Perfect Oatmeal

So yesterday my husband and I made a trip to Starbucks for breakfast.  We don't go there very often because most of the time we brew Starbucks coffee at home.  I decided I wanted to try their "perfect oatmeal".  It was really good and filling!  After eating it I spent the morning running around in the 100 degree heat - taking Harley to the vet, shopping, running other errands, etc.  At lunch I still wasn't hungry!  It comes with individual packets of items you can add into your oatmeal.  I decided today I would make my own version, and it tastes basically the exact same.  Thought I would post it so if you wanted to try it, you could!  (and if you have another version you make, let me know!)

Perfect Oatmeal

-1/2 cup of instant oatmeal
-1 cup water
-1 tablespoon each (or more or less, depending on what you like) of: brown sugar, dried fruit (I used cranberries and blueberries), and chopped nuts (I used walnuts, pecans, and almonds)

Instructions
-Microwave oatmeal and water for 1 1/2 minutes.  Let stand a couple minutes (because it's REALLY hot), add sugar, fruit, and nuts and enjoy! 

*Also this is a way to get approx. 10+ grams of fiber in one meal - I am NOT a nutritionist, I just looked at the packages!* ;)

YUM!




T-Shirt Quilt

When I went to visit my family in Oklahoma I mentioned I made a t-shirt quilt.  I don't have many before pictures but I will show what I can.  First, I took a t-shirt and laid the entire thing on a cutting mat.  *Check to make sure you don't want to use the back image.  If you do, cut slits along the sides to cut them into two pieces.*  If you only need one side, it's super easy.  Take your ruler (I used a 12"x12" square-makes it way easier) and use a rotary cutter to cut the shirt into a square size of your liking. 

Some quilts use a 10"x10" and cut into the design a bit, some even bigger than mine.  Cut all your blocks out this way.  I had 30 blocks.  When your blocks are all cut, lay them out to decide where you want each block to be.

Then you can begin sewing.  I sewed each row together by sewing the first three together for each row first.  Then I sewed the remained two blocks for each row, without cutting any connecting threads.  This made it easier to pin together to sew each row to the next one. 

Finally, I had my quilt top assembled.  This is the part where Mom and I made a crazy trip to the fabric store.  At 4:30pm on Sunday, I was sewing my rows together when I realized the shop might close early.  Mom looked it up, saw they closed at 5, and yelled, "Get your shoes!"  We looked like crazy quilters sprinting to the car, but we made it to the store by 4:55.  The lady at the store laughed when we told her I almost wore my pincushion that had been on my wrist because we were in such a hurry.  We were rushed because we needed the backing for the quilt.  My quilt was just at 60 inches wide, which is what width t-shirt knit usually runs.  So I got 2 1/2 yards of black knit.

Then came the more time-consuming part.  I cut out batting my Mom already had to fit the size of the quilt, along with my black backing.  Then I laid the top down first, then the backing, then the batting.  Next, I pinned together all three layers.  It's similar to making a pillow in that you put right sides together and sew around all four sides, leaving a little space open.  Then you can flip it right side out and hand-sew the opening closed.  Woohoo!

The only things left to do were to tie the quilt and sew the patch I had created for the center.  To tie the quilt instead of hand-sew, I bought some black yarn and a fairly thick needle.  At the corners of the blocks I went down from the front to the back and back up, tying a square knot to finish off.

And last but not least, I hand sewed a patch I created on my Granny's fancy embroidery machine onto a black block in the center of the quilt.

And...finished!!

Playing Catch Up

So it has been a long time since I last posted!  I can't believe how fast the past month flew by.  So for a quick overview, here's what we've been up to:

1. Couponing: I'm still at it and it is getting easier.  I don't think I will ever do it to an extreme but it is nice to save money.  I am thinking of keeping track of my savings so at the end of the year it will hopefully be impressive.
2. P90x: To be totally honest, we have slacked off in a major way.  After I got sick my husband did too and now he has a bruised tendon.  I know, excuses excuses, but that just means we're normal.  Right?  We did purchase a mountain bike for myself and we have ridden around the neighborhood a little.  We plan on trying out some trails nearby soon.
3. Blogging: I finally sat down and worked with the layout a bit today so it looks better.  Maybe I can take a class of some sort to learn more about it.

4. Family/Friends: We had a great Easter with my in-laws and then a trip around graduation time to Oklahoma to visit my family.  We got hailed on in a big storm when we went to the rodeo.  Had a fun third anniversary spent seeing movies and running around the city (Bridesmaids, Hangover 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean).  My husband got a better job at the company he works for and should have more time off this summer to spend with me.  School's out and I just got back from visiting family for six days in Oklahoma.  I got to really spend time with everyone.  My mom helped me make a t-shirt quilt from my favorite college shirts.  It turned out really cute!  My brother just moved into an apartment so I got to help him with that.  Oh and then we made an IKEA trip for his apartment which is always fun.  I am hoping to blog about the trip in more detail after I get some pictures uploaded to the computer.

5.  Basketball:  The Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals!  Games are on every other night at 8pm and we have been exhausted (but loyal) fans from staying up late and then getting up early.  Totally worth it, it's been exciting so far.  Another one tonight!  Go MAVS!!
6. Hawaii:  We've been getting ready for our trip this summer.  It's been in the 100's here so oddly we are looking forward to the COOLER weather at the beach.  Still have a few more lists of things to check off, but we have gotten a lot accomplished.
7. Harley:  We got him a children's pool for the backyard and he loves playing in it.  Other than the pool, he's not very interested in being outside in the heat.

So that is a fast highlight of what has been going on the past month or so.  I hope you're enjoying your summer and finding fun ways to beat the heat!

Lately...

So we are in week 2 of P90x and...we are surviving!  Other than the fact that I got a cold this past weekend, we have been keeping up with it.  I took Sunday off to rest and then Monday I walked on the treadmill instead of doing the workout.  Yesterday I got back to it but regretted it after.  Today is yoga and I'm hoping I can finish it.  Even though I haven't lost much weight yet I already feel stronger in my arms and core.  :)

I have also been researching about cooking vegetarian, or at least semi-vegetarian.  My mom now eats this way and has seen drastic improvements in her health and how she feels.  So far Mom, I have tried vegetarian options twice now when eating out and have not been disappointed yet.  Props to Cafe Brazil and Chipotle for their delicious tacos and burrito bowl!  I am looking forward to trying some recipes.  I did however get a craving for homemade chicken noodle soup while I've been sick.  Surely if I make it from scratch at home it can still be super healthy.  Oh man I can't wait to make some.

The other major thing we've been working on is planning our vacation activities for Hawaii.  So excited, it's all I can think about.  We've also been talking about other places we want to visit possibly before having children.  The only thing I don't like about travel (other than spending the money) is flying.  I wish I could switch my brain off when I'm up there and just relax.  We'll see how this next trip goes because it will be my longest flight yet.

Have a great Wednesday!  Looking forward to watching American Idol and the NBA playoffs!

An Extreme Lifestyle

Now that I've started couponing (somewhat extreme?), my husband and I decided we needed to add another extreme thing to our lives: P90x.  Doesn't working out hardcore 6 days a week for an hour plus each day sound exciting?

I have heard great things about the workout program and started looking into it.  Back in the day I played sports in high school, so I'm hoping my way out-of-shape body will remember at least a little bit.  (haha, "back in the day" - I thought that would be funny bc I'm still young, but then it has been 7 years!)  We started on Saturday and did a chest and back workout, plus abs.  This is basically a million push-ups and pull-ups.  I have a weak wrist so I'm hoping by doing some modifications it will get better.  Sunday (yes after our Easter family cookout) we did plyometrics, which is basically a whole lot of jumping for an hour.  This evening we will be doing arms and shoulders, along with abs again.  We are definitely sore, but it feels good in a crazy way.  It feels a lot like sports in high school, and the workouts mimic a lot of the drills we used to do (at least yesterday's did).  We will see how gung-ho I am after the newness wears off.  Anybody out there crazy like us and doing P90x?  Only 88 days to go...

April Showers Bring Grass Fires

We have been having some windy weather lately, which has lead to horrible grass fires and bad allergies.  I hope we get some rain to help out the firefighters and save everyone from more damage.  I just got back inside from taking Harley for a walk around the neighborhood before it storms.  It hit 93 today but we are expecting some bad weather this evening.  I cut our walk short when the lightening and thunder started increasing.  At least he got outside for a bit.
Speaking of fires, we had some fun last night.  Our smoke/carbon monoxide detectors went off for a second or two at 3:45am.  Why?!  My husband had already been up 'til 2 working on some research papers and I was not sleeping well to begin with.  I literally jumped up from sleep when it happened.  Does anyone know why it went off?  It wasn't the beep that warns you the batteries are low.  It was the actual alarm.  Almost like someone tested it for a second - creepy.  Which does not do anything but add to my nighttime paranoia.  Me: "Babe did you hear that?!"  Husband: "No..." or, "It's just someone next door."  Or he talks in his sleep and has no recollection of it in the morning.  Grreat.  To top it off, I have one mean guard dog.  If anyone in  an approachable distance even so much as mutters a pleasing word to the dog, they are his new best friend.  For life.

And on that note, I'm off to listen to the storm and go through my coupons for groceries tomorrow.  We are hosting our first family holiday this weekend: Easter.  Wish me luck. 

:) Val 

Semi-Extreme Couponing

Has anyone seen TLC's show "Extreme Couponing"?  It shows people buying groceries that retail for hundreds of dollars and they use coupons to end up paying only a few cents.  Crazy!  I used to help my Mom clip coupons when I was growing up and we would get to use our savings to do something fun, like get ice cream from the ice cream man or go swimming at the community pool.  Ah, good times.  Well I decided I would give it a try.  I mean, surely I can figure it out.  So after clipping newspaper coupons, online coupons, and researching articles online, I got out the store ads and started looking.  Some stores double and triple the value of particular coupons, so I thought I would start there.  I figured out meals for the week and looked at the ad to see if any of it was on sale.  Then I got out my coupons and matched them to the sale products.  Success!  The grocery store I went to also had a lot of "buy 1, get 1 free" deals, so I used coupons on those as well.  I ended up saving $25 in clipped coupons, and $100 total including store discounts!  Yea!  I'm so proud of myself for my first trip.  Hopefully I will get better and faster with practice.  Has anyone else joined the coupon craze?  Any advice for us newbies?

First Post Ever

So I've been reading several blogs lately about home decorating, crafts, and party planning.  I don't really know what I'm doing but I wanted to try one out.  Thanks for being patient with me. 

I'm not sure what I would like to blog about most.  Crafts?  Decorating (especially since my major in college was interior merchandising)?  My family?  My giant puppy? My hunt for a job?  I guess time will tell. 

Thanks for reading!
~Val