I've Got the Fur!

Good Afternoon! Besides my obsession for leather as of late, fur has been right up there with it. I always thought fur was something only the very rich people would wear and was actually turned off by it for that reason. But somehow that changed. Maybe when I found that you could get it for cheap in normal stores. Maybe when I realized that I didn't need to let the rich people define what fur said about fashion. Wearing it makes me feel more one with the earth...lol. It actually kind of makes me feel classy and redneck all at the same time. It definitely does add interest and fashion to an outfit. Not to mention it keeps you warm in the winter. And let me tell you, with as long and cold as this Manitoba winter is, you got to get creative with your warm clothes.

Here's a tip for your winter wardrobe. I have a small closet. And since, I admit, I like clothes it is always jam packed. I don't know about you, but I hate looking through my closet of half the things I don't wear to find the things that I actually could wear. And this is especially true for in the winters when all you wear is sweaters anyway. I decided to sort through my clothes and put all my summer stuff in a box and only kept the clothes on the hangers that I actually use in the winter. The stuff I found that I never wear anymore went into a box that goes to charity. Now my small closet isn't packed. I can easily go through and see what my options are. And everything in there is something I actually could use at any given day. Come summer, I will switch it up again and box all my sweaters and warm clothes and hang out all my summery clothes (oh man, may that day come quickly). Can't wait to slip into something light and short sleeved.

I know some of you will laugh at my tip, but hey, if your as unorganized and messy as me, this is genius! I felt genius when I came up with it after all these years. And it's so easy!

If you have other wardrobe tips, please let me know! I want to hear!

Fur Vest: Forever 21

Feather Necklace: Forever 21

Leather Jeggings: On Sale at Sirens

Photographer: Clara Loewen

As you can see in the pics, the sun was brutal, but she made it work!

This is such a comfy shirt I can wear with leggings because of the length in the back. And because of it's plainness I can add layers and deck it out as much as I want. That's why I love plain shirts because I can do with it what I want it to do.

At least I lived!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Years. Now that the partying is done, it's on with the year 2014. As I was reflecting on year 2013, I have to say it probably has been one of the most happy and fulfilling year for me. Not that everything in my life is all honky-dory by far, but you know when you have fought for something and have had dreams, and then you finally see some fruit after seasons of fighting and not seeing any reward at all, there is a feeling of joy and purpose. 

Among the many dreams I've seen fulfilled this year, I would like to share one. Not that many people know that I have been struggling with my health the past few years. A few years ago I seemed to collapse under emotional and physical stress. I was in a depression and completely physically sick. This was discouraging to say the least. I slowly climbed out of that depression by letting people into my life and fighting with me. But that collapse set me back and I realized that physically I was still not back to normal. I had tightness in my chest and often struggled for breath. I had no energy and my bones (esp. ribs) kept popping out of place. 

Now, I am a naturally active person. I love to jog, work out, play sports etc. But none of this was possible for me without me breaking down physically. I couldn't even run for a minute before I just grew completely out of breath, panting and holding my aching sides. This was extremely devestating to me. I felt like I was being robbed of my potential. I saw myself wasting away before my eyes. 

I was generally getting better, but then I would fall back again with not being able to breathe deeply and lacking energy. 

At the beginning of 2013, I decided if I wanted to live a happy life and succeed in all my other dreams, I would have to make it a priority to become healthy. And literally that was my goal for year 2013... to get to the bottom of my problem. I started pampering myself and taking life easy. Saying "no" to many things so that my body could rest and become strong. I started doing things that were fun and easy (I believe having fun brings healing faster). And  yes, I went to doctors and chiropractors and started intentionally living a healthy lifestyle.

I did not have a major disease but after a time of not treating my body well and over stressing it was getting to the breaking point.

Then one happy day one brave person diagnosed me with scoliosis(crooked backbone). I knew I'd had a minor case of it since I was a child but it wasn't growing worse so I had forgotten about it. But apparrently it slowly was pulling my muscles and ribs out of place so much so that all the muscles in my back and chest area became so extremely tight that it caused all kinds of problems. Any type of twisting or pressure in the upper back made it worse. This was a happy day for me because finally I had the answer to my problems. Swimming is the treatment I got. This girl went swimming and then got massaged. Went swimming and got massaged some more. And I kid you not! After a couple months there was no scoliosis to be found. 

And by the way, I have been running for 20 - 30 minutes already without almost dying. I have played active sports. No I am not completely up to where my body should be. I am still not doing anything strenuous with my upper back. I am taking in my vitamins to get my strength back up. But I can go for my jogs again. My brain has been clear for half a year already because since I can breathe deeply, I finally get enough oxygen to my brain again.

This is nothing short of a miracle for me! I plan that soon I will be able to actually vacuum again and clean the shower in my bathroom without it pulling out my muscles and ribs. I plan in the next year I will be able to do workouts and start gettin' those abs on. Oh how I miss using my muscle to their full potential. But I know this will be hard work and it will take lots of patience still. So I'll need you guys to keep me accountable. But then I did go swimming. And I hated swimming. Especially by myself. Cuz who's got time for that? Nobody else did apparently. But it paid off. And I will continue doing so cuz it feels so good.

Anyways, I hope this inspires you to not give up. And sometimes you just got to set your mind to get down and dirty to see the change you need in your life.

Here are some of my happy moments in 2013:

Above 3 Pictures: My Young Adults Group - '50's Swing Dancing. In the first one - learning the steps.
This group has been one of the joys of 2013.

PARIS! Check!

I had the privilege to go to Africa with an incredible fun team. We gave out clothes extravagantly and just hung out with the beautiful African people. Seriously I was struck with their beauty every time I looked into their fierce faces... dark eyes, high cheekbones, ebony skin and sparkling smiles. They are a kindhearted people.

 

Weddings - got to be a part of my 2 beautiful nieces' weddings!

Camp!

Makeup School...
This is my gorgeous model Jennifer. She is a smart talented young lady... As I've gotten to know her I know the world will need to watch out!

Editorial Shoot: This was my final project. Had fun playing with light, makeup and style.
Yvonne, another one of my beautiful talented friends. I love her motherly heart.

Graduated Makeup School - Check!

 

Merry Christmas - with my bros!

Photo taken by: Becki Petkau

Spent New Year's Weekend worshipping with 30,000 people in one building. It was epic!