Movies have a pervasive and influential role on the world. Despite the knowledge that a large portion of mainstream movies are fictional, it is hard not to realize parallels and find ideals within their carefully crafted storylines. Romantic comedies make romance and true love seem one funny conversation away, they give you the feeling and impression that carefully crafted lines and slinky dresses will find you the love of your life.
Let me tell you first hand that this is not true. When I found my other half, the one person who completes me, I wasn't even looking. I was with someone else at the time, unhappily that is for certain, and did not even admit the possibility that there were feelings between us. Regardless of this, my future wife made it her mission to make me feel better, to make me smile, laugh, and chat. She was the light part of my days, and even though I didn't know what I was feeling I enjoyed spending time with her. She fell in love with me even though I was unkept, dirty, depressed, and unhappy in life. I didn't wear any fancy clothes or drop any special lines to make her swoon, our personalities just clicked together. I wasn't looking for anyone, and yet I found the most wonderful person of my life.
There is no trick to finding love, it really is as simple as being okay with yourself and just talking to people. You never know who you will find a connection with. If you are a big book nerd (guilty!) or enjoy dissecting insects or really enjoy playing video games or anything else that isn't "mainstream", don't ever think that you can't find someone who is just right for you. Don't ever dream of changing either, because you will never be happy with yourself that way. If you can't be happy with yourself, how could you possibly be happy with someone else?
Mainstream is just what the corporations are paid to sell to us. No one fits into that mould, and no one is supposed to. Why else would they alter and distort photos to emphasize impossible sizes and unrealistic shapes? Because all they want you to do is feel miserable about yourself so that you will spend your money to try and acheive their concept of 'perfect'.
I'm not perfect. My wife isn't perfect. My mom and dad aren't perfect, and M's family isn't perfect either. So what? I'm happy. M is happy. My parents are happy, and so are M's. None of us fit into the carefully sculpted mould of unattainable perfection. And we shouldn't try to either. Why? Because perfection is no fun. If you were perfect, all your energy would be focused on staying perfect. You would be miserable just trying to keep up with all the upkeep and maintenance and dieting, exercise, drugs, makeup, etc and you would never have any time to do anything that you actually enjoy.
Shun mainstream and embrace individuality. You don't have to be a non-conformist to be individual. Don't like thinking you have to fit into a size 3-5 to be healthy? Don't! A healthy weight is different for each person. I've been that size 3-5 girl, and it sucked. I am now happily a size 10 and I feel no shame about that. My body feels great, and yours can to. Give it what it needs, and you will find your perfect weight, size and shape.
When you begin to trust yourself to take care of your own body, you start feeling a great level of confidence. Confidence to just be yourself. That aspect alone will draw people to you, and you will have a great influence on those people. Confidence is an attractive aspect simply because so few people actually possess it. So be true to you, love yourself, and you will find levels of happiness that you never thought possible.
Happiness for all shapes and sizes,
Laura
Using Coupons To Save Money - The Eco-Friendly Way
I love using coupons. I never thought I would, because of that horrible stereotype that I believed for the longest time:
"Coupons are always for junk food and stuff no one actually buys, especially not healthy/eco-friendly people"
What a lie! Sure, it takes a bit of digging, and maybe you won't get the same amount of savings that you see on Extreme Couponing (then again, those people are a little bit... ridiculous. More on that later if anyone's interested). But every bit counts when you have to stretch your budget just a little bit farther.
For example, Maple Leaf and Schneider's (both Canadian based countries, correct me if I'm wrong) have a "Naturals" line. This includes deli meat with NO NITRITES and no other nasty preservatives. This is obviously not as good as going to the butcher and getting them to put your deli meats in a reusable container, but not all butchers (especially not in grocery stores) will do that for you anyways. Not to mention, there's no ingredients list on those deli meats... I have found save 1$ coupons on both brands of Naturals products, which I have put to good use.
There are also often cereal box coupons, this past summer there was one for a free bunch of bananas up to 2 pounds. Saved me over 2$ for bananas. There have also been some distributed for strawberries and other fresh foods. For me, I don't always buy cereal boxes, but there have been friends and family of mine that give me theirs. Works great for me, and for them.
The same concept goes for paper products. I have found coupons for save 1$ on Cascades Enviro line, which is the Cascades brand line of post consumer recycled products including paper towels and toilet paper. It's even soft like regular Cascades, so no loss there!
Depending on what your regular products are, it is almost always possible to find coupons for them, and save yourself a little bit of cash. Honestly, if all you do is look, it really doesn't cost you anything anyways!
Anyways, that's my spiel. I use some products that have coupons, and some that don't. I prefer to buy things on sale anyways, and if I have a coupon for that product, all the better! But I don't cry if there's none in my stash for it. I might be a little dejected if I've seen coupons for that product but don't have any... but that's just me!
Happy savings!
Laura
"Coupons are always for junk food and stuff no one actually buys, especially not healthy/eco-friendly people"
What a lie! Sure, it takes a bit of digging, and maybe you won't get the same amount of savings that you see on Extreme Couponing (then again, those people are a little bit... ridiculous. More on that later if anyone's interested). But every bit counts when you have to stretch your budget just a little bit farther.
For example, Maple Leaf and Schneider's (both Canadian based countries, correct me if I'm wrong) have a "Naturals" line. This includes deli meat with NO NITRITES and no other nasty preservatives. This is obviously not as good as going to the butcher and getting them to put your deli meats in a reusable container, but not all butchers (especially not in grocery stores) will do that for you anyways. Not to mention, there's no ingredients list on those deli meats... I have found save 1$ coupons on both brands of Naturals products, which I have put to good use.
There are also often cereal box coupons, this past summer there was one for a free bunch of bananas up to 2 pounds. Saved me over 2$ for bananas. There have also been some distributed for strawberries and other fresh foods. For me, I don't always buy cereal boxes, but there have been friends and family of mine that give me theirs. Works great for me, and for them.
The same concept goes for paper products. I have found coupons for save 1$ on Cascades Enviro line, which is the Cascades brand line of post consumer recycled products including paper towels and toilet paper. It's even soft like regular Cascades, so no loss there!
Depending on what your regular products are, it is almost always possible to find coupons for them, and save yourself a little bit of cash. Honestly, if all you do is look, it really doesn't cost you anything anyways!
Anyways, that's my spiel. I use some products that have coupons, and some that don't. I prefer to buy things on sale anyways, and if I have a coupon for that product, all the better! But I don't cry if there's none in my stash for it. I might be a little dejected if I've seen coupons for that product but don't have any... but that's just me!
Happy savings!
Laura
A Week Into NaNo and less than 2k words to show for it
National Novel Writing Month. Heard of it? It's a month of insanity, creating a first draft of a (minimum) 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Whaaaaat???
I tried it last year, made it to about 25,000 words before I burned out.
So I'm trying again this year. The get-go has been significantly slower than last year. This time last year, I was sitting around 10,000 words. But today, my total is around 1,500.
Why? It's not that I don't have a good story idea, and I have a pretty good idea of how it's going to pan out.
I don't know. Probably something to do with my chronic procrastination. I really need to get 'er done. I have no excuse.
Anyone else doing NaNo? Tips or tricks to kicking the procrastination demon? Always appreciated!
Yours procrastinatedly,
Laura
I tried it last year, made it to about 25,000 words before I burned out.
So I'm trying again this year. The get-go has been significantly slower than last year. This time last year, I was sitting around 10,000 words. But today, my total is around 1,500.
Why? It's not that I don't have a good story idea, and I have a pretty good idea of how it's going to pan out.
I don't know. Probably something to do with my chronic procrastination. I really need to get 'er done. I have no excuse.
Anyone else doing NaNo? Tips or tricks to kicking the procrastination demon? Always appreciated!
Yours procrastinatedly,
Laura
Finding Inspiration in Uninspiration
Creating goals and reaching for them has always been easy for me. Attaining them, not so much. For the most part, it seems like anytime I start something, whether it's a craft, a routine, an activity, I get super gung-ho about starting it... and then it dwindles.
For example, I've been working on a crocheted hat made of bright, verrugated, crinkly yarn for almost a year now. It's not that it is a challenging task, I just don't feel inspired to work on it. Or I decide that other things are more important.
But are they? Are the small goals as important as the big ones? I should think so, seeing as you need to acheive multiple small goals before you can fully acheive any big ones. Yet here I am, staring at this headband of bright colours that should have been a hat months ago, uninspired.
A lot of things happen in a day, and I know I can't control them all. I wouldn't want to, I think my head would explode. But sometimes it just gets to me, how out of control I am about everything. Creating beautiful things is a goal, a passion, of mine, but I spend more time worrying about how to do it than actually just doing it. Ridiculous.
Starting today, I'm making a vow to myself to spend at least 15 minutes doing something instead of thinking about it. I'm going to finish that damn hat before it snows, and I'm going to wear it like a freaking crown.
Take that, inertia!
Much love,
Laura
For example, I've been working on a crocheted hat made of bright, verrugated, crinkly yarn for almost a year now. It's not that it is a challenging task, I just don't feel inspired to work on it. Or I decide that other things are more important.
But are they? Are the small goals as important as the big ones? I should think so, seeing as you need to acheive multiple small goals before you can fully acheive any big ones. Yet here I am, staring at this headband of bright colours that should have been a hat months ago, uninspired.
A lot of things happen in a day, and I know I can't control them all. I wouldn't want to, I think my head would explode. But sometimes it just gets to me, how out of control I am about everything. Creating beautiful things is a goal, a passion, of mine, but I spend more time worrying about how to do it than actually just doing it. Ridiculous.
Starting today, I'm making a vow to myself to spend at least 15 minutes doing something instead of thinking about it. I'm going to finish that damn hat before it snows, and I'm going to wear it like a freaking crown.
Take that, inertia!
Much love,
Laura
Adventures in Saving Money - Part 1
Following up with my last post, I'm going to share some of the ways that I save money every month. Some of them will be damn obvious, others maybe not so much. Either way, I invite anyone who reads these tips, tricks, and stories, to share their personal feelings and opinions about it. I love learning new things from different people, and saving money is something that we all have to do in life.
I was reading in the newspaper on the weekend that Canada's debt-to-income ratio is sitting around 150%. That means that people who are making 50,000$ a year owe (or add to their debt) approximately 75,000$ per year. (Correct me if my concept is wrong, please!). How on earth can we as a population be expected to contribute effectively to the economy if we owe more than we make? Ridiculous numbers, if you ask me.
Saving money and saving the environment absolutely go hand-in-hand. Buying less new both saves money and puts less strain on limited resources. Using homemade cleaners, same concept.
Today, I'm going to start with a task that takes me (on average) about an hour each week, and saves me close to 200-400$ per month. That is some sweet return for my investment if you ask me. It's like making 50-100$ per hour for those hours.
What could be so easy a way to save money for so little time?
Read Your Flyers!
Seriously. That's it! Check out your flyers, make a list of whats on sale, and buy from that list. For non-perishables, buy extra to last (ideally) at least until the next sale.
Doing this will also give you a good idea of what a "good sale" price is. For example, some people will go out and buy a brick of cheese whenever they need it. The going rate for a 500g brick of cheese right now is 8-10$. That's ridiculous. Cheese is something we eat A LOT of at my house. So when it goes on sale for less than $4.50 per brick, we buy at least 8 and freeze them. Currently, we have about 20-25 bricks of cheese in our freezer, none of which did we pay over $4.50 for.
Almond milk (since I don't make my own due to time/space constraints) is purchased in bulk when it's on for less than 2$ a carton (regular price is $3.99).
Small changes create big effects, and reading your sales flyers is just one small change that can really open your eyes into how much money and time you are wasting.
If you don't get the flyers delivered to you (like us), you can use websites that post them online (which saves paper too!) such as flyerland.ca.
Do you read flyers for your shopping (if you even shop at grocery stores)? How do you prepare your grocery/food list for the week? Share, share, share!
Much love,
Laura
I was reading in the newspaper on the weekend that Canada's debt-to-income ratio is sitting around 150%. That means that people who are making 50,000$ a year owe (or add to their debt) approximately 75,000$ per year. (Correct me if my concept is wrong, please!). How on earth can we as a population be expected to contribute effectively to the economy if we owe more than we make? Ridiculous numbers, if you ask me.
Saving money and saving the environment absolutely go hand-in-hand. Buying less new both saves money and puts less strain on limited resources. Using homemade cleaners, same concept.
Today, I'm going to start with a task that takes me (on average) about an hour each week, and saves me close to 200-400$ per month. That is some sweet return for my investment if you ask me. It's like making 50-100$ per hour for those hours.
What could be so easy a way to save money for so little time?
Read Your Flyers!
Seriously. That's it! Check out your flyers, make a list of whats on sale, and buy from that list. For non-perishables, buy extra to last (ideally) at least until the next sale.
Doing this will also give you a good idea of what a "good sale" price is. For example, some people will go out and buy a brick of cheese whenever they need it. The going rate for a 500g brick of cheese right now is 8-10$. That's ridiculous. Cheese is something we eat A LOT of at my house. So when it goes on sale for less than $4.50 per brick, we buy at least 8 and freeze them. Currently, we have about 20-25 bricks of cheese in our freezer, none of which did we pay over $4.50 for.
Almond milk (since I don't make my own due to time/space constraints) is purchased in bulk when it's on for less than 2$ a carton (regular price is $3.99).
Small changes create big effects, and reading your sales flyers is just one small change that can really open your eyes into how much money and time you are wasting.
If you don't get the flyers delivered to you (like us), you can use websites that post them online (which saves paper too!) such as flyerland.ca.
Do you read flyers for your shopping (if you even shop at grocery stores)? How do you prepare your grocery/food list for the week? Share, share, share!
Much love,
Laura
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