January 31, 2011

Project 31- In search of beauty

I have been struggling each night to do this blog. I set it up to learn from it and start to get my emotions and feelings out. I feel like the last few weeks all I have written is puff pieces. I know that I hurt a few people with my words and that they didn't like reading what I could not say, but I feel like I am censoring myself to a point that this isn't communication anymore, with myself or others. I am still struggling to find that fine line between what I need to say and what my lurkers wont get mad at. I am going to start this project, borrowed from my friend Fiona's Blog (who got it from a friends blog...) and use it to express the thoughts for awhile. Maybe as I work through it I will find a happy medium- expression without a ton of pain around me. I am going to mix them in with other posts, so the questions and answers will come in the right order, but not every single day. If you also blog or journal consider doing the questions with me, I would love to see other people's ideas, opinions and feelings too!
The project is titled 'Project 31" and is a way for women to reflect on the subject of beauty. It was originally described as "you celebrating your god given beauty, and celebrating the beautiful women around you." We all have such skewed versions of what beauty really is and find it hard to find it in ourselves and others. These questions, when really pondered and answered truthfully will help to light the way to finding beauty everywhere.

The project is taken from Proverbs 31, which talks about a woman of noble character and true beauty:
"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her husband and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, as he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. 
Proverbs 31:10-31 (NIV)

The Question List:
Day 1. What does beauty mean to you?
Day 2. What makes you uniquely you?
Day 3. Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?
Day 4. Post a picture of you in your favourite outfit
Day 5. Write a blog or a note thanking someone who has made your heart come alive.
Day 6. Jaded Beauty. Has the world's definition of beauty ever jaded you?
Day 7. Write a blog or a note to encourage another beautiful woman.
Day 8. Share a beauty secret (hair tip, makeup tip)
Day 9. What virtues do you value in yourself?
Day 10. What is Jesus teaching you as a woman (sister, daughter, wife, mom or friend)?
Day 11. Post a recipe. Or, if you don't cook, try a new recipe and write about how it turned out.
Day 12. Write about what wears you out as a woman.
Day 13. Write about something you would like to change about yourself for the better.
Day 14. Post a photo you love of yourself.
Day 15. Write to encourage a friend. Inspire her beauty.
Day 16. Write a letter to your daughter or a young girl in your life. Tell her what beauty means.
Day 17. Write about 3 things that make you happy.
Day 18. Describe your personality.
Day 19. Write about your favorite comfort food.
Day 20. Write about your job and why you love it or hate it.
Day 21. Write a letter to your husband to encourage him (or if you are single- your future husband)
Day 22. What are some needs that need to be met in your community? Blog about how to extend your hand to those who need you.
Day 23. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
Day 25. What is Jesus teaching you presently?
Day 25. Post a pic of your favourite comfy clothes.
Day 26. What do you hope your grandchildren will say about you when you are gone?
Day 27. Write a blog to encourage someone and build their confidence.
Day 28. Write about your insecurities as a woman.
Day 29. Write about "a day in the life of me."
Day 30. Who is your role model as a woman?

Dont Judge Too Quickly

I laughed for about half an hour after watching this....I needed to share.....
Enjoy!!!

January 26, 2011

Point form- I promise....

It is, once again, way past my bedtime....so, point form with lots of photos is all your getting tonight....

We went to the Apple store and returned the wireless keyboard and picked up this pretty silver one (and pink protector) instead. It came with a usb extension cord so my mouse cord is twice as long now...bonus!


Playtime with Bailey again in the backyard....remembered to grab the camera this time!


After playtime she decided to hop up onto the bed for a cuddle with Jon.


Dinner #3 for my bday was tonight, this time with my family. Here is one side of the table- My brother in law, Mom and Hubby. I know Mom's not looking at the camera, but I think if I posted the one that she is looking she would be mad...this one is cute!


The other side of the table- My sister, Dad and me.


My yummy, yummy dinner. Steak with shrimp and scallops and a cream sauce. I am going to regret it tomorrow at the gym, but it was worth it (and no desert, so it wasn't that much of a cheat....)


The cute hat and scarf I got from my Grandparents.


All of today's presents at once. My parents got me the next books in the series (I got 7 & 8 at yesterday's dinner, I now have 9, 10 & 11!) They also picked out a kitty calendar for me to laugh at. A Starbucks gift card from Karen and Paul - I love it when other people fuel my coffee addiction!


Overall today rocked. We went to the gym, went out for breakfast, solved my computer issues, did some pampering time (dyed my hair, manicure & face mask...), did some of the organizing for our going away party, played with the puppies and had a great dinner.....Life is Good!

So What Wednesday

A few of the bloggers that I follow started doing So What Wednesdays and I thought I would follow suit. You should too! Check out their blogs for more examples...They are Life After I Dew and Chapters of our Life
So What If:

1. I am so addicted to Twitter that it is the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning.
2. I take a million photos of everything, everyday.
3. When I read really addicting books in bed I read all night long instead of sleeping.
4. I love Valentines Day and don't care if it is made up or if Jon shows his love every day as well. Bring on the sappy cards, the chocolate and the hearts!
5. I am awful at taking time for myself or doing things just because I love them.
6. I am so stubborn that I don't care when people tell us that we will not succeed.

January 25, 2011

Puppies, Birthdays & Addictions

Today was a good, lazy, at home to do nothing day. Other than dinner plans we really had nothing going on. Jon did laundry and changed the bed linens. I did nothing. No, that's not true, I relaxed and lounged and dilly-dallied.

Jon's parents volunteered to dog sit for their friend. While  this is a normal occurrence for them, it's a strange one for our cats. The kitties are friendly, but like to be dominant. They don't have the guts to be dominant against big dogs, so they do the next best thing- hide downstairs, howl and become very clingy. This is them while I was eating lunch. They are on the chair next to me...


We had a few hours today that we were the only ones home with all 4 pets. Since we live in the basement the dogs wanted to come downstairs with us. Sassy knows that down here is the cat's domain, and mostly respects that. She keeps a watchful eye out for Firefly who will enforce the space rules and chase her back up. Bailey, who is here for 4 days doesn't understand the rules. She just wants to play and be loved. Jon had a yogurt before lunch and was teasing the cats with it. They were begging like crazy, and, despite being strong willed,  he did eventually give in. While he was on the floor with them I snapped this photo....him and all 4 of the animals. Sassy looks a bit out of the loop all the way in the back, but she was so excited to steal the big cushion from Bailey....


I took Bailey outside for a bit and realized that she is the perfect dog for this kind of weather. She loves chasing balls and it is just warm enough outside that the snow sticks perfectly. We spent about 20 minutes outside, me making snow balls and her chasing them in the 4 foot deep snow pile we call a yard. She was in heaven, and was so tired after that she had a nice long nap, upstairs, and left the kitties alone! Perfect!

We went out to a great restaurant for birthday dinner #2 with Nicole & Greg since Nicole has to work on Saturday when all of us are going to dinner and the bar. We checked out Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria and loved it. We shared prawns and prosciutto wrapped mozzarella and then they brought my salad, Jon's sandwich and 2 pizzas. It was all really, really, really good! They picked me up the next two books in the series that i'm reading, which is awesome because I finished book 6 a few days ago. I am very spoiled...

I came home and sat down thinking I was going to do a quick post. Apparently I need to learn how not to get distracted (or ramble!) I did a quick check in with the blogs I follow and found a great link in Mommakt's Blog It is for a site called Pinterest, and people use it to create a photo catalog of things they love and where to find them. I have heard about it in the past, but have managed to never click to it. I know how easily addicted I get when it comes to pretty things and great photos. I'm not sure why I clicked onto it this time. My Etsy account now has 3 more favorite stores so I can order from them once we move.

Now to fight the urge to keep exploring Pinterest and Etsy and go to bed....maybe to start book 7.....must sleep soon though, gym time comes early in the morning...Goodnight everyone!

January 24, 2011

Sidenote....New Font

Jan 24th
Ok, so new font....Do you love it? Hate it? Care either way? I am currently undecided!
Feedback please!!!

Jan 25th
Changed it again....is this one better? I am strangely drawn to the fonts that look like they are handwritten...

Birthday Goodness!!

Today was my 27th birthday and it was a gooder! 

I got an early present from my aunts in Vancouver. They picked up a Clay Pot for me for Christmas and got me this recipe book for my Birthday. I flipped through it and am excited to try a bunch of the recipes out! There is one in the back for Maple Pecan Croissants. I have to find a gluten free croissant recipe to do it, but I think it will be worth the effort, they sound amazing!


Today started off earlier than I would have liked as I had to work, but we stopped off at Starbucks on the way and I got a treat- a Triple Caramel Macchiato. Work was good although the leaky ceiling was quite annoying. Jon stopped by to bring me lunch and brought me a surprise Americano from Transcend....so yummy! Then, about 30 minutes later Shannon also dropped in, with a Transcend cup in her hand for me...Yay for a 3 coffee pileup! 


Shannon also brought birthday goodies! An awesome t-shirt from ThinkGeek and a hand warmer. She stuck around for a bit of a visit and then went back to work.


Jon came to get me from work and had these lovely flowers sitting in the front seat. He went to Off Whyte Floral before getting me and Kristi put this pretty collection together! I love her! And him!


Since we were going to be home for dinner Sylvie made my favourite....lasagne! We were all out of gluten free lasagne noodles, so it was made with corkscrew pasta instead, but still tasted amazing! Before eating I opened up my gifts, it looks like the present fairy raided the Apple Store...I got a new laptop bag, a keyboard protector, an amp for my iPhone, and a wireless mouse and keyboard for my iMac. All of my Apples are feeling special now. The only sad thing is that my iMac is too old to have Bluetooth, so the wireless goodies wont connect. We'll bring them back tomorrow and see what other solutions they have for my strange workspace (the cords on my normal mouse and keyboard are too short for where I sit, my arms are fully extended when I am using them!)


We inhaled the lasagne before I could get a photo, but I did get the cake on record. Gluten Free Chocolate Oreo cake. So good!! We didn't have any little candles, so one big one was the way to go! Oh yeah, this is what I look like when I actually wear my glasses! 


This is what the inside looks like. It tastes as amazing as it looks!


And now, i'm curled up on the couch with my sweetie, our kitties, a bottle of wine and Dirty Dancing on TV. Life is good! 
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes today!