So I've been thinking about cutting my hair again but I can't quite decide what I want to do with it. Some ideas I've had:
I know. Doing this one would be scary and risky, but I kind of really like it. As long as it's feminine enough that I don't get mistaken for a boy.
I like the wavy layered bob look. Definitely a lot less scary.
Or I could just grow it back out.
I need your help! Do you think I could pull off short hair? Would it look good? Can girls still look pretty and feminine with short hair? Bob? or does it look better longer? Please tell me honestly what you think :)
-I've only been home for 4 weeks and it already feels like forever.
-This is what happens to my hair when I live on the east coast:
-Especially when the weather looks like this:
Boy did I miss rain while I was out in Utah. It was nice to come home to some.
But then there are also beautiful, cloudless, 70-something days like today when you get to do fun things like ride in the Jeep with the top down!
Yes, my dad managed to look at the camera and make that face while he was driving :P
And the nice weather makes me wish I were these lucky people:
Complete with canoes, kayaks, lime green short bus, and plastic flamingo.
-My little brother went to his first prom and looked quite dashing in his tux :)
-Teaching a Sunday School lesson in a language other than my native one is probably one of the scariest things I've ever done. Sometimes I just don't know how I get myself into these things.
-I've been eating a lot of salads lately. Mostly spinach with different kinds of fruit on top :) So yummy and healthy at the same time!
-I got to spend some time with my dear friend Danika before she left, going to her baccalaureate and graduation, since she has now finished college and is moving on to bigger and better things.
-I started my summer job this Monday as the summer hire in the US Army War College Library. It's a pretty sweet deal.
-Working at a library, books like this are the bane of my existence:
Yesterday I had a 350 page book with about 45 dogeared pages in it. That's roughly 12%. At that point, is there really even a purpose in having pages dogeared?
-I made bbq salmon burgers and breaded zucchini fries, neither of which I particularly cared for, but were okay.
-If you like Harry Potter you NEED to watch this video. It's the "50 greatest Harry Potter moments" with commentary from the actors, director, and J.K. Rowling herself.
So today is mother's day and I have a lovely mother who deserves a blog post.
My mom has taught me so much growing up. She has shown me the value of strength, patience, love, and perseverance. Even when I didn't realize it, she was always an example for me of striving to do the right thing and serving others. I love my mama with all my heart and I am so glad that Heavenly Father has blessed me with her.
"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be."
You may or may not have noticed but, there was not much in the way of baked goods in the last post. Never fear, for here they are:
{applesauce spice cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting} [I made these for Terra's b-day :)]
{macaroons for staff meeting} [these things are so easy to make!]
{butterscotch and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies} [for my last floor meeting]
Now I'm home with access to a full-sized, fully-stocked, real kitchen :)
{chewy chocolate chip granola bars} [they're like Quaker but ten times better]
{mushroom grilled cheese sandwich} [rich and gooey, this was delicious]
{white chicken enchiladas} [to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!]
Then my dad wanted something sweet, so I made him these:
{peanut butter-oatmeal chocolate chip cookies} [all two dozen of these cookies were eaten within a 24 hour period]
Having a real kitchen is a marvelous blessing and I am so excited to cook my way through the summer! There are so many recipes just waiting to be tried. Even if you don't consider yourself much of a cook, try it out! Cook with your mom or dad, roommates or siblings, or tackle a recipe solo. It's not as scary as it seems. Promise :) Most of the recipes that I have used or want to try can be found on my pinterest boards. Check them out if you get the chance!
That is where I am. home. I know, weird. It's been a pretty ridiculous last month or so. I feel like I say that all the time, but maybe my life really is just...ridiculous. at least during school. so maybe it's just school that's ridiculous...
anyway, it's so crazy that school is already over and that I'm free for the next 4ish months. It's been so long since I last blogged (only like...an ENTIRE MONTH). Where to start?
Well, as you could probably tell, conference is like the best thing ever. After that wonderful weekend, the next week almost killed me. You see...I signed up for this Lazyman Ironman at the beginning of March. It's something that student wellness sponsors every year where you have 4 weeks to complete an Ironman (which crazy people do all in one day). An Ironman consists of: swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running a marathon (26.2 miles). So basically they commit suicide by exercising. Now the program gives us 4 weeks, but between being sick and being a slacker I was left with only a week and a half and an empty tally card. At this point you think that I would just give up and realize that it just wasn't going to happen, but no...I wanted that t-shirt and I was going to get it...if it killed me. That day I started my two-a-day workouts which I continued until finally, on the very last day, I ran my last 3 miles and swam my last 9 laps. I then vowed that I was never going to exercise ever again (I bet you can guess how long that lasted...). But I was done. I finished it.
{right after I got back from the pool :)} [full card in hand]
That weekend I went to Ballroom Dance in concert on a date with a boy from Codie's ward and Codie and Erin. It was way good and was even better because one of our amigas from Spanish class was in it. The last day of class was that week (finally) and then I spent some quality time with Codie and Jared studying for our Spanish final. For RA class, we had to make a final presentation and we decided to make a video for it:
Thanks to Melody's mad movie making skills it turned out awesome. Easily the best one :P
That Sunday was our last Sunday together as a ward...sad day :( One thing that I do regret from this school year is not getting to know people in my ward better. I missed out on some pretty cool people.
{my ward!!!} [it's like playing where's waldo :P]
The last day of school was a relief but then, all too soon, finals. But now they are over. Thank goodness. I finished the semester unscathed, GPA intact.
It was my last week for the TRC and to celebrate the end of the school year my shift coordinator and fellow Friday morning volunteers went to Pantrucas, a Chilean restaurant, to celebrate:
The rest of the week consisted of checking all the girls out of their rooms and cleaning my room and packing my stuff. Packing is probably one of the worst things invented ever. I highly dislike packing. But luckily I know this awesome pro-packer named Codie who was sweet enough to help me cram things into boxes :) It's hard to see your residents leave, especially when they're as awesome as mine were :)
Here are a couple pictures that I managed to snag with some of my residents :)
The night before Jill left she came and crashed on my floor. Just like old times (the same night last year I was the one sleeping on her floor :P). It was good to spend some quality time with her before summer break. We even made some monkey bread!
My last weekend in Provo, after all our residents had left and all the rooms were checked and set, Lisa Melody and I went to Lisa's house to chill with her family. Lisa has 9 siblings and their family is absolutely beautiful. I loved the time that I got to spend there.
{on our way to church :)}
Sunday night we headed back to Provo to pack up the car and Monday morning we trekked to the airport so I could catch my flight back to my beloved Pennsylvania. And now, I'm home.
Some favorites from the year:
So basically, I know some awesome, wonderful, fantastic, amazing, beautiful people :)
I love General Conference. a lot. The two General Conference weekends are probably my favorite of the year. If you don't know what General Conference is, this little graphic here will give you a little taste.
This year I even got to attend a session at the conference center with some friends of mine. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, as was temple square.
{Clark, Melody, Me, Sam}
It is such a different experience to actually be there in the conference center with so many other members and with the prophet there. The question is always 'what was your favorite conference talk?' and I can never answer it with just one. My answer always consists of like five different talks. There's no way you can choose. So my top five would be: President Eyring's, Elder Hales', Elder Scott's, Elder Nelson's, President Monson's, and Elder Haleck's. Okay so maybe that was six instead of five... anyway... you should read them or listen to them or watch them and the other talks as well. They are wonderful, uplifting, and inspiring messages from men of God.
