DIY T-Shirt Headbands

So today was one of those days where I was really bored all day, so I resorted to my old days of spending way too much time on Pinterest. I saw these really cute headbands and since right now most of my clothes are in Idaho and I need new things for my closet I decided to try them. They are amazingly easy and super cute!

Yup! It's that easy!
1) find an old t-shirt or tank top to cut up (make sure it's stretchy)
2) cut off the seam at the bottom
3) cut the shirt in whatever width you want your headband to be - keep in mind that it will bunch up and be thinner than you would think
4) twist it twice in the middle
5) fold it over
6) place on head and look fabulous

I have 6 new head bands now and I am so excited to wear them!

Washington in Pictures

Ben and Dad hard at work setting up the reception

The sunset in Oregon

The Waterfall in Oregon that we hiked

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens and my new Hat!

My friend Sarah and I in Washington

View of Seattle form the Space Needle

The Space Needle!

Oregon Coast with the Munchins!

Poo Poo Paper at the Tillamook Cheese factory

Our trip to the Oregon Coast; Haystack Rock in the background.

Seattle

The Waterfall we hiked in Oregon! 

Fight the New Drug

The world we live in is full of drugs and addictions. People look down on addictions but no one does anything about it. Well a group of people have started a new organization to fight the new drug: Pornography. Yes Porn is a drug, it's addictive and it ruins lives. This organization is teaching others how it really is addictive, how it negatively affects users, and how to recover from an addiction. I for one am excited to hear about a group that is doing something about this problem, I can't wait to help support them and do what I can do spread the word. You can help fight the new drug to and spread the word. Click here to see the website!

Lake Date

So as y'all know I'm in Washington visiting my grandparents for a couple weeks. Well, while I was here I got asked out on a date. There are no need for names but just think: tall, dark, and handsome ;)
Well the original plan was hiking, but plans changed last minute, and we went to his family lake house at Lake Cushman. I figured this meant swimming so I was definitely unprepared for everything that we got to do. From 9:30 am to 5 pm we played hard and let me tell you, I am exhausted.

--Listening to Beach Boys and Lord of the Rings: CHECK
--Throwing big rocks off of a REALLY TALL bridge: CHECK
It was sooooo gorgeous. The first picture is of my view from the bridge. Oh and apparently when you throw big rocks off of big bridges into water they make big BOOM noises. It was like fire works! Especially when the rock hit a cliff and exploded before hitting the water.
--Kayaking across a beautiful lake: CHECK
--Climbing down (and up) not one but THREE waterfalls: CHECK
Ok so I was NOT prepared to hike and climb, I brought my bathing suit and the only shoes I had were Toms, and if you don't know they have ZERO tread. So we climbed down these waterfalls with no tread shoes, I thought I was going to die several times. Did I mention that the water was so cold that when I got in I literally couldn't breath for a second. The hike was hard but so worth it. Once we got to the bottom we got to just sit in the sun and relax and enjoy the breathtaking beauty... And then we had to go back up. My legs are quite angry at me right now after all that climbing.
--Learning how to drive a boat: CHECK
--Drank mini Martinelli's: CHECK
--Swam in a beautiful lake: CHECK
--Had an awesome gospel discussion during the hour car drive home: CHECK
--Smiled a lot: CHECK

What a great date, and totally not a normal date that's for sure. I had so much fun and I am really proud of myself for climbing those waterfalls it's definitely something I never thought I would have the guts to do. But let me tell you, I wouldn't have been able to do it if I wasn't praying the whole time down those waterfalls. Another testimony to me that the Lord hears and answers prayers even the small insignificant ones.

SMILE!

Everyone deserves to Smile! Kid President is my happy-make-the-world-a-better-place-inspiration guy.  He is always talking about making the world a better place and being nice to people. So today I wanted to share his best videos with you. Watch them! You won't regret it! and then share them to help make someone else's day better. Enjoy :)

Awesome Year Challenge:

Change the Future:

Pep Talk:

Lets all agree on something:

Cookie Perfection

Everyone loves cookies and everyone seems to be on the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. Well, I found it! Maybe it's just the magic that comes with baking at Grandma's house, but today I made the perfect cookies. What makes me think they are perfect? Well, they are delicious soft and fluffy. They aren't the cookies that go flat in the oven.
We found the recipe on pinterest and decided to give it a try, so now I'm sharing it with you because everyone deserves to eat the perfect cookie right?!

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. cornstarch (the secret ingredient!)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f
2. In a mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract.
3. Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.
4. Stir in chocolate chips
5. Make cookie dough balls about 1 inch in size. Bake for 8-10 minutes until barely golden around the edges (the tops won't brown, but do not cook longer than 10 minutes).
6. Let cool on sheet for for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to finish cooling on rack. Makes about 3 dozen.
7. Enjoy and share!

I would upload pictures but I don't have any 3G service here so I can't upload my pictures from my phone. So you will just have to make them and see how beautiful they are yourself! 

Be Bold in Your Faith

I love following other blogs, one of my favorites is called "Savor his Goodness" by Caitlin Rose. I don't even know how I found it, but I love it! She is so faithful and profound and I love reading what she has to say. This post was from last week, but I loved it so I decided to share it. Hopefully you get as much out of it as I did!

A Lesson from the Older Folks: Be Bold in Your Faith

I have loved working with older adults for the past two months. If there's anything I've really admired about them, it's how bold so many of them are with their faith. The ones who love the Lord are not afraid to share it with anyone who will listen, living out Romans 1:6 ("For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  For it is the power of God unto salvation for all believers, the Jew first, and the Greeks") 

These are just some of the things patients have said:

• "The Lord promised in his Word that He will never leave us or forsake us. He's always by our side, and there's a reason for everything, even if the only reason is to strengthen our relationship with Him."
• "I know I'm going to get better, but it will only be with the help of the Lord." 
• "I have been improving a little bit every single day, and I owe it all to the Lord." 
• "Every good thing comes from God." 
• When asking a 100+ year old the secret to living to 100: "I have put God first throughout my whole life, and in return he has been so good to me.  I wake up every morning and thank him for waking me up to see a new day and for helping me with everything I need to do." 
• There are frequent exclamations of "God is so good,"  "Praise the Lord," and "Thanks be to God!" 
• There are also frequent prayers: "Please Lord, just help me do this!"  And these prayers are said in a sincere way, not how some people exclaim things like "God help us all!" 

Picture source

I don't know whether it's because of their age and experiences or because of their culture, but these adults have no inhibitions about sharing their faith.  There are no worries about whether or not they're talking to people who don't believe in God, and they have no fears of rejection.  They share what's on their hearts, and they want everyone to see how good God is. 

So why am I so reserved and timid about sharing my faith?  I have no problem talking with my husband and close friends about it and sharing it on the Internet (I mean, duh, I have a blog), but why not in day to day conversations, even with people I don't know?   Is it an age thing or a personality thing? 

I guess part of it comes from worrying about imposing my faith on others who aren't believers and causing offense.  But is it really imposing or offensive to share where my joy comes from?  Sharing in a way that doesn't come off as you should believe this, but the way my patients go about doing it in showing how God is working in their lives.  

While I obviously can't bring up religion on fieldwork unless a patient starts the conversation,  I am trying to figure out how I can become more bold and fearless in sharing my faith.  I suppose a start could be bringing it up with strangers.  If a stranger congratulates me on my pregnancy, I could respond with something like "Thank you so much. God has truly blessed us!"  Other than that, I am giving it some thought as to how I can be more open.  

After all, we are all called to spread the Word.

"And he said to them 'Go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.' "

- Mark 16:15 

How do you go about sharing your faith with others?  Do you talk about your faith with strangers? Do you wait for someone else to bring it up before you talk about it?