EAT CAKE!

I went to a wedding this weekend and it was great. I love weddings and I love the receptions too. I love to see what personal touches the bride and groom put into their special day to make it their own and I love to people watch at the reception. I like to see what people are wearing, how they dance, what they like to drink...how much they like to drink :). To me it's an absolute blast! And I don't mean watching in a judgemental way either....but rather watching in an entertaining, fun, way.

I know I've said this a lot but it is our differences that  make this world of ours so very interesting. How BORING life would be like if we were all alike. The older I get the less I care about what others think about what I do, what I wear, how I like my hair etc. In my opinion, that is one of the greatest revelations that comes with age. It is a shame that we don't embrace our differences more when we are younger.

Many times I have told Jamie (my husband) if I lived in New York I would have tattoos up and down my entire upper arm. It would be filled with things I find pretty and it would be bright and colorful. And his response would always be "Why on earth would you need to live in New York to do that if that is what you really want?" Then once we  watched a documentary that highlighted this one culture that found curvy women very very beautiful. I then told Jamie "I would love to live in a culture where weight wasn't such an issue. It would be great to eat a piece of cake and not think about it for an hour or even a day afterwards." Jamie said "You should be able to eat cake in this culture and not worry about it. Life is short....eat cake. Who do you need to impress?" (that's one reason I love him so much) Anyways, little by little, year after year, the older I've become I feel that I am about 90% there.

I went and got those tattoos I wanted by golly... and I not only eat cake but I eat it with ice cream on top! AND, most importantly, I enjoy the cake while I'm eating it and don't dwell on it afterwards! Actually I now think about how short life is every time I eat a piece.  I don't think if I was on my death bed I would be saying to myself "Gosh Libby... it's too bad you didn't lose those last 5 pounds before they bury you." NO...I would think..."DANG IT! I should have ate more cake!" :)

My hope is that everyone will work on shedding the skin of what people want you to be and gradually start becoming the person that you want to be and I will continue to keep working on it myself. Express the skills and talents that are uniquely yours. God made you "YOU" for a reason.

It is a wonderful, freeing, feeling when you realize that it is great to be YOURSELF! The authentic, flawed, but unique YOU!

God gives us HOPE when there seems to be none. ~ Your friend, Lib

Tonight I will leave you with these quotes that are very special to me...

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of someone else. "

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not."  ~Andre Gide

"You were born an original, don't die a copy."

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."  ~Judy Garland

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."  ~Raymond Hull

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."  ~e.e. cummings