Sunshine Award?!

 

 

I've been nominated for the Sunshine Award by Amulya from Star Dance. First of all, thank you so much for nominating me!! I sort of took the summer off of blogging, so I think it's given me a new boost of "writing energy"... make sense? No? Okey doke. Anywho, here we go!

 

Rules

 

Thank the person who nominated you.

Answer the questions asked by the person who nominated you.

Nominate some other bloggers.

Write the same amount of questions for the bloggers you nominated.

Notify the bloggers you nominated on their blog.

Put the award button on your blog.

 

Amulya's Questions-

 

1. What was the last thing you bought?

The last thing I bought was...oh! makeup - foundation, eyeliner, and mascara.

2. Describe your favorite type of pizza.

My favorite pizza is a combination of Hawaiian and Supreme - what I do is buy a cheese pizza from the store then put pineapple, ham, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, red pepper, and sometimes black beans on it before I bake it.

3. If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Green Smoothies. I absolutely love them!

4. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Ok, this is a pet peeve that only my immediate family or friends pick on me for, but I hate it when people touch my butt...with their hand, a feather duster, a broom... ughh. They do it purpose.

5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Just ran upstairs to count - 15. I'd say about a third of them are flip-flops. ;)

6. If you could be any celebrity, who would it be?

Hmm, I usually don't think about this, but I guess it would be Jennifer Lawrence. She's pretty down-to-earth and encourages young girls not to starve themselves.

7. What quality about yourself do you value most?

I like helping people. I know that probably sounds pretty generic, but, whether it be putting up tables, drying dishes, or filling in for a pianist, I like feeling that I made one person's day just a little bit easier.

8. Apples or bananas?

Bananas, most definitely.

9. What is your least favorite part of the day?

Ugh, early mornings. I'm not a morning person.

10. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Dark Chocolate.

 

I Nominate

 

Brooke from Pineapples & Daisies

Kelsi from Messy Bits

Joy from Doodlebug

Rose from Truly. Madly. Deeply.

 

My Questions

 

1. Favorite color? Be as specific as possible.

2. Music - Oldies or Modern?

3. What did you want to grow up to be as a kid?

4. How many states have you been to?

5. Have you ever travelled out of the country?

6. If you were given the opportunity to go skydiving, would you? Why or why not?

7. White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

8. What instruments do you play, if any?

9. Favorite Disney movie?

10. One thing from your Bucket List.

 

 

 

 

 



Leg Day

 Warm-up

 

15 minutes on the treadmill - varying speeds and incline

 

Go Time!

 

Leg Press - 70 lbs. - 4 x 20 (4 sets of 20 reps)

Hip Abduction - 40 lbs. - 4 x 20

Seated Leg Curl - 45 lbs. - 4 x 20

Barbell Squats - 20 lbs. - 4 x 12

Calf Raises - 30 lbs. - 150x (how ever may sets you want to break this up into)

Hyperextension - 3 x 10

 

Cool Down

 

Walk around/Stretch

 

*Adjust the weight and reps to your own level.

 



Walking Like An Old Man... / Gorilla

Okey dokey - so have any of you maybe skipped out on the gym for two months, then all of a sudden jumped into the same routine it took you three months to work up? Say, a leg routine? Not the smartest decision I've made. (I'll be posting that routine soon;)

 

Going on a quick rabbit trail here. As I was stretching in the corner of the gym after my workout, I got this awful cramp in my right foot. Those things usually go away if you stand on that foot, so I did. While I was standing on one leg, in excruciating pain, I realized I was making a rather awkward face - the pain still wasn't going away! So I started bouncing back and forth on both feet, but that didn't work. Then I decided to hop up and down on my right foot to see if that would work. Now, this whole time I'm starting to get annoyed at the cramp and its nerve to bug me for so long. Nothing I did worked. I limped from the back of the gym towards the entrance where my dad was waiting for me, hoping everyone was giving 110% focus on their own problems (I didn't look at any of their faces... ). Dad and I walk to the truck, and at first I couldn't even lift my leg off the ground without the cramp coming back. Anywho, I got in, and had to keep my foot in a certain position the whole ride home. THEN! Get this - while I was in the shower, both feet started cramping up! There's really no point to this story, and it ended up being longer than I wanted, but, "long story short", I had a miserable few hours.

 

Ok! The real meaning of this post. Last Saturday, the 17th, was Leg Day.

I picked up where I left off with my routine from a couple months back, and even added a few new things. That night, I wasn't feeling the pain at all! Lucky me! Just barely tight the next day, but that's understandable. However, Monday morning, when I tried to get out of bed, I nearly fell on my face! My calves were soooo tight and sore, it literally felt like a giant bruise covered the whole calve muscle. I had to walk on my toes!! and I was hunched over like an old man because my thighs and rear hurt too. The pain just got worse, and I had to go take an EOC test that day. I decided to take an ice bath, but that didn't really help. For the sake of my pride, I lowered my heels down to right above the floor and that's how I walked in and out of the testing site... pretty sure I got a few weird looks. On Tuesday, the pain was even worse. Just standing hunched over with my heels on the ground was a deep stretch. I applied heat for a few hours that night while I was watching tv, then when I went to bed. Finally, the pain started easing up on Wednesday. I was able to walk normally by the time we went to church, although my calves were still sore. Actually, they're sore right now... Leg day's punishment is kinda long this time.

 

This is sorta how I felt.

 

 

Can't wait to do it again ;)

 

 

*Pictures from Google Images

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I found a recipe for sugar-free, carb-free peanut butter cookies!! - but it had sugar substitutes (which I don't like), so I tweaked it just a little bit. Instead of Splenda I used honey, and I added oats to make them a little thicker. These are healthier than the normal, sugar-packed cookies you buy or make at home. The peanut butter I used does have a little bit of sugar in it, but I really want to try making my own or getting natural peanut butter. Here we go!

1 cup of peanut butter

1 large egg

1 to 2 tablespoons of honey (raw, natural, etc.)

1/4 cup of rolled oats*

 

*These are not the quick microwave oats, make sure they are rolled oats. Also, I never measure stuff when I'm experimenting, so just eyeball it. ;)

 

 First, pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Mix the peanut butter and egg together in a bowl. Then, depending on your preference, add honey (this is to sweeten the cookies, there isn't a dominant honey flavor). Once that's mixed in, add a handful of oats, give or take. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, and press a spoonful of dough into a thin circle. (They have to be pressed thin to cook through.) Repeat until pan is full; cook for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will be kinda doughy until they cool down. This recipe made 12 cookies last time I made it.

"Green" Smoothie Recipe

 So, for a brief summary of my new eating... choices...? Yeah, let's go with that. I've been avoiding the gym for a month or two, so that, combined with my obsession for junk food, hasn't exactly been beneficial to my "physique" ;). Sooo, I've decided to cut out all processed sugars, and most carbs. It's a bit of a challenge, especially when certain people (whose names will go unmentioned) keep pinning the most delicious looking chocolate cakes and cookies on Pinterest. Anyway, this means new recipes!

This was my first attempt on a Green Smoothie.


About a handful of strawberries
1 frozen banana
A couple handfuls of raw spinach
3/4 to 1 cup of water


Put the spinach in a blender, sliced banana and strawberries on top. Then, add the water (it's just to add some liquid, so use according to your preference). Blend all together. Done! So, mine didn't exactly turn out green; it sort of looked like a "chocolate" smoothie. Nonetheless, it was DELICIOUS!! You can't even taste the spinach. I can't wait to make another one. Mom just brought home a ton of fruits and veggies, so I'll be sharing more smoothie experiments soon. :)



Fruit Smoothie Recipe!

I've been experimenting with some different smoothie recipes lately, and this one is by far my favorite! I usually have it for breakfast because it's so filling and has tons of nutrients to sort of give you a boost for the day! There isn't any milk or yogurt in it, though, so I'm not sure it can be called a smoothie.

 

Ingredients

 

5-6 large strawberries

a couple handfuls of grapes (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)

1 banana

2 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbs. honey

about 2/3 of a cup of green tea

a handful of ice

*optional - a couple slices of cucmber

 

These aren't exact measurements, as I usually make do with what we have in the house. So, you just want to make sure you've got a bowl full of fruits and/or vegetables you like.

 

1. You're going to want to rinse all of the fruit and chop it into chunks (except the grapes, they're small enough).

2. Stick the bowl of fruit into the freezer to chill.

3. Brew a cup of green tea - let it cool down to room temperature.

4. Put the fruit, green tea, lemon juice, and honey into a blender and mix until there aren't any big lumps.

5. Add a handful of ice, then blend again.

 

Done!

 

This usually makes enough for two medium smoothies, but since it's breakfast I drink the whole thing. Oh! I added cucumber one time, and it gave it a really fresh, crisp taste - so you should try that if you want! I really want to try a green smoothie, but I don't have any spinach or kale right now. If it works out I'll probably do another recipe.

Ok, bye! =)



Lower Body Routine

This is what I sometimes do during commercials - it's short and sweet! Try doing it once every commercial break. If it seems hard at first, just keep working at it; pretty soon you'll be able to fly through it. =)

20 reps per exercise

walking lunges
squats
calf raises
clamshells
deadlifts (you can replace weights with water jugs, books, etc.)

hehe :) 

Some Changes?

       1. No more Level 10 Exam! *piano exam I have been working towards for about a year now. I had to memorize 7 songs: 5 repertoire, 2 etudes; technique (which is actually a lot of fun, so that would have been the easiest part); and an ear training & sight reading portion (which consists of clapbacks, playbacks, intervals, chords, cadences, and a few other things. I realized that I wasn't taking the exam for the right reasons; instead of doing it for me, I was doing it because people said I could. A few years ago, a girl I really looked up to did the RCM program, and I thought she was just the most amazing pianist ever (she really is), so I wanted to do the same thing. I think I was 11 or 12 at the time. Long story short, I started getting a little stressed, and I think my teacher noticed. We've been talking about college and stuff, and she said that unless I really wanted to keep working towards the exam, it would be really smart to get a large repertoire under my hand. So, no more exams looming over my head, and I get to start working on a bigger variety of songs! Mrs. Olivia lent me a few books to look through and I've already fallen in love with a couple. I might start posting weekly updates on music or something, we'll see. Anywho, I feel like a weight's been taken off my shoulders!

        2. IDEAS!!! I want to start sprinting, but there isn't a track at our gym ... sooo, I'm not sure how that's going to work out yet. Also, how about a weekly yoga challenge - I'll pick out a new yoga pose once a week and try to do it. Or ... some workouts ... or similar stuff. Things are coming into my head randomly, let me know what you think.



   Isn't this awesome?! I wanna try it!     

 

 Ok, so that's about it. I know it wasn't very exciting or interesting, but it's better than nothing! ;)

 

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Interview With Brooke Jordan!

     This week, Brooke Jordan so amazingly helped me re-design my blogs and made buttons for both! She has such an amazing talent for design - go check out Designs by Brooke and Silver Linings for more of her work. This is just a small interview so y'all can get to know her a little bit!

When did you start Silver Linings and why?

 Honestly, I started two years ago because I thought it was just "cool" to have a blog, but now if you ask me I would tell you that I have a blog because I want to inspire people, share my photography, and also to share my faith. :)
 

Why design?

I just really love doing it! I think it's an enjoyable pastime, and I love creating things.
 

What tips would you give someone starting their own blog?

Be yourself. I tried for almost two years to be someone else in my blogging. I tried to be the person that I wished I really was, sort of like I was fantasizing myself, but then I learned that it's better for me just to be me. To be a successful blogger, you just need to blog about things that you are passionate about.
 

Do you have a favorite Bible verse or passage?

 Yeppers :D John 3:16
 

What's one of your favorite childhood memories?

Ugh. I have a terrible memory so I don't really remember much from my childhood. I do remember that I used to enjoy making lemonade with my grandma :)
 

If you could have 3 wishes granted, what would they be?

 Three more wishes :P Ok the first one would be for my mom to get better. She has a lot of really crazy illnesses that cause her to be bedridden most of the time, and there isn't a cure for them. Second, would be for me to have a normal, Godly family. (I kinda have a weird family situation with my dad) Thirdly, that everyone in the world would come to know Jesus and live for him. :)
 

Favorite Disney movie?

FROZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! :DDD
 

Peanut Butter: creamy or crunchy?

Creamy creamy creamy. Crunchy defeats the whole purpose of peanut butter. It's supposed to be buttery not have little pebbles in it lol.
 

The perfect dessert would be?

Lots and lots of chocolate things. Chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream with chocolate candies with chocolate syrup, you get the point :P
 

What is your favorite book/series?

Well, right now I'm reading Divergent and I really love it, but it seems like the kind of book that could possibly get inappropriate so I might not finish it if that happens. My favorite book/series that I've read all the way through would be Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson
 

Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
Emmmm. No not really xD




 

Le magic button! :)

Bucket List ... So Far

• visit South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, & Australia
• do a scorpion pose (yoga)
• go mudding
• play the guitar
• play the ukulele
• learn how to make chorizo
• go ice skating

How Do I Choose?

       Preparing for college is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. When I was a little kid, I thought teenagers just picked a college because they liked the name, drove there, and stayed for a few years. Oh, how I wish that were so! Now it seems like there are so many guidelines I have to follow, all these required tests, and graduation is looming over my head. Being in an online school, and my being so shy, I only know two people! The fear of having to go to a graduation ceremony with a bunch of people I don't know scares me. I know that it's probably not a big deal, though, compared to a bunch of other stuff. Still, maybe I can pretend to be sick and stay in bed?
   
        Should I stay local, or go for an adventure? The practical side of me says to stay local. I can live at home, get state scholarships, and have time for a job. However, a huge part of me loves to travel - I want to see new things! I have a funny feeling my parents want to keep me as close as possible ... ;) I've been choosing "practical" my whole life. Should I change that now? Say, "hmm, why not?" instead of, "mmmm, better not..."? Ughh. How do they expect teenagers to make life altering decisions like this? It's like one day you've got the kid's menu, then the next you're expected to pay full price for a meal! There are seriously times when I highly resent being over the age of 12, or taller than the height limit in a playground. Before this turns into an even longer, sleep-deprived rant, I'm gonna stop right here. Oh, but anyways, how was your Valentines Day? I went to Chicfila with my youth group!

What Do You Want to Be?

          When you were a child, did people ever ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up? I know I was asked that. In fact, I've been getting that question a lot more often now that I'm in the "planning for college" stage. However, I'm finding that it's a lot harder to answer now, whereas when I was a child I could have been anything my imagination could come up with. What did you want to be as a child? I wanted to be a missionary; going to far away places and meeting new people seemed like such an adventure to me. Three years ago, I would have said I wanted to major in music - little did I know that that was a super broad range of topics. Two years ago: concert pianist. One year ago: concert pianist/songwriter/musicology major/drowning in possibilities. Now: aha! Music Therapist.
          Yep, I think I seriously had an "aha!" moment. I hadn't even heard of music therapy until about three weeks ago. I did some research online and found out that it takes everything I want to do and combines it into one. Of course, since music has been such a focal point in my life, I want it to have a part in my career; I've seriously been thinking about working with special needs kids; I loved playing piano in the nursing home and talking to the residents; I'm really interested in psychology; I like interacting with people - I think it's perfect!
          You know how sometimes you think you want to do something because it seems logical that you should? That's sort of how I was going about everything - I was looking at degrees that would seem obvious for someone like me. I think I was playing it safe. There's nothing wrong with me becoming a concert pianist or music professor, I know would enjoy that kind of career. However, none of those ideas struck me as "Yes! You perfect idea, you." They were more along the lines of "Duh! What else?!" Is this making any sense at all? Anyway, the point of all of this is to say that I think I might have finally made a decision - huge accomplishment! I'm planning on sitting in on some classes at a nearby college. Also, our student minister's girlfriend (she's how I found out about music therapy) said I could shadow her some time to see what it's like. I can't wait to see how this all plays out!