Crafts for the Kitchen

Two days ago maintenance came to the apartment and sprayed for bugs which meant I had to find something to do outside the house from 9am-5pm.  I did a lot of shopping at the craft stores and also at my new favorite store, World Market!  I had been wanting some glass jars for my kitchen to put olive oil, soap, and vinegar in and they were the only store I could find them at.  So here is what I did:

First I gathered all my supplies:  Two glass jars, glass etch cream, sponge, vinyl, my cricut, and the matt

Lay the vinyl on the sticky matt and load it into the cricut.  Type out the phrases you need (in the size you need) and then hit cut!

After you peal the vinyl off the matt, this is what you get!

Peal the backing off the vinyl and lay the sticky side onto the glass.  Make sure you smooth out all the bumps before moving on to the next step!

Put a thin layer of the etching cream onto the glass.  Make sure you only put it on the vinyl because if you get it anywhere else on the glass it will not come off!  Precision is KEY!  Let it dry for five minutes (you can add other coats if you want after the time has passed) then peal off the vinyl and wash the etching cream off of the glass.

And this is the end result!  It's a really bad picture but you can kind of see it.  I messed up the Olive Oil one (:-(  but it was my first try so I can't complain too much) but the vinegar one looks great!  The bottles are between $4.99 and $5.99 (depending on the style you want) at World Market!  

 I hope this inspired someone to go out and craft and do something fun for your house!  I'm so happy with mine and can't wait to try out some other things!!

Long Time Coming

Okay.  I am sick and tired of this apartment.  Before I start ranting, let me just say that I am thankful Chris and I have a nice place to live and he has a job that can provide for us.  BUT....this apartment situation is getting ridiculous.

A few months ago we had a bug problem.  The complex sent out a notice saying they were coming to spray the kitchens because of the problem.  It helped for a day or so....but then the roaches were back and Chris and I have been fighting them ever since!  We know its not a problem with our kitchen because I scrub it down every night before bed just because I don't want any bugs!  I've noticed a few holes in the pantry walls where they could be coming in from...but we can't be positive about it.  Chris thinks our neighbors are the problem because of how much I clean our kitchen...but again, we aren't positive!

Back to today....I was sitting in our living room and felt a tickling sensation on my leg.  A freaking cockroach was crawling on me!!!!  I am so grossed out it's ridiculous!  The last time Chris told the apartment complex about our problem they told him to put in a work order online and they'd get to it when they had time.  When someone has a bug problem (for the second time), shouldn't that be a priority?!  Umm...nope.  They still haven't come to our apartment for it.  We have another "yearly inspection" (third one in the past five months) and I will bring it up then. 

Ugh...I hate this apartment and can't wait to get out of here.

Exercise Update

This past week I've been trying out running. I never thought I'd like it...but I do! I should've listened to Emily all those months ago, but I guess I just had to find it in my own time.

This week has been a starter week, but I'm proud of where I am. I haven't run a mile since high school, where my times were anywhere between 9 and 11 minutes. This week I've been running two miles in thirty minutes and my average speed has been about a 4. All in all I'd say that's pretty good!

I figure I'll start off three days a week and start doing more days if I feel like it. I have a small inkling my legs will appreciate the days off I'm giving myself. :-).

Oh and P.S. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their loved ones! :-)

Starting Over

Earlier this year I tried out the P90 workout system.  My Near Years goal was to become more toned and to lose a little bit of weight.  I was doing really well with it and I was looking and feeling great, but then I came down with what I believe was the flu and never picked it up after that.  The workouts consisted of six days rotating cardio and weight training which I found to be boring after a while.  I pushed myself to workout, but I was not enjoying it at all.  Even though I was happy with the results I was tired of the same routine day after day.  I like changing it up and I just wasn't getting it with this program.

I've been saying for a while that I wanted to get back into an exercise routine.  I tried doing P90 again but it wasn't enjoyable.  You've got to have fun with what you're doing or you won't make it into a routine.  This time I started slowly.  I've been watching my serving sizes and making sure I'm substituting heavier ingredients with healthier ones.  I've been trying to eat five small meals a day instead of three big ones and drinking more water.  I've also found that I feel so much better and have so much more energy throughout the day!

The next step was to find an exercise program that I liked and could see myself doing for a while.  Thanks to Pinterest (I say that a lot!  haha!) I found a link to this site called Bodyrocks.tv.  You do different workouts every day that consists of cardio and weight training, and they take about 20 minutes to do.  I love them!  If you don't have the equipment they do in the videos they give you alternative workouts and you can be anywhere from beginner to advanced!  I started at the beginning of the week and I'm super excited to do a new routine every day!  Unfortunately, my legs are so sore today (I can barely walk!) that I think I should take a break.  I probably pushed myself way too hard but...that's okay though because I will just pick up where I left off tomorrow!  

What do I want as I go through this process?

• I want to lose weight and tone up.  Right after high school I was 103 pounds and now I weigh 126.  Can't believe I just told the world this but maybe this will push me to change it.  (and yes I know that everyone changes after high school...trust me!) My goal weight is going to be between 115 and 120.
• I want to take care of my body and make sure that I am doing everything I can to ensure that I am healthy in the future.
• I want to enjoy exercising and taking care of myself!  (that's the most important one...loosing weight is just icing on the cake!)
• I hope that I will be able to motivate others who are struggling with exercising and encourage them to find something they enjoy!  

What I don't want to happen:

• I don't want to give up sweets and other yummy foods that are bad for you (everything in moderation!).  
• I don't want to loose my motivation or get bored easily.
• I don't want to get discouraged if I hit a plateau during this process.
• I don't want to get discouraged if I gain a few pounds here and there.  That is all part of the process and I shouldn't starve or punish myself if that happens. 

So...I am asking everyone I know to push me towards my goal.  I'll need lots of support and encouragement throughout this journey.  I realize that if I do not enjoy what I'm doing then I won't be motivated to continue exercising so I am going to try to do everything I can to make sure I am enjoying myself!  I am going to write updates every week to keep track of how I'm doing, share my triumphs and hardships, and to encourage myself!  Even when I do not feel like I'm making any progress I can look back and say..."wow!  Look at all I've accomplished up to this point!"

Angel

Yesterday I received the most meaningful birthday gift I have ever gotten.  It didn't cost my mom a dime, and yet it came with a lot of sentimental value and memories.  It is something so irreplaceable to me and I am so grateful for it. 

It was the angel we put on the Christmas tree.

When my dad passed, Mom decided we would do Christmas differently.  There were things we used to do as a family (receive ornaments from our parents, use those ornaments to decorate our tree, place the angel on top, etc..) that my mom decided should stay as memories from our past.  She didn't want to continue those traditions without my dad because it felt wrong.  It made me sad...completely changing everything that I was used to but it made sense why we did.  I always looked forward to watching dad put the colored lights on the tree as mom, Sam, and I watched a Christmas movie (this was before trees came pre-lit!).  I enjoyed (and disliked) Mom telling us where to put the ornaments so the tree didn't look to heavy on one side while we all argued and rolled our eyes at her.  I even loved putting the angel on top and then admiring all of our work.  That was Christmas to me.  And ever since Dad died...it just hasn't felt the same.

I have been asking for years now if I could have our old angel to use on my own tree because it reminds me of dad.  Mom kept telling me that I couldn't have it until I was engaged, so when Chris proposed I knew it was finally time to bring it up again.  I told Mom I didn't want anything materialistic, I just really wanted the angel.  So when I opened it last night....I started to tear up a little bit.  It just meant so much to me that she finally passed it on.  My parents got that angel the Christmas before I was born, and we used it every single year of my life until Dad passed away.  Mom even let me use it the year he died since I wasn't ready to let go. 

It just goes to show that the most meaningful gifts aren't the ones that are the most expensive.  My mom gave me the most wonderful gift I have ever received, and I can't thank her enough for it.  I love that angel because of the memories that go along with it and because I feel like it carries a part of my parents with it.