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!