovering a delayed side effect.  The catalyst which induced cell replication in plants seems to have gradually transferred to anything that has consumed it.  And now lives dormant in us all.  It also seems…that this state of dormancy is interrupted when we die.  All over the world we have recorded cases of cell replication after death, which has also prompted cell regeneration. In essence – the dead are rising to live once again.”