Oh time, how you elude me!

Sometimes I find it frustrating when so much of life happens that it won't all fit into one blog post! I guess that's a good thing for me, but not for the post or for the ones reading it. In essence, this will be my attempt to catch-up on all the missed details of the last month and a half while not boring you, the reader. And just a word of caution, this probably could be considered an Olympic event, so I may only share a couple with you on this post.

We'll start first by tracking back all the way to the beginning of September when two significant events took place. Number one: A girl's only trip to Galveston, Texas and Number two: MY 24th BIRTHDAY!!!!!

A group of seven of us moms and daughters all piled into a tahoe {can you even believe all of our luggage fit into one vehicle?! Now THAT was an Olympic event!) and headed out to Galveston for some good ol' fashion girl time! Needless to say, in between all the make-up and haze of hairspray, there was plenty of laughter, tears and tears caused by laughter! Haha! So. Much. Fun!!!!!!! We even had time to sneak in about eight minutes of beach time, lots of pool time and a quick streak around the condo {say what?!} Haha!! Kidding. Well, maybe. We happened to be down in Galveston about the same time a hurricane was stirring in the gulf so there was a bounty of waves and we {actually me} were sporting hurricane inspired hair-dos brought to you by the oh-so-wonderful gusting winds! Haha! You'll see what I mean in the pictures that follow.  It was one of those refreshing trips that, as one of our moms would say, "puts the love-tank on full." I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful, inspiring women in my life!

Now on to the big 2-4!! That's right, I'm officially 24 and for some reason, saying I'm 24 sounds so much more dignified and mature than 23! Haha! I have no idea why and it's probably all in my head, but I only have hopes that God has bigger and better adventures in store for me this year! While we were in Galveston, we had a mini birthday celebration for me and a couple of the other ladies who also had birthdays around the same time. When I returned home, Matt surprised me with a Kindle! After reading The Help, I feel like I've been in a reading frenzy! I'm rediscovering my love of books, so if you have any suggestions of any good novels, I'm all open!
As a personal gift to myself, I've decided to treat myself to the healthiest body that I've had yet! Which translated into buying myself a gym membership and trying to clean up my food intake to be the healthiest me I can be! Once again, any suggestions are appreciated! :)

Finally, one last thing about turning 24.....when you google "what happens when you turn 24," all you get are a bunch of online dating ads and something about urban dictionary making fun of 24-year-old virgins....in a nut shell, nothing worth reading. However, when you google "things to do when you turn 24", you get much more interesting suggestions. Nothing specifically pertaining to the 24th year, but I did find a list of 25 things to do before you turn 25! Much more interesting. I'll post my favorites and leave out the ones involving one night stands, doing illegal drugs and getting drunk. No thanks, Pablo, not interested!  The ones with a strike through I've already done! Kaykay, here we go!!!

-Live in another country

-Travel on the cheap: That means backpacking, hostels and unidentifiable food.

- Confront a fear. Moving to Oklahoma pretty much forced me into that one! I HATE bugs and spiders, but living here has forced me to confront my fear and kill them all! Now, I'm a spider killing machine! {Unless they're really big, then I leave those ones for Matt!}

- Splurge on an awesome pair of jeans....let's just say I've done that wayyyyy too many times!

- Make a real guy friend who really is just a friend. I'm blessed with lots of those!!

- Get a job working with food or clothes. Thanks, Buckle, for that one! Refer back to "splurging on awesome pairs of jeans!

- Figure out what kind of wine you actually like

- Take a roadtrip with your friends. I've done that many times over! San Diego, Moab, Galveston, etc...

- Try an exotic food you can't pronounce. Happened on the honeymoon and I'm pretty sure it ended up being octopus brain. Ewww!!!


- Go to a college football game and go all out. This one is half-way done....just need to do the face or body painting to complete the "all-out" part!

- See a broadway show


- Go 24 hours media free. I must say, I quite enjoyed it!!


- Skinny dip. Maybe it's an obsession


- Give back to the community. I can thank 4-H for lots of years doing that one!


- Learn how to do your own taxes and manage your own money. I've got the money management part down, the taxes seem a little scary though!


- Start a blog about your life and update it regularly. I've been really bad about the updating regularly part!


- Learn to drive a manual car. My very first car taught me that! I won't even get in to how many wrecks I caused!!! Haha!!


- Donate blood. I have a severe needle phobia...to the point that I pass-out when they draw my blood! Think I'll pass on this one.

DIY dress....No Sewing Required!

So I've been dying to try this ever since I saw a picture of it on Pinterest! Only one problem.....the tutorial on how to do it was in some language that I had NO idea how to read!! Haha! So, with a little experimenting and coaxing my husband to take some pictures....here's a tutorial on how to turn his shirt in to her dress!

 Step 1: My husband's shirt was an XL. I buttoned the third button down into the third slit on the other side

Step 2: If you're wearing the shirt, take the sleeve from the right side and cross over on top of the left sleeve.

Step 3 & 4: Take the right sleeve that you crossed over the top and push up under the bottom left sleeve so there's a loop hole {see picture below}.

Step 5 & 6: With your thumb and index finger in the loop hole described in Steps 3 & 4, pull the left sleeve that was on bottom through the loop hole. {Be sure to only pull it halfway through....don't pull the end of the sleeve thru....the part with the buttons. It helps make the other part of the bow!}

Step 7: Fix the loop hole and end of the left sleeve to look like a bow. 

Step 8: Pull down on the right sleeve to tighten up the bow.

Then......

Make it your own! :)  I'm thinking of pairing it with some leggings for a fun fall/winter look!

Hopefully this tutorial helps! 

Let me know if I need to explain anything better! Enjoy your new dress!

{non}sensicle

Happy Wednesday! Tomorrow is baby Friday. And today I'm feeling nonsensicle!

Here are a few things I'm crushing on....

Can someone please tell me where I can find a scarf like this?? I would be indebted to you FOREVER!!

Red pants....a must have...but first, I must find!

Nude lipstick. This one would be pure perfection! YSL - Sweet Honey

This entire look has got me reeling!!!! A wonderful new shop discovery: Ruche

Girly and wonderful! Adding these to my birthday list....find them here {Just please, oh please, don't buy out my size!}

Oh dear autumn, please come quickly!!!!! My wardrobe is in desperate need of a creative outlet!

P.S. 

Please click on this link: http:classyawards.stayclassy.org/classy-awards/voting

Then choose, "Most Innovative Use of Social Media by a Charity" for "EOR Project Gena (Ethiopian Christmas)"

Doing this will provide a home for Ethiopian orphan girls who are victims of the AIDS epidemic. We only have until Thursday night to vote....so VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!!! And tell your friends and family!

Thanks! :)

Ethiopian Orphan Relief

I wanted to share with you something that is very close to my heart.  I've said before how one of my biggest passions in life, even from the time I was a little girl, has been helping the orphans in Africa.  Once I had a steady job and was making my own money, one of the first things I was able to do was "adopt" a child over in that amazing continent! My little boy is named Gift {I know, how fitting!} and has been the biggest blessing in my life! I love getting letters from him with pictures he has drawn for me. {He sends me a nine year old boy's rendition of a car, goat, house and of course, a self-drawn portrait! How fabulous!!} Anyway, that's beside the point.  A few years ago, I was privileged to meet an amazing woman who started a home for girls in Ethiopia who had lost one or both parents to the AIDS epidemic.  The program is called Children's Heaven and currently sponsors 75 girls with nearly 150 on the waiting list to be sponsored. It's an amazing organization and has been making a huge difference!!



But before I go any further, let me just address something that I know you're all thinking....no, I'm not going to ask you to give money. I'm here to ask you to do something much more simple.  On Sunday morning I received this email from Hanna Fanta, the head of Children's Heaven, about the current state of the organization:

The Reception

Well it's taken me a year to post these, but I figured that now is as good a time as ever!! Here's a few pictures {and a few stories} from our reception....August 20, 2010!

I am sooooo in love with cameos!! I just knew I had to include one, somehow, into the day! And what better way than putting one on my bouquet! Have I also mentioned that I love our rings?! I LOVE OUR RINGS!! Matt's ring has wood inset into the sides of it, which fits him perfectly because he loves building things! My ring, well, is perfectly me! Read the story about it here!

Our cake was so delicious! We had two different flavors...coconut kiwi lime and orange sherbet.....fresh and delicious! It was even delicious a year later! {Yes, Matt and I bent the rule a little bit and ate our wedding cake a couple weeks sooner than our anniversary. But in our defense, we had no choice! My

Elephants and Meerkats

Every night, a line is drawn.  Not a metaphorical line, an actual line that divides our bed straight down the middle. Now, we're not prudes dating back to the days of "I Love Lucy" {oh, how I LOVE Lucy!}, but when it's time to sleep, we both like our space! Every once in a while {eh-hum....nearly every night}, one of us crosses the line and that starts a war that is usually only resolved by an intense game of footsies {i.e. kicking}.
Last night, when husband crossed the line, the usual "Eh-hum....you crossed the line" conversation got started. And after much practical debate, Matt looked over at my side and said, "Look how much room you have over on your side! Scoot over!"
"I can't help that I take up less of my half than you do of yours," I respond. He then looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Babe, in the zoo elephants get more space than meerkats!"
We both die laughing and leave the debate to be resolved another night.

This week dates a year that Matt and I have been married! I can't even believe it!! Marriage has been one of the greatest gifts God has ever given us! Matt challenges me in a way that no one else ever could and has been the greatest example of God's love and grace in my life. So this week, I'll be posting some of my favorite memories that Matt and I have had in our first year! :)

Thinking back to our first fight, I have no idea what it was about, but I just remember I was scrubbing the floor  at our house and I was so mad at him! The more I scrubbed, the more I cried and just wanted to hop on a plane and go home to Utah.  I had never been so mad at a person! But I also remember resolving that fight....Matt forcing me to talk to him and tell me every little thing that I was thinking...the good, the bad and the ugly {and believe me, there was plenty of ugly!}....then, he did the most amazing thing.  He gave me a huge hug and told me he loved me! He didn't run away as I wanted to, he stuck it out and we worked it out. That's when I knew, it didn't matter what we went through in our lives, we could get through it if we worked together and ran to each other instead of away from the problem. I knew God had brought us together for a special purpose! And now, a year later, whether it be fighting over our half of the bed or something much bigger than that, I know that as much as I dread the fighting, I love the resolving!! We always end up stronger, better and more in love than before. There's no one else's meerkat I'd rather be! :)

that time, again....

It's that time, again!

The time where I get sick of my hair and need something fresh and new!

I've taken on Kate Beckinsale {I know, she's lovely!} as my hair inspiration.

This is the color I'm considering:

And a couple more views because, really, who can't get enough of Kate?!

Gorgeous. Anyway, I've also kept the possibility of more blonde on the table. Husband is not helping with the decision at all because every time I ask him which one he likes the best {blonde or brunette}, he says, "Babe, you look good both ways! I don't have a preference." Sweet, yet aggravating. I am officially the worst decision-maker ever!!! To top it off, I'm on the hunt for a new hair lady because mine moved away. Tear. I sometimes wish I was one of those people who could go to Super Cuts and not care about the chain saw massacre that happens to my hair. But alas, I'm not! I probably am a little too picky when it comes to my hair. But let's face it ladies, if your hair isn't happy, then you're not happy! It doesn't matter how good your makeup looks or how cute your clothes are.....if you have a bad hair cut, you might as well not even get ready in the morning! {At least it feels that way!} So wish me luck, and send any Tulsa hair-lady recommendations my way...I'm on the prowl!! Also, suggestions on the never-ending blonde vs. brunette question would be greatly appreciated! :)