Imagine yourself...

You know what I'm sick and tired of? Women (no matter their shape or size) hating their body. I have a friend that constantly says things like: "I don't like wearing swimsuits in front of men." or "I would look so much better if I was just 5 pounds lighter." Why do we do this to ourselves?? Why do we let ourselves look in the mirror and destroy what's truly unique to us all? Why do we let the media tell us that we're not pretty enough or skinny enough? Well this is what I say to that...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I chose a long time ago to love me and I mean ALL of me. Every hill and valley, every thigh dimple, every acne scar, every bad hair day, everything. Elder Holland once counseled to the young women by saying:

"I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not!... We should all be as fit as we can be—that’s good Word of Wisdom doctrine. That means eating right and exercising and helping our bodies function at their optimum strength. We could probably all do better in that regard. But I speak here of optimum health; there is no universal optimum size."

So here I make the same pleading to all of you: love yourself, for you are unique. Love everything about yourself that you cannot change, and change only the things that are unhealthy. Here I've included some pictures of models and celebrities who are constantly breaking the Hollywood mold. These women are famous for being different...that is something to celebrate.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Nikki Blonsky. She is the star in Hairspray and the TV show Huge. They took this picture of Nikki and the next day she found it on billboards everywhere. Miss Blonsky could have freaked out and apologized for her curvy ways, but she didn't. Mad props Miss Nikki.

Paparazzi took a photo of Tyra Banks and photoshopped her to make her larger. Then, in an effort to turn this into a giant scandal, they posted it all over the National Enquirer. What this magazine never anticipated was what happened next:

Tyra Banks went on her talk show and started the "So what? Campaign". She even appeared on her show in the same bathing suit and posed next to a cutout of the photoshopped pictures. Instead of denying that this was her body and being ashamed, she declared to the entire nation...So what? So what if she really looked like that picture? Does being curvy make her less smart, less beautiful, or less successful? No, and that's why People magazine did a cover and spread on the lovely Tyra. She wore that red tube top bathing suit and posted her weight, (161 pounds) and then made an episode on her show where everyone in the audience donned a red tube top with their weight planted on their chest.

Miss Tyra made huge waves with this "So what?" movement and made the media coward away with their tail between their legs. She even warned these salacious magazines that they can "kiss my fat a$$". Thanks Tyra for sticking it to the man.

Whitney is Cycle 10 winner on America's Next Top Model. She is the first plus size model to win the competition. There have been many plus size model contestants who have competed on the show but halfway through, they let the other models' size get to them, their confidence wavers, their pictures fail, and they are sent home. Miss Whitney never faltered, never wavered, and never lost her confidence. To this day she still holds the title of the only plus size model to win. Go Whitney!

Laura Stone is one of the biggest names in the fashion world today. She is know for her bigger bust (albeit tiny waist), voluptuous hips, and a big gap in her teeth. She is praised, nay, worshiped! for her quirky teeth and womanly curves. You can see her in every fashion magazine anywhere from Vogue to Marie Claire and Elle to Vanity Fair. Brava Miss Stone for daring to be different.

Just to prove that I'm just as secure with myself as any of these gorgeous celebrities, I'm including a picture of myself in my cute new bathing suit. I love me, and I hope that maybe this blog will inspire you to love yourself too.

Be your own beautiful!

Liz

Car, Kitchen, Catastrophe!

Well now that everything in my life officially is good again, it's time for all the bad stuff to come pouring in. Let's see if this time I can handle it without a breakdown.

Monday was my second french test. I wasn't all that prepared for it but I figured I could just take it and see what happens. So I'm on 5th S and 5th E about to get on the freeway when, all-of-the-sudden my car starts smoking! Now I've told Betsy (my car) time and time again that smoking is bad for her health and can cause serious lung damage, but here she is, her temperature rising and smoke coming out of the hood. Drat you Betsy.

So I pull over and say a quick prayer that I'll make it somewhere so someone can do something about poor Betsy. I finally pull into a Jiffy Lube (about 4 blocks away) and it's smoking so much I can barely see past it. So the attendant at Jiffy Lube looks at the smoke and asks "is this why your here?" In my mind I was thinking (No captain obvious I'm here for an oil change!) but instead I just said yes and he walked me into the waiting room.

So I was there all of 2 seconds when the man came back in and explained to me that my radiator was cracked, so the coolant was leaking out. So he filled it up with more coolant and told me to just fill it with water if it does it again until I can replace the radiator...which is $150 or more.

Now every morning I diligently pour 1/2 gallon of water into Betsy and say a mighty prayer that I'll get wherever I need to safely and without incident (and so far it's doing ok). BUT! Silver lining is, I didn't have to take my french test and my teacher allows one dropped test. Yippee! Now I just have to do well on all my other test.

Now about my kitchen....there's a leak in the plumbing and it infested all of the drawers and cupboards below the sink with mold. So the landlord had someone to come and clean it (which was kind of embarrassing because my house wasn't clean and I didn't know they were coming) and he was having a hard time because there was so much mold everywhere! He took out one of the drawers and he realized that it was covered in black mold...yes black! Meaning I should have been in a hospital bed a long time ago (another amazing miracle from a very loving God).

This morning they were supposed to come and fix it (fixing the leak in the plumbing and clean all the mold) but when I got home everything was where it was at when I left it. So now I'm just waiting for that to get fixed and time (and money) to get my radiator fixed. Oh and I had to throw away my mixer, my blender, and my crock pot because the mold got in all the nooks and crannies and there would be no way for me to completely clean all of it. And seeing that I'm allergic to mold, I didn't really want to risk it.

So after all that has happened I can still see God's hand in everything. I'm so grateful that even in the most difficult of times I can still have mini miracles given to me to know that I'm loved.

Life is beautiful!

Liz

pouring rain, painting clouds, pill popping...point taken

Rain, rain, go away. It's May, for heavens sakes, and its raining...ALL THE TIME! I want sunshine on my shoulder...because it makes me happy. I'm very close to getting in the car and driving to vegas (which I hate vegas) so I can sit by a pool and get completely sunburned (I just don't tan!) and I want to see palm trees and blue skies.

That's enough about the weather (I mean what am I 80?) Speaking of 80, I'm taking an oil painting class and everyone is at least 45 or older. I love the diversity of this group. It's a private class with 3-7 people. Some people are coloring with colored pencils and others are painters. The picture above is what I am painting. It's an abandoned house in Wyoming. However, my clouds are a bit more dark and dreary then this picture. I think I'm doing really good. There's only a few times I've gotten frustrated with my painting. Mainly because the house wasn't cooperating.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and so now I'm on these pills for it. Lucky for me though, I get to experience every single side effect. So I can focus and I get to have: Insomnia, nausea, loss of appetite, migraines (all the time), weakness, and disorientation. Yippee! So I'm getting a new prescription but for the meantime I am slowly coming off of these meds.

Life is going so great right now. I have a great job (sometimes), and I like my classes, and I have a great ward, and life is good.

Hope life is beautiful for you too.

Liz

Random Thoughts

So I got my hair colored today. It looks like Emma Stone's color in Easy A. I almost wish it was just a little bit more red.

Today I'm moving my old bed frame and cutting table so there's room in the second bedroom for the new roommate. This girl was supposed to move in and now she's not sure, which makes me kind of mad seeing as I asked her 2 weeks ago if she wanted to move in and she said she did. Now she's not sure and I have 1 week to find a roommate.

I made new curtains the other night and I'm having a party on Thursday so everyone can come and admire them. If anything it's just an excuse to invite people over. People think I'm crazy when they learn I'm throwing a party for curtains, but I threw a party over buying new bowls a couple of months ago.

I'm in the process of writing a poem for some friends getting married. It's about how they're relationship is like ice cream. Maybe I'll post it sometime. I found this poem I wrote awhile ago. I didn't write it with anyone in mind, but I'm in a phase where I'm sharing my talents. Hope you enjoy, just don't read too much into it...it's just a poem.

Someone to love me

I promise I would be somebody

But I thought that I was not

When someone was there to love me

I pushed them out of thought

I wanted to be somebody

But I don’t know where to start

And I thought I’d love somebody

But all I did was break my heart

When love caught me off guard

I stumbled and lost my way

But love caught me back again

And started all my days

When the sky was dark and lonely

My heart did not share its track

But now I’m in love with someone

And they with love brought me back

To Mom:

I miss the smell of your perfume and the wrinkles on your face

I miss the way you light a room when you walked into the place

I miss the times you let me try my clumsy hand at baking

Or the way that opportunities were yours then, for the taking

I miss your hair, your eyes, your clothes, I even miss your skin

I miss the way you hugged me tight and said that I could win

I miss the times I cried to you I miss the good times too

But most of all I miss your love it always will stay true

And even though I can’t feel you or see you laugh or smile

You’re always there to cheer me on no matter what the trial

So dear mom I hope you know I’ll always miss you, yet--

I know that through the good and bad I love you, don’t forget.

(Just been thinking about her a lot lately. She was the greatest woman I know.)

The Merit Badge

I feel just like an eagle scout earning merit badges of life

Some I get from doing good or some from enduring worldly strife

Our scout master is our loving God who helps us find the way

A life lesson here, a trial there so we’ll all be Eagle Scouts one day

I earn some from the widow by helping her to cross the street

I earn some from the neighbor, being friendly as we meet

Some are earned from broken hearts, a death can earn some more

But you’ll never earn near enough with your feet stoned to the floor

All these badges we earn from life come from Him so great and wise

All the hard times we’re going through are just opportunities in disguise

None are earned from giving up or quitting when it’s tough

But trying hard to do your best, to God it’s good enough

Happiness

I like chocolate chip cookies on rainy days.

I found people don't know what you're wearing when you look them in the eye, but it's what you're wearing that gives you the courage to do so.

I like it when guys open my doors. I'm not incapable it's just nice.

Sometimes your greatest friends will just let you cry. No explanation needed.

Cooking is art for the stomach.

Children's laughs are so contagious.

Sometimes bad situations are usually the funniest.

Love is never outdated.

Be inspirational. To yourself.

Yell at God...He can take it.

Never regret what you have no control over.

Laugh uncontrollably.

Happiness comes from within.