Crafting

I've recently been bitten by the crafting bug. 

I want to skip classes and work and stay home and make cards and wreaths and blankets and explore new recipes! Of course, this would not work but a girl can dream right?

I think my dream job (one of them) would be to run a blog. You know? Get paid to craft and blog it, cook and blog it, clean and blog it! "Try this, don't do this, substitute this, avoid that..."

Wouldn't that be awesome?

Well, until I get there, I am in school and have to craft when I have the time. 

I have done a couple of things lately and here are some pics. 

Craft #1: Travel Mug

It's getting colder everyday here in Utah and I do love my Herbal Tea (Preferably the Country Peach Passion or Honey Vanilla Chamomile by Celestial Seasonings). The travel mug I had didn't have a lid. No way to close that hole at the top. I've been on the hunt for a cheap but cute travel mug and low and behold I found one at JoAnns! (Of all places...) This was in the bargain section and I bought it for $2.50. I wasn't the biggest fan of the pink/brown paper liner SO I took it out, traced the shape onto a different piece of scrapbook paper that I had on hand (only $0.59 from Hobby Lobby). And voila! I have a cute travel mug with a lid. 

Before:

 

After:

Loverly, no? I love it. And if I get tired of the purple, I can always change it up!

Craft #2: Wreath

I was priveledged to spend sometime with a cousin recently and she was working on an adorable wreath and I thought, "You know I want to make one like this." 

And so I did. With some differences: thinner stripes, less colors, flat felt flowers.

This is foam tubing that I bought at home depot for $0.97. I got six feet of it for that price!

Black and White striped ribbon

Finished Product!

I am pretty sure that Cousin Kara's is cuter but she is much more experienced than I am and I'm not going to lie, I am VERY happy with how this wreath turned out. It took about 5 episodes of Alias to finish (1 episode=45ish minutes) but I refused to go to bed until this wreath was done. 

Not really a poem...

I ran today. 

I forgot to use my inhaler. 

I thought I was going to die. 

But I finished my run without stopping for a breather!

When I got home my lungs felt sticky. 

I used my inhaler. 

I didn't die. 

Just thought you'd like to know. 

It Was Hard

It was a beautiful morning today. 

Then I realized, "My run today is supposed to be two miles/20 minutes without stopping."

I've never run that far in one interval in my life, I'm pretty sure, so the task seemed daunting. But, I got out of bed, put on my running clothes and laced up my shoes. Neil even decided to come with me!

This whole morning I kept saying, "I'll probably have to pause the trainer and walk for a few minutes." and other things along that line but then I started running jogging and found that I wanted to do it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it without stopping.

And I did. 

And it was HARD.

After getting home and calculating the distance that I jogged in 20 minutes, I found that I had only jogged 1.8 miles instead of the whole 2 miles. But can I tell you a secret?

I'm not too upset about it. 

It was my first time running that far in one go and I am so happy and grateful that I even went that far! 

I have another week of the same intervals and so next Saturday will be another 2 mile day and I actually can't wait! Next time, I'll go the full two miles!

5K HERE I COME!

Just Some Lovely Pictures

Most of these are on Facebook but I wanted to add them here too!

Bridals and Wedding Photos. 

 

HUGE thanks to Lauri (Neil's Mom a.k.a. Mom #2) for taking these for us! They are superb and I love them!

Cooking Corner: Honey Mustard Chicken

This is definitely a favorite family meal. I've made this a few times since getting married and Neil never gets tired of it. 

It's a very simple dish but very tasty. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed)
• 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
• 1 tablespoon of honey (Lucky me! I have access to Manti honey but any honey will do.)
• 1/2 cup of pouring (whipping/table) cream (I've used heavy & light whipping cream but table should work just fine as well)
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley (from a jar/shaker is just fine)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Nutritional Facts:

(If light whipping cream is used)...roughly 366 calories (not including side dishes) 44g of protein, 18g fat (8g saturated fat) 8g carbohydrate, <1g fiber

I know, I know, 18g of fat? However, in a 2,000 calorie daily diet, one should be consuming at least 65g of fat. 18g is a little over 25% of your daily fat intake.

 Step One:

Season the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper

Step Two:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 7 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for 6 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover lightly with foil to keep warm. 

 
Step Three:

Reduce heat to medium. Add the mustard, honey and cream to the pan and cook, stirring for about 1 minute. (I usually don't measure out the honey because it doesn't like to come out of the measuring spoon so I eyeball it.) Stir in the parsley and season to taste. 

Step Four:

Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat in the sauce.

Step Five:

Serve!! I drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve it that way usually. 

 Variations:

1. Omit step four and instead, cut the chicken into cubes/stripes whatever. Place on top of or mix into a basic green salad. Use the cream sauce you just made as a "dressing" for your salad.

2. Cook some rice, egg noodles or spaghetti noodles and serve the chicken on top of that.

A variation on the cooking of the chicken is as follows: Omit the cream & parsley and combine the mustard and honey with the zest of 1 lime, and 1-2 crushed garlic cloves (if you like that sort of thing, I for one, cannot eat garlic...) Spread mixture over the top of 4 chicken breasts. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook under a medium-hot broiler for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. 

Side Dish Options:

1. Sweet Potato Mash

2. Steamed sugarsnap peas

3. Steamed asparagus

4. Green salad

5. Steamed summer squash

6. Broccoli

I've tried this recipe a couple of different ways but the original way is still my favorite. We both absolutely LOVE IT! I hope you do too! If you try it (or have read it) and have any other suggestions for tweaking, leave me a comment and I'll try them out!

My Best (Girl) Friends

You know how they say that you can have more than one best friend?

So. True. 

I never lived long enough in one location to say that "So-and-so was my childhood best friend" but when we moved to Kentucky, I found two girls (or rather they found me) that I could call my Best Friends. 

They are beautiful, talented, funny, smart and so much more. I love these girls with all my heart and I miss them very much today all the time, but especially today. 

Alisa:

Man alive, this woman is amazing! She has taught me so much about loving life. Carefree and so willing to love someone for who they are and not what they look like or what they have. She is married now, to the wonderful Carl and they have a baby on the way. I am so excited for them, I just wish that they'd move to Utah so that we could be closer. Alisa graduated a while ago and now does some tutoring in KY. That's too far away for my liking but I do get to see her next month! (Fingers crossed!)

Erin: 

I don't know what I'd do without her! She has taught me so much about overcoming adversity and obtaining your goals. Right now is is WAAAY far away, as she is in Thailand serving a full-time mission for our church!! She's been teaching and serving the Lord and just happened to be able to go and play with tigers. I'm totally jealous. She is happy (from the sound of it) and I am happy for her. She is doing just a selfless thing but I cannot wait for her to be home. I miss her so much.

 I love them both and miss them very much but that life for you right? The thing I love about them is that we can go for so long without seeing each other or even talking (due to the craziness of life) but when we get back together, it's like we were never really apart. I love them so SO much and I know that they are doing good things with their lives. Maybe we'll have to get together for a reunion once Erin gets home...Yes, I think so. Gosh, I just love them!

I Learned...

My dear friend Hayley made this video about Study Abroad. 

She made it for a film competition and needs views to win. 

I wouldn't normally do this but her video speaks to more than just a study abroad experience. 

It speaks to us all. 

It's a short film but deserves a world of applause. 

Enjoy.