Penny: The Robot

Remember that project I told you I was working on at the end of my DIY post? Well, I'm about to reveal to you the most awesome creation I have ever put together in my whole entire life! But first, a little background. I'm sure that you've noticed by now I LOVE PINTEREST. I have thousands of pins and most of them are crafts. My mom taught me to crochet when I was a wee little lass (i.e. nine years old). I forgot about it for a while because making scarves gets boring and yarn was expensive for a kid with no income.

Then I started crocheting again in high school when I saw a few other people were learning how to knit. Picking up a hook again was just like learning to ride a bike, you never forget. I had to do a few refresher YouTube videos and asked my mom tons of dumb questions, but I got back to it. Then, I was looking for patterns (free of course, my income hadn't changed much) and found the world of amigurumi.

The Pinterest Inspiration

I still don't know how to pronounce it, but I learned all about it (from Wikipedia). It's the Japanese art of crocheting or knitting small stuffed animals or anthropomorphic creatures. It went beyond just the scarves and gloves that everyone was tired or receiving (even though no one would say it). Plus, who doesn't love stuffed animals?! I MEAN COME ON! They're so cute!

So I came across this on Pinterest and knew I had to make it! Problem number one: it's a sewing project. I may have taken apparel development (one AND two) in high school, but that doesn't actually mean I can sew anything. Problem number two: there was no pattern for either a crochet one or a sewn one, so I would have to do it all on my own. I had never done that before. So I added the picture to my pile of "things to attempt at one point because you're too much of a scaredy cat to do it now" folder. I forgot about it for a while, like...three months. Then I was cleaning out my computer (pictures pile up) and found it again. After staring at it for a few minutes, I decided to give it ago.

And now...I give you...RP743! or, as her friends call her, Penny!

Not bad? She's made entirely of acrylic yarn (Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice in charcoal grey), stuffed with polyester fiber fill, and a handmade glitter bow. In all, she took about three days to make. There are a handful of changes I want to make on the next, which is in progress. Her eyes were handmade by a wonderful lady on Etsy and guess what?! 

THEY GLOW IN THE DARK. How cool is that?! You can buy them over at Designs by Devlin on Etsy. There are lots of colors and sizes and of course they all glow in the dark! I'm currently working up a full biography for Penny that will come with her when I get her set up in my Etsy shop. It will be a while because I want her bio to be perfect and a direct reflection of who I imagine her to be and because I'll be away on vacation this coming week. 

I hope you love her as much as I do! 

Handle The Heat's Rosemary Cheese Bread

Gah, I love carbs.
  They're just so....good. Pasta, bread, and potatoes are my favorite things (other than cheese and chocolate). My heaven would be made of bread with bottomless fondue. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing.

So OF COURSE I jumped at the chance to make this delicious loaf. It has a fantastic flavor, and I don't even like whole wheat OR rosemary.

The "white bread" part is scrumptious. Why has it taken me so long to realize that black pepper is the perfect addition to cheese bread? I've made garlicky cheese biscuits for years and I'm definitely adding a substantial amount of cracked black pepper to the batter.

 

Just look at the cheese seeping up through the crust. You can even see the little specks of black pepper. There's a bit of cayenne pepper as well and it adds a completely different heat than the black pepper. It isn't spicy though. It sort of...melds? Just eat the bread. It's delicious. 

 

I was afraid it would stick (mostly because I don't have the best track record with cakes and breads releasing from their pans), but it slid out just like it was meant to. I even broke out the cooling rack and everything. That's how good it is: I actually followed directions. Okay, so I mostly followed directions. 

If you're on Pinterest, you may have seen the posts about the "Valentine's Day Pound Cake" where the baker, in a stroke of genius, made a pink pound cake, baked it, then cut into slices and cutting out shapes then put it back in the loaf pan with normal pound cake batter and baked it? I attempted that with this recipe, instead of swirling it like you're supposed to. 

Yeah, that didn't work out too well. That brown blob of rosemary goodness? It should be a flower. It tastes like it was baked in God's personal oven, but it looks like a two year old's ball of Playdough. The rosemary batter didn't rise as much as I expected, but I think that may be because (a) my wheat flour is a little old and (b) I got lazy and didn't measure out the full tablespoon of baking powder. 

This isn't the only delicious recipe over on Handle The Heat either! Her site is full of wonderful flavors, both savory and sweet. She's also just published a cookbook! It's all bout ice cream sandwiches, and let's face it: who DOESN'T love a good ice cream sandwich? 

DIY Bedroom Redo

EXAMS ARE OVER! 

I did it! Two years of college are DONE. I did a dance. I danced out of my last final like I had just left the set of Dancing with the Stars. 

Okay. I didn't dance out. I packed up my dorm and then checked my email every ten minutes for my final grades. (which, if you MUST know, I finished this semester with a 3.6 which means I made Dean's List!) 

Then, promptly after I  got home and stowed all my college stuff in the middle of the living room floor, I got sick. I went to Urgent Care and they thought it was a. Mono b. Strep Throat or C. a sinus infection. They also I was 25, not 20. Turns out it was none of thee above and they just gave me a z-pak and GUESS WHO IS 98% BETTER TWO WEEKS LATER?! This girl. 

You guys are such good guessers. 

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! 

       My niece graduated from high school! I couldn't be more proud! She did excellent all four years, and she'll be going to school in a neighboring city this fall. AND she held down a part time job her junior and senior year. She's the bomb, and our whole family was over the moon at graduation (except for the valedictorian speeches. there's a special place in hell for people who quote Dr. Seuss at graduations).

the entire class of 2013 during the Principle's Address

Then, I decided to re-do my bedroom. I originally designed my room when I was 15 or 16, maybe younger. Two walls were frosted (cantaloupe) melon and the other two were this awful hot pink color that nearly glowed in the dark. Then I went through this stage where I drew shooting stars on EVERYTHING and decided to paint one on my wall. Dumbest idea I've ever had, especially when you throw in the fact that even my stick figures look like they have a strange, incurable disease from a foreign galaxy. 

The important thing is, that it looks like this now! 

You bet I painted it white! I used a color called "snow storm". I don't know if you guys know this, but I like glitter. So when Pinterest told me that you can buy glitter designed specifically for paint, I was all over it. I poured a pack of the Valspar glitter in my one gallon of paint and it looks amazing! I couldn't get a nice picture of it, but it looks like I have never-melting snow on my walls and fairies live under my bed. 

 The other great thing? All I had to pay for was the paint, primer, and glitter. All the art was given to me for birthdays and holidays. The owl "pop art" below was made by my best friend (who also gave up her Thursday afternoon to actually help me paint. What took me 7 hour on Wednesday, took us three on Thursday).

 And this trashcan? Yeah, it's made from recycled Japanese magazines. I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond two years ago for my first dorm room. It's incredibly sturdy and withstood a bit of water (our shower overflowed a few times, what can ya do?).
This chair used to belong to my grandfather. It was the ugliest, 70s orange you had ever seen. My mom started to paint it white a few years ago, but it got pushed to the back of the DIY pile. I grabbed a can of fluorescent pink spray paint and went to town.
 Some of the orange was still showing through, and it had been roughed up some through various moves (and two floods). But I wanted to show it's history, so I didn't prime it or sand it. I don't actually sit in it either, it just stands here to hold all the stuff I don't have room for.  Then there's this mirror. It was a yard sale find that my sister had hanging in her house for as long as I can remember. She gave it to me a few years ago when she moved house. It used to be red, like London double-decker bus red that had been sitting in the sun too long. My dad had some black, semi-gloss spray paint so I used it. Be sure to cover the mirror with newspaper/paper towel and painters tape to not actually paint the mirror (I may or may not be speaking from experience here).

So what do you think?! Not a bad job for my first entire-room project and not knowing what I'm doing. I'm most proud of the paint job, however. It was the first time I had ever painted anything other than a small canvas. Usually when we paint a room, I'm either not allowed or given the task of painting trim, because no one looks down at the trim or we're covering it up with baseboards.

Have you ever done a whole-room re-do that you're exceptionally proud of? Let me know!
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I've also been working on another little project, which you'll see later this week! But until then, you can see a sneak peak over on my Instagram!

Sundays

Welcome to Hell Week, where students die trying to finish last minute projects and papers in the hopes of making up all that slacking after spring break.

It was a rough one, but now I’m just days away from finals. While I’m withering away in the stacks at the library, I thought about the past few weekends where everything just felt perfect.

The more stressed I get, the more I desire to be at home with people who let me have emotional break downs because college is way more stressful than I ever imagined. These few weekends home meant the world. Sundays are my favorite and this is how  I spent mine...

Sunday morning  muffins with a big cup of coffee with the cold air making my nose run.

Sunday afternoon, I melted the last bit of chocolate in the pantry and dipped my animal crackers in it while playing on tumblr studying.

Then I napped with my favorite pup. 

It was simple, but it meant the world. So here's to a weekend with simple, good things before we have to go back to the real world. 

Take Control

I think that at some point, we all realize that it’s time to take control of our own lives.

This is your life. Why should you not be happy? There will always be times when it sucks. That’s life. Life wouldn’t be as miraculous and as wonderful as it is if we didn’t suffer at some point. You have to go through the storm to get to the rainbow. As corny (and horrible of a metaphor) as that is, it’s true. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take control.

I am tired of being in the passenger seat. My fortune cookies are even telling me that (truth. My fortune cookie from Panda Express said that I was now in the driver’s seat of my life, and we all know how legit those are).

I am tired of trying to be the good girl; the one who is always there to help and listen, the one people call when they need help. Some people use me. I know that, I’m not blind. I always thought “at least they knew they could rely on you”, but I’ve reached the point to where I don’t care anymore. I may be reliable, but if you aren’t going to be there for me then give me one good reason why I should be there for you.

I’m two weeks away from my second year of college ending and I have made some wonderful friends. In fact, I can’t name a single person that I’ve befriended that I wouldn’t want at my funeral. It’s the old friends that seem to never change that I’m going to have to let go.

Fall Out Boy said it best when they said “Sometimes before it gets better/the darkness gets bigger/the person you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger”.

It sucks when you finally come to that realization. When it finally hits you, at first you’re kind of like “oh. Um, no?” and then, as it sinks in you accept it and it makes sense. After a while, once the process gets going, it’s freeing. It’s really a good thing.

That’s just my social life. I’ve decided that I’m also taking control of my health.

I’m not unhealthy, in fact my doctor says I’m doing well. I’m the wrong height for my weight (yay for being 4’11”), and that’s what I’m taking control of. I want to look adorable in the cute clothes I find on Pinterest. I’m proud of who I am, now I want the outside to reflect the inside. It sounds vain, but that’s alright. I’m not concerned about what other’s think. 

Remember To Turn On The Light

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an “adult”, it’s that bad news is everywhere.

Humans are horrible. Everywhere we look there are people murdering, robbing, assaulting, and raping other people.  Innocent children are being abducted. Elderly are battling identify theft from the young.

We can’t even buy gifts online without fear of our credit card numbers being stolen.

I have plans to see a concert in Atlanta, Georgia this summer but my parents were so worried about the evils that I would face down there that I’m being forced to have another adult with me, even though I’m going to be 21.

It’s depressing.

This week alone we have faced bombs, shootings, factory explosions and that’s not including the ongoing problems in the Middle East, or the flooding in the Midwest United States.

It’s been roughly four months since the Newtown tragedy. CISPA has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and gun laws are still out of reach. With all of this going on, it’s like the apocalypse has come early.

It’s hard to find hope, but it’s there.

and if praying isn't your thing, send thoughts and good vibes

Think of the men and women who responded instantly. Instead of running away when those two bombs went off in Boston, first responders (even regular civilians) ran towards them to help and start aiding. Marathon runners ran straight on to the hospital to donate blood.

Hopeless Records is auctioning items to raise money for the Boston victims.

Numerous people are trying to change laws to stop another tragedy like Newtown.

Then there are your everyday acts of kindness. There’s the kid who held the door for me today, even though it was pouring out. The husband and wife team I met who are battling deforestation in the Congo. Even the bands who give away free songs, just to make their fans happy.

There’s even a nonprofit organization dedicated to acts of kindness. Fittingly, it’s called The Random Acts Organization, and it is headed by actor Misha Collins.

There’s also a news organization dedicated to happy news, to show that there really is some good out there. 

The important thing is to remember that the good far outweighs the bad. For every human who does something unforgivable, there are 100 more who are bringing hope and happiness. We, the good guys, will always win. Always.  

Here are the links to the happiest news you'll find and the organization dedicated to being kind.

The Good News Network

The Random Act

School and Society

I don’t want to sit in an office. I don’t want to do research. I don’t want another job just because I have to have one.

I am going to graduate in two years, with nearly 20,000 dollars of debt. Some people have it a lot worse, and I am beyond thankful for the financial help I have received. But let’s face the truth: a degree in psychology and a degree in religion is not going to get me very far without going back to school for an eternity and gaining another 150,000+ dollars of debt.

I don’t want that. I thought about law school for quite a while. I’m good at research, I’m good at persuading people and in mock trials I’ve always come out with a win. In fact, all the mock-trials I’ve done have given me an adrenaline rush. Nerves build before going in, constantly reviewing flashcards to make sure I have my facts straight, and the heat rises to my cheeks when I get excited because I know I’m winning. But that was high school, that wasn’t real. The fact that I’ve only been in a public university for two years and I feel like my soul has been eaten, sucked away like a Dementor* makes me shudder at the thought of continuing.

For law school, another three years in a stuffy law program.

For a clinical psychologist, it’s another four years for a PhD.

For whatever-the-fuck I can do with a master’s in religion, it’s another two to three years.

All so I can build up debt, to get a job I hate, to pay off the debt, to maybe get a job I can put up with until death comes knocking.

No thanks.

So, I’ve decided I won’t plan on what I want to do. At the end of my four years here, I will take the GRE just in case I change my mind. Then I have about five years before the scores go bad. If by then I’m not doing something I love, I might go back to school.

I’m tired. I’m tired of paying people to force me into writing long, laborious papers that teach me nothing because if I don’t agree with this stranger’s opinion, I fail the class and have wasted my time for nothing.

 I will not fall into that trap. I will not reduce myself to sitting at a desk because society told me that I have to.

If the white picket fence, Craftsman-style house, and adorable little family is what you want, then absolutely go after it. If that’s your dream, do whatever it takes to make that happen.

It’s not what I want and I’m not going to let society tell me that I have to. If that’s the path I follow, it will be of my own accord and no one else’s. I don’t want the mundane job, the 9-5. If I work twelve hours a day, it will be because I’m working at something I love, something that matters to me. 

*Dementor- a creature from the Harry Potter series that survives by sucking all of your happiness away until it finally has reached your soul. Then, it sucks your soul out too. 

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A solemn note:

     My heart is extremely heavy for those injured, killed, and affected by the bombs at the Boston Marathon today. I cannot begin to comprehend why or how such things continue to be a part of a world that was meant to be so glorious. A post honoring all those affected will be posted later this week, after I am able to process everything and am able to properly honor everyone. Continue to pray for Boston.