a few of the crafts of late...kinda

Sooooo that one time when I crafted with Jess.....

I made a couple other things that I did not mention. 

Mostly because they were gifts. and gifts for people who may or may not read my blog.
 

One is for my dearest Kelsie.

Whose birthday was back in December....

and I'm so lame that it took me this long to give her her gift.

[i mean let's be honest...all my gifts were late this year, but this was especially bad]

 so I bought a hideous speckled frame at DI....

[who ever got the idea that that would add appeal to decor...I have no clue]

 so I painted straight over the top.

with a sponge brush. Then a gloss top coat.

 glued lace to the back...and tada!

an official place to hang those millions of pairs of cute earrings. 

and to my darling Kasee, whom I told I was giving a gift...this bad boy was for you.

 

Then one day I walked to school, with this in my hand. 

Tripped on the stairs....and well, the little guy couldn't handle my body weight.

and it shattered.

I still owe you one ;)

Quote for the Day:

[taken from Condoleeza Rice's recent visit/address to BYU]

"Keep your optimism. If you can't, then who can, and who will?"

Pink Sunday

Today was Sunday. 

I love Sundays :)

...even if our whole apartment struggles with getting to church on time. 

Mostly I always wake up fifteen minute before I'm supposed to leave. 

A friend was supposed to come over for brunch, then canceled, so I made brunch anyways :)

aka stuffed french toast? by myself? Yes.

Then pink lady cake for dessert tonight.

it was awesome :)

 

and...someday I'll learn how to use my remote control for my camera. 

then there won't be a camera in front of my face in every picture.

I realized after I made this post that everything I posted about was pink.
the strawberries in the french toast
the pink lady cake.
even the outfit.
Apparently it was just a pink Sunday :)
What that means? I have no idea...

Hope yours was every bit as good.

-Tay

Mystery People....

let's have a quick mystery people discussion. 

have you ever encountered that person who either...

a. you see everywhere or sit near everyday in class, but don't actually know?

I currently have one of these. In my case, I feel like I can't say anything. You see, I have this creepily accurate face memory. So if I have seen or met you once, I normally don't forget it. I figure someday I will be able to use this God-given talent for good....but I'm pretty sure about 99% of the time it classifies purely as creepy. So, when I'm in this situation I'm never sure if it's mutual, or if I can contribute the entire situation to my odd talent.

b. that person you know.....from somewhere....and it's on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite figure it out. 

this on does not happen to me often, so when it does it legitimately drives me insane. 

and naturally, it happened today. it's still bugging me.

well, today was blehh.

got four hours of sleep.

walked to school with wet hair [aka....frozen]

started not feeling good. [please not again]

found out I have an assignment due at midnight that I forgot about....

gosh darnit, sometimes we all have them...right?

and today I miss people. 

so many people I love are so far away from me. 

i wish I could put life on hold for just a second sometimes.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Theodore Roosevelt

Today:

I wore cowboy boots.

and it snowed. 

and I loved it.

and I came home to watch devotional and drink hot chocolate.

and cuddled with my blankie.

and made new friends named Jordan and Jessica on my walk home.

and have a really clean room thanks to cleaning checks.

and went to my first ever 8AM class....by choice.

[who says you can't be responsible in college?]

and am officially less than a month away from having a "2" in front of my age.

....who knew life could be so good?

Why friendship?

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."      -C.S. Lewis

This week I went to visit my dad's old mission companion.

I'd heard stories about him all growing up, and he teaches at my school....

so I thought to myself, I really should put forth the effort to meet him.

and I was so glad I did! We talked about our families and school a little.

Really nothing important, but as I left he very kindly said, 

"If there's anything I can ever do for you....let me know"

"I don't have much pull, but if you ever need anything, I'll do what I can"

It is such a reassuring feeling to know that there's someone on campus (aside from your peers), 

that you know is on your side and willing to help you.

Two things I learned from this experience:

1. The Importance of forming new friendships and relationships.

2. The importance, especially in college, of forming relationships with the adults who surround you. They love students, or they wouldn't be here! And we, as students, need adults in our lives. Who in college doesn't still feel like a small child most of the time? And we need the stability and wisdom of our teachers, administrators...what ever the case may be.

So I guess that's my question to ponder today, why are we here, surrounded by others, if not to build relationships with those around us? To build communities, not just residences?

What do you have to lose by making a new friend?

Go for it. Do it. It may not be easy, 

but it really is simple.

Late Night Adventures

What does Taylor Veater do at 2AM on a Friday night?

 

Something that looks a little like this. 

Buttermilk Syrup? 

Hot fudge? 

Sweet Cream Cheese? 

Crepes for the morning meeting? Yes.
Will I go to sleep tonight? 

I don't think so.

Am I an insomniac?

Possibly,

but only when I just need to get things done.

p.s. Peter Pan [currently showing at BYU] is phenomenal.

...so is the hoedown throwdown that our apartment learned last week.

My, Isn't life productive :)

A little misconception...

[Well, I couldn't get my pictures to work... so imagine a picture here that represents the best kind of love and/or relationship]

First, I'm taking a class called LDS marriage and family. All you notmormon people reading this [and members too], don't judge just yet. People have a misconception about BYU, well several actually. One is that they just want to get us married off. That's not the case, at least not in my experience. Rather, I think, they want to prepare us for what could very well be considered the most important decision we ever make. Think about it, even if you don't have the belief that you will be together forever with your spouse, they are the person who will be with you for the rest of your life. They play a major role in your future happiness and sadness and all of the in betweens. They will help/not help you to raise your future children. I remember in high school someone was bashing on BYU for being a "mating ground" or the like. My teacher happened to be a single parent. I was so grateful when she chimed in, "People could really use things like marriage prep, it's something you need to be prepared for". Not that I did before, but from that day forward, I never participated in wise cracks about all the talk about marriage here because I knew she was right. Marriage in our world is falling apart all over the place. It's losing importance and meaning, and somebody needs to be prepared for it, because our chances of making it are already 50/50. I'm doing everything I can to make myself the best person I can be, and learn how to form, foster, and keep all human relationships, not just my one with my future husband. I already know that I'm the 50% that's making it. No matter what. When I make up my mind it's pretty much a lost cause to convince me otherwise.

And you know it's funny, we don't study "marriage" in and of itself, we study things like repentance and faith and the kind of things that make you a better person and get you through the hard times. So there. Don't judge. 

"As we become full participants in the culture of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we become “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19).

"I testify that this is what our Lord and Savior would have us do so that we may become what His gospel intends us to be" -Dallin H Oaks

[Speaking on the subject of "individuality"] "Sin, on the other hand, brings sameness; it shrinks us to addictive appetites and insubordinate impulses. For a brief surging, selfish moment, sin may create the illusion of individuality, but only as in the grunting, galloping Gadarene swine!"  - Neal A Maxwell

Just thought I'd rant for a minute....

Little Miracles, and a little crafting too.

So Friday morning I went to the temple at 5...

the night before, it had slush/rained and afterward frozen, so the ground was solid ice.

I made it just fine, then I went to pull into a parking spot.

[For those of you who have been to the Provo temple you know the parking lot is built on a slant]

you may be able to see where this is going.....

my car wheels were headed right and my car began to slide straight into the truck next to me.

By some miracle I pumped my brakes as hard as I could and stopped 6 inches from the car.

I thought for a minute. Tried to reverse and slid an inch or two closer. So that leaves me... close.

By some miracle, a grounds crew was there and helped me push it out.

Tender Mercy.

Heavenly Father is so interesting in how he teaches us.

For me, I almost never get it right the first time. 

It seems like he puts perfect things in front of me, let's me think that I'm in charge and go shopping around for what I deem the "best", then allows me to arrive at his perfect decision, which was right all along. I wish I wasn't so darn stubborn.

On a different note, I spent my holiday well :)

Most of it was spent crafting with the sister.

Favorite craft of the day?

craft of the week: this.

Step 1: find an ancient ugly accordion lamp at DI. 

 

 2. Sew some strips about 2 inches long with whatever material you want

[i used a silky green sheet, also from DI]

3. make ruffles, they're so easy.

I didn't know what I was doing, just scrunch it up with your fingers like that.

Oh, and I ripped up another sheet so it was double layered.

Then I hot glued them on :) [them being the ruffles]

success. this isn't the finished product, but I will get a picture of that bad boy in action soon.

How did you spend your Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

[ps is that not the longest name for a holiday...ever?]

quotes of the week:

"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation."

-Martin Luther King Jr. 

"You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety's sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together."  -Jeffrey R. Holland

Some Favorite Things...

[current favorite shoes...]

Right now I cannot get enough of these.
They're like slippers, but socially acceptable.
So what if you happen to fit in while being extremely comfortable?
I feel fine about it.

[current favorite outfit...]

(a.) old man sweater. literally. found in the men's section at DI.
(b.) Slippers-I'm into comfort....see above...
(c.) $7 jeans- cheap because of a tear at the bottom
[due to my height I have to roll them anyways. it never shows.]
4. $5 belt from Brooke for Christmas.
I realized as I assembled it all how random my wardrobe really is.
Theme of my closet? Don't give up, there's always hidden treasures out there.
p.s. sorry about the awkward body positioning... it's a little....well, awkward.
But do understand, I needed you to get the full effect.

[current favorite quote/talk....]

"With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

this is where that quote came from. 

the whole thing is wonderful, i recommend it highly.

Compliments

Let's get real.
Everyone loves compliments.
Some people don't know how to react to them,
but who are we to interpret that as they don't appreciate them?
They do.
I do.

So on Sunday we had an awesome Sunday School lesson [shout out to Nate]
and one part of it asked for two roommate volunteers.
one was asked to then give a sincere compliment to the other.
It literally made my day.
Then some kind soul came up to me while I was taking off my dance shoes....
"you have beautiful hair.... actually you are really pretty, not just your hair"
Thank you Jennifer, who's in the 285 dance class after mine.

Seriously, be sincere. And honest. And never suppress a kind thought.

On exotic vacations and missing mommys....

Ok, sorry I suck at this whole blogging game lately. 

Mostly, I blame it on school.

When school comes around..... 

Well, let me give you an example:

For the past four months or so 

I have had somewhere in the ballpark of 6 missionary letters 

on my desk. waiting to be replied to....

so don't feel left out, I've done more blogging than I have writing... :)

Moral of the story: school kills. in the best sense possible.

So GUESS WHAT?

I  finally have cruise pictures to put up!

 

So, one time our family went to Mexico....

 We dressed up at night.

 And fully supported Brooke in getting cornrows.

 Drank lots of Coke light 

[how it is possible for it to be that much better than diet coke, we may never know...]

 Ate fajitas de camarones at every stop.

 loved each other alot.

 I went ahead and accepted the fact that my little brother is not so little.

 And watched him work it with all the ladies 

I mean, look at that wink he's got there ;)

 Fully appreciated the kissing swans and hanging monkeys made from towels.

 

Brought out the best of the 12-year-old hormones... ;)

 And took lots of pictures :)

 Mostly I hate this picture of me, but because they are all so cool....

I will sacrifice my pride.

And Brooke's for that matter.

Then I came home. To cold. And dry.

And I think my body must have gone into shock, 

because I immediately got sick.

You know you're sick when......

you nap for 5 hours on a Friday night.

and go grocery shopping to get a box of tissues.

And vitamin c. And wellness herbal tea.

 

But note the sweatshirt and lack of makeup. 

If not for being miserable and missing your mommy,

being sick might not be such a bad thing.

I mean, legitimate excuse for bad hair/makeup days?

I could use those more often.

Green Drinks and New Years spunk...

I'm sitting in a stairwell. Leaning against the handrail. By myself. Soaking up the sun through the window above me. My nose is sniffly and my head hurts. 

How is that possible? Yesterday I was feeling on top of the world, what with my green drink phase and New Year spunk working together to provide a feeling of bliss [ok, so maybe bliss is a little dramatic]. 

So, let's go through the two phrases I just threw out there. 

Green drink: [ps blogger.com....stop having such an issue letting me press enter and move down a line...] ok, so my fabulous brother in law mentioned once over the summer that one of his old teachers had done this "green drink" thing. We watched some videos about it. It looked...."fascinating"... would be the word to use I think. So he asked my sister, "Want to do it with me?" [mind you, this consists of stuffing a bunch of green stuff in a blender with fruit and "apparently" you can't taste it, but you get all of your fruits and vegetables?] My fabulous, fiercely independent sister replied, "I like my peaches and toast. It's the only reason I eat breakfast in the morning anyways" and the idea died.

Then I came to school, and not really for New Years reasons, but rather I-needed-to-clear-up-my-skin's-retaliation-for-holiday-partying reasons.... and my roommate mentioned she had heard about green drinks...

[[ding, ding, ding!]]

So I did it for a few days. Felt great. Skin wasn't clear, but wasn't worse but these things take time, so I felt fine about that too. Then yesterday I woke up with a tiny bit of a headache, but was really fine. Then last night the blender broke. And this morning I woke up sick. dang. but that's beside the point. I'm a believer in the green drink, and like everything else in my life, I haven't really known what I'm doing, just experimenting. 

ANNNNNNNDDDD....New Years spunk. Just wanting to be better? In alot of ways I guess. And feeling spunky? That's about all I can say about that. Do you ever just feel spunky?

It's an hour or so after the stairwell, and am I blogging in Accounting? Yes. It's better than falling asleep....

Next on my blog docket? 2010 recap...and Mexican pictures. Yep.

Past the Outward Appearance...

So, remember that thrift store I talked about??

I also found this.

a little tarnished? yes.

alot darling? also yes.

so with a little elbow grease, and quite a bit of 

Wright's Silver Polish (found at my local grocery store)

it made it into....

...a gift.

Where else can you find an entire antique tea set

(original stickers still attached)

for 20 dollars?

Something I relearned this week?

Look past outward appearances.

Why?

Because it's worth it. 

It will surprise you what you find.

 In more ways than just tarnished silver. 

On a different note, 

my skin is literally freaking out.

I went from.....

Utah [dry/cold]

to California [not dry/still cold]

to the ocean [warm/humid]

back to Utah [dry/cold]

talk about not knowing how to adjust. 

breakouts. 

dry skin.

no fun?

My goal?

Fix it.

How?

Vegetables, exercise, and moisturization. 

Wish me luck :)

you ready for me to post about the cruise yet...?

haha, ok maybe not [due to your intense jealousy]

but I will. soon. promise.

Enough for now. 

Happy New Year!

So Coarsegold has a thrift store.....that I happen to love. 

For many many reasons.

One of those being that sometimes [well...oftentimes]

i find little treasures like this one!

A jewelry box... one that needs a little work, yes. 
But I thought it was darling regardless :)

This was my work station in the garage.

Heater. Lamp. Lots of sandpaper.

This is what the inside corners looked like.
A little scary? Yes. 


So there was a lot of work to be done, and I set about doing it.
Sanding. 
Painting.
Antique-ing? [that part I had never done.. so I winged it]
I worked with what I had at home, 
because remember? I was only home for 4 days really.
that meant pink and silver paint 
[can you tell we have a household of girls?]
and pictures. oh, of course the pictures. 


And these are the finished product:

It was a gift for Aspen.

My longest lasting, absolutely wonderful friend.

All the things inside are either pictures of us, 

or postcards she sent to me in 4th grade or the like. 

It's silly, but I had fun doing it.

Hope you're already having a Happy New Year.

More crafts and cruise adventures to come :)

-Taylor