Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
10:30
My sister and I went rock climbing at a gym in Grapevine today.
I don't claim to be an excellent or accomplished or even remotely good climber,
but Emme and I had a blast.
We both conquered a couple new walls
and improved upon ones which we hadn't done very well on the last time we went.
Seeing that improvement brought us a lot of satisfaction and confidence.
It's one of the most fun ways to get a good strength (and some cardio) workout.
I love how I feel so strong and so weak at the same time.
Climbing makes me very aware of which muscles I'm using,
and it's awesome to see improvement over time.
I'm always amazed at what my body is capable of
(it's capable of much much more than where I'm at now, and I think that's awesome).
The picture above reveals the unfortunate shortness
(in proportion to my height)
of my legs.
And my calves remind me of Disney's Hercules (aka Hunkules),
so that's really fun.
I wish rock climbing wasn't so expensive so I could take part in it more often!!
It's really a wonderful pastime and workout.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Help Me Help You
This blog post is for you people of the world who enjoy walking, running, or biking, and own or have access to a smart phone of some sort and a desire to help some people out. (Or just whoever stumbles upon this little blog, welcome!).
There's this lovely app called Charity Miles which donates 10 cents a mile for bikers and 25 cents per mile for those who would prefer to walk or run. So if you were to run a 5k, that's about 75 cents toward an organization of your choice. You might think "wow, only 75 cents for 3.1 miles?". Wrong. "Wow! Running those 3.1 miles just put 75 cents toward something great!". There ya go.
Who do they donate to? Over twenty charities (the specifics are listed on their facebook page), helping the world become a better place by assisting those with mental and physical disabilities, providing food for those who normally wouldn't be able to eat, and much more.
I just thought I would share this with the blogosphere because everyone walks (at the very least) at least enough to help out a bit, and I know people out there who run many many more miles than I do over the course of a week who could be making a slightly more awesome impact on the world.
It's also a great motivation for me to get out and run more often; it's exciting to know that if I get off my butt and do some work today I can at the very least put fifty cents or a couple bucks toward a worthy cause while also helping myself stay fit, healthy, and strong. It's a win-win for everyone. So check it out, y'all.
There's this lovely app called Charity Miles which donates 10 cents a mile for bikers and 25 cents per mile for those who would prefer to walk or run. So if you were to run a 5k, that's about 75 cents toward an organization of your choice. You might think "wow, only 75 cents for 3.1 miles?". Wrong. "Wow! Running those 3.1 miles just put 75 cents toward something great!". There ya go.
Who do they donate to? Over twenty charities (the specifics are listed on their facebook page), helping the world become a better place by assisting those with mental and physical disabilities, providing food for those who normally wouldn't be able to eat, and much more.
I just thought I would share this with the blogosphere because everyone walks (at the very least) at least enough to help out a bit, and I know people out there who run many many more miles than I do over the course of a week who could be making a slightly more awesome impact on the world.
It's also a great motivation for me to get out and run more often; it's exciting to know that if I get off my butt and do some work today I can at the very least put fifty cents or a couple bucks toward a worthy cause while also helping myself stay fit, healthy, and strong. It's a win-win for everyone. So check it out, y'all.
9:30
It seems I've reverted to zooming in on features of my self or my apparel.
But hey, lace is one of the more gorgeous man made things,
and I love the old fashioned yet completely classy feel it gives me.
For anyone stopping in, I'm doing this 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge and that's why I keep posting instagram selfies to the internet.
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