Confessions of a Country Girl/Livestock Show

   Last week was the project show/livestock show. It's a really fun, busy week. I only made one project, but my little brothers showed their animals and I led barn tours, so we were there ALL. WEEK. LONG. :D

  I don't mind, though. I love the atmosphere: wearing boots, slugging through mounds of dust while George Strait wails through crackly old speakers, petting the rabbits waiting to be shown, cheering for friends as they show, balancing precariously on pipe fences surrounding the arena just for the fun of it, even waiting in an hour-long line in the hot sun to buy a snowcone.

Okay, my monologue has lasted long enough. Moving on,

The buckle is silver and turquoise! It's so heavy that it pulls my belt down.

I got this reserve grand champion belt buckle with my kitchen set project!!

I apologize for the galoshes/lack of Western attire; the barns are very, very muddy(I now live an hour from Old Navy, btw). But aren't they cute galoshes?

 Dad taught me how to use the tools and I learned a lot. I had a great time painting the kitchen set, decorating it, and building it. It started with an old desk I found for $40 at a thrift store, and we built shelving underneath. The faucet a nice employee at Lowe's gave to us for $5, as it was a display faucet they no longer needed.
The 'burners' are furniture grip pads glued to a board spray painted silver. The sink basin is a mixing bowl.

I had a ton of fun leading the barn tours this year as well. We had 585 kids come through. We walked them in groups of two classes from station to station, then through the barns to look at the cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, peacocks, turkeys, horses, etc. It was such a great experience, but also a very eye -opening experience. When we asked where they thought beef came from, they said the store., or  they thought people 'grew' it.  "A man grows it an' puts it in a truck an' takes it to the store," one boy explained confidently.

   I guess, in the five years I've lived in the country, I've become used to learning exactly where my food comes from. I know where the animals live, what they eat, and  where the plants grow. Not to say I'm an expert at country life; I can barely ride a horse. :)
Still, I've come to think of myself as a country girl, and I'm proud of that!

Easy DIY Paper Flower tutorial

Have you always wanted to try your hand at paper flowers, but don't have everything you need? Here's how to make a super easy flower! It take about 30 min to make a large one. This link is what I used to make them, but I put my own spin on the flowers by making them pointy-er(if that's even a word!) at the edges.
You will need:

•  Six sheets of construction paper 
• Hot glue gun 
• Scissors

1. Fold one sheet of  paper into a triangle and trim excess paper to make a square. Unfold.
2. Fold the bottom corner to the top. This will make a triangle.
3. Fold both corners of the triangle up into the middle corner to make a diamond. (or a square, depending on how you look at it)
4. Fold those same points down. The folded edge will line up exactly on top of the outside edge of the square. if you don't do it exact, your flower will look a little less delicate and more abstract, which is kinda cool as well.
5.  This next part is a little tricky. Open those points by running your finger through the inside and then flatten them.
6. Fold the top triangles towards you so they are level with the edges of the paper.
7. Hot glue the edges together and fluff them out, and you have a petal! Repeat this six times, and hot glue the petals together as you go for an awesome flower!

Church

Today was church, and the high school girls Sunday School teacher, Ms. Sally, made all of the girls (including my 8th grade class!) these adorable bouquets. She also served us breakfast-pigs in a blanket, fruit, and  breakfast burritos. Wasn't that sweet? (I feel compelled to mention that there are no longer any candy hearts, and the tootsie rolls are half-gone. Just saying.) But, really, my church is awesome. Our other teacher,Mrs. H, is so encouraging, and she really makes the Bible come alive. Today, for instance, we did a skit on God's word and patience. It was fun, but it wasn't so silly it took away from the lesson, if you know what I mean. That's one of the things I like about her. Oh, and look at this!

Ms. Sally's friend made them for us! Nice, right?! I love it! Now I leave you with this:

Credit goes to http://img2.etsystatic.com/000/0/6351714/il_fullxfull.342041326.jpg

Cookies 'n' Cream Cookies!

Andrew and I decided to surprise Mom with some yummy cookies when she got back from getting her blood test done at the doctor's.The cookies were great!

Cookies and Cream Cookies

Recipe adapted from Erica's Sweet Tooth

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

6 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 Oreo's, broken up into small pieces

- Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

-Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

- Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.

- Add flour, baking soda, and salt.

- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

- Gently fold in Oreo pieces.

- With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1-2" apart.

- Bake for 8-10 minutes*, until the edges JUST start to brown. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe yields about 30 cookies.

*If you take the cookies out early and let them harden, they'll look more cookies- and-creamy and not as brown!

How to make an easy friendship bracelet

American Girl magazine pic from here.

I picked up a copy of AG magazine at the store and noticed a friendship bracelet tutorial inside. I practiced making the bracelets it showed how to make until I was able to invent my own "twist" on a bracelet pattern commonly known as the spiral twist.

1. First, find some embroidery floss. Cut four 22 inch strands of any colors you like.
2. Gather all the floss together and tie a knot at the top and bottom of the floss.
3. Hold one knot in each hand and twist slowly until you can feel the floss tightening between your fingers.
4. Hold the floss straight out in front of you. Put a finger(or, if the floss tangles when you let go, use your foot)in the middle of the floss. Let go of the middle so the floss twists itself up.
5. Twist the floss(still folded in half) the opposite way you twisted earlier. It will start to look a little like a braid. Stop when it gets really tight. Tie a big knot below the two knots you made earlier.
6. To wear, pull the big knot through the loop at the bottom. If you're having trouble, check out the video above.