I am so happy I did this 14 days of Valentine's blog and celebration. It's really hard to blog about what I love about me- real hard. After day two I was like...uh, I have no idea what I love about me...so I'm glad that this forced me to look at myself and see the good. You know, something I'm discovering is that if you want to be attractive, you have to act attractive. Don't complain about your life, your face, your body, your anything! Life is beautiful and wonderful and all of those crap days make the small good things BIG good things. No one wants a Debbie Downer- I'm talking to you girl who would hopefully never read my blog ;) Bwahahaha! Besides the benefit of being attractive to others when you behave attractive, you become more attractive to yourself! And as awful as it may sound, hearing a certain girl complain about herself has made me realize how much I love me! Not because I take joy in her pain, but because it makes me think about the whole self esteem canoli. I love Laura, Lora, Lara, Lawra…whoever I am!
Laura tree I painted for Christmas :)
Today’s love activity was pretty easy- I went to church. I love church. I love my new ward. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ! People talk about love all the time, like it’s something so casual or base, and often it is, but I love real love. I love a love so great that it loves pill bugs and baboons and pebbles! I love a love that would suffer any conceivable pain to save us all from eternal pain! I love a love that allows us to experience pain and suffering (sometimes for years and months) so that we become stronger, more interesting, more attractive, more humble, more beautiful, more fit to be gods and goddesses! Woah, this is getting too intense and personal for a blog, TMI! But who cares! I want to shout it from the rooftops! I didn’t have a SUPER AWESOME Valentine’s because I sent out Star Wars Valentine’s or because I watched romantic movies- My Valentine’s has been super because God loves me. Dig it. “That’s all” (I always love to say, “that’s all,” like Miranda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada in my head!)
I love toothpasteforedinner.com cartoons!
So what do I love about me, me. All of it. I love my frizzy hair and my big nose. I love my blue eyes and my wonderful toes. I love that I don’t ever bruise, but I scar like a mink is minky. I love that I laugh at awkward moments. I love that I create awkward moments all the time! I love that my roommate just got engaged and I’m about to cry for joy because I’m so happy for her- and I’ve only known her for about a month. I love that every time I walk by the swing in my front yard (no matter the temperature or weather) I want to hop on and watch the cars go by. I love that I have my nana and grandmother’s names. I love that I am me. Happy Valentine’s World!
Today's activity was all ready for me- all I had to do was my hair :) I was invited to a Frank Sinatra Fiesta! Aka, a party where we dressed retro and listened to snazzy Sinatra/swing etc. music! At first the night was suck-a-delic because Hillary and I drove around for a million years trying to find the place! Luckily I got a hold of a friend who's boyfriend had my buddy's (who's house said fiesta was at) phone number. With his magnificent direction we found the joint in no time! We played Wi, mingled and had a swell time- and I’ll tell you what, it was A WHOLE lot better than years past spent wallowing in singleness. I mean, I’m happy and I firmly believe you can be happy single, probably just as easily as you can be with someone, and I still single, but it was nice to have fun with friends! Hopefully Danny (the host) doesn't mind me shiesting some pictures for my blog!
Here I am telling Hillary's love fortune, I love Hillary's Betty Paige look!
Loving that fedora Danny!
Getting cozy on the couch, and a photo bomber! I said, "Justin, is that your fedora?" And he said, "Why wouldn't I have a fedora?" haha.
So ritzy!
My hair was as soft as kitten eyelashes. Just saying.
How random that Brianne Shiraki from BV, VA knows Danny! Small world!
So it was fun. What do I love about me today? I love my concern for God's smallest creatures. I've cried in the past because I killed a spider. I have a special jar just for catching bugs and spiders so I can release them outside and hope they can make it! Sometimes if I think about eating meat too much I get emotional. A lot of people make fun of me for it, but I don't give a squirrel burger! I'm not saying you're a sinner if you eat meat (if so then I'm going to hell with you I guess), but I am saying that God loves His creations more than we can imagine. He's all powerful and just like I know my paintings and prints, He knows his rolly pollies and His great blue whales. Unless they're really serving some ACTUAL threat, why do we have to squash every cute little bug we see? We don't. Sorry. Haha, por discurso rimbombante lo siento. Is that right Khiah?
For Day 12 I had a Wes Anderson marathon with Hillary. We started the night off with Rushmore, then The Life Aquatic, and topped it off with The Royal Tenenbaums. Both Hillary and I dressed as Magrgot from the Royal T's, but Hillary was teenage Margot when she was darker.
What I like about me: I like that I like cleaning. That's right, I enjoy cleaning. Today I vacuumed our whole house, including the cobwebs around the ceiling- and I loved it! It's so freashing after you clean. It makes me feel like my mind is clean when my area is clean! Yay clean! I LOVE THAT I LOVE TO CLEAN.
For today's Valentine celebration I made a video of me and people and things I love. It's just a picture video- so it's most likely boring for all of you, but whatever...enjoy, maybe :)
As for what I love about myself- the scar under my lip. When I was about two I slipped and fell in the bathtub or something. I split my lip open and the little white scar has been there ever since! It's just a scar and it's small, but I love it. I think it gives me character!
Today I did something possibly foolish, but I enjoyed it tremendously!!! I went shopping. You see, it is foolish because I don’t have a job…haha. I had to use my dress barn credit card and typically I wouldn’t recommend purchasing things you don’t have the money for…bwahahaha! At least I picked up a job application while I was there. Okay, moving on. It was wonderful- I got 3 dresses, some jeans and a turtle neck! I’ve wanted a turtleneck forever and I needed some jeans bad! They were all on sale and I got it all for a great price, plus the saleswoman gave me an additional discount! It felt so good and I felt beautiful, which leads me to what I love about myself.
Imagine this gem minus the socks with heels! Oh and I made a delightful discovery when I got home- this dress has a hoodie style pocket in the front middle!
This one surprised me- I hate orange, but this rust orange intrigued me and I ended up love loving it!
Just blue jeans and a black turtleneck! I feel so Audrey in it! Especially with a faux bang (my first time doing them, so they're not perfect, but I still like them! Practice make perfect!)
This dress is so comfy and it's a bit more flattering when it's not at this angle. It's flowy and purple and I feel like a gypsy in it- that's a good thing.
I LOVE MY BODY.
I really do love it! I’ve been trying to eat really healthy and I’ve actually trimmed up a good amount. Now hear this, I don’t believe my worth, or anyone’s should be correlated with weight- but I want to be healthy. I want to buy any clothes I want, I do not want to have a stroke or a heart attack, I want to hike farther and harder. So many things that I want require me to be healthy, and yeah- it feels good to look in the mirror and see the right curves on display, as opposed to only being able to see the wrong curves ;) I have so much to be grateful for- two legs, two arms, two good eyes, two good ears, all of the correct twos. Life is good and so is my body!
For today's Valentine activity I started making my Valentine's- yay! In fact, if you're reading this blog, you very well might get one! I don't think I have to explain why this is Valentiney, it just is.
Here is the mess from the Valentine's.
Here is the paper, address book and some stickers!
What I love about me on this Tuesday, I love that I cry. Visa Olympic commercials, babies, old people, small animals, animal cruelty, thinking about the meat I eat too much, Pollyanna, The Incredibles and just about any other family movie- they all have one thing in common, they make me cry! I used to be really embarrassed about crying, but now I see it as a gift. I'm glad I cry 6 times when I watch The Incredibles rather than releasing stress or anger via punching people or acting dangerously. You see, my crying is a release and I'm able to release pretty easily!
David A. Bednar quoted Marvin J. Ashton, saying, "In October 1987 Elder Marvin J. Ashton, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke in general conference about spiritual gifts. I recall with fondness the impact his message had upon me at that time, and the things he taught then continue to influence me today. In his message Elder Ashton detailed and described a number of less conspicuous spiritual gifts—attributes and abilities that many of us might not have considered being spiritual gifts. For example, Elder Ashton highlighted the gifts of asking; of listening; of hearing and using a still, small voice; of being able to weep; of avoiding contention; of being agreeable; of avoiding vain repetition; of seeking that which is righteous; of looking to God for guidance; of being a disciple; of caring for others; of being able to ponder; of bearing mighty testimony; and of receiving the Holy Ghost (see “There Are Many Gifts,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 20)."
You see? I have the gift of weep! And it is a gift, I LOVE THAT I CAN CRY!
Monday's Valentine's celebration was easy because it was supplied for me! For our wards FHE our bishop and his wife talked about some of the do and don'ts of celestialdating and we even watched The Phone Call!
The bishop gave us a packet with ideas for easy and cheap dates, here are a few of my favorites:
Fly airplanes off a cliff, breakfast date (guys cook), fake running out of gas (the couple pushes), visit an old folks home, walk all the dogs in the neighborhood, decorate someone's car "just married," discover a mountain and plant a flag you made together, follow-the-clue hike, candlelight dinner in the back of a pick-up, get on a bus and take a tour of the city, go to an art gallery, go to a farm and do chores together, mud fights, little kid games (hide and go seek, mother may I etc), taffy pull, hiking, tubing, go fishing with a picnic, tennis, Lagoon, wash a car, bake something, badminton, shoot guns, Easter egg hunt, planetarium, dress in overalls and act like janitors, rent a cheap cartoon or movie, swinging in the park, horseback riding at night and more! This list is amazing! I want to do all of it! ASK ME OUT! haha...
Here are a few don'ts for guys:
Doesn't talk or carry on conversations, aggressively touchy, crude, burps, SPITS, swears, checks other girls out, cuts himself down, complains about price of date, too much aftershave/cologne etc.
Don’ts for girls:
Won’t help make any decisions- just says, “I don’t know,” doesn’t order dinner (pretends not to be hungry when she is), too much perfume, self deprecates, constantly going to the bathroom (they know you’re going in there to call or text friends etc), too much makeup, acts dumb, swearing, won’t tell you she doesn’t like you, expects fancy dates etc.
Rules for Celestial Dating:
No kissing/hugging/make-out sessions, no French kissing, don’t go into the opposite sexes room, no back rubs (back rubs lead to front rubs- I added that one), do not lie down on top of each other, dress modestly, avoid late hours etc.
Here's a fun date idea- make cardboard costumes and explore the town in them!
Additionally the packet has some info. about chastity, purity and date etiquette. It’s a great packet and I really enjoyed going to FHE!
So what I love about myself is that I give genuine compliments! Sometimes they are detailed and possibly people think I'm a freak, but if in my head I think, "That girl has a beautiful face," I'm going to tell her! Holding in a compliment is like holding in a smile, you're depriving the world of something that would benefit it! So feel good if I ever gave you a compliment like, "You have great bone structure," because I don't say compliments unless I really believe them!
