Hello there again! This week has been kind of strange. One day: sunny and 70 degrees, then next, sunny and 60, and then, what do ya know? Snow!  Thankfully it's stopped, and melting which is a very good sign! Man, am I ready for spring! Even though it snowed earlier today, guess what I found growing today? See for yourself!

Its growing! Green, finally! Although I love winter, I'm just about ready for it to be over! On that note, it's been a pretty good week. Well, excluding dissections...okay, they weren't that bad. I would have enjoyed them, but the stench really got to me. I was about ready to puke! Oh, so gross!=)

 Anyway, Some of this weeks highlights were thrift store shopping. I had a great find! I found this cute gray dress that  is really versatile... I was so excited!

Also, I found a sheet that I'm going to use as materiel for throw pillows in my room! It was only $1.50 too! 

It's been a great week overall! I'm so excited that it's been warmer this week! Spring is just around the corner! 

                                                      Thanks for reading!

Snow Sorbet!

This week, I had absolutely no idea what to blog about...so I decided to bake...(ahem, maybe "make" would be a better word choice) something before the snow melts...snow cream! (I've never tried it, but I've seen it on pinterest. So anyway, here's what was in it:

2 cups snow (it should have been freshly fallen snow, but unfortunately it wasn't)
1 tbs. sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 drops vanilla extract

Directions: Combine sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over the freshly gathered snow and mix until even. If the proportions are off, you can keep adding snow and milk until the consistency seems right.

Surprisingly, it was better than I thought it would be.

After experimenting with that, I thought it would be fun to experiment and make up my own recipe.=) Mmmm. Citrus sounds wonderful, doesn't it? After some experimenting, I came up with this recipe.

Snow Sorbet

Time: 20 minutes                                                                       Serves two people

1 tbs. orange juice concentrate

2 drops lemon extract

1 1 tbs. water

2 tsp. sugar

1 cup freshly fallen snow (keep in the freezer until ready to combine!)

Combine the first four ingredients, and add them to the snow. Stir until even, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes or until the consistency is right!

Hope you enjoy it!

-Natalie

Room Redo!

Over Christmas break, I started on my 4-H project, decorating my room. Here's some pictures!
Before:

 <--- That's my "old desk" . Hannah decided to switch with me!













<--- I decided that I wanted to change the color scheme, but I also didn't want to have to paint my room. I decided on just changing the bedspread, and finding/sewing some fun throw pillows. This could change the feel of the room without spending a ton of money.

 As I already said, I decided to find a versatile bedspread so that if my taste were to change, (and it probably will!) I could easily switch it up.  By sewing throw pillows, I could bring in my accent color (gray) and save money! I asked mom to look for a white comforter, and here's what she found!

She also found some 5.00 blankets that I could cut up and sew into pillows! It's one of my favorite patterns! White and gray chevron!

Okay, I must admit, it was not the easiest stuff to sew with, and my seams aren't very even, but the pillows look fine (well, at least I think so!).

I also used an old, blue shirt we had and used the fabric from that!

                                Pinning and sewing!---->








So anyway, once all that was done, I decided to paint my desk. Hannah and I ended up switching desks, because her's was already white, and all I would have to do was touch it up with some paint. Here's the before pictures!

So anyway, I painted it, and guess what. Before I started, I didn't check the color to see if it matched with my bedspread. BAD IDEA! It turned out to be a creamish color, and it looked absolutely awful beside the bed. I decided there was only one option: repaint the desk. So that next day, I got to work. I checked the color this time! Here's the finished product!

Oh, I spray painted those letters and the vase on the desk! (My grandpa made the letters for me for Christmas two or three years ago!)

 All in all, I'm having a blast doing this! Although there is still more work to do, I'm looking forward to the finished product!

Coming in future posts:

Couch transformation!

(i.e. when I have money to do it!)

Wow! I can't believe it's already February! Yikes! Time flies. Lately, things have kind of settled down (at least for me!), and it's really nice not to be terribly busy. Well, mostly this week I've been doing school. I have a biology test I have to take, and I'm kind of stressing about that. =) 

     One of this week’s highlights was a sleep over Hannah and I had...we decided last night (Friday) that we should have a sleep over, and we were going to pull an all-nighter watching  Jane Austen movies, but I kind of got tiered around 3:00...so there went that idea. It was really fun. We watched Jane Eyre (okay it's not Jane Austen, but it was fun) Mansfield Park and part of Persuasion... =) 

      Is anyone looking forward to the super bowl? I'm excited! Go Denver! Hannah and I made football cakes today...mine was a total flop, but hey! It will still taste good! You can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! 

   We've been involved 4-H again and our club is doing a play for club days. Hannah and I are in it (yes, I'm not great at acting, but I still think it will be fun) and the script is hilarious! I'm playing an Egomaniac going on his first date.

     Speaking of 4-H, I started a project already! I’m redecorating my room (the only downside is I have to pay for everything…I never realized how expensive it can be!) Pictures will be coming! Right now, things are a little chaotic up there, and I think you might be scared by the mess! =) I didn't feel like painting the entire room, so I’m just changing the bedspread and finding some fun throw pillows. Hopefully it will give the room a whole different feel! I’d better sign off! Thanks for reading!

My Life Lately!

School is beginning to "wind down" as my mom would say, but with end of the year tests and finals it seems to be speeding up. Thankfully, I'm not too overwhelmed yet, but I bet by Sunday night I'll be seriously stressed. I guess God never promised us an easy life though, and I think sometimes it's easier to walk with him when we're stressed and overwhelmed then when everything is going smoothly. It's also hard to find time to with Him when everything seems crazy, so I guess it can go both ways. Anyway, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I really have been enjoying a few things.

1. Watching the kittens grow up. It is soooooo fun to watch them just be kittens. Clumsy, adventurous, and a little cocky. =) Maybe cocky isn't really the best word to describe them as, but they aren't very smart, and seem to overestimate their abilities!=) I guess all kittens are like that, but it's really enjoyable to watch!

2. Snow. It's so much fun to wake up and look out the window to a winter wonderland! The lake has partially frozen over, and it's been pretty cold out. Thankfully, there has been some snow though, and it's made the bone chilling weather a little more enjoyable.=) Maybe that doesn't really make sense, but it's just more enjoyable if it's cold AND there's snow.

3. Coffee! Ahh. My dad makes coffee every morning and sometimes he lets me have some. I know it's probably not the best option ever, but it's an INCREDIBLE feeling to hold something warm when it's so cold out.

4. Christmas preparation. We've put up the Christmas tree and decorated it, which was fun. I think the best part though is picking out the tree. =) I have so many fun memories picking out one with my family. Also I've been listening to TONS of Christmas music. It's been super fun. Some of my favorites are Carol of the bells by the Tras Siberian Orchestra and Pentatonix  Christmas music on Spotify. It makes the dreary days more cheerful!

5. Christmas shopping. Blaize and I went shopping at the mall on Tuesday afternoon. One of my highlights was that he OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME! Yup. On the way into the mall he opened the door and let me go first. Now if you know him, he usually doesn't do that, but I guess he knew it would bless me, and he was really trying to be a gentleman. He was really sweet the entire time. Another thing that really blessed me was that he was really patient and sweet when we were shopping in stores (Like Bath and Body Works and JC Penny) that he doesn't necessarily  like and he didn't complain or anything. I guess I thought it was really sweet that even though he doesn't like shopping and wasn't enjoying it he was making the best out of it and trying to be pleasant.=) I'm also excited about going Christmas shopping today. After my orthodontist appointment I get to walk down to Marshalls and Christmas shop for my mom! It might not sound that exciting, but I don't usually get to go places by myself, and it's kind of fun to have some freedom! =)
Anyway, that's all I have for now and I'd better sign off. I still have a bunch of school to do before my shopping excursion!!! until nest time,
Natalie=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

It snowed all day today on and off, and I bet we have an inch by now! We also found a tree on Wednesday, and we just finished decorating it today! Yup, it's starting to feel like Christmas! Friday and Saturday Hannah and I helped out with Bethlehem Revisited which is a reenactment of the Christmas story. It starts out with the prophecies about Jesus, and continues all the way through the resurrection. It was cold, but worth it.=) Unfortunately, I didn't help out tonight because I had several homework assignments to get to...=( Oh well, life is life! Things are starting to get crazier with tests stuff (since it is the end of the year!) I have a Biology Lab Final I need to study for (I'm SCARED!) and some other tests coming next week! Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! Here are some of my favorite things about Winter: 1. You get to wear scarfs and jackets! It's also nice and cold! 2. SNOW! I absolutely LOVE THE SNOW! It's so much fun to sled! 3. Getting snowed in, and not being able to go anywhere! It's so much fun to just hang out with our family when no one is busy! 4. Sitting by the fire! Ahhh. What a marvelous feeling to sit by the fire on a cold dreary day! 5. Warm drinks! (Hot coco, chi, and coffee are the best!) 6. Decorating for Christmas! I also love going and picking out the tree! 7. Soup. If you know me, its' my favorite meal! (Tomato, chicken, chili, and corn chowder are some of my favorites! That's all I can really think of right now! Have a great week!

Thanksgiving was really fun. We had our aunt, uncle, and cousins over (on my mom's side.) Grace and Chelsea are the closest cousins to our age (even though there is a fairly big age difference.) We played tons of games while they were here (blokus, 3-14, dutch blitz, dominion, etc.) We had a prize to give to whoever won the most games over thanksgiving and my dad won. The prize was a ceramic travel mug filled with Andes mints that my aunt and mom had found black Friday shopping. That brings up another highlight: Black Friday! We went with my cousins to the mall on black Friday, and shopped around for a few hours. Then, Chelsea treated us all to STARBUCKS! It was super fun! That night, we watched The Ultimate Gift, and if any of you haven't seen it, it's definitely one of my favorites! (a sequel is coming out on December 10th to redbox called The Ultimate Life! I can't wait to watch it!) Saturday, we held a family "Chopped."  Chopped is based off a TV show on the food network where contestants have to create meals with secret ingredients within a certain time limit. We split up into teams with my mom and cousins on one and my and Hannah and I on the other. The mandatory ingredients were sweet potato's eggs, and apples. We had 45 minutes to bake and plate the dishes for the judges (My dad, Uncle Greg, and Blaize=)
"We'll go and do archery while you guys bake." My dad told us as they headed out the door. We began discussing as teams what we could make.
"I was thinking we could make sweet potato pop-overs with caramelized apples, or something like that." Aunt Kathy told us in our group huddle. Hannah then suggested crepes. We all agreed that would work really well, especially with  caramel apple filling. Then, I overheard my mom's group talking about doing crepes. There goes THAT idea! We ended up deciding to make sweet potato waffles with caramelized apple and onion filling. We set the timer and began. I worked on beating the eggs while my aunt made the apple/onion filling and Hannah made the sweet potato waffles. By 30 minutes, we had put a waffle in the waffle iron and....IT WAS SUPER FLAT! Great. There goes the idea of  fluffy magazine cover waffles! (Fluffy makes me think of cotton, so maybe that isn't the right word choice...Oh well!) Time was running out, and we couldn't just serve the judges bumpy pancakes! Then, Hannah and my aunt had a amazing idea! We could make scrambled eggs and wrap them in the waffles like an omelet or something. Then we could pour the caramelized apples/onion on top and drizzle the caramel over it! Here are some pictures: