The One Where She Rambles Incessantly About Nothing

Obviously life gets a little too crazy for me once I start dating someone, so I let things slide... Like my blog. Poor little guy (since when has my blog had a gender?) hasn't had some love in over three months. Sorry about it.

I'm sorry for the hod-podge-y-ness (like that word?) of the following post, but somethings just need to be said. 

Well. It's been a crazy few months. The high(and low)lights are as follows.

A new semester started. I loved my classes. My teachers were great.

Two and a half months later, I hate my classes. My teachers are awful. But my TELL class is OVER!! It's a happy day. My Wednesdays will be a blessed day for the rest of the semester. I am now down to 11 credits! But I just signed up for an Independent Study class, so I could technically argue that I'm still at 14 credits....

I went to Park City!! It was pretty great just to get out of Provo for a couple days, even if we didn't do anything particularly exciting.

My car got broken into. Nothing important was stolen. Just a silly flashlight and my air compressor to fill up my tires. Suck on that, thieves! I don't keep anything important in my car! With that being said, I was still very shaken up the day I found my car completely ransacked. Just the thought of someone else being in my car, looking through all my belongings, leaving their nasty ominous presence in my car for days to come. It was awful. I didn't want to drive my car for a good week. I just felt sick when I was inside it. Still do sometimes. Moral of the story, I am so blessed to have a momma who raised me not to keep anything important in my car. Love her.

Imagine Dragons. One week. From today. I. am. dying.

Winter is almost officially over!!! The weather this week has been ah-mazing. This is what winter should be like. Below freezing mornings that warm up into 50+ afternoons. I can dig.

Kim graduated Basic Training for the NAVY! So proud of that girl. I would not be able to do half the stuff she's had to in the past 8 weeks, let alone all the things she'll do once she gets into her field.

Everyone and their mom is going on a mission, y'all. I can't take it!! This is how I feel...

but really. It's hard not to be selfish and get sad that my friends are leaving me to serve the Lord, but at the same time I know that they will do great things as they sacrifice their time and so much more to bring more people unto Christ. I'm grateful for the righteous example of all of my friends that make me want to be a better person. I've realized a lot lately just how blessed I have been to meet the people that I have and to develop the lasting friendships that mean so much to me.

I've started cooking more. That's exciting. Mostly it's not for my own benefit though. It's to impress feed Spencer. I am quite proud to say that I haven't had a cooking disaster yet! Nothing's been inedible or burnt or nasty! What can I say, I'm a good cook. Though when Spencer and I cook together he claims he's the head chef and I'm the sous chef. Psh. Yeah right. 

And that's all folks. Life's been exciting. So, so exciting (she says as she dreads the start of a weekend full of homework)... Can I just say that I am stoked for Spring/Summer when I will have no one itty-bitty online class and tons some free time after work! Here's to finding a job!

Today.

Today I am reminded of life and love, two of great things our Heavenly Father has blessed us with.

Today I am reminded of how precious our life is, and the time we can spend with our loved ones.

Today I am reminded of the love of our Heavenly Father in creating the Plan of Salvation.

Today I am reminded of the miracle of temple ordinances, and families being sealed together forever.

Today I am reminded of my life and the love I can give every day.

Today I am reminded of you.

Throwback

Have you ever had an overwhelming amount of flashbacks?? Well that just happened to me when I scrolled through this list. That picture of Pappy DreWitt?? Yeah, I thought I made that show up because for the life of me I couldn't explain it well enough to do a Google search or find another person who watched this show. Seriously, this show was the reason I could even remotely draw in elementary school. Pappyland. Happy, happy days.

Check out this list.  It sure felt good realizing I wasn't the only one who felt that way about 90's games, tv shows and toys.

It's good to know that that part of my childhood is documented SOMEWHERE. Even though it's not by me, nor fully complete.

SNOW.

Wellllll. I guess summer's finally over.

I woke up Saturday morning to this. Okay fine, most of it was there Friday night when I went to sleep, but still, it was quite the surprise to look outside and see EVERYTHING covered in white. For about 5 minutes, I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Then I realized that I had to drive around in it, walk in it...then I hated it. Winter is here folks. A month early. Can't it be fall for just a weeeee bit longer?? I'm still living on the summer-high.

Love It or Hate It

It's been way too long my friends. Probably long enough that you have forgotten that this is a tradition of mine. But I have news for you. Today's post is the special Love it or Hate it Edition!!

Love it:

• When your non-LDS friends unknowingly repin LDS pins on Pinterest. Did you know you were sharing the Gospel today??
• This weather!! Can all of November please be 55-60* and sunny? PLEASE?
• Weekends.
• Time Out for Women. This session was absolutely amazing. There will be a blog post entirely dedicated to it, just you wait.
• The Conference Ensign. And just conference in general (<---you see what I did there?).
• The Holidays. Yep. My favorite time of year.
• Two weeks til vacation!! Monday AND Friday classes being cancelled = happy Kristen with a long Thanksgiving break
• Parents coming this month!
• 5k tomorrow!
• Receiving and completing 90% of a test in the same day!! 6 days before it's due
• Sleeping in tomorrow.
• and as sad as it sounds, having nothing to do on a Friday night. Sometimes it's refreshing, you know? To have no responsibilities and to just relax in the comfort of your own home. And I can be in bed at a decent time and still have a productive Saturday. Win win win win win (yes I realize there were only about three "wins" in this situation. I just felt like going on...)
• Fast Sunday this weekend. Who would have ever thought that I would appreciate fasting?? Okay, maybe I'm more excited for the testimony meeting, but still. They're one and the same right? But really, I'm wishing away my Saturday already so that I can be spiritually nourished on Sunday! 
• Indexing.
• Blogging epiphanies. Like the fact that I absolutely love rereading my old posts, even if they were from a month ago, and realizing that I need to be better at blogging more regularly.
• The Holidays!! Seriously, I just can't wait. Also I noticed that I blogged about my excitement for Christmas before my excitement for Fall. Backwards much? 

Hate it:

• Eating a sandwich/wrap with onions. Then smelling like onions. At least it tasted good, right? (Not sure it was worth it...my hands reek). TMI, oh well.
• Group projects. Seriously can't I just do it by myself??
• The week from Hades. Good thing it's two days away.
• When indexing freezes on my computer and the whole world seems like it is going to end then you have to shut down your computer to exit out of it then you waste ten minutes waiting for it to restart so that you can log back in and save more lives as you extract names from census reports and passenger lists. Yes, sometimes I like to create exaggerated run-on sentences because I like the breathy-ness of the voice in my head. I'm not weird. This is normal.

So yeah. I must be in a grateful mood because I just can't think of things to complain about!! (<except for this. Clearly I can complain about anything... like not having anything worth complaining over)

Sometimes You Just Have to Break Out in Song.

As of late, my Glee-addiction has resurfaced. It's kind of embarrassing. But not as embarrassing as how I tripped and fell and almost face-planted on nothing and and skinned my knee and it almost got infected and yeah, Glee-addiction is looking pretty good right now. I'm two episodes from caught up, which hasn't happened since...ever. I'm quite proud of myself.

So Glee. I'm kind of obsessing. I forgot how much I love this show. Yeah it's dramatic and often times very juvenile, but that's why I love it!! I don't really have to think when I watch it. In fact, most times I do homework while I watch it. It's pretty great. The script is hilarious, the music is fantastic, the dancing is energetic, Darren Criss is super attractive at everything he does, what more could you ask for??

And when they did a cover of this song?

Yeah I geeked out a little. Cue cheesy grin.




Would it really be that weird if we all randomly broke out in song? I think not. So when I burst out in the words to "22" by Taylor Swift (because that's my current favorite song, you know), please join along and don't stare at me like I'm a weirdo. It's normal, okay? They do it on Glee all the time...

"Dear Friend, I'm Sorry I Haven't Written in Awhile, But I've Been Trying Hard to Not be a Loser"

Oh my goodness gracious. I love when movies change your perspective on life. I love when you walk out of the movie theatre feeling overwhelmed with emotion and the vigor to change the world. Or at least your small little section of the world.

Perks of Being a Wallflower.

So dang GOOD!

I was a little worried throughout a few parts of the movie that I had gotten myself into a scenario where I'd have to walk out of the theatre for inappropriate content (though Emily's rave reviews should have been enough to tell me otherwise), but ladies and gents, stick this one out, this movie is fantastic.


This movie is so much more than a coming-of-age story of a boy in high school. This 15 year old boy taught me more in an hour and a half about love and life than I have learned in 20 years!

Lesson number one:

Sam: "Why do I and everyone pick people who treat us like we're nothing?"
Charlie: "We accept the love we think we deserve."

The lesson is simple. You deserve the infinite love of someone who would do anything for you. You deserve the best kind of love, unconditional and everlasting. You deserved to be loved. You deserve to be loved a love that's greater than words.

Lesson number two:

"I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening, I am here...You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder...And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."

Live your life for today. Don't live it in hope of tomorrow. Tomorrow will come, undoubtedly, but live in your today. Because one day, these todays will all be yesterdays and it will just be a memory. Make good memories, and make them last. And as President Uchtdorf said, "Life is not a race; it's a journey. Enjoy the moment."



Have you ever wished you had your journal with you during a movie? Because that definitely just happened to me.

The acting in this movie is phenomenal. The cinematography is exceptional. The dialogue is extremely quotable. What more can you ask for?? This movie is amazing.

Go see this movie. Bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring the rando guy on the street (and bring your journal and a box of tissues).

FALL!

Oh my goodness gracious. Why can't it just be cold already? I know, I know, I just barely posted about Christmas. I just can't get the cold weather out of my head!! I brought my fall/winter closes down from my aunt's this past weekend, and I just want to break out my cold weather outfits!! They are yearning to be worn!! I have tights that want to cover my legs, scarves that want to comfort my neck, and sweaters to protect my arms!! My Pinterest-craze has all but died, but when I do go on, all I see is FALL CLOTHING!! Okay, sure other stuff occupies the boards, but I filter out everything but fall clothes!! Can I just wear my cold weather outfits and that be normal? Yeah? Perfect. Boot socks and tights on Sunday. Speaking of boots...can I have another pair please? My 6 isn't enough...

This is me. Not really but use your imagination.

photo courtesy of Pinterest

This is the rest of BYU.

photo courtesy of Pinterest

                                         

Okay. That might be a little unrealistic. But ONLY because homegirl's shorts are about 8 inches too short. This girl in my math class wore SHORTS yesterday. I was wearing TIGHTS! Something is wrong with this world. 

Alright, I'm being a tad dramatic. 

So sue me;)

Christmas

I don't know what it is, but for the past two weeks, I have not been able to stop thinking about Christmas!! You'd think the recent drop in temperatures would be the culprit, but it happened before that!! I just want to play Christmas music and make hot chocolate and eat fudge and gain 50 pounds in candy and watch the snow fall. This is ABSURD. I am asking for snow?!? What is up with that?? I just love the Christmas season and I want it to be here. Right now. I want to be home, with my family, in my own bed. I love Christmas decorations! I want to hang Christmas lights, sprinkle fake snow, have stockings hung with care. I WANT IT ALL! Why can't it be Christmas??

Oh right...It's just barely October...

PE

It's over.
It's done.
I have officially taught my own class.
And I rocked it.


At least I tell myself I did.


Last week I taught a PE class, all by my lonesome. And it was more than awesome. I taught the little rugrats to do the Electric Slide, and that was almost disastrous. I kid you not, children were tripping over their own feet. It was cute. And kind of endearing. But mostly hilarious.

The best part of the whole thing was watching them play the game after we danced. They were running around and actually invested in the game! And best of all, they were having a great time. That's when you feel success as a teacher--when the kids are achieving the physical objective and still having fun. I absolutely loved teaching this class, but it just made me that much more anxious to have a class of my own and to be teaching a subject that I actually care about!! The next year and a half cannot go quick enough.


With that being said, I am so glad to be done teaching PE and almost done with the class! Next week I will have 5 less hours of class a week!! Hurrah! And even more exciting... my first class on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be at noon!! Hel-lo gym in the AM!!

A Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Day.

Today is a good day for Kristen. 

Why? you might ask.

Well you see. It all started when my 3 hour class got out early. An hour and a half early. 

Okay, you might think. That's nice...but not grounds for a happy X4 celebration. Let me go on.

After my 3 hour class, I have a 1 hour class. ...which was cancelled for today. [Okay, fine. Not exactly cancelled. We had an online module to complete. But that was super easy.] My friends, I was home at 9:45. Nine forty-five!! in the morning!! It was a great start to a great day. So after completing all possible homework for today, which wasn't even due until Friday mind you, I decided to relax. Watch some Once Upon a Time and have a day to myself. This show is SO GREAT! Watch it. And watch it quick. The second season premieres at the end of the month. Quick like bunnies! Load your Netflix and watch it!! You won't regret it! 

So I'm sitting there. Watching my show, when I remember...IOS 6 came out today!! Granted, this did not significantly affect the superbness of today. It was merely an added bonus. So I downloaded the update, along with everyone and their mom who has an iPhone, which took approximately ten years, then I synced my phone! Happy day for new technology!! I must say, I am most impressed with the new turn by turn directions and 3D maps for the GPS. Fancy pants, I tell you.

But now back to the juice. The creme de la creme. The meat of the story. The other random food-idioms of American English. The climax.

I got an email from one of my stores saying that you can get 25% off your entire purchase!! Don't mind if I do. So I peruse through their virtual clothing store, aka their website, and see if there is anything worth my time money. Jeans on sale? I love jeans. I probably have 20 pairs of jeans. Did that stop me from wanting more? Of course not.

Please excuse my dear aunt Sally bag/mess in the background.

So I head to the mall. Mission in mind. Dark wash jeans. Dark wash jeans. Dark wash jeans. I make a bee-line for my targeted store and head straight for the fashion tops... I mean jeans. My bee-line was a little crooked because there was an employee parked right in front of my pants! Well not my pants. Their pants that I want to try on, then buy. So I wandered around, hoping he would stop playing with the pants (he was pretending to fold them...but we all know what he was really doing... abso-freaking-lutely nothing... he was getting paid to stand around). Anyways. I grazed over some neon shirts, which are surprisingly still "in", so I grabbed me one. It was a cute bright orange/almost pink color and more importantly--striped. Homeboy had still not moved out of the way, so I subtly start looking at the other jeans and inching my way toward the jackpot. He takes a hint and moves out my way! I snatch my size and dash to the dressing room. I pull up said beautiful jeans and, what's that? Room to spare? Saggy butt? Already? That's supposed to be saved for a week after wearing, when I need a hint to wash my jeans. So I try on the shirt. And love it. Then I convince myself to grab a smaller size of the jeans, just to be sure before I buy the saggy butt ones. So I grab a size lower. I run back to the dressing room, hoping no employee is going to bombard me again with questions (YES, I'm 20 years old, a girl, and shopping by myself, get OVER IT!). I slip on the jeans and...what? They fit! A size lower than normal! I went down a size! A JEAN size. Back to my pre-freshman-fifteen size. It's a happy happy day for Kristen. Also-the-shirt-worked-and-I-found-a-scarf-I-couldn't-live-without. 

Model face. Slash Duck Face. Call it what you wish.
I call it sexy. Wait, whaaat? 

And the day is not yet over. At 4, I have a session with a personal trainer at Gold's Gym. Yeah baby. Yeah. 

Meaning I might just die tonight. But I will die happy because I went down a size!! This calls for some ice cream... I mean carrots. Mmmm. Carrots.

DISCLAIMER: I didn't actually wear this outfit today. So if you see me in the near future, do not be weirded out if I'm wearing this exact ensemble. Please and thank you. And no, the scarf was not bought to match. Just a fortunate coincidence.

That Was Wicked!!

Sometimes, I forget to blog. Then I get overwhelmed and feel like I have to update y'all on everything. So here goes an attempt to summarize my life in the past month, in a [few] blog post[s].

On August 25, Emily and I went to see WICKED!!!

Guys. It was amazing. Absolutely positively the best thing ever.

First things first though, we did some shopping at City Creek. 

I love this mall. I want to live at this mall. I dream of this mall. This mall is home.

Mostly I think I love it because it's so close to the temple, and as you cross the skywalk from one side of the mall to the other, there is a beautiful view of the House of the Lord. 

Shopping was wonderful. But dinner was better. 

Em and I went to Kneaders for dinner. We loved their store hours sign: "Closed Sunday: Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone." Love it.

But even better than the humor on the sign was dinner. I had a Turkey Feta Salad. It was divine. I have a new found love for feta cheese. It's cheesy and tart at the same time. Mmmm. Now I want me some salad.

After Kneaders we may or may not have indulged on a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Okay, so I've only had one other slice of cheesecake from this indulgent heaven, but the Hershey's piece was kind of...subpar. Though it didn't exceed, or meet, my expectations, it was still delicious. And almost nearly worth the calories. Almost.

The we walked the whole block and a half to the Capitol Theatre. Guys. This place is gorg. I want to have my reception in this place. Though I'm not sure how feasible that is... But wouldn't that be cute?!? The marquee would read "Kristen and [Husband's First and Last Name]: Forever After." So cute, right? This is happening.

I mean really, look at the detail on the ceiling and the chandelier. It's so beautiful. Husband and I would walk down an aisle of the audience and join our guests on stage. I love this idea. I just don't want to think about the cost... Someone surprise me with this as a engagement party gift? No worries, you can start budgeting now. There are no immediate time constraints. I'm looking out for you, of course.

Aside from the gorgeous architecture that is the Capitol Theatre, Wicked was awe-inspiring. I may or may not have cried. Multiple times. If you had the money to spend on one frivolous thing in your lifetime, you better spend every penny on Wicked. You will not regret it. The acting, singing, dancing, costumes, everything was perfect. Except for that one part when it ended. I didn't like that part so much. I wish it could go on forever. And ever. And ever.

Next summer, Les Miserables. This is happening people. Come with me?

Blind Dates

Do I look desperate for a man or something? (<--if the answer is affirmative, we are no longer friends)
In the past WEEK I've had two adults try to set me up with their kin. Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining; I would love to go on a date with one of these guys (or both...whatev;)). I just feel like I have "single" written on my forehead. So yes:


Parents, aunts, grandparents, neighbors, random people of the street:

If you have a single, handsome RM in your family, send him my way. My number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. I like long walks on the beach. As long as they end in a proposal.


Much appreciated.

Kristen

Love it or Hate it

Well, summer is drawing to a close, but that doesn't mean these next two weeks aren't going to be a party!! I can't wait to be reunited with my dear old friends!! In keeping with my once old tradition... it's tiiiime for a little LOVE IT OR HATE IT!!!!! (<<to be read in your best Price is Right announcer voice).

Love it:
Being back in UTAH, baby!!
My wonderful aunt and uncle who are letting me stay with them for a week or so!!
So long, Texas heat!!
Dry, dry Utah replacing humid, humid Texas.

Flying over the Grand Canyon!
Flying withOUT delays!! (this is a first in like seven trips, people)
Getting messages from my friendlies
Trips to the cabin that bring back childhood memories
Wicked!!! (the book and the PLAY!!) 9 days!
Depositing a check that I didn't have to work for:)
Finding a sewing book full of wonderful projects!!
Having an excuse to buy fabric!! (seriously, this stuff is like heroin...SO ADDICTING! Not that I know what heroin is like.)
Cafe Rio, I've missed you.
Planning a trip to the Commissary!! (I love me some cheap groceries!!)
Beautiful sunsets (because of the smoke mentioned below)

Hate it:
I can't see my mountains because of nasty smoke.
Nasty smoke because of wildfires
Wildfires
Bugs
Bugs
Bugs (seriously, I had too many encounters with creepy crawlies for one day...)
How I can't figure out the new Mountain Lion OS...
Missing my familia back home
Having to buy groceries for myself...
Weeding through my packed-up-stuff, deciding what I don't really use.
Just thinking about buying textbooks.

Sometimes I Think It's Still 2010

In high school, we were inseparable. We shared books, clothes, secrets, and stories. We were the best of friends.

Katie, Melissa, Amanda, me, B. Fholer, Britt back in the day.

Then college came.

It's really hard keeping up relationships with your high school friends when you are meeting new, great people in college. Throw in being 1200 miles away? It becomes incredibly difficult.

No matter how little we talk or see each other, it is a party when we get together.



Last night, Britt, Katie, Amanda, and I met at Applebee's for dinner/dessert. It was so great to have time just to talk with each other. I love how at ease I am when I am with these girls. It's like we were never apart. We reminisce about high school and it seems like yesterday.

After we finished terrorizing the people of Applebee's, to include leaving a random phone number for our waiter (let it be on record that I adamantly opposed this idea;)), we left for Katie's house, the nearly-official "clubhouse". We sat around for a while, waiting for Britt to catch up with us. And by sat around, I mean sat on each other. A hangout is not complete without someone starting a dogpile. Once we were all there, we played Quelf. This is a great party game, folks. SO FUN. You have to be willing to do some crazy stuff (which most of the time, I am not...;)) and it produces some great laughs. It's like Cranium and Curses had a love child. Quelf: buy it for your party self.

Amanda, Katie and I waiting for Britt to join us:)

I don't know how I've gone 20 years without a pedicure, but I surely won't go that long before I get another! Today, Amanda, Katie, and I decided to spoil ourselves with manis and pedis!! My life is forever changed, y'all. I loved every minute of it. From the massage chair to the actual pedicure, it was heavenly.

Picture courtesy of Katie's instagram: Amanda, Katie's luscious legs, me

This next year will be a real test of our friendship, seeing as all of us are leaving Cove, not just Katie and I. Amanda is going to UT and Britt is going to St. Edwards. It's going to be so much harder to get the lot of us all together again, but when we do reconvene our WGC affairs, you better believe fun will be had!! I am so excited for these girls to get a taste of real college life (and the world for Katie--Uruguay!!), outside of CTC. I can't wait to hear all their exciting stories!!

Lifting Burdens: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

In church today, we watched this great message on the Atonement. I am so grateful for the cleansing and enabling power of the Atonement. Take a moment and watch this message of hope. Hope found in and through Christ.

Phelps with the Fin!

I mean Phelps with the WIN!!!!

As attractive as this was after Jason Lezak made a magnificent comeback to help Michael (yes-we're-on-a-first-name-basis) win his 8 gold medals in Beijing:

here

It was much sweeter to see this reaction after winning his record breaking 19th medal and every race after that:

here

Okay, maybe he looks a little too much like a puppy dog in that one... How 'bout this one??

here

You've grown up to be a great man, Michael Phelps. Sad to see you go. But you have been beautiful amazing to watch.




P.S. Am I the only one who hadn't heard the word "threepeat" until this week??

Love It or Hate It: New Tradition?

It's days like these that make me want to stay home all summer.

Love it:
Trying new things from Pinterest (^^ no heat curls? We'll see..)
Having lunch at the PX with the madre and padre
Making cookies
Spending time with Dianna-my-favorite (that's her name in my phone, obviously)
Almost, but not quite, having a cookie dough fight with Dianna
Talking about BYU with Dianna
Dianna
Watching the Olympics
Talking about boys
Boys
Missionaries
Summer
Finding a new, wonderful blog to stalk, I mean follow

Hate it:
Feeling compelled to read every single post of aforementioned new, wonderful blog
Realizing how long that ^ would take
Texas heat
Calories (seriously, can't cookies be zero cal?)
My blog's new font isn't working...and I can't update it to anything other than this drab serif??


I love it when my love it column is longer than my hate it column. That's how it should be. It also means I'm in a good mood. Ha.

Ruffled Lampshade Tutorial

A blog isn't a blog unless it has a tutorial...! (not really, but anymore it seems that way). So here goes!

A while back, I saw this cute lampshade on Pinterest. I thought, that looks easy enough for an amateur crafter such as myself, so I gave it a try!! And I loved the finished product, so I decided to make yet another! So here it is!!

Consider it helpful or annoying, but I've included nearly step by step photos for this craft. You can thank me later ;).
And please excuse the iPhone quality photos.

Materials:
plain lampshade (I got mine for $8 at Home Depot)
lamp base (again, Home Depot saved the day with a $10 base)
3/4-1 yd burlap (depending on the size of the lamp shade)
hot glue gun

Start by covering the lampshade with burlap. I pinned mine in place using bobby pins so that it wouldn't be tugging the entire time. Also, since the burlap isn't completely solid, some of the hot glue comes through. Apply the hot glue to the inside of the lampshade, then lay the burlap on top. In order to push the burlap completely against the shade and create a secure bond, I used an old bobby pin to push along the line of hot glue to save my finger from the heat. Unless you got a perfectly cylindrical lampshade (most are slightly angled), the burlap won't lay straight across the shade. No worry though, it will be covered up anyways!!

Next, cut your burlap! I cut mine to be a generous 1 1/2 times the height of my shade and about 2 1/2 inches wide. Depending on how deep you want the ruffles to stand from the lampshade, you can adjust the width from 2-3''.

Now a trick when you're cutting your strips:

Watch the fabric specialist at the craft store you go to as he/she cuts the burlap. There's a easy way to cut a straight line! If you cut the "thread" of the line you want to follow...

....then pull that thread out from each side of the cut...

...you have a nice straight line to guide you!! I promise you, this helps a ton. Burlap tends to unthread and unravel very easily and this prevents lots of little pieces from sticking out on the finished product! I didn't try this on my first lampshade, and after finishing my second I could really tell a difference!! 

After you cut your strips (I cut about 25, then started gluing because I'm impatient and wanted to see some sort of progress), fold a strip in half, hot dog style. Start the wave shape of the ruffle by creating a curve in the burlap. Line the crease with hot glue and stick it to the shade!! Hold in place for about 15-30 seconds. If you start to let go and notice it moves considerably, the glue hasn't dried yet and you need to hold it a bit longer.

Continue gluing until the whole strip is attached to the shade. I found that 4 inch segments fit easily in my hand and I could easily adjust the ruffle pattern before the glue began to set.

Repeat these steps of creating a curve and gluing until the shade is covered!! I tried mixing up my ruffle pattern every 5 strips or so, just to create a little texture to the ruffle.

 Assemble the lamp and put it somewhere to be marveled at!

Happiness.

Happiness is the Olympics.

You had to see that one coming... Seriously, everything about this program makes me happy. For example, I just watched Jonathan Horton attack the high bar!! It was amazing. And I may have squealed. More than once. To watch the world unite in a little healthy rivalry every two years always amazes me. And the technique and athleticism of these competitors!! So inspiring. And those opening ceremonies yesterday! Beautiful. Some may complain that they couldn't live up to the grandeur of Beijing, but I daresay they did: in their own way. I could go on, and I probably will over the coming two weeks. Be prepared. (Momentary relapse in commentary: Ryan Lochte on the Gold Medal stand....Hottie McHottie, AND he doesn't do drugs (ahem Michael...). A++). (Commentary #2: Can I just say how much I LOVE overhearing teamtalk? It's wonderfully sweet. Jonathan Horton was just telling his teammates to remain humble no matter their standings. Love it.)

Happiness is relationships.

No, I'm not talking about me, but several of my friends are in the various stages of relationships!! And it makes me cheese seeing Facebook relationship statuses change, pictures tagged together holding hands, wedding invitations, etc. You'd think with the chronic singularity of my life right now all this would make me sick...but it just makes me overwhelmingly happy :D. I may or may not have teared up the other day creeping through a budding relationship. A relationship that I've been rooting for since it was just in the whispering stages of a crush. I'm a sappy, happy mess. But it's cute. One of my best friends from junior high, Cheyenne, got married today. And I can't contain my happiness for her!! I love love. I just love it.

Happiness is ABCFamily programming.

Yes, I'm almost 21 and watching shows geared for 16 year old girls. Don't judge. Nearly every ABC Family original show is incredibly addicting!!! I'm currently addicted to Jane By Design. I think it's their casting. Totally beautiful characters--it just pulls me in!! Oh, and the incessant drama. Love it. I might have stayed up til 2 am watching this show... and it isn't even a suspenseful show like Pretty Little Liars to insist I keep watching!! I just love the characters!! And the main girl has STYLE! It's like a living, breathing version of fashion boards on Pinterest. As exciting as the Olympics are, my thoughts frequently turn to Jane. That's a problem. I need to be focused on the Olympics!!!! Well, I guess need is a strong word.

Happiness is decorating.

The superintendent decided to shuffle my mom's office around, so she was put in a new office space. New office space = blank walls = Kristen gets to decorate!! So we went to Target yesterday (my favorite store ever) and picked out a picture frame and some flower pins for her wall. Today we went into her office and set them all up. It was magical. I love letting my creative side shine through. Speaking of which, two crafties have been completed. Prepare yourself for an onslaught of pictures. It will be wonderful, no doubt.

Happiness is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's new movie being rated PG-13.
Yes, that was important enough to make this list. I'm so sick of my favorite actors being in Rated R movies!! What's the point of my liking you if I can't watch your movies??

Happiness is writing a talk for church.

Yes, you read that correctly. I found happiness in preparing to talk in church tomorrow, kind of sick, huh? Don't get me wrong, my thoughts of public speaking have not changed in the least, but I am so excited to give this message on obedience. I'm grateful, no I'm happy, to have been given this chance to prepare a talk on this subject because it has reminded me the reason for obedience. And I'm reminded of the blessings of obedience.

Happiness is life.

You just have to look for it.