Friday Night with Family

Z's parents are in town for a wedding, so we hung out with them this afternoon and evening. It was a lot of fun. They taught me how to play cribbage (I got first place), and we had homemade lasagna, and ice cream sandwiches, and spinach-and-fruit smoothies, and just a really good time. Can't wait for the rest of the weekend!

When we got to our car, the conversation went kind of like this:
Z: Do you know how many times I've ever beat my dad in any game??
Me: You guys were all helping me, though!
Z: You got pretty confident by the end. I can't believe you did that!

So we were laughing and having a jolly time on the way home too. Good times!

New Scarf Knot, a.k.a. I Feel So Cool Right Now

I've seen all sorts of tutorials on Youtube and Pinterest advertising new ways to tie scarves, and while I haven't watched them all to know for sure, I think I figured out a new one that looks totally legit!

I tried it with a thicker scarf, but it didn't look as good. A long, lightweight scarf is what I used that looked best.

First, loop your scarf around your neck like this. Pretty standard.

Then, take your loop and twist it twice (either direction probably works, so long as it's the same direction!). Next, pull the ends of the scarf over and through the new loop like so.

You can leave a gap on either side of the twist, or tug the twist down (gently!) and fluff the outside of the scarf to fill it in a bit. 

And voila! A way to tie a scarf that's a little fancier than a plain knot, but still fills in your neck to keep it warmer (or in my case, to cover up an inconvenient neckline). I feel like "Lock and Key" could be an appropriate name for it, with the twist being like the key. Thoughts?

Enjoy!

Profound...or not.

I was pondering earlier today how pain doesn't really bother me as much when I'm busy. That's probably a generalize-able principle in life, that bad things bother you less (and I usually complain less) when you're busy or have better things to think about. My example was my semi-arthritic ankle. That realization was the profound part.

The silly part is this: my ankle was one example, but it was in context of a few other things. I realized that last night, my arthritic ankle was flaring up, I had some recurring wrist pain, I had scratched my knuckle painfully at work, there are some healing hangnails, and I have burn marks on my fingers from a cooking incident earlier this week.

When I realized this, I just had to laugh. How did I end up with so many injuries/pain opportunities this week?? Silly me.

Mmmm

It feels like it's been a long time since I wrote a food post. So here's an update!

I found this recipe on Pinterest for "Blueberry Cheese Rolls" (and she has an awesome blog name) and wanted to try it because it's so simple. When I looked for berries in the store, strawberries were the best bargain (if fruit could ever be called a bargain this time of year), so I tried them today, and it was so good!

Light and fruity, sweet and creamy...

It made me feel like it looked like this outside,

Instead of this.

There's the power of good food for you. Isn't the bridge picture beautiful? It's one of my favorites from our honeymoon. Speaking of good food though, Z and I chatted last night, and realized that we were both a little worried about our eating and exercise habits. Our plan for now is to try getting some healthy snack foods and eat smaller meals (the smaller-but-more-frequent meal idea), and get more exercise in our daily routines. We'll see how it goes! We haven't done any exercise today, but we're working on the smaller meals and snacking, and it's going well!

Another Blog

I've been keeping a second blog for a few months that in microcosm is about my progress in school and academics, but in macrocosm is about self-reformation and helping me become the person I want to be. I update it more frequently now, and anyone who's been interested in this "Making Happy" blog would probably like reading "My Renaissance Project." I'll try to continue posting in both places, but they have different goals for now, and if I'm successful in the second blog, it will help me get back into blogging here on "Making Happy."

Presenting, "My Renaissance Project,"

Read this.

Everyone should read this address given at Brigham Young University a few years ago. Especially if you're someone who feels disappointed, anxious, unsatisfied, or unappreciated in your life right now and/or are apprehensive about the future. It made a big difference for me.

"What is Your Calling in Life?", Jeffrey A. Thompson, 2010.

Looking Up

I think things are looking up.

- I met with a bunch of good friends this morning.
- I have friends/acquaintances in every class MWF, my busiest days. I don't know yet about Tues/Thurs.
(these are SUCH beautiful, enlivening changes! I hope it stays.)
- A couple of my classes look more manageable than I anticipated.
- I think my family history class will be very productive.
- Somehow I feel better about losing half my raise at work due to scheduling conflicts.
- I just feel a little better about things generally: more like I can handle it, and knowing what I need to do.

So, here's to a positive start for the semester!

Also, Whoppers malt balls are fantastic. As are peanut-sauced Ramen noodles, courtesy of my husband. And generously-given clementines from a friend.