The Quilt that took Four Years

When I was in high school I took a class called "Needle Arts" as an elective. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching--it was all in the repertoire. Mind you I haven't retained all of it [any of it] over the years, but one thing I can do: Sew.

In that class we made pieces for a quilt. I always meant to finish it, but never did. Each holiday when life slowed down a bit I'd pull it out and make grand plans, but was never any closer to finishing. When grandma spent the holidays with us we'd pull it out to give her something to do, but it just never happened. I'm the queen of unfinished projects.

BUT THEN. Taylor moved home. Taylor had no job or school. Grandma came to visit. What do you think happened then?

Finallly. After four years of gathering dust, my quilt finally became reality. 

It is finished! It's cozy, it's gigantic, and I made it! 

Can you see that? It's all hand quilted. I had arthritis by the end...

And now, crazy enough, I'm aching to get started on the next one!

Bogeys, if you will

This post is for my dear friend Mallory. :) I miss you Mal, and I have definitely not forgotten you!

We all have them. They run down your nose when you have a cold. They dry up and make you snore at night. One bad experience and you are forever conditioned into checking for them.

Boogers.
Snot.
Affectionately called "bats" at the Anderson home. "You've got a bat in your cave Kenz... Left side... still there."

Boogers and I have a very strange relationship. Everyone has been caught unawares with one in plain sight on the tip of their nose. I have fallen victim to it many times--most of them within those 3 awkward years of life called "junior high".

BACK STORY: Tyson and I never officially "met". We attended the same school from 6th grade until we graduated. We were in classes together but talked only on occasion. We just knew that the other existed and nothing much came of it.

A few years later when we started dating all of this changed. We spent all of our time together and became best friends. When we were comfortable enough with each other Tyson told me his first distinct memory of me.

A booger.
Yep.

Apparently we were table partners in a class [advanced science with Palfreyman if I recall correctly] and were politely talking to each other before class. Unbeknownst to me I had a bat in my cave, hanging there for all to see. He told me,

"I couldn't stop staring at the booger cause it was bugging me. But I couldn't tell you. That would have been too embarrassing." 

I would have been mortified out of my mind at the time, so maybe it's good that I don't remember. I guess it didn't scare him away forever, so for that I'm grateful. :)

I must admit, it's a pretty great story to tell my future children. Our relationship started with a booger, can you top that?

With maturity I've found that boogers are just a natural part of life and nothing to be embarassed about. My roommates tease me about being a monkey because I pick loose hairs from anyone I meet. But rest in peace friends because if you ever have a booger in your nose I will tell you about it, because I hope that someone would do the same for me.

Now I get to the heart of this post:
Physiological Findings!

I got a text from my dear friend Mallory:

Physiological topic of interest: boogers. Bogeys, if you will. I know that they are supposed to block or catch germs or whatever, but WHY must there be so many?! Everytime I get sick or my allergies flair up, I feel like my brain is melting and dripping out of my face. Haha do you have any info for me? Why is there a never ending supply of those grody things? :)

As per request I looked up the reason we have boogers. Despite the fact that they played a key role in my current relationship [however questionable] they have to have some real function in the body.

Now I will present to you my discoveries:

As you know, mucus coats the inside of your mouth, nose, throat and into your lungs. This sticky, wet, slimy substance traps the incoming harmful particles so that we aren't sick all the time. With each breath we inhale germs, bacteria, dead skin, and all sorts of airborne things. Mucus coats these particles entirely so they cannot harm us. The prickly hairs in your nose also contribute to this effort. They catch particles and keep them from entering the lungs.

Along your nose and throat the passage is lined with cilia. These microscopic hairs push pollutants upward--away from your lungs--and into the mouth and nose where they can be swallowed or expelled from the body through coughing or blowing your nose.

Imagine, for a moment, that this system didn't exist. All of the toxins that you have inhaled in the years of your life would build up in your lungs. Perhaps they would build up so much that we would die before the age of twenty. Maybe each and every germ that entered your system would make you sick and with no way to get it out of the body, you would be sick for the rest of your short life.

Isn't this body miraculous? Even something as mundane as boogers has a purpose.

Now back to Mallory's question: Why so many?


When the body is functioning normally our mucus membranes make about 1 quart of mucus per day [source]. When we get sick it typically means that some pollutant made it past the front lines and is now in a place where it can affect our homeostasis. In order to counter this attack the body sends out white blood cells to fight the germs that made it inside. It also increases the production of mucus to ensure that nothing else makes it in. So, if our body makes 1 quart on a healthy day, how much does it make on a bad day? That, my friends, is evidenced in your garbage bag full of tissues.

Allergies are usually caused by airborne particles. Pollen, animals, even peanuts all have histamines that carry through the air. Since our principle method of breathing is through our nose, the body sends extra amounts of mucus to our nasal passages when allergens enter. Allergies in themselves are an interesting topic. They are, by definition "abnormal reactions of the immune system that occur in response to otherwise harmless substances [source]." Allergens are not naturally harmful to our bodies, but for an unknown reason our bodies react to these substances, sometimes violently.

Why is my nose running?

There are a couple different reasons why our nose runs, and they each have a different cause. [Source--This guy says it much better than I could]

You have a cold or the flu: When you have either one of these, your nose goes into mucus-making overdrive to keep the germ invaders out of your lungs and the rest of your body, where they might make you even sicker than you already are. You know what happens then: The mucus runs down your throat, out your nose, or into a tissue when you blow your nose. Or it can fill your sinuses, which is why you get that stuffy feeling.

You have allergies: Kids who have allergies get runny noses when they're around the thing they're allergic to (like pollen or animal hair). That's because their bodies react to these things like they're germs.

You're crying: When you cry, tears come out of the tear glands under your eyelids and drain through the tear ducts that empty into your nose. Tears mix with mucus there and your nose runs.

Baby, it's cold outside: When you're outside on a cold day, your nose tries its best to warm up the cold air you breathe before sending it to the lungs. Tiny blood vessels inside your nostrils open wider (dilate), helping to warm up that air. But that extra blood flow leads to more mucus production. You know what happens next. Drip, drip, drip.

There you have it! Now you can claim to be an expert on boogers, and when your future children come running with one attached to their finger, you can tell them exactly what they are touching.

Freezer Paper Stenciling

I have had a habit of looking at craft blogs as of late. People are so creative! I'm not sure how I stumbled across this one, but I happen to love it: www.dana-made-it.com

I found her post about T-shirt making here, and my life was suddenly complete! I'd been eyeing and debating over some Canada T-shirts [of course] but $30 a piece wasn't exactly in my budget.

So I made my own!

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own t-shirts!

Helpful Hints:

--Keep it simple. You can really only do one or two colors and the design has to be pretty basic. Good luck experimenting with more complicated designs, but that would be a lot of work.

--Don't paint with wet brushes. The paint gets watery and bleeds and messes everything up. Not being a particularly artistic person I didn't know this, but I want to warn you right up front. Brushes are cheap, just use new ones.

Supplies List

T-shirt [Choose your flavor--any kind!]

Freezer Paper [Available at local grocery stores. Walmart, unfortunately, does not have it. It's a heavy duty type of parchment paper made by the brand Reynolds. It only comes in a huge roll of 150 ft for about $7, but you can use it for the rest of your life.]

Fabric Paint [In my search I found only the bubbly cheap kind of fabric paint at the regular stores. Even Joann just had the cheesy stuff. I found the right brand at Hobby Lobby that is like a real paint for brushing and it cost about $5 per bottle. On the blog she said she uses the Tulip brand and she likes it best.]

Exacto Knife [Luckily my parents had it laying around the house, even if it was a bit broken...]

Iron [Hopefully every home has one of these. If not, your neighbor does!]

So let's begin!

Trace your pattern on to the freezer paper.

Using the exacto knife [or another such tool] cut out your
 pattern being careful not to lose any important pieces.

Iron the paper onto your shirt--make sure to get it straight,
and  EXACTLY where you want it. And make sure all the
little pieces are ironed down too, or you won't have crisp edges.

PAINT!
[put a piece of cardboard between the layers
of the shirt just in case it bleeds]

Now you have to be quite patient. It took all of my self control to let the paint dry, because I wanted to know right then if it had worked or not. But it does work! I was quite amazed and very pleased with how they turned out. [Also, in the instructions it tells you to iron the paint to fix it to the fabric. So after it dries put an old towel on top of your artwork and iron it for a while.] Here is a picture of me wearing the finished product on a hike to Stewart Falls.

Poor man's screen printing. It's fantastic. [Canada is fantastic too...]

And P.S. I'm not an incredibly thorough writer, so if you 

have any questions, please ask!

Dinosaur Day--August 12

It started with this:

Harmless enough, right? I found it at Walmart for $1.88 and could not live without it. So I put together step by step instructions for you to enjoy. :]

Step 1: Assemble ingredients

Peanut Butter

Nutella

1 butter knife

2 slices of bread

1 Dinosaur Sandwich Maker

Step 2: Spread on the PB

Step 3: Lick your fingers

Step 4: Spread on the Chocolate :)

Step 5: Lick your fingers, and the knife [and possibly eat another spoonful...]

Step 6: Chocolate meets Peanut Butter

Step 7: Place Dino on top and push down

Step 8: Make sure it cuts all the way through

Step 9: Eat the extra crust

Step 10: Bite the head off of your Dino, and slowly consume

It might be worth mentioning that we didn't set out to have Dinosaur Day, it just kind of happened. But now I'm positively sure that it is a yearly tradition that I will never forget. August 12--Dinosaur Day. It's official now. So if anyone wants to celebrate with me next year, I will make great plans!

Kenz and I were quilting and so in the background we watched/listened to We're Back! A Dinosaur's Tale, and Land Before Time. [If you haven't watched the original Land Before Time in a while, you should do it. It really is fantastic! The others are quite...awful, BUT the first one is really cute.]

FACT: There are now XIII Land Before Time movies. If you don't read roman numerals, that's 13. Yep. No I haven't seen them all, but most of my childhood was based on the first 3.

So, naturally I looked for other dinosaur things to do. Kenz and I printed some coloring pages and colored pictures of them. I even learned the names over in the process. When I was little I knew all the dinosaurs, but that little tidbit had been silent for so long I had to try hard to remember. Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, "Apatosaurus" instead of Brontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex.

If you know me, no celebration is complete without some special food. More often than not it's cookies shaped like a holiday object. But tonight was different.

Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. I just HAD to have them.

So I set out to convince my mom. I told her how easy it was, and that they are just at Reams, and that we can make those yummy yam fries with it. I pointed out that she is always asking us what we should make and I was finally telling her what to make. But the REAL seller was this:

"Winner winner.
Chicken Nugget Dinner."

Have I ever told you that I have the coolest mom ever? She lets me act like a 3 year old.

I was really excited

So that, my friends, is how Dinosaur Day is done.

To my Formidable Foe:

Dear Mr. Beetle,

I must say, you displayed quite a will to live last night. When I first encountered you by the nightstand I enlisted the help of my good friends, Mrs. Violet Shoe and Mr. C. D. Case, but they couldn't reach you in your covert position right next to the wall. Finally Mr. Case and I found a sharp corner and attempted to deal a death blow. You were wounded severely and by the looks of it, in two pieces. At that point I believed I had bested you and continued about my business.

Minutes later I looked over at the crack where your corpse had lain [I was much too terrified to move it] and I discovered it gone. Nothing is quite as unnerving as half-killing an insect and then finding it gone when you are about to rest for the night.

Later that night you had the presence of mind to scuttle across my room--exposed by the florescent light. Upon discovery I yelled to Mrs. Violet and we pounced upon you. After holding you captive for a moment and thinking you vanquished we lifted... and you began to scamper away again! The imprisonment hadn't effected you at all! The carpet wasn't solid enough to aid us in our pursuit, and you very thick exoskeleton was seemingly impervious to attack. We trapped you again,...and again, and still you would not slow. You would race off at the same skittish pace as though nothing had happened.

No progress was made and so Mrs. Violet and I tried another tactic. This time we imprisoned you, pushed harder, and twisted the rubber sole in an attempt to crush your hardened shell. We then let up to examine the effect. You were wounded, but carried on. It is here that I must acknowledge your perseverance Mr. Beetle. You were a most honorable foe. You continued among insurmountable odds and pursued your goals with vigor.

At this moment we consulted and decided that Mrs. Violet was just not up to the task. As I kept you stationary she ran to enlist her husband, Mr. Birk N. Stock. He was a sturdier shoe and together we inflicted more damage. You grew steadily weaker with each stroke and finally you were officially broken into two pieces. I leaned in close to inspect and to my utter surprise [disgust, astonishment, AND fear] you stood up and scrambled a distance! I was astounded. Your foot caught and you fell on your back with your legs flailing. In the quiet night I could hear your sharp feet clawing the threads of the carpet. Mr. Birk brought one final blow to your exposed underbelly and then you were absolutely and completely defeated. There weren't enough pieces left to pick up.

But here is to you Mr. Beetle. You fought a great fight. I'm certain it took me nearly seventeen attempts to finally best you. You are honorably inducted into my personal hall of fame as, "The Invincible Beetle." Rest in peace.

Regards,
         Tay

[This is the true story of what happened to ME, last night {minus the satire}. True, I hate bugs and I especially hate killing them, but this really was "The Invincible Beetle." I hope you enjoyed my ridiculous story. Normal life is sometimes just as interesting as fairytales.]

Excedrin

A man came into my line at Reams the other day with one item:
               a bottle of Excedrin.

Not unusual, happens all the time.

First thought: "Migraine. Ouch."

Second thought: "What to say...."---As always I try to strike up a bit of conversation. It serves two purposes, [1] leaves the customer feeling happy and [2] keeps me from going crazy. Take it from me, starting small talk 600 times a day is tiring. Actual conversation is golden.

So, in a situation such as this I usually say something along the lines of, "I hope this isn't for you", or "someone isn't happy at your house!" If they are the sick individual I offer my condolences for their ailment. [This is an easy conversation starter, most of the time it's more difficult.]

This time I said, "So is this for you or going home to someone else?"

To this he answered, "I hope it's not for me, otherwise something would be seriously wrong!" Accompanied by a half smile/half "what-are-you-thinking" look.

I looked at the bottle more closely.

Tip for next time: Read the package.

Summer Shoes

Through a random internet surfing I discovered [this blog post.] Too fun! So I made a few myself. I was in need of some summer shoes anyway...

Helpful Hints

--That really cute pair she found at Walmart doesn't exist. I looked everywhere. BUT they do have the Target brand for $9, and those are my favorite [plus, the elastic is already inside, so you don't need to sew it!]. I got some from Kmart too, but they really look like old lady shoes.

--Cute colors are quite hard to find. Walmart, Kmart, and even Reams have the very basic colors: Black, Navy, Dark Green, Royal Blue, Wine, Scarlet, Purple, Yellow. But JoAnn's [the superstore] has tons more to choose from. Aqua, Light Green, Fuchsia, etc. So you can try Walmart first and then if you aren't satisfied go to a craft store.

--Don't buy Kelly Green. It's a hoax! It turned out BLUE. Explain that one to me.

--Plastic gloves really aren't necessary, but they sure are fun! We went through 5 pair each for the first batch of dye, and then for the 6th batch [yep, I'm pro now] we didn't even touch them. So really, your choice.

--Mix everything together thoroughly. Purple seemed to have the hardest time mixing. It would leave dark spots and would never dissolve completely. You might want to just use half a package, especially with purple.

--Just follow the back of the package and have a fun time! Also, it's more fun when you have good friends to share it with, namely, my mom and little sis. :)

Canada Day!

I love Canada.

Here is my reasoning:
--Tyson 

--The Olympics

--Hockey 

--Northern Lights
--Michael Buble

--Tyson

--eh?

--"oot and aboot" 

--Cool last names

--Eskimos

--Did I say Tyson?

Anyway, I found out that July 1st is Canada Day, a.k.a. Canadian Independence Day and so a celebration was in order! I searched online for traditions pertaining to the day, but alas, parades and fireworks were the only things I uncovered. Lacking both I searched for something else to commemorate this great day.

So, I took my little sister shopping and we found "Canadian" things at the grocery store.

Pretty Canadian huh? I've been selling Canada Dry all week and have been ACHING to make it say "Canada Day". 

My dad's mission companion was Canadian and my dad once asked him, "What do Canadians call Canadian bacon?" He answered, "Uh,... ham?" Clearly Americans just like fancy names.

The maple leaf cookies were an added touch because we needed something else to add to the feast [of ham and ginger ale...]. They aren't exactly in the typical maple leaf shape, but it's close enough, eh? Pretty much I just started walking down the cookie aisle of Walmart to find something Canadian and stumbled across maple cookies. It's a win [and they were yuuuuuh-mmy!].

Because I had to work that night we celebrated Canada Day for lunch. The festivities began with a rousing chorus of "O, Canada" sung by my brother's iPod. We were feeling very patriotic by that point. Luckily the youtube version had the words so we could sing along.

Then we delved into great Canadian artists. The playlist went as follows:
Celine Dion--"My Heart Will Go On"
Bryan Adams--"Heaven"
Michael Buble--"Lost"
We also listened to Justin Beiber--"One Time" for a whole 2 minutes, but that was long enough. He is the one awful thing that came out of Canada.

We consumed our ham and cookies [yum?] and toasted Canada with our ginger ale.

A toast! To Bryan Adams, Michael Buble, and Celine Dion! [For reals.]

Kam asked me how to spell "Canada". So I told him.

Let it be known that my little bro and sis are awesome, because they put up with my Canadian obsession. Thanks for celebrating Canada day with me guys!

And to everyone else, I hope you had a Happy Canada Day!

Jess and Bill

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Jess.

One fateful day in May she went to stake prayer sat next to  the love of her life--only she didn't know him yet. His name was Bill. After a night of games and other activities Bill gathered the courage and asked Jess on a date. And they had a blast. Little by little they got to know each other and they fell in love. For a year they dated and then at last they were married in the Logan Temple for all eternity.

So here's to you Jess.

GREAT friends! Melissa, Mallory, Rachel and Hilary

Rich 301 united! Kelsie, Michelle, Me, Mallory, and Rachel!

Two drop-dead-gorgeous girls!

It was a bit chilly in the shade!

A little sick of smiling?

I apologize for the horribleness of this picture, but
 I love their faces. :) So descriptive of them.

Hilary and Jess!

The lovely couple and Melissa--who
 is getting married herself in August!

Sisters, sisters! Jess and Fred [a.k.a Marie]

Little sister Valerie caught the bouquet!

Little girls excited about balloons....

...Hilary and Taylor excited about balloons.

The great escape!

Congrats you two. I wish you the best life has to offer!

-Tay