What I Do When I'm Sick

I became really really really tired Wednesday night - like at 9pm. That never happens to me and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then, in the middle of the night, I started going to the bathroom a lot. I had a stomach virus all through Friday. No fun at all. I felt miserable and really weak!

Tuesday, I took my last midterm of the semester. I was exhausted from all the studying and went to Hobby Lobby as soon as I left the testing center. I haven't been reading for fun or doing anything for fun in a while. So I just wanted to do something that wasn't related to school.

I've been wanting to make a beaded applique headband for a while now. I found some pretty good instructions here. So while I was in bed all Thursday and Friday, I worked on one. I decided to make a mockingjay design to wear when we go watch The Hunger Games this Friday!

What you need.

1. First you have to draw the design you want on broadcloth. I drew a preliminary sketch on paper as practice. You can also just print whatever design you want and trace it. Our printer is broken so I had no choice but to draw it. Then you put it in your embroidery loom.

2. Then you just start sewing the sequins/beads on. 

3. Once you're done, you put a thin layer of white school glue on the back of the applique to seal the thread. It took a couple of hours to dry. 

4. Once the glue is completely dry, you cut out your design. This was the most annoying part.  I had to use my tiny pair of sewing scissors and it took a while. I would suggest getting broadcloth in brown or black so that it doesn't show much against your hair. 

5. Finally, you sew (or glue) your applique to your headband. And that's it! 

It was so much fun to make. There is something so relaxing about embroidery. There isn't much to think about while you're doing it. They're pretty easy and you can make any design you want. I'm so excited to make some more!

Pi Day

I've never made a pie before. I learned how to make my favorite pie ever (coconut cream) this past Thanksgiving with Aunt Jan. I'm petrified of making certain things, one of them being pie. They're pretty foreign to me. In Spanish, there isn't a word for pie. It's just "pie." There aren't any Hispanic pies or anything like them. So I didn't grow up eating much pie, other than McD's dollar apple pie. 

So I gathered the courage to make a pie on Pi Day. So corny, but love that kinda stuff. Blaine loves pies and he's always asking me to make one. He had a rough week this week, with a midterm every other day. So I figured it'd make him happy to come home to a pie. 

I found the easiest recipe possible for chocolate mousse pie and whipped it up in the break I had between class and zumba. It turned out OK. I didn't whip the heavy cream really well and the texture of the pie wasn't mousse-like as it was supposed to be :(  But the flavor was delicious anyway :) I liked this recipe because you use Hershey's chocolate with almonds. While you're eating the pie, you have almond pieces in it. So yummy! I love nuts. So the pie was supposed to be all fluffy...

Not fluffy at all! 

I'll be trying this recipe again for sure. And maybe I'll try making another pie for Easter. If I don't retry something that I failed at quickly, I tend to not try it again for a while. I'm such a brat. I hate failure. Here's to trying new things and yummy pies! 

RG3 to the Redskins!

So a lot of exciting things have been happening in sports lately. The Heat are doing well (can't wait for the playoffs). BYU actually made it to "the big dance" and surprisingly beat Iona, making the biggest comeback in NCAA history. But, above all, I am seriously excited to have this guy as the Redskins QB this upcoming season.

I didn't grow up watching football, so I became a Redskins fan after meeting Blaine. It has been fun learning more about football, the players, the rules, etc. but it has NOT been fun watching the Skins lose... a lot. So maybe this well change things up a little. He's young, fast, humble, and a serious athlete. He holds several records in college football and he was the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner. Basically, he gives us Redskins fans hope. We're so excited for football season this year!  

Heat Game

A couple of weeks ago, Blaine and I went to the Energy Solutions Arena to watch the Heat play the Utah Jazz. The Heat were currently on a 9-game winning streak. We were so excited to watch them play and thought that we'd win for sure. Well, we lost... BY ONE POINT. We were pretty bummed out. We were surrounded by Heat fans and didn't have any mean Jazz fans sitting close by (miracle). We were really looking forward to watching the Big 3 play, but to our serious disappointment, Chris Bosh was out of the game due to a death in his family. Regardless of the loss, we had a great time. It was our first NBA and Heat game together - the first of many, many more :) 

Lebron and Wade doing their pre-game handshake. 

Things I've Made (So Far in 2012)

I have a Cricut, but have barely used it (due to my lack of cartridges). It was my friend, Stephanie's, birthday in January and decided to give her a vinyl to put up on her wall. This was my first one and I was very nervous. But it turned out fine and she really seemed to like it! 

Earlier in January, my stake had a Super Saturday Relief Society Activity. It's a morning full of classes about everything. They had craft classes, cooking classes, home enrichment classes - that type of stuff. It was pretty cool. I went with my friend, Kailyn (thank goodness she's in the ward!) and we ended up going to a felt pillow class. It's a tiny pillow but it was fun to make. It doesn't really match with my apartment, but I do love the color purple! It was fun learning how to make the flower. It was pretty therapeutic. 

Like I mentioned earlier, Nina's birthday was on the day of our anniversary. I didn't know what to get her and finally decided to give her some decorations for her apartment. She had mentioned that she liked The Family: A Proclamation to the World that I had, so I made her one too. I've lost count of how many of these I've made. They're so nice, cheap and easy. I love them so much! 

Aren't they cute? 

So since I practiced my vinyl lettering with Stephanie's gift in January, I gathered up the courage to try making a sign. It really wasn't that hard at all. I'm just a chicken. I'm scared of dimensions, proportions, and having everything centered. I'm not good at measuring things. But it turned out better than I expected.

Now that I feel more confident with the Cricut, I might start investing in more cartridges. I want to make a sign for our apartment about family. Hopefully, I'll get to that soon!