F

I'm going to share something with you and you can chose to believe it or not. But this is complete honest truth-telling time. I have never in my life said a curse word. Never. And why should I feel compelled to? You can quote to me all you want about how the first amendment gives us the right to free speech. And that's true. You have the right to say every profanity under the book that you like. But you know what? It just sounds trashy. There is nothing more unpleasant than hearing a couple of ladies dropping f-bombs and calling the jerks in their lives SOBs.

Why do people feel the need to curse? Because it fully provides the effect of what they want to say? Because they cannot express how we are truly feeling without it? Because it just feels good to say? All it does is make people sound trashy. There aren't any "cool" points that go along with it. You don't sound any more intelligent. I think it sounds much more eloquent when people use euphemisms or quirky catchphrases they made up.

I am going to challenge you today, or really this week. It's Sunday, so you have a full week to try it out. If you are a full-on sailor mouth try limiting your curse words to 10 a day. If you are an occasional potty-mouth limit yourself to 5 a day. If you rarely utter a bad word every now and then, try going the whole week without saying one. For some of you, this could be the hardest thing you'll ever do. For others, you'll be pleased with how just a little bit of effort cleans up your mouth.

Why should I do that? I like cussing and I see nothing wrong with it.You may be thinking. Well there is no punishment that you're going to get if you don't attempt my challenge. No one is going to put a bar of soap in your mouth a la A Christmas Story. You won't be grounded. But there is a reward for doing it. If you take me up on my challenge, you will be one step closer to sounding like the classy lady I know you want to become!

We'll start with baby steps on this, there's no need to quit cold turkey. Want to make the challenge a bit more fun? Come up with one of those quirky catchphrases I mentioned earlier. "Fiddlesticks" and "Gee wiz" are personal favorites of mine.

One more thing along with this. I have also never said anything but "Oh My Gosh" for every OMG moment. Maybe you don't believe in God, but the third commandment states to not say the Lord's name in vain. This is one of the easier ones to abide by. Just be cautious of what you say. It's not difficult to turn that "D" into a "SH." So try to add this to the week's challenge. Trying saying Oh My Gosh instead of putting God's name in vain. You'll be sounding like a lady in no time.

Just remember: A clean mouth is a classy mouth.
Stay Classy-
L

Self-respect

According to the helpful dictionary.com, the word prude is defined as someone who is excessively proper or modest. This applies to areas of speech, behavior, and clothes. This sounds stuffy, presumptuous, and dry. Usually, the word prude is considered negative, harsh. Urban dictionary, while usually on the tasteless side, actually paints a good picture of the word. Sidestepping the first entry, the website defines prude as a girl with high moral standards and respect for her body. If this is what a prude is, then you may call me that every day of my life.

Respect. We've all heard the Aretha Franklin song belted out. I'll be touching on manners and respect for others in posts to come. But right now, I want to promote self-respect. You may claim that you have a world's worth of respect for yourself. Stop right there. If you wear cutoff shorts that barely cover your rear end or drink yourself into a stupor, you do NOT have an inch of self-respect! Self-respect is carrying yourself with poise. I don't mean with your nose up in the air or a stack of books on your head, a la etiquette school style. No, I'm talking about dressing modestly (not puritan style, but we'll get to clothes in another post). I'm talking about having good girl behavior (You don't have to be trashed to have a good time, trust me!). I'm talking about not throwing everything that leading women (Elanor Roosevelt and Susan B. Anthony
to name a couple) worked so hard for down the drain!

Have some self-respect. Don't sell yourself short of what you are capable of; you are a strong woman. Set goals for yourself. Seek adventure. Have patience. Set aside some "me" time for yourself. You can't respect yourself if you don't know yourself. I'll talk about taking the beginning steps in finding inner peace and learning how to grow as a person. This is just a beginning taste of what is to come, so come stopping by and remember to keep it classy ;)

-L

How to Stay Classy in a World that's so Sassy

Okay, here's the setting: I am sitting at a quaint little booth at a resteraunt, minding my own business as I catch up with a good friend of mine. We are politely eating our food, exchanging an enthralling conversation in voices just loud enough that the other doesn't have to strain to hear. This sounds pretty intriguing, right? There just seems to be a slight problem. Our table is not that far from the bar and there's a group of girls, sloppily drooling over the bartender. A slew of profanities is dripping out of their mouths as a part of their everyday vocabulary. And round after round of drinks is coming their way; just a warm-up before they hit up the clubs in a couple of hours. Timeout. Before I delve any further, if you feel you that you fit the description of the gaggle of girls above, you do not have to read this blog. I am not here to change anyone. This is for girls who want to improve their image. Girls who want to be better role models or have better role models. That is my disclaimer, so you can hit that little x or back arrow if you wish. Want to stay? Welcome, I'm glad you're here!

Please bare with me as I get this blog up and running. I am new to the blogosphere and wanted to give it a little try as part of a new chapter in my life. I'll give a little background information on me and then the purpose of the blog. I encourage you to come back for more as this is only a small taste of what's to come!

I am a recent college grad with a B.S. in Psychology. The moment you step into my apartment, it's clear that my favorite color is pink and I love all things girly. That being said, I don't mind a hard day's work as long as I can soak in a nice bubble bath afterwards. I'm a southern girl and a firm believer in southern charm. But this country girl has been bitten by the travel bug. I'm on the quest to see as much of this world as I can! I believe wholeheartedly in God and the love of Jesus Christ. However, I don't push my beliefs down your throat and I let you believe what you want. 

Now onto this blog. I am really saddened to see the way girls behave these days. Every skirt seems to get shorter and every top seems to plunge lower. Eye make-up is smokier and bras do much more than just a slight lift. What happened to the Audrey Hepburns of  the world? The Jackie Kennedys? There are a still few of these gems left (i.e. Kate Middleton, Julie Andrews) and I hope that we can hold onto the magic of class and poise. Jordan Christy wrote a marvelous novel entitled: "How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World." This book was the inspiration of this blog and I will be using some of Ms. Christy's ideals in some of my own writing. But for the most part, I'd like this to be an original creation. So I thank you for visiting and I encourage that you stop by again soon as I have more to share with you. 

Stay classy! <3

L