Baby, It's Cold!

Well, here in Manitoba there is no doubt that winter is upon us. From a couple days of steady blizzard to -40 C. Sheesh! So if I don't wear sweaters now I don't know when I ever will. I didn't, however, want to wear my one dinky sweater every day in the office. So I went shopping for a variety of cozy clothes. It's not hard these days to find lots of cute sweatery tops. But some of us don't have all that money to buy a whole new winter wardrobe all at once. Although I felt I needed to for survival reasons. But for those of us who are on some kind of budget or just don't really have that kind of money, let me tell you a little secret. Any old baggy grandma sweater like I'm wearing here is quite in style, no problem. So if your grandma doesn't have a pile of sweaters she can give you, try the "thrift shop down the road, you'll look incredible"! AND you'll save yourself some valuable pennies. So there is hope for you to stay warm this winter.

To balance out the bulkiness of this sweater, I made sure I wore very sleek bottoms.

Photography: By Clara Loewen

Wool Pull over Sweater: Value Village $8.00

Leather Leggings: Sirens

 

Not That Perfect

Beauty Tip of the Day:
I wanted a fresh look for my hair. Since I'm growing my hair out and don't want to cut and don't like spending too much time maintaining my hair, there was only one thing for me to do. I was seeing a trend starting that will soon be popular. So I decided to hop on the train before it was ahead of me. The Ombre!( I just love the sound of that word.) It's putting the highlights in the bottom of the hair. There's many variations of ombre's - some super subtle and others more drastic. But it's very low maintenance. Who woulda thought that the look of grown out roots could be a sought after look! So far people tend to go for that look for the summer, but I went ahead and did it for winter. Sometimes you gotta be brave and try something new. YOU start the trend.
Here's a bonus tip: When you put a curl or wave in your hair, always curl away from the face. This gives it a much more natural flow.

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It has come to my attention that some people may think that I have it all figured out, that I’m pretty much the shizzle and I’ve got it made….pretty much that I am perfect. Sometimes I think so too. Haha. But then of course there’s others that think the opposite of me. And I feel that at times as well.

But I want to tell you something that may be shocking for some of you to hear and hard to take in. But here goes: I am not perfect. I actually make mistakes and I don’t always treat people the way I should. I feel very insecure at times. And I sometimes feel like a total failure. I sometimes wonder if I’m doing anything right, and I sometimes feel like I might be living 2 lives.  Sometimes I hide rather than be honest with people or myself.

Sometimes when you feel ignored or feel like I think I’m better than you, I may actually be dealing with insecurities.

Lately I have come more and more face to face with the fact that I really am not perfect and I really do not have it all together. I may have places of leadership and influence, but I definitely do not have it all figured out.  Once in a while I’m brave enough to take that mask off and let people see that as well.

I feel like I don’t even know what it means to love. I thought I did. But I realized I had drifted from relationships. I’ve been carried away with my responsibilities and consumed with my own personal life, that I have looked past my community, my friends, even my family and people closest to me. I realized I haven’t been relating. I’ve acted proud and ignored people. I really did think I was too good for them.

I actually broke down and bawled like a baby when I realized I might not even know what true sacrificial, unselfish love is. I’m way too concerned with that I look good for people - that what I do will be attractive. In the final end I always want people to know that I am right.

Am I ok to let the other person be right? Am I willing to give up my comforts and my habits at times for others? Am I willing to get down to their level and relate to them as equals? Am I more devoted to care for their wellbeing then my own? Am I wanting to make them look good and I get nothing in return for it?

I watched a little video clip the other day that you all might have seen posted on facebook of a girl that was dating a guy who was in a tragic accident. He got brain damage and couldn’t do anything for himself. He couldn’t walk or talk. But she did what any girl in love would do - she married him. So she was a wife as well as his caretaker.

Watching it just blew my mind. That is a love that goes way beyond the shallow things we think is love.

But for me coming to the realization that I am really very far from perfect, as humbling as it is, I can feel encouraged. For one, I’m so thankful that God is keeping me in check and he reminds me before I go off and become the worst snob out there.

Second, I think it’s a sign for me that I’m learning to be honest with myself and others. Honesty with our heart is the best way to change, to keep on going even if we mess up royally.

And what I have realized as well is that God never ever gives up on me. He cannot. Because he sees me as the complete perfect me. That is who I am to Him. And because he loves me so much, I cannot give up on myself either. There is no way that I will. Because I love Him way too much to disappoint Him. I want to give him what he paid for.