$1 Wreath

Oh those Pinterest tricks get me every time!!  Someone finds an amazing way to save money and be crafty at the same time and I'm immediately sold and think everything will work out just as perfectly for me.  The truth is, sometimes you stumble across something and it works perfectly for you and maybe not so perfectly for the next guy, for whatever reason...

I've always wanted a cute wreath on my front door, like one of these:

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Yep.  Any one of those would make my front door more homey and less homely.  The problem is, I'm way too cheap to buy a cute wreath, and my only attempt at making one went something like this:

I ran across this beauty on Pinterest, and actually thought I could make a wreath for $1 total!!  I mean, hey, I had some old yard, ribbon, and fabric lying around.  All I had to buy was one of those tube things.  So the search was on.  

I thought I found the right kind of tube, but I very well may not have, because trying to get that thing into a circle would have qualified me for the summer olympics.  Or winter.  When do they do Greco-Roman wrestling??  I ended up having to kind of twist it while duct taping it while trying to hold it together.  It took at least two of us to finally get it taped together so that it was a circle, and I was still hopeful that it would all work out.  

I dug out my yarn and found a variegated brown/green number that I thought would work well.  Then I dug out some fabric to make rosettes.  When I was done with all of that, I tied on some ribbon to hang it, and didn't account for the added weight of the rosettes (so no, it's not your eyes playing tricks on you; it is hanging crooked).  

Even though it wasn't exactly how I had pictured it in my head, I still thought it turned out pretty well once I was done--definitely worth hanging on the naked front door!

After a week or two of hanging outside it had rained/snowed enough that the wreath wasn't a circle anymore.  I think it was really a combination of both the yarn and the foam tubing, but the water just held onto this stinking wreath like nobody's business!  It was looking pretty sad, so it didn't last very long (and, actually, if we're being completely honest here, I probably left it there far longer than I should have...)

So, this isn't the cutest wreath ever, and it's not my favorite project, but I still have 2 or 3 leftover tubes that I'm hanging on to.  And I really think I'll use them for something (I'm not a hoarder at all....), but it might just have to be for something less wet than the front door.  

 

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

Definitely try this one!!  I count it as a health food, because it has been making me want to eat more salad.  I don't even always like italian dressing, but this is really delicious.  

You can go look here to find a link to the recipe I used to make this via The Country Cook, but I'll put it on my page too in case you're lazy like me and don't want to go looking for it    :)

INGREDIENTS:
~ 1 pkt Good Seasonings Italian Dressing
~ 1/4 c vinegar
~ 3 T water
~ 1/2 c olive oil

~ 1/2 t dry Italian Seasoning
~ 1/2 t salt
~ 1/4 t black pepper (I used a little extra, cause I like pepper and it has antioxidants in it, and I like the idea of something fighting free radicals in my body!!)
~ 1/2 t sugar
~ 1/4 t garlic powder
~ 1/2 T mayo
~ 1/4 c olive oil
~ 2 T white vinegar
~ 1 1/2 T water

First, mix up the first set of (four) ingredients, according to the package directions.  Then add everything else and SHAKE IT UP!!!  It's as easy as that.

You could also use a bowl and whisk it together if you prefer or if you don't have a big old bottle to shake it up in.  You know those great big cups you get after having a baby at the hospital??  That's what I use whenever I make salad dressing because it has a pour spout with a lid and then I don't have to do any extra dishes.  It has made for an awkward moment or two when we've had company over for dinner and we're all pouring junk out of a "Salt Lake Regional Medical Center" mug, but when you're with us you're going to have to take it or leave it sometimes!

P.S.  I realize this salad looks boring and lame...but that's how we do it in this house unless we're trying to impress somebody.  Okay, so really we usually do it without the olives and sometimes without the cucumbers or cheese (yep, basically just lettuce).

A New Year, A New Day

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I used to hate New Year's Resolutions.  I thought it was lame that people would wait until January 1 to start trying to reach a goal.  Moreover, I didn't want to be one of those people at the gym who overrun the place in January and then are never seen again.  BUT I've come to realize that sometimes we just need a little extra push, and even if other people think I'm just another one of those reso-losers (is that a thing??), who cares?  At least I'm doing something to better myself, and who knows--maybe this time it will stick.

Last year I started running and actually stuck with it for most of the year.  When it started getting cold, wet, and dark outside I stopped, and now it's been a couple of months since I really worked out much at all.  I'm trying to convince Scott we can make room in our townhouse for a treadmill, but until that happens I need to find something else to keep me active and feeling great.

This will probably need some tweaking as time goes on, and in the Spring hopefully I'll be able to pick up running again, but for now here's my workout plan:


Monday and Wednesday--Brazilian Butt Workout (because who doesn't want a great butt, really??).  I'll be starting with 10 reps instead of 20 because I'm feeling out of shape.

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WARNING:  The website for the Brazilian Butt Workout has a lot of butt pictures.  They're not exactly naked, but close enough that I suppose it could offend some people, so I thought you deserved a warning.  I've done these exercises before (there are two parts), and my butt really does feel sore the next day, so it must be doing something for me.

Tuesday and Thursday--Some kind of cardio, for at least 30 minutes.  I have a couple of workout DVDs that I'm going to use on my cardio days.  For some variation, I'm going to the library to see if I can pick up a few more (because I'm cheap like that).  Ooo maybe I'll even hit the thrift stores to see if I can find some gems from the 80s.

And yes, I'm starting my New Year's Resolution today--I'm going play my new Dance Central game for a while since it's my cardio day.

So happy New Year everyone, and here's to New Year's Resolutions!!  Good luck with yours!

Fit Friday

We can all use a little motivation once in a while, right??

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Confession Time:  

I haven't been running since it started to snow here in good old Utah.  I could...Plenty of people do.  But hello! It is freakin' COLD out there!!!  So it's been a couple of months since I've been running consistently. Part of me misses it (a lot actually), but the lazy part of me is starting to take over again, and I find less and less motivation to even try to do anything active.  Even though I was running for the better part of 2012, it's so easy to get out of the habit and forget how good it makes you feel.

The nice thing about life is that you are constantly getting second chances to change.  No matter what your goals are, they are attainable.  You might have to put in extra time, extra work, and it might take some patience, but you'll get there.  The most important thing is that you're closer today than you were yesterday (or last week, month, year, etc)!

Alrighty then--Resolution time!!  I'll be thinking of mine, and I'll let you know after the New Year exactly how I'm planning to stay fit in 2013.

Fun-Day Monday

Hope you're all ready for Christmas!!  If not, here's an idea.  You might be up all night, knitting, but it will be worth it!

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While you're at it, I'll take one of these for Christmas, thanks!!

Fit Friday: Day Spa Apple Cinnamon Water

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I try to drink a lot of water.  Usually I hate it, but I've started drinking flavored water once in a while (my favorite are the MiO brand water drops because it's a liquid rather than powder), and it helps me get more H2O on a more regular basis.

I've heard that you shouldn't drink too much of it because of the artificial sweeteners they contain, so I always try to drink at least as much plain water as flavored in a day.  Drinking ice water helps a lot too.  If it's really really cold, I think it tastes so much better, and I tend to drink more.

The other day I saw this on Pinterest and tested it out.

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The idea is that the apples and cinnamon will up your metabolism and give you more energy...I don't know if I really got an energy boost, but I do occasionally get headaches (maybe from the artificial sweeteners in the MiO?), and I felt really good all day when I was drinking this water.

It wasn't as flavorful as I'm used to, and I definitely would not compare it to actual flavored water.  It was more comparable to having lemon water.  That being said, it did make my water more interesting for the day, and it was all natural, so that's a plus!  I'll probably do this occasionally, but the convenience of MiO still has me hooked!!  Maybe I'll try to make my own MiO mix with applejuice and cinnamon....? hmmmmmm.......

Cheers!

Fun-Day Monday

Oh my heavens.  I love Paula Deen's cooking so much.  Every recipe of hers that I have ever tried is amazing.  But seriously.  I mean, come on.  This is way too funny not to share.


(I could not find the source for this picture...If anyone comes across it let me know)

Have you ever tried Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake???  It is one of the best things I've eaten in my life.  I don't think I've posted about it, but I've made it multiple times and it is soooo worth the calories.  The many, many calories.

Now that I've gained five pounds by thinking about that, I better go work out.

Ric Rac Receiving Blankets

Well, I could give about a million excuses why I've been pushing this blog aside, but the main reason is just because I felt guilty not blogging on our family blog.  Now that I've got it caught up, hopefully I'll be able to keep up there and here.  I'll probably only post here once or twice a week until things calm down. (We're in a new house and doing a lot of painting and redecorating.)  Hopefully I can kill two birds with one stone and post about some of the things we're doing with the house.

But first, I want to show you these cute blankets I made based on this tutorial.

These are pretty easy to make.  I made three in one morning, and I am no expert!!

I like to roll them up and tie a ribbon around the blanket to gift it.  I think they all turned out super cute, and it's a really fun project because the cuteness to time ratio is one of the best I've done!

Soda Cake

Wow, I've been making a lot of treats lately!!  I saw the recipe for this cake on omnomicon when I was making the rainbow cake a little while ago.  I just used a regular white cake for that, but still wanted to give this lower calorie version a try.

All you do is dump a can of a carbonated beverage (I actually used raspberry flavored, carbonated water) into a white cake mix and bake it according to the directions on the box.  It was really easy.  I think it was originally listed on the Weight Watchers website.  If you use carbonated water like I did, there are absolutely zero calories except what the mix already contains.

THE FINAL REVIEW:  This isn't really a "wow that's amazing" kind of dessert.  I could have frosted it (Omnomicon also has a low-cal frosting) to give it a little somethin somethin, but I don't really like frosting anyway.  It is, however, a good alternative for dessert if you're on a diet or trying to watch your caloric intake.  It's not a healthy food, but it is a healthier option than, say, this cake (which I've made twice now and can't keep it around long enough to get pictures to blog about it...it really is that good).  Even though the carbonated water I used had a raspberry flavoring, It didn't taste much like raspberries.  The cake definitely holds its own flavor.  It was okay, but since I'm not that obsessed with the calories I'm eating, I probably won't make it again.

Cinnamon Toast

When I was growing up my dad would often make an entire cookie sheet (or 2 if everyone was home) full of cinnamon toast on Sunday evenings.  It was a perfect way to end the weekend.

First we (I say we...I really mean my dad; I occasionally helped) would toast the bread under the broiler for a few minutes so the bottom wouldn't get soggy, then my dad would butter the bread (it took me about ten minutes to butter bread as a child...let's just say my OCD tendencies started early) and I would sprinkle on some sugar and cinnamon.  Then we would put it under the broiler, watching very carefully and take it out when it was caramelized and completely delicious looking.

I saw The Pioneer Woman's version of cinnamon toast a while ago and I just had to try it.  I learned from a young age that cinnamon toast was a serious undertaking, so thank Heaven Above that Pioneer Woman treated this task with solemnity.  She goes through four different approaches to making cinnamon toast, my way being second best.  I could not believe there could be a better way to make cinnamon toast, but I tried it and...ahem....I have to agree.  Sorry, Dad.  I'll happily take it either way, but if I'm making it, I'm making it Pioneer Woman's way.

Take a cube of butter...

Add about a half-cup of sugar...

And a teaspoon or two of cinnamon...

And mix it up with a fork.

Make a delicious puddle of vanilla extract, and mix that into your butter.

You will end up with something like this, and you'll want to eat it with a spoon, or your finger if you don't want to waste time with a spoon, but DON'T.  I promise it's better on the toast.

This is where things get interesting.  Really slather on the butter mixture and bake your toast at 350 degrees for about ten minutes.  The butter will melt and you'll worry that by leaving it in the oven longer it will get even soggier, but trust me.  It will start bubbling up just a little bit, and at this point you're safe to turn the oven to broil.  Leave them in for a few more minutes; watch carefully to avoid burnt cinnamon toast--no one likes that. 

This is well worth the wait.  You will be rewarded with a crispy, crunchy, caramelized version of cinnamon toast, and you'll probably want to eat it hourly daily.

The back of your toast, as you can see here, will be toasted through.

The butter really soaks into the bread when you bake it at 350 degrees for a few minutes and cooks the bread.  It takes a little longer, but like I said, it is totally worth the wait.  

THE FINAL REVIEW:  Amazing.  That's all I have to say about it.  The addition of vanilla and the way you bake this toast makes it the perfect dessert, snack, or even breakfast.

P.S.  Sorry about the photos...they're from my phone, so that's why they're extra lame  :)

Fit Friday: Week 7

WEEK 7 UPDATE:

--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then run 25 minutes.

Saturday, February 18--2.615 miles--263.6 calories
Monday, February 20--2.54 miles--282 calories
Wednesday, February 22--2.906 miles--284.7 calories

Monday was President's Day, and my sister wanted to go running with me again (outside...dun dun dun).  I was nervous (again), because even though I knew I could run 16 minutes, I had to run 25!  Outside!  And if I didn't I would have to run again later on the treadmill!  We found a parkway to run at, and it was sooo much better than just running around my neighborhood.  I didn't feel like people were peering out their windows at me, and we didn't have to worry about stopping to cross the street.  I actually really liked running outside because there was so much more to look at.  Sure, I couldn't see my chart and workout schedule, but I could distract myself by trying to make it to a certain landmark and then when I got there picking another one.

We made awesome time, comparatively speaking.  We ran 25:21 and ran 2.54 miles.  Don't worry, that's just a 9:59 mile!!  I don't even know the last time I ran one ten-minute mile, so averaging that for 2 and 1/2 miles made me feel amazing.  Running with my sister pushed me a lot.  I've always been  less active than her, so I was sure she was probably going slower so she was able to run by me and not make me feel bad.  I didn't want her to feel like I was slowing her down, so along the way whenever I thought I had slowed down or I was holding her back, I would kick up the pace just a little bit.  She told me later that she was thinking basically the same thing!

My other two runs for this week were about the same as usual.  On my first run, I got really bad side cramps with five minutes to go, but I tried not to think about it and pushed through.  I also had side cramps more than half the time when I was running with my sister outside...I need to look into what is causing that.  I really hope it's preventable because it is really annoying trying to run through cramps.  Ugh.  I hate it more than anything right now.

Next week I'm doing all 28-minute runs, and the week after is the last week!!!  I can't believe I'm so close to being done!  Not done done, because I'm not just going to quit; I have been torturing myself too much to just stop.

Fit Friday: Week 6

WEEK 6 UPDATE:

1/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog for 5 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, jog for 8 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, and jog for 5 minutes.
Friday, February 10--2.622 miles--250.8 calories

2/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog for 10 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, and jog for 10 minutes.
Monday, February 13--2.522 miles--245.3 calories

3/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog for 22 minutes with no walking.
Wednesday, February 15--2.522 miles--253 calories
     + a 16-minute run on Saturday, February 16--1.45 miles--163 calories


I usually do a little self-assessment when I'm at the end of my time running to see if I'm dead tired or if I can push myself a little bit longer.  I usually find that I can push just a little more, so I run an extra minute or two or turn up the incline a little bit.  I've realized through doing this that I can do a lot more than I give myself credit for.  I've never really pushed myself physically like I am now; whenever I got tired before I would just stop.  I always took the easy way out with exercising, and I guess that's probably why I was never happy with where I was at with my body and my fitness level.  I'm still not perfectly happy where I'm at, but I feel like I'm finally actually reaching some goals and I can see the progress I've made, whereas before I felt like I was just walking in place (figuratively...and literally. HA!)


The runs this week were way better than my previous week.  It was still hard to do, and I could tell I was pushing myself, but I think not having an incline did wonders for me; I feel like I can do anything!

On Saturday my sister came over and wanted to go running.  I thought that running outside would be waaay harder and was afraid I'd only be able to run for a couple of minutes.  But I told her I would try it; I figured I didn't have anything to lose since I had already gotten my runs in for the week.

We ran for almost a mile and a half!!  It was hard (it was super windy), but it felt so good to know that I had conquered another obstacle!

via Pinterest

P.S.  ^^That's totally not what I looked like, I'm sure...

Fit Friday: Week 5

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WEEK 5 UPDATE:

This week the workouts start changing each day.


1/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog for 5 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, jog for 5 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, and jog for 5 minutes. 

Monday, January 30--2.043 miles--241.4 calories

2/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog 8 minutes, walk 5 minutes, jog 8 minutes.

Tuesday, January 31--2.015 miles--239.7 calories

3/3--Begin with a 5-minute warm-up walk, then jog 20 minutes with no walking.

Wednesday, February 8--2.484 miles--249.6 calories
     + Thursday, February 2--1.327 miles--160.5 calories (made it to 18:30--so 13:30 of the 20-minute run)


My first run this week was okay...I really thought I might die on the third 5-minute run.  My second run was awful!!  I got terrible side cramps, but I pushed through and finished that run too.  Then on my third run for the week I just could not make it through.  I ran 13 and 1/2 minutes, but when I saw how far left I had to run I just couldn't go any further.  We left for California early Friday morning (I refuse to work out on vacation...I may someday change my mind about this, but for now I'm sticking with the idea that when I go on vacation, I vacation) and didn't get back home until Tuesday night.  So Wednesday I tried again with a pit in my stomach thinking this may be my breaking point.  If I couldn't get this 20-minute run I would have been really tempted to just give up.

Little did I know that I had unknowingly sabotaged myself along the way!  For some reason, the incline on my treadmill was set to a 5.0...I don't know how I didn't find that out on any of my previous runs (no wonder they were so hard...!!).  So I set it to a zero, just hoping I could make it through 20 minutes.  I had been running at a speed of 6.0 too, so I ran at a 5.0 this time to give me as much in my favor as I could.

I could not believe it when I looked at how long I had been running and I was already at 18 minutes!!  So I turned it up to a 6.0 for the last couple of minutes because I felt FREAKING AMAZING.  Then at 20 minutes I still felt great.  So I kept running and went 22 minutes!!  This is definitely my proudest moment up to this point in running.

via lifeplusfitness.blogspot.com