Ice Cream Break

Superior Dairy: the only reason anyone ever goes to Hanford, California.

Today I learned that when they said I should just get the single scoop, they were right.

Now and Then

DAY TEN //  put your music player on shuffle and write the first ten songs that play

The original prompt was "a photo of your favorite place to eat", but I don't eat out much, so I didn't like that one. So I turned to Pinterest for other 30-day Blogging Challenges to find a day ten prompt that I liked, and I thought this one would be fun.

I'm going to do two lists - one with my current tastes in music and one from my old iPod, which hasn't been updated in for.ev.er. That second one should be entertaining.

So for the first list we have:

1. Thirst by City and Colour
2. For Emma by Bon Iver
3. Living Color by The Paper Kites
4. Sundown (Back in the Briars) by Iron & Wine
5. Holocene by Bon Iver
6. Big Parade by The Lumineers
7. Cinders and Smoke by Iron & Wine
8. Ladies and Gentlemen by City and Colour
9. Byegone by Volcano Choir
10. Videotape by Radiohead

And now for the throwback.

1. Workin' It Out by Hilary Duff
2. Sinkin' In by Cody Simpson
3. Out of Thin Air from Aladdin and the King of Thieves
4. Linger by The Cranberries
5. Jesus, Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood
6. Never Say Never by Justin Bieber
7. Broken Vow by Josh Groban
8. A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles
9. East Northumberland High by Miley Cyrus
10. If This Was A Movie by Taylor Swift

Oh, how my tastes have changed. I still love old Miley though.

The Apple

DAY NINE // a photo of the item you last purchased

When I looked at this prompt last night, I thought it was just perfect, because I was planning a trip to Salvation Army today to see if I could find anything to help with organizing my room when I move out. This was supposed to be a fun thrifting haul post.

I did go - but there was nothing. I didn't even find anything when I looked through clothes. Overall a very disappointing trip.

So that makes my Macbook Pro the last thing I bought.

Let's talk for a second about how I've hated Macs all my life.

I've always really hated Macs.

And I tried really hard to find a way out of getting one, but it ended up being the only sensible choice. All of my graphic design labs this semester are Mac based. So here I am, with my fancy schmancy 15" Retina display Macbook Pro, that cost the equivalent of like 5 months of work.

Don't tell anyone, but I kinda love it.

The Start of an Age

Auto Rickshaw by diametrik 

DAY EIGHT // a song and photo to match your mood

I was listening to all the songs on my old iPod the other day, and Long Live by Taylor Swift started playing and it kinda became my anthem for life as of late. Apparently there really is a Taylor Swift song for every occasion.

Your New Favorite Songs

DAY SEVEN //  your five favorite songs

It's so difficult to choose favorites with songs. But here it goes -

#1) Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
           Post about my love for this song - which started when it was performed at my grandmother's funeral when I was very little - here.

#2) O Holy Night
           I listen to this song all year long. It's too good to be restricted to just the Christmas season.

#3) A Maker of My Time
           Also pretty much every other song by the Paper Kites. They're a bit of an obsession right now.

#4) Hey Pretty Girl
           This may very well be the cutest country song ever sung (a close second right now would be I Don't Dance by Lee Brice ). Well done, Kip Moore.

#5) Biodh An Deoch Seo 'n Laimh Mo Ruin
            I will forever have an affinity for traditional Gaelic music. Julie Fowlis is, hands down, my favorite Gaelic artist.

And there we go. Listen and love. You're welcome.

Erinaceinae

Or, The Post where I Thought I'd be Clever and Use the Scientific Name as the Title

this is a photo by Eliane Guiheneuf and I am adding this link in the
attempt to eliminate any possibilities of getting sued but really I don't know what I'm doing

DAY SIX // a photo of an animal you'd like to keep as a pet

Actually writing a blog post is not mentioned in this prompt. And I'm tired. Hedgehogs are cute and unfortunately illegal to own in California. Hence my main motivation for moving to Oregon.

Flashback

DAY FIVE // a photo of yourself two years ago

Two years ago, I spend a night at a bridal boutique with a couple of friends, trying on wedding gowns. Because why not?

The Day We Danced in the Rain

DAY FOUR // your favorite photograph of your best friend

This is by no means a flattering picture. We both look a little insane. But it's a memory. It's a carefree memory of the day it rained and she called me so I drove over and we danced in the rain, in the middle of the street. There weren't many times this year I felt like I didn't have a single thing to worry about, but this was one of them.

Pinching Pennies

from an old, old outfit post, in which everything but
the tights (hand-me-downs) was thrifted

DAY THREE // your favorite store

I am extremely money conscious/frugal/penny-pinching/cheap. That, combined with a pathological fear of finding myself wearing the same thing a someone else, has turned me into an avid thrifter.

When I was much younger, I hated the Salvation Army. It was a dirty place filled with ugly clothes that were only there because no one else wanted them. At some point I came around. For a while I would only buy clothing there that was some kind of name brand. Thankfully it didn't take long for me to grow out of that stage. Now, if you look back at any of my outfit posts, I can guarantee that almost all of every single outfit was thrifted.

I have only two rules for shopping at the Salvation Army:
1) The older, the better. Bonus points for being homemade.
2) NO underwear, swimwear, sleepwear, sheets, or blankets. No amount of washing could make those acceptable.

I'm a bit more lenient with the second rule when shopping at Goodwill. I have a bit more faith in the cleanliness of their items.

Thrifting has been more of a hobby than anything, but as I assume responsibility for my own finances, it'll be a necessity. Even if I'm ever in a position where I can afford full-priced fancy name-brand clothing, I'm not sure I could bring myself to spend that much. I'll be a thrifter for life.

Breakfast

DAY TWO // a photo of something you ate today

My sisters are turning out to be very adept in the kitchen, at least when sweet things are involved. We've consumed a great deal of breads, muffins, and cupcakes throughout the summer thus far.

This morning it was pumpkin pancakes. Which definitely belong in the fall, but I won't complain. The pancakes earned themselves a thumbs up - 100% better than my last pancake-making attempt - and if you're interested, the recipe is here.

Happy Monday!

Self Portrait

Despite an optimistic post and new resolve to begin blogging more often...nothing much has happened blog-wise in over a month since promising to post more regularly.
Nothing at all, actually.

So naturally I turned to Pinterest for help. After a search for "blog challenge" and a quick glance through the results, I decided on one 30-day blogging challenge I like well enough. I'm not sure what the original source is, but I found it posted on Writer's Hub.

And now, without further ado - the beginning of my 30-day blogging challenge.

DAY ONE // a photo of yourself and a description of how your day was

This is definitely not a picture from today - but the prompt never said it had to be. This is a picture from a happier time of year, when the temperature wasn't in the triple-digits every day.

And now for a brief description of my day.

Thank goodness for afternoon church. I'm still adjusting to my new ward, but today was the first Sunday that I didn't feel totally awkward and out of place. We had an ice cream-themed "Linger Longer" after church, featuring all varieties of ice cream and popsicles, and I actually met several new people - and even carried on conversations with them. 

I also found out that being assigned to be the assistant organist doesn't just mean that they want me to play when the regular organist is out of town - it means they want me to regularly trade off playing organ with him. This gave me a mild heart attack, considering that I haven't actually played organ in over a year.

But hey - if I can manage to begin to make new friends, maybe I can pull off playing organ, too.

Even Though It's Tomorrow Already

As far as I'm concerned, if I haven't gone to sleep yet, the day hasn't changed. So although this post will publish saying that it is Sunday, it's still Saturday in my head. And I will write accordingly.

I intended to start a 30-day blogging challenge today (meaning Saturday the 19th). In fact, I had already started the post, which I will finish and publish tomorrow (meaning Sunday the 10th). I can't bring myself to write it today. The prompt involves a description of how your day went. Which is what I'm going to ramble about in this post anyway, but it just feels wrong to include it in the 30-day challenge.

I thought I knew exactly how my day was going to go. I was going to end up writing a pretty boring post about how I spent the morning having fun at the pool with my family, and the afternoon being amused and occasionally mildly annoyed with the customers at work.

Both of those things did actually happen. But I spent the rest of the day with a grieving friend.

Being with someone dealing with a debilitating loss generally leaves me feeling totally inadequate. There's really nothing you can say to make anything better. Although I think it's better to hear the truth - that it's not going to stop hurting, but you're strong enough to push through the pain - than to be told that it's going to get better.

Because it's not going to get better. I don't think the pain from a loss like that ever goes away. If anything, you get used to it. It becomes so much a part of you that you hardly notice it anymore, until something brings it back to the surface and it hurts just as badly as it did the day you lost them.

The amount of times I heard "Jesus will take the pain away" today frustrated me. I believe in the power of the Atonement. I believe that all things will be made right in the end - so I suppose saying that Jesus will take the pain away is a very accurate statement. But I don't think he's going to take it away in this life. Leaning on Him with bring peace, but the kind of peace that comes from knowing that God has a plan, not the kind of peace that comes from the absence of pain. So stop telling her that Jesus is going to take the pain away. Tell her that Jesus will make the burden light.

I Forgot How to Blog

I don't think that blogging is anything like riding a bike. After months and months and months away from the blog, I'm not really sure what I wrote about way back then, or how I went about doing it.

And right now, I really have nothing to say - but getting back into blogging, and being more serious about it, is something I know I want to do. So here I am. With a lot of words that don't mean much and an entirely unrelated picture of myself frolicking on the beach.

Things to look forward to on the blog in the near future (near being a relative term, naturally) are more regular posts, an entirely new blog design (I'll be reteaching myself all the html and whatnot), and a kinda big-ish reveal. So stay tuned.

It's good to be back.

This Dress Is Not a Muumuu

cardi: hand-me-down // dress: thrifted // belt: f21
shoes: target

I kind of love this dress. 

It has about as much shape as a paper bag, and the material bunches up awkwardly when I stick a belt on it, but that embroidery...I die. The embroidery makes it all worth it.

In other news, I've made the important decision that when I have my own house, I will never have plants in it - real or fake. Dusting hundreds of individual fake leaves yesterday put me off houseplants forever.

linking up with Sunday Style

5 Down, Tons to Go...

There are now 270 days until graduation, which I'm sure will go by way too fast.

As much as I may not love school itself, I love learning. So that's going to be my focus this year, and I will work hard for the sake of that love.

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ABC

Addictions// see this post

Bed Size// XL twin. I used to have a queen, but it had to go. [sad face]

Chore you hate// I actually really like cleaning...I guess my least favorite chore would be scrubbing the floor. It hurts my knees!

This picture's image number was my birth year. So I figured that was a sign, and I should use it for this post.

Dogs or cats// Dogs scare me to death and I'm ridiculously allergic to cats. But every once in a while, I find a dog I can fall in love with, so I'll go with dogs.

Essential start of your day// Food. Oh, and prayer. But mainly food.

Favorite color// I rotate between various happy colors, but I always come back to blue. Orange is a close second, though.

Gold or silver// Gold, definitely.

Height// Between 5'6'' and 5'7''. It depends on the day.

Instruments you play// Piano, Clarinet, and Organ. I kinda sing sometimes. And I can play a mad "Hot Cross Buns" on the trumpet.

Jam flavor// Pomegranate. Hands down.

Kids// Currently, none. One day, lots. I'm hoping for 8 right now. We'll see how much that changes after the first few...

Live// Sunny California! Valley girl through and through.

Monopoly piece//The top hat. I have a special place in my heart for top hats.

Nickname// I don't really have one...not much you can do with "Niamh".

Overnight hospital stays// None as of yet, thank goodness.

Pet peeve// Hyper-sensitivity in people. Like, when they get offended over anything and everything. I'm finding myself having a very low tolerance for that lately. Oh, and when people don't use their blinkers.

Quote from a movie// "Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery and I promise you, something great will come of it." (We Bought a Zoo)

Right- or left-handed// I'm a rightie.

Siblings// Five, all younger - two girls (twinsies, the lucky ducks!) and three boys.

Time you wake up// It really depends on how much schoolwork I need to get done that morning. My alarn is usually set for 3:20 am during the school year, but it's not uncommon for me to sleep in until 6:00 am or later. It's pretty bad. During the summer, I'll generally be up by 8 at the latest.

Underwear// Honestly, whatever's cheap.

Vegetables you dislike// Peas. Yuck.

What makes you late// Sleeping. I do far too much of it. And having nothing to wear. #firstworldproblems

X-rays you've had// Plenty on my teeth. When I was in first grade I had to get x-rays on my stomach. I don't remember why. I think there was a rash involved, but that doesn't really seem to connect. I had an MRI on my knee once, too.

Zoo animal//If they had hedgehogs at the zoo, that'd be it. Since they don't (not at my zoo, anyway), I'll go with the fennec fox!

P.S. Inspiration for this post here

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Addicted Lately

This is a picture of me at the beach from last week. It has nothing to do with the post, but aren't we cute?

PINTEREST.

My boards were rapidly growing for a few weeks...and then they were rapidly shrinking....and now I'm going crazy again. 

Two reasons for the shrinking:

1 // When I'm in a pinning frenzy, I pin a lot of stuff that I'm not actually as 

crazy about the next day as I am in the moment.  

2 // I read an post called Blogger Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Photos 

You Don't Own on Your Blog. Now I'm paranoid. And concerned with doing the right thing,

but mainly paranoid.So I'm going through my Pinterest boards making sure everything is linked

to the original source, and I'm obeying their copyright laws...and I did that before I changed all the

pictures on my blog because it seemed less overwhelming. But now that I actually think about it, I

only have 150-ish posts, but hundreds of pins...so I don't know where that reasoning came from. I

guess I'll start with the blog before I do any more pins...silly me.

COUNTRY.

Looove it. 'Nuff said.

READING.

I've had to start reading for school rather than my own entertainment, but that's better than nothing.

SLEEPING.

I do it too much. I don't do it enough. It's really becoming an issue.

For example: The other day, I needed to read a chapter in my history text book. So I sat down at 8:00 pm and read a page...and woke up at 10:00 pm. I really had to read that chapter, so I woke up way early the next morning. I sat down at about 4:20 am and read a page...and woke up at 6:15 am. I never did read that chapter.

CHAMBRAY.

Fool-proof for any occasion

SLEGGINGS.

They're not jeans, because they're too stretchy. They're not leggings, because the material is too substantial. They're not jeggings, because they don't resemble jeans at all, in appearance or texture. They're kind of just really stretchy slacks....so I dub them sleggings. And I love them.

DOCTOR WHO.

I'm new to this, but I'm thoroughly obsessed. Not to mention extremely upset that Christopher Eccleston only got one season.

Anyone else "suffering" from any rather pleasant addictions?

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Because Sometimes Contacts Are No Fun

top: thrifted // cardi: hand-me-down // belt: thrifted // necklace: vintage
skirt: f21 // shoes: thrifted // glasses: nine west

When you've been wearing contact lenses for long enough, apparently people forget that you ever had glasses. And then they're shocked and give you lots of compliments (and the occasional "What's with the Clark Kent glasses?") when they see you in them, and it's kind of nice. 

I'm totally in love with my new glasses. It's nice to wake up and not have to worry about poking myself in the eye for the sake of being able to see. My contacts aren't going away for good, but these glasses will definitely be making more frequent appearances - especially on the sweat-pants-and-messy-bun days of finals week.

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Linking up with Sunday Style

That One Time I Actually Cooked the Dinners I Pinned

Actually, it was a few times. We usually don't stray far off the beaten path in terms of what we cook for dinner, so when I got put in charge of the menu for two weeks, I made sure to include some variety, courtesy of my Pinterest boards. Here are the four I remembered to take pictures of...

TILAPIA AND ASPARAGUS.

So maybe this one isn't actually from Pinterest, but isn't it pretty? This was my first time cooking fish, so we made it nice and simple, just adding lemon pepper and Old Bay spice, with a lemon to squeeze on top. The asparagus just has olive oil, lemon pepper, and cheddar/jack cheese. 

SPRING ROLLS.

This was a bit of a fail {as in,70% wouldn't mind never having it again}...but hey, at least it looks pretty!

recipe here 

WHITE PIZZA GRILLED CHEESE.

Holy cannoli, this was amazing. Next time, I'll be putting less cheese, because it got to be a bit much, but still - oh, cheesy goodness, it was delicious. 

recipe here

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD STICKS.
Again with the cheese...and it was just as good. As long as you ignore the calorie intake , you can never have enough.
recipe here

Have any of you had any recent Pinterest cooking successes {or fails. Because fails are always fun.}?
Or, better yet, any to-die-for recipes to share???

Here's to a fabulous weekend!

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Dear Boys,

Dear D,

I can't really stand you at all.

Ugh,
The BFF



to the gentleman in the blue,

you're way too cool of a guy to end up with someone who's going to mess you up as much as she will.

sincerely,
the girl in the gray



Dear Louis,

It's kind of annoying how I always go back to thinking that you're a pretty swell guy. But I mean ... you really are. It surprises me every time.

Love,
Niamh



Dear Line-back,

I don't think you know how much some of the things you do mean to me - but they mean a lot. You're pretty cool.

Love,
Stolen



Dear Taken,

It's not really fair how you're so incredibly attractive and good at everything and nice...and off-limits. And to top it all off, I actually think that you and your girlfriend are a really cute couple.

Love,
Her



Dear Muskateer,

You were the best - thank you for going along with all of the cute stuff.

Love,
Niamh



Dear Rooster,

Oy. The cockiness - it drives me insane!

Quit it, punk.
Niamh



My dearest Stripling Warrior,

I'm thankful for the girls in your life that are encouraging you to keep worthy. Don't worry, I have guys that are doing the same.

All my love and then some,
Your Virtuous Woman...in training

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