On Being Beautiful

I was listening to the radio on my way to work. The hosts were talking to these two teenage girls at a local high school who were working on a project which slowly became a great initiative for young women's self-esteem.

The girls were talking about the stigma around the media and how it puts stress on girls/women to look and act a certain way. They got permission from their school principal to post positive messages on the bathroom mirrors, "You're beautiful just the way you are." 

It is all in the hope that when the girls go to check their make-up, they have a reminder that they don't need it to be or feel beautiful.

Although, having make-up is a bit of a security blanket. But that's a post for another day.

It's a bit sad though how we are so pressured to buy make-up and try so hard to look beautiful. And it's true. It is absolutely 100% posilutely true. Being a young, twenty something woman, I can totally relate.

It's funny how this realization came on my way home from a dinner I had with Mister last night.

We were talking about photoshopping heads on the bodies of Hooters girls (because who doesn't wanna be a Hooters goddess?) and  I made a comment about how he should photoshop our heads on to bodies so that we would actually have a photo of us. He came back with how he did not like his photo taken, which honestly disappointed me because I would love to have a photo of us together. Honestly. But then, I had an epiphany of sorts...if I can even call it that.

I don't like my photo being taken either....unless I have make-up on. Which I know is silly and probably preposterous, but it's true. I just feel prettier being made up. Then again, don't we all?

If Mister was here, I know he would be saying otherwise. He always says that I look pretty/beautiful without make-up and in fact, he prefers it. I often think that it is something all Misters say to make us feel good about ourselves. Like it is in the Relationships: For Men handbook or something.

I wish I had someone telling me all this through my several years of being bullied and outcast because I wasn't my peers' idea of pretty or beautiful. If anyone can relate, they would know that this does a number on one's self-esteem.

However, I grew to learn that being beautiful isn't just what is on the outside, that is only a tiny fraction, it is being a beautiful person on the inside which matters most.

To be able to feel good about yourself.

"You should feel beautiful all the time."
                                         - Mister

I think those girls are on to something.

101 in 1001

Recently, I was inspired by Kate's post ( A Sprinkle of Kate ), 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. I think it's such a clever way to set goals with a realistic time frame to accomplish them.

I am so prone to procrastination, it's unreal. It takes me nearly two weeks to complete housework because I keep putting it off due to finding more "important" or interesting things to do.  I am always so full of excuses as to why I can't or won't do things. Mister Right experiences it on a fairly regular basis when he tries to get me to go to the gym, saying that I have nothing to lose and it's good because it lowers stress and anxiety.

I am always making excuses or finding reasons against things that I don't wanna do, to be honest, my reasons are slightly terrible.

Now is just as good as any time to stop making excuses and get my butt into gear.

Start Date: January 10th, 2016

End Date: September 27th, 2018

1. Visit Australia again (2017, fingers crossed) 

2. Keep up with my professional development (ie. attend work shops, online modules.)

3. Make my classroom more interesting for the babies I work with

4. Simply put, photograph more

5. Read all of Mister's favourite books

6. Post at least twice in a 7 day period on a regular basis

7. Treat myself to a massage

8. Visit somewhere new

9. Cook healthy meals at least 4 times a week

10. Camp at Algonquin Park

11. Catch up with old friends

12. Visit British Columbia

13. Take yoga classes for a summer

14. Put away at least 5 dollars at the end of every week

15. Exercise twice a week for 2 months

16. Clean my apartment every Saturday or Sunday

17. Go two months without shopping

18. Get my fourth tattoo

19. See my sister once a month

20. Turn my phone off for 12 hours one day a week

21. See a show at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario

22. Try more recipes from my Pinterest pages

23. Write down something positive every day

24. Go hiking

25. Colour in my meditation book

26. Learn meditation techniques

27. Spend more time visiting with relatives

28. Volunteer somewhere

 29. Buy a fish

30. Establish a daily routine

31. Do the dishes within a few hours instead of waiting a few days

32. Use a planner

33. Perfect a family recipe

34. Go meat-free for a month

35. Read every night for at least a half hour for 3 months

36. Make a trip to the Donkey Sanctuary

37. Create a regular skin care regime

38. De-clutter every six months

39. Go to a drive in

40. Eat somewhere fancy

41. Learn a type of dance

42. Watch only 2 hours of Tv at least five  days a week

43. Make a few new friends

44. Let Mister train me, and be consistent (I have avoided free personal training far too long)

45. Eat more greens

46. Keep consistent with my blog

47. Spend a day at the beach

48. Go on a weekend long trip 

49. See Niagara Falls

50. Photograph the country side for a day

51. Rockclimb

52. Attend a baseball game

53. Go strawberry picking

54. Say something I love about myself each day for a week

55. Buy fruit and vegetables from the farmer's market during the summer

56.  Spend 5 minutes stretching in the morning and 5 minutes stretching before I go to bed for a month

57. Go to a Disney on ice show

58. Watch all the classic Disney movies 

59. Develop storage solutions for small spaces (ie. my apartment)

60. Go make-up free for a month

61. Run another colour run

62. Make Mister one homemade meal a month

63. Watch a hockey game with Mister

64. Reach 100 followers

65. Collect more antique/retro decor

66. Eat at 5 restaurants I have never eaten at before

67. Clean out my car

68. Organize all my insurance documents, pay stubs etc.

69. Get another dresser

70. Replace my old bed frame

71. Learn ASL (American Sign Language)

72.  Borrow 20 books from the library

73. Transfer all my photos to my external hard drive

74. Pay off student loans

75. Take a local river cruise

76. Visit New York

77. Get a manicure

78. Stay at a hotel for a night

79. Get a boudoir photo done

80. Do a home tour on my blog

81. Comment on more blogger posts

82. Invest in a new camera lens

83. Take Mister to Melt Down (my favourite sandwich place)

84. Feed animals at a petting zoo

85. Go on a horse drawn carriage ride

86. Keep my apartment clean for a week

87. Go to some sort of expo

88. See a psychic

89. Go to an art gallery

90. See a fashion show

91. Moisturize for 2 weeks straight

92. Visit a vineyard

93. Go ziplining

94. Go to a comedy night/show

95. Go on a double date

96. Go on a brewery tour

97. Lay and look at the stars

98. Write 100 blog posts

99. Try to get one of my children's stories published

100. Guest post on another blog

101.  Follow through with all the above goals. 

I am actually excited about this and can't wait to accomplish so many goals. Let me know your 101 in 1001. I'm curious.

Until next time,

365 days of positivity

If there is one thing I have learned from New Years past is that resolutions only last for about thirty days before you fall back into the same old habits you tried to break. You can't just quit binge watching Netflix when you have just started a new show, that's uncanny. What else could possibly be more interesting than lying on the couch all Saturday staring into the boob tube? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Of course, there is that thing I think they call outside and fresh air. Although, it seems pretty foreign to most of us. I do hear it is good for you. But what do I know?

I do know that even though I would rather sit around and binge watch Friends and Breaking Bad simultaneously, I still have that thing that goes from Monday to Friday called a job. Diapers don't change themselves, you know. After all, carrying the babies around all day is my only work out of the week. Gotta make it count, right?

It's all about being positive. Several of my new years goals have revolved around some term or another relating to positivity or trying new things. I hear that being more positive actually makes you happier. How could it not? Being positive makes you feel good. And feeling good, feels damn good!

Pinterest has been my go to place when I have nothing to do on the interwebs for a couple years now. It's great, you learn so much and it is the best way to be lazy in my books. All ten of them. I come across a lot of really cool things I have been wanting to try, or rather thinking about trying but will probably never make it to the store to get the supplies. Let's get real, it's me we are talking about here.

There is this one Pinterest page I keep coming back to or keeps coming back to me I should say; (Maybe it is a sign, maybe it's telling me something, maybe I am crazy. But that's neither here nor there.) and it seems that 2K16 will be a great year for it. I am talking about the 365 days of positive things. Instead of writing down New Years resolutions and having them fail miserably (giving myself thirty days even would be quite generous), every day of 2K16 I am going to write something positive that happened and put it in a jar. And then on New Years next year, I will read about all the great things that happened this year.

It is one thing that I know I can achieve this year. There is so much to be positive about.

No complaining here.

What are your goals for 2K16?

Welcome

I just want to begin by saying, welcome. For those who are perusing around thinking, "Why does this look so damn familiar?" "Have I seen this before?" The answer is, you must just be deja-vuing. And to answer your next question, I did just make that up. Annndd, if I have to be dreadfully honest, I am lying about the deja-vu bit. Not the part about making it up, but the one about you deja-vuing.

Let's get real here for a second, I mean very real. I used to blog, I enjoyed it and somewhere down the line I got busy or lost inspiration or there was the very real thought, who is reading this silly thing anyway?! And just like that (insert finger snapping action here), I disappeared like magic. I just couldn't get into it and was so uninspired. I didn't want to be boring.

It occurred to me, or moreso appeared as if an epiphany, after beginning a wonderful journey into the book Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. Already laughing no more than thirty pages in. I was finally re-inspired to bring light back to this blogging business.

In another world, I would pat myself on the back for picking out such an uplifting book but we are in this universe on this world, so Mister Right if you are reading this, go ahead and say "I told you so" because, dang nabbit, you helped me get inspired. Also thank you Jenny Lawson and your bit about the taxidermied-always-furiously-happy raccoon. I chuckled.

If I haven't lost you and you are still reading this, it means that this is the beginning of a hopefully long no-interruptions friendship. Because a friendship is the best ship.

Hi, I'm Stephanie and I am obviously very cheesy.

Welcome. I hope you stay.