Throwing it All the Way Back

Recently I have been looking at old pictures from when I was younger. I'm going to say this in the most modest way possible, I was adorable. I honestly don't know what happened. Life was so simple and magical back then. I honestly believed in the mythical, spoiler alert, Santa, tooth fairy, and Easter bunny. Not only that, but it seems like I had no concept of embarrassment. Now I'm grown up, and am constantly feeling the reddening of my cheeks that occurs with an awkward moment. In this time of great stress and worry, I've decided to throw it back a little to some of my favorite memories of a simpler time. Besides, Thursday, as in throwback Thursday, is the fourth day of the week, and hey, it's fourth quarter!

Me running from a bear... probably

The first memory I'm going to share is of my family's so called "bear hunts." I have no idea how our parents thought of the idea, whether it was a tradition passed down from their childhoods, or we just had too much energy one night, but every once in a while all five of us would grab a flashlight, and head into our large yard at night to look for bears. We sing a stupid song that was both short and repetitive until we made it all the way around the house. Some nights we would even do multiple laps. Despite the lightness of it all, I was always certain that we were going to catch a bear. Even after an abundance of bear hunts where we came back empty handed, I felt there was no doubt that we would run into a bear in the middle of our yard. Looking back, a couple of questions come to mind. Specifically, Why did we want to catch a bear? When we were to encounter said bear, we would be empty handed, save for a flashlight. How were we going to capture/protect ourselves from this bear? Not once did we find a bear (thankfully), but I will always have fond memories my determination, and feeling of invincibility that came with hunting dangerous beasts with my family.

Second is another story from my backyard. After all,  backyards are places of infinite wonder and possibilities to younger kids. So in my backyard, we have a sand box. I'm almost debating putting that last statement into the past, because slowly it has become nothing more than a litter box for the neighborhood cats. Despite that, back in the glory days my siblings and I spent a lot of time there. And out favorite sand box activity? Flooding it. My brothers and I would build an elaborate kingdom, and then starting with just one small lake or river, we would start adding water features until it looked like the set from Water World. If you haven't purposely flooded, and in turn ruined, a small sandbox, I am tempted to say you haven't lived.

Lastly, I remember the nights I pretended to fall asleep at random locations in the house just so my mom or dad would carry me to my room. For example, one night I couldn't fall asleep and I heard my mom in the kitchen. I decided to get out of bed and lay on the kitchen floor with my eyes closed until someone carried me back to my room. All was going as planned, I was about to be picked up by my mom when Charlie (my twin brother with a most excellent blog) sleep walked his way to where we were standing. We asked him what he was doing, unaware that he was unconscious. He then turned around and walked right into our kitchen counter. Being young and short at the time, he hit his head pretty badly. I faintly remember him crying as my mom carried him back to bed, but by that time most of my surroundings were blacked out by my rage. I didn't care if my brother had hurt his head! I just wanted to be carried back to bed. Me being the ridiculous child I was, I stood there waiting for about another five minutes until I realized that my mom wasn't coming back for me. I still hold a grudge to this day. I'll never forget.

You think we are sleeping? Nope. Acting.

Sorry for the long post. I hope you make it through the large amount of stress these coming weeks. Just take deep breaths and try to remember a time when your biggest problem was getting the wrong flavor of popsicle.

The Key to Craftastic Chords

We all remember my snazzy friendship bracelet style headphones I shared with you guys right? Well, I thought you might want something similar to that. Especially now that summer is coming along, its time to break out the hot pink nail polish, and open toed shoes (boys included). And by that, I mean it time to let the light and bright things back into your life. How we are going to do this today is decorate some charger chords. Some of its pros are: makes you a positive and optimistic person by just looking at it, protects your chords, works on headphones too, and it makes the chord undeniably yours (in cases of sibling theft). Another added bonus, this DIY is even easier than the aforementioned headphones project! With a little time, and a very small supply list, no one will be able to deny your arts and crafts swag (it's a real thing, I promise)!

No Charlie, these are not your chargers. Yours are not nearly as fabulous.

The things you will need are very few: a chord of any kind, perler beads (bringing back those childhood memories), and small scissors (I used my mom's sewing scissors). Now that you have all you supplies it's time to start designing! Pick the colors you want, and decide on a pattern (like alternating, or just random). Remember, the more colors you pick, the less sorting out you will have to do to get enough of them. Speaking of sorting the beads out, I got efficient by using the self designed technique I like to call "insert creative name here." It just consists of grabbing a handful of beads out of the bucket, take the ones I want out of my palm and into the bucket lid, and placing the unwanted colors into a separate bowl.

A picture showing many of the techniques
described. Ten points to me for that photography
 skill! And five points to Gryffindor.

Now that you have the beads you want, it's time to put them on you chord. Use your small scissors to cut an opening in the bead, and then use the same scissors to hold the opening wide enough to push your chord into it the bead. Repeat these steps until your chord is covered. It may seem slow at first, but as you work out a process, you will soon get to a speed worthy of the Flash. I was able to finish mine in, give or take, an hour and twenty minutes. Try to beat that! Despite the blisters, it was a fun thing to do with my free time. Added bonus, binging on some Netflix is a perfect way too multitask while doing this DIY.

I hope you enjoyed what will probably be my last DIY as this year comes to a close. Just a reminder, there is still time to stalk, I mean follow, me and this blog. I still have at least one more post coming, and I would love to see your comments and suggestions. I hope you all live through the stress of the coming weeks, and let's be honest, the coming lifetime. Don't stop being incredible, and yes, that is an order.

Living Life In Color

Excuse the cheesy title, but I have been waiting to use that one for a while now. So on Sunday, March 29, I attended the festival of colors, otherwise known as Holi, at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. This, if you do not know, is a celebration of good over evil, love, and equality among all. It can be considered a religious ceremony, but I think everyone should go at least once in their life. It begins with a bonfire the night before, which I did not attend, but the following event the next day is when the clouds of color begin to form. People come and buy a colored powder of the same consistency and taste as flour to throw at each other. I can tell you this from personal experience. Speaking of experience, I wanted to share mine with you, along with a couple tips.

My title for this post does not get more literal than this. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

As I mentioned before, this is essentially a festival of love and happiness. The moment you walk through the entry gates, you can feel people sharing that with you. I mean that literally, the moment you walk in, there is welcoming committee of people with the colorful dust ready to ruin that perfectly white shirt. The cleaner you are, the more of a target you become. This, despite what it seems like, is not a bad thing. The more you embrace it, the more fun you will have. The best way I can explain it is that you start as a blank canvas that everyone contributes to. Not to mention the large number of works of art you will contribute to. Nobody likes an uncompleted work of art with white spaces, so don't expect to come out clean (my dad bet ten dollars to anyone that could). Never have I been so happy to have my face continually hit with rainbow dust.

Taking a selfie with my mom after getting powder in face at least five times.

Another one of my favorite parts is the atmosphere of the place. No I don't mean the cloud of dust continually drifting above. I loved how genuinely happy everyone seemed to be. The good mood was contagious, and I was still feeling blissful for the entirety of the next day. It felt like everyone knew they were sharing something special and unique, and just being there made you part of some exclusive club.

So artsy. I couldn't help myself.

The festival of colors is fun, but there are some things you need to do to make it that way. Th most obvious is wearing clothes that you don't care about (preferably white). While the rest of my family and I were able to brush most of the dust off, some was still left in my shirt. You should also where easily washable shoes like flip flops, or Crocs for the brave. When going to the festival, you may not be planning on getting hit in the face, but other people might have different plans. This means you should bring sunglasses for eye protection. Bandannas to cover your mouth are also an option, but I was fine without one. Also a must, a bag for your phone. You need to protect your phone while taking those artsy selfies.

I hope you decide to attend this awesome event in the future! Something that is also awesome is you people! That's right, you! Thank you for reading my blog! Challenge for the break, let go of your reservations, and have fun with something you wouldn't normally do (stay safe though, I need your page views).

Easter is Coming

While Easter may not be the biggest holiday such as Christmas or Halloween, I have always loved its bright colors, joyful energy, and not to mention it abundance of amazing candy. My favorites being robin eggs, and cadbury creme eggs. Back on topic, I thought that this year I wanted to be a little more festive than usual. I don't plan on going all out, but just small things to brighten my day. Then I thought, "Hey, I wonder if my readers want to be more festive too!" And so this post was born. So today (as in the day you're reading this), I'm going to share a few small ways to be festive in your everyday whereabouts.

1. The Computer

My desktop at this very moment.

So assuming that all my readers have some sort of device connecting them to the internet (kudos to those that don't and are somehow managing to read my blog. MAGIC), then that means you have a desktop, or phone background of some sort. Something you might already know about these backgrounds, is guess what! They 're customizable! In the spirit of Easter merriment, I have changed my backgrounds to things such as flowers, colorful Easter candy, and my favorite, bunnies! I can't handle it, it's too cute. Now opening up my computer to complete that Vital Vocab is as hard as I thought it would be.

2. The Room

If you are like me, then you might spend a good amount of time in your room. That also means your room is the perfect place for some Easter festivity. As you can already tell, I love Easter candy. Anyway I can convince my mom to buy more of it, I will do. So my first idea is, no surprise here, a jar full of candy. It's colorful, cute, and delicious. My only suggestion think about buying a candy you don't like, that way you aren't tempted to eat your new decor. Not a candy person? Try anything with flowers. You can put them in vases, or make paper flowers for a garland to decorate your walls.

3. The Bag

You take a bag or backpack almost everywhere you go. So why not take some Easter enthusiasm along with it. I'm not asking you to make a world class, hand sewn bag made from just scraps of cloth laying around your house. Just small things like tying colorful hair ties or ribbons to the zipper. The hair ties are perfect for controlling you hair in the ever changing weather that arrives with spring. That is, unless you like that windswept look.




You guys know the drill. Comment, follow, suggest, all that good stuff. Just make sure to share all your newly found gusto with all those around you. And while your sharing, share how amazing you think my blog is. They say there is nothing like "the word of mouth," except for maybe Easter candy. Help, I'm obsessed. I wish you all luck in these final days in the quarter, I'll see you all at the Easter candy obsession support group.

Polished to Perfection

Only some of my many creations.

So, If you guys know me, then you you might know that I really like doing nail art. It might've been frustrating for me at first, but the more I got the hang of it, the more calming it became for me. Not only that, but I love the satisfaction it gives me when someone asks me where I got my nails done, and their amazement spreads through their eyes as I tell them that I did them myself. I don't pretend to be an expert, but I think I have gotten pretty good at creating fingertip masterpieces. I did not however start out that way, it took a lot of practice, and a lot of failed attempts before I was able to make creations like those to the left. Working my way from easier designs to harder ones was really good practice, so I wanted to share some of the designs that got me started. And for you male readers out their (here I am hoping you exist), don't be afraid to grab you sister's nail polish and try it out, it may not seem like it, but it is an art form, and girls will be impressed by your nail painting skills.

1. Seeing Spots

I lined my dots up in an alternating pattern, but you can also make it random.

To start, I would like to apologize for using fake nails to show these designs, I didn't feel like taking off the design I already had on my fingers. Plus,  it was easier to take pictures that way. First paint your nails a solid color of your choosing (I feel that goes without saying for all of these designs). Then, to create the dots, you can put a blob of polish on a napkin, or any piece of paper, and dip the end of a bobby pin in. You can also use a tooth pick by repeatedly dipping the end in polish and letting it dry to create a rounded tip. To make your dots look three dimensional, start by placing black dots first, then placing more dots slightly offset of the black ones to make it look like a shadow. I use white dots on top for the best results.

 2. Beautiful Burst

I have loved this design with every base coat I've tried.

 This design takes very little time, and looks beautiful after a little practice. After your base color is dry, begin your burst by making a a curved line from the corner of you nail outwards using a striping tool, thin craft brush, or even a tooth pick dipped in polish. Repeat this to make the burst. After my first color, I added to more layers in different colors (white, and gold glitter), alternating where they were placed.

3. Fancy Flowers

I made this one simple, but you can add more flowers, or even vines.

This design is almost a combination of the last two. Start by adding five dots in a circle on top of you base color. To make the lines in the center of the petals like you see in real flowers, drag a toothpick, or a pencil through the polish, starting in the middle of the petal and ending in the center of the flower. Make a dot, or add a rhinestone to the center of your flower, and add leaves on the sides with a toothpick to complete it.

I hope you try all of these, and play with these ideas to make them even better. It can be frustrating at first, but the more you try, the better you will get. If you want more beginner's nail art designs, MissJenFabulous on YouTube has an entire playlist, and adds another video every month. Make sure to vote on the new poll on my sidebar, and check out the new page filled with DIYs I made that are too easy to blog about. Thanks for reading!

Brownie in A Mug

Mouthwatering image provided by Life Hacks

Guys, I have finally done it. I found the last straw that will push me into living the life of a complete shut-in. I may never leave the house again. If the title hasn't already given it away, today we are making the brownie in a mug. You may have seen the recipe in a manner of places all over the internet. And maybe you even thought to yourself about how one day you were going to make it. Well as lazy as I am, I finally did it! Let me tell you, that was that best decision I have ever made. So, get ready to channel your inner Julia Child, its time to master the art of microwave brownies.

In some ways I have made a very large mistake, this recipe is so incredibly easy that all you need to do is follow the instructions on the picture. Once you have gathered your ingredients, placed the dry and then the wet ingredients into the mug, and mixed it all together, it is time to place your mug into the microwave for one minute and 40 seconds. Here is a list of bad analogies to keep you entertained while you wait. To test if it was all cooked, I stuck a toothpick into the center, and when it came out clean, I was tempted to call it a miracle. In a total of about five minutes I had created my own personal brownie.  My life would never be the same.

Now, whenever I am feeling lazy, and want something sweet to eat, this is my go to dessert. I have spent many nights alone in my room, face covered in brownie, in complete bliss because of this brownie. I owed it to all of you to share this miracle that will probably end up making me gain a couple pounds. I just had an epiphany! If you took the mug with all the ingredients all ready mixed up, and put saran wrap over it, you could take it anywhere. Think about this, as long as you have access to a microwave, this could be a portable CIY (cook it yourself)!

I know this post was quick, but that is the beauty of it. I hope you all had a great break, and I look forward to seeing you back at school. Who knows, I might even see you with a brownie in a mug next to the microwaves in the lunch room. I love to try things from the internet, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks for reading!