A Pillow of Blue Bonnets

With all the weddings I've been surrounded by as of late - I began to wonder about my own future wedding and what I'd like it to be like.

One thing I am sure of, I want a bouquet of wildflowers.

It would be necessary for me and husband to pick them ourselves. We'd probably take a little mountain stroll a day or two before we're wed and march ourselves along some rugged trail picking indian paintbrush and blue bonnets and those cute little yellow and white flowers. Then we'd pass by a particularly awesome flower and husband man would pick it and put it in my hair and tell me that I was as "pretty as the morning". Then we would walk away into the sunset.

Commence your puking.

But it is true. And it'll be just as cheesy, if not more so than described.

When we got back home I'd just stick the bouquet in a mason jar and the night before we get hitched I'll tie 'em all together with some pretty pink ribbon.

Oh, love.

Lovely Locks

Vanity always was my favorite sin.

Just kidding, but I am kind of a junkie for figuring out cool new hair styles, and this summer I've been really into beach waves, and messy, braided hair.

Like so:

Kate Hudson, dang that girl can pull off beach waves like perfectly, every time.

Sometimes I feel a little shafted though cuz with my bangs some of these hairstyles just don't look as good. But whatev, I can still try.

I've done my research and from experience I can tell ya the best way to get beach waves, for those of us who are not naturally wavy, is to spritz your hair with sea salt spray before styling.

I bought this stuff - Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray from Wal-Mart and it works pretty darn good if I do say so myself! The theory behind it all is that it gives your hair texture. The kind of smokin hot texture you get when you just come running out of the ocean on a summer day. Like huzzah - Beach Hair!! Beach Babe Hair. I want to be a Beach Babe. So anyway, this stuff costs like 3 bucks I think. And if you're dead broke you can always just mix some regular salt with some water, but the above stuff smells like coconuts so I suggest buying it if you're into smelling good and what not.

The next step after sea-salting your beautiful hair is to take a medium sized curling iron, and wrap your hair around it. None of that clamp-and-roll business. Just grab some hair, and wrap it around the barrel and hold it for a few seconds. Just long enough to get a wave - cuz you don't want a tight curl. True Beach Babes don't have curls, they have waves. Messy waves.

So after you do that to your whole head I usually just spray some regular run-of-the-mill hair spray and whip my hair around a few times to AC/DC or something. Cuz I'm, like, totally a hardcore rocker.

That was a joke.

But just whip your hair around a bit, no rock n' roll tunes necessary, and scrunch. Messy it up.

And voila!! You have yourself some beach waves like Kate Hudson in the picture above.

Hello, I am hungry.

It has recently come to my attention that, like many of you, I will soon become a college student. With that comes certain responsibilities. Such as cooking my own food. For the most part I plan on living on Cup-o-Ramen, but for those rare occasions when I find extra change in the couch cushions I need to sharpen up my cooking abilities!

I'm no Iron Chef .

You pickin up what I'm puttin' down?

 So I gotta get myself all sorts of chef practice and what not.

Starving College Student Eatin' Recipe #1

Get your spatulas and elbow macaroni noodles out, people!!

Mac + Cheese Casserole

We eat real fancy where I come from. In case you couldn't tell. Anyway.

3 c. elbow macaroni

4 T. margarine

4 T. flour

2 c. milk

6 oz. cream cheese

2 c. shredded cheddar

1/4 tsp. salt

dash pepper

1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

Cook macaroni. In separate saucepan melt margarine, stir in flour until smooth. Using whip, gradually add milk. On medium heat bring to a boil, cook and stir 1 minute. Reduce heat, add cheeses and salt + pepper. Stir until smooth. Add pasta to sauce, transfer to baking dish.

For the topping: melt 1 T. margarine and toss breadcrumbs in. Sprinkle over your mac.

Bake at 400 degress for 15 minutes.

It is delicious.

Farewell Elder

This little lad left to the MTC today.

He's going to the Tawain Taichung Mission! Congratulations Elder Allen!

    Thus far I have watched three of my close friends leave to their missions. I seriously have never felt more proud than watching my friends make the choice to dedicate two years of their lives in service to the Lord. Such an honorable thing to do. I really look up to them.

    The downside is always the goodbye though. I mean what can you even say? Like - "Hey see ya later!"

    For some reason that just never seems to suffice. I really wish there was a word that meant something along the lines of "Your friendship has meant the world to me, I'm so proud of you for making this decision. I have enjoyed our time together and will miss you greatly. Love ya!"

    Except there isn't a single word that means all of that so we all just have to stick with "See ya!". Plus bending down on one knee and confessing all your deep feelings about a person and their friendship as you're walking away from a missionary open house isn't entirely appropriate. So goodbye simply must make do.

    I'm just going to invent a new word I think, that fits everyone's goodbye needs. Deeper than goodbye, less awkward then "I miss you, I love you... blah blah blah."

    I'll let you know once I think of it.