DIY: T-Shirt to tank

As summer is rapidly approaching, or should be, I am trying to figure out what I will wear when I walk the dog or go running or just do something outdoors. I realized that I needed more tank tops but I really hate to spend money on ones that I am just going to sweat in, I don't know why I feel that way but I do. After looking for things at several stores I remembered the T-shirt to tank pins I had seen on pinterest and thought I have some old shirts I could do this. I wasn't too sure it would work but if they weren't that cute I could just sleep in them and no one would ever see them, so win-win right.

An old shirt that was destined for the rag bag

I chose to use this pin but for the most part they are all the same. I looked through my t-shirt drawer and chose three shirts that I could live without and would not be super depressed if they died in this adventure. These were shirts from college that had holes in the pits or were just super nasty from years of wearing them. I chose shirts that were worn in so they are super soft and comfy.

For the most part I followed the directions, but since my shirts weren't super long I opted not to cut the bottom off or make it a mullet shirt (short in the front and long in the back). I am working on getting fit so in my humble opinion no one should see my slightly flabby tummy flopping around while I run so I left mine long... of course you may make your own choices.

A couple of hints:

-Don't go crazy on the front, I opted to leave mine kinda high and then adjust once I tried it on

-I found that for the tie on the back if you hold one end in place and wrap the other end up the joined parts it looks better and works just a tad better.

-The shirt doesn't get any bigger so it should fit when you start.

-As for the arm holes, don't go too low or your boobs will hang out, now if you don't have huge knockers this might not be a problem for you.

Three new workout tops: aka motivation!

I think mine turned out really well and I am pretty excited about going for a run in one of them later today! Yay for a sucessful project. I will keep you updated on if they fall apart in the wash or something crazy. 

Hello Mr. President

A few weeks ago the Bush Library was dedicated and all of the living presidents came to town for it. This is W's library, Bush the second for non-texans or democrats, and I am very excited to see it. No matter what you thought of the man, his Library will give an insight into how things were for those eight years.

His father's library is at A&M and if you ask me W should have put his library there but that is OK at least I will get a chance to see it since it is here in Dallas. I did tour the Bush Sr. library several times while I was in school. It was so neat to see some of the things that he collected and of course some of Barbra's pearls. I also saw Bush Sr. around campus several times and once at the rec center. It is really an honor to be a part of one of these libraries.

Since all of the living president's were gathering in Dallas and it is well known that they fly into Love Field, the airport right by my office I spent most of the day looking for Air Force One. I will admit that I thought I saw it several times until I really gave up. As I was waiting for the elevator there it was and I grabbed my phone and took a pic. Now it was huge in the sky but not so much when I took a picture. Yes I know this looks photoshopped but give me a little credit if I was going to photoshop this I would have done a better job. Oh well, it was still fun to see him.

The worst picture ever of air force one, you should just trust me

As I walked out to my car I decided to take the back road home so that I wouldn't get stuck in traffic due to his arrival. As I am driving I come up to the light and there are cops everywhere and we can't go anywhere. I am mildly annoyed as I assume that this is due to an accident.. a moment later I realize that this is because the president was going to drive by... so I get off the phone with my dad and out of the car. Since all traffic is stopped I walked down the street much closer so that I could see the limo and the crazy entourage go by. As I talk to some of the other people waiting for him to arrive we are all pretty excited to get to see this.

Then the first motorcycle cop goes past and we all put our phone up... I tried to snap a few pics and realized that I would have another crappy photo like Air Force One so I just took a video. It was really neat to see the POTUS drive past. I couldn't see anything but the limo but it was still cool.

As I continued down the back road home I passed protestors... I was a little confused by their location but who knows what they are thinking. Originally I thought it might have been some sort of gun control protest, this is Texas and we love our guns so that would make sense. It turns out it was some sort of environmental protest, I was a little weirded out as I sat at the front of the light trying to take pictures of this so you could see it while some creepy girl that looked like Wednesday looked on. So random.

Protesting something about oil

More protestors... 

I will readily admit that I am a republican (yes shocking I know) but I was thrilled to get a chance to see the president. It was like the Olympics and how everyone loves their country, I was so pumped up to be an American that day. I am still pretty jazzed about it. So much fun and what a random trip home from work after a failed experiment. I hope you enjoyed seeing the POTUS from my vantage point.

Joining the League

Over the last so months I have been going through the process of joining the junior league of Dallas. This is like applying for college, you decide to apply in October, find out you got accepted in February, and have your first meeting in May. My first meeting is tomorrow and I am super excited and also very nervous.

For those of you that don't know what the junior league is don't worry I didn't know either. The JL is an all female service organization that also throws some pretty awesome parties (or so I've heard). One of my very best friends is part of the JL in her town and she just loves it and enjoys the service. She was talking about it and I realized that would be a great place to make more female friends, they are so elusive in a new town.

As for tomorrow I am nervous about what to wear and if I will be the oldest. I have a million stupid fears and to be honest I am still surprised that I am doing this alone. I am excited to see what this chapter has for me and all of the neat girls. I think much of my anxiety is over what I will wear, they said wear your work clothes: yeah I wear jeans and a top most days. Oh well I am sure I will figure it out.

Well I am going to write up the rest of this after the first meeting so you will get the two perspectives together. Eee I can't wait!

The morning of the meeting

Looking good

I admit I woke up early so that I could look my best. I was so anxious about meeting these girls and hoping that they liked me. I wanted to make sure that my hair looked good... that takes time. Over the weekend I had gone to Target so I grabbed a dress, I felt that was probably a good thing to wear.

I loved this part

When I was reading Jesus Calling that morning it had something great to say that was perfect for my day. My mom also reminded me that I am blessed and I am an asset to any group. Isn't she the best ever!

My mom is the best ever!

After the Meeting

After a long day of work I snagged a sandwich since the meeting was from 7-9 and there is nothing worse than being hungry in a long meeting. I got there a few minutes before 7 (I did NOT want to be late) and sat in the room seeing what the other girls are wearing. For the most part there was a wide range of attire and women. Once I realized that the image I had in my head of the women I would meet was wrong I really enjoyed the meeting.

For the most part it was a meeting about the requirements for the year and the nine million things that have to be done to become a member next year. For the most part there are meetings to attend and fun things to do as well. I am very excited about making new friends and enjoying what is to come with this. I will be sure to keep you updated on my adventures in the League!

Yay for new adventures!

May goals

I cannot believe that it is already May, I also can't believe that I have been here for a year already. Crazy. I am in shock that it has been a year, I feel as if I have accomplished both so much and so little. But that is a post for another day...

Sometimes the whole weekend passes me by before I really get anything accomplished so I thought that maybe if I shared with you my readers that things might really get done.

Find a navy dress for the wedding
Plan my St. Louis trip
Get a haircut
Run a 5k, I am petty excited about this one
Jog 2-4 days a week
Decide on a new bible study, at the moment I am thinking of either Ester or a women of the bible one
Register for the summer bible study at church
Write the intro for the beast paper
Try 4 new recipes
Blog more frequently

I am sure there are a million other things I would like to get done this month but I have no idea what they are at the moment. I am still trying to get things together around the apartment, for the most part everything is unpacked but there are still a few places where another piece of furniture or another method of organization. I have my eye on a few things at target, but I am still trying to make sure that it is what I want.

I think that since I am no longer in school this is more a part of life, making sure that things get done and they are get done in a timely manner. I am still loving the apartment and I am looking forward to getting the last few things that I need and a few more decorations.

What are your goals for the month of May?

High Road Trucking

On my way home on Sunday I got a chance to see my younger brother in action. He is the owner/ operator of High Road Trucking, he hauls stuff for oil companies. I have been meaning to get over to his house to see his truck but it always seems to get lost in the shuffle but when it happened that we were both going the same way on I-49 I was pumped.

He left about 45 minutes before me so I was playing catch up all the way. The odds were in my favor since his truck maxes out about 65 so I knew I was going to catch him. It was fun to drive because I was constantly looking for a truck carrying two rows of pipe. It took almost three hours for me to catch him but I eventually did. Lily was even looking for him at point but in the end she took a nap.

The trucker!!!

It was so much fun to see him in action, I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face but that would have been pretty unsafe. To be honest this was as good as it was going to get. I was just thrilled to get a chance to see him doing something that he loves and for just a few moments be apart of his job. I don't often get to spend time with him but we tend to chat frequently when he is hauling stuff around the country so it was great to see him. 

I think he enjoyed this as much as I did, it was just so cool. This truck is hanging in there and just chugging along. I don't know if I ever say it but I am just so proud to be his sister to be apart of the cool things that he is doing. I just love him so much and I am just thrilled to be his sister. Andrew I love you more than life!

Nurse Ratchet

Last weekend I went down to visit my parents and take care of my mom for a few days. My mom had one of her bunions removed (yes this does imply that there is another one to still remove). My duties were mainly bringing things to her since she was on crutches and the only way to carry stuff on crutches is in a backpack and you can't really put coffee in a backpack. So for the most part I just brought stuff to her and hung out.

Looking forward to get going

For the drive down it was relatively uneventful but driving late at night is really no longer my friend. I did just fine until the end of the drive, you know the last 45 minutes before you pull in the driveway. Lily didn't do that well on this trip, I think the late start really threw her off her game.

One of the pretties moonrises that I have ever seen... too bad the pic looks terrible

She was still a little out of it when we got to the house. I think it was hard since we got in late and just got right in the bed there wasn't a whole lot of running around like usual. I knew she was cranky when she spent the entire night in the very small twin bed that I sleep in at my rents house. Typically she spends a few minutes with me and then gets down to sleep on the floor. Not this time she was there when I woke up just as snuggled up next to me.

I thought that I would be a cute daughter and whip up a batch of cookies one afternoon and thought that I would make my oatmeal cookies. In the recipe Martha Stewart mentions that you should use parchment paper but my mom was out so I figured that it didn't really matter. That was a HUGE mistake... the cookies melted all over the pan and would not come off. In the end all that was left were some very very dried out cookie crumbs.

Cookie Wafers

At the end of the weekend I bathed both of the dogs and furminated both of them, if you have a dog that sheds a lot of hair I would totally recommend a furminator, which you could see here. I kid you not a whole bag of hair came off of my mom's dog. Not too much fur came off of Lily but I think she is just now starting to shed so I may look into purchasing one of these.

It was great to get to spend a few days with my parents even if my dad called my nurse ratchet all weekend long. Oh well, sometimes it is just great to spend time with family. I enjoyed being able to take care of my mom since she is so good to me when I have been sick. I wish I could have done more but I think it was great to be able to spend time with her and just take care of a few things.

She is doing great and her foot is looking good. It kinda looks like frankensteins foot but she is doing great! I will be sure to head back down there for the next surgery.