"Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer. You have only to persevere to save yourselves."
- Winston Churchill

Monday, December 26, 2011

Nailed It

I haven't taken any pictures for proof of my accomplishments, but I am proud to say that I did actually complete some DIY stuff I pinned on Pinterest.  I spend a lot of time pinning things and one of my resolutions is to make those things happen instead of wish online about them.

So, I made chocolate covered potato chips for my sister.  She's pregnant and totally craving chocolate and chips.  I didn't get the chocolate quite melted enough to squeeze through the bag the way I wanted, but the chips got mixed with melted chocolate and even though they looked a little creepy, they totally tasted great!

I also have a long white skirt that I got from Target for $5.  It's an OK skirt, but I saw how someone had dip-dyed their old skirt and I've been planning on doing it myself for a few months.  I did it this afternoon!  It's in the washer right now, but so far, so good!!!

I've also been loving the glitter tipped nail polish on top of dark nail polish.  I already had a dark purple color that I could use, but thanks to a Christmas gift, I totally pulled off the fancy nail polish that I've been pinning!

I'm so proud!

Now if I can just start working on the house stuff I've been pinning, I might actually get something lasting accomplished :)

Friday, December 23, 2011

Someone To Vent To

I have a hard time opening up to people.

There was a girl in high school who asked me if I ever have any problems.  I have tons, I just don't like to share them with just anyone.  And I usually choose which problems to share with certain people.  I don't give anyone just anything and I don't give certain people specific things.

I need to know that you have similar problems before I share mine, and if we don't have that thing in common, you won't hear me talk about it.  Unless it's in passing and not a true reveal.  I'm careful how and what and with who (or is it with whom?) I share.

One of the reasons for this blog was to force myself to open up.  What better way to open up if not the false anonymity of the internet?

I'm really annoyed right now.  Like, really.  My tendency is to blame myself, but I'm also trying not to do that any more either.

It's not my fault.

It will all work out in the end.  It really isn't that big of a deal in the big scheme of things.  However, is it too much to ask for someone to put me first? That's really selfish, but I feel like we all need that every once in a while.

Someone that uses everything they have to please you. Someone that puts you first.  Thinks of your feelings first. Considers you before themselves.

Not all the time.  Not every day.  Not just one person.  Just an occasional, "I knew you would need me today" or "you asked and here I am" or "I thought you might need . . ."

Everyone is human and maybe today is just one of those days where everyone is needing everyone.

I have a close family that loves me and friends that care about me.  I'm not lonely or sad or longing, just really annoyed right now.  I'm sure I'll be over it in a few hours.

P.S. Does anyone want to fund my dog's knee surgery?  Poor puppy!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

TV Boyfriends

Ever since Jim married Pam, my TV love life has been a little lacking.

I know it's TV.  I just like to suspend my disbelief for 30 minutes at a time and believe that there are plenty of handsome goofballs falling in love with quirky girls.

The New Girl isn't even really that great, but I do enjoy watching Nick getting frustrated with everyone being crazy around him and then pulling the emotional closure together at the end of the episode.

It's about time, because I was beginning to resent the fact that Jim isn't as good married as he was single.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

What I've Been Up To

So much!

September, October, and November were busy and now it's the middle of December!

Let me see what I remember . . . I did my cousin's wedding day luncheon, Zoe was born, I had a Halloween party, hosted Maryn's birthday party, went to Disneyland, I had a birthday, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas is 2 weeks away!

I took pictures of everything, but they might be out of order a bit now...

I bleached this shirt for my brother's birthday.  It's a direct quote from him, "I'm always at least two steps ahead."
 


    
I made this recipe book for my mom's birthday.  It has extra info and note pages in the back.  The list picture is the wrapping that I did.  I cut up and weaved old magazine pages together.
   



I made this for my brother and sister-in-law's anniversary. I bought the pillows, took a picture of Katie's head and then a picture of Jesse's head.  Then I printed each picture, cut out just the hair, traced it onto an old pair of jeans, cut it out, and stitched them onto the pillows.  It turned out pretty cute for having limited sewing skills!   



   
These are some pictures from my cousin's wedding day luncheon. I just ordered sandwiches from Port-of-Subs and made some salads and brownies, but the decorations were pretty cute thanks to Martha Stewart and the blogging world. I wish I was better at keeping track of where I get everything so I could give credit.
   
I made this tutu for Zoe's baby shower

ZOE! September 27

I made this wreath for the door at school.  Everyone's pretty impressed.  I just hot glues crayons to  an embroidery hoop and wove some ribbon.  It's great for school!



I made this tutu for Bubbles (Carrie's chihuahua) so she could be a fairy for Halloween.


And now for the Little Mermaid Birthday Party.  The decorations were so fun that we had to dress up :)

Ariel's Grotto with all of her hoarded items, including her Eric Statue.

The grotto in position under the mantel with seaweed for effect (Dad's idea, Mom's execution)


View from the front door. Thanks to Dad for helping me get the waves in place.  Thanks to Mom for helping me get the seaweed, fish, and mermaid decorations in place.
Our pictures of Eric.  They've become a permanent fixture!
Part of your...WORLD!!! (Imagine a huge splash fanning out behind Maryn)



And then we woke up at 4:00 in the morning and drove to Disneyland to be irresponsible (but within responsible limits - we are 30)
This is Day 2. We were T I R E D ! ! !
Responsibly Irresponsible - going on a ride that will make Angie puke, but doing it before she has food from the day to make her puke - even though she got close :)
Responsibly irresponsible - playing on the rails, but only when the line isn't moving



And then it was time to decorate for Thanksgiving...
I got these giant pumpkins a few days before for only $5 each!

Next Thanksgiving I'm hoping to have these pumpkins covered in glitter!

After dinner, we sang happy birthday to me and opened presents. I totally got what I wanted!


And now the Christmas decorations:









I think I might actually be up to date!!!

It's been crazy fun, but I'm almost ready for a few party free months.



Monday, September 5, 2011

Birthday Card

I've been trying to be more fiscally responsible lately.  I'm trying to make anything that could be purchased and thanks to blogger land, I'm getting some good ideas :)

It's my friend's mom's birthday tomorrow and we're meeting for dinner.  Instead of buying a card, I got to make one.

I just happened on to this card idea today!  Perfect timing!!!

Here are the pictures:
The finished project
Open card side 1
- Pay no attention to the mess in the background :)
Open card side 2 
I loved the card but I felt like I couldn't just hand it to her.  I needed an envelope.  Enter You Tube.  I found an envelope tutorial for any size card and a flat tissue paper flower for a little something extra.  I used tissue paper for the envelope and the flower because I have an obsession with tissue paper.

The beginning of the flower for the front of the envelope.
The finished flower attached to the envelope.
I wish that I had thought through to the end of the flower better.
I wish that the Happy Birthday print on the paper was easier to see.
The created envelope with flower (all propped up for a picture).
Below are the sites that I used as inspiration:
CARD TUTORIAL
ENVELOPE TUTORIAL
FLOWER TUTORIAL

I hope she likes it!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Blessings

I need to count my many blessings.

So, I bought a house in January.  Since then, I seem to keep making bad judgement calls with my money.  Why-o-why do I constantly overspend?  Because of this, I had fallen behind on all of my bills, not to mention my tithing.  I needed to renew my recommend, so I told the Bishop my money problems and he told me to pay my tithing and let him help me.  That was hard.

I payed my tithing on July 25th.  Since then, these are the blessings that have come into my life.

1) My mom was able to get another consulting job and she was able to help with the phone bill.

2) My aunt needed someone to do a luncheon for my cousin's wedding.

3) My sister offered to pay the co-pay for my dentist appointment.

4) After my brother pointed out that my front tires were shredding, my mom offered to buy new ones for me.

5) My next paycheck was more than expected.

6) I went on a date.

7) I found a free energy audit that determined the repairs that were needed for my air conditioner.

8) The air conditioner repair guy cut us a deal and my mom offered to pay for it.

9) The air conditioner was fixed before the record high temperatures started.

10) My pregnant sisters are healthy and happy.

11) My friend got a job.

12) I'm happy.

13) Maryn got some cash and the my parents and the Bishop are helping us to get caught up on the overdue bills.

14) My brother got some job prospects that will help his family.

15) I have a current recommend, I'm a primary teacher, I serve in the Humanitarian Service room, and I have a job that I love.

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I know who I am.
I know God's plan.
I'll follow him in faith.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Perfection

So I have a new favorite podcast that I listen to.  It's called Music with a Message on mormonchannel.org.

I LOVE it!!!!!

It starts the day perfectly.

I was listening this morning to an episode called Jesus Christ - Friend.  

During the podcast, the narrator quoted the Savior in Mathew 5:48 when he said to "strive to be perfect".  The narrator also said that in the Greek from which it was translated, the term perfect means: fully developed, to become finished as to our individual potential, and to have completed the course God has set forth for us to follow.

Thank you!

I love that definition of perfect.

It's so personal and individualized.  I mean, I'm someone who is happy with perfection.  I strive for it and like when people notice the perfection that I've created.  Not that I'm perfect or everything that I do is perfect, by any means, but perfection really comforts me.  Wherever it is or whoever created it, I appreciate the effort and skill it takes and can really relax in perfection.

But emotionally, I've been told so many times in anger that I'm so perfect, that it starts to make me feel like I'm doing something wrong.  Last year when I started to see a counselor, she referred me to Brene Brown's website: ordinarycourage.com.  She works a lot with perfection and since then, I've been trying hard not to think about my actions.  I've been trying to do what comes naturally instead of second guessing everything and thinking that my intuition is always wrong.

Hearing the definition of perfection from the podcast this morning really topped everything that I've been thinking about.  Emotional perfection is you living up to your potential.

Thank you!

It was a testimony building moment and I wanted to share :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Milk Man

Last Wednesday, I signed up for Winder Farms.

They deliver groceries to your door, just like the milk man!  When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was jump up and open the front door.  It was like Christmas morning :)  They give you a cooler, fill it with your order, and drop it off once a week.

Indy was scared...of course

I ordered a bunch of stuff for the first time because I got a discount for signing up.  I wanted to try out a few things to know for sure what I wanted to keep as a weekly order.  You rinse out the milk carton and put it in the cooler to be picked up during the next delivery.  They use local farmers and the baked goods come from Panera Bread Company.

Milk, butter, cheddar cheese, provolone cheese, cream cheese (I like cheese), oranges, eggs, orange juice, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and a box of produce.

Here's the produce out of the box- oranges, limes, mangos, red bell peppers, ginger, garlic, red onions, white onions, cucumber, and fresh basil

They sent a LOT of ginger.  Maryn got on the computer and found some amazing recipes to use it up.  I'm totally excited!!! Two comments that came out of the recipe search: 1) "We can make the chocolate bread and make french toast with it!" (Maryn); 2) "Can we just eat dessert for every meal?" (Me)

New recipes to use up the ginger:
- Ginger flank steak with wasabi smashed potatoes
- Thai style ginger lime dressing
- Pineapple ginger barbecue sauce
- Pad thai
- Oven roasted cauliflower with tumeric and ginger
- Chocolate bread
- Summer ginger cake

That's why we're roommates!

Monday, August 8, 2011

I Want This

So these pictures are what I aspire to.  Purple is my favorite, but I don't mind the Tiffany Blue :)

The hand and the chairs are so fun!

Giant clock, exposed brick, dark floors, chandelier- a few of my favorite things

I want giant barn doors!

I LOVE the wallpaper!

chandeliers, white marble, dark counter, white cabinets.  Yes please!

I love the round everything

I love black and white

Do I need to say anything?!

OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS ! ! ! ! ! !

I can totally see Indy spending his days here :)

Click HERE to see the blog this came from.