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! :)

Pinterest Necklace!

So it's finally a post about something besides food. I have been pinning arts and crafts on pinterest since I got an account and here is finally a post on my attempts that turned out pretty well if I say so!

So the craft is a gold necklace with neon pink string.

What I did was took brass rings of various sizes (I got mine from Lowe's) and neon nylon pink string (from Lowe's as well) and arranged the rings like I wanted. I then attached the rings together with the string by wrapping it around a few times and then knotting it off. I then burned the knot so it wouldn't come undone. Once I finished I attached two strings to each side and tied them together! Easy and it looks great! (I wore it the very next night after I finished it)

Presto Pesto!

Clever title right? Just kidding. So I babysit for this great family and they have a garden with fresh basil and parsley. They were nice to share with me! So today I decided to try and make fresh pesto! I haven't had it too often and I really had no clue how to start but thank goodness for the internet. It was easy and I hope it tastes alright. I'm going to get someone to taste test it later. But it looks good!

Recipe:
Basil
Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Nuts
Garlic

So knowing me...I didn't follow the recipe exactly....I put in what I had and kind of eye-balled the amount of each I needed. I used all of my basil and worked around that. I put it all in a blender and presto, the pesto is done!

I'll let you know how it tastes later and post a picture! :)

P.S. Apparently it was good! :) 

Peanut Butter Cereal

So here is a quick and easy breakfast/snack. I eat it almost every morning for breakfast and it keeps me satisfied for quite some time. I take cereal (usually Honey Nut Cheerios but I prefer Cinnamon Burst Cheerios with peanut butter) and mix in a spoonful of peanut butter. SO GOOD. And easy. I have to thank my friend Michelle Cox for getting me onto this a couple of years ago when she didn't want any of the desserts. Me being a peanut butter lover picked it right up and haven't looked back. Another good think to mix in is peanut butter/honey/vanilla (first three ingredients to no bake energy balls) and mix those in with the cereal. All of this with a huge glass of milk and I'm a happy camper. So if you are looking for a simple easy breakfast or snack just try this! (A lot of people have looked at me like I was crazy but don't judge it until you try it!)

Need a pick me up? Don't reach for that soda or junk food...

Okay, so I love junk food and anything unhealthy but this past semester I tried to find a better balance between eating healthy and well...not so healthy.  One of my co-workers at the YMCA told me about this great recipe for a wonderful snack that has sweet and salty and is just plain delicious. Most you have heard of them but they are No Bake Energy Balls. There are varying recipes out there on the internet and I found one that I liked and haven't looked back. I used to roll them out into balls but we were going through batches so quick in my apartment that now I just put it all in a container as one big "glob" and just pinch it off (though this probably doesn't help with portion control...).

This is my go-recipe:

1/2 cup peanut butter (More will make it more moist and gooey)
1/3 cup honey (More will do the same as the peanut butter)
Vanilla Extract (I don't really measure this and just put some in...some people are partial to more and some less)

Mix the above ingredients together then add the ones below.

1 cup oats
1 cup coconut
Optional ingredients:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2-1 cup raisins
1/2-1 cup nuts
1/2 cup flaxceed 
etc...whatever you really want to put in it.

My apartment is partial to more chocolate chips and more honey/peanut butter...we like it on the gooey side. These things are great. They provide a energy rich snack that will tide you over until your next meal. They also are so freaking delicious. Whatever I am craving from salty to sweet, these always hit the spot.

It takes MAYBE 15 minutes if that to make. I don't have a picture because they are usually gone within a few days and I always forget. Ha

Enjoy!

Go, Go, Go, Now Breath

It's almost Friday and let me just say....THANK GOODNESS. Sunday when I got back I was starting to get restless from inactivity and lack of things to do at home. I had caught up on all my TV shows, ate a ton, slept even more, and really enjoyed being home for two weeks...but I am an active person and have to have something to do at some point. So I was excited and ready to be back in Raleigh to start school, work, and hang out with my friends here.

Boy...let me stress....be careful what you wish for because I went from 0 to 60 on day one and haven't stopped until well...tomorrow when I get home. Monday I started work at Meredith Admissions which I love working there because the people are so great and I love helping promote Meredith whether it's sending out mail or data entry. I also started back  up at the YMCA. I work every day this week at Meredith and I ended up working Monday-Thursday at the Y. I also wanted to get back in the gym so after work on Tuesday and Wednesday I got back in the gym. Which I have to say was awesome. There is nothing like sweating out stress, tiredness, etc...

Then we get to today and I swear I don't stop from 8 in the morning to 9:30 at night. Let me tell you...for one: the bus system sucks. No joke, summer service is awful...buses only run every 30 min and they don't overlap where I can catch one without missing the other. So I drive to Pullen Park and then catch one bus. Well today I stayed after class to work on homework...and I left at 12:24 and waited and waited and waited. I was fit to be tied by the time the number 8 got there so I finally got back to NC State main campus where I picked up my book for class and then rushed to my car where I finally got back at Meredith at 1:45....when I was supposed to be at work in Admissions. I fixed myself a quick smoothie (banana, peanut butter, and chocolate smoothie) and headed that way. Well after Wednesday of all data entry today we just ran around! No joke, I went to the mail center twice and gave a speed tour and finally finished my bad emails! It was a great workout and I felt so accomplished but as soon as I left I made my way to the YMCA. Luckily we were slow there and when I finally got home I enjoyed a home cooked meal of zucchini/squash/tomato/chicken/pepper mix. SO GOOD. So it was 9:30 when I finally stopped, had the dishes cleaned up and I was able to sit down and eat. Heck yes. Crazy thing I had to remind myself I needed to slow down. I don't need to keep going. I could sit down and relax. I had gotten on a go go go mode today and I was still in that mode when I got home. But I as I am now writing this...I have stopped. I let my body relax and my mind. And it was great. We all need breaks in life and we all need to stay active. It all comes down to balance. We don't need to break so much that restlessness happens and we don't need to be so go go go that we forget to rest.

So in the end rest but not to the point of restlessness but don't become so busy that you forget to rest.




And with that...take a deep breath....and goodnight.

Smoothie Love

So this past semester I kinda, maybe, sorta got hooked on smoothies. Incredibly easy and they were the perfect drink to take with me to work to tide me over on those 4 hour shifts (that cut through dinner time mind you). People started asking what was in that blend of weirdly colored drink in my tervis. Well here it is:

I usually stick with four to five basics depending on my activity level:
Vanilla Extract
Honey
Yogurt (I get the low fat Swiss styled vanilla yogurt but you can pick your favorite)
Ice
Peanut Butter (only when I was training for my half and don't bash it until you've tried it...quite delicious)

Then you pick what fruit you want. I've done combinations such as:
-Kiwi, Strawberry
-Kiwi Strawberry, Banana
-Banana Kiwi
-Kiwi
-Blueberry, Blackberry
-Blueberry, Banana, Strawberry
-Blueberry Mango

....The list can go on and on. And don't be afraid to mix fruits....I have found almost any combination works. I use fresh fruit and usually whatever they have on sale at the grocery store. For example this week...mango blueberry (which is delicious by the way).

Put it all in a blender...
Oh and for the amount of each...I just put a random amount. You can up some parts or not. The beauty of smoothies is that they are really hard to mess up so almost anything is going to turn out good (unless you have rotten fruit). I blend it all together and it's good to go! When I make them because I don't have set amounts of ingredients it usually turns out quite large (fills up my 24 ounce tervis) but you can always make it smaller or larger depending on if you are sharing or what not.

So go out and enjoy a delicious snack/meal on one of these warm spring/summer days!

First Day Back and I'm Cooking Away

So I have been on a cooking kick recently and most of the time I just throw together whatever I have in a pan and cook it. It usually turns out pretty well. I mean how can you go wrong with such rich flavors as onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc… with a few seasonings…the more color the better! Today I went to the grocery store and picked up some zucchini and squash along with a few other essentials. I decided to cook them for dinner tonight but since I work later, I fixed them early.

Zucchini and Squash Mix:

You’ll need some olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever seasonings you like. I am partial to Italian dressing, garlic powder, and paprika. So I heated up a skillet with olive oil and added some chopped up onion and tomato. I cooked that for a bit until the onions were soft. Then I added the zucchini and squash and chicken. I let that cook on medium for a bit stirring frequently when I also added seasonings. I then let it simmer for a about 20minutes. Voila! You are done! Vegetables and Protein! 

One Year Later...

A year ago today, my sisters and I boarded a plane to make our way across the ocean to begin the most whirlwind, amazing, surreal experience of my life. A lot has changed in that year: I fell in love, fell out of love, turned 21, hit a car (or two), got my ONYX, performed my first CornHuskin' as an Oddball, ran my first half-marathon, found the CROOK, presented research, got accepted into the NCSU Civil Engineering department, and learned a lot about myself. I'm not really sure where to begin but I think it all started when I went abroad. It took me on a journey physically and mentally that continued even when I got back to the U.S. I had a new lease on life where I saw things differently and developed a passion for new things and ideas and people. I wanted to be able to share the things I have been doing from cooking to exercising to DIY to just what inspires me so I decided one year later I would start blogging again. Enjoy!

Some pictures of various goings on: (Ring Dinner, CornHuskin', Half-Marathon, Crook Hunt)