True Life: I'm Unhappy with My Small Breasts

So I was watching True Life the other day and the episode that was playing was one about three very beautiful young women who were so devastatingly unhappy with their small bustline. Their unhappiness reaches to the point where they cannot go out in public because they are so self conscious and cannot stop comparing themselves with other women who have bigger breasts. They feel like with bigger breasts, they will be able to do anything they want, be happier, and be the person who they want to be.

I can speak from the other way around; I have always been busty and even had surgery to reduce my breasts because they were hurting my back. Unfortunately I gained weight and they grew back to where they were to begin with, but I guess that's what you get for having a breast reduction at 17. The only good thing that I drew from that was imagining how huge they would be right now had I not undergone the surgery to begin with. What I've learned is that breast size will not make you happy, it really is what's inside; your personality and your confidence. I've gotten more confidence but it's from growing as a person and having new experiences-NOT because my boobs were bigger or smaller.

What really bothered me about this episode though was this one girl's mom. Shacole is gorgeous, 18 years old, but is relatively flat chested. Her mom spends the entire episode making fun of her daughter's small breasts and telling her that even though she is trying to become happy with herself, she will never stop telling Shacole that she needs breast implants. Shacole asked her mom if she cares about her happiness and her mom made a face and said that she is upset that she has stopped wanting breast implants. On top of that, Shacole's mom tried to persuade her into using a website where men will pay for your breast implants if you pretty much become their personal internet porn. Her mom ended up creating a profile, but Shacole did not.

At the end of the show, it showed that Shacole has stopped obsessing over breast size and has become a happier and more confident person. I was so glad to read this after seeing all the issues that her mom was giving her.

I feel like in order to be confident, we really do have to be happy with ourselves; who cares if our boobs aren't the "right" size or we're a little more full figured than the next girl. As long as we are happy and healthy, we should be okay with our bodies. I am not always the happiest with myself, but I am working so hard on it. Watching shows like this just reinforces how awful society is with it's image of perfection. The worst part is that we buy into it and it's not okay. We really need to remind ourself how much we are worth without using superficial comparisons.

Music Monday

Get a free download of Holy Fiction's Hours From Dance here

Check out Tyler James' upcoming tour dates here

Watch Brianna Gaither's video for Find You here

Grab a free download of Discotech's remix of Outasight's Figure 8 here and check out dates for the Summer School Tour with Outasight, Donnis, and Young L here

From Noisetrade, grab free downloads from Graham Colton, Cut Off Your Hands, Darren Flowers,

On Spin! Check out their tribute to the late Clarence Clemons here, stream an album from Unknown Mortal Orchestra here, a free 14 song download from the July issue here,

Get a free download of Love Letters by Shwayze, Cataracs, and Dev here and check out dates for the Seedless Summer Tour with Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Shwayze, and Cisco Adler here

Check out Sara Swenson's solo tour dates here

The top 10 tracks for free download on Tweet for a Track are

1. Face the Light-Grimus
2. Exquisite Marty-City Delivered
3. Fuck It I'm Young-The Dean's List
4. Lie Down-Instrumenti
5. Wish You Were Here (Avril Lavigne Cover)-Jamestown Story
6. E.T. (Breathe Electric Remix)-Breathe Electric
7. Mr. Funny Man-Christofer Drew
8. Hey Kid-Matthew Ryan
9. Born This Way (cover)-Mat Musto
10. Tickin Away-Viktory

The featured artist on Tweet for a Track with free downloads are

• ain no party ft. shizzy-D-NYC
• Crave You Remix-EaSway
• I Want You Back-2-U-Neek
• Stand Up-Whyz Ruler/ibi ent

Check out Anya Marina's new tour dates here

Check out Darren Flowers' Mini Tour dates here

You can get tickets and dates for the Ten Out of Tenn Fall Tour here

On Daytrotter, check out new sessions from Chris Bathgate, The Devil's Horn Kills the Matador, Edwin Collins, 1,2,3, Balmorhea, Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Madi Diaz, and AgesandAges.

Let's Talk Trends

Well more specifically, trends that I cannot stand or cannot understand...

ROMPERS:

What is so trendy about taking your whole outfit off when you have to pee? Remember play

when you were younger? Or snap bottom outfits? That's a romper...you look like a child...add braids and a lolli pop and you move from trendy to statutory...What's worse is that rompers are made for women with the body type of tooth pick...and since most women do not look like that but still want to be trendy, the romper becomes even more disturbing...Separate your tops and pants...please

BOOT SANDALS:

If there is a strap going between your toes, the top of the shoe should not be enclosed...sandals and boots combine summer and winter and it makes no sense and looks seriously weird...

TALL SOCKS

Men, you like to wear your tall socks to the gym or with your shorts..with any shoes...you look silly..almost geriatric...please meet ankle socks, they are awesome and you look just a little more put together

MAN TANK TOPS

Unless you are working out or at the beach...man tank tops are really..not okay...If we grew out all our armpit hair and walked around all sweaty, you wouldn't think it was sexy, so why do we want to see it at restaurants or at baseball games? At least a t-shirt..please?

DENIM PANTIES

And by panties, I mean denim shorts that are so tight and short that they might as well be panties. Shorts are meant to be shorts, not panties, they should cover part of your thighs, not just your crotch lines.

WEARING THINGS THAT OBVIOUSLY DO NOT FIT

why squeeze yourself into something that does not fit? You feel and look SO much better if you just accept whatever size you are...pretending to be thinner really doesn't make you look thinner (i've tried, my mom didn't let me out of the house) so be nice to yourself and your body and make you feel and look awesome by wearing clothes that work for you, not for society

"Shampoo Alert"

Shampoo Alert!

As I was conditioning my hair in the shower this morning, I took time to read my shampoo bottle. I am in shock! The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my entire body says "for extra volume and body"! Seriously, why have I not noticed this before? Now I understand why I am so "full-figured"!
Tomorrow I am going to start using "Dawn" dish soap. It says right on the label "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove."

It pays to read the warning labels my friends!

Tandoori Chicken

I love experimenting in cooking dishes from different cuisines. I found a recipe for

Tandoori Chicken, and Indian dish that looked delicious. I thought that I had curry in my spice collection, but actually had cumin. Good news though! Subbing cumin for curry in this recipe tastes good as well. I guess then I did not make Tandoori Chicken, but it tasted great nonetheless.

Tandoori Chicken

2 lbs. chicken (cut into 1-inch cubes)
1 cup plain yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
2 cups cooked white rice

In a bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger, cayenne and salt. Add chicken and stir until chicken is completely coated. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent and tender, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook about 7-8 minutes, stirring often, until completely done.

Serve over rice and top with fresh cilantro.

Music Monday

At Spin! get a free 20 song download of songs from Bonnaroo here, a free download of songs from Brooklyn's Northside Fest here,

Peter Bradley Adams released his album Between Us, buy it on iTunes or Amazon.

Check out Courrier's upcoming tour dates here

On Noisetrade, get free downloads from Josh Rouse, and Josh Garrels

The top 10 free downloads on Tweet for a Track

1. Ni Una La grima-Joey Montana
2. Tickin Away-Viktory
3. E.T. (Breathe Electric Remix)-Breathe Electric
4. Favorite Song-Superlitio
5. Wish You Were Here (Avril Lavigne Cover)-Jamestown Story
6. Fuck It I'm Young-The Dean's List
7. Mr. Funny Man-Christofer Drew
8. Solo Sin (piano version)-Emily Has Fallen
9. Chiggy Pop-Los Esquizitos
10. Born This Way (cover)-Mat Musto

The top artists on Tweet for a Track

• Duffel Bag-Team Bigga Rankin
• Eyes on the Lord-Rebourne
• Ice Cold-Sabrina Kingsqueen
• Invasion (acoustic)-The Infernal Machine
• Don't Let This Hat Fool You-Todd Berry

Check out Susan Enan's upcoming tour dates here

Check out Kitten's tour dates here

Urban Taco

I've seen these trendy "designer" fusion type restaurants pop up around Dallas and was curious about what makes their food so different than other restaurants serving similar food. Okay, I call them designer, but I'm not sure if anyone else does; just me, but that is what they remind me of. They described themselves as modern; makes sense as they are putting a modern twist on favorite dishes.

Urban Taco is a Mexican/southwestern restaurant. It's fare is based off basic mexican food: tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, and salad, but they add in interesting combinations of foods and spices to create unique dishes to enjoy. Instead of only offering one type of salsa, they offer several salsa recipes ranging in different levels of spicy using lime, corn, peppers, avocados, and other foods to change up the flavors. They do the same with their guacamoles and integrate these with their fresh meats and seafoods in their platters.

My friends and I ordered a chips and salsa trio so that we could try some of their salsas and see what the flavors were all about. They don't use the traditional tortilla chips like most Mexican restaurants do; they use the fried ones like you'd find in Mexico which gives Urban Taco another unique edge against similar restaurants. We tried the Avocado Lime Crema, Black Bean and Roasted Corn Pic, and Roja. Roja is your standard red salsa, while the other two are self explanatory with the ingredients and tasted great.

I also had some tacos which they make with small corn tortillas, served in threes. Their meat was fresh and very tender, and the salsas were delicious with the tacos.

The restaurant is affordable, and they do offer trio's of everything for special prices, so if you're in the mood, you can actually make your whole meal a sampler without actually ordering several full different dishes.

Urban Taco has two locations in Dallas and one in San Antonio. For a menu, locations, and more information, check out their website.

The Script-Science and Faith [album review]

Touching the likes of musical fancy across the world, the Dublin based soft rock and soul band, The Script has graced us with another masterpiece album. Though this is only the second album that The Script has released, there is no lack of creativity, professionalism, or talent. Their influences come from all different kinds of music though this album seems to draw heavily from the likes of R&B and soft Indie rock. We got a taste of The Script when their song, Breakeven coursed through radio waves; this album gives us a deeper look into the band and their musical prowess.

Read More...

Shoegasm!

Friday's Shoegasm with Peace, Love, Applesauce and Boobies, Babies, and a Blog

A lighter pair of Lucchese's...just a huge want, obviously

I love these criss cross platforms from Fashion Bug-cute for work or hanging out or going out, and they look pretty comfortable since the platform takes away from the pain of the heel

Ocean Prime

Downtown Dallas has amazing steakhouses and seafood restaurants. One of the hottest and trendiest surf and turf establishments right now is Ocean Prime. Complete with a hot spot bar and fabulous food, there is nothing negative that I really can say about the restaurant. The chef's have created unique and delicious sides to go with their steaks, fish, and shellfish. They have both lunch and dinner menus as well as a very impressive wine list. They boast tasty gluten free options for those with celiac or sensitive to gluten; you will not have to sacrifice flavor or enjoying a meal at Ocean Prime.

Each Ocean Prime restaurant uses fresh ingredients and chooses local produce and fare as often as they can to support their local communities and economies. All meals are made from scratch and have unique flavors based on the location of that restaurant.

Since I do not eat red meat often, I chose a tuna steak with the truffle macaroni and cheese. The tuna was cooked perfectly and the flavors in the macaroni and cheese were to die for.

If you have the budget to fit in a meal or a few drinks at Ocean Prime, I definitely recommend you go. Make an evening of it; enjoy drinks in the Blu Lounge and then experience a tasty, fresh meal in the restaurant. Ocean Prime has 9 locations: Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Columbus, Denver, Phoenix, and Miami. If you live in or are vacationing to any of these cities, try to save one night and check the restaurant out.

For more information on Ocean Prime, check out their website.

In One Year...

Lately, I've been thinking and reflecting over the past year...I feel like I haven't accomplished much but when I looked back, I realized that I have come a long way.

In the last year I

• graduated college with 2 degrees
• got and kept a full time job
• got promoted
• learned how to budget
• learned the best way to keep up with my bills and payments
• started and kept up with a good exercise program
• slowly began to put myself out there
• learned a lot about friendship
• realized that I have an intense work ethic
• leased a car
• taught myself how to cook different things
• got my mile down to 13 minutes
• stopped speeding

It may not seem much, but to me, they are definitely accomplishments and I need to be happy about them. I need to remind myself that I have come a long way and I can only keep going from here.

Music Monday

Download a free song from John McLaughlin here

On Spin! check out 24 summer albums here, 10 probable summer hits here, check out the best of Bonnaroo here, get June's free download here,

Check out the Friday is Forever tour dates here with We The Kings, The Downtown Fiction, The Summer Set, Hot Chelle Rae, and Action Item.

Get a free download of Love Letter by Shwayze, The Cataracs, and Dev here

Download Elenowen's single, Honey Come Home on iTunes

On Noisetrade, download music from The Cary Brothers, Luke Brawner, and Graham Colton and The Vespers.

Download the World Alive's Deceiver Deluxe Edition on iTunes

Check out Graham Colton's tour dates here and download his cover of Tom Petty's Learning to Fly here

The top 10 tracks for free download on Tweet for a Track are

1. Tickin' Away-Viktory
2. Save This Day (Ed Buller Mix)-Allistair Griffin
3. E.T. (Breathe Electric Remix)-Breathe Electric
4. Chiggy Pop-Los Esquizitos
5. Born This Way (cover)-Mat Musto
6. Fuck It I'm Young-The Dean's List
7. Mr. Funny Man-Christofer Drew
8. Favorite Song-Superlitio
9. Ni Una Lagrima-Joey Montana
10. Mary Mary-Walking (Ezel Remix)-Ezel

Tweet for a Track's top artists with free downloads are

• Swiper-Everybody Workin tha Label
• Sundowner-deepGroove
• Stars (Sinistral remix)-Electric Skies
• What's On My Mind-Kjae

At Daytrotter, check out new sessions from Nevershoutnever, O Giant Man, Groom, J Mascis, Dawes, Black Lips, Brooks Strause, and Brother.

Check out dates for the Anarbor and Valencia Do America tour with Conditions here

Confusion on the Golf Course

Confusion On The Golf Course...

A man, while playing on the front nine of a complicated golf course became confused as to where he was on the course.

Looking around, he saw a lady playing ahead of him.

He walked up to her, explained his confusion and asked her if she knew what hole he was playing.

'I'm on the 7th hole,' she replied, 'and you are a hole behind me. So you must be on the 6th hole.'

He thanked her and went back to his golf.

On the back nine, the same thing happened and he approached her again with the same request.

'I'm on number 14, and you're still a hole behind, so you must be on the 13th hole.'

Once again he thanked her and returned to his play.

He finished his round and went to the clubhouse where he saw the same lady sitting at the end of the bar.

He asked the bartender if he knew the lady.

The bartender said that she was a sales lady and played the course often.

He approached her and said, 'Let me buy you a drink in appreciation for your help. I understand that you're in the sales profession. I'm in sales also. What do you sell?'

'I'll tell you, but you're going to laugh,' she replied.

'No, I won't.'

'Well, if you must know,' she answered, 'I work for Tampax.'

With that, he laughed so hard he lost his balance and fell off the bar stool.

'See,' she said. 'I knew you'd laugh!'

'That's not what I'm laughing at,' he replied, 'I'm a salesman for
Preparation H, so I'm still a hole behind you.'

~thanks for sending this over, mom!

Shoegasm!

Friday's Shoegasm with Peace, Love, Applesauce and Boobies, Babies, and a Blog

Another pair of Lucchese's..can you tell that i REALLY want a pair? I like these because they are a little more worn looking; still would look awesome with a sundress, but maybe for fall since it is definitely up at melt your face off degrees down here.

I love these wedges from ModCloth. These would be great for work, weekends, and pretty much anything in between.

Fawk You Friday

Joining in on Fawk You Friday with J at Boobies, Babies, and a Blog and Christy at My Mad Mind

Fawk You's to

• people who talk shit about people when they think they're not listening: I was out with one of my best friends who is a gorgeous plus sized girl. We were enjoying lunch and as always, eavesdropping on the crazy conversations around us. She dropped in on a conversation between two men a few tables away from us. One of the men kept looking at her funny and then proceeded to ask his friend if he would ever date a plus sized girl. People need to stop looking at the outside and get to know who people are. When she told me this, I was absolutely disgusted. We don't know what the friend answered, but the fact that this guy posed this question while staring at my friend was just completely shitty.
• treat others the way you want to be treated: this is bullshit because it's not true...at least I don't think so
• no satellite signal: seriously if i have any more issues with my satellite service i'm going to explode

Time Magazine: Scientist May Be Able to Erase Bad Memories

A while back, I was browsing through CNN's website and found a link to an article from Time Magazine about erasing bad memories. You can read the whole article here, but here are some highlights:

The studies for this are geared toward the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; I can definitely get behind this. PTSD can be severely devastating and can really cripple a person mentally.

The idea is that there is a way to wipe out the proteins in the brain that cause bad memories which are located in the brain's "fear center". The concern is whether this is possible to do without erasing a part of that person's life and personality as these experiences shape us as who we are and why we do things in our lives.

If this study can be tested and be proven to work with positive results, I think that it may be a good last resort option for someone who truly is held back by their PTSD and unable to recover through therapy

I definitely agree with this concern. I agree with Kate Farinhoult in that our experiences which create our memories shape us as people. I could see how wiping the memory of how I rode my bike up a tree might help me learn to (finally) ride a bike, but what if that memory is associated with something that led to a really positive part of my personality and my life; I don't think that I would want to risk taking that away.

Music Mondays

On Musiqtone, check out Alan's review of All Time Low's new album, Dirty Work, here, Stephanie's Hot Seat with Ruby Summer here, Amy's interview with Secondhand Serenade here, a spotlight on LA-Ex here, and Vanessa Carlton's new song, Carousel here.

Get a free 15 song download for June from Spin! here, get a free download of the must hear Bonnaroo artists here, and their Sasquatch download for free here

Check out Breathe Electric's tour dates here and download his entire covers EP for free here

From Noisetrade, download music from Anya Marina, Quiet Company, Holy Fiction, and The Vespers

The top 10 tracks for free download on Tweet for a Track are

1. Born This Way (cover)-Mat Musto
2. E.T. (Breathe Electric Remix)-Breathe Electric
3. Fuck It I'm Young-The Dean's List
4. Save This Day (Ed Buller Remix)-Alistair Griffin
5. Mr. Funny Man-Christofer Drew
6. Tomorrow (ft. Jason Mraz)-Two Spot Gobi
7. Mary Mary Walking (Ezel Remix)-Ezel
8. Don't Stop Now Live-The Maine
9. Fuel to the Fire (live in Manchester)-The Maine
10. Long Way Down-The Endless Summer

Check out these free downloads from Tweet for a Track's featured artists

• Macedonia-Lid Emba
• Space Face-Crissy Criss
• Gasoline-Bellman
• Unentitled-Milestone

Check out Brooke Annibale's upcoming tour dates here

Get a free download of Shwayze and Cisco Adler's Butterflies here

Check out Peter Bradley Adams' upcoming tour dates here and get a free download of his new song Full Moon Song here

Check out the Ocean Is Theory's upcoming tour dates here

Check out Susan Enan's upcoming tour dates here

Check out The Last Royals' upcoming tour dates here

Fawk You Friday

Joining in on Fawk You Friday with J at Boobies, Babies, and a Blog and Christy at My Mad Mind

Fawk You's to

• CANCER-you took my best friend's dad
• AMERICAN AIRLINES-you kept me from visiting said friend..i am SORRY but "there's a shortage of pilots" is NOT an excuse for canceling a flight...have you LOOKED at the jobless rate...pay your pilots and follow through with your flights...don't say we have a pilot and that he landed and then cancel our flight

Shoegasm!

I love shoes, soo I am going to join Friday's Shoegasm with Peace, Love, Applesauceand Boobies, Babies, and a Blog

These are from Modcloth..they're so summery and so cute! I do need a new pair of wedges (sheesh, running theme much?)

Another pair of Lucchese's..can you tell I'm kind of obsessed? Simple tall brown cowboy boots are a staple and would look so cute with flowy dresses...CRAVE

Proctor & Gamble Supporting the Special Olympics

Those of you who clip coupons from the Sunday paper may have already seen Proctor and Gamble's efforts to support the Special Olympics this year. For those who have not, I'd like to spread the word because I think that this is an awesome and extremely worthy cause.

This year, Proctor and Gamble has a facebook campaign in place. They will donate $1 to the Special Olympics for every encouraging message received on their facebook page, Facebook.com/thankyoumom. It's so easy and for such a good cause; every child deserves encouragement and love, and this is why I love the Special Olympics. It brings these children together, builds friendships between them and strengthens the bond between parent and child.

**Disclaimer** I was not contacted by anyone to write this piece, I wrote it out of my own feelings about this campaign and pure want to spread the word and help support it