From Disaster to Designer... in Less than $100?

     "It all started with a chair," said Juno in 2007's hit movie. While this was referring to her escapades of pregnancy (I, sadly, am not pregnant), it is also applicable to the recent renovation of my bedroom. A day of thrift shopping was almost cut short by my little brother's incessant griping and demands for food, but it lasted just long enough to find a perfectly trashy, vomit-green and orange armchair in a thrift store parking lot. It was as though it was beckoning my rear into it with promises of rainbows and a solution to life's problems.
In the list of the many things I am, there does not exist a skill titled "Super Decorator." Thankfully, God gave me other quirks like the ability to thrift shop my way out of a recession, find tacky chairs like it's nobody's business, and rely upon best friends with good taste.

~BEFORE~

     Yes, so this just appears pathetic. Just the sight of what my room looked like sends my body into panic attack mode.  Give me a little credit because half the crap belonged to my father. This really is no way to live, but after up and moving  fourteen times (I think that's the current count) I found that my "give a care" mentality was buried in a box somewhere with my favorite childhood doll.

~AFTER~

How It Went Down:

Curtains~ $6.00

Tree Decal~ $19.99

Bedspread~ $24.99 (God Bless WalMart!)

Table~ $12.00

Epic Chair (Circa 1970)~ $10.00

Picture Frames~ $0.50 x 20

Records~ $0.75 x 8

Lamp~ $12.00

Suitcases~ $4.50!!! (luggage is half off on Wednesdays baby!)

Total~ $107.98

   Ok, so slightly over budget, but hey I think it was worth it!

Day 2

It was definitely an effort to look through different eyes. 38 days left to learn... 

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you." Song of Solomon 4:7

The Naked Truth

Disclaimer: This blog gets a little mushy.
     I am insecure. No one likes to admit her insecurities and we all overcompensate for the self-confidence we lack. So I am coming right out and saying that being surrounded by beautiful, smart women takes its toll on me. Some days my clothes aren't cute enough or I'm not tall enough. My hips are too wide, my brown eyes are boring, my hair will never hold a curl... If you take enough time, another flaw always arises.
     When it came time to pray about Lent this year, I didn't want to do the same old junk food type thing (ok, so what if it is because I love junk!) I guess if I were really motivated I would forego obsessing over cats and pretending to be pregnant. Let's be realistic! Instead, I thought about the areas that I put a great deal of my time into. School is busy and sleep is rare, but how can I complain about how little time I have when I still set aside nearly an hour every day to pick an outfit, do my hair, and compose my face?  
     This blog isn't to come out and say "Ooo look at me, I'm going without for lent!" Yes, I do love looking cute and feeling put together, but I have put such a large part of my self-worth in what changes I can make to my appearance every day. How can I mask every unique characteristic God has placed on my body? I can only hope that 40 days is long enough a period that I can reflect on the Creation I am. I wholeheartedly hope that it changes more that just what I see in the mirror. If you're a human, you have likely judged another on appearance. Sadly, I do it more often than I'd care to admit. Perhaps the scales of society's standards will be lifted from my eyes. I want to be able to see clearly the beauty each of us displays naturally.
     So here are my rules:
       - Outfits come from a single drawer of t-shirts and jeans. There will be no pre-planned outfits. 
          *Sundays will be an exception for church.
       - No makeup. Concealer? Nope. Blush? Nada. Mascara? Not even.
       - The hair is all natural. No product, straightening, or curling. The simple braid is acceptable.
       - Jewelry is a no-no. *The nose piercing remains because it will close, and I paid $50. Sorry Mom.
       - When this current nail polish wears off, it's a done deal.
       - To respond to the concern of my best friends and roommates, I will indeed be showering.
     Forty days. Bring on the prayer and connection that will hopefully reveal some insight on why I was created the way I am. I am ready for a change of heart. Anyone that reads this and can identify with the feelings of inadequacy, I pray that you see your full potential, not through your own eyes, but God's. Come back to check in on how it's going with me, because you can be sure there will be hard days. I'll keep y'all posted.

~"But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”~ 1 Samuel 16:7

~"And let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." ~1 Peter 3:3-5

PS- I am obviously serious about this endeavor as I refrained from joking about praying for those who will encounter me in the mornings and so on.


Side notes on my pathetic science-major life- As I typed "jeans" in my head, it came out "genes" on paper... sad day!

The Burden of Shame

     I bet you read the title and became suddenly intrigued as to the shame and deep secrets I was going to reveal in this blog post. Nope. The shame I speak of is way less juicy and stems only from my TERRIBLE abandonment of this blog. Please, if you feel so inclined, chastise me. My reply will simply be my pity story I have been weaving in my head: 21 units, 3 labs, a job, music, church, blah blah blah. The list drags on. I'm neither condoning the sympathy for myself or encouraging it, but I am simply encouraging the state of my life, which happens to be hectic. As crazy as it all seems, I've finally reached a sort of contentment. (Note: this contentment does not come without extreme panic every time someone mentions that there are only 9 weeks of school left!)
     In the weeks I have spent away from the blog world, I am happy to report several of my 2012 ambitions are in full swing (minus the blogging once a week thing). Some have actually been extremely successful. My mother will be ecstatic to know my laundry is being done regularly every two weeks. Friends may notice more hand-written notes floating around. Here's a major one: I have been working out about 5x a week with the exception of test week! There's been free reading (and lots of educational reading...). One more positive pat on the back for myself: today I managed to go to the zoo and didn't steal any furry animals of cute children. it was hard, but I overcame. Aren't capybaras great?!
     The disclaimer for this paragraph... we all fall short of perfection. Things I haven't done yet: get an A on a test in each subject, fish or hike this month, and probably the worst, I didn't even make it to February in the One Year Bible. Other goals can't be reported upon yet due to their long-term nature i.e. the cavity thing. Side note: please pray that my dentist appointment on Tuesday goes smoothly and that he isn't a sadist- many of them are.
     Whew, looking up I can see how structured and businessy that writing was. Now let's throw out some randomness:
     - I miss my cats so much I feel like crying on a daily basis. Snowflake, the newest addition to our cat  family, was discovered to be deaf. Sad right?
     - I am going to be doing a 5K in San Francisco this summer! It's awesome, check it out here: http://thecolorrun.com/sanfrancisco/
     - Dueling in Paraguay is legal as long as both parties are registered blood donors. (Note: writing this random fact on your physics test will not earn you extra credit.)
     I know this blog didn't contain deep philosophical purposes and was pretty short in length, but I needed to jot down something to relieve this guilt I've had about not writing. This was just a little blurp to say cats are wonderful, life is good, and God is great.