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. 

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend 2012 has been a hectic success. We managed to have a great balance between chores, fun, and relaxation. If only all weekends were this good. And 3-days long.

Our weekend was full of firsts! Here's a rundown:
1. Friday night started with a trip to the AMC Main street downtown to see The Avengers with the in-laws. This was the first time we had been to this theater and finally understand all the talk we hear about it. It has a full bar/restaurant as well as all these cool movie quotes and pictures of movie stars all over the place. Oh yeah, and the movie was good too. C would want me to say that. ;)

2. After the movie, we all headed to Grinder's for a late dinner. This was another first for us. Grinders has been on our list for awhile; it was featured on the Food Network (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I believe). It was pretty good, and we would definitely go back, but I must admit we didn't fully understand the hype. The food was decent, but honestly the best thing we had was the Gouda potato casserole side dish. That doesn't say much for a place "known" for their sandwiches.

3. Saturday consisted of a morning run, yard work, errands, and cooking club! We were thrilled to host cooking club again at our house. On the menu: Black Thai Burgers with mushrooms, Pesto Mashed Potatoes, Spinach, Avocado, and Orange Salad, and Tortilla Dessert Wraps with homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. I finally made homemade ice cream! Another first! AND another thing checked off my list. :)

This was delicious!

4. Sunday we used our hedge trimmer for the first time and FINALLY trimmed our bushes. The sidewalk leading to our front door was being over-taken by green. I'm happy to say that a few hours of hard work and a slight sunburn later, we have our sidewalk back!

5. Sunday night was spent at Celebration at the Station with C's family. The weather ended up being really nice with a cool breeze.

6. This morning we kicked off our Memorial Day with the Amy Thompson Run for Brain Injury 8k. It was hot, but we managed to get our best time yet (this is our 3rd year doing this run) with a time of 48:53. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and doing some much needed cleaning around the house.

Overall, this is exactly what we needed this weekend. I'm thrilled to go back to work knowing my house is clean, my laundry is done, and my to-do list is a little shorter. I hope you all are going back to work well rested and refreshed after the holiday weekend.

1 more month

My birthday is in exactly 1 month and I still have some major and some not-so-major projects to get done on my 26 Before 27 list. It turns out I not only suck at blogging, but I also kind of stink at my to-do lists. Darn. Oh well, life is busy and I'm enjoying it either way.

Here are some things I'll be focusing on over the next 4 weeks, in addition to living my life.

3. Learn to sew (Can we be honest with each other? I'm probably not going to master sewing in the next 4 weeks.)
5. Cook all the printed recipes in my recipe folder (Cook ALL the recipes! Or, just make a concentrated effort to make more new recipes. That's kind of the same thing, right?)
9. Bake a pie from scratch
13. Refinish the landscaping on the side of our house (While at Lowe's, Chase and I actually looked at landscaping bricks. This is a big step. Now just to buy them...)
14. Frame wedding posters
15. Make wedding album
18. Bake bread from scratch
19. Make homemade ice cream
21. Visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum
23. Join a group/do more community service
I'm pretty sure I can get those baking and cooking things tackled. I might even be able to squeeze a visit to Nelson-Atkins in over the weekend, assuming my travel schedule slows a bit. As for the rest? Well they might make a good start to my 27 Before 28 list, right?

Happy Mother's Day

I have the most wonderful mother. She is supportive, smart, and strong. She is an incredible listener. She gives great advice, but always asks first to make sure I want to hear it. She is one of the few people I will actually go shopping with. Not because we share the same taste, we don't always, but because she will tell me the truth about how things look and knows that ultimately my first instinct will always drive my decision on whether or not to buy something. My first instinct ultimately drives most decisions in my life. She doesn't try to talk me out of or into anything. She understands I am independent. She has understood that my whole life. After moving me into the dorms my first semester at college, her parting words to me were "Try to come home at least once before Thanksgiving."

My mother was a teacher. I didn't go to the school she taught at, but I know she was one of those really great teachers because her past students still loved her. Once I was in high school, many of my classmates that had been my mom's former students quickly recognized me as "Mrs. Sampson's daughter." To this day she keeps in touch with students she had in her first year of teaching, over 30 years ago. Even though I wasn't ever in her class, I know what an impact she made on so many of her students. It's because of my mom, and the many teachers I had just like her, that I have always wanted to work with children. I see the impact a strong and supportive adult can have on the life of a child, and I only hope to make an impact like that during my lifetime.

I'm so glad my mom will be spending Mother's Day at my house, so I can show her just how much I appreciate everything she has done for me and taught me over the years. I hope everyone remembers to celebrate their mother's this Sunday, even if that means mailing a card or making a phone call. And Happy Mother's Day to my mother, my mother-in-law, and all my beautiful friends who are working everyday to be the best mothers possible.

Look how cute my parents are. Can you believe they've been married over 32 years?

The world according to my iPhone

If someone went through the pictures on your phone, what would they learn about you? I have an embarrassing amount of food pictures on my iPhone. If someone went through my phone, they might think I have an eating disorder. Or a food addiction of some sort. Which is still an eating disorder, I guess.

I use my camera phone as a last resort. It's the "Oh crap I forgot my camera and have use my phone" camera. Or sometimes it's the "I really want to take a picture of this but I don't want anyone to know I'm taking a picture of this" camera. Which means between pictures of food, flowers, and ladies reading Diabetes for Dummies at the airport, my phone gives little insight into my world.

Here are the things we've been up to lately, according to my iPhone:

Spring is in full bloom at my house!



I found this purse in Spain and am seriously coveting it. It's a sin to covet something, or may it's just a sin to covet what isn't yours. I should probably buy it so I stop sinning.



Confession, there are a serious amount of pictures of this guy on my phone too. He's just so cute.



Seeing the Kansas City Symphony perform New World Symphony brought back some memories of high school marching band sophomore year. The symphony was much better than our marching band.



It's baseball season! Tensions were high at Saturday night's game. The teams rushed the field twice! Sadly, the Royals went 0-3 their home opening weekend. It's okay. This is our time.



C and I finished off our weekend with our first ever trip to Stroud's! And boy did we eat. We had enough leftovers from our lunch to take home and make a full dinner out of them. Seriously, that cinnamon roll on the right was my favorite part of the whole meal.