Birthday Dinner!

This past month was Wesley's birthday, so I decided to cook him a nice meal for his birthday. On the menu:

Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Stuffed Tomatoes
Shrimp with Mango Salsa

I followed some recipes from Pinterest but tweaked them according to time and what I had. Note, I am not big on measuring things exactly unless its a liquid (even that's iffy) so you can follow a recipe or do what I do and just add stuff on what you see fit.


First the tomatoes:

Ingredients:
Basil
Four (large-ish) tomatoes with the tops cut out and the "stuff" removed
Feta or Goat cheese
Salt/Pepper
Any seasonings, etc that you want to put in there (cilantro, thyme, beans, etc)

There are so many options for stuffed tomatoes that you can put almost anything in there. Mix all of the ingredients with the insides of the tomato and fill up your cored out tomatoes. Top with cheese and bake in the oven at 375-400 for about 20 min or so. Some people brush it with olive oil but I forgot that piece and they turned out fine :)


Zucchini Boats:

Ingredients:
Zucchini, split length-wise
Cheese
Sour Cream
Garlic
Onion
Tomato
Anything else! Like I said before, anything goes, just pick flavors that will complement each other

Shell out the zucchini and put that in a bowl. Saute the garlic and onion in a pan. Mix that in with the zucchini and other ingredients. Fill up your "boats" and top with cheese. Bake with the tomatoes about 30 minutes or so though.


Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
Mangos (duh)
Cilantro (smells so good!)
Red onion
Lime/Lemon/Orange juice (I used fresh squeezed, and when I say orange juice...not the orange juice you drink)
Salt/Pepper
Basil
Strawberries (optional...definitely sounds good!)

Mix all ingredients together (i made sure everything was chopped up well) and done!


Shrimp:
I cooked the shrimp in a pan and sauteed them with lime juice, butter, and cilantro. They turned out really well. Then I topped them with salsa!


Don't be afraid to look up other recipes and mix and match them. That's what I did to make something that worked for me and something new.

Enjoy!

Coaster Craft Galore!

Hey everyone,

So I post a lot about food and running and such but I found this little gem online and I can't help but share! 

I was looking for a good, slightly inexpensive (I am a college student afterall) gift to give friends and family....hence PINTEREST surfing. I search and I finally found the perfect gift that I could personalize and make pretty easily....coasters! They turned out great and everyone who got them loved them. I liked them so much I made myself some!

Things You'll Need:
-4x4 tiles (Lowe's has them for 16 cents-can't get much cheaper)
-felt pads (Lowes again...a pack of 84 for $3.20 roughly)
-Mod Podge (we had the glossy finish)
-Clear Acrylic Sealer (We used the Mod Podge kind but I think any kind works just as long as it's waterproof) (ours was the matte finish but it really doesn't matter...whatever you have)
-A computer/printer/paper

Next Step....The actual crafting...

Instructions: 

For the Design:

1) Go online and find some pretty/cool/whatever backgrounds you want. Save those onto your computer. 

2) Open Microsoft Word and start a new document. 

3) Go to Insert => Text Box => Simple Text Box

4) Erase the text already in there and fix the sizes to 4x4

5)Type in the box your person's initials or name or whatever you want (I did initials and remember if you want the bigger one in the middle to First, LAST, Middle). Fix up how you want...center it, make it bigger, change the font, etc...Just play around with the options until you find something you like. 
6) Click on the "Format" tab

7) For the background: Go to "Shape Fill" and click on "Picture". If you need to adjust the picture because it looks distorted (sometimes this happens due to the size) you can go to the "Format" tab under "Picture Tools" to play around with how your picture looks. You can also just pick a solid color if you wanted (I also did a few like this)

8) Adjust your text color and such to what you want in the "Format" tab under "Drawing Tools."

9) VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure you under "Format" you go under "Wrap Text" and choose the option "BEHIND TEXT" or your writing won't show up. 

10) Keep doing this until you have as many as you want! I was able to fit four to a page. Print!


For the Crafting:

1) Cut out your designs

2) Do a layer of Mod Podge on your tiles and lay the paper on it. Be careful of wrinkles and bubbles. It's not a big deal but if you're a perfectionist like me it sorta bothers me when it's not smooth. 

3) Let it dry for about an hour

4) Go back and do another layer of Mod Podge over your tiles

5) Wait 15 minutes 

6) Do another coat.

7) Let that dry for a few hours (we were on a time crunch so we waited about 3...you could wait longer, it wouldn't hurt)

8) Take the coasters outside, you don't want to be spraying the sealer inside. Follow the instructions on the can.

9) We did 2-3 coats on ours. Let dry for several hours and you are good to go!  

Good Luck and Enjoy!

Ready or Not, Let's go Run!

So I was supposed to be blogging as I was training for this half-marathon...

...

...Well you can see how that turned out. The semester between school and work put training on the back burner in a sense. However, I had to run that half marathon whether I was ready or not November 11, 2012 down at OBX (Nags Head/Manteo). Can you say yikes? I was nervous and sorta scared but I had a great support system in friends and family that helped me stay calm and not get (too) freaked out. A special thanks to Travis for giving me some step by step instructions on how to prep the day before and day of race day. What a lifesaver!

So the Saturday before the race comes around and I head to the NCSU game to see part of it but my sister and I leave pretty early on to head down to the beach. My dad meets us at home and we make our way to meet my mom. She was great, and picked up my race packet for me! We get down to Nags Head and eat dinner (finally) and we head back where I sort my race stuff out and get to bed sorta early. I wake up at 4:30am to eat my first breakfast of a bagel and peanut butter with banana. Then again at 5:30am to get ready for the race. My dad drives me at 6am to the drop off area....by the way it is FREEZING at 6am. I knew it would warm up but I was in shorts and a tshirt...not the smartest decision until I started running. I ate a Clif bar for my second breakfast and was good to go.

Now this might have been one of the coolest moments! While I was waiting in my corral for the race to start....a lady recognized my ring from Meredith! She graduated in 1980! It was awesome and she was so nice!

The race started and surprisingly I felt great...I finished the first two miles under 10 minutes and then slowed it down...I didn't need to get burnt out to early on. Now let me just say this course is amazing! It had a constant change of scenery which was gorgeous and the spectators were great! It really is encouraging to have people cheering you on as you go along! I think I smiled most of the way! The only real challenge besides the end was that dang bridge. It was not my favorite but I got through it! It was also encouraging to have other runners to help you when you wanted to walk so close to the end. I kept pushing on and sprinted the last 250 feet! I finished with 2:16:24 time which considering I wasn't physically ready I thought,wasn't bad! This was a great race and the best part, I wasn't dehydrated afterwards, the weather was great, I was actually able to eat and didn't feel sick, and had a great time! It was also nice that my sister Sarah was nice enough to drive me back to Raleigh so I could rest, she's the best.

I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a race to do half or full!



Now on the next weekend....what did we have going on: THE COLOR RUN!

Saturday morning our group headed down to Charlotte to get all colorful! We got our packets and got ready to walk our way to turning into a human rainbow. We developed a strategy to get the most color on us and by the end we just laid down in the street to roll in the color to get it all over. We sang, we took pictures, and had a blast! Oh and got COLORED LIKE A 13OSS. We wish our whole group could have been there but I was thankful Sarah, Emily, Erica, Bani, and Annelise could go!


Until next time something interesting happens....

7 is the Magic Number

Well I did it...after a slow start I finally did what I was supposed to do. I ran seven miles today! It was slow coming and I stopped to talk to people I saw on campus but I finished the seven miles. I have been trying to get better about eating, drinking more water, and exercising more regularly. It's hard to do when you're tired, work a job, and go to a school. But this week I did the bike, ran, the elliptical, and did some strength training! I hope to swim some next week. I have discovered I really like the bike...I can crank up my resistance and get a really good workout. I also hope to use the rowing machine next week. In the end, having my inhaler back, drinking a lot more water, and doing more activity helped for today's run.

Eating wise, I've cooked twice this week! Meatloaf (just like Grandmas!) one night and Barbeque Chicken another night! I was so proud! I couldn't wait to tell my grandma because it tasted just like hers! I've done good about not snacking as much though with the new cafe at work...that makes it so hard not to eat the delicious baked goods they have! (If you need a great coffee shop....check out Benelux Cafe! They are excellent. My personal favorite is the waffle with specaloos....trust me, it's amazing!)


Recipes for Meatloaf:
Take 1 pound of hamburger (80-90%), chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, Texas Pete, ketchup, 2/3 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup bread crumbs (Pepperidge Farm brand), salt, pepper, 1 egg, and crush red pepper. Mix all of that together. I know the ingredients aren't exact but I just put what I feel like I need. Put in a greased dish and bake in the oven at 350 until bubbling and brown around the edges!

I'll put the recipe for Barbeque Chicken and Potatoes up later. :)

Enjoy!

Training?

Well I decided I wanted to blog this time around when training for a half marathon....

So I was supposed to start last week....I keep saying that. So This week was the week I started.
I want to follow the same game plan I did last time which was kind of intense and I had more time. I'm trying to do this during CornHuskin' (which if anyone goes to MC, they would understand) and with a work load being pretty hard. I have told myself today though I am really going to buckle down and get on it because I have roughly 8 weeks to get ready to run 13.1 miles. Did I mention I'm woefully out of shape? This should be fun.

My new Garmin watch finally came in (the first one didn't work so I had to send it back) so let's hope the second time's the charm. I'm going to plug it in tonight to charge it tonight.

So I ran last Friday around 4 miles...oh how I struggled. I felt physically ill. So first things first:
1. Drink more water
2. Get new inhaler
3. Drink more water

I ran the next day around 2 miles and I definitely did better and felt better. I had been drinking more water and took my pace slower.

My plan (and I'll try to stick to it)
Monday: Short Run/Track Workout
Tuesday:Rest
Wednesday: Short Run/Track Workout
Thursday: Swim/Low Impact Cardio
Friday: Long Run
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Swim/Low Impact Cardio/Strength Training (depends on my mood)

So I hope I can stick with it. This half is coming up November 11 (the weekend after CornHuskin') and I want to do well. My goal is under 2 hours but at this rate I'll shoot for under 2:10:00.

Oh by the way...I'm signed up for the OBX Half Marathon down at Nags Head :)

No Ordinary Lunch

No boring sandwich today! I made a run to the grocery store after class and started cooking! It didn't take that long either. I found a recipe for garlic chicken online and I tweaked it for my liking.

Ingredients:

Garlic cloves
Chicken breasts
Italian dressing
Brown sugar
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper

So I minced (cut?) up the cloves and threw them in a saucepan with some olive oil and until tender/browning. I then took that off the heat and added in a generous amount of brown sugar (however much you like...I'm not big on exact amounts). I pours Italian dressing over chicken breasts in a baking dish and then poured the brown sugar mixture over it. I baked it in a pre-heated 500 degree oven for about 20ish minutes or until the chicken was cooked through. And that was it! I paired it with a green salad and some macaroni salad from Food Lion. Easy and delicious!

Oh Heyyy, It's Engineering Camp!

So for the past three weeks I had pretty a non-existent life except for engineering camp! Don't get me wrong it was a blast and I met a lot of amazing kids and staff! I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything.

Our typical week day looked something like this...

7:10-Wake up and get ready for breakfast and the day
7:30-Breakfast
8:30-Take the kids to class
9:00-3:30-Free Time! Ha..most of us had class or napped or went to the gym.
3:30-Pick up the kids from class
4:00-Free time where the counselors were "available and visible"
5:30-Dinner
7:00-Evening Activities! This is the part the counselors planned. We did everything from bowling, to water balloon fights, to coffee runs, to "Syme Fun," Engineering projects, arts&crafts, LOTS of sports, and finally a TALENT SHOW!
11:00-Curfew for the kids
11:30-Counselors can finally sleep!
12:00-We finally do actually go to sleep

We had so much fun these past few weeks. I learned how to shoot a water balloon from a sling shot (and I had pretty good aim if I do say so myself), gained muscle weight from the gym, choreographed a dance to "Call Me Maybe," drove a FREAKING FIFTEEN PASSENGER VAN and didn't die, successfully wore Champion shorts every single day, perfected my "mom" look, and so much more.

I hope the kids had just as much fun as I did and hope to see them at NCSU in one or two years! :)