T-Swizzle

Today has been a Taylor Swift kinda day. The kind of day where you are feeling all angsty and full of girl-power. On days like these, I cannot help but crank up some Taylor Swift and let it all out. One of the things that I love about Tay Swift is her ability to vent in a healthy way. Too many times, I bottle things up in order to get through them. It is sometimes easier just to cover up bad emotions than to deal with them.

I love that she does not do this. If someone has done her wrong, she writes about it. She does not name names, but she does not sugar-coat things. In our society, it is often considered rude to speak ill of someone, and in a major way this is true. I do not believe in publicly bad-mouthing someone, or talking about someone behind their back. I do believe that if someone has hurt you, you have a right to tell them. You have the right to express your feelings in a constructive manner.

Taylor also has the ability to say something tastefully. An example of this can be seen in her song "Better than revenge". In this song, she is talking to a girl that stole her boyfriend. She says:

"She's not a saint and she's not what you think she's an actress. She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress"... Is that, or is that not a nice way of calling someone a homewrecker? Haha! Ok, maybe that wasn't the best example...but we have all had moments of immaturity :p

I guess I just appreciate that she is not perfect. I love that I can identify with her music. She describes experiences that we have all been through. Sometimes I do not want to be mature about a situation. Sometimes it is nice to just say "as far as I'm concerned...you're just another picture to burn", when someone has hurt you. Or, life-changing to tell someone "you are the best thing, that's ever been mine".

Instead of making matters more complicated, why don't we just say what we mean. When we are open and honest about our feelings, we give others permission to do the same.

Quote of the Day

Ok...I couldn't help but post that quote! I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard at the idea of actually saying that!

Perspective

Today, I have been thinking about perspective. Every situation can be viewed in soooo many different ways, depending on your attitude. I myself suffer from Obsessive Over-thinking Disorder, also known as OOD (I promise, this is a legit disorder..look it up)because I am sometimes so anxious to catalog my experiences into "good" or "bad" categories. But you know what?.... an experience can totally be both!

Today, I put the idea of perspective into play as I watched an episode of "The Office". In this episode, Pam and Jim are dating other people. There is a scene where you can tell that Pam is really missing Jim and wanting to be close to him. I found myself actually speaking to the t.v screen as I reassured Pam that everything would be alright. I told her not to worry...that she and Jim end up getting married and having a baby. Something that was temporarily hard and sad became something beautiful..at least as beautiful as a fictional story can be!

It is just so amazing to think that we never know where life is taking us. So much can change in a year, a month, or even a day! When you find yourself in a bad situation, you can either dwell on the negatives, or view it as a chance to grow. You better believe that there is always an opportunity to grow because with pain comes growth...without fail.

I like to keep everything in perspective by writing letters to myself. I shared one of these letters with you guys a few posts back. Well, I have since found a handy-dandy website that allows you to write letters to yourself and have them delivered to you via email on any date and year that you would like. How cool is that?! I went ahead and wrote a letter to myself detailing my current decisions, likes, dislikes, ect, and requested to have it delivered in two-years time. I love that it will be like a time-capsule :) So, be cool like me and head on over to futureme and get writin'!

Quote of the Day

My Newest Obsession

Dear Ryan,

I must admit that my addiction to you began immediately after seeing "The Proposal". Your wit and charm caught me off guard and I was smitten...your rippling abs might have been a teensy weensy factor as well...seriously dude, you have some amazing genes! Of course, I love you for more than your physical appearance. For instance, I love that even though you are obviously extremely dedicated to having a rock-hard bod, you still remain down-to-earth...telling people that "with most actors, temptation involves coke and guns.....with me, it's baked goods". This statement shows me that:

a= You are not into drugs and guns.....which would be a major problem with me

and

b= You are not one of those annoying celebrities that claims to NEVER eat anything that is not organic, whole-wheat, or non-fat.

Ryan, can I just tell you that I saw "The Green Lantern" a couple weeks ago and I almost had a heart-attack? You are probably one of the most attractive beings on this planet...and you are a great actor as well. I was sorry to hear about your divorce. I am sure there are plenty of girls that would love to be the next Mrs. Reynolds....me being one of them. So...feel free to consider my proposal. In return, I promise to provide you with all of the baked goods that your little heart desires.

Obsessively yours,

I have also decided that since I LOVE quotes, I want to have a "quote of the day". So, let's kick it off!

Quote of the Day

What's more American than............

Banana Bread...?

Ok, I know you were probably thinking that I was going to say Apple pie, Country music, or Baseball...tricked ya! Anywho, today, to celebrate our great Nation's birthday, I decided to make Banana Bread. I'm weird, I know. Also...am I the only one who thinks of The Black-Eyed Peas oppss..Gwen Stefani when I try to remember how to spell "banana"? "This beat is bananas...b-a-n-a-n-a-s"!. Needless to say, the bread was delish and totally hit the spot! Since I am ohhhhh so nice, I decided to share the recipe with you :)

Banana Bread

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3 bananas)

1/3 cup butter

2 tbsp milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional...but yummy!)

What to do:

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the mashed banana, butter, and milk. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and remaining flour and beat until blended. Stir in the nuts.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes (I cooked mine for about 63 minutes) or until done.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a BBQ, watch some fireworks, and be free :)

Called to serve

Today I am so grateful for missionaries. I am grateful for their sacrifice and testimonies. Today, we taught our CTR 4 class about missionaries. We called one of the fathers of a little boy in our class and asked him if he could bring his missionary tag to Church. When it was time for our object lesson, we "randomly" chose the little boy whose father gave us the tag, to come to the front to be our class missionary. His face lit up as he looked down and saw his father's tag on his shirt. I do not know why, but when I looked at this sweet little boy bearing the tag of "Elder Call", I got kind of choked up. I thought about how he too would someday wear a missionary tag and like his father, serve an honorable mission. I looked at the faces of all of the kids and could not help but laugh as they all jumped up and down saying "I'm gonna be a missionary too....me too!".

I am beyond grateful to belong to a Church that brings me so much joy. I love seeing that joy help and uplift others. I love that the Church is so service-oriented, that we believe in not just helping ourselves, but helping others. Watching my kids get excited about missionary work made me excited. I hope that I can gain even a little of their pure enthusiasm.

Today was also sort of a restless day. All of the kids were kind of hyper and clingy. I had about 5 different kids on my lap during the course of the day. Even though it was frustrating to have to constantly coax and convince a child that primary is in fact fun, and that it is not acceptable behavior to strip down naked (yes....I know, I'm a mean teacher) I couldn't help but melt as they would look up to me and smile, or play with my hair. I realized that these moments are what make up my heaven-on-earth. These moments make me happy to be alive. I feel so accomplished when I teach them something about Jesus, or when they can answer questions and I can tell that their parents are teaching them at home.

I challenge everyone to look for ways to help others. Whether it be through a phone-call, a note, or maybe a fresh batch of cookies :) Let those that you love, feel your love! Don't assume that they know how special they are to you, show them.

To find out more about missionaries, you can go here. Happy Sunday :)

Lets make something together..shall we?

As girls, we are always on the hunt for something new and cute. My newest obsession has been with headbands.

My mom was gracious enough to model some of the ones I have made :)

Sophie decided to get in on the action.

Today, I thought it would be fun if we made one together :)

What you will need:

1. Hot glue gun, or a needle and thread (I prefer the glue because it is faster...and let's face it, I'm lazy...)

2. Fabric of your choice

3. Felt

4. A cute button

Now that you have your supplies gathered...we will start by cutting 6 circles out of fabric. This will be the base of your flower. You can choose whatever sized circle you would like. I used this template to make mine.

Next, cut out 5 smaller circles, using the template that I gave you, using a different, coordinating fabric. I chose to use lace.


After you have all of your circles ready, the fun begins. Take a large circle and cut a slit into the middle.

Then start folding. Fold a corner over to the front, then fold over to the back..and repeat until you have one petal. If you are using glue like me, glue every-time you fold the fabric over in order to make the fold stay. (I hope that makes sense and since we're all BFF's here, please ignore my chipped nails)

Once you have all of your big circles folded and glued, it is time to assemble the base. I formed a circle, and glued my felt to the circle.

Then, I started making my second layer. Take your small circles and use the same folding/gluing technique as you did with the large circles. Glue those to your base.

After that, add a cute button, and you're good to go! I decided to tie in my base fabric by making a button out of that. Attach your flower to a headband, and voila! A new accessory :)

I hope this made sense...this is my first time making a tutorial. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Happy Crafting :)

Good Life

Yesterday, I was feeling very stressed out...like pull-my-hair-out stressed.

Lately, I have been trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for tuition and all of my living expenses at school. I have been feeling like nothing is working out.

Deep down I know this is not true. I have so much to be thankful for.

I look at other people that are struggling with so much, and I get angry at myself.

I get angry that I am sitting around feeling sorry for myself when there are families that have a loved one risking their life to protect our freedom.

I get angry at myself when I see ads for starving children. Really, I have been so blessed.

I now have a job, which I am SO incredibly grateful for.

In spite of knowing that things could be much worse, I still found myself feeling down.

I was on my way to pick up one of my bestest friends Holly for an evening out, when the song "Good Life" by OneRepublic came on. I love this song because it just makes me feel like I can do anything.

is so optimistic. I turned the volume up and felt exhilaration and motivation coursing through my veins. I sang at the top of my lungs and ignored the stares that I was getting from passing cars. Do you know what happened? I felt better! My stress melted away and I felt at peace.

When you're happy like a fool, let it take you over

when everything is out, you gotta learn to take it in.

Oh this has gotta be the good life this has gotta be the good life this could really be a good life, good life Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight like this city is on fire tonight this could really be a good life a good, good life

So whenever you are having a bad day, can you do me a favor?

Find this song, turn it up...and breathe.

I also recommend singing....VERY loud singing...and if that doesn't work, seeing "X-Men First Class" with a good friend may cure what ails ya :)