Couch Emily - Does this ponytail make my butt look big?: style and beauty for every woman

By Dana Lam and Emily Couch

www.TotalPublishingAndMedia.com

Copyright 2011 by Dana Lam and Emily Couch

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-1-937829-24-7

To my amazing family, this is possible because of their love and support. To my mom and dad for breathing belief in me that I can accomplish anything I desire. To my sister, Danell for always making me laugh.

Most of all thank you to

Henry, Ethan & Harrison

I love you!

---DANA

To Tamara, Without your love and support this wouldn't have been possible. To my mom and dad for always pushing me to accomplish my dreams. To my girlfriends, Holly and Samantha for showing me the ways of the dinosaurs.

I love you all.

---EMILY

We would like to thank everyone who supported us with this endeavor. Without their collaboration this book would not be possible.

Jeff Hunter, Christine Henke, George Horioka, Jessica Lai Lopez, Krissie Kennedy, Lynn Kostel, Bonnie Tornquist, Liz Harris, Christian Senger and Melinda Swiger.

Two of the most amazing women we know contributed great content to our book on life balancing and organizing.

Bonnie Moehle ~ Life Balancing Coach bonniemoehle.com

Brenda Spangrud ~ Organizer Extraordinaire sortedorganizing.com

Our wonderful photographer for creating a great photo for our back cover, which we assure you was not an easy task.

Desi Smith ~ DES Photography DESPhotoz.com

I dont understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a littleif only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe thats the day she has a date with destiny. And its best to be as pretty as possible for destiny. Coco Chanel

I often wonder how some people will dress in another thirty years. My grandfather never saw my grandmother without makeup on. My grandmother would wash her face after he was asleep and she would rise before him to put her face back on. Extreme? Maybe, but I think society has gone too far in the opposite direction. Can we please meet in the middle?

When my mom went to school, girls couldnt wear pants. They had to be ladylike and wear dresses. I remember when I was a nanny working for a woman attorney and she told me of the unspoken rule at her work. The female associates were to wear skirts to the office; however, once you became a partner, you then had the privilege of wearing pants. I found this both interesting and archaic.

My moms High School Graduation Picture

Grandma Glees High School Graduation Picture

As for me, Ive always loved dresses. Even as a child, dresses were my favorite. I did everything in dresses, even climbing trees. My sister, on the other hand, has always loved pants and still does. I honestly cant remember the last time Ive seen her in a skirt or dress. It may have been her wedding. Shes a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. Growing up, I would always try to sway her into dressing a little more feminine, and she was so against it. Of course, back then we didnt like each other much, and maybe she just wanted to be the opposite of me. Now, we love each other dearly and wish we could spend more time together. In fact, on a recent trip, we took together with some of her friends and she borrowed some of my clothes. I know she felt great after receiving compliments from her friends. So great that one morning, when I woke up, she was already out and about wearing more of my clothes.

With my sister Danell. As you can see shes wearing pants and Im in a skirt.

When I was in fourth grade my family moved from Illinois to Arizona and I made a huge fashion faux pas. I thought we had moved to the Wild West and insisted on wearing a cowgirl outfit that I had wore in a singing competition. Oh yes, this outfit had a jean skirt, red plaid shirt with a jean vest and of course cowboy boots. Thankfully I didnt wear the hat. My wonderful mother tried to talk me out of it but I was very insistent.

It was humiliating. I came home in tears vowing to never return again. My mom was very smart. She encouraged me to go to school and hold my head up high. It didnt matter what anyone else thought. I learned that no matter how insecure I was feeling to pretend that I was confident. Basically fake it till I make it. This did get me through high school and my 20 something years.

Growing up in Cottonwood, AZ in a one stop light town was not very interesting. In fact I used to dream that I was switched at birth and that I actually was a Kennedy or a Vanderbilt. My dad used to say that I had a champagne appetite and beer income which I translated to mean that I had the misfortune of being born to a blue collar beer drinking family. Through the years I came to appreciate my family roots. Im fortunate to have loving caring parents.

Dana rocking a ponytail in 1986.

Yacht Party in Los Angeles. Dana with her friend Jennifer Murphy, former Miss Oregon and Apprentice contestant. From small town to creating the life of my dreams. Anything is possible if youre willing to do what it takes to get there.

So how did I end up here?

TEN YEARS AGO, I NEVER WOULD HAVE thought I would be helping people to look and feel wonderful about themselves. My passion at that time, and still is, travel. I worked for American Express for over nine years in the travel division. September of 2001, I was happily married, had one son, and loved my career. I worked in the marketing division for the Fine Hotels & Resorts. I loved my life. Things quickly changed in October of that year. On Halloween, the Phoenix marketing staff was called into a conference room and told over speaker phone that we no longer had jobs. It was a sad day. To top it off, I was dressed like Mia from Pulp Fiction. I guess playing dress up is something that I never grew out of.

It was a devastating blow. American Express is an incredible company to work for. The bonus was that I did receive a sixty-day notice and a nearly six-month severance package. Earlier that year, I was invited to a Mary Kay skin care class by my good friend, Angie. Being the supportive friend that I am, I decided to attend. But I wasnt going to buy anything. I honestly thought that Mary Kay was for much older women. And how could products sold out of someones home be any good, right? So, several hundred dollars later, I left the party a happy Mary Kay customer. After two weeks of using the products, my skin cleared up and I looked amazing. So, after being laid off, and when my beauty consultant Michele told me for the third time how great I would be as an Independent Beauty Consultant, I finally said yes.