Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Being Smart: Books


That is the princess shoe of the day. Gorgous isn't it? It's a Kate Spade shoe, called the graham pump. I love her shoes and purses.

Yesterday I could have bought those shoes, but I spent the money on something else instead, books. I live for books. My perfect day is going to a used bookstore, getting my normal order from Starbucks (a tall peppermint hot chocolate with low fat milk with no whip cream and extra sprinkles), while looking super cute. I can spend hours in a bookstore and not even notice.
People keep suggesting libraries to me so that I can have both shoes and books, but see I have this issue with returning the books. I know they will be loved a lot more on my bookshelf and have difficulty giving them back. So bookstores and amazon have become my best friends.
I know a princess is suppose to be smart. Talking to an idiot is one of the most annoying things in the universe, believe me. I’ve met plenty, and honestly I rather not be one of those. I find that being well-read helps me not only to be smarter, but also gives me common ground with a lot of people that otherwise might have very few similarities with me.  Also, to quote John Bytheway, “I might not be very smart, but I sure can quote.”  Basically, even if you do not really remember most of the book, a few memorized quotes go a long way.
So what books should you read?
Goodreads.com I think is an excellent resource. I use it all the time. It helps me keep track of not only what I  have read, own, and want to read, but also gives me a long list of suggestions.
But here are a few books that are my absolutely favorites of all time to start you off.

 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Everyone should have read this one point during their high school education. It's a wonderful book, and I learn something new each time. It teaches about tolerance, family, and race.
Funny story about it. So when I first heard about it in 7th grade, my mom asked me what we were going to be reading. I replied, "Oh I think How to Murder a Hummingbird, Mom." My mother was very bothered by this and all ready to tell the school that she did not approve of what they were having us read, but then she realized it was me she was talking to. When she found out the real title, she was more than happy that I was reading it, but from then on the book has been referred as in my family as "How to murder a hummingbird."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is one of my very favorite books of all time. People ask me what it is about all the time, and the best explanation I have is, it's about life. It is a really short well-written book about a boy that is trying to find his purpose in life. The character growth in this book is incredible, and out of the dozen or so people I have lent it to, everyone has been able to relate to the main character. The book is an international best seller, and I highly recommend it. (While I love this book though, I'm not too big of a fan of the rest of his books)

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
I love this book, and it's a great quote book. The chapters are only a few pages long, but they teach you a lot. Most adults I have found have read this book or at least know a bit about it. It's also about life. As this man, Morrie, is dying, he teaches one of his old students about what is important in life. Along with being really neat, it's also a really good biography, which is sometimes hard to find. I love this author, and even those this is Mitch Albom's most famous book, it's not my favorite. My favorite is Have a Little Faith.


Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
I think everyone knows why this one is up. Everyone talks about it. The movies are great, but I really think everyone who really wants to sound educated should be able to tell what the differences are between the movie and the book. The first line of the book is actually my favorite part of the whole book. I think it's the funniest and a honest summary of daughters and mothers I have read. Anyway, it's a good book. Guys, you should read it too. Jane Austin writes some really amusing books. My favorite is Emma. That book makes me laugh every time I read it. The movie Clueless is based of the book Emma, and I love that movie also.


There are so many other books that people should read, and if you really hate reading that much you should at least read the cliffnote versions or watch the movies. If you want to be able to talk to boys or men more, then I would get a good list of Science Fiction or Fantasy. They tend to like those better than Jane Austin books. Biographies and best seller list I find are good for general adults, and children books are so much fun to read and short if you ever want to read those. Also, children's books have really easy analogies and stories that can often time be useful for examples in speeches and conversations.

Anyway I'm off.

Love always,
Michele

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Our "House of Dreams"

I love our home. When we were on our honeymoon, the thing we were looking forward the most to was coming home. We were so excited. Throughout the month before we worked hard to get things ready for our home. We were given a lot of furniture that needed a bit of work. Matt impressed me when he fixed up our bedframe, and then we put the durability of our rings to test, as we striped off paint with strong chemicals.

I think the best way to describe how I felt when we walked into our home is from Anne’s House of Dreams, when Anne says, “The first glimpse of her new home was a delight to the eye and spirit.”

It was absolutely that. Our home was clean and quiet, and we were surrounded by love from our family and friends. Everything in our home was from them, and all those hours that Matt and I had worked to putting everything together completely paid off as we first walked into our apartment as a married couple.

Almost 6 months later, we are still regularly doing random projects in our home and our home still is has a beautiful spirit to it. I love coming home after school, especially when Matt is already home.  So here is a few snapshots from our "house of dreams."









Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Atlas Shrugged

 


I did not realize this was such a controversial book when I started reading it. I was shocked that when I told people I was reading this book, how many people had opinions on it!


“It’s the most boring book ever!!! Don’t read it!!!” was probably the most common response.

“Oh you’re one of those. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that…I mean those can have a lot of different meanings…

“Ah, you must be really smart.” I think they just meant, “Oh, you have a lot of patience for really long, boring books that only crazy nerds read.” Which in that case, yeah that’s true.


But, I finished this book! It took me a month to read (I dedicated at least two full Saturdays to this book), but I am finished. All 1169 pages. So here is my opinion on the book...

I loved it. Yes, it was boring and read like a textbook, but Ayn Rand did not write this as an entertainment book. I think that’s where most people have issues with it. I think they expect a good novel when they pick it up, but really it’s more like a text book. (which is what I read most of time anyway) She wrote it to educate people about her philosophy and try to get people to think. The characters and story line are just teaching tools to help keep you interested and to illustrate the points she is trying to make. The characters are put through different problems that are difficult for them to solve despite being brilliant, and as a reader, I spent the whole book trying to figure out what I would do.

As I read this book, the issue was not “Do agree with her whole philosophy?” (Absolutely not.) It was more a situation by situation thing of what I believe. I loved the situations that are presented in the book. I was constantly reflecting and questioning my own beliefs and opinions as I learned about other perspectives that I never thought about. I repeatedly kept asking myself two questions: “What would I do in this situation?” and “What do I value more?” By the time I finished the book, I had learned a lot and it did in the end change the way I think about some things.


A few things about that you should know if you decide to read it…

1.It's long...if you didn't notice.

2. If you are Christian a few things might rub you wrong.

3. As I said earlier, the books was not written to entertain you. It’s suppose to educate you. 

4. There is quite a bit of sex in the book.

5. If you can rope someone else into reading it with you, do it. I was dying to discuss/debate different points of this book with someone.

6. I highly recommend have a big cup of hot chocolate/coffee/tea in a giant teacup and a really uncomfortable chair to help keep you awake.


So there is my take on it. Let me know if you have read it or are going to read it. I still would love to discuss with someone this book.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012


Here is the last post of my old blog.

Hello my friends,

I know it has been a while. I found an awfully handsome prince and I’ve been so busy being swept off my feet that I have not had time to blog.

Today I ran into a situation that required my utmost best princess behavior. I have been dealing with a small legal issue with my landlord, which we needed to discuss. I shook his hand in the lobby. He seemed fairly nice. Then we started talking about the problem. He started with a calm voice, but as the conversation continued he started slipping in degrading jokes, and then toward the end called me an outright liar!! That is no bueno. It was amazing watching this man turn from a um…a (fill in a mediocre adjective) man to a horrible beast type. I am not sure what took me more by surprise, his awful manners or his dismal attempts of humor.
All the same I probably should not judge him right? I might be seeing him at his worse, like Nathanial in Enchanted. He seemed like an ugly jerk, but in the end he saves the day.


Maybe this man will end up like that. A princess should always look in the best for people….or at least I’m told.

Anyway after that horrid encounter, I figured I should look up a way to make sure I never ever slightly resemble acting like that man.

Here is what I learned from the pamphlets in the waiting room that I grabbed on my way out.

Get ready to talk
Ah! I thought this was brilliant. Think before you speak. I love it. I know many people just act out on emotions when they are upset or stressed. Princesses are suppose to be full of grace and poise. There are moments where princesses are allowed to act out in emotions. For example, when your one true love tells you he loves you and wants to marry you, crying and kissing him are completely appropriate responses. However, when solving a conflict, it is better to have thought through carefully what has happened and what you would like to say. It is smart to think outside of yourself and consider what you could have done better. Even though you might have not done anything wrong, princesses think of the people around them (unlike evil step-sisters) and should consider their feelings and emotions.

After that step,

Agree to talk
I personally hate this step. People can be scary when they morph into ugly dragons. Princesses should have courage too…so they set up a private place to kindly talk to the person about the problem. Sometimes it is a good idea to set guidelines, so the other person feels comfortable and not defensive. (okay they probably will still be scared but that’s just how life goes sometimes).



Orderly method to talk
Basically that means listen, validate, and then listen some more, and then finally talk. I know it becomes a very tiresome process and sometimes listening to people is boring, but listening is a form of showing someone you love them. People are more willing to listen and understand you, when they feel loved. Then there is more happily-ever-afters for both parties.

Just think, if Evil Step-mother of Snow White sat down and explained to Snow White that she was insecure about not being the prettiest of the land, then she could have been reassured by Snow White. Who knows, maybe then she would not have been killed.

Arial and her dad did not have good communication either. Arial would not listen to her dad when he tried to keep her safe. If they had better communication then she would not have turned into seafoam like Grimm’s fairytale says.

See? Evil Step-mother and Ariel, good communication skills could have saved your life.

Just saying.

Time for me to go think happy thoughts,
Princess Michele

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Motivation to Run

Well I've been working on that whole running thing. I ran my first 10 minute mile ever. ::happy dance::

On our way home from our date at the Beane museum, I saw that BYU posted some friendly motivation to run too.


So, moral of this post: run fast...especially when you are being chased by a serial killer. (By the way, we're not really sure how these work. If you did manage to reach one, I can't really imagine your pursuer saying "Awww, shoot; you're on base!")

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Esau's Soup

A few years ago, I took cooking at BYU. It was an awesome class. For our final project, we had to come up with a dinner that cost under $3 a person. Sounds like easy right? It wasn’t. It was actually a lot harder than I had anticipated. Since then, I have become more conscious of how much each meal I make costs, especially since I’m married now. I figured since this is my blog (sometimes Matt’s) I wanted to put up some of our favorite recipes (because how am I suppose to make dinner if pinterest is down and I can't get to the recipe??)

Red Lentil Soup Vegan and therefore also vegetarian, and gluten free!! (Basically everyone can eat this)

History of Lentil Soup According to Wikipedia (which is back up!!!) 

"Lentil Soup is mentioned in the Bible: In Genesis 25:34, Esau is prepared to give up his birthright for a pot of fragrant red lentil soup (a "mess of pottage") being cooked by his brother, Jacob.” 

Esau gave up his birthright just to get this soup, which was kind of a big deal.

Red Lentil Soup > Isaac's Inheritance

Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly the red lentil soup, but really this recipe is amazing. 

Red Lentil Soup Recipe 

Ingredients:
$ .15  3 tablespoons olive oil,
  .39   1 large chopped yellow onion
  .05   2 minced garlic cloves
  .50   1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  .01   1 teaspoon ground cumin
  .01   1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  .01   1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  .01   Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne
  .33   1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (I use 3 bullion cubes and 4 cups of water)
  .88   1 cup red lentils (These are at the sunflower market, and 1 cup is a little less than half a lb)
  .40   1 large carrot, peeled and diced
  .59   Juice of 1/2 lemon
   .79  3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
$ 4.12 for everything (Given that you have salt, pepper, bullion cubes, cumin, and chili powder)
Preparation:
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for another 2 minutes.
Add broth, lentils and carrots. Bring to a boil, then partially cover pot and turn heat to low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.
Reheat soup if necessary, then stir in lemon juice and cilantro.
Serves 6 to 8
Total per serving: $0.52-0.69 
Let me know if you make this. I really hope someone does. It is amazing and cheap and basically everyone can eat it. 


Also, if you have any awesome recipes that are cheap and yummy, would you mind giving me a copy? I love trying new recipes.


PS I'll put a picture up as soon as I can.
PSS This is with actual Macey's prices.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Hi Anna!

Happy Birthday Anna!!!


Today was such a lazy day. After having our friends the Herrick’s over last night, we apparently were exhausted. We woke up at 11 to the Matt’s phone beeping. He rolled over and called Anna, while I was trying to figure out what I was going to do today. Somewhere in my muddled mind, I thought about how turning 18 was exciting and how I wish we could be in Virginia celebrating it with her.

So today, we ended up throwing a party in Anna’s honor here in Utah! There was even cake and balloons and party guests.

Pre-Party Dinner -- Gyros!! (They were really good)
We just finished dinner up when our awesome friends came over. First Ryan and his cute lady friend Ariel came over, and not long after Erin and Logan came over!! (Erin had just come from buying her wedding dress!!!!!!!)
The Cake
Singing Happy Birthday to her

Matt!!!
Ariel and I blew out the candles for her, while Anna thought of a wish! We hope you had a great birthday Anna!! We love you, and maybe next year if you aren't globe trotting you can be here with us next year to celebrate your birthday. 

Things You Can Do Once You Are 18
  • Vote
  • Jury Duty
  • Sign your own medical and permission slips
  • Get your own credit cards
  • Model for playboy
  • Work a fork lift
  • Get a tattoo
  • Get married
  • Do not need a cosigner on a contract
  • Play on game shows
  • Sit at the "Grown up table"

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Smile is the best accessory (well except for a man)


I'm so excited!!

I got one of my favorite books of all time in the mail Saturday. This is like copy number four, because everytime I lend it out, I never get it back. I don't mind though. I understand the "I don't like giving back book" thing very well, and really this book is way too awesome to give back.

What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should)

To say it's brilliant is an understatement, and it is full of delicious words and phrases, like "When Love Doesn't Treat You Like a Lady, Teach It Better Manners."

*sigh*

I honestly can't say enough about how amazing this book is. So anyway I was reading it yesterday in the chapter, "Pretty is as Pretty Does," and there is this amazing list of 18 things that a girl can do to look pretty. I'll probably post all of them up here at one point, but for today I'm just focusing on one.

Make a practice of carrying a slight smile on your face. No turned-down corners on your mouth – even when you’re sitting at your computer, reading a book, or watching TV. As we grow older, our faces settle into positions – let yours be settled in a turned-up smile.

So how do you want to look?
Example #1 (doesn't she kinda look like a frog?)

Example #2
Example #3
I love the third one. Techincally Princess Fiona is an ogre, so maybe when I'm old I'll look like that. But can't you tell that all these people must have been pretty amusing and funny when they were growing up?

Smiling is a really good way to make people feel comfortable around you. Think, all the evil villains are not capable of a good smile that looks nice and friendly. They get that look that looks more like they are in pain than actually smiling. If someone is in trouble and they want help, they are not going to approach someone that looks like they are going to eat them.

Haha, so I'll turn you into a tiny little flee....

Princesses are also suppose to help and be loving. They are kind and gentle, and make the world a better place just by existing. How are you suppose to help people and bring world peace and stuff if people won't go to you?

A smile is also a princess's best weapon. Smiles have the ability to help charm a girl into getting whatever she wants. Smiling disarms an angry person, and makes a sad person want to feel better. Kind words and a real smile are really good medicine to a really crappy day. Finally, a smile is the cheapest way to make an ugly outfit better. After all,
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. “ -Janet Lane

Love ya,
Princess Michele

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Running into the New Year

So back when I was 20, I wrote a bucketlist titled “Things I will do before I’m 25.” Every year I pick a few to try to achieve. I checked all but one of them off last year! Sadly the one I didn’t do was running a half marathon. I was doing pretty good with the whole running thing, until I met my really cute husband. Then the only running I was doing was across the street before some crazy Provo driver accidently hit me.

This year, I am determined to do it.

I’m off to an awful start though. I’ve been sick for the last 5 days, and before that I only worked out once. Not on the right track to run 13.1 miles. On top of that, I totally despise running with all my heart. It is one of my least favorite activities, but I figured if I put honest effort into running, maybe I would start liking it a little bit. After all if Jamie from Walk to Remember made “Befriend someone I don’t like” as part of her bucketlist, then “Like a hobby I hate” isn’t that ridiculous right?

So…

Goal: Run a half marathon

Favorite Blog:  http://www.runfastermommy.com (she’s so funny)

Races (These are tentative…but the half marathon I’m 99.5% sure I’ll do it):
5K
Provo City Marathon
May 5, 2012

10K
Utah Valley Marathon
June 9, 2012

Half Marathon
Utah Runner Girls Half marathon (Alpine, UT)
August 27, 2011


Motivation:
My Motto 


In the mirror I see an awesome good? okay runner?

I’m not so big on how fast I do it, as long as I do it. So if anyone wants to train with me, (because I’m just learning from the internet…real life help and friends are definitely better, especially if you are slow. The slower the better actually...) just let me know! I’m really excited for this. J

Sunday, January 8, 2012

The Perfect Medicine

Despite being sick, tonight has been a pretty perfect night. I have been fighting off a cold/sinus infection for the last 3 days. Luckily for me, I was feeling well enough to go church, before crawling right back into bed. Before I feel asleep, I mumbled off half-understandable direction to Matt about dinner, that looking back, he definitely should not have understood. An hour later when I woke up though dinner was ready!! Matt made creamy tortellini soup and cheesy artichoke bread. It was so good!!



After dinner, I slithered back in bed to fall asleep again, when Matt came in with Winnie the Pooh! He read to me as I drifted in and out of sleep. We read about Winnie the Pooh and Piglet walking around a tree for a while following tracks of some wild animal. Winnie the Pooh convinces Piglet that he should come with Pooh to follow the footprints just incase it ends up being a "hostile animal." Piglet becomes increasingly nervous as more tracks appear! They keep following the tracks until Christopher Robin convinces Pooh that he is just following his own tracks.

I loved this story tonight; it made me smile. When I'm sick, I become so confused and lose everything. I do not know where anything is or what I should be doing. I do end up doing silly things that don't make sense all the time. Luckily for me I have my own husband/best friend to convince me whatever I am doing is maybe not the smartest thing ever and still loves me for it.
 Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

Anyway, Books+food+cuddling with hubby+ice cream= great medicine.

Night all! I’m off to bed, again.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Lies "The Little Mermaid" taught my wife

Get this. The other night, we went to the Red Lobster and ordered a plate that included shrimp scampi, scallops and stuffed flounder. Considering how far we are from the nearest ocean, it was pretty good. Michele especially liked the flounder and made some comment about them being "cute." Huh? I thought to myself, Cute?

After some discussion, I ascertained that Michele's perception of a 'flounder' was the following:


"Oh, no!" I said, "You've been horribly deceived! Flounders actually look like this:"


I realize that my timing was off. Michele probably did not want to learn that her cute fish friend was actually a demented-looking bottom feeder while she was eating it.

I tried to reason with Michele. Why would she want to eat a cute fish? And if it were ugly, what better purpose could it serve? In the end, we agreed that our favorite version of the flounder was this:


Friday, January 6, 2012

Bring on 2012!

Our New Year’s Eve was awesome, because we made a blanket fort.

Me in our awesome 2012 Fort (and Christmas lights!)

Okay, to confess, it was all an accident. After all the other holidays, we did not plan anything for New Year’s Eve. As college students, staying up until midnight is normal, and actually, the nights we are in bed by midnight are a cause of celebration in themselves. On top of that, it was not like it was any surprise whom we were going to kiss at midnight. (“Hey honey, it’s 11:48. You should kiss me in 12 min.” “Oh okay.”) All in all, it looked like it was going to be a pretty typical night.

But then, Matt had to give me my wonderful sewing machine, which immediately made the crafty wheels in my head think of a long list of projects I wanted to do. Since I still had some Christmas money left, we spent most of December 31st running to a range of stores to pick up the items for my various projects. 

We were home by 6ish, ate dinner by 7ish, and then the crafting began. I started cutting different pieces of fabric, while Matt read Sherlock Holmes. After awhile though his curiosity got the better of him and soon, he was sewing too. While he was working on the lunch bag he was making, I decided to start staining our wooden bed frame. I thought it was a great idea. School was not starting for a few more days, giving the bed plenty of time to dry and it was going to look awesome etc. Matt came in a few minutes later, gave me a look, before taking over. He finished it up, while I kept sewing in the other room. 

The before of our bed frame, when it finally dries, maybe we'll put up an after...

All that work made him hungry, so we made a pizza around 2 am and watched something on hulu (I don’t remember what). After we binged on pizza, we felt so fat and lazy, and figured it was probably about time for bed. Then I realized, uh we did not have a bed to sleep on….since our whole bed frame was wet. Great…so hence the blanket fort.

Matt in our fort

So anyway….

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Body Image: Mirror, Mirror



Snow White’s Evil step-mother is well-known for her famous phrase, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Waiting for the self-assurance that she is by far the most beautiful in the land.

Now I not sure about you, but when I was younger and first saw this movie, I thought it was so silly! She’s asking a mirror to tell her that she’s beautiful. “Hello Evil Queen, in real life mirrors only talk in Harry Potter, duh,” is totally what my cute pre-teen mind would have thought. But now that I’m so much more mature, I find myself often times doing asking the mirror something similar…though I think mine goes more like this,

“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, am I beautiful at all?”

Okay,so maybe it isn't quite that bad, but you get the point. No matter if it’s before a date, church, school, a dinner, or even just a quick glance before I walk out the door, I wonder, "Do I look okay?" I think I silently wish that the mirror could talk back, and just say, “Yes, you’re beautiful.”

That desperate for compliment from inanimate objects? Not so much.

Lacking for confidence that much? Well, yes.

This is bad. I think my questions is more insecure than the evil queen’s, and what is sadder than that I’m a bit more confident than most of my friends, when it comes to looks.

Princesses are suppose to be confident. Cinderella does not sing about how awful her reflection looks when she is scrubbing the floor. Instead she sings about how she is wishing her prince would come. (Not that I blame her…I much rather be with a hot guy than scrubbing a floor) When her fairy godmother comes to fix her up for the ball, Cinderella isn’t sobbing that she would look so ugly compared to anyone else. She’s crying about not being able to see him. Are you seeing the difference? I hope so.

Very sadly, I know I’m not the only one that has self-esteem issues when it comes to looks.

Here are some statistics.

“42% of girls and first through third grades want to be thinner.”
“75% of normal-weight women think they are overweight. 90% of women overestimate their body size.”
“70% of women between he ages of 30-70 said that they wish they were thinner.”
“7 out of 10 U.S. women are “on a diet” at any given time.”
“89% of all plastic surgery is performed on women.”

The first is from a website and the rest are from a book. The references are at the bottom of the page. If you were wondering.

But lets look at these statistics. 1st grade is the youngest I think any of them mention, which is 6 years old. The oldest mentions women that are 70 years old. That’s most of our lives we are plagued with being insecure about our bodies. Maybe by the time we are 80 we are too old to care, but until then most women struggle with feelings about their bodies.

In this Septembers Vogue magazine, they have an article about Victoria Secret models, and how they are considered too curvy for most runway fashion. (Victoria Secret by the way is awesome. They make sure all their models are a healthy weight and eating alright.) Those girls are a size 4 and tall!! Notice how they come from all over the world. I strongly believe that’s because there are only like 12 women who naturally have a body like that in the whole world. But most of the time, we are not comparing ourselves to Victoria Secret models, we are comparing ourselves to the models that are thinner and less curvy than them and told the Victoria Secret models they are too fat. How crazy is that?

But the fact is we do compare ourselves. This really hit home when I went to education week over the summer. One of the classes, we ran upon this subject of feeling good about our bodies. One women, who works in a rehab location that specializes to help women with eating disorders, raised her hand and said that society’s opinion on what a woman should look like, is women’s porn. What we hear, what we see, what we expect of ourselves, warps our minds, just like men’s opinions of women do when they become addicted to porn. Overcoming bad body image is as difficult and hard to change. Many girls go to rehab or therapists over the fact they look and feel ugly. I felt that was really strong language when I heard this, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense to me. And here is why. 

When we feel bad about ourselves…

1. We distort our idea what is healthy, beautiful, and natural
2. We can never get enough. There is always another diet, better fashion, another surgery, another something to help us look better.
3. It affects the habits of our daily lives
4. Makes us go to extremes (eating disorders, addictions to plastic surgery etc.)
5. The next magazine, diet, or fad might have the answer for what is wrong, and we pry them apart looking for the answer.
6. We are never happy with what we have.

Now I’m not saying all women have this issues, and I’m not saying everyone takes it to this degree. But I know a lot of people who have. I’ve had the friends that have gone off sugar, become a vegetarian, worked out 4 hours a day, not because they think it would make them healthier, but to help them look better.

So…what is your intention?

I hope you ask yourself that, and I hope you look in the mirror and say, “Dang, I’m hot. Look out boys” every time you walk out the front door. Because guess what? Men think girls are hot. Trust me, I’ve heard all about it, waay too many times.

Now for the men…

Men, you are our princes. Can you imagine a Disney movie that the prince came up to the princesses, and asked “Why are you (or why aren’t you) wearing makeup”? Or “Eh, I don’t really like your hair that way”? Or saying “Man, Sleeping Beauty that dress looks great on you,” when really all she wanted to hear was that you thought she looked great, even if she wasn’t wearing that dress. It would be a really awful disney movie that all girls would hate if the prince was tackless enough say that. So here is a hint, you shouldn't either.

I know you all have probably read those over the top cheesy chain letters on how to treat a women, but really compliment us when we are sick. Compliment us when we are tired and look awful. Compliment us more when we really look smoking hot. We might shrug off your compliment, but believe me most women will remember. We dress ourselves up, hoping you will notice, so please let us know you do. Romance doesn’t have to be cheesy. It came be, “Wow, you look great.” Followed by a really amazing kiss that messes up our make-up. It makes us feel good.

Anyway I hope that made you think.

Love yourself,
Princess Michele


References:
Fit and Female by Geralyn Coopersmith

Monday, January 2, 2012