31.

January 31.

It was the day that changed my life. I can remember bits and pieces so vividly, like it was just yesterday instead of thirty-one year ago.

January 31. Thirty-one years ago.

People have asked if I could go back in time and change things, would I? Of course not. Everything happens for a reason. If I changed that one event, would my life match up to what it is today? I wouldn't want to chance that. I love my life.

Thirty-one years later, I am happy. Thirty-one years later, I have this amazing family that I love with all of my heart. I have a husband who I fall more and more in love with each day. I have a son who is a great kid, gets amazing grades (just found out he's getting a 100 in 9th Grade Science - boo-yah!), and is more sensitive to others maybe a little bit because of me. I have this Wondermutt who acts SO! EXCITED! TO! SEE! ME!! every time I come out of the bathroom. I have a loving mother who still makes me peanut butter toast when I'm sick and hangs out with me when I need girl-time. Thirty-one years later, I have friends -- lord, do I have tons of friends! -- who I know will be there for me forever.

I am blessed. No matter what happened thirty-one years ago today, I truly am blessed.

Then - at my third birthday party.

Then - on my third Christmas. Almost one month before the accident.

Now - with Mason at the Tidal Waves Pep Rally
Now - with Mark at Ben and Samar's wedding.

Now - with Mom at Flip Happy.

Now - with the Naumann's at Epcot.

Now - with my girlfriends also known as the Pentagon of Trust.

Now - with friends in awful 80s wear! ;-)

Our Early Release Day

Today was an early release day for Mason. I am THANKFUL that it was an early release day because we had a horrible storm here last night. Hurricanes, hail, flash flooding. It was like the time of Moses. Needless to say, sleep was not plentiful in our home, so only having half of a day of school was perfect.

Like the nice mom that I am (yeah, right!), I emailed some friends to see if anyone wanted to join Mason and me at Jumpstreet, an indoor trampoline park. I wish I had known that they have free wi-fi. And I wish I had taken my earbudsso that I could stream something on Netflix. Because, if you can imagine, it's pretty difficult to actually READ at an indoor trampoline park. And it smells like sweaty kids. And feet.

But The Boy had a great time with his friends, so that is all that's important! And I got to people-watch.

The whole time there made me think. As parents, we all have to go places and do things that we don't necessarily want to do. It's part of the whole parenting-program we all chose. Some events are worse than others (my husband chaperoning a middle school dance, for example). I could have dropped The Boy off and ran to Target or Barnes and Noble. I would have rather preferred staying in my car, drinking Starbucks (no outside drinks in Jumpstreet!). But, I told my friends that I would be there, in case one of our kiddos needed something (which they did -- what did we DO before drink machines gave change back?). Just like my friends have been there to watch my kiddo.

Like we make our kids eat yucky vegetables at dinner, parents have to go yucky places that may smell like feet...

Sunday's Slight Obsession

I am slightly obsessed with Fage Greek Yogurt 0% with Honey. It is SO hard to find this certain kind here because the stores either don't have the 0% or they don't carry it in honey. I have tried it with strawberry (ew) and mango guanabana (double ew). Nope. Honey is the way!!!

I also am slightly obsessed with Cafe Express Chai Latte K-Cups. Mark got me a Keurig last Christmas. I like coffee, but can't drink it very often (darn kidneys), so the Keurig is perfect for me. I tried a bunch of different coffees, teas, hot chocolates (ok, Mason tried those), and the Cafe Express Chai Latte K-Cups are my very favorite. I love Chai tea. I love Chai Lattes. These? The best I've had. Starbucks, Austin Java, and the Coffee Bean all make watered-down versions of Chai Lattes. K-Cups? Perfect!!! However, they CAN screw up your machine. You can only do the smallest setting (8oz, I think?). You have to shake up the K-cup before you put it in the machine. As soon as it's done, remove the K-cup and you HAVE to run an empty cycle (without a K-cup, just straight hot water) in order to clean out your Keurig or it will gunk up and not make a full cup.

Lastly, I am slightly obsessed with Satay, a Thai restaurant here in Austin. I have gone here a few times with my friend, Laura. She had her mission trip in Japan and loves curry as much as I do. Satay's Pa-Nang? AMAZING! We both ask for it "not so spicy" and it is DELICIOUS!! We usually have to get extra rice. This place is SO good!!! Their Kampung Udang appetizer (again, ordered "not so spicy") is both yummy and fun! And Satay's Satay is definitely worth naming the place for!

Ok... so all of my obsessions this week are food related. :)

Pinterest Project #2 and GIVEAWAY!!!

Ok. I lied. I kind of did this project before the previous one. In mid-December, I took my mom to Marmalade Skies and we learned how to make Egg Nest Necklaces after seeing them pinned on Pinterest. It was a short class that cost $14 and we each made a necklace. After, Mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and spent $16 on all of the supplies we would need to make 203982058 Egg Nest Necklaces.

This was the necklace I made at the class. I chose ONE bead because I only ONE child.

So... want to learn how to make them?? Now that I know what to do, I can make them in about 10 minutes. Super easy and cute! I made a few for Christmas gifts!!

You will need:

Jewelry Wire (I use 20 gauge)

Beads (we bought pearl-types. And I have no idea what size. Check the pictures for an idea) You can use 1-4. I am sure you can make nests with more than 4 beads, but I'm not sure how they'd look placed. I haven't tried that yet!

Wire Cutters/Jewelry Cutters

Jump Rings (which I absolutely stink at using)

First, measure out your wire. I don't have a picture of this because it didn't turn out well (none of them really did, because it was late at night and I only used my iPhone). I measured it at about 3 feet. I ended up with some leftover wire that I cut off, but it's super cheap and I'd always be safe than sorry. ;-)

Next, string your beads at the very top. You are going to leave a little bit of a "tail" at the top. Then, fold the wire down and twist so that the beads make a "circle." Twist a few times.

Now, grab the beads in one hand and the wire in the other, and start wrapping the wire around the beads. You can't mess this up because all bird nests are unique! On my first one, I wrapped it pretty loose. However, I prefer the tighter wrapped nest. It's best to keep the beads squished between your thumb and index finger on one hand and twist the wire with the others. You want to make sure you are wrapping the wire AROUND the beads and not OVERLAPPING the beads. If you mess up, simply unwrap carefully. Just try not to twist your wire or it will get kinked.

Once you get the nest to the size you like, pull the wire "tail" through the space between your beads. Tightly wrap it around that space a few times (this is where you may need to use those pliers!). Now is when you have to chose which side is the front and which is the back. Once you are happy with your side wrapping, take the wire through the backside and thread the wire through another section between beads. Continue doing this until you have twisted between all of your beads. Don't wrap a few of those passes as tightly on one of your sections.

Now, open your jump ring and loop it through that pass that you didn't wrap tightly. I apologize, I didn't take a picture of that. Once you get the jump ring on, just use your pliers and close it! Easy peasy!

String the beads and leave a "tail."

Twist the tail at the end of the beads to form a circle of beads. Twist the end a few times to secure the beads.

Wrap the wire AROUND the beads. Make sure you don't overlap the beads!

Hold the beads between your thumb and index finger and then wrap the wire with the other hand.

I like to overlap my wires to make it look more natural.

Here is where I decided I like how I've built the best. See where I ended wrapping? I then threaded that through the backside in between the two beads.

Another picture of where I brought the wire through two beads. Thread it through the original wire that you first threaded the beads on for stability. Wrap each section a few times and then move on to a different section between beads.

Almost done! Just need to finish that last section.

All that is left is adding the jump ring so that you can wear your new pendant on a necklace, chain, or whatnot.

THIS is the first time I have ever made jewelry, short of making friendship bracelets in elementary school and at summer camp. I am a novice!! And I keep getting better with every nest I made.

Now, I have this cute birds nest pendant and I don't need!!! Sooo...

WELCOME TO CURLY KRISTEN'S VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!

• PRIZE: This cute birds nest pendant with three dark iridescent "eggs."
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “BIRDS” and tell me…
• BONUS QUESTION: … what is your favorite bird? Any specific reason?
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Sunday, January 29 at 8:00 CST!!!
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• PRIZE SHIPS: The United States
• USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced next Monday as an update to this post. That’s right, come right back here next Monday for the announcement of the winner. Good luck!!!