You Are Beautiful

A few years ago I attended a seminar called “Time Out for Women”. This seminar had an hour set aside for a new seminar they were testing out called “Time Out for Girls”. As the name suggests, this session was for the younger generation.

What I want to share with you is one of the many things we talked about; Body image, self-esteem, and positive reinforcement.
The lady teaching gave us a challenge. Every day when you wake up in the morning head down to the bathroom mirror, look yourself in the eye, smile, and tell yourself that you are a beautiful daughter of God. She told us to do it every day, but not to let the meaning of what we were doing slide from our mind.

We went on to talk about how words are powerful and how you talk to yourself is extremely important. Not just out loud, but in your head, because that’s where most negative thoughts reside. Can you say “I’m ugly” in your head while also saying “I am beautiful”? Go on, try it. I’ll wait.

You can’t! It’s impossible!

So when you are getting down on yourself and feel terrible; stop, take a look in the mirror, and think again. I am beautiful. Say it. Say it as often as possible. It’s not vain, it’s confident. You are beautiful. Do not let anyone say otherwise. That includes you.

Embrace your beauty instead of trying to fit into the mold of someone else. After all, there's only one you, and the world would be lost without you. Trust me. 

~La vie est belle, Bri~

All Things Pixie

Tips for Having a Pixie

Disclaimer: For those of you searching for pros and cons of a pixie, short hair is NOT easier than long hair, it takes ten times more effort! If you're going to cut your hair, be prepared.

Research
When I cut my hair, I didn't do the research that I should have. Things such as different ways to style your pixie at the length that it is, as well as how to grow it out, different accessories, etc. Check out Pinterest and Google!

Appearance and Confidence
I will start out by saying if you're getting a pixie, EMBRACE YOUR FEMININE SIDE. I know, that's a little backwards since you're cutting all your hair off, but as a girl with short hair, if you don't want to be mistaken for a lesbian, you will have to up your game in the make up and wardrobe department. Maybe this won't be a problem for you, but this was tough for me because not only was I used to wearing baggy t-shirts and little to no make up, I felt like my head was suddenly too small for my body. Once I got rid of  the baggy boy t-shirts for something more "feminine", I felt ten times better about how I looked.
I don't mean you always have to dress up and be "soft" all the time, I certainly didn't, but here are some suggestions for the days you just want to be pretty;
Defined eyebrows and some contouring in your cheek bones can make a huge difference in how you look and feel. 
Try some jewelry; dangly earrings, necklaces, and a couple bracelets to spice up an outfit and say "I'm a girl".
High heels and dresses or flirty skirts are also some fun options that you could take advantage of!
If you're more of a t-shirt kind of person, go for something more fitted with a couple accessories. Casual and comfortable, but still slightly girly.

Experiment
Try out different gels, hair accessories, clips, etc. If you have a pixie cut, you're probably on the spunky side so have fun with it! Don't let the world's expectations ruin YOUR haircut. Soft and feminine or spiked and spunky, you choose.

Well, there's my ten cents about pixie cuts out of the many posts about them across the interwebs. Don't just take my word for it, go do your research! YouTube, Pinterest, Google!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

I don't want to be perfect

It's my turn to talk fitness goals.

Contrary to what Aurora thinks, I am actually technically the biggest here, although I am the shortest. I won't be posting before pictures on the blog due to modesty reasons, but I have taken them for myself.

I know what you're probably thinking. "You guys aren't fat, whats wrong with you?"

I am not fat, I have fat that I would like to get rid of. Yes, there's only a little bit of it, but that little bit is spread out all over in awkward places. Like many normal people, I have the infamous love handles and belly pooch. I'm hoping to rid myself of those, SOON. I don't want to be normal, nor do I aspire to be perfect, I just want to feel better, look great, know I'm healthy, and be able to rock any outfit I choose. Yes, that last bit was stolen from an inspirational picture, but it describes my goals perfectly.

I want to have a strong and healthy body, and by golly I will get it.

I started listing the things I want to change/improve, and realized that I basically want to work my entire body, but I'll lay it out for ya anyway. This may seem like a lot, but there are so many exercise programs and workouts out there, that creating one that works all of my specific goals won't be hard. It's actually doing the exercise that will be hard.

• I want toned and strong arms. 
• Because I aspire to be an aerialist and acrobat (among other things), I need strong arms, but I also don't want bulky muscle. How do I do that? That's where the world wide web comes in. We have the world at our fingertips people! I personally love Pinterest, it works great for me. 
•  I want not only a flat belly, but I want defined abs.
• Not grossly defined, but if I'm going to work this hard, might as well, right?
• I want a noticeable gap between my thighs.
• My legs are pretty great. I'm pretty proud of them for the most part. But some days I'd like to wear leggings, so slimming and firming up my thighs isn't a bad idea. Also, summer is coming. That means swim suit season. Yeah.
•  I want to abolish my love handles. 
• They're love handles, not curves. They're these random bumps in an awkward place and they make finding pants that look nice difficult, and make dresses look funny. They've got to go. 
• I want a toned back. 
• My future holds years of wearing leotards. And toned backs are awesome. 
•  I want to be a B cup size
• I hate big boobs. Right now I'm a C. THIS IS HORRIBLE. I don't understand the big boob fad, honestly. A nice, on the small side, B is fine by me.  
• Bubble butt. 
• I don't want to end up with a flat butt. So better work that, too. 

Hey look, it's not that much after all!

 

~La vie est belle, Bri~