Who I was is not who I am today

Hey everyone!  As the time approaches to start my senior year of college, I keep thinking about the future.  I don't know exactly yet my plan for after school, but I honestly have been trying to change and become more and more the person I want to be, to be the best I can be.  It's a lot harder than just saying I'm gonna change.  Cause you need to make the changes a part of you and who you're becoming.  So I started making simple but steady changes for myself.

1.  De-clutter my life and home.  Letting go of things has been difficult but it makes it sooo much more relaxing.  Whenever my room goes crazy it just seems my entire life feels chaotic.  Limiting the stuff I decide to keep is pretty much choosing what to I want to spend my time stressing about. 

2.  Read my Bible everyday.  It's amazing how something so simple can make such a drastic change.  When you read God's word on a daily basis it just helps you refocus your life on what's really important.

3.  Exercise Consistently.  This one is so easy to slack on, especially when you're sore.  But thankfully with pinterest, I've found great workouts and awesome inspiring quotes.  My goal with this one is not specifically to lose weight but to be able to feel better about my physique.  Being fit and strong makes you feel better like 100% of the time.  You don't have to find as many clothes to make you look good, they just do, and it boosts self confidence, cause even if you might not look great, you feel great.  Exercising creates endorphins which make you more energetic and it helps you sleep better at night.

4.  Control Food Portions.  Nothing stinks worse than making the choice to have an extra portion of food and then not being able to enjoy the flavor or the food because you're overstuffed.  Becoming healthier isn't something you can keep putting off till tomorrow or else you'll just never change.  It starts and continues everyday.  For me, rather than cut out all unhealthy foods I just choose which ones I have.  I won't even the doughnut and have a few chips instead, yea I still ate chips but much better than having both.  Think about it this way, unless it's something you REALLY are craving, just don't have it.   Cause once you have a little, you'll want it all, just avoid it completely.  That way you can save tummy space for what you really want and be able to savor every bite.

I've met so many girls who always seem to appear their best all the time.  Honestly, it's something I wouldn't mind.  I mean who wouldn't want to look stunning even while they're working out. lol  It didn't take a long time to realize it's cause they take care of themselves all the time.  They don't have to do anything out of the ordinary to look amazing. If you already are fit practically any outfit will make you look like a beauty queen.  After realizing all these small changes I've started to make part of my everyday life, I came to the conclusion that I even though I definitely don't look my best all the time.  I actually do take a lot of care of myself, and it feels good.  Makes life just a little easier and happier.  Which I know life isn't about, but why not?  And while I'm taking care of my physical life why not take care of other aspects of life?

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

DIY - Dresser

So a few Saturdays ago, I started the process of fixing up my "new" dresser.  Thankfully I come from a line of carpenters ;)  My dad's a pro at fixing things and building them.   Before I bought the dresser he made me aware of the fact that the top of this beautiful dresser was not actually wood but particle board, thus trying to re-stain the dresser would be futile. However my plan was to paint it, so all I would need to really do is sand down the bumps and make sure to take off the top layer of gloss so the paint would actually stick.  I'd explain all the details of the process but that would take forever..... so here are just a few pics instead!

BEFORE:

Before - $5 from neighbor

Original dents and stains. You can't really see, but there's some water damage on the back part too, where the particle board is a bit swollen.

THE PROCESS:

Removing the hardware

Even though I couldn't re-stain this, we had to do several rounds of sanding. 1) to get rid of bumps, 2) to take off the top layer of gloss so the paint can stick, 3) to smooth everything down, 4) Repeat #3 until you achieve desired finish :) This included filling in little holes and scratches with spackle and other stuff and more sanding.

Dad fixing drawer glide

Filling in the holes

Painting is a lot of fun!

 
By the end, it looked practically brand new! I was soooo proud of myself!  My dad helped explain me what to do, but most of the work I ended up doing myself, so yeah.... :)
Oh yeah, and it took me less than a week to finish this project!

 

Smile!

Hey Everyone!

Summer's been crazy and for some reason I've been having difficulty uploading pics onto blogspot.  So I finally decided to just write a post without pics.

If you hadn't notice smiles and laughter are a big theme here on my blog. For as depressing a person I feel like I am, I'm surprised people almost always describe me as joyful and passionate.  I even had a friend ask me last semester, "how are you always so happy?  I don't think I've ever seen you not smiling."  haha something I wish I could say is true.... but I definitely know I'm not.  Though I think we really do have a choice when it comes to being joyful.

Cause joy and happiness are two very different things, I may not be happy all the time, but I try to remain joyful and look at life optimistically. 

So I'm gonna share a few of my favorite quotes (there are a ton more on my pinterest). These are a select few I have chosen to really take to heart.

• A smile can brighten the darkest day.
• Between every rock and hard place a crack exists from which hope and opportunity can grow.  ~ Steve Baker
• You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
• Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. ~ Oscar Wilde  
• When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be because they take better care of it there ~ Cecil Selig
• The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd, those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before. ~ A. Einstein
• Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.
• Better to be hated than be loved for what you're not. ~André Gide
• Coincidences are just miracles in where God prefers to remain anonymous.

*  *  *  *  *  *

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in your life.

God Bless!

Stop Wishing, Start Doing

So it's impossible to tell the entire story of my summer so far cause so much has happened! But as August closes in I realize it's almost time to head back to college, thus I guess I should update you on as much as possible.   These past months I've really focused on actually completing my summer goals this year, than just hoping they'd be accomplished.  One of the biggest ones has been making my bedroom a room I love!  Organized, pretty, one that expresses me.

This has been a difficult process as I've collected lots of clutter while away at college, and when I add it to my room back home... ah, disaster!  So I've been slowly getting rid of things and stealing ideas from pinterest. ;)  It's definitely a miracle worker.  I've made my own ways to store my jewelry.  Such as using soda bottles to store my bracelets and a tie hanger for hanging my necklaces.  I've even learned how to make candles. heehee  I stole the wick from a really ugly smelling candle and used the left-over wax from my former fave candle to create a new candle.


On top of all this, I bought a dresser from a neighbor across the street for $5.  It's not the best, but with some sanding down and a new paint job, I think it will create a beautiful addition to my room :)  It's got really pretty knobs.

Well my amazingly wise older brother told me a really good way to know what to keep and not to.  I have a really difficult time especially when it comes to clothes or things I had as a kid.   Almost everyone's heard of a "To Do" list.  It's a list where you write down all the things you need to do whether it's a homework assignment, a favor, a long term goal, etc.  But not as many people have heard about the "To Be" list.  It's where you write down who or how'd you like to be: honest, organized, responsible, reliable, fit, professional, etc.  This is especially important to the idea of a To Do list.  With a To Be list you can determine what on your To Do list are things that are important to you.  If you want to be responsible finishing that homework assignment would be something important to you, if you want to be dependable or reliable, helping out your friend like you promised you would suddenly becomes a priority.  Same thing comes to the things you keep in your room.  Your bedroom is a metaphor for yourself and represents who you are to others.  When deciding what to keep or not think about whether it lines up with your goals on who you want to be.

Well I'll post again later.

Continue enjoying your summer!

One Step At A Time

Wow! So I didn't realize that my last blog post was way back in April.   Time sure flies!  With finals, moving back home for the summer, getting a job... So I've had barely anytime and the little I have had, I've either spent sleeping or in my new obsession, Pinterest.  But I have one friend who's mentioned several times that I haven't posted anything, so now that I have time I decided, why not?

Anyways my summer has lately consisted of babysitting--my new job.  It's fun and the kid's are amazing, but it definitely wears you out.  I think I finally understand why moms get so tired lol.  On top of that my goals this summer consist of recording at least one of my original songs, organizing my room, and buying a car by the end of the summer.

One thing. If you ever want to complete a goal such as "cleaning your room" you have to be specific.  I completely unpacked all my college junk and such and have found spots for everything but that doesn't mean my goal is complete, in fact it technically can go on forever.  So as a way to know I've completed at least the minimum, I added specific requirements such as: donate at least 2 boxes of clothes and get rid old desktop computer.  This way I have a specific goal that is actually attainable and as soon as I'm done with that I can add another goal to my list, if time permits ;)

Summer is probably one of the hardest seasons for most people, especially students, mostly because we're always used to being super busy and constantly seeing people.  So this summer on top of earning money for my car, I've been trying to dedicate time into developing friendships in my hometown and helping out with my church's youth band (I've even started learning how to play drums.)  Doing all of this has helped me find some purpose to the summer, cause it can sometimes get depressing or boring.  And through it all God has been blessing me more and more.  I started working my second week back from school and just a week ago started to teach private dance lessons.  So my plate's been plenty full.  Hopefully I'll get to post some more, and a little more frequently, but it's getting late-ish, and I need to go to bed soon if I want energy for tomorrow's babysitting. lol

Vintage Style Curls

Ahhh!!! So I found a super easy way to get Vintage Style Curls without heat, which is great since I don't have a curling iron. haha 

But anyway this is absolutely the best! I've always been jealous when I see movies where the actresses have really cute shoulder-length hair, since it feels like I've barely been able to do anything with mine.  Growing your hair out from a pixie cut takes forever!  It's been about 16 months since I've had long hair. :(

It's a little messy in the first pic, cause I had already slept on it... but you can kind of get the idea of what it looks like.  It's so cool, cause it only takes like 15 minutes to put up (the girl in the tutorial takes 13minutes total, and she's explaining everything as she goes.  pretty quick, unless you're internet stops working every few minutes *sigh*)

So I hadn't finished styling the curls cause my roommate is asleep and I didn't want to turn on the light. (there seriously is no door dividing the bedroom from the mirror/sink room (whatever it's called).... but I guess that's how it is at a hotel.

And here it is complete and styled!!

Anyways, you should really watch this tutorial! This girl is amazing!!!

HVZ Continued...

Zombified!

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!! OMG! These games are getting INTENSE!  Our school is going Crazy! must admit I am too. Lol  But might as well have fun. Though getting homework done this week is very hard, I'm way to distracted.  Jumping at every noise worried it's a human or zombie hahaha.  And the weapons are getting even crazier, not just the usual nerf guns and socks anymore.  People got Nerf blow darts and sock maces.

Anyways continuing with my story, on Tuesday I was infected and became a zombie... thus Wednesday I spent my afternoon spreading the infection, I caught 4 people muahahahahaha! Pretty intense! I only needed 4 more to have the most kills ;) So much fun!!! You also get to meet a lot of other students you didn't know, cause it's almost impossible to survive if you're not in a pack or horde.  But then at the mission last night, the humans won and spread the "cure" to 20 zombies in which I was randomly selected!  Kind of killed my dream to be the ultimate Zombie or do Zombie make-up but I'd have a chance to be the last man standing and to be a Zombie Slayer. :)

Unfortunately those dreams were killed this morning when I was ambushed before my second class today.  I was able to stun two of the zombies with my sock maces but when I grabbed the class' door handle to jump inside to safety I got tagged from behind.  Guess I do get to do Zombie make-up.  It's so hard to decide which I prefer to be Human or Zombie....  My quote on FB pretty much summarizes everything:

"The hardest part of the Zombie Apocalypse is that one hour where you shrink in denial that you have become your enemy. You keep thinking over what you could've done differently, cause deep inside your heart longs to live... while your flesh thirsts for blood, but eventually your heart stops beating and you no longer feel just feed...."  

Thankfully indoors Zombies and Humans can still interact without fear of dying. lol  Even off-campus isn't safe. I hear the zombies infiltrated some of the local coffee shops. Haha

Zombie Slayer with my sock maces ;)

Hunting down humans and turning them to the "dark side"