Keep Calm and . . .

You've probably seen all of those sayings like "Keep Calm and ..." There's a bunch of those fun sayings out there. Here's some of my favorites that I found on Pinterest:

Though I only sing in
the shower!

I definitely need to do
this more!

I actually don't
travel a ton, but
I hope to do a lot more
when I'm an adult!

What girl doesn't agree
with this?!

I LOVE tea! Especially
this one kind at this
tea place and it is like
an orange and dark chocolate
flavored black tea! So good!

This is so me!

A good laugh always makes
everything seem better!

This might not apply
to many of you, but
I personally love
writing!

There is one though, that I feel really rings true. 

Often times, when faced with a difficult situation, we turn to other people. We look to our support system, our family and best friends to get us through this hard time. And that's a great thing. But they can never help us or complete us like God can. When you stay calm and bring your worries to Him in prayer, you will feel so calm. Because now you don't have to worry. You've given your worries to God and are living with His Peace inside of you. When you start to feel a anxiety, God takes care of it for you. You don't need to worry about whether or whether not your friend will still be mad at you tomorrow, or if your parents are going to get a divorce. Jesus cares about all your worries, from the biggest to the most trivial. And he wants to help you. But He can't help you until you come to Him and ask Him for His help. Then just sit back and let God take the steering wheel. 

What's Your Prom Style?

If you're like most girls, you probably dream of going to prom and having an amazing night. I know I do. I took some pictures off of Pinterest and created some different looks. Hope you enjoy! If you find this post fun or interesting, please comment! Or you can comment on what style you'd be!

For the Sassy Girl:

A dress with a sparkly
top and fun flirty layers

Curly hair with a
unique braid

Sparkly heels with
some spikes

For the Girly-Girl:

A simple yet
feminine look

Thick loose curls

Matches the top of the
dress. Very girly

For the Diva:

Crazy pink heels sure to
draw attention

Pinned curls and
sparkles will be a
show-stopper

Luxurious pink mullet gown

For the Funky Chick:

Look at the gorgeous colors!
No one else will have a
dress like this!

Have to tone it
down for the shoes
since the rest is
so crazy!

A one-of-a-kind updo

For the Style-Savvy Girl:

Unique waterfall
braid in curled hair

Short and flirty with a
fun twist

Funky green high heels

For Her Royal Highness:

Very pink and very fancy

     

Just add a tiara
on top instead
of a headband

"Glass" slippers fit
for Cinderella herself

For the Vintage Girl:

Soft finger waves
swept to one side

                                                                                                                                                                  

Soft and flowy, with a
subtle sense of elegance

Vintage 1950s style shoes

Glitter-Coated Vases

I don't know about you, but I LOVE glitter! Now, I'm not a girly-girl, but I do love sparkles! Here's a really fun craft idea that I found on Pinterest. Hope you enjoy!

Supplies:

• Glass containers (preferably with smooth, straight sides)
• Glitter (I used Martha Stewart Crafts glitter in Wintermint and Bronze from Michaels)
• Foam brush
• Painter’s tape
• ModPodge

For the first vase I used a small cylindrical vase and using the foam brush, applied a thin and even coat of ModPodge on the interior walls of the vase. Next up, I dumped in a generous amount of glitter and rolling the vase in my hands, tapped the sides to get the glitter to evenly coat the ModPodge.

Then just let the vase dry. It takes a few hours, depending on how thick you apply the ModPodge. Any excess glitter can just be scooped up and put back in the original container for reuse. If you miss any spots on the vase, simply apply a second coat using the same technique using a thin layer of ModPodge, then applying glitter and swirling to coat.

Here's the finished product! A beautiful vase coated in
glitter and just waiting to hold some fresh flowers

I was not smart enough to come up with this. I found it on Pinterest and went to the link. Here it is: 

http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2012/07/diy-glitter-vases/

You can go there and find even more fun ideas to make simple thins special!

Pinterest

Hey everybody! Just wanted to let you know that I'm on Pinterest! If you want to follow me just go to www.pinterest.com and then search "Pearl Baker" .Hope you enjoy all of my pins and boards! I certainly do! 

Horses!

You've probably figured out by now that I'm a big horse freak from all of my pictures and stuff. I don't have a horse. . .yet. I hope to change that soon! I just thought'd I'd pass on a bit of my knowledge. 

First of all, adult male horses have two names. If they've been "gelded" (the horse word for neutering) then they're called geldings. If they haven't, they're called stallions. Stallions tend to be much more excitable and wild, and geldings are very laid back and relaxed. 

Female horses are always called mares. They can be spayed, but it's usually a very dangerous process, and the chances of them living through it is really small. 
Baby horses are called foals, but once they are a year old, they're called yearlings. At that point girl foals become fillies, and boy foals are called yearlings. 
Horse personalities vary, depending on the breed. The high-spirited Arabian is usually very flighty. Quarter Horses tend to be much more reliable and calm. There are always exceptions to the rules though. I have two good horse friends, and one is an Arabian and the other is a Quarter Horse. The Arabian is very calm and trusting, while the Quarter Horse is super jumpy and spooks at everything. 


They are bred all over the world. Different countries specialize in different types of breeds. Some countries produce stealthy racehorses, while others produce athletic hunters and jumpers. America breeds lots of horses, but is most well known for it's steady, reliable Quarter Horse. 
Horses are the most incredible animals in the world. They are highly intelligent, loving, and loyal. Everyone says that dogs are man's best friend, but I think that horses are. 

Boredom Busters!

I came up with a list of boredom busters for you. You can use these ideas any time. They're especially good for days when you're snowed in or a Saturday where you don't have anything planned. 

1. Make up a song or dance routine  to your favorite song, then dress up and video it!

Materials:

Video camera (an iPhone or an iPad with a video app would work fine too)

iPod 

Crazy dorky outfit
2. Start an embroidery project. I know, I know. It sounds really boring and old fashioned, but it's really fun! The best part is that you can do it while you're watching TV! You can embroider any design on it, or a quote. 

Materials:

Embroidery Hoop (you can find one at any craft store)

Small square of fabric in any pattern

A design that you can either iron-on or trace on (again, both can be found at any craft store)

Thread

Embroidery Needle (no different than a regular hand-sewing needle except that it's usually thicker and has a duller tip)

3. If your mom is anything like my mom, she probably gets a lot of design magazines and catalogs, like HGTV, Better Homes and Gardens, Coastal Living, Ballard Designs, and Potterybarn to name a few. Anyways, find all of the magazines like that you have lying around the house. Ask your mom if she's done reading them so you don't get in trouble later on. Cut out all of the furniture or entire rooms in it that you like, then glue them onto a sheet of paper. Now you've got your dream house. You can arrange things by room or something, or just have a giant collage!

Materials:

Old Magazines (that your mom is TOTALLY done with)

Paper

Glue or Tape

Scissors

A Sense of Style

4. Making a list of what your dream life would look like. 

Here's mine:

• Married to my crush
• Living on a horse farm in the country
• Beautiful colonial or craftsman
• 2 dogs: a Golden Retriever and a Poodle
• 2 cats: an Egyptian and a Calico (One's really thin and the other's fat so they balance each other out!)
• 5 kids, some of them adopted, named Pearl, Audrey, Jeanne, Ben, and Sam
• Being a stay-at-home-Mom
• Blogging
• Owning and running an online interior designer business
• House will have 4 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, family room, home office, 3 bathrooms, and a craft room

Materials:

Paper

Pen

An Idea of What You Want To Do With Your Life

5. Think of one of your favorite movies. Now, write down all of the characters in it. Even down to the little parts. Now give all of the people, say, at your school, a part. I took everyone from "The Hunger Games," like Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna. Then I gave parts out to people I knew. It was so much fun! But maybe it's just me. I do like something interesting. 

Materials:

Pen

Paper

Favorite Movie (that has a lot of parts)

An imagination

Instead of Getting Down on Yourself, Get Up

You know the feeling when you're just like, not exactly depressed, but kind of down on yourself? I know I certainly feel like that sometimes. I don't have a solution for it, but I do have an idea that can make it better. Take out all of your cards that you've gotten for your birthday and stuff and a pen and piece of paper. Now open up your cards. You don't have to reread all of them, just skim through picking out the adjectives that your friends and family use to describe you. Write all of those words down on a sheet of paper. Do this with every card. When you're done, read the list starting with the words, "This is the way my friends and family view me" and end it with "This is the way I should view me." Your list might look something like this:

1. Smart
2. Caring
3. Beautiful
4. Funny 
5. Witty 
6. Compassionate
7. Sweet
8. Patient
9. Zany
10. Quirky
11. Silly
12. Dorky
13. Happy
14. Adored
15. Appreciated
16. Loved
17. Admired

So this is the way your family views you. But did you know that that's also the way that God views you? He thinks you're smart, funny, compassionate, sweet, zany, and dorky. And that's the way he created you to be. He appreciates you, adores you, and loves you. Now whenever you're feeling down on yourself, just  look back on this list. Your family and God all view you this way, and you should too. 

Kisses from Katie

I recently read this fantastic book called "Kisses from Katie." It's about a 19 year old girl who falls in love with the country of Uganda and it's people. Katie has a really good life in America, but moves to Uganda, originally only for a year, while putting off college. She still lives there 3 years later and is in the process of adopting 13 girls ranging from around 16 to 4. She lives there for Jesus, using every opportunity to show His love to others. She has a large house, and aside from her 13 Ugandan daughters, takes in the sick, hurt, and hopeless. She started an organization called "Amazima" (which means truth) to help send Ugandan children to school and therefore change their future. Did I mention it's a true story, written by Katie Davis herself?

Katie Davis and her 13 beautiful daughters

I wish that I could be like that. You know, like do something with my life. To live the life that God has given me to the fullest according to his plan. Katie inspires me to get out there and help people. Life can be so boring when we're focused only on us. We think "Me, Myself, and I" instead of "Them, They, and Those." Wouldn't our lives look incredibly different if we all lived the second phrase. We would be serving others and sacrificing ourselves for His glory. I know that's how I want to live, though I'm far from it right now. 

I didn't write this post to make you feel guilty about how you're living your life. I simply wrote it to challenge you and myself to live life better. To the fullest, enjoying every moment, giving the glory to God, having fun, and letting our guard.

If you want to know more about Katie Davis and her work in Uganda you can visit her blog: 

http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

or Amazima's website:

http://amazima.org/

or read her book:

Kisses from Katie 

by Katie Davis with Beth Clark

Hope you find this helpful! If you did, please comment!

A Little Bit About Me

Hey guys! I wasn't really sure what to write for my first post, so here goes. Here's a bit about myself for starters. I'm currently in 8th grade, I love horses, dogs, and cats. I have a cat named 'Princess Leia' because she's so pretty yet so feisty and mean sometimes. I have a little brother and a little sister. One's in 5th grade and one's in 2nd grade. We'll refer to my sister as 'MVP' cause she's really good at basketball. My little bro will 

be 'Skywalker' cause he's a huge Star Wars fan. I help coach my little sister's AAU basketball team along with my dad. I go to a totally cool church! I want to be an interior designer or a costume coordinator for Broadway when I grow up. My heroes are (as in people who I want to be like). . .

1. Jesus Christ
2. My parents
3. Bethany Hamilton (Christian surfer who survived a shark attack)
4. Britt Nicole (Christian singer and songwriter)
5. Kristin Nielsen (My mentor, now a Kindergarten and English teacher in Japan)
6. Angie (Runs my church kids program and is amazing at it)
7. Courtney Vandersloot (WNBA basketball player for the Chicago Sky)
8. Kayla Standish (Former Gonzaga women's basketball player, plays pro in Europe) 
9. Elle Tinkle (Current Gonzaga women's basketball player)
10. Kevin Pangos (Current Gonzaga men's basketball player)
11. Abby Wambach ( U.S. women's soccer team player, second in total goals for the U.S.)
12. Sarah Richardson (Interior designer with several shows on HGTV)

My fave quote is "People will not remember what you said. ..what you did. . .but they will remember how you made them feel." -Unknown 

My favorite actors are. . .

1. Josh Hutcherson
2. Anne Hathaway
3. AnnaSophia Robb
4. Julie Andrews Edwards
5. Logan Lerman 
6. Jennifer Lawrence 

That's about all you should know about me. If you're still curious, you can view my complete profile.