Dressing Your Truth

 A few months ago a friend introduced me to the Dressing Your Truth program. First of all, let me just give the disclaimer that it's an expensive program and the lady who created it is quite the saleswoman. I know many women who are already comfortable with their style and wouldn't need to invest in the fashion part of it. I do think her energy profiling would be interesting and beneficial for anyone. But for me, even though I cringed at paying the money and was even embarrassed to admit I had paid for it at first (maybe I still am a little bit), I am really glad I did it. Here's why:

• I've never known what my style should be. Should I go for trendy, classic elegance, earthy, etc.? I just didn't know what was me.
• I've never been able to shop by myself. I always wanted someone else to come with me and tell me what looked good, what colors I should pick, and since I don't live with Julie anymore I just couldn't do it on my own. I would always come home from hours of shopping with maybe one shirt that I would end up hating after wearing it once or twice.
• When I would try something on and it didn't fit, I would think that if only I could lose a little weight, or if only I was taller then I would be able to find something cute to wear. The problem was always my body.
• My hair? I can't even begin to describe the drama I have gone through with my naturally crazy hair. I remember coming home from getting my hair cut most of my life and crying in the bathroom as I looked in the mirror. I would always tell the stylist that it was fine because what can you do at the point when they hand you the mirror at the end if you really don't like it? One time I actually gave the mirror back to the lady three times, and finally her coworker beside her stepped over and finished it. I didn't tip her at all, but I still felt bad because it wasn't all her fault when she had just my hair to work with. A couple of years ago I came to the conclusion that I was just going to have to straighten it for the rest of my life, but it was still hard to find the right style for straight hair on me.
• Makeup? I would go with mostly just black eyeliner, powder, and lip gloss or chapstick. How could I begin to decide what color to use for eye shadow, blush, or lipstick?
• I had no jewelry besides a couple of small studs and a few thin silver chains up until this past year when I decided I should do jewelry. I had a home party and got a few different things, but it was so hard to know what to pick. Then I had to try to match what I got with the outfits I have -- ugh!

Okay, is that enough complaining? I was completely lost in the fashion world, and I think the real problem with it is that I blamed myself for it. I felt inadequate. So, along comes Dressing Your Truth and just cleared up every one of those issues I just listed. I went shopping at a thrift store the weekend after I got this program, and I had so much fun! I've never liked shopping at thrift stores because it takes forever to go through the racks just to find one or two gems. Not this time -- I quickly scanned the racks for my colors, then checked the style lines, the fabrication, patterns, texture and found several things very quickly that I wanted to try on. Most of it worked really well, and the stuff that didn't fit I didn't worry about. I didn't feel like my body had to be different to find clothes that worked for me. It was stress-free, and I don't think I've ever felt like that while shopping. I found some great shoes, too. :)

Hair -- well, DYT also addressed how to do curly hair. I thought I would give it a try, and it was pretty amazing. I got called Shirley Temple again for the first time in a long time. People at church thought I had permed my hair because they had never seen my curls before. :) I actually like my curls now. I don't think I've ever been able to say that before. I still need to get some highlights to cover up the grey that is starting to creep in and just give my face a brighter look.

So, that's the fashion and appearance difference it made for me, and it does make a big difference to be comfortable with your appearance. But it's interesting because it addresses a lot of emotional things as well. The program is kind of like a glorified personality test, but it's better than any personality test I've seen before. She calls it energy profiling, and it takes into account all aspects of ourselves -- our facial features, skin type, thought processes, behavior, mannerisms, etc.

It turns out that I'm a Type 1, which is a bright, animated person. My movement is upward and light. At first, I passed right by the Type 1's looking for what else I could be because they are described as the life of the party. I've always been the tag-along, not the life of the party. But everything else about a Type 1 fits. I think it's been kind of liberating to look at some of my natural tendencies, take the judgment off of them, and just accept that this is who I am. We all have strengths and weaknesses to work with. There is nothing wrong with me just because I can't concentrate on all of Nate's detailed explanations where he repeats himself a couple of times to make sure he thoroughly gets his point across. My mind travels to three or four different places and then comes back to him just as he is finishing up his thought. It's also nice for him to understand that I'm not bored or ignoring him -- we just think differently.

Type 1's like to have fun and be spontaneous and random. Chuck Little is the perfect Type 1 in my book. He is so fun to talk to. He brightens up any room he is in, and life is just more fun around Chuck. I've thought about Mom, wondering what type she would have been, and I think she was probably a Type 1 that was forced to live life as a Type 3. I think that often made her feel tired. I think I have tried to live like a Type 4 because I didn't want to come across as silly. I didn't really grow up in a Type 1 family, and I was very concerned about what my older siblings thought about me. So, I need to learn to have more fun.

Anyway, Kellee did a better job on her blog writing about the personality aspects of this. My post is already too long, and I can't keep my mind on it anymore!

Sneak Peek

I've almost finished tiling my laundry room and bathroom. I just have to seal the grout on Monday, but I'm not ready to upload before and afters because we have to take care of the walls and the fixtures in the bathroom before this project is complete. Oh, and put the doors back on after we cut them. But here is my little cutie in front of my masterpiece. Yes, that is lipstick on my son. I really didn't care. I'm just so grateful for my daughters who have helped so much this week while Nate was out of town and I was playing with the tile saw. At least they didn't break out the fingernail polish.

You're gonna need an ocean...

... of calamine lotion!

No joke! Whoever wrote those lyrics probably went through a couple of weeks like Nate and I have. So I've been reading on the internet about poison ivy, and I have realized that there is a reason I haven't been very good at identifying poison ivy. There are so many different varieties of it. This picture has leaves that are almost smooth, others have jagged edges. Some are a reddish color. It can be a vine, a bush, or a plant. Some have three leaves, but then there is the Virginia Creeper that has 5 leaves. So there goes your "leaves of three, let it be" right out the window. As I have looked at different pictures online, I think I have recognized just about every different kind right in our yard. I also learned that you really need to wash off the oil within 10 minutes of touching it to avoid getting a reaction. Think you're immune to it? Well, just get into it enough times and you'll most likely eventually break out in the rash. You might also get a worse reaction to it each time you run into this monster. Nate was smart and went to the doctor for some steroids. I didn't think mine was that bad -- until he went out of town. Then there were several days in a row where I considered calling JW for some help, but I never did. Finally today the swelling is going down in some areas, and I haven't needed to use the anti-itch cream Nate got very much. It's called Sarna, and it is awesome stuff! Anyway, I think I'm just going to sit in my house and let this stuff swallow my yard. I don't want anything to do with it anymore!

A Man's Work

I've started a little project, and JW let me borrow some of his tools to complete it. When I saw he included his drill in the box of stuff he gave me, my first thought was that we already have a drill. But then I picked his up, and realized that he has a DRILL compared to our drill. Is there something wrong with me that I was having fun when I started using it?

Nate told me a story the other day about this guy he works with. His wife is home right now because they just recently had a baby. That afternoon he had to leave work early because a guy was coming to fix their hot water heater. Nate said, "Isn't your wife home?" This guy said she was there, but he had to take care of it because that was "a man's work." Are you kidding me? Little did Nate know that when he got home from work that day he wouldn't be able to park in the garage because I had taken out the toilet, the sink, and the cabinet in the bathroom. I guess I'm a manly woman since I like doing a "man's work." And I just have to say that I SO appreciate that Nate is manly enough to do the dishes and laundry or whatever I need when he sees the need for it to be done. That is the work of a good man!

Nikki's Baptism

It's hard to believe she's grown up so much. Nikki's baptism was yesterday, and it was really beautiful. I wonder if her face hurt today from all the smiling she did yesterday. She was so excited and loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone who has supported her and has shown so much love to her.

Our claims to fame

Our neighborhood is just down the street from Scotty's neighborhood. Man, now I wish I had actually struck up a conversation with him a few times in the grocery store. We had a lot of fun watching the American Idol finale, although there were a few parts that weren't quite family friendly. My two favorite parts of the night were when Hannah said J-Lo's outfit looked like a molting swan (I'd post a picture but it would be a little inappropriate for my blog -- she lost a few too many feathers), and then when Scotty and Tim McGraw sang together on stage. I do like Tim McGraw. Nate saw this picture and couldn't believe that Tim could be on stage in an old T-shirt, a hat that covers his eyes, and a huge belt buckle, and everyone still loves him anyway. :)



Nate's first cousin is Lynn, who is the mother of Faith in this video. Elder Oslund is now serving in Mike & Sherrie's ward, and he came and gave a fireside for our youth last Sunday. Nate had fun talking to him. He was really charismatic, and he has a great story. It was great to see his love and enthusiasm for the gospel. He was being recruited by San Diego State when he was a senior in high school to be a quarterback, but then he blew out his knee. So, I guess that's no big deal if you can just play baseball instead. He will be finishing his mission in a couple of months, and he said that as of right now the Detroit Tigers may be drafting him in a couple of weeks. However, his plan is to turn them down and go back to BYU. It was really neat meeting him and hearing his testimony.

Okay, so maybe we're not famous, but it is fun to rub shoulders with people who are. :)