One of my friends at work is pregnant, and we were looking at nursery ideas awhile ago. Her mom used to sing to her "You are my sunshine..." when she was younger, and found a sign on Etsy with the words and was going to buy it. It was pretty small, so I told her I'd make one for her.
I think this is one of my better projects. She also found out she's having a girl, and she gave me some creative freedom to make one to go next to it on the wall. I enlisted Justin's help, to disassemble the pallet and remove all the nails. And I got to use the saw this time!
So the sign could lay flush to the wall, Justin used a Kreg tool, that attaches screws to the boards at an angle...also you don't see the holes.
And then I painted them white.
I didn't do a great job of in betweens, but I used Illustrator for fonts and to lay out the words, then used an exacto knife to cut the letters out, and painted.
I'm super excited how it turned out :)
The nursery colors are dark and light pink, and grey walls. So I wanted to add some pink in the other one. I painted it out first to make sure it looked normal.
Well this is a little disappointing. I made a spaghetti squash tonight and I was hoping for amazing. It was subpar, it was good but not super flavorful. I have leftover squash so I'm going to try something else this week.
It was supposed to be an Alfredo, but needed something more. It's not really worth typing the recipe because I don't recommend it.
There are a lot of different ways to cook the squash I naked it whole, stabbed a few times, for an hour on 375. The only problem was getting the seeds/guts out because it was blended with the squash. But it was really easy to cut.
I cooked some chicken. When that was done I melted butter, with onion and garlic, added flour to make it thick, and then milk to make the sauce.
I seasoned the chicken but just altogether needed more flavor. At least it looks pretty...
Saturday I went to the theatre to see Wizard of Oz. It was was really good! The music was amazing (they added new songs which was kind of weird) and the costumes were pretty sweet too. Definitely not as good as Wicked, but so so happy I decided to go. Obviously I couldn't take pictures... So this is all I got. I suppose I could have had the nice man next to me who helped me take my coat off take a picture...or I could have done a selfie...
Today was craft day. I stained some crates this morning (more to come) (soon!) and it was tutu making day for the Princess 5K in February AKA Alyssa's apartment is covered in glitter AKA looks like a stripper moved in AKA the floor sparkles and may never go away.
These pictures do no justice.... But imagine the glitter on this chair, is what my floor looks like.
But these are my feet.
"Ew Alyssa that's so messy! Clean it"
Hell to the no! This is the sweetest thing that's ever happened to my floor!
I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was to attend an Iowa State Foundation function. Sydnie and I were so honored to attend (well she was invited and asked me to go along) and be amongst other alumni in the area. It was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples (beautiful) and we were able to meet not only the host and hostess, but President Leath and his wife as well.
When we first arrived, we were greeted by the College of Human Sciences Dean, Pamela White, (we both graduated from Human Sciences) and talked to her and her husband for quite awhile. We quickly found a seat with a nice couple from Grinnell and talked to them all night. Another couple at the table was from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and another living half time in Sarasota,FL and Hawaii. The food was spectacular. Just absolutely amazing. We all mainly bonded over dessert: brownies, mini key lime pies with baby macaroons and banana pudding vases. The lemon merengue tart was awful, and of course I took a huge bite (I don't like lemon things).
The key lime pie looked a lot prettier, but I had a hard time getting it onto my plate apparently.
After supper, president Leath got up to speak about all of the improvements happening on campus and how the Foundation (and all the people in the room) contributed. It was amazing to hear about how Iowa State is expanding and all of the new innovations and technological advances happening. We watched a short video of students saying thank you for the support through scholarships (that was honestly the best part because it really connected me back to the school and how as alumni we can affect future generations)
Everyone was so nice and welcoming, made me feel like I was back home. Multiple times throughout the night, people made the comment "it's so nice to see young faces at events like this" I can speak on behalf of Syndie and I when I say, It was an honor to be invited, and we were blown away. How often do you get to talk with the Dean of your college and President of your university?
My breakfast exploded in the microwave today. It was completely cooked (whew, can you imagine egg all over?) But eXpLoDeD. What if we still typed like tHiS. awful.
Anyway. I also looked up coffee drinking, and although it is Paleo, only black coffee is. So I bought some coconut milk (completely dairy free) and let me tell you, this combination was horrifying. I still need a natural sweetener. I only did half regular, half decaf but drank less than half a cup. I didn't want to overdo it. I was reading last night that coffee (and the sugar I was putting in it) has LOADS of caffeine (duh Alyssa) but actually a lot more than I thought. So I'm going to try and drink less of it, and without white sugar.
Lunch - leftover tuna patties
Supper - Out to Doc Ford's for Mitch/Winnie last supper in FM, I had BBQ Pork with coleslaw, and a salad
So a few things this challenge has made me realize:
1.) I love cooking. I miss cooking. And as long as I have the recipe and all the ingredients (hence Sunday preparing grocery list) I love it.
2.) When I make foods I enjoy cooking, I am more apt to sit at the table and eat, instead of the couch and watch TV, or check Facebook.
3.) Eating healthy-er :) isn't that hard if you have the food (and not junk food) for me it's about finding a balance. Yes I miss chips. Yes I miss potatoes. BUT I didn't have those everyday normally, so having them every once and awhile is not going to be terrible.
4.) SNACKS! 5 meals a day people! Smaller meals, healthier snacks.
5.) I hate this one. Water. We need it. More than you're drinking right now. The water when you rinse after you brush your teeth is just not enough people. Drink more. Don't force it, but drink more. A lot more.
Overall it hasn't been the best experience, but I'm so glad I tried it, and stuck to it (for the most part) because now I know what works for me, and in what ways I can eat healthier.
Big shout out to Papa Bear today :) You're the BEST!
xo A
Lunch. Not too shabby - I modified the recipe and only used 2 cans, and cut out a little bit of everything else. I have so many leftovers right now in the fridge.
Tuna Patties with Lemon, Garlic Aioli
3 - 5 oz cans of tuna drained (REALLY drained) or it gets too wet
2 eggs
1/2 tablespoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons coconut oil (I used EVOO because I only have the spray coconut oil)
Aioli
1/2 cup mayonaise
Juice from half a lemon
1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Mix altogether and serve. (I made this while waiting for the oil to heat)
1. Mix tuna with egg, dill, salt, and pepper
2. Heat oil in large skillet - make sure it's hot
3. Form the tuna mixture into 6 (I made 4) slightly flattened patties and cook in the oil for 2-3 minutes (This is why you don't want it dripping wet...I had a lot of leftover "juice" in the bowl.
4.) Make sure the patties are brown before you flip them so they stay together. (they'll turn brown, and you'll just kind of know when they're done)
The rest of the day was pretty lazy - I finished grocery shopping for this week, watched a movie, skyped with the cutest nephew in the world who gives me high fives via laptop (literally slaps the laptop)(sorry N&J)(but its so cute!), read my new book, and FaceTimed date with C (who also high fives me, but doesn't hit the computer).
Tomorrow is the last "official day of pretending to be Ross Geller" and I'm pretty excited. I do have meals planned out for the next week that also happen to be Paleo, but have a cheat in there a few days.
So I'm feeling a lot better today. I've been modifying some of the menus and when I drink water (who chugs a glass of water the second they wake up?!) #vom
So this morning I drank a glass of water before breakfast, then had another with breakfast.
1 egg, sausage, a few cherry tomatoes, and half an avocado.
I had a dress return and went to the mall, did some shopping, bought some candles. No one was really in the mall, so nothing really crazy happened (I was disappointed too).
It was time to make dinner. And I was a little scared.
Paleo acorn squash
acorn squash
ground beef
1 granny smith apple
1 white onion
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
coconut oil
brown sugar
1. Cut acorn squash in half and preheat oven to 400°F. 2. Coat the inside of each half with coconut oil. Add a dash of salt . Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. 3. Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. 4. In a sautee pan, brown meat. Make sure you add a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic to give the meat some seasoning. 5. Then add in onion and apple to the meat. Let this simmer and break down with the meat. This will bring all the flavors together. 6. Add mixture to cooked acorn squash and top with a dash of cinnamon and some walnuts (optional).
I had to break out big bertha to cut through.
I read on another recipe to score the squash, which I attempted, but it didn't really work, and I also lined the pan with aluminum foil and added 1 cup of water to the pan so the skin wouldn't stick.
So. I thought I had brown sugar. But I didn't. So I cheated a tad and used white sugar (gasp!) and a touch a maple syrup (bigger gasp!) but I wasn't about to run to the store to pick up brown sugar. Improvise people. (Plus I'm quite certain brown sugar is processed also so it wouldn't even matter)(it's not paleo, I checked)(but since the recipe was called PALEO acorn squash, I'm going to pretend for today that it is)
So I used a full pound of hamburger, 1/4 ish white onion, and half Granny Smith apple. It's a lot. There's a lot left. Not quite sure what I'm going to do with all that's left....
One hour and 10 minutes later. Golden brown deliciousness. I spooned the "sugar juice" in the cavity over the rest of the squash and let cool about 5-8 minutes.
This was so amazing. It was a good thing my dinner date cancelled or he would have seen me actually eating like a cave man. So. Good.
Ps. The cinnamon is pretty clutch on top. So don't forget that. I didn't have walnuts but they would be good too.
I did abs while the squash was in the oven. It's like perfect meals with built in workout times. Love.
3 glasses water + ISU game
Out for supper on Sanibel with Jaclyn, Justin and his family. So much fun and great food.
I had a pre-supper drink, mojito (not paleo)(but it was offered to me and it's rude to turn hand crafted cocktails down)
For supper, scallops and leeks. Heaven. The restaurant we were at was pretty fancy and we were there for almost 2 hours, the atmosphere was pretty amazing.
Water and this. I went with sausage today instead of turkey bacon, an improvement.
1 glass of water (I slacked)
1 glass of lemon water, a spinach salad with tomato, pepper, a little goat cheese, and way too much tuna for an entire salad.
3 more glasses of water and some almonds & raisins
For supper I went out to Pizza Fusion with Justin and Jaclyn and his mom & dad. I ordered a Chicken Bruschetta salad that had obviously chicken and bruschetta with red onion and goat cheese (I tried to not eat all the goat cheese, because I'm still skeptical about this whole cheese thing) I did not however, eat any pizza or the crostini that came with the salad. So I was pretty proud of myself.
Glass of water before bed and 9 1/2 hours of much needed sleep.
This still isn't getting easier, but I'm beginning to modify slightly from what the original meal plans were. And I didn't work out today. Which I don't feel bad about at all.
So I think this is the 3 day hump. I feel like I'm in rehab detoxing from meth. My body is freaking out. (mom I've never done meth, I don't actually know what it's like) I want coffee. I can't watch TV because there are too many commercials for pizza, and pasta, and carbs. Just flat out carbs, on every channel.
I want coffee. And my headache to go away. Some of you are probably thinking, hey idiot, eat food then. Well, no that's not how a challenge works. You have to keep it going, or people will make fun of you not being able to eat 2 Super Slices forever. I learned a lot about Paleo over here."Paleo is based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era, the time period from about 2.6 million years ago to the beginning of the agricultural revolution, about 10,000 years ago. These foods include fresh meats (preferably grass-produced or free-ranging beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and game meat, if you can get it), fish, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and healthful oils (olive, coconut, avocado, macadamia, walnut and flaxseed). Dairy products, cereal, grains, legumes, refined sugars and processed foods were not part of our ancestral menu." I'll keep it going through the week, and stop complaining from now on.
1 glass of water before leaving bed + 45 calf raises. Middle, heels in, and heels out
For breakfast, 2 eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon and 1/2 avocado + glass of water
2 glasses of water and a handful of almonds
Glass of water with lunch, leftover salmon and veggies from yesterday. This is where today got rough, headache, not hungry, ache-y, really tired. Really tired.
I choked down 3 more glasses of water before supper and snacked on some cherry tomatoes.
Oh. I also had a piece of dark chocolate. 85% cacao and it was so bitter. I wish I hadn't eaten it, but I was told I could.
10 minute abs today.
For supper I made a Strawberry Spinach Salad. (It was supposed to have blueberries but apparently they are not in season)
Ingredients:
Spinach leaves
Strawberries sliced
Blueberries (none)
Goat cheese (YAY DAIRY!)
Honey Roasted Almonds (errr nope, just normal ones)
I mixed everything in a bowl and "the strawberries and goat cheese broke down to create the best dressing"
Topped with grilled chicken leftover from the night before. This magical dressing they speak of, must really need the blueberries, because the only thing magical was the goat cheese. And strawberries. And almonds. Just not together.
I hear people yelling (one person in particular) Alyssa! Goat cheese is dairy! Dummy. You can't eat that!
Yes. Yes thank you for that. I looked it up and although goat cheese isn't paleo, it isn't as processed as most cow's milk products, therefore lending itself to be favored into the paleo way of life (by some). It is however, acceptable for the "primal" way of life/diet/eating lifestyle. I will read more about this later and report back.
For breakfast, same as yesterday, but I actually had an avocado to eat with my 2 eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon + glass of water
2 glasses of water
Glass of water with lunch, chicken salad lettuce wraps. SO. GOOD.
2 5oz grilled chicken breasts, cubed
Half of a granny smith apple
1/4 cup of mayo
handful of raisins
Romaine lettuce - I used normal lettuce
You could also add walnuts but i didn't have any
Directions: Cut chicken breast into cubes and place in a bowl. Dice granny smith apple and add to a bowl. Then add 1/4 cup of mayo and mix. Add raisins. Serve on lettuce leafs (instead of a tortilla)
I'm for sure keeping this recipe around, so easy!
3 more glasses of water ( I started to get really bad headaches in the afternoon, probably because I haven't been drinking caffeine, so I upped my water intake)
I put supper in the oven and then did 2 yoga videos
Supper consisted of salmon, zucchini and yellow squash. The recipe called for de-boning a fish. I just started liking fish and didn't feel like that was something I wanted to handle quite yet, so I bought some fillets. I also don't like mustard, so I cut that out too and altered the recipe.
Dressing:
2 tbsp fresh lime juice 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (nope) 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp minced fresh chives (nope) 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp granulated garlic 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
To make the dressing: It said to use a blender. I don't own one. I put everything in a small bowl and mixed. Pretty simple
I quartered the zucchini and squash, then cut into 2 inch sections and put on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. After I defrosted the fish (because lets be real, I didn't set it out the night before) I threw those on the baking sheet spooned the dressing over the flesh. Again, it said use a brush...I don't have a brush, and I don't think it's really necessary, I used a spoon.
I put it in the oven for 25 minutes - and then another 5 while I worked out, it was pretty nifty the way that worked.
Then I payed doubles sand volleyball, and we kicked butt winning 3 for 3.
So Tuesday I started a two week (possible one week) paleo challenge (it started as 30 days, but I cannot go without milk or carbs that long) I found this blog online and am following pretty closely for food and workouts.
So yesterday I started, and it was a "cleanse" day. When I say glass of water, I mean 8 oz.
I woke up, and before my feet hit the floor I was one glass of water down. I also did 30 calf raises while brushing my teeth (promotes blood circulation or something).
For breakfast, another glass of water, 2 eggs and 2 slices of turkey bacon. My uncle bought these microwaveable egg cooker things and gave one to me at Christmas. Bomb.com! So all of that, and I was supposed to have half an avocado but it was bad.
2 glasses of water
Glass of water with lunch, 5 oz canned tuna with an avocado (said avocado was bad so I had a small spinach salad with a few veggies
Probably 2 more glasses of water
By supper I was starving. My body hated me because I hadn't had coffee since Friday. 3 days! And I had next to no food all day.
So I did Jillian Michael's abs video with another glass of water and made supper.
Another glass of water and I cooked some chicken, and wilted spinach (first time! And it turned out great!) with onion and garlic.
Then I went over to Jaclyn's house to catch up on PLL and had 2 more glasses of lemon water.
I've been on a hiatus (if you didn't notice)(you probably didn't)
Last week I was still fighting a cold, not feeling the greatest, and when I did feel better, it was nice to spend quality time with friends. I was barely home this weekend, running around town, going to a comedy club, ISU basketball game watch with a bunch of "white haired old farts" as Judy, my adopted ISU grandma said (she doesn't know that, I just call her that), went bowling, played some pick-up games of sand volleyball, and finished some awesome signs/boards for a nursery (more to come later about those).
Anyway. What I was getting at is I've been loving hanging out with friends for the past week.
I told myself, today I was going to write though. Not that I had anything exciting to write about. It was one of those days I wasn't really busy, but I had things to do, and it wasnt a bad day, but nothing amazing happened.
So as I was climbing the stairs (pretty much running to get to the door to set my grocery bags down, because who takes more than one trip?) something amazing happened.
The power of listening and kind words appeared on my doorstep. It's not important for you to know what it was. But it completely made my day. I'm actually still smiling thinking about it now 4 hours later. It's amazing what nice words will do to someone.
So. Your homework. Send a letter, send a text, call, face time, skype, whatever your communication of choice is, and say hi, give a compliment, tell a joke or a story or a "remember when." Life is short. Life is too short for you to "think someone knows you care about them"
Who woulda thought. New Years Day. Alyssa at an Iowa football game.
A pirate ship in the Bucs stadium, and we got to sit next to it. So amazing.
And then I posted this picture honoring the coconut shrimp we wanted for free if Iowa won the game (even though Syd likes Blooming Onions better).
And I got a comment. It completely made my day :) I'm a nerd I know.
The first day of 2014 was a great one, I've never laughed so hard.
The only problem was, 68 degrees and I wore sandals. My feet were wet all day, so naturally I woke up Thursday with a cold. And am still trying to fight it.
Stay warm
xo A
I wrote this over a week ago. And forgot to publish.
Someone once told me in college, you should never go anywhere without a gift. And what better way to start out the new year with this small "resolution"
I went to a NYE party and everyone had just moved in :) so I got crafty.
