last instagram dump until 2014

from left to right, top to bottom

[1] i wish growing out my bangs wasn't such a dang process, its taking forevs

[2] on my last night of work my mum came in and gave me basically a million dollars

[3] i've dropped this phone a thousand times and this was the time it chose to shatter the screen. i'd like to thank it for its thoughtful timing though. i don't need a phone for too much longer!

[4] one of the last few kentucky sunsets i'll see, and so preeeeetty

[5] boyfriend took me to shogun last week and it was so tasty

[6] jimmy johns has thee funniest signs, i could stay in there and look at them all day

[7] the fam went to roadhouse the other night and just got appetizers and desserts (the cheesecake is my fave)

[8] hadley and me on her last "first day of school" dinner

[9] eight hours in a car with four other people will do somethin to you...

[10] "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" is all that comes to mind

[11] encouraging texts from idaho cory

[12] it isn't a trip to kansas without a walk down memory lane

[13] sister black sent me the sweetest note after i gave my farewell talk

[14] orange leaf date with our favorite couple

[15] we spend our days with bubbles and coloring books, so what?

[16] hotel beds >

update

i spent the first few days of july at home. and of course by home, i mean kansas. it was the first time i'd been back in almost a year! my grandma flew into kc the night we drove in so we picked her up from the airport and she stayed with us. she made fun of me because almost every time we turned down a familiar street i kept saying "how weeeeiiiird!" it was to be back. it really was though. so much has changed in the last year. i never thought 2012 would have turned out the way it has. we were only home for three days, but we did a lot in those three days...

we bought cider doughnuts/lost trail root beer/peaches from the louisburg cider mill, attended church at our old ward, visited our old house, had lunch at chipotle (there isn't one near us where we live now and it's killlllllling me), took family pictures with jen fields. and visited family and friends. the most important thing we did during our time back home, and the main reason for our return, was attend the kansas city temple. i was endowed on july 3rd and it was such an awesome experience. i had invited some people from church to my session and i was so pleased that almost all of them were able to come! after our session we had a celebratory lunch at the texas roadhouse near the temple. when i walked in, the managers had written a message of good luck to me on the floor by the entrance. i felt pretty special that day.

most of all, it was wonderful being home. i lived in kansas for most of my life, so having been gone for almost a year, it felt right to come back. i don't think i'll ever feel more at home than i did there.

lately, via instagram

i don't quite understand the point of blogging when you don't want to. and lately i just haven't wanted to do. thus, the lack of posts. i'm sure you all will forgive me. but i figured it was time to give a little update. not a lot has been happening. i am going to start working 2 jobs, though. serendipity monday through thursday in the mornings, and then texas roadhouse monday through saturday in the evenings. i need all the money i can get right now considering i won't have time to earn it when i get home from my mission. my goal is to have enough to pay for rent, tuition, and (hopefully) my own car to have at school since my brother will most likely be driving mine (unless my mom sells it, that is). that means i need to be sleeping, breathing, and living dollar signs for the next 11 weeks or so. i can do it. i'm the little engine that could. so besides work and lots of quality family time, this is a little bit of how i've been spending my days...

1. say "hi" to the daisies i spotted on a cold, rainy, windy 2 mile jog

2. finding winky faces in the scriptures makes my new testament homework fun

3. the flailing about she does typically means she needs her belly rubbed, NOW

4. still getting used to my bangs, trying to love them

5. my mother and i took a day trip to st. louis just the two of us and it was absolutely magical

6. hads and i, backseat livin' on a saturday afternoon with the family

7. to get to st. louis we had to cross a bridge over the ohio river and i thought it was the coolest thing

8. running temple errands at the st. louis temple!

9. the healthy omelet my mom and i had for dinner tonight... so delish and only 150 calories!

i'm still alive. i'm just too busy (or too busy making excuses) to blog and any spare time i do have i try to spend with my family since we don't have a whole lot of it left! every day gets me closer to my mission and every day gets me more excited for it. let's just say, i'm ready for september 12th.

photo a day may

every month, fat mum slim puts up a photo challenge on her blog. i've been trying so hard since, i think, march to be sure to take a picture every day from her list, and every month, without fail, i don't. such a shame. i tried my hardest in may, but still came up short. here is the list from last month:

and here's what i managed to get:

and here is the list for this month:

it's a new month, and a new challenge. this is going to be the one i do every day, i just know it!

you should join :)

hi my name is paige and i am the pinterest QUEEN

this is a story about a girl who had no friends so all she did was cook. hi! that's me! 

having lived here for only 3 months, i don't have a whole lot of friends. so when i'm not working or with my family, i get suuuper bored. and i'm running out of things to do. so, i turn to pinterest, and focus my energy in the cooking direction. never have i ever loved cooking and baking so much. but in the last few days i have made so much delicious food!

first were the s'more cookies

then, pretzel chocolate chip cookies

earlier this week we made no bake cookies (which i didn't really need pinterest for...)

last night i made pizza monkey bread

and then this morning i made funfetti cookies

everything i've made has been deliiiicious. and for the most part, pretty easy! i've decided you seriously cannot go wrong with a pinterest recipe. tomorrow night, it's enchilada puffs and rasperry swirl cheesecake cups! 

to follow me on pinterest, click here!

and to see pictures of the yumminess (and everything else),

follow me on instragram @haiimpayge

do you have any yummy pinterest recipes i should try?

a minor setback

so this little joy came in the mail for me last week. i sent in my missionary acceptance letter and then got this in return! the instructions and information for getting my extended visa. getting all these big envelopes from salt lake makes this whole thing seem so real. in less then 4 months i'll be in the mtc like a real missionary! it's stupid how excited i am about this.

so because of all the technical things i have to get done this summer regarding my 18 months in spain, i decided that this week would be a productive one. i was going to fill out my passport renewal form, take it to walgreens and have them take my picture, and start working on my visa paperwork. i had made an appointment for my visiting teachers to come over. i had even agreed to come teach my brother and sister's seminary class one day. all on top of the 40 hours i was going to be working.

and then i got sick.

so, in lieu of the productivity i foresaw, i instead went to the walmart clinic (no waiting rooms and much faster service), got prescribed amoxicillin, and have been in bed ever since. in the last three days i have watched: 

footloose

the glee concert movie

7 episodes of revenge

the bachelorette premier

some embarrassing abc family shows

and a healthy dose of ryan gosling and chris evans

people, i am ready to be well. i have a lot to do as a future missionary and a lot of hours to work in order to make some very necessary money. so if you have a spare second or two, send your good thoughts, karma, mojo, and all that nonsense my way. my one day converts in madrid, and my family would appreciate it. 

just so we're being clear, i wouldn't mind being able to breathe and taste again either :)

countdowns, concerts, and cuties

my best friend in the world is getting married in ten days. there's a chance i'm more excited than she is. ten days, people! and that means i'm flying out to utah in 8 days. i like that a lot. this is the longest i've gone without a trip to utah since last august. i miss utah! and i miss amy. i'm excited for her to become mrs. amy demke. that sounds like a pretty solid name i think.

also, 35 days til i get lasik! it seems really far away, but i'm looking so much forward to never having to wear glasses or contacts again. i've needed vision correction since i was in second grade. 13 years later and i'm gonna be free of it! happy happy day. and happy late birthday to me! thanks mom.

speaking of music (just go with it), i thought the last concert i went to before my mission would be parachute, but it's not! i'm seeing the maine with taylor tomorrow night and i'm seeing a rocket to the moon with my sister in two and a half weeks. i'm gonna be missing juelaine though, she's my concert buddy. hooray for live music. 

i've finally gotten into a bit of a routine. i work about 35 hours a week at serendipity, and i'm babysitting about 5 hours a week, so i'm working fulltime and i'm glad to be busy. especially since the kids i watch are pretty much the cutest little humans i've ever seen. 

anyhow, enjoy the instragram from lately

see? he's absolutely precious

hadley had an awards ceremony

free ice cream at work >>>

hooray for this article on the kansas city temple being in the kc star!

my view for thunder

s'more cookies, thank you pinterest

well, knowing me it's going to be another week before i blog again. but keep on keepin' on, or whatever.

my week according to instagram

1. the area we live in is so pretty. so on saturday we took a drive through the hills and the trees, and all down back roads. when we stopped we looked through my sunroof and this is what we saw.

2. i haven't weeded since i was like twelve. we were supposed to weed the raspberry bushes. we accidentally weeded the onion plants. oops.

3. frozen pizza for the win.

4. this is what i look like when i wake up at 11 on a friday morning.

5. movie date with my baby brother. i went in the clothes i slept in the night before. go ahead, judge me.

6. my pool is open and ready for business! it's sooo chilly though.

7. the main reason i will never allow myself to get on academic warning ever again is so i don't have to take this dumb online workshop.

8. i'm 21 years old and carwashes still terrify me. but my ravvy needed it. poor guy hadn't been clean since february.

9. "red sky at morning, sailor's warning... red sky at night, sailor's delight"

10. amy's wedding invitation finally appeared in my mailbox!

11. i finally saw like crazy. i loved it. did you people love it? cause i loved it. like crazy.

serendipity

no, i'm not talking about the frustrating kate beckinsale rom-com of 2001. i'm talking about my new place of employment! it's called serendipity -- cafe, gifts & sweet shoppe. it's a charming little place right off of main street. i'm so ecstatic about it. i walked in, applied, interviewed, and got the job all in an hour. wish me luck with my new employment endeavors!

here's some instagram goodness from the week:

1. i've started my mornings with these two cuties the last couple days. we watch cars. love me some lightning mcqueen.

2. lipstick and i are on good terms lately. never really been a fan until now.

3. some afternoon study of preach my gospel. i'm almost a missionary people!

4. i've come to realize a good workout solves just about any bad mood. plus i love my nikes.

5. that sink! it's at my hair place. "all who looked upon her were turned to stone." eeeeerie.

spring is

shoe shopping

tulips

floppy hats

playing dress-up

easter baskets

and apparently (this year) spring is filling your pool up in april. the guys are coming out on wednesday to get it ready and i'm soo excited. i like spring.

today i learned

that i hate waiting rooms

that i have massive pupils

that i am extremely near-sighted

that the scars i got on my eyes a couple years ago are diminishing

that i am a perfect candidate for LASIK surgery

and that by next wednesday afternoon i'll have pretty much perfect vision

and i am thrilled

thank you, android

the best thing in the world happened yesterday... 

android got instagram

miracles happen people

i've become obsessed, i probably need to slow down

check it outttt

my very first photo on instagram

kinda makes you wanna listen to "bowl of oranges" by bright eyes, does it not?

my boy ricky made me take a picture with his stupid UK hat after kentucky won

sad face

today i woke up to the most fantastic thunderstorm

and i saw that it was good

if red pepper deli exists where you live and you haven't tried it,

try it

it is exceedingly delicious

when it comes to vampires, edward and bella have nothing on stefan and elena

my girl kelsey gave me her tie-dye hoodie when she moved out of rexburg in december

and i wear it embarrassingly often

love me some rainy windows

and then came the sky after the storm

and it was beautiful

now do yourself a favor and go eat a cookie

and if you'd like... go follow me on instagram

@haiimpayge