Golf

I'm not an athlete. 

That's a pretty well-known and widely accepted fact. I lack hand eye coordination, speed, agility, and endurance. But I did play golf for 3 years! 

Today, I got to relive my golfing days. I went with my brother, one of my really good friends, and one of his really good friends. I went to prom with William's friend, and he went to prom with my friend. So we're all pretty close. And we have a blast together.

I didn't ACTUALLY golf, because I have a chronic back pain. But I did drive a golf cart on an actual golf course for the first time. 

**I have to stipulate because I have driven a golf cart, but it was in someone's yard, and we just drove in circles. 

Golfing is so much more fun when you 1. have a cart and when you 2. don't actually golf. 

Seriously though, it was a gorgeous day, and I got to spend it with some of my favorite people. 

And we didn't even crash the cart (despite my idea to play bumper carts on hole 6). 

Label maker

I love labels. 

I love organizing and arranging and sorting and labeling. And today, my mom needed help organizing the kitchen and laundry room. I promised I'd help... IF I got to use the label maker. 

I love labels. 

So now all the shelves in my kitchen have the proper label, and I could not be happier. 

We also cleaned out and organized the drawers and cabinets. I found things I totally forgot we had, like a sandwich cutter in the shape of a dinosaur. Neat. 

It was also a beautiful day, so we had the windows open, the music jamming, and the laughs.. laughing. I love my family. 

Monsters and Eardrops

Double jeopardy!

Two new things today. I'm basically a challenge-trying-pro. 

I took W1 and W2 to the theaters to see Monsters University. It was definitely a cute movie! I loved the original Monsters Inc., so it was fun to watch the "college age" one. I think it actually made me more excited to head to college!

I was impressed, uhh, surprised, at the amount of college parties were shown in the movie. There were red solo cups and everything. Sully played beer pong at one point in time! Granted, they never showed any beer, or anyone drinking out of the red solo cups, but still! I saw through the act.

The SECOND new thing I did today: eardrops. I went to the doctor yesterday and was officially diagnosed with swimmer's ear. Ironic, since I haven't gone swimming yet this summer..

Anyway, I have to put in the eardrops four times a day for seven days. It feels really weird. It's basically a party for my eardrums.

Four boys for lunch

Today, I took on a challenge on accident.

I usually babysit two boys, but this week they have basketball camp with some friends. So I ended up with four boys today at lunch. Four hungry, crazy, sweaty, loud, mean, feisty, basketball playing boys. It was super.

They egg each other on. They push each others' buttons. Their volume seems to rise to levels I didn't even know possible! 

If you have four boys at home, I salute you. I could not do it.

Also, I discovered a huge pet peeve. I really don't like when a kid says, "I'm thirrssstyy," and expects me to get them something to drink. I would be okay if they got up and got themselves something to drink. I would be okay if they asked, "Hannah, can I have some milk to drink?" Either would be fine. But don't say "I'm thirrssstyy," in a whiny voice and expect me to help you.

Ear infection

Ear infection. Sudafed. Seven hours of daytime sleep. 

End of story. 

Homemade onion rings

Happy birthday to William! Aka, another chance for my mom to try some crazy recipe and drag me into helping her. Tonight on the menu: onion rings.

I asked my mom where she got the recipe, and her response was "Facebook" with no further elaboration. I found the same/very similar recipe, but here it's called Daphne Oz's Shoestring Frizzled Onions. 

Before I started helping, my dad got the onions chopped up and soaking in the buttermilk. My mom put together the flour mixture. When the oil got to 375 degrees, my turn began. 

I grabbed a handful of onions and mixed them up in the flour mixture.

Then I threw them in the boiling vat of grease (yum!). They only needed to stay in for a minute or so, until they were browned.

Then we fished them out with a slated serving spoon and there you have it! Homemade onion rings!

Honestly, they just taste like fried breading with a hint of onion. I for one, think that fried breading tastes pretty good, so I'm not complaining! Definitely something we will make again.

Crafty cards

This year, I've become really involved in the youth group at my church. As a senior, I was able to be a leader for the junior high group, and I went to the high school group as a student. I've also gotten really close to some of the other students, especially the other junior high leaders. Considering we spend 5 hours together every Sunday, it makes sense!

But this summer, 2 leaders and another student are working out at a bible camp. And I miss them dearly. 

I decided to make some handmade cards and have the youth group members sign them tonight! I'm going to send them tomorrow and I hope my dear friends know we are missing them!

My mom used to be one of those crazy pants scrapbookers, which lucky for me means we have lots of colored paper around! I stole some envelopes from the card stash (I figure we're done sending out graduation cards for the year, right?)

Basically, I just made it up as I went! I picked fun colors that I thought went well together. Every card is a little different. I just cut out the scrapbook paper and used clear Elmer's glue to stick it on! I would have preferred rubber cement because the glue wrinkled the paper a bit, but it wasn't terrible.

The yellow one and the polka dot one are for the two ladies. The water patterned one is for the gentleman, who's the head lifeguard this summer (fitting, right?) I think they turned out pretty cute!

I wrote a little note to each of them on the inside. Then at youth group, the rest of the group will be able to sign their names and write notes to them! I'm very excited.

We really do miss them!

Bridal shower

I don't have a very big family. I have 7 cousins on one side, and 3 on the other. The 3 on my dad's side are much older than I am -- all in their 30's. I don't know them very well. The 7 on my mom's side range from the ages of 13 to 22. None of us are married. None of us have babies.

Because of this, I've only ever been to 3 weddings. 1 funeral. And as of today, 1 bridal shower!

My mom's cousin, so my second cousin, is getting married in July. She's in her 20's, but she's always been super nice to me and my younger cousins. It's exciting that she's found someone who fits with her and our family so well.

Her shower was very simple. It was at her home church, and most of the people there were old ladies from the church. Too cute. :) We had coffee cake and punch. We played a game where the bride read a statement and we had to decide if it described her or her fiance. Then, she opened her presents, and we headed out! It took about an hour and a half total.

Even my lovely Oma, my great grandma, came out to celebrate. My mom and I ended up taking her home after the party, so we got to spend some quality time together.

She is a darling, sassy, grouchy, independent old lady who cracks me up. She speaks her mind with complete certainty, yet she can't remember where she lives. She is never wrong, but has no idea what's right. And I love that about her. 

No GPS

Thank goodness for Friday!

Luckily, my little protégés are headed to Wisconsin this weekend for a graduation, meaning I got off work at 1! So fantastic.

My mom asked me to go to Ames and run some errands, and being the amazing daughter I am, I helped her out. But let me say, I am terrible with directions. I cannot find anything unless I have a GPS. I've had my license for 2 years, and I can JUST now make it to the basic roads in Ames without one.

First stop: Target. Easy enough. Second stop: Ames Christian Supply. Found it with a GPS. Third stop: home. I decided to challenge myself to find my way home without GPS. I made a wrong turn off main street, but I figured out where I was pretty soon. And I made it home! 

This is a big step for me! Granted, I'm going to college in a whole new city in 2 months and I'll just have to learn how to drive there. Oh well.

On an unrelated note, here's super cute picture of me and my dad. :)

Summer nails

Man, it was hot today. Like, the first day I have actually avoided going outside because it was so hot. Granted, I'm kindof a weenie.

So in the spirit of summer, I decided to paint my nails bright and summery! And I decided to be all crafty and get a little crazy with some painter's tape. 

I started with a bright lime green as my base. And as you can tell, I often miss my nails with the paint. Oh well, the extra paint comes off in the shower. 

After I let it dry for an hour (it was torturous to wait that long), I put on the tape. I put it halfway across my thumb nails, and marked off a corner on each of the other nails.

I added silver to the marked off areas. Then I waited MORE to let those dry. I'm not very patient when it comes to my nails drying. That's why they always smudge, without fail.

Here's how they turned out! When I put the top coat on, the bright green transferred a bit onto the silver, so the silver isn't as crisp and vibrant as I would have liked. It's more of a yellow-y silver, if that makes sense!

Anyway, I'm pleased with how they turned out, and I hope they last longer than a week before they start chipping! Frankly, I don't think that's very likely. 

5 strand headband

I am so proud of myself right now!

I did a craft. A real craft. With multiple steps, and hot glue, and actual fabric scissors.

I got the idea from the blog Make It & Love It through Pinterest. The website has step by step instructions that were super easy to follow and understand! If you want to make your own, I'd recommend stopping by there, as I'm not going to do the step by step thing. 

I started with 5 strips of t-shirt material. I used red and black (go norse!) but any combination of colors would work just fine. The instructions said to make the strips long enough to go twice around your head. I just cut straight across the bottom of the tshirt and then cut the loop to make a single strip.

Then the fun part: the 5 strand braid! It seems far more difficult than it actually is. I took about 5-10 minutes to figure it out, and once I picked it up, it was a breeze. It is explained really well in the other blog. I braided until it wrapped around my head, meaning I had some extra fabric at the end that I just cut off.

The instructions said to use fabric glue, or ideally, to sew the ends. I used hot glue. It's holding for now, but if I want to wear it regularly, I might have to go back and stitch it.

Finally, I overlapped the ends and secured them with a square from the black tshirt. Again, the hot glue is holding right now, but it doesn't seem too solid.

TADA! The 5-strand headband. Only took about an hour total, and I think it will go faster if I do it again because I know what I'm doing now. Maybe I'll make one in every color!

Painted bulletin board

I've been spending a lot of time on the DIY section of Pinterest lately. I think it's because of this blog and the fact that I'm looking for new things to try out. Through all that browsing and surfing, I came up with my very own Pinterest-able idea: a painted bulletin board.

I'm headed to college in August, so I'll need a bulletin board for my room. My dorm colors are blue and green. I headed to Hobby Lobby for inspiration and this is what happened.

Supplies:

-cork bulletin board

-acrylic paint (I chose a turquoise, a green, and a silver)

-various foam brushes

-painter's tape

I started by creating stripes of different width using the painter's tape. For the most part, I used one strip of tape between each stripe, but I doubled the tape width once or twice for variation.

Then I painted! I started with the base turquoise and green. Then I mixed the silver in with each color to create lighter shades. It would have worked better with plain white, but the silver worked okay.

UPDATE:

I took off the tape this morning, and it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!

I'm also planning on painting the outer frame with the silver paint sometime in the next few days. I'll post a picture of the final project!

This was a great craft project for me. It was simple, only took about 35 minutes, didn't require too much creativity or artistic ability, and it will be useful for me as I head to college! Success.

Curly hair

I used to have a perm. I used to have curly, effortless hair every day.

But then I cut it all off and I've been a little sad that I can't do ANYTHING with my hair! So I decided I'd see if my natural curl would come through for a natural, wavy look.

I showered and scrunched. I decided against using any product this time because it usually makes my hair crunchy and smelly. 

I let it air dry for about 10 minutes, then I used a diffuser on my hair dryer. It's something I never needed to do when I had my perm, but I figured my curl would need some extra help this time.

I didn't dry it for very long because it seemed to be getting less curly instead of more curly. Drat.

Two hours later, the final product. Let's just say, the natural wavy look isn't going to come naturally anymore! If anything, my hair just had more volume since I didn't straighten it.  (People always say volume like it's a good thing. But for my very thick and short hair, volume isn't something I need any more of!!)

Next time, I'll try some product and see if that makes a difference. For now, I'll just stick with my boring hair until it grows out a little more!

Mosquito bite

How can I tell it's summer? The mosquitoes start biting. 

I was outside for about 5 minutes and I got my first bug bite of the summer. 

Ugh. 

The rest of the time outside was fun, despite the 3 other bites I accumulated. I was babysitting and so we spent some time digging for Rollie-pollies. 

I'm just glad that summer is finally here!

Minus the mosquitoes. 

Sushi

Yes, you read that right. Sushi.

Though it technically should say "College orientation AND sushi" cause I did 2 new things today! That means I don't have to do anything new tomorrow, right?

I headed to Indianola today for my college orientation and registration, which was definitely an experience! I've already heard the spiel quite a few times, but I did learn some new things. And I got to meet people that I'll have my Simpson Colloquium class with, along with my advisor.

Oh, and of course, free stuff. #scy1 <-- (they told me to use that hashtag everywhere. I'm obedient)

But the really impressive new thing: sushi. 

After orientation, I headed to Ankeny to meet up with my future roomie, K. She said we should meet at this sushi/seafood place, so I was like, "Why not? I'm adventurous!"

I don't usually do seafood. 

She helped me order my first sushi ever: the Hawaiian roll. Rice, seaweed, crab, mango, and cream cheese. I figured it'd be a safe place to start, no spicy tuna or fish eggs.

It wasn't bad. I ate 3/6 rolls. There were a lot of different flavors and it freaked me out a little bit. And frankly, after about 2.5 Hawaiian rolls, my stomach started feeling a little sketchy. It still feels a little sketchy. Not enough to throw up or keel over; just not...... right.

It could be a coincidence, right? 

Home

Leaving the cottage was of course very sad. Leaving the beautiful lake was even worse! I mean, look at this view!

But I had a great trip. I learned that I CAN drive 3 hours without falling asleep. I CAN sing to the radio for 3 hours straight. I CAN make it to and from the lake on one tank of gas. And I CAN be an adult.

I'm ready. 

No parental guidance

Another day was well spent at the cottage with my ladies! Another day of no parental guidance! In a way, I didn't do anything new, but in a way, I definitely did. 

I ate fruities for every meal (plus some cookies, chips, Mac and cheese, and juice). 

I played in the rain without any tsking from mom or any hypothermia threats from grandma. 

I simply enjoyed a puzzle, a book, a comfy couch, and three or four different movies. No chores. No responsibilities. 

But most importantly, I learned that even without any guidance at all, I'll still clean up my mess. I'll still follow the rules. I'll still reach a point where too many wrappers on the table is TOO MANY wrappers. 

Road trip

Today I went on a real adventure! I left home around 2:30 with my 2 closest friends and we embarked on a three hour journey to the cottage! 

Yep, that super cute cottage! It's the first time I've driven more than an hour. It's the first time my parents let me be completely responsible for myself. No adults, no camp counselors, no chaperones, no teachers, no RAs, nothing. Just three teenage girls and a cozy cottage. 

And of course, a gorgeous lake! Here's to a wonderful adventure!