I'm crafty

Like many of you out there, I have a love for pinning recipes, workout plans, and DIY projects. Somehow I find plenty of time to peruse Pinterest but never seem to find the time to actually make anything I pin. Today that changed.

There's Color Run fever in Kansas City this weekend. (Thank you pinterest for teaching me about the Color Run!) C and I are running in it tomorrow morning and I have to wear an all-white shirt. Conversely, it's approximately 100 degrees here in KC and just thinking about wearing a normal t-shirt tomorrow made me start sweating. I'm sure most of you have seen the DYI Tank Top pins made out of old t-shirts, so I thought this was the perfect time to give it a shot. I used this post because it didn't require any sewing.

I started with my plain Garmin shirt. This shirt is given to employees at orientation and I think I've worn it approximately never in the past 3 years. This seemed like a good shirt to experiment on.

First I cut off the sleeves and collar, being sure to stay close to the seam.

Next, cut about 1.5-2 inches further down the neck line. Cut the sleeves starting about 1.5 inches from the neckline at an angle to the bottom of the sleeve holes. I then turned the shirt over and cut in another inch or so into the back so it gathered a little easier.

I didn't get a picture of the final step, but cut a 2 inch x 8 inch strip from the sleeve scraps and tug on the ends a little so the cloth curls. Gather the back and wrap the cloth around a few times and tie into a knot to hold.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And at least I'll stay a little cooler tomorrow morning!



26 Before 27, Final Update

My birthday is Friday and it turns out I didn't accomplish my list. But!--I do think I got a lot accomplished this year, even things that weren't on the list. Plus, now I've got a few items to start out my 27 Before 28 list! I've had an incredibly blessed 26th year and am excited to see what 27 has in store.

1. Go to Chicago (check! We went over Thanksgiving.)
2. Find a church (check! We haven't been much, but I do feel confident that we found a church we both like)
3. Learn to sew (Does getting the sewing machine out of the box count? I have high hopes for this next year! If someone knows how to sew they are welcome to come teach me.)
4. Run a 10k (check!)
5. Cook all the printed recipes in my recipe folder (Between TheKitchn and Pinterest, there are just too many recipes. This won't make next year's list.)
6. Blog 30 days in a row (check!)
7. Read 10 books (check! Check out this post to see what I read)
8. Ride my bike more (check! Um, we rode a few times. Which was more than not at all)
9. Bake a pie from scratch (check! Cherry Pie was made this weekend and it turned out great.)
10. Pay off my Graduate School loans (check! We also paid off C's car this month so I'm pretty sure that counts as an extra item.)
11. Begin half marathon training (check! I ran TWO half marathons this year! That's like a WHOLE marathon!)
12. Plant a full garden (check! So far we've only gotten peas, basil, and sage from the garden, but it's looking great!)
13. Refinish the landscaping on the side of our house (I spent about 2 hours clearing out the trees and overgrown bushes this weekend, but we're a few weeks away from getting the landscaping completed. This goes on next year's list.)
14. Frame wedding posters (Nope, still hasn't happened.)
15. Make wedding album (Again, this hasn't happened. I swear I love my husband, but I don't love our wedding pictures, so my motivation is lacking.)
16. Spend the afternoon at a winery (check! I'm pretty sure I'm adding this to next years list anyway just so we can spend more time at wineries.)
17. Go someplace new (check! This year I went to Southampton, UK, Barcelona (twice), Milwaukee, Portland, and New Hampshire. It's been a busy year.)
18. Bake bread from scratch (check! I made French Bread this weekend. It was impressive.)
19. Make homemade ice cream (check! Our ice cream maker has a semi-permanent home on the kitchen counter now.)
20. Go on the Boulevard Brewery Tour (check!)
21. Visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum (We had intended to go this past weekend, but there just weren't enough hours in the day. This will make the list for next year.)
22. Take a day off, for no reason (check! I slept in, I cleaned a little, I shopped, I drank a frappuccino. It was great.)
23. Join a group/do more community service (I'm thinking Junior League or Big Brothers/Big Sisters) (I didn't get this accomplished and it's been weighing heavily on me lately. This is definitely on next year's list.)
24. Watch The Godfather (just something I've never seen but have wanted to) (check! We watched all 3.)
25. Read a non-fiction book (looking for suggestions) (check! I read Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris. Hilarious!)
26. Take one week off from facebook (check!)

The Tale of the Jalapenos

Happy National Running Day! I had great intentions to run tonight. See that picture below? I totally have on my running clothes. And then, the events leading up to that picture happened.

On my way home from a work team builder this evening, I called C and asked him to meet me at home for a run. While waiting for him to get home from work, I thought I'd be productive and chop up some jalapenos we were using in tonight's dinner. Chopping went fine; C got home. Then I made the egregious error of rubbing my eye. It started to sting immediately, but just on the spot I had rubbed it. It was a sharp pain, almost like I had scratched it. I knew I hadn't scratched it. I had just gotten jalapeno oils in my eye. As I lay on the floor clutching my eye saying "Oh no....ouch.....oh my gosh...ouch...oh no!" C just sat there asking what was going on. I finally got out the words, explaining that I had just touched my eye after chopping jalapenos and C suggested I flush it with water. I honestly couldn't tell you if this helped or hurt it more because at this point the entire right side of my face was pretty numb. You know that numbness your mouth and tongue get after eating something really spicy? Now imagine your eye and cheek feeling that way. It was painful.

While I got an ice pack and rested it on my eye (which I think actually did help), C scoured the internet for "cures". We both had images of the worst. He was afraid he might have to take me to the hospital (this is also the point when we realized we have no idea where the closest ER is in relation to our house). I was afraid my eye was going to be swollen and red and I would have to relive this story for the next day or two. We found a suggestion to soak a paper towel with milk and rest it on your eye, so we thought we'd give it a try. At this point, nothing could really make it any worse. This is me, laying on the bed with milk paper towel on my face. It might be one of my most pathetic moments.

I'm happy to say that after about 15-20 minutes, my eye did finally reach the point where I could open it and cook dinner for C. However, we decided to forgo the run this evening since my eye still burned a little and it was getting late. Lesson learned.

When  you stick a jalapeno finger in  your eye, you get to eat cookies and watch a chick flick. We watched The Time Traveler's Wife. Spoiler Alert: It was creepy and weird, especially when he travelled back in time and kissed his future wife when she was only 18 and he was 38. Or when she got pregnant by "past" husband because real-time husband got a vasectomy. Weird. But, by the end I was in tears as I watched this couple have to know that he was going die and say goodbye to each other.

I think I should probably head to bed before I hurt myself any further. At least my eye is mostly better, and hopefully by morning all burning sensations will be gone and my pride will be back.