"you do not have to be pretty if you don’t want to, it is not your job"

"when your little girl asks you if she’s pretty your heart will drop like a wineglass on the hardwood floor part of you will want to say of course you are, don’t ever question it and the other part the part that is clawing at you will want to grab her by her shoulders look straight into the wells of her eyes until they echo back to you and say you do not have to be if you don’t want to it is not your job both will feel right one will feel better she will only understand the first when she wants to cut her hair off or wear her brother’s clothes you will feel the words in your mouth like marbles you do not have to be pretty if you don’t want to it is not your job" — 
it is not your job | Caitlyn Siehl 

I came across this poem the other day and it made me think about things in a different way. I never thought that being pretty was my job or that I had to be, but really thinking back through the years I always thought it kind of was. I had to be pretty to get a boyfriend, I had to be pretty to fit in with the popular crowd, I had to be pretty to like what I saw in the mirror. 

But that is not true. You don't owe it to anyone in this whole wide world to be pretty. That doesn't mean its wrong to want to be pretty or to be pretty, that is great. But it is not our job in life. It does not have to be our main goal if we don't want it to be. 

I have heard people apologize for going out and about without makeup. It left me thinking, what is there to apologize for? Your natural face, the one you were born with? I feel sad that we think we have to apologize or feel bad that we haven't made ourselves look "pretty" yet. We don't owe it to the world or to anybody to be pretty.

I like this quote by J.K. Rowling,  “Is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me.”

This is referring more to the area of being fat but I thought it coincided with the thoughts of the poem. I know some of my friends and I can think that being referred to as ugly or fat is the worst thing to be called. But like Rowling stated, aren't there worse things than that? Can't it be worse to be mean, cruel, or a bully? Aren't there worse things to be than ugly or fat? I know it is hard to think of that in this day and age with the bombardment of the media and advertisements. I know I have been affected, I have definitely thought that If I was only a little skinnier or a little prettier, things would be better. But then I thought, do I want my happiness to be dependent on those things. Do I want to find my fulfillment in the things that like me or want me after I am skinny or pretty?

No I don't. I want to put my hope and happiness and fulfillment into something that does not judge if I am pretty or skinnier than the next person. No I want to put my trust in something I cannot lose and that does not change. That is why I put my trust into Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Like the above picture and Colossians 3:12 state, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness,humility, meekness, and patience" It is showing here what truly matters and what we should be striving for. God looks into our hearts and what is being produced in there instead of what our outsides look like. Like 1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

So, all in all you do no have to be pretty if you don't want to, it is not your job. I know this may seem small and already assumed by most but I know, for me, when I read that poem it opened up my eyes to some things. I realized I don't have to be pretty. I don't have to be pretty for my husband. I don't have to be pretty for my co-workers. I don't have to be pretty for my friends. It is not my job. I can be pretty if I want. I can get dressed up for my husband. I can get dolled up for my friends. That is okay. It is when I make that the utmost important and defining thing in my life is when we start to have a problem. I hope that I and others can start to work on our inner selves and find that more important and beautiful. For what comes out of our mouths and or actions is what is in our hearts and that is what truly makes a difference in this world. 

Puzzle Guestbook

I wanted something a little different for the guestbook at my wedding. I saw all of these cool ideas online and on Pinterest. It came down to two ideas; puzzle pieces or a globe. I really liked the globe idea but I couldn't really find a globe anywhere that wasn't crazy expensive. I guess they are going out of style with all of the technology today. So, I went with the puzzle idea.

Let me just tell you about the mishap we had with the puzzle pieces. First, it was hard to find big enough pieces that didn't make a huge puzzle, because I wanted to hang it up at our home after the wedding. So the pieces were either too small, made too big of a puzzle board, or the pieces were big enough but only had about 10 pieces because it was a child's puzzle. After searching for a while I finally found a child's puzzle that had four different boards. They were 6x4 with big enough pieces for people to sign.

They looked like this.

But the real mishap was when I opened the package a couple of nights before the wedding. After opening them and turning them over I realized they all had stamps of different shapes on the back! I haven't done too many puzzles in my life but I have never seen ones with things on the back. I mean you don't usually see the back right? haha So I didn't know what to do, because it was so hard to find the right kind in the first place. Then my handy dad had the idea of spray painting the back. And it worked! I even liked the color better than before!

So now, after the wedding and everyone had signed the pieces I wanted to find a way to hang up the four pieces together. So I thought an old window pane would be great because it has four separate spots  to put the four boards in. So, my friend was kind enough to give me an old one of hers. 

This is what it ended up looking like.

 It was very easy to do. I just cleaned up the window panes and then superglued them to the window panes! Now, just to hang it up.

Outfit of the Day: Stripes

I went thrift shopping the other day at a new store my sister-in-law told me about. They had great stuff at a cheap price. I bought three things and when I went up to the register they all were half off and I had no idea!

I am a sucker for anything with stripes and that is baggy. So when I saw this shirt dress I grabbed it.

I am not totally sure if it is supposed to be a dress or a shirt. I wore it as a dress since I am short.

I recently got these boots at the outlets and I am super excited about them. I have been wearing them all the time.

Dress: Thrift store

Tights: Target

Shoes: Shoe Dept. 

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream Review

I had been on the hunt for a BB Cream for a while. I would always look around the stores but never ended up buying any. I was out the other week and decided to take a chance and buy one. I ended up going with Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. There really is no real reason why I went with this one, just that the price was right and I have always enjoyed Maybelline products.

Price: $7.49 at Target

To start I have normal to dry skin with acne blemishes and scars. So this is a review on how this BB Cream reacted with a skin type like mine.

The consistency is more on the liquid side. Here is a picture of what it looks like right after being squeezed out of the bottle.

And here is what it looks like after being spread out.

It didn't rub in right away. It took a little to get it worked into the skin.

This was the same way for when I put it on my face. It seemed runny and not heavy enough to cover up blemishes.  Which is true. It did not really cover up my blemishes, it just kind of rubbed into my face and then went away. It might be nice for people that just wanted a slight tint on their face that do not have things to cover up.

Overall, it was a good price and might work as a slightly tinted moisturizer but I do not believe it works to cover up blemishes and acne scars. I need something more heavy and blend-able. But I might be able to use it for going to the beach or things like that.