"George, why did you cut down that cherry tree?"

It's Saturday! :)
Today I spent the whole day with Lauren at Duda's house. We rode up there on our bikes, played in the pool most of the day, and spent time with Duda, visiting and eating lunch.

When Lauren and I were little, we used to play games in the pool and do silly things that no one understood. Now... we kind of do the same thing. Today, Lauren and I had a photo shoot! Pretty much, we should be shampoo commercial models because we rock the whole "hair flipping" thing.

(Left: Rachel   ---  Right: Lauren)

We flipped our hair and took pictures, and then I got this awesome idea that we should record both of us doing it at the same time, then we could just screen capture on my phone, then we'd have this sweet picture! Ha ha um... yep. That didn't end up working so well. But it was not time wasted. We ended up having lots of laughs, and strange conversations. One in particular consisted of Lauren accusing me of being George Washington and asking me why I had cut down the cherry tree. I had no reply seeing as how I am NOT GEORGE WASHINGTON!!!

For lunch we made some T.G.I. Friday's potato skins. After they'd been in the oven for a while, the following dialogue occured:

Duda: Did you check your skins, Lauren?

*Awkward pause while Lauren and I puzzled over what that meant...

Finally, Lauren examined her arm and said: It's still brown, Duda.

Ok. Maybe you didn't think that was as funny as we did. But we were all laughing SO hard! I mean, what would you have thought if someone had asked you if you'd checked your skins, and you'd put the potato skins in the very back of your mind, seeing as how you'd set the timer so that you wouldn't need to worry about them?

The rest of the day passed on in a similar fashion, with many outbursts of laughter, and much fun. The bike ride home was glorious, as every, because it was all downhill!! If you have to go up Grandview hill, it's ok. You'll get to come back down, my friend! And if you do, don't forget to try biking on the rumble strips. It is painful, yet somehow enjoyable...

      *Note: Pool days are much more fun when coupled with One Direction, and for Levi, the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack.

Today was extremely fun, and it was good for us. :)

I also want to say that prayer is real. Really, it is one of the best things there is. We get to communicate with our Heavenly Father, and that is such an incredible gift. Another wonderful blessing is that of the scriptures. I had a prompting last night, and I wasn't sure exactly why, and I was afraid to do what I was being prompted to do. But I came across a scripture that said something that made me realize that it's better to follow a prompting without knowing why, rather than dismiss it and never know what blessings you missed out on. So... Listen to the Spirit, and do what you know is right, even if you don't know why. You will be blessed, and I can testify that it will bring you peace and comfort. :)

Love-

Rachel :)

DIY: Success? Or fail?

Remember how I was going to test my DIY motivation by making a maxi skirt? Well... I did it! DIY: Success! :) I got this idea when I was searching Pinterest one day, and I found the BEST tutorial EVER. This lady had step by step pictures and everything, which was perfect for me because I'm kind of a visual learner. So... I got my bright orange fabric on... Tuesday, I think? Then last night I conquered my biggest fear: sewing. Actually, that's not really my biggest fear. My biggest fear is spiders, closely followed by my strange phobia of getting the hiccups and not being able to get rid of them, which could happen. Have you seen the Guinness Book of World Records where that guy had the hiccups for 9 years, or something like that? Yep. It could happen. Anyway. Sewing.

I started by drawing and cutting out my pattern. Let me tell you, I was so proud of my pattern making skills.

Next I laid out my fabric on the kitchen floor and struggled to pin and cut my fabric without stretching it too much, as it was jersey knit fabric. SUPER DUPER STRETCHY! All of that took forever. I seriously thought I might die of old age before completely this basic, and vital, part of making my skirt. But I endured!

I then sewed the waist band pieces together, and the skirt pieces together, then I started sewing the waist band onto the skirt portion.

I got halfway around when I realized... "Oops. I didn't put elastic thread in the bobbin." So I got to use the seam ripper!! Yay! Not. I was so frustrated! It took about 10 minutes to rip the seam out. Ah the joys of mistakes made, and lessons learned. (We'll get to that later.)

After putting the correct type of thread into the machine, I continued to press onward! I attached my waist band to the skirt, and then I was almost done! I then got to the lovely task of hemming my skirt. Hemming is the bane of my existence. Well, not really. But almost. I guess that means that I need to practice. But I hemmed my skirt successfully after much trial and tribulation! 

And then... I was finished!!! :)

So, what do you think? I think it's a success. And, in fact, I am going to continue to DIM (Do It Myself). 

Lessons Learned:

     -Jersey knit is super ridiculous to work with. Only work with it when you're feeling extremely ambitious.

     -Always follow directions exactly, and read the directions before continuing on to the next step. This will help you avoid errors and back tracking.

     -When cutting out fabric on the floor, lock the cat in a room so that she doesn't get over excited and try to rip it to shreds.

     -Don't stay up until 1 in the morning sewing, because then you can not get up and run.

 And last, but certainly not least...

     -Orange. It is a beautiful color. And I don't care what anybody says. It is one of the 5 best colors that exist on our planet. (The other are yellow, green, blue, and white.)

That is all! Just remember, never underestimate your abilities, and endurance is key. Never give up! :)

Love-

Rachel :)

PS. This is where I found the tutorial:
              http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/2011/09/maxi.html

They're back....!!

After a year of absence, I am back! Quick summary of life in the last 12 months: I rocked my senior year of high school, and I graduated! It is now summer, and I am working up at BYU in the Dean of Students' office, and I will be starting a second job on Monday I think...
Today is my coworker's birthday. Her name is Alexis, and she's pretty fantastic! Lauren, Lindsay Conrad, and I came up last night to decorate the cubicle. We were here for almost an hour and a half! In the process Lindsay almost died, we used a ton of staplers, Lauren and I wrestled with the balloons (getting them into and out of the trunk), and we multiplied our designer abilities by at least 10. Needless to say, Alexis was slightly surprised this morning... ;) She was also surprised when Dean Heperi came in, got on youtube, and sang to her this strange oldies song that was apparently super famous... Anyway. Happy Birthday, Alexis! :)
I love my job. Alexis and I got to design the t shirts for the BYU rugby team, and we had a lot of fun and frustration over that. But the designs turned out great! We are now working on ordering them.
Lately I've been in this DIY mood where I want to make everything myself! I'm going to try sewing a maxi skirt, and if that fails, this DIY thingy might dissipate. Quickly. But we'll see! I'll let you know how that one goes. Another thing that got started this summer is my determination to be as active as possible. Lauren and I have aspired to run at 6:15 each morning. The mornings we actually do it, we feel fantastic for the rest of the day! But... that requires actually getting out of bed. Who knew that would be so difficult?? But we're working on it. I have also biked to work a few times, and I love that! My bike is having some issues though... so until I get those resolved, I'll be using vehicular transportation.
Yep. Life is good, and things are looking up!  :)
Love-
Rachel :)