Just Couldn't Stay Away.....

Well I guess I couldn't stay away from playing the piano in my church ward for too long. I was released from being the ward pianist earlier this semester and was without a calling for a few months. It's been the first time since I've been in Laramie that I haven't had a calling in the ward. I found out why on about a week ago. I was asked to be the Relief Society pianist. They told me they were suppose to call me about 3 months ago, but didn't want to give me too much to do since I already had a calling (which I didn't because they released me from everything).

When I told them I didn't currently have a calling, they weren't too happy about that because they said they would have used me in other areas if they knew I was available. :) I love playing the piano, so these last two callings I had are perfect for me, even though I get super nervous to play in front of other people. Oh well, it was nice to have a little break, but I'm glad to have something to do in the ward again!

It's Been Awhile.....

It's been awhile since I've cooked a full-course meal while I'm in Laramie going to school. We usually make something quick or go get something to eat for dinner because it takes too much time or we don't want to go to the store. :) Tonight, though it's been long enough since we've had a fancy meal like my mom makes us at home.

Dani and I wanted to make dinner so we could eat while we watched WWE, which is our Monday night tradition since last summer vacation. For dinner we made some barbecue steak, baked potatoes, corn, and homemade rolls. I attempted to make the rolls, they turned out pretty good, but still not as good as Mom's and definitely not as pretty! It'll take some practice, and hopefully one day I'll be as good of a cook as my mom. I need to do it more often then I do so I can get better!

I'm so thankful for a great mom who is such a talented cook and has taught us those same skills! I would be eating frozen dinners for the rest of my life if it wasn't for her (Either that or I'd be a regular dinner guest at her house)!!

Getting Creative.....

As with most college kids, my room has always seemed a little bare and definitely lacked personal photos of my friends and family. I didn't want to put a bunch of frames on my walls because I'm pretty picky about what they look like and I'm kind of lazy about printing pictures out.

When I was home for Spring Break, Emi's room was decorated so cute. For Valentine's Day, Kara made her a collage of pictures using string, clothes pins, and black & white pictures. I absolutely loved it and have been wanting to do something similar in my room.

The Inspiration

I don't have a headboard in my room, so above my bed seemed really bland. I figured this was the perfect place for my new project.

I decided I wanted to have a word made of wooden letters hang above my photos so it wasn't just be a string of pictures hanging on the wall. I ordered my letters from Hobby Lobby. They're 4 inches tall and and 1/8" thick. I painted them with black acrylic paint so they match my other decorations in my room. Then I drilled holes in the tops, used the same string as my "picture clothes line" to hang them up, and hung them on the wall with clear push pins.

I couldn't decide what pictures I wanted to use, and I also wanted to be able to spread my pictures out so I ended up doing two separate lines. Everything needed to match because I'm OCD (just ask my family), so I printed my photos in black & white.

The Finished Product

It turned out exactly how I wanted, and it didn't take very long. It was such a simple project. It took less then an hour to paint the letters, drill the holes, thread the string, and hang the letters on my wall. It took about another hour to edit my pictures, cut them out, and hang them up. Only two hours for something that looks that cute? I'll take that any day! :) I think it adds so much to my room to have something most substantial above my bed. It makes my room feel so much more complete and decorated in the way that I'm finally satisfied with. Thanks Kara for the inspiration, I never would have thought of this without you!!

Great Friends, Great Weekend.....

After a stressful week of school, presentations, and exams, I needed a nice break. This weekend has been lots of fun and was exactly what the doctor ordered. Friday Dani, Stephanie, Ally, and I went to Cheyenne and ate at the Olive Garden after walking around the mall for a few minutes. We didn't think to call ahead and make a reservation, so there was a long wait  Excellent food, great friends, and a good time, makes for a fun night. After jamming out to music on the way home, we came back to our house and watched Wreck It Ralph.

I actually got to sleep in Saturday morning, which is something that doesn't happen too often here in Laramie. I spent the day bumming around the house, watching movies, and just relaxing. For dinner Dani, Steph, and I ate at Lovejoys here in Laramie. After we got done eating dinner and having some dessert, we decided to finish up the night with a few games of bowling. Ally joined us for bowling, which made way more fun. It was quite comical, I'm probably one of the worst bowlers in the history of the world, but it was still super fun and was nice to have something different to do.

School is getting down to crunch time, with all the projects and finals coming up. It's going to be intense, so I have to take advantage of my free time while I can. It was a nice weekend of great friends, great food, and good times! Thank goodness for good friends that make being away from home at college totally worth it!

Easter Holiday.....

Our Easter was pretty laid back this year. We had our annual family tradition of dying Easter eggs on Saturday. My dad closed the drug store early so we were able to spend a lot of the day together. Of course we had to have our traditional picture taking session.

After we finished our egg art work, we went for a cruise around the town. To finish the night off, we headed to Powell and ate at Pizza Hut. 

We woke up early on Sunday morning to see if the Easter Bunny came to visit. It was so much fun having Darius & Draya here to hunt eggs. Darius really got into it, and was so excited whenever he found a hidden egg or candy. 

When all the hunting was over, it was time for church, and then we came home to eat dinner because Dani & I had to drive back to Laramie unfortunately. The weekend went by way too quick, and it was hard to leave everyone. I was so happy Melissa & her kids got to come down to spend this time with us. Phoenix is just way too far away!

Slacker.....

It's been awhile since I've blogged, but not a lot has been going on. All I've been doing lately is going to school and hanging out at home. Nothing too exciting to talk about on here. This semester is going by really quickly. I can't believe Spring Break & Easter Break have come and gone. There's only about a month of school left, and I'll have another year under my belt. 

Spring Break was pretty laid back and nothing too exciting happened. I spent most of my time hanging out at home with my sisters. The last day of break before heading back, I got to spend the day with Kristen. It was a good day and was nice catching up with my best friend!

I headed back to Laramie, and was only there for a couple days because I came back Wednesday because Melissa, Darius, & Draya came down for the Easter weekend. It was so good to see them, and we had a lot of fun times. 

I got my hair cut, colored, and my eyebrows waxed while Melissa was home. She always does such an awesome job, and I love having a hairstylist in the family :)

We made a trip down to the drug store to get some ice cream and had some fun looking at all the merchandise around the store. 

We also spent lots of time with Kara and the kids. I love watching all the kids playing together and love on the babies. They're so cute. I may be a little biased, but I think I have the cutest nieces & nephews in the entire world.

It was nice weather, and my mom has been itching to plant some flowers. This weekend, she finally got to. Darius got to help and he loved it! I'm so excited for Spring and all the beautiful flowers, and seeing them planting made me even more anxious.

We were also able to spend time outside playing. Darius loves sports and so we spent lots of time playing basketball. These kids sure do love their grandparents and aunts! 

The only thing that would have made this weekend better was if Emi could have been here with us. At least she was off having a fun time in Hawaii with the Swing Choir.