Does this make me a quarter Asian?

I've had my fair share of awful roommates but this year has been the exception. It was with some nervousness that Alyssa and I signed contracts to live with each other last Winter. We had been good friends through high school but never the best of friends. I'm pretty sure that it all started with our Senior Jazz Choir trip to Seattle and things just got better from there. Our friendship is an odd blend of ridiculously silly and deadly serious. She helps me stay up a little later and I help her go to bed before the sun comes up. She tells me what sort of things I say in my sleep and I tell her that Heavenly Father doesn't care if she can make a puppet. First semester was full of grand adventures including, but not limited to, helping me make coasters, Halloween, midnight Harry Potter, cookie dough freezer balls, eating at least one bag of tortilla chips a week, getting scared by Criminal minds, late night library nights once or twice, making new friends: Kameron, Captain Von Trap, Weasel Face, Ge-off, Just Kevin, Spanky Buttars, Trevor!, and Prince Eric, and of course some delightful chats that take place while we should be doing homework.

She is the Japanese woman that lives in my closet
She is my best friend.
Love you Liss Biss!

I'm sort of weird on Friday

-I'm beginning to think Beyonce has a closet full of leotards. See videos Single Ladies, Ego, Halo, Sweet Dreams, and Upgrade You respectively.
-That being said, if I had a body like that I'd run around in a swim suit all day too.
-I continue to believe that if I could meet one person dead or alive I would meet Beyonce. There's not a doubt in my mind that it would be the right decision.
-Three day weekend of laying around = my spring break
-I made my own refried beans in the crockpot yesterday and they are delicious.
-I'm made my own 7-layer bean dip for lunch/dinner. Thanks for the inspiration Natalie.
-The Miniature Tigers are coming to Salt Lake in April and I will be attending. (EXCITEMENT!!!)
-Amanda and I have decided that we want to be on the Amazing Race. She will be the map reader/navigator and I will be the driver since I will know how to drive a manual.
-I am going up to Salt Lake this weekend to hang out with my Grandma. All I want to do is sit in the hot tub and watch movies on that awful TV.
-Corn starch is a lazy girl's life saver.
-Three months from today is my birthday!
-Only my left bum cheek hurts from pilates on Wednesday...I don't understand!
-Today I am wearing the Kazakhstan shirt Natalie gave me for being the first to name all 195 countries. It is, to this day, one of my proudest accomplishments.
-Just played the game again and got 190/195. I've still got it.

The Romantic Gesture

When I was home at Christmas I had the opportunity to go through Mom's stash of old jewelry. While pilfering through piles of vintage treasures we came across a simple silver bracelet with the best origin story ever. According to her, while dancing with my Dad at a Stake dance, he slipped the bracelet onto her wrist without her ever noticing. When she finally realized there was a foreign bracelet on her wrist, she opened it up to find this little note.
Something about this story, and thinking about my 15 year old mother and 16 year old father in-like with each other makes my heart melt a little bit. It makes me feel lucky to have parents that have cared about each other for so long.

This morning as I rushed out the door to work, I noticed rose petals scattered all in front of my neighbor's door. I can only assume that it was for the one that's engaged from her soon to be husband. It made the long walk to work go by quickly as I smiled about the simple gesture that will mean a lot to that lucky lady. I guess what I'm trying to say it that whether it's giving a toaster to a girl that likes to complain about burning her toast in the oven, or spreading rose petals for your fiance it is always appreciated and it makes me smile. Happy Valentines Day friends.

In unrelated news, I cannot get this song out of my head so I thought maybe I'd get it stuck in yours too.

Rest

Tonight I've been laying around editing photos and updating my blog. I hope you enjoy it. For me, I'm rather enjoying this lazy evening spent mostly in my bed. I never realize how busy the week has been until it's over. Happy weekend!

My life in bullet points

-Utah winter has not only decided to dry out my skin but my eyeballs as well.
-Received a 93% on my first nursing test yesterday. I don't think I have EVER walked home from the testing center in such a good mood.
-Have so enjoyed the hilarity that comes from Alyssa Aramaki (aka Liss Biss)
-Slipped down the stairs in the SWKT the other day. Luckily I mostly caught myself before experiencing too much embarrassment.
-Excited by the thought of making Valentines Day cookies all weekend long.
-Just realized that I will be living in an apartment next fall that does not have air conditioning
-Been contemplating chopping off my hair, or maybe just cutting it. Having long static charged hair stuck to your neck is not the funnest thing in the world.
-Decided on my next craft project. SPOILER ALERT: it is Harry Potter related.
-Planning the endless amount of craft projects I want to do with Mom this summer.
-Working hard at school and sort of loving the payoff
-Finally realizing why people love college so much.
-Self timer roommate picture!

Almost 20 going on 60

I think we can safely attribute my love of all things crafty to the fact that I grew up with Mom sewing doll clothes, decorating and redecorating our house, and encouraging handmade creations. When you add my love of crafts to my "old soul" personality, it makes my real age about 60. For those of you that don't follow

Love of crafts + "old soul" = Mallory is really an old lady at heart

And you know what? I'm okay with it. A ton of people have no idea what to do with a needle and thread and it makes me sad. There are few things that satisfy me more than sitting down to make and create something and then having it completed to my liking. To add to the theory that I'm an old lady is the fact that I love hand sewing. I'm just lucky my hereditary arthritis hasn't kicked in yet.

Lately I'm obsessed with cross-stitch. It's kind of embarrassing how much time I've spent looking at cross-stitch patterns on Etsy in the last few weeks but I can't help myself. These two will be hanging on my wall next Fall.
In the tradition of our family I've started to sew felt Christmas ornaments. I think it all started with the Harry Potter set I made Kendall in 2009.

It's been snowballing ever since and this holiday season I finished two more Harry Potter's and a total of eight owls.

Next year I want to move into the world of robots and dinosaurs. I can't wait. In the end I guess what I'm trying to say is that your should all embrace your inner old lady...anything could happen.