Portrait Challenge

Here's today, Monday, and Sunday's contributions to the 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge (in the opposite order):

On Sunday my siblings and I drove through Paris, Texas.

It was pretty cool.

And my second time (first time here) in Paris within the last 6 months!

Sidenote: I am, by happy chance, listening to the Civil Wars singing in French right now.

The Civil Wars' new album is excellent, by the way.

I'd taken this picture a couple of days prior,

in the reflection of the rear window of my car.

Today I went to the dentist

[CAVITY FREE SINCE NINETY-THREE!!]

and, while waiting, captured my tonk's with the waiting room table.

Take Off The Headphones

A friend on Facebook posted this and it struck me immediately.

The way we speak to ourselves is so significant.

I hope y'all enjoy or get something out of this.

15-17/30

Here's the past couple days in the Self Portrait Challenge saga.

This counts as a self portrait because the background is my shirt. 

I've been trying to avoid simply posting selfies every day.

We all know how annoying that is.

It's probably the most awesome key chain ever.

Trivia: Unicorns are the national animal of Scotland.

My reflection in the glass of a picture frame.

And I liked how this shirt made my eyes look pretty great.

No editing was done on this pic.

I feel like a unicorn.

True Words

A Beautiful Mess

I've been taking part in this 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge, and you can find out why here. I've been consistent in posting them via Instagram, but have been slacking some on posting them on the blog. Not that y'all probably care. But here you go regardless, catching up on the past couple days:

From Friday: 

in the car after working at Loft and prior to babysitting a precious little boy.

I also watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding that night.

Great movie.

From Saturday:

it was only 88 degrees in the middle of the day, so I had a happy little run.

It's awkward taking a picture of the back of your shirt,

just in case you were wondering.

From Sunday:

I've been working on breaking in some new shoes.

Cute band-aids make it hurt less.

From Monday:

Second day curl, this is what it looked like when I woke up.

Winning.

The Circle of Life

Those of you who know me well have probably heard of the deep love I have for The Lion King. I just stumbled on the below gif, and started laughing until I cried. It was so unexpected.

Maybe this isn't funny to the rest of you...I know I'm weird.

Healthy Compliments

A few weeks ago, I saw a couple of people who are very dear to me* for the first time in a good while; they exclaimed about how good I looked because I'd lost weight. It's true, I've been working on living a healthier life in recent history, so these were hard earned compliments.

However, the gift of the compliment was muddled by the underlying belief that to be thin is to be beautiful and vice versa. Thin certainly is beautiful, but that doesn't mean other sizes aren't beautiful as well. To imply that I look better because I look thinner and not because I look healthier has the potential to encourage bad habits. One of the simplest ways many people lose weight is simply by eating less** but if someone wishes to be healthier they must develop good habits. It's so very dangerous to praise a young woman*** because people respond to praise by repeating the action. If I'd obtained these compliments through unhealthy means, it would be easy for me to continue in those bad habits.

To the compliment givers of this world: try to use healthy and positive words when encouraging someone. Think about what you're saying. It would have been wonderful if they had said something along the lines of a simple "Wow Lydia you look good" or even "Lydia you look like you've been working out more, work it girl!" it would have been better than the "You've gotten thin! Wow Lydia you look good! How much weight have you lost??" that I'd received from these people.

To the compliment receivers: try to keep a good head on your shoulders when you do get praise. Don't allow the way other people see you affect your self perception in a negative way. Take the positive and useful elements from a compliment and forget the less helpful aspects of what the other person has said. You are your own person, don't let what others say rule your life.

Really, we should all work on giving more compliments that have to do with the whole person, not focusing so much on the outer shell of an individual.****




*And who shall not be named here. They're wonderful people, really.

**Or eating nothing at all.

***Or man. Or an old woman or man. Or anyone, really.

****I'll probably write on that topic soon, stay tuned y'all.